Okay, so in this chapter I wrap up Nanaki's story and continue on with Zack's. It was an enjoyable chapter to write, and I hope you like it:)

Atreyu bounded after Nanaki, who despite his calm demeanour had a hint of excitement in his feral eyes. "We're almost there Nanaki!" Atreyu exclaimed, bouncing around his friend like a

hyperactive kitten. Nanaki let his mouth curve into a small grin. He himself had only been to the cave of Pyria Eternali once, at his own flaming ceremony, as he'd only just come of age to

take on an apprentice. His race was dying out, as only the elders remained, along with Atreyu's parents and a few others, scattered along the surrounding desert plains of Cosmo

Canyon. They had been hesitant to allow the journey, but the elders said it was the only way to keep their race from leaving the planet forever, cutting off the last and closest living

connection to Greenflow. When the two had left, the elders had warned them that the way would be perilous, but said that the Pyri Eternalum (The flame itself) would draw them to its

source, and lead them the way. They were given no directions, and had been wandering for days, possibly weeks, searching for the ancient relic.

Nanaki sniffed, remembering the feeling of limitless energy you attained when nearing the flame.

Something isn't right. He thought as they neared the hidden cave.

Those of Nanaki's tribe had excellent senses, those that surpassed any other creatures. They could smell emotions as well as regular aromas, but something in the air was bothering him.

He led Atreyu through the blackened cave, the flame on his tail lighting the way. He flinched when Atreyu bumped into his back.

"Watch out." He growled.

"Sorry Nanaki, I can hardly see a thing."

Nanaki paused, causing Atreyu to collide with him once more. That was it.

There was no light.

"Atreyu, get out of here now!" he yelled, whipping around.

He felt a sharp prick in his neck and lost his footing, collapsing as the sedative began to take effect. From the light of his tail, he saw Atreyu receive a similar vaccination, and darkness

took them both.

"Transport the Eternal Flame into the containment unit."

"These will make excellent specimens." Cackled a voice, and a dark-haired man wearing a white lab coat stepped into the light.

"I shall call you, Red XIII."

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The skies were alight with golden fire as the sun rose from beneath the waves on the beaches of Costa Del Sol. Zack walked through the town beside Flint and Fifer, leading Fenrir, Cloud

on his back.

"We made it Cloud."

He said quietly, smiling up at his friend.

"Now, I've been thinking about getting aboard the ship." Flint said. "We need to get a job or something; we currently have little to no money."

Zack nodded in agreement, turning towards the ship that was being loaded with cargo.

"We'll have to get on soon, they'll be taking off shortly." He mentioned, absent-mindedly rubbing Fenrir's neck.

Flint nodded, heading towards the dock-yard, Zack in tow.

"I'll go talk to that guy." Zack said, pointing at a man in his early thirties that was leaning by the cargo hatch, supervising the loading and shouting a string of some very colourful curses at

his underlings.

Flint nodded, staying behind with the Chocobos and Cloud.

"Hey." Zack said, walking up to the man.

He wore a blue shirt, two metal tags around his neck. His pants were baggy like those of a SOLDIER and tucked loosely into heavy brown boots.

Spikish blond sideburns went all the way down, stopping just above his jaw line. A pair of pilot goggles rested on his forehead, and slightly pulled back blonde hair covered his head, as if

he constantly had the wind blowing it back.

A pack of cigarettes was tucked into the side strap of the goggles, Zack noticed, as the older man surveyed him with the same scrutiny.

"Yeah? Whadda you want?" he asked, tapping a long cigarette, and sending ash into the air.

Zack wrinkled his nose at the fumes as the man exhaled, blowing out a wisp of smoke through parted lips.

"Is there any way for me to get free passage on this thing?"

The other man raised an eyebrow. "Why? Whadda you doin' in Midgar kid?"

Zack shrugged, pulling back his goggles and hoping the blonde wouldn't recognize the eyes of a SOLDIER.

"I need medical treatment for a friend." He stated, nodding in Flint's direction.

"You mean that spiky-assed Chocobo butt over there?" the man asked, not a hint of regret in his voice.

Zack smiled his irresistible smile, "Yup."

He had a strange feeling he would get along with this guy.

"It's pretty pricey above the plate, er so I've heard."

Zack nodded, "Yeah, well I'll have to find some way to get him treatment. He's gonna just get sicker if I don't."

Cid frowned, as if scolding a child, "Now don't you pull any uh that sob-story crap on me. It ain't gonna help yuh get the fare."

Zack smirked, "Could I work for you?"

The man considered this. "I could use some help in the shop- how are yuh with fixin' things?"

Zack shrugged, not exactly faithful in his abilities.

"Well, whatever- yer hired. You an' yer other friend can switch shifts, but you'll have to getcher own bunk- Well, unless you want to sleep with the Chocobos."

Zack smiled again, "Sounds good to me."

The man gave a somewhat admirable grunt, and threw out his hand for Zack to shake.

"The name's Cid Highwind." He said, half-smiling, the cigarette going up with the curve of his mouth. Zack shook his hand. "Klaus Valenfell."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cid led the three to the stable where he found separate stalls for the Chocobos and placed cots inside each. Two in Fenrir's, for Cloud and Zack, or Klaus and Axel as Zack had named

them, and one in Fifer's for Flint, who Zack had introduced as Zidaine.

Zack made sure Cloud's cot was secured to the wall so it wouldn't move, and gave Fenrir a gentle pat. "We'll be back soon Spike." He said, turning and following Cid and Flint down the

hallway towards the workshop.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The room was cluttered, but spacious, housing various ship parts and random supplies.

"Okay kids." Cid growled, leaning against the metal pillar beside the shop's booth.

"Since I doubt either of you know how to fix any uh this crap, your first job is to clean up this dump. Make it look decent enough for my customers.- Not that my customers are half-decent

themselves." He mumbled.

"Jus' try and organize it a bit, nuttin' flashy, just make it look nice." He said, shoving the butt of his cigarette into his palm where it extinguished with a hiss.

Flint and Zack exchanged looks. "What're you lookin' at? Get to work." Cid growled, and watched

satisfactorily as the two jumped and set to work, making piles of odds and ends and sorting them onto shelves and baskets.

Flint jumped as the sound of a fog horn erupted through the bowels of the ship. "You sissy, it's just a fog horn y'idiot. Yuh gonna go up on deck and watch her set sail?"

Zack gave a slight shake of his head.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't risk getting seen.

In fact, it was safer for them all if they stayed low and kept out of sight in case a SOLDIER recognized him. He was aware they were swarming the docks, and wasn't entirely how many

had boarded.

__________________________________________________

After a good twelve hours of hard cleaning, they'd managed to right the shop.

Everything was stacked and organized neatly on shelves, and you could walk more than two feet without bumping into something. Zack sat down on the floor, resting his head on his arms. "Finally done." He breathed, comparing it to one of his SOLDIER workouts and reasoning it was a great deal harder than he'd anticipated.

"You two wanna cuppa tea?" Cid asked, throwing his gloves onto his cluttered desk and standing up, cracking his back with a sigh of contentment. Zack and Flint nodded gratefully, following Cid onto the upper floor where his cabin was.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Like Cid's shop, the room was cluttered with manuals and papers.

It was a spacious chamber, with giant windows to view the outside as the sea rolled past, with white billowing curtains to shade them from view of the sea if they wished.

The room carried the scent of old books, and reminded Zack of the library in the Shinra mansion, if only subtly.

Zack scratched his chin, feeling light stubble there, and wondering why Cid would have such large private quarters on the ship, being only one of the crew.

"So uh- how many SOLDIERs are on this rig anyways?" he asked casually, watching as Cid swept a pile of sea charts off of two chairs for his guests, then sitting in a large red one nearby.

"Ahh, my ship don' have any of them SOLDIERs. I have no love of Shinra myself. This thing is used as a cargo rig, mostly transporting food, spare parts, and occasionally for the right price,

stolen goods as well."

Flint looked up. "When you say, your ship-"

Cid nodded, a hint of pride in his voice, "Yeah, I'm the captain uh this beast. she ain't much, but she's a sturdy ol' tub. I'm plannin' to sell her once I make enough an' build a genuine

airship."

He said, watching the skies with eyes of deep blue, almost grey.

Feral eyes that belonged not in the sea, but in the sky.

"One day." He said under his breath. He got up from his chair, setting a kettle of water on the stove and preparing three teacups.

"So, what other business do you, Axel and Zidaine have in Midgar Klaus?" he asked, checking in the small mini fridge for milk and taking a small crystal jar filled with sugar from the

cupboard.

"I mean, what do you plan to do when you get there. Living's gotten expensive with all the taxes Shinra have been making up. Total bullshit if ya ask me. They've increased the costs of

energy to double what it was last year, and they've been buying up land everywhere, even setting up booths in some places so you have to pay a fucking toll every time you pass

through."

He said, slamming the tray in front of them, and nearly upsetting the cups.

Somehow, he'd miraculously managed to start up another cigarette in the time he was making tea, and finish it, butting it out on the ashtray on the side table. He sat back on his chair,

taking a long drink of his tea, taken black, and leaning back with closed eyes. "Sorry. I get a little worked up over those damned bastards." He said, sipping at his tea. They all turned

towards the door as it squeaked open.

"DIDJA READ THE SIGN? CAPTAIN MEANS DO NOT INTERRUPT! THE HELL ARE YOU- oh- Shera..." Cid watched as a young woman, about his age stepped into the room, not looking disturbed

in the least.

"Cid, I brought you your- oh! You have guests!"

The woman walked further into the room, smiling at Flint and Zack.

"I'm Shera, welcome aboard the Shiva." She said, dropping an orange bottle on Cid's lap.

Cid looked at it grumpily.

Zack raised an eyebrow.

Shera smiled.

"Cid's got a little anger problem, the doctor is making him take pills-"

Cid looked at her with- for a moment looked like an embarrassed expression, much like a puppy who'd been caught in the garbage, which he quickly covered up with one of annoyance.

"Shera, this is Klaus and Zidaine. They're passengers that're staying in the stables with their sick friend." He said quickly, stopping her from saying anything further.

"Cid Highwind! How can you make guests sleep with the Chocobos, especially when their friend is sick?"

Cid flinched at her accusing tone, his face betraying guilt and annoyance at the same time.

She smiled once more at Zack and Flint. "C'mon dears, I'll show you to your rooms." She frowned at Cid who was hunched in his chair, his face a deep red. "Like a decent host."

Flint went with Shera while Zack went to go get Cloud. He was worried about his friend, being left in the stables all day, alone. With that thought in his head, he quickened his pace.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When he arrived, he heard voices coming from down the hall where Cloud slept.

"Is he dead?"

"I dunno, he looks kinda pale-"

"I dare ya to poke him."

"No way!"

Zack carefully made his way down the hall, coming up behind the two young boys that were examining Cloud.

One of the boys, looked no older than five or six, while the other was closer to twelve.

"You know it's rude to tease people while they're sleeping." Zack scolded.

The boys, not knowing of his presence until then, jumped nearly a foot, whipping around with wide eyes.

"We didn't do nothing, promise!"

Zack smirked, watching as the boys cowered. "Whatever" he said, opening the stable door to tend to his friend.

The boys watched with curious stares.

"So- what's wrong with him anyways?" the older one asked.

"He's really sick, and he can't wake up." Zack said, gently applying pressure to Cloud's chest until he let out a pitiful moan.

"Sorry Spike."

He turned to the boys. "Hey, could you two give me a hand?"

They nodded, thankful that the stranger didn't seem angry.

"First, let's make a promise. I won't tell anyone you were trespassing, if you don't tell anyone what you're about to see."

The boys nodded fervently, waiting. Zack carefully lifted Cloud's shirt, revealing bandages stained pink with blood.

Both of the boys watched with wide eyes, but said nothing. Gently, he began to peel off the bandages, leaving the dirty ones on the floor and taking fresh ones from his pack.

"Okay, you-"

"Sen." Said the eldest, stepping forward.

"Sen, you need to carefully lift Cl- Axel's body while I wrap up the bandages."

Sen nodded obediently, sliding his hands under Cloud's warm back and propping him up into a sitting position.

"And you are-"

"I'm Denzel." The younger one said, his shy expression and blue eyes reminding Zack of Cloud immensely.

"You hold the bandages so they don't slip, kay?" Denzel nodded dutifully, holding the cloth as Zack wound it around Cloud's torso, finishing and slipping back on his shirt.

He stuffed the equipment back in his bag.

"Denzel, Sen, where are you two?" Came a voice from the deck.

"Our parents." Sen explained, taking Denzel's tiny hand in his paused before following the voices.

"Do you mind if we visit you and Axel sometime?"

Zack nodded, smiling. "Sure."

Denzel and Sen smiled back.

"Seeya."

Zack waved, watching the two boys scurry up the ladder to the main deck.

He then carefully lifted Cloud onto his shoulders, making his way to their newly assigned cabins.

Yay Cid! Okay, so adding Denzel and his big brother was kinda random, but what the hell :D Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Oh by the way, during Nanaki's and Atreyu's time in the lab, Atreyu dies young, as he never recieved the 'flame of immortality' at the end of his tail, but Nanaki is left for awhile until Cloud finds him and releases him (as seen in the game) but I wasn't sure where I could fit that in, and I won't be going that far in this fic anyways. Anywho, hoped you enjoyed the chapter,thanks for reading,

Lucifer