(A/N) Zack came out very distracted... but I'm happy with the chapter.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix. If I owned it, I'd be influenced by my friends and Sephiroth would end up touching Cloud inappropriately all the time.

--

I don't know how fast I ran, but it seemed like I made it back to the bar within seconds. I was very upset when I found that I was still out of breath. There was less fatigue, but out of breath because of that run? That run was nothing. Agh! Whatever! That wasn't important right now. I swung the door open without even noticing the loud crack it made or the screech of its hinges. I ran inside and around the corner into the lounge.

"Zack?!" Cloud yelped. He was an instant distraction. He was so cute! Why must I have such a crippling weakness for him?! His eyes were so captivating in how they showed so much emotion. His entire body gave a jolt when I entered the room. But I couldn't let him distract me like this. Not when he was the person I was trying to protect. No. I had to focus on what might happen if I stay distracted by him to long. It wasn't pretty. I'd have to focus my energy into protecting him. Whenever I find myself distracted by him, I'll simply channel it into my will to keep him safe.

"Cloud, we've gotta go!"

"Is there really a rush?" Vincent asked. I myself jumped when he spoke. Must've forgotten he was there. I felt bad actually. He was so easy to forget. Well… when Cloud was standing in front of him he was.

"Yes! He's on his way here! I'm sure of it! I should've known better. The bar is too obvious."

"What's going on?" Tifa asked coming downstairs. That made me wonder where Denzel and Marlene had gone off to. Was it really smart to let them wander around knowing full well that a mad man was on the loose?

"He says… they have to go or he'll find them." Vincent answered before I could.

"What?! You found him?!" She practically hissed. "Think about this for a moment. If you leave right away…"

"If you leave during the day, he'll be able to track you down easier." Vincent finished.

"Does that really matter?! Do you know who we're talking about?! Day or night, it doesn't matter, he'll find us! Actually, to be more accurate, he'll find him." I said without thinking. I almost smacked myself for saying it. I had one hope, maybe he didn't get it. We could've been talking about anyone. That is until Tifa had her moment of borderline idiocy.

"So you confirmed it? He's after Cloud?" She asked with words heavy but angry.

"Tifa!" Vincent said almost scolding.

The tone almost made her cringe, but I could tell she felt just as much dismay as I did when we looked at said blonde. But I don't think he could see us looking. He'd fallen to his knees, probably blindsided from what he just heard. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to make enemies for himself. I just knew that was what he was thinking. He'd always been cautious and timid. He'd stay distant all the time. Just to stay unnoticed. Which had worked except on those who had taken a fancy to him. Myself included. I hate to say even Sephiroth took a liking to him later on. But he certainly never made enemies.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa asked attempting to be comforting.

He just murmured. I hope he wasn't going to cry. There was no need for it. He probably wanted to. I could see his face was a little red, he was probably holding it back as hard as he could. It was obvious he was scared, he was shaking slightly. But hopefully he wasn't terrified. I wanted to hold him but I couldn't make him uncomfortable. I don't think he liked it very much last time. I had to just play my cards right and hope he'll come to me. My patience is what led me to success the last time and what led Sephiroth to failure for lack of. But I think this time I'd better let someone else handle i—

… I expected Tifa to handle it but Vincent, for one reason or another, beat her to it!

"What?!" I openly expressed my shock. He didn't seem ashamed at all, it didn't look as though he was aware that no one expected him to do that. I mean, Vincent?! He didn't seem like much of a huggy person. But there he was, arms wrapped around Cloud and rubbing his shoulder to try and relax him. Cloud however looked just as surprised as the rest of us. His trembling didn't stop, not right away. I was bewildered. The image seemed… wrong, but right. Vincent was kind of a father figure, but he looked like he'd be tactically defensive.

"Mr. Valentine…?" Cloud mumbled. Mr. Valentine? He was so cute I could hardly stand it!

"Zack, I think you should give him some time to calm down." Vincent said after a few minutes.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea? If he finds us… um… ba da la la…" That was admittedly an odd way to cut off my own sentence but I had to do something. If I said anything about Sephiroth finding us, and the potential risks attached to that, would that help calm down Cloud at all? I didn't think so. Of course I guess sometimes it is better knowing, but the truth was, I didn't know. But would I tell him even if I did know…? No! Stop it! Why do I trail off into stupid thoughts all the time?!

"Zack." Tifa broke in. "You should think this through a bit more."

"Uh… I guess it wouldn't hurt to rest a while longer. I haven't regained my full strength yet."

"You should leave tomorrow night." Tifa said enthusiastically.

"No. Not that late." Vincent sighed. "But it should be safe by tomorrow."

"I dunno you guys." We were talking about Sephiroth after all. No. We were doubting Sephiroth's tracking ability. We should be able to come up with something better than this. Was it, the best place to hide is the last place they'll ever expect? Or… was it, the closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm? Hmm… considering Sephiroth's tracking abilities; I'd guess it's better to stay away from him. This choice was so difficult, Sephiroth was no fool and that was what one would count on in situations like this. How could I keep Cloud safe from him like this?

"Have you considered where you're going to go?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah." That wasn't the important thing at the moment. What was important was where to go now. We couldn't stay at the bar; of course, I thought he'd be here by now. We couldn't go to the church, he's probably checking there now. I was starting to think we were better off in the wasteland with the Guard Hounds.

"Tifa?" It was one of the children again. Marlene this time. "Denzel can't find his toy rocket. Can we go look for it?"

"In the streets?" Tifa didn't seem quite sure, why would she be? Edge could be dangerous. "It's getting late. Can you look for it tomorrow?"

"It's going to rain tonight. He doesn't want it to get ruined." She answered.

"…Take Cloud with you." Tifa said after a moment. Both me and Vincent gave her the same look. Cloud stayed silent. Hopefully he didn't fall asleep. I glanced over just to make sure… nope. His beautiful eyes were open, a little wide, but he wasn't asleep. I thought briefly about her suggestion and it wasn't a bad idea. We had to talk about this and we weren't making much progress with him around. It was a little unfair, but I think him leaving would be for the best.

"Vincent, does Cloud have a phone?" I asked. The blonde still didn't move. He acted as though he were rooted to the spot. Most likely, he was still all shook up over the news he'd learned. It really was best that he left, that proved it. Vincent's impatience made Cloud gasp when he reached into his pocket looking for a phone.

"He's got one." The gunman answered taking it out to make sure it was working. He flipped it open, seemed to dial a few numbers, shut it, and then slid it back into the boy's pocket.

"Okay." I nodded. "Go on Cloud. Look after the kids for us."

"But if there's trouble, you call us. Okay, sweetie?" Tifa added quite bluntly. He shuffled past us keeping his eyes to the floor. Poor little guy, he looked down about something. I really wanted to grab him as he walked by, but I'd just have to wait. There were more pressing matters.

"Don't go too far!" I called after them. If he was too far away, my speed as it was wouldn't do us much good. I let my eyes linger for a while until the back of the blonde's head disappeared behind a closing door. As soon as he was gone, I desperately wanted him back. I almost reached out for him but just barely held myself back from my impulse. I had to control myself and focus on the problems at hand. I couldn't shale this feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. I think I just made the biggest mistake of my afterlife… no life. It doesn't matter either way. Point is, I'm stupid. I just let Cloud leave when he has a madman after him. I was making this easy. I was practically serving the kid up on a silver platter, without even meaning to!

"You should just stay here for one night. You'll need food and a place to sleep." Tifa said almost insistently. That option still seemed out of the question to me. Uh… better idea, let's go find Cloud.

"Tifa." Vincent interrupted. "Don't let your emotions cloud your better judgment. Sephiroth will surely look for them here. It's only a matter of time."

"But where else can they go?" She asked. I just tried to relax for the time being, for as long as I could. I'd throw in my input every now and then, but they knew more of the land nowadays than I did. Places had been destroyed and there were new places built. Tifa really wanted us to stay at the bar for some odd reason. She was being very stubborn about it. I was just thankful that Vincent knew that was impossible.

--

"We can't have them stay here. We're wasting time." Vincent sighed.

"But if they're here, we can help." Tifa argued.

"But it's better for them to get a clean getaway. Think clearly, if they stay here, the kids will be in danger. Do you want that man anywhere near Denzel or Marlene?" Vincent asked.

"Why are we encouraging them to hide anyway? We can fight him, we've done it before." She shot back. Tifa almost looked… pissed. She was on the verge of glaring at Vincent. Was she really that protective of Cloud? Didn't they trust me to take care of him? I wasn't the complete idiot I pretended to be. Well… not all the time. Right now I wasn't acting smart at all. But nonetheless, whenever Cloud was around, I was a demented moron. Usually a centered and promising guy, I turned into the dipstick high school boy when near his crush.

"Tifa." Vincent answered in an eerily calm voice. "That's enough. I don't want to risk anything. We won't be as prepared as we were. And I don't want to risk Cloud to anything that madman has in store for him. Is that clear?"

"I just don't want Cloud to feel like we're sending him away." Tifa sighed.

"Whoa!" I said. "That's not what he's gonna think. We need to do what's best for him. I'm still not sure what Sephiroth's up to, but he wants revenge."

"Zack, you never told us where you were going to take him." She kind of asked.

"We're going to Wutai." I answered.

"Why Wutai?" Vincent asked.

"Because… I figured Yuffie could help us hide and Sephiroth doesn't know the area all that well." I sighed. Of course now I realized, no matter where we go, he could probably track us down.

"You may be on to something." Vincent said obviously thinking.

I was? I thought something through? Correctly? My previous decision seemed to show the opposite. I really wanted to go out and fix my second big blunder, but the higher power didn't want to just let that happen, did she?

"Going to Wutai would take Sephiroth out of his comfort zone. Not to mention he has many enemies there and no one would cooperate with him. But it may lead to fatalities." He said grimly near the end.

"I know. Now that I think about it, that's not something I want to risk." I answered, bemused as usual.

I was thinking a little too far into the future. Assuming there was a future for us. How could I ease my way into that special place in his heart? I think I should just stick with my patience, but how shall I plot my moves? I was hoping I could share a bed with him at least the second night we were together. But in more of a platonic way… at first. I had to be the friend before I was the lover. That's how things went last time. I couldn't screw this up. I had to be just as perceptive as I was all those years ago. I had to read how comfortable or uncomfortable he was getting with me. I'd just give him a little nudge and if he backed away, I'd back off. That was my area of expertise. I'd just have to keep reminding myself of this moment and the ones prior. If I stuck with it, I was confident that it'd be smooth sailing the whole way.

As usual my thoughts were broken by Vincent snapping his fingers in front of my face. I was getting tired of this. No I wasn't! This was important! If anything I was getting confused.

"Zack, you've been staring blankly for the past twenty minutes." Tifa sighed.

I had? It seemed more like three to me. Weird.

"I guess we're risking you staying here." Vincent said a little annoyed. I had to guess Tifa won the argument. That might not have happened if I was paying attention. Ooh, sorry Vincent. I thought about numerous options almost frantically. I had to think of something, anything! I couldn't let her do this. But I came up with nothing. I guess I'd have to rely on them changing their minds. Well, actually… Tifa changing her mind.

"You guys are sure about this?" I asked.

"We don't want Denzel and Marlene to think something's wrong." Tifa replied.

"Okay… but-" /Vrrrrrziiit!/

"What was that?" Tifa said a little surprised.

/Vrrrrrziiit!/ I even looked surprised at the second tone. Whatever it was, it was coming from my pocket.

/Vrrrrrziiit!/ I reached into the deep pocket of my army pants and pulled out a little vibrating cell phone. "I forgot my phone sounded so weird." I sighed. I felt so stupid, I got scared over my cell phone. I forgot I had it. I didn't have my phone up in the lifestream. I focused my eyes on the small blinking screen.

(\Cloudy/)

My eyes lit up at the name, but then I could only think of one thing. The fact that he was calling only meant that something was wrong. "Cloud." I said to the leaning figures on either side of me.

/Vrrrrrziiit!/ By the fourth tone, they both looked anxious.

"Well, answer it!" Tifa said grabbing at the phone in my hands.

I… didn't want to answer it. I knew Cloud was in trouble, but I didn't want it to be true. I wanted him to come back through the door, happy and smiling. This was going nowhere. I shut my eyes and took a few deep breaths. Nothing else mattered, not even what I wanted to happen mattered. The truth was that Cloud needed me. He was depending on someone to come and help. I had to come to his aid. I swore I would never abandon him. Even when I was stolen away from his side, I vowed I'd never leave him to perish. Even when Aerith had to leave him to his own devices, I stayed with him. I helped him through the toughest and most impossible of tasks. I gave him my strength when it was slipping from me. I had to go to him now. I had to drive these selfish thoughts from my mind. Oh please! Let him be on the other line! I wanted to hear his lyrical voice, not Sephiroth's.

/Vrrrrrziiit!/

"Zack!" Both Tifa and Vincent yelled.

I snapped my eyes open and simultaneously flipped opened the phone. I slid my thumb over the numbers and hit the top right button, setting it to speaker phone.

/"Hello?!"/

I was so relieved I almost melted when the sound of Cloud's voice reached my ears.

"Cloud, we're all here. What's the problem?" Tifa answered.

/"There's a silver haired man here."/

"He didn't hurt you, did he?!" I asked hurriedly.

/"No. He tried to grab the children, but they got away… Now he's chasing us."/

"What does he look like?" Vincent asked.

What does he look like? He said he's got silver hair, didn't he? That means it's Sephiroth. Who else could it be? Then again, there were quite a few silver haired people around. I leaned in closer to hear better as well. I wanted to be sure. He would've recognized the general right away. The kid idolized the man.

/"He's… he's uh… tall, kinda burley… has silver swirly hair and… I dunno, I didn't see his eyes."/

"It can't be." I whispered.

"What?" Vincent asked.

/"Ah! He's fast!"/

"Cloud?!" I shouted into the phone. I only heard a few scuffling sounds and then it sounded as though the phone was dropped on the ground. "Cloud?!" I shouted again.

/" Hurry! We need help!"/

That voice wasn't Cloud's. It was still a boy. It had to be Denzel.

"Denzel?" Tifa asked. "Is Marlene there?"

/"Marlene!"/ Denzel shouted. There were more scuffling sounds and I swear I could here gasping in the background. By this time I was off the couch and heading toward the door. Vincent and Tifa were close behind me. We all looked a bit furious.

/"Tifa?"/ It was Marlene now.

"Marlene sweetie, who's there?" Tifa asked trying to be calm.

/"It's that bad man we saw in the church… the one with the zapper."/

"Loz?" I asked. The remnant on the slow side. Admittedly he was fast when it came to physical speed, but when it came to the mind he wasn't the brightest lamp on the shelf. So that's how it was going to be, Sephiroth? Cover more ground by splitting up? Or was he just sending out minions first?

/"Denzel! Denzel no! Stay back! Ah! Cloud no! Don't hurt him!"/

My heart sank when I heard the sound of electricity in the background. Where were they? We were outside, but there were still plenty of places for them to be. I couldn't hear anything. No commotion, no lights from that damned Dual Hound Loz had and was probably torturing Cloud with. I was enraged by the mere thought of it. I tried not to think about it, but the images wouldn't retreat. The image of that blasted remnant holding Cloud against the wall and blasting him again and again until he either passed out or cried. Twisted bastards. They were funny, but that's just because they were awkward around all of the rest of us. How did he get them out of the lifestream as well?

"Where are you?" Vincent asked running up beside me.

/"We're heading toward the center of town."/ This voice was melodious. It was Cloud! I took a breath to answer back, but Vincent snatched the phone out of my hands before I could utter a word.

"What's your situation?" He asked. There was a long pause with hardly any sound but labored breathing. How long had they been running? Poor kids. This wasn't their problem.

/"We were looking down in one of the back allies and some guy showed up."/ He paused again. I hoped he wasn't hurt. /"He's really… almost inhumanly fast."/

"Are you hurt?!" I shouted over into the phone.

I felt a ball forming in my throat while I waited for the answer. If he was hurt, I didn't know what I'd do. I'd probably let this earthen body waste away from my failure end then refuse to pass on back into the lifestream. It seemed fair. He gets hurt because of my failure, thus breaking my vow which would be dishonorable. And the punishment for dishonor was steep! Maybe I was just overreacting. But it was Cloud after all. I swore to protect him. I had to stay true to my word and protect my honor. Screw SOLDIER! Nowadays exSOLDIERs had more honor than SOLDIERs in commission. I shook my head trying to snap myself out of it and pay attention. I came out of my thoughts to hear a little mumble come out of the phone. Oh no! I missed the answer! I'm so stupid.

"S-say that again." I said with an unsure tone.

/"I said no one's hurt."/ Came the answer followed by a crash. /"Geez!"/

I could tell I probably had some stupid smile spreading across my face. I hardly even heard the crash. I was only focusing on how Cloud was okay. He was okay! Where was he?! Where was he?! I mean, where were they? There was more than one life a stake here. I know Sephiroth was after Cloud, which means that he'd most likely be taken alive. But the "spares" would be eliminated.

"Where are you now?" Vincent asked. He looked more calm than the rest of us. But I could see just beneath the surface he was, if not on the brink of, panic.

/"I can see the monument in the central square. We've taken cover and trying to stay out of sight."/

The monument? That was coming into our sight as well. But if they were hiding, how were we supposed to find them before Loz did? What am I kidding?! Cloud is not helpless. He may be clumsy and quite skittish, but he was trained and had good instincts. The degree of his training depended on how far back I was remembering when I made my little mistake. But he's a country boy. He'll never be completely helpless… unless he was stuck in a situation he'd never been in before. But for now, I wouldn't have to worry. Loz wasn't the type.

Loz was… well he… he always…

There's no nice way to put it, without Yazoo he was a bumbling idiot. Plain and simple. He wasn't cunning. He wasn't an idea man. He was the muscle and that's really all they used him for. He's the friendliest remnant out of the three, but that's because he didn't know who he was talking to half the time. Kadaj was bipolar or something, I hated being around him. And secretly, Yazoo was the real evil mastermind. He was also the master of deception. Always laughing and playing the cocky one. But he was pretty damn scary when he was serious.

/"AGH!!"/

The sound that emitted from the phone made me look up so fast I swear I heard something snap. What just happened? Did Loz just bring harm to my poor little Cloudy? I had to scold myself again just to remain calm. For one, Cloud was going to be fine! He wouldn't go down with one hit, he was stronger than that. And second! I'm not Sephiroth! I have to stop calling Cloud mine, he always hated being labeled as property. I always had to wonder why, but it was an answer I never got. It was okay sometimes to show affection, but not literally or all the time. He'd hate me if I did it all the time. That was one big thing I always had to remember. He was so sensitive to being labeled.

"Cloud?" There was a shattering sound and then nothing.

"Huh?!" I said realizing I had been zoning again.

"Cloud? …Marlene? …Denzel?" Vincent asked. He was frantic by now. No one was answering. This wasn't real. They were fine. Cloud could handle himself. He could outwit Loz any day.

--

I was starting to get a little scared when the three of us reached the monument and there was still no answer. We couldn't see anything through the crowds. There weren't even that many people and we didn't see or hear anything going on. It was like they all just up and vanished.

" Oh come on!" I shouted. We'd stopped in the central square of Edge and everything seemed normal. I was so agitated. I should be able to track Cloud down too. Okay. I knew that they were in this area and now all I had to do was find where their exact location was.

"Zack what's the matter?" Tifa asked.

"Shhh. I'm trying to focus." I said calmly. Did I even have all my SOLDIER abilities back yet? I was kind of depending on the enhanced sense of smell.

I closed my eyes and focused my energies into finding the familiar smell that was Cloud. A mixture of hair gel, and for some reason mountain lilies. I sniffed the air like a dog until something caught my attention. Soil. This was a city. There hadn't been soil for years. At least not mountain soil. Cloud had an underlying scent that smelled fresh, just like the soil at the base of Mt. Nibel. It was faint, but it was good enough. Guess it was my luck that he actually let himself get dirty sometimes. It was really lucky. His childhood made me so sad. What made him so aloof and isolated again? Maybe it was the fact that they weren't very open minded people and Cloud, sadly being a bastard, was a good target for their scorn.

"I smell blood." Vincent almost gasped.

What? He what? I sniffed the air again, this time looking for a newer scent on the air. There was. It was that ghastly smell of iron that made me queasy whenever I got the slightest whiff of it. The scent was so strong that I started coughing. It had to be close and it had to be fresh. It also had to be Cloud. He wouldn't let those kids get hurt… and that scream was the last thing we heard over the phone. I could only imagine how bad it could be. My mind was made up, it doesn't matter how much sense it makes at the time. I am never allowing Cloud to separate from me again… that only stands if he was still alive of course. Oh great! There I go, overreacting again.

"Where are they?!" Tifa asked leaning past me to look at Vincent. His face showed nothing but confusion. He couldn't tell where the source was. Neither could I. The smell was coming from all around. It was the strangest thing. As if that weren't strange enough, now there was some almost scorched smell. Almost like gun residue.

I then heard a "clack" in front of me. I turned from Tifa to look at what it was now. "This is just perfect." I sighed.

We were now faced with the second and considerably greater threat. Long silver hair, and bangs that flowed down to his azure eyes. Skin pale as a ghost and a long black trench coat going down to his ankles. He was the spitting image of Sephiroth himself and the one remnant I'd hoped we wouldn't be faced with. Yazoo.

"Where are they?" He asked in a mocking tone accompanied by that playful laugh of his.

"Having fun?" I said with irritation. I did not have time for his games right now.

"What do you think?" He sighed. Vincent and Tifa made to leave but he revealed two guns and aimed one at each of them. "Only Zack's allowed to look." He said a bit more seriously. Did he intend to fight Vincent and Tifa alone? I guess he could feel confident. He was willing to throw away his own life as long as he took his opposed with him. Not something to be proud of, but it wasn't a common strength either. To be able to just throw it all away. I don't think even I could do that. Not only that, but he had agility and great martial arts training. He also had just about, if not as much, expertise with a gun as Vincent. But could he take them both at once?

What did I care if he could? He was being evil at the moment. I had to look for the kids, Tifa and Vincent would be fine. I was relatively sure ,but more like hoping, Cloud would be alright. Hopefully he wasn't shot in the leg or something. Then it'd be difficult to get away. But by this time, I was stressing over whether Denzel and Marlene were still alive. Yazoo didn't have a soft spot for children. Loz liked kids, but Yazoo couldn't care less about their age, he'd shoot.

I dashed off in the direction where the blood smelled the closest. It sickened me, I probably wasn't going to feel well for a while. I'd have to give my poor abused nose a rest after this. I ran to the first location, an alley that led me to what looked like a market place. Who knew this was back here? There were a few people here buying things that looked good quality. But there was nothing here. I could still smell the scent of blood, but it was moving.

"Cloud?!" I shouted. The scent turned in my direction. But I still didn't see those blonde spikes. I didn't see anything. My eyes scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of him. The smell was so intensely close now, but I didn't see him.

"Zack?" I heard a small voice ask.

I looked towards it only to see a previously stunned Denzel.

"Denzel?" I said shocked.

His eyes were half closed like he'd just woken up and there was a crimson line of blood drawn across his forehead. It was still dripping too. It wasn't his blood.

"Denzel, what happened?" I asked while trying to lock onto the next portion of the trail.

"I don't know. I don't remember." He answered. He sounded like he was going to cry.

"Do you know where the others are?"

"No. I passed out here a while ago I think. I got hit over the head by something." He said while straining himself to remember anything he could.

"They just left you here?!"

"No. No, I actually remember being closer to the center of town when I passed out."

"Do you have anything in your pockets?" I asked.

He reached into a pocket, then another. But he pulled up nothing. This was very upsetting. But for now I had to make sure Denzel was safe. He should be okay now. It looks like Loz abandoned him and Yazoo didn't care.

"Denzel, do you know how to get home from here?"

"Yeah." He said shrugging. "Are you going to go find the others?"

"Yes. I have to."

"Please make sure Marlene and Cloud are safe!" He said throwing himself at me and crying into my shirt. "I tried to protect her! Me and Cloud both! I just couldn't! You have to save them!"

"Denzel, calm down. They'll both be fine. I won't let anyone hurt them." I said stroking his hair a few times. "I have to keep looking now, but clean that blood off yourself then wait a bit before you go home." I waited for him to nod before I went running off again. That was the only place where the smell was moving. Everywhere else I went expecting to find Cloud or Marlene, there was just another line of blood drawn across a post or some other surface. It all seemed hopeless. I almost felt like crying now. I was failing already! I failed to see Sephiroth was going to kill that boy and now this?! The poor kid was probably depending on me and I practically stood there and let it happen!

"I can't give up! I won't give up!" I told myself. There were things that had to be done and wallowing in self pity wasn't helping me do them.

--

I wandered for a few more minutes before something else got the attention of my olfactory senses. Exhaust.

That must've been Loz. What a huge mistake. I could follow the smell of exhaust easily. Not only that, but it left a solid trail. Exhaust left a stream of scent behind the source. I could track him now and that's exactly what I did. I followed it out of the center of town and down the highway. There was still a "Do Not Enter" sign across the entrance. Really… still? You'd figure they'd have fixed that bridge by now. Oh well… it didn't matter to me. I followed the scent to the edge of the bridge and saw the remains of the church coming into view.

"The church?" I whispered. How stupid could he be? The church was obviously a place anyone would look. "Hope Sephiroth's not there."

I jumped from the edge of the bridge and rolled down the incline. Once I reached the bottom I stormed off towards the doors.

--

(A/N) Remember to review. :D