Note: Yes, this story is still alive! By the way, for those of you who didn't know, when I'm running late in updating something, I try to leave a short message at the bottom of my author profile to give you some idea of what's happening and what you can expect. For now, I've got the next two chapters written, but correcting them can be very tedious and I like to keep some buffer so I'm sure of where I'm going.
This one starts just where the previous one ended. Until next time!

Published on: 02/24/2013

Chapter 8

When Angeal and Sephiroth joined the others in the cave, Tifa and Aerith had already retired to their alcove for the night. Cloud and Zack were quietly talking near the fire, and Rain was exchanging a few words with Valentine further away. Their conversation stopped when the two Firsts came in. Rain threw a piercing look at Sephiroth, who ignored him to retrieve his dinner. Cloud and Zack both turned to Sephiroth and smiled, glad to see him back, and Zack began prattling about some thing of no consequence.

Angeal saw Valentine turn back to the shadows and disappear. Rain came back to the fire and began putting away the tools he had used to take care of his sword. He was cautiously glancing at Sephiroth but the tension was mostly gone from his body language. Figuring he might as well try to pierce some of the mysteries of this man, Angeal approached him.

"Is this a new blade?"

Rain glanced at him, surprised, then at the sword lying by his side.

"I guess. Though it's already in a pretty sorry state considering what few battles it has seen so far."

Angeal examined the weapon more closely. It was a large broadsword of standard quality, barely of a higher make than what most monster hunters would use. Now that he was looking, he could see the hilt had gone somewhat loose despite Rain's best efforts to consolidate it. The blade was also pretty scuffed.

"It does look sub-par for someone enhanced like you."

"It can't be helped. I bought it on Cloud's money, I didn't want to use everything."

"You lost your previous sword, then?"

Angeal swallowed the hint of condemnation that wanted to seep into his voice. The Buster Sword was special to him, and he knew Sephiroth and Genesis also treated their personal weapons with great care. When you lived by the sword and became as good at it as all three of them were, the blade that followed you in every battle was no longer a tool: it became a companion, and about as precious as the men fighting by your side. But for all he knew, Rain had never found that faithful friend and was used to less than satisfying swords. Zack certainly had yet to find his, much to Angeal's regret.

However, Rain's scowl soon seemed to dismiss this possibility. He nodded.

"With all my clothes, my Materia and my own money, I suspect. I'm more upset about the swords, though."

"I take it they were good blades."

"The best," he said with no hint of boasting. "And completely unique, as far as I can tell. It was a set of six swords interlocking into one."

Angeal's eyes widened. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Cloud and Zack had turned back to their previous conversation and Sephiroth was unashamedly eavesdropping on Rain and him.

"It does sound very interesting! There is no chance to get them back?"

Rain only shrugged, but the movement was gloomy. Sephiroth seized the opportunity to put his empty bowl aside and join them.

"How could you possibly use as much as six swords in any practical way?" he asked, smoothly sitting beside them.

Angeal feared for a moment that Rain would clam up at the intrusion. However, he didn't move except to throw a peculiar side glance at Sephiroth.

"The blades came in a variety of shapes and sizes that made it easy to adapt to different combat situations. They could be merged, wielded separately, or any combination of the two. I am a versatile fighter, so this works best for me. Worked."

His lips thinned, showing his displeasure at having to correct himself.

"What were they called?" Angeal asked softly, because he could relate to such a loss.

"The Fusion Swords."

Sephiroth snorted.

"Quite unimaginative," he said despite Angeal's warning glance.

Rain didn't seem to take offense, though. He shrugged once more.

"I guess I am an unimaginative person."

A short silence settled over them. Rain looked lost in thought, but he was probably not as unaware as he seemed to be of the way Sephiroth was staring at him. Angeal jostled his friend's shoulder, trying to get him to stop. Sephiroth only smiled at him. Sighing, Angeal rose.

"The first watch—"

"Vincent took it," Rain said without looking up.

"Oh," Angeal replied, thrown.

He exchanged a glance with Sephiroth, unsure of how he felt trusting an unknown quantity like Valentine to guard their sleep. There was not much that could be done without alienating their tentative allies, though, and Sephiroth apparently felt the same since he didn't argue.

"I'll take second, then."

"I'll tell him," Rain answered.

"Thanks."

Angeal nodded to Sephiroth and went to join Cloud and Zack where they were settling for the night. Silence reigned over the two men left, but Sephiroth knew Rain wasn't ignoring him. Somehow, this man seemed completely unable to do that.

"… How are you doing?" was asked not too long after, as if to confirm his thoughts.

"Still sane."

Rain snorted.

"I can see that," he muttered. "Anyone can see that."

"Oh?" Sephiroth asked with a bland smile.

Rain glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. He hadn't moved, but Sephiroth could see he was tense. When he next talked, his voice had lowered.

"When Genesis learned the truth about himself, he fled and betrayed Shinra."

"Your point?"

"What would you have done in his position?"

For a short moment, Sephiroth allowed himself to dwell on the question. He thought about learning the secret of his birth out of the blue; he thought about Jenova, the name he had believed belonged to his mother; and more than anything, he thought about Hojo. He let the anger he had been feeling since Rain's revelations burn through his veins, and he tried to picture how much stronger it could have been, how much fury he could have held in his hands. Would he have fled? No. He would have torn down the whole Shinra tower and burned it to the ground, floor by floor if need be.

He snapped out of the illusion. He was fairly sure he hadn't moved an inch, but Rain was taut as a bow and he had a white-knuckled grip on the hilt of the sword lying next to him. There was no fear in his eyes, though. Only something hard and dark.

An unbelievable thrill ran through Sephiroth. This man could see the monster in him, when even Angeal and Genesis barely suspected its existence. He could see it, and he did so without flinching.

"You are a lot more dangerous than Genesis," Rain grimly breathed.

"Which is why you are here," Sephiroth said, staring at him with intensity. "Why you bothered with Angeal, and why you only care about Genesis in so far as I do."

Rain didn't answer.

"One thing I don't understand, though. Why not just kill me? You had the opportunity in that abandoned city."

Rain gave a crooked smirk.

"Good night, Sephiroth."

And thus saying, he got up and walked away.

Rain still wore that fond smile every time he looked at Aerith. The girls were giggling over one thing or another, and maybe Rain was also looking at Tifa, but it was doubtful that Zack would interpret it in this way.

Cloud winced and decided it was as good a time as any to have that conversation. Sephiroth and Angeal were gone to spend the morning with Genesis in the hope of sparking some sanity back in him, and Zack was still trying to wake up by guzzling way too much of their precious coffee stock. So Cloud stepped up to his brother, bent to his shoulder and asked:

"You got a minute?"

Rain smiled at him, too, which warmed him up inside. Then he nodded and set his empty cup down. He grabbed his sword and got up to follow him somewhere more private.

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, well… Honestly? You need to stop looking at Aerith like that," Cloud said, wincing.

Rain looked surprised.

"Like that?"

"Like she is your long-lost sister or… well, your girlfriend."

Rain shifted on his feet, bewildered.

"I… I do that?"

Cloud laughed.

"Maybe you are rusty at hiding your feelings too? But you definitely do that, and Zack has been giving you kind of evil looks on occasion. You didn't notice?"

"Uh… No."

Rain looked disturbed.

"Well… was she? I mean… your girlfriend?" Cloud asked, suddenly more serious.

Because if she had been, in that future where Rain was coming from, that might just complicate things. To his great relief, Rain shook his head.

"No… We were just… just very close. She did a lot for me. We might have become closer, but…"

Something dark and grim flashed through his eyes.

"Well. Even if it had happened, I wouldn't make a move on her when she still has Zack."

Cloud seized his chance.

"Because Zack is important to you too, right?"

"Right."

Rain had said so mechanically, thoughts elsewhere. Cloud could tell the exact moment when he realized what he had just answered. His eyes widened and he turned back to him.

"Cloud…"

Cloud smiled, though a little sadly.

"It's okay, I had sort of figured it out. I would have been quicker about it if I had just met a man who looked exactly like me and he told me he came from the future, but… figuring out that kind of thing about someone you have known for so long… I guess it's different."

Rain didn't answer, just stared at him. Cloud chanced an awkward grin.

"And, you know! While I was thinking about it, I finally remembered how you got that name, "Rain". I was six at the time, so I had nearly forgotten, but you did say your name was Cloud when we first talked. So if I had remembered sooner…"

He was babbling, he knew that, but he couldn't seem to stop. Luckily, Rain resolved the problem by suddenly hugging him. Cloud froze. Rain had briefly hugged him once or twice before, but only on parting and greeting, and never this spontaneously.

"R… Rain?"

"You are my brother, Cloud. You are my little brother, and I'm damn proud of you."

To Cloud's horror, he felt himself beginning to tear up. Rain drew away and held him at arm's length, his hands warm on Cloud's shoulders, to better look him in the eye.

"I'm not being narcissistic when I say that. Pretty much everyone thinks that if they were to see their younger self in the street one day, they'd march up to them and punch them in the face. And I thought that too. I hated what I could remember of the kid and the teenager I had been. And then I came here and I met you. And you grew up to be an awesome and reliable young man, and it's breathtaking for me to think that there is a part of you in me."

"You idiot!" Cloud said, laughing through his tears. "There is even more of a part of you in me! You are the one who taught me how to be awesome and reliable. You are the one who taught me to stop whining, to stop throwing tantrums, to actually think about how to get what I wanted and to never stop until I got it. I have no idea how you became the person you are today without… without…"

"… Me?" Rain suggested, smiling.

"Stop it," he retorted, jabbing him in the stomach. "It's confusing, damn it!"

Rain laughed softly and let him go.

"You're right, it is. And it doesn't really matter, anyway."

Cloud froze while trying to discreetly wipe his tears away.

"It doesn't?"

"No. Because in the end, you and I are different persons. Similar like brothers, but not the same. You won't grow up to be my carbon copy, and that's just as well."

Cloud shyly smiled.

"Yeah… Though I guess I'm mostly done with the "up" part of growing, since we're nearly the same height right now…"

"I'm afraid so."

"Damn. I had hoped I still had a few good inches to go…"

"Sorry to disappoint."

They smiled at each other, warm and loving. It should have felt narcissistic, but like Rain had said, there was no way they could be called the same person. Cloud had so, so many questions. About Aerith, about Rain's Mako eyes and his SOLDIER strength, about his relationship with Tifa, about Sephiroth… But it felt like it would have been wrong and pointless to ask them now.

Rain turned back to the cave they were camping in.

"I guess I should talk to Z—"

The sound of an explosion covered the end of his sentence. It was muffled by distance and stone, but too loud to come from any Evilgoyles in the vicinity.

"What was that?" Cloud asked rhetorically, hand flying to his sword.

When he glanced at him, he noticed Rain had paled, eyes unseeing and one hand raised halfway to his temple.

"That's impossible," he heard him whisper.

"Rain?"

Rain snapped out of it and drew his own weapon.

"Find me Vincent or Zack and send him down," he barked. "Guard the girls, especially Aerith!"

Before Cloud could argue, he was rushing towards the inner caves. Cloud closed back his mouth and set his jaw. Rain had just complimented him for being reliable. He knew how to take orders, and he knew better than to argue when someone who obviously knew better than him was entrusting him with responsibilities. No matter how much he wanted to stay close to Rain, he wouldn't let his brother down!

He turned and ran back to the others, half expecting to see Zack rushing in his direction to investigate the explosion… Instead, it was with a very pale Aerith that he nearly collided, at about the same time he started to hear the gunshots.

"Cloud!" the girl panted, out of breath. "It's soldiers, Shinra soldiers! They are attacking us!"

There had been no warning.

One instant Sephiroth had been standing to one side of the room, face blank, observing Angeal trying to draw a mulish Genesis in friendly conversation; the next second, a large portion of the ceiling exploded down in a shower of stone and dirt and, though he was well out of the way, Sephiroth sank to his knees, suddenly so dizzy he barely remembered his name. He was hearing a loud sound, like white noise drowning the apocalyptic sound of the ceiling collapsing. Some barely conscious part of him wondered if his eardrums had just burst. He tried to touch a hand to his ears to see if they were bleeding, but his arm shook and only half-heartedly rose.

Belatedly, he looked up. A nightmarish creature was crouching on the rubble, all hideous black hide and incandescent green eyes. He should get up and fight it, he thought. Get up… get up…

From very far away, he heard:

"Genesis! Sephiroth! Fight it… It's that thing in your head!"

In his head? Yes, that sounded right. The noise wasn't his burst eardrums, just something in his head. That was a relief. Damaged eardrums would have compromised his balance. Why was that important, again?

Through the cloud of dirt, he saw Angeal stagger to his feet, wide-eyed and panting. The creature growled and turned to him. Before Angeal could even draw his sword in defence, it pounced.

"What?!"

Cloud nearly took Aerith by the shoulders, but stopped when he saw how terrified she was.

"Where?"

"At the tunnel's entrance! Vincent stopped them before they could come in and him and Zack and Tifa are holding them off, but Zack said to come get you and Rain and to get Angeal and Sephiroth too…"

She gasped, her need for oxygen hindering her panicked babbling. Cloud felt the start of panic himself. Somehow, the enemy had apparently managed to find and engage three of their best warriors down in the tunnels while the rest of them were up there, forced to hold the fort alone. He toyed with the idea of sending Aerith down to warn them, but instantly berated himself. If some monsters found her, she would be helpless; and Rain had said to protect her, not send her in harm's way! But then… No. Rain would realize something was wrong when no reinforcements came. He definitely would.

"Okay," he said, more firmly than he felt because Aerith was deathly afraid and she needed him to be strong. "We'll have to do this on our own for a while. Come on, you can't stay alone in the tunnels."

He suspected it was only the conviction in his voice that made her allow him to tow her back in the direction of the battle sounds. When they came to the deserted campfire, though, she stopped and refused to budge, shaking and white as a sheet. Cloud pointed to the girls' alcove.

"Hide there, I'll send Tifa to protect you!"

He didn't want Tifa anywhere near the battle anyway, and this would make it impossible for her to refuse to get inside. Aerith nodded and gladly scurried in the dark corner while he ran to the fight, heart hammering in his chest.

The shock tore through part of the blanket around Sephiroth's mind and his eyes widened just as an arc of blood flew upwards. He made it on one knee without really registering it. He could only see this: Genesis collapsing to the ground, three hideous gashes through his chest, at the feet of the horrified childhood friend he had just saved.

Footsteps. Someone was coming. Sephiroth painfully turned his head; he had never been more grateful to see Rain. The man was aggravatingly competent, surely he would be a huge help in getting rid of this creature. Already he was sweeping the room with his eyes, assessing the situation with cool efficiency. But Rain had barely taken three steps inside when he collapsed to his knees, gasping and clutching at his head.

A much hated voice rose in the air.

"Hold, Destroyer! What's that? Another one? Hum… Why are you affected? Normal SOLDIERs shouldn't be…"

It distantly registered as strange that Rain and him growled in perfect unison, with about the same amount of hate in their voices:

"Hojo…"

It definitely was that monster of a scientist's voice, and it was coming from the creature. No. He could see it, now: some kind of harness around the beast's head; there was the blinking eye of a camera. Hojo was watching his creation from afar. The thought sent his blood boiling, enough that he managed to get up.

"This abomination is yours?" Sephiroth growled.

"Surely you didn't just expect to run away with your merry life?" Hojo mockingly scoffed. "I have invested too much in you to let you go, boy, especially now that some blasted meddler managed to do away with my most inestimable raw material."

"Yes, what a pity your precious Jenova is gone," Sephiroth hissed.

"Who told you about that?" Hojo spat, just as hostile. "Were you the one who destroyed her? No matter. At least I managed to scrape enough of what was left to create this most interesting specimen! He is more than suited to bring you back home! Destroyer, get Sephiroth now!"

The creature wailed a deafening assent and ran to Sephiroth, who could do nothing but awkwardly raise Masamune through the haze in his mind.

"Where are the others?" Zack yelled while they finished dealing with the last wave of assailants.

"There was an attack down there!" Cloud screamed back. "Rain ran back to help without realizing it was a mess here too!"

Zack swore.

"Down in the tunnels? There is only one entrance, how the hell did they manage that!"

Vincent was doing a good job of holding fire against what was probably some of Shinra's best shooters, but it was only a matter of time before he ran out of munitions. Foot soldiers rushed in every time there was a hole in his defence, and it was only the tunnel's narrow configuration that allowed Zack and Cloud to hold them.

They were nearly taken off-guard when, instead of getting the stampede of a half-dozen infantrymen as a warning, two men rushed in and engaged them. Cloud gulped and paled when he saw the glowing eyes of his adversary. These two were SOLDIERs.

It was all he could do to hold on to his belief that nothing would ever be able to keep his brother and Sephiroth busy for long if they actually joined forces.

Sephiroth knew he hadn't imagined that furious battle cry when the creature reared back with an ear-splitting scream, one of its front paws neatly cut off. From where he had rushed in an instant to attack, Rain looked absolutely livid with rage. However he was also sweating heavily from exertion and his wild swing at the monster had made him lose his balance. When Destroyer retorted with a swing of his tail, the hit connected solidly with his torso and sent him flying through the room.

Sephiroth seized the opportunity to shake some of the fog from his mind and rushed its flank, leaving a long and deep wound that made it wail and turn back to face him. Sephiroth cursed his ailment. Used properly, that attack could have killed a dragon in one strike!

Just when Destroyer was snapping his jaws forward, the blue glow of a Limit Break erupted from another part of the room, flew through the air and tore through the monster's scaly throat underside, blood messily bursting from the carotids. Too slow in his current condition, Sephiroth ended up sprayed with blood and dirt when the creature collapsed on its side, dead.

"No!" Hojo screamed. "You useless Hollander spawn, what did you do!"

Angeal's Limit Break faded. He staggered then collapsed to his knees, head in his hands.

"Why won't it stop!" he moaned.

Adrenaline slowly fading, Sephiroth was feeling even fainter too.

"Burn it!" Rain's voice rasped from somewhere. "To ashes!"

"No!" Hojo all but screeched.

Too late: Sephiroth was already whipping out his bracer arm, the fire Materia in it glowing a bright green. He sent the highest level spell he could manage crashing on the monster's body, then did it again and again. Within a minute, even the camera and the microphone were damaged beyond any use, the corpse a revoltingly stinking blackened heap.

Sephiroth gagged at the stench. His magic was completely depleted, but finally, the shroud in his mind vanished.

Angeal scrambled to his feet and rushed back to the other side of the room. Sephiroth's eyes widened. He ran there himself and crouched by Genesis' side. The man was still alive, if barely. Even Angeal's obvious attempts to use Cure on him hadn't done much against the ugliness of his wounds. Genesis was gasping each breath in, face contorted in agony, one of his hands tightly grasping Angeal's.

He slit his eyes open when Sephiroth tentatively took his other hand.

"Ah…" he panted. "Sephiroth… You too… my friend…"

"Don't speak, Genesis, please!" Angeal all but begged, tears in his voice.

Genesis merely smiled, closing his eyes.

"This is… kind of a nice… way to go… actually."

Sephiroth felt him squeeze his fingers and knew it wasn't out of pain. His throat closed. How curious. Was he actually mourning this man?

He heard tired footsteps drawing closer and turned to look at Rain over his shoulder. Whatever the man saw in his eyes made him stop in his steps as if thunderstruck. Rain hesitated, then slowly joined him and set a tentative hand on his shoulder. Sephiroth shivered at the unexpected comforting gesture.

Rain looked up and Sephiroth realized for the first time that they were huddled at the foot of the miraculously intact statue.

"Sorry we didn't completely rid this place of all these J cells, but Genesis is kind of on a tight schedule," Rain rasped. "So if you could still help right now, that'd be very much appreciated."

There was no answer. No flash of light, no heavenly voice, nothing. But as Sephiroth looked down at Genesis in disappointment, he gasped in unison with Angeal. A thin green mist was rising from Genesis' wounds, and soon from his white hair, his shoulders and torso. Genesis' eyes were wide open, his face frozen in a raw expression of divine adoration. Slowly, his eyes closed. A serene smile settled on his lips as he slipped in unconsciousness.

His hair had turned back to their vivid red from before and there was not a trace left of the gruesome wounds. Angeal let an ungloved hand hover above his face.

"He is breathing," he whispered reverently to Sephiroth, eyes shining.

Sephiroth smiled back. Rain was blinking at Genesis, as if not quite believing it had worked.

"Thank you," Angeal fervently told him.

Rain blinked at him, then nodded, his face turning back to something grim.

"I don't mean to be an ass, but I don't think Genesis was the only one running out of time."

"How so?" Sephiroth asked, snapping to attention.

"I asked Cloud to send us help as soon as I heard something going on here. Something is not right up there."

"Let's go," Sephiroth immediately said, rising to his feet.

Angeal gathered Genesis in his arms and rushed out with them. Rain stopped at the door and glanced back at the statue.

"… Thanks for that," Sephiroth heard him say.

Then they were running.

Aerith was shaking like a leaf. Tifa reached back and squeezed her hand, though she didn't feel very confident herself.

"Don't worry, everyone will be okay," she whispered with a bright smile. "That's what SOLDIERs are good for!"

Aerith gave a shaky nod and Tifa squeezed again before turning her attention back to the main cave. They were huddled against each other in the alcove, Tifa balanced on the ball of her feet in expectation of any attack. She cursed in her mind. SOLDIERs were made for fighting, sure, but what good were they when they didn't show up? Cloud and Aerith's boyfriend were holding the fort alone with that creepy sniper while that stupid Rain and the so-called "best SOLDIER" Sephiroth were nowhere to be seen!

Another round of gunshots. Someone screamed nearby and she cringed. Just thinking about Cloud fending off all these soldiers nearly sent her running back to help them, but Aerith needed her. She was her friend, and Tifa wasn't going to let her stay here alone and terrified. If only that idiot Rain had used his brain before dragging the poor girl in this!

She didn't hear them coming above the battle sounds, but suddenly two men rushed in the cavern and crossed it before she could even begin to react. She barely recognized Rain and Sephiroth, weapons in hand, before they disappeared and she was left gaping at their speed.

"Was that…?"

She didn't finish the thought as the other SOLDIER barged in, that crazy friend of his cradled in his arms—had his hair just spontaneously turned from white to red since the last time she had seen him? What the hell?

Angeal spotted them.

"Come on!" he commanded. "This is the only practicable exit, we'll have to force our way through!"

Tifa nodded and didn't let go of Aerith's white hand.

"We packed everything," she said, for now forcing back her anger at their lateness.

She helped Aerith pick up the bags they had gathered in the alcove. Angeal took as much from them as he could, since his original burden already made him unfit to fight. They ran around the tunnel bend and almost immediately collided with Cloud. He was leaning against the wall, pale and gasping, the hand not holding his weapon clutching his side where blood had tainted the fabric red.

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed, alarmed.

She rushed to him, but he gave her a shaky but sincere smile.

"Reinforcements came in just in time."

He jerked his head to the side. Further down the tunnel, Zack and Rain stood on guard while Sephiroth fended off two last attackers, who soon fell to add to the growing pile of bodies on the ground. Aerith gasped and turned her back to the scene and Tifa fought to hold on to her composure. Neither of them were professional fighters and there was so much blood…

"Why would they keep sacrificing so many men?" she whispered, disgusted.

"Seems like they finally asked themselves that," Cloud answered, although it had been a rhetorical question. "They stopped coming the instant they spotted Sephiroth."

"Good timing," Vincent said, coming from nowhere and startling everyone like usual. "I was nearly out of ammunition."

"We need to get out," Angeal said, face sombre.

"Cloud said there had been an attack down there?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, but it came from a near vertical tunnel. Climbing it would take too much time and we have no way of knowing if the other side would be guarded."

Zack was sweaty and a cut near his brow had blood running along his face.

"Things don't look too good," he admitted, uncharacteristically solemn.

"We need a diversion," Rain decided in his usual "this is the way it should be" manner.

"To do what?" Tifa huffed. "You think we'd all be able to run out of here and get to safety before the truckload of Shinra goons out there get back on our case? They probably have our cars, too."

"We can, if Sephiroth and I take the fight to them."

Tifa threw her arms in the air, exasperated.

"Like you'd manage that with just the two of you!"

"No," Sephiroth contested, eyes cold and calculating, "Rain's right. The main problem is the snipers, but if we could just get a head start, we are both quick enough to take them down so that the rest of you can flee."

"No one is as quick as you, Sephiroth," Zack said with a tired laugh.

"Rain is," Sephiroth affirmed, which seemed to momentarily stun Zack.

"It's a good plan," Angeal nodded, "and I think I have just what you need."

He shifted his grip on Genesis to show his Materia bracer, where one of the spheres was already glowing bright green.

"Quake," Sephiroth said approvingly.

"Cloud, you'll be okay to run?" Rain asked, eyes piercing.

Although he was still clutching his side, Cloud nodded.

"Not for too long, but I can hold my own for a while."

"Then brace yourself and get ready," Sephiroth ordered. "Get in the jungle and run as far as you can. Rain and I will catch up."

They all nodded and suddenly, the ground was shaking like the end of the world was coming. They heard startled cries from outside and Sephiroth and Rain were gone in a flash of movement so quick Tifa barely caught it.

"Anyone else getting déjà-vu?" Zack asked Angeal and Cloud, smiling, as dust rained on them from the tunnel's ceiling.

The screams outside shifted in tone and gunshots began to ring in the air.

"Go!" Angeal shouted as his spell started to fade.

Zack launched himself out, sword drawn. Tifa took Aerith's hand again, raised her free fist and followed behind him. Angeal and Cloud were quick on their heels, with Vincent bringing up their rear. Some infantrymen immediately tried to attack them, but they didn't have much luck against Zack and Vincent's combined defence. Tifa focused on getting the terrified Aerith to the tree-line, blocking as much of the battle from her as she could. When she sneaked a glance around, she barely saw Sephiroth and Rain; they were blurs of movement right in the middle of the enemy's numbers and men fell by the dozen under their blades. She could admit it to herself, at least: suddenly, they frightened her.

Some soldier rushed toward Aerith and her. Tifa let her fear and her anger lend her strength and laid him out in two quick hits. Master Zangan would have been proud. Heart in her throat, she tugged Aerith forward and they finally made it under the trees. Angeal was already wading in the undergrowth and she focused on following him, glancing back to see Cloud and Zack behind them. Vincent had disappeared again, presumably to provide some cover for Sephiroth and Rain's retreat.

They ran.

Until the sounds of the battle began to wane behind them, and even further, until Aerith collapsed, out of breath and utterly unable to take another step forward. Zack immediately squatted next to her.

"Hey Aerith. Here, I'll carry you."

Aerith gasped and buried her face in his chest, bursting into tears. Zack looked stricken and Tifa glared at him like it was his personal fault that she had been swept in this mess.

"The poor girl is terrified out of her mind. I guess it's not too surprising for a SOLDIER to see so many people dying, but not all of us are professional killers, you know!" she snapped.

Aerith cried even harder and she instantly felt bad. On behalf of who was she mad exactly, Aerith or herself? If she was honest with herself, she wasn't feeling much better than her friend, she was just prouder and better at pretending. Zack's eyes on her could as well have been those of a puppy she had kicked and she felt even guiltier. This mess wasn't his fault in the first place; it was Rain's.

"Tifa…" Cloud whispered, trying to put a calming hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged it off and stepped away, hugging herself. Their three missing members emerged from the trees.

"Why did you stop?" Sephiroth asked. "We have to keep going. The survivors will surely ask for reinforcements."

"Oh, because you left some alive?" Tifa couldn't help but snarl.

Cloud jumped like she had committed some sort of ultimate sin, but Sephiroth barely gave her a glance.

"Is anyone unable to continue?"

"I—I'll carry Aerith," Zack said, voice subdued.

He lifted her off the ground, though he now seemed thoroughly ashamed to be touching her in his blood-splattered clothes. Good, Tifa peevishly thought. He should be. Aerith was too innocent for someone like him.

"Cloud?" Rain asked, coming to his "brother".

"I'd appreciate some support," Cloud admitted.

His face was pale but his smile sincere. Sephiroth wordlessly walked to Angeal and relieved him of Genesis' weight. In silence, they carried on through the jungle.