I do not own anything nor do I make any money from this story. All rights apply.

[A/N Wa ha~! We have a 'mystery' guest…]

The Price of Freedom – Burden of Truth

Village had been a strong word. Lonely hamlet better suited the sad collection of houses that Zack was currently making his way toward. Circumstances were that Cloud was with him. Ideally Zack wanted to enter the village alone, secure transport for a night crossing and get Cloud into the boat under the cover of darkness. However, the massive expanse of dry plain that they had been travelling across offered no such option – there was no cover anywhere, nowhere to hide Cloud. His only option would have been to leave him out in the open, completely exposed, kilometres from the village with nightfall approaching. It just wasn't going to happen.

So with a heavy heart, they made their way forward. As they got closer, Zack counted seven houses in total – all various sizes and stages of weathering, but maintained well enough. At first he saw no one, and he thought maybe it was abandoned but a skinny dog lifted its head as they entered and headed over for a sniff. A little further into the village he found a few women in a circle fixing a fishing net, chatting away merrily. A short way away sat a weathered man smoking a pipe, his gazed off into the distance. Zack decided to give him a skip – he didn't look too much like trouble, he just looked lazy and troublesome.

"Hello," called Zack as he approached the women.

He received a chorus of greetings and smiling faces. That is, until they saw his eyes and Cloud. Zack didn't lose his friendly demeanour, pretending he didn't notice the change in the women.

"I'm looking for passage across the sea," he said, "do you know of anyone crossing?"

The women glanced at each other, they were nervous and unhappy with Zack's presence.

"All the boats are currently out, they'll be gone for a few days," said one of the younger women.

"We can't help you," added another.

"Okay," smiled Zack. Frustration and resentment at ShinRa building inside of him again. "Thanks." He added as he headed out the village.

"I have a boat," said the smoking man as Zack passed him.

Zack stopped.

"You do?" he asked slightly suspiciously.

"Yeah," drawled the man.

Zack heard the displeasure of the women behind him but he ignored it.

"Can it cross the sea?" asked Zack. He wasn't so sure about the man.

"Nah, it needs fixing," he said. "But, if you help me fix it I'll take you across the sea."

"I don't really know anything about boats," said Zack.

"Can you buy some wood?" asked the man.

Zack nodded.

"Buy me some wood and I will take you across the sea," amended the man.

Zack looked around unsure of the sudden change of events. The women were completely ignoring him so no help from there. But man in front of him just didn't look trustful. His choices were just so limited – he didn't have any.

"Okay," said Zack hoping he wasn't making another mistake.

"Tamir," said the man holding out his hand as he stood.

"Zack and Cloud," said Zack with a head nod in Cloud's direction. "Can't really take your hand," he added.

"What's up with your friend?" asked Tamir narrowing his eyes.

"He's just a little sick," answered Zack without embellishment.

"It's not catchy, is it?" asked Tamir now leaning back.

"No," said Zack firmly.

"Okay, this way," said Tamir putting his pipe back in his mouth.

Tamir lead them to his house, it was a little further along the shore. Zack could see a boat pulled up high on the shore in from of the …shack. The house looked to be made of driftwood with sheets of rusted steel for a roof – not at all like the weathered houses where the women sat. There was a chair by the door with only three legs, a pile of stones served as a fourth. Tamir pushed open the door and went inside, Zack followed a little slower. The doorway was narrow while the door itself appeared to be held by strings.

It was gloomy inside and smelt of fish and smoke. A large sleeping pallet took up most of the left side of the room and there was a table under the only window on the right. An odd assortment of jars stood on the table along with a couple of plates and mugs. There was a fire pit in the middle of the house and a small hole in the roof. It was misaligned and Zack correctly guessed that smoke from the fire accumulated on the ceiling. A blacken pot and grill rested next to the fire pit. Zack was having reservation about the whole situation – he dreaded what the boat would look like.

"You can put your friend there," said Tamir waving his hand at the pallet.

The last thing Zack wanted to do was put Cloud on that pallet. His imagination ran wild with all the bug and germ possibilities the pallet had, but his host was waiting expectantly so Zack gingerly lay Cloud down. Surprisingly, the pallet was a lot cleaner than Zack had anticipated. It was old but looked like it was cleaned regularly.

"I'm going to get some firewood," said Tamir knocking his pipe against the fire pit. "I only have some barley and dried fish at the moment."

"We have some rations we can add," said Zack putting his pack on the table.

Tamir nodded approvingly as he mooched out the hut.

Zack took a moment to study the interior of the hut. It was old, falling apart but it was clean and tidy. From the looks of it, Tamir, and the village, didn't have much money. Zack would come to realise that the reason Tamir's house looked like it did was because he was incredibly lazy.

After Tamir returned, got the fire going and set some barley boiling, he led Zack to the boat. From afar the boat looked to be in poor condition, up close it was in terrible condition. There were holes along the water line and the gunwales were rotted and crumbling. Even as Zack tested the edge it flaked away.

"She's a bit of a bad way but not unsalvageable," said Tamir. "Her frame is still solid."

Zack had his doubts but not only where they edging close to Gongaga, they were also running out of time. Cissnei had only delayed Tseng. The Turks would be back on their trail soon enough.

"Where's the motor?" asked Zack looking at the empty engine well.

"Oh, behind the house," said Tamir. "It's still good."

Zack doubted it was good. Judging by the rest of the boat, Zack guessed the engine to be in the same condition. Tamir let slip as he lead Zack round the house that he hadn't wanted the engine to fall through the engine well and get damaged, or worse, fall into the sea. He had taken it out and put it under a tarp behind his house, somewhat protected from the sea breeze. The tarp looked to be the newest thing Tamir owned but the engine was just as old, battered and spotted with rust as Zack expected, but he could see new parts here and there.

"Okay," said Zack taking his eyes off the motor. "Where will you get the wood?"

"There's a village half a day away; you can get the wood there," said Tamir.

Zack shook his head at the 'you'.

"No," he said, "I will give you the money, you will buy the wood."

Tamir shrugged.

"Sure. But it's a bit late to start today. I'll go tomorrow morning."

XxX

Tamir left a lot later in the morning that Zack would have for a round trip to a village half a day away. He gave Tamir a fair amount of money – Tamir couldn't give him an accurate number and Zack had no idea how much wood cost. He just had to trust that Tamir wouldn't rob him blind.

After Tamir left, Zack went for a walk along the coast with Cloud. He walked in the shallows getting Cloud used to the waves. From his frown, Zack guessed he didn't really like it but he didn't make any verbal or physical protest. In the afternoon he sat Cloud on the chair by the doorway and moved through a series of kata, explaining the finer points as he went, how best to place a shot, how to look for weaknesses in an opponent.

That evening Zack made them a meal of barley and rations – it was odd but filled a hole. It took Cloud ages to through half the bowl Zack had dished and Zack wondered if he was still upset from the afternoon. But upset or not, Cloud slept quietly through the night.

The following afternoon saw no sign of Tamir so Zack made his way over to one of the women who was hanging some washing on a line strung between two houses. She didn't look happy to see him coming over but she didn't leave either. Zack decided to discard with the pleasantries.

"I was wondering where Tamir was? He was supposed to buy wood."

"Did you give him money," she asked with a sigh.

"Yeah."

The woman just shook her head at his apparent foolishness and went back to hanging her washing.

Zack took it to mean the conversation was over and ambled back to Tamir's house. He was getting a little annoyed with himself for the near constant mistakes he seemed to be making. Did he now stay and wait? Or did he cut his losses and move on. The woman had implied that Zack's money was now gone.

Zack decided he would give Tamir a couple of days before he made a decision. Not that he needed too – Tamir returned later that evening with the wood on a chocobo drawn cart. A young man was walking at the chocobo's head.

"Where have you been?" asked Zack.

"Buying wood," answered Tamir. "You need to pay this guy for bring it."

"What happened to the money I gave you!?"

"I bought wood," said Tamir.

"And?" pressed Zack.

"Well, I had to stay somewhere while I organised the wood," said Tamir.

"Fine," bit out Zack and went to get some more money.

He was pleased to notice that while he had been gone, the young man had unloaded the wood at the back of the house. He paid the man and bid him goodbye before returning the front of the house. He paused when he saw Tamir crouched down in front of Cloud. Cloud appeared to be looking at Tamir, which pleased Zack. He had noticed that Cloud was looking at things and people quite often rather than staring out blankly. He just hoped that Cloud would start to recognise what he was looking at.

With a smile, Tamir stood and rooted in his bag. He pulled out a floppy brimmed hat and stuck it on Cloud's head before going inside. It was a nice thing to do, but Zack couldn't help wondering if he had bought that hat. The whole exercise had cost him a lot more than he wanted to spend, and he couldn't very well go out and earn some more money. Once they had crossed the sea, they had to be doubly careful of their movements.

XxX

That evening Tamir cooked up a feast of a stew. He had bought a few supplies and set about making a meat and vegetable stew. The smell was heavenly – barley, rations and dried fish was okay but Zack was getting a little tired of it.

Cloud also seemed to enjoy the change, he ate all that Zack put in the bowl. Zack was contemplating trying a second amount of stew as Tamir lit the lamp and moved outside.

"Are you still hungry?" Zack asked Cloud.

Cloud didn't answer, that was expected. But what was unexpected was the way he was looking at the open doorway. He was looking at it. It looked like he was waiting for something, he even tilted his head slightly.

Tamir returned while Zack was still watching Cloud watching the door so he saw how Cloud reacted. He looked a little relieved and followed Tamir across the room. His movement steady and sure.

Zack grinned.

"Spiky."

But as he moved into Cloud's line of sight, the blond tried to look past him – tilting his head and moving his upper body.

Zack frowned, and turned to look behind him. He felt somewhat hurt by Cloud's actions until he realised Tamir was still holding the lamp.

"Tamir," called Zack. "Could you take the lamp to the door?"

There was a pause but Tamir did as he asked. The relief was back in Cloud's eyes, and he followed the light to the door.

Zack felt a zing of excitement run though his body.

Cloud recognised the light.

XxX

The following day they started working on the boat – they? Tamir spent more time telling Zack what to do than doing the work himself. Zack wasn't particularly perturbed about it, he worked faster, and longer, than Tamir anyway. Tamir guessed they would have the boat ready in two days. That meant they would have been delayed by nearly a week. Plus the three days to cross the sea…

Zack ran the sandpaper along the gunwales in long even strokes, idly wondering why delays caused him to fret so much. It was true he wanted to get to Midgar and Aerith, but it was just true that he couldn't move as quickly as he wanted – he had Cloud and he couldn't take direct routes. There was no point in fretting, but even though he knew this, it didn't make him not fret.

Thinking about Aerith always made Zack take note of his surroundings, looking at the things he would tell her later. He paused his work and took a look around - the sun was bright in the sky and there was no wind to move the wood dust from Zack's face. He wasn't too concerned about it, he was almost enjoying himself. He stood imagining this as his future life – working with his hands, making things. Aerith would be with him, maybe sitting on a chair where Cloud now sat. Of course, a much prettier house in a greener environment with perhaps a river and a wood nearby they could have picnics in. It would be a good simple life.

But he wasn't sure he wanted a simple life. He liked the excitement his life gave him, the slight edge to his living. Maybe he could do something more exciting from time to time but still have a simple life with Aerith? What kind of job could he do that would make him enough money to life but also allowed him to be with Aerith in the country. He definitely wanted to take Aerith to the countryside. He would take her and her mother away from the cold metal of Midgar.

He glanced over at Cloud wondering, not for the first time, what he wanted to do. Would he want to stay in Midgar? Would he come live with him and Aerith? His whole life had been destroyed, he had nothing left. Zack left lucky to have Aerith, and his parents. Cloud had no one left. All he had was Zack.

Zack gave himself a little shake.

"This boat isn't going to sand itself," he said and went back to work.

XxX

"No."

Tamir refused to leave at night – it was one point he would not be swayed.

"The coast is no place for night sailing. I might be okay along this coast, but I've never landed at the Woodland Area. And you don't want to go to Junon. Leave in the morning, arrive in the afternoon – all in the light."

"Okay, okay," said Zack forced to yield to Tamir's logic and his inability to sail. "But we leave early."

Tamir looked like he wanted to protest but didn't.

That night Zack sat watching the fire burn down. He had taken to doing so, planning their next route, trying to think where the Turks would be looking. He also wanted more information on the happening of ShinRa. The last he had heard had been from Lucas and that was months ago, he needed something more current if he wanted to get into Midgar unnoticed.

He glanced at Cloud – should they get more disguises? Or would they be better off in uniform? How welcome were SOLDIERs in Midgar?

Another glance at Cloud showed he was sleeping. Zack got up and turned off the lamp. Since Zack had noticed Cloud watching the light, he had left it on until he fell asleep. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not but Cloud seemed to be sleeping better because of it.

The following morning dawned as all previous mornings. Zack, not one to look for signs in things, was pleased and took it as a good sign anyway. As Zack was packing the boat, Tamir told him the weather looked good and he didn't think there would be any bad weather for a few days. And with good weather they would definitely made the journey in three days.

Loading the boat with supplies and getting Cloud settled went smoothly. The engine started without a hitch and by eight o'clock they were on their way. The crossing, however, turned out to be something of a nightmare. The endless rolling and rocking, the hum and vibration of the engine, the salt spray, never being dry, cold food, Cloud getting sick and being in a near constant state of panic. When Zack has spotted land on the third morning, he thought it would be over soon. He was wrong – the strip of land remained a taunting strip on the horizon all morning. And even when he could see definition, it still took them hours to reach the shore.

Tamir didn't want to get too close to the shore while they looked for a place to land in case he got grounded, and Zack was more than keen to get off the boat so they decided he and Cloud would swim ashore as soon as they were close enough rather than sailing up and down the coast looking for a place to land.

But even that took a while – land just seemed so far out of reach. It felt elusive, like Midgar.

"Okay," said Tamir after what felt like a lifetime to Zack. "You should be fine from here."

"Thanks," said Zack shouldering his pack and sword. "Once I'm in, lower Cloud to me, please."

Tamir nodded and watched as Zack slipped into the waves. Once Zack had adjusted to the water, Tamir attempted to gently slip Cloud over the side but it was more of a drop. Zack managed to grab hold of Cloud's upper body before he went under. Zack was slightly worried that Cloud made no sound at suddenly finding himself in the ocean. But then again, he had been so seasick the last couple of days, Zack guessed he was still feeling like crap and wouldn't notice more misery atop his current misery.

Once he had Cloud secure, he looked over at Tamir.

"Thanks, Tamir."

Again Tamir just nodded. He looked like he wanted to say something but instead he raised his hand in a wave. It was only once they were in the breakers and Zack was hauling Cloud and himself through the surf to the shore that Tamir started the engine and turned the boat around.

"Well," sighed Zack once they were safely on the beach, "one step closer, Cloud."

Zack decided to stay where they were for the night and start travelling again in the morning. He made a small fire to cook something warm and to try dry themselves a bit. But the salt held moisture and getting dry was not something they were going to accomplish without a fresh water rinse. First order of tomorrow would be to find some fresh water – both for washing and for drinking.

But for now, some proper rest on solid ground.

XxX

Lyle slumped back against his desk as the red blade slid free of his chest. It had been a mistake to use that SOLDIER guy a few weeks back. He had mentioned that the Turks were after him, but the SOLDIER before him wasn't a Turk. It was a mistake he only realised now as his killer flicked his blood off his rapier and stepped gracefully out the room, reciting poetry as he left.

Even if the morrow is barren of promises,
nothing shall forestall my return.