Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.
A/N: If I didn't respond to your review, I'm sorry. This is kind of a transition chapter, so if you like transition chapters, please enjoy.
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Thanks to my beta Queen of Jokers! My other beta is unavailable for now, so it is all falling on QoJ.
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -Dr. Suess
Chapter 23
'Where am I? This is too comfortable for the ground,' Zack sat up with a start, "Spike!" A quiet cry of pain left him at the sudden movement. Pretty landscape pictures hanging on the wall opposite of him decorated the bedroom he was in.
A woman with a kind face put her hand on his shoulder and gently urged him to lie back down, "Easy there, you lost a lot of blood."
Refusing her silent request to lay back down, he remained sitting and noticed a dresser behind the woman, it had bandages and two glasses of water sitting on a pretty lace doily. Zack grabbed his chest and winced, "Where is my friend?" Looking down, he noticed his wounds dressed almost professionally.
"Oh, he's in the bed over there," She pointed at another bed next to a large picture window.
Zack looked him over from his bed, "How is he?"
"He's doing fine now, but he lost a lot of blood too. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do anything to help, but he pulled through." She stood up and returned the wash cloth to the basin on the table next to the bed.
"Thank you ma'am," Zack swung his legs over the side of the bed, "Where are we?"
"You're at my house in Bennett Pass, my name is Grace. What is your name?" She smiled and her smile was disarmingly pleasant. Grace was true to her name, she was a beautiful woman who had wonderful grey hair that flowed over her shoulders. Her movements were graceful and when her hands moved, it was like they floated in water. With the graceful fluid movements, she reminded him of Aerith.
He looked down at his bandages on his chest again then to the door and back at her, "Oh, I'm…Noah." The name ran a spark of pain through his heart. He remembered his sacrifice when he had tried to help them.
"It's nice to meet you Noah," She winked at him about his name.
"Your friend doesn't seem like he's waking up. The blood loss must have done more damage than I originally thought." She walked over to Cloud's bedside and sat down next to him, "He also seems to have trouble with nightmares too. He scratched himself pretty badly, but I got him fixed up," She lifted one of Cloud's bandages and applied some ointment.
Zack moved forward to stand, "No, he's sick. He's been out of it for a while now. How long have we been here?"
"Well you have been in and out for about nine days now," She taped Cloud's bandages up again.
Zack startled at her answer, "Nine days?! Geez, I didn't realize. I'm sorry."
She waved him off, "It is no trouble, really. Do you think you could eat something?" She asked as she handed him a bowl of stew.
"Oh, yes Ma'am! Thank you. We'll eat and then we will get out of your hair. We've imposed enough."
"Oh it is no bother at all. I left a bowl of stew for your friend over there on the night table. I will leave so you can have some privacy," She got up and walked out the door and closed it behind her with a genuine beautiful smile.
Zack ate his stew down and he was a lot hungrier than he thought. Getting up to feed Cloud, realizing he and Cloud were in clean boxers and pajama pants, Zack snickered to himself, "So much for privacy." Cloud opened his eyes and he looked over to his left out the window, "You ready to eat buddy?" Zack lifted his head a little and put a small spoonful of the broth in his mouth. Swallowing it, he indicated that he wanted more, "That's a good sign. You know you scared the hell out of me." Cloud's eyes shifted to Zack, but looked through him.
Cloud finished his stew and drank some water and then started to groan and frown. Zack went to get him up and winced at his own pain in his chest and leg. When Zack got him sitting on the side of the bed, Cloud stood up by himself. With Cloud's arm around his neck, he walked to the bathroom holding on to Zack, "With this improvement, maybe you should have gotten shot earlier." Zack giggled, but Cloud's head wobbled forward.
As he got Cloud back to his bed and Zack looked out the window again to see where he was. He had to get his bearings. He opened the door to the hallway slowly and heard voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying at first. It seemed like a benign conversation. The other person left and Grace was coming back upstairs, "Oh, you're up, I just had a delivery of groceries. Are you still hungry?"
Zack smiled his best disarming smile and said, "We really must get going."
"Oh you can stay as long as you need," She brought in the food and put it next to the empty glasses.
"Would you happen to have a map of this area? I lost mine a little while ago," Zack smacked himself in the forehead mentally for forgetting the map at Charles's house. He hadn't even thought about looking for it.
"Yes," She walked over to a drawer and pulled a huge map out, "Here you go honey."
Zack studied the map for a while and determined a good route to take. Of course the map had to have been as old as he was, it wasn't exactly reliable. He smiled and thought to himself, 'I sure could use Seph's brain maps right about now.'
The route he picked took them along the tree line until it went into more ridges. The ridges would be a problem. Zack informed Grace that they were in trouble and Shinra was after them. He didn't want to stay any longer because he really didn't want her to get hurt.
The kindly woman understood, but told them to stay for at least another day to rest, "I can keep an eye on your wounds. I must say that both of you heal really quickly."
Zack smiled a nervous smile and looked away from her gaze. He was glad that the bullets had gone through and through, except the one in his chest had shattered. She said that she had been able to get most of it, but the rest of it wouldn't do anymore damage.
That night he got Cloud up and he stood without help, but no walking this time, "That's okay. You can do your tricks later." After he got Cloud fed and in bed, he got into his bed. He lay there listening to the sound of Cloud breathing. Whatever it was that caused him to wake up that one time, it still had his interest piqued. Zack wondered if it had something to do with that woman in the lab. He nodded to himself that she was the reason.
As Zack fell asleep, he thought of Aerith...
The road lay out in front of him and he knew the way to where he really wanted to go. He passed the playground and walked until he could see the church. 'Is she in there? Will she be happy to see me?' Zack stood in front of the steps and they never seemed this steep before. For each step he took, two more appeared at the top. He started running up the stairs and he could see the last stair and if he could just run faster, he could make it. Sweat drenched his face and shirt and he panted in exhaustion.
Just as he thought he would never make it to the top, he fell forward and lay on the top stair. His eyes scanned forward and the doors to the church were ajar and a thin stream of dim light illuminated part of his face. Pulling himself to his feet, he lurched forward and pushed the ten ton door out of his path. His hands found purchase on the back of a pew and the weather-beaten wood scraped at his skin.
The brightest light yet turned to him and when she smiled and was blinded by the brilliance of her beauty. Staggering forward, he reached out to touch her sweet soft hand.
Just before he could touch her though, the floor under her began to shake and she fell to her knees and grabbed at the floor to steady herself. From underneath her a splintering of the wooden floor ruptured and a mako tank burst out of the floor and trapped Aerith inside of it.
"Zack!" Her petite hands went to fists as she hit the glass of the tank. Blood splattered from her fists as the glass seemed to cut into her efforts to escape, "Help me Zack!"
Taking his feet one step at a time, his feet sank into the floor as he sunk down between the planks of wood. He reached for her and screamed out, "Aerith! No!" A flood of panic washed over him at the sight of water beginning to fill the tank as it showered over her head. The waterfall of mako tinged water filled the tank up at an alarming rate. He could do nothing as he watched her scream for him and then when the water reached the top, he awoke to more screaming...
The screaming was actually Cloud and Zack got up and held his wrists. His eyes were open and he was seeing something that terrified him, "Spiky, calm down buddy, I'm right here." As Cloud finally started calming down, he grabbed Zack's arm tightly. Zack crawled in bed next to him and Cloud slept the rest of the night holding his arm.
The next morning Grace filled them up with breakfast. She added some medical supplies they would need for their wounds. As he placed the things she handed him, into the bag, Zack asked, "Are you sure I can't do something for you, anything?"
"Anything?" She asked and Zack nodded, she smiled a large beautiful smile and said, "Take care of yourself and that other young man." She patted his arm and leaned up to kiss him on his cheek, "Good bye Noah."
"Yes Ma'am," Zack smiled and went to the other side of town and headed out.
While walking, Zack began to worry about Sephiroth, because the General was pretty much known the world over. The thought crossed his mind that going to Casa Del Sol might be a bad idea. He would consult the map again in the morning. At that moment, he was really just exhausted. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were aching and burning. Since Cloud had refused to move his feet, it forced Zack to carry him. Since he had put on more weight, it was getting more difficult to carry him for long periods of time. He tried putting him down again and with Zack supporting him, he would walk slowly. Zack couldn't get him to walk as fast as he did the day that they were shot.
Running into bandits was not a thought that Zack relished but he figured it would happen again. He would keep a closer eye out this time and hopefully it wouldn't happen again.
The dark sky swallowed the sun, so they stopped for the night. After eating, they settled in for the night. They were still a couple of weeks away from Casa Del Sol, when a noise woke him. Cloud was sleeping next to him and when Zack opened his eyes, he jumped ready for a battle.
"Hello Zackary."
"Seph!" Zack jumped and grabbed him into a hug.
With a small smile, "Zackary, I believe I have warned you about this before."
Zack completely ignored Sephiroth, however, both were smiling, "I was wondering what happened." Zack finally let him out of the hug.
Sephiroth changed his look to dead seriousness. He put his hands on Zack's shoulders and forced Zack into eye contact, "Are you okay?"
"Why do you ask that?" He inquisitively asked with raised eyebrows.
Sephiroth paused, "I found Charles."
Zack immediately dropped his eyes and his tone, doused with a little more sadness than he liked, "Oh, yeah. I-I'm fine." Dropping his shoulders, Zack went back over to where Cloud was laying and sat down.
Sephiroth moved over and sat down across from Zack and Cloud, "How in the world did he capture you in the first place?" Sephiroth paused at Zack's long face, "I just need to know that you're okay."
Zack shifted his weight and re-crossed his legs in front of him, "Well I'll tell you the short version. I put Cloud down to look at my map. Spike opened his eyes and was looking behind me, but before I knew it, Charles hit me and knocked me out. He hauled me and Cloud to his workshop of horror. Tied me up and gave me a shot of something and… um, he called some friends…" Zack averted his gaze away from Sephiroth again. Inside, Zack cringed and hated this line of questioning. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Anyway, Cloud woke up, killed them and got me off the table-" He paused and cleared his throat again, "…he untied me."
Understandably knowing Zack's reluctance to reveal details, Sephiroth changed the direction of the conversation, "Cloud woke up? Can I ask you what night it was that he woke up?"
"To be honest, I don't know for sure. Me and Cloud were out of it for a while after we got shot."
"You were shot?!"
"Yeah, bandit's ambushed us. The weird thing is that after he had woken up at Charles's house, he seemed to get worse for a while." Zack rubbed his chest where the bullet pierced his body, "Why do you want to know what day it was?"
"Well I had a visitor of the winged sort. She asked me where her father was," They both looked over at Cloud lying bundled up in the blanket sleeping soundly. Cloud's face was all that was showing since Zack completely wrapped him in the blanket in what the brunette affectionately called a Cloud burrito, "I don't know what she wants with him, but I am guessing it cannot be good anytime that Hojo is involved. By the way, thank you for your care package at the house."
"No problem, I figured if you came that way you would need it. I'm not real thrilled you went into the workshop, but I'm glad you caught up with us. We have a couple of hours before dawn, we should get some rest," Zack figured he probably wouldn't be able to sleep. There were just too many things rolling around in his head.
The next morning, Cloud would not eat, open his eyes, stand, nothing. Zack put him over his shoulder and Sephiroth carried the bags, "Hey Seph, can you feel Cloud's feelings anymore?"
From over his shoulder, the former General said, "I think that is why I ended up at Charles's house and then found you."
"Hey, what took you so long catching up to us anyway? I was starting to think that they had caught you again," Zack stumbled and Cloud grunted at the sudden pressure in his stomach from Zack's shoulder.
"Shinra had a bigger military presence looking for us than we originally thought. I led them in one direction and then I backtracked and went a different way. When I backtracked again I almost ran right into them-," Sephiroth stopped and held his hand up and whispered, "Helicopter."
They ran back into some large bushes that lined one side of the ridge face. Getting down, they crowded together under the thick foliage and against the rock wall. The helicopter hovered not too far from where they had been. Zack got Sephiroth's attention and mouthed, "Turks." Sephiroth nodded his head. Covering a little better with the brown blanket they had, they waited. The helicopter never landed, but it circled the area in a circular search pattern. After waiting, the helicopter moved on to another area. When they couldn't hear the helicopter any more they decided to try to get going before it came back.
Zack got out doing a quick check. When the coast was clear, Sephiroth grabbed Cloud and pulled him out and then grabbed the bags. Zack picked Cloud back up over his shoulder and the blond let a wild kick fly out and he got a crotch shot on the brunette.
Going down with a shriek, he dropped Cloud and landed on him in his agony. Sephiroth turned around at the ruckus behind him. Zack was rolling side to side on his back breathing hard and grunting in pain, holding himself. Cloud was lying on the ground and Zack's head and shoulder were on Cloud's stomach. Before Sephiroth could get a hold of himself, he burst into laughter.
"Aaahhh, it's…not funny man…he kicked me in my junk!"
"Zackary, I am sorry for laughing, but this sight is… well, it's funny," Sephiroth put his hand on a boulder to hold himself up.
Zack started to get up and he was slowly making his way back to his feet, "Stop freakin laughing! That shit hurts!" Once they both regained their composure, they gathered everything back up. Zack looked down at Cloud and was a little reluctant to pick him up at first, "He got me good too! I'll probably never father children now!" He adjusted himself again, winced and picked Cloud up in a bridal carry and said to him, "When you wake up, I get a free kick to your junk!"
They walked out to a clearing. From now on they would be exposed in the open. Sticking to as many outcroppings as possible, they could still be seen from above. Being able to hear things from far away did have its advantages.
"Hey Seph, what are you going to do when we get back to Midgar?" Zack re-adjusted his footing so he didn't fall again. He looked back up at Sephiroth's back, "I mean it's not like no one knows you. Your face is all over the city."
"I thought of that, but I have not thought of anything to help," Sephiroth paused and looked ahead at the upcoming terrain, "If you think of something, please, I am open to suggestions."
"We could dye your hair," Zack smiled a little at the thought of Sephiroth being a blond or even the dreaded brunette.
Sephiroth stopped, stood up straight, turned around and looked in his eyes, "No dye job." He turned back around and walked along, "Besides, I already tried that. The dye won't stay on my hair."
"What about a haircut?" Zack had to smile at the thought of the Great Sephiroth, no, the Beautiful Sephiroth that girls and women swooned for and admired him and his hair, with suddenly shorter hair.
Sephiroth paused again and looked over his shoulder, "No Zackary, I can just wear a hat or something until we get some place to stay," He looked forward and continued walking.
"I really don't see you as a hat person, but we gotta do something. You gotta stay out of sight as much as possible," Zack started to get a little concerned, but the thought of Sephiroth in a hat with frills, flowers or even a fish on it made him chuckle.
Lowering his hands from his face, all he saw was barren wasteland all around him. "Where am I? I just want to go back. Please just let me go back."
A voice boomed over him, "Back to where?"
"I want to go back with my friends, they need me."
"You helped one of them didn't you? Why would you want to go back to all that pain, despair, and sorrow?"
"Please let me go," Cloud pleaded as he stood up.
"You still have work to do, things that are very important."
In a quiet low voice, "What do I have to do?"
Jenova showed herself then. Cloud winced and stepped back, "Do not be afraid of me. It is just a simple task."
"If I do it, can I go back to my friend?"
"Of course my love. All you have to do is give her a name."
"Who?" Cloud took a step back. Jenova stepped forward and took his hand and placed it on her heart.
"The one who will call you father."
"You will let me go after that?" Cloud's eyes welled slightly.
Jenova smiled, "Yes, you will get to go back to your friends, until her time comes, but a name first."
Cloud shook his head while he looked at the ground and made fists of his hands, "Can I think about it?"
She nodded her head slowly and wrapped her arms around him, her dress enveloped him, "Oh, there is just one more thing." The scream could be heard all over the wasteland. It echoed back into Cloud's ears as his body convulsed in the agony of Jenova's embrace.
The mountain pass that went around Coral was a rugged road. Several nights, they huddled together in the blanket to keep the frigid winds from draining anymore of their precious body heat. One night in particular, Cloud had awakened with convulsions and ending in a scream. When he started clawing at his body, Zack grabbed his wrists. Cloud's eyes opened and he seemed to actually see Zack and then he was gone. Zack was hopeful that Cloud would get better, but it had been a few months that they had been on the road now. Before they escaped, he had been like this for several months in the lab too. Still, Zack knew he was going to see his friend again.
After getting through the mountain pass, they came across the small town of Skiba. They needed more supplies and figured a stay might be possible to rest up. Zack left Cloud with Sephiroth and went to check things out. The way that the town was, north of the mountain pass, it seemed quaint and quiet. Zack went to the Inn that had cute little vacation cottages instead of rooms. He asked if he and his brothers could stay in exchange for helping out around town. It just so happened that they needed a stocker at the market and a handy man around town. Zack got the key to the room and was told he needed to meet the at the Inn office at eight in the morning. He had asked for the cottage farthest away, saying that they liked it quiet.
After dark, Zack went back and got Cloud and Sephiroth and snuck them into the little cottage. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised that it was really rather nicely decorated. He could tell that it was a woman who decorated though. It had pretty pictures of flowers and fields of flowers. The flowers reminded him of Aerith, he couldn't wait to see her again. Two full size beds with multicolored blankets covered the back wall.
Getting settled in their cottage, Zack took Cloud and sat him down on a chair that looked comfortable enough to sleep in. Sephiroth called the shower first, so while he was in the bathroom, Zack took the opportunity to check out the television. There was nothing really earth shattering going on. He turned Cloud around so he could see the television and continued to flip through the channels. One of the channels had the movie that he, Cloud and Kunsel had gone to see, "You wanna watch this?" Looking at his face, his eyes were half closed, "You can watch this until it's time for your bath. Don't think you're going to get out of a bath either, you are ripe!"
Steam flowed out of the opening door to the bathroom, "Is there any hot water left?" Zack questioned Sephiroth with a slight smile as he exited the bathroom. Sephiroth smirked at him and finished towel drying his hair.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."
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