A/N: Many times I've had a story I follow updated due to the author wanting to post a chapter for their birthday. I thought it was a fun idea and always wanted to try it so here it is. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Eight: Treasure Senses
On the far side of the swamp, thick grey clouds swallowed the mountain tops and thunder rumbled close enough to make ground tremble."I ain't doin' that again," Barret moaned as he fell off his chocobo. "If we gotta go back, I'm climbin' the cliffs." He shuddered, eying the mass of wakes that followed the party across the swampy lake.
"I second that," Red agreed, his legs still quivering from the awkward trip on an equally distressed avian's back. Cloud and Zack exchanged smirks as they helped Tifa and Aerith respectively dismount.
"I thought it was kind of fun," Tifa giggled. Aerith nodded and stroked her mount's crest a few times before sending it off. Cloud pushed his overly friendly mount away from his head. Ducking around his hand, the bird resumed preening his hair.
A blinding flash of lightning and explosive peal of thunder rattled a few loose stones from the walls of the narrowing canyon. The strike couldn't have been more than a hundred yards away. Cloud's chocobo gave a distressed wark and fled across the marsh. Cloud and Zack rubbed their ears grimacing while Barret and Aerith blinked their dazzled eyes.
"We'd better get moving," Cloud said, his voice sounding distant in his ears. "There should be some shelter near the mine entrance." He walked around twist in the canyon and froze. The smell of cooked meat and smoke clogged the air. Despite the charring from the lightning strike, clearly visible sword gashes marked the Midgar Zolom impaled on the dead tree.
"Sephiroth," Zack breathed, recognizing Masamune's work. "But why would he...?" He waved vaguely at the garish display.
"He knows we're following him," Red XIII answered grimly.
"What makes you say that?" Aerith asked, tearing her horrified gaze from the slain monster.
"He's posturing." The leonine scratched behind his left ear with a hind foot. "When a predator knows it is being pursued, it may leave a mangled kill behind to say 'I'm not only powerful enough to kill this, but confident enough that I can support myself even leaving it behind.' I'm sure Cloud could tell you the other meaning, correct?" He flicked his flaming tail and looked up.
Cloud nodded, lips drawn into a frown. "Yeah, the wolves in the Nibel mountains left something similar for one of the hunting parties. It means 'Come and get me, I'll do the same to you.'"
Dread silence fell, broken by the loud grumbling of Zack's stomach. Before he could redden too much, a few other stomachs took up the chorus.
Zack's eyes fell on the partially cooked Zolom. "I wonder how Zolom tastes..." He sawed off a chunk of the cooked meat and speared it on his pocket knife. He eyed it critically and gave it a delicate sniff.
"Eating the kill can mean 'Go ahead and try.'" Red barked with a laugh.
"Zack you're not really going to-" Aerith choked off as Zack popped the piece in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"Hm, not bad," he hummed and sliced off another piece. "You guys should try it."
Cloud shook his head. Though his memories from before his mako poisoning were a little blurry at times, he still remembered Zack's nickname. Apparently the designation of "puppy" covered his appetite as well as his general attitude. He jolted out of his thoughts when a pale slice of meat was thrust under his nose.
"Try it Cloud, it tastes kind of like chicken."
Cloud looked up from the meat to search Zack's expression. It wouldn't be the first time Zack had recommended something not fit for human consumption. Noting the lack of mischief in his friend's eyes, he sighed and plucked the chunk off the knife. All too aware of every eye in the group on him; he bit off a piece, chewed, and then swallowed. Cloud's eyes widened and he gasped. Clutching his throat and giving a pained gurgle, he fell to his knees, shoulders shaking.
"Cloud!" Tifa and Aerith shrieked in horror.
"Tifa, use your Poisona spell!" Barret barked while he dug in his pouch for an antidote if it wasn't enough. Zack waved his hands frantically over the spasming blond.
Cloud's shoulders shook even worse before he threw his head back and laughed. For a few moments, the only sounds were the young man's ringing laughter and the nearby rumble of thunder.
"Dammit Cloud." Zack thrust his hands into the blond's spiky hair and scrambled it into disarray. "Don't scare us like that!"
Cloud squawked in protest and pushed Zack's hands away. Tears of mirth rand down his flushed cheeks. "I couldn't help it," he snickered. "You left yourselves open for it by staring at me like that. After all, if it didn't hurt Zack, why would it hurt me?"
He popped the rest of the piece in his mouth. "Zack's right though, it is pretty good. With a few of the vegetables Red and Aerith found it will make a nice meal."
Cloud stiffened, his senses warning of danger. Tifa and Aerith exchanged dark looks and Barret ground his teeth in anger. Zack's expression swung between humor and a scowl. Red XIII hadn't sensed true distress from the blond's antics and thus watched the proceedings with interest.
"I think Cloud needs a dose of beauty mud, don't you Aerith?" Tifa said in a light, off-hand tone.
"I do believe you're right," Aerith agreed in a similar tone. "Gentlemen?"
Grinning, they rushed the party leader. Zack took his arms and Barret his legs while the blond shouted in protest. Cloud's limbs flailed as the pair heaved him into a shallow pool on the edges of the swamp. The ladies laughed and Barret only half-begrudgingly shared a high-five with Zack.
Moments later, oozing tired resignation, Cloud climbed out of the puddle and scraped the mud away from his face. "Ha ha," he said flatly. Without changing expression, he scooped up two handfuls of mud and simultaneously pegged his assailants in the face.
"Not again," Zack moaned as Barret spluttered on the mouthful.
Cloud walked past them whistling a cheerful tune and drawing his Hardedge. He hacked four feet off the end of the roasted Zolom's tail and heaved it onto his shoulder. "Come on, if we hurry, we might reach the mines before it rains."
"Damn it Cloud, couldn't you have waited 'til my mouth was closed?" Griped Barret as he bent to shoulder the other end of the tail.
Cloud ran his left hand down his side and raised the handful of mud without turning around. "I have more mud, do you want me to try again?"
"Pass," Barret chuckled.
The unburdened party members watched for monsters as they made their way up the cracked and overgrown road to the abandoned mine. Judging by the state of erosion, the mine had been abandoned longer than the nostalgic people of Kalm claimed. Thunder growled across the sky and echoed through the narrowing mountain pass. Aerith squeaked each time and covered her ears. There was something raw and frightening in being so close to the heavens when they raged. The Ancient shivered at the electric tingle of the too-close-for-comfort storm. A strong, damp, blast of wind tugged at their clothing. Red XIII raised his head and sniffed the air. "Rain is coming."
Cloud's eyes widened and he shoved his end of the Zolom tail into Zack's arms. He crouched down and dug deep into his pack.
"Cloud, what are-?" Zack cried, fumbling with the sudden burden. He choked off when the sound of ripping fabric filled the air. Leaving his pack, the blond strode to Tifa and swung a yard of shimmering purple silk over her shoulders. The barmaid only had time to look up in confusion before the heavens opened and soaked them all.
Tifa blinked, and then the confusion in her eyes turned to comprehension just before Aerith squealed, "Oh Cloud you're so chivalrous!"
"Thanks Cloud," She said softly, fully aware of what the soaking was doing to her white half-shirt. She wrapped the make-shift shawl tighter around her shoulders. Her gaze softened as the blond nodded once, and turned to retrieve his possessions.
"Let's head over there," Aerith insisted, tugging the other girl to a small overhang against the canyon wall. Cloud nodded in approval and scrubbed his fingers through his mud clotted hair. In the heavy downpour, dirt ran down his sides in rapidly clearing streams.
"I don't get it," Zack frowned huddled with the others, his eyes tracking from the blond taking a shower in the rain to the lightly blushing barmaid.
Barret rolled his eyes. "Damn man, didn' SOLDIER have some sorta' intelligence test? Rain'll make her white shirt see-through."
Zack scowled. "Not that! That part is obvious. What I don't get is why Cloud had something like that in his bag." He flipped a hand at the purple silk. The soaked, but now mud-free young man stiffened. Due to his position, only Aerith and Tifa could see the desperation in his luminescent blue eyes.
"It's alright Cloud, I'm not mad." Tifa called in a soothing voice. "Now that I see it against my skin, I realize Aerith was right. Purple isn't my color after all."
"Oh." Zack nodded slowly, his shoulder's slumping slightly at the spoiled chance to tease his friend. "I guess that makes sense, sort of..."
Before Zack could ponder further, Cloud took the meat from his lax grip. Sending Tifa a silent nod of gratitude, he said, "We'd better hurry before the storm gets worse."
A small cluster of mouldering cabins huddled at the base of the mountain. While Zack and Aerith searched the buildings for one with a sound roof, Barret turned to the blond. "Why are we lookin' for a place to stay? It ain't night yet."
"I know," Cloud answered in a low voice. "But we're soaking wet and it's usually pretty cold underground." He shot a pointed look down to Tifa. She crouched in a miserable ball between him and Red.
Barret nodded slowly. "No good rushin' if you're gonna get sick. Guess I can handle that."
"It isn't just that though, I'd rather camp here than inside the mine. This way we'll have a good chance of getting out with time to find shelter on the other side of the mountain."
The large man gave a wordless hum of approval before turning at the search party's return.
Zack grimaced and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly."Well, it isn't five-star material, but it's dry."
Cloud nodded and flicked his eyes down to the shivering martial artist. Zack took the hint and relieved the blond of his end of the meat. He snickered, "Never thought I'd play 'hot potato' with a Zolom tail in the rain." Laughing, he led the way to the cabin. Aerith hung back, eyes worried.
"Let's get you somewhere dry," Cloud murmured to Tifa and scooped her into his arms.
Her squeak of protest cut off with a moan. "Warm..." She snuggled deeper against his chest, looking as if she'd crawl inside of him if she could figure out how. Grinning in approval, Aerith skipped back to Zack's side.
Thankfully, the cabin wasn't far, as the cold, stinging rain caused even the normally calm Red XIII to flick his flaming tail in irritation. "There it is," Zack said, pointing to one of the outbuildings at the base of the mountain.
Barret took one look at the cabin's sway-back roof and snorted. "Never thought I'd stay in a worse dump than Midgar's underbelly. Why the hell aren't we using a Tent?"
"We don't need to use a tent," Zack shook his head and folded his arms.
"We're going to have to use a Tent at some point," Barret reasoned. "Why not right now."
"For one thing," Zack raised a finger. "They're expensive, each Tent costs 500 gil. For another, why should we waste a Tent when we have a perfectly fine-" He stopped, eyes tracking from Barret's skeptical look to the mouldering cabin. "When we have a roof to cover us from the elements?"
"We could use just one Tent," Barret offered.
"True," Cloud spoke up. "But Tents are designed for three people."
"Think of it this way," Aerith said pleasantly as she lifted the door on its rotting hinges with a slight grunt and pulled it open. "It is the spacious yet..." She struggled for a word. "Yet run down cabin, or we can all squish into a Tent. Everyone would need a sleeping buddy though. I call Zack!" She clutched her boyfriend's free arm with a cheeky grin.
Tifa's arms tightened around Cloud's neck. "I think Cloud and Tifa are set too." Zack chuckled. "So if you and Red don't mind getting nice and cozy, I guess we could use a Tent."
The gunman and feline exchanged a look and shook their heads. "No offense Red, but no thanks. Let's get inside before I start rustin'."
While the girls went to the other "room" to wring out their clothing, the men stripped down and wrung their clothes out the massive hole in the south wall. The girl's small "room" had even less of its walls intact and its only measure of privacy was that passing wildlife wouldn't care about human anatomy. The girls came back to find Zack coaxing a fire in the hearth and Barret scrubbing his Atomic Scissors with an oiled cloth.
"What do you think, guys?" Cloud asked as he started cutting the partially-cooked meat on the wobbly remnants of a table. "Should we roast the meat or make a stew?" He paused and frowned, looking around. The leaf-strewn floor was free of anything resembling cookware.
Reading his consternation, Zack stepped away from the growing fire and said, "Aerith and I bought cooking supplies in Kalm. We put them in your pack."
Tifa took Cloud's place while Aerith sorted through the vegetables they'd gathered along the way.
Cloud looked from the small pack to Zack and frowned in disbelief. "He isn't lying Cloud." Aerith chirped as she skillfully peeled a lumpy brown tuber. Dubious expression firmly on his face, the blond crouched on the floor and reached into the bag.
When Cloud's arm went in past his elbow, Barret shook his head. When Cloud's arm went in to his shoulder, the oil rag slipped from his limp fingers. "What tha' f-" he muttered in a hoarse voice. "That ain' natural..."
Finally, with a cry of victory, Cloud pulled a large iron pot from his bag and set it on the stone floor. He paused, eyes flicking from the bag that was obviously smaller than the pot, to the pot, and finally to the Zolom tail Tifa was carving into square chunks.
Groaning, he lightly bounced his forehead on the side of the pot. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," he muttered in a low mantra.
Zack chuckled, "Finally realized eh?"
Scowling, Cloud stopped hitting his head and growled at the former SOLDIER first. "You could have said something sooner."
"Sorry Cloud, but the lesson sticks better this way. If it makes you feel any better, every SOLDIER forgets it at least once." Zack clapped the kneeling blond on the shoulder and took the pot to the fire. He snickered at Barret's wide eyed stare. "How about you and Barret go look for some more wood for the fire. You can explain your bottomless bag on the way. I'll join you in a minute."
As soon as the door closed behind the pair, Red XIII snorted and said, "It looks like you won the bet-"
Zack pumped his fist. "Aw yeah!"
"Too bad we didn't set a prize," Red continued.
Zack's cheer of elation died in his throat and he frowned a moment before brightening. "How about you stop 'rating' every time I fall?"
The feline shook his head and rumbled, "That is part of my nature, and to promise to curb it would be a lie. I can promise I will not record the numbers."
Zack folded his arms, frowned, and looked down. "Hm, I guess that will have to do. I'm going to help the others." He looked from the cabin's closed door, to the hole in the wall, shrugged, and walked out through the hole.
Tifa dropped a handful of meat chunks in the pot. "Is it really part of your culture to judge when people fall?"
"No. It is part of my nature, not my culture. Capricious nature that is." He barked a laugh.
Aerith giggled and looked up from dicing the vegetables and plants. "Let me guess, you won't record the numbers, Barret will."
The feline affected an innocent tone. "In my defense, he always recorded them. My paws aren't built for writing after all."
"Poor Zack," Tifa chuckled. "He didn't really win anything."
True to Cloud's prediction, the Zolom made a very good stew. After the cold and wet, the hot meal cast a lethargy over the party. They drew straws to decide the night watch, and then bedded down for the night. The steady sound of rain and the fading roar of thunder lulled them to sleep.
Cloud admitted silently that the defunct cabin had its benefits. Since most of one wall was gone, they could keep watch while staying out of the rain. He shifted lightly on his perch and stared out into the darkness. The mid watch was one of the quietest times, and while it meant interrupted sleep, his mako enhancements kept it from affecting him too much. After so many hours, the soft patter of rain had long faded into scattered drops falling from rooftops. Through his view in the wall he'd watched the storm-reddened clouds lose their color and shred like old silk.
He gazed up at the patchy expanse of stars and the corner of his mouth twitched as he remembered a night seven years ago under the stars in Nibelheim. As if summoned by the memory, he heard Tifa's distinctive stride behind him. Despite obvious slowing from drowsiness, she still walked with perfect balance. Before he could look up at her, she sat down beside him, a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
A few moments passed in silence. "I know what you and Zack did," she said quietly.
"Oh?" Cloud flicked his eyes down at her and then back outside. "What do you mean?"
"I know you, Zack, and Barret cheated so Aerith and I didn't even have a chance of taking a turn at watch." Tifa's voice was level despite the accusation.
Some distant frogs took up a chorus amid the patter of run-off water. "Are you angry?" Cloud asked.
Tifa huffed and pouted. "I should be but..." He saw her fists tighten under her blanket. "But I know I've let myself get lazy. I don't have the necessary stamina and Aerith is worse off than I am."
Cloud listened, watching the frustration mingled with gratitude flash across her face.
"What I mean is, as soon as I can stay awake for one of the night watches, I expect you to let me do my part." One slender hand emerged from her blanket and she poked him in the center of his chest. "Is that clear Mr. Strife?"
He chuckled and replied, "As you wish, Miss Lockhart."
"Good." She pulled her finger away and poked his right bicep "Now, arm up."
Cloud blinked and lifted his hand at the elbow.
"Higher," Tifa ordered. "All the way up." He shrugged and raised his arm like an enthusiastic student.
"Perfect." Tifa chirped and scooted on her bottom until she leaned against his side. Keeping her blanket around most of her body, she reached up, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Mmm, much better." She moaned. Cloud gaped down at her, then at his arm as if it belonged to a stranger. Shaking his head once, he returned his attention to the surroundings. Distant crickets hummed counterpoint to the frogs.
The last of the clouds had blew away and the night air took on a distinct chill. Cloud blew out slowly and watched the wispy condensation drift and fade away. As far back as he could remember, he secretly enjoyed watching his breath on cold days. More than once he tried desperately to make a smoke ring. He smiled faintly at the memory. Tifa shivered and he unconsciously pulled her closer.
"Hey Cloud," Tifa's voice was drowsy. "You never did tell me what you were going to do with that dress."
Blinking at the odd question, he shook his head with a small smile. "Well, remember how I thought Alfonse was a deity Zack started worshiping?"
Tifa giggled at the memory, and nodded.
"Well, before I knew Alfonse was a Transform materia and not a god, I was planning on sending him the dress as a burnt offering." He responded with a crooked smile.
Tifa squeaked with laughter before burying her face against his side to muffle it. When she finally calmed down, she pulled back slightly, and wiped her eyes with a bit of her blanket. "What kind of offering is a man's dress?" She asked in a tone of suppressed hilarity.
Cloud shrugged, "Any deity Zack would worship would probably appreciate it."
Tifa's giggle of agreement cut off with a yawn. "How much longer is your watch?"
Cloud flipped open his PHS and checked the time. "About two hours."
"Is it alright if I stay and leech your warmth?" She peered up at his mako-bright blue eyes, her expression pleading. When Cloud nodded, she gave him a wide smile and snuggled close.
Cradled in the arms of the mountain, only the brightening of the sky hinted at the rising sun. The heavy humidity and thick morning mist gave the morning a suffocating stillness. The hushed atmosphere dampened even Zack's enthusiasm and they traveled to the mine entrance in near silence.
The rusting iron gate that once blocked the mine shaft hung from its bottom hinge. The bars were twisted and broken. The fact that the bars were obviously broken from the inside was not lost on any of them. Above the faint roar of air at the mine entrance, came a distant monster's cry.
"You know, if we didn't have other things to worry about, I'd be tempted to hunt down a little more information about his mine." Zack mused, nudging the gate with his boot. So far, little of the information they gleaned in Kalm matched the truth other than the mine's location and the need for chocobo.
Cloud nodded and shot Zack a grin. "Maybe after things settle down." He turned to Tifa and said, "Tifa, there are some monsters called Madouge in here. They're tall, vaguely humanoid and fleshy pink with a sort of wrecking ball weapon. When we meet one, I want you to use your Steal materia instead of attacking."
"Okay Cloud." She grinned, buffing the yellow orb in her glove against her shirt. The Steal attack was actually kind of fun. "So am I stealing a weapon or an item this time?"
"You'll know it when you find it." Cloud grinned and stepped into the mine.
As soon as his eyes adjusted to the materia-toned luminescence, Barret swore and shook his head. "They call this a mine? Damn fools musta' been smokin' cave moss when they dug!"
The others couldn't help but agree. If a drunk man could make a three dimensional path, it might resemble the weaving and dipping course of the tunnel. Despite the dizzying paths branching off and snaking into the depths of the mountain, the blond led the group as though there was only one tunnel in the mine. Several hours in and many monster encounters later, Cloud paused, head swinging from a path on his left to a path on his right.
"We aren't lost are we?" Aerith asked, a faint quaver of fear in her voice.
"I knew I shoulda' bought a ball of string in Kalm." Barret muttered to Red XIII. Red shot the man an amused look.
"Oh, come on," Zack laughed. "We aren't lost!...are we?"
"No," Cloud shook his head and pointed to the path on his right. "That's the way out, but there are a few things down there I want to pick up." Cloud pointed to his left and started down the uneven trail.
"What do you mean, 'things to pick up'?" Zack scowled. "Is this another thing you learned as an infantryman? And how did you know about those enemy skills and weapons?" He grimaced, recalling "Flamethrower" Aerith's new favorite attack.
Cloud shrugged without turning but stopped as he entered the next room. He paused by some fossilized roots in a widening part of the cave and then scrambled up them.
"I'm going to trust his instincts," Tifa told Zack, flexing her fingers in the maroon leather of her newly "acquired" Grand Gloves. "He hasn't been wrong yet."
Cloud scrambled back down and waved a purplish materia with a small smile. Zack gaped at the young man.
Not missing a beat, the blond followed the natural bridge into the next room. The bridge led into a vast vertical crevice in the mountain. Bluish light diffused from above, lighting the room as if it were outside. Cloud scrambled up the naturally formed steps and scooped an Ether off the ground.
Zack spluttered in shock and then gaped at the treasure chest sitting in a pool of sunlight at the top of the stairs. "You have got to be kidding me." He shook his head in disbelief as Cloud pocketed the Ether and the Tent from the chest.
Cloud tilted his head in confusion at Zack's dumbfounded expression and then led the party back to the path he claimed led outside. After pausing to pull a Mind Source from a chest tucked into a random dead-end Zack turned to Barret. "Did you think there was anything in there?"
Barret shook his head and shrugged. "He did that in the reactors and under the plate too. Dunno how he finds all the random stuff people lost but..."
Further conversation stopped as a familiar bald man in a navy suit stepped into the pool of sunlight from the mine exit. "Just a second!" He called in a slow but authoritative tone.
"Rude?" Zack gaped at the man. "What is a Turk doing here?"
"You're not here to reclaim us are you?" Red asked, stepping in front of Aerith.
"Kidnapping isn't all we do." Rude shook his head, opened his mouth and paused. He frowned, shuffling his feet obviously uncomfortable.
"Sir!" A young blond woman called from above. Her Turk's suit was freshly pressed and clearly new. "It's alright Rude, I know you don't like speeches, so let me handle it."
"Alright Elena," Rude nodded with an obvious note of relief in his voice.
"First off, you guys really thrashed Reno, because of that I was able to get this job," She said waving a finger at them. "So I'm not sure whether to be happy or mad at you! Anyway we-"
"Elena, keep it simple." A man's crisp voice cut her off. With the measured clacking of dress shoes another Turk stepped from the sunlit doorway.
"S-sir, sorry sir." She ducked her head in apology, shoulders drooping.
"Tseng?" Aerith peeked from behind Zack's shoulder.
Ignoring the Ancient, Tseng called to the blonde on the outcrop across the chamber. "Remember to file your report on your information gathering later."
"Right sir!" Elena gushed and saluted. "Rude and I have a golden opportunity. I learned that a man in black was seen headed to the Junon Harbor."
Cloud stiffened and shot Elena a stunned look. It couldn't be... But as he peered across the chamber, he recognized the petite blonde from Kunsel's base. Catching his calculating gaze, she winked at him. Shifting her focus to Tifa, Elena flicked her gray eyes from the brunette to Tseng and back. Tifa obediently followed her gaze and studied the Turk a moment. She looked back at Elena and nodded once. If Cloud hadn't been watching the exchange so closely, he would have missed the female Turk's flashed smile. Catching and understanding were not mutually inclusive though...
Tseng sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just don't let him get away."
Obviously capable of following more than one interaction, Elena saluted to Tseng and cried, "Yes Sir!" in perfect coordination with Rude. While the bald Turk climbed the vines to reach Tseng's side, she vanished over the edge and out of sight.
"Reno's looking forward to meeting you again." Rude said when he finished climbing. "He wants to thank you personally for the vacation time."
Tseng spared a nod for Aerith and turned his gaze to meet Zack's guarded violet gaze. "Fair."
"Tseng."
"I have something for you," The Turk said, his tone level. He reached into his jacket, not even flinching when Red's warning growl echoed in the chamber and the others tensed.
"I apologize for the late delivery," he continued, pulling out a small brown package. "But you've been... indisposed for quite a while." He flicked the brick shaped object to the former First and followed his subordinate from the cave.
Zack caught the item and slipped it wordlessly into his pocket.
"Is that wise?" Red asked quietly.
"Yeah, I knew Tseng before... If he wanted us dead, we'd already be dead."
"Do you know what it is?" Tifa asked, tilting her head toward his pocket.
"I have my suspicions. Anyway we should probably leave." Zack rolled his head, cracking his neck.
Barret grunted. "Be glad to leave this crazy &% 'mine' behind."
"I agree," Red murmured. "There is something disconcerting about the construction of this mine, and I miss the heavens." The feline ignored the vines and jumped onto the raised ledge.
After helping Aerith up, Zack blinked and looked around. "Where's Cloud?"
"He said he wanted to pick up some things from down there," Aerith answered, pointing to a doorway off the main chamber.
Cloud slipped out of the room, tucking an Elixer and a Hi Potion in his bottomless bag. "Okay, now we can go."
Zack fought down an inarticulate howl of rage. He whirled on Tifa, "Has Cloud always been able to find stuff like this?"
"Um, we weren't the closest as kids, but I don't think so." Tifa leaned away from the man's intense gaze.
"That's not fair," Zack muttered as Aerith patted his arm. "Why didn't Hojo give ME treasure senses?"
**I took a few liberties with the mine but frankly... they're traveling under a mountain range... It would have to take longer than the few rooms the game provided. :P If you have any questions, leave a review or PM.