Chapter 04 - Crisis of Chocobos
Fandom: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (FFVII, Advent Children, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus)
Pairing: Established Zack/Aerith, Eventual Sephiroth/Cloud (Subject to possible additions)
Rating: Teen (Subject to change)
Warnings: Violence, Language, Pretty much what you'd expect from FFVII. (Subject to additions)
Genre: Time Travel, AU, Action/Adventure, Drama, Friendship, Romance.
Words: 16,383
Summary: At first it was about preventing tragedy. For Cloud it soon becomes a fight to protect new bonds, tread untrod paths and find happy endings. Second chances aren't always easy in a time where ghosts live and heroes are human.
Special Thanks To: Our darling, amazing beta/guinea pig reader leasspell_dael for all of your help, nightpounce for helping inspire the summary, and the rest of the peanut gallery.
Chapter 03 - Crisis of Confession
Masterlist
Counter Crisis
by White Mage Koorii & Dragoon-Sama
Chapter 04 - Crisis of Chocobos
[ μ ] - εуλ 0001 (December 12th)
(You're in over your head again, Zack.)
The thought had sounded oddly like Angeal, and in the state between waking and dreaming Zack wasn't completely sure it wasn't. He wriggled around, a hand coming up to scuff at his nose, and mumbled, “Sorry, 'Ngeal.” It was only as he slid, uncontrolled, to the side and hit the ground that Zack remembered he'd fallen asleep leaning against a solid rock wall. He gave a choked gasp, and blinked his way through the blurriness that came with waking after having exhausted yourself. At the opening of the cavern he was sprawled in, Zack could see the low glow of embers in a fire that needed more fuel. There was a hunched figure against the far wall; a darker image superimposed over a still inky sky beyond. The firelight glimmered off their shoulder armor and helmet.
It hurt more than he'd have liked to remember that it wasn't Angeal sitting there as he guided Zack through a tough mission.
As Zack shoved himself back upright, his eyes wandering to where Buster Sword was propped up against the wall to his left, a rough voice asked, “You alright, sir?”
“Yeah, just startled myself,” he admitted wryly. There was a faint snapping and popping as Gibbs stirred the fire in a hopeless attempt to keep it from dying. It wasn't like it was really necessary, but not everyone here was gifted with SOLDIER eyes.
Zack twisted to the right to find Cloud where he'd settled in hours ago. The only difference was that at some point in the night Cloud had curled in on himself; his arms locked around his legs, and his head buried against his knees. Cloud's helmet rested by his hip, and the wild spikes of his blond hair looked almost bleached white-gold in the faint light. Zack looked away from him to focus on the dirt between his boots. It was marked with tiny pits and rises-the pattern from the soles.
(In over my head, huh? You're probably right....)
Angeal probably would have called him all kinds of naïve and foolish if he were here right now. He wasn't though, so Zack had to muddle along on his own virtues and instincts. He picked absently at his pants, more gray-brown than black even in the poor lighting, and watched a puff of dust come loose. Maybe he was just a gullible idiot who was going to wind up dead someday because he couldn't leave a friend to his own devices. (Don't think about what Cloud said.) Maybe he'd started our humoring Cloud, expecting to unravel the story and eventually Cloud would laugh it off, and it'd all just be a mako dream that his friend had had.
At first that had been what he wanted, all he’d wanted. He’d been half out of his mind in a mixture of adrenaline, worry, and fear. “Another friend gone mad,” he’d thought. “It’s going to be just like Angeal all over again.” Zack had been terrified that he was going to have to take Cloud out, that he’d run off and end up a danger to ShinRa and Zack would have to go out and kill him. A part of him had wondered if he could just get him to talk, get him to admit what was wrong.... Then he’d watched Cloud fall apart, practically sobbing into the dirt, and he’d been scared for a different reason.
Zack had never dealt with someone having the kind of psychotic break that Cloud had seemed to be having. Well, unless he counted that time Angeal and been raving about being a monster. He hadn’t been able to do much then either, just protest and try to get Angeal to listen, to stop, to come back.
(“Then what should an angel fight for, Zack? What do angels dream of?!”
“Angeal....”)
Angeal’s frustration and confusion had nothing on the desperation that had been in Cloud’s voice. Zack hadn’t been able to bring himself to interrogate Cloud, had done his best to keep calm in an effort to get Cloud to calm down, to get him to talk to him. Cloud’s story had been crazy, and wild, and maybe it was a mako hallucination-Zack didn’t know. He’d wanted it to just stop, wanted Cloud to suddenly wake up and tell him he was okay now, that it had just been a dream and they should get back.
He hadn't, and by the time Zack had heard himself rambling about Modeoheim, he'd realized he was going to side with Cloud even if it was a blind leap of faith. It was probably stupid, but it was a choice between ignoring it and hoping Cloud would ‘get better’, or believing him and sticking by his friend. It was a choice of Cloud’s possible delirium, of faith in Cloud, or continuing to cling staunchly to a corporation that he’d been learning was rotten since Angeal had gone missing. It had been a painful road of broken dreams and idealism, and Zack had paid with it via a price that was far too high. Somehow, putting a little trust in Cloud didn’t seem so bad, and Zack didn't think anyone could fabricate that sort of broken, shaking, absolutely destroyed emotion. In the end, he’d already given his word, and even if Cloud was just hallucinating, was just crazy, Zack was going to stick with him. He’d failed to save Gillian Hewley, Angeal, and Genesis.... He didn’t want to fail Cloud too, even if it came down to saving the kid from himself.
And, maybe, just maybe there was a part of Zack that wanted to believe, desperately. He didn't know if he could take it if he had to face down another friend, had to go through Angeal again. Well, that was a lie. He could do it, had been prepared to do it when he chased after Cloud, but...he didn't want to. Zack wanted to believe, because even though most of what Cloud had said had left him feeling faintly horrified, in the short run the other options were much, much worse.
On the one hand, if he decided to betray Cloud’s trust and turn him over to ShinRa as a possible danger, or even just to get him some help, there was the chance that terrible things could happen to him. Genesis and Angeal terrible, particularly if Cloud was telling him the truth and wasn’t just crazy. Zack had to ask himself if he was willing to lay that on chance, on his conscience, and the answer had been a resounding no. Zack would just have to live with the consequences of his choice both short term and long term. At least Cloud's possible future was a long way off and Zack might not even live to see it if Cloud was right.
(I wasn't going to think about that....) It was no good now, he was already thinking about it. The thought of his own death made something swoop low in his stomach. For all the danger and close calls Zack had been through, hearing Cloud's description, and the emotion thick behind the words, had thrown his own mortality into his face far more efficiently. Just thinking about it made him feel claustrophobic and twitchy.
Zack shoved himself to his feet and crept toward the dying fire. He had to navigate the limbs of sprawled troopers to get there. Jac was snoring loud enough to cover his footfalls. The wide mouth of the entrance to the mines spilled straight out into the funnel shaped canyon in which an immense, dead tree stood like a sentinel. There was a thick fog hanging over the marshes and blocking his view as it wreathed about the dead tree like a twisted veil. Zack squatted down, balanced on the precipice of open ground. Beside him the fire popped and guttered lower.
“If you want to get a bit more sleep, I'll take over for you.” He wasn't going to get anymore sleep now anyway.
“That's alright,” Gibbs grumbled. “It'll be dawn soon and I think I'd like to watch the sunrise. You don't really get that kind of chance in Midgar.”
Zack made an agreeable noise. It was one of the things he missed about Gongaga. It didn't have that great a view most of the time, down among the trees as they were, but sometimes his dad would get him up real early to go to the waterfall pool that was a short hike outside the town. They'd take fishing poles, dip their lines in, and just sit there. Well, Zack's dad would. Zack always got bored and ended up wading in and looking for pretty rocks to take back to his mom. “One of the perks of being SOLDIER,” he said at last. “Getting to see so many different skies.” Just like he'd told Aerith, and one day he'd make sure she saw it. Just another promise to keep before he died. (Not like that. I'm going to live a long life, right?)
“The pay's not half bad either,” Gibb's said drolly. Zack gave an amused cough.
“There's always that.”
The pair of them fell quiet again, Zack allowing himself to be drawn back into his own thoughts. Unsurprisingly, he was pulled right back into the puzzle Cloud presented. He still had nagging doubts about the whole thing, as any sane person would, but he couldn't deny that it could make sense. He'd noticed the oddities already. If only he had some way to check the information Cloud had given him without the Turk's deciding he'd just made himself too dangerous. Good people tended to disappear that way.
In the end it all came down to who he'd rather trust. ShinRa and the dirty underbelly he'd been starting to uncover ever since Angeal had gone missing in Wutai, or Cloud, a kid he barely knew, and his crazy story. Zack's gut instincts were telling him to go with Cloud, though that might have had more to do with his growing disillusionment as much as anything else. He'd already said he'd help Cloud in all his impulsiveness, so there was probably no going back now. Zack just hoped that his instincts had led him right this time, and his rather hit-and-miss luck was on target. He was going to need both if he was going to keep Cloud out of trouble.
At least he had a sinking suspicion where Cloud's near violent aversion to the medical and science staff came from. Which was a whole other drum of land worms that was going to have to be dealt with at some point.
Zack swiped his hand over his hair. (You always were good at running roughshod into messes, weren't you?) That had sounded like Angeal too, and it made Zack smile, albeit sadly. Yeah, that sounded like him alright. No use for it, Zack had given his word and he wasn't taking it back. Besides, if Cloud was telling the truth, he had to save Sephiroth. It felt like he owed it to Angeal, and maybe even Genesis, to try. He was the only one left to do it, and that was no one's fault but his own.
There was a faint rustle and scuff of movement behind them, and Zack looked over his shoulder at the same time Gibbs turned to look. The other Third, Edge, was picking his way toward them from the deeper gloom of the cavern where he'd been providing watch against any monsters that decided to creep out of the bowels of the mine. Not that they'd been too worried of that. The path of destruction and monster carcasses they'd passed on their way had told them all they needed to know. If Zack were a member of the monster community in here, he'd lay low for a few days post-Sephiroth destruction too.
“Just let it die,” Edge grumbled, and scuffed a bit of dirt toward the embers burning themselves out on the dirt and stone floor. “By the time these jokers wake up it'll be sun up.” There came a suspiciously snicker-like snort from behind them, and Edge growled, “Go back to sleep, grunt.”
“Sir, yes sir,” Sparo's voice floated to them. Zack chuckled at the mocking lilt.
It was quiet again, the three of them watching the swirl of mist over the swamp. Zack only moved to settle himself into a more comfortable sitting position as the time slipped by. Slowly but surely the sun began to creep up over the horizon and turn the sky from the pale grays of predawn to pastel shades of pink, purple, yellow, and orange. The serenity of the view was broken as a voice mumbled, “I have to go to the bathroom.” The laughter was immediate. Zack and the two Thirds turned to look at the troopers, now obviously awake.
“Well, you have two options, Jac,” Sparo drawled. “You can either go down to the edge of the swamp and brave the monsters, or you can venture back into the caves. You might need an escort though.”
“Aw, shut up, Sparo,” Jac whined.
“We don't want you to get lost again,” Sparo simpered. “Then we'd have to send Cloud to rescue you.”
There were more snorts of laughter. Even Gibbs was chuckling as he stood up and began to stomp out the ashy remains of the night's fire. Zack craned his neck around to get a look at his blond friend. Cloud was watching the byplay with a dazed look of bemusement on his face.
“You should go with him and hold his hand, Sparo,” Edge remarked acidly.
“Just like when we were growing up, eh, Jac?”
With a shake of his head, Zack shoved himself to his feet, attempted to dust his pants off, gave up, and ambled over to crouch down beside Cloud. When he reached out to ruffle Cloud's hair, his hand was immediately batted away. Zack merely grinned impudently at Cloud's faintly disgruntled expression. “How're you doing this morning, Cloud?”
“I'm fine, Zack. Really.”
They both went quiet for a second as Jac and Sparo walked past them into the deeper gloom of the cave. The latter was saying, “And you better make sure you don't miss and get your helmet all dirty.”
“Spaaarooo.”
Zack coughed into his fist to hide a laugh, then looked back at Cloud who was shaking his head. He still looked a bit confused. Quietly, Zack said, “I just wanted to make sure. Last night couldn't have been easy on you.”
Cloud squeezed his knees, eyes lowering and shrugged his shoulders slightly. Zack wasn't sure if that was a dismissal, or not. A moment later Cloud murmured, “It was...kind of nice. To talk about it.”
There were a hundred things Zack wanted to say right then, a hundred questions he wanted to ask. The most pertinent being one being 'Did you keep all of that bottled up all this time?', but he didn't ask. Now wasn't really the time for this sort of conversation. Instead he said, “Come on, let's go outside in the sun. You look like you could use some.”
Zack ignored Cloud's faint mutter, since as he walked off he heard Cloud get up and shuffle after him. He stopped long enough to grab Buster Sword, then headed out onto the faint dirt trail that was all that remained of a workable path. It was mostly grown over with grass. Connally and the two Thirds were already out in the sun, though they hadn't gone far enough to cross the invisible line they'd established as a safe zone. The swamp itself was slowly beginning to unveil itself as the sun burned away the mist. Even now Zack could see jagged, dark trees draped with swamp moss poking out above the remaining low lying cover.
With a tremendous yawn and a spine popping stretch, Zack plopped himself down on a convenient rock, laid Buster Sword over his knees, and began to check for any damage. Internally, he cringed over a mental lecture from Angeal. Oh man, if his mentor wasn't dead, he'd kill him! Zack was just lucky that all it really needed was a thorough cleaning, as there was blood and monster gore stuck in the crevices. Rust, wear, and tear...oh boy....
It was about then that Jac and Sparo returned and went over to stand by the other men. Cloud, Zack noted, was standing apart from them. A little closer to Zack's own position, but not really standing with him either. It was like he wasn't exactly sure how to integrate, but thought he should. It reminded Zack more than a little of Sephiroth, only Cloud wasn't nearly as unreachable or intimidating. The rest of the group appeared to be regarding the swamp with wary expressions, as if they expected something to come flying out of it at any second.
“Are...zoloms real?” Connally asked suddenly, breaking the quiet.
“Oh yeah,” that was Sparo. “They're as real as any other monster.”
“I heard a story about a man who got bit by one, walked nine more paces, and just fell down dead,” Jac muttered in a stage-whisper.
“They're really dangerous,” Sparo noted glibly, “I've heard even an entire squad of SOLDIER 2nds will avoid them.”
“That's nothing,” Zack broke in, sensing a moment for mischief. Almost as one they turned to look at him. “There was this one time where a buddy of mine and I decided to do a little fishing, you know, just for something to do. So we came out this way to get away from Midgar and all the hustle and bustle. Guy came up with the smart idea to go fishing in the swamp, and I went along with it. I mean, what was the worst that could happen?” He had their attention riveted, and Zack allowed a grin and a secretive look to draw them in further. “So there we were, just dipped our lines in, and the guy gets a bite, right?” He watched them shuffle closer, and held his hands up to imitate reeling. “He's heaving on the fishing pole, reeling in what must be a monstrous catch and the next thing I know...this huge snaky head breaks the surface.”
Someone muttered a “Holy shit.”
Zack laughed in delight. “It had poison and blood dribbling off its mouth from the hook and looked as mean as a ruffled chocobo. I swear I nearly wet myself, but my friend just looked determined to haul the thing in. There was no way I wanted to face it, of course, so I used my sword to cut the line.... Man, he was not happy, let me tell you. Nor was the zolom. I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life.” They stared at him for several seconds, before the babble started in and Zack caught speculations about who his 'friend' had been.
“I heard he was really close to SOLDIER Hewley before he died. Maybe it was him?”
“No way. I bet it was the General!”
“...I can't really see the General fishing even if it is for Midgar zoloms....”
Cloud was giving him a look that told Zack he was well on to him and his silly story. Zack simply grinned, unabashed.
"How about you, Cloud? What sort of nasties do they have where you come from?" Connally asked, suddenly turning to include Cloud in the current discussion. Cloud blinked owlishly for a moment.
"Um…mostly just wolves and dragons, really," he said. "The more dangerous thing is the weather. The winters up there are deadly, if you don't know how to handle them."
"You have dragons up there, and all you're worried about is a little cold? No wonder a mako bath didn't do more than piss you off!" Sparo said, incredulous humor in his voice. The words caused a ripple of laughter from the others. Zack had to agree with him though, remembering Cloud's broken tale of nearly being eaten by one of the beasts.
Cloud, however, merely looked a bit bemused at the sentiment. When he looked at Zack as if hoping he could explain the joke to him, Zack merely gave him an encouraging grin and didn't bother to interfere as the men descended on Cloud with more questions about Nibel's dragons. Time passed slowly out here, rolling by in the way of fluffy white clouds and changing shadow lengths. Conversation ebbed and flowed, Zack pouncing in when he felt it prudent, but a lot of his time was spent laughing over the horrible jokes they told while he picked at the grime on Buster Sword. By the time it was nearing noon, they'd shared around some travel rations and a canteen. It was peaceful and easy-going, and Zack couldn't help but wonder when Sephiroth was going to show up.
"…Chocobos?" a quiet voice murmured from nearby. Zack shot a puzzled look at Cloud, who looked as baffled by what he'd said as Zack did.
“What's that?” Zack asked
“I...” Cloud's response cut off as he tensed slightly. Zack followed his gaze down toward the swamp.
Most of the mist had been burned away by now, leaving only bare threads of it curling along the edges of standing water and about the bases of trees. Zack could even make out the faint remnants of the old road that had once existed to allow the people of Kalm access to the mines. Most of it had been reclaimed by time and lack of maintenance to the waterlogged soil, but here and there it was obvious. The most visible part of the road was closer to harder ground. But it wasn't this that caught Zack's attention. Further out he could see movement, and almost as soon as he focused on it, Sephiroth was at the edge of the swamp in a flash of black and silver. He pushed off the ground with one leg in a leap that brought him even with the tree, and upon landing took several more crisp strides to stop before Jac.
Sephiroth extended the hand not clenched around Masamune toward the trooper who, after a belated moment of shock, held his own hand out. Into it, Sephiroth dropped a gleaming, purple materia. Zack stood, even as Sephiroth smoothly said, “I suggest you step back.” He turned on his heel with an impressive sweep of his hair and coat, and took a couple of steps back toward the swamp. A second later, a warbling, terrified mass of chocobos came tearing up toward them and right by Sephiroth fast enough to ruffle the man's hair. Zack could only stare in shock as they huddled around Jac, so close that he could no longer see the trooper, and cooed in distress.
Before he had a chance to worry about the birds' behavior, what had set them into such a state exploded from the swamp in a shower of murky, stagnant water and trailing swamp grass. The zolom's body slid over the grass with the sound of dragging, rustling scales, and its large, lidless eyes focused on them with obvious predatory intent. As Zack brought Buster Sword up, prepared to run forward and defend the men should he need to, he noticed Cloud take a couple of steps forward.
“Cloud, don't-” he started to say, his words drowned under the alarmed shouts of the other men. It seemed a useless warning anyway as Sephiroth jumped to meet the zolom when it glided past the dead tree. Zack could see him bring Masamune up and clip it on the chin with the hilt of the sword. The blow was hard enough to knock the serpent's head back. Smoothly, Sephiroth flipped over, twisted midair, grabbed hold of the zolom's snout, and let gravity help him yank it backwards and down to impale it through its hood on the sharp top of the tree. It had all happened so fast that none of them had a chance to get out of the way before splintered wood rained down around them. Along with a good deal of blood. Zack thought Sephiroth might have managed to sever an artery.
Sephiroth landed neatly just out of range of the gory shower, hair shimmering lightly in the sun as it settled around him, and turned to blink lazily up at his handiwork. Zack could only sputter, and turned to look at Cloud. The blond looked back at him, lips pressed into a thin, pale line. Zack, shook his head, slung Buster Sword into position on his back, and strode forward to push past the still chirruping chocobos in an effort to reach Sephiroth.
“You're such a show off,” he said glibly, as if he hadn't just been spattered by zolom blood. “Was that at all necessary?” Sephiroth looked toward him, the slight furrowing of his brows and small downward curl of his lips the only sign of his annoyance, before they smoothed away as though something had lifted his mood. Zack would put bets on the zolom, rather than his attempts at humor.
“If I were more prone to dramatics, I would have put more effort into my arrival,” Sephiroth said, and turned away again to step down toward the edge of the swamp. “I did as you asked and provided chocobos for the men. You never stipulated how I should go about it.”
Zack snorted faintly, and muttered to himself about how Sephiroth wouldn't have listened anyway. “Yeah, well, I just wasn't expecting a zolom, too. But, hey Sephiroth?” No response. Still, Zack soldiered on. “You do know that this one is, uh, too small to ride right?” Sephiroth gave no immediate indication he'd heard. Zack suspected he was too busy pretending that there wasn't a tiny beak latched onto the back of his long, black coat. Zack crouched down to get a better look at the chocobo chick.
The chick stumbled forward on legs that were still unsure, and leaned adoringly against Sephiroth's mud spattered boots. Zack stared at it, amused, while it gazed lovingly up at Sephiroth. From above him, Sephiroth said, “It followed me.” Zack just about laughed at the nearly undetectable air of bemusement underlying Sephiroth's calm voice, and looked up at him. The way the man was eying the chick and fingering Masamune was mildly disconcerting.
“It followed you here all the way from the ranch?” Zack asked quickly. Mostly he was just trying to distract Sephiroth from attempting to bat the poor thing out into the swamps. “But it's just a little thing!” A little thing that was doing its best to nibble on Sephiroth's boot affectionately. As if that wasn't weird enough, Sephiroth stepped away from it. The bird wobbled after him, obviously intent on sticking as close as possible.
“It's a black,” Sephiroth said flatly, as if that explained everything, and he clearly expected Zack to accept this statement and leave it alone.
Zack, of course, chose to ignore the subtext and gestured at the chick. “It's just a baby!” He said, then reached out, slid his hands under the chocobo's plump little body, and lifted it off the ground. It warked in displeasure and scrabbled at the air, tiny wings flapping as it tried to get out of his grip. When it didn't manage to succeed, it looked disdainfully back at him. Zack let it go and it bobbled over to Sephiroth's heels again like a faithful puppy. Sephiroth took another few steps away as if he were merely impatient to be leaving and not trying to avoid the chocobo. Zack found this hilarious and had to stifle his abrupt laughter.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed slightly at Zack's obvious merriment. “Perhaps it would be best to be rid of it. I doubt it can survive on its own.” The statement was followed by a faint snick as Sephiroth used his thumb to flick Masamune loose. The sunlight glanced off the blade while the chocobo warbled, unaware of its danger as it returned to picking at one of Sephiroth's boots again. Zack stood, holding his hands up in an effort to calm the man's irritation.
“Now, now, let's not be so hasty. Sure, it's just a baby chocobo, but it's a black chocobo like you said. It's obvious someone worked hard to breed this little thing, so why don't we just take it back to the ranch and get it out of your hair.”
Sephiroth twisted Masamune slightly, his attention apparently focused on the way light glistened on the deadly steel, then gave a faint sound of agreement. Masamune clicked back into place and he started to walk away, obviously more than ready to get the chocobo away from him. He was brought up short as the chick grabbed the back of his coat again. Zack decided to pretend he hadn't noticed Sephiroth's predicament and headed back toward the others. It seemed no one had recovered enough from the shock yet to rescue Jac from the chocobos, but apparently they were getting to the gibbering part of recovery.
"That…was…so…cool!" Connally said hoarsely, keeping his voice low so as not to draw attention from the subject of his comment. "Did you see that?" he continued, turning wide eyes on the person next to him. Gibbs looked no less impressed, eyes sparkling with more than just the mako glow.
"That was also so disgusting," Sparo said, mouth twisted in a grimace as he wiped blood out of his eyes. "When I get back to Midgar I'm not coming out of the shower for a week! Ugh…."
Edge seemed to be more immune to the spectacle, and instead waded through the pack of chocobos to Jac's side to rescue the poor trooper from the mob of curious beaks. The glow from what Zack supposed must be a Chocobo Lure materia faded as Edge closed his hand around it and deactivated the spell. The pack broke apart but didn't flee the area, just milled nearby warking softly amongst themselves as they waited for the humans to approach them again. Zack turned to consider them as he listened to the continued chatter.
"Man…I hate chocobos.” That was Jac, voice petulant alongside the sound of gloves brushing over clothing. "I mean, I didn't become a military man to ride around like a pillock on display."
"They're not that bad.…" And that quiet voice was Cloud. "They're fun to race, at least.”
"You race chocobos? A mountain kid like you?" The surprised question was from Connally. Zack could echo that sentiment.
"…Just a bit," Cloud replied.
"I wouldn't have thought they'd have chocobos up in the cold like that,” the rough voice he recognized as Gibbs said. "Though I can see why you'd be good at it. Small frame, light weight…."
"You should become a jockey!" Jac butted in enthusiastically. "I mean, you'd make a ton of money, if you're any good." As ShinRa had risen to power, chocobos had become less and less sought after, though Zack had heard talk of people setting up out in the fields and racing them. A lot of the men liked to go out near Kalm and see if they could catch some of the action. Apparently the betting pools were pretty good. Zack had never been interested himself.
"I don't really…." Cloud mumbled. It was then that Zack realized something that had been, quite literally, staring him in the face.
“Hey, there's only six here!” he yelped, and turned toward Sephiroth “You didn't get me one?” The man in question slanted him a look, and Zack swore he heard a low chuckle.
“I believe you are capable of crossing under your own power, Zack.”
“Oh, that's just cruel. Just because you enjoy running around the marshes doesn't mean you need to subject me to your new hobby too!” Sephiroth merely smiled faintly, so Zack went looking for his new favorite ally. “Cloud! Help me out here!” Unfortunately Cloud wasn't looking at him, but rather passed him. If Zack wasn't mistaken he was staring a little too low to be looking at Sephiroth, so.... Zack chanced a glance over his shoulder to see a disgruntled Sephiroth trying to get away from the chocobo chick again, and repressed a snort. When he looked back at Cloud, there was something decidedly off. It was just a subtle shift in his stance, and the way he reached up and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know, Zack. It seems to me that if the General gives an order, I shouldn't disobey a superior officer," Cloud said, crossing his arms and resting his weight on one leg. A teasing smirk tugged at his lips as he tilted his head at Zack. There was something off in all of that too. It was nothing like the quiet guy he'd come to know over the last day or so, and not even like the slightly more animated kid he'd met in Modeoheim.
“Huh?” Zack tilted his head to one side, giving Cloud an absolutely baffled look. Whatever had just changed, it meant one thing at least.... Cloud wasn't going to save him. Zack slumped, arms dangling uselessly, and groaned. “Oh, man, you're something else, Cloud. I mean it.” The sound of rustling leather behind him made Zack jerk around in time to see Sephiroth striding off. The chocobo chick was scuttling after him determinedly, and Zack grinned wryly. “I guess that's our cue. If you gossiping gals want to grab a chocobo, let's go!” Despite the comment he hung back to make sure they got on their chocobos alright, but it seemed Cloud had that well in hand.
"You heard the man. Mount up, and let's mosey," Cloud said, striding over to the milling birds after scooping up his helmet. Zack watched in bemusement as he looked the birds over. He could only wonder about the abrupt personality shift, and whether or not he ought to be worried about it. There was something oddly...familiar...about it, though he couldn't put a finger on it. "Come on, you take this one. It should be a gentle enough ride for you, since you seem to have such a problem with them,” Zack heard Cloud explain. Jac didn't move, mouth slightly agape as he just stared at Cloud. Cloud stared back patiently. There was a choked sound as Gibbs fought back a bitten off chuckle, his hand over his eyes.
"Mosey? Cloud, that has got to be the lamest thing I've ever heard," Sparo said, shaking his head sadly. Cloud shrugged merely shrugged at him, not at all apologetic.
"If you guys would move, then I wouldn't have to say it," he pointed out, giving Jac another blunt look. The trooper shook himself out of his stupor, and grinned at Cloud as he took the chocobo's reins from his hand.
"Geeze, were you dropped on your head as a kid?" Jac asked, punching Cloud's shoulder jokingly. Cloud rolled his eyes, donned his helmet, then turned on his heel to mount his own chocobo. The others mounted their birds in swift order, and brought them to line up in front of the swamp where they waited for the order to move out.
Zack had watched the entire exchange silently, a smile on his face that didn't really fit there considering the concerned turn his thoughts had taken. He knew Cloud hadn't told him everything, and certainly was willing to wait until he was comfortable to ask for more information, but now Zack was wondering if he didn't need to push a little more. Something was very wrong here. The problem was that there was no way he could approach Cloud about the issue for now.
He breathed out, let it go for the moment, but made a mental note to speak to Cloud as soon as was feasible. “Choice of words aside, Cloud's right. We need to get moving,” he echoed. Holding up his hand he waved them forward. “Get straight across, don't linger. If you get in trouble Sephiroth or I will take care of it.”
With that, Zack started off himself. His boots sunk into slick swamp mud almost immediately. He had to shift his balance, but he caught himself before he slid and fell into the muck. It didn't stop it from spattering up his already filthy pants unfortunately. How Sephiroth managed to stay so pristine he had no idea. Zack raced forward to catch up with Sephiroth who was still walking along like this was a stroll in the park. “Hey, Sephiroth, you alright?” He seemed kind of down. Well, if someone like Sephiroth could be considered down. It was a bit heartbreaking to realize that Sephiroth had no one to talk to in the wake of Angeal and Genesis' demises, and Zack felt awful for not trying harder to track the man down in his own upset.
Sephiroth didn't even look at him as he continued to stride forward. “There's no reason I shouldn't be.”
Zack stopped dead, then hopped forward with a faint squawk when his boots started to sink into the mire. “Don't give me that Sephiroth. You have as much right as I do-more even!-to be upset right now. Angeal...and Genesis are both dead. You can't expect me to believe that you aren't affected by this!”
“Genesis fancied himself as my rival. Nothing more.”
This was like pulling teeth from a behemoth! “Sephiroth!” Zack bit out sharply. “You told me yourself that the three of you were friends, and yeah, maybe Genesis was your rival too, but that doesn't mean you weren't friends. And even then what about Angeal? Doesn't he matter?”
Sephiroth finally looked at him, eyes narrowed faintly in irritation. “They chose to leave ShinRa. Their fate was sealed the moment they took that course.”
Zack stopped again, flabbergasted. “You can't mean that!” he shouted, hardly aware he was yelling. “I know you don't Sephiroth, or you'd never have tried to help them back at reactor number five!” Sephiroth ignored him and kept walking, posture stiff and unrelenting.
A weary peep sounded near Zack's ankles, and he looked down at the tiny black chocobo. It looked wilted, all covered in slime and wet until its down was nearly plastered flat. Its eyes were half closed in tiredness, but still it struggled gamely on to keep up with Sephiroth. “Aw, man...” Zack said with a sigh. He reached down to scoop the rather pathetic looking bird up, paying no heed to the mud and water that soaked immediately into his skin and clothes. “These two are going to turn me wrinkled and gray before the year is out,” he confided in the bird.
From not too far behind him he heard Cloud's voice float through the murk. "Gibbs, Edge, you two take the front. Keep an eye out for the zoloms, and call out for Zack or Sephiroth if you see anything suspicious. Jac, Sparo, Connally, you three stick together in the middle. I'll bring up the rear.”
"Who died and made you General?" Edge's sharp voice asked.
"What would you suggest, then?" Cloud asked. "And the longer we argue, the more chance we have of being attacked.”
"Cloud, I know you suddenly think you can take on anything that comes your way, but you're not trained for this.” Connally seemed to be a peacemaker.
"Enough of the chatter," Gibbs cut in roughly. "Trooper or no, Cloud's right. SOLDIER Zack trusted him enough to take out monsters on his own, so we'll go with his plan. And you holler out the minute you think you see anything wrong too. There's no need for any of us to take unnecessary risks when we have two of the best SOLDIERs on our team. Now form up, everyone!" At the sound of chocobo claws pattering through the swamp muck, Zack sighed and started off after Sephiroth again. He'd be lucky if he didn't wind up losing a boot somewhere along the way.
It only took a bit of effort for Zack to hit his stride, and soon he was moving through the sticky mud with only the barest of problems. The chocobo chick he'd tucked under his arm didn't seem to mind the free ride, at least. “You know,” he remarked to the little black, “If you were bigger you'd be carrying me.” The chick gave him a tired look, then tucked its head between his side and its fluffy body, clearly intent on a nap. Zack envied it.
By the time he'd been on the move for awhile, Zack had come to the conclusion that he was lucky the only thing he'd had to worry about were biting insects. If he'd been forced to fight something big and nasty out here, one handed, and with his boots sinking into the sludge.... Well, they'd probably be picking Zack Fair out of monsters' teeth for weeks. It was possible that he was just irritated with having to stop and yank his boot out of the mud for the billionth time. Sephiroth was going to pay for this, somehow. He didn't know how, but he was sure there was some sort of luck out there that would agree with him and inflict suffering on Sephiroth for him.
His next staggering lunge had him stumbling through what had a second ago looked like solid ground, but was actually a pool of knee deep, foul smelling water. It took several seconds after he'd gotten out of there to realize he appeared to be walking on what was mostly solid ground. Zack warily glanced around himself, expecting to find he'd stumbled onto one of the little islands that spotted the marshes, but no. He was surrounded by clusters of peat moss that eventually gave way to straggling grass growth. Further on the ground turned pretty and green as it smoothed into the rolling plains.
Zack was, in a word, deliriously happy. The entire run across the swamps had left him spattered from head to toe in stinking sludge. He breathed deep, hoping for the smell of fresh air, and wound up coughing because it was like the stink was stuck in his nose. With a groan he rubbed the back of his forearm against his forehead. Between the blood from the zolom and swamp muck all over him, Zack didn't know if he'd ever be clean again. A part of him drearily thought he'd never get the smell of the place off his skin.
As he staggered onward toward the growing stretch of greenery, he could see Sephiroth already there. In fact, he appeared to be scraping mud off the bottom of his boots with the help of the grass. Sephiroth, Zack noticed, as he finally came up even with the man, seemed to have managed to make it across three times without getting anything above his knees dirty. Zack contemplated telling him he hated him, but decided he didn't have the energy, and anyway Sephiroth was strolling off already.
The heavy thud of chocobo feet interrupted his momentary malaise. "Thank the Planet that's over with," Connally said brightly as the men slowed their mounts to a walk. "Though it's too bad we couldn't see the General in action again."
"I could forgo the pleasure. I still have bits zolom in places I really don't want to mention right now," Sparo groused, rolling his shoulders to demonstrate his discomfort. Cloud, the only one of the troopers with his helmet still on, slipped off the head gear to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Upon noticing him, Cloud tossed Zack a jaunty wave that he returned with a little less enthusiasm. He wasn't quite feeling his usual energy at the moment.
"Just so long as we stop soon. We're not trained for riding these things for so long," Jac complained, slumped in his own saddle.
"Listen to the ladies chatter!" Edge drawled. "At least one of you doesn't look like something I'd rather feed to the chocobos."
Jac sat up straight despite his obvious discomfort. "That's because he looks more like a chocobo himself," he remarked. He had a bit of a point, Zack noted. Despite the filth that had been kicked up by the birds, Cloud's hair still spiked out dramatically. The sunny yellow nearly matched the color of his mount. All the same, Zack personally thought the comparison was too easy.
"Tell me one I haven't heard a thousand times before," Cloud said shot back. Despite the sweat still clinging to him he was already securing his helmet back on. "You know, if you move with the chocobo's stride rather than let it bounce you around, it will be a much smoother ride for you."
"Ah, that's right. We have a veritable racing expert in our midst!" Edge cut in.
"Cool it, Edge," Gibbs warned, kicking his bird so he was between Cloud and the other Third.
"I'm just playing," Edge complained, scowling at his fellow SOLDIER. "I'm not hurting your feelings, right sunshine?" He addressed the comment over Gibbs' head to Cloud.
"I suppose the only way to shut you up is to prove I can outrace you, is that it?" Cloud challenged. In the next second Cloud had already sent his chocobo running forward to the surprised shouts of the men who followed after them. Zack stared after them feeling oddly detached. He supposed it was just exhaustion catching up with him, but he felt a bit like an old man trying to keep up with a bunch of toddlers. It wasn't a sensation he was used to.
“Is this the way I make people feel normally?” he mused aloud. The little black chocobo lifted its head and peered around blearily, then peeped in what Zack thought was a questioning manner. “You're almost home,” Zack informed it. “Just hold on.” As he started to jog after the group, he glanced down at it and found it staring intently around as if searching for something. With a sigh, Zack picked up his pace, lengthened his stride, and put a burst of speed behind it. “Maybe if we're lucky the rancher will be feeling charitable enough to give us something to eat.”
And Zack would have a chance to talk to Cloud, because something weird was still going on. That whole scene had just been way too surreal, not to mention completely against what he was coming to expect from Cloud. Zack could admit he was worried. It might not be anything, but considering how absolutely insane everything had been lately he figured he had a right to be a little bit twitchy.
Part Two
Pairing: Established Zack/Aerith, Eventual Sephiroth/Cloud (Subject to possible additions)
Rating: Teen (Subject to change)
Warnings: Violence, Language, Pretty much what you'd expect from FFVII. (Subject to additions)
Genre: Time Travel, AU, Action/Adventure, Drama, Friendship, Romance.
Words: 16,383
Summary: At first it was about preventing tragedy. For Cloud it soon becomes a fight to protect new bonds, tread untrod paths and find happy endings. Second chances aren't always easy in a time where ghosts live and heroes are human.
Special Thanks To: Our darling, amazing beta/guinea pig reader leasspell_dael for all of your help, nightpounce for helping inspire the summary, and the rest of the peanut gallery.
Chapter 03 - Crisis of Confession
Masterlist
Counter Crisis
by White Mage Koorii & Dragoon-Sama
Chapter 04 - Crisis of Chocobos
[ μ ] - εуλ 0001 (December 12th)
(You're in over your head again, Zack.)
The thought had sounded oddly like Angeal, and in the state between waking and dreaming Zack wasn't completely sure it wasn't. He wriggled around, a hand coming up to scuff at his nose, and mumbled, “Sorry, 'Ngeal.” It was only as he slid, uncontrolled, to the side and hit the ground that Zack remembered he'd fallen asleep leaning against a solid rock wall. He gave a choked gasp, and blinked his way through the blurriness that came with waking after having exhausted yourself. At the opening of the cavern he was sprawled in, Zack could see the low glow of embers in a fire that needed more fuel. There was a hunched figure against the far wall; a darker image superimposed over a still inky sky beyond. The firelight glimmered off their shoulder armor and helmet.
It hurt more than he'd have liked to remember that it wasn't Angeal sitting there as he guided Zack through a tough mission.
As Zack shoved himself back upright, his eyes wandering to where Buster Sword was propped up against the wall to his left, a rough voice asked, “You alright, sir?”
“Yeah, just startled myself,” he admitted wryly. There was a faint snapping and popping as Gibbs stirred the fire in a hopeless attempt to keep it from dying. It wasn't like it was really necessary, but not everyone here was gifted with SOLDIER eyes.
Zack twisted to the right to find Cloud where he'd settled in hours ago. The only difference was that at some point in the night Cloud had curled in on himself; his arms locked around his legs, and his head buried against his knees. Cloud's helmet rested by his hip, and the wild spikes of his blond hair looked almost bleached white-gold in the faint light. Zack looked away from him to focus on the dirt between his boots. It was marked with tiny pits and rises-the pattern from the soles.
(In over my head, huh? You're probably right....)
Angeal probably would have called him all kinds of naïve and foolish if he were here right now. He wasn't though, so Zack had to muddle along on his own virtues and instincts. He picked absently at his pants, more gray-brown than black even in the poor lighting, and watched a puff of dust come loose. Maybe he was just a gullible idiot who was going to wind up dead someday because he couldn't leave a friend to his own devices. (Don't think about what Cloud said.) Maybe he'd started our humoring Cloud, expecting to unravel the story and eventually Cloud would laugh it off, and it'd all just be a mako dream that his friend had had.
At first that had been what he wanted, all he’d wanted. He’d been half out of his mind in a mixture of adrenaline, worry, and fear. “Another friend gone mad,” he’d thought. “It’s going to be just like Angeal all over again.” Zack had been terrified that he was going to have to take Cloud out, that he’d run off and end up a danger to ShinRa and Zack would have to go out and kill him. A part of him had wondered if he could just get him to talk, get him to admit what was wrong.... Then he’d watched Cloud fall apart, practically sobbing into the dirt, and he’d been scared for a different reason.
Zack had never dealt with someone having the kind of psychotic break that Cloud had seemed to be having. Well, unless he counted that time Angeal and been raving about being a monster. He hadn’t been able to do much then either, just protest and try to get Angeal to listen, to stop, to come back.
(“Then what should an angel fight for, Zack? What do angels dream of?!”
“Angeal....”)
Angeal’s frustration and confusion had nothing on the desperation that had been in Cloud’s voice. Zack hadn’t been able to bring himself to interrogate Cloud, had done his best to keep calm in an effort to get Cloud to calm down, to get him to talk to him. Cloud’s story had been crazy, and wild, and maybe it was a mako hallucination-Zack didn’t know. He’d wanted it to just stop, wanted Cloud to suddenly wake up and tell him he was okay now, that it had just been a dream and they should get back.
He hadn't, and by the time Zack had heard himself rambling about Modeoheim, he'd realized he was going to side with Cloud even if it was a blind leap of faith. It was probably stupid, but it was a choice between ignoring it and hoping Cloud would ‘get better’, or believing him and sticking by his friend. It was a choice of Cloud’s possible delirium, of faith in Cloud, or continuing to cling staunchly to a corporation that he’d been learning was rotten since Angeal had gone missing. It had been a painful road of broken dreams and idealism, and Zack had paid with it via a price that was far too high. Somehow, putting a little trust in Cloud didn’t seem so bad, and Zack didn't think anyone could fabricate that sort of broken, shaking, absolutely destroyed emotion. In the end, he’d already given his word, and even if Cloud was just hallucinating, was just crazy, Zack was going to stick with him. He’d failed to save Gillian Hewley, Angeal, and Genesis.... He didn’t want to fail Cloud too, even if it came down to saving the kid from himself.
And, maybe, just maybe there was a part of Zack that wanted to believe, desperately. He didn't know if he could take it if he had to face down another friend, had to go through Angeal again. Well, that was a lie. He could do it, had been prepared to do it when he chased after Cloud, but...he didn't want to. Zack wanted to believe, because even though most of what Cloud had said had left him feeling faintly horrified, in the short run the other options were much, much worse.
On the one hand, if he decided to betray Cloud’s trust and turn him over to ShinRa as a possible danger, or even just to get him some help, there was the chance that terrible things could happen to him. Genesis and Angeal terrible, particularly if Cloud was telling him the truth and wasn’t just crazy. Zack had to ask himself if he was willing to lay that on chance, on his conscience, and the answer had been a resounding no. Zack would just have to live with the consequences of his choice both short term and long term. At least Cloud's possible future was a long way off and Zack might not even live to see it if Cloud was right.
(I wasn't going to think about that....) It was no good now, he was already thinking about it. The thought of his own death made something swoop low in his stomach. For all the danger and close calls Zack had been through, hearing Cloud's description, and the emotion thick behind the words, had thrown his own mortality into his face far more efficiently. Just thinking about it made him feel claustrophobic and twitchy.
Zack shoved himself to his feet and crept toward the dying fire. He had to navigate the limbs of sprawled troopers to get there. Jac was snoring loud enough to cover his footfalls. The wide mouth of the entrance to the mines spilled straight out into the funnel shaped canyon in which an immense, dead tree stood like a sentinel. There was a thick fog hanging over the marshes and blocking his view as it wreathed about the dead tree like a twisted veil. Zack squatted down, balanced on the precipice of open ground. Beside him the fire popped and guttered lower.
“If you want to get a bit more sleep, I'll take over for you.” He wasn't going to get anymore sleep now anyway.
“That's alright,” Gibbs grumbled. “It'll be dawn soon and I think I'd like to watch the sunrise. You don't really get that kind of chance in Midgar.”
Zack made an agreeable noise. It was one of the things he missed about Gongaga. It didn't have that great a view most of the time, down among the trees as they were, but sometimes his dad would get him up real early to go to the waterfall pool that was a short hike outside the town. They'd take fishing poles, dip their lines in, and just sit there. Well, Zack's dad would. Zack always got bored and ended up wading in and looking for pretty rocks to take back to his mom. “One of the perks of being SOLDIER,” he said at last. “Getting to see so many different skies.” Just like he'd told Aerith, and one day he'd make sure she saw it. Just another promise to keep before he died. (Not like that. I'm going to live a long life, right?)
“The pay's not half bad either,” Gibb's said drolly. Zack gave an amused cough.
“There's always that.”
The pair of them fell quiet again, Zack allowing himself to be drawn back into his own thoughts. Unsurprisingly, he was pulled right back into the puzzle Cloud presented. He still had nagging doubts about the whole thing, as any sane person would, but he couldn't deny that it could make sense. He'd noticed the oddities already. If only he had some way to check the information Cloud had given him without the Turk's deciding he'd just made himself too dangerous. Good people tended to disappear that way.
In the end it all came down to who he'd rather trust. ShinRa and the dirty underbelly he'd been starting to uncover ever since Angeal had gone missing in Wutai, or Cloud, a kid he barely knew, and his crazy story. Zack's gut instincts were telling him to go with Cloud, though that might have had more to do with his growing disillusionment as much as anything else. He'd already said he'd help Cloud in all his impulsiveness, so there was probably no going back now. Zack just hoped that his instincts had led him right this time, and his rather hit-and-miss luck was on target. He was going to need both if he was going to keep Cloud out of trouble.
At least he had a sinking suspicion where Cloud's near violent aversion to the medical and science staff came from. Which was a whole other drum of land worms that was going to have to be dealt with at some point.
Zack swiped his hand over his hair. (You always were good at running roughshod into messes, weren't you?) That had sounded like Angeal too, and it made Zack smile, albeit sadly. Yeah, that sounded like him alright. No use for it, Zack had given his word and he wasn't taking it back. Besides, if Cloud was telling the truth, he had to save Sephiroth. It felt like he owed it to Angeal, and maybe even Genesis, to try. He was the only one left to do it, and that was no one's fault but his own.
There was a faint rustle and scuff of movement behind them, and Zack looked over his shoulder at the same time Gibbs turned to look. The other Third, Edge, was picking his way toward them from the deeper gloom of the cavern where he'd been providing watch against any monsters that decided to creep out of the bowels of the mine. Not that they'd been too worried of that. The path of destruction and monster carcasses they'd passed on their way had told them all they needed to know. If Zack were a member of the monster community in here, he'd lay low for a few days post-Sephiroth destruction too.
“Just let it die,” Edge grumbled, and scuffed a bit of dirt toward the embers burning themselves out on the dirt and stone floor. “By the time these jokers wake up it'll be sun up.” There came a suspiciously snicker-like snort from behind them, and Edge growled, “Go back to sleep, grunt.”
“Sir, yes sir,” Sparo's voice floated to them. Zack chuckled at the mocking lilt.
It was quiet again, the three of them watching the swirl of mist over the swamp. Zack only moved to settle himself into a more comfortable sitting position as the time slipped by. Slowly but surely the sun began to creep up over the horizon and turn the sky from the pale grays of predawn to pastel shades of pink, purple, yellow, and orange. The serenity of the view was broken as a voice mumbled, “I have to go to the bathroom.” The laughter was immediate. Zack and the two Thirds turned to look at the troopers, now obviously awake.
“Well, you have two options, Jac,” Sparo drawled. “You can either go down to the edge of the swamp and brave the monsters, or you can venture back into the caves. You might need an escort though.”
“Aw, shut up, Sparo,” Jac whined.
“We don't want you to get lost again,” Sparo simpered. “Then we'd have to send Cloud to rescue you.”
There were more snorts of laughter. Even Gibbs was chuckling as he stood up and began to stomp out the ashy remains of the night's fire. Zack craned his neck around to get a look at his blond friend. Cloud was watching the byplay with a dazed look of bemusement on his face.
“You should go with him and hold his hand, Sparo,” Edge remarked acidly.
“Just like when we were growing up, eh, Jac?”
With a shake of his head, Zack shoved himself to his feet, attempted to dust his pants off, gave up, and ambled over to crouch down beside Cloud. When he reached out to ruffle Cloud's hair, his hand was immediately batted away. Zack merely grinned impudently at Cloud's faintly disgruntled expression. “How're you doing this morning, Cloud?”
“I'm fine, Zack. Really.”
They both went quiet for a second as Jac and Sparo walked past them into the deeper gloom of the cave. The latter was saying, “And you better make sure you don't miss and get your helmet all dirty.”
“Spaaarooo.”
Zack coughed into his fist to hide a laugh, then looked back at Cloud who was shaking his head. He still looked a bit confused. Quietly, Zack said, “I just wanted to make sure. Last night couldn't have been easy on you.”
Cloud squeezed his knees, eyes lowering and shrugged his shoulders slightly. Zack wasn't sure if that was a dismissal, or not. A moment later Cloud murmured, “It was...kind of nice. To talk about it.”
There were a hundred things Zack wanted to say right then, a hundred questions he wanted to ask. The most pertinent being one being 'Did you keep all of that bottled up all this time?', but he didn't ask. Now wasn't really the time for this sort of conversation. Instead he said, “Come on, let's go outside in the sun. You look like you could use some.”
Zack ignored Cloud's faint mutter, since as he walked off he heard Cloud get up and shuffle after him. He stopped long enough to grab Buster Sword, then headed out onto the faint dirt trail that was all that remained of a workable path. It was mostly grown over with grass. Connally and the two Thirds were already out in the sun, though they hadn't gone far enough to cross the invisible line they'd established as a safe zone. The swamp itself was slowly beginning to unveil itself as the sun burned away the mist. Even now Zack could see jagged, dark trees draped with swamp moss poking out above the remaining low lying cover.
With a tremendous yawn and a spine popping stretch, Zack plopped himself down on a convenient rock, laid Buster Sword over his knees, and began to check for any damage. Internally, he cringed over a mental lecture from Angeal. Oh man, if his mentor wasn't dead, he'd kill him! Zack was just lucky that all it really needed was a thorough cleaning, as there was blood and monster gore stuck in the crevices. Rust, wear, and tear...oh boy....
It was about then that Jac and Sparo returned and went over to stand by the other men. Cloud, Zack noted, was standing apart from them. A little closer to Zack's own position, but not really standing with him either. It was like he wasn't exactly sure how to integrate, but thought he should. It reminded Zack more than a little of Sephiroth, only Cloud wasn't nearly as unreachable or intimidating. The rest of the group appeared to be regarding the swamp with wary expressions, as if they expected something to come flying out of it at any second.
“Are...zoloms real?” Connally asked suddenly, breaking the quiet.
“Oh yeah,” that was Sparo. “They're as real as any other monster.”
“I heard a story about a man who got bit by one, walked nine more paces, and just fell down dead,” Jac muttered in a stage-whisper.
“They're really dangerous,” Sparo noted glibly, “I've heard even an entire squad of SOLDIER 2nds will avoid them.”
“That's nothing,” Zack broke in, sensing a moment for mischief. Almost as one they turned to look at him. “There was this one time where a buddy of mine and I decided to do a little fishing, you know, just for something to do. So we came out this way to get away from Midgar and all the hustle and bustle. Guy came up with the smart idea to go fishing in the swamp, and I went along with it. I mean, what was the worst that could happen?” He had their attention riveted, and Zack allowed a grin and a secretive look to draw them in further. “So there we were, just dipped our lines in, and the guy gets a bite, right?” He watched them shuffle closer, and held his hands up to imitate reeling. “He's heaving on the fishing pole, reeling in what must be a monstrous catch and the next thing I know...this huge snaky head breaks the surface.”
Someone muttered a “Holy shit.”
Zack laughed in delight. “It had poison and blood dribbling off its mouth from the hook and looked as mean as a ruffled chocobo. I swear I nearly wet myself, but my friend just looked determined to haul the thing in. There was no way I wanted to face it, of course, so I used my sword to cut the line.... Man, he was not happy, let me tell you. Nor was the zolom. I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life.” They stared at him for several seconds, before the babble started in and Zack caught speculations about who his 'friend' had been.
“I heard he was really close to SOLDIER Hewley before he died. Maybe it was him?”
“No way. I bet it was the General!”
“...I can't really see the General fishing even if it is for Midgar zoloms....”
Cloud was giving him a look that told Zack he was well on to him and his silly story. Zack simply grinned, unabashed.
"How about you, Cloud? What sort of nasties do they have where you come from?" Connally asked, suddenly turning to include Cloud in the current discussion. Cloud blinked owlishly for a moment.
"Um…mostly just wolves and dragons, really," he said. "The more dangerous thing is the weather. The winters up there are deadly, if you don't know how to handle them."
"You have dragons up there, and all you're worried about is a little cold? No wonder a mako bath didn't do more than piss you off!" Sparo said, incredulous humor in his voice. The words caused a ripple of laughter from the others. Zack had to agree with him though, remembering Cloud's broken tale of nearly being eaten by one of the beasts.
Cloud, however, merely looked a bit bemused at the sentiment. When he looked at Zack as if hoping he could explain the joke to him, Zack merely gave him an encouraging grin and didn't bother to interfere as the men descended on Cloud with more questions about Nibel's dragons. Time passed slowly out here, rolling by in the way of fluffy white clouds and changing shadow lengths. Conversation ebbed and flowed, Zack pouncing in when he felt it prudent, but a lot of his time was spent laughing over the horrible jokes they told while he picked at the grime on Buster Sword. By the time it was nearing noon, they'd shared around some travel rations and a canteen. It was peaceful and easy-going, and Zack couldn't help but wonder when Sephiroth was going to show up.
"…Chocobos?" a quiet voice murmured from nearby. Zack shot a puzzled look at Cloud, who looked as baffled by what he'd said as Zack did.
“What's that?” Zack asked
“I...” Cloud's response cut off as he tensed slightly. Zack followed his gaze down toward the swamp.
Most of the mist had been burned away by now, leaving only bare threads of it curling along the edges of standing water and about the bases of trees. Zack could even make out the faint remnants of the old road that had once existed to allow the people of Kalm access to the mines. Most of it had been reclaimed by time and lack of maintenance to the waterlogged soil, but here and there it was obvious. The most visible part of the road was closer to harder ground. But it wasn't this that caught Zack's attention. Further out he could see movement, and almost as soon as he focused on it, Sephiroth was at the edge of the swamp in a flash of black and silver. He pushed off the ground with one leg in a leap that brought him even with the tree, and upon landing took several more crisp strides to stop before Jac.
Sephiroth extended the hand not clenched around Masamune toward the trooper who, after a belated moment of shock, held his own hand out. Into it, Sephiroth dropped a gleaming, purple materia. Zack stood, even as Sephiroth smoothly said, “I suggest you step back.” He turned on his heel with an impressive sweep of his hair and coat, and took a couple of steps back toward the swamp. A second later, a warbling, terrified mass of chocobos came tearing up toward them and right by Sephiroth fast enough to ruffle the man's hair. Zack could only stare in shock as they huddled around Jac, so close that he could no longer see the trooper, and cooed in distress.
Before he had a chance to worry about the birds' behavior, what had set them into such a state exploded from the swamp in a shower of murky, stagnant water and trailing swamp grass. The zolom's body slid over the grass with the sound of dragging, rustling scales, and its large, lidless eyes focused on them with obvious predatory intent. As Zack brought Buster Sword up, prepared to run forward and defend the men should he need to, he noticed Cloud take a couple of steps forward.
“Cloud, don't-” he started to say, his words drowned under the alarmed shouts of the other men. It seemed a useless warning anyway as Sephiroth jumped to meet the zolom when it glided past the dead tree. Zack could see him bring Masamune up and clip it on the chin with the hilt of the sword. The blow was hard enough to knock the serpent's head back. Smoothly, Sephiroth flipped over, twisted midair, grabbed hold of the zolom's snout, and let gravity help him yank it backwards and down to impale it through its hood on the sharp top of the tree. It had all happened so fast that none of them had a chance to get out of the way before splintered wood rained down around them. Along with a good deal of blood. Zack thought Sephiroth might have managed to sever an artery.
Sephiroth landed neatly just out of range of the gory shower, hair shimmering lightly in the sun as it settled around him, and turned to blink lazily up at his handiwork. Zack could only sputter, and turned to look at Cloud. The blond looked back at him, lips pressed into a thin, pale line. Zack, shook his head, slung Buster Sword into position on his back, and strode forward to push past the still chirruping chocobos in an effort to reach Sephiroth.
“You're such a show off,” he said glibly, as if he hadn't just been spattered by zolom blood. “Was that at all necessary?” Sephiroth looked toward him, the slight furrowing of his brows and small downward curl of his lips the only sign of his annoyance, before they smoothed away as though something had lifted his mood. Zack would put bets on the zolom, rather than his attempts at humor.
“If I were more prone to dramatics, I would have put more effort into my arrival,” Sephiroth said, and turned away again to step down toward the edge of the swamp. “I did as you asked and provided chocobos for the men. You never stipulated how I should go about it.”
Zack snorted faintly, and muttered to himself about how Sephiroth wouldn't have listened anyway. “Yeah, well, I just wasn't expecting a zolom, too. But, hey Sephiroth?” No response. Still, Zack soldiered on. “You do know that this one is, uh, too small to ride right?” Sephiroth gave no immediate indication he'd heard. Zack suspected he was too busy pretending that there wasn't a tiny beak latched onto the back of his long, black coat. Zack crouched down to get a better look at the chocobo chick.
The chick stumbled forward on legs that were still unsure, and leaned adoringly against Sephiroth's mud spattered boots. Zack stared at it, amused, while it gazed lovingly up at Sephiroth. From above him, Sephiroth said, “It followed me.” Zack just about laughed at the nearly undetectable air of bemusement underlying Sephiroth's calm voice, and looked up at him. The way the man was eying the chick and fingering Masamune was mildly disconcerting.
“It followed you here all the way from the ranch?” Zack asked quickly. Mostly he was just trying to distract Sephiroth from attempting to bat the poor thing out into the swamps. “But it's just a little thing!” A little thing that was doing its best to nibble on Sephiroth's boot affectionately. As if that wasn't weird enough, Sephiroth stepped away from it. The bird wobbled after him, obviously intent on sticking as close as possible.
“It's a black,” Sephiroth said flatly, as if that explained everything, and he clearly expected Zack to accept this statement and leave it alone.
Zack, of course, chose to ignore the subtext and gestured at the chick. “It's just a baby!” He said, then reached out, slid his hands under the chocobo's plump little body, and lifted it off the ground. It warked in displeasure and scrabbled at the air, tiny wings flapping as it tried to get out of his grip. When it didn't manage to succeed, it looked disdainfully back at him. Zack let it go and it bobbled over to Sephiroth's heels again like a faithful puppy. Sephiroth took another few steps away as if he were merely impatient to be leaving and not trying to avoid the chocobo. Zack found this hilarious and had to stifle his abrupt laughter.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed slightly at Zack's obvious merriment. “Perhaps it would be best to be rid of it. I doubt it can survive on its own.” The statement was followed by a faint snick as Sephiroth used his thumb to flick Masamune loose. The sunlight glanced off the blade while the chocobo warbled, unaware of its danger as it returned to picking at one of Sephiroth's boots again. Zack stood, holding his hands up in an effort to calm the man's irritation.
“Now, now, let's not be so hasty. Sure, it's just a baby chocobo, but it's a black chocobo like you said. It's obvious someone worked hard to breed this little thing, so why don't we just take it back to the ranch and get it out of your hair.”
Sephiroth twisted Masamune slightly, his attention apparently focused on the way light glistened on the deadly steel, then gave a faint sound of agreement. Masamune clicked back into place and he started to walk away, obviously more than ready to get the chocobo away from him. He was brought up short as the chick grabbed the back of his coat again. Zack decided to pretend he hadn't noticed Sephiroth's predicament and headed back toward the others. It seemed no one had recovered enough from the shock yet to rescue Jac from the chocobos, but apparently they were getting to the gibbering part of recovery.
"That…was…so…cool!" Connally said hoarsely, keeping his voice low so as not to draw attention from the subject of his comment. "Did you see that?" he continued, turning wide eyes on the person next to him. Gibbs looked no less impressed, eyes sparkling with more than just the mako glow.
"That was also so disgusting," Sparo said, mouth twisted in a grimace as he wiped blood out of his eyes. "When I get back to Midgar I'm not coming out of the shower for a week! Ugh…."
Edge seemed to be more immune to the spectacle, and instead waded through the pack of chocobos to Jac's side to rescue the poor trooper from the mob of curious beaks. The glow from what Zack supposed must be a Chocobo Lure materia faded as Edge closed his hand around it and deactivated the spell. The pack broke apart but didn't flee the area, just milled nearby warking softly amongst themselves as they waited for the humans to approach them again. Zack turned to consider them as he listened to the continued chatter.
"Man…I hate chocobos.” That was Jac, voice petulant alongside the sound of gloves brushing over clothing. "I mean, I didn't become a military man to ride around like a pillock on display."
"They're not that bad.…" And that quiet voice was Cloud. "They're fun to race, at least.”
"You race chocobos? A mountain kid like you?" The surprised question was from Connally. Zack could echo that sentiment.
"…Just a bit," Cloud replied.
"I wouldn't have thought they'd have chocobos up in the cold like that,” the rough voice he recognized as Gibbs said. "Though I can see why you'd be good at it. Small frame, light weight…."
"You should become a jockey!" Jac butted in enthusiastically. "I mean, you'd make a ton of money, if you're any good." As ShinRa had risen to power, chocobos had become less and less sought after, though Zack had heard talk of people setting up out in the fields and racing them. A lot of the men liked to go out near Kalm and see if they could catch some of the action. Apparently the betting pools were pretty good. Zack had never been interested himself.
"I don't really…." Cloud mumbled. It was then that Zack realized something that had been, quite literally, staring him in the face.
“Hey, there's only six here!” he yelped, and turned toward Sephiroth “You didn't get me one?” The man in question slanted him a look, and Zack swore he heard a low chuckle.
“I believe you are capable of crossing under your own power, Zack.”
“Oh, that's just cruel. Just because you enjoy running around the marshes doesn't mean you need to subject me to your new hobby too!” Sephiroth merely smiled faintly, so Zack went looking for his new favorite ally. “Cloud! Help me out here!” Unfortunately Cloud wasn't looking at him, but rather passed him. If Zack wasn't mistaken he was staring a little too low to be looking at Sephiroth, so.... Zack chanced a glance over his shoulder to see a disgruntled Sephiroth trying to get away from the chocobo chick again, and repressed a snort. When he looked back at Cloud, there was something decidedly off. It was just a subtle shift in his stance, and the way he reached up and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know, Zack. It seems to me that if the General gives an order, I shouldn't disobey a superior officer," Cloud said, crossing his arms and resting his weight on one leg. A teasing smirk tugged at his lips as he tilted his head at Zack. There was something off in all of that too. It was nothing like the quiet guy he'd come to know over the last day or so, and not even like the slightly more animated kid he'd met in Modeoheim.
“Huh?” Zack tilted his head to one side, giving Cloud an absolutely baffled look. Whatever had just changed, it meant one thing at least.... Cloud wasn't going to save him. Zack slumped, arms dangling uselessly, and groaned. “Oh, man, you're something else, Cloud. I mean it.” The sound of rustling leather behind him made Zack jerk around in time to see Sephiroth striding off. The chocobo chick was scuttling after him determinedly, and Zack grinned wryly. “I guess that's our cue. If you gossiping gals want to grab a chocobo, let's go!” Despite the comment he hung back to make sure they got on their chocobos alright, but it seemed Cloud had that well in hand.
"You heard the man. Mount up, and let's mosey," Cloud said, striding over to the milling birds after scooping up his helmet. Zack watched in bemusement as he looked the birds over. He could only wonder about the abrupt personality shift, and whether or not he ought to be worried about it. There was something oddly...familiar...about it, though he couldn't put a finger on it. "Come on, you take this one. It should be a gentle enough ride for you, since you seem to have such a problem with them,” Zack heard Cloud explain. Jac didn't move, mouth slightly agape as he just stared at Cloud. Cloud stared back patiently. There was a choked sound as Gibbs fought back a bitten off chuckle, his hand over his eyes.
"Mosey? Cloud, that has got to be the lamest thing I've ever heard," Sparo said, shaking his head sadly. Cloud shrugged merely shrugged at him, not at all apologetic.
"If you guys would move, then I wouldn't have to say it," he pointed out, giving Jac another blunt look. The trooper shook himself out of his stupor, and grinned at Cloud as he took the chocobo's reins from his hand.
"Geeze, were you dropped on your head as a kid?" Jac asked, punching Cloud's shoulder jokingly. Cloud rolled his eyes, donned his helmet, then turned on his heel to mount his own chocobo. The others mounted their birds in swift order, and brought them to line up in front of the swamp where they waited for the order to move out.
Zack had watched the entire exchange silently, a smile on his face that didn't really fit there considering the concerned turn his thoughts had taken. He knew Cloud hadn't told him everything, and certainly was willing to wait until he was comfortable to ask for more information, but now Zack was wondering if he didn't need to push a little more. Something was very wrong here. The problem was that there was no way he could approach Cloud about the issue for now.
He breathed out, let it go for the moment, but made a mental note to speak to Cloud as soon as was feasible. “Choice of words aside, Cloud's right. We need to get moving,” he echoed. Holding up his hand he waved them forward. “Get straight across, don't linger. If you get in trouble Sephiroth or I will take care of it.”
With that, Zack started off himself. His boots sunk into slick swamp mud almost immediately. He had to shift his balance, but he caught himself before he slid and fell into the muck. It didn't stop it from spattering up his already filthy pants unfortunately. How Sephiroth managed to stay so pristine he had no idea. Zack raced forward to catch up with Sephiroth who was still walking along like this was a stroll in the park. “Hey, Sephiroth, you alright?” He seemed kind of down. Well, if someone like Sephiroth could be considered down. It was a bit heartbreaking to realize that Sephiroth had no one to talk to in the wake of Angeal and Genesis' demises, and Zack felt awful for not trying harder to track the man down in his own upset.
Sephiroth didn't even look at him as he continued to stride forward. “There's no reason I shouldn't be.”
Zack stopped dead, then hopped forward with a faint squawk when his boots started to sink into the mire. “Don't give me that Sephiroth. You have as much right as I do-more even!-to be upset right now. Angeal...and Genesis are both dead. You can't expect me to believe that you aren't affected by this!”
“Genesis fancied himself as my rival. Nothing more.”
This was like pulling teeth from a behemoth! “Sephiroth!” Zack bit out sharply. “You told me yourself that the three of you were friends, and yeah, maybe Genesis was your rival too, but that doesn't mean you weren't friends. And even then what about Angeal? Doesn't he matter?”
Sephiroth finally looked at him, eyes narrowed faintly in irritation. “They chose to leave ShinRa. Their fate was sealed the moment they took that course.”
Zack stopped again, flabbergasted. “You can't mean that!” he shouted, hardly aware he was yelling. “I know you don't Sephiroth, or you'd never have tried to help them back at reactor number five!” Sephiroth ignored him and kept walking, posture stiff and unrelenting.
A weary peep sounded near Zack's ankles, and he looked down at the tiny black chocobo. It looked wilted, all covered in slime and wet until its down was nearly plastered flat. Its eyes were half closed in tiredness, but still it struggled gamely on to keep up with Sephiroth. “Aw, man...” Zack said with a sigh. He reached down to scoop the rather pathetic looking bird up, paying no heed to the mud and water that soaked immediately into his skin and clothes. “These two are going to turn me wrinkled and gray before the year is out,” he confided in the bird.
From not too far behind him he heard Cloud's voice float through the murk. "Gibbs, Edge, you two take the front. Keep an eye out for the zoloms, and call out for Zack or Sephiroth if you see anything suspicious. Jac, Sparo, Connally, you three stick together in the middle. I'll bring up the rear.”
"Who died and made you General?" Edge's sharp voice asked.
"What would you suggest, then?" Cloud asked. "And the longer we argue, the more chance we have of being attacked.”
"Cloud, I know you suddenly think you can take on anything that comes your way, but you're not trained for this.” Connally seemed to be a peacemaker.
"Enough of the chatter," Gibbs cut in roughly. "Trooper or no, Cloud's right. SOLDIER Zack trusted him enough to take out monsters on his own, so we'll go with his plan. And you holler out the minute you think you see anything wrong too. There's no need for any of us to take unnecessary risks when we have two of the best SOLDIERs on our team. Now form up, everyone!" At the sound of chocobo claws pattering through the swamp muck, Zack sighed and started off after Sephiroth again. He'd be lucky if he didn't wind up losing a boot somewhere along the way.
It only took a bit of effort for Zack to hit his stride, and soon he was moving through the sticky mud with only the barest of problems. The chocobo chick he'd tucked under his arm didn't seem to mind the free ride, at least. “You know,” he remarked to the little black, “If you were bigger you'd be carrying me.” The chick gave him a tired look, then tucked its head between his side and its fluffy body, clearly intent on a nap. Zack envied it.
By the time he'd been on the move for awhile, Zack had come to the conclusion that he was lucky the only thing he'd had to worry about were biting insects. If he'd been forced to fight something big and nasty out here, one handed, and with his boots sinking into the sludge.... Well, they'd probably be picking Zack Fair out of monsters' teeth for weeks. It was possible that he was just irritated with having to stop and yank his boot out of the mud for the billionth time. Sephiroth was going to pay for this, somehow. He didn't know how, but he was sure there was some sort of luck out there that would agree with him and inflict suffering on Sephiroth for him.
His next staggering lunge had him stumbling through what had a second ago looked like solid ground, but was actually a pool of knee deep, foul smelling water. It took several seconds after he'd gotten out of there to realize he appeared to be walking on what was mostly solid ground. Zack warily glanced around himself, expecting to find he'd stumbled onto one of the little islands that spotted the marshes, but no. He was surrounded by clusters of peat moss that eventually gave way to straggling grass growth. Further on the ground turned pretty and green as it smoothed into the rolling plains.
Zack was, in a word, deliriously happy. The entire run across the swamps had left him spattered from head to toe in stinking sludge. He breathed deep, hoping for the smell of fresh air, and wound up coughing because it was like the stink was stuck in his nose. With a groan he rubbed the back of his forearm against his forehead. Between the blood from the zolom and swamp muck all over him, Zack didn't know if he'd ever be clean again. A part of him drearily thought he'd never get the smell of the place off his skin.
As he staggered onward toward the growing stretch of greenery, he could see Sephiroth already there. In fact, he appeared to be scraping mud off the bottom of his boots with the help of the grass. Sephiroth, Zack noticed, as he finally came up even with the man, seemed to have managed to make it across three times without getting anything above his knees dirty. Zack contemplated telling him he hated him, but decided he didn't have the energy, and anyway Sephiroth was strolling off already.
The heavy thud of chocobo feet interrupted his momentary malaise. "Thank the Planet that's over with," Connally said brightly as the men slowed their mounts to a walk. "Though it's too bad we couldn't see the General in action again."
"I could forgo the pleasure. I still have bits zolom in places I really don't want to mention right now," Sparo groused, rolling his shoulders to demonstrate his discomfort. Cloud, the only one of the troopers with his helmet still on, slipped off the head gear to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Upon noticing him, Cloud tossed Zack a jaunty wave that he returned with a little less enthusiasm. He wasn't quite feeling his usual energy at the moment.
"Just so long as we stop soon. We're not trained for riding these things for so long," Jac complained, slumped in his own saddle.
"Listen to the ladies chatter!" Edge drawled. "At least one of you doesn't look like something I'd rather feed to the chocobos."
Jac sat up straight despite his obvious discomfort. "That's because he looks more like a chocobo himself," he remarked. He had a bit of a point, Zack noted. Despite the filth that had been kicked up by the birds, Cloud's hair still spiked out dramatically. The sunny yellow nearly matched the color of his mount. All the same, Zack personally thought the comparison was too easy.
"Tell me one I haven't heard a thousand times before," Cloud said shot back. Despite the sweat still clinging to him he was already securing his helmet back on. "You know, if you move with the chocobo's stride rather than let it bounce you around, it will be a much smoother ride for you."
"Ah, that's right. We have a veritable racing expert in our midst!" Edge cut in.
"Cool it, Edge," Gibbs warned, kicking his bird so he was between Cloud and the other Third.
"I'm just playing," Edge complained, scowling at his fellow SOLDIER. "I'm not hurting your feelings, right sunshine?" He addressed the comment over Gibbs' head to Cloud.
"I suppose the only way to shut you up is to prove I can outrace you, is that it?" Cloud challenged. In the next second Cloud had already sent his chocobo running forward to the surprised shouts of the men who followed after them. Zack stared after them feeling oddly detached. He supposed it was just exhaustion catching up with him, but he felt a bit like an old man trying to keep up with a bunch of toddlers. It wasn't a sensation he was used to.
“Is this the way I make people feel normally?” he mused aloud. The little black chocobo lifted its head and peered around blearily, then peeped in what Zack thought was a questioning manner. “You're almost home,” Zack informed it. “Just hold on.” As he started to jog after the group, he glanced down at it and found it staring intently around as if searching for something. With a sigh, Zack picked up his pace, lengthened his stride, and put a burst of speed behind it. “Maybe if we're lucky the rancher will be feeling charitable enough to give us something to eat.”
And Zack would have a chance to talk to Cloud, because something weird was still going on. That whole scene had just been way too surreal, not to mention completely against what he was coming to expect from Cloud. Zack could admit he was worried. It might not be anything, but considering how absolutely insane everything had been lately he figured he had a right to be a little bit twitchy.
Part Two