Disclaimer: Final Fantasy belongs to Squaresoft and various other interested parties, not me. I'm not making any money from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. This is a work of fandom, intended as appreciation of the original work.

Chapter 10

Staring at the list of locations and times, Cloud ran the numbers through his head yet again and came up with the same conclusion he'd reached the first four times he'd done it. Every single time Sephiroth had been sighted, it had been when Cloud was either asleep or out of Zack's presence for some other reason. Instead of the hoped-for proof that Zack couldn't possibly be the carrier, he'd gotten exactly the opposite.

Of course, the list could be incomplete. Ordinarily he wouldn't have trusted information passed on by the Turks any further than he could throw it, but in this case he was willing to believe he knew everything they did. Tifa had interrupted the argument between Zack and Cloud over how to go about forcing the information out of the Turks by pointing out that they could try just asking.

She'd then proceeded to sweet-talk it out of Rude, and had gotten his assurance that it was everything they had. Oddly, Cloud believed him. Rude was less inclined to fuck with people just for the sake of it than Reno was, and all the signs indicated that he still had that crush on Tifa.

So if he could safely assume the list was complete... groaning, Cloud buried his face in his hands and slumped wearily over the table. With nine sightings of the bastard, it seemed beyond belief that the timing of each appearance could be a coincidence. It had to be Zack.

The real question was, what was he going to do about it? Cloud could probably arrange things so he and Zack didn't ever separate, but he needed to sleep sometimes. He couldn't exactly lock Zack up at night or drug him senseless. And even if Zack hadn't gotten them to promise not to kill the carrier out of hand, there was no way Cloud could even contemplate that solution. Not with Zack.

Standing, he gathered the papers into an untidy pile and shoved them under some other folders from his courier business. Out of sight didn't come close to out of mind in this case, but at least he wouldn't have them glaring up at him from the table like a silent accusation.

He still wasn't quite sure whether he should confide his suspicions to Zack or not. What if the older man didn't believe him? Worse, what if he did, and decided to do something stupidly noble like sacrifice himself for the good of the rest of the world? That was just the sort of thing Cloud could imagine him doing, the selfless idiot. This was after all the same guy who had dragged his comatose friend all over the world for a year before throwing himself in the way of a sniper bullet to protect the same - still comatose! - friend.

If there was one thing Cloud was certain of, it was that he couldn't bear to lose Zack again. Especially not like that. It would break him, completely and utterly. Even thinking about having to face Sephiroth in a battle knowing that to kill him would be to kill Zack was enough to make him shake with fear. He couldn't do it - and that meant Sephiroth was going to win this time.

"There has to be another way," he said fiercely, pacing back and forth the length of their tiny main room. The corner of the church they'd converted into living space wasn't very large; just big enough for two small bedrooms, a rudimentary kitchen and bathroom, and this main room with a table and two chairs. They didn't spend much time in it anyway, so that was all they needed. It made for cramped pacing space, though.

All right. He couldn't kill Zack, and he couldn't let anyone else kill him either, including Zack himself. That meant he needed to find a way to suppress Sephiroth so he couldn't take control. The idea that the bastard was forcing his way through Zack's iron will was almost incomprehensible in the first place, Cloud couldn't imagine what they could do to boost Zack's chances of fighting him off.

The answer might lie in Hojo's files, but they'd made no progress there yet. Both Reeve and Cid had said they'd do what they could, but had made no promises. Now Cloud regretted chasing off the techs that had been sealed away in the lab with Zack; they would almost certainly have been able to interpret the information.

He couldn't chance waiting for that information and hoping Zack wouldn't succumb completely in the meantime. There had to be something else he could do!

Pausing in front of one of the stained glass windows in the outside wall, he stared blankly out over the ruined city. What other possible sources of information were there? Rufus, of course, but Cloud still didn't trust anything from him. What would Rufus' sources be? Maybe Cloud could go to them directly. Where had the Turks gotten their information before this?

Realization struck, and Cloud cursed himself for a fool even as he spun on his heel and raced for his room to pack. There was one other obvious potential source of information, and he couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to him to look there until now.

"Honey, I'm home!" Zack called as he shoved his way through the door with his hip, carrying heavy sacks in both arms. The joke still never failed to amuse him, and he laughed as he dumped the sacks onto the table in the main room. He'd gone out to exchange some of the more valuable monster bits Cloud had brought in for gil and supplies. They were still working on putting together a bike for him, so for the moment Cloud was the one making short delivery runs to bring in some cash while Zack did the mundane stuff like household chores. It was a fair enough exchange, but it did make him feel a bit like a housewife, which also amused him to no end.

A shuffling noise from Cloud's room alerted him to the blond's location, and a moment later the door opened to reveal the younger man with his full saddlebags slung over his shoulder. "Did you get a job?" Zack asked in surprise. To his experienced eye it looked like Cloud was packing for a trip longer than just overnight, which was the longest he'd been gone since he'd found Zack. For one thing, he was wearing his sword and armour.

Granted, the longer trips were the ones that paid best, but by mutual unspoken agreement Cloud had been turning those down for now. They still didn't like being separated, and anyway with the threat of Sephiroth looming over them it seemed foolish for Cloud to be out of reach for long.

"No." Cloud shook his head and hefted the saddlebags a little higher, not quite able to meet Zack's eyes. He was too afraid Zack would see the truth in his expression... and, if he was being honest with himself, he was terrified of seeing some sign of Sephiroth in Zack's eyes. "I realized we were overlooking a source of information - the North Crater. That's where the last bit of Jenova was found; maybe there is more there somewhere. It's also where Kadaj and the others came from, so if we're facing another situation like them it probably would have originated in the same place. There might be some clues."

"Oh, geez." Zack felt like an idiot for not thinking of that himself. "Right, give me two minutes and I'll be packed," he declared. Screw the groceries, they could rot on the table. This was more important. He'd have to ride double behind Cloud, but that shouldn't be a problem.

"You're not coming," Cloud told him flatly, stopping Zack in his tracks. When the older man gave him a questioning look, Cloud forced his face to stay blank as he met Zack's gaze. "If we both leave, then the city is unprotected. You said it yourself when Tifa suggested using us as bait; that might be what he's waiting for." And he didn't want Zack with him, in case there was something there. If he found a bit of Jenova and Zack was nearby, that might be enough to let Sephiroth break through. And that was the one thing Cloud most wanted to avoid, because then he would have no choice but to fight or die.

"That's what phones are for," Zack argued, frowning. "Tifa can call us if something happens. Leaving to go somewhere remote and play bait is one thing, but this is important. And I'm not letting you go by yourself!"

"I'm not going to argue about it with you," Cloud said. Zack smiled, taking that for agreement, but Cloud cut him off before he could say anything. "It's not open for discussion. You're not coming."

Blinking, Zack opened his mouth, but had to bite down on what he'd been about to say. His automatic response had been something along the lines of 'don't make me turn it into an order', but the fact was that he had no right to be giving Cloud orders any more. They were partners and friends, not superior and subordinate.

Of course, Cloud didn't have any right to be giving him orders, either. "How are you planning to enforce that, exactly?" Zack asked. His voice was mild, but there was a warning glint in his eyes. He might be easy-going by nature, but he could be damned stubborn when he felt like it.

"What are you going to do, follow me on foot?" Cloud retorted. "Unless you've got an airship or a gold chocobo hidden away somewhere that I don't know about, it would take you days to get there."

"What makes you think I'm going to let you leave the church?" Zack countered. "You think you can get past me?" Cloud won about four out of five of their practice bouts, but if they were fighting for real Zack was pretty sure he could at least hurt the younger man badly enough to keep him here. He couldn't believe he was even thinking about something like that, but he was not letting Cloud walk out of here without him.

"Don't turn this into a fight, Zack. You won't like the results," Cloud warned, his hand going automatically to the hilt of First Tsurugi, hanging in its accustomed place at his hip. Seeing that, Zack's hand went for his hilt as well, over his shoulder, and suddenly the tension level in the room skyrocketed.

"Tifa was right," Zack growled, shaking his head. "You just refuse to accept that you're not in this alone, don't you? You try to take everything on yourself. Well, not this time, kid. You said it yourself, to the Turks. For better or worse, you're stuck with me for the duration. I'm not letting you saunter off and leave me behind! What if something happens up there, and you need backup? What if Sephiroth shows up?"

That was, in fact, exactly what Cloud was afraid of, and why he didn't want Zack along. But he couldn't explain his reasoning without also telling Zack his theory. Making a frustrated noise, he tightened his hand on the hilt until he could feel the imprint of the leather wrapping even through the callus on his palm. "You're not coming!" he asserted, his eyes flashing.

"And you're not going alone, so apparently neither of us is going anywhere," Zack replied, taking a step closer. "So help me kid, I will tackle you and sit on you until you see sense, if you make me."

"Damn it, Zack! I am not a kid who needs protecting any more!" Cloud exclaimed, becoming genuinely angry. Did Zack still see him that way? Even though Cloud could now consistently beat him in their practice matches? What was it going to take to get the former SOLDIER to recognize that Cloud was his equal? "I don't need a babysitter. I did just fine on my own for three years without you," he added bitingly.

That stung, and Zack winced. "You weren't on you own," he pointed out relentlessly. He was not going to give in on this issue. "You had Aerith and Tifa and the others. And now you have me. That's the way it works when you're part of a team, Cloud."

Taking a deep breath, Cloud fixed his gaze unwaveringly on his friend's. "Get out of my way, Zack," he said, his voice tight. "Last warning. Don't make me fight you."

"You're the one turning it into a fight," Zack snapped back. "You either take me with you, or take me down. That's the only way I'm moving."

"Oh yeah?" That was a challenge Cloud couldn't ignore. He slipped the first blade of his sword from the sheath and took an aggressive stance. "Bring it on, SOLDIER boy. We'll see who takes who down." He was confident in his own ability to win, though the thought of fighting with Zack for real made him feel sick. Wasn't this exactly what he'd been trying to avoid?

"You asked for it," Zack growled, and unsheathed his sword as well. If he'd needed further confirmation that Cloud was no longer the same wide-eyed boy who'd once followed him around like a puppy, this was it. Back then Cloud would never have dreamed of arguing with him or standing up to him like this, and not just because Zack outranked him. Certainly it never would have come to an outright fight.

But if this was what it took to drive it through Cloud's thick skull that he didn't get to do this alone, then Zack would do it. Gritting his teeth, he charged in with a yell, wondering if there would be anything left of their little 'house' by the time they were done. Cloud kicked a chair aside and moved to meet him, angrier than Zack could ever remember seeing him.

Though Zack was certain he'd closed the door to the rest of the church behind him, the air was suddenly heavy with the scent of flowers. A curtain of petals blew between them, and the light in the room increased until they had to squint to see each other. They broke off their attack, both afraid of doing irreparable damage when they couldn't see their target properly. Cloud brought up one hand to shade his eyes automatically, even though he knew it wouldn't block the directionless light.

Stop it! Aerith sounded distinctly upset, and angry with both of them. Fighting each other isn't going to get you anywhere!

Swallowing hard, Zack slowly lowered his sword. She was there, standing between them, her form indistinct at the edges because of the strength of the light. He didn't need to be able to see her clearly to know she was glaring at them, though; her posture told him that, her hands planted on her hips and a stubborn look on her face.

Cloud opened his mouth, but nothing came out. As much as he'd feared she would eventually turn on him for the way he'd allowed her to die, this was the first time she'd ever been upset with him. And 'upset' didn't really cover it. He'd never seen her angry before. "Aerith..."

Her stance eased, and her eyes turned pleading as she held her hands out to both of them. You have to work together, or he's going to win. Trust in each other. With that she began to fade, the light going with her as the room returned to normal and the scent of flowers vanished.

Zack and Cloud were left staring at each other, their swords lowered and only a few feet of space between them. Another step and they'd have been in range of each other's blows, and blood would have been shed. Now that the anger had faded and he was thinking clearly again, Cloud was a bit shaken by what had just happened. Had he and Zack really just turned on each other?

"Odin save us," Zack said, his voice a little rough. He was obviously following the same train of thought as Cloud. "What were we thinking?"

"I'm not sure we were," Cloud muttered. He dropped his sword, uncaring when it clattered on the boards of the floor, and leaned back against the nearest wall as he covered his face with his hands. He was trembling, he realized, and his head was aching again. He could feel his pulse pounding against the inside of his skull. That made him wonder. "Do you think... could Sephiroth be trying to influence us?" he asked hesitantly.

"It would certainly serve his purposes - whatever they are - to have us at odds," Zack agreed thoughtfully. "And I don't usually get angry that easily. I hate to lay every problem we have at his feet, though. Chances were good we'd have a fight sooner or later. We're both stressed." He slung his sword into its place on his back and made his way to Cloud. Gripping the younger man by the shoulder, he gave his friend a worried look. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded, but lowered his eyes. He'd gotten a lot angrier than Zack, and faster. Granted, he really was irked beyond belief at the way Zack persisted in thinking of him as a kid, but that was no reason for them to draw blades.

Which did argue for it being Sephiroth. Zack had resisted the clone conversion process better than Cloud, so it would make sense that Sephiroth would have less control over him even if he was part of Zack's mind. "If he can influence us like this, we're in real trouble," he concluded, shaking his head.

"We're going to have to watch everything we say and do," Zack nodded, and squeezed his shoulder. "But now we know to stay alert. He won't be able to pull this trick twice. And I think it's more important than ever to go to North Crater; maybe he was trying to prevent us from going there. Or from going there together."

Because, Cloud realized with dawning horror, if he left Zack behind for the three or four days he'd need to get up there and take even a cursory look around, that would be the perfect time for Sephiroth to make a final push to break through. Cloud would be out of reach, and Tifa wouldn't be able to hold him off for long. Cloud might have returned to find nothing left of Edge.

Of course, Zack had been the one arguing that they should go together. So did that mean Sephiroth wanted them together, and Cloud had been right to insist on going alone? Small wonder he had a headache again. This whole mess was making his brain hurt.

"So, we're going together, right?" Zack prompted when Cloud hadn't said anything after a moment. "I mean, you heard the lady. We need to stick together."

"I guess we don't have much choice," Cloud agreed, his voice husky. If Zack really was the one carrying Sephiroth - and it seemed he couldn't come to any other conclusion, after all the evidence that had been dumped into his lap - then it would be nothing short of idiocy for him to leave the older boy alone for that long. Even if having them there together was what Sephiroth wanted. "Go pack, then. And pack light."

Zack nodded and headed for his room, leaving Cloud to pick up his sword and the bags he'd dropped. "Please, let this not be a mistake," he whispered, not even sure who he was praying to.

Trust, Aerith's voice ghosted over his shoulder, and slowly Cloud nodded.

"I just hope you're right," he told her softly. "Because otherwise, this is going to end really badly." She didn't reply, and he couldn't feel her presence nearby. Sighing, he waited for Zack to emerge.

"All right, I'm ready," Zack declared as he emerged with a couple of bags. He'd put on the armour they'd bought for him, similar to what he'd worn as a SOLDIER. He hadn't had any real reason to wear it before this, and the sight of him in it made Cloud feel a little like he'd taken a step back in time.

Which reminded him. "Zack. Do you really think of me as a kid, still?" he asked as he hefted his saddlebags and walked out of the house, gesturing for his friend to follow him.

"No," Zack shook his head immediately, giving Cloud a sincere look. "I swear, I don't. I call you that out of habit, I guess. Does it bother you that much? I can try to stop. But," he warned with a grin, "you know I'm just going to find another nickname for you. Who knows if you'll like the next one any better."

Smiling slightly, Cloud ducked his head. Zack did tend to give people nicknames, he remembered. Anyone he was going to have to address with any sort of regularity, anyway. And anyone he cared about. In truth, Cloud hadn't objected to the nickname before this because it was just part of how he expected Zack to act; one more confirmation that he was real. "It only bothers me when it seems like you mean it," he replied.

"I'm not trying to protect you," Zack told him seriously, his grin fading. "I'm trying to watch your back. That's what partners do. Where are we going, anyway?" he asked curiously as they bypassed the side shed where Cloud stored his bike and the parts they'd scrounged for Zack's.

"We're not taking the bike," Cloud informed him, his smile growing into something like a smirk. It was leavened with anticipation; it had just occurred to him that Zack's reaction to their transportation would probably be entertaining. "We have to cross an ocean to get there, remember. The bike doesn't do so hot on water."

Snorting, Zack shoved at him. Cloud hip-checked him in return, grateful for the return to their normal playful rowdiness. "So what, you've got an airship stashed away outside Edge somewhere?" the older boy asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know your friend Cid has one, but surely you can't have called him and gotten him here already?"

"Nope," Cloud shook his head, his eyes sparkling. "Better than an airship. Faster, too." Though he wasn't sure what would happen with them riding double. "This way."

They walked for a good ten minutes, Zack making guesses and pestering Cloud for information the whole time, and Cloud refusing to give anything away. Now Zack was dying to know exactly what mysterious form of transportation Cloud had tucked away that could cross an ocean in less time than an airship. And why didn't he use it all the time, instead of his bike?

He got his first clue when he heard a familiar warking sound and smelled the musty, spicy scents of hay and feathers. "A chocobo?" he asked, baffled. "What can a chocobo do that a bike can't?"

"Plenty, if you've got the right kind of chocobo," Cloud told him, smiling again. "Sephiroth rode a black, didn't he? You know there are some that can go all kinds of places."

"Yeah, but not over deep water," Zack argued. "Even Seph's black couldn't go over anything deeper than a couple of metres. You said we need to cross an ocean."

Saying nothing, Cloud made his way to the fence and whistled sharply. Kinya was inside the little stable, but she was kept loose so she could come and go from the tiny paddock as she pleased. She gave a happy kweh and trotted out to meet them, her feathers shining in the sun. Zack's jaw dropped, and Cloud couldn't help the laugh that escaped him.

Kinya warked at him and butted her head into his chest, then nibbled at his shirt and tugged sharply on his collar. "Yeah, I know," he murmured in an affectionate tone, catching her head and scratching at the good place just under her crest feathers. Her eyes closed in bliss, and she leaned against the fence to get closer to him. "I haven't been around enough to exercise you. I'm sorry. Things have been crazy." She warked again, clearly willing to forgive him as long as he kept scratching.

"Is that... that can't be... no fucking way," Zack stammered, staring. But he knew a yellow chocobo when he saw one, and that was not a yellow. Not the way her feathers gleamed in the light, like they were reflective.

"She's a gold," Cloud confirmed, turning to smile at Zack. "I bred her myself. There was a period when Sephiroth was sealed away behind the shield around the crater, and we had nothing to do but run around trying to find better weapons and equipment to use against him once we could get at him. Someone told us about some legendary materia that had supposedly been hidden away in places accessible only by a gold chocobo, and I met a man who had actually bred one so I knew it was possible. It passed the time."

"A gold. Holy Shiva," Zack breathed, approaching cautiously. "I don't believe it. I thought you were kidding when you mentioned one earlier! Can I touch her? Are they sharp?"

"Go ahead," Cloud invited him. "The feathers aren't actually metal. She'd weigh as much as a tank if she was actually made of gold! Kinya, this is Zack, he's a friend."

She left off rubbing her head against Cloud's hand to investigate Zack. The older man stayed still and offered his hands to be sniffed, and didn't react when she gave him a testing peck. Satisfied, she gave a little kweh and ruffled her feathers at him in a clear invitation, and he grinned and worked his hand under her body feathers to scratch at the hard-to-reach place under the wing.

"Attention whore," Cloud accused her fondly when that made her start crooning happily. She warked at him and preened a bit of his hair, tugging sharply enough that he winced. "Hey, cut it out!"

"So the legends are true, then?" Zack asked, clearly enraptured with the bird. She certainly deserved the admiration; she was a magnificent specimen, even ignoring the sheer impossibility of her gold colouring. "She really can go over any terrain?"

"Anything at all," Cloud confirmed, patting her on the shoulder. "She's been a lot of help over the years. I try not to overwork her, which is why I don't use her for runs on this continent." It cost a small fortune to ship in enough grain to feed her and pay one of the locals to take care of her, but it was worth every gil to have her nearby instead of having to go out to the chocobo farm to get her. There had been plenty of nights when he'd been unable to sleep for the nightmares, and taken her out for a midnight run. She was faster than any airship ever built, and riding her was like riding the wind itself.

"So, how about it, Kinya? Are you up for a trip?" he asked her. She warked and hopped up and down, flapping her wings hard enough that Zack had to step back to avoid being struck. "Think you can carry both of us?" Cloud continued, tipping his head to indicate Zack.

She paused to consider that, turning her head this way and that as she studied the older man, and finally gave a contented kweh. He took that as assent, and went to get her saddle. He'd taken Tifa or the kids up behind him a few times, so he had a saddle with a pad on the back for a second rider, but he'd never brought anyone as heavy as Zack or for such a long trip. He was glad she'd agreed to try, because otherwise they'd have been forced to wait for Cid and the airship to be available.

"I'm going to ride a gold chocobo," Zack marvelled as he grabbed the rest of her tack without being asked. "Man, there are still some days when I'm half convinced this is all a dream. This would be one of them."

"Yeah, well, let's hope what we find in the crater doesn't turn it into a nightmare," Cloud countered, his eyes darkening. "I'm kind of hoping this will be one of those dreams that ends with a 'happily ever after'." And he'd be praying the whole way there to every god he knew of, to keep this from ending as badly as he was afraid it could.

Return to Final Fantasy VII Page

Return to the Main Index

Email Miko no da