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Chapter 8

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Cloud asked as he stepped into the cleared area they'd squared off as a practice ring. On the other side, Zack was already warming up, doing a pattern-dance with the new broadsword they'd found for him.

"Nope!" Zack admitted cheerfully, bringing the sword around in a shining arc of metal until it stopped precisely in front of him, in the guard position. "But I'd rather find out that I'm not ready here with you, in controlled circumstances. As opposed to out there, being ambushed by a behemoth or something." He grinned at Cloud. "Besides, the only way to get ready is to do it. Trust me on this, I am speaking from long experience."

At least a week of solitary practice had brought him through the worst of the process of getting himself back into fighting shape. The blisters on his hands had formed and broken, formed and broken again, and were finally starting to turn into the callous that he needed. The 'oh gods I can't move' muscle aches and strains were still there, but getting easier with every day he forced himself to work through them. Even the worst of the inevitable sunburn had passed, and his skin had lost the deathly pallor from years without seeing the sun. And thanks to all the mako his reflexes, speed, and strength were better than ever.

So now he was measuring himself against the only scale that really mattered: another opponent. Cloud could fight back in a way that no sparring dummy could ever replicate, and would force Zack to think as well as just act. Thinking was the most important part of any battle - even though during the battle itself, there was rarely time for actual thought.

"So? Bring it on," he invited Cloud, gesturing with his free hand. "Let's do this."

"We've got the hi-potions close to hand, right?" Cloud asked wryly, stepping into position across the ring. He had only the primary blade of First Tsurugi in his hand; it would be enough for now to face Zack one blade to one blade. The older man could worry about adapting himself to an opponent with multiple blades later. "I'm ready if you are."

They both lifted their swords in a brief salute, and Cloud felt a bit surreal as he did it. When was the last time he'd formally sparred with someone like this? He and Tifa worked out together often enough, but they never bothered with the formalities like the opening salute.

Actually, the last time he'd done it was probably the last time he'd practiced with Zack, back when he'd just been a scrawny trooper and the SOLDIER had been helping him learn how to use a sword. Cloud smiled to himself as they started circling each other warily. This battle was going to be a great deal more interesting than those had been.

Feinting to the right, Zack watched closely to see how Cloud reacted. The blond didn't move, his eyes fixed on Zack's shoulders, watching for the slight betraying twitch of muscle that most swordsmen had. If you knew what to look for, it could telegraph the intended move as clearly as a shout.

Unless, of course, you were good enough to hide those signals. Or fake them, in a sort of subtle feint. Which Zack was. He feinted again, left then right, then struck at the low centre. Cloud blocked low, then swung his sword around in a half arc to block the high strike Zack had shifted to. Grinning, Zack backed off again. This was going to be fun.

Seeing that his friend intended to wait until Cloud pressed the attack, the blond obliged him. He could have tried to outwait him, of course, but circling each other endlessly wouldn't do them any good. Cloud came in with a flurry of blows, short jabbing thrusts that fell rapidly enough to get through almost any defence.

Not Zack's though. The older man moved with the inherent speed and grace that only SOLDIERs could achieve. He blocked each thrust, though Cloud was pleased to see that blocking was all he could do. Zack didn't have a chance to parry or counterstrike at all.

Realizing Cloud had backed him almost out of the practice area, Zack grunted and stood his ground, refusing to give way under the onslaught. Cloud moved like lightning, and because he was using only one part of his blade he had a lighter sword. Plus Zack was still getting used to the weight and balance of this new broadsword, considerably different from his old buster sword. Worse, at the moment Cloud was in much better shape than Zack was, and his endurance would last far longer than the older man's. If Zack let this continue, Cloud was going to have more of an advantage with each passing moment.

So he broke the pattern, ducking under a strike instead of blocking and sweeping his blade around near the floor, aimed at Cloud's knees. The blond jumped over it, of course, but by then Zack had rolled past him back into the centre of the circle, removing the danger that Cloud might push him out of the ring.

Then it was Zack's turn to attack again, while Cloud's back was still turned to him. With a shout he whipped his blade up and around in a butterfly formation, aimed at Cloud's side. If it had hit, it would have cut a chunk out of the younger man's hip and continued on to hack into his upper arm, but as he'd expected Cloud managed to half-turn and block the shot.

Sweating, Cloud parried and backed away to the side, putting some room between him and Zack while he got turned to face the older man properly. That blow would have really hurt if it had connected. He'd forgotten just how damn fast Zack could be - or maybe he'd never really seen it in the first place, considering the way the SOLDIER would have been holding back every other time they fought.

But Cloud was just as fast now, and he put every bit of his speed to use as he lunged in to swing under Zack's guard and bring his sword up quickly to bind Zack's blade. They locked at the hilt, forced in close to each other as each of them struggled for the upper hand. If one of them could get their blade over the other's, they could force it down and clear the way for their own attack. Muscles strained in both of their arms, teeth gritted as they grinned fiercely at each other and fought for supremacy.

Slowly, Cloud started to win out. Years in a mako tank had left Zack seriously out of condition despite the supernatural strength imparted by the mako, and he just couldn't match Cloud. In a few weeks, maybe, but not right now.

He wasn't down and out just yet, though. Taking a chance, knowing that if he miscalculated Cloud would be able to do some serious damage before Zack could get his sword up to block, he dropped his blade suddenly. The abrupt lack of resistance threw Cloud off balance, and he didn't recover fast enough to take advantage of the hole in Zack's defence. Leaning back, Zack brought one knee up to his chest and lashed out in a kick he'd learned on the fields of Wutai.

It landed solidly, Cloud not having expected footwork as well as swordwork, and the blond grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs. He threw himself backwards to help him absorb some of the force of the blow, but he could feel a warning twinge in his ribs. Not broken, not yet, but definitely hurt. He hit the ground hard, rolled into a crouch and launched himself into the air again before Zack could follow through with a lunge that would pin him to the ground.

That took the fight into the third dimension, as Cloud rose over Zack and the older man was forced to bring his sword up to defend from blows from above. Cloud hit the wall and kicked off again to maintain his aerial advantage, using the boost to change his direction as well and aim for the other wall. The practice ring was in one corner of the church, so he only had two walls to work with; if Zack could force him far enough out, he'd have to go back to ground.

Briefly Zack considered exactly that strategy, but he'd always been more of a 'fight fire with fire' type. He waited until Cloud was off the wall and committed to a direction, then jumped after him. They met in midair with a clash of blades, using each other as a springboard to push off of and hit the walls nearly at the same time.

In the split second as their momentum kept them hugging the walls, before they'd pushed off again, Zack met Cloud's fierce blue eyes, and grinned. Fun, indeed. This was nothing at all like fighting his timid, slightly inept young shadow. This was a match of equals. He hadn't had a fight like this since he'd last faced Sephiroth.

His off arm was aching, and he could feel blood running down it; Cloud had scored a hit at some point in that last exchange, and Zack hadn't noticed. Not bad enough to incapacitate a SOLDIER, but deep enough to hurt now that he'd noticed it. He'd have to remember to account for it; forgetting about an injury that wasn't felt thanks to adrenalin had spelled the end of more than one fight.

Then they'd launched off again, and Zack didn't have time to worry about it any more. The flash of silver from the blades as they struck was like a liquid flow in the air, they were moving so quickly now. A normal person would have had no hope of keeping up with them, but neither of them had the advantage at the moment.

This time Cloud brought his fists and feet into play as well, since Zack had set the precedent. They'd had a fair bit of time when AVALANCHE had been running around trying to find a way to get through the shield around the North Crater, pushing each other to improve at an almost inhuman rate. He'd spent quite a large chunk of that time training with Yuffie, learning some of the Wutaian tricks that even Tifa didn't know. He turned them on Zack, and the swordfight dissolved into a brawl.

The flurry of blows and kicks didn't leave them a chance to relaunch themselves, and they tumbled to the ground from nearly two stories up. Splitting apart at the last possible moment, they both tucked into a roll as they hit and bounced up to find themselves on opposite ends of the ring again.

"Ha! Not bad, kid," Zack declared as they circled warily once more, assessing their injuries and reformulating battle strategies to accommodate their new weaknesses. Ordinarily Zack would have been using this time to cast a Cure spell or two, or down a couple of hi-potions, but he needed to get used to fighting with limited resources and no magic. Besides, anything magic-related was tough to come by these days, and there was no point in wasting them on a friendly match.

"Not bad yourself, old man," Cloud teased him back, smiling as he lifted his off hand quickly to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. "Nothing like our old matches, is it?"

"Completely in a different universe," Zack replied, his voice wry but his eyes shining. "C'mon, is that all you've got?"

"You wish," Cloud retorted, and sprang in again. Zack met his blade high, deflecting it off to one side and using the momentum to redirect the broadsword at Cloud's side. Cloud spun and got First Tsurugi back into blocking position, parrying and riposting fast enough that Zack had to scramble to block him in turn.

This was what he'd always dreamed of, when he'd fantasized about making SOLDIER and finally being able to keep up with Zack. It felt literally like a dream come true, and Cloud wished it could go on forever. The burn of injuries and the sweat stinging in his eyes only drove home that it was real, not a dream after all, and he welcomed the pain for that reason.

With a shout Cloud swept First Tsurugi up and around, trying to bind the broadsword again. Zack was drenched in sweat and his breathing was harsh; he was tiring much faster than Cloud, as they'd expected. That meant if Cloud could press the advantage, he would probably be able to win outright fairly quickly.

Zack still had a few tricks up his sleeve, though. He let Cloud lock their swords together again, but instead of fighting to get the upper hand he twisted his grip sharply, bearing down from an entirely unexpected direction. The broadsword broke free of the lock and corkscrewed around Cloud's blade, catching it and tearing it out of the blond's hands. With a shout of triumph Zack carried through on the motion and First Tsurugi went flying, clattering against the wall as Cloud's eyes went wide.

Cursing, Cloud dove after the blade, barely managing to avoid Zack's return thrust. If he could just get his hands on the sword again he was sure he could still win; Zack looked just about done in. If Zack beat him to it, though, or managed to attack him before he got there, then it was over. Cloud could fight unarmed, but this was supposed to be a sword match.

Sprinting after Cloud, Zack grinned as he realized he was going to make it first. The dive the blond had made didn't have quite enough momentum to carry him all the way to the wall where the sword was, and by the time he rolled to his feet Zack would already be there. The fight was all but over.

The first gunshot caught Zack so totally by surprise that he didn't even register the sound for what it was. Pain shot through his upper left shoulder, and he stumbled. The second shot he recognized as the sound of a bullet being fired, and he wrenched himself around just in time to block it with the blade of his sword. His left arm was useless, dangling at his side as the fire in his shoulder ate at him.

Two more shots clanged off the blade before he got a good look at the people firing on him, and he growled when he saw them. Black suits and guns in combination meant just one thing to someone from Shinra's Security Division, and Zack was pretty sure he recognized the redhead. "Turks," he snarled, and suddenly this went from being a practice match to a very real fight.

Cloud snatched up his sword and bounced to his feet, turning to find out why Zack hadn't beaten him to it. When his dive had fallen short, he'd assumed that would be the end of it, but to his surprise there was nothing stopping him from grabbing the fallen blade. When he turned and took in the situation, however, he understood. Groaning, he wondered if the Turks could have had worse timing if they'd tried.

Seeing that Zack was tensing in preparation to rush the two gunmen, Cloud swore and threw himself at the older man. "Stop!" he shouted, the command aimed at both sides of the fight. He managed to catch Zack around the shoulders just before the brunet took off, and halted the older man's momentum. Both Reno and Rude checked their next shots when Cloud suddenly got in the way of their target, though neither of the Turks lifted their guns from where they had a bead on Zack's heart.

"Stop! Zack, stay where you are, they're not enemies," Cloud ordered, his heart in his throat. This could have gone so, so badly - still could, if he didn't get things straightened out quickly. "Reno, Rude! Put your guns up, damn it. He wasn't attacking me, this was a practice match."

"Cloud, those are Turks," Zack growled, not taking his eyes off the two men. He stood still under the younger man's grip, but his muscles were tense enough to quiver and he didn't drop his sword from the guard stance.

"I know," Cloud replied with a sigh. "Zack, it's okay."

"Okay?" Zack risked one incredulous glance at his friend. "They're Turks! I thought you said there was no more Shinra!" The Turks had been the bane of his existence on more than one occasion during that nightmare run from Nibelheim to Midgar. Troopers Zack could handle no problem, and even other SOLDIERs. But the Turks had a nasty habit of appearing in the places where he'd least expected them, and they'd nearly caught the two runaways several times.

"There isn't any more Shinra," Cloud asserted. "They're not Shinra, they're just Turks."

"Oi!" Reno took exception to that, frowning at Cloud. "Ain't no such thing as 'just Turks', yo. Some practice match - he damn near took a chunk out of your torso!"

"I knew he'd get out of the way in time," Zack replied, slowly accepting the rather mind-bending idea that the Turks had been firing on him because they'd thought they were coming to Cloud's rescue. Or something. "What the hell is going on, Cloud?"

"I'd kinda like to know that myself, yo," Reno grumbled, tilting the muzzle of his gun up towards the ceiling. Rude had already holstered his, though he'd left his suit jacket gaping open to give him easy access to the shoulder holster. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"We faced off a few times, couple of years ago," Zack told him, lowering his sword once the guns were no longer aimed at him. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief that the situation had been defused, Cloud released his grip on the older man's shoulders.

"Ahh!" Eyes widening with recognition, Reno pointed at Zack with his off hand. "You! You're supposed to be dead, yo! I saw the file and everything!"

"Somebody forgot to send me the memo, apparently," Zack said, recovering some of his good humour. "So, Cloud? How about that explanation?"

"They work for Rufus," Cloud explained, moving towards the hi-potions they'd set aside before starting the fight. Now that he'd stopped moving, the adrenalin was fading and his injuries were starting to protest vehemently. "We've... had an understanding a few times in the past."

Popping the cap off one of the little vials, he gave the two Turks a sour look as he downed the magic-laced liquid. Healing fire raced through his system, the familiar sensation almost comforting. He tossed another to Zack, who caught it and swallowed it just as quickly. "So what does Rufus want this time?" Cloud asked the Turks, his tone making it blatantly obvious that he had very little intention of going along with whatever it was.

"Hey, now," Reno affected a hurt look, gesturing with his gun in a way that made Zack a little nervous. "Here we are, taking time out of our time off to come and pass along some information we thought you might want, and you treat us like this? Maybe you don't need this info so much after all, yo."

Somehow, Cloud sincerely doubted that the two men had come out of the pure goodness of their hearts, and the look he gave Reno said so louder than words. The redhead chuckled and didn't look in the least apologetic. "Yeah, okay, that's bullshit," Reno acknowledged. "But honestly, yo. We need to talk." His eyes were serious, and that made Cloud pause. When Reno got that serious, it was usually because the shit was about to hit the fan.

"All right," he said, walking towards them and gesturing for Zack to join him. "Let's hear it, then. After what Rufus pulled last time, it better be damn good if you think I'm going to listen to you."

Zack fell in at Cloud's back and to one side, sword braced on his shoulder but ready to bring it into play again at a moment's notice. He still felt more than a little twitchy, but he was willing to follow Cloud's lead in this. Now that he was thinking instead of reacting he did remember Cloud mentioning the 'help' the Turks had given to AVALANCHE on a couple of occasions, but that didn't make him any more trusting of them.

Shifting, Rude folded his arms over his chest. "There've been reports," he said, his voice a deep rumble. "Two from Kalm, and several from Midgar spread over the last week. Sephiroth has been sighted."

"Sephiroth?" Cloud felt like he'd taken a Bolt3 to the chest, and he stared at them for a long moment. It was as if the words didn't make sense, or perhaps as if his mind simply refused to process them. "You're sure it was him? It could have been one of the clones..."

"Pretty damn sure, since one of the people who spotted him was Tseng," Reno shot back. "Two nights ago, up on the old Shinra tower remains, looking out over the city. Ain't no mistaking that outfit, yo, not to mention that sword. Unless somebody's playing dress-up, who has the face and eyes too, it was him."

"Sephiroth? Here?" Zack said, eyes wide. "Shit. Again?"

"I'll never be free of him," Cloud muttered, closing his eyes and pressing the heel of one hand to his eye as a headache spiked through his skull. "I was sure he was gone, this time. There isn't any of Jenova left, how could he come back again?" Opening his eyes, he speared the two Turks with a glare. "There isn't any more, right? I swear, if I find out Rufus is hiding another piece of her somewhere..."

"No more pieces," Reno assured him hastily, perhaps seeing and believing the threat of imminent mayhem in Cloud's eyes. "Swear to Bahamut, if any more are out there we ain't got 'em."

"What's he been up to?" Zack asked urgently. "You said he was watching the city, but surely there's more to it than that."

"Nope, just reports of people sighting him all over the place," Reno told him, shaking his head. "Left, right and centre, yo. Always from a distance, and always just watching."

"What's he doing?" Cloud frowned, talking mostly to himself. It wasn't like Sephiroth to just stand around doing nothing. Not when he could come and taunt Cloud into another fight, just to torment him.

"Recon, maybe?" Zack suggested. "You said he was seen in Kalm. When?"

"Just over a week ago," Rude replied. "Nine days."

"Shit, that's the day we were in Kalm," Zack realized, eyes widening. "You think it's connected?"

"I think we'd be stupid to assume it wasn't," Cloud snorted. "Gods." Eyeing the Turks, he demanded, "Why should I believe you? Even if I do believe you, why should I think you're telling me the whole truth? You don't exactly have a good track record here. For that matter, why are you telling me this at all?"

"Because you're the only one who's ever beaten him, yo," Reno shrugged. "Tseng's worried he'll come for Rufus. He is the one responsible for punching the hole in the shield around the crater, so you lot could get in there and stop him," he pointed out. "Our job is protecting Rufus. Yours is protecting the planet. That crazy bastard is a threat to both, right? So we're on the same side, here. Relatively speaking."

Rude was eyeing Zack speculatively, and the former SOLDIER gave the Turk an unfriendly expression in return. "We'll look into it," Zack said. "And I'm sure you'll come straight to us the moment you get any new info, right?"

"We aren't coming to you at all," Reno said. "We're coming to him," he jerked his thumb at Cloud. "You just happen to be here."

Well, that was a new one, Zack thought with some bemusement. Cloud was the one people were asking for help, while Zack 'just happened to be there'.

"Zack's as involved in it as I am," Cloud informed them shortly. "If we're going to face Sephiroth again, we'll do it together. And this time maybe we'll actually kill the bastard."

"Hey, between you and me, we can do anything kid," Zack smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll get him, no problem. I've got a few questions to ask him, anyway."

"Yeah, I bet," Cloud acknowledged, his mouth quirking in a wry little smile despite himself. Not that Sephiroth would answer the questions; the man was a master of maddening misdirection.

"We'll take care of it," he told the Turks, echoing Zack's previous statement. "Tell Rufus to stay the hell out of our way, and if I find out he's hiding vital information from me again there will be hell to pay."

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing yo," Reno agreed with a lazy wave of his hand and an insincere smile. "We'll keep you in the loop. Hey, at least you know it's in our best interests for you to win, right?"

"Right," Cloud rolled his eyes. "Now get the hell out of my church."

Watching the two men go, Zack chewed his lower lip. "You think it's really him?" he asked Cloud once he was sure they were out of earshot.

Moving to stand by the lake, Cloud spiked the blade of First Tsurugi into the earth and leaned on it. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sound of the water lapping gently against the sides of the pool. It was a soothing sound, and he needed all the soothing he could get at that moment.

"If it's not actually him, it will be shortly," he answered, feeling far more weary than someone who hadn't even seen a quarter century of life had any right to be. Would this battle between them never end? The headache that had started with Reno's announcement was getting stronger, pounding between his temples until he felt sick. Or maybe that was just a reaction to the thought of once again facing the man who was his greatest nemesis. Why couldn't Sephiroth just stay dead like a normal person?

"Hey." Concerned at the pained, pinched look on Cloud's face, Zack rested a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You're not in this alone, remember? You never have been, but now you're really not. We'll face him together, you and me." He smiled. "He won't know what hit him."

"Yeah." Feeling a little better at the reminder, Cloud nodded and opened his eyes to smile back at his friend. "Yeah, you're right." Having Zack by his side would make all the difference in the world.

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