CHAPTER 16
Yelling filled Cloud's ears as he struggled to concentrate on the task at hand. A flash of movement came towards him, prompting the "former SOLDIER" to raise his own weapon in defense. The impact shook Cloud violently as the blades collided, almost making him lose his grip upon the large sword. He closed his eyes and waited for the shaking to pass, but by the time he opened his eyes, it came again, once again forcing him to block. This attack had been stronger then the first, forcing the blond-haired young man to stumble backwards away from the source.
"Get him, Cloud!" came Tifa's voice.
"Yeah, fight back, man!" Johnny yelled out.
"RIP 'IM APART AND EAT HIS ENTRAILS!!"
Everyone gave Dox a stunned look after he yelled this.
"...what?"
Zack grinned mischievously, holding up a wooden make-shift replica of a standard SOLDIER weapon. He jumped to Cloud and pressed his attack, swinging left and right. All Cloud had to do was basically hold out his own "sword" and wait as each hit shook him like a leaf in an earthquake. More yelling came, prodding Cloud to take the offensive against his friend.
He did so. Regaining himself and ignoring the numb sensation in his hands, he swung out with his own "blade" somewhat clumsily, allowing Zack to dodge with ease. Zack even pranced around Cloud, swinging his own weapon in a seemingly wild pattern, yet not meant to actually hit the younger man. Cloud backed off and weaved, giving the appearance that he was managing to evade Zack's strikes. Cloud went to swing again, just as Zack did. Zack, being more powerful and faster, basically managed to push Cloud's sword into him, causing the "other ex-SOLDIER" to fly off of his feet and hit the ground with his rear end.
Zack smiled down at his younger friend, remarking "You need a bit more practice, methinks!"
Cloud heaved, gasping for air, perspiring all over. He was surprised he managed to last a full ten minutes against his obviously superior foe, even with Zack taking it easy on him. He simply glared at Zack with a bit of resentment, but still picked himself up in a last ditch effort to preserve some bit of dignity.
"Well, if you ask me..." Dox started, walking up to Cloud, "You did very well for someone who's been incapacitated for five years. I'm surprised your muscles are even working, most people get atrophy after just a few weeks of not moving."
"..Same here," Cloud finally remarked slowly after a few moments.
"I'd LOVE to do all sorts of tests on you.." Dox began, "But we don't have the facilities here to properly accommodate such research, not to mention that you've probably seen enough of a lab to last you a lifetime."
Cloud had a feeling Dox was going somewhere with this.
"I don't suppose you'd mind just coming with me and answering a few questions?" the medical officer asked, seeing the somewhat skeptical look on Cloud's face. The younger man gave a glance to Zack, who simply shrugged. Cloud turned back to Dox and simply gave him a curt nod. With that, Dox began to lead Cloud back up through Beginner's Hall and back to his "triage unit".
Once Cloud was out of earshot, several of the AVALANCHE member who had watched the duel departed, though Tifa, Dyne and Johnny went up to Zack.
"Hmph," Johnny grunted, "Looks like SOLDIER lowered its standards just to let that guy in."
"Hey, shut up, you're just jealous cuz YOU didn't make it!" Zack snapped back somewhat jokingly. Johnny's beady eyes narrowed, though that was his only response. After a moment, Tifa piped up...
"So, do you really think he'll stay?" the relatively young woman asked.
"Why would we want him to? The only reason he lasted that long was cuz Zack was taking it easy on 'im," The red-haired punker spat.
"... Was it that obvious?" Zack asked shyly. His three companions nodded practically in unison.
"I don't think most of the others noticed, but we had a closer look at the fight. Plus I've seen you fight first hand," Dyne remarked.
"Yeah well.." Zack started, "Y'know, like Dox said, its a miracle he can even move, he hasn't fought in like five years.. I had practice fending off wild animals and a few Shinra guards on the way here, But Cloud was all 'ugh ugh aauuugggg', so I can't blame him for not being able to fight that well yet!" he explained, satisfied that he managed to make up a fairly logical and convincing excuse. The best part was that the others seemed to buy it, too. Crisis averted! For now... Zack thought.
"In any scenario," Dyne began, getting back on subject, "Tifa, I'm sure one more student won't hurt. He seems like he needs to go over combat basics again.. I'm sure SOLDIERS are trained killers through and through, but that information still has to be consciously recalled." He had stated as a bit as a question to Zack.
"Heh.. It's kinda like that. It's like... the Mako helps us out a lot too, letting us tap into parts of ourselves and... stuff. I never really paid much attention during the lectures about it all," the raven haired former SOLDIER admitted. There was silence for a bit, as no one really had much else to say, when suddenly Zack remembered...
"Oh hey, Dyne, uh.. 'sir'," he started.
"Hm?"
"I was wondering, am I allowed to leave Sector Seven?"
"Why do you ask?" Dyne questioned, though not with as much suspicion as Zack had thought.
"Well, I have a... uh, friend I've been wanting to see since I got back.. It's been years and..."
"Lemme guess, old girlfriend?" Johnny snickered.
Tifa looked inquiringly at Johnny, then to Zack, who returned the look.
"Uhm, kinda!" Zack conceded, scratching the back of his head. Out of some demented curiosity, he gauged Tifa for a reaction, though she seemed neutral about it. That is until she said...
"Kinda?" Her tone was rather harsh, and she crossed her arms. She had a bit to say on the subject, but bit her lip.
"Well, we had words before I left for Nibelheim... well, that is, she had words with me. Something about never seeing me again. Boy, won't SHE be surprised when I show up!" he explained, not bothering to internalize his thoughts. "Though I guess after that, and the five years.. I guess I can't call her my girlfriend anymore, now can I?" he mused with a smile, though there was the slightest hint of sadness in his glowing, dark-blue eyes.
Dyne thought this over, rubbing his chin stubble with the nozzle of his newly-replaced Gun-Arm out of some demented and dangerous habit. "Sure, couldn't hurt," he answered, surprising his two officers, "Just don't go reporting to Shinra," he finished in an uncharacteristic joking tone.
"Oh, Rats!" Zack feigned, snapping his fingers, "So much for my master plan! Curses!"
This was followed by a bit of laughter form Johnny and Dyne, with Tifa rolling her eyes and repressing a giggle.
"Though, I'd like to know where you're going, seriously."
"Sector five," Zack answered honestly, as he felt no need to hide anything else.
Dyne nodded, and without another word, Zack picked up his real Buster Sword, sheathed it behind him and went into a jog north-westward.
"I say we follow him!" Johnny said almost immediately after Zack was gone.
Dyne gave this careful and lengthy consideration; but finally decided against it. Johnny put up a mild protest, but Dyne shot him down (er, not literally, but you know, turned down the idea!).
Zack trekked down the dirt path somewhat hurriedly, past the large pillar he had seen before and took a right into Sector six. The gate was wide open and unguarded, allowing Zack to pass without missing a beat.
He came across an old playground, which he could barely recall having been to once, though he couldn't quite recall when. He hurried his pace past a chain link fence and down the broken former highway of Sector Five. It looked like it had gotten hit by an Earthquake, and that once, reconstructive efforts had been underway, but were halted, as evidenced by several rusted pipes and construction vehicles strewn about.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zack detected some movement, though when he turned to look, it had ceased. Unsure whether to keep going or to stand his ground and investigate, he decided if something was there that it would either leave him alone or attack eventually. With that in mind, the former SOLDIER quickly headed towards Sector Five.
Bad mistake.
An inconspicuous-looking house suddenly sprang up and leapt in front of the raven-haired fighter, letting out a sickening growl. Zack yelled in surprise as it hit the ground, shaking it and almost causing him to lose his balance. Zack's hand instinctively went for his sword, but it stayed sheathed behind him and he momentarily gave the situation some thought. He was one on one with a.. house. He knew he couldn't destroy a normal house all by himself, or rather it would just take forever. A living, growling house that hopped around was something else all together.
The living house jumped up again, almost flattening Zack as it came back down, but the former SOLDIER's instincts kicked in as he launched himself away. The house hit the ground again, causing it to quake once more, this time sending Zack down as he landed, unable to balance himself. Zack grabbed his sword and held it out, concentrating on his Ice materia, and targeted the monstrosity with an Ice spell. Shards of cold energy erupted from the beast, causing it to reel in momentary pain. That's all the time Zack needed. As the odd mutation thawed, Zack made a break for it into Sector Five proper, the slower beast not following.
Zack caught his breath as he entered Sector five, and took the time to read a sign designating it as such. It had actually once said something else, but "SECTOR FIVE SLUMS" was spray painted in large letters over the old wooden sign. Out of mere curiosity, and always up for a challenge, Zack looked closer at the sign to try and make out what it had once said. The first letter was an "M", and the last was a "D", and seemed to only contain seven letters. The middle letter also seemed to be another "M", though Zack wasn't so sure about that.
Shaking his head and giving up, Zack walked down through the streets of Sector five. It seemed a bit smaller, and everything was packed in tighter than in Sector seven. Sector five was composed mostly of "junk" buildings, and not actual structures like in Sector seven, bit rather series of pipes, sheet metal and old vehicles made up peoples abodes here. The former SOLDIER tried to remember the last time he was down here, and the way to Aeris's house...
But would that be such a good idea? Would she even be home? She liked to go out a lot, or so Zack remembered. Not so much because she didn't love her mother or enjoy her home, but because there was another place where she felt even more comfortable and spent most of her time. A dilapidated old church not much further that from where Zack currently stood. Giving himself a mental pat on the back for his ingenuity, Zack took off down the road, going down the right-side path when the road forked.
***
Three men in dark blue suits strut down the road from sector six, and into the playground Zack had exited unseen several minutes ago. Reno and Rude were snapping their fingers in unison, and one could almost swear a drum was playing as a counter beat to the rhythm of the two men's fingers.
"Would you two stop that?" Tseng spat as more of a command than a request. The other two instantly obeyed, and the drum like sound seemed to cut out, too. The three kept going straight in silence, when suddenly, without rhyme or reason, Tseng halted. Rude stopped just in time, But Reno had failed to notice and collided with his boss's back. The slightly taller Wutain man made as if he did not notice, and glared down the road to Sector five.
Rude looked at Tseng with "puzzled" expression, which actually was not much more different than any other expression his face ever displayed.
"Oooh, not this again," Reno muttered.
"Gentlemen, continue to the rendezvous point. I have standing orders to take care of," Tseng commanded. The taller dark skinned Turk instantly went to comply, but was surprised to find himself stopped by his comrade, Reno.
"I don't think so, boss," Reno started, his voice containing a much less respectful tone that Tseng would of liked to hear from his subordinate, "You've been after that girl for like, a million years. First you thought that she was too young to be in Hojo's greedy hands, then she always managed to find some kind of protector or work-around, and lately you've had some kind of demented crush on her, and quite frankly," he continued, slowing down to carefully chose his words, "I think you should send either me or Rude. She ain't gonna sweet talk either of us into letting her go!"
Tseng launched his hand at Reno's throat, though the red haired man had seen it coming and took a last large breath before he found himself unable to do so.
"Now you listen to me, Reno," Tseng spoke coldly, "My personal feelings have nothing to do with anything, and are NONE of your concern."
Reno gave Tseng a defiant glance, a look that almost screamed "Bull shit". Tseng held his hand at the younger Turk's throat until his face was purple, and he seemed to be just on the edge of oxygen deprivation.
Letting go lightly, Tseng bowed his head, and allowed Reno to return to his senses before continuing. "But you have a point. I'll send for three troops to.."
Tseng seemed to pause in mid breath, his eyes wide open as a wave of nausea seemed to flow over him. Later, he would recall some kind of quick light, but at the moment, all Tseng cared about was regaining his balance as he almost completely passed out.
"Hey boss! You okay?!" Reno asked, lightly slapping Tsengs's face while Rude held him up. The two men's leader began to stand on his own, and shook his head, holding a hand to it.
"Y-yes, I'm fine now... But as I was saying, I... I've changed my mind. Sorry Reno, but this is personal. I have to do this.. though I may require some assistance. I want you two to keep going, and report back to headquarters. Have some backup for me sent.. like that new SOLDIER we have, the kid, that one with the scar."
Reno and Rude had to think it over for a moment, when Reno looked back at Tseng with a puzzled look, after he believed he figured out who his boss was referring to. "You don't mean that kid who makes Rude look like a chatter box, do ya?!"
"Yes, him."
"Oh.. uhm, okay sir.. but I should remind you that Hojo wants the chick back ALIVE?!"
"Reminder noted," Tseng replied, lowering his eyes.
***
She was nervous... extremely nervous. Excitement and anticipation does that to a person. The brown haired girl in the pink dress kept fiddling with her flowers, which sprung out from under the church's wooden floor boards. She kept pushing on them lightly, making sure that they were strong enough to survive what was coming.
She glanced up, up past the rafters and to the ceiling, the tenth time in not even as many minutes. She stroked one large flower absent mindedly, and the tiniest bit of worry began to creep inside of her. The same bit of worry that had been slowly nibbling at her since Sector One was destroyed.
I never met him... He didn't buy a flower... He won't even know me... Something's wrong...
Over and over, almost like a broken record except more annoying, these thoughts continued to plague the flower girl. Everything in her life so far, up until a couple days ago, had gone almost exactly to plan, something almost no one else could ever claim. There were one or two differences which Aeris thought to be minute, but she dismissed such things as error on her part.
But things had to have a way of evening out, so of course she waited for her blond-haired ex-SOLDIER, jack-of-all-trades bodyguard to come falling through that roof.
Instead, she heard a door far behind her begin to creak open.
Oh no, the Turks! It's too late...!
Aeris' eyes ballooned to the size of diner plates, and her jaw hung open, an odd way for someone who is normally very collected to appear. Her heart began to race in panic, her lungs began taking in air faster than usual, her eyes dilated to take it all in until she blinked roughly, trying to discard the supposed illusion. But it stubbornly maintained itself.
"Uhm, hey Aeris!" Zack chimed a tad nervously, reading her reaction as being not very amused, to say the least.
He took a few more steps closer, until the flower girl abruptly stood to face him. They were several yards away from one another, yet Zack stopped where he was, sensing his former girlfriend's discomfort. He leaned slightly onto one of the old, near-broken pews and took in what he saw. Except for the fact that she was a few inches taller and a little more filled-out, Aeris had barely changed from since he last saw her. She was still radiantly beautiful, her presence seemed to invoke a peaceful feeling despite the broken down surroundings which would normally seem to be a cause of dread.
The ex-SOLDIER cocked his head and looked behind Aeris for a moment. "Hey, the flowerbed's lookin' nice!"
No response. Not even a blink from the woman.
"Uhm," Zack began, scratching his head, "You can at least talk to me, I mean, this is all awkward and stuff..."
Aeris shook her head slowly. You have no idea... She turned slightly and looked up to the ceiling again. Nothing.
Zack dared to venture over, and looked up at the ceiling where Aeris seemed to be gazing. "Whatchya lookin' for?"
Without thinking, Aeris automatically responded "Clou..." but then stopped herself suddenly. She gave Zack a quick glance and retreated back a few steps in a panic.
"Clouds?" Zack asked humorously, "Well, I don't think you'll see any in here. First, that ceiling's in the way, and even if it wasn't, that huge plate is all you'd see," he said, indicating upwards with his thumb. "I think you've inhaled a bit too much pollen..."
Aeris finally lowered her eyelids a bit and excepted reality such as it was turning out. "Yup, it's really you," she lamented, sitting on a pew and rubbing her eyes.
Zack cocked his head and smiled at Aeris, who sat silently, barely acknowledging him.
"Oh, I'm fine, thanks for asking, how are you?" the blue eyed man quipped with more than a hint of sarcasm while leaning over a bit. At this point he heard the woman muttering rapidly to herself...
"I don't get it where is he why is HE here what's going on I don't understand this isn't sup-"
SLAM!
The noise made the two former lovers snap their heads around to the doorway simultaneously. Zack's normally light-hearted expression faded to reveal a distasteful, hate-filled look, as Aeris' face belayed both disdain and more surprise.
"You're not supposed to be here..." Aeris said softly.
Tseng stood in the open double-doorway, his hands behind his back and his head slightly bowed. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Zack, who'd just drawn his Buster Sword. "Neither is HE..." Tseng growled, knowing full well that Zack was SUPPOSED to be detained in Nibelheim. HE must of been that SOLDIER everyone was so worked up about... no one ever told him -the head of Shinra Inc.'s espionage department- anything of relevance, it seemed.
"I'll say..." Aeris mumbled.
"Whuzzat?!" Zack asked, turning his head for only a moment, trying to concentrate on the Turk in the doorway.
"Looks like your little protector is back, Ms Gainsburough..." Tseng spat.
"And since I ain't working for Shinra no more, I don't have to worry about NOT killing you!" Zack yelled out, beginning to charge.
"As well as I need no longer fear Sephiroth's wrath for killing one of his favorite men!" Tseng retorted. Zack's blade came down as he was just within range...
CLANG!
Zack's eyes widened. Another large sword had blocked his, but it was not held by Tseng. The former SOLDIER traced the curved, intricately detailed large blade back towards the oddly angled handle and to its owner.
He was tall, with auburn hair that was barely long enough to cover his deep brown eyes. His chiseled chin, smooth cheeks, thick pink lips and flawless skin almost screamed perfection, but were contrasted by a small scar across the bridge of his nose. Over a traditional First class SOLDIER uniform, he wore an expensive leather jacket with white fur on the collar, which was complemented by a necklace with a miniature silver lion-head dangling from it.
"Now I'm VERY glad I brought you along, Lionheart," Tseng said as a way of an introduction to Zack, "Now please kill him."
"..and HE DEFINITELY shouldn't be here," Aeris note aloud to no one in particular, referring to the newcomer.
Without a word, the younger man quickly withdrew his blade away from Zack's and spun around, ready to strike!
"Hey, is that a trigger?" Zack queried in hopes of distracting his opponent. Those hopes were in vain, as yes, it was a trigger on the handle, Lionheart already knew that. He swung, the older former Soldier just barely able to parry in time. That's when Zack noticed another unusual feature... there was a small hole in the end of the blade.
But before he could even make a comment, the other swordsman attacked again, this time swinging rapidly and not trying to out-strengthen Zack just yet, but wear him down. Sparks flew as the two large metal swords collided over and over in rapid succession.
Tseng slowly paced back and forth, watching the battle with amusement. Several yards away, Aeris stood transfixed out of fear and shock.
Lionheart swung again, straight at Zack's head... this attack too was blocked. Zack wanted to go on the offensive, but his opponent was definitely a tad faster. Whenever there was an opening, Lionheart either quickly covered it or gambled with an attack, which Zack had no choice but to parry or dodge. The exchange went on for another good minute, neither combatant giving ground or backing up.
"Look scar-face, I could do this all day!" Zack managed to say in between blows. The insult fell on either deaf ears or someone who was too well trained to get angry over a few words. "C'mon ya pretty-boy puss, you know sooner or later.. I'm just gonna beat ya, so just give up!"
Lionheart struck rapidly, though not really aiming to hit Zack, he gambled that maybe a fast enough attack would at least nick Zack and shut him up. He was angered to find that Zack managed to block the first several blows and dodge the last. Both combatants stood still, taking a quick breather and sizing each other up. This lasted only a second, much less time that it would take to describe. Soon they were back at it, their blades dancing in the air in between them, the colliding metal making the music of combat.
The SOLDIER swung at Zack one more time with all his might and kept pushing even as the blow was blocked. The two combatants locked up and pushed at each other, their faces coming so close they could feel one another's breath.
"Y'know..." Zack tried one last time, struggling against the other man's strength, "Yer boot's untied!"
At this point, Lionheart could not contain himself. "What the... fuck are you talking about?! If you think... I'm stupid enough to look... that would have to make you the stupid one here!"
"So... you're not gonna... look down?"
"Fuck. YOU!"
Zack smiled. "Okay, your funeral!" And with that, he threw up his leg, right into his opponent's crotch with so much force the younger man's pelvic bone cracked, causing the young fighter to keel over and try to scream, but nothing would come out. Zack lost his balance as the other man had still been pushing on him, but Zack quickly dropped his own sword, landed on his hands and used his other foot to kick Lionheart's sword up into the air.
Getting back to his feet, Zack caught his opponent's sword as it came back down. That same opponent was barely standing, using a pew for balance as he continued to stay bent over as oppose to falling. He finally vomited all over the floor, stumbled and struggled to regain himself...
"I've always wanted to do this.." Zack said menacingly. Aeris and Tseng watched in horror as Zack aimed the weapon right at Lionheart's behind... and very quickly and forcefully shoved it in there.
Lionheart wretched up with a scream, causing Zack to almost lose hold of the weapon's handle. He mindlessly went and tried to get his grip back, and in doing so accidentally pulled the trigger...
BLAM! The upper right side of the younger man's face exploded as a bullet passed right through it from the inside. The now dead, sword-violated body simply fell over, as Zack looked on in surprise. Tseng immediately exited, and Aeris turned around and tried not to think about what she just saw.
"Oooh, THAT'S what the trigger was for!" Zack exclaimed with a nervous grin.
"Oh god... I think I'm going to be sick," Aeris muttered, walking up to Zack. This was all too much for her today. She barely remembered Zack saying something about getting some fresh air, and that he held her shaking self as they walked out onto the dirt road. They walked a ways, though everything was a blur, Aeris' mind was too distracted to watch where she was going, or even care that someone who should be dead had his arms around her.
By the time the flower girl came back to her senses, Zack had brought her back into Sector Five... he apparently was taking her home. They stopped near a large pipe to rest for a moment when Aeris was unable to keep up with Zack's long strides.
"So, you okay?"
"Hm?"
Zack smiled and raised an eyebrow down at his former girlfriend. "You're more shaken now than I've ever seen you.. and I know it's not just because I stuck a sword in some dude's butt!"
Aeris put a hand on Zack's shoulder and dared to look up into his dark, glowing blue eyes. Zack couldn't really read her expression, it was more of a mix of several. "...You're alive," she finally muttered, already regretting saying it.
"Yeah, I'm kinda surprised, too, it's been a tough week! But let's keep going, you still live down the road, right?"
"...Yes."
Aeris slowly peeled herself away from the ex-SOLDIER and began to turn to walk, when she suddenly heard a moaning...
"Wu'uzzat?" Zack asked. Aeris turned around, and looked into the pipe.
"Oh, that's just 'number one' in the pipe over here... He 'moved in' a while ago, and all he does is sit there and moan and groan. He never eats, hardly ever seems to sleep... HEY! Don't go in there!"
Not heading Aeris' warning, Zack proceeded into the large aqua pipe. Inside was a shelf with some trinkets, a bed on the floor and a television sat broken behind it. A man in rags was looking down lazily, his arms hung at his sides like weights on a rope. Zack tried talking to the man, shaking him, but to no avail.
"A tattoo of a number one...?" he observed upon the man's left arm. Looking at the man, he couldn't help but think of Cloud.. this is how he had been acting in the several weeks since their escape from Nibelheim. Zack simply shook his head, not thinking there was much else he could do. He turned to Aeris, "What's up with him?"
Aeris had to clear her throat before speaking, "This guy are sick..."
"Say what?"
"-IS-.. heh, this guy IS sick, sorry, slip of the tongue!" the flower girl laughed.
Zack shrugged while Aeris blushed slightly in embarrassment at the slip. She muttered something indistinguishable to herself as the two made their way out of the pipe.
"C'mon, let's get ya home," Zack offered. Aeris looked at her former lover and smiled. She nodded, accepting his existence, and took his hand as they walked down the dirt road together.