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Chapter three of OGToF. Whee! Back to the foursome we go. All the info is the same.
Wordcount: 3,499
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
New Chapter
Chapter Three: On the Run
End of August/Beginning of September, 1994
The roads were being watched.
It was to be expected, however. Shinra wasn’t about to let something like this happen so easily and without repercussion if they could help it, so they flooded the road with troops.
The squads were liberally sprinkled with SOLDIERs. That was the only thing that had them seriously looking for the General and SOLDIER 1st Class Zack. Otherwise, unless they were suicidally cocky, they knew there was no way for any of them to take on the pair, let alone whoever else they had with them.
They were given descriptions, of course. Everyone knew what General Sephiroth looked like, and most of them knew his SiC, but they were also told to look for a tall man with crimson eyes and black hair, and a blond teenager, who may or may not be comatose, as well as a possible fifth accomplice.
None of the troops really wanted to find these people, because they all had heard about the war. Hell, some of them had even served, and they knew what kind of fighter General Sephiroth was. He was the Hero of Wutai, after all. Or Demon. It all depended on if one was from Wutai or not. Frozen hells, his SiC was called Demon’s Shadow. Who wanted to fight people with those types of nicknames?
The SOLDIERs, of course, were all for it. At least the ones who hadn’t fought with the General in Wutai, anyway. The older ones, those still alive after war and the monster hunts, knew that they wouldn’t have a chance unless they lucked out. Still, they had their orders.
There were whispers about what could have caused the General to betray Shinra like this, but nobody really wanted to know the answer. Everyone knew that the President and Professor Hojo were furious, but who was going to actually ask either of them? That was a sure way to end up missing.
So the groups, troops and SOLDIERs alike, kept their mouths shut and followed their orders, hoping that they wouldn’t be the ones who found the fugitives.
///
This was an…interesting group.
That was the best description Vincent could come up with for them. He knew Sephiroth’s name, and had almost stared when told it. This…. It hadn’t been possible. His lover’s child.
His child.
Of course, he hadn’t said anything, simply nodded and sat through the introductions, or reintroduction, of everyone else. Cloud he had already known, and he had heard Aeris’s name in the lab. Something about her was both soothing and slightly bewildering. The demons calmed in her presence, and that alone made him inclined to both like her and be slightly wary of her at once. Anything the demons liked or wanted was something he should be cautious with.
Though he did find himself liking her. She had a sense of humor that reminded him of a few of his fellow Turks, before the labs, and that had made him smile a bit. Zack had something of the same sense of humor, and a complete irreverence of anything resembling personal space and anything that might be considered taboo for people. He did it all with the same carefree grin he had been wearing when he had shoved the lid off Vincent’s coffin, too.
Even Aeris was a bit reserved about touching Sephiroth, who put off the same “this is my space, do not enter it” that Vincent did, a nice little kill zone. But Zack ignored it and any sign that either man put off that involved “no touch”. He just didn’t seem to see it, or didn’t seem to care. Vincent was sure that it was the second, because once or twice, Zack would suddenly leave Sephiroth alone for a half an hour, letting him carry Cloud, or would find something for everyone else to do on the other side. The other man was sharper than he looked, and Vincent assumed that there must be some reason for his complete disregard for other peoples flailing when he got too personal.
Sephiroth was the biggest mystery. Most of his attention was focused on Cloud, not that Vincent blamed him, and the way he spoke or moved around him finally clued Vincent in on their relationship. This was the lover Cloud had spoken of. That had made him study the other man closer. Even if this was his child, Cloud was also his claimed family, and, sadly, one he knew better than his own flesh and blood.
Damn Hojo.
They had to keep a low profile, staying mostly to the woods, and he was grateful the weather was warm out. He had done a few outdoor activities that were required training for the Turks, but he had not liked any of them. Vincent much preferred the warmer weather. A sentiment that was happily echoed by Zack, who said that as a boy from Gongaga, he would have been forced to find a hole and hibernate until spring if it had been anything close to cold. Sephiroth had retaliated and pointed out Zack had been stationed in the area around Icicle Inn in the north for almost a month. Zack’s reply to that was that Sephiroth had been in a pissy mood that week and was torturing him.
It had taken a while for Vincent to realize that the two were…playing as they sniped and snarked at each other.
That was a revelation.
That had forced him to study them all over again as they had traveled together, hiding from patrols and keeping a steady northwestern direction.
They were close. All three of them, and Cloud fit in as well. Slowly, every so slowly, Vincent realized that Sephiroth wasn’t Cloud’s only lover. Body language and small verbal clues finally made Vincent understand that all four of them had been together.
It almost made him uncomfortable.
Somehow, it didn’t.
He didn’t expect to be uncomfortable because the four of them had shared beds with each other. The Turks had seen worse. It was the fact that they had the connection and he was not part of it. He was no stranger to being the outsider, but it just didn’t happen here.
That was why Zack ignored his personal space, or why Aeris made the same near raunchy jokes at him that she did at Sephiroth and Zack. Even Sephiroth treated him almost the same as he treated the others.
Vincent felt his respect for them grow. They were sneaky.
He liked that.
///
Sephiroth had been trained in tactics and warfare since he was old enough to hold a weapon steady. Patience was one of his few virtues, and he had been known to hold onto his temper when any sane man would have lost it and slaughtered people. Usually he was pushed to that point by Zack, actually. Sephiroth cared for the man, but sometimes Zack nearly crossed that very, very thin line.
Patience was not something he had in abundance, at the moment.
Sephiroth wanted something to happen. He wanted Cloud to wake up, he wanted them to stop having to hide, he wanted to deal with their pursuers, he wanted to do something besides have to run like a hunted animal, his lover staring blankly into space with those odd blue-green eyes he currently had.
Aeris said that Cloud was there. She promised he was, but that things he couldn’t control, that none of them could control, was making it a little hard for him to wake up. She did what she could, and Sephiroth had to respect that, but it didn’t make this any easier. He also knew that she was telling the truth because, occasionally, he could feel little brushes that just felt like Cloud against his mind. It was rather like when that thing had tried to convince him to join her. Almost had tempted him, but then she had threatened Cloud. That had not gone over well with him at all.
He wanted to kill things.
The others were letting him hunt, even though the animals he brought back were more than a little mangled. It was the only real source of stress relief that he had.
Couldn’t kill the ones hunting them, which would have given Shinra the clue they needed on where they were running to. They had a plan, and he would not risk it and them just for a petty bit of vengeance.
They had raised him to be coldly logical in the labs, to not let emotion get in the way of his thoughts and that everything was expendable in pursuit of the orders Shinra gave him. Hojo was a strong believer in the cold logic approach.
Zack had taught him that emotions were not a bad thing, and that everything could be made stronger with them. Zack was one of the most emotional people Sephiroth had ever met, and one of the strongest. Zack dealt with things Sephiroth had been clueless on, and it had made him realize just how hollow the lab’s teachings had been.
He would always be grateful to Zack for that, and for the man showing him how real people acted. Lab puppet Sephiroth would have never rescued Cloud from the lab, pointing out all the foolish aspects of it, and he would never have taken on a lover, or three.
Sephiroth despised that aspect of himself and tried hard to never let it out. Zack would have far too much fun picking at him till it went away again.
Being impatient was, strangely, something new, and he would catch Aeris’s soft smile or Zack’s grin sometimes when they caught him muttering about things taking too long. He assumed they were doing that bizarre amuse/pleased thing of theirs. Sometimes he just didn’t understand them. Cloud was the one who he had understood best. The blond had been the one who played translator, or who had been just as confused as him by the other two at times.
It had been nice to not be the only one who didn’t understand.
He would sit next to the fire at night, usually with Cloud leaning against him, and Sephiroth would sit quietly and pet the blond hair, willing him to wake up. It never worked, of course. Cloud continued to stay still, breath shallow and barely there. There was some fear, never spoken aloud, that he simply wasn’t strong enough after whatever they had done in the labs to stay with them.
Sephiroth hated that wordless fear the idea of Cloud dying caused. It was a tight, almost painful feeling in his chest. If Cloud died…he wasn’t sure what he would do.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
“Wake up, Cloud,” he said softly as he helped carry the younger man along during their travels during the day.
“Don’t make me be afraid for you anymore.”
///
She wished that she could do more.
Aeris felt most frustrated at her lack of progress. Every night, as she had laid down to rest, she would close her eyes and reach for Cloud, letting her fingers follow the threads of the voices until she reached him.
Only he wasn’t there.
She would have to scold him for that later. Honestly, of all the times to be off doing whatever he was off doing.
The woman was sure that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. That his mental wanderings were probably a reaction to whatever that thing had tried to do to him before. He felt achy, and she couldn’t really blame him if he was taking a bit of a vacation from the ow, but really now.
It hurt, a little, to look at Sephiroth and tell him that she wasn’t sure when Cloud was going to wake up.
She couldn’t even honestly tell him if Cloud was going to wake up.
Mental traumas were odd, and while she hadn’t looked at the folders that still sat in her bag, she knew there had been more than just mental trauma. Should probably look at the files, but she wasn’t the only one shying away from them. Sephiroth and Zack and their new silent brooding one were all avoiding them as well. Not that she blamed them. Who wanted to see what Hojo had done to Cloud during the time they had been looking? It would only add to the guilt.
They would have to look sooner or later, though. Especially if Cloud didn’t wake up soon.
Aeris was positive that he wasn’t going to die on them, but being left with a near comatose and unresponsive Cloud was not much better. Cloud dying would hurt them all badly. Cloud being a vegetable would kill Sephiroth slowly, and kill Zack’s laughter.
Kill Zack’s laughter and one killed the best part of Zack.
Aeris simply couldn’t let that happen, even if she hadn’t been so fond of Cloud anyway.
So she continued to reach every night. She did make a few discoveries, small things, but they made her think that Cloud was slowly coming back out of where ever he had gone to. Nothing big, just little clues here and there that let her know that he was starting to be active in his head again. She knew he was there, because of the warnings he gave now and then. It was random, but they were useful things and just another sign that he was still there.
That was good. Now if he would just hurry up and wake from his trance.
Leaving good, happy feelings behind, she slipped away again and settled into sleep.
They still had a long way to go.
///
Zack was happy that it was still so warm out, though the nights were starting to take on a bit of a nippy feeling which he wasn’t fond of. He had lost track of days and was surprised to know how far they were into September. Noticed the date on one of his turns to sneak into town and get supplies that they needed but couldn’t get in the woods. There had been gossip going around, but when any of them heard the word “Shinra” they had learned to start meandering away. Without knowing just how far or just how detailed the information of the hunt for them was being spread, none of them wanted to chance being recognized. Which was why Aeris was the one who usually went for supplies. Not always, but usually. That seemed to be her job of the group.
The three guys took turn carrying/playing support for Spike. He was too big to carry for long, and none of them wanted to just sling him over their shoulders and carrying him that way. It wouldn’t have been comfortable for any of them. And there was enough awareness left inside that spiky blond head to stumble along beside them when they helped support him as they walked. It wasn’t fast, but it did work.
Sometimes they had a patrol nearby as they moved, and between him, Seph, and dark and gloomy, Zack knew they had detection of said patrols all covered. Usually one person was ahead and kept close to the road, and one person was behind and did the same, and Aeris, Spike and whoever was with them kept their distance. As long as the enhanced person in the middle kept an ear on the fore and rear guards, they were usually fine with avoiding people. When people were near, they halted and stayed quiet, and when they were moving, they went as fast as they could.
When there wasn’t anyone nearby, Zack would talk to Spike. Not loud or anything, but a low, steady murmur, reminding his friend that he wasn’t alone and that anytime he wanted to come out and rejoin the rest of them, it would be nice.
They had gotten a late start this morning, and Zack knew it was bothering Sephiroth. It had been slow this morning as they had prepared to leave camp when one of those ghostly thoughts had brushed them, something that just felt like Cloud, and whispered dangerdangerdangernorth. Since the Cloudwhisper had pointed out SOLDIERs several times in the last few days, the group had listened. They had stayed hidden and quiet, waiting for the danger to pass.
And it had. The two units of SOLDIERs never realized they were there. The most worrisome thing about the entire incident was the fact that they had come from the north. South wouldn’t have bothered any of them, since Nibelheim was south. North, though, was their best bet of getting to Wutai without having to fight their way there. Zack knew their plans were already being adjusted in Sephiroth’s mind, the other man having fought more than enough battles to be able to plan and run at the same time.
They were running, too. Making use of that SOLDIER speed and strength to put distance between the danger and themselves. Sephiroth was on point, and Zack was at the rear, his arms full of Cloud, while Aeris was held safe in Vincent’s. No time for the normal setup, that was the first time that the SOLDIERs had been in a group, not scattered with regular troopers. Aeris hadn’t liked the idea of being carried like that, but acknowledged that it was impossible for her to keep up the pace of the others for long periods of time. So she let them carry her, much like Cloud, though she was awake and aware and able to talk.
Cloud was starting to be far lighter than Zack liked. The rush of worry had his system going full force, but the fact Cloud was as easy to move as he was told Zack that the blond was loosing too much weight. It was just hard to get him to eat, but….
Now wasn’t the time for this. It was bad enough that Cloud’s lack of reaction gave Zack the heebyjeebies to watch. The vacant stare of the mako lit eyes was the worst part of it. Eyes that Zack remembered as a deep, vibrant blue that seemed to glow without mako. He remembered Cloud’s eyes full of love, lust, pain, fear, and hope. Not this.... Blankness. At least his eyes were finally starting to shift back to their normal shade, more blue than green.
So, in the interest of his own sanity, and to remind Cloud that he was really there, Zack kept up a soft monologue, his voice just loud enough for it to be heard by his friend. It wasn’t anything major, just random babbling.
“And Seph is absolute furious with Aeris’s choice for color, but it’s really his own fault for having such fair hair. We can’t make it too dark, because that will just look odd, and he’d just look wrong as a dark blond, so we ended up going for strawberry blond instead. Haven’t had a chance to pick up dye, since we’re waiting for you to wake up first, but Aeris’s told him that one of the cadets had hair the color she was trying for, and when he realized who she was talking about, Seph was like “Pink? You want to dye my hair pink? Isn’t it bad enough I’m going to cut it?” And the look on his face was priceless, Spike. You’d think she had asked him to dance naked in front of the entire Shinra board. Actually, I’d pay good money to....”
A subtle shift in his arms, and lips brushed along his jawbone. “Noisy, Zack,” whispered a voice not heard in two years.
Zack almost fell over, he stopped so fast. Wide violet eyes stared as Cloud looked over and smiled a bright, brilliant, hopeless sweet smile that made Zack’s chest tighten. “Free?” the blond whispered. Zack couldn’t choke out the words, but nodded slowly. Cloud’s smile softened, and then he let his head fall against Zack’s shoulder again. Blue eyes slid shut, and Cloud fell into what looked like a real sleep.
“Seph,” Zack hissed loudly, not wanting to disturb Cloud but desperately needing to get his other friend’s attention. “Seph!”
Luckily, the others had noticed his sudden stop, and were coming back around, no doubt expecting a battle. When they came closer, Zack saw Sephiroth’s expression, which looked torn between horrified and panicked. He couldn’t figure out why, until the silver haired man spoke.
”What happened, Zack? Did something happen...?”
Zack felt like an idiot. There had been a lingering worry that Cloud’s body wouldn’t be able to take the abuse it was going through and finally give up. That was what Sephiroth was expecting to hear. Well, Zack was grateful that he wouldn’t have to give that news.
Grinning like a madman, Zack couldn’t help the sheer happiness in his voice. “He woke up! It was just for a minute, but he woke up.”
And then the others swarmed him.
Interlude Three-Part One
Wordcounts so far:
Nov 3: 3,499
Noverber so far: 13,953
OGToF: 17,202
Wordcount: 3,499
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
New Chapter
Chapter Three: On the Run
End of August/Beginning of September, 1994
The roads were being watched.
It was to be expected, however. Shinra wasn’t about to let something like this happen so easily and without repercussion if they could help it, so they flooded the road with troops.
The squads were liberally sprinkled with SOLDIERs. That was the only thing that had them seriously looking for the General and SOLDIER 1st Class Zack. Otherwise, unless they were suicidally cocky, they knew there was no way for any of them to take on the pair, let alone whoever else they had with them.
They were given descriptions, of course. Everyone knew what General Sephiroth looked like, and most of them knew his SiC, but they were also told to look for a tall man with crimson eyes and black hair, and a blond teenager, who may or may not be comatose, as well as a possible fifth accomplice.
None of the troops really wanted to find these people, because they all had heard about the war. Hell, some of them had even served, and they knew what kind of fighter General Sephiroth was. He was the Hero of Wutai, after all. Or Demon. It all depended on if one was from Wutai or not. Frozen hells, his SiC was called Demon’s Shadow. Who wanted to fight people with those types of nicknames?
The SOLDIERs, of course, were all for it. At least the ones who hadn’t fought with the General in Wutai, anyway. The older ones, those still alive after war and the monster hunts, knew that they wouldn’t have a chance unless they lucked out. Still, they had their orders.
There were whispers about what could have caused the General to betray Shinra like this, but nobody really wanted to know the answer. Everyone knew that the President and Professor Hojo were furious, but who was going to actually ask either of them? That was a sure way to end up missing.
So the groups, troops and SOLDIERs alike, kept their mouths shut and followed their orders, hoping that they wouldn’t be the ones who found the fugitives.
This was an…interesting group.
That was the best description Vincent could come up with for them. He knew Sephiroth’s name, and had almost stared when told it. This…. It hadn’t been possible. His lover’s child.
His child.
Of course, he hadn’t said anything, simply nodded and sat through the introductions, or reintroduction, of everyone else. Cloud he had already known, and he had heard Aeris’s name in the lab. Something about her was both soothing and slightly bewildering. The demons calmed in her presence, and that alone made him inclined to both like her and be slightly wary of her at once. Anything the demons liked or wanted was something he should be cautious with.
Though he did find himself liking her. She had a sense of humor that reminded him of a few of his fellow Turks, before the labs, and that had made him smile a bit. Zack had something of the same sense of humor, and a complete irreverence of anything resembling personal space and anything that might be considered taboo for people. He did it all with the same carefree grin he had been wearing when he had shoved the lid off Vincent’s coffin, too.
Even Aeris was a bit reserved about touching Sephiroth, who put off the same “this is my space, do not enter it” that Vincent did, a nice little kill zone. But Zack ignored it and any sign that either man put off that involved “no touch”. He just didn’t seem to see it, or didn’t seem to care. Vincent was sure that it was the second, because once or twice, Zack would suddenly leave Sephiroth alone for a half an hour, letting him carry Cloud, or would find something for everyone else to do on the other side. The other man was sharper than he looked, and Vincent assumed that there must be some reason for his complete disregard for other peoples flailing when he got too personal.
Sephiroth was the biggest mystery. Most of his attention was focused on Cloud, not that Vincent blamed him, and the way he spoke or moved around him finally clued Vincent in on their relationship. This was the lover Cloud had spoken of. That had made him study the other man closer. Even if this was his child, Cloud was also his claimed family, and, sadly, one he knew better than his own flesh and blood.
Damn Hojo.
They had to keep a low profile, staying mostly to the woods, and he was grateful the weather was warm out. He had done a few outdoor activities that were required training for the Turks, but he had not liked any of them. Vincent much preferred the warmer weather. A sentiment that was happily echoed by Zack, who said that as a boy from Gongaga, he would have been forced to find a hole and hibernate until spring if it had been anything close to cold. Sephiroth had retaliated and pointed out Zack had been stationed in the area around Icicle Inn in the north for almost a month. Zack’s reply to that was that Sephiroth had been in a pissy mood that week and was torturing him.
It had taken a while for Vincent to realize that the two were…playing as they sniped and snarked at each other.
That was a revelation.
That had forced him to study them all over again as they had traveled together, hiding from patrols and keeping a steady northwestern direction.
They were close. All three of them, and Cloud fit in as well. Slowly, every so slowly, Vincent realized that Sephiroth wasn’t Cloud’s only lover. Body language and small verbal clues finally made Vincent understand that all four of them had been together.
It almost made him uncomfortable.
Somehow, it didn’t.
He didn’t expect to be uncomfortable because the four of them had shared beds with each other. The Turks had seen worse. It was the fact that they had the connection and he was not part of it. He was no stranger to being the outsider, but it just didn’t happen here.
That was why Zack ignored his personal space, or why Aeris made the same near raunchy jokes at him that she did at Sephiroth and Zack. Even Sephiroth treated him almost the same as he treated the others.
Vincent felt his respect for them grow. They were sneaky.
He liked that.
Sephiroth had been trained in tactics and warfare since he was old enough to hold a weapon steady. Patience was one of his few virtues, and he had been known to hold onto his temper when any sane man would have lost it and slaughtered people. Usually he was pushed to that point by Zack, actually. Sephiroth cared for the man, but sometimes Zack nearly crossed that very, very thin line.
Patience was not something he had in abundance, at the moment.
Sephiroth wanted something to happen. He wanted Cloud to wake up, he wanted them to stop having to hide, he wanted to deal with their pursuers, he wanted to do something besides have to run like a hunted animal, his lover staring blankly into space with those odd blue-green eyes he currently had.
Aeris said that Cloud was there. She promised he was, but that things he couldn’t control, that none of them could control, was making it a little hard for him to wake up. She did what she could, and Sephiroth had to respect that, but it didn’t make this any easier. He also knew that she was telling the truth because, occasionally, he could feel little brushes that just felt like Cloud against his mind. It was rather like when that thing had tried to convince him to join her. Almost had tempted him, but then she had threatened Cloud. That had not gone over well with him at all.
He wanted to kill things.
The others were letting him hunt, even though the animals he brought back were more than a little mangled. It was the only real source of stress relief that he had.
Couldn’t kill the ones hunting them, which would have given Shinra the clue they needed on where they were running to. They had a plan, and he would not risk it and them just for a petty bit of vengeance.
They had raised him to be coldly logical in the labs, to not let emotion get in the way of his thoughts and that everything was expendable in pursuit of the orders Shinra gave him. Hojo was a strong believer in the cold logic approach.
Zack had taught him that emotions were not a bad thing, and that everything could be made stronger with them. Zack was one of the most emotional people Sephiroth had ever met, and one of the strongest. Zack dealt with things Sephiroth had been clueless on, and it had made him realize just how hollow the lab’s teachings had been.
He would always be grateful to Zack for that, and for the man showing him how real people acted. Lab puppet Sephiroth would have never rescued Cloud from the lab, pointing out all the foolish aspects of it, and he would never have taken on a lover, or three.
Sephiroth despised that aspect of himself and tried hard to never let it out. Zack would have far too much fun picking at him till it went away again.
Being impatient was, strangely, something new, and he would catch Aeris’s soft smile or Zack’s grin sometimes when they caught him muttering about things taking too long. He assumed they were doing that bizarre amuse/pleased thing of theirs. Sometimes he just didn’t understand them. Cloud was the one who he had understood best. The blond had been the one who played translator, or who had been just as confused as him by the other two at times.
It had been nice to not be the only one who didn’t understand.
He would sit next to the fire at night, usually with Cloud leaning against him, and Sephiroth would sit quietly and pet the blond hair, willing him to wake up. It never worked, of course. Cloud continued to stay still, breath shallow and barely there. There was some fear, never spoken aloud, that he simply wasn’t strong enough after whatever they had done in the labs to stay with them.
Sephiroth hated that wordless fear the idea of Cloud dying caused. It was a tight, almost painful feeling in his chest. If Cloud died…he wasn’t sure what he would do.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
“Wake up, Cloud,” he said softly as he helped carry the younger man along during their travels during the day.
“Don’t make me be afraid for you anymore.”
She wished that she could do more.
Aeris felt most frustrated at her lack of progress. Every night, as she had laid down to rest, she would close her eyes and reach for Cloud, letting her fingers follow the threads of the voices until she reached him.
Only he wasn’t there.
She would have to scold him for that later. Honestly, of all the times to be off doing whatever he was off doing.
The woman was sure that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. That his mental wanderings were probably a reaction to whatever that thing had tried to do to him before. He felt achy, and she couldn’t really blame him if he was taking a bit of a vacation from the ow, but really now.
It hurt, a little, to look at Sephiroth and tell him that she wasn’t sure when Cloud was going to wake up.
She couldn’t even honestly tell him if Cloud was going to wake up.
Mental traumas were odd, and while she hadn’t looked at the folders that still sat in her bag, she knew there had been more than just mental trauma. Should probably look at the files, but she wasn’t the only one shying away from them. Sephiroth and Zack and their new silent brooding one were all avoiding them as well. Not that she blamed them. Who wanted to see what Hojo had done to Cloud during the time they had been looking? It would only add to the guilt.
They would have to look sooner or later, though. Especially if Cloud didn’t wake up soon.
Aeris was positive that he wasn’t going to die on them, but being left with a near comatose and unresponsive Cloud was not much better. Cloud dying would hurt them all badly. Cloud being a vegetable would kill Sephiroth slowly, and kill Zack’s laughter.
Kill Zack’s laughter and one killed the best part of Zack.
Aeris simply couldn’t let that happen, even if she hadn’t been so fond of Cloud anyway.
So she continued to reach every night. She did make a few discoveries, small things, but they made her think that Cloud was slowly coming back out of where ever he had gone to. Nothing big, just little clues here and there that let her know that he was starting to be active in his head again. She knew he was there, because of the warnings he gave now and then. It was random, but they were useful things and just another sign that he was still there.
That was good. Now if he would just hurry up and wake from his trance.
Leaving good, happy feelings behind, she slipped away again and settled into sleep.
They still had a long way to go.
Zack was happy that it was still so warm out, though the nights were starting to take on a bit of a nippy feeling which he wasn’t fond of. He had lost track of days and was surprised to know how far they were into September. Noticed the date on one of his turns to sneak into town and get supplies that they needed but couldn’t get in the woods. There had been gossip going around, but when any of them heard the word “Shinra” they had learned to start meandering away. Without knowing just how far or just how detailed the information of the hunt for them was being spread, none of them wanted to chance being recognized. Which was why Aeris was the one who usually went for supplies. Not always, but usually. That seemed to be her job of the group.
The three guys took turn carrying/playing support for Spike. He was too big to carry for long, and none of them wanted to just sling him over their shoulders and carrying him that way. It wouldn’t have been comfortable for any of them. And there was enough awareness left inside that spiky blond head to stumble along beside them when they helped support him as they walked. It wasn’t fast, but it did work.
Sometimes they had a patrol nearby as they moved, and between him, Seph, and dark and gloomy, Zack knew they had detection of said patrols all covered. Usually one person was ahead and kept close to the road, and one person was behind and did the same, and Aeris, Spike and whoever was with them kept their distance. As long as the enhanced person in the middle kept an ear on the fore and rear guards, they were usually fine with avoiding people. When people were near, they halted and stayed quiet, and when they were moving, they went as fast as they could.
When there wasn’t anyone nearby, Zack would talk to Spike. Not loud or anything, but a low, steady murmur, reminding his friend that he wasn’t alone and that anytime he wanted to come out and rejoin the rest of them, it would be nice.
They had gotten a late start this morning, and Zack knew it was bothering Sephiroth. It had been slow this morning as they had prepared to leave camp when one of those ghostly thoughts had brushed them, something that just felt like Cloud, and whispered dangerdangerdangernorth. Since the Cloudwhisper had pointed out SOLDIERs several times in the last few days, the group had listened. They had stayed hidden and quiet, waiting for the danger to pass.
And it had. The two units of SOLDIERs never realized they were there. The most worrisome thing about the entire incident was the fact that they had come from the north. South wouldn’t have bothered any of them, since Nibelheim was south. North, though, was their best bet of getting to Wutai without having to fight their way there. Zack knew their plans were already being adjusted in Sephiroth’s mind, the other man having fought more than enough battles to be able to plan and run at the same time.
They were running, too. Making use of that SOLDIER speed and strength to put distance between the danger and themselves. Sephiroth was on point, and Zack was at the rear, his arms full of Cloud, while Aeris was held safe in Vincent’s. No time for the normal setup, that was the first time that the SOLDIERs had been in a group, not scattered with regular troopers. Aeris hadn’t liked the idea of being carried like that, but acknowledged that it was impossible for her to keep up the pace of the others for long periods of time. So she let them carry her, much like Cloud, though she was awake and aware and able to talk.
Cloud was starting to be far lighter than Zack liked. The rush of worry had his system going full force, but the fact Cloud was as easy to move as he was told Zack that the blond was loosing too much weight. It was just hard to get him to eat, but….
Now wasn’t the time for this. It was bad enough that Cloud’s lack of reaction gave Zack the heebyjeebies to watch. The vacant stare of the mako lit eyes was the worst part of it. Eyes that Zack remembered as a deep, vibrant blue that seemed to glow without mako. He remembered Cloud’s eyes full of love, lust, pain, fear, and hope. Not this.... Blankness. At least his eyes were finally starting to shift back to their normal shade, more blue than green.
So, in the interest of his own sanity, and to remind Cloud that he was really there, Zack kept up a soft monologue, his voice just loud enough for it to be heard by his friend. It wasn’t anything major, just random babbling.
“And Seph is absolute furious with Aeris’s choice for color, but it’s really his own fault for having such fair hair. We can’t make it too dark, because that will just look odd, and he’d just look wrong as a dark blond, so we ended up going for strawberry blond instead. Haven’t had a chance to pick up dye, since we’re waiting for you to wake up first, but Aeris’s told him that one of the cadets had hair the color she was trying for, and when he realized who she was talking about, Seph was like “Pink? You want to dye my hair pink? Isn’t it bad enough I’m going to cut it?” And the look on his face was priceless, Spike. You’d think she had asked him to dance naked in front of the entire Shinra board. Actually, I’d pay good money to....”
A subtle shift in his arms, and lips brushed along his jawbone. “Noisy, Zack,” whispered a voice not heard in two years.
Zack almost fell over, he stopped so fast. Wide violet eyes stared as Cloud looked over and smiled a bright, brilliant, hopeless sweet smile that made Zack’s chest tighten. “Free?” the blond whispered. Zack couldn’t choke out the words, but nodded slowly. Cloud’s smile softened, and then he let his head fall against Zack’s shoulder again. Blue eyes slid shut, and Cloud fell into what looked like a real sleep.
“Seph,” Zack hissed loudly, not wanting to disturb Cloud but desperately needing to get his other friend’s attention. “Seph!”
Luckily, the others had noticed his sudden stop, and were coming back around, no doubt expecting a battle. When they came closer, Zack saw Sephiroth’s expression, which looked torn between horrified and panicked. He couldn’t figure out why, until the silver haired man spoke.
”What happened, Zack? Did something happen...?”
Zack felt like an idiot. There had been a lingering worry that Cloud’s body wouldn’t be able to take the abuse it was going through and finally give up. That was what Sephiroth was expecting to hear. Well, Zack was grateful that he wouldn’t have to give that news.
Grinning like a madman, Zack couldn’t help the sheer happiness in his voice. “He woke up! It was just for a minute, but he woke up.”
And then the others swarmed him.
Interlude Three-Part One
Wordcounts so far:
Nov 3: 3,499
Noverber so far: 13,953
OGToF: 17,202