Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Alliance ❯ Chapter 19

“Alliance”

Chapter 19

~**********************************~

(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)

*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

~***********************************************~

 

 

Zack heard Cloud yelling at him to stop, but he couldn't comply. The sound of the blonde's motorcycle below and behind him told him that his companion was chasing after him and judging by the sound of the rotary blades further back, some of the ShinRa forces were following as well. The black-haired fighter was livid with rage and the only thing on his mind was punishing the people that had done that to those innocent people. He reached down and drew the guns strapped to his thighs as he drew nearer to the opposing forces. So far, they didn't seem to notice him.

 

His luck didn't hold out though, mostly because of the noise associated with the Shinra air and ground transport. As Zack closed in on the enemy they began to take notice of the sounds from the engines. Some of them turned around and since Zack was in the lead, he was the first thing they saw. Their surprise at being pursued by a winged man was the only thing that spoiled their aim as they started shooting at him.

 

Zack wasted no time in returning fire and taking evasive maneuvers. He spun through the air nimbly and fired his weapons into the Deepground ranks, aiming to scatter them more than wound. He was massively outnumbered, of course. Once again, he was trying to take on an entire army by himself.

 

~I might not have thought this through very well. Good thing the others are coming in to back me up. Hopefully I can improvise until they close in to help.~

 

The sable-haired fighter's frantic thoughts were rudely interrupted as a missile streaked past him from somewhere behind, fired by one of the choppers. It exploded into the ranks, causing destruction and confusion. Zack smirked grimly and dove sharply into the fray, putting his guns away to draw his sword as he came within melee range of his enemies. He didn't spare time to think about what he was doing. He landed and drew his wings into his body as he began a deadly dance, slicing and hacking at his enemies. Vaguely he heard Fenrir off to his left and the screams of surprise hinted that Cloud had joined the fight as well.

 

He spotted a transport unit amongst the ranks of the enemy and he made his way over to it, cutting down enemies left and right. He used his bloodied sword to break open the lock on the back of one of the units and he yanked it open, finding it full of civilians that were either sporting Mako-bright eyes or new limbs. A couple of them had a single, stubby wing beginning to grow from their backs and Zack was almost shocked to stillness.

 

“Get out of here!” the former Soldier cried. “We'll cover you, just go!”

 

Men, women and children stumbled out of the mobile prison, confused and frightened. Zack did his best to defend them and clear the way, certain that he would fail to protect them on his own. Thankfully, Cloud saw what he was doing and the blonde fought his way through the enemy ranks to help clear a path. The prisoners broke free of the din, running toward Icicle where the WRO and ShinRa forces were coming from. Zack shot a smile at Cloud, grateful for his assistance. The blonde's sapphire eyes met his warmly over his mask for a brief moment before he was forced to defend against the Deepground retaliation.

 

~*******************************~

 

“Hurry, Cid! Hurry, hurry!” Yuffie was slapping the pilot on the back anxiously, watching with wide eyes as Cloud and Zack confronted the enemies on their own. The airship needed to get closer so that she and the others could parachute down to help—or at least, Tifa and Barret. Yuffie planned on using a hoverboard to join the fight but her friends weren't as comfortable with the devices, so they were opting to use the old-fashioned route.

 

“QUIT SMACKING ME, GIRL!” barked the pilot around the cigar he was smoking for the occasion. “They're holding their own `till we get there!”

 

What he said wasn't a lie. Though it was just the two of them, Zack and Cloud's combined might was already tearing a formidable line through the enemy ranks. Zack had cut down a dozen of the Deepground soldiers already and Cloud was ripping through them with Fenrir, slashing with his swords as he went. The element of surprise wouldn't favor them for long, though. The number of Deepground operatives was much larger than expected and regardless of their skill, the two swordfighters would need backup very soon to avoid being overwhelmed.

 

“Here's some payback, assholes!” Cid growled as he yanked the targeting visor down and pulled a knob on the control panel of his ship. He winced as he did it, seeing that Cloud changed direction and sped directly towards where he aimed. “Shit, move outta the way, kid!”

 

He couldn't take the missile fire back and it was too late to warn Cloud over the comm. unit, but the blonde spotted the incoming explosive and thankfully, he spun Fenrir around and changed directions in time to avoid getting caught in the resulting explosion.

 

~*******************************~

 

“Fuck!” Zack swore as the earth exploded to his left, sending Deepground fighters flying in every direction. “Cloud, you okay?” He searched with worried eyes in the direction he'd seen his lover cut into the ranks, unable to divide his attention for very long.

 

“Zack!” Cloud yelled. “Get clear!” The roar of Fenrir's engine cut into the noisy sound of combat and Zack saw the blonde burst free of the ranks with a splatter of blood. One opponent was hanging onto Cloud's motorcycle, trying to climb on and knock him off. The blonde kicked him violently in the face and made him lose his grip, leaving him behind on the snowy field. Cloud sped away from the masses and pulled Fenrir into a turn, getting ready to unleash one of his more dangerous sword techniques on the enemy.

 

Zack was forced to defend himself as his enemies recuperated and swarmed him. He snarled as he dodged, twisted and slashed at them, taking them down with desperate vigor the minute any of them dared to get close enough. His mask was torn off in the fight but he hardly noticed. He saw what appeared to be a tornado of energy heading his way, close enough to impress but far enough not to hit him. The funnel took out an entire line of Deepground soldiers and Zack grinned when he realized it had come from Cloud.

 

The diversion took some of the heat off of the black-haired fighter, but not for long. He realized he was in real trouble as the noose of enemy fighters closed in on him. Zack swore and he knew that he was going to have to take to the air if he wanted to avoid getting swamped. He sprouted his wings and used them to slap aside a few approaching fighters before launching into the air. Gunfire immediately followed and he twisted and rolled, flying up and out of range. When he reached a safe distance, the first thing he noticed was that Cloud was waving frantically at him and pointing at his head. Zack frowned at the blonde and it took him a minute to realize he was pointing at his own headphones, trying to tell him to tune in and listen to orders.

 

“Oh, right,” Zack muttered, having forgotten all about the communication device. He was a little surprised to find the headphones and mic still safely attached, since his mask had been knocked off. He switched them on and the first thing he heard was Reno's livid voice, shouting for him to move out of the way.

 

“Move it, Fair! We can't unload the heavy stuff with you in the middle of everything! You copy?”

 

“Got it,” Zack said into the mic. He flew towards Cloud, shooting an apologetic look in the direction of the hovering choppers and Cid's airship. He glanced over his shoulder at the enemy ranks and swore. Deepground had some backup coming and it looked like they were bringing their own explosives. In fact, a capsule streaked by him as he flew away and it landed close to Cloud, where the WRO ground forces were closing in. A noxious, green gas emitted from it and the wind carried some of the vapors to Zack, making him cough.

 

“Oh shit, I inhaled some,” the black-haired fighter gasped, covering his mouth with one hand.

 

He remembered those poor, twisted bodies in Icicle and he wondered if he was going to end up like them. Obviously some of the victims survived the vapors; otherwise there wouldn't have been anyone to save when he and Cloud had freed the captured civilians. He took small comfort in that, remembering the brief glance he'd seen of them. Those that lived through it had been altered and he wasn't thrilled with the possibility of growing further body parts.

 

“What'd you say?” Reno asked over the comm. unit. “You clear, man?”

 

“I'm clear,” Zack confirmed with another cough. He flew further away from the army below, trying to find cleaner air to breathe.

 

A moment later, twin rockets fired from the redhead's chopper and blasted into the front line of the enemy ranks. The chopper on the other side of the Shera followed suit with its own missiles and the airship itself shot a larger one. The concussive force of the blasts as they hit made the very air tremble and Zack had to struggle a little to keep hovering. He vaguely noticed that two figures were parachuting down from the Shera and another figure was zipping away from it at impressive speed. Below, Vincent and the majority of the WRO ground forces had joined Cloud and were waiting to move in.

 

“They're using some kind of gas,” Zack reported warningly. “I'm gonna have to get another mask…mine fell off.”

 

He started back towards Icicle and saw that three more choppers were coming in to join the fight. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a few rocket launchers being brought in by Deepground. “Watch it, guys…they're getting ready to kiss you back!”

 

Another gas capsule was fired towards the alliance forces and Zack increased his altitude, not wanting to get a double-dose of the stuff. Shortly after the capsule was fired, missiles streaked through the air in their wake towards the alliance aircrafts. Zack saw Cid's airship go higher up to avoid the projectiles and he assumed the chopper that turned on its side was Reno's. The other chopper's pilot wasn't as skilled and while it tilted to avoid a direct hit, the projectile streaking past it glanced off the side and blew the copilot door open. Zack thought he saw something fall from it but he couldn't spare more than a cursory glance, for another missile was heading straight for him.

 

Zack wheeled in the air, banking sharply to the right and doing a full circle to avoid the rocket. His heart thundered as the explosive missed him and slammed into the side of a nearby cliff, causing a rather impressive rockslide in its wake.

 

~I'm a sitting duck right now. I've got to get clear and get another mask before I can help out more.~

 

~********************************~

 

“Rufus!” Tseng reached for his lover and boss as the suction caused by the open door threatened to tear the president right out of his seat. Luckily the safety harness held, but Rufus's mask was torn from his face and he inhaled some of the mystery vapors polluting the air before he righted himself and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

 

“I'm fine,” the president coughed as he opened a compartment and got a spare mask out. “Concentrate on avoiding their return fire, Tseng.”

 

“Yo Tseng, are you guys all right?” Reno's voice broke through over the comm. system.

 

“Yes,” answered the Wutaian with a concerned look at Rufus. “The blast only took one of our doors but we're okay.”

 

“Shit, that was too close for comfort,” responded Reno. “Maybe you guys should hang back and let us draw their fire.”

 

Rufus and Tseng's eyes met, both of them thinking that the idea had merit, no matter how crazy it was. Rufus adjusted his headset and spoke to the redhead. “Reno, if you choose to do that I want you to be extra cautious. This isn't a game, Fox.”

 

“Yeah, I get that,” answered the redhead. “Don't worry, boss. I've got Rude to keep me in line, yo.”

 

Rufus coughed again and nodded. “Just watch yourself.”

 

~**************************************~

 

“Where's he going?” Yuffie asked as she made it to Cloud's side and watched Zack fly overhead, in the opposite direction from the fighting.

 

“He lost his mask,” the blonde explained, watching his lover with concerned blue eyes.

 

“Did he breathe any of that shit in?” Barret asked. The big man was waving at the air in futility, trying to clear the green vapors. Thankfully the handful of civilians that Cloud and Zack had freed was out of range now and Reeve had been notified of their exodus. The WRO leader had medical staff ready to see to them and hopefully they could do something for them.

 

“I don't know,” Cloud answered uncertainly. “I hope not.”

 

“Well, we can't move in right now anyhow,” Tifa said. “We'll just get in the way of Cid and the others if we try.”

 

“Knew I should have stayed on the Shera with Cid,” Yuffie grumbled. “He's getting all the action, now!”

 

“We'll have our fight soon enough,” Vincent chided her as he stopped his hoverboard next to hers. “Be patient, Yuffie.”

 

Cloud spotted a familiar, unlikely sight and he almost chuckled as a new addition hopped up behind Vincent. “You've got a visitor,” the blonde observed.

 

Vincent turned to find Cait Sith approaching on his giant mog. The gunman sighed and shook his head at the mechanical cat, not entirely surprised by his appearance but annoyed that Reeve had snuck him into the fight. If anything happened to the cat, Reeve would suffer some mental backlash.

 

“Our boy's a stubborn one, lad,” Cait Sith informed the gunman as he approached. “Ya can't expect him ta sit back an do nothing, after all!”

 

“I really hope you're equipped with good materia,” Vincent murmured.

 

“Of course, I am!” Cait Sith held up his megaphone, revealing a row of powerful red, green and yellow materia socketed to the odd weapon.

 

“Uh, guys…do you hear that whistling sound?” Yuffie said, distracting Vincent from his misgivings.

 

Cloud looked up and saw the bomb coming at them. “SCATTER!” He shouted to his friends. He grabbed Tifa around the waist and Fenrir's tires kicked up snow and dirt as he drove away with her.

 

“Aw, man!” Barret charged in the opposite direction with Yuffie, while Cait Sith and Vincent retreated to the west. Their WRO allies also scattered to avoid the incoming explosion, but a few weren't fast enough and their screams filled the air as the bomb hit and went off. In the aftermath of the explosion, several organization members dragged their wounded and fallen comrades away while hover vehicles equipped with rockets arrived at the scene.

 

“'Bout time they brought the big guns,” Barret growled. Like Yuffie, he was frustrated that he wasn't able to move in close enough to do some damage of his own. The WRO began locking and loading their explosives, returning ground fire as quickly as they could.

 

Cloud skidded his bike to a stop and let Tifa drop to the ground. “You okay?” he asked her.

 

“Fine,” she assured him, watching as missiles and bombs streaked over the snowy field. “There's a lot more Deepground forces than I thought there would be!”

 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Zack and I got lucky we hit them before their reinforcements got here.” Cloud looked up and spotted his black-haired lover approaching through the air. He waved him down and Zack landed, now equipped with a new mask.

 

“You didn't breathe any of that stuff, did you?” the blonde asked as soon as the other fighter's feet touched the ground.

 

“A little,” Zack admitted. “But hey, I'm already kind of mutated, so maybe nothing will happen to me.”

 

Cloud's eyes were wide and worried, as were Tifa's. “You should go back to Icicle and have the medical staff check you out,” suggested the barmaid.

 

“I'm okay,” Zack said lightly. “Really. Don't worry about me.” His eyes narrowed as he spotted a silhouette on a cliff in the distance. “Huh. Looks like we've got an audience, guys.”

 

Tifa turned and looked as he pointed and she saw a familiar figure standing on the cliff. She remembered seeing the same man in Midgar. She couldn't make out any details but like before, he was wearing a long coat and he had one wing sprouting from his left shoulder.

 

“Who is that?” the barmaid wondered aloud, her attention momentarily diverted from the chaos of battle.

 

“I'm about to go find out,” Zack answered grimly. He launched into the air, leaving a couple of drifting white feathers in his wake.

 

Cloud watched him wing his way over to the distant cliff and he wished he'd thought to ask to go with him. He could think of a few people from the past that had single wings and despite Aerith's assurances that Sephiroth wasn't involved in this mess; he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

 

His concerns for Zack were quickly drowned by concerns for Reno as the redhead's chopper passed overhead, moving straight for the enemy ranks. He looked up with a bewildered expression, his stomach lurching as the aircraft dodged the missiles firing at it with heart-stopping moves. How in the world Rude managed to concentrate to return fire was a mystery to him, but somehow the bald man must have managed, for the aircraft's machine guns began to fire on the enemy ground forces.

 

~**********************************~

 

Zack could tell by the stance of the figure in the distance that he'd been spotted. The man waited for him, not bothering to flee the scene. As he drew nearer and got a better look at him, he recognized him. He couldn't even pretend to be shocked as he landed on the cliff behind the one-winged man and approached him.

 

“Figures,” Zack muttered. “So aren't you going to say anything?”

 

The man turned, regarding him with aqua blue eyes. His collar length, auburn hair blew in the wind and he had a distracted expression on his sculpted face. “A man has only one life, but history can remember you forever.”

 

“Cut the crap, Genesis,” Zack growled. “If all you're going to do is spout poetry at me—“

 

“It's relevant, don't you think?” Genesis interrupted, his eyes sweeping Zack's wings. “Your goal is, as always, to be a hero. I like the wings, Zackary. Oh, and I owe you some thanks. It was because of you that they were able to stop my deterioration.”

 

Zack frowned at his words. Even when he wasn't spouting poetry, Genesis still didn't make any damn sense. “So wait…you're saying the research they did on me cured your deterioration, right?”

 

Genesis nodded. “Correct.” He looked out at the battle happening beneath them and sighed. “Sadly, we had a falling out. My `brother' and I disagreed and I took my leave of his family.”

 

“What `brother'? What the hell are you talking about?” Zack wanted to tear his hair out with frustration. Whatever Deepground did to fix Genesis's decomposition clearly didn't fix his addled brain as well.

 

“Weiss,” answered the redhead. “He was the one who delivered me from death, so I returned the favor. Unfortunately, the influence of a mad scientist took a toll on his mind. He's out to rid the world of humanity, now.”

 

Zack absorbed this thoughtfully. He had no idea who “Weiss” was but he assumed he was a member of Deepground. “So this `Weiss' character cured you and you saved his life, right?”

 

Genesis nodded.

 

“And now he's batshit crazy and trying to drive humans into extinction?” persisted the former Soldier.

 

“That's the gist of it, yes,” Genesis agreed. He studied Zack carefully and added; “It really is you, isn't it? You aren't just a copy…you're actually Zack.”

 

“Yeah, I had a little help getting back,” the black-haired fighter alluded. “So anyhow, who's this `mad scientist' you're talking about? Hollander?”

 

“No. Hojo.” Genesis sneered the name and Zack impulsively shivered. “He…possessed Weiss, for lack of a better word. He's gone now but his presence left lingering trauma in its wake.” He looked down at the ongoing battle and nodded. “Those people you're fighting? They truly believe in what they're doing. There's no opponent so dangerous as one that wholeheartedly embraces the belief that he or she is right.”

 

“Tell me something I don't know,” Zack sighed. “So whose side are you on, now?” He noticed that Genesis was wearing the exact same style of clothing he'd last seen him in, but the material was new. Black leather pants, boots and body armor with a red coat and gloves. He even wielded the same red sword that Zack remembered, holding it casually by the hilt in his right hand.

 

“I'm not on anyone's side,” Genesis informed him. “Nobody's given me a reason to be.”

 

Zack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, how about this for a reason to be on our side: Deepground's full of crazy people.”

 

Genesis smirked at him. “If it weren't for those crazy people, neither you nor I would be standing here right now. I don't begrudge you the right to oppose them, but you do owe them your life…as do I.”

 

“Hah…just barely,” Zack muttered. “They tried to blow me up. My friends found me in Deepground's old Midgar base and there was a nice little bomb set to go off. Maybe they didn't want anyone getting their hands on their research or maybe they just figured my body served its purpose and could be junked, but there you have it.”

 

“I know about the attempted bomb,” Genesis shrugged. “I was the one that set it.”

 

Zack stared at him. “Why?” he sputtered, reaching for his sword.

 

“You and I aren't going to fight,” the redhead stated calmly. “The bomb was a dud. Of course, Deepground didn't know that but at the time I was ambiguous of their plans and I staged it to appear otherwise. Had your people failed to stop the countdown, the only thing you or they would have suffered would have been a puff of air. I had no intention of blowing you up but it was what Weiss wanted, to protect the data.”

 

Zack relaxed a little. “Huh. O…kay…so, you're not on their side and you're not on our side. What exactly do you want?”

 

“I think you have bigger concerns than what I want.” Genesis nodded toward the fighting, calling attention to the fact that one of the ShinRa choppers was deliberately drawing fire from the Deepground forces. By the maneuvering skill, Zack guessed that the pilot must be Reno but he had his doubts that the redhead could evade the volley of missiles coming at him forever.

 

“Oh, damn,” the fighter groaned.

 

~*********************************~

 

“Would you look at these crazy sons-a-bitches?” Cid muttered to himself. He watched as the black helicopter zigged and zagged through the air, directly over the bulk of the Deepground forces. Whoever was piloting it had to be out of his mind or equipped with balls of steel. The gamble was paying off and the majority of the rocket fire from the ground was aimed at the weaving chopper, buying some time and opportunity for the rest of the air team to move in and deploy their own missiles at the enemy.

 

Cid didn't question the bold move. He figured whoever was flying that bird was as good as dead and he wasn't going to let their sacrifice be for nothing. He closed in with his ship, cutting loose with her firepower at the Deepground forces below. He was almost startled silly when a familiar, horned elemental appeared on the field and hit the enemy ranks with a wall of flames.

 

“Someone on our side's got some summon materia,” he muttered, understanding where the creature had come from. Ifreet was a nice choice, actually. The flames of his attack exploded some of the Deepground missile launchers and caused rockets to go off amongst their own ranks.

 

Cid added to that fire by dropping a few bombs and firing some of his bigger missiles.

 

~*****************************************~

 

“Smart move, eh?” Cait Sith shouted with pride as the summons spell ended. “Now they're good and scattered!”

 

Indeed, the combined attacks from the air teams and the cat's Ifreet summons had broken up the ranks of the enemy, enough for the ground teams to move in. The Deepground army was still massive but they were no longer so organized.

 

Rufus Shinra's voice spoke over the comm. system, confirming the attack. “All ground units, move in. Air teams pull back. Reno, get out of there.”

 

“Your boyfriend's crazy,” Yuffie said to Cloud as she hopped on her hoverboard and readied her deadly shuriken. “And I thought I was reckless!” She sped off then, going into battle behind Vincent and Cait Sith. Barret and Tifa followed but before Cloud could kick Fenrir into gear to do the same, there was a dreadful sound of rending metal overhead. He looked up to see Reno's chopper get hit in the tail by one of the missiles and his heart lurched in his throat as it began to spin, trailing smoke.

 

~*******************************~

 

“Fuck, we're going down, big guy!” Reno did his best to exercise some control over their descent but they were inevitably heading towards a thick mass of alpine forest. “I can try to make it a soft landing but ya might wanna get those parachutes ready!”

 

“I'm on it,” Rude said, struggling to reach the packaged chutes overhead without unbuckling his harness.

 

~************************************~

 

Zack stared at the spectacle as Reno's chopper was hit and started spinning out of control. “Oh, shit!” He turned to Genesis with a desperate expression on his face. “Help me get them!”

 

Genesis didn't move and the black-haired fighter cursed and took a running leap off the cliff, soaring towards the crippled helicopter as fast as he could.

 

~***********************************~

 

“We've got a problem,” Rude said. He held out the torn parachute package for his partner's inspection. The hit must have damaged it. With any luck, Reno's was still okay but they'd have to double-up on it.

 

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” groaned the redhead. “Why can't we ever have a normal fight together?” He reached up with one hand for his parachute, struggling to pull it out of its compartment while keeping his other hand on the stick. He yelped when a pale face appeared outside the window of his door and it took him a second to recognize Zack. The door was pulled open and Reno swore again as he was buffeted by the wind.

 

“Come on!” Zack yelled, reaching in.

 

“You can't carry both of us!” Reno shouted back. Strong as Zack was, Rude was still bigger than him and the attempt to carry them both to safety was about as likely to succeed as the possibility of Rude floating down safely with his torn parachute.

 

“I'm sure as hell going to try,” Zack argued grimly.

 

Rude's door was yanked open at that moment and the bald man stared at an auburn-haired man who sported a single black wing on his back. He recognized him and his mouth fell open. “Where the hell did you come from?” the dark-skinned Turk muttered.

 

Zack was relieved. “It's okay, you can trust him. Go with him, Rude!”

 

“I don't know about that,” the bald man protested. He looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and shrugged, his decision made easier by the alternative of becoming a splat on the earth. Zack helped Reno out of his harness and Genesis did the same for Rude. The Turks clung to their rescuers tightly as Genesis and Zack pulled them out of the spinning chopper and flew away.

 

Reno twisted in Zack's arms, watching his partner get carried off in the distance. “What the fuck is Genesis doing here, man? Thought he was dead!” His helicopter hit the ground a moment after he asked the question and instead of answering, Zack hissed a curse and banked sharply as shrapnel flew.

 

Something hit them. Reno was unharmed but he heard Zack's cry of pain and he stared with round eyes as the fighter's right wing buckled alarmingly. A heavy piece of metal fell to the earth and he guessed it was what struck Zack's wing. He was falling again, this time with a human bird rather than a mechanical one. There was nothing Reno could do as he looked at Zack's strained face. The fighter clenched his teeth stubbornly and flapped his wings, despite the obvious agony it caused him.

 

“I'm not gonna let us crash,” Zack growled, catching the wind currents and steering as well as he could. His wing was broken…he felt the bones scraping together as he fought to carry Reno safely back to the ground. The pain was so intense he was afraid he'd black out and he blinked away black spots and narrowed his eyes grimly, aiming for a snowy slope leading out of Icicle to the north. He was vaguely surprised that they'd managed to get this far away from the action but given the chaotic descent through the air, it made some sense.

 

“Hold tight,” Zack ordered in a pain-roughened voice.

 

~**********************************~

 

Cloud saw the entire thing and he sped off on Fenrir as soon as he realized that Zack and Reno were in trouble. Rude's mysterious rescuer carried him back toward the main concentration of fighters and deposited him on the ground before flying off again. Cloud watched Zack's broken flight pattern, mentally reviewing what he remembered of the land layout. He wasn't going to be able to follow his lovers on Fenrir, the way they were going down. They were heading right for the slopes. Cloud kicked up the speed of his bike and tore into Icicle, coming to a reckless stop in the center of town. The WRO had already cleaned up the bodies of the deceased civilians and Reeve hurried over to him as soon as he dismounted his bike.

 

“I need a snowboard,” Cloud panted, “Or a hoverboard…anything!”

 

Zack and Reno had already flown overhead and he could hear the redhead's cursing and Zack's groans of pain growing fainter in the distance as their trajectory took them over the slopes.

 

“Cloud, there's a fight going on!” Reeve exclaimed.

 

“Zack and Reno are in trouble!” cried the blonde. “Don't argue with me, just get what I'm asking for!”

 

One of the organization members heard him and he hurried over and grabbed Cloud's arm. “There's a supply unit by the Inn,” he said as he drew the fighter with him. “You should find a hoverboard inside!”

 

Reeve stared into the distance, only now noticing the spectacle of Zack Fair doing his best to carry Reno to the ground without crashing. “They're heading for a pretty steep drop,” he announced worriedly.

 

“I know!” Cloud yelled impatiently as he climbed into the back of the supply transport and searched. He found what he was after and he breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed a medical kit and strapped it to his back over his sword. Once he had that done, the blonde grabbed the hoverboard and ran for the end of town. Reeve and a couple of other WRO members followed him.

 

“Cloud, you're probably not going to get any reception down there,” Reeve warned as the blonde dropped his hoverboard to the ground and jumped on it. “How will you call for help when you find them?”

 

“I'll worry about that after I find them!” Cloud didn't stick around to argue. He jumped on the hoverboard and started off, keeping on eye on the sky as he skied down the slopes after his lovers.

 

~******************************~

 

At first, Zack thought he was imagining things. His pain-fogged mind registered the sound of Cloud's voice, yelling up at him from somewhere below. He didn't know how far down the slopes he'd drifted but it seemed like it was just getting steeper and steeper. Reno confirmed that he wasn't just imagining the sound of Cloud's voice.

 

“Cloud's down there, man! He's pacing us on one of those hoverboards the WRO uses!” Reno could only adjust his position so much because of the risk of throwing Zack further off balance than he already was. He craned his neck and saw his blond lover several feet below on the slope, hollering at them through his mask.

 

Zack looked down and saw him too. “Cloud?” he called raggedly.

 

“Go right!” the blonde shouted. “Left just gets steeper!”

 

Zack did his best to comply, groaning helplessly as agony flared through his broken wing. He held his flight for perhaps another twenty feet before his strength gave. The ground was rushing up to meet him and all he could think was: ~Thank Gaia we're landing in snow.~ He hit the ground rolling, losing his hold on Reno. The redhead didn't roll far and Zack didn't even try to lift his head when he came to a stop with his face in the snow.

 

Cloud hopped off of the ski trail and stumbled through the snow towards his fallen lovers, calling out to both of them. Reno struggled to his feet with a groan, clutching his head. He tore the mask off his face and embraced Cloud when the blonde closed the distance.

 

“I think Wolfy's in real bad shape,” Reno warned, stumbling against Cloud's body. “Go check on him…I'm okay.”

 

Cloud hurried over to Zack and started to roll him over. The black-haired fighter cried out when his right wing was pressed against the snowy ground and Cloud looked at it and saw that the humerus bone was broken.

 

“Okay, it's all right,” he soothed gently, brushing Zack's tangled hair out of his eyes. He spoke to him like he was a frightened animal, seeing the shock dilating his pupils. He pulled the mask off of Zack's face and looked around, trying to get his bearings. “We can't stay here, Zack,” he said. “Do you think you can walk if Reno and I help you?”

 

Zack nodded and clenched his teeth, allowing the blonde to help him sit up. A bare whimper escaped his lips despite his effort to stay quiet as his injured wing shifted. Reno was quickly at Cloud's side, helping him pull Zack to his feet.

 

“There's a cabin not far from here, if I'm remembering right,” Cloud said to his lovers. “We need to get Zack there so I can look at his wing.”

 

“Don't think you can do much about it,” Zack panted.

 

“I used to raise chocobos,” the blonde reminded him with a forced smile. “I know how bird wings work and I've got a Cure materia on me. The hardest part is going to be setting the bone before I use it.”

 

“I forgot about your chocobos,” Zack laughed, then winced as the movement made pain shoot through his wing. “Let's hope your bird knowledge does some good, Sunshine.”

 

Reno supported Zack on the left while Cloud supported him on the right. They started off, relying on Cloud's memory to guide them to the cabin.

 

“Hey, do you know if Rude made it okay?” Reno asked after a moment, concern for his partner breaking through his worry over their predicament.

 

“I saw him carried down by that other winged guy,” Cloud assured him. “Who was that, by the way?”

 

“Genesis,” both Zack and Reno answered at the same time.

 

Cloud stopped and stared at them. “Really?”

 

“Yeah, it was him all right,” Reno nodded. “I'm not clear on what he's doing here but he helped Zack get us out of the chopper before it went down. I was a little worried about whether he carried Rude to the ground or dropped him, though. Last time I saw the guy he was a head-case, yo.”

 

“He's still not all there,” Zack said. “He said something about Deepground stopping his deterioration and some guy named Weiss and a lot of other crap I couldn't understand.” He shuddered with both pain and cold and his two companions held him more tightly. “Doesn't seem like he's siding with the bad guys but I don't know if he's keen on helping us out, either.”

 

“We'll worry about that later,” Cloud insisted.

 

~************************************~

 

A couple of hours and some backtracking later, they arrived at the cabin near the foot of Gaea's Cliff. The windows were boarded and there was no light coming from inside, suggesting that the place was abandoned.

 

“Mr. Holzoff? Are you there?” Cloud knocked on the door and worried his lower lip. The temperature was dropping with the setting sun and Zack was shivering violently. Reno wasn't doing much better, with his meager blazer protecting him from the elements. Why the redhead hadn't worn something more appropriate for the climate was a mystery to Cloud.

 

“Doesn't look like anyone lives here anymore, man,” Reno said through chattering teeth.

 

“I guess not.” Cloud eased Zack and Reno to the wall by the door. “Hold him up for me while I break the door in.”

 

Reno did his best to hold the heavier man up but the cabin wall gave Zack better support than the Turk's slim body. “You still with us, Fair?” the redhead murmured.

 

Zack nodded mutely…which didn't sit well with Reno. Usually the black-haired fighter had some kind of lighthearted comment or snappy comeback but now his lips were colorless and pressed together in a line of pain.

 

Cloud threw himself bodily at the door a few times before he broke the beam holding it shut from inside. The blonde stumbled into the abandoned cabin, nearly falling on his face before he caught his balance. He came out and helped Reno bring Zack in, directing their steps to the bedroom in the back. Thankfully the place was still furnished and he'd spotted stacks of firewood outside at the side of the cabin.

 

“I think the owner's just away on vacation or something,” Cloud guessed. “I'm going to have to leave him some gil and a note apologizing about breaking in.”

 

“One thing at a time, Blondie,” grunted Reno as they laid Zack onto his left side on the bed. “We need warmth and some light, yo.”

 

“Give me your lighter,” Cloud said. He was sure there were matches or a lighter somewhere in the house but he wanted to look at Zack's wing right away. Reno fished the item out of a pocket and handed it to him and Cloud lit the bedside lantern before removing the medical kit strapped to his back.

 

“Reno, why don't you check the house for liquor and try to get the fireplace going while I see to this?” Cloud suggested. “If you can find a bowl and get the tap running, some water would be good, too.”

 

“I'm on it,” agreed the Turk.

 

~*********************************~

 

-To be continued