Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shooting Star ❯ Chapter 1

Shooting Star

By: Jayde Summers

"Pay attention everyone!" the Gym coach at the Shinra Academy told the SOLDIER Candidates. "These are the weapons that you will be using from now on. I want five people on each weapon seen before you." He continued until he noticed a blonde-haired person with severely spiked hair was not paying attention. "Strife!" he bellowed anew.

The blond-haired young man stood at attention. However, he was not paying attention to the Gym coach. Rather than listening to the boring lecture about choosing a weapon most comfortable to your own fighting style, the young man known as Cloud Strife was staring in awe at the SOLDIER First Class training session. He marveled at their fighting abilities, their lithe bodies and spectacular abilities; the abilities that he had dreamed and idolized as a boy.

"Watch what you're doing Drillyn!" Cloud overheard.

A smart rap to the side of his spiky head brought back into focus on the weapons lecture. "Candidate Cloud Strife!" the coach yelled in his ear.

Stepping back, Cloud placed a hand over the ear that had been yelled in. His blue eyes and blond eyebrows furrowed in anger and pale lips curled into a frown. High, pale cheekbones and skin darkened to match his current mood.

"Pick a weapon Strife!" the coach yelled again, shoving Cloud toward the different weapons leaned on the far wall.

Cloud continued to walk over to the broadswords that he had his eyes on. Luckily, there was one left which he quickly grabbed. He lifted the broadsword up and found it to be a comfortable weight. Cloud gave it a cautious swing, being sure not to hit his fellow classmates. "Can I use this use?" Cloud called out to the coach.

The Coach weaved through the path of other students wanting advice on their chosen weapons to confront the average height youth. "A broadsword...?" Looks like you can handle it. You'll hafta be careful not ta hit the other students when you're sparring awright?"

Cloud, satisfied with his weapon of choice nodded his reply. Quickly grabbing the scabbard and the black bag underneath that contained all the necessary equipment needed for the care of the broadsword.

The coach turned from Cloud and called the class back to attention. "That's all the time we have for today. Class is dismissed!"

As with most of the students in his class, Cloud left that day with a broad smile on his face. That was until he was caught in the middle of a SOLDIER dispute. Cloud carried the broadsword in both of his arms and the black bag with his equipment slung over his shoulder through the crowded hallway. He was a quiet young man and tended to keep to himself with many personal matters, not letting anyone in at all. His blue eyes were staring down at his scoffed black boots, a thoughtful expression on his face. He was left unaware of the large crowd gathered outside the SOLDIER dormitories.

"And you're going to make me?" a deep throaty voice snapped cockily.

"Drillyn, calm right down that's an order! If Sephiroth catches you out here acting like this…," a subordinate reasoned.

"Bring him on! I'll kick his ass!" the man known as Drillyn boomed again.

"Zack, stop this! You'll get us all in major shit!"

"I don't care! Why do we have to train the junior's when we should be kicking rebel ass!"

The crowd was buzzing from Zack's antics. Not many people in the academy knew what he was more famous for, questioning authority or being extremely cocky. Cloud's interest was peaked. He stopped and leaned his burden against the wall in the hall and stared at the black-haired man's antics. Zack Drillyn was five years his superior. He had been successful in surviving the dangerous Mako Gene Therapy process in which all candidates had to endure. He was tall and muscular, with a strong looking face and gentle features that stirred a fleeting thought inside the SOLDIER Candidate. The sea green eyes that flashed with electricity and the full red lips that always curled into that cocky smile that made the girls go wild. He wore the normal uniform for those elite fighters. The tight fitting turtleneck sweater, baggy pants and leather boots hid the scars received from the therapy and allowed for ease of movement. Zack was annoyed with one of his partners about pushing around the junior classmen and he was acting as if he could fight every single officer in the Shinra and SOLDIER combined. Cloud stood back watching the antics of the two SOLDIER officers. He did not want to get involved. He ran a hand through his hair and smoothed the wrinkles out of his navy blue school uniform.

Cloud noticed one of his classmates and went up to talk to him. "What's going on? Isn't that guy in SOLDIER?"

"Yeah, they're both in SOLDIER Cloud. You see that big tall guy with the black hair? That's Zack Drillyn; he's in the same squad as Sephiroth. They're fighting about the line of command in the Shinra. The short red head is in line to be one of the Turks whose name is Reno. He thinks that Sephiroth and SOLDIER are way out of line and that it should be abolished."

"I get it know. Zack is fiercely loyal to his commanding officer."

Some of the teachers had wrestled Zack down to the ground at that point and were trying without much luck to keep him there. Cloud asked his classmate to watch his belongings as he began to weave his way through the crowd toward the front. When Cloud reached the front of the crowd, Zack had tossed a majority of the teachers to the sides of the crowd and had leaped on top of Reno. The red head didn't know what hit him as Zack landed devastating blow after blow. Cloud had to act fast before Zack killed his victim. Although he was about five or six inches shorter Cloud grabbed Zack's descending fist before he could land another blow on his victim who scrambled out of the way. With his free hand, Zack grabbed Cloud by the arm and slammed him into the wall with a resounding thud. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I was beating some respect into that punk!" he snarled.

Cloud winced in pain due to the grip Zack had on his arm. "You're out of control. Someone had to stop you."

Obviously having heard enough, Zack landed a punch in Cloud's jaw, sending the startled youth to the floor and Zack slammed the door of his locker and stalked off to the training grounds to vent his anger at being stopped by a cadet.

Cloud tried to stand but was in a daze from the strength of the blow to his jaw. His head pounded inside his skull and stars flashed before his eyes. A man had come forward from the crowd. He began to help the astonished candidate to his feet.

"Clear a path! This lad needs medical attention." Cloud overheard distantly.

His feet gave out from under him and it took his last amount of strength to stay awake long enough to reach the infirmary. He felt a cold substance placed on his face and nearly cried out at numbing effect of the element. The stars were starting to clear from behind his eyes. Confused, Cloud looked around to see where he had been moved.

"How do you feel, son?" the voice he had earlier.

"My jaw is sore and I have headache." Cloud replied as his eyes began to focus. His blue eyes cleared and he saw that it was commanding officer of SOLDIER. The lights had been dimmed to prevent further pain to the surprised cadet. Sephiroth had brought him to the infirmary. "Sep…Sephi…Sephiroth! It's an honor to meet you."

The sea-green eyes, silver haired commander of all of SOLDIER chuckled at Cloud softly. "As is it an honor to meet someone who would stand up to Zack. I'll speak to him about his actions." He assured Cloud as he rose from the chair adjacent to him in the infirmary. "And leave that ice pack on your jaw; you're going to have a nice bruise on your face."

Cloud nodded blindly as the great Sephiroth left the infirmary to let the nurse take over the ministrations.

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

Zack had been pushed up against a wall in the training room reserved for SOLDIER by his commanding officer. "What the hell do you think you were doing Zack?"

"That punk Reno was dissin' SOLDIER again Sephiroth." Zack replied coolly.

"Then why'd you deck that kid Cloud?" Sephiroth growled. "You could have knocked him out you know."

Zack smiled smugly, "Then that'll teach him to get involved in SOLDIER business that doesn't concern him."

Sephiroth loosened his grip on Zack's shirt and let him go. "You're on probation Drillyn. Six weeks of dorm duties."

Zack did not like his discipline but he would not argue with the most powerful man in the Shinra next to the President.

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

Three months passed and Cloud did not have any more trouble with Zack or the other officers in SOLDIER. While the majority of the SOLDIER officers were off fighting a war near his hometown on Nibelheim, Cloud and his classmates were learning how to use their weapons. Cloud had been told many times by his instructor that he was a natural with a broadsword and that he should try the more powerful Buster Sword later.

One day as Cloud and his classmates were sparring; an officer from SOLDIER was seen observing the class. The man had black hair and sea-green eyes. It was Zack, the man who had attacked him three months earlier. Cloud ignored him and continued to spar with the hand-to-hand specialist. He was fighting half-heartedly and the gloved fighter soon took him down in three hits to which Zack started laughing at. Cloud frowned at himself for being so worked up over one officer in SOLDIER.

"Hey! What happened?" his partner asked.

"Nothing." He said as he readied himself for another training round.

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

Zack watched intently from the wall he was leaning upon in the training room. He needed to speak with the instructor immediately. He had been given an assignment after the month and a half of waiting to be reviewed by the committee. He was to head to Wutai to investigate the possibilities of rebels hiding in the forests and mountains near there. Unfortunately, any SOLDIER officers who were still at the Shinra Academy were either green as grass or were badly injured. Sephiroth was away on business ventures so Zack could not go to him for advice. Therefore, he had to do the next best thing. Go to the class that was next up for field exams and pilfer the more advanced students for field training.

"Can I help you Mr. Drillyn?" the instructor asked calmly.

Zack snapped to attention and cleared his throat. "Yes you can, sir. I have been given an assignment to go to Wutai and I cannot take the rookie SOLDIER members, as they have not been trained properly on their new weapons and material. Therefore, I was told by the committee to use the next available class for field exams. I need about five or six of your most advanced students to accompany me to Wutai."

The instructor eyed Zack suspiciously but conceded in the end. "Very well Zack Drillyn. You can take Cloud, Jaelyn, Terry, David and Kai there with you to Wutai. I'm telling you this though Drillyn, if any of my students come back in body bags I'll be taking it out on your hide personally." He warned before he called the five students over.

Zack was as surprised as Cloud was to find out that they would have to work with each other on the field assignment. Most of the students selected (including Cloud) had mastered their elemental materia in the training exercises from earlier in the year and those five would prove to be most valuable to Zack in the weeks to come.

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

They set out as soon as the five cadets were packed. To get to Wutai they had to take an airship. The crew told Zack that it would take approximately two to five hours to reach Wutai by Airship. The five anxious youth stood at attention outside the Junon airport waiting for their orders. Cloud on the other hand was uneasy about flying in the airship due to his motion sickness. Why couldn't they have chosen someone else for this mission? I am not cut out for long distance traveling, he thought to himself glumly.

Zack stood before them, a cocky smile pasted on his face. "Alright, you five wait here while I get the boarding passes. Anyone runs off and they get left behind, got it?"

The five cadets saluted their commanding officer and stood at attention outside the Shinra dispatch office in the industrial sector of Junon. Cloud stood there, worried about passing out on the ship and embarrassing not only himself, but his fellow students as well. The other four chatted amongst themselves excitedly about the trip to Wutai. They tried to get Cloud involved but he just stood there, staring at his feet. When Zack came out of the dispatch office, he had six tickets with him. He handed one of the six tickets to each of them. When he reached to give Cloud his ticket, he looked at him with worry. "Are you gonna survive the trip?"

Cloud looked up from his feet with a puzzled look on his face. "Pardon?" he asked as he was handed his ticket.

Zack laughed at him. "Never mind. If you feel sick, lemme know alright?"

Cloud nodded quietly as he fell in line with the members of his team.

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

Much to his surprise, Cloud fell asleep almost instantly upon boarding the airship. Cloud had strapped himself into one of the thickly padded chairs and was in a half-doze by the time they had lifted off. He fell asleep shortly after that. He had been having a rather pleasant dream when a rough, calloused hand shook him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Zack stood before him, a broadsword and small black bag in his arms. "Have a nice sleep?" he asked conversationally.

Cloud nodded, blushing three shades of red at his lack of attention. "I'm…sorry…sir." He stammered.

Zack waved him off and unbuckled the straps laced over Cloud's chest. He put his right hand out to help Cloud to his feet. Cloud grabbed the hand and he was heaved out of his seat. He saw that Zack used the Buster Sword that his teacher droned on about Cloud using. Zack shoved the gear and broadsword into Cloud's arms, lead the way off the airship, and down onto the ground outside of Wutai. It was a cold night when they disembarked from the airship. Their navy blue duster jackets whipped about their ankles and blew the multi-coloured leaves up in their faces. Cloud brought his hand up to cover his eyes from the attacking leaves. Zack paid the leaves and his teammates no mind as he lead the way from the landing site up to the village of Wutai. The ground was dusty from lack of rain and the cold not only blew the leaves but the dusty earth in their faces as well. Protests and curses could be heard from the other four cadets, but Cloud walked silent; he was deep in thought about the man who had nearly broken his jaw. The young cadets nearly bumped into his leader who had stopped outside a small collective of lights.

"Welcome to Wutai boys. This is where our assignment is. But that doesn't start until morning." Zack explained without turning his body to face them. He started to walk again shortly afterwards, entering the Asian town.

"This place is amazing! I never knew there was an Asian town on the planet." Jaelyn breathed looking at the cobble stoned streets and tile roofs of the buildings.

It was a neat and orderly town. The fountains in the river flowed with a majestic pride with small patches of tiger lily strategically placed around the arched bridges to bring a relaxing scent to the crossing so that visitors could be at peace with themselves. Although Wutai was most famous for its fighters, it was increasing in popularity for its hot springs and the Pagoda owned by the leader of Wutai. No grass could be seen in-between the stones of the street and the plants were placed in neat rows inside their planter boxes.

The small group walked over a single wooden bridge and crossed the first set of stones to see a medium sized building with whitewashed walls and high red columns outside the entrance. "Where are we going commander?" Terry asked patiently.

"Right here," Zack pointed toward the medium sized building they had stopped at. "Turtle's Paradise, the local inn. Actually, it's the only inn in town but it's a nice cozy place."

Zack motioned for his teammates to enter Turtle's Paradise. Cloud stayed behind his classmates, as he wanted to speak with Zack. Zack had turned his attention toward the sky and was staring at the silvery stars. His hard featured face seemed to soften in the pale moonlight, his sea-green eyes taking on a thoughtful expression. Cloud watched with a thoughtful face of his own. "Is something wrong Zack?"

Zack turned his face to look Cloud directly in the eyes. "Being here in Wutai kinda reminds me of my hometown. Where I grew up, was almost the exact same as this place; peaceful and quiet. No one bothered the people where I was raised."

"Where did you grow up Zack?" Cloud pressed, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Gongaga; a nice quiet little hamlet in the middle of nowhere. I think that is what made me leave in the first place."

"That's why I left Nibelheim. It was too boring and there was nothing to do besides stare at a bunch of angry catapult turtle's who could bite you in half." Cloud joked.

Zack laughed and began to walk toward the door of the small inn. "Come on, we've got work to do in the morning. Let's get some rest."

Cloud stifled a yawn and followed Zack into the inn.

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

Their work began early the next morning. Cloud had slept soundly the night before. Rested, refreshed and ready to start the day he had quickly stripped off his flannel pajamas and hopped into the shower. Letting the hot water run down his firm muscles and the rest of his body Cloud thought about their mission. They were to check for rebels in the forests in the Wutai area. He trusted his sword almost as much as he trusted his classmates who trained with him.

After completing his shower, Cloud wrapped a soft white towel around his midsection walked back into the large room to rummage through his carry sack for his clean clothing. Rummaging through the bag Cloud came across his black insulated pants and grey thermal shirt. He pulled out a pair of boxers, flicked his wrists and snapped them in the still air of the room he shared. He let the white towel drop to the hardwood floor as he pulled the blue boxer shorts over his firm ass. He pulled the grey shirt over his chest and mound of spiky blond hair. The pants and socks were put on last and very quickly as his teammates had begun to stir in the dim sunlight that filtered through the blinds. Cloud was pulling a comb through his hair as Zack awoke from a peaceful slumber. The SOLDIER officer sat up in the soft bed and looked around the room as if he were unsure of his surroundings. It's probably the peacefulness of Wutai that's making him think of Gongaga, Cloud thought to himself. "Good Morning, sir." Cloud greeted.

Zack groaned and tossed a pillow in Cloud's direction. "It's too early, shut up and go back to bed." He mumbled as he layed back down in his bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and fell back asleep.

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

It took much haggling from the five SOLDIER Candidates to get their leader to get out of bed. Ultimately, it came down to throwing a bucket of cold water on Zack after dragging him onto the floor. He shot the five students a dirty look and walked off to the bathroom to prepare for the long day of work ahead of them all. He spent about half an hour in the bathroom and then ordered breakfast for them all. The eggs and bacon were prepared to the exact demands of the six Shinra officers. Scrambled to perfection, the eggs had been engulfed quickly and the bacon was inhaled at light speed. They set out as soon as their gear had been assembled in the lobby. Zack was not expecting them to be much longer than the day, so he told the boys to pack their belongings and to leave them in the lobby.

The five students had lined up in the lobby in front of their belongings waiting for Zack to give the orders. Zack on the other hand was lounging in the bar with a coffee. Intentionally making his teammates wait was one of his favourite pastimes in SOLDIER. He lingered in the lounge until he finished his coffee and walked out to the lobby. His team were standing straight and in a neat row. "At ease…" he muttered leaving his thought unfinished to the relief of the students.

"Alright, we'll break off into two groups of three. I'll be in charge of the first group and wonder spikes here, will be in charge of the second group. If you spot, any of the rebels arrest them immediately! Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" the five students replied together.

"David, Terry, you two are with me. Jaelyn and Kai go with Cloud."

"Where do you want us to go, sir?" Cloud asked.

Zack appeared thoughtful but snapped his fingers when he remembered the two areas where the rebels had been spotted. "We'll check the Da-Chao statues and the caves surrounding it. Cloud, you and those two will check the forests near and around the Pagoda."

Cloud, Jaelyn and Kai nodded their compliance, picked up their weapons, and walked out the bamboo doors of Turtle's Paradise.

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

Zack, David and Terry set out soon after Cloud and his team did. The walked off the cobblestone paved walkways and onto a well-worn dirt path. The dirt path led up to the mountain trail that many of the local martial arts master's student took on their night of self-discovery. The mountain itself had carved into it the seven mighty faces of Da-Chao, Wutai's God and Protector. The seven faces of mercy, anger, sympathy, hatred, love, peace and justice represented what the young students were likely to find up in the Da-Chao Mountains by themselves. The three young men walked past the seven faces on their way up the trail and headed directly for the caves in the upper areas of the mid-sized Mountain Range. Zack thrust his fists out to either side of his body when they came to three-way fork in the road, indicating for David and Terry to head to either to the left or right. David headed for the path to his right and Terry, the one on his left. That left Zack with the straight and narrow path. He walked up the acute angled path with ease and entered a cave he spotted on his left. The cave was lit as bright as a Christmas tree with fresh light bulbs in all the sockets. The light emitted an intense heat that forced the tall man out of the cave and back into the cool morning air. David and Terry were waiting for him, sweat pouring down their faces. Zack looked at them and assumed what had happened. "Lemme guess, bright light and intense heat?"

The two nodded and wiped their brows with their gloved hands.

Zack made a last minute decision. "If there were rebels up here, they were probably burnt to a crisp in those caves. Let's go and help Cloud and the others."

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

Cloud and his friends had scoured the outskirts of Wutai in just under an hour and split apart to check a larger portion of the forest in a shorter amount of times. Cloud had taken the area closest to the Da-Chao Mountain Range. It had started to rain around ten o'clock that morning. His clothing was soaked through and clung to his body. The sword strapped to his back was a weight that was beginning to become almost unbearable. He shifted the weight of the broadsword from his right shoulder to his left and continued to trudge through the muddy ground. He had seen no rebels so far and was beginning to think that this was a very dull first assignment. However, that was until three lightly armed men appeared before from behind the dense vegetation. The ground was littered with sticks and twigs of various sizes. The trees themselves were immensely dense but Cloud noticed that there was clearing between him and the three scared looking men. Surveying his enemies with cunning and skill, Cloud seen that they were not heavily armed like most mercenaries but then again, neither was he, a SOLDIER Candidate.

Two of the three men carried only makeshift spears. The third one however, would prove to be a problem as he carried a broadsword similar to Cloud's own. Each was wearing a Shinra uniform, making him wonder if they were Shinra spies or not. However, his keen eyesight told Cloud otherwise when he saw that Shinra patches were ripped off the shirts they had been wearing. "Come peacefully and no one will get hurt!" he called out to the three men. One of the spear holders panicked and flung his spear at Cloud, which nicked his face just as he dodged the spear. Cloud swore under his breath and wiped the small trickle of blood that flowed down his pale skin. He drew out his broadsword and lowered it close to the ground. He heard a battle cry from the other spear holder, neatly slicing the other spear in half as he dodged the tip of the spear. "You don't want to do this!" he called out to the three men again.

His plea turned to be too late as the spear holders began to run for their lives. The third man however, did not turn tail and run. He lunged forward into the glade. "Come on you Shinra dog! Come out here and be a man!" the sword bearer challenged.

"I don't want to fight you. Please just surrender peacefully and none of this will be put on record." Cloud negotiated.

"Bullshit!" the man spat. "Why should I believe anything a Shinra lapdog says?!"

Cloud nearly dropped his sword. "I don't believe you for not wanting to believe me. But please there is another way around this problem."

"Enough!"

The man lunged forward toward Cloud once again, sword drawn. Cloud brought his sword back up and took the stance of someone prepared to defend himself. He quickly parried blow after devastating blow, still trying to reason with the man. From time to time, Cloud's opponent got a lucky blow. He would land a strike at Cloud. A laceration landed on his thigh and brought Cloud down to one knee. He panted from his exertions relying on pure adrenaline. The man swore at the SOLDIER Candidate and turned the blade of his sword around to hit Cloud with the sword's hilt. Feeling the hilt ram into his head, Cloud felt a flash of spark cloud his eyes over and he fell to the ground, concentrating on breathing alone. His eyelids dropped like lead and he layed there for several hours.

He came around a while later, feeling the full brunt of the combination of the cold weather front and the wet clothing he wore. Knowing that he had to keep warm, Cloud forced his tired body to move. He stood up on shaky feet and staggered over toward a large tree with a groove in it similar to an easy chair. Cloud crumbled into the groove, huddled up in a ball and concentrated on staying awake.

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

Zack was beginning to worry. Jaelyn and Kai had reported to him hours ago that Cloud had not returned at the appointed rendezvous time. It had been raining most of the afternoon and the four students had opted to stay another night to wait for their missing classmate. Zack had thought Cloud to be a more responsible young man than he appeared to be. The black-haired SOLDIER had paced the hallway of Turtle's Paradise several times before he made up his mind. "I can't stand this anymore!" he burst out.

The four students looked up from their books to stare at the enraged officer.

"Jaelyn, where did you say Cloud was sent?"

"The area of the Wutai forests closest to the Da-Chao Mountains." Jaelyn supplied.

Zack nodded his reply and ran off toward the room that had been reserved for them.

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

Night began to creep in the forest. Cloud raised his head to see if anyone was coming for him and to his surprise, no one was still there. He shivered with the cold coursing through his body. Scared and alone, Cloud started to cry in the glade.

"Cloud!" someone called down.

"I'm down here." He mumbled to himself as tears streamed down his face, a wave of cold causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

"CLOUD!" the voice was getting closer.

Raising his head Cloud looked around him through misty eyes. "Zack?!" his voice coming back to him resounded.

"Hang on! I'm right near you."

Zack burst into the open glade with a worried expression plastered on his face. Surveying the area quickly, he checked for rebels in the area and then rushed to his teammate's side. He stripped off the pack he had brought with him. "What happened Cloud?"

"I was attacked by three rebels." The shaken boy replied meekly. "Two had spears and the other had a sword. The one with the sword attacked me."

Zack had pulled a first aid kit out of the pack and placed it on the ground. Undoing the white clips on the front, he pulled out a green vial and passed it to Cloud. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

The crestfallen Cloud tried to reach out for the vial but found his body was not responding to his internal commands. Observing this, Zack smiled sympathetically and placed his hand in front of Cloud's face.

"I understand Cloud. I'll get you someplace warm very soon, I promise." Zack replied. His hand began to take on an odd green glow that enveloped Cloud in a warm light.

Cloud looked at Zack with a content smile on his face. His body grew heavy and he gave into the Sleep spell that had been cast upon him.

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

Zack returned to Turtle's Paradise no more than an hour later, Cloud bundled up in a blanket in his arms. "Jaelyn!" he barked. "Get some hot water bottles prepared. We've got to warm him up and treat his injuries now!"

The five students began to scramble about their room gathering warm blankets and ordering hot water for the bottles. The owner of the inn came upstairs to their room with a helpful hand. "Zack Drillyn?"

"I'm kinda busy, sir." Zack replied quickly.

"I realize that young man. Bring the boy downstairs. We will care for him in the warmest room in the inn."

Zack had been busy removing the wet clothing from Cloud's body. The black pants and grey shirt were torn and blood stained, which verified the boy's story of being attacked. The grey shirt had been removed, exposing Cloud's upper body to the cold air inside the inn. His body began to convulse from the cold. Quick to react, Zack scooped Cloud back up in his arms and carried him out of the room. The owner of the inn was walking toward the far end of the building. Zack knew that Cloud needed warmth and walking around the freezing hallways was not the way to do it. Every minute they spent wandering the hallways; Cloud's body temperature would drop one more degree that is vital to the boy's survival. His skin, as cold as ice and slightly tinted with blue.

The owner of Turtle's Paradise stopped outside a room where Zack could smell the incense. "Bring the boy inside. We will care for him for the night. After that, he will be returned to you."

Zack had no choice but to trust the man. He entered the incense-filled room and found a thickly downed bed in the middle of a large warm room. The walls were bare except for a picture of Da-Chao in the center of the back wall. There was a large shallow tub filled with steaming hot water. There were four people in the room dressed in white smocks with looks of trust in each the other's abilities. They smiled at Zack and encouraged them to place the shivering boy in his arms on the bed so they could care for the boy. "You act like this happens often."

"You have no idea how right you are my boy. Leave the young one. My attendants will care for him."

Zack, now very suspicious but desperate, put Cloud in the downed bed and then walked out of the room. The door softly shut behind him but Zack did not leave the vicinity of the door. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened for some signs that Cloud was stirring. He heard a stifled moan a few minutes later, to the SOLDIER officers' relief.

"The heat is working, let's warm this boy up and get him back to his companion's as soon as possible."

Zack, fully trusting the innkeeper and his assistants left Cloud in their able hands.

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

The warm light had vanished from Cloud's eyes as he slowly awoke from his short sleep. He blinked the sleep from his weary eyes and almost immediately regretted the movement. He moaned in pain and protest of his actions. He felt a warm hand caress his skin and he fell back to the bedding. His eyes blurry from exhaustion could not distinguish the faces of his caregivers. "Where am I?" he asked quietly.

"You are safe young one. You may sleep in comfort and security for now. Let us care for you." A female explained to him.

Cloud's eyelids fluttered shut after the woman assured him of his safety. Lying in the soft bed in a state of a half-doze, he was wrapped inside a warm blanket. His half-doze was no longer apparent as Cloud fell into a sleep that a child would sleep.

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

The four young men and their leader, in the room located directly above the room where Cloud was located had hardly slept a wink since Zack had returned with the sleeping Cloud. Their bodies ached and burned with the demand for sleep. They were too worried about their missing teammate to sleep and refused to do so. They talked amongst themselves for hours on end about many different subjects until they heard a light rapping on the door. Terry, being closest to the door opened the door to see the innkeeper and a man wearing a white smock. The man in the smock was carrying Cloud in his arms. He was wearing a thick set of white pajamas, socks and a hat. His skin was no longer blue and he was asleep. "Where can I put the child to rest?"

Zack moved off the bed he was lying on and pulled back the blanket. "Cloud can sleep here for tonight. It's right over the heater anyway."

The smock wearer crossed the room on light feet despite the burden in his arms. Zack had pulled the covers on the bed back and motioned for the man in the smock to put Cloud there. Cloud flinched at the sudden temperature change but adjusted quickly as the thick quilt was pulled over him.

"Can we go home now?" Cloud asked suddenly.

Zack smiled at the half-asleep Cloud. "Sure, in the morning."