Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Stargazers ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

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Stargazers

Chapter Three

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Zacks had learned several important things that morning by the time he had finally gotten Cloud to sit down at a table and eat something. One, sleeping in one of those frilly blouses was a bad idea, and must never be repeated again, as your neck would itch like hell the next morning. Two, Cloud must have a 'no touchy' rule, because the minute he managed to steer him down the stairs, he jerked himself away so fast you would think his hands burned.

Zacks also learned that Cloud was going to be even more of an enigma than his first impression led him to believe. Cloud had skimmed over the details of how exactly he had gotten himself here, so at least he wasn't completely in the dark, but it took a lot of work to squeeze anything out of the kid, and nearly just as much work to get him to actually eat something. He was a bit worried, actually- from the way Cloud avoided eye contact and any contact in general, he seemed to have quite the inferiority complex. …Well, they'd just have to work on that.

"Now stop picking at it, and actually eat something. We've got some traveling to get done today- I'm pretty sure we'll headed in the general direction of your town, but we'll have to side track a bit to get to Gavriel."

Cloud ate another tidbit of eggs at Zacks's prompting, "…What's at Gavriel?"

Zacks shook his head lightly, "I'll tell you when we get back up to the room. I do have things to get done, you know; I don't just go around pickin' daisies for a living."

Cloud nodded briefly, and set down his fork, looking around the small inn once again. It was predominantly empty, and held a warm air to it, the square wooden tables looking only a bit over used. He still couldn't believe who was sitting right across from him, and was careful to direct his gaze to anything and everything except him.

"Alright then, if your not gonna eat anymore, then let's head back up, shall we?" Zacks offered a grin, and stood, Cloud leaving his seat and following back upstairs.

They re-entered the room, and Zacks was quick to take of his shirt and toss it in the corner, before beginning to rummage around the closet for another one. Cloud had suddenly busied himself studying the other scarce pieces of furniture in the room.

"Now where the hell is- ah, there we are!"

Cloud's attention was suddenly drawn to a photograph resting on a small end table. He headed over and lightly lifted the plain frame, eyes widening as he realized who occupied it- it was a picture of Zacks, making a ridiculous face, with his arm slung around the shoulders of a handsome man who had a slightly larger build than his dark companion, long silver shaded hair, and green, almost serpentine eyes. He bore a half-heartedly annoyed expression, but if you looked carefully, you could just make out what resembled a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"A real piece of work, isn't he?"

Cloud jumped, and Zacks chuckled behind him, before taking the picture and grinning at it before replacing it to its place on the end table, "That's Seph. Pretty as you are, but about a zillion times more deadly than anything. He can be such an ass…" He was now wearing a slate blue shirt with a thin layer of chain mail over it, and thin plated chest armor of the same shade. His pants matched, as did plated boots.

Cloud blushed slightly when he realized he had been indirectly complimented, and turned away, features twisting to bear a frown. Then, realizing Zacks wasn't saying anything for once and was, rather, just standing there, he turned around to see exactly what he was doing. Zacks was standing there, looking Cloud over carefully, and causing his features to redden again, "What?"

"…E-yep, we need to go shopping. Y'can't go traveling around without armor, you know, and you're in for a change of clothes anyway- what your wearing is practically threadbare. Nothing fancy, y'know. Something comfortable. I've got some old stuff lying around but… well, it wouldn't come close to fitting you."

Cloud blinked- the though hadn't even crossed his mind, but he supposed Zacks was right. Then his mind switched to more important topic at hand, "…you said you'd tell me why we're headed towards Gavriel…"

Zacks frowned, "…That's right, I did, didn't I? Well, we need to go see Rufus, that little bastard. Sending me all over, I swear to god- I don't know who he thinks he is separating me from Seph like that, I'm tellin' ya," Zacks shook his head, "Sends me off to 'represent' him at this stuck up dinner party event for snotty rats to brag about how many people's lives they've trampled over in the past ten years, and then make deals with the people who sound the nastiest. Really."

"Rufus…?"

"Rufus Shinra, underground dealer of rare goods, information, and anything and everything someone shouldn't have their hands on. Enough connections to practically control the continent, not that he built anything up himself, just rode his daddy's coat-tails. Pshh." Though he supposed he was actually lucky- after all, it led him to meet the interest-piquing little blonde.

Cloud stared at him a moment. Rufus Shinra was the head of underground dealings among independents, Corneo's Traders, and his own gathering of the Turks. If you were anyone with a name for yourself, you were involved in his underground empire somewhere along the line. However, being connected to the top branches, much less Rufus himself, was an unstable, hazardous, you'll-be-dead-before-morning sort of position, unless you were one of the legendary few who held a solid position by power, influence, and wits. Zacks and Sephiroth were two of the few who made the list. And the mention of Rufus gave Cloud a good reminder of who exactly he was dealing with, and he felt his face paling again.

"…Good lord, kid, stop acting like I'd said we're each gonna go shoot ourselves in the foot for fun."

"R-Rufus Shinra?"

"Yeah, yeah; he can be a real ass too. He's not as big and bad as most people take him for; major superiority complex, though. And despite doing absolutely no work to get where he is today, he's good at what he does. He gets things done when they need to be done, and gets his hands on the impossible. So, whatever- he get me the weapons and information I need, I'm there if needed in return. S'the way it works."

Zacks headed over towards the couch, and reached underneath it, pulling out a silver belt with a sheath attached to it, currently occupied by a long sword. He drew it, and ran through an impressive maneuver or two, before deftly slipping it back into its holder, delivering Cloud into a slight state of awe in the process. "We need to get you some traveling clothes. I wouldn't worry too much about the road, I'll watch your back if anyone's ignorant enough to mess with us. I do rightfully kick some ass, after all."

Cloud wasn't sure whether he should consider himself very lucky for being saved by one of the most famous people on the face of the planet, and being on friendly terms with him, or one of the unluckiest to have been thrown into mess after mess and was now very close to getting involved with flat out 'messy' people.

"So…why do you need to see him?"

"Well for one, I need to give him a piece of my mind for sending me off like a personal secretary. For two, the reason me and Seph managed to get separated and the reason why he's so tied up is because things have taken an unusually rough turn. What I'm gonna tell you will make a lot of what you saw on your way here make more sense. Rufus'll be glad to here where his Turks are, too.

"Y'see, the Traders have always been somewhat at odds with the Turks- their styles just disprove one another. However, somewhere a deal went foul, and what was supposed to be a simple trade-off with goods went bad, and the traders managed to get out taking one of the Turk's down. That's not where it ends, though. They didn't kill him- took him hostage to 'one-up' the other side, y'see? They're figuring they'll get the Turks to back off until a deal is made to give him back. Instead, they actually made the royal mistake of stepping into the warpath of Turk pride and loyalty. Rufus is furious- taking one of the Turks is, obviously, over the line. An underground war has started up, which means deals have been cut, undergrounds organizations are picking sides, and plenty of backstabbing is a guarantee. Just lovely, really."

Cloud paused, remembering the face of the blonde girl at the wagon's broken door. "…Yeah, that would explain a few things…" He paused, loosing himself in thought. Would Tifa have gotten involved in this mess then?

"…Of all the Turks, its hard to believe Vincent went down. He's a tough one, and it must have been a messed up situation with a lot of luck for the Traders to get anywhere near 'im." Zacks shook his head, "Anyway, I wouldn't worry about your friend- Tifa, was it-? The Turks don't exactly have clean hands, but their generally more good than bad deep down, and reliable as anything. Wherever she is now, I'm sure she's fine. If the Turks know where she is, Rufus can find her for us, no worries."

Cloud gave a brief nod. At this point, it looked as though the future could very well go perfectly fine, or very well go horribly, horribly wrong.

"…Well now, let's get going. Better not waste time, we'll need a lot of it to find what we're looking for- I'm no good at shopping."

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Cloud followed Zacks around, amazed at how much he acted like a child whenever he came across one interesting shop of bobbles or another. He stuck close to Zacks' side, as it would be easy to loose sight of him while weaving through the streets with so many rushing past in a hurried manner. They finally came across the stores they needed, and it didn't take nearly as long to piece together what they needed as one might predict.

All in all, it wasn't that much; Cloud's attire was now was paled, dusted burgundy pants, brown boots, and a gray sleeveless vest that hid itself under a thin layer of silver-shaded chain-mail, also sleeveless, but which rose up to cover the lower portion of his neck in the same manner a turtle-neck would. Zacks had explained that it wouldn't have been wise to get much more than that, as Cloud wasn't used to bearing any armor at all, and he had to get used to traveling with the added weight in increments.

"Alrighty, I guess we're ready to set out then. There's a small station between here and the next town that's practically an unofficial village in itself, with all the merchants that collected there. Y'can find just about any business there, nowadays; makes for a good stop. Right. Off we go."

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Thus far, they had been traveling fairly uneventfully. They were currently taking a 'short cut' through the woods, Zacks seeming to have traveled this way quite a few times in the past. Cloud had begun to feel the weight difference caused by the chain-mail take its toll, but it wasn't enough to slow him down too much. Zacks carried a gray pouch strapped on his back with any necessities.

Zacks had tried to strike up a conversation a few times, and for the most part wound up talking with himself, though it didn't seem to bother him in the least. By now, it was nearing late afternoon, the sun still bright as its rays were filtered through the green canopy above.

It was very unexpected when a young girl with short dark brown hair came leaping from one of the trees and demanded gold, hands bearing readied throwing knives. It wasn't nearly as unexpected when said girl found herself caught in a headlock by Zacks almost before her feet reached the ground.

"Get off- c'mon, how dare you pick on a little girl like that? What are you thinking- let go of me!"

Cloud was bewildered, and looked to Zacks questioningly, "Erm…"

Zacks frowned, annoyed, "You never fail, do you? Every frickin' time, I swear." He rolled his eyes, "Cloud, meet Yuffie. Yuffie, Cloud."

This proceeded to confuse Cloud even more, and he decided the best course of action at the moment would be to stand there and do absolutely nothing, as Zacks obviously knew what he was doing.

The girl looked at Cloud and offered a devilish grin, "So where'd ya pick up the blonde, eh, eh?" Zacks proceeded to thwack the top of her head with his first, causing more protest, "OW- why I oughta-!" She cut herself off when he released her and gave her a light shove forward, trailing off into a grumble.

Zacks looked to Cloud, and smiled, shrugging. Yuffie Kisaragi was a dilemma he had come to expect every time he passed through here. Ever since the first time he had royally shown her up in every way possible, she was determined to try steal from him every time he came through, which was fairly often, since it was one of only two ways he ever really took to Gavriel. "S'normal, don't worry about it."

Cloud shrugged. He'd seen odder, he supposed, and it wasn't surprising that he'd find someone as unique as Zacks had a few peculiar relations along the way…

Yuffie, meanwhile, was irked for Zacks to act as though she was nothing, completely ignoring her to just stand there and chuckle at his companion's take on the situation. "Oh, that's right- you haven't seen any of my new tricks; let me show you!" She very abruptly pulled Zacks from his musings by throwing a high kick in his direction. Zacks jerked his head to the side lightly to avoid it, but just barely caught the glint of a blade in time pull back enough for it to just graze his cheek. "So there-!" She cut herself off, upon seeing a thin line of red appearing, "Holy- I got 'im!"

She had, apparently, customized boots to contain little blades that jutted out when swept with enough momentum, as Zacks would of caught it earlier if it hadn't jutted out almost right as it came near his face.

"…You….little…" He reached a hand up to dab a finger at his cheek, "…She got me…" Now, it was really barely a scratch, but Zacks seemed rather bewildered. Apparently she wasn't even supposed to come close.

"I totally got 'im! Ha! Lookit that, gramps, must be getting slow in your old age!"

"Ex-CUSE me?! Old? I am one fine, strapping young stud, and you, you little brat, are about to be seriously mauled!" Zacks lunged at her, and at that point, she darted over a fallen log and back into the cover of the forest with a yelp, seeming to have caught on that it would be a good time to pull back. Zacks grumbled under his breath, turning back towards Cloud at the thief's retreat.

Cloud approached cautiously, "…You alright?"

"…Am I alright? Of course I'm alright! But she- how-" Zacks growled in frustration, "And damn, she scratched my face of all things-!"

"Here- I'll get it-" Cloud timidly reached up and brushed two fingers along the cut, and a warm, pale shimmer of light glimmered from the connection. The blood along the cut's surface faded from view, and the line that had defined where it had been pulsed white, paling out to reveal no breaks visible in the skin's pattern.

The process took less then a second, but as Cloud pulled his hand away, Zacks grabbed hold of it tightly, and Cloud threw his gaze upward to see that Zacks was staring at him rather intensely, seemingly surprised. Cloud took a step back, confused, "Wha-?"

"You can heal?!"

They both turned to look at the talking tree top, which had spoken simultaneously with Zacks. "Oh, shit," Yuffie smacked a palm to her forehead, having given away her presence. Zacks drew his sword, giving it a readying swing and letting out a threatening growl.

"MINCE MEAT."

"I gotcha, gotcha, going, gone!" …And with that, Yuffie bounded deeper into the forest. For good this time.

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Zacks was amazed. The rest of the walk he kept on the one subject, instead of bouncing to everything that came to mind. "I knew there was something different about you. I just knew it!"

"Its not that big a deal, would you please drop it-"

"It is! When did you learn to heal? Where? How? Who taught you?"

"No one taught me- look, I used to read up on elements and magics in the early morning before I had to get up- no big deal. I just… decided to practice in it a bit because it seemed like something would come in handy."

"Wait, wait, wait- you expect me to believe you just read some book and 'bamph'- you can do it?"

"…It's not that hard! I read everything I could carefully, and started trying it out, that's all. Nothing special."

"…Do you have any remote idea as to just how unusual it is to come across someone with a natural affinity for magic nowadays? And good lord, healing's the hardest one to learn- crimity, I haven't even been able to get a handle on it. Even Seph took forever to get it, and he's still shaky with it. And he's damn good with everything. I mean- you just figured it out on your own! That's amazing, Cloud, amazing. I've had a lot of mage's instruction, and I've got a good handle on a few elements, but do you have any idea how long it took me to get 'em? You're-You're really somethin', you know that? That's real natural talent, right there-"

Cloud began to raise his voice a bit, "Would you please stop-! Its not anything that special- I'm not anything that special- I mean, just look at you- I just read a few things out of a book, that's all-!"

It was right about there that Zacks stopped walking, grabbed Cloud by the shoulders, and pinned him against the nearest tree they were passing, leaning in close to make very pointed and unbreakable eye contact. He also made Cloud tense up and freeze like a statue, two hands locked around Zacks's wrists in a lame attempt to pry them away. "…yes Cloud. Look at what I've done, and what I've experienced. I'd say it qualifies as a 'whole lot'. I'd say I know what I'm talking about. I'd also say you really need to loose that subordinate, self-hating attitude of yours. I don't know where the hell it came from, but you're beating yourself up inside constantly, and I don't like it, got that?"

Zacks released him, and for a moment they just looked at each other. Zacks could be very, very intimidating when he took on a serious tone. Cloud hadn't the faintest idea how he was supposed to respond.

"…C'mon, let's keep moving. It'll start getting dark before we know it." Zacks started off again, acting as though nothing had happened… And after a hesitant moment, Cloud followed.

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When the sky had grown dark and they had set up a meager camp area, the duo found themselves sitting around the small fire pit they had constructed, Zacks inquiring further as to just how much Cloud knew about mystical workings. "The elements of magic are all connected to each other in one form or another- which means that if you manage to get one, you technically have a capability of figuring out of them. There aren't many magic users out there because it's such a hard skill, and those who do use it are normally still trying to fully master a single element."

Cloud nodded. He had studied the elemental webs a lot- they were one of the most intriguing subjects of study, the way they all branched out and wove together in one form or another, and the fact that there were still uncertainties being researched about the connections and whether the webs were more intricate than previously thought. The basics of a web were to choose one element, then choose a second and connect the two through a spell that involved components of each. For example, fire and water were connected through ice, as an ice spell required the energy embodiment of water, and the control of temperature, or absence of heat, from fire. Then you could either backtrack and connect water with the next element of choice, or continue on to map out another connection to fire.

"And healing- swear that's the hardest to get down, no matter what your natural affinity might be. Lessee- I bet you could get lightning easy-" Zacks held out his hand, and after a brief moment, a small, sparking orb suddenly came to life in his palm. "Lookit that- a simple little thing, but its pretty neat lookin', isn't it?"

Cloud watched the small ball of light, entranced. It was gorgeous, really; simple, but gorgeous. Atmospheric magic was one of the least understood, and hardest to control. Not hard to summon up, necessarily, but hard to control; its appearances tended to be brief and its movements erratic. The little orb in Zacks's hand, however, was behaving itself quite nicely.

"Y'just gotta concentrate on one sector- one of the ways it connects to other elements. In this case, I concentrated on the pure energy of it. The easiest way to start on another element is to work with spells or element conjuring that relates to an element you've already worked with- for example, in your case, attempting to use the tie between atmospheric and life. However, if you do it that way, you'll find it harder to really master the second element- the best way- harder, but the best- to get to know an element is concentrate on it and it only from the get go. Your first element is always the easiest to work with, normally, because people teach themselves others through the web's branches instead of trying to dive into it with nothing like they were forced to with their first element. You, my friend, can do it the hard way, I've no doubt."

Cloud glanced down at his hand a moment, flexing his fingers, "…"

"Just concentrate on electrical energy, personally connect yourself to it, and ask it to come out real nice like, got it? Heh. Seriously, you just gotta wait until 'poof', your mind'll suddenly understand what you're trying to do, and draw a bit of the element forth. Then you just gotta take the little spark of energy you've been given and feed it, make it grow. Take care of it, y'know? Then when you're done with it, just release it, stop concentrating on it; let it go. Then before you know it, you'll be able to call forth however much you want in an instant; it'll come right at your call."

Cloud held his palm outward, and concentrated, eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on his palm. After a moment or two passed, with Zacks watching patiently, showing off that he did have the ability to stop talking after all, Cloud felt something building up inside him, though where he couldn't pinpoint. He mentally reached out and attempted to push it further, but instead found that when he reached for it, it vanished, just as during sleep, when someone forgets about what it was they were dreaming, and though they try to recall the vision back, they just find themselves sinking deeper into black nothingness until the next line of thoughts begin.

He scowled as he lost hold of it- he should have waited for it, not have tried to assist it. It didn't need his help, it would come when good and ready- he had just been too impatient.

"Almost got something there, didn't you? You'll get it, don't worry about it. Anyway, its getting late- let's hit the sac, eh? We do have to get going again in the morning, after all. And I know you haven't said anything, but you're tired from the walk, especially with the extra weight- may not look like much, but ya definitely feel it after non-too-long. So c'mon, sleepy time."

Cloud sighed, shaking his head lightly, and assisted in putting out the fire.

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Later that evening, the moonlight gently alighted Cloud's features as he sat wide awake. He had moved a further distance away from Zacks, to make sure he didn't wake him, and his eyes were currently focusing very intently on his palm. A moment passed, and a small spark flickered to life, there so briefly it was gone near before it had come. Then, only a brief second later, another followed. And a third, though this one stayed longer, and had glowed more radiantly than the other two, casting a slight glow on his face and leaving the scent of static behind when it crackled away. A look of content crossed Clouds features, a warm smile was displayed in his eyes, and tugging ever so slightly at his lips, as he watched the flickering sparks mature.

…And Zacks laid with one eye gently cracked open, observing Cloud improving, and not being able to help but smile. Yes, he was definitely something.

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