Chapter 04 - Crisis of Chocobos, Part 2

[whm_koorii]

After another short break, Zack picked his jog up to a run in an effort to catch up with them. Sephiroth, he noticed as he passed the man, appeared to be in no hurry and was walking sedately. At least that meant he'd have a bit longer to interrogate Cloud.

Upon reaching the ranch, Zack's eyes immediately caught sight of the chocobos where they'd been released into the large, fenced in pasture out front of the barn. He followed the fence line to where the men were waiting by the house. When the fence terminated at a corner he turned to face it. The top railing dug into his stomach through his shirt and harness as he leaned over it far enough to plop the chocobo chick in the pen. “Go find your mom,” he told it. As he walked away, he ignored the irate wark.

Dusting his hands off as he went, and feeling dried mud making his cheek itch, Zack ambled toward the men with a light grin on his face. A pair of men, one of which he recognized as Chocobo Bill, were leaning against the fence and watching the group with bewildered expressions. Zack ignored them as he walked by, other than to give them a faint wave. He waded into the cluster of SOLDIERs and troopers without so much as a how-do-you do, and found Cloud's arm in the mess. “Excuse me, but I need to borrow Cloud for a moment. Shove off. Go walk off the ride. See if you can get some grub for us. Sephiroth ought to arrive soon, since he decided to walk the rest of the way like a chump.” Then again, Zack couldn't imagine how Sephiroth was still going strong at this point; the man was positively inhuman.

Zack dragged Cloud out of the group, not giving him a chance to protest. With a forced air of cheer that was positively painful, Zack maneuvered them between the house and the grain silo, and then out back behind the barn. Upon reaching the relative privacy, he let Cloud go and faced him, arms crossed and weight resting on one leg. Zack frowned, possibly for show but also out of concern. Then he lifted hand up and ran it through his sweat and mud stiffened hair. He probably looked like something a marlboro spat out.

“Okay, Cloud, what's going on now? I know you have a problem with Sephiroth, and if you'd rather I take care of things on that end just say so now and I'll do it,” he looked at him earnestly. “If you want we can make sure you never have to go near him, let alone try and help me with him.” He really didn't know how to articulate what was worrying him, because it wasn't really something solid. It was just a strangeness, a...wrongness...about how Cloud was acting. Slowly, Cloud pulled his helmet off, and cast it to the grassy ground carelessly.

"What do you mean Zack? I'm fine," Cloud said, his expression mildly incredulous as he looked Zack up and down. "If anything, you look worse than I feel." He shifted his weight and put a hand on his hip, before shaking his head sharply. "As for Sephiroth, didn't we already agree to work together on it? Anyway, he's my problem. If it comes down to it, I already know I can fight him." Cloud's expression was blandly confident, and it almost felt like he was looking right through him.

Zack looked at him, just looked for several long seconds, before he turned away. There was still a sense of wrongness and strange familiarity that Zack just couldn't place. It wasn't just the actions, or the choice of words, or the levity, or the strange shift in intonation.... It was all of them put together. Maybe Cloud had done some acting or something?

“I don't know Cloud, you're acting kind of weird,” he said at last, feeling at a loss. He kind of wished Aerith was there right now. She always seemed to know how to handle weird situations, even if she was a bit shy sometimes. That was Aerith for you; she was brilliant with people, so long as they didn't scare her off first. Aerith who, apparently, was supposed to die in who knows how long because Zack hadn't been there to protect her. The smile faded off his face as he took a few paces away from the barn and sat down on the ground roughly. Zack kicked off his boots and gave a disgusted moue at the state of his socks. “I haven't been this filthy since Gongaga,” he complained.

He upturned one boot and watched some water and slime slide out of it with a bit of fascinated disgust. Zack had no idea how that even got in there. “Maybe next time I'll take the chocobo, and you can run across the swamp with a dirty chocobo chick under one arm and we'll see how you fair.” Zack's voice was just this side of prim. “I don't think I'll ever get this stink off me.... What will Aerith think?

“Is that...that is the biggest leech I have ever seen!” Zack yelped. He realized he was rambling, and jumping topics too fast for any sane person to really keep up with. Call it a defense strategy, or a cover up. It was hard to say, but as he yanked the slimy thing off his ankle he didn't really care. He felt he was owed a coping strategy at this point.

"I doubt Aerith will mind, so long as you don't bring your new friend back with you," Cloud said, when Zack paused to flick the parasite away from him. Zack could hear grass rustling as Cloud crushed it beneath his boots when he took a few steps toward him. "We should probably get back to the others. Sephiroth is here, and it wouldn't do to give him more reason to be suspicious that something is up."

Zack gave a snort and set aside Buster Sword so he could roll his shoulders and let the tension in them relax. “If Sephiroth wants to go on alone he's perfectly capable of it and we can get the troops back just fine.” Zack flopped back into the grass, pulled his grimy arms up and pillowed them behind his head. “Sit down, take a load off. We're not going anywhere for awhile yet.” The sunlight was warm, and Zack allowed it to soothe him momentarily. “So, tell me about your life Cloud. From the future, I mean. What kind of friends did you have? What were they like? Did you ever make SOLDIER? You seemed pretty interested in it during Modeoheim." Then, blithely, he added, "It can't have all been depressing. There's a happy ending in this somewhere, right?”

He was asking as much out of curiosity and a want to know about this stranger in a faintly familiar form, as a way to fill the space until he could figure out what to do. Freeing one hand, he reached around to his jawline and rubbed lightly at the scar that had formed there. He had no idea where this would lead them, where they would end up, but he hoped that maybe there were some happy endings on the horizon.

"There's not much to tell," Cloud said. His voice sounded oddly distant. Zack thought it didn't line up with the emotions he'd displayed yesterday. "I obviously didn't make SOLDIER, since I was just a trooper when Nibelheim happened. My friends…” There was a pause, before Cloud went on, "I met up with my childhood friend shortly after I made it to Midgar. She was a part of AVALANCHE, and I kind of fell in with them for a while. Most of them had a grudge against ShinRa, and when Sephiroth came back, well…they couldn't just let that go."

And that surreal feeling was back. The one that said all of this was weirdly familiar. Zack still couldn't quite place why it gave him that dreamy déjà vu feeling. He was also pretty sure Cloud shouldn't be acting so flippant about the situation. Last night he'd been so, so torn up and now this? It didn't make any sense. Zack was about to give up and force the issue, when there came the sound of a body hitting the ground. He rolled over onto his knees immediately and stared wide eyed at Cloud. Cloud, who was on the ground on his knees clutching his head like he thought it was going to crack open like an egg.

He reached out, wanted to grab Cloud, wanted to do something to help his friend who was obviously in distress. Zack's brows furrowed in worry, lips down turned in a sharp frown. “Cloud? Hey, Cloud, what's wrong?” he asked, though his words didn't seem to get through. Worry and fear rattled around his ribs, distracting him completely from anything that had been said moments before and driving it right out of his mind. It didn't matter, even if there had been some momentary alarm at the mention of AVALANCHE. Zack leaned forward to try and get a look at Cloud's face, but before he could, everything just seemed to stop and Cloud lurched back to his feet. Zack remained kneeling there, hand still reaching out, before it fell back to rest on his thigh.

"I'm okay," Cloud said, blinking dazedly. "Sorry…. It happens sometimes. I'm okay.”

“No,” Zack said after a second’s pause. “No, you're not Cloud. Sit down.” There was force and command behind the words even as Zack pushed himself to his feet, intent on bodily making Cloud sit down if he had to. He didn't have to, as Cloud slumped to the ground without a fuss. Zack gave him another searching look and said, “You stay put, and I'll be right back.”

Zack paused a moment to pull off his sodden and rather disgustingly dirty socks and dropped them next to his abandoned boots before disappearing back between the barn and the house. As he rounded the house Zack caught sight of the men sitting about under a tree. They'd been joined by Chocobo Bill and the other man.

Zack walked up to them as the unknown man was saying, “Hyperion's my best chocobo yet.” He made a gesture toward the corral, and Zack glanced over to see a big black chocobo preening its chest feathers smugly. “I'm trying to breed the next generation now.”

(So that's where the little black came from.) Zack had to admit that the little fuzzball had nothing on its parent yet. “Excuse me, guys. Can I borrow a canteen?” Zack interrupted.

They all jumped. Zack wondered if he had been walking that quietly, or if he just looked that terrible. Gibbs immediately tossed him one of said canteens, and Zack took note that someone had been kind enough to provide them with a plate of sandwiches. They were simple from the looks of it; just bread, meat, and cheese, but the troops looked blissfully happy to have actual food. Zack would have been too if his stomach hadn't been in knots.

“Is Cloud okay, sir?” Connally asked earnestly. “He seemed in a better mood, but I don't think I've ever seen him act like that.” Zack took a moment to wonder at the group's apparent fondness for Cloud. He had no idea what Cloud had done to earn their loyalty, but apparently he’d done something. He could only figure it a good thing since Zack wouldn't always be around to watch Cloud's back. (Not like that, of course, and besides I can't think about that now. I need to make sure Cloud's alright.)

“The stress is just getting to him,” Zack said smoothly. “He's had it rougher than us the past few days.”

“That's true,” Connally agreed, and shared a glance with the rest of them. “Tell him to take it easy, sir.”

“Yeah, we're not incapable,” Edge grunted.

“Sure thing,” Zack said, then he turned to go. He was brought up short by the image of a dark figure haunting the edge of the pasture. There was something off in the way Sephiroth was standing, his shoulders slightly hunched and tenser than Zack had ever seen before. After a moment's hesitation, he turned back, neatly stole a couple of the sandwiches off the plate-much to the melodramatic moaning of the men-and strode toward Sephiroth.

Sephiroth was leaning against the ragged, beak scarred wooden fence, with his arms crossed over his chest, and Masamune resting against the post beside him. There was a pinched look to his expression that reminded Zack of someone with a hell of a migraine. As he approached, the chubby black body of a familiar chocobo chick popped out from under the fence and pecked at the corner of Sephiroth's coat as it flapped in the breeze. Zack choked back a fit of laughter at the image; laughter that might have been just a bit overdrawn and hysterical had he let it out. Looking down at the chocobo he said, “I thought I told you to go find your mom. I know Sephiroth is dark and broody looking with all that black leather, but he's no black chocobo.”

The chocobo kwehed disinterestedly at him and pecked curiously at a tiny wild flower, which it promptly pulled up. Zack noted to never let it near Aerith's flower garden, then turned to look at Sephiroth who seemed intent on ignoring him. Zack leaned down and looked up into his face. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Before I rescued your mission,” Sephiroth replied promptly.

“Ouch, that's harsh. Well, you need to eat. I know you're ShinRa's prized SOLDIER, but you're just as human as the rest of us Sephiroth,” Zack breezed on pleasantly, and offered the food to him. “It's not five star cuisine, but it might as well be after the last few days.”

Sephiroth accepted the offered food with something that Zack would have called hesitancy on anyone else, but on Sephiroth it just seemed like slow deliberation and an odd sort of bemusement. As he walked back toward the barn, Zack could feel Sephiroth's gaze drilling into the back of his neck the whole way. Once he was out of sight of the group up front but not quite back with Cloud, Zack gave himself a moment to let his shoulders slump and lean against the side of the chocobo barn. He could hear the faint shifting and soft warbles of the birds that were still inside, and smell hay and other animal smells. It was oddly comforting. He breathed slowly, pulled himself back together, and as always soldiered on.

(Am I doing the right thing, Angeal?)

When he turned the corner, he found Cloud right where he left him, though he'd curled in on himself again; just like this morning, with his knees tucked up to his chest and his arm around them. It really did make Zack wonder about him. “I got you something to drink. They had food too, but I doubt you're feeling hungry right now. You don't look like it anyway,” Zack said, keeping his voice cheerful. He flopped back down and held the canteen out to Cloud. “So, let's talk.” He left it open, hoping that if he gave Cloud the freedom to lead them into conversation he'd feel a little better about it, and maybe, just maybe decide to freely talk to him. He didn't expect Cloud to tell him all his secrets, but Zack still held hope that if Cloud had problems that he'd come to him and let him help. What were friends, partners in heroics, for after all?

Zack waited out the silence, and found his patience paid off when Cloud hesitantly said, "I wasn't in good shape, after you…" He trailed off, and Zack controlled a flinch. It was going to take some getting used to, that. "I was still suffering from the mako, and could barely walk or think. It was amazing I was able to get to Midgar at all. Hojo predicted I would never come out of it…. I'd made a promise with a friend, before I left my hometown. Tifa, was her name. Even after everything, I think I still remembered it…. She found me, and…I just…I pretended to be you. Sort of. I thought I was SOLDIER 1st, and…" Cloud paused, his discomfort almost palpable. "I'm sorry. I couldn't take it anymore. This…is too much."

Zack stared up into the sky, didn't look at Cloud. He was half afraid if he did that Cloud would clam up again. He gave a little half smile, and lightly joked, “I can't say I blame you. I mean, who wouldn't want to be me?” The sky above them was a wide open and pristine blue again. There wasn't a cloud in sight. It almost seemed to glow like mako eyes itself. Zack could remember when he'd met Aerith...she'd been afraid of SOLDIERs, but she'd thought his eyes were pretty. He'd compared them to the sky then as well.

He sighed, and dredged up the issue again when it was clear that Cloud wasn't going to say anything more. “I think you have a gift for understatement, Cloud. That was...surreal.” And now that he thought about it he could definitely see some parallels between himself and the way Cloud had been acting, even if it wasn't a direct copy. “You're not telling me everything about this, are you? I.... What happened after I died? You never did say...just that Sephiroth eventually killed Aerith.” The very thought made his throat feel tight. Even if Zack died, something that was a very real possibility in his line of work, he'd always hoped that Aerith would go on to be happy and keep smiling. She was like a light, and the idea of that going out was a horrible one. “Was she happy at least? Before she died?” That wasn't the Aerith he knew here and now, but it was still Aerith. Zack would do everything he could to prevent that fate from happening to her.

"Aerith…was smiling when she died," Cloud said softly. "She saved the world, Zack. When everyone else failed, she…" Zack glanced over and watched Cloud drag a hand through the grass. "Even after she was gone, she was still there, helping me. I…saw you both, once. You were content, I think."

“That sounds about right,” Zack said, with a fond grin. “I knew she could go places if she wanted to.” He wanted to ask what had ever become of his and Aerith's plan to fill Midgar with flowers, and if she'd ever managed to get out of Midgar and see the sky, but he couldn't bring himself to yet. A part of him was still dreading all the answers. While he knew that it was possible none of this would ever come to pass now that Cloud was here, it was still overwhelming and distressing to realize how close his world was to shattering completely and horrifically.

“Speaking of...I don't know if you realize this, but you said a lot of funny things when the mako was affecting you. You even mentioned Aerith by name, so I asked her when she called if she knew you. She told me she didn't.” That had been Zack's first real clue, as well as one of the major things that let him believe Cloud without much fuss. The thought made him laugh lightly. “What do you know? Maybe she's still looking out for you even if she doesn't know it!”

Cloud's soft grin was well worth the joke, though his face fell a second later when he mournfully asked, "Did I already mess things up?"

“I wouldn't say you messed up,” Zack said slowly, brows furrowed. “It was pretty obvious that you were a little screwed up from the mako, so everyone just assumed you were confusing events and talking nonsense. Most of it was easily explainable.” Zack smiled wryly and looked over at Cloud. “It's only because I spoke to Aerith that I really had a clue, and even then I was able to logic most of it away nice and neat.” That had been the biggest anomaly, alongside Cloud’s apparent skill jump. If Cloud hadn’t spilled, Zack probably would have been able to ignore it all. It wasn’t a conclusion he’d have reached on his own, and even now it was still a little hard to swallow, but he was willing to believe. Cloud still seemed worried about it, so Zack reached over and patted his knee absently. “Don't worry about it. It'll be fine.” Then, hoping the news would cheer Cloud up, he added, “I already promised Aerith I'd introduce you to her.”

"I wouldn't mind seeing her again," Cloud said. There was something wistful in his voice that made Zack feel sad for him. "But I don't want to put her in any danger. She already has the Turks watching her, and wasn't there one of them on the mission earlier? I think I said something I shouldn't have, about Nibelheim."

Zack folded his hands, letting them rest on his stomach and listened to the sound of leaves swaying in the breeze and rustling through the grass. The not so distant warks of chocobos floated to them, accompanied by a round of laughter. Closer still, a songbird twittered gaily. “I wouldn't worry too much about Cissnei. And I know the Turks are watching Aerith, though I don't know why. Tseng told me if I really wanted to know, I should ask her myself.” Which was a bit frustrating, since Zack hadn't really had the time nor a proper chance to bring it up. “Do you have something against the Turks? I mean, yeah, they're Turks but they aren't that bad.”

"Aerith is an Ancient, or at least descended from the last of them," Cloud said absently, his eyes once again focused on his clasped hands where they rested on his knees. It honestly made no more sense to Zack than some of the other things Cloud had told him, though the term was faintly familiar. Sometimes it felt like Cloud was speaking a completely different language. "The Turks, at least the ones I know, aren't bad. Obnoxious, but…. They will follow any order they're given. Any order. That makes them dangerous. They bombed the support on the plate above Sector 7 to get rid of AVALANCHE's hideout. On the president's order. He knew where we were, and wanted to make sure no one survived." There was that mention of AVALANCHE again that made Zack wonder, but he didn't get a chance to comment. Cloud was still talking, and Zack was still loath to interrupt him when he got going. "They also took Aerith to Hojo. We…had to break into ShinRa tower to get her back. He was trying to breed her with another, long-lived species, to continue his research on the Ancients."

Zack sat up like a shot and turned to gape at Cloud. “He what?!” he yelped. He dropped his head in his hands and groaned. “I'm suddenly wishing I hadn't saved his life when Genesis was trying to kill him.” Why had he saved Hojo again? He knew the guy was freaking creepy not to mention downright weird, and sometimes Zack swore he was flirting with him and that was enough to give him nightmares, but what? “Breed? I don't...” Zack shook his head hard. “Okay, I'm not going to think about that. And I know the Turks are a bit amoral but...” But it was hard to believe they'd go that far, damn it. Now he was going to have to be even more wary of them. “Man, is there anyone in ShinRa who isn't a complete amoral nutjob?”

"Um…Reeve is probably the only one I'd put any trust in," Cloud said, scratching the back of his head as he thought. Then he amended, "Though, maybe not yet.” Zack just stared at him for several seconds, and refrained from asking because he honestly felt like the entire world was falling apart around him. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what Reeve Tuesti had done, considering that last bomb shell.

Zack slumped back into the grass, arms spread wide, and sighed heavily. “I've had this suspicion that things weren't right.... Things have been going on for awhile now that have made me think. At first I didn't want to believe it but...” Zack was aware he probably wasn't making sense. A little desperately, he asked, “Cloud, what is an Ancient exactly?” A part of him wanted to wait, to see if Aerith would talk to him about it but...what if it was important? What if him understanding was the difference between failure and success?

"I don't know much about the Ancients," Cloud said slowly, and his gaze took on a less focused look as he thought. "They had a connection to the Planet, long ago. The Cetra, is what they called themselves. One day, Jenova fell from the sky, and nearly wiped them all out. Somehow they were able to seal it away, but as a result, they nearly went extinct." There was that mention of Jenova again. Ruefully, Zack decided that Cloud was terrible at telling stories. "Hojo and another scientist, Gast, found the remains of Jenova. They…thought it was an Ancient, and began using it in experiments, trying to regain the wisdom lost and find the Promised Land. Ifalna, Aerith's birth mother, was mixed up in it too, but…

"Sephiroth was injected with cells from Jenova before birth." Cloud's voice had taken on an even more monotone quality than it normally had, and his eyes were still lost and unfocused as he regarded his past. "That was why, in Nibelheim…" he trailed off, and then gave his head a sharp shake. His next words had a bite to them. "Hojo set it up, somehow. He was trying to create the perfect being, something greater than a human. Hojo left some sort of research behind that explained what had been done to Sephiroth. When Sephiroth found that…. Jenova was kept in the reactor at Nibelheim. The moment he got close to her, Sephiroth began acting stranger than normal. You noticed, but…" There was a pause as Cloud glanced sideways at Zack, though he continued after a moment. "…weren't able to stop him before it was too late."

“...and this Jenova...Sephiroth thinks she’s his mother?” Zack asked, feeling completely baffled. He'd just spent some time telling Sephiroth that he was just as human as them, and he...wasn't?

"Sephiroth's mother is not Jenova," Cloud said flatly. "That was a lie Hojo came up with. Or maybe he believes it himself." There was another awkward pause, but Zack was becoming well used to those. "Sephiroth's birth mother was a scientist named Lucrecia. Hojo implanted Jenova cells into her and her baby…Sephiroth. Lucrecia was cut out of the picture completely once Sephiroth was actually born. Hojo's god complex may have even deluded his own mind into believing that Sephiroth was born from Jenova, who he believed was an Ancient."

Zack lifted his hand to rest it over his eyes in silent contemplation. “What a mess,” he mumbled, though there was a smile on his face even as he said it. This, at least, made some sense to him. “It sounds like Project G.” And behind the darkness of his hand and closed eyelids he could imagine Genesis and Angeal denouncing themselves as monsters, mutations, dying slow or fast in their own choosing. He could imagine Gillian Hewley sitting quietly at her table worried for her son, and then lying dead on the floor as Angeal lingered terrifyingly nearby. He could remember as Banora burned, razed to the ground by a Turk airstrike.

"I've never heard of Project G. Only…" Cloud cut himself off abruptly. Zack didn't ask.

“Project G was the project of a man named Hollander that resulted in Angeal and Genesis.” Zack frowned, uncovering his eyes again and looked toward Cloud. “I don't know all the details myself, but apparently Hollander was competing with Hojo for the seat at the head of the Science Department. After Hojo got the place, Hollander was angry. Genesis suffered a wound that wouldn't heal, and then...during the Wutai War he deserted, taking with him an entire company of SOLDIERs.”

Zack lifted his hand and looked at his palm, followed the lines on it, then looked between his fingers at the sky. “It was because of the Degradation. Genesis was dying slowly, and he found out the truth about himself and Angeal. It made him furious, so he sided with Hollander in an attempt to have a cure made. Then...Angeal began to degrade too. It made them mutate.” He could see Genesis' twisted black wing in his mind's eye, as well as the white wing Angeal had grown, and the smaller, almost deformed version that stuck out beneath it.

“It sounds like they were all trying to create the same thing. Hojo either got lucky, or he was willing to take it a step farther. Probably both,” Cloud said quietly. Zack barely heard him, too caught up in his own thoughts.

After a moment Zack said, “They called themselves monsters, said that SOLDIERs were monsters. Monsters made by monsters.” His eyes drifted closed. Though there was still a faint smile on his dirty face, it had a faintly bitter tinge to it. “SOLDIER is a den of monsters. You're lucky you never made it in, Cloud.” Even if he'd suffered a great deal, there was always that.

There was a part of Zack that wished, rather painfully, that he could have been able to keep up that naïve hope. He'd spoken so recently about SOLDIER pride, but he didn't even know what that was anymore. Who was he now that he knew the truth? What pride did he have as a SOLDIER when this was their true face? What honor did he embrace? What were his dreams now? How could he reach something so...unattainable? His eyes slit open, the sky blue and far above him.

(Angeal...what of my honor, pride, and dreams now?)

Angeal had been calm and accepting at the end, wanted nothing more than to be put down before he could cause any harm, and he had forced Zack to be the one to bring him down. The familiar ache in his heart throbbed again at the thought, though Zack didn't let his expression or breathing betray him. He was still trying to make his mentor proud, but it was hard when he had no idea what path to take when the road was so splintered. And now, so much rested on so few. He desperately wished that Angeal were there again, if only to give him direction. He hated how adrift he felt, how lost and unsure. It wasn't something Zack had ever really experienced before.

"SOLDIERs…are not monsters, though,” Cloud all but whispered. Zack felt his smile soften into something more genuine.

“Yeah...I said something similar to Genesis once. I certainly don't think Angeal was a monster, and I don't think Sephiroth is one either.” Not yet at least, according to what Cloud had said. But the possibility there, and that was worrying. They were going to stop it. Zack wouldn't let himself believe anything less. Zack breathed out in a rush, making the bit of hair that fell into his face shift. “This just gets crazier and crazier,” he said slowly. “To be honest, I'm kind of overwhelmed here.” Had been since yesterday when Cloud had first let him in on this insane adventure. He was getting used to it though. “Just promise me that if there are any issues you'll talk to me first if it's possible, alright? I can't help if you don't keep me up to date on the status of Operation Save the World, Get the Happy Ending.”

He couldn't help but wonder what sort of time frame they were working on. How long did they have before Nibelheim? He was just about to bring this up when he heard the sound a boot falling nearby. He immediately looked over in time to see a surprisingly pale Connally peek around the edge of the building. “Sorry to interrupt, sir, but the...the General is asking after you.”

Zack blinked. “It's alright, we were just chatting about what a nice view it is,” he quipped. “Right, Cloud? I suppose Sephiroth wants to get moving. You guys did save us some food right?”

Connally finally smiled slightly. “Of course we did, sir, though Edge and Sparo weren't too happy about it.”

“Well, we better not keep them waiting.” With a nimble shove, Zack rolled to his feet. He took a moment to find Buster Sword where he'd left it laying in the grass, slung it onto his back, then picked his boots up in one hand, and offered the other to Cloud. He looked patiently at Cloud, the question obvious but unasked.

Are you going to be okay facing Him?

Cloud grasped Zack's hand with a look that told him the answer loud and clear.

I can do this.

Zack grinned and hauled Cloud to his feet, and after Cloud scooped up his helmet they followed Connally back around to the front of the barn. Jac greeted them enthusiastically as they approached, his good humor having returned. "There you are! You guys were gone a long time. Everything alright?" he asked, giving Cloud a worried grin. Cloud raised a hand in silent reassurance. Edge was looking them up and down, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah, you guys were gone a long time. Took a tumble in the hay?" he leered at them, gesturing a hand to Zack's hair. Zack reached up to find that it did indeed have a few strands of hay stuck in the mess his hair had become from where he'd been lying in the grass behind the barn.

"Seriously, while on duty?" Sparo chimed in. "Man, you got guts!"

Cloud stared between the two blankly as the rest of the group broke out in varying degrees of laughter, then after a moment Zack could almost see the comprehension dawn as he went red in the face. Zack laughed riotously. “What? Like this?” he asked, gesturing at himself to indicate his mud and blood spattered person. “No way. I always try to look nicer for my dates!”

Edge nudged his shoulder. “Don't you have a girlfriend anyway? What will she think! First he tells her you're touching him over the phone while you play Naughty Nurse, and now this!”

“That's no way to treat a lady!” Sparo scolded.

“Oh, I'm sure she'd just love him,” Zack said breezily, even as he hopped about pulling his grimy socks and boots back on. When at last he straightened he brushed the hay out of his hair with a few swipes of his hands. “She's just such a nice girl,” he gushed, “just wants me to be happy.” Then he leaned in close to Cloud and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. With an unapologetic grin, he trotted a few steps away and raised one hand to cup alongside his mouth. “Sephiroth! What do you want?” When Sephiroth looked toward him, Zack raised his other hand and waved merrily.

Behind him, he heard Cloud's strangled voice grind out, "Don't. Say another word. Otherwise, I will borrow a chocobo and do my best to trample you into the ground." Zack also thought he caught something that sounded suspiciously like 'I'm telling Aerith', but he couldn't be sure.

Sephiroth was striding toward him, calm, cool, and collected as ever. The intimidating picture he presented was completely ruined by the little black chocobo chick scuttling along at his heels. In fact, it was so close that Sephiroth would have been tripping over it if he were anyone else. Zack was immensely impressed that he hadn't managed to either trod on the thing, or stumble. And he did it all while acting like it didn't exist. It was, in a word, hilarious. Zack grinned. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes in what he considered a glare. Zack looked down at the little bird. “I think it likes you Sephiroth,” he said pleasantly.

Sephiroth stared at him. “We depart in five minutes.”

“Yeah, okay. Let me put this guy back in the fence or something,” Zack muttered. He scooped the chocobo up and headed back toward the corral. It narrowed its dark eyes at him in a way that oddly reminded him of the glare he'd just been receiving from Sephiroth. “Don't look at me like that. You're a chocobo, he's Sephiroth. You need to go back with the others of your kind. Be free, grow up to be a strong bird, and then have more little black chocobos.”

This did not appear to impress the chocobo chick in the least.

“Sephiroth really doesn't seem to be a chocobo kind of guy,” Zack went on. “In fact you're really lucky he hasn't just stuck you on his sword like a giant shish kebab and fried you up to feed the troops. Now,” here he paused to deposit the chocobo back inside the fence, “you stay here. It really is for your own safety and well being.” Zack patted it on the head, and got his finger nipped hard enough to bleed for his pains. As he walked back toward the group Zack examined the bloody little split on the side of his smallest finger. “Feisty little thing...” There was a sudden shrill wark, and the next thing Zack knew a tiny black body sped past his boots and right to Sephiroth. He watched in befuddlement as the chick ducked behind Sephiroth's legs before peeking back out at him. “What the...?”

That faint furrowing of brows and tiny frown that Zack was beginning to think indicated irritation-and possibly confusion-was back on Sephiroth's face.

“You won't be getting that'un to stay,” a voice drawled. “That chick's imprinted on him.”

Oh no. Zack hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant. He pasted his best 'You're joking, right?' smile on his face, and turned to face the owner of the ranch and the man who apparently was breeding the blacks. “Come again?”

"Hey, Cloud's pretty good with chocobos!" Jac's enthusiastic claim had even Zack turning to stare in their direction, though he couldn't see Cloud any longer. At least until Gibbs and Edge moved aside. Zack had the funniest feeling he'd been trying to hide from Sephiroth. Jac's expression was nervous already, having just been subjected to Sephiroth's intense scrutiny. It only got worse when Cloud sent him a small frown, displeasure evident. "Uh, I mean...maybe you can...?" the trooper stuttered out.

Sephiroth canted his head ever so slightly to the side in a move that was both demand and inquiry despite how small it was. “Is that so? Perhaps you would grace us with your knowledge on the matter...Cloud, was it?” Sephiroth took a few steps back to dislodge the little black chocobo from where it had perched on his boot. It peeped indignantly. “Be my guest.”

Zack propped a fist on his hip and gave Cloud an encouraging smile as he waited to see what he'd do. Though a part of him wondered if he ought to interfere before this exploded in everyones face.

"Well, sir, I do know about the proper care of a baby chocobo," Cloud said, voice clipped.

"You?" the owner cut in, giving Cloud a scathing once over. "Yer just a kid! Doubt you've even seen a black before now. They're not like the regular birds, ya know?"

"I'm aware," Cloud replied simply as he frowned at the man. "I just wonder how the chick managed to imprint on the General. Surely you keep better watch over your breeders than that?"

The man's face twisted in anger at that. "Well, boy, then I guess I can leave you to advise yer General yourself," he sneered. "I had best get back to my birds and cut my losses here." All eyes watched the man stalk off back to the stables, before turning back to the black fluff ball. It was watching the proceedings with alert eyes, one clawed foot on top of the black leather boot next to it.

"Edge? Do you still have that materia?" Cloud asked. The Third started at being addressed so abruptly, but dug out the shiny sphere and tossed it over. Cloud caught it absently, clearly focused on the chocobo. Zack watched, morbidly curious as to how this would play out. "Jac…go in the stables and bring me a some greens."

After Jac walked off, looking like he was about to suffer a firing squad, Cloud squatted down, setting his helmet to one side as he activated the materia with a flick of energy. As he began to toss the materia back and forth between his hands the baby chocobo's attention was instantly riveted, beady eyes following the shining ball as it moved back and forth.

“Hey, Cloud?” Zack called. “Does this imprinting thing mean what I think it does?” Zack gave a slight chuckle that teetered between nervousness and falling into full blown laughter. “That chocobo chick thinks Sephiroth is its mom?” There was definite amusement bubbling in his voice now, and Sephiroth finally pulled his gaze away from Cloud to narrow his eyes at Zack. Zack merely regarded him with a wide grin. “I thought that glare was familiar earlier,” Zack breezed on, then elaborated. “It definitely has your glare!” Maybe he was getting that revenge he'd hoped for after all?

"It does mean that we're stuck with it," Cloud said distractedly. The chocobo chick had crept forward, bowed low with its tiny wing outstretched as it stalked the materia. When it lunged, Cloud had already tossed the materia to his other hand, causing the chick to let out a challenging warble.

“What are you going to name it?” Zack asked, looking at Sephiroth earnestly. Sephiroth returned the question with a flat stare.

“Name it?” he asked sounding bemused at the very idea. It was possibly the most emotive Zack had heard him be in awhile.

“It has to have a name!” he yelped exasperatedly. “We can't just call it the black fuzzball. Well, we could, but that's not a very interesting name.”

Sephiroth blinked at him again before his brows furrowed minutely and he parroted, “Fuzzball?” incredulously. Zack was just pleased that Sephiroth wasn't acting like that cold, stony, statue of a man for the moment. In fact, he was looking at Zack as if he'd joined Genesis and Angeal in the frequent fliers club. It was sort of eerie.

“Exactly! You can't have a pet named something like that,” Zack enthused. “It needs a name that's really catching!”

From where he'd been standing, watching the proceedings with interest, Bill offered, “Joe was going to call'em Teioh.”

Zack scoffed. “That's a terrible name. What kind of name is Teioh?” He edged over to where Cloud was and crouched down beside him to watch the chocobo make another try for the materia. “He doesn't look like a Teioh to me.”

"It is Teioh," Cloud mumbled under his breath. Zack shot him a surprised look, but he couldn't ask now.

At last, Sephiroth gave a low chuckle. “What does it look like?” Zack thought that the obvious unasked question was 'Other than an annoying bird?', but maybe he was imagining things.

“What if it's a she?” Sparo stage whispered.

"It is a he," Cloud said for the wit in the group. In front of him, the chick had made a daring leap. Its clawed feet dug into the cloth of his arm as it futilely tried to gnaw the materia out of his fingers, beak clacking against the smooth surface.

“How do you know?” Edge half demanded as he crouched down to squint at the little bird as well. “How can you tell it's male?”

Zack ignored them and cast around, looking for inspiration. Green grass, blue sky, a tree, chocobos ambling about and pecking at aforementioned grass.... “Uh.... How about...Featherbrain? Featherduster? Coal?” he offered, racking his brain for more name suggestions. Sephiroth was staring at him again, head tilted in that odd, bewildered fashion. He almost seemed fascinated by Zack's continued strangeness. “Killer? Long Legs? Clawfoot?”

“How about supper,” Sparo suggested slyly.

Zack frowned at him, then chose to be an adult and ignore the suggestion. “Choco? Chicobo? Baaro? Bobo? Boco? Bobby Corwin? Blacky?” He realized he was getting increasingly ridiculous but he was on a roll now. “Oh, oh, how about Sephiroth Jr! Or Mini-Sephiroth! Or Seph!” What was that burning sensation making his skin crawl like a million suns dying? Zack wilted a bit. “Okay, maybe not. Viridian? Sky?” This was harder than he thought. He ignored the mutter from someone saying that viridian was a green color.

"…Zack," Cloud cut in, a pained expression on his face. "You’re really bad at naming things." Zack shot him a hurt look, and turned to watch the chick while he attempt to come up with more names. The baby chocobo was still clinging gamely to Cloud's arm, though he turned his head on occasion to nip at Edge's curious fingers when they got too close. Zack had just opened his mouth to start suggesting more names when Cloud quickly cut in with, "…Why not Viri?"

Zack gave him another look, this time sulky, and Cloud immediately looked down again and deactivated the materia in his hand. The bird gave a shocked warble as it lost its grip on his sleeve. Cloud's other hand was already underneath it, and he caught it mid-fall. He shifted his grip until he had the wriggling bundle of feathers securely under its chest, then stood up. He held it close to keep it from escaping his grasp, despite the bird's efforts. Cloud brought one hand up to stroke absently at the chick's downy head.

Fun thoroughly derailed, Zack considered the name for several long seconds before nodding at last. “I like the sound of it,” he decided. “And not just because you got the idea from me.” The teasing was gentle but there, and Zack couldn't help but grin. This entire thing was amazingly surreal, but he was enjoying himself immensely. Everyone seemed relaxed and at least partially amused by the entire affair. Zack looked up to Sephiroth, awaiting his judgment on the name.

Sephiroth frowned for a moment, then looked to Cloud. He didn't seem entirely certain on why his input mattered, but after a moment he nodded his head. Zack had no idea how he could make such a simple movement look positively regal. “It’s an acceptable name,” he said

With a cough, Zack hid a chuckle. He had a feeling that Sephiroth didn't even have a clue where all of this was going, and was under the vague impression that now that Cloud had the bird he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. He almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The chick hung quietly from Cloud's arms, giving out tiny peeps of pleasure as Cloud continued to caress the soft head, though the chick's eyes remained locked on Sephiroth the entire time.

"I got the greens," Jac said, jogging back up to the group. The trooper was sporting a fresh scratch on his cheek. Cloud took the proffered plants out of the outstretched hand without a word, and began pulling apart a small piece to feed to the bird in his arms. It gobbled it up eagerly, cheeping imperiously for more almost before it had swallowed.

Sephiroth observed the proceedings for a moment longer, eyes locked on Cloud with a hint of curiosity in his expression. Then, as if dismissing both the bird and the absurd situation entirely, he turned and began walking toward the nearby cluster of chocobos. They'd been rested, fed, and re-saddled at some point, Zack noted, and there were two more. Sephiroth didn't seem particularly happy about the mode of transportation.

Zack glanced at Cloud, and dropped a hand heavily on his shoulder. “You've got your work cut out for you, you realize? You just became Sephiroth's Official Chocobo Babysitter.” He grinned impishly. This might just make his life a little easier. Sephiroth had acknowledged Cloud's existence, and Zack had a feeling that it was beyond impossible to get Sephiroth to bother with anyone he didn't want to deal with. Maybe there was hope for this crazy plan after all. “Alright, let's get moving.” Not that he needed to say anything; the men were already scrambling to grab their gear.

Gibbs handed Cloud his pack, and gave him a half-way apologetic smile, and Edge even went so far as to clout him on the back as he went by. "Looks like you got your foot in the door, eh Cloud?" Edge said, smirking over his shoulder.

"More like he got his foot slammed in the door," Sparo joked.

Before Cloud could follow them, Zack quietly asked, “So, is this imprinting thing really...?”

“Yes,” Cloud said flatly. “Normally they imprint on the mother, or their owner, but...I've heard a story of one imprinting on a levicron. You still see them winding up with monsters in the wild sometimes.”

“Huh...”

The chocobo gave a loud wark, and Cloud was suddenly too busy trying to keep the now frantic bird from falling. Zack took a moment to grab Cloud’s forgotten helmet off the ground, before he followed him as he hurried forward. With every step Cloud took closer to Sephiroth and the cluster of chocobos, the chick seemed to calm. Cloud sent a look comprised of misery and discomfort at Zack over his shoulder.

As Zack watched Sephiroth warily try to stare down one of the large yellow birds, he had a sudden premonition that the rest of the trip to Midgar was going to be either a headache or hilarious.

Next time on Counter Crisis it's a Crisis of Churches!

Part One
Masterlist