Lost and Found

“Lost and Found”
Chapter one: A Cetra’s folly
~********************************~
(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)
*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*
~***********************************************~

“Here we are.” Cloud dismounted Fenrir and Denzel did the same. Together they walked through the doors of the old church. The gaping hole in the floor where the Lifestream broke through made caution necessary and Cloud told Denzel to wait behind while he tested the wood with his heavier weight. He came here each month to pay his respects to his deceased friends and sometimes Tifa or the kids joined him. Cloud made his way around the hole in the floor to the flowers and Buster Sword near the back wall. He motioned to Denzel to follow him and the preteen did so, watching his footing as he crossed over the creaking floor.

Cloud went to his knees before Zack’s sword and regarded it silently. Words were never his forte and they wouldn’t do any good anyhow. Denzel respectfully stood behind him and together, they paid silent respects to the man that sacrificed himself for Cloud’s safety and the Cetra that sacrificed her life for the Planet.

“Um, Cloud?” Denzel’s whisper was tense and uncertain.

“Hmm?”

“Is the water supposed to be doing that?” Denzel pointed at the pool of Lifestream in the floor.

Cloud turned and looked, his golden brows drawing down as he stared. The water was churning slowly and a glow of green light illuminated its depths. Cloud stood up and grabbed Denzel by the arm, pulling him behind him protectively. He hadn’t brought any of his swords in with him and his eyes went to the Buster Sword uncertainly. He didn’t want to use the symbol of his departed friend in combat if he didn’t have to but he couldn’t risk allowing something to happen to his adopted son, either.

Just as Cloud made up his mind and reached for the sword’s hilt with a murmured apology to Zack, the water rose up and deposited a nude person on the floor near the two staring males. Cloud kept Denzel behind him as he took an uncertain step forward and studied the unexpected visitor.

“Close your eyes, Denzel,” ordered Cloud softly when he realized it was a woman. Her pale form was partially covered by long masses of soaked, brownish colored hair but it wasn’t enough concealment to suit him.

“Uh,” Denzel said stupidly. He seemed to have lost the ability to comply as he stared at the naked girl on the floor.

Cloud looked at him impatiently. “What did I tell you?”

“S-sorry,” stammered the boy as he put his hands over his eyes and turned around.

A brief smile flitted over Cloud’s lips as he knelt by the woman. She was shivering badly, so he knew she was alive. He took his jacket off and covered her with it as best he could. When he brushed her wet hair out of her face and saw her features, he froze. He shut his eyes and shook his head, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. When he opened his eyes and looked at her again, nothing had changed. He didn’t know how it was possible but there was no doubt in his mind that it was Aerith Gainsborough lying there on the floor.

“Aerith?” Cloud asked in a murmur as he gathered her in his arms and tried to warm her shivering, wet body.

Green eyes opened and blinked at him, the pupils wide with shock. “C…Cloud,” she whispered past trembling lips. She looked around and sobbed quietly. “I…I lost him…he’s not here!”

“Who?” Cloud inquired with dread. He thought he knew but he was still reeling from her return from the dead.

“Z-Zack,” she answered. “I d-did it for him but something went wrong…w-we were separated.”

Cloud held her closer and looked up at Denzel. “Go and get one of the sheets covering the furniture,” he instructed. “We’ve got to get her dry and covered up.”

Denzel nodded and hurried away to do as he was told. Cloud lifted Aerith and carried her around the pool carefully, bringing her to one of the benches and easing himself down on it, settling her into his lap.

“How did this happen?” Cloud asked. He was surprised his voice was so steady. Inwardly he felt like getting up and running away blindly while screaming at the top of his lungs. He couldn’t afford the luxury of madness right now, though. He could have his breakdown after seeing to Aerith. He did his best to keep his eyes on her face while Denzel retrieved something that would cover her more than his jacket.

“I figured out…how to use the Lifestream to bring us b-both back,” Aerith explained, her teeth chattering. She moaned in pain and Cloud rocked her gently. “S-something hit Zack just as we w-were leaving and I lost my grip on him. He…he’s out there somewhere in the…same condition as m-me!”

Cloud’s lips thinned grimly at the implications. There were hundreds of places where Zack could have emerged from the Lifestream, many of them out in the wilds. Denzel returned with one of the sheets that had been covering a bench and Cloud took it from him.

“I’m sorry,” Cloud murmured as he wrapped Aerith’s shivering form in the sheet. “It’s not the cleanest thing in the world but it’ll have to do until I get you home.”

“W-we have to find Zack,” she insisted, tears gathering in her eyes.

“I know,” agreed Cloud gently, “and we will. Right now, I’ve got to get you taken care of, though. As soon as I get you home and in bed I’ll start searching, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed reluctantly. “I know he’s alive, Cloud. I can feel it!”

“Calm down,” he advised. Her anxiety was contagious and he couldn’t take care of her if he was reduced to a babbling mess. “I’m worried too but we’ve got to remember, Zack took on the whole ShinRa army. Wherever he is, if something picks a fight with him he’s not going down easy.” He stroked her damp hair and held her gaze. “I’ll find him. I promise.”

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

Tifa was just getting ready to open the bar for the day when Cloud came in, carrying someone bundled up in a dusty old sheet. Her first thought was that something had happened to Denzel and she crossed the tavern swiftly, her heart thundering in her chest with fear.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Cloud told her with certainty as she approached to examine his burden.

Aerith lifted her head from the blonde’s shoulder with difficulty and she looked at Tifa. The barmaid instantly recognized her and she stumbled backwards, nearly crashing into one of the tables.

“H-how…Aerith?” Tifa gasped. She looked at Cloud. “Where’s Denzel? What happened?”

“I left Denzel at the church,” explained Cloud as he carried Aerith towards the stairs leading up into the house. “Couldn’t fit all three of us on Fenrir so I’m going back for him after I get Aerith in bed. Uh, she’ll have to borrow something from you to wear, until we can buy her some clothes.”

“Of course,” Tifa replied readily as she followed her husband and their miraculously revived friend. “But how did this happen?”

“I did it,” Aerith sighed. “But I made a mistake. Zack was supposed to be with me but we got separated.”

Tifa stared at the Cetra, trying to make sense of the impossible. “You brought yourself back?”

Aerith nodded, watching the barmaid over Cloud’s shoulder as he carried her. “Zack too. He’s lost out there somewhere, Tifa.”

The brunette stared at her friend with concern and a bit if disbelief. The only thing that made it easier to accept all of this was the fact that Sephiroth managed to return from the afterlife once. If he could do it, then it stood to reason that someone with all the powers of the Ancients could do it as well. She followed Cloud and Aerith up the stairs and into the house. Marlene was sitting at the kitchen table drawing and when she saw them come in, she got up to see what was happening.

“Who’s the lady?” asked the little girl as Cloud carried his burden into his office and laid her down on the narrow bed.

“An old friend,” answered Tifa cautiously, intercepting Marlene before she made it to the bedside for a closer look. “Marlene, this is going to be confusing to take but I want you to stay calm, okay? You know this lady. She took care of you for a while back when we were in AVALANCHE.”

Marlene’s face screwed up and she leaned over to look past Tifa at their guest, who Cloud was just tucking in. She recognized her face and she gave a gasp of delight. “Flower lady? Is that really you?”

Aerith graced her with a forced, tired little smile and nodded. “Hi Marlene. It’s…really me.” She reached out and took the child’s hand as Marlene went to the bedside. “You’ve grown.”

Marlene nodded enthusiastically, trusting and unafraid as she squeezed Aerith’s hand. “Uh-huh. I was a shrimp, the last time you saw me.”

Aerith chuckled and watched Cloud move away. “You’re going to look for him, aren’t you?” she pleaded as the blonde walked to the door.

Cloud stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. “I promise. Tifa and Marlene will take care of you while I bring Denzel back and get started. I’ll call all of our friends to help with the search.”

“Who’s missing?” asked Marlene in confusion.

“My friend Zack,” answered Aerith. “He came back with me but we got separated.”

“We’ll find him, Aerith,” promised Tifa.

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

Explaining what happened to his friends was even more difficult than he suspected it would be. He wasn’t good at explaining things and their disbelieving questions made it even harder. He couldn’t get in touch with Barret and he worried that the coal miner might find out for himself before Cloud could warn him. He knew his friend was finishing up with his latest job and should be back in Edge to see Marlene very soon. Reeve and Vincent were both calm and surprisingly accepting of the news that Aerith and Zack were alive, but Cid made Cloud want to tear his hair out with frustration.

“How the hell did they manage that?” the pilot asked over the phone as Cloud placed some supplies in Fenrir’s compartments for the road.

“I told you,” sighed Cloud, “Aerith used the Lifestream to bring her and Zack back.”

“I got that part,” said the pilot irritably, “but how?”

“If I knew that, I would have brought them back myself,” snapped Cloud irritably. “I’m not an Ancient so don’t ask me how she did it. Are you going to help me search for Zack or not?”

“Sure, I’ll help,” Cid answered. “I’ll fuel up the Shera and get right on it, kid. Uh, what’s this buddy of yours look like, anyhow?”

Cloud gave him a description and thanked him. With Cid searching from the air, they might have a better chance of locating where Zack had emerged from the Lifestream. “Keep an eye out on the news too,” suggested Cloud. “A naked guy popping up out of the Lifestream is bound to attract media attention, if he showed up anywhere near civilization.”

“Good call,” agreed Cid. “I’ll keep in touch and let you know if I find anything.”

“Thanks,” said Cloud. “Talk to you later.”

He ended the call and sighed. He’d gotten through explaining to all of his friends except for Barret. Tifa would just have to take care of explaining things to him when he arrived in Edge. Mounting Fenrir, Cloud started the engine and thought about where he’d begin his search. He thought it might be a good idea to check all of the surrounding Midgar area first. If Zack had been with Aerith when they started making the transition, it was possible he hadn’t drifted too far away from her. There were several places where the Lifestream broke through the surface of the ground.

He stopped on his way out of town to gas his vehicle up and he began with a sweep of the Midgar area. He had his headphones on and he flipped through the radio channels as he searched, listening for any news broadcasts that might lead to discovering Zack’s location.

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

Tifa helped Aerith take a bath before selecting some clothing for her. The Cetra pulled her borrowed sweater over her head with difficulty, her muscles still weak from the transition. Tifa solicitously helped her when she noticed her struggling to get her head through the top of it.

“I’m sorry about the lack of a bra,” Tifa apologized as her friend’s head emerged from the neck of the sweater.

Aerith smiled at her and glanced at the barmaid’s generous cleavage. “I could probably fit both of my boobs into one of your cups,” she joked. “It’s okay, I don’t need the support right away.”

Tifa chuckled and helped her into the slacks she’d picked out. Once that was done, she put socks on her and helped her back to bed. “When you’ve recovered your strength, I’ll take you shopping,” promised the brunette as she walked Aerith back into Cloud’s office. She eased the Cetra down onto the bed and helped her get under the covers. She stroked the honey-colored bangs away from Aerith’s eyes and smiled down at her soothingly.

“With our friends helping the search, we’ll find Zack before you know it.”

Aerith nodded and gave her a tremulous smile. “That big dummy. I’ll bet he got lost on purpose, just to give me a hard time.”

Tifa chuckled. “If anyone could get lost on purpose just to make a woman worry about him, Zack could. Try not to be too hard on him when we find him and bring him home, okay?”

“I can’t promise anything,” Aerith said dryly, her old, good humor creeping back into her voice despite her anxiety. “Wait and see, he’ll put grey in my hair by the end of the year.”

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

“Ma’am, we’ve found…something…outside.”

Scarlet looked up from the plans she was going over, gazing at her subordinate impatiently. “Well? What is it?”

“A young man,” answered the guerrilla. “Looks like he came out of the Lifestream or something. He’s naked and unconscious.”

Scarlet tapped her pen on the table thoughtfully. Hmm, a naked, unconscious young man deposited at her proverbial feet. The day was starting off nicely.

~Unless he’s ugly. I suppose I’ll find out myself, though.~

She got up and followed her subordinate out of the cabin, swearing as she left the air-conditioned atmosphere and was assaulted by the hot humidity. She hated the Mideel area but for now, it was where she and her rebels were staying. They would move again soon, to make the first strike against ShinRa. She adjusted her eye patch, scowling. The explosion she’d survived through had cost her an eye and though she was still considered a beauty despite the blindness, she was self-conscious of the disfigurement.

She could see several of her rebels gathered around someone that was lying on the ground and she pushed her way though to have a look at him herself. Her eyebrows shot up as she examined the find. He was lying on his side and his skin sparkled with water droplets. He was athletically built, fair-skinned and nicely hung between the thighs. His black hair was slicked back and wet. His features were not only quite handsome, but familiar to her as well.

“What have we here?” Scarlet purred as she knelt beside him and cupped his chin.

He stirred and groaned faintly, his eyes opening to reveal blue-violet irises and dilated pupils. He blinked in a confused manner and murmured incoherently.

“Do you recognize me?” Scarlet questioned. She traced the criss-crossed scar on his jaw with her fingertips. This was no clone…this was the real Zack Fair. Had Scarlet not already witnessed plenty of strange things in her lifetime, the discovery might have done more than startle her. If he’d come out of the Lifestream the possibilities were endless.

He shook his head. “Don’t even…know who I am,” he muttered thickly.

He shivered and Scarlet motioned to one of her people and ordered them to bring a blanket for him. As the man rushed off to do her bidding, she returned her attention to the tempting treat that lay before her. “You’re lucky to be alive,” she said, thinking quickly. “We thought you drowned on us, Lieutenant.”

He stared at her blankly, his sculpted features utterly confused. The rank sounded familiar to him but he couldn’t remember a thing about how he’d gotten there or who this woman was. Someone brought a blanket and the blond woman covered Zack’s nudity with it while helping him to sit up.

“L…Lieutenant?” Zack repeated with a frown. “Lieutenant of what?”

“The resistance,” answered Scarlet with a pleased smile. “AVALANCHE, of course.”

“Uh…what are we resisting?” asked Zack. The title she offered sounded familiar to him as well but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“ShinRa Incorporated,” she supplied readily. “They’re at fault for the sorry state of the world. They took everything from us, Zack. We’re going to put a stop to them, once and for all.” She was taking a gamble with this and she knew it. His apparent amnesia could be a temporary thing and if he got his memory back and realized she was manipulating him, things could get very ugly indeed.

“My name’s Zack?” He frowned, tasting the word.

Scarlet realized that perhaps she should have made up a different name for him. Going by his true name might nudge his memory. It was too late to take it back now though, so she nodded at him. “Why don’t you come inside with me,” she offered, “and I’ll explain everything to you.”

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

Several days came and went. Cloud called each day with the news that so far, nobody had found anything. He asked Tifa if she’d gotten hold of Barret yet and she told him she hadn’t.

“I don’t know if his phone is just out of credit or if he doesn’t have it with him,” she said with a sigh.

“Can’t do anything about it now,” answered Cloud. “How’s Aerith doing?”

“She’s almost recovered,” answered Tifa. “She can move around on her own now without getting tired. The kids have been a lot of help, keeping her distracted. I’m going to take her shopping for clothes today.”

“Good,” he said. “Try to keep her busy.”

“I will,” Tifa agreed. “Cloud, be careful, okay? Don’t let your frustration make you reckless.”

He sighed. “It’s that obvious?”

“I just know you,” Tifa answered with a smile. “We’ll find him sooner or later, okay?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “I just wish it was sooner so everyone can relax. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Tifa. Say ‘hi’ to everyone for me.”

“I will,” she agreed. She hung up the phone and left the hallway to look for Aerith. After searching through the house for a while, she found the Cetra sitting on the bed in Cloud’s office. Her eyes were closed and her legs were crossed. It looked like she was meditating.

“Aerith?” Tifa called softly, not wanting to startle her.

Green eyes opened and looked up at the brunette as she approached. “Hi,” Aerith greeted. “I was just…searching.”

Tifa took a seat beside her on the bed and put an arm around her. “I got that impression. Do you think you can locate him that way?”

Aerith shrugged and picked at the quilt on the bed. “It doesn’t hurt to try.” She looked at her friend and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I miss him, Tifa.”

Tifa hugged her, rubbing her back helplessly. “I know,” she whispered. “If it were Cloud, I’d be going crazy with worry. You’ve got to keep being strong for him, okay?”

Aerith sniffed and nodded. “I’ll try.”

Tifa pulled back and wiped away the tear that escaped to trail down Aerith’s face. “Come on, let’s go buy you some clothes. Shopping always makes things better.”

Aerith rewarded her with a little smile and a nod of agreement.

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

After purchasing a new set of panties, bras, several outfits and some shoes for Aerith, the women returned to Cloud and Tifa’s house. Tifa helped her friend put her new clothes away before getting ready to open the bar for the day. Aerith helped her, though she wasn’t very good at mixing drinks. Tifa didn’t try to deter the Cetra because she knew how invaluable it was to keep her distracted from her worries about Zack. People began patronizing the tavern within an hour and Aerith took up waitress duties while Tifa bartended. It was all going well until a familiar, heavily built black man entered through the front door and approached the bar.

“Yo, Tifa!” Barret called, “Slide me a beer, girl! I just got back and I’m thirsty!”

Tifa turned with wide eyes and she glanced at Aerith as she moved to comply with his request. “Uh, listen Barret,” she said hastily as she opened a bottle of his favorite beer and carried it to him, “there’s something you’ve got to know.”

“Marlene’s not in trouble, is she?” His rugged features tensed at the thought.

“No, nothing like that,” Tifa said. She opened her mouth to explain about Aerith when the Cetra girl caught sight of Barret and made her way over to him.

“Hi Mr. Barret,” Aerith greeted politely.

He picked up his beer, glanced at her and muttered, “Hey, Aerith,” before taking a swallow. He froze, looked at her again and promptly spit out the mouthful of lager he’d just taken. “AERITH?!” His face grew as pale as his dark complexion would allow and his eyes bugged out.

Tifa sighed and leaned over the bar to grab his shirt when it looked like he was about to fall off his stool. “Don’t freak out,” she demanded in a low voice, glancing around as the other patrons looked their way curiously. “There’s a perfectly logical explanation for this and we’ve been trying to call you to tell you about it so you wouldn’t do…well…this.”

“There’s a dead girl standing next to me and you tell me not to freak out?” sputtered the coal miner.

Aerith giggled. “Mr. Barret, I’m not dead. See?” She reached out to touch him and this time, Tifa couldn’t prevent the crash as he lost his balance and fell off the stool. Aerith winced and dropped to his side. “Are you okay?” When he only stared at her, she huffed with annoyance. “Now you’re just being silly. Look, I’m real.” She put an arm around him to help him up and he stared as he got to his feet. “See?”

“How’d this happen?” Barret asked, swallowing to work some moisture into his mouth.

“Why don’t you come into the house with me,” Aerith said tactfully, “and I’ll explain it. I don’t think this is the right place to talk about it.”

Barret allowed the girl to guide him towards the stairs in the back, while Tifa looked on with concern. “Get him a glass of water,” she suggested to Aerith. “If he passes out we’ll never budge him on our own.”

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

“So that’s it, huh?” Barret thought over everything Aerith had told him. He sat on the couch in the living room and she sat beside him, her eyes melancholy as she finished her story. “How’d you get separated from Zack?” He’d never met the man himself but he’d heard a lot about him from Cloud and Tifa.

“Something hit him, just before we left,” Aerith sighed. “I didn’t see what it was but it was strong enough to make us lose our grip on each other. Cloud and the others are out looking for him and I keep checking the radio and television for any news.”

Barret shook his head. “Damn, what a time for me to let my phone credit run out. Guess I’ll get going on the search too, as soon as I get to see my little girl.”

“She should be coming home from school with Denzel soon,” Aerith said. “Mr. Barret, thank you.”

He shrugged uncomfortably, his face going ruddy with embarrassment. “Just call me Barret, girl. And you don’t have to thank me for doing the right thing.”

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

After another week of futile searching, Cloud finally got a lead. He went to Mideel, figuring that since he’d fallen into the Lifestream there once before, it was possible that Zack might have exited there. He drove into town and started asking around about any information concerning peculiar Lifestream activity. He finally got results when he asked one of the clinic nurses and she informed him that there had been a Lifestream upheaval over a week ago.

“Can you tell me where?” Cloud asked her. “And have you had any new patients brought in since then?”

“It happened a couple of miles outside of town,” she answered, “near some rental cabins. There was some kind of military encampment out there, but they’ve moved since then. The only patients we’ve gotten since it happened were an elderly woman with a broken hip and a child with the flu.”

Cloud frowned as he thought of what she said. “A military encampment?” He repeated. “Were they WRO’s?”

“I don’t know, Sir,” answered the nurse. “We tend to stay out of military affairs. It can only lead to trouble to get involved.”

“Do you know if anyone got a good look at them?” Cloud persisted.

“You could try to ask the fisherman that lives out near the cabins,” she suggested. “He might have gotten a better look at them and he might have seen the Lifestream event, too. I don’t know what you’re searching for, but he’s your best bet at finding answers.”

Cloud thanked her and returned to his bike. He got out his cell phone and called Tifa first. “Hey, I might have found something,” he said when she answered the phone. “Don’t say anything to Aerith yet but I’m about to go check it out. If I find anything useful I’ll let you know.”

“What if it turns out to be nothing?” Tifa queried.

“Then all I can do is keep searching,” Cloud sighed. “Keep your fingers crossed. Love you.” Ordinarily he wasn’t one for verbal endearments, but being away from her and thinking of how Zack and Aerith had been torn apart once again, Cloud appreciated what he had with Tifa more than ever.

“Love you too,” she answered. “Be careful.”

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

Cloud found the evidence of the mystery militia when he arrived in the area described by the nurse. He stopped and dismounted Fenrir, walking over to the remains of one of the campfires and squatting over it to sift through the ashes with a gloved hand. They were cold and he estimated that this fire was two or three days old. He examined the holes in the ground and their placement, guessing tent spikes made them. His eyes went to the fissure in the ground some thirty feet away. He could see the green sparkle of Lifestream within it and he crossed the distance and stopped beside it, staring into the water with contemplative blue eyes.

“Were you here, Zack?” Cloud searched the ground for clues. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he noticed faint tracks in the grass. Unless his vision was mistaken, one set of the tracks appeared to have been made by a bare foot. He highly doubted any military personnel would have been walking around shoeless. It was a long shot, but he considered the possibility that Zack had emerged here and the unknown military force found him.

Cloud swallowed and searched for signs of blood or a struggle. Finding nothing, he decided to look for the fisherman that the nurse mentioned. Logic dictated that he must live by the river, so Cloud got back on his bike and followed it until he spotted a cabin that looked as though it was occupied. He got off of Fenrir and walked up to the porch, knocking sharply with his fist.

A middle-aged man answered the door and looked at him curiously. “Can I help you, lad?”

“I hope so,” answered Cloud. “Do you have a few moments to talk?”

The man stepped aside and gestured warily for Cloud to come in. The blonde took the invitation and did his best to appear non-threatening as he entered the cabin. He followed the fisherman to the living room and took a seat on one of the armchairs when he was prompted to.

“Can I get you something to drink?” offered the older man.

“No, thank you,” answered Cloud. “I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the military force that was camped nearby a few days ago and the Lifestream activity in the area.”

The fisherman regarded him suspiciously. “What do you have to do with all this?”

“I think a friend of mine might have surfaced in the Lifestream near there,” explained Cloud haltingly. “Um, he fell in close to Mideel and we’ve been looking for him ever since. I’d like to find out who the army was because there’s a chance they might have found him and if they did, I need to find out where they went.”

The older man accepted the explanation. “Well, they weren’t wearing ShinRa or WRO uniforms,” he said thoughtfully. “They weren’t Wutaian soldiers, either. Most of them wore camouflage. If I had to guess, I’d peg them as guerillas.”

“Guerillas?” repeated Cloud. “How many were there?”

“Quite a few,” admitted the fisherman. “Looked like their leader was a woman, if you can believe that.”

“What did she look like?” persisted Cloud.

“Blonde hair, nice body,” answered the other man. “She had a patch on her right eye, though. Shame, that. She had a pretty face otherwise.”

Cloud furrowed his brow. He couldn’t think of anyone he knew that fit that description. “What about the Lifestream? Did you see the event yourself?”

“I didn’t see the Lifestream do anything but one day, I was passing by with my latest catch and I noticed the army folks standing around some young fellow lying on the ground. Looked like he was naked and I thought of trying to come help him, but they covered him up and took him inside. I reckon he was one of their own soldiers or something.”

Cloud’s pulse raced. “Did the guy you saw have spiky black hair and blue-ish eyes?”

“He had black hair,” agreed the fisherman, “but it wasn’t spiky. It was soaked. I didn’t get close enough to see what color his eyes were.”

“Do you have any idea where the army could be heading?” The man that the fisherman described had to be Zack. It matched up too much for it to be just a coincidence.

“I wish I could answer that for you lad,” sighed the man regretfully, “but I really didn’t think to pay attention or ask where they were heading. They didn’t look like the kind of folk that would take kindly to questions, if you know what I mean. I was just happy to see them go.”

Cloud sighed. Well, at least he knew Zack was safe, for now. It shouldn’t be too hard to locate a big army. He thanked the man for all of the information he’d provided and he took his leave. The first person he called was Cid, who could cover more ground than anyone with his airship.

“Hey, it’s me,” Cloud said when the pilot answered the cell. “I think I just missed Zack by a few days and I need you to search around Mideel and the surrounding areas. There was some kind of military force camped out here a few days ago and I’m pretty sure they’ve got Zack.”

“What kind of military force?” asked Cid. “If they were WRO or ShinRa MP’s you could just give Reeve a holler and ask him about it.”

“They weren’t either of those,” Cloud answered. “The witness I spoke to said he thought they were an independent force.”

“Well that’s mighty strange,” Cid pondered. “I don’t like the sound of it. Mystery armies usually mean heaps of trouble, kid.”

“I know,” agreed Cloud, thinking of the damage that the Deepground uprising had caused. “That’s why I want to find these people as soon as possible. I want to find out if they’ve got Zack and what their intentions are.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to find an army on the move from the air,” Cid muttered. “I’ll see what I can do, Cloud. Maybe you outta go home and rest up for a while. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

The temptation to do as he suggested was strong, but Cloud didn’t know how he’d face Aerith and tell her he hadn’t found Zack yet. “Maybe I’ll just book a room in Mideel and wait,” he said into the phone.

“Don’t see what good that would do,” argued Cid. “I’m going to have to come pick you up if I find anything anyhow and the fewer placed I’ve gotta stop to gather everyone, the better. Go be with your wife, kid. You gotta be crazy to stay away from a pretty little thing like Tifa for longer than you’ve got to.”

Cloud smirked. “Since you put it that way, I guess I’ll take your advice.” He sighed and shook his head. “I just have to figure out what I’m going to say to Aerith.”

“Tell her it’s being checked out and if her boy’s with this army, we’ll get him one way or another,” Cid answered bluntly. “Can’t do more than that ‘till we find ‘em, anyhow.”

“Right,” agreed Cloud. “Thanks Cid. I’ll talk to you later.”

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

-To be continued