Merging Journeys

Well, something actually happens in this chapter! Please don't sue me. I have no money.

Started: March 22, 1998

Finished: April 8, 1998

Cloud was the first to step on to the sixty-seventh floor, and he waved at his two comrades to follow. "I'll go up to the sixty-eighth floor alone, guys," he said as Barret and Cid came to his side. His Mako eyes went to Cid. "You still have the parachutes, Cid?" he queried.

Cid nodded, bringing three bulging packs from his jacket pockets. "Yup," he replied. "Why? You want us to jump as soon as you search the next floor or something?"

"If things get sticky, yeah." Cloud held his hand out in front of Cid. "Give me and Barret our packs and tell us how to get it working."

With a sigh, Cid handed the two other men their packs and showed them how to put them on their backs. "They're kinda like tiny backpacks," he explained. "But there's a ripcord on the left side of the packs. You pull that up. If the chute doesn't come out, there's an emergency pack there and an emergency ripcord. You pull that one down."

Barret frowned and held the pack in his left hand, scrutinizing it. "'Dat seems a little farfetched to me, Cid," he remarked. "How the hell can ya put two parachutes in 'dis tiny thing?? It doesn't look like it could even hold one of Marlene's tiny teddy bears!"

Cid threw him an annoyed look. "Well . . . it just can! Goddammit, don't ask me those kinda things about my inventions! They just work, 'kay?"

Barret opened his mouth to retort, but Cloud interrupted. "Shut up, you guys!" he hissed. "Now, do you think you can behave while I check out the upper floor?" He waited patiently for the two men to nod before he said, "Good. Now, I'll see you two in a bit."

When Cloud was well out of sight, Cid suddenly remembered something. He blinked and looked over at Barret. "Hey, didn't you guys mention that Hojo's lab was on one of the upper floors?"

Barret blinked as well, and then cursed roundly, ending his sentence with, "Damn, I hope Cloud remembers that."

Cloud was alert as the elevator doors opened, and he carefully looked about first before stepping out on to the floor. He shuddered as he looked around, recognizing Hojo's laboratory instantly. No one seemed to be around, so he made his way to the center of the lab. As he reached his destination, however, he became aware that there was another person in the room. Cloud turned quickly in a ninety degree turn, his eyes falling upon a sleeping form within a specimen container. As Cloud thought back, he remembered that this had been the exact same container that had held Aeris and Red XIII less than three months ago. He neared the cylinder containment chamber, his glowing eyes never leaving the person that sat in it, his legs curled up to his chest and his eyes shut tightly.

The young man within the cylinder had spiked blond hair and was very slender, with firm muscles on his pale arms and legs. He wore a black SOLDIER uniform, much to Cloud's surprise. Only First Class SOLDIERs wore black uniforms. Was this guy a victim of some scientist's cruel experiments, as he and Vincent were to Hojo? Cloud's suspicion was quickly confirmed when the young man's eyes flashed open, as if he had suddenly felt Cloud's presence so close to him. For a long moment, Cloud could only stare.

For the young man's eyes were Mako blue.

Nanaki stared up at the stars, his head cocked upwards as he sat on the stone ledge. Down below, he could see Cosmo Canyon, the gentle glowing of the Cosmo Candle still visible from so high above it. The stars glimmered gaily that night, and Nanaki sighed. He wished that Bugenhagen was here to enjoy the night with him; he had always liked to gaze at the stars with him when he was bored of his contraptions. Nanaki heard himself sniffle, and he brought his head down to his paws. He missed Bugenhagen so much. He missed everything about him; his presence, his remarks, his confidence . . . even his "Ho ho hooo" laugh.

"Grandpa. . .," he found himself whispering. Then, he lifted his head up and released a sorrowful howl that echoed throughout the night.

Vincent Valentine looked up abruptly when he heard the distant wail from his right. He stood near the steep drop at the edge of the Old Forest, his nocturnal nature leaving him unable to sleep. After a few more moments of the wailing, he sighed. "Red. . .," he murmured, looking away.

He had heard that cry of sadness before -- many times before. Nanaki had cried like that when Aeris had died, and then again when Bugenhagen had died. Over the last few weeks, when he had stationed himself near Cosmo Canyon, he had heard his comrade cry for his grandpa. Many times in the past, the doleful howls had triggered thoughts of Lucrecia, and he would sit and remember what he could about his lost love.

Tonight would be one of those times.

Cloud carefully placed one hand on the glass of the container, staring back at the glowing eyes that marked those injected with Mako. He whispered softly, "You look familiar. . . It's as if I've met you before, but I've never seen you before. . ."

The young man within the container blinked. Was this man actually talking to him as a person? He climbed to his feet, shuffling to the side where Cloud stood. He looked at him, curiously gazing at his glowing blue eyes. They dazzled with life energy, and he remembered seeing that same glow somewhere else. . . He could not recall. "Who are you. . .?" he whispered, his own soft voice sounding strange in his ears.

To Cloud, the voice was just as unfamiliar. He looked deeper into the eyes, finding a hint of fear delving into the young man's calm eyes. "I'm Cloud Strife," he replied, rolling his shoulders. "Are you all right?"

"Strife. .?" queried the man. He cocked his head and lifted a gloved hand up at Cloud, then blinked, as if in surprise of his action, and lowered it. "I. . . No, I'm not all right."

Cloud noted that the man's voice was very quiet, as if he feared his own voice. "How long have you been in there?"

"I . . . I don't know," admitted the man. He hung his head, the glare of the intense Mako eyes dropping along with his face. "I--"

There was a sudden crash from the left of the container, and both men looked over in surprise. Cloud cursed when he saw little red-black creatures that resembled deformed birds making their way towards them, and he backed away slowly from the container. He glanced over at the caged man, who was looking back at him in desperation as the creatures started smashing at the glass. After a few moments of hesitation, Cloud hurried back, unsheathing his Ultima Weapon as he approached. With one downward slice, the young ex-mercenary slew two of the creatures.

Immediately, one of the remaining creatures turned on him, while the others continued to peck at the glass of the container. Cloud took a defensive position as the small creature squawked angrily at him and . . . started growing. The slayer of Sephiroth paled considerably when he found himself no longer face to face with a tiny bird-like creature, but a huge bird-like creature with glowing green eyes that burned into him with no little hate. For the first time in a long time, Cloud fought back the urge to scream in pure terror as the monstrous thing let out a very unbird-like growl.

Swallowing hard, Cloud jammed one hand into the pouch he had brought with him into the building, pulling out a small, glowing Materia orb. He shoved it into his Escort Guard along with his mastered Recover Materia, swinging his sword back to its sheathe on his back before pulling his arms back in a conjuration motion. "Hellfire!" he shouted, watching the red Materia orb flare to life on his bangle.

The other young man stopped and stared as the ground shook and released the summoned monster, Ifrit. Ifrit floated above them all, taking in the scene before him before exhaling flames and charging at the monster, sending an immense wave of fire towards the monster. Both men covered their ears at the deafening screech of the bird creature as it was wounded, and Cloud watched Ifrit disappear once again from sight. Cloud cursed when he realized that the creature was still alive, barely damaged, and was as angry as ever.

"Watch out!" the caged man shouted suddenly, as if able to predict the enemy's next move.

Cloud cast him a glance and then rolled to the right, just narrowly missing the bird monster's beak as pecked down at him. He brandished Ultima Weapon again, his eyes locking on the man in the container. With one swift hit, Cloud shattered the glass, waving the young man out of his prison. The pair of glowing blue Mako eyes showed surprise and then relief, and the man leapt out to join him. No sooner did he reach Cloud's side, the specimen knocked his rescuer down, saving him from the large foot of the monster.

A growl of frustration rose out of the bird creature's throat and it lunged at the two again, only to meet Cloud's sword head on. Both men jumped back when they saw the smaller creatures coming towards them, only to run right past them, towards the elevator. They started to peck away at the door, so the two didn't pay them any heed; they had *bigger* problems. Cloud grabbed the blond haired specimen and dashed to his left, going back to his previous stance of defense. His eyes darted back to the man he had saved, who looked confused and uncertain of what to do.

"Do you know how to use Materia?" he hissed.

"Huh? What??" The other blinked in surprise and confusion.

Cloud shook his head and reached into his pouch, taking out another Materia, this one glowing a brilliant green that almost rivaled the color that had once been Sephiroth's eyes. Along with this, he also pulled out another bangle, this one a dark blue in the shape of a dragon's head. He shoved both items into the man's hands, sternly explaining what to do with the Dragon Armlet and Bolt Materia before returning his attention to the monster, who was scrutinizing them with eyes that wanted to draw blood. A moment later, the bird monster let out a high-pitched screech that made the floor vibrate. The two men could only try futility to block the sound, not noticing that the smaller monsters had broken through the elevator door and were now pecking at the cables.

Barret's head snapped up at the screech from above. "$#!^ !!!!!!!" he growled, whirling around to face Cid. "Spike's in trouble!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Cid snapped back, rushing towards the elevator. Barret followed him, stopping when they reached their destination. Cid slammed mercilessly on the elevator button, over and over again. When nothing happened, the man's face went red. "%&!^@$#!#$(#$ !!!!" He kicked at the door. "Stupid $#!^^& elevator!! You broken piece of. . .!!"

Barret shoved Cid away and rammed his gun-arm into the door, breaking the elevator doors in. He watched the doors drop down the shaft and then looked up and down. "Shit!" he cursed. "Yo, Cid, take a look!" He pointed up the shaft with his good arm.

Cid moved to his side and gazed upward as well, cursing roundly when he saw weird birds pecking at the elevator cables. The cables looked ready to snap at any moment. "What the hell are those!?" he gasped, tightening his grip on his Venus Gospel.

"Who cares??" Barret instantly replied, cocking his gun-arm up at the creatures. "They're trying to keep us from getting to Cloud!" With that, he started firing at the monsters. They heard shrieking from above in return, and Barret stopped shooting when the birds started coming down at them. One of them landed on Barret's gun-arm and started squawking at him murderously. Instinctively, Barret shook it off, sending it reeling down into the darkness below along with all of the others.

"Dammit, Barret, watch out!" Cid shouted, shoving Barret to the side as the cable suddenly snapped, whipping at the opening of the shaft as it fell. Frowning, the pilot went to inspect the shaft once more. He shook his head at Barret, who had regained his composure and was now standing behind him. "No good. We can't get up Cloud through the elevator."

"There's no other way up, foo'!" Barret hissed, crossing his arms over his chest. "How we gonna be gettin' up??"

"Let me think about that," Cid responded, looking around the area. ". . . This might take a while."

Cloud inhaled sharply as he saw the creature's large foot coming his way, and he dodged it with a deft jump backwards. He quickly glanced at the other man, who was ducking behind the railing of the stairs while he was arming himself. Trying to buy time, Cloud charged at the monster, swinging at it with all his might. He was answered by a satisfying scream from his enemy as his sword hit home and he sneered as he backed off.

"Are you ready?" he called, addressing the man he had saved.

"I think so," came the reply. Cloud turned slightly to see the blond haired specimen rise from his hiding spot, the blue gauntlet on his right wrist. The Bolt Materia flashed on the Dragon Armlet, and the young man mimicked Cloud's conjuration motions as well as he could. "Bolt 3!"

Immediately following the young man's words were flashes of bright lightning that appeared out of nowhere, striking at the monster mercilessly from above. Cloud watched as the monster snapped his attention to the other man, who was frozen in shock at his success of casting the spell.

"Hey, get the hell away from there!!" Cloud shouted.

The man blinked, gasping as he saw the monster's eyes burn bright red. He dashed for cover, sliding into the small observation station to the far side of the lab. Just as he reached the station, the monster shot fiery lasers from its eyes, scorching the ground worse than what Ifrit could ever do. Cloud cursed yet again, wishing he had brought his Knights of the Round Materia with him as the lasers made the tiles start to burn. 'Cid. . . Barret. . . Where are you two??'

Suddenly, the door to the upper floor opened, admitting a hauntingly familiar man into the room. Both Cloud's and the specimen's jaws dropped at the sight of the man, whose black hair shone with cool radiance. "Hojo!!" they both shouted in unison.

"So . . . the specimen speaks. . .," Hojo whispered to himself, quickly backing out of the lab as the fire grew. He shut the door and locked it, starting back for the sixty-ninth floor at a steady pace. "This will greatly please the president. . ." A wicked smile started to grow on his face.

"Shiiiiiit!!!!" Cid cursed, seeing smoke start to roll down from the next floor up. "There's something big up there!"

Barret punched the ground angrily. "Damn!!! How the hell are we gonna get up?!?!" The black man looked up the shaft, seeing what was left of the elevator cables dangling above. "*Cloud*!!!!!!!" Sadly for Barret, Cloud would not have heard his call over the sounds of shattering glass and twisting metal.

Cid's eyes went over the objects in the room, and then his eyes focused on the empty container that Barret had explained had been used to keep Nanaki captive. He rushed to the container, Barret right behind him. Cid plunged the Venus Gospel through the glass, backing away quickly as the glass shattered at impact. Both men stepped over the glass to get into the container, and Barret watched intently as Cid put down his spear to work at the circuitry inside the bottom of the moveable bottom.

Both young blonds met near the container, cuts and bruises all over their bodies. Cloud let out a rugged breath, but despite his own fatigue and the heat of the flames surrounding them, the young man was able to grin. Inside, however, Cloud was filled with conflicting emotions that wanted to break free. Part of it was plainly exhausted, another confused about Hojo's presence, and another enraged by the monster. He suppressed his personal emotions and got back to the task at hand. "I'll get him with my . . . Omnislash," he announced, fingering his Ultima Weapon with twitching fingers.

Before the other man could open his mouth to ask what an Omnislash was, Cloud strode away, standing before the monstrous creature with a grin on his face. Everything else seemed to stop as Cloud brought his hands in front of him, a dark red aura encasing him. "Omni--" he started, only to be cut off by the monster.

The monster specimen kicked Cloud, sending him flying across the lab and into a pile of twisted stair railing. His Ultima Weapon was sent spinning across the floor along with his parachute, which went straight into the fire. Cloud would have cursed if he had been conscious. The other young man paled, his eyes darting from the monster to Cloud, and then back to the monster. He gripped the Materia in his hands until he thought he had broken the magical ball, but to no avail; it was unharmed by his actions. Fire roared around the young man as he carefully moved through the lab, sweat beading on his pale forehead.

The sudden movement that the bird monster made as it turned to him made him jump, and he dropped the Materia he held. A ringing sound echoed throughout the room as it the ground, drawing the creature's attention long enough for the man to dash for the Ultima Weapon. Again he slid across the floor, dodging the eye lasers of his enemy and snatching up the glowing sword. He gripped the sword uncertainly, as he didn't know how to handle a sword. Silently, he prayed that one of his buried memories involved him using a sword as he jumped out of the monster's way.

Heaving the sword up with all his might, the blond haired specimen slashed at the creature's leg, his answer being the startled cry of the monster. He gritted his teeth, his Mako eyes flashing violently as he brought up the Ultima Weapon again, thrusting it into the leg. A hiss escaped the man's lips as the monster glared down at him, its red eyes flashing dangerously. "Just die!!" he growled. "Damn you!!"

He pulled the purple and white sword out, snarling as he heard the loud sucking sound as the sword came out of it where it had been so quickly planted. No sooner did he get the sword out, the nameless young man dashed away, cursing as he realized he could no longer see Cloud through the flames of the inferno. He twirled around, looking around desperately to find his savior. As he looked towards the ceiling, he caught sight of something glowing, and his eyes followed the glow.

Within the monster's beak was a white colored ball of energy that was quickly growing, and the man's eyes sank into the back of his head when he saw the creature cock its mighty head down at him. He dropped the Ultima Weapon in shock, taking three slow steps backwards, eyes locked upwards. The next moments seemed to slow down to the point of stillness, but they did not. He made no effort to save himself, but instead looked on, eyes unblinking, as the fireball came out of the monster's mouth and straight at him. But just before the ball of energy had met its mark, one sudden memory flashed through the young man's mind, and he thought of only one thought as he was taken under.

'I have seen this before. . .'

Barret looked up, startled, when he heard an explosion. "Damn, Cid," he growled at the younger man, "we've gotta get up there, *now*!!"

"Just shut your trap, @$$#&!%," snapped back Cid, twisting another wire to connect with another. "I'm workin' as fast as I can!" As he touched two more wires together, he was answered sparks of electricity and the sounds of the machine coming to life. "Yes! It's working!"

Cid worked at more of the wires and circuits within the bottom of the cylinder, jumping as the floor suddenly started upward. Barret stumbled, but managed to stay on the pad as it ascended to the ceiling. He fired at the ceiling, creating a hole in it as they continued on. The elevator pad stopped on the sixty-eighth floor, and Cid and Barret's jaws dropped. The whole lab, and floor for that matter, was devastated, fires rising and falling all around them.

"Holy shit!!!!" Cid screeched, pointing up at a pair of glowing eyes high above them. "What the hell is that!?!?"

"Who cares???" Barret replied, jumping off the pad. "We've gotta find-- Cloud!" The black man's eyes found the limp body of Cloud Strife crumpled on the floor, burned and bruised. He quickly made his way to Cloud, lifting the lifeless form off the ground and putting him over his right shoulder. He turned to Cid. "Let's get going!"

"What about that thing???" Cid asked, still pointing at the monstrous being. It didn't seem to notice them, and the pilot's eyes widened when the feathered body of the bird monster began to glow crimson. "Shiiiiiiiit!!!!!"

"Run!!" Barret shouted, hurrying back to the elevator pad. Cid knelt down again on the pad, messing with the wires. The elevator suddenly went dead with one final burst of sparks and electricity, and they all dropped to the next floor down. They landed with a reasonably loud thud, smoke rising from the now-broken machine. "Arghh. . . Damn machine. . .," muttered Barret, gripping Cloud's body as he got up.

Cid got to his feet and rushed out of the cylinder, waving Barret to follow him. "We've gotta get to the elevator!" he shouted, his voice no longer muffled by a cigarette.

"What?! I thought we were gonna jump!" Barret exclaimed, running as fast as his burly body would allow him. Having Cloud slung over one shoulder didn't help much either, as they rounded a corner.

"We are -- from the elevator!" was Cid's reply.

Veraldei cast a glance at Hojo as he heard a crash down below. "So you are positive that your laboratory will hold back the explosion?" he queried, a thin frown marring his young face.

"Of course, Veraldei," replied Hojo. "My lab was coated with special steel at the late President Shinra's orders. The steel will keep any type of fire from spreading to the other floors, either below it or above it."

"You better hope that nothing goes wrong, Hojo," Veraldei said darkly, crossing his arms on his chest. He looked at Hojo threateningly. "Because if something happens, you know what will happen. . ." He trailed off, allowing his eyes to finish the sentence.

Hojo nodded. "Don't worry, Mr. Vice President."

Barret watched Cid pry the elevator doors open with his spear, still holding Cloud's limp form. His eyes darted back to the young man's body every few moment, as if he was half-expecting Cloud to suddenly jump up, healthy and well. Concern flashed in the man's eyes; he had never thought that he would have to see the young man at the brink of death again. He had secretly been hoping that the Mako poisoning incident would be the last of Cloud's problems.

"Let's go!" Cid's words brought Barret back to reality and he nodded.

Cid entered the elevator first, shattering the glass of the elevator as he stepped on to the platform. He swallowed hard as he looked down, seeing millions of broken glass shards fall wordlessly down towards the concrete. The pilot cast a glance at his comrade, his eyes falling on Cloud. 'Hang on, kid, we'll get you out of here alive,' he quietly vowed. With one last nod, Cid brought down his goggles and threw himself out of the elevator. He gritted his teeth as he felt the cold air tear at his face, and he slowly brought one hand up to find his ripcord. Once that had been accomplished, Cid pulled it and suddenly found himself being pulled upward by the parachute. Cid let out a sigh, looking up in time to see Barret's parachute open as well. Then, as Cid looked past Barret, he saw a bright red light seeping through the walls of the sixty-eighth floor.

"Oh, sh--" Cid's curse was cut off abruptly by the explosion that both rocked the Shinra Building and propelled himself and Barret downward, into the darkness. . .

Vincent's head snapped up, his eyes immediately falling on the bright light in the far distance. His jaw dropped in shock within the collar of his cloak as he saw the night sky flare bright scarlet color. He stood up in alarm, his crimson cloak billowing in the wind as he looked on. After the light had died out and the world was plummeted into a blanket of darkness again, Vincent finally managed to shake his head.

"That was the Shinra Building. . .," he murmured.

Tseng stepped out of Brenned's house and stared at the miles of ocean that was spread before him. He didn't turn to acknowledge Brenned as he followed him out, looking up at the endless azure sky above them. The sun shone brilliantly the morning, as there were no clouds to obscure the scene. Tseng felt a hand on his left shoulder, and that was when he turned to look at the man who had saved his life.

"You sure you're ready?" Brenned asked for the tenth time that morning, concern lingering in his eyes. Tseng had to smile at that; the only other people that he knew of that had ever shown concern for him were, Aeris, and Elena.

"Positive," Tseng said, nodding slightly at the man.

Brenned sighed. "All right," he said with a slight smile. "I won't try to change your mind." There was an awkward silence between the two before Brenned asked, "Where will you go?"

Tseng was about to reply that he was going to Midgar, but he stopped. He wanted to know what had happened to Aeris. "Do you know where the Sleeping Forest would be?" he queried.

"Sleeping Forest?" Brenned blinked. "Well . . . um, I'd have to say that it's up north, somewhere. Probably near Bone Village."

"Bone Village?" Tseng closed his eyes to think, trying to place the town. Finally, a few moments later, he nodded. "I know where it is now." The next words came rather awkwardly for him. "Thank you, Brenned . . . for everything."

Brenned managed a smile. "Oh, there's no need to thank me," he said modestly. "I just helped a fellow get back on his feet; it's nothing absolutely fantastic." There was an uncomfortable silence between them for what seemed like an eternity following those words, and Brenned finally ended the silence by clearing his throat. "How are you going to get there?"

"I--" Tseng's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about that at all. "I have no idea."

"I thought so," Brenned said with a chuckle. "Why don't you take Clucky?"

Tseng answered with a startled look. "Say what?" he gasped. "Take Clucky?"

"That's what I said. He can take you anywhere you want."

"But-- But--" Tseng stuttered.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Truth be known, Tseng, I have to get rid of him; no space around here for a chocobo. I think you can give him a good home."

Tseng finally managed to regain his composure. "Thank you for putting so much trust in me. I-- I can't really give anything in return. . ."

"Well, I have a solution for that," Brenned said. "Hold on." With that, the man rushed back into the house. Tseng frowned in confusion when he heard swords clattering to the ground and metal hitting metal. A few minutes passed before Brenned came back out, holding Clucky by his bridle in one hand and a book in the other hand. He handed him the bridle and held the book in front of him. "This here's a limit break manual. You do know what that is, right?"

"Yes, I do," replied Tseng. "SOLDIER officers were required to memorize at least one book. The higher officers memorized at least seven manuals."

Brenned grunted. "'Never did like those SOLDIER guys; too scary and inhuman, that's what I say." He shook his head, his topknot swaying back and forth. "Anyway, you can take it off my hands; that's payment enough. 'Had two copies of the thing, but I sold one to Cloud's party; a pretty young brunette seemed quite interested in it."

Tseng's eyes widened. "Did you catch her name?" he asked anxiously, taking the book and flipping through it.

"Well, now that you mention it, I don't recall. . .," chuckled the man. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before returning his gaze to Tseng. "I think it was something like Aerith or Eris."

"Aeris," Tseng murmured quietly. He scanned the material within the manual before turning back to the front to scrutinize the front cover. "Great Gospel?"

Brenned shrugged. "She seemed really happy when I gave it to her. I don't see what's so great about it, though; to my knowledge, humans can't read all the material."

'She was probably so happy about it because she isn't human. . .,' Tseng found himself thinking.

Reno set his duffel bag down and leaned against the railing of the ship. He took a deep breath of the sea air, closing his eyes to allow himself to enjoy it. It felt good to be able to inhale fresh air; he had never gotten used to Midgar's air. He had donned his Turk uniform, although he had chosen to leave it rather untidy; the shirt was still untucked and the jacket still unbuttoned. At his waist was his trusty nightstick -- the weapon he had carried since he had become a Turk. Not only was the stick as lethal as any gun that Rude owned, it also offered his victims a slower death than what a gun could ever offer.

The Turk brought his gloved hands up and rubbed his temples wearily. He couldn't understand his own tangled emotions over his job. It wasn't like he didn't like his job; on the contrary, he had been quite proud to have been chosen to be a Turk. He had just hated Heidegger almost to the point where he would have gone to any extremes to see the man dead. When he had been ordered to take out Sector 7, he couldn't help but feel a little contrite as he pushed the button that activated the destruction sequence. Tseng had told him shortly after he had returned to Midgar from the Mythral Mines that it was normal to feel a little remorse after killing so many, but he warned him that he would have to hide his emotions as much as possible.

Reno's green eyes fluttered open at the thought of Tseng. Tseng had been the best leader he had known of; he was cool, collective, and quite understanding. The only thing he had truly lacked was compassion, in Reno's opinion, but he had seen a little bit of compassion when Elena had joined their ranks. As Reno thought back, he could remember one time where Tseng had confided with him that Elena was really starting to rub off on him. That had also been when Tseng had told him that he was going to ask Elena out. The red haired man had to smile as he recalled his own reaction. Shock must have been written all over his face, since Tseng had smiled very faintly when he looked at him. That had been shortly before his leader had headed to the Temple of the Ancients. . . Shortly before. . .

It was just then that a hand came down on his left shoulder and Reno spun around, startled. His eyes fell upon Elena, who looked a little surprised by Reno's reaction. "I'm sorry," she whispered her apology. "I didn't mean to startle you, Reno."

Reno shook his head and turned back to the railing, setting his hands down on the railing again. "Don't worry about it, Elena," he sighed.

"What's wrong?" Elena queried. "What's on your mind?"

"Tseng," Reno muttered, bowing his head down until he could see how easily the ship went through the water.

"Tseng. . .?" Elena whispered. Her heart ached at the name of her former leader.

Reno brought his head back up when he heard Elena crying behind him. He turned back to her, seeing the young Turk trying, in vain, to stop her tears. "I'm sorry, Elena," he sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I shouldn't have brought him up. . ."

Elena nodded, wiping her tears away. "It's okay, Reno, really. . .," she whimpered. "I . . I just miss him so much. . ."

What came next startled Reno tremendously. Elena leaned into him and cried into his shoulder, while Reno remained stiffened and silent. A moment passed before he relaxed, allowing Elena to continue to cry as he stared off into the ocean. Reno blinked when he saw a Gold Chocobo sprint across the water, keeping a safe distance away from the ship. Reno inhaled sharply when he saw the rider on the chocobo.

It was Tseng.

Reno rubbed his eyes and blinked. He stared off at the chocobo as it disappeared behind the ship, and he shook his head. His eyes must have been playing tricks on him; Tseng was dead. Once someone was dead, he or she was dead. Deep inside, though, Reno had to wonder: 'Is it possible that he's still alive. . .?'

On to Chapter 4.

Back to Merging Journeys.