Chapter Text
Time travel. Cloud had to admit after fourteen hours of being unable to wake up from what he initially thought was a very vivid dream, this must be time travel.
Red flames crackled in a campfire before his outstretched legs, burnt strips of wood fluttering beside the smoke rising into the starry night sky. The heat warmed Cloud, bringing color to his cheeks and chasing away the chill from the smooth stone pressing against his back. However, Cloud barely noticed it as he eyed the man seated on the log across from him.
Raven hair spiked back with a few strands hanging over his face and mako blue eyes gleaming golden in the firelight. Zack. Zack Fair—his friend was alive, well, and struggling to keep his eyes open while his head drooped onto his propped-up arm.
Cloud's throat burned with a thousand questions. What year was it? How did he time travel? Were the others also in the past? Or was everyone still in the present? Why didn't he remember him and Zack being here? Why didn't he remember Zack at all until he’d visited the rebuilt Nibelheim? And most importantly, why couldn't he move!?
Cloud scowled inside, yet his face stayed lax and his gaze blank. Frustration blazed within him and he once again tried flexing his fingers, twitching his toes, raising an arm—screaming his lungs out.
Nothing moved and only the faintest sigh escaped him. Why? Why couldn't he move? What had put him in this state? And why didn't Zack call for help? He'd heard the First's PHS vibrate a few times, but Zack just glanced at his phone, face contorting before he shook his head and looked away.
Snoring interrupted the crackle of the campfire. Cloud refocused on Zack. The First's eyes were closed, head pillowed on his open palm. Cloud frowned. Zack had seemed tired all day yet he dragged Cloud through the woods for hours with only a couple of water breaks in between. It was like Zack was eager to get somewhere…
Or running from something.
A twig snapped behind him. Cloud's eyes widened as arms slipped around his middle. He quickly tried shoving the person off. Yet his limbs stayed limp and his chin bounced on his chest while he was hoisted from behind. Who?
Dark gray uniform shifted in his peripheral. Cloud's heartbeat quickened as a Shinra trooper stepped into view and shadowed his sight. Shinra…they were running from Shinra? Why would two SOLDIERs be running from the company they worked for?
Cloud didn't know but it didn't matter when the trooper lifted his legs, and in a blink, he was being carried down a winding dirt path between the thicket of leaves and branches. Cloud paled while the warmth of the fire vanished and cool shade fell over him. He was being kidnapped by Shinra and he couldn't move. Not good.
The blond tried kicking, writhing, biting—anything.
Nothing. Yet Cloud couldn't give up. If he could just shout and wake up Zack, he'd be safe. He didn't know how exactly he knew that, but Zack was a good friend from what he remembered and Shinra couldn't be trusted in any time. So come on, form the words. Cloud inhaled deeply and tried forcing the air out in a shout.
His lips trembled, and it was the most he'd been able to do all day. Yet not enough.
So he swung helplessly between the two troopers while they carried him farther and farther away.
Ten minutes later Cloud was still fighting. He gritted his teeth and hissed quietly through them. The trooper ahead glanced down. Cloud glared or attempted to. However, his expression must have stayed lax because the man turned and eyed the forest like he thought the trees made the noise.
The ex-SOLDIER inwardly scowled but paused as a blinding light fell on his face. He swiftly diverted his gaze. What was that?
The troopers stopped. "I'll get him in the back," said the one behind him, and realization slammed into Cloud's head. Those were headlights. They were putting him in a truck, were taking him back to Shinra. Not happening.
Cloud tried to buck, punch, shout, and snarl. However, his attempts went unnoticed while the second trooper nodded.
"I'll start the car—urk!"
Something sharp sang through the air. Cloud gasped as the hands went slack on his legs and the trooper tipped back. His partner cried out. The scream cut off with a wet choked sound and dull shock rang through Cloud while the man's arms slipped off him. Then he started to fall.
An arm hooked around Cloud's back, pulling him up into a stand before he could touch the ground.
"Cloud?" Zack's worried face came under the truck light as Cloud sagged against him, and thank Gaia. That had been too close.
Zack glanced over him, yet finding no injuries, he sighed. "Sorry, buddy, I was sure we lost them."
Regret stained his face, but he quickly shook it off and looked up. The gray military truck gleamed in the moonlight. A smile tugged his lips.
"Though at least they were nice enough to leave us a gift."
Zack drove the truck down the road until the forest thinned out into sparse vegetation. In the dark, the bare sinewy trees likened skeletal hands reaching out of the desert ground, and that was fitting since this land was a graveyard for what had once been a thriving ecosystem. Cloud couldn't tell for sure with his head lolling against his seatbelt, but the glimpses he caught said they were somewhere near Corel.
"Well, the tracker just activated." Zack exhaled and tapped the brakes, slowing the truck. "But it was fun while it lasted."
The vehicle rocked as Zack reversed it off the road and gravel crunched under the wheels. Cloud scowled when his nose bumped into his own pauldron, but Zack didn't notice while he parked the truck in a small alcove between two large boulders.
"Time for a night hike!" Zack chirped and Cloud groaned as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Certainly, staying in a tracked vehicle wouldn’t be wise, yet the comfy chair and seat warmer had been a nice change after spending all day in the chilly autumn air. Or was it early spring?
Zack shut off the engine and opened his door, hopping out. Cloud braced himself but still shivered when his door popped open.
"C'mon, Spiky."
Zack caught his arm and slung it around his neck, dragging Cloud down onto the dusty earth. The blond groaned as the arid air struck his lungs. Zack froze.
"Cloud?" he whispered, voice wavering, and Cloud suddenly realized his groan hadn't been in his head, Zack heard him.
The First got in his face, and Cloud would have flinched if he could when he caught his chin. Yet Zack just tilted his head up, peering deep into his eyes.
"Cloud?" Desperation wracked Zack's expression. "Was that you?"
And this was his chance to show Zack he was conscious, to finally talk and ask the questions burning in his throat. So he took a deep breath, summoned all his strength to his mouth, and fought to push out words.
His mouth didn't move, and his breathing remained slow and even. Cloud internally screamed as Zack's face fell.
"Oh." Zack let his chin go, and Cloud's head dropped. "Thought you might have something to say…"
Yes! Yes, he did have something to say! However, he was mute while Zack grabbed his buster sword—and he had questions about that too—off the truck's side and sheathed it onto his back. Then he started on ahead, Cloud staggering beside him with his boots kicking up dust as they trudged into the desert, which in the dark mirrored the endlessness of the sky above.