Final Fantasy VII 1. Prologue

Prologue

The barren hills tinted with red dust spread as far as eyes can see with occasional dead trees swaying in the rough winds. It had been a few months since Cloud last visited the outskirts of Midgar. Briskly, he laid down his goggles on the seat of Fenrir as he got off. The strapping had come undone from the frequent usage and as he took out the First Tsurugi from the motorbike's compartments with practiced ease, he reminded himself to visit the marketplace once he returned to Edge. After fully equipping himself, he exhaled softly to ease his nerve and slowly walked towards the place it all began.

Cloud always felt a strange reservation every time he came to the cliff - that small pang of guilt he felt upon not being able to save his friend at time of his greatest need. If he had been strong, just a little, could he have? He smiled wistfully at the thought and continued on, his heavy boots causing small wisps of dirt to rise and eventually fall to the ground as he trudged the barren wastelands. Normally, he rode straight to the place where Zack had died on Fenrir but today, he wanted to take in everything the landscape had to offer - the dry taste of the air, the familiar rocks and boulders, the markings of the tracks that he and Zack once ploughed through. He fingered the rocks creating a large shadow underneath and his eyes widened slightly as he realised that the cliff was visible from this particular landmark - this was the place he woke up all those years ago to find the air tainted with smell of gunpowder and blood, whispers of the Lifestream haunting his broken mind.

Back then, he crawled his way up to the cliffs to see the final moments of Zack as he handed Cloud his BusterSword. Cloud covered his face with this hand and let out an anguish-filled sigh while leaning onto the rocks. No matter how many times he thought back to the day, it left a gaping hole inside. It had been an year since he defeated Kadaj and his gang and Cloud as surprised at how much guilt he still felt even after Zack and Aeirth's reassurance from the strange visions he received during his fight with Sephiroth. He slowly slid down the rocks and settled for sitting down and just watching the clouds pass by while he reminisced on what little bits of memory he had left of Zack. It was not much, with all the meddling mako and Jenova cells had done to his mind, but it was enough for him to find a small peace within himself. Under the cover of the shade, he slowly closed his eyes and let the gentle breeze brush up against his face.

* * *

Vaguely, Cloud could remember falling when there was nothing but solid ground underneath with green haze burning his lungs. At first, he thought he could feel wisps of _something_ brushing against his fingers which then expanded to his whole body along with nausea and vertigo as the earth below him gave away and he was once again, swimming inside the Lifestream. Dreading if he will survive, he frantically flailed his limbs desperately trying to find something to hold onto with no avail. After what felt like hours, he eventually curled up instead to take the burning sensation away while praying that he will be tossed out somewhere. When he could feel solid ground beneath him again, he visibly groaned as his body disobeyed every commands he was giving it. His limbs hadn't felt like dead weights for years and it was becoming increasingly difficult to simply open his eyes. _Well, at least my mind seems okay..._ he thought as he once again, tried to check his surroundings. If Lifestream could toss him out anywhere, he did _not _want to be in a den of monsters.

"Ugh..." he managed to let out as he finally shifted on his spot, repeatedly curling up his fingers to get some sensation back into his hands. The world was still filled with fogs of green and he had to fumble around for a bit to finally orient himself before realising he was already upright, albeit sitting down. As the haze cleared from his groggy state, he frowned at the blatant scent of blood that pierced his senses along with numerous gunshots that could only be an army as big a platoon, if not more. A monster hunt perhaps? Had Reeve looked into one of those recently? He supposed he could have, and slowly stood up while holding onto the rock he found himself around to keep his balance and walked towards the sound of bullets. He could ask for their help or possibly give them his assistance if he could get his bearings right by the time he reached the place. After all, standing in a middle of nowhere wasn't exactly the best course of action in his mako-affected state. Stumbling as he went, he dizzily walked around the cliff to go up the slope overhead and chocked backed a gasp as he collapsed onto the clearing.

Amongst the fallen bodies of hundreds of infantrymen, slashing through a rain of bullets with a sword as big as himself, spiky raven hair caked with mud and blood, and eyes filled with pure determination...

...was Zack.

* * *

Well, I post this with absolute confidence that no one will view it (If you are, that is very welcome)

However, I will say first up this will be updated very slowly or none at all as I'm a university student with a handful of assessments and work to do. I will do my best to post it up but well, here we are.


	2. A dream long forgotten

Chapter 1

Zack hated how his body moved. Blood trickled down his face and threatened to darken his increasingly narrowing vision. Blind spots have already claimed parts of it and allowed extra bullets to pierce into his body, further slowing him down. With each step, his breath was becoming deep and ragged, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he struggled to keep himself upright. He let out a fierce grunt as clinched his teeth and swung his blade with even more ferocity than before. He couldn't afford to go down now. Not when there was still chance for Cloud to get away.

Carefully positioning his stance, he surveyed the battlefield with trained eyes. He still had his mako-enhanced senses that could detect hostile movement even without his darkening vision. However, with increasing blood loss his head started to fill with a gentle buzz and he wanted to collapse onto the blood-soaked ground, not caring if he would be able to get up again or not. With sudden burst of movement, he closed his gap with yet another unit of snipers and brought his sword down with a sharp battle cry. There were only a few squads left but he was skeptical that there will not be any more reinforcements.

Out in the distance, he could make out shapes of far-ranged shooters positioned on higher hills. If he made his move to clear out the soldiers swarming around him by getting out of his safety, he would not be able to avoid the incoming shots. He silently prepared himself the worst and jumped onto the enemy, determined to take as many with him as possible.

* * *

_The first thing Zack felt upon waking up was coldness. The icy, sickening liquid slowly encroaching upon his dulled senses as he struggled to remember where he was - or rather, what he was doing before he ended up in this unknown place. He narrowed his brows, straining his slipping thoughts to search for flickers in his memory. _

_The reactor… blood… Nibelheim… …_Sephiroth_._

_He shook his head to clear the fog from his head and became increasingly aware of exactly where he was. The green haze filled his now opened eyes and he struggled to keep it open as the liquid he was floating in threatened to burn his eyes and his insides. _

_Where am I? he wondered, squinting his eyes just enough to make out the smooth glass in front of him, and a dark room filled with unidentifiable instruments scattered around the place. With immense effort that almost made him give up, he lifted his hand just a little to confirm his suspicions on the glass and he struggled to keep himself in control as the feeling of being trapped rapidly filled him with sheer terror and panic. With a jerk of his head, he quickly looked around the room and his eyes widened when he spotted a familiar blond spikes that strongly reminded him of chocobos._

"_Cloud…" he tried to say, but when only bubbles came out, he realized he was still in a mako tank. He was just about to pound on the glass wall to elicit some response from the unconscious blond when the door opened, revealing a face he didn't wish to recongnise – black hair tied neatly to the back, wearing slightly dirtied lab coat and face twisted in that unforgettable, maniacal grin…_

"_Hmm… you woke up faster than I expected. Now, where was I?"_

* * *

It took a good minute for Cloud to even begin to process what was happening in front of his eyes. All he could do is just stare at the black figure, striking down his enemies with each forced step he took.

_Zack…?_ He thought as he blearily focused his gaze through the green muck that was covering his eyes. He tried to move, but only ended up _trying_ as his body refused to obey and collapsed onto the ground, wavering in a lethargic manner that caused him to almost yell out from the frustration. He would have, had his voice box worked properly to produce any sort of tangible sound.

Right now, all he could manage was a soft wheeze that choked him in the lungs and left him feeling so painfully _weak_ – instantly reminding him of the same day all this _actually_ happened, him crawling towards the dying figure of his best friend, not even able to form a single constructive thought in his head. Maybe this was not actually happening at all. In fact, it was likely one of his mako delirium that he had so many experiences of. He clinched his teeth and was just about to shake his head in an attempt to make the images go away when a series of loud gunshots sounded, forcing him to snap his eyes toward its destination.

From what he could tell with his eyes, the bullet struck true to its target and he watched, absolutely horrified, as Zack doubled over on his stomach, coughing up blood as he struggled to reflect the remaining shower of oncoming attacks. Should he even try? Was there even point to doing anything at all if this was all an illusion? He shifted his eyes desperately for _something_ to happen when overhead, he saw another set of snipers getting ready to fire their second round. _Zack couldn't possibly avoid all that in his state…_ Reaching out, he clawed at the ground to force himself to sit up. He didn't care if this was an illusion anymore. He wasn't about to let his friend die a _second_ _time _if he was there to stop it – even if it was nothing but his mako-induced hallucinations.

Moving behind a large rock to provide him cover, he fumbled through a dead infantryman's possession to find something he could use as a weapon. He couldn't feel the familiar weight of his First Tsurugi behind his back anymore and he assumed that it had somehow gotten lost in the Lifestream. He grew a little disappointed at the thought but swiftly dismissed it. In his current state, he probably couldn't even lift the thing anyway.

Rummaging through, he was surprised to find a level two Lightening materia along with a large sniping gun. He didn't remember being supplied with a materia when he was a grunt. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the infantryman was wearing some sort of a badge on his bleeding chest and figured that there had to be some high-ranking officers inside the regular army for it to function properly. Quickly positioning himself, he pointed the gun towards the high snipers and desperately hoped to Gaia that some information on how to use the thing had been somehow retained in his head.

* * *

Zack was slightly confused. He was sure that once he got out of his safety to clear out the attackers, there will at least be _some_ damage from exposing himself. Quickly slashing his sword and taking out around a dozen men, he grabbed one of their bodies to shield himself and halted his step behind a boulder for some temporary safety to glance up to the cliffs. Angeal always had mentioned how essential it is to keep at least a _half_ an eye on his opponent if he didn't want to get stabbed from behind.

Snapping his head around, he widened his eyes find the snipers _gunned down_ on the bottom of the cliff with one more falling just as a single gunshot resonated from the bottom of the slope. Multiple shooting noises pierced his ears, and he was utterly bewildered when a brief flash of lightening shot out from behind a small boulder at the lip of the slope, striking down most of the snipers situated on the top of the cliff with a deadly aim.

_What the hell?_ He frowned as he panted for breath and peered over to see if he could make out any features of his unknown helper. Frustrated when boulders in between blocked his view, he decided to check later and quickly made his way up to the top of the cliff, leaping through the ledges using the small opening created by the Lightening spell. By now, his legs felt like lead and it was hard orienting himself with the dizziness that continuously crept upon his consciousness. He stumbled a few times as he leapt onto the foothold which allowed more bullets to penetrate his chest, leaving him wheezing for a breath that refused to come. However, he couldn't stop when victory was within seconds away.

Thunder roared behind him as he slowly made his way up on the very last line of defense and charged through, taking down the rest of the infantrymen. As he brought down the last swing, drops of rain start pelted down and he collapsed, unable to lift even a finger from the fatigue.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see movement and his heart sank when it was an infantryman, pointing his gun directly onto the center of his chest glaring at him with vengeful eyes.

"Escaped experiments indeed, you are a monster," he spat, barrel of his gun digging into Zack's bloodied wounds.

The man kicked into Zack's sides, causing the raven haired SOLDIER to cough up thick, almost blackened red liquid. He was fading fast and although he tried to glare at the grunt, all he could do was weakly fix his eyes at the man and pant softly in an effort to keep himself alive, even if just for a minute.

"So even monsters bleed red huh, it's disgusting. Do you even realise how many people you killed here today?"

Zack realised that. However, he also knew that even with such costs, Shinra will never be able to repay him and Cloud for what they have done to them. He swallowed what tasted like a mixture between tar and copper and braced for impact. He thought of Aerith and Cloud. He wasn't able to keep his promise after all… He couldn't even protect his only gritted his teeth to keep his focus on the infantaryman and spat at his he was going down, he was going down with a fight.

The grunt, obviously infuriated, twisted his face with rage and tightened his finger around the trigger. Yep, the guy was going to finish him off. He wasn't going to see Aerith or Cloud again, ever.

As he was getting miserable at the thought, a loud gunshot sounded and the infantryman was on top of him, bleeding from a gaping hole in his chest. A sound of someone dragging their feet followed and after some excruciatingly slow moments, he was suddenly staring at the back of wet, familiar blond spikes as the newcomer collapsed upon him, shoving the infantryman's body off Zack's bleeding chest.

"...Cloud…?" he gasped, not truly believing what he saw as his vision flickered, leaving him blinking rapidly to bring some clarity into his eyes. A silence followed, and for a split second, Zack thought that this may not be his friend. However, the blond lifted his head to gaze upon his eyes and Zack's own cerulean met strikingly bright sky blue - edges streaked with faint, mako-laced green. He genuinely smiled at seeing his friend _alive_ – even awake – and lifted his hands to gently ruffle his spiked hair, making the process downright slow but _definitely_ worthwhile.

"You made it, buddy," and with that, he lost himself in a sea of blackness as his eyelids fell, too heavy to keep open, even to stare that those funny chocobo spikes.

* * *

"…Zack?" Cloud let out, panic threatening him to choke him when Zack closed his eyes. He quickly checked his friend's pulse and found that although faint, it was definitely there. Zack was still alive.

When he first approached, Cloud did not know what he was looking for. As he shoved the dead infantryman out of the way, he was fumbling his fingers against Zack's bleeding chest, _begging _for some evidence that this was not some ephemeral fantasy. It all felt real though, even down to how _cold_ his friend was which sent shivers down his spine and churned his stomach on top of his mako-induced nausea.

When he heard his friend call out his name, he stopped for a second but did not look up. He didn't want to, in case it all disappeared - just like his visions. But as Zack's breathing became shallower, he could not resist raising his head a little to check if he was okay. A small part of him _wanted_ to see those eyes. When he finally lifted his head and saw his friend smile, cerulean eyes filled with pure happiness and relief, he could not stop a strangled gasp come out from the back of his whole being.

Collecting himself to check the raven haired man's pulse when he closed his eyes, Cloud quickly started to rip out the fallen infantryman's uniform to put together a makeshift bandages, compressing it against the bullet holes to keep the blood from gushing out. When he was satisfied, he hoisted the man up, supporting his unconscious body and the Buster Sword with his own arms and shoulders alike the many times that Zack carried him. He glanced down at his friend and let out a soft sigh, wheezing quietly under his breath as he clinched his teeth and dragged his feet towards the giant city.

"…Don't die on me. Not now."

* * *

The streets of Midgar were busy with no one havng a presence of mind to take a second glance upon two SOLDIERS dragging themselves across Sector five slums. Soft murmurs buzzed in the background as steel-clad town bustled with life, flashing with extravagant light from the street signs that gave the slums its trademark.

Moving as swiftly as possible in his dizzy state, he tracked his way towards the train graveyard, not knowing anywhere else to go. He knew Aerith's church was constantly watched by the Turks and honestly, he couldn't even remember where Tifa's Seventh Heaven was before Sector seven came down. He had only been there less than a handful of times, and inside the maze that was Midgar, it was impossible to locate it without revealing himself by asking around and looking horribly lost carrying an unconscious man behind. Besides, he wasn't sure if he wanted to involve the AVALANCHE at all when he was being chased by the company.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when a series of warm air hit his shoulder, causing him to glance nervously at his friend to check if he was okay. Although he didn't dare check beyond necessary amount on his way to Midgar, Zack's bleeding had reduced considerably due to his enhancements which relieved Cloud but now, the raven haired man was burning up which concerned him a great deal. SOLDIERS were not supposed to get sick, weren't they? However, he couldn't even imagine how many bullets the unconscious man was ridden with now, inflaming his insides. Reaching the wastelands, he fumbled open one of the carriages after checking if there weren't any monsters. He travelled through this path often enough in his past and he picked up a few tricks to find which trains were intact and safe enough so that it wasn't infested.

Gently laying down Zack down on the seats at the upmost corner of the carriage, behind another set of doors, he started checking for the wounds as best as he could without using any water or other equipments that he desperately needed. Once he was finished, he closed the small compartment door and set off towards the markets he saw.

He needed to find a doctor, and quick.

* * *

Hello! CrimsonWing here again. Over the few days, I've received some _wonderful_ comments and couldn't wait to post the next chapter up. I know it is a little short and I do apologise. I should have more words but I have an exam next week and didn't want you to wait two weeks for another update. So here we are - a half chapter for you guys to see where this is going and enjoy! Feel free to ask any questions! Edit: roy23 told me that my paragraphs were too long and I've spaced them out a bit. Tell me what you think of this setting and if you have problems reading this one.


	3. Onwards

Chapter two

The automatic door opened without a sound and miniscule, dim ray of light pressed into the austere office, reflecting off the large windows situated behind the lone desk. Silence filled the air and after a sound of heavy footsteps, the switch flicked on, revealing a dark-haired Wutaian looking through a computer screen on his desk with a pensive look adorned on his pale complexion.

"We couldn't find them, sir," one of the newcomers, a slightly short woman with brown hair streaked with burgundy reported in a pragmatic tone. However, her tight lips betrayed her voice which showed well-known signs of anxiety all too apparent to anybody who were authorized to set foot in this particular floor.

"Disappeared without a trace, yo. The whole _army_ kicked the bucket."

"All?" said the Wutain, frown replacing his icy features while finally drawing his eyes away from the screen.

"... sword wounds," said the stoic looking, well-built man in black suit and sunglasses while stepping away from the light switch and again positioning himself alongside the brunette and the red-haired Shinra employees. Their superior simply nodded, waiting for the report he knew was going to be useful. Although he had doubts about their personalities, he trusted his subordinates' skills with absolute confidence - it took a lot to survive as long as they did in Turks, regardless of how much pay they got.

"After finding the army, sir," the brunette started, carefully wording her words to make the report as prompt as possible while containing all the necessary information, "we assumed that the targets escaped and looked for tracking marks, but…"

"He's been covering his ass, yo – not all that well - but definitely enough to throw the regulars off. We could find a few bandages buried around here and there, maybe some footsteps, but he's being careful. There's some _seriously_ heavy bleeding too, going by the bandages - we don't know which is dying. You would assume that it's the SOLDIER doing the work but something doesn't fit. "

Inside the Wutaian man's head, the small tidbits of information were slowly locking together – weaving in a complex network as if putting together pieces of a puzzle. As much as it amazed him, it looked like the raven SOLDIER First Class had survived the onslaught. For a fleeting moment, he was dreadfully reminded of another one-sided battle in Wutai where the silver-haired general single handedly destroyed monsters, platoons, towns with his bloodcurdling skills. Carefully, he composed himself and voiced the red-haired Turk's suspicions in his place.

"…You think he's in no condition to carry the grunt," he said, the phrase coming out as more of a statement than a question.

"We think the tract leads to Midgar. It's the only place where they can get medical attention without being caught," the brunette added, promptly filling in the last piece.

The Wutaian let out a heavy sigh and stared at the sealed box he had laid on the desk. The task was proving to be more difficult than he originally thought. He contemplated on whether or not to pull out for the moment but instead of giving out the orders that hung on the tip of his tongue, he gave the brunette a knowing look.

"…If you had seen them in the last few months, would you think it's possible that the grunt may have woken up?"

In response, the female Turk's mouth opened and closed, making a pregnant pause before tentatively opening again and slowly answering her superior with careful words.

"If I _had_ seen them sir, no, I wouldn't think so. I would think he was rather off," she remarked, still wearing an indifferent look on her face that followed with a small smile. The black-haired man gave her a long stare before ascending from his chair.

"…Very well, you are dismissed. As for your orders - I expect there won't be any nook or cranny in the slums that you don't know about."

"Yes, SIR!"

He had a church to visit.

* * *

As Cloud tracked down his way through disheveled Midgar slums, his frown grew more defined until he found a less noticeable alleyway where he could stop for a moment and rest his thoughts. He still could not figure out what was going on - the shear amount of events that happened in the last 24 hours plummeted down on him in the form of a throbbing migraine that he was certain wasn't from the mako poisoning anymore.

"This is messed up," he muttered, looking down on his hands and flexing them until the nails dug deep into his gloved hands, allowing him to feel a small tinge of reality that kept slipping away whenever he was reminded of the impossibility of the situation. The worst part was that it never went _away_, no matter how much he lost grip on it, it was still _there_ and while it was, he couldn't force himself to let go.

With a heartfelt sigh, he took out the rifle and brought it close his eyes for a closer inspection. Judging by the accuracy it had with his poor aim, it was better than whatever the normal infantryman were issued with. Grumbling, he cursed himself for not having a state mind to pocket some Gils while still on the battlefield. Now he had to look for merchants as well as a seedy doctor. With some assessment over the shops present nearby, he settled for the nearest, dilapidated shop before he could grab any more unnecessary attention with his battle-worn attire.

The shop keeper, a middle-aged man with a loose shirt and round features looked up lazily, frown adorning his face as he inspected the blond with fretfulness and mistrust, first laying his eyes upon his tattered clothes and then to his faint mako eyes.

"What d'ya want. It's no place for you folks. If that's what you _really_ are," he grunted, regarding them with skepticism one came to develop living in the slums.

"…That is none of your business." Cloud sharply replied, frowning at the merchant which caused the stout man to fiddle with his fingers, unnerved by their unnatural glow.

"I have something to sell and… things that I need," said the blond, skimming his eyes over the contents of the shop before again meeting the short man's gaze.

"A trade?" the man questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"…If the price is reasonable," Cloud mumbled, remembering the many times he was ripped off while travelling with AVALANCHE. A memory of a certain glove floated around his head and it caused him to inwardly cringe. Although he could be wary if he wanted to, Cloud did not believe himself to be apt in any of the skills in 'treasure hunting', as Yuffie would have put some time ago. Unfortunately, negotiating with sneaky merchant came under that category.

"What have you got?" the merchant inquired, glad to be back in his own territory as he tried not to imagine a grumpy SOLDIER sticking pointy blades into his sides.

"Lighting materia, a level two - nearly level three. Plus a high-level rifle in good condition." he replied, taking out the glowing orb from his pocket and placing it onto the bench for the man to inspect. He showed the latter part of the deal to the merchant by holding it up in the light before slinging it on his shoulders once more.

"Hmm, interesting, Lightening certainly is not the rarest type around, but I guess it could fetch around two thousand Gils if some travelers came by since it's leveled up. The rifle is not a regular model – maybe around a thousand - I'll have to take a better look." the seller commented, rolling the orb with his two fingers as he studied it. Cloud raised his eyebrows at the surprising accuracy of the man's evaluation. He hadn't met a lot of honest retailers in Midgar – in his opinion, they were even rarer than flowers and as far as he knew, there was only one place in Midgar that grew flowers.

"Don't stare at me like that boy, I have been doing this business longer than you think," he commented with a snort, "Being a fool with money around these parts could get you a bullet in your head while you sleep." Cloud only blinked in response.

"So you are willing to buy?" Cloud asked after collecting himself, impatiently placing quick glances towards the train graveyard. It has not been thirty minutes since he left Zack in its dusty walls, but the idea of simply leaving him alone while he was sick left Cloud feeling jitterier every passing second.

"Not yet, boy," the man said with a frown on his face, "I _said_ that a few thousand Gils was the right price, but I never said that I was going to _buy_ it for that much."

Cloud frowned at the man, irritation clear on his face. He was just about to grab the materia and leave when the merchant snatched the orb, holding in his grasp and meeting the blond's blue-green eyes with a playful glee plastered on his face.

"Let's talk business. You are not from SOLDIER, are you?"

"…It's none of your business," Cloud replied after a long pause, trying to discern the man's intentions behind his words. If he was pointing out the fact to strike a better deal, he could live with that. However, _if he was with Shinra_… Cloud shivered at the thought and uneasily fumbled his fingers around the part of his back where his harness and the First Tsurugi used to be. Whatever he had before – or after depending on how he thought about it – did not follow him in his trip into the Lifestream.

"I've never seen a SOLDIER beaten up as badly as you, trying to sell a materiaanda'Shinra-issued'gun of all things in the slums," the merchant continued, now giving Cloud a toothy grin as he continued to play with the materia.

"From all that, I can only guess that you are either: a rogue on the run, or a _very_ unintelligent Shinra employee trying to sneak some extra Gil into his pockets. From what I can tell, I pick the former."

Cloud almost cursed. Why, out of all the uneducated people of Midgar, did he have to run into a seller who was _actually_ smart? The merchant laid down the lightening materia on the desk and Cloud quickly grabbed it, tempted to just leave the place altogether. However, he did not want to risk the man reporting on his features while he still had Zack to carry around. Inwardly, he snorted at the irony of the situation. How had Zack managed to run for so long with him as deadweight? If he was that useless, why had he not left him behind? His musings were cut short when the merchant gave a small cough, appearing to clear his throat.

"So, how about it? I won't strike a bad deal. If you tell me what you want and if I can do something about it, I'll buy this in its original price with even few trinkets on top as long as you give me something in return. If you don't, you have a potential reporter with nothing on your hands and time ticking away like a bomb. Of course, you could always try to harm me and get the hell out of here, but judging by the fact that you came in here and tried selling those in the first place instead of just stealing despite the risks tell me you are not a homicidal maniac."

As far as Cloud could tell, the man could've been a Turk if he had wanted to - it did not help with the fact that Cloud now wanted to punch him in the gut. Hard. Cloud kept up the frown as he weighed the man's words and gave out a small sigh before opening his mouth.

"…I need a doctor."

"For you?" said the merchant, raising his eyebrows. Cloud kept his silence and the man shifted his gaze towards the train graveyard.

"How bad is your friend?"

"Bullet holes – some of them are stuck inside," Cloud grumbled. So the man noticed him staring in that direction after all.

"…Some? How many are you talking about?" the man asked, clearly disturbed.

"Not sure, it was six last time I counted but I didn't check all that thoroughly – maybe more. Look, if you can't get me a doctor…" Cloud glanced at the door. He was wasting too much time and just thinking about Zack's condition returned the urgency of the situation. The fact that Zack might die while he stalled time almost chocked his insides. Sure, Zack wasn't bleeding anymore but he was helpless should a wondering monster or Shinra army get to him first.

"Can you fight? Are you any good with what you did, assuming you were in SOLDIER?"

"What?" Cloud asked, not fully grasping what the man had said. How was that relevant?

"Answer the question boy - I'm not a patient person," the man replied, briskly moving from place to place grabbing an assortment of suspicious looking bags and shoving it inside a large one, muttering to himself.

"…As good as a First Class, I think. Considering there aren't many of them left at this point," at this, the merchant paused and looked up at him with a frown. Disbelief and suspicion plastered upon his face.

"I hope you are not lying, that sounds pretty unbelievable at the moment." Cloud snorted, turning around and heading for the door.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like I'm trying to prove it."

"How about you help me, and I treat your friend?" the man said, zipping up the bag with a swift swipe. Cloud froze in midstance, and slowly turned around, glaring at the merchant with distrustful eyes. The older man avoided his gaze and grimaced.

"I was a bioscientist in Shinra a long time ago - I may not be a registered doctor but I've hacked through enough bodies, dead and alive, to know it well enough. I know how the procedure goes."

"You weren't going to report me," Cloud remarked, understanding the scowl the merchant had on his face when he mentioned the company's name.

"No, I can't go waltzing in there when I'm a deserter myself. I wanted to quit properly in my younger days but they don't let their employee just walk off, especially if they are involved in Shinra's… rather _unpleasant_ side."

"Will you be able to help?" Cloud asked, feeling hopeful for the first time he crash landed in the past.

"If you do something for me in return," the man said, now fiddling with the strapping for the bag, "Of course, it won't be anything ridiculous but it will have its risks."

"I'm not killing anyone for money," Cloud quickly replied.

"You won't have to. I disapprove of killing for solutions," the man said, "If you don't agree to do it, I'll receive payment through other means."

Cloud contemplated this and thought of every possible way that this could go wrong: there were too many to think about. However, it was the only chance for him to quickly get Zack the medical attention he needs. He bit on his lips and just stood there for a few seconds, trying to make a decision that could get both Zack and himself in serious trouble or worse. Finally, he let out a groan, massaging his temples.

"Fine."

It was impetuous, but it was worth the risk.

* * *

So, the second chapter – I hope you like it even with my horrendous writing. Unfortunately it isn't revised (again) but I promise I'll fix up my horrible mistakes during the holidays. Thank you for your WONDERFUL COMMENTS. I love them with all my heart. See you next time!

P.S. I tried making the doctor's accent a bit like Barret's – brash and well, slum-like, but I failed miserably and he started to go back to proper speech every time he spoke. In the end, I decided I won't write like that unless I have to. I know I'm horrible but oh well, it can't be helped. Tell me if you like the doctor though – I first imagined him to be a little dumb but it makes it FAR more interesting if he has enough intellect to annoy Cloud.


	4. Complications

The dim light from the paraffin lamp hanging from the low ceiling flickered, quickly casting a shadow over the small room before falling back to its place, swaying ever so gently from the whisper of wind coming through a small crack of the disheveled cabin window. Faint stench of mold and dust still lingered in the air along with the smell of burning oil and blood and the occasional sound of creaking floor accompanied by the small metallic clicks of middle aged, stout man cutting through the bandages where a raven haired SOLDIER lay motionlessly - albeit with heavy panting and occasional shivers. His normally tanned skin was matted with sweat, its shade blanched dangerously white.

"Is he…"Cloud grimaced, purposely letting the phrase stop halfway before trailing off, unable to face the consequences if the answer turned out to be what he was dreading for a considerable time.

"…Hm," the man grunted, his expression taking a fowl look as he uncovered more bandages, revealing angry, half-healed wounds starting to turn slightly yellow in the edge.

"You say you dragged him through wastelands for an _entire_ day after this? And he was _alive_?" The ex-scientist looked positively horrified as he poured an entire bottle of disinfectant over his wounds, giving up after going through half his supply of cotton balls.

"…It's not like there was a hospital I could march into," Cloud grumbled, clearly not comfortable with the idea himself, "Look, just– please."

"I should be able to get all of them out without killing him if that's what you want to know." The doctor grunted, inspecting the wound with keen eyes. He started prodding at the half-healed mess and frowned before taking on a placating expression. After leaning over to hear the SOLDIER's heartbeat, he stood up and started rummaging through his bags. Cloud perked up, slightly alarmed at the man's actions.

"What is it?" he said, frowning as he shifted from his leaning posture, bringing the weight of his body towards the ball of his feet.

"Too much blood loss," the scientist muttered, "I can't make multiple incisions if it is going to kill him. His heart is too overtaxed – although I would normally go for a transfusion at this stage…" The man eyed the numerous scarred perforations on the ex-SOLDIER's arms before shooting a knowing glance at the blond, letting the unspoken question suspend throughout the pause.

"No," Cloud mumbled as he tiredly covered his eyes. He knew from the scattered reports in Nebelheim that Zack did not show any reaction to S cells, but he would be damned before giving away those godforsaken abominations from his messed up body to anyone, let alone his friend. The mere thought of still having _it_ inside him instantaneously made his throat too thick for him to swallow – heavy, and unforgiving. In the back of his mind, the trail of thought led to something far more horrific and sickening to the core – _Sephiroth was alive_… He took a few deep, strained breaths and dismissed the thought; he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"I thought not," the ex-scientist twisted the corner of his lips into something lopsided and grimaced as he continued searching through his overly gigantic bag. "Should be here somewhere…"

After another few seconds of rummaging, he produced a small, light-green orb, not unlike the Lightning materia Cloud produced earlier in the night. The blond eyed the orb curiously, not sure of its use.

"It won't take out embedded objects unless it's at least third level…" he trailed, frowning at the thought of the man carelessly casting a cure. However, the ex-scientist snorted, before tossing the object to the frowning man, waving his free hand around in a nonchalant manner.

"It's to stop the bleeding once I take the damned things out. You _do_ know how to use them right? You need precision for this – if you get your range wrong and accidently heal something else I won't have a puncture line to follow for the other bullets."

Realization hit, and the blond nodded gravely before sitting down. It had been a while he used a cure – much less a level one. As much as he needed time to think, right now, he needed to concentrate. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Reno passed the miscellaneous run-down buildings all displaying rust and crumbled edges it its own fashion, trudging through the mud from the sudden rain – he was unlucky enough to be around the area with holes seeping though and got splashed with the small droplets that collected in the upper plates and fell like water through the drain. He was now drenched top to bottom and it did not help lighten his mood. As much as he appreciated Rude's support as his partner, the occasional twitch of the stoic man's mouth sent him stomping the ground in an effort to walk well in front of his taller-than-norm partner. He would have to worry about washing his trousers later.

"So we just ask some random questions about two beat-up SOLDIERS and that's it, huh. I guess it is hard to hide from people in the slums. This will be a cinch, yo! Why do we have to do this? We're valuable asset - top of the class!" said Reno, brandishing his arms around. There was no reply, but the red-haired youth was long used to his partner's method of communication, or rather, lack of one. It surprisingly suited him well as it meant that he got to talk, and the person on the other side did not tell him to shut up, even if the man wasn't always paying attention. He much preferred a lack of response than trying to argue his way through.

"No one has seen them since sector seven markets." The man with the sunglasses answered coolly – however, he quickened his pace to match his partners, eyes constantly catching the corners of the slums. As a Turk, one learned to look in places where no-one can see. Most likely, their target was also taking the same route.

"I guess you are really into this assignment huh." Reno replied, his eyes briefly catching the thread of light peeping though the plates. Damn, he hated getting nostalgic during work. It ruined the rest of his day. He paused for a while to straighten his now half-soaked suit and dropped back into his casual, leisurely stroll.

"Well, can't really let the others get ahead of us, yeah?" said Reno, "We've still got all night."

In the distance, a faint light from a run-down train flickered, and disappeared under the shutters.

* * *

The process of extracting the bullets was slow and excruciating. More than once, the fever escalated too high and Cloud had to go out multiple times to dampen the cloth they'd been using as robes. With minimum tools they had, it was taking much longer than it should, and the fact left Cloud wary and alert at the same time. He carefully eyed the clearing outside as if something was going to jump out and surround them through a peephole. In the past, he had too many situations that went from bad to worse.

As the last splinter had been extracted, he sighed in pure and utter exhaustion along with the doctor and looked into the opaque, green materia after taking in the relaxed, _regular_ rise and fall of the raven's chest. Could Lifestream really send someone into the past? He had never seen, nor heard of such happenings and the only experience he had with falling into the Lifesream certainly did not feel the same with what he was experiencing this time round. In the past, it was like a fog of nothingness, a half-spoken memory lingering like a wisp of mist in the air, barely showing his jumbled state of mind. The question hung thickly in his head, weighing him down with a force heavier than any physical stress he had been through. Surely, manipulating time was impossible. But then again, how could thing such as Time materia that precisely manipulated time within an individual target exist if it wasn't able to? Tightening his grip around the small orb, he quickly flashed a glance towards the broken window that reflected his disheveled form.

He was younger.

Although he hadn't particularly looked his age in his own time, he could see a distinct… _something_ now that screamed a man not fully out of his teens, his clothes reminiscent of the days where he first stumbled upon Tifa at the station, so long ago. So he hadn't traveled in time – or at least, not in his body. He frowned and tossed at the vague possibility that the past three years might have all been a dream but quickly dismissed it. _I've just spent the last three hours activating Cure that I've never even touched before joining Avalanche_, he thought. At that moment, images of Sephiroth came to his mind and his tired mind refused to cooperate. Later, he thought as he massaged his temples and turned his eyes to the corner of the carriage.

Carefully, out of plain curiosity that he perhaps lost in his childhood, or when he found his memories in Mideel, he gently brushed the man lying down in front of him on the temple with his fingertips before giving a harder prod on the man's forehead who almost immediately twitched in discomfort. Cloud narrowed his brows slightly in contemplation as he reminded himself that the person in front of him was indeed alive.

"I thought you wanted to treat the guy, knock off it, will you?" Cloud stared blankly at the man who had spoken, still not quite out of his daze, but quickly retracted his hand shifted his eyes towards the doctor. An array of emotions and a few sentences bubbled up to his throat but it got stuck there just as he opened his mouth.

"I…Thank you," he finally managed to choke out, mentally cursing at himself for not quite knowing what to say in these sorts situation. Throughout the past few years, his interaction with other people had been rather dismal and one-sided on the others' part. He only had himself to blame for his rather blatant awkwardness. He turned his gaze to the side, but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the doctor staring at him, in an odd expression with one of his eyebrows raised. Cloud frowned. The look on the doctor's face was now bordering on an amused smirk which annoyed him to no end. Yuffie sometimes had that look – no, she _always_ had that look when she thought she had the upper hand - and when she was _plotting_ something. With Yuffie, he could just nod it off, or get someone else to deal with it. This time he as alone.

"You are an odd one for a SOLDIER." the ex-scientist remarked, his hands slowly moving towards the used equipment to pack everything up - wasn't a lot - but his hands moved in familiar ease of someone who had been in the profession for years. Cloud stayed silent for a while, his eyes diverting to the First Class uniform that rested upon Zack's supine form.

"You mentioned payment," he said, meeting the man's eyes directly this time. Subconsciously, his thoughts drifted to a familiar presence of the Buster Sword. For the merchant to risk this much for helping him, he figured it was not going to be easy. The doctor's nimble hands stopped for a moment, and turned slightly to meet Cloud's gaze.

"I did." The man's facial features turned into a slight frown as he took on a placating expression before setting down the last of his belongings in the brown, worn-out bag. He swung the straps on his right shoulder and turned completely to face Cloud, leaning on the carriage wall.

"I want you to go and retrieve something from a reactor… I need refined mako to actually make my research work," the ex-scientist gave a slight wave with his free hand before bringing it towards his face, covering it briefly.

"I need to know what research this is for," Cloud cut in, a bit more sharply than he intended. However, considering it was scientists and researchers that made AVALANCHE – the world – end up in that mess with the Meteor, he thought that he had every right to be cautious; in fact, he downright hated scientists. After all, he had Hojo to deal with for six long years. A single second was more than enough to recognize him as a lunatic.

"There is a reason why SOLDIERS heal fast. By all means your friend should be dead," the short man retorted, "my research in Shinra used to be on turning mako into medicine – something injectable or an oral that will speed up the healing process of normal people" Cloud stared.

"You _created_ the potions?" there was something akin to respect in Cloud's eyes. It was a genuine surprise that this stout man who dressed in worn materials was someone so accomplished.

"Which is now monopolized by Shinra," the man said bitterly, pulling the ends of his lips. "Look, I would be more than willing to grab them myself but I can't afford to go in there anymore. I had a rather nasty run with them last time and they have me on special watch. I don't have the means or skills to outrun them next time."

"Why do you need it for?" Cloud asked, trying to ascertain the man's agenda for the last time. He was met with a long look.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you any more about this," said the merchant, rubbing his tired eyes, "It's yes or no from this point on. However, you have to pay me back somehow. If it's not this, it will cost you nothing short of yearly profit Shinra makes."

"Give me the details and I'll do it once my friend recovers." Cloud said.

"No hesitation. So you are skilled enough for the job. I didn't do this in vain, that's good." mumbled the ex-scientist under his breath. "Well, you'd have to - I've put the best transmitter I could find in your friend during the surgery while you were gone. Quite explosive – …I knew I chose the right person." The merchant, now with the point of the Buster Sword in front of his neck remarked with an amused grin.

"…Disable it," the blond threatened, his eyes narrowing as it bore into the doctor's face, searching for any sudden movements. Again, the doctor looked at him with a quizzical expression.

"You really didn't think that I'd have business in the slums without having ways to make sure my clients hold their end of the bargain?" Cloud did not budge.

"When you bring me the goods, I will be more than happy to remove the thing for you – it's quite hard to make. I wouldn't want to lose it. I'm not a charity, brat. I didn't survive the Shinra's network for nothing." The doctor replied, his eyes hard.

Cloud mentally cursed for believing the former Shinra employee but seeing no option, slowly lowered his blade. The tension lifted from the dimly lit carriage but Cloud maintained his grip on the gigantic sword as he gritted his teeth, watching the small man in irritation.

"Will it be safe until he recovers?" said Cloud, careful as to not mention the raven's name.

"It won't explode unless certain conditions are met – which I am not going to tell you about – and you have my word that it will be removed after your job is done." He chuckled slightly and grabbed the handle on the exit door. "Of course, you can wait until he recovers – I assume it won't be long."

"…And the details?" Cloud

"In reactor number 1, room 330. I heard that the guards temporarily vacate the area around 2pm at night but if a couple of infantrymen and low ranking SOLDIERS don't scare you then you are free to choose any other time. I'm looking for 2 boxes with small tubes containing mako in it. The outside will be labeled RMS6 and it will be contained in a cubic box around 20cm wide. Meet my contact at my shop in a week, same time as when you first came and mention the name Minerva." The doctor looked back for a brief second to show what looked like a cross between concern and bitter amusement before turning around and stepping outside. "Good luck."

Cloud bit his lips as the door closed with a sharp clang, leaving nothing but a desolate silence.

* * *

Cissnei wandered around Sector 5 at early morning, not particularly happy with how things have been going lately. After the Zirconiade incident, she felt little to no attachment for the company, but no one could just _quit_ the Turks. It was what you are. If someone have been in the job long enough, they learned how to talk, move about, find things in the most obscure places - and of course, handle dirty work while keeping their sanity long enough to function properly. Being an orphan, the job was what she had been doing her whole life and it gave little room to think about what she would do if she wasn't a Turk.

Frankly, she enjoyed doing assignments with the others when it didn't involve pointless kidnappings and murder. She supposed Tseung would be able to pull her out of the job if she asked him to – there were a lot in the division who voluntarily got dispatched away from Midgar after what happened to Veld. Mainly because again, one couldn't just quit Turks. She imagined herself in the countryside somewhere, not wearing the suit and let out a small chuckle. No, she couldn't quite imagine that. Once a Turk, always a Turk.

After tracking through some of the less-trodden paths of Sector 5, Cissnei was genuinely surprised when she was greeted by a field of flowers, all organized in different colours, surrounding an old-fashioned house that somehow did not look as if it quite belonged in the Slums. Mesmerized, she followed the path towards the front of the house where a middle-aged woman, maybe in her fifties, was hanging up the laundry.

"Excuse me ma'am, I couldn't help but notice – would these flowers be yours?" she asked, wondering what on earth one did to make flowers grow in Midgar. The woman smiled as she turned, but her lips tightened slightly and took on an apprehensive expression as she studied Cissnei's attire.

"Actually, no – it's my daughter's. She's away at the moment." the woman replied, her face softening to some degree but the signs of wariness still lingering in her eyes.

"She must have quite a green thumb" Cissnei remarked, wondering inside in puzzlement as to why the woman would be excessively wary of a Turk – and try to hide it at the same time.

"Yes – might I ask – do you have a particular business at my home?" the woman said, putting down her laundries and straightening her dress.

"Just passing by, ma'am. However, have you perhaps seen two SOLDIERS around the area? They are part of my team and we got separated during a mission outside Midgar. They are quite wounded I'm afraid, and need medical attention." Cissnei casually replied.

"I don't think so, not many people come around here in the first place," the woman frowned in confusion.

"Thank you very much; it was nice seeing the flowers." Cissnei politely bowed, and took off in the opposite direction from where she came. After all, she couldn't waste her time when she was looking for Zack. He was nice, and that was a rarity as a high-ranking Shinra employee. Just maybe, he was her friend.

Dust clouds rose, creating faint wisps before it fell to the ground as Cissnei hastened her feet. Soon, the black-suited figure quickly disappeared as she turned towards the marketgrounds.

* * *

I apologize for being so late. Formatting was not a fun experience. Happy next chapter and plz tell me if there's anything wrong with it. I'll fix it right away!


	5. Never lucky

The dampness from the previous night's rain had nearly subsided when Cloud lifted the shutters, scanning the outside with weary eyes. He managed to get a sliver of sleep near the morning but nonetheless, stayed half-awake for most of the night after the scientist's visit. Although he was used to spending restless evenings due to his frequent deliveries, monsters tended to be more straightforward when deciding to attack a sleeping traveller. With people, he had to be mindful of every sound, vibration and movement that could mean an ambush.

Scanning the area, he swiftly packed up everything the doctor left behind and threw a makeshift robe over Zack as he picked him up, carefully slinging his right arm over his shoulders to move out of the train. He supposed that Shinra would be utilising what force they have left to search for them and staying in one place for too long was akin to suicide.

Grudgingly ignoring his aching body, he stepped outside and headed towards the market place. He was currently wearing a grey shirt instead of his turtleneck and shoulder guards and his spiky blond hair and the bright, mako eyes were covered with a murky coloured barret. He would need those uniforms later but right now, he needed to stay low as much as possible.

The giant buster sword was hopelessly wrapped up in fabric he ripped from the train's curtains and was lodged on his back. As much as he like the security of having the blade around, the thing could act as a target from a mile away. Nonetheless, he left the grip of the sword sticking out from the tattered mass so that he had an easy access to it if the situation took a wrong turn.

Panting as he dragged his feet along, Cloud furiously reorganised his thoughts from the previous night. While going into the reactor would hardly be a difficult task, he belatedly realised that reactor one was the facility he and the AVALANCHE blew up within days upon his entering of the city. In fact, he did not remember precisely on which date the AVALANCHE made their move.

Although peaceful atmosphere and the lack of news headlines floating around indicated that there had been no recent terrorist activity, he felt restless just thinking that the building in question could collapse any day. How was he going to stop the attack on the reactor? That monster of a bomb downright blew up a good portion of Sector 1 and ultimately led to the fall of Sector 7. He wanted to avoid as much casulties this time around – he _had_ to. Even a failure like him could do it right if one's been through it all once already, right? However, in the corner of his mind, a nagging voice whispered: _what about Sephiroth__? __Geostigma_?

Having his job at Sector one reactor meant that he had one more reason to find Seventh Heaven and the AVALANCHE now – preferably as fast as he can. After musing on the idea of aimlessly wondering around Sector 7 like he did last time, he quickly erased the thought. He wasn't entirely sure if he could make it there without falling in a heap somewhere in Sector 6 and Tifa wasn't going to be loitering around the train station every day.

Besides, he needed a place to rest without being alert all the time. The accumulated stress and fatigue from the last two sleepless days was weighing heavily on his body; Cloud cursed at the uselessness of it. A few days ago he could go on for _weeks_ without sleep if necessary – albeit becoming much, much inefficient at the end of the run. However, now, his body felt like soaked cotton, his head pounding as if insides of his skull was being squeezed like a wet, tattered rag. Apparently, being randomly thrown into unrefined mako a multiple times did not give you significant resistance to it. On the other hand, it could simply have been this body that would still have been thoroughly intoxicated.

Trying desperately to keep awake, he gritted his teeth and squeezed Zack's wrist slightly harder. The grip felt real, skin feeling oddly warm under his gloves, sweat trickling down the edge of the fingers with clarity far beyond his ephemeral dreams. He was going to do what was right. Last time it was because no one else would – this time, because he was the only one who _knew _how to. Gingerly Cloud glanced around the rubbles blocking his path. The inn wasn't far from where he was. He could make it there.

* * *

The Wall Market was one of the shadiest places in the slums – erratic, irregular and inhospitable. In most nights, one usually had to watch out for occasional stomach contents littered on the floor. However, it was also one of the busiest places and made a good cover to hide under for a few days. Thankfully, he had come to this place often enough before the Meteor to remember his way around; it was one of the places he spent time with Aerith. He smiled in reminiscence and found his way towards an inn. Like many other places in the area, it was beaten down with less-than-top-notch sanitary requirements, but it was around a corner and hard to see unless one used multiple alleyways.

"I guess we should book in for a few days…" Cloud murmured to the unconscious man. While ignoring some crooked looking figures standing near the entrance, he dragged his feet just a few times more to the counter where a sleeping clerk was snoring with his face buried in paperwork of some sort. Getting impatient with standing around, he pressed the desk bell sharply a few times to get the sleeping man's attention.

"Uh… what? What?" the man exclaimed, clearly bewildered with his eyes darting around as if someone was about to jump on him.

"A room for three – I'll book in for tonight," Cloud tiredly replied, making sure to stare at the low counter to keep his eyes shadowed. He rummaged his pocket for a few hundred Gils, and waited for the clerk to reply. He just hoped that the man would forget about the fact that there actually weren't three people lodging in the room. He would have saved up on Gil as much as possible but he figured that Shinra may go through the records for two people looking for an inn if they were thorough enough. Besides, he could always sneak some money if he was going to the reactor – there was bound to be some lying around.

"Oh, I see, ok, um… that will be 150Gil. Do you want a room with a double bed and a single… or… " the clerk babbled.

"It doesn't matter; I'll take whatever you have."Cloud said as he shook his soon as the key got dropped onto his hands, the blond hurried away into the corridor, leaving the sleepy eyed inn employee to yawn before rubbing his eyes.

From behind, several hooded figures whispered among themselves and smirked as they noted the number on the keys the innkeeper handed over to the blond.

* * *

Cissnei hopped and ducked between the rubbles, taking a complex route through the back streets to reach the market place – it was a shortcut that she discovered a while back and although a bit bumpy around the corners, it meant that she could didn't have to take the normal way that notified every illegal tradesmen throughout the market that a Turk showed herself in the slums. Making sure that she remained unnoticed, she mused on whether to start searching the buildings first or interrogate her way through she came across the information she wanted.

Just as she passed a corner, she saw a fleeting image of one or two - she wasn't quite sure – figures entering a small inn. However, it wasn't what held her attention. After their entrance, the two figures standing outside quickly exchanged brief hand signals, and followed after the two men who entered previously after a time gap. Sighing, she contemplated her options before trekking behind the building to spot her way in. Looking skywards, she could see a small, partially open window on the third floor she could enter through and nimbly started climbing her way through using pipelines, windows, and faults in the brickwork. It seemed she was wasting a lot of time today.

Prying open the particularly stiff window until she had enough place to fit through, Cissnei silently landed in a seemingly empty room. Light seeped from a crack underneath the bathroom door and she quickly made her way to the exit, making sure as to not disturb the tranquil sound of dropping water. Thankfully, the door opened without the typical creak and she slipped through the opening after cautiously glancing around the empty corridor. Maybe it's not this floor… she thought, and made her way downstairs. As she came closer to the last step, she could hear a low murmur from beyond the wall before the corridor. Noting that assailant was just a few steps away, she soundlessly stuck close to the wall and slipped a dagger out from underneath her sleeves, her other hand on her cell phone button, ready for the distress signal.

"You are supposed to be on lookout for the third floor, what are you doing here?" someone with a gruff voice frantically whispered.

"Boss called me down – there isn't anybody boarding upstairs anyway. I've checked the records and the person in the only occupied room is in the shower. They wouldn't even hear us. It's room 201, right?" As the man nonchalantly replied to the newcomer, he turned his head around to inspect the stairs and Cissnei tensed, inwardly sighing in relief when the man drew away, not noticing her in the blind spot due to the angle of the wall.

"Well, I'm checking it again anyway. It's me that has to deal with the consequences of Boss being mad if things go wrong. He wants to be out of here before anybody has a chance to call in the troops." At this remark, Cissnei frowned, and took the hand she held her cell phone in out of her pocket and poised to strike with the hand holding the dagger drawn back, waiting for the man to enter through the archway.

"I don't get where the boss comes from though, they seemed pretty poor asides from that big-ass sword…Kugh!" As soon as the man entered through, Cissnei struck out with the base of the dagger, breaking the man's nose just as her other hand grabbed for his arm, pulling it towards her and twisting it behind his back with the dagger now positioned firmly on his neck. Using him as a shield, she stepped through the archway into the corridor where the other man stood, a gun not yet fully out of its holster without even the safety removed. The man scowled at her and Cissnei put on her best smile, her senses checking all the possible locations for reinforcements as well as both men's hands and feet.

"What's going on here, boys?"

* * *

Exhausted beyond comprehension, Cloud let the door close and locked it behind him. With a small ounce of strength he had left, he gently laid Zack down on the bed and collapsed onto the floor beside it, grasping the bedpost for support as he half-sat, half-fell. Suddenly, the prospect of sleeping on the floor sounded positively inviting but he chided himself and shook his head, driving away his exhaustion once more.

Letting out a deep sigh, he took off his bag and the buster sword on his shoulder with his free hand and slowly massaged his temples. What now, from here?Everythinghad occurred in a blur and only now the implications of his actions started catching up, weighing him down like a pile of rubble. He lifted his head up slightlywith more effort than he realised,then stared at the unconscious raven with a wistful look – nostalgia lingering on the surface, bubbling up and marring his vision with long-forgotten dreams.

Zack.

Only now, Cloud had begun to realise that the raven was not going to stay unconscious forever. The man's complexion definitely improved since last night and now, it almost seemed as if he was only sleeping rather than sick. This meant that Zack was going to wake up, any moment from now.

It terrified Cloud.

Wisps of memories floated around his head and as if with a sudden jolt, Cloud suddenly realised how little he knew about the man. Zack had saved his life, gave him everything he had and Cloud did not even have a proper, complete memories of him. Dread filled his mind and Cloud frowned as his vision whirled from the rising panic. What was Zack going to say to him when he woke up? What was he going to say? Cloud had little notion on how he acted before the Nibelheim incident and it frightened him out of his wits that Zack was going to expect him to act as the raven remembered.

Although Cloud had visited Zack's 'grave' almost every day since the last fight in the Northern Crater, Cloud had never actually spoken to the man – at least, not while he was in a state where he could talk back: alive. Cloud stood up and gritted his teeth. He had to find something to do. Maybe he could clean the Buster Sword. Blood and grime from the wastelands were still stuck to the giant blade and to be re-used, it needed some maintenance. He would need to do some basic barricade to the door as well. Rather angrily, he cut through the binds on the curtains and drew the blade out, calming himself with cold feel of the familiar object. He was about to grab some wet cloth when a loud thud from the corridor disturbed his thoughts.

* * *

As she held her knife to the hostage's throat, Cissnei carefully digested the information the man sputtered out before crossing over the archway. Surely, there weren't that many people with a gigantic sword on their back? The wheels in her head were turning and she contemplated around possibilities of the people these men spoke about being the rowdy SOLDIER first class and the infantryman. Although see trusted her skills as a Turk, she knew that she would never be able to stand on her own against Zack Fair even if he was carrying an unconscious body around – hec, she probably couldn't even stall him if he was carrying around a _half ton_ baggage.

Her eyes still transfixed on the two men, she quickly weighed her options. Were there was to be a commotion, Shinra would hear about it immediately and they would lose the chance to secure both of them before they got executed or captured. She parted her lips a little as she decided to get some more information first before calling the reinforcements. However, she needed to take care of these thugs first. Inwardly, she let out a sigh – there was never a short supply of these sorts in the slums, and it was getting rather bland dealing with them.

"What the hell d'ya think you're doing, wench!" the man who still had his hands on the half raised gun hissed, coming out of his daze. His tone was low, and Cissnei figured that they did not want much noise either. She hoped that Zack – or whoever was in there - was occupied enough not to hear what they were saying – she had always wondered how keen the SOLDIERs' sense of hearing were. Regardless, she had to do this quickly before someone noticed her presence.

"Oh, I'm just a nobody – but really, if you just answer some of my questions I _may_ be willing to let you go." The man gulped as he took in her Turk attire, but for a moment, a strong sense of _idiocy_ seemed radiate from his face before he _lunged_.

"Keh, as if I'll tell anything to you Shinra dogs! The boss will be here with reinforcements any second…" the man spat, grabbing his guns out only to find his partner kicked towards him, momentarily losing his balance and _shooting_ before eventually falling to the ground from the sweeping kick Cissnei sent behind his knees.

With both men on the ground, Cissnei pinned them down with another blow to their diaphragms with her foot and tied them together in one swift motion, not bothering with a gag. As soon as she was finished, she bolted in the direction of the room in question, dialling Reno's number with one hand and fumbling for a gun in the other. Whoever was in that room would have heard the gunshot - enhanced or not - and she wasn't about to lose her trail.

Reaching the door within seconds, she secured her bearings for a moment before shooting and kicking the locked door open, immediately clinging to the wall beside it. Gun poised to strike, she carefully inspected the room using reflexions from her phone. No sound. No movement. But… wind? Turning around, she carefully walked over the doorstep, biting her lips as she examined the interior with an irritated look.

A bloodied cloth, a small bag, curtains fluttering by the open window.

An empty room.

* * *

So there you go. I hope this chapter explains some questions on Cloud's actions.

Umm... Other than that I have a one serious request. is the anyone who can beta read for me? I promised I would go over the mistakes I made in the other chapters but my uni work is pretty demanding and I know I'm hopeless at being careful about how I write things. Most of my chapters go up 'without' editing and as much as I love posting this story, I hate the fact that you guys are not receiving a good quality work. I know for a fact that my grammar is bad and English happens to be my second language. Please PM me if you are interested!

Thank you for your support!

P.S. I fried my computer today by accidently flicking the voltage switch while the power was on. Hard drive, motherboard, ram, everything is gone. );

P.S.S Is is completely compulsory to put up disclaimers at the beginning of each chapter? I mean, this site can't even exist if there is any copyright infringement intended from any of the authors. However, just in case, I'll remind you guys that I don't actually own FFVII characters.


	6. Friends right?

Chapter 5

Cloud cursed at anything he could think of under his breath while wincing from the sharp pain that shot up from his left ankle. Although the height of the building did not pose a significant problem, trying to jump through the small window while carrying a person and a sword bigger than his own size proved to make him very prone to minor sprains. The injury was not enough to bother him, sure to be healed in a couple of hours, but Cloud felt a tinge of irritation and glared at his foot as if it was to blame for all his increasingly disastrous situations. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he turned his eyes toward the direction of their room; the auburn head of a figure wearing a familiar blue suit was clearly visible from the corner of his eyes.

Of all places to go, he had to drop by one that had a Turk in it! Didn't they have staff shortages at this point? Raking his fingers through his blond spikes, Cloud forced his feet to move and took to the winding alleyways, making sure to keep his tracks indistinguishable from the array of footprints scattered on the ground. While keeping his pace up, he groaned at how noticeable he must look: Zack slung over his left shoulder while the other arm jerkily dangling on the side, holding the gigantic weapon in its full glory. Cloud mentally thanked the fact that people in the slums avoided narrow alleyways even during daytime.

After a while, Cloud glanced back towards the direction of the inn and remembered that the Turk he had seen was someone he did not recognize. Perplexed, he tried to remember the small details about the peculiar organization in its early days but nothing but blank spaces came up in his mind - although Reno and Elena became loquacious at times, all Turks were extremely tight-lipped when it came to their past. Cloud figured that anybody who had their lives deeply entangled with Shinra, especially in such a group, had their own hell lodged somewhere deeply in their head, sealed and shoved away until it was safe enough for them to take it out. However, having things piled up inside made it hard to look back without completely breaking apart.

Wearily, Cloud inspected a small area between Sector 5 and Sector 6 where remnants of a former playground had awkwardly integrated with the surrounding pile of junks, the loose iron bars hanging out dangerously as if forming a demented piece of artwork. The tang of coppery taste from repeatedly biting into his cheeks now hardly helped in keeping him awake. Not even having enough energy to curse again at the Turk who found them, Cloud sluggishly moved the rubble in the most inconspicuous corner to dig out an old crawl tunnel. After shoving Zack's supine figure into its deepest portion, he crawled in himself, letting an abandoned piece of a broken wardrobe fall from the top of the pile to shut off the view of the entrance along with unwelcoming winds.

When he closed his eyes, there was that fleeting second of awareness - a feather brushing along his mind - before everything faded away.

* * *

He was floating, drifting in a dark, weightless place, much like the lifestream without the constant whispers and fragments of memories barraging the insides of his mind. Instead, it was empty and hollow, offensive static obscuring his vision and a bone-chilling sense of forboding sending shivers down the back of his neck. It was familiar, and his insides tingled and lurched in response, his intestines coiling around and twisting themselves into a knot. With a sickening sound of skin splitting apart, blood dripped down and Cloud slowly lifted his eyes. He remembered the cold steel brushing against his heart, burning pain and agony shredding his insides. He caught a glimpse of the blade running through his chest and his vision flooded with green -

"Hmm, not enough dosage; maybe I should take it further?"

The ringing in his ears got louder and nothing came out when he screamed; the fluid around him took all the sound away, someplace far along with the forgotten memories. Every time he moved, the liquid acid choked his lungs and burned his skin, but one could only stand so still when it felt like ants were crawling all over their blood. Faintly, he raised his hands reached out, the frail fingers meeting the hard glass after what felt like an eternity of effort. He was reaching out for what? Who? The green engulfed him and he was again left grasping at nothing. His senses felt oddly numb even though the acid still burned, sizzling away his brain along with his skin.

"Useless. Absolutely useless. Sephiroth could hold much more than this. Tch, tch. You're proving to be quite a failure, Specimen C."

A hand reaching out. A white sleeve smudged with chemicals, blood and mako. Shaking him by the shoulder –

Cloud awoke.

* * *

The first thing Zack noticed was a persistent, nagging sensation of being cramped. He struggled to open his eyes and tried desperately to remember where he was. Nope, doesn't work. Now if I can at least form a single thread of thought… His head swam in a whirl of vertigo-infested muck and every time he tried to think, the buzzing in his ears seemed to get louder and louder until it felt like something unbelievably hard and annoying was banging his skull from the inside. Briefly, he wondered if getting his ass kicked by a Midgar Zolom would be worse than this but even that thought faded, crumbling away like a badly completed puzzle. Saving the thinking part for later, he tried moving his fingers but felt numb, a strange tingling ghosting on his fingertips.

Zack let out an almost inaudible grunt of frustration and tried to open his eyes but the act proved to be much more difficult than he initially thought. After feeling his face scrunch up multiple times, he pried his eyes open, instantly shutting them to get the stinging sensation to go away. Blinking blearily, he let his mind whirl in the blankness, bouncing around his cotton wool brain before groggily turning his head around for no particular reason other than it being incredibly stiff. He focused his dazed gaze on the light peeking in through the rubble before instantly letting out a choked gasp as everything came rushing back like a blinking red right with a loud siren to match.

What the hell?

In a rather undignified manner, his hands fumbled, roughly feeling for what should have been close to a meat bag with holes, only to find bandages over what felt like fully covered wounds. By all rights, he should have been dead. Despite all the enhancements of a first class SOLDIER, he knew the breaking point far too well just from his experience with Genesis and his copies. Even Angeal… With a sinking feeling, he snapped his head around to take in his surroundings – he was going to go insane if this was one of Shinra's godforsaken labs. Where the hell was he? The dim light inside the tunnel – it looked like a tunnel – almost made it impossible to make out where he was but the plastic glow from the sun outside told him immediately whatever he was inside of wasn't Shinra made – at least for captivity anyway. Propping himself on his elbows to a half-lying, half-sitting position, he almost slipped when he saw a blond figure sitting near what appeared to be an entrance, the spiked head propped on his knees and the handle of the Buster Sword firmly grasped in his right hand, its blade stretched out towards the makeshift barricade.

"Cloud…"

Hands outstretched, he brought himself upright and made his way towards the blond, hope bubbling inside him like an inflating balloon. Was he awake? The muddled memories from the blood soaked cliff came back in pieces and pounded in his chest. All those nights of talking to Cloud nonstop just to keep himself sane – keeping his hope tucked away because he just couldn't let it go – flashed before him and Zack firmly grasped the younger man's shoulder with his trembling fingers to give it a gentle shake.

"Buddy, please... Cloud."

A flinch. Joy tickled Zack's insides and he was about to give his friend another shake with a renewed sense of urgency when a hand shot up from underneath, grasping Zack's neck with a frightening speed. With a jolt, Zack toppled backwards and found himself staring at wide blue eyes filled with anger and a deep, soul wrenching hate.

* * *

Cloud gasped – hyperventilated – while trying to process what happened. There was Sephiroth, no, the lab – the lab – and now, now he had –

"…Cloud?"

Cerulean eyes wide with surprise, raven-black hair, he had – he had –

"…Zack."

Cloud breathed out slowly in confusion and stumbled backwards, immediately loosening the grip he had not realized he had on the other's neck. Head snapped to the floor, he opened and closed his mouth several times before clenching his teeth and murmuring a faint apology.

"I… I'm sorry."

Silence. Cloud regarded the floor while frozen with anxiety that crept up every second that passed. He wanted to lift his head and study the other's face for a sign of approval – something – that would put his mind to ease but at the same time, the absolute fear of doing something wrong grabbed him and made it impossible to move his stiff body. All of a sudden, he realized that he was avoiding looking up and staring into those deep mako eyes because he was ashamed. When he beat Kadaj's gang and the returned Sephiroth, he had found some peace in knowing that his friend was still there, watching over him. However, all the things that he had wronged Zack by – stealing his dreams, memories, being so useless that he only weighed him down – came rushing back, and the fact that Zack would have been alive if not for him twisted his insides. Thinking of a million things at once, Cloud contemplated the idea of just running for it here and now when something big collided with and wrapped tightly around him.

It was warm.

"You're awake…" a voice called next to him in choke-filled gasps, "you're awake…"

Cloud stiffened momentarily before relaxing into Zack's arms, tentatively placing his hands on his old friend's back. Yeah, maybe it wasn't so bad after all - at least this time, he had done something right. Zack was here and he was alive and it was all that mattered for now. He let the feeling linger for a while, before pulling away and giving the raven a sheepish smile.

"Hi."

Zack broke out in a huge grin before staring a bit more into Cloud's face as if checking that he was still awake. "Oh boy, am I glad to see you. I thought I was dead!" A pause, then came a confused frown, "Um, you're not dead, right, Cloud?"

Cloud stared. He hadn't thought about it that way before. It was pretty likely if he was thrown into raw mako for the third time but he quickly put the notion away. If this was his afterlife, he imagined it would be much happier or much, much more excruciating. Maybe his horrible nightmare was a sign. Even if he was dead, Cloud supposed it wouldn't matter at all. If it meant saving his friends, he might very well save them in the afterlife if he can. Zack seemed to take his silence as a 'no' and opened his mouth but he soon closed it, his grin fading into a moderate smile before turning his head in both directions as if inspecting the surroundings.

"Um, where are we?" Cloud briefly wondered if the raven only noticed this now or if the shock of seeing him awake made everything else a second priority.

"The slums near Sector Seven. I had to take you out of the inn..." he trailed off but realized that Zack did not hear the second part of what he said. The raven was already staring past Cloud through the web-like gaps made by the metal scraps to take in the scenery.

"Midgar…" he whispered, and Cloud realized that although this had been a past long gone for Cloud, for Zack, it had been reaching his final destination after five excruciatingly long years. The swirling mass of emotions from the voice of his friend was jabbing pointy daggers into his chest. How was he going to explain that they couldn't get to Aerith right away with the Turks swarming all over the place?

"..oud…"

Would he have to tell him about the chip? How was he going to stop AVALANCHE…?

"Cloud!"

Shaken out of his reverie, Cloud involuntarily stared into his friend's concerned face before blinking a couple of times as he registered what had happened. Was Zack talking to him? Frowning, he blamed the residual mako for throwing him off. He wasn't going to admit that he'd fallen into what Tifa had previously called 'a bad trail of thoughts'.

"…You okay?" There was something urgent and restless in Zack's eyes - concern written all over his face. Certainly, it would have been amusing if the object of the raven's anxiousness hadn't been himself. However, right now, he felt the slightest frustration at how his friend was treating him. He couldn't possibly be thinking that he was still a vegetable – lifeless and dull like a…

"I'm not made of glass," he said softly, immediately stiffening at his trail of thoughts. Carefully keeping his face blank to hide his panic, he inwardly cursed. This was becoming somewhat of a complex of his. Unfortunately, spending almost a year thinking he was someone else before completely losing his sense of self did not go too brilliantly for his psyche. However, the action somehow seemed to unnerve Zack even more as he opened and closed his mouth a few times before sending nervous glances at him.

"… So..." the raven began, looking uncomfortable, "How did we end up here? We're not caught… right?"

Cloud immediately shook his head. As much as he wanted to refrain from giving anything away, he didn't want Zack to submerge himself in that horrible notion for a moment longer. Hesitantly, he faced away from Zack and crawled closer to the opening to get a better view. After a careful inspection, he motioned the other to follow.

"I don't think there's anyone here for now. I saw a Turk yesterday at the inn we were staying at but I'm sure that she didn't see us at all." Cloud placed his hands on the rubble while vacantly coming up with ways to open up the entrance without producing any unnecessary sound, shaking it gently in his grasp.

"She? What, we stayed at an inn? For how long?" Frowning in befuddlement, Zack scratched the back of his neck. Cloud eyed the gesture curiously – he'd had to wean himself off that habit for the past two years. As for the question…

"Five minutes," Cloud remarked, facing away from the now confused man to hide a smirk that graced his lips.

"Five?"

"Yeah," Cloud glanced towards Zack, allowing the man to see the amused glee in his eyes. Zack folded his arms over his chest.

"I can't believe it, you're having me on." Zack huffed like a petulant child, getting a rare, barely audible chuckle out of Cloud. This, in turn, got an outlandishly large grin from the bigger man. "So, how long was I out for? It's not… years, right? I don't feel any older."

"No… I had to carry you out as soon as we booked in because of the Turk. As for how long you were out: not long… it's been barely two days since we got to Midgar." Cloud paused slightly and fidgeted with his fingers before moving on. "I…"

"So you saved me." Cloud froze. Did he just…? He slowly raised his head and looked his friend in the eyes that were sparkling with unspoken glee. "I knew you could do it!"

As Zack assaulted him with another brash arm around his neck, the blond swallowed back thick bile that crept up his throat. Zack was wrong. He had never saved Zack. He was too damned weak and let him die on that hill. Struggling against the raven's grip, he pushed the ex-SOLDIER away, slamming him against the wall. After realizing what had happened, Cloud clenched his teeth and dipped his head down towards the floor to avoid Zack, who was now looking at him with an odd look in his eyes after the initial shock had faded away. After staying silent for a while, Cloud slowly opened his mouth and spoke with a trembling, anguish-filled voice.

"No, I didn't save you. I don't deserve that. All I did was take you from that hill to Midgar. You… You would've reached here months before if you weren't carrying me around." You wouldn't have died. It was a bad time to ask, but Cloud had wanted to ask about it for years. Zack had someone waiting for him. So why… why? Cloud still refused to look up.

"…So you are asking why I didn't… abandon you? Throw you away?" There was a hint of incredulousness in Zack's voice, and anger. "What kind of hero would I be – no, scratch that – what kind of friend would I be if I left you behind! What kind of person do you think I am? What kind of person do you think you are, to think yourself so worthless?" The raven's eyes looked pained as he punched the wall to his side, shaking the flimsy architecture of rubble and metal scraps on top of the tube.

"So the only reason for throwing your life away is that I was your friend," Cloud muttered after a long silence, still not looking up.

"And I would do it again for the same reason," grumbled the raven, drawing his legs together with his arms and resting his forehead on his knees. Cloud looked up, peeking at the top of his friend's lowered head almost in defeat.

"Thanks, Zack."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

A HUGE thanks to Genesis-R who beta read for me!

(Sorry for people who read this immediately, the doc editor just ignored my page breaks for some reason)


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