AN: haha, forgot this the first upload… hi! I'm lilirum! Honestly, I haven't written fanfiction or… actually… anything in over a year… so I'm a bit rusty, and don't have a beta! However, this was just begging to be written, but if you see any mistakes just let me know… yeah… its three in the morning… eheh, kinda late to be writing an author's note I want to make sense

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of the characters, games, or movies. I am merely manipulating a few choice characters for my own amusement! I own nothing but the idea of this story.

Prologue

It was dark. So fucking dark. And it wasn't that he just couldn't see, it went beyond that. The darkness was seeping into his pores, engulfing his body. It pressed down on his eyelids, his limbs, ran down his throat and into his lungs, entered his blood and filled his heart. He wasn't even sure he was alive anymore, just a mass of consciousness held still in something he couldn't describe. Faintly, he knew he had a body. He knew he had hands to move and legs to kick, but everything that was pressing against him held him horribly still.

He had no idea how long he had been in here, floating, unseeing, but he knew it was a long time. There was something familiar about it, something that made his heart want to race and made his muscles twitch as much as they were able to. He was nervous, terrified, and angry. Above all, he was angry. He was filled with a need to move, a need to fight, a need to do something other than just sitting there and waiting for Gaia knew what.

It wasn't like him to stay this still and this silent for so long, he knew that. There was just something ultimately wrong about it. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, but with every passing moment he just wanted to open his mouth, not necessarily to scream and yell, to try and get someone's attention, but just to hear something, anything. He couldn't remember the sound of his own voice. In fact… he couldn't remember anything. All that he knew was darkness, complete immobility, and the silence of his mind. He didn't know what he looked like, he didn't know what his name was, didn't know how he came to be here… or if he had always been here. All he knew was that he wanted to get out. He wanted to move, to speak, to fight. Above all he had an urge to fight. To punish whoever or whatever was keeping him here.

He floated there for days, weeks, years. There was no way of knowing, but he knew it was a long time. A long time to remain immobile with just his thoughts as his companions. A small part of his mind insisted there was someone out there, watching him, only an arms length away if he could only just move, but there was no way of knowing that for sure.

But suddenly, something changed. He wasn't sure what it was, or how it happened, but something was different one day when his brain seemed to tell him he was awake, sentient. The differences between sleep and being awake were small, but for some reason he always seemed to know a bit more when he was "awake". The water around him was different. For one, he could feel it. He knew it was water of some sort. It was no longer just a blockade of something he couldn't feel. Instead, he could feel it shifting around him, slimy, smooth. Something was tickling against his neck in the small current, and he realized with wonder that it must have been his hair. Curiously, he tried to move his body, finding that not only could he twitch his fingers and toes, but it was much easier than he had originally thought.

And then something dawned on him. If he could move his fingers, if he could now feel what was around him… then maybe he could peel back this darkness. Slowly, not quite sure how the function worked, his eyelids slid open, whatever he was floating in stinging his eyes and almost forcing him to close them again. However, he was determined. He had gotten this far, he wanted to see what was around him. So, he ignored the burn of the liquid and opened his eyes, waiting for them to adjust, and when he did… he could have sworn he was looking at sunlight.

A word jumped into his mind, unbidden, strange, and he didn't know what it meant or where it came from, only that something clenched painfully in his chest as he thought it, lips unconsciously moving to form a rough approximation of the word.

'Cloud.'

---------

It was an easy mission. Or, at least it was supposed to be.

Cloud had just gotten a call from Reno about a cave the Turks had finally tracked down. It was supposed to be the last of Hojo's research, something all of them had been looking for and destroying over the years. It was simple really, just a defunct research facility in a mountain, hidden from the public and a pain in the ass to find. The only reason that Cloud was coming was to give the Turks a bit more firepower in case one of Hojo's mutations was still wandering around the place. You could never be too careful when it came to that crazy scientist.

So, the blond had been expecting a simple in and out mission. Just meet up with Reno, fly to the cave, bust up whatever pods were still in tact, burn papers, all that kind of stuff. And for the first part of the journey, that's exactly what it was.

Cloud merely pulled up on his motorcycle, Reno rolling his eyes at the blond's showy entrance before waving him to the chopper. The ride over was relatively uneventful. The only interesting part when Reno commented that Cloud was looking more and more like a Chocobo every day, something that ended up with Rude having to take the controls as Cloud held the Turk out of the cargo drop by his jacket, face impassive and uncaring as the redhead struggled and swore. Within minutes though, Reno was back at the controls, and Cloud had resumed merely staring out of one of the windows. The only change was Reno swearing under his breath and Rude carefully placed between the two.

They landed on a flat ledge just above the cave a few minutes later, Reno still pissed and Cloud still as silent as the redhead's partner. In all honestly, the three didn't make a very good team. Sure, their combat specialties worked well together, but Cloud and Reno constantly got on each other's nerves, resulting in just as many brawls between the two of them as there were enemy attacks. Sure, Rude could calm Reno down most of the time with a simple look, but even he couldn't bring himself to be bothered enough by the two younger fighters' constant bickering to try and keep everything silent. So most of the time when Reno called him, Cloud made sure to drag Tifa along to act as a buffer between him and the redhead. But this time was different. This time the three were dealing with something they didn't want to drag anyone else into. Anything that had to deal with Hojo and his experiments wasn't something to joke about.

"So how are we doing this?" Cloud asked the Turks, kneeling at the edge of the cliff and peering over curiously, his eyes sweeping the landscape and picking out landing points, handholds, anything he might need in case something went wrong. Honestly, it was a rather good place for a lab. The cave was tucked away from sight by helicopters and other surveying machines, but there were just enough ledges for anyone with even the most basic of warrior training to easily reach the cave. In any sense, it made their mission a hell of a lot easier.

"In and out. Recon. Then blow it sky high," Reno said with a feral grin on his face, EMR slung over his shoulder lazily. Cloud blew at his bangs in annoyance, rolling his eyes at the Turk. Honestly, them and their explosives. Rufus must have hired them based on their level of pyromania.

"Lets do this," Cloud muttered, not sparing a moment to see if both Turks were ready. It wasn't like he needed their help with this anyways. Even if there was a monster lurking in the cave, as long as it wasn't some freak-show stronger than Sephiroth, he was pretty sure he could handle himself. He leapt with practiced ease to the next ledge down, flipping off of it to run a few silent steps along the wall of the cliff before dropping down onto the cave ledge. He heard Reno curse and a few rocks shift and allowed himself a small smirk at the knowledge that the other two weren't faring as well with getting to the cave as Cloud was.

He strode forward, mako-infused eyes glowing eerily in the darkness, a gloved hand clenched around the hilt of his sword. Unlike Reno and Rude, Cloud didn't need a flare or flashlight to travel in the dark of the cave. He could see perfectly fine in the gloom, it was just another legacy that Hojo left him. The blond paused in front of a capsule, broken from the inside out, his boots crunching on the remaining shards of glass on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he looked at it, memories flooding out of his subconscious. He scowled at it, eyes traveling to the small glowing pool of residue mako at the bottom before he turned around and strode onward, hand clutching the hilt of his sword a little tighter.

There was something about the place that made Cloud nervous, made every muscle in his body clench as if he was expecting a fight. Even as Reno made a noise of carefree disgust as he stepped around something that had finished rotting a few years ago, Cloud couldn't bring himself to sound the all clear. The lab was… too small. There wasn't enough here, and yet it was unmistakably Hojo's work. Where were the rows of capsules? Where were the telltale signs of experimentation? The only things here were a few scattered papers, the remains of an experiment, and one lousy, broken container.

"Rude, got the lights yet?" Reno called into the darkness, his voice echoing eerily in the still lab. Cloud heard something clatter to the ground before Reno swore colorfully. There were some dull thuds that followed, and a few more clatters as thin metal hit the stone floor. Cloud shook his head and let out a small scoff of amusement as he pictured Reno stumbling around in the dark, kicking at whatever was in his path. There was a small whirring sound before the overhead lights slowly crackled into use, bathing the entire lab in a coat of dull orange, and suddenly Cloud knew why the lab had seemed so small.

There was a door in front of him, a door that in the dim light had seemed to just be a part of the wall. Even with the light on it was hard to pick out. He frowned and put his hand on it, feeling around the metal slab until he felt something give. Pausing for just a moment, Cloud drew his sword and glanced over his shoulder, seeing the two Turks moving towards him, weapons drawn and stances ready. Unlike earlier, they were now moving with care, avoiding the obstacles on the floor with practiced ease. If the blond hadn't looked back, he wouldn't have even known that the two were coming towards him.

Turning back to the matter at hand, Cloud gently pushed down on the small metal slab, and with a groan the entire door slid backwards and to the side, vanishing into the stone wall as if it had never been there. The three fighters stepped forward and down the steps, Reno letting out a low whistle as they were met with at least thirty tanks filled to the brim with glowing mako. The air was cold enough that the fighters could see their breath, and Cloud couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through him both by the eerie familiarity of the place and the temperature.

He stilled at the bottom of the stairs, allowing the tip of his sword to dip to the ground, resting there in an ever-ready position. There was nothing down here other than the pods and the generator, that much was certain. And as such, there was no real reason for him to go further. So as Reno shouldered past him, looking as excited as a kid during Christmas, he didn't comment or make a move to follow him, merely watched the Turks carefully, ready to back them up if they needed it.

"Damn, this is creepy," Reno muttered, leaning towards one of the pods and tapping the glass with his finger. "I keep expecting something to pop out at me. Weird that they're empty," he mused, leaning forward even more and narrowing his eyes, a hand coming up to rub at his chin bemusedly. Rude paused in his own investigation to watch Reno as the redhead had an odd moment of seriousness. "Hold on," Reno continued, close enough to the glass that his breath had begun to fog up the glass. Inside the pod there seemed to be… well… a dark spot. "Rude, Cloud, get over here," he said, absently waving his hand behind him. The other two moved, Cloud a little more reluctant to venture further in. "Holy fuck… I think there's something in here," Reno said, sounding seriously disturbed as he straightened up and raked his eyes over the frame of the pod. "Maybe not something living, but there's definitely something in there."

Cloud's hand tightened on his sword again as he and Rude leaned in closer, and sure enough, there was something floating in the mako. It was small and almost completely obscured by the glowing green around it, but the blond could pick out something that seemed almost human-esque curled up inside of the pod.

Suddenly, his mind erupted with images. Memories of the pod, of drowning inside the mako every day. Of experimentation, of banging his fists on the glass walls as he lost his ability to breathe, the liquid filling his lungs until he finally couldn't move. Wincing, Cloud raised his free hand to his head, stumbling backwards slightly from the onslaught of it all. Reno tensed and watched Cloud carefully, mouth drawn in an uncharacteristically straight line. Rude seemed a bit more relaxed, but Cloud could see a hand dive into his jacket, searching for the gun rather obviously hidden there.

Cool glass hit his back, and Cloud flinched again, but didn't move back. He knew what it was, and he knew what it probably contained, but he couldn't bring himself to turn around and face it. He was suddenly feeling sick, dizzy, weak, and he knew exactly why. He just wanted to smash the pods and get out of here, as soon as possible.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, knowing that Reno and Rude were too far away to hear him properly. He shook his head, driving back the memories and clearing it a little, pushing off the pod he had partially slumped against and flipping his sword up and onto his back before looking up, frowning as he saw the Turks in front of him. He wasn't too sure about Rude, considering that the man's face was unusually neutral and his glasses obscured his eyes, but Reno was staring wide-eyed at something over Cloud's shoulder. He frowned, brows furrowing as he gently clasped his hand around his sword again. Slowly, almost painfully so, he turned around, adrenaline rushing through his veins and eyes blazing at the prospect of some kind of fight.

He never could have prepared himself for what he saw.

There, floating naked in the pod, pale skin flawless and black mane shifting with the inner current of the flowing mako, was a fully developed human male. His eyes were open and alert, a vibrant violet tinted green both by the make he was floating in and an inner blaze that was almost unexplainable. His limbs were lax, his face expressionless and motionless save for those blazing eyes, wide in wonder, and the lips twitching as they seemed to try and form a word none of them could quite grasp. The blond was suddenly glad that he had sheathed his weapon, seeing as he would have dropped it rather unceremoniously as his hand dropped to the side of his body, his entire body completely numb from shock.

It was impossible, completely impossible. There was no way that he could actually… Cloud had watched him die, had been there, right next to him. There was no way that he had managed to survive. Absolutely no way. And yet… here he was, in front of him, clear as day and completely, totally whole. Even the possibility that the man in front of him was dead, merely preserved within the mako faded away as those violet eyes closed slowly before opening, the movement sluggish but still there.

"Zack?" he whispered hoarsely, stepping forward and raising a hand to press it against the glass gently, his blue eyes wide in surprise and laced with a touch of pain. The face inside the pod changed slightly as the eyebrows pressed together in confusion, the sparkle in those brilliant eyes changing slightly. Slowly and awkwardly, the man raised an arm, the back of his hand sliding up the glass as it hit it before he bent his elbow and moved so that his palm was pressing against the glass almost perfectly behind Cloud's. The eyes moved momentarily from Cloud's wide gaze to their hands, before returning, the wonder turning to confusion with a small hint of wariness.

The lips moved again, this time more exact and less haphazard, and Cloud nearly choked as he literally stopped breathing, eyes fixed on those lips as they formed a word that Cloud could always read. After all, it was his name.

"Zack," he repeated, the wonder fading from his voice to be replaced by something that was bordering on pure pain. "Zack." The name was a mantra, his voice loosing its volume as he kept speaking, throat thick with something he refused to name. Behind him he heard footsteps, but he couldn't care any less. Rude's voice floated from the lab upstairs a little while later, and Cloud absently noted that the Turk must be on the phone with someone. Not that he was really paying attention. He was rooted to the spot, hand glued to the glass and his mouth endlessly forming the ex-SOLDIER's name over and over again. Behind the glass, Zack was doing the same thing, raising another hand to press against the glass as soon as he realized that he could, and pushing forward until his forehead also touched the glass, looking down at the blond with wonder and happiness.

"Hey Buttercup," Reno's voice was strange when he spoke, almost strangled and coming from far off. Cloud tilted his head slightly, scowling lightly at the name but not bothering to do anything about it. He was too trapped in Zack's gaze to truly respond, too afraid that if he looked away fro even a second the man would retreat into the mako and be gone forever.

"What?" he responded softly, shortly, unable to keep the wonder from making his voice sound muted, slurred. It was as if he was just waking up from a dream, his mind unused to working at full speed. Zack's eyebrows twitched and his hands moved slightly on the glass, as if he had heard through the thick layer separating them. Cloud knew better than that. He knew that Hojo's containers blocked out all but the loudest of screams. There was no way Zack had heard his voice. Not yet, anyways.

"You… may want to get away from Fair and take a look at this," Reno said, and Cloud knew he wasn't imagining the slightly disturbed edge it had. Frowning lightly, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to the glass, eyes giving a silent promise that he would be back as soon as he could, and then he stepped away. He could feel Zack's eyes on him as he turned and walked towards Reno, scowling as he realized the Turk wasn't even looking at him, instead he was focused on something in a tank in front of him.

"What the hell is it Re-" he started, following Reno's gaze, and he froze. There, inside the tank, was something that gave him eerie flashbacks to Jenova's holding tank. It was… Zack. Only, not complete. He had one arm and half a torso, the rest dissolving off into strands of flesh, the mako tainted with a hint of red from the open portions. The face itself wasn't even complete, the skin wracked with holes where muscle and bone were visible. Cloud went numb, and he knew that any semblance of emotion on his face was wiped completely bare. Methodically, neutrally, he walked down the rows of tanks, peering into each one and finding some semblance of his mentor in each one. Some were partially made, some were mutated, he found some with gills, two heads, misshapen faces, and some that were clearly dead, just left to rot in the mako. Yet none of them were anything resembling the awake and moving man in the first tank. He was Zack in every way… except… "No," Cloud gasped, a sudden pain stabbing at his chest. He turned on heel and ran over to the tank, nearly plowing down Reno and not really caring as the Turk made a noise of protest. He hit against the tank with a heavy thunk, searching the frowning face for something, anything that would make this Zack. That would make this his friend, his mentor, the man he-

There was nothing.

A whine escaped Cloud's throat, he couldn't help it. It was Zack, he couldn't be the same person in front of him… whenever anything had to do with him… he changed. He grew frantic, emotional. He couldn't be the stoic hero around him. Instead, he turned into the teenager he had been when he knew the SOLDIER. He collapsed to the floor, breath coming in gasps and his vision spinning. He had been so sure. So relieved… and now…

Every scar was gone. Zack's skin was as smooth as a baby's, and Cloud would stake his life on the fact that it had never been touched before. The criss-cross scar on his cheek was nothing but a smooth patch of skin, and every spot that Cloud knew a bullet had gone in was completely empty. There wasn't a scratch on him, nothing that even hinted at a past as a warrior.

It was… an imitation.

A replica… a clone. Nothing but an empty shell, a baby in a man's body. Hojo had probably taught him Cloud's name as a sick joke. Hoping that maybe when his pets were discovered Cloud would be the one leading the charge.

He banged a fist against the glass, feeling spidering cracks spread from where his fist made impact… and he didn't care. He couldn't care. The person inside the pod may look like Zack, but it wasn't him. Who knew what changes Hojo made to his… his… Gaia… it was too painful to even think about.

"Clones," Rude said, obviously back from his phone call to headquarters. Cloud could hear him and Reno shifting through papers, but he didn't care anymore, instead only flinching when the word was said. He was staring at the metal beneath the glass, a plate that held no name, only numbers. It made his mouth twist in a bitter, animalistic smile. "Apparently made from a DNA sample taken from Fair before he died. Says here that none of them showed any promise, and none of them even took that final step towards life," he glanced up at the case that Cloud was currently slumped in front of and frowned, allowing Reno to impatiently snatch the files out of his hand.

"Ah no, here, in a later report," Reno said, sounding triumphant as he walked closer to the case where the full Zack was being kept. "It says something about number… 468581 gaining a conscious mind. But it… shit…" Reno looked up at the man floating in the Mako, obviously disturbed. "Cloud… that… that thing's sentient. It only has the mentality of a baby… but… it can be taught. Its not a monster… it's a fucking person."

Cloud flinched again, grinding his teeth together in irritation. The three of them lapsed into silence, Reno and Rude staring in disgusted fascination at the clone floating in the mako, and Cloud merely collapsed and tense at the base of the container. Finally, Reno cleared his throat again, seriously weirder out by this entire thing.

"Cloud… really… its up to you," he said, obviously displeased about that. "Our only orders were to find and destroy the research facility, yo. The Pres didn't say nothin' bout what we found here."

"Kill them," Cloud's voice was soft, but the venom that laced his words was enough to make both Turks wince. They knew that tone… it was the tone Cloud got whenever someone mentioned Sephiroth to him, or whenever he received word that someone had kicked over or tried to take Zack's sword on the cliffs. It was the tone that meant the shit was about to hit the fan, and that people probably weren't gonna survive. "Kill them all. They're," his voice broke, and he closed his mouth abruptly, swallowing thickly and shaking his head as he pushed himself to his feet, refusing to look at the… thing… floating inside the mako, "nothing but Hojo's playthings."

"… Even?" Reno ventured, waving his hand absently at the container housing the only awake Zack copy. Cloud turned on him almost instantly; his blue eyes blazing with anger and… something Reno couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Every. Last. One," Cloud grit out before storming up the steps and out into the main lab. Reno sighed and made a face, hitting Rude lightly in the chest before stepping forward.

"You heard the emo boy. Time to get to work, partner."

----

'Cloud.'

The name was repeating over and over in the man's head… and he didn't even know why. All he knew was that the man in front of him, the man with sunshine for hair and a sky for eyes was Cloud. His Cloud.

Cloud had walked in, not even seen him, but he had seen Cloud. He had seen and followed Cloud, willing his body to move through whatever he was trapped in to get closer to the glass. It was… strange, to say the least. He didn't know who this man was or how he knew him, only that something about him made happiness bubble in his chest and made him want to scream in joy. Cloud meant something… although… he wasn't quite sure what that something was.

And then Cloud turned, and he looked angry. For a moment the man thought it was at him, and he stared at Cloud with a pout in his eyes. He couldn't quite move his limbs or face yet, so he was depending solely on his eyes. Not that it mattered, he was so thrilled to be out of the darkness that nothing could have distressed him, not even if Cloud hadn't have been there when he opened his eyes. He held the boy's gaze, feeling his heart beat sluggishly in his chest as the man with sunshine hair walked closer. Cloud's lips were moving, forming something, and the man realized that he was doing something similar… but from what he could feel, what he was mouthing was nowhere near what Cloud was saying. Maybe… maybe since he was saying Cloud, and this person was definitely Cloud, then Cloud was telling him who he was?

He stared at the man's lips, unconsciously starting to mirror the movements, feeling them out with his lips and tongue. Z… Za… Za…..ck… Zack. Zack.

Suddenly, recognition lit his mind. Zack. That was his name. That was who he was. He didn't know who gave him that name, and he never recalled anyone calling him that, but he knew that he was known as Zack as surely as he knew that the man in front of him was Cloud.

Cloud moved his arm, pressing a dark hand against the thing that was in front of him. Zack thought it was strange how Cloud's face was so light but his hand was dark, but he didn't really pay much attention to it, instead he was marveling at how his own arm seemed to automatically fight against the liquid he was in to raise and press his hand up where Cloud's was.

He was lost in those blue eyes, completely entranced. Everything was so familiar about Cloud, yet so incredibly new. He knew that this was the first time he had seen the other man… and yet… he also knew that he had seen him many times before. It was a strange feeling… and it kind of made his head hurt.

He didn't know how long he was just staring at Cloud, completely lost, and he didn't really care. But all too soon the blond made a face and started moving. Zack couldn't help but pout, or… attempt to pout. It was really just an automatic frown that brought his lips together and made his brows furrow. Either way, he could almost see a smile tugging at Cloud's lips before the blond left. Zack watched carefully until the blond walked far enough so that the metal around him blocked his view. He huffed, and then found that he didn't have any breath to do so. So instead, he choked slightly before realizing it was better if he didn't do anything at all. So then he waited while looking around and memorizing every little detail he could see.

He didn't know where he was, but it didn't really bother him. Honestly, he was so happy that he could actually see everything around him that he could care less as to what was around him. However, his carefree attitude about things changed when Cloud ran back over, looking absolutely upset. He frowned, feeling a surge of protectiveness towards the blond, and he raised both his hands to press them on the glass, leaning forward until his forehead was touching the glass as well, trying to ask the blond what was wrong through his body language and his eyes. Unfortunately, Cloud was too busy hyperventilating (how he knew that word and how he knew Cloud was doing it, he wasn't too sure) and sweeping his eyes over Zack's face and chest to meet his eyes. Finally, the blond made a strange face, and Zack swore he could almost feel a strangled sound come from the boy as he collapsed.

Zack waited, unable to do anything else, and just stared, every muscle in his body tense, his eyes darting from Cloud to the two others standing nearby. He had a strange urge to just shove Cloud behind him and beat the other two up, in case they were what was causing that weird look of distress on the boy's face. But more than that, he just wanted his arms around the boy so he could… so he could… could what? Soothe him? Protect him? Why? Cloud seemed like he was strong, maybe even stronger than Zack. And there Cloud had that large metal… thing on his back while Zack only had what, his fists?

And then Cloud was gone, gone without even looking at him, and that confused Zack to no end, enough that he pressed his face to the glass in an attempt to watch Cloud as he walked away before allowing himself to float backwards, feeling his face go carefully blank, not reflecting the confusion and turmoil sifting around inside of him. He watched with muted interest as the two other men methodically hit the glass of tubes much like the one he was in. Green liquid poured out of each, along with strange masses that all seemed to have some sort of… similarities between them.

Finally, the one with red hair made its way to the container that Zack was in, and he seemed to pause, looking him over. In return, Zack quirked an eyebrow up, mouth open slightly in confusion. The man paused slightly, a strange weapon in his hand, and he made a face as his mouth moved, using words that Zack couldn't quite place or follow. And then, the redhead's hand moved forward and Zack closed his eyes in a wince as the sound of shattering glass reverberated through the chamber. All of a sudden, he felt himself pulled forward as the liquid he was encased in flooded forward and out of the container. As soon as his mouth and nose were free, he started choking and coughing up globs up the green liquid, following the mess out of the container where he lay on the ground, hacking and retching until finally he collapsed on his side, gasping and shivering as he tasted air for the first... no, that wasn't right… again… again was a better word. As he tasted air again. And all of a sudden, he couldn't move, as much as he screamed at his body to pick itself up, he just lay there, staring and blinking, breath coming in shaky little gasps.

A pair of shoes made their way in front of his vision, and something hit him in the side, causing him to roll onto his back. He glared up at the redhead above him, not even sparing a glance and the strange weapon pointed at his face. He knew somehow that the thing meant instant death if the redhead were to use it, but he couldn't bring himself to panic or to really care. All he wanted to do was to glare at the man for whatever he did to upset the Cloud that had been staring at him.

The Cloud? No, that wasn't right. Cloud. Just Cloud.

"Rude," the redhead made a face, tilting the gun – gun? How had he known that? – upwards and making a face to someone to his right. "I… I can't just shoot him. I mean, the others just stared blankly, and that's fine. But he's… he's glaring at me man, its fucking freaky as hell," he glance back down at Zack, who was still glaring, but now his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. For some reason he… understood. He knew the words that they two were saying. And… he knew them. He couldn't tell from behind the glass, but he knew them. Rude and… Rehnel? Rehnoo? Rehnoh? Re… Reenoh. Reno. "Zack used to give me that same goddamn look," Reno muttered, glaring right back at Zack.

For some reason, the man had an irresistible urge to stick out his tongue… and for once his body seemed to want to comply with that demand.

Although, from shocked and slightly disturbed look on Reno's face, maybe just glaring would have been a better option.

"Holy SHIT. Gaia… I swear. CLOUD," he yelled, turning to the stairs and storming up them to yell through the doorway. "You want to kill the fucker then you do it yourself. He just stuck his goddamn tongue out at me. His TONGUE."

Zack heard movement from where Reno is, and there was a small argument that was too quiet for him to hear, and then finally Cloud emerged from the doorway, looking pissed off. However, Zack could see signs of stress on the man's face. The way his lips were pressed together, the way the edges of his eyes crinkled, the way his nostrils were flaring just a bit too much and too rapidly. He could easily see anger, confusion, and sorrow on the kid's face, and that didn't include his eyes. For some reason, as Zack stared into Cloud's eyes, he could see so many other things. The kid was questioning himself, worrying, he was frayed, pained, and there was still a faint glimmer of hope almost completely eclipsed by whatever negative thoughts he had been telling himself. Honestly, it made Zack want to scoff and whack him upside the head.

With a quick motion that made something similar to pride rise in Zack's chest, Cloud had taken the sword off of his back and pressed the point to Zack's throat. He could feel the sharp metal press against his throat with every breath he took and each swallow he made, and for some reason it didn't freak him out. This was Cloud, as much as the Chocobo strutted about, he didn't have the heart to just cut people down like that.

Chocobo? What?

"Well?" Reno prompted, sounding smug. Rude elbowed him in the side, earning a yelp. Cloud just sneered, something that looked so out of place on his carefully sculpted features. And Zack stared, silently daring him to do so while also giving him an understanding glance. It came so naturally to him, and as Cloud raised his arm and got transfixed by that gaze, he couldn't help but stop, arm shaking and teeth grinding, lips pulled back in a silent snarl. His eyes were locked with Zack's and Zack could almost see the inner struggle that was pulling at Cloud at the moment, it was all just flickering back and forth in his eyes.

That's why he wouldn't have made a good SOLDIER. His eyes really are the windows to his soul.

He frowned slightly at that thought, breaking whatever spell he and Cloud had been building, and with a snarl Cloud brought the sword down, but by then Zack was barely bothered by it. He was too busy pushing after that fleeting thought, wondering what the hell SOLDIER was and why thinking about it made his head and chest ache so much.

The sword imbedded itself into the ground only centimeters away from Zack's ear, and he glanced at Cloud's hand on the hilt, following the arm up to meet Cloud's eyes again, and he smiled gently as he saw the rage and self hate in Cloud's eyes.

"Cloud man, I think he's the real deal," Reno said gently, trying to not sound triumphant and failing miserably at it. The blond snarled again, yanking the sword out of the ground and slamming it onto his back, whirling to glare at the redhead before stomping up the stairs again. However, this time he paused at the top long enough to heave a weary sigh.

"That is NOT Zack," he finally said, voice carefully monotone. "But… killing him would be like… killing a person," the blond continued, unable to keep his mental exhaustion out of his voice. Zack made a face at the comment. He was Zack! Why was that so hard for these people to realize? He knew he was Zack, and thus he was Zack. But Cloud and Reno seemed completely convinced otherwise… and Zack didn't know how to tell them his side. "Get him some clothes and get him in the chopper. We can… take him to a hospital or something on the way back and figure out what to do with him."

And with that, Cloud strode out of sight, leaving Reno and Rude to clean up the rest of the mess. The redhead groaned and glanced down at Zack, who merely glared back, thoroughly annoyed by his presence. "Why do we get stuck babysitting?" he asked his partner, and Zack resolved to bite whatever part of the obnoxious one he was presented with first once he got the opportunity. It was the least Reno deserved for all his lip. "And do we even have extra clothes in the chopper?"

Rude made a grunting noise that apparently mean yes if Reno's confused glance was anything to go by. "A complete outfit?" he asked. Another grunt. "Why the hell do we have that in the chopper? We only packed for a few hours!"

Rude gave Reno a look that made Zack want to start laughing as the redhead hoisted him to his feet and slung one of Zack's arms over his shoulders. Unsupported, Zack's head lolled forward, making it increasingly difficult to go through with biting the redhead. Rude hoisted Zack's other arm over his shoulders, and the man found himself hanging a few inches off the floor, blinking dazedly as the ground moved beneath him. It was a weird feeling.

"Costa del Sol," Rude finally said as they got Zack up the stairs and started maneuvering around the clutter in the laboratory. Reno sputtered and tripped a little, and Zack manage to roll his head just enough to see a faint flush of embarrassment spread across the redhead's cheeks.

"That was one time! And it was a fluke!" he protested loudly, still managing to sound whiny even as he was yelling in anger. Zack rolled his eyes beneath the cover of his bangs.

Rude gave him another look, but this time responded almost immediately. "If you can rip your pants off getting out of a chopper, you can ruin an entire outfit just walking down the street."

Reno's indignant sputtering was revenge enough for Zack, who just hung there and chuckled quietly, enjoying his almost personal revenge.