Hey. Remember me? Yeah, I live. I know, it's a shock after all this time. I've learned recently that I am incredibly slow when it comes to writing anymore. Sorry about that.

Anyways, if you clicked on this, an awkward thank you is in order. There's not much I can say for myself here, other than it was close to 3 AM, I was extremely tired and mostly delirious, and my mind is musical. I have no excuse, and I'm sorry if you liked the original song. I did too, and it's forever ruined for me now. Those who don't know it, the song in question is Run Daddy Run by Miranda Lambert and the Pistol Annies. It can be found on the CD The Hunger Games - Songs From District 12 and Beyond. If you haven't heard it, go look it up, and I hope you enjoy it. This fic won't make much sense without having heard it at least once - not that it'll really make much any way you slice it. Neither will this random little tidbit of information, but, while I listened to the real song while writing the parody, the actual bits of story were written to Pinkie Pie Style (Delta Brony Remix) 0_o Figure THAT one out, 'cause I sure can't. Oh, and in this story, Cloud is not an infantryman but a cadet in training to join SOLDIER. Despite the truth, that's how I always tend to think of him in the Crisis Core timeline. Other songs I've used while writing this include: Suteki Da Ne, Boats and Birds (Demo Version), Safe and Sound (Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars, not Capital Cities), and I think that's all I've got up to this point. Okay, that's enough out of me - onward, brave souls, and please enjoy!

Sephy, can you hear
JENOVA drawing near?
Like a bullet from a gun
Run, Sephy, run...

Cloud groaned as he pulled himself out of bed, falling backwards when he saw that moonlight was streaming through the window rather than the golden beams he had been hoping for. Again. One of the other boys grunted and rolled over in his sleep, his hand falling down off the edge of the top bunk to dangle irritatingly in Cloud's face. A dejected and aggravated growl let itself out of his throat as he slid off the bunk into the cold floor. He shivered as he stood and slipped quietly across the room, indiscriminately selecting a shirt out of his small pile of clothes and pulling it over his head. He cast a wistful glance back at his bed, mourning the sleep he wasn't going to get and would no doubt be missing in his training later that day. With a hushed sigh, the blonde stepped into his shoes and left the barracks behind him, ghosting aimlessly down the corridors until he caught sight of a familiar silhouette outside one of the enormous glass windows Shinra was so fond of. A slight breeze tousling his hair that smelled too much like the outside air of Midgar to be the building's air conditioning revealed that there was a way to follow the figure; within moments, Cloud had found his way through the mostly concealed door and was settling himself on the small - in comparison to the windows - outside sill that he assumed was there for the express purpose of allowing the windows to be washed. "Hey, Zack," he said softly, glancing over at the black-haired man.

A very uncharacteristic sigh was his answer. "Heya, Spiky," he replied half-heartedly, a frown etched deep in usually smooth forehead. Even his normally exuberant voice was subdued as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked out over a mostly-darkened Midgar. "What are you doin' up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Cloud said, but after a moment of silence, he sighed as well. "I... I don't really know. I keep having these weird feelings that... something's wrong," he tried to explain, feeling that he was doing a terrible job of it. "I wake up in the middle of night all the time now, and... I've just got this bad feeling."

Zack's answering groan made Cloud look over at him, slightly alarmed. The SOLDIER had hidden his face in his hands, appearing to be upset. Cloud frowned and bit his lip, wondering if he should speak or reach out to the other man. "Zack?" he finally asked tentatively, lightly touching his friend's shoulder. "M'alright," he mumbled, his voice muffled by his hands. He removed them a moment later, lifting his face up toward the sky to let the wind caress his skin and tousle his spiky black hair. "I know what you mean, Cloud," he said, sounding weighed-down. "Aerith's been telling me the same thing."

Cloud looked up at that. "Your girlfriend?" he asked, surprised. "Yeah," Zack sighed, the ghost of a smile playing over his lips. It quickly disappeared as he turned his gaze back to the city below them. "She's been having some crazy dreams lately – nightmares, more like. There's a town that's being burned to the ground, and she can't do anything to stop it or help the people. She just has to listen to the screams…" Zack slumped over, plunking his elbow down on his leg and leaning his face into his fist. "It's really tearin' her up. If there's anybody who needs help, she's right there for 'em, y'know? I told her it's just a bad dream, but she says it feels so real…" He trailed off, the amethyst eyes that were usually so bright seeming clouded. The other man was silent for so long that Cloud had thought the conversation over and begun his own musings; he jumped when Zack's voice cut through his thoughts.

"And there's something else, Cloud," he said, sitting up and regarding the blonde seriously. "W-what?" Cloud stammered, startled both by the sudden comment and Zack's manner. Zack was silent again for a moment, simply looking at Cloud, who felt as though he were being judged on something important and trying desperately not to shift uncomfortably lest he be deemed a failure. At last, Zack turned his unnerving gaze away, looking back at the city. "...Have you noticed anything strange about Sephiroth recently?"

Cloud blinked. "What?" he repeated, his frown returning. Zack turned his back to him, shoulders hunching slightly. "I don't know what it is, but I've been getting this weird vibe when I'm around him. I feel like…" He growled and clenched his fists. "It's so stupid! Seph's my friend, and it's totally ridiculous, but… my body keeps tensing up and I get this feeling deep down that he's a danger! Like… like I need to fight him. I hate it, because I don't wanna think that way! But…" Though his voice had been rising as he spoke, it dropped off to something that was barely above a whisper. "Aerith keeps seeing a figure in her nightmares, standing in the flames. It's blurry to her, but… she told me she's almost sure it's him. Sephiroth. And… he's the one who started the fire and killed the townspeople."

Cloud was silent in wake of Zack's rant, not trusting himself to say anything in return. The general had always intimidated him, but the truth of the matter was that he had noticed something strange in the recent days. While Sephiroth himself hadn't been acting any differently, Cloud knew well the feeling Zack was referring to while in his presence. He couldn't bring himself to turn his back on the silver-haired man, and discreetly treated him as though he were a captive enemy who might at any moment slip his bonds and proceed to kill them all. It was, as Zack had said, completely ridiculous; General Sephiroth would not harm his own men, and particularly not the cadets he was trying to train. Granted, they usually had bruises after his classes, but they were far from purposely inflicted. The care he took in teaching the boys was actually something quite astonishing; with his enormous strength, he could kill them as easily as one of them might crush a flower, and yet none of them had ever had a wound more severe than an accidental cut during sword training, which Sephiroth had immediately healed with his materia. Nonetheless, Cloud's uneasiness toward him remained.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Cloud carefully pushed himself up to his feet, mindful of how small the ledge was and how long he would have to wave goodbye to Zack if he were to fall off it. Zack turned to him, surprised by his movement, but said nothing. "...I guess I'm going back to bed," Cloud informed him, lacking the courage to look his friend in the eye. The SOLDIER nodded, also rising from his seated position. " 'Night, Cloud," he said in a poor facsimile of his usual cheer. Cloud swallowed, feeling like a coward and a bad friend as he weighed the pros and cons of what he wanted to say. He looked up when Zack put a hand on his shoulder, gazing at him questioningly and with obvious concern. At last he took a breath and forced the words out. "Maybe you should talk to him," he suggested, his voice shaking. Zack froze, his grip tightening on Cloud's shoulder as though the blonde cadet were an anchor holding him in place. "...I guess... I could," he said after a moment's silence, though his face showed what he thought of the idea. His expression hardened then, and he released the younger man, standing tall and confident. Cloud felt very small and uncertain seeing his friend take that stance – he was the very picture of a soldier preparing for battle. " 'Night, Zack," he whispered, and slipped through the door, a feeling of anxiety growing within him as he hurried down the hall back to the barracks. He hoped he hadn't just made a mistake.

All the battles you used to fight with me
Have kept the world at peace
We need that now, so please somehow-!
Don't give in to this beast...!

Oh, whoah, whoah, whoah

Sephy, can you hear
JENOVA drawing near?
Like a bullet from a gun
Run, Sephy, run...

Sephiroth suppressed a moan when the knocking on his door refused to cease. So much for 'If I ignore them they'll leave,' he thought bitterly, hauling himself to his feet with difficulty and making his way to the door. "What do you want?" he said harshly as he opened it, then stopped, surprised. "...Zack?" he asked after a moment when his visitor offered no reply. The black-haired First stood outside the entrance to his apartment with muscles tensed, a hardness in his eyes and an unusually stoic demeanor about him. Sephiroth was attacked by a sudden wave of guilt and remorse. I am not the only one with troubles. "...Zack, come in." The General stepped backwards out of the way, allowing him access to the interior of his living quarters, and though he cast Sephiroth what appeared to be a wary glance, the other SOLDIER did as he was bid. As the silver-haired man shut the door behind him, he could not help but wonder what could possibly have happened to cause this reversal of his friend's behavior.

Zack took a steadying breath, refusing to flinch when he heard the door's locking mechanism click into place. Sephiroth swept past him seconds later, making a small gesture towards the furniture. The General himself dropped onto the couch, which he had clearly been occupying for some time now, if the wrinkles in the usually smoothed-out leather were anything to go by. Having at long last learned to be at ease around his friends, Sephiroth did not bother even attempting to hide his apparent pain as he put his hands to his head. "What brings you here so late, Zack?" he asked quietly, cracking one green eye open and regarding him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Zack answered too brusquely, and though Sephiroth arched a silver brow, he said nothing, opting instead to close his eye again. His face contorted slightly, and he began to rub at his temples. Hoping to make up for his mistake, Zack tried to lighten his tone and added a "How are you doing?" that he knew in his heart was not going to fool the other man.

A scowl was his response. "I am very nearly convinced that my head is going to split open," Sephiroth groaned. "Nothing helps, and I haven't been able to sleep since it started." He let out another quiet moan and laid down, one knee up on the couch while his other foot rested on the floor.

Kill him, whispered a voice in Zack's mind, kill him now while he's weakened! - and to Zack's absolute horror, he felt his body move to obey, falling into an offensive stance that at this distance would allow him to- No! he thought back vehemently, forcing the tension out of his body and sitting down a bit more forcefully than necessary in an armchair opposite the couch. What is my problem?!

"You've got a migraine?" Zack questioned, fighting to sound more like himself. "That sucks, man. I've had a couple of those before."

"So have I," Sephiroth replied, sounding completely miserable. "This is far worse."

The black-haired man was stricken hearing his friend sound so vulnerable. What is my problem? He's not dangerous - not to me. He's been a good friend to me, and there's something wrong with him. He just needs help. "How long you been feeling bad?" he asked, relieved when he was able to feel genuine concern. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his thighs and lacing his fingers together under his chin.

Sephiroth didn't answer right away, and when he did, it was with a question of his own. "Zack... When did you and I receive our last mission assignment?"

He blinked. "Uh... like, four days ago?" he said, furrowing his brows. "Um, why?"

Again, silence reigned for a moment. Then, "Four days, then," mumbled the General, and Zack's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Four days?!" he repeated, almost yelping. Sephiroth cringed at the volume, but Zack couldn't help it. "You haven't slept in four days. Are you serious?" A nod was the only reply this time, to which Zack responded by shaking his own head in disbelief. "That's seriously not healthy, Seph! I mean, I know you're you and all, but even you-"

"Do you think I'm doing this on purpose, Zackary?" Sephiroth demanded in a soft voice, and at the sound of his full first name the SOLDIER shut his mouth. Mako bright eyes opened up, pain and weariness reflected in them. "I can't sleep. It isn't possible." There was something else in his eyes now, but Zack couldn't bring himself to believe it. That couldn't be fear. What could Sephiroth possibly be AFRAID of? And yet it was the truth, for the emotion showed in his voice as Sephiroth continued to speak. "I... I have been..." He took a breath, lowering his volume even further. "I have been hearing voices, Zack," he admitted, and returned to squeezing his eyes shut. "Or, more specifically, the same voice, over and over. The things it... The things... and there are... images. Something is burning. There are screams, and fire, and..." Sephiroth trailed off, drawing in another breath. When he spoke again it was in but a whisper. "Why are you here, Zack? Something is wrong. You aren't yourself."

Oh, Gaia, he thought to himself, quickly being filled to the brim by a feeling of such awful sadness that he actually wanted to cry. "Seph..." he murmured, unsure of what to say. "Seph, I..." Zack let out a shaky, dismal sigh. "I've been worried about you. But... not for the right reasons."

"What do you mean?"

The floodgates opened, and Zack found himself pouring everything out in a rush. "I've had this really horrible feeling when I'm around you that you're dangerous to me somehow and I need to take you down, and my friend Cloud's been feeling the same thing, and my girlfriend has been having these really awful nightmares that sound so much like what you just said it's not even funny. Sephiroth, you're one of my best friends, and I..." He hid his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry."

The silence returned with a vengeance, thicker and heavier than it had been before as Sephiroth attempted to process the torrent of information. "...And you came here tonight to...? What?" he asked finally, pushing himself up to a sitting position. A shadow passed across his face, and his expression twisted into a wry grimace. His voice took on the dark tone that he generally reserved for his enemies on the battlefield. "To fight me?" he nearly hissed, cat-like eyes narrowing (and Zack hated to say it) dangerously. "To 'take me down'?" He dropped an octave. "Are you going to turn on me as well, Zackary Fair?"

"NO." Zack didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until he saw Sephiroth flinch once again at just how loud he was. By that time, Zack was already airborne, leaping over the coffee table in the middle of the arranged furniture to land in front of the silver-haired SOLDIER and wrap him in a tight embrace. The effect was like instant Petrification, so quickly did Sephiroth become akin to a stone. He failed even to offer any sort of verbal reprimand; the only sound he made was a quiet and likely involuntary gasp when he was pulled close. Zack buried his face into his friend's unarmored shoulder, tightening his grip on the other man when his resemblance to a statue faded and he realized that Sephiroth was trembling.

"Zack," he managed at last, sounding strangled. The word was as shaky as he was. "Zack..." he repeated, but could say nothing else, for his voice had become thick with the effort of holding back tears. The only response Zack had was to hold him even tighter, until at last he found words of his own.

"I'm never gonna hurt you, Seph," he whispered. Warm trails of liquid began to slide down his own face, plopping gently onto the leather jacket the General was so seldom seen without. "I'll never turn on you, and I am never gonna leave you. That's not what friends or heroes do," he added, pulling back to look at him and attempting to crack a smile. "And you know how hard I try to be both of those."

Sephiroth's eyes were glistening, though his tears had yet to follow Zacks' example and fall. Hesitantly, he returned the embrace, still trembling. "...I am afraid, Zack," he said quietly. "I am frightened by the voice in my mind, of what it says to me and shows me. I don't want to go on this mission. It started when we were assigned it." He exhaled shakily. "I don't want to go to Nibelheim."

Zack pulled Sephiroth close again, and this time he didn't fight; rather, he seemed to accept that he needed it, and leaned in, uncertainly resting his hands on Zack's back. "I know what you mean," he muttered, sniffing and struggling not to giggle when Sephiroth cringed at that as well. "I got a bad feeling about this. But I promise, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. We're friends, Sephiroth, and I'd be a lousy excuse for a hero if I couldn't even protect you." He let out his own breath, trying to relax. "We leave in a couple of days. We're gonna go on this mission, and then we're gonna come back, and there ain't a single bad thing gonna happen. I'll make sure of it."

Saw that dark cloud coming
From a million miles away
Oh, how I've dreaded
This Gaia-forsaken day!

"Strife." Everyone looked up from their stretches at the sound of Zack's voice. The SOLDIER stood in the doorway of the training room, looking, again, uncharacteristically serious, muscled arms crossed over his chest and the Buster Sword on his back.

"Yes, sir?" Cloud answered, making to salute before Zack waved at them all that it was unnecessary. He let his arms fall back to his sides and tried to stand up straighter to make up for it, doing his best to ignore the eyes that were now focused on him.

"You're excused from training today," Zack said rather brusquely, already turning to leave. "Come with me." He paused halfway out the door and glanced back, eyes narrowed. "Now, Strife." Then he was gone, leaving a room full of flabbergasted cadets behind, and leaving Cloud himself to scurry to the door, alarm bells ringing madly in his head. Something wasn't right. He yanked the door open and rushed out, wondering which direction Zack had gone, then yelped when his shoulder was seized by a powerful hand and he was jerked backwards. "Calm down," Zack said just as Cloud opened his mouth to shout again, sounding a bit more normal. The blonde whirled around to look at him and was both relieved and concerned by the smile on his face.

"What's-" he tried, but was cut off.

"Sorry 'bout all that," Zack interrupted, putting his arm around Cloud's shoulders. He turned to the left, pulling the cadet along, and started to lead him down the hallway. "I didn't figure it'd look too good for either of us if anyone thought this was a social thing instead of somethin' serious."

Cloud knew he was frowning as he wriggled away and regarded his surprised-looking friend, but couldn't relax his expression. "What's going on?" he asked quietly, and Zack sobered.

"I'll tell you when we get where we're going," he replied, quiet now himself, and gestured for Cloud to follow as he set off. Lowering his voice even further, he spoke again, and Cloud was barely able to catch it when he said, "I don't think it's safe to talk here." Frown deepening, he obeyed and walked along beside the older man, nibbling at his lip and hoping to Gaia that nothing bad had happened as a result of his suggestion the night before, though he supposed if it had Zack wouldn't be here now. They traveled in silence through the halls and down to the ground floor of the building, and though Cloud expected something to be said once the doors had closed behind them, Zack remained quiet, simply stepping out ahead of Cloud to lead him to their destination. His heavy boots made little sound as he walked, which in and of itself was worrying. Zack always made noise, even admitting to stepping heavily at times just for the clunky noise. This new, silent version of the man they called 'the puppy' was nothing Cloud had ever seen before, and found himself intensely disliking.

The black-haired warrior took him to a train station, flashed an ID at the ticketer, and took up a position leaning against the wall, which, given that he had done nothing different with the Buster Sword, made more than a few of the other passengers visibly frightened. Cloud sat himself down on the bench next to him, much to the obvious relief of the woman he had asked to scoot over, and tried not to look at the city whizzing by through the windows. His stomach was already churning from the abnormally dark vibes Zack was giving off - he didn't need to fall prey to his motion sickness, too. When the vehicle came to a stop, he stood up a bit shakily and resumed his role as the silent follower, stepping as soundlessly as possible in the prints his predecessor left in the dirt. He wondered as they walked why he had been brought to the slums - until they turned a corner, and his eyes beheld the old church Zack had described to him many times before. Sunlight was streaming through an open spot in the Plate above and in turn through the hole he knew was in the roof, allowing the flowers to grow. For the first time since they'd left the training room, Zack turned around to look at him and offered a small smile, looking to be more at ease than before, though he was still noticeably tense. He quickened his pace, and Cloud followed suit, lengthening his stride in an attempt to keep up. Within a minute they had reached the doors. Zack held up a hand, and Cloud stopped where he was, looking on in mild interest as his friend performed some sort of secret knock - no longer very secret - before slipping inside. A moment passed, the hum of Zack's voice floating back outside to Cloud although he couldn't understand the words. Then he spoke up, somewhere closer to his usual volume. "Come on in."

A musty smell assaulted his nose the second he stepped through the doorway, carefully shutting the doors behind him. The reason was immediately evident, as the wood that made the building was of course quite old, and the burgundy fabric atop the pews' weathered cushions was quietly molding, as were the faded curtains, no doubt once the selfsame color, that hung limply to the side of the dust-covered windows. All this Cloud noticed only vaguely, for the majority of his focus was directed towards the girl standing next to Zack, dusting soil from her hands, which she held as far away from her white dress as possible. Then she looked up, a radiant smile on her face, and locked her green eyes with his own blue, and Cloud felt his body grow stiff and unmoving. She was so familiar. Had he seen her before? No, never, but how could that be? She looked so much like someone... Both the church's other occupants noticed his discomfort immediately and came over to him, grins fading to be replaced by expressions of concern.

"Cloud, what's the matter?" Zack asked with worry that would be evident in his eyes if one were looking. Cloud wasn't, for though he attempted he could not tear his gaze away from Aerith's. She approached him quickly, no hesitance in her step, and stopped within arm's reach, frowning. Her frown and Zack's again morphed into different looks when the first tear slipped from his eye, a shock to them all. "Cloud?!" Zack said again, stepping forward with his hands out as though to seize him, then dropping them back to his sides and looking helplessly at Aerith. She, like Cloud, was now ignoring him, instead watching the blonde intensely. He stared back at her through the blur of unshed tears, studying her face. He had to have seen her, or someone like her, or he wouldn't have this feeling welling up in him, this sense of sadness and loss that made him want to cry.

"...I know you, don't I?" she asked quietly, and something inside Cloud broke at the sound of her voice, like her face so familiar though he'd never head it before. He let out a cry as a wave of complete and utter despair flooded through him, and fell to his knees on the age-worn wooden floor, unable to fight the deluge of tears, and a strange fog began to creep over his mind, dulling the sensations of the world around him. Zack was by his side in an instant, big hands on his shoulder and back, gripping him tightly, or so he thought. It was hard to tell, as he felt himself beginning to drift away, hearing strange whispers that sounded so close, but when he reached for them to listen...

"Cloud! Cloud, what on Gaia's wrong?! Are you hurt? Come on, man, talk to me! What is it?!" He couldn't have spoken through the sobs to respond even had his mind not been close to lost, aware only vaguely of anything but the voices and his own sorrow. Dimly he realized that Zack was beginning to panic, but the thought that he should do something slid away before he could grab hold of it. It was hard to focus on anything. "Aerith! Aerith, can you do something? Can you heal him or something? I- I don't know what-"

"Cloud," Aerith said then, putting her hand atop his own, and the darkness fled from his mind, the pain whisked away and the blurry feeling gone as though it had never been, voices instantly silenced. He lifted his head, feeling tears still rolling down his face, and looked again into Aerith's bright green eyes. She looked back, squeezing his fingers in a reassuring way, and smiled, though she looked rather sad now herself. "It's alright," she continued, her voice gentle. "I know. Even if you don't, I know, and it's okay. You're allowed to cry."

"Aerith?" Zack asked, shifting his hold on Cloud. "What's going on?"

The brown-haired girl turned her smile his way. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Zack. It was a memory, but not an important one anymore. Just sad." She looked back at Cloud again, and in his mind's eye he caught a glimpse of... something. A gentle glow, a tranquil feeling, a flash of steel and a burst of red, the heart-wrenching sorrow from before; but nothing he could place or understand, and no whispers to try and decode. He started when Aerith tightened her fingers around his once more. "Let it go," she commanded, somehow doing so without losing her gentleness although it was also clear that she meant business. "It doesn't matter now."

With the help of Zack and Aerith he rose back to his feet, drawing in a shaky breath. Whatever that had been - a memory, Aerith said? - she was right. The feelings were gone, and he felt normal again. More than that, as the warmth of the sunlight streaming in filled the room and the wind coming in with it brought the aroma of the lilies to his nose, he felt more at peace than he had... Now that he was actually thinking of it, Cloud wasn't certain that he had ever been this tranquil. Always in Nibelheim there had been something to shatter any illusions of peace or happiness he might have fashioned for himself, and nothing had changed when he'd come to Midgar. There was a warm, pleasant sensation spreading through him now, from the tips of his fingers and, when Aerith smiled again at him, supportively, reaching down into his heart to dispel some of the darkness that had settled there of late.

"Well, that wasn't exactly how I expected this to start off," Zack spoke up, raking a hand through his messy black spikes. His eyes retained a trace of worry as he swept them over Cloud, but a smile was plastered on his face, and Cloud could tell he was trying to sound cheerful. "But I guess you know what face to put with the name now anyway." The smile was more real as he draped his arm over Aerith's shoulders and leaned on her gently. "Cloud, this is my girlfriend Aerith; Aerith, this is my buddy Cloud. I figured it was about time you guys met, since I'm always tellin' one of you about the other."

Cloud looked over her shoulder at the flowers as Aerith shook his hand, trying to focus on them so as not to blush at the physical contact from such an attractive girl. With the crying fit over, he realized wryly that he was definitely back to normal. Yay. His attempts failed when she noticed and laughed good-naturedly, spouting off something about 'cute' and 'embarrassed' that he didn't catch, engaged as he was with trying to melt through the floorboards. Somewhat desperate to change the topic, he looked back at Zack, ignoring Aerith as best he could with her preening his blonde spikes like a mother chocobo, giggling all the while. "What did you want to talk about that you couldn't say at Shinra, Zack?" he asked, a frown creasing his forehead as he thought of how silent the other man had been just a few moments before. "Is something wrong?"

The cheery atmosphere they had managed to construct inside the church came tumbling down, and he instantly regretted opening his mouth at the sight of his friend's dismal expression. It was too late to rescind the question, though, for Zack was settling himself on the pew opposite Aerith and himself, removing the Buster Sword and resting it against the one in front of him. "I talked to Sephiroth, like you suggested," he said without preamble, looking up at the hole in the ceiling as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And yes. Something is way wrong." He drew in a breath and let it out as a sigh, turning his head to make eye contact with Aerith. "Your nightmare," he said, and Cloud, with the brunette resting her hands on his shoulders, couldn't not feel her tensing. "Except for the last part, where you see... the culprit..." Zack took another deep breath, and Aerith's fingers dug into his shoulders at the same moment Cloud found his own hands making fists, both reactions stemming from the obvious pain that filled the SOLDIER's eyes and contorted his face. "He's been going through the same thing."

"...But how?" Aerith whispered, pulling her hands away as she moved sit down in the floor between them. One of them drifted up to her hair, and she began to twirl the brown strands around her fingers, very visibly disconcerted. "Why would he...?" She trailed off.

Zack released a heavy sigh, dragging his right hand through his black spikes again. "I don't know, Aer. I can't even think of a place to start trying to figure it out, since you..." Zack also stopped before he finished his sentence, and Cloud curled in on himself slightly. The way they'd glanced at him made it very clear that they knew something he didn't, and he wasn't going to find out about it, either. There were so many secrets in Midgar. "I don't have any idea," Zack muttered, shaking his head slightly. "But it doesn't matter, because I do know that he's my friend. And... I'm worried about him." He slumped forward and rested his forehead on his palms, leaving him free to speak without muffling his voice. "Whatever the reason, Seph... Seph's not okay. And I gotta help him, somehow. But I just don't know what to do..."

Aerith inhaled deeply and scooted closer to Zack, reaching up a hand and holding onto his knee. He moved his hands away to meet her gaze, and she tried to smile comfortingly, though the fear she felt was still clear in her bright eyes. "You'll figure it out," she said soothingly, patting him. "I know you will. You're... Well, that's just how you are. You'd never let a friend down."

But this was very obviously the wrong thing to say, as Zack instantly withdrew from her touch and moved away from her at the end of the pew, fingering the scar on his cheek. Aerith flinched, realization also clear in her, and went back to her flowers as Cloud stood up to go and sit next to Zack. The black-haired man glanced up at the blonde, who took a deep breath of his own and hesitantly put a hand on his back. "I... I know... I didn't really know him, but..." Cloud started, hating the way the light dimmed in Zack's glowing violet eyes. "I think... I think... Angeal... would... want us to help the General," he finally managed, offering up a silent prayer to the Planet that he wasn't going to make things worse. The Planet appeared to have heard him, for Zack's next exhale was just that, not a sigh. He raised his head and straightened his posture, pushing his shoulders back determinedly.

"He would," he said with conviction, nodding to himself. Aerith looked up from the patch of plant life, a tiny smile quirking her lips upward. Zack rose to his feet and snatched up his mentor's sword, twirling it around before replacing it in its sheath. "Angeal was Seph's best friend, and if he was here, this problem would already be solved. I'm not that good, but you're mostly right, Aer." Both Cloud and Aerith watched him closely, waiting for his next words. He looked Aerith directly in the eye, as though making his promise to her. "I will never let a friend down again," he declared, and a large smile split her face even as she broke eye contact by rolling hers.

"I knew that, you big lummox," she said, sounding exasperated, but her expression radiated fondness and pride. "It's been so annoying waiting for you to figure it out." She bent down and pulled a handful of lilies out of the ground, gently plucking off petals until the flowers were symmetrical, then approached the two men, handing them to Zack. "Go on and get out of here now," she ordered, hands on her hips. "Take care of your friend." She stepped back, then leaned forward again and snatched a white lily out of the group, pushing it at Cloud. She winked as she picked up his hand and placed the stem in it, pointedly not laughing at his red face. "And you take care of both of them," she whispered loudly, reaching up to pat his crimson cheek. She dropped her voice to a true whisper then, instantly becoming more serious. "That memory that hurt you so much will happen again if you fail," she promised, and Cloud felt himself paling at the thought of that pain becoming a reality. "But I have faith in you. Don't let it happen, Cloud. The Planet is counting on you."

Then Aerith leaned back, her grin back in place as though nothing had happened at all, and hopped over a step to embrace Zack. Cloud stared at the back of her head, heart pounding against his ribcage as her words replayed in his head. What did she even mean by that? The Planet was counting on him?! Take care of two of the most powerful men on the face of Gaia?! ...HIM?!

"Come on, Spiky," Zack called from the doorway, his usual smile returned to his face despite the lingering sadness in his eyes. "If we stay any longer, Tseng'll probably report us. Anyway, we gotta get you back to class. So come on."

Cloud pulled in a deep breath, glancing over his shoulder to look at Aerith one more time. She nodded at him, the motion somehow both solemn and encouraging despite the happy-go-lucky grin she was still sporting. "I'm sure I'll see you again, Cloud," she said kindly, but he heard what she really meant to say. Make sure that I see you again, Cloud. Don't screw this up.

And that's a wrap for part one! I was originally planning to have this be a oneshot, but it just grew until I finally decided to split into two pieces. Please let me know what you guys think about this and whether or not it's worth continuing. Thank you so, so much reading; I love you all! Mwah!