A/N: Okay, so, I have no idea where this will go or why exactly I'm writing this. I suppose it's because I'm bored and have some time on my hands. I'm kinda bummed at how much this has been done before. Well, there're different ideas I guess. So, enjoy I suppose, and tell me what to improve on so I don't suck and then get stuck writing crap.

Warnings: There is M/M stuff.

The pairing: Zack x Cloud, that's a given coming from me. There may be others, depending on where this is going, such as one-sided Sephiroth x Cloud involving torture and such.

There will be implied yaoi, meaning: I'm not going to write a man sex scene that is detailed, I'll state it in some other artsy fartsy way. If that's a problem, I'm sorry, but, I'm not a gay man, I have no experience, not gonna pretend I do. Also, I'm not a porn writer in general. However, it is still there, so if that's a problem, don't make yourself uncomfortable reading this.

Also, this whole thing might end up being pretty damn brutal, contain gore, and most likely be dark. Definitely be dark actually, because I'm a bad person.

He stood in front of the many. They would all die today. It was his goal anyway. By the look of things there were about three hundred plus foot soldiers and two choppers, armed with some of the latest heavy duty machine guns.

He felt a slight hesitation in his step but corrected it. If he ever needed confidence, it was now. He put on a grin and took another step forward. It won't be too hard, he wasn't completely surrounded, and that was definitely a plus. Taking a deep breath he pulled the Buster sword in front of him, letting his forehead settle against the cool steel of the blade, as Angeal had done before him. Please, he thought, let me accomplish this at least… for Cloud's sake.

If he could pull this off and clear the field, he could die happily, knowing that there was a reward for all his efforts. He always wanted to be a hero and he would achieve that dream today, dead or alive. He lowered the blade, his happy demeanor replaced with one of shear determination. Looking at him now, he seemed the first class SOLDIER he was, it was evident that the man had been in constant battles, was a skilled warrior, and knew what he was doing. It was a high amount of confidence and pride in his stance. It also showed the things he had somewhat hidden. The sadness, hurt, and loss, infused with a sort of rage burned in his eyes.

Another step forward, he looked back at where he had placed the other man to make sure it was safe and out of the way then looked back. He let out a battle cry that sounded more like a pained scream, everything he had felt for the past five years were unleashed in what would be his final battle.

They dropped as flies, left and right, the sword tore into them like a hot knife through butter. It already began to be a bloodbath. Bullets were fired from all directions and he had seemed to dodge them without a problem. It began to feel like he couldn't see or hear or feel, all he knew was his purpose. He didn't see the men before him as soldiers or even as people, but merely as annoying objects in the way of his goal. That was as a SOLDIER was supposed to think and feel. There was never room for any humanity or morality in a time of war or dying. You do what you must and that is enough.

He was breathing hard, one hundred down by now, and both choppers. Just a little more and they would be free. It was hurting him to breathe and move, he could feel leaking all over his body, but, he paid it no mind.

He pushed forward as more fell all around him, luckily for him, some of the bullets would ricochet off of him and kill more troops. Soon it was down to fifty or so, he breathed heavily, his eyes were wild with fury and pain, ramming through, making sure they were dead once they hit the ground, an extra decapitation to make sure sometimes.

The whole thing excited him, made him hard. Maybe it was due to the sheer power that only he contained here. Maybe it was the satisfaction in watching them fall to his blade so quickly and eloquently. The blood would lash out in different patterns and ways, time seemed to stop and let him enjoy watching the canvas be painted red. It would coat his body and wrap around him as a blanket, making him feel safe and warm and perhaps a bit sticky.

However, when he would gain back his humanity, these events were not looked upon in the same light. He was disgusted and ashamed, rejecting that part of him instantly. SOLDIERs were monsters as Angeal had once told him so long ago. He told him that, eventually, he'd be able to accept that part of him as a monster and only as that. Angeal had told him to never compare his human self with that monster self since nothing good would come out of it, and all of it would amount to madness and despair. It still disgusted him but, sometimes he thought, it was useful and necessary.

There were now only a handful of men that transformed into shadows of their proud selves, resorting to sniveling and pleading for mercy. Those cries fell on deaf ears. These men couldn't be trusted to live. All were a threat in the way, there would only be security when the last one would fall. After a few seconds they were fountains. He turned away and walked towards the edge of the cliff, then fell to his knees. The rest of his body followed suit until his entire body touched the ground.

He won. He had finally done it, he was a hero now. He had saved the both of them from captivity and gotten them close to Midgar. His vision was starting to haze and his rational mind being replaced by a sort of deliria. When he looked at himself, he could tell why. There were a multitude of bullet holes, gashes, and pools of blood coming from beneath him. All the pain and exhaustion flooded his senses and he started to shake and feel light. He did not want to die today, he wanted to keep going and he was going to make damn sure it would happen.

He shakily grabbed his curaga material from the safe place in his pocket and coaxed the lifestream inside of it to help his wounds heal, at least to stop the blood from leaking about. If he could just rest somewhere safe, he would be as right as rain, so he thought. He let out a breath of relief as the magic did its work mending and fixing his shattered shell. He closed his eyes to take just a little nap.

After what seemed like eternity, he opened them up again as he heard a scuttling sound off to the side of him. Damn, didn't I get rid of them all? How long have I been here? It could be reinforcements. Damn it, I'm not strong enough to fight another wave. The scuttling was closer now. Well, I'll just have to give it my best shot, they're not going to take me down that easily! With that in mind he pushed himself up onto his arms, letting out an unearthly growl and turned to face the intruder, then he froze. His trademark grin returned to his face and he let his body slack.

"Cloud!"

This was one of the best days in his life, if not the best. Not only did he finally reach his goal, Cloud was awake. Even his usually optimistic self was starting to doubt that the boy would wake. Cloud looked pretty dazed himself, and a little scared. Maybe he should check who someone was before growling like that.

Cloud smiled in response to his name being called and moved closer towards Zack, on his way observing the carnage and destruction surrounding them. He became worried and focused on Zack more, then noticed that he was covered in blood and appeared to be heavily wounded with no apparent damage to be seen. This worried him even more.

"Za…ck? What happened?"

The words came out croaked and scratched his throat as they came.

Zack, was a little stunned at hearing him speak, it sure was deeper than it used to be. Maybe it had just been so long he forgot what he sounded like exactly.

"Well, I just ran into a bit of trouble is all. Nothing I couldn't handle though, gave them a run for their money. It's all good now though since their gone. They didn't have a chance against me."

Zack was the same old Zack, obnoxiously optimistic and a little reckless. Cloud didn't mind it; he liked the man the way he was.

Zack's expression softened.

"I'm so relieved that you're awake now. For a second there I thought-" He shook his head. "No, it's fine now, right? Still, you shouldn't worry me like that again, you hear? I'm not much of a fan of being scared."

Cloud's smile grew bigger.

"Sure…I'll make sure…next time I'm paralyzed…to tell you in advance…and we'll have a nice…chat."

"Still a smart ass. You don't know how much I missed that."

Zack got up to his feet somewhat unsteadily and brushed himself off.

"Well, we really need to get going somewhere safer I would think. There should be caves or holes around here, I saw plenty before."

Cloud began to struggle to stand and was failing miserably. He was determined. He was going to be able to stand on his own damn legs by himself. He wasn't going to trouble Zack anymore now that he was fully functional, well…semi…partly functional. He finally stood after a few more times and instantly regretted it as a wave of nausea crashed into his senses causing him to fall down and making him more nauseous.

Zack came over quickly and tried to help him up. Cloud batted his hand away.

"Cloud, please, let me help you. You just barely got over this thing, maybe you shouldn't me moving around too much."

"No, you've already…done so much for me. The least I can do…is lift the burden a little bit."

Zack backed away and let Cloud do what he was trying to do, always trying to be independent. He needed to learn that asking for help wasn't a sign of weakness, sometimes, it was the only option.

When finally he regained balance and composure, he began to slightly sway. Suddenly there was what seemed to be an explosion of colors and symbols. They made him feel at ease and calm as he mindlessly lost himself into the pattern. It made him think about his mother. She had the most beautiful, long silver hair, and pale blue skin.

If Zack wasn't worried before, he sure as hell was now. He had that comatose look on his face again and the soulless look in his eyes. He reached out and grabbed the blonde's hand. This seemed to cause some sort of shock to go through the younger's body as he went rigid and then relaxed.

"Thanks Zack…they were trying to take me away again…"

Zack tightened his grip around Cloud's hand. He had to still be under the mako, strongly, it wasn't a surprise being that Cloud must have had copious amounts of mako and other liquids stuffed into his veins and body. It still wasn't as bad as it was before however due to the fact that Cloud could now stand and…function. He was always worried that he was going to fall back into a relapse since the moment he was awake.

"Well…um, there should be shelter around here somewhere. It's starting to get dark and I'm really tired."

Cloud nodded his head and smiled.

Zack led him carefully and slowly down the hill, always checking to see that Cloud's feet were on the ground. Cloud's face turned a light red when he actually noticed Zack's hand was entangled with his. He debunked it as embarrassment but deep down was sure what it was. He had always felt safer and more secure around Zack, maybe it was the vibes he gave off, or just how open he was, not to mention caring. He wanted to thank Zack somehow, to let him know how much he had appreciated all of the trouble he had gone through for his sake.

He had been aware of things the whole time he had been paralyzed. He always heard Zack's voice, what he was saying and felt when their bodies were close. He couldn't respond or fully comprehend things, but, it was the feeling that mattered. It helped him come back to his current state, he was almost lost in the darkness and the swirling so many times, and then Zack's voice would pull him through.

He would find a way to pay him back, to make him feel the way he had felt, he was determined. That man really had no reason to do this for him. Cloud was sure Zack would have run off on his own but, he never did. He wouldn't have blamed him either , because of him they traveled slowly on foot.

"There's a good sized one, it's a bit tight but, it's fine enough. What do you think?"

"It's great."

"Hmm…'Great' huh? You're blunt. That's fine though. Let's get to setting up then, and I'm gonna keep an eye on you to make sure you don't pass out on me. It's not fun to always talk to yourself, you know?"

Cloud gave a curt nod and then turned away as he realized that damn blush was on his face again, it was irritating, and then he was nauseous again.

This was going to be a hard set of days.