Clack week 2017
Day 1: bond – dream
NDA: please gloss over the fact I write Vincent very badly
…
Cloud opened his eyes to a lab blurred by mako and a thick glass. His heart jumped in his chest and panic flared in him. He tried to move but his limbs only spasmed. One of his hand hit the glass attracted his attention to the words carved in.
Cloud. Cloud. Escape. CloudCloudClouclou-
A whine escaped him. The mako burned his skin and his eyes. He opened his mouth by reflex but something obstructed his throat. His movement made the thing rub against his larynx, triggering a coughing fit.
He woke up suddenly when someone entered his bedroom. Tifa looked at him from the doorway as he was trying to get his breath back.
"You're okay?"
"Fine," Cloud croaked.
She didn't push it, nodded then closed the door. Cloud stared at his ceiling for the rest of the night.
.
Two days after, Cloud opened his eyes to the same dream. The thunder of his panicked heart drowned all other sounds. But Cloud noticed there was no one on the other side of the glass. Everything was cast in the dark. There was only sounds of machines still working. Cloud calmed, he could deal with mako hurting him. People, that was another story.
He still wanted to leave the place. Everything felt wrong. He knew he was dreaming. For him, his mind tried to remember things. The best mean was to dream it. Cloud kept trying to dissociate what was his and what was Zack in his memories, but he would have gladly abandoned any memories about the labs.
There was no rough awakening this time. Cloud let himself be supported by the mako and then slipped out of the dream.
.
It happened again. And again. And again.
The dream was always the same. No scientists, no experiments. Just the tube of mako and the distant sound of machines. Yet sometimes Cloud slipped into another dream, more like a nightmare, were Hojo was there.
Tifa didn't appreciate being awoken by screams. Often the kids where on her heels when she came to wake him up, more roughly each time.
"I can't sleep like that!" she said one night. "I'm always taking hours to fall asleep and the moment I close my eyes I hear your screams and my mind think about Nibelheim and-" she glared at Cloud whose chest heaved from his last nightmare. "I thought you were better than me. I thought you were in control!"
"Experiment," Cloud muttered. "I dream I'm back at the labs."
He looked straight at Tifa who flinched and looked away, "Wi-with Zack?"
Cloud said nothing. He hadn't seen Zack in any of the tank next to him. Each where empty except for Mako. When he didn't answer quickly enough for Tifa, she huffed.
"Right. I'll call Vincent."
"Why?"
"He knows better than me. Seems like I don't have the... patience for all this."
She went away, closing the door on Cloud.
.
The next few days Cloud went working and waited for Vincent to arrive. The guy wasn't one to give a date for those kind of things. He just... appeared. Cloud was certain Vincent face will be above him the next time he woke up from the nightmare.
Falling asleep was harder each time, the stress ate at him, twisting his stomach and keeping him awake. Physical efforts and nights with not enough sleep finally made him hit the peaceful unconsciousness of slumber.
Cloud opened his eyes to the silent lab. There was still no one, no lights on. The lack of movement behind the glass made Cloud uneasy. For the little he remembered the lab in Nibelheim had rarely been totally in the dark. There was luminescent pods, and luminescent experiments and there was always at least one set of lights flicked on.
It was too calm. And dirty. He had trouble seeing anything out of the pod with the dust covering it.
His eyes caught the words engraved on the glass again. There were new ones. It was scrapped badly and sloping, making him took twice the time to read it.
Cloud, look into the glass.
He chuckled nervously. He had looked in the glass. His heart racing, Cloud stared at the words. He had looked behind the glass, not in. The tub in his throat prevented him from licking his lips. He finally gathered his courage and looked up, looked at the reflection.
Mako blue eyes stared at him, in a face that wasn't his, but that he recognised in a heartbeat.
"Zack!"
Movement at his side made him sprung out of the bed on shaking limbs. He recognised the red eyes staring at him and fell against the wall, suddenly deprived of all his strength.
"I understand if you don't want to share any of your dreams. But Tifa seems to think it's getting worse. You should see someone."
"I don't think, Vincent. That's just dreams about the past. You do them too."
"Yes, but just letting it disturb your sleep isn't healthy." Vincent approached so he was standing above Cloud who hugged his knees. "You should try to heal, Cloud. Not let your demons wear you down until you snap."
A disbelieving laugh escaped Cloud's throat, "You're the one telling me that? What a joke!"
Vincent tilted his head, "It took me time, but I found someone to talk to." Cloud frowned and wanted to say something but Vincent cut him. "The Turks that came after me have been trained to handle trauma."
Cloud sighed. That explained why Vincent the misanthrope had spent more time with the Turks. He wasn't just trying to pass the time with mindlike people. Vincent waited a few seconds before making his cloak swirl as he sat next to the blond huddled against the wall.
"Talk."
"To you?"
"If you want to."
They stared at each others for a long time as Cloud considered his options. Anger boiled deep in him; he didn't want to talk. Yet his logical mind knew it would help. Tifa had offered him a diary to reconcile the too things, talking about his demons without having to face someone. He managed to never write in it, both by forgetfulness and lack of motivation. Tifa was more regular than him, at least she took the steps to help herself. He should be more like her.
So he talked to Vincent. The only one who would understand his trauma about the labs and the experimentations.
"You didn't see Zack?"
"Maybe my mind is trying to push me to save myself this time?" Cloud grimaced at his own idea. He had read too much book on psychology now that he hadn't to try to heal the geostigma. "I can't count on others or some stupid shit like that..." Cloud mumbled as he waved his hand around.
"But you saw yourself as Zack?"
The question made Cloud uneasy. He shuffled his feet on the wooden floor. He focused the sensation of wood and the littles imperfections under his feet to force himself to be present.
"Yes."
"Many times?"
"Yes," Cloud hissed. "That's a recurrent dream, Vincent. Them being similar is the point."
"I find it strange. You do not see Hojo or any scientists. The lab is not lighted up. You only see the mako tanks, the words on the glass and Zack's face in it."
"There a reason for you to repeat me with shorter sentences?" Cloud asked dryly.
"Maybe."
The look Vincent gave him caused chills in Cloud. His breath caught in his throat as he realised what was thinking the ex-Turk.
"No. Don't tell me that, Vincent. You- please. Don't."
Vincent kept immobile a few seconds as he observed Cloud. The blond managed to calm down and looked curiously at Vincent when he stood up. The man blinked then titled his head, "I said nothing."
Cloud nodded. Doing like nothing had happened was great for him. He was good at that.
.
Cloud knew Vincent had asked the Turks to investigate, surely using one of his debts in exchange. Vincent knew he knew. They never talked about it. If Vincent theory was false then Cloud could go on and ignore an investigation even happened.
If Vincent theory found itself proved true then...
Cloud shook his head at the thought. Hope had flared in him and his logical mind knew it would only end into heartbreak and guiltiness for even thinking about the possibility Zack was alive.
.
Seeing Tseng in the dream shocked Cloud beyond belief. Behind the Turk came Elena, her gun held high as she scanned the place for any danger. Tseng put aside his own weapon and cleaned a bit of the dust on the glass, his eyes not straying away from Cloud. A small smile lifted the corner of his lips.
"Hello, Zack. We came to save you, thanks to Cloud."
The deformed voice heard through mako plus the panic Cloud felt woke him. He shot upward on his bed. A loud buzz from the blood flow in his ears drowned any other sounds. Shaking, he left the bed and stayed immobile a second, the sudden movement making him weak in the knees. He breathed without any inspiration filling his lungs. His breath was superficial and his mind blank. What was that? Just a dream?
Restless, Cloud took Fenrir's keys and went outside in his sleepwear and barefoot. He needed to do something, to release the nervous energy in him. He was going to climb on Fenrir when a window opening just above the bar caught his attention.
"Cloud? You know?" Tifa asked, the white of her eyes visible as she looked at him with wide open eyes. She had her phone in her hand. "The Turks found Zack. And others SOLDIERs."
For a short moment, Cloud didn't have hold on reality. He'd thought he was having a breakdown or dissociation until Tifa called him again, worry clear in her voice.
"Go, Cloud." she threw him her phone. "I'll send you more infos if there are. Tseng send us the coordinates."
Cloud nodded dumbly. He looked at the last message from Tseng and pocketed the phone then straddled his bike. He started the road by muscles reflex as his mind still reeled on the information. He couldn't believe it.
Fenrir speed, the control he had on the bike and the wind tingling his skin helped Cloud calm down. He could even said he had control of himself. Then he heard an helicopter and saw the first Turks' cars, his heartbeat shot up. There was a circle of the vehicles signaling the zone. The lab had surely never been found because of it's emplacement so different from others. Empty and between two towns, far fro any reactor and the electrical power they could give.
Cloud dived to the side before starting a semi-circle to return near the area while slowing down. Two Turks standing next to a SUV waved him. Cloud went to the first Turk he recognised.
"Yo, Cloud. You were quicker than planned." Reno looked him over and lost most of his glee. "You jumped on Fenrir the minute you knew, uh?"
Cloud didn't answer. His whole body was shaking with nervousness and anticipation. Reno finally understood. He pointed the entry. "This way. We're looking if we can move them all."
Cloud followed the trail of Turks leaving and entering a heavy door hidden by plants. He stood atop a staircase that went down into the bunker.
The place smelled of mako and dust freshly moved. Cloud resisted his urge to sneeze. Rude, who was going up saw him. He stopped, titled his head in a salute and returned on his heels, opening the way for him. Cloud was shaken by the kindness the Turks where showing him, but didn't say it out loud.
The end of the staircase opened on a hall filled with twelve doors. Rude walked to the third without any hesitation and nodded toward it. In the room the Turks had placed temporary lights. Cloud couldn't decide if the lights made the place more or less scary. In fact he didn't think too much about it when he saw the three stretchers in a corner.
Cloud was taken by a crippling anxiety on the spot. The first guy of the row was unknown to him and he could see the others. Except the one turned toward him when the Turk with medical training looked over.
"Hey, a SOLDIER!" the real SOLDIER exclaimed. "C'mere, we're a bit stressed. Seeing a known face 's always good."
Cloud grimaced but did as asked. He approached the trio while his heart seemed to jump out of his chest. He didn't even look at the second as a gasp attracted his attention to the third.
"Cloud!"
Zack sat up in the bed, waving on his too thin arms. Cloud moved next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder to stabilise him. Zack gazed at Cloud with wide eyes full of shock. They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Zack grabbed Cloud by the waist and the neck. He squeezed hard the blond who didn't say a word. Anything he could have said was blocked in his throat, preventing him from breathing correctly.
"You got my call!"
Cloud closed his eyes and let his head fall on Zack's shoulder. Trembling, he managed to reciprocate the hug. He focused on the warmth emitted by Zack rather than the feel of ribs under his arms. Zack smelled of mako and something not quite healthy. Cloud couldn't even conceive how the SOLDIERs, Zack, had survived in mako tanks. He thought a second it was all a dream.
Zack moved a bit to be more comfortable, his hands caressing Cloud and the thought of a dream vanished. Zack was real. He was solid and warm under his touch.
"It wasn't a dream," Cloud breathed.
Zack chuckled, "No. It's a weird bond between us I pulled on until you answered."
He moved back just enough to see Cloud's face. His hands cradled the blond's face with such care Cloud felt like crying. Zack's eyes didn't stray away from Cloud. Not that Cloud looked away. He had eyes only for Zack.
Cloud closed his eyes to hold back his tears. He let his forehead fell against Zack's. Even without the First under his eyes, Cloud felt Zack's hands holding him, Zack's breath tingling his skin. He smiled to himself.
It wasn't a dream.
.