Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the FF7 characters. FF7 and the FF7 characters rightfully belongs to Square-Enix. No copyright infringement is intended at all.
Alright, Chapter 2. This chapter was also beta read by Blue Jae. I would really like to thank her for helping me out a lot on this, thank you so much Blue Jae. I really appreciate your help. Zack and Cloud continue on their journey to Midgar. Cloud has a nightmare about his and Zack's time in the lab. I've read about a deleted scene from the original FF7 game online about when Zack and Cloud was in the lab. So, I'm gonna put that scene in and add a few things to it. This chapter has some cussing in it too by the way, just to warn you all. The nightmare lab scene is at the very beginning of this chapter and it will be in italics, like this. This chapter also has the Zack/Aerith pairing. Anyways, please enjoy.
On the Run for Freedom
Chapter 2
"And what about you then?" The mad scientist asked as he looked down at the young semi-conscious blonde haired boy who's lying down on a metallic operating table, with thick, solid steel restraints around his wrists and ankles. Cloud managed to partially open his eyes, but only to be blinded by a bright white light. "Hmph...what beautiful mako eyes you have," the black haired scientist said as he examined Cloud's half opened, glowing blue eyes. "Can you speak?" He asked.
"Hojo! Get away from him!" A young man with spiky black hair ordered through his mako energy filled incubator prison. The SOLDIER made a fist and glared at Hojo. As he furrowed his eyebrows, he couldn't help but feel angry and sickened at the situation.
"Silence specimen one," Hojo ordered in an icy cold tone as he looked over at Zack.
"Uh...a...ah," Cloud moaned as if he was trying to say something.
Hojo quickly focused his attention back on Cloud and began to question him. "Can you hear someone calling you? Do you want to go somewhere?" He asked.
"Leave him alone, you sick twisted son-of-a-bitch!" Zack yelled.
Hojo glared back over at him as he replied, "I said silence! Unlike you, this boy killed my son, the great Sephiroth. Sephiroth is my greatest creation, and to have him killed off by someone like specimen two, is most intriguing."
"Your son?" Zack asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He looked down and whispered, "No wonder why he went insane."
"I want to go...home...mom...Tifa..." Cloud finally managed to answer weakly.
Not liking the answer that was given, the corners of Hojo's lips formed into a heartless snare, he said, "Hm...this one's a failure as well."
It didn't take Hojo very long at all to realize that it bothered Zack a lot more when he's forced to watch them experiment on his friend more then experimented on himself. Hojo also realized that Cloud felt the same way, that it bothered Cloud a lot more when he was forced to watch them experiment on Zack. The deranged scientist found that out shortly after they both arrived at his lab.
Hojo looked at Zack and gave him a cruel smile as he told his assistants, "Just dump him in the mountains or something."
After he saw the furious glare on Zack's face after he said that, Hojo knew that he struck a nerve. Zack began to pound his fists on the glass of the incubator. "Don't you touch him! If you do anything to hurt him, I'll kill you! All of you!" Zack furiously screamed, desperately attempting to keep them from killing his friend.
Hojo walked towards Zack, and glared at him through the glass of the incubator. He coldly told him, "Silence specimen one, you know that I wouldn't destroy my own property. I'll find a use for you and that little friend of yours." Looking back at his two assistants, the mad scientist ordered, "Put specimen two back in the incubator."
"Yes, professor," one of the assistants replied. One assistant began unfastening the steel restraints around Cloud's wrists, while the second assistant began to unfasten the restraints around his ankles. Once his ankles were free, Cloud looked down at the man that was bending over by the operating table next to one of his ankles. Bringing his leg up, he managed to kick the second assistant hard in the face. "Ahh, I think he broke my nose!" He cried out in pain while he clutched his now bleeding nose.
"Silence you fool, I don't want him damaged! Now, do as I say and put him back in the pod!" Hojo ordered in an angry and frustrated tone of voice.
Zack pressed his hands up against the glass, he couldn't help but feel proud at Cloud's act of resistance. "What a dumbass," he said with a smirk, referring to the guy who just got kicked in the face by Cloud's boot.
Both assistants obeyed as they roughly grabbed Cloud and pulled him off of the operating table. Once he's off of the table they both began dragging him from under the arms. While they dragged him, Cloud couldn't help but notice a large blood stain on the front of his shirt of the infantryman uniform that he's wearing. He tightly closed his eyes and shuddered as he remembered the fight that he had with Sephiroth in the mako reactor when the madman impaled him in the chest, nearly killing him. After he remembered that, he couldn't help but feel betrayed. He's always looked up to Sephiroth ever since he heard about the former hero when he was a young kid. However, now he no longer felt that way towards him at all. Now he looked up to Zack more than anyone else. Then again, he's always looked up to Zack ever since he first met him. After they made it to the second incubator, they roughly put Cloud back inside of it and filled it back up with green mako energy.
"Guh, AHHHHH!" Cloud suddenly lets out a prolonged fearful scream of agony that pierces through the night time silence in response of the nightmare.
Zack's eyes quickly shoot open as he wakes up when he hears the young blonde screaming. He looks down to see Cloud laying on his side with his head resting on Zack's lap. The older man can feel the blonde tightly gripping his pants leg. It doesn't take him long at all to realize that the loud scream is coming from Cloud. While looking down at his friend, the former SOLDIER notices Cloud moving his legs, like he's desperately trying to run away from something.
Zack gently rolls his younger friend over on his back. "Shhh, Cloud, it's okay. You're just having a nightmare," Zack worriedly says as he begins patting Cloud on the side of the face, trying to get him to wake up.
The former SOLDIER's efforts seem useless as Cloud remains asleep and continues screaming, "Ngh, AHHHHH!"
Zack quickly looks around and scans the area, concerned that infantrymen might hear this loud commotion. The older man feels deeply worried and concerned about his friend because he doesn't know why Cloud's screaming all of a sudden. He seemed fine last night. 'Oh no, what do I do? If he keeps screaming like this, we'll get caught,' Zack thinks to himself.
Desperate to try and get his friend to stop screaming, Zack gently places his hand over Cloud's mouth, muffling his friend's scream. "It's alright, man. It's just us here. Come on, please wake up," Zack orders, begging his friend to wake up, his voice full of worry and desperation.
Surprisingly, a couple of seconds later, Cloud's eyes shoots open as he finally wakes up and stops screaming. The young blonde stares up at Zack through half-opened eyes with a dazed and confused look on his face.
Uncovering Cloud's mouth, he softly says with a concerned tone, "I'm sorry about that, but you were screaming pretty loud. What's wrong? Are you okay?" During this time, Zack holds his friend close to him in his arms. Cloud's body trembles as he looks up at Zack with eyes nearly consumed with fear from a past memory. "You want to talk about it?" Zack kindly asks.
Cloud slowly turns his head some and buries his face into Zack's chest and begins to softly whimper in response. "It's okay. You know that I'll always be here for you, buddy," Zack promises, trying to comfort his friend.
After calming his friend down a few moments later, Zack looks up at the sky and notices that it's dawn. After gently laying Cloud down, the former SOLDIER soon climbs to his feet and grabs his Buster Sword. He then sheathes his Buster Sword on his back as he says, "Well, thanks a lot for the wake up call, kiddo. We should get going." Zack grunts as he picks up Cloud and starts to half-carry him. "We need to look for that vehicle. Man, how cool would it be if it's a helicopter?" he says in an excited tone with a big smile at the last part.
"Mmngh," Cloud groans.
"Yeah well, I don't know where it's at either. We don't have a map or a compass or anything, so I guess that we'll have to use the sun to navigate. The sun rises in the east and it sets in the west, so this way is north. Yeah, we'll head north for now. Hopefully, that motorcycle or whatever it is, is in this direction," Zack tells him while looking up at the sky. Looking straight ahead, he says, "I wish that Cissnei would've told us where it's at. Oh well. We'll figure it out." They soon walk into a large forest. "We'll cut through here. Maybe this will be a short cut."
As they continue walking, Zack smiles as he asks, "Hey Cloud, you wanna hear about the time when I built my girlfriend a flower wagon?"
Cloud remains completely silent in response.
Zack smiles at the very thought of his cherished memories with his girlfriend as he starts to tell him the story. "I know that you'll like this story. It was just before we left for our last mission. She wanted me to build a flower wagon for her so that we can sell some flowers all through out Midgar." Zack smiles as he remembers the memory with the woman that he loves. "A little boy from the slums helped me gather the materials for it. After he helped me find the materials, he went ahead and ran home. After I built it for her, I went ahead and put some flowers in it. Then we went to the park and sold some flowers for a few minutes. We didn't sell very many though, and she said that she wanted a nicer wagon."
Zack looks at his friend as he smiles and adds, "I know. She was being a little picky. I did build her two other wagons after that one though, and we used them to sell some flowers at the park too." Zack's voice becomes more tranquil as he smiles and says, "I'll never forget the way that she looked at me when I built her the second one that she liked so much." His voice seems distant when he adds, "She looked so happy. I've always loved her smile. I always felt like I was the luckiest man alive after we first met each other."
They stop walking as Zack takes a look around to scan the area for any enemies and the vehicle. When neither one is in sight, they continue walking. "Anyways, you know, when we get to Midgar, maybe I should ask her if she'll marry me. A long time ago when I was younger, I didn't think about getting married and starting a family of my own that much. But after I met her, I've been considering it. I really do love her." Zack looks at Cloud before asking him, "If me and Aerith get married, I would like for you to be my best man, Cloud. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Cloud manages a small weak smile in response. Knowing that it's Cloud's way of saying yes, Zack laughs and smiles back as he tells him, "Thanks, man. I know that I can always count on you, buddy."
After walking around for a few hours, not sure of exactly where they're going, Zack notices that the sun is shining off of something metallic in the distance. "What's that?" he asks while squinting his eyes to try and see it better. Due to it's features, he soon realizes that it's a motorcycle. "Hey, look Cloud! It's a motorcycle, hopefully it's the one that we're looking for," Zack says as he points to the motorcycle that's just outside of the forest. "Hold on, buddy. We're almost out of this forest."
While walking through the forest towards their destination, three Shin-Ra infantrymen run out from behind the trees and ambush them a few feet ahead. "Over here!" The one in front yells while the three of them aim their assault rifles at Zack and Cloud.
"Sorry. Time for another break, Cloud." He sighs as he gently sits Cloud down next to a tree. Taking a couple of steps towards them, while drawing out his Buster Sword, he says in an annoyed tone, "As you can see, my friend is sick. Let's get this over with." The troops begin shooting at the former SOLDIER. Zack quickly dodges the bullets by rolling out of the way. While the troops begin reloading their guns, Zack equips a Hell Firaga materia and shoots it at them, easily dispatching them.
After making sure that there's no more troops, he asks with sigh, "Why can't they just leave us alone?" He walks over and gently grabs Cloud. After positioning his friend to where he can half-carry him again, they continue on their way.
"I mean seriously, all I want is for them to leave us alone so that we can both get to Midgar. Then I can see my girlfriend again. Is that too much to ask?"
Zack looks over and smiles at the blonde. "I mean, it's not like I'm asking them to give us a billion gil or anything."
A few moments later, they finally make it to the motorcycle. "Alright, buddy. We're finally here. Hopefully, this is the right one. I guess that the keys will let us know, huh?" Zack asks while smiling. "Alright. In you go," he says with a grunt as he kneels down and uses one arm to pick up Cloud's legs and gently sits him down in the sidecar of the motorcycle. While Zack walks around to the other side and sits down on the seat, he notices that there's a couple of sleeping bags and a supply bag tied down to the back of the motorcycle.
"Alright, keep your fingers crossed," he says as he reaches into his pants pocket, pulls out the keys, and puts them in the ignition. The motorcycle immediately starts right up. Zack slightly laughs as he says, "Well, what do ya know? It's the right one." Looking over at Cloud, who's sitting down next to him in the attached side car, Zack asks, "Comfy?" Cloud answers him with a yawn. Zack laughs as he reaches over and playfully ruffles his friend's hair. "I'll take that as a yeah. You can go back to sleep now if you want to." Cloud falls asleep as Zack starts to drive around in their new ride.
After driving around until the sun began to set, they come across an area with a few trees, a small stream, and a cave. Since it's starting to get late, Zack decides to stop and camp here for the rest of the evening.
"I think that we put in enough distance for the day. We should be safe here, for a little while at least," he says as he gets off of the motorcycle. Before he gets Cloud, he decides to check the cave to make sure that it's safe. Before he goes inside, he looks at his sleeping friend and orders, "Wait here. I'll be right back."
He steps inside of the cave and although it's dark, he's still able to see his way around pretty easily. It's a small cave with a couple of turns around some corners before leading into a room. It only takes about two or three minutes to fully explore the grotto. There's no apparent danger here, and with that, he starts a quick campfire in the middle of the room inside of the cave.
He goes back to retrieve his friend. "Alright Cloud, it's safe. We'll go ahead and rest here for the night," Zack says as he walks over to Cloud, who's still asleep. Zack gently scoops him up and begins to carry him into the cave.
"After we get situated here, I'm gonna get us something to eat." While looking down at his sleeping friend, Zack smiles as he softly says, "You know, I really can't wait until you get better because then you can carry me around like this," he jokes as he playfully laughs. "I'm just kidding, buddy."
Once they're inside the grotto, Zack gently sits Cloud down to where he's propped up against the stone wall of the cave. Taking care to try and be careful to not wake him up.
Kneeling down next to Cloud, Zack whispers, "Wait right here. I'm gonna go and get some supplies from the motorcycle, okay?"
Zack makes his way outside and grabs the supply bag and a couple of sleeping bags from the motorcycle. After getting the supplies, he makes sure that he conceals it by placing large leafy tree branches over it. He walks back inside the cave, unsheathes his Buster Sword, and leans it up against the cave wall. He sits down next to his friend, who seems to be awake since his eyes are open now. While Cloud gazes down at the cave's stone floor, Zack pats Cloud on the shoulder as he says, "Hey, welcome back, buddy. Alright, man. Let's see what we got here." Zack starts to rummage through the bag of supplies. He begins to name off the items as he pulls them out from the bag, "We got a first aid kit. For food, we've got some water, soup, jerky, apple sauce, pudding, peanut butter, crackers, oatmeal, and baby food." Zack can't help but chuckle at the last item. "Good thing that we stopped off at that market a couple hours ago for this food. So, what do you want to eat?" He asks, looking over at the blonde, who remains silent. After a few silent seconds, Zack suggests, "How about some baby food, and if you're still hungry after that, you can have some chocolate pudding. Does that sound good?" He smiles.
"Ngh," Cloud moans.
Zack smiles as he replies, "Alright, baby food and chocolate pudding it is."
When it comes to feeding Cloud, it can be a little tricky because with him being semi-comatose, he's unable to chew. Zack has to make sure that when he feeds him, it has to be something that doesn't require much chewing, just swallowing.
After opening a small can of baby food, Zack grabs a plastic spoon from the bag. "Okay, open wide," he orders with a kind smile while holding the spoon up to Cloud's closed lips. He was hoping that Cloud would open his mouth and take the food. However, his younger best friend keeps his lips closed and stares off into space with distant and unblinking eyes. He can't help but feel a little surprised because he thought that feeding him would have been easier. "Come on, Cloud. You've gotta eat. I know that you're hungry. I can hear your stomach growling," Zack says, trying to get his friend to open his mouth.
After a couple of minutes of holding the spoon up to his lips, Cloud finally seems to snap out of it and opens his mouth and takes the baby food. Zack happily smiles as he continues feeding him. After feeding him three more cans of baby food, Zack decides to give him some chocolate pudding.
"Mmm," Cloud responds as Zack gives him the first small spoonful of chocolate pudding.
Zack laughs as he tells him, "I knew that you'd like this stuff."
Something about the chocolate pudding reminds Zack of a past memory. While feeding the blonde, Zack asks, "Hey Cloud, remember on your sixteenth birthday when I had my girlfriend bake that little chocolate cake for you?"
Cloud remains silent as he continues eating.
"We both sat in the cafeteria at headquarters and we ate that whole cake by ourselves." Zack slightly laughs as he remembers the memory. The cake wasn't very big. It looked like it was only about five inches in length and a couple of inches in height. "We didn't even realize that we ate it all until it was already gone. Man, me and you both did a lot of squats in the training room that day to burn off all of those calories." Zack laughs again.
Cloud manages to faintly smile as he hears Zack's voice, trying his best to focus on Zack's words to comprehend what he's saying.
"Oh, and before we ate that cake, some infantrymen were giving you a hard time. So, I told them that you were my cousin, and they actually believed me. They never bothered you again after that," Zack recalls as he continues laughing while feeding Cloud. "You know, if those guys are still around, I wonder if they still think that we're cousins. I never did tell them that we're not related," Zack says with another chuckle.
A few minutes later, Cloud stops allowing Zack to feed him by keeping his lips closed. "You're done? You didn't really eat that much," Zack informs after looking into the plastic container of what's left of the pudding.
"There's just one more bite left. Do you think that you can finish it?" He asks as he starts to hold the last small spoonful of chocolate pudding up to Cloud's lips. Cloud reluctantly opens his mouth and takes the pudding. Zack smiles as he says, "There you go. I know that baby food and chocolate pudding isn't a very good combination, but it's better than nothing."
Now that his friend is fed, Zack starts to eat some jerky and peanut butter crackers. After he gets done eating, he puts the supplies back in the bag.
"Alright buddy, we've had enough adventure for one day. It's time to crash," Zack says as he starts to take off his and Cloud's gloves, boots, and shoulder guards. He gets the sleeping bags rolled out across the cave floor. Putting Cloud in one of the sleeping bags, he smiles as he tells him, "Night."
After that, he lays down in the second sleeping bag and curls up next to his friend. Not long after he lays down, Zack notices that Cloud's body is weakly trembling. Zack doesn't know if he is cold or scared. The ex-SOLDIER gently wraps an arm around his younger friend, offering Cloud both warmth and protection from the world that seems to be trying to make them feel discarded.
Cloud manages a weak and groggy mumble in response when Zack pulls him closer, "Ngh, ungh."
Zack gives his friend a smile full of kindness. He has no idea what Cloud is trying to say because he's still learning his friend's new language. The older man is confident that he'll learn Cloud's new language soon because he's a fast learner. 'Maybe he said, 'thank you',' he thinks to himself. The ex-SOLDIER remains smiling as he tells him, "You're welcome." Zack smiles even more when he notices that Cloud isn't trembling anymore. They both soon fall asleep afterwards.
Alright, Chapter 2 is now finished. I would once again like to thank Blue Jae, who was very kind enough to beta read this. Thank you Blue Jae. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review/comment to tell me what you all think, I always appreciate reviews/comments. Anyways, thank you all for taking the time to read and review/comment.
