Hi guess who...! It's hopefully one of your favourite upcoming Fan Fiction writers? Well i really do hope to carry this story on for a fair few Chapters. But I will promise to write at least 7 Chapters. Now this is where IT WILL BE INTENSE. OR AT LEAST I HOPE YOU THINK SO! I don't own final fantasy 7 crisis core blah blah blah all rights belong to square enix blah blah blah and so forth

A Strain for the Souls of Two Men Chapter 2

Where Ever They Take us, They Just Won't Leave us Alone

"So have you been then Zack?" Tseng asked with a curiosity that only a true leader of the Turks would have. Zack only shot him a cold glare as he tried to ponder in his head what had happened to them during the four years that they'd escaped Shinra manor, and why on earth they had just thought that they'd step in now to help. Cloud, on the other hand, was relieved that they'd been found in time and was also grateful he was sitting next to Rude instead of Reno at the front of the Turks Helicopter. "I have got to say Tseng you're a real life saver you know." Cloud said greatly as Zack put his hands together and squeezed them in disgust of what he'd just heard come out of Clouds mouth. "Hah yeah we are, aren't we?" Tseng smiled as only Rude noticed that Zack wasn't himself, he looked angry. "Well if it weren't for you..." Clouds sentence was interrupted by Zack's outburst of rage as he grabbed Tseng by the collar and held him out the helicopter by only his left hand as his other hand held his massive sword up to Rude's neck as he was sure that the skilled Turk would have pulled his weapon on Zack.

"Woooh what's going on back their!" Reno asked as Zack kept his eyes on the Turks leader so he wouldn't make a move. "Shut up Reno just pilot the helicopter! Now Tseng why have you just decided now to pull us out of this hell hole that we called a life to save us? And don't give me any bullshit Tseng I want answers NOW!" Zack demanded as Cloud sat nervously watching this exchange of feelings. Tseng took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. He knew that there was nothing he could do and even though he was a good friend of Zack's, he could see behind the mako in his eyes and could tell the classified 'dead', Ex 1st class SOILDER would throw him out the helicopter without hesitation. "Fine" he said as Zack threw him back to his seat keeping his sword pointed at Rude. "Shinra wants you to go back into SOILDER Zack. You were a good operative. One of our best you know?" Zack grunted as he heard him mention 'one of the best'. "Well I would believe it except for the fact we were hunted down by our own friends and a large scale amount of Shinra troops who died meaninglessly, mostly by my hand! And why were we experimented on in Shinra manor huh ANSWER ME THAT TSENG I KNOW YOU CAN!" Zack screamed at the top of his voice obviously upset by all that had happened to them. A tear rolled down his eye as he looked at Rude and said "I'll sheath my sword but you must promise me that you won't try anything, okay?" Rude looked at Zack, took of his glasses and looked into his eyes. "I promise you as my friend Zack." Zack sighed in relief as he knew by Rude's gesture he meant it.

Cloud looked up at Zack, then to Rude and then towards Tseng. Zack looked upset as he had his hand pushed against his forehead as well as covering his eyes. Rude was just sorting out his uncomfortable suit and Tseng looked at Zack, then to Cloud and opened his mouth. "Look all I know is that Shinra is falling apart and we need someone to help us rebuild and control Midgar with us. We need you Zack. That's all I know." Zack looked at him bitterly "No that's all you allowed to tell us. Am I right Tseng?" as Zack mentioned this Cloud raised his hand. "Look Zack we should at least respect the privacy of why they've done this, we owe them are lives..."

"No Cloud, if anything they owe us the four/five years we've lost with are friends and family." Zack then pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket. It was labelled To Zack Fair please read this one this time. He held the letter up to Tseng's face and unfolded the paper. "...This will be my 89th and final letter." Again, another tear managed to escape Zack's eye as he finished reading the letter from Aeirth. The Turks leader was hanging his head low as Rude and Cloud sat on the other end of the helicopter staring at the pair of friends exchange a painful memory together. "So tell me where are the rest of the letters?" Zack asked as Tseng shook his head and replied "I don't know." Reno the clapped his hand to attract the attention of his 'happy' passengers, not realising what had happened he actually ended up breaking another fight with his lack inability to pay attention to people. "We've arrived in Midgar my good friends; I shall drop you off at the closest point near the new housing residents of our freeloaders here."

"Housing..." Cloud asked Reno but as usual he wasn't listening so Rude stepped in his place. "Shinra has decided for you two to restart your lives in Midgar. You've been provided with a small but liveable house in the village of Mavericks End. It's a nice city with manageable resources, it quite peaceful despite the name." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some documents and two sets of keys, He handed them to Cloud and Zack. "Here are all the documents you'll need to live a normal life, oh and your keys." The helicopter came to a stop as Reno turned around and smiled at his friends. "Well Zack, Cloud nice seeing you and catching up now all you need to do is get the fuck out of my helicopter!" he grinned as Zack and Cloud stood up. Cloud stepped out timidly and as Zack walked out Tseng walked up to him and only muttered "Stay alert and I'll see you soon." Zack just coldly walked past and nodded at Rude then turned towards Reno and slapped him across the face playfully, trying to mask the fact of how pissed off he was he just waved his hand back at them while outside and walked off with Cloud through the street and put his left arm around him. "We'll Cloud here's are new life in this town eh? You'd think they'd spring out a bit more Gil for us?"

"Yeah you would off though so wouldn't you." Cloud spoke as he tried not to blush. As they strolled down the town together the attracted some pretty weird stares. The fact that they were all bruised and bleeding didn't help or even the fact Zack had Angeals huge buster sword on his back and Cloud had a simple standard, but still very threatening Shinra sword.

Finally they came to their so called house at the end of the town. It was more like an apartment from the outside since it only had one floor. As Zack pulled his key out of his pocket, still keeping his arm wrapped around Cloud, he put the key inside the door and they both stepped into what would be there new home. As the outer appearance suggested it was only one floor, but it was charming. It had an unpolished wooden floor that covered the entire house and black paint on the wall was peeling off and revealed the sloppy brick work underneath. The house had a few rooms – One bedroom, a living room with was tied with the kitchen and had one window which was more like a massive skylight. One bathroom which next to the bedroom and there was also a ladder which leaded up to the roof which was just a few metal plates and the beautiful glass which let the light flow through the house as a light source since there wasn't any lights around. Both the men wondered into different rooms and came out wearing more comfortable outfits. Zack was wearing a tight white long sleeved t-shirt and some black boxers whilst Cloud wore a slightly dirty t-shirt which was identical to Zack's except for it wasn't as tight as his and it was short sleeved and he actually wore some plain blue baggy jeans. Again Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud and they both looked at their new home.

"Eh not that bad ay Cloud, pretty under decorated but that just adds to the relaxing atmosphere doesn't it?" Zack asked with that puppy dog face of his. "Yeah it is pretty nice when you get past the space" he giggled as he glanced towards the kitchen. "I'll try to fix us something up here Zack. What'd you like?" Cloud asked, smiling as he looked into the old fridge and saw that Shinra had stocked it jam packed full of various foods. "Well ill have anything really. I'm not fussed Cloudy boy." Zack laughed as he fell onto the black, torn leather couch holding his hands on the back of his head. Cloud hid the fact that he'd loved that he's got a nick name from Zack, which had made Cloud come to a decision to make a joke about him. "So Zack do you know what they say about people with big swords don't you." Zack curiously raised his head towards Cloud, finding him making a fist with his left hand but sticking his pinky finger out and bending it slightly. Cloud smiled and said "They've got small dicks..." Zack face went bright red, not with embarrassment but with a playful anger. He stood up. "You bitch Cloud" he giggled as he ran up to Cloud smiling. "Woooh Zack I don't mind but others may" Cloud laughed hysterically as Zack wrestled him onto the sofa. Both men blushed as Zack picked up a pillow, pinned him down against the leather and started pummelling him. Cloud was feebly attempting to defend against Zack's amazing pillow fighting skills but Zack was still winning the 'fight'. Cloud then managed to push Zack away with his feet and quickly made a dash to the ladder that lead up to the roof. Before he reached the ladder he turned around to see Zack standing up looking at him, smiling. "You've got to catch me if you want to win buddy!" Cloud winked at Zack and dashed towards up the ladder. "So you wanna play it that way eh Cloud, Alright." Zack grinned to himself as he gleefully stepped up the ladder. Ashe stepped up he saw that Cloud was lying on the glass skylight and was looking up at the sky. He stared towards Zack a said "Okay you win". Zack strutted over, proud that he won a measly pillow fight and lay beside Cloud.

"Cloud what are you thinking about?" Zack asked softly as he looked into the evening sunset over the town. "Just thoughts really" Cloud said as his bright blue eyes wandered themselves across the cityscape. Zack's eyes noticed a stain on Clouds T-shirt, his wound had re-opened. Zack rolled across him so his body hovered over Clouds and he started lifting his t-shirt to reveal the wound. "Woooh Zack what are you doing?" "I'm fixing you wound it re-opened again Cloud. Oh fuck the wounds on your legs have opened to." Zack stood up and grinned at Cloud. "Take off the pants Cloudy." Cloud lay there dumbstruck and bleeding trying to take in what had happened. "Fine" Zack muttered, "I'll just take them of myself." Zack then quickly tore away Clouds blue jeans and placed one hand on Clouds stomach and the other hand was placed on Clouds right thigh. Zack used a powerful cure materia into the wounds in Clouds legs. Cloud looked down at Zack, he was smiling as he looked up to him.

Cloud slowly moved his hand across Zack's and grabbed it tight. He then pulled Zack towards him and kissed him lightly on the lips. Zack responded to this by putting his other hand on Clouds bare chest. Cloud knew that this moment was the start of something, something good, something special. Zack on the other hand wasn't thinking about the kiss he was sharing with Cloud but where Aeirth was. All Zack could think of was the letter he received. Shrugging it of his mind he then gently pushed Cloud against the skylight, which acted as the roof foot support, and placed his hand on his face and started rubbing his cheek gently. Cloud felt his knees weaken. He had being waiting for this moment for so long it almost felt unreal to him. Of all the times he wanted to kiss him. On his first mission with him in Modeoheim, the inn in Nibelheim and even in the back of the yellow pick-up truck on the dusty road towards this god forsaken city. As Clouds soft hands wandered around Zack's body his phone rang. Zack kissed Cloud, "I'll be one moment Cloud and I'll take this down stairs okay." As he whispered that sentence in Clouds ear, he could only find himself answer him back with a soft "okay".

Zack jumped down the ladder and landed near the kitchen counter where he had placed the phone. He looked at the caller ID. It was Tseng. "Hello Tseng" Zack said as he answered the phone "what'd you like then? It must be something right." "Lucky you Mr. Fair you're being put back into work. Meet me tomorrow morning at the Gogonga Café. Do you know where that is?" Tseng replied in his usual cool tone. "Well no I haven't but, why are you sending me back out in the field Tseng? That's just not fair now is it? You should have known by now all I want is a nice life with Cloud."

"Well you don't have a choice. I'm sorry but we have orders to eliminate you two if you don't co-operate, besides it'll be other SOILDER operatives hunting you down this time, not infantrymen who you can dispose of with your hands Zack!" Zack paused. "Wait, did you say the two of us...? WHY IS CLOUD INVOLVED IN THIS!" Tseng retaliated Zack by shouting at him through the phone say that he got himself into this when he fought by Zack's side."NO YOU DRAGGED HIM INTO THIS TSENG! YOU AND SHINRA!" Zack threw the phone on the wooden floor as he hung up on Tseng. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Zack what's the matter that didn't sound good?" Cloud asked. He had been listening in from the roof and what he'd heard made a horrible feeling in his gut surface. Zack ran towards him and hugged him tightly. Cloud succumbed to Zack's arms and let him hold his body up, Cloud then relaxed until Zack spoke to him. "Cloud, you must understand they just won't leave us alone, they never will. We only have each other in this alright, I know you'll stay by my side all the way through this. I have to work for Shinra for a while but I promise you this, we'll sort this out and fight Shinra for the last time. I love you Cloud." Zack was still hugging him and it was obvious he didn't want to let go. "I love you to Zack... just don't leave me alone in this world." A Cloud sobbed softly against Zack's shoulder, Zack cradled him slightly to calm him down. The sight of Cloud unhappy made Zack's beaming blue eyes well up. "It'll be okay Cloud, we'll sort this out."

The two sad men wandered aimlessly towards the bedroom. Cloud fell into his bed and didn't speak a word. Zack, noticing how sad Cloud was since he would be away for a few days because of the mission, slid into the bed with him. They both held each other under the covers. Eventually they both slipped into a state of an un-relaxing sleep.

Later that night across the street, Reno and Rude were still sat on the roof of a general shop. "So they're in a relationship then Rude?"

"Seems that way doesn't it. Considering the conversation they had about a few hours ago they may be something of an item." Rude stated as he sipped a cool glass of Banora white juice whilst Reno got steadily drunk on Bahamut's Brew, a drink with a seriously high alcohol percentage. Rude's phone rang. It was their supervisor, Tseng. "O great its him again Rude don't answer it it'll be funny. Rude responded by a slight grunt then just ignored Reno and picked up the phone. "Yes Tseng, yeah they're currently asleep at the moment, together. I know it sounds un fair but we could use their current relationship status to our advantages. Yeah I've got recorded evidence that they're together. Okay I will send them through director Tseng, goodbye."

"Well Rude what did Mr big shot director Tseng say?" Reno asked, throwing the beer into the box beside him which was almost full. "He said that we could use Cloud as a hostage if Zack doesn't co-operate, judging by his emotional attachment to the blonde guy it'll he'll be perfect for Shinra to use him. Shame though"

"Well Rude we need to suck it up. There are friends I understand that but were proud, talented Turks. Besides this all needs to go according to a strict plan doesn't it?"

"Of course, you know what they say. To harness the power of the planet, first harness the weapons."

To two partners exchanged in a glass of Reno's beer unknowing the consequence of what they're work was doing to everyone's future on the planet. They didn't know that Shinra had uncovered a WEAPON underground near Cosmo canyon. What Shinra was planning to do was inhumane and Zack, Cloud, Tseng, Reno and Rude were just unfortunate puppets in a role that could shatter their lives.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN! Well how was this chapter then? Next chapter we'll find out how Cloud copes on his own while Zack is on his mission. Cloud will find that people are watching him and he promised to himself he wouldn't be taken down. We'll also find how Cloud gets along with his new neighbour Elaina and what will happen on his first night alone and what troubles Zack. Please comment and review Chow. Z Winters x