Still Unbetaed. Minor Het and Yaoi.


The burn of Comet's power traveled up the length of his arm as he poured his MP into his blade and the sphere glowed like the sun in its slot, but Cloud's eyes were focused in on the winged abominations that were now swooping in to claw at his men. He felt the spell beg for release but kept fueling until it seemed as though he was going to summon Meteor itself.

The ground shook like a Quake had been cast as Cloud released the spell on the monsters. Comet tore through the sky and took out every single flying bastard. A murmur of shock spread across the group as the men all turned to look at Cloud with wide eyes. He let his half-crazed smile finally slip into a more natural smirk as he lifted his sword in preparation of the fight ahead.

At the sight of the falling fliers, the runners hiding in the shadows of Edge began flooding out of the ruined city. Their clawed feet allowed them to move at a deadly speed, eclipsing the progress of the dead scavengers in minutes. Still, it was too slow for Cloud's tastes. He fished in his pocket for his keys and ran back to the center of camp where Fenrir was waiting.

The engine purred despite the disuse when he started her up. Pushing First Tsurugi into the compartment and putting on his sunglasses, he twisted the throttle and took off back towards the incoming runners. The men were smart enough to dodge him as he sped past them. A good plan, considering Cloud tended to lose himself in thought while driving Fenrir. It was easy to kick up dust just walking on the plains, but Fenrir created a trail that extended for a 30 yards out behind the bike. Cloud relished in the feeling of the minute particles and the harsh wind on his face.

The runners locked onto Cloud and he could hear their snarls now. His eyes narrowed at their snapping jaws and mako-tainted drool; their tails cracking like whips behind them. He grinned again as he forced the compartment holding his sword to open. His hand wrapped tightly around the grip and yanked it free. The high whistle of the blade cutting the air, as they destroyed what little distance remained between them and the runners, was music to his ears.

He was going to die today, and that was something to celebrate.

He turned sharply and used the momentum to carry him and the bike forward while drifting. The first runner reared up to meet him and thrust its claws at his throat. Cloud ran it through the underbelly and cut it clean in half; showering him with the amber blood that Hojo's monsters had developed. It burned his skin lightly where it touched, but Cloud ignored it. A second runner attacked at his right but got caught up in the front wheels. He unlocked one of the side blades and flicked his wrist to straighten it. In the same motion, he buried it into the throat of the second runner. The beast let out a horrific death howl that was partially drowned out by the men watching from camp shouting their praise.

Cloud pressed his foot down on the side of Fenrir and launched himself off the bike, which knocked three more runners down as it kept sliding away. Half of them kept heading for camp, but the three that got stunned by Fenrir and about four more decided that Cloud was a more interesting enemy than the soldiers behind them.

Cloud shook what was left of the first dead one off his blade and pulled it back up into a defensive position in time for another to charge him. With the blade between him and the mutated behemoth, he was just barely able to keep his face safe from the jaws and claws. A snarl from behind him was his only warning before pain blossomed across his back. Cloud swung his sword around, slicing through the runner in front and using the weight of the sword to pivot his body away from the one behind him. Bring up the sword to defend and using the side blade to attack, when the runner swiped forward, Cloud used his strength to cut through the armored limb. It staggered back from the grievous wound and he used this opportunity to drive the smaller blade through its skull.

The last five were beginning to circle him as he pulled his blade out of the corpse. On top of that, the dead scavengers were now within range to charge his position as well.

Cloud stood up and shook his head to clear his thoughts. A quick glance back at the camp showed that the men were handling the other runners, which had continued past him, just fine on this side. It appeared only a single man had fallen, but several were bleeding heavily. Remembering his own wound now that the adrenaline had settled into the usual battle-high, Cloud was almost annoyed to feel the flesh stitching together already.

"Oh well," he thought. "Plenty of time yet."

He was preparing to engage the remaining runners and the dead when his body warmed over inexplicably. It was like sinking into a hot bath only from the inside out. He put the side blade back into the main body of First Tsurugi and lifted it as though he was holding the Buster Sword. His heart spasmed gently as he thought back to many years ago.

"…The price of freedom sure is steep."

Cloud smiled mostly to himself as he recognized Zack's presence. It wasn't the first time he'd been joined by his former friend, but, from the glowing warmth in his soul, he knew this would be the last.

The runners gave up waiting for him to make the first move and converged on him all at once. With practiced ease, he cut down all five in one swing as he cut right through the leftmost to the rightmost. The cut wasn't clean at all and the monsters howled and clawed desperately at the dirt as their bodies gave up on them.

Cloud locked onto the dead that had broken out into a run to meet him in combat. Their faces ranged from easily remembered to being decayed beyond recognition. The living men had a lot of trouble killing their, albeit dead, friends, but Cloud had never had that issue. His heart was far too hardened to be trouble with such things. He cut them all down one after another. They all scratched and clawed and bit at him in an attempt to do damage but he was immune to the toxin they transmitted through contact. Everything fell like wheat before the scythe. Blood splattered across his face and hair and dripped slowly down his neck. His eyes glowed like the sky above as the mako churned in his body.

With the battle finished for him on this side of camp, he looked to see his men finishing the last of the runners. They cheered at him as though they were actually going to win. Putting it out of his mind, he remounted Fenrir and headed for the Northwestern edge.


The Northwest had been nearly decimated by the runners that had ploughed into the fragile line. The fifty, that would have been no trouble for all of the men together, had torn through the skeleton crew left behind. Now barely a handful of men were all that remained to keep them out of the inner camp. Either way, Cloud was pleased to note that they had taken many of the runners with them.

As soon as he was in sight, the runners turned their attention to him and attempted to ambush him. It was about twelve left in total. He gave his last free seconds to cast a Cure3 and Wall on the men still standing, and then they were on him.

Claws found purchase in his shoulder and a pair of jaws clamped down on his left forearm. The yelp and instant release of those jaws when the beast got a taste of the mako inside him almost inspired a laugh. It seemed like Cloud was still too strange to even be eaten by mindless creatures. Terrified at his lack of movement, his men shouted frantically at him to respond to the attack, but Cloud ignored them for the moment. He would kill the runners; he just wanted to let them do some worthwhile damage while they had a chance.

"Cloud!"

All good things must come to an end, of course. His eyes went green as his body began to move of its own accord.

Where twelve runners had been a second before, now lay a pile of carnage. The ground hissed as the blood stained the earth below his feet; like the planet was being wounded by the tainted fluids. The men had all stopped yelling and instead stood there quietly. Their dirty and bloodied faces were frozen in horror. He just closed his eyes and savored the feeling of his wounds, because it wasn't ten seconds later that they began to close. He looked to the sky and felt his slitted pupils return to normal. How depressing; he wasn't even allowed to feel human pain anymore.

Cloud returned First Tsurugi to his back and stalked towards the camp. The men all cleared a path for him as he passed them. Things didn't look good; they had lost more than three quarters of what was stationed on this end. He walked briskly through the middle of camp and eyed each sealed tent to be certain that everyone was safe. Stopping in front of his own tent, he listened carefully and was relieved to hear both Marlene and Tifa's heartbeats inside. At least he didn't have to worry about them.

He heard the sounds of the Northeastern battle long before he reached it. The retching men who had either been infected or caught the scent of the decaying enemies and the sobs of those unable to bear cutting another creature in human form down.

This end of camp fared no better in terms of survival. There had been many more enemies and these were even more difficult to fight then a runner. Cloud could spot at least seven men who had been infected and would die in the night if they didn't die in battle. Their faces were white as sheets and their hair was soaked with sweat. Dying of the infection was a merciless mix of quick and slow; too quick to come to terms with it, but too slow to save you from hours of agonizing pain. In fact, the only good thing about the reanimated dead was that they were very simple to take down, so only about two dozen still remained. Nevertheless, that was still a dozen more than they had healthy men.

Cloud pulled out his gun and used the last shots he had to take out five. Those were the last bullets Cloud had been able to round up over the course of months. He didn't figure he'd need them after today anyway. They may have been able to take out the attacking monsters, but Hojo wouldn't have sent this many if he didn't intend to win. Still, Cloud helped finish off the last of the dead.

Even with his help, three more were infected. After it was said and done, and they had nothing left to fight, they all begged him to finish them off so their families wouldn't have to watch the decline. Knowing something of the mercy of death, he granted those wishes.

With the attack just barely repelled and more than half of their forces completely decimated, Cloud had to wonder… What would be the final straw? Believing the battle over, the men all rushed to the middle of camp to reunite with their families as Cloud scanned the horizon. Seeing nothing, he turned and walked slowly to where everyone was hugging and crying.

The noise agitated him but he allowed them their moment. Tifa and Marlene had joined in the pseudo-celebration. They hugged tightly and their faces brightened with hope that should have been crushed so long ago. Sometimes, Cloud marveled over the strength of human will. How they could manage to be happy at a time like this, he would never truly understand.

"This can't be over. He wouldn't bet it all on a battle he was going to lose."

Cloud angled his head slightly towards Stevens, who had approached him from behind. The man was soaked in sweat and two colors of blood. He wore an intensely worried expression that made Cloud wonder if he should be feeling something similar. Turning his eyes back to the celebrating soldiers, Cloud just watched them and ignored Stevens. For once, he had nothing to go on; no precognition and no forewarning. Whatever was going to happen would be as much as surprise to Cloud as anyone else.

"Be careful."

It was Zack again who was talking. A little surprising considering his connection to Aeris had always been stronger when using the Lifestream as a conduit. That wasn't to say Zack couldn't contact him, but it was always much fainter than this.

"Doesn't matter how careful I am, Zack. It won't change what happens."

"Maybe not… But a guy's gotta try, right?"

His lips turned up slightly at the side. Cloud half-wondered from Zack's tone if his messages weren't more for Aeris' benefit. He got a sense that his friend missed him enough to want Cloud to join them in the Lifestream. If nothing else, he knew Zack knew that it's what Cloud really wanted. The only thing keeping him from trying to force things was that he couldn't abandon Tifa and Marlene like that. It wasn't like his previous attempts at suicide had worked out anyway, but today might be different.

"It's not your time yet, Cloud," Aeris whispered softly into his mind.

More warmth spread across his body. It was like she was wrapping her arms around his neck. Zack's arms settled around his waist from behind.

"Might not get a choice this time." She laughed gently. A sound full of sunlight and life despite the circumstances.

"As if you'd choose differently, my silly love."

He felt her lips ghost over his own and his eyes slid shut in longing. Zack pressed his own very carefully just below his ear. They had long come to an understanding of the complicated thread of love that connected their hearts.

To the outside world, Cloud appeared to be in his own thoughts. But on the inside, it was like his heart was coming alive again. The ethereal sensations of their hands, lips, bodies, and their scents consumed him. Lilies and rainforest. It was the moments like these that Cloud felt the closest to whole that he'd been since Aeris died. His hand came up to run his fingers over the ring again. He pulled the second chain around his neck free of his clothing and brushed his thumb over Zack's dog tags.

The ground began to rumble beneath his feet but he tried to ignore it just a little longer. The other survivors started to look around wildly and voice their confusion while Stevens took off running for the edge of camp again. Slowly, the feeling of being near them began to recede. Two soft kisses were all he was left with as they evaporated entirely. His hands clenched into useless fists at the sensation of loss.

"Not today, Cloud. Soon… But not today."

He released a shaky breath and cursed. How much longer would he have to wait?

"Strife! Strife! Get your shit together. Something is coming and I can't get a visual."

Eyes snapping open, he turned to see a much winded Stevens once again at his side. The rumbling had grown more noticeable now and Cloud could feel the ground threatening to break underfoot. Piecing things together quickly, he stared numbly at the dirt as the shaking became violent. Stevens followed his gaze with a horrified expression.

"Sweet Gaia, it's BENEATH US!"

Stevens would have said more… If a giant spike hadn't come out of the ground at that moment and run through his throat.

Red blood hit Cloud's cheek as the man sputtered on the end of the spiked limb. The former 3rd only thrashed once before going limp. The world erupted into chaos as every living thing in the camp began to scream. Cloud just stood there as more spikes emerged from the ground before finding grip to pull the full body free of the earth. The mouth was all teeth and the spiked legs were almost spindly next to the gargantuan body. It almost looked like a Land Worm that had grown legs. Even worse, almost every leg had a body or two speared on it while the head was whipping around and grabbing another person as soon as it swallowed down the previous one.

"Cloud, DO SOMETHING!"

Tifa's shriek propelled his body into motion. He lifted First Tsurugi and brought it down on the monster behind its head. His blade pierced its flesh but the wall of muscle under the armored body didn't allow it to cut much further. Snarling in frustration, he repeated the action with not much success. He was wasting time and he knew it. The jabbing legs were not just picking off soldiers, but innocent people as well. Civilians scrambled to get away but didn't get very far as the body swiped back and forth.

Changing tactics, he tried to take off the legs one by one. He managed to cut one off, but it also took two swings to manage. Frustrated by an enemy too armored for his strength to carry him to victory, Cloud found himself at a loss for what to do. He looked all over as though the answer would just present itself suddenly. His eyes landed on Tifa whose mouth was in motion and her face was screwed up in fear. She was pointing to something behind him.

He considered turning around to see what had her so upset, but found himself unable to move. Looking down, he found a twitching leg had been shoved directly through his back and out his chest. Cloud looked up again to see Tifa faint on the spot.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Cloud grasped the end of the leg, which was much thinner than at the base, and snapped it clean off. The giant worm withdrew the rest of the leg from him in response to the pain. He turned back to the monster and glared angrily. The hole was not much bigger than what Sephiroth had done to him with Masamune, which meant he would heal.

Unslotting Comet, Cloud stalked towards the creature as it faced him with its ugly mouth and lunged. He brought his sword up in time to catch the jaws and forced his sword fully into the maw. The teeth reached out to him in a vain attempt to get a hold.

With a vicious smile, Cloud shoved his entire arm down the throat in front of him. The worm stopped moving for a moment as if in shock but soon recovered in time to thrash around with renewed vigor. The body began to swell and Cloud was sure, if the fucker was capable of vocalizations, it would be screaming right about now. Those still able to stand began to rise and fixed their eyes on the distressed makonoid and on Cloud who looked far too happy for being half way in the beast's mouth.

His arm had begun to burn from the blood inside the monster and from the power he was charging so Cloud just widened his grin and whispered one word.

"Die."

The worm exploded from the inside out as Cloud released the Comet 2 he had charged. The guts and pieces of the dead people it had devoured rained down on the ruined camp. Cloud didn't even move; his arm still extended, sword still up, and the materia still glowing gently.


This time no one cheered. In the space of one day, the camp had been taken down to barely more than thirty survivors.

Slowly, people began to collect their thoughts and the tears started to flow. The strongest collected the bodies to be burned and the weaker ones just fell to their knees. The hole in Cloud's chest was sealed over before the first pyre had even been lit. He sat in silence and ruminated over if he had once again cheated death or if death had once again cheated him. Tifa and Marlene had both survived, and for that he was thankful. At least he wouldn't be alone for a little while longer.

All of the tents were ruined and no shelter remained. The rations had escaped unscathed, which meant they wouldn't starve, but exposure would take out the rest of them quicker than he wanted to admit. The girls had set to recovering what could be salvaged from their supplies. It wasn't long, however, before Tifa approached him. He sighed to himself and got ready for the first round of checking to make sure he was alright.

"Cloud…"

"I'm fine, Tifa. Worry about the others."

"Cloud…" Something in her tone made him face her properly. Her eyes were red from fresh tears and she had a radio in her hand. Face devoid of emotion, he took the radio from her and pressed the button.

"Cloud Strife here… Over."

"Cloud? Oh thank Gaia. Tifa mentioned you guys got butchered there too. Is everything alright? Over."

"We're fine, but we lost most of our people. What do you mean 'too'? Were you attacked as well, Reeve? Over."

"E-every last AVALANCHE holdout was attacked, Cloud. He… he aimed to wipe us all out. Luckily, it appears he underestimated the most of us. From what Tifa tells me, you guys got one of the worst attacks there. But…"

Reeve trailed off into static but never said 'over'. Cloud got the feeling there was more to be said.

"But, what? Over."

"But Wutai got hit the hardest, Cloud. Yuffie held them off as long as she could… She was in constant contact with me… But in the end it got to be too much. Vincent… Gaia, Cloud. Vincent came over the radio about an hour ago and told me he was the only one left. Wutai is gone, Cloud. And Yuffie with it."


EDIT: Revised October 9, 2013. Minor structure changes and descriptions. No scenes added.