A/N: OMG - two chapters left! This one was so draining to write; I hope you find it alright. I don't have much to say right now other than I hope you enjoy and... yeah, that's it. ^.^ *bounces in chair pointing to chapter* Read, read, read! XD

-o-o-o-

Cloud woke up screaming. Zack was startled out of his own sleep and instinct immediately took over as he reached over to try to calm the blond down. "Cloud! Wake up!" he shouted over his lover's cries. "It's okay now, Cloud. Please, babe."

Cloud's cries became harsh sobs as he buried his face in Zack's chest. Zack rubbed his back soothingly and whispered reassurances in his ear. Cloud could hear Zack's heartbeat and grew steadily calmer with each passing moment. "Z-Zack…" He tried to speak but his throat was too sore to offer a steady voice.

"Shh, shh…" Zack hushed softly, fully sitting up in bed with his lover in his arms. He rocked Cloud gently as the blond's sobs began to lessen. "It was only a dream. You're safe."

Cloud pulled back slightly from Zack's embrace. He needed to see his face. He needed to make sure that it was actually Zack holding him tightly despite his voice, scent, and warmth surrounding him. Cloud's eyes met Zack's and an intense relief blanketed his body. Zack wrapped his arms tightly around the blond and pulled him into a tight hug. Cloud closed his eyes and let his body be moved by Zack. The love he felt for him was so strong right now that his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. He snuggled against the strong, broad body in front of him and took in his scent. It was only then that he realized that something was amiss. His eyes opened to a familiar flicker of light and widened when they registered orange light coming through the closed blinds.

Cloud's body stilled and he began to doubt that he ever woke up at all. He slowly pulled back from Zack's embrace, his eyes never leaving the light from the window. Zack noticed this and looked over his shoulder. He vaguely registered Cloud's whispered denial as he slowly shuffled out of bed and walked towards the window. Cloud knew what they would find when Zack opened the blinds but he still prayed that it would be something different; anything different. Zack drew the blinds open and gasped as the image in front of him registered. From where Cloud was sitting he could see flames engulfing the buildings and houses throughout the small town and even though it was eerily quiet in the bedroom, Cloud's mind filled in the blanks with the sounds from his dreams.

Zack seemed to snap out of it first as he ran towards his clothes and quickly began pulling his pants on. Cloud's eyes followed his lover briefly before turning back to the orange light outside the window.

"Cloud! Get dressed!" Zack shouted, not angry at the cadet's frozen state but instead in a rushed panic.

Cloud looked back over to Zack before realization hit him and he leapt out of bed to find his clothes. He could barely see what he was doing as his mind was racing with scrambled thoughts. He tried to determine whether he was still dreaming. What were they going to do once they got outside? He wasn't going to let Zack out of his sight for a second.

Zack finished dressing first and looked back out the window. Where the fuck is Sephiroth? he asked himself in his head. A feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach at the thought that maybe the General had something to do with this. No – as scary as Seph was last night, he wouldn't do something like this; there has to be another explanation. He looked back over at the blond who was pulling on his boots. He recalled Cloud saying that something bad was going to happen; that they needed to leave Nibelheim, but surely there was no way he saw this coming.

When Cloud finished dressing he stood up straight and looked to Zack for the next instruction. Zack simply looked into his lover's deep blue eyes, love coursing through his body, before he called a quick 'lets go' and turned to exit the inn.

Cloud wasn't prepared for what he felt when the two stepped outside despite the images from his dreams. The heat surrounding them was so extreme. Voices were shouting over one another as the panicked townspeople ran all over the place unsure of where to go. A few bodies laid motionless on the ground with others pleading and tugging on their heavy limbs; the sound of the fire roared and crackled creating a soundtrack to this scene of chaos. It was too much to take in all at once and Cloud doubted that he would be able to move under his own accord. He sensed Zack's presence beside him in as much shock as his own. Neither knew exactly where to begin before a thought registered in Cloud's mind that snapped him from his paralysis.

"Mom…" Cloud breathed before breaking out into a full run towards his mother's house.

Zack's attention shifted to the blond when Cloud uttered that one word that caused his own body to shudder. Before he could focus, the blond had already taken off in the direction of his mother's house. Zack took off after him praying that Olivia was alright. After a few seconds of running he could see her house come into view. It was completely engulfed in flames from top to bottom. The top structure seemed to give as it collapsed onto the rest of the house with a loud crash. He heard Cloud's scream of anguish and noted how much faster the blond was running towards his mother. Fear struck Zack as he realized that Cloud was probably going to run into the house; that he thought there was still a chance that she was okay. The frightful sight of the house in front of him told him otherwise and he started calling out Cloud's name to stop his desperate boyfriend from running into the house to his certain death.

Cloud didn't seem to hear him as he drew closer and closer to the house. Zack panicked and his heart seized up in his throat making it impossible for him to call out his name anymore. His need to protect Cloud intensified as he began making ground on the blond. Mere feet from the house, Zack caught up and roughly grabbed the boy before he could reach for the flaming door. He pulled Cloud's body back away from the house causing the blond to scream out angrily and he tried to fight his way out of Zack's arms. He screamed out for his mother as Zack continued to pull him away from the collapsing house; Cloud struggling fiercely the entire time. Zack continued to pull Cloud away from the house with great difficulty until he was sure that they were a safe distance away. Cloud promptly fell to the ground with a blood-curdling scream.

Zack lowered himself down behind Cloud and wrapped his arms around his crying form. He held him tightly and buried his face in the side of Cloud's neck. The blond didn't seem to notice Zack's presence as he continued to cry out for his mother.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud…" Zack whispered through his own tears, hoping that his voice was reaching his lover. "I'm so sorry…" His heart painfully shattered for the blond.

Cloud broke down completely in a fit of tears and fell back against the strong body behind him. His body shook violently as sobs continued to erupt from his throat. Zack wasn't sure what he could do for the blond right now other than just be there with him. He tightened his hold on the smaller body as tears began to fall freely from his own eyes.

After a few moments Zack lifted his head and looked around at the chaos still surrounding them which was temporarily forgotten about. People were still running in every direction at a loss for what to do or where to go. Cloud's crying quieted down to mournful sobs.

"We need to help these people." Zack said quietly in the blond's ear. "We have to do something."

Cloud wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands and looked around. "I saw this…"

"Saw what?" Zack asked, surprised at the completely unexpected response from the blond.

"This." Cloud repeated.

Zack was silent for a moment before kissing the top of Cloud's head. "Come on." he coaxed uneasily as he pulled himself and Cloud up onto their feet. He wanted to forget what the blond had just said. "Can you check on those two people over there?" Zack asked, pointing to a couple of still forms on the ground. "And anyone else who looks like they need help?"

Cloud's sad eyes looked over at the people before he nodded. He looked back to his mother's house, his breath hitching in his throat before he slowly slumped away. Zack watched his broken lover make his way towards the bodies before he looked over towards the Shinra mansion, his eyes being immediately drawn to a figure standing against the flames.

Cold, green eyes scanned the wrecked town with almost a satisfaction before making their way to meet his own. The General's long, silver hair swayed in the gust of wind surrounding the flames before his mouth slowly turned into an evil smirk. Zack was frozen on the spot as all his hopes that this wasn't the General's doing smashed into a thousand pieces right in front of him.

Sephiroth seemed to have been able to interpret Zack's expression as his smirk twitched and he turned towards the flames. Zack watched as Sephiroth's form turned into a silhouette against the red and orange blaze behind him and walked through them as though they were nothing but a mirage.

"What did you do?" Zack asked the General under his breath as if he could hear him. Once Sephiroth's image disappeared into the flames Zack's body seemed to regain control of itself as he took off into the mountains after him.

-.-.-.-

Cloud slowly closed the eyes of the woman he knelt by. She was already gone and he tried not the think about it to keep his grief at bay. He did have work to do; Zack had asked him to check up on people and he wasn't about to refuse. He kept his mind off of his mother as he tried to convince himself that this was nothing more than a training exercise and they were not in his hometown.

He closed his own eyes and tried to focus on feeling Zack's warm breath against his neck. Surely this had to be another dream and he would wake up soon in Zack's arms, those violet eyes looking down at him with both concern and love. He sighed softly at the thought as he opened his eyes again to scan the surrounding area. He was so certain now that he was in complete shock and denial as his almost floated to the next crumpled body.

"Cloud…" the man gasped in pain as the blond drew closer. Cloud's heart skipped a beat as he looked down at the familiar face. He knelt down and began checking for open wounds. He tried not to look at the face, but couldn't resist the urge as the man's shaky, bloodied hand took his own. "Cloud."

"Everything will be okay, Zangan." Cloud said monotonously. Tifa's marital arts instructor was one of the few adults in Nibelheim that didn't turn a blind eye when the other kids picked on him.

"Cloud, you look so much bigger than the last time I saw-" A coughing fit interrupted him.

"Don't talk, Zangan. Save your energy." Cloud said lowly as he tried to avoid eye contact with a wounded man.

"Tifa…" Zangan said when he was able to control his coughing. "Cloud, you have to find Tifa." He looked over towards the trail leading into the mountains. "She ran off to the reactor; she's going after the General."

Cloud's hands stilled as his heart felt like it stopped beating completely. "What did you say?"

"She's going after Sephiroth, Cloud." he man wheezed. "You have to stop her. Please…"

Something inside Cloud started to shake at the memory of his dream. His town; his mother; Tifa running off into the mountain; Zack…

Cloud's eyes snapped up and franticly began searching the surrounding area for Zack. He had to be around here somewhere helping the fallen people. When he couldn't find him he looked back down at Zangan, whose eyes had closed and his body remained still. Cloud's eyes began to fill with tears again as he stood up and started searching the small town for his lover. When he failed to find him, he found himself standing by the exit to the mountains. "No…" he said under his breath as he fought to control his breathing. Passing out would not be helpful right now. His body seemed temporarily frozen as the images of Zack's body on the pod, broken, defeated, filled his mind. He shook his head as he ran up the trail. "Not this time." he growled. I'm coming, Zack.

-.-.-.-

Zack had taken off running after Sephiroth only seconds after the General's image slowly disappeared into the flames. So why the hell had he not caught up to him yet? He had been running for some time now and knew that he was getting closer to the reactor. Somehow he just knew that that's where the General was headed. The 'Jenova Project', the document he had been so obsessed about, and the specimen labeled 'Jenova' in the reactor; what was Sephiroth planning on doing? Zack was grateful he took to doing squats whenever he could as his legs swiftly carried him towards his destination without protest.

As he ran, Zack recalled the conversation he had had with Sephiroth the night before when he found him in the Shinra mansion. Sephiroth seemed as though he had completely lost his mind. He had been studying the extensive library down in the basement and seemed to have learned something disturbing about his past. Not born, but created? Zack asked in his mind. He still wasn't sure what to make out of everything Sephiroth was ranting on about then. From what he understood, the General was created as an experiment to become a super-SOLDIER; a weapon. Jenova – a calamity? Zack couldn't wrap his head around the idea that Sephiroth was created with Jenova cells. Sephiroth was his friend and he had seen a tender side to him more than once. He was an amazing SOLDIER, sure, but all of these things he found out about himself couldn't possibly be true.

Zack saw the reactor in the distance and felt a pang of fear as he thought about what was going to happen once he found his friend. If he was going crazy, which he must have been seeing how he destroyed an entire town in one night, then how was he supposed to stop a man of his ability? He's your friend… he told himself in his head.

As he drew closer to the building, Cloud's panic attack from the night before registered in his mind. Cloud knew something was about to go wrong and wanted to leave Nibelheim immediately. He said he seen the town in flames in his dream. He saw me hurt- no, killed… He stood outside of the reactor trying to collect his thoughts. The pain and anguish in Cloud's eyes broke his heart and he wondered that if he were to go inside to try and help Sephiroth, would he ever make it back out? Would he see his blond lover again? He quickly blinked back a few tears at the thought of not being able to tell Cloud that he loved him one last time before deciding that he was going to decide his own fate. If he didn't come out of it alive, well, then at least he tried.

"I love you, Chocobo-head." he said up to the sky before running into the reactor.

-.-.-.-

Cloud could hardly breathe properly after running at full speed for over an hour. Somehow the panic in his heart kept him going and he ignored his body's protests. He needed to find Zack. He growled in frustration at the thought that this was the third time he recalled running up the mountain to find his lover, even if the other two were only in dreams, and prayed to every summon that was listening that he would find something different this time.

He had come to the realization that this time it was not a dream. Everything was far too clear and the pain he felt in both his body and heart were so incredibly strong; there was no way his mind could be this convincing.

What was he going to do once he reached the reactor, though? He thought about this while he propelled his body forward to keep it moving. Would Tifa be there? Would she be hurt? Would Zack be fighting Sephiroth or would they be having a little chat about what the fuck is wrong with the General? His mind lingered on the image of Zack; his strong, broad body standing casually but screaming 'I'm gorgeous; I know'. His mind lingered on thoughts and memories of Zack; his heart throbbed for the man and he wanted nothing more than to run into Zack halfway up the mountains with the ravenet saying 'fuck this' and taking him away from all the chaos. He knew that would never happen as Zack was the type of person to care deeply about whatever and whoever was around him. He would never leave the General, his friend, when he had hope that there was something that he could do to help.

The thought sent a stab of pain through his heart; how could he give up what they had together for a psycho-maniac who had single-handedly destroyed Cloud's hometown over the course of a night. Zack doesn't know this is his end. Cloud reminded himself. The SOLDIER thought that Cloud's worries was just a dream; just his nervousness from his first mission. He had no idea what Cloud had seen or how it was going to play out. He couldn't blame him for that.

Those thoughts had caused a new determination to pool in the blond's soul as his increased his speed. If Zack was going to die then he would be at his side waiting for his turn to be taken out by the General. He had no family now. His mother was taken from him by Sephiroth and Zack was the only thing in his life now that meant anything to him. His fear slowly changed into a calm that one could only feel when they began to accept the thought of their own approaching death. He should have been scared; he should have felt the urge to cower away from the path he was taking, but the only thing that raced through his head was the need to be there to tell Zack one last time that he loved him so completely before their lives ended.

"I love you, Zack." he said aloud as he pressed on towards the reactor.

-.-.-.-

"Mother, let's take this planet back together." a cool, soft voice echoed through the room. The very sound of it made Zack's body shudder. "I've thought of a very good plan. Let's go to the Promised Land together." Sephiroth ran a hand down the cold surface of the pod labeled 'Jenova'. "Mother…"

It took Zack a second to recognize that this delusional man was actually his friend. He never thought in a million years that this once strong, controlled man he respected with every fiber of his being could be the same man who killed so many people, Mom, and destroyed Nibelheim with a satisfied smirk. A rage filled his mind now as he lost control.

"Sephiroth!" he shouted. "Why did you kill the villagers? Why did you hurt Tifa?" Sephiroth let out a soft chuckle but didn't answer. "Answer me, Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth only looked up into the face of the Centra and smiled. After a moment of silence he let out a laugh and shook his head. "Mother, those people have shown up again." His voice darkened which sent a chill down Zack's spine. "With mother's strength and knowledge, she should have been this planet's ruler. But those people…" he spat. "Those people who took everything… the planet was taken from mother, wasn't it?" Zack wasn't sure who Sephiroth was talking to anymore. He sounded absolutely insane and that thought was enough to make Zack incredibly nervous. "But, don't be sad anymore, mother. Let's go together…" He raised his hands and gripped the shield of the pod and lifted. The hosing and glass broke apart exposing Jenova for what she was. Her face was turned slightly downward and her eyes were closed. Her soft features made it hard to believe that she could have been so dangerous all those years ago. "Finally we meet, mother." Sephiroth said, his voice full of a foreign emotion.

"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted. "What has gotten into you?" he pleaded. He needed the General to respond to him in some way. "I trusted you!"

The General slowly turned around to face the ravenet; his eyes held a look of sad contentment. He took a step towards the SOLDIER before he lashed out at him. Zack barely had the chance to pull out Buster sword to defend himself as his body was pushed back a couple of steps from the force of the General's attack.

He couldn't believe what just happened; his friend had just attacked him. He refocused to block the next attack, taking extra precaution to make an effort not to strike back as his instincts would dictate.

"I am the chosen one." Sephiroth practically growled. "The chosen one to rule over this planet."

"No." Zack defended another assault while trying to keep his voice composed. "This is not you; this is not the Sephiroth I know; my friend..." He huffed as he pushed the General back away.

"You're a traitor!" Sephiroth snarled. "You took this planet away from my mother; you and your pathetic human race!"

"Seph – " Zack's grip on Buster sword tightened as he continued to fend off the strikes from Masamune. "Please, stop and talk to me." He couldn't help but think of Cloud right now; the fear and grief in the blond's eyes as he asked him to leave Nibelheim with him. He said he saw Zack being killed in his dream. He blocked another blow from the ranting Sephiroth as he thought Is this how I die? Did Cloud really see how this mission would turn out? His heart ached for the blond but a sharp, burning pain pulled him from his thoughts as he grasped his shoulder; his blood began to leak from the open wound.

Sephiroth smiled coldly and drew his sword into an offensive stance. Zack's eyes looked up at his friend, only meters away from him and pleaded with the General to stop. "Pathetic…" Sephiroth mused.

"I won't fight you." Zack said dejectedly. "I can't fight you because you're my friend, Seph." He needed to reach out to the confused General.

"Then you'll die." was his response.

"We're friends, Seph." Zack tried again. "You've always been there for me ever since Angeal died." The flicker of pain in Sephiroth's eyes gave him renewed hope. "You've kept your promise you made to Angeal to protect me and I could never have asked for a better friend."

"You are not my friend." The General's eyes iced over again as his eyes pulsed with a green glow. He took another swing at Zack which was less easily deflected as Zack lowered his sword to the ground.

"I trusted you because Angeal did." Zack said, watching Sephiroth's movements very carefully so he could defend himself when he needed to. "That's why I can't fight you-"

"Coward!" Sephiroth shouted. "You pathetic human being! You can't even save your own dismal life." He grabbed Zack's shirt and threw him across the room. Zack's body impacted the concrete of the wall and slumped down to the ground. He had never been on the receiving end of such brute strength before and it caught him completely by surprise.

"Get up!" Sephiroth shouted angrily, jumping only a foot away from him.

"Seph…" Zack breathed, trying to regain control over his lungs. "Please, let me be the one who helps you. You've done so much for me…"

He was silenced by kick to the rips. Zack's body slumped forward and he tried to protect his abused body from another blow. "I won't fight you because you're my friend. Angeal would never have allowed it." Keep using the words 'friend' and 'Angeal' Zack coached himself in his head. The only way to save himself now was to break through to the General.

Sephiroth seemed to grow angrier as he delivered another swift kick against the side of Zack's body. Zack cried out at the pain and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm not going to fight you because I care about you…" Zack wheezed, bracing himself for another blow.

When nothing happened after a moment he chanced opening his eyes. Sephiroth was looking down at him, his eyes swimming with so many different emotions that Zack couldn't decipher a single one. "You and your kind took the planet away from mother…" the General said softly, as if trying to justify his next move.

Zack met his eyes and poured as much emotion in them as possible. "I'm sorry for what happened to you. I'm sorry for what you learned about yourself, Seph. But that doesn't change the fact that I really care about you and want to be there for you, no matter what you did or will do."

"Do you not value life?" Sephiroth's eyes glazed over with such strong hatred causing Zack to cringe.

"I do value life." Zack responded promptly. "But I value friendship and love above all else."

Sephiroth scowled with a look of pure disgust. "I hate you." he hissed, moving in for the kill.

"I love you, Seph." Zack closed his eyes waiting for his fate. "You're my best friend."

"Shut up!" the General screamed. "You pathetic waste of space!" He grabbed onto Zack's collar and lifted him off the ground effortlessly.

"You burnt down the town, but you left the inn untouched because you knew I was in there." Zack said, making one last attempt before Sephiroth took his life. "You must care about me if you couldn't bring yourself to hurt me, Seph."

Everything happened so fast that Zack's mind couldn't register what happened to his body. He heard a loud battle cry before he felt his body fall boneless and painfully to the ground.

-o-o-o-

:o !!! Am I seriously that cruel? Yeah, I am. I'll tell you what else, too: I'm not posting the last chapter until I hear from a few key readers as well. :0) I want to make sure everyone's caught up before I post the last chapter. I don't want to be mean to those who have already read this chapter, but I guess it's sort of a way to postpone completing this fic; I know I'm going to miss working with it. :*( Once I get word that certain people have read this chapter then I'll go ahead and post the last chapter, even it it's today. *smoke fills the room* Fate is in your hands... *coughing fit from smoke*