AN: In this you may note that I am using characters from Before Crisis, although this chapter isn't exactly canon I just needed a bad guy and Fuhito suited my purposes. Enjoy and please review, they make me happy! :)

Chapter Ten: Chocobo

Lightning tore the sky asunder, rain lashed down from the dark, brooding clouds and thunder rumbled. The bedraggled soldiers trudged through the growing mire, boots squelching, heads down and uniforms soaked. Cloud shivered violently and chanced a glance upwards, he blinked, squinting through the rain to catch a very brief glimpse of the moon before it was swallowed by cloud once again. Someone beside him fell with a yelp drowned out by another low rumble, Cloud reached down automatically and dragged him to his feet again. They moved on.

Cloud's fingers felt slippery against the handle of his rifle, he watched his feet slide on the mud slick ground. They were all freezing cold and none of them had the energy to speak. They were surrounded by trees, their leaves blowing violently in the wind. Another crack of lightning illuminated the surrounding area and Cloud spotted several small animals attempting to flee the scene as the unit struggled onward. They were close to camp, they had to be. Everyone was cold, wet and hungry. The lure of a warm tent and large cook fires drew them on like moths to a flame. Finally there was a shout, the words were masked by the sound of rapid gun fire. Cloud's heart stopped in his chest and he heard several screams, he glanced side ways at Johnny who's eyes were wide in his pale face.

"GET DOWN!" Zack's warning was almost lost in another rumble, Cloud lurched forward before feeling something press against his back. He was thrown into the mud face first just as the world exploded. He lost his gun somewhere during the struggle, a firm hand remained pressed to the back of his head and unknowingly suffocated him. When the rumbles and shaking faded, Cloud was released and he jerked upward, eyes wide and blinking rapidly to clear the mud. He struggled to his knees, wiping at his face with one sopping sleeve as he took in the devastation. The forest burned. Red and yellow flames danced around him, smoke choked the air and ash fell to settle upon his cheeks. He could feel the heat and the smoke burned his lungs as he took deep gasps of air. He turned to see Johnny gaping mindlessly at the front of their line, Cloud followed his stunned gaze to see several dirty men wearing make-shift fatigues, standing over them and pointing their guns. Cloud blinked in dumb confusion as he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Get up!" Cloud blinked again, unsure if he had heard right. "Get up, I said!"

Johnny tugged urgently at his arm and although he tried to shake him off he was dragged firmly to his feet. "Do as he says, Cloud...this isn't the time for heroics." He hissed, eyeing the man warily. Cloud, still dazed by the confusion of the explosion, climbed unsteadily to his feet. "Put your hands behind your head." The man demanded and Cloud did as he was asked as his fellow unit mates were dragged and bullied over so that they all stood in a line, facing their captors. The rain still lashed at their exposed faces, the forest burned around them as the enemy soldiers stood guard over them.

"Is this all of the infantry?"

"Yes sir." A man who looked less like a soldier and more like a scientist stood beside his men, they wore similar uniforms.

"Execute them." He ordered.

"But...they're just kids."

"Kids who have pledged themselves to ShinRa!"

"Yeah-"

"Do as I say or Elfe will hear about this!" The men gazed at the bedraggled, confused infantrymen before slowly raising their guns. There was a loud bang and Cloud's eyes widened as he felt hot blood spray his cheek. His fellow unit members shuffled away as one of their own fell into the mud. Cloud gazed down at him in open mouthed shock. He watched, half fascinated, half revolted as blood ran from his head into the muddy water. Another loud shot and another fell. Cloud's breath caught and he turned his gaze to Johnny who looked just as surprised and sickened.

"W-What are you doing?! We've surrendered! We're your prisoners!" He shouted suddenly, looking to the man who appeared to be their leader.

"Shut up, ShinRa scum!" The man shouted. "Kill him next!" He ordered his men who grabbed Cloud and yanked him roughly forward, he was thrown to his knees before the leader and felt the press of cold metal against the back of his head.

"C-Cloud! Cloud no!" Johnny's scream rent the air and there was thud as someone hit him, he fell to his knees with a splash. Cloud' heart hammered in his chest, his mind was utterly blank, his body numb. He was weaponless and too tired to fight back as metal dug into his skull. The leader of the rebels stood before him, smirking as he gazed down into Cloud's eyes smugly. The rain was cool on his heated face as time seemed to slow down, he moved his eyes to the sky and let it hit his cheeks before closing them. If this was to be his last moments he only wished he could see Zack one last time. There was a click and Cloud held his breath.

"I wouldn't pull that trigger if I were you."

Cloud's eyes snapped open at the sound of that voice, his heart resumed its pace and he turned to look behind him. He saw the flames run along the edge of the Buster Sword as it was pressed firmly against the throat of the man who had been about to shoot Cloud. Zack's hand gripped the hilt and the fire danced in his glowing eyes, they were narrowed in fury. Soot stained his face, in places he had scratches and his hair was in disarray. Cloud felt his breath hitch in the tense silence as the man under threat slowly lowered his gun, eyes on the tip of the Buster sword as it dug into his throat. "That's better. Now, step away." Zack warned and the man did as he was told. Cloud climbed unsteadily to his feet and had to stumble into a nearby tree to hold himself steady. "Right, now, who wants some, huh?! I'm in the mood for a proper fight seeing as your other guys never gave me a damned chance before bombing the place!"

The man in the glasses, the one who appeared to be the leader of the group, edged towards Cloud. Cloud saw him draw a knife and lift it, as the blade swung towards his chest, he caught the handle and twisted the man's wrist. He cried out and was forced to let go. Cloud kicked the man's legs from under him but before he could do anything further he stumbled in a particularly sticky patch of mud. By the time he had unstuck himself the man in glasses had gone. Zack watched the rest of the enemies retreat, frowning a little as the Buster Sword's tip rested against the ground.

"S-Sir...why aren't you going after them?"

Zack blinked and turned to Johnny who was shaking from cold, fatigue and the after effects of terror. "Oh, Sephiroth's that way." He said and jerked his thumb in the direction the men had fled. "I wouldn't wanna be in their shoes tonight, Sephiroth hates the rain and cold. He's sure to take it out on them."

"Oh...yeah..."Johnny looked away and his eyes landed on the fallen men, he knelt in the mud and closed the eyes of the nearest one.

"W-we s-should do something..." Cloud said through teeth that chattered violently, his near death experience was wearing on him and that, combined with the cold made him shiver uncontrollably. Zack saw him standing ankle deep in mud, hair plastered to his face which was barely visible through a layer of filth. His eyes huge with too much white showing and shivering like a child. He walked over and returned the sword to his back as he reached out and made as if to put his arms around him, Cloud shied away and frowned down at his feet.

Zack flushed and glanced back at the rest of the Infantry unit before rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "Sorry."

"D-Don't...w-worry...Let's g-get b-b-back to base camp." Cloud replied, wrapping both arms around himself in a lame attempt to keep warm.

"All right guys, we're going back to camp! Move out!" Zack called to the others but Johnny paused.

"Sir, what are we gunna do with them?" He asked, indicating the dead with his hand.

Zack shook his head slowly. "We can't afford to be dragged down by them...It sounds harsh but the forest is burning around us, we need to get out fast. Enemies could be anywhere in this smoke and we just don't have the time or resources to return them to their families."

Cloud watched Johnny staring sadly at the man he still knelt beside, he moved closer, boots squelching and bent to put a hand on his arm. "Hey, come on. We gotta go."

"H-he...he was my friend."

"I know." Cloud squeezed his shoulder gently and tugged on his clothes to get him to stand. "We can't stay here, we could be attacked again at any moment and I lost my gun." Johnny nodded numbly before climbing heavily to his feet and turning away from his friend. Zack watched him, eyes glued to Cloud as they walked past him. He wanted nothing more than to go to Cloud, to wrap him up in his arms and hold him until his shivering stopped but he knew he couldn't. Cloud looked back at him briefly before turning away again, one arm around Johnny's shoulders as they walked. The rest of the Unit followed at their own sedate, limping pace.

XXX

"Did you get him?" Zack asked the second Sephiroth walked back into camp, his hair was sopping and clinging to his skin, it had only just stopped raining. His eyes were glowing fiercely and his sword dripped blood.

"No. Fuhito escaped into the forest whilst I was dispatching his comrades." He said stiffly, eyes moving around the camp as he seemed to search for something. Zack was sat by a fire, the rain had stopped and the battle fresh troops were hanging around the large fires scattered throughout their camp. They looked weary and drained. "What happened?"

"We were attacked." Zack said slowly, pushing wet hair from his eyes as he returned his gaze to the fire. "They hit us up front with an explosive before sending a group round back to attack, they got several of our troopers but I got there before they could get-" He paused and shook his head. "More." He finished but Sephiroth was certain that was not what he was about to say.

"What about Cloud?" Sephiroth asked softly, moving closer to the fire so that it illuminated his skin, warming him pleasantly.

"Oh...yeah...he's alive." Zack replied stiffly, Sephiroth waited for him to continue. "But it was close." He sighed and covered his face with his hands. "I thought I was gunna see them shoot his brains out...if I hadn't got there when I did..."

"He is aware of the risks he takes in his job, Zack. You cannot be there for him every second of every day."

"I know that! I just...I just want him to be safe."

"If I wanted to be safe i'd've stayed at home, Zack." Zack's head jerked up to see Cloud hovering on the edge of the firelight, his face looked gaunt but most of the mud was gone.

"Cloud!"

"I'm fine." Cloud insisted, his eyes moving to Sephiroth before he looked away again. "I just wanted to say thanks...for...for saving my ass back there."

"It's nothing, trust me. Hey, come and share our fire..."

"No." Cloud shook his head and glanced back towards his unit. "I gotta go." He drifted away again, Zack watched him go until he was out of sight before sighing heavily. Sephiroth moved to sit beside Zack, he began wiping his blade on the grass almost absently. Zack noticed he had crimson spattering his face and chest and almost shuddered, Sephiroth's strength was legendary and to see him covered in blood was intimidating.

"He is not weak." Sephiroth said suddenly, startling Zack from his reverie. "Cloud...he has strength, he simply isn't aware of it."

"I know that."

"Do you? You seem intent on protecting him when your duty should be to the company."

"Trust me, I know where my loyalty lies." Zack replied in an unusually moody voice as he picked up a stick and poked at the fire.

"Hm. I wonder." Sephiroth replied, looking up at the stars spread out above them. Zack glared at him and hunched his shoulders, he said nothing though as he poked at the fire and watched it spit.

XXX

Cloud sat hunched up against a rock, his thin blankets wrapped tightly around his shoulders as he ate some of the hot stew that were their rations for the evening. Johnny sat at his side, picking morosely at his own food, his eyes glazed in memory, likely he was re-living his friends death. Cloud said nothing, he was useless when it came to giving comfort. The silence was broken only by the soft mutterings of the men around them and the occasional laugh.

"Wark!"

Cloud looked up at the sudden noise, he climbed to his feet and looked up at the sheer rock he had been leaning against. "What is it?" Johnny asked softly.

"I don't-"

"Wark!"

"Huh, a chocobo..." Johnny said, following Cloud's gaze up to a steep ledge where a small golden bird sat huddled against the stone.

"It's stuck and it's only a baby." Cloud shed his blankets and stepped up to the cliff.

"You're not going to rescue it, are you?" Johnny asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I am."

"But...if you fall you'd break your neck!"

"No, I won't." Cloud didn't bother offering any further explanation as his fingers found some handholds and he hefted himself up.

"Cloud! Come on, man, you're nuts!"

"Whatever." Cloud mumbled, frowning a little as he dug the tips of his boots into the stone. He climbed easily, as if he was born to do it and Johnny watched him get higher and higher in frank wonder.

"What are you? Part spider?" Cloud ignored him, too intent on finding hand and foot holds. He could feel that some of the stone beneath him was weakened by weathering, it was a dangerous climb but he had to rescue the baby bird. It warked and cheeped at him, watching him intently as he drew closer to its little ledge. Finally, with a grunt he pulled himself onto the ledge. The chocobo blinked its beady black eyes at him and cocked its head to the side curiously. Cloud drew closer, one gloved hand outstretched. "Come on, I'm gunna get you down from here little guy."

"Wark." It said and flapped its tiny wings. Zack heard the commotion as he was returning to his tent, he frowned and glanced at Sephiroth who shrugged. Together they went to the source of the noise and laughter, they found a group of infantry standing around the bottom of the cliff and looking up. Zack followed their gazes and saw Cloud sitting cross legged on a ledge with a baby chocobo in his arms.

"Wha-Hey, Cloud! What the hell are you doing?" Cloud's bright eyes found him in the dim light and a small smile flickered across his lips.

"It was stuck and I think its leg's broken."

"Be careful, that doesn't look safe!" Zack called back.

Cloud snorted. "I spent my childhood climbing cliffs a lot more dangerous than this, remember Zack I'm a mountain boy." He really did smirk then, seeming to be in his element among the jagged rocks and height. "I'm bringing it down now." He muttered, turning his attention to the chick which made a soft Kweh noise as he unzipped his top and stuffed it inside, against the warmth of his body. Zack bit his lip and held his breath as Cloud began to to descend, despite his fear he was impressed by how easy Cloud made it look. Finally he reached solid ground again, Zack converged on him along with several others, he watched as Cloud patted the tiny birds head as it snuggled against his chest. "It'll be all right." He cooed softly to it as he gently extracted it from his clothes, it made a small sound of impatience and wriggled in his grip but finally subsided with a defeated Kweh that sounded more akin to a sigh. Zack saw that one of its legs was indeed broken.

"Cloud, it won't survive with its leg like that." Johnny said carefully, watching his friend to ensure he wasn't going to be upset by this truth.

"Maybe...maybe it's stronger than you think it is." Cloud replied softly. "I'm gunna give it a chance." He strode off, people moving out his way as he went before breaking out into soft giggles.

"His hair looks like the ass of a chocobo, don't it?"

"Reckon that chick thinks he's its mother!"

Zack tried to avoid grinning at the mental image and forced his face into a stern expression. "Don't you have patrol?" He demanded and the two who were talking looked surprised.

"Sir, yes sir!" They said in unison and scurried away.

There was a low chuckle and Zack turned to see Sephiroth cover his mouth with one hand as he fought with his expression. "Sephiroth! That's harsh!"

"Indeed...but it's also rather true." He stifled another round of giggles. "It appears that he has a softer heart than one would imagine."

"Yeah, he kinda does." Zack said with a smile. "He's adorable."

"I assume you're talking of the chocobo..." Sephiroth's lips twitched in amusement. "I'm going to ensure the perimeter remains secure." He said finally and turned away, his continued snorts and chuckles following him.

Zack found Cloud sat by one of the fires, the chocobo chick was in his lap and he was tying bandages tightly around its broken leg. "It might be kinder to put it out of its misery." Zack said as he sat down beside his friend. Cloud frowned by said nothing as he finally finished his work. "It won't survive in the wild with its leg like that."

"How do you know?" Cloud said suddenly, giving him an angry glare.

"Well, where's its mother? It's too young to find food on its own."

"I...I just-" He sighed and stroked the birds head gently. "I can't leave it to die."

Zack sighed and wrapped his arms around his knees. "You can't take it back with you either."

"No. I know that."

Zack hated the sadness in Cloud's voice but he couldn't do anything assuage it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Cloud replied.

"There is a farm that breeds chocobo's nearby, if we take it there I'm sure the owners will care for it." Both men looked up at Sephiroth's dark figure as he appeared from the shadows, the firelight flashed off of his sword and lit up his eyes.

"Yeah, that's true!" Zack said remembering the farm. "We can make a quick detour, it's not too far out of our way."

"R-really?!" Cloud's eyes lit up with hope.

"Although it still may not live." Sephiroth said slowly.

"No but...it'll have a chance." Cloud replied, stroking the bird's head again and smiling down at it.

"You two had best get some rest, we move out early tomorrow." Sephiroth strode away, glancing back once and his eyes lingering on Cloud who was too intent on his little charge to notice.

XXX

The farmer was more than happy to obtain a new chocobo chick, he assured Cloud that he would take good care of it. They moved on again, heading towards their meeting point where the transport would return them to Midgar. Cloud's stomach churned as their truck bounced over the uneven ground, he bent double and clutched it as he tried desperately not to throw up. "Hey, you all right?" Cloud looked up at Zack and nodded, not trusting his voice. "I heard that these might help." Zack held out his hand where several tranquillisers sat. Cloud took one and nodded his head in thanks. It did help, his stomach eased and he was finally able to relax, he leaned against the side of the truck and sighed heavily. He couldn't wait to return to Midgar, to the barracks where he could get a decent shower and hopefully some well needed rest. "Hey, I didn't know you could climb so well, that was pretty impressive."

Cloud smiled weakly, he still looked pale and clammy but he was obviously better than he was. "I used to do it all the time back home, Mother would be so angry with me. I always used to run off when she was lecturing me and go climb in the mountains, it was easier than sitting at home and watching her cry." His eyes misted over a moment and he frowned. "Tifa's Dad and Zangen found me a few times, I always got yelled at."

"Well, I suppose it was dangerous, right?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, there's the Nibel Wolves, Bears and even dragons up there among other monsters. It's pretty dangerous but I knew what to look out for and I only got attacked once."

"What attacked you?" Zack asked in amazement, he was getting more out of Cloud about his life in Nibelheim than he had ever hoped.

"A pack of wolves, luckily I managed to escape and ran for my life...The men of the village managed to kill them before they go into town."

"You must be fast, I heard those wolves are pretty hard to outrun."

"Oh yeah, I can be fast when I need to be...I mean, anyone would with a pack of hungry wolves after them." He smiled and chuckled as he slipped sideways against Zack's arm. "Then there's the Mako pools further in the mountains, I used to go there and watch them."

"Huh. I've never heard you talk so much." Zack replied, enjoying the weight of Cloud's head on his shoulder.

"I guess the tranquillisers affecting me..." He mumbled. He remembered the promise he had made to Tifa and felt the usual swell of guilt, he had sworn to get stronger to protect her and he was failing her. He sighed heavily and felt his eyes drift close as he slipped into sleep. "Tifa..." He muttered and Zack stiffened at the softness of his voice.

"A girl?" He muttered to himself, staring down at Cloud and feeling a little jealous. Cloud's head slipped into Zack's lap and he shifted into a more comfortable position, allowing Cloud to sleep without disturbance. Gently, without thinking, he ran fingers through Cloud's soft but tangled hair. He wondered who Tifa was, why she seemed so important to Cloud and if he ever liked her in a romantic sense or simply platonic. He was sure he was being stupid, Cloud didn't seem to be much of a player and he doubted he had another relationship on the side of theirs. Still, it was a little disconcerting. He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Cloud's friend Johnny watching him, eyes narrowed as he noted the tender way in which Zack stroked Cloud's hair. He stopped and looked away, fighting off the urge to flush.