AN: Sorry for the slight delay, been having to revise a lot for my forthcoming exams. Still, I hope you forgive me!
Warnings: Bad language, Zack.
Disclaimer: Characters © Squeenix
Cloud sighed, glancing over at Zack. Well that was just typical. Zack was leant back against a tree-trunk, relaxing, flicking a coin between his fingers. Cloud was stuck with cooking dinner, pushing the sausages around the frying pan. At least Zack had helped a little with putting up the tent.
"He'll be back soon Zack?"
Zack grinned and nodded rapidly.
"Oh he'll be fine kid, don't worry your fluffy little chocobo head about it." Cloud pouted slightly and opened his mouth to protest, but Zack just grinned at him. "You are a chocobo Spike."
Cloud frowned and turned back to his cooking. A blood red shadow watched from a tree, smiling slightly. These were the ones he was looking for. The cadet and the Captain. Even in this time of crisis, he was relieved that Sephiroth had found himself such good friends. He smiled as the cadet continued.
"But I'm worried about him. It's not like him to be like that." Zack nodded.
"I know Spike. But we'll be there for him." Vincent took that as the permission he needed.
The red cloaked man dove forwards, transforming into the red crimson which moved around the camp, pausing for a split second in front of Zack. As Zack reached out to grab it, it jumped from his grasp, and moved instead to hovering before Cloud. Zack reached for his sword, unsure what this creature was, but slowly becoming certain that it was a monster. Cloud watched the fast moving swathe of red in fascination, before getting swept up in it.
"Oh Fuck!"
Zack swore in frustration and fear, grabbing his sword and chasing the red shadow, which was now headed towards the ShinRa manor. Cloud had mentioned that there were ghosts there, and now one of them had captured the young cadet. The shape stayed just beyond Zack's reach as he vaulted the broken wall, not caring about the danger he was putting himself in. His focus had to be on getting Cloud, saving him from the monster that now had him in his grasp.
Cloud was aware of none of this, surrounded by a red fog. It was not an unpleasant sensation, and had it not been for the fact that he was disorientated, he would have not minded the experience. As it was, his hands scrambled, desperately seeking some purchase, to stop the fog from being able to drop him to his death. Zack and Sephiroth needed him.
Zack chased the demonic shadow into the manor, with only the shortest of glances around to see whether or not there was anyone there. This couldn't be a trap, ShinRa had no enemies here, and the village was peaceful. His main concern was catching up with Cloud. He felt more nervous as it headed down into the cellar, beginning to wonder if there was a nest of these creatures down there, waiting to devour their prey. His breath speeded up, but he continued heading towards the red creature. It turned into a laboratory.
Zack held his sword in front of him and ran, expecting to be faced with a scene of horror. What he found was shocking, but in no way horrible. Cloud was sat beside Sephiroth, who had a comforting arm around his shoulder. Cloud didn't look frightened, though was still struggling to catch his breath. It took Zack a few moments to register the third person in the room, dressed in black but with a red cloak the same as the fog which had captured his friend. He turned towards him, sword raised.
"It's alright Zack." Sephiroth spoke, and Zack put his sword away. He trusted Sephiroth, believed his judgement. If he said that this was safe, it was safe. "Come over here." Before he had even realised, Zack was sat on Cloud's other side, pulling the blonde against him and stroking his hair. "He's a friend."
"He kidnapped Cloud!" Zack shot back, indignant, only to be stopped by Sephiroth's reply.
"I asked him to." It took a few moments for the meaning to sink in, but then Zack looked at him with a mixture of anger and curiosity.
"Why?"
Sephiroth looked down, hoping for the strength to explain this to them. He never spoke about his past or the scientists; had never mentioned Vincent. His focus had solely been on his own survival and achievement. Now it was time for that to change. A gauntleted hand fell on his shoulder, and he knew that he was ready.
"Zack, I had to get you both here. Somewhere private, where we will not be over heard. I asked Vincent to fetch the two of you for me and he did, even if it was in a somewhat unconventional manner."
Zack glared slightly, whilst Cloud clutched at him, just to reassure himself it was real. At least he had caught his breath back now.
"That doesn't explain why you had to talk to us." Cloud nodded, straightening himself, awaiting the answer. It took a few moments before Sephiroth was able to speak.
"When I was a child, I was an experiment for Hojo. I had a far from traditional childhood." He shivered as memories of shocks and fire ran through him, making his body feel as though it were aflame. "Throughout it all, Vincent was my only friend. I was made to fight and injure him, but the whole time he protected me, gave me comfort." Seeing the other's confusion, Vincent took his turn to speak.
"Sephiroth is telling the truth. I was the same age as I am now, due to what Hojo did to me, but Sephiroth was only a small child. I did what I could to protect him."
Zack smiled at Cloud, realising that they weren't in any danger.
"Okay, I get it, so you two just met and you're happy. But why here? Why not at the camp?" He looked at the stranger. "Are you in trouble with ShinRa?" Vincent shook his head, and Sephiroth took his chance to speak, to continue the story.
"Vincent is registered as dead and is not in trouble. I am the one who is potentially faced with difficulty. I fear that Hojo aims to continue the experiments. As I arrived here, I could hear a voice in my mind, promising me love in exchange for destroying this village and taking over the planet. It was overwhelming. If not for Vincent, none of you would be alive now."
"Well that's not exactly comforting!" Zack yelled, eyes glittering slightly with anger. He trusted Sephiroth, believed in him, and now Sephiroth was saying that if not for this un-ageing and down-right creepy newcomer, they would all be dead. He felt worse when he realised that he, Cloud and Sephiroth were sat on a coffin.
Sephiroth stared at him then looked away, biting his lip. It took a few moments for him to be able to order his thoughts into words, to explain the way that he felt and what had happened.
"Zack, other than Vincent, I never knew love. I did what I could to please Hojo and the other scientists, they were the only family I had, but it was never enough. I never got praised, and I was regularly subjected to battle-field wounds from guns and swords to see how well I recovered. By the scientists, on ShinRa's orders. If Vincent wasn't looking after me, I would have been driven insane long ago."
Zack could feel his fury still bubbling inside him, but he was stopped from expressing it by Cloud. Cloud had both his hands clasped over his mouth, gasping in horror. The young blonde reached over and hugged Sephiroth, then looked shocked at what he had done and jumped away, murmuring apologies. Zack pulled Cloud closer, nuzzling him.
"It's okay Cloud."
"It's not okay Zack! He got hurt so badly and we didn't know…" A few tears threatened in Cloud's eyes. Zack rocked the younger cadet, whilst Vincent put his arms around Sephiroth's shoulders.
The four of them remained like that for a few moments, seeking comfort in each other's arms. Then Zack looked up, into Sephiroth's eyes, and spoke with total seriousness.
"Sephiroth. I swear they will pay for doing that to you."
