Me: OK, I'm gonna start whit off with a huge apology, for multiple things. Thing one, the fact that this (and all of my other pieces) have not been updated in a long time. Thing two, this piece is actually two chapters behind what I actually have written. So part of my apology begins with a double update today! YAY! I know that doesn't make up for my long absence but I hope that you all like these next two chapters.

Responses to reviews!

LunarCatNinja: I'm so glad you like it! I love sleepy!Seph too. He's adorable.

Suezanne: Here you go. Hopefully the next two chapters will put your mind slightly at ease. :D

UnLike Us: I am so glad you like this story. Well, I'm doing it this way because of how the characters themselves are. There's no way that this would happen so fast between these guys so there's no reason to push it. I did Zack the way I did because I've been playing Crisis Core and he is a tad bit on the goofy side in that. I've also started working my way through FFVII as well and Cloud doesn't really say he likes Aerith as more than a friend in that so it makes sense here. Ruffus might make an appearance, I haven't decided yet. As for Cloud's wallet, let's just say someone might get a hold of it sooner rather than later. *evil laugh* Anyway, I hope you like the next two chapters.

Queen Fenrir: Thanks a bunch and glad to hear from you again. :D I hope you like this chapter and the next. :D

Claciro: *throws two chapters at you*

BorderlineInsanity: I kninda got my muse back. Not with this chapter but the next I hope you like it!

luin cartle: *throws two chapters at you*


Darting down the trail Cloud couldn't help but think about what would be set in motion if he didn't make it back in time. If he messed up here there was even less of a chance of him successfully changing the future. Those dark thought circled around in his head for a little bit but he was dragged back to reality when he arrived in the first clearing. Stopping quickly, just barely long enough to catch his breath, the blond dove into the still trembling foliage. To his surprise Angeal was leaving a rather bold trail to follow. Almost like he wasn't even thinking about anyone following him. Cloud grit his teeth and upped his speed a little. He had to catch the man. If he didn't it would make things that much harder.

Finally, he caught sight of the larger man. Angeal came stumbling into the next clearing like some kind of awkward child. There was a haunted look on his face that spoke volumes. He just stood there for a few moments before shaking his head and starting to move. Cloud took that as a signal to jump in. Stepping out of the trees he called out to the man.

"Angeal!"

Angeal whirled around, eyes wide. They fell on the blond on the other side of the clearing and he froze. The pair stood there for a few seconds in silence before the larger man started to back away. Not having any of that Cloud darted forward to grab at the front of the SOLDIER's uniform. Mentally thanking the Planet for his strength and the strength of SOLDIER uniforms he swung the larger man around by the suspenders. Angeal gave him a wide eyed look as they came to a stop, but Cloud spoke before he could say anything.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Huh?" The shorter man asked glaring up at the other.

"I can't... I..." Angeal trailed off as he looked away, unable to come up with an appropriate response.

"You were running away, weren't you? Those things back there, that could end up happening to you couldn't it?" Cloud pressed and upon receiving a slow nod he continued. "So you just decided to run away?!"

Angeal looked down and away. Cloud wasn't having any of it, though. He grabbed the larger man's chin and forced him to look at the shorter. Once the 1st was looking at him again Cloud spoke again.

"What about what you said to Zack? What happened to the man who refused to back down because his sense of honor would not allow it? Hell, what would you leaving do to Zack? To Sephiroth? If there's one thing I've learned in just a week of being at Shinra it's that both of them rely on you far too much for you to suddenly take off like this," Cloud said still holding the other's chin. "As far as I know you and Zack are maybe Sephiroth's only friends, and that's not counting the MIA Genesis. He needs you, Zack needs you. Do you really think that if they find out about this they won't try to help you? Do you honestly think that they would turn you away? Treat you like a freak or a monster?"

"They wouldn't understand..." Angeal began only to be cut off by a sharp glare from the shorter man.

"Sephiroth would understand better than you think," Cloud said before taking a deep breath. "There is something that can be done about the degradation. I can help you get better, if you would just let me!"

"Genesis said..."

"That Hollander is the only one who can help you? Bullshit! He will only make it worse! In my experience with doctors and scientists they only say they can help if whatever they are doing can benefit them. Not to try and actually be helpful but to just do something they feel like doing. In reality all they do is just make things worse while saying that things will get better. I can actually help you. What I am proposing will actually make you better," Cloud finally let go of the other man completely. "But I can't do that if you take off on a mad dash after a total madman. Will you let me help you? If not for your sake, then for Zack and Sephiroth?"

Angeal stood there in silence, just staring at the short blond man. Mako blue eyes darted from one side of his face to the other before looking around the clearing. Cloud just stood there calmly waiting for the other man's response. Silence reigned for a few minutes before Angeal nodded slowly at the shorter man.

"OK... OK, I'll let you help. I don't want to end up losing either of them," he said as he stepped closer.

"Good," Cloud nodded before starting back the way he came. "The first step is to get back to them before they think the worst."

Angeal followed quietly behind him as they took off into the trees, heading back to the first clearing. They were almost back when raised voices reached their ears. Sharing a look, they abandoned speed for stealth as they edged closer. As they got closer the voices resolved into Sephiroth and Zack. They seemed to be arguing about something.

"No! It's not possible!" Zack cried shaking his head sharply.

"I'm sorry, Zack, but it's true," Sephiroth stood from where he had been crouched over one of the Genesis copies. "Angeal has abandoned Shinra."

Beside him Angeal made a sound like a wounded animal before dropping swiftly into the clearing. Both of the other two SOLDIERs snapped to look at him. Sephiroth was tense and looked ready to jump into a fight at any moment whereas Zack looked like he was about to start crying. They all looked at each other for a few seconds before Zack actually did start crying. Angeal stepped forward immediately to fold the smaller man into his arms. Cloud stepped slowly out of the trees behind them while Angeal murmured softly to the top of Zack's head.

As he stepped around the pair Sephiroth caught sight of him. Immediately the silver haired man stepped forward. Cloud met him halfway and gently pulled him away from the other two. Green eyes watched him carefully, confusion just barely hidden behind slit pupils. Quickly Cloud explained that Angeal had taken off after a few other copies that had escaped into the woods. The shorter man had followed him just as a precaution, in case he needed backup. That turned out to not be the case and they returned. When he was finished Cloud just looked at Sephiroth carefully. The general glanced back over at Angeal and Zack before looking at the blond again.

"Are you certain that's all that happened?" He asked lowly.

"Are you seriously asking me that question? Or are you trying to ask if Angeal was trying to defect like Genesis? Huh? Be straight with me here, because I will be brutally honest with you when I say what I told you is exactly what happened. Some copies escaped, he went after them, I followed and then we came back. Simple as that," Cloud said just barely managing to keep the beginnings of rage from spilling over into his tone.

Sephiroth looked away, decidedly uncomfortable with everything. He wasn't trying to assume that Angeal was going to abandon him like Genesis did but that was still a worry for him. The two were close, closer than he really knew. They were also his only friends. It was easier, when one looked at it like that, to be more worried about one of them trying to leave. Though, now that Cloud had brought it up, it really did seem like he was just trying to find something to accuse Angeal of. Sephiroth looked away from the blond and back over at Angeal and Zack.

Angeal was still holding his former student with Zack almost wrapped monkey-like around him. The 1st spoke in a constant barely audible stream of soothing words that eventually trailed off into just comforting noise. Sephiroth dared to take a glance at the other's face as Angeal gently swayed the younger man back and forth. What he saw had the Silver General backing up half a step. Despite trying to comfort the smaller man in his arms Angeal also had tears streaming down his face. Looking away he met Cloud's eyes again. The blond caught his eye and gave him a look. Sephiroth bowed his head at the blond before turning back to the way they came from.

Cloud watched his back for a few moments before starting after the taller man. Sephiroth said nothing about the other following him but he did shorten his strides a bit so that the other didn't have to jog to keep up with him. They both arrived back at the came just as the other SOLDIERs were packing everything up into the transports. Without really thinking about it the general headed for one of the transports, not noticing that Cloud was lagging behind a bit.

When he finally did notice he turned around and gave the blond a raised eyebrow, "Aren't you coming?"

"I am but unlike you I have my own ride," Cloud replied over his shoulder as he headed for a large tarp covered object.

Sephiroth's other eyebrow joined its twin in his hair line as the blond walked away. Glancing over at the couple Turks who had joined the mission he saw Tseng shaking his head slightly with a faint smile on his face. Before the SOLDER could contemplate the odd look on the man's face a loud roar split the air. All at once the SOLDIERs jumped, reaching for their weapons. A sharp laugh replaced the roar as the noise cycled down to a low idle and all eyes snapped to Cloud. The blond was seated astride a massive beast of a motorcycle.

It was from the powerful bike the that sound had originated while the laugh had come from it's smirking owner. Everyone relaxed at realizing that the roar had just been the bike starting up. Cloud's blue eyes glittered as he reigned in his laughter with a little bit of difficulty. The other SOLDERS just stared at him for a few minutes before going back about their duties. Sephiroth walked slowly over to the still grinning blond, a faint scowl on his face.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Probably not but I rather enjoyed watching you all jump like small children," Cloud replied leaning against the front of the bike.

"Even so, it is probably not a good idea to startle SOLDIERs like that. They tend to be a little trigger happy," Tseng chimed in as he walked past the pair.

"Oh, shut up you. I know that," Cloud snarked back at the Wutian sitting up as he did.

"That's good," the man replied with an even tone before looking at the blond over his shoulder. "I do wonder about that thing though."

Cloud just gave him a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything. The Turk chuckled softly before making a comment about the sound of the engine compensating for the speed of the bike itself. Blue eyes flashed dangerously at the words. Tseng gave him a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

"Oh? You think Fenrir is slow do you? How about a little race then?" he snapped glaring at the dark haired man.

At the challenging words all action in the camp stopped. Now everyone was looking at the two men, eyes wide. Cloud and Tseng seemed quite oblivious to the awed stares they were receiving. The pair had quickly become the center of attention for the entire camp. It was a well known fact that the Turks prided themselves on being some of the fastest moving members of Shinra. It was almost unheard of for anyone to challenge a Turk to a race.

"A race? Are you sure?" Tseng asked slowly.

"I'm sure. From here to the harbor. Unless you're afraid that I'm gonna kick your butt," Cloud said crossing his own arms across his chest.

"I am afraid of nothing, Strife. Very well. You on that little thing while we take a chopper? First one to the harbor has to give a favor to the other," Tseng said with a nod as he stepped back to one of the helicopters at the edge of the camp.

"A favor that can be called in at any time, with no questions asked," Cloud countered quickly.

"Fair enough," Tseng agreed easily. "There needs to be a referee or two though. Any takers?"

After a few seconds of total silence Sephiroth stepped forward, drawing every one's attention. He motioned to another SOLDIER and waited for the man to step up beside him before turning back to the others. Both Cloud and Tseng gave him raised eyebrows but other than that neither of them moved.

"I will go with Strife, Rayes will go with the Turks," Sephiroth said gesturing to the man at his side. "That should be sufficient enough, yes?"

"Very well. First one to the harbor is the winner. Whoever wins gets one unconditional favor from the other," Tseng said looking at Cloud.

"Sounds good to me as well," The blonde nodded.

Cloud didn't even hesitate to accept the wager. By now everyone was looking more than a little nervous about what was going on. It got even worse when the stakes were announced. A single favor might have seemed like a small thing between SOLDIERs but between a Turk and a SOLDIER it was a huge deal. Whoever won could ask for anything, at any time. It was unheard of.

"Shall we get started then?" Tseng made for the helicopter, Rayes falling into step just behind him.

"Sure, one thing first," Cloud turned to Sephiroth hand handed him a small band. "You might want to put your hair up."

Sephiroth slowly took the band and pulled his long silver hair into a low ponytail at the back of his head. While he was doing that Cloud was pulling out a couple pairs of goggles for them both. Looking back at the Silver General he blinked slowly before shaking his head. Gesturing for the man to turn around he set the goggles on the dash and pulled off his gloves. Sephiroth turned slowly, wondering just what the blond wanted from him.

"Just putting it back in a ponytail isn't really going to keep it from getting tied into massive knots. I don't care who you are or the magical properties of your hair, riding a motorcycle at high speeds will whip it into an unmanageable mess that we would be better off removing as opposed to trying to fix it," Cloud explained as he pulled the tie out of the taller man's hair before carding his fingers through it slowly.

"Then what do you suggest?" Sephiroth asked just barely managing not to turn and look at the shorter man.

"I'm just going to braid it. That way you only have to worry about the ends getting tied up together," Cloud replied even as he started working on the braid.

Sephiroth just stood there and let him work. Once the blonde was finished he threw the long silver tail over one of the general's shoulders. Green eyes focused on it for a few seconds before he turned back to the blonde. Cloud just smirked and handed him a pair of goggles, positioning his own on his face as he did so. Shaking his head slowly, totally missing the stares of his men, the Silver General pulled on his own goggles and climbed onto the bike behind Cloud.

"We're ready when you are, Tseng!" Cloud called as Sephiroth wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist.

"Let's be off then, shall we?" The Turk called back before gesturing to Reno, who was piloting the chopper.

As the chopper lifted off the ground Cloud turned to Sephiroth with a smirk on his face, "I'd hold on a little tighter if I were you."

"Why?"

Cloud just laughed but said no more. Instead he revved Fenrir's engine, causing the bike to jerk forward a bit. Sephiroth tightened his grip a little but not as much as he probably should have. Once the chopper was above the tree line Cloud took off, the back tire spitting dirt and gravel as he did. Sephiroth found himself all but clinging to the blond at the sudden rush of speed. There was no way this was going to end well for them, he was sure of it.