Zack remembered being hot. His body practically melting under the heat of the sun. The sand threatening to grind the skin off his feet as it shifted uncomfortably in his boots. His lips were dry as his throat. The only taste left on them was the salt was beads of sweat feel from his temple. He was sure that Kunsel, and Heero were experiencing the same thing. He 'knew' Cloud was; he couldn't help but look at the flustered features. For whatever reason, it made his lips and throat feel that much drier.

So why? Why was his mouth moist? His throat was still scratchy, more so worse than before that hadn't changed that much. Why was his body cold, and was he shivering?

He could feel his hair and bangs sticking to his forehead and the sides of his face. Could feel the drip of droplets traveling down the length of his arm. Was he sweating that bad? If he was than god help who ever was near him; the raven would figure he smelt to high hell.

Than again.. he wasn't hot. A cold sweat? A bad dream? Wait... when had they rested?

Zack scrambled his mind for some clarity even though the effort was becoming painful. Hammering even. He remembered Cloud. The first night of the mission. The next day they moved on and they made the supply drop didn't they? They entered the gate; he knew that much.

God why did his head hurt so damn much he wondered. Had they taken rest at the supply drop? Surely they had to have, but who ever gave them the bed he was in had to be some kind of masochist; he might as well have be sleeping on a fricken rock!

The raven moved to open his droopy lids finding it a lot harder than it should have been. God he had such a migraine. Zack couldn't remember getting migraines before. Sure a hefty headache for some of his 'smarter' endeavors. The worst more than likely trying to impress Cloud and his friends with a few tricks by hitting a ramp off of a steep hill with a poor excuse of a snowboard. (The straps hadn't secured his feet only the tops. So when Zack went flying so did the snowboard; in the opposite direction.) Cloud never quite let him live that down...

Speaking of Cloud. Zack pondered where the blonde would be. The room seemed quiet; did they all sleep individually?

Zack's hands slumped to his side to the cold floor underneath him.

Wait.... Floor?

Zack forced his tired eyes open staring blankly into the dark room; trying to allow his eyes to adjust. Just what the hell was going on anywa.....

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Cloud observed the gates ahead; finally in view. They could finally go home after this. The mission would be complete and they could actually 'ride' the damn vehicle instead of walking. Just one more day till a nice warm and comfortable bed.

Cloud's brows furrowed the closer they got to the large gate protecting the base. Something was off. The blonde looked over to Zack and than to Kunsel and finally settled on Heero. It seemed Zack and Kunsel weren't bothered in the slightest keeping at the same pace just desperate to complete the damn mission and get back to Midgar.

Heero himself did little to merit his gut as his face remained completely stotic. He couldn't help himself but to think he wished he smiled more. Heero really did have a wonderful smile. He was sure no one could outshine Zack when his pearly whites were exposed by his shit eating grin but just the same.

Cloud sighed as he tried to release the tension from his shoulders and the pull in his gut. The closer they got the worse it became. The way the guards on the top of the gate carried their weapons was strange, but than again that high up in the desert with this heat... he could understand them not standing stiff at attention with their guns meticulously held at their sides.

Cloud worried his lip for a last few moments as they crept closer to stand just feet from the gates waiting for them to open. The man driving the jeep called in exchanging the nessacary information to prove who they were.

The blonde, now assuming he was delirious or paranoid; perhaps both, thought it was taking much longer than it should have.

Cloud watched in the corner of his eye at the men at the top of the gate as the doors pulled open. Their guns directed right at the group. He felt his stomach drop as they walked through the gates; Cloud needing Zack to whisper over to him to get his legs moving. He knew they shouldn't be going in. Something was very wrong. He knew it; he just knew it. But before he could say a word he felt a harsh blow to the back of his head and dropped forward almost immediately.

He could hear as his vision faded and the sound became almost deafening before starting to drop in volume; Zack cry out for him. But as he felt unconsciousness consume him he knew it didn't matter. He should've spoke up sooner. He could almost hear Heero's mocking phrase in the background echoing in his mind, 'Follow your emotions.'

-----

"Cloud," Zack shouted as realization dawned on him; his head whipping frantically as he tried to look around, "Cloud!"

"Shhhhhh," the noise was harsh and groggy, "too loud.."

Zack sighed in relief as he collapsed backward on the ground, "Kunsel, Heero," he had to bite the last name out, "are they here?"

"With an outburst they that I would've heard you four rooms down," Heero muttered.

At any other moment Cloud might have smiled but this certainly wasn't the time, "Kunsel's still out of it. I don't think he'll be up for a while...."

Zack groaned as he rested his head back trying to allow the throbbing to turn to a dull ache.

"We'll need to wait till he gets up to act. There's no severe injuries to any of us; we should be able to escape this block with little problem."

Zack lolled his head to the side to stare at what he thought was the blur of Heero, "That's great. We bust out to a loud of guy with guns and say 'Hey it's been fun but we gotta go catch ya later!'; I'm sure they won't mind."

Cloud was tempted to reprimand him but was cut off as Heero spoke up, "I never said we were leaving. We need to put out a distress signal to headquarters in Midgar. From there we need to take whatever steps necessary."

Just because I don't want to wait to add more -- which I'm not sure when I have time so I'm cutting it off here for now SORRY guys!! but I figured something's better than nothing I hope at least --- Sorry about these updates it's been crazy but i'm so happy to hear from you guys !! Again sorry it's so short~~