Warnings: Language and gory stuff
AN: I apologize for the delay. Hopefully my real-life crazy-time will be over by next week and I'll be able to return to a much better (meaning "quicker") update schedule. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 25 : Dangerous and Moving
Standing in the middle of the battlefield with bullets and magic and death all around, Commander Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class and experiment survivor, shut his eyes.
He knew what he had to do. It would leave him exposed, in a couple different ways, but killing this showy bitch had to take precedence. He threw out what he could hear with his ears, he threw out his awareness of Tifa and Vinny and Huge Blue. The prey he was hunting was... there! Rosso the Crimson Wench was moving toward him at Bolt speed—probably thinking to take advantage of his 'inattention'. He tracked her, hearing the echo of her movements through the air. She sped toward him, bowgun moving in a deadly arc; nearer, blades aiming for his body mass, and now! He spun, blade flashing, confident in his timing.
He felt it before it reached him—a change in the air pressure, a small shock wave. Azul the blue had changed into something else; something big enough that, when he stomped, it caused the earth to shudder. Rosso still had a couple steps to take to reach him and she, who'd managed to keep her balance all this time, finally got tripped up by those stupid fucking boots. She fell to the side and the Buster barely ripped her sleeve. Before he could bring the big blade around for another swipe the she was up and gone.
"Shit fuck!" he cursed and began tracking her again. She moved too fast for him to see but he could feel the pulse of the air bouncing off her as she moved. Hell, he could 'see' the bullets flying at him. He wasn't sure what Hojo had used to cause this mutation, but ever since Dr. Crazy Fuck had finished, he'd been able to navigate his environment perfectly without using his eyes. Fucking Hojo. He hoped the man's balls fell off.
Rosso the Crimson Wench laughed. "On that we can agree at least. He isn't fit to lick Weiss' boots."
"Shit, forget Hojo," Zack responded, "If this Weiss guy wears boots like yours I'll lick 'em."
Her laughing grin disappeared, replaced by her more familiar sneer. Good. He couldn't afford to have a bond with her, not even one as basic as hating Hojo. Her voice was flat, filled with venom, "You are a complete fool. I shall enjoy your death."
This time Zack laughed, "I've already been dead. Trust me. It wasn't that much fun." There was a hiss and flash of some kind of energy weapon from Tifa and Vinny's portion of the field. He was aware of it, but ignored it as unimportant.
She was moving again. That mutated blur she could attain. She was heading in that direction, which meant she should reach that location right about.... Zack shifted into overdrive. Timing was going to be tricky because he had to intercept the Tsviet before she figured out what he was doing. He felt for the pulse of her movement. She hadn't changed her path. Now the big trick will be to not overshoot the target zone. It took each of them less than seconds to cross paths. She still had her bowgun slightly raised so Zack lowered the Buster. He took her across the kidneys and lower back, just as he'd planned.
She didn't go down right away, of course. She was a genetically mutated warrior after all. He needed to hit her again. In order to do that, he needed to stop and turn on a pebble, so he pushed out his wings, his ugly, black, leathery wings. He spread them fully to catch the air, slowing from blur to nearly full stop in an instant.
He dipped the right side, folding it in slightly so that he could spin to the left to catch Rosso's counter-attack on the Buster. He used his momentum to force her weapon up and out of the way then he pulled the blade back down and sliced right through her, splitting her from skull to stomach. She didn't even have time to scream. His downward cut nearly met the one he'd made in her side so that it looked somehow, like he'd sliced her in quarters, but even as she was falling, even as he knew she would die, he was making another slash to the other side of her. He didn't know if she was capable of regeneration and he didn't want to find out while he was in the middle of fighting the other guy. She fell, her body separating along the lines he'd cut. He kicked her once and made sure all her severed parts were well spread out... just to be sure.
Huh, he thought, her blood was more like that deep pink Aerith liked. What was it called? Maroon or something. Rosso the Maroon... nope, sounded like a comedy act.
"Zack!" Tifa called out a warning and, without thought, he jumped straight up and hovered while a small behemoth ran over the area where he'd been standing. If he hadn't dodged he'd have been splattered all over the field just like Rosso. Zack didn't think he'd need to worry about her reviving now, considering how smeared she was now. "Ewww, that's pretty much the grossest thing I've seen in some time," he muttered, still hovering, unthinkingly, in the air.
"Zack, bullets no longer hurt him."
It coughed, or maybe it was a laugh. "Feel my true strength. Feel the wrath of Azul the Cerulean!" The big beast's voice echoed inside its chest giving it a 'voice of doom' sound. However, it wasn't nearly as scary as Hojo's laugh, Zack decided. He powered up his Octaslash and flung the energy at Huge Blue's new form. Slashes appeared in his wings, but barely scratched his armour plating. Fuck.
The big creature laughed—a disturbing sound from a behemoth, "You think that toy can penetrate my armour? I traded away my human weaknesses for power long ago."
"I hope they didn't promise to improve your looks," Zack continued dodging the whip-like tail, "because if they did, you should ask for your money back."
Tifa moved in for another attack. She unloaded a blitz of fast, sharp hits that were hard enough to make the thing's back leg buckle. The leg wasn't broken though because the blue behemoth turned quick as a zolom to swipe at her with its huge horns and it was able to retain its balance. It missed the small fighter but while its attention was on her, Vincent moved into to land a few blows. He punched but didn't bother to use his feet. Without his armoured sabatons, kicking this new Azul would do more damage to his feet than to their opponent. As soon as Azul's attention moved back to him, Vincent moved out of hitting range.
Fair had landed and taken Tifa's place on the beast's back leg. His unenhanced blade was doing some damage but it would take some time before it broke through. "Does materia work on it?" the SOLDIER asked.
"We don't know," Tifa answered, "We didn't equip any." The dark-haired swordsman grimaced at the news but didn't let it stop him from continuing his attack.
Unlike Tifa, or even Vincent in this form, Fair could maintain his position. Anytime Azul swept at him with paw or tail, the SOLDIER used his wings to lift himself out of the way. Which was rather amazing in and of itself, actually. He and Tifa had had to learn the best timing to use; how many hits they could land before the beast would turn to attack them. If they missed their timing... well, it was a good thing the watching troops knew how to use Cure materia. Fair, however, seemed to know the moment before Azul moved.
*He's sending out very high frequency sound waves,* Chaos commented, *It's most annoying.*
Interesting, Vincent thought. He hadn't realized that the Commander was another one of Hojo's experiments... or maybe he had heard it but he hadn't been interested; assuming that it would have no impact on him.
*This would be so much easier if you'd just let me take on the behemoth or, if not me, one of the others,* Chaos said. It was getting bored with the slow pace. It was even bored with the tingly effects of having Cura cast on Vincent's body. Not having had a body for so many millennia, Chaos had never experienced it before.
Vincent tried to imagine letting out any of his beasts. He had eaten enough at breakfast not to be affected by the relatively light damage he had sustained so far, so shifting wasn't necessary but Chaos was right; the battle would be finished much quicker if he changed into one of them. Except, it was bad enough they were gossiping about him in the mess halls—speculating on his past and his love life. If any of his beasts came out now it would be magnitudes worse and that didn't even include the nosiness of doctors and ShinRa's Science Department. Vincent had no great faith that the corporation had changed that much. It may have put on a veneer of reformed social responsibility but the former Turk felt sure the predator was still lurking underneath.
He moved back in to make his few hits upon the Deepground mutant.
Then there were the creatures, themselves. Azul was a strong fighter and could probably do a great deal of damage before he was killed. The more damage his beasts sustained the harder they were to control. If the Tsviet landed a solid hit on on of them, Vincent doubted even Galian would stop at killing the behemoth. Instead they'd rampage across the battlefield, killing everything they reached; no better than the Tsviets.
No, he would not be releasing his beasts.
*You worry too much, my host,* the demon coaxed, *I would make sure we didn't massacre the mortals.* Somehow, Vincent didn't find Chaos reassuring. *Besides, without your metal coatings, you are essentially useless in this fight.*
And that, the ex-Turk had to acknowledge, was a valid point, however he wasn't yet ready to concede to the necessity of allowing one of his other forms to take over. In fact, he thought hopefully, now that the SOLDIER was here, he might have time to run across the field to his sabatons. The timing had changed since Commander Fair had joined them. They had longer to attack before Azul would turn to counter-strike. He could be there and back almost before his attack turn came again. Except how did he give his allies warning without alerting the Tsviet?
The behemoth reared up on its hind legs making Vincent focus on more immediate concerns. He backed away and prepared for the impact when Azul came back down. Fair, like an impulsive child, rushed in to attack the more vulnerable belly while he had a chance. Down Azul dropped, landing as heavily as he could; the ground beneath his feet rippled with the shock wave.
Zack's wings flapped and shifted keeping the large SOLDIER on his feet while he continued swinging his huge sword. Vincent gracefully hopped over the unstable earth. Tifa, who had just finished up her attack, couldn't move far enough away, fast enough. She stepped wrong, right on a wave, and the moving dirt pulled her leg right out from under her. It wasn't a graceful landing, but it wasn't injurious either. Azul's accompanying sweep of his tail, however, caught her half-arisen and still vulnerable. She curled over the appendage as it swung, trying to hang on but it was too slick and it was moving too fast. It flicked her off and she flew over the field to land in a graceless, lifeless heap.
"Tifa!" Vincent called.
Azul roared in triumph.
Tifa limply moved her arm. She was alive.
For those few moments, as he waited anxiously for the female to move, to prove she was still alive, Vincent's focus on his enemy. It was a rookie mistake and one he'd often been written up for in the early days of his training as a Turk. It was odd to fall back into that habit now especially as he knew it was always a bad idea. That had been true thirty years ago and it was still true now.
Azul turned and used his massive paw to swipe Vincent out of the way. He could feel the bones in his chest bending and cracking. His vision blurred slightly when he raised his head. He could see Azul charging across the field to where Tifa lay, obviously intending to crush the dark-eyed fighter once and for all.
Vincent couldn't let that happen.
*Allow me, my little immortalis,* Chaos persuaded, but Vincent wasn't that far gone, instead he chose to race across the field to the fallen fighter. He was faster than the Tsviet, even with his damaged ribs. It would use most of his reserves but he was capable of it and Tifa was his… friend.
However, Zack was faster.
Whether it was his augmented SOLDIER muscles or the way he could integrate leaping with using his wings to attain a high-speed glide, Zack moved over the battlefield in a blur. He'd scooped Tifa up and jumped halfway to the sidelines with her before the ex-Turk even reached the spot.
Vincent frowned; he'd been able to achieve those kinds of speeds once. He could remember it, almost; moving so fast that he was just a vague outline in the playback he'd watched from his chemical-filled tube. He could see Hojo and his team watching the screen, using pens to point out actions of interest, discussing the results of the last set of alterations. It was odd to suddenly realize that the tortures he'd been put through had helped the crazed head of ShinRa's Science Department refine the SOLDIER program, and that was a really stupid thing to be thinking about with five tonnes of angry, charging behemoth bearing down on him. It was too late to change course. He set himself for impact so that he could roll with it, up and out, and perhaps minimize the damage.
It might have worked except Azul had a ball of charged energy between his lowered horns. He didn't hit the gunman with his body, but with the energy. Vincent could feel heated electricity running through his body, boiling the blood in his veins, causing his muscles to spasm and his heart to beat irregularly. Too much damage, it was too severe. He couldn't survive this.
*Don't be melodramatic, my immortalis. Of course we'll survive.*
Zack placed Tifa on the ground where the medics were waiting, materia charged up and potions ready. She moaned weakly and batted at the hands that examined her. "You can fix her, right?" he demanded.
"We'll do our best, Sir," the man responded.
"Childhood friend of Sephiroth's sweetie—the only one left. Do better than best." It was almost a friendly suggestion, but it was also quite serious. She had to survive.
Behind him he could feel the huge monster racing over the airfield, creating huge waves of displacement. Vinny'd been hit once earlier and had essentially shrugged it off; picking himself up and racing to save Tifa. From what he was picking up, Zack knew the ex-Turk was going to get hit again. At least the gunman was a tough son of a bitch so Zack wasn't too concerned. Besides, he felt the need to augment his attack power. He'd spotted a familiar figure amongst the crowd: "Yo, Torson! You got your Blizzaga on you?" From what he remembered, the heavy-set SOLDIER Second had always preferred cold weapons. When Torson tossed the glowing blue orb at him without a question or even a funny look, it was as if the years slid away. He wasn't a torture survivor on some broken up airfield beside Cloud's destroyed home town; he was Commander Zack Fair one any one of a number of missions fighting alongside his fellow SOLDIERs. He swallowed the lumps of nostalgia and anger his thoughts gave him. "Thanks man."
He popped the materia into his Buster and turned to face the enemy. He was just in time to see Vincent fly from the double impact of Azul and some sort of electrical discharge the mutant Tsviet had produced. Arcs of blue lightning ran over the gunman's body, making him look like a human firework or something. He landed with a 'thud' that Zack could hear from where he was standing.
Okay, Zack thought, maybe Vin wouldn't be okay after all. Before he could call out for a Cure something strange started happening to the ex-Turk.
Azul stepped back, laughing slightly. "Well, well, Vincent Valentine, something inside you wants out and its stench is so very familiar."
Vincent wasn't surrounded with blue lightning anymore but a bright fog made up of red and black light. His form blurred and reformed, blurred and disappeared behind the lights and the fog. There was ripple in the air pressure; waves of something moving through the atmosphere. Change was coming.
"Shit," Zack muttered, "I know I called him spooky but he's taking it a little far, don't you think?"
"What was that, Sir?"
Zack twisted, "Uh, nothing." He took a quick glance at the small fighter. Tifa's colour had improved; she'd be fine. No matter what was up with Vincent, Zack needed to get back there.
…or maybe not.
The creature that emerged from the mist was almost like the skinny gunman, with his cloak and his long hair, but at the same time completely not Vincent. For one thing, he was taller—two and a half, maybe even three meters. He had leathery wings of a size to rival Sephiroth's. He was also waaay more fucking scary than the ex-Turk and he, it, whatever the shit he was, hadn't done anything yet. Zack swore he could feel waves of doom and destruction rolling of the creature Vince had become.
Zack didn't let that stop him. He would be in at the end of the fight.
*Well, my scrumptious little lab rat, shall I let you join in or shall I just go ahead and finish it?*
Now that made Zack stop. He hadn't heard voices in his head since the early days of Hojo's experimentation but there was no mistaking it for anything else. Azul, even as a big lizard, spoke out loud that meant it had to be the ex-Turk's new form talking to him… and had it called him a 'rat'?
*I am Chaos,* the voice said, or vibrated… whatever it was it was really hard to explain, *and you shall be–*
The rest of the sentence was cut off by Azul's defiant roar. The Tsviet raised himself up and dropped down again. Shock waves reverberated from his feet but the thi- Chaos lifted gently and gracefully over them as if floating on thistledown. He threw out his hand and a ball of black light shot out. Azul tried to dodge but he was too slow as a behemoth and the black energy dug a furrow along his side. It wasn't a neat line for the energy jumped and bubbled out from the initial wound. Suddenly Zack felt deaf, as if he'd stuffed socks in his ears or something. He couldn't sense the others' movements over the crackle from Chaos' black lightning stuff. He gave himself a shake, ignored the odd sensation, and went back to waiting for his turn to strike.
Azul had been trying to hit Vinny's new form with his tail, thrusting it like a spear at the ex-Turk… person thing, but now the Tsviet threw his own bolt of power from between his huge fucking horns. Chaos tossed out one of those black balls to intercept. When they collided, the black light surrounded the blue lightning—surrounded it, swallowed it, nullified it, as if it had never existed. Then he moved forward and slashed at the behemoth with boots and claws. Azul's thick tail whipped forward and Chaos caught it on his wing, which folded smoothly back and absorbed most of the impact. It was still strong enough to make the creature tumble to the side which he turned into a graceful somersault. If Zack had been looking, he would have seen that Chaos never once touched the ground.
Zack wasn't watching Chaos except to assess how much of Azul's attention the huge creature was taking. The answer was: lots. When the Tsviet knocked him ass over tea-kettle, the dark haired SOLDIER spotted an opportunity to do more than stand there looking dumb and rushed forward, charging up the Blizzaga. He jumped up, using his wings to give him the lift he needed to reach the still crackling wound. His wings pumped and he slashed at it again and again. Jagged spears of ice ran from where his sword connected. Flesh and blood were instantly frozen. Even hovering in the air he felt the big beast shudder.
Azul roared, thrashing with his wings and attacking with his tail. The Tsviet may have been wounded but he was still far from weak. Zack's wings and back were getting tired from all the dodging he was doing. He was just going to retreat for a bit when one of Azul's heavy wing bones connected with his thigh. It was a good, solid hit and it sent Zack spinning out. His fall wasn't quite as graceful as Chaos' had been, but he too used his wings so that his tumble turned into a glide and he could step onto the ground rather than rolling across it. The crowd 'oohed' and 'awwed' and Zack thought he could get used to this.
The crowd wasn't the only thing to appreciate his new, cool abilities. Chaos chuckled in Zack's mind, which he found disturbing. *Very nice, little bat, but let me deal with this failed experiment*
What was with the pet names? First rat, now bat. It was worse than being called a puppy. At least puppies were cute.
Zack wasn't the only one annoyed by the thing's mocking. Chaos had obviously allowed Azul to hear him because the Tsviet roared defiance, "This isn't over yet, Chaos!"
Chaos just laughed. One moment he was a quarter of the field away from the mini-behemoth, the next he was standing under the beast's chin, digging into Azul's chest. That funny black fog was swirling around him, although there was a great deal of red in it where it circled his half-buried arm. Lightning played over their joined bodies, blue and black and red arcs dancing out from them in a wide circle and scarring the field. Zack was forced to back away. Then he needed to cover his ears. It was like having needles shoved through his ear cavity right into his brain—thanks to fucking Hojo, he knew exactly what that felt like. It wasn't just Azul and Chaos' roaring at each other that was causing it either, but a vibration or something. He backed up even more but he could feel moisture dripping from his ears, his nose, as the hum went up in both strength and frequency.
The energies had surrounded the two combatants, blue against black and red. It was moving constantly, now thick, now thin. Through the swirls, it was sometimes possible to see what was going on behind the mist. Azul was swinging his jaw trying to dislodge Chaos who was buried in the behemoth's chest nearly up to the shoulder. Chaos, as big as he was, was dwarfed by the larger Tsviet. He was also completely engulfed in the battling fogs and, to anyone far away, it would probably seem a no-brainer that Azul would win but, steadily and with dramatic flashes and swirls, Chaos' fog was taking over and spreading. Bright, searing light; loud, echoing boom; and a shock wave strong enough to knock Zack over and it was finished.
They all had been blown in a circle away from the battleground. Azul, back in his humanoid form, swayed and staggered; black and red mist still rippled over him but didn't hide the wounds in his body. "It looks like you were more a beast than I," he growled. He flexed his fists as if he would like to fight some more. Chaos laughed—he liked bravado especially when it was foolish. He'd landed close to where Azul's second gun had fallen. Almost as large as the first, Chaos picked it up in one hand as easily as if it were a stuffed toy. Then he threw it.
It appeared in Azul's chest, piercing it and throwing great gobs of flesh out the exit wound. The big Tsviet collapsed onto one knee, still fighting. "You have won this round, Vincent Valentine, so be it." He coughed and blood bubbled out of his mouth. "We will not be defeated for long. Hail Weiss!" He braced himself on one arm as his body lost strength. "I'll see you again... in hell!" With that defiant shout a waterfall of blood poured from Azul's mouth and he collapsed. He lay unmoving, the bright glow of his eyes and armour fading to a dull grey.
Even though it was obvious the Tsviet was dead nobody approached his body. Instead, they waited for it to dissolve, proving that Azul actually was dead. It took a long time for the Lifestream's green twinkly lights to gather around the fighter's body; even longer for it to dissolve. It was so slow that Zack flinched in sympathy and then looked around, embarrassed, hoping nobody had seen him do that.
*I saw you, my little bat,* Chaos said as he popped up in front of the dark-haired SOLDIER. *You really are quite adorable.*
"Uh, Vin–" he started.
*Chaos. My name is Chaos.*
Not reassuring, Zack decided, especially when this warrior… thing was so much freaking taller than he was. Zack was not used to being loomed over. He was much more comfortable with being the loomer. Although, he usually toned it down, tried to soften his stance, so he wouldn't intimidate the person he was talking with. Chaos didn't seem to care. In fact, he was so fucking close the swordsman was surprised those pointy boots weren't poking him in the stomach.
*It's not my boots I wish to poke you with, little bat.*
"Fuck!" Zack shouted and jumped back because there was no mistaking that tone for anything but an invitation to sex. Chaos eased closer. Zack shifted away. "Look, …Chaos, I'm flattered, really, but, shit, I'm already in a relationship—well, two actually, or maybe three, but one for absolutely sure that I do not want to fuck up, so I'm going to have to say, y'know, thanks and all but… not interested."
*Do I care what's happening elsewhere in your life? Besides that is there, this is here. Why shouldn't we celebrate the joy of victory?* Chaos was still moving with the SOLDIER, blocking him in, forcing him to move almost in circles until Zack realized that they were looking ridiculous and forced himself to stop.
"I'll buy you a pint?" the SOLDIER suggested hopefully, "Or maybe a small tanker." Chaos laughed. Or at least Zack thought the big guy was amused. With teeth that big and pointy it was hard to tell.
*Do not deny that you feel it too, little bat. Battles have an energy, a pulse, that infuses the body and heightens its responses.* Chaos floated around him, reaching out with sharp fingertips to scratch lightly at the SOLDIER's exposed skin. *I can feel it resonating within you, looking to be released.*
Zack shrugged, trying for nonchalant but fearing it came up defensive, "Yeah well, I have other ways of getting rid of any excess energy."
*So do I, my delightfully bashful warrior.* The creature had moved around to the front again. He leaned forward, baring his teeth… fangs, whatever, and whispering, *If I kill a thousand mortals I would be sated… maybe.*
'A thousand,' Zack mouthed, horrified. He didn't think this guy was kidding. "Vin–"
*Isn't here. There is only you and I…*
Tifa came trotting up, looking healthy and whole and far too vulnerable. "Zack? Vincent?" she called hesitantly. Zack tried to wave at her, to tell her, somehow, to not attract the big guy's attention. Chaos' smirk let him know he was too late.
*Of course, there is one other I could take with me for a little fun.* Chaos floated behind him, still leaning in close and whispering in his mind. *She's a spicy one, the little fighter. Do you think she will fight me?*
Fuckingshitbastardasshole! "Leave her out of it," Zack ordered. He had to protect Tifa, had to.
*My host would like to protect her as well. I think he likes the little one. It would pain him dreadfully if he damaged her, even if he's not in his own form.*
"Vincent knows the shit you're doing?" It was a horrifying thought and Zack turned to face the creature who'd been his ally. "He'll stop you." He tried to believe it.
Chaos chuckled. *He'll try but he's still too weak to take control back so you are left with me and I want to play some more.*
Tifa had reached them but, sensing the conflict in the air, she stayed back a couple meters from the two males. It wouldn't be far enough to save her if Chaos decided to grab her.
"I go with you and Tifa and the camp will be safe?"
*From me... for now.*
Zack figured that was about a good a guarantee as he was going to get from a creature named 'Chaos'. What the fuck was he supposed to do? 'Exactly what he'd done in the labs,' the thought floated up from his past. He shut his eyes, denying the images that wanted to play out in his mind, but he knew he could do this. He could let Chaos 'play' with him. It'd be no different from what he'd done to protect Cloud's unconscious form from Hojo's goons. Except remembering that made him want to punch something.
*You can hit me,* Chaos purred, sounding so much like Sephiroth that Zack shuddered, *I don't mind if you try and fight.*
"Tifa," he didn't look at the dark-eyed fighter, "Once Seph gets up, tell him where I've gone."
"What? Where're you going?" She was astonished, and scared. She'd learned enough about Vincent's other self to be deeply worried about what the demon had planned. "Vincent!" she called, "Come back!"
*He is not yet able to take back control, small warrior, so it is of no use to call to him.*
"He won't like you doing this," she stated.
*I don't care.* His voice was flat and there was no doubting he meant what he said. He held out his hand to the dark SOLDIER. *Come, little bat, let us fly together.* Zack thrust his Buster into the ground and took the offered hand, his mind boggling at how small his seemed compared to the creature's.
Chaos wasted no time but rolled the swordsman up and launched himself into the sky. He spun them around and around, as if this was something to celebrate. And all Tifa could do was stand there, watching them disappear and wondering how, in all Ifrit's hells, she was going to explain this to the General when he woke up.
"Something's wrong," Cloud said, tensing.
Sephiroth, lazing happily with the small, boneless blond in his arms, took a moment to sense his surroundings. Nothing had changed but still, he could afford to indulge his lover. "What is it?" He traced slow whorls on Cloud's firm arm and shoulder, enjoying the silky, strong texture.
Cloud pushed himself up on one arm, disengaging himself from the General's embrace and squinting at nothing visible from here. Sephiroth sighed. It looked like their 'couple' time would be ending soon.
"It's Zack."
"I can't hear him calling," Sephiroth tried to sooth the blond.
"He's not calling, at least not wilfully," Cloud shook him off with a frown, "I recognize this..." Sephiroth sat up as well but he was content to watch Cloud's face; alive, intent and so definitely his.
"He's in trouble. Like he used to be in the labs," Cloud finally said.
Sephiroth frowned, "What do you mean?" The General started to realize that the blond was deadly serious. Zack was in trouble. Did that mean the SOLDIER would be coming to wake them up soon?
"I always knew when he was getting hurt, especially when he was protecting me."
"But, Zack isn't one of your aspects. How can you hear him like that?"
"You should be able to sense him too," Cloud said irritably, "Just, I don't know, shut your eyes and concentrate."
Sephiroth raised his eyebrows, hearing the echo of Niisan in Cloud's voice and realizing that it would be much easier to go along with the instruction. Then there was the fact that, if Zack were in trouble, he wanted to help. Long lids covered acid green eyes and the General allowed himself to ignore the world he was in—a somewhat harder than normal task considering this world was saturated with his lover's essence. However, he concentrated on his internal world; heart, lungs, blood moving in his veins, until he found the part of himself that he could use to find and control the other SOLDIERs. Jenova's legacy, buried inside him, a link to her and to all those who held parts of her inside them—like ShinRa's SOLDIERs, like Zack.
He'd just used it yesterday, to find his dark-haired friend in the lab, so he noticed how different it was from before. The thread that connected them was much stronger than it had been; less tenuous, less... hazy wasn't the exact word but it was sufficient. Zack was terrified. Afraid that, whatever was threatening him, would kill or maim him in some way but equally determined to continue. He was protecting someone and taking all the damage on to himself. Just like Caro had done.
Sephiroth growled. Zack was his. His to have. His to protect. The Silver General didn't care who or what was threatening the happiness he'd just regained but he would kiss Odin's balls before he let it be taken away from him again.
He was out of the bed and dressed as quick as thought. He held his hand out to his lover, who was also fully clothed, "Come, Cloud. We should go rescue him."
Cloud hesitated, "I don't know how much help I'll be out there. It's been so long."
"I'm not leaving you here," Sephiroth cut off the suggestion before it could be made. He wiggled his fingers, "We're wasting time." Cloud put his hand in Sephiroth's, swallowing down his fears. Zack was in danger. They had to rescue him. Well... more likely the General would rescue him. All Cloud could do is not slow him down. They ran out of the cottage. Cloud managed to keep up with his General's longer legs with little effort. This was his world, after all.
"Find the link, Cloud, feel the path back to your body."
Path back to his body? What did Sephiroth mean? Did he mean a literal path like the one they were running on? But, if that was the case, then why would the General say it that way? No, it must be a different kind of path. A link... like the one he had with Zack. He could feel Zack's body; feel it getting hurt.... He couldn't return to Zack's body. Where was the link to his own?
"Hurry, Corporal."
He'd tried before to return to himself, at least some part of him had tried. He kind of, sort of remembered wiggling his toes, or maybe that had been a long time ago. He'd become lost in the green, following voices that promised lots of things but delivered nothing. The green sky was always filled with voices. Except now, there were no voices. The sky wasn't green. There was nothing but the breeze and the pounding of their feet. His heart beating. His lungs working. He could hear... he could hear the General's heart beating in the General's body back where ever it actually was out there. Which meant that he, himself, would need to be... there! The cord popped into his mind so brightly, it was all the blond could do not to flinch from it. It pulsed in the rhythm of a heartbeat. "Got it," he gasped.
"Good," Sephiroth said, "On the count of three..."
"One." The world's edges softened and blurred. The colours dimmed.
"Two." The colours dimmed, turning to grey nothing. Pins attacked their bodies.
"Three..."