Cloud had never expected to have to face Sephiroth, especially not in his own hometown. Sephiroth, the SOLDIER first class that Cloud had looked up to, the man that he wanted to be like. The man that had betrayed him and everyone he cared about. When Zack had given him the order to finish the man off, Cloud had drawn his sword without hesitation.

The pain that rocked his body when Sephiroth impaled him with Masamune was incredible. It had shocked him. His vision had immediately gone spotty, he couldn't draw a full breath, and for a moment his muscles stopped functioning. Despite all of this, he had still tried. He had fought with every ounce of the strength left in his body to bring Sephiroth down.

He had done what was asked of him, and accepted his death.

Being dead wasn't supposed to hurt. That was the first thought that went through his mind when he came to, in a dark room that he didn't recognize. His body was on fire, he couldn't draw a full breath, and all of his muscles were twitching at different times. He tried to sit up, to find a lightswitch, when he realized he was strapped to the bed he was laying on. Terror struck him, and he began to thrash against the restraints, only intensifying the pain he was feeling.

"Wouldn't do that if I was you, baby boy." A gloved hand pressed down on his chest, forcing him back to the bed. He wasn't strong enough to fight, and too scared to want to try.

"R..Reno," he croaked. His throat was dry. The Turk held a glass to his lips, allowing Cloud to drink until he sputtered.

"You got it, kid. The one and only, yo. Sent by Shinra to watch you, take you where they want when they want, and otherwise keep you in check. Judging by the state you're in, shouldn't be much work. Better keep still, baby boy. That wound needs some serious time. No amount of heal materia could keep it closed long enough to convince the doctors it didn't need

stitched up. So that means no fighting with me. I won't hesitate to cheap shot you. Don't forget it." Reno walked out of the room, the click of a lock following him. Something stung his arm; he looked down to see an IV connected to the inside of his elbow, and a man dressed all in white with a syringe, pushing something into the tube. He barely had time to cry out before the drugs put him to sleep.

He never got comfortable with the way the doctors would treat him. It never hurt any less. He was never less afraid of the needles. There was never any less pain. He got sick after every "treatment", left alone on the cold concrete floor, laying next to his own vomit until Reno came by to check on him. The Turk couldn't stand vomit. Cloud found some satisfaction in this, and took joy in the times Reno was "escorting", or rather dragging, him back to his cell and he would throw up on the Turk's shoes. The third time this happened, Reno hit him with his electro-mag rod. Cloud had screamed, a sound had exited his body that he didn't know he could still make. The pain stuck around for hours; every muscle fiber on fire, every nerve ending a bomb going off.

It was at this point he had begun to cry for Zack in his sleep.

Sleep became waking hours. As the tests and infusions became more painful, as the side effects grew worse, his asking for Zack increased. He noticed after particularly bad sessions, Reno would hang around his cell a little bit longer, leave the door open for just a few seconds after Cloud walked in, Reno watching him take a seat on the floor instead of locking it right away.

He formulated a plan, and waited.

He escaped long enough to see that Zack was alive. Seeing him strapped to a table like his had hurt Cloud. He had felt like his chest was going to explode. There were a million things he wanted to say to Zack, to tell him he had missed him, that they had to escape, that he lov-

Reno hit him with the electro-mag rod and held it there. The pain was unimaginable. He screamed until his lungs stopped working, dropped to the ground as soon as the rod was deactivated, muscles unable to contract enough to keep him upright. He heard Zack yelling, but everything sounded as if he was underwater. Reno tapped the rod to his chest and activated the rod again. Another wave of pain, loss of control of his body. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a white coat pressing a needle to Zack's neck.

Reno had damaged his nerves. That's what the doctor had said. He couldn't walk, he could barely use his hands, he had lost control of his own body. The report that was filed stated Reno had used "appropriate force", that the subject had been out of control and he had done what was necessary to protect Shinra employees. Testing went on as scheduled, Cloud was sedated even more heavily than before, even though he couldn't fight back. The control would come back to him slowly, the doctor had said. Cloud continued to ask for Zack. He cried out in his sleep for him, when sleep came. He answered any questions with "where's Zack?" whenever asked.

A particularly bad day of tests and infusions had left him in so much pain that he was delirious. He burned with fever, threw up every five minutes, and sweated like he was running a marathon. The doctors continued taking notes until they had everything they wanted. Reno had been called back into the room to take Cloud back to his cell. He had known when he looked at Cloud from across the room that the boy wouldn't be able to stand, let alone walk. He had undone the restraints and picked Cloud up, one arm under his legs and the other supporting his back. He had flinched when he lifted the boy, lighter than Reno could have imagined, spine and ribs jutting out from beneath his skin. Cloud had never been a large human, built more like Reno than anyone else, but he had always been healthy. He turned to take Cloud back when the boy started mumbling.

"Zack," he said quietly. "I'm so… sorry. I didn't want… I just wanted to tell you before I died. Zack. Please, Zack." Tears rolled down his cheeks, and Reno found his eyes stinging in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. He had placed the boy back on the floor and went to his supervisor. An hour later, he was back. He unlocked the door and picked the boy up again, almost laughing at Cloud's weak attempt to fight him off.

"It's okay," he whispered. "No more tests today."

"Z-ack," Cloud mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, baby boy." Cloud faded out on consciousness again. Reno held him a little tighter to his chest for the rest of the walk to Zack's cell.

He woke up to the sounds of someone crying.