Dante took OFF after Vergil, his reply simply fading on the tip of his tongue as he snatched up Rebellion and his guns, his ire growing with each and every step away from him that Vergil took. "God DAMN it!" He snarled, jumping on his bike just moments after Vergil had taken flight on the one he'd bought in preparation for their departure.
He could HEAR his brother ahead of him, but unluckily for Dante, the bikes were evenly matched, and already pushed to the limit, which meant he wasn't going to catch up unless Vergil slowed DOWN.
Reno walked in, plopping himself down on a stool two weeks after Dante had disappeared. He had seen Zack there, and he shook his head, frustration stiffening his frame with an intensity he didn't know he could possess. "Hey, Fair. . you look about how I feel." His voice was quiet, and he just plopped his chin in his hands. "Dante's been missing for two weeks now. .. I don't suppose I told you I'm pregnant with his baby, did I? Well, I am, and he's gone Gods only know where, and he hasn't even fucking CALLED, just let me fucking worry. . .and the guy I WANT ta have love me only wants ta be my friend. .. I fucking hate life."
Reno tapped the bar to indicate he wanted a shot of scotch, really not worried about the baby, who did after all have enough of the devil blood to not be harmed by the potent liquor. "My life fucking sucks, Zack.. . .it fucking sucks like Hell, and if I didn't have this fucking BABY inside me I'd probably just walk the fuck away from it. I can't though." He took that shot, and then tapped for another, sighing in that soft manner that spoke of severe frustration. "I wanna know what fucking God I pissed off to deserve this shit."
Zack barely looked up as Reno sat down next to him, "Sounds like both'a us are in the same boat. Up shit creek without a paddle." He muttered. "Pretty sure that the higher authorities are havin' too much fun screwin' with th' lives of us little folk, laughin' their asses off at our pain. Prob'ly get a kick outta watchin' us try ta figure out what we did ta piss'em off, when really, we didn't do anythin'." He knocked back another shot, sighing when Tifa shook her head at his request for another. "C'mon Teef... ya know I need it."
"Nothin' doin', Zack. You've been hitting the bottle a little TOO hard the past couple weeks, it's about time Momma Lockheart started weanin' you off of it. Red, you know I'll cut you off if you start gettin' rowdy, so you'd better hold yourself in if you want to get plastered enough to forget your problems for a while."
Waving Tifa off, Zack finally looked up and over at Reno, red-rimmed eyes roving over the redhead. "I WAS tryin'a waste away, but Teef keeps cuttin' me off... C'mon, let's commiserate tagether."
Reno nodded, sighing softly, not knowing what was coming all too soon, and he might have chosen not to do what he was about to do if he'd known. "Ya know, it just sucks, sucks hard core, how people treat other, it really does. And I know it sucks, I know it does, but what else can we do? All we can do is live our lives, right?" He dropped an arm over Zack's shoulder, not realizing that soon enough they'd be going to the one place the slender bartender had hoped never to see again, and he himself would rather not really.
"Ya wanna go to the hotel, Zack? I know it's probably not the best idea in the world of course, but I wanna talk to ya without everyone and their other brother gettin' in the way." He bought a bottle from Tifa and carried it out, knowing that a SOLDIER and a Turk would not get bothered about carrying a bottle on the street a bit.
The mako in Zack's system at least helped him be buzzed without the side effect of staggered walking. "Already got a room here... Teef got tireda me stayin' at the 7th all night, especially when I was gettin' a little too rough an' rowdy." He led the redhead to the elevator, pushing the glowing button for the sixth floor. "Don't even ask why I ain't called ta stay with anyone--I just... I don't want anyone ta know anythin's up with the three of us."
He unlocked the door and threw his keys onto the table next to the door, the room looking trashed, something that was actually unusual for the spike-haired man. His years in SOLDIER had conditioned him to being organized and tidy. "Jus' find a place and make y'self at home..."
"Looks like my parta Rude and I's apartment." Reno snorted at that, knowing how much Rude HATED that his bedroom looked like the demolitions expert had set off one of his BOMBS inside it. Reno was just MESSY though, and he always had been. He settled down next to Zack, though, taking another swig off the bottle of scotch. "I love Rude, ya know? I do. . .but he don't want anything more outta me than ta be friends and partners, and I ain't gonna push it. Ta lose him as a friend would be more'n I could bear."
Fathomless depths of brilliant mint met bright violet, Reno suddenly looking away with the intensity of the gaze that met his in return. "I don't know what ta do, Zack. ..I just don't, and I hate that. Ya know I hate being so fucking unsure of myself, I always have hated it. Now. . .FUCK, I just wish this fucking shit would END already."
Zack shrugged, "Gave up on tryin'a keep it clean..." He snatched the bottle from the redhead and downed a good fifth of it before handing it back, wiping at his lips. "I know how ya feel, I really, really do, Red. Shit...shit's gone fuckin' down hill since that night at the Seventh with you and Vergil, then General Sephiroth and Vergil." He knew that the use of Sephiroth's full title would get the redhead's attention.
"Don't even wanna go home, don't wanna go to work, don't wanna even LOOK at Cloud and him." He sneered, lip curling in disgust. "Don't wanna see him at all... wish he woulda just left shit alone..."
"Don't tell me. ..the bitch got with you like Vergil's liable ta get with me. . possessive, pushed your ass out." He shook his head. "Not that it was Dante I really wanted for a lover. . .It was a drunken one night stand that ended up in a baby, and I'm gonna be in a shitload o'trouble, I just know it. Old man don't like me bein' around you or Cloud or Seph either, and as for Seph, I got no idea WHAT the fuck is up with him, at all."
He let out a whimper as Zack began massaging his back and shoulders, as if he'd not even realized HOW tense he was up until that point. It felt WONDERFUL, truth be told, and he didn't want Zack to stop at all. "Man, Zack, that's wonderful. How'd you know I needed that?" The words were spoken in a nearly breathless tone as those green eyes slid to half mast, reveling in how good those skilled hands felt.
Zack smiled, letting his fingers knead the tension knots in Reno's shoulders. "Fuck everyone else. Really, I think that's th' only thing we c'n do. s'th' only way ta keep goin', ta keep ourselves from losin' it." He felt at ease with Reno, the soothing motions of the massage working wonders on his own mind as he thought about the way things were now.
"I miss'im. As much as I don't even wanna fuckin' see him or talk ABOUT him.. I miss him..." His voice cracked as he spoke, his eyes tearing up slightly. He hadn't talked to anyone, not even Tifa about what had happened, and he was still stinging from Sephiroth's words.
It wasn't that much later that Reno found himself curled up on Zack's chest, it had begun that way, simply two people sharing comfort with each other because the loves they WANTED wouldn't have them for reasons neither of them understood. "We'll help each other forget, just for tonight." the words were a bare whisper, but ones that he knew Zack would understand.
As the pale lips found their way up his neck he sighed in what could almost be labeled contentment. He had no idea how things were going ot get of course, he couldn't, and when he did find out, it would be messy. "You can have me if ya want, Zack. . .I don't mind." The smile was tremulous, the voice a bit shaky, but he meant every word now. Zack could have him if he wanted him.
Zack's large, calloused hands had already been running along the waistband of Reno's pants as they laid there, and at Reno's quiet words, he let his fingers dip below the fabric to gently caress the hidden treasure behind Reno's cock. Oh, he knew it was there, always had, because Zack was Zack, and he could scent that feminine musk from miles away.
"I'll help ya forget..." He leaned down, nuzzling into the pale neck, shifting around so that Reno was laying on his back, the SOLDIER hovering over the top of him. "...and you'll help me... s'what friends do, right?" The spike-haired man wasn't going to mention he'd always had that slight attraction for Reno, since he knew this wouldn't go any further past this night, and that they weren't compatible for a long term relationship. "Hopefully Baldboy wisens up some. He'd be an idiot ta not wanna be with ya."
A soft whimper sounded into the still air of the room as those long, calloused fingers touched in places only Dante had before, bliss creeping up his nerves. There wasn't LOVE there, of course, but there was pleasure there, and for this one night that was good enough. Enough to help him remember himself, enough to help him forget the Hell life had put him through. Then as that warm mouth began to slip down the slender body, his eyes slid closed as a shiver ran through him, mouth opening in a gasp.
One trembling arm went around Zack's neck as he began panting softly, whimpering as the lithe back arched, his body begging for more. Though it was Rude in his mind, in his heart, as he lay under the SOLDIER'S bulky frame. No shattering wails, no loud cries as he was pushed into by the Gongagan, simply soft panting little moans of pleasure as his eyes stayed closed, though he was proper enough not to speak the name that rang through his heart while he was being pleasured by someone else, for that would not do at all.
Empty pleasure in darkness, that was all it was, but it seemed neither of them really minded, so he wouldn't complain. Not tonight. "More.. .p-please. .more."
Zack was careful as he pushed into Reno, gasping at the tightness. It wasn't ALL that different than being with Cloud or Sephiroth, but he could tell the difference. Quietly, he continued the steady pace he'd started, the soft slapping of skin the only other sound in the room besides their light, panting breaths. No love was in this, really, not anything beyond a friendlove that stated he needed to do what he could to help mend his friend's pains.
Of course, he would try to be as proper as Reno, but the poor Gongagan would most likely slip, something that was inevitable really, with the depth of the love he shared with the other two. This night, in fact, would likely be what drove him back home, to at least try to work through things.
Besides, even with a SOLDIERs pension, he couldn't afford the hotel room much longer.
Reno just let it come, just let it roll over him, over his nerves, through his body, letting the sensations sweep through him as they would. He had no idea Zack would be gone in the morning, no idea what that mission would bring, or how it would shatter all of them and tear their friendships apart. With a gasping sob the twitching channel squeezed down around the SOLDIER as white effluence coated his chest and the sheets, before suddenly simply breaking down in the face of the realization that no matter how Zack tried, no matter how HE tried to forget, Zack was not Rude, and it was not what he wanted.
He ended up sobbing himself to sleep there on Zack's chest, not realizing his friend would be gone before he woke, and what that would bring. It would spell the beginning of the end for any peace of mind his life might have given him.
Sometime after he'd fallen asleep, Zack was woken up by his phone ringing itself off of the nightstand. "Mmmm'lo?" He heard Cloud's voice on the phone, and the panic ringing in it. "Shit, what? Calm down, babe, I'll be right there, then we can go, okay? Don't worry, it'll be fine." He sighed, hanging up, searching for his uniform in the midst of this mess.
It only took him a few minutes, then he went over, pressing a kiss to the redhead's forehead. "Thanks Red...and I'll see ya later." He left the key sitting on the table and slipped out the door, heading to a mission, one that he wasn't sure he wanted to go on.
Reno of course woke in the morning alone, the message flashing on his phone indicating that Rude had called him, a message that he had no idea now, and could not really, would change all of their lives forever. He groaned as he rolled over, picking his uniform up off the floor before climbing into the shower, letting the hot water wash the filth from his body, though it didn't touch the dirt in his soul, it couldn't.
The hotel room towel, a dingy gray that no amount of washing would ever turn white again, was slapped across the slender body just before he climbed into his uniform and headed home. He had NO idea what was coming, none at all, and that was nothing short of MERCY now.
Rude surveyed the destruction with a sad, horrified gaze-- this was-- something he might have seen Vergil doing really, but the great general, the Wutai war hero, the best and the brightest of all that SR's SOLDIERS had ever produced?
And--once--a friend, as well.
How many friends were they going to LOSE, he wondered, in a dull hatred for what had happened. So much had changed, and in ways that were almost truly unbelieveable. And now--cursing, he dialed Reno again, irritated and frustrated that the redhead didn't answer. He left a message with as clear details as he possibly could, finding it rather difficult to get the words out.
This was a nightmare, he reflected, not aware that Sephiroth was soon to go by this very name in dark notoriety.
Reno arrived at the staging area looking almost SHELLSHOCKED, almost unable to believe what he'd heard. He was here to hunt one of his best friends, and the order had been for an execution, but he sure as FUCK wasn't going to obey that order if he could avoid doing it. "You got the orders too? Fucking EXECUTION, what the FUCK is the bastard thinking? We're leading air support for a fucking MURDER, Rude. to say I am not a happy camper would be a major fucking understatement."
Reno had his emr strapped to his wrist, the breeze lifting the red strands as he looked around at the ruins of the town. "Gods, Seph. . .what the FUCK happened to you? We used ta fucking be FRIENDS, God dammit. . .what the Hell fucking went wrong, and why the fuck didn't we see it? " He shook his head wearily, climbing into the pilot seat of the chopper with a tired sigh. "Let's get this shit the fuck over with." Reno did NOT tell Rude about the encounter with the President prior to his departure, the threat for an enforced abortion, his baby's life in the balance if he did not obey this order. One that he knew would tear his soul apart.
"We're not doing it."
Rude's voice was soft and almost inaudible, but he knew Reno could hear him. "Zack's our pal, and we are not letting this happen, at least we got t' fucking TRY to save him and Cloud. We got to, Red, you already know that. I ain't bein' a part of killing a friend. But we can't let on, just follow my lead, and let's get in the air. Now."
They headed for the chopper, and saluted the SOLDIERS as if all systems were go. And then the big bird started, Reno handling the controls like the master he was already, even at this young age.
"We'll try to get between them and Zack, hopefully Cloud will be right there with him. That would make things a HELL of a lot easier--and once we get them we'll BLOW this popstand from Hades, right? You with me, Red? Come on, now we got a REASON to beat ALL reasons--saving friends--and that's got to take precedence--there AIN'T no way we can live with ourselves if we don't make a goddamned STAND, Reno!"
Reno nodded quietly. "I don't WANNA do this, I don't. Just wasn't sure how ta get OUTTA it." He did the preflight, starting the chopper with one twist. "Gonna hafta be careful about getting too close until we're absolutely sure we got enough room, or they'll pull the chopper down." The flight to the search area would be almost silent, the dislike of the situation they'd found themselves in almost palpable. Reno had never found himself hating someone before, but he suddenly hated Jack with a vengeance he'd never thought he would.
"If I could get away with killing the bastard I'd be damn fuckin' happy to do it, believe me. I've never hated anyone before, but I sure as fuck hate him. Oh my GOD do I fucking hate that son of a bitch. I hope he fucking chokes on his own filth and dies."
Cloud could hear Zack talking, but he couldn't make a damned bit of sense what he had said--and maybe the fogginess was a mercy.
He'd stopped sobbing over Sephiroth, stopped weeping over his family and friends in the now dead town, stopped--FEELING--anything at all. There was a dim and cruel memory of his blade--no, Zack's blade--?? -- being slid into Sephiroth from behind, and it was HE himself--CLOUD--that had held that weapon, and he had been cursing, crying, almost insane.
"...zack...zack whathappenedtoseph...baddreambad...reallybad..."
"...zack..."
Zack was kissing him on the forehead, and then on the lips, very gently. "...zacky?..."
As if he is saying goodbye, Cloud suddenly thought, afraid, but long, long minutes had already gone by, and he didn't SEE Zack now. "ZACK!!" He was screaming, but only in his mind--and the screams were heartwrenching, the sound of loss and agony, and there was no one to know.
He HAD, indeed, been saying goodbye.
Zack himself had--well, he hadn't stopped crying yet, and only because he knew what he needed to do, and he had to leave Cloud to be able to do it. He HATED the thought of leaving the fucked up little SOLDIER there, but he needed to get away, to get them back...well, he wasn't sure WHERE they could go. The old man likely wanted them dealt with, probably thought THEY were the reason his prized SOLDIER General had gone mad, which really... he wasn't sure that they WEREN'T the reason he'd lost his marbles.
"M'sorry... I love you, Gods, I love you Cloud... I'm gonna get us OUT of here..." He limped away, CLOUD'S blade in his hand, unable to bring himself to even TOUCH his own blade at the moment. He was sore and aching from the various experiments that Hojo had managed to do on him and Cloud both in the few days they were there, but he pushed on, knowing that they weren't safe there.
He couldn't sleep anyway, even if he wanted to, just to get a little rest. He'd been wide awake for days now, every time his eyes drifted shut for longer than a few seconds, the screams of the villagers, the laughter--the LAUGHTER of his lover as he decimated the town, the low, rumbling voice as Sephiroth spoke to he and Cloud when they had tried--well, HE'D tried to talk him down-- rang through his thoughts, making him UNABLE to sleep.
He could still see that damn wing that had come out; the brilliant shine that had hit his eyes when the firelight danced across the feathers. What he would have seen as a thing of beauty before had been nothing but a despairing nightmare, something that he felt would haunt the rest of his life--even his afterlife.
With a sigh, he set off, looking, hoping to spot a truck or a transport of some kind to hitch a ride on, maybe even find a place to hide out for a while until they could figure out what to DO.
Finally staggering to his feet, Cloud tried valiantly to stand up, and failed--crashing to the ground in a wave of immense dizziness. "Zack, fuck, come back okay, Zack?"
Cloud wasn't worried about himself--he could handle it--okay, he really couldn't handle it right now--but it was Zack that FELT like he was in the gravest danger, and that sent shivers down the young SOLDIER's spine. Trembling, he got back up--and he could just barely make out the tiny dot on the horizon--Zack, god let that be Zack! Cloud was losing track of time, and he knew it--he'd black out for a time, and then come back to himself--having no real idea how long had gone by.
It happened again, and now the vanishing pinpoint was gone.
He began to run, falling and then getting back up.
"ZACK--OGOD--DONT--DONTGO!!"
"There he is --up ahead--fuck where is CLOUD--look--shit fuck MOTHERFUCK--there's a whole cock knocking CONTINGENT up there Reno, they--they SET us ALL up!" Oh shit, that was an understatement, wasn't it?
There was a whole fucking battalion, and poor Zack was trapped--"Take it down slow and easy, I'm gonna hope and pray Zack SEES that we are trying to help him--fuck --if he JUST had his cell phone--do you think theres a chance??" There had to be--and he dialed the old number in a frantic NEED to reach Zack, to SAVE him, oh fuck they had to save him. If Zack died in front of them, THIS close to being reached, it would do something to him, and he figured it would do even MORE to Reno, really.
"Please have the cell, please ANSWER the cell, Zack..."
"Come ON..." Zack was quickly running out of energy, the sunlight sapping it away with each step he took. "Just... one truck, car, ANYTHING." He sighed, aborting the attempt to run his hand through his hair, the sticky mass unmoving. He vaguely recalled feeling like something had been messed with on his head, but he knew no hair was missing, so he wasn't sure WHAT had been done.
He was unaware of the eyes watching him, though the low throb of the chopper blades nearing him made him nervous. Hazy violet eyes looked around, hoping to get a ride soon, VERY soon. "Come on... please, ANYONE...help me..."
"Target Acquired. Will be within sniper range shortly. Stand by for the Termination tenfour."