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Beginning Notes: Sorry about the delay but I was having problems writing this chapter and I got stuck on some parts. Not to mention my real life is giving me problems.I'm going to college soon! Wish me luck everyone! Oh... and I apologize for the weird ass dashes ( - ) you'll find littered throughout this chapter. Ffnet s being really weird and is screwing with my documents, cutting out styles and things that really should NOT be cut out. It won't even let me space out things with more than one space! What is up with that? Pfft... anyway, I'm using the dashes so I can keep the chapter looking clean and nice, instead of a scramble of text you guys wouldn't be able to read properly... I USED to have this all done up nice and pretty for you all, but now I have to use half-assed stylization... err... Ahem!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or the characters, yadda yadda yadda… I'm not making money off them or this fanfiction, blah blah blah. You all know the drill.

Chapter Warning: Swearing, Violence.

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Legend

---------------------- ..-Changing times / locations

---- ---- ---..-Flashback

'Comment in Italics' ..-Thoughts / inner musings

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---Complicated Souls---

---Written by Isrea Ishiida---

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---Chapter Seven---

---Trials and Tribulations---

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I once read a book that was written in the Eleventh Century. In it, a man spoke about the five steps toward making amends.

The first step involved acknowledging what you did.

The second involved remorse.

The third involved making right with your neighbor, like if you stole his chocobo you'd have to go and catch him another.

Only then were you able to go to step four, which was making it right with the Gods.

But it wasn't until step five that you could truly be redeemed. It had to do with being in the same place, in the same situation, and as it goes… you go and do something different…

Only I can't bring her back like she's some stolen chocobo… certainly made sure of that two years ago.

And I don't believe in some God that's going to open his arms to me, even if I did - so there goes steps three and four. As for step five…

Time makes sure we're never in the same place twice, no matter how much we wish it.

Which is why, for me, I know I will never be redeemed…

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Lunch was short and simple, but for some reason filling and delicious. During the meal everyone had continually hammered Zack and Cloud with questions, and only after Cloud had, rather politely, told them all to shut up had things began to calm a bit. Maybe it was Zack's doing, but everyone seemed to be in a good mood despite the things looming on their minds. What was going on with the reactor, and in Cloud's case, who was Isrea? None of it made any sense, but Cloud figured that he'd get answers soon enough. Things always seemed to fall together that way.

The heat was starting to die down and everyone had finally found it cool enough to put on their heavier clothing. Cloud even thought he'd seen Vincent readjusting his cloak, though Vincent had made no comment about the heat the entire time. The man's inhuman resistance to temperature still amazed Cloud – someday he'd have to ask about it.

They parted ways after lunch, splitting up to go about the many different things they needed to do while in Midgar. Cloud had picked up a bracer for Zack and some materia for the trip into sector two; Reeve was more than willing to accommodate the SOLDIER with some of Cait Sith's higher powered stuff, seeing as the robotic doll was no longer functioning. After that Cloud and Zack headed off to go meet Reno, having decided to meet in the front lobby. Before that, however, the duo made a short trip to the underground parking lot. There they picked up something Cloud had left in the car and, though he hoped he didn't need it, thought was necessary.

"Whoa, Cloud! That is the most kick ass sword I have ever seen!" Zack exclaimed as the blond pulled the Ultima weapon from the insides of his trunk, the purple hue of the massive blade casting a faint glow over the two of them as it reacted to Cloud's touch. Luckily Cloud had redesigned his car's trunk so that he could lift up the bottom out and get at a hollowed out space beneath. There he could store any number of his weapons, enlarging the back end to accommodate the longer swords. They were all unsheathed for emergency reasons, but each had a sheath lying next to it. "And trust me pal, I've seen a lot of swords." Not the least of which surprised Zack was Cloud's amazing strength to hold the weapon so lightly. Then again, with everything Cloud had gone through, it really wasn't a surprise now that he thought about it…

Cloud chuckled and next pulled a large sheath out. He slipped the Ultima weapon into its sheath and strapped the contraption onto his back, much like Zack had once done to the Buster Sword. Then a thought occurred to him, and he leaned down to take something else from his trunk. "Zack… I've got something here for you. Call it… returning something I borrowed." He said, stepping back with the handle of yet another sword in his hands. The large steel blade shone brightly against the ceiling lights, the freshly polished surface and sharp edge clear cut and defined. The dark haired SOLDIER's eyes widened in surprise.

"My…" Zack said, trailing off as he took the Buster Sword into his hands and looked into the blade's polished surface almost lovingly. "You've had it all this time?"

"Yea." Cloud replied, taking out the Buster Sword's sheath and closing the trunk after himself, satisfied when the soft click echoed through the parking lot. "I even polished it for you." He tossed the sheath to Zack, who nimbly caught it, and turned toward the exit. "Come on. The Turk'll be waiting for us by now."

Slipping the sword into its sheath tenderly and placing it across his back to match Cloud, Zack nodded and jogged up to where the blond warrior was walking away from him. Zack did note that Cloud wore his sword the exact same way Zack did, which was new, but he chalked it up to experiences of the past – and habit. They ascended the stairs one after the other and exited onto the first floor where they did, indeed, find Reno waiting for them. He was conversing with one of the more lovely secretaries, and both Cloud and Zack rolled their eyes as they walked up to the pair. At least he had his weapons on him.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" Zack asked half heartedly, throwing in an exaggerated hand gesture just for fun. Reno turned to regard them and grinned extremely rakishly, flicking some of his red hair from his eyes. The secretary blushed.

"Turks are always on duty. We just get more leniency then you SOLDIER boys do." He replied, not willing to tell them that he was only asking for the time and risk ruining his spotless reputation he'd worked so hard to get. He was proud of it, after all. And yea, maybe he'd done a little bit of flirting with her… Just a little!

"Yea, right. Lets go Red, before you start flirting with the whole staff." Zack replied, waving his friends toward the exit. Reno shrugged as the secretary walked away and followed the two of them out.

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It took the three of them only minutes riding the train to get to sector three, where they stopped off and traveled the rest of the way by foot. They came to a stop just outside sector two where a large barrier had been built by the ShinRa military, using the surrounding debris to block the entrances and exits. The area was totaled, buildings crumbled and homes destroyed. What was once smooth metal and cement was now nothing more than chipped and broken wreckage. A large encampment was just starting to get settled in at the base of the barrier and tents could be seen being set up, while carts and vehicles carrying supplies moved to and fro. Soldiers and guards marched around toting weapons and others were helping with the construction of the mini base. Around them people shouted to one another, confirming shipments or shouting orders. It seemed they were doing a hurried job of setting up, and it was clear they'd only been there for no more than twenty minutes or so. It was surprising how fast the ShinRa military could mobilize.

Cloud immediately sought out the commander in charge, stopping a red clad guard who obliged them immediately. The three of them were lead to a large tent in the middle of the encampment where two soldiers stood guard outside. Cloud found it strange that the military was stationed around the sector, and he wasn't the only one to think so; had Reeve neglected to tell them something? The Red Guard slipped inside the tent after leading them there, and soon returned and left them outside without a word to the wise.

"Ah, Cloud Strife, Reno Sinclair. Come in, come in." came a voice as the tent flaps were pushed aside for them by one of the soldiers waiting there, and the three of them entered slowly. A broad shouldered man was sitting rather lazily in a fold chair, his uniform neat, crisp and clean. Cloud could tell by the different stripes and colors that he was a captain, and he stood the moment all three entered the tent. The man had a surprisingly rigid physique for the thirty years the man had on him, with orange, military cut hair and hard lined facial features. It was obvious he'd once fought in a war of some kind – probably the Wutai war.

"So, its true then…" the captain said, turning his brown eyed gaze to Zack. His voice was gruff, but welcoming, and Zack smiled. The captain smiled in return, his eyes lighting up merrily. "President Reeve told me you'd come back from the dead, but I didn't really believe him. Its good to see you up and around, Sir."

"Good to be back, Gartain." Zack replied, folding his arms over his chest. Cloud frowned a bit - the name was… so familiar.

"Its good to see you again too, Cloud. And Reno, of course." Gartain continued, smiling at the blond and then at the red head. So, they were all friends here. Kind of a weird feeling, actually, seeing as Cloud could not remember whom the man was. Cloud and Reno nodded back respectively. Luckily, Reno saw fit to speak next, saving Cloud any kind of embarrassment.

"Why is this encampment here, Maxx?" Reno's eyes roamed over the insides of the tent while he used the captain's first name. It was furnished rather hurriedly, a cot on one side of the room next to a chair and a small desk, blankets piled at the end of said cot. A table occupied the center of the room, large and round but clearly a fold up. Chairs littered the ground, which was layered with canvas, but the tent walls were bare. The large single room was almost empty, which gave the feeling of a lot of space. Maxx sighed and took a seat back in his chair, offering seats to his guests when he did so. They refused politely and remained standing.

"The President had us set up an encampment here, just in case. He suspects something is up… I am starting to agree with him, personally."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, rolling his shoulders back so that the Ultima weapon sat more comfortably on his back, crossing his arms over his chest. Why would Reeve set up a military encampment and not tell them?

"There have been some suspicious sightings around this sector. Citizens have been reporting mysterious figures, moving shadows and strange noises at all hours of the day. My men have even witnessed some of these strange sightings, hearing noises and such, and we've only been here twenty minutes… Something pretty eerie is going on in there." The captain replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. This motion revealed to Cloud that Maxx had a tattoo on the back of his right hand. It was of an uncommon tribal design; words written around the form of a twisted snake while symbols were etched into the snake's scales. This sight struck a memory, something buried in the back of his mind…

He remembered shaking hands with Maxx Gartain for the first time, while Zack and Sephiroth stood off to the left of them. Maxx had a smile on his face, and Cloud was a bit flustered at meeting a Captain of this man's reputation. He noted the tattoo on the man's hand and had asked about it. Maxx only seemed amused.

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"Oh this?" he'd said, showing off the tattoo. "Just a little thing I picked up a while back… Actually…" and here he turned to a guilty looking Zack. "Our good Lieutenant General convinced me to do it, back when we'd just started in SOLDIER. You should see HIS tattoo."

Zack chuckled almost nervously. "I was young, things happen…"

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Captain Gartain! Maxx Gartain! Now Cloud remembered... This man had been a captain in the war with Wutai and had been one of Zack's many friends. He'd met Gartain a long time ago, back when he'd been a trooper. He remembered many a sparring match that they had had, Cloud usually walking away with more than a few bruises. It was not surprising that Maxx was still a captain in the military; he had the mind of a brilliant tactician, the pride of a soldier and a love for the battlefield.

"Monsters?" Zack said suddenly, snapping Cloud back to reality. "Could anything survive an explosion of this magnitude?" Maxx shrugged, unable to supply an answer.

Cloud made a thoughtful noise and frowned. "Well, if there are monsters in there, they'll be pretty powerful. With that much mako floating around in the air I wouldn't be surprised if they gave even us some trouble." He muttered.

"Reeve probably forgot to tell us about the encampment before we left." Reno said suddenly, adjusting the pair of sunglasses resting in the mess of his hair. "He's been busy with all these recent problems, its no real surprise; Reeve can be forgetful about small things when he's working hard."

Maxx nodded, standing from his seat. "Well, I'd better give the order to let you guys through. The President told me that you were coming… I think your all a bunch of crazy buggers going in there before the mako level drops, myself, but I suppose I'm not one to judge."

Reno shrugged absently and turned to leave, waving over his shoulder as though brushing the statement off. "Ah, don't worry about us, we can handle it." Cloud and Zack exchanged a half-hearted sigh before turning to follow the Turk outside, Zack smirking absently.

"I hope you find whatever it is your looking for in there." Maxx said, watching as they exited his tent and following after them. He turned to one of the soldiers stationed outside his tent and gave the man a curt order to tell the gates to allow Zackary Donovan, Cloud Strife, and Reno Sinclair passage. The soldier ran off immediately and Maxx turned back to the three of them. He offered them quick handshakes and when those were finished with he wished them well on their way.

A couple of minutes later the heavy gates that had been erected at the barrier were crashing open and the SOLDIER, the Turk, and the Ex-Mercenary found themselves walking into sector two. They air was starting to get heavier, and the damage done was really getting bad the more they traveled. Cement and metal scrap was littered everywhere, and even now fires raged in places that still had enough burnable material to sustain them. There was nothing left of most buildings but the frames and broken walls, and every so often a piece would fall absently from the side of some random place and create a clatter. Smoke flowed freely in the streets, but for some reason it was eerily quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the solemn crackle of the flames and the trio's own footsteps. They traveled for a bit, picking their way among the wreckage, until they got a little more inward of the sector. It was taking them longer then it should have to move forward because of the debris, but they managed.

"Are you sure you'll be alright going in farther, Turk?" Cloud asked then, stopping and turning to regard the red head that was lagging back a bit. Cloud had no idea why Reno thought he'd be able to handle the mako, or why Zack believed him, but already he was lagging and it wasn't a good sign. "The last thing I want to do is carry your sorry, mako poisoned ass back to the encampment."

Reno growled and picked up his pace, catching up to the two of them without effort. "I'll be fine chocobo boy. Just keep walking."

Cloud rolled his eyes and turned away, muttering something under his breath Zack thought sounded suspiciously like 'stupid fuck', as he continued walking. In Cloud's defense, he supposed it could have been 'stupid Turk', not that it mattered much… Zack sighed at the two of them, and then chuckled to himself. This trip was certainly going to be… interesting, to say the least.

The more they traveled the heavier the atmosphere got, and only a few minutes in they could feel the mako radiation in the air. It caused a tingly sensation throughout their bodies, like their limbs had fallen asleep, and an itch crawled its way up their spines. It was also a heck of a lot hotter in this sector than the rest of the city, and they started to sweat profusely. The air became so heated that every breath burned their throats, but after a few moments they got used to it. Luckily for Cloud and Zack the mako and Jenova cells in their own bodies allowed them to continue without too much discomfort, and soon they adapted to the point that they hardly felt the effects. Meanwhile Reno said not a word to the wise as to how he was feeling, neither good nor bad to the situation. In fact, he seemed oddly quiet as they trekked on.

So, pushing aside their discomforts, the three pressed onward.

It was only thirty minutes later that Reno started lagging behind again, panting slightly. Zack looked back over his shoulder when he finally noticed, watching his friend worriedly. The Turk was trying hard to act as though nothing was wrong, but Zack could clearly see that he was starting strain himself to keep at Zack's and Cloud's pace. The mako was so bad here that it was even giving Cloud and himself trouble, and though he didn't show it, Zack felt pretty damn horrible. Cloud had, rather quietly, pointed out several minutes earlier that he was starting to feel ill and had asked about Zack's condition. He hadn't lied, he felt like shit - it's what mako did to you. The huge sword strapped to his back didn't help much either. Frowning he knew that neither of his companions would admit to being tired, let alone in the company of each other, so he decided to do it for them.

"Lets take a rest here…" Zack said, and his tone left no room for debate. Walking slowly over to a rather large chunk of horizontal cement that had fallen from a building, he took a seat on it and sighed, glad that he could rest a bit. Cloud and Reno didn't bother to say anything to each other, opting to move over and silently take seats themselves; Cloud choosing a spot next to Zack's left while Reno sat down against the side of a building to their immediate right.

They were in some kind of park, but the grass was burnt away and the trees were no more than stubs of charred black wood. What had once been nice paved walkways were now gray, dark spotted chucks of stone against dirt. The playground equipment was now only scattered bits of plastic and metal, and he swore he saw bits of a swing set caught in the fallen branches of one of the only surviving trees. Crumbling buildings surrounded them on all sides, looming black and malevolently over the entire area. The sky was even dark and gray, mirroring the ground below; clouds had moved in to block the sun. This far in they even spotted the silhouettes of people who'd been outside at the time of the explosion, having been incinerated by the blast. Their 'shadows' had been burnt into the ground and walls, something similar to what happened to people caught in an atomic blast. Despite the intense heat Cloud felt a chill run down his spine. "Cheery place."

"Yea… if you like misery ridden cesspools…" the Turk said, panting and looking up at the blond, managing to taunt Cloud even when he was exhausted. Cloud glared back and Zack rolled his eyes. Neither of the two caught it.

"Reminds me of a certain Turk's office." He muttered back, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning.

"I told Rude to clean it up, but no one listens to dear old Reno." The red head retorted, throwing his hands up in the air theatrically.

"How is your father anyway?"

That statement had been rather lame of Cloud, probably the heat and all, but Reno decided to answer anyway. He was just unable to help himself. "I dunno, why don't you ask Tifa?"

"Son of a--"

Reno held up his hand to silence the blond, tired of their little game of insults. He was feeling rather drained of energy all of a sudden and didn't know why. "Listen Cloud, shut up a minute. I'm trying to think over here."

"Don't hurt yourself." the blond replied, getting the last comment of their little argument in. In his current state, Reno didn't have a proper reply for that, so instead he simply growled at the blond from his place on the sidewalk. Just what had he found so enticing about Strife again? Could someone remind him?

"Hey!" Zack said suddenly, jumping up from his seat and reaching for his Buster Sword. "Did either of you hear that?"

Cloud and Reno blinked and looked around, their eyes roaming over the area. Reno slowly rose from his seat and reached down for his nightstick, which rested at his waist, his hand gripping the handle. Cloud stood and reached for the hilt of his Ultima weapon, fingers ever so slowly curling around the steel. The three of them strained their ears to hear anything they could, but there was nothing in the air, not even the gentle hiss of the wind. It was dead silent…

Then a soft scratching noise was heard, faint but there, as though something scurried over the rubble. The trio looked around wildly, trying to pinpoint from where the noise had come, but it sounded to be from multiple directions.

The three of them backed up and away from the wall they'd been sitting at, drawing their respective weapons, their eyes darting back and forth. Once far enough away that they could see all around them the trio stood with their backs to each other, forming a tight circle, waiting for whatever it was to show itself. The noise got louder and louder, until each of the warriors wore dangerous looks, expecting something dark and horrid to come after them.

And then, like the pest it was, a giant cockroach crawled its way over the top of the wall the three of them had just vacated. It was huge; easily the size of a small truck, and it eyed the group like a hungry animal. Reno raised an eyebrow, Cloud blinked, and Zack tried not to laugh. So all the noises, moving shadows and sightings coming from the sector were just… giant cockroaches?

"Looks like that guy was right." Reno said, smirking. "If it came down to it the only things to survive a nuclear disaster will be the cockroaches…"

"No kidding." Cloud mumbled. "So what do we do about them?"

The rumbling started up again, the sounds echoing throughout the park. The three exchanged long stares and started looking around. They watched as hundreds of giant cockroaches started crawling over the wreckage, coming out of buildings and piles of rubble. They poured out of every nook and cranny, stirring up dust as they went. Within a moment these massive creatures surrounded them and any humor toward the situation dissipated immediately.

"Fuck." Reno muttered, still looking much the worse for wear. However, without missing a beat he drew his nightstick and hit the button to charged the electricity up, his eyes never wavering from the enemy as the black stick burst into a flurry of sparks. "Now if only we had a giant boot…"

"I guess we'll have to improvise." Zack muttered as the cockroaches charged them; their black eyes alight with hunger. What had they been eating for the last six hours? Zack didn't want to think about it.

And so the battle began. Cloud and Zack cut down the roaches with wide swipes of their swords, splashing blood across anything and everything. Limbs of the bugs went flying, heads severed and flesh diced by the giant blades. Reno went about taking the creatures down one by one, striking at the cuticle points he knew would kill them. It seemed these enlarged bugs really did not like electricity and he used that to his advantage, never passing up an opportunity to get in a lucky shock.

Thanks to the mako energy the roaches bled glowing green liquid, and soon the three of them were so caked in their enemies blood that they themselves looked like they were glowing as brightly as the Lifestream. But for every roach they took down, three more took its place, and the battle continued for longer than it should have taken. These monsters weren't much of a challenge, but even the easiest of opponents could wear you down after seventy or so came at you…

"We... huff… can't keep this up much longer!" Zack shouted over the screams of the roaches as they died, taking a moment to wipe the slime from his face before swinging the Buster Sword again, severing the front legs off of one of the larger bugs as it came at him. Wasting no time he jabbed the large steel sword through the top of the bug's head when it fell, splashing yet more slime across his legs. Zack then ducked and rolled to the left to avoid the swing of another roach's leg, jumping at the creature in attack and slaughtering it mercilessly.

Behind him Cloud was dealing with his own roaches, smashing his blade broadside into one while turning and slashing clean through the head of another. With the dexterity he was known for he jumped back slashed at yet another roach, then twirled around and cut through another of the bugs, glowing green liquid flying in every direction. Death swirled around the duo, their enemies falling sluggishly to the ground, usually dead before they even hit. When Cloud got a moment he turned to try and locate the last of their party, calling out to the man when he didn't see him. "Reno!"

A moment passed and they got no answer, so Cloud called again. Yet another moment passed and Cloud thought the worst had happened when they got no answer. But then, faintly, they heard a return "What!?" sounding above the noise. Zack and Cloud turned to try and locate the noise, and it turned out that Reno had managed his way all the way across the park. They could see him, just barely, standing atop one of the many bugs. He fried the unlucky beast with his nightstick, which Cloud figured was on the highest voltage, and then flipped through the air from the top of the dead carcass to another living roach and shocked the life out of that one. It fell moments later, dead, and Reno ran along the top of the thing and sprang yet again from the dead bug's carcass to another living one. This kept Reno mostly out of harms way of being double-teamed – a smart idea on Reno's part. While Cloud and Zack took them out from the ground, Reno was taking them out from above. Cloud hadn't known Reno was that agile…

Turning Cloud cut down the nearest roach with another swift movement. "We can't last much longer!" he shouted to the red head at the top of his lungs, Zack joining him to fight at his side. The two began to hack and slash their way, back to back, toward where Reno was performing acts of acrobatic combat. "We need a plan of some kind to get out of here! Are there any exits you can see from up there!?"

"I'm working on it!!… Zack! My signal!!" came the return shout and Cloud blinked curiously at Zack, who simply nodded to himself and then continued fighting.

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Meanwhile, Reno had been slowly making his way toward the west side of the park. He remembered the upper plate of sector two well - he'd once lived in the neighborhood. So, when he'd flipped, shocked, and slaughtered his way over to the west wall of rubble he was glad to find that the power box there was still in tact. The green colored box was labeled with yellow warning and caution prints, and Reno flipped down from the top of another dead cockroach to land beside the thing. Panting heavily he pulled his sleek black handgun from beneath his jacket and clicked off the safety, firing one well-placed shot at the lock that kept people from the wires inside. The lock came apart immediately.

A noise caught his attention then and, turning, Reno fired off another shot at a cockroach that had noticed him. The bullet found its mark in the center of the creature's forehead, or whatever kind of forehead a cockroach had, but it did not down the bug. So he let off an entire round into the bug's eyes, not even waiting to see if the thing died before he turned back and opened the power box.

Reaching into his jacket pocket Reno fidgeted around for a specific materia, pulling out a Barrier materia and slipping it into his bangle. He concentrated on the gently glowing magic materia, easily calling up the will to cast a spell, then shouted "REFLECT." The spell immediately launched into the form of a dome around him and Reno reached roughly into the power box…

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Across the battlefield Zack and Cloud looked up when they felt a spell being cast, watching as a bright flash came from the area Reno was fighting in. Both men recognized it as the Reflect spell, and Zack took that as the signal Reno had been talking about. Throwing out his arm with the bracer on it he quickly switched two linked materia, then shouted "REFLECT ALL." The same flash erupted around them and a dome circled Cloud and himself, the spell wrapping around them. Then… they waited.

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Meanwhile, Reno had been waiting until he'd seen the flash of the Reflect spell, but with that clear he yanked hard on one of the thicker cables and ripped it from its connectors. The sparking end of the wire flashed and burst into a frenzy of electricity, which circled and crackled harshly. Seeing this Reno wasted no time in pulling the wire as far as it would go. Then he dunked it, rather unceremoniously, into a pool of the cockroach's glowing green blood and then jumped back as fast as he could.

The spectacle that followed was both brutal and somehow, very, very satisfying. The electricity immediately lashed out through the pool of cockroach blood, which was trailing off to another pool of blood, which trailed off to yet another pool of blood. From there the electricity traveled down the different thin trails of glowing liquid that lead all across the battlefield; and with the hundreds of cockroaches in the area nearly half of them were shocked to death in the process.

Just to top it all off, the highly concentrated mako in the cockroach blood reacted very violently to the electricity. The end result was an explosion of energy so powerful that it engulfed not only the destroyed park but several of the surrounding blocks as well. Bugs exploded everywhere in bubbling, electrified bits of charred flesh. The Reflect spell that the three had cast had been barely enough to bounce the explosion back into the crowd of insects, protecting the three of them from both the harmful electricity and the final explosion.

The smoke cleared agonizingly slowly, revealing a foreign landscape. The ruined area was even worse off now than it had been; even the dirt was charred black. What was left of the stumps of trees were on fire and benches had caught alight as well. Most of the rubble had been blown back several meters and what had once been at least somewhat buildings were now only smoking craters. When it was clear that nothing besides themselves had survived, Cloud, Zack and Reno all fell to their knees, exhausted, and thanked the Gods that their spells had held up.

The three of them let out relieved sighs and Zack flopped down onto his back, the Buster Sword clunking against a random piece of cement. "What a day." He muttered, smiling despite himself. "I don't know if I'll be able to get back up. This spot is starting to feel very comfy, despite the jagged piece of metal sticking into my side." The dark haired SOLDIER said, grimacing.

"God I hope this is the only problem we run into today." Cloud said, setting his Ultima weapon down beside him and wiping his forehead and face free of green slime.

Panting heavily Reno stood up from across the way and walked slowly over to the other two men, swaying slightly from side to side as he went. But, nonetheless, he had a cocky smirk on his face and his sea green eyes were alight with mischief. "Well boys, how about… that… for a plan?" he said, and it was clear in his voice that he was completely exhausted. Cloud and Zack weren't fairing much better.

Zack chuckled to himself and Cloud couldn't help but admit that Reno's quick thinking had saved their asses. So, grudgingly, he said "Smart thinking…"

Reno flopped down beside Zack, grinning like a fool, and then he too lay on his back. Hearing Cloud Strife give him a compliment made him all warm inside, like he'd accomplished some goal he hadn't known he had. He already knew why, but he was much to tired to tell his own psyche to screw off, so he just decided to bask in the warm glow that spread through him. Cloud and Zack were too tired to notice, or care, that Reno was smiling to himself anyway. Besides, they'd probably think he was just happy about his job well done…

A few minutes passed in silence. The trio caught their breath and rested during their short break, but before long Zack decided that it was time to make battle plans. So, sitting up, he turned to look at both Cloud and Reno.

"So…" he said. "What now? Should we continue, or go back?"

Reno stretched his arms out from his place on the ground, heedless of the dirt, and shrugged as he sat up. "I'm continuing." He stated, reaching over to take hold of his nightstick and clipping it back to his belt. "We're only nine streets from the remains of the reactor, if there are any. The edge of the plate is coming up."

"What makes you think you can go any farther?" Cloud asked the red head, raising an eyebrow. "You're worse off than either Zack or I… I can tell you're ready to drop."

Reno frowned and made an interesting face, an expression half saying 'mind your own business' and half saying 'fuck you for noticing'. "I'll be fine" He muttered, standing to prove his point.

Zack, acting as the peaceful point of the group, stood up as well and put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. He bent down and whispered into the blond's ear when Reno turned and starting walking away from them, saying "Lay off a bit, Cloud. We're just as tired as he is…"

"It just doesn't make sense Zack. Why could Reno come in here at all? He should have collapsed five feet passed the barrier..." The savior of the world said, throwing his hand out back the way they'd come. Standing, he picked up his Ultima weapon and sheathed it. Zack followed suit, picking up his own weapon and sheathing it. "I mean, seriously… Reno is just a normal human being, right? It just doesn't make any sense…"

Zack bit his bottom lip and looked away, sighing before he turned back to regard his blond friend. "I think that if he'd wanted us to know then he'd of told us by now." The dark haired man said and shrugged, turning to follow in the direction Reno had disappeared in. "For now, I think its enough that he's in here helping us out… Besides, fighting amongst ourselves right now wouldn't do us any good."

Cloud thought for a moment, then grudgingly decided Zack was right. "I suppose you're right Zack - as usual."

----------------------

The two of them started a light jog to catch up to the Turk, who had managed his way two blocks over from them in the short time they'd been talking. They spotted him picking his way among the rubble and debris, pushing forward without looking back; currently he was rapidly climbing up a rather large pile of brick. He looked down at them from the top of the pile when they caught up, eyeing Cloud up and down slowly, then he smirked and called down to them. "So, you decided to come after all?"

Zack shook his head and smiled, yelling up "Of course! I couldn't just leave you on your own, could I? What would I tell Rude when we came back? And poor Elena would just be so distraught!"

Reno chuckled. "Well come on then, we haven't got all day." and then he turned around. For a moment Reno said and did nothing, his back to them, simply staring out over whatever there was on the other side of the bricks. It seemed pretty interesting, for Reno didn't move for another couple of seconds. Cloud raised an eyebrow at the Turk's unmoving form, unable to see the expression on the man's face, and then Reno disappeared down the other side of the rubble and out of sight.

"Well…" Zack said, turning to look at Cloud. "We'd better hurry up or he'll leave us behind."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" the blond joked, starting his climb over the rubble blocking the road. It was harder than it looked to get up the side, and Cloud was impressed a second time at Reno's athletic skills. Things he thought were sturdy slipped and moved under his weight, and things that looked hazardous to step on were usually even worse. The way the Turk had just scurried up the pile was impressive, more so now that Cloud could feel the surge of mako in the air. He was panting by the time he'd made it half way up, and Zack wasn't fairing much better. The reactor must be just ahead.

When the two of them finally crested the top of the hill of bricks the sight that greeted them was not a pretty one. The buildings, the street… it all just kind of stopped. The rest of the sector was barren, nothing but one huge crater dug into the steel of the upper plate. Any trace of life in the area had long since been wiped out, and what should have been the reactor didn't exist any more. Beyond the edge of the plate the field was nothing but a large patch of dirt, looking oddly out of place surrounded by fertile grassland.

Sliding down the side of the pile of rubble Cloud and Zack came to a stop beside Reno, who was waiting at the edge of the crater. The three of them looked out over the vast metal wasteland, their eyes searching for any kind of sign that there might be something out there, and for long minutes they said nothing. Then, finally, Cloud frowned and blinked. He narrowed his eyes and pointed out toward the center of the crater. "There's something out there."

Shifting his sea green gaze to where Cloud was pointing, Reno held a hand over his eyes to shade them and squinted. It was hard to see but there was, indeed, a black spot among the land of gray nothingness. And from the way it was laying it seemed… human? "Someone survived?" the Turk muttered, disbelieving what he was seeing.

"No way." Zack commented, squinting and looking to where the other two were looking. "We must be too far back to make it out properly… That can't be a person…"

"So lets go investigate. Its what we're here to do, after all." Reno muttered, jumping off the edge of the street and into the crater. He slid down the side of the rounded hole until it wasn't so steep that he could walk, and turned to wait for Cloud and Zack. They exchanged looks and followed without question.

The walk was tiring and the closer they made it to the center of the crater, the hotter it got. The mako radiation in the air was so thick Cloud figured he could cut it with a knife and would probably end up with a slice of mako. They pressed on, however, the thought that there might be someone alive out there, however unlikely it was, spurred at least Cloud and Zack onward. Reno just trudged along in front of them, saying nothing. Behind him walked Cloud, and behind Cloud walked Zack, one after the other.

When they got close enough to the 'person' it was Reno who first drew his weapon in shock and jumped back, the nightstick lighting up with electricity so suddenly that Zack and Cloud both involuntarily drew their swords. After a moment had passed and Cloud realized that they weren't being attacked, he muttered "What the hell?…" and raised an eyebrow. Stepping forward he looked around Reno and saw something that caused him to frown and take a few steps back as well, the tip of the Ultima weapon lifting into a battle ready position.

"What?" Zack queried, the last in their little line. Stepping forward, Buster Sword at the ready, he looked over Cloud's shoulder to see what the fuss was about. He had to blink, rub at his eyes with his free hand, and then blink again to realize it wasn't the heat playing with his mind. "SEPH ?!"

Directly in the center of the crater, on his back, lay Sephiroth. Unconscious in a shallow pool of liquid mako, his long platinum hair fanned out around his half naked body, floating along the surface of the liquid. Sephiroth was wearing nothing but a tattered pair of black pants and a pair of boots, but even without his leathers he looked as ominous as ever. His expression was calm and almost peaceful in his unconscious state, but that was of little importance to the three of them. In fact, Cloud's and Reno's eyes shifted a few feet from him to where the Masamune lay gloomily, just out of the man's reach.

They turned their attention back to Sephiroth when the mako flashed softly. In a somewhat awe like state, they watched as the mako lapped gently against the demigod's skin, the glow dying and the liquid evaporating into Lifestream ever so slowly. When the mako was gone, dispersing into either Lifestream or radiation, Reno and Cloud shared worried looks. It was Reno who finally spoke up.

"We should kill 'em" He muttered.

"What?!" Zack yelped, jumping in front of the two of them suddenly. He looked at the red haired Turk, whose face was nothing but a mask of indifference, and frowned. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?" Reno asked, his face dark, which lead Zack to believe Reno wasn't joking. "It'll save us all a lot of fucking trouble."

Reno had fallen into a 'strictly business' attitude, Zack knew - he'd seen Sephiroth and Cloud do the same thing when in a situation they considered dangerous. Speaking of which, Zack turned his gaze to Cloud. The blond was frowning darkly and staring at Sephiroth's prone form like he was actually considering the option of killing the man. After everything Cloud had been through sure he could understand Cloud being nervous, but come on! Sephiroth was their friend! "Cloud, you aren't going to let Reno kill Seph, are you?" Zack asked, sheathing his sword and crossing his arms over his chest.

Cloud shifted his glowing cerulean gaze to Zack, frowning. "But Zack… " was all he said, trailing off and leaving the sentence unfinished.

"Cloud?…" Zack pleaded, taking a step toward the blond and uncrossing his arms. "He's your friend…"

Reno snorted in amusement, reaching into his jacket and pulling out his handgun. He slipped the empty clip out and fed another into the gun, throwing the used one behind him. "Nice friend you have there, Zack." He muttered, shifting his sea green eyes to the gun and then back up to Zack. "Look, the crazy bastard has to die while we have the chance. The last thing anyone wants is another Meteor Incident on our hands. He nearly wiped out the world last time. This time we may not be so lucky…."

Zack shook his head and glared back at the red head, frowning just as darkly as the Turk was. "You don't know what state of mind he's in. For all you know he could be back to normal! With Jenova dead Sephiroth won't have anyone manipulating him! He'll be the old Seph again…" the dark haired man said, shifting his worried eyes to Cloud. "Right Cloud?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and looked between Zack and the unconscious form of Sephiroth, trying to sort out his mixed feelings on the whole thing. Kill Sephiroth, thus possibly preventing a worldwide disaster of unimaginable magnitude… or… spare the man and hope he's back to normal? Every logical part of him screamed out to kill him, agreeing with Reno one hundred percent; but there was still that little voice that shouted 'no!' at him relentlessly. In the end he shook his head to clear it and sighed.

"Screw this, I don't care what anyone says, the bastard dies… Consider it payback for killing Tseng…" Reno said in a soft voice, stepping forward. He only got a few steps when he found his way blocked by the form of his dark haired friend. Reno stepped up to the SOLDIER, face-to-face, and frowned. Zack was, without a doubt, no force to be reckoned with. However, neither was Reno to be taken lightly. "Move." He demanded.

"I'm not going to let you kill Sephiroth." The SOLDIER replied, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Be reasonable Zack--"

"--I am being reasonable, Reno! I'm not going to let you kill my friend!" Zack interrupted, and he again crossed his arms over his chest. This time, however, it was in a much more threatening manner. "You'll have to get by me first..."

"Don't make me fight you Zack...But if that's what it'll take, I will beat you." the Turk growled threateningly.

"Then fight me, I'm not letting you through."

Suddenly something caught Reno's attention and he smirked, shifting his eyes past Zack's face to look at something behind the dark haired man. "Looks like I'll have to do no such thing after all..."

"What?!" Zack said, suddenly looking over his shoulder and spinning around. "Cloud!"

While the two of them had been arguing over what to do about the unconscious Sephiroth, Cloud had moved over to the man's side. There he had looked down into the face of his enemy, his friend, the man who had killed Aeris, and had debated over the proper course of action. To spare one life… or to take it? The decision lay in his hands like a heavy burden…

Cloud had decided, however, and had taken his Ultima weapon in both hands and lifted it high into the air. It was poised above Sephiroth, aimed for a swing that would sever the demigod's head from his shoulders. The purple blade shone ominously in the faint light, the glow brightening as the blond prepared for a single attack – one swift strike that would kill.

"Cloud, don't!" Zack said, but did not make a move in fear that it would make the blond swing his sword even faster. "He's our friend, don't do this!"

Cloud Strife, Ex-AVALANCHE leader and savior of the world sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side. When he spoke it was in a cold and chilling voice, his cerulean eyes dark. "I'm sorry Zack, but there is a possibility Sephiroth is still evil… The lives of millions of people outweigh the life of a single man, no matter how great he is… I just can't take that chance..." he paused then and looked down into the face of his enemy, his friend, once more...and possibly for the last time. "Sephiroth must die."

And then Cloud allowed his blade to fall - a swing that meant to kill.

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--- To Be Continued ---

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Author's Notes:

1. I really had a hard time writing this chapter simply because there was A LOT of stuff going on in it. People were everywhere and there were tones of emotions that I had to play with, not to mention the dialogue and banter of the characters. You know that little spat between Reno and Cloud before they get attacked by giant mutant cockroaches? Yea, it took me fifteen minutes to come up with it. I enjoyed writing it though; a lot of this chapter was fun to do. I only hope it all came out properly…

2. No responses today, sorry guys. It seems that Ffnet is taking down stories with responses in them, getting the authors into a bit of trouble. But, like always, thank you guys for all of your wonderful reviews! It means so much to me to know that the people reading this fic are sticking with me and my horrid writing skills. Blah! Thanks a million guys.

3. Again reviews, comments and criticism are always welcome. I like to hear about what my readers liked and disliked about the chapters so that I can continue to improve!.

Anyway, that's about it. Stay tuned for chapter eight!

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