Title: Drought

Disclaimer: Not mine...dont sue me. I have no money.

Chapter 7

(AN: Sorry it took so long, I was busy. And this fic MAY be put on hold for a while due to school starting back wit exams and stuff... I'm changing the original way Zack dies. Being thrown into a vat is just a lame way to die so…)

A coliseum in the underworld. Leon smiled at the sight. It was not nearly as interesting as the one above it that now lay in pieces, but it was most certainly an excellent idea. Oh sure it was dangerous, but then so was life in almost all the words inhabited by the heartless. But now, so close to the home of death, it was much easier for one to let out frustration and eradicate evil at the same time. Leon's smile turned into a smirk as he read the sign posted at the entrance area.

Defeat Cloud and win the Hades Cup.

He glanced over at the spiky haired man. Cloud was gazing unconcernedly around the darkened area. His usually impeccably perfect spikes were now twisted at odd angles. In fact, the blond strands at the back of his head were now falling about his neck in a relaxed manner, quite at contrast with his demeanor. It looked good, the mercenary thought, eyeing the sight casually. As the blonde's eyes lighted on his observer, Leon gestured to the signpost. Cloud approached him to read it. As his blue orbs traced the words, he too smirked at the implication.

"Well on the bright side, this may attract Sora." Leon suggested. The other man nodded.

"Yeah it may, but mostly because the keyblade master thinks I'm an evil arrogant…"

"…Son-of-a-bitch. Yes I know." Leon finished for him. It was true, Sora didn't exactly think highly of the beautiful man, but thankfully Cloud didn't give a damn what anyone else thought of him. He had better show up fast, Leon thought with a tightening in his stomach. Lionheart in anyone else's hands was a notion he was better left without.

"Hey Cloud." A female voice behind him interceded. "You're looking good today." Cloud turned with a sigh.

"So are you Tifa." Leon frowned at the warmth in his voice, but said nothing. "What are you doing here?" The blonde asked with a genuinely interested tone. Leon turned to see a blush spread across the pretty girl's cheeks.

"Why I came to see you of course!" She said, gesturing at the sign and sidling up to the ex-soldier. Cloud was expressionless.

"I don't have time to fight you now, besides I'm tired." He replied as she leaned on his shoulder. She pouted at the words.

"Oh come on! This is the Hades Cup you're talking about. What the hell have you been doing that would keep you away from a fight?" Cloud smirked and pulled her close, a gesture Leon had never seen or expected him to use.

"Blame Leon." He demurred in her ear. Tifa pulled away in surprise and stared at the mercenary. "You fought him but you wont fight me!" She retorted angrily. Cloud shrugged.

"He had a long, hard weapon that was too good to resist." Leon almost choked as he spoke the words. He turned away coughing, but he could still hear them speaking.

"And I suppose hitting him is better than having me come at you?"

"Well honestly, he comes a lot faster than you do Tifa."

"Hmph. I'm surprised your buster blade could handle the amount of stress you put on it."

Leon looked at them with an exasperated expression. His urge to cough had passed and he decided it was time he wiped the smirk off the blonde's face.

"It can't. From my limited experience, a few well placed attacks and it would easily be at breaking point."

Unfazed, Cloud ploughed ahead.

"Of course everything has its limit, but whether or not it breaks is my decision." Tifa shook her head with an annoyed look.

"Fine then, what you do with your sword is none of my business." She glanced at Leon before continuing, "Sora said he wants to talk to you and he'll be waiting in Twilight Town." Then turning back to Cloud with a groan, "I'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready to give up the Hades' Cup."

Cloud smiled at her retreating back. Tifa certainly had grown in recent times. For one she was no longer running after him like he was the promised land of manhood or something. Thinking back he realized she had been clinging to the only link she still had to a past that had long since been destroyed. And he, being the stoic ass he always was, never allowed her the pleasure of a unified front. He turned to walk away and was rewarded with a good look at Leon. The mercenary was wearing a suspicious expression that clashed horribly with his red shirt. But before he could say anything, a voice behind him interrupted.

"Didn't expect to see you here, Leon." Cloud's eyes narrowed. He knew that voice, and it wasn't one he was about to entertain. Leon looked cornered and suddenly uneasy.

"Braska. I'm just passing through. This is Cloud Strife." He answered in stride, gesturing for Cloud to look behind him. Instead, he stalked off toward his bike. Leon bit his lip. Braska looked amused.

"Hn. Well don't let him run away from you, I'll see you later." Leon frowned and hurried after Strife without replying.

"What was that about?" He asked with a small confused smile as he reached the irate looking blonde.

"Tifa, while I've never actually told her my personal preferences, is not an idiot." He replied. "She knew how close I was to…" The blonde trailed off as he turned away. Leon's expression became stony at the words but said nothing. So he was going to pretend nothing happened, alright. Try as he could, there was no ignoring the surge of jealousy that reared in his gut. She knew how close I was to Zack. That was the name already formed on his lips and looking at slight droop in Cloud's shoulders, he could guess which man really held his heart.

"Come on lets go." Leon growled at the blonde and stalked off.

Cloud crawled over to Zack's motionless body. The deep gash in the Soldier's stomach was bleeding heavily and leaking into a spreading pool around him. Anxiety and fear washed over Cloud exposing his mind to panic. Please be alright, he chanted in his head as he ran a cursory glance over the man's wounds.

"Cloud…" The fearful blonde ripped open the constricting clothes and attempted to seal the ugly slash.

"It's alright Zack, you'll be fine. It isn't that bad." He replied hurriedly without looking at his lover's face. The resignation in his voice alone was enough to tighten the knot of fear in his stomach. Behind him, Sephiroth was laughing.

"Look at me Cloud, please." Zack whispered as he tried to move his hand up to Cloud's shoulder. It was the entreaty in his words that pulled his eyes up to Zack's face. He was smiling, but his eyes were fierce with an anger that spoke volumes. The effect was staggering.

"It's over for me Cloud. This is your story now." Cloud shook his head. This was not happening. Zack couldn't leave, he was stronger than this.

"No Zack, you're not going to die." His hands worked furiously, why didn't he bring his material? "I cannot, will not do this without you."

"Cloud, you've been my benefactor long enough and the best friend I ever had. Everything I had, is yours."

Anger burned within him as Cloud heard the words. How dare he talk like this? Stupid, idiot Soldier, thinking he can just die.

"I'm sorry…you have…always been…"

Cloud groaned at the despairing tone. I can't deal with this, he thought angrily. "Damnit Zack stop it. I need you!"

"…the one I love…"

Tears flowed from his blue eyes as the man on the floor breathed his last. "No, stop it. I won't let you go! You can't leave me like this!" Cloud pounded his fist into the blood soaked concrete of the floor. The energy drained out of his limbs and he let his face fall onto Zack's chest. The smell of blood and Mako only served to deepen the feeling of loss. There would be no more nights of abandon. Nothing to return home to. Desperately he reached for something stable. It was all gone, and it was his fault.

Cloud's mind went blissfully blank as his sense returned. It was simple, really. He looked up and glanced around the room for the buster blade. He spotted it across the room by the door Sephiroth had exited through. Kill Sephiroth. The words made sense. Kill Sephiroth and everything would be alright. He looked down again at Zack lifeless face. He looked troubled, even in death. The crease of his brow didn't relax and the curve of his mouth remained. Cloud bent over him and softly kissed his forehead. Let the darkness come, he thought with abandon. Let the world lose itself. There was nothing good left in it anyway.

Twilight Town was perfectly beautiful as always. Its calm demeanor betrayed nothing as the sun dipped in respect for the deepening evening. Leon couldn't enjoy it however, and even though he stepped off Cloud's motorcycle with him, he had never felt more alienated from the man. During the entire ride, he hadn't said a word. He didn't even notice when Leon pulled back the loose strands of blonde hair from his face. Chancing a look at the man, he saw the expressionless look he was used to reassert itself onto his face. At least now he knew what the man was thinking about. But strangely that fact didn't make him feel any better. He was so caught up in his own jealousy that he didn't see the keyblade master until he was almost on top of him.

"Hey Leon watchit!" Sora yelled as he walked backwards into the tall man.

"Huh? Oh sorry Sora." He muttered in reply as he forced a smile for the kid. He grasped the boy's shoulders to steady him. Leon looked up expecting the normal entourage to start yapping at him for damaging their precious charge, but to his surprise, they weren't there. As if reading his expression, Sora explained.

"Yeah, um Donald and Goofy are at Disney castle." Leon nodded.

"Ok, so what did you want to see me for?"

"Hm…oh right! Last night another member of Organisation XIII was here." Leon frowned. Cloud remained silent.

"Or, at least he looked like he was one of them. He was wearing a black cloak anyway. He had your gunblade Leon." The mercenary practically jumped out of his skin at that.

"Where was he? Where'd he go? Did he tell you his name!" He barked at the kid.

"Whoa hold up! I don't know, all I got was his name. And he said that Cloud would know where to find him." Leon growled in frustration. Sora hurriedly continued, taking a step backwards. "Uh, he said his name was Kadaj."

Cloud spun on his heel and walked away. Leon groaned, this was really getting old.

"What's up with him?" Sora asked tentatively. The mercenary said nothing. The truth was that he really didn't know, but if Cloud wanted to be the asshole he liked to pretend he was, he could do whatever the hell made him happy.

"He's just tired Sora, I'll see you back at Hollow Bastion." He walked after Strife, his anger rising. He felt used and irritated. And on top of that, he was not even a little closer to finding Lionheart.

"Great, just great." He muttered moodily. "Fuck Strife, damnit, I don't care." But the fact was that he really did care, and try as he might to ignore it, he wanted very much to fuck Strife also.

Xxxx

Review PLEASE! I want to finish this fic with 100 reviews…puppydog eyes