Well…that took forever.

"Don't toy with me Soldier scum!"

Zack studied the trio that led the most powerful terrorist organization in Midgar, possibly the whole world. This was his first time seeing them face to face, but he knew Sephiroth had at least one run-in with Elfé in the past and she'd managed to push him to a draw. Anyone who could do that was someone to be cautious around. He glanced over at Cloud, his friend didn't seem all that concerned but then again, he never seemed concerned over anything. He knew almost nothing about the other two only that Shears was some sort of strategist and Fuhito was the Avalanche equivalent of Hojo.

"Well that's not very nice" Zack snarked "we've only just met."

Cloud chortled silently across from him as he adjusted his grip. He could feel the hate coming from Elfé, but before she could do anything Shears pulled her back. Even with his hearing he couldn't discern what they were arguing about but whatever it was Shears seemed to win. Elfé yanked her arm out of his grip but allowed him to take over.

"Calm down, we don't mean you any harm. We just want to talk to the Ancient." Spears said calmly.

"And I believe I made my confusion clear when I said 'huh?' There's no old timers here."

Zack wasn't completely stupid. He knew that this somehow involved Aerith. He wasn't sure why, but he knew she was hiding from something. People who weren't hiding didn't have a secret identity, nor have Turks lurking around watching and or protecting them. Tseng had pulled him aside often enough in the beginning of their relationship trying to warn him off for Zack to be very aware of that.

A quick glance out of his peripheral vision allowed Zack to see Cloud seemingly leaning casually against one of the sturdier pews examining his sword's handle. To anyone who didn't know the time traveler it would appear as if he was completely oblivious or unconcerned to what was happening around him, but Zack fought with him enough to know that Cloud was balanced on a hairpin trigger just waiting for a reason to go off. Given the fact that the man still wasn't all together there yet had Zack more than a little cautious on how the blond will react.

"Idiot! Are you rea-" Elfé started shouting before being cut off again.

"What we're saying" Shears continued "is we would like to speak with the Cetra. I assure you we mean her no harm."

Warning signs shouted in Zack's head as things became clearer. Avalanche thought Aerith was a legendary Cetra, and if Turks were watching her as closely as they were then Shinra thought she was too. Whether or not she was, the fact that two powerful organizations thought she was one put his precious flower girl in more danger than he'd previously thought she was in.

"Yeah," Zack said trying to keep his expression as confused and dismissive as possible "I'm not one for believing in fairytales either. If you're looking for some mythical being of power, I'm going to have to disappoint you. There's no Gods that hang out in a slum church, only fools seeking them."

As Zack parried words with two of Avalanche's leaders he noticed the silent third member. The scientific mind behind Avalanche had been extremely quiet since they arrived. At first, he hadn't paid any real attention to him as he was more focused on the real physical threat Elfé presented, but now that Shears had her mostly under control his attention expanded to include more awareness, and what he became aware of made him as uneasy as the knowledge of Avalanche's interest in Aerith. Fuhito was staring intently strait at Cloud.

"If that's true fascist, then why are you here? Are you a fool?" Elfé sneered, fingering her katana.

Zack turned his attention back on the woman enraged. His own grip tightening and shifting on his borrowed blade. He'd been called a lot of things in his life, but that one still stung. He'd joined Soldier to become a hero, to help people and as far as he was concerned he'd done a fairly decent job of it. And the times he couldn't live up to his expectations would haunt him for the rest of his life. He didn't need a terrorist to condemn him.

"Just patrolling the area. There's a lot of pests in the slums that need exterminating." Zack returned sneer for sneer.

"Why you little…" Elfé shouted as she charged him.

That might have been a mistake, Zack thought as he parried her strike. She didn't anywhere near Sephiroth's speed, but she could sure hit just as hard as him and lacked all of his mercy. One blow almost put him on the ground. He recovered his balance quickly enough to avoid her second swing and launched his own counterattack. His borrowed blade singing a deadly song as it parried against Elfé's katana.

He ignored Shears' shouts trying to calm her down, they didn't seem to be working anyways. He dodged the next hit and countered with a horizontal strike of his own. Elfé ducked under it and kicked his legs out from under him. He hit the back of one of the broken boards, the sharp splinters scraping his side.

It was short, fast and brutal.

Zack stared up at her shocked and more than a little embarrassed at hitting the ground so quickly. Elfé had her arms up ready to skewer him. He prepared to roll out of the way to continue their dance when Cloud blindsided them both, hooking Elfé's katana with a serrated sword he pulled out of the bunch, knocking it out of her hands. With the same fluid motion Cloud spun behind her wrapping his arm around her throat, the green glow of materia lighting up his bracer.

"Sleep."

The spell took hold instantly. Elfé slumped back into Cloud's hold. Zack watched as he carefully lowered her down. He caught Shears watching with tightly controlled anger, his fists clenched tightly as he glared daggers into Cloud's back. He didn't dare try anything though with Elfé out of commission though.

"Very impressive!" Fuhito approached them clapping slowly "Very impressive indeed."

Something bad was about to happen. Zack knew something bad was about to happen because the closer Fuhito got to them the colder Cloud's eyes became. The more controlled his breathing became. The more focused… He'd seen something similar in the tunnels back in Nibelheim and if he remembered correctly, it didn't work out too well for anything that crossed his path.

"Why are you really here?" Zack asked trying to starve off whatever was going through his friend's head.

"It's just as we said. We came to talk to the last known Cetra." Shears answered as Fuhito leaned over Cloud's shoulder enough to observe how Elfé.

Zack wanted to tell the Avalanche scientist to back off but feared bringing attention to it would be the trigger Cloud needed to go off. His friend's eyes morphing to the cat-like slits the second the scientist leaned over him.

"We had hoped to convince her to join our cause, however since she's not here I'm going to extend the offer to you two." Fuhito said still hovering over Cloud's shoulder.

"Not interested."

"I'm not asking."

Fuhito pressed his hand to the back of cloud's neck and in that moment Zack knew there would be no stopping him. In one heartbeat Fuhito was smiling in triumph over them and in the next one his head flew across the room almost hitting Shears, the lifestream claiming the body as it fell. Zack remained prone on the ground watching his friend carefully in case Cloud decided to strike out at any moving target that caught his gaze. Though Zack knew he didn't need to worry about his own safety, he worried that Cloud might decide to take out Shears and Elfé thereby removing Avalanche completely.

"You'll pay for that!" Shears shouted, frozen near the door. The malice pouring off of Cloud locking him into place.

"Spike?" Zack pressed cautiously.

Whatever demons that were haunting Cloud at that moment seemed to fade away the moment Fuhito's body disintegrated. Zack didn't question it too closely, he didn't want to set the blond off again with Elfé still unconscious at his feet. Don't get him wrong, he didn't have any love to lose for the Avalanche leader, he just didn't want Cloud to do something he might regret later. Killing an evil scientist was one thing, killing an unconscious woman was something else.

Cloud calmly attached his blades together again as Zack pulled himself to his feet, his side still stinging from the splinters. Shears was silently seething at the door too afraid to take on two enhanced humans by himself yet wanting to save his love. Zack didn't blame him.

"The materia Fuhito put in her for strength is killing her." Cloud said coldly "If you want her to survive the year, take it out of her."

"Why would I trust the word of a Shinra dog?"

Zack moved gingerly around Elfé's body at Cloud's gesture, more than a little embarrassed that he was so easily trounced by someone who wasn't even properly trained. He sincerely hoped it never got back to Kunsel or he'd never live it down!

"Not my problem." Cloud said as he reclaimed the blade he'd loaned Zack and added it to his monster sword "You can either believe me and take it out or don't and watch her die. Regardless, the end result will be the same for me."

Even for Cloud that was harsh, but considering who he must have learned it from it wasn't too surprising. Zack had half a mind to pull Cloud aside and talk to him about his bedside manner though.

"You…"

"Take her and go." Zack told him as menacingly as he could while Cloud idly flicked his sword.

"This place and the Cetra are off limits." Cloud added "Don't come here again."

Shears opened his mouth to say something but one look had him changing his mind. Zack pulled Cloud back so Shears can retrieve his comrade without getting in his space. Shears took immediate advantage and rushed to Elfé's side, carefully picking her up to cradle in his arms. He walked as quickly as he could back to the entrance while keeping an eye on them. Cloud slid his sword into his harness when Shears reached the door, although Zack knew he could pull it out again in a second's notice.

"You haven't heard the last of us! Avalanche will bring Shinra down!" Shears shouted before running out the door.

"If he knows what's good for him he won't be." Zack muttered scathingly "Am I right Spike?"

…

"Cloud?"

"I-I need a moment."

Cloud flinched away from Zack's concern. He was still trying to handle reality as it was, that Zack was really there again. That this was actually happening. The green haze and almost blinding whiteout that he'd been dealing with since he suddenly appeared back in the church were fading away into a more normal vision but the buzzing was echoing through his mind like felt very familiar background noise.

Hojo's work had done a number on him this time.

"Okay," Zack said carefully as Cloud's inner distress became more apparent to him "do you need me to leave for a moment?"

"…No."

"Okay."

Zack moved back a little to plop back on one of the benches. Cloud appreciated him for giving him some space, but he needed the other man close right now. The month in mako left him feeling empty and hollow inside and he craved the stability his connection with the Soldier gave him. He followed Zack to the bench pausing only long enough to set his fusion sword safely aside and sat tentatively next to him. Zack didn't hesitate to pull him firmly into his side and Cloud felt himself relax as the shrapnel of his mind slotted back into place.

They stayed that way for hours. Zack patiently waiting while Cloud pulled himself together again. Pieces of Zack's personality and memories fitting seamlessly into his psyche patching up the holes Hojo put in there with his extraction. He needed Zack to balance out Sephiroth's influence on him. But it felt like he was stealing from him and the guilt ate at him.

"I have no memories of my own past my twenty first year." Cloud started haltingly.

"Yeah?"

Zack didn't push him and Cloud appreciated him even more for his patience.

"The first time…before I…"

Zack's arm felt firm and comforting around him. It gave him the courage to continue.

"There was a mission. You, me, and-and Sephiroth were sent to Nibelheim because of some high-level monsters in the area. I don't have any memories of my own on this…just what I've pieced together, but Sephiroth went mad and destroyed the village. He almost killed us before he was thrown into the mako reactor."

Cloud couldn't stop trembling as various memories tore through him. He didn't want to talk about this but Zack deserved to know. He promised after all. But he didn't want to go there.

"Hojo got us and for four years he tried to make us clones of Sephiroth. He figured out quickly that you weren't viable do to your previous exposure to mako and the Soldier program, but I was a perfect fit. A blank slate."

"You don't have to tell me anything." Zack told him.

"If I don't do it now, I probably won't do it at all." Cloud said "I'm vulnerable right now. If I wait my guard will go back up and I'll never get it out."

"No really, it's fine if you don't tell me. I know."

Cloud stared at Zack as he looked over at the flowers.

"How?"

"Your scary friend told me just before I came down here."

"Tifa?"

"No! not Tifa you cluck!"

Zack's surprised chuckle at his pathetic joke was enough to break some of the tension from the atmosphere. Thanks to Zack's presence he was slowly stitching himself back together and every moment spent in his company had him feeling more and more human. Not having to cut open so many painful wounds to explain why he was so messed up help too.

"So, Vincent then."

"Yeah Vincent, he snuck into my bedroom and long story short he told me." Zack hesitated for a moment "He said you wanted me to know but couldn't tell me yourself. Was he wrong?"

Cloud relaxed further into Zack, taking comfort in him "It's fine really. Vincent knows my story probably better than I do and knowing you know…without having to dig it all up myself… Besides, Vincent likes to hold all the secrets almost as much as he enjoys dropping verbal bombs on unsuspecting people. I wouldn't want to deprive him of such pleasure."

"He's something alright. My bedroom Cloud! On my bed!"

"Did he make you breakfast at least?"

"Does a bowl full of surveillance equipment count? Cause apparently I've been spied on since I joined Soldier. Did you know?"

"Know? No. But it makes sense Shinra would want to keep tabs on their top assets." Cloud paused thoughtfully "Did they put one in your shower?" Innocence glowing in his once more blue eyes.

"CLOUD!"

Cloud chuckled as Zack threw his weight on him dramatically at his teasing. Zack took it all in good humor as he knew he would. He'd missed this, the feeling of unity…family. Sitting here he could almost hear Denzel in the background laughing away.

"Did I tell you I had a son?" Cloud suddenly said as nostalgia struck him hard.

"Hm, I don't think so…no." Zack said softly hooking his chin over Cloud's shoulder.

"His name is Denzel. He was an orphan in the ruins of Midgar. We…found each other. He's so brave and cheerful, always willing to help out, always smiling." Cloud smiled as he remembered him "I traveled a lot so he stayed primarily with Tifa at her bar, but when I was…home it felt like he never left my side. Always asking me about my 'adventures' and about you."

"Me?"

"What I could remember anyway." Cloud said "I might have elaborated on a few things here and there. He's a big fan of yours."

"I would've liked to have met him."

"He's just a newborn with his parents right now. They're living on the plate in sector 7."

"Are you going to get involved with him?"

"Not directly. Not unless things go wrong for him. I'd rather he have a normal healthy life than one I could provide." Cloud stated firmly "But I am keeping an eye on him and his family."

"I'm sorry." Zack sounded sincere.

"Don't be, I knew what I was getting into from the beginning. If he's happy then I'm happy, that's all I care about."

He missed Denzel more than he ever thought he would. He knew it would be painful and for the most part he was able to put it aside a focus on the tasks at hand, but every now and then it would hit him like a sucker-punch in the gut that Denzel would never again run to his side begging for stories from his travels. He hoped it never stopped hurting.

"I don't know a whole lot about what's going on with you, practically nothing really. But It seems like that planet or the Gods or whatever's behind this is asking too much of you."

"I'm fine Zack."

"Are you?"

Cloud pulled away so he could turn and face Zack directly. Zack let him go reluctantly. He needed Zack to believe he was fine. If Zack doubted it, if he thought he was hurting then Zack would challenge that Planet itself for him and as much as he would love for Zack to go to battle for him again, he would never tolerate losing Zack or worse…have Zack end up like him.

"Things aren't certain. This is a global war with an entity that has no real form anymore in which I'm but a weapon, but if everything goes to plan…how this war ends for me is…the best possible one I could hope for." Cloud assured him as best he could.

"And if things don't go to plan?"

"I guess…depending on the situation, it'll restart again."

"You mean, you'll restart again?"

"Probably."

"Cloud…"

"Did Vincent mention what the Planet did to me?" Cloud asked.

It didn't surprise him that Vincent chose to take the initiative, the gunman preferred to work alone gathering intel and developing his own strategies before rejoining the group. Cloud understood it, but he couldn't do it. He never handled being on his own well, even at the worst of his own geostigma infection he couldn't stay away entirely. He needed people around him too much to tolerate being alone for any length of time. But he did appreciate Vincent taking on some of the burden of his past.

"A little, he said the lifestream came and took you away."

"That's pretty close actually. Because of what I am now…what the planet made me into…I am in a way immortal."

"Seriously?"

"I can die a thousand times and so long as I'm connected to the lifestream I can be brought back whenever and wherever the planet needs me, or wherever it's convenient." Cloud said wryly "I'm lucky it brought me back here and not Mideel or the north crater. Both are viable options."

Zack stared at Cloud "I don't know if I should be jealous or sympathetic about that."

"Don't feel anything, this wasn't something I chose or wanted but I can't deny the benefits to it but in the end if all goes well it won't matter anymore, because that's my promise…my reward. If I succeed, if we win, I'll be free."

"Really?"

Cloud nods as he stands up from the bench. Zack follows him up immediately.

"Alright, so what do we do?" Zack asked excitedly.

"Right now, we do nothing. It's all in Hojo's hands at the moment. The mako he infused with my blood will be processed and spread throughout the world curing Jenova's infection. All I…we have to do is put out any fires from outsiders."

"Sounds boring."

"Don't worry, things rarely are around me."

"Great." If Zack said it any more dryly they would be in the desert.

Cloud gathered up his sword slotting it perfectly in his harness. Years of practice had made the tricky move smooth. He started for the door but Zack's hand on his arm stopped him immediately. He turned to look at his friend to see the man looking at him nervously yet stubbornly at him.

"You said later Cloud, well…it's later."

"You really want to see it that badly?" Cloud asked "It's not pretty to look at."

"Yeah I want to see it. You shouldn't…I don't want you to feel like you have to hide things from me to protect me or anything. I may not be an immortal time-travelling weapon of the planet but I'm still a Soldier and I have my pride in that. I won't be coddled or discounted."

Sharp ripping pain that Cloud barely felt anymore tore through his side at his wing released into the dusty air of the church. Zack gasped wide-eyed as he took in the spines and tears in the leathery webbing. He slowly circled around behind Cloud studying it from every angle possible. He felt painfully exposed but at the same time, it was Zack.

"I want one." Zack finally stated.

"You're cured remember, you won't mutate."

"That's no fair!" Cloud smiled secretly at Zack's whining. Zack knew how to lighten any mood without even trying.

"You can always ask the Doc if you want one that badly."

"Uh, no thanks."

… … …

Shears watched from the safety of his scratched and dented desk in their secret base in sector seven as Elfé raged in the room. The rest of the crew had bailed ages ago after she broke a table with her fist…followed by a wall.

"THOSE SHINRA DOGS! HOW DARE THEY!" Elfé shouted for the umpteenth time as she flopped onto her favorite chair.

"If you're ready to listen, I have an idea."

"Of course you have a plan!" Elfé huffed "You're the strategic mind of this operation."

Now that Elfé had worked the rage out of her system it was time to get down to business. Though lately her moods have been more and more extreme and his mind drifted to the blond's words. Surely he had to be lying, Elfé's strength was one of their greatest assets and it only made sense that Shinra would want to disable them as much as possible and yet doubt niggled at the back of his mind as he watched Elfé slowly disintegrate over time. His once strong and fierce leader who took out all his men single-handedly was fading before his eyes.

"Yes, I am." Shears said calmly "The plan as a whole hasn't changed much. I still believe the way to break Shinra is with the Ravens and we have just shy of a hundred now. It's not enough to take Shinra down, but it's enough to start."

"That works for the short term but without Fuhito to make and maintain them their useless in the long run."

Shears smiled. He never liked or fully trusted the scientist and only tolerated him for Elfé's sake.

"We lost our scientist, so we'll just have to get ourselves a new one." Shears told her "It'll take a lot of planning but if we play our cards right we can get a scientist far better than Fuhito ever was."

"Tell me."

…. … …

Beep

…

Beep

…

Beep-Beep

…

Beep-Beep

Beep-Beep

Beep-Beep Beep-Beep

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"SOMEBODY GET PROFESSOR HOJO STAT!