Title: Hysterical Tinge

Pairings: Undecided for now, but probably going to ZackxAngeal, CloudxSephiroth. Genesis needs some love too, even if we are not on speaking terms right at the moment.

Warnings: Descriptions of kidnapping, assault, rape...you get the picture. Remarkably, Zack's actually not too hurt in this one. Physically anyways...

Note: I hate this title. Any suggestions to what it should be changed to?

The helicopter ride was very uneventful, although tense. Sephiroth commanded the controls, while Genesis cleaned his rapier, glancing over at Angeal every once in a while. The raven haired man kept his head down.

"I shouldn't have let him go." The words were quiet, almost mournful. Genesis cleared his throat uncomfortably. He, like Sephiroth, wasn't really good at playing the role of comforter.

"There was no way you could have known this would happen." The words sounded hollow even in his own ears. "Besides, Zack wouldn't have forgiven you if you held him back. He needs to grow."

"I hardly think being kidnapped and possibly tortured helps him grow, Genesis." The smaller man sighed.

"No, you're right, it doesn't. But you cannot blame yourself for this. It's not your fault, not his fault. It's them you should be angry at. Not anyone else." With that he sat down, withdrawing his copy of Loveless out of the pocket of his coat. He flipped through the pages, without seeing anything. Angeal leaned back into his seat, and pretended to sleep. He had a lot to think about.

They landed in thickly wooded area, which effectively shielded their helicopter. Sephiroth unfolded a map that had a small area circled.

"It should be about a three hour hike from here."

They made it in one.

Sephiroth scanned the ruins of a fortress, thinking. Angeal waited, impatient.

"So do you have a plan?" Sephiroth snapped his head to look at him.

"I was thinking we burst in there and kill everything that moved." The words were stated so matter-of-factly that Angeal almost laughed. The flashing green and silver in the general's eyes stopped him. Sephiroth was being dead serious.

"Sounds good. Just remember to keep one of them alive long enough to question." Genesis's soft voice floated down to them. The auburn haired SOLDIER had climbed a tree. He dropped down. Angeal gave him a strange look. That was twice in one day that the usually hot-tempered man was the voice of reason.

The first two guards had no idea what hit them. Angeal swung his sword, beheading the first one. The second managed to get up, but Sephiroth's masamune silenced him before he could sound any alarms. The three moved quickly down a flight of stairs. The man they found there managed to parry two thrusts at him before dying. They moved through the ruins effectively, killing everyone who stood in their way. Remembering Genesis's words, Angeal swung his sword in an arc, halting right before the man's face. He whimpered pathetically.

"Where is he?" The man opened one of his eyes.

"W-w-who are you talking about?" He nearly screamed at the look of murderous rage that crossed over this terrifying man's face.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know he's here. Now, I'm going to ask again. Where is he?" The man gave the only answer he could think of.

"D-downstairs. That's where we keep the prisoners. Please...Don't kill me." Angeal stared at him with disgust. He brought the sword handle down on the crown of the man's head. He slumped to the ground. Sephiroth and Genesis had already made their way to a flight of stairs across the courtyard. Angeal went and joined them, then stopped. The overwhelming stench of darkness made him want to gag. He winced at the thought of his puppy being kept here. Steeling himself, he went first, hearing the footsteps of his friends follow him. The first door kicked down yielded nothing. It was empty, as was the second one. Genesis called to his attention that one of the doors had a new lock on it. Angeal kicked at it once, then twice. It caved on the third kick. Sephiroth reeled at the smell of blood, causing Genesis to put a hand on his shoulder. He nodded to show he was alright. Angeal's eyes scanned the room, and he nearly cried when he found what he was looking for.

Zack lay in a huddled heap on the floor, his clothes in blood-soaked rags around him. He knelt next to the teenager, sighing in relief when he found a strong pulse. Zack stirred, unconsciously whimpering at having hands on him. His eyes opened, dazed at first, then snapping into focus. His face became blank, and Angeal was startled to see tears coming out.

"Please, don't do this to me. I can't take it anymore." He turned and buried his head into his arms, black spikes tickling his arm. Angeal frowned in confusion. Then realization struck.

Zack thought they were hallucinations.

"Puppy. Zack, I promise you. This is me." Zack looked up, tears falling down his pale face. He reached forward with trembling hand. He poked his mentor, blinking when his finger met flesh. His blue eyes widened with a desperate hope that nearly hurt Angeal to look at.

"Angeal? It's really you?" The 1st class SOLDEIR nodded, smiling. Zack flung his arms around his teacher, sobbing into Angeal's wide chest. "I...thought...I was...never going to see you again." Zack gasped out in between sobs, his voice muffled. Angeal stroked Zack's hair, softly cooing. His hands moved over Zack's thin body, trying to find any serious injury. The teen had been whipped; his back covered in bloody welts. His fingers were slightly bent, looking like they had been broken and re-set. Zack pulled up his pant leg, showing his heavily bruised ankle. "It hurts to walk," he said softly. Sephiroth removed his leather overcoat, handing it to Zack. Zack took it, smiling his thanks as he wrapped it around himself. Then, his eyes widened. The teenager tried to get to his feet. Angeal caught him, trying to stop him from further injury. Zack resisted.

"No, Angeal. You don't understand." He struggled to his feet. "I promised I get him out of here." Three sets of eyes snapped to Zack.

"Get who out?" Sephiroth's voice was quiet. Zack turned to look at them. "I can't explain right now. Please, we can't leave him here. He's hurt worse than I am." With that, Zack started to limp out the door. Angeal followed him, placing one arm around Zack to help him walk.

"Where is he, pup?" Zack pointed at the door opposite to them. Like Zack's door, it had a new lock on it. Sephiroth knocked down the door this time, with Angeal not wanting to let Zack go. Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth all inhaled sharply. Zack turned his head away, whimpering.

The boy that lay naked and bound on a table was even younger than Zack. It was hard to tell where bruises ended and pale skin began. A string of wire bound his wrists above his head, cutting into the soft skin there. Bite marks and scratches littered the torso. His small body lay slumped on the table, his eyes closed. Black eyelashes rested against his un-bruised cheeks. A small, vulnerable mouth quivered in the teen's sleep. Blood caked hair, that was once blond, lay matted against his skull. Angeal turned away, leaving Genesis to cut the wire. As soon as he touched the blonde's arm though, wild blue eyes snapped open. The boy gave a weak scream and tried to pull away, causing the binding to dig deeper into the already swollen flesh. Zack pulled away from Angeal's embrace.

"Cloud. Cloud!" The blue-eyed boy didn't respond, still locked in whatever terror controlled his mind. Zack grasped his arms, forcing Cloud to look at him. "It's me, Zack. You remember, don't you?" The boy named Cloud stopped struggling and looked at Zack.

"Z...Zack?" The older teen nodded frantically.

"Yeah, it's me. These are the people I was telling you about, spiky." All the fight left Cloud now. He slumped down. The only indication that he was still awake was his wide blue eyes, fixed on Zack.

"We're saved?" The raven haired boy nodded again.

"YES!" Angeal sighed in relief at the show of Zack's enthusiasm. Zack pulled of Sephiroth's coat and wrapped it around Cloud's thin shoulders. The blond, although still wary, let Genesis cut his bonds. Zack stood by him, one hand resting on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud, suddenly aware of how naked he was, wrapped the oversized jacket around himself, a miserable blush coming to his cheeks. He sat up, flexing his legs, testing them to see if they still had any mobility. With Zack watching, he tried to stand up, only to have his legs buckle. He was caught by strong arms. The man staring down at him had long silver hair, his idle strands tickled the blonde's nose. Cloud tried to pull away, but the man just picked him up.

"You are in no condition to walk. This is better if we want to get out of here fast." With that, he strode out of the room. Zack tried to follow, to reassure the terrified blond that he wasn't going to be hurt. But his ankle hurt so badly when he put weight on it. Genesis caught view of Zack's back, wincing in sympathy. He dug into his pocket to retrieve a small bottle Zack turned and saw the potion. He shook his head.

"Use it on Cloud, he's more hurt than me." He stumbled. Angeal caught him before he fell.

"Will you please take it? It'll make me feel better." He hated to use Zack's sense of guilt against him, but it worked. Head dropping due to remorse, Zack drank the potion without a complaint. The cuts that hadn't already healed from mako injections did so. They would leave scarring. Zack tested his ankle again. It still hurt, but it was bearable. The trip back was a slow one. Zack refused to be carried and needed to take breaks. It was getting dark. Sephiroth set a sleeping Cloud gently on the ground. The small blond had apparently decided he was safe and went to sleep, too exhausted to deal with anything. Angeal sat on a fallen tree, Zack immediately came to his side. Angeal wrapped one arm around his student, letting Zack rest his head.

"What happened?" Zack tensed, letting a long breath out.

"How much do you know?"

"Your friend Kunsel said you were fighting off a group of them, and you got knocked out." At the mention of his friend, Zack looked up.

"Kunsel, is he alright?" Angeal smiled reassuringly. It was so like Zack to be more concerned about his friends then himself.

"He's fine. He had a minor bump on his head, nothing else." Zack relaxed slightly, relieved that his friend was okay. Again, Angeal asked softly, "what happened then?" Zack sighed, shifting to bury his head into his mentor's chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Angeal watched his friends. Both gave no indication they were listening, but he knew they were, intently. "You don't have to talk about it now..."

"No, it's okay. I can do this." Zack raised his head, inhaling deeply. "I woke up in that room. I don't know how long I was out, an hour or two maybe. A little while later, some guy came in. He started to ask me questions. I lied, said I was a cadet, so he would think I didn't know anything. He just...laughed. Angeal, they knew everything about me. My name, my age, my rank. Everything. They...wanted to know about you three. Your schedule, where you lived, anything that would help them."

"Help them do what?" Zack froze, and starting shaking.

"I can't...remember." The teenager's breathing became erratic. He started shaking so badly that Angeal had to grasp both his arms.

"It's okay, puppy. It's fine." He waited until his student calmed down and was breathing normally.

"He called two other guys into the room. They held me down on the table, while the guy whipped me. I passed out after awhile, it hurt so much. They just poured cold water over me to wake me back up." Zack wiggled his oddly bent fingers. "They broke three of them. I set them, I knew if I left them I would never be able to hold a sword again. Then, it was hitting and kicking. There were so many of them, and they wouldn't stop." Zack cut off then, taking deep breaths. Silenced reigned in the clearing, broken only by Cloud shifting in his sleep. Zack focused his gaze to the blond. "One day, there were four that brought Cloud in. The leader said something about seeing how I would deal with someone else's pain. They ripped off his clothes, and when he fought back, one punched him in the face. Then, they all raped him, they made me watch." Tears fell faster now from Zack's pale blue eyes. "I will never forget his screams, Angeal. Never. I yelled at them, screamed that I didn't know enough to tell them anything. Not that it mattered. They just laughed. How could they do that? How could they just...dismiss someone's pain like that?" Angeal tensed, horror over taking his senses.

"Zack did they...?" He couldn't finish the sentence. Zack, thankfully knew what was being asked.

"No, they didn't rape me..." The teen paused, his words cautious, unsure of how his mentor would take this. "But...they made me do other things." The teen touched his mouth, refusing to meet Angeal's eyes.

Angeal tightened his grip on Zack, stroking his hair, trying to soothe the distressed boy.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that..." Zack shook his head frantically. "Puppy?"

"Don't be sorry. You came for me, you saved me. Just like I knew you would. It's not your fault." The words were whispered, accompanied by a tightening grip. Angeal didn't miss the smug, I-told-you-so look on Genesis's face. He ignored it, smoothing a hand that shook over Zack's hair and cooing softly. Sephiroth stood; his silver hair glinted in the fading rays of sunlight.

"We should go." His words were soft. Sephiroth knelt down and picked up Cloud once again. The boy stirred in his sleep, whimpering softly. Thankfully, Cloud didn't wake. Zack stood; moisture still clung to his eyelashes, spiking them out. He wiped at them, embarrassed.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." He walked after Sephiroth. Angeal tried to follow him, but Genesis stopped him, shaking his head.

"Let the puppy think, Angeal."

Yeah, does anyone else think it's funny that Genesis is the voice of reason in this?

Genesis: (glare) Must you?

Yeah, I thought so...