VII Confusion

When Aerith woke up in the morning she was very confused. Surely it couldn't have all been a dream, could it? She shook her head. No, she had actually felt Zack there. But something hadn't been right, she had never seen Zack like that.

Why are you hiding from us, Zack?

She sighed as got undressed and stepped in the shower, and decided to ask Cloud later. She had obviously gotten home somehow, and if Cloud had seen Zack she knew he wouldn't let him get away without answers.

She made her shower a quick one, then put on some fresh clothes and braided her hair as she walked down the stairs. She smiled as she saw Cloud finishing up his breakfast, glad that he hadn't left on his deliveries yet.

"You're up," he said as he glanced up at her.

"Yeah," she said calmly before fixing herself some cereal and taking a seat next to him at the table. "How did I get home?" she asked.

"Tseng showed up last night carrying you," he told her.

Cloud looked everywhere for any sign of what happened to Aerith, but found none. He thought that maybe she had ran off when she saw the monster, so he waited by Fenrir for a while in case she came back. When she didn't, he decided to go back home and wait for her there.

Only moments after he had gotten inside and taken his shoes off there was a knock at the door. He didn't waste a second opening it, hoping it was Aerith. He was disappointed when he saw that it was Tseng, and wondered what he would be doing at his door in the middle of the night, but then saw Aerith sleeping in his arms.

"Is she hurt?" he immediately asked as he gently took her from his arms.

"No," Tseng answered calmly.

"Where'd you find her?" Cloud asked with suspicious eyes, knowing that he was hiding something.

"That's classified."

Cloud's eyes narrowed at him. He set Aerith down on the couch beside him, then turned back to Tseng.

"These new monsters; what are they?"

"We don't know everything yet, but I can tell you that you might be in danger."

"How so?" he asked, now all ears.

"These monsters that are popping up are experiments. From the data we've gathered so far, all of them have been identified as missing SOLDIER members, others were thought to be dead."

"You're forgetting that I wasn't in SOLDIER," Cloud pointed out.

"You're still built like one, and whoever is pulling the strings may decide to come after you next."

"Then he left, and I took you upstairs," Cloud told her.

"I see..."

Aerith was more than a little disappointed, he could see it on her face as well as hear it in her tone of voice. She was also worried, could Cloud be in danger too? She knew that he was more than capable of protecting himself and handling enemies, but anything could happen.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" he asked.

"Sort of," she admitted. "I remember going to the church with you, but then… things get a little fuzzy after that…" She gently rubbed the back of her head where it had gotten hit. It would explain the small black out, she just hoped that it didn't cause hallucinations either.

"I did wake up for a bit afterwards, in an apartment I think."

"Who's?"

She bit her lip. Would Cloud believe her? He was convinced that Zack was long dead, but she, on the other hand, had never really been convinced so. She remembered the day he had been shot down; she had felt his pain. Later on Tseng had told her that he had been killed in action, but even then she hadn't believed it. She thought for sure that he had been lying then, and went into a period of denial afterwards.

Then of course there was the dream she had the night she had been captured and taken to ShinRa...

She was back in the church tending to the flowers quietly. Her dream self heard the door open quietly, so she turned around and saw Zack standing the door way. Her heart leapt for joy as she saw him again, and she smiled. She wanted to run to him and hug him tightly, but her feet wouldn't budge.

It was then when she noticed the pained expression on his face, and the tears in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Zack?" she asked, urging her feet to move towards him, but still failing to do so.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, tears falling down his cheeks "I never should have left," he was starting to choke on his words now, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw him turn to leave.

"Zack wait!" she pleaded, hating that she was still stuck in one place.

"I love you," he said softly.

She was taken back by those words, and felt tears coming into her own eyes hearing them. He had never said those words to her, but she always wanted him to. She now knew that this wasn't real, and it hurt her to see him leaving her even in a dream.

"Please don't leave me, don't leave me alone like this...."

But he did, and she never dreamed of him since.

For a while she thought that one dream had meant something, and pondered about it. Then, as time passed and things got more hectic, she forgot about it entirely. She hadn't remembered it until now. Surely that meant it actually did mean something, right?

She took a deep breath, and decided to tell him.

"Zack's. I saw him last night, I'm sure of it."

Cloud was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, and then closed it as if he couldn't get the words out. Then he stood up, and calmly took his dirty dishes to the kitchen sink.

"Zack died almost five years ago Aerith, you know that."

"But I'm telling you that I-"

"Aerith!" he snapped. "Please, I don't want to talk about this..."

She understood and kept quiet. He had gotten over his depression period a while ago, that much was sure, but she had a feeling that deep down he still blamed himself for Zack's apparent death.

"Alright," she whispered.

She didn't want to tear open the wounds that Cloud had healed; she would just have to get to the bottom of it all on her own.

"I've got deliveries to make," he said.

She nodded, and after she heard him drive away on Fenrir she decided to head out as well. Some fresh air would help her think, and if possible she wanted to track down Tseng and see what she could do. It was clear that Zack was indeed alive and hiding something, and Tseng knew about it.

Kunsel stood outside Zack's apartment door, tapping one of the crutches helping to support his broken leg against the ground with growing impatience and worry. There were also a few stitches or bandages here and there, but other than that he was alright.

He had been discharged from the hospital about an hour ago, and called Zack to let him know that he was stopping by with lunch, but he never answered. It could be that he was out and his phone was left behind, off, or dead, but he couldn't help wondering if Luxiere's death had indeed pushed him over the edge again. He tapped his fingers impatiently after he knocked again, then sighed. He kicked over the doormat with his foot, then bent down to pick up Zack's spare key.

"Zack?" he called once he got inside. "You home?"

It was quiet, which meant that he either was indeed be out somewhere, or was dying in one of these very rooms. The bathroom door was open, and when he looked he was relieved to find it empty. He set down the bag of take out on the kitchen table and was about to sit and wait for him to get back when he noticed the bedroom door was also open.

"Zack?" he called again.

He decided to poke his head in, and saw his friend facing Aerith's letters on the wall.

"I'm an idiot Kunsel, an idiot and a coward," Zack said quietly without turning to face him.

Kunsel frowned, and took a seat on Zack's bed.

"You want to talk about it?"

Zack sighed, then stared down at the floor.

"I had her in right in my arms, but I panicked and pushed her away."

"Whoa, hang on. Start from the beginning."

So he did. He told Kunsel about heading to the church, then fighting the monster and getting Aerith right in the middle of it all.

"After I cast sleep on her, Tseng showed up and took her home."

"But why didn't you just tell her everything, Zack? I'm sure she would still love you for who you are on the inside."

"Kunsel, my parents don't even know about the experiments. You know simply because I couldn't get around it."

"And I accepted it, didn't I? I didn't cast you off as a freak or try and kill you. You can't hide forever, Zack."

"I know that, but… I'm just…" He sighed. "I'm not ready, not yet."

"When you are it might be too late," he pointed out. "She's in love with you now, but someone else may come along at any time."

It hurt him to hear that, but he knew that Kunsel was right. If he really did stay dead to her, then come out to her with the truth later, it might be too late. He sighed, and looked down at his hands. Even if they did end up together, the chance that he could snap and hurt her terrified him. He remembered the state of rage he had been in when he saw that she had gotten hurt, and how he had tore the creature to shreds until it wasn't recognizable because of it. He shivered just thinking about it. He never wanted something like that to happen ever again, even if he quickly came back to reality like before.

"I'm just not sure if it's meant to be anymore..."

He heard Kunsel sigh, and looked up at him to see him shaking his head.

"Try and look at it this way, you love her right?"

"Yeah…"

"And she loves you back?"

"As far as I can tell."

"Then there's nothing to get yourself worked up about, love is a powerful thing. Now quit moping around like this, I brought food."

"I'm not hungry," he muttered as he curled up on his bed and rolled over so he was facing away from him. But his stomach betrayed him and growled loudly, making Kunsel smile.

"Oh, really?"

He groaned as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen, admitting defeat. He was not the master of his stomach.

"Sorry miss, but it's too dangerous."

Aerith sighed as she gave up. She was heading towards Midgar so she could remove the tarp off her flowers and pick some to sell, but the ShinRa troops paroling the outskirts of Edge wouldn't let her pass. She was about to give up and go back home, when a voice from behind spoke.

"It's alright, I'll go with her."

She recognized it immediately, and spun around to see that it was indeed Tseng. She couldn't believe her luck, now she didn't have to try and track him down.

"Yes, sir," the troop said with a salute before letting them both go on ahead.

The two started walking towards Midgar in silence, and Aerith decided to take her approach calmly.

"Thank you for taking me home last night," she said.

She saw him tense up a bit, but he still replied in his usual calm tone. "You're welcome."

Silence came again and continued for most of the way until Aerith had enough. She stepped in front of him suddenly and looked him in the eyes, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Tseng, please," she began. "At least tell me why he's hiding from us."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Aerith," he lied with ease.

He tried to get around her, but she saw his movements and side stepped in front of him once more.

"I know Zack's alive, Tseng!" she yelled at him. "Please, I need answers!"

"It's not for me to tell Aerith, it's his choice."

It hurt her to hear him say that, and she felt tears in her eyes.

"But why? Why did Zack choose to hide from us, to be dead to us?"

She fought against the tears that were forming in her eyes. When she felt the first one fall, she quickly turned away. She was not going to cry in front of Tseng like a child.

It didn't take long for Cloud to finish his in town deliveries. He had one in Kalm later that day, and had time to spare. He thought about going home and spending some time with Tifa and the kids, but what Aerith had said to him that morning was still in his mind. Instead he decided to pay a visit to Zack's grave.

So he drove outside the city and into the barren wasteland that surrounded it. Minutes later he was on the cliff that looked over Edge and Midgar, the cliff that Zack had died on. He had left his old Buster Sword in the ground, and came out once in a while to clean it so it wouldn't rust. Aerith had also planted some of her flowers around it, and they had surprisingly grown very well.

He sighed as he placed his hand on it, and felt a raindrop fall on him moments later. He glanced up at the gray clouded sky, and saw the rain start to come down on the world. It reminded him of the day that Zack had died...

Everything was tinted green from the mako, and his body ached from it greatly. He blinked a few times trying to get his eyes to focus, then looked around him. He was on the muddy ground that felt like one big suction cup around him, preventing him from going anywhere. He tried to stand up, using the rocks behind him as support, only to fail and fall.

He groaned as he pushed himself up out of the mud, then saw Zack lying on the ground only a few feet away. He now knew that he was too weak to stand and walk, so he began inching towards him on his hands in knees. He was much weaker than expected, and every movement made the aching pain worse.

Finally he was beside his friend, and was horrified to see that he was covered in blood, and his SOLDIER shirt was full of bullet holes.

"Z-Zack..." he whispered.

Zack flinched from the pain as he took a labored breath, then lifted his head and looked at Cloud before speaking.

"For the...both of us…"

"Both...of us?" Cloud asked, not having a clue of what was going on or what he was talking about.

"That's right..."Zack said. "You're gonna..."

He drifted off, and quietly gasped for air as his breathing became more labored.

"You're gonna...?" Cloud repeated.

He saw Zack slowly lift his arm, then felt it gently clutching the back of his head moments later.

"Live..." Zack finished as his he gently pulled down Cloud onto his chest.

He could only vaguely hear the sound of Zack's heart beat, but his rough breathing was clear. He wondered why he seemed so warm when the rain was so cold, but then realized that what he felt against his skin was blood. Zack was dying.

No. He thought. No, no, no no no!

It was absolutely terrifying. Zack couldn't die, he couldn't lose his friend like this. Zack was the only people that had actually cared about him and didn't call him weak. He had saved his life, and now he was dying because of it.

"You'll be...my living legacy" Zack said softly.

Zack's arm fell from him moments later, and Cloud sat up still feeling the blood on his face. He didn't want to be his living legacy, how could he? He wasn't strong like he was, and Zack had gotten hurt all because of him. But it was Zack's dying wish, he couldn't refuse it.

He looked down at his friend, and Zack smiled. Then he glanced over at his Buster sword next to him, and tightened his grip on it before slowly lifting it up to Cloud.

"My honor, my dreams...they're yours now." Zack told him.

Cloud hesitated for a moment before reaching out to the sword, then gripped the handle tightly. Zack smiled at him, then let go and briefly touched his hand before dropping his arm entirely.

"I'm your...living legacy," Cloud repeated softly.

Zack smiled at him once more, then slowly began to close his eyes. Cloud felt tears coming to his eyes, realizing that Zack would never open them again. Then he was startled by the sound of a ShinRa helicopter nearby. He gasped as he began to panic. ShinRa was still after them. They had finished off Zack, and now we're coming after him, and there was no way he would be able to fight back.

"Run," Zack said between labored breaths, trying his best to hang on just for a little longer.

Cloud took one glance where the noise was coming from, then turned back to his friend. He didn't want to leave him, but he knew if he stayed then he would be shot down as well, and Zack would die in vain.

"Go!" Zack commanded, trying to shout, but barely making his voice a loud whisper.

Cloud nodded firmly as he stood up, using the sword to support him. Adrenaline was running through him now, making him strong enough to walk away. He couldn't run, and eventually he tripped and fell. At the last moment he dropped the sword and put his hands in front of him so he wouldn't fall flat. It was then when he decided to look back for a moment, just to see how far he had gotten.

He was surprised that he had only made it a few yards, and paled when he saw some ShinRa infantrymen talking around Zack's corpse. He couldn't make out anything what they were saying, but he didn't care, getting away was top priority. He didn't know know how much further he could get in his weak condition, and knew that if he fell again one of them could take notice. Instead he grabbed the buster sword, and quickly crawled behind the nearest formation of large rocks. Hiding would have to do.

He decided to peak around and look again, this time to make sure that they weren't coming close to him. He stiffened when he saw them pick up Zack's corpse and take it away, then clenched his fist in anger. ShinRa just wouldn't leave him alone. First they killed him, then they had to dispose of the body. Zack didn't deserve that, not one bit.

The rain continued to pour down on him, and he continued to hide even after they had all left. He clenched the buster sword tightly, remembering every word what Zack had told him. Tears formed in his eyes, and when it was obvious that he couldn't hold them back he threw his head back and let out an agonizing scream.

Cloud sighed as he took his hand off of the sword, and pondered about what Aerith had had. He had seen Zack die, that much he was sure of, but how good was his memory? His Mako poisoning had corrupted it before, and even now it was fuzzy in places. What if Aerith was right, what if Zack really was alive and well? He remembered seeing his corpse being dragged away, but maybe they didn't dispose of him like he thought.

Still the whole thing was confusing, didn't make much sense, and standing out in the middle of a downpour wasn't helping him think. He flipped open his phone to check the time. Seeing that he had plenty he decided to go home, dry off, and talk to Aerith about it all.

Zack sighed when the rain finally stopped, glad that he wouldn't get drenched, but he still wished that the sun would come out from behind the gray thick clouds. The WRO was short on members for the Kalm patrol, so Zack told Reeve that he would help out for the day. Now here he was dressed in standard WRO soldier uniform, and armed with a 9mm hand gun. While he had no problem with using his claws, he didn't want other people to see them and freak out.

He was making his rounds on the main street, when he saw Cloud park Fenrir across the street. Habit made him duck into the nearest alleyway, but when he was about to go through to be safe and avoid him, Kunsel's words rang out in his mind:

"You can't hide forever, Zack."

He bit his lip as he turned around and glanced at Cloud from afar. Kunsel was right, and if Angeal was still around he knew that he would agree. Running away and hiding wasn't honorable at all, it was the actions of a coward. He sighed as he made up his mind. He was going to take that chance now, no more hiding from his friends. He just hoped that Cloud wouldn't completely flip.

He came out of the shadows, and calmly walked across the street where Cloud was just getting off of Fenrir. He was glad there weren't many people around, since if Cloud freaked out he wouldn't cause a scene.

"Cloud," he said, catching his friend's attention.

Cloud went white when he saw him, then backed up against the nearest wall.

"Z-Zack?" he asked in shock.

"It's me," he assured him. "I'm not dead."

The color returned to Cloud's face as he calmed down a bit, then he reached out and touched him just to make sure he was real. Aerith was right... He thought.

"How do I know it's really you?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he hand slowly reached for his sword. "This could be some kind of trick."

"I hear you," Zack said as he tried to think of something to prove that he was indeed the real Zack Fair. It had to be something that only him and Cloud knew, but what? Then he remembered something that would both work, and embarrass Cloud at the same time. He smirked and chuckled, making Cloud raise an eyebrow at him.

"When I got us out of Nibelheim I went through your pockets and found a pair of womens panties," Zack told him.

Cloud blushed at the memory, remembering that while he'd had some free time on that mission he had gone into Tifa's house, and indeed taken a pair of her undergarments. To think that Zack knew that...

"I bet they were Tifa's," Zack added as he continued to smirk at him.

"Alright, I get it," Cloud said as his embarrassment increased, adding to the blush. Then his tone turned serious.

"Why have you been hiding from us all this time?" he asked, wondering what had happened to make it so.

Zack's smile quickly faded, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously as he lowered his gaze.

"It's complicated..."

Both of them glanced up at the sound of sudden gunfire a few blocks away, and didn't waste another second before running towards it. Cloud drew his sword, and Zack reached for his gun. There were two men down: One was on the ground, already dead, while the other appeared to just be unconscious. The gunfire came from the third soldier, one that was mildly wounded in the shoulder, but still shooting at the monsters until his ammo ran out.

Zack jumped into action as the specimen lept at them, quickly emptying the magazine of his gun as bullets flew towards the monster. It stumbled back, making it shriek as it fell to the ground. It twitched a few times, but by then more from the patrol had shown up and finished it off. Both he and Cloud sighed from relief that it was over, but realized that it wasn't when they heard a low growl come from the shadows.

Zack saw it first, and leapt at it before it could make the first strike. Cloud caught on, and tossed one of his swords at Zack seeing that he didn't have a weapon. Zack smiled as he caught it and gripped it tightly, oh how it felt good to hold one again.

"Thanks!" Zack shouted at him without looking back.

The monster saw Zack coming at him, and thought best to retreat. It scampered up the brick wall to get away from him, but Zack easily leapt over it and kept chase. Seeing that he had followed it into a deep dark alley where there were plenty of shadows it could hide in, he swung at it with all his might.

It let out a short whimper before it crashed into the opposite wall, then fell unconscious to the ground. Zack knew it wasn't dead, and was about to step forward and finish the job when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something wasn't right; his old SOLDIER instincts told him so.

"Join us..." a voice whispered.

He quickly scanned the area for the voice, looking for any figures that were hiding among the shadows, but saw none.

"Join us!" the voice repeated, seeming to echo everywhere as if it was coming from more than one person.

"Show yourself!" Zack demanded.

"Zack?" Cloud asked as he carefully jumped down beside him.

"OUTSIDER!" the voice shouted.

Cloud flinched at the sudden voice, then readied his sword as he stood back to back with Zack.

"Sounds like you pissed them off," Zack commented as the voices continued to echo, now sounding angry.

"Any idea what's going on?" Cloud asked.

"Not a clue," he replied.

"KILL THE OUTSIDER!"

With that the voices ended, and were instantly replaced by low growling all around them. They were completely surrounded by monsters. Cloud muttered a curse, then tightened his grip on his sword as they slowly closed a circle around them.

"Got a plan?" Cloud asked him.

"You watch my back, I watch yours," he replied.

None of them showed any sign of attacking just yet; they were waiting for one of them to make the first move.

"Cloud," Zack began. "About why I've been hiding all these years..."

"Zack, I don't think now's the time-"

"No," he corrected. "Now's the perfect time."

Zack slammed the sword in the ground just for a moment to take of his gloves and flex his claws, then picked it back up. He could feel Cloud's eyes on him now.

"I'm one of them Cloud, I'm one of these things."

The nearest monster then charged at him, and all hell broke loose upon them.

Author's Notes

Ok first off I am really sorry that this has taken so long. It's been more than a month T_T I actually had this done weeks ago, but my beta reader had computer problems and had to start all over, and for the past two weeks she's been MIA. So this is unbetaed, but if I hear back from her soon I'll go back and replace this chapter with the edited version.

That being said, I may not be updating this for a little while. I have chapter 8 written, but my motivation has decreased dramatically and I can't seem to get my self to work on chapter 9. Plus I'm moving next week, getting ready for Natsucon the weekend after, possibly going to WorldCon the weekend after that, and then I start college and have to get a job.

I promise you I am not going to stop this fic or become one of those people that updates once or twice a year, I meant to finish this entirely by now and THEN take my break from writing but obviously that didn't happen. I'll update when I can, so please bear with me.

8/7/11- Edited ^_^