A/N: Finally! Chapter 10 is here. This is the last chapter for this story. I am going to start a sequel that includes the events of Final Fantasy VII. I also revised Chapter 1 if anybody wants to check on that. Special thanks to Chibipinkbunny for all of her help with this story and my new one. Anyway this means thought, this means writing, and this means singing. Now on to the story!

Chapter 10: Finale

Zack's PoV

We spent three days in an empty house on the outskirts of Wutai. Lord Godo still didn't trust us, and he didn't want us here, even if it was just for three days. On the first day, I sent the girls into town to buy supplies while I stayed behind and watched Cloud. The house was small, with just one room and a bathroom, hardly enough for four people to share. The couch was against the northern wall and the bed was right next to it, against the eastern wall. Cloud was fast asleep on that bed, still whimpering a little in his sleep.

I used this time to think of the possible task Godo had in store for us. One thing was sure. No matter how strong I was I couldn't fight alone. Tifa might be able to help, I thought, but I had no idea if she even had a weapon. Aerith was defiantly not going to participate in this battle. It was way too dangerous for her. Yuffie probably couldn't help us much. After all she is only a kid. That only left…. My thoughts trailed off as I looked over at Cloud. He still looked sick with a pink tinge on his cheeks. I could teach him a little in the few days that we've been allowed to stay here, but he would need a weapon. I know, I passed a weapon shop on my way to the pagoda. Maybe, if he feels better tomorrow, I'll take Cloud over there and we can get him a sword. One that is easy to wield, but not so light it can't cut through flesh.

The next day I visited the weapon-smith and found the perfect sword for him. It had a nice, sharp blade and was just light enough for him to carry with out much effort. Then I started to teach him how to fight. He already knew some techniques from when he was in the military, but I taught him some SOLDIER level moves so that he was prepared for whatever Godo threw at us. It was like that for the rest of the day and the next. All we did was train. It helped get our mind off of things. I went easy on him at first, but as we trained, I almost found myself having trouble keeping up with him. He had enhanced strength like me due to the Jenova cells that were injected into him.

Halfway through our training on the second day, I dug through my backpack and found my DMW watch. It looked like a regular watch, except that there was a sensor on the inside, which connected with my brain waves to produce limit breaks. I couldn't get one for Cloud because they're only available to SOLDIER members.

Soon, it was time to report to Godo's pagoda for his challenge. We were given a brief summary of the task by Lord Godo himself. It didn't sound too difficult, but Lord Godo warned us that his task was harder than it looked. He was going to give Cloud and I a half hour in town to gather the materials that we needed.

I went into the weapon shop and came out with two smooth, metallic balls that I had purchased. I stuck them in my pocket and readjusted the backpack on my shoulder before continuing to look for supplies. When we were done, we went back to the pagoda. Tifa argued with Godo about not being able to come with us, but he stood firm in his belief that women were not allowed to participate in dangerous tasks. Cloud and I were supposed to do it alone. Cloud tried to calm Tifa down.

"But Cloud, I'm worried about you." She said, "That's why I wanted to help"

"I'll be fine." Cloud assured her.

"That's what you said last time," Tifa argued, "and look what happened"

"This time I mean it" Cloud said to her "I'll be fine" She nodded.

After assuring Aerith and Tifa that we'd return alive and in one piece, we were finally ready to go. Godo let us borrow two of his yellow chocobos to get us to our destination quickly. We said goodbye to the girls and then left.

Our mission was to destroy a ShinRa robot terrorizing a nearby village. Apparently the robot went haywire and went on a rampage. Some of the villagers said that they had seen it head into a cave. We were supposed to defeat it and bring back a chunk of it as proof of our victory. A desert and perilous cliffs surrounded the village. It was barren, reminding me of the wastelands near Midgar. We had to walk on foot whenever the Chocobo's were tired. We came close to falling off the cliffs several times because of that. One time I actually slipped off the edge, but Cloud reached out and grabbed me at the last moment. We only took a rest when we felt like our legs were so cramped and sore they were going to fall off. It took four long and agonizing days to get to the gigantic cave where the monster was last seen. It was carved into the side of the cliff and the walls were decorated with elaborate sculptures that looked ancient. It looked as if it had been inhabited by some creature of long ago. This robot must have found it empty and taken up residence.

"Wow," I breathed, "Cloud, come look at this." I touched a sculpture of the planet that looked like the real thing. "This sculpture must be thousands of years old. How did people know what the earth looked like back then?" I traced my fingers across the strangely shaped continents. They were closer together than they were now, the product of continental drift. Then I felt Cloud tap my shoulder.

"Come over here," he said as he backed away. I went and stood right next to him. On the very top of the cave, there were two beautifully designed sculptures. The first one didn't look human. She had long silver hair twisted around her nude form. She was holding a ball of darkness in her hand, and her eyes were closed, as if the world was too abominable for her sight. She was the sworn enemy of the ancients, Jenova. The other deity I didn't recognize. She wore a long, flowing dress, and she had a spear and shield. She had angel wings coming out of her back, and her hands were clasped together in prayer. There was an aura surrounding her, as if she radiated goodness.

"Wow…" was all that I could say. Both sculptures were designed with exquisite detail, as if the artist had actually seen both forms in the flesh. Perhaps someone that lived long ago, I thought. Then it came to me. "The Ancients" I mumbled.

"What was that?" Cloud asked,

"The Ancients made these sculptures," I stated. "Aerith's ancestors made these."

"That makes sense," Cloud said, "considering Jenova is their enemy." I nodded and continued staring at the sculpture in amazement. From off in the distance, the sound of metal hitting the ground snapped me out of my trance. Then I remembered the task that Lord Godo gave us.

"Let's go," I told Cloud as I drew my Buster Sword. Cloud nodded and grasped his sword firmly with both of his hands, holding it out in front of him. I put the base of my sword to my forehead in a silent prayer to Angeal. Then I ran into the cave. We spotted the machine immediately. It was a scorpion mech, but unlike most this one was enormous. It filled half of the cave and we must have looked like nothing but measly insects to it. Cloud and I immediately ran toward it and slashed into it with our swords at the same time.

Nothing happened.

We tried again, but our swords couldn't even penetrate the surface. "We didn't even dent it!" I heard Cloud yell. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the monster preparing to fire its tail laser. Quickly, I grabbed Cloud and jumped behind one of the many big rocks that littered the ground. As soon as the laser cleared Cloud sprang into action. I started to run, but then I heard a faint sound from my watch. It said 'modulating phase'. Surprisingly enough, the modulating phase encompassed both me and Cloud.

Cloud enhanced my sword with his power. I leapt up in the air towards the monster and unleashed a barrage of meteors with a swing of my sword. That seemed to do some damage to the Scorpion mech.

Then I saw a bright yellow dot on the machine. It was Cloud. He was climbing the machine. It seemed to notice too because it readied its tail laser and pointed it at Cloud. I had to do something to get its attention. Without thinking, I ran up to it and started hitting it with my Buster Sword. It turned to look at me, raised one of its mechanical arms, and slashed my left shoulder; the one that Yuffie's doctor had just finished patching up. Then he pointed his laser at me and fired. I ducked behind a rock just in the nick of time. I could feel the laser's scorching heat as it came within an inch of my arm. Dark spots were starting to cloud my vision. I fought against the exhaustion that was starting to overtake me. I tried to overcome the pain, and I tried to ignore the blood that was leaking out of my shoulder. With shaking hands, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two metallic spheres. I stood up slowly and peeked over the rock.

"Cloud," I shouted, as loud as I could to get his attention "Catch!" I threw the orbs with my right arm as hard as I could, and I watched as Cloud caught them. I struggled to pick up my Buster Sword and jump back into the fray, but I was too weak. I slipped and fell into the sand and struggled to fight against the all-consuming pain was trying to consume me. I put my right hand on my shoulder to keep the blood from leaking out, but it was no use. I started to feel dizzy and my vision became blurred. I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't let me. I knew I had to help my friend, but I couldn't. Eventually my vision faded all together and I fainted.

Cloud PoV

I saw the whole thing, Zack getting hit by the razor-sharp mechanical claw and the subsequent struggle as he tried to pick up his sword. He fell to the ground and didn't get up. I desperately wanted to help him, but I was the only one who could finish the mission now. I glanced at the metallic ball in my hand before continuing my ascent up the mountain of a machine. It pointed its deadly tail-laser at me again, but I moved to the side and it ended up firing on itself, leaving a gigantic hole in the place where its stomach would be if it had one. I climbed and climbed for what seemed like an eternity until I finally got to its head. By then it was pretty weak. It had several holes in it and it looked more like Swiss cheese than a machine.

I looked around for the power box and found it where the scorpion's left ear was, so I grabbed my sword and pried the lid off. Once the lid gave way, I took out the metallic ball and pressed a button on its surface. I heard a whirring and the two half's of the sphere came apart revealing a thin rod coursing with electricity. I took off one end of the sphere and held the rod with the other end. Then I jump in the air and threw the device into the monster's power box. The scorpion brimmed with electricity and fell to the ground. It was destroyed. I fell toward the ground and managed to land on my feet. Then I started walking toward Zack, but I stopped and went over to the machine's forehead. There was the ShinRa logo. I took my sword and cut it out. It was about as big as my head. Then I ran over to Zack.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the horrible condition Zack was in. Blood was pouring out of his shoulder, mixing with the sand that lined the cave floor. It reminded me of the dream I had when I first arrived in Wutai. Thinking quickly, I left the cave and grabbed the backpack. When I returned, Zack was lying on his side. He had never looked so vulnerable; so weak. I pulled out one of the blankets and cut off a nice long piece. Then I wrapped it around Zack's shoulder. Zack was my role model. He was like a hero to me, but I guess even heroes have the right to bleed.

I picked Zack up and slung him over my shoulder. It was as if we had switched roles at the moment. Usually Zack was the one to take care of me, but now it was the other way around. I heard him give a groan of pain as I draped him across the back of one of the chocobos. Then I took the other one and tied a rope to its saddle and I attached the other end to Zack's chocobo. I decided that I would have to walk back to Wutai. It would take a long time, but at least Zack wouldn't fall off the chocobo. I took one long glance at Zack's broken form before setting off. It took me seven days to get relatively close to Wutai because we stopped often to rest. By then I had reached a path that went along a cliff.

And that's where everything went wrong.

I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, and then I heard a rustle in the bushes that dotted the path. I stared hard into the bushes, trying to figure out what or who was following me. But all the worries about my pursuer were soon gone because a sharp pain in my stomach forced me to my knees. My heart started beating fast and I could hear a dark, feminine voice echo in my head. "Give up," it said, "let me take control."

"No!" I cried clutching my head. I squeezed my head tight and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to break free. I tried to keep myself together, but the voice kept repeating those words over and over. Jenova was trying to control me. I glanced behind me at Zack. He was conscious.

I heard him emit a loud groan. His hand was outstretched like the only thing he wanted to do was to grab onto me and never let go. I knew he was frustrated because he couldn't do anything to help me.

Then the searing pain came again, only this time in my head. I clutched my head and shook it in an attempt to rid it of the voice that plagued my thoughts. It didn't work. Instead the voice got louder. Then it stopped for a moment.

"Very well," she said, "you have chosen your own fate." Those words were painfully familiar. Those were the same words that Sephiroth said to me in the nightmare that I had just a few days ago. Only it was Zack's fate that I had chosen. I felt myself losing control over my body. I heard the bushes rustle again, but I paid no mind to it. Jenova was making me stand up, and she made me lower my hands from my head. Slowly, I walked toward the gaping cliff.

"No!" I cried, "No," I knew what was going to happen next. If Jenova couldn't make me her willing puppet, then she had no use for me. I held my breath as we got closer to the cliff. I tried with all of my might to break out of Jenova's grasp, but my strength was failing me. Soon I found myself stepping off the cliff and plummeting downward, but the sensation lasted only a few seconds, until I felt a hand grab onto mine. I looked up. It was the last person I ever expected to save me. It was that whiny ninja brat, Yuffie. She pulled me up and laid me on the ground, but the danger was far from over. I was breathing heavily, and I was sweating all over. I saw Yuffie go over to Zack.

"What happened?" Yuffie asked, warily eying Zack's shoulder. I knew that if Zack could answer he would have. Instead, he looked over at me, his exhausted eyes never leaving my side. Gaia knows what pain he was in, both physically and emotionally.

"We were no match for that mechanical monster." I said hoarsely, "it took Zack down with one swipe of its claw."

"What?" Yuffie asked, "that's impossible."

"It was huge," I said, "a whole battalion of SOLDIER members couldn't take it down." She stood up and went over to my chocobo. She took a piece of metal off its back that had the ShinRa logo on it.

"Then how come you did?" She asked, showing me the metal square.

"I couldn't have done it without Zack." I admitted, "he's the real hero." Then I erupted into a coughing fit. After swallowing a big mouthful of air, I took shallows breaths so avoid coughing again.

"Yuffie…" I heard a familiar voice whisper. Yuffie walked over to him.

"What?" she asked, "do you need to patch you up?" Zack shook his head.

"Don't w-worry about me…," he said, "t-take Cloud b-back to Wutai…" Yuffie looked shocked by Zack's request. After all, he looked like he was in worse shape than I currently was.

"But," she said, "what about you?"

"Leave... me... here," Zack said, each word between gasping breaths. Yuffie looked on the brink of tears. She knew this was a serious matter. I knew she couldn't bear to leave Zack there, just like I wouldn't be able to if I was in her position. "Listen…," Zack said, stumbling over his words, "I've seen this before… If C-Cloud has a fever… after a Jenova attack…, chances are t-there's going… to be a-another one." Yuffie glanced from me to Zack, then back to me again. "Y-You need… to get him… to s-safety," he said in a hoarse voice. "It's like… the calm b-before the s-storm… or the pause… before t-the aftershock" Zack explained. "P-Please," he pleaded, "he could die."

Yuffie nodded solemnly and started to pick me up, but I fought against her grasp. Nothing was going to separate me from my best friend, not even a whiny little princess ninja. I fought like I had never fought before, and Yuffie had to struggle to keep her grip on me. I opened my mouth and bit her arm.

"OW!" she exclaimed. "What was that for?" I ignored her as I crawled over to my friend. I reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Cloud," I heard him say, "You…you have to get away from here."

"No, Zack," was my reply. "I'm not leaving you here."

"But, you… could die," he said, tear's flowing out of his eyes.

"Zack," I said "We're not going to die. We're going to make it out together."

"B-But, if it… if it w-weren't for me, you… would n-never be… in t-this m-mess in the… first place," he sighed, "m-maybe… it would b-be better… if we were n-never friends."

"Don't say that," I commanded, "I'm glad we're friends"

"But-" he started.

"Zack, I'm not leaving you."

"I'll be… alright," he said, "d-don't… worry about me, I-I've… suffered worse." He groaned as he tried to readjust his body on the saddle of the chocobo. I knew that he had suffered worse, much worse. We had endured four years of torture at the hands of that crazy mad-scientist, Hojo. Surely if Zack could survive that, he could survive anything, right?

"What about Aerith?" I pleaded with him, "How do you think she'll feel when she find's out that you're…." I trailed off. Not even daring to say the word. That seemed to hit a soft spot because Zack now had a pained look on his face.

"One life… in exchange… for another," Zack muttered. "You need… to live Cloud."

"But, I can't leave you here," I said to Zack, "you've done so much for me."

"I'm sorry… that I couldn't protect you.., Cloud," he continued, " You're… like this… because of… me."

"Quit blaming yourself already!" I shouted, "It's my fault that your shoulder got hurt."

"No, Cloud…" he said, his voice fading, "you were very brave… and I'm proud… of you." He fell unconscious after these words. My hand let go of his.

"I have an idea," Yuffie said, abruptly, and she picked me up and put me next to Zack. She put my arm around Zack. "Hold on tight," she said, and I wrapped my arm around Zack. Then she got on my chocobo, and with a flick of the reins, she sent the chocobo racing off. It ran at a really fast pace. We had only gotten a few miles when my grip started to loosen. I tried to hold on to him, but I felt my grip slipping by the minute. Eventually, it gave way, and Zack fell off the chocobo. He landed on the ground with a sharp thud. It looked like he landed on his left shoulder.

"Zack!" I shouted. Yuffie stopped the chocobo, and motioned to get off, but Zack emitted a loud groan and spooked the chocobos. They both ran off, leaving Zack behind.

"I'm sorry Cloud," I heard Zack moan before I was out of hearing range. I couldn't leave him, but I had no choice, I was too weak to do anything and Yuffie was frantically trying to get the chocobos to stop. Images of the moments I've spent with Zack flashed through my head.

"We're friends right?"

"Same old Cloud. Always keeping to himself, hiding his feelings away in a little box and never opening it up. You need to learn to open up to other people, Cloud. Whether it is me or Tifa or even Aerith, you need to learn that it's ok to feel sad, or embarrassed, or even loved."

"Cloud and Tifa sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-"

"Hang in there buddy."

"SOLDIER is supposed to board this ship to Wutai where we have a very important mission. And the President says that my friends don't have to do any work."

"What's the matter Spiky? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Look, I wouldn't harm him. He is my best friend."

"One life… in exchange… for another. You need… to live Cloud"

"No, Cloud…you were very brave… and I'm proud… of you."

"Zack…," I whispered to myself, "I will never forget you." I closed my eyes, "never." I felt my whole body go heavy with weariness, and I welcomed it, hoping it would allow me to escape from reality.

Aerith's PoV

I was so worried. It had already been three days since they were supposed to be back. I paced around the entrance to our little shack. A million questions buzzed through my head. What if Zack died? What if they didn't complete the mission? What if Zack got into trouble and couldn't get out? Those questions were driving me insane. Zack had to come back today or I could only assume the worst. After spending four years of my life waiting for his return, I'd finally gotten him back. Now he was gone. I didn't want to lose him again. Not after I had tried so hard to find him.

I noticed a yellow speck on the horizon. My heart fluttered with excitement as I thought of my knight-in-shining-armor, Zack, returning to me, arms wide open, ready to carry me into the sunset.

But those were just whimsical fantasies. I used to get lost in them all the time while waiting for Zack. My heart felt like it had dropped to the floor when I got a closer look at the chocobos. The first thing I noticed was that Zack wasn't on it, and the other thing I noticed was that it was being driven by… Yuffie? She looked very distraught. Cloud was on the back chocobo, he also looked upset. I ran up to her.

"Yuffie, where's Zack?" She looked like she was holding back tears. She looked at me, then at Cloud, and then looked away. Her voice sounded labored, as if she was struggling to speak.

"It…" she started, trailing off. "It was HORRIBLE," she whined. "There was so much blood coming out of his shoulder." She paused for a while to compose herself. Then she said the words I never wanted to hear in my entire life.

"I think Zack is dead."

"No…," I whispered, unable to believe it, "he can't be"

"He sacrificed his life for Cloud's," Yuffie sobbed, letting tears run down her cheeks. I fell to my knees, consumed by grief.

"Aerith!" I heard Tifa yell. She kneeled next to me and patted my back.

"I can't… believe… he's gone," I said through sobs.

"Aerith," Tifa said, "I know you're upset about Zack, but right now we have to worry about Cloud." I nodded and stood up. I was still shaking and my eyes burned as hot tears continued to trail down my cheeks. Tifa walked over and picked Cloud up, holding him in her arms like a baby. I could tell he was a little too heavy for Tifa, so I rushed over to help her. I took his feet while Tifa held him by his arms. Then we headed inside. Gently, we set him down on the only bed in the house, and Tifa searched for the thermometer. She took his temperature and gasped as she saw the reading.

Tifa looked up at me, panicked, and said, "One -hundred and five degrees. This is not good."

Cloud's PoV

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a bed. I was sweating profusely and I was still taking shallow breaths. My body ached horribly, like I'd been run over by a truck, and every joint burned like it was on fire. Over in one of the corners of the small, familiar shed that we called our temporary home, I could hear somebody crying. I turned my head in that direction to see Aerith sobbing and Tifa standing next to her.

"Zack," she said, before wiping her eyes with a tissue. I guessed that Yuffie had told her about Zack. I held onto the hope that he wasn't dead, but there was no way that someone could survive in a desert like that without any food or water. I turned away from Aerith and got lost in my own thoughts. Zack was more than a friend to me. He was my role model, mentor, best friend, and hero. We've been through more in a few years than most friends have been through in a lifetime. The only reason that I survived that horrifying lair was because Zack was always by my side. No matter how bad things were, seeing Zack's friendly face would always make things a little bit better.

My thoughts wandered to my nightmare. Very well, you have chosen your friend's fate. Those words were stuck in my head. Could I be the reason Zack died? I thought. Could it have been my fault? I knew that it was just a dream, but it was so realistic. Maybe it was just an illusion created by Jenova. No, it was too real. I could see the pain in Zack's eyes as they closed forever. Slowly, a song entered my thoughts; it reminded me of Zack. I closed my eyes and got lost in the lyrics, trying to drown out any other thoughts.

Bright eyes,
Burning like fire.
Bright eyes,
How can you close and fail
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes.

I thought about all that Zack had been through. He risked his life for me on several occasions, he helped me through many fevers, and he would always help me when I was in trouble. Zack was the kind of guy that could brighten your day by just being there. When he smiled, you can't help but smile too.

He changed after the experiments. They ripped out his puppy-like innocence and replaced it with something horrible, but there were some things that didn't change. He was selfless when it came to his friends, and his smile was still contagious, whenever he did smile. Zack was a really good person, and he didn't deserve to die.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pricked my forehead, causing me to cry out. Tifa was at my side in seconds.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I tried to answer but Jenova's voice invaded my thoughts.

"You're heart is heavy with loss," she said in her venomously sweet voice. "Join me and you could reunite with your friend." I thought about it, but I saw three worried pairs of eyes peering down at me. Knowing her, she was probably playing a trick on me.

"No," I replied, determined.

"Very well," she said, "let's see how long you last without your friend." The pain in my head intensified causing me to clutch it with both hands. I curled myself in a tight ball and squeezed my knees against my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible. The pain grew until I could hear a high pitched screeching noise. I yelled in pain as I gripped my head. I felt like it was going to explode. I felt Tifa reach a hand in my pocket and she looked surprised when she didn't find anything. She checked my other pocket and exclaimed in frustration.

"Where is the blizzard materia!" She yelled. Yuffie pulled something out of her pocket and gave it to Tifa. She gave the ninja a disapproving look before heading over to the small sink in the corner of the room. Aerith pulled out the remaining strip that was left of the blanket and put cold water on it. Then she folded it and put it on my forehead. I emitted a groan of displeasure when the damp cloth touched me. My skin prickled with a cold sweat, and I just squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that this was another nightmare.

It wasn't.

I could faintly hear Tifa start to sing to me, but this time it wouldn't work. Jenova was determined to win. I knew that she wouldn't stop until I gave in. Sure that would be easy, but I learned from Zack that the easiest way is not always the right way. I would have to endure the pain for him. I felt the back of my skull start to burn and my stomach started aching. I let out a painful cry when the screeching started up again. I could no longer hear Tifa singing in the background. All sound was blocked by that horrible screeching.

I wished that Zack was here, he would know what to do. I felt my hand being pulled, and I looked to my side. There I saw Aerith. She had my hand in hers and was rubbing it. Normally it would feel soothing, but it burned this time. I tugged my hand away from her and held it close to me. I felt cold, so very cold. Combined with everything else, the ice was almost more than I could bear. I kicked wildly, trying to get the burning ice off of me, but it wouldn't budge. Jenova made sure that all other methods that usually cured me were invalid. Then the terrible screeching stopped, and Tifa had stopped singing. I heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door "Hey Spike, did I miss anything?" He sounded very weak and tired.

"Zack…" I whispered. I knew this could just be a cruel illusion made by Jenova to cause me more pain. I tried to move, but I found that I was so firmly packed in ice that I couldn't. Aerith looked like she was about to cry.

"Could it really be him?" she asked. Her emerald eyes looked red and puffy from crying so much. He continued speaking. "Are you alright in there?" he asked "Can somebody please open the door?"

Tifa finally broke out of the trance she was in and unlocked the door. Zack must have been using the door as a support because as soon as the door was opened Zack fell into Tifa. She stumbled backwards and almost crashed into the couch. Aerith walked over to Tifa, who was trying to hold up the broken figure of a man.

"Zack," she exclaimed as she pulled him into a gentle hug. "I knew you weren't dead!" He let out a groan of pain even though it was a light hug.

"I'm getting close," Zack groaned, then he looked up at Aerith, "can you help me stand up?" he asked. Aerith nodded and wrapped one of her arms around Zack, slowly pulling him upward until he was on his feet. I could see that he was biting his lip to try and hold back a complaint. Then he collapsed near my bed.

My vision became blurry all of a sudden and I didn't know why. I squeezed my eyes closed and gave a loud groan as the overpowering screeching noise started up again. I heard Zack mumble something to me, but couldn't make it out, and then he turned to Tifa and said something to her. I frantically tried to kick the burning coldness off of me and Zack seemed to notice how frustrated I was. The blurry figure that I assumed to be Zack, grabbed at the ice, trying to get it off me, but he was too weak. I closed my eyes and moments later, I felt the coldness cease. Then I felt something brush against my cheek.

I opened my eyes and saw the blurry form of Zack. It looked like he was using the bed to hold himself up. Aerith was right next to him, looking just as worried as he was. Then Zack reached out his hand like he wanted to ruffle my hair. I saw his lips move but no words came out. Then I closed my eyes and a few minutes later I felt something warm pressing against me. When I opened my eyes I meant another pair of eyes that were the same bright blue that mine were.

Slowly the pain eased. Jenova might have found my weakness and may have used it against me, but there are some things that she couldn't change. Even though I couldn't hear Zack, his presence was enough to calm me. Slowly, I could feel my temperature dropping and the burning at the back of my skull subsided. The mental fog started to lift.

"It's alright, buddy," I heard Zack whisper. I could see a little smile working its way onto his face. I couldn't help but return it with a small smile of own. It was only after the danger had passed that I realized how exhausted I was. I glanced from Zack to Aerith and then my eyes rested on Tifa for a few moments before I closed them and fell into a deep sleep.

Zack PoV

I was finally able to relax for the first time in eight days. I glanced over at Cloud, who was sleeping, then I turned over to look at Aerith. She looked into my deep blue eyes, an expression of confusion on her face.

"So, how did you survive?" she asked quietly. I had already guessed that Yuffie had told her about what happened to me. I reached out to her, and she took my hand.

"I'm an ex-SOLDIER, remember?" I chuckled, but Aerith looked serious. "Alright, if you must know, someone found me and was kind enough to help me out. He was a merchant who was going into Wutai to sell goods and he was glad to give me a lift and fix up my shoulder if I gave him all my gil."

"That doesn't sound very nice to me," Aerith pointed out.

"It was the only choice I had," I said. "I would have died if he hadn't found me,"

"Yea, you're right."

"Plus," I added, grinning "most of my gil was in the backpack anyway." Aerith let out a little chuckle.

"What are you too laughing about?" Tifa asked.

"Nothing," Aerith replied, and then she turned to me. "Gaia Zack, you scared me so bad." My smile turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," I said, pulling her into a one-armed hug. "It was the only thing I could think of." I paused, "I didn't know how long it would be until Cloud had another attack, and I didn't want him to…" I trailed off and looked into Aerith's eyes.

"I don't want to lose you, Zack" Aerith said.

"Don't worry, I'll always come back to you." I replied. Then we pulled into a kiss. When we pulled apart, I stole a glance back at Cloud, and then I looked at Aerith.

"It's not over yet." I said.

A/N: This is my favorite chapter so far. I'm thinking of making a sequel for this story, so watch for that. Anyway, the songs are "Bright Eyes" form the movie Watership Down and the band Simon and Garfunkel. There are virtual cookies for anyone who could tell me which chapters the Zack quotes are from. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have the heart to kill Zack and I definitely can't kill Cloud. Anyway, check out my new story called "Saving me." That's about it so, Bye!