Hello everyone. I know I said it before, but I'm truly thankful for all your wonderful reviews for the first chapter. I don't know if any other chapter will be quite as long as the first, but I'll try to make them decent sized. This chapter is less action and more about how the characters are dealing with their new circumstances. Also, there's one part of this chapter is happened behind the scenes, but I'm thinking about writing a humorous one-shot for it. Especially since there seems to be a good number of Zack and Tifa fans out there. And no. This is not a Zerith pairing. It's not really Cloti either (yet anyway) *cough* ^w^;

I did pay attention to your suggestions and the little hiccups you guys pointed out. Your reviews were really helpful. As stated before I do not have an uploading schedule for this story, it's more on the side when I'm not writing for the other 10 million tales I'm working on. I'm exaggerating, but it feels like that much. xD

I'm still wrestling with a few ideas, but otherwise this story's plot is set. I hope you like what I have in store. Oh and for the line breaks, the three dots in the center will serve that purpose.

Enjoy!

The rain continued to pour on him as he crawled. The ground was muddy, making it hard to drag himself forward, but he had to keep going. He couldn't afford to stop. He was afraid that if he did he wouldn't be able to move again. He still wasn't sure of everything that had happened, but he knew that he had been unable to move for a long period of time. That much was easy to tell by the way his body felt so heavy as if he had been cursed with a gravity spell. His head was still foggy and his memories were impossible to recall. Only one thought remained clear in his mind. He needed to get to Zack.

Cloud only remembered seeing his friend walk away into the light of the wastelands and out of sight. Then he heard voices coming closer. They were the enemy and they had found him, but he wasn't worth the effort to recapture. He remembered hearing one saying he'd be dead soon enough. That had angered Cloud and had managed to help give him the strength to move. He would prove he wasn't weak. What worried him were the sounds of battle in the distance. As he started out the sun was shining brightly and the sounds of battle were constant. Gunfire, chopper blades, missiles, the clang of swords and ricocheting bullets, the sounds were clear as day. As he got closer the clouds rolled in bringing the rain and the sounds of battle grew less frequent.

The choppers were gone, but gunfire still echoed in the air. Cloud tried to stand, but his efforts were rewarded with a face-plant and mud in his mouth. Spitting it out to the side, he got back up and continued crawling. Finally he came upon the battlefield and saw bodies littering the area and all of them from Shinra. He hoped that was a good sign until he noticed how quiet it was. Hopefully that meant Zack had been victorious. However when he got there he saw his friend lying on the edge of the cliff, gravely injured.

He made it over to him and fought to sit up, and with a herculean effort he was successful. Looking down at his friend he wasn't sure if he was still alive. His eyes were wide open, but they were unseeing. Cloud knew he had to try something.

"Z…Zack?"

His efforts were rewarded with a grunt as Zack flinched. He tried to rise, but he had no strength. The last three soldiers had done what the other two hundred couldn't. Zack was dying. However seeing his friend awake and moving gave him hope and helped him accept his next choice.

Cloud knew the memory well. His hair, stained with Zack's blood from Zack's last attempt to embrace him, pulling him close and telling him he was going to live for the both of them. Handing Cloud his sword and bestowing his legacy onto him. And finally Zack's last breath as he closed his eyes.

Cloud looked up to the sky and let out a purely heartbroken scream.

That scream always woke him from his nightmare. Cloud didn't have that nightmare very often anymore, but every time it reoccurred he had to check his surroundings to help anchor him to reality. That dream was always so painful and vivid he might as well have been back there in that moment. The effects it had on him differed every time. Once he had woken up to see Tifa staring back at him with a worried expression. She had said he had been screaming and the worst part was she had caught him crying as well.

This time he had thankfully woken up before it could get that bad. Pulling off his sheets he headed to the bathroom to splash water into his face. He stood over the sink for a minute trying to collect himself. He had plenty of night terrors to choose from, but it was this dream that often troubled him the most. Many times he tried to figure it out and it always led back to the same conclusion. It was the moment of Zack's death that had caused him to make the biggest mistake of his life and his most bitter betrayal.

Right after making the promise to Zack he had forgotten the SOLDIER completely, putting himself in the warrior's place instead. It wasn't truly his fault, but it still felt like he had spat on his friend's memory.

Looking in the waste pale Cloud saw the remains of Zack's last bandage change. That's when he remembered the past three days. That Zack was alive. It sent an indescribable relief through him, and yet he couldn't help but wonder how his friend was revived and why? Was this Aerith's doing? Or was she just as much in the dark as he was? Did Zack know anything or was he just as clueless as the rest of them? There were way too many questions to figure out at two in the morning and Cloud was exhausted.

Stepping lightly, he made his way back into Tifa's room. She had let him sleep in there while Zack still occupied his office which doubled as Cloud's bedroom. He was careful not to wake her as he climbed back into bed and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

It was so strange having his friend back in his life. At times it was so easy to fall back into how things were before. How it became so easy to crack a grin or laugh at Zack's antics. But other times it was like he was staring at a ghost. By all rights Zack shouldn't be here, but he was and a few times Cloud didn't know how to act around him. Zack had the same injuries as the day he was killed. Did that mean he hadn't aged? Was he still twenty four? That would mean that Cloud was now older than him, which was a weird thing to accept since he had originally been two years younger than Zack.

Something tugged at his arm and Cloud looked over to his right and noticed Tifa had wrapped her arm around his. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell she was awake. "Everything's fine," she murmured, "go back to sleep."

Cloud offered her a small grin before acknowledging her common sense. Even mostly asleep she was always right. He placed his hand on hers before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep that was thankfully dreamless.

. . .

The next morning Tifa came to check on Zack and redress his bandages. The SOLDIER was already sitting up in bed and she could tell he was pouting.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I hate it."

"Hate what?" she asked as she brought up the chair and sat down in front of him while untying his dressings.

"I hate sitting here and doing nothing. I want to be moving around and helping."

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "You helped me yesterday. That man never got the chance to hurt me because of your quick actions." She left out the part where she could have handled herself, but she wasn't about to injure his pride further.

"Yeah, and you saw how exhausted I was after," he retorted bitterly. "I can't even remember the last time I felt this weak Tifa. Not even in my days as a cadet training for SOLDIER."

"Zack, you're badly injured. It will take time to heal and get your strength back, even for someone like you."

Zack however wasn't as optimistic. "This morning I got dizzy just trying to stand up. Shiva I'm pathetic!"

Tifa only shook her head as she removed the bandage from around his torso. "Have you forgotten how much blood you lost? You can't just get it all back over night. I still think going to get a blood transfusion may not be a bad idea."

"No, no more doctors," Zack firmly replied.

Tifa looked down at the clean dressings on her lap. "Cloud was the same way. He hates everything to do with doctors. Even a visit to the WRO's medical wing sets him on edge."

"It's all Hojo's fault," Zack replied. "If he hadn't been such a nut case none of this would have happened."

"Zack, there was no way you could have known back then," she tried to tell him, but he shook his head.

"You don't get it! Before everything spiraled out of control, before the damage was irreversible, Genesis tried to kill Hojo, but I stopped him. I actually protected the bastard!" He gripped the bed rail and looked down at the floor, replaying the event in his mind.

"I could have prevented so much if I had just let Genesis finish him off back then. Sephiroth wouldn't have gone crazy, Cloud and I wouldn't have been taken prisoner, we wouldn't have needed to run, all because I was too stupid to see the truth."

Tifa placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted his chin as if he were a child. "Listen to me, there was no way to know what would happen. And you're not stupid." Looking towards the door to make sure they were alone she turned back to him. "This is a very sensitive subject I'm about to tell you, so please, don't repeat it to Cloud."

He slowly nodded and she began while applying the fresh bandages. "Back when Sephiroth still had a hold of Cloud's mind Hojo appeared before us and Cloud begged him for a number."

"What," asked Zack, startled.

"Sephiroth had convinced him that he was nothing more than a puppet; a clone to be used. Hojo didn't help by calling him a failed specimen. Cloud was desperate to be something so he asked Hojo for a number to identify himself as. He wouldn't listen to reason when we tried to tell him the truth."

Zack winced as Tifa accidently pressed too hard on the gauze covering the wound closest to his heart. "I knew Hojo had messed with his mind, but that's an entirely new low for that psycho."

Tifa nodded as she continued. "When we found him again he had been pulled from a pure mako spring and the doctors said he would only babble nonsense. I stayed with him while the others continued their search for Sephiroth. He was suffering from severe mako poisoning. He would speak, but only a few words and all of them were about Sephiroth or asking Hojo for a number. It was painful, but I did everything I could to help him through it. I finally did and was able to help him piece his real memories back together. That's when he remembered you."

Zack smirked at her. "He's lucky to have someone who cares about him so much. You know, during the Nibelheim mission he talked about you a lot."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he kept beating himself up because he felt ashamed for letting people down just because he wasn't a SOLDIER."

"Yeah, he told me about that when he confessed to the group about who he really was," she replied. "Alright, you're good, just please…"

"I know I know, take it easy," he waved his hand knowingly. "He stood up and stretched a bit, testing his strength only to wince as it put a strain on his injuries. Tifa only rolled her eyes and shook her head.

. . .

Cloud had left a few hours earlier in order to see Reeve at the WRO headquarters. He was curious about something and hoped his friend would have some answers. The guards at the front gate of the compound raised their weapons at the approaching motorcycle before they recognized him and immediately lowered their firearms.

"Welcome back Mr. Strife," nodded the first guard while the second guard waved for the gates to be opened.

Cloud returned the nod and waited for the twenty-foot tall iron bars to slide open before driving into the compound. He parked Fenrir by the front entrance and passed through the sliding glass doors.

Making his way to the front desk he nodded towards the woman sitting there.

"Good morning Mr. Strife. I take it you're here to see President Tsutei?"

"Yes," he replied.

She was about to call his office when the phone rang. She answered it. "Front desk…yes sir…yes sir, I'll send him right up." She hung up then and smiled at Cloud. It's nearly impossible to surprise him these days. He's waiting for you in his office."

Cloud huffed with amusement, fully agreeing with her. Before heading for the elevator he looked at the security camera and gave his watching friend a two-finger salute. When he arrived at the correct floor he exited the elevator and came up to another desk. He wasn't surprised to see the girl behind it.

"Shelke," he greeted.

"Hello Cloud, Reeve's expecting you," she replied without looking up from her work. It was amazing how well she could multitask, but with her abilities she handled it like a pro.

He made his way down the hall and towards his friend's office. It wasn't his first time here and yet he still couldn't get used to how large the office was. A pent house would be a better name for it. Passing through the glass doors he found himself in more familiar territory as a number of books and paperwork were stacked in various places. Reeve was a brilliant man, always coming up with new inventions and ideas to make life better for everyone. It was one of the reasons why he had become a board member for Shinra; however he was the black sheep of the black-hearted group. He was outraged with their choices, but was powerless to do anything about it. That all changed when he met Cloud and his friends.

The blonde finally made it to Reeve's desk after navigating through a maze of unfinished plans and a few inventions that looked promising. Reeve smiled as he looked up from the paper he was reading. "Cloud, I wasn't expecting a visit so soon. Why don't you pull up a chair, that is, if you can find one." He added looking embarrassed about the mess.

Cloud easily found it and carefully placed the large stack of manila files onto the floor before pulling the chair over and sitting down. "Don't you think you've gotten a bit carried away Reeve?"

The older man rubbed his temples before chuckling. "This time, I believe you're right. I guess you could say I'm trying to make up for the past fifty years of Shinra's mistakes."

"Midgar wasn't built in a day," Cloud replied. "You don't have to bury yourself in work to avoid burying yourself in guilt. Trust me, I've tried it and it doesn't work."

Reeve looked up at him and smiled with a nod. "You've got a good point." Setting the paper to the side he gave Cloud his full attention. "What can I help you with?"

Cloud thought about how he wanted to ask his friend. "We learned a lot of things on our journey to save the planet, but there are still some secrets the planet is hiding."

Reeve's smile vanished as he tried to work through those words. "You're not suggesting…surely there're only so many times he can return."

Cloud got up and walked towards the window. "No, it's not him. But someone did return from the lifestream."

Reeve heaved a sigh of relief. It was nice not having to worry about an attack from Sephiroth. "Who then, do you mean she…"

"No," Cloud replied sadly, "an old friend of mine."

"The SOLDIER who helped you escape from Hojo?"

Cloud nodded. "I don't know how, because I wasn't there when it happened. Tifa said he stumbled into the bar badly injured. I was already heading out to the cliff where he had fallen and realized that something was wrong. Flowers had begun to grow on that spot and spread outward. However when I arrived they were all dead."

He shook his head at the idea of it. "I know it's not enough to go on, but I don't know how else to explain it."

"No, it makes sense," Reeve reassured him. "It stands to reason that the lifestream cannot simply bring someone back to life. When Sephiroth returned last time he needed a host. Kadaj had to sacrifice himself to allow Sephiroth to appear. Perhaps the Lifestream did the same with the flowers. After all, flowers are living things too."

"But why? Why did Zack return?" Cloud had tried to figure it out on his own, but he kept getting nowhere. "It can't be because the planet was saved. That's happened twice already."

"Three if you count the event with Omega," Reeve added.

Cloud thought back to that event. When the souls of the planet were being absorbed and collected. The WEAPON would have taken the souls from both the living and the lifestream and left to find a new planet if Vincent hadn't been there to stop it. By using the power of Chaos he stopped the WEAPON and the souls returned to where they belonged.

"Could that have done it?" he asked Reeve. "When the souls were released, could that have been the reason?"

I don't see that being the main reason," Reeve replied. "But it could have been part of it. Perhaps during that time Zack's soul had become aware of what was going on and tried to return. It may have taken some time for enough flowers to grow to enable him to pull it off. Or perhaps someone else intervened."

"You're talking about Aerith?" Cloud asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time she's preformed miracles from the lifestream," he replied.

Cloud thought back to the last time he spoke with her. He had just defeated Sephiroth and the remaining remnants had overloaded their materia, causing an explosion. Aerith had found him drifting along the border of the lifestream. He remembered feeling her touch his forehead and felt his injuries healing. He heard both her and Zack teasing him before sending him back. And then after healing Denzel from Geostigma he saw her walking towards the doorway of the church where Zack was waiting for her. It made Cloud wonder if Zack remembered anything from his time in the Lifestream. It was something to ask him when he got home.

"What do you think this means Reeve?"

The older man folded his hands and leaned his chin against them. "I think it's too early to tell, but we'd best be prepared. It's very rare when something good happens out of the blue. Right now there's nothing that can be done, other than enjoy the fact that a friend has come back into your life. I can't begin to imagine what you've both gone through before we met, but my advice is to make the best of it."

. . .

Cloud thought about Reeve's advice all the way home. Parking Fenrir, he sighed in defeat, having gained nothing except more questions and mysteries. He had hoped his friend would have shed a bit more light on the subject, but he was thankful that Reeve had offered to look into it and call him when he found something.

Stepping inside the bar he was surprised to see Zack slumped over at the counter. Tifa walked out from the kitchen then and placed a plate of food in front of a customer. Cloud approached her and looked over at Zack. The SOLDIER was out cold, but breathing evenly as if he were sleeping.

"He wouldn't stop trying to help," Tifa offered. "All the while he kept saying he had to get back into shape. He was going to push himself too far and I didn't want him to reopen his wounds so I cast a sleep spell on him."

"It's not easy for him," Cloud replied. "Several years are missing from his life and before that he spent a year on the run, fighting to survive no matter how he felt. It didn't help that I was about as useful as a sack of potatoes at the time."

"Ugh, not you too," Tifa whined.

"I'm just saying it's going to take some time for all of us to get used to this. I tried asking Reeve what he thought…"

"And what did he say?" she asked.

"He's not sure either, but he's going to look into it." Cloud replied. "He also suggested that the incident with Omega might have had something to do with it."

"That would make sense," she replied. "A lot of souls were gathered before Vincent stopped it. And if that's the case then who's to say that Zack's was the only soul that returned?"

Cloud's eyes widened as he looked straight at her. "What are you saying Tifa?"

"I'm saying that maybe it's time we take a road trip."

. . .

That night Cloud sat up on the roof of their home. It was the best place for Cloud to be alone, yet still be around if his family needed him. Looking up at the night sky he let out a slow sigh as his mind wandered.

Footsteps told him he was no longer alone as he turned to see Zack making his way over. The warrior blinked when he realized the roof was already occupied. "Sorry, I didn't realize this was such a popular spot."

Cloud just shrugged as the ravenette sat down a few feet away. He had wanted to spend some time to sort out his thoughts, but it was hard when he was sitting next to what felt like a ghost. In the past whenever Zack would come to him Cloud would feel relieved, now he had no idea how to feel. He wanted to follow Reeve's advice and enjoy spending time with him, but it was hard when the past kept haunting him.

"You know," Zack started as he looked up at the stars. "The skies cleared up pretty nicely. I remember Midgar's pollution being so bad you could hardly see the sun sometimes. It always seemed so cloudy and it was really bad in the slums. I swear I could almost taste the tang of mako given off from the vapors that would seep from the reactors. It made a lot of the slum folks sick."

Cloud remained silent, not sure what to add to the conversation. He knew how fowl the air had been and had noticed the change over the years. It was still dangerous to go near some areas, but it wasn't as bad now that GeoStigma had all but disappeared.

Zack sighed and closed his eyes before smiling. "You came up here to be alone and here I am bugging you." He got up with a grunt of pain and huffed with what seemed like amusement. "It's funny. Everyone I've talk to at the bar keeps saying how strong and fearless you are, and I have no doubt that it's all true, but there are some things that haven't changed. You're still quiet and shy just like you were as an infantryman. I knew you went through a lot over the years, and it changed you, but I'm glad that the spunky chocobo I met way back then is still in there."

He started to go back inside when Cloud turned. "Zack, wait."

"Hm?" the warrior popped his head back up and blinked at him. "What's up?"

"There's somewhere I need to go tomorrow and I think you should come with me."

Zack gave his friend a mischievous smile. "Finally done ignoring me?"

Cloud suddenly looked down, ashamed. Zack only laughed. "I'm just kidding! I mean I was worried something was wrong since you kept avoiding me, but I figured it was just something you needed to work out. I mean, it's not like it's the first time you've given me the silent treatment. I think I'd have to do something really rotten to make you break that year-long record," he added with a wink.

"You're not annoyed?" asked Cloud.

"Pfft no. You have issues to deal with. I get it. I mean, it's not every day your best friend comes back from the dead, though to be honest I expected a party."

That made Cloud huff with amusement.

Zack's smile only grew. "Hah, got you. And Tifa said you don't laugh easily. That wasn't too hard. Now don't stay up too late. I expect you to get some decent shut eye."

"You still think you're my commanding officer," asked Cloud.

"You bet your spiky hair I still am. I may not be a SOLDIER anymore, but I'm still a First Class. I worked hard to earn that title and I'm going to keep it."