Never Lost
By: Phoenix Dayze

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Please don't hurt me.

"No!" Zack shouted, jumping up from his place on the bed and pacing across the room. "You can't do that! You can't ask me to take his life! I have no right to it! And even if I did…" He trailed off, misery and abject refusal lining his face. "I can't, Seph!" A tear slithered down his cheek. "I love you, and I'd give anything in this world to have you back, but…" he paused helplessly. "Cloud, I…"

Cloud rose from his spot on the floor and walked over to stand next to Zack. He put a light hand on his arm. "I don't mind." He said lowly. "I never felt I belonged in this world anyway."

Zack tried to shrug away from his touch, to ignore the words planting themselves in his soul, dark seeds of suggestion, but Sephiroth was there, his ethereal presence crowding Zack, his pale hands tilting Zack's head back by sheer will.

"But we could be together." Sephiroth spoke into his ear. "You and I, we could finally be one." Sephiroth's mouth hovered over Zack's lips, a cold, inviting brush of torment that Zack longed to taste. It caressed over his skin, taunting, teasing, a beautiful, awful craving that would never be quenched unless Zack did the unthinkable.

Hot tears leaked from Zack's eyes, as he tried, instinctively, to draw closer to Sephiroth, and melted into an icy chill of foggy colors. His heart ached and yearned, and everything he wanted, the man he needed, was so close, so almost within his grasp. All he had to do was sacrifice one young boy, send him to death and nothingness, a boy was standing there asking him to do it.

And Zack knew that he would. He couldn't live without Sephiroth, didn't want to, had been dead inside since they'd been apart. But even so, the choice he was making was not an easy one. Cloud had become his friend over the past few months, had given him a purpose, a reason to live, something to look forward to. And Zack had promised to help him. They had suffered side by side, had escaped slavery together. They had shared a bed, Cloud offering himself willingly, giving Zack the outlet he needed, allowing Zack to feel love and passion and pleasure, when all Zack had known was pain and despair. Giving Cloud up meant more than just stealing away the boy's life; it meant never seeing him again.

Zack groped blindly for the blond man standing so tantalizingly near, his arm locking around his small frame, and Cloud melted into his embrace, his slender arms wrapping around Zack's broad back, fingers digging tightly into his skin. Zack poured his tears, his heartache and his grief, into Cloud's shoulder, holding the man close, clinging to him, never wanting to let go, but knowing that forever was near at hand. "I'm sorry." He sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

Cloud took Zack's face in his hands and stared into his eyes, violets pools of agony. He smiled softly, a tender wisp of knowing. "Don't worry." He whispered. "I'll be fine." He gave Zack a gentle, hungry kiss, a solid farewell. Then he turned to Sephiroth and nodded. "I'm ready."

Sephiroth pulled Cloud to him, wrapping the small man in his larger embrace. Cloud stared up at him trustingly. Slowly, Sephiroth lowered his mouth to Cloud's, their lips sealing in a flash of gleaming silver. Tiny, glittering lights rained over them, pulsing and swirling as they sucked away the color from Cloud's body, which slowly dissolved, fading away as the General kissed him into oblivion.

As Cloud disappeared, Sephiroth began to change. His body filled out, the old muscle returning, his skin gaining a smooth, healthy sheen. The tortured lines of his face eased, the flawless beauty emerging from behind the mask of death. The dull ambiance of his hair reversed with a blinding gleam, the dazzling silver luster revived to its former glory. Only the length remained unchanged, a token reminded of what had passed.

Reality snapped into place all at once, knocking Zack off his feet, to fall, sprawling to the floor. When he looked back, Cloud was gone, and Sephiroth, the silver General, the man he had believed to be lost to him forever, stood proud and regal before him, real as the night around them.

Sephiroth stared at himself, an expression of wonder on his finely crafted features. After a moment, he looked over at Zack, who was still prone with disbelief. He held out his arms with a peculiar gleam of hope lurking in the indelible green. "Well, Zackary," he asked, "what do you think?"

Zack blinked, then a wide grin began to possess his face. "Seph…" he said incredibly, "you're back!"

The End.