Chapter Seventeen. Broken Mind.

Enjoy.

Zack carefully wiped his bloodied gloves with a rag, finishing and throwing it to Flint who did the same with his blade. They then carried the bodies up to the cave, hiding them in the back

so no suspicion would come their way if someone passed by once they'd reached Corel. Flint had improved in swordsmanship a great deal since he'd left SOLDIER. Probably from traveling

so much. Zack thought as he glanced at many new scars on the blade's surface. Flint grabbed the sixth body under the armpits and began dragging it up. He raised his eyebrows as he

saw the bloody hole in the man's stomach. "How the hell did you punch him through the stomach?" Zack shrugged. "He was asking for it. He tried to attack Cloud. You should never attack

an unarmed man." Zack said, peeling off the gloves only to find more blood underneath. "Nasty." He said, stuffing them into the saddlebags. He went over to where he'd left Cloud, pulling

his Buster Sword from the dirt and sheathing it, smiling at his friend. "You okay buddy?" he knelt down in front of him, checking Cloud's body for injuries. "Good." He said, satisfied as he

carefully wrapped his arm around Cloud's body and stood, taking all of Cloud's weight and bringing him over to Fenrir who was warking impatiently. He lifted Cloud into the saddle where

he slumped against Fenrir's neck and mounted himself, leaning Cloud to rest against his chest. "Ready Cloud?" "Mm." Came out of Cloud's mouth and Zack looked at him, surprised. "Good

job buddy." He said, ruffling Cloud's hair and smiling. Flint gave a small smirk and mounted Fifer. "On to Corel." Zack said, pointing at the town that lay just out of arm's reach.

"We're here Spike!" Zack whooped, throwing up his arms. "Tonight we get a proper meal and rest! That means you too Fenrir!" Fenrir warked loudly, jumping into a bouncing stride as

they entered the city. Zack mimicked Flint, dismounting Fenrir and leading him by his reins, Cloud slumped on his back. They led them into the stables that were owned by the inn, Zack

putting Cloud on his back and leaving Flint to unsaddle the Chocobos. He entered the inn to find it was fairly small. It was constructed of logs, and there was hardly enough room to open

the door since it was so close to the counter. An older woman at the counter wearing glasses on her nose that didn't seem to have any purpose addressed him. "How may I help you?"

she asked, giving Cloud an odd look. "He passed out." Zack informed, "Not used to this kind of travelling." The woman nodded, not seeming to care. "Oh- we'd like a room please, and we

have another friend who's out in the stables." The woman nodded. "Your total is Fifteen Gil. For Twenty, you can have a continental breakfast." Zack's face lit up at the prospect of food.

"All right, I'll add it to the charge then." She said, looking at Zack's huge grin. With a small sigh, as if she was being inconvenienced, she tapped an extra number into the till. "That comes

to Twenty Gil." Zack handed her the money with a huge smile. "Can I have my bill?" the woman ripped it from the machine, handing it to Zack. Zack took it, stuffing it into his mouth,

chewing thoughtfully and swallowing. "Thanks." He said with a smile. She raised an eyebrow, but left him be as he carried his friend up the stairs. That guy must really be hungry. "What

the hell Zack?" Flint said as he came in behind Zack. "The innkeeper said you ate the bill." Zack lowered his voice. "Flint, if people are looking for us, they could be asking around town for

any signs of strange happenings- if our bill is left here, it could be evidence they could follow." Flint raised an eyebrow. "And they won't think a man eating his bill is a strange happening?"

Zack smiled sheepishly. Flint shook his head. "I'm gonna get a drink. You coming?" Zack shook his head. "I don't drink that much- plus, I'm tired, and I smell like crap, I'm gonna take a

shower and a have a rest. " "Suit yourself." Flint said, already out the door.

"We'll do you first." Zack said, propping him up against the bathroom wall. He went into the bathroom which had a fairly spacious bathtub and filled it with hot soapy water. He then

carried Cloud to the edge of the tub. He removed Cloud's jacket and then his shirt, seeing the bloody bandages that covered his torso sporting a new coat of sticky cherry. "Sorry buddy,"

Zack said, peeling off the old bandages, "All the movement must've torn open your wounds." Cloud's head lolled to the side. "Now don't get angry at me Cloud, you should've told me."

Cloud remained silent. "I know buddy, you can't can you." Zack said quietly, removing the remainder of Cloud's clothes and carefully putting him in the water, propping him up so his head

rested against the back of the tub. Zack found a pile of cloths and towels that had been set out for them, and he took a facecloth, dipping it into the water and running it over Cloud's

chest and face, cleaning off the dried blood and watching as the water turned a coppery red. "Mm." Cloud mumbled, a slight smile on his face. "The water feels nice doesn't it." Zack said,

continuing to chat to his friend as he rubbed the soap through his spikes and then moved to his back, arms and legs. He then drained the dub, rinsing Cloud's hair with the showerhead

and drying his body with a towel. He chuckled to himself, imagining how embarrassed Cloud would be if he had been conscious. He then took a set of clean bandages they'd stolen from

Hojo's lab and dressed Cloud's wounds, then found him a pair of boxers and a T-shirt he'd found in the drawers. After dressing him, he laid Cloud on one of the three beds in the room,

between his and Flint's, and pulled the covers up to his chin, ruffling his hair. "Night Spike." He said, but stopped when he felt a tug. Cloud's fingers had entwined themselves in the

material of his shirt, and his lips were moving silently, as if trying to say something. Zack knelt down beside him, watching his friend anxiously. "Z-Z-Z-a-Z-a-c-k." He mumbled, his head

lolling to the side. "Yeah Cloud, that's me." He said softly, feeling a lump form at the back of his throat. He got up, gently pulling Cloud's fingers from his shirt and turned out the light,

grabbing a towel and some more bandages and walking into the bathroom to take a shower.

Okay, I know it seems kinda weird, Zack giving Cloud a bath, but think, would you wanna be left covered in sweat, grime and blood? Anyways, I had to add some sappy Zack/Cloud moments, it was getting a little depressing :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry for the length once again :P

Lucifer