Hey all, I hope you guys like the last chapter! I'm really sorry about the delay. It won't happen again, I'll pump out two chapters real fast to make it up to you I promise. Life just got really busy and annoying fast ya know. I WILL finish this story so don't worry. Also a note to the person who wanted to beta read…message me, I deleted the message and lost ur contact info. And what is up with all the yaoi fanfic… can we actually get a story where Zack and Cloud aren't gay? I guess I'll do my part

Chapter 25

Zack opened his eyes; everything was blurry all he could see were black shadows above him. All his senses were foggy, he could not hear anything, his eyes could barely open, and breathing was getting harder by the second. Zack looked at the shadows and put his hand towards them, everything was getting dark. Zack closed his eyes as he heard a muffled voice.

"Over here! Hurry we have very little time! Shit…they lost a lot of blood." The muffled voice said.

Zack opened his eyes and knew the familiar surroundings. Zack put his hands to his face and shook his head. "Fuuuuuuuuuucccccckkkk! I bit the big one this time." Zack said almost jokingly.

Cloud sat next to him and looked at him. "Well about time you got here. I've been up here for like ten minutes. Why are we here again Zack?" Cloud asked nervously.

"I'm not gunna lie bud, I think we died. Yep we are totally dead, why else would we be here?" Zack said taking in the possibility of being dead. He had to stay calm and be his normal self, he could have Cloud breaking down.

"Well now what? We're here for eternity or something?" Cloud asked as he scratched his head.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry! I'm gunna go grab an apple on the stupid tree. Why the hell would they put a tree in the afterlife? It's not like we need to eat. It's not like we're gunna die again. HAHAHA" Zack said as he walked with his arms folded behind his head.

"I don't know Zack, maybe symbolism or something. Do you have a brain or do I have to do all the thinking!" Cloud said sounding a bit panicked.

"Chill Spikey, if this is our fate then that's what it is. We killed Sephiroth, and I doubt Weiss will survive his injuries… So the planet is saved but at the cost of our lives…the planets safe…" Zack said beginning to feel the pain of those he loved and left behind.

"You two are too melodramatic. You're not dead, but your bodies are totally destroyed. What the hell did you two do to them? HAHAHA!" Said a man behind them.

"Hey Angeal! What do you mean we're not dead! Cloud! WE"RE NOT DEAD!" Zack said as he shook Cloud in excitement.

"Ok ok yeah I heard him. What do you mean our bodies are destroyed?" Cloud asked Angeal being the mature of the two spiked haired men.

"Destroyed may have been to strong of a word. Your bodies are so badly damaged from your battles, plus all the blood loss…well how to put this…put you two in a coma. Don't worry it won't be long, just your minds have to stay here until your bodies recover." Angeal said to the two men.

"That explains Zack acting like a retard." Cloud said letting out a small chuckle. Angeal himself could not resist smiling at Cloud's comment.

"HEY! Shut up! I hate you both sooo much right now…" Zack said scorned about being the punch line of Cloud's joke.

"Hahaha relax puppy, it'll be fine don't worry." Angeal said letting out his laugh.

"Well what the hell should we do with all this time?" Zack said itching in his skin.

"How about some sparing?" Angeal said with a grin.

The blades of grass began to move like waves of the ocean. Metal bars laid softly on the ground, suddenly there was a scream from a women in the town. The roar of the engine quickly died as three men in black suits ran around the helicopter with panic on their faces. Reno motioned to a man nearby who was standing in a crowd of curious people. The man ran over and grabbed on end of a stretcher. He looked down at Cloud, the man almost threw up. The bone in his arm was sticking out with blood pouring from its side. The wound from his shoulder was losing a lot of blood, possibly mortal. They ran into the inn and laid the stretcher down on the floor of the front room. Aerith looked down at Cloud and began to worry. Cloud was in horrible shape, she knew that Zack was going to be worse. He was stubborn and would fight to his last breath; she knew his wounds would be great.

Tifa ran down the stairs and fell to her knees and broke into a sob as soon as she saw Cloud. Aerith ran over to her and held her tightly, Nanaki standing close by. The door slammed open, Tseng could be heard yelling in the distance. He had great panic and urgency in his voice. The team of nurses and doctors rushed to Cloud's side. The door burst open once more this time with Tseng and Rude carrying in Zack. Aerith popped up to see how bad the damage was, her face went blank and her eyes quickly filled with tears. Zack's wounds were so great that the stretcher had been dripping blood. Aerith's legs felt shaky. She fainted, as she fell to the ground Nanaki quickly broke her fall.

"Nanaki! Get them upstairs now! They don't need to see this!" Tseng pointed as he yelled.

Nanaki sunk his teeth into Aerith's dress. He flung her to his back. He nudged Tifa to walk up the stairs. He knew that they wouldn't be of any use watching as the chaos downstairs got worse.

Downstairs the scene was chaos. Everyone was yelling at one another, shouting instructions. The panic in the air was very thick; many people looked stone cold in fear. Tseng was thrusting Zack in the chest as a red-headed Turk gave him mouth to mouth. Cloud was being worked on by a team of doctors as the nurses stood above handing down tool as the doctor ordered. Cloud had a breathing tube going down his throat as the nearby machine beeped. Blood had begun to run through the crack of the wooden floor. Tseng continued to pump Zack's chest, beginning to look more afraid every second. Tseng was knocked to the side as the doctor finally came over to Zack. Cloud was slowly on his way to be stabilized. Zack was now the man worry. His heart had stopped, Tseng was keeping alive until the doctors came by performing CPR. The doctor yelled to the nurse to crank up the voltage as he stuck two panels on Zack's chest. "Clear! Damnit! Put it up to the next level! Clear!" The doctor yelled as Zack continued to flat line.

Suddenly a small beep could be heard. Never did a small beep bring out so much relieve. Zack began to show signs of life; the doctors quickly inserted a breathing tube to stabilize Zack. They quickly went to work on Zack, performing life saving surgery in the middle of the inn. The never ending fight against death went deep into the night, the doctors worked franticly.

-(3 days later)

"So doc tell us good news" Reno said. The entire group stood near the beds of the two men. Both still had dry blood on them from their wounds. Both men laid in the bed with tubes down their throats. Machines around them beeped constantly as they kept the men alive. Tifa and Aerith both looked at their men with tears filling their eyes. They both looked at them; they almost looked like mummies with all the bandages covering them nearly head to toe. Blood still soaked through all the bandages making a light red hue.

"Well, their alive. They are both in a coma right now, most likely from the rapid blood loss. Their recovery is very unlikely. In my professional option they will be in a vegetative state for the remainder of their lives. It is up to you if you wish to take them off life support." The man said with sorrow behind his tone.

The group looked in awe; the three women in the room looked shocked. The men hung their heads with the burden of the heavy truth. Nobody in the group wanted to speak up, many fearing that their friends have died for the planet. Tseng spoke up. "Tifa…Aerith…I'm so sorry..it's our fault…we could have…fought longer…"Tseng said as he let a tear flow from his eye. The man who always was the rock in the group had finally been shaken at the news of his friends.

Aerith looked up, looking a bit sad as she walked over to Zack's side. She put his hand through his hair and looked at him with watery eyes. She bent over and put her lips on his forehead with dry blood around it. She whispered as she kissed him, "I know baby, you are too strong to just leave me." She kissed his lips as though she was afraid this was going to be the last time she was going to see him.

She looked up at the doctor. "I would like to take him off of life support."

"What! Aerith you can't! Zack won't…" Someone said lost in the group who were all filled with shock. They all began to tear up.

"Please doctor…now." Aerith said politely.

"I am very proud of you young lady. I know it's hard, but it's harder to watch your loved ones in this state. Any last words?" The doctor asked the group.

Everyone looked at one another waiting for someone to speak up. Reno was the first to break the silence. "Yo Zack, You were one tough mother fucker man I'll see you again one day alright?" Reno said sobbing like a baby.

"It was an honor to fight by your side Zack. Thank you." Tseng said with his head hung down.

Everyone else remained silent in the group. Most did not want to accept the fact that their friend would be leaving them soon. The doctor walked over to the machine and began to shut down the machine. He was almost finished as Tifa yelled. "Wait!" She ran to Zack's side and grabbed his hand. "I'm so sorry Zack! I don't hate SOLDIER! I don't HATE YOU! I'm soo sorry! Please forgive me!" She said as she broke down into tears.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Tifa…He never held that against you, not even for a second. He knew how you felt, before you did. Trust me he knows." Aerith spoke.

The doctor continued what he was doing before he was interrupted by Tifa's outburst, A few clicks on the machine was followed by a long beep. Everyone had tears in their eyes as they looked at the monitor as it flat lined. Aerith turned to the window and smiled at her reflection. "My Zack is too strong to die this way." She turned him and put her lips on his forehead once again. "Now baby, wake up. I won't let you get up just yet. I don't want you to feel pain from your wounds. So just rest." The monitor continued to flat line, until it suddenly spiked. Everyone in the room began to smile. Everyone gave hugs all around, they were glad he was going to be ok. But their joy was short lived when Aerith spoke once more. "Now doctor take Cloud off of life support."

Everyone gasped, almost looking angry. "Aerith you can't! Cloud is not yours to make that kind of decision!" An angry Tifa shouted.

Nanaki looked at Aerith and smiled with his large teeth. "Tifa, she knows what she is doing. Just trust her."

Tifa looked at the beast rather surprised. She wiped her tears and took a large gulp. "Ok" She said as she sniffled. The doctor walked over to Cloud and pulled the plug. Moments later the monitor began to spike.

The doctor turned to the group with a look of amazement on his face. "How…this isn't possible…they were as good as dead…now they are holding their own? Next you're going to tell me they are going to get up and walk out of here."

"In a few days they will, but not today." Aerith said to the doctor almost in a taunting way.

Zack sat next to Angeal and Cloud in the grass as they ate a few apples. Zack laid down and looked at the lifestream above in the sky. "Wow, this place is truly amazing. I could definitely live here for all eternity. Everything is so…peaceful."

"Yeah it really is Zack, but don't forget your mission. You must save the planet." Angeal said.

"What the hell do you mean! Weiss and Sephiroth are both dead; so what's there to worry about?" Zack said as he let himself relax. He looked over to Cloud who had his head hung low. "let me guess…you didn't finish off Sephiroth…" Zack said with a bit of disappointment in his tone.

"No, I failed. I'm sorry Zack. Just…Hojo created this monster from a limb or something. And it was so powerful! I really don't know who I did it alone. It must have been that magic apple Genesis gave me." Cloud said.

"Zack, Cloud wasn't the only one to fail. You did as well. You let up on your enemy, Weiss got away. And just so you two know… they are both alive, and waiting for a chance to fight you once more." Angeal said with a serious tone.

"Shit… well at least we can continue to train up here. Our minds will be sharper! I can't wait to fight Genesis!" Cloud said as he looked around. "Where is he? I haven't seen him up here in a while."

Angeal and Zack were both hit by a ton of bricks. They had forgotten that Cloud did not know about Genesis's sacrifice. "Cloud…Look, there's something I need to tell you. Genesis isn't here because, his soul has given it's place in the lifestream." Angeal said with a heavy heart.

"What do you mean?" Cloud said as his eyes began to fill with tears.

"He gave his place for you Cloud. You died…it wasn't your fault, but there is no way to bring someone back once they die. The only way is an exchange…Genesis's place in the lifestream, for you to get a second chance." Angeal said with a heavy heart.

"But why? Why am I so special? Why would he do that? I could have just died, Zack is far more powerful…he could finish the job alone." Cloud said holding back tears.

"Your right Cloud. Zack is more powerful than you, and he always will be. But neither of you can win without the other. You two complete each other in battle, making one unbeatable opponent. Look what you two did to Weiss and Sephiroth, you kicked their asses. But we know they will get nothing but stronger right up until the very end. Cloud, Genesis's sacrifice was one that needed to be made." Angeal said as he hugged Cloud.

"Wow…I don't know what to say…" Cloud said with a heavy heart.

"Just don't let his sacrifice be in vein. Make sure you do your very best, and fight together with Zack. Save the planet. That's your job…your mission…your destiny." Angeal faded away.

Cloud turned to Zack who was standing behind him. He leaked a smile as he looked at his friend. Zack was sobbing like a baby, his cheeks soaked in tears. Zack wiped his nose with his glove and a trail of snot trickled from his nose to his out stretched hand. Cloud knew his friend was a total goof and at times a moron…but he had the purest heart in any person he had ever met. Cloud looked up at the green waves of the lifestream above. He was truly blessed to have these friends around him. Zack was his best friend, he had a lover although she didn't know. Great friends like Nanaki and Tseng, hell he also had friends in the afterlife. He just smiled and said "Thank you" to the lifestream.

"So Angeal how much longer are we gunna be up here? I'm getting really bored! Ugh!" Zack said as he was getting itchy in his own skin.

"Don't worry Zack, calm down. You guys will be out of here soon enough." Angeal said to the puppy.

"Well how about that sparring thing you were talking about Angeal?" Cloud said.

"Ahh, very good idea Cloud. That is exactly what we will do." Angeal grinned.

"So who's gunna fight who? And with what? We don't have swords!" Zack yelped as he realized for the first time his sword wasn't on his back.

"Don't worry I got it covered. But Zack…we have the same sword…So I guess we will truly see who is the true master of the Buster sword." Angeal grinned as he focused. Seconds later 3 huge blades fell from the lifestream above. Each of them got their swords. Cloud got his buster sword and quickly grabbed it. Zack and Angeal both got the same sword, but the difference was obvious. Angeal's was truly spotless, it looked brand new, much like the day Angeal gave it to Zack. Zack looked down at his sword. It was beaten and worn. It began to rust in a few places but nothing very noticeable. The blade also had a great amount of scratches on it from battle. The sharp edge was very rigid. It had deep gashes on it from constant collision with blades. Zack hung his head in shame; he did not take care of the sword like Angeal had done. Before Zack even lifted his head Angeal spoke. "I love the way your blade looks Zack. It truly is being used for an honorable cause. I cannot imagine a better reason…or person to be wielding it." Angeal said.

"So how are we gunna fight? Free for all?" Zack asked with a smile.

"Nope, we are going to do things my way. Teacher verses mentor. Zack you will take me on, then Cloud you will fight your mentor…Zack." Angeal smiled.

"Sweet! Let's do this!" Zack said as he gripped his sword tight.

"Zack I'm not going to hold back. I am going to give you all I got." Angeal said as he gripped his sword.

"Good." Zack said as he began his charge.

Angeal smile and put his sword deep in the ground. "Sorry, maybe another time…" Angeal said as everything began to turn white, everything began to fade away.

"Goddamnit! I was gunna kick you're a…." Zack said right before everything faded.

Zack opened his eyes and everything was bright. His eyes burned from the sudden light, he thought it would be better to keep them closed. Zack took a deep breath and focused his senses, a beeping could be heard, it was very out of rhythm. He knew Cloud must have been in the same room and his heart monitor was beeping was well. Zack took another deep breath, his chest expanded to its full capacity. He bit down hard and winced in pain. He felt the warmth of his blood filling the bandages slowly; he knew his body was in bad shape.

Zack slowed his breathing; he couldn't risk opening his wounds. He listened closely as he heard the friction of cloth. "It was Cloud" Zack thought to himself. Cloud began to regain consciousness and began to move. He began to wince in pain; Cloud had not remained calm and began to open his wounds.

The door slammed open, Zack heard the footsteps quickly heading towards Cloud. "Hurry sedate him immediately!" A faceless doctor said to a nurse.

Zack simply smiled to himself Cloud was still an amateur, he didn't know how to stay calm and ignore the pain. "Well he never did make SOLDIER, so how could I expect him to know how. None the less he's gotta learn." Zack thought to himself. Zack listened as the group of nurses and doctors left the room. They were all talking about how amazing it was that Cloud had awakened, but the conversation became inaudible after a short while. The doors opened once again, this time it wasn't a doctor, Zack knew the scent. It was Aerith, joy quickly filled Zack's mind. She always did have that touch to make everything seem okay no matter how shitty things really were.

Zack smiled to himself, he wanted to scare her, and he knew it would make her smile. The pain after was going to be well worth it, just to see her smile. That smile faded faster than it had come, "I haven't seen her smile since we were in Midgar." Zack said to himself. He knew things were horrible and she always had to worry about him. Zack sighed.

Aerith sat on the edge of the bed right next to Zack. Her back was faceing him, Zack began to smile. This was it, it was time to scare her! "Don't you even think about it Zackary! I know you awake sleepyhead" Aerith said as she quickly turned to her love.

"Damn….way to burst my bubble… how did you know?" Zack asked.

"I know you so well, and you being a goofball really kinda makes your pranks FAIRly predictable." Aerith said with a smile.

Zack looked at her, she was so beautiful. He couldn't wait for the day when the planet no longer need saving. "That day will be soon baby." Zack said to himself as he smiled to Aerith.

"But how did you know I was awake? That's either kinda cool, or really creepy I'm not sure." Zack asked looking as though everyone of his brain cells had fried.

"The planet guided me, I could feel your presence. I don't know…it's more of a feeling. Sorry I can't explain." Aerith said looking defeated.

"Nah, it's probably better that way anyway. It's you gift and only you should understand it." Zack said as he winced in pain.

"Let me try something. Lay down please." Aerith said as she put her hands on Zack's chest. A very faint light blue light came from Aerith's hands. The blood from Zack's wounds began to flow backwards. All the blood flowed directly into the wounds. The cut's moved together and fused like normal skin, but left behind a scar.

Zack sat up and pulled off all his bandages and looked down at his chest in amazement. "WOW! Everything's better! It doesn't hurt or anything! How did you do that?" Zack asked in total awe. Zack looked at Aerith, her reaction wasn't so pleasant. She had tears in her eyes slowly pouring down her cheeks. "What is it babe? Look! I'm all better and it's because of you! Your amazing Aerith!"

Her tears did not stop, she just looked at him and touched his chest. "You have so many scars; you have been through so much. It's unfair! You shouldn't have to carry this burden alone! There won't be anything left of you for me to love!" She said with a huge snuffle.

"Don't worry, my boy Cloud over there helps my carry it! I know, I know bad time to joke. But all of you help us. You especially, you have a newly found fricken awesome gift! You can heal! You are helping us carry the load. So you add all of you guys into the equation, the loads really not that heavy." Zack said with an obnoxious grin.

Aerith wiped her tears from her face and smiled. She wrapped her arms around Zack. She tucked her face into his neck, "You better be in one piece Mister." She said as she soft kissed Zack's neck.

Zack held her tight in his arms. Zack's eyes widened as he pulled Aerith away. "Umm…we forgot about Spikey, I think you should help him HAHAHA!" Zack said. Aerith let out a laugh as she walked over to Cloud's side.

"I'm glad you two could join us. Please sit." Tseng said to Zack and Cloud as he pointed to two open chairs.

"Reno, Rude. Who's the other chair for?" Zack asked as he greeted the two Turks.

Tseng began to speak with authority, "That is not the most pressing matter at the present moment. In you month of slumber we have acquired a lot of knowledge. We journeyed over to the Shinra Mansion. It was the only building left standing in the town. Hojo must have left in a hurry because he was very sloppy in covering his tracks. We have uncovered several important notes. To help explain this information I have created a series of slides. Well you please start the slide show now…Cissnei."