Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: This chapter is a bit darker than the previous one. I am also taking a few artistic liberties with the timing and placement of characters and events in the flashback part of this chapter. Rated M for some gore.

Thank you so much for such fantastic responses to the last chapter, keep it up! I am doing a little happy dance!

Thank you to my fantastic beta SubZeroChimera!


"Wisdom, compassion and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men." –Confucius

To You I Give My Heart

Chapter 15

~Tiny Revelations~

Total blackness, it was something that he saw very little of. It was rare, but not inconsequential, in fact when there were no dreams, it raised serious questions. However, he felt as though his whole body were on fire. The nightmare of that night in Nibelheim, the searing heat that scorched the land and destroyed so many lives ripped into his thoughts.

The burning in his chest, the shortness of breath as he ran after the man he once looked up to as a true hero had gone mad. Sephiroth's maniacal laughter reverberated in his ears and bounced off the walls of the inner part of the reactor as he fought. The fight went on forever, as if he had entered a strong-man competition, a scrutiny of his stamina. The silver-haired General kept coming at him, just when he would put distance between them so he could catch his breath, he came at him again. It was a test, a test of his training, his skill, his endurance and Sephiroth was winning. Perhaps Angeal had put his time, effort and trust in the wrong cadet.

Then it happened. The very moment that he doubted himself, the long thin steel sword came down and sliced him open. Never had he seen anything like it, time stood still as he looked down at his wound. The sharpest sword known to man had cut through his armor, his sweater, his skin and muscle, leaving a gaping hole in him. Not just physically, but his life was meaningless now. The sight of bone, his sternum and down below part of his ribs to his belly, carved with the tip of the sword, brought him to his knees.

Dropping Angeal's buster sword, he couldn't even call it his sword anymore, he betrayed his mentor's trust in his Soldier honor. Falling forward to his hands, his blood stained the metal grating that made up the platform they stood on. One of his trembling hands rose to the shocking and massive laceration instinctively as his fingers gripped at his skin, literally trying to hold himself together. Protruding muscle tissue and organs dipped grotesquely from the cut with every drop of blood. Agonizing breaths set a new burn through his body as he looked up through his eyebrows. Zack wanted to look the man in his eyes before that sword finished the job it started. Just as he thought, there was nothing but evil intentions lurking behind those blaringly green, serpentine eyes.

Again there was the laugh, the self-righteous voice that solidified his anger. Zack was not an equal, he had lost the battle and he would pay the ultimate price because of his failures. How many more innocents would die because of his inadequacies?

When the sword; that ridiculously long sword, started its descent to decapitate the young First Class who stayed on his hands and knees, something else happened. The buster sword that he dropped seemed to float in mid-air, it blocked the killing blow, but it didn't matter at that point. With no more strength in the arm that held him up, he fell to his stomach. The side of his face rested on the grating and he watched a pair of small combat boots that stood in front of him. Before the heavy feeling of sinking through the floor could take him, the frightened voice of a woman asked if he was okay. Cutting his eyes up as much as he could, he saw his best friend kneeling. All across her face was pain, anger and hatred.

"Cloud... finish Sephiroth off," Was all Zack could say. Running her hand through his sweaty hair, she didn't cry, she didn't shy away, but she stepped up, like a brave Soldier.

With determination and power of will, she attacked the man who she once looked up to just as much as any other soldier did, "Sephiroth!"

In slow motion, Zack watched as Sephiroth skewered the small blond on the end of his sword, right between her breasts. Squeezing his eyes shut at the sound of her shallow scream of pain and the short harsh inhale she fought to take, Zack heard the man speak to her as if she didn't just attack him, he sounded like she was just an annoyance, a pest, a pet that had made a mess, "Don't test me."

This was it; he had failed and not only gotten himself killed, but Cloud too.

When a gasp came from Sephiroth, Zack opened his eyes as the insane General's quiet exclamation, "Impossible!"

The sight of his best friend hanging from the sword, his eyes welled up until he saw something that he never thought could happen. The small gloved hands took the blade in hand and she pulled herself further down the blade. The tip of the sword tore through the fabric of her uniform on her back as she grunted in painful determination. When she actually was able to get the upper hand of the fight, she tossed the swordsman down to the pure raw mako at the bottom of the reactor, taking the sword with him.

Catching herself on the side of a mako pod, she grasped at her chest. Shuffling silently forward, she could go no further. Landing on her stomach, she looked into Zack's deep violet eyes briefly before she closed hers. Despite the harsh pain, he reached for her, "...You did it Cloud." With his fingertips, he was able to brush a lock of hair from her face before he too fell to darkness.


That was the Cloud he knew, strong but gentle, fierce but loving, careful but spontaneous. That was the Cloud that he fell so deeply, totally and completely in love with.

Now, opening his eyes as two strangers worked at waking him, the feel of the floor seemed like the right place for him right then. Was this the feeling of the beginning of peace, or the feeling of a total nervous breakdown in the making?

"Grandfather, I think he is in shock."

Hojo? Cloud? Was this what it had all been about? Was Hojo after this all along? The stakes just got raised and he just had that much more to fight for. Or was it that he had that much more for him to be frightened of?

"Woo Hoo. I do not believe he knew about her condition. If that is the case, it is no wonder. News like this can be difficult to take if it isn't what you're expecting, especially from what they have been through."

Looking around from the floor, he scanned everything like it was a brand new world; he'd never seen it before. Voices that spoke about him and to him were just background noise, he couldn't actually hear what they were saying right then. Everything was off and he was well on his way to his mind flinging itself out to pasture.

"Grandfather, he is awfully pale."

Slowly, he surveyed them with empty eyes, he saw them, but didn't look at them. Life took on new definition now. Searching his memories, he wondered if that was what Harding was trying to tell him, but in his anger, Zack wouldn't allow him to say anything else. Harding had to have known, that is why he got them out of there when he did. It was for the safety of not only Cloud, but the baby too. Zack was the one that he chose to take her out of there and that was the reason. What would happen to Harding if Hojo found out it was him who helped them escape?

"Sharna, go get him some water. Zack?"

The fact that the old man had called him by his name didn't faze him. He didn't care if the man called him shit head at this point. Some of the things that he was questioning made sense now, like her weight gain. Then there was the rushing panic that he felt at the thought of walking through the dry, hot barren land and drinking part of her share of water. Not only had he put Cloud's life in greater danger, but the life of his child.

"Here Zack, drink some water."

'Oh Gaia, my child?' That thought sent a dizzying feeling through him that made him glad he was still lying on the floor. What was going to happen to them now? Not only was the army after them, but Turks and Hojo too. The thought of what would happen if they got their hands on Cloud or the baby got a guttural reaction out of him.

"Grandfather, I think he's going to be sick."

He gagged, but nothing came up. Pushing away that thought, he concentrated on Cloud. Finding someplace where they would be safe permanently was a new priority, it took on a new sense of urgency. Being on the run with a baby would not only be dangerous but damn near impossible. That would be like sending out invitations for dinner to a pack of hungry dragons or a sign pointing them out to the Turks.

"Sharna, go get a wet cloth for him."

When the thought of Hojo getting his hands on them again, instead of making him nauseous, it made him scowl and he just thought he felt violent before. This was a whole new level of anger driven protectiveness. The primal and instinctual part that made up his human male genetic make-up caused a territorial urge to seal away the blond and the child.

"Here, Grandfather, I have a cloth."

The feel of the cool cloth on his face brought him back to this strange hut, in a strange land with strange people. Sitting up in a hurry, he had to get back to Cloud; he needed her next to him.

"Whoa, slow down Zack," The man held out his hand to help him up and all he could do was look at the man's hands as though he didn't know what the man wanted.

Opening his mouth, nothing came out so he closed it only to open it up again just a second later. Sharna wiped at his forehead again and he looked in her direction, "-I…" He knew he sounded like an idiot but he tried to finish his incoherent thought anyway, "I… need to see Cloud." Getting up, he started for the door and his face met the door frame again, "Oww… Gaia-Dammit!"

Holding his nose again and pulling the tissue out of his nostrils, he sprinted out the door and down the rope ladder then successfully got himself lost. Running in circles, he grabbed a woman in a materia shop, "…Woman… blond… where?" Great, now he started to sound like an imbecile and a cave man.

When the woman shrugged her shoulders, he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, "Come on, I'll show you the way back."

Thankful that Sharna showed up, he eagerly followed her back to where he woke up just an hour ago. Getting to the beaded curtain, Sharna pulled back a handful and stepped to the side. There, in the bed, just as he left her, was the beautiful woman who was carrying his child. Feeling his knees weaken, he stumbled forward and dropped to the floor next to her. Taking one of her hands, he put her palm to his cheek and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Cutting his eyes over to her small rounded belly that he originally thought was nothing; he slowly moved his hand toward it. Pausing right above her stomach, he hesitated and looked back at her face and whispered, "Cloud?" Her eyes were as still as a calm lake in the morning, her breathing steady and her hand warm and full of life, he looked back to her stomach. Moving his fingers cautiously, he lay his hand down on the firm bump.

The tiniest flutter, a soft and gentle wave, he jerked his hand back at the touch. Shocked, he looked back to her face, but nothing in her expression changed. He didn't know a lot about pregnancy except for the mandatory field medical classes that he took, but something was odd. She couldn't be too far along, she wasn't very big. How was he able to feel any movement? How had he not felt anything before now?

"I bet you're wondering how far along she is, aren't you?"

Whipping his head around, he met the eyes of the old man. Without saying a word, the man answered his unasked question.

"She isn't but about four, maybe five months along from what I can tell. However, you're also wondering why you can feel the baby now. Aren't you?"

Again, Zack's eyes asked the question that the old man picked up on.

"Your baby is very special. I feel a great strength and importance that surrounds the child," Approaching the sleeping blond, Bugenhagen added, "But, danger surrounds all three of you."

Placing his hand back to Cloud's stomach, he closed his eyes at the fluttering that was just beneath her skin. Bowing his head, he rested his forehead on her chest and shed tears that were full of every emotion that one person could go through.


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