A/N: Oh my goodness! Is this an update?! Holy shit people! I didn't die after all – much to the chagrin of at least one person on this site… Well, I really don't have much of an excuse that you haven't heard a million times before… school, kids, video games etc. I really got into playing Fallout 4 and Destiny with my kids pretty regularly if I'm not getting ready for and starting Nursing School. That's right, I got into nursing school. So without much more blabbering, let's get right into this chapter's notes, shall we?
Well, as usual, there is a song that helped me write this chapter, "Pieces" by Red. I didn't get much of a response to the last chapter since it had a happy-ish ending to it - which so many of you were wanting and needing. As this is an angst/drama story happy scenes are slow in development so enjoy them while you can. I plan on having this story ending soon and do not have anything concrete planned out for the ending. I may have a happy and squishy ending or I may kill everyone and leave the planet a gaping hole… It depends on my mood I suppose.
There are some italicized parts that are memories/flashbacks. They are quick but they are important to the story. There are also parts of Loveless at the end of the chapter.
Reviews, critiques, and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I utilize good constructive criticism to help my writing and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination!
Thanks to my caramel candy-chomping beta TyrantChimera (formerly SubZeroChimera)!
"If you have an hour will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away?" – Lord Chesterfield
To You I Give My Heart
Chapter 44
~To Sacrifice Nothing Is To Gain Nothing~
A knock on the door in the early morning hours left Zack nuzzling closer to Cloud in her sleep. The feelings of tranquility was only matched by his unwillingness to part from the woman whose arms wrapped gently around his shoulders. After a sigh, he closed his eyes, the breaths next to his ear reminding him of Cloud's closeness and how his daughter somehow made it possible.
Hearing the pitter-pat of Charlotte's feet quietly running for the front door got his attention as danger prickled his interest far more importantly than his want to stay in Cloud's arms. Maybe it was simply Aerith, but she never forgot her key… So it was either Genesis, who he guessed never knocked for entry to anywhere, or it was a stranger and stranger could mean them harm especially if that stranger was from Shinra.
Leaping to his feet, he ignored the grumbles coming from the blond and when he swung the door to the bedroom open he was greeted with a tightly wound fist connecting to his throat and while he recoiled forward, it was quickly followed by a shock baton to the back of his head.
"Well if it ain't Zack 'the wayward experiment' Fair." Leaning down, the red-head's grin entered Zack's vision as he gently poked him in the neck, "Sorry 'bout that, but ya can't just bust in on a person going through your house and not expect to get hit."
As if they were the same person in different bodies, Cloud quickly met Zack in the doorway and both of them fluidly moved together to pin Reno to the wall. Her voice was one of contempt and restraint, "What the hell do you want?"
With half of his face pushed against the wall, his chest tight against the hardwood, his hands held fast by the couple on either side of him, Reno slurred, "Just checking up on things… No need to get all bent out of shape… Geez, lighten your grip and mind my intact bones."
"I asked you a question."
"Answer her before I get angry."
"Alright calm it down hulk, you're squeezing the goods."
A tiny giggle made the couple realize that their daughter was still in the room. As Zack glanced over his shoulder, he tried to say his words in a sweet way, "Charlotte, baby, go to your room while mommy and daddy take out the trash."
"Okay daddy, just don't hurt him, he means well."
Watching after her as she skipped off to her room, Zack wondered what she meant until a stray memory of a disembodied voice popped into his mind…
"Get out of there. Now."
"Get out now. This is your only chance."
"You can't take him with you, he's dead. You don't have time."
"Just go without him!"
"Gaia-dammit, just go already!"
Fingers going slack, his grip loosened as he tripped backward a step. A knot caught in his throat, not letting any words or breath leave. Waves of memories, painful memories, flooded his vision as he grabbed as his head in an effort to squash them, tap them down so that he didn't have to feel it again. His world spun until he felt his backside hit the ground.
"Zack!"
"Hey babe, he'll be fine. He's just coming to terms with the real world."
Leaning into his back, reinforcing her hold on the Turk while she still had him against the wall, Cloud ground out her words at him, "Shut up."
"Eh, whatever cutie."
Zack's eyes rose to the red-head and he quietly asked, "That was you?"
Risking an abrasion on his cheek, Reno nodded and added, "Sure thing. I mean what kind of rescue would it have been if you didn't get help huh?"
Pulling himself up, Zack met Cloud back at the Turk's back, "Why?! Why'd you do it? What took you so long? Why?!"
"OK, I get it. You got a lot of questions and I got answers."
Twisting one of his arms, Cloud spit out, "Then how about some of those answers?"
A soft click of the front door got both former experiment's attention and the soft smooth voice of a bald Turk in sunglasses asked, "Reno, do you need help?"
"Nah, I got everything under control." In their distraction, he went limp and slid out of the grips of both Zack and Cloud with a quick movement. In his new freedom, Reno lit a cigarette that he had stashed behind his ear, "Listen, we don't have a lot of time so ya might want to know that the military is ready to be deployed to kill both of you and take the little one."
"What?!"
Their synced exclamation got a curt smile from the red head, "You guys really need to get out more." Following Rude to the door, Reno yelled out to the bedroom that Charlotte was in, "Later you little shit!"
Not realizing he'd jumped until Cloud's hand held him back, he felt the growl in his throat at the familiar way Reno spoke to his daughter. A cheerful response from Charlotte bounced down the hall, "Bye Reno!"
Just before closing the door, Reno winked at Zack, "Cute kid."
Feeling his stomach sink, Zack turned to Cloud, "We've got to get out of here."
His words were met with silence as Cloud turned and frantically began packing their few meager possessions while she called Charlotte, "We have to leave! Get your stuff." Turning back to Zack, she spoke firmly, "Zack, get it together. I need you right now."
Just as he was healing, just as he was beginning to see a semblance of normalcy, once again the world had shifted underneath him. The thought that he'd put his family in danger again tore at his heart and his soul ached to be with them, but what would the ultimate cost be? Making up his mind, he took Cloud's arm and turned her to face him, he needed her to see him as some of his past words echoed in his mind, "Go. Take Charlotte."
"You need to go."
"Zack? What are you talking about?"
"You need to get Charlotte and get out of here."
"The only chance you have is if I head them off. Take Charlotte and go!"
Reaching his fingers to her face, he felt her skin, soft and gentle but strong, just like what he loved about her. Lowering his head, he let his lips touch hers in a last ditch effort to express his love for her. Closing his eyes, he felt the sting of tears but he allowed his lips to caress hers. Feeling her arms wrap around him, he pulled her closer, desperation boiling over in his gut.
Finally pulling away, Cloud grasp his shirt, "You're coming with us this time."
Shaking his head, he spoke solemnly, "No. I have to end this."
"Take Charlotte and go!"
Cloud's bright blue eyes, clear as the sky after a storm, looked up at him, "You're not alone."
Raising up to his tip toes, he kissed the top of the infant's head and he looked deeply in Cloud's eyes, he said softly, "Stay safe."
Pulling her in to a hug, Zack wanted to believe he wasn't alone, but he didn't dare risk Cloud's life again like he had in Nibelheim, "Go Chocobo. I'll meet up with you."
Her grasp was harsh, her tears loud and her sobs thunderous, but he had to make sure they were safe once and for all.
Sitting alone in the empty house as the sun set, he ran the whet stone down the shimmering edge of the sword aptly named Ragnarok. That was exactly what he was going to bring to Shinra's head scientist, just like the war of all the gods that brought down heaven, leaving only the souls of the humans to pick up the pieces. For so long he sat alone, whether it was in a cell, or a house and he gained nothing but pain. This time though, he wouldn't stop until it was finished and he knew that Cloud was safe and his daughter was out of the danger of becoming Hojo's next and greatest test subject.
It was no surprise that he felt a presence behind him. He was tired though and kept his attention to the sword, "Come to gloat?" The shifting of leather behind him didn't bother him, he actually felt at peace.
"No, not at all."
Laying the sword along one of his legs, he began polishing the blade, "Then why are you here? Why aren't you protecting Cloud?"
A haughty snort left the red head, "Have you met that woman?"
A non-committal laugh rumbled in Zack's chest, "Yeah, you got a point there."
"Do you like that sword?"
"It'll do in a pinch."
"That sword, along with the Buster, belonged to my best friend." Looking over at Genesis, the man sat in the corner, one leg pulled up and an arm resting nonchalantly across his knee.
"This beautiful sword belonged to Angeal?" Glancing back to the dark blade Zack slowly ran a finger across the handle and hilt. Angeal had once held this work of art and now once again he had a piece of his mentor in his hands.
Leaning forward, Genesis lit a small fire in the fireplace to shed some light in the darkened house, "Yes it did, and Sephiroth named it after Angeal first acquired it." Sitting back, he eyed Zack, "Fitting name for what you have planned, don't you think?"
Flashes of old battles wore him down. He needed to stay strong. Letting emotion get to him now would be a costly mistake. "You never answered my question… Why are you here?"
Out of his peripheral, Zack spied Genesis fidget, "I have a score to settle as well, if you'll allow me. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess. My soul, corrupted by vengeance. Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey."
Zack simply turned his full attention back to his task as he spoke softly, "In my own salvation. And your eternal slumber. Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface. Quietly, but surely."
Sharing a look, Genesis began, "Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land. To spare the sands, the seas, the skies…"
The weight of the atmosphere in the house only let out the sound of the cloth as it polished the sword that Zack vowed to kill Hojo with. Zack finished the last line in a whisper, "I offer thee this silent sacrifice."
A/N 2: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."
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