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: About the last chapter, I didn't want Zack raped, but there was a reason behind the assault, it wasn't just for gratuitous reasons. As usual, it will all be explained later down the line of the story. Finals are over and I am pleased to announce that I have passed all my classes with flying colors. I have 4 As and one B.

To the Guest reviewer, my best guess: Thanks you for your review. I am so glad to see that you like this story. That line "Were you born this stupid or is this a learned behavior?" is something that I asked my ex-husband one time when we were having a fight. From then on, it became a joke between us and when one of us did something stupid, the other one would ask that. Thanks!

Don't forget about the poll on my profile, please take some time and vote!

Thanks to my beta Queen of Jokers! My other beta is unavailable for now, so it is all falling on QoJ.

"The happiest life is that which constantly exercises and educates what is best in us." -Hamerton

Chapter 22

Once he parted ways with Zack and Cloud, Sephiroth returned to the point where they had met the hundred soldiers that they had surprised in the clearing. It didn't take much to lay out a clear trail from there, then he ran down in another direction from where they left originally.

That night, he leaned against a tree in the thick foliage and slept very lightly. The sound of soldiers walking through the dried leaves woke him and he quickly took off to keep the trail fresh. He headed south toward the small town of Mossy Oaks. That town was a great place to stay. He had been there before on a mission to rid it of an invasion of tonberrys. He remembered that the hospitality had been extraordinary and the café had a fantastic roast dinner that just melted in his mouth.

Once he got to the city limits, he laid down tracks that were easy to read, but weren't obvious false tracks. Once he reached town, he ducked down in a storage shed in the back of the saw mill. Waiting a for night fall, he rested and ate the next to last power bar and sipped at his water. After dark, he pulled his hair back and tied it into a knot at the back of his head. The long flow of his silver hair was quite noticeable. He considered doing something about it, he just wasn't sure what he would do though.

Sticking his head out just slightly, he saw nothing to raise his ingrained Soldier alarm. As he moved down the street, he tried to avoid as much contact with residents as possible. Stopping into a store, he picked up some more power bars and browsed the hair dye. He always liked Genesis's red hair, but he figured something more subtle was in order. He picked up the dark brown dye and made his purchase. He silently thanked a lone soldier that he had run into for carrying a significant amount of money.

Making his way out-of-town and several hours away, he got to a small stream well hidden from the road and any paths that got traveled. In the late afternoon the sun warmed everything up and the stream looked very inviting. He did a quick perimeter check and finding himself alone, he started a small fire. He stepped out of his clothes and gingerly stepped into the very cold water. He stifled his shriek and opted for a gasp instead. Not having any clean clothes to put on, he hated putting his dirty ones back on. Finding a comfortable spot, near the fire, he leaned up against a tree and dozed in and out.

Over the next few days, he continued south and made several trails that lead in different directions. He then went back to Mossy Oaks and headed east and did the same. There was another town about 20 miles east and he headed there. Two days later he reached the outskirts of Cactaur Plains. He went directly through town and threw another trail to the west.

He stayed the night in town by finding a park that appeared like it was under construction, so he slept the night there. When he woke up there was a small crowd of children looking at the man sleeping on the hard ground, "Hey mister, are you homeless?" The children inquired and he tried a small smile. He never was good with children. Never really knew how to act around them he just always tried to keep his distance. Right now though, he couldn't avoid the questioning eyes.

"I guess you could say that," Sephiroth stood slowly.

With his quick travels and running, it'd taken a toll on him. His body tensed and ached in ways he hadn't felt in a long while. As he rose, a grunt and a flash of pain ran through him and he hunched over, with his hands on his knees.

"Are you dying mister?!" One pretty little girl with long blond ringlets asked with her big brown eyes round like saucers.

A tentative smile seemed to ease the children, "Not if I can help it." He stretched and returned to his spot under the tree and retrieved his few belongings.

"Do you need a place to stay?" A small boy with deep hazel eyes and light red hair asked.

"What are you doing you dope? He might be a killer or something," Another boy pushed at the other boy's arm.

Sephiroth raised his hand, "Thank you, but I really need to be going." Four little pairs of eyes followed him out to the road.

"Where are you going mister?" The little girl with the ringlets asked, "There are some dangerous forests that are haunted, don't go that way!"

Sephiroth turned back to her, "I need togo that way, but I'm coming back."

"Well, as long as you come back," She smiled and took off running back toward the center of town. He couldn't help it, the thought of what it would have been like to see his own child grow up. What would the child look like? The small amount of time he had spent with those children, made him miss what he almost had.

Getting out to the 'haunted forest,' the only thing 'haunted' about it was a few flower prongs and kimara bugs that roamed the area. Sephiroth hated kimara bugs, their blood smelled foul and if you got any on you, that is what you were going to smell like for a while.

A few days later, after making several more trail heads, he came back into town. As he walked briskly through the streets he noticed the little girl and when she saw him she smiled a large toothy smile. He winked at her and continued to the point where he entered town over a week ago.

Not paying attention, he damn near ran right into a small patrol of soldiers. They looked in his direction just as he turned into one of the businesses off to the side of the street, "I don't see anything; I don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for. Lab specimens, that's all I know." As he looked very intently at some cards near the window out of the corner of his eye, he watched as they passed by the open storefront. Once he was satisfied that they were gone, he left town.

Heading out and away from Cactaur Plains, he wound his way around the long way. Leading the trail back toward Mossy Oaks and then around to the larger town to the east. Getting closer to the city that he told Zack to go to, Magmas, he began to feel some relief. However he had run out of food and had very little water left.

Feeling the build-up of fatigue, he had not rested sufficiently for the amount of energy he'd been using. Still another two days away from the city of Magmas, Sephiroth collapsed and he unwillingly succumbed to his body's protests as he lost consciousness.

They drove for almost three days before they ran out of gas. Zack was able to fill up at a rest stop along the road and he thought he would have enough to get them to the next town, Bennett Pass, but no such luck, they had to walk the rest of the way there. It had been kind of nice though having a truck to sleep in, instead of the ground.

It was a fairly large town, so they should be able to blend in. He was getting a little worried about Cloud though. He had not opened his eyes since they'd left the house. Pulling the truck over to as far off the road as possible close to some trees, it chugged to a stop and died.

"Well Cloud, I guess we're walking now."

Getting out of the truck, he grabbed all of their things and went to the other side to get Cloud. When he opened the door, he fell out and Zack caught him just before he hit the ground. Zack finished pulling him out of the truck and Cloud suddenly began choking and vomiting. Zack flipped him over and his breakfast and more mako is what came out.

"I guess we can stay here for the night since the sun is starting to set."

Waking up to screaming began to be routine, just like in the cell, he wrestled Cloud's wrists so he that he didn't scratch at himself and the way that he arched his back would still unnerve him though. This time was no different.

They used the bed of the truck to sleep in so there was a little more room for Cloud lay next to him, using the brunette's body heat to keep the blond warm during the cool nights.

The next morning, he jumped out of the back of the truck and stretched his sore legs and arms. He pulled Cloud out to take him to pee, before he messed himself and got mad at him. He had not given Zack any indication he had to go, until he heard a very faint whine.

Zack stayed close to the truck, he had one of Cloud's arms around his neck holding him up. Since the night at Charles's house, Cloud would not stand on his own weight. His chin still rested on his chest and his eyes remained closed. Gathering everything that belonged to them, Zack took Cloud and started down the road toward town. He had about a two days walk ahead of him, so he walked with as few breaks possible.

Zack watched the sky begin to darken, so he found a suitable spot for camp. He heard a very quiet whine come from Cloud again. Zack took him out away from camp and unzipped him. Cloud was really starting to worry Zack more and more as the days passed by. Sometimes Cloud would push his hand away and sometimes he wouldn't. Zack didn't know anymore, so he would always wait to see what Cloud would do, "I sure hope your better tomorrow."

Zack was getting ready for dinner when he finally heard from Cloud. He whispered something, but it was very quiet and Zack didn't understand what it was. Cloud still said nothing so Zack guessed he was dreaming or something. Given Cloud's behavior the last couple of weeks, this was weirder than the normal weird that the former Soldier was used to. That is when it struck him that maybe Cloud was getting worse. He wasn't opening his eyes anymore and he stopped doing anything at all. Now he's whispering incoherently, he really didn't eat much anymore and he was getting cold, more often, again.

In the morning, Zack got all the morning duties taken care of and gathered everything up and set out toward town, "You know buddy, I wish I knew what was going on in your head. I mean, if you are getting worse, maybe there is something I can do." Zack could faintly see the small town in the distance.

Off to his left, behind the tree line and up on a ridge, he heard rustling. It was only four, maybe five people from what he could tell. He stopped, put Cloud down and waited.

A man came running out of the tree line with a gun and demanded money. Zack laughed at him and that seemed to make the guy angry. Zack put his hands up, "Does it look like I have any money?"

"What do you have in that bag?" The man's hands shook nervously.

"Clothes… you wanna see? Come over here and I'll show ya," He lowered his head as if he was going to look at the bag, but his eyes never left the man.

The other guys surrounded him and Cloud. When they poked Cloud they asked, "What's wrong with this guy?"

Zack turned his head and from over his shoulder, "He's just a little tired is all."

One of the guys behind Zack kicked Cloud lightly in his side and he fell over. Looking back over his shoulder Zack said in a very serious tone, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Zack's eyes set firmly at him and narrowed.

The guy in front of Zack yelled, "I'm gonna shoot him if you don't hand over the bag."

"Fine, you want the bag, HERE," Zack threw it and hit the guy holding the gun in the face and quickly drew his sword. He hit the guy with the broad part of his sword knocking the gun out of his hand. Twisting around in a circle, he got two more and knocked them to the ground. The fourth guy grabbed Cloud and put a knife to his throat.

"Put down the sword or your friend here is gonna get cut!"

"Okay, don't be hasty," He lowered his arm and put his sword down on the ground.

Zack stood back up and raised his hands above his head. A smirk stayed on Zack's face. The guy who had the gun yelled at one of the other guys, "Search him!"

One of the guys came up and started going through Zack's pockets. Suddenly, Cloud started screaming and flailing and all four of the men jumped and Zack took advantage of the opportunity. He sent a backhanded fist into the side of the face of the guy that had been in his pockets. The force of the hit knocked him over into the other guy that had the gun. The gun went flying out of his hand. Zack kicked up over Cloud's head and got the one that had the knife to Cloud's neck square in the chest. He went staggering back holding his chest. Zack picked his sword up and swung it around and hit the broad side of it to the head of the fourth guy. All four were down and Zack asked with a smile, "You still want my bag?"

All four of them got up and ran off and Zack went and picked the bag up and mumbled, "Damn bandits…" Going back over to Cloud, he had a little knick from the knife on his neck, "It's not that bad, we can fix it up later. Right now I just want to get you out of here. Thanks for the distraction, by the way." Zack stood him up to put Cloud's arm over his shoulder and Cloud held his weight on his own. Zack held on to his smile at Cloud's sudden improvement, "You wanna try to walk?" Cloud took tentative steps at first and when Zack sped up a little, so did he. Zack was elated but he didn't have time to celebrate, he just wanted to get away from this area before the bandits decided to try again.

Zack headed to town once again and without any warning, a gunshot rang out. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and went down to the ground out of instinct. Zack felt a red-hot pain in his lower leg. Then a second shot whizzed by his head. He rolled onto his side trying to get Cloud out of the line of fire.

Before he had a chance to react, another gunshot rang out and a spray of blood splashed across Zack's face. Cloud's eyes widened and his face relaxed when his eyes closed, "Cloud!"

Checking the ridge, Zack sprang up and went up to the other side of the rock. Springing around the rock face to the incline, he raced up it and brought his sword down before the guy even looked up. The other three froze momentarily. Taking a running jump to leap the gap, he swung his sword in a slash and ripped into two of the three remaining. The last one darted out to the steep part of the rock face and Zack took his sword up over his head. Then it was over.

Zack ran back down to where Cloud was, rolled him over on his back and ripped his shirt open and he'd been shot just to the right of his heart. It was very close to the scar from where Sephiroth had skewered him on his sword. The blond was bleeding and he was losing it fast.

Zack put pressure on it and reached for the medical supplies, "Don't you dare die on me?!" Tearing open a roll of gauze he covered the wound and he reached around to feel his back. Cloud was shot in the back and the bullet had gone through him.

Zack started feeling light-headed, he had never been queasy at the sight of blood before. He couldn't understand why he was now and then it dawned on him, looking down he noticed that he'd been shot twice, once in his leg and once in the chest. The one that went through Cloud's chest ended up in Zack's chest.

From his knees, he stumbled over and caught himself with his hand. Putting more pressure on Cloud's chest, he fought the darkness and tried to keep pressure on Cloud's chest. His breath hitched in his lungs and he leaned forward again to press on Cloud's chest again. Zack's head hung forward and darkness threatened to take him again. He shook his head trying to clear it but he wobbled over on to the ground and lost consciousness.

Sephiroth woke up to a few birds pecking at his leg. He hissed at the pain in his calf muscle. At some point he had cut his leg and the birds were taking advantage of it. With a twitch of his leg, they flew off.

Hearing a snort from right behind him, he stiffened and slowly turned his head and looked over his shoulder. A dark dragon crouched and readied an attack to claim its lunch.

He immediately rolled over and in one sleek movement; he reached for the sword on his back and popped up to his feet. At his movement, the dragon lunged and as it passed, Sephiroth planted his feet firm and jumped back. He brought his sword down and sliced through part of its shoulder. Not seeing the large tail heading for him, it smacked him from behind and sent him rolling across the ground, ending up in front of its large mouth. Its teeth, jagged and stained had a roar behind them and it burst forth in a deafening intensity.

Sephiroth winced at the sound and lept to the side as it lunged forward again. It raised its claws up and brought it down and the front of Sephiroth's shirt got ripped from his chest. A small amount of blood came to the surface of his skin and dribbled slowly down to his pants. 'That was a little to close' he thought to himself.

Twisting in a turn, he skillfully brought the sword around in an arch and jammed it into its throat. It jerked back and the sword went with it to the ground. In its flailing attempts to save its life, it slapped its tail at Sephiroth again and he ducked under. However he wasn't fast enough and it caught him in the head and he tumbled down to the ground. As he rolled, he used his momentum to regain his footing.

Something fell into his eye, but he would worry about it later. Running forward, the dragon was in the throes of death and he quickly grabbed the sword and finished it off. He took a staggering step backward and reached up to his head and blood was what he brought back on his hand. He raised his hand to his head again and found the gash. Factoring in the exhaustion, hunger, thirst and injuries compounded and he was losing the small amount of energy he'd built back up. He fell to a knee and then dropped down to his side and lost consciousness again.

When he woke up again it was dark and he turned his head and saw the dead dragon. A few animals were at it eating. Scaring some of the animals away and killing some others, he looked the dragon over. Deciding to build a fire; he thought he was far enough away that he figured it would be safe.

When the fire was ready, he cut a few pieces of meat from the dragon and skewered it on his sword. Holding it over the fire, he heard the sizzle and his stomach ached at the thought of food on its way. He kept a nervous eye out and held his ears perked at the slightest sound. Devouring the meat, he got more and cooked it up and stuffed his pockets with as much as he could. He rolled himself up close to the fire and allowed himself a small amount of sleep.

When he woke up, animals were at the dragon again. Reaching up to his head, the gash left there by the dragon had scabbed over, but it was swollen and extremely sore. He looked down at what was left of his shirt and the claw marks on his chest weren't too bad, but he worried about infection anyway. Infection wasn't likely with his Soldier treatments, but it wasn't completely unheard of. There wasn't anything he could do about now, but he had to get going. Standing up he began walking to Magmas.

Sephiroth was running behind and he knew that if Zack had done what he told him, he was not in town. Taking the army on a wild goose chase had taken him a lot farther than he'd anticipated. The good thing though is that they were confused as where they were headed. Hopefully, they would get to Midgar before Shinra knew any different.

He stopped for the night at Magmas. Finding a house that appeared abandoned, he snuck in. When he went in, he noticed that there were little subtle signs that Zack and Cloud had been there. In one of the upstairs bedrooms, the door faced the stairs. On the far wall there was dust that was disturbed, where they had slept.

Zack did a pretty good job covering his tracks. 'Good boy.' Sephiroth thought to himself. He just needed to make up time to try to catch up. Once it was dark out, he went to the nearest store and snatched a shirt. He couldn't exactly go in to the store with a ripped shirt and not expect stares, which he got plenty of despite his best efforts.

Once he had a new shirt, he went in and bought a few things to eat and filled up his water bottle. He had run out of the dragon meat the day before and he was rather hungry. Once he ate, he got some much-needed sleep.

Waking up just before dawn, he bought some more food and filled his water again. Keeping as low a profile as possible was difficult because it seemed that everyone knew him, but the townspeople seemed to either be oblivious to his identity, or they just didn't care.

Getting to the creek, he did a search of the area and decided that it was remote enough. He shed his clothes and got into the creek a washed with the small bar of soap he'd purchased.

While he sat on a rock just under the surface of the water, he washed his pants, boxers and socks out. Feeling a little more human, he laid out his clothes to dry and laid on a make shift bed he made from some small tree branches and leaves. The sun warmed him and he fell asleep without wanting too.

Even though it was cold out, the sun kept him wrapped in the warmth he had missed and didn't realize. He remembered going to the roof of the Shinra building and he would lie out in the sun and enjoy the freedom he felt in that moment. With a sigh, he reached over and was surprised that his clothes were dry and warm. He must have slept longer than he originally thought.

Following the creek until it was dark, he went just a little farther and stopped for the night. Curling up next to a tree, he tried to stay as warm as possible. Sometime during the night, he startled awake by someone down by the creek. The woman had not seen him so he waited and watched.

The person stopped and sat by the shore and lay down, then the singing started. Sephiroth just listened not knowing what she was doing. She sang well at least. He really didn't want to let anyone know where he was. It was a chance that he didn't want to take.

She must have fallen asleep, because the singing stopped and she did not move again. He thought he would take the opportunity to get some distance between himself and her. As his mind was made up, she spoke, "Do you know where father is?"

He stopped in his tracks and didn't move, realizing that it was the strange woman from the labs. Puzzled but curious, he told her, "I don't know what you mean."

A certain level of annoyance veiled in her tone, "Of course you do. I need him."

Sephiroth straightened his back and stepped into a battle stance, "Who are you? What is your name?"

"Father should name me soon," She then stopped and he could see her tilt her head, "Hojo called me Destiny, but father knows my true name."

"Is that what you need him for?" He raised his hand up and circled his fingers around his sword.

"I need to speak with him. Then I should be able to answer your questions." She spread her wings and flew north. Sephiroth didn't know what to make of that exchange.

Since he was awake he figured he would at least start making up some time. He got struck from behind and he landed hard on his stomach. He quickly flipped over drawing his sword. He saw no one, but stayed there for a moment longer. Then he heard her voice, "When you meet up with him again, let him know that I am waiting."

He stayed there, listening and waited to see if there was anything else she may add. When nothing else came, getting up he dusted himself off and walked down to the bank. Kneeling down to the water, he washed his face and hands and refilled his water bottle, re-tied his hair in a knot and headed east again.

Whatever it was that Hojo had done, he didn't know if Cloud was in danger with this woman or not. She apparently was harmless to the blond, but she was a powerful creature. Fast and cunning, she had been able to do something that no one had ever been able to do, surprise him from behind. For that reason alone, Sephiroth deemed her a danger and he would protect Cloud from this woman because with Hojo involved, there was no telling what the Professor's scientific intentions with her were.

About half a day, he crossed the creek and saw a little town. Well it was more like a village or suburb of the previous town. That was one thing about growing up in Shinra. He'd been required to memorize every map of every area. Learning it was a severe pain in the neck, but he had found it quite handy on many occasions.

Keeping to the trees, he walked around to the other side of town and waited. He was going to wait until dark, to check out the town. That's when he saw a house far from town. Something compelled him to go to the house instead of town. There was no activity, but there were two vehicles. He drew his sword and cautiously headed toward the house. The door was unlocked and it looked like someone did live there.

Before he entered the house, he caught a smell that he knew well. Around to the side of the house to the workshop, the door, latched tightly. There was also something pulled in front of the door blocking the entrance. Sephiroth moved the heavy wooden chest over to the side. Opening the door, he was immediately hit with a more powerful smell. It wasn't the worst he'd smelled, but it still was not pleasant. With it being cold, the decomposition had slowed.

Surveying the room sent chills down his spine. On one side of the room, a small work table stood silent. Just under the table, a small pool of blood had collected and mocked the scene. More blood that just didn't fit the rest of the scene was clustered in one area. Large rags that had stains of blood mixed with other rags that the screams had muffled to secrecy.

Two empty syringes and one full syringe showed a story of violence. A support post with a chain that had a shackle at the other end coiled close to the table and lay cold and still. A variety of other bindings and ropes scattered the room. Then he noticed the clothing, pants, shirt and boxers that were cut and torn, picking up a single article of the clothing revealed that it had belonged to Zack and other untorn clothes that belonged to Cloud. The thoughts of what Cloud had gone through rushed to his mind and that Zack had gone through that or maybe worse.

Sephiroth suddenly had a sickening feeling hit him, what if the bodies he smelled were… He needed to start looking. He didn't have to look hard when he found them, three of them. Two of them were nude below the waist. There were three wallets on the floor next to the bodies. One of them confirmed the identity as Charles. It was something that he thought of back in the labs, little things that Charles had said that Zack either ignored or disregarded. Charles had caught them. The scene with the blood on the floor below the table told a story. Zack had suffered just as Cloud had, only had all three of the men done something to him before Zack had been able to break free? Or was there something else?

Leaving the workshop and going into the house, he noted that it had been gone through. The large kitchen had a few things left in the cabinets.

There was a small pile of can goods, bottled water and a couple of small bags of chips, some cereal, a can opener, a bit of money and a few medical supplies and a medium-sized bag was beside it. The feeling of Zack leaving this for Sephiroth to find, comforted him.

Upstairs, there were some towels and other clothes that were set out on the bed. Sephiroth took Zack up on his offer and bathed and washed the clothes he was wearing. He slept and gathered the food and medical supplies in the bag. Getting the gas cans out of the workshop, he filled up the car that had keys in it. Zack had about two weeks on him at least. He would get caught up, but it was just taking a little longer than he wanted.

A/N: 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."

Please send me your reviews if you want. It is really easy. Just click your arrow in the little box, write what you thought or felt about the chapter and then click right down there, just below the box. A little lower… a little to the right… yeah, right there! Click it! *grinning*