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: Here is a little information about the dream that Zack had at the end of the last chapter that I wanted to touch on. The dream was part Zack's own insecurities about helping Cloud, but he was also unwittingly "connected" to Cloud like Cloud is with Sephiroth. Cloud was wanting to give up but hearing Zack say that he would never give up helped his resolve. I just wanted to make this clear, it is slightly important to know for future events in the story.

To my best guess: Thank you for leaving a review, and thank you for the complement about the last scene.

(*Update* I have redone some of this chapter and added a little over 600 words to the time that the guys are on the ship.)

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

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." Mae West

Chapter 25

After spending a couple of weeks resting, healing up and replenishing their supplies, they left Skiba just before dawn. They had a couple of weeks walk until they reached Casa Del Sol and with Cloud in tow, it slowed them down. When they were about five days out from Skiba when they decided to go to another smaller town to the south, they would end up passing Casa Del Sol, but it was a risk worth taking.

As they passed the larger tourist town, Zack made a late night trip to a small store that was still open. Smacked his shin on a box that he hadn't seen right outside the store, a couple who was walking by, walked faster in the other direction when they saw him, "Shit," he whispered. Zack felt exposed and under scrutiny so he slipped into the store and quickly bought a few supplies.

According to Sephiroth's brain maps, the other town's name that they headed to was Hope and they were desperately in need of supplies. Zack thought the town a fitting name, considering their present situation.

Once getting to Hope, they laid low on the outskirts until dark. As usual, Zack did the initial search and found a place for them to hide out for a while, an old abandoned warehouse that was close to the dock. Since they wouldn't be there that long, it didn't seem so bad. Nails stuck out from some boards and the rats were larger than Zack was comfortable with but there was no other safe place for them to go. The large room that they picked to hide in was the smallest of three rooms. Zack's fear of being captured again seemed overshadowed for a short time when the first large rat ran over the toes of his boots.

"They are not going to bother you as long as you don't smell like lunch," Sephiroth smiled to himself at his 'attempt' to calm Zack's fears. The look he received from him was priceless and he let Zack know it with a loud boisterous laugh. They were limited to their choices after all.

Zack eventually talked Sephiroth into a wig, mainly because he couldn't find a hat that didn't have flowers on it.

"Oh Seph, it's not that bad!" He couldn't keep any of the laughs contained.

"Zackary, if it has flowers on it, I will not wear it!" Sephiroth sat back and averted Zack's gaze and his lips straightened to a thin line, his arms crossed and he concentrated on a small corner of the warehouse.

"How about a wig then?" Zack said with a big smile.

With a quick glance at Zack, a sigh of annoyance, "I guess we can try," Sephiroth finally resigned.

Zack thought it would be funny if he came back with a wig with curls or ringlets. However, the fist that would be waiting for him would be a painful reminder of how not to tease Sephiroth. The wig really wasn't too bad; it was long, straight and dark brown.

"We can cut it and make it a little more manly," Zack held up some scissors, he opened and closed them quickly several times.

Sephiroth tried to put it on, but he couldn't get all his hair under it. Zack sat back and watched as he relaxed and leaned back on one hand. An elbow rested on a drawn up knee, "Seph? You need help?"

Sephiroth stopped and turned on him in a quick flash, "No, Zackary. I can do this myself."

Zack's free hand went up, "Okay. If you need help though-"

"I do not need your help!" Sephiroth struggled. Tucking, hair was falling, the wig slipping down, more tucking, more hair falling, adjusting the wig to one side, hair falling from the other side, Sephiroth sighed and tried again. From the front, he slipped the wig on and as he pulled his hair up in the back, the wig shifted forward and fell in his lap.

Zack's laughter got muffled as he smacked his hand over his mouth. He looked up at the ceiling, at Cloud, his boots, one of the bags, a large nail in a board and then the object of his amusement. Zack had to take a deep breath and in a deep calm tone, "Seph, we have to report to the ship in just a few hours, are you sure you don't want any… help?"

Sephiroth slapped the wig down in his lap and reluctantly he said, "Help me," Zack couldn't hide the huge smile and Sephiroth punched him in the leg as he walked over.

A chuckle left involuntarily, "Hey!"

"Shut up Zackary!" Sephiroth watched as Zack sat behind him and ran his hands through his hair. When his fingers pulled on a tangle, his head yanked back, "Oww!"

"Sorry," Zack pulled his fingers gentler through the long hair. The softness of it made Zack think of all the women that had swooned when Sephiroth had taken them to his place for the night. Sephiroth had never had a shortage of women and when he got back into town from a mission, he always had his pick. Zack himself had seen a few women leaving his apartment early in the morning. He wondered if he had let them run their fingers through it, "Your hair is so freakin soft. What the hell do you do?"

Sephiroth's sigh was one of 'I have answered this question so many times' and so he continued, his tone left bored, "I don't really do anything, it is just naturally that way, for the most part."

"Hmm, cool. Okay, now I don't really know what I'm doing here, but I'm gonna try my best," Zack got all the tangles out and began to braid the long silver locks. Zack glanced over at Cloud and his eyes were looking in their direction, "What do you think Cloud? I bet you wish you were the one getting to braid the Great Sephiroth's beautiful, enchanting hair?"

A huge smile plastered all across his face as the words emerged in a melodious and chipper tone. Zack imagined that if he had a little sister he would have probably learned how to fix hair. Maybe one day when he had children, maybe he would have a little girl. Then he could show her the kinds of guys to avoid. Guys like him or just the male species all together. Zack smiled a content smile at the thought of his little girl; she would be beautiful like her mom, Aerith. She would squeal as he swept her into his arms and throw her in the air and catch her, bringing her to his chest and a kiss on the cheek.

Zack snapped out of his daydream when Sephiroth scoffed and turned to Cloud, "Do not listen to him Cloud. He is the only one here that seems as though he is enjoying himself."

Zack laughed and finished the braid and helped get all of his hair under it. Zack started cutting the wig and once he got done, it looked passible. He left the bangs a little long to help hide his face, "It doesn't look too bad Seph," Sephiroth became convinced that Zack had actually screwed up and gave him a good hair cut by accident. After Zack finished grooming the new wig, he got ready to feed Cloud.

He looked at Cloud and his eyes were open and he was looking around. He seemed to actually be looking at his surroundings. As Zack walked up to him, his eyes focused on Zack's face. The brunette smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "Hey Buddy!" Zack and Sephiroth both smiled at the new activity that Cloud displayed. When Zack looked back at him, his head had drooped and his chin rested on his chest, his eyes had fallen to his own hands. He slowly squeezed the fabric of his pant leg and ran his fingers slowly over it until his hand fell off of his lap. His eyes closed and his fingers stopped moving. Zack was sitting in front of him, "That's right. You're getting better aren't you? Open your eyes, it's time to eat." Cloud's head twitched a little then his eyes opened, but only half way, "Open up, you need to eat."

The day before, Zack found out that there was a ship leaving later the next morning and he secured their passage. The downside was that he and Sephiroth had to work as deck hands and all three of them had to share quarters made for one person but since Zack had told the shipping people that they were brothers, no one gave it a second thought.

The ship they were boarding was going to Franklin before it went to Junon and the heavy military town of was the last place that they wanted or needed to go to. The ship had to make several stops along the way, but none in the direction they were going, so their stop would be Franklin.

During the first couple of days while they were working, they took turns checking on their sick 'brother,' who did not show any more signs that he was waking up. In fact he got sick and literally turned green when Zack remembered that Cloud had motion sickness, so they only fed him just the minimum to keep him from throwing up while they weren't there and as the days passed, the better he got, thankfully.

It did get interesting in the little space that they had to share for the couple of weeks that it would take to get to their destination. The bed was only big enough for one person and the floor space only allowed one person to lie down. Then there was an extremely small bathroom, a sink and toilet only. Cloud was easy enough though, he would have slept upside down if that was the position he was placed in and his nightmares and motion sickness was gone for the most part. About four days into their ocean journey, Zack's mood became extremely irritable.

Sephiroth really didn't know why Zack was being snippy and short-tempered but it culminated one night with Zack's exclamation, "Since you got the bed last night, I get it tonight!" Zack pushed past Sephiroth through the door. It caused Sephiroth to smack into the door frame and caused a small lump to rise on his forehead. Zack sat on the bed and an angry scowl covered his usual pleasant face. Zack propped Cloud up at the head of the bed, in the corner and put his feet in Cloud's lap.

From the floor, Sephiroth was trying to sound cheerful to counteract the sour attitude from above him, "Good night Zackary."

Zack said very harshly, "Good night."

The night before, he'd had a nightmare that he couldn't explain, an unknown woman seemed to enjoy hurting him in the most terrifying ways he could think of. Although Zack never saw her face, only her powerful green eyes that both comforted and scared him in a way that he'd never felt before and by the time he'd woken up, both Cloud and Sephiroth looked like they'd been beaten by an angry Marlboro.

Zack was perplexed also because he'd never been nauseous on a ship or aircraft before, and now, as he lay there trying to sleep, listening to Cloud and Sephiroth's steady snores, he found himself afraid of what he might dream of so he staved off sleep as long as he could, but his sleepiness was quickly replaced with an intensely sick feeling to his stomach and it seemed to only get worse as the minutes ticked by. By the time Zack realized what was fixing to happen, it was too late.

Sephiroth got woken up first by the sound and then it hit him, literally. The whole time that Sephiroth washed his face, he made sure that Zack could hear the long list of obscenities, before he gave up and left to shower instead, he couldn't wash his hair in the extra small sink. Thoughts raced through his head as Sephiroth tried to understand. It'd been quite some time since he'd felt any feelings from Cloud, but now he felt something from Zack, but that couldn't be possible. Zack was never part of the experiment that he and Cloud were, at least he didn't think that he was.

Getting back to the room, Zack was turned to his side and curled up clutching his sick stomach. At the General's painstaking insistence, Zack kept a bucket next to him for the rest of the journey.

Zack being ill really did not make the ship ride any more agreeable. Sephiroth tried to keep as much distance as he could in the shoe-box of a room and the memory of being alone in his cell back at the labs was something that he was beginning to wonder about. At one time, he'd been thinking that he wanted a roommate, but in such close quarters now, being alone in a room was looking more and more appealing.

Taking on more of the tasks of caring for Cloud, the former General hoped would elevate Zack's foul mood to one of just a bad mood, but it didn't seem to help in any one area more than another. Sephiroth told him that he should only worry about not throwing up on him again, and all it earned the silver-haired man was a scowl of frustration from the once pleasant man.

A week into their journey, they were done working for the day and returning to their quarters, Zack snapped at Sephiroth for walking faster than him, "You just want to get there first so you can have the bed. Well you can forget it buddy," Zack quickened his pace and Sephiroth watched as Zack almost ran down the corridor. When Sephiroth kept his slower pace and finally got to the quarters, Zack yelled, "You tricked me into getting here first!"

Sephiroth took a step back, "What are you talking about?"

Exasperation covered Zack's face, he threw his hands up in an exaggerated manner, sighed loudly and then grabbed the front of Sephiroth's shirt, pulling him into the room, "That is what I'm talking about!"

Sephiroth looked at where Zack pointed and Cloud had an accident. Sephiroth took Zack's hand and squeezed his wrist until he let go of the front of his shirt. Using as much restraint as he could muster, feeling a certain amount of sympathy for the raven-haired man, Sephiroth grit his teeth and ground out as calmly as he possible, "Zackary, I will get him bathed, why don't you go for a walk?"

Zack threw his hands up in the air again and walked in a small circle around the room as he yelled, "Oh, sure! You just want me out of here so you can get the bed and then say that I don't help you with Cloud!" Zack stopped and glared at him, poking his chest with his finger, "Well you think you're so damn smart, but I figured it out, so-," Zack suddenly stopped and his eyes widened as though he were in pain. Slapping his hand over his mouth, he ran for the bathroom and Sephiroth could hear him as he loudly expelled his lunch.

Scrunching up his nose at the sounds, Sephiroth considered times like these when he wished that Zack wasn't taller than him, it was difficult to try to intimidate someone taller while they were in a fit of anger, not that he regularly wanted to intimidate Zack, but in this instance, it would've been beneficial. Back when he was active as the General, it didn't take much to intimidate his Soldiers, or the infantry, mostly because they already held him in such high esteem, he didn't have to work for it so much, but now, Zack had seen him at his most vulnerable and that made him more equal to him than anyone else had ever been.

All Sephiroth could do as he listened to his friend was roll his eyes and sigh before he started undressing Cloud he talked quietly to his youngest friend, "Cloud, it is only seven more days and we are getting off of this ship." Sephiroth looked around at the door to the restroom and then leaned closer to Cloud, "Maybe he will stay in there for the rest of the night."

Picking Cloud up, still in his wet boxers, he sat him on the floor and propped him up against the door to the bathroom so he could get the wet sheets off the bed. The tasks of taking care of a full-grown man who couldn't help himself most of the time was a daunting task. All the times that Sephiroth had to take him to the bathroom, Cloud had helped himself. Bathing, however, was a different story, most of the time all he did was lay or stand there.

He gathered up the dirty clothes and sheet and threw them in a pile. Opening the door, he peeked out into the corridor making sure it was empty at such a late hour. Grabbing a towel, he walked him to the showers just down the hall.

Once he got him to the showers, Cloud fell to the floor and started kicking when Sephiroth tried taking his boxers off. Grabbing his shoulders, he snapped, "Cloud! Stop it. I am sorry that I did not get you to the bathroom in time, but let me get you cleaned up." Cloud stopped kicking but his body went rigid, his saddened eyes stared forward as they filled with tears. Sephiroth suddenly felt a rush of feelings from him, nervousness and anxiety. This wasn't the first time that he had to get Cloud bathed, but it had been a while since he had gotten a rush of feelings like this from him, it made Sephiroth have to fight the urgent want, the need, to curl up in the corner, to hide and wait for death.

Taking a deep breath, coaxing his aversion down to the pit of his stomach, Sephiroth gently took Cloud's face in his hands and willed him to look at him, "It is okay Cloud. It is only me, I swear that I am not going to let anything happen to you. Ever again." As the rushing feelings slowed from the blond, Sephiroth stood him up and he leaned against the wall without support.

When he finished cleaning the blond up, Sephiroth got him back to the room and Zack was lying down, holding his stomach in his usual spot. Sephiroth got clean clothes on the younger man and propped him up in the corner of the bed, quietly, he took Zack's feet and placed them on Cloud's lap. Taking the dirty clothes to the small laundry he started the washer and he shuffled back to the room, exhausted.

Finally able to lay down on the floor, he tried to get some sleep, he had to work in a few hours, but sleep was so far away, that he could only think of his friends.

Ultimately reaching Franklin, Zack was ecstatic that he was on solid ground. To be honest, Sephiroth was glad that Zack was on solid ground also. Several times, Sephiroth came really close to just tying him up and stuffing him in one of the cargo holds until they got to Franklin. Zack had never been sea-sick before, he just chocked it up to Hojo and his little experiments.

From being sick for so long Zack needed to rest often so Sephiroth took to walking with Cloud, "I think we should stop for a few minutes." Zack sat the bags down and he plopped down beside them.

Sephiroth stopped, "Well Cloud seems to agree with you because he has quit moving his feet. We can eat some lunch while we're stopped." He sat Cloud down and Zack dug into the bag and pulled out a small can of beans and franks that they discovered that Cloud liked. Zack lay back on the ground and stared up at the sky. Sephiroth fed Cloud and he just was barely swallowing. He closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep, "I guess he isn't very hungry." Sephiroth laid him down and he let out a loud sigh.

Zack finished off the can and then Cloud began to flail, kick and grunt but he didn't scream out. Zack and Sephiroth looked at each other. It looked to them that he was in the middle of a fight. Zack observed, "I sure wish I knew what was going on in there sometimes." All they could do was watch and make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Charles was dragging Cloud to the table. He'd seen the instruments intended for him. Knives, scalpel, forceps, clamps and various other surgical tools covered the little side table. Sephiroth wasn't there yet and he was going to fight the inevitable as long as he could. The whole ordeal of being in the labs shut him down into a depression that he thought he may never get out of.

Charles hit him with a shock from the baton and he went down to his knees. He was barely able to keep from falling to his face. To amuse himself, however, Charles kicked Cloud in his rear end that still ached from his encounter with Davis just a few days before. The pain shot up into his gut and the hurt was not just physical, but the emotional aspect seemed kicked as well. He cried out and Hojo said in a harsh tone, "Put him on the table," Charles bent over and grabbed Cloud's arm and yanked him up forcefully.

The door opened and Price and Drake had Sephiroth, dragging him by his arms, "Apparently two of my specimens are not cooperating today." Sephiroth was barely conscious and bleeding from his face. When they tossed him on the table and his shackles removed. Cloud used the distraction, them getting Sephiroth strapped to the table as his own restraints got removed.

An opportunity presented itself when Charles removed his shackles, letting his elbow fly out, he got Charles in the face and kicked the side of his knee and went after Price while Charles was down.

Cloud saw a tray with some syringes on it. Throwing it like a Frisbee it got Price in the forehead, bringing a trickle of blood from between his fingers. Internally, he smiled at his accuracy of the hit. Running and vaulting over the table holding Sephiroth he lunged at Price. Cloud knocked him to the floor and punched as hard as he could in his throat. He felt a strength that he had never felt before, always feeling like an awkward teenager, he wondered where it suddenly came from.

Price's hands went to his injured throat, gasping for air. Cloud pivoted and set his sights back on Charles, who was back up and Charles looked like a raging bull, headed for the red cape. The blond readied himself and when Charles lunged at him with his baton, he dodged to the side and put his arm down over it. Grabbing the baton from Charles, he turned it on him.

Shocking him in the chest, Charles went down like a plank of wood. Then he turned on Drake who was coming up behind him. With a swift turn, he swung the baton at Drake's head but he ducked under the swing, however, Drake had left himself open for a shock to his ribs that Cloud gladly took advantage of.

Once Cloud had all three guards down, he turned to Hojo. In his rush to get to Hojo, Cloud had failed to notice that Burton dove for him and he got knocked to the ground. Advancing on Cloud, Price jabbed the baton in blonde's back and then Cloud saw a fist headed for his face.

Waking up, he'd been stripped down to his boxers and strapped to the table. There was a difference this time. While he was on his back as usual, his arms restrained to the table up over his head. His biceps blocked his view around the room. He raised his head and tried to look around to Sephiroth on his table, "Cloud are you okay?"

Cloud lowered his head back down on the table, "No, we're still here."

Hojo spoke up, "S, during C's punishment, I will be running more tests on the connection between you."

Sephiroth turned his head to Hojo, "See how close he was to getting you. Are you scared Hojo?"

"S, it would be a good idea if you kept quiet," Hojo glared at him over his glasses.

"What exactly are you going to do about it? You're planning on torturing Cloud and I already," Sephiroth glared right back at Hojo and then Hojo went back to his notes.

Hojo ignored Sephiroth, "Since C tends to like the baton, we will test with that first," Hojo walked over to Sephiroth, "We are testing several things, so be honest and this will go a lot smoother for you."

Sephiroth smacked the back of head down on the table in frustration. The glare from Sephiroth caught Hojo's attention and when Hojo looked at him, "One of these days, one of us is going to kill you," Sephiroth stated very calmly.

Hojo approached Cloud with the baton and shocked him in his left arm. He straightened and his jaw clenched as the electricity went through his body, "S where did you feel that?"

"I am not going to help you," Sephiroth glared into Hojo's eyes.

Cloud yelled tensely, "It's okay Seph. You don't have to." Fighting the inevitable seemed like their only form of entertainment most of the time. Cloud tried to find any sort of amusement and his favorite was trying to ruffle Hojo's feathers.

Hojo looked at Charles, "Get the gag for him." Charles went over and tried to stuff the gag in his mouth. Cloud turned his head away from Charles and pinched his lips closed from the inside of his mouth with his teeth. Hojo touched the baton to his ribs and the shock stiffened him and then once he relaxed, Charles got him gagged, "Now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way, let's continue." Hojo spoke to Sephiroth, "The more you are uncooperative the worse it will be for C." He touched the baton to Cloud's exposed left underarm. Sephiroth grit his teeth when Cloud stiffened from the electricity. Hojo smiled, "Now where did you feel that?"

Sephiroth glared at him, "My left arm." He added loud enough for Hojo to hear, "Fucking prick," Cloud laughed between heavy breaths through his gag.

Ignoring the comment Hojo smiled again. Hojo continued with the baton on his arms, legs, chest, stomach and then finally his neck. Both of them were breathing hard. Sephiroth was trying to help Cloud through it, "Now S, I am going to ask you nicely, stop talking to C, you are effecting the testing."

"Screw your damn tests!" Price was beside Sephiroth and Hojo nodded to him, Price took Sephiroth's left pinky finger and pulled it back. Snap! Sephiroth let out a quick cry out and Cloud winced and grunted in pain.

Hojo's eyes lit up, "Well, this is a new turn of events," Hojo began furiously writing down in his notes, "Okay well, we are going to move on." Hojo began more tests that lasted all afternoon. Cloud and Sephiroth, weakened to short grunts and groans and were barely conscious and they both collapsed once they returned to their beds and Cloud's spirit seemed like he was breaking. He just wanted it all overwith.

"If we stick to this forest, it leads right to the mountains," Sephiroth pointed out. They were fairly close to the Junon boarder. Sticking to the forests, to keep out of the sights of Shinra was difficult in this area.

Finding a place that was suitable, they set out to get some sleep. Sephiroth had Cloud and he was groaning and frowning, while Zack was getting out some food for dinner. On his way back from taking Cloud to take care of bathroom duties, Sephiroth was barely holding on to Cloud and he was standing all by himself.

"Well there's an improvement for today!" He smiled in their direction, "Here, I have some oatmeal for him." At the stop at Franklin, they had picked up several packages of instant oatmeal for Cloud. It was easier for him to swallow and for them to feed to him. The only problem was that it was cold. Zack had Cloud propped against a tree and fed him. His eyes were open about half way and still looking at nothing.

On the last bite, however, Cloud suddenly went completely limp. His eyes got wide and terror filled them. He slid sideways off of the tree, on to his side, "Cloud!" Zack jumped and picked his head from the ground.

"What happened?" Sephiroth startled.

"I don't know, he just went limp and fell over," Cloud's eyes slowly closed and his breathing began to slow. Zack felt for his pulse and it was slow, "Something is definitely wrong! Spiky! Wake up! Please don't do this. Please…" Sephiroth sat down on the other side of Cloud, trying to feel what was going on, but he couldn't get much, "What is going on Seph? Can you tell?"

He shook his head, "I cannot tell, there is something though. I just don't know what it means." Zack was starting to lose patience with the vagueness of all the things done to them, it seemed never-ending and Cloud's suffering was more prevalent. Without the Soldier enhancements, Cloud had been more susceptible to adverse reactions and mako poisoning. Sephiroth drew in a breath, "It has to do with Jenova and that is really all I can tell you. I just do not know," Sephiroth shook his head again.

"It just kind of freaks me out. One day he seems worse and others he seems better," Cloud's condition did not seem like he was getting any worse after he'd slid over, he just stayed the way he was when he fell. Zack picked him up and moved him back over to the blanket, "Spiky, I know you're in there, just hang on."

"You never know Zackary, he may just wake up one day and surprise the both of us," His eyes were hopeful as he tried to reassure Zack.

Zack shifted his weight and crossed his legs in front of him. The feelings that he had about Cloud getting worse kept creeping up on him. He couldn't stand the thought of Cloud never recovering, or worse, dying. Shaking the feeling, he had a duty to fulfill. Cloud recovering or not, he promised he would get him to safety and that was what he was going to do.

Raising his eyes back to Sephiroth, "You know, you can drop the Zackary and just call me Zack. It's not necessary to sound so formal all the time," Zack paused and stared at him waiting for a reaction or response. When none came, he narrowed his eyes at his former superior officer, "You call me Zackary just because you know I hate it don't you?" Sephiroth smiled and pointed to himself with a sarcastic air of angelic intentions, but Zack wasn't buying it, "Don't try that innocent look, I perfected that look a long time ago." Sephiroth smiled as he readied himself for bed.

It was a much colder night than the previous one. They were missing the warm weather from around the Casa Del Sol, Hope and Franklin areas. Being up and around the mountains they could definitely feel the temperature change. Shivers, goose bumps and their numb fingers and toes were beginning to ache so Zack lay down next to Cloud. Sephiroth soon followed and situated himself on the other side of Cloud. Huddling as close to each other as they possible could, Sephiroth said from between his chattering teeth, "We should have gotten another blanket back in Franklin. With only one blanket, you two hog it," Sephiroth pulled on the blanket, uncovering Zack a little. Zack pulled back a little again, and the silver-haired man snapped, "Good night Zackary!" Zack grinned to himself, satisfied.

During the night Cloud began screaming again and Sephiroth was the first one that got to Cloud's wrists and pulled them away from his neck and held on. He and Zack both had gotten used to this and it just became part of their everyday tasks. It didn't take away the horrible feeling that it gave them and it always scared them.

Getting started one morning, Sephiroth said, "We could be in Midgar by tomorrow morning."

In their excitement to being so close after so long, they unknowingly quickened their pace. Unconsciously, Zack's heart raced and beat at the thought of seeing Aerith again. 'What would she look like now? Did she wait for me? What am I going to say to her? I know she is going to have questions about where I've been.' Just pulling her to him in a lovers embrace and kissing her filled his mind. A smile at the thought of her kissing him back made his heart beat wildly in his chest. The thought of her smiling at him as she ran to him with her arms open, waiting for his body to press against her body, he blushed deeply.

Zack was carrying Cloud because he had ceased all his effort to walk under his own weight. Zack stubbed his toe on a rock and he fell forward and Cloud landed on his side. A rush of air came out of Cloud's lungs and then Zack landed on him ending up face to face with him. Cloud lifted his head and looked around not really looking at anything in particular. When Zack looked down at him, he thought he saw Cloud say something and then he closed his eyes, "What did you say?" Being hopeful that he would repeat it if Zack asked him. Cloud did nothing else and his eyes remained closed.

Sephiroth went back and asked what had happened, "I fell on him." Zack stood and brushed his pants off before he reached down to pick Cloud up, "I could have sworn he said something though. It almost sounded like a name or something."

Sephiroth reached back and brushed some dirt from Cloud's back. A rush of excitement surged from Sephiroth's words, "We are almost there. I can just make out the top of the Shinra building."

Zack's excitement increased and the thought of being back in Midgar, in the arms of his angel, he jumped in place, "Really?" Zack looked at Cloud, "We're back, Cloud!" Going to the ridge, Zack saw it, the place he had hoped to get back to.

Both men shared a quiet moment, just looking over the cliff to the city that they had once called home. It caused Zack mixed feelings then, what Shinra did to them, he felt hurt and betrayed, turning him into a war machine, just to use him and his friends as guinea pigs.

"I am going to go on ahead and check things out. See what kind of presence they have. You and Cloud should stay here, I will be back soon," Sephiroth put his hand on Zack's shoulder. Trying to reassure Zack and himself he finished, "We will make it."

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*