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

Reviews, critiques and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I use good constructive criticism to help my writing improve and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination.

Thanks to my before posting beta Queen of Jokers and my after posting beta SubZeroChimera!

"There is no such thing as stupid questions, only stupid people." –On a T-shirt

Chapter 44

"Hey boss. We got some weird shit going on around here," Reno took his phone away from his ear and looked at it, wondering why Tseng wanted them involved in this current situation. When he put it back to his ear he quickly said, "You got it boss." Reno hung up with that call and then dialed another number, "Come on, come on, pick up… Oh, hey Rude. Meet me over at the church chick's house. The boss wants us to… oh, you already know? Well see ya in a few then."

Reno folded his phone and shoved it in his pocket. He waited impatiently for Rude to show by starting with a few tosses of his EMR-baton, catching it out of the air and mocked a defense move. With a quick maneuver, he jabbed at the air and his feet kicked up a little dirt as he attacked his invisible sparring partner.

Rude had pulled around the corner and his car squealed a little on the last of the pavement when Reno had called him. One of Rude's favorite things was watching Reno when he thought he was alone. The red-head was quite entertaining to watch and he grinned a little at the sight of him fighting himself again. Not wanting to keep him waiting any longer, and before Reno's see-through opponent won the mock battle, he got out of the car and double checked to make sure it locked. No one would dare mess with it, knowing that it belonged to a Turk, but he didn't want to take chances.

"Rude, baby! I was just wondering when you were going to get here." Reno put his weapon away and briefed Rude about what had happened, "I followed Blondie and Zack here. Cloud came outside and picked up some things off the ground. Feathers." Reno raised his eyebrows about the feather information, "Almost an hour later, that fine chick with the rack that fantasies are made of showed up. Then the really weird shit happened."

As they walked, Rude had inadvertently kicked a little dirt on to the toe of his shoe; he had just shined them. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and retrieved an extra tissue. Feverishly, he wiped the dirt off as Reno kept walking and talking. When Reno looked to his side to emphasize a point to Rude, he realized that he had stopped and was behind him. He jerked back to Rude without stopping his side of the conversation, "So then a funky looking chick with wings, showed up. She was real pretty." He elbowed Rude in the arm, "I'd do her!"

Rude looked at Reno with a very serious face and an eyebrow raised, "Reno, you'd do anyone."

Reno laughed, stopped and thought for a minute, nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah okay. Well anyway, there was yelling and then she left. I haven't seen any activity except when the girls left and came back with groceries. Except for a scream or two, no biggies though."

Rude glanced at the house, "Let's go then."

As they bathed him, Zack began to wonder if Sephiroth was in the same condition and consciousness as Cloud. If that were true, he would need to keep them together in the same house. It would be easier to take care of them that way. Tifa would have to go to the bar to run it, but she could come here when she closed up.

Suddenly, a depth of sadness mixed with a frightened tightening clutched at his chest and gut. In instinct, his eyes searched the bathroom in a panic, for something, he didn't know what though.

"Zack? Are you okay?"

Zack darted his eyes to her, "Huh?" A confused perception blanketed over him, but he sloughed it off, "Oh, yeah… I was just thinking about some things."

Once they got Sephiroth cleaned up, Aerith stood, "I'll go get him some clean clothes to put on him."

Zack took the opportunity to lift one of his eye lids, marveling at how soft the General's silver eyelashes were and thankfully his eye color was normal for him. Reaching down to lift the plug to the tub, Sephiroth suddenly jumped and inhaled in surprise and opened his eyes only to looked in Zack's direction, "Hey Seph!" Sephiroth looked right through him. The suspicions of his condition were then confirmed. Sephiroth began to shiver so he grabbed a towel and dried him off.

Aerith stood in the bedroom with a small pile of clean clothes, "I am going to need your help getting him dressed because he's too heavy for me." She smiled at Zack and followed him with her eyes. Zack took the clothes without saying a word he sat him up and put his shirt on him. His pants were a little trickier. Zack put them around his ankles and then he stood him up. Aerith pulled up the pants and reached around and tied them at his waist. Zack pushed his hips back and away from Aerith's hands when they lightly grazed him when she was tying Sephiroth's sleep pants. That was a problem that he couldn't deal with right then.

Laying Sephiroth down, he furrowed his eyebrows again and a soft grunt escaped, "I think I am going to try to get him fed," Zack turned to leave.

"I can do that. Why don't you get some rest?" Aerith gently laid her hand on his arm.

Zack looked down at her soft hand and he suddenly felt he had to take it. There was a pull; an ache for her touch engulfing him and he reached down to grasp her hand gently. Raising her hand to his face, he closed his eyes and softly caressed her hand on his cheek, down to his lips. She inhaled quickly when his lips touched her hand, she studied him. When he opened his eyes, he reached over to her shoulder and slowly ran his fingers up her shoulder, slowly to her neck. When he pulled her gently toward him, Aerith broke the spell that Zack seemed to be in when she asked, "Zack, are you okay?"

Blinking a few times, he focused his startled gaze on her curious face, "Oh gods! I'm sorry… -I have to go." A quick glance at Sephiroth and he ran from the room into the other room.

Moving to the top of the stairs, he heard a knock at the door. Light and silent movement led him downstairs where he paused at the living room, and he whispered to Tifa, "Stay quiet. You stay in here with Cloud and get out of sight."

Tifa nodded in understanding so Zack moved to the door and opened it slowly, only able to stare at the faces from behind the door.

Reno waved his hand in front of his face as he smiled broadly, "Speechless? How flattering."

Zack rolled his eyes, "What do you want Reno?"

"Stop playing hard to get," He looked at Zack and then at Rude, "We're here to…" the red-head swallowed hard, "help." Reno hung his head as if defeated.

"What? Why are you going to help us? We're wanted by Shinra. Unless-" Zack's heart beat faster and harder. He shut the door hard and ran for his sword in a panic. Whispering loudly, Zack's panic-driven rush didn't make room for quiet stealth, "Tifa stay down." The realization hit him like a truck; they were surely here to take them all back to the lab. His panic seeped down and covered his bones with the sticky residue of the memories of Hojo.

There was another knock at the door, this one sounding utterly impatient. Zack jumped in fright then froze, stupefied at his overreaction and wondered what had just happened to cause it. Thinking a little more rationally, if they were after them to take them to Hojo, they would have done so a long time ago. What was he freaking out about? Calming himself, taking a deep breath, he opened the door again and peaked around the door, "Yes?" Zack raised a single dark eyebrow.

Rude took a step forward, "Listen, we are here to help."

Reno pushed into Zack's sight, "We are here, if you need help, that's all."

"Okay, thanks?" Zack's puzzled look stayed in place as he started to shut the door.

Reno jabbed his foot between the door and the frame, keeping it from shutting, "We also have a little information that you might be interested in."

"I'm listening," Zack kept the door almost closed, pushing it against the foot stuck in the door.

The Turks face's was relatively unreadable, "Aww come on, let us in. I got to take a piss."

Zack looked over at Rude and back to Reno, "Fine." He opened the door and stopped them just inside the hallway, "What is the information?"

Rude reached into his pocket and pulled out a name and number, "I believe that you have talked with this man before." He handed the paper to Zack, "He knows a lot more than you think. We took the liberty to write his information again, if you didn't have it anymore."

Reno leaned up against the wall and shuffled from one foot to the other quickly, "Dude, I wasn't kidding when I said I had to take a piss!"

Zack pointed up the stairs. Reno took the stairs two and three at a time and when he reached the top he slowly made his way to the bathroom. Once he left the bathroom, Zack was standing there with his arms folded, staring. Reno smiled and called down to Rude, "I'm coming! Give me a break would you?"

Zack didn't remember Rude calling him, but he was leaving, that was two fewer people he had to deal with in the house.

When Reno got to the bottom of the stairs, he looked into the living room as he walked by. He saw the blond laying on the couch with the bar chick crouched down beside him. With his voice louder than necessary, the red-head turned and patted his shoulder, "Zack! It is good to see you again and all that shit. I guess we'll get the fuck out of here and let you get back to your… your life." He pushed Rude to the door, "If you need us, we're around."

Zack shut the door and stepped into the living room, "All clear." Zack pocketed the paper and checked on Cloud. He leaned down and he appeared to be sleeping, "I guess I'll get him back upstairs."

Tifa stepped between the two men, "Zack. What is wrong with you? You seem so down. You won't let us help you."

"You did." Looking from his friend and Tifa, he finished, "You got bandages… and food," Zack rubbed his forehead, his head was aching and frustration was beginning to clog his thinking.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," She crossed her arms and looked up at him. His gaze was toward the floor and he slightly turned his head away from her. It was a move that reminded her of Cloud. Zack never acted so beaten, so defeated. Moving down to get in his field of vision, she asked calmly, "Please, talk to me."

His eyes met hers and then quickly looked away, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Are you sad? Happy? Angry? Tired? What?" She dropped her arms and rested her hands on her hips, "I want to know that you're okay."

"Please, just let me get him upstairs," Zack side-stepped past her and picked Cloud up and she followed him closely all the way to the bedroom.

"Zack, why don't you just get some rest? I can watch for a while," She patted his bicep and smiled. He turned to look at her. Before he knew what was happening, the back of his hand acted and went to her cheek, brushing some of her hair back behind her ear. It was then that his mind met up with where his hand left off, his eyes met hers and he longed for her. Why he was feeling this all of a sudden, the feelings were extremely difficult to ignore. Pulling her shoulders toward him, he brought her into his kiss. He kissed her deeply and his hands went around her waist and pulled her into him roughly. She fought him to let her go. He only held her harder. She broke free from him long enough to yell, "Zack!"

He stopped and stood straight and let the confused look on his face tell the story, "I'm so sorry." He rushed out of the bedroom.

Aerith stopped him in the hall, "What happened?" Tifa came out in the hall. They both looked at him expectantly.

He stood in the middle of the hallway looking at the floor, "I don't know where that came from. I just…" He paused and looked up to the ceiling and sighed loudly, "I think I'm gonna go for a walk, clear my head."

It was a fairly cool night and he just had a short sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans on. He had forgotten shoes, but he really didn't care right then. Stressed to the point of breaking, he walked completely around Sector 5 until he found himself at the church. Sitting on the broken down pew in the front, he stared at the flowers. Wondering if the flowers still felt the same as he remembered, so he laid down in them and rolled to his side. Propping himself on his hand, he picked one of the flowers and lay down on his back and turned the flower over in his fingers. All the memories that he had of Aerith in this very spot and he had nothing to show for it.

This had been one hell of a day. He tried to leave for Gongaga. Went back to get his sword and got an eyeful of Cloud and Tifa that he really didn't ever want to see. Got a phone call from a freaked Aerith and found Sephiroth "dead." Then Cloud went vegetable on him again and then Sephiroth was all vegged out too. He sat up and decided to get back to the house before the girls began to panic, adding to his laundry list of things to fix.

Having walked himself out, his pace was slower and much more relaxed. He held on to the flower and plucked one petal at a time, leaving a trail from the church to the house. He had to get himself under control. Why wasn't he able to control the sudden feelings that snuck up on him? He sighed as he noticed the girls were in the kitchen in their pajamas, waiting for him.

With crossed arms and an equally cross attitude, Tifa asked, "Are you feeling better?" The whole thing with the kiss was way out-of-bounds and she didn't think that this situation would come up again. Nearly losing Cloud because of their weakness wasn't something that she relished happening again.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, about that, I really don't know where that… whatever, sorry about that."

Tifa glared at him, "Zack, I care a lot about you, but if you try anything like that again, I will hurt you in a way that the mako won't be able heal."

Raising his hand to the back of his neck, he groaned, "Yeah."

A scream erupted from one of the bedrooms. This time it was Sephiroth, writhing on the bed, his fists clenched at his sides and when the scream stopped, he began to groan a long eerie sounding noise, like an engine winding down after being over-exerted. The veins in his neck bulged and his teeth grit together in an unsettling grin of pain. Beginning to flail his arms, Sephiroth struck himself in the side of his head and clawed at his face and neck.

Grabbing the silver-haired man's wrists, Zack held on just like he had to do with Cloud. Sweat started beading on Zack's forehead and he curled up as if his stomach muscles were contracting. He continued to hold on to Sephiroth's wrists, but the task appeared to quickly become more and more difficult. Just as with Sephiroth, Zack grimaced in pain and then Tifa could literally see the pain travel through his body. The muscles in his arms, chest and neck strained and stood out prominently against the concert of his loud groans.

Watching the valiant effort that Zack put forth in trying to keep Sephiroth from hurting himself, he was losing the noticeably losing the battle. With his eyes squeezed shut, Zack was unable to hold on any longer, he threw his head back and grabbed his chest, the scream came from deep anguish. He fell from the bed and landed on his side as both men bucked against the pain. Aerith went to Sephiroth as he scratched at himself.

Tifa reached Zack as his back arched and his fists flew to his side. The back of his head struck the wooden chest at the foot of the bed and she tried to grab his wrists when he began to scratch at his throat just as the other two did. A sudden convulsion took him over for a short time and the arm she had a hold of swung out and she got thrown back toward the door, like a small baby-doll.

Aerith jumped and straddled Sephiroth waist in an attempt to keep him from hurting himself anymore. His back arched and she fell to the side on the other side of the bed. Aerith and Tifa stood up and looked at each other from across the room and their realization became a reality. There was just no way for them to hold on to any of them.

As quickly as it started, they stopped screaming and flailing. Sephiroth lay still and his breathing seemed to be returning to normal. Aerith went to get some bandages for her lover's deep scratch.

Zack lay still, but his breathing was rapid and deep. Rolling over to his side, he covered his face and sobbed freely, unable to hold himself together. She'd seen him cry before, the night at the bar, but this was different. The pain they experienced was different, it was savage and raw. Tifa quietly approached, gently and with a hesitation she rarely had, she put her hand on his shoulder, "Zack?"

In a voice that was very uncharacteristic for Zack, he yelled, "Don't touch me! Just Leave!" Both of the girls jumped in surprise. Aerith's eyes dropped, fighting her tears, she got busy dressing Sephiroth's bleeding wound.

"Zack, I'm going to get you some water. I'll be right back okay," When Tifa returned to the bedroom from the kitchen, Zack was not there.

Aerith looked over at her and her tone was soft and frightened, "He's in the bathroom."

Tifa went to the door and knocked softly, "Zack, are you okay? Open the door."

Zack flung the door open so quickly and hard that the hinges screeched and one of them broke loose. His eyes were a dull version of his normally vibrant and lively violet color. His once pleasant and disarming face strained, no longer the semblance of caring. He said nothing, but he looked so much like a sad and hurting animal. Unmoving, he just looked at her, but didn't really see her, his eyes looked around as if he were looking for a lost child, he became frantic. She waited for him to say something until he finally brushed past her and went into the room where Cloud lay quietly.

Cloud was awake and his eyes looked around nervously. Zack approached him and grabbed his shoulders and in an overly agitated yell, he shook the blond, "Look at me! Where are you?"

Tifa's concern began to rise as Cloud and Zack were acting similar. What was happening to them, to all three of them? Asking the simple question didn't seem too much to ask for, "Zack? What happened?" Zack startled as if he'd been poked in the back by a sharp object in the dark. His eyes were wild and he looked over at Tifa nervously.

The gentle hand belonging to the ancient reached out and pulled her to the side, "I think I may know what is happening. As you know, I'm a descendant of the ancients. I can sense things sometimes, when I pray or the planet tells me something."

"Yes," Tifa couldn't take eyes off of Zack and Cloud.

"From what I can tell, Zack is feeling what Sephiroth and Cloud are going through. It's the same thing that Sephiroth was able to do with Cloud in the lab. The only difference is that he is feeling both Cloud and Sephiroth at the same time and it is overwhelming him."

Tifa looked at Zack and he seemed to not even hear them, "What do we do?"

"I am going to try something but I think it would be best if all three of them in the same room," Aerith and Tifa went to the room with Sephiroth and they both almost collapsed from his weight. They sat Sephiroth in the chair.

In prayer, Aerith went to her knees immediately and her whispered words came out in melodic chant.

Zack had moved to the other side of the bed, sitting with his legs pulled up, his arms were wrapped around his knees. Black spikes hung down covering the part of his face that his knees didn't. Sitting next to him, his brightly glowing eyes looked at her, they had a pleading to them that she couldn't ignore. Raising his head, he leaned into her hand, resting on her shoulder. A deep breath shook his body and when his arms wrapped around her waist, he pulled her to him, sliding her across the floor.

Slowly and clumsily he got on his knees, his warm face slowly went up her neck to her cheek and he paused, waiting for something. Tifa rubbed his arm and back and tried to reassure him that it would be okay, but it all seemed lost, he had ceased to hear her a long time ago. His breaths became panicked and scared at first, then eerily, he found a different kind of courage and intensity. He began to sniff her neck and her hair up to her cheek where he pulled her quickly into a kiss.

His hands felt around behind her and went under her shirt and up her back. The feel of his finger nails scratching lightly, but purposefully, down her back, a lustful moan left him as he pulled her on to his lap. It all happened so fast, Tifa couldn't do anything but be a doll for him to hold until he looked up at her. For a moment, he had Cloud's bedroom eyes and sounded a bit like him as well, "I didn't even think about where Zack was. Did you?"

Tifa didn't know what to think at first, she was sitting in Zack's lap, but everything was like a repeat of earlier this morning. She glanced over at Aerith, "Whatever you're going to do, do it quick. I think he thinks he's Cloud."

A scream erupted from the unconscious blond and then some convulsions rocked him. Tifa was still in Zack's tight hold when the dark-haired man with the identity crisis also launched himself backward. Slamming against the leg of the bed he jerked down to the floor, taking Tifa with him. Letting out a pained scream from the tight squeeze, she had become an unfortunate squeeze toy. He let out a short cry of pain and his arms sharply snapped out to his sides. Tifa was left lying on top of him, trying to catch her breath, but taking the opportunity, she rolled off quickly before he could grab her again. Looking over at Sephiroth, he had wrapped his arms around himself and cried in pain as well.

Cloud's scream seemed to break from the stress of the force of air through his windpipe. He started to rip at his shirt and dig into his skin as Zack did similarly. Zack suddenly ceased screaming and lay still, shockingly still. That was when Tifa noticed the blood coming from his nose and mouth, "Aerith!"

Aerith looked but did not move from the spot on her knees, but her prayers moved at a fevered pace.

Tifa ran and got a wet wash cloth and rushed back to Zack's side, his eyes remained closed and he was completely limp. Blood continued to drip slowly from his mouth and his nose. Checking his pulse, it was rapid and his breathing began to slow. Zack had done it to both Sephiroth and Cloud, so lifting an eye lid, not really knowing what to look for; she didn't seeing anything out of the ordinary. On the bed, Cloud suddenly stopped screaming and Tifa looked up to see Cloud sitting on the side of the bed.

"Cloud!" He only stared blankly ahead, but his eyes were not deep blue anymore, they were a bright fiery green and his pupils were cat-like, "Aerith, there's something wrong with his eyes."

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."

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