Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Alliance ❯ Chapter 3

“Alliance”

Chapter 3

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(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)

*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

~***********************************************~

 

“What do you mean, `we're boned'?” Rude asked when he heard his partner's tense announcement. He came up behind Reno and tugged his shades down to look. When he saw the object that Reno was hunkered over, his jaw dropped. “Oh, hell no.”

 

“Anyone in here know how to defuse a bomb?” Reno hollered.

 

“Don't you?” Elena asked in a fearful voice.

 

“No, I just set `em off!” Reno answered, “We need someone to disarm this thing or WE'LL be disarmed…pun intended! Rude? You put shit like this together, can you figure it out?”

 

Rude shook his head. “This is way more advanced than the ones I make.”

 

“Move aside,” Reeve ordered as he shoved his way past the gathering crowd around the closet. “Everyone, get out of here! I'll try to stop it.”

 

“I'm not going anywhere,” Vincent said firmly, stopping at Reeve's side and regarding the bomb with calm detachment.

 

Knowing it was pointless to argue with him, Reeve waved the others away. “Fine, the rest of you get as far away from this floor as you can.”

 

“We ain't going to make it all the way out before that thing goes off,” Reno said with certainty. “We might make it three floors back up but we're still fucked.”

 

Tseng picked up his cellphone and dialed one of the Turks that had helped escort Cloud and Tifa out. “It's Tseng. Get out of the compound as quickly as you can.” He ended the call and stood waiting while Reeve worked over the bomb while some of the others shone their flashlights on it for him. “With any luck, at least Strife and the others can make far enough to escape if it goes off,” the Wutaian announced.

 

“Shiva, I fucking hope so,” Reno muttered, his pale face breaking into a sweat. “How's it coming along, Reeve?”

 

“It would go much smoother if you weren't breathing down my neck,” the engineer snapped as he tugged a small kit out of the confines of his jacket and opened it to reveal multiple, small tools. He muttered to himself as he pulled out some wire cutters and popped open a panel on the bomb. He eyed the wires inside and began to carefully separate them according to color. There were two of each; yellow, blue and red. Reeve wiped his forehead with his sleeve and concentrated, observing where the wires connected and making his best guess as to which ones went to the fuse.

 

Reno backed off and decided to give Rufus one last call. They had two minutes left. He selected the president's number and waited for him to answer, his pulse racing in his throat. “Hey boss,” he said when Rufus picked up. “I just wanted to call ya in case I don't see you again.”

 

“Reno, what are you talking about?” Rufus's voice was puzzled. “Have you run into opposition?”

 

“Not exactly,” answered the Turk, “but we did run into a bomb and Reeve's got less than two minutes to defuse it. I figured if I wanted to say goodbye to ya, it's now or never. You wanna talk to Tseng and Rude?”

 

“I…what?” Rufus's confusion was rapidly being replaced with alarm. “Is this some sort of sick joke?”

 

“I wish,” Reno sighed. He nodded at Rude and Tseng, who stood silently behind Reeve and waited to either be blown to bits or saved. Vincent was holding his flashlight steady but the two other people lending their beams were shaking so badly the light bounced. The other two Turks approached and Reno started to hand the phone over to Tseng so that the Wutaian could say something first.

 

“Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!” The counter on the bomb suddenly sped up and the Turks froze, looking at each other with horror. On the other end of the phone, Rufus was beginning to shout demands for someone tell him what was happening.

 

“You seem to have angered it,” Vincent observed.

 

“All too aware,” Reeve answered in a tight voice.

 

Everyone braced themselves as the engineer tried once more. Reno squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the final painful moment. Tseng grabbed the redhead's phone and said goodbye to Rufus and Rude put one arm around his partner. Elena covered her ears and gritted her teeth. After a moment, it occurred to them that they were still standing and Rufus was still shouting on the other end of the line. The beeps had stopped and Reeve collapsed in front of the bomb and bowed his head.

 

“Did you do it?” Elena asked the engineer as she opened one eye.

 

“In true suspense film spirit,” Reeve confirmed breathlessly. “We had under twenty seconds to spare. I think I've soiled myself.”

 

The smell of urine permeating the air indicated that while Reeve may have been cracking a joke, at least one person in the room had actually lost bladder control.

 

~**************************************~

 

“Tseng!” Rufus was red-faced and shouting into the cellphone. “Reno! What's going on?” The communications team and barricade guards watched the president come unhinged, uncertain of what to do next.

 

Rufus heard Reno yell at the top of his lungs and then he heard others hollering as well. The only assumption he could make was that his Turks were being slaughtered while he listened helplessly over the phone. “You!” he shouted at one of the higher-ranking militia on the communications team, “Send in backup, right now!”

 

“Yo, boss!” Reno's voice shouted through the phone just as Rufus grabbed the officer's combat vest. “We're okay! Reeve stopped the bomb, man!”

 

Rufus froze, his eyes dilating. He released the officer's vest and stepped back, schooling his features immediately as he brought the phone back up to his ear. “Reeve stopped the bomb,” he repeated in a carefully controlled voice.

 

“Yeah, we're all in one piece and you should see a team coming out with Strife and Lockheart soon. We've got something pretty special here that you'll want brought back to headquarters, yo.”

 

Rufus felt like his heart was going to burst through his ribcage. “Do you have any bloody idea what you just did to me, Reno?”

 

The Turk hesitated. “Uh…probably gave you a pretty good scare, huh?”

 

“And turned me into a foaming lunatic in under a minute,” Rufus added, flushing as his people stared at him warily.

 

“Yeah,” the redhead sounded embarrassed. “Well, I thought we were toast and Tseng even thought so too. Sorry, baby.”

 

Rufus reigned in his temper with difficulty. Few things could anger him as much as losing control in front of other people…let alone subordinates. The only thing that angered him more than his own display of hysteria was the terror that Reno had inadvertently put him through.

 

“Get topside immediately and explain to me what you've found.” He saw one of the teams emerging from the entrance to the compound and he spotted Cloud, apparently unconscious and being carried by two WRO members. A Turk was supporting Tifa and the girl looked as though she was about to pass out herself.

 

“We'll discuss the grey you've put in my hair later, Reno.” Rufus abruptly hung up the phone and took a moment to collect himself before he moved to meet the approaching team.

 

~************************************~

 

When the rest of the teams emerged and the Turks gave their report, Rufus was again thrown for a loop. He knew that Cloud was likely to find something unpleasant concerning his own past or things that were done to his friend Zack, but he never expected him to actually find a clone of the man.

 

~If I had known this would happen, I never would have sent him in there. Now I'm going to have to contend with him over what we're to do with this clone.~

 

“He really told you to kill it?” Rufus asked, looking from one Turk to the next as they sat in the privacy of his helicopter's cabin. He also looked to Reeve, who was still a bit pale from having barely succeeded in saving so many lives.

 

“He was terribly shocked,” Tseng answered. “I hardly think he was thinking rationally.”

 

“He saw only an imposter when he looked at the specimen in the capsule,” Vincent confirmed. “Assuming the incident doesn't give him a complete breakdown, he may change his attitude when he wakes up.”

 

Rufus sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. “And you found no members of Deepground at all?”

 

They shook their heads in unison. “Reno suggested that it was odd for them to leave behind the research files,” Reeve said, “I agree with that. Obviously they've moved to another location and it's reasonable to assume they didn't have the means to transport Zack's clone and Shalua's body, but it's strange that they would leave behind such important notes.”

 

“From what I've heard of Deepground, they're just sick enough to dangle the carrot in front of our noses before blowing us up,” Reno said with a shrug. “Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the whole thing was set up.”

 

“What would be the purpose, if they deliberately set a trap?” Rufus asked with a frown. “You can't gloat over ash, after all.”

 

“Maybe they wanted to gloat at you, boss,” Rude suggested thoughtfully.

 

Rufus considered the theory. “It's no secret that my father and I didn't get along,” he reasoned, “and if that weren't enough to earn Deepground's contempt, I'm fairly certain that they despise the WRO. Still, given their diminished numbers I'd be more inclined to believe they were trying to destroy evidence and we simply arrived before it happened. Otherwise they would have had to have an agent in there waiting for our people to move in before arming the bomb and getting out unseen. It doesn't seem possible.”

 

Tseng frowned, remembering something that Tifa did just before they went into the compound. She'd been startled…spooked, even. She'd claimed to see a man somewhere amongst the rooftops but there was nobody there when Tseng looked. “Lockheart thought she saw someone watching us, just before we moved in,” the Wutaian said. “I never spotted him but she seemed very sure of herself for a moment. It's possible that it was a stealth agent left behind to set the bomb.”

 

“So we have one possible sighting of a person that may or may not have been involved in the bomb,” Rufus sighed. “Nobody else saw him?”

 

Tseng shook his head. “Only Tifa. It could have been a figment of her imagination. She did seem fairly tired when we started out.”

 

“But we can't rule it out,” Reeve insisted.

 

“No, I don't suppose we can,” agreed Rufus. “There's little we can do about it now except to double security while we collect the capsules.” He looked at Reeve and Vincent searchingly. “I understand the woman in the other capsule was an associate of yours?”

 

“A comrade,” Vincent corrected. “One who deserves to have her remains disposed of with dignity.”

 

Rufus nodded. “I understand. Would you object to a standard autopsy first?”

 

“She's been cut up enough,” the gunman said firmly.

 

“A good portion of her internal organs were artificial before Deepground got their hands on her to begin with,” explained Reeve. “I doubt there's much we could discover by studying her…although if we must conduct cellular tests…Vincent, forgive me but I'd rather do it on someone who no longer cares than a living specimen. She's gone to the planet.”

 

“Minor tests only,” Vincent agreed with great reluctance. “We owe her some final dignity, at least.”

 

“Absolutely,” Reeve said with a thankful nod. “Provided the clone we found ever wakes up and assuming his mental facilities are intact enough to agree to it, we may be able to perform tests on him. I won't go the route of Hojo and Hollander, however. He has to be able to give us his informed consent.”

 

“Is it really that important to get consent from a clone?” Elena asked…perhaps foolishly.

 

Reeve gave her a level stare. “Clone or not, he's a human being and how he came into existence isn't his fault. We don't operate like that anymore, remember?”

 

“I was just asking,” Elena said in a small voice. “I'm just confused by this whole thing. I mean, does he have a brain or is he just an empty human shell?”

 

Reeve frowned. “That's actually a good question. We won't have the answer to that until we transport him to our research department and have him looked over more thoroughly. For the time being, I'm more concerned with Cloud and Tifa's mental state. I'd like to check up on them both.”

 

“Certainly,” Rufus agreed. He hid it well but he was concerned for Strife as well. Tifa was clearly upset by the incident as well but they'd had to sedate Cloud.

 

~*******************************~

 

“Reeve, you gotta listen to me,” Cloud slurred when the engineer stood over the cot he was strapped to inside one of the helicopters, “that thing isn't Zack…it's…just a thing. Get rid of it!”

 

Reeve sighed and brushed aside some stray golden locks of hair from the fighter's eyes. “You know I can't do that, Cloud. I understand how hard this is on you but what you're asking me to do is murder. I seem to recall that you're somewhat of a clone, yourself. Should I have you killed, too?”

 

“Not the same thing,” the blonde mumbled, fighting against the affects of the drugs they'd given him. “I was…you know…injected…screwed around with…but I was still me.”

 

“So because you existed before your DNA makeup was altered, you're better than he is?” Reeve persisted. “The clone of your friend doesn't deserve the chance to live?”

 

“Deepground's been using him,” Cloud said with slightly more clarity, “you dunno what they did…he could be a psycho!”

 

“Or he could be an oblivious innocent, completely unaware of his circumstances or how he came to exist,” reasoned the engineer. “Look, you've had quite a shock and I can't pretend to know what it was like for you to look up and see him floating there. Give yourself some time…rest and recover. When you can think with a clear head again, we'll talk more.” Reeve nodded at the nearby doctor, signaling for a second dose of sedative.

 

“No, dammit,” Cloud grunted, struggling in his bonds. One of the straps began to tear and Reeve hastily held his friend down while the doctor administered another injection.

 

“I'm sorry, Cloud,” the older man said. “We're only trying to help you.”

 

~*****************************~

 

Tifa watched the covered capsule being air-lifted from the ground. It had taken some tinkering with the elevators to get them working again but the WRO managed to do it and they got the capsule and its occupant up to ground level and outside. She was trembling but in much better mental condition than Cloud.

 

“How are ya holding up?” Reno asked her as he handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

 

She forced a smile as she took it from him. “I'm…numb. I just can't believe it. How did they copy him like that?”

 

“The WRO will figure that out later,” guessed the Turk. He studied her with piercing, blue-green eyes for a moment. “You ain't glad you might get your old friend back?”

 

“It won't be him,” she said with a shake of her head. “People don't just come back from the dead like that.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Reno took a drag of the clove cigarette he held between the fingers of his other hand. He blew the smoke out and scuffed the broken cement with one shoe. “Seems to me Sephiroth came back plenty of times. How many times did ya think he was dead only to find out he was alive and kicking, toots? Hojo came back too. Who says only the crazy scientists and their tortured kids can come back? Why can't the good ones like Zack do it too?”

 

Tifa stared at him and blinked as she sipped her drink. Reno's logic actually made a certain kind of sense…, which either meant she was closer to a breakdown than she thought or Reno was wiser than she'd ever imagined.

 

“It would make some sense on a cosmic scale,” she murmured. “I mean, if you believe in Karma. If someone like Hojo could get a break it's only fair that someone like Zack could too.” She didn't mention Sephiroth because she wasn't able to reconcile the tragedies that had driven him to madness with the horrors he'd committed because of it. Pity blended with hatred when it came to Sephiroth, but Hojo was beyond all compassion.

 

“You never know what hand you're gonna get dealt,” Reno said with a nod. “I'm not saying it's a definite but it's not impossible, either.” He took another drag of his cigarette before putting it out on the ground and dropping the butt in a little tin he carried with him.

 

Tifa thought the gesture was a bit strange and she eyed the tin curiously. “It's kind of weird to see you worrying about littering. Especially here in this dump.”

 

Reno shrugged. “I grew up in this `dump'. Now what do ya say we check up on our boy?”

 

Tifa nodded in agreement and followed him to the chopper where Cloud was resting. The blonde was sleeping fitfully in a drugged haze when they arrived, oblivious to their presence. Reno muttered a soft curse and knelt down beside him. “I hope they didn't overdose him on that shit.”

 

“Reeve would never let that happen,” Tifa said with confidence, though she checked his breathing just to be sure.

 

“Well, we should be about ready to head back soon,” Reno said. “Maybe after a couple days' rest he'll have his head back on straight. I've never seen him like that before, yo.” He reached out and stroked his lover's cheek, unable to hide the concern in his eyes as he gazed down at him.

 

“I have,” Tifa said softly. “He'll pull out of it. He just needs some time.”

 

“If you say so,” Reno sighed.

 

~************************************~

 

When Cloud woke up again he was in the medical unit of ShinRa headquarters. He was in a room, strapped to a hospital bed and he had an IV in his arm.

 

“Oh, come on,” the blonde growled as he strained against his restraints. “I had a breakdown, I'm not crazy!”

 

“Welcome back,” a deep, male voice said to his left. Cloud turned his head to find Vincent sitting in the chair beside his bed. The gunman regarded him calmly, studying him with thoughtful ruby eyes. “How much do you remember?”

 

“We found a copy of Zack in the Deepground basement and I went mental,” Cloud snapped, “now let me out of this getup.”

 

“Have you calmed down enough to think rationally now?” Vincent questioned.

 

“I know they're not going to kill it,” Cloud huffed, “and I'm not sure I'd really want them to anyhow. Just tell me one thing, Vincent…are they going to experiment on it?”

 

“Interesting,” the gunman murmured. “You refer to him as `it', as if to acknowledge him as something more than a thing would make him real to you.”

 

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the raven-haired man. “You didn't answer my question.”

 

“If he wakes up and can give informed consent, they'll run some tests,” supplied Vincent calmly. “Until then, they're only monitoring his life signs and testing for responses. He's still in the stasis capsule, unconscious. Now, I've answered your question—will you answer mine?”

 

“You didn't ask a question,” Cloud argued, “you psycho analyzed me and drew your own conclusions.”

 

“Before that, I asked you a question,” insisted Vincent. He hadn't moved and he watched Cloud patiently, with all the expression of a marble statue.

 

Cloud frowned. “If I told you I could think rationally, would you even believe me?”

 

A soft smile graced Vincent's lips. “More readily than others, it would seem.” He stood up and began freeing Cloud from the restraints. “I'm sure Reeve will have something to say about my releasing you before a proper doctor could diagnose you, but I think I know you better than they do.”

 

Cloud sat up with effort, his head still swimming from the lingering effects of the sedatives. “Thanks, Vincent. I think I'm going to go lay down in my room.” He tugged the IV out and winced a little at the sting before standing up.

 

The other man steadied him as he staggered. “Let me at least escort you there,” Vincent offered. “By the way, it really wasn't wise to pull your own IV out. I could have rung for a nurse.”

 

“I'm fine,” the blonde said. “I've been through worse than pulling a tube out of my arm.” It was then that Cloud realized he was wearing a hospital gown and he stood a very good risk of flashing anyone he crossed paths with. “Uh, where are my clothes?”

 

“Tifa had them washed. They're right there on the other chair with your weapon,” Vincent informed him. “They were going to confiscate your sword until it could be determined that you were stable, but Reno wouldn't let them and he convinced the president to order it to be left with you.”

 

Cloud smirked. He could imagine the redhead guarding his sword for him. “I should put my clothes on,” he mumbled.

 

“Do you require assistance?” Vincent asked.

 

Cloud wasn't comfortable with the offer, though he knew Vincent didn't think of him in a sexual way. “I think I can manage. Just make sure nobody comes walking into the room while I'm doing it, okay?”

 

~*********************************~

 

Cloud rested for the remainder of the day and through most of the next. His phone rang a few times and more than once, someone knocked on his door but he didn't respond. Finally when noon came around the following day, someone opened the door to his suite and came in. Cloud sat up and reached for his weapon as the intruder walked into his bedroom, but he relaxed when he saw that it was Reno.

 

“How did you get in here?” Cloud asked as the redhead closed the distance.

 

Reno dangled a keyring. “They let me borrow a spare key to check on ya.”

 

“So much for privacy,” grumbled Cloud.

 

“You're depressed, man,” Reno said bluntly as he plopped down on the bed next to him. “We've left you alone `cause Vinnie insisted on it, but enough's enough. You can't just stay holed up in here and the kids have started worrying about ya.”

 

“I just want to be left alone,” Cloud whispered, averting his eyes.

 

“Why, so you can sleep some more?” Reno scooted closer and threw an arm around him. “At least come and have something to eat downstairs. Tifa and the kids are down there and so's Rude and Tseng. We're waiting on ya, Blondie. There's a nice lunch buffet.”

 

Cloud almost said he didn't feel like eating, but he didn't want to come off as sulky and childish so he simply nodded amicably. Reno smiled at him and stood up, moving to this closet. Cloud watched him silently as he picked out an outfit composed of cargo pants and a sweater and the blonde managed a smile. “You've really got a thing for that combination on me.”

 

Reno threw a sexy smile at him and tossed the outfit on the bed. “You've got great arms and a hot ass, baby. This combo really shows it off.”

 

Cloud got dressed and obligingly went with the Turk to lunch. He tried to keep his angst from showing as they joined the others at the table they'd selected but the look in Tifa's eyes said he wasn't quite succeeding. Rude was quiet as usual and Tseng was polite, avoiding discussion that could lead to the subject of Zack's clone. Denzel and Marlene were just happy to see Cloud up and about and Reno managed to bring a few smiles to the table during the meal.

 

“The president has something for you,” Tseng informed Cloud after they finished eating.

 

“Really?” Cloud asked with a puzzled frown, wondering what on Gaia Rufus could have to give him at a time like this.

 

“Yes, it's something that I'm quite sure you'll enjoy. Why don't you stop by his office tonight before you go to bed?”

 

Cloud stared at the Wutaian while Reno snickered softly. “Uh, I don't think this is a good time.” He blushed as Denzel and Marlene looked at him quizzically and Tifa cleared her throat. He wondered how much she had picked up on the relationship between him and the president.

 

Tseng gave Reno a patiently annoyed look. “It's nothing inappropriate, I assure you. Just trust me.”

 

Cloud blew a sigh. “Okay, I'll drop by his office tonight, then.”

 

~***************************~

 

“Ah, Cloud,” Rufus said as the blonde was buzzed into his office later that evening. “I'm glad you decided to come by. Just one moment, please.” The president stopped typing on his laptop and stood up, going to the liquor cabinet and mini fridge near the adjoining bedroom. He produced a chilled, plastic container and brought it to the blonde. “I believe you enjoyed these the last time I made them. I cooked a batch for you last night.”

 

Cloud took the offered container and lifted the lid curiously. A delicious, familiar scent reached his nostrils and his mouth watered. “Guilty cooking?” he asked with a hard look at the other man, even as he appreciated the smell of the ribs.

 

Rufus shrugged. “Somewhat.”

 

Cloud studied him closely. Rufus seemed quite sincere, which was difficult to swallow even now. “You didn't know,” he sighed. “I appreciate it, though.”

 

“I know it's a hollow gesture,” Rufus said with a grimace. “I'm a perfect bastard when it comes to giving comfort and I realize that.”

 

Cloud stared at him again. It seemed like every day he saw a little more of the man beneath the ice. Was this how it was for Reno, too? He'd begun to see something more in Rufus than the pragmatic, cool businessman ever since Reno's accident, and now it seemed the ice was steadily chipping away. The man sucked at expressing emotions, true…but he was really trying.

 

“You'll make me fat if you keep cooking comfort food for me every time I get upset,” Cloud said with a little smile. “I'm a brooder. That's a lot of meals.”

 

Rufus responded with a low, soft laugh. “If you'd rather not take the ribs,” he began as he reached out for the gift.

 

Cloud pulled them out of his reach. “No, I'll take them. Where did you cook these, anyhow?” he looked around the office in confusion, knowing that it had a suite of its own connected to it but unable to remember ever seeing a kitchenette or grill anywhere.

 

“There's a grill on the balcony,” Rufus explained.

 

“Oh,” Cloud said. He should have guessed. “Thanks, Rufus.”

 

The president nodded, his gray eyes holding Cloud's soberly for a moment. “He'll be well taken care of, you know. I understand if you can't trust me in that, but trust Reeve.”

 

Cloud swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. How could he make people understand that the man in the tube wasn't Zack and never would be? They thought his feelings were based purely on the resemblance to his deceased friend but it was the sullying of his memory that hurt the most. Zack had earned his rest and someone had created his likeness to conduct more experiments on!

 

He couldn't find the words to explain, so he allowed Rufus to think he'd said the right thing. The president's heart was in the right place after all.

 

~************************************~

 

“Mr. Tuesti, we've got a problem.”

 

Reeve looked up from the reports he was going over and frowned at the scientist. “What is it now?” His patience was nearing an end and he was tired. He was running on three measly hours of sleep and Vincent avoided the lab so he didn't even have the comfort of his lover's presence to make the long hours more bearable.

 

“The specimen we procured from the Deepground facility,” the woman explained with a worried look, “his life signs are growing weaker. They've been slowly declining since we moved him and his condition is deteriorating faster.”

 

Reeve took off his reading glasses. “Is he showing visible changes? Graying hair, flaking skin…anything like that?”

 

“No sir,” the woman answered, “we can't find any physical reason for the decline. All tests have shown his organs to be healthy and oddly enough, we've started picking up brain waves in the past few hours. I would almost attribute the worsened condition of his other vital signs to his brain function. It seems the stronger his mind gets, the weaker the rest of his body becomes.”

 

Reeve puzzled over the strange issue. “What would you suggest we do if it gets too bad?”

 

“Well, we could take him out of the stasis tube, induce a deep coma and put him on regular life support until we can pinpoint why his brain functions are hurting his other vitals. Doing so could kill him though.”

 

Reeve shook his head. “Just keep working on it for now,” he said tiredly. “Would it be possible to induce coma while he's in the stasis tube? Wouldn't that stop his life signs from getting worse?”

 

“Maybe,” the scientist pondered. “I'll report back to you in an hour if his condition changes, Sir.”

 

“Good,” Reeve said. The woman left his office and he groaned and plopped his head on the reports he'd been going over. “Why do I always get the hard cases?”

 

~***************************************~

 

Cloud surprised himself by eating the entire meal of ribs Rufus had cooked for him. There had been at least three servings in the container and he gobbled them all down. He normally wasn't the sort of person to gorge when he was depressed but there really was something comforting about eating the delicious food. He made a mental note to thank the president again in the morning when he returned the container and he started on the six-pack of beer he'd purchased at the liquor store across the street.

 

Reno called when he was halfway through the six-pack, asking if he wanted some company for the night. As tempting as it was, Cloud didn't feel right about indulging in carnal pleasures when a clone of his best friend sat several floors beneath him.

 

“Can I take a rain check?” Cloud asked as gently as he could, knowing how determined Reno could be and unwilling to hurt his feelings. “I just don't feel right about it now. I don't know how else to explain it.”

 

“I think I get it,” Reno sighed. “Your dead boyfriend's downstairs and the thought of having sex with me makes you feel like you're cheating on him, am I right?”

 

Cloud's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Wha—? You think Zack and I…no, it's not like that, Reno. He and I never…that is, we were just…Zack was girl crazy!”

 

“Really?” Reno sounded surprised. “You never once tapped that? He never came onto you either? I know he liked the ladies but I always figured as chummy as you two were that he had to be bi.”

 

Cloud flushed at the thought, remembering the last dream sequence he'd had when Zack did his odd little fading trick. The black-haired fighter had teasingly leered at both he and Aerith, acting like he was checking out their butts. Okay, so Zack was a natural flirt, but as far as Cloud knew he wasn't into guys…or at least if he was, he'd never been into him that way. It was kind of depressing, now that he thought of it.

 

“No, we were just good friends,” Cloud said with certainty. “If he liked guys at all I wasn't on his radar.”

 

“Bullshit,” Reno scoffed. “If he liked guys at all you'd be the first one on his radar, Blondie. Maybe he really was straight or maybe he was just in the closet. Anyway, I'm glad I'm wrong about why you're not in the mood for some company. We don't have to have sex, though. If you just want someone to talk to, I'm here, yo.”

 

Cloud managed a little smile. “Thanks, Reno. I think tonight I just want to get some rest, though.”

 

“Okay, I won't push it,” Reno said lightly. “I'll see ya tomorrow sometime, Blondie.”

 

“Goodnight,” Cloud said. He hung up the phone and finished his beer. He thought about getting another one but the big meal he'd eaten was making him too sleepy to indulge further, so he threw away his empty beer bottle and turned off the lights before lying down.

 

~********************************~

 

“You're mopey again.”

 

Cloud was relieved to hear the familiar, sweet voice and he opened his eyes and looked at Aerith gratefully. “Thank Gaia you guys came,” he began. “You're not going to believe the day I've had!”

 

She smiled at him. “I think I would.”

 

Cloud looked around with a frown, turning slowly in place. Usually Zack snuck up on him by now. “Aerith, where's Zack?”

 

“He's where you left him,” she answered patiently.

 

Cloud's frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”

 

She sighed and stepped closer, her green eyes intense on his. “The body was there and it was his…even if it wasn't the original model. All it needed was a soul, Cloud.”

 

The blonde stared at her with denial etched into his fair features. “Aerith, what are you saying? What did you do?”

 

She bit her lip. “I gave him a little nudge, to help him go back. You're going to need him and he wanted to live again, so I did what I could as soon as the shell was strong enough.”

 

“Are you telling me that's really Zack in that tube?” Cloud asked in a faint whisper.

 

“Yes, but the transition weakened him,” she explained with growing anxiety. “The life support that sustained the body before is smothering him now. Cloud, you have to hurry or he's going to have a very short trip.”

 

Behind her, an image of Zack flickered briefly into existence. His amethyst eyes met Cloud's and he looked very confused before he vanished again. Aerith looked over her shoulder and spotted him just as he faded back out.

 

“Hurry, Cloud,” prompted Aerith as she whirled to face the blonde again, “he needs to take his first breath…like a newborn! His soul and body aren't working together with that artificial stuff sustaining him and he needs to breathe Gaia's air!”

 

“Oh, Shiva,” Cloud gasped. “Send me back!”

 

~**************************************~

 

Cloud sat bolt upright, gasping for air like a landed fish. He was back in his body again, in bed. His mind was a jumble of confusion but one thought dominated the tangle of others: he had to break Zack out of that tank.

 

He struggled to get out of bed and he ended up falling onto the floor as his legs got tangled up in the sheets. Swearing violently, he yanked the restricting cloth away and grabbed his pants. He pulled them up as he stood, hopping up and down to get them pulled over his hips faster. If he'd paid any attention he would have realized he was having trouble because he was putting them on backwards, but when he couldn't find the zipper he just gave up and grabbed his sword and the ID clearance tag he'd been given.

 

Barefoot and shirtless, with his cargo pants on backwards and his boxers showing out the open zipper in the back, the blonde charged out the door and down the hall. He didn't wait for the elevator; instead he took the fire escape and he leaped from landing to landing instead of running down the stairs. He was lucky he didn't impale himself on his own weapon as he made his reckless descent to the research floor of the building.

 

When he made it through the door into the research department, a security guard started to approach but he flashed his ID at him and the man allowed him to pass, wearing a confused and uncertain expression on his face. Cloud skidded to a halt and turned this way and that, trying to figure out where to go to reach Zack.

 

“Where did they take the guy in the tube?” Cloud asked the security guard.

 

“Uh, through the doors to the left,” the man answered, “down the hall, take the first right and go to the room at the end. What's going on?”

 

“No time to explain!” Cloud took off again, looking quite crazed.

 

“Shit,” the security guard muttered as he lifted his radio unit. “We've got a possible situation in the research wing…,”

 

~**********************************~

 

Reeve had just dozed off when he heard the alarmed shouts coming from the observation room. He got up and ran out of his office and into the area. When he saw his wild-eyed blonde friend rushing at the specimen capsule with his thick sword raised, he shouted desperately at him to stop.

 

“Cloud, what are you doing? You're out of your mind!”

 

Security guards ran in from the opposite door and tried to reach Cloud as he drew his weapon back, but he swung with all the force of his Mako-strengthened body before they could get to him. There was a great crash as the glass shattered from the force of his blow and the occupant inside fell out, naked and limp as gallons of liquid spilled onto the floor. Cloud caught the clone in his arms as he fell and he cushioned the fall with his own body.

 

Reeve, his science team and the security guards stood stunned, staring down at the young man as he rolled the clone onto his back and tore the oxygen mask off of his face.

 

“Come on, Zack…breathe!” Cloud shouted desperately, shaking the limp, soaked body he held in his arms. He pinched the clone's nostrils shut with his fingers and put his mouth against his, trying to resuscitate him.

 

“Get some oxygen over here,” Reeve barked, utterly bewildered by Cloud's actions. He was just about to grab the blonde and try to shake some sense into him when the dark-haired man in Cloud's arms coughed fitfully and grabbed onto his arm reflexively.

 

Cloud pulled back and let go of Zack's nose, supporting his head and neck while he sucked air raggedly. “That's it,” he encouraged, shifting the heavier man as best he could to keep him from lying on the broken bits of glass scattered here and there. Thankfully the liquid had washed most of it away from the two of them but there were still enough shards nearby to cut his unprotected skin.

 

Now that Zack was breathing on his own, Cloud realized he really could have gone about doing this a better way. Then again, if he'd rushed down here and shouted that Aerith had told him to let Zack out of the tube, Reeve probably would have thought he was still out of his head.

 

“He needed to breathe on his own,” Cloud said plainly as the WRO director crossed the room and knelt before him. “I didn't have time to try to explain and convince you to drain the capsule and let him out. He was dying.”

 

Reeve stared into his eyes dubiously for a moment, then looked down at Zack's gasping form. He did seem to be doing better, little by little. “Someone check his vitals and get him cleaned up and into a bed,” the engineer ordered. “Cloud, I don't know what provoked you or how you got your information, but after the things I've seen since meeting you I'm inclined to believe you're right.”

 

~*************************************~

 

Less than twenty minutes later they had Zack dry, clothed in a hospital gown and in a medical bed. The research team buzzed around him, checking his vitals and hooking him up to an IV to keep him hydrated. Cloud watched it all anxiously and Reeve stood beside him. The older man was staring blatantly at him and the fighter caught the unrelenting stare and shrugged.

 

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” he said simply.

 

“You might be surprised,” Reeve informed him. “I'm just curious to know if you're aware that your pants are on backwards and you've given quite a few of my female staff a nice thrill—probably some of the males, too.”

 

Cloud looked down at himself and discovered that he was indeed wearing the ass of his pants on the front. He noticed the breeze on his backside for the first time and he realized that the open zipper of the misplaced crotch left his backside covered only by his boxers—which were soaked from sitting on the wet floor with Zack.

 

“Ah…dammit,” Cloud muttered as he reached behind and attempted to tug the zipper up in the back.

 

Reeve shook his head and bit back a chuckle. “Will you tell me what provoked this flash of insight and reckless behavior?”

 

“I spoke with Aerith,” Cloud grunted as he hopped a little and struggled with the fly. It was no good…the material was too wet and the crotch of the pants weren't tailored to fit over someone's ass. “She told me she helped send Zack's soul back but he was smothering in that tank. She said he needed to breathe on his own or he'd die.”

 

Reeve considered the story and stroked his bearded chin. “Like I said, given the things I've seen and done since meeting you, it's not that hard to believe,” he murmured. “Oh, here…put my jacket on before you trip yourself or rip something and give one of my staff members a nosebleed.”

 

Cloud took the offered garment gratefully, blushing to the roots of his hair when one of the women on Reeve's team approached and eyed him with appreciation. “He's stable now, Sir,” she said to Reeve. “Though we're lucky he didn't get a nasty cut.”

 

Cloud cringed a little and tugged the jacket closed. Reeve chuckled at his expense. “Well Cloud, like you said before; you overdo it sometimes. It sounds like you can relax now, though.”

 

Cloud looked at Zack's pale, sleeping form and he knew that wasn't true. He wouldn't relax until his friend opened his eyes and looked at him.

 

~************************************~

 

-To be continued