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Lover's War	By : Htress Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy IX Views: 736 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Escaping
from hell

From the very first second he opened his
eyes, the pain shot through his body, like intense waves of electricity. It
would be only after he was returned to his cell that he would realise it was
really electricity� Cloud collapsed on the hard cement, unable to move because
his nerves were totally fried off. And when Zack touched him, his whole body
started to shake, everything turning black� Blue eyes slowly closed and his
limbs went limp all of a sudden.

-
C�mon! Don�t die on me! C�mon, come
back!

Pushing frantically on Cloud�s sternum,
Zack hoped to bring back his dying friend. The dark-haired man could breath a
sigh of relief few seconds later when he jerked back to life. However, the
blond resumed in his trashing and screaming. It took a long time for Zack to
calm him down. A lab assistant came a little after, sliding their meal in the
small cell. The SOLDIER crawled to it, looking over the disgusting goo supposed
to be a broth. He knew he had to eat all of that, hell, he did not want to stay
here forever. The daily treatments that Hojo gave him just weakened him, but he
had to get stronger, and quick, or else� He took a sip and almost spat it back.

-
Ugh� It won�t be easy� C�mon, Cloud
you�ll have to eat some of that, too�

But Cloud did not respond. He was still
racked by the tremors of his previous encounter with Hojo. Zack grabbed a hold
of his friend, sitting him up, and he brought the bowl to his lips, forcing the
thick liquid into him. Turning him on his side afterward, he gulped his share
reluctantly. But Cloud started to vomit everything, menacing to choke at any
moment and quickly Zack was forced to support him.

-
Hold on, he whispered, I�ll get us out
of here�

And Cloud blacked out.

********

Quickly, Hojo seemed to take a liking in
experimenting on Cloud. He was taking him away for days before returning him in
the cell, while Zack was constantly fighting against numerous beasts and was
being injected each time with more Mako. Day after day, the dark-haired man was
hearing his friend scream in agony and it hurt even more than his physical
wounds. Then, one day, after months of experimenting, they were locked into
Mako tanks and put to sleep. When they were awakened, the torture started anew.
Each day Cloud seemed to weaken and was starting to display evident signs of
mild Mako poisoning. Two more times they were locked in the Mako tanks, and the
last time, the sleep program was not engaged. By that time, Zack was forced to
keep talking to the blond, for he feared he would drown in madness. Cloud was
still reacting very strongly to Sephiroth�s name, though, but wasn�t able to
remember anything very coherent. His Mako poisoning had gotten worse and he was
constantly raving about hearing /her/ without understanding. And finally, one day,
during the feeding time�

********

Cloud looked up one more time. In front of
him, all he could see was blurred. There was that dark patch moving, just in
front of him and suddenly the thick liquid he was floating in disappeared,
leaving him to lean heavily against the cold glass once again. Soon the scent
of the lab penetrated his senses, his whole body reacting to it in the form of
a painful heaving fit, he was so used to his little cell by now that the
stagnant air outside and the torture associated to it was making him sick.
Cloud struggled mentally to stay in the Mako tank, but his body stumbled
outside to meet the hard cement. He stayed still, waiting. He heard a rustle of
clothes, then someone picked him up and started to put him a pair of pants, bringing
warmth to his very cold flesh. Cloud forced his eyes to open, and saw two
glowing, brown eyes looking at him with worry. Eyes that he hadn�t see in
years, it seemed to him.

-
��Za� ack?

-
I know, I know, those are a little
smelly, but, hey don�t complain. I�ll get us out of here. Just hold on�

The blond went totally lax after hearing
that voice. It was pure relief to hear his friend. He felt himself being lifted
from the floor and closed his eyes. Cloud could not do more than that. His body
refused to obey him, he was feeling sick and dizzy but Zack was there� So
Sephiroth should be near-

********

-
She�s trying to control me� Please�

He saw those beautiful eyes darkened by
the effort for control, and then the silver hair brushed his face then fell away,
as his own life flowed out of his chest. He though he could hear him cry out in
agony down there and tears leaked out his clouded eyes, wishing that the
Lifestream would take him to Sephiroth quickly.

********

-
Shhh� Cloud�

Zack held Cloud in his arms, trying to
soothe him. The blond was very sick, but never before he had burst in a such
emotional seizure. He was trembling and in his barely audible speech, Zack
though he heard Sephiroth�s name and held him even tighter. Poor Cloud probably
just realised his lover was gone, and was terribly hurt. The fire was almost
dead but the dark haired man hadn�t the strength to go search for wood right
now. They had ran away from Shinra for days, they were now resting in a forest
near Cosmo Canyon. Zack hoped the people there could help his friend. But the
ordeal was taking his toll on the ex SOLDIER. In three days he had eaten
absolutely� wait a minute, he had had nothing in three days. His stomach
growled to prove his point but he ignored it and curled around Cloud�s now
still form to keep him warm, falling quickly into oblivion.

********

-
Bugen! Bugen!, called Jake, Bugen,
quick, come to the inn!

-
Ho! Ho! What is it? It seems serious,
said the elder.

-
Two men collapsed in the stairs of the
village. One of them is very sick, the other is exhausted. Both have been taken
to the inn and Cyan is with them�

-
I�m coming, ho ho ho! I�ll see what I
can do.

Bugenhagen stepped into the inn and walked
to the room where were resting their two mysterious guests. His attention was
immediately caught by the little blond. The poor young man was looking rather
frail and weak, sweat glistened on his forehead and Cyan was looking over him
worriedly. Bugenhagen started to examine him but quickly realised that he
couldn�t do much more than to try to feed him and hope he would get better. He
had never seen such an illness although he could think of one in particular�
Maybe his friend would be able to tell him more when he would wake up. What he
did few hours later. Cyan gave him a serving of soup he gulped down, and after
the presentations, Zack told them their story. Cloud and Zack stayed a few days
in Cosmo Canyon, a time the dark haired man used to regain his strength. The
elder, Bugenhagen, had tried to heal Cloud, but with no avail. His condition
improved, though, now he could walk around a little with the help of Zack.
Hitting the road again, they traveled up to Costa del Sol, avoiding the very
occupied Gongaga. They passed for regular and took the boat ride back to the
main continent. But that just could not do for Cloud. His motion sickness
caught up with him and he passed the three days in a semi-conscious state,
unable to eat anything but broth. Upon arriving to Junon, Zack had to drag his
friend out and hide until the night fall. A lot of SOLDIERS where there�
Finally, the dark-haired man managed to catch a ride with an old man to Fort
Condor.

********

Zack looked over his shoulder worriedly. He
shouldn�t have taken the path through the cave first� Now the Shinra were after
them. It was raining, he and Cloud were soaked through and the blond was
already suffering of a high grade fever now. The mountain wind slapped his face
as he ran higher on the plateau but he finally found a small cave to rest. He
really wished he had a fire material now. All he had was a thunder and ice,
nothing that could be very useful�

-
Ngh� aaaaggh!! *cough* Zaa� aaack�

Zack took Cloud in his arms, trying to warm
him up.

-
Hold on, he whispered, just hold on,
Cloud. Midgar�s not far from here. Once we�re there, I promise you�ll be warm
and well, and I�ll find you a doctor to cure you and we�ll become mercenaries
together, �k? Look, I still have some potion that old man gave us at Cosmo
Canyon� Here, c�mon, drink�

He managed to make him swallow a share of
the sweet drink by holding him firmly to prevent the whole bottle to spill
because of his spasms. Cloud coughed, and tried to tell something to his
friend, but the poison running through his veins was making him so weak� But
Zack was used to his babbling now and could tell only by the sound and
intensity that he was cold. He gulped the remaining liquid and wrapped his arms
around the blond, putting his head on his shoulder.

-
��Eph� Seph� Sephiroth!

Zack closed his eyes painfully.

-
Cloud, he whispered, Seph is gone�
He�s waiting for you in the Promised Land. Please, don�t� don�t remind me, it
hurts. I miss him, too. Sleep, now.

But after few hours the rain stopped and
they had to get moving. Zack could hear already some troopers following him� He
ran faster, holding Cloud�s body close to him, hell, the boy was in a critical
state, they had to get to Midgar, and fast. The ground was very slippery and
Zack used it to his advantage, sliding down the slopes in hope of getting away
without having to fight. Bracing himself, he jumped over a crack in the rock
and ran behind a wall. He lay down his burden gently. They were too close now.
He drew his Buster sword, intended on defending his friend with his life if he
had to. Three troopers were nothing for a First Class SOLDIER and in no time he
was back near Cloud.

-
Let�s go, the city is not far from-
ugh!

A bullet grazed his left arm, but before he
could retaliate, five troopers appeared above him, shouting to bring the
SOLDIERS back on the track. Two of them and that same number of troopers
invaded the small ledge. Zack felt his heart stop as his body was pushed down
under the sheer force of the attack. Blood oozed from his abdomen, the world
slowly turning black and he tried to reach Cloud, really, really tried but only
an arm responded feebly, lifting itself from the muddy soil toward the
trembling blond. Colours of the world danced before his eyes, the blur slowly
turned to a soothing green and he felt no pain at all. A brown haired woman
appeared in the mist. Aerith�?

-
Come, brave young man, the woman said, Let yourself return to the Planet, let your
spirit rest� Your time is over. Come with me, I�ll show you the way.

The last shots made the dark-haired man�s
body jerk up, the green light surrounding him suddenly and Zack�s spirit found
itself buried into the woman�s arms. He looked at Cloud, now alone in the rain,
clutching his bloodied body, crying and calling his name.

-
Zaaack!

-
No! shouted
desperately Zack�s spirit, No! Cloud needs my help! I can�t leave him! Not
now!

Then, something happened. Cloud grabbed the
hilt of the Buster sword, dragging himself toward the glowing city. The woman
smiled, cradling the now limp spiritual form in her arms.

-
Without your conscience, your
spirit cannot go to the Promised Land. Why did you had to put it in this young
boy? She whispered.

********

His body would collapse soon, he knew, but
he continued to move forward. He had to. Something was gnawing at him, telling
him he had to keep moving. Unfortunately, a woman passing by in a hurry bumped
into him and this time, he knew he could not move an inch more. His legs
buckled and he fell on the harsh cement. The brunette, however, came back to
apologize, or so he thought until she said his name.

-
Cloud? Cloud is that really you? Are
you okay?

The blond looked up, confused, not sure if
he should answer, the face in front of him seemed so familiar. He began to feel
a dull throbbing in the back of his head� Yeah, he definitively knew her.

-
Tifa� It�s� been awhile, he rasped

-
You call seven year a while!?! God,
Cloud I was asking myself if you were still alive� Cloud? You�re soaked, are
you alright?

Just then a squad of Shinra soldiers passed
in a nearby street and Cloud tensed. He had to hide and quick, because the
squad leader seemed to search for someone here� He knew Shinra was probably
searching for him, hunting him down. He tried to get behind Tifa, to be out of
the view of any of those troopers� The girl saw this, unwrapped the coat she
was wearing and hide his bright blond spikes with it.

-
Come with me, I run a bar not far from
here. You can hide there.

She helped him to his feet and lead the
way. Cloud followed but soon his pace looked drunken, he felt his lungs
stinging with the sensation of lacking air, the previous throbbing increasing
into a painful migraine. Everything went black but he could hear someone shout
in the distance�

End

*silence* Poor Zack. He was great. I�m
sorry I had to make him die, he didn�t want to�
Zack�s spirit: It�s alright, Htress, I�m
with Aerith, now.
Htress: But I wanted you alive!!! Anyway,
come visit often, �k?
Next chapter: A mysterious voice
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Lover's War