Disclaimer: Final Fantasy belongs to Squaresoft and various other interested parties, not me. I'm not making any money from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. This is a work of fandom, intended as appreciation of the original work.

Chapter 16

Usually, at the end of a day of drills and patrols and with the incentive of a weekend leave about to begin, the pushing and crowding to get back into the barracks was unbelievable. As small as he was, Cloud generally hung back to avoid the worst of the crush for fear of accidental injury.

He was more than a little surprised, therefore, to reach charlie company's area and discover the rest of his platoon piled up outside the open door, none of them making a move to go inside. "What's going on?" he asked one of the others.

"There's a SOLDIER in there," the older man said absently, straining to see over the heads of their toonmates.

"So?" Cloud did a quick mental headcount and confirmed that yes, all of his platoon was out here. And the sergeant was still back with the captain, being debriefed with the other sergeants. "What does he want? Why is he keeping us out?"

"He, uh... seems to be passed out on your bed, corporal," one of the men at the front called back in an exaggerated whisper. "I think it's the same one you came back with the other day after curfew."

"On my bed?" Cloud repeated, blinking. He shoved at the man in front of him, and the rest of the platoon parted to let him up to the front. Even without the man's words he'd have known it was Zack in there; he couldn't imagine anyone else just making himself comfortable like that. But why would Zack be passed out?

Sure enough, the familiar spiky black hair was spread out over Cloud's pillow, Zack lying half twisted on the bed with his feet still on the floor like he'd been sitting down and toppled over when he fell asleep. There was a deep crease between his brows, as if he didn't much like whatever dream he was having. It was such a familiar sight, despite the incongruity of the SOLDIER uniform, that it took Cloud's breath away for a moment.

"Zack?" he said, pushing past the last of his toonmates to get into the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he rolled his eyes at the others. "He doesn't bite, you know. You don't have to be scared to come in."

He didn't wait to see if they came in or not, leaning over his bunk and looking at his friend instead. Zack hadn't responded to the sound of his name, which was unusual; the older boy had always been a light sleeper. Maybe whatever dream had hold of him wasn't willing to let go that easily.

"Hey, Zack, wake up," Cloud said, reaching out to shake his friend's shoulder lightly at first, then more vigorously when that had no effect.

That got a response, though not the one Cloud had expected. Zack jerked awake, flailing, and bashed one arm into the bedpost. His still half-asleep brain seemed to interpret the pain from that as an attack, because he lunged at Cloud as if he was tackling an enemy.

He was also moving like he was under the influence of a Haste spell, which didn't make any sense. He impacted Cloud before the younger boy could even think about dodging, let alone make an attempt to do so, and they both went down hard on the floor.

"Zack. Zack!" Cloud wheezed as loudly as he could, the breath knocked out of him by the impact. "Damn it, wake up! It's me, Cloud!"

"Cloud?" That seemed to reach Zack where the sound of his own name had not. He blinked down at the blonde, and slowly lowered the fist he'd raised to punch at the younger boy. "Cloud, shit, I'm sorry," he said as awareness of the situation flooded into his eyes all at once. Mortified, he scrambled up to his feet and offered Cloud a hand up as well. "You startled me."

Cloud accepted the offered hand, and was nearly yanked off his feet when Zack tugged at him. "Whoa!" He caught himself with one hand braced against the older boy's chest, and looked at him. "What the..."

Realization dawned as Zack released him abruptly, taking a step back so fast he nearly tripped again, and Cloud got a look at his bed. The post was cracked and splintered where Zack's arm had impacted it; it would have to be repaired before his bunkmate would dare climb up top.

"You got your mako enhancements!" Cloud exclaimed. The speed, the strength, the reflexes; all were the signs of a SOLDIER. And, now that he was looking, he could see that Zack's eyes seemed to glow with a dim light from within.

"Yeah," Zack looked sheepish, reaching out to grab the other bed post - carefully - to steady himself. "Yesterday morning. They said it takes about a week to get used to it. Uh... sorry about the bed. I didn't mean to fall asleep, I guess I was more tired than I thought." He gave the other troops still gathered around the door an apologetic look. "Sorry if I freaked you out."

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Cloud asked as the others began to file in at last. Zack's sheepish look turned into a smug grin.

"We're on inactive status until we can prove to the medics that we've mastered our new reflexes well enough to go back into training without killing ourselves," the older boy confided. "When I checked the duty roster and saw you were up for a weekend leave, it was too good a chance to pass up. You up to hitting the town for the weekend? Or am I interrupting plans?"

Warmth streaked through Cloud, and he could only hope it didn't show on his face for his toonmates to wonder about. Finally, they both had leave at the same time! "I think I can put off practicing for a couple days," he said, managing to force his voice into an appropriately dry tone. "But only if you're paying. Your pay scale is a lot higher than mine now!"

"You're gonna bleed me dry for it too, aren't you?" Zack asked him in amusement. The gleam in his eyes said he at least hadn't missed Cloud's reaction. Or maybe that was just the new mako glow, it was hard to tell. "C'mon, let's go! I've missed Midgar." And you, was the unspoken addition that Cloud heard, and it made the warmth burn more strongly inside him.

Dumping his helmet and sword on the bed, Cloud squirmed out of his armour and dropped it as well. "I'm ready," he said, running a hand through his hair to straighten the spikes quickly. Zack slung a companionable arm over his shoulder and pushed him towards the door, grinning at him.

Cloud could feel an answering stupid grin on his own face, and he thought his eyes were probably shining with excitement like a little kid going on a trip to the candy store. He couldn't help himself, and it wasn't all even mostly due to the idea that they were finally going to have a chance to get some time alone together somewhere comfortable.

It just felt so good to have Zack at his side again, to be heading out into Midgar on a weekend leave as if nothing had ever come between them. It still hurt that he hadn't made it into SOLDIER, but the ache had faded into something bearable. And when he was looking up at Zack's wide grin, he hardly noticed it at all.

The arm over his shoulder wasn't entirely an excuse to touch him, Cloud realized as Zack tried to move too fast and got tangled up in his own feet. "You're really having trouble with this, aren't you?" Cloud asked curiously as he paused to give the older boy a chance to steady himself. He'd never thought about how difficult it might be to adjust to the significant alterations made to your body by the SOLDIERs' mako enhancement treatments, but of course it would be confusing to suddenly have your body change on you like that.

"This isn't so bad," Zack replied with a grin that was half grimace. "You should have seen me yesterday, when I first woke up. I couldn't even sit up without help, everything was so screwy. That's normal, apparently. Or so the scientists shooting us up said. I'm actually recovering faster than usual."

"Shooting you up? They actually inject the mako directly?" Cloud asked, eyes wide. He kept his voice low as they passed through the gate, flashing their badges at the guards there. "Are you even supposed to be telling me this stuff?"

"Nope!" Zack replied cheerfully, ruffling Cloud's hair with his free hand. "It's classified out the ass; I think they're afraid the potential candidates will be scared off if they hear about everything that's involved in becoming a SOLDIER. I trust you not to blab, though. Or get frightened off."

"If you can handle it, I can handle it," Cloud said firmly. "And I know you trust me, but you still shouldn't be telling me classified stuff. Where are we going, anyway?" he asked, noticing that Zack was headed for the train station.

"Well, see..." Zack turned puppy eyes on him, and Cloud groaned.

"No, Zack! How many times do I have to tell you I don't want to meet your girlfriend?"

"About as many times as I have to tell you she's not my girlfriend," Zack replied with a hint of amusement. "It's not that serious."

"Does she know that?" Cloud asked, shaking his head. If there was one thing he'd learned by listening to his toonmates talk (and complain) about their girls, it was that women had a tendency to think things were a great deal more serious than the man had meant to imply.

"She knows about you," Zack said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I told her, last time we had leave and you didn't want to come with me because I was going down to see her. She made me promise not to come back unless I brought you along, she wants to meet you."

"You what?" Cloud yelped, stopping short and nearly toppling them both over when Zack didn't stop quickly enough.

The bastard had the nerve to laugh at him, too. "She said, and I quote, 'He must have the patience of a saint to put up with you all day and still want to spend more time around you. I have to meet him!' And she's probably just as pissed at me as you were for dropping out of sight for two months like that; she doesn't even know if I passed the exams or what." He made puppy eyes again. "So give me a break, won't you? If I show up without you, she'll think of some suitably devious punishment that I definitely don't want to have to do. She made me swear on my mother's grave and everything!"

About to continue his objections, Cloud was momentarily diverted by that last statement. "Zack, your mother's not dead," he said, brow furrowing. At least, Zack had always talked about her in the present tense, and he was pretty sure his friend would have told him about something like his mother dying.

"No, but it's the principle of the thing," Zack chuckled. "C'mon, please?" He tugged at Cloud to try to get him moving towards the station, but once again forgot to compensate for his enhanced strength. They both staggered, and only Zack's quick grab for a nearby lamppost kept them upright. Unfortunately, he also left finger marks behind on the post.

Cloud looked at them in awe. "How strong are you?" he asked. Everybody knew SOLDIERs were strong, but how strong was 'strong'?

"Not sure yet," Zack said, and his expression was more rueful dismay than awe as he looked at the indents. "The effects won't finish stabilizing for another day or so. That would be another reason to go visit Aeris tonight; I think I want a little more control over my reflexes before we go find that hotel."

"Er." Cloud looked at the post, and imagined what kind of damage the older boy might have done if it had been Cloud's arm he was squeezing instead. He winced at the thought. "Yeah. Maybe." Seeing Zack's gaze grow hopeful, Cloud sighed and ran a hand over his face. "All right, we'll go see her," he capitulated with somewhat bad grace. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

"There's nothing to warn about," Zack asserted, dragging him - carefully this time - towards the station. "You're going to love her, and she's going to love you. You'll see."

Cloud wasn't nearly as certain of that as Zack seemed to be, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. He wasn't about to go back on his agreement, and anyway if he told Zack to go on without him, he'd look a right idiot going back to his barrack now.

The train was crowded as it always was on a Friday night, but at least three privates jumped to their feet and offered their seats as soon as they saw Zack. Knowing his friend, Cloud anticipated that Zack would refuse; the older boy wasn't the sort to take advantage of his rank like that. Cloud cut him off before he could say it. "Just take one of the seats," he urged under his breath. "Otherwise, the first time the train sways and you reach for something to steady yourself with..."

"Good point," Zack winced, and took the nearest offered seat. Cloud remained standing in front of him, hanging on to one of the poles nearby.

He'd expected Zack to start chattering like he usually did, but the dark-haired boy tipped his head forward and ran a hand over his eyes, as if they were tired. When he still didn't say anything after a few minutes, Cloud got worried. "Hey, are you okay? You're being kinda quiet." Was Zack worried about introducing Cloud to his girlfr... to his friend after all?

"Huh?" Zack jerked his head up, like he'd been startled. "Oh, sorry. I think being sleepy is one of the side effects, or something. I keep dropping off any time I sit still for a while." He rubbed at his face again, wincing as if the touch hurt. "And this damn headache won't go away. I think it's getting worse."

"Maybe you should have just stayed at the base and taken it easy?" Cloud asked, a little concerned.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Zack waved that off, making a visible effort to be more alert. "Just don't let me doze off, given the way I seem to react to being woken up. I'd hate to break someone's nose with my flailing around." He laughed, but to Cloud's ears the sound was just a bit forced.

He trusted Zack to know his own limits, though. Zack liked to push the limits, any limits, but he rarely crossed them. The older boy was probably afraid Cloud would change his mind about meeting the girl, given a chance to back out now. He was probably right, at that.

They reached sector 5 and disembarked, Zack again leaning on Cloud to help himself stay coordinated. In fact he put a bit more weight on Cloud, perhaps not as worried about seeming weak now that they weren't in front of the other troopers. SOLDIERs had a reputation to maintain, after all.

"This way," Zack said, directing Cloud towards a narrow little street. Cloud hadn't been to this part of Midgar before, so he was forced to let Zack take the lead entirely.

As they walked Zack's weight slowly grew heavier, and rather than improving he actually seemed to be more off-balance than he'd started out. He tripped over his feet several times, stumbling and nearly throwing Cloud off as well. His expression grew more pained as well, and Cloud was really starting to get worried.

When they passed a large crack in the wall between sectors, Cloud paused and looked at it suspiciously. It looked awfully familiar, considering he'd never been down in this sector before. "Zack, are you sure you know where you're going?" he asked. "I think we're going in circles."

"I..." Zack sounded hoarse, and a little shaky. "I... I don't feel so good. Shit. Cloud, leggo."

He pulled away from Cloud's supporting arm and clung to the wall instead, and was violently sick. Eyes wide, Cloud backed off to avoid getting caught in it. "Zack! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Looking straight at his friend now instead of just glancing at him from the side, Cloud could see the older boy was pale and sweating. His face was pinched with pain, and he stayed doubled over even after there was nothing left in his stomach.

"I think... some kind of... delayed reaction," Zack gasped, clearly fighting back the urge to keep heaving.

"I'm taking you back," Cloud said firmly, suppressing the panic that was trying to build in his chest. He'd only ever seen Zack sick once before, during that terrible time in Mideel, and this brought back awful memories. This isn't like that, he told himself firmly. Nobody died from the mako infusions, at least not since the early days of the SOLDIER project. All Cloud had to do was get him back to the base, and the medics there would know what to do.

"Aeris... can help," Zack got out with a groan, trying to straighten. "She's a healer."

"Yeah, but I don't know where she is and you've been leading us in circles," Cloud pointed out. "I do know how to get back to the station, though, so that's where we're going. Come on. We'll go meet her some other day."

"Gonna be sick on you," Zack warned him with a shaky grin as Cloud wormed his way back under the older boy's arm.

"That's only fair. How many times did I get sick on or near you on the boat back from Mideel?" Cloud joked weakly, getting them moving in the direction he was fairly certain the station was in. Zack had almost all his weight on him now, and the older boy was significantly taller than Cloud was at the moment. It was hard to carry him, and they ended up staggering like a pair of drunks through the alleys of sector 5.

Cloud concentrated on putting one foot in front of another, and trying to remember exactly how they'd gotten here from the station. They'd turned left at that rusted out rain barrel, so he needed to turn right to go back. This jumble of pipes and other debris was something he remembered passing, so that meant they were on the right track. Had they turned right or left at the intersection with the garbage bin?

They had to stop a couple of times for Zack to be sick again, though he wasn't heaving up anything but bile at this point. He was shaking and sweating, and he clutched at the hand Cloud was using to steady Zack's arm over his shoulder hard enough that the bones ground together. Cloud gritted his teeth and said nothing, knowing Zack probably couldn't help it and not wanting him to feel guilty.

When they turned a corner and he caught sight of a now familiar crack in the wall, though, Cloud knew they were in trouble. "Odin's blood," he swore, kicking at the wall in frustration. "We're still going in circles! This place is a damn maze!" He hadn't even seen anyone else he could ask for directions, as this area of the slums seemed to be more or less abandoned. Which could be a very bad thing; he didn't like to think of the target a couple of incapacitated Shinra troops would present to anyone looking to cause trouble. Especially someone who wanted the prestige of being able to say he'd beaten up a SOLDIER, since Zack's rank was clearly identified by his uniform.

"Just... go straight," Zack suggested, leaning against Cloud's shoulder and panting. His eyes were glazed and distant, as if he wasn't actually seeing what was right in front of him, and the glow was stronger than ever. He wasn't feverish; far from it, his skin was cold and clammy. Cloud was getting seriously worried. Zack had a Restore and a Heal in his bracer, he'd seen, but he wasn't sure either of those would actually help.

Well, going straight was as good an idea as any. Though 'straight' was a relative term, down here. Cloud got them moving again with an effort, though he was all but dragging Zack at this point. He was positive at least one bone in his hand had to be broken, and the waves of pain from it made him light-headed and more than a little nauseous himself, but he ignored it with sheer strength of will.

They didn't encounter the crack in the wall again, but neither did they come to the station or anything else resembling civilization. Cloud was fairly certain they were just moving in different circles now, though there weren't any landmarks that stood out enough for him to be sure. He was about ready to give up in utter despair and start panicking when a deep voice came from behind them.

"I'm fairly certain there are regulations about being drunk and disorderly while in uniform," the unknown person said, his voice heavy with disapproval and contempt. Cloud tried to look over his shoulder to see who it was - an officer presumably, with that tone of voice - but Zack clutched at his hand again and his vision went white with a haze of pain.

" 'M not drunk!" Zack exclaimed indignantly, though his voice was slurred enough to convince anyone that he was lying. " 'M just... oh, shit..." Getting himself worked up had apparently caused his stomach to rebel again, and Cloud barely managed to hold him more or less on his feet as he doubled over.

"He's really not, sir," Cloud said desperately. The last thing either of them needed was to be written up on drunk and disorderly charges. "Honest, neither of us has had anything to drink and... oh shit." He echoed Zack's earlier profanity, because he'd finally managed to turn far enough to catch a glimpse of the officer behind them.

Why did they always manage to run into the man both of them would most like to impress under the worst possible circumstances? Cloud couldn't imagine what Shinra's Silver General was doing down here in the slums, but there he was, standing at the end of the alley like a disapproving angel.

He couldn't even salute, because that was the hand Zack was currently crushing into little bits of bone. "General Sephiroth, sir!" he said, swallowing the sharp taste of fear that was trying to crawl up his throat. Or maybe that was just bile; between the pain and the panic, he was pretty close to joining Zack in throwing up.

The general quirked an eyebrow at him, and recognition filled those cat-green eyes. "Corporal. And... lieutenant?" he made it almost a query, eying Zack's new uniform. "Some day I hope to encounter the two of you under circumstances a bit less trying. I must admit neither of you struck me as the irresponsible type. So if you're not drunk, then what..."

Sephiroth had moved forward, and Zack had finally stopped being sick again. Cloud managed to shuffle them around enough that they were more or less facing the general, and the tall man put two fingers under Zack's chin and lifted his face.

"Ah. I see." Something in the man's bright eyes became shuttered, his face closing off in a way that made his normal expression seem downright open and easy to read. Next to the fire of Sephiroth's gaze Zack's eyes hardly seemed to glow at all, but it was apparently enough for the general to make the connection. "Your first mako injection?"

"Yesterday... morning," Zack gasped out, squeezing Cloud's hand a little harder to help steady himself. Cloud couldn't keep from making a small pained grunt, though he managed to swallow the rest of his cry. Sephiroth's eyes flicked from Zack's face to their hands to Cloud's face and back.

"Didn't anyone warn you about the side effects?" the general asked, sounding dispassionate. At least he wasn't disapproving any more.

"It's been... thirty hours," Zack replied, forcing the words out. "Thought I was... okay. Was starting... to get the hang of it."

"The adjustment to your body's enhancements is the least of the reasons why new SOLDIERs are off active duty immediately following the injections," Sephiroth said. "And the worst of the side effects can manifest as much as seventy-two hours after the initial dose. Here, corporal, give him to me before he crushes your hand any further."

With an ease that made Zack's recently increased strength seem like an infant's weak grip, Sephiroth bent and scooped up the other SOLDIER. He held Zack like a husband would hold a bride, a pose that looked more than a little ridiculous with the two of them. Sephiroth was taller, but Zack's shoulders were wider and he probably matched the general in terms of mass.

Gasping as the pressure on his hand suddenly let up, Cloud swayed and had to steady himself with his good hand. The rush of pain was intense, and for a moment he thought he might black out.

This time the wash of cool, soothing energy was almost expected, though he hadn't heard the general murmur the trigger spell. Objectively Cloud knew that it was the level of the materia that determined the power of the spell, not the power of the caster, but he'd had enough healing spells cast on him now that it seemed to him he could sense a difference in Sephiroth's. Maybe it was just his imagination, or because the times when the general healed him seemed to always be extremes.

"You're a good friend to him, corporal," the general murmured, and Cloud flushed with embarrassed pleasure at the compliment as he straightened. "Let's get him back to the Shinra medics."

Glancing at Zack, Cloud was surprised to see his eyes were closed. "Did he pass out again?" he blurted out, worried. "Uh, sir," he remembered to tack on after a moment.

"Again?" Sephiroth looked at him sharply. "He should have been warned not to go far if he was feeling over tired or blacking out. But no, this time I cast a sleep spell on him. He's likely to become delirious, given his other symptoms, and I'd rather not have to fight with him."

"Oh." Cloud felt oddly reprimanded, as though he somehow should have known enough to keep his friend from going out, even though he didn't think that was what Sephiroth had intended with his words. "He'll be okay though, won't he sir?"

"He'll be fine," Sephiroth assured him. "A strong reaction generally indicates a strong adjustment to his body, which means he possibly has the potential to go as far as 1st Class." He glanced down at Cloud, and raised an eyebrow. "I would have expected you to be suffering the same problem."

Well, that was confirmation that the general had not attended or otherwise observed the SOLDIER exams. At least Cloud could console himself that his public humiliation hadn't been that public. He clenched his jaw, and had to look away. "I'll make it next year," he growled. It actually didn't hurt as much to acknowledge that he'd failed as he'd expected it to; knowing that General Sephiroth was surprised he wasn't a SOLDIER now was more than a little soothing to his wounded spirit.

"Ah." This time Sephiroth's tone was ever so slightly amused. If it had come from anyone else Cloud would have bristled at the implication that his assertion was humorous, but from Sephiroth he didn't think it had been meant as derision. "Hopefully you will be warned by your friend's example, rather than following it. I'll expect to see you next year."

If there had been any lingering doubts in Cloud's mind about whether he would even attempt the tests again next year and risk failing again, they were erased in that moment. If the general expected you to do something, you did it. It was that simple. And Sephiroth not only expected him to take the tests, he expected Cloud to pass. "Yes, sir," Cloud said, and he'd never been happier to accept an order in his life.

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