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 19

"Tifa!" The exclamation felt like it was torn from Cloud's throat, his voice hoarse and full of anguish. His heart broke when she didn't so much as twitch. Gods, was she dead? Was he too late?

"Cloud," Zack said, his tone low and smooth like he was trying to sound soothing. "Cloud, calm down, kid."

"Get away from her." Cloud's voice cracked, and his knuckles were white around the hilt of First Tsurugi as he drew the blade. Zack held up his hands, one empty but the other clenched around an item Cloud couldn't see.

"You have to calm down," Zack insisted, his eyes locked on Cloud's. That did not help Cloud's peace of mind, not when the eyes he was looking into were Sephiroth's instead of Zack's. "You're going to set the bastard off again. Listen to me, it's not what it looks like. I didn't do this."

"No, Sephiroth did," Cloud growled, taking a step closer and making Zack tense. "Get away from her!"

"She's still alive, but she's hurt bad," Zack continued as if Cloud hadn't spoken, still not budging from his spot next to Tifa's body. "I've got a phoenix down, that's all. I'm going to give it to her." He opened his right fist slightly, to reveal the familiar fluffy bit of down resting in his palm, the soft tufts matted with blood from his gloves.

"Give it to me, and get the hell away from her," Cloud insisted, eyes narrowed. His hands were trembling, making his sword shake visibly, but he couldn't force them to stop. He desperately did not want to have to fight Zack, had been struggling to avoid it all along, but it looked like he wasn't going to be given a choice.

"No," Zack shook his head, never taking his eyes off Cloud's. "No, Cloud, listen to me. You have to trust me. It wasn't me. You do trust me, don't you?"

"Not when I can see Sephiroth staring out at me from your eyes," Cloud snarled, trying to calculate an angle of attack that would let him grab the phoenix down from Zack. If Tifa was still alive, then getting her mobile and out of here had to be his first priority. His heart was pounding so hard he was surprised it hadn't burst out of his chest, and his vision kept swimming as Sephiroth's power surged against his mind every time Zack's eyes glowed brighter.

His lover's answering smile was wry. "Take a look in a mirror, kid," the ex-SOLDIER replied. "You look as bad as I do. I know what you think is going on, Tifa told me everything. But it's not me, Cloud. I'm not the carrier."

"Then back off and let me help her!" Cloud demanded. Gods, Zack sounded so rational, so together, and it was definitely his voice and not Sephiroth's speaking. But that didn't mean Sephiroth wasn't controlling his words, and if Zack was truly innocent why was he refusing to move away from Tifa? No, as badly as Cloud wanted to believe his friend, he couldn't. Not when all the evidence was against him.

"No," Zack said again, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not moving one step until you calm down. Put the sword away, take a deep breath, and let's talk this out rationally. After we clean out Tifa's potion supply to help her."

"I'll calm down when you get the fuck away from her!" Cloud countered, shifting his grip on his sword and changing his stance to ready for a lunge forward. Zack's eyes widened and he readied himself to dodge, but he was too late. He was able to deflect Cloud's blade from hitting him, but in the next instant Cloud had him pinned against the wall.

To Cloud's surprise, Zack didn't struggle more than was necessary to keep from being cut with the sword. "Cloud! It's not me, damn it! It's you!" he shouted, fighting for control of the blade but making no move to draw his own.

"What?" Cloud was actually startled enough at the idea that he froze for a moment, standing there and staring blankly at his lover in shock. Zack gripped him by both shoulders, holding him still in case he started trying to fight again, looking him straight in the eyes.

"It's you," Zack told him, his voice heavy as he admitted the thing he'd most been trying to avoid. If he could have spared Cloud this pain, gods, he'd have done just about anything, but it didn't look like he had an alternative. "I've suspected it since Gongaga, and last night I pretended to be asleep and followed you after you went out. I think that's why he finally started killing people, he knew I was there and he was taunting me because I couldn't stop him without hurting you. It's you, Cloud. It's been you all along."

Zack hadn't wanted to believe, had resisted the idea so hard and for so long that he almost hadn't been able to accept it even when he'd seen the transformation for himself. But everything Tifa had told him about Cloud's reasons for thinking it was him held true for Cloud as well, with a few of Zack's own observations; the windows that were open in the morning when they'd been closed at night, the way Cloud was always more tired the mornings after Sephiroth was sighted... and of course, most damning of all, the fact that Cloud had been far more affected by Hojo's attempts to turn them into clones than Zack ever had.

"No." Cloud shook his head, his movements jerky and panicked. "No. You're lying." He shoved away from Zack, stumbling back and clutching at his pounding head with his off hand. "You're just saying what he wants me to hear. He's trying to fuck with my head again, that's all! Make me doubt myself, just like when... when he tried to tell me..."

He trailed off uncertainly, his sense of conviction fading into confusion as he realized what he was saying. "When he tried to tell me I wasn't really a SOLDIER..."

Except Sephiroth had been telling the truth, then. Cloud had never been a SOLDIER, and it had been Zack who had been there in Nibelheim all those years ago. There was no doubt that Sephiroth enjoyed playing mindgames with Cloud, but in the end, had he ever actually lied?

But that meant... if Zack was telling the truth, then... then that meant...

Everything started to go green around the edges as Cloud staggered, the blade of First Tsurugi clattering to the ground as he nearly went to his knees. Only ending up against the wall kept him on his feet. "No..."

Taking advantage of Cloud's confusion, Zack darted forward and slapped the phoenix down he held onto Tifa's shoulder, causing it to dissolve against her in a sparkle of magic. She coughed and choked on the blood in her lungs, her eyes flying open as she turned on her side and retched blood helplessly. She was hurt, badly hurt, so badly he was shocked she was even still alive. Even most SOLDIERs would have had trouble overcoming wounds like those.

The phoenix down didn't do much more than heal enough to wake her and keep her alive. A Life 2 spell would have been a hell of a lot more useful, but Zack didn't have any materia. He'd run out of the house that morning when he'd heard Cloud take off, barely taking the time to snatch up his sword, let alone hunt down the materia Cloud had stashed around the place. Then he hadn't quite made it home again after talking to Tifa before he'd felt the sudden surge of Sephiroth's power and known something was wrong, so he hadn't had a chance to grab anything before bolting back here once again.

Coming in to see Tifa dangling off Sephiroth's blade had been one of the most horrifying moments of his life, and Zack would never forget it. His own entrance had distracted Sephiroth enough that Cloud had apparently regained some control, but as Zack had suspected it didn't seem the blond had been aware of what he was doing. Small wonder; they already knew Cloud had a tendency to block out any memories that his mind couldn't handle, and what could possibly be worse than this?

Still coughing, Tifa looked up at him, then past him at Cloud. Her eyes widened and her expression turned frightened. "Cloud!" she croaked, her voice thick with blood. "Oh gods! Not again..."

Following her gaze, Zack's own expression turned grim. As he'd feared, the shock was too much for Cloud. The younger man was flickering between himself and Sephiroth, creating a weird combination of traits from both of them at any given moment. The only constant was the glowing, slitted green eyes.

"Tifa, get behind me," Zack said, his voice tight with worry and fear. Cloud could still beat him about three out of five practice matches, and Zack was at a severe disadvantage here because he desperately did not want to hurt his friend. But he couldn't let Sephiroth get at Tifa again; Cloud would never be able to live with himself if he killed Tifa.

"Tifa..." The one thing that reached Cloud most strongly through the pain in his head was the look of fear in Tifa's eyes, something he'd never seen before when she looked at him. He'd always been her guardian, her protector, doing his best to watch over her even when they'd been children and she'd hardly spared him a thought. "Tifa... no, I would never hurt you," he tried to explain, taking a shaky step forward with his hand outstretched towards her.

Only to run into against an invisible barrier that sprang up between them, halting his movement as effectively as any solid wall. Cloud's eyes widened as everything turned to shades of green, and he flattened his hand against the barrier. His other hand got no farther than the first had, and when he tried to move to one side to get around it he found that the invisible wall curved around him in a circle.

No, not invisible... glass. The glass walls of a mako tank, that he was somehow now standing inside. Shouting in fear and denial, Cloud pounded on the walls to no effect. Tifa looked terrified and was trying to crawl towards the door that led to the rest of the house, while Zack stood between her and Cloud with his sword out and a determined look on his face.

"Cloud," Zack said desperately, talking fast and loud as he prayed his words would reach his friend. The blond - silver more often than blond now - was bent almost double, his hands over his face as he shook. "Cloud, fight him, damn it! You're stronger than this, stronger than he is! Beat him off!"

"No," Cloud whispered, anguished. He stared at Zack through the barrier that separated them. No, it couldn't be true. This couldn't be happening. Why couldn't he move? "Zack! Zack, help me!"

"Ho? So you're finally allowing yourself to be aware of what's going on?" Sephiroth's rich, deep voice echoed around him, and a moment later a gloved hand caressed his cheek in a sick parody of a lover's touch. Turning his head, Cloud found himself staring at Sephiroth, standing on the other side of the glass wall but somehow able to reach through and touch Cloud with no apparent effort. "I must remember to thank Zack before I kill him. This wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying if you'd persisted in blocking out everything."

"No!" Cloud shouted, and threw himself back away from the bastard's mocking touch. He fetched up against the other side of the tank almost immediately, and Sephiroth chuckled and withdrew his hand.

"All these weeks, and you still haven't learned," the silver-haired man purred at him. "You can fight all you like, Cloud, but you will be mine in the end. Every time you break through and wrest control from me again, the walls of your imprisonment grow a little thicker. Your strength of will is almost exhausted. Perhaps this time, you will not be able to get through at all."

"No!" Pounding helplessly on the glass walls, Cloud watched as Sephiroth turned away from him to face the others.

Zack swore as the rapid shifts stabilized, and when the man in front of him looked up again it wasn't Cloud whose face he was wearing. "Tifa, get the kids and get out of here," he ordered her fiercely. "Now. I'll hold him off."

"Zack," Sephiroth murmured, a mocking, condescending smile spreading over his face as he straightened. "Don't tell me you're actually going to try to fight me? We both know how well that worked out the last few times you made the attempt. Are you really willing to kill Cloud to beat me?"

"No," Zack replied tightly. "I'm not going to have to, because Cloud's going to kick your ass six ways from Sunday and get control back again. Cloud!"

"Zack!" Cloud shouted back desperately, but he knew his friend couldn't hear him. Wherever he was, whatever had created this horrible facsimile of a mako tank, it had to be part of his own mind. Though it seemed as if he was watching events from outside, he knew it had to be only symbolic.

Clearly amused by both of them, Sephiroth laughed in delight. "At first I was disappointed that I wasn't able to break you, Zack," the tall man declared, his eyes flaring with cruel satisfaction. "I thought it would be ever so agonizing for Cloud to have to fight me knowing he was fighting you. But upon reflection, I do believe this is even more entertaining, now that he's actually paying attention."

The confirmation that Cloud was aware of what was going on was all Zack needed to hear. "Cloud! Fight him, Cloud! You can do it, I believe in you!"

"How touching," Sephiroth sneered. He lifted his hand, and First Tsurugi jumped from the floor where Cloud had dropped it into his grasp. By the time his fingers closed around it the blade had transformed as well, and it was masamune that he held ready to strike.

Zack tensed and gripped his blade tighter, but Sephiroth surprised him. Instead of attacking the former SOLDIER, the silver-haired man lashed out to one side, too fast for Zack to block or deflect. The blade caught Tifa hard in her side as she attempted to crawl to the doorway, cutting deep and actually lifting her off the ground to fling her several feet away.

"NO!" Cloud screamed, throwing his whole body against the obstruction of the glass. She hit the ground and went limp, her eyes closed again and blood spraying everywhere. He wasn't sure if she was still alive or not, but it was a pretty good bet that she wouldn't be for long unless she got help.

Help that Sephiroth clearly was not intending to allow her to get, as he moved to position himself between Zack and Tifa. "Damn it, Sephiroth, what the hell do you want?" Zack shouted, shifting his grip on his sword and preparing to charge.

"Revenge," the madman whispered, his eyes glittering with more than just the mako. "Revenge for myself, revenge for mother, revenge against all of humanity. This will be the end."

He lashed out again, masamune moving almost too fast even for Zack to follow, and the brunet was only barely able to parry the strike. He countered quickly, but Sephiroth blocked him easily, laughing.

Within a few exchanges, what little had remained of the furniture had been completely destroyed, and Zack knew he was utterly outmatched. Even without the handicap of the fact that he didn't want to hurt Cloud, he would have been hard pressed in this fight. As it was, he didn't have a chance and the best he could hope for was to hold the bastard off long enough for Tifa to escape. Which wasn't going to happen while she was unconscious.

He tried repeatedly to take the fight outside, blasting right through the wall and trying to lure Sephiroth out after him, but every time he did the former general simply turned away from him and moved towards Tifa again, clearly intending to finish what he'd started. After the third attempt, when Zack was only barely able to make it back inside in time to stop Sephiroth from cleaving her clear in half, he gave up trying.

Still completely trapped in his own mind, the walls of the mako tank barely even vibrating under the force of his blows, Cloud shouted and screamed his anger and fear, all to no avail. He couldn't free himself, couldn't make Zack hear him, couldn't even distract Sephiroth from what he was doing. Watching Sephiroth toy with Zack the way a cat would toy with a mouse was destroying him; he'd have looked away if he could, but no matter which way he turned in the tank he found himself facing the battle. It was even worse than the way Sephiroth had played with him in their previous fights, because Cloud could tell Zack was desperately holding back in an attempt not to hurt him.

"Zack!" he all but sobbed, knowing his lover couldn't hear him but unable to simply remain still and watch. "Zack! Damn it, stop holding back! Forget about me, just kill the bastard! Zack!" Maybe if Cloud died, that would finally end the cycle once and for all. Maybe it was his link to Cloud that allowed Sephiroth to keep returning, time after time.

Chuckling, Sephiroth easily parried another blow from Zack and retaliated with a strike that drew a shallow cut across the former SOLDIER's chest from shoulder to hip. Zack was already bleeding from a dozen such cuts; almost any of them could have been a killing blow if Sephiroth had chosen to make it so, and Zack hadn't even been able to scratch the bastard.

"You would do better to simply give up and let it be over, you know," Sephiroth taunted him maliciously. "You're only drawing out the inevitable, and for what? To make Cloud suffer more? He is suffering, I assure you of that. He's begging you to finish it, to kill me and him with me."

"No!" Zack snarled, driving forward and actually managing to score a light hit across Sephiroth's upper left arm. "Odin's blood, Cloud, you always did give up too damn easy! Fight him, gods damn it! I won't kill you, so you'd damn well better beat him off! You can do it!"

"And you always encouraged him, no matter how much of a failure he proved himself to be," Sephiroth goaded him. "He washed out of SOLDIER because his mind was too weak to bear the strain of the mako, yet you continued to encourage him. He fell prey to Hojo's experiments, becoming completely helpless, yet you persisted in attempting to cajole him back to sanity. He couldn't even deal with reality without pretending he was you, unable to face the truth of his own pathetic existence, yet you tell him you're proud of him. And now this. Are you just that much of a masochist, Zack? Or is it sadism that drives you? Do you enjoy seeing him struggle endlessly in an attempt to live up to your impossible belief in him, even though you know he's a failure at heart?"

For a moment Cloud forgot to struggle, shocked by Sephiroth's words. Was that why he'd failed to become a SOLDIER? If that was true, if Zack had known it, why had the older boy continued to encourage him to work hard and try again? Was he truly destined to be a failure?

"No!" Zack growled, infuriated by the suggestion and knowing all too well what sort of doubts were probably eating at Cloud thanks to the bastard's insinuations. He knew how fragile Cloud's self esteem could be, and even now when he was so much stronger than he'd been as a kid there were moments when Zack thought one good blow might shatter everything Cloud had struggled to achieve. One good blow like the one Sephiroth had just delivered, if Zack couldn't convince his friend and lover otherwise.

"Cloud is not a failure, and he never was!" Zack replied, blocking and parrying Sephiroth's strikes as he spoke, doing his best to keep the fight at the opposite end of the bar from where Tifa still lay sprawled over the floor. "Anyone with the strength of will to pull himself up a sword blade to defeat an opponent ten times stronger than him, anyone who could fight his way back from severe mako poisoning multiple times, anyone who could face the weaknesses of his past and still go on to defeat his worst nightmare, that is not someone who is a failure at heart!"

Sephiroth lunged unexpectedly, and Zack choked as masamune caught him low on the side, running straight through his abdomen. Knowing what was coming, he braced himself as Sephiroth twisted the blade and wrenched it sideways, tearing it back out of Zack's body. It was a blow that would have killed anyone but a 1st Class, but Zack somehow managed to stay on his feet with his sword held ready. He could not afford to lose this fight, or the entire world was lost as well.

"Cloud!" he shouted, putting every bit of his belief in and love of the other man into his voice. "Cloud, listen to me! I believe in you, I have always believed in you, and I always will! You are stronger than this, stronger than he is! Fight him!"

Screaming his defiance, Cloud braced himself against the back wall and kicked repeatedly at the glass barrier that kept him walled away in a corner of his own mind. It shuddered under the force of the blows, but refused to give way. He had to break through. He had to prove Sephiroth wrong, to live up to Zack's belief in him, or what was the point of his entire life up to this moment?

Movement at one side attracted the attention of all three of them at the same moment. Sephiroth half turned, and Cloud saw to his horror that Marlene and Denzel had emerged from wherever they'd been hidden. They'd each grabbed one of Tifa's arms and were hauling her backwards, trying to get her out the door and to safety. In the distraction of the fight they'd managed to move her almost all the way there, but now they'd been spotted.

Knowing what was coming, Zack felt his heart leap into his throat. "No!" he shouted, and flung himself headlong across the room to try to put himself between Sephiroth and the kids. The silver-haired man was already moving, sword held ready as he lunged towards the helpless children, intent on their destruction.

If the idea that his body would be used to kill Zack, to hurt Tifa, had been awful, then this was simply unthinkable. Horrified, Cloud watched as the whole scene seemed to slow down until the seconds passed at a crawl, allowing him to clearly see that Sephiroth was going to reach the kids first. They were going to die by his hand, as surely as if he'd killed them himself.

Zack was a SOLDIER, a fighter who had chosen his path with full knowledge that he would probably die one day in a battle. Tifa was a warrior, who fought despite her disadvantages because she believed in her cause strongly enough to be willing to die for it. Both of them were capable and strong, had made their decisions knowing what they were getting into, and were able to hold their own even against Sephiroth for a short period of time.

But the kids... Marlene and Denzel might as well have been helpless infants for all they could hope to defend themselves against Sephiroth. They might not have been his children by blood, but Cloud had loved and protected them, and sworn to himself that he would never let harm come to either of them again.

From somewhere, somehow, he found a source of strength he hadn't even known he possessed. With a roar of defiance, he gathered everything he had and lashed out at the walls of his cage one last time, the impact shattering the glass like the most delicate of crystal panes. He felt the destruction reverberate through his entire body as he snapped back into control of himself. His yell became abruptly audible, his voice high and hoarse with fear and anguish.

Zack had never been so grateful in his life to see the bright blond colour of Cloud's hair appear as Sephiroth's mocking smirk turned to irritation and vanished all in an instant. Cloud stumbled as he tried to stop his momentum before he reached the two children; he still held First Tsurugi in an attack position, and if he struck them he could easily kill them by accident.

There was a clatter of metal meeting wood, and then strong hands gripped him by the shoulders and brought his forward motion to a halt. Cloud's brief stumble and hesitation had given Zack the instant he needed to get ahead of him, and he'd dropped his sword and interposed himself between his lover and the kids without a second thought. First Tsurugi hit him hard across the chest, but he just grunted and braced himself against the blow, absorbing the damage as only a SOLDIER could. He was nearly as badly injured as Tifa now, only barely managing to stay on his feet, but it didn't matter. The fight was over.

Cloud wasn't so certain of that, clinging to Zack with all his strength as if holding on tightly enough would prevent Sephiroth from taking him over again. He could still feel the bastard's power within him, struggling for dominance again, and one slip on his part would let Sephiroth retake control.

Slowly Zack lowered them both to the ground, letting Cloud huddle against him practically in his lap as they sat together on the floor. He wrapped his arms around the blond in turn, rocking him gently and murmuring soothing words into his ear. "It's okay, Cloud, it's over, you did it, it's okay," he assured his shaking lover. "I knew you would, I'm so proud of you, I always believed in you. Always."

"You shouldn't," Cloud croaked hoarsely. "Gods. All this time I thought it was you. How could I not have realized? How could I have let him do this? Zack..."

"Did you think I was aware of it and hiding it from you?" Zack asked him with a raised eyebrow, though he kept his voice low and steady. "Of course not. How can you blame yourself for not realizing what was happening, if you thought I was equally unaware? He's clever, Cloud, maybe smarter than you and me both put together. He played you like the master manipulator he is. But we're more stubborn than he is, and that's what'll win in the end."

"No." Cloud shook his head, his face buried in Zack's shoulder, unable to look his friend in the eyes. "No, Zack, it's not over, he's still there! You have to finish it, you have to. Just kill me..."

"Absolutely not," Zack cut him off fiercely. "Damn it, Cloud, stop trying to give up! I will not kill you, not under any circumstances, so just get that through your thick skull right now! Either you beat him, or we all die. You're stronger than you think you are!"

"Don't you get it?" Cloud finally looked up at him, and even though his eyes were still eerily green the torment in his expression was clear. "Don't you understand? He's just waiting for another chance, he'll break through any moment and he's stronger every time. Next time I won't be able to get free!"

"Then we'll just have to make sure there isn't a next time," Zack declared, his tone brooking no argument. "First of all, you need to calm down. The more agitated and panicked you get, the easier it is for him to take control. Just take a couple of deep breaths, get hold of yourself, and calm down. We need to help Tifa."

"Tifa!" Cloud swore and pushed himself up, looking over Zack's shoulder to where Marlene and Denzel were huddled around Tifa's body. "Oh gods, is she still alive?"

"Yes," Denzel answered him cautiously, but he looked highly suspicious as he spoke to Cloud. "Are you... are you going to go crazy again?"

"Cloud," Marlene put in, clinging to Denzel's arm and looking at him uncertainly. "Cloud... you won't hurt us?"

Shuddering, Cloud turned his face back into Zack's shoulder, unable to bear the hurt and accusation and fear in their eyes. "No," he said brokenly. "No, I won't hurt you. Zack's going to help Tifa, and then you're all going to go somewhere safe." And he would go find an appropriately tall building to throw himself off of, if that was what it took. He couldn't risk even the possibility that Sephiroth would regain control and make him hurt the people he loved most in all the world.

Sensing the direction of his thoughts, Zack shook him roughly. "Stop that," he ordered his lover, his eyes flashing. "Don't you dare even think what I know you're thinking, Cloud. Would you have let me..." Glancing at the kids, he changed his wording slightly. "Would you have let me do something drastic, if it had been me and I'd realized what was happening? Isn't that exactly why you didn't tell me what you suspected, because you were afraid I would? What in Hades' name makes you think I'm going to let you do it?"

"I have to," Cloud whispered, shaking again. "I have to, Zack, don't you see? I can't live with the idea that I could hurt them, hurt you..."

"You're not going to," Zack cut him off. "I'll beat it into your head until you believe me, if I have to. Nobody's going to get hurt any more, and nobody is going to die... except Sephiroth, once we find a way to get him out of you. In the meantime, you need to calm down."

Taking a deep breath, Cloud struggled for control, holding to Zack's words the same way he was clinging to the older man's body. He'd always trusted Zack, followed where his friend led, known that no matter what happened Zack would get them through it. That was why he'd chosen to 'be' Zack, when he'd first emerged from the mako haze he'd been lost in for so long, because he'd so desperately wanted that strength for himself.

Could he, dared he, trust in his friend this time? With so much at stake?

Did he have a choice?

When he cautiously opened his eyes again, he was unutterably relieved to see colour other than green saturating his vision. Looking up, he saw that Zack's eyes had gone back to their usual indigo hue, albeit still glowing brightly with mako.

"That's better," Zack said with a crooked smile, tapping one finger on Cloud's brow between his once again blue eyes. "Now, stay that way. Just keep your cool, kid. We'll figure out a way to get through this, one way or another."

"Tifa," Cloud said hoarsely, turning back to her again. She was still lying motionless between Marlene and Denzel, but her chest was rising and falling in tiny little movements that told him she yet lived. "Marlene, Denzel, you know where she keeps the potions. Go get them, all of them. Hurry."

Obviously torn between wanting to stay to 'protect' Tifa and wanting to get away from the threat that Cloud now represented, the two children exchanged glances and nodded, scrambling to their feet. Zack dug in his belt pouch for another phoenix down, grateful that he'd long ago fallen into the habit of always making sure he had at least five of the things on him or within reach at all times, even when sleeping. Tifa would be okay, the kids were fine, Zack would heal well enough, and Cloud - for the moment at least - was in control of himself.

Now if only they could keep things that way long enough to find a way to get Sephiroth out of the younger man, before Zack was forced to either break his promise and kill Cloud, or let the bastard win.

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