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Zack was going to lose.
There were bodies scattered around him in broken heaps, blood soaking into the parched earth as the sound of gunfire echoed endlessly in his enhanced ears. Zack held the Buster sword in front of him, shielding himself as best he could, wearily watching as the remaining troopers tried to circle around behind him… where he’d left Cloud.
Zack let his head rest against the cool metal for a moment, closing his eyes.
There was an orb slotted into one of the blade’s two materia slots. Only one, which had never before been removed. Angeal had told him that it was permanently slotted. To take it out, you would have to carve out the metal surrounding it, ruining the structural integrity of the blade. Angeal’s father had never told him where it came from, what it did—only that it was simply a part of the blade. The materia, which peeked out each side of the sword, was brilliantly red; clearly a summon.
When Zack, young and bright, had asked which summon it was, Angeal had told him that he’d never been able to activate it. Not even Genesis or Sephiroth had been able to call forth the summon; it simply rejected their mana, leaving them to funnel it endlessly into nothing.
Angeal only smiled fondly at the materia, no traces of frustration or disappointment. “Maybe it’s a dud,” he’d commented with warm amusement. Zack had wanted to try, excited by the prospect that maybe, just maybe, it would work for him. He hadn’t gotten to, in the end. Angeal merely gave him a teasing smile and ruffled his hair. “Maybe one day.”
He hadn’t attempted the summon after Angeal had passed the sword to him. He’d been busy, pretty much nonstop, but mostly, Zack hadn’t felt worthy. He was no destined king, able to pull a sword from solid stone—he hadn’t even been able to help his friends, any of them, when it counted. Failing to summon from a dud materia would just be another failure to his ever-expanding list that he had no want to add to.
Zack gritted his teeth, body too heavy to move, kept up only by the precious hunk of metal protecting him. If he died here, they would find Cloud.
With a steadying breath, Zack gathered his courage and pressed his palm to where the red orb shone out from inside the blade. It felt warm. Zack, defeated and out of options, pushed his mana into it, mentally begging for a response.
As soon as he felt his mana trickle into the orb, it flashed, immediately sucking at Zacks reserves. He gasped, almost losing his balance as the thing greedily drank down his mana, all of it, pulling it out of him until there was nothing but the vestiges of a once ample pool remaining inside him.
Dizziness suddenly overwhelmed the SOLDIER, and finally he fell, taking the Buster with him. Through bleary eyes, Zack saw a figure materialize in front of him with decidedly less fanfare than usual summons; a soft green glow and a scattering of differently shaped yellow petals preceded the black figure which took its place. One of the loose petals settled on the blood-soaked ground in front of Zack’s face, long and thin and a soft, buttery yellow…
“Daisies are a rather happy flower, don’t you think?”
With laboured breath, Zack flicked his eyes back up. The figure was cloaked in black, an arsenal of blades upon their back, spread out like mechanical wings of violence.
Inexplicably, relief washed over Zack’s tired mind, relaxing overworked muscles and rapidly dragging him into unconsciousness.
They were saved.
-0-
The air, when Zack woke, smelled distinctly like the slums of Midgar. He had definitely never thought he’d miss the smog that smelled faintly of burnt mako. When he opened his eyes, it was dark. Darker than it ever got sleeping under the stars or tree canopies. Darker, even, than the inn rooms they’d scarcely been able to risk or afford.
Were they truly in the slums of Midgar? They’d made it?
Zack sat up slowly, a blanket falling off him and feeling a sharp spike of panic when he noticed that Cloud wasn’t in his arms.
It was dark, but Zack’s enchantments caught the smallest amounts of light. He was in a single-sized bed in a shitty hotel room, presumably in Midgar’s slums. Across from his bed was another identical one, housing a lump under its covers.
Zack quickly stood, immediately making his way over to it. Even before pulling back the blanket snugly tucked around him, Zack was able to tell it was Cloud, the spiky tufts of hair, grey, in the inadequate light, sticking out was a dead giveaway.
Still, he pulled it from his friend’s face, anxiety settling once he confirmed that Cloud was still breathing. Zack gently tucked the comforter under Cloud’s chin and allowed himself a moment to calm.
Immediate concerns dealt with, Zack stepped back and did a more thorough examination. The room was small, barely housing the two beds and a window with the curtains drawn. There was a door on the opposite side of Cloud’s bed that presumably led to a bathroom and a small hallway Zack couldn’t see down from this angle. Probably leading to the exit. No minute hum of cameras or bugs.
Zack, quietly and on bare feet, rounded Cloud’s bed to peer down the hallway. He almost gasped aloud at the sight of two Buster-shaped swords leaning against the wall and a blob of black sitting against the door, a shockingly familiar head of spiky hair, in the same shade of light grey as Cloud’s bowed in rest.
His heart stopped and Zack froze, not daring to breathe.
This…
Was this the warrior that saved them? The one called forth from Angeal’s materia?
It was… a man. A man who had saved them, dragged them all the way here, tucked them comfortably into bed and then stood guard. Who looked maybe a little too familiar. Zack, eyes flicked to where Cloud was still peacefully sleeping and back.
Then to the swords.
They were almost the same size and shape. It was hard to see in the dark, but the guard’s sword held very different detailing and the red materia shining in one of Buster’s materia slots made it obvious which was which. Zack thought he’d seen more blades before, but the summon didn’t seem to have them now.
Zack tentatively took a step towards the blades, itching to have the Buster back in his possession in front of an unknown.
The second his foot touched the floor, blue-green eyes shot open.
Zack froze, foot halfway off the ground and heart lurching in his chest. The eyes, bright with mako-glow, stared directly at him for several moments then closed again.
Zack blinked.
Was it… unable to talk? To be fair, Zack had never heard of a summon speaking before. He’d also never heard of them being so human-like, having mako-eyes or lingering so long after the initial summon…
Or doing anything but fighting, really…
But, Angeal’s materia had never seemed to work like a normal summon did, maybe it was special in some way?
Zack, politely, cleared his throat. The eyes opened again, more languid this time, less sharp.
“Uh, hi. Thank you for, um, saving us. I think. I don’t really remember what happened, I think I passed out,” he started to ramble, unable to cut the nervous chatter once it started. “But, uh, you are a summon, right? Like I… summoned you? With that?” He pointed at the materia faintly glimmering with its own internal light. “I’ve never seen one quite like…”
Zack trailed off as the summon finally raised its head, letting the scant light reflect off its pale skin and… holy crap. It looked exactly like Cloud.
He gaped, absolutely too stunned to continue.
The summon gathered itself and stood—Gaia, it was even the same height—and absently rolled its shoulders, stepping towards Zack, who matched it with a wary step back. But, as the light flicked on, momentarily blinding the SOLDIER, Zack realized that all he wanted was the light switch.
Zack’s eyes quickly adjusted to the dim hotel bulb, letting him see Angeal’s summon properly.
It really was a carbon copy of his buddy, down to the pattern of his light smattering of freckles.
As the summon stood there and let Zack inspect him, he realized that this… man didn't carry the slight awkwardness his little trooper friend did, the self-conscious need to make himself small. This man’s posture reflected a steady confidence, a weight on his shoulders that Zack had never seen before, but the determination in his eyes was familiar.
“Cloud? I…” Zack was once again compelled to look toward the bed to make sure there was still someone asleep in it. When he looked back, the summon had a small, rueful smile on his lips.
“Zack,” he acknowledged, voice just as soft and meaningful as Zack remembered it being, years ago, before they… It had been a long time since he’d properly heard it.
“What’s happening?” Zack asked, voice almost a whisper.
The other looked off to the side, studying a crack in the drywall.
“You summoned me. I brought you here. Shinra’s gonna have bigger problems than worrying about you soon, so you should be able to lay low here,” The summon replied, effectively explaining nothing while raising several more questions.
“Cloud,” Zack said in a firmer voice. “Why are there two of you and why were you in a materia?”
Cloud’s shoulders sagged a bit. “I don’t know. I guess it’s the only way the planet could shove me back here without overwriting my own existence.”
Zack blinked, trying to quickly process what the hell that meant.
“Back here? Like—“
“Back in time.”
Oh.
Wait. “So that means—“
“He’ll wake up.”
Oh, Zack was going to cry.
-0-
Summon-Cloud hadn’t known what to do with Zack as he burst into tears, giving him baffled, wide-eyed looks, seeming like he had no idea if he should reach out or back off. The whole thing was so Cloud that it had Zack immediately crying even more as he laughed a little hysterically. It just made Cloud look even more guiltily unsure and Zack reeled him in for a tight hug.
Summon-Cloud’s surprised stiffness at the sudden affection quickly faded. Zack felt arms wrap around his torso, and Gaia, he’d missed that. He could only hope his own Cloud would be awake and up to returning hugs soon.
-0-
The two settled down after Zack pulled himself together on the bed across from still-sleeping-Cloud.
“He’s… really going to be alright?” Zack asked. He’d never given up on Cloud, and never would, but some days had felt so hopeless, alone with the world out to get them.
Summon-Cloud nodded, also looking at the still form in front of them. “He should be over the worst of it, but…” he trailed off into silence, his expression twisting into a pained grimace.
Apparently the emotional roller coaster was not over. What did that expression mean?! Zack knew it had probably been too much to hope that his Cloud would have no permanent damage, but this future Cloud had seemed okay…
“Just… keep an eye on him, when he does wake up.”
Zack, despite feeling the heavy tone in his stomach, couldn’t stop himself from pushing. He didn’t actually know anything about treating mako poisoning and had never heard of a case where the person had recovered. This whole thing was uncharted territory for him. “Why?”
Cloud opened his mouth but nothing came out. He closed it and clenched a fist in his lap. Zack looked on in bewildered concern as crushing guilt seemed to shadow his friend’s face.
“…Sephiroth.”
It was said so quietly that Zack almost didn’t hear.
“Seph…?” Zack frowned, reminded yet again of his own failings. “Sephiroth is dead, though. You killed him.”
Cloud shook his head then ducked it down, messy bangs falling to hang in his face.
Zack sucked in a breath. Right. Super strong psycho maniac isn’t dead. Wonderful. “Okay,” he nodded faintly. “Alright. We’ll… definitely need to do something about that. Somehow. But, how does that relate to… him?”
Zack wasn’t quite sure about referring to his Cloud and Summon-Cloud as the same person. Actually, this ‘same name’ thing was going to get confusing fast.
Cloud’s head ducked a slight bit further, making Zack itch to hug him again.
“He can… get inside my head. Make me think and do things.” Cloud let out a heavy breath and looked up, locking eyes with Zack. His expression was intense, determined. “It’s not infallible, but he won’t realize it’s even happening if no one helps him.”
Zack immediately caught onto what Cloud wasn’t saying, that he’d gone through it himself, hadn’t realized until it was too late. Despite the gravity of the words, Zack couldn’t quite stop the fond grin that broke out.
Cloud was once again shocked. His brow furrowed. “Zack—“
Said SOLDIER’s grin widened and he pulled Cloud into yet another tight hug, chuckling lightly. “You know, it’s good to know that no matter the experience or age, you’re still Cloud, right down to the core,” Zack laughed, ruffling fluffy spikes of blond. “Always blaming yourself for things that aren’t your fault, always helping out anyone that needs it… and always fluffy like a little chocobo!” Zack let the now struggling blond pull back only to be met with that cute, annoyed little pout Cloud never realized he made.
“I'm not a chocobo, puppy,” Cloud protested in a flat voice.
Zack squawked back at him. “Who told you about that?!”
Cloud turned away, unaffected.
“Cloud!”
-0-
It turned out that Cloud couldn’t stay summoned indefinitely. He’d been burning his own mana to keep himself present once Zack had passed out and couldn’t sustain it forever. It seemed Cloud had a few hours worth of mana in him, which was rather impressive in Zack’s opinion since it had taken all of his just to summon the blond.
“Wait, then how did you get both of us here so fast?”
Cloud blinked then popped a materia out of his bangle, handing it to Zack.
Chocobo Lure.
Zack was soon left alone with his own Cloud once again, his tiredness suddenly hitting him with the lack of excitement. He trudged over to the other bed, curling almost on top of Cloud in order to fit them both in the small space and promptly passed out.