Never Tear Us Apart

by tir-synni

 

Part I: Prologue

 

            Everything hurt.  Either hurt or numb.  It was a toss-up as to which one was worse.

            A lone drone echoed in his mind, and it took a moment for him to realize what it was.  It was a pained moan.  It took another moment for him to realize that it was coming from him.

            "Ugh..." Zack Stoker groaned.  All right, maybe the numbness was better.  He felt like shit.

            It was an effort to open his eyes.  He knew where the pain had originated from.  That bastard Hojo.  When Hojo realized Zack was awake, the nightmare would begin again.  The nightmare he had been unable to wake up from the past five years.

            Another groan, this one not his own, reminded Zack why he was opening his eyes.  He wasn't in this nightmare alone.

            "Cloud," Zack whispered.  Struggling, Zack opened his dazed silver eyes and focused on the cylinder beside his own.  Through the thick glass and pea green mist, he could see an unconscious, blond figure drifting beside him.  The younger SOLDIER was stirring weakly, and another faint moan emerged.  "Cloud, can you hear me?"

            The youth shuddered in the tube, and the long, silky strands of his hair weaved gracefully in the liquid/mist.  However, Cloud's eyes did not open.

            "Shit," Zack snarled quietly.  "You're too pale, kid.  You're fucking white, and you're looking worse by the day.  Hojo keeps picking on you 'cause you're less experienced than I am.  I'm so sorry, baby."

            At the sound of his voice, Cloud Strife seemed to revive somewhat.  His soft, pink lips parted in another moan, and his long lashes fluttered.  In a way, Zack wished him awake.  Zack wouldn't be alone then, and he would be sure that Cloud was all right.  But if Cloud awoke, he would be once again returned to this endless nightmare.

            "I'll get you out of here, baby," Zack whispered, fingering the solid glass that separated him from his beloved.  "I swear it."

            Then Cloud's eyes were open.