The plains surrounding Midgar spread like an expanse of yellow and green sea, the tops of high grass shuddering in the breeze. New plants, new life. All of it demonstrating the planet’s tenacity for growth and rebirth. When Meteor had given the industrial region of Midgar a new face job the fires from the impact had swept over the city and billowed forth in a tidal wave of destruction that capped the surrounding hills and scorched the earth. Even Holy couldn’t stop that. But what had sprouted back after that hellish cleansing was by all appearances beautiful. If of course, one paid no attention to the mechanical devil bikes that sent clouds of dirt up at every wheelie, and revved their engines in challenge at nothing in particular. Not that you could do anything about the monsters that came naturally with the land though. They were as necessary as the trees and lakes, and probably had more right to be on the planet than any human being. Or Cetra. One could never forget the Cetra.

Still within the boundaries that served to at least define the area where Midgar had once dominated, Reno assessed the contents of his pockets to reassure himself he had everything he needed for the trip. A couple hundred gil should be enough. The nightstick dangled from his belt clasp, the 10,000volts safely turned off. His Desert Eagle was tucked concealingly in a holster under his left armpit, and the two combat knives he favored were hidden respectively on different parts of his anatomy. He hadn’t bothered to bring more than a change of clothes, extra ammo, and feed for his chocobo, Sylth, but Strife had still seemed surprised that he was ready and packed before they reached the stables. What the hell did he expect? Turks didn’t survive by being sloppy. At least, not on missions.

Next to him, and checking his own gear, Cloud Strife picked through the pouch at his waist and a small pack that he had brought with him when he had arrived in Midgar. Besides the Ultima Weapon he didn’t seem to have any other means of defense, but light caught on a bangle around his arm briefly, sending purple and green rainbows to dance across green grass. He raked a gloved hand through his hair impatiently as Pheros, his gold chocobo, finished eating. It seemed odd to him that he was the one holding them up now. He hadn’t expected the careless and irresponsible seeming Turk to be even slightly prepared for the journey, especially after the attitude he was packing. And as they didn’t have the option of taking the chopper, because Rude and Elena currently had it for their own errands, they were going by chocobo. That meant giving Phero and Sylth, Reno’s black, time to breakfast a bit.

Holding the pouch of Millet greens under Sylth’s eager beak with one hand Reno fingered the Tough Ring he had suspended on a leather thong around his neck thoughtfully with the other. He had had time to browse a little more thoroughly through the paperwork Reeve had supplied them with while Cloud had readied his gear. Most of it consisted of reports pertaining to some of Hojo’s experiments with Gast’s infusion technique. While it was all in scientific language, Reno couldn’t help but feel sick as he read about some of the procedures. The sheer brilliance of some of the experimentation was obvious, even to him, but the lack of….humanity? He wasn’t sure that was the best word for it because as a Turk the first thing you signed over to your employers was your so-called humanity. He was a killer, an assassin by trade and inclination. He murdered people for a living for holy’s sake, but this…this was just sick. Glancing at Cloud from over the top of his shades he felt a momentary pang of sympathy. If his experience had been anything like this then Reno could certainly understand the jerkiness of his movements and the haunted look that flashed occasionally across those mako blue eyes. Shame that he was such a dick though.

Dropping the ring back into place Reno turned to Sylth and ruffled the feathers under her chin. She cooed at him lovingly and tried to bite off his index finger. Wise to this tactic he whisked his hand away quickly and decided to stare at Cloud until the blond met his gaze. It took barely moments before the blue eyes left what they were looking at and glared back.

“What?” Cloud asked irritably.

“Chill Strife. I just wanted to see if you were ready yet.”

Cloud flushed slightly and his mouth drew into a taunt line of discomfort. He really didn’t need this. Why had he agreed to go with him? Sure Reeve was a friend, and by extension Cait Sith, but really. To willingly put yourself in close quarter situations with a former enemy was idiocy, and Reno already embodied so many bad traits even without taking in the whole I-will-kill-you past. Not the brightest of decisions Strife, he chided himself. And not that I’ve ever been complimented on my brainpower, he added with a self-mocking smile. It was just this Nibelheim thing. It still made his gut clench painfully and breakfast had to be wrestled back to its original place of digestion. Tifa had suggested returning there once or twice to bury the past. It still haunted them both, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to face that particular ghost. Other dead souls still were too fresh in his mind. Sephiroth was…no, he was gone. He had to remember that, had to believe it. Sephiroth had been a cancer in his soul. The trials he and the others had suffered to stave off that sickness had marked each of them differently, but unfailingly. Even the detached Vincent showed signs of stress these days in the aftermath. He himself had gone from confusion to depression to a semblance of normality with Tifa. Well, as normal as things ever got. He had been ancy of late, and restless. It was strange, but even as he felt the building dread in his system, part of him welcomed it. Was horror the only thing normal for him? He shuddered inwardly at the thought. Just another section to add to his endless parade of fucked up issues. It was all just so disorienting. And now Nibelheim, the experiments that he was just starting to forget, and Zax…

“Oh Zax…I’m sorry,” he said softly, and not for the first time.

Reno raised an eyebrow. “Is that a yes or a, no, I’m still checking that my hair gel is all packed?”

Cloud just glared and thrust the remainder of Pheros’ breakfast at the bird’s beak. The chocobo warked in agitation at the tightly gripped pile of greens that had suddenly been shoved in its face. It gave an indignant snort, and while Cloud still had his head turned to trade hostile looks with Reno, took a bite of the feed, glove and all. Cloud yelped in surprise and Reno spoiled the seriousness of the atmosphere by laughing loudly.

“Oh man are we gonna suffer on this trip,” Reno said after catching his breath.

Cloud’s return look sent the Turk into another fit of hilarity that took even longer to recover from, and the blond sighed wearily, fully in agreement with the red head’s prediction.

“This sucks.”

* * * * *

They rode next to each other, but the distance between them seemed amplified by the silence. Cloud gazed unseeingly at the flashing countryside and Reno studied the back of Sylth’s neck with growing frustration. Above them in the late morning sky, thunderclouds gained in size and sound. They hovered overhead like fat blimps that were sucking in moisture but not returning it as should. Greedy and ambitious they gathered the water to them and grew larger still, rumbling their pleasure to each other with forks of lightning punctuating each pause between airy conversations.

Cloud pursed his lips as a cheery bolt of electricity took out a tree not twenty paces from where they were passing.

“This could be bad,” he muttered.

Reno’s head jerked up and he almost startled his chocobo into a rear with the sudden movement.

“What?” he shouted across the space.

Cloud gestured skyward and made a sign to stop. They pulled up by a river and he moved Pheros close enough to talk without screaming or pantomime.

“What do you think?”

Reno scowled at the gathering darkness and flipped it the bird.

“I think it’s pissed and we’re gonna get pissed on.”

“We should find a better place to stop and see if it passes.”

“You have an idea?”

“I’ve been through here before and there’s a hill, just over that crest I think, that’s got an overhang we can camp out under.”

Reno snorted and pulled out another pack of smokes in his seemingly never-ending supply. Packing it against his palm he considered their options.

“We either stop there or get drenched. We could keep going and get drenched but make it to Junon-“

“Why not just stop under the crest till it passes?”

“If it passes,” Reno mused, staring fixedly at the rolling blackness.

“Alright,” he agreed. “We’ll head for that place you mentioned.”

Nudging Pheros with his boots, Cloud set a fast pace moving southeast towards the line of mountains in the distance that separated the Midgar area from the rest of the Eastern continent. Reno clicked his tongue sharply and Sylth surged forward, matching Cloud’s pace stride for stride. They raced faster as thunder rumbled threateningly above them, both chocobos and their masters eager to reach shelter of any kind. It was at this time that the weather decided to cut with the kiddy show and get serious. The wind picked up by exponentials, flogging the grass with its force and bending smaller trees to kiss the earth. Rain positively hailed down, the drops so icy cold and hard they raised welts on unprotected skin. Cloud ducked his head letting the spray plaster the long bangs to his forehead and shut his mouth tightly to avoid swallowing excess water. Inexplicably the rain also seemed to flow up and into the nose, rendering his attempts to breathe properly completely useless.

Reno cursed loudly and creatively in long choppy sentences, punctuated by choking because his mouth quickly filled up with rainwater. His sunglasses could no longer hold back the red fronds of his own bangs and he stuffed them into the inside pocket of his suit. Letting go the reins he gripped Sylth’s sides tightly with his knees and yanked his soggy hair back into a tighter ponytail. When he was done it whipped behind him like a red banner caught in a hurricane. Edging closer towards Cloud, he made a couple of curt gestures and pointed towards the approaching mountains.

Cloud peered ahead as best he could, but the rain was veritable wall and it obscured even his Mako enhanced vision. Best he could tell they were off course a bit and heading right into the Midgar Zolom’s territory. He wanted to groan, but avoided opening his mouth even the slightest. The Midgar Zolom was not something he felt like dealing with. The damn serpent was always chasing travelers, and even when you killed it, it came right back to life as soon as you had to cross again. Either that thing’s immortal he thought, or those snakes breed like rabbits.

Reno’s thoughts began to run along the same lines as the once firm grasslands gave way to soggy swamp.

“F*&@ I HATE snakes,” he growled. He lived in Midgar for a reason. A very important reason among others. Midgar may have filth. It may have the dredges of the human race living cramped in stinking hovels and eating garbage. It might even be the breeding ground of disease for the rest of the world, but it did not have snakes. Knowing that they had to cross the mountains didn’t make it any better. They could have crossed somewhere not infested with slimy, crawly, legless…

Abruptly Reno realized something was missing. Namely, his chocobo. For no reason apparent to him, Sylth had turned a sharp left without thinking about the fact that its rider might not be ready and couldn’t fly on necessity alone. He shot off like a rocket and his trajectory carried him about 15ft before he made contact with the squishy ground.

“Goddammit! This is my best suit!!!” He roared at the direction his chocobo had last been seen running. Picking himself up he wiped a smear of mossy green sludge from off his chin and dug something unidentifiable out of his ear.

“Oh...that’s just wrong.” Looking around he could see neither Sylth nor Cloud anywhere. The rain restricted vision to no more than 20ft, and his PHS would be useless in the downpour. Stepping forward he immediately recoiled in disgust. A small shape, like a thick noodle, was undulating slowly by his shoe. He retreated a step and felt his insides squirm. Wow, he thought suddenly. For the first time I actually want to see Strife’s spiky ass. But only to get out of here he amended.

As Reno stood unsure of what to do in ankle deep water, a large form began working its way towards him, alerted by senses that required neither sight nor hearing to reach its target.

By instinct or coincidence, Cloud was circling back towards Reno, eyes intent for any sign of movement. They were definitely in the Zolom’s hunting grounds now, and it was never wise to challenge a 120ft serpent in its own territory without full command of your bearings. A SOLDIER never went into battle unprepared a small voice reminded him. The memory ticked at his brain, and he didn’t know whether to be reassured by the good advice, or disturbed because he realized it wasn’t his memory. Either way, if the black chocobo that had streaked by him riderless was any indication, Reno needed help.

At the moment though, the Turk had calmed, collected himself, and drawn the gun as a small voice from his own memory recited something memorized long ago in smooth Wutaian tones.

Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.

In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

And;

Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.

And his personal favorite;

All warfare is based on deception.

Dropping to one knee he slid the nightstick free of its tie and held his thumb over the charger. In his right hand he clicked the safety back and held the other weapon loosely, but steady. Ahead of him he could see a black shadow moving between sheets of rain, its dinner plate eyes faintly luminescent. Wiping the moisture from his own eyes he waited patiently for the right time.

Cloud twisted in his saddle looking left and right. It was nearly impossible to keep a sense of direction straight and he hadn’t seen a sign of the Turk yet. He had considered just leaving the nuisance there, but only for a second. He would never abandon anyone in the middle of nowhere and simply ride off, even if that person was an asshole whom he would have happily skewered many times in the past couple of hours. Though had it been Yuffie he couldn’t be sure what he would do in the same situation. Amused he bore south again, straining to catch a glimpse of red.

Reno’s bent leg ached from holding the position so long, but he made no movement to relieve it. Staying perfectly still was his best option for this. He had never fought the Midgar Zolom before, but Rude had once upon a time, said he had torched the damn thing but seeing as it was right in front of him and getting closer he wasn’t inclined to fully believe him. Still the advice had been sound. Don’t move and whatever you do don’t run. The Turk took an even breath despite his shaky insides and aimed for what he guessed to be the head. But then, it stopped. The thick mass had paused not 30ft from him and was swaying where it stood like a vertical ripple of water. And then, without any apparent reason, it curved to left and began moving again. Reno frowned and held his breath. Was it just luck? No… He could just barely make out a shock of yellow moving on the edge of his peripheral vision and getting more definable as it got closer to him. Cursing silently Reno stood and flipped on the night switch. He had no choice now, Strife was heading straight for it, and by the way he moved he had no idea what was coming for him. Taking off at a run he sloshed after the departing snake the nightstick flashing as drops of rain splattered and sizzled on its electrified length.

* * * * *

Cloud paused as he thought he caught a faint squelching sound. It became steadier as he listened more intently.

*splash* *slosh slosh*

But it could have just been the rain falling in great heavy drops. Or even Sylth backtracking like he had.

Yeah right.

He frowned and yanked the wet bangs that were hanging over his eyes. Blast it! He could see nothing, sense little and had water collecting in places he didn’t care to think about. Where the hell was that Turk?!

As if in answer to his mental query he suddenly heard what must have been bellowed as loud as possible by the person emitting it, but it came to him like a broken whisper.

“STRIFE! MOVE YOUR AS-!!!”

He didn’t pause for thought as his instincts took over. Releasing the reins he threw himself from Pheros and rolled as he hit the ground, ending in a crouch with sword drawn.

A huge shadow surged towards the now riderless chocobo and Pheros warked in increasing alarm as his rider had already dismounted in a most unorthodox fashion. It sidestepped the path of the shadow, which hissed in agitation. Wanting no part of this the chocobo took off at top speed back towards Midgar. The shadow stopped and it was now close enough for Cloud to read the intent in its slitted eyes.

Death.

He made a move to stand but his feet shot out from under him as the tail of the serpent he hadn’t seen coming robbed him of purchase. There was no time to curse as he fell backwards and his head made contact with the ground. His vision went black for a moment, but he blinked furiously and the chaotic sky returned. The Ultima sword was still gripped firmly in his right hand and he slashed blindly above him. There was another spitting hiss, but he didn’t make contact.

Suddenly the entire night sky seemed to light up as thousands of volts of electricity danced across the Zolom’s length. The effect was magnified by the rain and general wetness around them, but it seemed to have little effect on the serpent, while Cloud thought his teeth would rattle loose from the jolt. It was mad to use that kind of a weapon in a downpour! He quickly regained his feet and saw Reno striking at the serpent with a crazed look in his eyes and a manic grin. Again the earth exploded all around them in a spray of hot mud as the Turk turned on the juice. But as before it had little effect.

Gathering himself for a leap Cloud bunched the muscles in his legs and drove upward, sword held high overhead. He slashed viciously at the snake’s undulating body and was rewarded with a spurt of hot blood from the gash he had opened along its flank.

Some of it dotted his cheeks and he drew back to avoid being crushed as the Zolom began to writhe in agony.

It must have some kind of resistance to electricity, Reno thought as his second blast again had achieved only slight damage to the creature. With his other hand he drew the gun out and began shooting at the head, scoring hits around the mouth and one very close to an eye. To his left, and recovered from the fall, he watched Cloud leap at the snake with the sword. When he saw the bright red splash in widening patches around the thrashing snake he wanted to cheer. Dropping the spent cartridge he quickly loaded another and took aim again.

Cloud was having a merry time avoiding the tail, which whipped overhead and dropped randomly with enough force to crush a tank. He danced back out of reach again when the jaws snapped in his face, and did a complicated summersault to evade the next arc of the tail. As far as he could tell the Turk was still on his feet and doing moderate amounts of damage with his gun. It was amazing actually. To get a good shot off at a constantly striking snake was impressive, but he would choose a sword any day. Shifting his grip a bit, he readied himself and charged forward using the cross-cut technique. It would have worked splendidly, but at the moment the Zolom chose to use it’s own brand of magic.

A sound like a roaring train filled the area and Reno had to resist the urge to clap his hands over his ears. Instead he continued shooting and chanted quickly under his breath. A shimmering pyramid rose from the ground to enclose him within its protective walls. He chanted again, hoping it wasn’t too late for it, and a much larger pyramid swelled into shape around the Zolom. The roaring sound didn’t cease though. Instead it grew even more deafening and the pyramid began to change color. Reno swore and tried one last spell to enforce the weakened barrier. Too late this time the prison burst, spewing forth flame and green light. It razed the land around them, engulfing the entire area. Reno squinted his eyes and held an arm defensively in front of his face, but his own shield held firm. When the magical attack died out he dropped it immediately and lashed out with gun, this time taking out an eye in the process.

It hurt, but not like actual fire. Oh, the heat was there alright. It scorched and razed the nerves, but without much visible effect. Instead, the green flame licked at his exposed flesh sending a searing pain down the arm with scar, and calling forth more than physical pain. Memories roiled up inside of him, threatening to shut down conscious thought. He fought off the wave of disorientation with a snarl. No one! Never again would he be subject to those kind of games! Unconsciously he had already called for a cure level two,just to erase the residuals of the green flame, and brought his sword to bear. Advancing forward he narrowed his eyes and ignored it.

The snake was occupied with Reno, who faced it unflinchingly as it struck at him again and again. The Turk moved faster than the serpent, though it didn’t seem possible, and darted back and forth to positively hail it with bullets. Once or twice it came close and the thrust of its movement forced Reno to retreat and then regroup. Cloud could feel his knuckles go white on the sword handle. This wasn’t right. It shouldn’t be this hard to take down. Not with the weapons and training they had both had, and that spell it had cast… That was new too. No choice though. Something was definitely going to give and he didn’t intend it to be him. Catching Reno’s eye Cloud waved him back and pulled a small red orb from his pouch. It glowed dully in his gloved hand and he fitted it into an empty slot on the sword. Bowing his head he chanted softly and performed an intricate movement with the weapon. Sweeping it back, and then up, he raised a hand and pointed at the snake.

Bright glossy crystals, thousands of them like polished glass, burst forth and collected above the ground. The air suddenly seemed dryer and much, much colder. A blue haze formed into a roiling ball of energy, and when it too split into jagged chunks, a woman appeared. Her eyes, like the rest of her were blue. They swept chillingly over the battleground and fastened on the chosen target. She tossed her head and breathed ice crystals that joined the mass off frozen water around her. The serpent recoiled from the chill that now invaded its once humid area, and the one eye fixed on her as she hovered above. It hissed in low hateful tones. She gazed down on it dispassionately and with a flick of her delicate wrist sent the collected ball of ice hurtling towards the creature. The sound of the impact was immense and the ball fractured into jagged spears, pinning the monster beneath its weight and shredding flesh. A horrid smell like burnt tires filled the air and both men gagged noisily. Shiva never even blinked and simply returned back to her summon materia with the same chilly indifference of an icicle shattering the frozen surface of a lake.

Cloud murmured a short word of relief and he and Reno moved closer to survey the damage. The Zolom still twitched and hissed in its death throes. Reno nudged an exposed portion with his foot, and it lay still. Cloud frowned at it, and turned to Reno with exasperation darkening his features.

“What the hell were y-“

“Oh Sh*t!”

Reno leapt back and grabbed for his nightstick. The Zolom was spasming violently again and it dislodged a chuck that showered them with needles of ice. A larger portion broke free as it thrashed again, and Cloud disappeared in curtain of white, his blue eyes wide and startled.

Reno wiped furiously at his face when blood began dripping into his eyes and running down his cheeks. He could see Cloud, or at least the portion of him that wasn’t buried. The other man was still conscious, and he strained at the crushing weight of the ice. He seemed pinned beneath the load that had dropped on him, and struggling made no difference. At that instant the snake, sensing at least a partial victory, managed one last strike at the prey that now finally acted like one. Trapped and unable to save himself, Cloud could only bare his teeth and watch as the head came down.

C/R/A/C/K/L/E!!!

The Zolom jerked spasmatically as electricity coursed through its very core. Reno had charged the nightstick and drove it into one of the many wounds decorating the ravaged hide. He urged it deeper with all his strength and the hissing was overcome with the sizzling of charred flesh. With a sickening pop the length of the snake exploded, and yet again they were subject to a downpour, but this time it was smoking chunks of flesh. Reno choked on the acrid stench and released the nightstick to put a hand to his mouth. When he finally looked up he realized that it was no longer raining. Anything. The sky was a deepening blue now and the sun shone high overhead. Scrubbing the worst of the blood off his face from the dozen miniscule cuts, he trudged to where Cloud still lay half buried.

The other man sat stiffly, blinking the smoke from his watering eyes. He tried to move but found it difficult and not just a bit painful, so he stopped. As Reno approached he gazed at the Turk solemnly, and as seriously as one could buried in ice and wearing what he thought might be a piece of the Zolom for a hat.

“You look like shit,” the Turk commented, crouching on his heels.

“Don’t look so hot yourself,” Cloud noted as he took in the other mans charred clothing and bloodied face.

Reno shrugged. “I ain’t worried. It’s nothing serious.” “You on the other hand look to be in a spot of trouble. I wouldn’t want ya to think I don’t care or anything, but-“

“Reno?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut the hell up and dig me out.”

The Turk shrugged. “Just trying t’ make nice seeing as I saved your ass an all.”

Cloud sighed deeply, but Reno made no move to help. Instead he rocked back on his heels, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“What?!” Cloud practically shouted.

“I was just thinking,” Reno said.

“Must be hard.”

A red eyebrow rose, and if anything the grin spread wider. “I was just thinking, that even buried under half a ton of ice you’re still an asshole of epic proportions.”

“Gee, I guess that makes you a genius.”

“You know what your problem is Strife?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me go without hearing it?”

“Fuck no. Someone shoulda told you this ages ago. I’m sure at least one of your AVALANCHE buddies musta been sick of it. What your problem is, is that you seem to think everyone’s playin’ on your team.”

“What?”

“It’s a deferment thing. You should know that being in ShinRa once. Maybe not SOLDIER, but you were military.”

Cloud flinched at his words, but it was only apparent in the set of his jaw.

“You’re not everyone’s leader Strife,” Reno continued. “We don’t play nice, never have, but you seem to expect everyone to fall in line. You’re not a team player unless you’re in charge. You’re trying to control something you never even had a chance to understand. There’s something wrong with you too Strife. Maybe it ain’t visible, but you reek of doubt. There’s no peace for you after the war is there? Some of us just like to fight. Am I right?”

Cloud still said nothing, just stared at him balefully.

The smile disappeared from sight, but not because of the look Cloud was giving him. Reno narrowed his eyes and tapped the nightstick on his knee.

“You’re going to have more problems if you don’t accept that,” the Turk said.

He ran a long finger over one of the scars that adorned his cheeks.

“I did.”

“You know what Reno?”

“Mm?”

“Fuck you. You have no idea what my life has been like. You don’t know me, and you certainly have no right to judge whatever reasons govern the decisions I make. At least I’m facing them with more than a bottle of alcohol.”

The Turk’s smile returned, but it was nasty.

“Maybe I should just leave you here. You know, we never did finish our business in Midgar that day.”

Cloud felt like yelling, he really did, but at that time he was also feeling battered, bleeding, and just plain tired. Wearily he leaned his head against the ice that held him fast, letting the cool seep through his cheek and into the turmoil that was his brain.

Reno watched him carefully for a moment, the green eyes intent on the other man’s face. With a snort that sounded half laugh, half exhaustion, he stood and stretched, and tucking the nightstick back in its holster he began to shift the rubble around Cloud.

About a half hour later he had removed his jacket and worked without comment on the quickly diminishing pile. He was thankful for the sun melting it at the same time he was clearing it, but it was an odd contrast of cold and hot. His back, face and neck felt scorched by the relentless heat of a quickly ending midday, and his hands were red with a different kind of burn. Numb fingers grasped the edge of one particularly large piece and he heaved, the muscles straining in his shoulders and back. Cloud had ceased to even look at him during the process, and Reno felt driven only by the need to finish. With a grunt he flipped it over and Cloud could finally move.

He was lucky, Reno thought, eyeing the damage. At least the ice has served as a compress to help reduce the swelling and stop the bleeding. The left leg though…that was a mess. While it didn’t appear to be broken, ground meat might have fit the bill nicely. Cloud tried to stand, but of course it gave way and began oozing blood again. To his credit the ex-SOLDIER didn’t cry out, but his color swiftly dropped from white to green. Reno bent over and heaved him back up. He encircled the smaller man about the waist and half carried him clear of the mess. Cloud looked close to fainting.

“Full Cure!” The Turk called out. Light diffused the area and when it cleared Cloud could stand on his own.

The blond haired man pressed a hand to his forehead and licked his lips. He then sighed something, which sounded suspiciously like “thanks”.

Reno held a hand up to his ear. “What was that?” He asked sweetly.

Cloud opened his mouth, shut it, and nodded at the other man.

“Thank you.”

The first genuine smile he had ever seen Reno give, split the Turk’s face.

“You’re welcome. Now gimp your ass over here so we can get outta this sh*t hole.”

“And how do you plan to do that? Pheros will head for either the chocobo farm or Midgar, and yours took off too.”

Reno smiled again and brought two fingers to his lips. A shrill whistle, loud and piercing, filled the air.

“Any minute now,” he announced.

And so they waited. And waited some more.

Sprawled on a tree stump Reno puffed angrily on a cigarette. Cloud sat on a moss-encrusted log with his injured leg stretched out to rest on a rock. It would take a bit more than Restore materia to patch that up. Probably a couple of days even. He stared fixedly at the ground, ignoring the occasional twinges in his leg and arm, and thought briefly of a time almost a year ago when the lines between enemy and friend were a little clearer cut. Frowning at the white line on his arm, he almost jumped when a loud gurgle worked its way free of his stomach. He grimaced. It had been along time since breakfast.

Reno glanced up and echoed his inner thoughts.

Wrinkled his nose he said, “Man. Even though this place smells worse than a chocobo stall, I'm starving!”

“I could eat a certain black one right about now…” He added evilly with a small smile.

Cloud paused and an unidentifiable expression flitted across his face.

Reno looked back at him. “What? You got something in that pouch of yours?” He said hopefully.

Cloud shook his head, but he stood up and limped over to the decaying corpse of the Zolom. With a deft cut of his sword he sliced off a small portion of white meat. It was still hot to the touch.

Reno looked at him with something akin to incredulity.

“You’re not thinking…”

Giving him a toothy smile Cloud brought the piece to his mouth and ripped off a bite. Chewing it thoughtfully he added, “Tastes like chicken.”

The Turk wasn't convinced, but hungry nonetheless.

“Yeah? I dunno. Looks pretty iffy to me…”

Cloud shrugged and returned to his moldy seat. He took another bite and chewed it with a blissful expression on his face.

Reno looked from him to the Zolom, and then back again at the piece Cloud was currently devouring with what looked like extreme satisfaction. His mouth began watering of its own accord and he swallowed a bit roughly.

“I…ah… Like chicken you said?”

Cloud spared the time to nod between fist-sized bites.

Taking in a deep breath the Turk strolled over to the remains of the snake, hands shoved into deep pockets. He snuck a quick glance back at Cloud to make sure he wasn’t being put on, and knelt down to unsheathe one of his knives. Spinning nervously over his knuckles, the weapon flashed in the daylight. He bit his bottom lip in indecision. This was a snake. A rotten, skuzzy, scaly thing that had just tried to eat him. Its exposed flank steamed in the sun, producing waves of heat.

“ugh…” Was all he could think of to illustrate his feelings for the idea of putting that in his mouth. But, regardless of the many revolting images that sprang to mind, his stomach growled noisily.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” He muttered, and bent down to cut a piece free of the outer skin. Holding it delicately between the thumb and index finger he made a face.

Cloud was now watching him with a bemused expression.

He glared at the blond, and averting his eyes, nipped a small portion off the chunk.

He worked at it with his molars, grinding the soft meat into manageable parts. Swallowing with difficulty he shuddered and gripped the handle of the knife until his knuckles turned white.

“THAT,” he declared with a scowl, “Did NOT taste like chicken!!!”

Cloud’s wide grin said everything.

He stalked back to his tree stump and turned away from the laughter that rose merrily at his expense. Even as Cloud began hiccupping when it got to be too much for him, Reno was still holding possessively onto the meat. Studiously ignoring the sound of someone falling off their log he took another bite and muttered to himself about village idiots and several unpleasant ways to die in the wild.

And so they waited some more.

* * * * *

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