A.N: This is my first time writing for this site. Usually my work is posted at another site under "Mibuwolf" but I thought I would give this site a shot...

Thank you to the amazing OmniStrife for beta-ing my work! You've done a beautiful job.

Without further ado, I give you the prologue. (Sorry about the lack of length. The official chapters will be infinitely longer.)

I never want to let you down.
Forgive me if I slip away.
All that I've known is lost and found.
I promise you I'll come back to you one day.

("February Song" by Josh Groban)

Prologue

The rain soaked the wasteland, drenching the once arid sand into mud. Collaterals from the battle scattered across the cliff: broken swords, deserted helmets, and fallen men. Body parts lay strewn across the blood-drenched ground and painted the cliffs a scene of death. The steely grey sky reached out and claimed the empty space above the chaos, flooding the world in a dreary light.

The blonde-haired man dragged himself across the muddy ground, scrambling for purchase on the slippery rocks. The mud soaked into his uniform, turning the once proud black cloth and metal into a dull grey. His body felt heavy and useless but none of that mattered at the moment. His whole world was narrowed to the scene directly in front of him.

Cerulean blue eyes locked onto the still form a few feet away. 'Why? Gaia…' His face crumpled and eyes filled with tears.

His heart was breaking as he struggled across the wide cliff. 'Please don't take him. Let him live.' His mind whispered its internal prayer to the heavens. 'I have to tell him... Gaia, I still need to tell him.'

"Zack." The name fell as a whisper off of his chapped lips, escaping into the dull roar of the rain. He struggled on his hands and knees across the narrow cliff. Each sharp rock seemed to dig into the pale flesh of his palms, shredding the skin.

Pulling himself the rest of the way, he loomed above the fallen soldier. Zack's brilliant blue-green eyes stared into the sky, seeing nothing.

Blood. There was so much blood. It seeped out from around the man's still body, mixing in with the mud and rainwater. Black hair lay in matted, soaked strands against a pale face.

Dirt and blood streaked Zack's face, hiding the small scar on the lower right cheek. His black eyebrows were frozen into a look pain over empty eyes.

Cloud's eyes searched over the man's body, desperately. There was a heart wrenching second where the SOLDIER remained frozen and then, as if sensing light, a spark ignited in his eyes.

Cold-purpled lips curled up into a soft smile, lighting up his face. "Cloud." His expression was grateful. Laugh lines etched the corners of his eyes.

"You're here…" His voice, though still the same lighted-hearted tone Cloud remembered, seemed to falter off. Tightening a gloved hand on the sword still clasped loosely in its grip, the dying man sought an elusive comfort.

The weight of the world lifted off of the blonde's armored shoulders as he stared down in relief at his best friend. "I'll always be here." Cloud echoed, his eyes moving desperately over the planes of Zack's face.

"You're safe. I-I'm…glad. You are…" Zack paused, small shivers wracking his body. He tried to lift his body up but fell back onto the ground, the mud splattering. Each dirty droplet created a spiral pattern on the ground. Breath hitched in the man's throat.

"I am…?" Cloud urged him on. He shook with the knowledge that he would soon lose the one person he loved forever. There was nothing he could do to stop it and he was falling apart.

The fallen SOLDIER gave up words and reached out a battered arm for his friend. His hand latched onto the back of his head and pulled him down, allowing the blonde warrior to bury his face in his armor.

"Live," Zack rasped out, his fingers intertwining into the soaked strands of blonde hair. "You're the evidence that I lived."

Cloud inhaled Zack's scent, memorizing it. He could feel the frantic throb of his heart through the soaked armor. The rhythm soothed him, calling to a broken part of his spirit. If only there was a way he could shed his very skin and sink into Zack. He wanted to burrow deep next to the warrior and never leave.

Zack's arm fell uselessly by his side. Cloud raised his head, finally, uncaring that the man's blood coated his face; a tribute to his secret love. He stared down for a moment at the SOLDIER's face, his own blue eyes etched with pain and understanding.

Zack caught the blonde's dark look and smiled once more before turning his attention to his sword. He lifted the massive blade, its metallic surface rusted with dried flakes of gore. Water trailed down in rivulets from the giant weapon, dampening the leather of his glove. "My life and my dreams," he started, turning his gaze back to Cloud.

Placing the toughened hilt of the sword in Cloud's hands, he pushed the rest of the blade toward him. "Have them all."

Lowering himself back onto the soaked ground, his expression was hesitant.

Cloud grasped the weapon in both of his hands, bringing the hilt close to his chest. "I am the evidence that you lived." His voice broke and the tears he had tried so diligently to hold back broke free. Why? Why did things have to turn out so horribly wrong?

The fallen SOLDIER's expression melted away into one of relief. Full lips twisted into a soft smile and his eyelids slid shut. There was no longer pain on his handsome features. The once scrunched eyebrows had smoothed out into two fine, coal-black arches. The corners of his mouth curved upward in a gentle smile, offering Cloud one final gift. Even the small cross-shaped scar on his cheek seemed to have faded.

Zack was dead.

The rain poured down harder from a wounded sky, like blood after a battle. It was if it thought it could wash the world clean. As if it thought it could take all of the pain and all of the sadness, and let it drown in the purity of itself. But, in the end, rain mixed with dirt is still mud. Wasn't that right?

Cloud's breath exhaled into sobs and he lifted his face toward the sky, allowing the rain to beat down upon his heated flesh. The line between his tears and the sky's lifeblood was meshed, one flowing into the other; much like his and Zack's lives should have been. He wanted to yell and rip at the very sky. Why?!

The pain and sadness proved too much for him to keep locked inside. Cloud screamed. The sound echoed along the rocky cliff and into the valley far below. It flowed into the cold caverns and out between the craggy surface of a boulder, finally reaching the sky itself. The screams eventually faded into wails and the wails into an empty silence.

'Zack… Zack… Zack!' The name repeated like a mantra inside his head, pounding at his brain and breaking his heart.

"I love you! Don't leave me, please! I love you so much…" He voice faded into small whimpers. His hands reached up to his cheeks and dug their nails in. Blood trickled down the exposed flesh, trailing its way to his lips. It stung, bringing him an odd sense of relief. Pain was good.

Cloud stayed locked in that pose for a while, his face carved with disbelief. All of the things he should have told the man lying dead at his side… Those three words that seemed so frozen inside of him before now wanted to escape and never cease. Would the world really care if he were to follow this beautiful man into the Lifestream?

As if answering his unspoken question, the rain finally slowed and then stopped. Delicate streams of light escaped through the easing clouds and fell down onto the earth below. The cliffs illuminated with a beautiful radiance. The pale light coated the most gruesome sights in a filmy layer of ethereal splendor. A rainbow…

The blood on Cloud's face rinsed away, dulling the hurt for a moment. He lowered his tear-swollen blue eyes to the ground and focused on his departed soul mate's body.

The sun warmed Zack's skin, causing his lifeless body to glow in a pale gleam. The light ensconced him in an array of pinks, golds, and blues, giving the hard-edged soldier a soft appearance. It was the Planet's tribute to a good man.

The valley filled with the deep, resonating sound of Zack's voice. It echoed stronger in death than it had been in the last moments of his life. "It's okay, Cloud. Just close your eyes and you'll feel me. So long as you never forget me, I'll be here." The voice faded, the echo following soon after.

Was it his imagination?

A gentle ray of light beat down on Cloud's face. His eyes closed and he nodded. "I'll never forget. I swear it." He paused for a moment before struggling to his feet, bones and heart aching. The sword, being too heavy to lift on his own just yet, dragged in the dirt. "Good night."

His head tilted back and he offered the heavens one last look. His eyes filled with pain and the tears that no longer needed to fall. Lowering his head, he turned away; it was the hardest thing he had ever done.

The sword dragged behind him, leaving trails in the dirt as he stumbled away. Cloud paused once and spoke, as if in after thought. "I love you. Forever."

He started moving, dusty black boots falling heavily onto the earth. They imprinted the ground, leaving behind a fading legacy. His head filled with a dull roar; he failed to hear the soft thump of a faint heart beat.

It stuttered once before picking up strength, pounding out a loud and frantic rhythm. A pair of blue-green eyes flew open. Zack blinked once, clearing the blurriness from his vision before grinning. "You had better keep that promise, Cloud."

By then, Cloud was half way across the desert tundra.

TBC