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Buster slips out of his grasp before Zack's even really aware he's dropped his weapon.
His lungs are burning and he hits the ground with a pained grunt. He's too exhausted to think - to move - without his sword to keep him upright. But he can't afford to waste anymore time laying there. Not when his precious cargo has been left to elements as long as he has. Cloud is helpless and alone.
He has to get up.
Cloud needs him.
He's already failed him once, he can't again, not ever again. His arms tremble in protest as he pushes himself up and Zack notices the footsteps coming at him way too late. A pair of infantry issue boots move into his line of sight. He looks up. Staring straight into the open muzzle of a gun. Zack's heart lurches into his throat. He breaks into a cold sweat. He's going to die.
Despair almost chokes him. His eyes flutter closed. He was so close. Midgar was looming in the distance, near close enough to touch, they were almost there. But, like always, he came up short. He failed. Like he has time and time again. It's a bitter pill to swallow. He got this far and none of it mattered. He doesn't want to die but at this point he doesn't even care about himself, all he can think about is Cloud. His own death will be mercifully quick, but Cloud's? Dehydration is a slow killer and this infantry prick won't find him. Zack made sure to hide him well.
The trooper laughs under his breath and Zack hears the gun's safety click off.
He braces. As prepared as he'll ever be for the pain he knows is coming. He curls his fingers into the sand. Takes a final deep breath.
Then there's the sound of a second pair of boots on sand and a hoarse yell. Zack's eyes fly open just in time to see Cloud barrel into the infantryman. They both hit the ground in a puff of dust. The gun bounces off to the side - well out of reach. His body is aching but Zack tries to shove himself up any way. His heart is about to pound out of his chest. Cloud has the other man pinned but it's obvious he's still unco-ordinated. Infantry's hand darts to his side and Zack screams the moment Cloud cries out in pain as a knife drives into his forearm. But all that does is make Cloud angry. He rears back, glowing eyes (Mako. He has Mako eyes. He shouldn't be surprised but Zack wants to cry at the sight of them) burning with rage, his uninjured arm lifts and comes down with all the force of a freight train on his enemy's head. The infantryman's skull explodes into a gorey mess of bone fragments, helmet bits, and crushed brains.
Zack blinks through the haze of exhaustion and shock. All he can hear is Cloud's labored breathing. Zack watches his shoulders heave, blood is splattered over his face, and he can't make a connection between the shy young trooper he met so many years ago and this blood stained raging mako eyed man infront of him. He wanted to protect Cloud from the horrors of SOLDIER. Cloud deserved better than SOLDIER. But, now the monster's den has swallowed him whole. And it's all Zack's fault. Everything that made him monstrous and he couldn't even protect his best friend - his little brother - he'd had to rely on him to save his ass back in Nibelheim, to stop Sephiroth. Some hero he was. He was a joke.
Cloud pulls his injured arm in close to his stomach with a pointed sniffle and that snaps Zack out of his mini pity party. It's his fifth wind of the day but he gets up on his feet and stumbles over. He can't fix the past four years, but this? He can fix this.
Zack lands on his knees in front of Cloud. Watery aquamarine flicks up to his face and his heart breaks. He grabs Cloud by the suspender and tugs him against his chest, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"I've got you. It's ok." Zack whispers, tucking Cloud's face against his shoulder and running his fingers through his feathery soft hair. The motion is grounding as a swell of emotion threatens to drown him.
Cloud shoves himself closer, his sniffles morphing into fullbody sobs as he clings onto Zack's sweater.
"Everything's gonna be ok, Cloud. I promise."
And Zack's not sure if he's talking to Cloud or himself at this point but, he doesn't care. Cloud's awake now, they're alive, and the army isn't. They can figure it all out later. Right now, Cloud needs him. And that's all that matters.