Four years ago...

"Breathe..."

Zack's body floated effortlessly in a glass tube in the basement of Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. His body was engulfed in a greeni Slowly his limp form came to consciousness. "Move..."

Zack slowly opened his eyes. From the inside of his tube, he saw a man entering the room with what appeared to be a tray of food. He must have been Professer Hojo's assistant.

Zack sluggishly turned his head to his left. There Cloud floated in a tube similar to his own. He turned his head back to the assistant, who had just set the tray on the desk in front of the tubes.

"Today will be the day," Zack told himself. The man outside the tube pushed a button on the desk. Zack heard a barely audible click as the green liquid around him drained out of the bottom of the tube. Zack dropped approximately half a foot to the bottom of the tube, landing on both feet. Zack's head was tilted towards the ground. Hojo's assistant took a step towards Zack's tube and pushed another button on his capsule. The glass door in front of him slid open with a buzzing sound.

"Hey, this is your food," the assistant proclaimed. Zack's head tilted up an inch. His green Mako-infused eyes stared into the assistant's. The assistant jumped back with alarm as Zack raised his arm.

Zack's powerful fist met with the assistant's face. The man flew back against the desk, unconcious. Zack ran out of his tube, looking around for others. None could be found. He walked over to where Cloud was floating in his tube. Zack unlocked Cloud from his capsule prison. Cloud slumped to the floor. Zack crouched down and propped Cloud up against the tube. Zack got up and looked around the room again. There it was.

His tremendous buster sword was laying against a wall near the desk. The double edged sword had two materia slots in its gargantuan blade. Its wooden handle had the perfect grip for such a huge weapon.

Zack ran over and grabbed his buster sword and placed it on his back. He ran back over to Cloud, still lying against the tube. Zack crouched down to Cloud again and put Cloud's right arm over his shoulder. Cloud moaned slightly at this, and his legs dragged as Zack carried his friend up the winding staircase to the top of Shinra Mansion. The duo made their way out of Nibelheim; the townspeople paying them no heed.

Zack and Cloud didn't have to travel very far before they found a buggy someone had forgotten. Zack drove the buggy south over a small river to another continent. They continued south to the historical Cosmo Canyon. The two soldiers rested at the inn one night. As Zack lay in his bed and Cloud
doing the same, he thought about his future.

"Hey, Cloud?" Zack said. "What do ya think we should do? I mean, now that we're free."

Cloud just mumbled something.

"Hey, I know! My old girlfriend lives in Midgar! Let's go to Midgar. That ok, Cloud?"

Cloud was silent.

"Alright, whatever."

 

 

In the morning, Zack and Cloud took their buggy south again, passing by Zack's hometown of Gongaga. Zack didn't feel like talking to his family about what had happened just one year ago.

It seemed so long ago that the disaster happened. One year ago, to the day, Zack on one of his first major missions, was assigned to go to Nibelheim to investigate a disturbance near the Mako Reactor there. He was assigned to go with General Sephiroth, and two Shinra soldiers, including his best friend, Cloud Strife. He remembered being so excited about finally going on a mission together with the great Sephiroth. In training, the two were constantly being compared and Zack was considered Sephiroth's second in command of all SOLDIER. But on the outskirts of Nibelheim, a large dragon had attacked the dispatch truck. Zack and Sephiroth went out to attack the creature, but Sephiroth made short work of it. Zack had seen Sephiroth kill Wutai soldiers with relative ease, but he'd never seen anyone or anything kill such a deadly creature such as a dragon so quickly.

At Nibelheim, the group hired a local girl, Tifa Lockheart to help navigate into Mount Nibel, where the reactor was located. Cloud had often talked about this girl Tifa. Zack even found her attractive. But by the time the group arrived at the reactor, they had lost one of the soldiers when they had fallen from a broken bridge. Cloud was ordered to keep Tifa outside the reactor while Zack and Sephiroth investigated. Sephiroth found out how his fellow SOLDIER members were created and it drove him insane.

Sephiroth locked himself in the basement of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim for weeks. Finally Zack got Cloud to come with him to confront Sephiroth. Sephiroth claimed he was the ruler of the planet because he was part of some Jenova project. He burned down the entire town of Nibelheim and returned to the Mt. Nibel Mako Reactor where Jenova was being stored. Zack hunted Sephiroth down and confronted him alone. Sephiroth attacked Zack with his Masamune sword and Zack nearly died. Tifa came in shortly after finding her slain father. Sephiroth did the same to Tifa as he had did to Zack. Finally Cloud entered the reactor, also looking for Sephiroth. He found Zack and Tifa, barely alive. Zack told Cloud to kill Sephiroth with Zack's buster sword. At first Sephiroth ignored Cloud, but he killed Sephiroth as he attempted to escape with Jenova.

Cloud came back for Zack and Tifa. Tifa returned to the ashes of her home, but before Cloud could take Zack to safety, Professer Hojo arrived at Nibelheim to investigate. He found Cloud and Zack and took his SOLDIER specimens to the Shinra Mansion basement where he attempted to induce the two with extreme amounts of Mako energy. For a year the experiments lasted, but Hojo soon lost interest and returned to Shinra Headquarters in Midgar to begin work on a new experiment.

Then, just days ago, Zack finally escaped with Cloud. Now that they were free from Hojo's twisted experiments, the two could go where they pleased. Now it was off to Midgar.

 

 

Going past Gongaga, Zack and Cloud drove the buggy north to Costa Del Sol for a boat over to the Midgar continent. Sneaking onboard with Cloud, Zack hid with his comrade in the bottom of a cruise ship to Midgar. In the bottom of the ship in a guest room, Zack decided to remove Cloud's Shinra soldier garb with an outfit similar to his own.

"Oh, here!! Put on this," Zack said as he found Cloud's new outfit. "It smells a little, though. Don't complain."

Zack patted the semiconcious Cloud on the shoulder. "You look pretty good with that."

When the boat docked, the two left the ship before it returned back to the vacation paradise of Costa Del Sol.

Zack had decided to walk the rest of the way to Midgar, but decided differently when he saw a truck passing by. He flagged down the elderly man and he half-heartedly agreed to give the ex-soldiers a lift.

 

 

Within half an hour, the truck was on its way towards Midgar, carrying its soldier hitchhikers. The driver sat in the front seat of the truck, and Zack and Cloud were in the open cargo back of it. Since Cloud was only half concious and the man wasn't talking, Zack began to get bored and pace around the little space in the back of the truck. Impatient, Zack hit the back window of the truck and yelled at the driver.

"Yo! Old guy! We at Midgar yet?"

"Shaddup! You're lucky I even gave you a ride," the man replied. Zack sighed and went over to the side of the truck and leaned on the edges. He thought about the main reason he was going to Midgar. What would he do? Zack shook his head and stooped down beside Cloud.

"What're you gonna do once we get to Midgar?" Zack asked hopefully.

"........" Cloud was silent. Zack grinned and stood up.

"I know what I'm gonna do." Zack crossed his arms. "I got a place where I can crash for a while." Zack looked at the sky for a moment and thought, then a look of surprise crossed his face. "No wait, the mother lives there, too..." He scratched his head. "Guess that's out..." Zack sighed again and shook his head. Cloud didn't reply. Zack was quiet for a minute, then shook his head again.

"Yep... gotta change my plans!" Zack said. He went over to the other side of the truck and thought. "Hmm... No matter what I do, I need some money first..." Zack around to face Cloud.

"Hey, wanna start a business?" Zack asked. He pondered for a moment again. "But what could we do?" Zack crossed his arms.

"Hey, Cloud. Think there's anything I'd be good at?" Cloud didn't say anything and continued to stare at nothing. Zack smirked and turned to the man driving the truck.

"Hey old guy! What do you think I'd be good at?" Zack yelled. The older man turned his head to the right to speak. "What're you yappin' about? You're still young, ain't ya? Young folks should try everything!" Zack continued to stand and listen while the man turned his attention back to driving. "You gotta pay your dues while you're young. Go out and look for what you really want."

Zack was quiet for a second and then turned back to Cloud.
"Try everything..." Zack said under his breath, "That's easy for him to say..." Zack then began to pace around the back of the truck, seemingly deep in thought. Cloud payed him no attention. Then Zack suddenly jumped up and turned to Cloud.

"HEY! Of course!" Zack exclaimed. He took a step towards Cloud. "I got a lot of brains and skill that other guys don't!" Zack walked over to the back window again.

"That settles it!" Zack turned to Cloud. "I'm gonna become a
mercenary!" Zack chuckled to himself as the driver turned around with alarm. "Yeah! Thanks pops!" Zack said to the man. The driver shook his bald head. "Hey... didn't you even hear a word I said?" The man just sighed and continued to drive to Midgar. Zack took a few steps towards Cloud and spread his arms.

"Listen, I'm gonna become a mercenary and that's that." Zack went on. "Boring stuff, dangerous stuff, anything for money. I'm gonna be rich!" A huge grin spread across Zack's face and he looked down at Cloud. "So, Cloud? What are YOU gonna do?"

The driver shook his head. "No, wait, you got it all wrong." Cloud tried to speak. "U...uhhh......" Zack smiled and raised his arm. "Just kidding. I won't leave you hanging like that." Zack walked over to Cloud, crouched down beside him. "We're friends, right?" Cloud attempted to speak again, but nothing came past his lips. Zack put his arm around Cloud and bent his head. "Mercenaries, Cloud. That's what you and me are gonna be." Zack stood up. "Understand, Cloud?"

Cloud slowly turned his head and nodded. Zack returned the nod, smiled, and sat against the side of the truck.

 

 

In about an hour, the driver decided he had gone far enough. He stopped on the outskirts of Midgar and dropped off the pair of soldiers. After the man recieved half-hearted thanks and drove off towards Kalm, Zack put Cloud's arm over his shoulder and began the short walk towards Midgar.

"Being a Shinra Commander isn't what I thought it would be," Deron Kendrik thought to himself. His small squad of five Shinra soldiers had been tracking the escaped specimens from Nibelheim since Gongaga. Staying a safe distance behind, Kendrik had led his men after the two ex-Shinra soldiers. President Shinra and Professer Hojo themselves had ordered Commander Kendrik and his squad to follow and kill the two soldiers. One was one of the best
SOLDIER warriors the elite group had. The other was just another Shinra soldier in the countless troops of Shinra.

Kendrik had seen them sneak onboard the cruise ship Ferrion and he took his men onto the ship. He did not bother the specimens until the Ferrion came into a small fuel stop near Kalm. There he saw the duo sneak off the boat. Kendrik and his men followed them until he saw the pair hitchhike with an elderly Kalm citizen. He considered killing all three of them at once, but chose against it.

Fortunately, one of Kendrik's soldiers had a friend in Kalm who could allow them to "borrow" a car. With haste, Deron Kendrik and his soldiers piled into the car and drove towards Midgar, stopping when he saw the same truck from earlier stop as well. Kendrik and his men left the vehicle and tracked the soldiers on foot. Dark rain clouds had begun to form in the sky. "This will be a glorious day for the Shinra," Kendrik told himself. He saw his victims a few hundred yards ahead. He turned his head behind him and made a hand motion for his soldiers to fire their machine guns.

 

 

Zack carried Cloud over to a cliff overlooking Midgar, which was only a short walk past the hill. He had decided to take a short break before entering the city. Suddenly, Zack heard a round of gunshots being fired behind him. He dropped the unconcious Cloud onto the ground and turned around. A squad of Shinra soldiers and a commander were advancing towards him with great speed. One of the soldiers aimed their rifle at Zack again and fired. The bullets missed him completely. Zack drew his buster sword from his back and ran at the soldiers to meet them in combat.

Zack raised his blade when another soldier squeezed off a few bullets at him. The steel bullets ricocheted off his sword and hit the soldier in the chest. Zack swung his blade at the dying soldier and dismembered his head from the rest of his body. The commander pulled out a small pistol and fired a single shot at the mercenary. Zack spun 360 degrees and dodged the bullet.

Zack swung his sword at another soldier and cut his torso in two. Then, leaping high into the air, he cocked his sword behind his back. As he landed, he sliced the blade down onto one of the Shinra soldiers, performing the limit break known as Braver. The soldier perished immedietaly.

"There's only three more enemies left, and it looks like they're falling back," Zack said to himself. "I'll check on Cloud and then I'll finish 'em."

Zack, still carrying his buster sword, ran back to Cloud who was lying on the ground, the same as he had left him. He crouched down and examined his friend. No bullets seemed to have pierced his body.

Suddenly Zack felt a burning flame seep through his body as more gunshots were sounded from behind. Zack flew back a few feet from where Cloud was. He tried to move his body, but to no avail. His buster sword was lying about a foot away from his right arm. He saw the two Shinra soldiers and the commander run up to him. One of the soldiers aimed his weapon at Cloud, still lying in the dirt, and the other placed his gun barrel at Zack's head. The young Shinra commander stood at Zack's feet and glanced at the soldier. Zack's final thought was of Cloud, hoping he would survive. Zack would not. A single shot into Zack's head ended his life.

 

 

Cloud Strife opened his eyes after hearing gunshots. He was dropped onto the ground and he heard more fighting. Three slashes from a sword and a few gunshots were what he heard.

"I wish I could do something..." Cloud thought. He was too weak to even talk or move. Then Cloud heard the sound of footsteps running back towards him. Cloud felt a hand touch his body. More shots from a gun came closer and the hand was removed from him. Cloud moved his eyes up and saw his friend Zack go flying away from him and land on the ground. Two soldiers dressed in bright blue Shinra uniforms and a red-clad Shinra commander run up to Zack's unmoving body. One of the Shinra soldiers pointed his firearm at Zack's head while another ran up to Cloud. He closed his eyes as the soldier pointed his weapon at Cloud's seemingly lifeless form. The sound of gunshots rang through the valley. Cloud shuddered slightly, knowing he was about die.

A second or two passed and Cloud felt no pain. Then it hit him. The soldiers had just killed Zack. Cloud held back tears and continued to pretend to lie lifeless on the ground.

"What do you want to do with him?" the soldier nearest to Cloud said to his commander. Cloud couldn't hold back his voice anymore. He wanted to die. "...Ah...ughhhh....." Cloud tried to cry out. The commander walked up beside his soldier.

"...Forget it. Just leave him," the commander said. The Shinra commander moved his arm forward, signaling his men to move out. The commander walked away from the two lifeless forms with his duo of soldiers following close behind. Raindrops started to fall from the sky above.

Cloud began to shake uncontrollably. Tears streamed down the side of his face. When he was sure the Shinra soldiers had left, Cloud brought himself up onto his knees. He crawled a few feet over to where Zack lay. Blood poured out of bullet wounds on Zack's chest and head. His eyes were rolled into the back of Zack's head. Wet mud stained Zack's already dirty clothes.

Cloud lowered his head and started to sob. Moving his eyes to Zack's right, Cloud saw Zack's buster sword laying on the earth. Picking up the surprisingly light weapon, Cloud stared at the sword for a moment. With a cry of anguish, Cloud raised both arms to the sky, letting the raindrops fall onto his distraught face.