Hey all! This story takes place in the ff7 timeline but Zack survived his battle against the Shinra army. How would things change, relationships, friendships, and enemies. ZackxCloud, ZackXAerith CloudxTifa and many others! Thanks for reading! R&R please!
Zack opened his eyes slowly has he fought to inhale. The sky was dark gray, and rain poured from the heavens. Thunder was booming in the distance, it made the man flinch as it reminded him of the blasts of the battle previously fought. Zack grinded his teeth as he inhaled once more. He felt the warm stick fluid pour down the side of his face. The red fluid kept his body warm as it continually got colder by the second. The man looked to the sky once more. The rain reminded him of tears 'was the planet crying?' the man thought to himself. 'What happened?' The man asked to an invisible man.
Everything came rushing back to the man in an instant. .He remembered taking a deep breath and enjoying the fresh air of freedom but it was cut short as bullets flew overhead. Zack grunted in pain as he continued to recall. He laid Cloud against a boulder to hide him from the sea that was the Shinra army. Panic began to fill the man's slowly beating heart. 'Cloud! I hope he's safe! Please god just let him regain his strength! Let him run away!' Zack began to plea to the heavens.
His face began to feel warmth, it was not blood but tears. He was so worried about his friend, he was one of two people left on this planet that he truly cared about. Zack left all the air leave his blood filled lungs. "Aerith" the man said barely auditable. Tears poured down his face his cries made no sound. He did not want to die yet, he had so much more he wanted to accomplish, so many more feelings he wanted to have with Aerith. His thoughts were quickly interrupted as he saw a man with blond spikey hair and blue eyes looking down at him.
"Zzzz…aa..ck" The man said with great pain and fear in his voice.
Zack gasped as he looked at his friend. Relieve had filled his heart. "For…the both of us." Zack said to his friend as he grinded his teeth.
"Both of us?" Cloud looked at his friend.
Zack reached and grabbed his friend. He pulled Clouds head to his heart. "Your gunna live" The man said as he gasped for air. "for the both of us." Zack finished.
Cloud looked as his friend as he felt warmth of his best friends blood on his cheek. Cloud watched in horror as he saw life slipping away from his friends face. He could no longer look.
"My honor, my dreams…They're yours now." Zack said with authority as he pulled his humongous sword towards Cloud. Cloud lightly gripped the handle of the blade as it was forced into his hands by his friend. Zack's had fell to the ground, he no longer had the energy to move, to breath, to keep his eyes open.
Zack closed his eyes and smiled as he began to think of Aerith. His friends cries could no longer be heard, he no longer felt pain. He felt good; nothing would have made him happier than to die thinking about his love.
Zack felt his body being lifted from the ground as he felt two intrusions in his skin. He knew what they were, he couldn't mistake the feeling needles gave him. Zack smiled, 'Cloud must have gotten help, I'm gunna make it. Just wait for me Aerit..' Zack felt himself daze off.
Zack opened his eyes, everything was fuzzy. Joy began to overwhelm him, 'I'm alive! Fuck yeah!' But his joy quickly faded as his vision began to clear. He found himself in a very familiar place, looking outward from a glass prison. His eyes began to burn, everything he had gone through was for nothing. All the pain he felt…fear filled the man once more. He began looking around frantically searching for his spikey haired friend. He was nowhere to be seen, only large machines and scientists walking sporadically around the room. Zack looked down at his chest and his mouth dropped in awe. He looked at all the bullet wounds he had on his chest; every one of them had become a scar. Zack closed his eyes and remembered that day. Zack felt pain and anger fill his heart as he clenched his fists. He felt his strength begin to come back in a rush. Zack squeezed out a grin, he was getting the hell out of here. Zack punched the glass with all his might… 'FUCK!' Zack thought to himself as his punch didn't even make a noise as his fist hit the glass.
Zack knew he had to wait until his strength returned. 'This must be the first time I've been awake. Just relax Zack, everything will be fine. Just gather your strength and plan a way to get out of here.' The man thought to himself. Zack looked around at his surroundings hoping that he could figure out where he was to muster some kind of escape plan.
Zack looked at one of the scientists who walked by starring at his clipboard. Zack's eyes widened as he noticed the emblem on the mans lab coat. 'Shinra…why am I not surprised.' Zack thought to himself. Although being in Shinra's hands may have felt like bad news, but Zack knew it was good news. By the looks of the lab that surrounded him he could only be in one of two places. He was either in the Shinra's mansions basement or he was in… Hojo's lab in the Shinra building.
The name always gave Zack chills, ever since the first day he met the man. He remembered the day he had to protect the man when Wutai had attacked the Shinra building. His lab smelled like blood and mako at all times. Zack closed his eyes. He did not want to think of Hojo anymore than he wanted to, he rather think of Aerith. Zack felt the corner of his lip go upward. He couldn't wait to go find her, nothing would make him happier than to be in her arms. Zack's smile quickly faded. He knew once he had escaped that Shinra would hunt him down on every corner of the planet. He wouldn't be able to find piece…not until Shinra fell to it's knees. Or they had more interesting things to follow. Zack let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.
Zack rested for what felt like hours, his slumber was rudely awakened as explosions and gun fire erupted. Zack's mako eyes quickly tightened as his body began for combat out of instinct. The people in the lab began to scurry around with fear filling their faces.
"Shit! It's him!" One man screamed out.
'Him?' Zack thought to himself.
"That SOLDIER guy and the group of rebels." The same man continued to scream.
"Shit! Shinra really pissed off the wrong man this time! His sword is so huge! And that guy with the gun arm! They're fucking scary!" Another scientist said in a panic.
'Big sword…gun arm…what the hell is going on?' Zack pondered.
Zack's eyes focused as a familiar face had entered the room. He felt his fists tighten as he walked in the room. It was a side to the man that Zack had never seen before. The man looked angry with a dash of fear. Zack watched as a group of SOLDIER firsts entered the room.
'You've got to be kidding me… so this is my big chance to get the hell out of here and now I'm screwed. I know I don't have the energy to handle this kind of resistance. Great…'Zack closed his eyes once more. He needed to gather his strength, but he needed to listen to his surroundings.
"Kill anyone who comes in this door from this point on! I don't care if it' the President himself! Kill them! Got it? If we lose this specimen, I will see to it personally that you and your families will become my next subjects for…testing. Hahahaha!" Hojo said with a serious tone which was followed by an evil laugh.
Zack cringed at the sound of that laugh. He hated that man so much. Nothing could make him hate the man more.
"Do you understand?"Hojo barked.
"Yes sir!" The SOLDIER's said together.
"Sir! AVALANGE has entered the lab! They are ready to unlock the girl from the slums cell!" A infantrymen said as he sprinted into the room.
"What! Out of my way! Curse that spikey hair asshole!" Hojo said as he sprinted out of the lab.
'Girl form the Slums…who could possibly be of any interest of Shinra down there…No…not Aerith! Shit! She always did have the Turks looking after her! I got to get out of here!' Zack said as he began to rumble in his glass prison.
The scientists and SOLDIERs all turned toward Zack. "Sedate him" one of the scientists said coldly.
Zack felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. 'No I can't…fall…asleep…she needs..' Zack thought until he felt everything go blank.
Zack opened his eyes, everything was blurry. Everything had a faint shade of orange. Zack's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice.
"Everyone this way!" The blond Spikey man said as he held a girl in pinks hand.
'Cloud? ..Aerith!' Zack said to himself. He was sick of being in this tube. The mask on his face kept him from talking but it also kept him breathing. He wanted to take it off, but he would drown in the mako surrounding him.
Zack watched as the group ran right by him none of them noticing him. Zack felt his eyes burn. He was so close to her! Zack began to shake as his feelings began to over run him.
Zack opened his eyes as he heard something touch the glass. His eyes filled with more tears as he looked at a beautiful women. She had long dark brown hair and golden brown eyes. Her hand was on the glass, and she had tears in her eyes.
"Zaa..cck?" The women said with a heavy heart.
'Tifa! Help me please! Please!' Zack screamed in his mind. He put his hand against hers through the glass. His eyes met hers and pleaded for help.
Machines began to explode from the great heat of the flames that had consumed the lab. Tifa took a step back as she watched the flames get larger.
"Hey! There's one of the intruders! Grab her!" One of the SOLDIER firsts who were guarding the room yelled. Zack had hoped that they would have stayed distracted as Tifa helped him escape. Zack's heart sank. He couldn't let Tifa stay here to save him. She would be killed by the SOLDIERs before she even freed him.
Tifa's eyes met Zack's. She knew what they were screaming. Zack wanted her to run. Tears began to fill her eyes as she turned to run. Zack began to pound against the glass grabbing the attention of the SOLDIERs.
The leader of the group of SOLDIER firsts walked towards Zack's tube. "So this is the legendary Zack Fair? One of the strongest SOLDIERs to ever live huh? Second only to the great Sephiroth himself, how is he these days? Wait…he's dead. Look at you now Zack Fair, you are looking at the new general of SOLDIER. I could kill you and Sephiroth as if they were nothing. Hahaha…" The man laughed as his face froze.
"There you are Tifa! We were beginning to worry about you. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Cloud asked worried.
"It's nothing Cloud, I'm fine. Just getting emotional about this whole invasion thing." Tifa lied to Cloud. She wanted to tell the man more than anything, but she knew his fragile mind could not handle it right now.
She remembered the day that she found Cloud laying next to the train station on sector 7. He was just laying there with his eyes glazed over. She took him back to her bar and began to take care of him. Weeks went by and all he uttered was 'Zack' over and over. Once he finally snapped out of his daze she didn't have the heart to tell him, that his stories and memories were not his. She didn't want him to go back into his coma like state.
Tifa sighed and ran after the group. 'Zack stay alive please. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry.' Tifa thought as tears began to flow from her eyes once more.
Zack looked at The SOLDIER' face against the glass it was frozen in place. Zack looked down to see the glass cracking and a red hue at the point of the break. He didn't hesitate a second longer. He rammed his shoulder into the tube and it shattered in an instant. Zack fell onto the dead SOLDIER as glass and a wave of mako spilled onto the floor. Zack looked down at the man who had been stabbed in the stomach. Zack began to feel his adrenaline begin to pump. He stood up quickly and looked around to find his enemy. He looked around him, all the scientists lay dead in a pool of their own blood. Zack looked at the other two SOLDIER's who were both against the wall. Zack stumbled over prepared to fight.
"Shit! I guess I haven't walked in a while." Zack mumbled as he stumbled forward.
Zack's eyes widened as he saw the SOLDIER's both were dead with their swords in their chests holding them to the wall. "Who did this?" Zack felt a familiar chill run up his back.
He turned around to see a dark figure standing behind him. The figure walked forward towards Zack. The light from the fire made the man's features come into focus. His tall frame was covered in a long black coat. Long silver hair flowing as an explosion erupted in the back ground. Zack felt his heart pound. "How…you're…you're dead!" Zack screamed at the man.
"Hahaha I could say the same about you." The man said with a deep voice.
"But how?" Zack asked.
"How indeed. Zackary…please cover yourself. HAHAHA!" The man laughed ha he handed Zack a SOLDIER first uniform and a sword.
Zack felt his cheeks swell with embarrassment. He hadn't noticed that he was nude. "Um…thanks" Zack said as he began to put on the uniform.
"If I remember correctly you liked a heavy blade. Here, this is the heaviest blade Shinra carries. My apologies, it seems another has YOUR sword." Sephiroth said with a odd tone.
"Yeah…I saw." Zack said as he held his blade.
"What a great friend he must have been. He left you here to die, to be Hojo' pet." Sephiroth said as he paced back and forth in the room.
"It wasn't his fault. This place is on fire, there was a lot of smoke. And he was leading his group out of here. It wasn't his fault." Zack said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Are your certain of that? I saw how he held that women's hand…Didn't you have a women? Didn't she look a lot like her?" Sephiroth asked with a smirk on his face.
"Sephiroth, I can see what you're trying to do. He was just guiding her out of here. The buildings on fire for god's sake, why wouldn't he?" Zack said as anger began flow.
"Believe whatever you want to my friends. Now I must be off." Sephiroth said as he began to turn and leave.
"Sephiroth…why did you help me?" Zack asked.
"What, I can't help a friend in need? Unlike your other friends I could not bare to see you rot." Sephiroth said with a sting in his tone.
Zack just looked down at his reflection in his blade. "Thanks…Sephiroth." Zack said with sadness.
"You're welcome Zack. That is what friends are for, are they not? Anyways I must be off. Oh, a word of advice. I wouldn't go upstairs if I were you. There's no point in going up there. Your friends have already left you here. I don't want to see my friend being captured by Shinra once again…here take the freight elevator. I assume you remember where it is?" Sephiroth said with a grin as he tossed Zack a set of keys.
"Thanks, Sephiroth…" Zack replied confused.
"I am going to be visiting some friends in Kalm tomorrow, so if you need me, or are looking for a direction to go, head there my friend." Sephiroth said.
In an instant Sephiroth disappeared. Zack didn't hesitate he sprinted out the door of the lab. Zack ran at his top speed. "Damn! I hope I don't run into any problems, my body isn't right. Crap, I can't ever run fricken straight!" Zack cursed to himself.
He entered the elevator and inserted the key and turned it. He clicked the down arrow. Moments later the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Zack was ready for a fight at any moment, but that moment never came. He looked down on the ground as he ran, bodies everywhere. Zack frowned, many of the faces he had known at one point during his tour with Shinra. Zack gathered himself and sprinted out the front door. He ran and ran until he reached the train station.
"Mother, it looks like I found another puppet. This is going to be a lot easier than I thought. And it is going to be fun…" Sephiroth said to himself.
No games! Zack…power! Bend him…don't break him. Kill you, kill us! A voice yelled in Sephiroth's head.
"Mother…Don't you worry, I am the most powerful being on this planet. Soon this planet will be ours, to sail through the cosmos together!" Sephiroth said to nobody.
Zack stood in front of Aerith's house. It was very late in the morning and he needed to get some rest before he headed out to find his friends. Zack felt like he hadn't slept in years. He walked into the familiar house, and smiled he remembered memories of him and Aerith sitting on the couch as she forced him to watch her girly t.v shows. He loved to hold her in her arms. He smiled as he remembered the smell of her hair as he held her, god he loved her smell.
Zack walked into the kitchen hoping there was food in the fridge. He looked at the fridge and noticed a note from Aerith's mother
Hey Fuzzy bubble,
I Just wanted to let you know that I took Marlene to visit my cousin in Kalm. Don't worry we will be safe, and she is having a lot of fun! Tell her daddy that she misses him! I left food in the fridge for you and your friends if you guys come back. Your welcome to stay here as long as you like! I put extra blankets and pillows in the closet upstairs! Be sure to tell you bodyguard Cloud to take good care of you! His cute! He reminds me a lot of Zack for some reason, huh. Anyways stay safe! I love you!
Love mom
Zack frowned, "something must be going on between Cloud and Aerith..why else would her mom say that?" Zack's heart sank to his feet.
He walked over to the fridge and a smile instantly popped on his face. He pulled out a plate full of roast beef from the fridge. Elmyra always made the best roast, it was Zack's favorite. Zack quickly threw the plate in the microwave. He slammed the door shut and pressed the buttons anxiously.
"Come on! Come on! I'm so hungry! Well…3 minutes… what the hell am I going to do in three minutes? Um…TV!" Zack dove onto the couch and turned on the black box. Zack was saddened when the news was on, he was ready to change the channel when the broadcaster began to talk about AVALANGE.
"Today the rebel group AVALANGE attacked the Shinra Corporation building. The group lead by their merecinary leader, with blond Spiked hair. He is believed to have once been a member of SOLDIER…" The news tailed off as Zack's mind drifted elsewhere.
"That little fucker! He's living my life! He steals my girl and my life! Ugh! What am I gunna do?" Zack sighed as he laid down on the couch. The microwave beeped and Zack shot up and sprinted into the kitchen.
Zack crawled into Aerith's bed and hug her pillow tightly. He could smell he scent on her pillow and it made him smile. "Aerith just wait for me just a little longer please. I'm going to be there soon. I hope you still love me…" Zack Tailed off as he felt tears fall from his eyes. Zack sighed deeply as he cried himself to sleep.