The 11th story from my 100 stories challenge. Ages are based around 5, 13, 17 and 23. The part with Zack and Cloud, the age would be 18-19, I'm guessing.
.To. .be. .in. .SOLDIER.
"Zack, don't be out too long!" A young woman called out, watching her son run off into the distance.
"Okay!" He called out, and ran in-between the few trees that grew in Gongaga. The 5-year-old ran over the shrubs and giggled as he felt the summer air brush his cheek.
The young dark-haired boy found a stick and picked it up, and started swiping it around him. "I'm Zack, SOLDIER first class!" He squeaked in his tiny voice, running over a rock and standing tall. He jumped off the rock, landing in a stance he thought was rather heroic.
Zack stopped in his tracks when he saw a frog sitting atop a rock not unlike the one he just jumped off. "Hey there, little froggie…" he said in sing-song, walking right up to the slimy green frog. "I've never seen you around before!"
The frog was not as happy to see Zack, though, and wasn't actually your average frog. Sparking up magic like the monster's Zack had heard about, the frog struck him with a bout of poison.
"Ow!" Zack fell to the ground, the poison slowly depleting his energy. "You're a bad frog!" Dragging his stick behind him, Zack made his way back home, where his father gave him his first remedy. Zack made sure to always check what kind of frog he was looking at before stepping closer, a tip that would surely be helpful when he became a hero.
...
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Mum, for the millionth time, I'm positive! You don't have to worry about me!"
Zack's mother had a worried expression on her face. "Have you packed enough? What if you run out of potions?"
"C'mon, Mum, a future SOLDIER first class would be more careful than that!" Zack stood proudly, holding his sack of supplies over his shoulder.
"A SOLDIER first class would also be more careful when training with sticks," His father pointed out, pointing towards the band-aid hiding the scratch over his nose.
"H-Hey, they're called battle scars!" He quickly defended, "A normal trademark of a SOLDIER!"
His mother shook her head. "You're only thirteen, Zack… are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yeah," Zack nodded, smiling widely. "Don't worry, when I become a SOLDIER first class, I'll come back home and see you guys! And then I'll be a hero!"
His father smirked. "Good luck, son. I know you'll become a hero one day," He ruffled his son's hair, to which the boy would usually protest.
"Be safe," His mum leaned down to hug her son goodbye. "Try and contact us once in a while. And promise you'll come home to see us again soon."
"I promise," Zack smiled as his mother pulled away. He gave a wave to his parents before turning around. "The next time you see me, I'll be a SOLDIER first class!"
As Zack reached the edge of Gongaga, he turned around to look at his parents one last time. They smiled and waved, and Zack couldn't wait to see those smiles again when he returned.
...
"Zack, it's time for training." Angeal called out to the dark-haired teen.
"What? No assignments?" Zack whined, following his mentor to the training room.
"Being in SOLDIER isn't all about assignments," Angeal pointed out as he opened the door to the level 49 training room. "It's also about-"
"Honour, I know!" Zack sighed, trudging along with a heavy demeanour.
"Just because you hear it all the time doesn't mean you understand, Zack," Angeal said, with the tone of a wise man.
"Huh?" Zack looked puzzled, and Angeal waved his hand in acknowledgement.
"Hear and forget, see and remember. Do and understand."
"What are you on about, Angeal?" Zack scratched his spiky hair, confused from the SOLDIER first class's babbling.
"You'll never make first if you don't understand that, Zack." Angeal stated, then started up the training session.
After the not-so-successful session, Zack was left in the training room, with a broken sword and a frustrated mood.
"Zack," Angeal spoke as he walked past the younger man.
"Hm?"
"Embrace your dreams."
Zack cocked his head to one side. "Huh?"
"If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams… and honour." And with that he walked out.
Zack scratched his head. Again with the honour thing? What was Angeal talking about?
"Hear and forget…? See… and remember?" Leaving the training room deep in thought, Zack almost bumped into a fellow SOLDIER.
"Whoa! You alright there, Zack?" Kunsel, another SOLDIER second class, dodged Zack as he almost bumped into him.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Kunsel. Angeal said something to me that I don't get…"
"You know Angeal, he's always giving out advice. You'll understand it eventually." Kunsel nodded, walking off into the training room.
"Hey… advice, that's it… hear advice and forget it, see it and remember it… do the advice and understand it! I got it!"
Zack's cheering was heard by no one as he fist-pumped the air, and noticing this his cheeks turned a crimson red as he continued down the hall to find Angeal.
...
"Hey, Zack?"
Zack turned around to see Cloud staring at him with question. "When you first joined SOLDIER, what did it feel like?"
Zack mused his question for a second, his feet crunching over the snow beneath him. "What did it feel like? Well, I felt pretty accomplished."
Cloud nodded in agreement. His eyes looked faraway as he got lost in thought.
"Don't worry, Cloud. You'll join SOLDIER one day."
Cloud shuffled his feet, kicking at the snow. "I don't know... I think I'm too weak to join SOLDIER."
"Come on, Cloud! If your hometown was anything like mine, you're more than cut out for SOLDIER!"
"I guess..." Cloud shrugged.
"Don't give up, okay? Who knows, when you make it into SOLDIER, I might be your personal coach," Zack stopped to remember how Angeal taught him so many things. "But I won't give you as many lectures as my mentor did." He chuckled.
Cloud smiled at the older boy. "Thanks, Zack."
The two walked through the icey landscape, the snowflakes around them falling softly, like feathers falling from a pair of wings.
...
He sat on the side of the dirt road with the comatose Cloud. It wouldn't be long before the Shinra troupes found them, so Zack had to act soon. But somehow, he didn't want to leave just yet.
Zack looked over at Cloud. His eyes open but not seeing. Empty.
He sighed. "Am I… just not capable of saving anyone?"
Zack sat up, resting his arm on his knee. What would Angeal do? What would he say? Although he didn't always understand the advice he gave about honour and dreams, Zack sure missed his speeches.
If he were here right now, he'd know what to do.
Zack pulled out his sword from behind him. The Buster sword, Angeal's most prized possession.
Use brings about wear, tear, and rust. And that's a real waste.
Could he use this sword to get back to Midgar? Zack never underestimated the sword, but he somewhat doubted the user.
You're a little more important than my sword. But just a little.
Zack smiled. If Angeal were here right now, he'd probably tell him to get back into the battlefield. That as long as you have your honour and your dreams, a SOLDIER first class could do anything.
The scar on his face was proof of that.
Turning to Cloud, the 23-year-old ruffled his younger comrade's head. When this was all over, he and Cloud would go to Midgar together. And Aerith would be there…
Slipping the Buster Sword on his back, Zack stood and started walking, leaving Cloud behind.
It felt surreal that not long after that, Zack was surrounded by what seemed like millions of Shinra troupes, holding their guns up and ready to shoot. Their intentions were clear as they aimed straight at the dark-haired man, and he felt it quite odd to be on the opposing side of Shinra.
"Boy, oh boy," Zack shook his head. "The price of freedom is steep."
Carefully, he pulled his sword slowly in front of him, and held it up near his face.
"Embrace your dreams." Zack whispered. "And, whatever happens, protect your honour… AS SOLDIER!"
With Angeal's words behind him, Zack fell into the last battle he would ever fight.
I absolutely bawled like a baby in the ending to Crisis Core. Zack is one of my favourite characters. Hope you enjoyed this little drabble. Don't forget to review!