Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything FF7 related.
Author's Note: So... I entered this fanfic in a competition, recently. I'm wondering how it'll do. For now, it can enter my FFN archive XD Yet another Zack-centric oneshot from yours truly (seeing as the only three FF7 pieces I've written have been, oh, about Zack, etc...). I WILL WRITE A RENO ONESHOT/MULTICHAP ONE DAY. I SWEAR. Anyway, enjoy!
EDIT 7/08/2010: I WON! THIS FANFIC WON THE COMPETITION! ;_;
HERO
They called him Puppy.
He was born and raised in Gongaga, a village complete with its own burnt-out Mako Reactor, just south of the gargantuan amusement park known as the Golden Saucer. He had jet black hair – which was always spiked in some unusual way – a cheery, determined attitude, and a heart of gold. He also had piercing blue eyes, so fierce and bright. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to become a hero. He wanted to be like Sephiroth, a 1st Class SOLDIER, the elite group controlled by the Shinra Electric Power Company.
His name was Zack Fair.
He was quite ambitious, even from day one. He'd look up at his Mother and Father with a wide smile and declare that he was going to become as good as, or maybe even better than Sephiroth himself, because 'Sephiroth's got nothing on what I could be!'. He'd then crinkle his nose and nod, affirming this statement, before going back outside in their backyard to play with the large stick that his Father had found and polished for him. It was affectionately called 'Swordy Two'. Swordy One had splintered badly on a rock, but he still secretly kept it under his bed for a few years.
His parents and friends sometimes called him Zacky. He detested it.
His school life was okay – he had a few friends, none of which were close, his classes were alright and he was doing good in them, and he wasn't picked on badly. He was seen as sort of 'weird', considering how strong his desire to become a 1st Class SOLDIER was, and how ambitious in school he was, but he pinned it down to 'they just don't know what they want to do yet, and they're jealous that I do know already'. Whenever he was asked by the teachers what he wanted to be, he would lift his chin up and deliver the answer loud and proud, only to have stunned silence and then polite applause. Their shock didn't phase him. It never phased him. He took it as a compliment.
He called himself Warrior, but only in his own mind, and only to help him focus.
When the time came, though, he was off to achieve his dream at that young age, joining Shinra's military forces, training relentlessly night and day, and coming back to a cold bed, only to exhaustedly pass out and then wake up early the next morning to repeat the process. Within three or so years, he was a 2nd Class SOLDIER under Angeal Hewley, his mentor and friend. Angeal often went on about honour, and protecting one's dreams – Zack really took this to heart. He took it to heart and protected it, solidified it, ingrained it into his own morals and his overall sense of self – and headfirst, he would dive into battle and valiantly do his job. They were so demanding of him, and he merely took it in his stride with a large grin and an ambitious determination that was only beginning to be recognised by others.
This is where 'Puppy' entered – he eventually became Sir.
Years upon years of training, months upon months of devotion, weeks upon weeks of determination, Zack got there. He became that 1st Class SOLDIER, he became one of the few in the world to achieve such a title, and while he was proud, he wasn't sure if it was worth it. He'd lost 'so much… only to get to where I wanted to get to in such a short time'. Everyday, he would look up to the sky and clench his fists a little, wondering why his mentor went down the dark road after bathing in the light for so long – but the road wasn't all that dark. That mission to Modeoheim really changed him.
He then lost all names.
Terrible things happened. He was morally broken repeatedly, copy after copy after copy. He was thrown into so many missions, he was commanded to do so many things – this wasn't what he wanted to be. He didn't want to be a mindless puppet – he wanted to be a hero, he wanted to be someone that people could look up to and go 'that's Zack Fair for you'. A hero by the people, from the people and for the people – not a slave by the company. And then to top it all off… he was betrayed by the man who drove his dreams forward – Sephiroth.
He then was dubbed Experiment and Target.
Professor Hojo and his sick games… All of the experiments that he went through, for four years, for no reason – that was a real kick in the teeth. He was awakened, he fought his way out, and he took his friend with him, that young kid with the spiky blond hair and the faraway stare. Zack dragged his Mako-addicted body everywhere, anywhere just to escape Shinra's eyes. Sometimes he was helped, other times he was left alone, but most times he was hindered – and despite such odds, he kept fighting. He never gave up. He never gave in. He never, ever lost hope, even when the situation looked dire, desperate and dismal.
He was then pronounced dead. Terminated.
Thousands of men and machines – he took them all down like a 1st Class SOLDIER should, only to be brought down in a rain of bullets, so close yet so far from the woman he loved. So close yet so far from the target he wanted to get to – Midgar, where his new life would've been waiting for him. And like Angeal before him, he lifted up the Buster Sword and gave it to that kid – his living legacy. The one that still lived and breathed, only just having woken up out of his comatose state.
That kid called him Zack.
Just 'Zack'. Never Puppy, never Mr Fair, never sir, because 'I hate it when they do that! But… Well… What can I expect?'. Zack really looked after the kid – they were both country boys after all and had so much in common. They both liked chocobos and watching the stars, and they both hated those awkward moments when you were talking about someone you didn't like, and then they were suddenly behind you. They also shared a fondness in their iconic visualisation of Sephiroth.
That kid called him Amazing.
The drive and determination he had to get through those missions and his personal discomforts really amazed him. He never let it bring him down – he just kept his chin up and kept pushing forward, a drive that the blond really admired. He was beginning to desert Sephiroth for Zack – to desert what made him join Shinra in the first place for something truly remarkable and unique in that day and age. And even during the Nibelheim incident, though sickened and infuriated by what was going on, he never let the anger overwhelm him – that kid, though, did get overwhelmed.
That kid called him Brave.
Through those dark times in those tubes and right up until the moment of his death, although he could never move or never respond, he could hear every single word, and he appreciated it. He could hear Zack babble on about his life in the attempt to keep himself cheery and keep his accomplice alive and not dead. He could hear Zack babble about how 'deceiving you are. I mean, you look so damn thin, but you know something, Cloud? You're actually pretty heavy!'. He could hear Zack ponder the meaning of existence with him sometimes, he could hear Zack talk about his girlfriend, he could hear Zack talk about everything, just sharing his memories with him until Shinra destroyed him and, as a result, forced that kid to snap out of his Mako-induced state.
That kid called him Friend.
Though long gone, he did take up the Buster Sword and trudged his way down to Midgar to fulfil what Zack could no longer continue to do after all of those years – to work as that mercenary, to be that spectacular man, to be the one who destroyed Sephiroth entirely, to be that person who brought about the destruction – or rebuilding, rather – of the tyrannical Shinra. To be that person that children looked up to and say 'I want to be just like him', because he represented everything good that ever set foot on the Planet. All in his memory. All in his honour. All for his dreams.
Zack… He had a lot of names. From them and from me.
Swiftly brushing blond hair from my eyes, I lowered myself onto the ground where small, yellow flowers began to sprout, from the cliff where a hero began his journey, and where the downfall of other men began. Where one civilisation fell in favour of another, better one… all because of Zack. Because of his ambitions.
They called him Puppy… but I called him Hero.