Why?

"I want you to…" he could barely breathe, let alone talk, his blood-soaked clothing stuck to his still body as he whispered to me. He lay still on the muddy ground, the clouds over head grey, after raining. My best friend was dying.

"You want me to," I came closer, listening to him as he coughed up blood.

"I want you to…………live." He summed up the strength to grab my head and pull me into an embrace, blood staining my face and hair.

"You want me to live," I said dumbly as I pulled away to look at him.

"I want you to live, to be the proof that I existed..…my dreams, my pride..…I give them to you," He smiled as he limply handed the sword to me, his sword, from his mentor, his idol; Angeal. I grabbed the sword quickly before the weight caught his hand. His eyes closed peacefully as my own started to cloud.

I could remember better times, when he had helped me practice and had been a kind soul when others had not. He had told me once that I should dream big and never give up. I believed him. I had always wanted to be a first class SOLDIER, like him, but it seemed like just a dream. Now that he was resting in peace, I didn't know what was going to happen. All the memories, all the times we shared, all the enemies we beat, all the games we played, all the songs we sang, everything rushed into thought at the same time and I began to weep. The tears burned down my face as I looked at my best friend…he was dead. I threw my head back and cried out. My lungs ached from not being used in a long time. It felt like my heart was breaking and aching all over, cracking from the stress of my overrun emotions. Emotions that hadn't been a part of me for a long time, emotions I hadn't used. I had loved him like a brother…and now my only connection to whom I really was had died on the outskirts of our destination. Died before we had truly become free…

When at last I opened my eyes, I wiped the drying blood from my face and whipped the tears away. I stood up, taking the sword in hand. It was too heavy to carry, so I dragged it. I walked away from him.

"Good Night…Zack."

..:'Who are you?' he had said to me, the snow whistling against the icicles above, and as I looked up for a split second, the village further up the ridge was visible. We were still laughing about the weather as the Turks and other officers trudged their way up the ridge behind us.

'I'm Cloud…Cloud Strife, From Nibelhiem," country people always recognized other country people. I smiled gently as I removed my helmet, I had made a friend.

'Cloud Strife from Nibelhiem huh? I knew you were a country boy from the way you talk about the weather…I'm a country boy too, from Gongaga… I am Zack Fair, 1st class SOLDIER; it's nice to meet you.' We shook hands and from that moment on, I knew things were going to be different.:..

I made my way to the city of Midgar, dragging the buster sword behind me as a rambled onward. It was a good two miles from where Zack had been murdered and where I had seen him die. As I began my journey, the sky started to clear and the sun appeared from behind a huge grey cloud. I smiled listlessly, knowing not why I did so. My eyes stung from being used for tears and my lungs burned from my scream. I ambled. I wanted to live; I wanted to live for him. He had always wanted to be a hero, so I would be it for him. All my concerns, memories, faults, rights, wrongs, doings and wishes…were all buried in my heart. From now on…I'm just a SOLDIER. I will live for you, my friend, until I achieve my purpose. A big, white feather flew past my face and caressed my cheek as I walked onward and I could swear I had heard a whisper.

"Looks like I became a hero after all, hmmm?"

The Beginning

The wind bristled along my hair and face as the train zoomed forward. Midgar trains had always been especially fast, the Mako made them super machines, capable of making trips much faster than anywhere else in the world. Wasn't I the lucky one? My stop was coming faster than I thought. I picked up my sword, ready for anything that should come my way. It's too bad that I had baggage…those people from AVALANCHE were just going to slow me down. I got ready to jump off the train; the Reactor was getting closer and closer. It'll be something new and interesting…blowing up that Reactor. Those people from AVALANCHE were quite the environmentalists. I was just in it for the money. I did have better reasons for being here, but I didn't remember what I had driven me to this city, what had made me come here. Funny, all I could remember was waking up outside the city walls, covered in someone else's blood. I could also recall a certain distaste for anything ShinRa…

The wind didn't bother me at all on top of the moving train, what bothered normal people, wouldn't bother me. I was different; I was trained to withstand the forces of nature. The train rocked as it began to slow down, the brakes whining against the tracks as we pulled into the Reactor 1 station. The people from AVALANCHE jumped off first, letting me make an intro as the guards ran toward us. Let the battle begin. I slashed them quickly, before they knew what hit them, and they fell without a word. We ran towards the entrance before more guards came.

A loud, black man led us to the entrance way. He showed his people the way in and stopped me before I could follow.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked me.

"I am Cloud Strife, former 1st class SOLDIER."