TRANSFORMATION

By WanderingQuill

Thanks to reviewer P for telling me to check out youtube. After watching the posted videos, this is my response to that heartaching last scene between Zack and Cloud.

WARNINGS: OOC?, pointless angst, gen

WWW

"Carry my dream . . . you are the proof my life . . . live my own share of life . . . become a great man . . . a great hero . . ."

The words echoed in my head as I stumbled away from Zack's corpse, pulling at his sword . . . Angeal's sword. My head felt cottony, strangely empty but photographic images of Zach-his blue eyes, his smile, his outstretched hands.

He was never supposed to die.

He was supposed to live. To become the greatest hero the world has ever seen.

He was never . . . supposed . . . to . . .

. . .

"Boy, are you awake?"

My head hurt. It hurt so bad that I moaned and curled into my side. My entire body felt as if it had been slammed against the ground repetitively. I blinked and rubbed my fingers against my crusty eyes. It hurt even to open them, the light painful as they penetrated. An old man's face filled his vision, wrinkled and frowning.

"Well, looks like you'll live anyway," the man said in a hoarse, smoky voice. He helped pull me up into a sitting position, and I gingerly looked around. I was in some kind of desert filled with rocks and half-dead shrubs. The man and two others were standing close to me, a dusty red pickup a short distance away.

"Where . . . where . . . am . . . I . . . ?" I whispered. Even my throat hurt—it felt dry and raspy. I licked my lips, my tongue feeling sandpapery and swollen.

"Backside of nowhere," scoffed one of the other men.

"Hush!" reprimanded the man who helped him. "You're several hours away from Midgar. We're just heading out to Costa del Sol ourselves. You want to come with us? We can drop you off at Midgar if you want."

Midgar? The name . . . the name didn't feel good. I'm not quite sure why, but I didn't want to go there. I shook my head.

"Alright then, why don't you come with us? You're better off away from Midgar right now anyway. Something big's gotten up those ShinRa assholes and the entire city's buzzing." The man spat on the ground opposite of me. I moved my shoes anyway, grimacing at the stiffness in my limbs. "When something stirs a hornet's nest, it's best to be as far away as possible. So what's your name, boy?"

Blue eyes. Thick, spiky hair. Bright smile. A hero. I looked and saw a massive sword lying a couple of feet away.

Zach.

My friend.

My dead hero.

My fellow SOLDIER.

"Cloud," I said, sounding the word out. It sounded right. "Cloud. Soldier First-Class."