I've had this idea in my head for a few months. This is going to be my largest-scale fanfic yet; probably spanning upwards of 30 chapters. I hope you enjoy it and I appreciate all comments, positive or negative. :)


This Gun's For Hire

Zack leaned back against the run down building and exhaled a stream of gray smoke into the heavy night air with a sigh.

"Fuck," he muttered, rubbing his shoulder. This humidity made it ache where the sniper bullet had torn through nerves and bone. He supposed it always would.

He threw the cigarette – his last cigarette, and he couldn't afford to buy any more - on the ground, flattened it with the toe of his boot and strode into the tiny bar. He'd heard the place mentioned on the streets and her name…Tifa.

He wasn't even sure why he'd come and he wondered if it had been a good idea, as he seated himself at the end of the bar farthest away from the door, and removed the sunglasses he wore to hide the inhuman glow in his eyes.

The bar was mostly empty, seeing as it was just a few minutes before closing time and Tifa was behind the bar washing glasses. She didn't look much different than the last time he'd seen her, though she obviously looked older.

"Hey, babe," he said, "D'ya s'pose I could get a drink down here?"

She set the glass she'd been cleaning down and turned to him, looking like she wanted to beat the crap out of him. He was used to looks like that, so it didn't really phase him.

"Could you…" she started to say, frustration in her voice, but stopped when she saw him.

She walked over to him, slowly, brows furrowed. "…Zack?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "In the flesh."

She looked around, awkwardly and noticed some of the patrons watching them, then looked pointedly at the clock on the wall.

"Closing time!" she shouted.

The patrons grumbled and someone shouted something about it not being 2AM yet.

She glared at them. "I said it's closing time!"

He was amazed at how fast the bar emptied.

Tifa's gaze softened when she looked at him. He wasn't surprised, since he was sure he looked like hell compared to how he'd looked last time she'd seen him.

"Can I get you something?" she asked, softly.

"Give me the strongest thing you got."

"You got it," she said, reaching behind the bar for a glass.

Zack watched her as she poured his drink, trying to think of something to say. He felt awkward seeing someone he hadn't seen in years, someone who had basically said she hated him during their last meeting, someone who he'd essentially been responsible for injuring.

"You…look good," he said, at last, conscious of how idiotic that sounded.

Tifa set his drink down in front of him and smiled a little. "I wish I could say the same for you."

Zack chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, well, it's been a rough few years…"

"What happened to you?"

Zack downed half the glass, relishing the burning feeling of the alcohol as it ran down in throat. He coughed to clear his throat and then told her everything. How he and Cloud had woken up in the basement of the Shinra mansion and had become test subjects in another of Hojo's twisted experiments. He told her of their escape and the year they spent on the run from Shinra, about how he'd nearly been killed, but by the grace of some god had managed to get out in time.

Tifa stared at him for a moment after he finished, shock on her face.

"Is he…?" she said, finally, sounding as if she was afraid of what his answer would be.

Zack didn't even pretend not to know what she was asking. He downed the rest of his drink with a grimace in the hopes that it would ease the pain the thought of…him always elicited. It didn't.

"Yes," he answered, "If he wasn't, I wouldn't be here."

"Did you…" Tifa shook her head. "Nevermind. Talking about it must be hard for you."

"Heh…" Zack said, looking down at his glass, "Understatement of the year…"

"I'm sorry," Tifa said. She placed a gentle hand on his arm.

He forced himself to smile and looked up at her. "Don't worry about it."

"You said Cloud was here with you," Tifa said, withdrawing her hand. "Where is he?"

"I left him with a…friend."

-----

She smelled like flowers.

…Cloud.

Everyone kept calling him that. Was that his name? He couldn't remember.

She touched him on his arm. Her touch was gentle, like…

You should find yourself a nice girl.

"M..mother…?"

She laughed and suddenly he felt warm. He could feel her all around him.

It's time for you to come home.

Home? Where was that? Nibel…heim? Nibelheim…

My family! My hometown! Give them back!

Fire.

Blood.

Cold steel.

Laughter. Bitter, insane laughter.

Screaming…He was screaming and he couldn't stop…

He felt her arms around him and the warmth enveloped him.

It's alright, Cloud. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Come back now. Zack is waiting for you.

"Za..ck…?"

A smiling face.

So, you wanna be a SOLDIER?

Warm laughter.

You should see the look on your face!

Selfless friendship.

I'd never leave you behind.

"Zack…"

And he came to himself with a jolt.

He groaned. His head hurt, his body hurt, everything hurt.

"Cloud?"

He realized that someone was holding him. He moved away and turned.

"Aeris?" He remembered her vaguely from the few times he'd seen her, but why was she here?

He looked around. A church? Her church…Why was he here?

She smiled and threw her arms around him. "You're back!"

Cloud felt his face get hot. What in the world was going on? He was confused, very confused.

-----

"So that's the state of things," Zack said, "The kid's fucked up and I'm poor as dirt. This mercenary thing isn't working out too well…"

He'd thought it would've been easy. Lots of people had odd jobs that need doing, right? Wrong. He'd only had 1 job since they arrived and it wasn't enough to even buy food for a week.

"I may have a job for you." Tifa said.

Zack raised an eyebrow. "What kind of job?"

"We're trying to get back at Shinra for what they've done to this planet and to keep them from doing more harm," Tifa said.

"Who's 'we'?"

"We call ourselves AVALANCHE," Tifa explained, eyes lighting up with what looked like pride.

AVALANCHE. He'd heard about them on the news. They'd blown up one of the reactors the week before.

"You want me to become a terrorist."

"We're not terrorists!"

It would be great irony, the former second-in-command of Shinra's most elite joining a group that was against everything Shinra stood for. He'd always appreciated irony.

"I'll do it."