Author's Note: I got a request a while back to write something with Cloud and Cissnei that is set during Crisis Core. Soemthing that shows their first meeting. It wasn't easy, but this is what I came up with - and as it happens it's going to have more than one chapter. Enjoy.

What Would Zack Do?

Chapter One

What would Zack do?

Cloud bit his lip, hand tightening around his standard issue broadsword. What would Zack do against an enemy clearly out of his league? What would Zack do if his mission were to simply to deliver a message to the base commander in Junon and then return promptly to Midgar? What would Zack do if, as he passed the marshes, he saw a civilian trapped by the Midgar Zolon?

What would Zack do?

Keep going? The mission was over. He wasn't tasked with fighting the Midgar Zolon. ShinRa didn't promise safety for travelers. Besides, anyone foolish enough to cross the marshes on foot deserved what she got. Zack would go, wouldn't he? Just return to Midgar. He'd once told Cloud that SOLDIER "couldn't save everyone" and "sometimes you have to walk away."

Cloud turned off the motor to the company motorcycle he was driving. Somehow his motion sickness never kicked in on a bike. He swung off, his booted feet splashing in the muck, sending reverberations to the sensitive Midgar Zolon.

The girl was about his age. Maybe a year or two older. She was wearing black pants and a white dress shirt that was stained with swamp water and pink blood. Her coppery curls were plastered to her skull, a tendril glued to her cheek. She was breathing heavily, down on one knee.

Cloud fumbled with his standard issue Bolt materia. After a few seconds, he felt the spell powering up. There was a shift, barely perceivable, in the air pressure. Then a flimsy burst of lighting blasted down on the Zolon.

The massive snake swung to face Cloud. Venom dripped from massive fangs. Cloud shifted his feet, eyeing it. There was a ripple in its scales. Cloud leapt back, narrowing avoiding certain death. He slashed at the snake, leaving a few broken scales for his effort. The Zolon roared and the next thing Cloud knew he was flying back, body skipping like a rock in the marsh water. He struggled back to his feet, grabbing a grenade from his belt and lobbing it at the Zolon. It was zipping through the swamp water with ease. The grenade bounced off its side, explosion sending swamp water and globs of mud everywhere.

The Zolon's mouth snapped toward him. He lifted his sword, just barely blocking. Another strike knocked his helmet off. Cloud heard a roar reverberating through the air. He didn't dare try and locate the source though. It was better to focus.

What would Zack do?

Probably be amazing and kill it in one blow. That's why he was in SOLDIER. But, dammit, Cloud would be there one day too. He'd be even greater than Sephiroth. He just had to survive this fight, get back to Midgar, train until he couldn't train anymore, and pass the SOLDIER entrance exam. He could still do it.

Still had to do it.

He blasted the Zolon with another Bolt spell. It roared, rearing back, body extending. It loomed twenty feet over his head, preparing to strike. Cloud's motorcycle zipped between him and the Zolon. "Get on," the girl he was trying to rescue ordered.

He didn't hesitate. Zack wouldn't be rescued by the girl because Zack would rescue the girl properly. But Cloud wasn't going to die here. He still had too much to do. He readied another spell, launching it at the Zolon.

For its part the Zolon pursued with full speed. Thankfully the girl knew how to drive and they were out of the marshes in no time. The Zolon gave up, turning away with a gleam in its eyes that said it would be back. The girl drove for another five or six miles, then pulled over and stumbled off the bike.

Cloud steadied the bike. "You okay, Miss?"

She grimaced, but didn't respond. He put the kickstand down, swinging off and walking toward her. She'd sat on a fallen log and was in the process of unbuttoning her shirt. "Aren't you a little short for a ShinRa trooper?"

He flushed. "I'm Cloud Strife. I-I . . . tried to rescue you."

She stole a quick glance at him. "Tried? I'm alive, aren't I? I guess that counts as a rescue." She pulled her shirt off, fingers ghosting over a nasty looking gash just below her black sports bra.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess. But you kinda saved me too." He wished he had his helmet to hide the pink tint to his cheeks.

"That just makes us even," she said. "Which suits me just fine. I'd hate to explain how I was indebted to some rookie trooper. Reno would never let me live it down."

Cloud clenched his hands into tight fists. "I'm not a rookie." He pulled a Hi-potion from his pouch and stalked the rest of the distance between them. "Here, you need this."

"And a remedy, if you got it," she agreed. She applied the hi-potion directly to the wound, rubbing it in.

Cloud knelt down, applying another potion quickly. "So . . . what brought you to the marshes?"

"Work."

"You work in the marshes?"

"No, I work with the Department of Administrative Research."

Cloud bit his lip to keep from saying something stupid.

"You know who we are?"

"Turks," he said. "You scout for SOLDIER."

She looked as if she were going to say something else, but instead shrugged. "That's one thing we do, I guess." She put her shirt back on. "What are you doing in the marshes?"

"I . . . was on a mission," he said. "To Junon. On my way back, I saw that you were in trouble and thought I could help."

"You won't get anywhere playing hero," she said.

He flushed a darker shade of red. "Yeah, well, Sephiroth is a hero."

"Sephiroth is SOLDIER. He could kill that stupid snake in one blow."

Cloud lifted his chin. "I am going to be in SOLDIER too."

She finished buttoning her shirt. "Good luck with that, kid." She went back to the bike. "I could use a ride to Midgar, you know."

"Ahh . . . right." He hurried over to the bike, swinging on and starting the engine. She swung on behind him, arms wrapping around his waist. Cloud's heart started beating faster.

What would Zack do?

"Are we going sometime today?" she asked, voice holding back a biting impatience.

"Yeah . . ." Cloud pulled back onto the road, opening up the throttle. Without his helmet the wind stung at his eyes. He drove faster, squinting furiously and praying he wouldn't crash. Zack would have goggles to block the wind. A set for him and a set for the girl that Zack would have rescued.

Midgar loomed before him, vibrant green of the grasslands giving way to the hard, used and barren earth around the city. Cloud's shoulders were too tense. The dust got in his eyes, making them stream. He didn't see the ridge until they were over it, sailing through the air. Somehow he landed the bike without crashing it. They blasted the last couple of miles to the city gates with his heart lodged in his throat.

His passenger shouted something, her voice stolen by the wind. He stopped. "What was that, miss?"

"Use the South entrance," she said.

"Sure."

He directed the bike at more subdued speeds along the edge of the city. Then, once inside, he followed her directions to a quiet neighborhood in Sector 4.

"This is good," she said. "Stop here."

He stopped the bike. She swung off, arms crossing casually. "I guess this is where we part ways."

"Do you . . . live here?" Cloud asked softly. They looked like they were in a residential zone.

She shook her head. "Not even close." She turned, waving casually over her shoulder. "See you in SOLDIER, right? That's where you're heading, right?" She glanced over her shoulder. "Maybe you can save me for real sometime."

Cloud nodded. "Sure."

She headed up a set of stone steps, pausing and messing with the lock for a second. Then the door opened and she stepped in.

Cloud walked back to the motorcycle, trying to figure out what to do next. Because he was overdue now and his commander was probably going to make him scrub the toilets with a washcloth. Or make him do squats until he puked and fainted. Not necessarily in that order.

He swung one leg over. Zack would tell him to hope for the squats. At least they doubled as punishment and training. He was just about to pull away when he heard gunfire from inside the house the girl went into. He felt his blood run cold.

What would Zack do?