A/N: This idea sorta came to me while playing New Game+ in Crisis Core. A what if? question. What if Zack Fair had a brother? I know it sounds way too cliche but there's a twist in this plot, however I'm not going to spoil it...
Zack: AWWWWW! Why not?! I wanna know!
Me: rolls eyes Shut up puppy...
Zack: puppy dog eyes
Project ANGELUS
Prologue
Dealing with terrorists was never one of Ryker's best interests but an order from the Shinra army was an order. The few SOLDIER operatives that were left after Lazard and Zack dissappeared were all that was left and rumor had it that the few left were to be transferred to a new operative group supposed to be called DeepGround. Ryker sighed, just thinking about it made him want to quit Shin-Ra even more.
Finally after three hours on the air they arrived at the sight where a gruesome fight had taken place not too long ago. The dead had already returned to the planet as Aerith used to say but something felt wrong to Ryker. Soon he found out why. He found SOLDIER dog tags on the ground belonging to one Zack Fair. "What the?!" he said backing away as he placed a hand to his tags. "Brother..."
The day that Zack Fair died was the day that Ryker quit SOLDIER and organized a group against Shin-Ra. It was only months later that they were caught and killed with the exception of Ryker, who had been shot in the chest and was near death. "So... This is former SOLDIER Ryker Fair, is it? Place him in Hojo's lab, he ought to survive Project Angelus... Besides... DeepGround could use another killer" said a voice though Ryker's sight was already blurry. He knew that freedom would be impossible now...
--
"And how is the specimen doing today?" said Hojo as he entered his lab. Chuckling as he carried a pen and what looked like a schedule.
"We've been trying to wake him up but for some reasn he's still in a come, sir" said one of the assistants.
"Bagh! That wouldn't surprise me considering how the Turks handled the situation... Basically for them alive means half-dead!" he said angered.
Everyday it was always the same. Checking numbers and how exactly his specimens were doing but... This one was special.
Project ANGELUS
DeepGround Assailant Code: 46728
Subject formely known as Ryker Fair
Formely of SOLDIER
Current status: Killed In Action
Current codition: Subject has been in a coma since recovery was established.
Observations: Subject has been infused with MAKO, S cells, and two other components, so far no degradation or severe mutations have been detected and thus far is a excellent specimen.
Truth was Ryker was Zack's brother. He had joined SOLDIER after his brother became 1st Class and he had moved up to 2nd when Zack was sent to Nibelheim, though unlike most of SOLDIER Ryker was never infused with MAKO. He never knew what had really happened to his big brother after the Nibelheim incident.
However, after four years without knowing from him the company had declared him dead and he believed it until that fateful day when he discovered his brother Zack's SOLDIER dog tags.
After giving them to Aerith for safekeeping he soon joined a rebel group against Shin-Ra but quickly they were shut down and killed. Ryker was just on the brink of death when they had brought him here for an experiment though now he was as good as dead without the MAKO tank he was in. Afterall, it was the only thing that could keep him alive after Hojo had messed with his DNA chain.
It seemed though as if he would never wake up until two years later after Shin-Ra fell, and Meteor almost destroyed the planet...
--
Sparks went off in a corner as a screen tuned on by itself and started to drain what seemed to be a tank. There was a person there and the only thing he could do was cough up the fluids as he took a breath of air as if it was for the first time in his life...
LunaOfTheBlackMoon: "Heavens above!" Singe squinted at the patches of fading blue sky that peeked through the thick branches of the trees above. The branches looked like claws, a skeletal cover over his head that barely let any light through, making the woods bellow cold and damp. A few lines of light escaped the glowing fading sun of a summer afternoon, all signs that darkness was about to breach through. He was angry, and the idea of spending another night in the gloomy forest wasn't making him feel any better. Two nights spent here already warned him of what would come after nightfall. Something wasn't right in this here forest, he was certain.