Nandemo yaro ze

AN: Now, I don't really like making prologues that much, because it sorta messes up everything with the chapter numbering and all, but a prologue really seemed to fit in here. So please, just bear with me. I don't know if other people have already written this kind of similar plot, but if there is, then tell me. Don't yell at me! I would gladly read it so that that story and this one would not be identical. Kapeesh?

Disclaimer: Last Order Final Fantasy VII is not mine. It was made by MAD HOUSE and Square Enix. Character designs are owned by Tetsuya Nomura. © All rights Reserved.

Now, without further ado, I give you…


Prologue

"--cackle-- The targets have passed point 48 just now."

-- The radio crackled and spited, its signal weaving its way through all the static.

"In addition, the bike used has been left behind because it ran out of gas." The reporter on the other line continued. "It seems they have hitchhiked in a truck and is now making their way towards the capital."

A heavy sigh was heard. "Alright. I'll be there shortly."

The Turk leader rubbed his temples with another sigh. He contemplated for a bit, his eyes looking at the Nibelheim report portfolio, staring intently at a photograph of a young blonde trooper. In a moment of silence one question kept running through his mind.

Are we planning to snatch their freedom away from them again?…

And with that he closes the portfolio, grabbed his coat from the back of his armchair and makes his way across the floor towards the door out of his large dark office. The eerie greenish Mako lights danced outside the large glass office windows as the reactors made a surge of energy. Silently he closes the door…

His question was never answered…

------

"Hey...what are you going to do once we reach Midguar?..."

Silence. That was all that greeted him.

The sun grew a blaze in the morning sky. It seemed that the night before was nothing but a mere dream… No. A nightmare. Now, all you could see were endless stretches of blue and not a cloud in sight. The floor underneath them vibrated as the truck that they were hitchhiking on drove across the bumpy rocky dessert. They drove past beautiful breathtaking sand dunes imitating haunting shapes and casting shadows across the dusty earth. But the scenery did nothing to ease his mood. The sun's rays seared his skin despite how early it was in the morning. Inwardly, he sighed before continuing his one-sided conversation.

"Well, first of all, we need to get some money, huh?" he said nonchalantly, cheerfully yet cockily. He casually leans against the hull and turns his head over to look back at the old man who was driving the said truck. "Say, pops," he called. "Do you know any business that I might be able to do?"

"What are you saying?" the old man said. For the first time he was actually grateful that he wasn't met by a deafening silence. "You need to try out everything while you're still young. Go through many hardships while you're still young, and find that path of yours."

He scoffed at that. What a vague answer. So much for asking…

"'Everything', so he says." He chided, patting a hand on his knee. "Not much help there, huh?..." he said as if his other companion would agree with him.

He thought for a moment, putting a thumb to his chin. The young mercenary regarded the sentiments that the old man had said to him, gathering his scattered ideas before coming up with a seemingly workable plan…. And soon enough, a light bulb was turned on in his head, just in time as they hit a particular bump on the road.

"Hey, wait a minute… Oh yeah, that's right!" he exclaimed. "I have a lot of knowledge and skills that other people don't have, right?" he said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "Alright, I've got it. I've made up my mind." He decided, slapping both his knees. "I'll open up a business that does everything!"

"Oi, were you even listening to anything that I've said?" the old man seemed indignant with the youth's enthusiasm.

The young man continued as if he hadn't heard anything. "Troublesome things, and dangerous things… I'm going to do everything depending upon the reward… I'm going to make a fortune!" he grinned and raised his fist into the air in excitement, feeling much chipper than he actually did the previous night.

Then, his hand slowly withdrew when he noticed the silent figure next to him. The half-unconscious body remained still; its blue eyes were clouded, lifeless and staring at nothing in particular. They were glowing an eerie shade of green and the body's hands remained limp on its sides. It hurt to know that this boy might never recover from this nightmare and would most probably be forced to live as a lifeless shell… Like a doll… a lifeless doll… a vegetable.

If only he were strong enough to protect him from this fate. If only that man did not exist…

Dark blue amber eyes softened with sadness at that revelation, internally cursing himself for being too weak. He should've been there. He should've been the one to save him from that demon, and not the other way around. He should've done his job. The SOLDIER scooched closer to the other body, looking closely at the blonde's soft pale skin and empty blue eyes. At this angle he seemed so fragile in this state, he thought. As if the boy was made out of porcelain that if he touched him he could break into a million pieces.

"Say Cloud...what are you going to do? ---" the SOLDIER asked softly to his silent companion. He, of course, was not expecting an answer from him, but he felt like he was doing the other a favor by treating him as a normal person.

"…" again, there was silence.

"Nah, I'm just kidding." He didn't wait for a reply and continued without permission. "I won't do a thing like abandon you." He said, a weak smile spreading on his lips. "We're friends, aren't we?"

And as the truck drove on through the desert and as the sun's rays poured down in on them, it was as if their future was now decided.

"We're going to open up a business that does everything. Do you understand, Cloud?"

He let the silence work it way to the other hazy mind to let everything sink in. The hum of the truck engine lulled him to a calm, his stupor was occasionally disturbed by particular high bumps… And before he could even realize, the city loomed before them, Mako lights dancing amidst the city walls in all of its grandeur, like a giant beckoning them to plunge into their unknown fates. Its modernized structures were like an alien city among the lifeless barren desert surrounding it.

Who knows what's in store for the two mercenaries now…?


AN: Urgh, did I mention that this is supposed to be a comedy? I didn't mean for it to be all angsty and stuff, but that's just the start. As many of you may have realized by now, I got most of the parts of the prologue from Last Order. And that ends there. I'm not taking anything from Last Order anymore as the story progresses. Starting from the next chapter, everything will be fiction… well, sorta.