Just my first attempt on a one-shot. This is based on the final scene of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy with my own personal touch to it. I wanted to write it because I had just finished the game today and I could not get that scene out of my head. It was so strong that I actually cried. Note that I did all this in one day because I did not want to have that scene in my head when I went to bed. Don't want to get a nightmare where I am Zack and am getting shot by all of the Shinra army. (although that would be secretly cool) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

p.s.

I'm not done with this one-shot yet. I just decided to give this piece two different endings. Hope you like this one! Please read and review.

I do not know how, but I am somehow still standing. I am standing when I am supposed to be on the ground and bleeding my life away. However, I am still standing on legs that threaten to give away at any time. Legs that have been punctured with wounds and forced the muscles to spasm in pain.

"Give it up, monster!" one of the three Shinra men who had me cornered next to a cliff with my back towards my intended destination: Midgar. "You've obviously lost. Make it easier on yourself and allow us to put you down like the repulsive animal that you are!"

"Not while…I can still stand…on my own two feet!" I replied in the most rebellious voice I could muster as I tried to wipe some of the blood off of my face with my black glove. However, it came out sounding more like a hoarse whisper at best. I was so drained of my energy from my last battle with the huge flood of Shinra men that strain was also apparent in my words. That and I were practically wounded to the point where a regular person would have fallen to the ground dead. Thank god I was a member of SOLDIER. A lot of help that's going to do me now, though. The wounds from bullets and shell casings from copter missiles did little to keep me going, causing my black turtleneck shirt, vest, and pants to be stained a crimson red. "Besides, I have…a name, you know?"

"You're nothing but a pitiful monster lurking behind death's door," the second gun man replied in a tone that held ever the smallest amount of pity, like that's going to help my situation. "Monsters are not fit to be given a name to separate themselves from others. Besides, your body's practically battered to the point where it can't do what you want it to do. Even with Mako running through your veins, you can't possibly muster the strength to fight us back."

"You are only delaying the inevitable," the last man added calmly, though he kept a firm grip on his Shinra standard automatic rifle like the other two were doing. "Stop fighting and allow us to finally end your suffering."

"What suffering?" I panted in a cocky voice that certainly did not fit the situation. "I can hardly feel a thing. What's a little pain…when the enemy is still in front of you? Certainly…not the time…to give up, don't you think?"

"Have it your way, then," the first gun man replied as he readied his rifle. "Fire, men!"

All of a sudden, I heard a barrage of bullets flying out from the rifles and saw them headed towards me. With agility that I thought had long since faded away once I received my many wounds earlier, I dodged them and deflected them with my Buster Sword that I got from Angeal, lifting it with strength that was impossible to muster in my current sorry state. Of course, these choppy movements were short-lived as I felt my knees buckle from the intense movement. My arm muscles also seized up, voicing there protest from being severely overused while bullets and copter missile casings were embedded in them.

As my legs gave way, I managed to fall forward and onto my knees so I could still keep my eyes on the three in front of me. With the last of my arm strength, I plunged my sword into the barren soil that was native to Midgar and used it as a grip so I would not fall all the way forward. As a result, I was awkwardly slouching on my sword, depending on it to keep me upright for as long as I can. It also just happened that the three men stopped their firing, although temporary, that I am sure of. Even though I hate to admit it, even I know that my body has reached its limit. There's no denying it. I can not defend myself anymore. Once they fire their guns again, I will be a goner. I could only hope now that none of them saw Cloud during my hellish antics earlier. If they think that he's not here with me, then at least my death here would have been worth something. With him in his comatose state due to Mako intoxication, he will not survive their attacks.

"It looks like you're out of juice, monster," the first gun man said as I tried to ignore him. Instead, I tried to concentrate on the steady pit-patter sounds of my blood dripping onto the ground beneath me. What part of the body did the blood flow from? I did not know. Did I practically care at this point? Not particularly. I just wanted to distract myself from the gloating that the gun man was exuding. Anything to distract myself from my unavoidable death…

"My name…is Zack!" I exclaimed in that same hoarse whisper from earlier as I felt warm tears running down my cheeks, mingling with the streaks of blood that were already on my face. Funny, I thought that they would have turned cold by now. My body is sure starting to feel that way, slowly but surely. "I'm not a monster!"

"Trust me, you're as much as a monster as that inexperienced infantryman that you dragged along with you from that underground laboratory in Nibelheim," the second man stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Quite frankly, I don't know how you managed to make it all the way here while dragging him around with you. You should have just left him to die. Maybe then you wouldn't be in this predicament. After all, from what I heard, he's nothing but dead weight on your shoulders who can't even defend himself if the occasion called for it. He's nothing but a dead boy."

"Don't talk about Cloud like that!" I shouted as best I could in anger as I felt my eyes involuntarily twitch towards a natural stone pillar that was just behind the three Shinra men. "He's…not dead weight! He's my…best friend!"

"He's your best friend?" the third one asked with a crooked smile. "Really? I was under the impression when I knew you four years ago that you seemed to look at that boy more than just a best friend. Perhaps it was more like him being your boyfriend."

"Sh-shut up! Don't poke…fun at what I feel…is right or wrong. So what's it to you…if we're together?"

"He admits it!" the first man said cheerfully. "Not only are the two of them monsters, but this monster admits that he has an infatuation with another of his gender! This is exactly why we need to get rid of you and your 'monster boyfriend.' You terrorize our lands as a monster and you serve as a contagion of sorts upon our society, be you human or not."

"Contagion or not…, that still doesn't change the fact...that I love him!" I replied in the loudest voice I could muster, hoping that Cloud would hear it and know that I felt the same way before I died. "You may be able to…kill me off, but…you can't kill off…the love I feel…for him."

"Oh, how touching," I heard the second man reply sarcastically as he gave his version of a sarcastic clap by smacking the side of his rifle. "I didn't know that you were going to be performing some corny lines from some kind of corny soap opera. Then again, that's what's always made you who you were in Shinra. As much as I hate to say it, that would be the only thing that I would miss about you."

"I guess…I should be happy," I said as I felt myself slump further down my sword. I could feel myself start to lose my consciousness as the edges of my vision started to blacken.

"Enough, he's starting to grow unconscious," the third man speculated as I felt his eyes scan me. "I don't think we should give him a death that he can't feel."

"My thoughts exactly," the first man said as he cocked his rifle, the other two following suit. "As much as I would like to keep this conversation going, I'm afraid that this is where we are going to have to part ways. Ready your weapons, men!"

Upon hearing those words, I sucked in a sharp breath and prepared myself for what was to happen next. My life was about to end in just a few short seconds. For some strange reason, my mind started to shift through all of the memories of the people and friends that I knew. I did no know why, but I supposed that this was what people who were near death meant when they said they saw their life flashing before their eyes. All this time, I thought they were just trying to pull my leg. Apparently, they were right.

As the memories flashed through my head, I noticed that I was able to see and remember most of them, even though I only had less than a second to glimpse them. It was as though time around me was warped and was allowing me this short amount of solace in order to look at the memories dearest to me. I took advantage of it and delved through every memory I could remember and indulged myself in my personal solace for as long as I could.

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"Hey, Angeal!" I called out to my mentor who was sitting in the lounge area of the SOLDIER floor.

"Hello, little pup," Angeal said with a smile as he called me by my pet name, which I gave a small roll of my eyes at. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just finished with my training in the VT room," I answered as I plopped down on a comfortable sofa across from him. "I'm just here now to take a little break before heading to my room and…work on my papers," I said with a grimace.

"I see," he said with a small chuckle. "Zack, do you mind telling me what your dream in SOLDIER was again?"

"Sure, not a problem. It's to work my way up to SOLDIER, 1st Class and become a hero!"

"Hmm, still wanting to be a hero, huh? You always try to shoot for the unattainable goals."

"Hey, it's not unattainable, Angeal! I can become a hero if I only try my hardest."

"In that case, I'll tell you the same thing I've always told you; embrace your dreams, Zack. If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams. Most importantly, though, do not lose your pride and honor as a SOLDIER. No matter what happens, never let go of it…"

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"Sometimes, you have to destroy an entire place in order cover up any illegal activity that has its ties to Shinra," I heard Tseng say coolly as he was walking ahead of me. "We don't want these problems to come back and bite us in the future. It's part of the job as a Turk to make sure these things don't happen."

"But what about the villagers who live here and don't have anything to do with all this?" I asked, shocked that he was actually telling me these things in such a nonchalant tone. "What's going to happen to them?"

"If they choose to leave before initiate the destruction, then nothing," the Turk replied in that same calm, and somewhat annoying, tone. "If they wish to stay and face the disaster for themselves, then that is also their choice. It is not our responsibility to look after them when it comes to protecting the company name."

"So you're just going to abandon them and let them die?!" I shouted in disbelief. "Forget you! If you're not going at least try to warn the villagers, then I will!"

With that, I stormed off towards the direction of the village so I can warn them of the destruction. I did not care if I ended up getting in trouble later. It was better than just sitting back and doing nothing to save the villagers.

"Heh, don't ever lose that kind side of yours, Zack," I thought I heard Tseng say, but I was too fumed to have cared any less and continued to walk away.

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"Thanks for your help just now," a long brown haired woman thanked me as I drew my sword out from a machine that had decided to sneak up on her.

"No problem!" I answered with a smile. "Just doing my job here. Are you okay, though? Anything broken?"

"Nope, just fine," she replied as she gave herself a quick body check. "Thank you for your concern, Mr.…"

"Fair, Zack Fair, miss," I introduced myself with a smile as I held out a welcoming hand for her to shake. "You can just call me Zack, though."

"Alright then," she said with a matching smile as she warmly shook his hand. "My name is Cissnei. Thank you for your concern."

"No problem. No offense or anything, but you kind of look like one of the Turks with that suit and tie on you."

"It's kind of funny that you should say that, Zack," Cissnei said with a small chuckle hidden behind her hand. "It just so happens that I am a member of the Turks, albeit only for a short while."

"Huh, I guess I should have known better," I said with a smirk as I thought about how dumb I was just then. "Anyone who's dressed in a suit like that has to be a member of the Turks. I don't really see any other people wearing the kind of suits you guys wear."

"That's how we're able to distinguish one another outside of the office."

"I guess that makes a lot of sense. Anyway, I better get going. I still have a mission that I need to take care of."

"Alright, I hope we can see each other again soon and get to know each other better," she said as she began to walk to her intended destination. "Until next time, Zack."

"See you later, Cissnei," I waved goodbye to her as I continued along the street I was previously walking through.

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"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Zack?" a young girl with brown hair tied into a ponytail asked as she took a seat on a bench near a flower patch inside an abandoned church.

"Um, well," I said while scratching the back of my head in an embarrassed manner, obviously trying to stall so I could find a easy way to say what was on my mind, "It's kind of hard for me to say it, Aerith."

"Try to say it simply, then," Aerith replied with a soft smile as she tried to coax what I wanted to say out of me. "You know that you can tell me anything. After all, we're as close as brother and sister."

"Alright, here it goes," I said as I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm…in love with someone."

"Well, that's nice. It's strange but nice. I can't imagine you settling down for even one day for someone."

"Hey, that doesn't mean that I can't fall in love!"

"Oh, I was just teasing you. Anyway, who's the lucky person to get their hands on you?"

For a moment, I paused as I swallowed a lump that had made itself known in my throat. Another moment later, I opened my mouth and said, "He's one of the grunts who I'm training to become a SOLDIER."

"He, is it? Well, I can take a guess that you haven't told this person how you felt about him yet, right?"

"N-no."

"Well, don't worry about it. Don't push it. Just wait for the right time to present itself. When you feel its right, that's when you go tell him."

For a couple of seconds, there was complete silence between the two of us as I decided to take a seat next to Aerith. After a while, I opened my mouth and managed to say, "Thanks for telling me what to do…and for not judging me."

"You're welcome, Zack," she said as she gave me a loving and supportive hug. "Just remember, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to, okay?"

"Okay," I simply answered as I turned my head and gazed at the bed of flowers that she tended to in here.

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"Hello, sir!" I heard a familiar voice greet me from behind, a voice that I knew too well. Turning around, I confirmed my suspicions and saw a cadet with spiky blond hair looking right at me with a smile.

"H-hello, Cloud," I greeted back as I tried my best to hide the stutter I made. It was hard to do, though, since I was looking right at the person who either knowingly or unknowingly, I'm willing to bet on the latter, stole my heart. "What are you doing wandering around?"

"Oh, nothing much," Cloud said with a smile as he got to my side and we started walking together. "I was just getting some fresh air. How about you, sir? Did you have anything particular in mind to go to?"

"First off, how many times have I told you to just call me Zack, spiky? Secondly, I was actually thinking about going to visit you in your quarters."

"Really? What for, Zack?" the blond asked with obvious confusion written on his face.

God, he looks cute when he's confused, I thought as I tried to remember why I had wanted to visit him in the first place.

"Well," I said as I nervously fidgeted with my hands and tried to focus on something else other than his face. "I had something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"About what?"

"Well…, I was thinking about maybe discussing about your personal life a bit."

"My personal life?" Cloud asked as he gave me a weird look.

"Uh, yeah," I said as I mentally kicked myself for saying something as stupid as that. However, I had an idea that might help me get out of the small hole I dug myself. "It's just that…you seem a bit chipper than usual these past few days and I was wondering if something good has happened to you lately?"

"Oh, for a moment, I thought you were trying to stalk me or something like that," the blond said jokingly. "Was it really that noticeable?"

"Somewhat," I shrugged, relieved that my backup plan/hunch was correct. "You've been smiling quite a bit lately. So what's going on?"

"Well, I've been hanging around with this…guy lately," he started as he noticeably hesitated on the word "guy". "He kind of makes me feel all tingly inside whenever I'm near him. He always manages to make me smile, no matter how I'm feeling."

"Sounds like you've fallen hard for someone," I teased Cloud playfully until I noticed that his face still had some worry on it. "Just for the record, though, I don't care if you're gay." Which is a big plus for me! I mentally grinned. "I'm actually also the type of guy who prefers other guys, too."

"R-really?" Cloud asked in shock as if he did not believe me.

"Let's just keep it between ourselves, though. The last thing we want are rumors breathing down our backs. But anyway, who is this lucky guy that makes you happy?"

"Well," he said in a shy tone as he let a small grin appear on his face. Instead of saying anything else, though, he practically jumped at me and attached his lips right onto mines.

Naturally, I was quite shocked at this sudden move and I moved back a bit. Unfortunately, Cloud took this as a wrong message and started to get a really worried look on his face.

"I-I'm sorry, Zack!" he apologized hastily as he began to step back away from me. "I-it's you that I fell in love with. I'm sorry for just suddenly jumping at you. I just assumed that you liked me in the same way because you said that you were gay! Oh, I'm so sorry! I-I-I'm going to leave now."

Before he even had a chance to do so, though, I quickly took hold of one of his arms, pulled him towards me, and I kissed him right back. At first, he was surprised, but he eventually loosened up and we both started to enjoy the kiss.

Thankfully, we were in a hallway that did not see as much people as the others, so it was not so much of a problem getting caught. It was not as though it mattered to me. What mattered to me then and now was that I was sharing my very first kiss with the guy who I not only loved, but had also loved me back. What were that chances of that happening?

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Even though it was only a matter of seconds in reality, it seemed as though I had spent hours surfing through all of my most precious memories while I was still slouching on my sword. The one that really stood out to me, though, and made me smile was the last one where Cloud and I shared our first kiss. It was one of the few memories that I truly cherished and would never forget for as long as I lived. As I recalled it, I felt more warm tears sliding down my cheeks. This time, though, they were tears of happiness as I remembered how shy Cloud looked when he kissed me and how I was so surprised.

"Ready!" the first Shinra gun man shouted as the sound of their rifles knocked me back into reality.

That was when I remembered that I only had a few more seconds of precious life left it was ticking away. With the time frozen solace now gone, all I could do now was close my eyes and hope that I will not feel anything and just die immediately. After all, I'm still losing consciousness and the men want to kill me while I'm awake.

"Aim!" I heard the second word come out of the man's mouth. Just one more and I will be dead.

Don't forget about me, Cloud, I thought as I kept my eyes closed and let the tears fall freely from my eyes. I know that I won't.

"And…" I heard the man let the word linger on his mouth. Either he was testing his men to see if they were listening or was trying to drive me nuts or both. I would never know. All I could do now was wait for that dreaded word and then feel the bullets fly through me as if though I were nothing more that a thin piece of paper.

However, that dreaded word never came out from the man's mouth. Instead, I heard some noises that were not supposed to be there. It sounded as though there was some kind of scuffle going on. Daring to open my tear-filled eyes, I saw something that completely shocked me. Cloud had tackled the lead man into the ground and they were now rolling around trying to get possession of the gun. He had actually managed to get out of his comatose state and help me get out of this mess. The two other men, I noticed, were just as startled as me and did not know what to do.

"Cloud!" I practically shouted out in joy as I saw him trying to wrestle the rifle out of the man's hands. "Y-you're alright!"

"I think…you should be more concerned…about yourself Zack!" Cloud answered back as he was having a hard time getting the gun due to all the rolling and the fact that he had just come out of a comatose state.

"You little brat!" the man shouted as he tried to keep a grip on his gun and saw he was steadily losing it. "Don't just stand there, you idiots! Help me here!"

As if being snapped out of a trance, the two men readied their guns and aimed it at Cloud. At least, they tried to do so, but the pair kept moving around on the ground and they were afraid of hitting their comrade. Abandoning the idea of using their guns, they discarded them onto the floor and made a mad dash towards Cloud. I, however, caught up to their plan. By some unknown force, I had gotten a sudden boost of energy. With it, I got up onto my still unsteady feet, drew my blade up out from the ground, and swung it over my boyfriend and the one he was wrestling with. As I swung it, I made sure to let go of it so it would act as a Frisbee. By the time the other two standing men noticed my sword, it was too late. The sword sliced right into them from its sharp side and stayed in there. The force of the blow caused them to move back, yet it did not matter either way because I knew a blow like that could easily kill them. Of course, once I used that energy boost, it ran away and I collapsed onto my side, barely having enough time to break my fall with my hands.

Shocked at the fact that his two men were taken down so easily, the man had accidentally let his guard down for just a nanosecond. That was all the time Cloud needed in order to give one final tug at the gun for it to be his. The man tried to recover from his falter, but it was already too late for I knew how fast Cloud was able to ready a gun. He was a speed demon when it came to disarming a firearm from an enemy and quickly readying it for his use. The man did not even stand a chance as the sound of the rifle shooting out its bullets rang through the barren land. And with that, Cloud had successfully managed to eliminate the last threat to our lives, or at least to his life. I was not so sure about mines.

"Cloud," I wheezed out as I saw him discard the gun and come immediately towards me with a look of utter concern on his face. "Y-you're okay! I'm so happy!"

"Never mind about me!" Cloud practically shouted in worry as he knelt down next to me, trying to figure out what to do. "We have to worry about you right now! W-we got to get you to Midgar where someone can try to fix you up there."

"No can do, Spiky," I struggled to say as I felt my mind forcibly pull me into sleep. "We're too far from there. We need…a bloody miracle…in order for me to…survive this. Those are…really slim chances."

"B-but I can't just sit here and do nothing!" he retorted as panic started make itself known in his voice. "I've got to do something!"

"Oh, you've…already done…something for me," I smiled as my vision started to get more and more black. "You've…showed me that…you're up and running. Just knowing that…you're safe is more…than enough for me."

"NO! I'm not going to just sit here and watch the person I love most die right in front of me!" I heard his voice start to crack.

"You've done…all that you…could do, Chocobo," I tried to assure the love of my life as I felt his warm tears fall onto my face. "If you…really want to…do something…then come closer…so I can tell you something."

Following my directions without wasting a single minute, he leaned his head closer to my mouth so he could hear what I had to say, or rather, show to him. With my remaining strength that was quickly leaving me and receding into the darkness of my mind, I turned his head so his lips were facing me and I kissed him ever so softly. I was surprised at how much effort it took for me to kiss him. That just means that I am about to go unconscious real soon.

Once I pulled away, I whispered to him, "In case…the miracle doesn't come…, consider that…my last kiss…to you."

"No!" Cloud whispered as he practically got as close to my face as he possibly could in an effort to keep me with him. "Don't say that!"

"I love you…, Cloud," I barely managed to whisper out as I felt the darkness about to consume me. "Don't forget…that I'm always…with you inside…your heart and…memories. Don't ever forget."

"No, don't go!" I heard him say through clenched teeth in an attempt that I knew well was to stop himself from crying out loud. "Don't leave me here all alone! I love you, Zack!"

I tried to say something, but my voice had completely gone away. Just as I was about to be engulfed in the eternal darkness, I managed to flash Cloud one small smile before I felt myself enveloped in a deep sleep; a deep and strangely peaceful sleep. And then, I heard no more; I felt no more; I saw no more.