Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, or any other part of the Compilation.

AN: I feel I have to say that while there are CC/BC spoilers, some minor events/dialogues may be changed for the sake of the story. But hey, that's why it's fanfiction. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Always nice when someone's interested.

"Talking"

Thoughts

Flashback

Flashback thoughts

It wasn't exactly the Wutai War, but chaos was certainly an accurate description of the scene taking place on a certain cliff overlooking the city of Midgar. Avalanche hadn't been able to send their full military might, but that wasn't exactly a problem. He just needed something to keep the Shinra military from putting its full focus on him, and Avalanche was more than enough of a distraction.

Taking advantage of his enemy's confusion, Zack hurled himself at the unfortunate soldiers assigned to the mission of killing a First Class SOLDIER. Slamming one of the poor men with the flat side of the Buster Sword hard enough to send him careening into his comrades, he ducked, dodged, and flipped his way through the enemy ranks in a dance of destruction. Most of his opponents, making the unfortunate mistake of wielding larger automatic rifles only suited for long range combat against average enemies, were barely able to respond, lest they catch their friends and allies in the crossfire.

As the SOLDIER was wreaking havoc in the center of the battlefield, Avalanche was handling the fringes of the battlefield. At first, upon seeing the SOLDIER uniform, they had been hesitant to engage. Especially considering that it would have been simpler to let their former enemy thin Shinra's ranks and pick off the remnants, now that the more organized military had lost the advantage of air support. The first helicopter had taken a makeshift rocket that Avalanche used for single-shot surprise attacks, while the second had gone down in a hail of gunfire from the single helicopter their branch of the resistance had been able to spare, shortly before beginning an alternating chase across the desert, now far out of sight.

However, they'd quickly realized that the "wait and see" policy wasn't going to hold. As the black-haired man jumped into the center of the action, a number of soldiers had decided they stood much better odds against the terrorists that, while recognized as dangerous, weren't recognized as the nearly demonic combatants that SOLDIERS were. So while some had remained behind to continue covering the battle from a distance, many had chosen to enter the field and engage their enemies head-on.

In all the chaos, nobody took notice of the lone Shinra grunt making his way around the side of the battlefield, to a higher, less noticeable position. A position that could work well for a sniper.

As the battle raged only a short distance away, a young man with blond hair remained propped against a large boulder, making no movements besides the occasional turn of his head, as if in an attempt to view the massacre happening just a matter of yards away. This changed as the stone beside him seemed to explode throwing him to the side, the result of a stray grenade. While somewhat dazed by the pain, though only slightly more than his hazy mind had been before, deep in his mind he was pleased that he could at least see what was happening.

And it was a good thing too, as it allowed him to see the man in the familiar Shinra uniform taking a position not too far in front of him, to the left. It also gave him the opportunity to see the man hastily making a few modifications to his rifle, taking a scope out of a small pack on his right leg.

Suddenly, his mind was a flurry of activity, memories of the last few weeks being triggered by something he didn't recognize.

A hand on his shoulder, a friendly voice "So, you wanna be in SOLDIER? Hang in there."

The same voice again, a kind face grinning down at him. "Just kidding Cloud. You know I wouldn't leave you hangin' like that."

The man, his friend, holding the massive sword in front of him, a relaxed and appreciative expression on his face. "This here's a symbol of dreams and pride. I almost lost sight of that. Thanks, Cloud."

The face, the voice, all flashing in his mind over and over in a split second, similar scenarios repeating in his mind.

"You're laughing, aren't you? Do you even know about Gongaga?"

"Hey, relax Tseng. With me and Cloud around, there's nothing to be scared of!"

"Good work Cloud!"

"Never lose your dreams."

"Mercenaries Cloud, that's what you an' me are gonna be."

The face, smiling down at him again.

"We're friends, right?"

Zack Fair. His friend, walking off to die. For him.

Suddenly there was something he couldn't quite name. An anger, a desperation to protect something that he hadn't felt in several years. Forcing himself to move, he began dragging himself forward, eyes suddenly coming into focus. Grabbing a small edge of the boulder and hauling himself up, bringing a fist sized stone on the way, he broke into a run, stumbling at first, and soon picking up speed.

Dario Kel was one of the best shots in his unit, but he wasn't a melee specialist. So as soon as their target had broken their ranks, forcing them into close quarters combat, he had begun searching for a place where he could get an uninterrupted shot. He'd easily found a small series of natural stone walls, and made his way around. When he'd first arrived, there'd been an explosion, but the only thing nearby was the body of a young blond man, motionless on the ground.

Must've been caught in the blast.

As he began adding the portable long barrel and scope modifications, which all of Shinra's snipers carried, to the standard Hydra model Shinra rifle, he glanced up to see how the rest of the soldiers were progressing.

They hadn't made much headway, he noted, as one of them was literally sent flipping through the air, landing in an unnatural position. Couldn't have lived through that.

Bringing the rifle to his shoulder, he looked through the scope, hoping the target would leave himself open so they could finish this, and go home. Plus, being able to rub the fact that they had been the ones to bag the targets in the faces of those stuck-up Turks would make his day. Suddenly, the target paused, his sword being surrounded by some strange blue energy.

However, even as his finger began to tighten on the trigger, he heard something behind him. He couldn't place it as any animal he'd heard while on the job, but it was definitely animalistic. Turning to greet whatever it was with a few of the high-powered rounds used in the Hydra, he saw a sand-colored stone, and felt a sharp pain in his forehead, the world suddenly turning green. A few moments later, there was a feeling of peace, before the sensation of falling into a deep sleep.

Cloud stared at the bloodied rock in shock. He hadn't meant to hit the man that hard.

How? Where'd that come from? And for the second time that day, the gaps in his memory began to fill in. Pictures, sounds, feelings, all flooding his mind so quickly that he couldn't keep up. Dropping the stone, he fell to his knees, grasping his head with some subconscious hope that it could stop him from feeling as if it was about to explode. Moments later, as the last of his memories returned, he fell into a mercifully painless sleep.

They'd been fighting for at least an hour before it was over. With the combined efforts of Avalanche and the renegade SOLDIER, Shinra's loss had been inevitable. However, they had enough numbers to keep the battle running for a significant amount of time, and there had still been enough to organize a "strategic withdrawal," as they would later report it to President Shinra.

With Shinra gone, and Avalanche tending to their wounded, Zack moved to gather Cloud. Naturally, for a moment, he was terrified when he saw his younger friend unmoving next to a Shinra soldier's body. He couldn't even explain his relief in words when he'd found that he'd just been unconscious. And apparently, over the worst of his Mako poisoning, if the soldier's state was any indication.

While he was checking over his friend for any other injuries, the man who appeared to be in charge of his "backup" had come over. His deep voice seeming, to Zack's surprise, genuinely concerned.

"Is the kid alright?"

Leaning Cloud back up against the stones, he decided it couldn't hurt to respond. They'd likely saved his life, after all. "He's fine. Just unconscious. Thanks for your help, mister…?"

"Sears," he offered, holding out his hand. "And you're welcome. An enemy of Shinra's is a friend of ours. What'd you do? Must've been big, if they were this desperate."

Zack grinned at the semi-compliment. "Hey, we just broke out of a lab. I don't like being cooped up so much." That's definitely true. It's no wonder Angeal always called me a puppy. "So, you guys don't seem to have gotten any less efficient since the last time I saw you."

" Things have been…Hectic, recently. A shift in management, of sorts."

They stood in companionable silence for a moment, overseeing the former battlefield. But Shinra wouldn't be in retreat forever.

"Hey, thanks for the help man, but we should probably get movin' y'know? With Shinra after us, and all."

"I don't suppose you'd like to join us? We could use an ex-SOLDIER."

"Sorry Sears, much as I'd love to see Shinra getting a little payback, I've gotta watch over this guy," tilting his head towards Cloud, he continued "Plus, I've got a girl I need to see about a letter."

"Ah. Well, would you at least like a ride? We only had one chopper, but a couple of trucks arrived during the fight. It wouldn't be any trouble."

"A ride would actually be pretty nice." Sears gave him a small grin, and turned to inform his men of the situation. As he walked away, Cloud began to stir.

"Za…Zack. Zack?" Guess he's not completely over it. Maybe he's just tired. Turning to the man, he put an arm around his waist, and hoisted Cloud's arm over his shoulders, before making his way towards the waving Sears.

"Heya buddy," he began cheerfully. "How ya doin' there?"

"Tired." Zack figured that much. Cloud started again "Alright?"

Am I alright? "I'm great. Healthy as ever." Yeah…I think I am.

"Good." And suddenly he was out of it again. As Zack sat him down in the front seat of the blue pickup Sears had ordered to take them into the city, and sat down beside him, he leaned back and closed his eyes, happy to finally relax. I'm coming, Aerith. Just wait a little longer.

With that thought, he drifted off to sleep.

Within the hour, Zack's eyes opened as the truck came to a stop.

"Hey pal, sorry about this, but the other sectors near here were closed. Had to drop you off in Sector Seven."

Close enough. I'm a SOLDIER. Not like I can't walk.

"Thanks. And hey, if you run into that guy that drove us here, tell him I owe him one. Name was Leo."

"Will do. Good luck."

As he lifted Cloud's arm over his shoulder again, heading for the closest building he could find to ask for an inn, he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that he still had a lot of work ahead of him.

Well, that's chapter two then. Hope it was okay. Kinda hard not to play the "new to fanfiction" card when you're new to fanfiction. Anyway, I'd appreciate any reviews.