A Mutant's Revenge

by ShadowKitsune77

An AU fic about what would happen if Zack had survived. After being saved from a grizzly fate, he was captured by the Shinra and endured further experiments at the hands of Hojo which scared him for life.

10. The Haunted Mansion and a Failed Launch

Chapter 10: The Haunted Mansion and the Failed Launch

It had been several hours since the group left Cosmo Canyon, they had travelled through the night with Zack and Cloud taking it in turns to drive the buggy. It was early morning when the canyons disappeared and the buggy crossed another river as the scenery was replaced by a lush green field with towering mountains stretching along the horizon. Zack was driving again and he looked to his right at Aerith, he could hear a soft moan as the Cetra began to stir.

"Morning sleepy head," Zack greeted Aerith as she stretched and yawned, she stared bleary eyed at the drag human. "Did you sleep well?" Zack asked as Aerith nodded.

"Yeah…" She replied as she rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out, "how long have I been asleep for?" She asked not taking her eyes off Zack.

"All through the night," Zack answered as he continued to drive the buggy, "we've left the canyons now, take a look outside." Aerith turned her head round and looked out of the window.

"Wow!" She exclaimed loudly causing everyone else in the buggy to wake up suddenly, Tifa opened her eyes to find herself resting on Cloud's chest, she pulled away quickly and smiled awkwardly at Cloud before she turned to look out of the window. "We're not in the canyons anymore!" Aerith continued to exclaim as she saw the mountains. She turned back to look at Zack, "so where are we then?"

Zack merely shrugged, "I dunno," he answered truthfully.

"There's a town over there!" Aerith shouted as she pointed out in front of her, everyone looked in the direction Aerith was pointing in to see a small town at the base of the mountains, Zack, Cloud and Tifa gasped at the same time when they saw it.

"It can't be…" Zack thought to himself as images of his past flooded his mind, "the town was destroyed…I saw it happen…" Zack was soon snapped out of his train of thought when he felt a tap on his shoulder, Zack turned round to look behind him to find that it was Cloud that tapped him on the shoulder.

"Stop the buggy Zack," Cloud ordered as Zack put his foot on the brake to stop the buggy. The buggy screeched to a halt a few feet away from the town and everyone got out of it and walked to the town. When they entered the town they were shocked to discover that the town was indeed Nibelheim but something was wrong. "That's…impossible…" Cloud stammered as he looked around at the town, "how could this have…"

"This town was burned down right?" Tifa asked as she looked deep into Cloud's eyes for some reassurance that she wasn't going crazy.

"It…was…" Cloud answered still unsure of what to think, "at least…I thought it was…"

"But how…" Tifa found herself asking again as she stepped forwards and looked to her right, she was shocked to discover that her house was there. "My house is still there…" she stated as she pointed at her house.

"Damn it!" Barret cursed as he banged his gun arm on the building nearest to him, "none of this makes sense, now I'm really pissed off!"

"This is so strange…" Aerith uttered as she looked round the perfectly rebuilt town with a confused expression on her face.

"I'm not lying!" Cloud snapped at the group causing everyone to stare at him with confused and hurt expressions on their faces. "Sorry…" Cloud apologised immediately regretting yelling at his friends, "it's just that…I can still remember the intense heat of the flames…"

"You're not the only one…" Zack muttered under his breath barely above a whisper, fortunately no one could hear him. Zack closed his eyes as he let himself succumb to the memories of that fateful day, a day that haunted him even now as he looked around the newly built town as the ear piercing screams of the innocent victims rang in his head causing him to fall to his knees and hold his head.

"Zack!" Aerith called out the drag human's name as she knelt down beside him, "are you ok?" She asked as Zack slowly lifted his head up to look at her.

"Yeah…" Zack answered quietly as he staggered slowly to his feet, "it's just this place…it brings back…a lot of memories…" He looked around the rebuilt town again, "there's something off about this…" Zack stated as he turned back to face the others, "like this town was rebuilt on purpose…"

"You think the Shinra rebuilt this town?" Red asked as he stared at Zack intrigued by the drag human's theory.

"I wouldn't put it passed them," Zack answered not even looking at the group, "Shinra wouldn't have wanted what happened with Sephiroth and Nibelheim to leak out."

"So you're saying they rebuilt the town as a cover up?" Tifa questioned giving Zack a sceptical stare.

"It's a conspiracy," Zack theorised as he turned to face the group again, "Shinra would've rebuilt the town making it look exactly how it was before the fire to keep what really happened under wraps."

"But I was there Zack," Cloud stated as he glared at the drag human, "I saw what happened!"

"I know, you don't have to keep reminding me," Zack retorted neglecting to mention the fact that he was also at Nibelheim at the time. "I'll let him figure that part out on his own," Zack thought to himself, "and I'll bet Barret's gun arm…"

"Hey!" Barret interrupted as he glared angrily at Zack and pointed his gun arm at the drag human.

"That the Shinra would've populated the newly rebuilt Nibelheim with their own employees to discredit anyone who witnessed the incident five years ago," Zack continued his hypothesis ignoring Barret. Cloud was about to say something when a man wearing a black cape staggered passed the group.

"Who's that weirdo?" Yuffie asked rudely as she pointed at the man in the black cape that walked passed.

"Do you suppose it's Sephiroth?" Aerith questioned as she too couldn't take her eyes off the man wearing the black cape.

"That's what I want to find out," Cloud stated as he started to follow the cloaked man, the cloaked man saw Cloud coming and broke into a run. Cloud ran after the man.

"Cloud wait!" Zack called after Cloud as he ran after the ex SOLDIER bumping into several people as he tried to catch up. He was aware that people were staring at him for his bizarre appearance but at that moment in time he didn't really care, he had to catch up to Cloud. Zack ran round the corner just in time to see Cloud enter a house in the far south corner of town, Zack ran into the house and he saw Cloud stood at the corner of the room pinning the black cloaked man to the wall.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled at the man waiting for the hooded man to reveal himself. The hooded man just stared at Cloud, the hood still over his face.

"S…Sephiroth…" The man muttered barely above a whisper, it was about the only coherent thing Zack and Cloud heard the man say.

"Is that all you can say?" Cloud demanded as he violently shook the man, "Talk damn you!" Cloud shook the man so hard that his hood fell off to reveal a deathly pale face, the man's eyes were dim and watery and they were fixed up on Cloud and Zack making the two men feel sick at that ghastly sight.

"Just as I thought," Zack spoke up as he stared at the man his face turned a paler shade of purple, "this isn't Sephiroth…Cloud let him go…" Cloud turned round and stared at the drag human, "I said let him go!" Zack repeated louder, Cloud released his grip on the cloaked man and he sagged to the floor.

"S…Sephiroth…" The man uttered again in a hushed tone as he slowly dragged himself across the floor, the man grabbed hold of Zack's foot clasping his bony fingers round Zack's ankle.

"Aaaahhhhh! Get off!" Zack yelled as he shook violently, visibly repulsed by the empty shell of a man that was holding his foot looking up at Zack with his watery green eyes. Zack kicked the man purely out of reflex, Zack's foot struck the man square in the face causing him to release Zack's foot and sag to the floor upon impact unmoving his nose was broken and blood oozed on to the floor, Zack and Cloud stared at the man.

"I think you killed him," Cloud whispered to Zack, the drag human merely shook his head and knelt down beside the bleeding man. Zack placed two fingers on the man's neck under his ear and checked for a pulse.

"Nah…he's still alive," Zack answered when he found a pulse, Zack moved his hand away from the man's neck and rolled up the sleeve of the man's coat to see a numbered tattoo on his shoulder. "Hmmm…he has the number 5 tattooed on his shoulder…"

"Number 5…" Cloud repeated as he saw the black number clearly on the man's shoulder, "that's unusual…"

"There are a lot of unusual stuff in the world," Zack stated as he stood up and gave Cloud a knowing look, "it's just that right now, you're noticing them more." Zack looked around the house for any more suspicious people but he didn't see anyone else. "Come on, we should get back to the others," Zack and Cloud moved away from the unconscious man and they left the house, when they walked back up the path they saw their friends stood there waiting for them.

"Did you get him?" Tifa asked as Zack and Cloud approached the group.

"Yeah," Cloud replied as he stared deeply into Tifa's brown eyes, how warm, friendly and beautiful they were and he couldn't help but fall in love with the woman stood before him. "But…it wasn't Sephiroth…"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN IT WASN'T SEPHIROTH?" Barret cursed loudly causing the townspeople to stop what they were doing and stare at the group.

"Barret please," Aerith admonished as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Barret for his vulgar language, "watch your language, people are staring at us as it is." Aerith then turned her attention to Cloud and Zack, "so if it wasn't Sephiroth then who was it?"

"We're not sure," Zack answered truthfully, "he was wearing a black cape so we assumed that it was him. It was a sickening sight, the guy was writhing around on the floor and his face was deathly pale. He was muttering something, I'm not sure what it was, the only thing we could get out of him was Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth…" Tifa mused, "come to think of it, we heard that name being muttered around here too."

"You have…" Cloud asked as he gave Tifa a questioning look.

"While you two buggered off," Yuffie answered frustrated that she was stuck in a town which more than likely had no materia. "More of the cloaked weirdoes showed up."

"They just suddenly appeared in the town," Red added as he pointed his head to the left, the group looked in the direction that Red was looking in and they saw more cloaked figures. "I wonder why they're gathered in this town."

"That's what I want to know," Cloud stated as he marched off into the town square his friends looked at each other and shrugged before they followed Cloud. Cloud entered the town square to find that it looked exactly how it was before Sephiroth had burned it down. "This town…it shouldn't even be here…it was burned to the ground…WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?" Cloud cursed so loudly that the townspeople stopped what they were doing and stared at Cloud in shock, one woman even clamped her hands over her child's ears so that they wouldn't hear Cloud's swearing.

"Cloud please," Tifa whispered in a worried tone as she ran up to Cloud and grabbed hold of his hand while looking round at all the villagers staring at them. "You're making a scene…"

"I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS!" Cloud continued to yell as he jerked his hand away from Tifa's, "THIS TOWN SHOULD JUST BE RUBBLE! IT SHOULDN'T FUCKING EXIST!" Cloud continued to look around him frantically as he stared at the buildings that shouldn't even be standing, he was aware that people were stood there staring at him but it just made him all the more agitated.

"Young man," An elderly man spoke to Cloud as he walked towards the group, "I've lived here for many years and what you're saying never happened."

"YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU?" Cloud snapped at the man causing him and the other townspeople to back away. "I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THIS TOWN, I LIVED HERE UNTIL I WAS 14! THIS TOWN WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND FIVE YEARS AGO…I saw it happen…"

"It's not nice to lie," a middle aged woman stated as she too was staring at Cloud with a mixture of shock and anger. "I've never seen you around and I've lived in this town all my life, maybe you just imagined it."

Cloud glared at the woman, his body was pulsing with anger, he had a right mind to tell the townspeople what really happened, he didn't care how he did it as long as they realised the truth. However before Cloud could even open his mouth Zack stepped in, "Cloud…just leave it."

"But…this town…it was…you believe me right?" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a hopeful stare.

"Yeah…of course I do," Zack answered ignoring the frightened gasps and stares that the townspeople were giving him. "But shouting the odds and acting like a mad man isn't gonna help, it's obvious that they've been brainwashed by Shinra's propaganda."

"!" A woman screamed loudly pointing at Zack, "a monster!" There was mass panic as the townspeople ran frantically in circles trying to get away from Zack, Zack sighed irritably as he folded his arms and gently tapped his foot on the ground, his tail moved slowly from side to side.

"Hey! Lizard Butt!" Yuffie called over to Zack causing the drag human to turn round and glare at the ninja, "you're not gonna stand there and take that are ya?"

"To be honest Yuffie," Zack answered in a bored tone, "I've seen people react like this towards me so many times that I really can't be assed anymore," Zack then walked over to Yuffie grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pinned her to the wall. "One thing I don't like though is being called names like 'Dragon Boy' and 'Lizard Butt'. The name is Zack, do you think you can remember that?" Yuffie nodded as she stared down at Zack's clawed hands that were slightly digging into her skin, "good," Zack stated satisfied and he released Yuffie. The villagers had returned to their houses much to the relief of the group, the group walked through the town and they found another cloaked man stood outside the Shinra Mansion.

"The…Great…Se…phi…roth…is…near…" The cloaked man uttered barely above a whisper as the group approached the man.

"Where is he?" Zack asked eyeing the man suspiciously he hadn't forgotten that the last cloaked man he spoke to grabbed hold of his foot and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.

"In…side…the…mansion…" the cloaked man answered still in that same monotonous fashion, the man turned round and with a pale, bony finger he pointed towards the Shinra Mansion. "He's…calling…" the man continued to mutter as he stared vacantly into space paying the group no more heed, "Sephiroth…is…calling…"

"Well, I think I know why the cloaked men are gathering in Nibelheim of all places," Zack said as the group walked away from the mumbling man. "They're nut jobs, just like the rest of this town." The group looked behind them and saw that Cait Sith wasn't among them.

"Hey…where's Cait Sith?" Tifa asked as she continued to look round for any sign of the cat.

"He was here a moment ago," Red answered he too was confused at how Cait Sith could disappear like that without anyone noticing.

"Yeah well…" Barret added as he pointed his gun arm in the air, "that fucking bastard had better show himself soon or we're leavin' without him!"

Zack remembered before they left North Corel he saw Cait Sith talking on a mobile, even though Zack couldn't hear what Cait Sith was saying into the phone he found it suspicious nevertheless. "I wonder what he's doing this time," Zack thought to himself trying to figure out why a cat would even need to talk on a mobile phone. "It seems a little suspicious, I better keep an eye on him…"

"Did I miss anything?" Cait Sith's voice could be heard, the group turned round and they saw Cait Sith perched on top of the giant pink Mog which bounded its way towards the group.

"Cait Sith, where have you been?" Aerith asked as the cat approached her, "we were so worried about you."

"Oh…I was errr…that is to say I was…just taking care of a few things lassie." Cait Sith answered hesitating slightly not wishing to let the group know of his true intentions. Zack however was glaring at Cait Sith and giving him a questioning stare, fortunately Cait Sith didn't even notice.

"Well, could you please let us know where you're going next time?" Cloud asked as he knelt down so that he was level with Cait Sith, "I'd like to keep track of everyone."

"Sure Cloud," Cait Sith replied even though deep down he was feeling a little edgy, he didn't want to have to tell Cloud what he was doing every time he made a phone call. He didn't want the leader of Avalanche to get suspicious, however Cait Sith didn't know that Zack was already suspicious of him but the drag human decided to keep quiet for now.

"Good," Cloud answered satisfied, he stood up again and he turned round to look at the mansion. A place he hoped he'd never had to see again, but there he was five years later looking at the very place where his life was drastically changed forever.

Zack walked up beside Cloud he too looking at the mansion and a feeling of dread surged through his heart. Like Cloud, Zack's life had been changed by certain events that occurred in the mansion and he couldn't help but feel even a little apprehensive about going into the mansion. "I guess this means we're going in huh…" Zack asked as he turned his head round to look at Cloud.

Cloud turned his head round to look at Zack, "yeah," Cloud answered as he nodded slowly, "Sephiroth's in there, I know he is, I can feel it."

"You nervous…" Zack questioned, thanks to his drag human abilities Zack was able to sense Cloud's feelings of apprehension at the thought of entering the mansion.

"I don't want to go into that mansion," Cloud admitted, "but if Sephiroth's in there…then…I have to end it, I don't care where Sephiroth goes, I'll be right behind him." Cloud turned round to face the group, "let's go," he ordered, the group walked through gate and entered the mansion. They found themselves in a large rectangular room with several doors leading to other rooms, there was a double staircase leading to the upstairs landing and a dusty chandelier hung from the ceiling. The room and indeed the mansion general bore evidence that it was once grand, but now it was derelict, the walls and the floor were caked with dust ad cobwebs were well hidden in the corners of the room. "SEPHIROTH!" Cloud's voice echoed through the vast hall, "WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE! SHOW YOURSELF!" Cloud listened hoping for an answer or some kind of response to let him know that Sephiroth was in the vicinity.

"Gee Cloud," Zack muttered sarcastically causing the ex SOLDIER to glare at him, "shout a little louder next time, I don't think the entire town heard you…"

"Alright everyone, spread out," Cloud ordered the group, "I want Sephiroth found," the group separated off with Barret, Red, Yuffie and Cait Sith searching downstairs while Zack, Aerith, Cloud and Tifa walked up the stairs. As soon as they reached the upstairs landing they turned left and entered a room with a safe in it.

"A safe…I wonder what's inside it," Aerith mused as Zack and Cloud examined the safe.

"Let's find out," Cloud replied as he examined the safe more closely, "it looks like you have to put a combination in to open the safe…nothing new there."

"The combination could be anything, we'll be here all day trying to figure it out," Zack complained causing Cloud to look up and glare at Zack.

"Alright then!" Cloud snapped at the drag human as he stood up and jabbed Zack's chest with his finger, "Let's see you do better smart ass!"

"Alright then, I will," Zack accepted Cloud's challenge as he stepped closer to the safe, "stand back, this could get a little messy," Zack warned as he detracted his claws and tried to dig them into the safe door only to find that his claws couldn't penetrate it. "Eh he…" Zack chuckled slightly as he turned round to find Aerith, Cloud and Tifa staring at him. "Let me try again," Zack tried to dig his claws into the safe over and over again, after numerous attempts Zack was forced to give up. "I don't understand it…why won't my claws cut into the safe?"

"You guys obviously have no experience when it comes to opening safes!" A familiar voice spoke up behind them, the group turned round and they saw Yuffie stood behind them leaning against the wall with her arms folded and a smug grin on her face.

"And you can do better can you?" Zack asked irritably as the young ninja laughed and walked towards the safe.

"Of course I can," Yuffie scoffed as she grinned at the drag human causing him to glare at her.

"I thought you were downstairs," Cloud stated wondering how Yuffie could sneak up behind them with them noticing.

"There wasn't really anything downstairs," Yuffie answered "so I decided to see how you guys were doing, good thing too, because you don't seem to be getting anywhere."

"We were…" Zack lied, "there was a slight complication…that's all…"

"That complication being that you couldn't cut open the safe with your claws," Yuffie replied seeing through Zack's obvious lie. "Well the safe is made out of reinforced titanium," Yuffie knelt down and began to examine the safe. "Hmmm…let's see…" she mused half to herself as she started to put in different combinations at random, after twenty minutes the safe was still tightly shut.

"Why don't me and Cloud search the rest of the mansion while we're waiting," Tifa suggested as she stared hopefully at Cloud.

"Errr…sure…" Cloud replied blankly as Tifa grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him out of the room to search the rest of the mansion.

"Such a cute couple," Aerith stated dreamily as she watched Cloud and Tifa walk off down the corridor.

"Yeah…if you say so Aerith…" Zack replied wondering why Aerith was so interested in Cloud and Tifa's love life. "How are you getting on with the safe Yuffie?" Zack asked quickly changing the subject as he and Aerith turned their attention back to the safe again.

"I just don't understand it…" Yuffie answered confused at why the combinations she tried didn't work "Looks like this calls for desperate measures," Yuffie pulled her bag off her back and she pulled a large drill out of her bag. Zack and Aerith just stood there and stared in shock as Yuffie used the drill on the safe's hinges, after about a minute the door fell off its hinges and landed on the floor with a loud clang.

"My safe opening kit," Yuffie informed Zack and Aerith as she turned her head round and grinned at them, "I never leave home without it, let's see what's in this thing…" Yuffie rummaged through the safe while Zack and Aerith continued to stare at her. "A key," Yuffie stated as she pulled a small, rusty key out of the safe and showed it to her team mates. "Looks a little rusty though, not sure what it's for. Here Zack, you better hold on to this," Yuffie said as she gave the key to Zack and resumed looking in the safe, "oooooohhhhhh!" Yuffie exclaimed as she spotted a red, glowing orb at the back of the safe. "A piece of materia!" Yuffie pulled her hand out of the safe and stood up, she was about to put the materia in her pocket but she seemed to think better of it, that and the fact that Zack and Aerith were glaring at her. "Hey, I was just kidding," Yuffie stated in a defensive tone, "here," she passed the materia to Aerith, "you better keep it seen as you're the official keeper of the materia."

"Thanks Yuffie that's very kind of you," Aerith replied gratefully as she looked at the materia, she saw a man clad in armour riding on a six legged horse running round inside the materia. "Odin…the bringer of death," Aerith thought to herself as she placed the powerful materia inside her pack with the other materia that wasn't currently being used by the group. "What do we do now?" Aerith asked as she stared hopefully at her team mates.

Before anyone could respond a low thudding sound could be heard from behind the trio, they looked up to see the chandelier above them shaking. "That can't be good…" Zack stated as he, Aerith and Yuffie withdrew their weapons and got into a fighting stance just in time to see a monster stomp round the corner towards the group. The monster was extremely large easily towering above the group, it had a very bizarre appearance the right side of the monster was a deep purple colour its lower right arm and lower right leg were tinged with green. The left side of the monster was a deep red colour and was lined with row up on row of sharp spikes, it stomped towards the group eyeing them with its bright yellow eyes.

"What the hell is that? Yuffie yelled casting a frightened look at the monster as she, Zack and Aerith took a few steps backwards.

"More than likely one of Hojo's experiments," Zack answered as he tried to make himself look more menacing, "This mansion's probably crawling with 'em." The monster roared loudly as it swept its tentacle like left arm horizontally hoping to knock the group out, fortunately they all ducked just in time the arm sweeping over their heads missing them completely. Yuffie and Zack quickly charged at the monster dodging to the side quickly to avoid being crushed by the giant arms while Aerith remained at the rear hitting it with every spell she could think of.

"Hey ugly!" Zack yelled causing the monster to turn its attention on him, "over here!" Zack continued to entice the beast as he turned round and waved his tail at it. The monster roared loudly as it raised its giant right hand up and slammed it down into the ground, the hand would've surely crushed Zack if the drag human hadn't have moved out of the way just in time, Zack whistled to get the monster's attention again and it continued to slam its arms awkwardly into the ground as Zack used his speed advantage over the monster. Yuffie saw her chance and while the monster was distracted she remembered the materia that Aerith had given her back in the Gi cave. She quickly took the glowing materia out of her pocket and attached it to her weapon, Yuffie watched as her weapon turned into a light shade of blue and encased itself in magical ice that was harder than diamonds. She charged at the monster holding her weapon out to the side of her, she leapt into the air dug her weapon deep into the monster's and slashed right up its back as she ran up it a column of ice rose up from the large wound causing extensive ice damage and freezing its back. Yuffie pushed off the monster's back and landed gracefully on the ground holding her weapon above her head.

The monster let out a pained roar as it slammed its arms into the ground, Zack saw an opportunity and leapt at the monster's arms. He landed on the monster's right hand and dug his claws into the flesh, he enchanted the tips of his claws with ice causing the monster even more pain and freezing its arms rendering it immobile. Zack leapt off the monster just as a stream of flames shot across the floor and Ifrift engulfed the monster in flames setting it alight, Ifrift flew round the monster once before returning to where Aerith was stood and disappeared.

"Nice move," Zack complimented Aerith as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Aerith replied modestly as the Ifrift materia in her weapon stopped glowing, Aerith, Zack and Yuffie could hear a loud roar behind them as the monster was completely thawed out by Ifrift's attack, only it suffered extensive fire damage and its flesh was severely burned.

"Awww…what's the matter?" Zack continued to mock the monster as it shook itself off before preparing for another attack. "Was that a little to hot for your liking?"

"Zack stop mocking it!" Aerith yelled at Zack as she spun her staff round like a windmill to deflect a powerful lightning spell the monster had fired at her. The spell hit the staff and was reflected back at the monster electrocuting it, the monster stood there dazed for a few seconds before it glared at Aerith and charged at her with a loud roar.

"AERITH!" Zack yelled the Cetra's name as he saw the monster charge at Aerith with its giant fist pulled back ready to strike her. Zack ran towards Aerith hoping to get to her before the monster did.

"ZACK, AERITH!" Yuffie shouted as she saw the whole scene, time seeming to slow down all around her, "oh I can't watch…" Yuffie stated as she covered her face with her hands not daring to watch what happened next.

Aerith took a few steps back as she saw the monster running towards her, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" She screamed as she held her hands in front of her face in a futile attempt to defend herself from the incoming attack, but the attack never came. "Huh…" Aerith uttered confused that she hadn't been knocked into the back wall, she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see Zack in front of her holding the monster's fist back. "Zack…" Aerith whispered hardly daring to believe it.

Zack said nothing but he continued to hold the monster's fist back his face was screaming concentration and determination as beads of sweat fell from his forehead and landed with soft plops on the floor near his feet. The monster's hand was larger than Zack himself and could've easily knocked him to the side like a bothersome fly, and yet neither Zack nor the monster had moved an inch since the monster's fists met with Zack's hands. Yuffie finally moved her hands from her face and watched with a nervous look on her face as both the monster and the drag human tried to force each other back. Zack closed his eyes as he focused all of his energy and strength into his arms, Zack opened his eyes again and gritted his teeth as he lifted the monster off ground with a sudden burst of strength.

"!" Zack let out a cry as he lifted the monster (still by the fist) above his head and started to swing it round and round going faster and faster before he let go of it causing it to crash head first into the safe effectively knocking it out.

Zack stood there in a half crouched position his tail lightly brushing the ground panting heavily, Aerith and Yuffie just stood there staring in awe but they soon snapped out of it when the monster came round. Aerith's bag began to glow and Aerith remembered that she put the Odin materia in there, she reached into her bag and pulled out the glowing materia before she equipped it with her weapon. Her staff glowed brightly as she summoned the horseman of death, a portal appeared a six legged white horse with an armoured clad man riding on top of it and holding a giant spear cantered out of the portal. The horseman stared at the monster with gleaming yellow eyes as the horse reared up, the horseman then looked up at the ceiling as he pulled the spear back and threw it high into the air, a portal opened up in the ceiling and the spear flew through it before it fell spear end first and impaled itself deep in the monster's chest, the monster roared in pain as blood oozed out of the giant wound in the middle of its chest a large puddle of blood forming at its feet staining the floor. The horseman disappeared into another portal as the monster fell to the floor dead, still impaled by the large spear.

The Odin materia in Aerith's staff stopped glowing as the spell finished, she looked behind her to see Zack still stood in the same spot breathing rapidly, "Zack!" She called out the drag human's name as she ran up to him, "are you ok?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Zack answered exhausted from his sudden display of strength, "just a little knackered that's all…what about you?" He asked as he brought his arms up and placed them on Aerith's shoulders, "are you ok?"

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she replied as she smiled at Zack, "thanks to you, you were amazing back there." Zack chuckled slightly as he ruffled his already unruly hair.

"I'll say," Yuffie agreed with Aerith as she walked up to her friends, like Aerith and Zack she was battle worn but unharmed. "That was fucking amazing!" The ninja exclaimed ignoring the scowl that Aerith was giving her, "how did you do that?"

"I dunno," Zack answered as he looked down at his hands, "I saw that Aerith was in danger…it just…came to me…I can't think of any other way to explain it."

"Hmmm…maybe it's another effect from the experiments Hojo conducted on you," Aerith suggested helpfully trying to think of a way to explain it, "like your ability to turn invisible, remember at the Shinra building when you turned invisible to evade capture?" Zack nodded, "well you had a sudden surge of strength because you needed it at that time," Aerith continued to explain.

"So I can call on my strength at any time like I can with my invisibility?" Zack asked, Aerith nodded and Zack grinned as he felt his new found strength surge through his veins. "I'm starting to like this," Zack stated as he broke a lose beam in half with his foot.

"Come on," Yuffie spoke up growing bored of the conversation, "there's nothing else that's valuable in this room so let's get out of here and find the others," Zack and Aerith nodded in agreement as the three of them left the wrecked room and the impaled monster. The three of them walked across the landing to the other side, the entered a room that was slightly larger than the safe room and they saw everyone else gathered in the room.

"There you are," Cloud stated as Zack, Aerith and Yuffie entered the room still looking fatigued but unharmed, "what took you guys so long?"

"We opened the safe," Yuffie answered, "but a huge monster managed to sneak up on us, and Zack did this really cool thing where he lifted the monster above his head and swung it round!"

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Barret yelled as he stared at Zack unsure of whether to be impressed or sceptical. "I mean I know SOLDIERs are strong but I didn't think that they could lift up a monster over 100 times their size."

"It's true," Aerith replied agreeing with Yuffie, "I thought I was going to be struck by that thing for sure, but Zack blocked the punch."

"Hmmm…" Red mused, "Interesting, another effect from Hojo's experiments on you."

"That's what I said before," Aerith complained as she pouted at the red beast, "me being in trouble triggered it."

"Aerith, I'm glad that you, Zack and Yuffie are still alive," Cloud stated before anyone could say anything else, "but we came here to find Sephiroth so can we just get this over with?" Cloud started to pace round the room, "I'm sure it was around here somewhere," he whispered half to himself as he continued to pace round the room.

"This is the room from your story right?" Tifa asked Cloud as the blond haired man turned round to face her.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he nodded.

"Didn't you say there was a secret entrance here?" Tifa continued to ask as Cloud continued to search the room.

"Yeah," Cloud answered again "but I can't seem to find it anywhere," Tifa leaned back against the wall as she unknowingly pushed a loose stone into the wall, a low rumbling sound could be heard the group turned to their left to see the stones on the wall rearrange themselves to reveal a large hole leading to a long, winding staircase. The group walked towards the staircase and took a closer look, "seems like a long way down," Cloud stated as he peered over the stairs to get a better look, "I wonder if anything's changed down in the basement…probably not."

"Basement…" Yuffie repeated what Cloud had said, "oh no…" she said defiantly as she stepped back from the stairs, "no way am I going down into a dingy basement."

"You scared…" Zack asked in a patronising tone smirking as Yuffie glared at him.

"No!" Yuffie snapped defensively as she folded her arms, "I just don't like the idea of wandering round a basement looking for a sword wielding maniac."

"Well I'm going down there," Cloud stated ignoring Zack and Yuffie's comments, he was about to walk down the steps when a strong hand reached out and grabbed him, Cloud turned round and saw Zack stood behind him with his hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"Whoa hold it! You're not thinking of going down there by yourself are you?" Zack questioned as he gave Cloud a questioning stare.

"I have to find Sephiroth," Cloud answered calmly, now that he had a plan in mind he wasn't feeling as nervous about the whole thing, "It ends here."

"I understand how you feel Cloud," the drag human replied sympathetically as he let go of Cloud's shoulder, "but think about it, this mansion has been abandoned for quite some time now. I don't think Sephiroth will be the only monster down there."

"So what, you're saying that you want to come with me?" Cloud asked a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I thought you'd never ask," Zack stated happily not seeming to get the sarcasm in Cloud's voice.

"That's not what I meant…" Cloud back tracked shaking his head, but Zack had already started walking down the steps, "hey!" Cloud yelled after the drag human, "wait for me!" He started to run down the stairs then he remembered the rest of his friends, "me and Zack are gonna go to the basement and find Sephiroth," he informed the group as he stopped and turned to face them. "We could be a while so stay here and keep watch."

"Ok Cloud," Tifa stated, "we'll take care of things here," Cloud nodded and he took off down the stairs to catch up to Zack.

Zack was already at the bottom leaning against the jagged, damp wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed when Cloud finally caught up, Zack opened one eye and grinned when he saw Cloud stood next to him resting one hand against the wall with his head hung low and breathing heavily. "You took your time," Zack stated slyly as Cloud looked up and glared at the drag human, "I was starting to get bored waiting for you."

"Not…funny…" Cloud muttered between breaths still glaring at Zack, Zack merely laughed as he opened his other eye and gave Cloud an amused look causing the ex SOLDIER to become more agitated.

"Funny…" Zack continued to goad Cloud, "I thought SOLDIERs were supposed to be fit, you really let yourself go."

"Zack…my sword is on my back…" Cloud hissed threateningly as he grabbed the handle of his sword with his hand and glared at the drag human.

"Relax Cloud, I was just kidding," Zack said quickly as he eyed Cloud's sword nervously, "man you're so easy to wind up."

Cloud shook his head as he gave Zack a sharp dig in the stomach, "come on!" He snapped sharply as he started to walk down the cave like corridor, Zack rubbed the area where Cloud hit him before he ran after his friend to catch up to him. The two men continued to walk down the corridor trying to be as quiet as they could so not to alert the many bats that hung from the ceiling of their presence. Cloud and Zack came round a corner and they spotted a rust eaten door to the left, the two men came to a stop in front of the door. "I've never noticed this door before," Cloud stated as he examined the door, he grabbed hold of the door handle and tried to open the door. "Damn it!" Cloud yelled as he pulled the door handle again, "it won't open!"

Zack continued to watch Cloud as the ex SOLDIER struggled to open the rust covered door, the drag human shifted his weight from foot to foot and opened and closed his wings while he still watched Cloud with great amusement. "Hmmm…" Zack thought out loud as he remembered the key that Yuffie had given him.

"Zack!" Cloud yelled irritably as he let go of the door handle and glared at his friend, "are you gonna help me or are you gonna just stand there with that smug grin on your ugly mother fucking face?"

"There's no need to get offensive," Zack retorted as he gave Cloud an offended look and walked towards the door. "If you must know, I had an idea," he continued as he took the rusty key out of his pocket to show Cloud as the ex SOLDIER stared at the key, his eyes were wide with shock.

"Where…the hell…did you get that?" Cloud stuttered hardly daring to believe that Zack was holding what could be the key to the room.

"From the safe," Zack answered as he continued to wave the key in Cloud's face, "we managed to get it open after you and Tifa left."

"You think that key will open the door…" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a hopeful look.

Zack smirked at the ex SOLDIER, "only one way to find out," he replied as he put the key in the lock and turned the key to the left but the door still refused to open. "Odd…" Zack stated as he tried to force the door open. "I thought the key would've worked."

"Have you tried turning it the other way?" Cloud asked as he gestured to the right with his hand, "that might help…" He muttered as an after thought as he shook his head.

Zack looked down at the key, "oh…" he stated as realisation hit him, he turned the key to the right and pushed down on the handle and much to both Zack and Cloud's relief the door opened with a loud creak. "They could've greased the door a little though don't you think?" Zack asked as he and Cloud entered the room, Cloud didn't answer rather the two men looked round the moderately sized rectangular room. They saw much to their surprise coffins leaning against the wall, all of them were open and the skeletal remains of bodies that were buried there hung out of the coffins. "I know this mansion has its dark secrets," Zack spoke up his voice carrying in the coffin filled room, "but this is just sick." Cloud said nothing and the two men continued to search the room, they found one coffin lying in the centre of the room unlike the others the lid on this coffin was on, Cloud and Zack stood at the foot of the coffin and started to examine it.

"Wait...this coffin looks familiar to me..." Zack told Cloud.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a suspicious stare.

"Err...nothing..." Zack answered as he realised he almost blew it. "I mean you see one coffin you see 'em all right?"

"Yeah, I guess they all do look alike," Cloud stated in agreement. "There's nothing of value in here, let's go," Cloud added as he and Zack turned round and started to make their way back to the door.

"To wake me from the nightmare…" a deep voice echoed throughout the room causing Cloud and Zack to stop and look around for the source of the voice before looking back at the coffin to see that the lid had been pushed off. Zack and Cloud ran back to the coffin and looked inside it to see a dark haired man with a red cape draped over a black uniform, the man's eyes fluttered open to reveal blood red irises. "Who is it?" He asked as he slowly sat up and stared sleepily at the two men.

"Ok…I'll give you a ten for effort, but a zero for creepiness," Zack stated once he had gotten over the shock of someone being alive in the coffin.

The man in the coffin glared at Zack, "where as you on the other hand, you're just creepy beyond all reason," the man retorted not taking his eyes off the drag human.

"Hey!" Zack snapped as he placed his hands on his hips and bared his teeth at the man, his tail twitched irritably from side to side, the man in the coffin gave Zack a satisfied smile.

"Hmmm…come to think of it," the man added as an after thought taking great pleasure in seeing the scowl on Zack's face, "you're not creepy at all…you're just butt ugly." Zack growled menacingly at the man but that just caused him to laugh, "I've never seen you two around here before," he said quickly before Zack had chance to think of a comeback. "You must leave."

"You were having a nightmare…" Cloud questioned wondering what the man meant when he said to awaken him from a nightmare.

"No wonder, sleeping in a place like this," Zack added as he spun round in a circle and gestured with his arms at the coffins round the room. "With nothing but rotting corpses for company, this place is enough to give anyone nightmares," he stopped and he faced the man again.

"I think this coffin is quite comfortable actually," the dark man retorted as he folded his arms and glared at Zack.

"I beg to differ," Zack argued back glaring into the man's red eyes with his own yellow eyes and for a while the man and the drag human were stood there staring each other down, however one look from Cloud was enough to make Zack drop it.

"My long sleep has given me time to atone," the man continued completely ignoring the sarcastic comments Zack had made earlier.

"Atone…" Cloud repeated the last word the man had said, he looked at Zack who merely shrugged in response so Cloud turned back to face the man. "What do you mean by atone?" Cloud asked a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I have nothing to say to strangers!" The man snapped at Cloud and Zack, "get out! This mansion is just the beginning of your worst nightmares."

Zack and Cloud exchanged awkward glances with each other, both knew of the dark secrets that the mansion held and an unspoken knowledge passed between them. "Tell us something we don't know," Zack spoke up finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Hmmm…interesting," the man mused obviously intrigued, "tell me what you know," he requested as he looked expectantly at Cloud and Zack, Cloud and Zack looked at each other before Zack prompted Cloud to explain.

"Well like you said before this mansion is the beginning of our worst nightmare," Cloud started to explain as Zack nodded in agreement. "No, it's not a dream, it's for real." Cloud looked at Zack wondering if he had given too much away but the drag human merely nodded prompting Cloud to continue with his explanation. "Sephiroth has lost his mind," Cloud continued with his explanation, "he found the secrets hidden in this mansion…"

"Sephiroth!" The man yelled the silver haired man's name causing Cloud and Zack to jump back in shock.

"You know Sephiroth?" The three men asked at the same time as they continued to stare at each other, the man in the coffin stood up, he stared at Zack and Cloud for a couple more seconds before he back flipped slowly out of the coffin. He landed gracefully on the edge of the coffin and stood there perfectly balanced.

"You first," the man requested as he stood there in silence and listened as Cloud explained everything that had happened, from going to the reactor with Sephiroth, to Sephiroth reading books in the basement library, to Sephiroth going off the rails and setting the town on fire.

"That's how it was…" Cloud stated when he had finished with his explanation, the man was still stood on the edge of the coffin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmmm…so Sephiroth knows that he was created five years ago," the man mused as he repeated the important parts of Cloud's explanation. "And about the Jenova Project? He was missing and had just recently reappeared, he has taken many lives and is seeking the promised land…"

Zack and Cloud nodded as they gave the man expectant stares, "ok, now it's your turn," Zack replied as he gave the man the gesture to go ahead.

"Sorry," the man apologised as he shook his head, "I can not speak."

"…WHAT?" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs out raged that the man refused to share his knowledge, "we told you everything you wanted to know, now tell us what we want to know!" Zack demanded as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves out of sheer frustration, the man however wasn't scared.

"Zack…it doesn't matter," Cloud spoke up as he grabbed Zack by the back of his shirt in an effort to hold him back so that he didn't attack the man.

"You told him everything we knew!" Zack snapped as he struggled against Cloud's grip, "the least he could do is return the favour!"

"Hmmm…" the man thought calmly as he hung his head solemnly, "is that what you think? Well hearing your story has placed upon me another sin," the man stated sadly, "more nightmares will come to me now, more than I previously had." Cloud released his hold on Zack as the man stepped back inside the coffin and lay back down again, "now…please leave," the man added, he was about to close the lid when a hand reached out and grabbed the lid preventing it from closing, the man looked up to see Cloud and Zack stood round the sides of the coffin, Zack was holding the lid up with his hand.

"Ok, so you're not gonna give us any information and we respect that," Cloud spoke up as Zack nodded in agreement, "but could you at least tell us your name?"

The man sighed as he slowly sat up again, "I was with…" the man reluctantly began to explain, "the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research…Otherwise known as the Turks…" The man fell silent for a few seconds, "Vincent," he finally told them his name.

"The Turks?" Cloud and Zack repeated what Vincent had said shocked by this new information.

"Formally of the Turks," Vincent corrected them, "I have no affiliation with the Shinra now."

"I'm Cloud, formally of SOLDIER," Cloud introduced himself, "and this is my friend Zack, he had a few affiliations with the Shinra too."

"You were also with the Shinra?" Vincent asked curiously not taking his eyes off Cloud and Zack, "tell me, do you know Lucrecia?" He asked as Cloud and Zack gave Vincent confused stares.

"Come again?" Zack asked voicing his and Cloud's confusion out loud.

"Lucrecia," Vincent repeated the name hoping that Cloud and Zack would recognise the name but they still gave Vincent confused stares, Vincent sighed irritably, "the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth," he informed them.

"Gave birth…" Cloud questioned unsure of what he had heard, "I thought Jenova was Sephiroth's mother."

"That isn't completely wrong," Vincent answered choosing his words carefully, "but just a theory, he was born to a beautiful lady," Vincent explained with a hint of admiration in his voice for the mysterious woman. "That lady's name was Lucrecia, she was an assistant of Professor Gast in the Jenova Project, beautiful Lucrecia…"

"You mean she was a human experiment…" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a shocked stare, he had heard of the Jenova Project before and he knew that it wasn't a good thing.

Vincent looked away sadly, "there was no way to cancel the experiment," he continued with his tale, "I couldn't stop her…That was my sin…" Vincent revealed as he balled his hand into a fist and shook it, "I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst…"

"And you punished yourself by sleeping in a coffin…" Zack questioned giving Vincent a strange look, "Talk about morbid…" Vincent said nothing, he lay back down and closed the lid of his coffin refusing to speak. Cloud and Zack left the room and continued to walk down the corridor. They passed several doors on either side of them, each door leading to a different part of the basement.

They eventually arrived at door at the end of the corridor, Cloud pushed the door open and Zack and Cloud slowly entered the room. They looked around and found themselves in the room from Cloud's story, to the left of the room was a large library, the shelves were filled with countless books and there was a passageway leading to another room. To the right side of the room was a small lab, Cloud and Zack didn't have time to see the lab in great detail as they heard the sound of laughter behind them. The two men turned round and slowly walked to the edge of the passageway where they saw Sephiroth stood on the other side of it.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he glared at the man who had ruined his life.

"Being here brings back so many memories," Sephiroth stated as he grinned evilly at Cloud and Zack, "are you both going to participate in the reunion?" He asked curiously.

"Reunion…" Zack repeated confused at Sephiroth's words and it became obvious to Zack that Sephiroth had indeed lost his mind. "What kind of reunion?" Zack questioned growing ever more suspicious of Sephiroth's motives.

"Jenova will be there," Sephiroth explained as his grin grew wider, "Jenova will rejoin the reunion becoming a calamity from the skies!" Sephiroth uttered the last part a little louder and raised his arms in the air.

"Jenova…a calamity from the skies…" Cloud repeated in a worried tone, "You mean...Jenova wasn't an Ancient…"

"Whatever that thing was," Zack added, he too was worried about Sephiroth's plans, "it brought pain and suffering to the planet, Cloud, we can't let it happen again." Cloud nodded as he and Zack continued to stare at Sephiroth.

"I see…" Sephiroth stated as he glared at Cloud and Zack, angry at their betrayal, "I don't think you two have the right to participate. I will go North passed Mount Nibel," Sephiroth informed them, "If you wish to find out…then follow."

"Reunion…calamity from the skies…" Cloud repeated the two ideas over and over again, he was so wrapped up in his train of thought that he didn't notice that Sephiroth had thrown a piece of materia at him. Fortunately Zack saw it coming a mile off, the drag human leapt in front of Cloud and caught the materia in his hand.

"I think you're losing your touch Sephiroth," Zack scoffed as he threw the materia up and down while grinning at Sephiroth, "looks like you need to work on your aim."

Humph…farewell," Sephiroth responded as he hovered in the air momentarily before he zoomed passed Cloud and Zack and disappeared from sight, Cloud and Zack looked at each other as Zack put the piece of materia in his pocket.

"He said he was heading north," Cloud stated as he made his way towards the door, "we have to get back to the others and tell them, let's go Zack…Zack?" Cloud turned round and he saw that the drag human wasn't behind him, he turned to his left and he saw Zack walking slowly to the lab side of the room, his eyes were focused and he carried on walking as though he was drawn to something.

Zack stopped near a large cylinder shaped tube made out of solid glass, he examined the tube and he knelt down to see a metal plaque on the tube. "Experiment A, Code Z…" Zack read the inscription on the plaque as he ran a clawed finger over the writing, he stood up and continued to examine the tube, he saw another inscription right on the glass itself, he took a closer look at the marks and ran his clawed finger along them. "These marks were scratched on from the inside," he thought to himself, he took a closer look at the markings and he saw that those markings were in fact a message. "Feeding time…that's our chance…" Zack read the message again and his eyes grew wide with realisation, Zack's head began to pound, he grabbed hold of it and knelt down as he saw images of a message being scribed into the thick glass by fingernails.

When the images subsided Zack staggered slowly to his feet and stared at the tube again, his eyes narrowed in anger and he growled under his breath as he balled his hands into fists. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled and his tail stood straight out behind him, Zack's body violently shook as he continued to stand there staring at the tube. "!" Zack let out a yell as he ran at the tube pulling one of his clawed hands back as he ran. As Zack approached the tube he thrust his clawed hand forwards and dug his claws deep into the glass, cracks slowly appeared in the glass round the area where Zack had dug his claws in.

Zack growled under his breath again as the spear at the end of his tail opened up, Zack swung his deadly tail round and the open spear end struck the glass causing it to completely shatter, shards of glass scattered everywhere. Zack pulled his clawed hand back and arched his back slightly so that his tail was curling up slightly pointing in the air. The drag human stared at the damaged tube to see that the metal frame was still standing, with a yell he ran towards the metal frame of the tube and ripped the plaque off the bottom of the tube. With all his newfound strength Zack bent and crushed the plaque until it formed the shape of a misshapen ball, the writing on the tube was barely readable, he then threw the now distorted plaque over his shoulder with such a force that it travelled easily to the other side of the room at the speed of a bullet.

Cloud quickly ducked and the twisted plaque zoomed over Cloud's head and crashed into the book shelf causing several books to fall on to the floor. Cloud slowly stood up and continued to stare in bewilderment at the destruction he was seeing before him. "Errr…Zack…" Cloud spoke up nervously hoping to talk some sense into his friend, but the drag human wasn't in a listening mood and much to Cloud's shock Zack was attacking the solid metal frame of the tube already causing several dents in it.

Zack continued to pound and claw away at the metal frame until it couldn't take any more of the violent onslaught it was receiving and it crumbled to the floor with a loud crash. Zack stared at the mangled heap lying on the floor in front of him, he was breathing deeply as he felt the rage within him start to subside and he felt a little calmer now that he had released a lot of pent up frustration and a great weight was lifted off his shoulders. "You were human once, weren't you?" A deep voice asked suddenly, Zack turned round and he saw Vincent standing behind him looking as solemn as ever.

Zack nodded, "yeah…" he answered half sadly and half angrily, he was still too angry to be shocked at Vincent's uncanny ability to suddenly appear. "It's seems like a life time ago now…"

"Hmmm…" Vincent uttered as he stepped closer to Zack and started to examine him, "Hojo's work no doubt," he stated as Zack stared at him in shock.

"How did you know?" He asked getting more and more creeped out at Vincent by the second, Vincent chuckled slightly as he paced round Zack.

"It seems that we have more in common than I first thought," Vincent answered, "I too have suffered at the hands of Hojo," Vincent added a hint of sadness in his voice.

"He turned you into a monster too?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a sympathetic look.

Vincent nodded, "yes," he answered darkly, "all of Hojo's victims become monsters in the end."

"I know how that feels," Zack added as he nodded in agreement, he turned away from Vincent and rested his head on the undamaged tube. "A part of me still feels human," Zack started to explain sadness could be heard in his voice, he lifted his head up slightly and he smiled ruefully at Vincent, "I know it sounds crazy," Zack added as he chuckled nervously, "but, I know that I'm not fully human…and…I think to myself, will I ever be fully human again?" Zack let out a sigh as he rested his head on the undamaged tube again and closed his eyes.

"Hmmm…" Vincent uttered as he thought carefully about the situation not taking his eyes off Zack, "yeah…it just might work…"

Zack's eyes fluttered open when he heard those words, he lifted his head up and he turned round to stare at Vincent. "What would work?" He questioned.

"Hmmm…" Vincent responded trying to think of the best way to explain it, "let me put it this way, if there was a chance that you could attain your human form, would you take it?" Vincent questioned as Zack took a few steps towards Vincent.

"I…I guess so…" Zack answered not sure whether to believe what Vincent was saying.

"There is no guess so, about it," Vincent responded a little irritably, "will you take the chance, or not?"

Zack thought for a while about what Vincent was saying, on the one hand he was being tossed a life line, a chance to become human again, a chance to be with Aerith and not be ashamed of what he was, what he had become. But on the other hand he couldn't help but feel a little sceptical, he had only known Vincent for a couple of minutes and he couldn't help but think that maybe it was just a prank. "We found the guy sleeping in a coffin…" Zack thought to himself as he looked Vincent up and down, and he felt the piercing stare from the man's crimson coloured eyes burn his very soul and it was at that moment that Zack knew how serious Vincent was. "You're serious…" Was all he managed to utter.

Vincent nodded, "I'm deadly serious," he answered not taking his eyes off Zack, "I can help you become human again, Zack. But it will require a lot of training."

"And you're willing to train me…" Zack asked not daring to believe what he was hearing.

Vincent nodded again, "of course, I'm willing to help a victim of Hojo's…you and Cloud said that you were after Sephiroth right?" Zack nodded. "You'll be after Hojo too right?"

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I have a score to settle with Hojo."

"Hojo…" Vincent cursed the name under his breath as he turned away from Zack and clenched his hand into a fist and shook it. After a few seconds he calmed down and faced Zack again, "then it's decided, I'm coming with you, I'll train you and I'll kill Hojo when I find him." Zack nodded to show that he understood and the two made their way back to Cloud who was waiting near the door still with a confused expression on his face.

"Need I ask what all that was about back there…" Cloud questioned as he pointed at the remains of the tube at the other side of the room.

"Just letting off some steam," Zack answered vaguely as he, Cloud and Vincent left the room and started to walk down the corridor to the stairs. "But I feel a whole lot better now."

"I'm glad," Cloud answered still confused at why Zack destroyed a piece of lab equipment like that for no apparent reason. "But did you really have to do that?"

"Yes," Zack answered quickly, "oh and Vincent decided that he was gonna join us," Zack stated quickly changing the subject.

"I was wondering what you were discussing," Cloud stated as he turned round to look at Vincent, "but how are you gonna fight without a weapon?" Cloud asked Vincent, Vincent grunted in response and he pulled his cape back to reveal a holster attached to his belt with a handgun in it. "I guess we won't have to worry about buying you a weapon in the not too distant future…" Without another word, Zack, Cloud and Vincent made their way back to the spiral staircase and climbed up the steps back to the room where everyone was waiting.

"There you are!" Aerith exclaimed as she ran up to Zack and leapt into his arms hugging him, "we were so worried about you."

"Yeah," Tifa as she walked slowly up to Cloud and wrapped her arms round his neck, "what took you so long?"

"We had some things to take care of…mainly Sephiroth," Zack answered vaguely being careful not to mention the fact that he had destroyed what may have been an extremely expensive piece of equipment.

"All this time…" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a questioning look, Zack nodded and he gestured behind him, it was at that moment that the group had noticed Vincent for the first time.

"Who the fuck is that creep?" Yuffie asked not bothering to keep her voice down, Vincent took a few steps towards Yuffie sweeping his cape to the side and he removed the handgun from its holster. With one swift movement Vincent was directly in front of Yuffie holding the gun to her head.

"My name is Vincent," the dark man hissed in Yuffie's ear causing the ninja to shake out of fear, Vincent didn't bother to hide the offence in his tone. "Vincent Valentine and you'll refer to me as such in the future, do you understand?" He asked as he pressed the gun barrel harder into her head.

Yuffie nodded frantically, "yes…" she answered in a small frightened tone, "I understand…"

"Good," Vincent replied in a satisfied tone as he moved his gun away from Yuffie's head, he spun the gun round with a quick flick of his wrist before he put it back in his holster. He took a few steps away from Yuffie as the other members of the group stared at him in awe.

"Damn! We've known the guy for what…a minute...and already he can keep Yuffie in line!" Barret exclaimed as he gave Yuffie an evil grin. "I'm starting to like this guy."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs placing her hands on her hips as she glared at Barret, the man with the gun arm just ignored her.

"Come on," Tifa said trying hard not to laugh at the expression on Yuffie's face, she released her hold on Cloud and she walked to the centre of the room smiling at the group. "Let's get out of here, the amount of time we spent in this place, it'll probably be nightfall."

"If that is the case, I think it would be best that we go to the inn and rest," Red suggested helpfully as Tifa stroked the beast behind the ears.

"Do you think they'll let us stay?" Aerith asked as she stared intently at Tifa and Red.

"Well, after the performance in the town square I'd be very surprised if they let us stay, eh Cloud…" Zack added smirking at Cloud causing the latter to scowl at him, he opened his mouth to speak but Tifa got there before him.

"Come on," Tifa said again a little flirtatiously as she stood behind Cloud and wrapped her arms round his neck again. "I mean you found Sephiroth right…"

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he answered forgetting about what Zack had said, "he said that he was going north…whatever the hell that meant?"

"So he's moved on, which means, we don't have to stay in this mansion for much longer, right…" Tifa continued to ask as she rubbed a finger round the back of Cloud's ear causing the man to chuckle slightly.

"I guess so…" Cloud answered in between chuckles, Tifa stopped rubbing the back of Cloud's ear and she removed her hands from behind his neck. "Let's get out of here," Cloud commanded as the group left the room and made their way out of the mansion.

It was indeed nightfall when the group walked out of the mansion and back into town, the cloaked men had long since disappeared and the shops were in the process of being shut up for the night, no one paid the group any more heed as they entered the inn to book a room for the night. Fortunately the inn was virtually empty and the inn keeper wasn't aware of the incident that had occurred earlier and the group were able to get a room no problem. They walked up the stairs to their room and after choosing their beds the group fell asleep pretty much straight away.

"No…" Zack moaned tossing and turning in his sleep as he was plagued by more nightmares, "please no…"

"Sephiroth!" Zack found himself yelling as he held his sword at the silver haired man's throat, "What the fuck did you do that for?"

"Z…Zack…what are they gonna do to us?" Cloud's frightened voice echoed in Zack's head as the drag human continued to toss and turn subconsciously clawing at his pillow with his outstretched claws. "I…I'm scared…"

"Don't worry Cloud, I won't let them harm you."

"Z…Zack…Don't let them take me again! I can't take it anymore!"

"Hojo you sick bastard! What the hell did you do to him?"

"Now Zack," Hojo's high pitched voice cut through Zack's head like a dentist drill, "this will hurt…a lot…ha, ha, ha!" Zack saw the evil man give him a sinister grin as he felt a needle being jabbed into his arm.

"!" Zack heard himself yell before he woke up in a cold sweat. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh…" Zack cried out as he quickly sat up and looked around him breathing deeply. "It was…just a dream…" Zack whispered as he let out a sigh of relief, he looked behind him and saw slash marks on the pillow, Zack sighed again as he covered his face with his hands and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "When will it stop?" Zack asked himself, "When will the nightmare end?" Zack looked over to his left and he saw Aerith lying in the bed next to his fast asleep, he threw the covers off him and reached for his shirt that was hanging over the bed post, he put his shirt and boots on and started to walk to the other side of the room. He stopped by Aerith's bed and stroked her face gently with a finger before he walked over to the window and opened it. He slowly opened the window being careful not to wake any of his friends up, he peered out of the window and looked out.

The sun had long since set and the moon and the stars illuminated the night sky, Zack climbed out of the window, he looked around one more time before he opened his wings and took off flying high over the dimly lit town, he flew in front of the moon causing his silhouette to appear on the ground as he flew. After a couple of minutes he left the town and he saw the shadowy form of the buggy they were using near the entrance to the town and he wondered if they would ever need the buggy beyond that point. Zack flew a little further on when he saw a lone figure leaning against a tree on a small hill, Zack flew closer to the hill and landed a few feet behind the man. Zack closed his wings as he came up to the man and he was surprised to discover that it was Vincent. "Vincent…" Zack stated in surprise as Vincent turned round to look at Zack, "What are you doing here?" Zack asked, "I thought you would've been asleep."

"I've had 30 years worth of sleep," Vincent answered not moving from his spot, "I don't need anymore sleep, unless of course I wanted to be plagued by more nightmares." Vincent then smiled weakly at Zack, "I could ask you the same question."

"I couldn't sleep either," Zack answered as he leaned on the tree next to Vincent, "Just coming back here…it brings back a lot of memories."

"I know what you mean," Vincent stated as he nodded in agreement, "this whole town has been nothing but a nightmare to me."

"Hey Vincent…about what you said before in the mansion…" Zack started to ask as Vincent stared at him with his blood red eyes.

"What about it?" Vincent questioned.

"Well…can you really help me to become human again?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a hopeful look with his own yellow eyes.

"That, and much more," Vincent answered as he pushed himself off the tree and walked to the edge of the hill. "Zack…I'm going to be honest with you, there is no easy way for you to become human again. It takes quite a lot of training."

"I know," Zack replied as he pushed himself off the tree and stood next to Vincent at the edge of the hill. "How long will it take?"

"Could take weeks, months, even years," Vincent answered truthfully, "I don't know, but the question is, will you be able to handle the training?" Vincent asked as he gave Zack a questioning look.

Zack thought about it for a while, "Yeah," he finally answered nodding his head, "I can handle it."

Vincent grinned at the drag human, "good," he replied as he patted Zack on the shoulder before he walked back towards the tree, "then let's begin."

"Whoa!" Zack yelled out in shock at what Vincent had said, "You want to begin training…right now?" He questioned as Vincent nodded.

"No time like the present," the dark man answered as Zack walked back towards him still staring at him in shock. "Unless of course, you just want to go to sleep," Vincent added as Zack shook his head vigorously.

"Nah," Zack answered as he took a brief glance at the town before turning back to face Vincent. "I can't sleep anyway, besides, if I do go back Tifa would just use me to cook everyone's breakfast in the morning." Vincent raised an eyebrow when he heard the last part, "I breathe fire in my sleep," Zack started to explain, "I think it's because of the experiments that were conducted on me. I don't really know why I breathe fire at night, but it doesn't stop Tifa from using it to her advantage."

"Hmmm…" Vincent thought as he took on board what Zack was saying, "Tell me Zack, when Hojo was conducting those experiments on you, did he inject something into you?" Vincent asked gravely half knowing the answer.

Zack folded his arms and closed his eyes as he thought carefully about how he was going to answer, he saw an image of a strange green coloured liquid in a syringe. "Come to think of it," Zack started to answer as he opened his eyes again, "I do remember this strange liquid being injected into me, it looked like Mako, and it smelt like Mako too. But I knew that it wasn't just Mako…and it wasn't Jenova cells either…it was…something else."

"Dragon DNA," Vincent answered, Zack stared at Vincent as if to say why would Hojo inject dragon DNA into me. "Dragons are among the toughest creatures to slay," Vincent explained to clear things up for Zack. "Their skin is harder than diamonds, their claws can cut through almost anything and their flames can turn a full grown adult human into ash as soon as they lay their eyes on them."

"But why would Hojo inject dragon DNA into me?" Zack asked the dreaded question.

"My guess is he wanted to find new ways to create the ultimate soldier," Vincent theorised as his eyes continued to scan Zack. "And you, were the prototype," Vincent stated as he pointed at Zack.

"The prototype…" Zack repeated the last word Vincent had said, "Is it possible that the experiments Hojo was conducting on me in the Shinra building were nothing to do with the Jenova Project?" Zack thought to himself, "If so, then what was it to do with?"

"You're the first of a new breed of soldier," Vincent replied as he nodded his head, "but anyway…" he quickly changed the subject. "The reason why you're breathing fire in your sleep is because your fire lung is open, but I could teach you how to keep it closed," Vincent offered, "that way, you won't feel like Tifa is exploiting you." Zack laughed slightly as Vincent gave him a serious look, "this is serious," he stated darkly and Zack fell silent, "Now, close your eyes and concentrate." Zack closed his eyes and listened to Vincent's voice, "now, clear your mind," Vincent instructed Zack, "focus all your energy into closing your fire lung, breath deeply, relax, but maintain your focus." Zack focused all his energy into closing his fire lung, it wasn't an easy task as Zack kept letting his mind wander, but after an hour he had finally managed to close his fire lung.

"Very good," Vincent complimented Zack as the drag human opened his eyes, "now we'll move on to the next thing, I've watched you destroy that tube in the basement with great interest," Vincent informed Zack as he paced round the drag human. "Your technique is…crude, but nevertheless it gets the job done."

"Crude…" Zack repeated as he looked down at his hands.

"I can help you improve your technique," Vincent told Zack.

"But, you use a gun," Zack stated as he pointed at the holster attached to Vincent's belt, "won't that give you an unfair advantage?"

Vincent grinned, "Who said anything about using a gun…" Vincent answered as his gaze met Zack's again, "we're going to do this session claw to claw." At these words a blood red aura surrounded Vincent and he hovered in the air slightly as his features began to change. The pupils in his eyes changed to slits and his black hair became more wild and unruly and changed to a ghostly white colour, his face twisted as it became longer and more animal like, purple fur began to cover his whole body and a long tail lashed from side to side as the red aura disappeared and Vincent in his beast form landed perfectly on both his feet.

"Vincent…" Zack asked as he stared at the beast in shock, Vincent opened his eyes and stared at the drag human.

"This is my Galian Beast form," Vincent answered in a much deeper voice than normal, (A/N, yes Vincent can talk when he's in one of his beast forms, but his voice goes deeper.) "This is one of several forms that I have."

"Several…" Zack questioned, wondering how there could be more than one monster living inside one person.

"Yes," Vincent answered as he nodded his beast like head, "this was the form I commonly used before I locked myself in that coffin. I can change my form at will, and in time, you can change between your human form and your drag human form. But for now, let's improve on your attacking techniques." Zack hardly had chance to get into a fighting stance when Vincent charged at him without warning and Zack just barely managed to block Vincent forcing him back slightly.

"What the hell?" Zack demanded as he stared at Vincent in shock, "what the hell did you do that for?"

"Do you think your enemies will wait until you're ready?" Vincent asked as he and Zack began to pace round each other, "Do you think they'd sit around and wait for you to prepare yourself?"

"I know that!" Zack snapped at Vincent, "I was in SOLDIER before I was forced to become one of Hojo's guinea pigs."

"Then you'll know better than anyone that you're enemies normally aim to kill and they show no mercy," Vincent retorted gruffly as he got into a fighting stance, "come on, show me what you've got." Zack hesitated for a few seconds before he charged at Vincent, his clawed hands thrust out in front of him aiming to dig deep into Vincent's flesh. Vincent side stepped out of the way grabbed hold of both Zack's arms, twisted them behind the drag human's back and held them there causing Zack to wince in pain.

"You call that an attack?" Vincent hissed in Zack's ear, "you can do a lot better than that, now come on!" Vincent released Zack's arms and pushed him away causing the drag human to stumble slightly, "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Vincent yelled as he spread his muscular arms out. (A/N, I don't actually own this line, it's a quote from The Matrix where Morphius is training Neo.)

"I'm trying!" Zack yelled as he regained his balance and turned round to face Vincent, "but you're not exactly making it easy, I thought this was a training session!"

"It is a training session," Vincent answered still in that gruff voice, "but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna go easy on you, now come on!" Zack sighed but he obeyed Vincent and he charged forwards again as Vincent did the same, Zack quickly ducked under Vincent's claws and aimed a simple punch combo at Vincent's chest, Vincent quickly reached his arms up to his chest and blocked Zack's fists but Zack aimed a low kick at Vincent's leg which struck successfully. "Very good," Vincent replied without even flinching as he and Zack continued to trade blows, each one blocking successfully and letting few moves strike them. Zack slowly became more confident in his fighting skills and he was starting to get more used to using his hands, feet and claws when he before he was only used to using a sword. "Keep it up," Vincent encouraged Zack as Zack aimed a powerful punch at Vincent's face. Vincent managed to block the punch but the sheer force of it was enough to knock him back, Vincent managed to stop himself but he grinned at Zack. "It's clear that your dragon strength has come through, but you mustn't be afraid to use it."

Zack nodded but he wasn't aware that Vincent had slipped behind him until he felt himself being lifted up into the air, Zack looked behind him and he saw that Vincent had grabbed hold of his tail and started to spin Zack round above his head. Zack began to get dizzy as Vincent suddenly let go of him, Zack twisted his body in midair before he suddenly turned invisible. "Huh…" Vincent uttered in surprise as he stared at the spot where Zack was a few seconds ago. Vincent was so focused on that spot that he didn't even realise that Zack had managed to sneak up on him while invisible. Zack grabbed Vincent by the leg and lifted him above his head before he slammed Vincent down on the ground on either side of him repeatedly. Zack then leapt into the air and slammed Vincent into the ground with such a force that he was sent skidding across the ground and crashed into the tree. Zack turned visible again and breathed deeply as he felt the strength surge through his veins again.

"Vincent…" Zack called out his friend's name as he looked down and noticed the large skid marks in the ground before he saw Vincent lying underneath the tree. Zack ran up to the tree and he saw that Vincent had reverted to his human form. The dark haired man sat up and he smiled when he saw Zack.

"Not bad," Vincent commented as he staggered slowly to his feet, "not bad at all, you're using your newfound strength to your advantage, and you used your invisibility too, good combination."

"Thanks…" Zack replied modestly as he ruffled his spiky hair, "I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes."

"Now, let's see how you fare in ranged attacks," Vincent stated.

"Ranged attacks?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a confused stare.

Vincent nodded, "thanks to the dragon DNA inside you, you possess the ability to breathe fire and to create it in your hands." Vincent answered, "I have reason to believe that you can breathe ice as well."

"Yeah," Zack answered, "how did you know?"

"All dragons possess the ability to control the elements," Vincent replied, "the nearer you are to an element, the stronger your powers for that particular element is." Zack nodded to show that he understood and he and Vincent walked to the edge of the hill again. Vincent pulled his cape back and took out a small disc, "now, what I want you to do is create a fireball in your hand," Vincent instructed, "I'm going to throw this disc into the air and I want you to throw the fireball at it, understand?"

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded his head.

"Good," Vincent replied, "create the fireball," Zack pulled his hands back and concentrated as he created a fireball in both his hands which gradually grew in size. After a few seconds Vincent threw the disc high into the air. "Now!" Vincent yelled and Zack launched the fireball at the disc causing it to set alight and fall to the ground. "You have keen eyesight," Vincent complimented Zack, "another useful skill to have, being able to attack your enemy from a distance is very advantageous, it gives you the opportunity to quickly dispose of them without you being spotted. Alright, let's try it again." Zack created an ice ball in both his hands, Vincent threw another disc and Zack threw the ice ball at the disc causing it to freeze in midair, the disc fell to the ground and shattered. After half an hour Zack was able to hit targets from a distance, after two more hours of training Zack was able to increase the size and power of his fire and ice breaths, create tornados of fire, turn anything into an ice statue, cause fire geysers to come out of the ground, create blizzards, and even create fire and ice barriers round himself.

"You've done well Zack," Vincent remarked as Zack was sat on the ground looking slightly exhausted but happy. "Your physical attacks have become stronger and you can do so much more with your breath weapons. I'll teach you how to revert but that'll have to wait for another training session."

"When will the next training session be?" Zack asked Vincent.

"I'll let you know when the next one is," Vincent answered vaguely as Zack stood up again and yawned loudly, "but for now, I think we should return to the inn so you can get some sleep."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "I am feeling tired now, maybe it was from all that training." Vincent chuckled as the two walked down the hill and made their way to Nibelheim, they got back to the inn. "Aren't you coming in?" Zack asked Vincent.

"I already told you," Vincent stated as he shook his head, "I don't need sleep, I won't wander too far, I'll just be around town."

"Oh…ok," Zack replied, "thanks Vincent."

"Anytime," The dark man replied, Zack gave Vincent a sleepy smile as he flew in through the open window. Once he was back in the room he walked over to his bed, removed his boots and shirt climbed into bed and fell into a nightmare free sleep.

Tifa woke up early the next morning, she stretched as she threw the covers off herself and put her shoes on. She got out of bed and reached into her bag for the eggs, bacon, sausages etc that she had bought the day before, she took the plates and the food over to Zack's bed put some food on one the plates, held it out to Zack's face and waited, but nothing happened. "Huh…" Tifa uttered in surprise as she stared at the sleeping drag human, "maybe I should wait a little while longer." Tifa continued to wait but still there was no fireball shooting out of Zack's mouth much to Tifa's bewilderment.

"Nice try," a smug voice spoke up suddenly, Tifa almost leapt out of her skin when she heard it, she looked back at Zack to see that the drag human was wide awake and was grinning smugly at her.

"I don't understand," Tifa stated in shock, "why weren't you breathing fire?"

"I learned how to close off my fire lung," Zack answered as he stretched and placed his arms round the back of his head watching Tifa with an amused smile. "I closed it off last night before I went to sleep."

"Since when did you train yourself to close your fire lung?" Tifa questioned giving Zack a sceptical stare.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Zack responded as he closed his eyes still with smug expression on his face, "looks like you'll have to cook breakfast another way today."

Tifa huffed irritably as she looked round the room and saw the fireplace, she then looked back at Zack, "hmmm…" Tifa thought as an evil grin crept across her face, Zack's eyes fluttered wide open as he felt a strong hand reach behind him and grab him by the scruff of the neck.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as Tifa dragged him out of bed and pulled him towards the fireplace. "Ouch Tifa!" Zack yelled in pain, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Finding another way to cook breakfast," Tifa answered as she positioned Zack's head near the fireplace.

"I don't follow you," Zack replied as he gave Tifa a confused look over his shoulder. Tifa grinned as she pulled hard on Zack's tail causing him to breathe a jet of flames out of reflex, the flames hit the logs in the fireplace setting them alight. Tifa then shoved Zack out of the way and started to put all the food into a pan and cooked it. "Pure evil…" Zack muttered under his breath as he picked himself up off the floor, but it was within earshot of Tifa, Tifa ignored him and within half an hour she cooked everyone's breakfast.

Everyone woke up to the smell of the food and Tifa began to dish out the food, Zack stood in the corner of the room glowering at Tifa as everyone began to eat. Tifa was about to eat her own food when she noticed Zack stood there in the corner glaring at her, she picked up the other plate of food and she took it over to him. "Here you go Zack," she stated kindly as she gave him the plate of food, "peace offering..."

"Until the next morning," Zack snapped irritably.

"Come on Zack, you know I don't mean anything by it," Tifa pleaded with Zack.

"Yeah I know," Zack replied his tone was a little more friendly, he took the plate of food and started to eat. As soon as everyone had eaten they left the inn and met Vincent near the entrance to the mansion, the group left the town and started to follow the trail to the mountains.

"I sure wish we could've taken the buggy," Yuffie moaned as the group entered the mountains and the trail became steadily steeper.

"I don't think the buggy was built for mountains Yuffie," Aerith replied as she and the ninja walked beside Zack.

"Besides, the exercise will do us all some good," Zack added as the group continued to walk up the steep mountain trail.

"Right…" Yuffie relied as she gave Zack a sceptical look, "you do know that the only person who really needs the exercise is Barret?" Yuffie asked sarcastically causing Barret to scowl at Yuffie.

"It's a good thing it's open season," Barret retorted as he pointed his gun arm at Yuffie, "Cos I feel like hunting ninjas!"

"!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran passed the other members of the group to get away from Barret, the man with the gun arm chased after her.

"Get back here ya scrawny assed bitch!" Barret yelled after Yuffie as he chased Yuffie further up the trail with the rest of the group staring in amazement.

"Wow…" Zack spoke up after making sure Barret was out of earshot, "that's the fastest I've ever seen Barret run."

"Come on," Cloud ordered as he quickened his pace, "let's keep going," without another word the group continued up the trail until they came across the rope bridge that was in Cloud's story. "Ok…this is weird," Cloud uttered as he stared at the now fixed rope bridge.

"Maybe they rebuilt it," Tifa stated as Cloud turned round and stared at her, "why not?" Tifa added with a shrug, "They've rebuilt Nibelheim."

"Good point," Cloud agreed with Tifa he put his foot out and walked slowly across the bridge making sure it was safe, he soon reached the other side. "It's ok!" Cloud called out to the group, "the bridge is safe," everyone walked across the bridge and as soon as everyone was safely on the other side they continued. The group walked through a winding cave they heard a low rumbling sound as a strange monster walked passed them, fortunately it didn't notice them and the group continued to traverse the cave until they found the trail leading out of the mountains and the other side. The group walked through the fields until they entered a small town with a tall metallic structure on the other side of it, the group stood there and stared at it.

"What is it?" Tifa asked as the group continued to stare at the structure.

"It looks like a rocket," Cloud answered.

"Why would they have a rocket in a place like this?" Zack questioned.

"Dunno laddie," Cait Sith answered, "but why don't we explore the town?"

"Good idea," Cloud agreed with Cait Sith, "we'll meet here in about an hour." Everyone nodded and they went their own separate ways, Cloud, Tifa and Vincent entered the weapon store to buy new weapons for everyone. Yuffie and Red went to the materia store, Cait Sith hung around in the middle of the town offering to tell people their fortunes, Barret found a bench to sit on to rest his feet while Aerith and Zack went to the item store to pick up some supplies. After an hour everyone met up in the place they agreed and they entered a house not too far from the rocket. The group walked through the house and out into the backyard where they saw a large pink plane.

"Looks like there's a Shinra logo on it," Red stated as he pointed at some writing with his paw.

"Tiny Bronco…" Zack read the name of the plane, "This is so cool!" He exclaimed excitedly as he leapt into the pilot seat, "I don't think the owner would mind if we borrowed this."

"A plane would be cool," Cloud admitted as he continued to stare at the plane in awe, "but how could we pilot it without the keys?"

"May I help you?" Another voice spoke up suddenly, the group turned round and they saw a young woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a white lab coat and glasses stood behind them smiling.

"No," Cloud answered politely, "we were just looking at it, right guys," everyone nodded and murmured their agreements as Zack quickly slid out of the pilot seat hoping the woman hadn't noticed.

"If you'd like to use the plane please ask the captain, he should be in his rocket," the woman suggested helpfully, "I'm Shera by the way, and what are your names?"

"I'm Cloud," Cloud answered.

"Tifa,"

"Aerith,"

"Barret,"

"Nanaki, otherwise known as Red XIII or Red."

"Cait Sith, fortune telling extraordinaire."

"Yuffie, expert treasure hunter…"

"And resident pain in the ass," Zack spoke up causing Yuffie to scowl at him, "the name's Zack."

"Vincent Valentine."

"It's so nice to meet you all," Shera stated with a smile, "I see you're not from the Shinra, I thought that the approval for the reopening of the space program came." The group gave Shera blank stares, "President Rufus is scheduled to come here," Shera informed the group trying to hide the worry in her voice. "The captain's been restless all morning."

"Rufus!" Zack and Cloud exclaimed at the same time, hardly daring to believe that Rufus was on his way.

"If Rufus is involved, that ain't good," Barret added.

"Ok, me and Zack are gonna head to the rocket and talk to the captain, the rest of you stay here," Cloud ordered, the group made themselves more comfortable, Vincent grinned as he examined the new sawn off shotgun he bought himself. Cloud and Zack left the house and headed to the north side of town towards the rocket. They both climbed up the ladder to the entrance of the rocket.

"Shinra 26…" Zack read the name on the side of the rocket, "I wonder how long ago this was built…" He asked as he looked down at Cloud.

"Dunno," Cloud answered, "I guess we could ask the captain when we get there." Cloud and Zack climbed the ladder in silence, they soon reached the top and they walked through the door where they saw a blond haired man wearing a pilot outfit stood with his back to them. "Errr…excuse me," Cloud spoke up to get the man's attention, the man turned round and glared at Cloud and Zack.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" The man asked irritably as he continued to glare at Zack and Cloud.

"That's a fine way to greet someone," Zack retorted finding the man to be incredibly rude, "did you by any chance get up on the wrong side of the rocket this morning?"

"Zack…" Cloud hissed the drag human's name under his breath hoping against hope that the man didn't hear Zack's sarcastic comment. "We heard the captain was here," Cloud quickly added.

The man laughed deeply, "captain…" he repeated what Cloud said, "I'm the captain!" He stated as he pointed at himself. "The name's Cid," he told them his name, "but everyone here calls me captain though, what d'ya want?"

"Well…this rocket," Zack started, "it's really cool, we were wondering if you could tell us about it."

Cid grinned at Zack, "wow not bad for a…" Cid faltered slightly as he stared at Zack thinking best of what to say, "Whatever the hell you are." Zack scowled at Cid, "alright, I'll explain, you know the Shinra developed a lot of technological gadgets for the war right?" Cid asked as Zack and Cloud nodded, "well now it's a Mako company but back then it was a weapons manufacturer," Cid continued with his explanation. "They developed a rocket engine, there was so much excitement about the thought of going into outer space. Our dreams got bigger and bigger, they put a major budget into it and made prototype after prototype! Finally they completed the Shinra 26, they chose the best pilot in Shinra, no…the world…ME!" Cid said boastfully as his chest swelled with pride.

"So what happened?" Cloud asked like Zack he was eager to find out more.

"It came to the day of the launch," Cid continued with his tale, "everything was going well…" he turned round and he kicked the side of the rocket. "But because of that dumb ass Shera, the launch got messed up. That's why they became so anal. And so Shinra nixed their outer space exploration plans, after they told me the future was space exploration and got my damn hopes up…" Cid punched the wall, "DAMN THEM! Then it was all over once they found out that Mako energy was profitable, they didn't even so much as look at space exploration. Money, moola, dinero, my dreams were just a financial number to them!" Cid kicked the wall again and punched it several times, "Look at this busted pile of shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he continued to kick and punch the wall. "I was supposed to be the first man up in space in this!"

"Dude, I've got two words for ya," Zack muttered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Anger management…"

Cid turned round and glared at Zack but he chose to ignore the comment, "everyday it tilts a little more," he stated as he shook his head sadly, "I dunno which will happen first, this pile of crap collapsing, or me getting the fuck outta here." Cid slumped against the wall and folded his arms, "my only hope now is to talk to the President."

"Is Rufus coming?" Cloud asked as Cid nodded.

"Yeah," Cid answered a little more cheerful, "it must be news about restarting the space program. A young president, that's what we need," Cid stated admiringly, "he still has dreams too."

"Oh he has dreams alright," Zack said cryptically, "but his dreams are more in the world domination…ouch!" Zack yelled in pain as Cloud gave him a sharp dig in the stomach.

"Cid…about your plane, the Tiny Bronco…" Cloud started to ask, "We were wondering if we could borrow it."

Cid raised his eyebrows as he stared at Cloud and Zack, "are you out of your fuckin minds?" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs, "that's my most cherished possession, I can't let you take it!" Cid turned away for a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder and he saw that Cloud and Zack were still stood there. "You're still here…" He demanded as he glared at Cloud and Zack, "Fuck off!"

"Alright…sheesh" Zack started to retort, "no need to throw a hissy fit…" Cid continued to glare daggers at Cloud and Zack as they slowly backed out of the rocket knowing that they had outstayed their welcome. They climbed back down the ladder and made their way back to Shera's house where they found everyone else sat there waiting, Shera smiled as she walked up to them.

"Did the captain say anything?" Shera asked as she gave them hopeful expressions.

"Nope," Cloud answered as he shook his head.

"All though he did tell us an interesting story," Zack informed as Cloud made a throat cutting gesture with his finger trying to get Zack to shut up. "He kicked ten shits out of the rocket a couple of times and your name cropped up once or twice, but other than that, he didn't really say anything…oh wait, he hinted for us to fuck off, but other than that…"

"I think she gets the idea Zack," Cloud cut in through gritted teeth as he glared at Zack thinking that the drag human had said too much.

"I see…" Shera said quietly trying to hide the disappointment in her voice, the group jumped when they heard the door slam behind them and Cid stormed into the room glaring at Shera as he entered.

"Fuck Shera are you blind?" Cid yelled at the poor woman as the group stared in shock, "we got guests! Fetch them some tea for Christ sake!" Cid blasphemed loudly as Zack made a cross shape in front of him causing Aerith to scowl at him, but no one else noticed.

"I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised as she hurried into the kitchen and placed a teapot filled with water on to the stove and began to make the tea.

"It's fine really," Cloud stated trying to be polite, "don't mind us."

"Yeah," Zack added, "I can't stand the taste of tea anyway."

"Shut up!" Cid yelled as he glared at Zack and Cloud, "sit your asses down and drink your goddamn tea!"

"Of course…I could try to stomach it…" Zack muttered nervously as he sat down backwards on the chair so that his tail was sticking out, Cloud however remained on his feet. Cid sat down on the chair next to the drag human, he rested his feet on the table and began to tap the table irritably.

"Damn I'm pissed!" He cursed impatiently as he leapt to his feet again and looked at Shera, "Shera! I'm gonna be in the backyard tunin' up the Tiny Bronco! An' be sure to serve them tea! Alright!" He yelled in a patronising manner as he stormed out of the room and slammed the backdoor behind him.

"How rude…" Tifa spoke up irritably as she glared in the direction Cid stormed off in, "you'd think he'd have better manners."

"Sorry about this," Cloud apologised to Shera as she turned away from the stove, "it's our fault."

"No, no, don't apologise," Shera replied quickly as she politely brushed Cloud's apology aside, "he's always been like this."

"Well that's no excuse for his behaviour," Aerith admonished as she stood up from her seat on the sofa and placed her hands on her hips. "He shouldn't treat people like that."

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "if you ask me he was too hard on ya!"

Shera shook her head, "no…" she stated quickly as she rested her hands on the kitchen counter, "it's because I made a stupid mistake. I was the one who destroyed his dream," Shera confessed as she hung her head sadly.

"How did it happen?" Zack asked curiously as Shera sighed and looked up again as she began to explain what happened.

---

(Flashback)

It was approximately 10 years ago on the morning when the Shinra 26 was to be launched into space and there was much excitement on the big day. But before the rocket could be launched technicians were checking the rocket to make sure that it was safe. Shera was in the engine room checking the oxygen tanks while Cid stood there and watched.

"Hey! Get your ass in gear!" Cid yelled impatiently as he shook his fist at Shera hoping that would make her work faster. "You work like a snail! Even the moon'd get tired waiting for your ass!"

Shera had completed her checks on one of the tanks, she stood up and looked at Cid, "I…I'm sorry…" Shera stammered as she bowed her head slightly.

"Don't spend so much time checking that pissin' oxygen tank!" Cid yelled at Shera as he became more and more agitated, "Shera, bein' careful's good, but it won't do any good no matter how many times you check that oxygen tank. That thing wouldn't break even if hell froze over!" Cid stated proudly as he patted the oxygen tank.

"But…" Shera stuttered as she tried to reason with Cid but he didn't want to hear it.

"No buts!" Cid snapped as he became annoyed again and started to wave his arms wildly, "you're not stupid! So be more efficient!"

"I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised again as she got to work checking the next oxygen tank.

Cid shook his head, "Lord give me strength…" He muttered under his breath before he strode out of the engine room and walked to the corridor where he, Cloud and Zack were talking. Several technicians were working on the rocket but they stopped what they were doing and formed a line on either side of the corridor and saluted as Cid entered.

"Captain! Our dreams are finally coming true!" One of the technicians exclaimed excitedly as Cid walked passed him.

"We're so proud to be a part of the launch of the Shinra 26," another technician stated tearfully as he wiped a tear away from his eye.

"Captain! Preparations are complete!" A third technician informed Cid, "all that's left is lift off."

"Yeah!" Cid answered as he laughed heartedly, he too was excited about going into outer space, finally his dream was coming true. "Just leave it all to me!" I'll be back in a few!" The technicians saluted again as Cid walked passed them and stood at the entrance to the cockpit. "Thanks guys," he replied gratefully.

"We're praying for your safety!" All the technicians said in perfect unison as they left the rocket, Cid chuckled to himself as he entered the cockpit and sat down at the control panel.

"Instrumental panel…all clear…Shinra No 26, ready for launch," Cid spoke into a radio as static crackled in it.

"Engine pressure rising," a female technician informed Cid over the radio, "Shinra No 26, 3 minutes to launch."

"…Finally…" Cid let out a huge happy sigh and sat back in his chair only to fling himself forwards again as an alarm sounded. "What the? Cid yelled as he looked all around him, "what happened?"

"Cid! We have an emergency situation!" The female technician yelled desperately down the radio, "a mechanic is still in the engine section of the rocket!"

"What?" Cid snapped shocked at hearing that, "who's the son of a bitch?"

"I don't know," the female technician answered, "activating the intercom in the engine section," Cid looked up at the camera in front of him and he saw someone still in the engine room. "Hey, goddamn it" Cid shouted down the intercom, "who the hell is still in there?"

"It's Shera captain," Shera answered as she stopped what she was doing and talked into the intercom, "don't mind me, go ahead with the launch."

"Shera!" Cid continued to yell down the intercom, "what are you still doing there?" He demanded a hint of worry in his voice.

"I was still concerned," Shera answered truthfully as she pointed at one of the oxygen tanks, "the results of the oxygen tank test weren't satisfactory."

"You stupid little bitch!" Cid insulted Shera down the intercom, he didn't mean to insult her but it was all he could think of to say. "It's gonna get so hot in there that there ain't gonna be shit left when we blast off!" Cid informed Shera, "you're gonna be burnt to a crisp! You're gonna die, you know that, doncha?"

Shera shook her head, "I don't mind," she replied quietly as she returned to checking the oxygen tank, "if I can just fix this," she explained, "the launch'll be a success, I'm almost done."

"Almost done!" Cid repeated what Shera said in a panicked tone, "you're gonna die!"

"Cid, we must start the countdown!" The female technician warned him over the radio, "we won't make it if we don't, starting engine!"

"Hey wait a minute!" Cid yelled down the radio, "Shera's still in there!"

"What are you going to do Cid?" The female technician asked him, "if we cancel now, we'll have to wait six months for the next launch!"

"GODDAMNIT…Shera!" Cid cursed loudly down the intercom as he banged his fists on the control panel, "do you wanna make me a bloody murderer?"

"Captain!" Shera called to Cid over the intercom.

"Shera!" Cid yelled her name down the intercom.

"Tank number seven check is complete," Shera informed him as she moved on to the next oxygen tank, "once I complete tank number eight, it's all clear."

"Come on Shera…" Cid pleaded with her, "hurry up…you're gonna die!"

"30 seconds till ignition," the female technician warned Cid, "beginning countdown."

"Hey wait!" Shera's still in there!" Cid yelled again.

"Forget about her Cid!" The female technician snapped down the radio, "We won't make it in time!"

"What…what am I…what am supposed to do?" Cid yelled desperately as he buried his face in his hands.

"13 seconds till ignition," the female technician gave Cid a second warning.

"Oh man…" Cid moaned as his arms violently shook, "the moon…outer space…my dreams!"

"Ignite engine!" The female technician commanded as the countdown reached zero.

"SH….IT!" Cid shouted at the top of his lungs, he looked down at the control panel and slammed his hand on the abort button. The rocket engine ignited and hovered off the ground for a few seconds before the engine died down and fell back to the ground. The rocket stayed in its position for a second before it slowly tilted with a loud creak, the rocket fell on to the old support beams and remained there even to the present day.

---

(End Flashback)

"He pushed the emergency engine shutdown switch, aborting the mission and saving my life." Shera explained as she finished telling the group what happened, "after that the space program was cut back and the launch was cancelled, it's my fault his dream was destroyed…" Shera stated sadly as she shook her head, "that's why…it's alright, I don't care what the captain says, I'll live my life for him."

"Hmmm…you're still devoted to him no matter how badly he treated you," Vincent mused from his corner as he closed his eyes and folded his arms as he thought about the concept.

"Not me!" Yuffie stated boastfully, "if a guy ever treated me like shit I'd high tail it out of there faster than anyone could say materia!"

"That is if any man would give you a second glance," Barret remarked as he grinned evilly at Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffie snapped as she scowled at Barret and placed her hands on her hips, "I resent that!"

"Actually he's got a point," Zack agreed with Barret as Yuffie turned round and glared at the drag human, "you're not exactly well developed in the upper chest area," Zack commented as he pointed towards Yuffie's upper chest area.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie demanded as she stomped over to Zack.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Aerith stated as she too walked over to Zack, "Did you Zack?" She asked as she stared intently at Zack.

"Right…" Zack answered as he gave both Aerith and Yuffie a sly grin, "sure…whatever you…ow!" Zack cried out as a sharp pain shot through his foot, he looked up at Aerith and saw her grinning at him, "Aerith!" Zack yelled her name, "What did you do that for?"

"There was no need for you to insult Yuffie like that," Aerith admonished as she waggled a finger in Zack's face.

"Hey, Barret insulted her too," Zack retorted as he looked over to find that the man with gun arm was snickering at him, "I don't see you stamping on his foot."

"What you said was worse," Aerith argued back, Zack opened his mouth to speak again but he closed it again as everyone heard the sound of a door slamming and Cid stormed back into the room again.

"Shera!" Cid yelled so suddenly that the poor woman almost leapt out of her skin, "you still haven't served em tea yet!"

"I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised again as she rushed back to the stove and continued to make the tea.

"Look Cid, I know you've had a hard time lately," Zack spoke up as the pilot turned round and glared at him, "but do you really have to be so hard on her?"

"Can it lizard breath!" Cid snapped at the drag human, "or I'll shove my spear up where the sun don't shine!" Cid threatened as he grasped hold of a long spear secured to his back, Zack stared nervously at the spear and he fell silent. Cid grabbed hold of a chair opposite Zack, he sat down on it and rested his leg on the table for the second time and tapped it impatiently on the table again. "They're late…" Cid muttered under his breath as he continued to tap his foot on the table, "where's Rufus?"

As if answering his question, the front door was flung open and an over weight man with thinning grey hair wearing a trench coat entered the room. "Hey-hey!" The man exclaimed excitedly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Long time no see! So Cid, how've ya been?"

Cid leapt to his feet and turned round to face the man, "well if it ain't fat man Palmer!" Cid responded by way of greeting, "How long were you figurin' on keepin' me waitin'?" Cid demanded as he shoved Palmer backwards. "So when's the space program starting up again?" He asked as he gave Palmer a hopeful look.

"Hey-hey!" Palmer yelled a little flustered, "I don't know, the President's outside, so why don't you ask him?" Palmer suggested as Cid scowled at him.

"Fuck…good for nothing fat bastard…" Cid muttered under his breath as he pushed passed Palmer and stormed out of the house slamming the front door behind him.

"Don't say fat!" Palmer called after Cid before he entered the kitchen and saw Shera making tea, "are you making tea?" He asked as he gazed longingly at the teapot, "can I have some too?" He pleaded, "with lotsa sugar and honey…and oh yeah…don't forget the lard."

Zack snickered under his breath, "what jackass would have lard in their tea?" He asked as he stared at Cloud.

"Who cares?" The ex SOLDIER answered, "He's distracted, let's go and see what Rufus is up to." While Palmer was busy telling Shera what he wanted in his tea, Cloud and Zack took the opportunity to sneak passed the kitchen, Zack growled under his breath as he passed Palmer causing the hairs on the back of the man's neck to stand up on end, Palmer turned round to look at the door just in time to see the end of Zack's tail disappear out of the door before it closed. Zack and Cloud stood near the door and eavesdropped on the conversation between Cid and Rufus.

"What the…" Cid yelled as he glared at Rufus who was flanked by three bodyguards, "you got me all excited for nothin'!" Cid snapped at Rufus as he waved his arms wildly, "Then what did ya come here for?"

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco," Rufus requested calmly making Cid even more agitated, "we're going after Sephiroth, but it seems that we were going in the wrong direction." Rufus informed Cid, "but now we think we know where he's heading. But we have to cross the ocean, which is why we need your plane."

"Shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he continued to glare at Rufus but he was careful not to get too close to Rufus for fear that his bodyguards would shoot him. "First the airship, then the rocket!" Cid yelled as he listed the things that Shinra had taken away from him, "you've already taken outer space away from me, now you want to take the sky away from me too!"

Rufus laughed, "oh…you seem to be forgetting that it was because of Shinra inc that you were able to fly in the first place," Rufus reminded Cid, the pilot had his mouth open to speak but he closed it again as he knew that Rufus was right.

"So that's what they were after," Zack whispered to Cloud being careful not to attract attention, "they want the Tiny Bronco…"

"We can't let them get it," Cloud whispered back to Zack.

"Excuse me…" A small voice spoke to them, Zack and Cloud turned round to see Shera stood behind them. "This way…" Shera whispered as she beckoned for them to go inside, Cloud and Zack followed Shera into the house and she closed the door behind her. "You wanted to use the Tiny Bronco right?" Shera asked as the group nodded, "I believe Palmer's going to take it," Shera informed them, "why don't you go talk to him?"

"Oh we'll do more than that…" Zack muttered under his breath so that Shera couldn't hear him, the group walked through the house and out the back door where the Tiny Bronco was being kept. They saw Palmer sat in the pilot seat of the plane attempting to hotwire it.

"How are we gonna stop him from taking the plane?" Tifa asked as she looked to her team mates for an answer.

"Just leave it to me," Zack answered as he gave the group a sly grin, he turned round to look at Vincent who nodded. Zack turned invisible and he crept up to Palmer who was still trying to hotwire the plane.

"Why do I have to do this?" Palmer complained loudly as he fiddled with some wires, "I'm the Head of the Space…aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Palmer cried out as he grabbed by the back of his coat and dragged out of the pilot seat, the group saw their chance and crept to the plane while Palmer was kept busy, Yuffie leapt into the pilot seat and continued what Palmer started. Meanwhile Palmer was struggling against his invisible assailant, "unhand me!" He demanded as he struggled feebly in the air, "I'm the Head of the Space Program and I order you to unhand me!"

Palmer continued to struggle even when he was hanging from a hook on the back door, Zack turned visible again right in front of Palmer slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand as he grinned at Palmer. "Y…you…" Palmer stammered as he remembered seeing Zack somewhere before.

Zack nodded as he cracked his knuckles, "Back at the Shinra Building I warned you that if we ever crossed paths again, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you," Zack whispered threateningly as he glared menacingly at Palmer causing the man to cower in fear.

"Y…you…w…wouldn't…" Palmer stammered as Zack stalked closer to him, "Y…you…w…wouldn't…dare…kill me…"

Zack's grin grew wider as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves causing Palmer to cower even more at the sight of them, "try me…" He hissed menacingly in Palmer's ear.

"W…what…are…you…g…gonna…do…" Palmer asked in a frightened tone.

"Heh…heh…heh…" Zack laughed darkly as his eyes flashed with a lust for blood, "first of all, I'm gonna wrap my hands round your flabby neck…and I'm gonna strangle you until you go purple in the face." Zack started to explain in graphic detail as he placed a clawed hand at the bottom of Palmer's neck, causing the man to whimper. "Then I'm gonna rip your lungs out…" Zack continued as he moved his clawed hand down to where Palmer's lungs were. "And maybe you're heart as well…but first…I'm gonna ruin you…Like the very company you work for, ruined me…"

Zack grabbed Palmer by the collar of his coat with one hand and he pulled the other fist back aiming to strike Palmer in the face, for the first time in his life, his eyes showed no flicker of emotion. Just a cold emptiness as they narrowed in concentration. Palmer stared into the blank staring eyes and saw his own frightened eyes reflected in them, Palmer raised his hands up and screwed his eyes shut as he braised himself for the incoming punch. Palmer heard a sickening crunch as a fist slammed into something, Palmer opened his eyes and slowly lowered his fists to see Zack's arm next to him, his fist had disappeared into the door. Zack stood there for a few seconds frozen before he slowly pulled his fist back revealing a fist sized hole in the door at the same level Palmer's head was. Zack's hand was covered in splinters and the glove had holes in it, but at that moment in time Zack didn't care. Palmer stared into Zack's eyes and he saw that Zack's eyes were wide and they held great shock within them, Zack slowly lowered his arms, he was unaware that his friends had watched the whole the scene from the Tiny Bronco. For a while time seemed to have come to a stand still, but after a while Zack knocked Palmer down from the hook on the back door with a single sweep of his arm. Palmer landed on the ground and shuffled back a few spaces, until he remembered something, he reached into his coat pocket and he pulled out a gun. Palmer pointed the gun at Zack's shoulder blade aiming to shoot the drag human while his back was turned, but Zack knocked the gun out of Palmer's hand with one sweep of his tail.

Palmer tried to grab the gun, "aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He cried out in pain as a boot clad foot stepped on Palmer's hand, Palmer looked up to see Zack stood there staring at him still breathing deeply. Zack bent down, picked up the gun and emptied the ammo out of it before tossing it to the ground. "Y…you…were…bl…bluffing…" Palmer stammered not taking his frightened eyes off Zack.

"Luckily for you," Zack answered, "I'm not the kind of guy that likes to kill in cold blood…unlike the Shinra…" Zack spat the last word like a bitter poison, he continued to stand there staring Palmer down with his frightening yellow eyes. Palmer was about to speak but his voice was drowned out by the whirring of a plane motor, Yuffie had finally managed to hotwire the plane.

"Zack!" A loud voice called out his name, Zack looked up to see Cloud kneeling on the wing as everyone stared at him, "come on! We don't have much time!"

Zack lifted his foot off Palmer's hand, "get the hell out of here…" Zack hissed at Palmer, the frightened man didn't need telling twice. He staggered to his feet and ran towards the back door, he opened it and ran through the house as Zack ran towards the plane and leapt on it just as it started moving forwards. The Tiny Bronco crashed through the fence and sped through the field near the rocket gradually picking up speed until it took off into the air going steadily higher.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Yuffie moaned as she covered her mouth.

"I'll take over," Cloud offered as Yuffie climbed out of the pilot seat and Cloud climbed in himself. Cloud pulled on the controls and the plane flew once round the rocket before heading to the front of Cid's house where Cid and Rufus were still talking the plane flew over Rufus and Cid.

"Cid!" Cloud called out to Cid as the pilot looked up and saw the Tiny Bronco flying passed, he pushed passed Rufus and started to run for the plane.

"They're getting away! Stop them!" Rufus ordered as the soldiers pointed their guns at the plane and opened fire.

"Shit!" Cid cursed as he picked up his speed and he leapt on to the back of the plane.

"Nice of you to join us," Tifa greeted the pilot as he caught his breath, "looks like you'll need a new back door…"

"…What?" Cid yelled as he glared at Tifa.

"Nothing…" Tifa quickly stated as the pilot thought nothing of it, the group thought they got away when a bullet struck the tail of the plane causing it to spark.

"The tail's been hit!" Cid yelled, he struggled to reach the pilot seat as the plane began to descend rapidly.

"Emergency landing!" Cloud yelled as Cid grabbed hold of him and shoved him out of the pilot seat.

"Hang on!" Cid yelled as he climbed into the pilot seat himself and tried to pull the levers in an attempt to keep the Tiny Bronco airborne. "This is gonna be a bumpy landing!" Cid warned the group, "hold on to your drawers and don't piss in em!"

The plane began to descend faster as everyone desperately hung on to something, Aerith lost her grip. "!" She yelled as she slid to the edge of the plane and she would've fallen off if Zack hadn't have grabbed hold of her and pulled her back on. Aerith held on tightly to Zack as he held on to one of the poles on the wings.

Everyone yelled as the plane descended faster and faster before crashing right in the middle of the sea and skidding slightly before coming to a complete stop. Everyone slowly stood up and looked around as Cid climbed out of the pilot seat to look at the damage. "Damn it!" He cursed as he kicked the Tiny Bronco, "she won't fly anymore."

"Can't we use it as a boat?" Cloud asked staring hopefully at Cid.

"Do whatever the fuck you want!" Cid cursed as he sat down with his legs dangling over the edge of the plane not really arsed about what happened next.

"What are you gonna do now?" Tifa asked Cid.

"Dunno," Cid answered as he shrugged his shoulders, "I'm history with the Shinra now, and I've just about given up on the town," the pilot sighed as he took the spear off his back and looked at it.

"But what your wife…Shera?" Aerith questioned as she became concerned for the woman who had helped them out.

Cid laughed loudly as he heard Aerith call Shera his wife, "wife…" Cid repeated what Aerith said, "don't make me laugh! Just thinkin' about marryin' her is giving me the chillies! What're you guys gonna do?" Cid asked as an after thought.

"We're after a man named Sephiroth," Cloud answered truthfully, "we'll have to go after Rufus Shinra one day too."

Cid snickered when he heard that, "dunno about any of that but…aw…what the hell…sign me up!" Cid exclaimed as he leapt to his feet.

Cloud grinned, "how about it everyone?" Cloud asked as there were general murmurs of agreement.

"Glad to be aboard numbskulls!" Cid stated loudly as he grinned back at the group.

"Hey! Who are you callin' numbskulls?" Yuffie demanded as she glared at Cid.

Cid laughed at the expression on Yuffie's face, "Yeah," he answered, "anyone stupid enough to go against the Shinra nowadays has gotta be a numbskull…I like it! So where are we headed?" Cid asked a little more enthusiastically. "Rufus told me he was goin' after Sephiroth towards the Temple of the Ancients."

"The Temple of the Ancients…" Aerith stammered hardly daring to believe that she was hearing it.

"But I thought that was just a legend," Red stated obviously intrigued, "maybe not…"

"So does it really exist?" Aerith asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Cid snapped, "All I know is that numbskull kid said he was headin' in the wrong direction."

"Before we start looking for this Temple of the Ancients, I think it might be best if we found a wee bit of land to gather some information and supplies," Cait Sith suggested.

"I know these waters," Yuffie stated as she smiled, "yeah, my hometown isn't too far from here, all we have to do is steer the plane northwest and we should be there." Yuffie suggested.

"Well for once I'll have to agree with Yuffie," Barret spoke up as Yuffie smiled at him, "it's the only other plan we've got."

"Alright," Cloud agreed, "we'll go to Yuffie's hometown, gather some information on the Temple of the Ancients and then try to find it…Temple of the Ancients…the name bothers me…"

After a few minutes Cid climbed back into the pilot seat and started to steer the Tiny Bronco to the northwest. Aerith walked over to the right wing of the plane and saw Zack sitting at the edge of it by himself, his feet were lightly brushing the surface of the water.

"Zack…" Aerith whispered the drag human's name as she sat down next to him, "are you ok?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine…" Zack answered without turning to face her, he didn't want her to look at him. He didn't want to see the shame in his eyes, he had almost killed Palmer in cold blood. He had stared the man right in the eyes and he saw a monster reflected back in them, he saw something that he didn't want to become. It was then that he remembered what Vincent had told him the mansion, "All of Hojo's victims become monsters in the end…" Vincent's voice echoed in Zack's mind and it filled him with dread. "Is it true?" Zack asked himself as horrible thoughts entered his mind, "am I really becoming a monster? Am I becoming less human, the longer I remain like this? Will my friends be safe around me? Will Aerith be safe?" Those questions continued to plague his mind as he dreaded the imaginary answers they gave, Zack was soon snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the soft and delicate touch of Aerith's hand on top of his own. Zack forced himself to look at Aerith, he looked down and he saw that Aerith was holding the hand he had punched the door with in both of hers whispering words under her breath as a green aura surrounded Zack's hand and when it disappeared the splinters and the cuts were gone.

"Zack…I saw what happened…back at Cid's house…" Aerith spoke up her voice catching her throat, Zack hung his head sadly, but Aerith placed a finger under his china and lifted his head up. "I don't think that you're a monster," Aerith reassured him, "and I don't think that you're a danger to me or anyone else."

Zack smiled weakly before he looked down at his hands, he noticed for the first time that one of his gloves was damaged and the purple skin on his hands showed through the holes in his glove. "I think I'm gonna need a new pair of gloves," Zack replied as he continued to stare at his hands.

"Or you could just take them off…" Aerith suggested as she placed her hand on top of his, Zack looked into her face and down at his gloves again, reluctant to remove them. "I'm sure it's not that bad," Aerith said encouragingly, Zack sighed as he slowly removed his gloves to reveal his hands. Aerith looked at them carefully and turned them over and she saw the giant slits in the tips of his fingers, "is that where your claws come out?" She asked, Zack nodded and large, black slightly curled claws sprang out of the slits. Aerith ran her fingers along them. "Wow…" Aerith whispered amazed.

"You're not repulsed by them…" Zack asked shocked that Aerith wasn't screaming or cowering in fear.

"No," Aerith replied as she shook her head, "and you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. As far as I'm concerned, you're the same Zack I fell in love with and not much has changed, not on the inside."

Zack smiled at Aerith, he knew that she was right, as long as he had her at his side, he felt like his old self. Zack brought his arms up and wrapped them round Aerith. "Thank you Aerith," he whispered in her ear. "For believing in me."

"Don't mention it," Aerith whispered back, the two parted and they returned to looking over the edge of the plane. Aerith rested her head in Zack's chest and smiled, listening to his heartbeat as the Tiny Bronco sailed towards its next destination and the group knew that they were one step closer to finding and stopping Sephiroth.

---

Phew, finally chapter 10 is complete. Sorry it took a while, I kept getting distracted for countless reasons, I hope the chapter is ok, it took me forever to write. Wow, Vincent became a sort of mentor to Zack and Zack himself developed a bit of a dark side. Good thing he has Aerith to pull him through. Chapter 11 will be coming soon, well I can I find the time to write it. Final Fantasy VII and its characters and contents belong to Square Enix, The Matrix belongs to Wachowski Brothers.