No Chocobos in this chapter unfortunately (Cloud aside) but finally, Zack will be returning to the storyline! Yay! Hope you enjoy chapter eleven, Crimson Fire...

Zack rushed over to the table where Cloud lay. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over his friend's thin frame. Interlaced scars ran along his bruised chest, and bloodied bandages were

wrapped around his abdomen. His shoulder guard and shirt lay in a pile on the table at the foot of his bed, along with a tray full of the led bullets that had once riddled Cloud's body. A

florescent green tube had been injected into Cloud's wrist, feeding him a steady flow of Mako. His skin was pale, much like a corpse's, dark circles wrapped around his eyes like merciless

shadows, a sign of restless sleep. Zack shook his friend's shoulder. "Cloud! C'mon, wake up buddy." He received only a pained groan in response. Zack heard footsteps behind him, but

did not turn. He only stared at the boy who lay before him. He was so young- he had so much to look forward to, so much to live for. Why him? Why Cloud?

"He will not wake, Zack Fair." Zack slowly turned around, recognizing the malevolent laughter instantly. "Hojo." Zack turned to face the man who was leaning casually against the

doorframe. "What the hell have you done to him?" Hojo smirked. "I have submerged him in a mako induced sleep until my cargo has arrived." "Your cargo won't ever arrive. It's miles away

by now." Zack growled. "Oh, don't be so sure." Hojo said, a glint in his eye. "You know, I'm surprised at you." Hojo's eyebrows rose, "And why is that?" Zack smiled, "Well, you knew we

were coming, and here you find yourself completely unarmed, defenceless against me, while I take away the only hope you have left of creating your little 'army'." Hojo let out a mild

chuckle. "Surely Zack, you've known me long enough to know I am not that stupid." Zack unsheathed his Buster Sword. "So you did plan ahead, now I can have some fun." Hojo raised his

eyes to the ceiling, "But perhaps, I have underestimated your stupidity." Zack wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword eagerly as Hojo snapped his fingers. There was a thud

behind him, and Zack turned around just fast enough to see a shape land gracefully on the floor.

The man that stood before him wore an un-zippered black blazer, a white button-up shirt underneath. The buttons at the top of the shirt had been left undone, revealing a muscled chest

and giving the man a haphazard look. He had a pale complexion and a careless expression, with a hint of daring in his crimson eyes. His hair was dark cerulean; the black goggles that

rested on his forehead allowing only tendrils of the spiky mess on his head flip over their dark frames. Over his shoulder, Zack could see a long thin ponytail rest on his back. The man

gently tapped his EMR in his shoulder, his scarlet eyes watching Zack with a hint of interest. "What the fuck? Reno?" Zack exclaimed, taking in the man's image. Hojo let out a crude laugh

as 'Reno' gave a somewhat confused look to Zack. "I don't know." 'Reno' said with an awkward shrug. Zack raised an eyebrow, looking at the man again. The only difference between the

red-headed Turk, and this man was the color of his hair and eyes. "What did you do?" Zack growled. Hojo laughed once more, pushing the dark glasses a bit further up the bridge of his

nose. "This is Experiment Triple Zero." Hojo explained. "Or in short, Zeros. He is a modified clone of Reno Sinclair, a copy. I thought it would be kind of ironic if my group of assassins, the

Crimson Band, were modeled after the enemies, the Turks." Hojo said, snapping his fingers and smirking as three other modified Turks appeared, a black-haired Cissnei, holding a six

armed shuriken, a red-haired Elena, holding a heavy black pistol, and Rude, who sported shaggy brown hair, dark sunglasses, and brass knuckles instead of his usual standard fighter's

gloves. Zack gave Rude's clone a strange look. The man stared back, a stoic expression on his face. If it hadn't been under the circumstances, Zack would've laughed, seeing the usually

bald man with a head of hair. "I took regular SOLDIERS, grunts, and wiped their memories, modifying their bodies to operate in the most efficient way possible, and changing their

appearances to reflect the Turks'." "Why are they different though? They don't look exactly like the Turks do, their hair and eyes-" "The hair and eyes were unchangeable. There are a

couple of bugs I didn't manage to get out but that doesn't matter. Besides, if my assassins and the Turks ever met in combat I wouldn't be able to tell them apart." Zack shook his head,

not even bothering to ask how Hojo could ever justify erasing someone's memories and altering their appearance and personalities for the sake of experimentation. Hojo only rolled his

eyes in response. "Even though you have endured more pain and torment than any living thing I have experimented on, you still feel pity on those who are against you." Zack's eyes

flared. "There are those who are against me, acting on their own free will Hojo, and there are those who aren't." "As I have already stated many times before, remorse and pity are

sickening, and I find no affliction in either." Hojo sighed, as if inconvenienced. "Now, Mr. Fair, if we've finished with the questions, I'd really like to begin the fighting now. I must say, I was

quite eager when that damned Flint rebelled against me. I knew you'd stop at nothing to save your little Cloud once he'd informed you of his danger. Once Zeros and the rest of the

Crimson Band have subdued you, I'll have two of the three I need to complete the set." Hojo said somewhat giddily, like a boy collecting action figures.

Zack smirked, "No sweat, this'll be easy." He said, raising his Buster Sword.

Hojo let a ghost of a smile play at the corner of his lips.

"I believe you underestimate the full power of these experiments." The four clones turned towards Zack simultaneously.

"Now Crimson Band, show Mr. Fair the full extent of your power."

Thankyou to all reviewers for your encouraging and flattering reviews! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter. I know I apologize for the short length in every chapter, so, I apologize once more:) I know the Turk clones are a little stupid, but I need some sort of conflict before Zack can get Cloud out of Hojo's lab, he can't just take him, or fight Hojo, because let's face it, a fight between Hojo and Zack wouldn't be that exciting, Zack could obviously take him out in a punch. Anyways, I'm a little nervous about writing the upcoming fight scene, descriptions of fights aren't exactly my strong point, but I do enjoy writing them. I hope you enjoyed Crimson Fire, Look out for another chapter within the week. I feel like I'm crashing after a sugar high, and I'm slowing down with the updates. I'll try to get them up as soon as I can,

Thanks for reading,

Lucifer