A Heart For My Nobody says:

Hey all! Sorry it's been a few days longer than usual on this update. I'd had some electrical problems in my house, power outages and such, and after that I had company for four days straight, so writing was a tad more difficult than it usually is. Anyway, another thanks to everyone who has been leaving me reviews! You are all such wonderful people, and it definitely inspires me to keep going steadily at this! Thanks a bunch, and enjoy the new update!

Zack

Nightfall came sooner than I was ready for, and the distant noises of armored boots began to break through the silence. Shinra was out there searching for us, and I wasn't about to let myself get caught again. I wasn't going to let Cloud get caught either. I knew we wouldn't stand much of a chance by staying indoors, so I collected my supplies, hoisted Cloud to his feet, and started to walk. My defenses were up as I brought the two of us down the creaking corridors of the mansion, and every new sound triggered even more awareness in me. I'd been feeling weak earlier that day, but it seemed that, after some rest, the Mako treatments had definitely made me stronger. I could feel it in how much easier it was to carry Cloud, and in strange new heightened senses. I wasn't sure how I managed to pick up the footsteps from outside, but I could.

I carried Cloud out into the night, through the suspiciously monster-free outskirts, and into the town. Part of me thought that I should be fleeing the other direction, as it was far more likely that I'd run into infantry in the town, but I knew it would be a bad idea to try and tackle Mt. Nibel in our current states, so I supposed I had to risk it. I actually got pretty far, but as the well came into my sight, so did three new troops. Unfortunately, they noticed me just as quickly as I noticed them, shattering any thoughts of sneaking by. So I set Cloud down by a building, drew my sword and faced them, determined to take them out before they could call for backup.

"This is pretty rough..." I said, eying the three guns that were trained on me. I rushed forward and hit the one on the right in the stomach, taking down the other two with my sword as he was stunned, and finally finished the first one off with a strong hit to the back. Then I heard the inn door closing as two more men had stepped out. Grunting at this, I dashed at them in a hope to take them both out before they had a chance to react. I only made it to one, however, as the other one stumbled backward and released a desperate frenzy of bullets in my direction. Luckily, due to the nature of the attack, only one bullet grazed my shoulder and the rest of them went through the window of the inn. That man was unconscious a moment later.

"Okay!" I said, huffing and turning to Cloud. "We're getting out of here. Stay with me." I picked him back up, scanning the area again, just to make sure it was safe, and then bringing my eyes back to his. "Cloud..." I sighed. "I'm sorry this all had to go this way."

About ten minutes later, we were well on our way down the road, away from Nibelheim, away from all the horror we just went through. I expected we'd encounter an infantry camp close to the town, but we found nothing. Just as I thought we may have caught a break, I saw a single trooper standing on the path, next to a small hill. He was dressed in a slightly different manor from the other infantrymen, and the gun he was carrying was a good deal bigger. Fortunately, his back was turned to us. I slowly set Cloud down on the ground, raising my finger to my lips just so that he knew to be quiet, and stepped up behind the man. Now, I'd never really practiced preforming silent take-downs before, but just about anyone would go down when hit hard enough in the head with some sort of heavy object. For a SOLDIER, just a fist would suffice. So I gave the man a good hit, and he joined the ranks of unconscious army men, letting his gun drop to his side before he did. It turned out to be a good thing that I did that silently, because my eyes locked onto a couple of Shinra's watchdog robots on the hills ahead. They were called Gun Bull Heads, and they were basically a robotic shield on wheels. Never easy to take out, having only one weak-spot on the front, which was their tiny little night-vision head.

"Damn it! There's no end to this!" I said, taking a look back at Cloud to make sure he was okay. My eyes wandered and found their way back to the gun that was dropped by the infantryman, and I knelt down to examine it. It was a sniper rifle, and equipped with some nice extra pieces at that. "This isn't really SOLDIER's style, but beggars can't be choosers," I decided aloud, picking the weapon up in both hands. "I hope I can get the hang of it..."

I placed the shoulder rest in position and brought my eye to the gun's focus. It was equipped with a target-aid, and I could immediately see the cross-hairs that marked the spot the bullet would go. I figured it seemed easy enough. Besides, I had nothing to lose, so I steadied my arms, took aim, and fired my first shot at the Bull Head. The gun recoiled a bit, as I knew it would, and I saw the bullet hit the front of the robot's shield hard. Unfortunately, that wasn't even enough to make a dent, and now it was aware of me. My next shot had to count, or it may have had the time to signal any other personnel in the area. I aimed again, and another shot was off. This time, I watched as the robotic head went up in a puff of smoke, toppling the whole thing over. It wasn't a very satisfying defeat, but it would have to do.

"Come on," I said, rejoining Cloud. "This could be a long night." As suspected, no sooner did I move on than I encountered another group of stationed watch-droids. In fact, they lined the entire path as I carried Cloud, step-by-step, away from the haunting images of his hometown. It wasn't until I came to the end of the path that the Bull Heads stopped showing up, and all that was before me was a starlit beach. My walk slowed as I stepped onto the sand of the beach, and I tossed away the rifle, happy to be done with it. Taking a look around, I spotted only a quiet lighthouse keeping us company. We were safe for now.

"Some peace at last, huh?" I smiled at Cloud, bringing him to the rock wall that framed the beach and setting him down against it. "It's a bit sandy." His body slid down into a sitting position on the ground, and feeling the weight off my shoulders, I decided to join him. I felt my boot push under the sand as I got comfortable, and I leaned my head back to the sky. "Too bad I can't doze off here." Cloud stayed quiet as usual.

I'd almost gotten myself into a daze, watching the light from the lighthouse illuminate the clouds, when it occurred to me that I still had my phone. I wondered if anyone had attempted to call me while I was missing, so I reach into my pocket and pulled it out, flipping it open as I did. I had quite a few emails, but most of them were unimportant. The one that caught my eye first was from Kunsel. I was sure that he'd let me in on my situation from the Shinra perspective. I clicked the message open.

Subject: You can't fool me – From: Kunsel

Zack, where could you possibly be? Let me know if you're reading this. You've gone missing

since your mission with Sephiroth. Do you have anything to do with Sephiroth being killed in

action? I heard rumors about something going down in Nibelheim. Are you there right now?

I was surprised to read that Sephiroth had been pronounced 'killed in action' and I hadn't been. I wanted to respond back to the message, but it wasn't safe to. Friend or not, Kunsel was still part of Shinra, and they were probably screening the incoming media. What were they thinking? I never even did anything to betray the company. I snapped my phone shut with a sigh, leaning my head back again. Another few minutes went by, and I finally stood back up, planting my hand against the rock wall. The night air was chilly, but the ocean was mostly quiet. I listened to the soft sound of the waves breaking as I stepped closer to the water, hands on my hips.

"Huh... Where do I go from here?" I felt the question flow through the air with the wind. I wasn't really sure who I was asking at first. I could have been asking myself, or someone else entirely. All I knew was that I really wanted an answer. I looked back to Cloud, sitting against the rock, and let my eyes slowly drift back to the water. "Can't do much when I got Cloud to worry about..." I turned my gaze to a part in the clouds above, where the stars shined bright. "Angeal... what should I do?"

I stood there in silence, and as I lowered my head, I heard the sound of a small shifting in the sand behind me. Cloud was on my right, and that sound came from the left, so I knew it couldn't have been him. Without moving anything else, I turned my eye to find the source of the noise, and as I did, I smiled.

"Hey, Cissnei," I said without turning around. "Been a while." Cissnei of the Turks. I didn't recall even seeing her again since she'd been assigned to watch me all of those months ago, and yet there she was, just as I'd become a target. I supposed it wasn't surprising that she'd find me first.

"Zack..." I heard her say, trying to mask her gasp. "The fugitive sample..." There was hesitation in her voice. "Is it you?"

"It would appear so," I admitted with a hesitation of my own. There was a silence.

"What did they do to you in that place?" she asked. She sounded surprisingly caring, but I still couldn't help but feel as though Shinra knew no loyalty. I glanced back over my shoulder at her for the first time. Her hair looked a little different somehow since the last time I'd seen it, but those were the same golden eyes.

"Well... this and that..." I said plainly. It felt as though she was the first person I really talked to in a while, and it was hard to remember the situation at hand. I lowered my shoulders and turned around entirely to face her. "So, Cissnei, you're here to take us back, right?" She stared at me for a long moment, opening her mouth once, but no words came. Suddenly, I felt like it was too much. Just staring at her like that, questioning our loyalties... we used to be friends. It was just too much, so I reached out to her. "Please," I said, startling her into focus, "just walk away!" I clenched my fist and shook my head. "I thought we could outrun the army, but the Turks are a different story."

"Zack, I'm sorry..." she said, shutting her eyes tight before drawing her weapon: a large, red and silver shuriken. "This is my job." I was taken aback by her words as she readied the weapon. There really was no loyalty. "If you want to escape, you have to..." She hesitated once more and then tossed the shuriken directly at me. It wasn't hard to deflect with my sword, and I gritted my teeth as it ricocheted into the sand. She began to walk my way and I pointed the Buster at her.

"Step back," I said through my teeth, and to my surprise, she stopped. "Next time... I'll really have to..." I cut my own sentence short. Staring at her again, I couldn't bare the thought of harming a friend. I guessed that was just the difference between me and the rest of Shinra. Without saying anything else, I ran to Cloud and left the area with him. Cissnei didn't move from that spot.

Some distance away, I rested Cloud by another rock. I was feeling weak again. I supposed the negative effects from the Mako treatments hadn't run out yet. Taking a couple steps back, I looked over Cloud and he made a small noise.

"You don't like all this moving around either, do you?" I said, trying to keep a smile. Then I turned my eyes to the sky again. "The Turks are here, too. It's too dangerous to move now." I watched Cloud's chest rise and fall a few times before saying anything else. "We'll rest here until morning." I smiled again. "Then we'll leave at dawn." The wind blew past me, and it felt better to be smiling. I was pretty sure Cloud would have wanted me to smile. "Eh, we'll be all right," I said with confidence, and somehow that even made me feel better. Then I heard another rustle, and turned around to see Cissnei approaching us yet again. I thought I'd actually gotten through to her. "Cissnei..." I said, slowly raising my hand and preparing my sword. She stopped a few feet in front of me, and her eyes turned to Cloud.

"Wait..." she said, taking another step. "He...he's the other sample they collected at Nibelheim." I sidestepped to put myself between her and Cloud, tensing my grip on the Buster Sword.

"Why did you come here!" I yelled, holding my position. "I told you to go away."

"He doesn't look well, Zack," she pushed, still gazing past me. "Is he all right?"

"Mako addiction." I scowled at the question. "Severe case."

"The experiments, isn't it?" she said, averting her eyes.

"Yeah." There was a long silence after my answer and she finally pulled a phone out from her pocket and dialed something. "Hey!" I yelled, but I was met with her hand, telling me to be quiet.

"Tseng," she said into the phone, and I felt startled to hear his name. "I've lost the target." I widened my eyes and let my sword lower to the ground. She... lost the target? Cissnei was actually helping us out. She shut the phone and it beeped, then she turned back to me. "That's how it is... so get away safely." She smiled and turned to walk away.

"Cissnei..." I said, even though I was finding it hard to speak, "thank you." She turned back around to smile at me, holding something in her hand.

"Here's a present," she said, walking back my direction and holding out a set of keys. I took them, feeling a bit confused, and looked back at her. "If you think you can trust me," she started, staring hard into my eyes, "then use it."

With those last words, Cissnei was gone into the night. I found myself staring off in the direction she left long after she was out of my sight, and then I finally moved to rejoin Cloud by the rock. I dropped down with a sigh next to him, but for the first time in a while, it was a good sigh. I threw my arm over his shoulder, holding the keys in front of us with the other one.

"It looks like the keys to a motorcycle," I said to him, leaning in. "I guess we really weren't the only nice people in Shinra." I smiled and put the keys in my pocket. "If we get out of this, we'll have to repay her one day." Cloud and I leaned together as we sat there, and sometime only a matter of minutes later, I finally drifted off to a well needed sleep. Perhaps tomorrow would bring better things.