Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep..."

Throughout the day, the dark clouds above had threatened rain, and it only seemed fitting that now, as he stood before the platoon of troopers hired by his once trusted employer to take him out, that the sky would break open. As he had come face to face with them, it had been sporadic, tiny drops, almost imperceptible were it not for his enhanced sense. As he began to come to terms with the fact that this may very well be his last moment on gaia, it seemed as though the culmination of his negative emotions could be felt in the weight of the rain as the torrent began. Heavy, chilling drops broke against the parched earth of the wasteland, the bright blues of the trooper uniforms began to darken and sag under the weight of the water. The handle of the Buster sword felt familiar and comforting, the slick leather immovable in his iron grip as he brought it from his back. Cloud had been safely moved away before the battle, Zack Fair was good, but not that good. The calm before the storm was punctuated only by heavy rain, filling his ears with sound akin to static. Briefly, the SOLDIER First Class wondered how many guns were currently facing him down, but he shook his head with a small smile. It didn't matter if it was one or one million, he was going to do whatever it took to make sure that he and cloud walked out of here. The enormous sword was held before him, tip pointed towards the troopers who shuffled uncomfortably before the SOLDIER, his confident smile and ready pose in the face of their overwhelming force did not bode well for them.

The raindrops seemed to freeze in place as he moved, he swept through the front line of the troopers before any nervous fingers were able to pull triggers. The blade moved swiftly in a practiced pattern as he cut a swathe through the platoon. His right foot planted sideways as he slid for a few feet before coming to rest behind his attackers, the rain finally caught up and began falling again as he came to a complete stop. Cries of pain erupted from the troopers, those that still stood in the platoon turned to greet him, reports echoing across the wasteland, bullets reflected uselessly off of his heirloom weapon. The tell tale whistling of missiles forced him into action once more. Sprinting off to the right as the anti-personnel munitions erupted into flames where he had once been standing, he charged the Buster Sword with the fire materia, sweeping it out to the side, sending a dozen or so troopers sprawling in the air as the Firaga spell bloomed in the center of the group. Once upon a time, fighting against other humans would have given him pause, and though he took no pleasure in doing harm to his fellow man, it had become an inevitable part of his life. Genesis, the Turks, Sephiroth... Angeal... When had his friends and co-workers all become more dangerous to him than the monsters he had been fighting ever since he got his start in Soldier? A sharp pain between his right shoulder and his pectoral brought him spiralling from his reverie as he felt the bullet go right through him.

A sharp inhale of breath followed by a loud curse as he brought his weapon upwards in a more defensive fashion. The dark haired SOLDIER berated himself. What idiot gets caught up in idle thoughts in the middle of a battle. He was still doing it. Ah well. With his left hand pressed against his wound, he swept forward, his blade slicing through the blades and swords of the troopers as though they were paper, the difference between enhanced SOLDIER First Class strength and regular human strength was insurmountable. Shaken by the bullet wound, for every five troopers he managed to take down, he accrued another injury, a slash from an errant sword swing, a bullet from a lucky shot, or burns from the low level fire magic that seemed to burst from every direction. With each new injury, his speed slowed, his sword grew heavier and his will to carry on only grew stronger. His smirking face had transformed into a grim mask for fierce determination as held his sword up in front of him, blocking another barrage of bullets that were let loose against him. A bullet caught him in the arm, then another in the leg as the troopers firing at him spread out to get a better shot. A grunt escaped his clenched jaw as he tried to ignore the pain. His right hand glowed with soothing restorative magic but he was unable to complete the spell as another explosion rocked the earth in front of him, sending him sprawling backwards.

Zack twisted his body in the air, getting his feet beneath him and skidding on the wet earth as he landed, stumbling for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts. A high pitched whine rang in both ears, muffling all the other sounds of battle. He brought his blade up horizontally as one foolish trooper attempted to strike him with his own sword, sparks showered him as he caught the blade, with a grunt, he forced the trooper airborne, then cleaved him in half with a light speed rotation of his blade. There was not even time for the sword to complete its arc as more rifle reports rang out, forcing him to leap sideways, his momentum carried him into a group of the troopers who were unlucky enough to be in his way as he careened by, knocking them down and turning himself and them into a writhing pile of swear words and limbs. The SOLDIER First Class struck out with every part of his body, kicking and elbowing and headbutting everything as hard as possible, aiming to do as much damage to anything within reach. His eyes widened and he coughed blood as the sharp bite of a knife managed to tear its way through the flesh between his ribs. Roaring in pain, he summoned flames to his left hand and slammed the palm down against one of the broken bodies beneath him, sending the magic through the pile and into the earth below where it erupted, sending the bodies of the soldiers scattering, upon which he allowed himself to be thrown forward into another group, flipping forward as he did so, his blade clenched tightly in his hands. His feet struck the ground first and he allowed his momentum to carry him into a kneeling position while the buster sword completed its arc, slamming against the ground and sending an enormous shockwave of blades forward that away a group of troopers foolish enough to be standing so close together as the powerful blades of air summoned by his attack sliced through the earth, decimating them.

There was hardly time to rest as the earth around him began to crystalize, small shards of ice began to emerge from the earth, growing in size and speed as the spell was nearing its completion. His breath was visible as the ice spell cooled the air, and he leapt upwards as spears of ice erupted from all around the place he had been. That was a higher level ice spell than he had been expecting from a bunch of troopers, someone in this group was obviously out to prove himself. Reflecting a series of bullets with the Buster Sword, he landed back on the earth not too far away from where he had ascended. There were less than half of the group left, though he felt as though he had definitely done more damage than what showed. Everyone standing on the battlefield currently sported some sort of wound, though Zack himself carried the worst of it. No matter, he was a SOLDIER First Class, if he couldn't handle a few wounds, then he would be pretty embarrassing. He coughed up some more blood, using one hand to remove the knife from his back and letting it clatter to the sodden ground. Any single one of these wounds would have been no issues for his mako enhanced body to repair, but all of them combined seemed to overwork his usual rapid healing. Even worse, because his body was so focussed on keeping itself from succumbing to said wounds, it appeared that he was unable to use his magic to its full extent, limiting his abilities here. Of course, that was not known to his opponents, to whom he appeared to be in much better shape than he actually felt. If anything good came from his recent tumultuous relationship with the Turks, it was that an exceptional bluff beat a decent hand.

The sword was brought back in defence before him and again his face fell into that easy smile he was known to carry. Living life on the edge was thrilling, here he was, inches away from death, and yet he had never felt more alive; never felt more energized; never felt more physically exhausted. Some of the troopers had cast their guns aside, either due to the lack of ammunition, or because they felt they were more capable with a melee weapon, either way, Zack mentally praised their confidence. Two of the troopers leapt forward while any remaining troopers with guns attempted to find a better position in order to avoid shooting their own comrades, but the SOLDIER First Class would give them no such reprieve as he burst into action. Water and stone were kicked into the air as he moved, his weapon biting into the chest of one of the troopers, whose feeble broadsword had simply snapped against the pressure of the weighty Buster Sword. The limp body did nothing to stop the momentum of the blade as he twisted around, meeting the other blade. The second attacker was more intelligent with his maneuvering. Instead of taking the blade head on in a block like his counterpart, he attempted to parry the blow. Unable to match the speed or strength of the strike, his parry only managed to send the blade off course by inches, but it was enough to prevent the strike from being a killing blow. Unfortunately, Zack moved like the wind, and he allowed his blades momentum to carry him around, turning his body horizontal with the blade arcing down and deftly dispatching the trooper. Another weapon clattered to the ground. Less than ten left, his blade glowed with a crackling, soft yellow energy as he summoned the last of his magical reserves as their guns pointed to him. A blast of lighting was called forth, arcing with such ferocity it made his raven hair stand on end. The bolt struck one trooper in the chest, he cried out and began to fall back as a second, third, fourth, and fifth arc leapt from his body striking each of the troopers nearby. The spell was powerful, but had diminishing returns with every arc, and his failing strength had prevented him from casting something with truly earth shattering power. Three left.

His breath caught in his throat and his muscles were stretched to the point of snapping; three, no, four bullet wounds had finally managed to slow him down. All of his weight was resting upon the enormous weapon that had been passed down to him, shielding him from the front as the remaining three ShinRa troopers carefully moved themselves towards him. The materia inlaid in the hilt of the weapon glowed feebly as he tested his remaining strength, hoping, but lacking the strength to call forth any further spells. Two of them had abandoned their rifles and now moved carefully, sword in hand, standard issue military sabres that would normally pose no threat as he had proven, but having faced down an entire platoon, he was finding those weapons to be far more intimidating now than he ever would have imagined. The last aimed his rifle at him with shaking, bloodied hands, the reason that the SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair was currently hiding behind the Buster Sword. The troopers themselves were not unscathed, they had definitely proven themselves here, had this not been a life or death situation, he would have been certain to recommend them for the SOLDIER program, as they were tenacious, he respectfully could not hold that against them. The edges of his vision began to darken, and where the sound of gravel crunching beneath their heavy booted feet would be sharp and loud, everything sounded dulled and distorted, as though he were underwater. The weight of the Buster Sword had never weighed more on him, he lived and died by the weapon on any other day, but it had never been so literal. With each laboured breath, he could feel his strength ebbing away, seeping from the wounds in his body, his mako fueled enhanced healing seemingly spent. The three troopers inched ever closer, forcing him to move backwards, edging to the cliffside, close to where he had left his unconscious charge.

Cloud.

To describe the past five years as hell did not seem to begin to scratch the surface. This pain of battle, the earned scars and injuries were nothing compared to the horrors that Hojo had inflicted upon him, the scars were so much more than physical. Cloud had been an anchor for him, a constant reminder that a world existed outside of the hostile, clinical environment of the laboratory that they had been held in. He had been a symbol of hope to the older fighter. Cloud had been subject to far more of the mad scientist's madness and hostility, as his own body was resistant to the experiments that the head of the ShinRa Science Department had wanted to perform. Instead, from his own prison, lungs full of mako, body paralyzed from the effects of nerve agents that had been liberally applied. His enhanced body had been able to resist the effects, if only marginally, but his captors were practiced torturers, and were constantly tweaking the dosages, ensuring his freedoms were limited at best. The horrors that Cloud had been subjected to in those years were nightmarish. When they had first been captured, the black haired SOLDIER had done his best to try and keep the spirits of the young trooper up, but as weeks turned into months, he became less and less responsive, and when he was lucid enough to respond, he often appeared to have regressed, his mind attempting to block out the futility of their reality. Eventually, he had succumbed to the Mako, his comatose body being thrown into their cage like a broken doll when they had no further need for experimentation. Even without consciousness, Zack had spoken to him, told him about his life, how they were going to escape, what they would do after they escaped.

If he ever awoke from this mako induced coma, he doubted Cloud could ever truly understand how significant his presence was for the survival of the SOLDIER First Class. Without the presence of the blonde, he truly believed that he would have lost himself to despair, believing the lies Hojo tried to instill in them, that they were nothing more than experiments, that they belonged to him, and they had never been anything more. The blonde needed him again though, and Zack would not fail here, he had waited what felt like a lifetime to escape Nibelheim, he did not plan on failing on the doorstep of his destination, and he certainly would not allow his friend to fall back into the hands of that monster. The sword shifted, still held with the hilt to the sky, angling to receive the first strike from one of the swordsmen, using as little effort as possible to parry the blow, throwing the trooper off to the side and pivoting on his back foot to receive the second strike, letting the smaller sword clash against his , keeping his body removed from the view of the ranged support in the back. He pushed the blade forward, knocking the trooper backwards a couple of steps, planting his left foot, he raised his right and stomped directly on the chest armor, feeling the satisfying crack as his enhanced strength managed to break through the thin metal armor that all troopers were assigned. Multiple reports echoed across the landscape as the trooper with the rifle tried to pin Zack down, preventing him from raising his blade as the first trooper moved back in from the side. The second trooper, after some groaning, managed to stand too, coming in from the opposite side, pinning him down.

There was nowhere left to go, no time left to stall with, no energy left for him to keep fighting. From behind the blade, he could see the rifle trained on him, he could see the trembling finger pressed against the trigger of the gun, waiting for the SOLDIER First Class to make a move. The two troopers on the side inched closer, and the tall swordsman understood that it was now or never. His body felt so sluggish and he could barely keep his eyes open, as all the pain wracked his body, he yearned to rest, but any weakness or fault on his part would not only lead to his death, but to the capture of his best friend. Zack did not fear death. Zack feared allowing Cloud being returned to Hojo. His trembling hands tightened around the leather hilt of the Buster sword, and sweat rolled down from his brow, stinging his eyes as they flickered from left to right, to straight forward into the tri-goggled helm of the rifle wielding trooper in front of him. Everything happened at once, and the SOLDIER First Class allowed his instincts to take over. Twisting his blade from its vertical position, he brought it horizontal, the blade striking from his left struck the steel of the Buster Sword while the blade from the right was blocked by the enormous hilt of the weapon. As he spun with the enormous broadsword, Zack released the blade, his eyes widened as he saw a large rock strike the head of the trooper, knocking his rifle to the side, the report echoing across the wasteland as the bullet struck the earth in front of Zack, kicking up a cloud of dust. The spinning sword struck true, easily slicing through the torso of the shocked trooper, bringing both pieces of him to the ground as the blade clattered loudly against the stone behind him.

He heard a groaning off to the side of him, and he spun to see Cloud leaning heavily against the boulder he had been placed behind, eyes unfocused, but more awake than he had been in almost a whole year. Zack grabbed him and heaved him up onto his feet, overestimating his own strength, the two of them collapsed on the ground. They were two of dozens of bodies resting on the earth here, but they were alive.

"Hey... Cloud... Couldn't you have done something earlier?"

Zack smiled at the typical reaction from his companion, then his smile turned into a grin, then grew into a laugh as the relief washed over him. His laughter echoed through the wasteland, but soon turned into a coughing fit as his injuries caught up with him. The length of time the SOLDIER First Class lay there next to his best friend was lost to him, but he slowly recovered enough energy to drag himself to his feet and help the blonde up too. Together, they stumbled over to the Buster Sword and stared towards Midgar.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Zack shrugged.

"ShinRa is everywhere anyway, it's easier to get lost in the slums than anywhere else, besides, I have a date I'm overdue for"

The taller man grinned and gave a thumbs up to the subdued blonde, who looked off into the distance with a pensive look upon his face. They still had quite a distance to travel, and neither seemed to be in good enough shape to cover that ground any time soon. Unfortunately, this place had been turned into a ShinRa trooper graveyard, and staying here was not an option, they would soon find themselves swarmed if they stuck around. Zack picked up the sword from the ground and wiped the blood off of the end of it on a remaining part of the troopers uniform. He could feel the mako coursing through his muscles, rapidly working to heal him, the cuts and abrasions and bullet holes all beginning to stitch themselves together as it worked to make him whole again. He breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like centuries since he had seen Angeal and the effects of his degradation, but the fear of it gnawed at the back of his mind with each injury. After this year of running, he had been especially cautious, as he did not have a full understanding of everything Hojo did to him, or to Cloud for that matter. Could one of them sprout a wing and go crazy at any point? It seemed all of his heros had simply been monsters lying in wait... What if he was no different? He wrinkled his nose and shook his head, to try and get rid of those thoughts, he could not go crazy, he had too many people depending on him.

"Cloud? You alright buddy?"

The blonde had ceased his staring thoughtfully off into the distance, he stepped back for a moment, one hand pressed against the side of his head as he grimaced in pain, as though he had been struck.

"Woah!"

Zack grabbed onto his companion as he collapsed sideways.

"Back to sleep huh? That's alright... I'll take care of us"

Holding the prone form of his charge, Zack looked up at the sky.

"Huh... It stopped raining"