"Boy oh boy... The price of freedom is steep."

He recited as he drew his last relaxing breath. One hand was reaching towards his oversized sword which was attached to a magnet on his back. He could see them flinch as he did so, all 300 or so men and women alike. He slowly got into his battle stance and glanced around at his opponents, a small smile forming on his face. Years ago he used to call these people his allies, friends even, but in the blink of an eye, their comforting smiles turned into frowns of disgust. Allies that used to cover him are now stabbing him square in the back. The army life can actually change a person in just a few short years.

Up until now, he had been avoiding the army, ever since his escape from that lab in Nibelhiem. It would have been much easier for him to just take his comatose friend and hide somewhere Shinra would never think to look, but he couldn't just yet. He needed to get someone else, someone equally in danger as he and his friend were, Someone he could never leave behind ever again; and she was right in Midgar waiting for him. But to get to her, he has to get through the damn army first.

"Embrace your dreams... And whatever you do... Protect your honor... As SOLDIER!"

At first, the battle was all in his favor, one after another, the infantrymen and women fell with one hit of his Buster Sword, and he wasn't even breaking a sweat yet. But as more fell others quickly continued where their fallen comrades left off. It all seemed endless for some time. For the longest of time, he just fought and fought without rest, slashing and swinging his massive blade with the might that killed in a single hit. His breathing got heavier, his heart beat faster, sweat started forming all over his skin, and his once dusty clothes began collecting the blood of his enemies. But he couldn't stop now if he did then his hidden friend would be found. If he stopped, then He wouldn't be able to see her again.

The number of opponents dwindled down dramatically. He could count them on the one hand now. The problem though was that he no longer had the strength to continue the same way he did at the beginning of the battle. He had a hard time lifting his sword because of his lost stamina, and all the sweat was making his grip loosen a lot. His knees bucketed after a while, he was beyond tired now. His focus was clouding over the more time passed. He could see his memories coming one after another. Of his hero, well used to be a hero anyway, his mentor, his comrades, His friend, and his lover, all important ones. His lover, dear sweet Aerith, what he wouldn't give to just see her again.

The small group of Infantrymen made their advance towards him immediately after his sword finally slipped out of his grip. They cornered him on the cliff's edge, kicking him down to keep him on his back, their gun nozzle aimed right at him. His sword was too heavy to lift at this point nor did he have the strength to lift himself for that matter. He had to admit it, he fought with all his might; he did all that he possibly could, but sadly it wasn't enough to get him through this time. He lost the fight, and now he must pay the price. This was his last stand.

As his opponent's readied their guns, he took one last look at the environment around him, this place that will soon be his grave. He was, at least, thankful that they didn't find his friend, he'd rest easy knowing that. With or without his help, Cloud will do good after all this is over.

While he was getting closer to knocking on death's door, at the very least, he had an excellent view of Midgar. The city had changed so much since the last time he saw it. More Mako reactors were built, a lot of sectors were up and running too, well all except one. The land around it has gone darker and barren though, that's probably because of the mako usage.

His enhanced hearing picked up on the familiar sound of a Turk helicopter. He turned his head slightly just in time to see one in the far off distance coming his way, but it didn't seem like the Infantrymen were stopping their execution anytime soon. It was probably Tseng or Cissnei, or maybe some random Turk member. Either way, it was too late for even them to help him. He was still grateful for them trying.

Then, it came all too suddenly. Again and again, a barrage of bullets dug into his chest. His blood poured out of his mouth and the wounds. His ears ringing from all the gun discharging near them. His body went numb after the first 5 shots, he blacked out afterward as they continued to gun him down even more.

'I'm sorry Aerith, but I'll be late again today. Forgive me will you?'

As his eyes fluttered open the scenery that greeted him was that of the pouring rain rather than clear skies, it seems that some time had passed since he blacked out. The Shinra army had long since left as well, leaving him to die alone. But he wasn't entirely alone, for soon Cloud came into his line of vision. The young blond stared at him with confusion, his lips parted slightly, stuttering his name; it almost sounded like he was begging him to get up. Sadly, this was one request that he was sure he couldn't do for his friend, the lifestream was calling him after all. All he could do for him was to smile the same way he always did as he uttered his Will with his dying breath.

"For the... Both of us..."

"Both of us?"

"That's right... You're gonna..."

"You're gonna..."

"Live."

Forcing himself, he reached out one hand towards his confused friend and embraced him to his chest. Realization finally dawned to Cloud what his black haired friend's gesture meant, but he did not dare part from it. Instead, he silently sobbed onto his friend's chest, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly as one of his hands tightly gripped the bloody torn uniform. Giving him some time to vent, his friend soon continued his Will.

"You'll be... My living legacy."

He allowed his arm to drop back to his side, his friend slowly lifted his head up to stare back at him sadly. His bangs and face covered slightly with blood and water thanks to his wounded chest. He then forced himself to pick up his massive sword and lift it towards Cloud, passing it on to him just like his mentor before him.

"My honor, my dreams, They're your now."

As Cloud finally and slowly took the sword from him, He couldn't help but playfully push him. Just like how he used to tease him all those times ago. He didn't want that last moment the blond had of him was painful grunts or water works like his with his mentor. He wanted to leave on a lighter note, no matter how sad he really was.

With trembling lips, Cloud finally looked away from the sword and stared straight at him to utter his response. The rain had all but wiped off the blood from his face.

"I'm your... Living legacy..."

That was all he needed to hear. With a heavy heart and a heartfelt smile, He finally allowed his eyes to flutter close for the last time, he can at last answer the lifestream's call without any regrets.

Zack Fair, former first-class SOLDIER, left the world At the end of September 0007... Leaving behind his legacy...

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

How long has it been since he remembered that incident so vividly? He was not sure...

But if he understood one thing from it, it was this... He was supposed to be dead... Yet...

He woke up to a scene that was very familiar to him. Swimming in green liquid Mako, an air mask strapped onto his face, and a thick glass encasing him. He had been in a situation much similar to this one before, but there was a big difference between then and now, the location. He wasn't in the Shinra Manor's basement lab in Nibelhiem, oh no, he would know that place very well thanks to the four years he and Cloud spent there. While this place did have the same dark ambiance as that lab, it was much bigger and more equipt than that small, outdated basement. But he couldn't tell where this place was, not unless he gets out of his test tube prison… again.

But before he could escape his prison, he unconsciously snickered at his predicament. He didn't know if it was curiosity or just plain facts, he suddenly had this strange need to turn to his left. He had his idea that if he did he'd see another mako chamber next to his, and within it would be his sleeping friend Cloud. Regardless if the idea was silly or not, he decided to look anyway; it wouldn't kill him to do so, right?

So to satisfy his curiosity, he turned to face his left, his expression changing to shock the moment he made his discovery. There really was another mako chamber next to his, but unlike his, the density of liquid Mako in the chamber was very high, making it hard to see who or what was residing in it. Focusing as much as he could but he still couldn't what was in it, although, he could have sworn that he spotted some brown strands flowing in there. However, it did not matter at the moment; what he needed to do first was to get out of his glass prison first. Afterward, he can worry all he wants about who his jail mate was.

Slowly he lifted his arms up and rested them on the glass. They felt so numb which confirmed his suspicion that he might have been out light a light for a long time, probably even longer than his captivity in Shinra Manor. He shook his arms for a bit to wake them up when they did he wasted no time in pounding on the thick glass. He gradually regained his SOLIDER strength and began to even kick the glass till he finally broke his container and fell out on the cold steel floor coughing with the liquid mako spreading all over the floor around him. He yanked off the breathing mask and thrown it to the other side of the room as he rested there for a long while breathing the warm damp air of the lab. After a good amount of rest, he then shook off the excess liquid out of his hair, and with a bit of strength he had left from his prison break, carefully got himself up to his shaky feet. After stabilizing his stance, he breathed a long sigh of relief, he accomplished the first step in his prison escape, and it was time to move on to the next step.

Now fully awake and alert, He immediately got into his defensive stance while looking at his surroundings carefully for any sudden attack. Surprisingly there was no one around to fight him, the place was completely deserted. And now that he had a good look around he realized one another thing about the place, sure he was in a lab, but it was any regular lab, it was Professor Hojo's. There was no mistaking it; The equipment, the Shinra crates, the faint smell of Mako and rotten blood, it was definitely one of his labs. The question now thou, which one of his labs was he in? That crazy man had a lot of labs hidden all over Gaia, his main one being in Shinra HQ so he could be anywhere. And was it even one of the ones he visited during his time as SOLDIER? He had no clue. But since it's Hojo's then he should be extra careful not to bump into any Shinra agents, the last thing he wants right now was to die again.