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53. Zack: Dragon Slayer

Breaking out of the labs had seemed the most difficult thing in the world at the time. Now Zack could see how foolish he'd been. Breaking out wasn't the problem. Once Hojo was gone, and everyone left behind was convinced Specimen Z was no longer a problem, breaking out had been simple. The hallucinations leftover from jumping out of a tube full of mako didn't help, of course, but at least they didn't hinder either. It actually seemed like the imaginary Angeal led Zack to his Buster Sword, and to the cupboard of spare SOLDIER uniforms when he balked at the stab-wound in Cloud's infantry uniform. Zack wondered why the facility had so many uniforms in storage. Then he decided he actually didn't want to know.

Getting away was the bitch of the matter. And no, there was no other way of putting it, though Zack apologised to the hallucinatory version of his mother who tutted at the edge of his vision as he half-carried, half-dragged Cloud through the skeletal Nibelheim. All the houses had been rebuilt, but none of them filled. Fakery all the way. Brilliant.

The hallucinations faded as time went on, though Zack felt more juiced than he had in a long time. They were out. He had done it. Just like he'd promised, he had broken them out of those damn labs and set them on the way to real freedom.

Yeah right.

Breaking out wasn't the problem. Staying out was. And staying alive, which didn't always have a lot to do with the Shinra goons no doubt hot on their trail. Zack was spectacularly unprepared for surviving in snowy conditions, never mind surviving them after years in lock-up. Bits of information Cloud had told him when he was still capable of speech came back as they trudged through drifts and along tracks studded with paw prints.

"Nibel wolves, huh? What did you tell be about them, buddy? C'mon, help me out here. I told you how not to get frogged outside Gongaga. Tit for tat, right?"

Luckily they didn't run into any wolves. It took them days to get off the damn mountain, during which Zack's hallucinations dwindled as the excess mako leeched from his system. His head cleared, and he was able to branch away from the basic thoughts of escape and freedom. Survival took over, and with it his SOLDIER training returned. He made sure they didn't starve, dehydrate, or die from basic mistakes that would have had Cloud laughing at him if he'd made them.

"Don't just eat snow for water," he murmured, looking over as if Cloud might answer. "Lowers your core temperature and puts you at risk of hypothermia. I remember you telling me that. I was trying to distract you from your motion sickness in the truck and got you talking about that time you were stranded in the open during a blizzard. You were looking for some neighbour girl's cat, right? And when you were out freezing your ass off, the cat was already home in front of the fire. That story was just supposed to keep your mind off your stomach, and now it's keeping us both alive. See, I told you, buddy; you're not as useless as you always make out."

Talking was as inevitable as ever. At least now Cloud was there, solid and real, instead of trapped behind glass. And when his head was finally clear, Zack realised the enormity of what they'd done, and also what they had to so next.

Midgar. He had to get Cloud to Midgar, and Aerith. If anyone could bring him out of the mako poisoning and rescue his mind intact, she could. The intensity of his faith in her abilities could have stripped chrome from steel. The danger posed by heading for Shinra's headquarters seemed almost negligible compared to the necessity of saving his best friend and making up for the time they'd both spent in captivity. He needed Aerith for Cloud, but he also wanted to see her just for himself. Before they faded, the hallucinations of her were the worst. She dispelled the fear greasing the recesses of his mind, but added to the despair lapping at the edges because he knew she wasn't real.

Go to Midgar, fix Cloud, grab Aerith, and then get the hell away from everything with that damn Electric Power Company logo on it. He could figure out the rest later. For now, those were his goals.

Never abandon your SOLDIER honour. And there was the other really bad hallucination. Folded arms and a single extended white wing. Disapproving expression. Would a SOLDIER run away before all the crises have been taken care of?

"Take a hike," Zack muttered the way he never would have in real life, busy gauging their position by the stars and wondering whether that helicopter that went over earlier would come back. "You're not even real."

I taught you better than that.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up …"

You're hanging on to your dreams, Puppy, but don't fulfil them at the expense of your honour. One without the other isn't worth it. Black hair swept back off the angular face. Square jaw. Perfect war hero looks: You Can Trust Me radiating off him in uniform or in civvies on those rare occasions he wore them. Always looked older than he actually was; especially at the end, all streaked with grey and skin the colour of fresh concrete.

Zack shook away the memory. It clattered about inside his skull. Death rattles stayed with you in more ways than one.

Genesis is still out there, said the figment.

"How do you know? You're just a product of my imagination."

Am I?

"If I answer that I might as well just throw myself off a cliff now. It's a much easier way of splattering my brain, and it'll be over quicker."

Always with the smart mouth. You're still a SOLDIER, Zack, with all the responsibilities that come with it.

"SOLDIERs are Shinra's flunkies. Shinra sold us out; hurt us worse than … they hurt us. You, me, Cloud – plus who knows how many others?"

Exactly.

"Quit being cryptic. You know I always hated that. I'm done with Shinra."

Being a SOLDIER isn't about who signs your paycheques. It's about what's in here. A pat to the chest. Big broad hand. Familiar. Grieved for. Gone.

Tears stung Zack's eyes. He told himself it was just the cold mountain air. "You're not real."

Believe what you want, Zack, but don't forget what I taught you or I really will disappear. You're the proof that I existed. The only thing I did right in my life. That smile, the real one: a slight twitch of the lips that was a big grin for anyone else. I have faith in you. Then the whole image faded, and the frosty tree stump behind it came into focus.

Zack came to a halt to scrub at his face and murmur, "Fuck." Cloud weighed heavy on his shoulder and the back of his neck prickled. "Fuck."

That was the last time he had that hallucination. He wasn't sure whether to be pleased or not.

The mako overload left behind a feeling of being constantly energised, as though Zack was on the biggest caffeine high of his life. Maybe that was what kept the wildlife at bay when he succumbed to those few catnaps he could get away with before anxiety drove him back to his feet. It lasted for weeks, even after they neared the edge of the snow's reach. What had taken only days in trucks had taken far longer on foot – especially evading pursuit from behind and above. Zack had to stick to thickly wooded areas to make it difficult for choppers to track and vehicles to follow; places where creatures lived that even Cloud had thought were extinct. Zack imagined himself lit up like a thousand-watt bulb on a spectrum only animals could see. Like frogs and lizards who changed colour to drive away predators: Does not taste good, more trouble than trying is worth, so stay away.

Too bad not all animals paid attention to warning signals.

"You know, I could really get to hate dragons." Zack bit down to stop from yelling in pain at the wound on his side the creature had got in before he realised those many tusks were projectiles.

The big red bull bared its fangs and hissed. It flared its massive wings and beat them once. The gale nearly knocked Zack off his feet. The second beat sent him skidding backwards, legs locked and sword held out in front with the flat to his face. It looked like he was preparing to attack it, but in actuality he was just protecting his eyes from the kicked up debris. Moments later, however, he really did have to attack, as the dragon came at him in a whirl of teeth and claws.

"Can't you just go hunting rabbits like the wolves?" Zack vaulted, pivoted and struck out. He was surprised at his own speed. The Buster Sword bit into the dragon's neck and it roared, but it wasn't deep enough. Its scales were thick and its temper high.

Zack barely saw the tail, plastered in bony spikes, before it whipped out from between the spread wings and hit him. He went sailing through the air to slam into a tree, but was back on his feet in a second. Wow, talk about an improved recovery rate. His back twanged a little, but otherwise he was unhurt.

Or at least he thought so, but the cramp in his middle would have to wait until later. The bull charged again, apparently intent on a Zack Sandwich.

"Sorry, big guy, but I'm not on the menu today."

Using the massive tree's trunk as a launch-pad, Zack twisted around the back, created momentum and flung himself at the dragon at a slightly lower angle. Much as it disgusted him, he was using a move from the simulator in the lab. He bent almost double and at the last second yanked the Buster Sword up so it air resistance against the blade wouldn't slow him. The point dug into the dragon's underbelly and scored a line from chest to groin. It squealed in pain, like a much smaller animal, and kicked out with a hind leg, but Zack was already clear before the blood loosed. His feet and one hand touched down, leaving grooves as he forcibly halted himself.

The dragon's wound, and what came out of it, steamed in the cold air. But instead of dying or running away, it rose on two legs and roared so terribly Zack was convinced any search parties would hear it and come running to investigate the disturbance.

The tail whipped back and forth. Its reach was tremendous. Zack leapt aside.

"C'mon, big guy. No meal is worth this amount of aggro. Just leave and go lick your wounds in peace, okay? Find an elk or something. How about a nice – whoa!"

The tail nearly swiped him.

"Are we really getting into a pissing contest over this? Because I'm sensing this isn't just about lunch anymore. Especially since I think that's your stomach I can see, and it's in no condition to contain lil' ol' me. And by the way, ew!"

Sephiroth hadn't had this much trouble with those two Acid Dragons. Less than a minute, that was all. And they were both First Classes? It just went to show the margin was pretty wide even at the top.

Zack abruptly tossed away the memory. What the hell? He couldn't think about that right now. A life or death struggle with an overgrown gecko that needed an attitude adjustment was not the right time to clash egos with a dead man.

Was there ever a good time to clash egos with a dead man?

The bull swung its head back and forth. The slitted yellow eyes fastened on something. It growled low in its throat. It was the kind of noise nightmares were made of. That sound would follow Zack into his, for sure.

He groaned. He thought he'd secured Cloud better than that, but the hand and length of visible arm sticking out from behind the protective bank of rocks and bushes meant he must have toppled sideways. It was damned hard to hide a comatose man at the best of times, and this was definitely not the best of times. Not even close.

The bull lumbered at the easier prey. Things dragged beneath it, but it didn't seem to notice. Bull-headed as well, it seemed. Zack dashed forward, but that last move had put him behind the beast, and it was damn fast when it wanted to be.

Well, so was he. Faster than he'd ever been before. Faster than he'd thought possible, even for a SOLDIER. Even for a First Class. Even for –

No time left. He struck out. The dragon's left foreleg toppled sideways like a bowling pin. It screamed, but as it pitched it went even closer to Cloud's hiding place. Zack barely felt ground under his feet before he was in the air again. An impossible leap, surely? Apparently not.

Protect Cloud, his mind yelled. Protect Cloud!

Something warm sprayed in his face. Another squeal, this one ending in a gurgle. He couldn't stop, couldn't let up, had to protect Cloud since Cloud couldn't protect himself. Jump, slash, stab, jump again – was he flying or something? He could see the tops of the trees and the flat red skull below him. He drove down, point first. He flashed back to the journey up to Nibelheim and thought he caught a glimpse of silver hair trailing behind him as he plunged his blade through bone and scales.

For a second Zack disconnected with reality. Then he realised what was going on and grabbed at his conscious mind with both hands. He remembered Helena and the male Turk with the blond hair, all the blood on the snow outside the compound, her eyes staring up at him as she died because he'd been juiced and lost control once before, the silver wire dragging him back – but Cloud was in danger if he didn't do something, and where was that damn wire, he needed it to stay focussed, and … and …

And then it was over. Zack found himself standing, breathing hard, dripping purple slime and stinking of gore. The last of the dragon thumped to the ground with a shudder that yanked snow right off the branches of surrounding trees. The hot blood meeting cold air reminded him of the inside of a sauna, except there were no fat Shinra executives discussing cost-cutting here. The Buster Sword pinged in his hand. Zack moved dazedly, marvelling at the scene.

I did that? he wondered. Boy, were the scavengers in for a feast. Actually maybe they could take some of the meat with them if it wasn't poisonous. Who knew when they'd hit a town, or whether it would be safe to go into it if they did? Good thing this wasn't an Acid Dragon, or things could have gotten pretty messy, not to mention inedible. Not that they weren't messy already …

Cloud was fine. Zack gingerly set him upright and spent a moment staring at the vacant eyes. "So even saving your butt from the jaws of death – literally – wasn't enough to make you snap out of it?"

No reply.

"Figures. You missed my moment of glory, Cloud. Man versus Nature, and Man won." Zack sighed. "Ifrit's balls, that sounds like a line from a Shinra promotional leaflet. If I ever say anything that dumb again, you wake up and smack me, okay?"

Cloud stared.

"Okay. Glad we got that sorted out." Zack stood.

His midriff burst into flames.

Not literally, but it might as well have been, such was the intensity of the pain that suddenly burned through his guts and left him feeling nauseous. "Ow! What the …? Oh shit."

Not all the gore on him was the dragon's. Zack cursed up a storm at the dark red flow that led back to a ragged hole, almost black with his own blood. Apparently those spikes hadn't missed him as much as he'd thought. It was testament to how much Hojo's meddling had changed him and his threshold for pain, if he hadn't even noticed what should have been a fatal wound until now, let alone kept fighting and actually been able to take down the dragon while his innards were taking a breath of outside air.

The flames spread. Zack wavered. Something like the snow of TV interference crackled at the edges of his vision.

"No! Not now." He shook his head, as if pure denial would somehow fix him right up so he could keep going. "Only just got out of Dodge … can't quit now …"

His heart beat like a bird in too small a cage. He actually reached out and tried to pull Cloud into a travelling position: If you ignore the mortal wound it'll just go away, like bogeymen and monsters under the bed …

It was no use.

Well duh.

The snow, at least, cooled the back of his head. He was hot. Not a good sign. Had those spikes and tusks been venomous? Or was this more of Hojo's surprises biting him in the ass? The sky swam in and out of focus and his limbs felt like they were made of stone.

He didn't want to die like this; on his back, with his best friend relying on him and Midgar still not reached. He couldn't think of anything worse that expending all this effort just to get cut down without achieving his goals.

Hold onto your dreams and your SOLDIER honour.

A face framed with black hair leaned over him.

"Angeal?" Zack squinted. Was he hallucinating again?

Protecting your comrades, doing what's right, selflessness, tenacity – those are part of what makes a SOLDIER. But they're not the whole of it.

"Pretty sure you said that when they first gave me to you as a student."

The face leaned closer. Sunlight glinted on glasses. "Hm. So the reports were true. It is you, Commander Fair."

"What?" Zack blinked. Blinked again. Realised it was dark with lids up or down. Realised, also, that he knew more than one person with black hair. It didn't sound like Hojo, though. Clipped and formal, not nasal and arrogant. Plus whoever it was had used his name, instead of referring to him as 'Specimen Z', the way Hojo always did. "Who are…?"

Too late.

Fade to black.

Very black.