Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, blah, blah, blah, or zombies.

Chapter Three: Was Ist Los? Es Ist Party Angesagt!

Upon entering the outskirts of Midgar, it seemed like the place was totally deserted. There wasn't even a Remnant in sight as they passed through the Sector 6 slums and up the railway to the main city, so they did let down their guard, just slightly. They were getting comfortable as they turned the corner to Loveless Avenue, Zack leading the way followed by Aerith and then Reno bringing up the rear. As soon as he'd turned the corner Zack held out his arm to stop Aerith and also as sort of a protective manner as he started, "Oh-" It took Reno approximately 2 seconds to register what was going on after he turned the corner as well and he finished Zack's statement with "SHIIIIIIII-" as the three of them took off running from what looked like the entire populous of Midgar, only now they were Remnants.

Zack and Aerith ducked into an alley way and although Zack tried to get Reno he couldn't. Reno was possibly the fastest person he'd ever seen, and he was SOLDIER 1st class! Winding through some buildings and more alleyways they finally came upon a deserted, or mostly deserted, mall. Zack dispatched most of the Remnants inside, but Aerith still got in a few whacks, and grabbing 2 backpacks they proceeded to gather up supplies. They only hoped Reno would last until they could find him again, so after grabbing enough, or as much as they could carry safely, they went out to go track down Reno, or they would have, but then they noticed...

"-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" He was beginning to ponder saying a prayer instead of cursing, but decided against it as a hand impacted with his face and pulled him into an alley on his left. Before he even looked to see if it was a Remnant, he bit down on the hand and drew his .45 in one smooth movement, only to realize that it wasn't a Remnant, which was lucky for him because you really shouldn't bite those things.

"Why'd ya bite me fool? You one of dem things after all?"

"Ugh. You taste bad." (Spits into alley floor.)

"Fool! Quit jabberin' an jes' follow me!"

"...whatever."

So Reno followed the man with the prosthetic right arm and actually stayed mostly quiet, taking in the ruins of Midgar as they passed through alleys and stores, where they were going, he wasn't sure.

Getting accustomed to the huge... dog... had taken him a few minutes, but since it wasn't hurting him, he figured it was domestic. He still didn't exactly know where he was, but he was certain it was a church, but why all the stained glass windows were boarded up? He couldn't even fathom a guess, well, okay, maybe it was abandoned... that might account for it. But why was he here, in an abandoned church? He decided he'd take a look around, and after surveying the entire inside, he decided to look around outside.

Zack had actually almost hit her when she first ran out of her hiding place, but luckily his reflexes were still pretty good and he was able to stop his arms mid-swing. She'd run out and immediately attached herself to his leg, the small brown-haired girl. Aerith pried her away from Zack's leg just long enough to see the girl was crying and get her name. Marlene. It was obvious she'd been in here for a few days at the least, judging from the state of her hiding place... Well, of course they weren't going to leave her, but it did mean one more mouth to feed. However, those two were never ones to weigh the pros and cons of adding another person to the group, so Zack lifted her up and placed her securely on his shoulders. The now three some wandered their way through the rest of the maze like mall and finally caught a break as they found a way out that wasn't surrounded by Remnants.

After climbing the thirteenth ladder, Reno'd had enough. Enough climbing up the side of one building only to go down the other side and then climb another, he wasn't going to do it anymore.

"I'm done."

"What? You jes' gonna sit up 'ere and get chewed? Be my guest. But we's almost there."

"Where?"

"That old Shin-Ra headquarters, they was Nazis, but man, they had good security..."

"... Oh. Then why'd you stop here? Come on let's go old guy."

"What? Wait you jes' a minite! Where you get off calling me 'old guy'? Spiky red-haired punk a-"

And so the two of them made their way toward Shin-Ra headquarters, and upon getting there, Reno pulled out his security card and swiped it in the door... probably not his best plan of action considering the person he was with.

"Yo! You with Shin-Ra? I should'a known!"

"Whoah! Hey! You can drop the gun, before I drop you."

"Because of you people... MARLENE!"

"Who the f-... is MARLENE?"

"She was my daughter, but den you igits decided to drop the plate on Sector 7 to save yo' precious upper city and she was... DA-"

"Hey, I didn't know your daughter was in that mess when I dropped the plate... oops."

"You did it? You DROPPED THE PLATE! You'll pay you MOTHER-"

*BLAM*

He had noted that all the doors were boarded up, but again he just thought that it was because the place was abandoned, so he removed the heavy beams at the back door and walked out into the blistering sunlight. The dog had followed him, and pranced out to the field and relieved itself.

Well, now what?

He decided that maybe he'd find somebody if he headed out, maybe find a town or something? So with the dog following along, he headed out. It was lucky he didn't bother to look at the outside of the church, as that probably would have lead to more questions without answers, not the best thing in the world.

They'd been diving in and out of buildings for a little over an hour, Zack leading the way with Marlene still firmly planted on his shoulders burying her head in his hair and Aerith following behind them. It was getting dark, so the two adults decided it would be best to find someplace that was safe, or at least safer, to spend the night. They found such a place after a brief period of looking, a rooftop with only a single stairwell leading up to it. Sure, they'd be stuck if a horde of Remnants pursued them up there, but then again they could only come through two or three at a time at max, so eventually Zack and Aerith could get the upper hand and win the fight in the long run. The building was also a decent distance away from the others, but the Remnants weren't known for their prowess at long jumping anyway, sure an athletic person could probably jump it if they really tried, Zack could definitely, but as long as one of them kept watch, it wasn't something they worried about. Neither Aerith nor Zack got any sleep, they just couldn't get to sleep, but at least Marlene went to sleep, she was probably exhausted. It was about four in the morning when they heard noises at the door, Remnants they assumed, and Zack stood up to go investigate, finding to his surprise a living person on the opposite side of the door. "Please, let me in! There are some coming up after me, but you've gotta help me!" she pleaded, her hazel eyes begging along with her. Well, it wasn't like he was going to say no, so he removed the barrier they'd set up and pulled her in just in time to see the first Remnant filing up the staircase. He waved to Aerith, and she knew it meant they were leaving, so she woke up Marlene and picked up her pack. Zack scooped Marlene up onto his shoulders once more and backed up to the opposite side of the building. Instructing Marlene to hold on tight, he took off running and leaped as he got to the edge, landing just barely on the next building over. He called out to the new girl saying he'd catch her if she missed by a bit while setting Marlene down with his pack. She gulped, then did the same that he'd done catching onto the side of the building and having to be pulled up by him. Next it was Aerith's turn, first she tossed her pack across and then she backed up to the opposite side and ran then leaped, and except that he caught her hands and pulled her in falling over himself when he did so, she would have landed in the alley below. Running jumps, not her strong point. Again hoisting Marlene onto his shoulders, Zack began to lead the now foursome through the winding maze of Midgar.

"Dude! Your aim sucks!" he shouted back at the man with the gun as he pulled his own out of his belt. "Now, really, drop it or I'll drop you. I don't miss." The man with the prosthetic arm just glared evilly for a moment before finally dropping his gun and as per Reno's instructions slid the gun over to him using his foot. Reno picked the gun up, never taking his own gun off of the man, and finding it to be a .45 as well ejected the clip and replaced it inside his own gun severely confusing the other man.

"What'd you do that fer?"

"Dude, I've been out of bullets for weeks. Thanks for the reload!"

"You was jes' bluffin'?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm good at it, right?"

And the cocky red-head walked off into the building not concerned in the slightest about his new buddy glaring holes into his back. The two apparently didn't notice the half-torn sign that was posted to the door, which read: "Quarantine: Do Not Enter. All Dead Inside."

Crazy Author's Monologue: Yes, I'm evil, cliffhangers are my favorite though... Oh, so I decided to discontinue the initial in front of quote crap, it was distracting. Oh, yes, I did split the gang up so that I could write about twenty different things happening at once. (BTW: Zack and Aerith are not that heartless that they forgot about Reno, well maybe Zack did but that's 'cause he's an idiot, in the most cute and loveable sense, but they are looking out for Marlene and now the new brunnette, hmm, WHO COULD SHE BE? I wonder... Oh, and the man with the prosthetic right arm, hmm... I wonder... (LOL!) Hey, thanks, and R, R, and R! Okay, peeps? ...Wow, not a long speech this time, huh. (Oh, and you guys would have had this much earlier, but FanFiction had an error that wouldn't let me upload, okay? I'm not that lazy... So the next chapter might come soon too...)