"Puppy Love"
X
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core Fan fiction
[Zack, you idiot.]
The village of Nibleheim was slowly turning to ash. The dead littered the emblazoned streets. As the smoke rose, smoldering the brilliantly lit sky, Vincent stepped lightly and confident against the stone towards his destination. The reactor, where Zack and gone and hadn't come back. His cape threatened to tug away from his shoulders, wrapping the invisible cold in velvet tendrils. This place was done for.
This place was doomed from the beginning. His one and only sin developed into something so extreme. So many people were dead because of Sephiroth. Zack couldn't handle that man, that monster. He had to stop him, if only to prevent another sin from being committed.
He bolted into a run, his heart pounding heavily in his ears.
There he was. Zack was just on his way up the mountain by the time Vincent managed to reach him.
"Zack!" He called out desperately.
Zack stopped and bolted around, his eyes wide with fury and grief. "Vincent, what are you doing? I told you to wait for me."
"I can't." Vincent took a brief moment to catch his breath. "You can't win against him. He's too powerful."
If only his voice of reason could reach Zack…
"If I don't do this, no one will." The First-Class Soldier turned back towards the path. "I have to. This is what heroes are made for. I have to protect everyone, and… you."
They stood in silence, wasting precious time. A tree branch cracked and broke from the fire, collapsing a yard away from them. They both stood, the fire behind them, in front of the Shinra Manor.
Rose eyes showing nothing but pain, Vincent slowly reached out and took Zack's hand. Gentle, afraid, and encouraging. Zack looked down at their hands, troubled by the situation they were in. At this point, they wouldn't be able to be together.
"You'll wait for me, won't you?" Zack suddenly spoke.
Slowly, Vincent nodded. It didn't matter how long he had to wait. A thousand years meant nothing to him. To be able to feel this way again, to feel warm and alive. Zack was the only one who could breathe life into his frozen and dead body.
Turning to face him, Zack managed a smile. "I don't know when it'll be, but wait for me. Go back to sleep. The next time you wake up I'll be there. I have to take care of Sephiroth first. If he isn't defeated now, there's no chance for us."
"I understand." Vincent's hand slowly pulled away from him, if only to be grabbed once more. Zack tugged him into a strong embrace. "Zack…"
They held each other for a long time, both knowing this would be the last time they saw each other.
----
Footsteps? Slowly waking, Vincent was half aware of his surroundings. Once the footsteps stopped, he guessed, in front of his coffin he immediately answered. "Who is it?" He was hoping, waiting…
The lid slid off as he sat up, his hair in tangles and his eyes as red as blood. He didn't recognize the people here. Two women and a man. As he looked them over, noting how the woman in pink stood out the most, his eyes flickered over to the man. Immediately, he felt a sense of nostalgia.
[Cloud…?]
As the conversation proceeded, Vincent felt a darkness and dread sap his energy away. All the happiness he felt while he waited silently was stolen away. Even so, he knew, deep down, that waiting with so much hope was a fool's job.
[Zack, you idiot. You shouldn't promise things you know you can't keep.]
~Fin~
Author's notes: After two years I FINALLY finished this story. It's a very sad ending, but we knew it was coming. Just like at the end of Crisis Core we all knew Zack would die. Please comment and tell me what you thought of this ending.
