Chapter 6

Zack grabbed his sword which was stained red from the battle. He thought about what Angeal had said "Use brings about wear, tear and rust". He had always thought of his mentor when he glanced at the sword. It made him feel good, like Angeal was always with him, and he was always there by his side in battle. Zack threw his sword over his shoulder with a grin.

"Let's go guys. Shinra is picking up its pace. We're gunna have to if we wana stay ahead of them. Also I'm sure this battle didn't help our cause. Shinra will be rushing to get here. Let's hurry" Zack said as he went to the shore to find a boat they could steal. Zack looked. It was daylight. Finding them on the water would be easy pickings for Shinra helicopter. He knew they were screwed. He looked and looked. There was nothing he could use, and he had no alternatives.

"Zack what's wrong?" Cloud asked.

"We're not gunna make it across the ocean in a boat. We'll be found easily." Zack said with a worried expression.

"What about that Shinra helicopter over there that brought the troops? Aren't SOLDIERS trained to pilot helicopters?" Cloud asked.

Zack turned to Cloud and Nanaki. "Well that true…just… I never really fully learned how ya know."

"It's better than staying here Zack. Let's give it a try. They have parachutes don't they? Just in case…" Nanaki said with a worried look. He wasn't too fond of water.

"Alright. I guess we don't have any other options huh." Cloud and Nanaki went to go grab the supplies as Zack hopped into the helicopter.

"This can't be too hard right? I kind of remember… this won't be bad…" Zack said as Nanaki and Cloud had thrown all the supplies into the chopper. Cloud jumped in the passenger seat of the chopper with Zack, Nanaki looked annoyed. He clearly wanted shot gun. He gave a little growl at Cloud. Cloud looked back at Big Red and stuck his tough out. "Boys, can we maybe do this later? When we're somewhere safe feel free to kill each other" Zack said as he started the chopper. They had taken off pretty smooth, much to Zack's surprise. As they were going higher and higher in the air, Zack looked out the window. He saw a blur far in the distance. His SOLDIER eyes had focused. It was the entire Shinra army. They were moving looking every inch of the planet for them. He knew they wouldn't stop till they were found. Zack's face went cold. He knew an all out fight may be inevitable. But he did not have to tell Cloud and Nanaki right now. They didn't need to be stressed.

"Zack, We deserve to know. Tell us please." Damn he forgot Nanaki could feel what he was thinking. This was getting rather annoying. "Can you please keep your mind to yourself RED!!? It's my mind I'll do what I want with it!!" Zack felt embarrassed and felt like his personal space had been violated.

"Zack what is it? You can tell us." Cloud said with a worried look. Zack could feel he was worried. He hated to see his spikey haired friend worried. "The Shinra army… they aren't far… they look like they just left the canyon. They are going to look for us everywhere. We won't be able to hide… not as long as Shinra still stands."Cloud looked at his friend and smiled. " I guess we will just have to take down Shinra huh?" Zack looked back at Cloud in shock. Had that really come from his mouth? His little wimpy friend. He was almost afraid of everything before, what happened to him? Had Hojo's experiments done something to him? I guess he'll never know.

"Zack! Zack!! ZACK!!!" Nanaki yelled. "WHAT!?"

"What is that blinking red light?" Nanaki asked. Zack looked down at the dashboard… fuck. They were out of gas. In the worst possible spot, they were just flying past Junon. Zack thought quickly. "Grab whatever you can carry!!! Grab a parachute!! Get ready to jump!!!" Zack ran back into the cockpit. "Zack what are you doing!!!?" Cloud screamed in a panic. "I'm putting it on auto pilot! I'm sticking it to Shinra!!They don't need that fucking cannon!! It was built for fear, now I want the president to fear, cuz he's next!" The three jumped for the helicopter and sailed thru the air. One, two, three, there parachutes opened and they glided down to the ground safely. They recovered themselves quickly, they turned to look to see where the helicopter was going to hit. The chopper had begun to sink in the air, clearly out of gas. It got closer and closer to the cannon; it was heading directly to the fuel pods. There was a loud siren as the large steel wall went up to protect the houses of the Shinra employee's who lived there.

The people of the town underneath Junon had flooded out into the plains. Zack screamed "GET AWAY!!! IT'S GOING TO BLOW!!!!" The people ran as far as they could. A few seconds later the helicopter had hit the fuel pods. It started as a huge fire. Zack thought to himself, "Isn't the cannon powered by something else?.... RUN!!!! It's going to hit the huge materia!!!!" Zack and company turned and ran. They had only minutes until the fire hit the huge materia. Zack had led the people away from Junon. He told them to keep heading in the direction they were heading and they would find Fort Condor. A few seconds later there was a huge explosion. Zack had never seen anything like it before. A huge mushroom cloud with the greenish color of mako, Cloud and Nanaki stared in amazement.

The cannon had blown to pieces, falling into the water below. The City around the cannon had shifted. The plates holding the city together were caving in. The highest level had fallen from the explosion. The weight from the collapse had caused the next level to collapse. Before long the entire city of Junon had been in the water. Zack looked at the destruction they had just caused. Zack had felt bad for the number of people who had lost their lives. But they all worked for Shinra, and Shinra had to fall. It was either them or their freedom. And he wasn't going to give up his or his friend's right's to have that. Zack knew that Shinra was now going to be in great disorder over the loss of the cannon. Without it they no longer had power over the western world. If word got out… Wutai may just start a revolution against Shinra. Shinra, who was already dealing with a revolution with in Midgar, now may have to deal with Wutai. Things were really working in their favor, there was no way Shinra would still be looking for them. They were now at the bottom of Shinra's priority list.

Zack turned to Cloud and Nanaki, "Hey guys let's make sure these people make it to the fort safely. We could use some materia from this point on. So I think it's a good idea, we could use a rest huh?" Nanaki and Cloud both nodded and started walking with the crowd of people. Zack was walking along side them and enjoying the air which had a cool breeze from the ocean. This must be what freedom would feel like. But his bliss was cut short when he heard something flying over head.