Chapter 18
Zack stood at the edge of the building starring into the ball of flames; he had just killed his friend. Someone he had cared for very deeply, she was like a sister to him. Zack took a step back, his face was blank, a part of him snapped. He fell to his butt and started to cry, it was so unexpected of the SOLDIER that even the Turks starred in shock. Everyone was quiet for a while, nobody wanted to say a thing about the tragedy that just occurred. Finally, Cloud got the guts to go over to his friend who was as red as a tomato. Zack looked up at his spikey haired friend, with tears flowing and snot dripping. "I could have let her live Cloud!! I didn't have to do it!! Rufus would have died anyway!!! Cloud!!" Zack cried as he fell into his friends arms. Zack's decision to kill his friend was a very difficult one, but one that had to be made, for the planets sake.
"It's going to be ok buddy, its ok. Look at me Zack." Cloud said as he grabbed his friends face to make him look at him. "You made the right choice. I was a hard decision, but in the end, no matter what the planet comes first. You couldn't let Rufus take over Shinra. All that he would have done was to continue to hurt the planet." Cloud looked at his friend who was still in pieces, what he said wasn't helping. There had to be something he could do to help him, he thought for a moment…that's it Angeal would know what to say. Cloud picked up his buster sword and put it to his forehead like Zack had done. "Honor can be quiet the burden at times Zack" Cloud said to Zack.
Zack looked up as he heard Cloud speak. He starred at his friend, he had to rub his eyes. Did he just see Angeal at Cloud's back? That's impossible, Angeal was dead, and had been for a long time. Zack thought about what he had just heard, "Honor is a heavy burden. I can… no I will carry the load. I will make you proud Angeal!!!" Zack said as he jumped up.
Cloud starred at his friend in shock and wonder. Was Zack on drugs? He wasn't talking to him, but Angeal… Cloud was worried he was making his friend think of his mentor, he had to think of something happy, something that would cheer him up… ah ha Aerith…"Come on Zack let's go. Aerith is waiting for you, it's time to go." Zack looked up at his friend and smiled.
Zack stood up and grabbed his phone. He tossed it to Cloud, "Hey buddy call Aerith, make sure that they are clear of the building. I'm not ready to talk to her yet; I don't want her to know that I was crying." Zack said as he was wiping his face clearing the tears.
"Ok bud" Cloud said as he grabbed the phone and dialed. "Aerith, this is Cloud, yeah he's alright, he's just got his hands full. We will meet you in Kalm; see you in a few hours. Bye Aerith."Cloud said as hung up the phone. He tossed the phone to Zack who was not at all ready for it, he almost dropped it bumbling around to catch it. The phone fell to the ground, just before it hit the ground Zack kicked it back up to his chest with his foot. Zack looked up and grinned, he felt like an idiot. Zack's smile was short lived, he looked to his right, and there stood Reno and Rude who were not sure whether or not to stay or run. Zack gripped his sword prepared to take action.
Cloud looked over as well and said "What do you wana do about them? You think they could possible rebuild Shinra or something?"
"Umm…I don't know. I doubt they would do anything really. Reno is a blunder moron, and Rude… he can't function without orders." Zack said in deep thought.
"Fuck you! You lil spikey hair dick! I am not a blundering moron! I am a Turk!!... wait… fuck, RUDE! We're out of a job… and we no longer have the prestigious title. Man this blow." Reno said frowning.
"Reno wake up, they could kill us. They have no reason to let us live. That's not the Zack Fair we met years ago. He wouldn't think twice about killing us." Rude said with a bit of fear. Fear was rare for the dark man.
Zack looked at Rude who just said he was a cold blooded killer. He laughed to himself, him a cold blooded killer? Nah, just finishing the mission at all costs. Zack walked closer to the two men, he gripped his sword handle pretending like he was about to draw it. Zack walked straight to their faces and starred. Zack grinned, this joke would be too cruel, so he had to pass it up. "you may go, but if I find that you two are up to ANYTHING that makes me on happy, I will be the last thing you see before you walk into the afterlife. You hear me? Go get out of my sight before I change my mind." Zack said with a grin, he sounded so serious, it was hard to keep a straight face.
"Whatever you wish man, Rude let's get the fuck out of here!" Reno said as he jumped over Rude running for their lives.
Cloud walked up behind Zack and started to laugh, "AHAHAHA you a cold blooded killer! That's rich! Did you see their faces!? Priceless moment"
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Zack and Cloud walked to the elevator of the empty Shinra building. The charges have been set and ready to blow. Zack and Cloud were getting closer to the elevator when Zack suddenly threw Cloud across the room. He sprinted toward the elevator stopped and grinned as he clicked the button. Cloud gathered himself and had a rather large frown on his face, "Why do you always get to Click the button!? This is bullshit man!" Cloud said almost in anger out of jealousy. Zack and Cloud walked into the elevator, as the doors closed Cloud wacked Zack in the back of the head.
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Zack and Cloud walked out the front door, they stopped and starred at the dead Shinra building. It was time to finish this once and for all. Zack grabbed the detonator and looked at Cloud. "Here bud you can do it." Zack said as he offered the detonator.
"No Zack, you do it this was your battle, you finish it." Cloud said as he waved the remote off in rejection.
Zack took a deep breath and clicked the button. Seconds later a soft boom could be heard. The boom grew louder and louder. Finally the pressure from the tiny blasts going off made all the glass erupt. It was raining little sharp shards. "Zack U think we should back up" Cloud said as he started taking steps back. Zack did not move, he looked up to the sky enjoying the smoke and glass in the air. He looked like someone who has never seen or felt the rain. The building started to shake from the tiny explosions. Seconds later the final big boom, sent the building into a fall. The president's office was the first to go. It caved into the building, starting to explode violently. Flames started to spread throughout the building, and large pieces of the building started to fall. Dust and smoke created a smog that filled the streets. This explosion was getting out of control. The flames were getting larger and larger. The flames spread to the mako lines, created huge explosions all around the lines, flames of bluish green started around. Cloud had begun to scream at Zack. "ZACK IT'S TIME TO GO!!! THOSE FLAMES ARE GOING TO HIT THE MAKO REACTORS! We won' survive! Zack! Zack snap out of it!! Zack!!!" Cloud yelled with great fear in his voice.
Zack came to, "Holy fuck, Cloud let's go!!! Run!!!" Zack yelled as he looked up at the reactors starting to catch fire. The two sprinted close together, if one got too far ahead, they would be lost in the smog filling the streets. Zack grabbed the Cloud by the shirt and jumped down on the train tracks. "Cloud hurry get down to the Slums!!! If we don't get down there we're fucked, two over cooked SOLDIER steaks! Fuckin run!" Zack yelled as he sprinted past Cloud. Zack and Cloud continued to run their hearts out hoping to survive the explosion.
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The reactors were at full blaze, it was only a matter of time until they erupted in to a massive explosion. Reactor 2 was heating faster than the others, in a matter of minutes from detonation; the reactor was ready to explode. Alarms could be heard all around the city, the reactors where hitting meltdown. Reactor 2 could no longer hold in the explosion, it erupted into a mass of blue/green smoke. The explosion created a chain reaction, each reactor hit melt down and blew simultaneously. The Shinra building was reduced to ash, ever building in Midgar had been wiped out. No person could have survived that blast, not even Sephiroth himself.
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Aerith, Red, Tifa and Tseng were having coffee waiting for Zack and Cloud to arrive, along with Barret and his team. The cups had begun to shake and the cheese photos on the walls of the inn had started crashing on by one to the ground. Everyone raced to the window to see what it was. Above Midgar was a huge blue mushroom cloud sending shockwaves so powerful, it knocked them back. Aerith started to tear, the explosion was not meant to be that huge, nothing could have survived on the top plate. Many lives were lost, all Aerith could do is pray that Zack was ok; If he was she was going to kill him herself for making her worry all the time. Everyone starred at the explosion wondering if their friends had made it out ok.
'Tseng you thing everyone made it out ok?" Tifa asked with great worry in her voice.
"Tifa I'm not going to lie, there is a good chance that everyone in Midgar is dead. Even the people in the slums. Let's hope our friends are ok." Tseng said in a rare tone of nervousness.
"I can't feel Zack, or anything in Midgar. Just a cloud of energy." Aerith said breaking down into tears. Nanaki and Tifa went to her side to comfort her as Tseng looked out the window.
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Cloud and Zack woke up in the tunnel of the train tracks, everything was in ruins. Zack stood up and grabbed his buster sword, it felt lighter than normal. "Huh that's weird" Zack walked over to help Cloud to his feet, he reached his arm down to help him. As he pulled up he looked at his arm, it was slightly bigger, what the fuck was going on…