AN: Hey everyone!

.!

How long has it been since I updated?! A month? Maybe two?!

Geez, I'm really sorry everyone, I didn't mean to make you all wait and everything. It's just a few things have come up in life and school work keeps piling up into gigantic pillars reaching the sky. Also, I had a bit of writers block too, not much just a few things I wasn't sure on, but it okay now (Why else would this chapter be out?!)

Skykhanhunter: Glad you like the story!

Kairi-loves-Sushi: I know what you mean, I wouldn't mind doing the same ^_^". Glad you like the story though!

Spirit: Thank you for the review! Sorry for the late update and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

But anyway, on with the show! Here's another chapter of Silent Destiny!

Disclaimer: I own this glass of lemonade, this computer, this idea and that speck of dust over there, Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy VII.

Chapter Seven: Past Promises

I opened my eyes. I blinked a few times trying to focus them.

I had a weird dream last night. I couldn't really remember all of it, but most of the dream consisted of images. Images of my past and some I have never seen before. It was like they would be in the near future or something. The image I remember the most were my mum and dad back in Gongaga.

Now that I thought about it, I wonder how they're doing. I wonder if they've…forgotten about me.

I don't know why I thought that but maybe it was because I have been gone this entire time. I mean, how long has it been since I last saw them?

I was fourteen when I joined SOLDIER.

Eight years ago…

"Zack…please don't go!"

Those words still echoed in my head as I packed my bag with clothes. I tried going earlier but they caught me and there was no way of escaping from them. They figured that I was running off to somewhere dangerous and made me stay home. I tried to convince her that it wasn't that dangerous. Of course my mother wouldn't listen.

She was just trying to protect me, but this is what I wanted to do...

But I was fourteen, I could take care of myself. Nothing was going to stop me from reaching my goal. To become one of the greatest SOLDIER's that ever lived! Okay, maybe that sounded a bit too extreme, but to at least get into SOLDIER.

I quickly run downstairs and pen the fridge door grabbing a few things to eat along the way. I tried to keep as quiet as possible so I wouldn't wake them up. Then I quickly but quietly ran towards the lounge room.

There it was.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to leave without it. I grabbed the item and stuffed it in my pocket. A reminder from home in case I needed it.

I walked towards the front door checking I had everything in my pack.

I look up at the door.

My hand grips the door handle.

' This isn't right' one side of me told me. 'Oh yes it is. It's been your dream since you saw Sephiroth,' the other side told me 'You can become a hero and save cities, and maybe even countries…What have you got to lose?!'

"…My life…" I said aloud.

My hand gripped the door handle tighter making my palm hurt and turn my knuckles white. 'But you would die…saving people's lives, right? Not to mention your parents if they are in trouble...'

I release some of my strength on the door handle.

I look back to upstairs.

I look back at what I am leaving behind.

I look up at the people who I loved so much.

The only people who called me Zackary Fair.

The only people who cared what may have happened to me if I joined SOLDIER.

The people that weren't there at the top of the staircase, but were recreations of imagination playing the events before.

"Zack, what are you doing?" he asked disbelievingly just like this afternoon. He never wanted to believe what I was about to do.

"Zack…please don't go!"she exclaimed pleadingly.

My hand twisted the door knob and pulls the door open.

There images fade away leaving again another empty staircase.

I looked ahead to the hills I would run through to get to Midgar.

To get to SOLDIER.

To get to Shinra.

To get to my future…

"I promise I'll come back…someday…"

My body takes control and I find myself making my decision.

I step out lowering my head as I close the door behind me…

Then everything around me is a blur. I'm running.

I'm running away from home to my dreams…

For my destiny…


I never did keep that promise, just like I never kept that item. I lost it long ago, but I don't remember where.

That item was the small wooden wolf i carved with my dad. He taught me all sorts of things. I carved the wolf the first time he taught me. But now I lost it, somewhere...

I never visited them, not once. Not even on missions. I was a coward. I didn't know how they'd react if they saw me again. Would they have forgotten me? Would they be angry at me? Would they accept me again. It scared me at times. Which I guess was why, when I had time one day, I wrote them a letter…

To Dad and Mom,
How are you?
I'm sorry for suddenly rushing out of the village. The truth is that I really wanted to become a SOLDIER. I thought that saying that would worry you . . . I'm now fulfilling my dreams and working hard as a SOLDIER.

P.S. I've managed to get a girlfriend.

-Zack

Was I coward because I wrote them that letter? Was I a coward because I didn't come and visit them? Truth is, I think I thought that I was being selfish from running away in the first place. I think I thought they would never want to see me again. But at the same time…

I…

I do and don't regret joining it, but now I'm not sure. So many things have happened to me.

I do regret joining SOLDIER because I found out its truth and the monsters it trying to create out of us.

I don't regret it because I met Angeal and few other people like Cloud and Kunsel. They all became my best friends, and in the end, they all disappeared from me.

If I hadn't joined SOLDIER, maybe…maybe I wouldn't have met Aerith.

That thought scared me, because since I met her, I can't really imagine my life without that girl. In fact, she never left me. She's here with me now, only there is a wall separating us from seeing each other.

I sit up looking towards the wall that kept me away from her.

I found myself putting a hand on the cold, metal surface. It feels strange, like there was something surreal about this. My hand felt lighter, I didn't know how to describe it.

"Aerith…" My voice is barely audible, lower then a whisper.

My eyes close as my mention of her name goes unnoticed.

I remember seeing her face in the lab before everything went to black. Even though she looked so scared and shocked, she was still very beautiful. She grown a lot since the last time I saw her. Her face was softer, her skin still pale, her brown hair still tied in a tight braid with the ribbon I gave her all those years ago, and her emerald eyes as beautiful and earthly as ever. It was just a torture in itself to see them so scared… So vulnerable…

I promise to get out of this.

I promise to rid of that look in her eyes.

"I promise to make you smile again…"

And this time, I'm keeping it…

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

The door next to me opens.

Aerith's door.

My eyes snap openwide. I drop my hand from the wall.

No!

"No, what are you doing?!"

Just a few things:

1.I actually have no idea what age Zack joined SOLDIER, but I imagine he was around fourteen.

2.I have no idea what his parents look like.

I haven't actually played the game, is it true that Aerith met them?

, I believe he actually wrote that letter to his parents. A friend of mine who went to Anime con. went and asked someone about Zack and Aerith's letters. Instead they went on about how Zack wrote this letter to his parents. So whether that's true or not I have no idea! Same with the wooden, carved wolf. Reviews are greatly appreciated if you have time.

ALSO THE POLL IS STILL AVAILABLE TO STILL VOTE IN. THE POLL BEING WHICH PICTURE DO YOU THINK BEST DEPICTS ZACK AS HIS MONSTER SIDE? THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE BECAUSE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER THE RESULTS WILL BE 'ANNOUNCED' (. you'll read what he looks like)! Thank you for reading!

Keep Writng!!

-Warrayfinson