CHAPTER 9:

THE DEATH OF ZACK

A few weeks later…

"…And then, I booked it out of there."

Barret and Tifa were staring at him, along with Wedge and Jessie, while Aerith giggled at their responses. Biggs was watching over the girls as they played elsewhere, while they were in the Seventh Heaven Bar, shortly after Harry and Aerith completed another delivery, albeit a small one. "Dayum," Barret said. "I'm already havin' trouble wrappin' my head 'round you bein' from another world. But doin' that shit 'round a dragon, while those dumbasses were gawkin' at you, hopin' for you to be fried?"

"Hey, believe me, Barret, I agree wholeheartedly. I actually briefly wanted to enter into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But being forced into it was another matter entirely." Harry's face fell. "But at the end of the Tournament, I witnessed…well, Cedric wasn't a friend per se, but we weren't enemies by a long shot. Seeing him murdered, and by a man whose life I spared…and then, I got to see Voldemort brought back from the dead."

"And yet, a sweet girl like Delphi was his daughter…I understand why people went after her, even if they were idiots," Tifa said. "I'm still a bit weirded out by how much she resembles Sephiroth, though."

"Yeah, but she isn't Sephiroth, Tifa," Jessie pointed out.

"I know, Jessie. But…I remember that night all too well." She rubbed her sternum almost unconsciously. "The flames consuming Nibelheim, my father in a puddle of blood…he was a bit of an ass at times, but getting murdered by Sephiroth? And then, he nearly killed me. Sorry, Harry, it's not Delphi's fault or yours. Sephiroth just left more scars than on my body."

"It's okay, Tifa, as long as you treat Delphi like, well, as normal a girl as she can. I mean, Marlene's all right with her," Harry said.

"Marlene's too young to know of Sephiroth," Wedge pointed out. "And most people outside of Wutai think of him as a hero."

Barret scoffed. "A Shinra attack dog, like Genesis or Angeal, no better than Stamp beggin' for scraps, and yet he turned rabid. Hopefully, if that Zack guy survived, he'll have gotten a clue. Same goes for that Cloud guy you knew, Tifa."

The buxom brunette bartender nodded. "Cloud would, at least, if he was at Nibelheim. And Zack would, I'm sure."

"He would," Aerith said. "Zack's a good person, and not everyone working for Shinra is a monster. Unfortunately, the monsters are in charge, and the good people can do little."

Barret harrumphed, but said nothing, having argued with Aerith and Harry before on the matter. Harry wasn't sure why Barret had a beef with Shinra, though given his anger, it must've been something deeply painful and personal. Still, while he couldn't call himself friends with the burly dark-skinned man, he was at least on good enough terms, along with Tifa, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Though he was closest to Aerith out of everyone on this world.

Harry, Aerith and Delphi had grown closer over the last few weeks, despite Elmyra and the Turks' scrutiny. Then again, Elmyra was getting used to the duo from Earth. The Turks were another matter entirely, with Harry making the unpleasant acquaintance of Reno, a drawling red-haired arse who seemed too cocky, and looked itching to start something, even if he didn't actually do anything. He'd also met Tseng, more pleasant, but the man was a cold pragmatist, the sort who'd be polite while thinking up plans to kill everyone he met. He'd even got to meet Cissnei, a more pleasant red-haired young woman.

In addition, Harry, Aerith and Delphi had gone to visit Sector 7, specifically Seventh Heaven. Tifa took time to get used to Delphi's eyes, but thankfully, she accepted his explanation, which was true, just having a lie of omission. He decided not to go with Sephiroth's cover story of Delphi being his bastard child, instead telling Tifa and Barret the truth, that Harry and Delphi came from another world, and Delphi had been enhanced by her father's insane ritual. Tifa, thankfully, accepted that, and didn't hold Sephiroth's crimes against Delphi. In fact, she eventually discussed what happened at Nibelheim with them. Harry reckoned he needed to make plans to give Shinra grief, especially after Aerith confessed her Cetra status to Barret and Tifa, and something of her past. Barret certainly looked like he would, and in a more violent way.

Oddly enough, though, while Aerith became fast friends with Tifa, Harry and Barret bonded in their own way. True, the only thing they had in common was their adoptive daughters and a mistrust of Shinra, but Barret, when he wasn't raging against Shinra, was an amiable man, and he took Delphi's strangeness in his stride. Delphi also bonded with Marlene, even if Delphi was some years Marlene's senior. Harry and Delphi also befriended Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, especially Jessie.

Harry's thoughts were broken by a sudden sound of what seemed to be rain on the roof, like a shower hit the Sector 7 Slums. "What the hell?!" Barret yelped. "Is that rain? How's that possible with that fuckin' rotting pizza hangin' overhead?"

"The plates have caused a microclimate of sorts to manifest under them," Jessie said. "Dad told me that once. Rain is extremely unlikely, but not impossible."

As Barret scoffed in scepticism, Harry looked to Aerith, who was staring at the roof, her green eyes moistening. And then, her hands clasped together. And he realised that something was wrong, very wrong indeed.

"…Can someone fetch Delphi?" Harry asked. "I've got the feeling that we may need to take her home."

Tifa went over to Aerith, her mahogany eyes looking to Aerith's own verdant orbs. "…What's happened?"

"…He's returned to the Planet," Aerith said quietly, her voice husky with sorrow. "Zack…is dead…"

With that revelation, their little get-together had ended. Aside from farewells, the only thing said was Tifa asking to contact her after they confirmed it…and if they found any trace of Cloud. By this point, Harry had gotten a PHS, a mobile phone (and, thanks to Jessie and Wedge, blocked any potential security issues Shinra could exploit, just in case), so he could call Tifa if need be.

They brought Delphi back to Elmyra, before heading out beyond Midgar, to the rocky wasteland that lay outside it. A landscape where little life aside from the hardiest weeds and monsters flourished. A landscape of death.

But they soon found more death.

Aerith was clinging to Harry as they flew over the wasteland on his broomstick, towards what had to be a battlefield. She was sobbing gently, even as she cast the Point Me spell he had recently taught her, but she had insisted on coming. Meanwhile, Harry was hoping the Disillusionment Charm would hold up against any radar installations Shinra had. Their first time flying together. It would have been a moment to remember, had it not been for the circumstances under which it happened.

The battlefield was hard to miss, though. Smoke wafted from one part of the wasteland, and they soon saw the corpses, green motes of light drifting from some as they returned to the Planet. No sign of Zack yet.

They landed and dismounted, with Aerith looking around. After a moment's thought, she nodded. "Now I understand," she said, her tone thick with the emotion her words didn't convey.

"Understand what?"

Aerith indicated the surroundings, all the bodies. "A SOLDIER First Class is an army unto themselves, even when you don't take the likes of Sephiroth, Genesis or Angeal into account. The Turks knew that I was in a relationship with him, and Tseng, for all his faults, would have tried to save him. Someone didn't want to risk him coming back to Midgar. Alive, anyway. I'd put money on Heidegger." A soft sob emanated from her lips, before she cast the Point Me again, and then hurried across the battlefield. "…But why? Why did they do this, all for one SOLDIER?"

Harry followed her, not knowing how to answer her. Partly because he didn't want to say anything insensitive to her in her grief, and partly because that question occurred to him as well. Still, Heidegger was already on his shitlist, but if that burly buffoon was also responsible for this…his fist clenched.

In any case, they soon came to a crude grave, a pile of rocks. Aerith began clearing it away with Levitation Charms, with a mix of haste and care, before the face of a corpse was revealed. Harry saw a young man, his boyish features framed by a messy shock of spiky black hair, lying in repose, his eyes closed. Blood covered his exposed skin. "Is this Zack?" he asked quietly.

Aerith could only nod mutely, her breath coming in ragged gasps, nearly sobs. Eventually, she seemed to calm herself, albeit just enough to be functional again, and said, "I knew it in Seventh Heaven, but… even though I know he has returned to the Planet, I…it hurts. Even with Ifalna, it didn't hurt so much."

Harry nodded, gently putting a hand on her shoulder, but doing nothing more. He let her mourn. If she sought further comfort from him, like a hug, then he would do so, but for now, he was letting her grieve for her boyfriend.

He thought back to when Cedric died and Dumbledore ordered his friends and loved ones to let him have his space, to grieve, and not tell him anything. They could have at least given him condolences. Here, well, he was willing to give them to Aerith if she was receptive.

He did frown as he looked at the makeshift grave when something occurred to him. "I wonder who buried him," he idly mused out loud, before cursing himself for disturbing Aerith's mourning.

Aerith turned to look at him, blinking her bloodshot eyes in surprise. "Buried him?"

"Yes. I mean, it's a makeshift grave, but…it can't have been those who killed him. They would have either left him to rot, or else taken the body with them," Harry said. "Sorry, I shouldn't be talking about such things when Zack has just been murdered, but…"

Aerith shook her head. "No, you're right. Zack may have had someone with him, someone who buried him." She placed the rocks over Zack's face once more, before standing, her posture filled with resolve, despite her sorrow. "If there's someone else who needs help, then we need to help them. I…I think Zack would have wanted me to do so. I'll mourn him properly once we're done. And…I think I know how we can find them."

"What do you mean?" he asked, as she cast another Point Me, and began striding off.

"Zack, before he was sent to Nibelheim, inherited the Buster Sword that once belonged to Angeal Hewley," Aerith said, her tone all-business, even as her sorrow still showed through in the tone. "It's gone. I think whoever buried him has taken it. If it was taken by Shinra's troops as a trophy, it'd be in Midgar itself, but no, it's closer than that. In fact…look down there."

She pointed down a rocky slope at a figure that was limping forward, using a massive sword, a large wedge of metal, like a crutch. It was hard to make out any features on the figure, save for the dark clothes…and the spiky blonde hair. "Is that the sword?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it's the Buster Sword. Let's use the broomstick to get ahead of him. Land ahead of him, but don't be aggressive."

"Got it…"

They soon did so, Harry taking off the Disillusionment Charms after landing. It took a few seconds for the blonde young man to realise that he had people in front of him. He peered at them warily with aqua eyes that seemed to shine slightly. His blonde hair was in a spiky quiff that reminded Harry of a Chocobo.

Aerith held up her hands in a conciliatory gesture. "It's okay, we're not here to hurt you. If you want, we can help you. I'm Aerith, and this is Harry. What's your name?"

"Name?" he asked, blinking in confusion. "My name?" He seemed to be trying to remember it. "I…I…" He swayed on his feet, before collapsing to the ground.

Harry carefully checked him over, before nodding. "He's alive, but he's out of it. What do we do about him?"

"We bring him back home. And Harry…I think you might need to use Legilimency to repair his mind. Those eyes, they're like those of a member of SOLDIER. And yet, he seemed exhausted, unable to remember his own name…I think he's been subjected to Mako Poisoning. In high enough doses, Mako Poisoning can destroy the mind of the one suffering from it. Your own psyche is drowned out by the thoughts of the dead within the Lifestream."

Harry nodded again, before frowning. "Aerith…am I wrong, or could this guy be Cloud Strife? You know, Tifa's childhood friend?"

Aerith peered at the blonde young man thoughtfully. "Maybe," she conceded. "We only got a description from Tifa. He was going to join SOLDIER, but I don't remember Zack ever mentioning him as one. Let's get him home and figure out who he is first…"

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. RIP, Zack.

A good chunk of this was derived from what was the eighth chapter in an earlier draft, but I thought that chapter too rushed and hurried. This chapter begins with a whole new scene to help bridge the timeskip a bit better and show Harry, Aerith and Delphi bonding with AVALANCHE (not that they know Barret, Tifa, and the others are an AVALANCHE cell).

Still, hopefully, Cloud will be helped long before he is in canon.

Review-answering time! YDdraigGoch94: Maybe, but honestly, they're so sweet together, and trying to re-engineer the story into a Zack/Cissnei pairing wasn't that plausible with what I had in mind.

ZLC genesmith: Once he learns, he'll be furious and saddened. One part of his personal quest will be to try and see if he can track down Lucrezia, along with Vincent, both of whom he'll see when he…well, without going too much into spoilers, he has words with Hojo…

L: It wasn't meant as a direct or even indirect nod to Kingdom Hearts, as much as I love those games. As for Aerith becoming an Obscurial, I never thought of it like that, but for the sake of this story, Cetra can't undergo such a process, and besides, Aerith had a loving upbringing with Elmyra, which helped her accept her gifts to some degree.

KM Donovan: True, but in some regards, I don't like Cloud that much as a character in canon. They did handle his character well in the Remake when he could easily have become too unlikeable, but he's still a fairly cold-hearted bastard at times. Having Harry in his body helps matters, and while Tifa (who is told about what happens at the beginning of my fic idea) is understandably shocked, horrified, and even squicked out, the fact that Harry was upfront about it paves the way to their later relationship. In fact, I think Harry would fulfil Tifa's ideal hero notion far better than Cloud ever would have.

No numbered annotations this time.