FINAL FANTASY VII: REWRITTEN
PROLOGUE – A NEW WORLD, REWRITTEN
When the boundaries of fate are breached, new worlds are born.
The planet encompasses a multitude of worlds, ever unfolding. Some quickly perish... while others endure. Yet even the most resilient worlds are doomed to fade. Nevertheless, their loss is not to be mourned. For it is not death, but a homecoming that awaits them.
And in the planet's embrace, all life is as one.
The rain that hammered down from the darkened skies washed over Zack Fair's bloodied face, tinging the rainwater before it scurried down his jawline in thin red lines, dripping to soak the blood-stained ground below. Zack's breathing came in ragged, painful gasps that gave off an unnaturally high-pitched wheeze as he stumbled forward, dragging his feet through the thick mud. His arms trembled as he raised his Buster Sword to block gunfire that came his way.
Bullets sparked off the metal with sharp, piercing clangs. The shock reverberated down his limbs, rattling his bones, but he kept his footing, refusing to let exhaustion buckle his knees.
Not yet… not like this… He gritted his teeth, his muscles burning with the effort.
One of the soldiers, a SOLDIER 3rd Class, got too close to Zack, attempting to impale him with a sword. Zack parried the blade and brought the Buster Sword up in an awkward angle. The swing was wild, but it struck the SOLDIER, tearing the armor that protected his stomach up to his shoulder. With a scream, the man fell, dropping his weapon.
A drop of blood-tinged rain rolled into Zack's left eye, and with a sharp sting, his vision blurred. Exhaustion ran up his entire body, bleeding from wounds and bullet holes too numerous to count. With every wheezing breath, Zack could feel his life slipping away, yet he stood defiant.
Not yet.
"Bring it on," he rasped, tightening his grip on the hilt and bringing up the sword. "I'm not going down that easy!"
The Shinra troops continued to advance like an unending tide. A wave of white triple-goggled helmets and rifles gleamed through the sheets of rain. Zack could barely see past the blur of his own fatigue, but he forced his vision to focus, narrowing his gaze on the soldiers closing in. It looked like a soldier was coming in from his left and Zack swung wildly – and missed. With a desperate, frustrated growl, Zack swung again, and once again, the blade flung harmlessly, far from the advancing soldier, who was able to dodge the blind swing easily.
Then the explosion of gunfire detonated and a sharp pain tore through Zack's side, knocking all of the wind out of his chest. Warmth began to fill Zack's side and seep down into his pants. He staggered back as another shot pierced his stomach, another his left arm, another his shoulder. The impact from that last burst of gunfire must have come from a shotgun, because the power was strong enough to twist Zack halfway around. Had it not been for the pauldron of his SOLDIER 1st Class uniform, the blast would've torn off his arm.
Every nerve screamed out in sheer agony. Zack stumbled back as another burst of gunfire shook his body violently, and his legs finally gave out. The Buster Sword fell from his grasp, sinking into the mud with a heavy thud. Zack dropped to his knees, his breath coming in ragged wheezing.
So this is it… Dammit… I was so close… A cold, hollow resignation settled over him as he watched the last three soldiers walking up to him, raising their rifles to finish him off. Zack tried to lift his arms, tried to reach for the Buster Sword, but his body refused to respond. Faces of comrades, friends and family flashed through his eyes, and that was the moment he knew he was going to die.
He saw faces of warriors like Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth, whom he had looked up to. Faces of good friends like Kunsel, Cloud, Tseng and Cissnei. The faces of his parents…
Zack blinked again and all he could see now was Aerith. He began to smile, but a wave of regret washed over him at the same time.
Aerith… I spent so much time away from her… and all she wanted… the only thing she really, truly asked for…was…
"I have twenty-three tiny wishes, but you probably won't remember them all, so I put them all together into one: I want to spend more time with you."
Tears sprang to Zack's eyes, blurring the sight of the three soldiers who had reached him and were leveling their rifles at his head. In that blur, the only thing that Zack could see was Aerith's beautiful smile, radiant and full of life. The image flickered in his thoughts like a dying candle struggling against the wind.
It gave Zack the courage to smile one last time, despite his tears.
"Will I… see you again?"
Hey there, Flower Girl. You're absolutely bloomin'! hehe … I'm sorry, Aerith. I should have been there… I should have made more time for you. I'm sorry… guess I won't be keeping my promise after all…
Aerith's image faded away, replaced by the soldiers aiming their rifles at him, poised for the kill.
But before the soldiers could pull the triggers, there was a sudden crack of gunfire from somewhere behind Zack. One of the Shinra troops jerked as a red mist bloomed from his chest, and he collapsed, face-first, into the mud with a dying groan. The second soldier barely had time to react before another shot clanged off of his helmet. With a whimper, the soldier clutched at the scarlet cloud over his face and dropped to the ground. The last soldier whirled, raising his rifle, only to find himself staring down the barrel of the shooter's rifle.
Cloud Strife.
The boy's hands trembled as he gripped the standard-issue Shinra rifle that he had picked up. His face was pale, and his eyes were still wide and glassy with Mako-induced delirium and sheer terror. For five long years, ever since he had graduated as a cadet and joined the Shinra ranks, he had been under Zack's command. Mission after mission, he'd fought by his side, facing all manner of monsters and nightmares that lurked in the dark corners of the world.
He had always been able to help Zack, to save him from beasts with snarling maws and feral eyes. He had taken lives before, but even in their skirmishes against Wutai remnants, Cloud had only ever killed their creatures – things that didn't have names or faces. But never humans. Not like this. The trooper standing before him was a man, breathing and bleeding just like him, and even under that helmet, Cloud had seen the flash of fear there, the same fear that was now mirrored in his own reflection.
Cloud fired again, but the gun only clicked—jammed.
Cloud's heart froze as he stared at the useless weapon. The last soldier snapped out of his initial shock and raised his rifle to defend himself. Something inside Cloud snapped. Without thinking, he swung the useless rifle, batting the trooper's barrel to the side, and charged forward. With a hoarse scream, he crashed into the soldier, and the two of them hit the ground. Mud splattered up around them as Cloud struggled against the stronger, better-trained man. He fought with a ferocity that was more instinct than technique, and his movements frantic, almost wild. All he could think about was saving Zack.
During the struggle, the soldier's bulky armor weighed him down and Cloud was able to gain the upper hand, straddling on top of the soldier's chest. In the scuffle, the soldier's helmet was ripped away. On instinct, Cloud's hand reached for his utility belt and closed around the his field knife. Without thinking – without even realizing what he was doing – Cloud yanked it free and drove it into the man's throat.
The knife sank in with a disgusting, wet sound. The soldier gasped, eyes wide with terror, blood gurgling from his lips as his hands scrambled for the gun in the mud beside him, but Cloud put his weight onto the knife, driving the blade deeper. Cloud's hand trembled, moving on its own, as he pulled the knife out, only to plunge it back in. Each thrust of the knife was fueled by a terror so primal it drowned out everything else. He kept going, strike after strike after strike, even after the light left the soldier's eyes, even after the man's struggling ceased, until there was nothing left but the muted silence of the rain.
Cloud stared down at the lifeless body beneath him, his chest heaving, his breath hitching as he looked at his bloodstained hands – hands that shook so violently he could barely keep them steady. It wasn't supposed to feel like this. His first human kill, his first taste of real bloodshed – it was supposed to be different. He had imagined it would be swift and clean, a necessary evil that a soldier had to perform, but there was nothing necessary or clean about the horror that twisted his stomach now.
The knife slipped through his fingers and buried into the mud beside them. Cloud's gaze fixed down on his blood-soaked gloves. The warm red stains seemed to spread, filling his vision, smothering everything else. Cloud choked on a sob, his body shaking as the tears rushed forward. He could hear his own voice, a broken whisper in the rain, repeating the same word over and over. For some reason, all he could say at that moment…
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Zack could see the boy hunched over the body, cradling his knees and rocking himself back and forth. "Cloud…" Zack grunted and pushed himself forward, crawling towards him, dragging himself through the mud toward the boy. His vision was tunneled and each movement was sending jolts of agony through his battered body, but Zack pushed past it until he reached Cloud. "Cloud… look at me…"
The boy didn't respond, his gaze still locked on his hands, as though trying to understand how they could have done what they did. Zack pushed himself onto his knees and placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder, gripping Cloud's white pauldron firmly despite the weakness in his limbs. Cloud turned his gaze to Zack, his eyes wide and hollow, like a small animal, lost and afraid. Zack's chest tightened at the sight.
"Cloud…" he tried again, but words felt useless in this moment, inadequate against the weight of what had just transpired. What could he say? Honestly, what could he possibly say that could make any of it better?
'It'll be okay? I know it's hard? You did the right thing?'
All of the words that Zack could think of sounded absolutely hollow. He wanted to shield Cloud from the horror, the shock and the pain, he was feeling, and right now, he couldn't do that with words.
So instead, Zack did what he could. With a trembling arm, he reached out, gripped the back of Cloud's hair and brought Cloud's head to his chest. He wrapped his other arm around him, pulling him close, and away from the body of the dead soldier, shielding him from the grisly scene behind them.
"Breathe. Just breathe," Zack whispered. "In through your nose… out through your mouth. Focus on that. Don't… Don't think about what just happened. Focus on me…" He could feel the tremble of Cloud's sobs on his shoulders.
"Listen… Both of us…" Zack strained through his words, but he held on to consciousness, pressing Cloud's forehead against his chest, refusing to let go, "we're gonna live… the both of us. Our honor, our dreams… this is not how they end, you hear me? The both of us… have so much more to live for. Your dreams, your future… everything you want is all still ahead of you. So we have to live. I'm not gonna let you die out here… You always said you wanted… to be SOLDIER 1st Class, right? Then you gotta live… so you can become… my living legacy."
Zack drew in a shaky breath, heart pounding with urgency.
Zack held Cloud against him, feeling the boy's shuddering sobs gradually slow until they faded into silence. It wasn't long before Cloud's body went limp in his arms, slipping back into unconsciousness once more, both from the mako poisoning and from the trauma.
Time slipped away, and Zack could feel his own strength waning as the blood continued to seep from his wounds, pooling beneath him. He knew they had to move; reinforcements would be on their way any moment now. But the weight of his own injuries pressed down on him, and Zack knew that he couldn't ignore it. In this state, they'd both die long before reaching Midgar.
Heh, fat chance. We'd be dead long before even getting off this hill!
With a grimace, Zack forced himself to loosen his grip on Cloud and began to crawl toward the fallen soldier that Cloud had killed. It was a struggle; each movement ignited fresh waves of pain, but the thought of Cloud slipping away from him drove him forward.
Reaching the body, Zack fumbled through the item pouch on the soldier's utility belt, fingers trembling as they grazed over the various items. He felt a rush of relief when he found a health potion nestled among them.
But would it be enough? The wounds covering his body felt like they could swallow him whole, but he couldn't let that distract him now. He had neither the time nor the energy to sift through all of the bodies that littered the ground around them for more Potions. If they didn't hurry soon, they'd get swamped with Shinra reinforcements… or worse, the Turks.
He crawled back to Cloud and sat him up."Here, drink this, Cloud. Please. It'll help you."
He gently tilted Cloud's head up, bringing the vial to his lips. As the green liquid spilled in, Cloud's eyes widened for a moment, and Zack watched as color gradually returned to his cheeks.
Then, with a shaky breath, Zack took the remaining half of the potion himself, feeling the liquid wash over his throat. Almost instantly, he felt a warmth spreading through him. It wasn't a miracle cure, but it was enough to close his wounds, stop the bleeding and numb out the pain, at least long enough for them to get to Midgar and find a doctor.
The sound of helicopters in the distance kicked Zack's senses into high alert. But at least now he could stand. He reached for the item pouches of the three fallen soldiers closest to him. He'd have time to sift through their contents later but right now they had to move. Zack rose to his feet, feeling noticeably less pain than before.
He reached for the Buster Sword and sheathed it onto the magnet on the back of his suspenders.
"Okay, Cloud," he murmured, feeling a reinvigorated sense of urgency coursing through him. "Time to get out of here."
With a grunt, Zack reached down, gently scooping Cloud into his arms. He swung Cloud's arm over his neck and the boy's head lolled against his shoulder, breaths still shallow but steadier now.
"Mom… I'm sorry…" Cloud mumbled. Zack tightened his grip, forcing himself to stand. Hang in there, Cloud… Together, they would escape. They would live on. They had to.
After all, Zack had some promises to keep.
"Come on, buddy," he said, setting his sights on Midgar up ahead. "We're almost there."
A/N: Hi there. This is my first story. We can consider this an alternate world or timeline, like one of the many shown in Rebirth, where Zack Fair lives and makes it to Midgar with Cloud, at the beginning of the events of FF7. It won't be a 1:1 rewrite, but it will adhere to the main storyline. At the same time, we'll also see changes and even new content now that Zack is in the picture. Already, we can start seeing things that will diverge from canon of OG FF7 as well as the Retrilogy. Because it's an Alternate Timeline, some things will be changed, for example, having Cloud be a soldier who always gets assigned to work with Zack for the past few years.
I am anticipating at least 20-25 chapters, maybe. I hope you stick with me and let me know what you think.