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Introduction: The begging and the end





It was morning, and it was raining. Hard. Thick. It poured down incessantly, muddying the
poisoned earth. Rain can be so disheartening sometimes. It did nothing but accent the already
depressing reality of a once beautiful land that had bled to death at the hands of greed and
corruption.
     In the middle of it all sat the industrial metropolis Midgar, growing like a weed and
killing all that it touched. The mundane metallic city was the very zenith of industrialism,
replacing all the elegance the world had been born with by cold, emotionless steel.  The sky
turned an unhealthy grey, green grass was burned, and oceans were polluted because of the
sadistic desires of man that this abomination oh so accurately depicted. In the world of today,
nature had  been all but slaughtered for the sake of a few dollars.   
     Overwatching the contamination was Shin-Ra, a by all means remorseless corporation
that lead the disease that was capitalism. Feeding off of the very energy that once flowed so
freely through the earth's veins, the company had come to accumulate absurd amounts of money
and a virtual stranglehold on the economy. Once this was accomplished, it was fairly easy to
overthrow any inconveniences that stood in its way, such as government or the majority
population. It had gotten to a point where attacks against it were �acts of terrorism'. For proof of
money being the route of evil all's one had to do was make their way past the closed doors at one
of the organizations more �strategical' meetings. Survival of the fittest was more than an
appropriate motto 
     A couple of its more victimized ex-employees trudged along not far from the massive
atrocity, hoping against hope for some sort of salvation inside the darkness of the slums. The
stronger of the two dragged the other over his hip, his wet black hair matted to his head and
exhaustion withering his otherwise handsome features. It was easy to see an unfaltering
determination in the way he carried himself. This man had seen many things in his life, and he
was very much expecting sunny days ahead. His weakening muscles, however did not agree. He
submitted to his fatigue and fell to his knees, gasping deep breaths as he let his catatonic comrade
sag to the ground. 
     The first of the pair was a twenty something year old who went by the name of Cloud. A
shrimp by military standards, the 1st class garb he wore practically hung off his somewhat skinny
body. Despite being a full grown adult, he could have easily been mistaken for a teen,
particularly the way his blonde hair stuck out in every direction. Just by looking at the kid it
wasn't all that hard to figure out that he didn't think much of himself. The way he spoke and
moved so nervously, it was hard not to take pity on him. 
     The man that watched over him now had come to be known only as Zack. Few if any
knew his full name.  He was a man of a fair build, not much more that six feet in height but
appearing to be a few inches taller thanks to good posture and the disobedience of his normally
thick black hair. Most had no idea he was a seasoned veteran in the ways of war at the age of 23.
A charming young man with an ever-present smirk (a near polar opposite of the brooding Cloud),
many questioned why Zack would take such an outcast under his wing. He never really bothered
to explain.
     The two had met close to seven years ago, when they had first entered the SOLDIER
program. Partnered for the first little bit of training, problems in the young blonde's head became
increasingly obvious as the days passed. Cloud was tough for his size but right from the get go
Zack could tell the kid had some serious issues. It was not long before one surpassed the other.  
     It went on like this for nearly two years. As one flourished, the other continued to bomb
miserably. Overrun with empathy for the boy, Zack had tried to help him time and time again,
and had succeeded on some level by getting Cloud a job as a security officer. It wasn't much, but
it had been a start. 
     Five years latter, here they were on the outskirts of Midgar, not far from where they had
first met, one practically crippled and the other just about ready to faint from weariness. What
progress they had made since their young lives...
     Eventually, Zack made his way back to his feet, carefully surveying his whereabouts as
his experience had taught him. He stopped in place as his eyes fell upon the mechanical cesspool
he had once called home. It had changed so much since he had left. Well, at least he thought it
had. For one reason or another, he was seeing it in a completely different light now. 
     When he had first come here, he had thought the city was breathtaking, that in it lay
endless opportunity and everlasting adventures. But today, although scarcely different at a brief
glance, it seemed... well, nauseating was really the only word for it. He hardly knew why he was
coming back here.
     Well, that wasn't true. He knew exactly why he was coming back: a pretty young flower
given the name of Aeris. Even after 5 years, her image was still burned into his brain.  Her
emerald green eyes... her chestnut brown hair... that cute little smile always etched on her face...
He had seen the world and never came close to finding anything quite as pristine as her. She was
an angel. The time that had passed meant nothing, he still felt he knew everything about her...
     A pebble that skipped across the dirt cut through the thick haze of his daydreaming. He
was being watched. Over the years, his instincts had been sharpened to a point of constant
awareness, and even the slightest change in the ambience that surrounded him was enough to
make him pay attention. That change had been the pebble, and just by hearing it bounce along the
ground was enough for him to sense that he wasn't entirely safe. 
     He waited patiently for his soon-to-be attackers to expose themselves, anticipating an
ambush to fall from the endless ledges that loomed over him. He unsheathed the massive blade
that hung ominously over his shoulder. It was an extremely generic sword, simply a ridiculously
huge hunk of sharpened metal attached to a rubber stem a little bit more than two lengths of the
hand. Almost too heavy to lift, it was laughable that anyone would even consider fighting with it.
But as the dark haired man held it steadily in one unflinching gloved hand, the weapon known as
the Buster Sword wasn't all that funny anymore.
     The first shot was fired and sidetracked with a skillful block of the blade. Machine gun
blasts quickly followed when the unseen group caught wind of the sniper's folly. It wasn't the
cleanest way to assassinate someone, but with their invisibility gone, they were left no
alternative. It didn't matter, they were as good as dead anyway.
     Whether it be from a dodge, a deflection, or just flat out bad aim, each bullet missed.
Zack knew very well he wasn't going to lose a dogfight, but he did not appreciate the stalemate
in which he found himself. In the blink of an eye, he dug his rapier deep into the ground, tossing 
a thick screen of dirt into the air and hurriedly proceeding to teach the assailants a thing or two
about stealth.         
     As the gunmen searched anxiously for the presumably evaporated menace, they didn't
seem to notice the silenced screams of their fellow officers. After no more than a minute, there
was only one of the original six left, and unfortunately for him, he was completely ignorant to
that fact. He was cut down from behind before he even had the chance to comprehend what was
happening.
     Zack turned the last of his targets over and onto his back, carefully scanning the man's
uniform. Shin-Ra Law Enforcement Unit, Security, Class 4. Even in five years, the attire hadn't
changed much. Did they really expect these amateurs to kill him? Frankly, he was insulted.
     His own petty squabbles were suddenly less important as he ducked a swinging saber, one
that would have surely decapitated him if not for his foresight. As he parried and exchanged
blows with his new foe, he flipped through the recesses of his memory. Shin-Ra Law
Enforcement Unit, SOLDIER, Class 2. There were two more coming from behind a hill. He
assumed they were answering the call for back-up the sniper had made when he had been
uncovered. 
     Focusing once more, he caught his opponent's swooping arm and twisted it before
kneeing him harshly in the gut. As the man doubled over in pain, Zack placed the back of his leg
over the man's shoulder and under his chin, violently twisting and instantaneously snapping the
miserable man's neck.
     Unnerved by the death of their associate, but none the less ready, the remaining two
moved in, customized blades held high and ready to attack at the drop of hat. The hat dropped,
and our young master of warfare found himself competing with two men that collectively should
have been capable of taking him out, especially in his relatively sluggishly state. 
     But still he fought as well as his body would let him, moving at an implausible pace and
never missing a beat, uprooting hidden weaknesses in the two SOLDIERs as he went along.
Their big problem was efficiency. They were fantastic swordsmen capable of breath-taking feats,
but their style was very boastful, using more energy than they should in each strike. 
     It didn't take long for a mistake in one of the two opposing warriors' strides to appear. Of
course, Zack exploited it, kicking the man's overly zealous stab away and unflinchingly impaling
him. He fell dead to the ground, but still the battle did not stop. 
     The last of the three SOLDIERs attacked furiously, contending to the best of his ability
with an obviously advantaged warrior. Finding this rather admirable, Zack spared the man's life
with a mind numbing shot from the blunt of his sword to the side of the head. The final fighter
dropped to the earth, unconscious.
     He stood there for a moment, trembling just a little as he tried to steady the speed of his
racing heart. Unless SOLDIER had changed protocol, he had less than half an hour before the
true professionals arrived, people which he didn't particularly want to have to deal with at the
moment. 
     He walked hastily over to his companion, who still lay their on the ground like a
traumatized child, fidgeting as though some sort of seizure was shaking him from the inside to
the out. Sometimes, he didn't know why he bothered with the kid. Cloud had always been more
trouble than he was worth. He supposed it was just the price he had to pay for friendship.
     Bullets fired through the air and punctured skin. Zack dropped to the earth, screaming in
wretched pain as he counted eight holes in his chest and gut. Out of habit alone, he tried to stand
himself back up but yet another round was emptied into him. It didn't take him long to realize he
was being executed. But this couldn't be happening... not now... he was too close...
     He watched helplessly as more of the miniature projectiles filled his body. They were
blurry and fading, but still he could recognize the three silhouettes standing over him, proud
smirks on their faces. Shin-Ra Law Enforcement Unit, Security, Class 2. Humiliating. He had
been beat by a few lowly street cops. He guessed they'd brag about this for a long time...
     It was getting darker, or at least that's what he believed. Forever passed in a few instants
as he lay there unmoving, vaguely feeling the puddles in the ground mixing with his blood and
flowing like a small stream from his torso. Was he dead? It was kind of hard to tell. He didn't
really feel much of anything anymore. He very well could be finished. If he was, should he still
be able to see the smog above him? He didn't know. No one had really told him what being dead
was like.
     Cloud stared down at him now, his eyes sort of glazed. Oh good. They had left without
touching him. Zack knew he might of been able to survive such a beating, but not the debilitated 
blonde.   
     "Cloud," He whispered, his calm voice unsteady for once. He didn't really feel like dying
today "Help me..."
     The younger man paid him no attention, instead contemplating the infamous Buster
Sword he now held in his hand.
     "For god's sake..." He muttered, mustering a hint of chagrin into his voice towards his
�little buddy'. "Snap out of whatever the hell your problem is and help me..."
     Still he did not bother to react, his shimmering blue eyes empty, oblivious to the world
around him. An air of hateful recognition filled the poor man's face. All his jealousy through
years of being a shadow became evident as Zack felt his own blade tear through his insides. He
tried to shout a million curses at what he had thought was his supporter but found he didn't have
the strength. Instead he just lay there, his life escaping him as he grit his teeth in bitter agony. 
     He glared dreadfully as his brand new betrayer disappeared on his own into the bleak
recesses of Midgar. He couldn't believe it. The useless prick had turned on him. After all the
years he had spent saving his pathetic ass... After all the time he could have left the bastard
behind but didn't...why was he dying? What had he done? No way in hell did he deserve this, so
why was this happening? Why?
     There was no one around to answer him. The solitude alone was enough to drive him
mad. There he was, paralyzed by his shock, trying desperately to think of any coherent 
explanation as to why his only remaining friend in the world had just left him to die out here in
the cold. Of course, there weren't any. 
     Bitterness filled his nearly extinguished soul. Worst of all, Cloud was going to get away
with it. The only witnesses were the corpses surrounding his own. He could go ahead and make
up some sob story about �Zack died protecting me' or something like that. It was all bullshit.
Cloud had barely lifted a finger since they'd met and he was gonna come out looking like some
tragic hero. The fucking ingrate was going to pay for this someday, one way or another...
     Tears from above poured into his amputated body, letting the gravity of his world crush
his spirit. He was actually going to die... He was a little bit scared, to be honest. It was that deep,
crippling sort of fear that makes it feel as though the flow of your blood was freezing to a halt.
But there wasn't much he could do about that, was there? 
     He was beginning to lose sight of his surroundings, only trying simply to live. He found
the Reaper was once more clutching his heart in its hand. He tried desperately to fight back as he
had so many times before, but already he could feel himself subsiding to the numbness of death.
     Why was it so hard to accept? Probably because he had never had a chance to atone for
all the wrong decisions he had made. Instead of feeling fulfilled as he thoroughly scrutinized his
life, he was bare, hollow, ashamed... 
     He looked to the heavens above him, choking on the very air he inhaled. The rain had
stopped now, and pale sunlight was beginning to peek out from behind the uninviting storm
clouds. It was probably getting pretty close to time to go now....
      He felt a subtle warmth caress his now pale face, and as he noticed a blue sky in the
distance, something changed inside him. Acceptance was forcing itself down upon him with all
it's weight, yet still he couldn't help but picture what a beautiful day it was going to be...


He wanted so badly to see it...