Distant Memories [Zack]

[travel4fun13]

Shadow of a Hero
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.

Back to Edge…it had been probably 2 years since William last walked these streets, lately he had been back home in Kalm with his family, making up for lost time with them. He still considered himself a SOLDIER in the matter of, if anything were to threaten his family or his hometown, he would take care of it, and he sure did, but with Kalm being such a tiny town…there wasn’t much danger to fight off. The occasional wild life or random baddie to show up did make things a little interesting though…it still wasn’t as exciting as things had been before SOLDIER fell to pieces. Those were some rough times, it seemed that after Zack Fair had died…things just went downhill, he was the role model for Will, and when that happened…well it just gave him motivation to keep going, but then ShinRa itself just collapsed and that dream never really got fulfilled. He had wanted to make First Class SOLDIER, but…those dreams were crushed instantly.

So walking the streets, sword on his back and still keeping that red version of his SOLDIER uniform on, Will just looked back and forth at the buildings and streets. The place seemed all around dead, gloomy, and other things like that…Kalm was a festive town at times, with it being so small you knew everybody and were friends with practically everyone…no one was ever alone or just stuck inside their homes…no, it was a very friendly place to be, and Edge…always a major difference between the two. It sort of made him home sick after spending so much time back at home with family, but he’d get over it…he was still a strong fighter, just looking for any type of work, though it seemed no one wanted to hire an Ex-SOLDIER to do any fighting for them…so wandering around the different cities was a desperate move right now…searching for anything…something to keep him going.

William stopped walking down the street and turned to stare at a building. Seventh Heaven, from the rumors he had heard, a man named Cloud Strife lived here with his…girlfriend right? He stood there placing his hands on his hips and just taking in the visual aspect of the bar before debating whether or not to go in. A SOLDER walking into Seventh Heaven, might not please Mr. Strife all that much seeing all the crap he went through…even though he didn’t make SOLDIER at all. Though the man surely wouldn’t hold anything against this Ex-SOLDIER and now a current mercenary now would he? That would be pretty lame if he did, so with a few counter-thoughts to himself, debating why he should or shouldn’t go in, Will took a step forward pressing a hand against the door of Seventh Heaven and stepping into the bar.

It was quiet, and no one else seemed to be here. Will didn’t see any servers or bartender, nothing like that…not even that Cloud guy…it was just empty. Had it been closed and now Will was trespassing or something? He hoped not, he just stood there in the entry way scratching the back of his head and looking somewhat confused. “Um….is this place open?” he called to no one seeing as the place was empty, at least the room he was standing in was. After a few moments of silence, William just decided it was time to go, better not be around here in case the owner walked in and just saw a guy with a sword on his back standing there like an idiot. With a sharp twist, Will turned around and took a stride towards the door, since he was already in the entry way it wasn’t like he needed to walk across the room to get back, he stood at the door, one hand on it before he sighed. Maybe it was time to just head back to Kalm for good, get a real job and live out life…boring once again.

Words: 748
Muse: Good
Tagged: Zack Fair
Notes: Here's Willie!

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

”Boy oh Boy, the price for freedom is steep.”

Zack was walking down the streets of Edge, making his way back to the bar. He felt almost like a hobo since he didn't have his own place to live. But that would all change once he built the weapons shop he was planning on doing with Reno's help. Really he couldn't be more appreciative to the red haired Turk then he was. Somehow he had wondered what the future would bring. Though he still did, it was a little less prominent then it had been before. What do to about Gaia and the l'cie? One thing he didn't know what that Reno himself had been turned into a l'cie. Having that knowledge might have just sent him to an early grave. Or...another early grave. Yet he would find out one day, but how would he react when he learned Reno was a l'cie?

The fact remained that he didn't know Reno was a l'cie. If he did he might freak out. With so many people becoming a l'cie...something needed to stop the fal'cie! Something, or someone. He often thought about what the future WOULD bring. Destruction? Repa had a plan, but would it actually save the lives of the humans on Gaia? He was never sure, but that didn't stop him from looking at the future in a bright way. No matter what happened, he had still gotten a second chance at life, and had been able to tell Aerith that he loved her. If he died once again, he would be more prepared this time, and willing to let go. He could die knowing she loved him back, and that he had gotten a second chance to be alive, if only for a few months.

He had just been put through the ringer, literally, with an adventure with Cid Highwind, Nanaki and a Turk named Raze. For awhile he hadn't thought he would get out of the situation the Turk had put them in. But it had all ended alright, even though they had been in a seriously tight spot. Zack had wanted to wrap his hands around Raze's neck and throttle him. When Raze had killed the Turk, the words of honor Angeal had pounded into his head had come back. “If you want to become a Hero...you need to have dreams...and honor!” It had all come back to him, of course, Angeal was also back. It seemed like most SOLDIER's were...though he still hadn't seen Genesis. Part of him was glad for that. He wasn't so sure how he would respond if he ever saw Genesis again. The man had redeemed himself at the end, but still...would he be bad? Or good? He shrugged it off, not realizing that Genesis had indeed returned.

He decided he would cross that bridge when he got there. Zack yawned and stretched his arms over his head before swinging them around, loosening them up. It felt good to be alive once again. Plus the action had really loosened him up and brought all the SOLDIER training back. Being a 1st class really made you tough, it wasn't something anyone could have done easily. In fact, there had only been four of the 1st class SOLDIERs. He had wanted to be a first class, but once he had been promoted, he realized it wasn't his dream anymore. With all the problems that had been happening, when he had been promoted, Zack had almost felt let down. He had thought he'd be happier...but...no such luck.

When he saw the bar Zack walked up toward the front door, not thinking anything really by that point. Blue eyes glanced up and down the street before he reached the door. Clasping the door handle, he pulled it open and still glancing over his shoulder, walked into the bar. He hadn't noticed the bit of resistance on the door knob, so Zack just stared walking in when he ran smack dab into someone else. “Woah!” Get your head in the game! Head swung around and settled on a guy standing there. “Hey man, sorry 'bou-...” He stopped midsentence and looked at him with a weird look on his face when he realized the man was dressed in a SOLDIER 2nd class uniform. His own black 1st class uniform was what he was dressed in and he stared at the man for a bit, sure he should know him. But with all the craziness that had went on in SOLDIER at the time this young man had joined, he was to busy and occupied to get to know each of the new members. “Hey! What's with the SOLDIER uniform?” Of course, the guy could say the same for him...

Words: 918
Muse: great for the 'intro' post of mine!
Tagged: Willie boy!
Notes: SOLDIER BUDDEH!

[travel4fun13]

Shadow of a Hero
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.

This Seventh Heaven place…it didn’t seem abandoned, the place was in tip top shape…just really empty. Perhaps it was closed today? Then why was the front door unlocked? Who knows. Will just decided to leave well enough alone and just wander off back to where he came from…back to Kalm to live the boring life of the average person. At least in SOLDIER no one was average…everyone was sort of special, they had their own cool talents to bring to the fighting table and it made for great stories and great teamwork. Being normal was so overrated…and Will hated it. Rather be an enhancing fighting machine than a boring lame regular person…he wasn’t the type to just be a face In the crowd. He wanted to stand out, to be a hero…how to prove himself of that though…it beat the hell out of him constantly.

While at the door, Will then felt pressure on the door knob coming from the other side, taking a minor step backwards Will was about to step aside before someone ran into him. He jerked himself backwards and was going to start explaining himself before the man who had ran into him started apologizing. With his mako blue eyes glancing off to the side, Will started to respond before his eyes laid down on a familiar face…and it scared him almost, as if he were looking at a ghost. “It’s quite alright-“ and he cut himself off as well…just blinking for a moment, taking this all in. Had someone actually slammed the door In his face and knocked him out? Or was he dreaming and this was all part of it? This was weird…right here, right now, Will was looking at the very man who had inspired him in SOLDIER…the one who had DIED.

After a moment of being distracted by his thoughts, Will looked down at his SOLDIER uniform, sure it wasn’t something he wore every day of his life, but walking back into Edge he felt the need to break out the old uniform again, he had another attire to wear as a mercenary…rather than just be known as ‘That Ex-SOLDIER guy’. “Oh…sorry. The name’s Carter, William Carter Sir. SOLDIER, Second Class.” He said proudly with a grinm not knowing if he should salute or not. It was an honor to be in SOLDIER, or at least it used to be, it gave men great pride to be accepted into that group…and Will never took it for granted. “And you…aren't supposed to be alive.” He said a little glumly, but at least it went to show he remembered exactly who Zack was…who wouldn’t? Zack Fair, a First Class SOLDIER…and a hero and inspiring man to all. “Not that it’s a bad thing that you’re here Mr. Fair Sir!” He said stumbling over his words trying to clean up his act before he finally just saluted Zack and stood where he was, keeping his mouth shut before saying anything else stupid.

Words: 610
Muse: Meh It was okay.
Tagged: Zack Fair....and the MEGA BANANA!
Notes: By the time i got to writing this...i was tired...sorry for its crappy qualities <3

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

”Boy oh Boy, the price for freedom is steep.”

Zack stood there, they both seemed to be staring at the other. Zack wasn't good at the whole masking his emotions thing, and right now he was wondering why someone was standing in the Seventh Heaven in a SOLDIER uniform. Zack had known a lot of guys from SOLDIER, being that he was friendly and outgoing, as well as a 1st class that all the younger/lower ranked SOLDIERs had looked up to. Being that he knew so many people, or at least had talked to almost every SOLDIER that had joined it wasn't easy to remember all their names, and after so long, it hadn't been something he had thought he needed to remember. The ones he did remember had been his close friends. Angeal, Sephiroth, Genesis, Kunsel and Luxiere, though he had never really been 'friends' with Luxiere.

He had been just that nice of a guy, even sticking his own neck out there to help out some guys that had had problems adjusting to being a SOLDIER. Even going so far as to take their missions for them so they could come along and watch him fight, to try and advance their own skills. Zack had ended up inspiring a lot of people, especially when it had been only him and Sephiroth that had been firsts anymore, after Angeal died and Genesis went out with a blaze of glory. But back to what was happening at the moment. He found himself looking back at the mako blue eyes that matched his own. Well, he knew the guy had really been in SOLDIER, or at least, he had had a run in with mako at some point in his life. There wasn't any mistaking the blue hue of your eyes after being infused with mako energy. The SOLDIER trademark.

William Carter? And sir? SOLDIER 2nd class...he wondered when he had joined. Of course, after he had become 1st he hadn't been so buddyish with the 2nds. Not that he had thought them inferior, but because he had been sent on missions like crazy, and with everything that had been happening at that point in his life, it had been hard to think about anything other then the next battle, or the future. Still, he had been able to hang with Kunsel still, making time for your best friends, and Kunsel had been one of them. “SOLDIER 2nd class?” The grin made Zack mirror that with a smile of his own. To all his friends he was just plain Zack, not Sir or anything, so unless he was out in the general public he wasn't used to being called that.

When he seemed puzzled that he was alive Zack knew...this guy had been around when he himself had still been in SOLDIER. He laughed then, blue eyes twinkling. “Well apparently you know who I am?” Holding out his hand, he went to shake the kids hand. Kid? Ok maybe not. The guy looked to be about his age, and Zack still acted for the most part, 19. “Yeah, I'm not supposed to be alive, but you know us SOLDIERs, we can't stay dead for long, no matter how sure people are that we died. We're tricky that way.” Of course, the smile still lingered on his face, “But your right, I'm supposed to be dead. That however, is just another way the lifestream is unstable.”

Wow...not every day he was actually remembered. And there went that Sir again. Yet he remembered how being a 2nd had been. You showed respect to everyone, especially those that were a 'higher up' then you were. “Just call me Zack, alright Will?” He even got a salute with the deal. He didn't bother to return it, after all, neither of them were in SOLDIER anymore anyway. “So even after...what is it? 4 years since I died? Yeah, I think thats it, ok so even after four years you remember my name. Why is that? Its been years since SOLDIER was around too.” He hurried to not sound odd about that part, “Although I must say, its pretty nice seeing a SOLDIER again that isn't...well...Sephiroth.” He said with a little grin. He hadn't ever known what had happened to any of the 2nds, like Kunsel. One of his best friends and he had no idea what had happened to him.

Words: 854
Muse: good
Tagged: WILLEH!
Notes: Nonee

[travel4fun13]

Shadow of a Hero
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.

Will felt honored, to be in the presence of such a hero like Zack Fair, it made him feel important. Of course, he knew Zack wouldn’t know who he was…he was just a Second Class…not very popular but who knew? Sometimes it was just easy to forget people, especially after 4-5 years or even longer, it was hard to comprehend what Zack had gone through, though in his mind, Will was thinking of the thousands of scenarios of what could’ve happened to the guy. Did he fake his own death? Run away? SOLDIER kicked him out? No not the last one…or maybe something was up with the Lifestream these days. Like Sephiroth was back, or so he heard, but that could very well be a bad joke or rumor spreading around trying to scare the people of Gaia….these days Will didn’t know what to believe.

Of course Will knew who Zack was! It was hard not to when you were in SOLDIER, even after his death, during the crumble of ShinRa, people knew who he was. When Zack stretched out his arm to shake hands, Will paused for a second before remembering to let out his own, and with a firm grasp he shook Zack’s hand before his grin shrunk a bit, no need to get all giddy over this. Will was a tough guy at heart, but things like this made him get all…whats the word…kid-like again. It was a dream to become a SOLDIER, and an honor to meet Zack Fair…but to be here now…with a man who was supposed to be dead, it was shocking! “Of Course…Zack Fair, SOLDIER, First Class…” he stated clearly with that small grin on his face as he let his arms hang at his side as he listened to Zack speak about his being alive and what not. So it was the lifestream…being unstable, that probably wasn’t a good thing. Who knows what could pop out of that thing.

“The lifestream…” Will said pondering a few thoughts. “Say, do you know if…Sephiroth is back…I’ve heard both yes and no…but I guess I can’t quite figure out the truth.” He said with a small shrug of his shoulders, it was just curiosity that hit him really. Not like he had any sort of hero worship over the man or anything, or hated him like most people…he was just…there. If things did get bad around Will though, he would most certainly take action and protect all people he could…it was the SOLDIER honor he was reminded so much about back in the day. He kept that honor close to him, every day.

Okay so maybe the salute was too much, Will just grinned as he took his hand that was at his forehead and ran it through his hair, trying to smooth things over instead of looking like an idiot saluting when he wasn’t even in SOLDIER anymore. “Well Mr. Fair- erm…Zack, I guess this may sound…uh…weird, or stupid I don’t know…but you were a great SOLDIER, you inspired me to work hard at everything I did…I wanted to become a First Class like you, so I worked myself as hard as my limits would take me…but then…ShinRa fell…and that never happened.” He said almost in a gloomy tone before letting his eyes drift off to the side. “It’s hard to forget the people that inspire you to do things like that…” he said with a shrug as his eyes went back to Zack and a grin on his face. “Enough about my sappy inspiring youth…” he said with a chuckle as Sephiroth was mentioned…so that did answer his question, sort of.

Will was just about to say something else, another question perhaps about maybe Sephiroth or Cloud even, before a wailing screech halted his thoughts. The screech came from outside and he had never heard anything like that before. “What the hell was that!?” He said taking quick strides to the door, pushing It open and as he stepped out, he got a huge blue deformed limb slammed down against his back. After behind hit, Will dodge rolled forward and landed on know knee, pulling his sword out from behind his back and stayed in that position, looking around at a group of Cie’th as the flailed and wailed around the street. It reminded him of SOLDIER…fighting whoever and whatever. “Brings back memories…” he said quietly.

Words: 847
Muse: Good
Tagged: Zacky-Kins!
Notes: FREE WILLEH!

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

”Boy oh Boy, the price for freedom is steep.”

Zackwasn't sure how to respond to having a SOLDIER here as well. He had known Cloud from before, but he wasn't an actual SOLDIER, knowing someone from SOLDIER was actually still around...it was a bit unsettling, although he also enjoyed the thought. Someone he could relate with. Actually there was another guy from SOLDIER he wished he could know about. That was his good friend Kunsel. Kunsel had been one of his best friends, and now, Zack didn't know if he was even alive. For some reason, knowing that one SOLDIER member was still alive made him want to track down the other members that still were as well and just have a SOLDIER reunion sort of thing.

Of course, he didn't know all of the 2nds that been in SOLDIER, especially after he had become a 1st. He could remember most of the 2nds that had been around when he was a 2nd, but for those that joined or were forced to join by the Turks after he had become a 1st he didn't know, or at least not by name. Still, just meeting another SOLDIER was a good feeling. Almost like he wasn't the only one out there. Of course, Angeal was back, as well as Sephiroth, but Sephiroth just meant bad things, and Angeal had disappeared once again. With all these people showing up from the lifestream, would Genesis reapear as well? Sometimes he wondered why exactly he had been allowed to come back, something he was still trying to find out. With a little shrug he pulled himself out of his thoughts, he was here because he was, end of story. Zack was just going to enjoy the time back and not worry about why he was alive again.

It was actually impressive this guy knew who he was and he clasped his hand firmly in a handshake. Someone that actually smiled that had been in SOLDIER! Why hadn't he been friends this this guy before anyway? He liked people that could relax and have a good time. “Wow, I'm impressed! You forgot to mention the instigator of umbrella sword fighting in my list though.” Zack laughed then, unable to resist. That was just Zack being Zack, although it had been all over the place when he had fought with that umbrella at Costa Del Sol. For some reason that had just popped into his head, and he was also sure he was going to be getting a very weird look from William for that comment. Yet he hadn't been able to resist, for some reason, having another SOLDIER here jumpstarted his memory so that he was thinking about all the things that had happened to him when he was a SOLDER himself, all those years before.

“Well anyway, sorry, that was pretty random.” His smile dimmed considerably then when Will asked about Sephiroth. Shoulders slumped a bit and Zack's face changed from happy to almost gloomy. Placing his weight on his right leg, he stood there with a bit of a pose and ran his hand through his hair, scratching his head as he did so. “huhhh...Sephiroth...yeah he's back, I even fought him a few weeks ago...thought I was gonna die again, but I managed not to.” Letting his hand drop from his head then, Zack curled it into a fist and sighed. “It blows ya know? I mean...Sephiroth, the bringer of despair, back again to try and end everything.” With a shrug Zack tried to not deal with that topic, “But its like...what can you do...ya know what I'm sayin'?”

Zack smiled once again, mind off the subject of Sephiroth when William called him Mr. Fair and then corrected himself to just call him Zack. He had never been one for people calling him formal names like Sir and Mr. Fair, Zack was plenty good enough for him. What he said actually made Zack smile. Though he had been the inspiration for new SOLDIER members, he had never actually known that, or been told he was. It felt good, having someone that not only remembered him, but also looked up to him. When he shrugged it off and said it was enough of him being a sappy inspiring youth Zack laughed and took a few steps closer, laying his hand on Williams shoulder. “You know what? I'm glad I inspired somebody, and we all had those that inspired us. Mine just happened to be a guy who turned out to be an insane psychopath. But hey, being a 1st wasn't what it was cut out to be, you should be glad you were a 2nd, life was easier as a 2nd then a 1st anyway.”

Oh yes, always the one to bring up somebody's happiness again, it meant a lot to Zack that he had said that to him. Before anything else could be said an all to familiar screech filled his ears once more. What the...?! When Will asked what the hell it was Zack almost wished he didn't have to go out there. He already had a fairly good idea what it was. But he was in hot pursuit of Will as he charged toward the door, preparing his mind for battle. Those damn things had better not come mess up his life! This time he was gonna get angry at them. “I have a fairly good idea what it is, but I sure hope it isn't!” As they walked outside Zack shrugged, “Well my wish didn't come true, its exactly what I thought it was. You cant win 'em all I guess right?”

Memories? “Hell yeah, bustin' up the bad guys is what we specialize in right? We're SOLDIER!” He stood there with his arms resting on his waist watching the cie'th that flailed and saw people that were screaming their lungs out in the background. “Why do people always scream? It never gets them anywhere.” He met Will's eyes and shrugged, in a 'normal people...' kind of shrug and lifted his buster sword free from where it rested on his back. Swinging the buster sword up, Zack clasped it with both hands and held it to his right side. “Lets bring them down SOLDIER style!"

Words: 1190
Muse: FREAKING AWESOME!
Tagged: Free Willeh!
Notes: I started out posting this going "I'm gonna barely reach 500 Words...and then...it esploded! o.o

[travel4fun13]

Shadow of a Hero
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.

Basic fact around SOLDIER, no one knew everybody. It was plain and simple as that, and Will knew that as well as anyone, in fact, he didn’t know a lot of the guys let alone remember their names or faces, he just went out, fought and did what he needed to do, nothing more really. He was so focused on his goals that he really didn’t go out and ‘hang’ with pals or anything, besides in SOLDIER that was a hard thing to do, so he just kept up his work and kept working harder each day. Working towards his goals led him to be a stronger SOLDIER, both physically and emotionally, it was a good run until ShinRa fell to pieces, then everything from there sort of went downhill, and now look, here he was searching for work as a mercenary. What a life.

Will had a grin on his face as Zack said he was impressed, of course it was always nice to get praise from those you looked up to, but his face went from grin, to almost confused when Zack mentioned umbrella sword fighting…well, that was something he hadn’t heard before. Rubbing the back of his head, Will chuckled a bit as Zack said that was a bit random, he wouldn’t argue, yes it was. “It’s alright, I’ll have to note that one down for future references.” He said with a light chuckle before the subject got changed back to Sephiroth…not exactly the coolest of topics. But it was true then wasn’t it. Sephiroth was back and probably up to no good once again, Will sighed heavily as he shook his head some. “Guess we’ll just have to see what happens with this…lifestream mayhem then right?” He said trying to be a little more positive, if people were popping out of the lifestream left and right, who knows what could happen.

Will was probably making a fool of himself, with the whole salute, Mr, and Sir thing going on. But he did stop himself and call the guy Zack, though after calling him Mr. Fair, It was hard to get out of those type of formalities. Pretty much anyone he met he called either Ms. Or Mr. It was a habit of his to show respect to those he didn’t know, and SOLDIERs of all people he respected, always addressing them firmly and promptly, it was just his style. When a hand then was placed on his shoulder, Will felt a little better, less foolish. Maybe it wasn’t so bad having a role model like Zack, he was a great hero to follow after, though admitted it might make Will sound weak, but he sure wasn’t. He had worked hard from day one and it got him pretty far, so for now, he just grinned at the former SOLDIER. “I bet, you First Class SOLDIERs probably had more to deal with than I could ever imagine.” He said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

So this was a pretty enjoyable talk, of course, things screeched to a halt when that wail was heard. It sure didn’t sound pretty, and Will ran outside, ready to fight if he had to, it was a SOLDIER thing, battle whatever comes your way. He smirked a little as he looked at the flailing creatures, so Zack had encountered these creatures before? “Do you know what they are? They certainly don’t look like they are from around here…unless…Hojo is back and doing experiments again or something.” He said in a glum tone, oh how people hated that man! But…that was a subject for another day.

As Will looked over at Zack, he nodded a bit, grabbing his own sword and grinning some. SOLDIER style…this was going to be great! This was a really great day for Will, he now gets to fight with his role model! His hero! It was almost a dream come true, though he’d never admit that. He just grinned and ran off towards one of the Cie’th and slashed his sword through its hide, hearing it wail and watching it flail, it really did bring back memories. After pulling his sword out of the Cie’th’s hide, Will leaped right towards the next one, throwing his arms up and slamming his sword down he smited down another cie’th and his blade rebounded a bit as the creature was slammed into the ground. This was definitely digging up some of those old SOLDIER feelings in Will, this battle was a piece of cake compared to some things they had gone through. What a lucky day this was. “Now THAT’S SOLDIER style!” He said with a small chuckle going onto the next flailing beast.

Words: 875
Muse: Good!
Tagged: Zack!
Notes: BROFIST!

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

”Boy oh Boy, the price for freedom is steep.”

Zack shrugged, “Yeah, I'm really hoping nothing horrible happens. All he 1sts are popping up. Angeal Hewley, Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos, and even myself. Lifestream must be really unstable.” Yeah, lifestream. When it came to himself and Angeal, he was glad the lifestream was unstable, but couldn't it just chuck people like Sephiroth back? In his opinion he world was better off without people like him. Even Genesis being back made him cringe inside. Or course, Genesis had found the gift of the goddess and that last conversation with him hadn't been all that bad. In fact, he had almost got the impression that Genesis' honor had been brought back. Zack hated having been pushed into that battle though. Really both Angeal and Genesis had pushed him into fighting them multiple times. Why were people always pushing him into things?

“But your right, when it comes right down to it all we can do is wait and keep our eyes and ears open. Try to cut it off before it becomes a major problem.” It was what they in SOLDIER were good at, cutting off problems before they became bigger ones. Of course, the Turks were good at that too. Had it just been a ShinRa mind set? To get rid of 'problems?' Zack himself had been labeled a 'problem' and had been disposed of. What made him happy was the fact that he had given them a great run for their money while they had been at it. Having taken out practically the entire ShinRa army, he had hit them right where it hurt. Served them right for trying to kill him off. No SOLDIER went down without a fight. It was what they were, fighters. Some labeled them not human because of that fact, yet they each had feelings and such, but they had a different mind set. “Listen to me...talking like I'm still working for ShinRa...”

Another shrug from him. “Not so much the work load, although that did increase. It was more like...how do I explain it? Eyes were on the 1sts, we did something wrong and ShinRa's entire image fell. Thus the president thought we were a liability when things started going bad and the truth started being uncovered. So when that happened, the 1sts were the first to be tossed out like old rags, or in my case hunted down. Thats what made it so tough. But enough sob story from me, I died, ShinRa fell, SOLDIER isn't around and now we're all coming back to life, so I guess it doesn't matter anyway right?” Another shrug, oh well, it would all be alright in time.

Talk was cut short when the cie'th came. “Hojo, he shows his face around here and I'll kill him myself, damn scientist. But anyway, I dunno what they're called but be careful when they go all crazy and flail around, really packs a punch.” Grabbing the sword from his back Zack smiled. He couldn't help it, in the heat of battle his blood got working, adrenaline. “Lets go!” With that he was running toward one of the beasts. Having had experience in the field of these beasts before, Zack eyed them up and with a running jump, he brought the sword down in a slash motion, piercing the hide slightly. With a roar it came at him and Zack was one again in action. Twirling the sword in his hand before pointing it up and holding it with both hands, Zack jumped at the beast again and with a series of slashes, dodged the cie'ths attacks and finally plunged the sword deeply into the beast before drawing it back out again.

The sword was put on his back again as he watched it roar. Feet were spread wide and Zack closed his hands into fists and a bright yellow magic started glowing from his hands. (Zack can use Magic without the use of materia from his time in the lifestream, must like Sephiroth) Running at the cie'th, Zack was everywhere, punching, kicking and the cie'th stumbled backwards before Zack ran at it again. This time the yellow magic flashed from his hands and sent the cie'th backwards quickly until it was shoved down and laid still. Flipping his hands a bit, his hands sparked a bit before the yellow magic evaporated once again. On to the next now. William said it was SOLDIER style and Zack laughed at that, “Can't touch this!”

Words: 878
Muse: pretty good
Tagged: WIIIIIILLLLLLYYYYY!!!
Notes: None

[travel4fun13]

Shadow of a Hero
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.

All the 1st’s were back? How strange. Whatever was up with the lifestream, whether it be a fluke or something, it was kind of interesting. At least Zack was alive and well, and Will did wish the other people coming back from the lifestream good luck dealing with life and what not, though, not Sephiroth, he had caused so much trouble, it was hard to give the man any sympathy or feelings at all. For all Will cared, Sephiroth was probably better in the lifestream…or wherever the hell he was rather than being here probably causing more distress than this world needed. Hadn’t Gaia already been through enough troubles? Did they really need Sephiroth back and running around trying to destroy the place or the people that live here…No. And Will was damn sure that if anything threatened his people, he’d be there to help stop it, no matter how dangerous and risky it may be.

It was hard to get rid of that SOLDIER side of you, after working with ShinRa for so long, it just stuck with you, like a lifestyle. Which is what it was really. Will knew where Zack was coming from, talking like he still worked for ShinRa, it wasn’t an easy thing to rid yourself of. “Yeah…SOLDIER or not, we’ll put a stop to whatever comes our way I guess.” He said with a grin and feeling pretty confident about his statement. Sure he was an Ex-SOLDIER, but he couldn’t get too cocky, still, he did have the muscle and power to back up all his statements about how tough he and the other SOLDIER’s had been. Though listening to Zack, really it did sort of put a downer on the whole First Class thing, maybe it was a good thing to remain a Second Class, at least while SOLDIER was around, Will wouldn’t drone on about or anything, just something he never accomplished, and from the sounds of it…it was probably a good thing he didn’t.

With a shrug Will just listened to Zack about the pressure of the First Class SOLDIERs. All SOLDIERs had pressure, but mainly the firsts, everyone looked up to them, they were the stars of SOLDIER and would always remain that way. Anyways, it was fighting time! Will would take Zack’s advice and be careful, getting the wind knocked out of you was never fun, so he was sure to remain on at the creature’s sides or behind them. It was fairly easy to get around them, they weren’t all that fast, but their wailing and flailing didn’t help all that much. Striking his sword into the next Cie’th before ripping it out quickly, Will felt pretty good right now, it had been awhile since he actually got to run out and fight something, beat it to a fine pulp, and call it a good day. Once the last Cie’th he had in his area went down with a thud, he placed one foot on the monsters back and held his sword at his side with a cheesy grin on his face. “That’s how you do it!” He grinned stepping off the creature and trotting his way back to entrance to the bar, standing outside it he looked at the mass of creatures that were down and out. “Weird things they are…nothing like I’ve ever seen before.” He said with a brief shrug.

“Don’t call me crazy, but I think they are from another world…I saw this…swirling mass one time back towards home, Kalm, and I swear it was a portal or something.” Will explained placing his sword back on his back where it belonged and continuing with his little story. “I didn’t touch it but…when I threw something at it, the mass just swallowed it up and it never returned.” He said seriously before he chuckled nervously a bit. “Bah, listen to me…I sound like some science fiction nerd, it probably wasn’t something like a portal…maybe just my imagination.” But yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on these days…strange things were happening…very strange.

Words: 792
Muse: Goodish (wrote this one day, then finished a few days later lol)
Tagged: Zack Fair
Notes: NONE!