Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of the Final Fantasy 7 characters. Final Fantasy 7 and the Final Fantasy 7 characters rightfully belongs to Square-Enix. I own nothing.

Hello everyone. This story was inspired by 'In the Shadow of Freedom' by chibipinkbunny. So anyone here who likes this story, than you'll probably like hers a lot too. This is a prequel to my previous story 'Fight for Freedom', this story focuses on Zack Fair and Cloud Strife's escape from the lab on up to where 'Fight for Freedom' began. Thanks to chibipinkbunny, I got a beta reader for this chapter. The beta reader for this chapter was Blue Jae. Thank you so very much Blue Jae and chibipinkbunny for helping me out a lot on this chapter, I really appreciate it. Hopefully, I did a good job at fixing it up, with a lot of help from Blue Jae of course. Thanks to them, I think that this is a lot better now. Anyways, please review to tell me what you all think. There's some cussing in here too, just to warn you all. Anyways, please enjoy.

On the Run for Freedom

Chapter 1

The moon light from the night sky shines down from the heavens above. Two young men emerge from a large grey mansion that looms in the darkness like a deadly storm cloud. "We won't get caught," a young man with spiky black hair promises. "Don't worry buddy, we'll be alright. I'll take care of you," Zack says, looking at the younger man with spiky blonde hair beside him who he's half carrying. "Things are probably going to be a little tough for us, but we'll make it through." He continues half carrying Cloud down the pathway leading up to the gates of Shin-Ra Manor. They've just escaped from that horrific nightmare of a lab in the basement of that mansion a few hours ago, and they're now making a second attempt to leave Nibelheim. After making it to the gate, Zack opens the steel gate and walks through, letting it swing closed behind them. Afterwards, he continues walking. He looks over to see how Cloud is doing. Zack notices that his eyes are partially open and he's taking steps as Zack half carries him.

A few minutes later, they both make it to Nibelheim. However, more Shin-Ra troops come running into the village. Noticing the small number of troops approaching them, Zack gently sits Cloud down, propping him up against a nearby house. Zack can't help but feel worried about his friend when he notices Cloud trying to move his arms. The former infantryman lets out a small sigh when he's only able to slightly able to move his shoulders. Zack quickly gets between Cloud and the infantrymen as he unsheathes his Buster Sword and states, "This is gonna be rough." Zack hates having to kill what was once his men, unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. The small band of troops stay close together as they aim their assualt rifles at their former commanding officer and pull the trigger. Zack rolls out of the way with incredible speed, runs behind them, and quickly cuts them down.

After easily dispatching them, with a look of relief tinged with sadness over killing those troops, he says with a saddened sigh, "Alright, we're getting out of here." He walks towards Cloud and kneels down, he notices that Cloud's eyes are starting to close. "Stay with me!" He orders in a loud voice as he gently shakes Cloud on the shoulder, Cloud reluctantly manages to force his eyes back open. Picking up his younger friend, he begins half-carrying him again.

After a couple of slow hours of walking, the two young men finally make it to the outside of Nibelheim by following a small dirt road. The night time silence seems to be infinite, other than the chirping of the crickets and the occasional moan from Cloud, who's starting to breathe heavy at this point. Exhausted from travel without any food or water, Cloud starts to fall to the ground, nearly taking Zack down with him. However, Zack manages to regain his balance and his grip on Cloud. "Whoa, easy kiddo. Listen, I know that you're tired, but we need to keep going, okay? Just for a few more minutes, alright?" Zack pants. He hopes that the blonde can stay awake for just a little longer.

While continuing on the dirt road, Zack sees Shin-Ra robots in the distance. "Damn it, there's no end to this," Zack says with an annoyed sigh. "We should get off of this path. What do you think, buddy?" Zack asks, looking over at his friend.

"Mmngh," Cloud groggily moans in response.

"Yeah, I think so too." Going off of the dirt road and into a small forest area, Zack looks over at his younger friend again. 'Man, I really hope that he gets better soon. I hate seeing him like this,' Zack worriedly thinks to himself. They soon come across an area that's surrounded by some large rocks and trees with a large clearing in the middle. "Alright, this looks like a good spot."

Zack gently sits Cloud down on the ground to where he's leaning up against one of the large rocks. While kneeling down in front of the blonde, Zack notices that his eyes are slightly open. So he assumes that he's awake. Zack says, "Wait here, I'm gonna go take a look around." Leaving his best friend hidden away, Zack decides to take out the Shin-Ra robots. On his way there, he comes across a sniper rifle lying on the ground. Zack's eyes slightly widen in surprise. He can't help but wonder how that weapon got there.
'How convenient. I wasn't trained with guns, just swords. And my fists of course. I gave Cloud some fighting lessons a while back. Maybe I should've had him give me some shooting lessons in return,' he thinks to himself. "This isn't really SOLDIER style, but beggars can't be choosers. I just hope that I can get the hang of it." Grabbing the sniper rifle, he starts to take down the Shin-Ra robots. Only a couple of them managed to get away. "Shin-Ra technology rules, and with this new auto assist system, even an amateur like me can do pretty well." After taking out almost all of the numerous Shin-Ra robots, he comes across a sanded beach with a large dark navy blue ocean with large, mountain-like hills and a lighthouse behind him.

Zack looks out into the vast ocean and asks himself with a sigh, "Where do I go from here? Can't do much when I got Cloud to worry about." Looking up at the starry night sky for guidance, he asks, "Angeal, what should I do?" No answer, just silence...except for the approaching footsteps behind him. Recognizing those footsteps, with his back still turned, he calls out, "Hey Cissnei, been a while." A small smile finds its way on Zack's face because he can't help but feel a little surprised. He wasn't expecting to see her here. Although deep down, he knows why she's here.

"Zack, the fugitive sample, is it you?" she asks in a concerned tone.

"It would appear so," he answers.

Her mouth slightly drops open in sadness. She's always had a bit of a crush on Zack. Her heart begins to sink at the very thought of herself having to help hunt him down. "What did they do to you in that place?" she asks, her voice tinged with sadness and concern.

Zack looks down and answers, "Well, this and that." He really doesn't want to talk about the real life nightmare that him and his young friend had to endure. He turns around to face her. "So Cissnei, you're here to take us back, right?" he asks her as he narrows his eyebrows. Cissnei doesn't answer, she just sadly looks down at the ground. "Please, just walk away! I thought that we could outrun the army, but the Turks are a different story," Zack says, slightly begging out of desperation with those words.

"Zack, I'm sorry," she sadly apologizes in a regretful tone of voice as she continues standing about twenty feet away in front of him. Pulling out her large shuriken weapon, she shouts, "This is my job! If you want to escape, you'll have to..." Finding it almost unbearable to finish the rest of that sentence, she throws her weapon at Zack.

With lightning quick speed, Zack unsheathes his Buster Sword and deflects the on coming weapon away. Cissnei's shuriken lands about five feet away from her. She begins to steadily walk towards him. However, Zack keeps his sword pointed at her as he warns in a loud voice, "Step back! Next time, I'll really have to..." He decides not to finish the rest of his painful sentence. Knowing what he means, Cissnei sadly looks at him as she remains frozen in place. Pointing his sword at her in a way of telling her to not follow him before he races back to check on Cloud. He can't believe that Cissnei tried to attack him. They were good friends. Zack can't help but feel betrayed at Cissnei's actions and he also feels worried that she might give away their location.

After he races back to Cloud, Zack notices that he's sitting in the same place where he had left him. Looking down at the blonde, who has his eyes open and is staring down at the ground, Zack informs him, "The Turks are here too. It's too dangerous to move now. We'll rest here until morning, than we'll leave at dawn. Ehh," he swallows hard, doing his best not to sound worried, "we'll be alright." Zack smiles down at him. However, he soon hears those same familiar footsteps approaching them. He knows who it is, and because of their previous encounter, Zack is now on edge. He quickly turns around to see Cissnei standing in front of him. "Cissnei," he says as he draws his Buster Sword.

Cissnei soon notices Cloud. A look of concern and curiousity finds its way on her face. "Wait, he..he's the other sample they collected at Nibelheim."

Zack narrows his eyes at what she just said. Cloud is not a 'sample' and neither is him, they're human beings. He hates to hear that word because that's one of the things that Hojo called them. With his sword drawn and pointed at her, Zack runs in front of his friend, ready to protect him. The ex-SOLDIER furrows his eyebrows in frustration as he angrily yells, "Why did you come here? I told you to go away!"

Cissnei looks back up at Zack. "He doesn't look well, Zack. Is he alright?" she asks in a concerned tone.

"Mako addiction, severe case," Zack informs as he keeps holding his sword up to her. He can't help but feel a little frustrated as he thinks, 'Why is she acting like she's so concerned now? She attacked me just a few minutes ago. Why does she care now? She wasn't there living in fear...'

"The experiments, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Cissnei reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell phone.

"Hey!" Zack shouts, thinking that she's about to give away his and Cloud's location.

Cissnei quickly raises her hand up, motioning for him to keep quiet. "Tseng, I've lost the target."

After hearing her say that to Tseng, the leader of the Turks, Zack's frustrated look fades away as he slowly lowers his sword.

She hangs up and puts her phone back in her pocket. "So, that's how it is. So, get away safely," she kindly says. She turns around and starts to walk away.

"Cissnei, thank you," the former SOLDIER tells her in a grateful tone. He's glad that she's not going to turn them in to the authorities.

She soon turns back around and walks up to Zack. "Here's a present. If you think you can trust me, than use it," she tells him as she hands Zack a set of keys, which he assumes are keys to a motorcycle or a car. Zack gratefully smiles and watches her leave.

Zack feels very relieved that the young Turk actually helped them. After their previous encounter, he really wasn't expecting that. He puts the keys in his pocket and turns to look at Cloud. "Well, that was quite a reunion," Zack says as he sits down next to Cloud. "Man, I'm thirsty. How about you, buddy?" he asks as he looks over at his friend.

"Ngh, ugh," is Cloud's only answer as his head lolls to the side and comes to rest against Zack's shoulder.

Zack puts his arm around him and playfully ruffles Cloud's blonde spiky hair as he says, "Yeah, me too. Hey, I'm gonna go and get us some water, okay?" He lets out a soft grunt as he climbs to his feet. Noticing that he's leaving, Cloud begins to softly whimper. "Hey, it's alright kiddo. I'm just gonna get us some water. I'll be back soon. I promise," Zack reassures him as he leaves to get some water.

After walking for a few minutes, he comes across a small fast moving spring. "Hmm, let's see, I need something to put this in," he tells himself as he looks around to try and find something to put the water in. While wandering around, scanning the area for anything useful, he soon sees a large tree with large, green, oval shaped leaves. He then remembers some good survival tips that Angeal taught him a long time ago. "This might work. I could probably use this. I know what kind of tree this is. It's not poisonous or anything. Maybe I can fold it into a cup or bowl," he states as he grabs a leaf off of the tree and folds it into a pouch-like cup. He grabs a second one and does the same thing. He soon makes his way back to the spring and fills up both make-shift cups with water and goes back to where Cloud is.

After getting back to where his friend is waiting, he drinks his water. "Don't worry buddy, I've got you some too," he says. After sitting his cup and his sword down, he sits next to Cloud. "I got us some water. I already drank all of mine. Alright tough guy, I need you to open your mouth," Zack tells him in a kind voice as he gently holds Cloud's head up. When he sees Cloud slightly open his mouth, Zack smiles as he slowly pours the cool and refreshing liquid into Cloud's mouth. "There you go. That's a lot better now, huh?" he kindly tells him after Cloud drinks all of his water. "I'll try and get us some food tomorrow, okay?" Zack informs after he discards the make-shift cups.

"Mngh," Cloud incoherently moans.

"Don't worry, Cloud. I'll make sure that you eat too." Zack continues as he lets out a small chuckle, "You know that I'm not that greedy. I'll take care of you, okay? I promise."

While they continue leaning up against the large rocks, Zack asks Cloud, "So, do you think that we should look for that vehicle now or wait 'til morning?" Cloud's head begins to fall to the side which is followed by the rest of him. He lands on Zack's lap with his eyes closed and instantly falls asleep. Zack smiles down at him and gently pats him on the shoulder before he says, "Yeah, you're right. We should rest first. We should stick to the plan and find it when we leave at dawn." Zack's eyes starts to close and he can feel his head slowly leaning back on the boulder behind him. He can also feel his eyelids getting heavy. It doesn't take him long at all to fall asleep while leaning up against the rocks with his younger friend sleeping on his lap.

A few times during the night, Zack wakes up to make sure that they're still safe. He doesn't get into a deep sleep because he wants to make sure that they won't get captured while they are sleeping. He also takes the time to check on Cloud to make sure that he's doing okay. While looking down at his sleeping friend, there's a few times when he looks so lifeless that Zack reaches down and gently places his hand on Cloud's chest to feel for a heartbeat. Cloud must be in a deep sleep during this time because he doesn't even stir.

"Everything's going to be alright. You will get better, I know you will Cloud. Just hang in there, buddy," he softly says. Zack has heard rumors in the past that severe mako poisoning can be fatal. He's heard people say that three different things could happen to victims who get severe mako poisoning; they could make a full recovery, they could stay nearly unresponsive for the rest of their lives, or they could die. The former SOLDIER swallows hard when he remembers the last possible outcome. Zack hopes that Cloud will recover. He also hopes that his friend hasn't heard those rumors. He won't tell Cloud about those rumors though. Never. "It's always good to be hopeful, even in a bad situation like this," Zack quietly says to himself as he falls back asleep.

Alright, Chapter 1. I hope that you guys like it. Once again, I would like to thank both chibipinkbunny and Blue Jae for their help. They both really helped me out a lot with this chapter. Thank you so much guys, I really appreciate it. Thank you both. I also thank the people who were kind enough to leave reviews as well, thank you. Oh, and the part when Zack uses those leaves, I wouldn't recommend doing stuff like that unless you knew for sure what kind of plant it was. There's a lot of plants that's edible, some can be used for medicine, and some is very poisonous and can kill you or make you very sick. I just thought that I'd warn you all about that. Anyways, I hope that you guys like this chapter. Please review to let me know what you all think. I appreciate reviews.