Blind SOLDIER
By BlueFox

DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!

If anyone wants to post my stories anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it. PM with any requests.

Intro: I'm not so mean as to hold out on the final chapter! XD See you at the bottom of the page!

Disclaimer: Hmmm…do I own Final Fantasy VII? :opens wallet and watches moths fly out: Well, I think that answers THAT question…

Part II
Chapter Ten
"Cause in the end, it doesn't even matter."

Zack smiled down at the scene. Aeris would make a beautiful mother one day, and he decided not to intrude on the scene any longer. Silently, he jumped down and sank down to the floor. "Let's just get some sleep," he told Tifa, who nodded and took the cot. The mouth a good night to each other, and soon enough, Zack felt sleep and darkness overcome his senses.

No one saw it coming. No one heard it coming. The silent whiz of the six foot long sword sliced through the air, tore through bodies, bone, muscles, and all, and never once was a cry even able to escape the lips of the victim. Just a small gurgle of surprise before the blood leaked out. It was surprising, to say the least, that the Turks hadn't shown up yet. Maybe they were off duty.

Yeah, off-duty. A dark smile glittered upon his face at the thought. Always off duty. He was searching. Searching for her. His Mother. But not only that. He was searching for another. Another who was quite close. Another Cetra. It had surprised him in the beginning, when he had felt another power so close to his Mother's. Nonetheless, it meant another to add to their army for when they sought revenge.

His long silver hair railed out behind him, almost floating of its own accord as he came to a stop in front of the Jenova tank. Blood from his victim's necks and bodies had been tossed all along the walls in a gruesome display, but to him it was nothing too horrifying. The place needed a new coat of paint, anyway. Blood red was the new white.

He casually flicked the blood off of sword and reached out, lovingly stroking the container in which his Mother was in. The body pressed up against the glass, eager to be out. They needn't speak any words, he knew what his Mother wanted. He gripped the edges of the tank's cover and effortlessly ripped it off, spraying the red preserving liquid that had been inside all over.

The body lifted itself out and a shiver ran up and down its spine before a tentacle reached up and gently stroked the side of the silver-haired man's face.

"Good work, my son," her voice whispered affectionately within the confines of his mind. He let a small smile grace his features-his Mother was proud of him! "Do you know what else there is to be done?"

"Yes, Mother," he murmured, leaning into the tentacle upon his face. "Assassination of the President."

"Yes, yes," she purred. "And then you will join me in Junon."

"What of the other Cetra?"

Jenova's tentacle paused in its rubbing of his face and slowly fell to the body's side. "What other Cetra?" she demanded.

The silver haired man flinched, but continued nonetheless. "I sense the presence of another Cetra on this floor. Surely it would be wise to bring him with us?"

"Hmm," Jenova mused. "It must be a very strong Cetra, if he is able to cloak his presence from me." The body made an approving movement. "If he will not hinder our plans, then yes, bring him with. However, if at the first sign he will interfere, it will be up to you to get rid of him. Understood?"

He flinched again at the harshness of her words, but nodded nonetheless. "Thank you, Mother," he whispered, then watched almost with childlike awe how one of the tentacles stretched, then broke off of the body and floated to him.

"Keep this with you, my son, so that we may communicate over long distances."

And with that, Jenova's body flew toward the window, shattered it, and flew away.

Five Minutes Later…

He took slow, methodical steps down the hallway by the cells, cutting through the snoozing guard effortlessly and watching with mild satisfaction as the pathetic human slumped down and fell to the floor, face down into the growing pool of his own blood. Closing his eyes, he sensed the Cetra's presence coming strongly from within the cell closest to him, he also felt a familiar presence coming from the cell in between. Curiosity taking him over, he narrowed his glowing blue-green eyes and stepped to the cell.

He easily opened it with his code-seems Shinra wasn't smart enough to take a presumed dead person's password out of their database- and stepped inside. What he saw surprised him.

Their faces were familiar, even after not seeing them in so long. That foolish girl and his best friend, both in this cell. He was lucky they were asleep, and apparently not light sleepers, for if they had seen him, he knew there would have been hell to pay.

"They should be dead," he mumbled coldly as he stepped closer to the woman. He remembered her last words to him before he had taken his sword away from her and sliced her down her chest.

"Papa… The townspeople…"

She had so foolishly charged up the stairs after him. He had thought he had cut her deep enough to kill, but apparently not. Turning, he saw his old friend slumped over against the wall opposite the woman. His breathing was deep and even, and he remembered, with a slight smile, that he was one of the deepest sleepers SOLDIER had ever seen. The silver haired man remembered fighting him, as well.

"No…you're the not the Sephiroth I once trusted."

He had thought he'd slain his friend as well, but he had been wrong, because he was here like the woman, alive and well. He shook his head and turned to leave. It would be best the younger man didn't know he was alive. He wouldn't be trusted anymore. And, the black-haired man would only get in the way. He wasn't who Sephiroth was here for.

The ex-General left the cell door open and went to the cell next to it to retrieve the Cetra that lay within. He typed in his password and the door opened almost quietly. However, to his absolute shock, the female occupant of this cell was wide awake. She looked up, curious as to who had entered, and when her deep emerald eyes met his lighter ones, she stumbled to her feet with a squeak and retreated as far from him as he could. But even so, from the meeting of their eyes, he knew she was who he was looking for. The Cetra.

"Seph-" she began, but he instantly cut her off with the raising of his hand.

"Quiet. You are coming with me, Cetra," he told her, his tone tight and commanding.

That's when the other occupant in the small cell caught his attention. He, too, was sleeping, but it didn't matter. Sephiroth instantly recognized him as the one who had thrown him into the Mako all those years ago. That little cadet who had caused him more trouble than needed. He narrowed his eyes harshly and silently walked to the sleeping blond.

"I thought you were dead?" the pink-clad Cetra asked him as she stepped closer to the blond.

He snorted. "Apparently not," he told her, then gestured to the blond who was sleeping. "But this one is the one who threw me into that vat of Mako." Silently, he unsheathed Masamune and raised it over the slumbering blond. "Pathetic…"

With a gasp, the brunette shoved his arms away. Startled, looked at her, though his mask never moved from his face, and his blade was still raised to the blond. "No, please!" she cried, standing in front of the blond, as if to protect him. "He is a Cetra as well!"

Sephiroth's brows snapped together. "This boy?" He gestured to the blond, and when the brunette nodded, he shook his head. "Not that I can remember."

Something sparked in her fierce green eyes. "But he is!" she assured him. "I can feel his power. Can't you?" Suddenly, she sounded skeptical of him.

Sephiroth tentatively reached out with his own power and nudged at the blond's presence. What felt like a whip snapped out at him and a jolt of what felt like electricity surged into him. Odd, he remembered someone else having the same power, and it hadn't been the blond. Shaking his head, he lay cool Mako eyes on the flower girl. "Of course I can. What do you take me for, a fool?" he scoffed, sheathing Masamune and turning to the exit of the cell. "Come. We have much ground to cover."

The brunette folded her arms stubbornly over her chest. "I'm not going alone. Cloud comes, too," she told him.

Sephiroth sighed. "Very well. Now come along, Cetra. We don't have all day."

The pink-clad woman narrowed her eyes at him. "My name is Aeris," she told him, but he didn't answer her and merely stood guard outside of the door, in case the other two awoke. Aeris shook her head and turned to Cloud, gently rubbing his shoulder until he woke up. "Come on, Cloud," she whispered to him. "We're leaving."

"Where?" he mumbled, reached out and placing his hand on her shoulder once he was able to find it. "Is Zack coming?"

Aeris' face turned down. "No, he's not coming. Sephiroth's here for us. We're leaving with him."

"Sephiroth?!" he yelped, and the silver-haired man waiting outside looked in. His brows snapped together as he got a good look at Cloud's eyes, seeing them fogged over. He's blind?! he yelled mentally. How the hell…?

"Shh, calm down, Cloud, it'll be all right. He won't hurt us. He came for us, to get us out of here. Please come with us."

Cloud's head dipped down in uncertainty. "What about Zack…?" he mumbled.

Aeris ran her hand through Cloud's spikes. "He thinks Sephiroth is dead," she told him softly. "I don't think he'd like that wake up call."

It took a few more moments of coaxing before Cloud finally agreed to come. He sheathed the Buster Sword on his back easily, from seeing Zack do it so many times back when he could see, and Aeris picked up the Full Metal Staff Tifa had stolen for her in the Train Graveyard, and then took Cloud's hand and approached Sephiroth. "Ready?" he asked her quietly, and she nodded. He gave her a curt nod and turned for the hallway, gracefully walking through it.

Almost shyly, Aeris followed him, before pausing at the bend and glancing back at the other cells that housed her friends. She closed her eyes in a silent farewell, and felt Cloud squeeze her hand slightly. "Is something wrong, Aeris?" He sounded a bit frightened at her hesitant aura.

"Oh, no, no, Cloud," she assured him, rubbing her thumb over the top of his hand gently. "Nothing's wrong. Let's go." And then she caught sight of Sephiroth by the elevator and gently tugged Cloud in the right direction, trying her hardest to hide her tears.

Zack's internal clock woke him up at about eight the next morning. Slowly, he opened his eyes and ran a hand through his spikes, shaking his head. He could've sworn he had seen Sephiroth come into his cell earlier, but decided it must've been a dream. Sephiroth, like Angeal, was dead as a doornail. He had seen the General's death through blurry eyes, but he couldn't mistake the black and silver dot being thrown into the Mako below and Cloud stumbling his way back in before collapsing at the foot of the Reactor stairs.

So, it was only plausible that Zack had been dreaming. Right?

He looked toward the cell door, and his eyes widened in alarm. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, WRONG! "The door's open," he told himself in shock, the situation smacking him harshly into reality. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Ultima from where it had been braced against the wall. Holding it tightly, he walked out from the cell and saw the guard laying face down in a puddle of his own blood that was slowly congealing into a nasty, gruesome mess. And the cell that had once held Cloud and Aeris…

…was open.

Anxiety and fear both gripped Zack's insides in an iron fist as he crept to the doorway and peeked inside. The good news was that Aeris and Cloud were still alive. The bad news was that they were gone, and he had a good idea as to whom had taken them. He hoped to Shiva he was wrong.

Zack spun on his heel and ran back into his cell to Tifa, shaking her urgently. "Tifa…" he whispered. "Tifa! Wake up!"

Her burgundy eyes fluttered open and she looked up sleepily at him. Her brain had yet to fully turn on, and therefore she didn't register the look on Zack's face as that of urgency. "What's wrong?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Zack pointed to the hallway. "Something's wrong. Look outside," he told her.

She gave Zack's face a good, long look, before nodding to appease him and standing. She walked to the hallway and looked over at the dead guard. That was enough to finally wake her up, and she slapped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. She noticed Cloud and Aeris' open cell door and ran to it, afraid of what she would see. Upon seeing nobody inside, she sighed in relief, and then her still somewhat sluggish brain comprehended that nobody was in there and she let out a light wail. "What happened?" she asked Zack, her eyes wide with fright.

He slowly approached the dead guard and turned him over, grimacing at the horrible wound. "He should have the key on him…" Grinning, he grabbed the key and let the body drop back into its own puddle of blood with a splat and his grin turned into a sick grimace. Tifa's face held the same kind of expression. "Come on, Tifa, let's get Barret and Red."

She followed him to the last cell on their row and he swiped the card through the keypad-apparently Zack didn't think of using his password like Sephiroth did-and the door slid open. Red XIII looked up from where he had been resting and Barret opened a lazy eye at Zack. Both were on their feet when they saw the look on his and Tifa's faces. "How'd you get in? Why's the door open?!" Barret demanded, before shoving past Zack and Tifa and seeing the dead guard. Red XIII followed suit and began to sniff the body as Barret saw the empty cell that had once housed Cloud and Aeris. "The hell's goin' on?!" he yelled.

Red XIII made a small whining noise and backed away from the body. "No human could've done this," he informed them. "I'll go on ahead." With that he bounded away.

Barret looked at Tifa and Zack and waved them off. "I'll clean up back here, so you guys go ahead. And don't get caught by Shinra!" he warned them.

Tifa put her hand on Zack's arm. "Come on, let's follow Red," she told him, steering him away from the gruesome sight of the guard and down the hallway. Outside of the cells, it was no better, and blood splattered almost every inch of the walls, dried by now in horrifying splatter effects, and bodies of Shinra employees lay face down in their own crimson wastes. They followed what seemed like the fresher trail of blood, both of their stomachs turning at the stench of death that hung over them until they came to where the Jenova specimen had been, and Tifa gagged. A liquidy, red substance-she didn't know whether it was blood or not-was absolutely everywhere, the cover of the Jenova tank strewn off to the side. Red XIII was staring intently at the hole where Jenova had been in, before turning his one eye to the pair.

"Jenova Specimen…" he murmured, then nodded to the red trail leading away. "Looks like whoever did this went up using the elevator." He trotted toward the elevator and Tifa and Zack followed along behind him. They had to wait for the elevator to come back down before the pair of them could board it.

"This is sickening," Tifa murmured to him as they went up, and Zack took her hand slightly in comfort and gave it a little squeeze. A small smile fluttered across her face and a light pink dust came on his and they let go when they reached their stop. Red XIII turned his head to them as they approached.

"It looks like it leads up," he told them, and then followed the trail through the door beneath the metal mesh. Slowly, Tifa and Zack followed the trail all the way up to the President's office. There, what they saw had them all reeling as Barret came in after them. He, too, looked to be in shock.

The President was slumped over on his desk, the Masamune look-alike Murasame stabbed through his back. "He's dead…" Barret mumbled. "The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead…"

Slowly, Tifa approached the sword and tentatively touched it. She didn't know that there was a Masamune look-alike, and so she mistook it for the legendary weapon. "Then this sword must be…?!" She gave Zack a horrified look.

"Sephiroth's," he confirmed.

Tifa stumbled back, her eyes wide. "…Sephiroth is alive?" Her voice was pained.

Zack approached Murasame. "…Looks like it," he told her truthfully, because Murasame did look like Masamune. "Chances are…he took Cloud and Aeris with him." Why didn't I confront him when he came into our cell? I'm such an idiot, he thought to himself.

Barret stamped his foot. "Who cares who did it?!" he yelled. "This is the end of the Shinra now!"

Suddenly, Zack caught sight of a balding gray man in a tan suit peek out from a pillar and then attempt to run the way no one was looking. Using his SOLDIER speed, Zack unsheathed Ultima and jumped in front of Palmer, placing the sharp blade against his neck warningly. "P-P-P-Please, don't kill me!" he stuttered.

"What happened?" Zack demanded.

"Se-Sephiroth," Palmer stuttered out. "Sephiroth came."

Zack pushed the blade harder against Palmer's neck. "Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You really saw him?"

"Guh! Would I lie to you in this predicament?" He gestured to the huge blade against his neck. "I heard his voice, too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land. And then he left with some blond kid and a girl in a pink dress!"

Tifa approached him from behind. "Then what? Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?" She sounded disbelieving.

Barret scratched his head. "So he's a good guy then?"

"A good guy?" Zack echoed hollowly. "No way!! It's not that simple! We know him!" He nodded to Tifa and himself.

"Sephiroth's mission has to be different," Tifa agreed.

Suddenly, the sound of whirring helicopter blades cut through the silence in the room and all four AVALANCHERs looked up to see a helicopter landing. Palmer ducked beneath Zack's blade and around Tifa and started to run for the door. In the cockpit, Zack saw someone who he instantly recognized.

"Rufus?!" he yelled in exasperation.

"Fuck!" swore Barret. "I forgot about him!"

Tifa looked confused. "Who's that?" she asked.

Barret ran a hand over his face. "Vice President Rufus," he told her.

Zack sheathed Ultima on his back. "The President's son." An old friend, he added silently before leading the others out after Palmer to greet the new President. Stepping off the elevator came a light sandy blond man in a white suit, his black dog-looking thing following behind him. He noticed the four who had come out and regarded them calmly.

"So… So Sephiroth was actually here," he said, and the looks on AVALANCHE's faces was enough to tell him so. "Who are you?"

Zack stepped forward, holding onto Ultima. "Zack Fair, former SOLDIER First Class, since you forgot!" he uncharacteristically snapped.

Barret pumped a fist into the air. "I'm from AVALANCHE!" he yelled.

Tifa raised her hand. "Same here!"

Red XIII merely blinked. "…A research specimen," he intoned.

Rufus flicked at his bangs and chuckled a bit. "What a crew," he mocked. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."

Barret stomped his foot and readied his gun arm. "You only President, 'cause yer old man died!" he accused.

Rufus nodded and began to wander amongst the group, looking at each of them closely. "That's right," eh told the gunman. "I'll let you hear my new appointment speech. …Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them." He chuckled at the thought, shaking his head. "Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside." He finally went back to where he had stepped off the helicopter. "But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."

Tifa shook her head. "He likes to make speeches just like his father," she mumbled.

Zack looked over at Barret. "Get out of this building, NOW!" he ordered.

Barret did a double take. "What?" he asked.

Zack shook his head. "I'll explain later!" he said. "Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"

Barret looked confused. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

Zack ground his teeth. "I'll tell you later!" he very nearly yelled. "Just take my word for it now. I'll go after I take care of him!"

Barret nodded. "Awright, Zack!" he agreed before turning and leading Red XIII and Tifa to the 69th floor. Just as they passed through the door, Tifa stopped. Red XIII and Barret turned to her.

"I'll wait for Zack!" she told them. "Everyone, get to the elevator!" The door slid closed behind her, and Barret looked down at Red XIII.

"Hmm," the large cat mused, "it's probably going to get pretty ugly from here on out. We should check on our equipment." They rearranged their materia so that Red XIII had Bolt and Restore-All, and Barret had Ice, Restore, and Poison. They then proceeded to the elevator. As they began to descend in theirs, another one rose from below, and upon it was what seemed to be a large armored tank. It shot open the glass on both containers, and the battle began.

With Zack…

Rufus sighed, shaking his head. "Why do you want to fight me, Zack?" he asked the ex-SOLDIER. "I thought we used to be friends."

Zack calmly unsheathed Ultima from his back and Dark Nation stood on all fours, growling menacingly at Zack, hackles raised. "You seek the Promised Land and Sephiroth," he stated simply.

Rufus got a thoughtful look upon his face. "Hm, exactly," he agreed. "Mm? Did you know Sephiroth is an Ancient?"

Zack's eyes narrowed as he got into his offensive stance. "Yeah, I remember how he wouldn't shut up about it in Nibelheim," he spat, feeling his Limit Break rise. Subconsciously, he was shocked with himself-these last few days had really put a damper on his normally cheery attitude. He could still feel it flickering around deep inside him, but he knew now wasn't the time to be cheery. He shook his head. "Anyway, I can't let either you or Sephiroth have the Promised Land!"

Rufus sighed and pulled his gun from its holster. "I see. I guess this means our friendship is over," he told the other man sadly.

"Guess so."

Zack surged forward, propelled by his inner anger that now fully blossomed. Dark Nation leapt forward to protect his master as Rufus shot Zack in the shoulder. The ex-SOLDIER felt nothing-he had been through much worse-and attacked Dark Nation with a Cross-Slash, easily taking out the dog before it knew what hit it. His violet eyes glowed fiercely as he spun to attack Rufus, who nimbly jumped away and let out another shot at Zack.

It bounced harmlessly off the Ultima's wide blade and when Zack next looked, Rufus was right in front of him. He raised the gun and pulled the trigger at Zack's face, point blank. Thankfully, Zack had very good reflexes and he managed to dodge the brunt of the bullet, and it grazed across his eyebrow, leaving a small and shallow cut that had lots of messy bleeding.

He took the time to kick Rufus back and heal his wounds with a Cure2, leaving a crescent moon shaped scar where he had been hit (think like Cloud's in AC) and the bullet within him dissolved against the magic that was healing him. When he looked up from his ministrations, Rufus smiled. "Heh, that's all for today," he dismissed Zack as a helicopter swooped down to pick him up. Dark Nation limped up and jumped in first and Rufus merely grabbed onto the rung and allowed it to carry him away.

"Damn," Zack swore as he sheathed Ultima on his back and turned to catch up with the others inside. He slid down the banister of the stairs to the 69th floor where he found Tifa waiting for him, fiddling around with her gloves. She noticed him and then looked around curiously.

"Where's Rufus?"

Zack shook his head. "I couldn't finish 'em," he told her, disappointed. Her eyes dropped to the floor as Zack turned her to the door and guided her out. "Looks like this's gonna get complicated."

With Red XIII and Barret…

The elevator stopped at the bottom and Red XIII cast a few rounds of Restore on the both of them to get their energy back up after the two long fights, then they left the elevator and came to the receptionist Shelley's desk. Barret looked at Red XIII. "I'll go on ahead," he said. Barret ran out, and the sounds of gunshots reverberated outside, making Red XIII wince. Barret came barreling back inside, and took out a few soldiers as the doors were open, before rejoining Red XIII. "Fuck…surrounded. If I was alone, this wouldn't be a thang, but… I gotta reputation to protect."

Red XIII scratched at one of his ears. "May I suggest that we think of a way to get out of here?"

Barret came out of his musings. "Huh? Oh, oh yeah…" Then, he mumbled, "You a cold man. Just like someone else 'round here I know."

Red XIII cocked his head, ears pointed toward him, his one eye narrowed slightly. "Did you say something?" he asked, his tail twitching irritably.

Barret grinned and shook his head. "Notta thing." Red XIII slowly turned his attention to the front doors, but he kept one ear trained on Barret for what he had to say. "So, what're we gonna do?"

"Barret!!" Red XIII and Barret spun to see Tifa come running down the blue carpeted steps, slightly out of breath.

"Tifa!" the gunman greeted as Red XIII dipped his head. "Where's Zack?"

Tifa beckoned them over. "Over here!" She turned and ran.

Barret looked clueless. "Huh? What's up? Where's Zack?"

Tifa spun around, looking very impatient. "I'll tell you later! Hurry, hurry!" she quite practically screamed at him. Red XIII and Barret glanced at each other before following her to the vehicle storage area. Tifa picked out a large blue truck and threw herself into the driver's seat. She smiled slightly upon seeing the keys in the ignition and turned them. She almost squealed like an eight-year-old as the engine roared to life. Behind her, she felt Barret climb in and, momentarily forgetting about Red XIII, drove the truck off the podium it was on. There was a cry before Red XIII made a large pounce and landed in the bed of the truck. Tifa gave him a sheepish look through the rearview mirror, and flinched when the roar of a motorcycle came to her ears suddenly.

Zack sped around the corner on a sleek black Hardy Daytona, his eyes bright with excitement as he looked at her. She looked at him and gave him a slight smile, which he returned with a wink, revved the engine on his motorcycle, and took off at high speeds toward the large windows overlooking the highway and the glass easily shattered. He fell and landed solidly on the highway, losing a little speed, but he quickly got it back as Tifa followed suit out of the shattered window. That's when the fun began.

Near the End of the Highway…

"Have the bastards gone yet?" Barret swore, slamming his gun arm against the truck's bed, which trembled upon impact.

"Barret, stop that!" Tifa shouted over the steering wheel, refocusing her mind back on driving and not running Zack over as he continued to meander in her way countless times. The truck jerked slightly as Tifa winced when she drove over a bump, which she automatically knew, wasn't an ordinary speed bump. It was then that Zack decided to drive up to her window, and she gave him a small glance.

Zack caught the glance and gave her a small wink, grinning as he saw the fightress shake her head and mouth 'show off'. He gave her a final look and pulled back behind the smiling brunette. The sound of the Ultima Weapon clashing with metal went unnoticed to Tifa as she continued to drive before slamming her brakes as her eyes grew wide on what she saw. Her pupils dilated as one thought ran through her mind...

Oh. My. GOD!

"What the hell?" Zack grumbled to himself as he saw a dead end drawing near. But what really shocked him was the huge armored vehicle that was quickly gaining on them from behind. The ex-SOLDIER immediately went on alert as he moved himself to be in front of the truck bringing it to an ultimate stop when he idly noticed that the weapon was indeed "MOTOR BALL" which reminded him of the other weapon he last fought at the reactor before he fell...

Zack's violet eyes shone with anger as he recalled the memory of Tiffania and how she had become a martyr to save his, Tifa, and Barret's skin. Growling slightly at the thought, he looked at the robot with renewed anger. Motor Ball seemed to screech in response as he hauled out two large guns out of his shoulders.

"Oh fuck! What the hell is THAT?!" Barret shouted out as Tifa followed Zack's example in swerving to a stop. As she hopped out of the truck, Barret pulled himself out of the truck's bed as Red XIII disembarked with a fluid jump ad they all ran up to Zack.

"Use your Bolt materia!" Zack advised as he launched a Bolt3 spell at Motor Ball, pausing its attack. The attack instantly was replicated as Tifa cast her normal Bolt spell, which gave Zack enough time to slash Motor Ball's mid section.

"Damn, I have no Bolt materia," Barret cursed to himself, getting angry as felt the Ice materia flare up, before changing his mind and unleashing a barrage of bullets as Red XIII cast his Bolt spell.

The robot jerked and shuddered, as it's left gun side was blown off to then send out a powerful beam, which seriously crippled the team. Red XIII instantly saw the danger as he cast a Cure-All, curing the whole team from their fatal injuries as Tifa's anger went to her highest. The yellow-red aura of her Limit Break surrounded her. She rushed forward in a mad rage.

"Beat Rush!" she cried out as she pounded the robot's torso down. Barret had already seen this plenty of times, but Zack and Red XIII could only watch her in mild stupor as she flipped over in a somersault, shattering the right arm of Motor Ball just as Barret let out an Ice spell.

Finding that the robot had its defense down because of the way it shuddering and sputtering, Zack took no time as he forced his Limit Break out. The one and only Omnislash. In a speed on which Zack had rarely used, he dashed up to the weapon as his sword was arched up high in position before striking down a multitude of slashes and embedding the final slash into the robot's torso.

In a dramatic finish, the ex-SOLDIER leaped high into the air before bringing Ultima down in a large arc that ended with a brilliant flash of light. The robot glowed red as it crashed down onto the ground with a tremendous thud. Dust clouds rose from the ground causing the AVALANCHE warriors to cover their faces.

After a few moments as the dust cleared, Zack looked up and saw the once proud weapon laying in pieces upon the ground. Walking slowly towards it, he noted that the face piece was not glowing thus meaning it wasn't in action and wasn't going to be getting up any time soon.

Not long after everyone was healed did Barret approach Zack. Zack's face had a grim expression to it, his mako violet eyes fiercely glowing as he stared at the exit out of Midgar below them. "Well, what do we do now?" asked the gunman.

Zack sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sephiroth is alive, and he's got Aeris and Cloud with him," he began, and fatigue was evident in his voice. "I have to chase them down and get my friends back. Then, I'll settle the score."

"And that'll save the Planet?"

"I'm pretty sure it will."

Barret pumped his fist into the air. "Awright, I'm going!"

Tifa looked around. "Well, I guess this is goodbye, Midgar."

At the Exit…

Zack pointed out to the rocky plains in front of them and in the direction of Kalm. "Then… Let's go!" he declared.

Barret coughed a little, and they all looked at him. "We need a group leader for our journey," he said. "'Course, only me could be leader."

Tifa cocked her head a little. "You think so…?" She thought for a second, before pointing at Zack. "It would have to be Zack."

Barret sighed and glared at the ground. "Damn……awright," he hesitantly agreed. "If something happens, we'll meet up at Kalm. 'Sides, we can't have 4 people strolling down the fields. It's too dangerous. Split us into two parties…"

Zack pointed at Tifa. "She comes with me," he said.

Barret shook his head. "I thought you'd do somethin' like that," he mumbled, and both Tifa and Zack blushed a little.

Red XIII sighed, his tail flickering in the fading light. Time just flies by when you're trying to escape from a slaughterhouse. "I will travel with you as far as my hometown. Until then…" He dipped his head graciously, stood on his paws, stretched and yawned, before trotting off.

Barret raised his hand in farewell. "All right, see you at Kalm," he parted.

"Yeah. At Kalm." Zack and Tifa nodded.

End of Blind SOLDIER
To be continued in Blind Soul

End: And it's over! W00T I'm happy! (does a little jig on her bed and falls off) Oww… Either way, YAY!

Cloud, Zack, Zidane, and Fang: WHOOHOO! (throws confetti in the air and blows noisemakers)

But alas, this means I'm going to have to start up with the sequel… And I've only edited the Game Script up to the whole Nibelheim flashback thing at the Crater! I'm absolutely stumped on how to change that to work for Zack. I mean seriously. Make him go the whole thing for a third time? Aargh! (rips hair out)

Ack! I should stop worrying about the sequel! Because honestly, I have to finish my other fics, like Destiny Has Nothing To Do With It and Haunted (coming soon, for all you Cleon fans!) and get started on my other Yunesis fic, Timeless, as well as my FF9/7 crossover, Warrior's Run. After Timeless I'll get to work on Blind Soul. Woo! And, to be fair, since, unlike other people, I didn't put who says the quote in each chapter, here's a list:

Prologue: "In heaven, an angel is no one in particular."
–George Bernard Shaw

Chapter I: "We're friends, right?"
–Zack Fair, Final Fantasy VII saga

Chapter II: "I don't know how I got this way; I know it's not all right."
–Linkin Park, Breaking the Habit

Chapter III: "There's no escape now, no mercy no more."
–Within Temptation, Angels

Chapter IV: "There's just too much that time cannot erase."
–Evanescence, My Immortal

Chapter V: "No one would miss me."
–Roxas, Kingdom Hearts II

Chapter VI: "Assassination is the extreme form of censorship."
–George Bernard Shaw

Chapter VII: "Memories are nice, but that's all they are."
–Rikku, Final Fantasy X

Chapter VIII: "The Tower my sole guide."
–Nightwish, Escapist

Chapter IX: "I wanted to be able to look out for you."
–Sabin Rene Figaro, Final Fantasy VI Advanced

Chapter X: "Cause in the end, it doesn't even matter."
–Linkin Park, In the End

Well, this is it. The final chapter of Blind SOLDIER…I'M SO PROUD! Finally, an actually completed fic that isn't a oneshot! Gaspeth!

And as mean as I can be, I don't think I'll give you a hint at Blind Soul, because then you'll all be crowding my door demanded for it to go up like tomorrow or something, and I've got enough stuff on my plate as it is. So, yeah. You guys'll have to wait until my other fics (other than Prophecies and Maximum Twilight) are completed before I put up the sequel.

Boldly going nowhere,
-BlueFox-