Second Chance

Memory Lane

It had been over an hour since he left the old collapsed Shinra building behind and had set off on his journey. The scenery surrounding him was frightening With all the run-down houses, tall buildings that had broken or collapsed on either side of the street and green-colored mist. Not to mention a whole plate had sunken down to the slum's level and ponds of liquid Mako all over the place; it was like a scene from a horror movie. Sure he read all about what destruction had befallen Midgar in the database, but he never imagined it looking like this. The lovely city that was burned into his memory was much more lively and active, in contrast to the image in front of him now.

Slowly, he made his way down the rubble-filled streets avoiding the small ponds of Mako along the way; as much as he was concerned, Zack had four years' worth of that stuff still stuck in his hair, and he did not want any more of it. He made sure that his movements were as careful as he could make them, what with his sleeping lover, who was now sporting the SOLIDER 2nd class uniform like himself, on his back and all. A bag across his chest so as not to bother her and a scabbard with his sword buckled safely on his belt for easy access. It felt uncomfortable for him to have the blade on his side, and he wished that he could place it on his back like he was used to with the Bust Sword, but his back was currently occupied. Plus, he had been so used to using the massive sword that any other standard Shinra sword felt too light to use. He was worried that the small weapon would fly off his grip because of the amount of strength he was used to exert during battles. He was thankful, however, that no monster had attacked them yet; if they did, he would have had a tough time defending himself and Aerith and fighting off the monsters.

Soon enough, and after an hour of walking, he reached the Sector 0 train station, which used to be the only mode of transport for people to get from the upper plate to the slum and vice versa. Halting, he looked around the crumbled area, taking in what memories he had of this place, and wondered where to go next. Edge was the final destination, but it was still too far to reach in a single day, plus the sky was turning orange, and he was sure that staying out at night was a terrible idea. He needed someplace safe enough to sleep in for the night; somewhere close and indoors would be ideal. Then he thought of Aerith's church; for one reason or another, the monsters never dared to step foot in, so it was the best place to rest for now. With that in mind, he carefully descended onto the empty rail and continued his way down to the slums.

While on the move, he glanced at his sleeping passenger, smiling at how peaceful she looked. Her relaxed expression, soft breathing, gentle beating heart, and warmth on his back were very comforting. He had missed her so much and was finally going to have the chance to speak with her after so long; he hoped she would hear him out first. Then, turning his attention forward again, he tried his best not to slip off the dangerous-looking rails leading him to his desired destination. Soon enough, the city of Edge came into view, the city that the surviving citizens of Midgar had built after the Meteor incident years ago.

Everyone he knew, including Cloud, is probably living there now. He imagined his friend working on an odd job rather than just sitting behind a boring old counter and managing a store. Swinging a sword, gunning down a beast, running around for some strange errand, or even building at a construction site would fit the guy better than dodging a bargain from an old lady. His overly wild imagination wondered if the blond Chocobo-haired man still gets stomachaches after long car rides or if he was still the quiet, friendly yet shy but ambitious guy that he met a long time ago. The last he saw him, the blond was almost in tears after he told him to live on without him.

Besides Cloud, he started to wonder about how his parents were doing. He did promise to call them once he had a signal, but then he remembered that they weren't that big of technology fans, so they didn't bother getting a phone. He had read about the Mako reactor exploding at the time before his last visit to the region, and if his memory serves him well, Cissnei did meet them, so they were fine back then. But what about now? Were they alive and well? If so, then were they looking for him? Or did they forget about him? Or did they believe what lies Shinra has told them about him being dead? The latter is probably what they were told about him; typical of Shinra to spread that news and exclude the info that they experimented on him for 4 years, hunted him down, put him on the verge of death, and tested on him again. They just couldn't let him die in peace.