[On another day, in a different situation, the men ahead of them may have been comrades, friends on the same side, underlings by rank but equals in the singular goal of helping to make the world a better place under Shinra's direction. Zack would have approached them openly, a friendly smile on his face and an uplifted hand, offering aid and support to whatever they're doing. Beneath their helmets, he might even find their faces familiar.
He does not wait. He does not check. Here and now, they are obstacles, and he treats them as such. With a swift and ruthless lunge he swings the Buster sword and cleaves the head clear off of one of them before either can even think to react, before they can so much as turn. It clips the helmet of the other as it passes, and he hears the other soldier's gasp as his partner's body slumps lifeless into the dirt. He twists his gun in Zack's direction, but the sword is already turning, tearing right through the barrel, shards of metal splintering and shattering like a busted soda can. The Shinra grunt falls backwards, babbling and terrified, both hands lifted in surrender.
On another day, in another situation, Zack would have left it at that. Knocked him out, left him for his friends to find later. Apologized to the unconscious body for the trouble and went on his way peacefully.
Here and now, Zack's already swinging the Buster downwards, nearly splitting the soldier in half; he is, of course, dead before the pieces hit dirt. The helmet splits open and Zack doesn't linger, doesn't spare it even a glance. With the sort of cold calculation earned through years of being locked in a cage, ripped open and pieced back together day after day, fueled by the steadfast refusal to never go back there, he swings his blade to flick the loose blood off and sets it back in place behind him. The metal is still stained and streaked with red, but there's little time to be spared on care and maintenance right now. With these two dead, no one on Shinra's side even knows they were here; they'd have no reason to detain or hurt his parents, or to interrogate the town. They were as ghosts in Gongaga, and the Turks will have no choice but to move on. And they, too, need to keep moving.
When Zack turns to glance at Cloud, to confirm they're still together, it's only for a moment before he starts to run again, aiming to vanish into the jungle. There's a sort of bleakness in his eyes that's never been there before, visible and gone in a matter of seconds.]
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2020-06-09 09:01 pm (UTC)He does not wait. He does not check. Here and now, they are obstacles, and he treats them as such. With a swift and ruthless lunge he swings the Buster sword and cleaves the head clear off of one of them before either can even think to react, before they can so much as turn. It clips the helmet of the other as it passes, and he hears the other soldier's gasp as his partner's body slumps lifeless into the dirt. He twists his gun in Zack's direction, but the sword is already turning, tearing right through the barrel, shards of metal splintering and shattering like a busted soda can. The Shinra grunt falls backwards, babbling and terrified, both hands lifted in surrender.
On another day, in another situation, Zack would have left it at that. Knocked him out, left him for his friends to find later. Apologized to the unconscious body for the trouble and went on his way peacefully.
Here and now, Zack's already swinging the Buster downwards, nearly splitting the soldier in half; he is, of course, dead before the pieces hit dirt. The helmet splits open and Zack doesn't linger, doesn't spare it even a glance. With the sort of cold calculation earned through years of being locked in a cage, ripped open and pieced back together day after day, fueled by the steadfast refusal to never go back there, he swings his blade to flick the loose blood off and sets it back in place behind him. The metal is still stained and streaked with red, but there's little time to be spared on care and maintenance right now. With these two dead, no one on Shinra's side even knows they were here; they'd have no reason to detain or hurt his parents, or to interrogate the town. They were as ghosts in Gongaga, and the Turks will have no choice but to move on. And they, too, need to keep moving.
When Zack turns to glance at Cloud, to confirm they're still together, it's only for a moment before he starts to run again, aiming to vanish into the jungle. There's a sort of bleakness in his eyes that's never been there before, visible and gone in a matter of seconds.]