Zack Fair

[Zack Fair]

Zack Fair
"Would you say I became a hero?"

Description

Zack Fair, formerly of ShinRa Inc.'s SOLDIER unit, is a tall, young man with spiky black hair. Even though he spent the last year outside of the Omniverse on the run from ShinRa, he still wears the black uniform of a SOLDIER 1st Class. His most distinguishing aspects are his scar across his cheek, the strand of hair that hangs in front of his face, and even more noticeably, the gigantic Buster Sword that rests on his back.

Personality

Zack's personality can be difficult for a stranger to fully understand. He appears aloof and unconcerned with most of issues, and some would even say that he takes nothing seriously. However, he actually deeply cares about his friends and allies, and is generally interested in making the world a better place for most people. Yet, his way of expressing his care to even the closest of friends can leave many scratching their heads if they don't understand his humor and personality. A defining attribute is his commitment to honor and most importantly, his simple dream to become a hero. He has yet to understand what that means in the Omniverse, however. However, his most radical personality development since arriving in the Omniverse is his distrust of any sort of organization or government. This is a direct result of ShinRa Inc. betraying him near the end of his life in his original world. Despite his distrust of organizations, he strongly believes in individual people, and is always willing to lend a helping hand. A good rule of thumb for Zack is that he is always exactly as nice as people will let him be: defaulting to kind and jovial and matching any level of aggression equally.


History

Pre-Omniverse
[spoiler]Character Source: Final Fantasy 7 / Crisis Core

Zack Fair was born in the remote village of Gongaga. He enjoyed a simple childhood filled with hunting, fishing, and exploring. The town was nestled in a forest and some mountains, giving the young boy many opportunities for adventure at a young age. Zack always dreamed of going to Midgar and joining the legendary SOLDIER unit of ShinRa Incorporated. Eventually he left home without a word to his parents and enlisted in ShinRa's paramilitary forces.

With his exceptional skills and talents, Zack quickly raced through the ranks and was very quickly selected for SOLDIER detail. One SOLDIER, named Angeal, took a personal interest in him upon seeing the raw talent Zack held. Zack underwent the taxing SOLDIER process which included Mako infusions as well as the injection of Jenova cells. This was a notoriously dangerous step, and the part that made SOLDIER so legendary. Zack was both physically and mentally able to handle it, however, and quickly found himself working as a SOLDIER.

He ascended through the SOLDIER ranks, from 3rd Class to 2nd Class under the guidance of Angeal. Eventually he was assigned to Wutai alongside Angeal and Sephiroth, and was stunned to learn that his mentor, Angeal, had turned on the company midway through the mission. Driven by his desire to understand the betrayal, Zack helped Sephiroth search for Genesis and Angeal both. Promoted to 1st Class, he went on many missions, developing a strong working relationship with the Turks, particularly Tseng and Cissnei. He helped mentor a young infantryman named Cloud, and became close friends with Sephiroth. In his off time he enjoyed spending time with a girl he met in Midgar, Aerith Gainsborough. Eventually the conflict ended with Genesis and Angeal killed, and Zack inherited the Buster Sword from his deceased mentor.

However, the war was not over yet. Genesis clones were still rampant all over the world, leaving Zack and Sephiroth to agree that Genesis was still alive. The two of them took a small detachment to the remote town of Nibelheim, among their troops was Zack's friend Cloud Strife, who was from this village. They found Genesis, who was rapidly degrading due to the failed experiments that had created him. Genesis plead for Sephiroth to share his perfect cells with him, and explained the experiments that had made him as well. He was refused, and Genesis knew better to confront Zack and Sephiroth together. However, the damage done was great. Sephiroth dug and dug for answers in the ShinRa mansion, eventually discovering the truth that he was in fact the perfect result of the Jenova Project.

Driven to madness, Sephiroth burned the town of Nibelheim to the ground and killed nearly all the townspeople. Zack found and confronted him at the Mako Reactor, and the two engaged in a fierce battle. Sephiroth eventually managed to overpower Zack and defeat him, but was seriously wounded in a surprise attack from Cloud. When Zack told Cloud to finish off Sephiroth, Cloud sustained major injuries, but was able to hurl Sephiroth into the mako pits.

Zack and Cloud, both too injured to move, fell unconscious in the aftermath, where they were recovered by Hojo's recovery team. Hojo preformed experiments on them for two years, attempting to replicate the Jenova project. However, while Cloud was too weak to mentally handle it, Zack was too strong and could not be influenced. They were both deemed failures and left to his assistants to continue working on.

However, Zack suddenly awoke one day, and broke out. He recovered the completely comatose Cloud and escaped with his unresponsive friend. Escaping into the hills, Zack fought his way through ShinRa forces using stealth and strength when appropriate. Eventually the Turks were called in to assist, putting Zack at odds with his close friend Cissnei. To his luck, though, Cissnei wanted to help, and allowed Zack an opportunity to slip through the perimeter with Cloud.

Now free and on the loose, Zack began his hunt for Genesis. At the same time, Genesis was hunting Zack and Cloud, desiring their cells that replicated Sephiroth's. It boiled down to a dramatic confrontation in the destroyed village of Banora, where Zack defeated Genesis in a one on one battle. Genesis was freed of his degradation, but Zack couldn't wait around for him to recover. He loaded Cloud up and departed for Midgar, risking everything for a chance to reunite with Aerith.

ShinRa was closing in on him, though, despite the Turks attempts to slow them town. When sniper fire rained down on the truck they were hitchhiking in, Zack knew that he was about out of options. Zack hid Cloud, and confronted the ShinRa military head on. Despite the fact that he was against the best technology and some of the strongest warriors left in the world, Zack battled the forces head on. Hours and hours passed as Zack devastated the ShinRa military, thinning its numbers to record lows. However, at the same time, the damage he took was simply too great. All of his memories and dreams flashed before him, and yet seemed to fade as he continued to battle. Finally overwhelmed by the firepower against him, Zack collapsed and the few survivors departed.

In his dying moments, Zack handed the Buster Sword over to Cloud, who was just then showing signs of recovering functionality. He could only lay there as his last breaths escaped him, wondering if he had become a hero. He looked into the light and reached for Angeal's hand as it welcomed him to the afterlife, but then another hand reached in and grabbed his instead, taking him to a far away place known as the Omniverse.[/spoiler]
Omniverse
[spoiler]Zack Fair arrived at the Nexus shortly after his supposed death. Upon realizing that he was not actually dead, Zack began to put together that this was a new, alternate reality from what he had known. Despite the fact that he had just handed off the Buster Sword to Cloud, it was now comfortably on his back like always. While he was still processing this, soldiers from a place known as Camelot encouraged him to come with them and learn more from their governing body, but Zack was reluctant after his year on the run from Shin-Ra. Instead he ventured into the Ashen Steppes, where he began aimlessly exploring and testing his abilities in this new realm.

During his travels he encountered two individuals, Luigi Mario and Miranda Frost. Working together, the three of them were able to defeat a small group of dragons with little trouble. Luigi departed the group as quickly as he arrived, however Miranda stayed with Zack, and the two explored the Steppes by motorcycle for some time. They ascended a mountain, stopping at a small bar in a mining outpost. Upon overhearing the news that there had been multiple bandits attacks in the verse, Zack and Miranda decided to pay a visit to Bowser, a local leader, to see how they could help. They were joined by the mysterious Mayor Orange on a treacherous journey into the lava filled wasteland.

As they traveled towards the realm of King Koopa, they encountered some turtle soldiers at an outpost that sent them onwards. Their journey was filled with dangers and pitfalls. Eventually they were accosted by two men on a dragon, demanding their third member, the odd mayor. There was a brief battle, but the men identified as Red and Blue escaped, taking Mayor Orange with them. A wizard joined Zack and Miranda for this battle, while a fourth man observed from above. Before proper introductions could be made there was a burst of lava from the ground, scattering the four of them.

Zack managed to regroup with the last arrival, who introduced himself as simply Colonel. After introductions were completed, Miranda arrived with a skiff from a nearby fortress she had managed to get ahold of. They were joined discreetly by Demetri Malius, and less discreetly by Drake Oneir. Though Demetri parted from them after a brief meal where the group caught up and swapped stories, Zack managed to get Bowser's location from the castle guards, and they woke up early the next morning to head towards Bowser's fortress.

Shortly after arriving at the palace, they were granted a meeting with Bowser, who explained the bandit problem the Koopas faced. Miranda and Colonel were suddenly whisked away by unseen elements, but Zack and Drake traveled on and put dent in the local bandit problem. This only angered the bandits into further action, and at the Koopas insistence, the two of them went to confront the bandit leader. At Drake's suggestion, they utilized the Gorons that were transporting ore for the Institute as both bait and reinforcements.

Drake didn't survive the battle, so Zack returned to Bowser as the sole survivor of his team. While waiting to hear what the Koopa Kingdom would do in response to the army massing to confront Volvagia, Zack formally became an ally of the Koopas through the sport of Bombsketball. The Koopas decided that they would not intervene, so Zack followed Drake's previous suggestion and joined the primes massing at Death Mountain.

Zack was grouped into Alpha Team, alongside Gildars, Tom Riddle, Thor, and Okor. Though they wounded the dragon, they could not kill it. While Gildarts and Zack recovered, they were rejoined my Miranda Frost. From there they witnessed the fall of Volvagia and Nealaphh's self banishment.

Needing to get away from the molten wasteland of the Ashen Steppes, Zack took a vacation to the Vasty Deep, where he crossed paths with Caira Ayryn. He joined with her on her journey to track down a mysterious star piece that landed somewhere in the Deep, hopping islands and dealing with many threats as they went.[/spoiler]