[Cloud Strife X]

*FLASHBACK*
NOTE: This stuff happens about a week before the story starts.

“Kintara!”

I snapped out of my thoughts, looking around the car for a few seconds before meeting the eyes of the man who had spoken. “Yeah?”

“Something wrong?” the man asked. “Because, you know, you were sitting there with your eyes closed and all…” I shrugged. “I’m just… thinking about things, you know?” I said, lying my head back against the seat. The man nodded. “Yeah, I know. Preparing yourself for the fight?” To that, I could only say, “Sure.”

The man driving the vehicle turned to look at us and laughed. “Hell, I hope you’re prepared, Kintara. We paid enough for you…” Without replying, I sighed and looked out the window. It was night outside, and the only lights that could be seen were the headlights of our vehicle and the vehicles behind it as we traveled down the road. Slowly, once again, I began to drift off into my own little world.

Lately, I was beginning to wonder what in the hell went wrong with my life. A long time ago, I used to be a kid who was supposed to be “so full of potential”… what happened? All I knew was that what I was doing right now wasn’t what I had wanted to do. I was a killing machine, and a criminal at that, working for a group of sadistic people who wanted to torture and kill SeeDs for no reason whatsoever. But then, I would always reason, there was no point in crying about it now. What was done was irreversible, and I would have to live with it. I was unhappy with my life, and I had no way to change it.

Suddenly, the radio sitting in the front of our vehicle crackled with our team commander’s voice, snapping me back out of my reverie. “Alright, people, we’re about to reach our destination! Get ready to rumble!” Our driver reached for the radio and spoke into it. “Roge-O, commander. We're ready.”

A short while later, our vehicles came to a stop in front of a modest-looking house situated in the middle of nowhere. About fifteen people jumped out of the vehicles and ran towards the house, stopping at the front door. I drew my automatic pistol as the driver of our vehicle ran up to the door and began pounding on it. “Open up! This is the Black Sun! Open the door!” I rolled my eyes… the jackass had just announced that we were here! Then, without waiting for a response, he kicked the door in and we flooded inside, coming into a large room with about twenty SeeDs waiting for us behind overturned tables. I briefly wondered, How did they know that we were coming?

I had barely made it through the door when a bullet whizzed by my head, striking the soldier behind me in the neck. I quickly rolled into a corner and returned fire, hearing an “ARRGHHH!” and the sound of a body crumpling to the floor. Another SeeD popped up from his table to fire at me, but I quickly dropped him with a single shot to the head. I waited until another SeeD bent down to reload his rifle, then stood and ran straight at him, drawing my dagger in the process. I quickly vaulted over the table and plunged the dagger into his back, then turned around and fired at another SeeD who was just to my right, hitting him in the stomach and causing him to keel over.

Now, there were only two SeeDs left, and they were both crouched behind the same table, each one covering the other as they reloaded their guns. And they were so busy with everyone else, they didn’t see me. So I quickly drew my short swords and ran directly at them.

The two soldiers didn’t see me until I was already of top of them. I swung the sword in my right hand, catching the first soldier in the neck, then jabbed the sword in my left hand at the other soldier, sinking it into his shoulder and causing him to howl in pain. As he fell, I stood up and sheathed both of my blades. From behind me, I heard our team commander say, “Alright, let’s move.” I drew my automatic pistol and followed a group of three soldiers into the next room, which appeared to be a makeshift kitchen. The guy in front motioned for us to spread out and look around. I went to my left, around a counter. I swung around and looked under it… and there was someone there! A few people, actually… it was what looked to be a young woman and a baby, presumably her son or daughter. They were huddled under the counter, frightened, and when the woman saw me, she shrieked. All three soldiers’ heads snapped up. “Who is that?” one of them demanded.

Keeping my pistol trained on the woman, I replied, “Looks like some mother and her kid. They’re harmless.” The soldiers walked around and looked at them. One of the soldiers snorted. “Heh… pathetic, aren’t they? Well, boys, you know what to do.” All three of them raised their guns and fired. The woman appeared to sit up stiffly for a few seconds… and, as if in slow motion, she fell lifeless to the ground, her baby close behind.

It was then that, for some reason, I felt... disgust. Seeing someone shot down in cold blood should have been nothing to me, but this time was somehow different. I shook my head and decided there was no point in thinking about it right then. There would be time for that later. I sighed, holstered my gun, and slowly followed the others walked out of the kitchen.

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After our raid on the house that night, we drove back our base. Everyone else was cheering and celebrating our victory that night, but no matter how hard I tried to think about anything else, the mother and her baby kept coming back to me. I kept seeing the look in the woman’s eyes as she was gunned down in cold blood, again, and again, and again. During that raid, something had changed; I didn't know what. Maybe it was just because I was sick and tired of these Black Sun bastards… my experience with them had shown that they were completely unprofessional. Killing was not supposed to be "fun". All I could do was sigh and lean my head back against my seat in regret.

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That night, back at base, I had finally made my decision. I was leaving. Of course, if I left Black Sun, I would fail in my mission to the Guild. I suppose I should take a second now to describe the Guild…

The Guild is a criminal organization made up of spies, assassins, and soldiers that hires out mercenaries to various criminal causes (such as Black Sun). The authorities know nothing of this program, other than the fact that it exists. This is due to the fact that nobody has ever quit and lived to tell about it. This is because, of course, if one tried to quit (and believe me, quite a few have tried), they would be found and killed. And as far as I knew, not a single person had escaped the wrath of the Guild.

But that night’s event was the tipping point. I finally decided that I was through. I was through with the killing. I wanted to start over. I didn’t want to be a soldier anymore. I didn't really care that the Guild would surely find me and kill me someday; I just wanted it to be over. I knew that I couldn’t go back to my family in Dollet; the Guild would just follow me there and kill them. But I would decide what to do next once I had left.

So, I quietly climbed out of my bed, got my clothes on, grabbed all of my weapons, and snuck out of my bedroom. I crept down the hallway to the garage, and, opening the door, slipped inside. Suddenly I heard a voice shout, “Hey! You’re not supposed to be here!”

I turned in alarm to see the team commander standing next to one of the vehicles. He began to walk towards me. “You’re not supposed to be awake! What are you doing in the garage?”

I growled. Damn! Without thinking, I drew my dagger and leapt at him, sinking it into his chest before withdrawing it and watching him fall to the floor. Undoubtedly, someone had heard that… panicking, I looked around for the keys. There! They were hanging over a table. I snatched the first pair I could reach, and then ran over to the corresponding vehicle, opening the driver-side door and jumping inside. I jammed the keys into the ignition, started the car up, and pounded the pedal down, shooting out of the garage and into the night.

I drove for a while, not knowing what my destination was. I was out on the wide-open road, in the early hours of the morning, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I didn’t have much money; only what I was carrying with me. Beyond that, I had nothing except the clothes on my back and the weapons on my belt. And so I drove onward, not knowing what was to come next…