Editing Zack

During Hercules and Zack's showdown in the semi-final round, an army of Unversed appear in the city of Athens (the Town Near Thebes) and Ventus volunteers to deal with them so as not to ruin Hercules and Zack's match. Not wanting their friend to get hurt, Hercules withdraws from the competition just one second before Zack does. By default, Zack wins the match. However, by the time Zack arrives, the monsters are already defeated. Phil then arrives and tells them that part of a hero's important quality involves the will to do what is right and quick acting, and, since Zack withdrew after Hercules, Hercules once again "becomes" Phil's trainee. Ventus secretly asks Phil whether he ever intended to stop training Hercules at all. Phil admits that Hercules was in a rut and needed their competition, but Phil acknowledges Zack's potential. Though disappointed, Zack faces his defeat cheerfully.

In the meantime, Terra arrives in the Coliseum, and [[Hades]] tries to find a way to make Terra succumb to darkness. Frustrated by Terra's advancement in the tournament, Hades spots Zack entering the Coliseum and uses the darkness in his heart to control him. When Terra reaches the final round, Zack becomes his opponent but is defeated. As Terra turns to leave, Zack gets up and attacks again, this time using the power of darkness and more powerful attacks. Terra wins again, freeing Zack from Hades's control. After their second battle, Terra helps Zack up and he introduces himself. Zack tells Terra he reminds him of a [[Sephiroth|certain hero]] he admires by his attitude, though Terra denies the compliment.<ref name="Sephiroth">'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Ultimania|Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''', '''Interviewer''': "Who is the hero "similar to Terra" that Zack aspires to be like?" / '''Tetsuya Nomura''': "As in the original game, it's Sephiroth. In ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' and ''Kingdom Hearts II'', Sephiroth was portrayed as a being of darkness, but at the time of ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', we don't know whether or not he was a being of darkness." [https://www.khinsider.com/forums/index.php?threads/bbs-ultimania-plot-mysteries-nomura-interview.147009/ Translation via Krexia].</ref> Zack doesn't listen and says being a hero or not isn't something you choose yourself, and after watching their battle, both the crowd and him consider Terra a hero. Before Terra leaves, the two promise each other a rematch, one where Zack would use his own strength.  

Sometime after the battle at the [[Keyblade Graveyard]], Zack is seen with his familiar habit of leaning against walls. He leans by the door to Olympus Coliseum while watching Phil train Hercules. A black feather is shown fluttering beside Zack, and he looks around in surprise. All that is then seen of him is a single, black feather drifting down where he once stood.<ref name="Sephiroth"/>

==Design==

Zack sports his original hairstyle of short, thick black spikes with bangs framing his face. His eyes are bright blue. Due to his appearance in Olympus Coliseum, he wears armor similar to that of Hercules, though his is grey colored, as opposed to Hercules's orange. Other than this additional armor, Zack wears his SOLDIER uniform of two silver pauldrons, black gloves, a brown guard over his abdomen that is worn over the armor, two belts over the aforementioned guard, and his blue pants and turtleneck, significantly brighter than Zack's original navy-colored clothing.

Zack's concept art for ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' has a visible outline of the Buster Sword upon his shoulder, but the blade does not appear in the game.

Zack wears a silver Corinthian helmet during Terra's first fight against him.

[[File:Zack Boss.png|thumb|left|Zack using Reverse Omnislash against Terra.]]

Zack easily uses his sword in combat, specializing in quick one-handed and double-handed strikes. Zack is agile and quite capable of backflips, ten-foot leaps and fast strikes, which he excels at. He tends to use hit-and-run tactics, back-flipping to a safe distance when done. He is also able to use "Blade Beam", which involves swinging his sword to channel energy on the ground.

When controlled by Hades in the second battle, Zack becomes a killing machine. He is able to use "Reverse Omnislash", which consists of lethal high-speed slashes while teleporting. He can also call down a slew of meteors. He is much stronger and can prove to be a tough opponent for Terra.

Some of Zack's attacks are variations of Cloud's {{ff|Limit (Final Fantasy VII)|Limit Breaks}} from ''{{ff|Final Fantasy VII}}'', including '''{{ff|Blade Beam}}''', '''True {{ff|Climhazzard}}''', and '''Reverse {{ff|Omnislash}}'''. '''Meteor''' resembles both Cloud's {{ff|Meteorain}} and Zack's {{ff|Meteor Shots}} Limit Breaks.

===''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep''===

{{AllyBBS

|ev1='''Ventus:''' Fighting the Unversed in [[Town Near Thebes]]|hp1=48|str1=16|def1=9|ask1=33%

|atk2={{nihongo|'''Continuous Sword (Ground Combo)'''|連続剣（地上コンボ）|<br>Renzokuken (Chijō Konbo)}}|el2=Physical|pow2=0.43 + 0.43 + 1.0

|atk3={{nihongo|'''Blade Beam (Shock Wave Scatter)'''|破晄撃（衝撃波飛ばし）|<br>Hakōgeki (Shōgekiha Tobashi)|lit. "Break Clear Attack (Shock Wave Scatter)"}}|el3=Physical|pow3=Sword: 1.0<br>Shock wave: 12.0

|coop1={{nihongo|'''Avenger Tornado'''|トルネドカウンター|<br>Torunedo Kauntā|lit. "Tornado Counter"}}|coopel1=Neutral|cooppow1=2.5|coopstat1=Stun (50%/3.3s)|coopgauge1=+20|coopdesc1=Used after covering an ally by guarding. Swings weapon sideways while jumping to unleash a tornado attack.

 

Zack becomes a D-Link for Terra, Ventus, and Aqua after clearing Olympus Coliseum. While in link with Zack, they can perform fiery spin attacks.

 

Zack's Slot Edge command refers to the {{ff|Digital Mind Wave}} system in {{ff|Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-}}, which resembles a slot machine. Zack's Fire Strike and Quick Blitz commands may refer to the {{ff|Fire Blade (Crisis Core)|Fire Blade}} and {{ff|Jump (Crisis Core)|Jump}} commands from ''Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-''. Zack's ability icons are colored orbs, similar to {{ff|Materia (Final Fantasy VII)|Materia}} from the ''{{ff|Final Fantasy VII series}}''.

 

{{D-Link|char=Zack

}}

{{ff|Zack Fair}} first appeared as a minor character in ''{{ff|Final Fantasy VII}}'' before appearing as the protagonist in the prequel, ''{{ff|Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-}}''. Having wielded the legendary Buster Sword before [[Cloud]], Zack was an aspiring 1st class member of the elite troop known as SOLDIER owned by the Shinra Electric Power Company and aimed to become a hero.

''Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-'' portrays Zack's journey. After learning the truth behind SOLDIER and being injured in battle against his former hero [[Sephiroth]], Zack escapes Shinra confinement along with Cloud Strife, to whom he had become a friend and mentor. Attempting to return to his love interest, [[Aerith|Aerith Gainsborough]], Zack is finally confronted by Shinra troops outside of Midgar. Zack fights a long and exhausting battle protecting Cloud but is eventually defeated.  Near-death, he gives Cloud the Buster Sword with his last smile. A white feather representing the spirit of his mentor Angeal then descends from the sky and Zack wonders whether he has become a real hero.

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