Zack: “Oh, here!! Put on this. It smells a little though; don’t complain. You look pretty good with that. Well…”
Zack: “Yo! Old guy! We at Midgar yet?”
Driver: “Shaddup! You’re lucky I even gave you a ride!”
Zack: “What’re you gonna do when we get to Midgar?”
Cloud: “…”
Zack: “I got a place I can crash for a while. No wait, the mother lives there to... Guess that’s out…”
Cloud: “…”
Zack: “Yep…gotta change my plans! Hmm… No matter what I do, I need some money first… hey, wanna start a business? But what could we do? Hey, Cloud. Think there's anything I'd be good at?”
Zack: “Hey, old guy. What do you think I’d be good at?”
Driver: “What’re you yappin’ about? You're still young ain’t ya? Young folks should try everything! You gotta pay your debts while you’re still young. Go out and look for what you really want.”
Zack: “Try everything...That’s easy for him to say... HEY! Of course! I got a lotta brains, a skill that other guys don’t. That settles it! I’m gonna become a mercenary! Yeah! Thanks, Pops!”
Driver: “Hey… didn't you even hear a word I said?”
Zack: “Listen, I’m gonna become a mercenary and that’s that. Boring stuff, dangerous stuff, anything for money. I’m gonna be rich! So Cloud. What are you gonna do?”
Driver: “No, wait…you got it all wrong.”
Cloud: “Uuhhh…”
Zack: “Just kidding... I won’t leave you hanging like that. We’re friends right? Mercenaries Cloud, that’s what you an’ me are gonna be. Understand Cloud?”
We can see here that Cloud got the idea to become a mercenary from Zack, but he’s clearly still suffering from the increased exposure to Jenova Cells—he’s incomplete in a sense, he’s got his own cells and then he has the Jenova Cells, which is not mixing well, the fact that he’s alive this long is an accomplishment in itself. When they finally arrive at Midgar, they are found on top of a hill overlooking the huge city. Zack quickly notices that Shinra has caught up to them and decides to lay Cloud down on the ground. He grabs his Buster Sword and takes on wave and wave of Shinra MP’s. While going back to make sure Cloud is safe he is shot in the back. From there, he is shot multiple times from point blank and dies there, beside his friend Cloud. The Shinra soldiers see that Cloud is not a threat due to him going in and out of consciousness—the expectation is that he would die soon enough anyway—and decides to leave him there.
“Escapee report no.3
Concerning their disposal.
A - Shot for resisting.
B - Escaped during A's resistance.”
“Escapee report no.4
Other.
B's whereabouts is currently unknown. But, we submit there is no need to pursue him, due to his diminishing consciousness. Awaiting further instructions.”
You can see from the continued logging in the Shinra Basement that they had eliminated Subject A (Zack) while leaving Subject B (Cloud) there due to his “diminishing consciousness.” After this incident, we are at the very beginning of Final Fantasy VII. But, first there is a serious criticism that needs to be addressed here. Often times, a major “flaw” people point out is that Cloud stole Zack’s personality in order to make himself look better, but that is not the truth at all. Cloud never stole Zack’s personality, at least not intentionally. When we see Cloud finally regain the ability to move on his own and something of consciousness, he gathers Zack’s Buster Sword and begins to head toward the city of Midgar. Due to his incapacitated state, he cannot accurately recall everything that had happened. It’s obvious that he recalls the incident during Nibelheim, escaping with Zack, and then hearing Zack’s stories of becoming a mercenary—he’s even wearing the uniform of a SOLDIER, the very same that Zack wore.