Long time no update, I apologize, folks! But I came back with a chapter to celebrate the new year!
Per OwMyFace's awesome review, I have revised this chapter and gotten rid of the bracket/scene-setting stuff. I have to say, I like it a lot better!!! Let me know if there are inconsistencies.
I don't own Final Fantasy anything.
The Ubiquitous Network of Zack Fair
Ch. 4 Tifa: i'm here now
08MAY22 2246
Tifa: i'm here!
Zack: just got out of the mtns, tif, i see the town lights, so maybe another hour?
Tifa: no prob, at a cafe called Dyne's.
...
08MAY22 2336
Zack: i'm here, i see an inn, so i'm just going to go in, meet me there? btw let's not yell our names around, just in case
Tifa: i'm comin rite now! don't go in the inn, i'll get the rm
Zack: um, ok, i'll be outside then
08MAY22 2341
"Zack!"
"Tif!"
"Oh Gaia, it is Cloud!! Cloud!"
"...tfff?"
"Well, sounded like he said your name, eh?"
"I don't think so, Zack. Hey, let me get the rooms, hold on."
"Hey Cloud, she was aboutta cry! That's why she ran off to go get the rooms!"
"...ngh..."
"Serious... this'll be good, I was runnin' out of the good stories to tell ya."
"...nmm.."
"You're aware, Cloud, I know you are. I just need to get myself a dictionary of grunting, right? Yeah. ... oh man, a room, Cloud! Funny I suddenly haven't felt this damn tired in ages! Once I walk in that room, man, I'm gonna pass out good—hah! speak o' the devil, there she is, waving at us, bud, let's go..."
"Um...sorry, they only had one room left..."
"One? Never knew Corel was such a party town..."
"Yeah, I was surprised, too. There's like, nothing here except some ugly coal m—"
"Wait... how many rooms does this inn normally hold?"
"I think maybe three or four, why?"
"Okay, we need to get in the room now. ASAP. I think I know who might be in the other rooms..."
"Who?"
"Why, our not-so-friendly friends from Midgar..."
"Well, we're on the second floor, room 3."
...
"Hmm, you take the bed, Tif."
"What about Cloud??"
"Dude, we're way too nasty right now. After we get a proper bath, then he''ll get the bed, promise. But, I gotta crash now, I'm out."
"Alright..."
09MAY22 0708
"Hey, Zack, do you think these Shinra jerks would notice your SOLDIER clothes? Maybe I should go get you guys some new clothes..."
"Hmm, good idea. I need some clothes while I get these washed anyway. But... my eyes would give me away in a heartbeat anyway."
"How about sunglasses?"
"Ahhh...smart!"
"So, who are these people?"
"My friend told me he got word that Shinra's been busy trying to convince Corel to switch over to the Mako Reactor. If I'm not mistaken, the person in charge of that is a nasty woman named Scarlet. I bet her and her goons are taking up the other rooms in this inn."
"Oh my god! Zack, maybe we should just leave!"
"No... no, I didn't finish telling you. I've been keeping contact with my good friend who's still at Shinra—he's on our side, don't worry. He's hop—speak of the devil... hold on."
09MAY22 0713
Kunsel: Zack! Green light on the recon mission! Now I just need to go talk to Lazard and convince him to put me on this mission. Shouldn't be long, friend...
Zack: we're at corel now at this inn. dude guess what, the other rooms are booked up. i'm betting it's scarlet, what you say?
Kunsel: Yeah, I saw her on Shinra News shaking hands with some guys in Corel. She's expected to close the deal within the next couple days. The recon is slated for the day after she leaves.
Zack: good i'm gonna stay in this rm till you can come get us
Kunsel: BTW, we went back to Seventh Heaven and had a good chat with the owner. He's a good guy, has extra rooms, and is willing to take care of you guys. He's no friend of Shinra, either, but he's a level-headed guy. It'll be good.
Zack: thanks, i trust you, kuns. btw, there's a girl named Tifa that's with us as well. she's a friend from N town, and childhood friend of cloud's.
Kunsel: Really? That's REALLY good. According to the case reports of the more successful patients, relatives and friends were told to constantly feed the patient his life story and who his family and friends are. Basically, remind them of who they are so they don't get taken over by some other personality.
Zack: ahhh yea, see i figured that, so i text her to come help. they both have some kinda secret crush on each other, should be good.
Kunsel: Awesome, good luck.
09MAY22 0729
"Well, Tif, the update would be... if my friend can get the recon mission to fly out here, he'll pick us up and drop us off in Midgar. He found a bar there with a good man willing to give us a room."
"Why do you want to go back to Midgar? Isn't that dangerous for you?"
"Yeah, but we have to. It's the only way we can get medicine and care for Cloud's mako poisoning. Kuns'll help smuggle some down for us."
"Hmm, well, you can tell your friend that I'd be willing to work at the bar as payment for our stay."
"Oh! That's awesome, yeah I'll text that along... By the way, Tif, this is important... I asked my friend to dig up research reports on previous cases of mako poisoning. In most cases, the patient dies or becomes totally brain dead. Those who recover usually become a completely different person, personality-wise. The most successful recoveries were those who had friends and family constantly talking to the patient. So... that's one of the reasons I asked you to come help me. I've been telling Cloud all these stories about my life to keep him from having nightmares. But, if he comes out a clone of me, that would suck. So, please, talk to him about whatever you know of his family, hometown, friends, anything."
"Wow... yeah, no, not a problem."
"Okay, I'm off to take a shower and wash my clothes in the bathroom. You need to go beforehand?"
"I'm good."
09MAY22 0746
"Cloud?"
"...ttfff..."
"I brought some soapy water out and a rag to clean you up..."
"..ngh..."
"There, much better. Zack must've dropped you in the dirt a few times, huh? Your hair's almost brown, it's so dirty..."
"...tff...ah..."
"What should I talk about? I have so much I want to talk to you about, but I suddenly don't know where to start..."
"Nghh..."
"Hmm, okay, about what happened to me first: I started a job in Costa del Sol. After the incident at the Nibeheim reactor, Zangan—you remember Zangan, my martial-arts coach? Well, he found me unconscious at the reactor and carried me here to Corel, where he tried to fix me up as best he could. He wanted to go to Midgar, and take me with him. But when we made it to Costa del Sol, I decided to stay there instead. I did want to go to Midgar... I wanted to go there because I knew you were there. Not to mention, I wanted to get revenge on Shinra for destroying our hometown! But anyway, something held me on the Western Continent. It was a sixth sense, I dunno. This is so cheesy, but it all makes sense to me now. I've been working as a bartender there, I don't like it too much, but I get by..."
"...shh..."
"What?"
"...sssahh..."
"Okay, I should talk about you, right? What should I talk about? Your past? Everything? Like, um... you're twenty years old now—hey, you know how I knew that? Because I just turned twenty last week on May 3rd! Okay, okay, you were born August 19, 2702 in the town of Nibelheim. Your mom's name is Sophie Strife, your dad died when you were really young. You always were the quiet one of all the kids in town. I can't tell your story through your eyes... but while you didn't seem to care for any of the other kids, I think you were always my friend... at least, I always considered you my friend... even if we didn't talk that much. I always thought you wanted to be left alone, you know?"
"..pfff..."
"Now that actually sounds kinda angry! Why is that, Cloud? Eh... well, whatever the case, remember how when we were kids, they all told us that when we die, we go through the Nibel Mountains? After my mom died when I was eight, I wanted to go find her. I dragged Loam, Cliff, and Jade to the Nibel Mountains to help me find my mom. But they all chickened out when the going got tough. Not you, though. I didn't know you had come as well, and you looked out for me. There was an old rope bridge that I remember you yelling at me not to cross. I did anyway, and fell. You tried to save me but ended up falling with me. All I remember afterwards was waking up at home, my dad yelling up a storm. He blamed my fall and coma on you, and I found out that he had been so mean to you and kept you away from seeing me and stuff. I got so mad, Cloud, I really did. We had a royal fight, but I did win. I bet you were confused when Dad went and apologized to you out-of-the-blue, but I made him! I wanted to hang out with you, Cloud, but you still kept to yourself. I didn't know how to reach out to you though, so then I kept my distance... until one night you called me out to the water tower—"
"...haahh...aahhh..."
"You remember? Yeah, that night you called me out to tell me you were going to join SOLDIER! I didn't want you to go, but your mind was made up. Then... suddenly you left. I thought of you every day, hoping you were happy and having great adventures. After you left, life became so dull. Funny, since we never really did much together, so not much had actually changed... One thing did change, though. I put my heart and soul into learning martial arts. Zangan was so thrilled, it was hilarious. I had been interested before, but I really got into it after you left—"
"..aiihh..."
"Well, because in my mind, I felt like I had to keep up with you. Like, the next time we meet, I wouldn't be a liability for you and you wouldn't have to get hurt if you ever had to save me. I guess that was kind of dumb, huh? Especially since I had you make that silly promise to rescue me when I'm in a bind. No problem, you did keep your promise anyway. Not that I would have liked you any less if you didn't... But that day... two years later... Sephiroth, Zack, and two other troopers came to visit Nibelheim. I never knew... never knew you were there... why didn't you come out and say hi? Is it 'cause you weren't SOLDIER? I don't care! I really wanted to see you! But it wasn't until the reactor, that I finally saw you... after Sephiroth—"
"...ah...AHHH..AHHHH!!"
"Oh my god, Cloud!! Cloud!! Zack!"
"Whoa, Tifa! You gotta muffle him! I know it sucks but we surrounded my enemies here!"
"...NGYAAAAHmahhyr...nyrmmhhmmm!"
"I'm sorry, Cloud..."
"That's it... don't worry, Tifa, he gets nightmares a lot... at least once a day. It's not something you did, it's just something he does. Another reason it's so important to get to Midgar and get him help.... dammit..."
"nnhmmm....mm..."
"Sorry Zack... I think it was me... I had been telling him about himself and had gotten to a rather recent point in time concerning me, you, and someone we don't like anymore. I think maybe his name set him off? Or maybe this part of the story is too fresh?"
"Eh...I don't know, Tifa. I'm sure I've mentioned the bastard's name before and he was fine. But who knows what he's going through. He probably did get set off by it this time. But to be safe, let's avoid any sensitive subjects until we're sure we're not surrounded by Shinra personnel."
"Yeah... yeah, of course... He seems okay, now. Well, I think I should go off and get some clothes for you guys, food, and water. And see what I can find out about the situation here."
"Hey, I got cash here—use that. And get extra water, too. I've been trying to flush him out best I can."
"Yeah, count on me!"
"Good job sponge-bathing him, eh? I'll give him a proper bath and finish washing our clothes while you're gone."
"Okay, good! Remember, he gets the bed afterwards! I'm off!"
Please drop a line and let me know what you think and what I can improve on!
Happy New Years!
