What's this! An update after *months* without one? She lives!
That's probably not a major deal since some people usually only update every few months but I'm used to doing so at the longest, every two weeks. After months, I wonder if you guys even remember what this story is about, xD! But enough of that! Originally, the Crisis Core recap half of this story was to be twelve chapters; however, unless I did a major montage, I'd either be skipping most of what happens or this chapter would be much longer than it already is. I figured making it two chapters was the lesser of two evils.
Without further ado, enjoy!
A Whole New World
Zack winced as the train hit yet another bump. He'd noticed that the closer they'd gotten to their destination, the more the railroad quality became poorer and poorer to the point where he was quite afraid that the train would hit one good pothole and that'd be it; over the side of Mt. Nibel they'd go.
And then…there were the turns. As they climbed higher up the mountain, Zack had slowly been leaning farther and farther to his left, which then pushed him into Cloud (who was not handling the journey well at all) and that in turn pushed Cloud farther into Sephiroth. The general sat closest to the window and hadn't spoken a word to the others since they'd set off hours ago. That is, until he saw something outside that finally made him comment.
"What the hell is that?" he pointed.
"That would be a goat, sir." Cloud responded, looking at the elderly woman ushering a goat up the steep cliff. "Sir…you've never seen a goat before?"
"I think Hojo showed me some pictures of them from books at one time, but hell, I never knew they really existed!" Sephiroth told him, his voice filled with awe.
Poor, depraved child, Zack shook his head.
Sephiroth flattened his face to the glass, reaching behind him to quickly tap Cloud's shoulder. "Okay, and what's that?"
"It's called a donkey. People ride them or use them to carry their belongings on long trips." I'd much rather ride one than be on this train, Cloud left off.
"Don't they just have cars?" Sephiroth snorted, his breath fogging the glass that he was still pressed against.
"No sir. Nobody has the money for a vehicle here."
"What the hell is this, a third world country?"
Cloud chose not to respond lest he told his commanding officer something that'd ensure he never wore a Shinra uniform again.
Once the train docked at the station, the three gratefully stepped off, followed by a fourth person who'd very briefly introduced himself as "Bob" way back in Midgar. Sephiroth led the way for a time until they came to the wooden arch over the town, where he paused and addressed the blonde again (who was hoping that he had no further insults about his town to give).
"This is your hometown, correct? How does it feel to be back? I don't have a hometown. Or a mother, though I think her name is Jenova. And Hojo I think adopted me but I sure as hell am not calling him my father! Do you know what he got me for my eighth birthday? A frickin' electric collar that didn't allow me to go further than fifty feet away from him! And when I finally had enough and tried to kill him, they strapped me to a gurney for fifteen hours until I could "behave." So yeah, fuck family! Who need's 'em? All they do is abandon you or let you down…or break your heart."
Zack did find it ironic that except for himself, the other Firsts were now parentless despite being less than ten years older than him. And for everyone else, they were missing one or the other. Was a two parent family condemned in this damn universe? Then again, the greatest characters are always parentless…Like Batman!
Sephiroth had ended his depressing monologue and led the way into the town. The place was completely empty except for two individuals who stood outside the town inn. One was a man with a camera around his neck. The other was a girl…hello, lips, legs, breasts and—
She's underage, Zack! He chided himself. You're now eighteen, you can't just eye them like you used to…
"Cloud, do you know her?" Zack turned to ask him, but Cloud seemed to have frozen. Furthermore, he'd put his helmet on and lowered his head to where he couldn't see his face at all. "Hey, lil buddy, you okay?" He poked him in the arm which seemed to prove too much for Cloud since the boy shriveled in on himself, as though wanting to condense into nothingness. Zack quirked an eyebrow and left him alone.
"Mr. Sephiroth! Mr. Sephiroth! Can I get a photograph?" the other man said, holding up his camera to get a good shot in. Sephiroth whipped the door of the inn open and slammed it before a picture could be taken.
"You can take a picture of me!" Zack said, hopping in front of the man. "Just because Sephiroth is camera shy, I'm not!"
The guy stared at him for a moment before asking, "And who the hell are you?"
Zack stood up proudly. "Zack Fair, SOLDIER first class!"
The man snorted and turned away, mumbling, "They're makin' em a dime a dozen now." To which Zack would have the man know that basically he and Sephiroth were the only Firsts left. But he got the hint. Nobody but darling Sephiroth would be captured. Well, at least he had his fanclub back in Midgar. They still loved him!
Inside the inn, Zack found that Sephiroth had already paid for their rooms. There weren't any regular key cards for the doors; Nibelheim was at least fifty years behind on technology. The meek Cloud that followed behind him didn't seem to mind but Zack would have a fit if he found out the room didn't have cable.
As it turned out, that would be the least of his worries. Sephiroth had gotten one room only…with three beds. And guess who should be stretched out on the very first one, legs and arms spread out as though making a point that he had claimed all of the bed?
"Yeah, Shinra didn't give us enough money for this mission so I could only swing one room. Zack, you've seen battle. Sleep on the floor and let the other two have the beds."
"Seph! That's not fair! Just because I've been to war that means I have to sleep on the floor?"
Sephiroth pushed himself up on his stomach, a hand under his chin. "One, please tell me that rhyme was an accident. Two, yes it is fair. You've slept in dirt and mud with bombs falling around you. Cloud is what, twelve?—"
"Sixteen, sir," Cloud corrected.
"Close enough. He's not experienced the same hardships, Zack, as you and I. Let the kid have the bed."
But Zack wasn't ready to let this go. "I went to Wutai and was there for three hours! I didn't sleep on anything! I'm just as inexperienced as Cloud! I don't wanna sleep on the floor!"
"Fine, if you're going to be such a bitch about it, share the bed with him then! Either way, I'm going to sleep. I want this mission done and finished as soon as possible." And with that, Sephiroth rolled over and threw the covers over his head. He was snoring in seconds.
Bob was already sleeping on the second bed, leaving the one closest to the wall empty. The last two looked at each other for a moment before Zack made a mad break for the bed, beating Cloud due to his mako enhancements. "Ha! My bed! You sleep on the floor!"
"Fine! Have it!" the boy whined. "I'm going to sleep in my own home, in my own bed! With food made by a woman, not disgruntled army cooks! And when I wake up in the morning, there won't be a long line for the shower. When I fall down and hurt myself, my mom will kiss it and make it all better! So there!"
He turned to walk out of the room when Zack called to him, "You're going to let your mom know that her son is an absolute failure and couldn't even get into SOLDIER?"
Cloud froze. I have a feeling this is not the way the story was supposed to go. "I…I actually wanted to ask if you would mind coming over for dinner with me so I could tell her that," he said, giving him pleading eyes. "You're right, I never told her. I never told anybody…not even Tifa." He seemed hurt most of all that he couldn't tell whoever this Tifa person was the truth about himself. But he straightened up with a resolute nod, becoming more confident. "I have to come out to her. It's the least that I can do. I don't want to live a lie all my life—"
"Cadet, any other day, I would be absolutely ecstatic that you're coming out the closet to your family," Sephiroth suddenly interrupted. "As it is, I'm tired. Your back-assward's town is depressing me and if it wasn't for the fact that this mission is so simple, I would've caught the next pony express out of this dump. In short, I'm going to have to ask that you keep your gay bananza to yourself until the morning."
"But I'm not—!"
"Not another word, Cadet!" And the man was asleep again.
Zack bit his lip to keep from grinning, then threw one of the pillows on the bed at Cloud. "Nighty-night!"
The boy took the top comforter and huddled down on the cold floor, cursing Shinra to hell in his dreams.
~.~.~
Of course, a man nowadays wasn't even entitled to his dreams as his were ruined upon someone stepping on him as they got out bed. Zack's other foot tripped over Cloud's leg and he went down with a loud crash.
"It's too early for all that noise!" Sephiroth screamed, tearing off the covers to hop out of bed fully dressed, boots, sword and all. He was going to yell more, but released it in a sigh. "I need coffee. And I missed House. You'll have to forgive me that I'm being such a bastard. Just…let me get some caffeine and we'll be off."
"And now I see why they moved him to only instructing the academic classes," Zack muttered, watching him leave. He looked back at Cloud, who'd picked himself off the floor and was texting something on his phone.
"I told my mom that there was something I couldn't wait to show her," Cloud said, flipping the phone shut. "Figured it was the closest to a heads up I could give without telling her that I was actually here. You're…coming too, right?"
"Yeah, totally!" Zack said, truly enthused. "I ate at Angeal's mom's house one time, I swear, one of the best meals ever! Too bad she had to go and die though."
Cloud gasped in horror.
"I mean, she went peacefully! It wasn't like she chocked on a bone or something…"
By now, Cloud had dropped the pillow and blanket he'd used and was still staring open-mouthed.
"And thankfully she died when I wasn't there. I mean, I was only gone for a few minutes but I guess she had enough of living. Kinda wish she'd lived long enough to make one more meal. Would it have killed her? Wait, whoops—"
"Zack! Just shut up!" Cloud screamed, rubbing his arms in discomfort and walking out the room.
"Tch, nobody appreciates hearing a good compliment these days," the First muttered and followed him outside.
Up bright and early were the same two people that were there when they'd arrived, the girl looking like a slice out of a Western come to life and the photographer still simpering up to Sephiroth for a picture as the general ignored him in favor of straightening his gloves. Sephiroth didn't seem to take notice that Cloud had put back on his helmet but Zack did and wondered about it until he saw the discrete glance he gave the girl. Ahh, it was about her again.
"I'm Tifa Lockhart, your tour guide for the day," she finally revealed. "It's an honor that Shinra is visiting our small town."
Zack heard Sephiroth give an almost inaudible groan.
"But wait! Before you go, please, just one picture?" The other man begged, of course not looking at anyone but Sephiroth. "This is probably going to be the most interesting thing to happen to this town for the next century! Seriously, look around you. Do you know what my 'highlight' of the year is? Writing about Groundhog Day! Some people have lived their entire lives here and without fail it is still the most popular article that this town cares for. The only damn thing they want to know is did the rodent see his shadow or not. Like it matters, this godforsaken town is in a constant stage of winter anyways! So please…for their sake and my sanity…just one picture."
Sephiroth was not known for having a heart. But he clearly felt sorry for the man. With a great sigh, he nodded. "One picture."
But Zack just couldn't deal with that. He hopped into the picture at the last moment, striking a pose, just as Tifa also rushed in and thus, the iconic picture was taken. The man protested the inclusion of the other two but Sephiroth stuck to his word and refused to allow another photo. As the group headed up the path to Mt. Nibel, Zack pulled the Polaroid from the camera, grinned, and stuffed it away. There would be no record that they were ever there.
Up the mountain the five of them trudged, Tifa stopping periodically to point out the wildflowers she knew. It wasn't until she pointed out a sunflower and Sephiroth lopped its head off with his sword that she stopped giving a botany lesson and stuck with just leading the team.
And lead she did! Through dangerous caverns and up slippery slopes, Tifa clearly showed she knew where she was going. Which was good because if Zack had to be honest with himself, he would've been lost two hours ago at the first fork in the road.
They came to a long wooden bridge, swaying in the high mountain air and looking for all the world like the most cliché, untrustworthy bridge in the history of cliché. But without hesitation, Tifa began to cross it, unfazed by the large gaps in the planks that led to a bottom that couldn't even be seen from that height.
Without hesitation, Sephiroth followed her and the ever-silent Bob after him. Zack took one step and felt the entire structure sway beneath his feet. He would've said screw it were it not for Cloud giving him an expectant look, as though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the bridge. He gave a deep gulp and took another step. And another. And another. He was doing it!
And then, he wasn't. A loud crack rang through the air and then he was falling. As he fell, he noticed that the others seemed to have fallen through the hole as well, sent into spirals that were almost acrobatic. By an unspoken rule, everyone clutched onto Sephiroth.
"Oh, I know what the hell this is!" He yelled, trying to fight them off. "You're going to use my body to cushion the fall! You selfish bastards!" Having said that, he created a shield around himself which slowed his descent. By default, the others landed safely on the ground too, soft as a feather.
Zack breathed a sigh of relief and did a head count. Tifa, Seph, Cloud…someone was missing.
"Where's Bob?" he asked.
Sephiroth shrugged. "Who knows? I didn't see him in the shield with us. Either way, we need to get going, we don't have time for this."
"Time for this?" Zack repeated. "A man just died! Are we going to act like that didn't even happen?"
"Well, yeah," Tifa said, not understanding his hostility. "I mean, people die here all the time."
"Listen to yourself!" Zack was screaming now, his voice ringing in the canyon. "Bob had a wife! Kids! He existed! If his only role was to have a dramatic death here, that sure is one hell of a way to honor him!"
"Zack, look where you're at," the general told him, turning to begin climbing back up the steep cliff. "Everyone has a dramatic death. Bob had his five minutes of glory and that's it. End of story. You'll get yours too, don't worry."
"…I wish you could hear how that just sounded," the SOLDIER told him as he unwillingly followed his lead.
Finally back up the mountain, Tifa led them in an alternate route (would it have killed her to have done that the first time?) and at long last they made it to the reactor. Tifa wanted to follow them in, but Cloud, or in her eyes, a masked infantryman, held her back.
"Top secret Shinra facility, no one but authorized personnel can enter," Sehpiroth told her,
"I'm the one that led you here!" she protested. "Which surprises the hell out of me that Shinra is the most technologically advanced corporation in the world and yet can't afford enough to give you a GPS, making you rely on a defenseless fifteen year old girl to be your guide!"
Sephiroth didn't even try to argue with her. "Never said it made sense." He began the walk up the unnecessarily long ramp that led to the reactor's door.
Zack made to follow him when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. He looked down to see that Cloud, who was standing basically right next to him, had texted him (forget the wonder of him even being able to text on the mountain at all). Hey, I was going to ask mom if she could make haggis for dinner, it's kinda my favorite. Is that okay?
Zack struggled to remember exactly what haggis was and vaguely remembered hearing about it on the Travel Channel. Let's see…made from sheep…and something about livers and kidneys? Or was it livers and lungs? Zack didn't want to be culturally rude but he had to admit: it wasn't appealing. Instead he texted back, Sure! Sounds delicious!
Seconds later, the reply came: Gee, thanks Zack! You're the best best-friend EVER!
He would've thought Cloud was being sarcastic but the beaming smile he was giving him said otherwise. Zack gave a nod before joining Sephiroth in front of the reactor. Before they went inside, he turned to wave at the other two.
The next time he stepped foot outside, his life will have changed forever.
In memory of Bob, the forgotten guy, XD
