As soon as I'm back on a schedule, my laptop decides to have a heartattack -_- I just can't win these last few months. I should go through and proof read this, but I'm half asleep and have an AP test tomorrow, so hopefully I didn't leave any sentences half finished.
Everyone go listen to No Light, No Light while you read because I was listening to it practically the entire time I was writing this! Okay, not really, but Florence and the Machine is an amazing band, and this is coming from a classic rock addict/metalhead (Aerosmith forever!)
FullMetalPanic, first of all, FMP has been on my to watch list FOREVER and you've reminded me that I need to watch this. Secondly... thank you! I have so many people who favorite or subscribe and never review, then you write five long, specific, and all around amazing reviews. And during my extended absence, no less. Maybe this is evidence of an inflated ego, but there's something very gratifying about having your own words quoted by anyone. I'm so glad you liked it ^_^
Being inside Zack's head is an interesting place. He's naturally an optimist, but surrounded by evil and horror. Whenever I see Zack in circumstances so awful they're impossible, and he goes out smiling, it's both sad and inspirational. I wanted to keep Zack's optimism through the terrible, but without killing him because then I may have to cry all over again.
You're right about how close Zack was to surviving. He almost made it, which is part of why it kills so much to play the last level of the game. It's so close, but just not enough.
Tseng definitely pulled some strings to get Aerith's situation arranged.
LOL. The game has so many overly convenient plot devices, I gave up trying to avoid them. They will be there no matter what I do, so I might as well use them.
I try to avoid reading the earlier chapters with the exception of the first because they really weren't that great. What can I say, I was a new writer.
Nolan and Square should do a project together! That would be amazing!
LastOrder1, Thanks for reviewing again! Zack and Cloud is pretty much always my favorite part to write. I believe they will be highjacking the story again in a chapter or so. Every few chapters, I get one where no one else really matters, it's all about Zack and Cloud.
XxOngakuxX, I love the enthusiasm in your reviews XD. Whatever the emotion, they're always expressive. I wish I could promise regular updates, but lately that isn't looking possible. All I can promise is my best not to leave you hanging for too long.
Lartovio, told you I'd come back. Sadly, that seems to be the only thing I can promise because every time I try to make a regular updating schedule, something throws it off. Glad to here I haven't totally lost my touch!
Furionknight, thank you so much! Glad you like it.
OhJay, Lol. I'll try, but sometimes death sneaks up on me.
Oodball167, I honestly didn't even think of that, but you're right. Cloud must get to glaring!
Klaw117, thank you so much! Return isn't going quite as smoothly as I had hoped, but I'm sticking with this if it kills me. Geostigma didn't make a lot of sense in the original, so I made up my own cause/origin. All shall be explained, I promise.
Kiseki, awww, thank you so much! Excellent latin skills there, btw. Yes, your deduction is correct. Still makes me shudder. I love trying to figure out all the real world parallels in fantasy worlds. You can usually figure out the race and culture each is based on. "And some people's hair sticks up more" Lol (no, seriously, I actually did laugh out loud. Which is a bad idea since everyone else is in bed...) Thanks for reviewing!
Really sorry if I missed anyone. My email is being hormonal along with my laptop.
To avoid this becoming a personal blog I'll shut up and actually put in a story:
"First and foremost, we need to find a way to get on a ship without being captured or killed," Zack announced as they entered the streets of Junon. It was like a daily game of Stratego, except that when you moved into a higher piece or bomb and lost, there was no starting over.
"It shouldn't be too hard to blend in with how active this place is," Cissnei commented, "It seems like the entire town is going out today."
"I was wondering about that," Reno added, "What is everyone all hyped up about, anyway?"
"Haven't you heard?" a local woman asked, "The reception of President Shinra is today."
"I thought he was dead. Do we have a zombie president now? That'd be frickin awesome." Reno returned.
"Not that one, the new one. His son, Rufus."
"Fantastic," Reno appeared far from enthused, "Now instead of the corrupt, finance maniac, we get his arrogant, power-hungry brat."
"Don't say that!" the woman looked around frantically, "You can't say things like that here. You'll end up in trouble you can't imagine."
"Actually, I think I can imagine. And I also believe there's a limit to how much 'trouble' you can be in. After you've reached 'inevitably doomed', I don't think there's really another step up to take."
"We are not going to test that theory," Zack warned him with a steely glare, "Thank you for informing us," he said to the woman and she quickly took her leave, deciding it was best not to get involved with such riffraff. The moment she was out of earshot, he turned back to Reno.
"Do you want to get us all killed, or have you just given up on self-preservation and don't care?"
"Forgive me for my insolence," he begged in mock remorse.
"Not insolence, carelessness, and you know it. You were a Turk, Reno, you know how to blend in. Could you at least try not to get us caught?"
"I could take him off yer hands for ya'," Barret offered, "He'd shut up for a loooong time."
"Let's just figure out a plan of action," Zack attempted to rein conversation back into focus.
"I'd like to go give our new President a warm welcome," Barret said grinning deviously.
"We aren't getting involved with this," Zack said firmly, "We've barely made it this far without looking for a fight."
"But think 'bout all the intell we'd pick up listenin' in on the new Pres's intro?"
"I hate to say it," Cissnei added, "But he's right. We're pretty far out of the loop with what's going on in the world, and the President is definitely someone we want to keep tabs on. Besides, we need to cross the ocean, so we'd have to head into town anyway. We'll just stop by for a bit and listen in."
"Fine. But we're staying out of sight and away from everything Shirna, got it?"
The city square was a chaotic mass of sardine-packed humans. With how crowded the streets were, Cloud assumed it was probably the safest they'd been in months. It may have even been fun if they hadn't had the ocean-crossing objective and paranoia to remind them of their situation. The only one who seemed to be enjoying themselves was Tifa. She had lived in Nibelhiem, then Midgar. A small town where nothing happens, to the most desecrated city on earth. She hadn't seen any of the good populated areas could bring, and now she looked around in wonder at the festivities. Balloons the size of small cars and a precession of people whom, if one could forget they were Shinra, actually created an arresting spectacle. As it was, all Cloud could see was more of Shinra's charades, feigned goodwill masking their calamities.
It was too late that he realized he had allowed himself to become too lost in Tifa's enjoyment and his own begrudging to notice the figure they were approaching. A Shinra officer stood but a few feet away from them. He attempted to escape into the crowd, but it was too late; the man had seen him and running would only look suspicious and raise an alert. He quickly grabbed Zack's arm and pulled him away from the others.
"We've been spotted," he whispered hastily, "Betting the eyes gave us away. Look like you don't know the others. They might still be able to get away."
Zack caught on immediately walked directly toward the approaching adversary, "Looks like you caught us. Never was good at skipping out. When I was a kid and cut class, got caught every time."
Cloud tried to look like he agreed in spite of knowing Zack got away with 90% of the stunts he pulled as a SOLDIER, "Guess we're not as clever as we thought."
"I'd think not. If you're going to shirk your duties, it's probably best not to do so on the same street," he scoffed.
"Plan was that if we were at the parade, we could answer the 'If you were there, what streets did they cover," and 'what color was whatever float' sort of questions and still not have to do anything," Zack replied smoothly. Cloud was glad to have a superfluous duty-slacking veteran on his side.
"Quick to fess up, aren't you?" the officer smirked.
"I know when I'm beat," Zack went on, "If you keep trying to lie your way out of it, you just dig your hole deeper."
"Back in uniform then," he ordered, "And maybe I'll let you off with a warning."
"Yes, sir," they answered in automatic unison. Just after the officer turned around, Cloud caught Tifa's eye through the crowd.
Meet you at the docks, he mouthed. She nodded in understanding, then disappeared into the crowd.
Once in the confines of the changing rooms, Cloud began in a hushed whisper, "We're screwed"
"Maybe not," Zack disagreed, "We're terrifyingly close to the enemy, but this could work to our advantage. Hiding in plain sight is much easier than trying to sneak aboard. I'm actually liking our odds here."
"So just play along until we can slip away and meet up with the others?"
"I don't think we have another option."
"Great," Cloud muttered more to himself than to Zack, "More charades for Shinra."
Dance, puppet, dance. If they were at any time within rage, he wasn't sure if he would have the discipline to resist simply killing the President now, finally putting an end to the continual skulking in the shadows. Once again wearing their uniform added insult to injury; he was bowing down and taking orders from the company he most wanted nothing to do with. At least this time, the duplicity was on his side.
They joined the ranks of the uniformed men and quickly fell into step with the old familiar rhythm, the march of a soldier.
"This is a parade," the commander shouted over them, "And with it comes performance. Rifle spinning; usual routine."
"You remember how to do any of this?" Zack whispered.
"Not a all"
"Guess we're winging it then."
Cloud followed along without much difficulty, having used a gun for the majority of his career. Zack, on the other hand, hadn't had anything to do with grunt routines in nearly ten years. Cloud did his best to stand between Zack and the commander to obscure view of Zack's delayed reactions and clumsy throws.
"What's the point of this, anyway?" Zack muttered in frustration, "How is this ever going to help anyone? It's not like you can twirl your opponent to death! Who cares if you know how to spin it if you can just shoot the damn thing?"
After a miserable twenty minutes of spin-marching, the platoon reached the airships. Zack 'dropped' his gun and took his time brushing it off until they were far enough behind to slip into the crowd unnoticed. Cloud had expected finding the others to be difficult since they were all trying to go unnoticed, but regardless of attire, Barret was always the size of a small tank and for once, it was a good thing. As they approached, Zack pressed the back of his hand over his mouth trying to stifle his laughter.
"What's so funny?" Barret asked angrily, clad in the most ridiculous sailor uniform known to man.
"You look like a bear wearing a marshmallow," he laughed. "Where did you even find that thing?"
"Bite me," Barret snapped and refused to speak to or even look at Zack the remainder of the conversation as Tifa, Cissnei, and Reno told them of their break into a transport vehicle and subsequent raid of their supplies, gaining the rest of them uniforms, but none were big enough for Barret, so they stopped at several stores along the way until they found something. The sailor uniform was, in fact, the least absurd of their options.
"Looks like we're stowing away on a military ship then," Cloud concluded, "We'd better not screw this up. On a ship, there's nowhere to run."
"Well, we're living on the edge," Zack replied. They quickly melted into the crowd boarding the airship, then slipped into the labyrinth of hallways below deck. After a nerve-wracking search for solitude, they came across an unoccupied room full of pipes and machinery in the lowest level of the decks.
Within half and hour, the adrenalin rush from boarding and enemy-infested ship gave way to boredom. Cissnei and Reno began a card game on the floor with a deck they had bought while purchasing Barret's suit, Zack paced, Barret discovered every possible way to deliver an agitated sigh, Tifa stared out the window, and Cloud simply closed his eyes in exhaustion.
You are my protegee.
You are my successor.
You don't hate me, you are me
"Cloud? Hey, you awake?"
Cloud jumped, "How long was I out?"
"About 16 hours," Zack answered, "Looks like you finally caught up on some sleep."
"Must be the motion," Cloud commented, nauseated, but it was almost worth the sickness to finally sleep some.
"Guess so. I hated to wake you up, but we're going to be there in an hour, so we really need to get on planning what to do when we get out. Suggestions?"
"I think that'd be pretty obvious," Reno responded.
"Oh, really? Well then, great enlightened one, why don't you tell us mere mortals where we're supposed to go next?"
"See, I would think you would want to go rescue Aerith, but maybe I'm misreading here," Reno retorted.
"I think you're missing the part where I don't know where she is," Zack's tone hardened at the mention of Aerith.
"You mean she still hasn't told you?" Reno said, genuinely surprised, "Aerith is in Nibelhiem with an old acquaintance of yours."
"What acquaintance?"
"Hojo"
Zack froze for a moment, then burst out angrily, "Why the hell didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"I thought she would," he gestured incriminatingly to Cissnei, "She'd be a better person to tell you than I would."
Zack turned to her in disbelief, "You knew...? You knew and you didn't tell me?"
"Zack, I-" she stammered, "I didn't mean to lie to you, I just thought-"
"Just thought what?" he shouted angrily, "That we would go get her when it was convenient for you? What's wrong with you?"
"It's just that you get so irrational when you're trying to save someone. We're already headed in that direction anyway, so we are on our way to save her. I just didn't want you to-"
"To do what? To actually do something for her after I abandoned her for five years?"
"To do something stupid and get yourself killed!" she exclaimed, her voiced elevated almost to the same volume as his, "You're not rational when you're like this! I thought it was better to wait until we crossed to tell you."
"I guess I shouldn't blame you too much," he said, bitterly sarcastic, "You did used to lie for a living. You're not supposed to feel things like sympathy for an innocent captive being tortured by a madman." He stormed to the doorway and put the Shinra helmet back on.
"Hey, come on, Fair," Reno called after him, "It's not her fault I didn't-"
"I'm going on deck to see what the best way off is," Zack cut him off, "Meet you all back here in half and hour."
The room was silent. Cloud so rarely saw Zack genuinely angry he wasn't sure how to react. Cissnei appeared to be fighting back tears, but none fell. She grabbed her own helmet and hurried to the door.
"I'll be back," she told them and rushed out.
"Smooth, Reno," Cloud shot, "You've been here, what? A few days, and you've already got people screaming at each other."
"I tell it like it is. You don't like it, don't ask for my impute."
Cloud sighed. As if their situation wasn't complicated enough.
You're not supposed to feel things like sympathy for an innocent captive being tortured by a madman.
He knew exactly where to strike, to say she hadn't changed, that she had abandoned Aerith the same way she had him and Cloud. It wasn't her intention, but how could she ever expect Zack to believe her? She could never ever expect him to forgive her for her last transgression. How could she expect him to trust that she was doing the right thing in not telling him about Aerith? Cissnei was grateful for the helmet hiding her watery, red eyes.
"Hey, Cis"
She jumped and spun around in surprise, "Reno?"
"Bingo, Sherlock," he answered, "Nice day out."
"What are you doing up here?"
"Strife," he gestured to her left where Cloud was leaned over the railing. She'd forgotten how prone to motion-sickness he was. He continued, "Tifa's going to get some Dramamine for him, so I thought I should tail along and make sure he doesn't puke up any vital organs."
"That's oddly nice of you," she replied.
"I'm a nice guy"
"Oh, yes, quite the humanitarian," Cissnei smirked.
"Do I detect sarcasm?" Reno replied with feigned exasperation, "Philanthropy has always been my greatest value in life."
Cissnei managed to smile regardless of her current state of mind. After a moment of heav y silence, Reno spoke.
"I'm sorry about back there. I was just trying to harass Fair, not you. I thought you'd already mentioned it to him."
"It's okay," she sighed, "I had no right to keep it from him anyway."
"Well, he reacted just the way you said he would. He lost his head and stormed off. He would probably be better off if I hadn't told him. And now that I think about it, he probably thinks you've known since you started traveling with them, not just since I showed up, so if you explain you only found out yourself a few days ago, he might chill a bit."
"Maybe. But it's more the principle of the matter. I knew and I did nothing. I don't mean to be so cold, I just... I don't know how to change."
"Then don't," Reno said simply, "Emotions just get people killed."
"Spoken like a true Turk"
"You say that like it's a bad thing. It's not. You're trying to distance yourself from what Shinra's done as much as possible, but throwing away everything you learned while you worked for them is pointless. We learned how to work, how to fight, and how to survive from our training. We're skilled and efficient. The only thing wrong with it is what we were ordered to use our abilities for. Instead of denying who you are and what you can do, channel it in a new direction. Use what you learned as a Turk to save Aerith."
Cissnei looked at him in disbelief, "Who are you and what have you done with Reno?"
"He's on lunch break. This pansy nice guy is just filling in for a few minutes to deal with the crying girl."
"I'm not crying!" she denied indignantly, "But seriously, thanks for the insight."
"And everyone bet on me," Reno said, returning her indignation.
"Bet on you for what?" Cloud asked as he approached, his face a pale green color.
"If you stay a Turk long enough, odds are you'll see at least one member have a nervous breakdown," Cissnei explained, "I think we usually average about one every three years. Now it's been three years since the last snap, and with the stress of everything that's been going on in Shinra, people started taking bets on who would be next to crack. Naturally, everyone bet on Reno."
"And it's true that I've clearly gone insane," Reno added, "How else could I possibly have thought joining up with this band of fugitives was a good idea? But Cissnei did it first, so she was crazy before me. I believe you owe me a 20."
"Now that we're all sharing a bank account, a lot of good it's going to do you." she shot back.
"Still a better insanity rate than SOLDIER," Cloud shrugged, "From my experience, if you're mako exposed, 90% chance you'll end up institution-worthy."
He puked over the railing again as soon as he finished his sentence.
"Sorry," he muttered, "I thought I was done. I didn't think there was anything left to throw up."
"That's a lot disgusting," Reno told him.
"Ignore him," Cissnei brushed him off, "Is there anything we can do?"
Cloud shook his head, then something behind her caught his eye, "Here comes Tifa."
"Dramamine," she handed the bottle to Cloud along with a glass of water.
"Thank Gaia," he said as he quickly popped two into his mouth.
"I guess we should head back," Tifa suggested, "When Barret's left alone for too long, things break."
Cloud and Reno followed her until the latter noticed Cissnei hadn't moved, "You coming?"
"I'll be down in a minute," she said. He nodded and left.
She had to find Zack. It may be pointless, but she had to try. Maybe after some time to cool off, they would have a chance at reconciliation. She didn't know when to begin, so she simply took the first doorway below she saw. As she rounded the corner, she nearly collided with a man in the same uniform as she.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped. She froze for a moment, recognizing the voice. She answered in a lower tone than her usual voice and spoke with the southern-Wutainese accent she had perfected on her last mission to the far western country.
"Sorry," she quickly walked away in disbelief, glancing over her shoulder to confirm her impossible suspicions. Same body type, same stiff poster, same calculated steps. Only someone who had met him in person would be able to tell he had just passed Rufus Shinra. His landing had been known by everyone. Why would his exit be so secretive? Anyone else she would assume was simply after some privacy, but Rufus Shinra was too proud to ever degrade himself to the status of a foot-soldier unless implored by a tactical purpose.
Maybe Reno was right. She was a Turk, regardless of what she wanted to remember, so she might as well use it to her advantage. With silent precision, she pursued her former superior through a maze of hallways into the heart of the ship. She soon found herself before the double doors to a section of the ship requiring a key card to enter. It was a risk to attempt to slip in after Rufus before the doors closed, but one she had to take.
Three... two... one...
She sprinted for the door in what she hoped what enough time to allow Rufus to round the next corner and herself enough to slip through, but soon found she had underestimated the time of her sprint. For split second, she wondered if the door would reopen upon sensing something in it's way, or simply crush her hand as she thrust it between the closing doors. She flinched in anticipation, then felt a briefly uncomfortable pressure, before the doors reopened. With a relieved sigh she made a mental note she would have to thank what was left of the safety department, if it even still existed, for their renovation if she was ever granted the chance.
She had pictured the area she was entering to be dark and bland, reflecting it's secretive nature as well as the rest of the cargo ship, but instead she found it to be the brightest and most elaborately adorned section of the vessel; Rufus must have taken this ship before. Golden-framed paintings hung on warm ivory walls, contrasting the deep red carpet. She couldn't fathom why a cargo ship would contain such a place unless Rufus used this transport often. Even in disguise, he was ostentatious. She continued down the hallway until she rounded to corner to see him enter a room. As she crept to the door and pressed her ear against it, her heart nearly stopped at the sound of her former mentor's voice.
"With all do respect, sir, he's not an easy person to just 'get rid of'," Tseng said, "He's the greatest SOLDIER we've ever seen."
"I'm not taking orders from some glowing-eyed psycho who burned an entire town to the ground. Yes, I know all about Nibelhiem," Rufus retorted, "He has everything in the world to threaten us with. He could reveal everything Shinra has kept under wraps in the past few decades, and if we in return try to label him as a madman and bring to light his homicidal rampage, we then condemn ourselves, confessing we helped cover it up."
"I understand that it's a frustrating situation, and I'd like to see him dead as much as anyone, but regardless of his true character, the media has portrayed him as a great hero, and we helped them do it to save our own skins. If we try to kill him and fail, we risk full fledged rebellion. And even if we do succeed, how do we explain his sudden death while in our custody without looking suspicious?"
"You want to talk suspicious, Sephiroth still has no alibi the night my father was killed. The only reason I don't investigate father is that if I discover Sephiroth did kill him, I'll owe him a favor. I'm doubtful Nibelhiem will be his last killing spree and I will not be caught in his next. I'll take him out before he does me. And if you won't help me, I'll do it myself."
"For my own peace of mind, I'm going to tell myself you are speaking in agitation rather than earnest. Before we end up stabbing each other without Sephiroth even involved, lets move to other urgent matters. Hojo wants to move the ancient to Shinra's main scientific facility in Wutai, correct?"
"It is. I know your personal feelings on the matter, Tseng, but I have been ensured it is necessary to the well being of Shinra."
Tseng paused for a moment, "Do even you know what's really going on there?"
"I've been told a few generalizations and am planning a flight out succeeding my next stop to determine for myself the state of the situation. Even as president, I'm still left in the dark as to the details."
"Sir... may I ask when Aerith is to be transported?"
A long silence transpired before Rufus answered.
"That is not of your concern. Many of the Turks have proven to have questionable loyalties. I'm sure even you won't try to deny that fact in light of recent events. With two of your former subordinates among the enemy, I do not intend to divulge anything drastically important to the Turks."
"And notice, sir, that I have sent out the order to kill both of them. I have not resisted you. I had not the chance to so much as say goodbye to either of them before I determined them my mortal enemies. Can I not at least say goodbye to this one last acquaintance you have determined fugitive when she has committed no crime to be detained upon? I confess it is in my best interests to remain in your good graces, as loss of your positive regard could result in my termination, but neither do you want me as an enemy or I may present to you the same dilemma as Sephiroth is now."
Cissnei was stunned to hear eternally loyal Tseng blatantly threaten a superior, and soon found herself smiling at the idea of him finally standing against the tyrants above him. A heavy silence passed between them before Rufus finally relented.
"Cell C17. You have two weeks. Enjoy your visit."
Footsteps progressed toward her. Whether they would come through the door or not, she was unsure, but she had pushed her luck far enough and sprinted back to the door through which she had first entered. She was fortunate to find that a keycard was not required to exit and sprinted to return on time for her rendezvous with the others.
"Where the hell have you been?" Reno asked as she entered their designated meeting room.
"Rufus Shinra is on board. So is Tseng. Rufus wants to kill Sephiroth and they're moving Aerith to Wutai in two weeks. She's in cell C17 in the basement of Shinra Manor right now."
After a moment to process her outpouring of information, Zack replied, "Looks like we finally have a direction."
This still felt a little lacking in Cloud, but perhaps that's just because I have a tendency to do EVERYTHING from his POV... even when it doesn't make sense. Yes, it's a battle to favor plot over personal character love.
Another travel chapter, but I did finally delve into some plot there at the end. Next chapter may go over the week goal as well since it's fairly important to overall storyline.
Btw, anyone else as psyched as I am for the new Hunger Games movie this weekend?