FINAL FANTASY VII: DISORDERED ILLUSION
Written by Surrect Tiger
PROLOGUE
Cloud pulled away from Aeris's gravestone as it began to rain. He read, one last time, the words that had been carved into it.
Here lies Aeris Gainsborough
What has been, and will be
A life that remains free
And has, and is, and always defends
From all beginnings to all ends.
Until that life returns...
He got onto the Chocobo he had brought there, and rode towards Midgar, thinking to himself how much he had missed her. Almost a month after Meteor had struck, and he had thought of nothing but a way to get her back.
Cloud rode out of the forest, where her stone had been lain. He guided the chocobo up a small path for several hundred feet, then came out into another wooded area. A mile through a series of different types of trees, and across a stream, was the path to the massive city. He looked out over the cliff.
There would be days ahead of him before he reached his destination.
CHAPTER I
A car arrived at the steps of the Shinra Tower in Midgar. A new one had been built, for the blueprints of the former had been salvaged after Meteor had struck. The Tower had been almost perfectly rebuilt, but Shinra had added floors, the total addition coming to one hundred thirty-seven. The door on the long, black limousine opened, and out stepped Tso, Rufus's younger twin brother. He had become President after Midgar had been restored (thanks to all the towns and cities of the Planet, this was possible within a month). He walked up the stairs to be greeted by a bald man with a goatee and a very, very deep voice.
"Hello, President Tso."
"Rude. They let you back on the Force?"
"I never left it," announced Rude.
"Really? So you're still the leader?"
"Correct, sir," answered the black man. "What is that?"
"A camera," answered Tso, pulling out a pen-shaped camera. It was almost exactly like one, save for a small button on the side.
"Interesting. This way."
Rude guided Tso into the Tower. As they were walking, Tso bumped into a girl just under his height. "Sorry," he said. They went up to the top floor, Tso's office. After exiting the elevator, Rude walked in front of Tso, and led him to a beautiful woman in a blue police force suit.
"Elena. I've heard things about you," said Tso.
"Things?" she softly said. "What kind of...things?"
"Just...things from Rufus he always talked about how...Turkish...you were." He backed away from her. She was attractive, but muscular, nonetheless. Tso was embarrassed at his remarks, and looked at his feet. Just then Elena said something, but his camera pen caught his attention. It had recently taken a picture. Hmm...maybe when I bumped that girl downstairs, he thought to himself.
He walked past several littered office tables and people, and made his way to his desk, facing outward towards Midgar, and the rest of the world. It was an astonishing sight to see. He sat down, and began to write on papers in a folder.
Logs, he thought. He hated logs...but he had to read them every day. Especially the computer logs. The computer logs showed a description of every conversation taken in the Tower between two or more people, similar to a chat. It was-
Wait a minute, he thought, reading across an odd one. "Rude, come here." The black, tall man was by him at once. "What is this?" He pointed to log #23536A2f. He read it aloud. "Log #23536A2f, Wednesday, 7:08:12 PM. Between conversationalists Lion866 and Lioness 865."
"Yeah?" asked Rude. "What's so odd about that?"
"In all my time of checking logs here, I don't remember ever hearing of those two."
"Maybe they're new."
"I don't think so," said Tso. He knew that everyone that used the communications systems in the tower had to register with complete verifications of where they lived, their gender, age, height, weight, etc. "Bring me a copy of both of these people's registration right away," said Tso.
Just as Rude walked away, towards the elevator, Tso say a small figure outside of Midgar moving in. A small yellow dot. He went to the window, and looked through a small scope at the center of it.
Cloud Strife.
He had been gone for several days. It'll be good to have someone to talk to, he thought.
Cloud and his chocobo arrived at the Shinra stable outside of the Tower, and he walked inside. He went to the elevator, rode to the top, and was greeted by Tso. "Welcome!" he said happily to Cloud. "Sit down, sit down!" He motioned for him to sit beside him on a chair, so that they could face each other. "How are you doing, Cloud?" He snapped his finger, and a waitress walked to them both.
"Just fine."
"Sero, on the rocks," Tso told the waitress. "Anything, Cloud?"
"No thanks." The waitress left immediately with Tso's order.
"So, where've you been the past few days?"
"Terra's Forest," said Cloud.
"There again?" asked Tso. "Something special must be down there. You go often."
"So I do." Rufus found them both, and sat down on a chair close to theirs.
"I found the file, sir," said Rufus.
"Just wait a second, Rufus."
"Rufus?" asked Cloud.
"Yeah? Who're you?" asked Rufus. Then his jaw dropped. "H-hey, man, I know you! The spike-headed punk!" He stood immediately.
"Been a long time, Rufus." The black man staggered backwards, and shut himself in an office.
"Hmm...You know him?" asked Tso, picking up the folder Rufus had brought from the floor.
"Yeah. While back, though. What's that?"
"Nothing. Just a chat log file I asked for."
"What for?"
"I'm thinking unauthorized people have br-" He was interrupted by a woman that ran to him.
"Sir!"
"What!?"
"Someone on the computer is wanting to talk to you!"
Tso cursed. "I think we're using that program too much. Who on earth is it!?"
"Some person named Lion 666 or something."
"That's him!" Tso jumped from his seat, and ran to her computer. Cloud walked normally, unalarmed, to him. The woman stood by Tso's side. Cloud read the computer screen as Tso talked with the person.
Myra_182: Hello?
Apparently Myra was the girl's name.
Lion866: Is this Tso?
Myra_182: Yes.
Myra_182: Who are you?
Lion866: Never mind who I am.
Lion866: I've done some research on Shinra.
Lion866: As I remember, they were partially responsible for the Meteor incident.
Myra_182: That was the past.
Myra_182: We have no intention of returning to the way we were.
Lion866: Really? Is Hojo there?
Something inside Cloud told him this person was up to no good. If they were asking for Hojo, they were asking for trouble.
Myra_182: Hojo died a little over a month ago.
Lion866: I'm too late.
Lion866: I want records from you.
Myra_182: What records?
Lion866: On Hojo's operations.
Lion866: He has something I'm looking for.
Myra_182: I want to know who you are, first.
Lion866: You'll find out soon enough.
Lion866: First, I want the files on all his operations.
_________________________
Lioness865 has joined the chat
Lioness865: Hi there, Lion.
Lion866: Hey Lioness.
Myra_182: Are either of you in the building?
Lioness865: I don't think that matters any way.
Lion866: Are we going to have the files, or not?
Myra_182: I want to know who you both are, and what you want with those certain files.
Lion866: That's not any of your business. Just ours.
Lioness865: Just ours.
Now Cloud knew something was definently wrong. They wanted Hojo's operational files, and that was serious business.
Myra_182: Tell us who you are!
Lioness865: Give us the files!
"...What should we do?" asked Tso. "I'm half thinking of giving them the files."
"Is that sensible?" asked Cloud. "I mean, Hojo's files...you know what he did to me and Zack...."
"That man was absolutely sick."
Lion866: Well?
Myra_182: Just one minute.
"...I...don't know what to do. What would they use them for?" asked Tso.
"...Could they be thinking of...completing things he began?" suggested Cloud.
"Leave us alone," said Tso to the woman. The hastily ran out the door, and shut it.
Myra_182: Just tell us what you're using it for.
Lion866: Lioness?
Lioness865: I don't know.
A moment passed before she answered again.
Lioness865: We're just looking up files.
Myra_!82: Hold on.
"I have an idea," said Tso. "Suppose we were to give them the file information online..."
"And catch their drift?"
"Exactly."
Myra_182: How important is this info to you?
Lioness865: More important that you'll ever need to know.
Lion866: Will you give it to us?
Myra_182: Well, if it's so important to you, you wouldn't mind letting us give you the info right here and now, would you?
There was a long, dramatic pause.
Lion866: Alright. Do you have the files on hand?
Myra_182: Let me get them. Which ones?
Lion866: File #155j.
Tso opened the door, and talked to the girl. "Go get File #155j from Hojo's file cabinet. Should be in Cabinet twelve."
"Yessir!" She ran to the elevator.
Just a minute later she returned with a red folder that was seven inches thick, and weighed four pounds. Tso opened it, and found several notebook sheets that had been hand written, with blood-stained fingerprints on almost every page.
Myra_182: Ok. What page?
Lion866: Page 190.
"I wonder how they know this stuff," said Cloud. "It seems like they've done a lot of research on it."
"Yeah, and if they're in the building, I wonder why they didn't find the file themselves." Tso found page 190. "...Oh...my..." He couldn't finish his sentence as he pulled the page from the notebook.
"What?"
"This is your operation." Cloud grabbed the sheet from Tso, and scanned it. His heart felt like it was going to stop. What did a person want with his and Zack's operation!?
"...Give it to them."
Myra_182: I have it.
Lioness865: Good.
Lion866: Ok. Read everything on that page to me.
Myra_182: Operation #018974523. Subject: Cloud and Zack (Last names withheld due to personal profile defense agency).
October 19 - All important skeletal parts found. Distinguishable: Cloud: Lower left brain, brain stem, left eye, left arm, no elbow or wrist found, left calf, 3 left ribs, half of left collarbone, five upper left teeth, two lower left, lower nose cartilage. Zack: Full right arm, right leg, left knee, left elbow and wrist, three left and six right ribs, one upper left and five lower right teeth, spine minus two discs, and jaw.
October 27 - All important organs and systems found. Distinguishable: Cloud: 45/47 of Nervous System. Full Reproductive System. Full Cardiovascular System. Zack: Full Respiratory System. 2/9 of Nervous System found, will fill in unfinished of Cloud's. Indistinguishable: Full muscular system, mixed of Cloud's and Zack's (Zack's were stronger). Rest of systems can be obtained by morgue.
October 29 - Body repair begun. Assembled head, synthetically added pulmonary muscle. Found only one eye, added one from morgue.
November 5 - Head finished. Found a better eye from the morgue, a blue one. Accelerated hair, saliva, and other growth. Apparently it will be considered Cloud (hair is yellow).
This stung Cloud. He didn't even know if he was himself or Zack. Just because he had yellow hair, everyone assumed this body was Cloud. Am I Cloud or Zack? he wondered to himself.
September 9 - Body completion begun. Logs discontinued until body completed.
July 7 - Body completed. A revival session in the hospitalization sector commencing. Will begin in one week.
July 14 - Success. Body fully operational. Unconscious for lack of memory; will synthetically add later.
Lion866: And that's it?
Myra_182: Yeah. Now, who are you?
Lioness865: Tell us, is Cloud still around?
Myra_182: He's right here.
Myra_182: Why?
Then, as soon as his name was mentioned, Cloud's stomach turned. Who are they!? This was like a fly buzzing around his head. "...The folder!" said Cloud loudly. "Look in the folder!"
Tso had completely forgotten about it. "That's right!" He opened the folder, and scanned through it. "...I don't know this person. Does it sound familiar?" He handed Cloud the page.
Computer Information Center
April 9
Information : Lion866
Illegal Operation
[code: 80295 09285 02456 92746 01783]
[code: 82548 87253 08945 18462 03857]
(Lion866 does not exist in computer file system memory)
Information : Lioness865
Registration Code : 8815634678
Password : Mt. Nibel
Current City : Costa del Sol
Sex : Female
Age : 21
Weight: 110
Nickname : Lioness865
Name : Gainsborough, Aeris
"Aeris Gainsborough!" shouted Cloud as he read down the paper. He shoved Tso aside, and quickly typed.
Myra_182: Aeris!
Lioness865: Cloud?
Lion866: Cloud...
Lion866: ...It's been a long time.
____________________
Lion866 has left the chat
______________________
Lioness865 has left the chat
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER II
