They Live!!!
By GQ and Zhak
Chapter Thirteen: Trying to Reach Wutai
Lord Godo had requested a chopper from Rufus so that the trip going back to Wutai would be faster. Rufus easily obliged because he wanted Zack out of his territory because he thought he had caused enough trouble already by making Lord Godo very unpleasant and angry (and he uttered Wutaian cusses at Rufus and called him "Brat" in Wutaian when he thought Rufus wouldn't allow him to use the chopper; and he didn't know that Rufus knew how to speak that language).
"Well, Lord Kisaragi, thank you for taking time to visit Midgar, and… I'm sorry for the trouble that Old Man caused you," Rufus said, gritting his teeth discreetly and trying to suppress his annoyance.
"Thank you, Rufus," Lord Godo said in feigned respect. "Now, Yuffie, get on the chopper…"
Yuffie nodded and silently hopped on the chopper. She seemed quite detached from the world at that moment, being depressed and all and having no idea of the events that happened while she was unconscious.
The pilot started the chopper. The chopping noises started. Lord Godo had to yell at Rufus. "Well, then." He climbed up on the chopper himself.
As the chopper started to rise, Rufus waved at it. Hospitality, after all. "Good riddance," he muttered with a plastic smile on his face. He turned to Cloud and the others, who were watching behind him and from a proper distance. "Well, that's over with."
"Uhm," Tifa piped up, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but… I didn't see Zack get on the chopper…" she pointed out.
Silence.
"Does Yuffie know?" Elena asked.
"Actually, Lord Godo told Yuffie that he fired Zack because Yuffie is old enough to take care of herself." Cloud explained.
"What? Well then where is that Hedgehog?" Rufus demanded.
"He… left early today. He says he'll go back to Gongaga." Vincent pointed out.
Everyone fell silent as they just watched the chopper fly further away from the building.
--break--
Yuffie was looking out the window with a miserable look on her face.
"What's the matter with you, daughter?" Lord Godo asked curiously.
She just pouted, "I left my materia there…" she lied.
He frowned at her as he narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh?" he asked, doubting her credibility. He shook his head in dismay. "Let go of him, Yuffie. He's not meant for you." He said.
She lowered her gaze to the floor. "I don't know what you're talking about…" she muttered as she crossed her arms. Lord Godo just let her be.
Yuffie's gaze softened as she looked outside the window and stared at the clouds. "He didn't even say goodbye…" she said softly.
Lord Godo turned back to her. "What?" he demanded.
She frowned. "I said I forgot to say goodbye to Rufus and the others, dad." She snapped impatiently before tossing her hair off her shoulder. "Hmf!" and she froze. She realized that she still had long hair.
And suddenly, she wanted to cry, but she did not.
--break--
"So unfair… so unfair… so unfair…" Zack was muttering repeatedly to himself as he finally reached Gongaga. He was lucky that Vincent was kind enough to donate some cash to him so that he could take a one-way flight back to his hometown through a community chopper being offered by the Mayor of Midgar (although unknown to Rufus and to the rest of ShinRa).
When he got down from the chopper, he went straight to the place where his little house is located. He stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air. "Hmm… smells like Mako." He thought. And he laughed. "I'm imagining things…" he muttered before proceeding. He peeked inside through the window but didn't see anyone. "Wonder where mom and dad are…" he thought before finally opening the door. "I'm home!!!" he called out.
But the place was too quiet… and everything seemed so still.
The furniture looked dusty and old, like they haven't been used for quite some time already. "Mom?" he called out.
Nobody answered. He accidentally banged the door when he pushed to close it, and when it did close, the dust from the ceiling unsettled, scattering around the whole area. "So unfair!" he wailed as he coughed sneezed. He instantly rushed outside the house to breathe in some fresh air.
An old man dragging a wagon with him passed by and stared strangely at him. "You lost, boy?" he asked.
Zack stopped coughing and turned to the old man. "Oh… no. I live here, sir." He explained with a weak smile on his face.
The old man turned to the small house, "That house?" he asked. Zack nodded.
"Well… the old folks who once lived there moved out. Are you related to them?" the Old Man asked.
"They did?" Zack asked in awe.
"Yes, they moved to Wutai. Are you related to them?" the Old Man asked.
Zack fell silent before turning back to the house with a stunned look on his face, "Y… yes. I'm their son…" he said softly.
"Oh, so you're the boy they're talking about! Where have you been all these years? They've been waiting for your return!" the Old Man told him with an amused smile on his face.
"Really?" Zack asked in awe as he turned back to the Old Man. "When did they move out?" he asked.
"A year ago. They migrated to Wutai because of the news that President ShinRa decided to rebuild the Mako Reactor in this place." The Old Man pointed out.
"But… President ShinRa is… dead," Zack thought silently, deciding to just wait until other word would reach this Old Man about the President's death and Rufus taking over once more. He just smiled uneasily at the Old Man and said, "Well, I think the President will be discontinuing the reconstruction of all Mako Reactors," and then decided to just walk back inside the house. He stopped in his tracks when he remembered where his parents had migrated. "Wutai…" He turned back to the Old Man with a curious look on his face, but the Old Man had begun walking away with his wagon. Zack just sighed heavily before deciding to go inside once more and shut the door. He brought out his wallet and checked his cash. He has enough to go to Wutai.
But he's hungry!
"But if I buy some food, my money won't be enough… I have to get to Wutai…" he muttered miserably to himself. He thought of sitting someplace else and just beg… but he shook his head in disgust. "Ugh! No way! Grossness!" he uttered.
He fell silent, realizing what he had just said: "Grossness." He sulked.
He cringed. "Hanging too much around Yuffie really did some wonders in my vocabulary…" he thought before proceeding to look for some loose change around the household…
But only found lint.
"IT'S SO UNFAIR!!!" he yelled in annoyance.
The walls shook.
He covered his mouth. "Uh-oh…" he thought.
The house collapsed.
--break--
A Week Later… in Midgar…
Sephiroth was the first one to laugh out loud when he passed by the charity ward in the Sector 7 Community Hospital, making Aerith wonder. Since Cloud isn't around to accompany her to the hospital for her monthly check-ups with a pediatrician because Cloud landed a job in ShinRa courtesy of Rufus, Sephiroth was the one who went with her.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
Sephiroth entered the Charity Ward and approached one of the patients. "So it's true, you're here," he said.
Aerith was stunned upon seeing Zack wrapped up in bandages. "Oh my… what happened to you?" she asked in shock.
"Merrpouwh prgh… mrrrrgh…" Zack replied. His mouth is also covered with bandages, muffling every word he would utter.
"Speak in English, Hedgehog!" Sephiroth said with a mocking tone before laughing again. Aerith turned to the nurse. "What happened to him, miss?" she asked.
"Well… there's no hospital in Gongaga, so they had to take him all the way from there to here. A house collapsed and he's inside. Poor fellow," the nurse replied.
"Mrr… prgh… mrrrgh… prhggrh…" Zack began, but it was no use. The nurse adjusted his bandages and soon, he was relieved to be able to speak without anything muffling his voice, "Oh thank you…" he told the nurse before turning to Sephiroth and Aerith. "I'm so glad to see the two of you again!" he said.
"Yeah, yeah, we are too, now let's go, Aerith. Cloud's waiting for you in ShinRa…" Sephiroth said sarcastically to him before he grabbed Aerith's hand and walked out of the room with her.
"But… what about--?" Aerith struggled to say.
Zack felt bad about himself. "Oh man! It's so unfair!!!" he wailed.
He couldn't even move. The doctor said that he'd be in casts and bandages for at least 2 weeks before he could move freely again. "So unfair…" he thought miserably. So he just waited… and waited…
After around five hours, he was surprised when he had visitors.
Aerith, Tifa, Elena and Lucrecia. He sulked upon seeing Aerith (knowing that Cloud might hate him forever because she's concerned about his health). "Oh man… please get out of here…" he moaned in despair. Aerith frowned at him. "Is this how you treat us?" she demanded as she annoyingly placed the bouquet of flowers on the table beside his bed.
"Yeah. Be thankful we're concerned enough to visit someone like you!" Elena sneered at him.
Zack shrunk. "A…alright… uhm… thank you…" he said rather sheepishly before looking away.
"So, were you able to see your parents again?" Aerith asked.
Zack was surprised at her. "How did you know?" he asked.
"You used to tell me when we were younger how much you wanted to see your parents again, right?" she asked. He looked at her sadly, "Oh right… yeah… now I remember…" and he just looked away again. "No. They moved to another country." He explained.
"Oh really, where?" Lucrecia asked before snatching the clipboard off the foot of the bed where all of Zack's medical reports are attached. She began to read the 10 sheets of paper attached to it, then also began to look at the X-rays. She chuckled lightly, "Actually you're still tested positive for Mako… so that makes your healing process quicker. How long have you been here in the hospital already?" she asked.
"A week already… this is my second week." He replied miserably. Lucrecia put down the X-rays and the clipboard and began to unwind the bandages. "Who the hell are your doctors? You're fine!" she snapped. Zack panicked. "Wha?! Hey… I… what if my doctor gets mad?!" he wailed.
"No he won't. I don't think he even gives a damn about you here. So, where did your parents migrate to?" Lucrecia continued with a pleasant smile on her face.
"Wu…Wutai…" he stammered nervously as Lucrecia proceeded to remove the bandages and his casts.
Tifa giggled. "Lucrecia, here, has been appointed as the new chief scientist of ShinRa." She explained to Zack.
"Oh… that's nice to hear…" he said weakly.
"Wutai, huh? Isn't that the place where Yuffie lives?" Aerith asked.
"Y…yeah." He replied.
"You can visit her," Tifa pointed out. He shook his head. "I don't think so… Lord Kisaragi is mad at me… I don't think he likes me for Yuffie because…" he trailed off when he realized what he had just said. "ARGH! Never mind! I just partly revealed that I have feelings for that ninja…" he said in shame, his face turning red.
"Oh so you do admit that you have feelings for her, huh?" Aerith asked playfully with a sweet smile on her face.
"Isn't that great! You can tell her that!" Elena said happily.
"Fat chance! Even if I do, does she even like me?!" Zack demanded. He sighed in misery, "Besides, I can't even go to Wutai even if I want to because my money isn't enough." He muttered.
The women looked at each other. "W-ell… we have more than enough money," Tifa said, winking.
"More than enough," said Elena, giggling uncontrollably.
Zack narrowed his eyes at them. "Oh yeah, as if you guys will lend me of all people money. Even if you do, your guys will hunt me down and slaughter me and the next thing you know, the shish kebab you'll be having at a ShinRa conference will actually be my body parts…"
"EEEW!" Aerith, Tifa and Elena squealed in disgust. "Even if they do kill you, they'd be too disgusted at you to serve you as kebab, Zack!"
"Gee, thanks. Now I feel even more loved," he replied sarcastically.
"Aw, Zack, you exaggerate. Cloud isn't that nasty… maybe Rufus is, but not Sephiroth… if he is, I'd have spanked him already. Ohoho…" Lucrecia said as she began dialing a few numbers on her PHS. The ringing began. She frowned, dialed another number and waited again.
"Lucrecia, who's that?" asked Tifa innocently. Lucrecia put a finger to her lips as the other line was answered. "Hello?... yes, Vinny, this is Lucrecia… Oh, you don't say… I love you too! Heehee!" The girls forced a grin and Zack produced this strange, long-suffering look. "Anyway, Vinny, I tried to call President Rufus' PHS, but it was diverted to his secretary's number and I needed to talk to him personally… Hmm? Oh, alright, I guess Cloud's fine. Please hand him the phone."
"Does Vincent have a job in ShinRa too?" Zack asked.
Elena raised her hand as if she were asking to be called in class. "He's a Turk. My superior. Heehee!"
"Oh. Okay," Zack said, turning back to Lucrecia, who looked like she was trying to calm down the other person in the line… in vain.
"Sigh… Cloud, calm down. Here, I'll let Aerith explain it for you," the scientist said, handing the phone to Aerith as if it were a hot potato. "You and Cloud have a lot of issues," she added, facing Zack. He sighed.
"Hello… Cloud? Hi!... no, Cloud, he didn't do anything to me…. Aaw!!... I love you too!" she said to the phone, giggling.
Zack had his long-suffering face again. Tifa shrugged. "She always does that when she talks to Cloud," she explained.
"Anyway, Cloud… you have to do this for Zack, now. He has a good reason… anyway… It's time you two reconciled, right?... Oh, Cloud! You'd do it for me? Thanks! Love you! Bye" She disconnected. "Okay, Zack, Cloud will lend you the cash you need!"
Zack's jaw dropped. "What? Cloud agreed?" he asked.
"Cloud's a sweet guy. Of course he agreed!" Aerith said cheerfully as she handed the phone back to Lucrecia.
He looked down, dumbfounded. "Wow… of all people…" he mumbled.
"YAY! You get to see Yuffie again! AAAH! I can't wait! It's gonna be soooooo sweet!" Elena broke in, starry eyed and squealing. Tifa giggled along with her. Aerith smiled and Lucrecia shook her head.
I'll see Mom and Dad again… and maybe Yuffie too…for once, Zack didn't mind the squealing. He smiled secretly to himself.
"Wutai… I'm coming…!" he announced proudly and dramatically, standing up from the bed. Of course, a week in bandages made his limbs feeling a bit like jelly. He fell over, hitting his head painfully at the edge of the bed before landing on the floor.
CLUNK! THUD.
"AH! So unfair!..." he wailed.