Collab Fic with Rand0mSmil3z
The Midgar Paranormal Investigators aren't new to the ghost hunting business. After all, with one psychic, three veterans, a photography student, a Wiccan, a phasmophobic leader, and one coffee-obsessed cranky old dude, what hadn't they seen? For this rag-tag scooby gang, however, the Shinra Manor - and its bad habit of making people disappear - would be an investigation they would never forget. Part 1 of the Midgar Paranormal Investigators Series.
Silver_doe287 here! The best thing about writing is finding kindred writing spirits and I am so overjoyed to have somebody as amazing as Rand0mSmil3z to share in the obsession of writing and editing fics for this incredible fandom! Since it's Halloween season and the weather is blustery, cool, and I even saw a couple snowflakes yesterday, it only seems fitting to throw our favorite group of characters into a Halloween-esque fic, too. Hang on for the 3-chapter ride as the scooby gang takes on the infamously haunted Shinra Manor, once a home, once an asylum...
Hello everyone! Rand0mSmil3z speaking.
So after swearing that I wasn't going to write more than two fics simultaneously, I immediately began writing a third lol. October has put me in SUCH a spooky mood, and for me, nothing feels like Halloween more than paranormal investigators explored old, decrepit, half-forgotten properties. Especially if the unexplainable begins to happen, as our favorite characters quickly find out...
Enjoy the ride!
If there was ever a truly haunted house, this was it.
The Shinra Manor sat forgotten against the hillside, its walls groaning with age as the wind moaned through the dilapidated, dying property. Decaying vines of ivy clung to its stone walls, staining the gray granite with shades of brown, black, and yellow. The manor's windows, once formed from intricate stained glass, were long since cracked and faded. The wind moaned through them and disturbed the faded curtains draped against the glass. It was all too easy to imagine skeletal hands pulling back the faded fabric, all too easy to see sunken eyes peering down at the van pulling into the empty, leaf-strewn lot below.
Cloud Strife climbed out of the van, his exhaustion temporarily forgotten as he beheld their target for the first time in years. The Shinra Manor had aged poorly since he had last seen it; the stone path leading up to the front doors was cracked and covered with lichen and moss, and early morning dew had flattened the dead, brown grass. A chilly wind suddenly swept through the gloomy property and whispered through the cracked windows, which elicited a haunting groan that sent shivers down his spine and confirmed the thought that had chased him all the way here:
He really, really, didn't want to do this.
"Are you going to help or not?" Zack called to him from behind the van. Zack's hands were full of equipment, and he wore an easy grin as he began carrying his armful of tripods and microphones to the manor. "At this rate," he added as he strode past, "we're going to leave you behind."
Cloud sighed, running a hand through his spiky blond hair and giving a last once-over to the abandoned building. Suppressing a shudder, he muttered, "As if," before obediently headed to the back of the van where Tifa and Aerith were.
Tifa, the leader of their group, was busy organizing some of their other equipment – namely thermometer guns and radios – while Aerith was preparing her sage bundle to smudge the van.
Cloud arched an eyebrow at Aerith just as the sage began to smoke. "Aren't you supposed to do that after the investigation?" he asked.
"That's the normal procedure," Aerith replied, flashing him a brief smile, "but it can't hurt to be overprepared."
"Makes sense," Cloud replied, though inwardly he thought, no shit. He shot another wary glance at their target… only to see something shift in the corner of his vision. His pulse quickened as his eyes darted to the spot - Did I see something move just now? - but of course, nothing was there besides faded curtains and broken glass.
Cloud shook his head with a harsh sigh. Calm down, he ordered himself. It was just the curtains.
"Cloud, would you grab the cameras?" Tifa asked, drawing his attention back to her.
The cameras she was referring to were their thermal and infrared cameras. "Sure," he replied. The cameras were housed in two thick cases, and though they were surprisingly heavy, he easily lifted them with one tucked in each arm.
Zack had already deposited his equipment near the Shira Manor's front door and was currently wheeling a prepped generator over to the property's front gate. He whistled a cheerful tune as he passed through their wrought iron, seemingly not noticing the literal and metaphorical chill in the air. But Cloud noticed, and it took all of his self-control to not hesitate at the gate's threshold before he too passed into the main property. Setting the camera cases down beside Zack's growing pile, he knelt next to the generator after Zack set it down and double checked the fuel level.
"This should last us the whole night!" Zack patted the generator enthusiastically and shot Cloud another excited grin. Cloud only grimaced as he recapped the tank, then used the generator to help push himself back onto his feet.
They hadn't even started their investigation yet, but he was already exhausted.
Tifa joined them soon after, and had immediately busied herself by giving the piled equipment a once-over when a new set of footsteps approached. The newcomer was an elderly man who was short and, to be blunt, also a bit scrawny. His beard was white, wispy, and matched the thinning hair on his head. But it was his face that Cloud noticed first; though it was set with heavy wrinkles and came accompanied by dull eyes, the man's expression had an inherent kindness that had him minutely relaxing.
"Welcome to the Shinra Manor," the man said in greeting, and his thin lips twitched upwards into a smile.
Tifa wiped her hands onto her plaid pencil skirt. "Perfect timing," she replied politely, and she stepped in front of both Cloud and Zack to shake hands with the man. "My name is Tifa Lockhart. And I take it that you're Burke?"
"That's right," the man replied. "Burke Horst, at your service. I'm the caretaker of this property. And this is your team?" he added, looking behind Tifa to peer at Cloud and Zack.
Tifa nodded before introducing the two of them as they shook Burke's hand. His hand felt cool and thin in Cloud's grasp, almost as if it was made out of paper. "And the final member of Midgar Paranormal Investigators, Aerith, will be here shortly," Tifa added. "She's just preparing the van."
"Here!" Aerith said, bounding up to them. The sage still smoked in her grasp, but she hardly noticed as she shook Burke's hand. "Nice to meet you, and thank you so much for letting us investigate!"
"Yes, thank you," Tifa added with a small smile. "We've been hoping to investigate the manor for a long time now."
Maybe you were, Cloud frowned, shifting his weight to his other foot. As for the rest of us…
The sudden tap of Zack's elbow to his ribs had him immediately smoothing out his expression; he hadn't realized he was scowling.
"It's no problem," Burke said, chuckling. He hadn't seemed to notice Cloud's sour expression. "In fact, it should be me thanking you. There were some glowing reviews from some locals about you guys."
He pointedly peered at Cloud as he finished the sentence, and Cloud only shrugged to hide his growing flush. His mom had undoubtedly put in a good word, and judging by Tifa's embarrassed grin, maybe her dad threw in a good word for them too… though Cloud didn't hold his breath. It was an open secret that Tifa's father had wanted her to be a full-time lawyer instead of a part-time bartender, part-time paranormal investigator team lead. Meanwhile, Cloud's mom had just been thrilled that he had gotten a job.
"So," Burke continued as he shifted his attention back to Tifa. "Are you all ready to check out the place? We have a lot of ground to cover."
Tifa nodded. "Definitely," she replied before turning towards Zack and Cloud. "Would you two mind going on the tour with Burke? That way, I can stay here and help Aerith get everything set up for our lockdown tonight."
"Can do," Zack easily replied, and he rolled out his shoulders. Excitement flickered in his dark eyes. "Want me to bring my thermal camera?"
"Yes, please. And Cloud," Tifa added after a moment's pause, "don't forget your recorder this time."
Cloud already had the recorder in his hoodie pocket. "That was only one time," he huffed, but he dutifully pulled it out and double checked that it was fully charged and ready to go. "Did Barret and the others finish their half of the research?"
Tifa hummed in response. "Thanks for the reminder. I'll call them while you guys are inside."
"Yuffie probably distracted them," Aerith giggled.
"Nah, Barret will keep them in line," Zack countered with a grin. "Or Cid. They're probably psyched that we actually have an investigation."
Aerith's expression brightened. "An investigation on Halloween, too! This is so exciting!"
"Yay," Cloud deadpanned, conveying the enthusiasm. "Can we go now?"
Zack laughed and threw an arm over Cloud's shoulder, making Cloud's scowl deepen. "Sure thing, Spikey."
"Don't call me that."
Burke lightly coughed, drawing the attention back to himself. "Well," he managed, expression revealing he was unsure what to make out of Zack's obvious excitement and Cloud's absolute lack thereof, "if you two would just follow me…"
"Have fun!" Aerith called to Cloud and Zack as they followed Burke towards the front doors. "Let us know if you see any ghosts!"
"And don't forget to turn on your recorder, Cloud!" Tifa added.
"I already did!" came Cloud's response. This was an absolute lie, and he subtly flicked the recorder on just as he stepped through the Shinra Manor's expansive, ancient front doors.
The atmosphere immediately shifted.
Silence weighed heavily in the entrance hall, which was an exaggeratedly large room dominated by massive, looming windows. Whitewashed walls bled brackish stains and moisture clung to the rotting wallpaper. A rusty, iron chandelier creaked above them, its momentum pushed along by a phantom wind. Its haunted sound whispered through the flanking corridors and quietly ascended the winding staircase.
Cloud swallowed thickly and kept his gaze firmly on the floor, where his leather boots met the rotting carpet. He had sworn that he would never come back here, sworn that he had left this place for good, and now that he was here… well, he wanted to do nothing but run back to the van, hop in the driver's seat, and head back to Midgar. No matter what Tifa said, or how much Zack and Aerith would undoubtedly tease him.
"Scared?" Zack whispered.
Cloud glared at him, but Burke's weathered voice quickly drowned out his retort.
"The manor was built by the Shinra family almost two-hundred years ago," Burke explained as he led them through the hall and towards a set of double doors in the back. "It was a private residence for its first fifty years, but after the sudden death of the owner, it was converted into an asylum. After a series of unexplained disappearances and multiple sales to different owners, business here was abandoned. Eventually, the manor was converted into public land. However, due to the legends surrounding this place, it has remained uninhabited."
With that, Burke guided them towards the right and then through an archway. Zack swept the new area with his thermal camera, shaking his head at Cloud's inquisitive glance. Nothing out of the ordinary reported yet.
Not that Cloud was complaining. He nervously fidgeted with his recorder as Burke continued, "And this is the kitchen, which doubled as the nurse's station." Sure enough, the entire room was neatly divided in half. Old cupboards, their display glass long since shattered, were stacked beside metal trays and leftover IV stands. Dusty pots and pans rested beside empty cups and plastic pill boxes. The refrigerator door was open, revealing glass beakers, syringes, and bottles of old alcohol.
Zack nudged Cloud and murmured, "Think the alcohol is still good?"
Cloud gave him a disgusted look. "Why don't you take a sip and find out," he replied, his tone just as low. But Zack only laughed.
"Any questions?" Burke asked.
"I have one." Cloud inspected the area, careful not to touch anything - Aerith would freak out, probably quoting something about spirit hauntings at him if he did. Pushing that thought out of his mind, he asked, "How many nurses were employed here at a given time?"
Burke stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "Usually around eight or nine, if my memory serves," he finally answered. "While the manor was an asylum, it could house twenty patients at a time, though around thirteen was the average."
"Thirteen is a lucky number," Zack commented with a wink towards Cloud.
Cloud huffed his annoyance.
"I don't think the patients would agree," Burke said with a hum, and then reached into his breast pocket to pull out an old photograph. Handing it to Zack, he continued, "This is what the manor looked like in its prime."
Zack whistled. "Pretty nice," he said, and then passed the photo to Cloud. "I wouldn't mind living here."
The photo was a shot of the manor's exterior. It was grainy and bleached of color, but there was no mistaking the manor's towering windows, the impressive front entrance, or the elaborate garden winding out its front. Full roses bloomed over the lush hedges.
Cloud's gaze darkened. When he had been a child, those hedges were still there, albeit dead and dry. He remembered how their thorns pricked his skin and…
… and then he was tearing through the bushes, his hands cut and blood beading on his pallid skin. A pale moon cut through the brambles and stained the world silver beneath it. The hot tears streaking his cheeks glistened beneath the muted light, and his choked cries were swallowed by tangled vines as he fought his way through the dead rose garden. One thought permeated his entire being, a sharp fear that sang through his blood and burned his raw nerves:
He had to get away.
He had to escape.
Something was following him…!
"Cloud?"
Cloud jolted. "What?" he replied immediately. His voice was strained, and his heart hammered in his chest. Fire seared his nerves. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and then another long moment to remember why he was here, but when it finally sunk in…
He firmly shook his head, dispelling the last of the flashback. "Sorry about that," he said, and passed the photograph back to Burke, who was watching him with a concerned expression. "Nice, uh, picture."
Burke frowned at the photo. "I suppose… but anyway." He slipped the photo back into his breast pocket. "If you wouldn't mind following me…"
His footsteps echoed against the hardwood floor as he led them back into the hallway. The windows loomed over them as they headed back to the other end of the manor.
Zack's footsteps lagged until he was walking beside Cloud. "So what was that?" he asked under his breath.
"Hm?" Cloud glanced up at him. "What was what?"
"You know," Zack replied, frowning. "That. You sort of… zoned out in there."
A flush crept up Cloud's neck, and he pointedly looked away. "No I didn't."
"Except you did," Zack insisted.
"It was nothing."
"Except it was." Zack's frown deepened. "Look man, I don't want to hover or anything, but are you doing okay? Feeling… you know, normal?"
Cloud frowned at him. "Normal?"
"If you want," Zack hurriedly continued, as if Cloud had never spoken, "we can cut this early so that Aerith can take a look at you…"
"Wait." Cloud's voice took an accusing tone. "You think a spirit attached itself to me?"
"Maybe," Zack said with a shrug, but then his expression grew more severe. "You never know. This is supposedly a super active place, and since you grew up near here, then like… I don't know, maybe the spirits like you. Find you familiar or something like that."
"There's no such thing as spirits," Cloud shot back, and shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket for emphasis. "And besides, I'm fine. Let's just… focus on the tour and get this whole thing over with."
Zack's frown was still focused on him. "If you say so," he said after a lengthy pause, allowing Cloud to enter the other archway opposite the kitchen first.
But thankfully, Burke's voice once again spared Cloud from having to reply.
"This room was originally used by the Shinra family as the main banquet hall, as well as for entertainment and dancing," the caretaker explained as he walked into the middle of the room.
Cloud's gaze swept across the room. Burke had called it a banquet hall, but the large room struck Cloud to be more musically inclined. A dusty piano had been shoved unceremoniously into the corner; all of the ivory keys were coated in a thick layer of dust, and some were missing entirely. The thin stacks of aimlessly placed sheet music resting on top were all but legible, and the notes had long since faded.
Besides the distinctly black piano, broken violins were strewn on the floor and yellowing sheet music was scattered against the worn wooden floors. Stonework bled into the atrium in the back and led into a cylindrical tower with windows encircling it, once grand, now abandoned and broken. The sweeping windows did little to warm the room; instead, the atmosphere was cold, dark, and dreary. A single table had been shoved in the corner against one such window, and chairs had been haphazardly shoved around it.
Cloud crossed his arms across his chest and suppressed a shudder.
This room hadn't changed at all.
"The Shinra family prided themselves in being music prodigies," Burke said. His voice rose above the heavy atmosphere, and though he spoke at a normal volume, he still sounded strangely muted. It was almost as if he was talking from the other side of the manor, even though he was standing right beside Cloud. "Their children would often perform in recitals and the like. However, during the manor's asylum days, the nurses would attempt to perform music therapy and teach some of the healthier patients basic instruments. They believed that music could cure the various afflictions of the soul," he added with a shrug.
"'Afflictions of the soul'?" Zack echoed.
Burke nodded. "Back in those days, mental illnesses - including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia – were considered to be an impairment of the soul; as in, the person's Lifestream was somehow out of sync with the Planet. The nurses here believed that music could help retrain the soul and realign it with the Planet's Lifestream. Of course," he continued with a dry chuckle, "that ideology has been disproven time and time again. That being said, it has been proven that music can help patients with anxiety and depression. But I'm not a professional." He shrugged, as if to say, what do I know? "Don't quote me on anything."
"Sure," Cloud replied. He swept his gaze across the room, trying and failing to ignore the cold shiver trembling down his spine, but what made him pause was that the table was still fully set. There were plates, salad bowls, and glass cups situated around it. A teapot was set in the center. Tiny tea cups were purposefully displayed beside it, and if he looked closely, the cutlery had dust imprints around them… almost as if they had been recently moved.
"Does anyone come in here often?" he asked, frowning at the imprints.
Burke glanced at him in surprise. "No," he replied. "I'm the only one with a key to the place."
That doesn't mean much, Cloud thought, recalling how the neighborhood kids of his childhood would routinely sneak in here, but he nodded his head regardless.
"Should we place a camera here tonight?" Zack asked, following his gaze with a frown..
"Probably," Cloud replied, eyeing the suspiciously clean silverware. "Just in case."
Burke suddenly cleared his throat. "Anyway," he continued, "when the manor was converted into an asylum, the dining hall was stripped of its more… entertaining qualities, such as its full-length dining table, and all furniture from there on out was then bolted to the floor to prevent the patients from hurting themselves. While the furniture has been removed," he added, "you can still see evidence of the bolts in the floors."
"Do you know of any fights that broke out?" Zack questioned as he swept the temperature camera across the room, his gaze narrowed and lips pursed. "Or any deaths?"
"Fights were surprisingly uncommon," Burke replied, but then his tone changed. "There… have been a few deaths, however."
A chill went through Cloud. "Where?" he asked, already regretting the question.
Burke glanced at him. "We'll get there," he promised.
Cloud thickly swallowed, and the tour continued.
"Next up is the second story," Burke said, and he began guiding them to the winding staircase in the entrance hall. Cloud and Zack shared a look before following. "The second floor is the most interesting aspect of the manor, if you ask me. It's also the most active," he added with a strange light in his eyes.
Zack's eyes blazed with excitement. "Active?" he echoed.
Burke chuckled dryly at Zack's enthusiasm. "Yes. In fact, there are a few curiosities there that I think you boys would find very interesting for your investigation."
"Really?" Zack's expression brightened, and he turned to Cloud. "We totally need to get Aerith in here too. Maybe she could sense something!"
Cloud shrugged. "Maybe..." he replied cautiously.
"'Sense' something?" Burke repeated, the question obvious in his tone.
Zack turned to the caretaker and nodded. "Yeah. She's like, psychic. It's pretty wild, actually. One time we investigated an old theater in Midgar, and she knew exactly how the ghost died the moment she walked in, and then she figured out why the ghost was haunting the place. And as soon as she learned that," he added, lifting a finger, "she purified the entire theater. It was pretty crazy to watch."
"And she did it all in a few hours," Cloud added, recalling the moment Aerith had blessed the property with a silent reverence. "Normally, something like that would take… weeks, probably."
"She sounds very talented," Burke commented thoughtfully.
Zack nodded his agreement. "She is!"
They had made it to the stairs during their conversation, and Burke led their ascension up the winding stairwell. As his boots fell onto each step with a reverberating echo, Cloud swore to himself that the temperature dropped a few degrees. The air also felt heavier, thicker, even, and he took a deep breath as he shuddered through the thick fabric of his hoodie. Zack, not dressed as warmly in his band t-shirt and plaid flannel, didn't look cold in the slightest.
Cloud turned away, frowning even as another shiver trembled down the small of his back. You're fine, he told himself firmly. His hand gripped the banister tightly as he followed Burke and Zack up the stairs, his knuckles bleached white with the resulting tension. Besides, you investigate places all the time. This isn't a big deal.
He lifted his gaze to the chandelier; studying the spiderwebs draped over its iron spires and how a thick layer of dust smoothed its jagged edges.
Tearing his gaze away, his mind echoed, This isn't a big deal.
Burke turned to the left and began to guide them to another set up double doors. "Shall we start with the greenhouse?" he asked.
Zack's expression brightened. "Yes please."
Dread curled deep in Cloud's gut, but he resolutely squared his shoulders and followed Burke and Zack into the next room.
The greenhouse was exactly that – a greenhouse. Overgrown green ivy snaked up the walls while mosses crowded their pots, growing over each other in spongy carpets. Pine tree saplings grew crooked in their containers without a stabilizing stick to hold them in place, while small oaks and broad-leaved palms arched towards the smudged windows in stark determination. The air inside was humid and stuffy.
Cloud wrinkled his nose at the heavy scent of mulch and musk. "Do you water these plants?"
"I do," Burke proudly replied. "As caretaker, it is my responsibility. But shall we move on to the bedroom? It is much more exciting in there, and I believe that your team may enjoy that room the most."
Cloud sincerely doubted that, but he nodded his agreement and allowed Burke to continue on their guided tour. Yet Zack hovered in the greenhouse a moment longer.
"Zack?" Cloud called over his shoulder, halting his momentum immediately. "We're going to leave you."
Zack blinked, as if in surprise. "Ah, yeah. Coming, coming."
"See anything on your camera?"
"Just a cold spot." Zack managed a thin smile as he joined Cloud and Burke at the doorway. "But it may just be a coincidence."
"Probably," Cloud said, though his mood soured further and he stuck close to the other two as they continued down the hall. Gods, he hated this manor. Maybe he should have stayed in Midgar, where it was safe. Well, he thought, frowning, safer. Sure, he may get mugged walking back to his apartment after his day job as a pizza delivery driver, but at least he wouldn't be getting mugged by a damn ghost.
Except ghosts aren't real, he firmly reminded himself as Burke led them into the bedroom. Zack probably just caught a cold draft...
Yeah, that's right. The more Cloud thought about it, the more the idea solidified in his mind. The window was probably just cracked or something, and that's how the camera caught the cold spot.
The thought soothed his frayed nerves, and it was suddenly easier to focus as Burke threw himself into his next explanation.
"This was originally the master bedroom," Burke said, "though following the death of the Shinra head of household..."
"Death?" Zack sounded positively delighted. "Did it happen in this room?"
"Yes," Burke said with a sagely nod. "According to official reports, the death was due to a heart attack. But as you can imagine," he added with a shrug, "there are rumors that the heir poisoned his father in order to inherit his fortune."
Zack nodded enthusiastically before turning to Cloud. "That would cause a haunting for sure," he said, which had Cloud scowling. "You know, like the father wants revenge on the son so his spirit lingers?"
"Sure, but can't we just focus?" Cloud asked before turning to Burke. "So what happened after the death?"
"Following the death," Burke continued, "this room was converted into the main patient center for the asylum." Sure enough, rows upon rows of metal bunk beds lined the expansive room. The few mattresses that remained on the bunks were sagging and very clearly falling apart, their fabric torn and the rusted springs poking through. Zack swept the thermal camera through the area with barely contained glee. "You'll notice that the bunks have been nailed into the floor."
"To prevent the patients from injuring themselves," Zack quoted from earlier in the tour.
"That is correct," Burke concurred. "Originally, there would have been grandiose paintings displayed on the far wall, but those have long since been removed and placed in storage."
Cloud blinked in surprise. He actually didn't know that. "Really? They weren't placed in a museum?"
"They were, once," Burke admitted with a sheepish grin. "They went to the museum in Junon. However, the patrons there soon began having… problems."
"Problems?" Zack echoed.
"Visitors to the museum reported seeing different faces in the paintings, or the same faces but varying expressions. Soon the rumor began to spread that the paintings were cursed, which you can imagine that the museum was less than pleased when their sales plummeted. So," he finished, his tone bland, "they returned the paintings, and they have been in storage ever since."
"Are they here?" Zack asked, eyes alight with anticipation. Cloud personally believed that Zack sounded way too excited about the prospect.
His excitement only mounted when Burke sagely nodded and replied, "They are."
"Let's go see it." Zack turned to Cloud, his eyes practically dancing. "We should. You know, for research purposes. So we know where to look later."
Cloud would rather go remove his own wisdom teeth than look for that painting – not that he'd ever tell Zack that. "Maybe we should look at the library first," he suggested instead, turning to Burke with the most pleading expression he dared. "And besides," he added just for the hell of it, "I'm sure Tifa and Aerith will be finished with their preparations soon, and we don't want to keep them waiting."
Zack watched him for a moment, only to smirk and cheekily say, "You're scared, aren't you Spikey."
Cloud flushed. "I am not."
"Cloud is right," Burke interrupted, and Cloud just about sighed in relief. "I have gotten a bit carried away, and we shouldn't keep the rest of your team waiting any longer. I can briefly show you the library, as you so helpfully pointed out, and then we can head back out."
Thank the gods, Cloud silently exhaled.
"But I am surprised," Burke mentioned as they all slipped back into the hallway. Glancing at Cloud, he continued, "I haven't met too many people familiar with the manor."
"I grew up around here," Cloud said by way of explanation. "So did Tifa, actually."
"Did you now?"
Cloud nodded. "But how about you?" he asked as Burke led them into the next door, which was right across the way from the bedroom. "I lived in Nibelheim until about six years ago, when I was fourteen, but I don't recall seeing you."
"Ah, that explains it then." Burke dryly chuckled, as he was prone to doing. "I moved out here some five years ago, from Midgar. The city was too busy for me." He shrugged. "I'm growing old, and the mountain air suits me much better."
"So how did you end up taking care of this old place?" Zack asked as Burke opened the door to the library.
Burke's expression was almost sad then, but only for a moment. The expression passed the moment he turned back to Zack and smiled thinly. "I am interested in old properties," he simply said.
Cloud schooled his expression into something bland. He's lying, he immediately realized. Shifting his weight onto his other foot and continuing to remain expressionless, he thought, But if he's lying… then what's the real reason he would want to watch over the manor?
He racked his brain trying to come up with a reasonable answer, but he only got a headache for the trouble. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he silently cursed and tried to pay attention to Burke's rambling explanation about the significance of the library, how many medical books there were, how the asylum patients also shared this space as a gaming room with puzzles, coloring, and card games.
"What's with the safe?" Zack suddenly asked, dragging Cloud out of his thoughts and into the moment.
"The safe?" Burke arched a quizzical eyebrow, only to follow Zack's line of sight and suddenly grin. "Ah, the safe! It has been here since the original Shinra family owned the property. However, it has not been touched since then."
Cloud also knew that that was a lie, and that the neighborhood kids would often try to open the safe growing up. All of their efforts had ended in failure, to his knowledge. "Do you know what's inside?" he asked.
Burke shook his head. "I do not," he replied, "though I am inclined to believe that there may be some objects of sentimental value inside. There were rumors of a diary of some sort. Perhaps even some money."
Money? Cloud eyed the safe with new interest. Maybe part of their investigation could be to investigate how to open the safe. Bills weren't going to pay themselves, after all, and paranormal investigations weren't exactly making them millionaires.
Though, he thought after a pause, that would probably be stealing.
He sighed and looked away from the safe, disinterested. "And the storage rooms?" he asked, trying to move the tour along.
"At the other end of the hallway," Burke said. "Would you like me to show you, or…?"
"We can find it on our own, no problem," Cloud promised, and then gave Zack a look, daring him to contradict him. Thankfully, Zack didn't. "Besides," he continued, turning back to Burke, "I'm sure Tifa and Aerith are done by now and waiting for us."
"Aerith would also want to check out the storage room," Zack added as they made their way back down the stairs. "And probably the greenhouse too."
Cloud nodded his agreement. "And the piano," he added.
Their combined footsteps rattled down the steps. "Piano?" Zack said, giving Cloud a look.
"Yeah, the piano," Cloud replied. "Spirits love pianos."
"They do not."
"They do. Trust me."
Zack laughed. "Cloud, you're my best friend. But," he grinned as they made it to the first floor, "that does not mean that I trust you."
Cloud made an inelegant noise and flipped him off when Burke wasn't looking.
Zack only laughed harder, and the three of them passed beneath the chandelier and, finally, through the front doors. Cloud deeply inhaled the moment they passed over the threshold and entered the outdoors; the air was clean and crisp, and he strangely felt several times lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could breathe again.
Even Zack, who was famous for being the least affected on their investigations, looked a bit shaken. "Woah," he said, shooting Cloud an odd glance. "Did you feel that?"
As much as Cloud wanted to outwardly deny it, he eventually nodded.
"Ah, you two felt that as well, didn't you?" Burke asked, standing in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back. He smiled fondly. "The same thing happened to me when I first began caring for the property, but don't you worry. You'll get used to it."
Cloud doubted that. He grew up here after all, and though he made it a point to never come to the manor after the incident, he distinctly remembered the sudden clarity he had experienced when he had finally managed to escape.
Tifa hurried towards them the moment they appeared. "How did it go?" she asked breathlessly. It didn't escape Cloud's attention that her gaze darted over his shoulder, towards the entrance of the Shinra manor. "Did you notice anything?"
Cloud nearly followed her line of sight, but immediately thought better of it. "Just a few promising locations," he answered with a vague shrug.
"Did you bring your recorder?"
"Yeah."
"And you turned it on?"
"That was only one time," Cloud replied, scowling. "And yes, I did."
"And I swept the area with the thermal camera," Zack added with a grin, but then his smile faltered. "There's a few places on the second floor Aerith could take a look at."
Aerith, who had been frowning at one of the windows, perked up when she heard her name. "What type of places?" she asked curiously.
"A small greenhouse and the storage room," Zack replied, beaming at her.
"Zack thinks he found a cold spot in the greenhouse," Cloud elaborated, "and there are apparently some haunted paintings in storage."
Tifa blanched. "Haunted paintings?"
Cloud met her pained expression and nodded, regretfully.
"Well." Burke cleared his throat. "I'll be headin' home now, unless you kids need anything else from me."
Tifa managed a smile. "No - you're good. You've been perfect Burke, thank you. We'll take care of the rest."
"I certainly hope so." Burke squinted up to the second floor, towards the faded curtains that continued to whisper with the chill mountain breeze. "We'd certainly appreciate all the help we can get. But anyway." He lowered his gaze with a thin smile. "I'll just be five minutes down the road. Holler if you need anything."
"Will do," Tifa promised, and with that and a brief wave Burke began walking away. The group watched until he disappeared behind the hill, heading down the dirt road. With a harsh, nervous sigh, Tifa turned back to the rest of her team. "Well… shall we start?"
Cloud shoved his hands into his pockets. "Do we have to?" he muttered under his breath.
"Of course, Spikey," Zack said with a laugh. Slinging his arm over the shorter man's shoulders, he added, "Aren't you excited to finally have a paranormal investigation so close to your home?"
"And somewhere that's supposedly so haunted, too!" Aerith added enthusiastically.
Cloud made a sour face. So did Tifa, for that matter, but it was Cloud who replied, "No."
And so began their lockdown.
A/N: This fic will post every Saturday until Halloween! Stay tuned!