Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.15 Acquisition
When Zack and I split up to find the kid he went in the direction of the gate, while I ran for the way that led above the plate. I knew that if this kid lived in the slums he might be unwilling to take that path, but then again he was running. I saw a civilian standing near the exit, and stopped. "Excuse me, sir?" I said. He looked up and saw, saying "Yeah? What do you want?" "You didn't happen to see a kid run past here, did you?" I asked. The man frowned. "A kid? Can't say I have," he answered. I grimaced, but nodded. "Thanks," I said. He nodded back, adding "If you're trying to find someone on these streets, then you should ask around." "Ask around. Got it," I said, before taking off. I found a man running an accessory shop and approached him.
"Pardon me. Did you see a kid run past here?" I asked. "Nope, I sure haven't. Did you lose something?" he asked. I nodded, but just then I heard the sound of running feet behind me. I whipped around and just barely saw the kid before he turned around a corner, vanishing. "There he is!" I yelled, running. I turned to same corner and caught the flash of a shoe, and I made chase. I rounded another corner and saw the kid run right past Zack, who had been facing a young girl. "Zack!" I called. He turned around and the kid zipped by, causing him to jump. "Whoa!" he said, but I merely groaned and kept running. Zack followed, but even for a 1st Class SOLDIER and a Turk this kid was fast.
"Stop!" I called. The kid looked back, but in that moment he knocked into a stack of empty crates, falling. I smirked, saying "Got you now!" But then the kid stood and started running all out, kicking up an actual trail of dust behind him. I blinked, before the kid vanished from our sight. I slowed to a stop. "Whoa. That kid… is fast," Zack said, amazed. I looked and saw Aerith standing ahead of us, hands on her knees as she panted. "Aerith!" I called, and she looked up. "Let me guess, you tried to run after him?" Zack asked, and she nodded. "We're never going to catch him like this," she said, breathing heavily. I frowned and looked around, scanning the area. "Maybe… we don't need to outrun him," I said. Both of them looked at me, saying "What?"
"I said we may not need to outrun him," I said, scanning the area. Zack stared at me, and smiled. "I know that look. What have you got planned?" he asked. "What if we lead him into a trap," I suggested, noticing a particular alley that ended with a brick wall. "Jace, what are you thinking?" Aerith questioned. I smirked, and began explaining my idea. A while later we were all in position, and I spotted the kid about to walk into a store. Before he could get there though, I dropped down room the roof and landed in front of him. "Hello. I'd like my wallet back," I said, smiling. The kid gasped and stumbled back. Before he could run to the right I moved in that direction, causing him to turn to his left and flee. I smirked and gave chase, calling "Zack, here he comes!" Zack smiled and watched from above as the kid came close.
The road forked and the fork in it would have led to freedom, but then Zack dropped down and stood in that way, arm crossed. The kid immediately kept running, and Zack called "Aerith, he's coming your way!" The kid kept going but then he saw Aerith standing there. "Uh-oh!" he called. "Hey, you. No more running," she said. Rather than listen he turned and ran into the same alley that I had spotted. But it was only when he ran in that he realized it was a dead end, and before he could escape the three of us converged on the exit. I glared at him, while Zack kept his arms crossed and Aerith frowned. "We got him, you sneaky little runt! Stealing from people is-" Zack began. But then I sighed while Aerith said "Zack…" He looked at her and stopped.
"…A very, very bad thing! So, why did you do it?" he asked, not as loud. "It's none of your business," the kid said angrily. "When you stole our wallets, you made it our business," I said, glaring. "You promised me a long time ago that you would never steal again. Are you in some kind of trouble?" Aerith asked worriedly. The kid was silent, looking away. I dropped my arms to my sides. "If you're in trouble, just say so. Now you're worrying Aerith," I said. That got to him, and he looked up at us. "My own wallet was eaten by a monster. But I have to buy medicine, and get home to my mom quickly," he admitted. I frowned. "That's it? That's why?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah. And if I don't get back with the medicine for my mom soon…" he said. I looked at Zack, who was looking at me.
I knew we were thinking the same thing. Zack nodded, and looked back to the kid. "Relax. I'll get your wallet back for you," he declared. The kid gasped, looking up. "R-Really?" he asked. "Really," I replied. "Jace that could be dangerous!" Aerith told me. "Leave it to us! No monsters area match for me! Besides, if I don't do this, he'll just have to steal again, right?" Zack pointed out. Seeing that he was right, Aerith nodded. "Then I'll help, too." But I shook my head. "No, it's okay, Aerith. We'll take care of it," I assured her. Zack nodded. "You stay here and take care of the kid," he said. Aerith nodded and the kid smiled. "The monster should still be on the street that goes to the park," he said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two squares of leather, one black and one brown.
"Here, take your wallets," he said. I smiled and did just that, placing it in my back pocket. As I did I silently made the decision to get a wallet chain the next time we went above the surface. We went to the market entrance the gates slid open with a groan, and we walked through. "Um… the park is… that way!" Zack said, pointing at a hole in the wall. At that very moment a guy appeared from that hole, running. "Hey, you two! Get behind the gate right now!" he yelled. I raised an eyebrow. "Why?" I asked. "Legions of monsters have appeared at the park!" the man said. "The park? Okay, that's got to be it!" Zack said. "What do you mean 'okay'?! Everyone is evacuating!" the guy told us. I shook my head. "Sorry. Those monsters have something we need to collect," I said.
"What? You're talking nonsense!" he exclaimed. "It's fine; don't worry about me. You, on the other hand, should get behind the gate," Zack told him. That man wasn't arguing, and ran through the gate, which shut behind him. We kept going in the direction he had come from, and found the 'legion' of monsters to be just three Worms. I drew my sword and Zack did the same, but then I realized something. "Um, Zack?" I said. "Yeah?" he replied. "You know the kid said that his wallet was eaten by the monsters, right?" I asked, and he nodded. "So that means that it's in the monster's stomach, right?" I said. Zack realized it to. "Wait. That means we have to… Aw, gross!" he said, grimacing. At the moment the Worms began sliding forward, and attempted to bite us.
While their teeth were sharp they were terribly slow, and I easily dodged. Zack swung at the worm on the left while I went for the one on the right, holding my sword in both hands. I swung downwards and tried to sever the beast in two, but my sword got stuck halfway through. The Worm hissed in pain and clenched its muscles hard enough that I couldn't remove Potentia, and then it ripped it from my grasp when it turned to me. I frowned and jumped away from it, pulling out my guns. The middle worm had also targeted Zack and managed to get lucky, biting him on the leg and leaving a circle of bite marks. Zack shouted in pain but felt a Limit Break occur, a new one. He could imagine himself standing in the middle of the flowers in the church, stabbing his sword into the dirt.
He could hear Aerith say "Good luck!" and he was enveloped in healing energy. "Thanks!" he replied, and pulled his sword back out. I could see the wound on Zack's leg close and his body bestowed with Invincible, making him immune to any damage. I turned back to the Worm facing me and fired a trio of bullets, aiming for its mouth. One bullet misses while another went in, and the third one didn't enter its mouth but it did graze the flesh next to it. The Worm screeched and slid towards me, but I cast Fire three times and followed it up with Thunder. The beast instinctively ducked and avoided two of them, but then the third hit along with the lightning bolt. The Worm flailed around and I took the chance to run forward, grasping Potentia.
I pulled with all my strength and managed to rip the sword out, spinning and burying it in the Worm's "head". It flailed wildly before falling to the ground, and when I looked Zack grabbed one Work and actually shoved it into the mouth of the air. The beast instinctively clenched it muscles, causing its teeth to pierce the other Worm and kill it. Then Zack cast Thundara and blasted it with a larger bolt of lightning, killing the last Worm. "Okay, now for wallet," Zack said, and I nodded. I frowned in disgust and held up my sword, stabbing it into the first Worm's midsection and cutting.
The process took about ten minutes, most of which was spent trying to figure out where in the Worm its stomach was, and one vomit from Zack later we fund the kid wallet's in one of them, and Zack grasped its triumphantly. "Aha! We found the kid's wallet!" he said. "Is the money still inside?" I asked. Zack opened it and immediately called "Whoa! There's a lot more money in here than what's in my wallet!" I took it from him and looked, seeing that he was right. This much money even rivaled what I had. We walked back and the gate slid open. Aerith and the boy were still near the center of the market, and looked up when we approached. "Here," I said, tossing it. The kid caught it and smiled. "You really got it back!" he called. Then he frowned. "Eww! It's all slimy!" he said.
"Quit complaining! You should be glad just to have it back!" Zack said, irritated. "Zack, Jace, were you hurt?" Aerith asked. "Not a scratch! No problem whatsoever!" Zack proclaimed. I nodded, before turning to the kid. "Now, I hope you're ready for the world's greatest punishment…" I began. He hung his head, and Aerith looked at me worriedly. Then I made a small smile, and said "Or at least, that's what Zack would have said." "Hey!" he protested, before realizing that I was right. "But you are in a hurry, so hurry up and go," I said. The kid smiled and nodded, saying "Thanks, misters." "Next time you're in trouble, just don't steal! Come to me first," Zack told him. "Hmm… I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I thought that the two of you were rich, but your wallets told a different story," he said.
I frowned. The amount of money I had was on par was his. Zack frowned. "Don't mock me, Junior! I'm gonna be a rich man soon! Aerith, Jace and I are gonna sell flowers!" he said. The kid blinked, saying "Huh?" I smiled. "He's right. It's gonna be called Operation Midgar Full of Flower, Wallet Full of Money," I said. Aerith smiled. "That's right. Midgar full of flowers, wallet full of money!" she repeated. "Aerith, are you seriously doing this?" the kid asked. "Yes… I'm gonna try. So no more stealing! If you have a problem, come to me, okay?" she said. The kid nodded, smiling. "Okay, I will. Thanks again Aerith, mister. You two should be more careful on the street, unless you want your wallet taken again!" he said. I frowned at that, and Zack said "Obnoxious brat. Get going!"
The kid laughed and did just that, running off. "Thanks for helping that boy, Zack, Jace," Aerith said. I smiled at my "sister" and shrugged. "It was nothing, really," I said. "Hey, Zack? Were you serious about selling flowers?" she asked. "Of course! How can I turn back now after everything I've said?" he replied, before stopping I could see idea occur to him, and said "Wait! Zack has an idea!" "Really? What?" Aerith questioned, and Zack paused. "How did you know that?" he asked. I laughed. "Zack, do not ever play poker. You'll lose every cent," I said. He frowned, but then shrugged it off and turned to Aerith. "Yeah, I did have an idea. Let's make a flower cart!" he announced. "A flower cart?" she repeated. "Yeah! A flower wagon! If we have a wagon and fill it full of flower, then we can cart them around Midgar selling them!" Zack said.
"Oh yeah, that's true. That's a good idea!" she said. I looked at the two of them. Although they didn't notice it, they seemed to be getting closer by the second. I smirked. While Zack may be a hothead, maybe having someone like Aerith his life would do him so good. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said.
Sorry it took me so long to update- I was away on a fishing trip. But now I'm back, and both Jace and Zack have gotten their wallets! What is to come though? Can it be good?
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)