No Longer A Memory! – Chapter 4: Friday, Two 'O Clock
Chapter Summary: Mysterious investigations, a forceful request, and a demanding guest…
Author: Illusor Meaneld
Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7. They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) amusements.
I DO however own, the revised conceptual designs for some clothing, demons, and monsters, and "Namir" completely belongs to me so no stealing…
Fingers drummed away on the keyboard, the dusty room illuminated by the white glow of a single computer monitor, and a dim flickering light, no doubt on it's last legs, which hung precariously from a single cord on the ceiling. A single man sat hunched over the computer, though his frame was larger than average, his skin was taught against his bones, his muscles neglected. Folders and files were flickering across the screen as quickly as channels on a television under an impatient teenager's guidance. The man was obviously ill at ease.
A smaller gangly figure sat under the aged lamp near his agitated colleague, pouring over papers which piled before him on a small table that creaked warningly. "I wish I knew what I was looking for…" the younger man murmured unhappily, "This all so confusing."
"Just try to focus, I don't know how long we can get away with 'breaking and entering'… someone is bound to notice eventually."
The younger man shuffled through files idly, going through the motions of searching, he wanted to appear to be helping his more irritable partner, but felt more than a little out-of-his league trying to understand the cryptic writing.
"Some of these files keep referencing something called a … 'chaos project'. But I'm not finding anything." The large man grumbled.
"Chaos project…" The youth mused with sudden interest, "I think I saw a file with that title!"
His partner turned in his seat, rising to stand next to the smaller figure. He shuffled anxiously through the files, sudden doubts filling his hands with nervousness, he genuinely wanted to help his companion, but he feared the consequences had he been mistaken on the title. He secretly wished to himself that he hadn't spoken up until he was sure he actually HAD seen 'chaos project'. The older man shifted, causing his gangly partner to flinch, the tension was almost palpable as papers rustled and files were sorted hastily.
"Here it is!" The youth squeaked, but the file was out of his hands before he could finish. A smile slowly spread across the large man's face, and the young man relaxed with a sigh, he had done well apparently. After a pause he regained enough confidence to voice a question that had been turning over in his mind for a good portion of the evening. "I don't understand… what's so special about these 'demons'. I mean… there are lots of monsters around, some a lot more powerful than these things right? And surely a lot easier to find…"
The older man sighed, glaring condescendingly at his assistant. "You DON'T understand… Demons are not creatures imbued with magical power, they're not even alive in the same way as the rest of us. Just as materia is condensed from the knowledge of those who have passed on before us, so too do the emotions and essence of those who have gone before filter from the life-stream, distilling into something tangible. Demons are formed from the strongest of these emotions … their potential power is… undefined."
The younger companion sighed, wondering to himself if this wasn't just another wild goose chase. They hadn't found any good leads since they had learned from the Shinra database that Professor Hojo had also worked with 'demon theory'.
"It only mentions one subject… I wonder…" the old man mused aloud.
"There was an alphabetized filing cabinet in the other room" His assistant supplied.
Without another word the broad shouldered man shoved roughly past his subordinate, moving quickly to the cabinet in question. Quickly finding the correct section, he thumbed through the folders until he found the name he was looking for. He drew forth the aged manila folder in anticipation, opening it eagerly, and stared at it's lack of contents. "Cursed Cetra!" He screamed in frustration, slamming the empty folder to the ground.
The youth's eyes followed it to the floor, his gaze alighting on the aged tag. "V. Valentine…" He murmured aloud to himself in curiosity.
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The deadbolt turned almost silently in its lock, the door sliding open to allow the silvery moonlight to gleam across the wood and tile floors of the apartment, shining on the metallic hair of the entering figure.
"I'm hom…." Sephiroth choked off the ending of his statement gazing up in astonishment at the scene before him. He'd just returned from a long and rather tedious bodyguard assignment, the employer had only requested one person, and naturally he had taken the job. His mind flickered over several possibilities as to the reasons behind his current predicament. Had Vincent gotten a short job while he was gone? It wasn't uncommon in the least… they both worked when it was available, but… somehow that didn't quite fit. "Um… well… hello there…" Sephiroth stammered trying not to gawk at the figure before him. He'd never realized just how BIG Death Gigas was, but seeing the demon crouched uncomfortably, it's massive shoulders bowing to avoid the ceiling, and it's smooth face turning in Sephiroth's direction, he felt a chill run down his spine at it's mass.
Death Gigas had no facial features other than its eyes, which were a milky white. It seemed to be able to see, but Sephiroth had only heard its voice in his head, A fact that didn't bode well for attempting to pacify the great beast. "So… um… Death Gigas…" Sephiroth pondered quickly, "You look… a bit cramped, everything alright?" He fidgeted as he gazed sharply around the room. Nothing much seemed to be out of place, but he didn't see that the demon could possibly fit through any of the doors or windows, unless they were willing to destroy the apartment, it wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. "Do you need anything in particular? You can sit down if you like." Sephiroth gestured towards the sofa, but there was no response from the large demon. Frowning in mild confusion Sephiroth stared up at the creature filling their small living room. "Why don't I just come back a little later then?" He offered, turning back towards the door. The response was immediate, the floor grunted under the demon's shifting weight, the strange metal pieces and shrapnel that made up a portion of its strangely constructed upper-torso grated across the ceiling, digging large chunks of staccato and plaster to rain down on the wooden floor and rugs. Small flickers of electricity raced along the metal in its body, lighting the room sporadically. It reached towards the rather startled Ex-General menacingly. Sephiroth kicked the door shut, still standing inside the room. "I can stay…" He said quickly. And just like that Death Gigas settled back to the floor. It's unblinking gaze on the swordsman.
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Tifa slid her leather gloves over her hands with practiced ease, wiggling her fingers until they were as snug as a second skin. She knew Cloud was avoiding her, and she was confident now that she knew what to do about it.
Cloud stared around him, he knew Tifa was looking for him, and having failed to jimmy open the bathroom window, which no doubt had something to do with the martial artist as well, he was at an impasse. He was quickly running out of things he could plausibly be doing, he wasn't going to be able to stall much longer before Tifa figured out what he was up to. Heaving a sigh as his eyes swept the room one last time, he'd taken a shower, shaved, washed his hands twice, even cleaned the room till it was spotless, There were no more excuses left… resting a hand on the handle with some misgivings, he slowly slid the door open, he was greeted immediately by the brunette's annoyed face.
"Tifa…" He began slowly rubbing at the back of his head, "I guess we should…" WHAM! Cloud doubled over in shock and pain as Tifa's fist collided solidly with his gut.
"Yes we need to talk Cloud." Tifa finished with a tight smile, a leg sweep took the blonde off his feet. Without any further explanation Tifa hoisted Cloud by one arm and launched him down the hall, dropping him with another punch before he'd even fully hit the ground. Cloud gasped, more in shock than pain as he found his back pressed against the linen closet, effectively cornered by the stern woman towering over him. "Cloud?"
"Yes?" He almost squeaked, terrified by the drastic change in his childhood friend.
"Cloud, I like you, I want us to be more than friends!"
Cloud nodded numbly, anything to keep Tifa from going off on him again, the brunette smiled,
"I want you to ask me out Cloud."
"Uh… what?" Cloud began to frown, but his confusion evaporated when a fist solidly collided with his stomach once more, "YES.. .Yes… okay!" He yelped,
"Within the week Cloud… what day?" Tifa persisted, a slight smile starting to curve her lips,
"Uh… are you available Friday?" The blonde asked warily,
"Friday works for me… what time?"
"Two!" Cloud half-shouted, still cringing.
Tifa grinned broadly now, "Okay Cloud, I'll see you at Two 'O Clock on Friday," A quick swipe at his arm had Cloud yelping and ducking. Tifa winked as a parting shot before disappearing
Cloud sat in stunned amazement for several long moments after the sound of her footsteps had completely faded down the hall. "What…. What just happened?" He mumbled aloud,
The towel cupboard beside the bathroom suddenly popped open, "You just asked Tifa out!" Zack whooped as he scrambled from his cramped hiding place,
"I WHAT?" Cloud stared at his friend incredulously, somehow not surprised that the black-haired swordsman had hidden the moment a woman's fury had been in evidence.
"Yeah, I totally wouldn't back out on this one if I were you man!" Zack winked broadly, "You've got a date with a psychopath!"
Cloud was suddenly experiencing mixed feelings about his new romantic endeavors.
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Sephiroth glared at Death Gigas in exasperation. Half an hour of prodding had failed to produce any sort of response from the beast, it simply indicated he couldn't leave, but other than that remained statue-still.
"I can cook up some food…" Sephiroth mumbled, growing more and more annoyed, and slightly desperate to induce SOME change. "Can you even eat food?" He wondered aloud as he remembered the demon lacked a mouth… or a nose for that matter. "We can play a game?" He reconsidered that one quickly as he doubted the monster would allow him to disappear into a different room even for a moment. "Would you like me to dance?" He experimented with a quick twirl and tap step, spreading his arms wide and raising an eyebrow at the end, waiting for a reaction that never came. "I could strip…" He prodded, taking only a moment to remove his jacket and shirt in practiced motions. When this too was met with a stoic stare he sighed in relief, he wasn't certain he would have enjoyed the results if Death Gigas had actually wanted MORE of that one. "I suppose I could sing… I doubt I'm very good… or that you'd want to hear it…" Sephiroth hummed experimentally, his face slowly settling into a glare when Death Gigas simply watched, "I know you want SOMETHING!" the ex-general growled, "Do you want a pencil and paper? Perhaps we could play Pictionary and YOU could tell ME?" the demon's head slowly tilted to one side, but nothing else. Throwing up his hands in exasperation Sephiroth paced angrily before the great beast. "What do you WANT?" he snarled, throwing furious glares at his room mate
It was at about that moment that Death Gigas seemed to relax, had it had the capability of normal breath or expressions Sephiroth was sure it would have sighed. The massive form shrank, melting into itself and turning slowly black as clothing poured across the twisted skin and metal and features shifted into place instead of the demon's mask. After a moment that seemed far too long to the irate ex-general, Vincent stood exhaling in relief where Death Gigas had once sat, stretching as though his muscles were cramped from long disuse.
"FINALLY!" Sephiroth breathed, slumping into the couch in a motion that was far more expected of Zack. "What was WRONG with him?" Green eyes flashed to meet red ones.
"… He was bored…" Vincent mumbled,
"bored?" Sephiroth gaped, "What did he want?"
"Entertainment… you provided nicely…" Vincent's eyes flickered away, refusing to meet the swordsman's gaze again.
Sephiroth groaned, "Wonderful… and I thought ZACK was dangerous when unoccupied."
Vincent half-turned ducking away from the silver-haired man's gaze, suddenly Sephiroth's eyes snapped up, finally recognizing the movement.
"Hey Vince, it's not your fault. Don't fret! I'll manage… it's just my pride that's wounded okay?" He smirked broadly, "You can just make breakfast for me tomorrow, no harm done."
Vincent slowly glanced back, and after a short pause he nodded silently.
"Next time give me a phone call or something ahead of time alright? So I'll be more prepared." Sephiroth grinned when this was met with another nod. "Well then I'll see you in the morning Vincent. I'll be expecting Bacon!"