Chapter 37: Surf 'n' Turf

Summary: Tifa's parents had honeymooned in Costa del Sol. It was the dream vacation of her childhood. This is her second time here, and she's not enjoying it this time either.

The last time (the only time) Tifa had been on a ferry she'd smuggled herself onboard in the back of a truck. She'd covered herself with a musty tarp and stayed under it even when she could hear the waves against the hull and the call of unfamiliar seabirds. Whatever urge she'd had to look out over the ocean she'd buried under her desire for vengeance. Whatever grief she'd felt at missing the trip she'd once anticipated so greatly, she'd brushed aside with the vindictive delight of cheating Shinra of her fare.

This time she paid the full fare like the law-abiding citizen she'd once planned to be.

Cloud had woken them up when the sun was still a dim light on the horizon. "Sleep on the ship," he'd said. Nineteen hours later they'd been the second-to-last vehicle in line for the night ferry. She still wasn't going to see the ocean this time because it was dark and all she wanted to do was close her eyes.

She ignored the Shinra logo that was stuck near the door out of the vehicle deck. It was painted on the walls in the stairs at every landing. It was worked into the carpet of the passenger area. There was a small shop in the centre that sold tacky souvenirs plastered with Shinra's red, gold and black diamond. The loudspeaker's voice welcomed them aboard "Shinra Electric Power Company's Emerald Empress – The jewel in Shinra's crown!"

And Shinra security forces stood at access points and scanned everyone who passed through.

Tifa had to work to unclench her jaw. Maybe it was a good thing sleeping was her priority and not, say, ripping the SOLDIER recruitment poster off the wall.

They'd been too late to buy berths for sleeping. Or maybe Cloud just hadn't thought they were worth it – "Narrow beds, tiny rooms". Instead, Cloud led them to a back corner. It had three rows of seats, but only two small windows and it was mostly cut off from the rest of the sitting area by walls and girders. "Can't 'accidentally' walk past and grab our stuff," Cloud said waving them in first.

Tifa yawned hard enough for her jaw to click. "Do we really need to worry about that?"

"Not in this corner, we don't." Cloud sat himself on the floor near the entrance, laid his sword down beside him, stretched his legs across walkway, and shut his eyes. With an appreciative chuckle, Genesis sat down across from him and did the same.

"Now we really don't have to worry about being disturbed," Aerith said with a giggle.

Tifa went to one of the rows of seats. The armrests folded up, out of the way, just like Cloud had said. It made them a decent length for her and Aerith, but Zack was half again taller than either of them.

However, that wasn't Tifa's problem. She pulled a blanket out of her pack, curled up under it and shut her eyes. The seats were horrible – lumpy through design or use – and they smelled slightly mildewy. Her nose barely had a chance to wrinkle before she was out.

.o0|0o.

There was a rhythmic hollow "whump" that came from a hovercraft crossing waves, but that wasn't what woke Tifa. It was the broken whimper, the choked cry, and the helpless "no".

"Shhh," Aerith murmured. "Shhh. You're not there anymore, Zack. You're free. You're out."

"My leg?"

As they'd all learned by sharing sleeping space, Zack's memory-dreams were usually followed by the fear that parts of him were cut open or missing. Tifa listened as Aerith reassured him that no, his thigh muscle hadn't been taken; she was touching it right now; no blood; no wound. They were quieter forms of panic attack, but no less heart-breaking.

It hadn't taken long for Tifa to let go of her image of Zack as Shinra's bubble-headed, super-powered bully-boy. Instead, she knew him as relentlessly kind, endlessly encouraging and determinedly cheerful. He'd looked at her and accepted all her possibilities and limitations. It was an acceptance that had encouraged Tifa (and probably all of them) to do a bit more, be a bit better – to try, and not be afraid of failure.

The head Turk, Tseng, had made it obvious he wanted Zack to rejoin Shinra. After all, SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair had once been a favourite, and he was the image Shinra needed now – more than Rufus, more than their steel and glass tower, more than any of their deadly machines. Shinra needed something to throw at the public to say "we are looking out for you!"

There wasn't much chance of that happening, Tifa knew. Shinra had left SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair in a lab to be tortured. His hometown, like hers, had been destroyed by their reactors. And the deaths of so many innocents through both neglect and malice. Shinra couldn't change enough to make Zack want to go back. Not when Tifa could hear Zack's shuddering breaths over the "whump-whump-whump" of the ship.

She'd called Barret yesterday when the connection had been good. The other team still hadn't reached Red's home village yet, so still no way to know if there was a way to take down Shinra's power monopoly. End Shinra's power, their control – that was the goal. They'd keep trying – all of them. They'd keep looking for alternatives until they found something and then Shinra would pay. For Zack, for Cloud, for Nibelheim…. For all the nasty horrors they'd inflicted on the world in their greed.

"Shhh." Aerith's voice was soft, rhythmic. Tifa knew it was aimed at Zack, but she listened to it anyway. She needed Aerith's kindness and understanding too, or else she'd never get back to sleep.

"Love you," Zack's voice was firmer than Aerith's, filled with gratitude. That was good. It was good that he understood the gift that Aerith was giving him. It was good.

She wanted to feel that way about someone one day.

One day. After Shinra was destroyed...

She'd rebuild the bar. Or buy a place. One big enough for Cloud to run his business out of.

"Shhh."

She wanted a jukebox. And a pinball machine – one that worked this time.

And a dartboard for Wedge…

Tifa was designing the new sign when she drifted back into sleep.

.o0|0o.

The klaxon blared through the speaker above Tifa's head. She jumped like someone bit her butt and nearly fell off the bench. Across from her she heard Zack chuckle.

"Attention: We are approaching Sun Terminal. Please make your way back to your vehicles and prepare to disembark. Thank you for sailing on the Emerald Empress."

Zack was sitting up, Aerith's head in his lap. She didn't jump. Just crinkled her nose as if telling the voice to go away and come back later. (A part of Tifa thought Aerith could probably make it happen if any of them could.)

Cloud gave Genesis's leg a soft kick.

The former-SOLDIER rolled his shoulders. "That was the worst sleep I've had since…. Well, since Deepground so not that long ago."

"Coulda grabbed a bench." Cloud stretched, arms clasped above his head, and Tifa heard his spine pop.

"And miss my chance to sleep with you?" Genesis tried to do a pose of exaggerated horror, but something must've hurt because he stopped halfway. "Will we have time to visit a masseuse?"

"How'd you get through the Wutai War if you can't survive one night without a bed?" Tifa asked.

He looked at her. "I had a masseuse, obviously." Then he winked so Tifa wasn't sure if that was true or not.

In the larger passenger area, everyone was shuffling and picking up their stuff; becoming a groggy press of bodies shuffling down the narrow stairs. Cloud talked them out of joining the crowd – "With these swords?" so Aerith dragged them to the gift shop. There was nothing Tifa wanted to buy, but she went in anyway. There was mint gum. It would do until she had a chance to brush her teeth.

Aerith bought a frankly awful flower pin covered with cheap crystals and fake gold. Tifa couldn't understand why she'd picked it. Then Aerith pinned it on Zack's shirt, and it made more sense.

"Oh lords, that's awful," Zack said, looking down at it with a grin.

Aerith giggled. "I know. But will anyone be brave enough to tell you that?"

"It will protect me from flirts and weirdos," he said. Aerith laughed and assured him it would protect him from anything.

Cloud hadn't joined them in the shop, choosing instead to grab a coffee from the machine in the hall. He looked at the hideous flower, and then at Zack with silent accusation.

Zack grinned some more. "Tell her it's ugly."

Cloud looked at Aerith. Aerith looked back with large hopeful eyes. "So ugly," Cloud said. "Suits 'im," which made Aerith laugh.

Genesis, who was subtly trying to stretch out his neck, spoke over her laughter. "We should stay at the villa. Free accommodations in an expensive town, and no doubt Shinra still has a masseuse on contract."

"Are you still complaining…" Tifa said as the same time Zack asked, "Stay at the Shinra villa?"

"Why not?" he replied to Zack. "All the high-level lackeys with access will be in Junon for the boot-licking and machinations," he said with a wave. "We will have the place to ourselves. The pantry will be full of all sorts of delicious food. It has a pool if you want to avoid the crowds at the beach, and a hot tub. There are enough bedrooms that we need not share a hall let alone a room. Unless one wishes to share, of course." He said the last sentence facing Aerith and Zack, but his eyes slid to Cloud.

"I'm pretty sure they would've removed our codes," Zack pointed out.

Genesis waved a hand. "Tseng can let us in. Or rather, he will let in the delightful Miss Aerith."

"He would, wouldn't he." Aerith bounced – a dangerous thing to do on the steep stairs. Zack, Cloud and Tifa all reached to steady her.

Zack looked at Cloud who shrugged. Zack nodded. "Let's go the villa then."

.o0|0o.

Since he knew the way, Zack drove the truck. All Tifa had to do was watch the scenery go by as they crawled their way into the most famous vacation destination on Terra.

The road between the terminal and Costa del Sol was next to the beach – the ocean view left unsullied by anything but the press of tourists and the carts selling them stuff. The other side of the road was filled with buildings – gaudy souvenir shops, packed restaurants, and bright coloured motels. Huge sculptures and flashing neon signs tried to pull her attention to whatever business they were attached to. It was Wall Market but with sunlight and surfboards.

However, at the intersections Tifa could see drabber buildings, small and dark, in the fields beyond. Based on how things worked in Midgar, she was pretty sure those were the homes of the people who worked in the over-priced shops and over-friendly motels. Locals leading lives of underpaid labour.

She couldn't even blame Shinra for it. Costa del Sol had been the dream location ever since she could remember – it was where her parents had honeymooned, for Gaia's sake – but the signs of exploitation were everywhere once Tifa started looking. It made her wonder if toppling Shinra would be enough. After all, decentralized manufacturing wouldn't stop the tourists from driving up the price of goods; new power companies wouldn't give the homeless decent housing. If someone decided to make a new monopoly in a city like Costa del Sol, it could even make things worse.

Tifa pictured Don Corneo controlling the power in Costa del Sol like he already controlled the businesses in Wall Market and shuddered.

Then she gave her head a shake. There were other reasons why bringing down Shinra was a good thing, she reminded herself. There was Nibelheim, of course, and Corel and Gongaga. There was the conditions they forced on their workers – like Jessie's father, or those people unplugging the drains in Junon. The experiments they'd done on Cloud and his team….

And there was Zack. She could still hear last night's soft despair, the disbelief that they hadn't removed muscles from his thigh.

Tifa knew that trauma did weird things to memory. It softened or spotlighted certain things while completely dropping or changing others. Her memory of Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, was one of the things it had distorted. For the longest time after – for years after that night, Tifa had only remembered the face, the uniform, the hair, and that sword. She had remembered the shape of him as he chatted with people and strode through the village, but not his name, not his voice or his words.

When Sephiroth…. When he'd gone crazy, she clearly remembered following her father to the reactor. She remembered Sephiroth's sword slicing through… and the blood. She remembered running forward and being kicked back, down the stairs, everything dizzy and dark and hurting.

Zack said he'd been there, that he'd checked on her, but that memory didn't exist in her mind. Instead, she'd somehow come to believe he'd done nothing. Worse, that he'd let Sephiroth burn everything, kill everyone, because he was SOLDIER and SOLDIER equaled death.

In other words, her mind had lied to her.

She could believe that Shinra would let Nibelheim burn to cover up their prize warrior committing mass murder. She believed it even more now she'd met the Turks – but she couldn't believe it of Zack. He wouldn't have followed those orders, which meant he hadn't been able to stop anything or save anyone in Nibelheim.

It meant he'd tried to stop Sephiroth once and failed. What made any of them think they'd do better now?

There were more of them, sure. Genesis was a First (or had been); Cloud, apparently was SOLDIER-level enhanced; she and Aerith did okay against most things; and Zack had four years of Hojo's experiments to become an even stronger First (maybe). But Sephiroth had also had all those years.

If Aerith was right, then Sephiroth was somehow in the Lifestream. He could've been sucking up its power the same way Cloud and Zack had done with Hojo's concoctions. They said they had a good chance of beating Sephiroth, but sometimes what Tifa heard was that there weren't any other options.

She gave her head another, harder shake. She – they – she – couldn't afford to think like that.

Aerith's hand was gentle on her thigh. "Are you okay?"

Tifa gave her a determined smile. "Fine. Looking forward to the beach." She wasn't actually, but she'd never been so it was a normal thing to say.

Aerith brightened like a firefly. "Oh, you too?" She clapped her hands under her chin and turned to Zack. "That makes three of us. We can buy overpriced beach food from a cart. Squish sand between our toes. Get a little sunburned."

It sounded headache-inducing. "Don't have a swimsuit," Tifa pointed out.

"There'll be shops on the way," Zack said and shot down Tifa's attempt to back out.

"Ice cream!" Aerith said dreamily.

"There's gelato shops here," Zack said. "Like ice cream but smoother, somehow. You'll like it." Aerith beamed in anticipation. For the rest of the trip, she wriggled in her seat like a puppy waiting for a treat.

Tifa had to try not to stare. When was the last time she'd been so open with her emotions? Had she ever been as open as Aerith?

Not that Tifa could trust her memories, but she didn't think so. Even now, envying Aerith's simple joy at experiencing something new, a part of Tifa wanted to tell her, warn her, that she was making herself vulnerable. That being open was a weakness that someone could exploit.

The sun flashed off the ocean, unblocked by Tifa realized that she was very bitter. She only felt joy when she was fighting – pushing her body to the limit against something she could hit.

The minty gum she'd enjoyed so much on first chew, was a tasteless lump in her mouth.

.o0|0o.

The Shinra villa was both everything Tifa'd pictured and yet completely different. For one thing, it wasn't out in the countryside, cut off from its neighbours by hectares of manicured lawns and a metres-high fence. No, it was in the middle of town, practically on the beach itself. There was even a bar a block away with bad karaoke blasting from its open windows. Noisy partyers would definitely be heard in the mansion's privileged halls.

On the other hand, the villa took up the full block. (It was a small block compared to those in Midgar, but still.)

The main door wasn't on the ground floor, but up a set of stairs attached to a little used walkway. They'd parked their vehicles on the street close to the stairs because there was no garage attached the villa. As one of Costa del Sol's original structures, (Genesis informed them) it had been built before cars were common. The city commission had (apparently) been bribe proof and hadn't allowed Shinra to alter the "historic" ground floor.

Shinra had added a landing pad for helicopters to the roof instead. (Because they were A-holes).

"So, could we jump up and get in through the roof?" Aerith asked as she waited for a Turk to pick up the phone.

"Well, I could, and Genesis. Possibly Cloud," Zack replied. "But there're alarms up there. And automated defense systems that shoot you with very nasty things."

Aerith wrinkled her nose in obvious rejection of the idea of her boyfriend getting shot. Then she looked down at her PHS. "Oh, Hello Reno. How are you?" Tifa wasn't sure why Aerith had decided not to call Tseng. Something about spreading the guilt around? She couldn't remember and didn't actually care. Tifa knew that Aerith would get them in.

Tifa let herself drift as Aerith talked rivers of excitement over the Turk's rippling creek of protest. She looked around the street. There was the bar with its bright striped awnings attached to an inn with brightly painted trim around the door and windows. There was a food truck with "Fry Me Away" painted in bright yellow letters covered in things that were (she thought) supposed to be onions, tomatoes, and melted cheese? It actually smelled pretty good, but probably not what she should have for breakfast.

And she realized she was both really hungry and pretty drained. It was hotter than she'd expected even this early. What would it be like in a few hours? No way she wanted to be out walking around in it.

"Of course, we won't break anything, Reno. We'll keep a low profile, like you said, so nobody will ever know we were in Costa del Sol, and nobody will ever know you gave us the passcode!"

Suddenly, Tifa could feel the weight of doom drop on them all.

.o0|0o.

In the end, Tifa couldn't stay in the villa for a nap. Not only did she think something was going to happen, but Aerith had looked so disappointed that Tifa had backtracked and agreed to go "just to look at the ocean" and "one ice cream, that's it".

A quick shower, a quicker snack and she was out the door with Aerith and Zack.

Minutes later, she realized it was a bad idea. She'd given in to superstition when she could've stayed at the villa and had a nap in a bed that was larger than her room at Merle's, or a bath in a tub almost as big.

There were no politics here. No Shinra office buildings with their logo and their troops splashed all over it. Costa del Sol was packed with vacationers heading out for lunch, heading to the beach, heading to the stores to spend too much money. They were bubbly and loud, excited and (in the case of some children) screaming their lungs out in over-excitement, but every inch seemed to have people in it. And those people were either blind to their existence – she was constantly bumped and pushed – or they stared.

Mostly at Zack with his garish pineapple and monkey shirt – and Hard Edge on his back. An elegant but massive reminder of violence that was as out of place on the beach as nuts on a doe.

"Why'd you bring that sword?" she asked as one more person scraped themselves on it while trying to push past him. "It's a little big."

Zack shrugged. "Smaller than Ga- the buster." She just stared at him. He gave another, smaller shrug, "Being unarmed makes my shoulder blades itch," he said. He looked down at her hands. Silently pointing out that she had her metal knuckle gloves on. She'd put them on after her shower, unthinking, and hadn't noticed until he pointed it out.

"Tifa, look!" Aerith pointed at another food truck. "Fifty-six flavours of ice cream!" She pulled Tifa to the menu board; a smiling Zack trailed behind. There were a lot of flavours – how on Odin's earth was cookie dough turned into ice cream, and what was "beach" flavour (aside from very blue)?

She settled on a salted caramel nut, Aerith picked a chocolate marshmallow flavour, and Zack went with Cactus Pear (which turned out to have chili peppers in it, so of course, he loved it.) He offered it to her and Aerith to try but Tifa shook her head. This was the third food-based stop they'd made, and she was beginning to feel…

"We need to get into the shade," she said. "And maybe get something decent to drink, like water."

But Aerith had already skipped out onto the sand, licking her ice cream and watching everything with unabashed interest. Nearer the shore, there were people building sand castles and people chasing seagulls. There were people playing a game with a ball and a net that kicked up sand everywhere. The three of them avoided it in unspoken accord. This close to the boardwalk, people sat under umbrellas reading or sleeping, and no threat to their fancy ice cream.

As soon as she finished her cone, Aerith stripped off her boots and socks and scrunched up the sand. "Dogs probably peed in that," Tifa pointed out, but Aerith just laughed.

The sand was indeed hot and squishy beneath their feet, but it was hot, and it was crowded and noisy and Tifa was ready to leave. She was about to suggest it when a particularly loud, braying laugh made Zack freeze.

He stopped so fast she and Aerith moved a couple steps ahead. When they turned to see what had happened, Zack was scanning the beach. Not just looking, but listening, scenting…

"What is it?" she asked, looking at the sea for the threat.

Zack was already gone.

It wasn't the awful shirt Tifa noticed moving the through the crowd, but the deadly shine of Hard Edge rising from Zack's wide shoulders. The weird laughter cutting through the noise of the crowd made it somehow more threatening – a magnet pulled the SOLDIER in.

"Is that…? Oh no." Aerith said. "Hojo!" Then she'd lifted her skirt and went running after her boyfriend. Tifa looked down at Aerith's abandoned shoes.

They could buy more, she decided, and took off after them.

AN: I know this chapter is very, very late, and I'd apologize but RL has been... just one big suck. No deaths or terminal diagnoses, but distant loved ones with COVID, chronic personal health issues, and my work being completely upended in February meant that writing wasn't a refuge. Instead, it was just one more drain on emotional resources that were already stretched thin. I didn't stop thinking or planning the chapters, but actually sitting down to type? Free Cell was much less demanding.

However, things are starting to settle down a little. Loved ones recovered, pain is manageable, and there's been some (not a lot, but some) direction from upper management about where my unit will fit into the new structure, so, well. Things are looking up?

I only write a couple hundred words a day, but it's still more than I could manage even a month ago, and I did finish this chapter. Kinda.

Enjoy the cliffhanger. (◣_◢)