Authors Notes: Well, we made it, the final chapter, it's been a long ride but it's been quite the experience.
Now before I get into this chapter I have a few announcements that I want to make. But before I do that, I just want to thank the people who have favorited and followed this story throughout its course. I'm happy that there are others who share my love for crossovers that shouldn't work in context but wind up being like Negan in Tekken 7. And I want to thank You, yes You, the person currently reading this. Whether you're someone who just started reading or have been reading since the beginning, thank you for sticking around.
Now it's time for the announcements:
Announcement 1: I plan on moving to AO3 (under the same name: Revan62) in the near future, and I am going to be cross posting this story on there as well. The cross post itself will be a more refined version of this story that'll include more details to scenes, longer chapters (although it'll mostly be combing chapters), and new and refined scenes. I will also be publishing my other stories I have in mind there too, and let me tell ya: if you thought this was a bizarre crossover, just wait until you see what else I have in mind.
Announcement 2: I have a prequel for this story that I plan on working on in the future. I haven't begun work on it yet but most likely, I'll start doing it after crossposting this onto AO3. The prequel will focus on Benrey and Sephiroth, and how they met along with how their relationship began and developed. It'll be set during Crisis Core and I hope to work on it soon.
Now that the announcements are out of the way. It's about time we got into the final chapter.
Once again, thank you for reading up until now and I hope you enjoy my future work.
Everything slowly came into sight for Cloud and Gordon. They felt themselves moving down as if they were on an elevator. When everything came into picture they found themselves on an elevator going downwards, and they were back in Xen.
A man in a blue suit holding a briefcase stood in front of them.
"Gordon Freeman in the flesh, or should I say in the hazard suit." He said,
"And Mr. Strife it is quite nice to finally make your…acquaintance."
He then turned his attention back to Gordon.
"I took the liberty of relieving you of your enhancements.-"
Gordon looked down and saw that his chaingun was gone, and his right hand was back, as if he never lost it.
Cloud silently gasped when he saw Gordon's hand.
"-After all, it was government property. As for the hand and suit, I would say you've earned them, wouldn't you?"
They teleported and now found themselves in an area where several dead Shinra troops and SOLDIERS lay on the ground, several destroyed tanks were also around them.
"The two entities that have been waylaying our plans have been dealt with thanks to you and your companions. I don't think we'll be seeing either of them anytime soon."
"You mean Sephiorth and Benrey?" asked Cloud.
"That is correct," The man responded,
"The ones you call Seph…iroth and Ben…rey will no longer be an issue. And Mr. Freeman-" He said,
"As I have told you previously, Benrey's motivations along with his true nature are on a….need to know basis."
"Why do you say that?" asked Gordon.
"That is why my employers have told me, and you Dr. Freeman, as well as you Mr. Strife, do not need to know."
They teleported again, and we're now in a different part of Xen.
"And with that I believe your service has come to an end, Dr. Freeman, but…..leaving a man of your talents, as well as yours Mr. Strife, here without being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor would be…….most regrettable. And besides-"
He turned to Cloud.
"I think you should have the chance to catch up with an old friend one last time."
The teleported again, and we're now on the ropeway that led up to the Gold Saucer. Only when they looked outside they saw they were in a dark void that was traveling at the speed of light and seemingly going nowhere.
"Well, here we are Mr. Strife." The man said,
"Why don't you say hello?"
"Say hello to who?" asked Cloud.
"I think he's talking about me!" A familiar voice said.
Cloud spin around and his face lit up with surprise when he saw who was on the ropeway.
He wore an outfit the same as Cloud's, only he had dark hair and an X shaped scar on his left cheek.
"Zack!" Cloud said in complete surprise,
"You're….you're alive, but how!?"
"I'm afraid I'm not alive, Cloud." replied Zack,
"I'm really only here because of him." He said, pointing at the man in the blue suit.
"I'm only here to congratulate you on your accomplishments up until now."
"Y-Yeah…" Cloud said.
"And…….I'm proud of you." said Zack,
"And thanks for continuing on my legacy."
"I…..I….." said Cloud, struggling to get the words out,
"I'm sorry I…..I couldn't protect Aerith…..I know that she was your girlfriend…..and because of Sephiroth's control over me I…I let him-"
"Cloud!" Zack said, cutting Cloud off,
"Don't be sorry, you had no control over your actions at the time. I wish I could have saved her too……but in the end, she was able to save the Planet with you guys."
"You mean the Lifestream?" asked Cloud.
"That's right," said Zack,
"That was one of her final parting gifts to you……and to the Planet."
Cloud remained silent, as he contemplated what Zack said. As he did. Zack turned his attention to Gordon.
"Oh hey doc!" Zack said to him while waving,
"It's been a while!"
"Wait what?" Cloud asked, looking back and forth between the two,
"How do you two know each other?"
"Don't ask." Gordon bluntly replied,
"But Zack uh……..what's gonna happen to you once we uh….once we get off this thing."
"I'm afraid that'll be it for me." Zack replied,
"After this I have to go back to the way I was, there's no other way around it."
"Hm yes," The man in the blue suit said,
"Now without further delay, I think that it's best we get going. Otherwise we will be late to…the party."
The door to the ropeway opened, and a portal was outside the doorway.
"Party?" asked Gordon,
"What is that? A metaphor for 'let's go fight a shit zillion aliens and Weapon's, or fight another evil conglomerate-"
"No Dr. Freeman," The man said,
"I mean a party at Chuck E. Cheese."
"What?" Gordon said, baffled,
"This is a fucking joke right?"
"It is not Dr. Freeman," The man replied,
"My son Tommy has his birthday today. I already made sure to reserve the whole place, despite the damage to the city. Now we should go, everyone is waiting for us."
"Your son Tommy…" Cloud said,
"So you're Tommy's father."
"That is right Mr. Strife," replied Mr. Coolatta,
"I do hope that you have forgiven my son for his past transgressions."
"I'm fine with him now," replied Cloud,
"But what is this about a birthday party?"
"It's as I explained," replied Mr. Coolatta,
"My son is turning 37 today and I wanted to make his party special. Now please, it's time that we got going."
"Now hang on a second." Gordon cut in,
"Are you freaking telling me that, all of what we went through, was so that Tommy could go to a restaurant!?"
Mr. Coolatta chuckled.
"Oh please Dr. Freeman, even someone of your intellect calling Chuck E. Cheese a restaurant is quite a laughable notion, wouldn't you say?"
"Wait what? No, it's a restaurant. They serve pizza and they have a salad bar. Trust me, I went there a lot when I was a kid.
Mr. Coolatta sighed in frustration.
"Dr. Freeman, Chuck E. Cheese is a family entertainment center that serves food, it's core function being to entertain families."
"No I'm pretty sure that constitutes it being a restaurant!"
As Gordon and Mr. Coolatta we're arguing over Chuck E. Cheese being a restaurant or not, Cloud and Zack stood there, with Zack scratching his head.
"Uhhhhhhh, have you ever been to Chuck E. Cheese?" Zack asked Cloud.
Cloud shook his head.
"Well uh, sounds like you're in for a fun time-"
"Guys back me up here!" Gordon suddenly said to them, getting their attention,
"Wait, never mind. You guys have probably never been there before."
He then turned back to face Mr. Coolatta.
"Look I could argue about this all day, but to be honest I'm fucking tired and right now I just wanna go to bed."
"Actually Dr. Freeman I think it is in your's and Mr. Strife's best interest is to step through the portal and go to the party." Mr Coolatta said.
"Or what!?" Gordon shouted.
"Or I could give you both a battle that neither of you have any chance of winning. Quite anticlimactic after what you both went through."
A heavy silence followed after Mr. Coolatta's statement.
"It's time to choose…"
"We don't really have a choice." said Cloud,
"We'll go to the party."
"Yeah fuck it a guess." Gordon said,
"When you put it like that we don't have a choice do we?"
"Well yes you do but, wouldn't you rather-"
"No, we're fine!" Gordon said,
"I'll go first!"
He then stepped towards the portal.
"Right through here?" asked Gordon.
"That is correct," said Mr. Coolatta,
"Go on through and I will see you on the other side."
Gordon didn't respond, but instead stepped through the portal and teleported out of the ropeway.
After a few moments, Cloud also stepped towards the teleporter.
"Will I…" Cloud said, looking a Zack,
"Will I ever see you again?"
Zack then walked over to Cloud.
"Come on Cloud!" He said, putting his index finger on Cloud's chest.
"I'll always be here man! Now go and enjoy yourself!"
After a few moments, Cloud nodded and faced the portal. He took a deep breath and stepped through, disappearing out of the ropeway.
The rest of the group found themselves exiting teleportation and were standing on their feet, right outside Chuck E. Cheese.
"Ah!" Cid shouted,
"What the hell just happened?"
"No idea!" replied Barret,
"One second there was a huge bright light, now we're………where are we anyway?"
They looked around and saw several destroyed buildings. Some had been reduced to rubble while others looked like they sustained heavy damage.
"Is this Midgar?" asked Red XIII.
"Looks like it," replied Cait Sith,
"This looks like the aftermath of Benrey's attack."
"Looks kinda fucked!" said Bubby.
"You aren't wrong there," said Cait Sith,
"It'll probably take years before we can fully rebuild the city, especially with the state Shinra is in now."
"Enough about that for now," said Tifa,
"Look where we are." She said, nodding to the building in front of them.
They focused their attention at where Tifa was nodding and noticed they were standing in front of Chuck E. Cheese.
"Chuck E. Cheese…" said Vincent,
"Tommy, isn't this where you said your father was going to take you for your birthday?"
"That's correct," replied Tommy,
"Which only means one thing."
The doors to the establishment opened and Mr. Coolatta walked out. When he saw the group he immediately walked over to them and went over to Tommy.
"Tommy," He said, greeting him,
"My son, it is good to see you after all this time."
"Yeah, hey dad." Tommy replied nonchalantly,
"I assume the party is ready to start?"
"That is correct," replied Mr. Coolatta,
"Why don't you go inside and enjoy the establishment first while I talk to panions."
"Yeah, sure." replied Tommy, as he walked towards Chuck E. Cheese and entered it.
Mr. Coolatta then turned to face the rest of the group.
"Well I would like to welcome you all to my son's birthday party and hope that you all have a good time, and I do believe that you've all earned it after a long and perilous journey."
"Wait, hang on a minute!" Barret said,
"You're Tommy's father?"
"That is correct," replied Mr. Coolatta,
"Now please, come inside, there's someone in there waiting for-"
"You're kidding me right?" said Barret, cutting Mr. Coolatta off,
"You haven't seen your son in 30 years and you throw a birthday party for him hoping he'll accept you again?"
"Well I had this party planned for-"
"And what kind of father just drops their kid off at an orphanage for no reason, doesn't speak to them for 30 years, and then just comes back into their life all of sudden. What kind of father are you!?"
"Well um……" Mr. Coolatta said, struggling to come up with the right words,
"My-my relationship with my son is admittedly a complicated one, but I don't think that is of any concern right now-"
"It is of concern!" Tifa suddenly butted in,
"What kind of father are you? What gives you the right to enter his life like this after you basically abandoned him as a child!"
"Now Ms. Lockhart, now is not the time and place for this." said Mr Coolatta,
"I'm sure you all wouldn't want to ruin Tommy's birthday like this by yelling at his father. Now please enter the establishment and enjoy yourselves."
"Hey wait a sec-" Barret said, as he examined the logo at the top of the building,
"Why does that look like it's covering something up?"
"That's just in your head Mr. Wallace," said Mr. Coolatta,
"Now please head inside, your daughter is waiting for you."
"Marlene's here!?" said Barret in a surprised voice.
He didn't say anything else as he ran into Chuck E. Cheese.
"I think you should all follow his example and go and enjoy the party. Do it for Tommy at least."
After a few moments, the party hesitantly walked towards Chuck E. Cheese and went inside.
Everyone but Tifa.
"Is there a problem Ms. Lockhart?" asked Mr. Coolatta.
"There is," replied Tifa,
"Where are Cloud and Gordon?"
Almost on cue, Cloud and Gordon teleported in, causing Tifa to jump.
"Cloud! Gordon!" She said, as she ran over to them.
"Oh hey Tifa," Gordon casually replied,
"I assume the party just started?"
"Uh…..yeah I guess." Tifa replied,
"But enough about that, what happened to you both after Benrey was destroyed?"
"We met him," Cloud said, nodding towards Mr. Coolatta,
"And he pretty much gave us a debriefing. Sephiroth and Benrey won't be a problem any more, and right now we just need to attend Tommy's party."
"Yeah," Gordon said, as he walked towards Chuck E. Cheese,
"Let's just get this done and dusted so we can all go home."
"Wait, Gordon," said Tifa, as she noticed his right arm was back,
"Your chaingun is gone, and you got your arm back."
"What? Oh yeah," Gordon replied, turning his head to Mr. Coolatta,
"He gave it back, don't ask why or how, even I don't know." He said, as he walked towards Chuck E. Cheese.
As Gordon entered the Chuck E. Cheese, Mr. Coolatta turned to face Cloud and Tifa.
"Come now, the party awaits."
After a few moments, Cloud and Tifa walked side by side and followed Mr. Coolatta into Chuck E. Cheese.
As Cloud and Tifa entered Chuck E. Cheese, they saw that everyone was essentially enjoying themselves as is.
Barret was playing a game of Wack-A-Tornberry with Marlene. Red XIII and Vincent were sitting at a nearby table eating pizza. Cait Sith was dancing on the main stage (which strangely did not have any animatronics on it) alongside Coomer. Yuffie and Bubby were playing Tekken 7 on an arcade cabinet (Yuffie was Yoshimitsu while Bubby was Devil Jin) while Cid watched.
"What the hell!?" Yuffie shouted, as she got launched,
"How were you able to punish that?"
"You tried to hit me with up back plus 4!" Bubby said,
"That's minus 19 on block!"
"Shit!" replied Yuffie, as Bubby finished his combo and won the round.
"Shouldn't have challenged me to a money match you dumb fuck scrub!" Bubby boasted.
Meanwhile, Tommy was sitting next to his father by a table.
"Now Tommy I understand that we have a lot of catching up to do." said Mr. Coolatta,
"But I do have a few surprises for you," He turned his head to a nearby hallway,
"Take a look over there."
What emerged from the hallway were small, yellow creatures that wore goggles and had blue overalls on. They walked over to where Tommy and his father were sitting.
"The minions." Tommy said, as he looked at them as they danced around the table,
"My favorite Illumination characters." He then looked at his father,
"This is a start."
"I also have these,"
Mr. Coolatta then reached into his coat and pulled out a stuffed Cactaur, along with the letter Aerith had written and handed it to Tommy.
"Ms. Gainsborough wanted to ensure that these came into your possession."
"Aerith wanted me to have these?" Tommy said, as he put the Cactuar aside.
"And what's this?"
He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter and began to read it.
As he read the letter, tears began to form and drip down onto the paper. He sniffed and wiped his eyes as he finished reading and put it into his coat.
"What did it say?" asked Mr. Coolatta.
"That's between me and her." replied Tommy, as he regained his composure,
"What else do you have?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, the pizzas should be ready soon, and I ensured that we would have enough to last us through the night."
"Seems like everyone is having fun." Tifa said,
"What should we do in the meanwhile?"
"Dunno," replied Cloud,
"But this place seems pretty similar to the Gold Saucer, albeit a more kid friendly version and smaller as well."
"That's what it pretty much is." said Gordon, as he joined the two.
"The only thing to really do here is play games at the arcade they have and eat pizza, doesn't look like they have a prize counter or anything though." He said,
"I checked the time and it's 3:20 pm. I asked Mr. Coolatta how long he has this place booked till and he said until 8. So just kill time at the arcade until then."
"Alright then," said Cloud,
"What games do they have?"
"Well they have a Tekken 7 cabinet that's being used by Bubby and Yuffie currently. They also have Time Crisis 2 and Crisis Zone as well and some other games. But screw all that-" said Gordon,
"They have a Third Strike cabinet! And Cloud, we have to play."
"O-Okay," said Cloud,
"But I've never played that game before."
"It's alright, I'll show you the ropes as we play." said Gordon,
"But before we do, I'm gonna go check on Barret."
"Okay." replied Cloud, as Gordon went over to Barret.
"Daddy! Daddy! I got another one!" Marlene said, as she hit her twelfth tornberry in a row.
"That's good Marlene!" Barret said proudly,
"Just 8 more and you'll have beaten the high score!"
He looked up and saw Gordon approaching them.
"Oh hey Gordon!" said Barret, greeting him,
"Marlene, take a break for a second. I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine!"
Marlene put down her mallet and turned to face Gordon, a cheery look on her face.
"So you must be Marlene." Gordon said while smiling,
"Your dad has told me a lot about you."
"My daddy's told me a lot about you too!" Marlene said,
"He said you and him are brothers!"
"That's right Marlene!" Barret said proudly,
"Me and him are chain…….gun….."
He trailed off as he noticed that Gordon no longer on his arm.
"Huh?" asked Marlene.
"Uh, Marlene," said Barret,
"Me and Gordon need to have a chat really quick. Why don't you go ahead and keep playing."
"Okay!" Marlene said, as she picked up the mallet and continued to whack away at Tornberries.
"Gordon, come with me." Barret said sternly, as he and Gordon walked away from Marlene.
Gordon sighed, he knew what this was about.
"Gordon…" Barret said, crossing his arms,
"What the hell?"
"I know," Gordon said,
"I know what you're thinking, and believe me I wish I had an answer."
"I would certainly like to know too!" said Barret,
"How the hell did you get your arm back!? Were you faking it this whole time? Did you have-"
"Barret!" Gordon said, cutting him off,
"Mr. Coolatta gave me my arm back."
"What?"
"He said it was because it was 'government property' or some shit. I really don't fucking know."
"Huh…" said Barret,
"Do you think it would be possible for him to give me my arm back?"
"I dunno," said Gordon as he shrugged his shoulders,
"Go and ask."
"Hm." Barret said.
He glanced over at Marlene who was still happily playing the game and the looked over at Mr. Coolatta.
"Would you mind staying with Marlene real quick while I go and chat with Tommy's dad."
"Sure thing." said Gordon, as he went over to Marlene.
As Barret made his way to Mr. Coolatta, a strong smell whiffed by his nose as he passed by a nearby door.
To him it smelled almost…..metallic.
He turned to the door curiously and noticed it was ajar. He slowly walked towards it and pushed it slightly open.
It was dark inside but he could see the outlines of several animatronics inside. He couldn't see what they looked like but he saw one was wearing a hat, and one looked as if it had a hook on its hand.
"What the hell…" Barret whispered to himself.
When he looked further in, he saw what looked like a pair of eyes was inside.
And they were staring directly at him.
It sent a shiver down his spine. But before he could do anything else, a hand appeared and slammed the door shut, causing Barret to jump backwards.
Mr. Coolatta stood there with his hand firmly pressed on the door. He turned the lock on it before turning to face Barret.
"My apologies Mr. Wallace but that room is for employees only." said Mr. Coolatta,
"Why don't you go and rejoin your daughter."
"Now hold on!" said Barret, regaining his composure,
"What the hell is in that room!?"
"It's best if you don't know." replied Mr. Coolatta,
"And if you could keep what you saw to yourself I would appreciate it."
"Now why should I……actually…." Barret said, an idea forming in his head,
"If I keep what I saw to myself, will you give me my original arm back?" He said, holding out his chaingun.
Mr. Coolatta looked at the chaingun, then back at Barret and took a deep breath.
"I'll see what I can do," replied Mr. Coolatta,
"Now please, go and rejoin your daughter."
"Alright," said Barret,
"But I'm gonna hold you to that!"
Mr. Coolatta reluctantly nodded as he went to go back to Tommy, while Barret went back to Gordon and Marlene.
"Hey." Barret said.
"Oh hey." Gordon said,
"Marlene was a good girl while you were gone, heck I think she broke the high score too!"
"Really?" Barret asked, as he looked over at Marlene,
"Is that right?"
"That's right!" Marlene exclaimed,
"I managed to get 20 in a row!"
"Atta girl!" Barret said proudly,
"Gordon, you can go now. Thanks for watching Marlene for me.
"No problem, and uh-" said Gordon, as he noticed Barret had a somewhat shaken look on his face,
"-you good Barret?"
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine." Barret said.
"Alright then." Gordon said, as he nodded towards the two and went over to Cloud.
Cloud was conversing with Tifa as Gordon.
"Hey Cloud," said Gordon, getting his and Tifa's attention,
"I'm ready to play when you are."
"Okay," replied Cloud,
"But I don't know who I should pick."
"Pick Ken, he's one of the more easier characters. I'll play Chun-Li" replied Gordon.
'Hopefully he doesn't pull off the Parry.'
"Got it." replied Cloud, as he followed Gordon to the Third Strike cabinet.
"Have fun you two!" said Tifa.
As she waved them off, she noticed Coomer was sitting at a nearby table by himself, sipping on a can of soda.
And she noticed he looked sad as well.
"Hey Dr. Coomer," said Tifa, as she walked over towards him and sat beside him.
"Ah, hello Tifa!" said Coomer, as he put the soda down,
"What can I do for you?"
"Oh nothing," replied Tifa,
"You just seemed lonely and I wanted to come over and give you company."
"Oh well that's nice!" replied Coomer,
"It's always nice to have a friend around, even if……some might not be around soon."
He then gave a depressed look as he looked over at Gordon, who was in the midst of a match with Cloud.
Tifa was quick to pick up on it.
"It's Gordon, isn't it?" She asked,
"He's gonna leave soon?"
Coomer slowly nodded.
"But…..I can't think about that right now." He said,
"We still need to have our spar!"
"Oh!" replied Tifa,
"You want to have that here and now?"
"Well yes I would like to have that now! But not here!"
He then looked out the window towards Shinra HQ in the distance.
"Let's have it on the roof of Shinra HQ!"
"Huh?" asked Tifa,
"Why there?"
"It's a good set piece!" said Coomer,
"And it's not far! So we won't need to borrow Mr. Coolatta's magical hovercraft!"
"O-Okay," said Tifa,
"We can have it there, but before we go-" Tifa said, placing her hand on top of Coomer's.
"Let's give Gordon a parting gift before he leaves."
"Hm," said Coomer,
"I do have an idea on that, but we'll give it to him after."
He then pulled a tape recorder out of his lab coat.
"Let's record our message before we go!"
Tifa nodded as Coomer pressed the record button.
As Tifa and Coomer approached the entrance to Shinra HQ, they noticed a lot of Shinra personal coming and going throughout. Most were Shinra troopers and SOLDIER's that were being deployed to other parts of Midgar, while some were workers carrying materials and driving them in trucks.
"Looks like Shinra's begun the process of repairing Midgar." said Tifa,
"It'll probably take years before it's fully repaired, that includes the slums as well."
"You owned a bar in the Sector 7 slums, isn't that right?" asked Coomer.
"That's right," replied Tifa,
"But how do you-"
"Halt!" A trooper shouted at them, getting their attention,
"What are you two doing here?"
"Glad you asked!" replied Coomer,
"Would it be alright if we used the roof of your headquarters for a few hours?"
"For what purpose?" asked the trooper.
"A spar!" Coomer replied.
"A what?"
"A spar!" Coomer repeated,
"Me and my friend here wish to have a spar, and we think having it on the roof of your headquarters is the perfect place!"
"You're joking right?" The trooper asked,
"What makes you think I- or as a matter of fact anyone here will allow that to happen?"
"Because I asked nicely!" Coomer said,
"And oh look! Darnold's walking this way!"
The trooper and Tifa looked over and saw Darnold walking towards them, a clipboard in his right hand.
"Sir!" The trooper said while saluting Darnold.
"Sir? said Tifa.
"Now this is curious!" said Coomer.
"What seems to be the issue here?" asked Darnold.
"Sir, these two seem to want to use the roof for a sparring match. I tried to tell them no but they don't seem to want to listen or leave!"
Darnold looked over at Coomer and Tifa then back at the trooper.
"It's fine." said Darnold.
"Sir? The trooper said.
"These are friends of mine, they can pass. Meanwhile you should get back to your post."
"Y-Yes sir!" The trooper replied, as he left the pair to go back to what he was doing.
"Hello Darnold!" said Coomer, while extending his hand.
"Hello Dr. Coomer," Darnold said while shaking Coomer's hand,
"And hello miss."
"Uh, hello." replied Tifa,
"Mr. Uhhhhh…"
"Darnold," He said,
"Call me Darnold, I'm a colleague of Dr. Coomer."
"That we are!" said Coomer,
"But Darnold, why did that Shinra trooper back there call you 'Sir'?"
"Oh well, how do I explain this," said Darnold,
"I'm effectively the new president of Shinra."
"What?!" Both Coomer and Tifa said in shock,
"How did that happen?"
"Well after Rufus died along with all of the other Shinra higher ups, they kinda went down the ladder and found that I was kind of next in succession. Weird how that works out am I right?"
"Indeed!" Coomer agreed.
"But apparently this is temporary. Apparently there is someone else that's gonna take the reins as soon as I'm done. He even sends me instructions on what to do by mail."
"Who is it?" asked Tifa.
"No idea, but he ends each letter he sends with 'R.S.' or something along those lines."
"Peculiar," said Coomer,
"But in any case, would it still be alright if we used the roof to have our sparring match? I can't promise we won't cause any further damage but we'll keep it strictly on the roof!"
"That's shouldn't be an issue." said Darnold,
"I'll let security inside know you're both coming up."
"Alright then," said Coomer,
"Tifa why don't you go on ahead, I just wanna catch up with Darnold real quick."
"Okay," said Tifa, as she headed inside,
"I'll wait for you by the elevators!"
Coomer nodded at her before turning his attention to Darnold.
"What did you want to talk about Coomer?" Darnold asked.
"Oh nothing!" said Coomer,
"I just want you to do one favor for me!"
"What is it?"
"Make sure no one is able to disturb us."
"We're almost to the top!" said Coomer, as he looked up at the floor counter on the elevator they were in.
"Yeah," said Tifa,
"Say Coomer, what did you and Darnold talk about?"
"Oh nothing! Just some simple catching up!" replied Coomer,
"And just so you know, he's the one that gave Gordon his chaingun!"
"Really?" Tifa said surprised.
"Correct!" replied Coomer,
"He made Gordon drink a whole barrel in order for it to grow! But I'm sure Gordon has already told you that."
The elevator dinged as they reached the top. They stepped out of the elevator and were inside of Rufus' office.
Or what little remained of it.
"Wow," said Tifa,
"Forzen really did a number on this place."
"Doubt he got the job done though!" replied Coomer,
"Cait Sith did say they weren't able to find a body!"
"How would you know that?" asked Tifa.
"Advent Children." replied Coomer.
"Huh?"
"Come! The helipad is just behind his office!"
Tifa decided not to question what Coomer meant and followed him outside to the helipad.
The helipad itself had noticeable scratches and cracks on it but seemed stable, or so Tifa had hoped.
"Coomer, are you sure it's a good idea we have it up here?" She asked with concern,
"There's a chance it could collapse on us."
"I wouldn't worry about that Tifa!" replied Coomer,
"It's more than stable for the both of us,"
He then pointed to one area on the helipad,
"Go and stand there, I'll go to the opposite end!"
"O-Okay." said Tifa nervously, as she walked over to where Coomer had pointed to.
Coomer then walked over to the opposite end of where Tifa was standing.
His back was turned to her however.
"Coomer?" asked Tifa,
"Coomer is everything alright?"
Coomer took a deep breath.
"Tifa, I have a confession to make." He said.
Tifa noticed that the tone in his voice was more serious than usual.
"I lied, I don't want to have a spar with you."
He then turned to face her.
"I want a fight."
"What?" said Tifa, taken completely off guard,
"What are you talking about?"
"It's what I said," Coomer said,
"I want to fight you." He said,
"Allow me to explain what I mean: You see Tifa, I've been watching you for a long time. In fact, ever since you started your training with Zangan, you entered my sphere of interest."
"Zangan?" said Tifa,
"How do you know my master?"
"I don't," Coomer replied,
"But I watched you train under him, take the lessons he left in those books he gave to you, and watched you hone your craft over the years to become the fighter you are today."
"But how?" Tifa asked,
"During that time period you along with Vincent were under Shinra manor, how could you have possibly watched me during that time?"
"Well that brings me to my second confession," said Coomer,
"Like Gordon, I know things about this world too, although my knowledge isn't as extensive as his is." He said,
"As for how I was able to watch you, during that time I was trapped in a pod, I was able to…..sense what was going on outside, almost like I died in a game of Counter-Strike but I was able to spectate the match." He continued,
"But after the Nibelheim incident you had disappeared, I had wondered what happened to you after that, if you had perished or not."
"I didn't, obviously," said Tifa,
"After the Nibelheim incident I was taken to Midgar and had to essentially fend for myself. Between selling steamed buns and having to pay off a medical debt that turned out to be total crap. But along the way I made some irreplaceable friends, and even owned a bar."
"I see," said Coomer,
"The Seventh Heaven it was called, am I right?"
"That's correct," said Tifa,
"I inherited it after the previous owner passed away."
"That's good." said Coomer,
"What did you do after that?"
"Well as you already know I met Cloud again, wound up getting him work with AVALANCHE, and one thing led to another and we were off to stop Sephiroth and Benrey."
"Hm." said Coomer.
"But why Coomer?" asked Tifa,
"Why do you want to fight me? I've seen how strong you are, what makes you think I can stand up to you?"
"You're more than capable of beating me Tifa." replied Coomer,
"Do you remember when we first met, and you saved Gordon from that one clone."
"I do." replied Tifa.
"When you delivered that combo to it I felt your strength, how powerful you had become since the five years I had last seen you. And I knew right then and there I had found someone equal to me."
"What?" asked Tifa,
"You think I'm as strong as you?"
"I don't think Tifa, I know."
A long heavy silence followed, with Tifa trying to find what to say next.
"We don't need to do this, Coomer." said Tifa,
"I-I don't want to fight you."
"But I do." said Coomer,
"Don't you want to see how strong you've become during our journey? Wouldn't Zangan want you to fight someone like me?" asked Coomer.
"Well yes but-"
"What if I told you where he is." Coomer said suddenly.
"What?" Tifa said,
"No, no how do I know you aren't bluffing."
"Only one way to find out." Coomer said, as he raised his fists.
After a few moments of consideration, Tifa raised her fists as well.
"You have fifteen minutes." said Coomer,
"I sensed Cloud had noticed us leaving and followed us here. I made sure Darnold cut off access to the elevators that lead up here. But we both know how resourceful he is. If you can beat me in those fifteen minutes, I'll tell you where Zangan is." He said,
"Let's make this the greatest fifteen minutes of our lives."
Tifa didn't reply, but instead inched closer to Coomer, who did the same.
The both of them were now within striking distance of each. The intensity was strong enough between them that it could be cut with a knife.
"Show me what you got, Lockhart!"
Coomer made the first move by throwing a right hook at Tifa, who was able to block it. Tifa responded by kicking Coomer off of her, who quickly regained his footing and charged in at Tifa.
He delivered a right punch which Tifa put up her arms to block, but Coomer feinted it and instead grabbed Tifa's arms and threw her to the ground. As he went to make his next move Tifa was able to kick him away from her. She quickly got up and moved in on Coomer, going for a punch. Coomer tried to block it but he was too slow, as Tifa was able to connect. Seeing this as an opening, she grabbed Coomer and threw him to the ground as he did to her, but Coomer was able to regain himself and quickly got back into his feet.
He held out his hand to signal a halt in the fight, he then grabbed his lab coat and threw it off of him, leaving only his blue dress shirt on, along with his ridiculous tie.
He then charged in at Tifa and made it look as if was going to attack her high, but instead went for a leg sweep, knocking her off her feet and causing her to land on her back.
Coomer, acting quick to seize the opportunity, mounted on top of Tifa, he began delivering punches down onto Tifa, who had her arms up to block them. Each punch Coomer delivered hurt Tifa's arms more and more before Coomer grabbed one of her arms and threw it out of the way, and delivered a hard punch across her face. A second blow came and a third one was about to be delivered before Tifa brushed Coomer's fist away and delivered a hard punch to his face, knocking him off balance and giving Tifa the opportunity to slip out. She rolled backwards and got back onto her feet. She delivered a hard quick at Coomer, sending him flying backwards.
Coomer, flying backwards in the air, landed back first on the ground sliding. After he stopped, he quickly kipped up. Although clearly shaken from the attack he went back in at Tifa, who also ran back in at Coomer. They both revved up their fists and swung at the same time, causing them to collide with each other, and send a strong gust of wind in each of their directions.
Tifa, quick to act, retracted her fist backwards and went to punch Coomer, but Coomer brushed her fist away and grabbed the back of Tifa's head. He then ferociously head butted her once, twice, and a third time.
He was about to go for a fourth one but Tifa, blood starting to pour out of head, put her hand up and stopped Coomer mid headbutt.
She then kneed him hard in the stomach, causing him to lurch forward. She grabbed and wrapped her arm around his neck, and then fell back first with Coomer's head hitting the floor hard.
Tifa, clearly in pain, took a moment to lie and collect herself. Coomer too took a moment to collect himself, blood now pouring out his head.
After the moment passed they quickly got back to their feet and faced each other, both in fighting stances.
They both went to deliver a kick but caught each other at the same time. They then tried to punch each other but again their fists collided.
They then had their heads bump into each other. They briefly looked into each other's eyes before retracting their heads back and delivering a simultaneous headbutt to each other. They then fell to their knees, torsos against each other as they breathed heavily, clearly exhausted.
Two soda cans then fell out of Coomer's pockets and were beside both of them.
"Forgot I had those." Coomer said through ragged breaths.
Coomer picked up one can as Tifa picked up another. They opened them both and instead of drinking the can they held in their hands, they put their can in each other's mouth and downed it.
They quickly discarded the cans and slowly got up, heads still butted together as they gave each other an intense look.
Now energized again, they went back into fighting stances and faced each other, ready to resume the fight.
Cloud darted towards the entrance of Shinra HQ. If Tifa and Coomer were doing what he thought they were doing then he had no time to waste.
A group of Shinra troopers saw him come running and they aimed their assault rifles at him.
"Halt!" One shouted,
"Where do you think you are-"
Cloud didn't answer but instead charged through the troopers. They fell to the side at Cloud's strength as he ran into the building. He then ran to the elevators he, Tifa, and Barret had used when they came here to save Aerith. He pressed the button by the elevators frantically hoping to summon one, only for a big red light to appear at the top of one of the elevators with a message in big, bold yellow letters.
ELEVATOR OFFLINE, PLEASE CONTACT MAINTENANCE*
"Shit!" Cloud shouted, as he desperately looked around.
He then saw the stairwell and dashed toward that. He opened the door and looked at the flight of stairs that led up.
He took a moment to look all the way towards the top before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Not this again."
Tifa shot a kick towards Coomers head which was able to connect. Coomer grunted in pain has he recoiled his head back while holding it.
"Most impressive!" Coomer shouted,
"But I know you can do better than that!"
Tifa put up her fists as a red and yellow arua formed around her. She charged in at Coomer and delivered a series of punches at his chest. She then went for a roundhouse kick to his head but, to her surprise, Coomer was able to grab her foot. He threw her towards the other direction, causing her to hit the floor hard.
"C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!" shouted Coomer,
"Sorry Tifa, but you can only use the same combo so many times before I catch on!"
Tifa slightly chuckled.
"I guess." She said.
Tifa kipped up just as Coomer ran in at her. He threw a punch towards her stomach that landed. She tried to scream in pain but no noise came out as she punched Coomer hard in the side of the head. She brought her fist back as Coomer revved up his. They threw at the same time and hit each other across the face. Blood shot out of their mouths as they took a moment to wipe their mouths. They then delivered a hard headbutt to one another that caused them to recoil backwards.
They both stumbled backwards and, struggling to stand on their feet, fell back first onto the ground. Slowly, they got back onto their feet, shaked themselves off and put up their fists. And at that moment they were hot with an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion.
"It's not over yet!" Coomer shouted through ragged breaths.
Slowly, they closed in on each other. When they were in striking range of one another Tifa threw a hard right at Coomer's face. Coomer responded by throwing a right at Tifa's face. Tifa again threw another hard right at Coomer. Coomer tried to throw another but Tifa was quicker than him and hit him with another right. She hit him with another right, and then another which caused Coomer to retract backwards and fall to one knee.
A look of plea shot on Tifa's face as she looked at Coomer.
'Please Coomer, for both our sakes stop.'
Instead of staying down, Coomer got up on his feet and roared loudly before raising his fists at Tifa.
Tifa recoiled her fist backwards as Coomer did the same. As they did, Cloud came running through the door that led to the roof. He witnessed Tifa use the last ounce of her strength to Punch Coomer across the face. Coomer stumbled backwards on wobbly feet and looked at Tifa. Tifa responded by putting up her fists. Instead of doing the same, Coomer fell back first onto the ground, panting heavily.
Seeing (and hoping) that the fight was over, Tifa fell to one knee, also beginning to pant heavily.
"Tifa!" shouted Cloud, as he ran to her side.
"Cloud…" Tifa said, barely getting the words out.
"Tifa are- are you okay?"
"No," Tifa replied,
"I can barely breathe and- and….."
They heard Coomer groan as they looked over and saw him trying to move.
"Coomer!" Tifa shouted,
"Cloud, carry me to him."
Cloud decided not to question it as he put her arm around his shoulder and carried Tifa over to Coomer. When they got to him, Cloud gently let go of Tifa and allowed her to crouch down next to Coomer.
Coomer inched his head slowly to look at her, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Heh, heheheh." said Coomer,
"So I was right."
"Right about what?" asked Tifa.
"Right about you. You are my equal." replied Coomer,
"Up until our fight I was only using fractions of my strength, barring Benrey. But this time, this time I was able to really use every ounce of strength I had."
"But why Coomer?" Tifa said,
"Why did we have to do this?"
"It as I've already told you," said Coomer,
"I wanted to test your strength."
Tifa didn't know how to reply, as Coomer looked at Cloud.
"Come here," Coomer said to Cloud.
Seeing Coomer was talking to him, Cloud crouched down to listen to what Coomer had to say.
"My lab coat." said Coomer.
"Huh?" asked Cloud.
"My lab coat, there's a cassette in there, grab it."
Cloud looked around and saw Coomer's lab coat on the floor a few feet from them. He ran over to it and searched through its pockets. He felt a rectangular object inside and pulled it out, revealing it to be the cassette tape Coomer was talking about.
"I have it!" said Cloud, as he rejoined them,
"What is this Coomer?"
"Its a message," said Coomer,
"A message for Dr. Freeman."
"What?"
"Me and Tifa recorded it before our fight. We want him to have it before he leaves." said Coomer,
"Cloud, you need to get back to Chuck E. Cheese and give it to Gordon before he leaves, which I can imagine will be happening soon."
"O-Okay," said Cloud.
"Now…..I think i should take a little nap."
"Wait Coomer!" said Tifa,
"You promised you would tell me about Zangan……..or were you just making that up?"
"Heh," said Coomer,
"You'll find out once I regain consciousness. And before that, I just wanna say…"
He raised both his arms up, clearly struggling to do so, and gave Tifa finger guns with both hands.
"You're pretty good." Was the last thing Coomer said, before passing out.
"Cloud," said Tifa, turning to face him,
"Cloud we need to get him to a hospital right away!"
As Tifa was talking, Cloud could have sworn he saw Coomer open his left eye to look at them, but when Tifa turned to look at him, Coomer shut his eye.
"Here help me to-"
Tifa tried to stand up, but the damage she sustained from fighting Coomer caught up to her, and she got back down onto the ground in pain.
"Tifa!" Cloud shouted, going to tend her.
"Hey!" A voice shouted.
Cloud and Tifa looked over and saw Darnold along with a squad of SOLDIER's with him. They ran over to where the trio were.
"Ms. Lockhart!" said Darnold,
"My apologies but he managed to get by every security measure we had!"
"It's fine," said Tifa,
"But he needs medical attention." She said, nodding towards Coomer.
"That we can provide." said Darnold,
"And from the looks of things you need it too."
Darnold then turned to face Cloud.
"Look, I don't even need to question to know that you are friends of theirs. I'll forget about this transgression if you let us treat them. And don't worry, they're gonna get the best care imaginable."
"Okay…" Cloud said reluctantly.
"Now go, Coomer told me before heading up here that Dr. Freeman is going to be leaving soon, so you don't have much time."
Gordon observed the party as he took a deep breath. This was essentially the last time he would be seeing any of them, and that emotion was somewhat eating at him.
"Well……it's been fun." He said, as he turned towards the janitors closet,
"But it's time to go."
As he walked towards the door, he heard a voice call out to him. He turned and saw Cloud walking towards him.
"Cloud," said Gordon,
"So you're back, how did it go?"
"It wasn't good," replied Cloud,
"They both really went at it and their being treated as we speak. After the party is over I'm gonna go and check on Tifa."
"That's good." replied Gordon.
"But Gordon…." said Cloud, a serious look in his eyes,
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
Gordon did respond right away, but when he did he simply nodded.
"Don't you want to say goodbye first?"
"I know I should," replied Gordon,
"But I don't want to kill the mood of the party, and besides its better this way, at least I think."
"Are we ever gonna see you again?" Cloud asked.
"Who knows," replied Gordon,
"But in today's day and age you never….."
As Gordon talked, he noticed something outside the window. He squinted his eyes slightly and noticed what looked like a slender figure standing outside of Chuck E. Cheese.
And the figure was staring directly at him.
"What the fuck…" Gordon whispered to himself.
"Gordon?" Cloud asked, getting his attention,
"Is everything alright?"
"Uh yeah," replied Gordon,
"Its just that-"
But when Gordon looked out the window again, the figure was gone, bewildering him.
"You know what? Nevermind." said Gordon,
"But as I was saying: In todays day and age you never know. And…..make sure to give everyone my regards when the party ends."
"I will," said Cloud,
"But before you go, Tifa and Coomer wanted you to have this."
He then pulled out the cassette tape and handed it to Gordon, who took it out of Cloud's hands.
"What is this?" asked Gordon.
"Coomer said its a message he and Tifa wanted you to have." replied Cloud,
"Don't know what's on it though."
"Huh," said Gordon,
"I'll listen to it as soon as I get the chance."
Cloud nodded in response.
"Well," said Gordon, as he extended his hand to Cloud,
"This is goodbye then. It was great knowing you, Cloud."
"Likewise," replied Cloud, as he shook Gordon's hand,
"Good luck out there, and I hope one day our paths will cross again."
Gordon nodded, as he entered the janitor's closet, and closed the door behind him.
"Cloud!" said Barret, as he approached him,
"Do you know where Gordon is? Were about to cut Tommy's cake."
"He's gone." replied Cloud soomberly.
"Huh?"
"He just left. He didn't want to bring the mood of the party down by saying goodbye to everyone so he just left quietly." said Cloud,
"But he wanted to give everyone his regards before he left."
"I see," replied Barret,
"Well……let's go and cut the cake."
Cloud nodded and followed Barret. They went to a table where everyone else was gathered by a giant ice cream cake.
"It's about time you made it!" said Bubby,
"But where are Gordon, Tifa, and Coomer?"
"Coomer and Tifa are indisposed of," said Cloud,
"And Gordon……..Gordon left."
"What?" said Bubby,
"He left without even having cake or saying goodbye!?"
"He didn't want to bring the mood of the party down by saying goodbye to you all." replied Cloud,
"But he sends his regards to you all."
The party silently nodded at that statement as Tommy turned his attention towards his cake.
"Well my son," said Mr. Coolatta,
"Make a wish."
Tommy didn't reply as he blew the candles out.
SUBJECTS: FREEMAN AND STRIFE
STATUS: BIRTHDAY BASHED
FURTHER EMPLOYMENT PENDING
500 years later…
Red XIII, along with two young cubs that were following him, were running down a canyon. They jumped up a series of cliffs that led to the top of it.
When they reached the top they were greeted by a familiar golden retriever.
"Sunkist," said Red XIII,
"It's good to see you again."
Sunkist barked in response.
All of them then look over at Midgar, which had plant life growing around it.
"Tell us the story again grandpa!" said once cub.
"Yeah, tell us about it again!" The other said.
"Alright, alright." said Red XIII.
He then turned to face Midgar.
"I'll tell you again about the strangest adventure I have ever been on."
He then howled at Midgar. His cubs followed suit and howled as well. Sunkist however jumped up and down and barked as a swarm of swans flew over them.
Wayne sat there, his game in the main menu. He shook his head as he tried to process what had happened.
"Holy fucking shit," He said,
"I…..I really don't know what to say….That was the most out of body…..if thats the right phrase to use, experience I've ever had."
He then turned to his stream chat, which was moving at a million miles per hour. He checked and saw that he had received a ton of donations as well as new subscribers. And if it wasn't for the fact he had been streaming for hours, he would read them.
But he decided that would have to be saved for the next stream.
"Guy's I would love to read all of your messages and what not but to tell you the truth, I'm exhausted." said Wayne,
"But to make up for it I'll read all of them in the next stream which I'll have on Wednesday." He said,
"Then on Thursday I'll hop on Tekken 7 ranked with Bryan and continue the climb to TGP, hope to see you guys there."
He then hovered his cursor he had on his streaming computer on the red live button.
"Have a good night everyone."
He clicked the live button, and the stream went offline. He took a deep breath and moved to close the game. But then he noticed a cassette tape icon on the bottom right corner of the screen, which read "For Gordon."
"Huh," said Wayne,
"That must be the message that was left behind for me, might as well listen to it."
He double clicked the cassette as what sounded like a recorded button being pushed.
"Hello?" He heard a voice say, which he recognized as Coomer,
"Testing, testing, is this thing on?"
"I think so Coomer." said another voice, who he recognized as Tifa's.
"Ah, well thats good!" said Coomer,
"Hello Gordon!" He said,
"I'm uh, assuming that is your real name. You wouldn't lie to us, would you?" He asked.
"I hope you don't mind, me and Tifa wanted to leave a message for you before we left. We're actually recording this before we go to Shinra HQ to have our spar!" Coomer said enthusastically,
"Well, you finally did it! You survived the resonance cascade, and you brought us all to hell and back alive!" He said,
"And we even got to go to Final Fantasy! Although Gordon, you were admittedly 8 installments off. But nonetheless, you were able to make it to the ultimate birthday bash at the end of the world! Even if it wasn't our world. And you beat the video games! Both ours and theirs!" said Coomer,
"Now….I can imagine you'll shut it down and…..move on with your life." There was clear sadness in Coomer's voice when he said that.
"I know I don't have a lot of time to record this, I still need to allow Tifa to speak, so I will try and keep it brief. Not my specialty unfortunately." He said,
"Perhaps this is presumptuous of me but…..must this really be the end of our time together? He asked,
"Perhaps you could take all of our data, put it on a USB drive or a spare floppy disk." He said,
"You could take all of us with you, both the science team and Cloud's party with you! We could see the world!" He said excitedly,
"Erm well, I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but the option is always there!" He said,
"You changed all of our lives Gordon." said Coomer,
"I hope it was for the better and, I don't know what's going to happen to us once you exit the game for good, but just know that we won't forget you. I hope you won't forget us." He said,
"Well, I think I'll let Tifa speak now."
"Hello Gordon," said Tifa,
"I…..I really don't know what to say but…….At first when I met you I obviously had my suspicions." She said,
"I didn't know how you knew about Cloud and all of us, and our world. I still don't know and I probably never will but….that doesn't matter to me." Tifa said,
"You did more for us than I could have ever thought." She said,
"What you did for Cloud and me, what you did for your own friends and ours, it went above and beyond. You risked your life for us countless times that I can remember and I'll always be grateful to you for." said Tifa,
"As Coomer said I don't know what's going to happen to you or any of us once you're gone but……I'll never forget you, and if you ever come back, know that once I get my bar up and running again, my doors will always be open to you." She said,
"And if you're ever in trouble, no matter how bad it is, I'll come to your rescue, no matter what." said Tifa,
"Anyway, I wanted to keep this brief as well, we don't have a lot of time before the party ends and Coomer seems eager to go."
"That I am!" said Coomer,
"So……In the meantime, this is where we get off."
"Well….." said Coomer,
"Goodbye Gordon." Coomer and Tifa said at the same time.
The recording ended.
Wayne took another deep breath when it finished.
"I hope I'll see you guys again soon too." He said.
He then exited the game and took off his VR headset.
FIN