Chapter 42: Rya and the Time Stopper
August 1, 0002
"Miranda, are you fucking kidding me?!" Tifa, now fifteen, exclaimed as she stormed out of the room.
"Don't shoot the messenger!" Miranda, now sixteen, pleaded. "Didn't you go to high school the first time you were fifteen?"
"I had to drop out," Tifa replied. "Long story. But you really have to sign up for your gym class?"
Miranda nodded.
"I thought you knew," she said.
"And ballet is the only thing that's left?" Tifa sighed. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Pository," Miranda insisted.
Tifa groaned.
"I can't do it," she muttered.
"Why not?" asked Miranda.
"It's too….uh….."
"Girly?" Miranda asked.
"I guess that was the word I was looking for," Tifa replied. "How'd you guess?"
"You become President of the Western Continent, you've beaten up men in physical combat, and you clearly wear the pants in your relationship with Cloud. So I figured."
"I just believe men and women should be equal with everything," Tifa insisted.
"So do I. But you don't have to spend your life in the kitchen popping out kids just because you took ballet!" Miranda pointed out. "Besides, there are guys who take ballet."
"But I'm a president," she sighed. "Not a ballerina. I've never danced in my life."
"Legally, you're not Tifa Strife," Miranda said. "You're Julie Lane."
"Your point being?" asked Tifa.
"This is your big chance to literally be someone you're not without any consequences," Miranda insisted. "Sure, Tifa Strife doesn't dance. But maybe Julie Lane does. Maybe she's good at it. You'll never know. Besides, people have to be who they're not all the time. Ever take a history class?"
Tifa nodded.
"Every hear about that samurai from Wutai fifty years ago who posed as a male stripper at the Honey Bee Inn? Or a hundred and fifty years ago, when that fierce female general posed as a soprano at the opera? At least your time as a ballerina won't make the history books, because, again, you're Julie Lane. What about when you're twenty-four again?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm assuming you're going to just pick up where you left off when you get to the age you were when Sephiroth turned you and Cloud into children."
"That's the plan," Tifa replied. "And find out what Sephiroth was plotting, stop him, and try not to get killed in the process."
"So until that time, you can be Julie Lane. Tifa Lockhart's all the way in Nibelheim, isn't she?"
"She is," Tifa admitted. "About seven weeks away from reuniting with Cloud without knowing it. But that's another story."
"I saw that picture of your twenty-year-old self in a crop top," Miranda continued.
"Guys go around with their shirts off," Tifa said, confused about why that was brought up. "It's no big deal."
"So why a crop top?" Miranda asked. "Why don't you go around with your shirt off?"
Tifa naturally laughed.
Then she stopped herself, realizing her friend had a point.
"Because I'm a girl," Tifa admitted.
"If you didn't care about your gender, you wouldn't mind the twin peaks out," Miranda said.
"I suppose you're right," Tifa said.
"And what do you wear when you go swimming?" Miranda continued.
"A bikini," Tifa replied. "Of course."
"What about your friend Shana?" Miranda asked.
"Shana?!" Tifa replied in confusion.
"You know, that science geek friend of yours who's getting married?"
"Oh, Shera," Tifa corrected.
"Right," Miranda said. "May I assume she's wearing a wedding dress and not a pant suit?"
Tifa nodded.
"I rest my case," Miranda said. "You can be equal and still be feminine. Plus, it'll make Cloud more attracted to you."
Tifa laughed.
"You know," she said, "right before we got here, we went on a date at Costa del Sol. I was a lot girlier than I usually am, and I ended up winning him back."
"Wait a minute," Miranda said. "You broke up before?"
"Not exactly," Tifa replied. "We were suddenly turned into children. And, you know, children don't get married….or….."
"Point made," Miranda interjected. "So you're rebuilding your relationship and dating again. So wouldn't it be great to remind him that he's dating a girl?"
Tifa sighed.
LATER….
August 2, 0002
Miranda and Riggs were seated in the study hall with their laptops open.
The room had a policy against talking, but, as Riggs and Miranda were the only ones there, it made no difference.
"Is it true Tifa has to take ballet?" Riggs suddenly asked.
"She does," Miranda replied. "She didn't sign up for anything else in time."
"Bummer," he muttered.
"I feel bad for her," Miranda continued. "I wish I told her. I thought she knew."
"What did you sign up for?" he asked.
"Golf," Miranda replied. "After trying for two years I finally got it. You?"
"Wrestling," Riggs answered. "How's your creative writing piece coming?"
"I'm working on that right now," she answered as she turned her laptop to face her friend.
"Rya and the Time Stopper?!" Riggs asked aloud.
Miranda nodded and smiled.
"So it's a superhero sci-if story?" he inquired.
"Not exactly," she answered. "It's about a girl in high school who accidentally comes across a device that can stop and restart time. If she stops time, everything freezes but her."
"And she saves people?" Riggs asked. "Or stops a bank robbery?"
"No, and no," Miranda laughed. "But there's this guy named Mike who keeps trying to get into her pants. He then grabs her butt and it's the last straw. So, one day, he's in the middle of giving a class presentation, and Rya comes to class seeming all nice and innocent. So she stops time, goes up to Mike, and takes his clothes off."
"She takes his clothes off?" Riggs asked, surprised.
Miranda laughed and nodded.
"She then stands him up on the table, spreads his arms out as if he's done some amazing magic trick, and starts time again. And it only takes him two seconds to realize he's standing naked on the table with his arms spread out. So, of course, he shrieks and covers himself, but it's too late, because the whole class has already seen his glory."
"Wow!" exclaimed Riggs. "She sure showed him. What else does she do?"
"A week later," Miranda continued, "she's at gym class playing tennis when the janitor walks up to her and grabs her boob. So the next day she sees him bent down cleaning up a spill. She uses the time stopper and takes all his clothes off. He's a young and hot janitor, and everyone sees everything. She also hid his clothes, so he streaks through the school looking for something to wear."
"What else happens?" Riggs inquired.
"Oh, and she also sends a drone through the boys' locker room," Miranda answered.
"Is there an actual plot to this?" Riggs asked.
Miranda shook her head.
"It's just a fun romp."
"So no moral to it or anything?" Riggs pressed.
"Of course there is," Miranda replied. "That you shouldn't mess with a chick with a time stopper. What's your story called?"
"Riggs Runs the Shinra," Riggs replied. "The title's pretty self-explanatory. I take over the Shinra Corporation. At first I try to do good, but I become greedy with power. It's kind of one of those deep philosophical tales."
"Is there nudity in it or sex?" Miranda asked.
Riggs shook his head.
"We'll that's no fun," she sighed. "You get more attached to a character if they have a nude scene. You kind of shared a little intimacy with them."
"I suppose I could put some in," Riggs conceded.
"Male or female?"
"Female," Riggs responded.
Miranda folded her arms and gave him an annoyed look.
"Fine, both," Riggs corrected.
Miranda's glare became more intense.
"Okay! Male only!"
"That's better!" said Miranda with a smile.
And then, her smile faded.
"What's wrong?" Riggs asked.
"I can't believe I'm going to do this," she sighed.
TWO DAYS LATER…
August 4, 0002
Tifa entered the studio dressed in a crop top and leggings.
She looked around the studio.
She saw the barre.
She saw the mirror.
She the other dancers, and noticed everyone's hair was up but hers.
"I can't believe this is happening," she sighed.
Her mouth was dry inside. This was well beyond her comfort zone, and she would not hesitate to admit it. In fact, she was fighting back tears.
She could not do this.
She decided to flee and deal with the consequences.
She turned around.
She gasped.
There was a familiar girl in ballet attire.
"I thought you were taking golf?!" Tifa exclaimed.
"I switched," Miranda informed her.
"Why?" Tifa asked.
"So you wouldn't be alone here," Miranda said.
Tifa was speechless. She had friends before, of course, but none of them, except for Cloud, had ever made a sacrifice for her.
"I….don't know what to say," Tifa whispered.
"You don't have to say anything," Miranda assured her as she placed her hand on her shoulder.
"But…you waited forever to take golf," Tifa protested.
"Come on," Miranda said. "We start with the barre."
They moved to the center, where Tifa demonstrated unusually good balance. She then demonstrated the most graceful movements and of the other dancers, or the instructor, had ever seen. She executed her jumps and turns perfectly.
"Where did you learn to dance like that?!" he instructor asked at the end of class.
"I don't know," Tifa replied. "I just….did it."
"Julie! How long have you been dancing?" asked one of the other girls.
"An hour," Tifa replied honestly.
Then, one of the other girls decided to be smart.
"Just think of all the crazy stuff you can do with your cousin," she said. "It'll be the most beautiful and graceful incest ever!"
"Stop!" Tifa laughed, happy her disguise was still fooling everyone after a year.
After class, Tifa and Miranda were making their way back to their dorm.
"See?" Miranda gloated. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Not really," Tifa admitted. "It made me feel…."
She stopped, paused, and smiled.
"It made me feel like a girl," she finished.
"You are a girl," Miranda informed her. "And did it make you feel any weaker?"
Tifa shook her head.
"It made me feel more…."
She paused again.
"Feminine."
"Now wait until Cloud sees you," Miranda said.
THE STUFF THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE UNNOTICED….
The "fierce female general" Miranda referred to may or may not have been none other than Celes Chere. If that were true, it would establish a shared universe. Other hints at a shared universe included the mural on the cave in Premonitions II, which seemed to depict scenes from previous games.