shinra soldiers need not apply

[wingenvy]

Who: Zack Fair / OTA
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: the Caprine
When: Now!


( action; caprine )
[...Alright, so that was. Weird. He was totally just on the Marsiva, but now he's on another ship, apparently! With confetti, and... pudding, which gets set aside for now, because he's sure as hell not trusting random food thrown at him willynilly.

He's more interested in the new ship itself, so he'll be exploring the place, poking his head into whatever room he comes across unless it's locked. Apologies in advance?]



( video; fleetwide )

[Have a Zack! Pulling bits of confetti out of his hair. He looks about as confused as any newcomer, though perhaps not as disturbed. He has officially Seen Some Shit, as one might guess by the semi-glowing blue eyes.]

Testing, testing... okay, we'll pretend this works. It's kinda different from standard issue ShinRa PHS, but it doesn't look that complicated...

Anyway- hey there, fellow space people. Name's Zack. Am I crazy, or are the voices in my head legit when they say I'm on TV? 'Cause, uh. I'd kind of prefer that, at this point. Not really a fan of the random voices concept.

...Aerith? Where'd you end up?

[TRIES VERY HARD NOT TO BE WORRIED]

Comments

[wingenvy]

That... makes sense. Nobody knows me better than Aerith. If you were pretending to be me, even by mistake, she'd have noticed.

[Saying it again, so matter-of-fact, hits home how goddamned surreal the very idea is, like he's some kind of suit somebody can put on and take over. But his own actions probably hadn't helped- he'd dressed Cloud up like a SOLDIER, given him his signature sword - something Aerith definitely would have noticed, if Cloud still had it in Midgar - thrown some final-words bullshit at him about fulfilling his dreams, dreams he'd always associated with SOLDIER until Nibelheim ripped their lives apart.

If he was running on empty, Zack had handed him all the tools he'd needed to put the wrong pieces into his own head puzzle. Shit.]

It was probably too hard for her. I'd just up and disappeared one day, for years, and by the time you guys met she already knew I was gone.

[moseyin]

[And he'd had no idea. No- there was one time when he'd suspected, back in Gongaga, but...now's not the time to tell Zack about that. There's nothing they can do for his parents from here; it would just hurt him. Or maybe he's just trying to make excuses to be a coward about this.]

This is so much, [Cloud mumbles, a hand in his hair as he sinks down to sit against the wall.] I'd known everything was a mess, but this is even messier than I thought. I just... [Hangs his head with a sigh, elbows up on his knees. He's exhausted and he's barely even done anything.]

[wingenvy]

[Zack crouches down beside Cloud, arms resting on his thighs, and reaches up to ruffle a hand through that familiar blond hair, the way he did while they were still on the run. It never got a reaction out of Cloud, but Zack always hoped that it got through to him, somehow. Even just as a reminder that someone was still there for him, in case he was ever ready to wake up.

Even in his last moments, he...]

Hang in there. Listen, it's totally a mess, but it's nothing we can't handle. We're all here now, and we're gonna help you sort it out. I promise.

[moseyin]

[Well. Not 'all' here. Zack and Aerith- they're the only ones he didn't expect, to be honest. Tifa, Barret, Red...everybody, really, Cloud had been expecting at least one of them to show up, but so far it's been just him and now...

And now it's the three of them. The two people he got killed.

Those kinds of thoughts won't get him anywhere. Cloud grunts and reaches up to shove Zack's hand away from his hair, though not unkindly. In fact, he's going to just be cheeky and ruffle Zack's hair while he's in reach, who do u think you are you big galoot] Don't know if you should promise something like that. Sorting things out tend to make things even messier, in my experience. We might as well just leave the mess behind and move forward.

[wingenvy]

[don't be nitpicky u punk

Zack leans back, idly running a hand through his own hair. Never had that happen before... maybe that gesture comes across as a little patronizing? It was just instinctive. He's gonna have to get used to this new Cloud.]

Well... y'know. I'm not saying we have to dig deep into everything. Some stuff I bet we'd all be happier forgetting. But if you ever have trouble with remembering something important, I'm just saying that we're here, yeah? You're not alone.

[moseyin]

[Well- he didn't mind it but- okay well too late now. Oops.]

I'll...keep that in mind. [Don't mind him, he's just gonna look you over, nice and long. Hasn't he seen this before? Zack crouched over him just like this?] ...you look exactly the same, [Cloud murmurs before he can stop himself.]

[wingenvy]

[Zack quirks a brow, though he manages to refrain from commenting. Just what was Cloud expecting? Although... it must have been a lot longer for him, to say something like that.]

You've changed. I meant what I said before- you really do look better.

[Still kind of scrawny, and he ought to talk to Aerith about getting the kid properly fed, but seriously. It's been years since he saw Cloud so lively. It's a big deal.]

[moseyin]

I musta really looked like shit before then, [Cloud sighs, scrubbing his hand through his hair. He hadn't been expecting to see Zack at all, but if he did he would've imagined something more like Aerith's distance, ethereal glow or something like that whenever he saw her in the Lifestream.

This is...it's very real. It's making him remember things, some of which he'd wanted to keep buried.]

[wingenvy]

We both looked like shit, buddy. If you can't remember it then you're better off.

[He'd half like to forget, himself. Cloud may have had the mako poisoning but it's not like he got out unscathed- muscle atrophy after four years in the lab, sapped strength to the point where he could barely take out a handful of ground troopers, and they weren't fed well enough besides. That year on the run is probably the healthiest he's been in ages.]

[moseyin]

[Yeah, he can see that on his face.

Cloud scoots over and pats the ground next to him. C'mon, sit. The ground is nice and cold and hard and not at all comfortable.]

[wingenvy]

[Yeah, y'know what? Cold and uncomfortable sounds pretty good right now, so Zack tilts sideways until he falls on his butt beside Cloud, seated shoulder to shoulder.]

So... y'wanna start fresh?

[moseyin]

Not really. [Leans forward, elbows on his knees.] What we all have might be a mess but I'd prefer that to something fake and clean.

[wingenvy]

It wouldn't be fake, I hope, but I get your meaning.

[Doing that would feel too neat and deceptive. He's not sure how well he'd have been able to keep that up, anyway.]

What happened to the Buster?

[Since Cloud mentioned a sword earlier.]

[moseyin]

['I don't use it anymore' seems a little cruel. Damn it, if he'd known how valuable that blade was...then again, maybe that's why he could never bear to part with it. At least it's safe with Elmyra back in Kalm instead of sitting in the storehouse of some shopkeep.] I didn't have anything on me when I showed up, [Cloud settles on instead.] No materia, no weapons, nothing.

[wingenvy]

Figures... that's the general consensus. Oh- but I do have a couple of materia on me, here-

[He shifts his armor a bit to reveal a trio of slots- two green, one yellow.]

Anything that was in my sword is gone, though. Pretty slim pickings.

[moseyin]

You have materia? [Leans over to peer at it.] They took everything I had, I wonder why they left yours? Which are those?

[wingenvy]

Cure, Thunder, and Assault Twister. They're not even maxed out, I kept the good ones on the Buster.

[Though maybe they can get 'em to duplicate or something, in that case. Worth looking into.]

[moseyin]

[Hey so what the galactic fuck is Assault Twister] That's odd. Thunder's definitely an offensive type. I'm guessing Assault Twister is too...? [They don't give the rank and file shit for materia after all, and Cloud never ran across that in his travels.] Maybe the Atroma didn't know they were weapons?

[wingenvy]

Dunno. Maybe they only count if they're in weapons.

[He tugs Assault Twister - the yellow one - from its slot and offers it out.]

It's a spin attack- boosts the strength, speed, and number of rotations you can pull off. It's better with a sword, but it can give a mean roundhouse in a pinch.

[moseyin]

[That nebulous feeling of the knowledge of the Ancients bleeding over from a piece of materia has always been a little skin-crawly, but Cloud's long since gotten used to that and just takes the opportunity to feel out how it works. Nope, definitely never come across this one.

He holds it back out for Zack to take back.] Yeah, never seen this one. I wonder if it was a SOLDIER exclusive or something.

[wingenvy]

Could be- I wouldn't really call it common. There's this fancy machine in the SOLDIER lab that only 1sts are allowed to use- it can synth new materia using the stuff that already exists. That's how I got it.

[moseyin]

That so...? [Makes sense; why bother waiting to find materia lying around when you could just make your own? Field troopers never got the stuff, of course. Way too valuable to waste on no-talent grunts.

Yeah...that's the part that bothers Cloud about his recollection of his time with Shinra.] Zack, uh... [Cloud twists his fingers together, looking away when he can't quite school his face into something less anxious.] Did we...talk? A lot?

[wingenvy]

A lot?

[Huh... what counts as "a lot", he wonders? It's not as if they were best friends early on, although if asked post-Nibelheim Zack would definitely give Cloud credit for that one. And not only due to process of elimination, either. But it's true that, if pressed, he'd have to admit he doesn't know that much about Cloud even now. Neither of them had ever really dug deep about their histories. The closest they probably got was during their capture and that place didn't lend well to bonding moments or smalltalk.

That question also makes him consider another: just how much does Cloud remember, if he has to ask it?]

I... guess we didn't, not really. We met a handful of times on missions, I took you and your squad out for lunch one day, and we were - are - friends. [He says it with no hesitation, though if Cloud corrects him he'll struggle to accept it. He can only speak for himself, and it would kind of sting like a bitch if it wasn't the truth.] If Nibelheim hadn't gone to hell I would've liked to hang out more.

[moseyin]

...yeah. [It's kind of disappointing, but not too much; honestly it was what he'd half-expected to hear. He was a trooper, Zack was a SOLDIER, First Class. Opportunities to hang out would've been few and far between, and not just because of their equally busy schedules of vastly differing importance. It makes sense that they were more like workplace acquaintances than actual friends.

It just kind of makes the fact that Zack risked life and limb to get him out of those labs, put his own freedom in jeopardy and then died for him all the more incredible. Zack really is the stuff heroes are made out of.] Guess we'd better make up for lost time, then.

[wingenvy]

[...He didn't deny it. Maybe he doesn't remember, either, but that alone is enough to get Zack to grin. He'll take it. God, will he ever take it. Cloud's awake again, they're all alive somehow, and ShinRa can't touch them way out in friggin' space. What more could he wish for?

He offers his arm out to Cloud, curious and inviting.]

Hell yeah, I'm up for it. You gotta fill me in on what I missed!