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]

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!

[moseyin]

[Stares blankly at that arm before it comes to him suddenly, arm up almost before he actually remembers. The smile that crawls over his face is slow and small, but genuine, pressing his arm against Zack's.] I'll do my best.

[Maybe even the hard parts.]

[wingenvy]

I'll hold you to that. But not right now! No point in rushing.

[He leans back and does one of those kick-jump to his feet, lifting his arms up for a stretch.]

More importantly... hey, you mentioned a sword? Are you getting one?

[moseyin]

Hopefully. [Though he doesn't sound especially hopeful.] I gave some drawings and stuff to a guy who has a forge, but he's like...he has to make it all out of scrap metal. It's probably not going to be the best.

[wingenvy]

Ugh.

[SO missing the Buster now. Giving it away on his deathbed is one thing - it's like, Buster tradition now apparently - but being alive and unarmed suuuuucks. All his instincts are out of whack.]

Guess it's time to brush up on hand-to-hand. If it's that much work to make one sword two'd be a nightmare.

[moseyin]

[TELL. HIM. ABOUT IT.] There's these things on the ships for people to take, usually. [Gestures to the pistol he'd set down.] But. Y'know, they're practically useless.

[wingenvy]

[Zack glances down at the pistol for a moment, expression shifting to one of distaste, and nudges it closer to Cloud - and subsequently further away from himself. No thanks, take it back home with you, buddy.]

Not really a fan of guns right now. I'll stick with my fists.

[Maybe it's the whole getting-shot-to-death thing.]

[moseyin]

[It takes Cloud a second, but his eyes widen when he realizes what he'd done and he shoves himself up to his feet, snatching up the pistol and disappearing back into the shuttle bay. He chucks the gun back into the shuttle and seals it back up, returning over to the crates with his head down low.] Sorry. I- [Forgot.] -wasn't thinking.

[wingenvy]

[His departure was so abrupt that Zack is on his feet when Cloud comes back, and when his reason for doing that sinks in Zack smiles idly and reaches out to cuff his shoulder with a fist, shaking his head.]

Hey, don't be like that. I don't want anybody to be tiptoeing around it, or me. It happened, it's done, and I'll get over it. 's not your fault.

[He hasn't really sorted out what "getting over it" consists of, exactly, but he doesn't want to spend his whole second chance at life just moping over the fact that he died. And the last thing he wants is to guilt Cloud over something so innocuous and unintentional.]