Aerith & Tifa

[Tifa Lockhart]

Vincent raised an eyebrow lightly at Rinoa's query, following where he gaze had lingered for a moment, noting Tifa's melancholy actions as well.
"Well, when your friend wakes again we may as well ask her where she ran into Cloud... see if you can get any leads on that issue..." His red eyes jerked over to where Barrett stood, an ominous shadow in the corner.
"And i have a favour to ask... if you run into a young girl called Marlene Wallace... please bring her back here."

Zack pushed open the door to Cloud's room, wincing at how neat it looked... how obviously unlived in it was.
"I'm sure she'll be comfortable here..." he said, before hearing Aerith calling him from downstairs.
"Excuse me." he said, before vaulting down the stairs and back into Aerith's arms.

[Elario Luminus]

Irvine laid Quistis gently down on the bed, pulling the covers over her.
'Ya'll heal up alright, won't ya?'
Knowing he wasn't going to get an answer, he tipped his hat over his eyes and slumped down into a chair, going to sleep himself.

Rinoa nodded to Vincent.
'I'm sure she can tell us all we can.'
She stood up and watched Tifa. Resolve steeled, she walked over to the fighter and bent over on her knees, trying to look into her eyes.
'Tifa...if you don't mind me asking...what's wrong? You can trust me.'

Leon watched Rinoa talk to Tifa, then glanced at Zack as he rushed back to Aerith. He sighed and got out of his seat, walking outside without a word to anyone.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Tifa was slightly startled when Rinoa appear before her and asked her what was the matter.
"So many memories in this room..." She replied sadly, "So many that i wish i could forget... so many i wish i could get back..." Her crimson orbs scanned the room for a long moment before she spoke again.
"I want things to go back to the way they were before.... before all the bad stuff happened..." Before Cloud drifted away from me.

Aerith and Zack were staring deep into each others eyes, exchanging silent words of love. They'd been apart for so long, and though no one had said it out loud, both knew that they'd soon be apart again.
Zack had to find Cloud.
"Aerith..." Zack finally whispered, and the brunette haired girl tilted her head in attention.
"I think Cloud may have realized what Sephiroth IS... what if he won't come back with us? How can i convince him that no one here blames him for what happened... that he isn't responsible for the terrible things that Sephiroth did...?"

Aerith regarded Zack silently for a moment as she thought about her answer.
"I think if anyone can show Cloud that, you can." She replied, "You were there with him when it happened Zack, you know more than he ever could... you saw it, you can help him get over that hurt." Her eyes roamed to where Tifa and Rinoa were talking.
"And i think Tifa's love might help Cloud too... if only he'd let her in... i don't know what changed after what happened to you two, but he never was the same towards her ever again... its really no wonder she's so distraught."
"I agree with you." Said Zack, eyes roaming to all the strangers, noting the absense of Irvine and Leon.
"We should probably give our new companions a background story... so they know just what we're dealing with."
Aerith smiled and nodded her head, releasing Zack. "You go speak to Leon, i will speak with the man upstairs." She then left the SOLDIER's side and went upstairs to where Irvine was sleeping.

Zack meanwhile, went outside in search of Leon, who was nowhere to be found inside the bar.

[Elario Luminus]

Irvine's hand flicked to the door when he was awoken by the footfalls of Aerith, Exeter in hand. Noting who it was, he tilted his hat up and grinned, letting his gun arm fall back to his side.
'Howdy there, lass. What can I do ya for? Try to be quiet though, eh? The Instructor's sleepin' deeply.'

Leon had gone for a walk to clear his head, something he'd done frequently back at the Garden, and also while he was in Radiant Garden. He'd left Seventh Heaven quite rudely, and he berated himself for that, but he felt that if he was to stay there any longer the pure emotion of the room might force him to implode. Leon stepped out into a crowded street, receiving strange looks from the citizens because of his gunblade. He walked through the crowd, oblivious to the fact that Zack was either following him, or looking for him.

Rinoa's face saddened at the mention of Tifa's troubles. She'd felt the same with Squall, though it was under different circumstances. As such, she figured she'd know the answer.
'You need him back, don't you? You miss Cloud. I saw him, you know...briefly. He was in the Western world for the first day I was there, but then I never saw him again...'
Rinoa hushed, thinking.
'He spoke to me, asked if I'd seen a man named Sephiroth. Guy with a big sword, long silver hair? I said no, and he walked off. Mentioned something about keeping his search up, then that was it.'
Rinoa tilted her head at Tifa, hands on her hips.
'Does that help at all? Not even the eensiest bit?'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Tifa looked at Rinoa as she spoke, but shook her head gently when the sorceress asked if this information had helped.
"No... not really..." She whispered, hugging her knees, "But thanks anyway... at least i know he's out there somewhere... i just wish he'd come home." She buried her face in her knees, her black hair falling around her ears, silver drop earring glittering in the dull light of the bar.
"But... i don't think he will..."

Aerith hugged her hands to her chest as Irvine addressed her, and nodded when he advised her to be quiet.
"I won't be loud." She said gently.
"But i just wanted to tell you a little bit about what happened here..." Her voice was passive, meaning this was an offer, not a compulsory thing.
"It might help you when it comes to searching for Cloud..."

Zack strode down the busy streets, dodging people who greeted him joyfully as he moved, Mako blue eyes scanning for any sign of his scar faced companion.
He shouldn't have wandered off... Edge is a big place... he could get lost. Zack thought to himself as he turned the corner of a building.
That was where he spotted the brunette, ambling down the road, a little conspicuous in his outsiders clothes.
The SOLDIER broke into a run to catch up.
"Hey Leon, wait up." He called as he came to a stop beside the brunette.

[Elario Luminus]

Rinoa placed a hand on Tifa's shoulder gently.
'We'll find him. It's the same with Squall; he tends to go off for a while on a SeeD mission, and I won't hear from him for weeks, months...' She looked down, saddened again.
'...Sometimes years...like recently.'
She was talking about the absence of Squall throughout her time in the Western world, where it'd been almost fours years since they'd last seen each other.

Irvine nodded and slung his rifle into its custom holster on his right thigh.
'Go ahead, lass. I'm all ears.'

Leon stopped and turned, accidentally shouldering someone as they passed him.
'What do you want?'

((When can Leon get kiddy napped? I'm bored. XD))

[Tifa Lockhart]

((well we can have Hojo overhear Zack and Leon while they're talking. Then everyone stays at 7th heaven overnight, come morning Leon goes for a walk and- blammy. Sound OK?))

"But Cloud is different." Tifa said, a tiny flicker of fading hope in her voice.
"And because of what has happened... i don't think he deems himself worthy to be around us but..." She looked at the floor, eyes teary, "It's not his fault."

((Now i know it messes with the continuity a little, but i have adapted the FF7 storyline to fit in with KH))
Aerith crossed the room so she was closer to Irvine and wouldn't have to speak so loud.
"Well, i suppose the best place to start would be the beginning... you see, we haven't always been together... all of us. I met Zack when he fell through the roof of my church." She giggled at the memory, "We'd been friends for a while when he befriended a young Shinra Infantryman... Cloud." She smiled as she finally reached the point of the story, proud to have skipped over the finer details of her and Zack easily.
"Cloud had a lot to prove to the people of his village, so he strived to be like Zack, and for a long time the two of them trained together, and Cloud eventually made 2nd Class SOLDIER, one rank off of his dream. Then one day they were called in on a mission to Cloud's home town... i remember feeling like something terrible would happen..."

"Sorry. Hope i'm not interrupting any deep thinking." the SOLDIER said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"It's just Aerith and I decided that it's not fair for us to ask you to help us locate Cloud when you lack the background as to WHY he's running all over the place like he is..."

[Elario Luminus]

Leon nodded.
'I'll listen to your story...'
He leaned back against the wall, stuck one hand in his pocket and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

Rinoa opened her arms for hug, holding them straight while tilting her head slightly. She smiled for two reasons. One to try and cheer Tifa up. And two because she remembered the effect this had on Squall.

Irvine nodded, understanding, on a lesser extent, what Cloud would have felt.
'The need to strive for somethin' is greater in some than it is in others. I pride meself in bein' the best sharpshooter round in my parts. Squall, on the other hand, strove for nothin' when he was a SeeD Cadet. Not till Rinoa, anyways.'
He grinned at this, gesturing for Aerith to continue.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack nodded and began to tell the tale, quickly skimming over the details of himself in SOLDIER and meeting Cloud, the young Shinra Infantryman with dreams of being a SOLDIER. Zack told of how he'd taken the young boy under his wing, and watched his fledgling grow as well as could be expected.
"Then we got sent on a mission to Nibelheim... Cloud's hometown... we got there, and the streets were empty, the people of the town were hiding inside their houses to be safe from the monsters that were coming from the Mako reactor on Mount Nibel above the town... so we went up there to clear them out." The SOLDIER frowned lightly.
"I don't remember clearly what happened, but we were ambushed and taken prisoner... when i woke, we were in these strange tubes, filled with Mako... i broke out and discovered that we were in the basement of the old Shinra manor in Nibelheim..." He seemed to shudder at the memory.
"I found Cloud in a similar tube, but his was rigged up to a third one... and there was this guy inside... i opened Cloud's and helped him out... but he seemed kind of unresponsive... like he was in a coma or something... So i went over, and after a lot of thought i opened the third one..." He shook his head.
"I should never have touched that..."

Aerith smiled softly as Irvine related to Cloud's plight. She then continued her tale.
"When Zack opened that third tube the person inside escaped and fled... Zack pursued him, carrying Cloud and some research journals he'd found in the lab... and when he got outside he found Nibelheim burning to the ground and all it's people dead... He eventually made it to Midgar... though both he and Cloud were quite ill... Cloud moreso... for a while we didn't think he'd live... Tifa never left his side..."

"But eventually Cloud stabalized." Zack said, folding his arms and clenching his eyes for a moment, "But he didn't wake for some time... so we all studied the research journals i'd found... and we discovered the professor Hojo of the Shinra scientific research department had kidnapped us as specimens for his newest experiment... and that shinra had set us up for it from the beginning... Hojo was using Mako transfusion to harness the darkness in peoples hearts... he hoped to create the perfect army..." Zack shook his head, horrified by the memory.
"The journal reported me a failure... they were unable to isolate any darkness in my heart... but Cloud..."

"From Cloud's darkness Hojo created Sephiroth... who did many terrible things... we never told Cloud... because he'd have taken it badly but... he was never the same when he woke... and now that he's found out what Sephiroth is... it's no wonder he feels he cannot face us..." Aerith looked at the floor, her eyes sad as she clutched her hands to her chest.

[Elario Luminus]

Irvine grunted softly.
'Hojo...somehow, that name rings a bell.'
Irvine frowned, thinking deeply.

Leon cocked an eyebrow and faced Zack properly.
'He's afraid that because Sephiroth is his darkness, he'll know to harm Cloud by harming all of you. Cloud's taken his fight away from home, which in his view would be the smartest thing to do. The way he's doing it is to keep everyone away from him, he'd be able to defeat his darkness without worry of his friends. I know he plans to come home to you all.'
Leon turned and started to head back towards Seventh Heaven. He looked over his shoulder.
'Explain to me what Mako does to a person's body. I don't think I've quite understood it yet.'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Aerith looked up and tilted her head, pink ribboned braid slipping sideways over her shoulder.
"Really?" She asked, curious as to where an outsider would have heard the scientists name before.

Zack moved to follow Leon, understanding what Leon meant, though he knew that wasn't all that was too it.
"Sephiroth did terrible things... and killed a lot of innocent people. And even though WE know Cloud is not to blame... i suppose he would feel responsible."
The then cocked an eyebrow at his companions interest in Mako.
"Hmm... well, Mako has differing affects from person to person. Standard qualities are however, increased judgement, strength and edurance... cells that absorb the Mako readily are often characterized by high regeneration rates... like me, though this is usually accompanied by an intolerance to cure magics... because of the high level of cure already present in the Mako. Cells that DON'T absorb the Mako well, degrade... the body breaks down and dies.... needless to say the subject dies." He winced at the memory of a few SOLDIERs he'd known who'd degraded.
"Then there's addiction and poisoning... Mako addicts become reliant on Mako, and without usually daily shots of it, the body dies. Poisoning is what happened to Cloud... it kills the nervous system and USUALLY kills the subject... but Cloud was lucky." Zack folded his arms as he walked.
"Needless to say the disadvantages GREATLY outweigh the advantages.. OH! and one more thing." Zack leaped in front of Leon and walked backwards so he was facing the brunette. "You loose ALL individuality when it comes to eye colour. Mako eyes are like mine." he gestured to his bright, almost luminescent blue eyes.

[Elario Luminus]

Leon's eyes widened slightly at all this.
'There hasn't been one single case of the subject's eyes just brightening? Instead of changing colour?'
Secretly, he found the advantages very tempting, but decided not to voice that.

Irvine nodded, watching Quistis again.
'I think he's the one who manufactured the Gardens in my world. They're huge schools, where mercs called SeeDs are trained up. That's what meself, Quisty here, my girlfriend Selphie and Zell are. Rin's what we'd call an honourary SeeD. Squall's the Commander of us all.'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack shook his head.
"Nope... Mako sends even brown eyed people blue. I only know one person who's eyes vary in colour, and that's Cloud... his are green near the pupil, but that's only since the whole Hojo incident." he frowned at this. What he was REALLY frowning about however was Leon's interest in Mako, it was concerning. Zack had seen the repercussions of Mako, and had lost many comrades because of it.

Aerith smiled softly as Irvine mentioned his home and occupation.
"It sounds wonderful... to be called a Garden." She gave a small laugh "And it would seem your crew isn't as mottley as ours... we all come from different places and backgrounds... the only two related members are Zack and Cloud... they're both SOLDIER."

[Elario Luminus]

Leon nodded slightly, absorbing this new information. He had a desire to become a Mako-enhanced man now, but knew it wouldn't likely happen anytime soon, or at all. He quickened his pace, noticing it was getting late.

Irvine chuckled softly, then checked his watch.
'Whoa there...it's gettin' late. Any ideas on where we'll all stay, lass? Cause I'm pretty sure things are crowded enough without us three holdin' it all up too, y'know?'

[Tifa Lockhart]

Aerith shook her head and smiled.
"Zack and I will be staying at my church... i might take Tifa with me too... being here isn't good for her." The brunette's eyes softened empathically.
"Vince is a bit of an insomniac... so he won't be a bother. So you guys can stay here." She gave him a kind smile.
"We have a few spare beds as it is... what with Cloud, Marlene and Denzel all missing..." She seemed deeply mournful for this.

Zack continued to frown as he followed Leon, silently regretting telling the SeeD about Mako...