["S"? "S"? That can't be right. It can't be. She'd just told Sephiroth exactly who she is and where she's going? Tifa doesn't respond for a long moment as she chews on her lip, her breathing shallow and erratic. She feels like a complete idiot, and... She told him she was meeting friends, too. He might immediately assume she means someone from AVALANCHE, right? She has no idea what his goals would even be in a place like this.
Suddenly she very much wishes she wasn't alone.]
I talked to him, too.
[She doesn't know what to do. She hasn't even managed to completely accept that she's been warped to some other world, and now this...]
I told him I was heading east.
[Tifa says it very softly. She feels so, so stupid. Now she completely understands Kain's caution, and wishes she had followed his lead. She's still too caught up in the idea of Sephiroth, here to wonder who "Kuns" is or why Sephiroth sounded so calm and rational.]
[ Kuns- Kain- It's hard to think code names on the fly when something more urgent's come up. When he can hear the unsteady breathing on the other end paralleling his own racing heartbeat from telling her this much alone. A heartbeat that goes through the roof when she admits-- Damn it! Damn it! He curses harshly under his breath before he can help himself. But focus, Fair!
She's scared. And she's alone. Feeding into that won't help! He takes in a sharp breath. Breathes out and the next time he speaks, his words fall more solid than before. ]
Listen- He's still getting used to this town. He doesn't know where you are, and he doesn't know where we're at either. You just keep heading east. [ And then a bit more softly: ] You'll be alright, Tifa.
[ Whether you take that strength he's trying to loan you or not, Tif, he's there for you. And Kunsel. They'll be there in the flesh soon enough, too. ]
[Tifa feels a sudden rush of gratitude. Zack barely knows her, and he's already done so much to help her. He's even trying to comfort her, when she knows he must be just as scared as she is. It's all the more reason for her to stay strong. She takes a few bracing breaths as she kicks absently at the snow, and her voice is softer and steadier when she speaks again.]
Thanks, Zack.
[What if Sephiroth does something drastic to try to escape? They can't let Nibelheim happen again. And even if he doesn't do something that horrific, Tifa doesn't think he'll just stick to himself and try to survive. He must have been manipulating her in that conversation, right? He did it easily enough to all of AVALANCHE at the Northern Crater.]
[ She gets a hum at that note of gratitude, but the shift in gears to the conversation- that next question -that's definitely more pressing. It's what he's been wondering, himself, ever since he got off the other end with Sephiroth. And that weighted thought laces in his next words. ]
Still.. working on that. Something's not adding up. He claimed he didn't remember anything that happened back there. That me and him hadn't even gone on that mission. [ Claimed him to be a liar, too, initially. But after seeing his face, well... Safe to say, it's back to just both confusion for both parties. But... Zack shakes his head. ]
Look, for now, let's just focus on rendezvousing. We can talk more then. [ At least if he's asking that of her, that's perhaps a hint that at least for now, he might not be an immediate threat. Or maybe it's more that he'd rather focus on getting to her as quickly as possible. Multitasking's never been his greatest strength. Walking and talking in snow's kinda uncomfortable. ]
[She shakes her head, despite the fact she knows he can't see it.]
He's lying. He has to be.
[There's conviction in her voice, now. Sephiroth had been so convincing when he had tried to manipulate Cloud. He had sounded so certain that Tifa had almost doubted her own memories at a few points. But, then, Zack doesn't know about that, does he? She pauses, trying to figure out where to start. She doesn't even know what Zack's been doing the past five years, but...]
Back home... Cloud and I were trying to find Sephiroth. He said a lot of things that weren't true to hurt us.
[ He's about to call this conversation over, about to wrap things up, figuring they could touch base more later. But it seems she's not about to let things go. And really... he can't blame her. Lying... Yeah, he would agree with her there if Sephiroth hadn't seemed so certain. If he hadn't looked so furious with them. Now, he's... not sure what to think.
And then his thoughts stop full tilt anyway at that next comment. Wait... what? One moment, there's silence. The next, Zack's... not exactly being so calm about this anymore. ]
Why would you-!? Don't tell me he-! Ugh, this makes no sense! And Cloud was with me! He's been with me! [ Give or take. They'd been separated for a week or so when Zack had initially found himself in Norfinbury... Maybe Tifa had found him without Zack knowing? But then why would they have been looking for Sephiroth? Again, they're back to the game of 'Nothing's Making Any Sense'. ]
[She's taken aback a bit by his outburst, but yeah, this whole thing is a mess. Ugh, this is just another thing she doesn't want to think about. She chews on her lip as she tries to figure out a way to explain. She doesn't know what's going on, either.]
I don't know. I found him in the Sector 7 slums. He was... Really out of it.
[And not making any sense at all, but she'll gloss over that part.]
My friend had a job for him, so he took it. I never saw you.
[Glossing over AVALANCHE is definitely happening, too.]
[ Really out of it... That sounds an awful lot like mako addiction. But there's just one issue. Enough of an issue that Zack finds himself shaking his head in complete disbelief on this end. ]
How? Tifa, that doesn't add up- I mean how could you've seen him when he's been here for weeks now! Neither of us have seen you since Nibelheim and that was years ago!
[ Of course, it's very possible that Tifa'd survived and left for Midgar- especially after what had become of her small town. Who wouldn't pick up and leave? And it'd been five years since then... A long can change in that span of time. But... ]
[She knows it doesn't make any sense. She's known something was off since she noticed the distant way Cloud was speaking to her. It hurts, and she can't let herself think about it too much, because that on top of everything else is almost too much. She tries to calm herself down, but it's not working, and the vulnerability shows in her voice.]
We were traveling together for weeks before I woke up here. I don't know what it means.
Yeah, well, that makes two of us. [ And if he sounds bitter, well. He... can't really help it. Bad enough Sephiroth gave him a heart attack and then confused the hell out of him! Now, he's dealing with this?
Great. Just great. Zack... slowly runs a hand down his face. ]
Even if what you said's true and you found him, there's no way he could have been moving around. He was... He was in really bad shape before. [ His voice notably softens at that admission. ]
It was the beginning of October. He was lying in the train station when I found him. It was like he didn't know where he was or what was going on. I brought him back to Seventh Heaven to keep an eye on him.
[Bringing up his altered memories is far too personal, and there's no way Tifa's going to do it. But she is still trying to find a middle point here. If Zack had been with Cloud before Tifa found him, how much time had passed between when they were separated and when Tifa found him in the slums? Maybe he had just improved over time?]
Mako addiction... [ There's a somberness to his tone that he can't hide. But he's not afraid to show his hand, himself. He's got no reason not to. Although how Cloud had gotten it... That's... That's not a can of worms he's about to get into. ]
But that's the thing. He woke up here like that. I'm.. not even sure how he met Kuns halfway in the kind of shape he found him in. It was.. really bad, Tif.
[She has a pretty good idea of how Cloud got it, but it's not really something she wants to talk about, either. She sighs again, pausing for a moment before she answers.]
I don't understand it. We were on the airship together before I woke up here, talking to everyone, and...
[Now she's mostly thinking out loud. None of this seems possible, and they're just talking in circles.]
It was January. What month was it before you came here?
[ Airship? Well, that throws him for a loop. Because unless she had ties to ShinRa in some way that doesn't involve them being on their hit list, he highly doubts they would be cruising around in one of those. But that's only the start of his further confusion...
...January? He... scratches at his stubble in annoyance. ]
Dunno. I was kinda busy at the moment. [ RUNNING FROM AN ARMY. ] ...But it definitely wasn't winter. Was just starting to get cold. I wanna say... maybe September? October? [ Which... would line up with her October comment... You know, except for the fact that she still remembering being with Cloud up until the beginning of the following year. ]
[Even as she says it, it sounds ridiculous. Time travel isn't a thing. It makes no sense. Being brought to another world is weird, but hey, apparently Jenova crash landed on Gaia from another planet, so at least it's a somewhat familiar concept.]
What.. do you mean? [ It's not really as clueless of a question as he seems to say it. He has an inkling feeling... but. It just... Honestly, it sounds insane. This whole day feels insane. This is one of the few points in his life where he's honestly hoping he's just hallucinating again. But he isn't, is he. ]
No... No, it doesn't. And Cloud's been here with us for weeks now. But still. We haven't even been here for that long! [ And considering he'd been deemed a failed experiment... and had been an infantryman. Not a First. He can't see them ever bothering to clone the cadet...
None of this is making sense. Zack lets out a noise of frustration as he kicks helplessly at the snow he's shuffling through. ] I don't get it. I mean we'd have to be from different... [ He trails off at that though. Because even the very thought of it sounds nuts. But at the same time... ]
[Tifa really, really just wants to dismiss this theory. It's way too crazy, and would make everything so much more difficult. But if Sephiroth really doesn't remember anything about Nibelheim, and Cloud's memories seem to stop short, too...]
Maybe they... Maybe they took some of our memories when we came here?
They're capable of a lot of things... [ People have lost memories here before. He remembers talking to someone a month ago.. although he can't remember their name now. But he knows that happened.
But- He winces briefly, pausing. Opening his mouth to say something more. Closing it. ] ..but Cloud looked exactly like I last saw him, so I don't think that's the case here. Tifa, you said yourself that you found him at the station, but he recovered with you. Same thing here. I know that really happened.
[ The honesty's there in his words. But the frustration has yet to leave him either. He... sighs, running a hand through his hair. How'd things get so complicated all of a sudden? They were already insane before... but now this. ]
Listen. Tifa, I'm gonna talk to Kunsel about this. In the meantime, focus on making tracks. We'll get there as soon as possible, alright?
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Suddenly she very much wishes she wasn't alone.]
I talked to him, too.
[She doesn't know what to do. She hasn't even managed to completely accept that she's been warped to some other world, and now this...]
I told him I was heading east.
[Tifa says it very softly. She feels so, so stupid. Now she completely understands Kain's caution, and wishes she had followed his lead. She's still too caught up in the idea of Sephiroth, here to wonder who "Kuns" is or why Sephiroth sounded so calm and rational.]
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She's scared. And she's alone. Feeding into that won't help! He takes in a sharp breath. Breathes out and the next time he speaks, his words fall more solid than before. ]
Listen- He's still getting used to this town. He doesn't know where you are, and he doesn't know where we're at either. You just keep heading east. [ And then a bit more softly: ] You'll be alright, Tifa.
[ Whether you take that strength he's trying to loan you or not, Tif, he's there for you. And Kunsel. They'll be there in the flesh soon enough, too. ]
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Thanks, Zack.
[What if Sephiroth does something drastic to try to escape? They can't let Nibelheim happen again. And even if he doesn't do something that horrific, Tifa doesn't think he'll just stick to himself and try to survive. He must have been manipulating her in that conversation, right? He did it easily enough to all of AVALANCHE at the Northern Crater.]
What should we do?
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Still.. working on that. Something's not adding up. He claimed he didn't remember anything that happened back there. That me and him hadn't even gone on that mission. [ Claimed him to be a liar, too, initially. But after seeing his face, well... Safe to say, it's back to just both confusion for both parties. But... Zack shakes his head. ]
Look, for now, let's just focus on rendezvousing. We can talk more then. [ At least if he's asking that of her, that's perhaps a hint that at least for now, he might not be an immediate threat. Or maybe it's more that he'd rather focus on getting to her as quickly as possible. Multitasking's never been his greatest strength. Walking and talking in snow's kinda uncomfortable. ]
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He's lying. He has to be.
[There's conviction in her voice, now. Sephiroth had been so convincing when he had tried to manipulate Cloud. He had sounded so certain that Tifa had almost doubted her own memories at a few points. But, then, Zack doesn't know about that, does he? She pauses, trying to figure out where to start. She doesn't even know what Zack's been doing the past five years, but...]
Back home... Cloud and I were trying to find Sephiroth. He said a lot of things that weren't true to hurt us.
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And then his thoughts stop full tilt anyway at that next comment. Wait... what? One moment, there's silence. The next, Zack's... not exactly being so calm about this anymore. ]
Why would you-!? Don't tell me he-! Ugh, this makes no sense! And Cloud was with me! He's been with me! [ Give or take. They'd been separated for a week or so when Zack had initially found himself in Norfinbury... Maybe Tifa had found him without Zack knowing? But then why would they have been looking for Sephiroth? Again, they're back to the game of 'Nothing's Making Any Sense'. ]
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I don't know. I found him in the Sector 7 slums. He was... Really out of it.
[And not making any sense at all, but she'll gloss over that part.]
My friend had a job for him, so he took it. I never saw you.
[Glossing over AVALANCHE is definitely happening, too.]
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How? Tifa, that doesn't add up- I mean how could you've seen him when he's been here for weeks now! Neither of us have seen you since Nibelheim and that was years ago!
[ Of course, it's very possible that Tifa'd survived and left for Midgar- especially after what had become of her small town. Who wouldn't pick up and leave? And it'd been five years since then... A long can change in that span of time. But... ]
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[She knows it doesn't make any sense. She's known something was off since she noticed the distant way Cloud was speaking to her. It hurts, and she can't let herself think about it too much, because that on top of everything else is almost too much. She tries to calm herself down, but it's not working, and the vulnerability shows in her voice.]
We were traveling together for weeks before I woke up here. I don't know what it means.
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Great. Just great. Zack... slowly runs a hand down his face. ]
Even if what you said's true and you found him, there's no way he could have been moving around. He was... He was in really bad shape before. [ His voice notably softens at that admission. ]
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[Bringing up his altered memories is far too personal, and there's no way Tifa's going to do it. But she is still trying to find a middle point here. If Zack had been with Cloud before Tifa found him, how much time had passed between when they were separated and when Tifa found him in the slums? Maybe he had just improved over time?]
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But that's the thing. He woke up here like that. I'm.. not even sure how he met Kuns halfway in the kind of shape he found him in. It was.. really bad, Tif.
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I don't understand it. We were on the airship together before I woke up here, talking to everyone, and...
[Now she's mostly thinking out loud. None of this seems possible, and they're just talking in circles.]
It was January. What month was it before you came here?
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...January? He... scratches at his stubble in annoyance. ]
Dunno. I was kinda busy at the moment. [ RUNNING FROM AN ARMY. ] ...But it definitely wasn't winter. Was just starting to get cold. I wanna say... maybe September? October? [ Which... would line up with her October comment... You know, except for the fact that she still remembering being with Cloud up until the beginning of the following year. ]
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[Even as she says it, it sounds ridiculous. Time travel isn't a thing. It makes no sense. Being brought to another world is weird, but hey, apparently Jenova crash landed on Gaia from another planet, so at least it's a somewhat familiar concept.]
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[Or was, anyway. But it definitely does sound ridiculous to say.]
That doesn't make sense, does it?
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None of this is making sense. Zack lets out a noise of frustration as he kicks helplessly at the snow he's shuffling through. ] I don't get it. I mean we'd have to be from different... [ He trails off at that though. Because even the very thought of it sounds nuts. But at the same time... ]
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Maybe they... Maybe they took some of our memories when we came here?
[Wouldn't that make way more sense?]
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But- He winces briefly, pausing. Opening his mouth to say something more. Closing it. ] ..but Cloud looked exactly like I last saw him, so I don't think that's the case here. Tifa, you said yourself that you found him at the station, but he recovered with you. Same thing here. I know that really happened.
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Then what do you think it is?
[She knows they're going to circle right back to the weird theories, and she really wishes they didn't have to.]
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[ The honesty's there in his words. But the frustration has yet to leave him either. He... sighs, running a hand through his hair. How'd things get so complicated all of a sudden? They were already insane before... but now this. ]
Listen. Tifa, I'm gonna talk to Kunsel about this. In the meantime, focus on making tracks. We'll get there as soon as possible, alright?
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[She's about to end the conversation until she realizes she doesn't recognize that name.]
Who's Kunsel?
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Kain. Sorry. He didn't know who you were when you guys first spoke, so he wasn't sure he could trust you...
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[She can't really blame him for being cautious.]
Don't worry about it. Be careful, okay?
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