Night 54: Main Hallway, 1-West

[sanguinario]

[From here.]

The big connecting corridor. He may be in a rush, but this hallway deserved extra caution. What would he do if he tried to get to Stefan and ended up mauled on the way there? The first night when he'd smelled blood here, it was still a bit... haunting. It meant there was a chance of something lurking, dragon or not

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[36_24_35]

"Is he? Can't say I'm surprised," Tifa said, amused by Lightning's description of him. Zack was easy-going but dependable. He didn't drag you down; in fact; he inspired you to be as optimistic as he. It made sense that he would draw people to him in the institute whether deliberately or not.

God knew Tifa had been ensnare by him in their first meeting six years ago. She remembered him best for his winning smile. He was accessible and common the way Sephiroth hadn't been. Any girl in her shoes would have been wooed. She had been on the cusp of womanhood and Zack had embodied a new excitement that her quiet town always lacked.

It seemed embarrassing to talk about Zack when they could easily get blindsided by him in the hallway, but it looked like the SOLDIER hadn't appeared yet. There was no harm in throwing Lightning a bone while they were alone.

"Well, different town," Tifa corrected, assuming Lightning came from Gaia. "Met him when I was a kid when he came to do a 'routine' inspection for one of our reactors." Who knew it would change all their lives in a matter of moments. Everyone dreamed of an adventure, but they were nothing like the books you read and the stories you heard about. There was nothing epic about fighting for your right to exist.

"It's kind of a long story," The brunette waved the rest away, not sure how much Lightning had learned about Zack. It was his story to tell if he wanted to. There was nothing worse than having dirty laundry aired where it wasn't needed.

[thestormishere]

Much of Tifa's explanation flew right over Lightning's head, of course, despite any effort she might have expended in trying to understand it all. Something that was a 'long story' though, that was a concept she was pretty familiar with, and she knew all too well how putting that out had a tendency to indicate a general reluctance to talk about it.

"Hmn," she answered shortly, and though she was blunt, she wasn't quite blunt enough to ask the question that popped into her head right afterward- so, do you know if he really is supposed to be dead? Maybe the place was getting to her again or something; she forced herself to actually focus.

And well... Tifa's answer wasn't quite as definite as Lightning might have hoped, but it was good enough to go on towards what she had been getting at- if 'Are-You-Alright' guy knew Zack, then there was a possibility Tifa did too, and she'd... well, probably want to know of his arrival at the 'institute' as well or something. Lightning was a little annoyed that that problem had become part of her problem as well.

"I think... I met someone else you might know," she said reluctantly, and turned her head to look at Tifa while she trailed her fingers along the nearby wall. "Said he was new, but..."

[zack_fair]

[From here.]

Zack might have had reason to feel back in his element due to the fact that he was leading a subordinate around, but there were a few things that prevented that. For one thing, Cloud had in many ways surpassed him in terms of capabilities and strength of will, so he could hardly count as a lower rank than him anymore. More than that, neither of them were in the military at this point, so it was old-fashioned of him to think of it that way.

And lastly? No one could feel all that dignified when they managed to trip over their own feet. Zack was at least lucky enough to stumble against the closest wall and use that to regain his balance, but his flashlight beam went flying all over the place as he'd staggered forward.

It had also happened to land on two familiar faces, which Zack only completely registered once he recovered from that near-fall. Tifa was expected, but the other one...

"Lightning?" he questioned as he pulled away from the wall and dusted himself off. "I didn't know you were coming along." Not that he was going to question it, since from what he'd been able to tell, she seemed capable. And if Tifa approved, then so did he. She was a bit of a sourpuss, but that wasn't too hard to work past.

"Anyway, hey. Sorry for the delay. I... got a little distracted." Zack grinned then as he gestured to the person directly behind him. He knew it was about the least suspenseful way he could have introduced Cloud, but he figured that just his presence did a good enough job of that.

[bigdamnzero]

As he followed Zack down the hallway, Cloud couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. It had been a long while since his days as a trooper-- years. Yet despite that, despite everything, there was a familiarity to falling into step behind Zack that took some of the tension from Cloud's shoulders. It was odd. Seeing his comrade back from the dead ought to have been entirely more disconcerting than it was right now, but there was a surrealism to the situation that softened the blow, caused Cloud to let his guard down a little.

And Tifa... Tifa was here, too. Again Cloud wondered how she and Zack had become acquainted, before remembering with a small jolt that he'd been there himself. The Nibelheim mission... A pensive frown. That didn't explain how he knew Yuffie of all people, however-- but knowing Yuffie, he had a feeling materia might have been involved.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice his friend's footing slip until Zack was already braced against a wall and pushing himself away from it. Cloud moved forward, eyes flickering in the direction of the flashlight's glare-- and freezing there as Zack spoke. He recognized Tifa immediately, but any greeting he might have had faltered on his lips at the sight of the woman with her. It was that injured girl from the Sun Room. Whose name was... Lightning, apparently.

The next moment, though, Cloud's momentary confusion dissipated as he smiled at Tifa, brief and unsure (it didn't help that the last time he'd seen her, she'd been angry with him) but relieved to see that she was all right. His gaze shifted between her and the pink-haired woman as he stepped forward, trying to figure out the connection there.

LOL LIGHTNING'S A SOURPUSS~! *yes, I am 8 years old*

[36_24_35]

"Oh really?" Tifa turned to her roommate with real interest. The list of people she knew was long, but quite a few had come and gone. The question was who hadn't been scratched off yet. ShinRa was a terrifying thought, and so were the Turks. She could handle Cid, and Barret would be a nice surprise, but that would leave Marlene and Denzel to fend for themselves.

Before she could ask, a beam of light fluttered across her vision. Tifa put her hand up to shield her eyes, ready to tell this idiot to be more careful, but the advice was moot once a familiar voice picked out Lightning. "She's my roommate, so I thought we could find her a weapon. Having one more fighter in the group can't hurt." Her pride and her leg had learned that lesson the hard way.

Perhaps she could have asked Zack first if he minded an extra group member, but he didn't seem too put out, only curious. Actually, the former SOLDIER looked rather satisfied with himself, like he just got a new materia and couldn't wait to try it on the closest victim.

She hadn't been far off either. When Zack moved back, the brunette was expecting to see some wayward woman he'd picked up.

Again, not far off either.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted the obvious. "I thought--" Actually, Tifa wasn't sure what she had thought. There were nurses she could have asked, but the reality had been too scary to face. It didn't matter now that they had found Cloud, or rather he had come back. Her lips pinched shut remembering there was an audience. She could worry over Cloud later, privately, and ask him what he remembered.

"You're not hurt, are you?" She glanced briefly at Zack, but he showed no signs of worry. He looked relieved, like she, that their friend was back in one piece.

just go sit in the corner, claire

[thestormishere]

Well, if it wasn't the man himself-- both of them, actually. That was a bit of a relief to Lightning- there hadn't been any time to aid Blondie there any more during that last shift even if she'd wanted to, especially after she'd been thoroughly distracted by the military coup and subsequent sacking of Dr Landel. Not that she'd been worried much... it just meant she didn't have to waste any energy explaining the meeting to Tifa, and then probably having to figure out what to do when she and Zack decided they needed to find their errant acquaintance.

She inclined her head in what passed as a greeting, though at the same time her gaze bore into them- first one, then the other as the three went through the motions of being reunited. It at least also solved the problem of Lightning not knowing the one guy's name (although... was that his birth name? If so, who seriously named their son Cloud?), but she also felt a little out of place. It was strange when they all knew each other somehow and she was left as the outsider.

Stranger still when one of them had been insisting vehemently that another was dead earlier, and yet now seemed perfectly fine in accompanying him. She clenched her jaw as she shifted her weight, crossed her arms, ignored the protests of her lingering injuries and how the way she was forced to move likely made them obvious to anyone paying attention. What she didn't know here bothered her.

"It just happened this way," she added onto Tifa's answer after a pause, cutting in despite the moment probably already passed, "You could say the soldiers thing earlier managed to throw a wrench in any other planning." That and talking to Cloud, after being locked up most of the day....

She looked at the blonde. "I'm Lightning, by the way," she offered- almost a proper introduction. No last name offered, of course, though that wasn't unusual. In a way it almost seemed like she'd left that behind in that train station, at the same time she'd so easily handed over her military rank. It was just 'Lightning,' now.

[zack_fair]

Having had no idea that Lightning was Tifa's roommate, Zack was both shocked and pleased to hear the news. It was true that an extra person was never a bad thing, and Lightning seemed like someone he could trust to watch his back. Getting her a weapon would be good, but Zack was also eager to upgrade from his pry bar. It was definitely better than just his fists and he was grateful to Tifa for getting it for him, but he really needed a proper sword. So did Cloud, for that matter.

Tifa's reaction was pretty much expected, and Zack only grinned as he saw the elation on the girl's face. "He's more or less fine. Just... doesn't remember the last time." He glanced at Cloud, giving him a silent look that made it clear he would explain the meaning of that later. They'd already been held up, so he didn't think now was the time for it. More than that, he didn't know if Cloud would want him getting into all of that when there was a relative stranger here.

Speaking of which, Lightning's explanation to Tifa just ended up confusing him, but Zack didn't know if he should waste time getting clarification. He was more concerned with the fact that it was clear that the girl was injured, even if he couldn't determine exactly how. It was probably good that she was with them, then, but he hoped she wouldn't push herself either.

With introductions more or less taken care of, Zack figured he should focus on getting them on the right track. As nice as it would have been to stand around and chat, they had a few options for what to do with their night. "So we're thinking about hunting for weapons, right? I should also mention that someone I met here is having some sort of training session tonight... to teach patients self-defense. I told her I might or might not come, but I wanted to check and see if you guys were interested." He glanced first to Tifa, then to Cloud, and finally to Lightning, making it clear that he wanted to hear how everyone felt about it. "I thought we might be of some help, but I didn't commit or anything." With Cloud having just arrived, maybe it would be better to focus on getting armed.

[bigdamnzero]

Roommate? His eyebrows twitched in mild surprise at learning that-- what were the odds he'd have met with her roommate so soon, of all people?-- and then rose at Tifa's reaction. She didn't sound like she was seeing him for the first time, and Zack's next words seemed to support that idea, which... didn't make sense. At all. The last time? He was about to ask further, but catching Zack's look, he only nodded at Tifa with a hum of acquiescence at the back of his throat. Aside from the fact that this was one of those "it's a long story" scenarios, they had an audience. An audience that didn't seem to be completely comfortable with the situation at hand, either.

Speaking of whom. That girl, Lightning-- the mess with the soldiers in the Sun Room hadn't left any time for any First Aid to be found or procured. He'd hoped she'd been able to get some later on, but she seemed no better off than earlier, if the way she was carrying herself right now was any hint. "Cloud," he returned, "Though the nurses here seem to like calling me... something else."

The topic change caught his attention, and satisfied something else he'd been wondering about now: clearly his entrance to this place had had the effect of a hold-up for the three of them, but for what hadn't been evident to him until now. Weapons. It was something he could get behind, because while he had a feeling the flashlight's handle could do a fair amount of damage if he used it right, being without a proper sword left him feeling entirely too vulnerable.

"I think getting some kind of weapons first is a good idea." He glanced from Tifa to Lightning and back to Zack. "We could drop by the... self-defense place later?"

[36_24_35]

"...!" Tifa shifted forward in anticipation to say something, but it was stopped once her mouth threatened to open. Self-defense training seemed the best option to her. Plenty of these patients were non-combatants and had no prior experience with weaponry. That made close combat the best choice for training. Whoever had come up with training lessons during the night had been smart. Actually, she was a bit bitter that she hadn't thought of it. Instead of helping her fellow patients, she was making moonshine in her room that could ultimately blind them for life.

What happened to her priorities?

"I'm fine with either," Tifa added, noncommittal. Since the two men were better with a more ranged weapon than fists, Cloud' suggestion was probably more logical. You couldn't help others if you got taken out in the process. Close combat, while better than nothing, usually got you a few bites and bruises for your efforts. Oh, and wounded pride.

"Do we have a good idea where we can find something sharp and pointy? I know a place--" She played with the ring on her finger self-consciously. "--but it's pretty far, and I don't know if they have anything better than a prybar..."

[thestormishere]

Lightning's arms stayed crossed gingerly, gaze hopping between her current companions. It wasn't just their conversation that was odd to her-- was it her imagination, or were those eyes that had originally tipped her off to the connection between Zack and Cloud... actually glowing? She narrowed her own as she glanced over and studied Tifa as well, but as expected, hers appeared dark, in more ways than one.

After a moment, the l'Cie pushed the observation (and the nagging feeling that it reminded her of something - maybe it was the color?) aside, looking away down the hallway instead. Standing in one place too long was definitely starting to make her feel uneasy, although as much as she was inclined to answer immediately and try taking action right away, she at least had the sense to hold herself back long enough to listen and then think about the options before she spoke up.

And once she finally did, she was sure to keep her body language and tone carefully trained, hoping to insure her chances of being heeded were as high as possible. "Weapons first," she agreed with finality, and held up her lighting device as if it mildly offended her- thumb and two fingers wrapped around it, the rest stretched away. "This got me burned two nights ago." Literally. "I'd prefer not to have it happen again."

A slight pause as she regarded Tifa again, unaware of what the woman was considering; she frowned as she remembered what had happened earlier in the day. "Plus, time tends to be short here anyway. Somehow I doubt that's going to change with this 'head doctor' run out."

[zack_fair]

It seemed that everyone was in agreement about what their priority should be, which was weapons. It was true that all of them save Tifa were going to need to find something better than what they had, and looking at what Lightning was wielding, Zack realized he could be worse off. He hadn't put the pry bar to use yet, but he imagined it would do a better job than the flashlight, but it still didn't really qualify as adequate in his mind. At least he had a materia to back that up.

The comment that Cloud made about his name earned a smirk from Zack. "Don't worry, they do that to all of us. According to them, my name is Lance Findlay." It didn't sound nearly as catchy as his own name, but no matter what he told the staff they wouldn't let up. Even the soldiers insisted on it, though it figured that they were good at following orders.

He didn't think it would be likely for them to make it to Taura's meeting with the time that they had, and Lightning agreed. He would just have to respond to her over the bulletin the next day; even though he hadn't said for sure that he'd come, he still felt bad about it. He wasn't going to force his current group of companions to do anything they didn't want to, though.

Which left the question of where to go in order to find these elusive weapons. Zack considered Tifa's suggestion, eyeing the ring on her finger and immediately realizing her meaning. "Yeah, I'm not sure we're going to find what we need there," he said with a shake of his head. He wasn't so eager to return to a town full of zombies and shadows that pointed out all of your inner demons, after all.

Granted, that didn't mean that he had a better idea. "We might just need to search blindly if no one knows where to go." Lightning and Cloud were newer than him and Tifa, which meant that they weren't as prepared for all of this as they should have been. "We could try upstairs, or..."

But then something that Lightning said registered with him, and he turned toward her with a raised eyebrow. "Wait a second... What do you mean 'run out'? I know they took over, but..."

[bigdamnzero]

Lance Findlay. He considered the name, comparing it with his own, and figured he might not have gotten off as badly as he'd initially thought. In more ways than one, if what Lightning was saying was to be taken literally-- it was probably better he didn't have backpockets in these pants, since he would've tucked his flashlight there without much thought. (Lance did have a better ring to it than Lionel, though.)

Cloud was about say that a prybar sounded good to him-- much better than the flashlight, pen, and keyring combo he had at the moment-- when his eyes caught a glint of light reflected off of Tifa's finger. A ring? He blinked, wondering where she might have gotten it, and when; he was sure he hadn't seen a ring like that on her hand back home.

Then again, he recalled with a mental wince, he hadn't exactly been around a lot lately.

"A prybar's better than nothing, but if going there might not help, it's probably a good idea not to use up time like that," he said after a moment. Neither Tifa nor Zack sounded completely sure about that place and Lightning didn't seem to have any input about it, either. And like she'd said, time did tend to be short here. "Searching blindly's not something I'm usually in favour of, but it's probably our best plan at the moment."

He paused, waiting for Lightning to clarify on Zack's question, mulling over the Sun Room's events in his own mind.

short post is short sorry the library is closing /)_=

[36_24_35]

"Oh Zack, you missed the show," Tifa's words held so much remorse for him. "It happened in the Sun Room. Landel just barged in and then got kicked to the curb!" It had been a wonderful breath of fresh air to displace the monotonous fog that had consumed their lives. Looking back on it, Landel's suspension marked a new reign that was less tongue and cheek about all of this. At least the nurses acted genuinely sympathetic. The soldiers... Not so much.

"Not that it did much good, really..." She finally admitted. "But at least they aren't playing like it's a secret anymore." It wasn't much of a consolation prize, but if they were more open about these strange experiments and tests, perhaps the patients had a better chance of preparing.

"Fumbling is better than nothing," She agreed as she looked to Cloud. "At least we can eliminate areas if we have to try again," Her smile and confidence was there behind her words, but Tifa prayed another outing wouldn't be necessary. It got frustrating having to start over time and time again.

switching post order so Zack can trip onto Lightning.

[zack_fair]

Hearing that news from Tifa and realizing that he'd missed it and had been oblivious this whole time caused Zack to startle. "You mean he's really gone?" It was one thing for the military to be taking over operations, but to toss out the very man who had been tormenting them was another. He had to agree with Tifa that this wasn't necessarily a good thing, and it also meant that they had no chance for revenge. Not that Zack was a vengeful person, but the guy had taken Aerith away and messed with Cloud's memories on top of it all.

"Are you serious?" He started to move toward Tifa in surprise, as if seeing her face a bit clearer would somehow make what she was telling him more true. He knew they needed to focus on the task at hand, but this was just too important for him to put aside for later. But it seemed that tonight just wasn't his night, since he managed to trip over his shoelaces again, which sent him stumbling forward once more.

Instead of crashing into Tifa, it was Lightning that he ended up having to use to regain his balance. His hand gripped her arm (the one good thing was that it wasn't anywhere more awkward) as he tried not to completely crash into her. "... Sorry," he said as he tried to pull away just as quickly. "I don't know what's with me tonight." He was a First Class SOLDIER, after all; well, he had been. It wasn't like him to be fumbling around like this.

[thestormishere]

... They still weren't really at a decision on what to do. Lightning shifted her weight in irritation. "I'm familiar with the maps," she started slowly, "Or at least what's been posted publicly..." Her voice was low and body language tight- geography and directions? She usually had that relatively covered, but it wasn't like what was available was very detailed at all. Personally, she was in favor of once more attempting to take on the second floor and was about to push them into doing so....

But then Zack threw everything off-topic again by latching onto her comment regarding the rather unceremonious removal of Dr Landel. She should have known, though- if Zack hadn't been in the Sun Room (something she'd already been sure of, since she'd checked as soon as Cloud had started acting weird), then he likely wouldn't know about what had happened there. There was a jaw-clenched pause, trying to figure out how to even start, but then Tifa jumped in for her anyway. No skin off Lightning's back, fortunately, although as always the other woman's phrasing was notably different than what the ex-soldier probably would have chosen.

Before she could add on any commentary of her own, however, Zack was suddenly moving forward... and stumbling right into her. She stepped back automatically, then heavily cringed against the unintended blow, hissing through her teeth. She was not used to keeping injuries for this long. "Ow, watch it," she snapped - thank goodness he hadn't tried to catch the arm with the injured shoulder, though she still used it to put a hand on his arm, trying to get him away from her--

And then she was suddenly remembering something- barren ground, grey sky and rain - a young man with blond hair and blood on his face, the hilt of a huge weapon in hand - sadness and relief and--

"I'm... your living legacy...?"

-- And although Lightning had suddenly gone stiff, eyes widening, abruptly her fighting instinct kicked in and kicked in hard. The l'Cie shoved her arms out and, twisting away, swiftly brought her leg up between them to kick Zack away. The force transferring into her as well, she half-stumbled backward, smacking into the wall in a way that definitely caused her lingering bruises and twisted arm to protest much more than what the man had caused by tripping into her. She cried out, but braced herself and managed to keep from falling, the need to keep on her feet outweighing everything else. For the moment though, she was a bit too stunned to do much else.

[bigdamnzero]

This Landel must have been a real class act if Tifa sounded so happy have seen him dragged out like that. Mild amusement at her enthusiasm was tinged with chagrin at the fact that Landel seemed to be gone for good. A pity.Cloud had been looking forward to having a talk with the man who'd brought them all here, as well as getting some answers out of him. But at least the soldiers didn't get to him the way the nurses did, with their sugar-coated lies. Between a hidden enemy and an obvious one, he would choose the latter any day of the week.

Zack's surprise at the news made it clear he hadn't known how the military takeover had transpired-- and Cloud realized that meant that Tifa, who did know, had been there in the Sun Room, too, with himself and Lightning. Huh. He barely had a moment to wonder why he hadn't been able to spot her when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and looked back towards Zack in time to see his friend trip yet again... and straight into Lightning, at that. A still-injured Lightning, who made her displeasure evident.

"What the--"

Very evident. Cloud had only taken a couple of steps forward to help steady Zack when Lightning booted him back suddenly, causing the both of them to collide. He grunted at the impact, skidding back somewhat, hearing the thud a few feet across from them as Lightning hit the opposite wall, his arms splayed rather awkwardly on either side of his friend's shoulders.

He couldn't understand what had gotten into her-- she'd been nothing more than annoyed for a moment before behaving as though responding to an attack.