Day 56: Bus 3
Waking carried a sense of disappointment along with it for the first time in a long time. Klavier actually sighed in irritation when he realized where he was. Damn it all. So they hadn't managed to move quickly enough to cover as much ground as they had hoped. It was a shame, really. Last night had actually proven to be relatively productive. If
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Zack crossed his arms over his chest as he considered that. It was pretty vague, but this guy had been skimping on the details of his whole situation here since they'd first talked the day before, so there was no big surprise there. Still, the fact that he was now wanting to talk to him made it seem like he'd taken the time to think a bit harder on what they'd discussed.
Either way, he wasn't one to shun someone just because they'd been on the rude end of the spectrum. Honestly, it took a lot to make him angry, and so he didn't think twice about agreeing to the man's offer.
"Sure thing," he said with a nod as he followed the stranger up into the bus and then sat down next to him. This all reminded him of his talk with Cloud on the bus a week ago, along with the fact that that had been before his memories had been wiped. His friend would be suffering again today, and Zack just hoped he would be all right.
All he could do was keep an eye out for his friend, though, and so without delay he turned toward the other man. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
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"Time travel," he said, casually rustling the little papers. "And the dead coming back to life. I've had a few things change my opinion on what's sane and what's crazy around here and I was wondering if you might have a few thoughts you didn't feel like sharing yesterday." There was an unspoken 'because you knew I'd think you were crazy' at the end of the sentence. From the way Zack had talked so cautiously and the way Badd had made it very, very blatant that he wasn't open to any talk that defied the laws of space-time, it was fairly obvious that Zack had at least some mild experience with Landel's oddities.
Badd got to the "Lil’ Tyke Toys" and noted a reference to a 'candy counter' hidden in the fine print. One eyebrow raised, as did the corner of his mouth. Jackpot.
"And if you want to trade coupons. I'll give you a burger lunch for the toy store one."
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"Uhh, yeah," he said after pause. "I didn't really give many details before, I'll admit that." But it had also been made pretty clear that that wasn't a good idea, with the way the guy had been talking. Zack was relieved that he'd gotten over himself so quickly, though, since it was bound to make his life a lot easier.
He wasn't as set on sharing the details of his death, though, especially with how everything had gone over with Lightning. It seemed pretty clear that even though he wasn't alone in that, it was best to keep that information close to the chest. "Most of my friends from home are way further into the future than I am. It's... pretty weird, to know that all this stuff had gone on without me."
There'd been a very good reason for that, of course, but he wasn't going to share it. It wasn't something he was going to reveal on the first meeting again, that was for sure. He did wish he could get some of his feelings about it off his chest, but... that would be best done with someone else who'd been through it, and no one on that bulletin post had signed their name.
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Zack's admittance was interesting, but not very informative. "Most of mine say they're from my past," he said, stacking the coupons together again. "I thought it was drugs at first, just messing with their memories. But even if they can make drugs to target memories of just a few years of your life, I don't think they can make them powerful enough to bring back a man who's been dead for the last seven years."
If Zack hadn't yet gotten that the mysterious guy-who-sees-dead-people he'd talked about yesterday was Badd himself, hopefully he'd get it now. Badd assumed a regretful pose, staring wistfully out the window as the bus continued to fill up.
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"Yeah, and... I'm guessing you realized it was no hallucination?" he asked. "Let me tell you, it's weird the other way around too. Everyone I remember looks way older than they should, and I've been filled in on so much that my head was spinning for a while."
Granted, the biggest bombshell was the fact that Cloud had completely lost it for a while there, but he was just relieved that his friend had eventually overcome that. He still needed to properly thank Tifa for helping him through it, but man... He had his own set of problems that revolved around her after that other night.
"So," Zack said after a pause, "what's it like, seeing an old friend like that?" He was curious to know what the other side of it was like. He couldn't really ask Cloud about such a thing directly, so maybe it would be better to get another person's outlook on it. Seven years versus five years -- it was close enough.
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Definitely needed those suckers, when they hit town. Thinking this hard was even harder without the comforting feeling of hard sugar against his tongue.
"Hurts a little," he said, his voice quiet and graveling. "You spend seven years telling yourself that he's gone for good, that you need to move on with life and stop hurting, and then suddenly he's back again and all that pain comes rushing back. You don't want to believe it at first, because if they're back that means they can die again...that you can lose them twice in a lifetime." Geeze, Badd, is he your dead partner or your ex-boyfriend?
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"I guess that makes sense, yeah," he said as he glanced out the window, taking in the snowy landscape and remembering the first time he met Cloud. It was something that had been on his mind too much lately, though that was partly because he hadn't had the chance to really speak much with his friend since he'd returned. He hoped he could find him today.
"But hey," he continued, looking over to the man and offering a smile, "I bet that your friend is going to make sure he makes the most of this second chance. He probably won't be dying again so soon." He wasn't sure if he was being too transparent now, but he could handle that later. Right now, it seemed like the man needed some cheering up. The return of a dead friend should have been a good thing, but Zack understood how many complications came with it. He just hoped he didn't put his friends through too much grief. There had been enough of that already.
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It wasn't Byrne who had the second chance, it was Badd. With Kay out of the way and on the run there was literally nothing left to Badd that was more important than protecting Byrne. He would not fail his friend again, no matter what this place threw at them, his life was fully lived and far less important than making sure the most virtuous prosecutor who existed continued to stay that way.
Though again, a little candy would at least make his prison time easier. "Salon, maybe?" he offered, holding up another coupon. "Could get yourself a nice haircut."
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Zack had at least been certain of his death; it was kind of hard not to be when he'd been shot the amount of times that he had. He'd felt his body giving out on him up on that cliff, and he'd known it was the end. The fact that this guy's friend was totally oblivious to his own death made the whole situation a lot more sensitive. "Have you told him about what happens to him, or...?"
What would be the better thing? To leave him blissfully unaware or to prepare him for what might come? Zack didn't know what he would have liked more, although he'd realized that his hike across a continent and a half with a near-comatose friend had been a suicide run almost from the start, so...
It seemed that the guy was pretty set on doing a coupon swap, though, and so after a moment Zack started flipping through the book he'd been provided. "I don't think I have one for the toy store," he admitted. "Looks like it's just for some food, a manicure, or a massage." Most of which didn't appeal to him, but at least they were being given a small stipend beyond that. It beat last week.
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Badd sat back, fingers idly toying with the little stack of papers. "Of course he knows. I flipped out and treated him like a ghost when I first saw him, it would be impossible to keep anything from him now. I'd have told him anyway, he deserves to know the way things are, even if it makes things tougher."
The bus shuddered to a start and Badd looked out the window. He wanted to keep an eye on their route to town, in case he had a chance to walk the path later. Kay would have gone this way. "I think his biggest worry was that he never got to see his daughter grow up."
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"And hey, I'm only Class C. That means I've got... what, ten dollars?" And while he could have asked about how much that would be likely to buy him, Zack wasn't going to push his luck. The guy had come to believe that it was possible for people to come back to life here, but that didn't mean he was going to accept the idea of other worlds existing quite so quickly. Zack would just have to see the prices and work things out for himself when they got there.
Though the mention of this not-quite-dead friend having a daughter caused Zack to pause. At least he hadn't been leaving any children behind when he'd died. That was something he could barely even comprehend at his age, but he still felt for this man who he'd never even met. His parents had buried their child without realizing it, but the other way around had to be just as bad. Though it wasn't as if Zack hadn't left some people behind. He hadn't even been able to explain things to Aerith, for one thing. He'd at least gotten the chance to see her here and sort things out, but did that count for much when she'd disappeared again?
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"Fair enough," he said, also checking their course. The road seemed pretty straightforward. It would have been cold that night but not unbearable, enough for Kay to still make a few miles' hike down an empty road. And that didn't discount other buildings in the area where she could have cowered down for a few hours of rest before she headed out again. "No idea what this letter system's about, by the way. I guess it's a military thing. All I know is that the S class get special treatment and the guards like some of us more than others." He hadn't thought to check what Byrne's status was, he'd been too caught up in just finding him alive. They'd put their heads together when they got back to the institute again and be more professional this time.
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Then again, Zack wasn't looking to be judged or ranked by these people in the first place. He'd had more than enough of that. With a sigh, he cast a glance out the window, trying to keep track of the bends in the road as they made their way down. He still was pretty sure the only way to move such a far distance at night was with one of those rings, but that was neither here nor there.
"So, any other questions?" he asked as he leaned a bit further back into the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. His legs were getting cramped, so he did what he could to stretch them out, though they weren't really allotted much room on these things...
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