The FF7 Experience: (Chapter 13:This Is How You Do It)
Author stuff: I’ve been forgetting to do this at the start of each chapter…I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any or if characters. Also, thank Frankto for his betaing and proofreading skillZ.
-------------------BEGIN CHAPTER--------------------
“Hello?” I spoke into the phone.
“Hello Grant.” Came Erika’s voice, “Did I call at a bad time?”
No, a bad time would have been 10 minutes ago when I was fighting. This was actually a very convenient time.
I continued scanning the area, taking in the scenery.
Costa Del Sol had little sidewalks, but did have hot sand that felt good beneath the feet, assuming one was without shoes. The buildings were mostly bright colors like yellow or orange, the one exception being the grey exterior of the Inn.
Most of the buildings were lined up next to each other, leftward when you enter the town. There was a single villa that was for sale to the right a small overhead bridge. Then, there was the bar which was of great length down the stairs. There were a number of houses to the right of the bar and more behind it; far more than there had been in the game.
It was actually the size of a town, and not simply two houses placed in with shops and inns.
Speaking of which, the inn was a large grey building, several stories tall. In the game of FF7, it had been a single story house of rather unimpressive size. However, considering this was a large tourist town and there was a large influx of visitors, it would be bad business to have a small inn with a single room and four beds.
To the right of the Inn was a shop one of the residents had set up to sell items.
To the left of the inn, was a long table with a number of cases on display and a bright yellow van with other stocked goods inside.
Lastly, there was the beach, which I really could not make out from here.
“No, it wasn’t a bad time.” I replied after the long pause.
I decided the bridge would be the best place to talk, so I jogged up the stairs and took position in the middle, leaning against the railing. I ignored the passing citizens. They were unimportant, really and most of the town’s population were likely drinking or swimming at the moment.
“I’m at Costa Del Sol right now.”
“Right, the resort town. If you don’t mind my asking, how did you join AVALANCHE?”
“If I answer that, you have to answer something for me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I sighed and observed the town. Red was sleeping in the shade and Yuffie was chatting with the man at the materia shop. Cloud was going from person to person talking. No sign of the others.
“Well…” I said, deciding to give her a shorter and partially fabricated version. “After I ended up at Kalm, I heard of AVALANCHE one day. I learned more about Shinra, and decided I wanted to help. So, I went to Midgar. When I stopped at a bar for something to eat, by chance, I met the leader. It’s pretty simple, really.” I told her.
“You do make it sound rather simple, though I’m sure there’s more to it than that, right?”
“…”
“But we can save that for another time, I suppose. You had something you wanted to ask me, Grant?”
“I remembered two people earlier. I’m not sure exactly how long ago it was…but any how, one was a professor. He didn’t look out of the ordinary. Older shorter man with white hair and balding. He had glasses too. Lucretia came in not long after the memory started. You and I were there too, only younger…” I trailed off. I hadn’t actually asked a question yet. My hope was she would just start explaining things, and THEN I could ask something.
“…The man was Professor Odine” Erika clarified for me.
Odine. The same one from Final Fantasy VIII? No. This one may have had the same name and possibly the same IQ, but he looked and talked different.
“Why was Lucretia there? What was her role in whatever they were doing to us?” I asked.
Erika was silent for a moment, deciding on how much she should tell me and how she should word it, I gathered.
“From what I understand, she joined this project because of her fascination with the Cetra.” Erika replied, “As for what they were doing to us, we never were entirely sure. Her role was to help with research, collect information, and assist in conducting experiments. But again, we knew very little about them.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” I said heatedly, “In the memory, we were willingly listening to Odine. We weren’t strapped down or anything. How could we be willing and not know anything?”
“We were not willing.” Erika quickly countered, producing a slight fluctuation resembling anger in her voice. There was a pause. “I’m sorry. You don’t know, and it isn’t your fault. Again, it’s best for you to remember as much of this as possible on your own, but I will say this: We were by no means willing.”
I sighed and ran my hand through my brown hair. Which reminds me, I need a hair cut.
“Did this project have anything to do with the Jenova Project at all?”
I realize revealing my knowledge on the Jenova Project this early may have been a bit premature, but I don’t care. I want some solid answers.
“I don’t know. I know very little about that project, I’m afraid.”
“What do you know?” I persisted.
“Grant.” Erika said, “Please don’t rush this. If you’ve had 3 memories in the last day or so, then in time, you’ll remember it all for yourself. Let it come to you naturally, please.”
“Alright…” I relented.
“Right, hang in there. I’m in Midgar right now. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” A pause, “…there is this rumor going around, that Sephiroth is alive.”
“Yeah, he was on the same ship as us.” I said.
I heard what sounded like a breath of surprise on the other end.
“What happened?”
“He mowed down a bunch of soldiers and went into the engine room. My friends went in after him but he flew the coop and dropped a piece of Jenova for them to deal with. I was busy fighting some crazy ass Techno-SOLDIER.”
“And none of your friends were hurt?”
“No, they’re all good. We’re all pretty tired though.”
“Am I correct in believing that you and the rest of AVALANCHE are actively pursuing Sephiroth?” Erika asked, giving me the feeling she did not much like this idea.
“Yes. Is that bad in your opinion?”
“Very much so, Grant. Even when you were at your best, the two of us together would be completely overpowered if we were to face him.”
“We’ll manage, trust me.”
“You sound so certain.”
“I am. So, have you found what you were looking for in Midgar?”
“Yes, actually. While I’m here, there’s one last thing I want to do. I should be done in a day or so. Grant, I’d like to come see you in person soon. Is that okay?”
“Uh…well, we’ll have to wait and see. No telling where I’ll be by then.” I answered.
“I see. I’ll call again soon hopefully. Take care of yourself, Grant.”
“Yeah, bye Erika.”
I hit the disconnect button, ending our conversation.
Before I would go and explore, I decided to make note of Erika’s number, which had been displayed on the phone during our conversation, and program it into the phone. Next, I changed the settings so that instead of ringing, the phone would vibrate. This way, if I were trying to sneak up on someone or hide, the phone wouldn’t ring suddenly and completely fuck me over.
I walked down the stairs, pondering what I want to do with all this free time. Sure, I could just go to sleep, but there’d be no fun in that. Training maybe? I’m sure some of that wouldn’t hurt. What’s more, I’m pretty sure there’s a certain enemy outside Costa Del Sol that has an Enemy Skill. I’ll have to go get it a bit later. For now, I kind of want to relax.
I ambled around a few passing citizens and stopped for a moment, seeing some kids playing soccer with Red. The red feline wasn’t intentionally playing, of course. He was laying tiredly under some shade, and when the kids lightly kicked the ball to him, his tail would sway as a reaction, and pass it back and forth between the two children. Red probably knew this was happening, and made no move to stop it. In spite of being intellectual and a little ‘to himself’, Red’s a nice animal thing.
I smiled and continued on my way until I reached the steps that would take me to Costa Del Sol’s world renowned beaches.
I squinted, wishing I had shades or something. The heat was getting to be a bit much too. It’s no wonder everyone walks around with so much exposed skin.
I tugged at the neck of my dark blue shirt and let out a breath. This wouldn’t do at all. So, I removed my green flak jacket first, and placed it on the ground momentarily. Then, I removed my dark blue shirt and what remained of the protect vest I had. It was pretty much useless now though after having been slashed, smashed, and the like so much. With those articles removed, I placed my green jacket over my skin but left it unzipped.
The beach was quite a sight when I finally arrived. First of all, like Costa Del Sol itself, the beach was much larger than it had been in the game. I could glance side to side, and in each direction, there would be a long stretch with people spread out, some on the sane and others far out in the waters swimming and playing. There were an assortment of stands set up along the beach too, ranging from drinks and food to beach gear and clothing. Way off in the distance, I could make out walls where guards stood atop in chairs, armed with rifles. This was because apparently, monsters could be found outside the walls much further down, and on rare occasion, a monster would make its way down here.
I saw a shop selling bags among other things to my immediate left, and decided to purchase one to put my things in. It was only 30 gil which was a nice buy, in my opinion. The simple white bag had two thin straps so it would be worn like a backpack. I tossed my dark blue shirt, my shoes, my item pouch, and my money bag inside. I left my scythe where it was. I also decided to make damned sure I keep an eye on it. If anyone makes a move for my bag, I’ll shove the butt end of my scythe up their anal sphincter.
I walked in a loose and relaxed, enjoying the feel of the hot sand between my toes.
From the looks of things, none of the others had arrived yet, which was odd. In the game, Tifa and Aeris made it here in a hurry. Of course, they did say they wanted to swim, so it’s possible they’re buying swim wear.
I continued inspecting the area, in case I had missed them.
I stopped suddenly, seeing a familiar face laying back on a long beach chair, surrounded by 2 women.
Professor Hojo was here. It slipped my mind completely that I would be running into him. The man looked exactly the same as the last time I had seen him, back in the Shinra building. He still had those dorks glasses of his and that long white lab coat. Honestly, who the fuck wears a lab coat to the beach? The man certainly looked relaxed as well.
Hojo was a man I despised. I remember all the things he did in the game. The man was a parasite. I look forward to the day AVALANCHE rips him a new one. For now, I’ll have to be civilized, and just remember: he will die eventually.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw no one I knew coming down the stairs. They could still be a bit.
I looked to the Professor once more. Should I go and talk to him? He might know a bit, and even if he knows nothing about Hyne or the project I was involved in, there are still a bunch of other questions I have for him.
I nodded, having convinced myself to go through with it.
As I made my way over, I fought the urge to kick down a few sand castles.
I stood before the man’s chair. His eyes were closed. He was oblivious to my presence.
One of the women at his side made a kind of scowl. “What do you want?”
Ignoring her, I cleared my throat and spoke up.
“Hojo.” I called to him.
The man’s eyes opened dully. With a sigh, he sat himself up slightly and shook his head, pushing his glasses up. When he saw I was the one who had disturbed him, his facial expression speared far more annoyed.
“Why are you annoying me?” he snapped.
I don’t even think he remembers me, geez.
“I have a few questions for you.” I stated.
“You aren’t the only one. I’m trying to get a tan, leave me alone.”
I thought of asking about Hyne first, but I needed to ask a question that would get his attention. If he hadn’t heard of Hyne, it wouldn’t work out so well.
“The Black Waltzes. Did you make them like that, or has Jenova’s will somehow made them that way?” I questioned. I know one’s already dead, but there are still two of those bastards out there, assuming Final Fantasy IX rules apply to them in that respect.
Hojo squinted for a moment, then nodded, like he had realized something he had overlooked.
“You’re the one from the Shinra building…the one that came for the Ancient, hm?” Hojo recollected.
“The first waltz was there. It was helping Sephiroth. So? Is that your doing or Jenovas?”
But rather than answer, Hojo just chuckled into his hand in his crazy ‘I’m a mad scientist’ way.
The man stopped laughing.
“The Waltzes were a bit of an unexpected anomaly. For that reason, I suspect that some outside force made them what they are. They make for interesting subjects though…hehehe.”
That means that either Walter did this and never really made any storyline behind WHY they transformed, or Jenova had some kind of affect on them. I could see that happening, since the closest thing Sephiroth has to underlings are those who wander around in black cloaks, waiting for the reunion. I’ve never seen them do anything useful before though. In fact, I’ve only really seen them die.
That aside, it’s time for question number two.
“Does the name ‘Professor Hyne’ mean anything to you?” I asked carefully.
“No. Any scientist I haven’t heard of must not be worth knowing.” Hojo arrogantly replied.
I shrugged and glanced at the stairs. There was still no Aeris or Tifa.
What else could I ask him? Where Lucretia was? As if he’d answer, even if he did know. I could ask him what the damn combination is to the safe in Nibelheim, but I doubt he’s interesting in helping me find Vincent.
I backed away and nodded slightly.
“Well, that’s all I have to say.”
The man murmured something and slid back down into his chair, closing his eyes once again and resuming his peaceful relaxation.
I walked off back towards the entrance to the beach, quite intent on finding out just what the hell everyone was doing.
It was then that my stomach growled loudly. I glanced down at it and placed my hand over it, as if waiting for it to growl again…and it did.
Thinking back, the last time I had something good to eat, and not just quick snack bars or other portable food, was back in Kalm. I’m damn hungry.
My eyes darted around the beach, weighing in my options. Hot dogs, hamburgers and junk food seemed to be the only choices near by. All the other places were in town, but I wanted a lot of food and fast. Now that I don’t have so many distractions, my hunger really is quite apparent to me.
I choose a little burger shack not far off for all my eating needs. As I made my way over, I opened up the white bag I recently purchased and grabbed a hand full of the smaller increments of Gil, such as tens and fifties. Probably a lot for food, but like having the munchies after pot, now was a time where I didn’t think about how much money I spent on food.
Waiting in line wasn’t so bad, since the line wasn’t all that long. When I reached the front, I slapped roughly 200 gil on the wooden counter and slid it over.
“I want 4 Quarter Panthers with cheese and a large root beer.” I ordered. Quarter Panthers? That’s one of the lamest knock offs I’ve heard in a while.
“Comin’ up.” The chunky bald man replied.
I shuffled over to the side and waited for my meal, shifting my gaze around the beach. Finally, someone was here.
Tifa and Aeris trotted down the steps and ran across the warm golden sands of the beach, making a strait beeline for the water ahead. Tifa was dressed in a simple white 2-piece bathing suit. There was of course, some cleavage being shown, but for a woman of Tifa’s bust, it figured. I tried not to watch her too closely as she ran neck in neck with Aeris. As for the flower girl, she was in a slightly more modest red single-piece bathing suit. The girls let their hair fly unrestricted, free of any hair ties. While this wasn’t much of a change for Tifa, I had become used to seeing Aeris’s well braided pony tail. Seeing it all hang loose was something I had never thought to picture in the past.
I wanted to call out to them, but they could wait. I wanted food, damn it.
“Order’s up! 4 Quarter Panthers with cheese and a large root beer!” I hear from behind me.
I turn and nod, taking the tray in my hands.
I had found a small eating area near by with plastic white chairs and tables. I picked an empty seat and dug into my food, eating like a maniac.
My eating speed had dropped after the second burger, but I still had room for more. I slowed my pace, and slung my white bag on to the table, checking to see how much gil I have left and how many items I have. By my count, I have a little over 6500 gil, which should be enough for any items I need, so long as I don’t get too many ethers. As for my item bag, there are a few potions, phoenix downs, and status curing items I don’t need on account of my heal materia. I’ll just sell those later.
I had forgotten up until now, but there is a house in Costa Del Sol with a glove for Tifa called ‘Motor Drive’ and an accessory called ‘Fire Ring’ which absorbs fire elements. It’d be dandy since I’m not a fan of being burnt and all. The only accessory I have right now is my worn protect vest too. It has some cuts and scratches on it too.
I crumble up the wrapping on the third burger and begin on the forth, all the while watching the two girls out in the water. Neither had noticed Hojo yet apparently, but there’s no need for them too, really, since I know anything useful Hojo might have had to say.
Sluggishly, I finish my last burger and down my cola. My stomach feels quite heavy at the moment. I had wanted to swim, but that wouldn’t be a good idea at the moment.
I stand up from my seat and prepare to make my way back into town when I spot Cloud making his way onto the beach. We make eye contact for a moment and he stops, seeing that I’m heading in his direction.
“Hey.” I said.
“Hey. Done here already?”
“Yeah. I ate a lot, and my stomach hurts now.” I explain, patting my gut. “Anyhow, I have a few errands to run. I’ll probably come back for a swim later.”
Clouds nodded distractedly, peering out into the waters where Tifa and Aeris are now playing fighting in the water.
I go to move past him, thinking he hasn’t heard a word I’ve said, when he stops me, proving he had in fact been listening.
“If you aren’t too tired later, I’m sure one of us can teach you a few things. Maybe more about concentration so you can use that ‘Beta’ you earned.” Cloud offers coolly.
I grin and salute, “You got it. Thanks man.”
He shrugs and we part, Cloud asking about Sephiroth, while I make way back into town.
Red’s still laying in the shade. In fact, I believe he’s sleeping. The kids seem to love him. One little blond girl keeps sneaking in a few seconds of petting before backing up and giggling. I’m also pretty sure I heard one of them say something like “this is the coolest dog ever.”
My first stop was the item shop near the inn, where I purchased a few potions and hi-potions as well as ether. One should be enough hopefully. Magic does slowly refill on its own here, given enough time. Ethers are nice for a quick boost though. I also sold the useless items I’d been building up all this time, such as antidotes and eye drops.
The next move would be towards the condo near the bridge where I had spoken to Erika. I had remembered that in the game, Yuffie is employed by the material shop owner in an effort to sell more, his logic being, pretty girls attract customers. I didn’t feel like listening to her try to convince me to buy something, so I quickly darted through the crowds of people. Sure enough, I did hear cries of “Grant! Grant!”, but I just called back, “Sorry Yuffie, I can’t hear you calling me!”. I did realize not long after my statement that logically, I would have had to have heard her calling me to have responded in that way. With any luck, she’ll miss that and won’t beat me up later.
Having arrived at my next destination, I swung the door open loudly and carelessly, waltzing inside as I had done to so many other homes since arriving in Final Fantasy 7.
“And as you can see, this house is-“ a man in a black suit stopped his sales pitch, having heard my loud entry. He and an old couple stared at me as I remained frozen and at a total loss for words at the moment.
I have to say, this is the first time something like this has happened. I swallowed hard, and after another few seconds, slowly back away, closing the door behind me. I’ll have to come back later. That or just skip the ring, although I’d really rather not.
Let’s see, next order of business is to leave Costa Del Sol and fight some of the monsters further down the beach. They have a damn valuable enemy skill, although I suspect that like Beta, I’ll need to work on using it properly since it’s a higher end spell.
It takes about fifteen minutes of walking along the outer wall of Costa Del Sol before I reach any point where monsters might be found.
I’m surprised to find that the sky is starting to turn orange. It was already entering evening hour when we arrived at Costa Del Sol, I gathered, and in another few hours, it would be night time. For that reason, it would be best to finish my business quickly so I can get back and squeeze in some training before taking it easy.
A light shifting in the sand ahead catches my attention. What appears to be a small form is moving about slowly, its lumped and sand covered form slowly drifting towards my current location. I pulled my scythe and made sure my white bag was secure, then prepared myself.
To the right of this moving form, came another lump, and another, for a total of three. They were closing in, now being only 10 or so yards away. Fortunately, I had recovered some of my magic and would not be fighting with zero magic power.
The center form stopped, and a pointed blue pointed shell popped out of the sand. The spiraled shape shifted, aiming directly at me. Realizing its intention, I moved to the side quickly, just as it launched itself out of the sand.
As I dodged, the second came, aiming much lower. I leapt over top of it, catching the third about to make its move. The moment my feet touched the ground again, I sprawled downwards as the monster sailed over me.
I spun around to face the monsters; “Beach plugs” as they were called in the game. They were blue creatures that often hid in circular blue shells with a sharp blue point on the end. They had small tentacles which stuck out of the front of their shell, but weren’t terribly long thankfully. Inside the shell, if one looked carefully, you could also make out a faint pair of green orbs, which you could only assume were its eyes.
I only needed one alive so I could learn its enemy skill. The other two would only be hassles.
I ran forward with my weapon, since it’s obvious that if I were to try my only offensive spell, Flame Thrower, they’d just go into their shells.
Two of the Beach plugs crawled towards me while the third submerged in the sand.
As the first threw its tentacles at me and slapped me hard across the face, I darted to the outside of its body and spun on my heel, aiming the blade of my scythe for the opening in the front of its shell. A squishing sound followed as the blade cut into the face of the monster. its tentacles dropped, becoming motionless. I jerked my weapon out from the creature, and leapt back as the second lashed at me with a tentacle.
Sand behind me flew as the third monster, which I had neglected to watch for, shot itself towards my body. Without enough time to counter, I tried to avoid the attack, but the sharp shell cut my stomach horizontally as I tried to back out of the way.
I clutched my stomach, and acted on instinct as dual pairs of tentacles were being flailed my way.
I took a large leap back, but the Beach plugs could crawl surprisingly fast. When I landed, they weren’t that much farther from me than they had been a moment ago.
Realizing this wasn’t working, I threw my scythe to the side and leapt back once again.
As expected they crawled towards me, not letting up. I extended my left arm while in the air and called out; “Shadow Snake Hand!”
Three snakes burst threw the flesh on my forearm and targeted the opening present in the creature’s frontal region.
The snakes burrowed inside the opening in the shell and began biting into the small calamari monster, injecting weaker amounts of poison so I’d still have some MP left if the situation called for it.
The other beach plug hid itself inside its shell and executed a rolling attack.
I retracted the snakes, noting the targeted plug was moving extremely sluggishly and would likely be dead soon.
I rolled out of the way just in time, feeling the snakes return inside of me. But the sand the Beach Plug had kicked up during its roll assaulted my eyes, causing a painful burning feeling.
I focused my remaining magic into my next spell.
“Esuna!” I cried.
I targeted the restorative magic on myself, and felt the foreign material in my eyes dissolve. Normally, blindness is a status effect where that sense has been cut off by an enemies spell, but there are other ways of being blinded, such as by bright flashes or foreign substances entering your eye. Esuna cured them all.
As my sight returned, my eyes widened as I found the creature once again rolling towards me.
My stomach injury still hadn’t been treated and I consumed my magic power for the second time today when I used Esuna. I’d need to use a potion, but to have the time for that, I’d need to put some distance between the monster and I quickly.
I brought my hands together into an Ox seal and concentrated, trying not to let my self be distracted by the rapidly approaching monster.
The Beach Plug, moments away from hitting me, pushed it self up into the air so it could target my mid section.
It flew through the air where I had been standing, passing the grey smoke I had left behind. When the Beach Plug landed on the sand again, it turned and slowed to a stop, finding me a good 30 meters away.
I checked on the other Plug and found it had withered away and dead from poison, as I had guessed. It laid lifeless as a green foam bubbled out from the front of its shell.
I pulled a Hi-Potion from my white bag and poured it on my stomach cut, frowning as I noted the torn fabric on my vest. A little higher and it would have trashed the cell phone in my pocket. I should probably find a better place to put that.
As the healing properties of the blue liquid healed my injury to a great extent, I run towards my scythe about 50 feet away and hoist it up, getting into stance.
In case you’re wondering, the technique I had used was called ‘Body Flicker’. Like some of my other techniques, it consumes physical stamina only, so it can be used even when I have no magic power. The technique quickly alters my position after usage, making my body ‘flicker’ to somewhere else near by. The amount of stamina it uses it based on how far I travel. However, it seems I need to work on it more. I had planned on appearing where my scythe was and instead ended up 50 feet away from it. That’s quite a large margin of error as far as I’m concerned. As for draw backs, not only is a large distance more taxing, but Walter seems to have imposed a cool down period, which means I can’t just flicker around every where. At the moment, I have to wait a few minutes before I can do it again. But that may change as I improve my technique skill.
As I waited for the Plug to react, I noticed it raise its tentacles up in the air.
A flash surrounded its body, and two separate spheres surrounded the monster before disappearing, leaving the Plug flickering between a pink and grey. It had finally used ‘Big Guard’ which places a barrier and magic barrier around it.
I charged forward, planning on breaking its barrier so I could slaughter it. In response, it dove into the sand once more. I stopped running and mentally cursed. It could pop out from anywhere now.
But a thought occurred to me. Logically, if it’s in its shell and moving around under the sand, it can’t actually see me. Instead, it probably listens for movements on the surface of the beach, or in the event that it can’t hear, pays attention to any vibrations or something. If it’s intelligent enough to do this, then in the event that I don’t move, it’ll assume I haven’t changed position and attack me here.
With this in mind, I placed my scythe back on my back and formed a hand seal.
“Shadow Replication!”
As the clone appeared next to me, I had it run noisily along the sand, and get further away from me.
I watched closely for any movements or sounds as my clone continued to play decoy.
As expected, sand rushed up from my clone’s immediate right and the Beach Plug rammed its pointed shell into the copies chest.
The moment I saw the smoke follow my clone’s destruction, I charged as quickly as I could so the little shit couldn’t dive again.
Readying my scythe, I leapt up into the air and held it above my head, preparing my newest limit break.
“Dragon Fang!” I hollered.
As I brought my Golden Scythe down towards the creature, it began to take on a kind of reddish glow, trailing energy behind it.
The Beach Plug backed away, but it wouldn’t matter. The moment my weapon hit the ground, pulsing fire energy was sent below the surface of the sand and wrath, until it finally exploded, sending surges of fiery energy upwards. The surrounding sand turned to glass from the intense heat, as shards flew everywhere, a few making small cuts as they reined about.
When the explosions ceased, all that remained was a heavily cracked shell, a gooey substance that had once been the Plug, and a whole lot of glass. Obviously, a simple Beach Plug couldn’t form a very strong barrier. My limit ripped through it with ease and killed the little bugger.
I breathed heavily, feeling a bit tired now. I pulled my scythe out of the sand and placed it on my back. Upon examining my Enemy Skill materia, I found that it had indeed grown slightly brighter after acquiring ‘Big Guard’.
I turned back towards Costa Del Sol and began my trek 15 minute long trek.
My newest limit had proved to be quite useful, and in my opinion, much more so than any of my others up until now. But, while it did cause a nice amount of destruction, it was also exhausting. Limits don’t use magic power, but the power in a limit does come from the individual, deep within. Perhaps the energy used to make that explosion was my own physical energy? Or maybe some inner power humans have? Whatever the case, Dragon Fang uses more than I’m used to a limit taking.
I forgot to grab the gil the monsters dropped, but I didn’t feel like fishing around in the sand for it, really.
When I made my way back into Costa Del Sol, I wasn’t surprised to find pretty much everything exactly the same as it was before I had left. Red was still sleeping, Yuffie was still selling materia, Barret’s probably still at the bar, and I’d bet everyone else is still at the beach. I hadn’t been gone long, and when you factor everything in, forty-five minutes is probably a fair estimate.
I remembered Cloud’s words before I had left, so I figured I would return to the beach and see if the offer was still open.
On the way to the beach, I noticed Yuffie noticing me. My excuse last time sucked enough as it was, but there’s no way I could make direct eye contact with her and claim I never saw her waving her arms at me.
I sighed and strolled over to the table, where the owner sat back in a near by chair doing nothing.
“Hey Yuff.” I greeted.
She smiled and moved her finger towards her self. “Grant, come here. I have a secret to tell you.” She said in a hushed voice.
Curious to see what it was, I leaned closer.
The sneaky little ninja put a finger in her mouth, then gave me one nasty wet willie.
Surprised, I stumbled back and tripped on my own feet, landing on my ass. Yuffie was quick to point and chuckle at me own expense.
“Ew! Yuffie, what the hell? Girls aren’t supposed to do that!” I exclaimed as I stood up and brushed the sand of my butt.
Yuffie gave one last snicker before placing her hands on her hips in a mock pose.
“That was for ignoring me before. Now that that’s done…” she spread her arm out across the glass casing before her. “Why don’t you buy some of this handy dandy materia, huh?”
“Why are you selling materia anyways?”
She tilted her head towards the manager, “That guys gonna pay me commission on everything I help him sell. A pretty young lady like me attracts a lot of customers, you know.”
“…Right. Well, I’d like to buy something but nothing here is of interest to me. Plus you gave me a wet willie, which was kind of gross.”
Yuffie huffed, “Gawd, can’t even support a pal?”
I shrugged.
“When are you done here, by the way?”
“Shop closes at 9, why?” Yuffie asked.
“Just curious.”
I turned towards the beach and waved back at her. “I’m gonna train. Good luck selling stuff.”
“Nyah.” I heard from behind me. That’s the sound she makes when she’s sticking out her tongue…
When I make it to the beach, I look for three things: First, is Hojo still here? A glance in the direction I had found him in shows that his long chair is now empty. Second, where is Cloud? After a few minutes, I spot him sitting on a blanket, leaning with his back to a tree. His eyes are closed, and I suspect he’s thinking, or possibly recollecting something. Third, where are the girls? Since they aren’t near Cloud, I’ll just assume they are still swimming.
At first, I was conscious about waking up Cloud or disturbing him. Everyone is always under a lot of stress, no matter how hard they try not to show it. For Cloud, it’s probably the worst, not only because of the personal stake he has with Sephiroth but because as leader, he feels responsible for our lives. Barret had been in the same position in AVALANCHE. Comparatively, I lean in Cloud’s favor for who is the better leader. My reason is, that Cloud is more decisive than Barret, and also seems to have better decision making skills. That’s not to say Barret was a bad leader, just that if I had to choose who I wanted to lead the group, it would be ‘spiky ass’.
I reach Cloud and wait for a moment. After about 20 seconds, I sit down next to him on the blanket and cross my arms.
His eyes open and glance at me for a moment before looking ahead at all the people swimming.
“Done?” Cloud asks.
“Yeah. I learned a nifty new spell.” I replied.
He closed his drowsy eyes and slowly nodded.
And a thought just occurred to me. When we camped before Junon, how many shifts did he take? I wouldn’t be surprised if he took several, and only got 4 hours of sleep. Before that point, his last sleep would have been in the Shinra cell while we were prisoners…and that was interrupted as well. No wonder he’s so tired.
“Aeris would probably be the best person to talk to about magic and concentration.” Cloud stated. “I talked to Tifa as well. She’ll spar with you if you’re up to it.”
I nodded, not that he could see me do so.
“Okay.” A pause, “You look beat. Did you wait here just to tell me this when I got back?”
“Yeah. But I also wanted to tell you, our rooms have been booked. The inn only had two twin bed rooms and two single bed rooms left. I’ll be bunking with Barret, Tifa and Aeris will be together, and you and Yuffie can have separate rooms. Red said he’ll sleep outside in the shade.”
Cloud opened his eyes once more and stood himself off, brushing his clothing. He reached into his pocket and pulled a key with a chain that red ‘R 306’. The keys jingled in the air as he held it out for me to take.
“I’m turning in early. Try not to stay up to late, we should be leaving Costa Del Sol by nine and I imagine everyone will want to eat and shower.” Cloud said, though not in any kind of nagging parent like voice.
“A shower, my god that would be awesome. I think it’s been days since any of us had had one. We must all smell bad…” I trailed off for a second, before picking up again. “…anyways, thanks Cloud. Night.”
“Night.” He waved back as he made way for the Inn.
After Cloud had left, I sat where he had, leaning back against the tree. I performed another scan of the beach, and found Tifa not too far off in the water, swimming her way back towards the shore. No sign of Aeris yet.
I could definitely use the flower girl’s help. At the moment, I have Beta and Shiva, which I can not use properly, and Big Guard, which I suspect will be damn hard to use as well.
“Hey Grant.” Aeris said.
I quickly glance to my side, somewhat startled to find Aeris standing pleasantly with a drink in hand. Her hair is still somewhat wet, hanging behind her back, occasionally dripping some water. She’s still in her single piece red suit as well, but has a bag exactly like my own on her back with the exception of its color, which is pink.
“Hey, where did you come from?” I said.
She smiled, “I was getting a diet soda, want some?”
“No thanks.” I waved it away.
She dipped a long white straw into the canned beverage and took a long sip. She sat down next to me on the blanket and placed her bag and drink down in carefully beside her.
“So, you need some help with your materia, right?” Aeris asked for clarification.
“Right. I have Beta, a Shiva summon, and Big Guard, all of which I can not use.”
“Okay. What is the highest level spell you’ve ever used? That’ll give us an idea as to how much improvement we need.”
I stroked my chin for a moment, thinking back. Bio, Quake, Bolt, and Cure were all rather low leveled. When I first came, I could use them alright but not in any instance where I was panicking. I got over that quickly enough though.
“Probably Esuna.” I replied.
Tifa finished drying her self off with a large towel and began walking towards Aeris and I. It looked like she had enjoyed her swim.
Aeris nodded and took another sip of her soda.
“Okay. Well…as you probably know, a spell is the combination of the knowledge of Ancients which comes from your materia, and your own magical power, which comes from you, obviously.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve watched you before when you use spells, and I sometimes notice that excess amounts of magic leak off your body when you cast a spell. That is, rather than being used in the effect of your spell, it goes to waste, which diminished the effectiveness of anything you cast a bit. With me?”
I look up, “Uh…yeah, so far.”
Tifa waves but is silent, noticing Aeris is in the process of explaining something. She sits quietly in front of us, and goes through her bag, looking for some clothes to throw over her bikini now that she’s dry.
“Some spells require a certain amount of magic to work, period. After that, you can put more into it to make a stronger spell, although some magic can only get so strong before it maxes out, and after that, using any more magic power would be a waste, you know?”
“Yeah.” I reply simply, giving a small nod to show I’m still with her on this.
“If you can stop leaking magic off your body like you do, then more power will go into your spells. It might be enough to make the spells you have work properly.”
“Okay. How do I go about stopping magic leakage?” I asked.
“Concentration and a strong will. With lower level materia, it’s enough to just focus on your materia and the desired effect you want from it, even though doing that alone will waste some of your magic. With stronger spells though. You can’t just focus on something general, you need to channel all of the magic for the spell directly to the materia the effect will come from. You have the strong will to use it. And, it’s very hard if your control isn’t precise enough.” Aeris lectured.
She knows a lot about materia and magic, wow. She is of course a Cetra, so she would be the most knowledgeable person in the group to talk to about magic. Good call on this one, Cloud.
I smiled. “Alright. I think I understand. I’ll have to keep those things in mind when I practice later.” I’d like to now, but I’m out of magic at the moment and I’m not wasting Ether. Those things are damn expensive.
“Mm hmm.” She hummed cheerily as she took another sip of her drink.
I turned to Tifa, who was now dressed in her usual white tank top and short black skirt. If you looked closely, you could also see the form of her bikini. Not that I was looking closely.
“How was everyone’s swim?” I said, referring to them both.
“Fun.” Tifa replied.
“Yeah.” Aeris agreed, “Tifa can swim really fast.”
“Swimming is good exercise. I love it.”
Tifa placed her hands behind her head and leaned back, placing her head on the blanket.
“It’s starting to get dark.” She commented.
I gazed up and confirmed this to be true. The sky was beginning to turn into a darker blue. It would probably be wise to get training over with so I can hit the hay.
“Tifa, let me beat you up before it gets dark.” I said, as if I even could.
Tifa laughed softly and sat herself up. “Sure.” The dark haired girl then gazed around. “How about there?”
I tracked the area she had indicated. It was a large area where no one had set up, although there was nothing special about it.
I nodded and stood up, dropping my scythe down to the blanket along with my cell phone.
“No weapon?” Tifa inquired.
“I haven’t done hand to hand in a while. I still plan on using a few techniques though.”
“Sure.”
The moment I was up, Aeris took my spot by the tree. The amber haired woman leaned back and stretched, yawning loudly. I turned back and gave her a mock angry look, to which she smiled innocently.
I took position across from Tifa in our selected sparing zone. It occurred to me that fighting in the middle of a crowded beach might not be the best place, but the alternative would be to do it out side of town and that would be a five minute walk. It was just too much trouble.
“I’ll go easy on you.” Tifa declared as she got into stance.
I shook my head, “Don’t make this too easy for me. I want it to be tough!”
“…Okay.” Tifa relented.
I could tell she wouldn’t go completely all out, but she wouldn’t hold back to the point of being a push over either. I wouldn’t want her to go all out though. I don’t specialize in fighting hand to hand where as she does, and has trained in this style for years.
After a moment of nothing happening, neither one of us making any moves, Tifa acted first, charging to get up close.
She ran in and threw a simple strait punch.
I moved to the side and threw a low kick to her leg, but she deflected with her own leg, bringing it up to block my attack.
I threw several fast jabs at her with the intention of following up with something stronger once something hit. She bobbed and waved around them before suddenly dropping down and sweeping my legs out from underneath me with a powerful kick.
As I fell back, I shifted my weight back and pressed my hands down onto the sand, turning the motion into a flip.
Once I landed on my feet, I ducked under the high kick and moved forward to throw a strong punch to her gut.
She quickly hopped back and caught my hand, bending it along with my wrist downwards. I grimaced, but she wasn’t done yet. She placed her other hand around my elbow and used all her force to spin me around and let go once our backs were to one another. With her hands still on my arm, she suddenly threw me over top of her and slammed me down onto the ground hard. Thank god it was sand.
Tifa released her hold and backed away, holding her fighters stance as I scrambled to my feet.
Our little spar seemed to have attracted some attention. A number of people were silently watching as it played out.
I took a step back and brought my hands together.
“Alright, try this. Shadow Replication!”
I formed 2 clones since making any more would be a seriously bad idea at this point.
The copies appeared, one on each side, and mimicked my stance.
Tifa likely expected me to send my clones in first, but I surprised her when I had them hang back a respectable distance while I ran in.
I faked a right jab, and as she went to block, threw a left hook for her face. But apparently, this wasn’t unpredictable at all.
Tifa moved her head back slightly, making the hook fly by her face without so much as nicking it.
With impressive speed, she ducked, spun around, and thrust a hard elbow into my gut. I coughed up air, but she followed up by sending a push kick to the same spot her elbow had hit. I flew back across the sand and clutched my stomach. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her hold back more?
I heard a few comments from near by like “oh damn.” Or “ouch.” And even my clones had made similar comments.
Tifa backed away again, waiting for me to stand.
“Grant, are you okay?” she said with concern.
I stood up and shook my self, as though I was ‘shaking the pain off’, although really, I hadn’t.
“I’m good.” I assured her.
“…okay.” And again, she was in position.
Her eyes shifted to my two clones, who had yet to do anything yet. I could tell she was suspicious of them.
I smirked lightly and charged at Tifa recklessly.
She prepared her defense while continuing to take heed of my copies.
I brought my hands together and concentrated.
When I was close enough, I executed the Body Flicker.
My own form suddenly disappeared in a burst of smoke. The grey screen clouded Tifa’s vision for the moment.
I appeared behind her a ways, much farther than I had wanted to. I’ll definitely need to work on this technique.
My clones choose now to charge.
Although blinded by smoke, Tifa could easily hear them, as I had intended.
The first clone in front threw an obvious cross but Tifa blocked with her forearm and hammered its face with her gloved hand.
The clone disappeared, but the second followed through instantly, knocking Tifa off balance with a strong hook to the face. As she stumbled, the clone continued its attack by throwing a left kick to her gut. The copy then attempted a hay maker, but Tifa had recovered by this point.
Using her full speed and force, Tifa hooked the copies kidney hard, making it instantly disappear.
Annoyed to find it had been another copy, Tifa turned just as I socked her in the gut. She leaned forward as a reaction, so I backed up and suddenly shot forward with a knee.
As the smoke settled, Tifa brought both arms together and blocked the knee. Before I could bring it back down to the ground, she wrapped her arms underneath it, and with the force I had become accustomed to seeing from her, she hurled me up into the air.
Knowing she wouldn’t just leave it at that, I formed the Ox seal, Hoping I’d manage a Body Flicker before she followed through with her combo.
Tifa leapt up into the air and spun around, bringing the base of her heel hard across my face.
I flew down towards the ground and rolled a few times, feeling the taste of blood in my mouth.
“Oh my god, Grant! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t be fighting so rough!” Tifa cried after seeing me spit out a mouthful of blood.
By now, a crowd had formed to watch the fight, and a few bets seemed to be going around too. Even beach security was watching the spar, not doing anything to split it up. Aeris was also watching, but her face showed far more worry than anything else.
Tifa was about to run towards me to try and help when I lifted my arm and gestured for her to stop.
“No no. I’m good.” I said as calmly as I could.
I wiped my mouth clean and stood back up, getting into a sloppy stance. My vision was blurred at the moment too. She hits so fucking hard, my god.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Tifa insisted.
“Don’t worry. I’m not mad at you. We’re sparing, you’re supposed to beat me up. I hit you a few times too. We’ll stop when I can’t get up. I need this.” I said firmly.
In spite of the pain, something inside said I needed to do this. Whether it was to gauge my strength or prove I don’t need to be babied, I had resolved to see this through until I couldn’t fight any longer.
I tightened my stance up a bit and began devising strategies.
My last tactic worked quite well, using the element of surprise. She probably doesn’t know about Body Flicker yet either. The smoke the technique makes is almost exactly the same as the smoke a clone makes when it dies. So, I could probably use it one more time and still have the element of surprise before she figures it out. Based on how much stamina I have, more clones are out, and I can only do another flicker before I need to stick purely to hand to hand.
I took a deep breath and readied my next move.
I ran forward quickly, making the ox seal once more.
Tifa’s eyes widened, recognizing this hand placement from last time around.
I closed about half of the distance when…
…
Not now…really bad time.
…
…
…
…
…
In a brightly lit room, unknown texts and murals were scattered across the golden colored walls of this long hallway.
Before Erika and I rested a pyramid shaped object floating inches above a shimmering golden altar.
For the second time, I reached for the object and shook it, and in doing so, felt the entire structure around me shake in suit.
Erika sighed and shook her head. Her eyes were open, not hindered by dark reflective shades. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and the veins around them became enlarged.
I was silent for a minute, waiting for the white eyed girl’s appraisal.
The veins receded, and she shook her head disappointedly.
“I’m sorry. It’s in there, but even my eyes can’t find a way past this trap.”
I crossed my arms and hummed for a moment.
“So we know it’s in here…we just have no way of getting it. If shaking this thing shakes the building, then I have serious doubts about just pocketing it.”
Erika tilted her head for a moment. “Do we really need it? Lucretia said it wasn’t something we could use.”
“That woman said a lot of things. But if it’s something she doesn’t want us to have, then I think it’s definitely something we SHOULD have.” I reasoned.
“I suppose. Any ideas?” Erika asked.
I nodded, “Yeah. I’ll try my eyes. They might not be as all around equipped as yours, but they might pick something up you missed.”
I took a deep breath and concentrated magic around my eyes.
…
…
…
…
…
As the magic around my eyes focused, the iris’s of my eyes darkened into a pitch black, and my pupils thinned, becoming piercing silver. I felt my vision fade away, as everything I once saw became nothing but a black and empty void.
I had stopped running and brought my hand in front of my eyes on impulse, letting out a muffled choking noise for a moment.
“Grant? Is something wrong!” Tifa shouted.
She took a small step forward…and I felt it. Somehow, in some way beyond words, I felt her step. I felt the sand shift at her feet and move, I felt the shift in the air, and I felt every minute muscle in her leg as she stepped.
I removed my hand from my face and experimentally brushed my foot against the sand at my feet. In spite of the fact that I couldn’t see it, I felt it move, I felt it in the air, and I felt it meld back with the other sand as if they were extensions of my own body.
And suddenly, I felt compelled to continue the fight, just to see what this all meant. To see what would come of this.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” I said a bit more flatly than I had wanted. But at this point, all I cared about was testing this sensation.
Through the shadows I ran, not even seeing my own body or anyone else’s for that matter.
Tifa got back into stance, but I felt her loosen her muscles. She wasn’t going to take this seriously, and was likely going through with this only because I had so strongly insisted on it.
With the distance closed, I threw a fist forward. Tifa moved her arm to block. I suddenly stopped the fist and spun to the outside of her body.
I sent a quick kick to her back, using both her surprise and the fact that she hadn’t switched to ‘all out’ mode yet to my advantage.
My kick struck her back and knocked her forward. She stumbled but regained her footing quickly.
I felt her right leg shift, and interfere with the air closer to the sand, indicating a low kick.
Using my forearm, I deflected the kick and threw a quick jab at her face.
Feeling her muscles tighten more, I backed off, knowing she was going to be trying harder now.
This feeling was completely unexplainable to me. I saw nothing, but I knew what she was doing.
I continued backing up and stopped as I felt her charge towards me with great haste.
The hairs on my neck stood up, my spine tingled, and with an instinctual and fluid reaction, I suddenly lifted my hand towards my face and caught a fist a second before it would have struck me.
I released her fist, and instead gripped her wrist tightly, tugging her forward abruptly. I stepped to the left and threw a right kick at her now open stomach. Some of the air left her as it connected.
With her form still leaning downwards, I brought my leg up high and prepared to bring it down on the back of her head.
As it came down, she reacted, catching my leg in the air. She shot down and performed a sweep, and even though I knew it was coming, my body lacked the speed needed to dodge this move.
And once more, by reaction to the feelings and signals I was receiving, I flipped back. I planted a single hand on the ground and once I landed, lowered myself downwards.
In a flash, I had sprung forward at Tifa.
The martial artist side stepped, but the moment she moved, I suddenly changed direction with her to end up at her side.
I kicked the back of her left leg, forcing her down on one knee.
I turned and threw a kick, targeting it where her face now was.
And then, for the first time in this fight, she was going to give it her all without holding back.
She spread her legs apart and sprawled so low that a kick only a few feet off the ground went over her. The moment it passed, she jolted back up and turned, aiming an elbow at my face.
With my forearm, I blocked the elbow, but winced as a shooting pain ran through my arm.
She followed with a side kick, but again I deflected with the same for arm. Several kicks later, my arm was suddenly in a lot of pain.
I backed away quickly as we circled one another. Another step back, and then…
I couldn’t feel her any longer. I couldn’t feel her, but I still couldn’t see. And that scared the living hell out of me. The reality of what had happened was becoming clear now. I couldn’t see. Why couldn’t I see? Why was this happening? Will it stay like this? Why can’t I feel her?
These questions ran amok in my head, as I felt a cold chilling feeling inside of me. Panic. I was panicking.
But not three seconds later, I felt Tifa again as she barreled towards me across the sandy beach.
I was no longer operating like a fluid machine. I was actually thinking rationally now, and it made doing this so much harder.
Feeling her fast movements, the rapidly shifting sands, the occasional splash on the beach, and the moving wind; it was too much for my senses now. These feelings that had felt so natural now felt like an enemy invader. They were wearing on me. So much so that I hadn’t even moved as Tifa leapt up high, cracking her knee soundly into my chin.
There was a flash of light, as the world appeared before me once again. The blurred sky flew overhead for a brief instant before my head hit the sand. Everything in my line of sight was a great whirlwind of colors and depths. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to force it all away. Suddenly, the darkness didn’t feel so bad.
Moments later, in spite of the voices around me, and the worried cries of Tifa and Aeris, the darkness came again. I blacked out.
…
…
…
…
“Any luck?” Erika asked quietly.
Through the darkness, I felt the pyramid. It was so incredibly complex, that just wrapping my brain around it was a feat in and of itself. So many different spells and locations, and properties, all surrounding this one object, and that was just the tip of the ice berg. What was inside felt like death itself, if one tried to give such a thing feeling.
My pupils returned and I let out a shiver, wrapping my arms around myself.
Erika placed an arm on my shoulder. “What is it?”
“…I’ve figured it out. The pyramid that holds the materia is, through some incredible force of magic, linked to this temple. Some how, they’re one in the same.”
Erika furrowed her brows quizzically. “How bizarre.”
“I’ll say. At any rate, if they are linked, then it’s impossible to take it with us. And if we somehow broke it open while we were still inside this temple, that might cause problems too…” I trailed off.
Erika slid her hands into her pockets, letting out a quiet breath.
“Let’s leave it. We really don’t need it.”
I nodded. “Alright. We’ll leave it here. I imagine anyone else coming here would have a problem taking it with them too.”
We turned towards the exit, walking comfortably close to one another.
“You’re getting pretty good with those eyes of yours, hm?” Erika commented.
“My range still isn’t that great. Anything outside that small little zone goes completely undetected.”
Silence follows for several passing minutes as we exit the large stone doors of the temple.
“So, now what?” I said at a loss.
“Well…” Erika thought for a moment, “If we can’t get the Black Materia, why not try for White?”
…
…
…
…
I cracked one eye open slowly, still afraid of seeing a haze of images as I had before passing out.
I found myself in a well lit room with a shaded lamp on a night stand next to the bed I was in. I still had all my clothes on and found all my belongings in the corner of the room.
I groaned for a moment, sliding the orange blankets away.
My head ached and felt strangely light. My jaw also stung quite a bit, but not as bad as I would have expected. Someone probably used restorative magic on me to take care of it. Uncomfortable pain would last for a bit, but not nearly as bad as it could have been other wise.
I heard a shuffling at my side, and found that Tifa had been sleeping in a chair next to my bed, waiting for me to wake up.
We stared at one another for a moment.
“Tifa-“
“Grant-“
We stopped. I cleared my throat, signaling I was going first.
“Looks like I should have quit while I was ahead, huh?” I said this knowing she was going to go into some big spiel about how sorry she was.
She looked down for a moment. “No. I shouldn’t have gone all out like that.”
“I wanted you to take it seriously like you would have with someone like Cloud.” I pointed out.
She looked up again and shook her head.
“No, it’s more than that. I lost my head during that last attack. I know we were sparring, but you were completely unprepared for that and I still went through with it.”
“Yeah. Lesson is: I shouldn’t zone out when I’m fighting. And it’s probably a good lesson to learn.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make excuses for me, please. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
I blinked a few times and looked back up at the ceiling. Chances are, no matter what I say, she’ll insist she did something wrong. But she tried to stop the fight several times and I didn’t listen. I’ll just drop the subject.
“It’s okay. What time is it?” I asked.
Tifa glanced the clock above my bed. “It’s a little bit after 3 AM.”
I looked outside and sure enough, it was still black out.
I whistled, “Damn, I was out for a while.”
She nodded, “Everyone was worried.”
I felt my jaw for a moment. Tifa answered my unspoken question.
“Aeris applied healing. Does it still hurt?”
“A little bit.” I answered honestly. “But I’m sure it’ll be gone next time I wake up.”
Tifa bit her lip. “Sorry.”
I scoffed. “Yeah you said that already.” A short pause; “Thanks for worrying about me though. Why don’t you go to bed now? I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
I nodded.
Tifa let out a small yawn and stood up, placing her hands behind her back and stretching. I looked away.
“Good night, Grant.” Tifa said.
“Night.”
----------------------------------END OF CHAPTER-------------------------