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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[thestormishere]

[ From here. ]

As Lightning and Tifa finally reached the main hall, the pink-haired l'Cie switched on her own lighting device and swept it around briefly. Nothing was really out of the ordinary- just people, none of which seemed to be who they were looking for or Gambit.

She suppressed yet another sigh, her thoughts going back to what they'd been talking about instead since the man wasn't around to overhear. However, although she had to wonder the blonde, Zack, and whatever relationship Tifa held to them both, she wasn't sure where to even start.

"You're from the same... place then, right?" she asked neutrally, figuring it was as good a start as any. She remembered vaguely how Tifa had asked the first evening if there was anyone Lightning knew that she'd met already.

[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

[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

[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

[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

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

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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

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

[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