Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ World Conflict: Final Fantasy 7 ❯ Initiation Battle ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Vergessener Held 
Finally! We'll enter the FF7 world! Hurray for you people that have still tried reading this!
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.15.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 219 | Status: Completed
Finally! We'll enter the FF7 world! Hurray for you people that have still tried reading this!
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.15.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 219 | Status: Completed
Everything was black, but I could see the others falling in front of me. We all had to shout to hear each other. "This sucks," I heard Dylan shout. "Where are we going to land," Ian yelled. "Quit whining. We'll find out.... I just hope it isn't on spikes or something," I shouted. I had been right; we DID find out soon enough, because a gate opened in the dark pit and we all fell into it. I saw very little. I was too busy screaming at the top of my lungs as I saw we were going to hit the ground. Ian landed on a hill of garbage, "Ugh!" Dylan landed next, hitting his head on a lamp on the way down, "OW!" Amber landed on the nice flat earth, "Ouch!" I landed a few meters away, landing on my stomach. I wheezed for a while, then got up slowly, "Ay caramba.... That hurts...." I looked around to see where we were. We had landed at the Sector 7 train station. "Where's Robert," I asked. Everyone else was slowly getting up. "Who knows," Dylan said, holding his head in pain. "Maybe he landed--" Amber began, but was cut off by screaming. The portal opened up once more, and Robert fell out, hitting his crotch on the lamp. Everyone cringed at the sight. I held my balls, trying to imagine hitting the pole that hard on my nuts. Ian and Dylan went, "Ooooh!" because they knew it was bad to land like that.
Robert gave a high-pitched scream of pain, his eyes opened wide. We heard more screaming, and saw another portal open up, this time it was...... Castilla? She landed on Robert, smashing his already aching nads into the pole more, I bet. He screeched again, then fell off with Castilla. Robert landed next to her, and they both didn't get up at first. "Happy landings," Ian said with a grin. Amber tried to keep from laughing at Robert, who was rolling around holding his balls. Castilla got up slowly, smiling at us, but had one eye closed in pain. "Don't start, Ian. That hurt," she said. Robert finally got up, giving Ian the finger, "Let's see you deal with this kind of pain." I laughed, then looked around again, "I guess we are near Sector 7..." Robert nodded, leaning against Castilla. She hugged him, smiling. They had been dating for about 3 years, but only because we kept pushing them to keep trying. It seemed to be working though, because they definitely liked each other a lot. "And why, may I ask, are you doing here," I said. "I have to make sure you rookies don't try anything stupid," Castilla said. "We have had 5 years of training, Castilla. We can handle it," Amber protested.
"Congratulations! You still don't have any field experience. Besides, I lived on the Ragnarok my whole life," Castilla said. She was the oldest of us at 23 years old. Amber wasn't far behind at 21, with Ian and Dylan at 20. Both Robert and me were 18. "Alright, enough bickering. We need to find... Uh-oh," Ian said. I turned around, seeing four armed police officers in red uniforms. "It's the po-po," Dylan said, laughing. I laughed too, tightening my gloves. "Stay where you are, AVALANCHE," one of them said. I smirked, keeping my hands at my sides, "Step aside or die." Amber looked at me, "Do we REALLY need to kill anyone?" "Maybe not, but I won't let them stop us," I said. The police pointed their pistols at us. "Alright then," I yelled. I pulled the razor-sharp wires out of my gloves, cracking them like a whip towards the guards. It wrapped around them all nicely, pulling their pistols to point at their chins. They all struggled, cutting themselves like fools. "Idiots..... Fine, you want to die. I'll kill you," I said, pulling the wires back by hand. The wires ripped through the police officers like a hot knife through butter, and whipped right back into my gloves. "Well, that was simple enough," I said, laughing a bit.
"Zack! What the hell did you do that for," Amber said, slapping me. I kept my face to the side after being slapped, then glared at her. She looked back at me, a little afraid, but I smiled, then walked towards the slums, "They wanted to shoot us, so I fought back. Anyway, I'm not going to turn cold blooded." Everyone sort of stared at me. I could tell because there was an awkward silence except for my boots making loud, metallic thuds as they hit the ground. I turned around, looking at them, "Oh, c'mon.... Alright, I won't do it again. Chill out." They all sort of glared at me, then began walking towards the slums also. We walked into a large clearing, trying to find 7th Heaven. It was all in japanese. "Aw, crap... Amber, can you read this kind of Japanese writing," I asked, looking at her. She shook her head, "I can only read katakana and hiragana. This is Kanji, I think." We just gapped at all the signs. Castilla pulled out one-eye visors and some sort of hearing aid. "Here, this will help you with Japanese stuff," she said, giving us each one. We all put them on. Robert laughed, "Zack, you look like a Saiyan." We all laughed, and I looked around. Amazingly, the visor made it appear in English now.
I saw the bar and walked in, taking a look around. First thing I heard was the sound of guns being pulled out. Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge had all their guns pointing at me. Biggs was wearing a T-Shirt and brown jeans, with a headband on his forehead and black boots on his feet. Jessie was wearing what I think was a police officer uniform, but it had stripes of blue where the shoulder and chest connected. Wedge was wearing a yellow jersey and brown shorts, along with a belt that went diagonally across his chest and around his waist.
"Oh, I guess this is how you greet everyone," I said, walking to a table. Barret climbed up the hole where the arcade machine should have been. "What's going on in here," he said, looking at the AVALANCHE members, then me. Everyone else walked in, and now he had his gun-arm pointed at us. "Who the hell are you!? Shin-Ra," he asked angrily. Ian and Dylan pulled their rifles out, but I shook my head, "Put your guns down. We aren't here to fight. And no, we don't work with money-grubbing assholes." Barret looked all of us over, but didn't put it down. "Who are y'all," he asked. I pointed at everyone in turn, saying their names, "That's Robert, Amber, Ian, Dylan, and that's Castilla. I'm Zack." He put his gun down slowly when he heard a low rumbling. The arcade machine rose up, bringing Cloud and Tifa up. I didn't see Tifa at first, paying attention to Cloud. I just stared at the huge sword on his back. I knew his sword was big, but it was as big as him! His blonde hair had even more spikes on it than mine. He had a standard purple SOLDIER uniform, which didn't surprise me, and a rusty metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder.
Ian and Dylan whistled when they saw Tifa. Now I looked at her, and saw the reason why they had whistled. She was a lot more attractive in person than in a game. Her eyes were red, which made me wonder if she didn't get enough sleep or something. I realized that was her original eye color after a few moments. Her hair reached a little lower than her waist and was tied up like a fish tail. She wore only a white tanktop and a very short, skin tight black skirt. I could see a small part of her panties, but blushed and turned away, "Uh, lady, your.... panties are showing." I knew damn well who they were, but I didn't want them to think I was part of Shin-Ra. Everyone stared at me awkwardly. The only more awkward thing going on was the silence. Tifa just pulled her skirt down to try and cover it. "Why were you looking, Zack? Trying to check her out," Robert said, trying to taunt me. I blushed more and stared at him with wide eyes, as if to say "Shut up! You're making me look like an ass!" Then, I turned around to face the others again.
Ian stepped behind me and pointed at me with his finger, "He's single!" Now I was sick of it. I turned around and gave Ian a good karate chop to the back of the neck, then slammed my knee into his stomach. He fell over, wheezing. While Dylan and Amber tried to help him recover, I turned to AVALANCHE once more. "Sorry about that," I said, my eye twitching a little out of nervousness. Jessie tried not to giggle, and Biggs and Wedge grinned when they saw how much my eye was twitching. Cloud and Barret just gave me a suspicious look. Tifa walked behind the bar, "Anyone want a drink?" Amber nodded, "Wine please." Ian and Dylan nodded, but I shook my head, "Don't give liquor to the guys. All 4 of us are underage." Dylan punched me in the back, "Why the hell did you tell her that!?" I groaned and rubbed my back, "Because last time you had beer you nearly blew a guy's brains out!"
Dylan went to punch me again, but Ian tried to restrain him. "Down, boy," he yelled. Dylan finally managed to break out of Ian's grip and punch me across the temple, making me stumble. When I regained my balance, I threw my wires around him, "Don't press your luck, Dylan!" He growled, then nodded. I pulled my wires out from around him, then looked at Barret, "OK, we told you who we were, so tell us who you are." Barret just glared at me, "Why should I?"
"Because I know that no normal bar would have a secret room underneath it unless they were hiding something," I said, putting a mischeivous look on my face. Barret pointed his gun-arm at me again. I backed away a bit, "Whoah, hold it. We want to help!"
"We don't need your help," Barret growled. "Alright. Fine. How about a deal then," I said. "I will have one of my friends fight one of you. If we win, then we get to join. If you win, we give you all the money we have," I said. "Fine," Barret hissed. We all walked out of the bar, stopping in the clearing in front of it. Barret stepped forward, "I'll fight first." I nodded, then looked to Robert, who stepped forward. "Alright, then," I said. As Robert walked away, I noticed a small egg in one of the slots of his belt. It was much larger than a chicken egg, about the size of a coconut. "Robert, give that egg to me so it won't break," I said. He turned around, took it off his belt, and handed it to me. I took it, wrapping it in my cloak. Jessie put up a hand, "Ready?" She dropped her hand, "Go!"
Barret charged forward, throwing his gun-arm at Robert. Robert quickly drew his katana and stepped to the right before it hit him. He pulled his katana up and slashed at Barret's gun-arm, but missed as Barret jumped back. Robert went for a thrust, which grazed Barret's normal arm. Barret had tried to move out of the way again, but wasn't quick enough. Robert quickly spun his back to Barret and nailed him right in the stomach with the butt of his sword's handle. Barret flew backward, landing on his ass. Robert rushed toward him and stopped, point his blade against Barret's throat, "You lose." Barret growled, "Best three out of five." I groaned, "Fine. Amber, you're up." Biggs stepped forward after letting Barret and Robert move off the battlefield.
"Can I have my egg back now," Robert asked. "Sure. I don't want it to hatch all over my cloak," I said, then added, "What the hell is that thing anyway?" The match between Biggs and Amber started, but I ignored it. "It's a little animal Castilla gave to me. She says I can use it to imbue my swords with magic," Robert said as he unwrapped the egg from my cloak, which I quickly took and wrapped around myself again. He put the egg in his coat, trying to keep it warm. Ian groaned, "Nuts." I looked at him, "What happened?" He motioned his head towards the match, "Amber lost." I looked at Amber, and she really had lost. She had a black eye now. "Nice try, Amber," I said, then looked at Ian, "You're turn." He stepped forward, pulling out a pistol. Cloud moved forward, drawing his huge sword. Jessie announced when to begin, and Cloud lunged forward, slicing downward at Ian. He jumped back, firing four rounds. Two of them merely bounced off the shoulder pad, the other two just missing Cloud's neck. Cloud jumped over his sword, holding onto it to bring it up so he could swing it again, and kicked Ian in the chest. Ian flew back, hitting a nearby shop. He didn't get up. Cloud walked over to him, pointing his sword at his back, "Game over." Ian lifted up his head and smirked, "It ain't over yet!" He rolled over, grabbed Cloud's sword, and pushed it off. He got up quickly and rushed forward at Cloud, pointing his pistol at his heart. Cloud had his sword in the air, which kept him from moving. Ian took his gun away, putting it in his back pocket, and walked away.
"OK, two to one," Jessie announced. I tapped Dylan on the shoulder, and he pulled out his rifle. Wedge moved forward, adjusting his shorts. People had been gathering to see us, and by now it was a rather large crowd. Jessie shouted, "Begin!" Dylan tried to fire a few rounds at Wedge, but had to replace the cartridge. Wedge ran forward, pulling out a bill club, and smacked it out of Dylan's hands. Dylan looked at Wedge, then the rifle. Wedge, rifle, Wedge, rifle. Dylan tried to run for his rifle, but Wedge kicked him in the side and popped out a switch-blade, pointing it at Dylan's balls. Dylan looked like he was about to shit himself from fright, shaking his head frantically, "I GIVE UP!" Wedge laughed and put his weapons away. "Two to two," Jessie announced.
"Alright, my turn," I said, adjusting my wired gloves. I walked forward, adjusting my cloak and gloves. Tifa stepped forward, which made me get nervous. I turned to the others, "Castilla, you wanna try? I don't hit wom--" That's all I got to say, because Jessie had announced to start and Tifa and kicked me in the back of the head. I fell flat on my face, then rolled over and kicked onto my feet. I looked at her, and she got into her stance again. I looked her over, not because of attraction, but...... Oh, alright, partly out of attraction. I studied the way her stance was and noticed her legs were a little stiff. I rushed forward and threw my fist at Tifa's face, part of me hoping I'd miss, the other hoping I would hit. I missed. Tifa stepped to the left and let me go by her, grabbed my cloak, pulled me backward, and punched me square in the face. I flew back and rolled once, stopping on my stomach. "That hurt," I complained, getting up. She ran up to me and kicked me in the chin while I got up, which made me do a full backflip. I landed on my hands, pushed off them, flipping me onto my feet. I rushed forward at her, throwing a left hook. She dodged to the right. I quickly spun around, put my left arm around her neck, and wrapped the wire in my gloves around her throat, "I really don't want to hurt you, so please give up." She shook her and tried to grab my face, but I grabbed her wrist and tightened the wires, leaving a few scratches at her throat.
"Alright, you win," she said, relaxing. I relaxed and let go of her. As I did, I got a whiff of nice perfume from her hair. She turned around and looked at me, raising a brow at me, "What are you staring at me for?" I had been staring. In fact, I would've started drooling if she hadn't pulled me out of my little fantasy land. I shook my head. "Uh.... What? No reason," I said, waving my hands as if to say, "I'm innocent!" She looked at me a few seconds longer, "Have we met before? I know I have seen your face somewhere..." |Oh lord,| I thought, |She must think I'm the guy from Nibelheim!| "Er..... No, I don't think we have," I said, blushing a little. She put her hand out for a handshake, "Well, then. I'm Tifa." Instead of shaking her hand, I took it in mine and kissed it, "I'm Zack." When I looked at her face again, she was blushing slightly. She walked away from me, standing behind Cloud again.
"Alright, kid. You won," Barret said, not sounding too pleased at being beaten by us. Ian and Dylan started doing the victory dance from Jak and Daxter when you beat the last boss, while Robert just put his fist in the air, then brang it down by his side, saying, "YES!" I just watched them and shook my head. AVALANCHE walked back into the bar, and the six of us soon followed them. "So, when's the next mission," I asked, sitting at the bar counter. "Tomorrow," Biggs answered. I looked at Wedge, who was stuffing his face, "Daaaang, you really like to eat after a fight, huh." He nodded, since his mouth was full. Amber sat next to me, "Can I get my wine now?" Tifa nodded, then brought out a bottle of white wine and a glass, filling the glass up slowly, "Two Gil please." Amber looked at me, "Er.... Gil?" I hit myself in the forehead, "Good lord.... MONEY, Amber!" Castilla walked up behind us and took out what looked like two scales from a giant lizard. She handed the bag of Gil to me, which I strapped to my waist. "Thanks," Tifa said, stuffing the money in the register.
"You want anything, Zack," she asked me, closing the register. "I can't drink. I'm only eighteen," I said. Tifa stared at me, "I thought you were older. You look like your twenty-five." I laughed, "I wish I was." Tifa looked to the left, then to the right, and handed me a beer, "I won't tell anyone if you won't." I raised a brow, then handed her two Gil. I downed my beer, then wished I hadn't. I scratched at my tongue, feeling like I was going to foam at the mouth. Everyone watched me run to the faucet and drink maybe a quart of water, laughing. "What's wrong," Tifa asked. "I feel like I just ate a rabid hamster or something," I said, raking my tongue with my fingers more. She shook her head, smiling, "I just hope you don't eat rabid hamsters." Robert gave me a pat on the back, "I wouldn't be surprised if he has. He used to have a hamster once. The next day it was gone." I glared at Robert, "HEY! Hamtaro was dead when I found him! I put him in a little coffin that I made a few days earlier as a school project!" Robert nodded, saying sarcastically, "Sure ya did!" I made a strangling motion at him, "One day, Robert...."
"Oh, yeah right. Like you could," he said, smirking. "Wanna test me," I said threatentingly. He shook his head. He had seen the way I used to snap and beat people up as we were kids. I walked back to my seat, sitting down on it, "How old are you, Tifa?" She handed Wedge a drink, then looked at me, "I'm twenty." Ian chuckled from the corner where he, Castilla, Dylan, and Robert were sitting at, "Oooh, looks like Zack finally starts trying to get a date! Ask for her phone number too!" I turned around and glared at him, "This coming from the guy who tried to get my brother's girlfriend mad at him so he could steal her." Ian stopped laughing, looking at me, "OK, I'll shut up now." I nodded, "Good." I turned around and pulled out a military ration that was in my bag. Tifa saw it and smiled a little, "This place serves food, y'know." I shook my head, saying, playfully mind you, "No way, you'd probably poison it." I stuck my tongue out at her, and she just frowned a little, "Well that's a little mean." I frowned, too, "Sorry."
"It's alright," she said, handing me a plate of steak. "Thanks," I said, pulling out more Gil to pay her. She shook her head, "Just take it." I shook mine, "No, I have to pay you for it." She shook it again, "It's on the house." I shook my head again, "Take the money." She shook her head a third time, "No." I pulled Gil out of my bag and shoved it into her hand, "TAKE THE DANG MONEY!" Everyone stared at us, which made me nervous. She just giggled and started laughing, "Alright." I began laughing too, thinking of how childish we were acting. I cut some of the steak up and ate as Tifa put the Gil in the register. Amber sneaked her hand up to my plate and stole a cut piece. I smacked her hand with my fork lightly, "Get your own steak." She frowned, pretending to be hurt and rubbing her hand, "Meany!" I just smiled and shook my head, eating the rest of my steak, "Here, take some money then." I took out some Gil from my bag again and handed it to her.
"I am gonna go get us some rooms," I said. The others just nodded, not bothering to look at me. I walked out for a moment, then walked back in, "Where's the inn?" Biggs and Wedge chuckled. Tifa walked over to me slowly and stopped, "I'll show you the way." All my friends just went, "Oooh! Zack's getting some!" I finally snapped, "I AM TRYING TO BE STEADY!" Everyone stared at me, not saying a word. "Nevermind..... Find the place on my own," I said, walking out. I ran down the stairs and stopped when I heard the doors to the bar open. "I've still got to show you how to get there," Tifa's voice said. I turned around, shaking my head, "I'll be fine on my own." She shook her head, "Then I'll follow you until you give up. And what did you mean you are trying to be steady?" I blushed, looking away, "Nothing! I meant nothing! Heh...." She raised her brow at me, "Maybe if I got to know you better. Then we could start dating." She grabbed my hand and led me to the inn.
"Thanks," I said, blushing still. I wasn't too good with girls. She nodded, "Going to sleep, then?" I nodded, "Sleeping is my favorite hobby, next to writing." She just smiled, "Alright, see you tomorrow." I walked to the owner of the inn, "How much are your rooms?" He looked up, "Twenty Gil." I nodded and took the money out, then handed it to him, "I have some friends staying with me, so if some strange characters walk in, it's them." He nodded, "I'll tell them." I nodded back, walking into my room and lying down on the bed, thinking about what I was going to do..... And about Tifa....
Robert gave a high-pitched scream of pain, his eyes opened wide. We heard more screaming, and saw another portal open up, this time it was...... Castilla? She landed on Robert, smashing his already aching nads into the pole more, I bet. He screeched again, then fell off with Castilla. Robert landed next to her, and they both didn't get up at first. "Happy landings," Ian said with a grin. Amber tried to keep from laughing at Robert, who was rolling around holding his balls. Castilla got up slowly, smiling at us, but had one eye closed in pain. "Don't start, Ian. That hurt," she said. Robert finally got up, giving Ian the finger, "Let's see you deal with this kind of pain." I laughed, then looked around again, "I guess we are near Sector 7..." Robert nodded, leaning against Castilla. She hugged him, smiling. They had been dating for about 3 years, but only because we kept pushing them to keep trying. It seemed to be working though, because they definitely liked each other a lot. "And why, may I ask, are you doing here," I said. "I have to make sure you rookies don't try anything stupid," Castilla said. "We have had 5 years of training, Castilla. We can handle it," Amber protested.
"Congratulations! You still don't have any field experience. Besides, I lived on the Ragnarok my whole life," Castilla said. She was the oldest of us at 23 years old. Amber wasn't far behind at 21, with Ian and Dylan at 20. Both Robert and me were 18. "Alright, enough bickering. We need to find... Uh-oh," Ian said. I turned around, seeing four armed police officers in red uniforms. "It's the po-po," Dylan said, laughing. I laughed too, tightening my gloves. "Stay where you are, AVALANCHE," one of them said. I smirked, keeping my hands at my sides, "Step aside or die." Amber looked at me, "Do we REALLY need to kill anyone?" "Maybe not, but I won't let them stop us," I said. The police pointed their pistols at us. "Alright then," I yelled. I pulled the razor-sharp wires out of my gloves, cracking them like a whip towards the guards. It wrapped around them all nicely, pulling their pistols to point at their chins. They all struggled, cutting themselves like fools. "Idiots..... Fine, you want to die. I'll kill you," I said, pulling the wires back by hand. The wires ripped through the police officers like a hot knife through butter, and whipped right back into my gloves. "Well, that was simple enough," I said, laughing a bit.
"Zack! What the hell did you do that for," Amber said, slapping me. I kept my face to the side after being slapped, then glared at her. She looked back at me, a little afraid, but I smiled, then walked towards the slums, "They wanted to shoot us, so I fought back. Anyway, I'm not going to turn cold blooded." Everyone sort of stared at me. I could tell because there was an awkward silence except for my boots making loud, metallic thuds as they hit the ground. I turned around, looking at them, "Oh, c'mon.... Alright, I won't do it again. Chill out." They all sort of glared at me, then began walking towards the slums also. We walked into a large clearing, trying to find 7th Heaven. It was all in japanese. "Aw, crap... Amber, can you read this kind of Japanese writing," I asked, looking at her. She shook her head, "I can only read katakana and hiragana. This is Kanji, I think." We just gapped at all the signs. Castilla pulled out one-eye visors and some sort of hearing aid. "Here, this will help you with Japanese stuff," she said, giving us each one. We all put them on. Robert laughed, "Zack, you look like a Saiyan." We all laughed, and I looked around. Amazingly, the visor made it appear in English now.
I saw the bar and walked in, taking a look around. First thing I heard was the sound of guns being pulled out. Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge had all their guns pointing at me. Biggs was wearing a T-Shirt and brown jeans, with a headband on his forehead and black boots on his feet. Jessie was wearing what I think was a police officer uniform, but it had stripes of blue where the shoulder and chest connected. Wedge was wearing a yellow jersey and brown shorts, along with a belt that went diagonally across his chest and around his waist.
"Oh, I guess this is how you greet everyone," I said, walking to a table. Barret climbed up the hole where the arcade machine should have been. "What's going on in here," he said, looking at the AVALANCHE members, then me. Everyone else walked in, and now he had his gun-arm pointed at us. "Who the hell are you!? Shin-Ra," he asked angrily. Ian and Dylan pulled their rifles out, but I shook my head, "Put your guns down. We aren't here to fight. And no, we don't work with money-grubbing assholes." Barret looked all of us over, but didn't put it down. "Who are y'all," he asked. I pointed at everyone in turn, saying their names, "That's Robert, Amber, Ian, Dylan, and that's Castilla. I'm Zack." He put his gun down slowly when he heard a low rumbling. The arcade machine rose up, bringing Cloud and Tifa up. I didn't see Tifa at first, paying attention to Cloud. I just stared at the huge sword on his back. I knew his sword was big, but it was as big as him! His blonde hair had even more spikes on it than mine. He had a standard purple SOLDIER uniform, which didn't surprise me, and a rusty metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder.
Ian and Dylan whistled when they saw Tifa. Now I looked at her, and saw the reason why they had whistled. She was a lot more attractive in person than in a game. Her eyes were red, which made me wonder if she didn't get enough sleep or something. I realized that was her original eye color after a few moments. Her hair reached a little lower than her waist and was tied up like a fish tail. She wore only a white tanktop and a very short, skin tight black skirt. I could see a small part of her panties, but blushed and turned away, "Uh, lady, your.... panties are showing." I knew damn well who they were, but I didn't want them to think I was part of Shin-Ra. Everyone stared at me awkwardly. The only more awkward thing going on was the silence. Tifa just pulled her skirt down to try and cover it. "Why were you looking, Zack? Trying to check her out," Robert said, trying to taunt me. I blushed more and stared at him with wide eyes, as if to say "Shut up! You're making me look like an ass!" Then, I turned around to face the others again.
Ian stepped behind me and pointed at me with his finger, "He's single!" Now I was sick of it. I turned around and gave Ian a good karate chop to the back of the neck, then slammed my knee into his stomach. He fell over, wheezing. While Dylan and Amber tried to help him recover, I turned to AVALANCHE once more. "Sorry about that," I said, my eye twitching a little out of nervousness. Jessie tried not to giggle, and Biggs and Wedge grinned when they saw how much my eye was twitching. Cloud and Barret just gave me a suspicious look. Tifa walked behind the bar, "Anyone want a drink?" Amber nodded, "Wine please." Ian and Dylan nodded, but I shook my head, "Don't give liquor to the guys. All 4 of us are underage." Dylan punched me in the back, "Why the hell did you tell her that!?" I groaned and rubbed my back, "Because last time you had beer you nearly blew a guy's brains out!"
Dylan went to punch me again, but Ian tried to restrain him. "Down, boy," he yelled. Dylan finally managed to break out of Ian's grip and punch me across the temple, making me stumble. When I regained my balance, I threw my wires around him, "Don't press your luck, Dylan!" He growled, then nodded. I pulled my wires out from around him, then looked at Barret, "OK, we told you who we were, so tell us who you are." Barret just glared at me, "Why should I?"
"Because I know that no normal bar would have a secret room underneath it unless they were hiding something," I said, putting a mischeivous look on my face. Barret pointed his gun-arm at me again. I backed away a bit, "Whoah, hold it. We want to help!"
"We don't need your help," Barret growled. "Alright. Fine. How about a deal then," I said. "I will have one of my friends fight one of you. If we win, then we get to join. If you win, we give you all the money we have," I said. "Fine," Barret hissed. We all walked out of the bar, stopping in the clearing in front of it. Barret stepped forward, "I'll fight first." I nodded, then looked to Robert, who stepped forward. "Alright, then," I said. As Robert walked away, I noticed a small egg in one of the slots of his belt. It was much larger than a chicken egg, about the size of a coconut. "Robert, give that egg to me so it won't break," I said. He turned around, took it off his belt, and handed it to me. I took it, wrapping it in my cloak. Jessie put up a hand, "Ready?" She dropped her hand, "Go!"
Barret charged forward, throwing his gun-arm at Robert. Robert quickly drew his katana and stepped to the right before it hit him. He pulled his katana up and slashed at Barret's gun-arm, but missed as Barret jumped back. Robert went for a thrust, which grazed Barret's normal arm. Barret had tried to move out of the way again, but wasn't quick enough. Robert quickly spun his back to Barret and nailed him right in the stomach with the butt of his sword's handle. Barret flew backward, landing on his ass. Robert rushed toward him and stopped, point his blade against Barret's throat, "You lose." Barret growled, "Best three out of five." I groaned, "Fine. Amber, you're up." Biggs stepped forward after letting Barret and Robert move off the battlefield.
"Can I have my egg back now," Robert asked. "Sure. I don't want it to hatch all over my cloak," I said, then added, "What the hell is that thing anyway?" The match between Biggs and Amber started, but I ignored it. "It's a little animal Castilla gave to me. She says I can use it to imbue my swords with magic," Robert said as he unwrapped the egg from my cloak, which I quickly took and wrapped around myself again. He put the egg in his coat, trying to keep it warm. Ian groaned, "Nuts." I looked at him, "What happened?" He motioned his head towards the match, "Amber lost." I looked at Amber, and she really had lost. She had a black eye now. "Nice try, Amber," I said, then looked at Ian, "You're turn." He stepped forward, pulling out a pistol. Cloud moved forward, drawing his huge sword. Jessie announced when to begin, and Cloud lunged forward, slicing downward at Ian. He jumped back, firing four rounds. Two of them merely bounced off the shoulder pad, the other two just missing Cloud's neck. Cloud jumped over his sword, holding onto it to bring it up so he could swing it again, and kicked Ian in the chest. Ian flew back, hitting a nearby shop. He didn't get up. Cloud walked over to him, pointing his sword at his back, "Game over." Ian lifted up his head and smirked, "It ain't over yet!" He rolled over, grabbed Cloud's sword, and pushed it off. He got up quickly and rushed forward at Cloud, pointing his pistol at his heart. Cloud had his sword in the air, which kept him from moving. Ian took his gun away, putting it in his back pocket, and walked away.
"OK, two to one," Jessie announced. I tapped Dylan on the shoulder, and he pulled out his rifle. Wedge moved forward, adjusting his shorts. People had been gathering to see us, and by now it was a rather large crowd. Jessie shouted, "Begin!" Dylan tried to fire a few rounds at Wedge, but had to replace the cartridge. Wedge ran forward, pulling out a bill club, and smacked it out of Dylan's hands. Dylan looked at Wedge, then the rifle. Wedge, rifle, Wedge, rifle. Dylan tried to run for his rifle, but Wedge kicked him in the side and popped out a switch-blade, pointing it at Dylan's balls. Dylan looked like he was about to shit himself from fright, shaking his head frantically, "I GIVE UP!" Wedge laughed and put his weapons away. "Two to two," Jessie announced.
"Alright, my turn," I said, adjusting my wired gloves. I walked forward, adjusting my cloak and gloves. Tifa stepped forward, which made me get nervous. I turned to the others, "Castilla, you wanna try? I don't hit wom--" That's all I got to say, because Jessie had announced to start and Tifa and kicked me in the back of the head. I fell flat on my face, then rolled over and kicked onto my feet. I looked at her, and she got into her stance again. I looked her over, not because of attraction, but...... Oh, alright, partly out of attraction. I studied the way her stance was and noticed her legs were a little stiff. I rushed forward and threw my fist at Tifa's face, part of me hoping I'd miss, the other hoping I would hit. I missed. Tifa stepped to the left and let me go by her, grabbed my cloak, pulled me backward, and punched me square in the face. I flew back and rolled once, stopping on my stomach. "That hurt," I complained, getting up. She ran up to me and kicked me in the chin while I got up, which made me do a full backflip. I landed on my hands, pushed off them, flipping me onto my feet. I rushed forward at her, throwing a left hook. She dodged to the right. I quickly spun around, put my left arm around her neck, and wrapped the wire in my gloves around her throat, "I really don't want to hurt you, so please give up." She shook her and tried to grab my face, but I grabbed her wrist and tightened the wires, leaving a few scratches at her throat.
"Alright, you win," she said, relaxing. I relaxed and let go of her. As I did, I got a whiff of nice perfume from her hair. She turned around and looked at me, raising a brow at me, "What are you staring at me for?" I had been staring. In fact, I would've started drooling if she hadn't pulled me out of my little fantasy land. I shook my head. "Uh.... What? No reason," I said, waving my hands as if to say, "I'm innocent!" She looked at me a few seconds longer, "Have we met before? I know I have seen your face somewhere..." |Oh lord,| I thought, |She must think I'm the guy from Nibelheim!| "Er..... No, I don't think we have," I said, blushing a little. She put her hand out for a handshake, "Well, then. I'm Tifa." Instead of shaking her hand, I took it in mine and kissed it, "I'm Zack." When I looked at her face again, she was blushing slightly. She walked away from me, standing behind Cloud again.
"Alright, kid. You won," Barret said, not sounding too pleased at being beaten by us. Ian and Dylan started doing the victory dance from Jak and Daxter when you beat the last boss, while Robert just put his fist in the air, then brang it down by his side, saying, "YES!" I just watched them and shook my head. AVALANCHE walked back into the bar, and the six of us soon followed them. "So, when's the next mission," I asked, sitting at the bar counter. "Tomorrow," Biggs answered. I looked at Wedge, who was stuffing his face, "Daaaang, you really like to eat after a fight, huh." He nodded, since his mouth was full. Amber sat next to me, "Can I get my wine now?" Tifa nodded, then brought out a bottle of white wine and a glass, filling the glass up slowly, "Two Gil please." Amber looked at me, "Er.... Gil?" I hit myself in the forehead, "Good lord.... MONEY, Amber!" Castilla walked up behind us and took out what looked like two scales from a giant lizard. She handed the bag of Gil to me, which I strapped to my waist. "Thanks," Tifa said, stuffing the money in the register.
"You want anything, Zack," she asked me, closing the register. "I can't drink. I'm only eighteen," I said. Tifa stared at me, "I thought you were older. You look like your twenty-five." I laughed, "I wish I was." Tifa looked to the left, then to the right, and handed me a beer, "I won't tell anyone if you won't." I raised a brow, then handed her two Gil. I downed my beer, then wished I hadn't. I scratched at my tongue, feeling like I was going to foam at the mouth. Everyone watched me run to the faucet and drink maybe a quart of water, laughing. "What's wrong," Tifa asked. "I feel like I just ate a rabid hamster or something," I said, raking my tongue with my fingers more. She shook her head, smiling, "I just hope you don't eat rabid hamsters." Robert gave me a pat on the back, "I wouldn't be surprised if he has. He used to have a hamster once. The next day it was gone." I glared at Robert, "HEY! Hamtaro was dead when I found him! I put him in a little coffin that I made a few days earlier as a school project!" Robert nodded, saying sarcastically, "Sure ya did!" I made a strangling motion at him, "One day, Robert...."
"Oh, yeah right. Like you could," he said, smirking. "Wanna test me," I said threatentingly. He shook his head. He had seen the way I used to snap and beat people up as we were kids. I walked back to my seat, sitting down on it, "How old are you, Tifa?" She handed Wedge a drink, then looked at me, "I'm twenty." Ian chuckled from the corner where he, Castilla, Dylan, and Robert were sitting at, "Oooh, looks like Zack finally starts trying to get a date! Ask for her phone number too!" I turned around and glared at him, "This coming from the guy who tried to get my brother's girlfriend mad at him so he could steal her." Ian stopped laughing, looking at me, "OK, I'll shut up now." I nodded, "Good." I turned around and pulled out a military ration that was in my bag. Tifa saw it and smiled a little, "This place serves food, y'know." I shook my head, saying, playfully mind you, "No way, you'd probably poison it." I stuck my tongue out at her, and she just frowned a little, "Well that's a little mean." I frowned, too, "Sorry."
"It's alright," she said, handing me a plate of steak. "Thanks," I said, pulling out more Gil to pay her. She shook her head, "Just take it." I shook mine, "No, I have to pay you for it." She shook it again, "It's on the house." I shook my head again, "Take the money." She shook her head a third time, "No." I pulled Gil out of my bag and shoved it into her hand, "TAKE THE DANG MONEY!" Everyone stared at us, which made me nervous. She just giggled and started laughing, "Alright." I began laughing too, thinking of how childish we were acting. I cut some of the steak up and ate as Tifa put the Gil in the register. Amber sneaked her hand up to my plate and stole a cut piece. I smacked her hand with my fork lightly, "Get your own steak." She frowned, pretending to be hurt and rubbing her hand, "Meany!" I just smiled and shook my head, eating the rest of my steak, "Here, take some money then." I took out some Gil from my bag again and handed it to her.
"I am gonna go get us some rooms," I said. The others just nodded, not bothering to look at me. I walked out for a moment, then walked back in, "Where's the inn?" Biggs and Wedge chuckled. Tifa walked over to me slowly and stopped, "I'll show you the way." All my friends just went, "Oooh! Zack's getting some!" I finally snapped, "I AM TRYING TO BE STEADY!" Everyone stared at me, not saying a word. "Nevermind..... Find the place on my own," I said, walking out. I ran down the stairs and stopped when I heard the doors to the bar open. "I've still got to show you how to get there," Tifa's voice said. I turned around, shaking my head, "I'll be fine on my own." She shook her head, "Then I'll follow you until you give up. And what did you mean you are trying to be steady?" I blushed, looking away, "Nothing! I meant nothing! Heh...." She raised her brow at me, "Maybe if I got to know you better. Then we could start dating." She grabbed my hand and led me to the inn.
"Thanks," I said, blushing still. I wasn't too good with girls. She nodded, "Going to sleep, then?" I nodded, "Sleeping is my favorite hobby, next to writing." She just smiled, "Alright, see you tomorrow." I walked to the owner of the inn, "How much are your rooms?" He looked up, "Twenty Gil." I nodded and took the money out, then handed it to him, "I have some friends staying with me, so if some strange characters walk in, it's them." He nodded, "I'll tell them." I nodded back, walking into my room and lying down on the bed, thinking about what I was going to do..... And about Tifa....