proudsoldier | Wherein our hero finds the city. Or it finds him.

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Current Location: the Old Church

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Wherein our hero finds the city. Or it finds him.

[is sprawled out on one of the pews in the church, turning his head to one side and groaning before blinking his eyes open and slowly trying to sit up, one hand pressed to his head] I've really gotta stop entering buildings through the roof . . .

[blinks again and frowns, studying the church interior] Hang on a sec. This isn't Aeris' church . . . [carefully stands up and looks around, hands on his hips and starting to look warier by the second]

Where am I?

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Holy always comes to those who ask for its aid. You just have to ask nicely. [She smiles, trying to offer some humor.]

What would you boys do without us?

[chuckles and opens his eyes to look at her]

Get into more trouble?

[Sighs dramatically and rolls her eyes, shaking her head.]

I knew it.

[Laughs, hugging her again and relaxing more thoroughly.]

So I guess if I'm gonna be here a while, I'd better find somewhere to stay.

'Fraid so. [Hugs, she missed his kind of hugs.]

Where are you staying?

On Master Street, in the Caravaca house.

[totally blank look goes here]

You're going to have to show me where that is.

[Tries not to laugh, covers her mouth with her hand.]

Not a problem. Just try not to get lost, okay?

[Looks affronted!]

I don't get lost! . . . Usually.

[Finally notices that she dropped her basket, and bends down to get it for her, scooping the flowers back into it and handing it to her before retrieving his sword.]

I know. [She grins, taking her basket from him.]

Thank you.

Well . . . good. [Is sheepish and acutely remembering his first few times down in the slums.]

Welcome.

Should we go now? Just how big is this place? [Is looking around, but the inside of one church, however big, is not a good indicator of the size of a city.]

I think this place is bigger than even Midgar. I've been her for over a month and I'm still getting lost.

[blink]

Midgar?

Oh! [She covers her mouth with her hand.] Midgar must be the Template in your world.

[this place is just full of surprises]

Is it split between an upper plate and the slums?

[Nodding, she looks up at him] Midar was, yes.

Sounds like it, then. [folds his arms, this is going to take a lot of getting used to] Man, if it's bigger than my Template, no wonder people can't get out.

((Zack doesn't know about the second level yet, so we can haz warp? :D))

Ah, that's not exactly why people can't get out. There's some sort of barrier around the city that drops people back within its limits if they get too close to the edge. No one's sure why.

Take my hand, I want to show you a shortcut.

((OOC: Yosh~!))

Think it might be some kind of magic? [Takes her hand, lol has no idea what he's in for.]

I think so. Okay, hold on-- [And she warps, setting them down lightly on the sidewalk in front of her new home.] --and we're here! You can get a proper map at city hall if you need one. Also, Nanaki's here, I don't think he's your Nanaki, but...

He's not from my world. In his world, something happened while he was in the lab with me. I mean, his Aerith. Somehow Hojo used the power of the Cetra to change Nanaki, he's not used to his new body yet, and he's a bit shy around people he doesn't know. He's also still getting used to human behaviour and manners, so if he's doing something a little strange, it's because he doesn't know any better. He gets a little embarrassed about it when he gets mixed up.

[IS STILL JUST A LITTLE DISORIENTED FROM THAT give him a second]

Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a minute! How did you do that? And Nana-- [face hardens as what she said catches up with him. It is not a very nice face. It is quite possibly the face Hojo saw right before he fought Zack for the first and last time.] Hojo did what?

[Aerith looks at the ground, the information she'd gleaned from Nanaki had nearly made her cry when she'd first heard it, and even now it was still an open wound. Her grip on his hand tightens, and she can't look at him.]

I...I don't know what he did. Nanaki said he was drugged, the other Aerith probably was too so that neither of them could fight back. They wouldn't breed with each other like Hojo had wanted, so he fixed it so that they would be more compatible. Somehow he found a way to use Aerith's powers, and when Nanaki woke up, he was almost completely human. His body couldn't handle that sort of dramatic change, he was dying when I found him in the church, his internal organs were failing from the stress. He was so scared, Zack. So scared... [She wipes her eyes, trying to calm down. Nanaki was fine now, while he was here there was nothing Hojo could do to hurt him. her voice is quieter when she speaks again.]

Thankfully I managed to stabilize him with my magic, I've been taking care of him while he's adjusting. Please try not to sound angry when you're around him, he might think you're angry at him.

[starts feeling a little more sick with every word, starting from 'drugged' onwards. He kind of wants to break out with a string of profanity in German, but Aerith is crying and probably doesn't need his anger right now, so he locks his teeth on it and settles for a simple, but very emphatic:]

That bastard.

[pulls her into a tight hug, gently rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort.] I promise. Jeez, he must be-- [has no words for it. Just . . . no words. "Terrified" doesn't even begin to cover what Nanaki must feel like.] I promise.

[and here his voice goes low and hard]

If Hojo ever shows up here, I'll kill him again.

[And she of all people should know that that's not the kind of thing Zack says lightly.]

[Aerith welcomes the hug, although the flower basket makes it awkward for her to return it. But her hug is just as fierce as his.]

I think...you might not be the only one.

[She's quiet for a long time, her thoughts muddled and confusing, but a little flutter of fear worked through them.]

Zack, what if he does show up here? I don't...I don't want to have to see him ever again. I'm terrified of the labs, of what he was planning on doing with me. Or of what the other Hojo almost did to the other Aeriths. There's a younger Aerith here, she...she never escaped from the labs. I don't want anyone to have to suffer anymore, I don't.

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