Seems I've gotten a positive response from last chapter, let's keep it going! The gut of this chapter will be a dream. Beware, you may be in for a shocking surprise. And, don't worry, the RPGness will kick in after this part. Remember, there ARE a few more parts to this story. I didn't want this to look unnecessarily self-indulgent, now, would I? No. And on with the story!
"Well, the day's up. What do we do now?" Nate and Ramza stood outside of the school. "We have nowhere to stay." Ramza folded her arms nervously, and Nate scratched his head.
"Uhh... Don't know. Got any money on you?" Ramza shoved her hand in her pocket, and took out a handful of gil. Nate grinned.
"Excellent. That should get us a few nights, at least. Let's get out of here." Nate turned around, and Ramza uttered something.
"Uh, we have no mode of transportation. Any chocobos anywhere? Or, better still, do they exist? So far, everything in this realm has nothing to do with what's in our own, except for a few things." Ramza folded her arms again, but this time they had a stubborn tone to them. Nate scratched his head once more.
"Uh... You're probably right. And as for our current track record, our money is probably worthless here too. We might get off if we sell something... like... maybe... those bracelets you have? They've gotta be worth something." Ramza took her hand, and gripped the bracelet she found. She unclipped it from her wrist, and plucked the six materia from it. Ramza handed the bracelet to Nate.
"There's gotta be some sort of shop somewhere. At least we can walk. Let's go." Again, Ramza stopped Nate.
"What do we do, just go wandering around? Let's see if we can ask for directions." Ramza took Nate by the arm, and went back into the building. "Excuse me, sir, do you know where we could sell this?" Ramza asked a balding man with a bad suit on.
"Uhh, yep. Go to 1095 North Street," the man bluntly said. He walked away, muttering something.
"Where's North Street?" Nate asked. Ramza shrugged. Her eye suddenly caught a convenient map on a pin board. She drew Nate over to it, and they found North Street. Next to the map they found a public transportation schedule. Nate grinned.
"The bus can work. But I think we need money to get on. Look for some change, or anything that looks like it has value." Ramza and Nate got on the ground, and Ramza found what looked like coins. Ramza nearly laughed. One had a picture of a man with a ponytail, and on the back had a strange looking bird with stars and laurels around it. Nate found two more of them, and one small one that had some sort of torch on the back. Both of them decided it was enough. Ramza looked at the time schedule, and back to her watch. Apparently time was kept in 24 hour increments, and in days, weeks, and months here too. That fact alone comforted her mind. It was two thirty. The next bus would arrive around this school at... two forty five.
"Close enough," Ramza said. They left the building, and waited at the end of the street. Soon, a big bus with a large B painted on the side came up. They got on, and saw the sign. Seventy five cents. Ramza shrugged, and put the three large coins into the coin slot. The door closed behind them, and they sat down.
Ramza and Nate left the bus. "That driver was a jerk, wasn't he?" Ramza asked. Nate nodded.
"I never heard someone cuss so much. Or, maybe I have. Didn't Cid say those words?" Nate replied, and Ramza scratched her head. She turned around, and surveyed the area. North Street (this assumption came from the green street sign) had a shop to the north of them. They both walked, and found the number on it to be 1095 North Street. "This looks like the place... Jim's Pawn Shop. Let's take a gander." Both of them entered the revolving doors, and found a shop full of wonders. Apparently, this man Jim, had too much time on his hands. There were miniature carousels, something that looked like a record player, and many more... old looking items. Behind the main desk was a man, of about thirty years, it looked, with black hair that was graying at the sideburns, and a flannel shirt. He was reading a newspaper, then saw that some customers had entered the building. He straightened himself up, and started talking.
"Ah, yes, ahem. My name is Jim, I run this pawn shop. Have something to sell?" He asked. Ramza and Nate nodded their heads. Nate took Ramza's bracelet from his pocket, and put it on the table. Jim picked it up, and took his little eyepiece viewer from his desk, and put it in place. He examined it, and then beginning to ooh and ahh, and then shouted... "Oh my Lord! This is worth hundreds of dollars! I'll take it!" Jim was drooling feverishly as he handed Nate and Ramza five hundred dollars. They looked at it like a cat doing a function linear equation. Ramza took the wad of bills, and fanned it out to Nate. She counted denominations of ten, five, twenty, and fifty. Close enough.
"This should find us a place to stay. Let's get something to eat first. I'm starved." Nate rubbed his stomach, and Ramza nodded in agreement. They left the pawn shop, with the owner still in awe at the bracelet. Both of them walked down the crowded sidewalk, full of people. The street didn't seem to end. Soon, they came to what looked like a restaurant. Both of them entered. It was a stank pit. The facility was void of people, save the clerk and the janitor. But, they were hungry, and when you're hungry, you take what you can get. Ramza walked up to the clerk at the desk. She looked up at the menu. Not that much. She looked at Nate, then at the teenage clerk. Nate scratched his hair, and then went to order.
"Hey, can we get a burger and some fries?" He asked. The clerk nodded, and spoke into the microphone, uttering the orders. Both of them stood there, and waited for the food to come. Ramza glanced over at Nate. He had a pale look in his normally dark brown eyes. Again, she thought of him. He so much resembled Cloud. Ramza thought of how much she loved him. She wanted to hold him, to hug him, to kiss him, like she saw her parents do once. Ramza dug into her pocket, and took out her wallet. She turned around, and took out a picture. It was of her, Reno, and Elena. Elena was carrying Ramza on a piggyback ride, and Reno was wearing a "Party Naked" shirt. How Ramza wished her mother was still around. If only Murdoc didn't blow the Highwind apart to get her, Elena might have been around. Murdoc wanted Ramza, so he could use her as a tool. Ramza put her wallet away, as the bag of food came to their attention.
"That'll be five bucks," the clerk said in a monotone voice. Nate took out the wad of bills, and withdrew one that had a numeral of five on it, and handed it to the clerk. Both of them left the building.
"We'll eat this at where we're staying. First, let's find something," Nate spoke. Ramza silently nodded. "You okay?" Ramza shook her head up and down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. There's a big building over there that says 'Crowne Plaza Hotel.' That looks like a place to stay. Let's head over there. It's getting dark. I'm tired, too." Nate nodded in agreement with Ramza's comment. Ramza turned away again. The street lamps turned on as darkness settled in. Ramza and Nate both walked down the sidewalk, until they reached the large hotel tower. The doors opened as they entered, and a lavish main lobby surrounded them. Plush velvet covered the seats, and glass tables with gold supports and infrastructure were in the view of Nate and Ramza. Each had a tray of mints, and Ramza, thrifty as ever, swiped a few and shoved them in her pocket. Muzak was playing softly, and both of them walked up to the desk. The clerk was a vibrant young woman, with billowing red hair, and teeth so white, you could bounce light off of them and get a laser beam. Her green eyes were sparkling with beauty. Nate shoved his hand in his pocket, and took out the wad of bills. He waved it in front of the woman.
"Can we get a room?" Nate asked. The woman started gagging, and took a key from the pegboard, and plopped it on the table.
"That's... a two hundred dollars for a week." She barely managed to extrude those words from her mouth. Nate plopped one hundred dollars on the table, and took the key. Nate looked at Ramza, and she scratched her head. Nate shrugged, and went to room 94. Ramza followed him, and both of them strolled into a lavishly decorated hotel suite, with double beds decorated with white sheets and fluffed white pillows. A nightstand was next to each. A gold plated lamp was on each, and a mint was on the pillow. Ramza picked up one, and started sucking on it. Her eyebrows went up at the surprising taste. In front of the two beds was a dresser and a TV. Next to the dresser was a refrigerator. Ramza opened it up, and saw it was pre-stocked with drinks. Some of them were alcoholic, and Ramza decided, since she saw Reno with this champagne stuff, it might be okay to take a try. She took out the bottle, and one of the glasses in the cabinet. She filled it with the stuff, and took an experimental sip. She spat it out immediately, and put the bottle back in the refrigerator. She sat down at a desk, and took out the dinner they both bought. Ramza handed Nate a burger and a drink, and she started consuming her own.
"Blech!" Nate shouted. "This is cold! And the drink is flat!
Those evil jerks!" He threw both in the trash. Ramza took a bite from the hamburger, shrugging Nate off, and swallowed. She immediately found her face turning an interesting shade of green, and ran immediately in the bathroom. Nate heard several unpleasant noises erupting, as well as Ramza saying "oh god" several times. Nate started to brim with laughter. His face, in contrast, turned a nice shade of magenta, and he fell over laughing. Ramza walked out, and glared at Nate. He immediately shut up. Both of them prepared for bed. Since they both had no sleeping clothes, Nate simply undressed into his boxers, and Ramza took off her pair of pants, but left her shirt on. She got into the bed on the left, and Nate strolled into the one on the right. They pulled the covers up, and Nate turned over. However, Ramza rolled over, and looked at Nate. She could see that he was already starting to drift into sleep. She got out of her bed, and moved into Nate's. She put her hand around him in an embrace. Nate turned over.
"Huh?" He questioned.
"I want to... be with you." She pulled herself closer to Nate, and laid her face against his. Nate opened his mouth slightly, wondering what Ramza was thinking. Ramza hugged him tighter, as she began to doze off. Her gentle face was leaning against his. He admitted it to himself. He loved her. She most likely loved him too. Nate turned over and kissed Ramza on her lips, and he fell asleep.
Ramza awoke, and shook her head. She didn't find herself in her hotel bed, but in a glass box. She stood up and found herself fully clothed, and the box was suspended in mid air. Ramza pounded her fists on the glass walls, but to no avail. Suddenly, a man she didn't recognize appeared before her. He had long, jet black hair, and some sort of dot on his head. His suit was blue, and it looked surprisingly similar to the ones her parents wore.
"/Like a million little doorways, all the choices we made./"
"Greetings." The man said. And that was his last word. He waved his arm, and the glass box carrying Ramza flew towards a dank building. It flew through the walls, and perched itself on the floor. People were bustling with activity, but two particular individuals were sitting at a bar. One of them turned around. Ramza gasped. It was Elena.
"/All the stages we passed through, all the roles we played./"
But she looked different. Her eyes looked different. She set her hand on Reno's shoulder, and spoke in a tone different of her normal parental voice.
"Reno, I admit, I had you all wrong, hic! You are one great guy!" Elena wobbled her head around, and Ramza figured that she was not her normal self. Reno spoke up now.
"I had you all wrong, Ellie. You're not that much of... hic! A ditz after all!" Reno gave a smile, but it looked off to Ramza.
"/So many different directions our separate paths might have turned./"
Ramza was released from the glass box, and she walked over to Reno and Elena. She put her hand on Elena, but instead of staying on her shoulder, it went right through her, as if Ramza was a ghost. She pulled it back immediately, and shrieked. Reno and Elena continued their conversation.
"/With every door that we opened, every bridge that we burned./"
"As you can see, you are invisible to them. YOU are an accident." The man appeared before Ramza again. She ran over and grabbed his jacket, and pulled at it.
"What do you mean, I'm an accident?" Ramza demanded. She was now fully distressed, and one could see it in her eyes.
"It means what I say. You are an accident. Watch." The man moved out of the way, and Ramza saw Reno and Elena get up. They had their arms around each other, too drunken to see what they were doing.
"/Somehow we'll find each other, through all that masquerade./"
Both of them left the building, and were chorusing to each other in drunken flatness.
"I really do say you are one hot chick, Ellie," Reno slurred, and slapped Elena on the back. She turned over to him, and started adulating him with all the things she loved about him. Reno's grin got bigger with each praise.
"/Somehow we find each other, somehow we have stayed in a state of grace./"
"Say, chicky, let's go to my place, and have some fun!" Reno hugged Elena. She started laughing.
"All righty, you sleaze ball!" Elena grinned.
"Flash forward!" The man spoke, and Ramza found herself in a room, which she presumed was her father's old apartment, before moving with Elena to a big house. She could hear loud noises from under the sheets.
"/I Don't believe in destiny, or the guiding hand of fate... I don't believe in forever, or love as a mystical state... I don't believe in the stars or the planets, or angels watching from above./"
"Yeah, baby, yeah! Do I make you horny, baby?" Reno yelled, in a bad accent. Elena groaned, and the covers shifted again.
"You sure do! Hic! Over there, yeah, over there..." Ramza couldn't bear to watch. She turned around and cried. The noises from the bed continued, and the bed started to shake. Ramza turned to the man, and choked out a few words.
"Why must you torture me like this? Why do I deserve this? Please, tell me!" Ramza now was at the man's feet, pounding on the floor.
"/But I believe there's a ghost of a chance we can find someone we love, and make it last./"
"Because this is the truth. Your mother and father accidentally conceived you on this night. They probably never told you how they got married, either. How about we flash forward to that part of time?" Ramza looked up, and the man waved his hand. The scenery flew by again, until Ramza wound up at a big wedding congregation at Costa Del Sol. Numerous guests were there, and the plush velvet carpet was incredibly soft, as she set her tired feet on it. The wedding cake that was on a wheel cart was six layers high, and the candy bride and groom were made to look like Reno and Elena. Caterers lined the hall, with food and appetizers for all. Soon, "Here comes the bride" cued up, and the organ player started playing. The reverend took his place at the altar, and Reno walked in. He held his arm out, and Elena walked in. Ramza looked oddly at her mother, and then it hit her.
"/Like a million little crossroads, through the back streets of youth, each time we turn a new corner, a tiny moment of truth./"
"Your mother is pregnant with you." The man filled in Ramza's thought. "Under normal circumstances, your mother would never marry your father, and vice versa. But, because she is bearing you, Reno's conscience ruled him, and forced him to do the right thing by not abandoning Elena." Reno and Elena reached the altar, and the reverend began the normal wedding routine.
"Do you, Reno Bouregaurd, take Elena, for sickness and in health, and for rich and for poorer, till death do you part "
"/So many different connections our separate parts might have made. With every door that we opened, every game that we played./"
"I do," Reno replied. The reverend turned to Elena.
"And do you, Elena Richardson, take Reno, for sickness and in health, and for rich and for poorer, till death do you part?" Elena looked down, and then at Reno. "I do," She replied, and the reverend smiled.
"You may kiss the bride." Reno turned to Elena, and their eyes met. Reno mouthed I love you softly, and Elena grinned, and brought her lips to his. The guests cheered and clapped, and a few cried. It turned out that they really were meant for each other.
"/Somehow we find each other, through all that masquerade, somehow we've found each other, somehow we have stayed in a state of grace./"
Ramza looked at her parents with a tear in her eye. "I was an accident. Then why is everyone so happy at this?" Ramza turned towards the man. "And what's your name, anyway?" Ramza asked.
"My name... is Tseng." Ramza gasped as he uttered his name.
"Y... you're a ghost! My mom said you died!" Ramza took a step back. Tseng grinned.
"Yes, that's true. I am a ghost. But, now you've seen your true past. You were not meant to be. You never were. You were a freak of nature, a coincidence." With these harsh words, Ramza again kneeled down and cried.
"/I Don't believe in destiny, or the guiding hand of fate. I don't believe in forever, or love as a mystical state./"
"No! My parents love me! I love them!" Ramza tried to reason with Tseng. The wedding ceremony was now drowning out her words.
"They do love you, that is true. You do love them. But, your existence is meaningless. I was meant to be your father. But no, I was killed by Sephiroth. Your mother and father would never, ever have done this if they were like what they were under Shinra's control. But, it was different, because of you and that one night."
"/I don't believe in the stars or the planets, or angels from above. But I believe there's a ghost of a chance we can find someone we love./"
"Please, end this! I don't want to see more! I want to go home!" The proverbial eight year old in Ramza's head screamed out in pain and agony. Ramza uttered these words as she was controlled by her younger self.
"/And Make it last.../"
Ramza flashed her eyes open. She saw the hotel room. Ramza thought that her dreams had ceased after Murdoc died. Apparently the time shift altered her... She moved her head over, and saw Nate snoring loudly. They were like saws cutting through wood. Ramza clasped her hands over her ears, and rolled over. How badly she wished to be home! To escape from this perilous existence. She prayed to Holy that she and Nate would escape safely.
--------==-----------=-----------=-----------=------------=------------=------------=------------
Author's Notes
Hi! I promise, the RPG elements will be returning as soon as I get done with the self indulgent part. Hey, I always wanted my characters in my place of existence! ^^ The song during the dream is Ghost of a Chance, by RUSH. I've been itching to have Tseng haunt Ramza, but it didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to. I wanted more of his jealous side to show... ah well. Your approval?Kefka Floyd