[FFVII/ZnT] The Empty Set; Disc 2 (was Zero Crisis)

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Scraped from here.

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might...
Going back to the familiar's lifespan - IIRC Sheffield dealt a fatal wound on Joseph, but it's unknown whether he had really choked it before she levitated their aircraft up high into the sky and blew themselves up.


Not explicitly stated by canon, familiars might have extended life-spans if we go by Osmond's mouse. It was never explained as a possible benefit though. And AFAIK, a familiar won't just die if the summoner dies. Sasha didn't just keel over immediately after killing Brimir (at least, if it did happen that way it wasn't mentioned yet).
 
RIBBON is pretty much the be all and end all of protection items. Protects against all status effects (from Poison to Stop) 100% of the time. Very useful. In fact, the only possibly-as-useful accessory in FFVII is that thing that allows you to absorb all elemental magic, which would be kinda broken in ZnT (absorbing Fire, Water, Air, Earth=lulz)
 
Eveonder said:
Ahahaha... too bad Tifa isn't carrying one of those.



Sorry that cracks me up. No offense. It feels like something Louise would repeat from old lore to convince herself that Saito is the one she's supposed to summon. I've always always doubted that Saito is the one Louise needed most... I mean if she got a genius who happens to also be an Olympic class athlete or at least someone above average who isn't introduced by "no girlfriend for 17 years". xD


I know it's canon but I find the idea funny. She even reached across worlds for someone with no positive or negative characteristic. I'm sure there are people with fetishes out there who would be more loyal/devoted/fanatical so why the heck does she end up with Saito. Is there something about the ritual that prevents her from summoning a Noble? I'm sure there's plenty of humans from her world that qualify more, not to mention Earth.
It's probably because that need is affected by narrative causality. Canon Louise needed Saito to enable dumb harem comedy hijinks. This Louise needed someone that can deliver supreme beatdowns and give semi-helpful inspirational advice.
 
I've long since concluded that the summoning ritual grabbed Saito because he was the person "in range" who was least likely to protest against being made into Louise's whipping boy. That is to say, he's the one male in two worlds sufficiently stupid, socially-maladjusted, and desperate for any kind of female attention to put up with Louise's bullshit long enough for her to develop the abusive obsession with him that the narrative tries to pass off as "Love."


In a way, this says something good about Halkegenia, as it implies that even a beaten-down commoner with his mind hacked by the familiar runes wouldn't tolerate Louise for long.
 
Flere821 said:
Going back to the familiar's lifespan - IIRC Sheffield dealt a fatal wound on Joseph, but it's unknown whether he had really choked it before she levitated their aircraft up high into the sky and blew themselves up.


Not explicitly stated by canon, familiars might have extended life-spans if we go by Osmond's mouse. It was never explained as a possible benefit though. And AFAIK, a familiar won't just die if the summoner dies. Sasha didn't just keel over immediately after killing Brimir (at least, if it did happen that way it wasn't mentioned yet).
It is what we call a canon area of uncertainty and doubt, so I get to choose what works best in this story. In this story, animal familiars get boosted intelligence and lifespans out of the deal in exchange for granting their master access to their senses and loyalty; it's supposed to be a symbiotic relationship.

MutantRancor said:
Well, I only saw the bit about RIBBON getting burning hot the one time, but I do have a tendency to just read the bits inside quotation marks during conversations, so I suppose I may have missed a mention or two of it not cooling down to its regular temperature. It seems to me, though, that if it was actually as painfully hot as that, constantly, it would probably be damaging Tifa's flesh by remaining in place and it would be just as good an idea to remove it and just get the familiar binding over with. It's not like she's going to get out of it at this point; it's inevitable that RIBBON is going to be lost or removed, just because it has such a useful effect.


Sorry I didn't know how RIBBON works--I was introduced to Final Fantasy as a series three different times, each one probably the worst possible one available for its time period. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. My knowledge of the magic system used in the series is understandably spotty.
Don't worry too much about the game mechanics. Ribbon works in a certain way because it does in this story, and because I am borrowing elements from The Fifth Act on how it worked in that story.

Shinji117 said:
RIBBON is pretty much the be all and end all of protection items. Protects against all status effects (from Poison to Stop) 100% of the time. Very useful. In fact, the only possibly-as-useful accessory in FFVII is that thing that allows you to absorb all elemental magic, which would be kinda broken in ZnT (absorbing Fire, Water, Air, Earth=lulz)
Well, she does have Zeidrich which, in game, halves damage from all attacks. In the story, Zeidrich works by lessening the impact of any attack leveled against her allowing her to do stuff like survive the fights she gets into.

RazorSmile said:
Tetra Elemental? Absorbs Fire, Ice, Earth and Lightning to be exact. And converts it to HP.


Yeah, in ZnT, it would be fricking hilarious. Talk about trolling.
Thankfully, I won't have to deal with how you "absorb" a rock falling on your head.

Eveonder said:
Sorry that cracks me up. No offense. It feels like something Louise would repeat from old lore to convince herself that Saito is the one she's supposed to summon. I've always always doubted that Saito is the one Louise needed most... I mean if she got a genius who happens to also be an Olympic class athlete or at least someone above average who isn't introduced by "no girlfriend for 17 years". xD


I know it's canon but I find the idea funny. She even reached across worlds for someone with no positive or negative characteristic. I'm sure there are people with fetishes out there who would be more loyal/devoted/fanatical so why the heck does she end up with Saito. Is there something about the ritual that prevents her from summoning a Noble? I'm sure there's plenty of humans from her world that qualify more, not to mention Earth.
Well, there is one more qualification...

Emy said:
It's probably because that need is affected by narrative causality. Canon Louise needed Saito to enable dumb harem comedy hijinks. This Louise needed someone that can deliver supreme beatdowns and give semi-helpful inspirational advice.
Sort of. There is a reason Tifa was called this time rather than Saito.

Judge Mental said:
I've long since concluded that the summoning ritual grabbed Saito because he was the person "in range" who was least likely to protest against being made into Louise's whipping boy. That is to say, he's the one male in two worlds sufficiently stupid, socially-maladjusted, and desperate for any kind of female attention to put up with Louise's bullshit long enough for her to develop the abusive obsession with him that the narrative tries to pass off as "Love."


In a way, this says something good about Halkegenia, as it implies that even a beaten-down commoner with his mind hacked by the familiar runes wouldn't tolerate Louise for long.
Not quite.

SolipsistSerpen said:
I seem to recall one of his qualifications, in the light novel, was "so unimaginative he won't freak out about being transported to an alien world."
The true qualification is "curious enough to go through the portal and stupid enough not to consider the consequences." Yes, really. The portal appears in front of the summoned being and they have to choose to pass through it, voluntarily. Saito was the only person dumb and curious enough to do so.


So in effect, stepping through the portal is like signing one of those disclosures on a website without reading the fine print...


--------

Epsilon
 
Aaron Peori said:
So in effect, stepping through the portal is like signing one of those disclosures on a website without reading the fine print...


--------

Epsilon
I still say the Portal set it's expectations too low when it tried for Saito.

People never read EULA's nowadays.
 
1
Short scene with the villains for today. One more scene to go for this chapter, I think. Maybe two. It's really taking awhile to decide what exposition needs to be dropped in and what can be left out, as I have a lot of backstory out there but only so much of it is actually, you know, stuff the audience needs to know.


*



"Fear not my worthy companions," Lord Cromwell told his gathered generals in a tone of utmost confidence. "The resistance of Newcastle to our righteous armies is not even a concern to us." He smiled, a huge grin spread across his square features. He stood out well from the other generals, all of whom were old men with dour frowns and elaborate uniforms. Cromwell was young and handsome, and wore a simple priest's cassock. "In the name of God and his messenger on Earth the Founder Brimir I can assure you that the events of yesterday mean nothing."


"Nothing?" one of the generals shouted, smashing his fist into the table hard enough to cause the goblets and papers on it to shake. "That woman cut through our armies like they were made of wheat!" A general murmur of agreement passed through the gathered commanders. "If the royalists have that kind of warrior on their side this siege is destined to fail."


The general smirked as he watched the gathered generals begin to look at each other agreement and grim frowns. 'Jack' concealed a smirk of his own behind his scarf as he sat near the back of the command tent. He was almost forgotten by all the pompous blowhards, his chair balanced back on the rear legs and ankles crossed on top of a small table. His curved naginata was propped next to him. He gave the impression that he was sleeping, even if he was paying close attention.


Cromwell's smiling expression dimmed down to a tight-lipped stare as he stared at the man who had spoken up. Behind him Sheffield shifted in place, looking even more out of place than Cromwell in his priest's robes or 'Jack' in his polished red samurai armour. Her outfit hugged her body in a way that was almost indecent, especially compared to the way most women in this place dressed. Even so none of the generals paid her the least attention. She was only Cromwell's secretary, and given her exotic looks they assumed she was kept for one reason only. So nobody noticed the minute flare of light behind her bangs.


Nobody but 'Jack', but he couldn't have missed it if he tried.


"I think you forget a simple truth," Cromwell spoke as he rose, spreading his hands to his side. "Regardless of the power of our enemies, only one of us has been blessed by the legendary Void." Then Cromwell's eyes narrowed and he gestured imperiously at the defiant general.


The man gasped and stiffened, his eyes suddenly bulging from his sockets. His fingers curled inward and clutched at the air as his body spasmed. His lips pulled away form his teeth and spittle began to foam from his mouth. Absolute silence, broken only by sound of the tormented man's groans, fell upon the room. Finally Cromwell lowered his hand and the general collapsed into his chair like a puppet with his strings cut.


"However, I am not without mercy." Cromwell gestured magnanimously around the table. "I think you all need a demonstration, to renew your faith. Even the servants of Brimir needed occasional proofs of his divine nature to supplicate them. Leave us, gentleman. I will give you your proof shortly."


The generals left, most of them white-faced and shaking. A pair of boys came in at Cromwell's gesture and removed the unconscious form of the once defiant general. That left the tent empty of anybody but Cromwell, Sheffield and 'Jack.'


"Nice trick," 'Jack' said aloud once he was certain nobody could overhear.


Cromwell stared at him for a moment before turning to Sheffield. "Is he necessary?" he asked.


"You question me?" she asked.


The man's face flushed and he fell to his knees. "No, of course not." He began to kiss her boots. "I would never question your guidance."


"Good, see that you don't." She ignored him and turned her gaze to Jack. "You were here yesterday. Did you get a good look at that woman who broke through our lines?"


"Do you mean did I see if she was the Gandalfr?" Jack responded, allowing his chair to settle back in place as he stood up. "No, the men in charge here kept me far from any of the battles." He laughed boisterously. "To them, I'm nothing more than a glorified gamekeeper. I exist to wrangle their monsters for them."


Sheffield kicked Cromwell away from her boots and he crawled over to the corner like a rat, bowing and murmuring prayers to her as he went. Sheffield didn't bother concealed her sneer of disgust and contempt, probably because Cromwell wasn't looking at her the whole time. "I was more interested in whether or not she carried the Water Ruby."


"Oh, she carries the Ruby, of that you can have no doubt."


Sheffield spun like a startled snake and even Jack grabbed his spear and was halfway into a ready stance before they both spotted the new figure in the tent. He wore concealed robes and a white mask, bereft of any features. Jack lowered his spear when he recognized the man.


"How did you get in here?" Sheffield asked, her voice barely above a hiss.


"I have my ways," the man in the white mask said evenly.


"You have some nerve showing up here," Sheffield said, crossing her arms under her breasts. "You failed utterly to stop the messenger and retrieve the Water Ruby."


White Mask titled his head by way of acknowledgement. "She destroyed my wind aspect when I confronted her. It took me this long to get back here. I was not expecting the sword saint, or her legendary weapon."


"Legendary weapon? What's this?" Jack leaned forward eagerly.


Sheffield frowned. White Mask turned to face him. "The sword, Derflinger. It is said that it is the personal weapon of the Gandalfr."


"Well now," Jack mused as he straightened up, rubbing his chin through his scarf. "I thought you said the Gandalfr was in Tristain but you had no idea where she was?" he directed at Sheffield.


"You heard from our thief as well as I did," Sheffield growled. "It is possible the sword saint is the Gandalfr. I would have to see for myself before I could know." She sighed and ran a hand through her long dark purple hair. "Either way, its irrelevant now. You say she has the Water Ruby with her?"


White Mask nodded. "The tracking spell has not failed."


"Then we must go in and retrieve it." Sheffield turned to face Jack, placing her hands on her hips. "Since you are so eager for a fight against her, you shall lead the attack."


Jack smiled. "It will be my pleasure."


------------

Epsilon
 
Jonen C said:
I still say the Portal set it's expectations too low when it tried for Saito.

People never read EULA's nowadays.
It was clearly posted at the Department of Metaphysical Transdimensional Affairs which can be reached by the dimensional sea. It's not Louise's fault nobody checks with their pandimensional representatives before engaging with unknown portals!

Brellin said:
Ironically I believe that Tifa likely wouldn't benefit from any sort of life-extension via the familiar runes anyway since the people from the Planet that have "broken the limit" seem to either 1) live for a really short time and then go out like champs or 2) live for over 30 years in a coffin and not age a day. While i'll be the first to admit that Vincent is hardly a fair standard to compare aging for people i'll note that *none* of the main cast from FF7 have appeared to age at all between the events of the first game and AC. Cloud looks exactly like he did when he emerged from the mako tank what...7 years prior to AC? Even Yuffie doesn't appear to have aged at all in the 4 years between FF7 and AC and she's the one most likely to show some sort of physical change. Hell there is even prescedent for it what with Nanaki (a species directly stated and shown to live for hundreds of years) and Buggenhaggen (Nanakis human "grandfather" in Cosmo Canyon) who was also supposed to be ridiculously old.
Vincent is actually flat out immortal, but that has nothing to do with him having learned to limit break than with him being an unholy combination of man and Weapon.


Also, Tifa per Dirge of Cerebus (the last time we see her) is not even thirty years old yet. She isn't aging that much because, well, not much time is passing.


Humans on the Planet tend to live about as long as normal humans. Yuffie just looks young because she's nit!Asian which means she looks immature next to people like Tifa.

So yeah my basic point is that Aaron could go either way with it. Either Tifa will burn out at an amazingly fast pace (even faster now that she can no longer draw on the lifeforce of Planet) or she is going to live loooooooong past when Louise dies anyway.
Well, think of pushing past the Limit like engaging in excessively dangerous sports like boxing or football. Eventually, that stuff catches up to you. Though Zangan managed to live to a ripe old age.

edit- One final thing that occurs to me that wasn't previously mentioned is that Genesis is almost certainly still looking for Tifa, or at least some method of getting to her. While Cloud from The Fifth Act might never be able to appear thanks to where/when he is there isn't anything stopping Genesis from finding a way to either force another portal or something similar. Hell he might even be the catalyst that has caused all the semi-SOLIDERs that are running around if he came through a portal in the "previous generation" as was hinted at. Actually the more I think on it the more likely it seems, since if *anyone* would be able to manage it it would be Genesis, as he has both the personal power and the resources to actually investigate the portals seriously and he's just mentally twisted enough to think that he owes Tifa a debt that he has to repay (assuming he is based, even loosely, on the Fifth Act version of Genesis).
Genesis and Tifa have a... complex relationship at this point. More on that will be revealed as the story progresses.

Triller said:
Nice update, looking forward to see what role "Jack" will play.
There was a lot more exposition I wanted to have Jack drop in this scene but so much of it was internal monologuing (and of the "I, of course, already know that..." type which is the worst kind of exposition) that I dropped it after due consideration.

RazorSmile said:
- It's a safe assumption Jack is from the FF7 (or at least a Final Fantasy) universe.

- I didn't know Cromwell had void powers
Jack is a named character from one of the games.

Jiven said:
He doesn't have void powers. It's just a scam.
Indeed. Note how Sheffield's Myoz runes light up just before his "void" display (which was actually just a display of the Ring of Advari).

Jonen C said:
Red armor.


... Fighter?
No sword-chucks, so no. ;p


---------

Epsilon
 
Aaron Peori said:
It was clearly posted at the Department of Metaphysical Transdimensional Affairs which can be reached by the dimensional sea. It's not Louise's fault nobody checks with their pandimensional representatives before engaging with unknown portals!
Never mind the fact that it was posted on the bottom of a filing cabinet stuck in the back of a disused lavatory in a forgotten subbasement of the DMTA long term hazardous waste storage facility with a sign on the door saying 'beware of janitor'.


It was posted and the general public could (in theory) go and review, consult or object to them at their leisure, within normal constraints of opening hours, which are seven to ten thirty, closed for lunch, until two thirty, closes for the day by three, all odd numbered weekdays during even numbered weeks, not on national holidays, subject to revision with or without advance notice, visitors must call ahead for admittance to be arranged, the number is available, printed on the front of the phone at the back of the front desk of the office in question - in theory you could call the switchboard, but I think phone support was recently outsourced to Vogons who take some sort of sadistic pleasure out of giving you exactly the wrong number.

No sword-chucks, so no. ;p
A descendant, or a disciple, maybe?
 
If Jack is Gilgamesh, he's probably going to be more interested in Agnes (and Derf) than Tifa. Not that he'd pass up a fight with her - he strikes me as an equal-opportunity battle-junkie - it's just that Gil has always been about five things:


SWORDS!


The expository banter.


Fighting Bartz (or however you spell that guy's name).


Tripping the Void fantastic.


And SWORDS! (Because it bears repeating).


Tifa is not Bartz, and she does not use SWORDS!


Also, am I the only one who thinks Cromwell is trying to rip off Darth Vader in that scene, and failing at it?
 
2
And the final scene of this chapter. Get ready for some angst!*


*


It was threatening to rain when Tifa walked back into the Charming Faerie Inn. She took a moment to absorb the atmosphere. The place was mildly busy, with the girls flouncing between the tables and giggling for their clients while the wine flowed like water. Tifa allowed herself to fade into the background as she moved around the edge of the room once she felt a little better. There was just something about the laughter of people enjoying themselves and the sharp scent of alcohol that made her feel a bit better.


"Ah, my dear, such a long face in the Charming Faerie Inn? It is not the kind of thing we should ever see!"


"Scarron," Tifa acknowledged the flamboyantly dressed man. He was standing behind her and slightly to her left. She hadn't seen him approach, but he wasn't threatening her at all so she managed to keep from punching him at his unexpected arrival.


"You look terrible, my little one, what can have happened to you?" He fluttered his hands around his face comically. "When you left this place, you were in such high spirits!"


Tifa shrugged. "Just got some bad news," she mentioned with forced cheerfulness.


"You want to talk about it." Tifa was about to tell him to leave her alone for now when she looked at his eyes. They had the steely resolve she had often seen in the mirror when she knew she needed to talk to Cloud about something he didn't want to talk about.


"A more private location, maybe?" she suggested. He nodded cheerfully and led her to a booth that it would be difficult to see inside from the main room. Scarron slid into the seat opposite her, leaning forward and balancing his chin on his cupped hands. Tifa fell into her own seat, opened her mouth and then closed it again. "I'm going to need something stronger than the wine you sell here," she said.


A few minutes later Tifa was on her second glass of something colourless and odourless that burned down her throat and promised to kick the shit out of her higher brain functions in few minutes. She nodded in appreciation and drew a gold coin from her pouch. She still wasn't certain how the money around her worked in all the details but gold was always valuable, right? From the way Scarron arched an eyebrow when she dropped it on the table it was probably enough.


"Where is your friend the noble girl?" Scarron asked. "She came through here quite quickly a few hours ago and left in a hurry."


"She on her way back home," Tifa admitted as she swirled her glass with one hand. "Her fiance came to collect her."


"You didn't go with her?" Scarron asked, tilting his head curiously.


Tifa grabbed at Ribbon for a moment before forcing her hand away. Another shot would help with the pain. "Not enough room on his griffon for three people. I'm supposed to follow them."


"Travelling alone?" Scarron smiled impishly. "Well, I'm certain a lady like yourself isn't in any danger, though even mages rarely do that." He watched as she downed her third glass. It was beginning to make her feel pleasantly numb now.


"Gold old Ribbon," she said. "Fights off world rending magic, but lets old fashioned alcohol work just fine."


"You seem troubled by more than the prospect of crossing Tristain on your own," Scarron pointed out as he leaned back in his chair. It was amazing that a man dressed in such a ridiculously violet muscle shirt could look somber, but he managed it. Or maybe she was drunker than she thought.


"I'm an idiot," she said. "That's my problem."


"Oh, how so?"


"I should have asked more questions," she said. "Do you know what a familiar is?" she asked, gesturing for him to fill her glass again. He hesitated only a instant before doing so.


"Magical companions," Scarron said. "The mages keep them. Though didn't that girl call you a familiar?"


"She did at that," Tifa said and downed the glass again. She didn't really feel it in her throat anymore. That was both a good and a bad sign. "You see, I'm not really that smart a person." She gestured widely with her empty shot glass. "Oh, cunning and resourceful and all that stuff. But I never... I didn't get much in the way of formal education. Magical theory? Science?" She snorted. "I'm a barmaid."


She lowered her eyes to the table, her eyes lost in the grain of the highly polished wood. "So, when I hear about magical summons that help people, I naturally think of how magic works where I'm from."


"Where you are from?" Scarron asked carefully.


"Summons aren't slaves," she said sharply. "We're not quite certain what they are. But they only give their power to those they respect, or who steal it from them by some means." She giggled. "Even then, you call a summoning and that summon stays around for one task only. An exchange. You let them have a bit of your soul, they let you borrow their power for a short time.


"But familiars!" Tifa clapped the glass onto the table. "I've been asking around about familiars. Familiars aren't an exchange. You grab a familiar, you brand it and bind it to your will. You compel it to serve you, for the rest. Of. Your. Life."


When she looked up Scarron was staring at her with an unreadable expression. She took the opportunity to grab the bottle and pour herself another shot. "Doesn't sound like as much of a good deal, does it?"


"I suppose not," Scarron said evenly.


"I'm always doing this," she said. She downed the next shot and blinked. Was she crying? She hoped she wasn't crying. She never looked good crying. "Jumping into stupid situations and getting in over my head, the getting crushed by the consequences." Trying to take on Sephiroth, alone, in Nibelheim? Joining a bunch of ecoterrorist nutjobs and barely escaping with her skin the first time Shinra crushed them? Don Corneo's mansion? Sector Seven? Not speaking up earlier when she knew something was wrong with Cloud? Getting herself nearly gassed to death? Loz? Genesis...


"The worst part is..." She reached up and ran a finger along Ribbon. It was painfully hot now. It had been growing hotter the longer she was away from Louise. A dreadful suspicion had formed in her mind, one that fit all to neatly into all her memories since she had arrived.


"The worst part is that I need to start thinking about how to get home," she said.


"Home?" Scarron was carefully moving the mostly empty bottle out of her reach now.


"I jumped into this like an idiot, because I never think about the danger to myself." She eyed the bottle, considered taking it from Scarron but realized that in her state she might not be able to and just sighed. "But I can't just think about myself anymore. This isn't six years ago. I can't jump into the Lifestream to save one person. I have a family." A crack ran up her glass as she squeezed it a bit too tight. She took a deep breath and mastered her emotions.


There was something on Scarron's face, an expression that she was finding hard to read through the maudlin haze of the booze. She waved it aside with one hand. "I fulfilled my part of the bargain, right? I promised to help her get recognized as a real noble, and she did that? My job is done. Time to go back where I came from." She leaned back against the wall of the booth, pushing her bangs back with one hand. "Once I find a way back and forth, I can look for Cloud on my own..."


"You look like you need to rest," Scarron said.


"Yeah, I probably do." She pushed herself to her feet. Scarron seemed ready to steady her but looked surprised when she stood up straight. "You don't break your limit to the extent I have and let a little alcohol kill your self-control," she explained lightly. That would be a good way to get very dead, very fast.


Scarron stood up himself anyway. "Didn't you say you had some researcher looking into this back at the academy?" he asked.


Had she said something like that? She wasn't certain. She hadn't exactly been hiding anything but she couldn't remember telling him anything about that. She nodded anyway.


"Maybe you should check with him, before you make any drastic decisions," he suggested.


"Good idea." She paused. "Tomorrow." She rubbed a hand over her face, wincing at her scar. "Tonight, I sleep off being stupid again."


-----------

Epsilon

*Don't worry, it won't last long.
 
I don't get it? I mean the spell is meant to only grab animals around the intellignece of a Dolphin or less. Anything smarter has a choice. The animals get boosted inelligence and lifespan like Osmond's mouse. Why is she going on like they make a habit of grabbing sapients across time and space to brand?
 
MutantRancor said:
Though she didn't exactly CHOOSE to go through the portal, if I remember correctly--it was sort of an accident, caused by examining the portal a bit too closely without taking proper safety precautions, so she COULD complain about being summoned against her will across time and space and branded like cattle, if she chose to do so.
No, she chose to go through, on the hunch that Cloud was somewhere on the other side.


I like the chapter, it's not often that we see summons who don't like their situation and just gripe about it over a bottle of spirits. Most just rant about it aloud from day one.
 
Mr.AntiSpiral said:
"Jack" is dressed in red and has an interest in legendary weapons.

He's obviously Gilgamesh.
Are you serious? Gilgamesh would never call himself something as simple as Jack! He'd at least add some sort of defining noun in front of it first...

Jonen C said:
Never mind the fact that it was posted on the bottom of a filing cabinet stuck in the back of a disused lavatory in a forgotten subbasement of the DMTA long term hazardous waste storage facility with a sign on the door saying 'beware of janitor'.


It was posted and the general public could (in theory) go and review, consult or object to them at their leisure, within normal constraints of opening hours, which are seven to ten thirty, closed for lunch, until two thirty, closes for the day by three, all odd numbered weekdays during even numbered weeks, not on national holidays, subject to revision with or without advance notice, visitors must call ahead for admittance to be arranged, the number is available, printed on the front of the phone at the back of the front desk of the office in question - in theory you could call the switchboard, but I think phone support was recently outsourced to Vogons who take some sort of sadistic pleasure out of giving you exactly the wrong number.
I hear their hold musak is Vogon poetry.

A descendant, or a disciple, maybe?
Well, he is hanging around with a genocidal magic user...

Judge Mental said:
If Jack is Gilgamesh, he's probably going to be more interested in Agnes (and Derf) than Tifa. Not that he'd pass up a fight with her - he strikes me as an equal-opportunity battle-junkie - it's just that Gil has always been about five things:


SWORDS!


The expository banter.


Fighting Bartz (or however you spell that guy's name).


Tripping the Void fantastic.


And SWORDS! (Because it bears repeating).


Tifa is not Bartz, and she does not use SWORDS!
Jack has stated that he is interested in two things; the Gandalfr and the Legendary Holy Sword.

Also, am I the only one who thinks Cromwell is trying to rip off Darth Vader in that scene, and failing at it?
Cromwell is actually pretty terrible at all this, in general.

Larekko12 said:
I don't get it? I mean the spell is meant to only grab animals around the intellignece of a Dolphin or less. Anything smarter has a choice. The animals get boosted inelligence and lifespan like Osmond's mouse. Why is she going on like they make a habit of grabbing sapients across time and space to brand?
She's more annoyed that she might get branded (and, subsequently, mindraped) than anything else. She's feeling maudlin, mostly because she is drunk and Tifa is a maudlin drunk. It's part of her inferiority complex.

MutantRancor said:
She's complaining about being stupid enough to agree to be Louise's familiar without having first gotten all the details of what that entailed, not being summoned in the first place.


Though she didn't exactly CHOOSE to go through the portal, if I remember correctly--it was sort of an accident, caused by examining the portal a bit too closely without taking proper safety precautions, so she COULD complain about being summoned against her will across time and space and branded like cattle, if she chose to do so.


Assuming I remember the first scene correctly. It's too late, local time, for me to go back and re-read that chapter to be sure.
No, she went in willingly. She's self-recriminating because she jumped in over her head, again. She's just used to ending up in situations which she has no hope of solving by herself.


Also, she's beginning to realise that she has more on the line than just her own skin. She has a family back home to worry about now.


In other words, she's getting homesick.

NecroMechanoid said:
A self-reflecting chapter. Very well done in my opinion.


It got me really hoping that there is a way to unbind her without having one of them die. Well no one has really tried looking for a way so here's hoping.
I'm not going to permanently mind-screw Tifa in this story.

Mashadarof402 said:
I like the chapter, it's not often that we see summons who don't like their situation and just gripe about it over a bottle of spirits. Most just rant about it aloud from day one.
Tifa doesn't talk about her feelings very often. There is actually a very good reason for this.

Brellin said:
She choose to go through but she is only now realising that maybe she should have gotten a few more details from Louise and Colbert about what exactly being a familar meant *before* allowing the ritual to take place. She realised that rather quickly after the fact but it doesn't really help. Like she said she isn't really book smart, because if she was she probably would have gotten all the details first. She probably fell into the bad habit of letting the people that "know" what to do "do it" not unlike what I imagine she allowed Cid to do (after all he was the mechanic, you don't argue with him when it comes to things like that, likewise Louise is the mage, no point arguing with the mage over "magic" when you don't even realise they use a different magic system).


Remember she is making the classic mistake of looking at things through a lense colored by her own experiance. She knows of summons happening one way and one way only, having it happen differently completely blindsided her.
Indeed. Tifa has a problem with long term thinking.

MutantRancor said:
I did admit that I could be mis-remembering, and the only reason I didn't check before posting that was the late hour.


The point, though, was that that wasn't what she was actually complaining about; it's really more that she just wants to go home.
Exactly. When she stepped through the portal she never really expected to be wisked off to a whole other universe. At most she was thinking she'd be gone for a few weeks before going home again.

RazorSmile said:
Ahhh, I (think I) see what you did there. Is Scarron connected to those muscle boys from back in FF7? The Cloud cross-dressing incident :p?
Her experience with Big Bro and friends is why Tifa doesn't bat an eye at him, certainly.

Yeah, I'm kidding but he is obviously more than he seems. Suspiciously incurious about the Lifestream and Limit mentions. Reminds me of Green Sun Illuminates the Void. Hopefully, his future interactions with Louise and Tifa won't be as ... um, vigorous as they were in that fic.
Scarron is just a barowner, just like Tifa.


------------

Epsilon
 
Very good update as usual. Now as for comments:

Aaron Peori said:
No, she went in willingly. She's self-recriminating because she jumped in over her head, again. She's just used to ending up in situations which she has no hope of solving by herself.


Also, she's beginning to realise that she has more on the line than just her own skin. She has a family back home to worry about now.


In other words, she's getting homesick.
Ah yep, the Familiar runes effect is taking hold even though it's not branded yet? Not reminding her of home when Louise is around is something that happened to Saito too.

Aaron Peori said:
Scarron is just a barowner, just like Tifa.
If this Scarron can kick ass as much as Tifa... well I'm interested in his backstory now. So what, Scarron's (and Siesta's) extended family is ex-Wutai special forces? Their whole extended family are mercenaries? Every last barmaid in the Charming Fairies Inn are trained fighters and can kick ass as well? :p

Yeah, this has my interest and could play out nicely...
 
Judge Mental said:
You are now imagining Scarron in Tifa's original FFVII battle costume, pummeling the snot out of Randomly Encountered Monsters (and some cheapskate nobles).


It buuuurrrrnssss.

RazorSmile said:
... oh thanks ever so much for that image. Gahhh!!!!
Nah. Scarron could pull it off. You lack faith in his fashion mastery.

RazorSmile said:
... I really wish we had a "MWAHAHAHAHA!" smiley now.
On a place like Spacebattles, it is sorely missing.

Random832 said:
Well, you haven't ruled out one of them dying, and with this you've all but ruled out her not ending up bound in the first place, so...
It's just a small mindscrew. You'll barely feel it. Cloud would totally give you the stinkeye for even calling it a mindscrew, really.

Larekko12 said:
*coughTiffaniacough*
In the canon, she did remove it from Saito.

Flere821 said:
Very good update as usual.
Thanks.

Ah yep, the Familiar runes effect is taking hold even though it's not branded yet? Not reminding her of home when Louise is around is something that happened to Saito too.
No, its just that its been two weeks and she is normally back home by now. She kinda forgot to ask if they have a way home. Remember that in her paradigm, when a summon is finished it goes back where it came from. She just assumed that they would be able to send her back when her task was finished here. Now, she's confronted with the possibility this may have been a one way trip.

If this Scarron can kick ass as much as Tifa... well I'm interested in his backstory now. So what, Scarron's (and Siesta's) extended family is ex-Wutai special forces? Their whole extended family are mercenaries? Every last barmaid in the Charming Fairies Inn are trained fighters and can kick ass as well? :p

Yeah, this has my interest and could play out nicely...
All of the waitresses at the Charming Faerie Inn are not training fighters who can kick ass.


--------------

Epsilon
 
MutantRancor said:
On that note, didn't this discussion develop when someone mentioned that Scarron didn't react to Tifa mentioning breaking the limit and something else? I have an explanation for that:


He's a bar owner.


That's it, really.


But bar owners listen to people dumping their problems on them all the time. It's part of the job. He's probably heard so much specialized jargon over the years that he no longer reacts to new terms being dropped where he can hear them. If he's actually paying attention at all, and not just listening for the sake of lending an acquaintance a sympathetic ear.
Hmm, okay, I can accept that.
 
3
So starts chapter 6. Genesis is fun to write, he's just so verbose and pompous.


Suggested listening.

*


This part of the plan was, in retrospect, not going well.


Tifa threw herself sideways. Her feet skid along the side of the way, sparks of Lifestream stabilizing her path. Genesis's sword followed her. It cut through metal like it was paper, leaving a trail of slashes in her wake that tore the wall to pieces. She bunched her legs as she slid. Yellow light flared from her materia and she Jumped. Even to Tifa the speed was disorienting as the facility flashed by in a flicker of motion before she slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the chamber with enough force to dent the metal and the solid earth underneath.


She allowed herself to slide downward until she came to rest on a rusty pipe that extended from the wall a few meters before crumbling apart. As she stood she hastily dropped another Mighty Guard to shore up her flagging Barriers and a Regen for good measure. Genesis floated across the platform they had been fighting on and landed adroitly on the safety railing. Nearly a dozen meters separated them now.


"I have to admit, that you are the most remarkable human I have ever met," Genesis called across the distance between them. He gestured with his elaborately decorated red blade and brushed his bangs out of his hair. "However, even the greatest human is still only human. You should have sent your boyfriend to handle this."


Tifa grit her teeth and wanted to throw herself at him but forced herself not to. This was her chance to get him talking. The longer he talked, the more likely she was to survive this encounter. "Cloud isn't here anymore."


"Cloud?" Genesis seemed taken aback by the mention of her vanished lover's name. "Zack the puppies' little shrimp friend? The one who got the S-Cells and was sent into a coma by it?"


Tifa clenched her hands so tight she could feel the nails biting into her palms, even through the thick palms of Premium Heart. "Who did you think I was talking about?"


"That black-haired man who seemed so keen on fighting Weiss," Genesis said with a nonchalant shrug. Tifa raised an eyebrow. Her and Vincent? "Vincent Valentine was his name, yes?" He chuckled. "I can feel the power of the Planet within him, though his power is much more demanding then my own. But, Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess."


"I don't think he considers it a gift," Tifa responded dryly.


"He has been chosen by the will of the Planet, given a great gift. He can bring death and peace to life, to all life if he so chooses on this world and cleanse this sick world of its painful wounds." Genesis extended his arms to his sides, throwing his head back. "To run from such a gift would be to deny destiny."


Tifa wasn't about to leave such an opening unexploited. She flashes across the room, another Jump driving her into a platform three stories down the massive shaft of the abandoned mako extraction facility. Even as the wire mesh floor gave way under the force of her landing she rolled to the side, crossing over the body of one of the Genesis Copies that they had put down when she and Vincent had broken into the room. She came to her feet holding the Soldier-issue broadsword in one hand.


Materia enhanced muscle strained and she cocked her arm back and let the blade fly in a Throw that turned it into a silver moon of flashing light. Genesis was fast, but not quite fast enough to avoid the weapon as it smashed full force into his chest before he realized that Tifa had even left her perch.


Tifa felt her heart sink as the air in front of his body filled with tightly clustered hexagons of blue light. The blade, a tempered steel built to withstand the immense pressure a Soldier could exert on it in combat, shattered with the force of her attack. Yet even that didn't make a single panel of his Barrier shrink. The power behind his spell was just obscene.


"There's no need to be rude, we were having such a nice conversation," Genesis said with a smirk. Tifa was already moving when he landed on her level. A green sphere of light shot from his hand, drilling through the wall as it skimmed past her Barrier close enough to make her spell shimmer briefly into existence.


"I don't like talking to madmen," Tifa shot back and dashed towards him. He raised an eyebrow and set his sword to receive her charge, probably amused by her suicidal tactic. The fact was, even with her Haste pushing her reactions to the edge of her ability she could just barely keep ahead of his attacks. Defending herself, especially when one or two strikes would knock aside her own Barrier, was not a winning strategy. Her capacity would run dry if she kept up the spell for much longer.


She came in fist first. Genesis danced and dodged side to side, avoiding her blows with ease. "No matter how fast your magic makes you," he taunted as he moved between her strikes, closer and closer to the wall. "You are still a human being, with human limits."


"I don't acknowledge those limits," Tifa snapped back. She dropped to a crouch and kicked out, not at him but at the ground. A wave of blue light rippled from her strike, ripping the metal flooring to pieces. Genesis floated upward, his one black wing propelling him out of danger. Even as he moved Tifa was already leaping skyward.


He may have natural flight, but that one wing of him gave him imperfect control over it. In the air he just couldn't dodge like before, forcing him to parry her open hand. Blue light flared as her hand pressed against the edge of his Barrier. "Gotcha," she said. Genesis eyes widened as her legs shot sideways and began to run along the wall.


In the air, Genesis was not only slower, but all his superhuman strength meant almost nothing. Without any leverage to work with, he had only his inertia and Tifa easily overwhelmed that, her footsteps leaving green sparks in their wake as she used a trick to keep herself moving along he wall. If she had been holding him, he might have grappled with her and used his superior strength to break the hold. However she was cupping the edge of his Barrier, not him. The force of the spell repelled the two people, which meant it also repelled Genesis from her as much as it did her from him. For a few precious seconds, Genesis was like a hamster in a ball, pushed through the air in front of Tifa like a cannonshot.


He didn't take her advantage lightly. Twice he stabbed at her with his oversized rapier. Both times Tifa managed to jerk her head to the side just in time, though the blows sent flares of light across her Barrier as the size and number of her shielding fields shrunk alarmingly. It was as he was lining up for a third shot that probably would have skewered her that she smashed him into the far wall with all the built up force of her run and a thrust from her materia at the same time.


The collision was deafening. Tifa was thrown backward by the impact, a lance of pain shooting up her arm that Regen quickly numbed. As she flipped backward the wall around Genesis crumpled inward, clouds of powdered rock escaping from cracks in the metal like steam. Genesis was driven to one knee, but his Barrier had only shrunk to half its size. Above him the machinery of the abandoned extraction site groaned.


"Gravija!" Genesis barely grunted as the spell materialized a black void just above his head. He crouched deeper, driving one hand into the walkway to keep himself from being pulled into the ultra-high gravity field. His Barrier barely flared as it resisted the tidal forces at the edge of the miniature singularity. He looked up at her in a glare as the field faded.


That was when the tonnes of machinery collapsed on him. Ripped from the wall by the spell, they had been pulled downward with incredible force and managed to reach him just as the spell faded. One would almost think Tifa planned it that way all along. She resisted the urge to smirk or relent. Even multiple tonnes of metal raining down on his head at several times terminal velocity wouldn't do more than slow a Soldier 1st Class down.


She braced herself, took a breath and extended her hands towards the pile of metal. "Flare!" she yelled. It was unnecessary, but yelling focused the emotions and thus further pushed past the Limit. Red light spiralled into the jagged pile of metal. Then again, and again. As fast as her Haste and Dualcast would let her Tifa poured spell after spell into the wreckage until it had fused into a white hot puddle of molten metal. When she felt her body begin to overload as her capacity reached she finally allowed her hands to drop to her side.


Streams of liquid metal began to drip through the floor and fall into the dark void below. She hoped none of it landed on Vincent. She hadn't seen or heard any sign of him since he and Weiss had plummeted into the abyss.


Not to mention there had been no word from Yuffie at all. What was the girl waiting for? Hadn't she been the one so adamant against Tifa's real plan. Of course, Tifa had waited until they were already well past the point of no return before revealing it to the girl because otherwise...


Tifa frowned and shook her head and bit her lip to focus herself. The symptoms of mako overexposure were subtle at first, but if she was letting her mind wander this much she must have exceeded her capacity by more than she wanted to admit.. Scrambling through her pockets she managed to pull an ether to her lips. She felt her mind clearing and her vision sharpened so quickly she was amazed she hadn't noticed it getting blurred.


Tifa snapped her head up as the collapsing pile of slowly cooling metal suddenly bulged outward. Cursing she cast another Barrier as the entire thing burst in all directions, a wave of hot steel breaking against her shield followed by a rain of molten droplets that took a few seconds to let up. Her hand was shaking as she pulled another ether from her pocket.


"Another ether will just delay the inevitable," Genesis said, walking out of the rain of metal without so much as a scorch mark on him. "I must admit, I am impressed despite myself. That was a fantastic combination." He rolled his hand before him and bowed respectfully. "I underestimated you. Truly, such speed of action and surety of attack. A combination of magic and skill and materia enhanced power like that is something I have never seen before. If you had used that attack on me ten years ago, it is entirely possible I would have been overwhelmed."


"I don't suppose you'd let me try again?" she asked.


He smiled, a mocking little smile. "No." He shook his head. "Your body can't take another attempt like that. No matter how many ethers you down, the mako in your body has built to the point where you simply can't sustain the level you are fighting at anymore."


"I'm not going to give up," Tifa informed him as she raised her fists into a defensive position. "I have plenty of magic left in me."


"Your magic is an advantage that is easy to compensate for," Genesis informed her. "Haste."


Tifa barely even saw him move. One moment he was holding his hand above his head, the next there was a red blur and a loud crack as her Barrier shattered. Ziedrich turned what would have been a knockout blow into one that merely left her head ringing like a bell. It didn't keep her from smashing into the far wall and bouncing off it with a strangled cry.


She landed on hands and knees. Her forehead was bleeding from where Genesis had slammed the hilt of his sabre into it. Only a few drops managed to fall before Regen closed the wound, but she could feel the magic reaching the end of its potency even as it did so.


Genesis landed next to her and kicked her in the stomach. She was sent flying and landed on her side, coughing and trying to suck in air at the same time. Still she managed to roll sideways and spring to her feet as the man landed where she had been, his long coat floating behind him. She growled and charged, driving her fists and legs as fast as she could in a series of hopefully unpredictable feints and strikes.


Genesis didn't so much dodge them as flicker in between her strikes like a red strobe light. "It's not fair, is it?" he asked. "You went through so much trouble to gather all that powerful materia so that you could hope to compete on my level... and nothing prevents me from using the same strategy to utterly outpace you."


This time Tifa managed to get her arms crossed in front of her face as Genesis drove the hilt of his sword against her. The blow sent her skidding back along the grated floor, sparks hissing from her feet as she tried to bleed off momentum. Genesis came in behind her, launching through the air like an arrow. She just barely managed to turn so that the elbow he drove into her caught her in the hip rather than the kidney. Even so, it hurt like hell.


"Why do you fight on so much?" Genesis asked, stepping back and giving her a breather. "You have to realize you can't win this fight. You have to have realized that coming in here. Your one trump card was Valentine, and there was no way he could defeat both of us at the same time."


Tifa took the few seconds to catch her breath. "It's not about defeating you," she said finally between pants.


"Really?" he asked. "Then what do you fight for?"


"I'm fighting to save my family," she said simply.


Genesis eyes narrowed. "Family? You mean Shelke." He snorted. "You have no right to use that term with her."


Tifa's fists clenched tighter and she stood up straighter. "I won't take family advise from you, of all people. I've spoken to Tseng. I know what you did to your own parents, you monster."


"My parents?" He brushed his fingers against his forehead and chuckled bitterly. "Don't use that term for those people. They were not my parents. That woman was no more than an incubator, a well-paid surrogate. She was nothing to me. Nothing!" He snapped his hand sideways violently.


"She raised you," Tifa growled back. "She loved you!"


"Love? You think that makes her family?" He sneered. "My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains. Love did not keep them from accepting Shinra's money. Love did not keep them from experimenting on me. Love did not keep them from selling me into slavery, from turning me into a weapon. Love never made them tell me the truth." He lowered his hand and his sword. "But I will show you true love. My love for my child is boundless. I will give her the truth, I will give her everything she ever wanted."


"Your child?" Tifa felt her stomach sinking. "You can't mean... Shelke?"


"And why not?" He smiled beatifically. "My blood flows in her veins. My DNA is written into her genetic code. I have as much right to call her my child as the woman who bore her, as the father who sired her." He gestured expansively. "She is the only one of my children to be born perfect, without the complication of degradation. She is my daughter, my legacy and I will create a world worthy of her for her to live in. There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess. Hero of the dawn, healer of world."


Tifa took a few involuntary steps back. "You're insane," she gasped.


"I'm not the one who threw themselves into battle against a Soldier 1st Class, and hoped to win," Genesis said coolly. "You are an impressive woman. I saw that back in the ruins of Midgar when you thoughtlessly fought through my army to try and save my daughter." He gestured magnanimously. "But I am her salvation, and much as I am impressed by you I am her real family and the choice of what happens to her is mine. I will spare you life. There could be a place in my new world for you."


"No," Tifa growled. "I won't let you."


"You don't have a choice," Genesis said.


"And that's why you're a monster, and don't even realize it," Tifa shouted.


"Monster?" Genesis frowned. "Don't throw around that word so carelessly. Better people than you have used that word and I won't have you profaning their memory."


"Better people?" Tifa smirked. "Like Zack? Or Angeal?"


"Don't speak about them!" Genesis roared.


"I know all about them, Genesis." Tifa pointed at him. "I learned all about your rebellion, your tantrum against Shinra. I learned how you managed to not only destroy your home town, your parents but also your two best friends."


"I'm warning you..." Genesis's grip on his sword tightened.


Maybe it was the anger. It was always hard to control once you got so far past your limit. Maybe it was the fact her magic capacity was so stretched she couldn't think straight. Maybe it was her attempt to buy more time. Whatever the reason, Tifa ignored the signs and pushed onward. "You're no hero, Genesis. Everything you touch turns to ashes, don't you see that? You barely even count as a monster. You're a footnote in history. You aren't even remembered. You caused the death of so many great people, and you're nothing but a jealous child playing at being a her-"


Tifa felt the pain before she realized that she couldn't see anything anymore. The world had gone red. When she tried to blink she realized it was something wet and warm in her eyes. Blood. Her own blood. She staggered back, clutching her face as the blood poured from the wound in her face. She couldn't keep from screaming in pain and a bit of panic. Oh dear sweet Gaia, had he taken her eyes?


It was only after his hand closed around her throat and he slammed her against the wall that she realized she still had her eyes, as she could just barely see his face leaning in towards hers through the blood. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the revelation.


"Primary mission accomplished. Package secure," a sudden voice in her ear said. That decided it, Tifa began to laugh.


"Why are you laughing?" Genesis asked, honest astonishment driving away his momentary rage.


"Because..." Oh Gaia, it hurt to talk with his hand crushing her windpipe. "Because you're asking the wrong questions."


"Wrong questions?" It was hard to make out his expression through the blood but she thought he was frowning. "And you call me insane?"


Tifa laughed again. She forced the words out in a sharp whistle. "You shouldn't ask me why I'm laughing, or why a normal human would take on a superhuman like yourself in one on one combat. Those are the wrong questions."


"And what is the right question?" he asked with a smirk.


"Where, exactly, is my ninja?" Tifa said as she pulled the headset from her ear.


Even with her vision blurred and obscured Tifa would always remember the expression on Genesis's face fondly. It flowed from confusion, to realization, to astonishment, to rage so quickly and smoothly it looked like one expression. Then in a roar of anger he drove her against the wall and the world went mercifully black.



C&A Productions Presents


A Work of Crossover Fanfiction


The Empty Set

06

Gale

---------------

Epsilon

So that's Tifa at full capability, as well as why she still has an inferiority complex despite being so damn awesome...
 
thesevenwielder said:

Jiven said:
I am glad to read this fic. :)
Thank you both. Any specific parts of the story you like or dislike so far?

MutantRancor said:
If you can see a ninja, they know you're there. If you CAN'T see a ninja, the thing you value most may have already been stolen, and a poisoned dagger stabbed in your back.
You always want to keep an eye on the ninja but... ninja.

dan-heron said:
Yuffie: "I am not chibi! Don't compare me to ms McJugs!"


Tifa: "Wait, what was that?"

SolipsistSerpen said:
Genesis is pretty fun to read, too.
I need to pompous up his dialogue in the next pass a bit but he's actually an enjoyable character when handled by the not!Crisis Core writing staff.

Anyway, smart adventurers know the fair way to fight superhuman bosses is four on one.
That's why Tifa plan was never to win that fight.


-------------

Epsilon
 
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