Final Fantasy:  Crossover
Chapter 2


     The alarm clock went off on the nightstand, and a groggy Jim Robinson slammed the
snooze bar for another five minutes.  Then he thought better of it, and got up.  He took a shower,
threw some clothes on, and went outside to grab the morning paper.
     "Hey, neighbor!"  Jim looked in the direciton of the greeting to see a short, rolly-polly
little balding man in his late thirties.
     Jim waved sleepily.  "Hello, Mr. Nymzicki."
     "Whatcha up to?"
     "Same old, same old.  Working."  He stumbled back into the house to read his paper.
     As he sipped his morning coffee, he grumbled to himself at the day's headlines."Damn
mayor's raising property taxes again.  What the hell's he doin' with all that cash anyhow?  Where
the hell's the sports section...here it is.  Cool.  Pens won last night.  Wish I'd seen it."  He glanced
at his watch.  "I've got about an hour or so.  I've got some time to do some quick errands before I
check in."  He walked out to his garage to his pristine-condition Plymouth Barracuda.  He
climbed in, turned the key, and the motor rumbled to life.  He drove out to the main road, headed
toward the local mall to pick up some quick groceries.  He noticed that there wasn't a lot of
people on the road that morning, as kind of a side thought.  Shouldn't have any trouble at the
Food-o-rama this time, he thought to himself.
     He got to a straight, open stretch of roadway and floored the gas to have a little fun.  The
engine roared in response, and the car surged forward with newfound speed.  Suddenly, he was
blinded by a flash of bright white light.  He lost control of his car, and it spun across the road
and came to rest in the opposite shoulder.  When the light levels returned to normal, he looked
up and saw something the likes of which he had never seen before.
     It was huge, whatever it was, and it was just hovering there.  A trio of massive propellers
spun furiously to keep the massive ship from crashing to the ground.  The whole thing was
silver, save for a clear glass section in the front (a cockpit?).  The ship slowly came down from
the sky and landed in the field adjacent to the highway.
     Jim's first impulse was to get back into his car and drive away as fast as the piece of
Detroit metal would take him.  But for some reason, he stuck around.  A hatch on the side of the
airship opened up.  He expected little green men to pop out with ray guns or something and start
blowing the hell out of everything.  Instead, he saw humans.  One with graying light blond hair,
wearing some kind of pilot outfit.  Another with wildly spiked blond hair and a large sword
strapped to his back.  He was followed by a young, strikingly beautiful woman, with long brown
hair that went almost down to her ankles.  Then another young woman, wearing some very odd-
looking things stumbled down the ramp and vomited the instant she hit the ground.  Finally,
another, older woman came out, dressed in a lab coat, and holding the hand of a young girl. 
They were all looking around.  One of them was saying something to the others.  Jim guessed he
was the leader, because they all stopped and listened to what he was saying.  One of them looked
directly at Jim.  The old man, it was.  He walked over to Jim, who was busy locking the doors
and rolling up all the windows on his Plymouth.  The old man tapped on the glass with one
gloved hand.  Jim looked at him, not sure exactly what to do.  The man was saying something,
but he couldn't make out what it was.  He figured that if they were gonna kill him, they'd have
just blown up the car or something, so he rolled the window down.  "What do you want with
me?" he said, a touch of fear in his voice.  
     The old man spoke again.  "Not much, kid.  Just wanna know where we are."
     "Uhh...Pennsylvania...is that all?"
     The man with the spiked hair walked up to the car.  "Where is Pennsylvania, Cid?  Is that
near Kalm?"
     Cid turned to him.  "Damned if I know, Cloud.  Never heard of it.  Are we near Midgar? 
Are we anywhere near anything we know?"
     Jim spoke up.  "Midgar?  Kalm?  I never heard of those towns.  I know this area like the
back of my hand, and I've never heard of either of those."
     Cloud turned to Jim.  "Then since you know the area so well, you can be our guide."
     "Hell no, I'm getting the ^%&* outta here!"  Jim tried to start the car, but it wouldn't
crank.  "Damn starter...Come on, start!"
     "Hey, kid.  Maybe I can help.  I'm sort of a handyman," offered Cid.
     "No way, pal.  Don't even touch this car."  He turned the key again, and the engine
rumbled to life.  He threw the transmission into gear and took off, leaving a pair of smoking
trails of rubber in his wake.
     Jim's mind was racing.  This is nuts.  A bunch of wierdos suddenly appear out of nowhere
and ask me for directions? What the hell's going on?  Maybe I should have helped them...or
maybe they would've killed me for trying.  But I can't just leave them there...aww, hell.
     The car wheeled around, rocketing back toward where the airship had landed.  Surely
enough, they were all there, waiting.  He pulled over and got out of his car.  As he walked over
to the ship, he grew more and more nervous.
     "OK.  I'll give you guys a hand.  But first, a few questions.  First of all, who are you? 
Second, where are you from?  Third, why are you here?"
     Cloud walked over to him and threw his weapon on the ground, seeing as it bothered Jim. 
"My name is Cloud.  This," he pointed to the tall, brown-haired woman," is Tifa, my wife. 
You've met Cid, "he gestured to the old man," and that is Yuffie," he waved to the young girl
kneeling on the ground," and Shera, with my daughter, Aeris."  He pointed to the older woman
and the little girl.  "We're...from out of town, you might say.  As for why we're here, we don't
know.  We were transported here by some force."
     "Well I'm Jim.  Pleased to meet you, Cloud."  He extended his hand, and Cloud took it. 
Jim then waved at the rest of the party, who all waved back.  "Hey, Cloud.  You better find a
place to hide that thing.  Things are pretty quiet now, but they'll pick up soon, and this road gets
really busy.  I don't think the reaction will be a good one when the commuters see that thing
parked on the side of the road.  I know of a clearing in a forest not too far from here that just
might be big enough to conceal it from the ground."
     "Good thinking.  Cid, go park the Highwind.  Take Jim with you, so he can show you
where to put it."
     "Uhh...are you sure that thing's safe?" asked Jim.  Cid's face turned scarlet.
     "Of course it's safe you moron!  It got us here, didn't it?"
     "All right...if you say so...but I'm taking the Barracuda with us.  That way, we'll be able to
regroup when we land.  There a garage or a loading bay on that monster anywhere?"
     Cid nodded his head.  "Yeah, in the back."  He pressed a button on a small control
device, and a hatch opened in the rear of the craft.  "That should be big enough for your car."
     Jim walked over, nodded in approval, then walked back to his car and drove it inside.
     "OK, Cid.  Let's go."
     The Highwind's engines began to warm up, and soon, the great airship was aloft once
again.  Inside the cockpit, Jim was marveling at the complexity of the ship.  "This is amazing. 
I've never seen anything quite like it."
     "Yeah, she's a real beauty, ain't she?"
     "I'll say.  OK, you need to head northeast from here, about twenty or so miles."
     Cid slowly turned the wheel to bring the ship around, then the ship slowly moved toward
it's destination.  "Is that it there?"
     Jim looked out the window.  "Yeah, that's the one.  You think it'll fit?"
     "Gonna be pretty tight."
     "Can you land this thing in that small a space?"
     "I could land this ^%&*& ship on the head of a ^&*()^%^$ pin!"
     Jim didn't persist, and surely enough, the Highwind landed gracefully, and without
incident.  A few moments later, and Jim had his car ready to head back.
     "It'll take us about half an hour to get back to the interstate from here.  Fortunately, I
know a few shortcuts..."  The car roared off toward the roads.
     "Glad Cid got rid of that damn ship...Just thinking about that thing makes me...ulp..."
     Cloud was beginning to grow concerned.  He could see traffic on the horizon.  "We'd
better look for cover.  We don't want anyone seeing us."
     "Why not?" asked Tifa.
     "Because we don't know what the people around here are like.  They may be freindly, but
they may also be hostile toward unfamiliar people."
     "All right.  Head for that grove of trees.  That should provide some cover."  The group all
ran over to the trees lining the road as car after car went by on the now-busy interstate.
     Cloud's ears perked up as he heard the sound of a frantically-revving engine coming from
the field behind the trees.  It was Cid and Jim, bounding through the meadow in a car that was
never intended to go off-road.  The Plymouth slid to a halt next to them.  "Well, it's a little tight,
but it's better than walking.  I'm pretty sure I can get yinz all in here.  Some of you are gonna
have to sit on other people's laps, though.  This car was never meant to carry more than five
people.  It'll be carrying seven."
     Cloud had no obvious objections.  Yuffie didn't like the sound of it, but made no rebuttal. 
Jim folded the front seats forward, and Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and Aeris piled into the back.
Cid got in front, and Shera sat on his lap.  Then Jim got in, shut the door, and slowly motored off
to his home.
     The first thing they did when Jim pulled into the garage was literally spill out of the car. 
The whole garage was a tangled mess of Plymouth and people.  After a few moments of
squirming, they managed to get themselves out of the car with minor injuries.
     "Well, it's not much, but it's home," Jim said of his house.  It was your basic suburban
home.  Three bedrooms, a nice kitchen, and a large basement.  Normally, he was the only one
who lived there, so the bedrooms were more like guest rooms.  Well, Jim thought, I've got plenty
of guests now.  He made his way to the kitchen.
     "Does anyone want anything to drink?  May as well be hospitable while we figure out a
way to get you guys back home."
     Cid spoke up first.  "Do you have tea?"
     "Yeah.  Camamile or Earl Grey?"
     "Uh..I don't care.  Surprise me...just hurry up!"
     Yuffie bounded up to him.  "Got any alcohol?  I need a stiff drink."
     "Sure.  What would you like?  I used to be a bartender, so if you want it, I can make it."
     "Cool!  How about a Turtle's Paradise?"
     "Uh..I never heard of it.  How about a screwdriver instead?"
     "OK, but what am I gonna do with a screwdriver?"
     "Never mind.  Cloud?  Tifa?  Anything for you guys?  Shera?"
     "No thanks," was the collective response.
     Cloud started to look around.  "Where do you get your electricity from?"
     Jim thought about it for a second, not really sure of that himself.  "From a power plant
about an hour's drive north of here.  Hydroelectric.  Why?"
     Cloud looked at him, then shook his head.  "Never mind.  It's apparently not important."
     "Suit yourself."
     Tifa stood up and walked toward Jim.  "Where we come from, most people got their
power from something called Mako energy.  Do you know what that is?"
     "Mako energy?  No, never heard of it.  Why?  Is it clean and powerful?"
     "It's dangerous.  Using Mako sucks the life force out of the planet.  If you use up all the
Mako, then the planet dies."
     "Hm..That would be bad.  Probably a good thing it doesn't exist here."
     Cloud and Tifa both stared at him.  "What do you mean it doesn't exist?" asked Cloud,
rather urgently.
     "I mean, there's no such thing as Mako energy here."
     Cloud and the others looked at each other nervously.  Cloud pulled out a greenish marble
from his pocket and showed it to Jim.  "Do you know what this is?"
     "Jim pondered for a second.  "It's a marble.  So?"
     "No, this is Materia.  Where we come from, we use these to cast spells or let us do things
we couldn't normally do.  But usually, they glow a little when they're not being used.  Look at it."
     Jim looked closer at the materia.  There was no glow coming from it.  "It's not glowing."
     Tifa got up and looked very worried.  "Does that mean what I think it means?"
     "I'm afraid our materia are useless here," said Cloud, worried.
     "Don't worry too much about it, guys," reassured Jim.  "We get along fine without
materia, and besides, once you get back home, they'll probably be OK."
     Tifa took the materia and stood up.  "I'm going to try something."  She waved her arms in
the air and murmured something under her breath.  A slight chill wafted through the room, but
other than that, nothing happened.  "It doesn't work.  That was Ice 3."
     "Ice 3?" Jim asked in confusion.
     "Ice 3 would have frozen this entire room in a block of solid ice.  If it had worked," said
Shera.
     "Then I'm glad it didn't work.  I don't wanna be an ice cube."
     Now the entire group looked worried.  Jim didn't get it.  "Why are you all so concerned?"
     "You don't get it, do you?  Without this materia, we're practically defenseless."
     "That would be bad.  Oh, no.  You guys better stay away from the windows around here. 
I have a really nosy neighbor, and I don't quite know how he'll react if he sees you all here.  I
usually don't have visitors, and he'll want to know what's going on.  You should be OK till about
four in the afternoon, though. He's gone for the day."
     Heads nodded in understanding.
     "Uh, I gotta go get to work, so I'll be back later today.  Make yourselves at home, just try
not to make too much of a mess."  Jim walked out of the house and left.
     Cid spoke up first.  "Well, now what?  What're we supposed to do?  We have no materia,
no way of getting back home, and for all intents and purposes, no Highwind."
     "I think we should make the best of it.  Things could be worse," said Tifa.
     They all looked at her.  "How?" asked Yuffie.
     "We're all still alive, aren't we?"
     "Yeah, but everyone back home probably thinks we're all dead," said Yuffie, "and with
the situation we're stuck in, we may as well be."
     Cloud walked over to Yuffie.  "Don't talk like that.  We'll get out of this."
     Cid stood up and looked around.  "Well, he said to make ourselves at home, so that's
what I intend to do.  I'm gonna have a look around."  Cid walked downstairs to the rec room.
     "I think that's a good idea.  We may as well relax," said Shera in agreement.  Then she
followed Cid downstairs.  Tifa and Cloud went upstairs, and Yuffie stayed in the living room. 
"And I didn't even get my drink..."

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

     Jim didn't get back until much later that night.  He walked into the house and found all
the lights off, save for one, that was on a timer.  He walked up the stairs, muttering to himself
the whole way.  "Damn job, damn moron co-workers, damn grunt employees...can't do a damn
thing right...hafta babysit the little jerks all day, then I gotta cover up for their screw-ups every
night so I don't get fired...I'm gonna quit one of these days..." He stopped for a moment to yawn,
then continued on his ranting.  "Damn, I'm tired.  I've got to get some rest.  Thank God I've got
tomorrow off."  He walked up to his bedroom and opened the door.  It was pitch black, so he
couldn't see a thing.  He paused when he thought he heard something moving around, then
figured it was coming from another room.  He tossed his clothes on the dresser, threw on his
pajamas, and crawled into bed.  He was soon asleep.
  
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Any comments?  Email me at jrebholz@usa.net