Chapter 867 - 866: First Evening in the Town of Kalm’s Inn."

Entering the spacious hotel lobby together with Tifa, Alex first of all looked around, expecting to see the owner of the establishment—he still remembered this character and his complicated history.

The premises looked noticeably cozier and more spacious than in his game memories, yet Alex had long grown used to such nuances of the new reality and did not dwell on it. In the far corner of the dining hall their company was bustling full tilt: the guys were jointly pushing two massive oak tables together so that this entire noisy gang could sit as one.

The moment the structures touched, Dean was the first to nonchalantly take a free seat on a chair and gestured to a passing waiter. Catching Alex's gaze, Dean questioningly raised his chin: well, what should I get you? Alex merely waved a hand indefinitely—order the same as for yourself.

Understanding the hint, Dean smirked, turned to the guy in the apron, and held up two fingers. Meanwhile the rest of the group also unhurriedly took their places and began studying the menu so as to manage to order before the kitchen closed. Shifting his gaze from his group to the neighboring tables, Alex immediately recognized in the guests a motley assortment of tourists heading to the port city of Junon.

The puzzle in his head instantly clicked into place: very soon the famous cruise liner "Shinra-8" was due to depart from the port, bound for the tropical resort of Costa del Sol. Recalling this important stage of their future route, Alex already reached for his phone, intending to buy cabins for the entire company in advance, but Tifa lightly tugged on his sleeve in time. Turning to her, he tilted his head questioningly.

"You yourself were just grumbling that the first thing we need to do is sort out the rooms! And yet you're standing here and drifting off into the clouds," Tifa laughed quietly, catching his puzzled look.

"Oh, right… I admit, I got distracted. Let's go check in faster, or these gluttons will eat everything without us," Alex smirked, putting the smartphone back into his pocket.

"I really hope they have a room here with a proper hot bath… or at least a working shower," Tifa drawled dreamily, drawing Alex toward the registration desk.

"Well, we'll find out right from the owner himself," Alex answered with a smile and, leaning his elbow on the polished countertop, resolutely pressed his palm onto the shiny desk bell.

Hearing Alex's words, Tifa calmly nodded and leaned her elbow on the dark wooden counter. A fleeting glance at the well-kept lobby and the bright dining area was enough for her to confirm: this hotel would have all the necessary amenities, including hot water, which brought her long-awaited relief.

Following the sound of the bell, the owner of the establishment emerged from the back doors. He was a middle-aged man with a deeply exhausted face—it seemed he was suffering from an incurable ailment and was merely silently living out the days allotted to him. Pale skin and characteristic bluish-green eyes instantly betrayed his past.

Dark chestnut, slightly curly medium-length hair framed strict facial features. He was dressed restrainedly and elegantly, as befits the owner of a solid inn: a dark-gray waistcoat over a pressed white shirt, a patterned red ascot, strict trousers, and clean black shoes.

Alex immediately recognized this man. The man's name was Broden. In the past—an elite SOLDIER who had voluntarily left the ranks of Shinra the moment he learned of the corporation's dirty secrets and bloody experiments. But unlike rank-and-file fighters who underwent the standard enhancement procedure, Broden had been selected for Project "S."

The implantation of Sephira's and Jenova's cells had elevated his powers an order of magnitude above ordinary SOLDIER, yet the reverse side of this might became catastrophic, accelerated degradation of the organism. Touching the Death ring on his index finger with his thumb, Alex cast an unnoticed glance at the man's soul—Broden had a little more than two weeks left to live.

And that was provided that one of the Sephiroth incarnations did not decide to invade his weakened mind, finally burning out the remnants of humanity. Standing nearby, Tifa also noticed the familiar mako gleam in the owner's eyes. She did not comment on anything, merely frowning sympathetically at his sickly posture.

Broden himself maintained an impassive expression in front of the new guests. Coughing constrictedly into his fist, he with a habitual, practiced motion wiped the traces of blood from his palm with a handkerchief and, without even trying to force a false smile, unhurriedly opened the heavy guest book.

"Ahem-ahem… How may I help you? And I apologize in advance, we currently have no special rooms for newlyweds. Unless a standard double room would suit you…" Broden spoke in a quiet, slightly hoarse voice, transferring a calm gaze from Alex to Tifa.

"No! That is… we're not newlyweds! We're just… Alex, help!" Tifa instantly flushed with a deep blush all the way to the tips of her ears and began babbling confusedly. Tangled in her words, she embarrassedly nudged Alex in the side with her elbow, seeking rescue from him.

"Please accept my apologies for the inappropriate assumption. So what exactly interests you?" Broden nodded calmly, shifting his gaze to Alex.

"We need free quadruple rooms. Or several rooms where a group of eight people can be comfortably accommodated," Alex answered with an open smile, nonchalantly leaning his elbow on the counter.

"Hmm… One second. Yes, free places are available. For what period do you plan the reservation?" Broden spoke in a thoughtful tone, unhurriedly leafing through the guest book and slowly running a pale finger along the lines on the pages.

"I think we'll check in for a couple of days for now, and then we'll see. You're not against it, are you, Tifa?" Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully and slowly turned to Tifa.

"Mm, I'm all for it. I think the others could also use a good rest for a couple of days before the further journey," Tifa answered, still slightly blushing but already with a warm smile, casting a glance toward the dining hall where life was in full swing among their group.

Casting a short glance over his shoulder at the noisily settled company, Alex mentally estimated: a couple of days of full rest was exactly what the squad needed before challenging the unknown roads. Especially since ahead of them lay a long detour through picturesque meadows and plains on the way to the port city of Junon, and there was plenty to see there.

Turning back to the counter with a light smile, Alex silently raised two fingers, confirming the rental of the rooms for forty-eight hours. Broden said nothing in reply—he merely nodded slowly and turned to the wall-mounted key rack.

While the hotel owner was turned away, Alex managed to unzip the sports bag and extract a hefty stack of gil, beginning to count out the needed sum. At that moment Broden's gaze slid over the insides of the pack, stuffed to the brim with crisp banknotes, and then he looked Alex straight in the face.

His professional gaze of a seasoned soldier instantly zeroed in on the main detail—Alex's iridescent, shining with unearthly light rainbow eyes. The brain of the ex-SOLDIER worked lightning-fast, matching this striking appearance with the morning emergency news reports about the daring terrorist attack and the mysterious death of President Shinra at the hands of elusive terrorists.

It immediately became clear to him that this time a not-at-all simple group of tourists who had decided to make a stop before departing for the city of Junon had checked into his hotel. Nevertheless, not a single muscle twitched on Broden's face.

Maintaining absolute outward calm, he accepted the payment and held out a set of keys to the frozen Tifa beside him. Alex, who had not noticed this short exchange of looks, politely nodded to the owner in farewell, softly took Tifa by the hand, and drew her after him toward the tables where the friends were already heartily devouring the ordered dishes.

"Alex, I specially saved you a spot! Sit here quickly," Aerith waved her hand ringingly with a smile, patting the free chair next to herself.

"How pleasant it is to feel like a welcome guest. Thank you, dear… Wow, and what is this ambrosia in the carafe?" Alex inquired with a satisfied smile, settling onto the chair and stretching sweetly, noticing the attractive bottle next to Dean's plate.

"Hell if I know, some local fruit liqueur. But it tastes pretty decent, just a little sweet. And from your side? Where are we sleeping tonight?" Dean chuckled with a careless shrug, generously filling Alex's glass with the fruit liqueur.

"We've rented two comfortable rooms: the boys separately, the girls separately… Hmm, and it really is quite good," Alex answered, lazily twirling the brand-new brass key on his finger, and after taking a small first sip evaluated the local liqueur.

"Yay-ay-ay! Finally we won't have to sleep on rocks under the open sky! My poor back is saved, civilization, here I come!" Yuffie yelled joyfully, raising a fist above her head.

"I don't even want to go into details about the exact conditions you had to sleep in before… But did you even notice the eyes of this hotel owner?" Claudia asked quietly, slightly frowning and nodding toward the registration desk where Broden was just conversing with one of the late guests.

"What's wrong with them? An ordinary guy, except he looks like the grave has already been crying for him for half a year," Barret drawled lazily, casting a glance over his shoulder and devouring meat.

"He's an ex-SOLDIER. And now let's eat properly. Everything else we'll discuss a little later—we have time," Alex cut off calmly, preempting further questions and beginning to pour the liqueur into the remaining glasses.

Following Broden with a fleeting glance, Claudia noticed how the hotel owner, as if sensing someone else's attention, slowly turned and met her eyes. Catching the characteristic mako gleam of her gaze and evaluating her equipment, Broden merely nodded restrainedly, in a military fashion, in Claudia's direction and turned back to the counter.

Sitting opposite, Dean also glanced over his shoulder at Broden and, noticing his deathly pallor, questioningly raised an eyebrow, silently demanding explanations from Alex. Receiving a laconic mental answer from him, Dean silently returned to the meal.

Alex himself, meanwhile, concentrated on dinner: in front of him steamed an appetizing fried schnitzel in thick tomato sauce, complemented by golden french fries under a generous cap of melted cheese. Taking the first bite, Alex nodded approvingly.

The dish turned out surprisingly good, and he involuntarily thought that genius cooks like Alice and Erina Nakiri would surely be able to create a true gastronomic masterpiece from the local wild ingredients. Reaching for the carafe of fruit liqueur to refresh his throat, Alex discovered that it was completely empty.

Bestowing an expressive look on Dean, he summoned a passing waiter and loudly ordered a full bottle of bourbon in addition to another portion of liqueur. However, returning to his plate, he was surprised to discover a light breach in the defenses: part of the fried potatoes had mysteriously disappeared.

Turning his head, Alex caught Aerith in the most unceremonious act of devouring a potato stolen from him. Catching his reproachful look, Aerith beamed with a radiant smile, blew him an air kiss, after which she deftly speared another round piece and sent it into her mouth.

"Maybe you should order a separate plate after all, since my portion is emptying so rapidly?" Alex playfully narrowed his eyes and lightly pinched the tip of Aerith's nose.

"Nope! From your plate everything somehow seems a hundred times tastier. Want me to feed you? Come on, say 'aah'!" Aerith laughed cheerfully, bringing a potato right to Alex's lips.

"Oh, is it really tastier that way? We need to urgently check the theory!" Yuffie proclaimed with instantaneous enthusiasm and, leaning over the table, deftly grabbed a couple more slices from the free side of the plate.

"I see I've got a whole organized group for the expropriation of provisions here… Fine, when the waiter returns I'll order myself another portion," Alex sighed resignedly, with appetite accepting Aerith's apologies in the form of being fed by hand.

"Your own fault for zoning out. And since you're ordering extras, take two right away," Dean smirked, sipping liqueur from his glass and raising two fingers.

"Make it three! This romance of yours with the potatoes definitely wasn't enough for me. After a forced march like that across the scorching wasteland I'm ready to devour a whole dualhorn right now!" Barret said, patting his stomach and downing the remaining liqueur in his glass in one gulp.

"I support that. Dualhorn meat is exceptionally juicy and nutritious, provided, of course, that the cook possesses sufficient qualification," Red XIII solidly nodded his massive head, thoroughly licking his own bowl clean.

Listening to the lively arguments of these seasoned gourmets and experts on exotic meat, Alex was absolutely certain: give Dean free rein and he would personally set off into the prairies to catch a dualhorn just to prove his culinary mastery to everyone. Quietly chuckling at these plans, he noticed how Tifa carefully transferred a handful of french fries from her plate right onto his.

Catching his surprised look, Tifa smiled embarrassedly, trying to mask the display of care with a joke about how she too had decided to check the "someone else's plate" theory. Softly smiling in response, Alex decided to tease her a little.

Spearing a golden slice with his fingers, he held it out to Tifa with the words that food from his hands would become even tastier. A noticeable blush immediately flared on Tifa's cheeks, but she clearly had no intention of retreating under the gazes of her friends, leaning her torso forward.

However, at that very moment from the opposite side of Alex materialized Aerith with the mischievous smile of a Cheshire cat—and in one swift bite she lightning-fast chewed up the contested potato, leaving no chance for anyone. For a second the stunned Tifa blinked, and then laughed ringingly together with everyone at the table.

Pretending to sigh over this "gremlin" behavior, Alex tenderly ruffled Aerith's hair, picked up a new slice from his plate, and still held it out to Tifa. This time Tifa did not delay and quickly ate the potato right from his fingers.

Seeing this idyll, Yuffie immediately jumped up on her chair, declaring that she too urgently needed to be fed in the name of fairness. Without waiting for her to raise a grand scandal throughout the entire restaurant, Alex deftly scooped up a handful of potatoes and without ceremony tossed them into her mouth, because of which Yuffie immediately nodded contentedly, enthusiastically chewing the food.

"Maybe treat you as well? It's no trouble for me," Alex offered with a sly smirk, turning to Claudia and holding a potato up to her face.

"I'll pass. I'm not into that," Claudia answered in an icy, impenetrable tone without even glancing at the treat.

"Oh, come on! Maybe you want him to feed you right from his lips?" Aerith inquired, narrowing her eyes slyly, rhythmically tapping a finger on her chin and casting a glance at Claudia sitting on the other side of the table.

"That I definitely don't want. I have my own hands, and I don't need outside help at dinner," Claudia answered with a heavy sigh, rolling her eyes toward Aerith.

"Don't you dare arrange this circus at my table! The last thing I need is to watch you cooing like a couple of teenagers who escaped from kindergarten. Honestly, looking at you, this entire today's dinner risks asking to be set free again," Dean intervened with undisguised disgust on his face, shuddering squeamishly.

"Wow, what deep existential fears. Do you by any chance have a psychological trauma on the grounds of romance? Want to sign up for an unscheduled session, and we'll thoroughly unpack your complexes?" Alex instantly switched into the mode of a professional psychotherapist, extracted stylish thin-rimmed glasses from his inner pocket, and importantly perched them on his nose.

"First of all, go to hell. Second, no more sessions with this home-grown shrink! And third… damn it, where has that lazy waiter gotten stuck with my bourbon?!" Dean snorted irritably, jabbing a finger toward Alex.

Adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose, Alex with the most impassive air of a professional psychotherapist nodded at the grumbling Dean. The latter exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and in retaliation launched an unfinished piece of french fries at the "doctor." Without missing a beat, Alex in pure childish manner showed the middle finger in response, unhurriedly sending the surviving potato into his mouth.

Hearing Dean's irritated shout, the frightened waiter instantly rushed to the table with the coveted bottles of bourbon and liqueur, mentally going through what exactly he had managed to screw up in front of such a colorful company. Having placed the additional order, Alex generously poured himself some bourbon and relaxed back against the chair, for he no longer needed to hurry anywhere.

Sitting in the tavern almost until closing under unhurried conversations, the tired girls were the first to declare their desire to wash off the road dust and the desert soot that had settled over the day. Paying for the hearty dinner, Dean left the waiter generous tips for his patience and excellent service, while Alex on the way tossed a request to bring another bottle of bourbon with fresh glasses to their room.

Climbing the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor, Alex pointed the guys toward their room, while Tifa unlocked the neighboring door with the key, drawing the girls inside. Before dispersing, Barret sighed heavily and cast a short glance at Claudia, reminding her that it was still too early for them to relax and a serious conversation about everything that had happened still lay ahead.

Claudia merely nodded silently, perfectly understanding what Barret wanted to talk about. Tifa also darkened, nervously interlocking her fingers, before disappearing into the room after Claudia. Already preparing to follow the guys into his room, Alex felt a light tug on his sleeve when Aerith stopped him right at the threshold.

"Hey, mister… What about my promised massage?" Aerith drawled, narrowing her eyes slyly and smiling cunningly, rising onto her tiptoes and trustingly bringing her face closer to his shoulder.

"Shower first, my princess. Or are you planning to wash off all this desert dirt tomorrow morning?" Alex answered with a soft smile, barely perceptibly touching Aerith's nose with his own.

"Hmm… Fine, you convinced me. But you still owe me, so don't even think of slacking, my lower back is simply in horror today," Aerith whispered, pretending to pout, and quickly pecked Alex on the cheek.

"Don't worry, everything stands. And now march into the bathroom," Alex laughed quietly, affectionately placing his hands on Aerith's shoulders and lightly pushing her toward the open door of the girls' room.

"By the way… Are we by any chance going to sleep together tonight?" Aerith unexpectedly inquired with a mischievous spark in her eyes, freezing on the threshold and cunningly looking into Alex's eyes.

"An interesting proposal. But how do you picture that? I show up to you in the middle of the night, and the stern Claudia kicks me back out into the corridor with a boot to the rear right from the doorway," Alex raised an eyebrow and lightly pinched Aerith's rosy cheek.

"We-e-ell… maybe we'll manage to negotiate with her? I'll offer her to lie on the other edge of the bed, and put you in the middle. She still doesn't know how sweetly and cozily one sleeps in your embraces!" Aerith shone conspiratorially, victoriously tapping a little fist against her palm, clearly inspired by this absurd idea.

"I wish you grand success in the diplomatic negotiations with Lady Claudia. And I have to go. If I don't occupy the bathroom right this second, Dean will occupy it again for a good hour, and I damnably want to wash this dust off myself," Alex shook his head, smiled warmly, and touched Aerith's lips with a quick, tender kiss.

Finding himself in the room and nipping any budding projects in Aerith's "gremlin" head in the bud, Alex threw the bag with the gil onto the free bed and first of all headed straight into the bathroom. While he washed off the road dust, Dean lazily sprawled across the bed together with Tonberry Steve, with serenity enjoying that long-forgotten feeling of wandering for the sake of yet another world-saving.

Red XIII silently jumped onto the wide wooden windowsill, thoughtfully observing the unhurried life of nighttime Kalm. Barret, deciding to finally let off steam after the exhausting march, sank deeply into the soft sofa, throwing his heavy boots right onto the coffee table.

The male half of the squad was indulging in well-deserved rest in silence until a quiet knock sounded at the door. From the bathroom came Alex's voice, warning that the order had been delivered. Dean merely lazily shrugged a shoulder, making it clear that for such a trifle he would not get up from the bed.

Red limited himself to a light flick of his tail. Realizing that besides himself there was no one else to move in the room, Barret sighed heavily and with a drawn-out, purely elderly groan tore himself away from the sofa. Sliding the latch, he discovered on the threshold a waiter with a tray set with clean glasses and the coveted bottle of bourbon. Nodding curtly, Barret slipped a neatly folded banknote into the guy's pocket and took the load.

Literally a couple of minutes later Alex emerged from the bathroom—in light shorts and a loose T-shirt, energetically rubbing his wet hair with a fluffy towel. Spotting the bottle on the table, he immediately filled two glasses and tossed toward Dean's bed a call that he'd already had enough of lying around, and it was time to get up and go to the shower instead of lying there like a pig. In response to that Dean emitted a comic oink and smoothly slid onto the floor, dragging Steve after him, who could also use a freshening up.

"Well then, spill it. What exactly did you want to talk about with Claudia?" Alex inquired, sitting down on a chair opposite Barret and pushing a glass of bourbon toward him.

"We need to finally clear up all this nonsense with Sephira, the Sephiroths, or whatever the hell these psychopaths are called. Maybe if we dig up what the hell made this woman go off the rails, it'll dawn on us where to look for the rest of the bastards. Cheers," Barret muttered gloomily, tossing his sunglasses onto the table and slightly raising his glass in a toast.

"Logical. Even after coming to a relatively normal state, Sephira is unlikely to open up to us, and hell knows where she's gone after she gave you the information about the Sephiroths," Alex nodded his head slightly, clinked glasses with Barret, and immediately reached into his pocket for a thin cigar.

"Exactly what I mean. As if one mad bitch who decided to destroy the planet wasn't enough, now instead of her a whole pack of mad bastards with the same appetites has fallen on us. In short, total crap… And don't you dare smoke here! If you want nicotine—trudge over to the window," Barret rubbed the bridge of his nose and strictly pointed at the windowsill where Red XIII was still on duty.

"Well, our situation won't get any worse anyway. So we can relax and breathe out," Alex smirked, moving closer to the window and cracking the sash open to let out the smoke.

"A rather optimistic view of things. Although, to be honest, it's hard to argue—there's simply nowhere lower to fall," Red chuckled, turning his massive head toward Alex.

"We just need to find all these bastards and take them out! That's the whole problem. Why start sniveling when everything is so simple," Dean's loud voice carried from the bathroom under the noise of running water.

"Well, now we at least have some kind of strategy. But it's still worth listening to what Claudia will tell about this Sephira's past stunts. Maybe something useful about these blond bastards will surface," Barret summed up, leaning back against the sofa and taking a deep sip of bourbon.

Casting an understanding look at Barret, Alex nodded in agreement and flicked ash from the cigar into the open window sash. Even after Sephira had freed herself from the alien influence and been reborn by the will of the Planet and the Lifestream, she remained an unpredictable third party in the global conflict for the survival of the world.

Wishing to check her current state, Alex closed one eye and for a moment attuned himself to the soft, powerful vibrations of the planetary stream. The answer came almost at once: through the booming noise of the Lifestream a steady, deep breathing distinctly broke through—the way a person breathes when immersed in a sound, healing sleep. Sephira was resting, restoring her strength after the shock and getting used to her new essence.

Having confirmed that everything was relatively calm, Alex opened his eyes and once again leaned his elbow on the windowsill, continuing to smoke next to the silent Red XIII. A casual glance at the nighttime street made him smile: Tifa had dashed out of the hotel doors and was quickly heading toward the neighboring shop.

A couple of minutes later she returned, carefully pressing a small paper bag to her chest. Feeling someone's gaze on her, Tifa raised her head, met Alex's eyes, and with a sweet, embarrassed smile waved to him in greeting. Softly smiling in response, Alex slightly tilted his head, silently inquiring where she had dashed off to in the middle of the night.

Tifa lightly bit her lip, and such a deep blush flared on her cheeks that it was easy to read: "None of your men's business, I'll handle it myself." Instantly figuring out exactly what her secret expedition had consisted of, Alex with an apologetic smile raised his free hand in reconciliation and turned away.

He had indeed completely overlooked an elementary detail: unlike him and Dean, the rest of their group had fled Midgar traveling light, not caring at all about a change of clothes, and the girls on top of everything needed basic underwear. Mentally noting that tomorrow morning he would definitely need to send the girls to the local shops for purchases, Alex extinguished the remains of the thin cigar and slammed the window shut, returning to the male company.

"I hope you haven't sentenced the entire bottle without me?" Dean inquired cheerfully, tumbling out of the bathroom with a wet Tonberry Steve wrapped up to the very head in a fluffy towel.

"Don't worry, your precious alcohol is in absolute safety," Alex answered lazily, rocking on the chair and pointing a finger at the still-full bottle of bourbon.

"Excellent. Then pour me a portion while I dry off this green parasite. Who would've thought that bathing a pet is such hellish labor! How Sammy ever managed with his dog, I have no idea," Dean grumbled, laying the wet Steve on the bed and beginning to energetically rub him with the towel.

"Sammy? That's your younger brother, right? And what's he like?" Barret inquired with genuine interest, carefully filling Dean's glass.

"We-e-ell… Sammy is the younger one, so I've had to look after him since the cradle. And what's he like? Simply put: a lanky guy with a mop of hair. A total nerd, always nagging about proper nutrition, goes crazy for all kinds of greens and salads… I can continue this list until morning. Although he can chop up unclean spirits and monsters excellently. But I'm still cooler," Dean drawled, philosophically rolling his eyes and wringing out the towel.

"Looking at you, classic brotherly relations are showing through," Barret shook his head with a chuckle, massaging his neck that had stiffened from the road.

"Yeah, you'd howl after three days of living under the same roof with the two of them. It's just… ugh," Alex expressively rolled his eyes, playfully poking toward Dean with his glass.

"Oh, go on! You're no better yourself, Mr. 'I'll show up at your house and impose my own order.' You crossed the threshold of the Bunker and immediately arranged a general cleaning with furniture rearrangement!" Dean snorted indignantly, showing Alex the classic middle finger.

"But after that rearrangement it became a thousand times cozier and more convenient, admit it," Alex countered with an insolent smirk, taking an unhurried sip of bourbon.

"Looking at you, life under one roof was clearly one hell of a fun hard labor," Red XIII smirked, turning his massive muzzle toward the arguing pair.

"You said it," Alex and Dean answered in chorus and without a shadow of doubt, exchanging identical smirks.

Hearing such a perfect synchronized duet, Barret laughed heartily and then with sincere curiosity inquired what this Bunker was. The way of whileing away time with heartfelt stories while the girls tidied themselves up after the long journey seemed absolutely ideal.

Seeing no reason to make a secret of it, Dean tucked Tonberry Steve under his arm and settled comfortably on a chair, not forgetting to grab the glass of bourbon. Red XIII, deciding that this was an excellent opportunity to get to know his comrades better, silently jumped down from the windowsill and moved to the sofa closer to Barret. Alex and Dean took turns sharing stories about the Bunker, which for many years had served them as a reliable shelter and a true home.

Answering the questions, they easily and casually skirted the sharp corners, not mentioning their otherworldly origin—not out of spite or distrust of their friends, but simply from the understanding that in the current situation details about parallel universes would only bring extra headaches.

After a couple of refreshing sips Barret also joined the conversation: the giant nostalgically recalled his past in his native mining town of Corel—without the tragic details, but only with warm sadness about the times before the move to Midgar.

In this unhurried male conversation time flew by unnoticed, and soon the door of the room quietly opened. On the threshold appeared the girls, who had just washed all the desert dust off themselves. Spotting the new glasses with amber liquid at the guys', Aerith and Tifa exchanged glances in unison and with a reproachful sigh shook their heads.

Yuffie, on the contrary, nimbly slipped into the room, examining the furnishings and trying to find something interesting, while Claudia entered last, on the way rubbing her damp light hair with a fluffy towel and carefully closing the door behind her.

"You're drinking again? Wasn't the dinner enough for you?" Aerith instantly jumped up behind Alex's back and demandingly rested her palms on his shoulders.

"Father asked for poverty, wisdom, and obedience… But there wasn't a word about sobriety in the prayers!" Alex sang with a light laugh, gracefully raising his glass in an improvised toast.

"Amen, brother!" Dean laughed, clinking his glass against Alex's with a ringing click.

"You two… you're simply incorrigible," Tifa shook her head with a quiet, kind sigh, pulling a free chair closer to the little table.

"Well, maybe just a tiny bit," Alex drawled cheerfully, narrowing his eyes and bringing his index and thumb fingers together so that only a tiny gap remained between them.

"So, what about my promised massage?" Aerith pouted offendedly, went behind Alex's back, and pressed closer, with playful strictness lightly tugging on his cheeks.

"Sit down, it'll all be ready in a moment. I always keep my promises," Alex answered with a warm smile, setting the empty glass on the nightstand.

"Yay-ay-ay! Let's see what your famous magic hands are capable of. But keep in mind: if the massage turns out to be slapdash, you can forget about a reward!" Aerith cried out joyfully, clapping her hands, and without putting the matter off, nimbly jumped right onto Alex's lap.

To be continued...

(So, I'm thinking of adding another element to the plot—something like the Imperial weapons from FF15—to expand Alex's collection. Or perhaps it's not worth including such tombs in the story? Then again, it wouldn't be Alex searching for them, but rather Valerie and her group. Hmm, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Anyway, the first evening in the town of Kalm is drawing to a close; we'll take a moment to look back at the past—at Sephyra and Claudia—before moving on. After all, it's best not to linger in one place for too long, now that the group has made it out of Midgar. For now, I'm off to grab a bite to eat and do some more thinking about the plot. Peace, love, and Alex—he's got his sights set on the beach on the horizon, and nothing's going to stop him!)

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