Chapter 12
Sherry shook her depressing thoughts off before she spoke up. "Well, since none of you really know what you like, I'll get a variety. With the six of you, I'm sure we will need at least eight pizzas anyway. That should give everyone a better idea. I will say now that most of the time, I prefer to cook. Once I go shopping, the options will be better."
She didn't wait for any responses before she went and grabbed her laptop. She set it on the counter and logged in to order online. She shook her head at both Genesis and Zack looking over her shoulder. She completely ignored Zack's question about her wallpaper, as it was another picture of Genesis. She was going to have to change all of those soon if they ended up staying longer than a few days. She didn't want to deal with the questions.
Zack didn't ask more than once, but he did give her a questioning glance as she pointedly ignored Genesis when the man gave her a smirk. She turned to the rest of them. "They should be here in about 45 minutes. If you don't mind, I would like to take the chance to take a real shower. I feel gross. We can talk more over dinner if you want."
She received several questioning looks, but no one objected, so she went straight to her bedroom. She felt odd as she got into the shower, knowing that there were six strange men in the next room. It motivated her to finish her shower in record time, but she felt so much better when she was done. She no longer felt like she was covered in a layer of grime. It brought her mood up as well. She also went ahead and removed her contacts before she headed back out. After the events of the previous day and the crying she had done, they had started to irritate her eyes. She grabbed her spare glasses and got dressed. She was smiling when she walked back out with her hair still up in a towel.
Several of the men had been talking quietly, but that all stopped when she walked into the room. It made a shiver go up her spine when they were all looking straight at her. Her voice was nervous when she broke the silence. "Okay, well, I'm sure dinner will be here soon."
She quickly moved to the kitchen to start getting out the plates and utensils they would need. She nearly jumped when Genesis joined her. "I was not expecting glasses. Why were you not wearing them before?"
She gave him a confused look and then shrugged. "I was wearing contacts. You know, little lenses that you put directly on your eyeball."
She heard Zack express his disgust at the idea and laughed. Her attention was drawn back to Genesis when he spoke again. "With what I have observed so far, I felt that the technologies of this world and of ours were on par with each other. However, I have never heard of lenses you can put in your eye to replace glasses. Does it not hurt?"
She gave him a contemplative look as she put the plates on the table. "No, they are washed in a solution that is very close to human tears. It allows them to be placed with no problems. Also, there are many things Gaia has that Earth doesn't, like your VR technology, but there are many things we have that you don't, like commercial airplanes instead of airships. I believe it was just a matter of which technologies had the most interest and funding in our respective worlds."
Noel, who had been quietly watching Caius up to that point, finally spoke up. "I have never seen anything like them either. By my time on Pulse, humans were mostly scattered and nomadic. When I met Sarah, I was introduced to a lot of new things. I haven't really had a chance to take them in. This will all be new to me. This world reminds me of the communities set up on Pulse right after Cocoon started to fall."
Sherry gave him a smile. "I am pretty sure the stuff they had on Cocoon was still far more advanced than what we have here, especially as the Fal'cie provided most of it. Even so, if you have questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to answer if I can."
He didn't get a chance to answer as they were interrupted by a knock at the door. She smiled at them before she went to answer it. "That should be dinner."
It only took her a few moments to pay for the meal and start handing the boxes back to Cloud, who had walked to the door with her. Once they were all on the table, Sherry waved a hand at them. "Dig in. If you can't find one you like, I'm sure we can find something. I promise tomorrow will be better."
There was very little talking at that point, mostly it was questions about the ingredients and what they were like. After they had all settled with something, Caius spoke up. "This is mostly some sort of bread, is it not?"
She gave him a nod and swallowed before she answered. "Yes, even though I ordered thin crust, there is still a lot of bread. It's one of the reasons I don't eat it often. Not a lot of nutritional value, but it works in a pinch. I apologize if you find it disgusting, but with how many of you there are, this was the best option for fast food. This is far from being the best example of our cuisine." Caius gave her a nod but didn't question her further. They ate in silence after that.
Sherry finished before the others and sat back to look at them all. She found the sight of Sephiroth and Genesis eating pizza to be one of the most hilarious things she had ever seen. They had both removed their gloves and had followed her example of blotting the pizza before they ate. Still, watching them nearly made her giggle. She managed to push it back and sat forward with a sigh. She knew they still had a lot to cover, even though she had already decided her path. She managed to keep her worry from her voice when she spoke. "Before we get into anything else, I wanted to verify when each of you is from. I have a general idea, but it will give me a better chance of knowing what you still might have to face."
She turned to Cloud first. "I know you have to be at least from after 08, am I close?"
He narrowed his eyes at her question, but he answered. "Yes, it was January of 09. How did you know?"
She glanced down at his covered arm and then back up. She knew her worry and sadness had to be showing on her face when his eyes widened. She shook her head and then turned to Zack. "With you, it's a little harder. I would say you have to be from somewhere between 02 and 06."
He was giving her a strange look before he answered. "How did you know when Cloud was from? Why didn't you answer him? I've noticed you've done that a lot."
Sherry didn't have to answer since Cloud spoke up. "She did answer me. If any of the other times have been like this one, then I understand why she didn't say it out loud. I'm fine with it."
Zack gave him a shocked look before he grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "You know, I can believe that you're from the future. It must have done something good for you, 'cause you're a lot more confident. I like it." At that point, he turned back to Sherry. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was August of 06 when I was dragged here."
Sherry's eyes widened at that, and she felt tears prick her eyes. He had to have been close to Midgar by that point, and it made her heart clench to know that if she couldn't change it, his death was just around the bend. She noticed Cloud grimacing from the corner of her eye as well but tried to ignore it. She gave Zack a nod before she turned to Sephiroth. "Given what you told me in the cave, you are from 02."
His look was calculating when he nodded, but he didn't say anything. She then turned to Genesis and looked him over. "With you, it's a little harder to tell, but I know it has to be before the last half of 2000."
His eyes narrowed before he spoke. "It was January of 2000 when I was pulled here while I was out on a mission." His voice was harder when he continued. "The fact that you can ascertain what times we are from at a glance tells me that not only are the things that happen extreme, but they are so dramatic that they change our appearances as well. Given that fact, I am most interested in learning what we could possibly be facing to make that happen."
Sherry grimaced at him but managed a somewhat polite response. "That is what we will be going over. I will answer as many of your questions as I can, but not right now. I think that would be best-discussed one-on-one."
He was still giving her a glare, but she ignored it when she turned to Noel and Caius. "For you two, it's a little harder to say. Noel, I know you were time traveling, so I have no idea what you have faced yet and what you haven't. As for you, Caius, I know you are from before the-" She cut herself off at that point. She had been about to mention the fall of Paddra. She suddenly realized that it was something she would have to discuss with him anyway, and Noel already knew about it. She still gave him a sympathetic look before she continued. "You are from before the fall of Paddra. Your early life was not really gone into in the stories, so I can't say more than that."
His eyes widened, and he stood suddenly. "That cannot happen. We have no enemy capable of such a thing, and Paddra is naturally protected. No."
She hated to see the look on his face, and her voice was soft when she answered. "Caius, all things fall to time. Nothing is immune to it. We can discuss the rest later. I truly am sorry."
He gave her a hard look but didn't say anything more. He turned and walked outside. She gave his retreating form a sad look before she turned to the rest with a frown. "I apologize. I guess I really don't know how to handle this. I just wish..." She trailed off and looked around. She wished there was some way to protect them all from their respective painful futures without having to cause them pain in the process, but she knew without asking that it was a futile aspiration. She shook her head before pointing to the table. "Let me know when you are all finished, and I'll clean up. I'm going to try to talk to Caius." Noel looked like he wanted to say something but closed his mouth with a snap as she turned and made her way out the door.