D.I.A.N.N.E. Ch. 02

*Foreword: It's been a while since chapter one guys, I know. I've been working heavily on A Paladin's Journey, but felt compelled to come back and add some more to Jake's story. Can't promise a fast release of chapter three, but I do plan to keep going with it at this point. Thanks for reading, as always. -Anti.*

*This is a work of fan-fiction. The author, Antidarius, does not derive profits from the release of this material, nor does the author claim ownership of any characters or titles mentioned that are the existing property of other entities.*

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D.I.A.N.N.E.

CHAPTER TWO: Symbiotic

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-Friday, 21st May, 1999: Day Two-

I slept deeply, visions flashing through my mind, swirling and melding incomprehensibly. Occasionally, I made sense of some of it, as if there were a corner of my brain functioning lucidly even as I slept. I lived as Cloud, thinking his thoughts, feeling his emotions and knowing the sting of his wounds as he adventured across the world in search of Sephiroth and the Black Materia.

I felt his elation at the end of every battle, his love for his friends as he came to trust them in ways he had not before. His near-madness when he discovered who and what he truly was; a product of J.E.N.O.V.A. and Mako energy. The shattering of his heart when Aerith fell to Sephiroth's blade in the City of the Ancients, and the blood-boiling desire for revenge.

My eyes snapped open and I stared around my room wildly. My heart was racing, my breath coming in short, laboured gasps. I lurched upright to a sitting position, peeling my sweaty back and shoulders off the sheets beneath.

"Fuck me sideways!" I rasped. "That was one intense dream!" I felt like I'd lived another life entirely, riding behind Cloud's eyes as somehow both a passive observer and co-protagonist. Resting my arms on my legs, I looked down at my hands as I flexed them. They felt stronger, tougher than I remembered.

"What the fuck is happening to me?" I whispered to myself. Right then, my stomach growled insistently, demanding food. Whipping back the sheets, I hopped out of bed with a nimbleness previously foreign and crossed the hall to the bathroom to relieve myself. The food could wait; I needed to piss like a racehorse.

Member in hand, I stood over the toilet bowl and bent my semi-erection down to the right angle, only to realise that from all appearances, my cock had added a little more size to itself overnight, unless I was completely mistaken. Nothing major, but it was noticeable.

"Fuck me," I breathed as I began to piss. Those two words were beginning to be my favourite phrase. Most of the soreness was gone from my muscles, and I felt quite good, really. "This must be how people who exercise feel all the time," I muttered to myself as I waited patiently for my bladder to empty itself.

My stomach grumbled again, and I wondered what I was going to eat; the pantry had fuck-all in it, and the fridge was better left unopened due to old leftovers I hadn't thrown away. Maybe a trip to the shops would be a good idea before work. I could use some of that two thousand bucks to stock myself up.

Wait. Work! What time was it? Shaking my dick to clear the last drops, I rushed back to my room and snatched up my mobile from my computer desk. Four forty-five?! FUCK! I'd been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours!

And worse: I only had fifteen minutes to get to work!

Even worse: I'd missed the last bus going that way for at least another half hour.

Worse still: Melinda - the bitch of a manager - was likely going to sack me for one more late appearance.

Swearing under my breath, and muttering about Melinda's disposition, I hurriedly rifled through the pile of clothes on my bedroom floor for my work uniform; a blue shirt with the DP logo and a pair of black trousers. I pulled them on in a flurry of fabric and raced for my shoes which sat just inside the front door.

I realised with a moment of dismay - as I wriggled my feet into my black work joggers - that I was going to have to delay my meal until my shift was over, as the shift wasn't long enough to warrant a break. Grabbing my keys and wallet off the kitchenette bench, I cast one longing glance at Dianne before pulling open the front door and stepping out into the late afternoon.

Locking the door behind me, I knew I really only had one option: run as hard as I could and hope I find a vacant taxi along the way. Either way, I was going to be late. How late was up to the fates. Not wasting any time, I charged for the stairs at the end of the walkway and took them three at a time, shocked at how easily my legs supported my weight each time my foot hit a step. In less than twenty seconds I was four floors down and on the concrete path leading out to the road.

That was when I began to run. Not the shambling, awkward gait that had plagued me since before I could remember, but smooth, long strides that flowed easily. Not like I was a champion runner or anything, but as if I was used to at least going for a jog every couple of days. In comparison to my former condition, though, I really did feel like a champion runner!

Despite my hunger, energy pumped through my body as I hit the main footpath by the road and sped north toward the mall, hoping this new energy lasted all the way there.

*

When I reached the mall, I was in a very different state to how I'd left home. My newfound fitness had failed me after about five minutes, and the run had been death after that. Not a single cab passed me, and I didn't have the time to stop and call one on the phone. I was drenched in sweat, and limping where I'd pulled a calf muscle in my right leg. My hair was matted to my head, and I shivered at the sudden chill as I stepped through the sliding doors into the air conditioning.

Knowing I looked a mess, I hurried as best I could past the various shops until I reached DP Games. As I entered, Melinda looked up sharply from behind the counter, her dark eyes stormy behind her square, dark-rimmed glasses. Her jet hair was pulled back in a ponytail, today, and it contrasted nicely with her pale skin. I thought she might be good-looking, in a way, if she ever smiled. Not that I'd ever tell her.

She was a bit shorter than me, and a little older - maybe twenty-four or twenty-five - and she filled out her blue top nicely, though the loose shape of the shirt did little to accentuate what lay beneath. Her tight black pants were more of interest, showing shapely hips and thighs, and an arse that looked plump without being fat.

Not wanting to cause a fuss in front of the handful of customers perusing the store, she whipped up her arm and pointed at her watch as she glared at me. Trying to look as apologetic as possible, I quickly headed through the store and out the back to dump my accessories before returning to the floor.

"Where the hell were you?" Melinda hissed as I stepped behind the counter. "You look like shit! Did you run here, or something?" She was eyeing the wet patches on my shirt. I hoped I didn't smell too bad.

"I woke up late," I replied softly. "And I've been feeling a bit off, today." That was a massive understatement. "And yes, as a matter of fact, I did run all the way here. I missed the bus."

She wrinkled her petite nose. "You smell like it." Was all she said in response before turning back to what she was doing. By the looks of it, she was entering traded-in games back into the system.

I decided to try and plead my case to save my job. "Melinda, listen," I began, looking her in the eye. "I know you said I would be fired if I was late again, but-"

Melinda's raised hand cut me off mid-sentence. "It's too late for that," she said, shooting me a dark look. "You were warned, and warned fairly. You'll be handing over your staff card at the end of this shift." Looking me over with disdain, she added, "The uniform you can return after you've washed it."

I felt my shoulders slump in dismay. I really liked this job, and it kept me around games, which were my only escape from this dreary life I seemed to have fallen into. At least I didn't have an erection at present, which was something of a blessing.

"Go and tidy the shelves," Melinda ordered without looking away from what she was doing. Glumly, I trudged out from behind the counter and began to right fallen cases and straighten the displays, doing my best to stay away from customers.

It was when I was fixing up the PlayStation games in the back corner that someone approached me from behind.

"Hi, Jake!" a bubbly, feminine voice greeted.

Turning, I blinked in surprise when I saw Debbie the pizza girl standing there, a shopping bag held in one hand. Out of uniform, my suspicions about her figure were well confirmed. She wore her hair loose - it was sandy blonde, I could see now - and it fell down to her shoulders, which were bare but for two thin straps holding up her white tank top, which seemed a little strained by the generously proportioned tits they contained. To my delight, she wasn't wearing a bra, and the outlines of her small nipples were clearly visible above her bare midriff.

A tiny pair of denim shorts and a pair of white sandals completed her ensemble. Simple clothes, really, but I thought she looked sexy as hell.

"Debbie?" I asked dumbly, caught off guard.

"That's me," she replied, grinning. "I thought I recognised you, so I thought I'd come say 'hi.'"

"Oh," I managed, not knowing what to say. "That's, uh... Nice of you." Now I really hoped I didn't smell.

"How was your pizza?"

"Really good!" I enthused, finding myself smiling. "I'll be sure to order more, definitely."

"Cool!" she said. "I'm working tomorrow night, if you get hungry. My shift ends at eleven, and I sometimes do the last delivery on the way home."

"No worries," I replied, wondering why she was telling me this seemingly pointless information. Then it hit me; was she hinting that I should order late so she could come over? Surely not! What would a hottie like Debbie want with me?

*She likes you, dumb-arse. Ask her out.*

My breath caught in my throat. That voice inside my head... Was that Cloud?

*Yes, I am Cloud. What is this place? Who are you?.*

Fuuuuck... My brain ground to a screeching halt. 'This is all a bad dream,' I thought to myself. 'And I've actually lost the plot. I'm going to have to commit myself to a mental hospital, I just know it.'

*Nope, no dream, Jake. This is as real as anything I've ever experienced. Where are we, anyway? This doesn't look like any place I know. Are we in Midgar?*

"Are you alright, Jake?" Debbie asked, a concerned look on her face.

I didn't have time to respond to Debbie's question, for an ostentatious throat-clearing from the front counter brought our attention over to Melinda, who was once again glaring at me, probably for wasting time. Debbie came to the rescue, however.

"Hi!" she said brightly, waving at Melinda. "Jake was just recommending me a game. He's always so friendly when I come in! And he knows so much about games!" Turning back to me, she winked and leaned in close. Reaching past my shoulder, she plucked a game from the shelf and turned it over in her hands.

"Tekken Three, ey?" she mused, studying the cover.

"It's excellent," I told her, pushing Cloud to the back of my mind. Surprisingly, I felt his presence lessen. "Great fun. Do you play games much?"

She shrugged. "Every now and then. My little brother has a PlayStation he lets me use sometimes. I'm no good at games, but they're fun to play."

A stroke of boldness overtook me, unbidden. "Maybe we could hang out sometime, and I'll teach you?" The words tumbled off my tongue before my brain could process them. What the hell was I doing?

Debbie's eyes lit up, much to my surprise. "That would be awesome, Jake! How about tomorrow night, after my shift? I can bring a pizza!"

"Uh, yeah!" I managed, my moment of coolness gone. "That sounds great!" To be honest, I'd expected anything but Debbie's response.

"Cool!" She gushed, bouncing on her toes briefly, which did interesting things to her chest. "Should I bring this?" She held up the game, looking at me questioningly.

"No need," I said as casually as I could. "I've already got it."

"Okay," Debbie replied, reaching back past me to put the game away. Her perfume was light and flowery, but it had a seductive depth. I liked it. "See you tomorrow, then." With a wink, she turned and left, giving me an amazing view of her arse as she did. The bottoms of her cheeks were visible beneath the cuffs of those shorts, bouncing slightly as she walked.

A glance at Melinda showed her glowering at me, her cheeks flushed with anger. Sighing, I turned and resumed my work until the end of my shift, no longer as dismayed at losing my job as I had been earlier. By some mad stroke of luck, I was actually having a hot girl over tomorrow!

***

Upon returning home less my DP staff card - the uniform I would have to clean and return sometime in the next few days - I stood in the doorway and looked around my tiny apartment, empty McDonald's bag clutched in my hand; the remnants of the meal I had finally eaten to quiet my cantankerous stomach.

With the TV and armchair on the right, and the kitchenette on the left, there wasn't really a whole lot of room for entertaining. Straight ahead from where I stood was the small hallway with two doors; the one on the left leading to my room, the right to the bathroom.

I wasn't exactly the neatest human being on the planet. There were clothes scattered across the floor, and the pizza box from last night was still on the tiny bench in the kitchen. Empty beer and coke cans overflowed the small bin next to the fridge. The carpet in the living room was dirty and in need of a good vacuum, too.

Oh, well. These problems were for tomorrow-Jake to deal with, I decided as my eyes fell on Dianne. My cock twitched greedily as I thought about how I wanted to spend the rest of tonight. It was a no-brainer, really. Tossing the Maccas bag in the general direction of the kitchen, I shucked my clothes and flung them away before settling into my armchair before the TV.

"Good evening, Jake," Dianne greeted as I got comfortable.

"Hi, Dianne," I replied cheerfully.

"How was your evening?"

"Equal parts shit and great," I told her. "I lost my job, but I got a date for the first time ever, so there's that."

"That sounds interesting," Dianne said in her feminine monotone. "Well done on securing a bonding opportunity with a female, Jake."

I chuckled at the phrasing. "Thanks, Dianne."

"What would you like to do tonight, Jake?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure," I said slowly. "I can return to Final Fantasy Seven, or I can sample another title."

"Might I suggest," Dianne began. "Continuing to raise your synchronicity with Final Fantasy Seven?"

"Raise my what, now?" I blurted, sitting forward.

"As you interact with a game world," Dianne explained. "Your consciousness becomes aligned with the character you are playing. This is called 'synchronising.'"

I sat back, thoughtful. "Is that why I heard Cloud's voice in my head today?" I'd forgotten all about that strange moment until now, what with work, and Debbie and all.

"That is the expected cause, yes," Dianne answered. "Although this particular outcome does not usually occur so rapidly."

"What do you mean?" I asked warily. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"I do not believe so, Jake," Dianne assured me, if a monotone could be said to be assuring. The drawer with the headband slid open in the lower front of Dianne's console. "Please attached the band and I will scan you."

Eager to find out if I was alright, I snatched up the headband and fitted it on. I felt nothing for long moments, and I saw no indication from Dianne that she was doing anything, other than retracting her drawer.

A moment later, she spoke. "You appear to be in perfect mental and physical health, Jake. In fact, you are marginally healthier than you were yesterday. Your muscles have developed slightly, your brain function has increased by five percent, and you have reduced your body fat by two percent, also."

"Really?" I asked, looking down at myself. I didn't feel any skinnier. If anything, maybe my belly paunch was a little smaller. It was certainly a maybe, though. "So, it's a good idea to synchronise further with Cloud, then?"

"It is recommended," Dianne said. "To receive the full benefit of the technology you are testing. You are currently forty-six percent synchronised with Final Fantasy Seven. It is remarkable progress, but you still have some work left to do."

"Very well," I agreed, sitting back and relaxing. "Load me up." I felt like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. That movie had only come out last month, but I'd seen it three times already. Indeed, from what Dianne was saying, this tech operated in similar ways to the Matrix operating system.

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was sitting on a hard surface, my back against a wall. I was in a tiny room with grey metal walls and floor, and closed security door the only apparent exit. A red light shone above the door, telling me one very obvious fact: CLOSED.

The room was no more than three metres square, with a bed built into one wall, and a metal toilet in the opposite corner. A fluorescent strip circumnavigating the ceiling provided a clinical source of illumination. If I wasn't mistaken, this was a prison cell.

To my pleased surprise, Tifa occupied the room with me. She lay on the cot with her legs crossed, twitching one foot idly as she looked around with a bored expression on her beautiful face. She was talking about something, but her words were drowned out by the voice in my head.

*Ah, we're back in my world, I see. In a cell in the Shinra building, if I'm not mistaken.*

'You would be correct, I think,' I thought back at Cloud. 'And we'll be let out in no time at all.'

*That's unlikely,* Cloud said wryly. *The Shinra have us. They are not going to free us just like that.*

I frowned. So, Cloud couldn't see past the present in-game moment? That was interesting.

*I see you have discovered a limitation, Jake,* Dianne chimed in. *Cloud is aware of your presence in his world, and his presence in yours, but he is still limited to his programming. The more you interact with him, however, the stronger the synchronisation will become.*

'Thanks, Dianne,' I thought back to her as I stood up. 'What abilities will I have at full synchronisation?'

*That depends on your capabilities, Jake. Your limits are your own.*

What did that mean? I stared around the cell as I pondered Dianne's enigmatic words. I called to her again, but she appeared to have gone silent, for now. My eyes were drawn to Tifa again, like iron filings to a magnet. Her legs were so long, and so smooth...

When I looked at her face, I saw she was watching me with a small smile. "I like when you look at me like that," she confessed quietly.

My pulse quickened at the heat in her voice, and in her gaze. "It's hard not to," I replied. Did she have any memory of what we did back at Seventh Heaven? Testing my abilities, I imagined Tifa nude. Sure enough, a moment later her clothes vanished, leaving her naked on the bed. With a cry, she sat up hurriedly, looking down at herself.

"What the fuck?" She exclaimed, looking at me with wide eyes. I noticed she made no attempt to cover herself, though. My cock surged to life in my pants as she stood up and looked around for her clothes. "Did you do something?" She asked accusingly, her eyes narrowing. She stood looking down at me, her arms folded beneath those spectacular breasts.

*Holy shit!* Cloud blurted in my head. *How did you do that? Wait, this has happened before! I remember a beach, and Tifa and Aerith naked...* He trailed off, sounding confused.