Coming Home [ A Final Fantasy Fanfiction]

WARNING: This fanfiction is rated M (Mature), because it contains alot of violence and gore (with detailed descriptions), so if you cannot handle that, I suggest you should not read this fanfiction.

After getting a sudden source if inspiration by a book I'm reading(Dead Like You by Peter James, read it if you like Detectives, it's amazing!), I decided to try out an idea which I haven't seen in any FF fanfictions yet. I've taken the world of FFVII, along with some additional characters from other games, and put them in a time similair the one we live in, in which they are apart of a detective team.

Summary: 'He dissapeared 6 years ago, after burning down the town of Nibelheim. He has murdered 7 people, and 12 more were burned in that fire. We now have a case of man who has been killed in a way that is really similair to that villain's style. I think we're dealing with the same man. He has returned, and I don't think he's going to let the police stop him this time.'

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Awwww lovely so far :)

Thank you! :D I think the prologue is pretty much a big blur, but it will get clearer the coming chapters ^_^

Tifa Lockhart strided down the street in a quick, determined pace. She was dressed in a dark office skirt with a white blouse with a black trench coat worn over it, as classy as someone could look. Her high heels ticked over the pavement in a constant rhythm as the young woman made her way through the growing city crowd. To any person passing by she would be seen as someone in her daily routine of getting to work, while in fact, this couldn’t be less true.
Tifa had just moved to Midgar about a week ago, after she had been offered a job. Previously she had been working for the police department in Nibelheim, but her boss had been under the impression that she had too much potential to stay in such a police department, thus, she had been recommended to the detective superintendent of one of the best detective teams of Gaia.

She stopped before the high building where she was supposed to be and looked up for a moment before she stepped through the automatically opening doors . With a quick glance on her watch as she stepped into the elevator, she concluded that she was 10 minutes early, and she let out a relieved sigh.
The elevator doors were about to close when suddenly someone put his foot in the gap, and the doors opened again. Tifa looked up in surprise when a guy with black spiky hair stepped in, followed closely by a blond guy whose hair was even spikier. The largest one of the two was about to press to the second floor, but stepped back when he realized it had already been pressed. He gave her a curious glance, but said nothing.
Tifa looked straight ahead and waited impatiently until the elevator would reach the second floor. When she glanced at the two men behind her, she noticed that the blonde man was staring at her. His piercing blue eyes almost burned through her and she quickly looked forward again.
The elevator had reached the second floor and Tifa slid through the doors before they were even completely opened. She hadn’t been nervous for her first day of work, but that constant stare of the blond guy had made her anxious. If she hadn’t been nervous before, she certainly was now. She was about to step into the briefing room when she suddenly heard a loud’ HEY’, and she turned around.
It didn’t come as a surprise to see it was the dark-haired guy who had just called out, and had it obviously been directed at her because he was walking towards her, with the blond at his side.
‘Seeing as you’re about to go into the briefing room, I take it you’re the new one on our team?’ The guy then extended his hand and shook hers briefly. ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Zack Fair,’ he said with a wide smile.
Tifa gave him a smile in return. ‘My name is Tifa Lockhart,’ she said, then frowned a little when the blonde’s head suddenly snapped upwards. ‘And who are you?’ she asked anxiously.
He sighed. A sigh which seemed to linger somewhere between disappointment and playfulness, but she couldn’t determine which of the two it was.
‘So you really don’t have a clue who I am, do you?’ he said and Tifa watched in silence as the corners of his lips crooked up into a smile. ‘I thought you would have recognized me, after all, we were neigbours for years ,’ he said, and that’s when Tifa suddenly realized who he was and why he had been staring at her like that.
‘Cloud!’ she gasped out and stumbled forward to embrace him. His body tensed as her arms made contact with him, but after a few seconds he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her. ‘It’s good to see you,’ he said, then let her go after a few seconds.
Zack was staring at them with a blank expression. ‘You two know each other?’ he asked. Tifa was about to explain, but Cloud was quicker.
‘Like I said, she was my neighbor back when I was still living in Nibelheim,’ he said and gave her a small smile.
‘It’s good that you already know someone Tifa, I guess that makes it easier to adjust to your surroundings. Anyway, all the others are already there, so we better get in there before Angeal arrives,’ Zack said. Tifa followed Zack and Cloud and took place in an empty seat next to a man with dark, spiky hair.

A few minutes later the door to the briefing room opened again and the last member of the team stepped in. Detective Superintendent Angeal Hewley silently took his place at the head of the table, with Tifa sitting on his left side, and Zack on his right.
‘ Before we start to discuss the case where I’ve called all of you in for, I’d like to introduce you to your new colleague. This is Tifa Lockhart. She has been transferred from Nibelheim and will be working in our team from now on. I will shortly tell you everyone’s names, they can introduce themselves to you properly later, because we don’t have a lot of time.’ Angeal said. ‘On my right you have Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Snow Villiers and Reno Sinclair. The person next to you is Noctis Caelum and lastly, Claire Farron.’
Tifa followed every person with her eyes as Angeal called their names, and repeated them in her head. Luckily she could easily match names with faces, so she would hopefully remember who her new colleagues were.
Her attention drifted back to Angeal when he started to rumble through a stack of paper situated in front of him. He cleared his throat, then started to tell them the casualties about the new case.
‘About an hour ago they have found a middle aged man in a deserted alley, who has probably been stabbed. The police has informed me that they think it was completely intentional, so it is now our case. They still don’t know a lot, things such as his identity, so I want you to get as much information as possible. Lightning and Noctis, you will be going around the neighborhood, visiting houses and asking around if anyone has seen anything unusual. Reno and Snow, I want you two to focus on evidence. Not only on the crime scene itself, but also on the things that you can conclude from what you see. Cloud and Tifa, talk to the police. Question every police officer that is at the crime delict. Try to gather as much information about the victim. Zack, you’re coming with me.’
Everyone stood up as soon as Angeal was done talking. There was a lot they still had to do, and every detective knew that the first few hours of a crime were the most important. They really had no time to lose.

Ooooo i'm loving the whole police atmosphere ;D It's looking gooooood 8D

Very nice Sifra! ^_^

thanks! :D

Wow this sounds wonderful! Can't wait to read the next part!

New chapter is coming very soon! :]

Woot! :D Can't wait!

YAY :D DITTO WHAT GEN GEN SAID 8D

Tifa was by far the slowest to make her way out of the room and she noticed that Cloud was already stepping into the elevator. He then suddenly seemed to realize that she was behind and stepped out of the elevator before the doors closed. Tifa catched up with him, and as she reached his side, Cloud ran his fingers through his hair with an embarrassing look on his face.
‘Sorry. I’ve gotten so used to the routine of doing this that I forgot for a second that you’re new here,’ he said. Tifa shook her head and smiled at him. ‘Don’t worry about it, I guess it must be weird for you to suddenly be working together with someone new,’ she said. The elevator reached their floor again and they stepped in as the doors opened. Cloud leaned against the wall and Tifa could feel his observing eyes burning in her back. ‘So why did you decide to move and start in a different police department?’ he asked
‘Well.. my boss believed that I needed a bit more challenge. Nothing ever happens in Nibelheim, or at least, nothing has happened ever since…’Tifa’s voice trailed off. She furrowed her brow, then quickly continued talking without finishing her last sentence. ‘I figured it would be a welcome change to do something else,’ she concluded and smiled. She could tell that Cloud noticed was not quite alright with her since tried the subject, and his awareness of that made her anxious. There were things in her past that were still haunting her that she tried to avoid talking about at all costs. However, it didn’t help much that it was Cloud’s past too. He had been there as well when it had happened after all.
Tifa’s thoughts were disturbed by the sound of the elevator reaching ground zero. She stepped outside without saying anything else and walked outside with Cloud trailing closely behind her. She hoped that she would have the opportunity to ask him some questions later on , but as for now they had to concentrate on the job that had to be done. Neither of them could afford to lose their concentration in the early hours of the investigation, since these hours were crucial.
…
Cloud had parked his car as close to the crowd as he was able to get. Tifa and he were now making their way through the hordes of people who had come to get a peek of the crime scene. She let out a sigh of relief when reached the front of the crowd and stepped under the tape that stopped the crowd from getting nearer to the scene.
‘How will we proceed from here?’ she asked and gave Cloud a questioning look. She was extremely self-conscious since it was her first day, and she didn’t want to mess things up.
‘I’m going to ask the officers what they know so far. Why don’t you go talk to the police officer who found the victim?’ Cloud suggested. He pointed at a young guy who was standing by the crime scene with a distressed look on his face.
Tifa nodded. ‘Okay, we’ll talk later,’ she said and walked towards the young man. ‘Excuse me?’ she said in a clear kind voice. The man was obviously startled; he gave a little jump when she asked for his attention. Only when he turned to face her, did Tifa notice that his clothing was somewhat adust on some places. The man was giving her an unsure look. ‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Tifa Lockhart. I’m the investigator of this case. If you don’t mind, would you answer a few questions for me?’ Tifa said and gave him a reassuring smile. ‘I’m Prompto,’ the guy said and gave a small nod. ‘Go ahead. What you want to know?’
‘You’re the one who found the victim right?’ she asked. She continued when Prompto nodded. ‘Can you remember what time it was then?’
Prompto combed his fingers through his messy blond hair and thought about her question. ‘About 3 in the morning I think,’ he replied. Tifa gave him a skeptic look. ‘Explain to me what you were doing in a slum neighborhood at 3 in the morning. Were you on duty?’ Prompto nodded again. This new information made Tifa a suspicious. She would have to check if Prompto really had been on duty this morning. She knew it might be unnecessary, but she wanted to be absolutely sure. Just because he worked by the police didn’t mean she should immediately take him on his word. Tifa cleared her throat. ‘Okay, so you were on duty. Please tell me everything from the start of your duty until the part where you found the victim. Add anything you think might be of importance. And don’t lie, because I’ll find out,’ she said and gave him a stern look.
‘My duty started at 2 o’clock. My partner had called in sick that same night, so I had to patrol around town alone. All was quiet, which was kind of odd. Normally there are always some people on the streets who yell at each other, things like that. It’s never quiet. At the time it didn’t particularly ring any bells, but when I think of it now it’s just odd. All went well, until around 3, when I saw a cloud of smoke coming from a deserted street. Thinking a house was on fire I got out of my car to check it out and call the fire brigade if necessary. I saw a cloaked man, bent over something that was burning. I yelled at him, asking him what the hell he was doing. The moment he heard me, he fled though. I didn’t even get the chance to see his features. Well, the thing he was burning turned out to be your victim. From the smell of it the perpetrator had poured gasoline over the body. I called for reinforcement from the police department and fire brigade. That’s about it..’ Prompto said and let out a deep sigh. Tifa had been quietly listening to him, trying to memorize every little detail he had told her. ‘Tell me, do you think the victim was already dead when you reached him or her?’ she asked. ‘I didn’t hear any screaming, so I think so. Anyone who would be burned alive would scream, right? Therefore the victim must have been dead before he was burned, or he or she was already burned to death by the I came. I’m not sure how long the fire was burning already, since I was just passing by. It could have been burning for hours, or maybe just a bare few minutes,’ Prompto said, thinking out loud.
Tifa nodded briefly. ‘Now my last question, could you describe to me what the perpetrator looked like? I know that you said you didn’t see his face, but can you at least tell me what you did see?’ she asked and glance hopefully at the young men before her. It was highly unlikely that he would be able to say something notable, but it was worth the try. Tifa was out of luck though, because Prompto simply shook his head. ‘All I saw is that he wore a dark cloak, and that he was considerably tall. That’s all I know, I’m sorry.’ Tifa offered him a small smile. ‘Well that’s all for now then. Stay around for a while, we might need you for the investigation, and until I’ve found someone to confirm your alibi, it’s not a good idea to leave,’ she said and walked past him towards the victim.
The closer she got, the more distinctive the smell became, causing her to put a hand over her nose. She looked down at the victim and gulped. No wonder it smelled so badly, the victim was severely burned. Pieces of the body were blackened and destroyed. Other parts were still in considerable shape, but still with severe burning wounds.
Tifa looked up in surprise when someone stood still beside her. Cloud glanced at her with a serious look on his face. ‘So far it’s really not looking good,’ he said and sighed. ‘All that the police and the forensic team know so far is that the victim is an unidentified male. He didn’t have any passport or wallet. Either it was stolen from him by the perpetrator or the fire destroyed it. What did you find out?’ Tifa quickly gave him a summary of what Prompto had just told her. She looked at the body of the victim again, suppressing the urge to throw up from the bad smell. She was really not used to things like this, in Nibelheim things like this never happened. Or not anymore they did. ‘They will probably have a hard time identifying the victim, right? It’s almost impossible to find anything useful to use when looking in the database for a possible identity,’ she said. Cloud nodded. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘What strikes me as odd is the fact that Angeal only mentioned that the victim was ‘probably stabbed’. He didn’t mention anything about the fire. Don’t you think that’s odd?’
Tifa looked at Cloud quizzically. ‘What are you trying to say?’ she asked. Cloud looked at her doubtfully. ‘I think Angeal suspects something. Something that I’m suspecting too. Think for a minute Tifa, doesn’t it remind you of him..?’ he said carefully. Tifa shook her head in bewilderment. ‘Please don’t say his name,’ she said quickly with a sharp tone. ‘You’re talking nonsense. Not every person who has been stabbed and burned has something to with him. Let it go,’ she said in a defensive tone and walked away from him. That couldn’t possibly be the case.