Nine, Final Fantasy VI: From the Dead

Yes, I am the world's only Setzer/Shadow fangirl, and I'm damned proud of it. This is part of the same continuity as Fall, at the very beginning of that epic I never finished.

My Shadow is tired and world-weary and no longer cares about much of anything, including the fact that he suddenly seems to be seeing ghosts; my Setzer is an eternal optimist with a terminal disease, and knows better than to question his luck. They like to snark at each other, when they're both fully conscious.
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The first thing he noticed was that he was not, in fact, dead. He felt like a tower had fallen on top of him (funny thing, that), but he was alive.

This was the fifth time something like this had happened- and the third time it had happened in relation to these people, with their stupid hopes and ideals. He was starting to wonder if he really was just impossible to kill, or if there were other factors at work that he was not privy to.

The second thing he noticed was the subtle vibration in the air, followed by the smell of tobacco and, fainter, of metal and oil.

He was on the airship. That meant someone had noticed he was missing and had gone back for him- someone other than Relm, because Strago would never have allowed it.

That thought stung a little, but he permitted it; he'd lost those rights years ago.

Shadow (it had taken him years to get used to the name, but after a while it stuck, even in his head) opened his eyes. He was in a small bedroom; unlike the rest of the ship, which was a study in cold metal, this room was furnished in warm, expensive wood. It reminded him, disturbingly enough, of certain train cars, half a lifetime ago.

"Good morning, Mister Shadow." Setzer sat (lounged) beside his bed with a cigarette in one hand and a wine glass in the other. "I was starting to think you were going to sleep the day away."

Shadow stared at the space behind the gambler's shoulder, where a pale blonde woman in a red dress stood with her own cigarette and wine glass in hand. He realized that she wasn't so much pale as insubstantial; after a moment, she winked at him and faded from view.

Setzer regarded him with a look of cool interest. "It's not every day someone returns from the dead on my airship, you know."

Shadow shrugged. He was still tired and in pain. "Happens more often than you'd think," he murmered, and closed his eyes. Within a few moments, he was asleep again, with the sound of faint female laughter echoing in his ears.