On the Highwind, everyone was silent. It wasn't the awkward silence that comes from having nothing to say, or the morose silence of grieving. No, it was a reverent silence. Memories of Aeris and images of Holy and Meteor filled Cid's head more than views of the passing scenery. That girl -- I can't believe she -- that was amazing -- but how was she able to come back and do that?! He was so preoccupied that he hadn't even told the crew to set a course for the Highwind yet, so they simply drifted over endless dunes of snow. After long minutes, maybe hours, Vincent, of all people, was the one to break the silence.
"Where are we going?" It was a simple enough question, but nobody answered. Instead, they glanced at Cloud for direction, but looked away when they saw him gazing blankly out the window.
%&$^. thought Cid, We can't bug him when he looks like that! Cid looked around and noticed the group had turned their gaze to him. He snorted.
"Fine, fine -- I'm the pilot, so I'll decide where we're going." He swung around and whispered to the navigator the first place he thought of.
"And where is that?," Nanaki demanded, leaping closer to the cockpit.
"Rockettown."
The room, which had been so silent before, erupted with protests.
"What?! Foo, ain't nobody got nothin' there but you! If we goin' somewhere, it better be Midgar!"
"No, no! Wutai, Wutai! Take me home!"
"I, personally, would prefer to travel to Cosmo Canyon."
Cid glared at them all. "You know, that's real funny, since none of you had any opinions on this until 2 seconds ago!"
"Cid," Tifa's gentle voice cut in, "I think we all want to go home, but it would make sense for Midgar to be the first stop, since three of us want to go there, and I believe we still have some unfinished business with Shinra." Cid looked around at Cait Sith and Barret, who nodded, and everyone else shrugged.
"Unfinished business?! If we're not done after all that back there," he gestured wildly to the Crater, "then when are we finished?! I'm going home!" He realized he sounded childish as soon as he finished talking, which is probably why he didn't glare Tifa away when she came and tapped on his shoulder. She whispered something in his ear, and he turned red and his mouth opened as if he was about to shout at her. Instead, he simply muttered, "Fine, fine. But we go to Rockettown first."
Nobody wanted to argue after that. Tifa returned to her spot next to Cloud, and laid a comforting hand on his arm. He twitched, and looked up at her, his Mako-blue eyes glowing with an unnatural absence of emotion, and he stood up.
"None of you have to keep going if you don't want to. You've all done a lot, it's true. But, Aeris gave her life for this Planet. She knew what was going to happen at the Temple of the Ancients, and she knew that in order to stop Meteor and Sephiroth, she had to return to the Lifestream." He closed his eyes. "But the Planet is still suffering. As long as there are reactors stealing Mako from the Planet, there will be suffering. If we let that happen, we are nullifying Aeris' sacrifice. That is why I'm not finished."
"It's like I keep sayin'," Barret cut in, "We gotta save the Planet. That's what all this is for, right? Well, if Cloud says we're not done, then we're not done. An' I hope I don't see one of you backin' out now."
They're right Cid consented in his mind, but I'll be a %&@^* fool if I go another day of fightin' without doing the most important thing in my life Their course did not waver from Rockettown, and although Cloud noticed, he didn't say anything. Some things were almost as important as the Planet, and maybe more urgent.
Yuffie always felt the most homesick when on a ship. If she had to endure motion sickness all the time (and it seemed like they spent so much time flying around!), and she never even complained to anyone (except when they asked), then she had a right to feel homesick, too. In the Highwind's bathroom, she let all her fear and loneliness and tension and anger build up along with her sickness, and then they all flew right out and ended up in a neat little bucket where she could throw them all away for a while. There. she thought, rinsing her mouth out with water. Much better. She sighed, and almost smiled, although she still felt a little queasy when the ship rose or fell sharply. As she made her way back to the bridge, she moaned a little as the Highwind descended abruptly, and she was forced to grip the rail as her head lolled in vertigo.
"Uhhhhh . . . " Just as she thought she was going to need the bucket again, the lurching stopped, and the airship was still. Her nausea was almost completely forgotten in her joy to be on land once again, and she scampered gingerly down to the exit, where she almost smacked her forehead against a black-swathed figure who was blocking her path.
"Wah!! What the -- Vinny!
You did that on purpose, didn't you--!" Her shriek was cut short when she noticed that everyone was there, waiting for something.
"What's going on?," she asked more quietly, "And where's Cid?"
"We're waiting here for him," Tifa explained simply. "We shouldn't follow him." As much as Yuffie wanted to feel real ground underneath her feet, she knew better than to get in Cid's way. Besides, Tifa had a knack for being right about things like this. So she plunked down right where she was and began her daily task of making a mental inventory of the materia in her possession. There were the ones Cloud had let her use for their last battle, plus a few others she managed to get her hands on when no one was looking. Let's see, there's Steal, Throw, three Alls, Bahamut, Poison, Ultima . . .
Cid strode into the house like he owned it, which he did. Five confident, jaunty strides took him into the work room, where he barked out, "Well, we're mostly finished, Shera. Do anything worthwhile while we were gone?"
"Cid. You're back." She smiled wryly. "Nothing as wonderful as saving the world, I'm afraid. All I've managed to come up with while you were gone is this." She tossed him a long, thin package wrapped in white paper, with "Cid" written in dark red script.
"Shera-what?" His face softened with surprise and he opened it without another word. Inside was a slender silver spear, sharpened to three almost invisible points, and with several slots for materia on the side. As he lifted it out of the box, he almost dropped it, it was so light. But when he tried to bend it a little, to test its strength, it was as strong as if it were ten times as thick.
"Where did you get this?," he asked, running his hands over the smooth, cool metal.
"I -- well, I made it for you. Not that it would make up for anything," she hastened to say, "But I thought if I made it . . . well, that somehow it would bring you back here."
"Thanks," Cid interrupted her. They both stood there for a moment, awkwardly. He knew she was looking at him, but he refused to look up.
Finally, Cid burst through the silence.
"Say, Shera, d'ya think maybe, well, er, could you -- Aw, %^#&, Shera, just come with me, all right?" She smiled -- a real smile, this time, but then she looked at him sternly and asked,
"Why?"
"Why?! Whaddya mean, 'why'?! Because, well, because . . . cuz you belong wherever I'm at, that's why." He shuffled back and forth a bit, and then gave her a little wink, "Anyway, someone's gotta keep you outta trouble. Now, are you coming, or do I have to tie you up and drag you along?!" The combination of the wink and his ornery face looked so comical that she burst out laughing, a beautiful sound he hadn't heard in a long time. She rose from her seat and exclaimed gently,
"Of course I'll come, you fool man!
But would it really hurt you that much to tell me the real reason you want me along?" With that, she kissed his roughly-shaven cheek and went to get a few things for the journey. Cid stood in silence for a few moments and then shouted out,
"I noticed you haven't told me the real reason you're coming! Sounds like I'm not the only fool around here, hah!" He was still absently rubbing his cheek where she had kissed him when she came back, and she smiled a little at that, too. No, Cid hadn't changed -- but at least he had forgiven her.
I wonder why?" She pretended to pet and soothe her chocobos, whispering to them that everything would be all right, while Benri scouted out for the cause of their consternation. "Let's look around," he suggested. Together they ran up the stairs and behind Benri's father's shop. Back there, the weeds grew tall and the town ended with a stone wall that they could just barely see over. They both scanned the area, until Benri pointed, "There! That monster must be why they were so scared!" "Oh, wow!," Jaina exclaimed, watching a shadowy figure approach from far, far away. "But are sure it's a monster? It looks . . . beautiful." Sunlight glinted blindingly off of the creature, making it difficult to see exactly what it was. When clouds passed in front of the sun, however, she could see that it was easily as tall as the Mythril mountains, and had a violet sheen to its metallic surface. It floated over the sea with the aid of two white wings, which flapped mechanically in a slow, hypnotizing rhythm. At first, it seemed to be heading straight towards Kalm. As it approached, the two children gazed at it, transfixed, and it passed by the town and veered towards Midgar. "It looks like it's made of purple glass," Benri whispered reverently. Jaina nodded, then stated importantly, "It's called amethyst."
There were several Shinra buildings in Midgar, but they had all been reduced to skeletons and rubble by Weapons and Meteor. So had most of the buildings in the upper section. But, down in the slums, in a gaudy mansion in Sector 5, conveniently located next to Wall Market, Reeve assumed control of the Corporation. Luckily, he had ordered the evacuation of the upper plate before Meteor hit. However, lots of debris had fallen on the slums below, and there were so many displaced people wandering around. The soldiers now had new duties, aiding with medical emergencies and temporary shelters and reconstruction. He had even started a huge garden built inside of Aeris' old church in Sector 5, both to give hope with its cheery flowers, to give work to many who were now unemployed, and to provide food to the hungry masses. But right now, on top floor of the new Shinra Headquarters, flowers were the farthest things from his mind.
"Another Weapon?!" Reeve groaned incredulously at his secretary, "Midgar barely withstood one Weapon before, and now we're supposed to fend off three at the same time?!" His secretary shrugged, glad it wasn't her problem, and turned to leave. She paused for a moment halfway to the door, expecting some further order from the de facto President of Shinra. But when she turned to look at him, he had his eyes closed and appeared to be deep in thought. He did that a lot, she noticed, almost as if he were really somewhere else half the time.
In this case, he actually was. She never would have guessed that he was actually controlling a giant stuffed moogle.
"Cid!" yelled Cait Sith, who had previously been very very quiet. "Can you hurry it up? There's three Weapons approaching Midgar, so we could use some help!" Cid turned to his co-pilot and yelled,
"You heard the cat, pilot! What's your problem, being so idiotically slow?!" Before he had finished his tirade, the airship sped up to an almost perilous velocity, causing the passengers to grip handrails and instrument panels for balance. Cid grinned and clapped the pilot on the back. "That's more like it!"
Before long, and with a little guidance from Cait Sith, they had landed on the roof of the Shinra building and made their way down to Reeve's makeshift office. There were only two chairs not in use, which were quickly claimed by Yuffie and Cid, and piles of papers rescued from the older buildings lined the walls in a haphazard maze. Before Cloud could ask exactly what was going on, the door opened and Reno, Rude, and Elena sauntered in the room. Well, Reno sauntered; Rude lurked, and Elena strode.
"You didn't tell us they was gonna be here," Barret remarked, eyeing the three former enemies suspiciously. Although he had directed his remarks to Cait Sith, it was Reeve who answered,
"Now, now, they're employees of the new Shinra. They're almost like different people. This morning, they were down in the slums planting flowers." At that, Reno smirked,
"Heh. Elena was planting flowers anyway; I was laughing at everyone digging in the dirt on their hands and knees."
"Then it is very interesting," Red cut in, "that the knees of your trousers are so soiled, almost as if you had been gardening." Reno began to say something in retort, but Reeve interrupted.
"Please! With three Weapons bearing down on the city, we'll need all the time and help we can get our hands on, no matter the source. Besides, I don't trust AVALANCHE not to blow up a reactor like last time, and I don't trust the Turks to be able to hold their own against three Weapons. So the only way this is going to work is if you put aside old differences and come together anew." Reno snorted, and Barret waved his gun-arm defiantly, but neither voiced a protest. The one thing everyone could agree on was that Midgar needed help.
"I'm assuming that we are shutting down the reactors, then, if you don't want to blow them up," Vincent asked, trying to divert the animosity that threatened to crystallize between the two groups.
"Yes," Reeve sighed, "I was going to do it eventually, of course, but we needed the power for the equipment we're using to rebuild Midgar. I don't know what we'll do now, instead, but I'd rather keep the city in darkness than have it destroyed by Weapons." Vincent nodded, and the atmosphere in the room changed from one of disgusted tension to uneasy cooperation. It's a start, at least, thought Reeve.
"Now," Reeve continued, "the plan is to split up into four groups. Three of the groups will intercept the Weapons and dispatch, or at least distract, them. The other group will shut off the reactors. Unfortunately, there isn't one central shutdown area, so this group will have to travel to each reactor individually. The reactor-shutdown group will consist of Nanaki and myself, since we are the ones with the most technical experience here. Cloud, I'm leaving the formation of the other three groups up to you."
"All right." Cloud paused for a moment, thinking, and then announced, "Tifa, Rude -- you're with me. We'll be covering the North Weapon--"
"Garnet Weapon," Cait Sith supplied helpfully.
"Right, whatever," Cloud continued, "Elena, Barret, and, uh, Cid will intercept the southwest Weapon, whatever it's called--"
"Onyx Weapon," Cait Sith interrupted again, "And the last one is Amethyst Weapon."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!," Elena burst out, "Why do I have to be with these two foul-mouthed animals?!"
"Because the other foul-mouthed animal is going with Yuffie and Vincent." A few people chuckled at how he diverted her complaint, but nobody contested the description. It took a moment for Elena to figure out that Cloud was talking about Reno, but then she rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"Fine, fine."
Suddenly, Shera burst into the room. Apparently she had been doing some maintenance on the Highwind - she had a streak of grease on her chin and a wrench in her hand. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing -- What about me? I'd like to help . . ."
"Shera?! I thought I told you to--" Cid began, but Reeve interrupted,
"Why don't you come with Red and I? We could use an engineer..." Cid looked sullen, but then he just shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
"It's all settled then," Reeve announced before anyone else could complain, "Remember: we must keep the Weapons away from the city at all costs. I haven't spent the last two days and thirty million gil cleaning up Midgar to have all my work undone by these creatures, not to mention the numerous lives that would be lost. Red and Shera and I will shut them down as quickly as we can, but it will probably take several hours to fly around the whole city and get them all. Once we're all done, though, we'll meet back here. Is the plan clear to everyone? Any questions?"
"I assume we'll be taking the Shinra helicopters you had us bring over to the roof?," Reno asked, flicking his fiery ponytail over his shoulder. Reeve nodded.
"I'm not leavin' the Highwind here to travel in a stinkin' Shinra helicopter!," Cid shouted, as if this were the last straw, "You can do what you like, but we're taking the Highwind." He stormed out of the office and up to the roof, and the rest of the warriors followed him up as Cloud and Reeve watched.
"So, what's the real reason you wanted the Turks to work with us on this one," Cloud asked quietly. Reeve smiled tiredly, and explained,
"They need a new place, a new job with meaning to it. They need something to replace the mercenary hardness that has been their life for so long. I was hoping they would find a place with you."
Cloud nodded thoughtfully. "That is entirely up to them; I won't stand in their way." He started to leave, but after his heavy boots walked a few steps, they turned and Cloud asked, "Aren't you coming?"
Reeve chuckled. "I'm already there as Cait Sith -- everyone's waiting for you." Cloud laughed too, then, and ran up the stairs.
Reeve watched him go, and his eyebrows drew together in concern. The one question nobody had voiced was whether or not they would actually be able to hold off the Weapons. Of course, AVALANCHE had defeated several of them before fighting Sephiroth, but they wouldn't work as well with the Turks, even if their raw abilities were somewhat similar. Reeve wondered if he had made a mistake, using this critical battle as an opportunity to try to merge AVALANCHE and the Turks. No, he decided, I trust them.
Suddenly, he realized Shera was saying something to Cait Sith, and so he hurried to that part of his mind that controlled the Moogle/cat pair.
He had no choice, now. He had to trust them all.