Take Wing
Characters: Cid and Reeve. No pairings.
Rating: PG
Warning: Death of a character. Swearing.
Author Notes: This is for the lovely Abnormal who won a contest in the Valenwindluvers contest.
Beta: Ziggy Pasta
Summary: Cid and Reeve work together to construct a robot that will allow Cid to fly without a plane.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Square Enix, I am just using for my own amusement and make no profit from this endeavor.
The table was strewn with various cables, screws, capacitors and pieces of electronics that seemed to be haphazardly placed. Anyone that walked into Reeve's workshop would have thought it was chaos and slightly creepy. There were parts of different versions of Cait strewn about; a skin on one wall and a skeleton on the other. Large pieces of metal leaned against the walls and looked like they were going to fall at any moment, and a corner which were piled with moogle dolls layered in dust. That in itself wasn't unusual, but there were parts which resembled arms and legs, that dangled at funny angles from hooks as he was always looking at ways to improve prosthetics. The red and blue wires that snaked out through the fingers and joints often gave the strange appearance of blood or fluids flowing through them.
There were parts of animal scales and glowing stones that were stashed in drawers or spilling out of buckets strewn about the room. Some things only Reeve knew what they did. Not many people ventured into Reeve's workshop. The few that had, usually tripped, touched or looked at something which made them end up with a cut, burn or wondering about Reeve's sanity.
Reeve knew where everything was and where every little piece lay inside. He never had anyone to help him with his plans in the past, as they were often thought too farfetched for people to take him seriously. He never took their words to heart. It was one of the reasons that he had made Cait. The little robot cat was currently curled up in a sun beam resting, its tail flicking back and forth through the dust motes without a care in the world. There was nothing Cait could do to help him with his current project.
The structure of his newest creation lay on the far table. It was only metal bones at the moment; a thin skeleton of wires and a frame that resembled a phoenix. He thought it was an appropriate form for what it was going to be used. The feathers that would eventually cover the frame were lined up along the wall. He had collected a lot himself but he had asked the assistance of the others as well and he had gathered enough for it now. It was just a matter of getting it all put together properly. Some of them were even donated from Nanaki who was no longer using the feathers in his weapons. Nanaki even offered some of his tail hairs for additions when the time came for the transfer so that the phoenix could have some flame.
Reeve wasn't sure about it, but Cid had been thrilled with the idea. Reeve still had to figure out how to make sure the feathers didn't start on fire.
He lifted up the goggles from his eyes and rubbed them. He was getting tired of looking at the small circuitry. It was a lot of delicate work to get it right. and his hands and back were starting to stiffen. He stretched and reached absently for his tea, which had long gone cold. He sighed and set it back down before blinking a few times at the work he still had to do.
Cait raised its head from its paws and asked, "Are we gonna go home now?"
He didn't answer his cat as he turned back to hunch over the circuit board, lowering the magnifying glass back over his eyes as he began to work again.
Cid had approached him six months ago. Reeve had been working on the latest windmills at the time and Cid had come up to him and asked him to join him for a drink. He had refused at first saying that he was too busy, but Cid had grabbed his arm and told him to meet him in the lobby of the Junon's hotel. The tone of voice and the serious look on his face made him change his mind and he agreed to meet him there.
He thought it was rather odd behaviour for Cid, so he joined him down at the bar. He found the pilot already quite drunk when he arrived. He sat down beside him and a rough hand patted him on the back. "There ya are," Cid bellowed to him and then called to the bartender to bring over two more of the house specials; the house special being a very dark and bitter beer.
"How's the power grid stuff goin'?" Cid asked after he downed half his drink.
"It keeps a man busy," Reeve said, "and how is your business going? Must be booming."
Cid nodded. "It is! It is! Can't complain about that at all. Been goin' real good on that front. Shera's running it all now, though. I handed it all over to 'er, just yesterday." Cid looked down into his beer and held it like it were going to save his life. "That's why I got to ask ya somethin'."
Reeve was shocked as Cid talked and he took in all the information. Cid didn't raise his eyes until he was done talking and it took Reeve a few more beers to digest the story that he was given. It had been hard to listen to. It was not what he was expecting to hear at all from the gruff man. It was a very odd request and he didn't even know if he could do it. Cid was certain that he could, and they spent the rest of the night working in the bar, writing notes on napkins, making plans and getting drunk.
Cait ran ahead into the house and bounded onto the couch only to get thrown across the room and bounce off the wall. "Ouch. Meany!" Cait yelled as it went to leap into a nearby chair.
Cid sat up on the couch, groaning and coughing as he did. "I never liked cats," he grumbled. Reeve was certain that he said that every day, but he knew for a fact that he had given Cait a scratch behind the ears a time or two. He also never complained when he woke up with Cait sleeping at his side in the morning.
"How are you feeling this afternoon?" Reeve asked as he went to the kitchen to make tea. He knew Cid would ask for some soon.
"Fine as one can feel with a Grand Horn sittin' on his chest," he said and coughed. Cid was a little greyer than normal. Reeve noted that he wasn't wearing his oxygen. Cait was the one that bounded off the chair and fitted Cid with the tubes under his nose before he could protest. He swatted away Cait, but didn't really fight. "Cloud brought by some packages that are sittin' in yer office."
"Good," Reeve said. He had been waiting for those. It meant that he was done. He hoped. He had never done anything like this before. He knew it had been done before with others who had transferred themselves into other beings and hosts. He just didn't know if he was able to duplicate all the technology. He had worked with Shalula to make sure that his theories were right and she had helped him a lot with the synaptic drive and circuitry. They couldn't be sure it was going to do what they wanted.
He made the tea and brought it back to the living room. He sat the cup in front of Cid who wrinkled his nose at it. "Wish I didn't have to drink this lemon shit. I would kill for a cup of good old Earl Grey," he grumbled as he lifted the mug.
"Caffeine is not good for your heart," Reeve said as he sipped his own mug. "Did anything else arrive today?"
Cid shook his head. "If yer askin' if the doc came by, he did."
Reeve waited for Cid to talk. Cid twisted in his seat and avoided looking at him as he stared into the amber liquid in his cup. Reeve took another sip of the tea and waited for Cid.
"It's gettin' worse," Cid said and put his hand to his chest as his breath hitched. "The last treatment didn't work." Cid choked on his words. The cup shook in his hands as he tried to set it down on the table. Reeve rushed forward, placing his own cup on the table and taking the one from Cid's hands. He sat beside Cid and put his arms around him. Cid may have been a gruff old man but he was also a gruff old man that didn't want to die. Cid was seeing the Reaper standing at the door and it was scaring the shit out of him.
Cid didn't hold back his sobs like he normally did when he was in Reeve's presence. Reeve knew that Cid had moments when he broke down. After all, Cait spent a lot of nights sleeping at his side and being used as a stuffed animal —without complaint— for his comfort. He was aware of how afraid Cid was of dying and how scared he was of showing everyone that he had such feelings.
Cid buried his head into his shoulder and his now soft hands grabbed at his coat. Reeve moved so that his arms surrounded him. Reeve did the only thing that he could and held him. Cid was shaking as he sobbed. Reeve rubbed his back and ran his hand through his hair. He held the distressed man until he was gasping for air, and Cait came running over with the steroid inhaler.
Reeve took it from the small cat's paws and put it to Cid's blue lips and pressed the button a few times until some of the colour returned to his skin. Reeve ran his hands over his rough cheeks and stared at his still bright eyes. "Are you okay now?"
Cid nodded despite the deep frown that marred his appearance. He ran his hands over his forehead and adjusted the oxygen tube. He used a tissue that Cait handed him to wipe Cid's nose and eyes and was surprised that he didn't stop him from doing it.
He moved Cid so he was lying down, fluffing his pillow and pulling the blanket from the back of the couch to cover him.
"Why don't you just rest and watch TV?" Reeve said as he patted his shoulder. His eyes were glazed over and there was a look on his face that Reeve did not care for at all. It was like he had given up. He usually protested a bit when he was being treated as an 'invalid' but the doctor's words must have hit him hard today. Reeve smoothed the blankets over his chest to make sure that he was breathing comfortably before he pulled away. Cait moved in easily, nestling in beside Cid's arm.
"Can we watch that movie with the stupid dogs in it?" Cait asked. Cid gave Cait a push but it was only half-hearted as the robotic cat went through the channels trying to find something appropriate for them to watch.
Reeve left them on the couch as he went to examine the packages that Cloud had brought, and to make a few phone calls as well.
"The wings ain't right," Cid said as he looked over the metal skeleton.
Reeve had been frantic looking all over for Cid when he didn't find him in his room in the morning. The bed was neatly made, his portable oxygen tank missing and his robe off the hook. Reeve was worried that he had done something drastic. He had followed the trail in the morning frost of the wheels of the small cart to his work shop. It wasn't too far from the house, but it was still too far for Cid to walk it without winding himself.
"It was the design we agreed upon," Reeve said as he walked in, taking deep breaths as he was relieved to see that he was all right. He could see that Cid had pulled out his tools and was working on their robot design.
Cid was quite a sight, sitting in front of the bench where the structure of the nearly put together bird was displayed. He was hunched over the stool. He was still wearing his pyjamas under his horrible green and grey robe that he insisted on wearing. He had brought it when he moved in; he insisted it was the most comfortable and favourite robe of his. It was ugly, stained and falling apart. Reeve offered a new one from time to time because of how scary it looked, but Cid always refused. The new black one that he had bought Cid remained hanging on the back of his bedroom door with the store tags on the sleeves. The blue slippers on his feet were hooked into the stool and his oxygen tank leaned against the table.
Reeve was grateful to see that Cid was wearing it properly and not gasping for air and had his emergency inhaler in his pocket of the horrible robe.
"It ain't gonna work." Cid held a small screwdriver in his thick fingers and held it over the delicate-looking metal bone structure. "Well, not like I want, anyway." His voice dropped to a raspy cough and he dropped the screwdriver as his hand shook.
"I could have brought it into the house to finish it up," Reeve said as he walked over. "It's all aesthetics now." Reeve knelt down to pick up the tool. "It's too dusty out here. It'll aggravate your cough."
"I needed to get out of there. I hate bein' all cooped up," he grumbled as he leaned against the table and looked around the room. A hand went to his chest as he took a deep breath through his nose. "Was even thinkin' of havin'a smoke but yer damn cat stole the pack, so I came in here."
"Do you remember what happened last time you had a smoke when you were on oxygen?" Reeve smirked. He had to deal with the smell of burnt facial hair, a very scared-looking man and having to put out the fire in his flower garden.
"I would've shut off the tank this time," Cid said. "Jus' needed to think and I thought that workin' like I used to would have helped a bit." Cid's eyes wandered to the skin of feathers on the wall. It was an impressive mesh of red, yellow and black feathers. It was a design that Tifa had worked on with him. It was very regal when it was placed on its skeleton, but looked rather deflated when it was hanging loosely on the hook.
Reeve ran his hand over the wing. He had it just about all put together and it was an interesting mesh of wires, metal and tubes at the moment. He was sure it would work as they designed it, and he was certain that it would fly, but the other properties that they were counting on were still a huge concern. "There is still no way of knowing if it's going to work, Cid. This is a big chance."
Cid scoffed. "It worked for Hojo, Sephiroth and Vincent."
"Hojo and Sephiroth took over people that were bio-based. They took over someone else. Vincent is the host of demons; I don't think he is someone you want to become," Reeve said as he manipulated the wing. "We have discussed this. What we are trying to do has not been done —theoretically— before."
"What about all of Lucrecia's memories in that kid?" Cid said as he adjusted the oxygen tubes in his nose.
"Those were memories, Cid. Not her." He didn't like the fact that they would go through these old arguments over and over again. He wondered if Cid was trying to justify this in his own mind.
"And Cait. How do you explain your doppelganger?"
"Cait is ..." Reeve sighed heavily and sat down on his own stool and looked at Cid. "You know that we are going to try and you know the risks. It may not work. I don't know what will happen to you if we use the Inspire on you to transfer you over to this creature. It may only be your memories and nothing more. It may do nothing at all and you will just be dead and you will not get to fly like you want."
Cid walked over to the skin on the hook and pulled it down. He petted the feathers gently and laid it beside the innards that it would one day cover. "If it'll give me a chance ta fly for a couple of hours, I'll take it."
"It may be all you get."
"For someone who is supposed to be an optimist, you sure are being a pessimistic jerk."
Reeve laughed warmly. "I'm also a realist, Cid." He reached over and pulled the skin out of his hand and laid it over the skeleton. "I will bring it inside. I have to put the materia in and we shall get it up and moving."
"I hope you'll put the skin on it. It's creepy as fuck right now," Cid said as he grabbed the handle of his oxygen cart and started to walk towards the house, his feet shuffling in his slippers as he went. Reeve just shook his head at his antics, knowing that he would find him sleeping on the couch when he returned to the house. Reeve turned over to their project and started to plan on taking it into the house so that it would be closer to Cid.
The kitchen table became the home for the robotic bird. It had the skin on, eyes installed and looked like a normal creature now. It looked like a miniature Phoenix. It was a pretty creature. He tapped at the computer and gave it commands to make it move and look around, flap its wings and raise a leg before he got it to turn around and tuck its head under a wing and have a nap.
It was a long, hard job just to get the programming to do that.
Cid was grinning from ear to ear as he sat at the kitchen counter with a large mug of tea in his hand while wearing his horrible bath robe.
"It's looking great! Cid Junior is perfect."
Reeve shook his head and wrinkled his nose. "There is no way you are naming him 'Cid Junior'." Reeve looked over at Cid. "I was thinking a more appropriate name would be Phoenix."
Cid shook his head. "That is like naming a dog, Dog. How about Falcon?"
"It hardly looks like a falcon type."
"Ya know, Cid is a perfectly good name," Cid said as he sipped his tea.
"How about Shouta?" Reeve said as he adjusted some parameters in the computer.
Cid rolled his eyes. "Sounds like some sort of porn from Wutai." Cid stretched and yawned. "You aren't gonna name it some sort of Sith are you?"
Reeve chuckled again. "No. How about Avidror? That seems to suit it much better than Cid Junior."
Cid started to cough. It started out softly, but then it became deeper. Reeve left his computer and stood beside Cid and rubbed his back as the coughing fit took over him. His face turned blue. It was happening more often. He kept rubbing his back, hoping to help ease the cough and to soothe him. He could feel the many layers of clothes that Cid wore through his hands. Cid said it was because he kept his house so 'fuckin' cold'— as he put it— but Reeve was aware that the pilot wasn't able to eat properly or hold meals down when he did eat. He was a lot thinner than he was before and he had lost a lot of muscle mass. It was visible in his face that was starting to look a little hollow and making him looking like a shadow of a man that he once was.
"How about Abner?" Reeve said as Cid grabbed his inhaler and took some deep breaths and gained his colour back.
Cid nodded and wheezed. "I like Abner."
Reeve went back to his computer and smiled at the grim figure of Cid. "We'll hook up the materia tomorrow and see if you can see through Abner's eyes."
That seemed to cheer him up and Reeve was glad to notice some of that old sparkle return to his pale blue eyes.
Reeve woke to the sound of Cid coughing. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. He turned to his door and was greeted by the sight of Cait looking straight at him. "He's an ass."
Reeve quickly grabbed his robe and slippers and walked towards the sounds of Cid coughing. Cid was sitting at the computer tapping away on it. Abner was moving around on the table, looking like a bird that didn't want to be woken from its sleep.
He could see that Cid was wearing the bangle that was fitted with the specialized materia.
"You should have waited until morning. We have to make sure it's calibrated to your brain waves," Reeve said. Cid jumped as he spoke and the pen that was in his mouth fell out and clattered to the floor. Abner's head turned and its crystal blue eyes looked at him with curiosity as it tilted its head and slowly blinked.
"I couldn't sleep," Cid said as he recovered. Reeve couldn't help roll his eyes. He walked over to the kettle and started the process of making tea for them. Cait bounded onto the table beside Abner and stared into one of the sparkling eyes.
"It 'as got prettier eyes than I do. Can I have sparkles, too?" Cait asked as it stroked the head of the bird. It responded to the touch by closing its eyes and making a small warking sound that resembled a chocobo.
"We got to change that. I ain't goin' around warkin' at people," Cid said as he started to look back at the computer and clicked to get to another screen.
"No, Cait, your eyes are fine, and I have not programmed her with any sound yet. She must be getting them from you. You and Cloud spent a lot of time raising those birds. Another reason you should have waited for me to calibrate Abner." Reeve reached for the cups in the cupboard.
"Well get 'em all fixed up." Cid put the pen back in his mouth as he worked, blinking at the screen.
"Where are your glasses?" Reeve asked as he put the bags in the mugs. He pulled out some Earl Grey tea. A treat every now and then was allowed and it was two in the morning. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep after this.
"Huh? Oh." Cid ran his hand over his face. "Guess I left 'em in my room."
"I'll get 'em!" Cait bounded off the table and scampered out of the room. Abner gave a startled wark that was even more like a chocobo. Reeve rolled his eyes at the series of curses that came out of Cid's mouth.
"I warned you. This is all very experimental and we won't know if it will even work," Reeve said as he added sugar to Cid's cup and milk to his.
"Abner is looking good," Cid said as he looked over at the bird that turned its eyes towards them. It fanned its feathers on its tail and then rested again. "Do ya think that he'll be able to fly?"
"I went through all the parameters. It's up to the programming," Reeve said and put the mug beside Cid now. He pulled a chair beside Cid and looked at the screen. "If Abner has any of your traits, we will have to worry about it throwing itself off roofs and breaking its wings before it learns to fly."
Cid grabbed his cup of tea and glared at him. "I should've never have told you that story." He blew on the cup before he took a sip of it.
"Can you please ensure that you don't do that with it? We don't have time to rebuild. Let's not program it with your profanity or your self-destructive tendencies." Reeve put his hand on his back. "I want you around as long as possible, Cid."
"I'm working on that," Cid said as he breathed in the fumes of the steaming tea. "My body doesn't seem to be cooperating with me though." Cid put the cup aside and started to tap at the computer again.
They worked on Abner until the sun rose. They made progress in syncing the movements a little better but did not improve the noises that it was making.
"Do you want it to roar or something?" Reeve asked as he was getting frustrated.
"I want it to sound like a bird and I thought it was going to be able to talk!" Cid snapped right back. "It sounds like a sick chocobo and I don't want to sound like a sick chocobo! I want it to sound like me without a damn rasp or cough!"
Abner stood on the table, spread its large red wings and gave out an awful squawk that startled Cait from the nap it was having on the counter, causing it to nearly fall to the floor. Cid ran his hand over his face and glared at the mechanical bird.
Reeve leaned close to him. "Told you, you should have waited for me to calibrate the bangle." Reeve quickly moved out of Cid's swinging range before he was hit by an errant fist.
It was a week before they got Abner outside to really try its wings. Cid was excited over the chance to see the bird fly. He was getting more in sync with the bird lately and it was cheering him up. Reeve thought that the materia eyes were changing colour. The bright blue was changing to a cooler shade that matched the colour of Cid's own.
It was showing that they were aligning quite well. Abner had quite a bit of an attitude problem as far as Reeve was concerned, which meant that some of the less desirable traits of Cid's were going to show through. Being woken up with a large bird squawking in his room was the first downfall. The second was the fact that it started jumping off the highest things in the house and practicing with its wings. When it glided from the living room to the kitchen — much to Cid's delight — he knew it was time to go outside and see if it could do more than glide.
Reeve had watched the slow change that had taken a month in both Cid and Abner. It was almost as if they were the same now. It wasn't the same as his and Cait's relationship, but then that was never the intent.
With Cait, the robotic cat seemed to learn on his own and separate from him. Cait was still very close to him, but they were disconnected from how they first started out. It was the opposite with Abner. Abner was very separate from Cid at first but now they were very close and Abner was starting to do things like how Cid did.
As they walked outside, Cid with Abner in his arms and Cait pulling his oxygen tank as they went to a clear area in the field.
"Abner could walk," Reeve pointed out.
"We made him with scrawny legs!" Cid said and held up the squawking bird to demonstrate the failing of adequate legs for a bird that size. They were designed to run quite quickly as it has demonstrated the other evening after it had spilled tea all over Reeve's freshly pressed jacket. "I don't mind carryin' him."
Reeve shook his head as they stood in the middle of the field. He set out a small table with his lap top so he could record everything and make adjustments to the program if things needed it. Cid sat down on the ground where Cait adjusted the oxygen tanks and Cid gave a pep talk to Abner as though talking to a five-year-old child.
Cid talked to the mechanical bird a lot. He also treated it like a child — like carrying it out onto the field. Cid arranged the bird on his lap and pulled at its wings — going through the motions, flapping and twisting them for him and went through a long lecture on aerodynamics.
"Why don't we let him try on his own?" Reeve said.
Abner seemed to agree as it hopped out of Cid's lap and ruffled all its feathers into a great display, looked at both of them as though it were waiting for instruction.
It acted like a child at times. Reeve wondered if this was how Cid acted when he was young, but didn't want to ask. It would set the man into swearing again. He was certain if Abner were ever to talk, its first word would be a curse.
"Okay, just keep in simple for now," Reeve said as he started recording with a tap of a key on the computer keyboard. "Up in the air and back down. You can do fancy tricks later once we calibrate and balance your wings."
Abner seem to understand with a simple flap and a wark that sounded like agreement.
They watched Abner waddle up to the place where it planned on taking off. It waggled its large tail plumes in amusing manner, then opened its wide wings and flapped them. It then turned its head back blinked and squawked.
"You can do it," Cid said and offered an encouraging wave. "Jus' like I told ya."
It puffed up its chest and it spread its wings wide. Most of the feathers underneath were a lighter red in colour than the rest, and it was an impressive sight swept them upwards. Abner lifted off the ground was in the air, circling around them with giant but slow flaps, and very loud screeches. If Reeve had not been busy looking at the diagnostics he would have covered his ears. It was Cid's yelling that made him look up. Cid was twirling around and waving as Abner soared in a large circle around them.
Reeve stopped looking at his computer and watched how majestic the robotic bird was as it swooped around them, easily getting the hang of flying. It looked quite at ease and natural as it wheeled around them in lazy circles. He smiled as he saw that it was a success.
He lowered his eyes to Cid to see him sitting in the grass and looking up at the sky. He walked over to him. He would look at the computer later. He sat down beside him as Abner continued to glide, its wings seemingly effortlessly keeping it aloft as the sun filtered through its feathers. It was a sight. He looked over at the gruff pilot and saw tears in his eyes. His hand was on the necklace that contained the materia that linked them. "Are you connecting?" Reeve asked.
A tear traced down his cheek and he nodded.
"That's good."
Cid swallowed and gasped. "I," he took a deep breath and scrubbed at his face, "I have never thought it would feel so free to fly like that." Reeve put a hand on his arm and gently rubbed it. Cid felt so frail from his former self. "It's just me." Another tear fell down his face as he turned his eyes to the mechanical bird that squawked at them as it went a little higher but still circled the plain that they were sitting in.
He turned his attention to Cait who was bouncing around chasing a butterfly, being the cat it really wasn't. He no longer had that strong of a connection like they had in the beginning. They had separated and had become ... different. It was nice to have a steady companion around that knew how he liked things without being asked, but was able to have a conversation about things on his mind. They were trying to merge Cid so that he could be Abner. Reeve was still not sure it was going to work, but he hoped that it did, even for a short while.
For Cid's sake.
Cid's breathing was getting worse and Reeve was worried. He sat beside Cid's bed as he slept and listened to him. He was taking shallow breaths that were aided by the machine. They needed more time to integrate but they didn't have any.
Cid caught a cold and it became deadly. Abner slept beside him, with its head pressed against his chest and its eyes often closed. Reeve wondered if they were more integrated than he thought they were. He was really worried that he wasn't going to make it through.
"Don't look at me like I'm gonna die," Cid rasped in a harsh whisper, cracking open an eye. His hand rose up and he rested it on the back of the large robotic bird that woke up but didn't move from its spot. It gave a weak chirp that was much less annoying than the loud warking that it had done before. Abner had been quiet since Cid had been bed ridden. "I'm not gone yet." He wheezed and tried to suppress a cough. It wasn't long before his whole body shook with it.
Reeve tried his best to help him and put the mask over his nose with the steroid spray as the doctor recommended. It took half an hour for him to be able to talk again. He tried to take the mask off, but Reeve put his hands over his, shaking his head. "You can talk through the mask. You need the medicine and the oxygen."
Cid let his hand fall back. "I wanna beer."
"You know you can't—" Reeve stopped talking as he saw how Cid looked. His other hand was holding the charm that connected him to Abner. Abner had moved to the end of the bed and was now perched there, as if it were waiting for something. Cid's eyes were still bright but they were scared. His chest was still moving hard, trying to get what little oxygen that his lungs would allow into his system. "I have some Gold Crest. Will that do?" he said in a low voice as he stood up.
Cid nodded. Cait was standing at the door. He whispered to it, "Watch him and call me if he has another coughing fit." Cait just nodded and padded into the room, bounding onto the bed to sit beside him.
Reeve went into the kitchen and made a few phone calls.
Everyone showed up for the funeral. Even though it was known that Cid was ill and his time was coming, it was still hard on everyone. There was not a dry eye in the crowd as the first flower was placed on his casket. The Shera and The Highwind flew over head with their engines roaring in tribute for their former Captain. The watery eyes turned up at the sight. Half of the crowd raised their hands to their foreheads as the ships circled back to do another fly by. They all lowered their hands sharply again and then the last respects were then paid to the man in the coffin.
Various flowers were laid heavily on the black wood coffin. Those that were closest to him laid special tokens on the box rather than flowers. Reeve looked on fondly as he saw Vincent lay a pack of smokes and a lighter on the coffin, Nanaki placed a broken spear handle that he remembered Cid taunting the poor beast with at one point in their journey, trying to get him to play fetch. Yuffie presented a red scarf and called him an old goat before she walked away, trying to stop bawling. Cloud and Tifa placed some of the church flowers at the head of the casket that was tied with a pink ribbon as well as a fancy-looking diamond tiara that Reeve didn't understand the meaning for. Cloud looked embarrassed but Tifa seemed quite content with the placement as they walked away. Denzel put his key chain that Cid gave him when he got his first bike. Barret and Marlene placed a bottle of rye with a fancy crystal glass. Barret's voice was deep as he whispered something to his daughter. She shook her head and told him to be respectable and he could drink later.
After the group started back to their transports, the coffin started to be lowered into the ground and the other members of the crowd started to drop flowers and cigarettes into the hole in the earth. Everyone nodded to the strange red bird that sat on the tombstone and stared at them as if waiting for the owner to arise. Abner had not made a single sound since his death. It had made an awful wail right after Cid's death and had acted as if it were in a panic, but then it had been quiet, going everywhere Cid's body went.
Reeve was wondering what would happen when they finally covered up Cid and committed him to Gaia. Everyone else had left soon enough to go to the church to celebrate Cid's life, have a few drinks and talk old stories about when they were younger.
"Commissioner?"
He looked over to see a young man with a shovel, nervously looking at him and the bird that was staring down at the box that was now at the bottom of the hole.
He nodded to him. He walked forward. "Abner?"
The bird looked at him and Reeve tried to see Cid in the robotic eyes. He wasn't sure if he were in there or not. The bird turned its head and gave him quite a sad look. "Let's go in and join the others."
It shook its head and looked down at the mess of flowers and cigarettes.
"You can't stay here." Reeve stood beside the bird and looked down. "We made you so at least part of him wouldn't be trapped. Time is limited when we are in this form but he wanted more than anything to fly and be free. He gets that second chance to do that with you; at least part of him. Don't mourn his shell and let that part of him that is in you to be free. We are going to celebrate his life."
Abner's eyes blinked but Reeve had no way to tell if it understood or not.
"You can terrorize Yuffie if it will make you feel better."
A shovel full of dirt was thrown onto the flowers and gifts that resided on the coffin. Abner looked at the man that threw it with a startled wark. It spread its wings and hissed. The man jumped back and looked at him for support. Reeve could only wave him back. "Give me an hour and come back then," he said to the gravedigger.
The man nodded and went to go sit in his tractor. Reeve looked back at the avatar and waited for it to calm down again. It settled into a solemn mood again as it looked at the resting place of Cid. Reeve decided to try another tactic.
"You are as stubborn of an ass as Cid. Come along now," Reeve said. "You'll miss out on the party." He started to walk toward the car. They were all gathering at the church. It had been long since fixed up to allow people to gather. It was used for weddings and funerals on a regular basis as it seemed to be the place where people found that they were closest to Gaia.
It wasn't long before he felt the talons on his shoulder and the flap of soft feathers against his cheek as Abner settled on him. Cid had spoiled the bird by carrying the creature, but Abner had observed that Cait had rode on his shoulder all the time and obviously thought that was where it belonged.
He found comfort in the fact that there was part of Cid indeed in Abner. He climbed in the car, pushing the bird in ahead of him. It squawked at the treatment and puffed its chest up, throwing its head back and glaring at him. Reeve refrained from laughing as he was certain that there was at least part of Cid that was transferred inside of Abner, and it seemed to have gained his stubbornness.
Reeve held Cait in his arms as he stood out on the deck. There was a now cold cup of tea on the railing as he had made it an hour ago. He was still looking to where Abner had flown off. He had been hoping that it would come back, but he wasn't sure if it would.
Cid wanted the freedom and he got it in this new form.
He had the freedom and Reeve felt empty. "Master?" He stroked Cait's head and looked down at it. "Ye gonna make yerself sick. Ye should go inside."
It was a chilly out and it was a little inappropriate that he was wearing his bathrobe and slippers. "Do you think that he'll be back?" He whispered the question. He was not really expecting Cait to answer.
"Cid'll be back to squawk at ye if ye do somethin' that he thinks is wrong, master," Cait said as he wiggled out of his grasp and dropped to the ground. It bounded onto the railing, grabbing the cold cup of Earl Grey tea and tossed it onto the grass. Reeve had not really liked the tea until Cid had moved in with him and now he had to have a cup of it a day to feel normal. "Let's get ye warmed up 'cause I don't think ye have such a reason to be so sad."
He followed Cait into the house. "I will miss him."
Cait chuckled as it bounded on the counter to fill the kettle with water. "I don't think Cid'll let ye, master."
He wondered what Cait meant by that until he was awakened by the most awful squawking sound outside his window in the morning, two hours before his alarm was supposed to go off.
Cid wouldn't let a little thing like death get in his way of bugging people around him. Hope you liked the sad story...and I hope you liked it too Abnormal. I'm sorry Cid! Hope you all liked the sad story anyway.