A/N-Obviously, I own nothing.
It was an average day for the crew aboard the Highwind. Cid Highwind, the pilot and owner of the airship was bossing everyone around. Shera, the technician, was making new parts for the ship somewhere near Cid. Nanaki was moving things around and either taking or giving things to various members of the crew. Yuffie Kisaragi, of course, was squirreling away various foods, Materia, and other items in the Highwind's various storerooms. Cloud Strife, their janitor and random mechanic, was sweeping, cleaning various areas of the ship, salvaging what could be salvaged, and getting rid of what could not. Vincent Valentine was hidden in the few shadows of the upper deck, keeping an eye out for enemies. Cait Sith, the little robotic cat, held everything together on the ship, making sure everyone was at his or her required station. Barret Wallace kept watch on the energy levels and control panels. Aeris Gainsborough was the glue that held them together. She protected them from each other and motivating them to work.
The problem was that they were tired of it. No, not Yuffie's stealing habits, Cait Sith's annoying voice, or Aeris' annoying chatter. They were tired of Cid's orders and complaints that they weren't working hard enough.
At one of the crew's secret meetings to end Cid's tyranny, they decided to ask him if they could take a vacation, and a long one at that. None of them wanted to confront Cid, since he was prone to fits of rage if they even talked to him. The crew drew straws, and the poor unfortunate soul that had to go first was Barret.
"Yo, Cid!" Cid turned around with a venomous glare.
"What is it now, Wallace?"
"Well, um, can I go on a two week vacation to Costa del Sol? I…um, need to visit Marlene! Yeah, that's it, Marlene!" Barret stopped when he saw the look on Cid's face. Cid burst out laughing.
"What the heck is wrong wit' you, Highwind!" Cid wiped his eyes and tried to hold back his laughter.
"One, there is absolutely no way I will let you off for two blasted weeks. Two, Marlene is in Midgar with Denzel and Tifa," Cid started laughing again. Barret fumed silently.
"Yo, why aren't you givin' me two weeks off! You're overworking us! Too many things to do…" he stopped when Cid sighed.
"If you take even a week's vacation, we're screwed. Without someone to operate the levers, buttons, and gauges, the Highwind'll be down faster than you can say City of the Ancients. Now go back to your post and leave me alone," At this, Barret left silently, signaling to Nanaki. Nanaki nodded and padded towards Cid.
"Excuse me Cid. Can I have a word with you?" The red lion-like creature sat at Cid's feet. Cid gave another sigh and nodded.
"Can I go to Cosmo Canyon for a week or two? Grandpa's somewhat sick and I want to go see if I can help him out. Is that alright?" Cid looked at him suspiciously. Something didn't seem right. Nanaki wasn't one to visit 'family'.
"Sorry Red. Nice try, but no cigar. I know you're making that up, so I can't let you go," Nanaki stood up. He knew he was defeated.
"Awww, why?"
"Okay, let me make this simple. If you weren't here to put things in place, we'd have a real mess on our hands. If everything is all over the place, something's gonna get short circuited and it's goodbye my precious Highwind," he waved Nanaki off impatiently. Nanaki then walked off and signaled to Cait Sith. Cid cringed when he heard Cait Sith.
"Heya, Captain! Can I have a week off? Important Shinra business," Cait Sith hopped around, megaphone jangling.
"No. Why? Because if you and Reeve weren't keeping this ship together, it would fall apart and we would die. Go away," Cid threw the little robot towards Barret. God, he couldn't stand that voice.
Taking her cue, Shera started to ask Cid the same question. "Cid, would you mind if I go visit Rocket Town for a week?" Cid didn't even bother to turn around.
"Sorry Shera, but I can't let you go. If you were gone for a week, we wouldn't be able to make a new Highwind. Hey, why can't we call it the Sierra II…?" Unfortunately for Cid, Shera had left before he started daydreaming about the Sierra II. He didn't hear Vincent sneak up behind him.
"…Cid, would you mind if I took a week off?" Cid jumped when he heard the dark, vampire-like man's voice. Vincent seemed not to take notice. When Cid answered him, he tried not to offend him.
"Listen Vince, I can't even let you go for five days. If I let you go, there will be no one to protect the ship. Who else can keep watch what comes in and what goes out? Before long, Sephiroth will have infiltrated the ship," Vincent gave a barely noticeable nod and left as silently as he came. Cid eyed him strangely, but gave him no thought. Vincent was just, well, Vincent.
"Sorry to bother you Captain Cid. Can I go visit my mother in Midgar? I haven't seen her in ages…" Cid recognized Aeris' sweet voice. He'd feel very sorry to turn her down.
"I'm sorry Aeris, but I can't let you go on a break. If you go, even for a week, this sorry excuse for a crew will be at each other's throats. You'll have to stay," Aeris smiled and shook her head.
"It's alright Cid. Oh darn, Barret and Cloud are fighting again. See you later!" Cid waved as she left. There was something odd going on today. Maybe they'd all gotten delirious…
"CID! CAN I GO ON VACATION? I WANNA GO HOME TO WUTAI!" Cid nearly fell over as Yuffie jumped on his back. God, the girl was annoying.
"Yuffie! Stop yelling and GET OFF ME!" Once Yuffie got off him, he sat back in his pilot seat.
"Can I? PLEASE?" she begged. That never worked for her. Cid hadn't trusted her since the day she stole his precious Materia.
"NO! For the Planet's sake, NO!" Cid could not stand Yuffie, even when she hadn't had all that early morning sugar.
"WHYYYY?" she whined. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Look, if you were gone for even a week, there will be no one to keep track of the stores, fuel and such. Got that? Now get outta my sight!" he ushered Yuffie out of his cockpit. He sank deeper into his seat and sighed. He should've hid the candy…
"Hey, Cid?" He closed his eyes at the sound of Cloud's voice. Sometimes, he got on his nerves.
"What is it Strife? Wait, let me guess, you want to go away for a week. Vacation, or something?" he saw the confusion in Cloud's bright blue eyes. Sometimes, he could look so cute…
"Yeah, I do want to go on vacation. Is it okay? Zack wants me to come meet his new girlfriend…"
"Strife, did you, by any chance hear what I said to everyone else?"
"Um, no…" the look on his face made him look more like a Chocobo than he already did. Maybe Cloud was a distant cousin of the Chocobo…
"No. Strife, you can't go on vacation. You are supposed to keep this ship clean. If my precious Highwind is not kept clean, someone will have hell to pay. Besides, if you weren't here, too much junk would be lying around, and chances are, something would blow up," Cloud blinked once and said, "Okay then. I'll go clean the Chocobo stable!" Cid watched Cloud skip out of the cockpit. He turned toward his controls.
'Everyone's so odd today. Maybe it's something they ate…?'
Chances are, he'd never find out.
Yazoo-This was a short story I wrote for science class. If you can figure out the science of it, good for you. Gimmie you're email address, and I'll send you my favorite pic of Sephiroth. Please Review.