Chapter Two
An Old Fox


"Aie! He's going to be caught!"
"He'll be fine."
"But that helicopter… You said it'd follow
us!"

"Where'd he go?"

They hadn't stopped arguing, they hadn't stopped for… Cid checked the clock for the 10th time in nearly the same number of minutes, he scowled, it hadn't moved, stomping over to it he flicked the face, it had stopped. He turned back and the scowl deepened when he met the hazelnut eyes of the brunette woman who's look, if looks could kill, should have been locked up for life some time ago for mass murder, Cid's constitution was strong however, her killer attempts were quashed and the pilot stalked past her and back to the window, where a watery sun leaked though the panes, slipped lethargically off the window seat and dropped to the floorboards, where it sat, a messy puddle on the floor. Cid stepped in it to reach the seat, light splashed across his boot before curling up on his lap like a warm cat.

"I don't believe this," Tifa said for the umpteenth time, she'd moved since the last time she'd said it though, moved from not believing that Cloud didn't have a problem with this non-issue the martial artist was blowing out of all proportion, to now not believing that Merlin didn't have another room.

Cid had been right, he had got a bollocking from Tifa, but she'd relented when his argument turned out to be far more persuading than she'd anticipated; they had after all, not chosen to be dumped out in the middle of nowhere thanks to shaky magic spells, they were meant to have all appeared together at Merlin's place, where they were now, arguing, because it had all been arranged, that due to Cid's mechanical prowess, he'd be staying here with Merlin, Cid had grumbled when Tifa mentioned the computer, saying that was technical PC work, not mechanics.
"Well if you can't handle it…"
"I can handle that! It's just ya got ya terms wrong is all!" but then Yuffie, who was meant to stay with Tifa, suddenly turned around and refused to leave Cid, and while it was an old bunk bed in Merlin's spare room, Tifa seemed horrified at the idea and thus the argument had started. Strangely enough, Cid, who was quick enough to realise early on he wasn't getting a say in this, was getting very much the short end of the stick and according to Miss Lockheart, that Yuffie wanted to stay here with him, must be his fault.

Cloud leaning against the wall, most untidily not quite in the corner, made perfectly sensible comments that were taken and made all muddled up by Tifa or Yuffie, as women were prone to do to sensible comments, Merlin was watching the exchanges like a game of fast tennis, and Archimedes was huddled up in the rafters complaining about the entire thing, it seemed he was trying to sleep. Cid had just given up entirely, he didn't mind having Yuffie here, she was good company though they argued, but he didn't see why the young woman had to be so determined about it. He watched out of the window as time wandered by, got lost down a dead end street and wandered back again, occasionally a small Heartless would blink it's lamp like eyes at him from the shadows opposite and just around the corner, Cid's mind wondered what could keep the Heartless out, some kind of sensor maybe…

"Oooh! I don't understand you, you are being totally unreasonable!" Tifa stormed out, and Cloud sighed heavily.
"Well then!" Merlin exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "Did we come to an agreement?"
"No," the blonde warrior said, "Why are you two so determined to stay together?"
"Us two!? I've said fuck all!"
"Yuffie then."
"Well I'd just be happier here, besides, Tifa's paranoid, Cid isn't up to anything."
"So you are intent on proving this to Miss Lockheart?"
"Humph."
"Ain't working kid."
"Well I'm SORRY for trying!"
Cid shrugged, "Just stay here then, Tifa can't do fuck all to stop ya really."
"…I heard that Cid."

Eventually it was sorted out, Yuffie and Cid could both stay here, however, Tifa was to hear about it instantly if anything out of the ordinary happened, going by her opinion of 'ordinary', which would probably include ninja and pilot avoiding each other at all costs, and she was allowed to visit anytime without warning to keep an eye on them. Yuffie was stopped from complaining by a surreptitious spell from Merlin and Cid was happy to agree if it meant they could stop this stupidity and get something for lunch, they'd not eaten since they got here.

---

Three days passed without incident, Tifa lurked around the house for a while until Merlin shooed her away so he could continue his current magical experiment. Cid and Yuffie were already safely out the way.

"Hay Cid!" Yuffie yelled through the old carved, slightly split, door,
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we actually need to be here?"
"What!?"
"Oh for Petes sake… Are you like, dressed yet?"
"Yeah, heh, unless ya offended by naked feet."

It was morning Merlin was making magic downstairs, Yuffie was sitting on the bare wood stairs in the crooked stairwell leading up to the spare bedroom watching motes from the skylight playing leap-fog on her toes, Cid was getting dressed in the room; actually, to be more precise, he was sitting on the edge of the heavy old bed wrestling with his socks which he was accusing of being in league with the old wizard's shrinking potions. The bunk bed had been the subject of much deliberation on the first night here, firstly because both Yuffie and Cid wanted the top bunk –that was settled when Yuffie explained, with a beat-this smirk, how they both wandered around at night, being such fidgets, and since she was smaller and lighter than he, they'd be less likely to wake each other up if he was on the bottom bunk and she on the top bunk- and secondly because it was wooden, and appeared to be carved out of one piece of wood, no joins could be found, except for the slats which seemed to be pine wood, and the entire thing was noticeably wider than the diminutive door and stair way.
"Merlin," Cid had said, "Applies magic to the oddest fucken things."

Cid sniffed in answer to Yuffie's question, and she looked over from the small dusty window over looking the back alley, a small red tiled house and part of one of the many walls, "Honestly kid, I don't know, we might be needed, then again, we might not. Ain't getting my hopes up, what can we do, eh? Only Keyblades can destroy Heartless and shit. Dunno why I'm need to work that PC, it's Merlin's, can't he use it?"
"Apparently not."
"So what's botherin' ya?"
"Nothing…"
"Bull shit," he stood and went to her side, leaning over her to look out the window, "I ain't good with women, and I certainly know nothin' 'bout teenage girls, but I know some shit's got to ya."
"Heh...I think I'm homesick."
Cid stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Know that feelin' kid – eh?" he turned to door, "Damn, Tifa's here, why'd she come back?"
"Oh no! I'm still in my PJs!"

"Out! Out! OUT!"
"I'm leaving! Sheesh woman! …Oh, mornin' Arieth!"
"What do you want Tifa?"
"For you to get dressed, are you sure you don't mind being here?"
"TIFA!"
"We'll I'm just saying--"
"Was that all you wanted to say?"
"No, of course not! Sora and his friends will be here soon; I wanted to see if you'd go meet them?"
"…Cid's already dressed! And so are you!"
"Do you really think it's a good idea to send him to go meet some impressionable kid?" Yuffie didn't look convinced and just pulled a face, "Besides," Tifa decided to try another approach, "You're so much faster and sensible, you'll get Sora here a lot quicker than Cid."
"Ha! ... Oh fine, I will, I'll get dressed…"
"Thank you, Yuffie!"

"Looking smart kid, where'd that outfit come from?"
"Brought it with me!"
"Hay where ya going, I'm makin' breakfast… Well, tea, Aerith's making breakfast?"
"I've got to play tour guide for Sora and the other two, we'll be back soon."
"Oh, okay…" Cid watched her hurry out.

---

Yuffie stood akimbo atop one of the many walls, this one was vibrating softly, and probably held a generator of some sort, below her on the road the Keyblade welder, Sora, and his friends Donald the Duck and Goofy, who was probably a dog, they were wondering at the swirls of light around them.
"Hay! What's going on!?" that was Donald, Yuffie thought it was time to make her presence known, "That's the town's defence mechanism!" she called down, and they waved up to her, "Yuffie!"
"Ah? Look out!" strange white writhing creatures, Nobodies, leapt out of the ground and straight for Sora, who had no issue dispatching them, "Hay you guys!" Yuffie jumped down, "Good work, I see you're still in top form!" she dusted her self off,
Sora grinned and thumped his own chest arrogantly, "What did you expect? Looks like you're doing okay."
"Well, what did YOU expect?"
Said Donald; "How are the others?"
"Great! Cid's being bothered by Tifa though, you'd think she didn't trust him or something!"
"Hay, Yuffie, have you seen the King and Riku?"
"Nope," she turned and ran off to the end of the street, "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again."
"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."
"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie blinked, and the other three laughed, "Oh come one! Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!" she thumbed over her shoulder and ran off, leading them down the street.

Leon had joined the gathering group when they got to the house, Cid was at the PC, he didn't look to happy to be working on it, and it was a miracle he didn't break the keys, "The hell 'ave ya done this thing, Merlin!?"

Sora, Donald and Goofy were a little put out to find that they'd been forgotten by everyone and only just remembered, but Yuffie didn't give them a chance to follow that thought up, and asked where they'd been. It turned out they'd been sleeping, "Where? In cold storage!?" Cid had exclaimed, and the young hero had looked abashed and more than slightly abashed. Aerith was just glad to see them, even if they were focused on other things, "Yeash, they're obsessed," Yuffie hissed into Cid's ear, "That's the second time they've mentioned Riku and the King."
"That don't make 'em obsessed, kid," but no one knew where the two missing fellows were missing to.
"Sorry, but we'll try to help if we can, just ask," Aerith smiled, Sora thanked them for the help offered, however Cid just saw it as a chance to pounce on him, he'd been talking with Leon, there was a problem in Hollow Bastion.
"Don't thank us yet kid!"
"Hollow Bastion has a problem, a big problem," Leon said,
"Like, Nobodies, and Heartless?"
"That's right!" Yuffie beamed, looking far too happy about it.
"Sound's like you could use our help!"
They agreed to help, and Leon told them to meet him at the Bailey, just as he left Merlin showed up and declared it was splendid that Sora and the gang had agreed to help and reminded Aerith about cards, 'Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, Honorary Member' said the cards and the gang were happy to receive them before hurrying off to the Bailey.

"Nice kid," Cid said, turning back to the computer as Aerith returned to the small kitchenette, "But not very bright."
"Oh be nice! Hay… Where's Tifa?"
"Said she had somethin' to do."
"Ah… Hay Cid?"
"Yup?"
"What ARE you wearing?"
"…Everything else got nicked for the fucken wash," he shot a glare in Aerith's direction and she giggled nervously.

Clouds had been gathering all day, now they lay heavily upon Hollow Bastion and darkness came early, still Cid had pulled the curtains and lit the lights far earlier than need be, not that anyone complained, Merlin was using a lamp anyway, and Yuffie was already used to this, Cid having done the same thing every night since before they'd met, except when they'd been travelling and sleeping in tents, he didn't seem to mind the dark so much then. Not that Cid would ever say he was afraid of it, and truthfully he wasn't, it just made him remember strange things, or think of strange things, and they were never good, they worried and distressed him. Such things do not make for a good nights sleep.

Tifa and Aerith had come around for dinner, but only because they had to cook, Yuffie would try, but got confused making scrambled eggs on toast, let alone anything more complicated, and Cid's limit was tea, his cooking wasn't all that bad, but he made more mess than food, so it just wasn't worth it. Merlin had never been asked to cook, and he'd not volunteered. Aerith had tended to Cid's arm, which was aching terribly and was ever so tender, he'd had the wound covered up, but in a mild scuffle between Cid and Tifa, where she'd unintentionally hurt him (she'd punched him on the arm, it had been pulled, but had hit the wound), upon hearing his howl and curses she demanded to see his arm, and had called the flower girl over to tend to him. Cid liked Aerith, he didn't like her touch though, her fingers were cold, unhealthy cold, but he had to admit she had healer's hands, cold as death or other wise.
"Thanks for pulling that punch, Tif," he'd chuckled, but she just shrugged, her back to him as she peered though a gap in the curtains. She was tense. Cloud had been missing all day.

It was just as the girls were going to leave that the roily sky gave way and it began to pour with rain, distant thunder rumbled over the Great Maw. Aerith and Tifa exchanged despairing looks and returned to the sofa, Cid was made to sit up, "Making and old man like me put my feet on this cold floor!? Women! Ya've no kindness in your souls--!"
"Stop complaining, Cid, and move."
"Fine, fine!" but he wasn't there long anyway, choosing to retire early and leave Merlin and his owl to deal with the females, "If two women under one roof is the symbol of war then three is the fucken apocalypse," he muttered, "Enjoy ya gossiping, gals, I'd appreciate it if I were left out of it!" but of course he wasn't.

---

"Before anyone says ANYTHING! Yes, I am perfectly happy here; no, Cid has not tried anything and NO, I'm not leaving."
"Anything else you'd like to say?"
Yuffie shrugged and sipped her cocoa, "Sorta, but listen, he doesn't know I know, so don't say anything."
"We won't," Aerith said poking her finger through the bars of the finch cage, they'd showed up the other day, three zebra finches, two of the ordinary colour called Fitch and Thyme and a white one with blushed wings and cheeks called Hash, it was assumed they belonged to Cid and he certainly was looking after them, but no one knew where they were from or why Cid had them. The three small birds sidled away from her with tiny 'peeping' noises.
"Well," Yuffie said, curling her toes against the rug, "For the last few nights, Cid's been having nightmares, they're not bad I guess, don't wake him up, but… well… I don't know what they're about, but I think it's the same thing that's bothering him during the day, me too! Have you guys got all of your memories, I mean we forgot Sora, why not other people or things?"
Aerith and Tifa exchanged looks, "I don't think I'm forgetting anything," said Tifa, and Aerith shook her head,
"It's not, like, obvious, but there is something wrong, like um… I won't always notice; it seems to be around Cid, whatever it is I'm forgetting."
"Around Cid?"
"Yeah something is missing, here you try, just think of him, nothing else, try and picture him."
"Yeah…?"
"Now try and image ALL of Avalanche, even the guys not here, there is something missing, he's… I dunno, alone I suppose."
Tifa shrugged, "I think I'm having trouble imagining it like you are," she said, but Aerith frowned, "I... Yes, it's like a shadow, no, the Darkness, isn't it? Not just something missing… Something gone," she hung her head, the other two girls fell silent, it was similar, what the woman was describing, to when they tried to remember Aerith after a certain point in time, up to being in this universe, just nothing, a hole where she was meant to be, at first they didn't remember why this was, when their past returned however, each member of the Avalanche crew in turn had been blighted by a great sadness, knowing, that when they returned to Planet, Aerith would have to leave them once more.

Merlin turned around on his stool, "There is a Darkness in your friend's past," he said, stroking his beard, "One you know of, but the memory of it is locked away, you shall remember it in time I'm sure, but I assure you, because I can see you thinking it, your friend is not 'infected' as it maybe, by the Darkness, it does not taint his mind."
"So Merlin," Aerith began, "Why is it there?"
"We all of us have Darkness in our hearts, for some of us it is greater than others, and in many cases it grows with age, the strength of the mind affects the power of the Darkness, for example," he chuckled, "I would have a greater concentration of Darkness in my heart than, say, Yuffie here, who is far younger than myself, yet as you see, I do not succumb to it, because--"
"Education!" Archimedes hooted, "It's you're going to say!"
"Yes, yes!" Merlin said, waving the owl away, "Quiet! Yes, education is a great part of it, knowledge helps strengthen the mind, however one must remember the Light, always the Light, and that is why you should not concern yourself over Captain Highwind, he is a creature of Light himself, you yourselves must see that?"
The girls nodded, "Yeah, of course, well, he's certainly far fonder of daylight than night, but I think we all are, except…" the others turned to look at Tifa, who blinked, "…except… Someone," she frowned, "Nanaki maybe, he's cat like, must be him I'm thinking of." Yuffie stared into her now lukewarm cocoa, There is more to it than that, she thought, This Darkness, it's got to be something, what did he do!? her thoughts were cut off by a strangled cry from upstairs.

---


It was dark, it pressed in on all sides and settled on the chest oppressively, there was a heavy moistness to the air that had an earthy smell, in the darkness there was the sound of mud sliding off something and landing on ground nearly at the water table, a thick, nauseating, splat. It was like walking through a graveyard at night, after a funeral has been called off because of a heavy incessant rainstorm, somewhere there is a grave, dark, wet and earthy, empty and you can't see it, only hear the earth slip away, and you won't feel it, not until the ground crumbles away below your feet and you're pitched into the earth. I shivered and hugged myself, glad for the presence of others around me, Cloud, up ahead with an oil lamp and Tifa just behind me with a flickering candle.

"AGH!" Cloud turns to look at me, "Sorry, drip of water down my back," damn thing didn't have to surprise me so much did it!? Fuck I hate that feeling of water dripping down my neck; of course it's just my fucken luck that I should make so much noise, trying to break the silence probably, damn subconscious… Cloud nodded and I can feel Tifa's smirk, it's not even been a week and she's pissing me off! Bitch has made up her mind about me, decided I'm a fucken idiot no doubt, or gone all self-righteous about when I yelled at Shera.

"Cloud!" he glances over his shoulder, "We've trooped down stairs ready to fucken fall apart, and now ya leading us into fuck knows what, what the hell are ya hopin' to find down here!?"
"I don't really know Cid, but there must have been a reason behind all those codes, that note said there was someone down here, but it was old, so I can't imagine anyone locked up is alive any longer," Tifa made an odd sound, "but there maybe something to help us on our mission."
"…I ain't convinced!"
"You can go back if you want Cid, were not stopping you," I glanced back at Tifa and scowled, "Or don't you want to?" I squint at the darkness behind her and swallow,
"I don't want to be here, but someone's gotta look after you kids!" Cloud chuckled and as I turned to face him the bastard closed the shutters on the lamp and suddenly it was all dark, Tifa, who had the only light laughed when I cried out again, I kicked my heel in the direction of her laugh and sent a spray of dirt, mud and loose gravel against her bare legs, she yelped and swore, "Bastard!" she spat, "What was that for!?"
"Stop it," Cloud's voice came out of the darkness, he must have turned to us because I can see his eyes now, they're glowing green, with a click the lamp shone again, "Cid, don't fight with her, Tifa, stop antagonising him, and both of you keep your voices down, I don't know how stable this place is, I don't want a cave in."

We continued walking, and, when the lamp began to dance in a draught, hurried to find the source, but a stronger gust of air blew out the lights and we all cried out, "FUCK!!"
"CLOUD!"
"Hush!"
I swore again, under my breath this time, but there was a hissing sound of falling earth, pebbles fell around us, and we ran. I guess it was the fucken darkness, it made us panic, either way, it was a moment before I realised I was on my fucken own, and I had no shit like a light, except my lighter and that wouldn't help much, it'd get hot as fuck too and burn me, so I didn't really consider that at all, just carried on walking forwards, least
this fucken place had smoother floors.

I think there is fucken gas down here or something! It's getting harder to breathe, but then again, it might just be the darkness, or, or maybe I'm in trouble or somethin', I mean my heart's goin' a mile a minute and my chest feels tight, that can't be good, I swallowed and… FUCK! Walked straight into something! Wood by the feel of it, I reached up and ran my hands over the material, yeah wood "Ah…" metal, a handle, a door, a fucken door down here? Well it's gotta lead somewhere, I knelt, tugged off a glove and put my hand down, that's not where the draught is coming from, I sniffed, "Should go back, just run my hands along the wall until I find the others, or a fucken way out," that'd have been the sensible thing to do, but I ain't all that sensible, and something was telling me to go in there. Upon shaking the handle it became, not only bloody obvious that it was locked, but that the wood was still damn strong. Now, Cloud had given me that old key, 'cos I'm the only one with deep pockets, I fished it out now and fumbled for a key hole, found it, and forced the key around, damn thing was stiff as fuck, but it turned.
Click.
I pushed open the door and stepped in…

The darkness suddenly felt alive, it grabbed me and pulled me forwards, and I ain't ashamed to admit I was fucken scared, because ya'll would have been too! If it had felt like a grave before, it was nothing compared to this! This was terror incarnate, a terror that had been locked away so fucken long it had perfected it's self into an art and it was everywhere, and there was blood. Blood that brushed against my legs like a warm tide and there were baleful eyes that glared down at me, I quailed back from the monster in the darkness as its talons. My voice caught in my throat as its demonic bloody eyes snare my own, the darkness is red, deep and dark and bloody and oh shit! I finally scream, and the creature's eyes gleam…

---

Cid was sitting bolt up right when the girls found him, his eyes wide and unseeing, he said something, but his voice was horse and they didn't hear, "What?" Yuffie pressed, he gasped and found his voice, "Turn on the light!! FUCKEN TURN IT ON!!!"


"There."
"I see him! Oh that sly old fox!"

"I knew he'd be okay."
"Yes, he got away."
"Huh? But… Where'd he go to now?"