SPAZ ATTACK OF SYMBOLS= CID CUSSING

Rocket Town I just as I remember it; calm and quiet. Few people wander the dirt streets, an old man gazing up at the old tilted rocket. Cloud up at the rocket with a look of confusion and wonder on his face.

"A rusty old rocket... Wonder what they'd make something that huge for?"

I shrug and look over at Vincent, his solemn face never changing as he soaks the changes of the world in. Unlike me, he slept for these thirty years, he needs time to realize what's changed and what hasn't. Before this place was Rocket Town, it was Sleeping Oaks, a quiet old town where the people all had funny accents and didn't grow taller than five foot ten. A place no longer existent.

"We should check out the shops," Tifa suggests. "And restock on supplies."

The mountains were hard in everyone else, and I drank a lot of potions to keep Shadow from appearing. I hate the thought of them having to see the vicious demon within. I'm sure they all thought I was addicted to the nasty things or something. They taste like rubber, and are really slimy... Who could be addicted to that?

"Good idea," Cloud agrees. "Yuffie and Violet, come with me. The rest of you buy anything you need within reason. Remember that we're low on gil though."

The rest of Avalanche scatters, leaving the three of us to explore. Cloud heads toward the old man, who smiles at us.

"This used to be a Shinra base where they launched rockets. You saw the leaning rocket, right? That's Shinra No. 26. It never got off the ground though. It just looms there. That's how the town got it's name. Want to look at the rocket with me?"

"Yeah, let's take a look," Cloud shrugs. I sigh and ignore the two, and when we walk away, the only lesson I learn is that staring at rusty objects with old men earns you really long swords. Of course, one might think he was compensating for something... Next he heads toward a house, one that I recognize fairly well. The Captain's. He knocks on the door, but rudely allows himself in to walk right through the house. Well then, sir. I follow him silently. If we get caught, I blame Cloud. We go out the back door, where Yuffie bounces excitedly.

"There's a Shinra logo on it... Tiny Bronco... This is cool," Cloud observes.

"I wonder of we can borrow it," I cock my head to the side.

"Um... May I help you?" A woman asks. We all turn to see the same woman I watched grow up with Cid watching us with curiosity, large glasses perched on her nose and a white lab coat pulled around her, making me shudder involuntarily. After all these years... Cloud shrugs.

"No... We were just looking at it."

"If you would like to use it, please ask the Captain. The Captain should be in the rocket. I'm Shera, and what are your names?"

"I'm Cloud."

"Violet," I eye her cautiously. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Yuffie!"

"Hmm, so you're not with the Shinra," Shera looks relieved. "I thought the approval for the reopening of the Space Program came."

"Huh?" Cloud's eyes widen.

"President Rufus is scheduled to come here. The Captain's been so restless all morning."

"Rufus?!" Cloud repeats in alarm as Shera heads inside. We hurry back through the house and toward the rocket, climbing over large cables, a few staircases and a really long ladder before finally finding the entrance with a blonde haired man inside. Cid. He turns and scowls at us, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"What're you guys doin' here?" There goes that funny old accent.

"We heard the Captain was here." Cid chuckles.

"Captain? I'm the Captain! The name's Cid. Everyone calls me 'Caption' though. What d'ya want?"

"Can we borrow the Tiny Bronco?" Cloud asks right away, making Yuffie give me a sarcastic look and I just want to face palm. Epic. Fail. Cid narrows his icy blue eyes on him.

"You out of your #&%( # mind?! That's my most cherished possession! I can't let you take it."

"Aw man," Cloud mutters, sulking as Cid turns back around and ignores us. He leads us out of the rocket and down to the town again, where we stop and I cross my arms.

"Where to now?"

"We should go ask that Shera lady again!" Yuffie exclaims. "She's a lot nicer than that old fart!"

"I don't know about that," Cloud shakes his head. "But we should at least go see how much she knows about the Shinra coming."

We go back inside, again Cloud, knock please, and Shera looks up expectantly.

"Did the Captain say anything?" Cloud shakes his head. "Oh?"

The door swings open and in walks Cid, doing what I heard one kid call once "the swag walk". I think he just walks like that on his own... Strange guy.

"^ %$&#! Shera! What are you, blind!? We got guests! GET SOME TEA! &$&#&!"

"I... I'm sorry," Shera rushes, hurrying to the stove to put a kettle of water on. He's angrier than I remember... Tougher... Lonely.

"Really, don't mind us," Cloud shakes his head.

"Shut up! Sit your butt down in that chair and drink your #&#&$ & TEA!" He stomps his boot on the floor loudly and lights another cigarette. "DANG, I'm pissed! Shera! I'll be in the yard tunin' her up if ya need me. And make sure to serve them some tea! Alright!?"

"Poor Shera," I mutter.

"Sorry, it's our fault," Cloud shakes his head.

"No no, he's always like this," Shera corrects him with a saddened look. I couldn't imagine going from teenage sweethearts to being verbally abused each day for a mistake you made five years ago.

"What's his prob?!" Yuffie squeals, shaking a fist. "I'm gonna go clean that guy's clock!"

"No.. It's because of my stupid mistake. I was the one who destroyed his dream."

She goes on to tell a sad story that I already know, so I go on to look around at the interior of their home. The walls are practically bare and the furniture bland and old.

"That's why... It's alright. I don't care what the Captain says, I'll live my life for him." How touching. The back door opens and we turn to see Cid walking back in. Right on time, Jerk Face.

"Shera!" He yells. "You still haven't served 'em tea!"

"I... I'm sorry." Cid slides into a wooden chair beside the table and kicks his dirty boots up onto it. I grimace at the mud splatters it creates and I can tell Shera is sighing at his messiness.

"Hurry up and sit down!" The Captain snaps at us. "Or ain't my hospitality good enough for you?!"

"You aren't exactly the most hospitable," I mutter. Cid narrows his eyes at me.

"What d'ya just say to me?"

"I think your parrots are beautiful," I shoot back irritably. "What did you think I said?" Cloud blinks at me, having never seen any part of me besides my careful mask. I'm tired of that mask, it's too heavy. I might as well go back to being my sarcastic, bitter self. The door opens again, and in waddles a fat man in a khaki suit. People just don't know how to knock these days.

"Hey-HEY! Long time no see! So Cid, how ya been?"

"Well, if it ain't old fat man, Palmer," Cid forgets my annoying self and stands. We can all tell right off he doesn't like the old fatty patty. "How long you figurin' on keepin' me waitin'!?" He turns to face the guy. "So? When's the Space Program gonna start up again?" Palmer clasps his hands behind his back and smirks.

"Hey-hey! I don't know. The President's outside, so why don't you ask him?" Cid's face grows red in frustration. He might just end up spontaneously combusting. Wouldn't that be an interesting headline?

" &$-$&! Good for nothing fat %-& $!" He shoves Palmer out of the way and rushes outside. Still so ambitious.

"Hey! Don't say 'fat'!" Palmer whines. If Cloud wasn't giving me that warning look, I would be making fun of the fatso by now. Get back into the old things I was in before, eh? Maybe I can be the Violet Vincent knew again... Wait, why do I even care what he thinks? "Hey-hey! Tea! With lotsa sugar and honey and... Oh yeah, don't forget the lard!" Ew, I think, crinkling my nose. Yuffie has the same exact look on her face. Cloud doesn't care.

"Let's go see Rufus," he whispers and we slip outside quickly.

"What the..!" We hear Cid yell the second we get out there. "You got me all excited for nothing!? Then what'd you come here for?"

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco," a man in a pristine white suit says, flipping his blonde bangs from his face. "We're going after Sephiroth, but it seems we've been going in the wrong direction. But now, we think we know where he's headed. But we have to cross the ocean, and that's why we need your plane..."

" %$#&#! First the airship, then the rocket, and now the Tiny Bronco! Shinra took outer space away from me, and now you wanna take the sky away from me too?!"

"Oh my," The president shakes his head. "You seem to have forgotten it was because of Shinra Inc. You were able to fly in the first place."

"What?!" Cid thunders, red as a beet.

"Excuse me," a whisper comes from behind. We turn to yet again see Shera behind us. It feels like we're going in circles. "This way."

I hear Yuffie groan as we go back inside and listen to her.

"You wanted to use the Tiny Bronco, right?" Cloud nods. "I believe Palmer's going to take it. Why don't you talk to him?"

"Out back then," Cloud nods again, and off we go. Outside, the fat old man is muttering gibberish to himself while standing on the wing of the red plane, a possession I watched Cid and his father build themselves. I sound like a stalker, but when you practically live in the backyard of someone their whole life, you tend to figure things out. Cloud walks up behind him a little too confidently.

"We'll be takin' that Tiny Bronco." There we go with that silly pose again. He used to do that...

"I've seen you somewhere before," Palmer muses. Yeah, in the kitchen. "I know! In the Shinra Building! When the president was killed! Ulp!" He swallows hard. "Se... Se... Security!"

Jumping down from the wing, he pulls out a mako gun, one of the old models too, and aims it at Cloud. The boy is barely missed as he rushes forward to slash with his enormous sword. Yuffie yells something in the Wutain language and throws her shuriken at him. And I stand there with my bow drawn, waiting for Cloud to move the heck out of the way. Finally his head moves an inch and I release the arrow that was waiting, merely shaving off a few blonde hairs of our leader's head. He turns and gives me a startled look before dodging another poorly aimed mako shot and slashing again. Palmer breaks away from Cloud's blows and sticks his fat old tongue out at us, making a run for it. Why or how it happened, I have no idea, but a random semi drives up out of nowhere and runs our poor fatty over.

"No! It's gonna take off!" Yuffie yells, jumping on board. Cloud follows, whereas I hesitate to make such a rash move.

"Forget it. Violet, get in!" I shove my worries done and leap onto the plane, holding on tight as the plane takes off, circling round the rocket with us clinging for our lives. Then it lowers slightly, Cid running away from the oncoming airplane. Then he jumps. And he's on! He swings one leg over the tail, bullets flying everywhere.

"How are we still..?" Yuffie's cut off by the sound of a bullet tearing through the tail of the Tiny Bronco.

" %$&! The tail's been hit!" Cid curses.

"Emergency landing," Cloud replies flatly.

"This is gonna be a big splash. Hold onto your drawers and don't piss in 'em!"

With black smoke pouring out of the back, the Tiny Bronco splashes into the water, waves diving up and crashing down over us. I cough and sputter, emptying my mouth of salt water. When I finally finish blinking the sting from my eyes, I see Cid laying across his beloved plane, stroking the red paint of his baby.

"She won't fly anymore."

"Can't we use it as a boat?" Cloud asks, still determined.

"^π#&$! Do whatever you want!"

I sigh and listen to them argue over wives and numbskulls and such before the two men finally figure out how to use it as a boat, steering it toward the shore that I can already see Avalanche running toward.

"Yo! Cloud! Ya get a plane?!" Barret calls as we climb off, my head still spinning from the dizzy ride down. I catch myself after stumbling, ignore a the sudden lurch that my stomach fails to accomplish before finally just sitting down on the sand. Yuffie, however, vomits everywhere unashamedly.

"Kinda," Cloud scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "It doesn't fly."

"But she's gonna work! And don't you claw her up, Creepo, cuz she's my baby!" Cid snaps at Vincent, who merely raises an eyebrow at him skeptically. "I'm Cid Highwind, not a pleasure to meet you numbskulls."

Freedom...

Not today, Shadow. Maybe the next alone time I get.

Cloud introduces us all again and the announces that we ought to find the Temple of Ancients, starting tomorrow. When will the new member flow stop? I help set up the tents before getting firewood for those who now expect me to, as they are just too tired or too lazy. And the whole time I feel Vincent's eyes on me, even when I wind up sitting alone in the dark. Tomorrow is the start of another part of our adventure, Cid just another face in my haunted memories. Surely he's another face in my permanent nightmares. After all, that's what Shadow specializes in.

She turns your worst fear into a world of illusion that only you can see. She feeds off of nightmares, every horrific dream in the world making her more and more powerful, day by day. She's one of the most dangerously beautiful people you might ever see... But she can turn off her mask just as fast as she can turn it on, and before you know it, an image of your whole family burning alive will be in front of you. You can't turn your head, you can't close your eyes. She's deadly. Not quite a demon, but nearly just that.

WE GOT CID!