Chapter 35: Reeve
Bone Village was hard to miss if you traveled to the North Continent. From the only decent beach (the rest of the continent being surrounded by impassable cliffs) a short hike north through the forest would set you right in the middle of the massive dig site.
The foreman of this operation was an odd looking sort, and had the kind of mannerism one might expect of a person whose job involved handing explosives every day. He was tough, technically adept, and hard of hearing.
"You're trying to find a girl you say?" The foreman asked after what seemed like fifteen minutes of Cloud trying to explain himself. "Oh yeah I saw her. Cute young thing went into the Sleeping Forest north of here."
"Then that's where we're headed," Cloud said, moving towards the forest.
"Eh… I wouldn't do that if I were you," The foreman warned. "That forest is ancient as anything and some say that it finds way to protect itself. It's called 'The Sleeping Forest' because when somebody enters it, the forest seems to wake up. Folks who go in aren't ever seen again."
"Haunted trees. Got it, we'll watch out for bland clichés," Yuffie rattled unimpressed. "Come on, Cloud. Time's wasting."
"I don't think so," The foreman said moving in front of the back exit to the town. "I'm not gonna have another stupid band of kids getting ruined by these woods. I don't want to have to clean up the mess when and if your bodies are recovered."
"We have to get through," Cloud said, moving towards the foreman in a threatening manner. "There's no alternative."
"Listen, according to local legend you can calm the Sleeping Forest by playing the Lunar Harp. This man went in yesterday carrying it. Funny looking guy. Wore a black cape," the foreman said.
"Sephiroth was here?" Cloud demanded.
"Well that does it. We have to go through there now!" Tifa exclaimed.
"Without the Harp you're as good as dead. Look I don't know what you are trying to do but surely it can wait until that guy comes back," the foreman said.
"Trust us, it can't," Cid nodded.
"We'll just have to try our luck with the woods," Barret said. "Now get out of the way mac."
The foreman slammed his hardhat down on the ground. "Fine! You wanna go get killed knock yourselves out!"
A loud explosion shook the town.
"Jeez, boss! You hit the detonator!" A worker shouted.
"You almost took my arm off!" Another barked back.
"Damn it," The foreman cursed. "Get out of my sight."
"How is Tseng doing?" Rufus asked.
He and his staff sat in a meeting room in the top tower of Junon. The repairs to the Highwind were almost complete and both of their quarries had last been spotted heading to the North Continent.
Scarlet sipped on a glass of wine and shrugged her shoulders heartlessly. Heidegger fielded the question.
"He will be alright. Apparently that Ancient girl helped him," Heidegger said.
Rufus bit his lip and sighed. "Things are getting complicated."
"How so?" Reeve asked.
"I'm getting the sense that we are being left behind. Sephiroth and these terrorists keep running amok doing as they please and we are always one step behind," Rufus said. "I'll not have it anymore."
"Isn't that why we doubled up repair efforts on this airship?" Reno asked slyly. "Didn't you want to beat those two to this 'Promised Land'?"
"Wait a minute I'm a little behind," Palmer interjected. "Wasn't the Temple the Promised Land?"
"Apparently not," Rufus shook his head and turned back to the window. "North of Icicle Inn is a great glacier that has only been seen by a few. North of that we've never really explored. It is, for all intents and purposes, a ghost land."
"You think that's where this 'Promised Land' is then?" Heidegger asked.
Hojo walked into the room, tapping on his clipboard. "If that is the case then Sephiroth and perhaps even Aeris are likely heading there."
"So be it," Rufus said, raising his hands in a noncommittal way. "But we're getting there first."
The lights of the airport flashed green and the Highwind Airship rose into the sky. The cries of triumph from the workers below echoed into the room.
"And what about the terrorists?" Reeve asked.
"They've been a thorn in my side for too long. I gave them a chance and they spit in my face. I want them executed," Rufus said.
"That sounds like a job for us," Reno smirked.
Rufus turned to Reno and scowled. "Wipe that smirk off your face. You could have apprehended them at any point and you've let them get away."
Reno still smiled. "That was your plan boss. Trying to get them to find the Keystone for you, remember. I wanted to take them out, but I am a loyal soldier."
Rufus's scowl intensified. He turned to Heidegger. "The behavior of your subordinates does not reflect well on you, Heidegger. First the mass desertions and now I'm being talked to like a child by a worthless Turk."
Heidegger scowled right back at Rufus. Things were getting ugly fast. Rufus turned to Scarlet.
"And you. You're still working on that Huge Materia project behind my back, aren't you?" Rufus asked.
"Of course," Scarlet nodded. "Just as Hojo is still breeding his pets."
Rufus turned away from the group and looked at Reeve.
"And what's your little secret?" Rufus asked. "Come on. Everybody in this company is doing whatever they can to undermine my authority. What are you doing?"
"Keeping tabs on the enemy, of course. After all, Cait Sith was my invention," Reeve smirked. "What made him decide to act autonomously is beyond me, but I now no longer am able to exert control over him."
"God, man. You can't even keep a robot in line," Rufus cursed.
"I have created a second model. The first was destroyed in the Temple of the Ancients. I managed to recover his OS and am implanting it as we speak. I'll send it to 'help' our terrorist friends and we'll be able to track their movements again," Reeve nodded.
Rufus, finally, seemed satisfied by something.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Rufus asked. "We have a flight to catch, people."
The Sleeping Forest was unlike any other that the party had traveled through. The foreman had not overstated the sheer eeriness of the place. Light cascaded sparingly through the dense pine and the soft layer of snow that lay underfoot and misted the trees gave a ghostly feel to the place.
A single path meandered through the wood and the party stuck to it like a life-line. They had encountered many strange things on their journey and a human-devouring forest was not outside the realm of possibility.
"How did Aeris make it through here without the Lunar Harp?" Tifa asked. "Assuming that's not just a legend."
"Am I the only one who has heard of this forest before?" Red sighed.
The group turned to Red, confusion mixed with curiosity.
"The Sleeping Forest is the guardian to the Lost Capitol; the old city of the Ancients. It is designed to repel unworthy pilgrims so that the holy land is not desecrated," Red explained. "The Lunar Harp was a Cetra artifact. Playing the harp while traveling would undo the enchantment of the forest. It was designed to allow non-Cetra to pass unharmed. However the Cetra themselves needed no proof of their worthiness."
"So how did Sephiroth find it?" Cid asked.
"I'm not certain. Perhaps it was in the Temple of the Ancients, or else he had recovered it on a previous visit," Red stopped dead in his tracks.
The others looked ahead and saw what had caused Red such disquiet. There was a wall of mist that hung in the air in front of them.
"We'll never be able to stick to the path!" Yuffie cursed. "That's as thick as pea soup!"
"That's not a natural mist," Vincent said as he slowly approached the shroud.
Red nodded. "Indeed. If I am correct, obscured vision should be the least of our worries."
"Poison?" Tifa asked.
"In a manner of speaking," Vincent said tapping the mist with his claw. And suddenly in a bolt of red, Vincent charged into the mist.
"Vincent!" Yuffie cried.
His form disappeared completely. For a moment, nobody moved. Then suddenly they heard footsteps approach from behind. They turned to see Vincent walking up the path behind them.
"Interesting," Vincent said coolly.
"We'll have to find another path," Cloud sighed.
"That's not a good idea. It's what the forest wants us to do. It blocks the path ahead so that we stray from it," Red insisted.
"Well we gotta do something!" Barret shouted. "For all we know Sephiroth has found Aeris already!"
"Listen, we'll just stick together and go slowly," Cloud said.
And with that, he began to creep through the trees.
"Final touches are done," A crewmate of the Highwind said to Reeve, who sat at a table in the Highwind's conference room. "Cait Sith 2.0 is ready for action whenever you like."
"Thank you," Reeve nodded. "What's our ETA?"
"We'll be over the drop zone in about thirty minutes," The crewmate nodded.
"Heh. Cutting it a tad fine aren't we?" Reeve joked.
"It was your program, we all knew it'd be a simple install," The crewmate smiled. "You've got some brains for an executive."
"I appreciate that. Urban development is more of a hobby for me, especially under the current regime," Reeve rolled his eyes ruefully.
"Don't let Rufus hear you say that. He's on the warpath lately," The crewmate sighed. "Convinced his own staff is out to get him."
"He's right," Reeve said, standing up. "The company is falling apart. Listen to me. I want you to keep the altered specs to yourself. Destroy your notes and send them a copy of the original model."
"But that's fraud and treason," The crewmate protested.
"Trust me. We'll be in worse shape if Rufus finds out the modifications I've made."
"Where is everybody?" Yuffie shouted.
The trees around here seemed to be closing in, the air was thick. Sweat ran down her body as she saw nothing familiar.
"Hey!" She screamed, running towards any opening she could find.
A few miles away Barret's machinegun arm was firing wildly. She ran towards the sound. Barret stood on the spot firing at nothing.
"Barret?" Yuffie asked.
"Yuffie!" Barret gasped. He seemed to have not realized what he'd been doing.
"How did we get separated?" Yuffie asked.
"How long has it been?" Barret asked.
Red stumbled out of the brush, but there was something inhuman in his gaze. For the first time since the two had first met him he seemed like a wild beast. Red leapt on Barret, knocking him down. Yuffie screamed, sinking to her knees and Barret grabbed Red's head.
"Calm down Red! It's me, Barret!" Barret shouted.
Red did not stop. Suddenly a flying kick knocked Red to the ground. Tifa had somehow found her way to the group. Red turned on her and bit her leg savagely. Two shots rang out as Vincent and Cid rushed over to the scene.
"What the hell is going on?" Tifa shouted.
Red seemed to regain his senses.
"Where's spikey?" Barret asked.
"Over here," Cloud called from a few yards away. The group turned to see Cloud holding a small harp. It had sapphires embedded in its silver bow and the strings were made of platinum.
"The Lunar Harp? Where did you find that?" Red asked.
"Pure luck that I stumbled upon it," Cloud said. "When I entered the woods, I was alone. None of you were behind me. I wandered for what seemed like days but I could tell by the light that it hadn't even been two hours. And then I came across a clearing and found this just lying there."
The group marveled at the harp and looked as the mist around them began to fade away.
"I'm not the best harpist in the world," Cloud explained. "But just strumming the strings seems to be enough."
"It's obviously a trap," came a familiar voice.
And from the path behind them walked Cait Sith.
"What the hell?" Tifa exclaimed. "But you died?"
"Didn't I tell you back at Nibelheim. I'm a robot that's bloody impervious to death. I'm Cait Sith 2.0. My OS has been reinstalled in this brand new bot," Cait Sith grinned. "I couldn't stop and let you guys have all the fun now could I?"
The group now stood completely stunned. Two odd occurrences in such a short time seemed to have set them back.
"Come on now, time's a wastin'," Cait Sith explained as he boldly led the charge deeper into the forest.
"Our good luck never seems to run out now does it?" Cid chuckled, patting Barret on the back as he followed the minute companion into the forest.