Saria: Well, I still like how this story is shaping up. I've still got a few ideas and for those wondering, yes, I do intend to continue into AC and DoC.
Tori: Cookies…
Zas: Is she still hung up over all the cookies being eaten?
SA: Yeah… want more…
Tori: (stares morosely in the direction of the kitchen)
zzzzzzzzzz
We didn't head straight to Junon and it wasn't because no one wanted to go. It was because the doctor and nurse caught sight of Zack, Cloud, Tifa, and me as we attempted to hobble towards the Highwind along with everyone else. The doctor put a stop to that immediately and forced the four of us to lie down in the area designated as the field clinic. When I finally got a chance to look around I had to laugh; they were using the airport as the gathering place for all the main services of the village.
"Somethin' funny lass?" Cait Sith asked when he heard my laugh.
"Yeah," I replied as I readjusted the ice pack that had been placed on my head. "This is the airport. I've flown in here before to deliver medical supplies."
"Welcome back," the nurse told me as she strode over and checked the ice pack. "The doctor wants you and your three friends to stay the night at least, especially the two who had that recent dip in the Lifestream."
"They're going to love that!" Zack stated from next to me. "Where are they anyway?"
"The doctor is examining them in a tent right now. Once he's done then you both will be moved into the tent. Should be just in time too."
"Why?" Zack asked right as thunder rolled overhead. "Oh."
"Rain!" I exclaimed jubilantly as I stared at the sky.
"They're predicting a bad storm tonight; it really was too bad about the village being destroyed today."
"I'M PREPARED!" the crazy shopper suddenly declared as she ran past the clinic while pushing a large cart that carried a mountain of supplies. Her little white chocobo followed at a sedate pace then veered towards us and stopped before me.
"Want another scratch?" I asked and reached behind his ears before noticing the materia it held in its beak.
The little chocobo "wark"-ed happily as I gently scratched the area then dropped the materia onto the blanket at my side before scampering off after its owner.
"That chocobo!" the nurse exclaimed with a laugh. "He seems to give out materia at random!"
Grabbing the materia and the whisper of 'Contain' went through my head.
"So how long is he going to insist on us staying?" Zack asked as I stashed the materia into my pack as Misha moved over to check his ice pack. Apparently the concussion was still causing him a bit of confusion.
"You should be good to go by morning," she replied patiently before looking at me again. "You on the other hand will probably need a few days of down time. Your concussion wasn't as bad as his but you're not enhanced."
"Believe me, when I want to I can heal at a pretty decent rate," I assured her. Looks like tonight I would probably be putting myself into a healing trance and possibly instructing Aeris on how to put others into them.
"Guys, you'll never believe what that crazy woman with the chocobo is charging!" Yuffie ran up to us, her pack slung on one shoulder. "She's a classic rip-off artist!"
I sighed as I sat up on my elbows. "That's normal behavior Yuffie, drive up the price for hard to come-by products to maximize profit."
Yuffie rolled her eyes and reached for my pack. "Hey, do you have anythin-"
"Hands off," I informed her flatly.
Zack groaned and pulled his own pack under his chin before she could ask for whatever it was she wanted to ask.
"Hey, I just wanted to know if you had things to sell!"
"I can take care of it in the morning," I assured as Red approached.
"Would you mind telling me how long our friends will need to stay?" he politely asked the nurse.
"Until tomorrow morning." I really hope she doesn't get sick of having to repeat this over and over.
Red nodded before looking between the two of us. "We assumed this would happen. The rest of us will be spending the night on the Highwind with a few possible exceptions. We'll be back for you in the morning."
"Making plans for Junon?" I asked in a nonchalant manner to which Red nodded.
"Seeing as such, we'll probably need you there Cait Sith."
Cait groaned before jumping on his mog and heading towards the ship along with Red and Yuffie. It left Zack and me with little else to do but think. Things sure were moving fast, that was for certain. I wasn't as far along in Aeris's training as I thought I would be and our time was quickly running out. Maybe I should leave her a book of some sort with instructions…
Grabbing my pack, I checked for my old notebook and grinned when I found it. It was just a basic college-ruled notebook that I carried around for the sake of writing down quotes, saying, and poems that I liked. The first five pages were covered with all sorts of quotes such as General Patton's various quotes like "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom" or "If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking". There was also Loveless written on the last page, all acts including the one written by Genesis.
I skipped over all of these and went straight to a clean page then fished a pen out of my pack. At the top of the page I wrote "Jedi Comprendium" after a moment of consideration. It made sense since this was going to be a compilation of everything I could think of from the Jedi order plus the rules set forward by Gaia: rules of conduct, training, the three branches of the Jedi, and techniques would all be included. I could rip out the first few pages before giving this to Aeris later.
"The Jedi order is not a religion or fixation; it is an organization of gifted people of the Planet. It is to the Planet that our first loyalties lie, then to the people. We do not recognize any government or organization as our masters, we only work with those that do well for the Planet and her people and never try to force us to choose between one and the other."
The first paragraph came out easily enough; I just hoped the rest of it would be so easily worded. The Mind Trick would probably need to be explained in vague terms and I was grateful that I had already taught it to Aeris.
"Any Jedi who is abusive of their abilities, either by using them for their exclusive gain or with the intent of doing harm to the Planet-" I stopped writing as the doctor emerged from the tent.
Both Zack and I stared at the man as he called the nurse over and exchanged a few words with her before he turned to us with a kindly smile. "Your friends are just fine, a miraculous recovery on the male's behalf. Neither are displaying any negative side-effects from their encounter with the Lifestream. They'll be released tomorrow."
"Whoot!" Zack called from where he lay.
"As for you two, time to get you both inside. I know you adore being able to watch the sky-" the doctor chuckled as Zack made a face at the clouds. "But rest, especially in a good environment, is necessary for both of you. And being rained on doesn't count as a good environment."
I cracked a half smile at the doctor's lame joke then stood up. My legs were still a bit wobbly as I walked into the tent and lay down on one of the blankets spread out inside. Misha brought my pack to me and I tucked it behind my back so I could sit up.
Cloud and Tifa were both sporting some extra clothes that some villagers must have donated and waved from their own places in the tent. The tent itself wasn't a huge thing, pretty much just big enough for eight people to lie down in with space for the doctor to walk between them.
Once we were settled again and the ice pack resituated on my head, I continued to write about the order. I first finished the paragraph warning about abuse of the Jedi abilities and how they could be revoked if the Planet didn't approve of your activities. I followed that by writing about the three branches and described the typical duties of the Consulars, Guardians, and Sentinels. In this I also included sub-branches for each branch such as Healers, Peace Keepers, and Investigators.
"That's enough of that!" Misha declared from above me and snatched the pen from my hand. "You still have a serious head injury; this isn't something you should be forcing yourself to do. Now lie down, we're about to turn out the lights."
Glancing around the tent I was surprised to find that Aeris hadn't returned from the airship. Neither had Caith Sith for that matter. Whatever was happening with Reeve he hadn't been able to check in for several days now and I couldn't call him since his PHS had been confiscated. It made me feel disappointed.
Misha gave me my pen back after I had shoved my notebook back into my pack and I stowed that quickly as well before lying down completely.
"They must really be going through some in depth planning if Aeris isn't back yet."
I glanced at Zack then nodded in agreement.
"What happened while I was out of commission?" Cloud asked.
Tifa answered first. "Shinra has been trying to collect something called Huge materia. While you were down everyone else was gathering it."
"Huge materia… Didn't Scarlet mention that when we saw her in Gongaga?"
"Yeah," I replied. "We've got two of four it would seem. Shinra already collected one from Nibelheim before the reactor was destroyed but we were able to collect the ones in Corel and Fort Condor."
"That leaves one more, where is it?"
"Junon," Zack stated stonily.
Cloud stared at the usually chipper man, obviously confused by his change in attitude. "What's wrong?"
Zack glared at the ceiling of the tent for a moment before glancing at me. "Rachas and Kunsel were attacked by strange opponents while there who had orders to capture them."
"Strange opponents?"
"Kunsel's opponent was a woman with obvious enhancements that he barely got away from. Rachas's followed her out to the end of the cannon and jumped after her."
"He was scary," Tifa deadpanned.
"You saw him?"
"She was on the cannon with me except she got chased there by Scarlet who was attempting to execute her," I explained.
Cloud was silent for a moment as he scowled at the roof of the tent as well. "What about the materia they got from Nibelheim?"
"They plan to launch that at Meteor," I supplied.
"Launch?"
"Yes, as in send, sling, throw, crash, you can chose your favored verb."
"I want to know how they plan to do that," Zack stated with a groan. "Not like they can throw it into an airship and send that at Meteor can they?"
"No Zack, but they already have the means." That got the other three to stare at me.
"How?" Tifa asked as her eyebrows furrowed.
"The rocket."
"Cid's rocket?" Cloud demanded as he sat up a little. "Would that thing even fly?"
"Do you think either Cid or Shera would let it reach a condition where it couldn't? It's Cid's dream and they are both absolutely devoted to Cid getting his dream."
"Maybe we should have just let you tear that thing apart when we were in Rocket Town." Zack sounded about as cheerful as a funeral during a Siberian winter.
A crack of thunder sounded outside the tent then and I found myself smiling as the rain began to fall, the voices of the Planet murmuring of where the rain had come from, of oceans and lakes and rivers.
The lights of the lanterns in the tent went out several minutes later and for a while you could hear everyone in the tent shifting about, trying to get comfortable.
Focusing on a meditation, I initiated a healing trance for the night but did my best to remain attentive to our surroundings. It seemed a long shot that Shinra would show up by morning but we needed to keep an ear to the ground more than ever now. Without a doubt the most dangerous times were quickly coming.
Cid's POV
Cid groaned loudly when he checked the current hour and found it was after two in the morning and they were just wrapping up the plan for attack in Junon. Goddess at the moment he envied those lucky injured fuckers who got to stay in the remainders of the village.
Cait Sith proved to be invaluable in this plan. That bastard Reeve had been able to transmit blue prints for the underwater reactor that included the location of the entrance, guard shifts, and a detailed floor plan.
The team that would be entering would be Barret, Red, Vincent, and himself. If Cloud, Tifa, or Zack wanted to come along then they could. Yuffie had looked green at even the possibility of being under water, Cait Sith couldn't risk being seen because Reeve's safety depended on it, and after what happened previously neither Kunsel, Rachas, nor Aeris should risk entering Junon.
Currently the plan was that the team that would attack the reactor would disembark from the Highwind a ways out from Junon and Rachas would take command of the Highwind in his absence. That alone had Cid seeing red. If at any point it looked like Shinra troops were heading towards them, the Highwind was to take-off and head to a safe location until they could make contact again.
It was a simple plan that should work if everything went well and it didn't sit well with him at all!
Midgar
Reeve had finally found some time earlier that day to visit his mother in her home. He was pleased to see that the boy she had taken in, Denzel, was behaving. What made things even better was that apparently the boy's mother had survived and had just found them on accident the other day when they had passed one of the new shelters on the way home from shopping. She had nowhere else to go and no way to support herself or Denzel, so she had been invited to stay by his mother. The three were getting along quite well though there was a certain window he had to fix.
Ruvie had of course noticed his missing handkerchief.
"Goodness, you can't seem to keep anything straight that's not one of your machines," she fussed as she brought out some material with the same pattern on it. "I haven't much left so be mindful of this one."
"I didn't lose it mom," Reeve replied as he glanced over at where Denzel and Chloe were reading through a book on monsters, Denzel in a shirt that had been made from the same material as his mother was using now.
"So I suppose you know exactly where it is and just want a second one?"
"I know who has it and where she should be at the moment."
Ruvie glanced up at her son, her eyes searching his for a moment before softening, a smile pulling across her features before hardening momentarily. "It's not that harlot that has been harassing you on television, is it?"
A cold shiver ran up the length of Reeve's spine and his expression of barely noticeable disgust was answer enough for her. She chuckled mildly and she finished cutting the cloth for the new handkerchief. "When will I get to meet this woman?"
"Soon I hope," he replied. "She's kind and intelligent; I think you'll like her."
"What's her name?"
"I can't say yet."
Ruvie jerked her head back up at her son, shock in her features. "I know you my son, and when you say that you actually mean that you won't say. That something is wrong right now and you cannot say her name without there being some serious repercussions if it got out."
His mother handed him the handkerchief then and Reeve easily pocketed it. He'd have to insure that when he went in to the office next that just a bit of it could be seen so everyone would think it was his original. "Do you need anything?"
"Some material, Chloe and Denzel have no spare clothes at the moment and I'm sure he would love having a slightly less feminine shirt."
Reeve smiled as he watched his mother pull out a small catalogue on materials and point out some that she thought would be nice.
The four of them had had dinner a while later and Reeve found himself missing the presence of the other members of AVALANCHE and how lively the table had always been with them around. His mother was the same as always but Denzel was a little quiet and Chloe asked several questions but it was painfully obvious she didn't understand the point or aspects of his job nor of robotics.
The three were wonderful to be around and then it was time for him to go. Though he may be an executive of Shinra at the moment he was in a bit of trouble and being out past the city-wide curfew wasn't a good idea at the moment.
Normal
Soon after the sun rose the next morning Zack and Cloud practically raced one another out of the tent in their haste to get away from the doctor who was examining a needle when they woke. I was a bit more sedate in my own quest to leave but still jumped out of the tent a bit faster than I normally did.
Before we headed out to the Highwind I sold my extra equipment and items that I'd picked up (read as: I robbed the Shinra soldiers that I had healed just to the point of insuring their survival at Fort Condor.) The amount I had donated to the defense of the fort was more than made up for with the resultant income.
Cloud bought the last sword available from one of the town vendors and then the four of us began the trek out of town, meeting up with Aeris, Barret, and Kunsel as they entered the village.
We quickly made our way through the jungle to where the Highwind was parked and boarded, unfortunately having to turn away a number of people who were trying to buy passage on the ship. While enroute, Kunsel filled us in on the current plan of action and Zack, Cloud, and Tifa had all volunteered for the mission.
"Alright shitheads, listen up! We'll be arriving at this point in roughly four hours," Cid pointed at a map as we all marched into the bridge. "Those heading to Junon, because we don't want anyone knowing we're close by, we'll have the better part of a four hour hike to town. And since most of will need a few minutes of rest afterwards and the guards don't change until two in the fuckin' mornin', we'll need to find a place to crash for several hours. To those stayin' out, expect our call to come pick us up sometime between 3-5am, all depending on if some ass can't pull their weight."
'Jackpot,' I thought as I noted the location. If I used my speed ability then I could easily reach the cave for the mythril and be back on the ship long before they would launch the attack on the reactor. If I took Aeris with me then we could be using this as a time for practice, something that could be crucial if she ever did run into Deepground.
"… and Rachas will be in charge." I tuned back in to the conversation to just catch the tail end of the briefing.
"What? Why does she get to be in charge? Won't Kunsel be here?" Yuffie demanded.
Kunsel jumped in first. "We discussed this last night; Rachas is a pilot and can take command of the Highwind if we need to leave."
"I was actually thinking of using the time to train Aeris in some skills that are useful in escape and evasion. Perhaps Kunsel should be in charge while we're on the ground," I suggested.
"I don't think you guys should leave the airship," Zack responded.
Aeris looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's a good idea."
"How so?"
"They would expect us to be on the ship," I pointed out.
"She'll be in charge, let 'er do what she wants," Cid dismissed the issue.
Aeris was quick to turn to me as we began to disperse. "What are you going to teach me this time?" Her excitement was clearly back about learning a new skill.
"It's a skill that will allow you to move faster though you won't be really aware of it. To you everything will be moving slower; it'll allow you more time to make decisions, dodge blows, and runaway if you need to."
Zack, who had also been listening, whistled faintly. "That sounds like it would be useful, especially if someone is after you."
"The down side of this ability is that it is very draining when you first learn to use it. I'm going to be testing myself also when we set down, see how far I can go."
"So we can start right now?"
"Sure."
After that I demonstrated regular running and then what happened when I used the power in conjunction with running. Both Aeris and Zack looked very surprised by the difference, to the point where Zack actually was running along with me as I gave the second demonstration and ran back along the hall. He beat me but just barely.
"Man, imagine what you could do if you ever got SOLDIER enhancements!" Zack sounded quite excited even as I crossed my arms into an "X".
"Not happening! I like my eyes to not glow!"
Zack laughed which drew the attention of Cloud and Cait Sith as they passed and they hung around for an hour as I continued Aeris's instruction. It was surprising but Aeris seemed to have no ability in this whatsoever. We tried multiple times and though she reported that things did seem to slow down for her on a mental level it never quite reached the point where she could apply the skill physically.
"So she can see the blow coming but you can't dodge?" Zack asked. He sounded very disappointed.
"She might be able to since she can see the blow, but she can't make herself faster," I corrected as Aeris tried yet again to make herself reach the intended physical level.
Zack's face fell slightly. "I thought you guys were capable of the same things."
"Only in a sense. Aeris seems to have better foresight than me, it's only natural I'm better at something else."
Zack groaned but sat back a bit as he watched us try to work through what we could with Aeris's limited talent in this area. She already intended to practice when we set down and I encouraged that. Maybe it just wasn't clicking yet and some practice would help her get this.
It was about an hour before noon when the ship finally set down and the strike party all disembarked. Aeris and I waited until about fifteen minutes after their departure before we both climbed out of the airship ourselves.
Since I was supposed to be in charge, I told the crew that until I got back Kunsel was in charge. If I wasn't back and they needed to take off, I indicated on the map the direction I was heading in.
"So, this is going to be a practice for you?" Kunsel asked as I shouldered my relatively empty pack that for the first time in a while contained only food and water, my weapons strapped in place in their holsters and sheaths.
"Yeah, I need to know how far and fast I can go, especially if there are SOLDIERs after me now. Thus far I've only ever done this in short bursts for short periods of time, so this is necessary."
"I'll be trying to achieve it too," Aeris stated as she followed me to the deck, minus a pack, and climbed down to the ground.
"I'll be keeping an eye out. You better do the same," Kunsel told me pointedly.
"Will do, and if Reeve logs on to Cait Sith, see if you can get him to call my phone." I blushed slightly when those words passed my lips but Kunsel nodded in understanding.
"Guess it's a bit hard knowing he's constantly in danger and you're not getting many updates. I'll tell him if he shows."
Pulling out my compass to confirm the direction, I called on the power and took off, my focus being on maintaining this for as long as I could. The wind cracked in my ears as I ran as far as I could in that single first burst. The airship was out of sight by the time I had to stop for the first time.
For the next two hours I ran using the power for short, intense bursts and walked for a few minutes to cool down after each burst. Each time I ran the wind whistled in my ears and the voices of the planet were a blur to my ears. Even crossing the river wasn't a problem in this state, just a simple jump.
What few monsters I encountered were easily avoided like this, they couldn't keep up with the speeds I was achieving. Right as I reached valley that contained the cave, I had to slow down for some food and water. I already knew the hard part was going to be getting back to the Highwind so I needed to conserve my strength. It wasn't like I had a map right now, much less one that showed my location and the Highwind with points of light.
There was one problem with finding the guy and that was finding the right cave. The entire side of the mountain was littered with caves. I started the search by looking for caves where the vegetation was either crushed or cleared away from, mindful the entire time of monsters. I was probably strong enough now to deal with the monsters one-on-one, but that didn't mean I should just look for fights.
Finally, almost three hours after leaving the Highwind and one hour after finding the valley, I found the correct cave. Inside the former miner snoozed on his cot, his snores sounding very much like whistling.
"Hey," I said as I walked over to the cot and gently shook the man. He blinked for a moment before focusing on me, more importantly on my weapons.
"Hey, sorry to ask you this since we've never met before, but could you get rid of about ten of the monsters outside? They've been disturbing me a lot recently."
"Uhh… okay." I agreed since it seemed like the easiest way to get on his good side and get the mythril I was after. "Would you tell me how I can get some mythril?"
"Take care of those monsters and I'll give you a good chunk of it. Ain't got no use fer it anymore."
"Alright then," I replied and left the cave quietly.
Killing the required number of monsters was easy enough; for the most part I kept my distance and cast spells that killed them fast. Several times the monsters got wind of me and I had to draw my knives to defend myself, but when I did it was surprisingly easy. Guess I really had been getting stronger even if I hadn't realized it.
The old miner was still passed out on his cot when I returned to the cave but before I could utter a word to him, a large, heavy chunk of metal was shoved into my hands.
"Thanks…" he murmured before turning on his side and ignoring my presence completely.
I wrestled the chunk into my pack before leaving the cave and adjusted the pack on my back and found it didn't seem as heavy as I thought it would. Then again, I had been dragging around a pack filled with almost everything I had including a sleeping bag and tent for two months now. Still, it would make getting back to the Highwind a bit slower.
Junon
They had just arrived in the lower town of Junon which looked just as rundown as ever. Rather than stopping or trying to talk to any of the residents though, they had been content to pass right through. That didn't stop some of aforementioned residents from noticing them, in particular was one little girl.
"Guys!" Priscilla called as she raced towards the group, having recognized Red, Cloud, Zack, Barret, and Tifa. "You're back!"
"Hello Priscilla," Tifa greeted warmly as the group stopped. "How are you doing? How's Mr. Dolphin?"
"I'm okay but Mr. Dolphin hasn't come back yet since that huge monster attacked. The adults keep saying there are several of those things attacking all over the planet!"
Tifa nodded as she glanced at the others. "We're trying to stop them, but it's taking a large amount of effort. Now, can you promise me something?"
"What?"
"Don't tell anyone we were here. You have to keep it a secret that you saw us."
"Like Mr. Dolphin was my secret? Okay!" Priscilla answered with a bright grin before skipping off to pretend she hadn't seen them.
"So, how are we going to get up to the city above?" Red asked as he glanced at the elevator. "I'm assuming we intend to disguise ourselves once up there as well."
Zack stared at the guard for a long moment. Doubtless the guy would have already received orders to not allow anyone matching their descriptions up. Too bad they hadn't brought Rachas with them since she said she could plant ideas and make people forget.
"I'll handle this," Cloud announced and stepped out from their group, heading straight to the elevator.
The guard sneered slightly at Cloud's approach but otherwise paid him no mind. His job currently was beyond shitty. Ever since that humungous WEAPON monster attacked his shift hours had been extended beyond reason. Currently he had gone almost eighteen hours nonstop on this shift, no relief coming to let him off duty. Just standing here by a blasted elevator on an endless term of duty as his comrades either died or deserted Shinra. Come to think of it though, this guy that was approaching looked very familiar, hadn't he seen this kid before several years ago? Yeah… Put him in a cadet uniform and shave off a few inches and he was the spitting image of someone he knew but couldn't remember the name of for the life of him! And now here he was in a uniform that looked almost like the one for a SOLDIER First with glowing eyes… He had to be his relief!
"Glad you made it!" The man's sudden change in attitude and goofy grin caught Cloud by surprise, almost as much as the clap on the back did. Luckily his enhancements prevented him from stumbling. "You should already know what to do and here's the card to open the door if orders come down to let someone up!" The guard shoved the card into Cloud's stiff hands after swiping it to open the elevator shaft then skipped through the door.
Cloud was still blinking in confusion when he heard the cables for the elevator groan, signaling that the guard had gone up to the city above and left him with the keycard.
"Way to go Cloud!" Zack exclaimed as he ran up next to the still confused blond. "How'd you get him to leave you the card so easily? What did you say?"
"I… don't… know…"
"It could be a trap," Red pointed out as he trotted up.
"Maybe, but without the help of that dolphin this is the only way to get up to the city."
"So, we're going to try it?" Tifa asked as she approached the door also, the rest of their party behind her.
"Yeah, everyone remember the plan: head for the locker room immediately, change, then we head for an inn."
Barret hammered the button to call the elevator and they waited the several seconds it to descend to their level. As they piled into the elevator, everyone had their weapons out and took up positions where they would be able to mount a strong defense should this prove to be a trap.
The ride up the elevator shaft seemed to take forever despite it actually taking less than a minute and as the door opened, all of them were focused intently on the door. It was almost shocking to see no guards in the hallway or anyone ready to attack.
Zack sidled to the doorway and glanced left and right before signaling to the others that the way seemed clear and the lot of them rushed down the hall to the locker room that he and Cloud had been dragged to not long ago.
The abundance of spare uniforms was apparent to all of them; they were stacked in almost every corner of the room. WEAPON had really taken its toll on the number of troops available to Shinra.
"Geez, they must be droppin' like flies," Barret murmured as he shuffled through the uniforms before surprising them all by reaching back into his pack and pulling out the sailor suit he had taken during the first visit to Junon.
"Where'd you get that?" Cid declared with a laugh as he watched Barret move to the corner of the room to change.
"We stowed away on a Shinra ship before and that was his disguise," Zack told him with a grin. "Cloud said he looked 'like a teddy bear wearing a marshmallow'." Cid howled with laughter.
"I can't believe you hung onto it," Tifa added with a smile as she pulled out several shirts and pants, judging which ones would be the best fit for her.
"I said before, it's comfortable!" Barret declared as he puffed out his chest.
"Sure, whatever you say," Cloud grinned as he waved his arm dismissively at Barret.
Tifa laughed then stepped into the shower area to change while Red groaned loudly about having to stand on his hind legs again and pose as a human.
No one said anything further as they changed, Vincent surprising everyone when he did as well, before they moved out to the streets of Junon.
Finding an inn wasn't a problem and because of the recent attack there was plenty of vacancy for them to get three rooms and they divided up so that Tifa shared with Red, Barret with Cid, and Vincent, Zack, and Cloud all shared the rooms. They met temporarily in the room that Cloud, Zack, and Vincent all shared before going to their individual rooms for rest.
"We'll meet back here at 1am, don't be late. If you think we've been followed or suspect we're about to be attacked, contact us through the PHSs, don't leave the room unless you have to. All calls other than emergency ones are not to be made."
Everyone nodded their understanding of the brief before dispersing back down the hall.
Normal
I got back to the Highwind right as the sun was beginning to set and was happy that I did; that chunk of mythril seemed to gain weight every few minutes and the speed technique had drained me considerably.
Kunsel was waiting for me onboard which was no surprise.
"So, how'd it go?" he asked, eyes slightly narrow.
"I managed to get out quite a ways; I think my maximum is several miles at a time."
Kunsel nodded then stared at my obviously heavier pack. "Find something interesting?"
"Yeah, some mythril."
"Mythril, huh?" Kunsel still wasn't placated but he also seemed to realize that there were some things I either knew or could do that couldn't be explained. "What do you intend to do with it?"
"The collector that sold the key to the Temple to Dio, I think he might have something else we could use and he did mention a need for mythril while Zack, Cloud, and I were there previously. I also need help with constructing a Cetra weapon so I'm hoping he would provide some instruction."
The former SOLDIER shrugged. "I could have helped you there. Part of my education and preparation for SOLDIER included the basics for weapon maintenance, repair, and even some construction."
"I need help constructing a hilt," I informed him. "I have to make it myself so it suits me specifically."
Kunsel glanced at my hands then seemed to suppress a laugh. "Well I can give you this much advice, you'll need something small and depending on the use you might want to consider only a length of maybe a hand and a half at longest."
I rolled my eyes before heading into the ship and left him to his watchman duties. As if I couldn't guess that part myself, I already knew that while my feet were almost ridiculously big my hands were quite small, barely bigger than a child's actually.
Yuffie saw me staring at my hands as I passed her in the halls, heading down to my cabin to offload the mythril. "Something wrong?"
"No, Kunsel's on the deck."
"I know that!" she called after me and I noticed she was holding a tray with two sandwiches, apples, and cups.
"You two seem to be getting along well," I teased with a grin.
Yuffie blushed then looked down at the tray. "Wh-what are you talking about? I'm just hungry is all! This is for me!"
"Sure, I believe you!" I called after her as she ran up the stairs to the deck and I headed downstairs towards my cabin.
I offloaded the chunk of mythril on my desk and had just grabbed a pen and my notebook, intent to go up to the command deck and continue the book for Aeris when a knock sounded on my door.
"It's open Aeris," I called after a quick scan told me it was her.
Aeris opened the door at my call then stared at the chunk of metal on my desk. "What's that?"
"Mythril."
"What's the notebook for?"
"Poems, quotes, anything that interests me actually. Something you need?"
Aeris shook her head slightly and I could sense a bit of depression coming from her.
"Couldn't get the speed technique to work?"
"I… I got to the point where I was certain things looked to be in slow motion but I couldn't move any faster. Do you… Is there anything I can do?"
"Maybe when you're more proficient it'll come to you. I couldn't control that technique for a while, for me it just happened when I needed it too. Perhaps the same will be true for you."
"Could we practice something else? What do you think I could do?"
I thought for a moment on what Aeris seemed very good for. The other night I had been thinking of teaching her how to put people in a healing trance but it didn't seem like the right to do now. Something non-physical, something she would likely be very good at…
"Let's try your hand at Battle Meditation," I told her as I stepped around her and waited for her to step out after me.
"Battle Meditation?" Aeris looked visibly confused by the term.
"When employed you can raise the spirits of your comrades, lower those of your opponents, and possibly even direct the movements of others. Not entirely what you would expect with a name like that, is it?"
Aeris shook her head and listened avidly as I described Battle Meditation in better detail as we walked up stairs to the galley for dinner then to the bridge. We were joined by Cait Sith on the bridge who also listened to the last part of the explanation and to Aeris's various questions about the ability then posed several of his own.
I wasn't entirely sure how we could practice the skill so I had her try to mentally direct me for a while, trying to get me to raise my arm or walk to a certain point on the deck. Several times she was able to send a clear direction but after a long day of fruitless effort on a very demanding skill Aeris tired quickly and retired to her cabin.
Cait Sith watched with a lot of interest as we practiced, staying until we finished. "Would one of you be able to direct multiple people once this skill is mastered?"
"That is actually one of the points of this skill," I responded and realized that Cait had only heard the points and questions on raising and lowering the spirits of comrades and enemies then seen me trying to get Aeris to direct my movements. "How is Reeve doing?"
The little robot smiled. "He's doin' well, went to visit his mother yesterday. The surveillance is continuing so it may take a while before he can risk a call."
I sighed heavily as I realized it could be some time yet before I could speak to Reeve. It was strange; everyday that went by that I didn't hear from him wore on me. I was worried for him and the distance and lack of communication wasn't helping me to take a secular position.
Cait Sith proceeded to tell me about Mrs. Tuesti and her houseguests, how she was talented at sewing and cooking and currently lived in Sector 5. He also updated me on how the shelters in Midgar were doing, how they were having difficulty getting fresh water and food enough for everyone. It wasn't as engaging as being able to speak to Reeve directly but I appreciated the effort.
In turn I told him about the battle we had had against WEAPON since he hadn't been in the village to see it then told him about the speed technique I had tried to teach to Aeris earlier that day and how that had proven to be a bit of a letdown. I also reassured him that I still had Reeve's handkerchief on me and tugged it from my pocket where I always kept it.
Cait wandered off after an hour and I sat down at one of the workstations on the bridge, opened the notebook, and thought of where I should pick up since I had already defined a Jedi and described the three branches of Jedi and their sub-branches. It was time for techniques it seemed so I started with the most basic ones: getting started with your initial touches with the Lifestream, meditation, and levitation. For each of them I wrote thoroughly on clearing your mind, touching the power, and directing it. What you should expect to feel and dangers to go with them, especially on your initial touches with the power and meditation I described as thoroughly and carefully as I could, being sure to give a firm warning.
My PHS rang suddenly right when midnight rolled around and I grabbed it, uncertain of who could be calling. It was way too early for the Junon strike team to be ready for a pick-up; if the plan was still on they shouldn't have even mobilized yet! Reeve wouldn't be calling either since he was under surveillance and it was far too late for him to still be awake since he had work in the morning. Well, if this was a telemarketer they were in for a slight shock.
"Hello. You have reached the Suicide hotline, ambassadors to the other side! To get started on planning your death please listen to our menu and at the beep make the appropriate selection. For final messages press pound six times then 13 thirteen times before yelling triskaidekaphobia. For advice on your perfect type of suicide press star three times then perform seven clockwise turns, two counter-clockwise turns, and pirouette into the middle of the nearest highway. If you have suddenly found a reason to live, then hang up. BEEP!"
I listened to the line for a few seconds longer, hoping to hear some confusion or even laughter if someone called my bluff. Instead the line was eerily silent and I found myself getting bored and hung up instead.
Grabbing the notebook, I wondered which technique to write about next and decided to start on the Mind Trick. This one technique ended up having a lot of nuances and points that needed to be mentioned. There were a whole slew of warnings for those who had never done it before, warnings about how even a small touch could cause massive damage, and firm warnings about the abuse of this ability.
Right as I finished writing about the Mind Trick I finally remembered several things that had slipped my mind earlier of my experiences with Gaia thus far, the first being I'd never encountered a telemarketer. The next thing to occur to me was that this was the second time I had received a call like this, Gongaga being the first time and that this had started after Reeve's phone had been confiscated.
Shinra couldn't have developed some way of tracking phones, could they? I thought the technology difference based upon the computer and recorder found in Ifalna's house indicated almost forty years of difference in tech! Then again Gast wasn't exactly well funded at the time he was hiding with Ifalna, he probably used what he could afford and that would be old and cheap since I seriously doubted he would have any lucrative offers in Icicle Inn. A PHS like what we had could be judged at roughly twenty years behind the technology curve on Earth and that should still pre-date most forms of mobile tracking. But once again I had to think of what we probably had in comparison to what was probably the best on the market because I seriously doubt the phones of AVALANCE were top-of-the-line.
One thing was for certain though, I needed to assume that with Reeve's PHS out of his hand that anyone who got theirs on it would be able to get some form of call log, and that was if Shinra didn't have one already because they were the controlling agency.
For this situation it was probably best to keep in mind one of the Moscow Rules: once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is an enemy action.
Junon
Cloud was hardly able to sleep during their brief down time and found himself shifting on his bed throughout his turn for sleep, eyes never leaving the clock.
The time finally came and the others turned up without incident. The owner of the inn didn't seem at all surprised that they were leaving at such an hour and didn't bother them as they ducked out into the darkness.
