Chapter 14: Anticipation
"So…how have you been?"
Tifa stood on the porch as she watched the sun setting. Behind her, Cloud sat on a wooden bench as he cleaned his assault rifle.
The trooper shifted uncomfortably. "All right,"
"Gotten pretty good with that thing?" Tifa pointed at the gun.
"It's not that hard," Cloud shrugged.
"When you first left…" Tifa giggled, "I used to look in the papers all the time for any news about you in SOLDIER. Then my dad told me that I shouldn't expect to see you in that branch of Shinra's army so quickly,"
"Some guys make it in pretty fast," said Cloud, "Zack made it in after only a year,"
"Well, people work better at different paces," Tifa shrugged, "I bet that guy was class president, and the star of the sports teams,"
"…Not class president, but you're right about the sports part," Cloud acknowledged.
"You used to be so scrawny." Tifa sat down next to him.
"I still kinda am," Cloud muttered, embarrassed.
"No, you're more wiry than scrawny," Tifa told him, "You'll make a great SOLDIER someday. You look good,"
Cloud smiled, embarrassed. "Thanks. You…" He tried not to look at Tifa's cleavage. "You look good yourself,"
"Thanks." Tifa blushed slightly.
"So what have you been up to?" Cloud asked.
"Well," Tifa looked thoughtful, "Let's see…"
Aeris lay in the grass the next morning, holding her mother's materia up to the sun.
She said it was special…because it was good for absolutely nothing. I never understood that. And now Medea wants me to hang onto it in case I can use it. Did my mother lie?
"Yo,"
Aeris looked up to see Zack standing over her, smiling as always.
"Hello," Aeris sat up, "Done with today's drills?"
"Yeah," Zack sat down next to her. "It's still morning, and I've got nothing to do. It's been four days, and I'm about to lose my mind,"
"Medea says we can't leave until we're sure we can track down Jenova," Aeris reminded him, "And until Sephiroth is ready,"
"It shouldn't be too long now,"
Aeris and Zack jerked their heads around to see Sephiroth standing behind them.
"Damn!" Zack exclaimed, "You like giving people heart attacks or something?"
"Aren't soldiers supposed to have incredible reflexes?" Sephiroth replied coolly.
"Didn't think I needed my guard up quite yet," Zack shrugged, "So BORING here!"
He flopped down onto the grass, lying on his back and staring up at the sky.
"How was training, Seph?" Aeris asked.
"Tiring," Sephiroth admitted, "But I'll live,"
"You should rest up then," Zack yawned, "I'd take a nap myself…but the tent's so far away…"
"Stop it," Aeris yawned, "Now you're making me feel tired,"
"Hah!" Zack exclaimed, "It's contagious!"
Aeris lightly swatted Zack's head with her hand. Zack chuckled and lazily flung his arm at Aeris, missing completely.
"Ugh…" Aeris lay down about three feet away from the soldier.
Sephiroth didn't miss the hopeful look on Zack's face from seeing Aeris laying next to him.
"Hey, sit down if you're gonna join us," Aeris tugged at Sephiroth's cloak.
"Very well," Sephiroth sat down on the other side of Aeris and proceeded to stare rather pointedly at Zack.
"This place reminds me of Fort Condor," Aeris commented as she pocketed the materia, "I miss being there. I wonder if the other side of the gateway is as pretty as this place,"
"Gateway?" Zack scowled.
Aeris nodded. "Yeah. There's a hidden way to travel to other worlds,"
"Really?" Zack was intrigued.
"My parents are on the other side of the gateway. Once Jenova is gone, and the gateway is fixed," Aeris couldn't help but smile, "I'll get to go see them again,"
"Wait- so you're gonna leave after this is all done with?" Zack frowned, "Does that mean I'll never see you again?"
"I don't know," Aeris answered honestly, "But," she paused for a moment, "I'm just so tired of running and hiding,"
"Does this mean you want to give up the fight against Shinra?" Sephiroth asked her.
Zack winced.
"What fight?" Aeris shrugged, "Rufus Shinra himself is working with us of his own choice. Plus, you told me he wasn't the least bit interested in using either of us,"
"He's still not the one in charge," Sephiroth reminded her, "His father is the reason why someone like Hojo was not only hired, but allowed to commit all the atrocities he did. And I'm sure Rufus will commit his own crimes,"
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Zack said.
Aeris climbed to her feet and stretched. "Yeah, guess so. I'm gonna go see if our hosts need any help with chores or whatever,"
She left.
"Chores…" Zack blinked, "That never occurred to me. Maybe I can help too. It's the least I can do for that old couple,"
He made a move to get up, but Sephiroth laid a strong hand on the boy's shoulder, forcing him back down.
"But you said you were tired," Sephiroth reminded him, "You should rest,"
"I got my second wind," Zack tried to get up again.
Sephiroth pulled him down again. "You shouldn't strain yourself,"
"I'll wash dishes," Zack replied.
"I'm sure the dishes were already washed,"
"Is there something wrong with me helping Aeris help others?" Zack asked point-blank. "…Or is there just something wrong with me helping Aeris period?"
"I don't trust you," Sephiroth said flatly.
"Of course!" Zack snorted, "Big bad Shinra man hanging around Aeris? What- you think I'm gonna hit her over the head with a broom, stuff her in a sack and mail her to Shinra Headquarters?"
"Quite a sense of humor you have there,"
Zack stood up. "I'm going to help Aeris with the chores," he announced firmly.
Sephiroth stood up. "Then the more, the merrier," he said, "Lead the way,"
Biting his tongue, Zack strode toward the house.
"Well!" Rufus exclaimed as he glanced at the headline on his computer screen, "They sure have been milking all the publicity over my disappearance,"
Reno leaned over the vice president's shoulder and looked at the screen. "It's all about you," he said, "Didn't they get the memo about Jenova?"
"And let the company get bad PR for having dug up Jenova in the first place?" Rufus asked in mock disbelief, "Feh!"
"So what do you think happened to that other trooper?" Reno asked.
Rufus shrugged. "Probably got paid an ass-load of money to keep quiet, if I know the old man,"
"Are there any plans for us to leave soon?" Tseng asked.
"Valentine's got someone to give us a lift out of here when his boy's done with whatever special training Medea's giving him so he doesn't go insane or something," Rufus told the Turks. "Medea said to give them another three days, and then we'll be going to Mideel,"
"Why Mideel?" Tseng inquired.
"We can't trust the Shinra newspapers, but there have been a lot of sightings of Jenova on various websites. Granted, word of mouth isn't as reliable, but the description of Jenova matches every time. A blue-skinned 'angel' with purple wings and silver hair. There's also been news reports on some strange murders that have happened in Mideel as well,"
There was a knock on the door. Reno opened it.
"I thought this might help you," Jessie said as she walked in the room. She went over to Rufus and placed a small object next to his laptop.
"What is that?" Reno asked her.
Jessie ignored him and left the room.
"Bitch…" Reno muttered.
"She really doesn't like the two of us, does she?" Tseng remarked to Reno.
"Whatever," Reno yawned, "Doesn't make a difference to me,"
Rufus looked at the device. "It's a signal booster. This might help stop the connection from dropping all the time…"
He trailed off, and then glared at the screen. "…like it just did now. Great…"
Vincent sat on the front porch. Dinner had just ended, and things were quiet around the house. Most likely, Rufus was back in the guest room checking for more clues to Jenova's location, with Tseng and Reno with him most likely. The other Avalanche members were in the living room watching TV.
Three more days. By then, Sephiroth would be ready, according to Medea. Vincent dearly hoped that no bloodshed would occur before then. The tension hadn't been as thick as he thought it would be, but it was still there. Though the two soldiers seemed to be getting along with everyone(save for Reno), there were a few issues going on. Nobody seemed to like Rufus, which was understandable. Jessie's hatred of the Turks was understandable as well, given her history with them. And today at dinner, Vincent had noticed Sephiroth and Zack sitting on either side of Aeris, both of them casting the other an occasional glare. Aeris hadn't seemed to notice.
I'm not even going to ask…
"Medea," he called out as he saw the Seraph woman walking past him.
She smiled. "Yes, Vincent?"
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Vincent moved over on the bench, allowing room for Medea to sit.
"Go right ahead," she sat down next to him.
"Sephiroth told me your story," Vincent said, "I couldn't help wondering why you and your husband put aside all the problems you must have been having in order to help us,"
Medea sighed, and spoke after a bit:
"I may seem cool and collected to you all the time," she said, "But rest assured, I was not this way when I found out I lost ten years of my life. Granted, it could have been worse. My husband might have been left behind, but at least we're in this together. Still…ten years. It's an awfully long time,"
Vincent nodded. "I understand," he said, "I lost seven years of my life, albeit in a different way. One time, I decided to go back to my hometown. I regret doing that. I'd changed so much. I wasn't the man I used to be. Slowly, I'm healing. Mostly because I'm at least doing something to solve the problem,"
"Exactly," Medea pointed out, "Everything had changed. Perhaps I was running away at first, but this is a distraction I don't mind. In fact, this would be a nice place to start over…so long as I can make it a safe place for my husband and I…and perhaps a child or two,"
"It wouldn't be safe here for you to have children," Vincent agreed.
"And there you have my reason," Medea declared.
"And you really think that your dream can come true?"
Medea scowled. "Of course. Don't you think that yours can?"
"I don't know," Vincent admitted, "But I know it won't if I don't try. All I want is to see my son able to lead a normal life. It's what his mother would have wanted,"
"Don't you have any dreams for yourself?"
Vincent smiled slightly. "Just one. But until I can atone for my past sins, I don't think I'm ready to pursue it,"
Medea peered at the older man curiously.
"There's someone waiting for me back in Midgar," Vincent explained.
"I see,"
"Three more days, right?"
"Yes. Just three more days…"
A/N: Yeah, this was a short one. These last few chapters have been dedicated to character development, rather than plot advancement. That ends here.
Next: The gang begins their search for Jenova in Mideel.