It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA, I mean…YMSC!
I was drowning in nightmares that night. No Lifestream to beckon me to join, nor mysterious hands to try to pull me into it.
Instead, I heard the cries of the Planet, painful cries. They consisted of moans and groans, agony, and begging, all the pain of the spirits warped around my ears, making me sob in darkness.
I rammed fists into my eyes, breaking against tears when I felt for the crying souls of those who suffered, rattle through me. Every night, I heard them, and every night, I wept, in dream or in bed, I wasn't certain.
Cloud's voice was faint when I unexpectedly heard him in the darkness.
"Has she been like that all night?"
I tried to listen behind the cries, selectively reeling into his voice, but then Tifa's surprised me.
"Yes. It seems Aqua has been having nightmares," she said, blending into the darkness in echoing waves.
She let out a long sigh, a sigh of defeat, of being too tired for far too long.
"We probably should let them sleep a little longer," she was saying, ready to leave.
"Tifa," Cloud's serious tone put her to a halt. "I need to know something," he dreaded.
I was falling back into the nightmare, its dark clawed hands gripping at my legs and pulling me in while I tried to reach up to the light that would wake me.
The cries grew, demanding my attention.
"What is it?" Tifa's faded voice asked.
"It's about Nibelheim. I just need to know, did my story make sense to you?"
Tifa dragged a long unsure response, and then she backfired a bit too sharply, "what do you mean?"
"I mean, how come we never hung out? I mean, you didn't seem surprised to see me. It's been two years, right? Wouldn't we have caught up?"
There was a long pause there, so quiet, I thought I had lost them.
But then...
"Yes, Cloud. Everything made sense." Tifa sounded like she shoved pain deep down, hiding it well, that I almost believed her.
I wanted to hear more, but Cloud's and Tifa's voices faded, the rest of them as gurgling nonsense, until I fell back into dream state, a paralysis of fear.
I was warped to a world of screams, the sky like blood with blistering winds and lightning.
Regrettably, I looked up.
An enormous ball of fire and rock, covered half the sky, and it was heading towards the Planet. The whole world was red from its impactful size, coming closer and closer until the air radiated with its fierce heat. People ran for their lives as a red river coursing around me, all their eyes wide in horror. There was this horrible realization that no matter where we were all going to go, there was no escaping it.
This was the end of the World.
"Save us, Aqua," a familiar voice whispered. I twirled around, and my panicked eyes fell to Aerith, finding her beautiful state on her knees in the middle of a broken road, her hands clasped in prayer. She smiled up at me, oblivious to the chaos all around us.
"Aerith, get up! We need to go!" I screamed at her.
But she just closed her eyes, and smiled with a depressing truth that she will never share with me.
"She can't," another voice rumbled. I looked over my shoulder, and gasped, finding Sephiroth towering over me with a smirk. The giant ball of fire glowed brightly behind him. The outline of Sephiroth's body glimmered in red while the rest of him laid in shadow mischievously, with his long hair blowing wildly over his shoulders as its ends tickled my face.
"And neither can you," he growled, his deep aqua eyes scouring into mine. Before I could protest, his extravagant long sword suddenly went through me with a jolt, right into my belly unexpectedly. From the chaos, a baby cried, mixed into my grunts of dying while dreadfully gazing down at the beautiful sword shoved just above my navel.
I gasped so loud, I jolted up in bed, covered in a sweat, while I flashed upset eyes to a startled Tifa and Cloud standing in the middle of the room. My eyes searched wildly to my right, to find Aerith still resting in her bed, while I shoved a sweaty hand over my heart just to feel it pounding heavily.
"Aqua!" Tifa gasped as she rushed to sit on the end of my bed, and lay a cooling hand on my wet forehead.
"It was just a nightmare," she reassured me over my panting. I was embarrassed, having both her and Cloud witness such a frail state I was in. Waking up to an anxiety attack was one of the worst feelings as I tried to keep myself covered up under a sheet. Cloud knelt at my bedside to lay a bare hand on my wet cheek, his palm nice and cold. Tifa pulled hers back, quietly startled at how collected he appeared, and even more comfortable providing touch so easily when he usually despised it.
"Aqua, look at me," Cloud ordered.
I did while panting, and soon became distracted by his calming eyes that told me everything was going to be okay. I began to force myself to take deep breaths, and then I shut my eyes to keep the tears in.
"It felt so real!" I gasped. I put a numbing hand to the back of Cloud's, while my other slabbed right on my other cheek, wiping away the sweat.
It was just a nightmare. But what a horrible one it was that left my limbs numb.
"I'll get water," Tifa muttered, leaving the bedside to walk across the room into the kitchen. She turned on the faucet.
"It's okay," Cloud whispered, keeping his eyes on mine while he encouraged me to take more deep breaths. I did, and the panting slowed down. Eventually, my heart rate dropped, and sensation came back to my hands and feet.
"I'm sorry," I trembled after a minute, no longer gasping. I suddenly may have known just how Cloud felt whenever I tried to comfort him from one of his PTSD flashbacks. It was a strange whirlwind to have us switch roles.
"Don't be sorry," he reassured. It wouldn't surprise me if he, too, was suffering from nightmares often from his past, which left me to ask, "do you still get nightmares? From being in the military? From Nibelheim?"
Cloud froze, his fingers still. He was looking at me, but suddenly, nothing was there. He dove deep, lost. I shouldn't have asked, and reeled him back with my shaky hands on his cheeks.
"Cloud, never mind. It's okay. I feel better. You…" I bit my lip. "You don't need to tell me."
Cloud returned, his eyes back to life, and dropped them to the blankets. He took one of my hands from his cheek and intertwined his fingers with mine, tight, and sucked in a long breath.
When he exhaled, he replied, "no, it's all right," he started, taking a recovered breath.
"Yeah, I still do get nightmares. Almost all the time," he finished. His eyes averted in another direction, almost losing himself in deep thought. After a stretch of quiet, Cloud then asked, "it's another thing we have in common, isn't it?"
His fingers shifted with mine in midair between us, staying there, and then I realized, it was the first time feeling them bare. He was often in his military leather gloves, but now, I could feel the coolness of his hand with mine. It was firm, and yet, he held mine tenderly. The simple touch, sent electric currents from my fingers, all the way up my arm and into my chest. My heart gladly pumped tingling heat up into my neck until it pooled across my cheeks.
Cloud was becoming more comfortable with physical touch, and I curbed a laugh, smiling instead at his words as well as his fingers mixed with mine.
"Yeah, it is," I agreed.
We both suffered from nightmares.
Soon, Cloud easily made me forget about the nightmare. In fact, he made me forget we were inside a generous local's home. Everything melted away, including Tifa, who stood there in the kitchen, staring at us with a heartbroken truth in her eyes.
"Is that what you thought about when you saw me lose myself to the Planet's powers?" I finally asked in a quiet tone, remembering how Cloud looked at me when I was filled with chaotic power I could barely handle. Don's Mansion. The forest with everyone afraid of me. But Cloud didn't show fear.
He showed…
"Yes," he answered quietly. I could see his neck quake when he tried to swallow, his clean skin slowly glowing with sweat.
"Sometimes, I can lose myself in the Mako. It rages through my blood, clouding my judgement, and I lose touch with reality. It's…" he swallowed again and dropped his eyes uncomfortably.
"It's frightening, but…" He squeezed my hand a little tighter. "It's the price to pay to protect the people I care about."
My heart thumped harder when he lifted his gaze back to mine.
"When I saw you lose yourself to your powers, I just thought, that maybe, I knew what you were going through."
He had been showing empathy.
I let his words linger in the air, our world so quiet after that. I've lost track of time, of everything, so much so, that I didn't even hear Tifa sigh, or walk over to us.
"Here," her voice said, pulling me away. I let go of Cloud, our contact broken, and thanked her for the glass of water. It tasted okay, better than Midgar filtered water, though it had an off taste.
Everyone was quiet, giving my ears a chance to pick up a distinct sound of carnival music from outside. Aerith exhaled calmly in her sleep, probably slowly waking up. I watched Tifa standing over me to look across the bed at Cloud with a somber look, and then her eyes averted towards the door.
"We better go soon if we want Yuffie's plan to work," she muttered. Before we could agree with her, she walked away towards the door, and slowly let herself out, not a slam nor a hiss. Not a hint of anger melted off her as upbeat music poured into the home for a second before it faded behind the closed door with her.
It was distressing to watch her sink into herself, her unique heated rage buried so deep, she was left cold. Cloud sighed, his eyes closed like he didn't want to leave.
"Wake Aerith up and be out soon, okay?" He requested of me as he rose. His bare hands rested over his arms, his attention elsewhere, or maybe lost in his thoughts when he looked towards the door. He then walked away, his hand reaching for the knob.
"Cloud?" I suddenly blurted, and I wasn't sure why. My body just sort of reached out for him without permission. Cloud froze, his back still to me while his hand rested on the doorknob.
I fiddled with the sheet over my breasts, suddenly feeling breathless when my thoughts drifted to where they shouldn't be. I slammed them away, shaking my head to myself.
What was I thinking?
Was I really going to tell him how I felt? I kept reminding myself it wasn't a good time, that it was only a few days ago that I became aware of my feelings for him. I wasn't ready, but as I shoved those words down, it only made me squirm.
"Never mind, I'm sorry. I forgot," I lied.
Cloud gave me one last glance over his shoulder, and then he left, taking the carnival music with him.
It was quiet, for maybe ten seconds, before I heard Aerith's gentle voice break the air.
"You were going to tell him, weren't you?" She nudged so suddenly. I gasped, turning to see her slowly sitting up in bed in her gown, her cloak, and dress drying over the foot railing.
"Aerith!" I gasped, and jumped out of bed to fall into hers, hugging her. She seemed startled, eyes wide at my abrupt embrace. But then she relaxed, and rested her hands on my bare back.
"I'm fine. Thanks to you," she mentioned.
I let go of her and threw a pillow over my breasts when I remembered they were out in the open. My bashfulness made Aerith giggle as she stretched out her arms.
"You should've told him," she teased, climbing out of bed.
I scoffed as I jumped back to mine to make it properly. I fluffed a pillow and padded the blankets down while saying, "no way. It's too soon!"
Aerith slipped out of her gown and quickly into her dress.
"Too soon?" And then she giggled to herself, a joke in there somewhere that she wasn't going to share with me.
"Aerith…" I decided to change subjects while I slipped into my leather corset. My skirt was in a terrible state, but with nothing else to wear, I slipped it back on, along with my dry underwear.
"I had a terrible nightmare," I began.
I watched her sit on her bed, her back to me, while she lifted her eyes up to the smudgy glass window in front of her
"I heard," Aerith uttered cheerlessly, like she overheard everything.
The door then smacked open, and Yuffie's high-pitched voice scared the hell out of me to the point that I screamed.
"Hey, you two! Get up! We're waiting on you! Come on! The parade starts at eleven!"
I winced at the thought of going to a parade, let alone, one that celebrated someone I despised. I glowered over at Yuffie's upbeat morning energy, and hissed, "who cares! I refuse to go anywhere near that man!"
Yuffie laid her hands on her hips, glaring at me lightly with a smirk.
"You may have to if you want to get on a ship. Hurry your asses up, already!" She cried, and impolitely, waited at the door, letting the obnoxious music play into the living room turned bedroom.
"You're just going to stand there and wait for us?" I pried, glaring at her.
Yuffie grinned, her wide pressed lips and closed eyes smile at me. "Yep!"
"So happy to have you with us," I mumbled sarcastically. I slipped my cloak around my shoulders and tied it in place. I checked on my bracer, and blinked down at its Mythil plate. It was still spectacular to still see it at its pristine condition after all it has been through. The two slots where Materia are supposed to be, looked improper over the delicate patterns.
I then asked, "Yuffie. Why did you steal this when there was no Materia in it?"
Yuffie giggled nervously while she opened the door wider to let Aerith and I follow her out to a mild, humid air with parade music. It echoed powerfully above the shaded and neglected town, rattling the muggy morning, with listeners unable to match the enthusiastic beat. It reminded me of having a football stadium just a block or two away, unable to drown out the sounds of football games and high school bands playing almost every other night. Such an unfortunate situation for the locals of the shoved aside town, having to be forced to listen to a celebration they didn't want, from a city above, they didn't want built. There was no hiding from the miserable truth unless you left town for the day.
Yuffie didn't seem affected by the noise as she answered, "well, Mythril is the strongest metal there is! Can you imagine how much Gil that's worth?! I don't sell Materia, so I thought there had to be something I could get a ton of Gil for."
I could feel my eyebrows scrunch up with displeasure at the thought of anybody pawning such a priceless gift just for monetary reasons.
We passed the kind old lady who let us stay in her home, which left her to turn her attention to us.
"Oh? Leaving so soon?" The kind local elder asked, sitting on a cheap plastic chair. It pointed her to the main road, maybe for people watching. She never even told us her name. Last night, she offered us supper in her home, and then was willing to let Aerith, Tifa and I take to the three spare beds she kept in her living room just after her grandsons left for Shinra military.
Cloud and the rest of the gang stayed at the only town Inn across the street.
I smiled at the old woman's adorable toothless mouth, and said to her, "thank you for having us stay in your home."
The old woman just waved it off with a wrinkled tan hand and glanced up at the shop across the road.
"Of course. Your friend saved sweet little Pricilla. He and his friends are always welcome in my home," she gushed.
"Thank you!" Aerith belled, taking the kind lady's hands into hers, and shook them politely. Yuffie was already gone, reaching up to the others who were waiting just outside the tiny two leveled Inn. I followed, barely catching up while I rubbed my palms over my ears to hide the music.
I spotted Cloud leaning his back against a fence just outside the ash wooden building, his behavior quiet, but attentive as Aerith and I approached. Red hid his ears under his paws to close out the horrid music. Tifa was standing alone in her thoughts, quietly gazing beyond the tiny homes to the crummy shoreline. Barret seemed especially annoyed, fuming while he held his gun arm down as though he was fighting himself from shooting up to the plate.
"Is that shitty ass music going to play all god-damn day?!" He cried, gun and hand up in the air to beg this question to the Gods. I could've sworn his voice echoed through the whole town, all the way up in Junon where I feared Rufus may have heard.
"Just until the parade is over," a familiar child's voice rang. We all followed it with our eyes, and found Pricilla, hopping down a pair of steps from a small fish bait and one-stop shop, dressed in a simple summer dress with patterns of sunflowers. She smiled widely, her arms spread in the air like a plane, and tapped her plastic sandals into the bumpy road in front of the steps.
"They celebrate another numbskull as President of Shinra," Pricilla grumbled, her eyes dim. But as soon as she turned to Cloud, they glowed, and her cheeks instantly flushed.
"It's you!"
Cloud shrugged his shoulders, half looking at her when he uttered, "yeah?"
She then wrapped her arms around his waist, squealing like a fan girl. I chuckled along with the others, enjoying the sight of Cloud trying to slim his way out of the little girl's grip. Tifa was the only one not laughing.
"Please, let go," Cloud grumbled.
"No way. When I grow up, you're going to marry me!" Pricilla exclaimed to the whole town. A few passers smiled and giggled, marveling at Cloud's heroic efforts that seemed to betrothed him to a child.
There was more laughing as Cloud sighed bitterly, not enjoying the center of attention. He struggled to pry Pricilla's arms off his waist while growling under his breath.
"How do we get up to the plate, Yuffie?" Asked Aerith, keeping us focused.
Yuffie naturally winked at us, and then in her hand, she flashed a keycard.
"Ta-dah! Behold! The card to get you through the facility stairs!" She sang.
We all suddenly noticed Barret tremble, his eyes wildly climbing towards the plate, as though secretly counting to himself how many stairs it will take to get us up there to the city.
"Stairs?" He snapped, reliving a nightmare he may have once had involving stairs.
Aerith and Cloud actually chuckled at that, understanding Barret's reaction. Tifa shook her head, biting her lower lip.
Yuffie blinked at the gun arm man, scanning his muscles and size.
"It's not that bad, jeez!" She grumbled.
I pointed to the keycard in her hand.
"Where did you even get that?" I asked.
Yuffie slipped it back in her back pocket. "No where. Oh, and look what else I've found!" In the air, she held out a beautiful ruby red Materia. Pricilla finally let go of Cloud, just so she could pad the pockets of her dress.
"Hey!" The little girl cried, her red eyebrows scrunched together up at Yuffie.
I dropped my lower lip at the eye-catching piece of stone, a polished treasured sphere that seemed to glow like last evening's sunset.
"Wow," I breathed, inching my eyes closer to the Materia. "I've never seen a red one before."
"Hey! That's mine! Give it!" Pricilla demanded along with a stomp of her sandal. Yuffie grinned unevenly and handed it back with restraint.
"Fine!" She grumbled.
The red Materia almost seemed too big for Pricilla's tiny hand when Yuffie placed it into her palm.
"Thanks!" She cheered. We all watched her blink down at it, and then, just as quickly as she received it, Pricilla lifted it up to Cloud.
"Here you go, Cloud. It's my gift to you."
Yuffie almost fell off her feet. "Are you kidding me? All that fuss, and for what?!"
With unexpected amusement, Cloud stared at the Materia, and then to Pricilla.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, and stretched her skinny arm up even further to almost ram it into his face as she said, "it's a special amulet that's been in my family for a long time. Take care of it!"
Cloud willfully took the Materia into his hand while Yuffie drooled over it.
"Thank you," and he sounded like he meant it, no longer annoyed at Pricilla's juvenile presence. With care, Cloud inserted the Materia on his bracer, switching it out with a green one, and tossed it to Yuffie with disinterest.
"Here. A trade," he mumbled. She took it diligently with both hands and rammed it in her pack.
"Come on, you guys. I gotta show you the door," Yuffie urged us.
"But…" I trailed off, spotting the Chocobo, Butters, sticking her head inside a metal trash can.
"What about Butters?" I asked. Like the Chocobo was familiar with her name, she squawked as she lifted her head up and peered at us, a banana peel over her beak.
Pricilla gasped, and scampered up to the startled bird with open arms.
"I'll take care of her!" She squealed.
I was dragging a long pause, and then felt Aerith's hand on my shoulder. I turned to her, reading her expression. Her eyes told me I had to depart with the Chocobo, and I didn't disagree.
"Okay," I muttered.
I then sighed as I walked up to Pricilla hugging Butters, my hands clasped up to my throat. I gave Pricilla a sad smile as I told her, "will you take care of her?"
The girl shrieked with joy, letting go of Butters just so she could squeeze around my waist. She smelt of seawater and butterscotch.
"Yes, of course!"
Butters inched her face towards mine, and licked my face with a stinky garbage tongue. I turned to stone for a second before wiping away the thickened saliva with my cloak.
"Be good, Butters," I told the Chocobo. I gently dug my fingers into the feathers on her head, which made her relax with closed eyes. I was going to miss her warm and soft feathers, and believe it or not, her gnawing at my hair.
I gave Butters's one last look, trying not to linger for too long, and gave one last swipe down her long feathery neck.
"She likes herbs," I advised Pricilla. "Oh, and let her out in the open grass field. She doesn't like being stuck in closed places."
Pricilla nodded her head dozens of times as she dug her little hands into Butters's feathers with care, her cheek rubbed against a wing.
"I will!"
I took one last breath, eying Butters, and turned my back to her sharply. Just as I was about to take a step away, I knew as I felt a tug of my braid, that it was her beak holding on to it. I twirled around, my braid still in her mouth as I ran a gentle hand down her beak.
"You can't come with us," I muttered. The Chocobo trilled, oblivious to what I just said. As lightly as I could, I pulled my braid out and kept it in my hands, walking away from her.
Aerith took me in her arms and let me sigh into her neck.
"There. I did it. I let her go," I grumbled.
Aerith took my hand with hers and pulled me with her to catch up with the others.
"You did great," she smiled, and we left hand in hand after waving goodbye to Pricilla.
"Come back soon! Cloud, visit me," the little girl bellowed with her hands enclosed around her mouth.
We all chuckled as we walked towards the high metal wall of Junon.
"Cloud's finally got a fan," Barret joked, and nudged a hard elbow at the ex-SOLDIER. This only irritated him, taking two steps away.
"Cut it out, Barret," Cloud warned with closed eyes.
Red smiled to himself as he carefully pawed around the cracks on the street.
"Children are the future of this Planet. Their innocence, a chance to change things, and lack of filter, is what makes them so special," the creature chatted.
Yuffie hissed, "children are a pain!"
Barret lifted an eyebrow at her. "Girl, you still are a child," he barked.
Aerith giggled at Yuffie's twisted face, and turned her eyes to me.
She suddenly asked me, "do you like children, Aqua?"
I found the question so random, it left me speechless.
"I…ah…" I raised my eyes up to the plate, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone as I thought about it. Of course the idea of having children came to mind, but only as an obstacle, not so much as an exciting next step after marriage. I knew Isaac wanted children, and I had hoped I would too, eventually. We have hardly spoken about it.
"Honestly, I don't know… I never worked with children. I can only imagine I would be terrible with them," I answered lamely. This topic was starting to make me feel uncomfortable.
"So…Yuffie, where's this facility door?" I asked, changing subjects hurriedly. In the corner of my eye, Aerith frowned, but I just didn't like talking about kids when all I could think about is having a chain pull me down after marriage.
"Okay, guys. Stop," Yuffie urged. We all crowded right before a thin alleyway, and huddled.
"You know the welcome ceremony is today. So, that means lots of security," she started, eying all of us to make sure we were all listening.
Cloud added in, "That Turk, Elena, mentioned all the ships in Junon are on halt until the ceremony is over. Does that mean Rufus will get on a ship?"
Barret shrugged with a rattled reply, "how the fuck should I know?"
Yuffie glared at Barret and shushed him.
"We need to get up there and find out," she whispered. "It's too risky having us all go at once. How many of us are there?"
We all counted off, until the first to chime the answer was Red. "Seven."
Yuffie lifted a dark brow while she hissed through her white teeth, "jeez, we're a crowd, aren't we? Okay, Cloud, why don't you go first, and take two with you? When you find out about any ships leaving Junon, just call us on your PMS. Got it?"
Cloud seemed to scoff at the idea. "Why me?"
Yuffie shrugged. "I don't know. Leaders always go first. It's dangerous, tight with security. You seem like the least suspicious of us, since you still wear your damn SOLDIER uniform. I could go on," she challenged.
Aerith gave Cloud her lovely smile while fluttering her lashes. "Dangerous? Best leave it to Cloud." She turned to Tifa to pull her in. "Right, Tifa?"
Tifa choked a tiny gasp, caught off guard. She may have been daydreaming, lost in a haze of her own thoughts. I knew why she was quiet, but what to do about it, I couldn't say.
"Yeah, right! Just leave it to Cloud" Tifa forced, waking up from her sulking.
Barret turned his serious face to Cloud and said with a dead voice, "dude, you go, and then call me to let me know how many mother fuckin stairs there are."
Cloud just rolled his eyes. "Fine…"
"Great!" Yuffie clapped. "Cloud, you find two others you want to take with you, and find me when you're ready. I should go last since we only have one key card."
"Well, you and Barret are out the first round," he mumbled to himself.
We all decided to scatter, while Cloud thought of whom to take up with him first. With the time given, I was being careful watching Tifa, unsure if I was the right person to approach her or not. She walked across the road, her eyes still glued out to sea, as though she wanted to fly across it alone. Aerith, being observant and next to me, knew what I was troubled with, and she laid her depressing emerald eyes on Tifa along with me.
"She's got a lot on her mind," she was saying.
I dropped my shoulders, nodding. "Yeah. I wish there was something I could do for her."
Aerith turned her large eyes up at me and replied, "Aqua, there's nothing you can do. It's best to give her space." She sounded so sure, I had to believe her.
I tried to take a glance at Butters down the road, but found Pricilla has already taken her elsewhere, the both of them nowhere to be seen.
"You're right, Aerith," I whispered.
"Right about what?" Cloud suddenly asked, right behind us. Aerith and I were taken by surprised as we twirled around to find Cloud blinking with curiosity. She and I exchanged nervous looks, and then I grinned at Cloud as he gave me a crooked smirk.
"Ah, about the way the clam chowder tastes here. It's not as good as the locals say it is," I blurted out loud.
Cloud heaved a mix of a hiss and a chuckle while eying me suspiciously.
"If you say so," he muttered, detecting my bullshit, but not wanting to get into it.
"Cloud, are you going to ask us to go with you?" Aerith pried. She took my arm with hers. "We do come as a pair, you know." I smiled at that fact, and Cloud agreed with a smirk.
"I know. Well, what do you two think? Do you two want to head up there with me first?" He asked with a shrug. I tried not to get overly excited. The three of us haven't explored together in a long time, not since Wall Market. I thought it would be like old times, and jumped to the offer while flashing him a real smile.
"Yes."
Cloud's cheeks turned rosy when he saw my smile, and looked away. Aerith grabbed his arm and mine as she giggled between us.
"It's going to be like old times," she sang. "Group hug?"
"No!" Both Cloud and I begged, our cheeks red at just the thought of it.
"Call Barret as soon you hear some intel!" Yuffie urged the three of us. She held the heavy facility door open, a double door situated along the wall outside the city just about a hundred yards away from a guarded elevator.
Cloud led up the well managed grated stairs and grumbled, "got it," his voice echoing upwards into who knows how far.
I was last, letting Aerith ahead of me. So, when Yuffie closed the door, I turned around to stare at it, hesitated to go up, but it was too late to turn back now. Thank Gods that ceremony music couldn't get in here.
The stairway was clean, with metal walls holding up faded blue lights, so our skins glowed in a cobalt blue. I glanced down at my blue fingers along the metal railing, finding the color serene despite my growing anxiety.
"Aqua, I hope you're counting stairs for Barret. I'm certainly not," Cloud's monotone voice echoed, mixed in with our steps.
Aerith suppressed a giggle while I tried to smile. The higher we went, the more nervous I was as I tried to follow the conversation.
"I'll just make it up. Tell him it's eight hundred or some horrid number like that," I joked, which made Aerith finally laugh. "Why is he so afraid of stairs?" I asked, Aerith and I far behind Cloud.
"At Shinra headquarters, we took the stairs to get to you," Aerith bubbled.
I froze on a step, looking up through the grid of them above my head to see her pink dress above me, and Cloud even higher.
"Oh…" I could only imagine how many steps it took them to reach the higher floors of the tallest building in Midgar.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling guilty, but Aerith quickly slapped it with, "don't be. It was worth it. Right, Cloud?"
"Ah…." Cloud was left dragging his answer when the spotlight was suddenly on him.
"Of course it was," he grunted, not breathless yet.
"What are we supposed to do when we get up there?" I asked, dragging my feet.
I think we hit eighty steps and yet, it still seemed many more to go.
"We need to figure out if Rufus is setting sail today, and if so, we may have to sneak onto his ship. Sephiroth may be already across the ocean by now, or he may get on that ship as well," Cloud answered, taking a pause to say all that easily without so much as a deep breath.
I wanted to hug myself as I thought of Rufus's cold blue eyes, already feeling frigid.
"Great…" I muttered sarcastically.
"Aqua," Cloud began, his sober tone pulling my attention to him two flights above me.
"Yes?"
"Have you met Rufus before? I mean, before that time he came to us on helicopter?"
I suspect Cloud was thinking back to how Rufus stared at me, like he already knew me, but in an ominous way. He looked at me with plans and ideas, all set in motion in those eyes as icicles just before piercing me with them.
"No," I replied, trying to catch up. "Why?"
But instead of explaining what he saw that time, Cloud simply said, "nothing," and left it alone.
Finally, I heard a door open, and bright white light pooled into the stairway, masking the blue glow.
"Finally!" Aerith sang. Cloud waited patiently as held the door for us to step out, our eyes squinting to a murky sun. I inhaled a strong scent of jet fuel, and when I stepped out of the door, I knew why.
"Whoa!" I dragged, staring across an airfield. Right smack in the middle of it, along with two quiet Shinra helicopters, sat a giant propeller working plane. The air carrier seemed almost half blimp and half plane, with a long, extensive metal nose. Twin propellers along each extensive wing, spun softly against a strong wind. What surprised me the most about the vehicle, is how it just floated there, its belly hovering right above the concrete while it was chained in place.
"Wow, what is that?" Aerith gasped, gawking along with me.
"Looks like they're working on some kind of airship," Cloud speculated.
Aerith stepped closer, the ship appearing little in comparison to her size as I watched her sparkle at it from far away. Wind tossed aside her braid, the green plains and a hazy blue sky behind the ship. So, this was what was built atop the fishing town, the Airfield of Junon.
I spun around, and looked up. My feet stumbled back, almost crashing into Cloud as I stared up at the city-size cannon.
"Oh my Gods!" I gasped. Cloud settled his gloved hands over my shoulders to steady me as I analyzed the mighty weapon. It was a giant cannon, all right. Seagulls nested up along its extensive structure, its obvious mechanics only allowing it to move up and down if needed.
"It only goes up and down," I muttered. "What good is that? Shouldn't they have designed that thing with a rotator instead?"
Cloud stood next to me to join the gazing of the weapon. It must've been as large as a cruise ship.
"That's a fascinating point," he smirked, baffled. "Oh well, up and down it is," he muttered.
"That's what HE said," I joked, and I cackled.
Cloud and Aerith looked at me, dumbstruck in silence. I will eventually share with them some more modern Earth jokes, but for now, I calmed down and shook my head at them.
"Never mind."
And then we heard voices across the airfield. The three of us turned around from the cannon, and beyond the airship, a group of Shinra men marched out from an observation tower.
"One more test before the parade!" An officer in red uniform ordered, and then he blew a whistle.
I began to back away along with Aerith. "We need to go," I warned.
Cloud twisted around as he mumbled, "good idea," and he opened the first door he found, pulling us in.
We didn't know what we stumbled into besides a boring hallway with pipes running through the walls.
"I'll go," Cloud informed, and he began to walk ahead, his hand wrapped around his sword's handle. A white lightbulb flickered above us as we quietly walked down the L-shaped corridor, until we stumbled into a locker room.
"Oh!" Aerith froze, scanning all the tall lockers and benches. There were many rows of them, all shiny metal and plastered with numbers. I squinted up to one and found locker #458. A sign on a cement wall displayed there were showers and bathrooms just at one end of another hall, and then an exit to the Airfield, which we just came from. The second exit was at the other end of the large locker room.
Luckily for us, it was strangely quiet as we carefully scattered, eying a couple of Shinra uniforms on hooks along one wall or left in open lockers. Some neglected helmets sat on the benches.
"Well, here's an idea," I muttered, my hands fiddling with a smelly uniform hanging on a wall hook. Aerith's eyes shimmered when she turned them to me and gasped, "hey, let's go into disguise!"
I smiled at her, just thinking the same thing. "That sounds like a plan!"
"Yeah!" Aerith nodded with enthusiasm and yanked a uniform from a random locker.
"We can get by dressed as Shinra troops! Rufus and his group won't recognize us. It will be perfect," she cheered.
"Are there women in Shinra's military?" I asked Cloud.
He rubbed the back of his head nervously while scrunching his troubling eyes on us.
"Uh, I don't think women are allowed in Shinra's Public Security Force" he answered lamely.
Aerith pouted her lower lip at him, which made him lift his hands up without a fight.
"But I'm sure they either won't notice or care, or just make something up!" Cloud quickly fired before Aerith gave him her puppy dog eyes.
I rolled mine and bit my lower lip while running my fingers through the navy uniform with padded shoulders.
"Cloud, you should call Barret and tell him about our plan," I suggested.
Cloud sighed, eying the uniform in my hands with dread before fishing his bulky folded phone out from his pocket.
"Good idea."
Aerith and I snuck into the shower stalls to change while he made the call. I fumbled out of my skirt, and slipped into thick navy pants, the material stretchy and breathable.
"It's like athletic wear," I told myself.
"It's uncomfortable," Aerith whined, in a stall next to me. The pads were already sewn into the knees and shoulders, which left me feeling heavier and bulky. The uniform I picked out was almost too big, but I made it work by tightening my belt and securing the matching jacket as tight as possible with its zipper and belts.
Aerith and I had to stick with our brown boots as we huddled our old clothes in our arms.
"I want to see what I look like!" Aerith gushed, and ran out to find a mirror.
I followed her, noting how baggy her pants were. Her skinny arms waved the uniform's long sleeves freely, almost too frail to pick up a gun.
Cloud was still tightening his belts when he looked at us and rolled his eyes.
"You two will blend in so easily," he grumbled sarcastically. I smacked him lightly on his arm as I growled, "got any better idea?"
He smirked before pulling his eyes away to an open locker he was slowly emptying.
"No."
Aerith was standing in front of a mirror, her long braid coiled up into a bun as she twisted her body from side to side to gaze at her hips and rear.
"I look so chunky!" She squirmed.
Cloud finished tying his boots as I stuffed all our clothes in his backpack.
"Well, I don't think they care about how they look in uniform," he commented. When he rose, I eyed him in the marine uniform. It didn't look like him with his toned arms hidden under clothing, and its protective padding too bulky for someone who fought without needing it. I fiddled with my bulletproof vest inside the jacket, now understanding why the pants and shirt were breathable. Cloud walked over to the mirror to join Aerith, and then he lifted his eyes up to his reflection.
He had that distant look again. The one from this morning had returned. Quickly, he was losing himself in a nightmare he may have just had recently, his eyes widening with dilated pupils, until the lights of them vanished.
"Cloud?" I worried.
But he was already gone, eyes dim and chest lifting and dropping irregularly. The man in the mirror didn't like what he saw, until he threw his head into his hands, and a cracked sob suddenly slipped out of his lips.
"Cloud!"
Aerith and I both circled him. Aerith laid a hand on his shaky back as we watched his shoulders tremble. He continued to cry out in broken screams, like he was reliving a scene. I wedged myself between Cloud and the mirror, firm hands on his shoulder pads, and pulled him towards me until he rested the top of his head against my belly. My hands mixed with Aerith's rubbing his back as I whispered, "it's okay. You're safe, Cloud."
I was breaking just at the sight of him. Something about the uniform snapped his PTSD back, another trigger just seeing himself in it. He wore it before, as any newbie would in Shinra's forces. What happened to you, Cloud? What happened to you while you were still a marine? Was there more to the horror of your past besides Nibelheim?
Cloud's trembling hands gripped my hips, and he rammed his shut eyes into my coat, still twisting his head back and forth slowly as though repeating a silent 'no" to himself.
"Please. Please don't leave me," Cloud pleaded, not sounding like himself as his voice muffled into the fabric.
Aerith and I exchanged painful looks, unsure what to make of his episode. Small tears fell from her eyes, landing on the top of his back when she dropped them. I blinked mine back, unsure if he was talking to me, to us, or to someone in his vivid memory.
My fingers found his stiff hair, rubbing it back carefully as I looked down at those light blond strands sticking upright.
"Cloud, we're not going anywhere. We'll always be with you," I reassured him in a soft voice. I kept telling him it's going to be okay, that he was safe, and he had people who cared about him. The more I spoke, the calmer Cloud became. His grip no longer held as tight, his silent wails gone, and he stopped shaking.
A sniff and a sigh later, Cloud rose, hiding his face with a hand over his eyes.
"It's nothing," he tried to play it cool, struggling to breathe steadily. I could see the disturbed frown he tried to hide with his hand, and I shook my head at him.
"Cloud..."
Without permission, I wrapped my arms around his waist, hands up to his back as I turned my head to rest my cheek over his shoulder.
"It's okay. You don't have to be fine," I reminded him, my cheek smushed up to my lips.
Cloud didn't fight me like he may have done when we first met. Instead, he returned the hold, his face buried into my shoulder as his hair began to tickle my neck. I could feel his warm breath there, breathing into the fabric, the moist of his left over tears sinking through. His arms wrapped around me tightly, and I was a bit startled at his strength as I struggled to inhale a deep breath. This was the most troubled I've ever seen him so far, and I blinked a tear, letting it slither freely onto his metal shoulder plate. Such a strong hold, like Cloud was afraid to let go. I didn't know whether to tell him to stop or not, his strength squeezing me until it was almost too painful.
Aeith was quiet, not joining the hug like she normally would. I think she just wanted to let us be, a pained look on her face while being left alone in her thoughts. Who knows how long Cloud and I would be able to stay like that if it weren't for the sudden commotion of doors opening and footsteps crashing into the locker rooms.
The three of us gasped, Cloud and I breaking our hold while Aerith scrambled for a helmet.
"Here!" Cloud rammed one over my head for me while Aerith fiddled with hers.
"I can't see a thing!" I panicked.
"Here, there's a switch," Cloud quickly pressed a hidden button beside the neck of my helm. A second later, everything switched on, and I gasped at the wide screen display over my eyes.
I almost tripped backwards when I saw a red Cloud peering too close to my helmet.
"Whoa! Turn the red off!"
Cloud shook his head as his fingers messed with a few buttons on my helm.
"You have three settings," he informed, his voice easily heard into the cushioned headphones of the helmet. Another press, and the screen showed me night vision. His face glowed completely white with a green background.
"Night vision," I blurted.
Another press, and then it was just a normal, clear digital screen. By the time the colors blended back together in vision, a mob of men came crashing into our row, bags over their shoulders and helmets falling carelessly on the floor.
"Oh man, I need to take a piss!" One dude cried before rushing to the bathroom stalls. Aerith and I stayed close together, hiding our faces in our helms while Cloud casually as he could, pull white gloves back over his calm hands. It was like he never had an episode, his face collected.
A stocky, muscular man began to undress next to him, eyes up at me and Aerith with wonder.
"Wow, you two dressed fast!" He said while I blushed at his perfectly toned and tanned chest. I smacked a hand to my heart with a swallow, and then Aerith elbowed my gut to snap me out of it.
"Just ready for duty!" I coughed in a low tone voice, suddenly feeling like I was in a Mulan movie. Cloud dropped his face into his hand silently while I heard Aerith snicker under her helmet.
Another handsome military man undressed all the way down to his white boxers, and he smiled next to me. "Nah, you're just shy! Don't worry, buddy! We don't care what you got to hide!" And with that, he smacked my rear so hard, I almost stumbled into another marine.
"Man, you're small!" The butt smacker joked. He looked to Aerith up and down.
"You too!" And he smacked her rear as well before turning his young eyes to his other comrades.
"Man, they get skinnier and lankier every damn year!"
"Dude, they running out of recruits after what happen at Midgar," another marine grumbled, slipping on his uniform.
There were a few grumbles while Aerith and I tried to sneak out of the crowd of half naked men. But a bunch more came in from from the airfield, all ready and smashing their way towards the exit.
"I know. So many of them died from that Avalanche group. I wonder what happened to them anyway?" One asked aloud. Toilets flushed, locker doors slammed, and many conversations happened all at once.
"Hey, where the fuck is my uniform? It's gone!" Someone screamed.
"There's more in the back. Shut up and take the spares!" Another marine snapped. There was a bit of grumbling as three of them slithered through the crowds of sweaty bodies with ease. Cloud finally fitted his helm over his head, and with his backpack on, he held his sword at his side.
One guy, wide-eyed the weapon and whistled, "wow, sweet sword!"
"Thanks," Cloud muttered.
Aerith and I were stuck against a wall, with no way to squeeze around until more of them got dressed. There were maybe a hundred of guys in the locker room, which began to smell like sweaty socks and methane gas.
"We should try to squeeze through," Aerith suggested to me, her voice in a whisper, but I was too afraid to brush my breasts or my butt against any of these men.
"I don't know why we have to go out there, dancing like puppets in a parade. What a waste of time," one marine complained.
"I agree. I don't know, man. This whole Shinra thing isn't what I expected. I thought it was going to be funner than this shit," another grumbled.
"We need a new dance or song or something to help us recruit more men. They all scared shitless now," a thicker man shouted. There were agreements across the locker room.
"Scared and probably aware at how boring it is now that the war is over," one said.
"I don't know, I like the free meals and the rooms. It's not so bad, and we get paid. It's better than other jobs out there," another encouraged, optimistic.
And a whole conversation, joined by over a hundred men, began to manifest about the ups and downs about being a part of Shinra's military. Hearing them complain and needing a song to make the job more exciting, suddenly gave me a fun idea. I grinned so wide, Aerith saw it and instantly mumbled, "oh no."
I stepped onto a bench to make myself three feet taller than everybody else, easily seeing into the other rows behind the walls of lockers across the large room. I raised my hands up.
"Hey guys!" I began, my voice low to mimic a man's, though I wasn't sure how convincing that was. Even though Cloud wore his helmet, I could tell his face turned white when he looked up at me.
Most eyes looked up, quickly followed by silence. I began to sweat as I thought of spreading some good old disco culture from home. I could already hear the tune of the song beginning to come around the corner of my brain.
"It's not so bad!" I began, arms spread out wide. There were a couple of eye rolls while someone hissed from another locker row, "get the fuck down."
I ignored that comment, and instead, smiled widely as I sang, "young man, there's no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground!"
The music to the song increased in my thoughts, until I began to tap my hand lightly over a locker in a quick two beat motion.
"I said, young man, cause you're in a new town! There's no need to be unhappy!"
Frowns began to lift slightly. A couple began to tap to my beat, a few heads nodding to it.
"Young man, there's a place you can go! I said, young man, when you're short on your dough!"
A couple of agreements rattled through the room, along with some whistles. Now the enthusiasm was picking up as my face heated under the helmet.
I continued, "you can stay here, and I'm sure you will find, many ways to have a good time...!"
And then the fun part of the song began.
I raised my arms up like a Y, and jumped on the bench.
"It's fun to stay at the Y...M... !" I struggled with the other letters and quickly came up with, "S C!"
I clapped and repeated with smoother transition, "it's fun to stay at the YMSC," making letters out of my arms as I sang each of them out loud.
The tune must've been a hit because pretty soon, every Shinra marine began to sing along with some rhythmic claps.
"It's fun to stay at the YMSC!" We all sang.
I felt like I was in a fun musical, having a good time as I boasted to them all, "they have everything for young men to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys!"
More whistles and agreements waved across the whole room until the whole locker room roared with it.
Aerith jumped on the bench to join me, and bumped her hips with mine, wooing to the rhythm of the room.
I sang, "it's fun to stay at the..." and let them all finish without me, "YMSC!"
And together we bellowed in the chorus, "YMSC!"
"You can get yourself clean, have a good meal, you can do whatever you feel!" I shouted with a singing voice. Aerith and I bumped our hips together, the Shinra marines around us raising their hands up as they continued to chant to the "YMSC," part. The only one not having fun, was Cloud. He just stared, his mouth hanging open, as he lingered frozen along the edge of the crowd.
"Yeah, I like this guy!" One marine shouted, and again, they all sang, "it's fun to stay at the YMSC!"
Solo again, I sang, "young man, are you listening to me?! I said, young man, what do you wanna be?! I said, young man, you can make real your dreams! But you got to know this one thing. No man, does it all by himself, I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf, and just go there to the YMSC, I'm sure they can help you today!"
I clapped five times, and everyone reeled up for the best part.
"All together now!" I cried.
And everyone, except for Cloud, all sang at once, "it's fun to stay at the YMSC! It's fun to stay at the YM-!
"What the fuck is going on here?!" Screamed someone with no room for excuses, and the whole room went silent. Everyone held still, a couple of whispers as footsteps marched in through the locker rooms. Three officers in red uniform marched in, one of them screaming, "the parade starts in five minutes! Get your asses out there, now!"
I've never seen a room quickly empty as I did now, everyone scampering away in their blue Shinra uniform while I just stood there on the bench with Aerith.
She and I looked at each other.
"Are we going to be in the parade?" She whimpered at me.
"Of course you are!" An officer shouted, his upset eyes up at us under his helmet.
"Get down before I make you. Hurry up!"
We obeyed, Cloud waiting for us, until the officer screamed at him, "oh no, leave your sword and pack here. You'll be an eyesore in front of world television!"
Cloud hesitated, but not wanting to cause any trouble, left his pack in a locket, and leaned his sword up against a wall. He may pick it up later or trust Barret to retrieve it.
Finally, we all left the locker room, a crowd bottlenecking through a hallway of panicked men.
A couple of them were still singing together, "YMSC," under their breaths. I tried to keep an eye on Aerith and Cloud, but they easily blended with the rest of them. Every time I looked back, and officer finally caught on and pulled me aside so hard, I thought he would yank my arm off. "No stalling! Keep your eyes forward! And march like you practiced!"
Before I had the chance to stutter, I was shoved back into the blob of blue, and under a blanket of nervous sweat, faced toward at all the rows of white helmets ahead of me.
We marched through a parking garage, and stepped into the city streets of Junon.
A young marine elbowed my arm. When I glanced up, I thought it was Cloud, but his voice told me he was a stranger, and he even smiled showing his teeth, something Cloud would never do.
"I've got you, newbie, don't worry," the man whispered. I smiled nervously back, unsure if he had the hots for me as a dude, or if he was just friendly.
But I was quickly distracted by the city's streets. The asphalt road was wide, with one edge of it along rows of tall European style buildings, while the other showed us the sea. Rows and rows of the buildings, shops, apartments, clubs, layered downward along the city's wall like a mountain, all cutting across under the cannon. I was amazed at the layout, the rails to keep people from falling over to the street below, and alleyways that may cut you through the back of the shops. There were at least five long streets across the city, one atop of the other at a slanted angle up the wall.
Banners in red, with Rufus's name splattered on them all, hung high on each other building. Red silk ribbon curled around the railings of the road. At each window, heads poked out, with little red flags in some of their hands, the people of the street cheering, shouting and clapping at all of us in formation.
I stepped on a bit of confetti as I struggled to find Aeris and Cloud. Again, my head searched for them.
"Cloud," I whispered harshly. "Aerith!"
But instead, I got friendly marine next to me, and he asked, "what's YSMC anyway?"
I smiled to myself when I recalled how quickly I came up with the YMCA reference.
"Youth for Military of Shinra Corporation," I joked.
That made him laugh lightly. "That's a good one! I can't wait to share that with my friends in Costal Del Sol."
I peered at him, though all I could see was his helmet, so I had no idea who I was talking to.
"Costal Del Sol?" I questioned, almost forgetting to sound like a dude again.
This made my buddy gawk at me.
"Are you kidding? You've never heard of it? Dude, it's why we wanted to take this stupid assignment. Those participating in the parade and as security for Rufus, get to take his ship to Costal Del Sol, where there's so many babes in bikinis, you wouldn't know what to do with all the choices. The hot sun. The drinks. The babes."
I could practically hear him drooling and rolled my eyes in response.
"The babes..." I grumbled with less enthusiasm.
"March! One, two, three, march! Towards West Garage!" Shouted the officers.
We were heading under the titanic structure of the Mako cannon, its size looming over us like a threatening Titan as a brief tunnel.
Out of nowhere, automatic rifles shoved into our hands, their clicking and rattled handles in place. I was given one, and just held on to it with confusion. I've never held a gun before, and I eyed how everyone else was holding theirs. But as I did, I gasped at a business along the wall of them all, and there, smacked as a sign atop of a little parlor...
"Pizza..." I whimpered. I stopped and gazed at the pizza sign like it was a message from the Gods. So, there was pizza here! I can't remember the last time I ate the pleasurable food that New York has adopted from the migrating Italians. The hot bubbly red sauce, sweetened with a little sugar and red wine, drizzled over hot crusty bread so thick, it crunched powerfully with each bite. And the cheese, a greasy hot creamy mess of it to help bind the toppings together like pepperoni and crisp mushrooms. The parlor was packed with customers, most of them sitting outside eating their pizza while waiting for the parade in front of their feet.
I squirmed, left alone to just stare like a hungry hobo, until my marine buddy rushed up to me.
"Hey, you can't stay behind!" He warned. I bit my lower lip, ignoring him.
"Who cares," I grumbled. My stomach gurgled while I felt him tug on my arm.
"Come on. You can eat later after this is over. We need to meet on the South side for our zigzag performance!"
I wanted to punch him in the face so bad, I clenched my teeth as I imagined it, breaking my fist into this stranger's helmet.
"Fine!" I hissed.
I let him drag me back into the crowd of others before an officer found out. Once more, I meshed into the crowd of blue, and sighed while crying silently inside.
Someday...
We assembled under a military garage across the other side of the city, and a whistle blew. Everyone froze, their backs straight and heads up, staring at the back wall of the garage. I shifted in the very back row, trying to copy everyone as I analyzed the ten rows of us all aligned across the garage.
Another whistle, and then a shout, "And front!"
Like robots, everyone twisted around on their heels and faced me. I gasped, facing a puzzled marine, and quickly turned around, my face beet red. A bright blue light hung over us as I watched a classic vehicle approached, along with a couple of military tanks.
I thought I was going to be at the tail end of the parade, but to my dismay, I was in the very front.
We were going back the way we came. With me in the front row. How did this happen?
And what's even worst...
I took deep breaths as the shiny, old-fashion white car, like a 1950's Pontiac Convertible, crawled under the cannon towards us. In that car, dressed in a pristine white suit with fur trim around his long neck, was none other than Rufus. He sat upright atop the back seat, while his driver kept his face hidden under a hat and sunglasses. Rufus's blond hair flipped to one side from a breeze, blue eyes appearing bored as they laid over us like we were nothing but ants he had to deal with. But that wasn't the worst of it.
Walking there next to the car on the driver's side, his mixed brown and Mako eyes glowed out at the horizon, the cloudy sun giving a faint light to his pale face and messy brown hair.
Issac was there.
I swallowed hard while the gun shook in my hands. He's alive! He's okay! I almost jumped out of line to rush up to him, more of habit, but then woke up, and walked two steps back to my spot.
Marine buddy must've noticed because I heard him whisper to me, "hey, you got this! Don't be nervous!"
Oh buddy, you have no idea.
I sucked in a breath and held it when Isaac and Rufus were only thirty feet away. Both of their eyes grazed over me and the rest of the men before the car circled to make its way right behind two tanks. Dozens of officers formed in between the tanks. It was all a dance, who goes where, what row, until finally, an officer came in front of my row, and blew his whistle. Everyone cocked their guns up over their shoulders. I did the same as I blew an air of relief out slowly, Isaac's back to me.
What was he doing here? I didn't know he could leave Midgar with his Mako dependence. And where's Scarlet? I hugged my gun more than held it confidently over my shoulder, and then I spotted the stocky bearded man, Heidegger, approaching the group in his own classic convertible, and there, dressed in that same red fitting gown, was Scarlet. I pressed my lips together, watching her eye Isaac hungrily while she made friends with a lollipop in her ruby mouth. I thought I was going to throw up.
People began to pop out of the buildings, picking their spots along the sidewalk, while others stuck out through windows. The music of the parade began, each intercom booming with it while a marching band played towards us.
The tension grew as TV reporters waited with impatience outside the garage.
A whistle blew, and the marching band went first, along with tanks rolling behind them, followed by rows of muscular sailors. And then the officers. And then Rufus along with Isaac walking alongside his vehicle. He still wore his Mako suit, its dark colors mixing him easily with the concrete road except for the tiny swivels of blue lines that supplied him with energy to live. When I watched his back, I noticed it glowed, a small glowing ball in his thoracic region like a tiny reactor had been wedged into his suit.
That was new.
What was also new, was that his armless injury seemed to be replaced by another robotic limb, more machine than before. The last I saw him, he was unconscious, white face up to the ceiling as blood and Mako dribbled out of his shoulder where his arm was clean off by Sephiroth. Now, Isaac was standing and breathing only thirty feet away, unaware that I was watching him.
Next to continue the parade, there was Heidegger and Scarlet, sitting together like two true partners of Shinra, and then, finally, my group.
Our officer in front blew a whistle, and that was the cue to start marching. I almost lost my step, trying to keep up and match my legs with my neighbors' but with less grace.
My eyes kept burning at Isaac's back, afraid that at any second, he would turn around and recognize me right away.
We marched out of the garage, instantly welcomed by a rain of confetti and cheers from the tall apartments. I figured, marching is pretty easy. Just kept in sync, and no one would notice. I just wondered how everyone else was going through this. Where were Cloud and Aerith? How could Barret and Red blend in such a crowd? Hopefully, they will catch on and meet later.
Again, we marched under the cannon, its temporary shadow reminding me what Shinra was capable of achieving, such as building giant weapons.
Rufus waved, standing up in the back of his convertible, his smile wide at all the citizens who came out with their respects to see him. Or forced to see him.
Who knows? I rolled my eyes as a group of girls begged him to touch their hands, and when he did, they squealed and melted.
"Merry me! Make me your princess!" One of them screamed.
Isaac behaved as Rufus's shadow, not interactive but there, to protect him if needed as another lapdog, while Scarlet was watching over him, his master in charge of what he did. I never thought I would see them all again.
Our road curved downward into the next street below, and again, we marched, as what my buddy put it, "in zigzag" motion, from street to street as we slowly aimed downwards. I wanted to stop and explore all the shops, eyeballing the cafés and the restaurants filled with bystanders watching the parade. TV reporters stood in front of large cameras, announcing the status of the parade with rapid energy.
"Here today, we celebrate our new President, Rufus, son of Shinra. If you are watching from Midgar, this goes live to you from us here in Junon. As you can see, there is a massive crowd out here to greet their new leader!"
Why was everyone so excited over a dictatorship type of government? I scoffed at the camera men.
A whistle blew, and I heard guns shift. I looked over my shoulder, and watched everyone had changed position of their rifles, back in their arms. I did the same, and right in front of television. I was tempted to flip them off, but decided not to make a scene. A couple of Shinra marines peeled out of the group, just to shove their faces in front of the camera with laughs. My buddy chuckled and grabbed my hand to drag me with him.
"Come on, we gotta do this!" He urged. He suddenly reminded me of a male version of Aerith with the way he pulled me along with a few other marines. We all squished in front of a camera.
"Hey, don't forget Midgar, it's fun to stay at the YMSC!" They all sang in front of the camera, their arms over their shoulders like drinking buddies. I forced a smile, praying that no one would recognize me as my buddy cheered, "The Youth of Military for Shinra Corporation!"
Quickly, we aimed towards our spots in line while a scattered few lingered to admire ladies.
"That was awesome!" My buddy cheered, and he patted me on the back so hard, I choked saliva as it crashed down my throat, my feet scrambling forward clumsily.
That made him laugh. "Wow, you really are a shrimp!" Another hard pat, and I was shoved forward, crashing into a group of ladies.
"Oh my! Are you okay? Hey there, sexy!" Their voices just sort of blurred together as I struggled onto my feet with my red face avoiding their gazes.
A hand grabbed at my back and pulled me up, just to drag me back to the parade.
"Sorry, ladies. He's with me," my buddy confirmed, and he lifted his helm a little just to wink a brown eye at them. They all squealed, and he slid his helmet back on and turned his face to me.
"Ready?"
I was left abashed, unsure what to say, when I got a glance at my buddy's friendly brown eyes. It was just simple to assume, everyone in Shinra was a scoundrel when all you got to see were their nonhuman faces hidden by helmets, their characters dehumanized.
"Hey, don't just stand there. Hurry up!" He encouraged, a smack on my shoulder, and ran past me, gun held over his shoulder. I followed, panting as I put in effort to keep up.
"Hey, wait! Where are we marching to, anyway?" I asked him.
"Don't you remember from rehearsal? We meet at the west side of Lower Junon, ya know, the docks. From there, we go straight into the ship," he explained. As gracefully as he could, he jumped back in line, and fell into sync. I hovered nervously along the sidelines, awaiting the camera man to divert his lens away enough before I scampered back to my spot. No one seemed to notice my poor performance as I wished for a glass of water to splash across my face. I'd give anything to take off this helmet.
"But before we go into the ship," my buddy continued, his voice loud for me to hear over the screaming crowds and music, "we perform in front of Rufus. Don't forget, up, left, up, then down, right, left, up, up, and two twists." Another friendly pat, and then I was left standing there like I was just struck my painful lightning.
We perform right in front of Rufus?
I was shoved forward.
"Keep moving, marine!" One shouted from behind. I kept marching forward, my legs in sync, but in the back of my mind, I was dreading the idea of facing Rufus, let alone, Isaac.
Thirty minutes later, the whole time while I held my careful gaze on Isaac's back, we finally reached the harbor. The tanks rolled into a garage, the band scattered, no longer playing.
The music finally stopped.
Sailors all aligned right before a large ramp up into the back of a large military ship.
Rufus's car stopped, and he jumped out, his large magnum gun glistening its handle just outside his long white coat's pocket.
I stood in front, with the rest of the Shinra marines, over a hundred of us standing before him like obedient children awaiting his command.
I sucked in a breath as I dreadfully watched Rufus turn around, and faced the marines, along with Isaac at his side. Scarlet waltzed her way onboard the ship with a few of her own Shinra pets, dismissing the idea of watching a bunch of boys dancing in front of their leader. Isaac's glowing eyes scanned through the crowd with a serious look, on the lookout for any kind of threat while he held his hands behind his back. I swallowed as his eyes slowly made their way to mine, almost forgetting he couldn't see through my helmet. But my Gods, it sure felt like it when I saw him stare at me, his eyes fixated on my lens when I saw him on my screen. Was he lingering? Suspecting?
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
But no, he moved on, his eyes darting behind me. I blew out a long sigh, and shifted my attention to Rufus, only to freeze in place when I found him staring at me with a curious look.
Oh no. He can see right through me. It's over!
But to my relief, he blinked his eyes away, and then, out of ears shot, I watched him whisper to Isaac, eyes off to the side as though speaking casually.
Isaac blinked, his eyes wide up at the obscured sun, and then he shifted his depressing face back to the Shinra men.
A whistle blew, and we all straightened as Heidegger came forth, just to stand along our officer with his dark bushy head held high to the polluted sky.
"Everyone, ready?! In front of our Head of Public Safety Department, and the President of Shinra!" Our officer cried.
A whistle blew, and I watched with panicked dismay at everyone cocking their guns up into the air. I followed as closely as I could, a second or two too late. A whistle blew again and everyone shifted their guns to the left. That's what my marine buddy meant when he blurted to me all those random directions. I didn't remember all that he hinted at me, there was like a hundred moves, which made it obvious, I was either a lazy marine, or a fraud.
I did each move with tardiness, and with each whistle, my face grew even redder. My mistakes were pulling the attentions of Rufus, Isaac and Heidegger with twisted up faces of displeasure. Well, Heidegger had a sour of a face. Rufus just closed his eyes, as though trying to ignore my imperfections to the rest of his military. Isaac's expression was neutral, or more analytical, his familiar "work physician face" on when he looked right at me.
I had no choice but to keep going, until finally, the commander told us to stop.
Heidegger put a thick hand over his face to wipe the heat off it, and then he turned his back to us, shaking his head at Rufus.
The President replied by clapping, walking forward as his claps continued. He smiled at all of his men, only a few feet from me, and said out loud, "thank you for that splendid performance!" His eyes fell on me, and there it was, that icicle look.
I swallowed so hard, I prayed Rufus didn't hear it as he walked up to me and cocked his head.
"Are you new, son?"
As smoothly as I could, standing straight as an arrow, I replied in my man voice, "yes sir. My performance was appalling!" This made Rufus smile wider.
"No need to put yourself down, my friend. You did your best," he said, almost sounding condescending, but maybe I was just being biased. Rufus laid a hand on my shoulder, a scoff through his smile, and then he turned around, leaving me almost turning into a puddle of fear.
"Wow, you got the President to talk to you," whispered my buddy. I poked him in the ribs with my elbow so hard.
"Ow, what?"
I felt a little better now.
"Okay, men, dismiss! You have fifteen minutes to get on that ship unless you want to stay behind!" Our officer ordered. A second later, almost everyone in blue, marched onto the ship with yelps of joy, their guns clanking against them. I searched around, trying to spot someone who looked familiar. No Cloud nor Aerith. I wish we had tried a marker before it got hectic.
"Hey."
I simmered, annoyed that I was stuck with some Shinra marine that picked on me.
"What?!" I spat in his face, and gasped when I didn't lower my tone like a man. The marine didn't seem to notice because he asked me, "uh, ready to get on the ship?"
I looked up, watching Rufus and Isaac disappear on board. Walking onto that ship was going to like a death sentence, but it was part of the whole plan. Besides, even if they did recognize me, they wouldn't be able to find me among the other hundreds of marines. I hope.
I nodded to the marine's question and replied, "yep, sure am."
This must've pleased him because he swung an arm over my shoulder and cheered, "sweet! You can bunk next to me. Hey, what are you going to do in Costal Del Sol anyway? We should drink together and sing more of that song!-" He went on and on as I growled, looking up at the sky through my helm, and prayed that this voyage was going to run smoothly.
Of course, it wasn't.
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