*taps mic* ...is this thing on? Hi, I'm still here. Welcome to 2022! You may be wondering what happened to keep me out of updating this story for… almost eighteen months? Yeah, that's a while. So… a bunch of stuff happened. I'd originally intended to be releasing this way earlier, but COVID lockdown depression wasn't fun, and then my now-former landlord decided he wanted to sell the house I was living in, in the middle of a pandemic. Which meant that I had to move. And a couple months of househunting and packing and panicking didn't do my writing any favors. But I got it done (the move, I mean), and then I had to deal with settling in, and dealing with more pandemic crap, and changing jobs, and in less than a month, I'm moving again time to a much nicer place… and after all of that is said and done, now, finally, I can get back to writing. Took a while for this to get to a point where I was satisfied with it, and now that it's here I'm hoping that y'all get to enjoy it.

Oh dear gods it's been so long since I've been able to respond to comments, so this is a really good feeling I've got right now…
Mr. Haziq: I don't deliberately intend to include material from the Remake. It's not that I think one version is superior to the other, it's just more that I'm familiar with the original in a way that I can't yet be with the Remake. There might end up being similarities by accident; as an example, I wrote my iteration of the Heli Gunner sequence way before the Remake even came out, and there were a few notes between the two that felt similar.
Kaiya Azure: Ranma is not part Shiva. Shiva and Ifrit will both be making an appearance in the coming chapters, once I have some more work done. And I do have some very interesting plans for the summons.
Kyleta and Hammerchuckery: I'm really glad that Jenova Ardent conveyed an appropriate sense of horror. It's one of those things where I'm the writer and I know what it looks like in my head, and then I have to express that and I'm not always sure I hit my intended mark. I went through a couple iterations of that description too.
Andalumeni: Oddly, a bit of that is getting addressed below. The short version is that Yuffie is traveling at least somewhat incognito, or at least that she isn't openly traveling as Her Imperial Princess Yuffie Kisaragi, Heir to the Great and Independent Nation of Wutai. The average person, even the average Wutaian, isn't going to see Yuffie walking the streets of wherever, and think "Oh, hey, that's the Emperor's daughter there." Think how Marle/Nadia from Chrono Trigger went to the Millennial Fair, and nobody recognized her as the heir to the throne even when they were talking about her, in front of her.

To make sure that events in this chapter match up properly with my intentions, I have made a few minor edits to chapter 32. If you are reading this for the first time, you probably won't notice a thing. I don't intend for the next chapter to be a year from now. On the other hand, I didn't intend this one to take so long either. Life, disappointingly, is not always kind to writers (or, really, any subset of humanity, but that's a whole other discussion). Thanks, y'all, for being patient, and we'll see when the next chapter happens. Until then, please enjoy the following.

Chapter 33

Aftermath

[ ν ] - εγλ 0007, December 18

The docks at Costa del Sol were clean and, at present, mostly bare. Aside from the usual smattering of dockhands, currently the only vessels berthed there were a private sailing vessel and a bright red seaplane, its owner lounging on the port-side wing in the morning sun. The dockhands were present to assist with the offloading of an expected cargo vessel within the next hour. It therefore came as a surprise when a helicopter appeared on the horizon.

The four-seater chopper approached quickly and landed on the dock without preamble, a clean landing after a chaotic getaway. Lieutenant Parson cut the engines, and was rather surprised at the alacrity with which Heidegger exited the vehicle onto solid ground. Rufus let out a sigh, removing his headset, and turned to Parson. "How long before you're ready to fly again?"

Parson looked over the fuel gauge and other instruments. "It'll be about ten minutes to refuel," he answered, "and I want to check the engine over."

"Take care of it, then," Rufus said calmly. "I want to be back in the air as soon as possible."

Parson nodded, motioning to the dockside workers to assist in performing the maintenance. Rufus removed his headset, stepped out of the passenger seat, and adjusted his suit jacket before stepping down from the helipad and walking straight to Heidegger. "You… really fucked up, you know."

"Yes sir," Heidegger mumbled.

Rufus glanced along the dock. "The last radio report from the Grace of Ifrit was a call to abandon ship," he began quietly, considering the events of the morning. He began pacing in a slow circle around Heidegger as he spoke. "The reports of Sephiroth's abilities, at least, were not exaggerated. The radio broadcast went on to say that a group of seven stowaways were on board… It appears that AVALANCHE managed to slip past your guard, hide on the very ship you commandeered, and secure passage out of Junon. All of this despite your repeated insistences that they had been contained, and that they could not pose a threat to our operations." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "It also seems that, at least from the captain's perspective, AVALANCHE was able to buy time for some of the ship's crew to evacuate before the entire ship was gutted, stem to stern, by whatever monstrosity Sephiroth let loose on board." Rufus took another sharp breath as he circled back around to the front of his subordinate, and turned to face him directly. "Do you have… anything to add to this report, Heidegger?"

"No sir," Heidegger said, wringing his hands. "I have no excuse."

Rufus stared at him, his face blank. "You... you must be joking," he said, his mouth stretched vaguely into a smile, which is to say that all of his teeth were showing. As he spoke, the smile slid away. "I've been your superior for less than a week, and all you seem to be good for is excuses. Now, with the biggest and most colossal screw-up I could possibly imagine having resulted from my very simple order of 'load the boat and keep AVALANCHE out of the picture'... now of all times, you run out of excuses?"

Heidegger nodded his head. "I am ashamed of myself."

Rufus clenched his hands in front of him, a ring sparkling in the sun off of one finger. After a moment, he exhaled sharply, before reaching under his suit jacket to draw his Shortbarrel. In one motion he grabbed Heidegger by his lapels, forced the shotgun lengthwise beneath Heidegger's chin, and hefted the man against the concrete seawall with an audible thud. "I feel… I may have failed… to adequately communicate… my dissatisfaction… in your performance," Rufus hissed, as Heidegger struggled vainly against the insistent pressure holding him in place.

Dock workers began to circle around them, partly to observe, and partly to make sure intervention would not be required. Rufus glared at them, his face speaking volumes on the topic of how disposable they were to him; the message delivered, the civilians rapidly dispersed, leaving Heidegger to his fate at the hands of his superior. Rufus returned his icy gaze to Heidegger. "We came here because, according to your intelligence, we believed that Sephiroth had already left Junon. Instead, we ended up giving him transport out of Junon and out of the reach of every SOLDIER we had ready to intercept him. Between him and whatever monster he unleashed aboard that ship, the half-company of troopers we brought with us to help find him are all now missing or dead. To top that off, Hojo is gone, he's taken every last shred of his research data, and wiped our drives clean of it. Since most of the Research department were massacred when Sephiroth broke in, and nearly all of the servers were damaged in the ensuing fights, that means we have no one left who knows how to make more SOLDIERs. And nobody, not even a single person you set as security for Shinra Tower, tried to stop him.

"And finally, even beyond letting Sephiroth, Hojo, and all of AVALANCHE past your supposedly perfect guard network," Rufus continued, gritting his teeth, "you also let past Ranma Saotome, a wisp of a girl who has already single-handedly destroyed three of the Weapons' Department's tanks, survived a task-force of your vaunted SOLDIERs, and put my Turks to a standstill, without even trying." He pulled away, letting Heidegger drop to the concrete of the dock. Before the man could stand again, Rufus turned and leveled the shotgun's barrels at Heidegger's face. "In short, your failure has taken us from a planned position of strength to an absolute trainwreck which may be impossible to recover from. We now have only half the planned forces to chase after Sephiroth, our support gear is sitting a hundred kilometers out at the bottom of the ocean, and for all we know, Sephiroth, Hojo, Saotome, and AVALANCHE could all be sitting in a bar together in this very town, drinking it up right now, and we wouldn't be able to do anything to slow them down. And you have 'no excuse'."

Heidegger, perhaps wisely, but more likely due to the insistent pressure of the dual barrels against his mouth, said nothing. The two of them remained immobile for several long seconds that drew out like a knife. Finally, Rufus pulled the gun away, his arm drifting down to his side. "The only reason I haven't executed you for your gross incompetence is that, at the moment, there is nobody else in the company who could take over your duties. So congratulations, you have made yourself... indispensable. But believe me, Heidegger, that will change. You have a very limited window to prove yourself worthy of this position." Rufus straightened his hair, adjusted his suit, and turned away. "I am going to Gongaga to regroup with the other forces there. You are going to board the next vessel that comes into the harbor and return to Junon. Once there, you will send a new force here to pursue Sephiroth, and then you will return to Midgar. Have Palmer recall Quintus to lead another force onto the Gelnika and the Highwind as soon as they are ready. Call me when those chores are completed, and we'll see if we can find anything else you are capable of performing without constant supervision. And I swear to the Goddess, if I hear that stupid horse laugh out of your mouth between now and the time that helicopter takes off, I will put this gun against your chest and spray your damn guts all over this pier."

Heidegger nodded to Rufus' back. Without another word, without a single outburst to the surrounding dock workers, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the stairs leading up from the docks, towards the coastal resort town. Rufus continued to the helipad, unconsciously caressing the smooth, polished foregrip of the shotgun-

-which was no longer nearly as smooth as he recalled. The wood surface felt heavily scratched, but not uniformly so. He turned the weapon upside down and examined it, only to reveal a set of shallow but neatly etched katakana carved through the lacquer and the wood surface beneath. The lettering read 'Ranma Saotome was here.'

Rufus paled, his eyes darting back and forth, his mind racing. He remembered drawing the weapon on the ship's captain yesterday morning, and no markings had been on it anywhere. Today it bore that inscription, indelible and irrefutable. Which meant that sometime in the last twenty-odd hours, Ranma Saotome, the unknown entity that had managed to upset most of his plans for his return to Shinra's fold, had been close enough to Rufus for long enough to carve nearly a dozen characters into the underside of his weapon, without Rufus noticing. At which point Rufus' mind offered up another chestnut of realization, which was that Ranma Saotome had been within range to assassinate him, with an object sharp and durable enough to carve hardwood, for at least long enough to write a whole sentence.

Rufus felt his blood chill at the morbid epiphany. Was this a message of intent, a warning, or something else? Was this just to upset his balance again, proof that his defenses were inadequate to the girl's abilities, or a threat, a promise to greater harm in the future? Why had she not simply killed him? Why let him live? Was there some greater purpose, and if so, how could he upset it in turn? Rufus continued to pore over the events inside his head for a few minutes, until he noticed Parson approaching. "Yes?" he said simply.

The lieutenant fired off a salute. "Sir, we're ready to depart," came the terse reply.

Rufus nodded, his gaze drawn away from the newly acquired inscription. He paused for a moment, re-holstered the Shortbarrel beneath his coat, and glanced at Parson again. He took a moment, and organized his thoughts. "I know leaving them behind was difficult," he said quietly. "You heard the distress signal, though. Whatever it was that Sephiroth released aboard sank the ship; if we'd stayed behind, we would likely be dead as well. With any luck, the troopers were able to get to the lifeboats, but we cannot waste time looking for the survivors right now. Once we're airborne, I'll send word to the Shinra outpost near the Corel Reactor, they can send out search-and-rescue from there."

Parson hesitated for a moment, but nodded and gave a salute. "I understand, sir," he answered, any emotion behind his response inaudible. Rufus returned the salute, and Parson returned to the helicopter. Rufus glanced around, and made sure that Heidegger was well out of sight, before stepping up to the helicopter himself and opening the passenger hatch. Instead of stepping inside, he turned his gaze to the fourth individual who had flown with them. "You're getting off here," Rufus said quietly. "The plan stays the same. Find out what you can, signal their intentions, and don't let them out of your sight."

"Aye," a harsh voice responded. "Mind unloadin' tha pack mule, then?"

Rufus gave a frown at that, but unlatched a compartment on the underside of the helicopter, letting a capsule-shaped package clatter to the concrete as the passenger hopped out of the seat and onto the dock. Rufus turned to the short individual and took a breath. "I'm counting on you," he said firmly. "Don't let me down." Without waiting for a response, Rufus stepped past the former passenger and boarded the helicopter, as the rotors began to spin up. The departed passenger hopped down from the raised platform and ducked past the barricade to keep from being tossed by the updraft. The helicopter lifted from the landing platform, turned gently to the southwest, and flew off.

"All right," the small figure muttered, shielding his eyes from the sun with a gloved hand. "Let's see what Ae've got to work with." And with that, he returned to the platform and opened the oblong package.

-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-

Ranma struggled back to her feet, taking a few deep breaths to recenter herself. Looking over at the patch of damp sand where the Jenova creature had just been, the sunlight over the horizon and the patchy fires across the beach already beginning to evaporate the remains, it finally began to dawn on her just how much danger she was in here… how much danger all of them were in. The only thing in her memory that came close to this big of a threat was the fight with Saffron. That was also the last time I had to use the Hiryu Shoten Ha, she reminded herself with a shudder. Sure hope nothing like that shows up again for a while. Or ever, she thought, before pushing that worry to the side and taking another calming breath.

With a start, she remembered why she'd been fighting that thing with that much effort. She turned and started moving, nearly running face-first into Cloud in her haste. She let out an apology, side-stepped, and moved back along the crags, vaulting the jagged stone breaker that had been used as cover in the fight. In the next alcove sat Aerith, slumped against the cliff wall, her head tilted forward, not moving. Ranma stared at the woman for a long moment, uncertain, wondering if she'd failed somehow. Then Aerith's chest rose, a slow deep breath. The moment unwound, and Ranma felt the tension release like a steam valve. Kami, thank you, she's still alive, she thought, and it wasn't until that moment when she understood what had unsteadied her. "Aerith," Ranma said softly, jostling the girl a little bit to rouse her.

"Ran...ma…?" Aerith mumbled, her eyes opening slowly. After a moment, she sat bolt upright, a look of panic in her eyes, her arms flailing around in confusion. "You… what… where did it go? It's-"

Ranma shushed the older girl gently. "It's okay, Aerith," she said in a soothing voice. Aerith didn't respond to that declaration, instead glancing around to either side, her eyes still wide with fear. "It's gone," Ranma continued. "Jenova's gone. We destroyed it… and we made damn sure of it this time."

At the name 'Jenova', Aerith finally focused her attention on Ranma. The fear in her eyes gradually turned to relief as Ranma spoke, and it wasn't long before tears began to well up, blurring her vision. "Oh Goddess, thank you…" she whispered, reaching out to embrace Ranma as her emotions burst over. "I was scared, I was so scared, it was in my head, I couldn't fight it, I couldn't..."

Ranma felt slightly off balance as she did her best to console and reassure her student, returning the hug in a slow and awkward way. "I know, it's okay," she repeated, trying her best to calm Aerith.

Several long seconds passed with the two in each other's arms, until Aerith finally relaxed her grip and took a deep breath, wiping her tears away with one hand. She looked Ranma in the eyes and pressed one hand firmly against the redhead's sternum, pushing her away. "If I don't stand up here, if I don't reach higher, here… when am I ever going to do it?" She reached against the rocks and pushed herself up to standing, bracing herself on her staff. "Goddess, I want to become stronger than this…"

"Hey," Ranma interrupted Aerith's anxious rant as she stood alongside her, a look of concern crossing the redhead's face. "Whatever the hell that thing was doin', I think it was targeting you. That doesn't make you weak." She placed one hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "You're going to get there. You were stronger a week ago than you were last month, and you're stronger now than you were last week. Tomorrow, you'll be stronger than you are today-"

"But today... wasn't... enough!" Aerith hissed in a disappointed tone, planting the tip of her staff firmly into the sand to punctuate her words. "Sephiroth… and Jenova… I felt them push into my mind like I wasn't even there. I can't…" Aerith saw the look of blank confusion on Ranma's face. She paused and took a deep breath, steeling her nerves as she continued in a hushed tone. "When we were still in the engine room, and when… it… came ashore… it was like every single nightmare I could ever imagine having… it just wanted to eat, and eat, and eat… it kept telling me how delicious I would be, and how it would feel to dissolve inside of its body… and it wasn't just words, it was making me feel and see everything it was describing at the same time." The brunette paused, trying to calm her breathing again. "I still don't feel quite like I'm here… it's like part of me still remembers being devoured by that… thing… even though I'm still standing here."

Ranma looked down and away, not wanting to meet her student's gaze. She remembered the sensations of discomfort and disgust, the tendril of fear she felt in her head as she looked up at the Jenova creature, and pushing those thoughts firmly to the side in order to take care of the others in the heat of combat. Inwardly, she felt a reflexive tinge of displeasure with Aerith, the older girl's visible weakness clashing with Ranma's own past machismo. The voice of Genma berating her from a world away for 'acting like a woman' and how she needed to 'become a man among men' still echoed in her mind, the old habits buried under the surface but still present and waiting for her to revert. And then she remembered her own promise to Elmyra, half a world away, and what felt like ages ago. She scowled as the memories flitted past her eyes, before looking up at Aerith with a renewed resolve. She's my student, Ranma thought, and that means she's my responsibility. "I give you my word… come hell or high water, I will find a way that you can guard yourself from… whatever it was that monster was doing. And if I can't find it, I'll make one."

Aerith blinked twice and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stem the flow of tears. After a second or two, she gave up and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Ranma. "Thank you… sensei…" she whispered.

-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-

"...an' that's about where we came aboard your ship," Barret concluded, gesturing with his good arm. "I guess you already know what happened after that."

Shiro crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, that's certainly a mouthful of a story," he said calmly. A moment passed between the two in consideration, before the captain continued, "Despite your being stowaways, it seems that without your help, we would all be dead… either drowned or eaten by… whatever hell-spawned monster the demon let loose. We… are all in your debt," he said finally. "AVALANCHE can count each of us among your friends."

Barret gave a slight grin at that. "Glad to hear it, captain," he responded, offering his hand; Shiro took it, shaking firmly. "One question, jus' between us…" Barret lowered his voice, before he continued. "You wouldn't really just've shot us, would ya?"

Shiro's expression did not falter, his grip did not waver. "My duty, then and now, is to my crew, my ship, and my cargo, in that order," he replied in an even tone. "If you hadn't shown yourselves, and we hadn't had more pressing matters to deal with, we would have been well within our rights to keelhaul you."

Barret nodded slowly, his smile fading a bit. "I can appreciate that… it's good to know where a man stands." The two men released each other's hands. "Guess that's everythin', then."

"A moment, please," Shiro interrupted. "I don't want you thinking my crew and I ungrateful for your deeds." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small red orb, holding it out to Barret. "The Grace of Ifrit had more than one reason behind its naming. In the event of a pirate attack, we would use this to defend ourselves. Couldn't do much for what was already aboard, and I don't have the strength to use it on my own, but… this is the best I can do to repay you for now."

Barret looked down at the glowing red sphere, recognizing it almost instantly. "Damn, captain… I almost feel sorry for the pirates," he quipped with a wry grin, and pocketed the summon materia. He looked back to the captain. "What're you and your crew gonna do now?" he asked.

"I have an idea."

The two of them turned to face Yuffie. Barret tilted his head to one side. "All right, shrimp, let's hear it."

Yuffie glanced around for a moment, a nervous look on her face. "I think… I think that Sephiroth's trying to get to Wutai," she said finally. Neither man said anything, but Barret made a motion with his hand, urging her to continue. "Remember back in Junon, when Cloud and Ranma were arguin' about Sephiroth looking for some place abundant with life, where the lifestream was strong, an'…" she trailed off for a moment, before taking a breath. "Wutai has a buncha places where the lifestream is close to the surface and abundant. There are old temples there, where the Wutaians worshiped the old gods… places Shinra wanted to plow to the ground and build reactors, turn the whole country into a Mako parking lot or whatever. One of the conditions of the treaty, back when the war finally ended, was they'd stop tryna put up reactors on Wutai."

Barret rubbed at his stubble with his good hand. "An' you think maybe one'a those temples might be where the Promised Land's s'posed ta be," he concluded.

"Just between you an' me, I still think it's all moogle dung," Yuffie answered, waving one hand vaguely. "But Shinra, SOLDIER, an' Sephiroth all spent a lot of time there during the war. I don't think the Promised Land is anywhere, but he might think it's on Wutai. So if we go there now, maybe we could beat him to it."

Shiro and Barret exchanged glances. Shiro turned back to Yuffie. "There's some feel of truth in that, girl," the captain said finally, stroking his chin in thought. "For years, we fought those bastards. And oni no- sorry… Sephiroth, fought up and down the island. Who knows what twisted ideas got inside that murderous bastard's head?"

"Can't say I wanna be stuck on another boat after the end of that last little voyage," Barret rumbled, then inclined his head to Shiro, "...no offense. But… it makes sense. Sure as hell makes more sense than tryin' to chase him across the whole continent for who knows how long. But either of you got any idea how we can get there from here?"

Yuffie turned to Shiro. Shiro met her gaze for a moment. "I… have another ship," he said finally, folding his arms across his chest. "I'll need time to round up the crew, retrieve the boat, and resupply her, and it's a sight smaller than the Grace of Ifrit. But we might be able to make Wutai in good time, weather permittin'."

"You're willin' to take us?" Yuffie asked with a look of incredulity. "Even after all of this mess?"

"Wouldn't say anything otherwise," Shiro answered, adjusting his coat. "Aside from that we owe you our lives anyway, you lot seem to be the only ones willing to do anything to oppose Shinra. That alone would put you in good standing with most of my crew on its own, myself included."

Barret gave a grin at that. "How long d'you think before you'd be able to set sail?" he asked.

Shiro cocked his head. "A day, perhaps, if I can round up the survivors quickly. Meet me at the harbor in Costa del Sol tomorrow morning, we'll see what we can do."

Barret nodded his understanding. "All right then, captain," he answered, before turning to Yuffie. "Good thinkin', shrimp. Maybe we can get ahead of that demon of yours after all. Let's go tell the others the plan."

Yuffie grinned in response, and turned to follow Barret. "One moment," Shiro said quickly. The two of them stopped. "I have a question for the girl."

Yuffie spun around in the sand and turned to face Shiro. "Sure, whatcha got?"

Shiro paused for a moment, picking his words carefully. "Gōdō no musume-"

"Iie," Yuffie responded firmly, cutting him off. "I get that a lot though, so don't worry."

Shiro blinked once, but shrugged. Yuffie smiled and turned back to Barret, who gestured with his good hand for her to proceed. After a few steps, Barret leaned down to Yuffie. "What was all that about?"

Yuffie shook her head lightly. "Just a case of mistaken identity."

-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-

Shiro and his first mate had left almost immediately, heading north towards civilization to prepare his ship for launch. The lifeboats containing the rest of the surviving crew and the Shinra troopers had not been seen since they separated out in open waters. Cloud and the rest had taken some time to gather themselves as Barret and Yuffie explained the new plan and destination to the group. Twenty minutes later, making sure they left nothing useful behind, they climbed up the cliffside path away from the beach, and began the hike towards the city of Costa del Sol. The trek itself was uneventful, taking a little over an hour to travel on foot to the outskirts of the resort city. By that time, the sun was well into the sky, and it was rapidly becoming obvious to Ranma why this place was so popular.

"Atsui da yo," she grumbled, looking around at the locals and other visitors in shorts, swimsuits, and sandals. She stripped off the relatively heavy Shinra coat and mopped a layer of sweat from her brow. "It's… still winter here, right? We didn't end up in Australia or somethin'?"

Yuffie snorted. "The way I remember it, Costa del Sol gets some kinda tidal current from the south," she explained, rummaging through her pockets for something. 'Something' turned out to be an ordinary bottle of sunscreen, which she began applying liberally. "Warm water brings warm weather… so it's warm all year round here. They say the old Costan language doesn't have a word for 'snow'. And what the hell is an… oss tray leah, anyway?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Australia is the name of a country in my world-" she began.

"Oh Goddess, never mind," Yuffie cut her off, waving a hand in dismissal. "You start talkin' about what your home is like again and I'll never hear the end of it."

Aerith smiled as she came up alongside them. "This is my first time at the beach since…" she trailed off after a moment, enjoying whatever memory she had been considering. "...I must have been nine or ten. I think I might go down to the beach, try to relax a bit," she said to the others. "After this morning… I think I need a little time to myself."

"Want one of us to come with you?" Cloud offered as he came up from behind the trio of girls.

Aerith shook her head. "It's Costa del Sol, what could possibly happen here that would be worse than what we've already dealt with today?"

Cloud and Ranma both paused at that, and offered twin shrugs of concession. "Come find us if anything happens." Aerith nodded and shrugged off her boots and socks, before heading down to the beachfront. "You're not going to follow her?" Cloud asked quietly, turning to Ranma.

Ranma shook her head. "After… what happened, out on the beach, I don't wanna crowd her," she answered, keeping her voice low enough that the others wouldn't hear. "I don't wanna make it worse. Besides, even at high noon during summer, the ocean wouldn't get warm enough to switch me back. I wanna find a shower if I can, but I'll settle for a teakettle."

Cloud nodded his understanding. "Barret told me that he's going to find the captain and help if he can. I might do the same. Aside from that, unless something happens, we should all get the rest we can. We might not get another chance for a while."

"Well, I dunno about the rest o' ya," Yuffie said as she started stepping away from the others, "but I'm gonna see what the local market's got going on."

Tifa passed between Ranma and Cloud, and glanced between the two of them. "I'm going to check out the bar, see if any of the other crewmen turned up yet."

Red plodded by as Tifa wandered away from the group. "I will find myself a quiet bit of shade to rest in," he commented uneasily. "The heat is already drying out my nose. I honestly do not understand how you all can stand it here."

Cloud made to walk away as well, but at that moment, Aerith returned, a worried look on her face. "What's going on?" he asked calmly.

Aerith grabbed Cloud with one hand and Ranma with the other, and started leading them down towards the beach. "It'll be easier if I just show you," she grumbled.

-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-

Aerith dashed back onto the beach, dragging Ranma and Cloud. "Look over there," she said quietly, pointing down the beach. Laid out on a beach chair, beneath an enormous umbrella, surrounded by bikini-clad women, and still wearing his grubby, off-white lab coat, was Hojo.

Ranma stared in silence, before doubling over and bursting out in laughter. "What… is he still doing… in his lab coat?" she wheezed.

Aerith glared at her, but before long she too was giggling. "It is pretty absurd, isn't it?"

"What's he even doing here?" Cloud asked, without even a trace of humor lighting his face.

"No idea," Aerith answered, glancing between the two of them. "You two want to help me find out?"

Ranma and Cloud nodded, and they advanced towards the scientist, Ranma shucking off her shoes as they traversed the warm sands. One of the tanned girls sitting on the sand next to him saw the three figures approaching, and rolled her eyes at them. "Professor, there's two tough looking girls and a pretty scary looking man here to see you."

"Would you tell them I'm not accepting appointments at this time?" Hojo mumbled sleepily, his eyes closed.

Cloud glared in silence, not at the girl, but at Hojo. After several tense seconds, the girl leaned down to Hojo, "I don't think the scary people are going to go away, Professor."

"Oh, very well," he said, stretching and yawning. He opened his eyes and glanced over at the trio. "Hm, yes… You were at Shinra Tower, weren't you?"

"Hojo," Cloud responded coldly, ignoring the question. "What are you doing here?"

Hojo sighed. "I swear, even to someone of your limited intellect, the answer to that should be obvious." He shrugged, making himself comfortable again on the beach chair. "I'm getting a tan."

Cloud stepped forward and loomed over the scientist. "You're not getting off that easy, Hojo," he began, but was abruptly cut off by the older man.

"I don't have the inclination to lower myself to your intellectual level today," he declared. "Now leave me be, you're blocking my sunlight."

Ranma took a step forward as well, standing just behind and to the right of Cloud.. "I wonder… Cloud, can you tell me how many of Shinra's forces are normally stationed here in Costa del Sol?"

Cloud looked at her sideways, confused. "None," he answered. "This is a resort town."

"And how many of Shinra's forces survived the trip over here from Junon?"

Cloud caught on, grinning. "That would also be… none."

Ranma nodded. "So, Hojo, if you're expecting a rescue from anyone at all, it's not coming. Last time, you tried to threaten one of my friends by actually threatening another of my friends. You don't have that leverage here, do ya?"

Hojo glared at the redhead. "Yes, well done, your point has been made," he grumbled impatiently. "What do you want?"

"Answers," Cloud demanded. "What do you know about Sephiroth?"

Hojo grimaced, an odd expression on his face that reminded Ranma of someone eating a lemon. "Oh, you've seen him, have you?" He stood up, on top of the wooden recliner and its cushion, and peered over his glasses at Cloud. "I see, I see… it's possible we are after the same thing now…"

Cloud glared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Hojo shrugged. "I just remembered an old hypothesis of mine… nothing a simpleton like you need worry about. Tell me, boy," he jabbed one finger into Cloud's chest, lifting his eyes to examine the mercenary's face, "have you ever had the feeling that something is calling you? That you had to… visit… some distant place?"

"I…" Cloud paused, refusing to meet the scientist's gaze. The silence stretched on for an uncomfortably long time. "...no, this isn't about me. Sephiroth has to be stopped. I'll go anywhere he goes, so that I can put an end to it."

Hojo gave an altogether creepy smile. "How interesting. Were you in SOLDIER? You were, weren't you?" he snapped, reaching out to grab Cloud by the wrist.. "I wonder if you would like to be my guinea pig?" In response, Cloud shrugged off the man's grip and reached behind him, hand resting on the hilt of his sword in the blink of an eye. "Oh ho! Are you going to draw that sword of yours?"

"Hey, doc?" Ranma interjected, breaking their eye contact. She brought her foot down firmly onto the edge of Hojo's beach chair, with just enough force to get her point across. "Focus."

Hojo turned away from both Cloud and Ranma, seeing Aerith as if for the first time. "Aren't you the Ancient girl?"

Aerith glared at the man in disgust. "...'Ancient girl'... I'm Aerith, for Minerva's sake. After trying to get your greasy hands on me for my entire life, the least you can do is remember my name."

"Hm, quite," Hojo said dismissively.

Aerith looked as if she was about to burst. "Professor Hojo," she enunciated, the anger apparent in her voice. "I want you to tell me something important. I know I'm an Ancient, my mother told me-"

"Your mother?" Hojo interrupted. He stroked his chin in thought for a moment. "Oh, you must mean Ifalna! How is she doing?"

Aerith's anger was cut short by the complete gear-shift from the question that had been dropped in her lap. "You… you can't be serious," she said matter-of-factly.

Hojo's expression did not change one bit. "Quite serious, girl, I do wish to know."

"She's dead," Aerith answered after a pause. "Fifteen years ago."

"Ah, unfortunate." Hojo's eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing else.

"Hojo… I know I'm an Ancient," Aerith began again, holding one hand to her chest. "But I have to know. Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do all three of us share the same lineage?"

Hojo stared at Aerith, one hand caressing his chin. He gave an odd, mocking grin and seemed about to answer, but Ranma waved one hand between them again, drawing Hojo's attention away. "I'd like you to consider your answer carefully, doc," she warned. "I don't take well to people treating my friends badly."

Hojo's eyes slid over the redhead, before returning to Aerith. The silence between them drew out like a knife. After an entirely too-long wait, the doctor's eyes flicked once to Ranma, before he spun sharply in place, turning his back to the trio. "Leave me be… I have none of the information you want."

Aerith scowled at the professor's backside, and stomped off, her footfalls heavy in the sand. Cloud followed her. Ranma remained where she was, staring doubtfully at the scientist's backside. "Shame you didn't know anything useful," she said in a singsong voice, stretching in the warm sunlight, her arms over her head. "Might've traded ya somethin' for it."

Hojo turned his head, gazing sidelong at Ranma. "Your body has nothing I desire," he declared harshly.

Ranma curled her hands into fists, squeezing them tightly. "My mind, on the other hand…" she countered, ignoring his barbed taunt. "I know what it is you really want, Hojo. Knowledge. I can almost respect that, even if you're dumber than Gosunkugi in how you use it."

Hojo's stare remained. "What could a brutish, uneducated girl as young as you possibly know that would interest me?"

In response, Ranma held up her wrist, unclipped her iron bangle, and let it fall to the sand, the green Cure materia glinting in the sunlight. She took a few steps to the side, eyeing the empty sky above the beach. Crouching down into a relaxed horse stance, she thrust out both hands at the sky above the ocean, and shouted, "Beta!" Almost instantly, an immense fireball filled the sky and detonated, the flames visible from anywhere on the beach and most of the boardwalk property behind it.

Hojo's gaze remained, his expression unchanging, but now it was the blankness of confusion rather than of calculation. Ranma strode back to her bangle, retrieving the Cure materia, but leaving the bracer behind, half-buried in the soft sand. "More~ than~ you~," she taunted in the same singsong she had employed a moment earlier. She turned, slipped the materia into her pocket, retrieved her flats, and strode off, following Cloud and Aerith.

Hojo's eyes followed to where the redhead left the beach, and remained there for fully twenty minutes, standing there in silent, unmoving confusion, by which time the three girls around him had become bored and left as well. After running through every possible explanation he could conceive, he was left with only one conclusion.

"Hm, quite…" he muttered. And wandered away.

-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-

"So, word on the grapevine is that some redhead made a big fuss out on the beach about an hour ago," Yuffie commented in an easy tone.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Look, if you knew the guy, you'd want to set him on fire too," she responded. "He's lucky I still have a sense of restraint after everything that's happened in the last week."

Yuffie shrugged. "Yeah, whatever… you really need to stop bein' so soft on Shinra. It's gonna get you one day."

"I ain't gonna roast a guy to death, on the beach, in public, for not helpin' us," Ranma hissed back. "Now shut up about it, people're staring!" Indeed, a few of the locals were giving them strange looks.

"That doesn't matter right now," Aerith said, bringing their attention back to the present. She held up a pair of small polished glass orbs, almost the same bright red as Ranma's hair. "We've got a day to rest, and since we'll be on a ship, we're not going to have another good chance for this for a while."

Ranma gave the pair of materia a curious look. "What are those for?"

Yuffie shook her head dismissively. "It's Shiva an' Ifrit, can't ya tell?"

Aerith turned around, still walking at the same pace, only backwards. "I can," she answered. "Ranma can't. She has no idea what these are used for, and since I'm teaching her magic, that means I'm going to teach her to Summon as well."

Yuffie glanced back and forth between the red Materia and Ranma as Aerith talked. "Wait, I thought you were kidding," she said in disbelief, circling around the redhead as they walked, staring at her. "You weren't joking? Ranma really doesn't know how to use a Summon?"

Ranma swiped one hand through the air in a lazy swat, deliberately missing Yuffie, though not by much. "Just shut it, runt… honestly, if I wasn't plannin' on givin' you a sparrin' match after we're done, I'd'a said to stay with the others."

Aerith smiled at that. "One thing at a time, sensei," she teased, pocketing the Materia. "This isn't going to be the same as regular spellcasting. And before we go, we should get some water. This might take a while."

"You really think it'll be difficult?" Ranma asked, trying to imagine what this would entail.

Aerith paused at a stall, peering over the selection, as the other two came to a stop behind her. "It might, but then you picked up casting pretty quick. Who knows? Besides, we could just make an afternoon of it, get a picnic lunch or something, and enjoy ourselves afterwards."

"Yanno, in all the commotion, I forgot to ask," Yuffie began, tilting her head. "What the hell was that technique, anyway?"

Ranma met Yuffie's inquisitive gaze. "Oh, the Hiryū Shōten Ha?" she started, miming the wind-up and strike she completed earlier that morning. "It's the ultimate technique of the Saotome-ryu martial-"

"What?" Yuffie's expression was equal parts frustration and confusion. "No, not that. The thing you did with the Ice magic!"

Now it was Ranma's turn to show confusion. "...yeah, that was the Hiryū Shōten Ha," she repeated, slower this time.

Yuffie wasn't having it. "No, before that!" she hissed. "You did... something… with the materia, but it didn't look like any kinda casting I've seen before."

Ranma blinked in silence. "I…" she trailed off, trying to think about what she was being asked. "All I did was cast it on myself. Why, is that weird?" she asked, looking in helplessness at Aerith.

The brunette wrinkled her nose in response as they approached a stall with a veritable abundance of fresh fruit and other items. "It's… kinda weird, yeah," she answered. "Honestly, I don't know how that doesn't just kill you outright, especially with how strong your spell-slinging is these days. Maybe we can figure that out during magic lessons today." She waved down the stall cashier and pointed to a few items. "How much for these?"

"...eugh, you like cactuar fruit?" Yuffie asked, cringing slightly.

Aerith gave the younger girl a look. "I've never had them," she explained, "and I'd like to try for myself."

The two bickered for a few moments, as Ranma looked at the item in question. A pink-and-green flowery-looking object, which vaguely resembled the shape of an artichoke, with a number of sharp spiny flowers at the base of the fruit. It looked so unlike anything she could think of from Earth. She started glancing over the other unfamiliar items the stall owner had for sale, wondering what some of them might be used for, or what they would taste like.

It was for this reason that she failed to notice the large figure approaching them from behind, until the sunlight behind them had been eclipsed by the oversized body. Ranma turned, and in the blink of an eye she found herself cowering between Aerith and the shopping kiosk, shocked into gibbering terror at the sight of something that frightened her to her very core.

Before them stood an enormous Mog with arms so long that the knuckles dragged down over the ground. Atop the Mog was a small black cat with a pair of white diamond patches on its chest and face. The cat had a bright red kerchief tied about its neck in such a way that it resembled a cape, and a tiny gold crown balanced atop its head. The cat eyed the three women, especially Ranma, and wiggled in excitement, its front paws hidden behind the Mog's ears. Then, suddenly, it moved.

"Sal-u-tations!" the cat greeted loudly, throwing two mitten-covered hands into the air, releasing a torrent of confetti atop the one terrified and two confused women, as it hopped about joyfully atop the Mog.

Eeyup, we're getting Cait a bit earlier than normal. There will be a longer explanation after he is properly introduced in the next chapter, but as Ranma's presence effects change, so too does the world around him react. This is one of the latter moments. And yes, I decided to give him Penny Polendina's verbal greeting from RWBY. I literally sat there when writing this last part and thought to myself, "What is the most ridiculous contrast I can make between him greeting the others and Ranma ducked down behind Aerith in the fetal position?" And somehow this was the answer.

This chapter was a long time coming, and I'm hoping the gap between this and the next one won't be nearly as long. Honestly, it all depends on how RL behaves. I'm moving to a new apartment in less than two weeks, and I won't get much writing done between then and now. After everything's settled for the move, we'll see what I can churn out. Next chapter could be as early as a month from now or as late as… well… a long time. We'll have to find out together. Regardless, I'm not stopping this train until the end.

Language lessons for this chapter…

Oni no Wutai - Literally, Demon of Wutai. Sephiroth's moniker to the people of Wutai, in a 'he who must not be named' kind of way.

Gōdō no musume… - "Gōdō's daughter…" There would have been more to this if not for what followed it…

Iie - No. It's a pretty straightforward response and interruption.

Atsui da yo - It's really hot, or a rough translation of the same concept. It's a less formal version of the more commonly used 'Atsui desu ne?' ("It's hot, isn't it?"), and if there's anything we know about Ranma, he's pretty informal most of the time.

If anyone reading this is in the Midwest, I will be volunteering at Convergence this year, a moderately large sci-fi convention in Minneapolis. I may even be doing some cosplay. :D Sadly, not of anyone from either Ranma or FF7, I didn't have the materials for any of them yet.

Hope you liked it! As always, feedback and comments welcome! Until next time… same cat day, same cat channel!