Chapter Twelve
Tomorrow…
"Borrow the Highwind?" Cid stared at
Cloud. "What for?"
"We need it to get to, um…the place
in question." Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, feeling Zeno's piercing eyes
fastened there. "You know. North?"
"Any reason why you can't take the
Tiny Bronco?" Cid gestured in the direction where the little airplane rested
behind his house.
"It can't fly," Cloud replied with
perfect logic. "It's still broken, and we sort of need to get North in a
one-shot thing without having to go through the…City of the Ancients, Icicle
Inn, Gaea's Cliff, and miles of freezing land. We're already definitely going
to have to climb a lot as it is." He sent the older man a silently pleading
look, one that had started back when he had mentioned the City of the Ancients.
I'm…not ready to face Aeris' ghost again…
Cid sighed gustily. "All right. But
I'm coming with you, you hear? I'm not so old that you're gonna leave me out of
this whole shebang."
"Captain!" Shera appeared in the
doorway to the Highwind. "I'm coming too!"
"No, not you, Shera," Cid corrected,
more gently than he ever had before. "You're going to have to watch Rocket Town
for me. We'll take Dusk with us, though."
Shera paused, thinking. "Yes…that
might be the right choice. All right, then!" She ran forward, giving Cid a
quick hug which definitely surprised both the man and his companions. "Take
care of yourself! I didn't watch you all these years just to let you get
killed, okay? At least this hopefully isn't going to be another
mission-for-the-Planet's-survival!" She ran out of the door, apparently to
clear the Highwind and notify Dusk of her mission.
Yuffie coughed. "Little does she
know," she mumbled, keeping her voice low enough so that no one but herself
heard her.
* * *
Dusk slid the earphones over her
head, adjusting the microphone suspended from a wire attached to one of the
earphone's ends so that it hung in front of her mouth. "Testing all
communication units," she spoke through it, fiddling with one of the volume
control switches. "Testing…"
"Does she know how to pilot the
Highwind?" Cloud muttered to Cid as they both watched the girl run a test
through each of the facilities of the airship.
"Of course," Cid whispered back.
"Would I be trusting her with the welfare of my Highwind otherwise?"
"All personnel secure for liftoff,"
Dusk continued once she had finished with the tests. "Highwind cleared. All of
crew in position?" She paused for a moment, receiving the multi-voiced replies
of affirmative. "All of crew cleared. All passengers ready?"
Cloud paused, then started as Cid
elbowed him in the ribs. "Uh, yeah. I mean, affirmative," he said through the
earphone's microphone similar to the ones Dusk sported. He turned the
microphone's face away from his mouth and glanced at Cid. "These things are
new."
Cid grinned. "Aren't they? All
clear, pilot."
There was a crackling noise in his
ears, and then Cloud picked up the sound of Tifa responding in like over the
transmission.
"All
clear here, too! Hey, Cloud! Can you hear me? Isn't this neat?"
"Cleared."
"Ugh…all…clear…boy,
this brings back memories…"
Cloud smiled slightly when he heard
the last response. That was Yuffie, no doubt getting herself reacquainted with
the Highwind.
"All passengers cleared," Dusk
finished. "Prepare for takeoff." She tapped her fingers on a few buttons,
pulled a switch up, and carefully grabbed the Highwind's controls.
Cloud's heart felt like it was
sinking as the huge airship slowly rose into the air with the sound of engines
roaring even through the earphones he wore. Dust could be seen even through the
cockpit's front window, rising in a billow of tan clouds and dispersing almost
as quickly as they appeared.
"Coordinates set," Dusk announced.
"Travelling northward and landing at approximately 1300 hours. Affirmative,
Captain?"
"Affirmative, pilot," Cid nodded.
"Take her on."
"Received affirmative." Dusk
finished her test and typed in another code on a nearby console, shifting the
Highwind into a forward propulsion. With a roar of changing engines, the
Highwind moved smoothly forward and began heading away from Rocket Town.
Yuffie closed her eyes and groaned
as she felt the wind beginning to whip by her face. She was once more on the
top deck, lying spread on her back and feeling completely miserable.
And
I was hoping that hell wouldn't come back for me again…
* * *
"No. This isn't working." Bahamut
rose in frustration, pacing back and forth against the edge of the lake. Aeris
and Vincent both looked up at him in silence, watching the man walk around. "I
need a place closer to the Lifestream. Even closer than here…and that would
be…" He snapped his fingers. "Of course. Why didn't I think of that before?"
"Think of what, Mr. Bahamut?" Aeris
asked curiously as she played absently with a tiny flower in her hands.
"The North Crater! It's even closer
to the Lifestream…which will make my job easier, if a little risky." Bahamut
frowned for a moment. "And how do I get there?"
"The North Crater?" Vincent
questioned, breaking the man's reverie. "Isn't that a little dangerous,
Bahamut?"
Bahamut shook his head. "Yes, it is.
But it also means a higher chance of me getting in contact with the Planet…and
finding out what's wrong." He picked up his staff that had been previously lying
on the grass, adjusting its grip in his hand. "I'll be going now."
"Wait!" Aeris leapt to her feet, the
petals of the flower she had been picking at scattering among the grass. "Mr.
Bahamut—"
"I thought I told you to just call
me Bahamut," Bahamut frowned at her. "And what is it?"
"Bahamut, let me go, too!" Aeris'
request made her father whip his head around and stare at her with sharp red
eyes. "I want to know!"
"Aeris," Bahamut began gently.
"Child, it's too dangerous for you. Especially when you're the last hope this
Planet has."
What
did you tell her last night, lizard? Vincent
thought hard in Bahamut's direction, getting the feeling that he could pick it
up. In response, Bahamut simply turned his head slightly towards Vincent and
shrugged.
"And how can I be the last hope if I
don't know anything?" Aeris demanded stubbornly. "Bahamut, I don't want to
know…I need to know! For the sake of
myself and the Planet! There's so much that I don't know yet, and even more
that is essential to surviving! How am
I supposed to be the last hope if I sit here and wait for disaster to fall on
top of me?!"
Bahamut stopped, seeming to be deep
in thought. Finally, he sighed.
"Because your words have merit, you
may come, Aeris. But I will be responsible for all of your actions, and that
means that I'm your guardian from now on. Please…don't do anything that will
risk endangering yourself beforehand."
Aeris nodded. "I understand,
Bahamut."
"Then I'm coming, too," Vincent
spoke abruptly, voice hard with his decision. He glared defiantly at Bahamut as
the Summon tried to stall him. "And you know why, Bahamut. It's my duty just as
much as it is Aeris'."
Bahamut's shoulder slumped in
defeat. "I have no choice. Very well; but if either of you get into trouble,
remember—I am responsible for everything.
And no matter what I'm doing at the time, I will always be obligated to come
and aid you."
"How do we get there?" Aeris asked
eagerly, ready to see the world that had been shut off from her for all of her
life.
"The same way that I got here."
Bahamut put one finger to the side of his head. "I'll think us there."
"What?" Aeris asked intelligently.
"It's…magic of a sort. I'll explain
it to you later, perhaps. For now…both of you, grab a hold of my hands." He
extended one hand to each person. "And join hands with each other. This might
be a little harder on me since there're two more people, but if I can use your
energy as well and distribute it…"
Aeris followed his directions, not
even flinching when her hand met with Vincent's cold mechanical one. She waited
in anticipation, anticipation that her father felt with slight sadness.
She's
growing up, Vincent though to himself. And
I can't keep her inside of a little bubble anymore…
Bahamut closed his eyes, his head
falling to his chest. "Brace yourselves," he murmured, and then their world was
surrounded by a flash of light so bright that it was no wonder Bahamut had shut
his eyes.
And then everything slowly speckled
out into darkness that was so overwhelming it took hold of all of their senses…
* * *
Damn…
Aeris?
Vincent?
Where are they…?
There!
…Have
to…make it…the link…
…Got
it…
Hold
on, little ones…
We're
almost…there…
