My immense apologies for not posting! I swear I will try harder. As compensation, I have included plenty of Reno. Reno is good.
~Lila, who is frazzled from school arriving so suddenly
Chapter 12:
Dusk
"So here I slave inside of a broken dream
Forever holding on to splitting seams
So take your piece and leave me alone to die
I don't need you to keep my faith alive."
~Shackled, Vertical Horizan
"Who needs an inn?" Cid snapped as he maneuvered the Apocalypse onto the grassy field. The seasoned pilot was so skilled he didn't even need to look at the controls while landing the airship flawlessly. "We can spend the night in the Apocalypse and save a few hundred gil while we're at it."
"It's just the children," Shera replied, waving an arm toward the outside deck, where Marlene and Adine were playing. "They need to sleep in a decent bed for once."
Cid considered, then shrugged. "Fine. I'll have Barret and maybe a few others check in with them."
"But I could-" she protested, but Cid didn't let her finish.
"You," he informed her, pulling her toward him and kissing her gently, "are staying here. With me."
"Yes, Captain," she answered automatically, not at all inclined to argue.
Just then a loud banging sounded on the outside door that connected the bridge to the main hall.
"Dammit!" Cid swore irritably and jerked away from her. He stepped to the door and yanked it open. "What?!"
Barret stood there, gun-arm raised as though he was about to knock again. He put down his arm. "Dijja forget, Cid? You were s'posed to check in with Cloud at sunset, remember?"
"Damn!" Cid groaned and stepped out the door, gesturing for Shera to follow him. "I did forget." He walked quickly to the common room. On the way he stopped and turned to Barret. "Take the kids to the inn tonight in Rocket Town. That's close by, I think." He looked at Shera. "In the morning, we'll stop in and pick them up, an' see how everyone's doing. That sound okay to you?"
Shera nodded, smiling. Barret coughed. Cid eyed him.
"What?"
"It's jus'…I'd like to bring Yuffie along. She's been kinda down lately, y'know?"
"Yeah," Cid said distractedly. "Sure. But get going. It's getting dark." Barret gave a nod and walked off.
"What's all this about checking in with Cloud?" Shera asked, trotting to keep up with him. Cid had abandoned his romantic (if somewhat gruff) mood and was now back in "leadership" mode. He was the Captain again, whether he admitted it or not.
"We agreed to call each other on the PHS every night at dusk. It's to make sure we keep in touch and know what's going on." He pushed open the door to the common room and stepped inside.
Vincent was at a table, a large map spread in front of him. Elena lounged on the couch and Reno and Rude were -as usual- at the bar.
"Cid, I gotta hand it to you," Reno remarked without turning around. "Having a bar built into this airship was the best thing you could've done."
"For you, at least," Cid remarked dryly. "We need to call Cloud's party. Do-"
The door opened again. Barret came in, Marlene and Adine trailing along behind him. "I can't find Yuffie," he growled. "Does anyone know where she is?"
Shera turned to him. "I thought she was in her room."
They each had their own room on the Apocalypse; it was one of the advantages Cid's new airship had over the Highwind. After finding how inconvenient it was to have to sleep on cold cement, Cid had incorporated private rooms into the Apocalypse's design.
Barret shrugged. "She wasn't answerin' when I knocked. Maybe she don't wanna be disturbed."
Elena, on the couch, waved languidly at the table where Vincent was working. "Hey, Vincent."
Vincent either didn't hear, or, more likely, was ignoring her.
"Vincent!"
Finally he looked up slightly. "What do you want?"
Elena tilted her head toward Barret. "Barret needs some help. Give him a hand, will you?"
"Why should I?"
"Because he isn't smart enough to coax Yuffie out of her room by himself."
Barret looked insulted, but Vincent didn't react. "True enough." He got to his feet and led the way out of the room. Barret, plainly torn between following him and saying a few choice words to Elena, finally scowled and left.
"Not that I'm saying that wasn't funny, but why would Vincent be able to help with Yuffie?" Reno wondered. Rude shrugged and helped himself to another drink.
Elena snorted. "Isn't it obvious?" What all she received was blank stares, she sighed in annoyance. "Men. Shera?"
Shera gave a little smile. "He must like her."
Reno choked and spat out some of his drink. "Dracula? You gotta be kidding!"
"Did you see the way he got all defensive of her in Wutai?" Elena countered. "When was the last time you saw Vincent lose his temper?"
Reno scowled, knowing she was right. "Anything is possible," he admitted grudgingly. "By the way, what was Vampy-Boy doing with that map?"
"What I asked him to do," Cid replied, looking over the map. "He's been marking every place we've seen that has the Sresla thing." Both Midgar and Wutai had a large X traced over them. That alone suggested the Sresla might have spread to opposite ends of the world. They had been hoping it could be contained. Cid sighed.
Just then, the PHS in his hand rang. Cid dropped it in surprise, swore, picked it up again and answered.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Cid." The voice was Cloud's, and he sounded very weary. "How are you guys doing?"
"First, I'd like to hear how you're doing," Cid replied. "You don't sound so good."
"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired. We've got a new recruit."
"Really?" Cid raised an eyebrow at this, looking at the others.
"Yeah. Says his name's Sufur. There's something weird about him. I can't quite put my finger on it." Cloud broke off for a moment, then kept talking. "We haven't found any real useful information, though. You?"
Cid sighed. "Wutai's totally decimated. Hardly a soul there. Yuffie took it pretty hard."
"Wutai…?" They heard Cloud sigh heavily and Tifa ask him worriedly if he was all right.
"You just look a little tired, Cloud. Maybe you should get some rest."
"Dammit, I'm fine!" They heard him snarl. "Will you stop hovering over me? Just leave me alone for five minutes!"
Cloud had pulled away from the PHS and they didn't hear anything else for some time. At last Aeris' voice came through.
"Sorry, guys. Um…Cloud doesn't feel like talking right now."
"Is Tifa all right?" Rude growled. He had a very dangerous note in his voice.
"She's fine, Rude," Aeris replied. "Please, relax. How is everyone?"
Strained silence, until Reno decided to take matters in his own hands.
"Mayday, mayday!" he shouted, grabbing the PHS. "Aeris, I am seriously wilting from lack of femininity. You or Tifa better get over here quick!"
"You've got Yuffie and Elena." Aeris sounded amused. "Are you sure they can't hold you over for now?"
"Yuffie doesn't count," Reno protested, "and Elena's more like a man."
"I heard that, you jerk!" Elena tossed one of the couch pillows at Reno's head.
Aeris laughed. Cid almost smiled himself. Leave it to Reno to break the tension.
"So," he said amiably, reclining on the couch beside Elena. "You all miss me terribly, right?"
"Well, "Aeris mused, "things certainly are a lot…quieter…without you around."
Shera plucked at Cid's sleeve and jerked her head to the door. "I thought you wanted to be alone?" she murmured.
Cid grinned and put an arm around her shoulders, quietly leading her from the room.
Elena elbowed Reno in the side. "Tell her about Cid and Shera!" she hissed.
"Oh yeah. Aeris, believe or not, but Cid and Shera are actually together!"
"Finally!" Aeris laughed again. "I thought that might happen sooner or later."
"Yeah, just like those two 'might happen sooner or later'," Elena muttered to Rude, loud enough for Reno to hear. He put a hand over the mouth of the PHS.
"If you two are going to be rude- and no pun intended-" he said loftily, "I guess I'm going to have to go someplace more private."
"Reno-" Elena rolled her eyes.
"That's it! I have no choice but to leave." So saying, he took the PHS with him and left the common room. Elena rolled her eyes again.
"He's such a player."
Rude said nothing, until Elena realized he hadn't been listening at all. She looked at him in concern.
"What's wrong, Rude?"
Rude sighed. "I don't like the way Cloud talked to Tifa."
"Rude!" Elena was irritated, and let him know by her voice. "Aeris said she was fine! Will you let it go?"
Rude shrugged dismissively, but she knew he wouldn't. She scowled.
"It's useless trying to get you to listen to me," she complained.
Rude nodded philosophically. "That it is."
Suddenly, vividly, she remembered the illusion. Remembered Rude's unthinkable cruelty. She caught at his arm. What if…?
"Rude, just promise me one thing," she begged in a low voice. "I know you'd never actually try to harm me, but…I can't forget that dream. Just promise me you'll never to anything to hurt me." She cast her eyes downward, not wanting him to see how upset she really was. "I hate the thought of doubting you, but your word would make me feel a lot better."
His face softened. "Elena," he said gently. "I feel terrible you even have to-"
"Promise me!"
He seemed a little startled. "All right, Elena." He spoke slowly, so she wouldn't miss a word. "I promise."
* * * * * *
"So, what is it about this 'new recruit'?" Reno asked, shifting position so the night breeze blew against his back rather than his face. He was standing on the deck of the Apocalypse, where the air was cooler.
"What do you mean?" Aeris' voice was clear on the PHS, carrying no hint of the distance that lay between them.
He smiled ruefully, even though she couldn't see it. "Aeris. I'm not stupid. When Cloud thinks there's 'something weird' going on, that's usually when it's time to break out the machine guns."
She laughed. "Well, you're not far off base." Her laughter died suddenly. "Sufur makes himself very hard to trust."
"How so?"
Aeris was silent for a moment. Reno had no way of knowing she was debating whether or not to tell him what Sufur had said to her when they first met.
I heard you were dead.
Are you disappointed to find I'm not?
Of course not. I'm absolutely…thrilled.
Knowing Reno, he would immediately see Sufur as a threat, especially when he heard the rest.
Finally, she decided on part of the truth. "To start, he's not the friendliest guy in the world. He's very cold. He hardly ever speaks, and when he does, he's surly or sarcastic." She paused. "As a matter of fact, I don't even know why he wanted to come with us in the first place. He didn't give any real reason, but I fear the worst."
"Can't wait to meet him," Reno remarked dryly. "And knock out his teeth. He sounds like he deserves it. Anything else?"
Aeris hesitated again. "There's some kind of aura about him."
Reno rolled his eyes. "No. Don't give me that Cetra bullshit. I meant-"
"It has nothing to do with my being a Cetra," she interrupted demurely. "It's more tangible than that. The others can tell, too. It's precisely why he makes everyone so uneasy."
"So what is it?" he prompted.
"…It's impossible to see what he looks like."
Perhaps surprisingly, Reno didn't laugh. "How's that?" The wind blew stray strands of hair across his face, but he hardly noticed. "You mean, he wears a cloak?"
"No, not like that.' She stopped a moment, trying to find the right words. "…It's…like he's out of focus. Whenever you try to look at him, all his features blend together. Like looking through very thick, very dirty glass. He's gotta be hiding from someone."
"Or something." Reno was quiet for a few seconds, trying to digest this new information. He was having a hard time. "Damn, this is the last thing we need." He sighed. "I wish there was a simple explanation for all this."
"There is," she replied. "Magic. Not materia, but something else."
Reno slammed a fist on the ship's railing. "This is the last thing we need!" He exploded. "We don't need to deal with some nut with an attitude problem that has some magic we've never even heard of. Not on top of Jenova, saving the world, and Darryn running around loose!" I swear, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown one of these days!
"Reno?" She sounded concerned. "Are you okay?"
Damn. "Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed. "Just a little strained recently, that's all." And depressed.
"I see." She gave a little sigh of her own. "Me, too."
"Hopefully, things will work out when we get to Nibelheim," he said, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit. "Much as I dread it."
"Yes." She was silent for some time, then said, very quietly, "I miss you."
Reno started to laugh. "Already?" he asked, mood picking up again.
"All of you," she amended hastily. "I didn't mean- what I meant to say was-"
It was impossibly funny to hear Aeris, of all people, stumbling over her words. "You don't have to explain, dearheart. I know exactly what you meant."
"Reno, I think you have the wrong idea-"
"Sleep tight, shnookums," he whispered, then hung up the PHS before she could say anything, laughing quietly to himself.
But after his first moment of glee subsided, his former dark disposition quickly set back in. He tucked the PHS in his pocket, wishing he hadn't hung up so soon. Teasing Aeris took his mind off the morbid depression that had been eating at him for some time.
Reno sighed, rubbing one hand over his face. He was so damn tired of everything. He didn't even care about the world anymore. Let Jenova have it, if she wanted. Hell, it hadn't been especially great to him.
Not only that, but Sufur sounded like far more trouble than he was worth. He knew Aeris hadn't told him everything. All those little pauses hesitations in her speech- she was weighing the facts, deciding what to tell him and what not. What the hell did she need to hide from him?! Angrily he slammed the railing again, welcoming the stinging pain. She had no right to hide things from him!
Better not to go back to the others. He was too wound up. Deciding a walk would clear his head, he swung his legs over the airship railing and disappeared into the night.
* * * * * *
Reno walked as fast as he could without actually running, acutely aware that this was the worst way to solve his problems. Running around in the middle of the night, losing more sleep than he could afford, was not any way to improve a situation.
But maybe thinking about them was.
He started with the foremost: An emotion that was so unwanted it had taken him a good amount of time to admit it to himself.
Loneliness.
When Heantha had died, there had been a hole inside he simply could not fill. And he'd tried- first with booze, then with violence. Oh, he'd been lucky to be a Turk at that time. Hell, he'd gotten paid for something he'd enjoyed!
And it had worked, for a while. Losing himself in the glory of evil, he'd begun a steady downward spiral into self-destruction. He'd have welcomed death gladly, at that point. But he could not kill himself. Weakness? Yes, that was probably it. But, anyway, why bother? Why kill yourself, when you could kill so many others?
But all that had changed when Sephiroth murdered Aeris. Something about that whole, awful moment touched a place inside of Reno, made him realize what he'd become. In a sudden desire for absolution, he'd assisted AVALANCHED in reviving the half-Cetra. He'd thought he was through with AVALNCHE then. No debts to repay, and certainly no real friends to hang onto.
Then Aeris had stepped into the picture. Again. A chance meeting in the slums of Midgar- that was all it took to start the ball rolling again. Only this time the war had been more personal. This one had taken what was left of his barriers and smashed them.
Aeris was his first true friend in AVALANCHE. She hadn't liked him at first, but she was a perceptive person. She'd found out about Heantha, dragged the whole wretched story out of him. He hated telling her about himself, showing weakness, but in a way it had also been a kind of relief. A relief that scared the hell out of him.
Showing emotion left him wide open for more hurt. And, inevitably, it had come.
He hated loneliness. It was the most weak and vulnerable of all emotions! Well, other than actual love.
"I can deal with it," he muttered to himself. "I just won't be very happy while I'm dealing with it, that's all."
Suddenly turning, he looked for the airship. It was nothing but an obscure shape some ways away. He'd traveled quite a distance already. It wouldn't help him at all to get lost.
Of course, he still wasn't feeling any better. He didn't want to go back to see how happy Cid and Shera were together, all lovey-dovey. Normally he wasn't prone to jealousy, but the feeling had been surfacing quite often of late.
Well, let's think for a moment. What's an obvious solution?
Tifa would likely maim him if he pulled a move on her. And as for Aeris…
Any time he even hinted at being something more than friends, he was greeted with laughter. It wasn't that Aeris was callous, far from it. It was simply the fact that she never knew whether he was kidding or not. For fear of risking her friendship, he didn't try to clarify things further.
Besides, he laughed as often as she did whenever he joked about the two of them. The whole idea was so completely absurd, so preposterous-
No, best not consider it.
And all his personal problems were nothing compared to the real threat. But, strangely, he couldn't care less about Jenova. Yes, he knew they needed to take her out, and yes, she did deserve it, but she was so otherworldly the whole dilemma just seemed rather pointless. Reno reacted better to situations right in front of him, not miles away.
Of course, there was Darryn. He was something to worry about. Just the knowledge that he was out there was more than a little disturbing.
In fact…
A sudden blow to the back of his knees buckled his legs and he fell forward, gasping. Another heavy blow to his head made him collapse completely. He struggled blearily to focus as a dark figure stepped in front of him.
"Your skills still aren't as sharp as they used to be, Turk."
Then blackness.
Now, before you start hurting me, he's FINE, darn it! And yes, Vincent/Yuffie? Not very original, but I had to do SOMETHING with them! Cuz I luv Vinnie! BTW, next chapter might come sooner if I get lots of encouragement via reviews…HINT, HINT…
BYEEEEEE!
~Lila