Standard disclaimers apply.
************************************************************************
Chapter five; Travel Plans
************************************************************************
"This isn't making any sense," Key said in mid-stride. He had been pacing the room like a caged panther since two of his blitz players had approached him with the news that they were going out of town for a while and didn't know when they were going to be back.
Yuffie eyed him carefully, evaluating him in a new light after he had fled the night before. "Key, do you like Rikku?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. "I mean, do you want to kiss her and date her and have sex with her?" It was a very straight foreword question, but she wanted a clear answer and being discreet wasn't her strong suit.
While Key was starring dumbfounded at the ninja, Rikku spoke up. "Hopefully not," she said with a snort. "I'm too young to be having sex and I don't even want to think about kissing guys right now."
"Well?" Yuffie prompted Key, ignoring Rikku.
He shook his head to clear it and nodded. "Who wouldn't?" he asked. "I mean, Rikku is such a....babe."
"Sure she is," Yuffie agreed. She stood up in one fluid motion, gesturing for Rikku to get up. "Let's go. I'm beginning to see what you mean about Key not being your type. Although, I just want to make sure that you know - Sephiroth isn't your type either. He's just -"
"He's Unsent," Rikku said lightly. "I don't date dead guys. And I won't ever fall for one again -"
"Hold it!" Key shouted, cutting her words off. "You can't just walk out of here without giving - "
Yuffie kicked the door shut with her foot. "I got my Conformer, some spiffy armor, and plenty of materia. I think that I'm ready to take on monsters here and fiends in Spira, how about you?"
Rikku shrugged. "I got my godhand, a good solid targe, and plenty of potions, phoenix downs, and all the other nifty items I'm accustomed to blowing things up with." She tapped her small little pouch at her hip lightly, smiling at the thought of everything she had jammed into the small space.
"Right, then I suppose that we should head to Port Spira?" Yuffie said softly.
"Yeah, but let's run out of Wutai before Key starts following us. I don't want to have to deal with him sputtering about our duty to the team," Rikku said shortly. She broke into an easy jog outside of the blitz arena. However, once Yuffie picked up her pace, she broke into a full tilt run. "Race you to the first bridge!" she called over her shoulder.
"I'm already there!" Yuffie called back, already flying past the blond girl.
************************************************************************
Port Spira was a small town built by an inland harbor. Built in plain brown boards, several small house adorned the town streets. Most of them were also businesses, with the owners living in the upper parts of the houses. The docks were the most elaborate thing in the entire town - when they were coupled with the spectacular boats from Spira and other places on the Planet.
Rikku looked around in appreciation. "They really have made a lot of progress since I came through here last," she said with a low whistle.
Yuffie looked at her incredulously. "When was that?" she asked. She made a show of trying to count days in her head. "All of three days ago?"
"That sounds just about right," Rikku answered. She smiled broadly. "But they finished the paint job on the Inn and finished roofing the weapon shop since then. Port Spira is still under construction, you know."
"What!" Yuffie exclaimed in mock ignorance. "I didn't know that!"
Rikku adopted a sage's voice. "Ah, yes, my precious. Full of knowledge, I am." She patted Yuffie on the head and nodded wisely. "Really, really, really smart, I am."
Yuffie snorted. "Yeah, but how good is your memory?"
"Eh?" Rikku responded, still pretending to be a decrepit old sage. "What was that, girlie?" She tried to keep a straight face, but failed, dissolving into a fit of giggles instead. "Stupid Yuffie making me laugh," she said between fits.
"Don't blame me," Yuffie objected. "I'm just doing my duty, ma'am." She mock saluted and both of them laughed again.
Several jokes later, Yuffie sobered up slightly. "Have you ever been on a really important mission before? The kind where you have to travel all over the place with a bunch of people for a common .....cause?" she asked.
Rikku stopped walking. "Sure," she answered easily enough. Memories of Yuna's Pilgrimage swimming through her head. "I was a Guardian for Lady Yuna. We had to travel to Zanarkand to receive the final Aeon. Although," she added as an after thought, "We never did get the Final Aeon....."
"I did some traveling with a friend of mine, too!" Yuffie exclaimed. "We were traveling for a couple of different reasons, but mostly to stop Sephiroth from destroying the Planet with Meteor."
"Meteor?" Rikku questioned. "That's the thing that nearly destroyed the Planet at three years ago, right. I didn't realize that Sephiroth was responsible for that." She paused. "But I wonder how he managed to call a giant meteor out of orbit. Are you sure it wasn't just a coincidence?"
"He used materia," Yuffie answered. "But that's not the point I'm trying to make. I was just thinking that neither of us have the right leader qualities for the trip that we're taking. Cloud Strife led the group I was with and he always kept the objective in mind. He didn't stroll through towns making fun of really old men-"
"You've got a point. We were following Yuna, but Auron really gave all the choices for her to make and Tidus...... well, he was like our motivater. He made us try harder then we had ever tried before. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten very far."
"Auron and Tidus," Yuffie repeated. "Who are they?"
Rikku sighed. "Auron was Yuna's father's guardian. He was a legend before he joined us. And Tidus was...... a dream." She glanced down at the road. "Neither of them is alive anymore. They're both .... gone."
Yuffie remained silent. She hadn't meant to bring up a tender subject.
As they were approaching the ticket booth, Rikku spoke up. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," she quip. "Anyway, what do you think we should do? We're both immature enough to cause trouble for ourselves - I think that's what you're trying to say."
"Huh?" Yuffie said, drawn out of her thoughts of loses that her friends and she had suffered on their way to stop Sephiroth. "I was just pointing it out as an ideal point. I wasn't suggesting anything."
"Two tickets please," Rikku said to the ticket vendor.
"Two tickets to where?" the man asked.
"You don't have any boats leaving to Luca, do you?" she asked. "It's where we're
heading."
The vendor shook his head. "The currents are pretty rough from her to Luca. You would have to take a boat to Junon first." He outlined the boat course with the back of a pen.
"We'll go to Junon then," Rikku said. "When is our departure time?"
The vendor rang the ticket price into his register and pointed towards a schedule hung in plain sight. "First boat to Junon leaves tomorrow morning at eight a.m. Two tickets will cost you 1,000 Gil."
Yuffie handed the vendor the money. "Okay, I guess we'll have to stay at the Inn tonight," she said to Rikku. "But it's still pretty early, so what do you think we should do?"
"You have an idea," Rikku answered. "I can see some sort of excitement sparkling in your eyes."
"Let's go shopping," Yuffie said. "I could do with some new equipment."
"Okay, but I don't need anything, you know. I'm loaded to the brim with all the items I could possibly need."
"What have you got stocked for materia?" Yuffie asked.
Rikku's eyes brightened. "Nothing. Why don't we go shopping for it."
They entered a small shop and approached the counter. Rikku casually dropped her elbows down. "We're looking for some materia," she announced.
The woman behind the counter smiled. "Very well, what would you like?"
"What do you have?" Yuffie asked. "And what are you charging?"
"We have Lightning, Fire, Water, HP Plus, MP Plus, Morph, Manipulate, and Steal."
"What about Black?" Rikku asked deliberately. "I've got a friend who is looking for some Black Materia. Do you have any of that?"
The woman shook her head slightly. "It doesn't exist," she said. "I've never even heard of it before."
"I have," Yuffie said. "We won't be buying anything right now." She grabbed a suddenly confused Rikku by her arm. "Thank-you for your time."
Outside the sun was setting. "It's getting late," Rikku said off-hand.
"This 'friend' of yours - it's Sephiroth, isn't it. And he's looking for the Black Materia," Yuffie said softly. "Why didn't you tell me last night?"
"You were freaked out," Rikku answered. "I wanted to ask you if you knew what is was but....." she shrugged. "It's didn't work out. Sephiroth attacked me and demanded that I give him the Black Materia."
"Did you?" Yuffie asked abruptly. "Because if you did, I should contact the gang and -"
"I didn't give it too him..... at least I don't think so. Materia are small round stones, aren't they?"
Yuffie nodded. "Yes, they are." She pulled a green stone out of her Conformer. "This is magic materia - Ice, to be precise. Black materia looks just like this, except it's black."
Rikku nodded. "And Sephiroth can use it to ..... call Meteor?"
"Summon Meteor," Yuffie nodded. "And without Holy we don't stand a chance against him."
Rikku ran her hand through her hair. "Okay, then I guess we really don't have to worry for the time being." She smiled ruefully. "Or maybe we should start to really worry."
Before Yuffie could respond, they were at the Inn. "Let's go inside and get a room, I'll explain everything inside," Rikku said to still any more comments.
Moments later they were in a two bed room with a view of the port. "So, why don't we have to worry ....... or really worry?" Yuffie asked instantly.
"Simple. I have the black materia. Without it, Sephiroth can't summon meteor, right? That means we can get to Yuna without worrying about a giant meteor plunging into the planet and destroying everything, right?" She paused. "I suppose it means that he'll chase us to get it back though and I don't think I'm ready to face him just yet."
"You have black materia!" Yuffie squeaked softly. "Let me see!"
Rikku pulled the black stone she had found on her way to Wutai, and handed it over to Yuffie. "It's the same as your magic materia - except more powerful and black."
"If Sephiroth is going to be hunting us, we should probably pick up a couple of people to help us," Yuffie said after a long, long time. She handed the materia back to Rikku. "Put that someplace safe and don't mention it again. Pretend you never heard of it before, okay."
"I'm game for more people. The more the merrier, right?" Rikku said with a shrug. She slipped the materia back into her pouch. "I don't know anyone around here that would be suitable to come..... with the possible exception of Mori. She's pretty gutsy."
Yuffie nodded her head in agreement. "She always has been. But Mori's not really involved in this...."
"So, who do you suggest we get a hold of?" Rikku asked. "I'm sure that you're thinking about calling your friend - Cloud, was it?
"Yep!" Yuffie said proudly. "But we should probably get Cid. Then we could take the Highwind to Luca and get Yuna really quick."
"So where doesn't Cid live?" Rikku asked with a quick smirk.
"In Rocket Town. It's just east of here," she said.
"And his name is Cid?" Rikku asked softly, humor glinting in her eyes. "And he's got an Airship - that's what the Highwind is, right?"
Yuffie nodded and then stared baffled as Rikku toppled back on her bed laughing. "What's so funny?" she demanded.
"How many airships exist on the Planet?" Rikku answered with a question of her own. "I'm willing to bet that there is just one. Am I right?"
Yuffie nodded. "Yeah, there's just the Highwind. I still don't get the joke."
"It's just ironic, that's all," Rikku said with a brilliant smile. "There's only one Airship in Spira. And you'll never guess who owns it......" she let her voice trail off dramatically. "It's a stern old fossil named - of all things - Cid."
Yuffie felt her face crack into a smile. "So two airships equal two Cids. That's what you're saying, isn't it?"
Rikku nodded. "Hell yeah!"
"Do you know the other airship captain? Cid might be interested if you set up a meeting between the two of them," Yuffie said brightly.
Rikku nodded. "He's my old man. But back to the matter of where to go and who to pick up........."
************************************************************************
"So we need two tickets to Rocket Town and want to trade in our tickets to Junon," Rikku finished explaining to the ticket vendor.
"If we hurry, we can get Cid before morning," Yuffie said cheerfully. They had opted to see what the schedule was for boats to Rocket Town. Much to their delight, a boat was just putting the finishing touches on preparations for the trip to the space orientated town.
"And then we can be to Midgar by afternoon with the Highwind," Rikku agreed. "And we'll pick up Tifa Lockheart. See if she knows where Cloud Strife is and retrieve your PHS, so we can call the rest of your cronies."
"Cronies?" Yuffie inquired with a stifled snort. "I suppose you would call them that, wouldn't you?"
"You may exchange your tickets," the vendor interrupted them. "But if you wish to go to Rocket Town, you must do so now. The boat is leaving in five minutes."
Rikku passed over their tickets to Junon. "Sorry," she apologized.
"There is a small exchange fee of 200 Gil," the vendor said in response. He was holding two tickets in a tantalizing fashion.
"Puh~~lease!" Yuffie said, dragging the word out. She slapped the money down on the counter and snagged the tickets out of mid-air. They turned and hurried away as the man greedily swept the money into a box.
"Some people," Yuffie fumed. "Charging us money to make ourselves sick."
"Making ourselves sick?" Rikku questioned. "What do you mean be that?"
"You'll see," Yuffie responded grimly. They handed their tickets to another man and boarded the ship.
"Cloud Strife is pretty famous, right?" Rikku said suddenly as they began to pull
out of Port Spira. "So we should ask around and see if anyone has seen him lately, you know."
"Ask about Vincent, too," Yuffie suggested. "I'm going to lie down in the cabin. Wake me if we make it."
"If we make it?" Rikku asked in concern. "Do you think that there will be trouble?"
"Hard to say, the waters feel pretty rough to me," Yuffie said, looking several shades paler. "I think I'm going to .... urk...." She turned and ran to the side of the ship and threw up.
"Oh, you get seasick," Rikku answered. "I'll ask around while you rest. But first you have to tell me who Vincent is. What does he look like at least." She paused. "He's the guy that sleeps in a coffin. I remember him. He's the one that likes it dark."
"Black hair, dark eyes..... urk..... wears red....Vincent Valentine in a nutshell," Yuffie managed to say. Then she was silently holding her stomach and focusing on living through the boatride.
Rikku started talking to the other passengers.
************************************************************************
Author's notes; I'm presuming that not everyone on the Planet knows about Black
Materia. So that's why the materia seller didn't know enough to be
alarmed at the mention of it.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
************************************************************************
Chapter five; Travel Plans
************************************************************************
"This isn't making any sense," Key said in mid-stride. He had been pacing the room like a caged panther since two of his blitz players had approached him with the news that they were going out of town for a while and didn't know when they were going to be back.
Yuffie eyed him carefully, evaluating him in a new light after he had fled the night before. "Key, do you like Rikku?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. "I mean, do you want to kiss her and date her and have sex with her?" It was a very straight foreword question, but she wanted a clear answer and being discreet wasn't her strong suit.
While Key was starring dumbfounded at the ninja, Rikku spoke up. "Hopefully not," she said with a snort. "I'm too young to be having sex and I don't even want to think about kissing guys right now."
"Well?" Yuffie prompted Key, ignoring Rikku.
He shook his head to clear it and nodded. "Who wouldn't?" he asked. "I mean, Rikku is such a....babe."
"Sure she is," Yuffie agreed. She stood up in one fluid motion, gesturing for Rikku to get up. "Let's go. I'm beginning to see what you mean about Key not being your type. Although, I just want to make sure that you know - Sephiroth isn't your type either. He's just -"
"He's Unsent," Rikku said lightly. "I don't date dead guys. And I won't ever fall for one again -"
"Hold it!" Key shouted, cutting her words off. "You can't just walk out of here without giving - "
Yuffie kicked the door shut with her foot. "I got my Conformer, some spiffy armor, and plenty of materia. I think that I'm ready to take on monsters here and fiends in Spira, how about you?"
Rikku shrugged. "I got my godhand, a good solid targe, and plenty of potions, phoenix downs, and all the other nifty items I'm accustomed to blowing things up with." She tapped her small little pouch at her hip lightly, smiling at the thought of everything she had jammed into the small space.
"Right, then I suppose that we should head to Port Spira?" Yuffie said softly.
"Yeah, but let's run out of Wutai before Key starts following us. I don't want to have to deal with him sputtering about our duty to the team," Rikku said shortly. She broke into an easy jog outside of the blitz arena. However, once Yuffie picked up her pace, she broke into a full tilt run. "Race you to the first bridge!" she called over her shoulder.
"I'm already there!" Yuffie called back, already flying past the blond girl.
************************************************************************
Port Spira was a small town built by an inland harbor. Built in plain brown boards, several small house adorned the town streets. Most of them were also businesses, with the owners living in the upper parts of the houses. The docks were the most elaborate thing in the entire town - when they were coupled with the spectacular boats from Spira and other places on the Planet.
Rikku looked around in appreciation. "They really have made a lot of progress since I came through here last," she said with a low whistle.
Yuffie looked at her incredulously. "When was that?" she asked. She made a show of trying to count days in her head. "All of three days ago?"
"That sounds just about right," Rikku answered. She smiled broadly. "But they finished the paint job on the Inn and finished roofing the weapon shop since then. Port Spira is still under construction, you know."
"What!" Yuffie exclaimed in mock ignorance. "I didn't know that!"
Rikku adopted a sage's voice. "Ah, yes, my precious. Full of knowledge, I am." She patted Yuffie on the head and nodded wisely. "Really, really, really smart, I am."
Yuffie snorted. "Yeah, but how good is your memory?"
"Eh?" Rikku responded, still pretending to be a decrepit old sage. "What was that, girlie?" She tried to keep a straight face, but failed, dissolving into a fit of giggles instead. "Stupid Yuffie making me laugh," she said between fits.
"Don't blame me," Yuffie objected. "I'm just doing my duty, ma'am." She mock saluted and both of them laughed again.
Several jokes later, Yuffie sobered up slightly. "Have you ever been on a really important mission before? The kind where you have to travel all over the place with a bunch of people for a common .....cause?" she asked.
Rikku stopped walking. "Sure," she answered easily enough. Memories of Yuna's Pilgrimage swimming through her head. "I was a Guardian for Lady Yuna. We had to travel to Zanarkand to receive the final Aeon. Although," she added as an after thought, "We never did get the Final Aeon....."
"I did some traveling with a friend of mine, too!" Yuffie exclaimed. "We were traveling for a couple of different reasons, but mostly to stop Sephiroth from destroying the Planet with Meteor."
"Meteor?" Rikku questioned. "That's the thing that nearly destroyed the Planet at three years ago, right. I didn't realize that Sephiroth was responsible for that." She paused. "But I wonder how he managed to call a giant meteor out of orbit. Are you sure it wasn't just a coincidence?"
"He used materia," Yuffie answered. "But that's not the point I'm trying to make. I was just thinking that neither of us have the right leader qualities for the trip that we're taking. Cloud Strife led the group I was with and he always kept the objective in mind. He didn't stroll through towns making fun of really old men-"
"You've got a point. We were following Yuna, but Auron really gave all the choices for her to make and Tidus...... well, he was like our motivater. He made us try harder then we had ever tried before. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten very far."
"Auron and Tidus," Yuffie repeated. "Who are they?"
Rikku sighed. "Auron was Yuna's father's guardian. He was a legend before he joined us. And Tidus was...... a dream." She glanced down at the road. "Neither of them is alive anymore. They're both .... gone."
Yuffie remained silent. She hadn't meant to bring up a tender subject.
As they were approaching the ticket booth, Rikku spoke up. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," she quip. "Anyway, what do you think we should do? We're both immature enough to cause trouble for ourselves - I think that's what you're trying to say."
"Huh?" Yuffie said, drawn out of her thoughts of loses that her friends and she had suffered on their way to stop Sephiroth. "I was just pointing it out as an ideal point. I wasn't suggesting anything."
"Two tickets please," Rikku said to the ticket vendor.
"Two tickets to where?" the man asked.
"You don't have any boats leaving to Luca, do you?" she asked. "It's where we're
heading."
The vendor shook his head. "The currents are pretty rough from her to Luca. You would have to take a boat to Junon first." He outlined the boat course with the back of a pen.
"We'll go to Junon then," Rikku said. "When is our departure time?"
The vendor rang the ticket price into his register and pointed towards a schedule hung in plain sight. "First boat to Junon leaves tomorrow morning at eight a.m. Two tickets will cost you 1,000 Gil."
Yuffie handed the vendor the money. "Okay, I guess we'll have to stay at the Inn tonight," she said to Rikku. "But it's still pretty early, so what do you think we should do?"
"You have an idea," Rikku answered. "I can see some sort of excitement sparkling in your eyes."
"Let's go shopping," Yuffie said. "I could do with some new equipment."
"Okay, but I don't need anything, you know. I'm loaded to the brim with all the items I could possibly need."
"What have you got stocked for materia?" Yuffie asked.
Rikku's eyes brightened. "Nothing. Why don't we go shopping for it."
They entered a small shop and approached the counter. Rikku casually dropped her elbows down. "We're looking for some materia," she announced.
The woman behind the counter smiled. "Very well, what would you like?"
"What do you have?" Yuffie asked. "And what are you charging?"
"We have Lightning, Fire, Water, HP Plus, MP Plus, Morph, Manipulate, and Steal."
"What about Black?" Rikku asked deliberately. "I've got a friend who is looking for some Black Materia. Do you have any of that?"
The woman shook her head slightly. "It doesn't exist," she said. "I've never even heard of it before."
"I have," Yuffie said. "We won't be buying anything right now." She grabbed a suddenly confused Rikku by her arm. "Thank-you for your time."
Outside the sun was setting. "It's getting late," Rikku said off-hand.
"This 'friend' of yours - it's Sephiroth, isn't it. And he's looking for the Black Materia," Yuffie said softly. "Why didn't you tell me last night?"
"You were freaked out," Rikku answered. "I wanted to ask you if you knew what is was but....." she shrugged. "It's didn't work out. Sephiroth attacked me and demanded that I give him the Black Materia."
"Did you?" Yuffie asked abruptly. "Because if you did, I should contact the gang and -"
"I didn't give it too him..... at least I don't think so. Materia are small round stones, aren't they?"
Yuffie nodded. "Yes, they are." She pulled a green stone out of her Conformer. "This is magic materia - Ice, to be precise. Black materia looks just like this, except it's black."
Rikku nodded. "And Sephiroth can use it to ..... call Meteor?"
"Summon Meteor," Yuffie nodded. "And without Holy we don't stand a chance against him."
Rikku ran her hand through her hair. "Okay, then I guess we really don't have to worry for the time being." She smiled ruefully. "Or maybe we should start to really worry."
Before Yuffie could respond, they were at the Inn. "Let's go inside and get a room, I'll explain everything inside," Rikku said to still any more comments.
Moments later they were in a two bed room with a view of the port. "So, why don't we have to worry ....... or really worry?" Yuffie asked instantly.
"Simple. I have the black materia. Without it, Sephiroth can't summon meteor, right? That means we can get to Yuna without worrying about a giant meteor plunging into the planet and destroying everything, right?" She paused. "I suppose it means that he'll chase us to get it back though and I don't think I'm ready to face him just yet."
"You have black materia!" Yuffie squeaked softly. "Let me see!"
Rikku pulled the black stone she had found on her way to Wutai, and handed it over to Yuffie. "It's the same as your magic materia - except more powerful and black."
"If Sephiroth is going to be hunting us, we should probably pick up a couple of people to help us," Yuffie said after a long, long time. She handed the materia back to Rikku. "Put that someplace safe and don't mention it again. Pretend you never heard of it before, okay."
"I'm game for more people. The more the merrier, right?" Rikku said with a shrug. She slipped the materia back into her pouch. "I don't know anyone around here that would be suitable to come..... with the possible exception of Mori. She's pretty gutsy."
Yuffie nodded her head in agreement. "She always has been. But Mori's not really involved in this...."
"So, who do you suggest we get a hold of?" Rikku asked. "I'm sure that you're thinking about calling your friend - Cloud, was it?
"Yep!" Yuffie said proudly. "But we should probably get Cid. Then we could take the Highwind to Luca and get Yuna really quick."
"So where doesn't Cid live?" Rikku asked with a quick smirk.
"In Rocket Town. It's just east of here," she said.
"And his name is Cid?" Rikku asked softly, humor glinting in her eyes. "And he's got an Airship - that's what the Highwind is, right?"
Yuffie nodded and then stared baffled as Rikku toppled back on her bed laughing. "What's so funny?" she demanded.
"How many airships exist on the Planet?" Rikku answered with a question of her own. "I'm willing to bet that there is just one. Am I right?"
Yuffie nodded. "Yeah, there's just the Highwind. I still don't get the joke."
"It's just ironic, that's all," Rikku said with a brilliant smile. "There's only one Airship in Spira. And you'll never guess who owns it......" she let her voice trail off dramatically. "It's a stern old fossil named - of all things - Cid."
Yuffie felt her face crack into a smile. "So two airships equal two Cids. That's what you're saying, isn't it?"
Rikku nodded. "Hell yeah!"
"Do you know the other airship captain? Cid might be interested if you set up a meeting between the two of them," Yuffie said brightly.
Rikku nodded. "He's my old man. But back to the matter of where to go and who to pick up........."
************************************************************************
"So we need two tickets to Rocket Town and want to trade in our tickets to Junon," Rikku finished explaining to the ticket vendor.
"If we hurry, we can get Cid before morning," Yuffie said cheerfully. They had opted to see what the schedule was for boats to Rocket Town. Much to their delight, a boat was just putting the finishing touches on preparations for the trip to the space orientated town.
"And then we can be to Midgar by afternoon with the Highwind," Rikku agreed. "And we'll pick up Tifa Lockheart. See if she knows where Cloud Strife is and retrieve your PHS, so we can call the rest of your cronies."
"Cronies?" Yuffie inquired with a stifled snort. "I suppose you would call them that, wouldn't you?"
"You may exchange your tickets," the vendor interrupted them. "But if you wish to go to Rocket Town, you must do so now. The boat is leaving in five minutes."
Rikku passed over their tickets to Junon. "Sorry," she apologized.
"There is a small exchange fee of 200 Gil," the vendor said in response. He was holding two tickets in a tantalizing fashion.
"Puh~~lease!" Yuffie said, dragging the word out. She slapped the money down on the counter and snagged the tickets out of mid-air. They turned and hurried away as the man greedily swept the money into a box.
"Some people," Yuffie fumed. "Charging us money to make ourselves sick."
"Making ourselves sick?" Rikku questioned. "What do you mean be that?"
"You'll see," Yuffie responded grimly. They handed their tickets to another man and boarded the ship.
"Cloud Strife is pretty famous, right?" Rikku said suddenly as they began to pull
out of Port Spira. "So we should ask around and see if anyone has seen him lately, you know."
"Ask about Vincent, too," Yuffie suggested. "I'm going to lie down in the cabin. Wake me if we make it."
"If we make it?" Rikku asked in concern. "Do you think that there will be trouble?"
"Hard to say, the waters feel pretty rough to me," Yuffie said, looking several shades paler. "I think I'm going to .... urk...." She turned and ran to the side of the ship and threw up.
"Oh, you get seasick," Rikku answered. "I'll ask around while you rest. But first you have to tell me who Vincent is. What does he look like at least." She paused. "He's the guy that sleeps in a coffin. I remember him. He's the one that likes it dark."
"Black hair, dark eyes..... urk..... wears red....Vincent Valentine in a nutshell," Yuffie managed to say. Then she was silently holding her stomach and focusing on living through the boatride.
Rikku started talking to the other passengers.
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Author's notes; I'm presuming that not everyone on the Planet knows about Black
Materia. So that's why the materia seller didn't know enough to be
alarmed at the mention of it.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan