Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret, Red XIII and Yuffie all walked northwest for a while across the fields, and they finally came to the Junon town, which was underneath the big city of Junon that Shinra had built above it.
"What happened to this town? It's so run-down," said Yuffie, looking around.
Indeed, that was what the town looked like. The entire fishing village was composed of less than ten houses, and most of them were vacant on the second floor.
The streets were unpaved and slick with rainwater. Almost all of the houses were little more than shacks, with peeling paint and broken windows. Even the dust and cobwebs that populated the corners of houses were old.
Few people walked the muddy streets, and most of those that did were bent with age and looking rather disheartened. On the whole, it was a very small town, and there was no sunlight other than the streetlamps because of the city above blocked the view of the sky from it.
"We have to get into the Shinra military base in the city of Junon. Ever since they built that city above here, the town became this way. We have to get into the military base. That's the only way to get onto a ship. But I don't know how we can do that," said Cloud.
"I'm not sure, but maybe I do. Maybe if we just ask someone here to help us to the city, then we'll find a way there to get into the Shinra military base," said Aeris.
"Alright, I guess we should try it. It's the only option we've got," said Cloud.
They walked further along the town, still staring all around it. Looking above, they all realised that the city above was built right into the very cliff-face itself.
"Man, now that's what I call impressive," said Yuffie.
"Yeah, it's an interesting place to build a city. Seems more like a fort. And look at the way the sea is. The people behind it have created a barrier that lets the sea roll up to the higher level, and yet the lower level is underneath the gate. Meaning that there are in effect two coastlines," explained Cloud.
"Why would they do that?" asked Yuffie, puzzled.
Red XIII shook his head.
"I don't know, but I don't fancy climbing the fifty feet to the city above. We had best descend the cliff and find a way into the city. I expect there will be far less Shinra guards around this town, as well," said Red XIII.
They walked further along the town and walked down some red steps. They came to a tiny beach with only a small section of sand to stand on and it was nearby an electrical tower. There was water around but it sure didn't seem like the sea.
The shores of Junon Harbour were cool and calm without the warm sun to shine on it from overhead. The end of a long runway blocked the sunlight all except at sunset, and by then, it was too cold to enjoy the view.
Also, the entire town smelled like old fish and raw Mako. It might just have smelled worse than even Midgar. A little girl, about nine years old with brown hair and wearing a pink bathing suit, was standing by the water.
"Hey, Mr Dolphin!" shouted the little girl.
A dolphin swam up to her. The little girl smiled warmly at it.
"My name is Priscilla. Now you say it," said Priscilla.
Just at that moment, Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret, Red XIII and Yuffie arrived. Priscilla turned to face them, and for some reason, she didn't look too pleased to see them.
"Who are you guys? Are you members of Shinra? Are you going to tell me that the coast is off-limits now too?" asked Priscilla, suspiciously, frowning.
"No, calm down," said Tifa.
"We have nothing to do with Shinra," protested Aeris.
"Yeah, we're against the Shinra! We hate those corrupted bastards!" shouted Barret.
"That's how it is," said Cloud, with a shrug.
"I don't believe you! Get out of here!" snapped Priscilla.
"Oh great…" muttered Cloud, annoyed and frustrated.
Suddenly, there seemed to be something coming right towards them. It was coming very fast and it seemed quite big by the sound of it.
"What's that!?" shouted Aeris.
A massive water snake-like creature came into view, and headed straight towards them, about to attack.
"Be careful, Mr Dolphin!" shouted Priscilla.
She ran in to help the dolphin but the water snake-like creature hit her hard with its tail, and she fell face down into the water, unconscious. She didn't move, and she was sinking fast under the water.
"Let's go! We have to save her!" shouted Tifa, horrified.
"Hey! Hold on, we're coming!" shouted Cloud.
He ran to the creature and attacked, along with Yuffie and Aeris, while Tifa dived into the water and swam underwater, urgently searching for Priscilla before she could drown, while the creature was distracted.
The creature was called a Bottomswell.
The Bottomswell suddenly attacked and quickly slapped Cloud hard across his face with its tail. Cloud grunted in pain, and stumbled backwards but he just managed to avoid falling over although his nose was bleeding.
Getting angry, red light burst from the ground at Cloud's feet as he ran quickly up to the Bottomswell, raised his sword, and swung it at the Bottomswell, slashing its body three times with powerful blows, leaving three bloody scars and sword wounds across its body. The Bottomswell shrieked in agony.
The Bottomswell suddenly slapped Aeris hard across her face with its tail. Aeris cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, but she soon got back up, despite the fact that her nose was now bleeding.
Red light burst from the ground at Aeris's feet as she spun her quarterstaff around several times and fully healed herself, Cloud and Yuffie using some magical energy, and all their injuries were fully healed.
Green light quickly burst from the ground at Aeris's feet just as she'd finished, and a bolt of lightning appeared from the sky and struck the Bottomswell, stunning it for a bit and giving another mark across its body.
Yuffie suddenly raised her Shuriken and swung it at the Bottomswell. The Shuriken went straight towards it with amazing speed and slammed hard into the Bottomswell hard, slashing it's skin with its sharp edges, and then went straight back to Yuffie like a boomerang.
Yuffie easily caught her Shuriken with one hand, while the Bottomswell shrieked in pain from the bloody slashes across its body caused by the Shuriken.
Green light burst from the ground at Aeris's feet as a bolt of lightning appeared from the sky and struck the Bottomswell, giving it another mark across its skin and stunning it for a bit, but not for long.
The Bottomswell suddenly shrieked loudly with rage and spun around several times in the water, causing a wave of water to suddenly surface, as it washed right over Cloud, Yuffie and Aeris, knocking them hard backwards, and making them a little dizzy and water logged.
It had also washed Tifa back hard onto the shore. She had not found Priscilla yet, who was still somewhere deep in the water. Tifa quickly dived back in the water and quickly continued to search for Priscilla.
Yuffie raised her Shuriken and swung it at the Bottomswell, and the Shuriken slashed across its skin, giving it yet more bloody scratches as the Shuriken was flung back to Yuffie who caught it easily again with one hand.
The Bottomswell suddenly shot a big thick water bubble from its mouth, straight at Cloud. The bubble instantly trapped Cloud inside of it, and also drained his strength, and he was starting to suffocate inside the bubble.
Green light burst from the ground at Aeris's feet as a bolt of lightning appeared from the sky, reacting with the water and shocking the Bottomswell badly and nearly killing it. The Bottomswell shrieked in pain, and it was barely alive and bleeding badly.
Yuffie raised her Shuriken again and swung it at the Bottomswell, and slashed across its side again, giving it more scratches across its skin.
The Bottomswell roared with rage and tried to spin around in the water to cause big waves again, but it was too mortally wounded to cause any massive waves, so it didn't do much more than simply get their shoes wet. Aeris and Yuffie knew they had to kill it quickly or Cloud was going to suffocate in the bubble that he was trapped in.
Green light burst from the ground at Aeris's feet as some flames appeared out of nowhere and almost struck the Bottomswell, but it ducked underwater so the flames didn't reach it, hit the water and the flames were put out, so the Bottomswell wasn't affected.
Green light burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet as reached and grasped a Materia equipped on her Shuriken, which immediately glowed bright green.
A bolt of lightning instantly appeared from the sky, and struck the Bottomswell directly, and reacted with the water more than ever, giving the Bottomswell a massive electric shock.
The Bottomswell shrieked in terrible agony, and then it was quickly killed after that. There was a flash of white light and an explosion of water, and the Bottomswell was reduced to nothingness.
The bubble vanished and Cloud was now free from it, and just in time, as he was gasping for breath. Cloud, Aeris and Yuffie quickly healed themselves with potions, as Tifa suddenly swam back onto the shore, and got back out of the water and onto the beach, carrying Priscilla along with her in her arms, who was unconscious and clearly not breathing.
Tifa gently set Priscilla down on the beach, as Cloud, Aeris, Yuffie, Barret and Red XIII quickly rushed over to Priscilla, who was still unconscious and she had still stopped breathing and looked very pale and felt very cold.
"This is really bad. You don't think that she's dead, do you?" asked Tifa, worried and anxious.
"No, she's still alive. But she's in bad shape. We need to get help and fast," said Aeris, urgently.
"Priscilla!" shouted a croaky voice, suddenly.
An old man walked over to them and stared down at Priscilla, and checked to see if she was alright. He must have been her grandfather.
"…Nope…She's not breathing. Hey, that's it! Young man! CPR! Now!" shouted the old man, urgently.
"Mouth to mouth!?" shouted Cloud, shocked and horrified, jumping backwards in surprise.
"Cloud, what are you going to do?" asked Tifa.
"But come on, she's just a little girl," protested Cloud, wondering why it was always him who had to do these sorts of things all the time.
"Cloud, hurry!" shouted Aeris.
"What? You don't know how to do it? Come over here and I'll show you," said the old man.
"Guess I've got to do it," sighed Cloud, regrettably.
"Just take a deep breath, hold it in and then breathe into her. Hurry up and do it!" shouted the old man.
Cloud reluctantly did CPR on the little girl. It took a while but she managed to wake up. She coughed quite a bit, and then she was silent.
"Hey, Priscilla. Are you alright?" asked the old man.
He picked her up, walked up the stairs and went back to their house. Cloud and the others walked up the stairs and back over to the town.
A man was standing outside his house, waiting for them.
"Hey, come in for a while, please. I've just heard all about what happened earlier. You've all done so much for Priscilla, saving her life like that. You all must be tired. Please, make yourselves at home, it's the least I can do," said the man.
He calmly walked back into his house, leaving the door open behind him for them to come inside.
"I guess we should take him up on his offer. It's not like we've got much choice or anything," said Yuffie, as she, Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret and Red XIII all walked into the house.
The man inside the house turned to face them.
"Like I already said, I've just heard about what happened here earlier. You've all done so much for Priscilla. If you want to get some rest, then stay here, please, by all means. This isn't much, but it's the best I can offer you. The night will get stormy and the last thing you should be expected to do is camp out there. Make yourselves at home," said the man, and he walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.
"Shall we take a rest?" asked Tifa.
"Yeah, let's rest," replied Cloud. He turned to face Barret.
"There are four beds. Tifa, Yuffie and Aeris are each going to take one, so who's going to take the fourth?" asked Cloud.
"Well, Red XIII don't need any bed, and I don't mind going without one. You might as well take it," said Barret. Cloud shrugged.
There were only four beds, so Barret and Red XIII had volunteered to sleep on the floor. Tifa and Yuffie, who were very tired and exhausted, soon fell fast asleep. Barret and Red XIII were asleep soon after that.
Cloud was starting to fall asleep, when he suddenly noticed that Aeris was wide-awake, and she seemed to be troubled about something. Cloud got out of his bed and walked over to her.
Aeris noticed this, and she got out of her bed and sat at the end of it. Cloud sat next to her. Cloud noticed that a few tears had been sliding down her face.
"Aeris, is something wrong? You've been crying," said Cloud, concerned, gently brushing a tear from her face. Aeris smiled at him slightly.
"Cloud…no, just forget about it. It was nothing. I just couldn't get to sleep, that's all," said Aeris. Cloud wasn't convinced, though.
"Aeris, what are you trying to hide?" asked Cloud, gently, trying not to sound too pushy, but he needed to know what was clearly bothering her.
"I…I'm not trying to hide anything, Cloud. But I want you all to know that…one day…I-I may have to leave you, leave all of you. Just remember…if that day ever comes…it might not be my wish, but it will be my choice," said Aeris, slowly and clearly.
Cloud gasped at her in surprise and concern.
"Aeris, you're scaring me now. I hate it when you talk like that," said Cloud, worried and filled with concern for her, there was just something about her words that seemed to scare him for some reason, as if a hidden truth ran through them.
"I'm sorry…like I said, just forget about it. Never mind what I told you just then," said Aeris.
Cloud looked at her in concern, still very worried about her indeed. Aeris sighed and continued.
"You know, I really love my mother. She gave everything she had, including her life, so I could escape Shinra and have a better life. I love both my mother and Elmyra, and I owe my life to them. I loved my boyfriend back when he was around as well. But sometimes…I just wish I was born differently, Cloud…I wish I was different, but I was never given a chance to be different," explained Aeris.
"Look Aeris, at times I've wanted my life to go differently as well. And I've never had much of a chance either. People are simply just the way they are by their experiences, but perhaps very few of them are able to choose to be the way they really want to be," said Cloud.
"Yeah…you're right. Thanks, Cloud," said Aeris, smiling again, and she hugged Cloud softly, kissed him on the cheek, and then went back to her bed.
Cloud looked at her for a moment, in deep thought, and then went back to his bed. Both of them soon fell asleep. But Cloud suddenly heard a voice, speaking to him in his dreams, the same voice he had heard before when he was dreaming.
"That reminds me…" said the voice.
"You again? Who are you?" asked Cloud.
He had never met anyone with this voice before, but he thought he heard this voice from somewhere once before.
"You'll find out soon enough, later along your journey, I'm sure. But more importantly, five years ago…" said the voice.
"Five years ago…? Nibelheim…?" asked Cloud, surprised.
"When you went to Mount Nibel at that time, Tifa was your guide, right?" asked the voice.
"Yeah…I was surprised," said Cloud.
"But where was Tifa, other than that? Why couldn't you find her around town before that, or after?" asked the voice.
"I…I don't know," replied Cloud, thoroughly bewildered, as the thought suddenly occurred to him, and now he really began to wonder where Tifa had been besides when she was being their guide through the mountains.
"It was a great chance for you two to see each other again," said the voice.
"You're right," said Cloud, thoughtfully.
"Why couldn't you see each other alone?" asked the voice, curiously.
"I don't know…I can't remember clearly," said Cloud, slowly, still rather confused and bewildered about the whole subject.
"Why don't you try asking Tifa?" asked the voice.
"…Yeah…" said Cloud, deciding that he would find out the truth from Tifa.
"Then wake up," said the voice. The voice then suddenly disappeared and vanished from Cloud's mind. Then he heard a familiar voice in front and above him.
"Wake up, Cloud!" said Tifa, urgently.
Cloud awoke and found Tifa standing in front of him. Aeris, Yuffie, Barret and Red XIII were already out of the house. Cloud got up and he faced Tifa, deciding to ask her about what the strange voice had said.
"Tifa, when Sephiroth and me arrived at Nibelheim, where were you?" asked Cloud, curiously.
Tifa hesitated before answering, unable to meet his gaze, looking clearly uncomfortable about the whole subject for some strange reason.
"We…we still saw each other again, right?" asked Tifa.
"No, the other time. Before you lead us to the reactor, and after that," said Cloud.
Tifa shook her head, but she clearly still looked very troubled, and still avoided his gaze.
"No…it was five years ago. I don't remember it clearly enough…But something seems strange outside right now. Cloud, come quick," said Tifa, urgently.
Cloud could tell that Tifa was hiding something from him, and that she was clearly very worried about him finding out about it. But Cloud decided to leave the subject for now, seeing that there might be something going on at the moment.
Cloud and Tifa both ran outside the house into the small town of Junon, and they could hear parade music coming from above them, but they couldn't see a parade in the town.
"(It must be in the big city of Junon above this town)," thought Cloud.
Cloud and Tifa both walked over to Priscilla's house and they found Red XIII, Yuffie, Barret and Aeris standing outside the house, looking upwards towards the source of the noise.
"Does this have something to do with Shinra?" asked Red XIII, curiously.
"God, what a horrible racket! It's giving me a pounding headache! And its almost as bad as Barret's snoring too," joked Yuffie, sniggering. Barret snarled angrily.
"What was that!? Shut up! Seems like something's going on up there. Don't see how anyone could sleep through this. That racket up there would have awoken the dead!" said Barret.
"Doesn't it seem a little strange? Everything going so noisy all of a sudden?" asked Tifa, thoughtfully.
"I heard that girl who nearly drowned yesterday regained consciousness," said Aeris.
"Why don't you go see her, Cloud? She seems like a nice kid," said Tifa, gently.
"Hey, are we going to climb up to the city or not? Not that I'm anxious to get any closer to that annoying music, of course," said Yuffie.
Just then, the door opened as Priscilla walked out of her house and she walked over to them.
"Are you alright now?" asked Cloud.
Priscilla nodded, her head bowed.
"Yes, thanks for helping. I'm sorry. I mistook you all for members of Shinra Incorporated," said Priscilla.
"That's alright," said Cloud.
Priscilla's face brightened, and she looked up at them, smiling with clear gratitude. Barret looked up at the ground of the city above the town again, where the parade music was still coming from.
"What's that music? It sure sounds lively," said Barret.
"I've heard that they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra President. They're holding a parade in honour of him, up in the city above," explained Priscilla.
At this, Barret's eyes widened in surprise.
"Rufus!? Damn, I've gotta pay my respects to that guy! We need to get up there somehow to teach him a lesson in pain…" growled Barret, clenching his fist tightly.
"My grandpa and grandma told me that this beach was beautiful when they were young. This place was once a fishing town. Many champion fishermen came here in the hope of catching something huge. Then Shinra came and blocked out the tide, building their new city above. After Shinra built that city above us, the sun stopped shining here and the water got polluted. Ever since then, the whole town's been dirty and polluted. I was raised on that story my whole life, and I hate Shinra Incorporated so much, that I could just die!" shouted Priscilla, angrily.
"Do you think that Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here too? Does that mean that Sephiroth has already crossed the ocean?" asked Aeris, curiously.
"Cloud, didn't you finish Rufus off?" asked Red XIII, bewildered. Cloud shook his head in response.
"We've gotta get to the city up there. Maybe we could climb up that electric tower in the water," said Barret, thoughtfully.
Priscilla's eyes widened, and she screamed in protest.
"No! No! No! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower. Don't wander too near it, its too dangerous! But…you might be able to…if Mr dolphin helps you to get up there. Come on, follow me to the beach!" said Priscilla, and she ran down the steps to the small beach.
"High voltage tower…I guess this means that Cloud will be alright," said Tifa, turning to face Cloud and grinning at him.
"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud," said Aeris, also grinning.
"We're counting on you, Cloud," said Red XIII, nodding.
"Hey!! Wait just a second!" protested Cloud, but they all took no notice of him, and turned away.
"Guess they've made up their minds. Looks like you're the best person for the job. Now aren't you going to follow her?" asked Yuffie, grinning. Cloud snorted.
"That looks like a Shinra soldier," said Red XIII, pointing (with one of his paws) to a soldier standing by a gate. Yuffie nodded in agreement, and said nothing.
"Yeah, I'd like to get up there and take a good look at the new President of Shinra Incorporated," said Barret, menacingly, clenching his fist tightly.
"Don't you just hate this?" asked Tifa.
"You're probably right," replied Aeris.
Deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible, Cloud quickly ran down the steps to the small beach. He ran over to Priscilla, who was waiting for him by the shore.
"Wait a minute," said Priscilla.
She blew her whistle and the dolphin came into view and suddenly jumped very high. It almost jumped above the top of the electrical tower. Barret arrived just behind them, and he ran up to them by the shore.
"Impressive! Now ain't that something! I've never seen any dolphin jump as high as that!" exclaimed Barret, both amazed and clearly impressed. Priscilla grinned.
"Pretty cool, huh? When I blow this whistle, Mr dolphin jumps for me. Here! This is for you, Cloud," said Priscilla, and she gave Cloud the whistle.
"A gift? What am I supposed to do with it?" asked Cloud.
"Just go into the water, blow this whistle and Mr dolphin will jump to the top of the pole with you," explained Priscilla.
"Jump to the top of the pole?" asked Cloud.
"See that rod sticking out at the top? If you jump just at the right moment, then you can climb up to the top of the town and then go from there to the city above," explained Priscilla.
"Good luck, Cloud! If you make it, we'll follow you! I'll hold the PHS for you. It will break if it gets wet," said Barret, taking the mobile phone off him.
"Do you want to jump with Mr dolphin?" asked Priscilla.
"Sure, guess I have to," replied Cloud, shrugging.
Cloud swam out to sea, and set himself above the high voltage wires that ran under the ground. Looking around, he could see the early sunset as it cast a dark crimson glow over the chilly water.
It soaked him clean to his skin, causing him to shiver. He couldn't stay in here too long before his legs would go numb. Sighing, he blew the whistle and waited.
Looking down, Cloud saw the stirring of the dark water underneath his feet as the dolphin swam around in tight circles to gain momentum. Then it vanished.
The sword on Cloud's back was starting to get heavier, and his head was spinning. The chill was beginning to soak through his stiff leather boots, this was looking bad.
Cloud yelped as the dolphins hard nose suddenly pushed up against his feet and propelled him high into the air. In a spray of water and a cheerful chatter, the dolphin had actually pushed Cloud all the way up to the pole Pricilla had pointed out.
Cloud grabbed the pole tightly, and almost ended up falling off the bottom, grasping the pole with slippery wet hands was not easy. Still, he managed to pull himself up and wrap his legs around the steel pole.
With his arms burning and his legs numb, Cloud pulled himself up to the service ladder beneath the runway and slowly crawled up it.
Cloud pushed the manhole out of the way, and he was amazed at the sight that greeted him. He had heard stories of the airships at Junon, but this, this was almost too much to take in at once.
The massive steel airship's polished chrome shone in the bright red sunset, and its huge turbines drove its propellers lazily in the stiff breeze.
Somebody was speaking into a bullhorn somewhere, and the PA system from the flight deck responded with some command code that Cloud couldn't make heads of tails of.
Thick chains tied to weights kept the airship from taking off by itself, but just barely, the way it struggled, Cloud saw the ship more as a living, breathing thing that was dying to be let loose and soar the crimson skies again.
Cloud stood and marvelled at the airship for what seemed like forever, until he remembered what he was doing up in Junon, and quickly headed for the flight deck.
Cloud rode down the service elevator to the bottom floor, where the city of Junon was, and Cloud entered the Shinra soldier's barracks that were on the other side of the elevator. As soon as he stepped inside, the loud music suddenly blared in his ears, almost knocking him back outside.
Heavy brass, booming base, and huge drums made up the parade music for President Rufus, even though the actual parade hadn't quite started yet.
Dozens of soldiers were flocking out of the barracks and filling the streets in hundreds of uniform ranks. The streets were swarming with blue splotches, each swinging their assault rifles and cheering loudly for Junon and for Shinra.
The city of Junon was huge, almost as big as Midgar but luckily, nowhere near as polluted. The brilliant sunset shone off the waters, sending a bright orange glow onto the tall buildings and bathing the town in a fiery red.
Junon itself was built like a flight of stairs, with each street being a different level of town, connected by airways, the Shinra's VIP elevator platforms, and of course, simple stairways. The top of the town, though, held the Junon Shinra tower, where Rufus would oversee everything from his chair high above.
The most impressive part of the city, however, was the gigantic cannon, the Sister Ray, the largest and most powerful weapon on the entire Planet.
Junon was known for having massive amounts of artillery in the streets that had been installed during the war, but the very best of the weapons was the massive cannon that stretched for almost half a mile out over the ocean.
The Mako shells were said to weigh over twenty tons, and were loaded with four heavy cranes. Junon's underwater Mako Reactor, located far beneath the churning waves outside of the small harbour, powered the cannon.
It had only been fired once since being built, which was during the war, but once was always more than enough for anybody or anything, as the cannon had enough power to blow absolutely anything to bits in just one shot.