Author's Note:
Cloud: Hoorai! No more Yuffie!
Reeve: Hey, man-bitch, get out of my disclaimer, or I'll drop something on you again.
Cloud: Oh. Sorry. Wait. Why do I have to leave?
Reeve: So no one can bother me while I disclaim.
Cloud: But Reno bothers you all the time.
Reeve: You're right. Is this weren't PG-13, I'd (censored) him with his own (censored) into every orifice he has.
Cloud: What's an orifice?
Reeve: Give me your sword.
Cloud: I dunno why, but okay.
(CENSORED)
Cloud: Ow... that was... ow...
Reeve: Indeed it was. Now, on with the story. And Tyramir doesn't own FF. Nearly forgot to say that with all the (censored) going on.
Chapter Twenty Nine
The Sighting
Cloud held a hand over his eyes, shielding the sun away. The first test was supposed to be today, and that made the Soldier washout a little nervous. One thought kept repeating over and over in his head, and it bothered him a lot.
How do you safely test pilot an airship that's the size of a large building?
Nearby Red XIII sat on his haunches, gnawing at a burr that had somehow made its way into his fur. Barret wasn't far off to Cloud's left, standing with a group of Cid's engineers,and to the right were Tifa and Rude. Cid himself was in the airship, directly at the controls, which had been modified for him to sit at with his wheelchair. Only a skeleton crew of the engineers and pilots were on board with him.
Cloud lifted the two-way radio to his mouth once more. "Are you okay, Cid?"
"Course I'm okay, kid! Yeesh, you really are a numbskull. How many times do I have to tell you that I've been flyin' longer than you've been fightin'? I don't question your sword swinging, so you don't question my flyin'! We should be passing by you in about.... now!"
Erupting from the clouds came the shining silver streak. It rocketed by, a blare of cheering coming from the ship's speaker phone. Through the radio Cloud could hear Cid and his men yelling in joy as they passed. The Highwind II was a beautiful ship, sleeker and more aerodynamic than the original, but not without losing the look of a luxury ship that it had before.
The group jumped up and about, yelling at the airship and waving their hands in triumph.
"Everything's working okay?" he asked into the radio.
"You bet, kid! Flies like a dream. 'Course, it was built by me. Followed the exact plans of the original Highwind and modified 'em to make it better."
The Highwind disappeared into the distance, and a smile spread across Cloud's face. A second later the Highwind made a second pass, flying over them again in little time.
Cid had spent so much of the past month working on that ship, and now it was finally complete. The old pilot finally seemed his old self again. For a while Cloud had been worried. Even with Shera's help, Cid didn't even seem to have the energy to want to insult those he loved, but now with the Highwind complete and in the air, the word 'numbskull' had a new special meaning, a type of vitality to it that made Cloud almost want to burst.
"Yee-haw!" Cid yelled through both the radio and the speaker on the ship.
"Shit, flies around in his new ship, and thinks he's a cowboy," Barret muttered. "Good to see him happy, though. I was startin' to miss his ol' surly self."
"Cid, I'm starting to get some unusual readings." Cloud jumped and looked down to the radio. Shera's voice came through loud and clear. She must have been in the new logistics room, speaking to Cid over the radio.
"The hell is it?" Cid's voice said.
"I don't know. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. It looks like some kind of red mass on the radar, and the readings say it's alive."
Cloud's heart leapt at what she said. Those words sounded familiar. One time Cait Sith had said nearly the exact same thing while watching over the radar screen while Avalanche flew by Gold Saucer.
"Can you identify it?" Cid asked.
"I'm trying. I'm using every scanner we have, even the ones that have been modified by the components we retrieved from the Cait Sith unit, but... wait. There we go. I'm starting to get a visual. We'll need to fly closer, though. It's big whatever it is."
"Alright. Where is it?"
Cloud held the radio up, the blood draining from his face. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Barret moving closer, and knew Red XIII was listening intently. He could feel Tifa and Rude approaching as well.
"Midgar, Cid. Right in the middle of where Meteor almost hit."
It couldn't be. But it made such perfect sense. The Promised Land. That's where it had to be. A place where the Lifestream was greatly concentrated, and where better than the place where the Planet had risen up to destroy the ultimate threat to itself...?
She had said she would wait for him there.
"Alright, changing course. We'll go for a look see."
"Could it be...?" Barret asked.
"It's entirely possible," Red XIII said. "It does seem to make sense."
Tifa questioned, "Are we sure it's really her, though? I wasn't there, but... how sure can you be? Who knows what it can do?"
"Aw shit," came Cid's voice over the radio. "Shera, you don't need to identify that thing for me. Guys..."
"We know, Cid," Cloud said. "We know. It's Obsidian. It's Aeris."
Author's Note:
Hmmm... not bad for a chapter that took me only about 25 minutes to write. Next... Rufus!
Cloud: Hoorai! No more Yuffie!
Reeve: Hey, man-bitch, get out of my disclaimer, or I'll drop something on you again.
Cloud: Oh. Sorry. Wait. Why do I have to leave?
Reeve: So no one can bother me while I disclaim.
Cloud: But Reno bothers you all the time.
Reeve: You're right. Is this weren't PG-13, I'd (censored) him with his own (censored) into every orifice he has.
Cloud: What's an orifice?
Reeve: Give me your sword.
Cloud: I dunno why, but okay.
(CENSORED)
Cloud: Ow... that was... ow...
Reeve: Indeed it was. Now, on with the story. And Tyramir doesn't own FF. Nearly forgot to say that with all the (censored) going on.
Chapter Twenty Nine
The Sighting
Cloud held a hand over his eyes, shielding the sun away. The first test was supposed to be today, and that made the Soldier washout a little nervous. One thought kept repeating over and over in his head, and it bothered him a lot.
How do you safely test pilot an airship that's the size of a large building?
Nearby Red XIII sat on his haunches, gnawing at a burr that had somehow made its way into his fur. Barret wasn't far off to Cloud's left, standing with a group of Cid's engineers,and to the right were Tifa and Rude. Cid himself was in the airship, directly at the controls, which had been modified for him to sit at with his wheelchair. Only a skeleton crew of the engineers and pilots were on board with him.
Cloud lifted the two-way radio to his mouth once more. "Are you okay, Cid?"
"Course I'm okay, kid! Yeesh, you really are a numbskull. How many times do I have to tell you that I've been flyin' longer than you've been fightin'? I don't question your sword swinging, so you don't question my flyin'! We should be passing by you in about.... now!"
Erupting from the clouds came the shining silver streak. It rocketed by, a blare of cheering coming from the ship's speaker phone. Through the radio Cloud could hear Cid and his men yelling in joy as they passed. The Highwind II was a beautiful ship, sleeker and more aerodynamic than the original, but not without losing the look of a luxury ship that it had before.
The group jumped up and about, yelling at the airship and waving their hands in triumph.
"Everything's working okay?" he asked into the radio.
"You bet, kid! Flies like a dream. 'Course, it was built by me. Followed the exact plans of the original Highwind and modified 'em to make it better."
The Highwind disappeared into the distance, and a smile spread across Cloud's face. A second later the Highwind made a second pass, flying over them again in little time.
Cid had spent so much of the past month working on that ship, and now it was finally complete. The old pilot finally seemed his old self again. For a while Cloud had been worried. Even with Shera's help, Cid didn't even seem to have the energy to want to insult those he loved, but now with the Highwind complete and in the air, the word 'numbskull' had a new special meaning, a type of vitality to it that made Cloud almost want to burst.
"Yee-haw!" Cid yelled through both the radio and the speaker on the ship.
"Shit, flies around in his new ship, and thinks he's a cowboy," Barret muttered. "Good to see him happy, though. I was startin' to miss his ol' surly self."
"Cid, I'm starting to get some unusual readings." Cloud jumped and looked down to the radio. Shera's voice came through loud and clear. She must have been in the new logistics room, speaking to Cid over the radio.
"The hell is it?" Cid's voice said.
"I don't know. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. It looks like some kind of red mass on the radar, and the readings say it's alive."
Cloud's heart leapt at what she said. Those words sounded familiar. One time Cait Sith had said nearly the exact same thing while watching over the radar screen while Avalanche flew by Gold Saucer.
"Can you identify it?" Cid asked.
"I'm trying. I'm using every scanner we have, even the ones that have been modified by the components we retrieved from the Cait Sith unit, but... wait. There we go. I'm starting to get a visual. We'll need to fly closer, though. It's big whatever it is."
"Alright. Where is it?"
Cloud held the radio up, the blood draining from his face. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Barret moving closer, and knew Red XIII was listening intently. He could feel Tifa and Rude approaching as well.
"Midgar, Cid. Right in the middle of where Meteor almost hit."
It couldn't be. But it made such perfect sense. The Promised Land. That's where it had to be. A place where the Lifestream was greatly concentrated, and where better than the place where the Planet had risen up to destroy the ultimate threat to itself...?
She had said she would wait for him there.
"Alright, changing course. We'll go for a look see."
"Could it be...?" Barret asked.
"It's entirely possible," Red XIII said. "It does seem to make sense."
Tifa questioned, "Are we sure it's really her, though? I wasn't there, but... how sure can you be? Who knows what it can do?"
"Aw shit," came Cid's voice over the radio. "Shera, you don't need to identify that thing for me. Guys..."
"We know, Cid," Cloud said. "We know. It's Obsidian. It's Aeris."
Author's Note:
Hmmm... not bad for a chapter that took me only about 25 minutes to write. Next... Rufus!