Beyond Paradise
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, the characters or places of the game, and whatever else about the game. Squaresoft/enix does. Still can't sue me! Besides, you'd only get three bucks and twenty three cents...
Author's Note: Hmm, this chapter is going to be harder to write. Well, hope you enjoy nonetheless. I love the reviews so far! The relationships are going to be slow developments, don't we just love those? I know I'm a fan of those 'falling in love' Yuffentine's or something. Yes. Read this next chapter. Just do it.
Oh I am a chickie who lives in an egg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
The hens they all cackle, the roosters all beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear all the talk of pollution and war
As the people all shout and the airplanes roar,
So I'm staying in here where it's safe and it's warm,
And I will not hatch!
I Won't Hatch
-- Shel Silverstein
- Chapter 2: It's Us Against the World
The morning sun found AVALANCHE gathered around the dining table, each talking about the small things while Barret and Yuffie tried to be the one who could fit the most food into their mouth without coughing, choking, or needing a drink.
To shorten the competition, Barret ended up grinning proudly from his place on the sofa while Tifa was in the corner, patting Yuffie on the back as the young ninja coughed out bits and pieces, struggling for air.
Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door. Cloud stood from the table and made his way to the front, opening the door and pulling a sheet of paper off. He closed the door and leaned back against it, reading over the contents.
Yuffie, apparently over her choking fit, slid up beside him and looked over the paper. "Sheesh, and I thought people didn't like me," she commented as Tifa came up to read it. Cloud, beginning to feel a little crowded, handed the paper over to the martial artist and sat on the couch beside Barret.
The silence droned on, until Cid began flailing his arms around. "Well, come on, woman! What does it say?"
Tifa crumpled the paper up in her fist and smiled. "Nothing, Cid," then she turned her attention to Cloud, "You still have to start the meeting, you know. We never got started on it yesterday."
"Who do you people think you are!?"
Apparently, no one had noticed Yuffie open the door again.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves! We saved your lives you—agh!"
Tifa snatched the girl by the arm and pulled her into the house, slamming the door shut and locking it as she released Yuffie. The little ninja stumbled back, catching her balance with the help of Nanaki.
Vincent calmly glanced over Yuffie for injuries before turning his gaze to Tifa. "What did the letter say?"
Cloud came up beside the woman and gently took the crumpled ball of paper into his hands. "I can explain it if we could just get to the meeting." AVALANCHE seemed to take the hint and began making themselves comfortable in the living room.
"Yuffie, would you kindly take your feet off of me?"
"Aw, but you're like a footrest!"
"Just do it, Yuffie. Cloud's gettin' impatient."
"What me an' Red talk about isn't any of your business, you old fart!"
"What'd you call me?"
"Yuffie, please. It's getting uncomfortable."
"Old fart!"
"Thieving brat!"
"Guys..." Tifa tried.
"Chimney!"
"Good fer' nothin'!"
"Guys..!" Tifa tried again.
"Walking Lung Cancer!"
"Scrawny Klepto-Freak!"
"Guys!!" Tifa shouted out, the walls shaking with the sudden boom of the female's voice.
All went quiet. AVALANCHE stared in wonder at the woman and she smiled sweetly. "Please, Cloud's trying to explain what's going on."
Yuffie stood up, taking her feet off of Nanaki, then plopped down next to Cid and the two sat quietly, watching Cloud expectantly.
Their leader cleared his throat uncomfortably and shifted his weight before leaning back against the wall. "As you might have figured out, the people of Kalm don't exactly appreciate what we've done for them. Saving the planet doesn't seem to be enough.
"A new... organization, is forming. They're somewhat like a protest group, but against us. For what reason, I wish I knew. The people that have not joined this rebelling group come from Cosmo Canyon," a look to Nanaki, "and Wutai," a quick glance to Yuffie. "So I believe that we are safest in those areas."
"What about Fort Condor?" Nanaki barely lifted his head.
"They're busy with their own problems. That baby condor came back and now they've got their hands full taking care of it," Cloud responded lightly.
"Costa del Sol?" Cait Sith piped in.
"It's too hot," Nanaki replied before Cloud could think about it.
"Gold Saucer!" Yuffie grinned, hands clapping together in front of her.
"It's too loud there," Tifa countered, hand going to her head as if she were already gaining a headache from the unheard music.
"North Corel," Barret offered. Cid merely shook his head at the idea.
Vincent quietly observed his teammates from his corner, arms crossed beneath the covers of the crimson cape. His eyes closed as he listened to the freezing winds of Chaos' existence.
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"Alright then, Cosmo Canyon it is!" Cloud decided, an hour later, with a victorious grin on his face.
"One question," the black cat tilted its head to the side. "Why are we going anywhere at all?"
"It isn't safe here. The people of Kalm are part of this rebellious protest and they aren't exactly all 'tea-and-crumpet' when it comes to us," Tifa explained, one hand resting on her chin as if in thought. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to kill and eat our chocobo's last night."
Yuffie shrieked and leapt off of the couch, making a mad dash for the paddock.
The others arrived just in time to see Yuffie cradling her Green's head. The chocobo cooed to her mistress in confusion and warbled with affection. Tifa laughed, one hand resting on her stomach as if to ease a pain.
"I was just joking, Yuffie! These people aren't that sadistic! They may hate us, but they wouldn't hurt an innocent chocobo," Tifa said between laughter at the younger girl's sudden impulse to protect her chocobo.
Yuffie ignored her and gently brushed her fingers through Levia's crest. Vincent's Black trotted up behind Yuffie and pecked lightly at her shoulder, as if calling for some well needed attention as well. The little ninja smiled and patted him on the neck.
"He seems to like you well enough," Vincent said calmly. Yuffie jumped and clung to Levia. The Green warked and pecked at the Black's neck.
"Gawd, Vincent! Did you have to sneak up on me like that?" she growled, slowly releasing her death grip on the chocobo.
Vincent shrugged as he buckled the reigns to the Chocobo's beak and neck. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to frighten you," he apologized before swiftly leading the Black to the fence and tying the ends of the reigns to it.
Yuffie stuck her tongue out at his back in a childish manner before tugging on Levia's beak. "C'mon, let's get you ready to go."
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The chocobo's were ready, but another problem had announced itself.
"Someone's going to have to drive the buggy," Tifa commented, staring down at the rather sheepish look Nanaki had and the withering Cait Sith.
There was a long pause before Barret swung off his yellow chocobo, much to the bird's happiness. "I'll drive it. 'Sides, Sugarplum would'na made it," he grumbled.
Another pause.
Finally, "Sugarplum?" Yuffie asked, hand over her mouth to hold back the laughs.
"It was Marlene's idea!" Barret roared, thumping his feet on the ground in frustration. Yuffie simply laughed and waved a hand in the air, as if to dismiss it all.
--------------------
AVALANCHE was on their way. Five chocobo's ran along the sides of a red buggy, and it was quite a sight to see for the random monsters that watched them go by. Really, it wasn't anything more than a blur of red, blue, gold, black, and green that went by, followed by a cloud of dirt.
They reached the ferry, and thus the problems continued.
"I can't let you on the ferry, ma'am," the old man said, hands resting firmly on his hips. His dulling blue eyes glared up at her as if he could stop the travelers on chocobo's and three in a buggy in their tracks.
Tifa let out a sigh, fingers rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "And why not?" she asked, trying to fight the headache that was pulsating throughout her skull.
"Yer nothin' but troublemakers, you are. We can refuse service to anyone!" he argued, waving a wrinkled fist in the air at her.
"That's fair," Cloud spoke up, steering his Gold chocobo to herd the group away from the fuming man. Once at a safe distance, he let out a defeated sigh.
"We can't get across by ferry, and the only chocobo's that can run across the water are King, Bronco, May, and Vincent's Black..." Cloud explained. "King and May are the stronger ones, so Barret and Nanaki can ride with me and Tifa," he continued. He sent a sympathetic glance towards Yuffie as she hugged Levia's neck tightly.
The Green cooed and nipped at Yuffie's short hair before pulling away and dashing off. Levia knew her way around, so Yuffie wasn't too worried. She turned to glance at her two choices. "Hm, Cid or Vincent, who will be the lucky man today?" she grinned and looked to Cait Sith.
"I don't know about you, but those red eyes still give me the creeps," the black cat shivered and leapt off of the fat moogle and up onto Bronco's head. The blue chocobo warked and scratched at the grass in annoyance.
Yuffie glared as the stuffed animal hopped up, struggling to climb into Cid's lap. "This is just one of those fucking days, ain't it?" Cid grumbled just before a big, soft fist slammed into his left leg.
Yuffie's laughs came to a stop as a hand, Vincent's hand, lowered in front of her face.
"Aw, my knight in not-so-shining armor!" Yuffie joked before grabbing onto his wrist and, with his help, hauling herself up to sit in front of him on the Black.
The buggy was deserted in its place as AVALANCHE rode off, onto the waters, and into the horizon.
--------------------
"So," this would be Yuffie's attempt at a conversation. "What's his name?" She asked.
"He doesn't have a name," he replied flatly.
Yuffie frowned as she gently pet the Black's neck. "Well then, we should give him a name, shouldn't we?"
Tifa glanced over from her place in front of Barret and smiled. "We could name it Viffie! Or Yuncent!"
Yuffie laughed and shook her head. "Those names are stupid! You can't just put two names together and make a new one. It never turns out right."
The older woman smiled and turned her attention back to the waters stretching out in front of them. "How can he stand 'er?" Barret grumbled, shifting uncomfortably on the back of May, Tifa's gold chocobo. The woman laughed and shrugged her slim shoulders.
"The same way you and Cid, and everyone else can. She's our friend. It's not so much that we tolerate her, but that we understand her and accept it with everything else she is," Tifa tried to explain. Barret grunted in response and shrugged.
--------------------
The afternoon was fast approaching, and they had just moments ago reached the beaches of the Corel area.
"I'm hungry," Yuffie groaned, leaning back against Vincent as her stomach growled loudly at her. She put a hand over the snarling beast that was her stomach and sighed at the memories of her breakfast that she had no time to enjoy. Her competition with Barret had been a crucial part of her day! She couldn't go without it.
Vincent glanced down at her quickly, body going rigid at the sudden contact with another human. The little ninja seemed to take no notice and continued to complain.
"Shaddup!" Barret called back to her just as his stomach gurgled in response to the younger woman's. Tifa laughed and gently patted Barret's human hand.
"We should be at Cosmo Canyon soon," she reassured him. "Cloud! How much longer? Our friends here are getting hungry!"
Cloud looked back, a strange look of sickness and understanding flickering over his face. "I'm hoping in another hour," he responded.
"Cloud, are you alright?" the lion-beast questioned from his place sprawled over the chocobo's back. The blonde leader nodded, one arm curling around his stomach.
"I don't want to admit it, but I'm getting really hungry, too..." he grumbled, leaning slightly into King's neck. The gold chocobo warked and began to speed up, as if understanding the pain its owner was going through.
The other birds followed in pace, the random warks scaring off the monsters that dared to attempt and ambush the riders.
One figure stood alone on a dusted canyon wall, the warm breeze playing with a jester's hat. The golden bells began to jingle in harmony and a pale finger rose to lips painted purple. "Shh..." and soon they were lost with the wind.
--------------------
AVALANCHE had filled their stomachs and soon sat comfortably around Cosmo Canyon's famous flame.
Nanaki stretched his legs out and curled up close to the fire. "You are all welcome to stay here until we can figure out what to do about this potential threat," he spoke idly, as if it weren't an important matter.
Tifa smiled and gently scratched behind his ears in a 'thank you' gesture.
Cait Sith danced in place for a few seconds to gather attention. "I need to shut down for a little bit. Cid's smoke got into the circuits." And with that, the black cat sagged against the stuffed moogle.
Yuffie laughed as Cid spouted off insults about the robotic cat. Nanaki purred softly before standing up on all fours. Tifa's hand slid back to her side as he looked around at his friends. "I'll talk to the people, see if they know anything about this," he announced. With a nod, he started off.
Barret and Cid glanced to each other, exchanging knowing looks before grinning to Tifa. "We're gonna get some drinks." They were grown men, they didn't need permission, despite the disapproving look Tifa gave them as they got up and left for the bar.
This left Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, and a shut down Cait Sith.
"You think he'd wake up if I tossed him into the fire?" Yuffie asked, her gaze locked on the nonliving creature beside her. "Nobody'd miss him, would they?"
"Yuffie! That's horrible," Tifa reprimanded her, shaking her head at the cruel idea of it all.
Yuffie laughed nervously and rubbed at the back of her head. "I wasn't serious," she said in defense.
"You wouldn't like it if any of us wanted to throw you in the fire, would you?" Vincent asked from his place by the fire, crimson pools staring into the burning embers. The little ninja frowned and crossed her arms over her stomach.
"Can't anybody take a joke around here?" she grumbled.
Cloud smiled and stood up, dusting his pants off before walking around the fire to Yuffie. He gently patted her shoulder as he stepped past her. "I'm going to look in the observatory, see if I can find something like a notebook to keep a record of what we find... if we find anything at all," he added as an afterthought.
Tifa suddenly looked up, as if everyone were leaving her. "Oh, wait! Cloud, I'll go with you!" She jumped to her feet and jogged off after him, waving a quick goodbye to Yuffie and Vincent before following him up the stairs.
Yuffie grinned. "Isn't it cute?"
Vincent glanced over to her, then back to the fire.
"Those two together..." she continued, as if he had asked. "Maybe Tifa will get a chance to tell him."
Silence.
"Yeah, I think they're going to get married one day."
A slight shifting noise from Vincent's side.
"Maybe I'll get to be the maid of honor!"
Boots kicking up the dust.
"You think I'd get the bouquet of flowers, Vinnie?"
Silence again.
"Vinnie?" Yuffie glanced over to where he sat. There was nothing there. "Vincent? Hey! Don't walk away from me while I'm talking to you!" she shouted out as she spotted him headed for the Inn.
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Cloud sifted through a few boxes, shoving the contents around for a journal, notebook, anything with paper. Tifa came in quietly, hand resting on his shoulder. "I don't think Nanaki would like it if you went through Bugenhagen's things without asking him."
The blonde man rubbed at his nose as dust floated up from the old photos. "Yeah, I guess not. I don't know where else to look, though."
Tifa smiled and glanced around the room. "Well, he might have something in the observation room. You know, the room with the stars and planets," she ventured, gesturing a hand to the wooden door.
Cloud nodded and opened the door. "You can check one side, and I'll get the other."
She smiled and followed him in.
The room became dark as the door closed. They stood quietly, Tifa's hand on Cloud's shoulder, until their eyes became adjusted to the darkness. Soon, the search commenced.
--------------------
Vincent let out a heavy sigh as Yuffie repeated the same tune she had been humming for the last ten minutes. It wouldn't have bothered him so much if it just hadn't been the same five or six notes throughout the entire song.
"Yuffie, please silence yourself."
The humming came to a stop. But this could mean only one thing.
"Vinnie, why did you go back to Nibelheim?"
Vincent gave her the Look. That Look that said 'shut up' without actually saying it. She didn't notice it.
"Even after I told you not to..."
"You told me not to go back to the coffin," he corrected her.
Yuffie snorted at the comment. "Yeah, but still. I figured you'd know that meant the entire Nibel area!"
He continued with his silence, but it didn't last long. "How did you find out?"
"Well, I know you never replied to any of my letters,"
Vincent thought back to the twenty or so letters that had 'Hi!' printed on them. It seemed that she had put more thought into how she would decorate the letter than to what she would actually write.
"But I just had a feeling, you know? Then, yesterday, Tifa told me."
Vincent nodded and stopped in his steps. He didn't know where he had been intended on going, but the iron gate that led to the Gi Cavern wasn't what he had had in mind. "Yuffie," he turned to look down at her. She was a good foot shorter than him. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't go anywhere near the basement of that mansion."
Yuffie looked up at him and smiled, hands clasped behind her back. "Yeah, that makes me happy. Thanks, Vinnie."
He stared down at her for a few seconds longer before holding his hand out.
"What?" Yuffie took a step back, holding her hands up in defense. It took a full ten seconds before Yuffie let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, fine! But I was gonna give it back, I swear!" she claimed in her defense as she placed the 104 gil into his hand.
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Night was beginning to fall, and AVALANCHE began to regroup by the bonfire.
Cloud proudly held up a dark brown notebook, waving it around in the air as if it were a mystic relic. "Now we can record what we learn about this new group! Anything we get, we write in here," then he sent a dark look to Cait Sith and Yuffie. "No writing stupid comments, got it?"
Cait Sith and Yuffie laughed together before giving him their 'I promise''s. The black cat hopped down from its perch on the fat moogle as Yuffie leaned against the stuffed animal. The smaller half of the robot curled up in her lap, head resting on her knee.
"Tomorrow, we can split up into different groups to gather more information. Everyone has a PHS, right?" Cloud glanced around at the nods of his friends. "Alright, then. Let's see..." he put a hand to his chin while figuring out the groups.
"No way in hell are you gonna be able to group me wit' that robot!" Barret shouted, waving his gun arm around. Cait Sith stuck his tongue out at the big man in response.
"Alright, alright. Barret, you come with me and Tifa to Nibelheim. Cid, Cait Sith, and Nanaki will go to Rocket Town,"
"You're groupin' me up wit' the goddamn cats!?" Cid argued, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth for long enough to spit into the fire. It sizzled and a few embers flared out his way.
"Hah! Serves you right!" Cait Sith spat, stretching out lightly on Yuffie's lap before shifting to make itself more comfortable. Cid grumbled a few colorful words before shoving the cigarette between his lips again and taking a long drag from it.
It quieted down again and Cloud took this as a sign to continue. "Vincent, you and Yuffie will head to the Gold Saucer. Lots of people go there, so you have the highest chance of finding something out. You don't mind, right?"
Vincent shook his head.
To everyone's surprise, Yuffie had nothing to say. But the surprise was lost when Tifa let out a quiet "Aww..."
There sat their little ninja, fast asleep against the soft moogle with a shut down Cait Sith in her lap. Cid chuckled at the young girl and, using his Venus Gospel to pull himself up, walked over to her, gently gathering her into his arms as Nanaki pulled Cait Sith off and set it next to the fat moogle. "Alright, where's she sleepin'?"
Tifa smiled and stood up. "I guess it is about time to turn in for the night. I'll see you guys early tomorrow morning," she waved to them, then led Cid to the room she and Yuffie were to share for the night.
Slowly, one by the one, each member of AVALANCHE retreated to their rooms, only to think and dream of what the next day would bring to them.
Cid smells a lot like I thought he would... smoke and oil... grossness! Yuffie thought as the older man dropped her into the bed and Tifa tucked her in from maternal instincts. She listened as they said their 'goodnight's, then drifted off into her own dream world. A world of darkness and green mists that threatened to drink the very life from her.
It was a terrifying world of the dead.
A/N: I kind of like the way this one turned out, surprisingly enough. I think my favorite part to write was the "fine, fine!" and Yuffie giving the gil back to Vincent. Anyhow, yes. That's me rambling. Please, review with what you thought, and... await the next chapter! Thank you.