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Chapter 8 "The take-off"
Everyone got prepared as soon as they woke up and boarded onto the Highwind/Lowwater ship.
"After all the shedding of our blood, sweat, and tears, it all paid off!" Cid said aloud. "Now enough with my chattin', watch this baby take off!!"
The engine turned on and they were flying up to the sky.
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All they could see were green swirls and many energy bubbles. It seemed as if they were going through an endless whirl when they suddenly came up into a blanket of dark blue water. Cid instructed the crew workers to put the ship on sub mode. They did so and they slowly weaved through the thick water, upwards.
Yuffie, who was shaking a bit since she didn't like going on any kinds of vehicle, felt queasy. She looked out of the window to see something BIG coming towards the ship. Yuffie's eyes widened and she jumped with a yelp. Cait Sith came beside her,
"Hey Yuf. What's up? What are ya lookin' at?" as he and his Mog both put their hands/paws on the window, their noses pressed against the glass.
"Ahhhh!!!!!"
Cait Sith and his Mog jumped and waved their arms wildly. "Monster! Monster!! Monster!!!" His Mog ran all over the place, in a panic. Cid turned around to see that he was right. "Holy $ht!!" He turned and shouted over to his crew members,
"Hit it on acceleration, FULL SPEED! Activate the sonic blast on the rear. Kids, better hold on tight."
The sub suddenly kicked in and drove at maximum speed, cutting through the water like a knife. However, the monster was still not far behind.
"It's gainin' on us, mann!!" Yuffie exclaimed.
With a thunderous roar coming out from the enormous creature's throat, it went full speed and bumped the ship.
"How far are we from the surface?" Cid asked.
"We're not too far, sir. At this rate, with the speed of the sub, in about four minutes, we'll reach it."
Cid looked back, "Shit."
The monster attacked and dented the sub. Cid was furious, with his fists in the air,
"$#?& !! I'm gonna whoop his $$ once we get to the surface!"
"Sir, we're gonna put the ship in vertical point to make the ride quicker."
"Alright you guys. Hold on to somethin'."
The sub was in vertical position. Tifa held onto the bar with her arm. So did Cloud, who was right next her. Barret was beside them, one hand on the bar and his arm around Yuffie's neck. She was waving her arms up and down madly. Vincent held onto the bar with ease. Red XIII was at the top, watching up ahead. Cait Sith was holding onto Mog's head, who was dangling, his paws holding onto the bar, mouth wide open shaped as a circle. The monster sped up but got caught by the sub's fire burning at the bottom in the face. It roared and banged the sub with its tail. The ship toppled on the side. The monster banged once more against the glass. Cracks appeared.
"How much longer?" Cid demanded, impatiently.
"Almost there. One minutes, sir."
The ship twirled and reached it's vertical position again.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Yuffie said, covering her mouth with both hands, turning into a shade of green.
The monster banged hard against the glass as more cracks appeared. Another bang came and it toppled the ship off balance once more. Tifa closed her eyes tightly shut. The ship regained its balance and sunlight shone through the water. Out splashed the ship to the surface, and out came the monster that flew out and hovered above the air/sub ship.
It had gigantic brown, hole-tattered wings that batted against the wind hard. It had huge, red claws and four horns on its head. It resembled a dragon. However, it looked more oceanic than firy and did not blow fire out of its nose. Its skin was bluish-purple. It was an amphibian dragon. ((Snort) Yeah.. great description, huh?) The battle was not difficult, but it did take quite awhile for its fall. When it was defeated, the crew workers started repairing the damage that was done. Cid has his hands on his hips, a cigar burning in his mouth. Yuffie did not look well at all. Neither did Cait Sith, so both sat in their separate corner. Vincent had his arms around himself, sitting broodingly. Red XIII looked out into the distance, but only saw the sky and water surrounding the ship. Barret talked to Cloud for a bit,
"That goddamn monster. It basically ruined our trip!" he said, fists waving crazily in the air.
"Least we all came in one piece. Besides, I'm sure the damages weren't too severe," Cloud reassured him. He then looked on and about,
"Where's Tifa?" Barret looked around, too,
"Now wherre she gone to?"
Cloud went to search for her as Barret watched him go, deciding to let Cloud spend the time alone with her.
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Tifa was on top of the ship, gazing at the ocean that the ship was engulfed in. Cloud came out and saw her, so he went and sat next to her.
"The ocean looks beautiful, doesn't it?" Tifa asked him, holding up her drawn knees close to herself.
He nodded, "Yeah..."
She looked down, "...Reminds me a lot of your eyes."
He looked at her. A flash came..
"I saw a cloud outside my window... And it reminded me of you."
"How come you wanted to play with me?"
"Because..."
(Scene goes to where Tifa and Cloud are sitting at the well together)
Tifa looked down at her dangling legs.
"I like you."
Her porcelain skinned cheeks turned rosy.
"Huh?"
Cloud was completely taken aback and felt his face reddening. He then bobbed his head from side to side and asked,
"Why..?"
She turned to look at him. "I dunno... I just do......... " She paused and then added,
"You're different from the rest."
(Scene fades in a flash and returns to present scene)
Cloud looked at Tifa. She showed no sign of reminiscing with him this time.
'Maybe she already knew before...' Cloud thought to himself. His mind was buzzing. He sighed and looked down... 'So she liked me. That was why she wanted to spend time with me. And when her mother died, she was too lost in her emotions to even notice me. I wanted to regain back her attention. Why? .... Because I had returned the feelings she had for me back to her.' Cloud peered very closely into Tifa's face.
"Hey!" Cid came out.
"Get back inside, we're done repairin'! Now it's time to find some land!"
He ran back in.
Tifa and Cloud went in to find Cid in the middle of making an announcement.
"Alright. We're in the middle of the ocean. If I'm not right, the ship's map shows us that we are approximately 479 kilometres away from land. We ain't gonna waste no time. We head southeast. Let's move it!" Cid shouted to the crew members.
They all saluted him ("Yes, sir!") and followed his orders. The engine started and Highwind flew into the air.