FINAL FANTASY: POINT OF INTERSECTION
BOOK 1: THE APPROACHING STORM
Chapter 24, Part 1 of 2
Pulling Vincent's black cloak a little tighter around her, Ellone stepped out onto the Highwind's deck as the ship descended toward a large patch of forest sprawled out in a wide valley between the arms of the mountains. Although it wasn't yet noon, the sky was still shrouded in gloom, thick layers of gray storm clouds blocking out the sun. Farther north, closer to her destination, the sullen grayness of the heavens darkened to an ominous black.
If her enemy meant to strike again, it wouldn't wait for nightfall.
Somewhere in that roiling blackness lay the forgotten capital of her people. Once, long ago, it had been a living, thriving settlement of deceptive simplicity. Most travelers had only known of the upper city, the Shell Village, as they had sometimes called it. Yet while the Cetra had indeed dwelt there, it had had been the hidden, secret lower city—a dazzling array of sparkling crystal and polished marble crafted and shaped with exquisite detail—that had been the true home of her people.
Her people. Ellone shivered, and not from the cold northern breeze whipping across her cheeks and through her brown hair. Could it really be true? Was she really a… a Cetra? As much as she wanted otherwise, Ellone couldn't deny the truth of her unusual heritage. Was it possible that the power she'd been hunted for all her life was but an unexpected offshoot of what she really possessed?
Ellone supposed that was probably true, and as she gazed past the snowcapped peaks rising up from the blanket of evergreens rolling out beneath the airship, she let the unspoken memories of her people fill her mind. They passed before she could identify them or see what they were, but their simple presence helped ease her troubled thoughts and made more bearable the strange sensation growing inside her with each mile the Highwind traveled further north. It was a feeling both reassuring and at the same time somehow disquieting, although she could not quite say why.
She was coming home.
After about half an hour of circling the thick forest for someplace to land, the Highwind finally touched down in a broad clearing just a few miles south of the small archeological settlement Cloud and the others had called Bone Village. Ellone took in the scents of damp leaves and old moss from the gnarled oaks and hickories surrounding the clearing where the airship had landed. The sounds and smells of the natural world had always managed to soothe her, and she realized now that perhaps it came as much from her Cetra heritage as from her own tastes. Her people had embraced nature, after all.
There was a groaning of metal hinges as the aft door swung open behind her, and Ellone turned to see the others making their way out onto the deck. Her eyes first went to Vincent, the oddly reassuring presence of his dark form lean and gray in the gloomy afternoon light save for the band of crimson fabric bisecting his forehead and holding back his dark hair. Even that, though, seemed more the dark maroon color of drying blood rather than its actual brighter red hue.
Cloud moved over by the railing next to her, peering thoughtfully out over the grim landscape. "Do you sense anything, Ellone?"
"I can't tell if it's out there, if that's what you're asking," she murmured, not needing to explain what it was. "but I don't like that storm, either. It feels… unnatural, somehow…"
"Looks like shit," Cid growled, a cigarette clenched between his teeth.
"You sure you can't get any closer?" Cloud grimaced.
Cid snorted. "No fuckin' way, Spike. That goddamn storm up there'd just tear us the fuck apart before we'd have even gotten over the mountains, much less anywhere near them ruins."
"So how we s'posed ta get to the city, then?" Barret rumbled. "If that storm's as bad as it looks, walkin' won't be much better than flyin' there."
The problem was an obvious one, now that Ellone thought about it, but she realized without much surprise that she knew what had to be done. The voiceless whisper in the back of her mind, that part of her that had begun to awaken ever since coming to this world, showed her the resolution of this dilemma. Once again she would have to make use of her power, but she had little choice if she wanted to reach the ruins of her people's capital and the shimmering white orb hidden within its watery depths.
"I can get us through," Ellone offered.
"Your power?" Cloud guessed.
She nodded. "I can't really put it into words, it's just something I know. Instinct, maybe. I'm not really sure. I wish I could explain it better."
Red padded up to her then, his lupine features oddly calming. "We understand, Ellone. Such power is often uncertain by its very nature. Do not be troubled."
"Thank you," she managed a small smile. "I'll do what I can."
Her companions began to descend to the grassy clearing one by one down a sturdy rope ladder, Cid first and the others following. Tifa remained on the deck, her gaze lingering on her departing friends as they clambered one by one off the airship.
"I wish I could go with you guys," she sighed.
Cloud nodded. "I know, Tif. So do I. Keep an eye on things 'till we get back."
He brushed his lips against her cheek, then descended the ladder after the others, leaving Ellone by herself with only Tifa and Vincent for company. She had figured that Vincent would come last, wary as ever, and took comfort in his ceaseless vigilance. There was something she had to do first, though, before she left the ship and embarked on the last stage of her journey.
"Thanks for all you've done for me," Ellone wrapped her arms around Tifa in a gentle embrace, careful of her friend's swollen belly. "I won't forget it."
Tifa smiled and let her go. "Neither will I, Elle. I hope you find your way home. Who knows, we might even get to see each other again before this is all over."
"Hopefully under better circumstances," Ellone bantered. "Take care of that baby, you hear?"
"Oh, I will," Tifa gently ran her hands across her distended abdomen. "I will."
It felt so strange, saying goodbye. As she started climbing down the ladder, Ellone realized that in the three weeks or so that she'd been here, she'd somehow gotten used to this world. It would be odd, going back home, and she wondered what she'd tell Squall and Uncle Laguna and the others about where she'd been. She wondered if she'd ever see her friends here again.
Would she ever see Vincent again?
Ellone halted in midstep. She hadn't realized just how much she'd come to rely on his stoic, reassuring presence these past weeks. What would she do without him? As her fingers tightened on the smooth wooden rung of the rope ladder, Ellone glanced back up toward the ship, where Vincent was descending just a few yards above her.
Suddenly she didn't want to go on. She didn't want to leave him.
But, she reminded herself with a bitter sigh, she had no choice. As she resumed her descent, Ellone understood that once again she would have to put her own desires and hopes aside for the sake of others. It wasn't anything new, really. She'd been doing it most of her adult life. What she wanted, her hopes and dreams, would once again have to wait.
Touching down in the ankle-deep grass of the clearing, Ellone brushed a bit of dust off her jeans and the pale lavender blouse she wore. Tifa's care and the passage of time had both done their job, and Ellone was feeling now almost as good as she had before her fateful ride that night almost a month ago. All her bandages were gone, and though her ribs, wrist, and ankle still ached a little if she moved them in certain ways, it was more than bearable now. Another few weeks and even that would be gone.
She had pulled her dark brown hair into a short little ponytail this morning, a style she'd worn before on occasion, although not very often. But for such a dangerous and uncertain journey as she was about to undertake, she preferred to keep her hair out of her face so as not to obstruct her sight. The last thing she wanted was for her bangs to start sliding down in front of her eyes again.
Almost immediately, Ellone sensed the odd hush that had come over the woodlands. Few birds chirped in the treetops, and she could hear no scurrying rodents in the underbrush. The dank smell of rain hung in the air, though none had yet fallen from the leaden, overcast skies. Thunder rumbled in the distance like huge boulders tumbling down a mountainside.
Vincent joined her a moment later, his eyes scanning the surrounding trees and the dark clouds further north beyond the mountains. "The wood is silent, Cloud. More comes than just the storm."
"Then let's get moving," Cloud agreed. "I want to get to Bone Village before midafternoon. Reeve and Reno are meeting us there, and it's as good a place as any to stock up on supplies."
Yuffie rolled her dark, almond eyes. "Gawd! You mean we gotta work with that red-headed creep?"
For once, Barret seemed to agree with her, his bearded face drawing into a scowl. "You sure this is a good idea, Cloud? I don't trust him, not one goddamn bit."
"Neither do I," Cloud sighed, "but something tells me we're going to need every bit of help we can find before this is over."
"Fan-fucking-tastic," Cid muttered, taking a pull on his cigarette.
Ellone had only a vague idea who this Reno person was, having remembered only a little of her friends' tales, but what she thought she knew, she didn't like all that much. In any case, there was little she could do about it, so she just sighed inwardly and headed into the woods after the others.
About two hours later, Ellone looked with her companions on the tiny settlement known as Bone Village. The journey here had been largely uneventful save for a few sudden peals of thunder that had rolled out overhead from the storm to the north. She had jumped in spite of herself, having grown accustomed to the strange quiet lingering in the forest.
Bone Village had been aptly named, she saw. Men and women in dusty clothes knelt here and there in the rocky ground digging away, the rhythmic clanging of their pickaxes and hammers almost jarring after the utter stillness of the woods Ellone and the others had just emerged from. Vast calcified skeletons of what must have been strange and wondrous creatures lay unearthed after who knew how many centuries of rest deep within the ground, and the remains of a crashed airplane lay almost in the middle of the area.
More villagers worked up on a nearby ridge just above the main settlement, and farther north the forest closed in again, the not quite so distant mountains rising up behind the treetops. Tents and makeshift shacks stood here and there around the little town, both on the main grounds and up on the ridge as well, where rope ladders hung over the side to allow people to go up or down as needed.
From one of the larger tents approached a man that with his dark hair and finely trimmed goatee, Ellone found vaguely familiar. At first she couldn't place him, but then as he came closer to her and the others, she realized that it was Reeve. Instead of his typical fine business suit, however, he wore dark jeans and a navy blue vest over a plain white buttoned shirt with the sleeves folded up to the elbows.
"Ellone, right?" he asked as he came near. "I'm Jonathan Reeve. We met once before, but I wasn't sure if you remembered. Glad to see you on your feet again."
She took his outstretched hand. "Thank you, Mr. Reeve. I appreciate your concern."
He smiled. "Just call me Reeve. I get enough formality back in Junon, and to be honest, it irritates the hell out of me most of the time."
"Oh, okay," Ellone replied, understanding perfectly. Uncle Laguna felt much the same way, after all.
"Sorry I couldn't meet you guys at Cosmo," Reeve apologized, "but with things the way they are in Junon right now, it's harder than ever to leave for any length of time."
Cloud nodded. "New Shinra and Vericorps still giving you trouble?"
"Like you wouldn't believe, Cloud," Reeve agreed. "You know either one of them could be the next Shinra if they ever managed to get me out of office. Palmer's not much on his own, but with that money-grubbing bastard Halick Bell behind him, New Shinra's just waiting for me to slip."
"What about Vericorps?"
Reeve shuddered. "Jonas Veridian looks to be another Rufus, only worse. I heard he had his own brother murdered for trying to get out of the company, although nothing's been proven yet. The man's practically impossible to catch."
"So that's why ya hired them blasted Turks, then, ain't it?" Barret growled.
"More or less," Reeve answered. "Better to have them working for me than against me, you understand. I pay them to keep Palmer and Jonas off my back so I can do my job. Those two would like nothing better than to see Junon International go down in flames, and me with it."
Cid frowned, glancing irritably around the immediate area. "So where is that fuckin' red-haired slob? You'd think he'd have the goddamn decency to show up."
"Where else?" Reeve shrugged, indicating a large shack serving as a tavern.
"Shit…" Cid spat. "You couldn't drag his sorry ass out here, Reeve?"
"Believe me, I tried. Might as well try to move a mountain for all the good it would do."
Cid snorted in disgust. "Last thing we need is a goddamn drunk on our hands, Cloud. Let's just leave Reno to his fuckin' booze and move the hell on."
"It would be prudent," Red agreed. "I do not see how his presence could be of much help to us."
Ellone glanced from one friend to another, wondering which way the decision would fall. Had it been up to her, she would have opted to leave this Reno behind. He didn't sound like the sort of person she would want traveling with her in a dangerous situation. The sound of boots crunching in the dirt, however, broke off the debate before it could finish.
"Now is that any way to talk about a dear old friend?" a voice quipped.
From the direction of the tavern strode a lanky man perhaps in his early thirties, his long red hair pulled back in an unkempt ponytail. His dark blue business suit bore so many wrinkles that Ellone didn't think any amount of ironing could save it, and the tails of his white collared shirt hung out behind his back and over his belt. A dark red tie bound in a haphazard excuse for a knot hung loosely around his neck, and a pair of dark sunglasses lay perched rakishly above his forehead.
"Fuck you, Reno," Cid hefted his feathered lance. "Piss me off any more than you already have and I'll shove this thing so far up your ass you'll have a permanent fuckin' wedgie."
Reno sneered, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Try it, you old jackass."
Cid swore and moved to do just that, but Cloud immediately stepped in front him, shaking his head. "He's not worth it, Cid. Let it go."
The crusty pilot fumed visibly, but in the end he relented, much to Ellone's relief, and moved off to the side, muttering under his breath. She didn't want a fight to break out now, of all times. Much as she figured her friend could hold his own in such a contest, something told her that Reno would at least make it costly. He could only be trouble, she decided, and was about to say as much when she suddenly realized he was looking right at her, his eyes sizing her up in ways she did not care to think about.
"So this is the babe, eh?" Reno flashed her a lewd grin. "Not bad. Not bad at all…"
"Babe…?" she echoed.
Vincent immediately brought up the Death Penalty and cocked the trigger, the hammer clicking loudly into place. "Back off. Now."
Vincent uttered each word with such deadly cold menace that Reno actually did step away. Ellone let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and moved a little closer to Vincent, who hadn't yet put his gun down or taken his fierce gaze away from Reno. It wasn't until Ellone gently pushed Vincent's arm down that he finally relaxed, although he kept the gun in hand.
"Don't be so touchy, Vincent," Reno replied coolly. "It's unprofessional."
"Stow it, Reno," Cloud glared. "We don't have time for this."
The slovenly Turk shrugged. "Fine, fine. At least let me introduce myself properly to the lady before we all go on this wild goose chase of yours."
"Make it quick," Cloud replied.
"You rush a job and you'll fuck it up for sure," Reno countered, then turned to Ellone. "Reno Lynley of the Turks, at your service."
Ellone nodded warily. "Ellone Loire. I can't say as I have a title, though."
"Or one you'd want me to know about," Reno smirked. "If I were you, I wouldn't count on these stiffs here to bail you out when the shit starts to fly."
"I can judge for myself who to trust, thank you," Ellone replied curtly. "I don't need any help from you."
Reno shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"If you're through," Cloud shot a pointed glance at Reno, "then I think we should set about getting some supplies before heading into the mountains. I want to be through the Sleeping Forest by dusk, so let's spread out and get what we need. We'll meet back here in an hour."
The group split off into twos and threes, heading off through the village to prepare for the second, more dangerous half of their journey. Ellone gazed northward where above the treetops of the Sleeping Forest, the mountains rose like jagged, monstrous teeth into the roiling blackness that engulfed the not so distant horizon. Streaks of lightning flashed here and there within the storm, and as she continued to gaze at the storm's billowing, flickering edges, she shivered in spite of herself.
It was spreading.