Anonymous reviewer - I wasn't goofing on you, just impressed that you saw what was coming. :)
That last chapter was gross. This one, not so much.
Thanks to everyone who is still reading.
Reeve
The Masamune scraped softly against the ground as Sephiroth sat down under the wing of the Tempest. He looked far too at ease with himself and the situation, and this, in turn, made Reeve feel even more paranoid. Sephiroth's calm was unreal...or surreal, or subreal. In any case, it was wrong, and it made Reeve feel as if he were floating through one of his weird dreams. If he kept on this train of thought, he might convince himself that this was, in fact, all a dream.
"You dream badly," Elmyra Gainsborough had told him one night, as they sat in her kitchen drinking the tea she had brewed. It was herbal tea, made with plants culled from Aerith's garden. At the time, though Reeve didn't know it, Aerith only had a few weeks to live. He had drank tea from her garden, feeling as if he were drinking something pure and good. Feeling guilty because the girl's stepmother's hair was tousled, and that was his handiwork.
"It's because of the uploading," he had told her. He had said it dismissively, as if it wasn't a big deal at all. So he had jacked all sorts of real-time battle information into his brain and mostly saw the world through the eyes of a robot, so what? He was fine, he was still able to sit at a kitchen and drink tea and have a conversation, wasn't he?
But he dreamed badly. And Elmyra, of course, would know.
"Do you help to protect her?" she had asked.
"When I can," he'd said. "But to be honest, she's stronger than I am."
Elmyra's small smile had silenced him. She gave what she gave, insisting that it wasn't in return for anything (like information on her daughter's wellbeing or whereabouts,) but underneath it all, he was ShinRa and her daughter was the Ancient. So when it really came down to it, she could afford that little, superior smile. And he had nothing to say to that.
"Airship," Sephiroth said, taking Reeve out of his memories and into the present. His eyes were closed and his head was back as he leaned against the outside of the Tempest.
Reeve fought the urge to shoot some sarcastic remark back at him, ("How observant of you, Sephiroth, we only flew over here on it," or "Very good; you're learning,") but he refrained. He was tired, but that didn't make him an idiot. So he kept quiet and hoped that Sephiroth would expand on that.
"It's approaching," Sephiroth said.
A jolt of excitement made Reeve want to wring his hands. If an airship was approaching, it was probably the Highwind. The others would join them soon, and then it would begin.
Whatever the hell "it" was.
"Think it's the Highwind?" Rude asked. Reno and Tseng lay on the ground on either side of him, apparently asleep.
"I guess," Reeve said, although he couldn't hear anything yet. Rude and Sephiroth, being Mako enhanced, would of course hear it long before he would. But he figured that it had to be the Highwind. Reeve doubted that there would be any other airships flying over Midgar: his evacuation plan in cases of chemical or biological disaster included the airspace.
"Then they're coming," Rude said.
"Good," Sephiroth said, his eyes still closed. "The sooner the better. Strife is not going to win this one. If we wait much longer, Jenova will take this battle. All battles, I think."
Such a dismal thing to say, Reeve thought, and Sephiroth had said it so blithely. Reeve suddenly saw that this was, in essence, what was so frightening about Sephiroth; his detachment in the face of inevitability. Different he might be in this new body, but one thing remained the same: Then and now, when he decided something, he carried it out. Nothing else mattered to him.
Reeve knew, even if no one else did, that what truly mattered was Sephiroth's purpose. He was terrifying in his power, overwhelming in his will, and as determined as the sun is hot. But his purpose, this time, was not to feed off the Planet. Reeve was certain that it was the destruction of Jenova. Sephiroth seemed convinced that it was what he was here for, and as always, nothing would stand in his way and live.
Unfortunately, Cloud Strife was in the way.
Reeve would certainly have to do some (planning) thinking about this. He felt he was bound to come up with something.
Cid Highwind
"Midgar," Vincent said.
Cid could just see the city, and Vincent was nowhere near any window from where he could see it. Maybe he just sensed it. Or could hear it or smell it. Not being enhanced himself, Cid wouldn't know.
"Yeah," Cid replied, sparing a glance at Vincent.
Vincent sat on the floor of the control room, his eyes closed, his knees pulled up his chest, and his arms draped over them. He looked like hell. He hadn't aged, but he still managed to look a thousand years older than when Cid had last seen him, and that had only been just over a year ago. He supposed that Jenova had to do with this change in him. It must have been a hell of a rough night.
Still, Jenova was strangely quiet, or ... absent, actually. Cid didn't get the feeling that Vincent was struggling to surpress her, (and he doubted that Vincent would have the energy to struggle very hard, judging from the looks of things,) but rather that she just wasn't around then. Vincent must have been enjoying the reprieve.
"I feel quiet," Vincent murmured.
"Yeah?" Cid said. "That bitch is gone for now?" Damn, he was never any good with these sensitive topics.
"Yes, seems so," Vincent said.
"Ah, well...great!"
"No, that's a bad sign."
Cid glanced at Barret, who had raised his head to listen to this part of the conversation. Barret raised an eyebrow. Cid shrugged.
"Why's it bad?" Barret ventured.
"It means she must be focused on Cloud. My feeling is that she's ready to make her move. And if she's got enough energy to make her move, and she's focussing it all on Cloud..."
"What?" Barret asked, no doubt thinking of Tifa and the danger she might be in.
Vincent opened his eyes and looked from Barret to Cid. The skin under his eyes was so dark it looked bruised. "Cloud must be in agony," he said. "A normal person would just die, just shrug off their skin to be rid of her."
Cid said nothing. He thought of someone trying to get out of their own skin, out of their own body, to be away from something inside of them. He shivered, and the hair on his own skin stood up.
"Damn," Barret muttered. "That kid never gets a break."
Cid looked out over the approaching horizon, where he could see more of Midgar. It was surrounded by dust, smog, and a faint, green light that was probably only discernable from the air.
"Better wake up Nanaki and tell Yuffie to get in here," Cid said in a low voice. "We're getting ready to descend."
As the airship broke through the clouds, Cid first saw The Tempest. Reeve was standing atop it, waving his arms as if Cid might not know where the hell to put his own airship down.
"Yeah, I see you, ya dummy," he muttered under his breath. Reeve was a good guy, but so dense sometimes. And Cid was in a bitterly foul mood.
He brought the airship down, catching one last glimpse of Reeve as the wind whipped his hair around in a cloud of dust. He saw Reeve double up coughing, and thought, "Teach you to stand up there waving your arms around."
Cid thought about squelching the mood, but then decided it was a bad idea. His own snarling, sarcastic inner voice would be a comfort to him, and might make him feel braver than he normally would. And if he was going to die, he didn't want to go out saccharine, saying his goodbyes like a heroine in a movie. If he did, that would upset any survivors.
Not that he planned on dying, but just in case.
The Highwind touched down, and Yuffie sighed deeply, her eyes still closed. She had been taking deep, even breaths during the descent, and she still looked a little green.
"You okay?" Cid asked.
"Ya," she said, a bit breathlessly. "We're on the ground. I'm good."
"Good. Get your bag of goodies, girl. I think we're gonna need them. Oh, and items in the compartments may have shifted during the flight, or some shit like that. So mind they don't fall on your damn head."
Yuffie took a moment to collect herself, then she retrieved her bag from one of the compartments.
Vincent stood up and addressed everyone. "You say Sephiroth is truly here?"
Barret and Yuffie looked at each other, and then at Cid. Nanaki had just joined them, but he seemed at a loss, as well.
"Yeah," Cid finally said. He looked down at the floor and scratched his head. He couldn't meet Vincent's eyes just then, though he wasn't sure why. "Uhh, Cloud seems to think that he's not evil, or something."
"Truly?"
"Well, he thinks so. They had a nice, long chat." A thought occurred to him, and he was surprised that he hadn't thought of this before. "But keep in mind - all of you - that Cloud isn't in his right mind, either. So, uhh...when he says that Sephiroth is...is okay, or whatever the hell you want to call it, you know... He could be wrong."
It was the best he could come up with. No one said anything, but they seemed to be considering it.
"I'll know," Vincent said. "Even if Cloud didn't know, I will. Will you all take my word for it?"
"What," Barret barked, "if you say that Sephiroth's a good guy? Just take you on your word? Damn, you're a good guy, Vincent, and I'd fight beside you anytime, but that's askin' a hell of a lot."
Cid and Yuffie nodded. Only Nanaki seemed to be considering it.
"Vincent will know," Nanaki said. "He knows Hojo's work, and that's what Sephiroth was, in his first form. It's what Cloud is. Vincent will know Hojo's work, and all that remains for us is to trust that he's telling the truth."
"Well, damn," Cid said. "It's not a question of you telling the truth, more of a question of, how can you be sure?"
"I will be," Vincent said. "And besides, what choice have we got? We're going to be fighting something today, anyway, so we'll be prepared for that. What does it matter if it's Sephiroth, something inside of Sephiroth, or something that no longer has to do with him? We'll be ready."
Everyone was quiet, but Cid wondered about that last part. If it was Cloud they had to fight, would anyone be ready for that? He didn't think so.
Sephiroth rose languidly, as if he had every right on the Planet to be there. And how the hell, Cid wondered, had he gotten his hands on his goddamned sword again? Why had no one bothered to try to stop him? Barret seemed to notice, too, as he eyed Sephiroth like the enemy. But he didn't say anything.
Reeve stepped forward and greeted them all in turn. When he got to Yuffie, she thrust the bag she was holding at his chest. Reeve was so off balance that he had to take a step back, but he held onto the bag.
"You'll be glad I'm here when you see what's in there," Yuffie said.
Reeve offered her a wan but sincere smile. "I'm glad you're here regardless," he said.
Yuffie shrugged. "Open the bag."
Reeve opened it, looked in, rummaged around. Then he looked up and smiled. "You're an angel," he said.
Yuffie winked at him. "I want it all back once we're done doing, uh, whatever the hell we're doing."
"I don't think any of us are really sure exactly what comes next," he said, "but we're pretty sure it's going to involve Jenova."
Yuffie shrugged once more. "Beat her once before," she said. "What's the difference?"
"That's what we're not sure of," Reeve said, as he took something from the bag. "By the Planet, miss Kisaragi, you thought of everything." He grinned as he held up a handful of ribbons. "Materia, too, and lots of it."
Rude the Turk looked impassive, but Cid would bet that under his sunglasses his eyes were hopeful. He wanted some of those for the other two Turks. Well, what the hell, there was enough to go around, and the Turks were probably more dangerous if they were attacking people randomly. Reeve sat down with Yuffie's bag of goods, looked around, and started dividing everything up, just as impartial as you please.
It occurred to Cid then that Reeve was the fulcrum of this entire group. ShinRa, ex-ShinRa, Avalanche, the entire past, it didn't matter - he had to balance it all. Cid decided to let him. He might be putting his trust in the wrong place, but again, what the hell? Jenova was holding the cards; Cid didn't feel he had the time to re-hash old battles with the Turks.
He decided it in his mind, but everything else in him just about screamed at the idea of giving Sephiroth access to powerful Materia. That, he guessed, he would also have to get over.
He ventured a glance at the ex-general, and was surprised to see him staring intently at something behind Cid. Cid turned around to see what the hell had him so interested, and saw Vincent staring back at Sephiroth. Trying to figure him out. Cid scratched his head and sighed in resignation. He'd pretty much agreed to go on Vincent's word when it came to Sephiroth; now wasn't a good time to go back on that. If, though, Vincent thought for a moment that Sephiroth would to catastrophic again, why then Cid wouldn't hesitate to put his Venus Gospel right between his ribs.
But it wasn't Vincent who made the first move, even. Reeve was too busy trying to sort out how much Materia Yuffie had brought, and had given the extra ribbons to Rude to distrubute to the fallen Turks. Barret and Yuffie were very carefully watching him do this. Only Nanaki seemed to see what Cid saw.
Reeve was saying, "So we still have enough restorative materia to..."
"Dickless!" Sephiroth said suddenly.
Reeve stopped what he was doing and, like everyone else, looked at Sephiroth.
"Hojo is dickless!" Sephiroth said. "Haha!"
At the sound of the cold, dry sound that he presumed to be laughter, Cid cast a confused glance at Vincent, just in time to see Vincent raise his remaining hand to his mouth in an uncharacteristic gesture of surprise.
Sephiroth closed the distance between himself and Vincent. Cid almost expected Vincent to turn away or even shrink back, but he didn't. He took his hand away from his mouth and held it out in a universal signal of welcome. Sephiroth took Vincent's hand and shook it as if they were old friends. After a moment, Cid realized that there was yet a lot that he didn't know about Vincent Valentine.
"It took me a moment to recognize you," Sephiroth said. "Forgive me for that; you are much changed."
"Not as much as I should be," Vincent said, but there was a slight smile on his lips as he removed the cloak that hid most of his face.
"Didn't recognize him, my ass," Barret barked. "Valentine was one of us. He helped take you down." He said the words, but he said them with a tone of suspision, as if he himself didn't exactly believe them.
Vincent glanced at Barret, and that was all he needed to do. The decision had been made.
Cid had already decided to abide by it.
If anyone had anything to say about the situation, they never got the chance to. The unmistakable sound of someone puking diverted everyone's attention.
There was a man huddled in the middle of the road, still retching, though nothing further was coming up. He had dark hair and blood on his hands. When he looked up, Cid saw that he also had blood on his face. All over his face, to be exact.
"Jesus, Fletcher!" Reeve said, and at once, was off and running.
Reeve
"Your arcade...basement...going to kill...Tifa and the the Turk..."
Those were the words that Reeve could make out, and they were all he needed to hear. He stood up quickly, dragging Fletcher to his feet.
"Sephiroth, Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Nanaki, all of you come with me. Fletcher can stay here with Reisei and the remaining Turks. Gather your Materia and let's get..."
"Settle down, Commander Planet," came a rasping voice. "I think you're going to need us, too."
Reeve turned around to see Reno on his feet, next to Rude. Reeve was glad to see him up, but not entirely impressed.
"You're in no condition."
"And you're not really a commander," Reno said. He smirked. It looked oddly out of place on his pale lips. "We're coming with you. Tseng, too."
"Status effects..." Reeve began.
"Are a bitch, but are easily taken care of with these cute little ribbons," Reno finished, dangling one of them from his fingers. He smiled at Yuffie. "This is your payment to me for the time I saved your scrawny ass from Don Corneo."
"Bite me," Yuffie snarled.
"I already did a favor for you, we're even," Reno returned.
Yuffie seemed about to answer, but Sephiroth had quietly walked between them. "The Turk is correct this time. We need all the manpower we can get, even if it's just on the sidelines using supportive and restorative materia. The Turks come along."
Reeve sighed. It was true that he wasn't in any position to lead this small army.
"Anyway, Elena told you to stay behind," Reno said.
"And once you're done with Yuffie, you can bite me," Reeve snarked.
"If we're all finished with our nonsense," Sephiroth said, "then we should move out. It has been my experience that Cloud Strife can only be talked out of something for so long before he decides that he's in the right."
"If you don't remember fighting us," Barret said, "then how the hell would you know that?"
Sephiroth gave Barret a long-suffering, yet condescending look. "I trained him," he said, as if speaking to a child. "I do at least have my memories from before Nibelheim."
Barret grunted in reply, but didn't dissent. Tifa's life was on the line, and if following Sephiroth was the only way to save her, then he would do it. Reeve had always suspected that there was little that Barret wouldn't do for Tifa. Now he was certain of it.
"Reisei is still on the ship," Reeve told Fletcher. "She's... She looks like an old woman. Go to her, and both of you stay on the ship. There's water and other supplies there, all right?"
Fletcher nodded. His face was a mess, he was in obvious shock, but he would live. (If, Reeve reminded himself, anyone at all lived.)
"Are we ready?" Sephiroth said.
No one answered. But slowly, dazedly, the group began to walk away from the airship, towards the ruined Sector Five where the arcade had once stood. Within a minute, they were all walking quickly, with purpose.
