Laaien supported Cid as they were going through the parade, though Cid didn't really need it, he kept it to himself. Every once in awhile he would wince and she would stop, a worried expression her face. Cid was enjoying himself immensely.
"So, what exactly are we going to do here?" Laaien asked, shooting Cid a concerned look. "Should we rest or something?" Cid shook his head, and a look of long suffering came across his face. "No, I will bear through it...The pain isn't that bad..." Behind Laaien's back, Chi and Aeris suppressed laughter.
"So...when are we going to tell her that he's completely healed?" Chi muttered.
Cloud didn't feel too happy to be walking in the familiar Shinra uniform again, though he didn't worry too much. Rows upon rows of identically dressed soldiers walked through the main streets of Junon, and people everywhere cheered, enjoying themselves in the celebration of the arrival of the new Shinra president, Rufus.
When AVALANCHE's group of "Soldiers" got to the docks, they were all greeted individually by Rufus, Sandra and Laaien were thankful that the helmets hid their faces, because they'd be in serious trouble if they were to be recognized. After the ceremony was through, AVALANCHE boarded the Shinra cargo ship and were on their way to Costa del Sol.
During the voyage, Cid would lean over the side of the ship every now and then and throw up, though he was a pilot and used to being in motion through the worst turbulence, being out at sea made him sick to the stomach.
Chi took Laaien to the side. "So...why are you being so nice to Cid all of a sudden?" Laaien sighed.
"Well, in short, it's because I feel indebted to him, it's not everyone who saves your life, and it showed me that he actually does care. Either that, or he just wants me so he can get laid later. Whichever way it's a show of bravery, one is just more romantic than the other." She stared out over the sea and Chi nodded.
"But you know, he was completely healed that whole time." Laaien's eyes widened.
"That fucking BASTARD!" She murmured, not too loud so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She stormed off in Cid's direction. She had an expression of indignation on her face.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were fine that WHOLE FUCKING TIME? I don't LIKE being sweet and caring, it's just not in my nature. This doesn't help you know." Cid gurgled unhappily. Laaien looked as though she were going through a painful internal struggle. In the end the rather pathetic looking Cid wore her down. She hugged him, though she squeezed a bit tighter then she normally would have. Cid winced and smiled at the same time, the result being rather grotesque. It was a good thing Laaien wasn't looking at his face.
The whole time Red XIII was dressed as a Shinra soldier, he was forced to walk on his hind legs and looked rather silly, surprisingly enough no one paid much attention. Cloud and Aeris took off to one of the masts and looked out at the sea together.
Barret, as a change, wore a sailor's outfit which made him look ridiculous - like a bear wearing a marshmallow. He was listening in to the conversation between Rufus and Heidegger, still discussing about how AVALANCHE had to be stopped, along with Sephiroth.
Cid and Laaien emerged from one of the cargo holds as the ship stopped and met up with the others. Cid was looking very pleased with himself, and even Laaien was half smiling, though she tried to hide it. Aeris and Cloud came down from the mast, they too looked rather pleased with themselves. Most of the people who weren't looking pleased with themselves were rolling their eyes. Laaien coughed. "Er, right, so I suppose we need to get off now..." Chi glanced at Cid. "You know, your shirt's on backwards..." Red XIII sighed.
Cloud coughed, and lead the way to the stairs down to the cargo rooms, which were apparently the only way to get off a cargo ship. AVALANCHE followed the silent ex-soldier, but something stopped them at the bottom of the stairs. The guard in front of the high-security cargo room was dead, lying in a puddle of his own blood. Aeris looked away, revolted. Barret crept closer to the figure on the floor and kicked it lightly, "'e's dead, all right..."
Aeris whimpered, "Who could have possibly done this..?"
Cloud shook his head, "Sephiroth..." he cautiously tried to open the door the Soldier was guarding, it was unlocked.
Laaien kicked the soldier aside and stepped in. Her eyes widened. "What the fucking HELL!" She realized that her eyes had been widening a lot lately. Cid wondered what she had been taking. Whatever it was, he wanted some of it. Then he saw what she saw, and his eyes widened too.
The rest of AVALANCHE walked into the storage room to see a creature whose grotesque features were beyond words, it was the body of a woman, encompassed in a mass of flesh that gave it a snail-like bottom. It had wings, and a tail, and a number of tentacles to add to the frightening features.
"What the hell is it!" Sandra shivered as the creature before her moved rather gracefully in comparison to its features. It was moving closer towards the group, Aeris trembled and nearly fainted. She fought to regain her footing on the slippery floor, covered with blood and the slime the creature left behind.
Chitori stepped back a pace automatically upon seeing the hideously ugly...thing. She steadied Aeris slightly as it began to attack and unslung her bow, which she had strapped to her back. Stringing it in a practiced motion, she nocked an arrow. Her first two shots glanced off the sides of the ship; the creature was swaying from side to side, which made aiming difficult.
"I--"
"--will"
"'--get you--" she muttered, narrowing her lavender-grey eyes. Immediately after she shot and it was evaded, she pulled out one of the throwing daggers Laaien was teaching her to use. The knife sailed through the air and thudded quite satisfyingly on impact with their opponent. "Ha," she muttered, but immediately had to duck to avoid one of the tentacles. It lashed back at her and she was forced to roll on the deck. She ran back out of immediate range and resumed shooting. "--Wish I had a crossbow," the gypsy-chocobo-trainer murmured.
Chi's eyes automatically checked for anyone hurt, luckily she and Aeris were not needed...yet.
Sandra was tired, but she managed to run up to the creature and slash it madly a couple of times before having to run back as its tail or tentacles tried to hit her. She then decided to use spells such at her signature Bio spell, which poisoned the grotesque figure in front of them, and made it turn a ghastly green.
Red XIII stuck to his fire spells, unable to get close to the hideous creature without being afraid that it would hurt him with one of its tentacles.
Cid stuck to jabbing it at its sides with his eight-foot javelin, the creature was getting more and more irritated at the group of people who were trying to bring it down.
It raised its sickly, slimy tail, and a red laser shot out of it, it had aimed for the whole group, but everyone except for Barret and Aeris were able to dodge the red light.
It hit Aeris square in the forehead, whereas the man with the gun-arm was left with a mere burn. Aeris stumbled and fell backwards, her body limp. Cloud's eyes widened. Cid resolved to ask them where they were getting that stuff. "AERIS!"
He ran toward her, and Jenova whipped him with a tentacle. Laaien rushed forward with a flaming axe, roaring a battle cry as she swung. She couldn't tell if she had hit, she was thrown backwards as one of the tentacles collided with her stomach.
Sandra got up the courage to run back up to the tentacled creature once more, and slashed at the tentacle that had hit her partner with a mad rage. The head that rest upon the somewhat feminine body let out a cry of pain. Cid decided that it was his priority to get Laaien out of harm's way, and dragged her off to the side where Chitori or whoever else had a restore materia equipped could cure her.
Cloud crouched next to Aeris's lifeless body, how could it be that she was killed with just one shot? He sobbed, but the wail the creature let out reminded him now was not the time to mourn, and he instead decided to fight the monstrosity that was in the middle of the storage room.
Chitori struggled not to cry as she saw the red beam hit Aeris. "No...not Aeris.." she ducked a tentacle and scrubbed at her eyes. It back lashed again, and in pure reflex Chitori's arms clamped around it. She stabbed it viciously with another knife as it tried to wrap around her. "Pull yourself together!" she hissed at Cloud. The group needed all of the fighters they could get. She was flung backwards as the tentacle she had been grappling with recoiled. Chi focused. Her arrows smoldered, matching her eyes. She leaped to one side, aimed and fired. The flaming arrow was quickly followed by two others, which impacted with a bubbling hiss. "Take that…" she commented. Cid really wondered where they were all getting this stuff.
Laaien's vision popped in and out of focus as she stumbled forward, slamming her battleaxe into the bubbling mass created by the flaming arrows. One of the remaining tentacles aimed for Sandra and picked her up. Sandra had still not paid much attention
to the deceased Aeris lying close to the entrance to the storage room. The tentacle felt absolutely hideous against her skin, and seemed to poison her in return for the Bio spell she cast earlier, Sandra felt like vomiting, but instead, she managed to get one of her arms free and slashed another tentacle into small strips.
The fire lion violently pounced at the monster, it was easy to see the mass was getting weaker. Barret unloaded another round of ammo from his gun arm, yelling in rage. Cloud got his heavy sword up off the floor and slashed mercilessly at the creature's body. Everyone who could was fighting in close combat, until whatever it was, was reduced to a mere puddle of slime.
Laaien stumbled back, and was caught by the wall. She started laughing hysterically, and tried to bring herself under control as the laughter changed to tears and back again. "That thing was so fucking UGLY!" She managed to gasp.
She suddenly turned serious as she remembered Aeris, and scrambled over to where she lay. There was a sudden hush, and everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"Is it dead?" Laaien asked.
"No..." Cid replied sarcastically, "She's just sleeping." Laaien game him a patronizing look and bent over her.
"I know," she said, "Cid, breathe on her face, that horrid stench is enough to wake the dead."
"This isn't the time for jokes, Laaien." Chi said quietly. Laaien looked horrified.
"Who said I was joking?" Only Cloud seemed to be moving, sobbing. Tears were falling down almost everyone's face. Laaien poked her. Nothing happened. She shook her a bit, and suddenly Aeris twitched, and choked.
A/N: Please review! Next we find out if Aeris is really okay!
