With the ledge at their backs, rocks for throwing stockpiled and ready for use as well as their knives sharpened, they ranged themselves into their troops. Zack stood with Aerith at the front, watching as the demented creatures slowly circled the hill, but refrained from attacking at that moment. A nervous silence fell as the enemy gathered in a milling hungry mob.
Zack shifted his stance, fingers lifting one at a time off the hilt of his sword, stretching them before resetting his grip, taking a deep breath and checking his own defenses. Aerith stood a step behind him, taking slow deep breaths.
Hearts pounding in their throats, the wives and daughters of Gongaga shuffled closer to each other, fear radiating off them like heat.
"FAAAIIIIAAAHHHH ONE!" The first few rows of monsters exploded in a wave of hair-curling heat. Zack blinked a few times, futilely trying to get the after images to go away. "FAAAIIIIAAAAHHH TWO!" the familiar voice shouted from somewhere... above them? Only his intense training kept him from turning to look back as the next few rows of monsters exploded. "FAIIAH THREE!" The next rows exploded and before the light had even gone out from the latest explosion the voice shouted, "CHARGE!"
Seven gold Chocobos sailed over Zack's head from the ledge above, light glittering off drawn swords, Sephiroth's silver hair caught the fire and sunset spectacularly as he rode into battle, bareback, as were the other six in a spearhead behind him.
A laugh burst from Zack's throat and he gave a shriek and charged after his First Class brothers. All hell broke loose with explosions further out in the mob giving proof that Katy was gleefully aiding, and among the eleven of them, the mob thinned out and broke off, turning to flee. Katy sent a bout of chain lightning after them, killing the last ones before they could get far.
Sephiroth reigned in his Chocobo, turned and paced it back towards Zack who stood bloodied and panting, but grinning from ear to ear. They gazed at each other for a long moment, before Sephiroth's eyes turned towards the women and their position. Finally, he looked back towards Zack and gave a salute with Masamune.
At long last, shaved and washed, Zack felt quite a lot more human than he had in weeks. He stepped from the room he'd been given in Cosmo Canyon, not one of the inn's rooms as those were full of refugees from other towns that had been sacked by monsters lately and Gongaga's plight wasn't an isolated event. He was sharing a room with Cloud, Curt, and Wren. The room next to them was taken by Lloyd, Perrie, and Morda. Sephiroth and Katy had the room after that, shared with another couple that were native to the canyon.
Glancing down the hall, Zack found that the doors to those rooms were open, but no sounds of voices came from them. Instead, he made his way down the other direction, heading for the steps. His SOLDIER First Class zip-up tank top and loose black pants had been replaced by a hip length tied loose shirt of pale green with long sleeves, loose pants left to hang free over his battered but still serviceable SOLDIER boots.
As he stepped out onto the stairs and headed down them, he found that there wasn't anyone in the halls. Finding this incredibly odd, he continued down and finally stepped out into the fresh air of the morning. It became apparent where everyone had gone at once. They were partying around the candle, doing so quite loudly, and had the look of intending to continue for the rest of the day. As he appeared at the top of the steps, a cheer went up and his group of refugees threw confetti into the air, rushing up the stairs to hug him and pull him down into the party.
After swirling around for maybe five minutes, dizzy from the rush of excitement and getting twirled from one woman to the next, he found his hands suddenly taken by Katy's. Breaking into an even wider grin, he hugged her tightly. "We were so worried about you!" he shouted above the din.
She laughed, "So Aerith told me! I feel special!" His eyes trailed down to her rather close fitting dress, biting his lower lip. Removing one of her hands from his, she snapped her fingers at him, pointing upwards, towards her face, "Don't you dare say 'I'm sorry', Zack. It's better this way. I wasn't ready, Seph wasn't ready, and it was deformed by Jenova. Sephiroth saw it- and keeps having nightmares. It's OKAY! Really! We'll try again later when everything's settled down." She shook her head and pulled him through the crowd, having a rather interesting knack for slipping through crowds, finally stopping him at a table with scatterings of food across it. "Here, have some breakfast while there's still some left!"
Nodding, Zack took up some tidbits into his hands and munched as she moved off to the side where Sephiroth stood propping up the wall. Once again, he was dressed in black, but had left Masamune elsewhere for the day. He wore a sleeveless high collared shirt with white rolled edging along the collar and down the front where it buttoned with old fashioned bone buttons. His pants were long and loose fitting black and for once, he was seen without his trusty uniform boots, instead, he was wearing a pair of ankle boots, folded down. They too were, unsurprisingly, black.
"Hey! What're you doing over here, Seph! Take your girl out for a dance!" Zack admonished.
Sephiroth looked down at the ground briefly with a shy smile, "Ah, I don't dance," he replied, then shook his head, revealing that his hair was braided and tied at the end with a black ribbon. Katy laughed, "Neither do I, so it's alright." She latched onto Seph's arm firmly, sliding her fingers between his. "Not for lack of trying, of course, I just get too embarrassed!" She giggled against Sephiroth's shirt. After a moment, she looked between the two men, then scampered off into the crowd, disappearing within seconds.
Zack stared after her a moment, then asked, "Where'd she go?"
Shrugging, Sephiroth replied, "Maybe to the restroom? I don't know, somewhere else to let us talk, probably."
Taking a breath, Zack sighed and nodded. "They worship me like I'm the hero of the day, yet you're the one that saved our asses..." he mused, then blinked as Sephiroth's hand settled on his shoulder.
"It's because you led them there to get saved. We came here first, looking for you, but when we were told you hadn't arrived yet, we turned and headed back out to hunt you down. There was only one place left I could think of that you might go, but Katy ended up leading us to your little battle." Sephiroth couldn't help but chuckle at the memory, "She begged me to let her say charge. I didn't know she was going to start blowing things up too."
Laughing as well, Zack shook his head, "As enthusiastic as ever, I take it. But seriously, I don't deserve the credit for that. We were going to die there..."
Seph's hand squeezed his shoulder gently, "No. The battle was still won, and you were in charge of picking the place where it would be fought." Zack opened his mouth to protest again, but Sephiroth lifted a finger, "Don't argue with me." The dark haired young man let his breath out in a sigh.
"In any case, what now? Are we done with the rescue missions yet?" Zack asked instead.
Letting his hand fall from Zack's shoulder, Sephiroth sighed, "I don't know. I don't think so. There's a lot of little towns all around this continent that are probably in danger from the invading hoards of monsters. It would only be fair to ride to their rescue as well."
Quirking a brow, Zack looked out across the mass of dancers bouncing around cheerfully to the rhythmic drumbeats that boomed deep in his bones. "Just us, or who else?"
Sephiroth tipped his chin up, looking at the sky, lips quirking faintly before he spoke again, "Katy called us the Seven Knights of Final Fantasy, or something like that. But I suppose we'd be Eight... that is if you wished to join."
Giving a bark of a laugh, Zack shook his head, "You can't seriously think that I would drop out on you now! Not after all this. No, Jenova's not dead yet. Any idea on where to hit at her from?" Sephiroth shook his head and Zack continued, "Ah, well maybe we'll figure something out as we go along. Unless Katy knows." Again, Sephiroth shook his head. Licking his lips, Zack fell silent for a moment, thinking of... nothing.
The same seemed to be going through Sephiroth's head, for he too didn't break their silence until perhaps a full minute later and the rhythm of the drums had changed. "Katy wants some sort of uniform for our Knights to wear." His lips quirked, "Think you could suggest it to Aerith? She might be able to come up with something better than what I was thinking of."
"And what were you thinking of?"
Sephiroth shrugged somewhat, "Just some black coats or something," he glanced down as Zack got the joke and laughed. "Go enjoy your party, Zack, Aerith is over by the Candle. She's wearing Something Red. I think you'll like it." Giving the General a long hard look, Zack headed off into the crowd.
The group sat at a large round table in one of the communal dining rooms, though there was only their dinner occurring at that table at the time. Sephiroth sat with Katy at his right hand, Zack on his left, Aerith beside him, Cloud beside her, and Curt, Wren, Lloyd, Perrie, and Morda following that. Aerith was excitedly passing sketches of uniforms around the table, having taken to the project with a ferocity that was quite frightening. Katy, of course, had helped on the artistic side, drawing a male and female version of each of the outfits. Sephiroth tactfully held his vote, just to see what the men would choose for himself, for he was in the opinion that anything Katy and Aerith had created would probably look the best on him and Zack. Ah, the biases of ladies. It was quite an interesting thing to watch.
"Katy and I tried to incorporate some armor into the designs as well. Enough to protect what's vital but not weigh too much," Aerith started with, flipping through the pictures, holding one up, "We decided to go with black and silver for all the designs because they're neutral colors and don't clash with anything."
Curt snorted a chuckle into his wineglass. Lloyd actually had the gall to say something, "It's also what Sephiroth's known for." He gave a meaningful look towards Katy who just smiled.
Wren shrugged, "So? We follow him anyway."
Lloyd shook his head, "I just don't see why we need a uniform anyway." He glanced towards Sephiroth who was obviously not paying attention. "Indulging your girl, huh?"
Sephiroth looked towards Lloyd, putting on an innocent expression. Katy was giggling, "Actually, if we're gonna be running around saving the world, we should at least look the part, right? Also, need some sort of symbol for regular people to see and go 'Oh, hey! That's someone who might know what's going on' no matter how many people we have join our group. Anyway!" she interrupted the banter and explained with. "As for the black, it wasn't just because of Seph, black doesn't show dirt. We could have had you all in white, but after a week and you'd be whatever color the current landscape was. The silver trim is just to offset your manly features so you guys can get some girlfriends too."
Grumbling, Lloyd subsided and turned his attention back to his dinner, occasionally looking at the pictures. "Why the coats though?" he asked again.
"Cause," Aerith replied evenly, "Who knows what sort of weather we might be traveling in. You can remove them and still be fully dressed."
Katy spoke up again in defense of her artistry, "Besides, some critters spit needles or people with arrows and stuff that could get caught up on the fabric and help protect the back of your legs cause we can't really put armor plating there, that'd be uncomfortable to sit on."
Morda smirked, speaking with his mouth full, "'sides, looks neat." Katy pointed with a nod of agreement.
Somehow still managing to eat though she was doing most of the talking, Katy added, "Distraction tactic as well, we could have had you all in red scarves or something, but I don't think you'd appreciate that. AND! They're split in the back for Chocobo riding."
Lloyd, flipping threw a few of the drawings, "What's with the spikes on this one?" he waved it.
This time, Katy had no explanation other than, "Seemed like a good idea?"
Perrie flipped to that drawing as well, "Looks rather... evil." To this, Katy flashed her innocent smile.
Silence fell as the men looked over their options, "So, Lloyd, if you HAD to choose one of these, which one would you not mind walking around in?"
Lloyd looked them over again, frowning slightly, "And what are theses boots made out of?"
Aerith spoke this time, "Leather, softened leather for movement but still strong enough to provide protection."
Licking his lips, Morda spoke up again, this time swallowing before he spoke, "Sephiroth, what's your vote for?"
Noncommittally, Sephiroth replied, "Its up to you, I really don't care."
"What about you two?" Perrie pointed at Cloud and Zack, "You guys haven't said anything."
Cloud, who had been busy eating, but looking at the drawings spoke before Zack could, "I kinda like this one," he flashed one of the pictures.
Zack, looked at the picture and nodded, "I agree with him. Besides, the girls would look really cute in that one."
Lloyd rolled his eyes, "Of course," he muttered but took a closer look at Zack's vote for the female version of the outfit, raising his brows. "Is that a corset?"
"Sort of," Katy replied, "It's not meant to be tight. It's our torso armor, since we don't have the upper body strength to haul around chest plates like you do. Those are made out of hard leather with small cloth panels on the sides for breathing. The ties on the front are how we'll get into them. The clothes underneath the armor are supposed to be light fabrics and they're pretty basic. There's a tank top for hot days, and a long sleeved shirt for cold and the pants are loose. These are all in black. We thought of making a dress-up version of the uniforms as well, for important stuff where we have to look nice, but I can't think of anything that we might end up needing to look nice for, so we'll just go with this for now."
Frowning, Lloyd tipped his head to the side, "And which one do you like?" he asked Aerith and Katy.
Aerith shrugged, "The corset is standard, we're wearing that no matter what, the under clothes are standard for all of them, it's mostly the coat and boots that change, so we don't really care."
"Well I like this one," Curt stated, tapping the one Zack and Cloud had voted for. Wren and Morda, after a quick study of it nodded and Perrie waved a hand to show that he didn't care. Lastly, Lloyd sighed and muttered his agreement.
All eyes turned towards Sephiroth. He looked at the picture, shrugged, sipped his wine and smiled, "Looks fine to me."
At last, with their uniform decided upon, Katy brought up the next thing she thought was important, "Okay, can't call you the Seven Knights of Final Fantasy anymore, so we need a new name."
Sephiroth took another sip of his wine, glancing around the table as he did so. "From Seven to Ten," he said softly, gaining their attention immediately. Setting his glass down, he looked at each of them. "Quite an accomplishment, I think," he added. "We'll stick with something simple, however. Perhaps The Slayers?" Katy burst into a giggle at that, shaking her head and giving a shrug. Apparently, it had been some inside joke between them, for he too shook his head, "No, we will be known as SCYTHE." His lips quirked as the connotations of the name dawned on them all and one by one, they nodded.
"We've got a few choices to make at this point," Sephiroth continued, glancing at Katy who nodded and pulled out copies of a map of the region, handing them around, she'd had to draw them by hand, which was a pain, but she'd managed to do it with some homemade light boxes and the original map those in the Canyon had stored away. Once the maps were distributed, Sephiroth continued as if it were a full blown meeting up in the Tower. "There are several small towns near by that are in danger, or have already been overrun. Picking which one to go to the aid of first will be our first choice here."
Pausing, he glanced around again, "But before that, I believe a full explanation is due. The current situation is... partially my fault, having something to do with my death and revival." He'd pondered letting Katy explain her part of the whole beginning of the mess before dinner, but after contemplating that a moment, he decided not to. She blushed and stuttered and repeated herself when she got nervous and public speaking was bound to make her nervous. She'd told him everything anyway- or at least most of everything. There was one thing she still refused to tell him though, and that was how she knew everything. She wouldn't lie, but she also wouldn't say. He began with his dreams and filled them in on the more important things from the end of the Wutai war and on.
Not even Zack and Aerith had heard everything, for Katy had been in contact with him longer than they had been with her. At last, he had them up to date on everything and stopped for another sip of wine. Katy was grinning, "So you pretended to be a pirate to save me?" she asked, having heard nothing of this before.
Leering at her, he put on Ol' Stef's voice once again, "Aye, me Lovely!" he dropped an arm around her shoulders and licked her cheek, which made her squeal with giggles and wipe his spit off her face.
The others laughed as well, and Sephiroth straightened, and put Ol' Stef's personality aside for the time being. If Katy wanted a pirate later, in private and maybe even in the nude, he'd let Ol' Stef out to play again, but this was business. Morda cleared his throat, "Right, so our real objective is to get this bitch Jenova before she destroys this world and moves on to..." he paused, recalling the name of Katy's planet, "Earth?"
Sephiroth nodded.
Lloyd spoke up then, "Then we'll need to flush this Jenova out of her hiding place. Who's she chosen as her new avatar if Sephiroth was taken from her? Someone powerful, one might assume."
Katy had been looking down at the table for quite some time, fingers tracing idle patterns. Perrie spoke up, gesturing towards her, "Let's ask our Oracle then."
She lifted her eyes, "I'm afraid I don't know. My knowledge was limited to a certain line of events that I've thoroughly derailed." She sighed, "I begin to wonder if maybe the original line of fate was perhaps the better one to follow... fewer deaths all around." Frowning, she stopped herself from following that train of thought and switched, "But we're stuck with this one, and whether Cloud was the one who destroyed Sephiroth in the end or not, Jenova would have turned her sights towards Earth and Cloud would have been powerless to stop it." She gave an apologetic smile towards Cloud who looked nervous.
"Wait- you mean... I was the one that was supposed to stop Crazy Sephiroth?" he protested in shock.
Grinning, Katy nodded, "Yep! See, I told you you're capable of great things, given the right motivation. See, in that version of things, Nibelheim was burned down completely, Vincent was not awoken-" she stopped.
"Vincent! Oh shit! Where IS he?" her eyes turned towards Zack.
Licking his lips, Zack shrugged, "He stayed in Nibelheim, seemed rather disinclined to move last I saw him."
Sephiroth raised his voice in question, "So would Vincent be the new Avatar?"
"He might, he's powerful," she paused, glancing around the table, "You should know though... it's sort of a coin toss as to whether he or Hojo is your father. They both were in love with the same woman; Lucrecia." She nibbled her lower lip, "Rather odd that I look just like her too." Once more, she smiled, "But! I know for a fact that I'm not her, but I would like to take you to her tomb, Seph." He paused, then nodded agreement, this was definitely new information. "Aaaanyway," Katy stated, she had a way of slurring her words sometimes, drawing out vowels. "I'd really rather not have to kill Vincent, he's had a tough time of it. He was Hojo's first experiment with Jenova's cells, he's more than a little changed by it. He turns into demons."
Sephiroth raised his hand, interrupting her, "Back on subject, what was supposed to happen after Nibelheim?"
Giving an Oh, Katy jumped back into a recount of what had nearly happened and how five years was supposed to have passed, Zack and Cloud made into Sephiroth's clones, Zack busting them loose and getting shot to death just outside of Midgar and Cloud taking the sword and Zack's personality and what memories he could scrape together through his Mako fogged senses and managed to get found by Tifa. Cloud's face was bright red as Katy continued on and finally ended with the final fight between Cloud and Sephiroth in Cloud's head and their narrow escape.
"Wow," Morda finally said, "Kid must be something awesome if he's got the potential to beat Sephiroth."
Katy smiled, "I'm glad they're both on my side," she said cheerfully. "And I'm glad I got to meet Zack, and save Aerith."
Lloyd spoke up once more, "So how do you know all this."
An expectant silence fell. For a moment, Katy stared at him. Sephiroth closed his eyes as he saw her drawing a breath, that coy smile falling upon her lips, hand lifting one finger. She was going to say it- he JUST knew it!
"Sore wa himitsu desu yo!" Yep, she'd said it. Once again, the source of her information was a secret that she refused to divulge.
Sephiroth sighed. "I'd suggest no one ask that question again, I'm tired of hearing that answer."
Zack laughed softly, "Yeah, I think I'd get tired of it after the third time."
She pouted, "Aww, but it's so fun to say. It's pretty much the only thing I know in you guys's language! Except Arigatou and gomen and konnichiwa!"
Aerith giggled at this, "You know 'Flowers' too." Zack snickered at that, and all out laughed as Katy started repeating nearly word for word one of Aerith's lectures on not playing with the fire Materia and blasting dirt clods across the flowerbeds. Taking a breath and a sip of her water Katy returned to the topic. "There is another thing we can do to ensure that Jenova's plot is foiled. The Black Materia needs to be secured. This will keep it out of Shinra's hands as well. We'll need Cait Sith for that, simply because Jenova has plenty of lackeys to waste on getting that thing. I'd suggest getting it before she thinks of it."
Curt spoke up at last. "I like holding all the cards," he stated. Wren nodded in agreement.
"So that's more choices," Sephiroth pointed out and sighed, "So many things that need done and not enough people to do them." Leaning forward, he put an elbow on the table, resting his chin in it, the other hand pushing his emptied plate aside.
Katy lifted a finger, "Ah, you forget, there's plenty of people here. All they would need would be some leader to take them off to those towns for the investigation and liberation and whatever else needed to be done there. We may be able to completely bypass Cait Sith by getting some toy of our own to pilot and send in to do the puzzles on the temple and bring it back, though I'd rather have more than just a few people standing guard when we get it and bring it back here. Lessee," she murmured, "Lucrecia's cavern isn't mandatory, finding Vincent is," she paused, looking at her map, "However, her cavern is along the way to Nibelheim, so that's two birds with one stone."
Perrie added his two cents at last, "Have Cloud handle the rescue missions here, we five will go to get the Black Materia, and Sephiroth'll take the rest of the group up to Nibelheim. We meet back here once we finish."
Sephiroth pondered this arrangement, glancing down to Katy who nodded and replied, "Sounds good to me, just remember, if you lose the Black Materia, its okay, we've still go the White. Meteor CAN be stopped. If you lose it, retreat back here." Her eyes lit and she sat up, slapping the table with one hand, "Oh- even better... Strategic loss! Let's GIVE it to her! It's a viable plan of action listed in the Guide to Being an Evil Overlord."
They gaped at her, but Sephiroth gave a chilling smile as well, "Yes, perfect way to find out where she is."
"Um... question, are we good or evil then?" Lloyd asked, but was ignored.
Wren spoke up, interpreting where Lloyd had gotten hung up over a triviality, "Ah, are those our orders then? GIVE Jenova the Black Materia?"
Giving a nod, Sephiroth fleshed the plot out verbally, as it was something he would have done if he really wanted the Black Materia, and Katy had already said he would have done it to Cloud in the other version of events. "Lead one of her lackeys there, let them waste their time and lives doing the puzzles, put up a token fight for it, then retreat and follow. Once the Materia reaches its destination, send a messenger back here for the rest of us."
The five SCYTHE members gave a simultaneous salute and "Yes sir". Curt, however, frowned slightly, leaning forward on his elbow, raised hand holding his wineglass, "So when do we leave?"
Aerith broke in at this point, "Not before you've got your new uniforms!"
"Spiffy COOL new uniforms!" Katy enthused.
"Ah, Katy, at least use words we can understand? That word 'Spiffy' did not translate," Sephiroth temporized her bouncing with.
She shrugged, "Spiffy is just Spiffy; a slang word for something amazingly Nifty and superliscious and stupendously godly in its way of trendiness."
He winced, lifting a hand to stem the high-speed flow of non-translatable words, "Okay, enough, Katy." Sephiroth eyed her a bit, "You enjoy confusing us, don't you?" She smiled, closing her eyes and lifted a finger. "NO! Don't say it!" he covered his ears, glaring at her. Aerith laughed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger suggestively.
Katy lay on her back in the tub full of steaming hot water, arms dangling out the sides as the water lapped around her neck. She sighed in pleasure, as this was the best bath she'd ever been in. It was always hot, and always full and she could drown herself in it if she was so inclined. She wasn't but it was nice to slide down beneath the water from time to time and rinse her face off. The lady she and Sephiroth shared their room with said that the waters in the bath had minerals that did wonders for skin. Katy just liked being warm.
Her eyes drooped shut briefly, but opened halfway when she heard someone pull the curtain aside a bit. A second later, Sephiroth stepped in, looking her over slowly. Lifting a foot and wiggling her toes at Sephiroth, she smiled, "There's enough room for two in here," she commented suggestively.
Coming to crouch next to her, he placed one hand on the edge of the tub, looking at her face. "Well... if you want me to." He sounded a bit nervous. It would be the first time they had been naked together since-
Katy closed her eyes, then opened them again as having them closed only made it worse. "Yes," she whispered. Standing, Sephiroth stripped and climbed into the tub with her, crouching in the water between her feet. Watching him, she offered a faint smile, "Why're you sitting so far away?" she sat forward, scooting in the tub to drape herself on his shoulders. "Seph- I have to admit that what he did FELT good physically, but it makes me sick, knowing he touched me in ways that I only ever wanted you to. Seph, make me feel good. Reclaim me, wash away the filth he left. I'm yours in mind and soul, he only stole my body for five minutes."
Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her neck, then leaned out of the tub briefly to pull something from the pocket of his pants. She looked down, blinking as he accidentally pulled out two objects, the second object, which was a piece of paper, caught her eye. "Hey! That's that piece of paper I found at the dirt hills!" she exclaimed, having spent hours studying the writing (when she should have been paying attention in class), daydreaming about what it might say.
Sephiroth smiled at her, "Yes," he said softly, "It's the wish I sent out only a few days before the end of the war." He held a rope necklace in his hands and tied it around his neck, pulling his hair from beneath it.
Her eyes widened, "Your wish? What does it say?" she could barely breathe as she clung to his chest, fingers digging in slightly in her excitement of finally finding out what it said- and the fact that it was his too!
For a moment, Sephiroth looked sad, but then smiled, "It says... I wish for love."
Staring at him in shock, Katy whispered, "You're kidding, right?" he shook his head, "Wow, isn't that luck for you!" she laughed, sliding her hands up and around his shoulders once he settled his around her again. "Now, what's with the necklace? I mean, it's very cool, but I didn't know you liked wearing jewelry."
His fingers caressed her face, tipping her chin up. "It's a charm, this world's version of Earth's condoms." Giving an 'oh' of delight, Katy melted into his kiss.
"I hope, though, that you won't be opposed to wearing a ring someday?" Katy asked somewhat pointedly after the kiss.
"You're talking too much," he told her instead of answering and kissed her again.
Things had calmed down in the Canyon as Cloud got to work on marshalling volunteers into troops to go liberate the nearby towns from the monsters. All versions of their new uniforms were completed in fairly short order, except the as yet uncreated dress version, but the men all seemed happy with it, so Katy was quite pleased. The problem with crowding was quickly being sorted out as the residents of the Canyon delved deeper into the cavern systems within the cliffs, making rooms and places for their new residents to reside in.
Katy, deciding to take a short walk, stepped out of the village, headed to a less crowded area of the canyon. Aware of the dangers of being alone, Katy had invited Aerith and Zack with her, though she actually did have a goal in mind for this walk and came to a stop. Closing her eyes, she reached for the Planet, which answered immediately. The ground around Aerith began glowing as well, but not as brightly as the earth Katy stood upon.
The light faded; the strands of blue-green light sinking back into the ground. She turned and smiled at her companions, "They'll be here in just a moment."
They didn't have to wait long before three gold Chocobos came trotting down the trail, coming up to Katy and butting their heads against her somewhat playfully, crowding in close as she gave them greens and petted their necks. "Zack, here's your new mount," she said, introducing Zack to the largest of the three. She touched the middle sized one, "Aerith, here's yours. And this one," she rubbed the final bird's face, digging her fingers into the feathers and scratching gently, "I'll call him Beltoren."8
Beltoren gave a wark, perhaps of approval and she moved, pulling herself up onto his back with a soft creaking of the leather she wore, nudging him in the sides with her knees.
Riding back into town on their Chocobos, they quickly arrested the attention of those nearby. An applause erupted, to which Katy grinned, looking back at Aerith, "I think we got the effect we were looking for!"
Aerith laughed, looking slightly demonic in black, her pink ribbon replaced by a black one, her White Materia set into a sterling silver and black lace choker, the pearl-like globe hanging in the hollow of her collarbone. Zack grinned as well, riding easily on his bird, back straight, sword gleaming from its clip on his back. Katy had been gifted by Curt a pair of silver guns, which hung from holsters on her hips. "You need something visible" he'd said. She was touched.
Dismounting at the stable, Katy led her bird in to join the others and introduce them all. Zack got his bird fed and watered, then left, but Aerith remained, leaning against the door of the stall. "You seem unusually quiet, Katy..."
Blinking, Katy lifted her head, looking into Beltoren's eyes, her fingers sliding through his feathers. "I've just been thinking... about everything I've changed and started in motion, what I've lost and gained and wondering if it's all really worth it. Cloud could have saved the world, if it was just this world in danger. But it wasn't. If I hadn't stepped in and messed things up, what would Jenova and Sephiroth have done different?"
Aerith's sigh filled the silence, "Katy, you've said it yourself before, it's over and done with."
Pushing her lips into a smile, Katy continued, "I've also been thinking about my son, and Sephiroth and I, and SCYTHE... I decided his name is Galen. Sephiroth didn't think much of my naming him post mortem, but it's important to me. I don't want him to always be 'The One We Lost'." She swallowed, trying to ignore the stinging in her hot eyes. "And Sephiroth- he's happy the way we are now, but I don't want to be his slut. I love him, I know he loves me, even if he's never said it, but I want... something material to show for it. Maybe I'm just being stupid but I want a damn ring."
Opening the stall door, Aerith stepped in, putting her arms around Katy's shoulders. "I know what you mean," she murmured softly. "I know Zack loves me too, but he gives me flowers now and then just to remind me. It's silly, but I always feel better when he does."
Taking a breath, Katy moved her hands to clasp Aerith's arm, sniffling slightly. "Thanks... if only I could get that through to Sephiroth. He finally bought into the contraceptive idea- but only AFTER I'd gotten pregnant once. He's so thickheaded sometimes."
"So about SCYTHE, are you worried, or is it some premonition you're having?"
Katy smiled a bit wider, "No, nothing like that. I've got an overactive imagination is all, I'm just wondering how long we'll last... will SCYTHE become some well known power in the world that works for justice and stuff like that or will we break up after Jenova's gone and go our separate ways. I think it'd be cool to see it live on after us."
Aerith laughed softly and squeezed Katy gently, then let go, stepping back as the Cetra girl turned to face her. "I'm sure it will. If it's not Jenova, then there will be something else that this world will need protection from. I think we'll have quite a lot to do between these two worlds."
Giving another smile, Katy nodded. "Its kind of... fun to be out adventuring." Aerith laughed with her and they moved out of the stall. Swallowing, Katy glanced around quickly. "I guess... since we've diverged so much, I can tell you..." Aerith went still and quiet, getting the impression that it was something monumental. Biting her lower lip, Katy turned halfway away, looking around carefully before lowering her voice and whispering, "You guys keep asking how I know everything... how so many people know so much about you." Closing her eyes and looking down, Katy dropped her voice lower, "It's because on Earth, you're all a video game." Keeping her eyes lowered, Katy swallowed, "I think it best to tell you guys one at a time, before someone else tells you and frightens you. I tried my best to change things for the better, save those who were important. God, Aerith, you see? I'm not an oracle or anything, I just..."
"You're a Cetra."
Lifting her eyes, she met Aerith's gaze. "You're not mad?"
Aerith's lips quirked, "No, you gave us our own paths to follow, you gave me a future past the next five years, you gave Sephiroth a life of his own to live- freedom. You gave Zack his life as well, and saved Cloud's family and hometown, and Tifa's and you're saving the planet from five years of Shinra- and maybe more!" Her hands rested on Katy's shoulders, squeezing. "No, I'm not mad. Maybe when I first met you, I would have been frightened that so many people knew so much about my life, but now... it just doesn't matter. I've changed since then."
Katy pressed her lips together, licked them, then nodded. "Thank you."
Nodding, Aerith smiled serenely. "You're just as blind as all of us here, but I still trust you. Now, it's lunch time and I didn't get much breakfast." Katy laughed softly and nodded. Together, they headed out of the stable.
Cloud was a bright boy, but he just didn't understand tactics quite the way Sephiroth did, and he nearly wanted to stay and take over the missions to save the towns instead of leaving it to the blonde. But, Cloud understood enough to be able to just outnumber the monsters if he couldn't use the terrain to his advantage or anything like that. He'd just have to make sure Cloud could defend himself enough to survive, and even that didn't take as much time as he thought it would have.
So he was left, sitting in the tavern's common room, hands folded in front of his mouth, contemplating the half empty glass of beer on the table before him. On a whim, he closed one eye, stared at the glass, switched to the other eye, watching it seem to flip from one side to the other. Zack flopped down into the chair opposite of him. "Wow," the dark haired man stated with a laugh in his voice. "Are you drunk or just really bored?"
Opening both his eyes, Sephiroth looked at Zack, "Bored," he said at last. "There something you need?"
Zack hesitated before nodding, "I'm just concerned about something. Maybe it's not any of my business, and yeah, maybe you've got it in hand, but I just don't see that anything is really happening and I was just-"
"Out with it."
Swallowing his words, Zack nodded, "Yeah. When are you going to get around to marrying Katy? At least ask her now and have the ceremony later."
Sephiroth sat up, frowning faintly, "She keeps saying something about that, but is it really that important?"
Quirking a brow, Zack folded his arms, "She was right about the contraceptive, wasn't she? Look," he shifted on the bench, placing his hands edgewise on the table, "It's important to her. Girls don't say the same thing over and over if it isn't important to them. At least ask her now, before it's too late. You love her, right? You want to be with her for the rest of your life, right? You want to protect her, right?" With every question, Sephiroth's shoulders hunched a bit more. "Then marry her."
"Fine, I'll ask her," the General muttered at last and started to get up.
Reaching out across the table, Zack caught Sephiroth's sleeve. "Woah! Wait a second! This can't be a spur of the moment thing! Proposals just don't work like that!"
Sephiroth fell back to his seat and scowled, "Oh? And how do they work?"
The night air was slightly chill up on the heights, but the air was delightfully clear. Katy, still dressed in her SCYTHE uniform was seated at the Candle, contemplating the flame with her glasses folded in her lap. Though the flame was a blur in her sight, she was completely focused on how it somewhat came into focus when her pupils dilated and shrank somewhat randomly.
Sephiroth stood in the shadows, watching her, his heart fluttering in his chest, though he wasn't sure why. Zack had promised that things would turn out just the way he described them. Moving closer, Sephiroth crouched beside her, "Katy," he stated softly, "Could you come with me a moment?"
She blinked, looked at him, then nodded, putting her glasses on and getting to her feet. She really did look good in her uniform, they'd been right about black and silver looking good on everyone too. The jacket and boots the men had decided upon had been an ankle length affair with a split down the back, which was indeed useful when mounted, belted around the waist by a wide stomach-guarding piece of thick leather with silver studs and buckle. The collar of the jacket was an inch tall and ran in a wide circle, the front of the jacket falling open wide to expose her chest and armored corset. The boots were just below knee length, her pants falling loose over them, though they too were studded with silver. The female version also had a shoulder guard, but only one on the left shoulder for a weapon clip, except Katy carried a pair of silver pistols from an additional black leather belt on her hips.
Turning, he started towards the stairs, hearing the scuff of her boots behind him. Taking another breath to calm himself, Sephiroth let it out slowly and nearly jumped as Katy skipped up beside him. "So, there a problem or something?" she asked. "Emergency meeting?"
"No, nothing like that," he replied and shook his head, "Quit asking questions," he told her and she shut her mouth, staring at the ground as they continued up the steps and inside. Sephiroth felt... like a heel for telling her to shut up, but he didn't want to ruin the surprise. After all, Zack had insisted that it be one. "It's not serious... or not like that. Just... I need you to come look at something for me." There, that was true enough. She lifted her head, nodding slightly, reassured somewhat. Or seemed to be.
At last, they stepped up out the top of the stairs and into Brugenhagen's 'front yard'. Taking her hand, Sephiroth kept Katy from turning to look around and pulled her inside. He'd asked the old man's permission to go through his house earlier, so he gave a faint smile to the strange man as they passed. Brugenhagen waved a sleeve at them.
"Then you let her see the sky and wait."
Up the ladder he went, having to let go of Katy's hand to do this, but he climbed out onto the roof, then turned and helped Katy out as well. "So what is it you wanted me to look at?" she asked.
"Wait for what?"
Sephiroth stepped aside, gesturing towards the sky, "This."
"For her to turn and smile at you."
Katy took a few steps forward, placing her hands on the railing, staring out at the sable eternity studded with pinpoints of light like diamonds. "Oh god- it's ..." she breathed at last. Sephiroth was rather amazed at his sudden desire to pluck diamonds from the sky and hand them to her. He knew who to blame for such foreign thoughts: Zack.
"But how do you know she will?"
She stared up at the sky for a long moment and sniffled softly, finally turning towards him with the most brilliant of smiles he'd ever seen. He nearly fell on his face, forget that step of going to his knees.
"She will, believe me."
So Zack had been right. Sephiroth stood transfixed for a long moment, mesmerized by her smile, the light of the stars glittering in her teary eyes.
"You should have it ready in your hand, but don't let her see it just yet. When she smiles at you, take her hands- step close as if you're going to kiss her, then slowly go to one knee."
Sephiroth reached out to her, taking her hands between his, her ring stuck on his pinky so he wouldn't drop it in this move, but the finger was tucked into his palm. Her face turned up towards him as he moved closer, and moved, watching as he knelt before her. Her lip was trembling as she breathed through her mouth, her fingers gone cold. Her expression showed confusion with an inkling of understanding but tightly contained excitement and hope.
"Then what?"
"Then you ask. Simple words, Seph, that's all you need."
Licking his lips, Sephiroth turned his face up towards her, pulling the ring off and sliding it between her hands. "Will you marry me?" he asked, finding that his voice had failed him for the first time in his life and all he could come out with was a whisper. The air was still and silent, nothing prevented her from hearing him.
Glimmering tears, shining like stars slid from her eyes, hit the corners of her grinning mouth. For the longest moment, she couldn't speak, but finally found the air again. "Yes," she breathed.
Reclaiming the ring, he took her left hand, sliding it into place. Katy's knees folded and she dropped into his arms, sniffling against his shoulder. Sephiroth felt as if chains of fear had slipped from him, leaving him to float away into the night sky- much like the day he'd realized that he couldn't live without her, before the Nibelheim incident. Licking his lips, he tried a new set of words, this time, straight into her ear. "I love you." On third thought, he added, "I always will, fly or fall."
They left bright and early in the darkness before dawn, leaving Cloud in charge of the Cosmonians and their refugees. At the end of the trail into the canyon, as the sun was rising, five split off with their map. Four turned towards the north.
Katy hadn't realized she was still grinning till Aerith pulled up beside her, "What's gotten you so happy?"
Shifting her hand on Beltoren's reins, Katy lifted her chin, "Oh, nothing really..." The silver band studded with a flower of black onyx, rubies and diamonds glittered on her finger in the light of the rising sun.
Expectedly, Aerith's eyes moved to look at the flash of light, "OH!" she gasped, reaching over, grabbing Katy's hand, "That's beautiful!" Katy giggled.
Zack looked towards Sephiroth and grinned an 'I told you so!'. Sephiroth shook his head, listening to the recount of his proposal, finally finding out what it'd looked like from her point of view.
Turned out it was exactly what he'd intended it to look like. Moving his bird closer to Zack's, he murmured a soft, "Thank you. I hadn't realized it was so important."
Grin widening, Zack replied, "Of course it is. They like talking about stuff their men've done lately. So give them something good to say." The day wore on and they stopped for lunch, Katy actually removing her coat and stuffing it into one of her saddlebags, rolling her sleeves up to her elbows.
"Well, these things aren't that bad except they do get hot," she commented, gesturing towards her coat.
Sephiroth smiled a bit, "They're well designed and made," he replied, still wearing his coat. Zack had never put his on, and neither had Aerith. Katy smiled at him, pleased that he liked it. Remounting after lunch, Sephiroth urged them to pick up the pace somewhat as they still had a ways to go before reaching shelter for the night. He was anxious, for some odd reason, wanting to get to this cave his mother was supposedly in, even though she was supposed to be dead. Then again, so was he. At last, they entered the Crater Lake as the sun was beginning to set. The crater already in dark shadow as it was a high elevation and surrounded by nearly sheer walls.
Katy, wearing her coat again dismounted near the waterfall, took a breath and smiled, looking towards Aerith and Zack, "Think you guys could hang around out here for a bit?"
"Of course," Aerith replied, looking meaningfully at Sephiroth. He looked away.
Taking his hand, Katy pulled him towards the falls, and moved to the edge and slipped behind them. Aerith glanced up at the sky, giving a smile. "Thanks for talking to him about that," she said to Zack.
He gave a shrug, "I'd intended to anyway. It just wasn't right that he get all the benefits without any of the consequences." She laughed, moving closer to lean against his chest. Zack's arms encircled her, his chin resting on top of her hair.
One of her hands lifted, rubbing his neck gently, "Zack, I've got something to tell you... The other day... Katy told me how she knew what was supposed to happen."
Zack's breath caught, "She hasn't broken some sort of spell by doing that, has she?"
Aerith lifted her head, looking at his eyes in the growing darkness. "No, it was no spell to begin with. In her world- we were fantasy. We were from a video game called Final Fantasy Seven."
He couldn't help the laugh that burst from his throat, "You're kidding, right?" he stared down at her, finally taking note of her expression, "Seven Knights of Final Fantasy indeed!" he shook his head. "Wow. Well, hey, video games are fun. Sounds like that one would have been a lot of fun to play."
Katy felt as if the air were pressing the life out of her as she walked down the smooth floored tunnel. Sephiroth's fingers were wrapped tight around hers, but his pace was steady. The sound of the falls roared in their ears for quite a ways until it quieted down to a hiss after a turn in the tunnel. Katy was nervous, unsure if this was how it was supposed to go. There'd never been anything about wrong turns in the game.
She came to a stop, listening in the darkness. Only the sound of the waterfall hissing greeted her ears. No- there it was again. The sound of a woman crying, murmuring bitter words, a soul locked into the world of the living by grief. Licking her lips, Katy continued on, sure now that they were in the right place, one hand trailing against the wall. The tunnel had turned pitch black fairly early on, but Katy felt that she could see faint bright green outlines around everything and kept going.
At last, light shone ahead of them and Katy stopped again. "Stay here a moment?" She felt more than saw him nod, then continued on in. The room was beautiful. Shimmering like a bubble frozen into liquid water. An alter at the other side of the room made of vibrant Mako prisms sang in the silence of the room, the hiss of the waterfall a distant murmur. A shimmer of light near the stone coffin supported by the Mako crystals caught Katy's eye, but there was nothing there when she looked harder.
"Lucrecia?" Katy called but got no answer. "Lucrecia, I know you're here, I have a few gifts for you." Lifting her hands, she reached beneath her shirt, unclipping the necklace, moving towards the altar, stepping slowly up the stairs leading to it.
"Who are you?" Katy's own voice asked back.
Lifting her chin, Katy slowly turned, looking around, unable to keep the faint smile from her lips. "I'm Katy." A woman formed from the shimmering light in the cavern, her ash brown hair falling in somewhat unruly waves down to her shoulders. For a moment, Katy stood facing the woman who looked like an older version of herself, perhaps herself at thirty? Not bad at all! Straightening her shoulder and lifting her chin, Katy held the necklace out.
Lucrecia's eyes, wells of pain and sadness, focused on the necklace as it swung from Katy's left hand, glittering. "Vincent's necklace," she whispered, reaching out slowly, her pale hand capturing the swinging cross against her fingers. Katy moved a step closer, letting the chain pile down into Lucrecia's upraised hand before placing her own fingers upon the cold ones of the ghost. "Who are you? Why do you look like me?"
Refraining from shrugging, Katy smiled, "I'm not sure myself, except maybe it was accident of fate, but this proves that we are indeed separate people." Her lips quirked more, "Despite what Hojo thought." She shook her head, "I'm sorry- I know what it's like to be so utterly lonely, but committed to one ideal but never being able to find him." Her fingers tightened around Lucrecia's, her other hand lifting. "Wanting two things at once, wanting them together, but being unable to find the perfect balance of both. Intelligence but innocence, stable but exciting, friendly but mysterious, it's the curse of being born under the Gemini constellation." Pulling the hand closer, Katy wrapped her arms around Lucrecia, feeling that the woman simply needed a hug after being alone for so long. "I hate being alone too."
A sob shook Lucrecia and she buried her face in Katy's shoulder, clutching the younger girl. Holding her, stroking her hair- and now that she was closer, Katy saw that it was shot with gray. "The Jenova project... was that the only way he'd give you a child?" Katy asked softly.
"Yes," she whispered brokenly.
"Who really fathered it?"
Silence fell except for Lucrecia's hiccups. After a few more moments, she gasped for a breath, "Vincent."
Nodding slightly, Katy gave a soft, "I thought so," but didn't state what other theories this confirmed. "Lucrecia," she whispered, "I have another surprise for you."
Letting the older version of herself slide back a step and wipe her face, Katy looked towards the cavern entrance, keeping hold of one of Lucrecia's hands. Slowly, Sephiroth stepped into the light, looking paler than ever. His steps faltered as he came to the center of the room and he stopped. "Hello mother."
A heavy silence fell and it seemed that neither of them were going to move. Katy felt obligated to break the silence, but before she could do so, Lucrecia took her hand from Katy's, gliding forward a step- then another. Envy burned in Katy's heart as she found herself wishing she could move that fluidly. Pale hand lifting, the necklace dangling from where it was tangled around her fingers, Lucrecia touched Sephiroth's chest as lightly as a feather fell.
Folding her hands before her, Katy played with her engagement ring and stood silent witness to the reunion. Sephiroth finally pried his eyes from his mother's, looking towards Katy a moment, and after getting a nod from his wife-to-be, he lifted his hands, removing his gloves and dropped them to the floor, taking Lucrecia's face between his hands, thumbs wiping away her tears.
Moving slowly once their attention was absorbed with each other, Katy crept from the cavern, walking slowly down the tunnel and back out into the fire-lit darkness of the world outside the cave behind the falls. Aerith looked up, "Where's Sephiroth?"
Gesturing with a thumb back into the cave, Katy replied, "I let him have a bit of time alone with her. It's what I would have wanted anyway." She sat down next to her bird, moving to lean against his side. Beltoren warked happily at her return and nuzzled her hair.
Giving a nod, Aerith smiled slightly. "I bet he's happy to know he's got family after all."
Katy nodded slightly in return, "Yep. He'd be bouncing off the walls if he weren't so afraid he'd shatter the illusion. I really do look a lot like her... it's really freaky."
"So what is she?" Zack asked as he stirred the pot of trail ration stew he was making. "A ghost?"
Pursing her lips, Katy contemplated the stars for a moment, then nodded, "I think so. What I wonder, though, is who put her body in there? Hojo? Vincent? At least I found out who Seph's father is. Explains a lot of why Hojo treated him so bad. Meeting her explains a lot of why I love Seph so much too. He's got a portion of me in him- the way he thinks and feels. It's what I always wanted! Someone who just understood it all." She sighed softly, pulling her knees against her chest. "I just wish there was something more I could do for her, though. I hate... really hate being alone, she's been alone in there for years, but I'd like for her to see Vincent one last time or something."
Aerith smiled once again, leaning over to place her hand upon Katy's arm. "It's up to her whether she lets go now or not, don't beat yourself up about it." She paused, "Don't beat yourself up over mistakes and end up like her."
Katy nodded once, then put her chin on her knees.
The whisper of grass and Beltoren's head turning slightly was the only warning she had before Sephiroth settled beside her, staring at the fire somewhat blankly. A pale woman in a lab coat settled to the ground on her other side. Katy blinked, lifting her head and looking at Lucrecia with a slight smile. "Sephiroth has told me a bit about you," she stated without preamble, getting straight to the point.
"Oh, that I'm inattentive to detail, easily distracted, and confused a majority of the time?" Katy offered a grin, "If so, he wasn't lying."
This earned a slight smile. "No, the impression I got was that you were perfect." She leaned back on her arms.
Giving a snort and glance over at Sephiroth, Katy replied, "Ah, well, he was lying then. Don't you know better?" Sephiroth just smiled at her.
Taking a breath, Lucrecia interrupted, "I wanted to thank you."
Katy shook her head, "Only what I thought was owed you, and for my own curiosity of 'lets see what happens when...'"
Lucrecia actually laughed, "Yes, it was that driving curiosity that made me such a good scientist... Hojo wasn't so bad in the beginning. Self absorbed, yes, but not..."
Shaking her head, Katy replied, feeling like she was having a conversation with herself, "You thought you could change him," she filled in, "he cleans up nice," she added.
"He took a bath for you?" was the astonished question.
Grinning, "Once a day, and wore clean clothes too. I was rather surprised." Lucrecia was gaping, silently laughing, life breathing back into her with every second. Katy continued, "He's still in love with you, you know. He treated me well when he captured me, or maybe it was the beating I gave him when we first met, but in any case, he's got your clothes all folded up in boxes in his closet and half a bottle of shampoo under the bathroom counter."
She shook her head, "And I still love him." Katy lifted a hand, placing it on Lucrecia's shoulder, conveying understanding as much as she could. "As I still love Vincent. If only they could have been one man. My assassin scientist."
Taking a slow breath, Katy sighed it out, then breathed again, "I wish I knew what advice to offer."
Lucrecia shook her head, "No need, I already know what you would say, it's what I would say: 'Just let go'." She lifted her eyes towards the fire, a smile sliding across her lips. It was a beautiful smile, and Katy deeply wished she could smile like that. This woman, so like herself, but then again, so different. No, they weren't exactly the same, Katy could see. Where Lucrecia's neck was unblemished, Katy had a freckle, and their hair wasn't the same consistency of thin fine strands. "And I believe that I am ready to now."
"I hope that someday, I can have your courage," Katy found herself saying, and truly meaning it. "And your grace."
Looking towards the young Cetra, Lucrecia stared for what seemed an eternity before saying softly, "You already have courage of your own, grace comes with time." Moving close, she placed a kiss upon Katy's cheek. "Take care of my son." With that, she stood and stepped around Katy to collect a final hug from Sephiroth who threw his dignity to the wind and embraced her, burying his face against her shoulder.
"I'll take care of him, but I won't be his mother," Katy replied firmly.
Lucrecia smiled, petting Sephiroth's hair a bit before finally getting him to let her go. "That's all I can hope for." She moved away, feet not seeming to disturb the grass at all. As she drifted into the dark, she faded into the night. For a long time, Sephiroth sat staring towards the cavern's entrance, finally blinking as Katy moved to settle against his side. He turned and wrapped his arms around her.
Cloud hadn't gotten much sleep, knowing that the next day would see him holding things down at Cosmo by himself. Now, that wasn't to say that he'd been given the easy job just to keep him out of trouble, but Sephiroth had helped him set up defenses of the Canyon in the days before they left. He was up in the hours before dawn with everyone else in SCYTHE, in the stable to hug Aerith and Katy goodbye and get a fond farewell from Zack and even a quick handshake from Sephiroth. No, this wasn't the job just left to the lackey, this was a job given to someone trusted... and it scared him shitless.
"Keep your head up, look like you know what you're doing," Cloud muttered to himself as he paced in his now empty room, these being the words Sephiroth had given to him upon parting. Good advice, which, now that Cloud thought about it, probably even Katy used this tactic to get around in places she wasn't supposed to be. Somewhat strange of a thought, but she always struck him as the sort of person who really didn't get out much and this was the biggest adventure of her life. It was the biggest adventure of everyone's lives, for that matter.
Taking a breath, he turned towards the door and headed out to go talk with his troop commanders. It was time they got started liberating the countryside from the monsters.
Meeting them in the tavern, taking pride and comfort in his immaculate uniform, it was quite a piece of work, and he truly did feel like he was important when everyone else was just wearing what they felt like wearing. Sephiroth had approved of the sturdy materials even the under-clothes had been made from. Still carrying Buster Sword, Cloud stepped into the crowded room, map of the area rolled up in his hand. "Look like you know what you're doing," he reminded himself silently, jerked his chin up slightly as eyes turned towards him.
"Good morning," he stated, placing the map on the table in the center of the room, placing salt and peppershakers on the corners to hold it flat. It wasn't the same map that had been passed around the table during dinner what was only a few nights ago now, it was a much larger version with splotches of color here and there, a gift from Katy, along with a quick peck on his cheek. Why were all these people believing in him? It seemed so unnatural!
Swallowing, he searched for somewhere to begin, finally just starting with what he and Sephiroth (mostly Sephiroth) had decided on starting with, though Sephiroth had insisted that Cloud remember to keep thinking. "Plans never last past the first encounter with the enemy," he'd said, "so stay on your toes." Right, he said it like it was that easy. Maybe it was?
Lifting a hand, he pointed at the first splotch of bright blue, indicating a town, "We'll start here," he told them, "use the ledges for cover, sweep in from the sides and fall upon the town," it was a somewhat ambiguous plan, but they didn't know what to expect from there, even Sephiroth had been hesitant to send anyone out to scout, but they had in the end. The man had returned, badly shaken with what he'd seen, but apparently the monsters camping in the town had driven the inhabitants underground much the way Gongaga had done, for they seemed highly interested in the doors to the cellars. That meant they had to move quickly. Cloud felt all eyes turn back towards him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. "The trip will take a few hours, but we'll take it slow and steady to conserve energy for the battle. There're a lot of monsters out there, plenty for everyone, so don't let your men get ahead of you. After, we'll camp in town, find supplies, tend wounded, and see if we can bury the town's dead."
Coming to the end of his speech, he stopped his lips from forming the words 'Sound okay?' having been snapped at by Sephiroth about that even without saying it. "Let's go," he said instead, making it more of an order.
"Oh come on, say it more enthusiastically," one of the men said with a grin.
Blinking, Cloud looked at the man, then took a breath, "Fine, Move out." The men shared a chuckle, though they were taking him seriously, Sephiroth had sat in on the first meeting with them after he'd worked with Cloud to pick commanders out of the rabble of volunteers. "Don't let this one fool you with small words," Sephiroth had stated after Cloud had said something that sounded rather frightened, "He's capable, I wouldn't leave you defenseless. He just needs more encouragement." The men had taken Sephiroth's word for it, but this had been something that Katy had said something about when she had given them the whole story of what was supposed to happen, this time from her own mouth instead of through Jessie's.
At least, this time, the men took his words as an order and shuffled out the door. "Mr. Strife?" a small voice by his arm drew his attention. Half turning, he looked into the large brown eyes of one of the serving girls in the tavern. Her pretty pink lips smiled faintly, pale cheeks flushed a rose hue, chocolate brown hair falling straight around her young features, "I wanted to give you this," she said softly, his eyes finally trailing down the rest of her body, focusing briefly on her rather nicely sized breasts, then finding her hands at last. They held a necklace with an ornate star pendant. He hands held the object up. "It's for luck," she added, glancing down and away, blushing deeply.
Lifting his hand, he placed it over hers, and oddly enough, she reminded him of Tifa- which sent a pang through his heart, but his lips smiled anyway, "Thank you," he said, taking her luck charm and clipping it around his neck, tucking it into the neck of his shirt. "I'll keep it safe and return it to you, M'lady." He took her hands and bowed over them in his best imitation of Zack.
She blushed even more deeply and watched as he gathered up his map, rolled it, and turned, heading after his men. He'd had as much as he could stand of breakfast with the rest of SCYTHE's members before they'd left.
Walking with a head that felt unnaturally light and feet stuck uncomfortably to the ground, Cloud made his way to the stable to get his own bird ready. His riding abilities had improved lately at least, though perhaps that was more because of the bird itself. The Chocobo had to be one of the most even tempered creatures he'd ever been around where all other Chocobos had snapped and hissed at him when he came near. Rekkui, as Cloud had named the bird, in fact seemed to like him, answering to no one else. Cetra charmed, it had to be. Cloud could think of no other explanation.
Upon his appearance at the stall door, Rekkui chirped happily, moving closer to demand a scratch. Laughing, Cloud obliged, "Bloody spoiled bird," he told it, "We've got a battle to command today." Rekkui calmed, moving to look directly into Cloud's eyes, holding still and listening attentively. "So try and keep us out of trouble?" he asked of the creature, hand still caressing the bird's brilliantly shining gold feathers.
Rekkui warked cheerfully and gave a bob of his head. Stepping into the stall, Cloud set to work putting the SCYTHE Chocobo armor into place, then took Rekkui's reins, leading the bird from the stall, though he probably could have dropped that hold and the bird would have continued walking sedately a step behind him. Once outside, he mounted up, settling into the saddle hearing his various pieces of leather creak as he did so. Somehow, it was a reassuring sound. In fairly short order his troops were ready, those with steady enough birds were mounted as Cloud was. Maybe the Chocobos weren't battle trained, but they'd been used while the men riding them were on hunts and were used to some fairly wild things going on around them. The men had sworn by their Chocobos, so Cloud had given his okay for it.
Seeing that everyone was ready, except for getting hugs from their loved ones, Cloud waited for the goodbyes to end, finding his eyes arrested by the pretty young woman from the tavern. She blushed but waved, to which he nodded. Rekkui turned at the barest of nudges, pacing casually towards the Canyon gate, his men falling into rank behind him, managing to make more than an unruly mob of armed and armored men. They flowed out onto the trail, Cloud glancing back over his shoulder at them as his back itched from having so many following him. His attention was drawn back forward by a strange hitch in Rekkui's step. "Hey, something wrong?" he asked the bird, leaning forward a bit.
Rekkui chirped cheerfully once more, head turned forward firmly. "Like you know," Cloud muttered to himself and straightened, settling into his saddle for a long ride. This time, the bird did look back at him, and somehow seemed to be smiling knowingly. "You're creepy," Cloud told the bird firmly and got that bumping step once more. "And you're doing that on purpose." Eerily, Rekkui gave a nod, then turned to look forward again, head raised proudly, not quite preening, but definitely emanating an aura of confidence.
Shaking his head, getting his hair off the back of his neck, Cloud smiled slightly, reminded of the strange weight of the pendant around his neck. Turning his eyes forward, he breathed a sigh, "Wish I had your confidence." Once again, Rekkui chirped and nodded, jingling the clips on his bridle. "Oh, I do, hm?" Again Rekkui nodded. "Right, sure." He patted the bird's neck, but it was reassuring somehow. Though the thought that maybe Rekkui wasn't just a bird tickled the back of his mind, Cloud didn't feel quite comfortable with the idea of asking. He might be right, and that was disturbing.
8 Beltoren: he's an original character I made up for an original story. The short version of his background is that he's a half-elf half-god with the worst of both. He's about 2000 years old and has had a pretty sucky life, but he's still cheerful and really likes living, so he lives for the good times and forgets the bad. He's also very skilled at playing all instruments a person with only ten fingers can play, singing, and writing all types of musical literature. In other words, he's a Master Bard, and is really sweet.
