Chapter 1 – An Answered Prayer
Without a word, he gestured towards the Turtle Paradise. Without consideration she followed Barret back into the turbulent weather, sniffing yet too astounded to speak. Barret remained silent too, although Yuffie was sure that she heard him murmuring "Goddamit" and "Shit" in the midst of the thunderous downpour. Once they had arrived under the shelter of the Turtle Paradise porch, he stopped abruptly, wheezed and parked himself on the floor. He signalled Yuffie to do the same and she complied, staring at him.
This was the first chance she had of getting a proper look at Barret Wallace. He now wore a thick, leather jacket, populated with many emblems of 'Avalanche'. Despite his tough image, Yuffie noted that it did not really suit him and on that thought she summoned up a vision of him dressed in a sailor suit "like a marshmallow bear". Her snigger broke the silence.
Yuffie never imagined having such an intimate talk with Barret. They never really had compatible personalities but Yuffie perceived his warmth as genuine and his trademark impulsive passion was springing from his words.
"Yuffie, it's good to see ya" he began.
"Gee, Barret...that's so nice of you to say that...you sick or something?"
Although she intended a joke, Barret seemed to read her mind.
"'Bout stealin' our materia that time? I dunno. I reckon I can trust ya. Perhaps"
He handed her a small chunk of sapphire-coloured materia to reiterate his point. She pocketed it swiftly out of habit and shook her head violently.
"Don't be so sure! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!"
Her rather artificial impudence did not appear to wash with Barret anymore. He ignored her and began to absent-mindedly stroke the gun drafted into his arm.
"Summin's come up"
"What? The Shin-Ra?"
"Mebbe. We don't know nothin' yet."
"Gawd, I hate those creeps. Well? Do you know anything?"
"Well, I been mindin' my own business back in Corel, when only last week, old lady Dorene, bless her, comes runnin' up to me. She starts tellin' me all about the stuff she's been hearin' round the place. Word is that those miserable folks down in Mideel been sightin' some massive beast flyin' crazy, tearin' up their newly built homes an'…"
Barret was losing himself in the words. Yuffie interrupted calmly,
"A flying beast? Ha, ha – sounds like fun"
"What! Don't be so damned…"
Barret was serious and although she was itching to answer back, she fought against the urge.
"Pretty damn creepy too, so they say" Barret went on. "Fifty feet tall. What d'ya think of that?"
"I don't really think"
Barret chuckled and now began to tap his feet to the rhythm of the rainwater plummeting off the roof.
"Huh? Hey…HEY! I mean, I don't think about appearances. I mean, who would figure me for the most conniving sixteen…no seventeen-year old girl out there? Looks…they don't mean a thing"
"Well, yeah, so we were thinkin' 'bout goin' down there. Checkin' it out"
After what seemed like an aeon of torture and yearning, it finally seemed like her prayers were being answered. She illustrated her glee with a beam, quickly brushing it off. Barret raised an eyebrow as Yuffie briefly closed her eyes,
"So? You want my help. You should know, I don't do charity work"
Barret remained silent, anticipating her response.
"I know you want my help because I'm so good!" she continued chirpily.
Still Barret refused to say a single word. Her eyes opened and her expression lost all its buoyancy. In a flat tone, she tried once again.
"Uh, Barret. Say something. HEYEE! Say something, PLEASE!"
Barret rose to his feet and a disenchanted Yuffie followed. Once more, Barret seemed to have reversed from a cheery mood to sombre one.
"I went to find Cid first 'cause of the Highwind. Told him 'bout Mideel, about maybe Shin-Ra being behind it. Maybe the Turks?"
"I thought they were gone?"
"Who knows? He agreed straightaway to check it out. He left a good life back in Rocket Town, getting on with his life. I 'unno the details. I don't wanna pry. But he saw that he was needed and he came here with me"
Yuffie only then acknowledged that she was shivering uncontrollably – she had been out in the cold for ten minutes now. If she was going to leave with Barret …
"I might as well leave now, y'know"
"S'long as you can behave" Barret replied, relieved.
"Gee, guess I should tell someone that I'm going…"
Barret put his hand on her should firmly, then released the pressure. Upon Yuffie's startled gape he explained,
"We should probably keep this hush-hush if ya know what I mean. Can't worry the people. Jus' not a good idea"
And with that, he stepped back into the chaos of the tempest, still as unruly as ever. She had already made up her mind from the moment Barret mentioned the very possibility that she could join him once more. One more ("Ugh annoying!") spree across the bridge to her warm and most importantly, dry home and Yuffie was frantically emptying everything she had (even the cat litter tray) searching for a shuriken, a bracelet, an armlet, or anything that might possibly be of use. She eventually discovered a ribbon down the side of a desk, recalling her foolishness earlier that day and Godo's poison attack. She still felt like vomiting and if she had touched the rice that Staniv offered her, she probably would have. She finally settled with her Conformer, Wind Slash and 4-point Shuriken (just in case), a Minerva band and a ribbon. She said her goodbyes to each cat individually, backing towards the door and blowing kisses at them. Each bowed their head respectfully. With that, Yuffie left her haven. When she might return, she had no idea.
Barret offered to lighten the load as she wobbled towards the town exit. She took a glance back at the Pagoda, thoughts wandering towards her father. Yuffie embraced the guilt that these thoughts invoked – she deserved to feel blameworthy for neglecting her life there. But it was time to remind the people of Wutai why she was the mightiest of them all.
"I thought you'd never get your ass back here. Thought you'd turned native, Barret!"
"Hmph! Are you still alive?" Yuffie joked, upon sighting Cid Highwind. Cid smirked to himself, before lighting a cigarette and proceeded leisurely towards Yuffie. He stopped before her, paused and without warning brlew into her face without restraint.
"Eww!" Yuffie shrieked, hopping in circles and overplaying Cid's teasing. Yuffie sought some sympathy from Barret, but he did not seem interested.
She considered giving Cid a playful hug. After all, he was much more laid-back than Barret, who always seemed restless, agitated by something. She broke into giggles and went for it. Just a quick cuddle was enough. Cid returned it, somewhat half-heartedly but the thought was there. She turned, remembering that Barret was still in the room – she certainly did not greet him so enthusiastically.
"Lemme show you to the cockpit" he announced hurrying gleefully and lugging Yuffie along by her arm,
"Gee, you sure know how treat a lady…!"
The Highwind gave a deep grumble, as all around the crew darted about preparing for take-off. Yuffie swivelled happily on the pilot' seat, Barret gazed into the pitch black outside and Cid's face was reddening to a cherry colour with excitement. It had been too long since he had been Captain of the Highwind, the airship of AVALANCHE.
His crew murmured "Yup, he's been drinkin' again" between themselves, associating his high spirits with his renowned drinking habits. They were misinformed this time but in all his delight Cid did not hear a word.
Unlike Yuffie and Barret, who had given their images some updates, he had conscientiously maintained his appearance. He was probably slightly stubbier around the chin and smoked a couple more cigarettes each day.
"Alright, alright! You all gotta get us through this DAMN storm, ya hear? Alright, we're goin' to do a little public transport duty, nothing too taxin"
"Yo, Cid. Nibelheim next!"
"You heard the man, get a move on!"
Motion sickness. It topped Yuffie's Top Ten list of pet peeves, beating off competition such as Don Corneo, being knocked out, her father and Shin-Ra Inc. It was all part of the vicious circle of saving the world she reassured herself. She paced up and down, desperately trying to ignore the soft humming from the processors and the distorted blares of the engine.
"Oh. Kay. Yuff. You're brave…er, stuff." She repeated. She even reduced herself to singing it before the crew, receiving scattered claps of both sarcasm and pity.
Such was Cid's pity that he resoluted to revving the engines into full force, just to drown out her chanting.
Barret wondered if Yuffie was aware the attention that she was acquiring. She did seem pretty ignorant of it. This time he could not quite figure her out. He gave up.
The Highwind finally soared into the sky, as Yuffie was swept off her feet. She had been so consumed with her pep talk that she had failed to heed Cid's warnings,
"Shit Yuffie! Grab hold of somethin' will ya? The weather's not pretty tonight!"
She obeyed him, and made for the nearest object, a navigator's leg.
"Yeooch! Ow ow ow ow ow!" he retorted. But it was hopeless - Yuffie was not releasing her grip.
"Quit complaining! I bet your loving every second of it!" she howled.
His colleagues tittered as his faced became an even deep shade of purple than Cid's.
"Get your asses back to flyin' this plane!"
The rumbling continued. This weather truly was dreadful. Yuffie's arms were beginning to ache and her head was thumping in agony.
"WH-HY doesn't it st-top? I'm getting dizzz…" she complained.
"For goodness sake, do you come with a mute button?"
One of the operators plucked up the courage to complain about her outbursts.
"No, but a rewind button to rewind your manliness if you know what I me…!"
Unsurprisingly, he did not have a clue. Another member interrupted her,
"Captain! Captain, hostile entities up on deck! Repeat! Hostile entities up on desk!"
"Aw, shit!"
Cid remained hushed for a few moments. Yuffie freed her arms and looked back and forth between him and Barret. Cid gritted his teeth then barked,
"Errol, Bagby and um…ohhhhh… new guy. See if you can get her stable!"
Three crewmembers sprang from their positions and began wrestling with the helm. Barret watched the inexperienced pilots with apprehension.
"Barret, Yuffie, up on deck! NOW!"
Yuffie had expected action; she yearned for it. But did it have to happen so soon? Did it have to happen when she felt that vomit crawling up her throat again? Barret swept passed her, dragging her out by her arm. There was no time for pleasantries, Barret thought, as he opted to carry her under his right arm. Under normal circumstances she may have retaliated but she was grateful for his thoughtfulness.
Cid burst through the rusty door to the deck, bearing arguably his most prized possession, the stunning Venus Gospel. The din outside was even more distressing to the ears. The rain looked as if it had ceased; but the merciless wind nipped at their ears. Barret fought to sustain his balance,
"Goddammit, Cid! Where are they?"
Yuffie jumped from Barret's strapping grip,
"Geeez, even my patience is wearing thin!"
The guys yelled something of a similar meaning, though no one could hear one another. Despite this, Yuffie managed to detect some justified use of excessive swearing between the two of them.
"Alright, I've had enough of…"
The shadow of something dived vertically from above, striking Cid on the back of his neck. If he had sworn unduly before it was unquestionably reasonable now. He clenched his neck at the scratch, as Barret hurried cautiously to his aid. Yuffie glanced around the vicinity. She headed for the edge of the deck, strong-minded as ever and glanced downwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of the shadow.
"Hey, come out and play!" she hollered at the top of her voice seizing the safety barrier. But despite her best efforts, she could not distinguish anything in the pitch black. She could not tolerate the throbbing in her head for very long and directed her attention to Cid. She approached him,
"Hey! How you doing with that! Okay?"
"He's alright, Yuffie. You see anythin'!" Barret was literally shouting into her ear just so that he could be heard.
Yuffie shook her head desperately, her cheeks glowing scarlet from the blustery weather.
"Then let's get the hell outta here!" Cid exclaimed, before emptying a bottle of potion. Both Yuffie and Barret nodded in agreement, eager to thaw out their icy fingers.
The Highwind had by now overcome the regretful takeoff conditions and graced through the rain clouds steadily. The fiend, whatever it was, seemed to have dispersed. Cid gave them his consent with a nod and they hurried inside.
"Gotcha, ya damn freak!"
Yuffie and Barret spun in surprise at Cid's sudden, crusty outbreak. Before his feet slumped the mystery monster, impaled on the Venus Gospel. Cid looked noticeably pleased with his stealthy kill, drawing his spear from the chest. Upon Yuffie and Barret's expression, he explained coolly,
"What?"
Despite the incident aboard the Highwind, they arrived outside Nibelheim before dawn. By some blessed miracle, Yuffie had managed to complain herself into a deep slumber. Her dream was pretty ridiculous. She was on holiday in Cosmo Canyon, accompanied by the toothless elderly gentleman from next-door. He was pestering her for money to buy some bait to fuel his fishing addiction. She refused adamantly until Godo appeared handing the man a fresh packet of salmon. Then he pointed towards his daughter, insisting that she needed to take some dancing lessons to improve her balance. Barret subsequently waltzed into view, sporting a skin-tight ballet dress…
"Whaddaya mean ya weren' lookin' at me funny! My ass you weren't!"
"Buh…Barre…" Yuffie murmured.
"Don' jus' whimper! Don' play innocent either!"
"Guuuuhh…" Yuffie uttered weakly.
"You jus' watch it, you jus' watch it!"
"Ayum…yum..yum" Yuffie had dribbled all over her cheeks.
All of a sudden, she opened her left eye slightly. There was Barret storming off, deliberately stomping every step. Squatting in the corner, Yuffie recognised the new recruit of the Highwind, snivelling pathetically. She promptly realised that she had not dreamed Barret's scornful words; she had overheard them. He had intimidated the poor man to tears. Yuffie pondered for a few seconds longer, but as quickly as she had awakened she nodded off silently, forgetting what she had witnessed.
On this occasion, Yuffie was sampling some of Staniv's poor cuisine. However, a Razor Weed on a pet leash was warning her not to eat the food, in case she was too plump to fit through the manhole. Below her was indeed a manhole on her bedroom floor (just as it seemingly always had been). Staniv offered to accompany her as they descended the ladder. They found themselves inside an abandoned Mako reactor that looked like it expanded upwards forever. Yuffie marched triumphantly towards Rufus, offered him the Razor Weed and received a piece of materia from him in gratitude. Staniv was weeping with joy, as Yuffie turned to her,
"I'm going to stand for President, Staniv. You really ought to…"
Yuffie stirred. That dream had been exceedingly enjoyable, although the details immediately began streaming from her memory. Yawning uncontrollably, she hopped from her comfy divan, which had been positioned in the large chamber of the Highwind. From her position, she took some time to observe her surroundings. While the cockpit had remained the exactly as she had remembered over the last few months, there was no doubt that some effort had been made to decorate this room.
Surrounding the machinery was some shabby furniture that had been placed around a sizeable yet delicately designed carpet. Woven into it was image of a man in a graceful pose, gawping into the sky. Although the gentleman blocked up the majority of the picture, she could just about distinguish the Highwind hovering in the corner. It was most definitely meant to be Cid, although the primitive art style and limited colours bore little resemblance.
It only occurred after minutes of Yuffie's aimless reflections that perhaps they had arrived at Nibelheim by now. She tripped over her feet racing towards the cockpit only to find that someone had witnessed her clumsiness. A black glove stooped down to lift her up to her feet.
"Cloud!" Yuffie screeched excitedly.
"It's good to see you, Yuffie," he stammered as she clasped his shoulders.
One thing about Cloud was that if you were interacting with him in any way, you really were in the spotlight. He smiled softly from beneath a mauve scarf that extended into a long, tattered cloak brushing the floor. His face looked fresh and hearty for a change. Yuffie paused. She thought back over how taxing she had been on Cloud's patience in the past and how had always maintained a brotherly tolerance. Although she refused to share this with him in words, a warm embrace informed Cloud of her feelings.
Despite the fact that each of the two might have an endless source of things to talk about, the words yet again failed to reach their mouths. While this was Cloud's style, it was certainly not hers. Following the brief silence, Cloud turned proceeding towards the cockpit.
"So I hear that you had a brawl last night up on deck. Are you alright?"
"Oh yeah, we did, but…naw, I'm okay!" Yuffie noticed such amiability in his expression, more than she ever had before. Perhaps so much time spent with Tifa had rubbed onto him. Perhaps she had finally cracked that aloof exterior. By this time, Cloud had raised an eyebrow, guessing that she was thinking something along these lines.
"Nothin'" she squeaked guiltily.
"Nothing?" he shrugged.
"Tifa! Cloud, I wanna see Tifa!"
Yuffie peered into those startling azure eyes, "I wanna see her, Cloud"
"She's been talking about seeing you again you know" Cloud explained to a surprised Yuffie.
"Really!" she replied in disbelief.
"Really. Follow me, follow me. She's just over at the house."
"Tifa wants to see me?"
It only occurred to Yuffie later that perhaps this was not quite as surprising as she initially thought. Previously, she had this idea planted in her head that of all people, Tifa would be happy to forget her. Yuffie knew that she herself had hardly been a very reliable member of the gang. In fact, she had been proud of this when she had first encountered Cloud. It was not until much later that she even considered retracting her mischievous behaviour.
At the same time, Tifa Lockheart had been level-headed and dependable throughout the entire journey. As a result she felt inferior to Tifa, both as a companion and a woman.
There was even more to it than that. Tifa and Cloud now resided in Nibelheim together. Though they were not married Yuffie was sure that they were more than "just friends". They had each other now, a new life and new friends. So why would Tifa care so much to see her?
But as Yuffie lay on the Highwind sofa that evening she scrapped this theory - Tifa had really changed.
She was still as pleasant as ever before, of course. She had cuddled Yuffie like a sister upon their reunion and offered Yuffie some snacks while she packed her belongings. She even tolerated Yuffie's thrashing at her piano. It was not so much Tifa's personality as her zest that Yuffie sensed was absent. She struggled to put her finger on the difference.
For one thing, Tifa did not seem in top shape – a paler face and a lack of energy were evident. She was quite a contrast from Cloud in that sense. Maybe her lethargic nature stemmed from a simple cold but Yuffie sensed more. As she sat in Tifa's kitchen with the others she wondered if anybody else had noticed. Barret and Cid's vacant expressions suggested that they had not. Even Cloud seemed blissfully unaware of Tifa's weak smiles and fidgeting fingers. Perhaps it was women's intuition. Maybe Tifa would choose to confide in her? It was all very puzzling. It was all rather intriguing.
In any case, Yuffie's mind caved in with all the mental rhetoric. It was time for another nap she decided, yawning and she soon succumbed to the swaying of the Highwind and began dreaming once again.