"Dio's show room," Charlie says with a soft sigh, crossing her arms over her chest as Cloud and Aerith lift their eyes to the marquee above the door. "I'm sure the Keystone is in there."
"You think he'll let us borrow it?" Aerith asks.
"We'll ask nicely first," Charlie replies, offering her a small smile and leading the way into Dio's show room. "And if he doesn't want to let us borrow it, then I'll just have to exert my power as my vice president."
Many of Dio's trophies are worthless, just collectors' items with no value, paintings of leaders from hundreds of years ago, or foreign items that look aesthetically pleasing, even if they do absolutely nothing. It's almost too easy to find the Keystone among them, the one thing that looks severely out of place within the small and cluttered room.
It's set neatly upon a pedestal, the color shifting with the lights. One second it looks pale green, and the next second there's more blue to it. It's small enough to fit in the palm of Charlie's hand, but bigger than materia, if only by a small and minute amount.
"You're back!"
Cloud, Charlie, and Aerith all jump, turning to find Dio walking into the show room, his muscular body oiled up and his dark hair smoothed back. He's smiling jovially, as if meeting them here again is his greatest pleasure.
"Long time no see, friends. Madam Vice President, looking lovely as ever," Dio says, shaking hands with everyone and stepping up to Cloud's side in order to admire the Keystone with them. "You like that, don't you? It's my most recent addition to my collection. Quite something, don't you think?"
"Do you think we could borrow it?" Cloud asks him, with a little less charm than Charlie would have used.
Dio laughs, but not unkindly. "Sorry, boy, but that isn't for rent. However . . ." He looks curiously from Cloud to Charlie to Aerith and back again. "Since you're traveling with the vice president, and since you've been good to me in the past . . ."
"Dio, remember that you threw these people into Corel Prison without hearing a confession," Charlie says, raising her eyebrows in a very stern way, the same way that Tseng might upon catching her doing something she shouldn't be doing.
Dio colors, but doesn't back down. "How about I let you have it on one condition? What do you say, boy?" He looks at Cloud again, flexing his biceps. "I'm in the mood to be entertained."
Cloud looks very uncomfortable with this prospect, shifting on his feet and putting a hand on his hip. "What do you want me to do?"
"I'm not asking you for anything crazy," Dio reassures him, laughing again and clapping Cloud on the shoulder. "You look like a fighter, boy, and this is the Battle Square, isn't it? Why don't you give myself and these lovely young ladies a show?"
It looks like the very last thing Cloud wants to do, but with some subtle encouragement from both Aerith and Charlie, Dio is able to convince him to step up into the Battle Square proper, wielding the Buster Sword and ready for a fight. His progress is monitored on the many screens throughout the arena, and Charlie and Aerith watch as he hacks monsters to bits, working his way through the many unfair handicaps that Dio imposes on him, always followed by a laugh.
Charlie watches carefully. She doesn't typically see Cloud do much fighting, as she's always left behind when they're traveling on foot, while the fighters do the scouting.
Angeal never used his sword. Even when he was training, he always used the standard broadsword issued to every SOLDIER, no matter their class. To be sure, he was very good with it, and just as effective as his other friends with their custom blades.
Cloud certainly fights with the skill of a SOLDIER First Class. She hasn't thought much about his claims since first hearing them upon the ship headed for Costa del Sol (that seems a lifetime ago to her), but Charlie still can't recall ever seeing him before in her life.
She can't help but feel, however, that if Angeal knew how Cloud was using his sword, he might be rolling in his grave.
She's been thinking of him a lot lately, and Charlie can't even explain why. Ever since seeing that lone dumbapple sitting pretty on the fruit stand in Wutai. The seller had charged her a fortune, and the dumbapple hadn't been in the best of shape, but she wanted it bad.
It seemed like a sign, to find a dumbapple so far from Banora Village, almost the entire way across the planet. To be traveling with the man that now holds the Buster Sword, to be traveling with the girl who loved Zack . . . the dumbapple had certainly been a sign, a sign of courage.
It had been reassuring to see the purple fruit, like it was telling her she was going to be all right, that she was going to be okay, that she was doing the right thing.
The only thing she had regretted, while eating it alone that night, was the fact that Tseng wasn't around to share it with, reminiscing about their old friends. She had to do that part by herself, and it had been hard to be alone, thinking of someone no one even remembers anymore.
The memory in question hadn't been a particularly bad one. It had been one of her first memories with Angeal, in fact, and one of her favorites.
She had been working outside for some reason, probably because she hated her office so much, and that's when three SOLDIERs had come out to train in full view of her. SOLDIERs never trained outside, always locking themselves in the VR training rooms provided for them.
It had been hot that day, abnormally so for early spring in Midgar.
It wasn't the first time Charlie had seen Angeal fight, but it had been the first time she had seen Sephiroth fight. He had been an absolute machine, not even breaking a sweat against Angeal, smiling the entire while and moving so quickly that it was impossible for Charlie to keep up with them.
"I think he likes you," Genesis had told her quietly, flashing her a charming little smile and sitting down at the table she had set up at.
Charlie could hardly believe it. "Who?"
That had made him laugh. "Angeal, of course."
She had remembered how fast her heart had beat. After he had saved her from the attack on HQ, she had been batting her eyelashes at Angeal for weeks and thought it was all for nothing. "How do you know?"
"I don't think it a coincidence that he wanted to train here, where the only person around to watch is you, Miss Shinra."
"Do you think he would walk me home if I asked?"
Charlie had been thrilled when Angeal had agreed to walk her home that night, and she had immediately sprinted all the way to Veld's office, where Tseng had promised to wait for her. Veld wouldn't dare let her walk home without an escort.
"Oh, please, please, please, please, please," she had begged him, trapping him against the wall and clasping her hands together in front of his face. "Please, Tseng, please let him walk me home, please, please, please, I don't want him to think I'm weird when he sees a Turk following me and I like him so much—"
"All right, all right, fine," Tseng had replied irritably, after spending two minutes trying to get around her to leave the office.
Angeal had indeed walked her home that night, the perfect gentleman. She doesn't really remember what they had talked about, but Charlie remembers holding onto his arm, pressing fingertips lightly into his solid biceps, remembers saying an awkward good-night at the door to her apartment.
Aerith cheers and claps as Cloud finishes the final battle, looking exhausted, glistening with sweat, and bleeding from a few shallow cuts that look like they won't cause him much trouble. Charlie smiles at him as he steps out of the arena, clapping along with Aerith as he smiles weakly, sighing and putting the sword on his back once more.
Dio is equally as impressed, and he gives them the Keystone as promised. Charlie holds it in her hands for a moment, admiring it before passing it off to Aerith, who then passes it off to Cloud.
"Shall we get going, then?" Aerith asks, sounding almost excited. "I think everyone is waiting by the tram for us."
"Bad news, Lottie."
"What's going on?" Charlie pushes gently past Cloud and Aerith to step closer to the employee barring them access to the tram. The rest of her friends move without needing to be asked, and for once, Charlie is glad that she's the vice president. "Let us through, please. We have places to be."
"I—I'm sorry, ma'am," the girl stutters, wringing her hands together in front of her. "The tram is out of service for the night, but—but I'm sure it will be fixed by tomorrow morning, ma'am. Until then, we can't let anyone ride it—it's a liability—I—you understand, of course."
"Well, maybe Lottie and I could help take a look at it," Cid suggests, stepping up to Charlie's side and trying to make himself look intimidating. She can't help but smile up at him, stifling her laughter. "We know a little somethin' about somethin'."
"What?" Charlie looks up at him, scoffing. "I don't know how to fix a tram."
"How different can it be from a rocket ship?"
"Very different!"
"Oh, please, no, I couldn't ask that of you!" the girl answers, blushing furiously.
"We could always stay at the hotel tonight," Cait Sith says quickly, raising his arms to get everyone's attention. "They know me there! I'm sure we could—"
"You do know that Lottie's a Shinra, right?" Cid scoffs, throwing an arm around her shoulders and leading her away from the tram. "She can get us some damn rooms without any help from a damn cat. C'mon, y'all." And, once Cid and Charlie put some distance between them and the group, he glances over his shoulder at them and asks her quietly, "You can get us some rooms, can't you?"
"Yes," she chuckles, looking up at him. "Don't worry. I won't make you sleep in the lobby of that big, scary, haunted house."
Cid smiles toothily. "What would we do without you?"
"We don't usually get the chance to be together like this, huh?"
Cait Sith is right, truthfully. They're always split up when on land, cramped together too tightly to be comfortable on the Tiny Bronco. Being able to spread out without having to worry about monsters jumping out at them is refreshing.
"Yeah," Cid says from his position upon the arm of the chair Charlie is sitting in, all of them taking advantage of the empty hotel lobby. "Listen, Lottie and I are kinda new to this whole Sephiroth thing, and I think we missed a lot."
"And I don't know what's going on because I wasn't here in the beginning," Cait Sith adds quickly.
"Good idea," Vincent agrees, standing in the corner nearest Charlie and Cid.
"Come on, Cloud. We want to hear what's going on," Charlie nods. She won't deny that she's eager for information regarding Sephiroth. She doesn't really know why they're tracking him to the places they have been, but maybe she'll finally find out.
Then again, Charlie doesn't really care where they go anymore, so long as Cid comes with them.
"I been here since the beginning, and I still don't know what the hell's goin' on," Barret admits, shrugging his shoulders when Tifa turns to give him an exasperated smile.
Cloud crosses his arms over his chest and thinks, exchanging a sideways glance with Aerith, who nods encouragingly at him. His wounds have been patched up and cleaned.
"All right," he sighs, "we're going after Sephiroth, who's going after the Promised Land."
Charlie frowns, sitting up a little straighter.
"What the hell is the Promised Land?" Cid asks.
She's just glad she has an answer for him. "The Promised Land is a place full of mako energy," Charlie explains, adding, "that's what my father believed, anyway."
"So does it even exist?" Cid asks, the side of his body pressing against Charlie's shoulder. She shrugs in return. It's anyone's guess whether or not it exists, but truthfully, she's doubtful.
Aerith steps forward, looking around at all of her friends. "The Cetra return to the Promised Land, a place that promises supreme and boundless happiness."
Barret blinks at her in surprise. "The Cetra?"
"The Ancients," Aerith elaborates. "That's what they called themselves. The Cetra. Didn't you listen to anything the elders said at Cosmo Canyon?" She inhales deeply, holding her hands in front of her. "You don't know where the Promised Land is. You search and you travel until you feel it, until you feel that you've found the Promised Land."
This is what Sephiroth wanted to keep from my father? A fairytale? Charlie gazes off into the distance, staring at the worn carpet and tapping her chin slowly with her index finger.
"Can you feel it, too, Aerith?" Cloud asks, turning to face her.
"I think so," she answers quietly, unsure of herself.
"So Sephiroth is after the Promised Land?" Tifa thinks aloud. "That's all he's after?"
"Well, he's searching for one other thing besides that," Aerith continues, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth.
"The Black Materia," Cloud murmurs to himself.
That's the first that Charlie is hearing of that, as well. She can't keep quiet any longer. "What's the Black Materia?"
"Dio told me that a man in a black cape came here lookin' for the Black Materia," Cait Sith reminds them all.
"Sephiroth?" Cid grunts.
"No, I don't think so." Tifa's eyebrows knit together, a crease appearing between them. "When we went to Nibelheim, the village was full of these people in black capes with tattoos. How many do you think there are?"
"You know, of course." Nanaki turns to show off the black tattoo on his front left leg. "I'm number thirteen. Hojo gave it to me."
Tifa gasps. "So there are at least thirteen?"
"I think Hojo had something to do with those men in black capes, too." Aerith gives her head a slight shake. "But I don't know what that would have to do with Sephiroth."
"What do you know about this, Charlie?" Cloud asks her directly, and everyone turns to face Charlie.
She clears her throat, wishing she had more information to give them. "I don't know anything about black caped men," she says with a frown. "Professor Hojo's work was kept very secret, especially from me. I doubt even my father knew half of what he did, and my brother knows even less, I'm sure."
Everyone is quiet for a moment. Cloud is lost in thought, but Aerith approaches him and puts a hand on his arm. "I think we should just go after Sephiroth himself."
"Me too," Barret says with a nod. "We'll leave tomorrow mornin', when the tram is repaired."
After that, everyone makes their way up the stairs one at a time, ready for bed. It's still early, but they've had a long few days of travel, sailing nearly around the western continent in about a week. Charlie watches them go, until she and Cid are the only ones remaining in the lobby.
She can't stop thinking about Sephiroth, about what she's doing chasing after him, about why she's doing it. She doesn't stand a chance against Sephiroth, and if she comes face to face with him, it's likely that he'll cut her down first, just to finish off one more Shinra.
Cid's elbow jabbing against her ribs brings her out of reverie. She looks up, blinking at him, rubbing her side. "Did you just hear a single thing I said?" he smiles.
"Sorry, no."
"You're really gonna make me say it again?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to," she snaps, feeling tired herself. At least being the vice president means she gets a room to herself at the Gold Saucer.
"I was only teasin'—" Cid swipes at her sleeve as she gets up out of the chair and makes to follow the rest of their party upstairs. "Hey, wait a minute. You ain't goin' to bed yet, are you?"
"Where else would I go?"
Cid flushes furiously, releasing her arm and rubbing at the back of his neck. After having taken a shower and stripping out of dirty and sweat-stained clothing, he looks nicer than she's seen him yet on the road. His hair is a mess from dragging his fingers through it over and over and his forehead has awkward tan lines from the goggles he tends to wear while sailing the Tiny Bronco, but he's shaved his face, making him look years younger, though Charlie thinks she prefers the scruff.
He's even chosen to wear a brand new shirt purchased in Wutai underneath his trademark jacket, something that makes him look a little more like a tourist than a pilot, with a red floral pattern and buttons down the front, though he's left the top three unbuttoned.
"Well, y'know . . . we've got nothin' better to do, really . . . and . . . it's still kinda early, and . . . well, maybe if you wanted to . . ." It seems like it's painful for Cid to say the words, and it's almost equally painful to watch him struggle so much. ". . . I ain't ever been here before, so . . . maybe you could . . . y'know, show me 'round?"
Charlie falters, blushing equally as hard. "You want to check out Gold Saucer?"
"Yeah," he answers hastily. "Sure."
"You want to check out Gold Saucer . . . with me?"
"Shit, kid, if you don't wanna—"
Charlie hesitates, smiling up at him. "No, it's not that . . . it's just . . ."
"It's just what?"
"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?"
"Goddamnit, Lottie, do you wanna go or not?"
She does. She really does. But she has so much to think about, so much to remember, so much to dwell on. "I don't know," she answers, watching his expression instantly turn to one of exasperation. "I'm feeling tired."
"I know you're thinkin' 'bout what happened in Wutai, 'cause I'm still thinkin' 'bout it, too. But you deserve this." Cid steps closer, and Charlie instinctively takes one step back, mentally kicking herself after realizing she's done it. "Let's have a little fun tonight, honey. Just you and me. There's gotta be somethin' here you'll enjoy."
Charlie wraps her arms around herself, looking away from him. She feels so embarrassed she could die. What about him makes her feel so small?
"And I wanna spend time with you, Lottie."
She blushes again, looking back into his face. "Why? I'm a Shinra."
"Not while you're with us. One night off. You need a distraction. One night to not think about Sephiroth, about the fuckin' Black Materia—whatever the hell that is—and no thinkin' 'bout anythin' other than how much goddamn fun you're havin' with me."
Looking at it that way, it makes Charlie feel a little bit better. Maybe she does deserve this. She's spent enough time feeling sorry for herself lately, dragging her feet and keeping her mouth shut to avoid conflict with anyone.
She wonders if it's another sign that tonight happens to be what the employees call "Enchantment Night", making all the attractions free (not that anyone would make her pay for any of the attractions).
"Do you want to go bet on some chocobo races?" she asks, chewing on her lower lip as they linger in the entrance hall. Cid looks horribly uncomfortable and out of place, looking around the brightly lit atrium as if it's the last place in the world he wants to be.
"I don't really have a lotta money," he admits with a nervous laugh, raking his fingers through his hair again. "I ain't rich like you, princess."
"That's okay. We could do something else, like . . . we could play some games in the Wonder Square," she says, pointing to the colorful tunnel that will lead them to their destination. "You could win me a prize, if you're good enough."
"That so?"
Charlie smiles shyly at him, waiting for his response. "Come on. Think you're strong enough to win an arm wrestling match?"
"What!" he scoffs, curling his right arm to pose handsomely for her. "You know I'm strong enough."
She's able to buy a little GP with what gil she's saved up from their journey, and the receptionist, upon recognizing her as the vice president, gives her a bigger pouch of GP for nothing. Though he doesn't voice it, Charlie thinks it makes Cid slightly uncomfortable, so she gives it back and takes only what she's paid for.
She lets him spend the GP however he wants, having played these games a hundred times before, enjoying the sight of him running around like a little kid, eyes alight with excitement at the idea of so much to do.
And it turns out, Cid is really good at the arcade games. He makes nearly every shot when playing basketball, pins the wrestler's thick arm down within seconds, wins her a small stuffed gold chocobo with a bandana around its neck (which they agree to give to a crying child), and they even spend GP on a fortune, which tells them: "Never give up hope."
"We could ask Cait Sith to do our fortune when we see him again," she thinks, feeling much better than she had upon their arrival. "He's a fortune teller, you know."
"Is he? I've never seen him read anyone's fortune."
"He read mine the first time I met him."
"And? Was it good?"
"No," she says, laughing. "No, he's a terrible fortune teller. But he's terribly cute, isn't he?"
"Fuckin' annoying is what he is," Cid teases, probably only half-serious.
"Okay, I have something else to show you," she tells him, after he spends their last GP to throw a few more basketballs, "and I think you'll like it."
She takes him to the Speed Square and has no trouble getting him on the coaster. Her aim is horrible, but he's a good shot, and she spends more time looking at him than doing anything else. Seeing him smile makes her smile, and seeing him loosen up and have fun makes her genuinely happy for the first time in days.
He looks years younger, like a boy, like the boy she knew when she worked alongside him on the Highwind.
"You've been here a lot, huh?" he asks her when they step off, watching her fix her hair.
"Yeah, when I was younger." His shoulder bumps into hers when they walk out of the Speed Square, lingering at the many entrances and exits before them. Charlie thinks he's been inching closer over the course of the night. "I think when I turned about thirteen, it lost a lot of its charm."
Cid laughs loudly, shrugging his shoulders. "It's okay, I guess. What else is there?"
"Well . . . there's one more thing," she says, suddenly sheepish. The last time she had gone on the gondola was with Reeve, and she feels horribly guilty when she thinks about him. "But I'd understand if you didn't want to do it."
"What is it?"
"It's the gondola. Didn't you see it when we came in on the tram?"
"Why wouldn't I wanna go on the gondola?"
"It's sort of . . ." Charlie wants to slap herself. "It's a little romantic. It might not be as exciting as the coaster."
"Well, I might not get another chance to see it, right? So we should go check it out."
"You sure you want to go on it with me?"
"Who else would I wanna go on the goddamn gondola with, Lottie?"
There's no one in line for a gondola, and Charlie and Cid are able to walk right onto the ride. They sit across from each other, looking out the windows. It's a view that she's seen countless times, and one that is objectively and undeniably beautiful, and Cid is thrilled with how high they're taken above the Gold Saucer, able to see the desert that surrounds them in the moonlight.
"Ain't that somethin'," he sighs, looking out over the view, watching a few chocobos sprint by the tracks directly below them. After a moment, Cid turns away from the window and looks right at her, catching her staring. "And you weren't gonna bring me up here."
Charlie shrugs shyly, leaning against the wall of the small gondola lift and crossing her arms over her chest.
Cid traces his teeth with his tongue, never looking away from her. "Look, I, uh . . ." He smiles exasperatedly at himself, looking down and shaking his head before lifting his eyes again. "I gotta ask you somethin'."
"Okay."
He inhales deeply. If she didn't know any better, he might be asking her to marry him. She's never seen someone look so pained before asking a single question. "You ain't wearin' your ring."
"Oh." Charlie holds up her left hand. Her ring finger is bare. She misses it and misses the way people's eyes were drawn to it and misses the way Reeve would bring her fingers to his mouth to kiss around it. "No, I suppose not."
"How come? Didn't wanna get it dirty on your little adventure?"
She blushes, looking out the window again. Damn him. He's trapped her in the gondola where there's no escape from his questions. "Actually, I'm not really engaged anymore."
Charlie half-expects Cid to say something hurtful, to insult Reeve, but he doesn't. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"Can I ask what happened?"
"It's kind of a long story."
Charlie knows that Cid isn't going to accept anything less than the truth. She hasn't told anyone except Cloud and Aerith about the real reason she had left Costa del Sol on a whim, and they haven't told anyone else. He'll be able to tell if she's lying, and if he thinks she's lying, then it's going to ruin their entire evening and all the fun they've been having.
But if she tells the truth, then she's going to ruin their entire evening by being pathetic and sad and all she's going to do is make him feel bad.
"Lottie, it's all right, honey. You can tell me."
She clears her throat and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Maybe she can condense her story as much as possible, giving him an explanation that he might even sympathize with. "I found out some important things that have been kept secret from me for a long time," she begins. "And Reeve was keeping many of those secrets himself."
Cid doesn't answer. Maybe he doesn't know what to say. Maybe he's curious as to what those secrets could have been.
And she can't keep it in any longer. Perhaps it's being forced into close confines with him that makes her feel that way. "Cid, I wish you would have left me on that mountain with Corneo. I wish you would have just let me die there."
"What?" Cid scoffs, shaking his head. "No—no, no, no, no—" He moves quickly from his seat to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and placing a hand on her chin to turn her face towards him. "Don't say that. I would never have left you to that sleazy dick."
Charlie shakes her head, trying to look away again, but he refuses to let go of her chin. His grip is gentle, though. It's not the firm and possessive way that Rufus touches her. "Cid, please—"
"No, you listen to me," he says, so close to her face that Charlie holds her breath, wondering if he's going to kiss her. "You are fuckin' insane if you think I would have ever left you with him. We saved Yuffie, didn't we? And she's the most goddamn annoyin' kid I've ever met in my entire life."
"I don't want anyone to put their own lives at risk for me—"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not worth it, okay? I'm not—I'm not worth all that trouble—"
"What?"
"I'm nothing," she tries to tell him, wrapping her fingers around his wrist to lower it gently from her face. "I have nothing left in Midgar, the people I love have betrayed me in every possible sense of the word. I can't fight, I can't save myself from danger. I'm useless and I have nowhere to go, and you should have just let him kill me. At least that would have made some people happy—"
"Fuck Midgar," Cid answers, so confident that it throws her off guard. "What's in Midgar for you? A bunch of people who wanna see you fail 'cause you're not your dad? A bunch of fuckin' secrets that would hurt you? Why would you wanna go back there and have to pretend to be someone that you're not for the rest of your life?"
Charlie pauses, opening her mouth to protest and shrugging his arm off from around her shoulders, but Cid keeps going before she can argue.
"Why would you ever wanna go back to them when you can stay with us? Ain't no one here's gonna let you fail. If we do fail, we'll all fail together. And it doesn't matter if you can't fight, 'cause there's enough of us to do that for you. And anyway, you seen Cait? Fuckin' cat has to have some other toy doin' his dirty work, and we still let him run around with us, don't we?"
She shakes her head. "Please, Cid, I—"
"And I don't think you're nothin'," he finishes, looking very serious. "You're probably the smartest fuckin' person I've ever met in my life. I mean . . . we built a rocket, Lottie. You were twenty-two, and you built a fuckin' rocket. You go back to Midgar, to be the vice president of a company that you don't even wanna be a part of . . . that's such a goddamn waste of your potential."
Charlie looks at him for a long time, bewildered. She doesn't know what to say, or if he's even telling the truth.
"And I don't think you're nothin'," he says softly. It's so unlike him. It reminds her of the night they had spent in the field, the night he had kissed her. The first night she had ever been really kissed by someone that wasn't related to her. "You're someone to me."
"Don't say that. You don't know anything about me."
"I'd like to."
Charlie purses her lips. Is this how her life is going to always be? Running away from people who want to know her? Shutting down the moment someone asks something personal? Clamming up whenever her past is brought up?
"I don't think you'd like me very much if you really knew me."
"Bullshit." Cid smiles at her, his arm lingering on the back of the bench, not quite touching her, but close enough that it would be easy to touch him and claim it was an accident. Before that thought goes any further, she fixes her gaze on the coaster that rolls by their gondola. "I think I'd like you more."
"I disagree."
He sighs heavily. She knows that it must be frustrating, and she's sorry, but he has no idea what secrets she's holding onto. "Lottie . . ." he whispers, and his lips are right next to her ear, and when she turns away from the window, the tips of their noses almost brush. "I—"
Cid is interrupted by a sudden bang! and a splash of color. Fireworks pop outside of the gondola, and their conversation is quickly forgotten as they both turn their attention on the fireworks. Charlie finds herself smiling, watching the sky light up blue, then green, then red, then yellow, all colors of the rainbow. "I haven't seen fireworks since . . . shit, since the day of the launch," he chuckles, hopefully back to his normal self now.
"They're pretty, aren't they?"
He hums, leaning forward for a better view. His chest presses lightly against her, but this time, she relaxes against him.
Charlie is exhausted by the time they exit the gondola. Cid talks excitedly about the fireworks, and she listens with a small smile on her face until he exhausts even himself.
"I hope you had fun tonight," he tells her sweetly, grinning that crooked smile at her that she likes so much. "Did my distraction idea work?"
She smiles bigger, shyly, and nods. "A little."
They walk the rest of the way in silence, and when they enter the Ghost Square again, looking up the inclining path towards the hotel, Charlie reaches for his hand, her heart leaping in her throat.
Cid doesn't pull away, and when she laces their fingers together and squeezes slightly, he gives her a squeeze back without even teasing her about it, hardly even acknowledging it.
The moment doesn't last very long, however. Halfway to the hotel, someone calls her name, and both Charlie and Cid jump nearly six feet away from each other, blushing and avoiding looking at each other.
It's only Cait Sith, hopping towards them with a blank expression on his furry little face. It's impossible to read him. After all, he's a toy. Charlie wonders if he'll be open to her many, many questions later.
"Charlie!" the cat calls, and Charlie raises her eyebrows, slightly irritated that he's interrupted whatever moment she and Cid were sharing. "Dio wants to talk to you. He said for you to meet him in his show room."
"About what?" she asks.
"Dunno. Must be important."
Cid steps up to her side, puffing his chest out. "I'll go with you, Lottie—"
"Just Charlie," Cait Sith replies, almost too quickly, and the big white toy he rides holds out a big fluffy hand to stop Cid from going any further. "He wants to speak to the vice president."
"Fine." Charlie pouts, almost stomping her foot. Leave it to Dio to ruin her good night.
But Dio isn't in the show room when she arrives, and when Charlie opens her mouth to call out his name, she hears the door slam shut behind her and a gloved hand clamps down over her mouth.
Charlie's breath hitches, and another hand grips her wrist, pulling her arm to trap it in a hammer lock against her back. Her heart beats impossibly fast and, for a moment, she tries to make her peace, certain that she's going to die. She breathes hard through her nose, shaky and fast.
"Relax. It's me." But Tseng's voice is most unwelcome in her ear, and a thrill of terror shoots through her. "I'm going to lower my hand, but if you scream, I'll have no choice but to gag you."
There's a second's hesitation, and then he lowers his hand from her mouth. The moment she's able to speak again, she does. "Let me go," she hisses. "Let me go now. I'm not going back to Midgar, and I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Calm down," he whispers in her ear, gently forcing her towards the back of the show room, where she knows there's a partially hidden door that leads to an employee passageway. "I'm not bringing you back to Midgar."
Her heart stutters. She's done for. She's trapped and there's no escape.
He's going to kill her and bury her body somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He's going to put a bullet in the back of her head and cut her up into little pieces. Oh Gods, she didn't really mean what she said to Cid, she's not ready to die, not like this, not now—
"Walk faster, Charlotte. It's not like you're walking to your own execution."
They're walking down a gray staircase, the walls very narrow, the lightbulbs swinging overhead. Charlie stops abruptly and Tseng walks right into her, stepping on the back of her feet and nearly knocking her down the stairs.
"Goddamnit, Charlotte—"
"You're not going to kill me?"
"Kill you?" Tseng asks, sounding incredulous in her ear. "Is that what you think is going on?"
His grip on her arm slackens, and Charlie's able to slip away, whirling around to face him, wide-eyed. "Well, if you're not bringing me back to Midgar, then what are you doing with me?"
The expression that crosses his face is one of complete doubt. He looks very much as if he's going to regret his answer.
"You're coming with Elena and me to the Temple of the Ancients."
Charlotte doesn't move. She stands her ground, lifting her chin. She could run, but she wouldn't make it back upstairs, and it's possible that she'd end up falling and cracking her head.
"I heard something funny from Vincent Valentine," she says softly, watching one of Tseng's eyebrows quirk upwards. "Veld's old partner."
"Did you?" he asks, one hand on his hip, sounding bored. She's sure he's feigning. He loved Veld. He wants to know what information she has.
"Veld found him sleeping in the basement of the Shinra Manor in Nibelheim," she continues, "only a few months ago. Looking for a rare materia, I think he said."
"Did he now?" That same bored tone.
"Official reports state that Veld was killed years ago—"
"Most official reports are full of misinformation, Charlotte, and you know that—"
"Is Veld dead?" she asks, ready for her answer, ready for the closure. She's tired of being jerked around, of wondering, of being consumed by the very possibility that he might be alive somewhere. "Please, Tseng, just put an end to it. Tell me the truth."
Tseng hesitates, stepping slowly closer to her. He bends forward to lower himself, to put his face right in front of her own, and when he speaks, it's without hardly moving his lips, his voice very soft. Charlie doesn't blink, staring into his eyes as if hoping to find the answers there.
"It is very possible," he whispers, putting his hands behind his back, "that the initial report I filed with the company, in regards to Veld's death, was falsified before being handed to the president." He narrows his eyes at her. "And I think that you give me far less credit than I am due."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know," Tseng answers slowly and through gritted teeth. Leaning back slightly and clearing his throat, he gestures with an open arm for her to continue. "Now that you know I won't kill you, will you come with me?"
"I don't want to."
He smiles. "You don't have a choice."
He can't sleep.
Granted, it's only been about fifteen minutes since he entered his room, but there's no possible way that he'll be able to sleep tonight, especially when his brain won't shut the fuck up.
Him, Cid fucking Highwind, going on a relatively successful date with Charlotte fucking Shinra, vice president of Shinra Electric Power Company. He doesn't know if she would consider it a date, but she held his hand for a few seconds, so that speaks for itself, he thinks.
If that damn cat hadn't interrupted them, he might even have tried to kiss her.
Or maybe not. He's not as bold as he once was, and Lottie just ended her engagement recently. He's gotta be a gentleman.
When was the last time he even went on a date? He doesn't know. He has no fucking idea. It's not like the dating pool in Rocket Town is a wide selection catered to all tastes and preferences.
But he can't stand being alone in this room anymore. Maybe he could meet her at the Battle Square, and maybe he could fight a few rounds to impress Charlie. He could even break in the new halberd he'd bought in Wutai, just to get a feel for it in case they encounter monsters at the Temple of the Ancients.
Fucking place is probably overrun with them, an old ruin like that.
Yeah, he'll get a little training in.
Cid shoulders his weapon and heads back out of the hotel, thinking to himself and looking down at his feet to make sure he doesn't miss a step in the darkness.
Tonight had been the most fun he's had in ages. All the colors and flashing lights and arcade games made him feel just like a little kid again, and Lottie had been content to watch him enjoy himself, casting shy smiles at him all evening and giggling behind her fingers when he would catch her looking.
Cid couldn't help but feel sorry for her in the gondola.
To think, only a short while ago, that goddamned Turk was beating him just for looking at a dirty fucking magazine and calling her a few times. And Cid had been completely willing to just let her go if it meant sparing him more pain, because she wasn't worth the hell that son of a bitch put him through, as much as it pains him to admit it.
He's sure that Charlie is keeping some damning secrets, and he isn't entirely sure he wants to know what they are, but he had meant everything he said. It had been heartbreaking to see the vice president of Shinra Incorporated so vulnerable, a side of her that he hadn't really believed possible.
To see her so insecure, so ashamed of her last name, of being associated with the rest of her family . . . it makes Cid feel bad for ever insulting her for the sole crime of being born to the late President Shinra's wife.
When Cid reaches the lobby, it's to find a very peculiar scene. Cloud and Aerith are shouting something, pointing across the lobby to Cait Sith, who holds something pale blue in his white hand—or is it pale green? Fuck if he knows.
"What's goin' on?" Cid grunts.
Aerith grabs Cloud by the wrist and pulls him towards Cait Sith. "He has the Keystone!"
"What!"
Cid follows the kids and the cat through what feels like the entire goddamn amusement park, still a little unclear of the situation, but he gets a wakeup call pretty fucking quick, when he, Cloud, and Aerith chase Cait Sith out of the ticket office of the Chocobo Square.
There's a Shinra helicopter hovering above the grand staircase when they exit the ticket box again, so far behind Cait Sith now that there's no stopping him. But Cid doesn't care about the Keystone right now, nor does he protest alongside Cloud and Aerith as Cait Sith throws that Keystone up to the slick-haired bastard that broke his goddamn jaw.
All he cares about is the girl beside that sleazy scumbag, whose pale eyes widen at the sight of her friends.
"Cid!" she screams, and the Turk wraps his free hand around her upper arm, the hand not holding the Keystone. "Help me!"
"Hang on, Lottie!" Cid calls, holding out a hand for her as if hoping to catch her, but he'll never reach her in time. "I'm comin', honey!"
"Charlie!" Aerith screams, running after Cid and the helicopter, which quickly flies away with their friend and the Keystone. Frantic, completely ignoring Cait, she turns to Cloud with desperation in her eyes. "Cloud, we have to go after her!"
"Hey!" Cloud shouts at Cait Sith, and Cid grips his spear tight, ready to skewer the fucking toy cat where he stands, sitting pretty upon that ugly fucking creature he rides around.
Cid finds his voice when the rage begins to settle in. Everything had just happened so quickly, but now Lottie is gone, and it's all Cait Sith's fault. "What the fuck have you done?" he snaps, stepping closer to the cat.
Cait Sith's little hands jump into the air in surrender. "Okay, okay, listen! I won't run, I promise!"
Holding up the point of his weapon to the cat's chest, Cid clenches his jaw. "Talk."
Cait Sith looks at all of them, quiet for a minute. "I was a spy," he says, and Cloud's face hardens, arms folding over his chest. "I was hired by Shinra—"
"I trusted you!" Aerith frowns. Cid's never seen her look so mad before, except for maybe that time when she was standing up for Charlie. He's almost proud that she's just as angry as they are. "We all trusted you! I can't believe you!"
"What about Charlie?" Cloud asks. "Did she have anything to do with this? Did she know about you?"
"No! Charlie had nothin' to do with this!" Cait Sith insists, and Cid believes him. He only saw Charlie's face for a few seconds, but he hadn't missed the fear and terror in her eyes. "She didn't know I was a spy, so just leave her outta this! So how 'bout we just continue on like nothing ever happened?"
"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Cid hisses, prodding the cat's chest with his weapon. Cloud holds a hand out to stop him from going any further, but Cid feels like he could wring the bastard's neck. "Do you have any idea what you've just done to her? They're gonna kill her, you fuckin' rat bastard! You've just sent her to her fuckin' death! And you wanna carry on like nothin' ever happened?"
"Cid's right," Cloud scoffs, and Cait Sith seems to shrink before him. "You just gave up one of our friends and the Keystone, and you think we're just going to forget that?"
"Well, what're you gonna do, then?" Cait Sith asks, almost mockingly. He doesn't even flinch at the blade that's pressed against his chest. "You gonna kill me? This body's a toy. It won't matter. My real body's back in Midgar, in Shinra Headquarters."
"Fuckin' Shinra spy," Cid grumbles, looking sideways at Cloud, hoping for a sign that it's all right to gut the fucking puppet.
"Who are you?" Aerith asks, still sounding mad, but her voice is a little sweeter than Cloud's or his own. "Tell me!"
"I'm not gonna tell you my name!" Cait Sith counters, lowering his arms from over his head. "What, are you crazy? Look, talking isn't gonna do us any good, so let's just continue on with our journey, all right?"
"I just told you, we're not going to just forget about what you did—"
"All right, all right, fine," Cait Sith sighs. "Yes, I work for Shinra, but you and I—us—we're not exactly enemies." He hangs his head low, and Cid lowers his weapon, breathing very heavily. He'll wait to hear what the cat says before driving his blade through the traitor's toy heart. "Something bothers me . . . maybe it's your way of life. You don't get paid, or praised, for what you do, but you do it anyway. It just makes me . . ."
Cid taps his foot impatiently. He doesn't have all night. They've gotta figure out when the goddamn tram is going to be ready so they can rescue Charlie.
"It just makes me think about my life," the cat continues, talking far too much for Cid's liking. "And if things ended the way they are now . . . I don't think I'd feel too good."
"We don't fuckin' care 'bout your sad little life, cat," Cid spits at him. "What're they gonna do with Charlie?"
"I dunno," is Cait's answer. "I think she'll be okay."
"You know her? Personally?" Cloud asks again.
"No—no!" Cait Sith sighs very heavily, shaking his head. "All right . . . I didn't wanna resort to this . . . Why don't you have a listen to this?"
The cat seems to jerk around for a second, his jaw opening as wide as it can go, and a little girl's voice issues from within Cait Sith. "Papa! Tifa!"
"Is that Marlene?" Aerith gasps, looking horrified.
Cid shares that horror. He isn't quite sure who Marlene is, but she sounds like she's only a kid. "Who was that?"
"Hey! It's the flower lady!"
Cait Sith's mouth closes again, he jerks awkwardly, and then seems back to his normal self. It sends a shiver down Cid's spine. "So now you have to do what I say," he says plainly.
Cloud looks mutinous. "You're the lowest . . ."
"This is how it is." Cait Sith looks at them each in turn. "Let's just continue on as we have been, okay?" Before leaving them, he adds, "And I know where the Temple of the Ancients is, so I'll show you tomorrow. If we get there quick enough, we might be able to get Charlie back."
"Get Charlie back?" Cid's head is pounding. He's too old for this shit. "You're the one who let that Turk take her! You're the one that said Dio wanted to talk to her! How can you be sure they're takin' her to the Temple of the Ancients anyway?"
"'Cause he's got the Keystone, and he's gotta get there before us, doesn't he?"
"You sure know a whole hell of a lot, you fuckin' spy."
"Regardless, we'll find out tomorrow if Charlie's at the temple or not," Cloud says, speaking more to himself than to anyone else. But then, he looks up directly into Cait Sith's face. "And if she's there, we're taking her back."
Reeve deactivates Cait Sith completely for the night.
It's too much. Cid Highwind wanted to kill him, and had no qualms with telling him so several times. Cloud hadn't said anything, but Reeve knows that Cloud would kill him, too, if possible.
Everyone would probably jump at the chance to kill him. Probably even Charlie, who has no idea that it's him behind Cait Sith.
He doesn't care. He might even welcome death at this point. It might finally relieve him of all his burdens, of all his insecurities, of the weight of the world on his shoulders. It would be what he deserves. After all, he may well have just sent Charlotte to her death, and how could he do that? He loves her, he's always loved her, and he's betrayed her and the people she loves.
And now they'll see him as nothing but a spy, a liar, a traitor, a man that holds little girls hostages. It hadn't been so hard to piece together little samples of audio he'd picked up from the bugged house in Kalm, and it's easy to manipulate little children to say exactly what needs to be said.
He wants to tell them all, especially Barret, that he would never hurt Marlene. She and Elmyra both. They've been so good to him lately, the only people who want to see him, who want to talk to him, always welcoming and warm and offering him a seat at their kitchen table.
His apartment is so dark and empty. Even though he's been here for weeks now, he hasn't even moved in completely. More than half of his things are still in boxes. He feels like fully moving in would mean completely ending whatever relationship he still has with Charlie . . . if there's still any relationship. It had been salt in the wound to see her parading about with the pilot tonight.
His office is dark, doubly so with the computer screen turned off. He holds his head in his hands.
He's quite possibly just killed Charlotte.