The story of their adventure in North Corel is far more exciting than anything else at the moment.
It keeps them all occupied until the Highwind lands just outside of Mideel, where they all disembark and become more solemn the closer they get to the clinic. Charlie and Cid lead the way, and he tries to keep her smiling by trying to guess how Tifa will react to their success in securing two pieces of Huge Materia.
Unfortunately, the Huge Materia isn't going to be worked organically into a conversation, as Cloud hasn't recovered at all and is still incapable of speech, and Tifa's mind is too preoccupied with Cloud's status to worry much about anything else.
"I'm afraid he's never going to recover," Tifa tells the two of them quietly, eyes brimming with tears. "I still can't understand a thing he's saying."
The doctor doesn't have any good news for them either. They're still feeding and hydrating him through machines to keep him healthy, he's unable to walk or communicate his needs verbally or physically and, in confidence, the doctor admits to a degree of concern in regards to Tifa, as well.
They go to say good-bye to Tifa again, prepared to send the next group of their friends in to visit, but there's a loud rumble and crash that sets the entire building to shaking violently, sending both Tifa and Charlie stumbling to the ground as Cid braces himself against one of the beds.
"What the hell was that?" Charlie shouts, the noise growing louder, the building shaking and shaking and shaking.
"They're . . ." Cloud croaks, in a voice very unlike his own. "They're . . . coming . . ."
Cid scoffs, reaching down to help Charlie to her feet. "Did he just talk?"
Tifa clings to Cloud's wheelchair, imploring him to speak again, to tell them what's happening, but he only gurgles and moans, like he hadn't spoken at all.
"Tifa, stay here!" Cid orders her, grabbing Charlie's elbow and forcing her towards the door of Cloud's room. "We'll go check it out and be right back!"
The two of them make their way out of the clinic, relying on the walls to keep them up, their weapons drawn and prepped for use. The village is already succumbing to the earthquake, wooden roofs collapsing and the ground splitting to reveal the Lifestream underneath it, spurting up like geysers and fountains.
Before they can reach their friends, lingering at the entrance to the village and busying themselves at the few shops, there's a horrible screeching sound that seems to penetrate Charlie's very soul. With her gun still in her hand, she covers her ears as something cries out, and it only occurs to her what is screaming when she sees the massive shadow that comes over her and Cid.
"Oh, shit! This is bad, Lottie!"
She looks up to see it flying overhead, thirty times the size of the Highwind, circling Mideel like it's fully aware they're here.
"Cid! What's going on?"
Charlie turns to see Tifa poking her head out of the clinic, looking up at the sky and around at the Lifestream that pulses into the village. "Get back inside, Tifa, and stay there!" Cid shouts at her.
"But I can help!" Tifa yells back, looking around anxiously, holding herself up against the doorframe.
"Don't worry!" Cid smiles reassuringly at her, but Charlie knows him better than that. He's afraid, but he'll be damned if he shows it. "You look after Cloud. Don't worry 'bout me. I'll take care of this!"
Tifa retreats back inside the clinic after a lingering look at both Cid and Charlie. He inhales deep, looking back up at the Weapon that's circling the small village. It surely won't survive the encounter should the monster land.
"Okay," he tells himself, nodding, shaking out his arms and rolling his neck. "I got this!" Taking hold of Charlie's hand, Cid pulls her along towards their friends, meeting them just inside the entrance. Everyone looks ready for a fight, and Charlie swallows the fear (or bile) that builds up in her throat, threatening to spill all over the ground.
"Picked a bad time to show, didn't it?" Barret jokes weakly.
"We'll just have to beat it back," Cid says, turning to face Charlie. "Cait, take Lottie back to the ship. We'll meet you there."
Cait Sith wastes no time in hopping to Charlie's side, the moogle's arm slipping around her waist and trying to pull her away. "Wait!" she protests, breaking free of the toy's arm and moving clumsily towards Cid again. He catches her as she falls against his chest. "I want to fight, too!"
"This ain't 'bout your fightin' skills, honey," he answers with a small smile. "It's 'bout me bein' selfish and not wantin' you to get hurt. Now go on! I'll be right behind you!"
Charlie can't help but feel a little foolish, standing among them all with nothing but a gun. At least Vincent has the ability to shapeshift into powerful creatures if his gun doesn't work against Weapon. "Okay," she whispers, not wanting anyone else to hear her plea, "be careful."
"I'm always careful, baby." He kisses her quick on the mouth in full view of everyone, leaving her a blushing mess. "We'll catch up, okay?"
"Oh, gross!" Yuffie says, gagging very dramatically and ruining whatever moment they've found together in the chaos.
"I'll catch up, okay?" Cid repeats, grabbing hold of her upper arm and giving her a slight shake after she fails to answer right away.
Charlie nods, pushing away from him and following Cait Sith away from the rest of their companions. It feels wrong, rushing back towards the airship without them, leaving them all behind. They should have brought Tifa and Cloud with them, to keep them safe. They should have evacuated the village or helped fight Weapon back.
"So that's how it is, is it?" Cait Sith asks her coldly, the both of them hurrying down the dirt pathway that will lead them through the surrounding foliage. "You and the pilot?"
"The pilot has a name, thank you very much," she spits back, unsure why she's taking all her anger out on him. "And Cid didn't keep a pretty important secret from me for years, nor did he spy on me." Charlie glances over her shoulder again, slowing down. "We have to go back."
"They'll take care of it—"
"Reeve—"
"Charlotte—"
"We should at least help the townspeople." Charlie grabs onto the moogle, stopping it in its tracks. The cat whirls around to face her. "There's not going to be anything left of Mideel by the time Weapon finishes with it."
"Okay, okay, you're right."
"Come on. It'll be quicker this way, and your moogle can lead the people to the ship." Charlie takes Cait Sith's hand and helps him onto her shoulders, his little legs resting against her chest and his hands holding gently onto either side of her head.
Free of the moogle, Charlie pushes herself to sprint back towards Mideel, the ground still quaking beneath her feet. Once, her progress is blocked by the Lifestream gushing up from a crack in the ground, but she cuts through the foliage, hurrying towards the sounds of screams and shouts and gunshots.
"We are not done talking about Cid," Cait Sith hisses in her ear.
"I'm not talking about this with you through this thing," she spits back at him, panting and aching. "And there's nothing to talk about anyway!"
"He just kissed you like it was nothing! Like you'd done it before!" His accented voice is shrill.
"You're more than welcome to kiss other people, too, you know!"
Cait Sith lets out a small bark of mocking laughter that cuts deep. Charlie jaw clenches, the thought of Reeve kissing anyone else too painful to imagine. "Not only is that the last thing I have on my mind right now, but I find it very hard to believe that you would be completely fine with—"
"I told you, we're not talking about this through Cait Sith!"
There's another painful scream that rents the air and a thunderous crash! that causes the ground to open up again. As the land shifts beneath her feet, it throws her backwards, sending Cait Sith sprawling to the ground with her, rolling a few feet away.
She groans, holding a hand to the back of her head, feeling dizzy. Cait Sith's hand touches her arm, trying to pull her up. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she says, pushing herself to her feet. "I think so." Charlie sighs, helping the cat back up onto her shoulders. "All right, let's go."
Weapon has landed by the time Charlie and Cait Sith make it back to the village, distracted by the fight their friends are putting up. She's almost afraid to look, afraid that she'll see them all bleeding and bruised, on the verge of defeat.
But she knows that she shouldn't doubt them. She's seen them in the heat of battle before, and they're all fearless and graceful, having fought together long enough to become accustomed to each other, exploiting weaknesses and adhering to some sort of unspoken and established strategy.
Charlie looks.
Cid is quick and light on his feet, dancing around its legs as it stomps all over, crushing fences and destroying the ground around them. There's a shallow cut on his cheek, and she's unable to see if he has other injuries underneath his clothes, but she's certain there will be many aches and pains and bruises later.
With Cait Sith shouting orders through his megaphone, standing on Charlie's shoulders, they're able to easily begin evacuation amongst the locals, pleading with them to seek refuge on the Highwind. It would be an easy task, if the locals weren't all so incredibly stubborn and frustrating, the majority of them refusing to leave at all, willing to go down with their little community.
"Goddamn it, Lottie!" Cid shouts at her as she attempts to run past Weapon and towards the clinic. "I thought I told you to get lost!"
"Oh, that's charming," Cait Sith remarks quietly. "You've picked yourself a real winner, Charlie."
"I don't need this from you," she snaps, flashing Cid an apologetic look as she ducks underneath Weapon's long and thick tail, which promptly smashes into the side of a building, razing it to the ground instantly. "At least Cid doesn't treat me like a little girl."
"No, he doesn't," the cat continues, his harsh tone at odds with the gentle way he touches her head. "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that—"
"Gods, just stop alread—" The ground quakes again, sending shockwaves up her legs, but after a few seconds, everything begins to calm again. In fact, Weapon is pushing off the ground completely, batting its giant wings and screaming as it circles the village once more, as if circling prey.
"Is it running away?" Cait Sith asks, looking up as Weapon's silhouette grows smaller and smaller in the face of Meteor, the higher up it goes. "Is it leaving?"
"I just ran all the way back here for nothing," she pouts, putting a hand on her hip, still attempting to catch her breath from all the running she's just done. Her thighs are burning with stress.
"Not for nothing," he reassures her, giving the back of her head a playful swat. "You came back to help others, risking your own life in the process."
"Don't try to get on my good side now," she chides him, catching sight of Cid and the others and making towards them.
The first thing Cid does as she approaches is puff his chest out, putting his hands on his hips. "Did you see me in action?" he asks, ignoring Cait Sith wrapped around her shoulders, but the cat quickly slides down and excuses himself from their conversation. "What'd you think?"
Charlie smiles, shaking her head. "So brave," she replies, making him grin toothily. "Just so you know, there may be several confused townspeople on our airship when we get back."
Cid tilts his head back and groans, but he sounds more amused than upset about it. "What'd you send 'em there for?"
"You'll be the local hero, you know," Charlie reminds him. "They'll always remember that Cid Highwind offered them ref—oh, Gods!"
He stares down at her, wide-eyed and bewildered. "What?"
"You're hurt!" With his jacket shifted slightly out of the way, Charlie is able to get a better glimpse underneath. On his right side, his t-shirt is torn and he's bleeding through it from a deep scratch wound. "Oh, Cid . . . you don't feel that?"
"No," he admits quickly. "My heart's beatin' like a motherfucker. I won't feel it for a while."
"Well . . . let's get you to the clinic, at least, and have it taken care of." Charlie cringes at the sight of it, but tries her hardest not to look worried in front of him. His face is a little pale, but he seems all right. "Let's go. The others can take care of the locals."
Before she can take another step, the ground begins to shake again, causing everyone to curse and shout, grabbing onto each other and whatever is closest to keep their balance.
"Damn!" Cid rasps, digging his fingertips into Charlie's forearm. "You've gotta be kiddin' me!" He looks around him to check for their friends. "We gotta get outta here! The main stream's gonna blow any second!"
"We can't leave Tifa and Cloud behind!" Charlie tries to pull herself free of Cid's grip, but the moment he releases her, he drops to his knees, hissing in pain as his hand jumps to his injured side. "You go, Cid. I'll go get them—"
"No, you ain't goin' anywhere but back to the Highwind—"
"But Cid—"
"Tifa'll take care of Cloud, don't you worry 'bout that." Cid gets slowly to his feet, his shirt damp with fresh blood.
"Hey, let's go already!" Yuffie calls to them, waving an arm around to get her attention.
"Cid, we can't just leave them—"
"We ain't got time!" He takes her by the hand, holding onto her so tightly that there will be no escape.
She's forced to follow him out of the village as the Lifestream breaks through the previously solid ground, leaving Cloud and Tifa to go down with the rest of the village.
"The train from North Corel never reached the station outside Rocket Town," Scarlet reports with a scowl, tapping her long fingernails atop the table. It drives him crazy, tap tap tap tap tap tap tap ringing in his head. "And none of the infantrymen have responded to our inquiries."
"And the rebels at Fort Condor were able to fight back the men I sent to collect the materia," Heidegger adds roughly. "It seems they were supplied with last minute resources."
Rufus's eyes snap to Reeve, who's been unusually quiet. If the director is guilty of anything, he hides it very well, his expression blank and his nose still bruised and crooked. "Are you two capable of doing anything right?" he snaps, more concerned with the incompetent directors seated around him, not to say anything of Palmer, who cowers in his chair. "I should have gotten rid of the both of you the moment I assumed my father's position."
Heidegger lowers his head in shame, but Scarlet is bolder. "We still have the Huge Materia from Nibelheim, and the Huge Materia in the underwater reactor will be loaded onto the submarine for transport in a few hours. The process is almost finished."
"Well, I'll have you know that things on my end are going quite smoothly, Mr. President!" Palmer says suddenly, looking very pleased with himself, if not a little sweaty. "Much of the vice president's crew agreed to return to work, and preparations are currently being made."
There's a massive bruise on the side of the fat man's face. Palmer had come to him crying about it a few days ago, complaining that Reeve had done it. That had been enough to set Rufus to laughing, right in Palmer's face. Even when Palmer had asked about consequences or punishment, Rufus had continued to laugh until he was alone in his office again.
"I don't trust either of you to complete these tasks," Rufus tells them bluntly, sighing as he turns to his right, where Reno is. "Reno, you'll leave immediately following this meeting for Junon." He then turns to his left. "And Rude, you'll make Rocket Town."
"You got it, boss."
"Yes, sir."
"What of the cannon?" Rufus asks, reaching a hand down to pet Dark Nation, on the floor at his feet.
"We're having it flown in, so it will need some time to be reassembled here," Scarlet tells him, baring her teeth in a menacing smile. Rufus is too accustomed to her personality to ever fall for that. "But there have been no issues, Mr. President."
"Good." He stands, and his directors stand with him. "If there's nothing else, I hope I can rely on you all to do better this time around."
"If I may, sir . . ." Scarlet stops him from leaving, and the entire room goes deadly quiet. Perhaps they recognize that Rufus isn't in the mood to be challenged on everything. "I just want to voice my concerns about the rocket. It didn't launch before, so can we trust it to launch now? It would be a shame if it took out the town before breaching space."
He doesn't quite know what possesses him then, but no one stops him. Rufus reaches out with a quick hand, wrapping long fingers around Scarlet's neck until she begins to squirm, long-nails scratching light at his wrist and hand. When her face starts turning red, the others all choose to avert their eyes rather than call for a stop to it.
"My sister designed and helped build that rocket," he hisses through gritted teeth. "And I am confident in my sister's work. But if you're so concerned about it—" Rufus squeezes tighter until she opens her mouth to gasp for air—"then why don't you build your own goddamn rocket?"
He releases her with a shove, leaving her breathless and holding her throat as Heidegger and Palmer swarm her. Reeve remains at the far end of the table, silently watching on.
"Get out," he orders them, wanting to strangle them all one-by-one. "All of you."
By the time they make it back to the Highwind, the tremors have ceased for good.
The airship is packed with frightened villagers, who all insist on returning to Mideel to inspect the damages. They all refuse Charlie's offer to bring them to the nearest town, and once it's deemed safe enough, they all begin the journey back to their village with a few genuine words of thanks.
Charlie fusses over his wound, but Cid doesn't mind, nor does he stop her when he thinks she's being a little overbearing. She forces him into the Highwind's medical bay and tells him to take off his jacket. He knows an order when he hears one and complies immediately, shrugging out of it a little too eagerly. Unable to lift his right arm over his head, Charlie helps him out of his t-shirt, and then removes the sleeveless undershirt that's turned partially red with his blood.
"Lie down," she commands him quietly, gesturing towards the nearest empty bed.
"Yes, ma'am," he murmurs, doing as she says.
Her fingertips warm his skin, making his flesh burn wherever she touches. The closer she gets to the wound, the gentler her touch is, but her fingers linger on the hard muscle of his stomach, the faded scars that he had earned himself years ago, brushing lightly over the thatch of hair that begins below his navel and travels south.
It all feels like it takes a lot longer than it does, partly because he's so focused on not making himself look like a jackass and getting hard right in front of her face, but it would be her own damn fault for touching him so sweetly. She knows exactly what she's doing.
Thankfully, Charlie pulls away before he loses all self-control, retreating for a few seconds and coming back with a professional-looking first-aid kit, a pack of his cigarettes, a bottle of whiskey, and an apologetic expression on her face.
He takes a few long swallows of the alcohol before Charlie holds out a cigarette for it, balanced perfectly between her long fingers. Cid moves his head up off the pillow to catch it in his mouth, but she pulls it away, smiling. "C'mon, honey, don't tease me," he frowns, his head buzzing for just a drag.
Charlie smiles, kissing him once before shoving the cigarette between his own slightly parted lips.
"No, no, no," he protests, the filter of his cigarette sticking to his bottom lip as she flicks the lighter. "Come back."
Charlie adjusts his cigarette, lights it for him, and opens the first-aid kid. "I can get Vincent, if you'd like. He'll probably be able to heal most of this with magic." Something in her face flickers, like disappointment. "I'm no good with materia. You know that."
Cid grimaces, puffing along on his smoke. Every second they prolong this, his side hurts worse and worse, and the pain is making him sweat against the cotton sheets, making his skin glisten. Vincent could probably patch the whole thing up within seconds, and there would be a nasty scar left behind, but Cid doesn't care much about looking pretty.
Fuck me, he thinks to himself, knowing that having Charlie stitch him up is going to hurt something fucking terrible, but knowing that she'll be disappointed and possibly offended if he asks someone else to take care of him. Besides, he doesn't really want anyone else to take care of him. He wouldn't mind her hands on him a little longer.
"Get my bag," he tells her, and Charlie stoops to grab the bag at the foot of the bed. "Get the healing materia outta there."
"Oh, Cid, I can't—" She blushes furiously, retrieving the green materia from within and holding it in her palm. "I don't know how to use this. Let me get—"
"Just try. I'm shit at it, too. Don't worry."
Charlie pauses, looking down at the materia and slowly lowering herself to the bed again, seated at his right side. She holds the materia tight in her right hand, placing her shaking left hand over the wound, just like she's watched the others do.
"Hey, hey, hey." Despite the dull pain in his side, Cid takes her left hand in his own, meeting her eyes. She's afraid, but he isn't sure what she's afraid of. "It's okay. It's not like your gonna hurt me if it doesn't work. What're you shakin' for?"
"I guess I just . . ." She trails off awkwardly, shaking her head. "It's nothing. Forget it." Charlie pulls her hand away, placing it gently back over the open wound in his side and biting down on her lower lip and closing her eyes.
Cid watches the materia for a moment. It does nothing, and his injury doesn't seem to be getting any better, despite the obvious way that she's trying to channel something.
And then, her face twists and contorts painfully for a few seconds before suddenly changing again into something so calm and peaceful that she could be sleeping.
She exhales softly, slowing her shaky breathing, and that's when he feels it—warmth seeping from her fingers and palm and into his skin, into his soul, into his very being, stretching his skin further than it should be allowed as it knits together, the muscle and flesh both. The materia glows bright in her hand, glowing and pulsing as the magic is transferred to her in some fucking unexplainable way.
He nearly drops his cigarette when she lifts her hand to reveal the results. She looks exhausted, and there's sweat beading at her hairline, and it seems as if the materia has drained everything from her, but she smiles incredulously down at her work.
There's still a scar there, puffy and irritated, but he isn't bleeding anymore.
"You did it," he says, watching the blood rush back to her cheeks. "I knew you could."
Charlie smiles shyly at him, catching her lip between her teeth again. "You make me feel like I could do anything."
He doesn't think he's ever heard any woman say anything remotely close to that before. It makes him feel good, like he's finally doing something right for once in his shitty fucking life. "Come here," he begs hoarsely. "Just for a second. Please."
When did he get so fucking sentimental? Since when did he care what women thought of him? Since when did holding a woman ever become preferable to fucking one?
Regardless, Charlie sets a knee on either side of him, leaning forward to put their chests together. Cid wraps his arms around her, the both of them nuzzling into each other's necks and faces. Her cheeks feel wet against his skin, but he doesn't say anything, as she tries very hard to hide it.
Yeah, the world might end tomorrow, or the world might end in a week, or maybe the world might never end and life will go on as it always has and they'll go back to their normal lives and back to Shera and back to Reeve and back to Rocket Town and Midgar.
But the stolen moments, such as these, make up for it all. In the near five years since the launch, he's forgotten how to live for something, wandering aimlessly through life without ever feeling passion or love.
Lottie's given him something she could never give anyone else, not even the fucking bastard she was going to marry, and that's enough for him.
There's not much left of Mideel when they return as a group. The Lifestream has completely sunk the town, the planks and materials that once were part of the buildings now float atop the glowing Lifestream, and while there is no possible way to search for survivors within, they do find Cloud and Tifa washed up onto the muddy ground.
It isn't long before they're both stirring, and Charlie fears the worst when she hears Tifa groaning and mumbling, afraid that the Lifestream has poisoned her mind just as it poisoned Cloud's. She touches Tifa's arm as she goes to sit up, looking around her.
Charlie, Barret, and Vincent are all hovering over her, probably not the best way to wake her, but they're concerned. Tifa seems surprised to see them, but not displeased in the slightest. In fact, a small and wavery little smile crosses her face at the sight of her friends, even the ones huddled around Cloud.
"You all . . . came back?" she asks, looking around at the destruction that Weapon and the Lifestream have left in their wake. "And Cloud?"
"He's here," Barret tells her, putting a hand on her thin shoulder and jerking his head towards Cloud, whose body is hidden behind Cid and Cait Sith's bodies. "Don't worry. How're you feelin'?"
Tifa puts a hand to her forehead, pushing her wet hair out of her face. Charlie reaches out hesitantly, wanting to offer her some comfort, as a way of apology for not returning right away for them. Embarrassed, she moves Tifa's thick hair off her shoulders, combing it back out of her face, and Tifa doesn't protest.
"When I was in the Lifestream . . . I saw the real Cloud," she explains softly, eyebrows furrowing together. "And I think Cloud found himself, as well."
"I ain't ever doubted him for a second," Barret admits, and even Tifa lifts an eyebrow at him in addition to the exasperated looks given to him by Charlie and Vincent. "All right, all right. I shouldn't have doubted him at all."
When Charlie lets go of Tifa's hair, the girl lies back on the broken planks and dry land, closing her eyes as the sun beats down upon her face. "People have so many things pent up inside of themselves," she sighs, "and they can forget so many things . . . strange, isn't it?"
Charlie frowns, looking over her shoulder at Cid and Cait Sith again. Strange, she thinks to herself, remembering all the things she wanted so badly to forget, remembering the things she did forget, thinking of all the things she ever wanted to say to Reeve, but was too afraid to say them outloud.
Strange.
"Everyone . . . I'm sorry. I don't know what to say to you all, but there it is."
"Don't apologize, Cloud," Nanaki tells him, accompanied by several agreeable nods from their friends. "All you've been doing lately is apologizing."
"If anyone should be apologizing, it's me," Charlie says from one of the chairs around the long conference table. She's been busy looking at something on the wall that looks suspiciously like blood, but it's pushed from her mind when Cloud goes to apologize again. "I should have told you the truth, about what I knew and what I found out. That wasn't right of me to hide it from you, and I'm sorry."
"Can you say that last part a little louder, Shinra?" Barret teases from across the table, chuckling to himself. "I wanna make sure they hear that apology all the way in Midgar."
Charlie snorts, quieting again as Cloud sighs heavily from the front of the room. "It's okay, Charlie. I know I was never in SOLDIER now. I left Nibelheim hoping to become a hero, but I never made it, and I was so ashamed of how weak I was . . . all the stories I told you about what happened five years ago, were Zack's stories . . . my friend."
"Who the hell is Zack?" Cid asks, his feet propped up on the mahogany table, smoking a cigarette. He turns to Charlie for an answer.
"He was a SOLDIER First Class," she tells him. "He left for a mission five years ago and never came back. His file was destroyed, which indicates misconduct."
"Hojo used Zack and I for experiments in the Shinra Mansion after he found us in the reactor following Sephiroth's . . . defeat." Cloud looks down at his hands, as if hoping to find more answers written in his palms. "He tried to make Sephiroth clones out of us, injected me with Jenova cells and showered me with mako. So, physically, I'm built just like a SOLDIER."
It makes Charlie sick to her stomach. She thinks of Angeal and Genesis and Sephiroth, and the way Jenova had slowly twisted them into believing horrible things. She thinks of Hojo, and the delight he took in using humans for his experiments. She thinks of Zack, wondering if he thought of Aerith at all while he was captured.
He looks back up at his friends, eyes glowing bright blue. "I'm Cloud . . . the master of my own illusionary world. But I'm going to live my life without pretending now."
"Well . . ." Cait Sith shifts anxiously atop the moogle. "You're not gonna leave now, are you, Cloud? You're gonna stay, aren't you?"
Cloud thinks for a minute. "I'm the reason that Meteor was summoned, so it's up to me to do everything in my power to stop it."
"So that means you're gonna keep fightin' to save the planet, right?" Barret asks quickly, slamming his palm down upon the table so hard that it rattles. Both Charlie and Cid scold him quietly for almost damaging their ship.
"It's just like you say, Barret," Cloud smiles.
Barret scoffs, looking uncomfortable under everyone's gazes. "What do I say?"
Everyone else seems to know what Barret proudly says all the time, and in nine different voices, the same words roll off all nine tongues: "There ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on!"
Barret slams his hand down on the table once again, but no one chides him this time. Charlie can't help but cheer along with everyone else, determined to fight Meteor with her new friends and family, determined to avenge her fallen allies and save potential future ones.
"The last Huge Materia's gonna be at the underwater reactor in Junon," Cait Sith explains, "so we've gotta be careful. There's gonna be a lot of security keeping watch. Once they get it on the submarine, they plan on takin' it to Rocket Town."
Cid's face suddenly drains of all color. He sits up very slowly, as if rising from a deep sleep. "What're they gonna do to Rocket Town?"
"How else do you think they plan on blowin' up Meteor?"
Charlie and Cid look at each other, both of them with the same expression—outrage, bewilderment. "They're going to use the rocket," she says, just to him, like they're the only people in the room.
"That's it!" It's Cid's turn to slam a fist down on the table. "We gotta stop 'em! That's my rocket!"
"My rocket," Charlie corrects him.
"Our rocket, actually, and I ain't lettin' those bastards take it away from me like they did everything else!"
He looks hopefully at Charlie, but she's unsure. She doesn't want to say that it might be a good idea to just let the rocket go. It's not like they'll ever get the chance to properly launch it the way it was meant to.
"Oh, Lottie, come on!" he scoffs, running a hand through his hair. He knows her far better than she cares to admit sometimes, and she blushes. "Think about how much that rocket meant to us. All those fuckin' nights we spent porin' over those plans, all the work we put into it. You're just gonna give up on it like that? That rocket meant the fuckin' world to you. That was our baby." Looking as if he's going to regret what comes out of his mouth next, he adds, "Now it's our job to keep your dumbass brother from fuckin' the whole thing up again."
Charlie looks around at her friends, uncomfortable with the attention. It's an odd feeling, to want people to look away from her. "I don't know, Cid."
"C'mon, honey. It should be you and me stoppin' that thing. It should be you and me on that goddamn rocket, just like it should'a been all those years ago. We can do it, Lottie! There ain't no one better for the damn job!"
"Okay," she answers breathlessly, "okay, we'll stop the rocket."
Cid claps his hands together, trying to stifle the smile that finds its way to his flushed face.
As they all hurry out of the Operation's Room, Charlie lingers, watching Cloud for a moment as he stretches and psyches himself up with some breathing exercises that make her giggle. The sound of her laughter causes Cloud to whirl around.
"You're coming with us, right?" he asks her.
"If you'll have me," she replies. Cloud gives her a firm nod, and she inclines her head in thanks. "Listen, Cloud, I really am sorry. After what happened in the buggy that one night, when I asked about your sword—"
"You don't have to apologize. I know now. The sword was Zack's, wasn't it?"
Charlie clears her throat, stepping a little closer to him in the hopes of keeping her voice down. "It was," she admits, "but before it was Zack's, it belonged to another SOLDIER First Class, one I loved very much." And then, feeling as if he's owed a little more than that, she adds, "He died in Modeoheim, where he passed on the sword to Zack."
"Oh," he breathes, realization washing over him. "Well, when we're done here, we can go back to Modeoheim, if you'd like."
"You know . . . I think I'm okay," she says, and it's the truth. "I think I'm just happy to be here."
It's decided that Charlie and Cait Sith are to stay behind on the Highwind, given that being recognized by someone in Junon will certainly make things far more difficult.
Cloud goes ahead with Barret and Tifa, sneaking in through Under Junon to reach the underwater reactor while everyone else is left waiting anxiously aboard the airship. Fortunately, this means that Charlie is able to spend more time with Cid as they circle around Junon in the Highwind, keeping an eye out for Cloud and the others.
Cid is anxious to get going, to return to Rocket Town and stop her brother from sending the Shinra No. 26 to its probable demise. Charlie can't help but think that Rufus has picked a horrible time to have faith in her engineering skills, but she can't say she isn't flattered by the idea.
"Think they're almost done?" he asks her no less than eight times, pacing the deck of the Highwind.
"Be patient," she assures him, flashing him a small smile. "Cait Sith said that the rocket isn't going to launch until tomorrow morning."
"Fuck, might as well send Shera up there to sabotage the whole goddamn thing. At least she could buy us a little bit of time with how fuckin' slow she's always movin'."
Charlie turns her back on him, having forgotten about Shera. She had completely forgotten about the fact that Cid has another woman waiting for him in Rocket Town, a woman that already lives in his house.
"I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you again," she says coldly, and Cid doesn't miss that fact, stepping up next to her and trying to push her hair back out of her face as the wind whips it around. Charlie jerks away from him. "It's been a while since you've seen each other, hasn't it?"
Instead of waiting for an answer, not wanting to hear what he has to say, Charlie makes for the door that will lead back inside, but Cid catches her by the arm and tugs her towards him. "Why don't you just say what the fuck you mean instead of playin' mind games with me, huh?"
"I think my meaning was very clear, thank you."
"I never fucked Shera, if that's what you're askin', and if I did, I don't think you got much room to talk. How long ago was it that you were engaged? Flauntin' that fuckin' ring around in front of my face?"
"Let go of me."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Stop bein' a jealous little brat, Lottie. You know I don't wanna sleep with her."
"Oh? I'm expected to just know that?" she retorts, scowling up at him as she attempts to break free of his strong grip.
"Yeah, 'cause I wanna sleep with you."
Charlie feels her cheeks suddenly burn, her entire body flaming hot. She stops struggling against him, blushing harder when he cocks an eyebrow at her. Struggling for speech, he finally releases her and she stumbles backwards a few steps.
"You don't want to—" Her throat feels so constricted that it's painful. "You don't want to—you're not going to want to—Cid, you don't want to sleep with me."
"Why? 'Cause you slept with your brother?"
She doesn't think it's possible to be any more embarrassed than she is right now. "I never had sex with Rufus."
"Okay. I believe you. Doesn't change my mind, though."
Charlie thinks it might be a joke for a moment, but he doesn't laugh, and there's no punchline. "This isn't funny."
"I'm not jokin'. Do you see me laughin'?" He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. "Wanted to sleep with you since I first met you."
She looks away from him, pushing herself away. "Please stop."
"Okay. I said my piece and now I'm done." Cid holds his hands up in surrender, looking apologetic enough. "So go run away or whatever the hell you're gonna do. And if you don't wanna save the fuckin' rocket with me, then fine, I'll do it myself." His voice has turned cold and bitter.
Charlie suddenly feels very guilty, despite knowing she shouldn't. But it's partially her fault for continually leading him on, especially with their little display in the medical bay earlier, and then allowing herself to be frightened away at the slightest implication of things becoming very real.
He doesn't deserve that, but it scares her, and if Cid knew the things she's done with Rufus (except sleeping with him, for that was definitely the truth), he would be disgusted with her, seeing her as tainted and defiled and used.
But if she's being honest with herself, she would like very much to sleep with Cid, too. The thought of her possibly permanently damaged relationship with Reeve weighs heavily on her, however, as she does love Reeve very, very much. But he had lied to her, betrayed her, kept secrets from her.
Charlie can't bear to stand here any longer, humiliated, but she doesn't want to give Cid the impression she's inherently running away, not wanting him to think that door is closed to him forever.
So she moves closer to him and stands on her toes, kissing him softly upon the lips. His lips are chapped, and he tastes of coffee and cigarettes. She still tastes it on her own lips when she breaks apart from him.
And then she runs away.
There's one night left before Rufus's plan is put into action, though there will only be one Huge Materia on board the Shinra No. 26, given that Avalanche had intercepted the rest of it.
It's been a long night, and by the time Reeve pulls the car up to the front of the house in Kalm, with both Elmyra and Marlene fast asleep, he's ready to collapse on the front step and sleep for days.
He had followed through on his promise to Marlene (having arrived late, of course, after his meeting with Rufus and the other executives), but that promise had come with strings attached. He spent most of that time in the car, feigning a meeting as he directed Cait Sith and spoke to Charlie through him, or trying to place phone calls to the president (who hadn't answered once, and ignored the texts that Reeve had sent) to find out what the hell he's planning with Junon's trademark cannon (he hadn't wanted to waste any more time in Midgar than necessary and didn't want to appear uninformed in front of Scarlet and Heidegger).
But once Cloud, Barret, and Tifa had gone down to the underwater reactor, he was given a little bit of breathing room.
Marlene had been upset with him for most of the trip, and Elmyra scolded him a few times for hiding away to work and urging him to reevaluate his priorities (which was funny, considering they aren't his family), but if she understood what exactly he was doing, Reeve thinks she might have had a bit more sympathy for him.
He knows, of course, why Elmyra is on edge. She had confided in him only this morning her fears of Marlene's father never making it home, fearful that Meteor will collide with the planet before Barret gets a chance to be with his daughter again.
The moment he turns the car off, he sighs heavily, leaning back on the headrest and glancing up in the rearview mirror at Marlene, her head tilted at an awkward angle to rest upon the window. Her hair is still wet, and she's wearing a new dress with bright pink flowers all over it.
"Just like the flower girl," she had said when they saw it in a shop window.
Marlene either feigns sleep very well or is dead to the world. He has to open the door very carefully to keep her from tilting over, and even when Elmyra shuts the door loudly, the girl still doesn't wake.
"You're killing me, Marlene," he sighs, unbuckling her and lifting her with ease out of the car, carrying her and all of their things on his shoulders and in his arms, dropping most of them when he enters the house.
Elmyra gives Marlene's hair and pat and kisses the top of her head before Reeve starts up the stairs with her, briefly wondering how his life has come to this, pretending to be some temporary pseudo-father of a girl he pities while her real father is (dead, he reminds himself) drinking with his friends to congratulate their success within the underwater reactor.
We're all lonely, he thinks, and we're all missing someone.
Reeve sets her down in bed, takes her shoes off and covers her up, makes for the door. He's done this before, sometimes reading her a few books before bed if he has the time, sometimes carrying her upstairs after she falls asleep on the sofa downstairs watching TV, all while he works in silence beside her.
As he goes to close the door, he hesitates, watching Marlene shift underneath the blankets and start snoring softly.
He wouldn't mind having a family. He and Charlie were always so busy with work and special projects that they never really spent time together like a family should. They never went on vacations together. They never spent entire days lazing around in bed. They rarely ever spoke of children, or cooked dinner with each other, or took time to just enjoy each other's company.
Everything always seemed so rushed and urgent, like the moment would be over any second.
Reeve closes the door to Marlene's bedroom, running a hand through his damp hair and itching to wash off the lake water smell that seems to cling to his skin. He hadn't wanted to go in, but he owed it to Marlene after ignoring her for the better part of the day.
Perhaps the last chance at a real family of his own has passed him by. Charlie is in love with her pilot now, the pilot with a name thank you very much, and must surely hate him for keeping Veld a secret, for keeping Tseng a secret.
It may not even matter in a few days anyway. If Meteor hits, then nothing will.