Focus

'Oi, old man, are ya coming or not!?'

'Shut up, brat, it's my ship and I'll fly in my own damn time!'

The great ninja Yuffie huffs impatiently in the doorway of Cid's house in Rocket Town. Man, I am so sick of this dump, she thinks.

True, she had been glad to get off that cursed ship when they landed. She had been as green as a freakin' cacture and had all but kissed the ground when she fell on it.

Yuffie was sure Cid had made the ship sway more just to goad her.

'Turbulence, my arse' she grumbles to no one in particular. They had been here a week now, and frankly, Yuffie couldn't wait to hit the skies again. Sure, she'd be as sick as a dog, but she had made sure to stock up on a whole heap of tranquilizers, so she figured she'd be right for a while

'Come oooon.'

She groans to herself, rolling her dark eyes to the heavens. Scowling, she kicks at a weed in the pavement as she begins to walk around the house.

Cid would probably take longer, now she had bugged him in the middle of a cup of tea. Yuffie scowled to herself again, stupid Continentals and their stupid, Continental tea. She had tried the stuff once, on Cid's insistence, with mixed results.

Not that she was a huge fan of Wutain tea, but it tasted a whole lot better then the weak, milky stuff Cid chugged down so often. Coffee, now there was a Continental drink she could like.

The Wutain girl grinns. She was a nightmare when she got her hands on the stuff. Cid and his crew had their stash hidden away under lock and key.

Not that that was much good against the greatest ninja on the planet.

Puffing out her cheeks, Yuffie gazed up at the gleaming hull of the Sierra resting on the field that borders Cid's, or rather Shera's, garden. She was a freakin' luxury cruiser compared to the old Highwind. Everything was new, for a start. Yuffie smiles at the thought of the old rust bucket that had served as Avalanche's base two years earlier. It's damaged shell still lay on the outskirts of Midgar. Cid had chosen to 'let the old girl rest where she fell.'

'Hey brat! The captain coming yet or not?'

She looks up to see the lean, grinning face of Neil Fleming, Cid's First Mate and co-pilot, as he saunters down the Sierra's ramp.

'He's drinking tea…and since when did I give you permission to call me brat?'

'Since you started acting like one, I can guess why he's taken so long.' He gives her a wink and walks off towards the house.

Yuffie's fuming now.

'Ooohhh, you are so lucky I haven't shurikened you in the back, jerk!'

Rufus Shinra glances over the file before him, deep in thought. He had never expected anything like this to occur. He wondered how much it would change the grand scheme of things.

The person that lay before him, unconscious in the small, simple room he had allocated as a makeshift cell her in Healin, did not move apart from the from the slight rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes did not flutter under her closed lids, the woman was not dreaming.

He ponders. He never had much to do with her in the past, back when he was much younger, much more rash and angry. He had deemed her unimportant and a subordinate, not worthy of his time.

But, now, she had been found in the Northern Crater, when all reports handed to him by his Turks had indicated she had died all those years ago.

It was ironic, that he should send in Tseng and Elena into that place of death and to have Reno return with only her.

Fate had a wry sense of humor.

Of course, the woman wasn't the only thing Reno had managed to bring back. The expedition certainly had not been fruitless.

He fingers the smooth, black box hidden under his white cloak, and smiles coldly.

Cid Highwind boards the Sierra grinning like a madman. Yuffie pokes her tongue out at him. The captain has taken a full hour to get here.

She is surprised to see Neil in a similar state of perpetual amusement. Even more so when Cid does nothing more then ruffle her hair affectionately as he walks by.

Cid's never done that before.

Yuffie possesses an inborn, mental radar for detecting when something's up. And she's always, always right. Intrigued, she tags behind Cid as he makes his way to the main hanger.

'What's got you so happy?'

Cid gives her a brief glance and merely chuckles. She is further baffled, and looks to Neil for an answer. He grins and shrugs his shoulders in a gesture that tells her she's going to have to wait to find this one out.

Yuffie is not the most patient of people.

'C'mon Cid, spill, don't be such a mizer for once.'

But it seems that nothing will break Cid's happy mood.

They reach the end of the corridor that opens out into the main hanger area. Cid strides out to the pilot's area, leans over one of the many control panels, and picks up the hand held speaker. He flicks the red switch on the panel and a buzzing fills the hallways of the ship as the loud speaker registers on.

Yuffie stands back, arms crossed and her weight on one leg.

Dn…Dng…Dnng…Dinng

The blond captain brings the hand held up to his face. He shoots a grin at a waiting Yuffie and pauses deliberately before starting.

'Crew members of the Sierra, to attention, this is your captain speaking. I have an announcement to make.'

Another deliberate pause. Yuffie scowls at him again. The crew members in the hanger look up, interested.

'I, Cid Highwind…'

Yuffie rolls her eyes and feigns a yawn.

'…am gonna be a GOD DAMN FATHER!!'

Her jaw drops. Cheering whoops from the crew can be heard and Cid's grin is wider and more lopsided then before. His men come up and slap him on the back in congratulations, and First Mate Neil is laughing at the expression on her face.

Cid…a father?

He wipes away the dust and sweat from his forehead and wonders bitterly why this has happened.

It doesn't take a genius to realize something's up when you're attacked by two men who look like the reincarnations of your vanquished foe.

He watches their receding forms and wonders if he should give chase. He knows he probably should, but his arm has started throbbing and he is still reeling from the shock of seeing silver hair and green eyes anywhere but in his nightmares.

Why?

Deep down, he isn't surprised. He should have guessed this fight wasn't over. Maybe it never would be. He remains motionless on Fenrir, still watching the space where the two men had been and left.

The dust was settling.

…Beep…

That would be his voice messenger malfunctioning again. The calls must of come while he was fighting. Not that it matters, he never answers. He can't bring himself to, and yet, he is loath to switch the phone off. He takes comfort in their one sided conversations, their voices remind him of better days when he still believed he was worth something.

'Hey, it's me, Barret! You won' believe this, we found a new oil field! OIL FIELD! y'hear? DAMNED HUGE! We're righ' on schedule, so I'll be down ta see Marlene soon. Tell her hi for me, will ya Spike?'

The man's brash, genuine enthusiasm could be inspiring, and the corner of his mouth twitches as he thinks of times gone by, and how little patience Barret had with him.

'There's another call from Reno. Just hurry, he says. He seemed a little odd…Cloud, be careful.'

He sets his mouth in a thin line. She is a part of his guilt and regret, and although she does not mean to, the sound of her voice is one that hurts him. Maybe because it is full of promise, of concern, of forgiveness that he cannot allow himself to have. Maybe it's because she still calls him even after all the silence.

Cloud knows he does not deserve such faith.

He breathes in. Maybe it would be beneficial to visit the former President of Shinra Corporations at Healin Lodge. He had a feeling that the President was involved in the appearance of the two Sephiroth look alikes, and that Rufus had most likely anticipated that he would not leave this matter alone

That would at least give him something to focus on.

She awoke to nothing.

White fills her vision, and a hazy buzzing noise is filling her ears.

What is this? Is her first thought, Oblivion?

Seconds pass, and she realizes that she has a body.

Which is peculiar, because she cannot ever recall having one before.

The buzzing in her ears is fading slowly, to be replaced by a strange howling wind that seems to shut off at regular intervals.

She frowns. That action in itself feels strange to her. The movement of skin and muscle as it slides over bone is foreign yet seemingly natural.

The hollow, howling noise continues to break, and she realizes that it is coming from within her. More so, she is the one creating the noise. She is breathing.

With this realization, the noise halts as her breath catches in her throat. It begins to fade, as things fall back into proper perspective.

She blinks; something she had forgotten she could do. Her eyelids flutter rapidly in succession as she tests this new movement. Then she tries out frowning again.

The white oblivion appears to be moving, changing, coming into focus. Criss-crossing lines appear, fuzzy at first before slowly becoming sharper and more defined.

Blinking again to make the focus come more quickly, another new, yet familiar sensation returns to her.

Touch.

All over the body she remembers somehow acquiring. Rough, but soft and warm. Different textures in different places. The warmth is soothing, comfortable, comes to her mind.

Everything seems to slide into place. Her eyes, her eyelids, they are apart of her face which has a nose and mouth and ears and hair. She has arms too, and legs, a torso.

A twitch, in the tips of her fingers, she can feel all of them now, gleeful at this new thought of moving. She tries to move deliberately again, and suddenly, they are shaking, jerking uncontrollably. Her knees jerk up and her toes curl viscously. She starts to panic. He arms are flailing and she finds her fingers clenched tight and digging deep into her palms.

Bodies don't do this! She wants to scream, but the muscles in her neck and face spasm wildly. All that comes out is a strangled gargle and she has never been so afraid. Her limbs are caught, they are hitting things and she wishes desperately for oblivion. Fear is rising within her, making her body struggle more.

Bang!

Pound

Pound

Pound

She cannot see. Something arrives and she feels a great weight on her. Iron-like vices wrap around her flailing limbs and hold them forcefully still. But still they move, they flail, they spasm.

An arm breaks free and sails through the air. She feels it smash into something fleshy (what is fleshy?) and more noises are heard.

…oOOhShi…

The offending arm is seized once again in an iron grip. She begins choking, her tongue has collapsed into her throat.

…fFuucrudesShess…

Something pierces her arm.

She screams, and falls back into a black oblivion.

Authors notes: So, anyone out there intruigued? Slightly interested? No guesses on the id of the mystery guest yet so I assume your all stumped.

I quiet enjoyed writing the last segment, trying to describe someone discovering they actually exist. Hope you liked it too.

Next chapter: Underlying the Cold