Chapter Six: Up and Away
Morning came and everyone slowly made their way back to the cave entrance. Cait Sith was sleeping, but he woke up and powered on his moogle as the party approached. The group tossed their things in the open crate before sliding the lid back on, and then they headed out of the mine. The rain had stopped and the sky was clear.
The party ambled along through the damp grass, matching Cloud's pace. He walked with a slight limp, allowing Cait Sith's moogle to carry his sword but refusing to be carried himself. After an uneventful hour or two passed mostly in silence, despite Yuffie's best attempts, they came to North Corel and headed for the Ropeway. Surprisingly, a large group was waiting as the cable car slowly approached. A few children played as the men and women talked excitedly.
"I thought Corel was poor, why're there so many people going gambling?" asked Yuffie.
Cid shrugged and lit a cigarette. "Beats me, kid. We're gonna be packed in there like sardines, though. Just enough space for us to squeeze in with this next bunch."
Barret spotted someone he knew and strode over, starting up a conversation. "Hey, my man, what's up?" He threw his arm around the man and the two went over to a booth selling drinks. The rest of the group watched the cable car make its way down the rope connecting Corel to Gold Saucer.
Aeris smiled as she leaned on the railing at the edge of the platform. "I know I said this last time we were here, but look how high up it is! I bet the view's still great." She glanced at Cloud before turning back again. "If it were night, you could probably see the moon, shining over the desert…" Tifa joined Aeris in looking at the distant car hanging over the sand and grinned as if she had an idea.
She felt someone's eyes on her and turned around. Vincent gazed past her at the cable car, his expression blank. He looked odd without his cloak. Tifa's eyes moved to Cloud, who was leaning on a stack of crates just behind Vincent. He noticed her staring at him and gave her a questioning look. She responded with a smile and started to walk over before she almost ran into Barret.
"Woah, watch out, Tifa." The big man was trying to hold several glasses of cider in his arms as they slid against the barrel of his gun arm. He handed a glass to Cloud and then held out the rest for the others to take. "Riko over there says the miners saved up a while, an' they're all gonna live it up at Gold Saucer for a few days."
"Pretty smart." Cid closed his eyes to take a drag and opened them to find the others looking at him inquisitively. "What? They're enjoyin' life while they can instead of chasin' some crazy bastard halfway 'round the Planet like a buncha damn fools."
Red smirked. "You appear to be among the damn fools yourself, Cid."
"Oh, I know, I know. But I'm gonna formally suggest that we sorta kick off our shoes when we get up there. After we get Cloud patched up right we can bet on the chocobos, see a show or somethin'."
Tifa stretched and yawned a bit. "Honestly, I just want a nice bed and a shower," she said, glancing at Vincent. Their eyes briefly met. "And maybe you should get a new cloak."
Barret laughed. "If we gotta go off away from civilization again, we'll buy some flashlights so you don't have to burn your clothes next time it gets dark." The ex-Turk stared at Barret, who had already moved away to exchange a joke with Cid.
The Ropeway car approached the platform and the party moved toward it. The miners and their families got aboard first, and Cloud and the others started to squeeze into the space that was left. Cid shoved his way through the crowd until he got to one of the windows, pushing it up and leaning out to smoke, while Aeris, Red and Barret were squeezed to the center of the car. Red quickly sunk to the floor in a futile effort to avoid the roving hands of the kids who wanted to "pet the big kitty" and Aeris struggled to hold in her laughter.
Tifa found herself wedged between the door and Vincent, and backed into him to give Cloud space as he clambered on. Yuffie was right behind him, stepping into the car with a wary look.
Cait Sith was the last to climb aboard. His robot moogle backed into the car with their crate and just barely got it inside. The doors clattered shut and wedged Cloud against the large automaton, the tight space and stifling air making him dizzy. The car started to move along the rope, dipping with the weight of both Cait Sith's moogle and the crate it carried, and Yuffie started to look ill.
After a few seconds, the operator came over from his booth on the ground and opened the car door. "Alright, get that box outta there! We'll put it on the next trip." Yuffie slipped through the door and leaned with one hand on a wall outside, moaning a little.
"I'll get the next one too…" she said.
At Cait Sith's order, the moogle started to clumsily lift the crate out of the cable car. It jostled Cloud as it moved, and he almost doubled over when its foot knocked against his recovering leg. He swayed for a moment and then pushed past the robot, easing himself down. "Cloud!" Tifa called. "Are you alright?"
Cloud looked up at Tifa. Her soft brown eyes seemed to bob up and down as she peered over the crate while the Ropeway operator and Cait Sith's moogle struggled with it. "Yeah… I just can't deal with this right now," he said, taking a deep breath. "You go on ahead." The moogle managed to place the supply crate on the ground outside the car and the doors closed, bumping against the robot as it moved back into the car.
Cid leaned out of his window and pointed. "Careful, Cloud! Don't get puke on your shoes!" Cloud turned to look and saw Yuffie holding her stomach with one hand, looking like she was about to throw up. He walked over to her as the car started to move up the rope again, more steadily this time.
Cloud placed one hand on Yuffie's back, rubbing gently. "You okay?" he asked. Yuffie straightened up a bit and turned to look at him.
"I think so… it's just motion sickness. With everyone crowded in there it was swaying way too much for me to manage." She unsteadily headed over to a nearby bench and sat down. Cloud joined her and they both watched the Ropeway car slowly make its way up to Gold Saucer.
Yuffie put her arm around Cloud and leaned on him, putting her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her before asking, "What is this, Yuffie?"
"I'm tired, so I'm resting on you."
"You know that's not what I meant."
Yuffie lifted her head, looking him in the eye. "Does it have to be something? Lemme rest." She let her head fall back down and a couple of minutes passed. Cloud thought she might have fallen asleep and then she spoke again, her voice half-muffled by his shoulder. "I guess it's like, chemistry." He stiffened and she looked up at him. "But I'm not, you know, falling for you or anything." Yuffie paused and Cloud wondered if it was the first time she'd ever thought before speaking. "What about you?" she asked.
"I don't know. I thought maybe things were simple, but they aren't."
"Why not? You're hot and I'm hot and I know you liked kissing me. You're a good kisser, by the way." Cloud was looking at the sky, but he had a focused air and she realized he was trying to pick out the little speck of the cable car. His eyes were easier to read in the daytime, when they were lit by the sun instead of cold Mako. "Oh."
Cloud turned to look at her. "What?"
"I get it. You shoulda said something when I first hit on you, though."
"I tried."
"Well yeah, but you were all like, 'it's not a good time.' You didn't say you had a thing for pink dresses."
The corners of Cloud's mouth edged up. "No, I didn't."
"And that's cool," Yuffie continued. "But, hey, you never know what's gonna happen in the future." She pecked him on the cheek and stood up. "One for the road."
Yuffie took a step toward where the cable car would be before she saw that it hadn't returned yet. Cloud sat on the bench and Yuffie stood beside him, rocking back and forth on the heels of her shoes. Eventually the car returned and the operator came over. "Here, let's get this thing on board." He and Yuffie hoisted the supply crate into the car, Cloud helping as much as he was able. Something inside shifted heavily as they maneuvered it aboard. Cloud and Yuffie climbed on and looked around – they were the only ones on this trip.
They took a seat as the tram started to move, and Yuffie immediately looked out the window as they cleared the platform. "Wow, Aeris was right. The view is pretty cool." Cloud turned his head to look as well.
Thump. "What was that?" asked Yuffie, looking up and back, toward the propellers pushing the car along the cable.
Cloud kept looking out the window. "Probably something mechanical."
There was a splintering sound and Cloud turned to see a pair of jaws coming through the thin wood of the supply crate. The two sat frozen as one of the giant insects from the cave chewed its way out of the box and slid onto the floor. It seemed slightly disoriented, but soon saw Cloud and Yuffie, letting out a hiss as it slowly crept toward them. "Gross…" said Yuffie softly.
His eyes never leaving the creature, Cloud spoke to Yuffie. "When I tell you, get over to the crate and find a weapon."
"You're not going to distract it, are you? You're hurt."
"Right, you're faster." The insect seemed to slow its approach, but its hiss got louder. Cloud focused, trying to let instinct tell him when the bug would strike… "Now!"
The ninja dove toward the box as the monster suddenly darted towards her and Cloud. He spun away as best he could and felt one claw graze him. Cloud landed on the floor and looked up at the insect, now on the seat. It was slower than the ones in the cave, probably confused by the daylight and the motion of the car moving through the air.
Yuffie got to the crate and pried the lid off as the bug made another leap toward Cloud. He managed to kick it with his good leg and knocked it away. It landed and quickly recovered as Cloud slid back on the floor, toward the corner of the car. He briefly thought about trying to fend it off with his hands, but saw its jaws clack together and knew he'd lose at least one finger.
As it approached, he kicked at it again, using both legs to try and keep it away. That didn't work and so he slid toward it, managing to pin it against the side of the car with his injured leg. The wound throbbed as the creature squirmed between his shoe and the wall. Its shell was too thick for him to hurt it.
"Cloud!" He looked over at Yuffie. She stood next to the open crate, swaying a little as she aimed a shotgun. "Get away from it!" As Cloud felt the bug start to work its way out from between his shoe and the side of the car, he managed to half-kick, half-slide it toward her and roll away, wincing as the muscles in his wounded calf twisted.
The monster was in the middle of the car now and Yuffie fired, the shot deafening in the small space. A spray of buckshot tore apart the insect and punched a hole in the bottom of the car, chunks of guts and carapace falling out. Yuffie spun and almost dropped the gun as the recoil slammed the stock into her shoulder.
Cloud pushed himself off the floor and leaned against the side of the car, catching his breath before looking up at Yuffie. She still held the shotgun, resting the muzzle on the floor while she rubbed her shoulder. Cloud smiled slightly. "That almost seems like overkill." His voice sounded faint through the ringing from the blast.
"Hey, quit complaining." She grinned. "This is the first thing I came up with, you oughta be thankin' me." Cloud held up his hands, trying to convey innocence while asking for help in getting up. Yuffie laid the gun on top of the crate, grimacing slightly as her shoulder moved, and helped him into a seat.
They settled in, looking out the window once again as they passed through a cloud. Yuffie frowned and then giggled. "I wonder if the view through the floor's any better." Cloud looked over at the jagged hole in the bottom of the car and saw a dismembered insect leg slip through as a gust of wind gently rocked the car. He looked back out the window and yawned.
The two leaned against each other as they cleared the clouds and Gold Saucer came into view, gleaming in the afternoon sun.
A/N: And that's the end of this little tale of getting sidetracked. I couldn't resist leaving off with Yuffie shooting a giant bug with a shotgun – might just be me, but the image seems strangely hilarious. Thanks for reading!