the noses of the two men who stood upon the light green hills of Junon, mingled with
sand, allowing a moment of silent reflection as they stared out onto the shimmering blue
sea. The waves that lapped against the coast were so drastically different than the torrents
of water that had been pouring into the under ground compound it was unbelievable, and
even Zack had to admit that these held a certain ancient beauty. That didn’t stop a shiver
from going repetitively up and down his spine as he stared, but it did help to lessen the
intensity somewhat.
Emotion and physical, the Gonganan’s loads were lightened. The Ultima Sword, made of
ultra light crystal, now replaced the bulky steel Buster sword in his back holster, and he
had to admit he was taking an immediate shine to the weapon.
Slowly, Rufus glanced down at the small metal disc he held in his hand, feeling the
unnatural weight of it. A night of testing still hadn’t yielded a single clue about what it
was, though secretly he had begun to wonder if it was nothing at all. Never a man of
faith, Rufus found it much more comfortable to think how a sword- though incredibly
rare, even he had to admit- could have simply been left behind by one of the men, and
there had been no weapon for Rufus at all.
The two men tore their gazes from the sea and lifted them up, staring straight into the
ever darkening skies out to the west. They knew it was where they were going, but for
several reasons- some much more obvious than others- they didn’t leave the spot they
were on. Fort Condor would still be there an hour later, more or less, but the sea... huge,
powerful, and all consuming... the sea would be around forever. Taking a simultaneous
deep breath, the two began to walk inwards towards the harbor, where a ship had been
hired to take them between the continents.
***
Reeve didn’t know what to make of his son... or of his bird, honestly. Both of his new
companions were completely foreign to him, but while the one was made of steel and
wires and he seemed to have some sort of a mental connection with, the other was made
of flesh and blood- his flesh and blood, at that- and was blocking him out to a degree that
he felt like there was a literal wall between the two of them. Tyler was kind enough when
he tried to talk to him, but wasn’t open about anything Reeve tried to pursue, even to the
simplest degree. In fact, whenever it became apparent Reeve was particularly interested
in a certain topic, Tyler changed the subject with such subtly Reeve never noticed until
after the fact.
Tyler himself lumbered ahead of Reeve, ahead of Barret, ahead of Cid and all the rest of
them on their hike over the fields back towards the Highwind. Saved from fatigue by the
aided movement from his new robotics suit, which he wore more or less like a normal
suit- step into it, close it around you, and it performs its job of concealment and
protection. He had gotten used to the controls almost startlingly fast, the joystick like
controllers mounted a few inches up from either of his thighs glowing to life whenever
his fingers were within a few inches of them.
Cloud and Tifa walked hand in hand, fingers locked, the smallest of a laundry list of
small rebellions against the oppressions that always seemed to be plaguing them. Barret,
seeming to disapprove of such a rebellion with every fiber of his body, managed to storm
past them several times on the way, though neither could truly remember ever managing
to pass him the second way around. He was taking advantage of his new prosthetic by
idly drumming the fingers on the flat metal sheet of the palm.
Only Cid seemed truly at ease, walking casually off to the side, Neptune’s Highlight lying
stretched out across his broad and burden bearing shoulders. He wrapped his long lengthy
arms backwards around the shaft of the lance, and used it to stretch his joints as he
walked. Had anyone bothered to look, they would have noticed something very odd about
him- something they weren’t able to place. After a few moments of searching, they
would have noticed that he wasn’t smoking- not that he’d have been free to, with both
arms occupied. It wasn’t entirely a rare occurrence, but it certainly wasn’t seen often...
and for the first time ever in such an occurrence, he wasn’t twitching.
The group moved in a loose formation, sometimes alternating within themselves and
sometimes changing the order, but there was always some sort of rules about it. It was the
march of a platoon, the march of an army... the march of soldiers.
***
Its still cold, Rory thought- but then again, it seemed everywhere they went that didn’t
happen to directly be Aeris’ house ended up cold. Still... she had to admit she felt a little
bit warmer with Gabriel’s chilling blue blade back in its sheath, and his fiery blade on
her side of his waist. Neither of them could really decide if it actually gave off heat or
not, but it sure as hell seemed like it did. She hated the cold. It reminded her way too
much of empty cars her and her brother had been forced to sleep in during the middle of
the night, with all the windows busted out by bricks and stones, and stray gunfire. Down
south, she heard, it would at least be warmer... though she doubted she could enjoy it
with somebody trying to kill her. Several somebodys.
Gabriel, on the other hand, wouldn’t have minded going back to the cave, rebuilding the
fire, and going to sleep- preferably to stay there. The last few days had simply been
cluster fucked with things he wasn’t used to and didn’t understand, and he had broken the
five month transformation streak he had developed by switching all of twice in so many
days. It was just... irritating, is all. Gabriel didn’t like action, and he didn’t like heat. It
would be hot down south. At least, he thought, there would be someone trying to kill
him.
***
“So what’s it like to be leaving home right after getting there?”
Reno snorted, walking alone by himself off to the side of the path. Though the others
pretended not to notice it, Yuffie was off to the other side, directly opposite of him. He
wasn’t snorting at her though, instead he was snorting at the question. Typical Elena
question, something pointless, and insane, that would serve only to spill valuable
information to anyone who would be listening- in form, and in answer. Stupid.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve only been away from home for a few weeks.” That was
Tseng, openly sharing his opinion of the year that passed while he was slightly deceased.
“So it doesn’t really matter.” He’d stopped by Wutai soon before going to visit the
Temple of the Ancients, but it wasn’t like it would have mattered to him even if he
hadn’t. He wasn’t a home oriented man, he wasn’t a tree, and the very last thing he
wanted to do was put down some roots. He was a wanderer, always had been, and always
would be. The fact that he was wandering somewhere insanely dangerous did little to
daunt the feeling of calm that was over him as he walked openly under the stars.
“So?” There came Yuffie, calling from her distanced stance away from the rest of them.
“Any minute off this continent should leave you wanting to come back, or you aren’t a
true Wutain.” A patriot to a fault, Yuffie truly believed that the waters that ran through
the Wutain streams were the same liquid that ran through her veins. It wasn’t like Tseng
had verbally assaulted her birthplace, but anything short of a roaring compliment wasn’t
enough in her mind. This was the place she would always return to, and the thought of
dying, or being buried somewhere else was absolutely unbearable, and kicked her
patriotism into over drive.
“I don’t think you’ve ever been to Icicle Inn,” Elena chided her quietly, resolute but
knowing when to keep her tongue in cheek. Despite the time Cloud had ducked her
sucker punch and she had gone summersaulting down the slope like a snowball, she
simply couldn’t get enough of the towering white peaks. Maybe she was cold blooded,
she didn’t know, but she could walk around in her business clothes and a skirt in ankle
deep snow without even feeling a chill. And now she was heading south, where it was
warm... and dangerous.
Rude, who had been humming an old Mideel tune that he remembered from some
mission a long time ago, began to hum it very much louder, just in case Yuffie had
indeed heard what Elena had whispered, in vain hopes that she would keep quiet. He
was... content. Of course, he was almost always content. Walking, fighting, working
out... as long as he was doing something, he was perfectly happy with his situation and
himself, and that’s why he barely talked- there was no need to. Lock him in an empty
room, he reckoned, and he’d chatter like a lunatic within the hour. He was the only one
who wasn’t worried about the thing they were about to do.
After all, he thought, its better than doing nothing at all.
Chapter 21
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