Turning
Cid gazed at the skeleton of the Shera, hugging the reason for its existence and the source of its name with one arm. The Highwind was being prepared, but he was dreading having to go. He had hated being away from the timid woman on his quest to save the Planet, but had decided that with the party down to less than full strength, he had best go as well. It wouldn't stop him from missing her, though.
As if reading his thoughts, she said, "I'll miss you, Captain."
He scratched his head slightly uncomfortably. "Well, damn, it's not as if we won’t see each other again."
"I know. But that's what I fear." She pulled away from him to look into his eyes. "Come back. You have to come back, okay?"
"Okay. I promise."
She smiled. "I feel better than. You've never broken your word, and you better not now. Now, let's go inside. You need a farewell pot of tea."
"That'd be great."
They had a wonderful last hour, reminiscing and talking about their dreams of going into space. A knock came at their door. Shera answered it, finding the haggard band she had expected and dreaded.
"Just a second," called Cid. "I'll be out in a moment."
He emerged with the Venus Gospel strapped across his back - there was no other way to carry the huge thing. He then slung everyone a small pack.
"Travel rations?" asked Tifa. "That's smart."
"Yep," said Cid. Modesty had little meaning to the old pilot, as did praise. "So I see you were able to find the Turks?"
"Yeah," said Cloud, glancing over at the small band standing several hundred yards back. "Personally, I don't know what to make of 'em. They don't seem to be terribly fond of us, but they seem to be honest. I don't think they'll kill us for our clothes or anything, but I certainly don't trust 'em as much as I do everyone else. After all, they were our enemies. But, hey, you've seen the way they fight. They'll certainly be valuable."
"Uhm," said Cid agreeably and absently. He turned away to give Shera a farewell hug, then turned back and went with the others to the Highwind.
"So, where should we go?" asked Cloud, laying stretched out on one of the beds that had been added. The citizens of Rocket Town had gleefully remodeled their recently-reclaimed airship, adding everything from sleeping quarters to a kitchen to carpeting. It had been made much more comfortable.
"I dunno," sighed Rude. Reno was on the deck, alongside Yuffie, urking his guts out. "Were there any clues? Like, on that note you found?"
"Nothing, 'cept for something about Sephiroth being 'the hope for the future' and about how we'll pay for killing him."
"Huh. Well, there're a lot of weirdoes out there, so what can you do? Well, Sephiroth, hm? Perhaps the Northern Crater?"
"I don't think so. It was nearly destroyed during the Meteor incident."
"Huh. That's one idea out the drain. Well, what do you know about him?"
"What don't I?" Cloud gave a short laugh. "He was the son of Lucrecia, a scientist, and Hojo-"
"Hojo?"
"Yeah. He was trained and stuck into Soldier. Uhm, he basically won the war with his deployment of Soldier-"
"The Shinra-Wutai war?"
"Nah, the Junon war. Group of rebels in Junon were angry at the plate being built over 'em. So, they gained sympathy and support, until Shinra considered 'em enough of a pest to send a battalion of MP's over to wipe 'em out. Trouble was, they packed quite a punch. So, Shinra had to deploy six divisions of Soldier. Even then, they wouldn'ta won without Sephiroth. He really gained infamy in the Wutai wars. The Junon war wasn't publicized."
"Hunh. Go on."
"Well, um, he was sent on a mission to Nibelheim, my hometown, with a Soldier named Zack and me to fix a reactor. Uh, there he found out about the Jenova project. And he went crazy. Burned down the town, nearly killed Zack, Tifa, and me. I killed him."
"...Huh?"
"Well, he sorta washed up in the Lifestream and ended up in the Northern Crater. Oh, but the one causing all the mischief, like running around and killing people, was a Sephiroth clone."
"Oh. So, Nibelheim was an important place in his life. So was Midgar, but even though it's a big city, only a fool would stay where thousand of loyal citizens are looking for a little girl. It's possible for them to have gone to a place near the Northern Crater. But this is only assuming they are some sort of cult. They might take the intelligent path and go somewhere inconspicuous. But I have a feeling this wasn't to get Marlene. They want you all together."
"Why?"
"Trust me on these things. I have experience." Rude looked Cloud in the eye. "They want you all together so they can kill you."
"How can you stand this?"
Reno was pale, and his red hair made an even more startling contrast against his skin. "Being on this damned ship all the time," he explained. "Gods. How can you keep anything down?"
Yuffie swallowed against the rush of bile that accompanied movement as she turned her head. "I'm a ninja. I can withstand anything."
Reno managed a snort before his stomach muscles clenched and he fought down more heaving. "I'm...a Turk," he gasped. "I can withstand anything...but this."
"Heh. It is...urgh...unpleasant, huh?"
"I think I just lost what I ate just before Meteor hit Midgar."
"And what was that? ...Filet mingnon?"
"Ugh...A donut. But I...ugh...don't think that it was made from dough."
"What, then?"
"Eggs."
"An egg donut? Where'd you get it? ...Urk..."
"The Java Joint."
"That's your problem. You should never buy food from a coffee shop in Midgar."
"Hunh. How...ugh...would you know?"
"Ever been to the Coffee Cup?"
"No."
"If you had, then you would know how I know. It's disgusting. The food is...urk...greasy, stale, and over cooked. They make good coffee, though."
"Huh. Aren't you too young to drink...unnh...coffee?"
"I'm sixteen!"
"And I'm twenty-three. I didn't mean physical age. Don't you think you're a bit...ugh...immature?"
"Coming from you, I'd consider that a compliment."
"Huh. I'm the leader of the Turks. You're just some two-bit thief. You remember that deal with Don Corneo? Cloud said they didn't rescue you because they cared about you or valued you. They just wanted their materia back!"
"Yes, but he still wanted me in his party when he killed Sephiroth."
"Just because you wouldn't give up the Bahamut ZERO materia. I got that from Cid."
Yuffie's mouth opened and closed furiously. She hmphed and stalked up to the bridge. Reno placed his hands on his knees and fought off his airsickness for a few moments. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him.
"It's Reno of the Turks, right? Damn, it's good to have reinforcements of a kind."
Reno turned around and looked at Cid. "You're Cid Highwind, right? The pilot who used to work for Shinra? It's nice to meet you, even if you did build this hunk of tin. No offense meant, of course, I just have a dislike for airships."
"Hunh. Well, it's nice to meet you when we aren't trying to kill each other."
"Yeah." Reno felt slightly guilty for alienating Yuffie, but he was starting to feel sympathy for her. And sympathy was only a step away from liking someone, which often led to affection. And Reno knew better than anyone how deadly that could be.
Cait Sith bounded up beside Yuffie as she hung over the rail, trying to relieve her sickness. "Hey, Yuffie."
She glanced over towards the toy, and her cheeks colored. "Hi, Reeve." She turned her face into the wind. "This is much better than being down in that stuffy deck. It reminds me of being on top of Da-Chao."
The cat-like robot bounded up beside her, downwind. "I'd think so. Do you ever miss Wutai?"
Yuffie sighed. "Yes, and no. I miss the mountains, and the way that the sun would look in the morning, and the rivers that flowed through it. I don't miss being called 'Lady Yuffie.' I don't miss being viewed above everyone else because I was born to Godo. I don't miss people whispering scandalously behind their hands, or calling me a disgrace, and I don't miss my father."
"Don't you have any affection for him at all?"
She shook her head slowly and sadly. "How can I? The old man puts up a good fight, granted. But he lost all his pride when Shinra defeated him, and I lost what respect I might have had for him. He drove my mother out, and was responsible for her death."
"What?"
"My mother was a widely respected warrior. She married my father - it wasn't out of love, more of a mutual benefit for both parties. She wanted to raise me as a warrior, too. Godo disagreed, yadda yadda yadda, she leaves me with dear ol' dad when I'm only one - really a stupid thing to do, since she could've just taken me and raised me however she wanted. Anyhow, upon leaving Wutai, she was set upon by, as the story goes, thirty Soldiers. My dad said it was five, and he didn't like her, so it was probably somewhere around ten. She killed three before they got her. Started the Shinra-Wutai war. Then, Godo said he would raise me as a warrior, as according to her last wishes, but I heard later, when I wasn't supposed to, it was 'cause mom's relatives got on his back, saying he had no honor and things like that." Throughout the narrative, she had developed a detached tone. Reeve assumed it was due to the fact that the story still hurt.
"I'm...sorry, Yuffie."
"Why?" She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
The cat laid an arm on her shoulder. "Of course it does. It's a part of you."
She shook it off. "Now you're just sounding sappy." She didn't look at the cat, not allowing Reeve to see her eyes. "It is as much a part of me as my clothes. It's often identified with me, but I can shed it as easily as I want."
Reeve snorted inwardly both at her attempt at nonchalance and her terrible metaphor, but left her alone for several seconds. He changed the topic. "So what do you think of the Turks?"
She considered. "Elena seems nice enough. Reno is a big jerk, and Rude is completely inscrutable. The only time I've heard him say something is when he though he was alone with Reno."
Cait Sith nodded. "I suppose so. Reno seems like a braggart, but I don't know him well enough to pass judgement on whether or not he's a jerk."
Yuffie scowled. "I talked with him downstairs. Trust me on it."
"He could be lying, you know."
Both turned around to face Elena, who had been listing wordlessly to their conversation, leaning against a wall. "He often lies nastily to push people away who he thinks is getting too close. He guessed on half the information he used against me, at first. But he really is a good person. Well, once you get to know him." She pushed off the wall and leaned against the railing as well. "He's had a hard life. He's been hurt very badly on several occasions. Consequently, he's paranoid and overprotective of those he's close to."
"What happened?" asked Yuffie softly.
Elena sighed. "Who knows? He doesn’t share his past with anyone, not even with his closest friends."
Yuffie blushed. "Well, that's just me, isn't it? Judging someone before I have all the facts."
"No, of course not," said Cait Sith. "You're a good person, and you judge fairly."
"Well, come on," said Elena. "You can use those skills of judging fairly. I was sent to tell you we're all meeting on the bridge."
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