Chapter 11
Meteor, the ultimate destructive magic, was finally, finally, within his grasp. Here he floated in the center of the Northern Crater, surrounded by the Planet's lifeblood, feeling that power flow through him and calling out to this body of magic so complex that it seemed almost to possess a consciousness of its own.
He could feel it respond to him, and just capturing its attention assured him that anyone who was content to live powerless was a fool. To have so much power flowing through his veins and to have such a force as Meteor answer his summons was intoxicating. It made him feel already like the god he meant to become.
It made him feel alive, as he had not felt for a long, long time, save for that brief, violent, passionate moment with her.
He felt Meteor shift decisively, and he smiled.
So it would come. Holy would fail, and everything would turn to chaos. Sephiroth almost regretted killing all those so-called clones. He had to wait for it here in the center of the Planet's wound, and so without them he had no eyes and ears to the rest of the world. He could not keep an eye on Aeris, nor on Shinra, nor on the rest of the puppet's band.
Although...
He sensed that Cloud had not died as he had expected. Perhaps the puppet could serve him a little longer, if he survived the high Mako exposure. Perhaps Sephiroth could still play with the Cetra.
She fascinated him. He fully admitted that. Just when he began to think her impossibly predictable, she would do something to surprise him. She was neither as selfless or as innocent as she pretended, and it was both amusing and frustrating to watch her attempts to keep up that silly flower girl facade.
But always, always, she was stronger than he thought her to be. Perhaps she was right, and he could not break her, but he could push her to the edge, where it still meant something, where it still hurt.
The power he had gathered to call Meteor had drained from him, leaving him feeling empty, a husk of what he had been moments ago. If he truly lacked a soul, that was all he should have been, but a shell of a man would not have had the drive to come so far. It would not have needed to.
For now, he felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest. He pushed Aeris from his thoughts, closed his mind to Jenova, and let himself drift to sleep.
"So? How's she doin'?"
Aeris shook her head, more to regain her senses than to answer him, but Barret seemed to take it as a bad sign. "Physically there's nothing wrong with her," she said quietly before he could voice his assumption. "She must have collapsed from the shock."
"When's she gonna wake up?"
"I don't know." With a sigh, Aeris pushed herself up from where she'd been kneeling beside Tifa and met his gaze. "It's not like a physical wound. That, I could just figure out how much energy it would take to heal. But this... Cloud might be dead, and she knows that. I guess... Tifa didn't know whether she could go on without him. So she just shut down."
Barret nodded solemnly. "...you go get some rest, Aeris. You been watchin' over Tifa for hours."
She smiled faintly. "Thanks."
He hesitated before asking, "Are you awright?"
"I'm fine. I haven't given up on Cloud yet."
Barret scratched his head awkwardly, breaking her gaze. "We, uh... thought you kinda..."
"I know," she cut in so he wouldn't have to fumble any further. "He just... reminded me of someone. But that's all. He means a lot more to Tifa."
"Jus' friends, huh?" Barret concluded, then shrugged as though it weren't really any of his business.
Aeris opted to leave the matter at that. "Well," she said, "I'll go see if I can catch any sleep."
The Highwind was a large ship, really something to see, and Aeris wished she could enjoy the flight. Cloud had promised to take her on this airship once, but now she was here with the others, and only with Rufus Shinra's permission. That alone made her uneasy, and it didn't help that Hojo was onboard.
Most of the others shared her feelings, walking freely about the ship but guardedly, avoiding the bridge where Rufus had installed himself. And after what had happened, they had a hard time meeting each other's gazes. No one wanted to think about Cloud, much less ask each other's opinions. Only Cid had something to be happy about. Anyone could tell he was thrilled to be on the ship, enough to forget about their problems and joke with the crew as if they'd known each other for years. He sobered himself around his companions with visible effort.
Aeris shuffled into the quarters some crew member or another had shown her to once they'd gotten on their way. Supposedly she shared the room with Yuffie, but she doubted the girl would get much sleep considering her motion sickness. The Cetra sat down wearily on the lower bunk, not even sure she would be able to sleep. She hadn't rested since hours earlier, when they'd first left the crater, and then fitfully and not for very long. To be honest, she hadn't slept well since...
Holzoff's house. Two days ago.
Had it really only been two days? she wondered. It seemed like that short respite had been ages ago. Sephiroth had actually almost seemed to care, back then. Maybe he really did. The Planet had said so. Gods, she had thought so herself.
But what about Sephiroth? He had always scoffed whenever she remarked on his kindness. If he cared about her at all, no doubt he didn't let himself think about it, or even realize it. Was that why he was so determined to destroy her, because he couldn't stand the thought that he might care? Did he want to prove to himself that he didn't?
What a fool he was.
She dropped her face into her hands. "And I'm just as stupid, for actually worrying about him... Almost as much as I'm worried about Cloud."
There was no one around to hear her. Aeris sighed, the sound lost in the hum of the ship. Cloud... Now there was a mixed-up man. She wished she could pick out the truth in what Sephiroth had told them--for there had been some truth in it. Cloud was not entirely human, and it wasn't just the Mako treatments. If he had Jenova in him, it certainly explained a few things.
But had he gone to Nibelheim those five years ago? Tifa certainly hadn't said anything to confirm it. But if Cloud hadn't gone on that mission, how did he know so much about what had happened? Even Tifa's memory wouldn't have held all that.
If only Aeris had been able to lie for him. If she had just spoken up and told him, 'You're human, don't trust him,' maybe he would have accepted it, because she was a Cetra.
Or maybe he wouldn't have believed her, after finding out how less than honest she'd been with them. Maybe he would have seen the words for what they were, just an attempt to strengthen his belief in himself.
She wished that Cloud could be here now, so that they could straighten things out. She had always known there was something off about his story, even though she could offer nothing to refute it. She wanted to know what had really happened those five years ago. She wanted to know who Cloud really was.
Tifa deserved to know, too. She deserved to know who she was in love with, be it the Cloud Strife she had known since childhood, or a nameless, numberless, and failed clone of Sephiroth.
Aeris was hoping for the former.
She was hoping Cloud was even alive. Tifa had fallen unconscious just as they were leaving the so-called Promised Land, and hadn't woken since. Seeing Cloud like that, hearing Sephiroth's words, watching them up above... it must have been too much for her. Tifa had always tried to remain optimistic and cheer everyone up, but maybe just this once, she had assumed the worst, and been devastated by the possibility.
"Planet?" Aeris whispered.
But she couldn't seem to hear it aboard the airship. Its words were muffled, its song distorted, only its pain still clear. It would be worse in Junon, she knew. That's where Rufus had said they were headed--Junon. It was hardly any better than Midgar.
Far below the airship, Yuffie could see nothing but ocean, fading to white on the horizon before blending into the blue of the sky. Yuffie wondered if it was the same ocean they had crossed from Junon to Costa del Sol. She had thought that trip had been bad, but this airship travel was worse. And with her stomach churning like this, she couldn't seem to focus on anything, and she had a lot she needed to think about.
Like what had happened to Cloud, and why Tifa wouldn't wake up, and why Aeris had stopped smiling, and how the hell they were going to get out of this whole situation. Maybe they had as many people on the Highwind as Rufus did, but Cloud was missing and Tifa was out and everyone but Cid was feeling down and just plain exhausted. Moreover, Rude of the Turks was onboard, and Turks were always bad news. To top it all off, they were headed straight for Junon, Shinra's military stronghold.
Thinking about everything piling up like that seemed to worsen her nausea, and she swallowed hard. She closed her eyes, and after long minutes of deep breathing, she felt it was safe to think again.
"Are you feeling any better?" Nanaki asked from beside her. He must have just come back out onto the deck.
"Maybe a little," she said, which wasn't really the case, but she'd already gone off complaining to him twice before, and she figured she should be nice and spare him. "How long till we get to Junon?"
"Only another hour," he told her. "I must say I am anxious about what may happen."
"Yeah... but at least we'll be on solid ground again." Her stomach lurched suddenly as if to drive home the sentiment, and she nearly lost her lunch over the railing. With great effort, she forced her innards to stay there, and it took another little while before she was able to concentrate on anything else. She sagged against the railing, resting her chin on her arms.
Nanaki waited patiently, only then remarking, "I suppose you have the most reason to be glad of landing."
Yuffie closed her eyes again. "Whatever happens, I want a break from all this. First the chasing Sephiroth, then trying to get Aeris back, now flying around in this stupid ship... Ever since I signed on with this group, it's been crazy. I need a vacation."
"I think we all do. Perhaps, when the Planet is safe, we will get one."
"That'll be a while, won't it?" she said miserably.
"We have a time limit now," he said. "With Meteor coming..."
She looked down at him, surprised that she could actually hear the worry in his voice. He wasn't as stoic as Vincent, but being a cat-thing made him hard to figure out anyway. "Won't Aeris's summon stop it?" she asked.
He shook his head slightly. "With the White Materia shattered, will it even work? Is it strong enough to oppose Meteor? We can't rely on it."
"But... There's nothing we can do about Meteor, is there?"
"I don't know."
Yuffie lay her head back on her arms, fixing her gaze on the ocean. "...do you think Cloud's okay?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. I hope he is, but the odds are against him... Still, it would not be the first time he has survived against all odds. Perhaps luck is with him, and we will yet see him again."
She nodded, deciding to go with that. "When we find him, we'll have to knock some sense into him."
"He is certainly in need of that," Nanaki agreed wryly.
Yuffie kept on staring out at the ocean, eyes unfocused, really just hoping that steady line of the horizon would keep her anchored. It took her a while to notice that a distant something had appeared on the line.
"Hey," she said, straightening up, "I think I can see Junon."
"I suppose it won't be much longer," Nanaki said. "I will go tell the others."
"'Kay."
He padded back inside the airship, and Yuffie kept her eyes on the distant city, willing it closer. She couldn't wait to get off this stupid airship!
She heard the door open again and glanced back to see Rufus Shinra come out onto the deck, followed by Scarlet, Hojo, Rude, and an escort of Shinra troopers. She quickly turned back to the railing with a panicked, ridiculous hope that maybe if she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her. They were blocking her path back into the ship, where the others were, and the distance to Junon was rapidly shortening. If they decided to take her prisoner, there was no way she could stop them on her own.
The new bout of anxiety churned her stomach anew, and she gripped the railing, fighting it down as she struggled to concentrate on what they were talking about behind her.
"Something must be done about Reeve," Rufus was saying.
"What do you mean, sir?" Scarlet asked in that theatrical bimbo way she had of talking. "He's given us all kinds of useful information."
Rufus scoffed. "I've learned more from Reno's lot, and they didn't even follow Cloud very closely. Reeve has that Cait Sith toy in their midst and yet somehow he knows less."
"You think he's holding back then?"
"Of course."
"Why not speak with him now?"
"One cannot threaten a stuffed toy."
Rude spoke up, voice smooth and efficient. "I will return to Midgar and speak with him personally, sir."
"Excellent."
When next Yuffie looked up, the city loomed in her vision. She could clearly make out the empty airfield ahead where they meant to land. A quick glance told her the Shinra were still assembled behind her. Overhearing that bit about Cait Sith was so not worth being put in this position. She didn't even know who Reeve was!
The final few minutes flew past, and the airship set down. The Shinra threw down a ladder, and the three Shinra executives went down immediately without so much as glancing at her.
Rude and his accompanying soldiers remained on the ship. The Turk turned to her. "You will come with us."
Yuffie shook her head, stepping back from the railing. She wondered if there was any chance she could take on a Turk by herself, never mind the entourage. Her chances were probably better for making it back to the others.
"Um... I'd rather not," she said, opting first to buy some time. Shouldn't Nanaki have been coming back? "And, hey, didn't you and Reno help me out that one time, back in Wutai? Why don't we just stick with that whole truce thing, and you can let me go, okay?"
Rude appeared unaffected by her powers of persuasion. Instead he snapped his fingers and the soldiers started towards her. She bolted for the door inside, but one of them caught her arm before her fingers could close on the handle. She whirled to punch him in the face, freeing herself only temporarily. The other two men had reached her, and together began dragging her kicking and screaming back towards Rude.
"Let me go, you jerks!" she screamed, struggling to break free. "Three against one is totally not fair!"
The door burst open, and Vincent and Nanaki came out onto the deck. "Yuffie!" Nanaki called, but Vincent just whipped out his gun and fired. In rapid succession, the men holding her screamed in pain and went down, taking her crashing with them to the deck floor. By the time she got to her feet, Nanaki had joined her, and they stood facing Rude with Vincent to back them up. Not her ideal rescue, but the three of them together could probably take the Turk!
Before any of them could make a move, the first of a platoon of Shinra soldiers reached the top of the ladder and hauled himself on deck. Aeris and Cait Sith came running out to join Vincent, and Yuffie and Nanaki backed up to stand with them.
"Where are the others?" Yuffie asked.
"Cid's busy, Barret's looking after Tifa," Aeris explained in a rush, her eyes on their growing number of enemies.
Yuffie was just thinking about throwing her shuriken to sever the rope ladder when the first group of soldiers sprang into action. The last traces of her nausea vanished with the fighting. There were so many of them! She couldn't manage to get at the ladder, and so more men kept coming to replace every one the Shinra lost. They didn't use their guns, so she could only guess Shinra wanted them all alive, but she wasn't sure how much that did for their odds of winning.
The first handful fell to Vincent's handgun and Yuffie's shuriken, but in the instant they took to reload and recover, the men had closed with them. Yuffie kept her shuriken in hand as she slashed at anyone who came near, and Vincent put that claw of his to use. She'd never seen him fight with it before, and it was kind of scary. Nanaki fought with tooth and claw, like he always did, but she felt they were all fighting like that, fierce and beast-like. Even Cait Sith's usually comical appearance had gained something serious, emphasized in the heavy thud of his arms connecting with soldiers, and sending them over the rail.
Aeris was the worst. Yuffie tried to keep an eye on her the most, worried about losing her again to the Shinra, but she was stunned to realize that Aeris was doing fine. All she had was that knife, and yet she used it like Nanaki used his claws. There was a fire in the Cetra that just hadn't been there before, and Yuffie found herself glancing over less and less, unnerved by the change.
No matter how well any of them fought, though, some men managed to get through. A band of SOLDIERs broke through into the ship, and Rude went with them. At first this confused her, but then she realized that Cid, Barret, and Tifa were still inside, and they'd want them captured, too. Especially Barret, as the former leader of Avalanche.
Rude and his men burst back out not long after, and in the instant Yuffie looked back to see if they'd succeeded, a soldier slammed his nightstick into her midsection. The force of the blow doubled her over, and she dropped her shuriken. The man managed to heft her up over one shoulder before she recovered enough to attack, kneeing him sharply in the gut and shoving back to put him off balance. She dropped back to her feet, and they both staggered. Yuffie regained her balance a second faster and landed a blow to his head that sent him sprawling. He didn't get up.
She snatched up her shuriken, back on the defensive, but as she looked around she saw that the soldiers were pulling back. Vincent fired into their retreating forms until the last was gone from the deck, one way or another. Cait Sith sat nearby, but the others were nowhere to be seen.
Yuffie let herself collapse on the deck. "They took Aeris and Red?" she said in disbelief.
"Barret and Tifa as well," Vincent added, holstering his gun. His eyes were glowing more than usual, she noticed. The stronger the glow, the closer he was to transforming. Yuffie realized that might have been the only reason Shinra had retreated and left them the Highwind. Vincent could be pretty damn scary.
"When did that happen?" she asked.
"While that guy was trying to carry you off," Cait Sith told her.
"Oh."
"At least we have the ship now," he went on. "And the crew to boot. Never thought Cid could have a way with people."
"Is that why we're taking off again?" she asked miserably.
"Well, we can't stay here, can we?"
Yuffie got back on her feet. "What about the others? We can't just leave them!"
"We are in no condition to rescue them," Vincent said coolly. "If we were unable to defeat Shinra's troops with their help, it is unlikely we will be more successful without them. We cannot simply walk into Junon and take them back."
"Vince's right," Cait agreed. "We'll need a plan. And some rest."
She swallowed her protests with effort, knowing they were right. "Rest sounds good," she conceded finally. "Where're we going now?"
"I dunno. I'll go ask Cid."
Yuffie watched Cait bounce back inside, then turned to Vincent. "It's just down to us four, huh?" she said.
He looked at her, and shrugged.
"This's the part where you pretend you can be optimistic and tell me we'll do fine, and we'll get everybody back together again and save the Planet and live happily ever after."
That earned her nothing more than a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you better tell me something," she said, growing annoyed with his silence, "'cause if there's only four of us, you can't just go standing around like part of the background, and I fully expect you to do your quarter share of the talking."
"I never did my ninth, before."
He said it so plainly, she couldn't figure out if he was seriously just stating a fact or trying to be funny. After squinting at him for a minute, Yuffie threw up her hands. "Fine, you go on being all... annoying and vampire-y, see if I care."
Vincent stood there as though waiting to see if she had anything more to say, then finally turned to go.
"Hey!" she called, about to go with when her nausea returned with a vengeance and she doubled over. Looking up at him, she waved a hand. "Okay... You go on... Just make sure somebody tells me where we're--ulp--going."
"All right," he agreed, and then disappeared inside.
She managed to get her nausea under control and sighed. Down to four, and she didn't even really like any of them! Vincent was a freak, Cid always yelled at her, and Cait Sith was beyond ridiculous, not to mention working for Shinra.
"We are so screwed," Yuffie said aloud.