Chapter 15
Cid rushed to join Vincent in the doorway, the others not far behind. Sure enough, there was Reno, sitting with his feet propped up on the table as if he owned the place.
"What are you doing here?" Vincent asked coldly, speaking before the others had recovered from their surprise. His fingers curled around his gun in its holster, and everyone behind him tensed in readiness.
"I'm not here to fight, so don't bother readying your weapons."
None of them relaxed.
"Then why have you come?" Vincent prompted.
"I've quit the Turks."
There was a pause of general bafflement at this announcement before Cid managed, "The hell?"
"More specifically," Reno went on, "I want your help getting Aeris out of Midgar. If I did it on my own, I'd be on Shinra's bad side without any allies."
"Aeris?" Yuffie said, puzzled. "Wasn't... capturing her your job?"
Reno sat up, and something hard entered his tone which Cid had never heard in their confrontations with him. "I never caught her though, and with how she fights, you'd better believe that was intentional."
Cid pressed a hand to his forehead. "I don't get it. Why should you give a shit about Aeris?"
The redhead shrugged. "Is any answer I give you really going to be enough?"
"Then what the hell're you doin' comin' in here?" Barret demanded. "Knowin' there's no way we can trust ya. You're a Turk!"
"So was he," Reno replied, jerking a thumb at Vincent.
That shut everyone up for a moment.
"Look," he said, sobering again, "I know you guys aren't gonna trust me so far as you can throw me, but a lot of you used to work for Shinra. Hell, Reeve still does. And why the fuck would I come here by myself like this? I won't kid myself; I can't take on all of you. So what's the point?"
"You gotta be up to somethin'," Barret said dubiously.
"So don't let me out of your sight."
"The Shinra have taken Aeris before," Vincent stated quietly. "If she is your aim, why did you not act then?"
"Last time they took her? I was laid up in the hospital, thanks to Cloud. They got outta that place last time because of Sephiroth, but she won't be so lucky this time."
"All right. What are you proposing?"
Cid gaped at him. Vincent was actually going to believe this bastard? "Vince, what the hell are you thinking?"
"Shinra has nothing to gain by sending him here alone."
"And it does make sense," Yuffie chimed in, "what he said about Aeris. She was pretty awful at fighting, there's no way she could've taken one of the Turks."
"So he's on his own and for whatever fucking reason, he didn't kidnap Aeris," Cid summed up in annoyance. "What's that supposed to prove?"
"That, at least as far as she is concerned, we may be able to work with him," Vincent said patiently, almost as though talking to a kid, which didn't do anything for Cid's temper.
"Am I the only one who doesn't think that's fucking convincing enough?"
Cait Sith, who had been silent on this idea of letting another member of Shinra into the group, finally spoke up. "Cid, Reno's switching sides for the same reasons I did," he said, voice serious in what must have been something closer to Reeve's own speech patterns. "He's sick of seeing what Shinra does and knowing he's part of it, sick of watching things fall apart for causes he doesn't believe in, and sick of seeing you all acting so damn heroic all the time. A lot of you guys are in this for revenge, but you all seriously want to save the Planet, too. It's all so... noble. And we're just Shinra employees, heartless monsters in it for the money. We'd be stupid not to switch sides."
Reno applauded. "Well put, Reeve. Or am I supposed to call you Cait Sith?"
The cat shrugged. "They know, so the name doesn't matter so much."
"That's what I figured." He ran a hand through his unruly red hair and looked to Cid. "So, can we get on with this now?"
Cid flung up his hands in defeat. "Sure, why not? Let's let our enemy join us numskulls. Wouldn't be the first time."
"Why'd you tell them to wait outside Sector 7?" Yuffie asked, watching as Reno unlocked the gate to Sector 6. She'd volunteered for this mission. The Turk's plan only required one other person on the inside with him, so long as the others were at the ready to get them back out. Or at least, that's how he'd explained it. Yuffie was skeptical about sneaking into Shinra Headquarters with just the two of them, and she would have felt a lot better if Vincent had come along. But that jerk had just told her that he'd hinder the mission, without explaining why.
And now she was stuck with Reno, who she still wasn't sure she could trust, even with that rescue stunt he'd pulled back in Wutai.
"Sector 7's the way we'll be coming out," Reno told her patiently. It was possible he'd covered this part of the plan on the flight over and she'd been too airsick to follow it.
"Then why are we going in this way?"
"Going through Sector 6 makes for a more discreet entrance," the redhead explained. "Coming back through Sector 7 is for a flashy exit."
"What if we don't make a flashy exit?"
He shot her a look, patience apparently wearing out. "Trust me, we will."
Yuffie shot him a glare which went ignored, but she soon forgot about being annoyed with him as he led her into the slums. True buildings were scarce, most homes here being thrown together from metal and wooden scrap, misshapen huts that looked like they would collapse at any second. The people matched the place, their clothing worn and patched, thrown together from last decade's fashions.
Lights were infrequent, and their beams didn't reach far, throwing shadows down already dark alleys and leaving some places in complete black. It was the middle of the night, but Yuffie realized that it never got any brighter around here. Midgar's plate loomed black some indeterminable distance above them, only a few faint gaps promising some kind of natural light. She felt stifled being here just for five minutes. She couldn't imagine how anyone actually lived here.
There was an arch up ahead, not quite so crudely fashioned, with a neon sign fixed to it. A few letters had shorted out, so that it read 'Wal Mrke.' Reno stopped her just outside it.
"Wall Market's dangerous for a girl," he told her quietly. "You stick close to me, all right?"
She nodded.
"And one other thing..." He looked her over. "Someone might recognize you in those clothes. Upstairs, I mean. We're gonna buy you something here, so you look the part."
Yuffie frowned, and she wanted to argue that she could blend in just fine without a disguise, but the words just lodged in her throat. This place was really getting to her. She swallowed and managed to speak the second time around. "All right, fine. You show me where, and I'll buy something."
Reno was looking at her, his expression calculating, and she felt sure he was already doubting her usefulness for this mission.
"What?" she demanded, some of her usual confidence returning with the challenge. "Are we going or've you got something else to say?"
He looked more amused than intimidated, but he only answered with a shrug and then turned to lead the way through the arch.
This Wall Market place was better lit and better constructed than the area they'd just passed through, though aside from the bright paint people had used on their signs, Yuffie couldn't rate it much better than North Corel. The people were better dressed, too, but she noticed most of the ones they passed were guys, and most of their eyes lingered in places she would have punched them for if they hadn't had a job to do. She edged a little closer to Reno in spite of herself.
The shop Reno finally led her to made it glaringly obvious what kind of district this actually was. Yuffie stared at the nearest rack of dresses in disbelief before turning an accusing look on Reno.
"You don't seriously expect me to wear one of these."
"I'm asking you to look the part, not act it," he said. "Are you that much of a prude?"
She folded her arms across her chest. "You want me to look like a... like a whore when we go up there?"
"Easiest way to get a girl in with me," Reno answered, as if this was all so obvious he didn't know why they weren't there already.
"I thought you quit."
"You don't just quit the Turks, Yuffie," he said, and she wanted to punch him for using her name. "Heidegger would've either laughed or had me killed if I'd tried."
Yuffie sobered, and looked him over warily. "So you're saying, they've got no idea you're not on their side, and you could just go home to Shinra any time you wanted?" What the hell was she about to walk into?
She expected him to disagree somehow, but he shrugged again. "I could. But I'm not interested." He gestured to one of the racks. "You gonna find something you like or what?"
If he had any thoughts of going back to Shinra, she was really taking her chances here. While it seemed like an unnecessarily complicated plan just to kidnap her, Yuffie wasn't entirely confident he wouldn't change his mind at a crucial moment. If they got caught, maybe he'd turn on her. But, they didn't have any better plans for rescuing Aeris and Nanaki. She'd just have to watch her back.
Finally, she gave him a slow nod. "Right. Let's get this over with."
She flipped through distastefully until finally settling on something she could maybe stand to wear. She changed in the single tiny dressing room in the back, and upon emerging, almost turned right around to hide behind the curtain at the look Reno gave her. Instead, she glared at him furiously, paid for the thing at the counter, and marched out of the store with the Turk not far behind.
"Quite a difference from your usual tomboy look," Reno commented, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, well, there wasn't much to choose from." She tugged at the straps of the dress. "Gawd, I can't wait to get out of this thing."
"I could lend you a hand when we're done here."
That earned him another glare. "Are you insane?"
"Just a suggestion."
"Well, don't make any more."
They made their way through the streets, past crude signs and banners and colored street lamps. The men all looked like punks, and the women never travelled alone. It would have seemed odd that so many people were out at night, if there were any difference between night and day here.
Reno led her past a gaudy mansion in a mockery of Wutain design, and at last down a short alley, away from the lights. A thick wire snaked down from above, its end lying coiled on the ground.
"And that's the way up," the redhead announced.
Yuffie craned her neck, but couldn't make out much above them. The concrete wall that formed one side of the alley seemed to end maybe 30 feet up, but she couldn't be sure. The Turk started up the wire with an air of certainty, and she could only follow.
The wire continued past the top of the wall, but Yuffie had to stop for a moment when she caught sight of the view beyond. A vast field of debris stretched out from the other side of the wall. Fires flickered here and there, illuminating particular scraps of twisted metal, broken roofs, or cracked pavement. Elsewhere, natural light, even if hazy, glinted coldly off the destruction.
"Is this... Sector 7?" she asked in a small voice.
Reno, having climbed on, paused to glance down at her. "Yeah."
"And... you did this?"
"Yeah."
Her mouth twitched as she searched for words, trying to piece together a question that could encompass the sight. In the end all she managed was, "Why?"
"It's what Shinra ordered me to do. They wanted to wipe out Avalanche."
"Like this? By destroying an entire sector? Were they that dangerous?"
"You guys are still alive, aren't you?"
Yuffie frowned. The debris field held her gaze for some minutes longer before she noticed Reno had already resumed climbing, and she followed suit, trying to focus all her attention on the wire.
The wire got them to the underside of the plate, from where they could climb along the mangled edge that had once connected to Sector 7's plate. At length they reached the top. They hauled themselves up onto the pavement, and not far ahead loomed the Shinra building. The sky above wasn't much of a relief from the underside of the plate. Only a handful of stars were visible, and a sickly green haze blotted out the rest.
"I hate this city more and more each second," Yuffie spat in a whisper.
"C'mon, let's just go," Reno said. "And none of those death glares inside, all right? Try to be in character."
"I thought I didn't have to act the part."
"I just meant we're not having sex. You could at least try to pretend we are."
"I'm so killing you after we get back out of here," she hissed, but she took a breath and tried to clear the sentiment from her face.
They headed for the entrance, Yuffie staying close by his side and internalizing all her death wishes. They passed through the glass doors, and the receptionists nearby did little more than cast disapproving frowns in Reno's direction. He returned their looks with a pleasant grin and a wink before ushering Yuffie up a set of stairs to the elevators.
Their trip up was quiet. Not many employees were working this late, and besides a couple people who got on and off again at lower floors, their ride was undisturbed. Reno's keycard granted them access to the restricted floors, and finally the elevator brought them to the 67th floor, dinging pleasantly as its doors opened.
Only here did they move with some sense of stealth. Obviously this wasn't whatever floor Reno had quarters on, so if she'd been what she was pretending to be, he'd totally brought her to the wrong place. Thank the gods she wasn't.
The Turk moved quickly, stealing past doors and down hallways until they reached a short corridor with locked doors on either side: a cell block. He stopped in front of one and punched in the access code. The door slid open.
Aeris and Nanaki were both on the other side, and Aeris stood in surprise, opening her mouth to speak.
"Shh," Reno warned, finger to his lips.
"Reno?" Aeris hissed in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here to get you out," he replied, motioning Aeris's attention towards Yuffie. The ninja waved.
The Cetra only seemed more confused. "Why are you...?"
"Explanations'll have to come later," Reno interrupted. "Suffice to say I'm on your side now." He turned to Yuffie. "Well?"
"Huh? Oh, right." Pulling open her bag, she hauled out the arsenal she'd had to keep hidden: a dagger for Aeris, the blades Nanaki used in his headdress, and the rest of her throwing knives that she hadn't been able to hide under the stupid dress. Her shuriken, she'd had to leave behind again, but at least this time she didn't have to mess with any guns.
"Ready," she announced once she'd fastened Nanaki's headdress.
"All right, let's go," said Reno, turning for the door.
Aeris caught his arm. "I want to have a word with Hojo."
He shook his head, disregarding her tone. "Sorry, Aeris, but we don't have time."
"It won't take long."
"Seriously, we gotta go. You remember last time you escaped, don't you?"
"Yes, but--"
"Then shut up and follow me."
Aeris frowned, but Reno had already gone out the door, and so she followed him.
Yuffie didn't give herself too much time to wonder what that was about, but motioned for Nanaki to come with. The two of them followed, bringing up the rear.
Reno led them back down the hallway, his pace quick. A pair of guards ran up, stopping in front of him as though they could defeat him. One swing of the Turk's rod sent both of them flying back into the wall. They landed in a crumpled heap, crackling with electricity.
Yuffie was suddenly very glad she'd never had to fight Reno.
The redhead dispatched several other men just as easily as they made their way back to the elevators. Reno's keycard still worked, and they started down.
The elevator opened onto the 59th floor, but only Reno stepped out. Waiting for them was Rude, and behind him a dozen or so men, three of them from SOLDIER.
"Reno," Rude said quietly. "What are you doing?"
The redhead spread his hands. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Why now?"
"You know we've been over it before," he said, glancing at Aeris. "And anyway, I figure Avalanche has a better chance of coming out on top. Shinra's doomed. Might not seem that way now, but it's felt like that to me for a while now. Might as well leave while I can."
Rude shook his head silently.
"You're more than welcome to come with me," Reno offered. "But if not, you know I've got no reservations about kicking your ass."
"I know."
The redhead waited a moment longer for a response no one else noticed. "Ah well." He looked over his shoulder. "You guys ready?"
The three of them nodded.
"Take the Ancient and the creature alive," Rude told his men. "Kill the others."
Reno leapt into motion before he'd finished speaking, going straight for Rude much to Yuffie's startlement. Aeris rushed past her out of the elevator, and she shook herself, following. Nanaki ran out at her side.
Her first knife found some soldier's chest, but she quickly lost any room for throwing. She slashed a second man along his collar bone, but a third struck her from behind with his club, knocking her to the floor.
She rolled back to her feet as quickly as she could, stumbling and cursing. Nanaki had taken down the soldier who had attacked her, and he glanced up for an instant to make sure she was all right before charging another.
A cluster of three near Aeris had nearly pinned the Cetra's arms. Yuffie blasted them with a water spell and ran to help, dodging Reno and Rude as they moved across her path. The ninja hurled a knife towards one SOLDIER approaching Aeris before she'd recovered. The blade buried itself in his shoulder, making him falter long enough for the Cetra to fell him.
"You okay?" Yuffie asked as she reached Aeris's side.
"Yes," came the breathless reply.
The three men Yuffie had knocked down were climbing back to their feet. Aeris hit them hard with a bolt spell, and they did not rise again.
Yuffie gave a start. Aeris shouldn't have had any materia. "How did you--?"
"Later," Aeris interrupted, turning around to face two more men coming towards them.
They fired at Yuffie, but Aeris yanked her sideways and the bullets missed anything vital, one stabbing through her arm. The two girls stumbled, and the soldiers faltered, having lost a clear shot at Yuffie. They lowered their guns and charged instead with their clubs.
Nanaki tackled one from behind, sinking his teeth into the man's neck with an audible crunch. Yuffie recovered enough to throw a knife at the other. It buried itself in his throat and he fell with a gurgling cry.
Aeris had begun an inspection of Yuffie's arm, but she waved her off, not wanting to be pulled out of the fight for that. When she looked around, though, she saw that none of Rude's men remained standing. A few were attempting to get back to their feet, but most were dead or unconscious.
Reno and Rude were still fighting. Both of them were bleeding, and Reno had smashed Rude's sunglasses. Yuffie had never seen the man take them off. Yuffie, Aeris, and Nanaki backed up towards the elevator down, exchanging uncertain glances. It wasn't their fight, but if Reno didn't finish this quick, they couldn't stand around waiting for him.
Reno's eyes flicked their way, seeming to acknowledge this. He darted back a few steps and swung his nightstick at Rude, hitting the man with a blast of electricity. The redhead then turned to them, motioning them towards the elevator.
Rude was quick to recover, his fist flying towards Reno. The redhead barely dodged the attack.
The three backed up close to the elevator doors. Aeris was pushing the button rapidly, but neither of the cars had come yet. Yuffie clutched her wounded arm, starting to feel the pain in earnest now.
She cursed, glancing back at Reno, who was making slow progress back towards them.
One elevator dinged finally, its door opening, but Aeris took a step backwards. Some tall Shinra employee stood inside waiting for them. He wore a suit, but it wasn't a Turk's uniform, and Yuffie had never seen him before. His black hair was swept back, almost shoulder length, and he had a goatee. His light brown eyes didn't look particularly threatening.
"It's me, Reeve," he said when he saw they didn't recognize him. "I'm coming with you."
Neither Aeris nor Nanaki relaxed. "It's okay," Yuffie assured them. "Reeve's Cait Sith."
Aeris gave her a puzzled look before understanding crossed her face, and she stepped onto the elevator. Nanaki followed.
Yuffie turned around, finding Reno not far behind them, but still no closer to getting away from Rude. She backed up into the elevator, casting a look at Aeris. She didn't want to risk knifing Reno, especially with this arm, but maybe... "Aeris, can you do anything?"
"I can try," the Cetra replied doubtfully, but the next instant, an invisible blast threw Rude backwards, knocking him to the floor.
Reno ran to join the group in the elevator. "Go!"
The door slid shut, and the elevator dropped. The redhead fell to a crouch on the floor, breathing heavily.
Yuffie glanced at Aeris, but the Cetra was leaning against the glass wall, looking drained. She grit her teeth, dug around in her bag, and pulled out the headband she'd worn earlier, tying it around her wound. After a minute, Reno picked himself up off the floor and looked the four of them over, saying nothing.
"There'll be more of 'em on the first floor, won't there?" Yuffie said, guessing that's what he was worried about. "Will Rude follow us down?"
Reno shook his head. "I doubt it."
"Why did you fight him?" Reeve asked.
"Had to."
"I thought you two were friends."
"We were."
Reeve fell silent.
"Can you fight, Reeve?" Yuffie prompted.
He shook his head.
"You stick close to me, then. I'll take care of you."
"...all right."
She could tell he was a little skeptical of her ability to protect anyone, especially in her condition. She vowed to prove him wrong.
The elevator reached the first floor, and dinged pleasantly. Yuffie wanted to kill it. A greater number of men awaited them, but only a handful were from the more elite SOLDIER. No Turks, so she wasn't worried. Reno readied his nightstick and stepped out of the elevator first, tired though he must have been. "This'll only take a minute," he told Yuffie.
Some of the soldiers shifted nervously at finding themselves facing a Turk--or rather, an ex-Turk, Yuffie amended. He was definitely out after this episode. True to his word after all.
Reno charged the group, and their bullets bounced harmlessly off a barrier spell he'd cast on himself. The redhead's nightstick cracked against one soldier after another, accompanied each time by a pulse of electricity.
More men were coming in through the main entrance down below, and Yuffie soon saw that however well Reno fought, there were just too many. Nanaki saw it, too, and cast her a look before bounding off to help. Yuffie nodded and motioned for Aeris and Reeve to stick with her as they stepped out of the elevator. They needed to find a way out.
At the back of the building, not far from them, yellow caution tape criss-crossed one of the windows, which Yuffie quickly noticed just wasn't there. It must have been completely smashed; all the glass had been cleared away, leaving a gaping hole.
"I guess they haven't had time to replace it," Aeris remarked. Yuffie glanced at her, surprised to see the Cetra was smiling.
"You know what happened?" Yuffie asked.
"It's how we got out of here the first time," Aeris explained. "There was a truck on display; we drove it through the window."
"Does that mean there's a street back there?"
"There's a drop, but yes."
Yuffie strode to the broken window and peered out. Sure enough, there was a boulevard about ten feet below, empty and stretching out away from the Shinra building. "Where's it lead?"
It was Reeve who answered. "It used to go out to the edge of Sector 7. Just a dead end now."
The ninja grinned. "Then it looks like this is our way out. It looks climbable. You guys start down."
"What about Reno?" Aeris asked, hesitating. Reeve was already tearing aside the caution tape, but he spared her a glance.
Yuffie turned back to where Reno and Nanaki were keeping the soldiers occupied. "Hey, guys!" she shouted. "Come on!"
Both looked her way. Nanaki turned and bounded towards her, his gait too fast for a human to match. The soldiers didn't fire; Shinra must have still wanted him alive. Reno broke away from the soldiers and ran after, throwing bolts of electricity back at the men who followed.
Aeris sprinted the distance to meet him and cast the same spell she'd used on Rude, only its reach was broader. The front line men flew back, knocking down their comrades. She stumbled, but Reno caught her before she collapsed, threw her over his shoulder, and ran to meet Yuffie.
Reeve had already started down, and Yuffie hurried to follow, clenching her teeth against the pain in her arm. Reno climbed over the edge after her, but Nanaki simply leapt over him, landing easily in the street below. Yuffie dropped down to join him and Reeve, and Reno's feet touched pavement not long after. He eased Aeris onto her feet and pulled out his PHS.
"Highwind," he said the second he got an answer. "We're gonna need you to meet us halfway." There was a pause, and then Reno added, "Just do it, I don't give a shit who's in charge" before hanging up.
Shouts from above drew their attention to the window, but no pursuit had shown yet. They couldn't have had more than a few minutes to get going. It sucked that they were on foot.
The sound of a car from behind drew all their gazes, and everyone but Yuffie instinctively moved out of the way. Instead she let out a shout and held her ground. The driver slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt just in front of her.
Anyone had to admit that'd looked pretty cool.
Nanaki bounded up on the hood of the car, growling menacingly at the driver. Yuffie yanked the door open, brandishing a knife. "Out," she commanded.
The man stumbled out of the car and to the side of the road, his eyes wide.
Yuffie ignored him and turned to the others. "Who knows how to drive?"
"I do," Reeve volunteered, and she jerked her head towards the driver's seat. She opened the back door for Nanaki, who hopped in. Aeris climbed in after, and Yuffie finally glanced back to Reno.
"Nice," he remarked appreciatively of the whole thing, but motioned for her to get in on the passenger's side. She hesitated, but obeyed. "Floor it, Reeve!" the redhead shouted then, jumping onto the back of the car.
The car accelerated, and Yuffie's stomach lurched as they sped down the road. It was a few moments before she thought to glance back for signs of pursuit. The Shinra building was of course still in sight, but too far for her to make out the window they'd escaped through. They had a few minutes of tense silence before Shinra troops on motorcycle swooped in from an entrance ramp.
From his perch on the back, Reno hurled bolts of energy at them, knocking them back. One got passed, moving up along side the car. Yuffie swallowed her nausea, flinging a knife out her open window and catching the rider in the shoulder before he could fire at them. His bike swerved as he lost control, and fell behind.
Another rammed the car from the opposite side, and Yuffie leaned over Reeve to get a clear shot. Her first knife missed, her second found the soldier's shoulder guard and bounced off. "Damnit!" Yuffie cursed, falling forward across Reeve as the motorcycle slammed into them again. She pushed herself back up and cast a bolt spell on the asshole, who cried out and lost control. The bike crashed into the guard rail.
Yuffie sat back in her seat, swallowing bile and mentally counting her remaining knives. Knife. And she didn't think she had much left in her for more magic. Somewhere above, she caught the sound of propellers; Shinra helicopters were closing in on them.
"It's them," Reeve said, leaning forward to peer up out the windshield. Yuffie looked up; not Shinra helicopters, but the Highwind. They were almost out.
She glanced out the rear view mirrors, seeing only two motorcycles now in pursuit. "We've gotta stop," she said. No way were they trying to pull a leaping-from-a-moving-car-onto-a-moving-rope-ladder deal. Her stomach would never survive it.
Reeve brought the car to a screeching halt, and the motorcycles shot past them at the unexpected stop, turning around farther down the road to come back at them. With her last knife, Yuffie made a throw in a million and caught the one just under the helmet, sending him careering out of control right past them. Reno brought down the other, only then leaping down from his perch to help Aeris out of the car.
The Highwind came to hover above them, and Vincent threw down the ladder.
They made sure Aeris went up first, and the rest followed in their own way, Reno bringing up the rear. Once they were safely on the deck of the Highwind, the airship moved off again away from the city.
"Welcome back," said Vincent quietly.
"Thanks," Yuffie replied, managing a grin.
"Let's get inside," Reno suggested, sounding tired. "Aeris, I'll explain what's going on on the way."
She nodded, though she looked more tired than any of them, and followed as he led the way inside the ship.
The others went, too, Yuffie and Reeve now bringing up the rear.
"So..." he began, slightly awkward, "why are you wearing a dress anyway?"
Yuffie let out a groan, remembering again only now her terrible need to murder Reno. "Don't ask."