Chapter 11
The Planet hummed with life. Its pain had always been the loudest thing, the only thing Aeris could pick up on in Midgar when she could hear it at all, but here in the midst of green growing things, there was a different undercurrent, more like a song.
I'm here, she said to it. Was it aware of her? Did it know her?
If there was a reply, she wasn't able to interpret it, not yet.
The others weren't supposed to be able to hear it, but Aeris wondered if they did, at least on some level. As they struck camp that morning, she noticed each of them take little moments to breathe in the air, or listen to the birds, as though really they were stopping to listen to something else.
Tifa looked tired, which worried her. Her encounter with Sephiroth seemed to have shaken her more than their brief run-in with him in the Shinra building. Aeris thought that there was something more Sephiroth had said to her that she hadn't shared with them. Something she was letting eat at her like the story of Nibelheim's destruction.
But she was also sure that Tifa wouldn't say a word about it until she was ready.
"What a nice morning," Aeris said, instead of pressing anything. "I think I'm getting to like this sleeping outside thing."
"I'm a long ways from used to it," said Jessie. "I kind of expected it to be quieter, but there's still animals moving around, and the wind in the trees..."
"Beats the hum of Mako energy and people makin' a ruckus in the street, though," Barret said.
"Oh, sure. I wasn't saying they were bad sounds, just unfamiliar ones for now."
Red stretched out his forelegs and shook his mane. "I certainly prefer them," he said.
"You catch somethin' good, cat?" Barret asked him.
Red had shared their food with reluctance after leaving Midgar, but now that there was more wildlife in the area, he'd taken to hunting for his meals. He didn't respond to Barret's question, but there was a definite satisfaction in his expression.
Tifa slung her pack onto her shoulders and looked at the rest of them expectantly. "Everyone ready to go?" she asked. Mission-focused again. Aeris thought it was a bad sign.
Barret exchanged glances with Jessie. "Yeah, I guess so," he said.
They returned to the road, walking along the side beneath the shade of the trees. Tifa led the way at a brisk pace, and Aeris quickened her step to catch up and walk alongside her.
"Hey, are you okay?" she had to ask.
"I'm all right. I just feel better when I'm doing something."
"Well, just make sure you don't overdo it. I'm not sure any of us can keep up this pace."
Tifa blinked, glanced behind her, and slowed down. "Sorry."
"That's okay. I guess you're just excited to get to Junon, huh?"
"Not exactly."
Aeris had expected as much, but she thought she'd try to plant the idea. Maybe if Tifa had something to look forward to, she wouldn't dwell as much on what Sephiroth had said. "Well, I think it could be fun. It's on the ocean, isn't it? Have you ever seen the ocean before?"
"I haven't, actually."
"I thought so. I haven't seen it either, but it must be pretty impressive. I know I'm looking forward to it."
Tifa tilted her head thoughtfully. "I guess you're right... And then we'll be at sea. I've never been on a boat--at least, not that I remember."
It was working, Aeris thought. "Do you know how to swim?"
"Sure. It's been a while, but I don't think that's something you really forget."
"Well, I've never learned in the first place, so if I go overboard, you'd better jump in and save me."
Tifa looked at her, torn between incredulous and amused. Amused was good. "Why on earth would you go overboard?"
"It seems to be a thing that happens on boats," Aeris reasoned. "You never know."
"Well, just... don't go too close to the railing. Because if that's a thing that happens, then a sea monster might eat you before I can rescue you."
Aeris gaped at her delightedly. "A sea monster? You'd really let me get eaten by a sea monster?"
"It'd be your own fault for going over the side."
"Now I'm just going to have to hold onto you the whole time, so I take you with me if I go."
Tifa looked her over skeptically. "I don't think that's how it would happen, but at least it'd keep your feet on the deck."
"Fair enough."
"And maybe I should teach you how to swim, if we get the chance."
"I'd like that," Aeris said.
She considered bringing up the possibility of shopping for swimsuits, but decided against it. Some of the tension had left Tifa's shoulders, and Aeris didn't want to change that by teasing her, as fun as that might have been. It was enough to get her thinking of something lighthearted, and inconsequential.
Barret approached her later, when they stopped for a short rest. "Thanks for lookin' after her," he said quietly, glancing at Tifa. She was off with Jessie, the two of them trying to put a name to a colorful bird they'd spotted.
"It's nothing," said Aeris. "She's had it rough lately. You all have."
"Don't know why you're countin' yourself out," Barret said. "I ain't gonna ask what went down in that lab, but it seemed like a real fucked up place. I know I'd have some feelings about that if I was you."
Aeris shook her head. "I do, but... Honestly, I wasn't there for long, before you all came and got me. The worst part was leaving... All those men in the Shinra building. It was awful, what happened to them."
"Least they went quick," Barret said grimly.
"Do you think they did, all of them? I've seen Tifa's scar... He didn't kill her, he just left her to die."
Barret scratched his head. "Guess you're right. But I'm not losin' a lotta sleep over them. I just wish I knew what the hell he wants with Tifa now."
"Me, too." Aeris didn't mention her suspicion that Tifa might already have some idea. She wasn't sure Barret would be discreet about it, and she could be wrong.
"Well, we'll keep an eye on 'er, and she oughtta be all right. She's a tough lady."
"I guess you've known her longer than anyone," Aeris reasoned.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"So, what's her favorite color?"
Barret chuckled, and she got in a few more questions before Tifa and Jessie gave up their birdwatching and the party moved on.
It really was a beautiful day. Summers in Midgar could be sweltering, trapped between the smog and the asphalt. They weren't so hot beneath the plate, but the air was still bad. But here and now the air was clean in her lungs and the sun reached them only some of the time through the canopy, pleasant kisses of warmth on her skin.
The flash came out of nowhere, and a loud clap assaulted her ears. Aeris stumbled to a halt where she stood, trying to blink her vision clear. She couldn't see anything.
"What's going on?" she tried to shout, but she could barely hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears.
She felt a tug on her hair and whirled around. What was this? Were they under attack?
After a few cautious steps forward, she felt someone take her arm. "Tifa?" No; her vision was starting to return--Jessie.
Jessie was trying to say something to her, but she couldn't make it out, and she shook her head. She looked around, squinting, to make out the shapes of her friends. They were all there, they all seemed okay, and she couldn't make out anyone else. Barret was looking around, too, his hand on his gun arm, ready to fire... but at what?
Red tossed his head and growled something indistinct. Jessie looked towards him, but he bounded off into the trees even as she was speaking. Tifa went after him.
"What's going on?" Aeris tried again, and this time she could hear herself through the persistent ringing.
"Flashbang," Jessie said. Her voice was muffled, like she was speaking through a wall, and Aeris picked it up as much from watching her lips as from the sound. "You okay?"
"I can barely hear you."
Jessie nodded. "That's temporary. Don't worry."
"Where'd it come from?"
"Not sure. It didn't hit Red too bad; he thinks he heard someone."
Aeris nodded. He'd been walking farther ahead of the rest of them. "Should we go after him?" she asked, but Jessie shrugged. It would have been hard to follow at this point.
Jessie gave her shoulder a pat and left her to inspect a canister on the ground nearby. The grenade had landed really close to her, Aeris realized. "I've never seen one quite like this," Jessie remarked.
"Sure ain't Shinra issue," Barret agreed.
The Shinra wouldn't have just thrown it at them and run, Aeris thought, and it certainly didn't seem like something Sephiroth would do either, or she would have been more worried about Tifa and Red going off on their own. But who would do this? What was the point?
Her ears were still ringing, but her vision had mostly cleared, and that was when she finally noticed: the empty materia slot in her staff. With a start, she felt at her hair ribbon.
"My materia," she said in alarm. "They took it."
"Shit," said Barret. "Shoulda figured it for a thief."
He and Jessie both looked into the trees, and Aeris thought she might have heard it, too--a shout somewhere not far away. After several minutes, Tifa reappeared.
"We caught her," she said. "This way."
Aeris's shoulders sagged in relief, and Tifa looked at her in concern.
"You okay, Aeris?"
She nodded. "For a minute, I thought... A memento from my mother. I was worried I'd lost it."
Tifa smiled gently in understanding. "Then I'm really glad we found her. Come on."
They followed her a short way through the forest until they reached Red, who had someone pinned to the ground.
It was just a young girl, Aeris realized. A teenager.
"Oh, man," said the girl as she saw all of them gathering above her. She spoke with a faint accent, one Aeris had never heard before. "Look, you got me, so can you get your... dog... off of me?"
Red growled, keeping his paws on her chest.
"Or he can stay right here," said the girl. "That's cool, too."
"Where's the stuff you took?" Barret asked her.
"Oh, um..." Eyeing Red the entire time, she reached slowly into her pocket and pulled out several materia orbs, including the Restore they'd bought for Jessie in Kalm. "Here. Take 'em."
"When did she even...?" Jessie said, checking her bag. How had she even known to look inside?
Aeris bent down to retrieve the materia, and passed Jessie's back to her. "I think you can let her up now, Red, can't you?"
He glanced at her as though he disagreed, but he backed off. The girl sat up cautiously.
"Least he's well-trained," she mumbled.
"I am not trained," Red stated in annoyance, and the girl gaped at him.
"Did you just talk!?"
"Yes."
She looked around at the rest of them, pointing at Red incredulously. "I'm not hallucinating, right? He talks?"
"He talks," Aeris confirmed.
"Wow. What a bunch of weirdos."
"As a common thief, I don't see that you have room to judge," said Red.
"I am not a common thief!" the girl said indignantly. "I heard you. You're Shinra sympathizers."
"What?" said Jessie, and she exchanged incredulous looks with Aeris and Tifa.
"Shinra sympathizers!?" Barret repeated angrily, and he actually started to raise his gun arm.
"What exactly did you hear?" Aeris asked quickly.
The girl glowered at her. "You were talking about how awful it was that all those guys at the Shinra building got killed."
"But that was... How long have you been following us?"
"...a while."
"And we didn't notice..." Jessie murmured.
Tifa joined Aeris, crouching down in front of the girl. "Well, we're not Shinra sympathizers," she stated. She glanced at Jessie and then went on, "Have you heard of AVALANCHE?"
"AVALANCHE... Wait, aren't those the guys who killed President Shinra? That's you!?"
Tifa shook her head. "That got blamed on us, but it wasn't us. We were actually being held prisoner at the Shinra building when the murders happened. And they were... pretty brutal. I'm not sure I'd wish that even on the Shinra."
"Well, I would," said the girl.
"Yeah, you're making that pretty clear," said Jessie. "I kinda like her, Tifa."
Tifa gave her a wry look. "You know she used that grenade on us, right?"
"Hey, if the kid knows her explosives..."
"I'm not a kid!" the girl protested.
Aeris smiled. She couldn't help it. "What's your name?" she asked.
The girl folded her arms. "That's rude, asking me first before you introduce yourselves."
Aeris didn't see how, but there was no harm in obliging her. "I'm Aeris," she said. "This is Tifa, Jessie, and Red, and that's Barret."
"...I'm Yuffie."
"It's nice to meet you, Yuffie. Even though you did throw a grenade at me and steal my materia."
The admonishment didn't faze her. "I've never seen one like that before," she said.
"It is special," Aeris admitted, "but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to use it anyway."
Yuffie scrutinized her for a moment, shrugged, and finally picked herself up off the ground. Aeris and Tifa stood with her, and Red quietly circled around behind her to block her escape. Yuffie glanced at him uneasily.
"Anyway," she said, "if you guys are AVALANCHE, what're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in Midgar or something? Seems like a good time to get stuff done with the President dead and all."
"We're lookin' into somethin' else right now," said Barret.
Yuffie nodded thoughtfully. "Are you headed for Junon? I heard Rufus was gonna be there."
"Is that right?" Barret said, exchanging glances with Tifa.
"As much as we'd love to pay our respects," said Tifa, "we're just planning on passing through."
"Then you're headed west," Yuffie concluded. "I could help you with that."
"An' why would we need your help?" Barret asked skeptically.
Yuffie lifted her chin. "Those Shinra goons don't let just anybody through, you know. If you guys wanna get on a ship, you're gonna have to know how to slip past 'em."
"An' you know how to do that?"
"She was tailing us for at least a couple of hours," Aeris pointed out.
"Yeah, exactly," said Yuffie, looking pleased with herself.
Tifa pulled the rest of them aside, leaving Red to keep an eye on Yuffie. "I know it's a little unusual, but maybe we could use the help," she said. "You're the only one who's even been to Junon, Barret."
"And that was four years ago," Jessie added, "when you weren't on Shinra's most wanted list. We're not gonna be okay to go through their checkpoints."
Barret scratched his head. "I mean, yeah, but you guys really wanna trust her?"
"She's just a kid, Barret," said Tifa. "What's she doing out here on her own anyway?"
"Stealin,'" he said flatly.
"She did think we were pro-Shinra," Aeris pointed out. "I mean, I'm not sure what her story is, but maybe we're on the same side."
"Obviously we'd have to keep an eye on her," said Jessie, "but she's got some skills."
Barret sighed. "Guess I'm bein' outvoted..."
They turned back to Yuffie, and Tifa said, "We've decided to take you up on your offer."
"Great!" said Yuffie. "That'll be 3000 gil, up-front."
"Or she could be trying to fleece us..." Aeris considered quietly.
"Nice try," said Tifa. "We'll make it 1000, after we're through."
"Mmm, I guess that'll have to do," Yuffie decided, and she held out her hand for Tifa to shake. "It's a deal."
They made their way back to the road, everyone making sure that Yuffie remained in the center of the group. Aeris fastened the White Materia back in place in her hair and elected to walk beside the new, if perhaps temporary, member of their group, while Tifa flanked her on the other side.
"So, Yuffie," she said, "where is it you come from anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm from Wutai."
Well, that explained a lot about her attitude towards the Shinra.
"You're a long way from home," Jessie remarked. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
"I don't see what's weird about it," said Yuffie. "And what is this anyway, an interrogation? I thought we already had a deal."
"I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other a little better," Aeris said.
"What for? I'm only gonna be with you guys a couple days."
"That's right," said Barret. "This is just a temporary business arrangement. AVALANCHE ain't lookin' for new recruits right now."
Aeris glanced back at him. She knew it wasn't her call, especially being the newest member, but she didn't see why they should be turning anyone away. "Well," she said, "maybe we'll just see how it goes."
"I'm not gonna stick around where I'm not wanted," said Yuffie, "but I bet you're gonna find me indispensable. I mean, it seems like you could really use somebody with my skills. You only caught me at all because of your talking dog."
Ahead of them, Red huffed loudly, his tail lashing.
"He's not a dog," Aeris said, "and he doesn't belong to us."
"Then what is he exactly?" Yuffie asked.
Aeris exchanged glances with Tifa. They never had asked him, but if he hadn't volunteered the information by now, Aeris didn't think he was about to for Yuffie's sake.
"He's... his own person," Tifa decided.
Yuffie nodded thoughtfully. "Like a free agent, huh? I guess maybe he's more of a cat. I like cats."
The feeling definitely wasn't mutual at the moment, but Aeris at least thought Yuffie would be an interesting person to have around. And a good distraction, maybe, for her friends.
They came upon the river late in the afternoon. Aeris heard the rushing sound first, not knowing what it meant, though none of her friends showed any alarm. Then they came out of the trees, and the bridge stretched across ahead of them, spanning hundreds, maybe even a thousand feet of water.
Aeris ran ahead to the side rail and leaned over, staring down. The river banks were steep, but the water below looked calm, a slow-moving current barely disturbed by the bridge's piers.
"You'd think she'd never seen water before," she heard Yuffie remark from behind her.
"It's my first river," she said. "I didn't know they were so wide!"
"Depends on the river," Tifa said, coming up beside her. "Try not to fall in."
Aeris threw her a mischievous look and leaned farther forward. "Oh no... I think I might be slipping...!"
"Oh, don't you dare," said Tifa. She was smiling, but Aeris could tell she wasn't entirely sure Aeris wouldn't jump into the river just for fun (she wouldn't; it looked calm but also deep). Tifa took her by the waist, plucking her off the railing like she weighed nothing, and set her back down squarely on the bridge.
Amazing.
"A sort of preemptive rescue, I see," Aeris said, beaming at her in delight.
"It seemed prudent," said Tifa, tucking her hair back behind her ear.
"You guys are the weirdest," Yuffie pronounced, walking on past them to continue across the bridge. Red and Jessie went with her, Jessie giving Aeris a nod of approval.
"C'mon, you two," said Barret, bringing up the rear. "I know it's a sight, but we still got ground to cover 'fore nightfall."
"Oh, I guess so," Aeris said, reluctantly following after him. Tifa kept pace at her side, and they didn't have to be in any hurry to get across, Aeris decided. The sinking afternoon sun reflected in the water, and Aeris amended her mental list of places she might like to live someday to include a quiet house by a riverbank. Once she learned how to swim, at least.