Last Exit for the Lost Chapter 16
Changes
By Damodred
Zack was beginning to wonder if tagging along with the young ninja was the
right choice. She proved that she could hold her own in a fight, but as a
traveling companion she left much to be desired. She elected him as the
spokesperson of the group and constantly bombarded him with questions about
their goal, about Cloud and Tifa, and about himself. Not to mention that
he already had to ask her once to return his Ice Materia! She feigned surprise,
saying that it must have fallen off his sword and returned it readily enough,
but her small hands were constantly wandering as she gesticulated. He briefly
wished for Sephiroth's daunting presence, Aerith's air of calm indifference,
or even Tifa's self-absorption which made each of them Yuffie-proof, at least
temporarily. He sighed inwardly and returned his attention to the girl.
"So do you get to fight dragons often? I think if you draw this kind of attention
to yourself and expect me to go with you, you could at least explain yourself!
I mean, I gotta know what I'm risking my neck for! And that guy," she shuddered
elaborately, "He looked all...wonky. Uh..." she fell silent as she noted
the heated glare Tifa directed at her. She promptly changed the subject,
"Anyway....hey! Whatcha makin'?" This last was directed at Sephiroth, who's
been examining one of the dragons' claws that he cut off earlier. He held
it by the talons and grasped the hilt of his Masamune, displaying a green
Materia embedded in the pommel. His green eyes met Yuffie's briefly, making
her gulp nervously and immediately swear to herself that she would never
touch the tall man's Materia. Satisfied with the effect, Sephiroth glanced
down at the claw, tightening his grip on Masamune. The Materia flickered
momentarily and a bright flame traveled from Sephiroth's hand to the claw.
The claw flashed brightly and the dragon flesh incinerated, no longer protected
by the dragon's immunity when it was alive. The heat died down, leaving the
talons clean and free of flesh. Sephiroth nodded to himself and turned to
Tifa. "Give me your gauntlet," he said quietly. Tifa took off her gauntlet
and handed it to him, a questioning look on her face. With a few more judicious
applications of the Fire Materia, Sephiroth removed the Mythril blades embedded
in the gauntlet, and attached the dragon talons in their place. Yuffie's
eyes widened as she noticed that the air around the gauntlet was warped by
the extreme heat, yet Sephiroth handled it with his bare hands. He inserted
the talons into the glowing metal without hesitation, and appraised his finished
work with a critical eye. Adjusting the talons to his liking as the metal
solidified, he held the weapon up and said to Tifa with a slight smile, "The
Dragon Claw." He pulled it out of her reach as she stretched out her hand,
"It's too hot for you now. It must cool naturally, else the metal in the
gauntlet will crack. Give it thirty minutes," he judged, stabbing the weapon
through the metal side of the truck. It went in easily and stayed embedded
in the steel. Tifa looked at him in wonder. "Thank you," she said softly.
Sephiroth shrugged, looking at Aerith while addressing Tifa, "You needed
a stronger weapon."
Aerith smiled to herself, thinking of his words. This group was having an
effect on him as well, despite what he said. He did not have the words to
express his sympathy for Tifa's plight, so he let his actions suit his feelings.
She knew him too well to believe his words, and he knew it. She turned her
attention to the young ninja. Now here was a seemingly transparent person,
her mouth never closing for long enough to consider what she was giving away.
Her mastery of that huge shuriken she was holding, and the way her eyes lit
up when mentioning Materia definitely proved at least a part of her story,
but there was something more...perhaps it had to do with Reno, the silent
driver? Speak of the devil..."Hey, someone drive for a while, I'm getting
cramps over here!" an irritated shout issued from the front. Yuffie looked
around, and noting no volunteers, clambered over the seat to the front. The
truck slowed momentarily, and then surged ahead as Yuffie stepped on the
accelerator. Shaking his head, Reno clambered into the back, muttering
imprecations towards female drivers. "I heard that!" came an irritated voice
from the front. Reno sighed heavily and plopped himself down on one of the
vacant seats, eyeing the assemblage. He said, "Good day for driving,"
laconically, took out a flask from his jacket and took a hefty swig. Zack
asked curiously, "How'd you get the truck away from the ShinRa?" Reno waved
off-handedly, "Piece of cake. While the ninja there distracted the guards
with her...uh...dubious charms..." he broke off as an angry, "HEY!" came
from the front, then chuckled and continued. "I distracted them with this
handy Nightstick. It paralyzes enemies by shocking them with electricity.
My own design," he said proudly, exhibiting the device. It looked like a
sturdy, collapsible antenna, slightly thicker around the base with a single
button on the grip. Tifa edged closer, interested despite herself.
Sephiroth was puzzled. He knew he had seen the man, Reno, before but could
not remember where or under what circumstances. The contact must have been
very fleeting, for memory rarely failed him. He stood up, sending a thought
to Aerith. I'll be outside. There may still be danger. Her reply came
back, amused, Don't fall off. He directed a suitably indignant reply
back, tinged with a smile, and walked to the open back of the truck, catching
hold of the top spar. With a quick flip upwards, he disappeared from view.
Zack watched as the tall SOLDIER moved to the roof. He had seen Sephiroth
in battles before, but in the last few years it'd been quiet and he hadn't
had a chance to watch his fellow SOLDIER in action, other than on training
grounds. He thought he was moving up the ranks of SOLDIER and improving his
skills, but now he realized that he wasn't even close. He put his head in
between his hands and wondered how it was possible for a man to be so
efficient...in killing. "Sometimes, one loses something in order to gain
something else," a soft voice spoke by his side. He jerked his head up, surprised
that Aerith managed to sit by him without him noticing. He smiled ruefully,
"You startled me." Aerith said, gently, "He cannot be startled." Zack nodded,
understanding, and looked into her eyes, "And you?" Aerith's eyes flashed
momentarily, but subsided. She spoke softly, "I may be losing my hate."
Tifa found herself completely distracted as Reno regaled her with stories
of his escapades as a treasure hunter, most of them obviously fake. She wondered
briefly at who this man really was, but dismissed the matter for now, caught
up in his tale of how he singlehandedly outwitted an entire ShinRa platoon
at Fort Condor. Finally she burst out in laughter, unable to contain herself
any longer. The man scowled at her briefly, but eventually couldn't help
himself and grinned, "Didn't believe a word, eh? I must be losing my touch."
Tifa assured him that he was very convincing and he sat back, pleased.
The rest of the trip passed in silence, everyone resting after the recent
events. Well, almost everyone. Sephiroth never seemed to get tired, and neither
did Yuffie. Zack attributed it to her age, and sighed wearily at her continued
prattle. He moved to the front to guide them to Gongaga, as these were familiar
grounds to him but began to regret the decision. If he'd been more observant,
he would have noticed the sideways glances she kept directing at him. He
was too anxious to be finally back home to notice, and only realized that
something was amiss when she trailed off and silence prevailed for a few
minutes. He began to say something, then his eyes narrowed and he pointed,
"There! Turn there!" Yuffie turned the wheel obediently and Zack sat up,
looking for more familiar landmarks. He knew where they were now.
They left the truck outside the small forest surrounding Gongaga. It's always
been peaceful here, secluded from the outside world. When ShinRa came in
for a change of troops or inspection, they'd come in by air and no roads
were ever needed. Only a small path led to Gongaga proper, from which the
reactor was easily accessible. Zack led the way, followed closely by Tifa.
Aerith and Sephiroth followed, and Yuffie and Reno closed the party, Yuffie
looking around the woods curiously. Nobody noticed Reno's strange, twisted
smile, or the fact that his hand was closed tightly around his Nightstick,
his finger on a button that was previously hidden by the hilt of the weapon.
His other hand was playing nervously around the gun on his belt.
They walked into a small glade slowly, admiring the quiet of the woods. Tifa
was musing over the last few days and breathing deeply in the cool, clean
air. Once again, she resolved never to return to the filth of Midgar and
laughed inwardly at the persistence of her resolution. She quickened her
pace to share it with Zack, noting that the ninja girl had caught up to them.
Yuffie was intending to ask Zack if his town had any Materia, when her sharp
eyes spied a form flying low above the trees, getting larger by the second.
She could hear the low hum of its engine, and saw a flash as it fired at
them. Without thinking, she pushed between Zack and Tifa, shoving them outwards,
away from the line of fire. She felt something hit her shoulder, hard, and
she spun from the impact, thinking with amazement, 'I'd been hit!'. Then
the ground tilted under her, and the world went black.
Tifa staggered and fell onto the ground, bracing herself with her hands.
She got up, ready to kick the brat's ass for pulling stupid pranks, when
she felt, more than heard, something whizzing in the air at high speed.
Immediately she whirled around, in time to see Yuffie fall, and then heard
the staccato rhythm of gunfire, hitting the ground all around them. She and
Zack were temporarily out of danger as the dust kicked up by the bullets
obscured vision. The sound of the attacking plane receded into the distance,
but Tifa knew it was only a momentary reprieve. She ran back into the dust
to get the ninja out of any more danger, and noticed without surprise that
Zack had the same idea. She made it to the ninja first, motioning Zack toward
the large shuriken. She picked up the slight form easily, and carried her
towards the shelter of the trees, where Aerith was readying her Materia.
She tossed one to each of them, saying, "Tifa, you have the Bolt, Zack, use
the Fire. Be careful not to overdo it, as those are powerful and will drain
you fast." With these words, she dismissed them and turned to Yuffie and
carefully removed the ninja's shield from her shoulder. It was made from
cured hides and never meant to stop bullets; it was mainly an aide to
hand-to-hand combat. The large bullet had gone completely through the shoulder,
taking away a considerable chunk of flesh and chipping the shoulder joint.
Aerith shook her head; under normal circumstances, the girl might have bled
to death. Even if she recovered, she would find her use of that arm greatly
reduced. Problem for a normal person; tragedy for a ninja. And a thief, thought
Aerith and smiled, taking out her healing Materia. She closed her eyes, set
her hand gently on Yuffie's damaged shoulder and concentrated, blotting out
the sounds of gunfire, the whine of the engine and crackling of Bolts.
Cid gritted his teeth as he put the plane into a wild spin, evading the last
batch of fireballs and ball lightning. "Hold on!" he shouted unnecesarily
to Elena, who was manning the turret, wild-eyed. She was still managing to
squeeze off an occasional shot, but most of them went wide as the plane
constantly changed orientation. Cid pulled away, putting some distance between
the charged air above the glade and shook his head, "I thought this was gonna
be easy! A simple hit-and-run, case closed! Hell, I've never seen anyone
use their Materia like that! How much of that crap do they have??" Elena
remarked nastily, "Aww, is Mr. Highwind stuck with a little case of Materia
envy?" Cid growled, "Watch yer mouth, Elena," as he turned around for another
run. She sniffed and said nothing. She was still seething over his splitting
them up. Couldn't he have taken Rude along? He was a good enough shot...Her
eyes narrowed as she looked at the figures on the glade. She cursed inwardly.
Damn! She had hit the wrong bitch! In fact, she wasn't sure who she'd hit,
but she thought it was that AVALANCHE slut. She shrugged. Guess she was wrong.
She'd just have to try better. Her mouth twisted cruelly and she glued her
eyes to the scope on the turret gun.
Zack was feeling pretty ineffective. Either his targetting was way off, or
the pilot was a genius. It was probably Cid himself; Zack knew he was good
from the files, but not this good! Nobody could be this good; at least he
hoped not, otherwise they'd be standing here until their energy ran out and
eventually become sitting moogles. He was also worried about Yuffie; everyone
else seemed to be holding their own. Hell, Reno was the only one actually
managing to hit the plane with that gun of his. Pity it was too well armoured.
Zack's eyes widened, and he reached for the Summon Materia he'd been carrying
on his sword. He'd completely forgotten about it! He shouted a warning to
clear the area, closed his fist around the red orb and concentrated.
Elena's mouth dropped open as she took in the large, circular portal coming
into existence directly in front of the plane. "Cid, pull up, pull up!" she
screamed shrilly, eyes staring at the form slowly emerging from the portal.
Cid gritted his teeth, yanking the plane sharply to the side, trying to pass
the portal to the left. He felt a slight tug on the plane and felt a change
in the controls. It felt more sluggish now. He narrowed his eyes; this was
getting weird. It was past time to be outta here. As the plane returned to
horizontal, he sneaked a quick look back.
Tifa stared, open-mouthed at the majestic form coming out of the portal.
It was a woman; if the white/bluish-skinned, fifteen feet tall, floating
apparition could be called a woman. The figure was clad only in a loincloth
and couple of strips of cloth; another strip tied its hair tightly in a single
lock, more than ten feet long. The woman was wearing an indifferent expression
on her beautiful face, the chill emanating from that expression was incredible.
Tifa shuddered as the apparition turned towards the retreating plane, raising
a hand. The light gathered around it, too bright to see and Tifa had to avert
her eyes. When she turned back, the figure was gone and it was strangely
silent. She realized it was because she could not hear the plane anymore.
"Umm...Cid, can't you make us stop falling?" Elena asked calmly, but her
eyes were darting left and right, and her expression was rigid. "No," answered
Cid curtly, as he was frantically trying to restart the frozen engine, but
to no avail. The only thing he could hope for now was a soft landing spot.
He noticed he was out of those too, as they approached the barren ground
around the Gongaga reactor entirely too fast. He exhaled and muttered, "Lady
Luck, don't fail me now."
They gathered around Aerith and Yuffie, the former tired but smiling, the
latter eyeing them weakly, trying to grin. The small ninja whispered, "Saved
you again...what would you do without me?" Tifa rolled her eyes and addressed
Aerith, "Couldn't you try to cure her head, too?" Aerith answered
straight-facedly, "That feat is beyond me," as she stood up, ignoring Yuffie's
indignant squawk. "We all need rest; some more than others," she said, looking
at Zack. He nodded, "We can get food and shelter at Gongaga. From what I
remember, there's a modest inn there." He hesitated, looking at Yuffie, "What
about her? Can she walk?" he addressed Aerith. "Not a chance," she answered,
shaking her head. "Someone will have to carry her." Zack nodded reluctantly.
Yuffie was red in the face, "Stop talking about me like I'm not here! I can
walk!" she protested, eager to demonstrate and surprised when her body would
not obey her. "Oh," she said, dumbfounded. Aerith nodded, "You lost a lot
of blood, and had to regenerate quite a bit of tissue. What you need is food
and rest." Zack leaned over and picked the slight girl up over her protests.
She managed to fold her arms, and assumed an injured expression on her face,
staring off into space and refusing to meet his eyes. They went off towards
Gongaga, Reno thoughtfully examining the dented shuriken. It was the other
unfortunate victim of Elena's bullets.
Tifa was still in awe of the power of the Summon Materia, but she had a question.
She decided to ask Aerith, as she was easily the most knowledgeable, whether
from her years of research at ShinRa or her natural affinity with the Planet.
She dropped back to Aerith's side. "Aerith, who was that...woman? And...didn't
she just cast Ice?" Aerith shook her head, "Not exactly. The Ice Queen's
mastery over her element is far more complete than ours. We borrow the power;
she is the power." Tifa nodded, "Then in a way, it was Ice." Aerith
slowly nodded, "You could say that. Just Ice at a level that we can never
reach." They walked slowly in silence, lost in their thoughts. Eventually,
Tifa spoke about her other doubt. "What do you think they were after?" Aerith
shrugged. "Revenge? Pest Control? Who can tell for sure. But Hojo's words
implied that it was me. Hence the gunfire at the three of you." She considered
her words, and glanced at Sephiroth. Something seemed to pass between them,
and she turned back, looking straight ahead. "We've decided that next time,
we better lead the way and stay close. They won't be able to use their weapons
if the want to take me alive," she said, matter-of-factly. Tifa glanced sideways,
shocked a bit, but eventually agreed. "The only problem," she commented dryly,
"is if they decide to take us out, we'll be in a nice little cluster." Aerith
smiled wanly, "At least we'll die together." She turned her head towards
Tifa, "Saving us from the second dragon was his own doing." Tifa stared for
a moment, disoriented by the shift in the conversation, but then understood.
Her eyes widened, "He's fighting then, isn't he?" "Yes," Aerith answered,
watching Tifa closely, "his will is very strong. As is his love." Tifa lowered
her head, as a rush of heat through her body brought tears to her eyes.
Reno was dragging his feet through the dirt. He needed a drink. He wished
Rude was here so they could hit the nearest bar and not come out for a while.
Getting shot at, shooting his own...it was too much effort. Besides, he expected
cold, ruthless terrorists that he could gladly kill when the time came. And
what did he find? A closely knit group, much like his own, with their own
code and their own problems. Well, so maybe Sephiroth fit his expectations,
but he was SOLDIER, not AVALANCHE! As far as AVALANCHE was concerned, it
was mostly dead anyway. They lost the big guy back in his hometown, the swordsman
was insane and on a rampage, and the leader was a really good-looking woman,
determined to find her lost husband. He sighed again, heavily. She seemed
so dejected that he didn't even feel like hitting on her, a big deviation
from the norm. Maybe that's what had him feeling so down. He brightened;
next town they hit, he'd remedy that. The ninja wasn't up to drinking this
time, so maybe he could get some time alone. Not that he minded her presence,
but it was really embarassing to be outdrunk by a little girl.
.