Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Learning Curve Continuum ❯ Sideswiped ( Chapter 10 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Fenikkusuken 
Tifa has a Bad Spell Day, and the Temple of the Ancients ain't no picnic, either.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.06.2011 | Updated On: 06.10.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 9.7K | Visits: 264 | Status: Work In Progress
Tifa has a Bad Spell Day, and the Temple of the Ancients ain't no picnic, either.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.06.2011 | Updated On: 06.10.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 9.7K | Visits: 264 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: Definitely not mine; always returned to Square Enix after they’ve been thoroughly traumatized.
A/N: Totally making up the bit about when Third Class SOLDIERs receive their first mako treatment, due to a lack of official sources. I can’t really see recruits (willing or otherwise) being pumped with a substance that gives them superhuman strength within five minutes of entering the program. To keep the unwilling from immediately using their new power to thump their captors, a secondary screening program before bestowing the mako/Jenova serum would be more plausible.
You may also assume that dog-tags are made of mythril or some other indestructible material, and that the entire team witnessed the events inside the Temple, as opposed to only a party of three.
Pinching some dialogue from Crisis Core and Advent Children: Complete.
Warnings: Acute whiplash potential and suspension of disbelief required. No, really.
Acknowledgement: Credit (or blame) for the mayhem in this chapter goes to Anjeeru, who snuck a devious little bunny into the Hutch months ago when she reviewed Learning Curve.
Special thanks to my husband, who good-naturedly answered my numerous questions without turning too red.
Bouquets to my wonderful betas Kitsune13/TamLin and Ranuel, who never let the bunnies run too wild.
Learning Curve Continuum
Chapter Ten: Sideswiped
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
“Now that’s what I call ‘firepower’,” Cid laconically commented, using a smouldering branch to light a fresh cigarette. Aside from Vincent, he appeared to be the only one unaffected by the acrid-smelling clouds swirling around the blackened clearing. Wiping my streaming eyes with a shaking hand, I watched Vincent collect dog-tags from the charred bodies of the SOLDIERs; since the gunman didn’t seem the type to trophy hunt, I briefly wondered what he intended to do with them. I also spared a thought for what had happened to my dog-tags, since I seemed to have lost them. Probably removed during my stint as Hojo’s lab animal.
Rolling the Summon materia between my fingers, I forced myself to wait until my heart rate had slowed instead of giving into my first impulse to dash to Tifa’s side. Aerith would’ve taken care of any injuries she suffered, so I knew she was alive and well. Besides, my preferred method of checking Tifa’s wounds would involve a lot less clothing and no audience, and that was definitely out of the question. Putting away the materia, I moved towards the rest of our group, then wondered why Tifa was thoroughly bundled up, her boots and gloves discarded on the ground. I was close enough to hear Aerith’s low comments to Yuffie as she pulled a flap of the unzipped bedroll up over Tifa’s head, but not enough to make sense of them.
“None of us have anything she can borrow - time for you to make good on that boast.” The young ninja looked puzzled; Aerith scowled. “Something about ‘five minutes and a ShinRa supply depot’?”
Understanding dawned, quickly followed by more confusion. “Right! But... there isn’t one around here...?”
“Those SOLDIERs arrived on this island in some kind of military transport, and it’ll be stocked with equipment.”
Yuffie grinned toothily. “I’m on it!” There was a further whispered conference before the teen glanced around. Sprinting across the smoking ground, she buttonholed Vincent; after a brief exchange of words, the gunman nodded, and then they were gone.
Aerith turned her attention to us. “Nanaki, will you stay? The rest of you can set up camp – somewhere far away from here. We’re not going any further tonight, ShinRa and Sephiroth be damned.” Barret stomped off, beckoning to Cid; Cait trailed along behind. When I approached, Aerith pulled Tifa closer, as if I was some kind of threat.
Giving Aerith a sharp look, I rested my hand on Tifa’s shoulder. “You all right?” The huddled form made a movement that felt like an affirmative; I squeezed before letting go. “Don’t be long.”
And behind her was a tall SOLDIER, Third Class.
The crackle of the fire was the loudest sound in the clearing for a very long moment. Something about the newcomer tugged on the corner of my mind, but I couldn’t quite place it. He fidgeted under the weight of our combined stares, but it wasn’t until he ducked his head in a painfully familiar gesture that realization dawned. “What the hell happened?” I demanded.
As her companion flinched, Aerith lifted her chin and looked me straight in the eye. “It’s my fault,” she said clearly and unwaveringly. “My Transform materia was mixed up with the rest, and I accidentally added it to my array the other day. I thought I only temporarily tweaked the spell, but it must’ve somehow become permanent.”
Cid reached inside his jacket and produced a flask. Silently uncorking it, he poured a generous measure for both himself and Barret; they solemnly clinked their mugs, and then tossed back the shots. The big man shuddered briefly when the alcohol hit his system before looking the ‘new man’ up and down. “Guess we gotta come up with a new name fer ya,” he rumbled. “Jus’ in case yer stuck like this fer a while.”
“Why? When Cloud was a girl, we didn’t change his name!” Aerith objected, and then turned a sickly shade when she realized what she’d let slip.
Yuffie pounced. “Cloud was a girl? Really? When?” A slow grin spread across Cid’s face while one of Vincent’s eyebrows might have raised a fraction of an inch; Nanaki froze in mid-scratch and carefully replaced his paw on the ground.
“Briefly,” I growled, watching Aerith wilt.
“He and Aerith rescued me from a sticky situation in Midgar,” Tifa abruptly spoke up, and everyone stared as she slid her arm around the mage’s shoulders. Not because the gesture was blatantly protective, which it was, but because Tifa’s voice was now a husky tenor. She straightened, squaring her armoured shoulders, and we all finally had a good look at her. Her bangs were spiky instead of smooth, her face was longer, her chin squared instead of pointed, and she had sprouted a pair of narrow sideburns.
Sweet Shiva, she even had an Adam’s apple.
And she was at least half a foot taller than me.
Tifa’s vivid eyes were the same – well, not exactly the same shape – but they were as expressive as always, and right now, she was wary. Ushering Aerith to a seat on the other side of the fire, she held a quiet discussion with Yuffie and soon a meal was being organized. I had a bad moment as she bent over her pack to retrieve a pot – her beautiful hair was much shorter and the ends stuck out in all directions like she’d been caught in a windstorm. Even more disgruntled, I inspected the rest of her. She was long and lean, the snug uniform showing off a muscled physique that subtly conveyed her considerable strength - and she still had an awesome ass.
The inescapable fact was that Tifa made an extremely handsome man.
Damn.
Cait sidled up beside me; I shot him an unfriendly look, but he wasn’t put off. “How’re we gonna fix the lassie?” he asked in a low voice.
“A mako spring and a couple of Restore materia,” I curtly replied. “Know of any springs close by?”
“No,” he answered, sounding genuinely upset.
“Don’t pull the ‘concerned’ act with me,” I snarled. “You called in those reinforcements.”
He honestly appeared taken aback by the accusation. “I didn’t - I swear I didn’t!”
Vincent came over to sit beside me and the cat scarpered, although I noticed that he was wringing his paws. “The choice of a SOLDIER uniform might not have been the best,” the gunman observed. “Her lack of mako eyes is a problem.”
Yuffie popped up from where she was passing Tifa various supplies. “I couldn’t find anything else!” she protested. “I did my best!”
Tifa gently scruffed the teen’s bangs. “You did just fine. Everything fits really well – even the boots.”
“I heard that SOLDIERs hafta pass a test or somethin’ afore they can even get inta the program,” Barret rumbled.
“They do, unless you’re recruited right into SOLDIER,” I said, then admitted, “I failed the exam three times.”
“When did you receive your first mako treatment, Cloud-san?”
My mind went blank, but Cait Sith filled in, “Not until after the Third Class laddies go through a battery of psychological tests.”
“Assuming Cait is telling the truth, I’ll just tell anyone who asks that I haven’t done the tests yet,” Tifa said, and started ladling out the food. After everyone was served, instead of taking her usual place at my side, she remained next to Aerith… and my hackles went up because the mage kept touching her. Nothing big - just a hand on Tifa’s arm, or a brief lean into her shoulder to exchange a few words, but it was often enough that I noticed.
“Your fangs are showing,” Vincent murmured in amusement, and I barely resisted the urge to bare them at him.
Yuffie had collected the bowls when Barret, fortified by the contents of Cid’s flask, brought up the name issue again. “The way I see it, ‘Cloud’ can be girly or manly; all depends on the person wearin’ the name,” he proclaimed, his words only slightly slurred. “Now, ‘Tifa’, on th’ other han’, is compl’t’ly girly, an’ it’s gonna attract all kinds o’ ’tention ‘til we can get ‘er fixed.”
Tifa snorted. “You make it sound like I need a mechanic.”
“Ya kno’ what I mean, right?”
“I do. Let me think about it, okay?”
“Awww,” Yuffie pouted. “I know some great boy’s names! Wanna hear ‘em?”
“Not right now,” Tifa answered, grinning crookedly as she rose to her feet. “I’m going to find out what this body’s capable of. Sorry for sticking you with the dishes.”
Yuffie gave Tifa a speculative look. “Y’know, you look darn similar to another SOLDIER we once knew. Hey – why don’t we call you... ow! What was that for?” she demanded of Aerith while furiously rubbing her shin.
“Definitely not,” the mage said tightly, pinning the teen with a deadly look, and Yuffie clammed up.
“I shall provide light for you, Tifa-san,” Nanaki declared, his tail-flare twitching.
As the two disappeared into the shadows, Cid prodded Barret in the ribs. “Just wait ‘til our ‘young man’ hasta take a leak!” he cackled. Barret burst out laughing, while Aerith and Yuffie were scandalized.
I stood up. “I’m gonna patrol.”
“Gotcher PHS?”
I nodded curtly and stalked out of camp, deliberately choosing the opposite direction to Tifa and Nanaki. As soon as I was out of sight of the fire, I circled around so as to approach my targets from downwind. Nanaki probably wouldn’t bust me anyways, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on him.
The resident critters seemed to have left the area since Ifrit fried the vicinity, which was a good thing because I wasn’t in the mood for petty annoyances. The urgency to keep moving east, further into the island’s terrain, had also subsided but I didn’t give a shit about that. The crunch of breaking wood off to my left lead me deeper into the forest until I came upon a fitfully lit glade. Hunkering down in the undergrowth, I waited for an opportunity to talk to Tifa.
Watching Tifa go through her moves was always a guilty pleasure – those long legs and that silky hair twisting and twirling as she threw rapid-fire punches and kicks were almost mesmerizing. There was no bare skin or short skirts for distraction this time; instead, I was awed by her raw power. She wasn’t so much graceful as explosive; blows sent trees toppling and she caught amazing height in her vertical launches. I saw her stumble a few times on landings, when she was thrown off-balance in the air, but it appeared that she was adapting quickly.
“Well done, Tifa-san!” Nanaki cheered when she landed squarely after executing a killer Somersault.
Straightening, she rolled her shoulders. “It’s a real rush, but really odd at the same time.”
“Odd?”
“Like I’m a teenager all over again, learning how to fight in a body that doesn’t respond quite the way I expect it.” Sheepishly toeing her boot into the loam, Tifa added in that disconcertingly deep voice, “I feel really clumsy.”
He cocked his head. “You certainly do not give that impression. I imagine that it will only take a matter of hours before you are comfortable in your new skin.”
“I hope so.” Extending her arm out in front of her, Tifa commented, “I think I gained about six inches of reach….”
“Hellooo?”
“Aerith -sama?” Nanaki was on his feet and heading into the darkness before he paused. “Will you be all right, Tifa-san?”
“It’s only the dark. I’ve dealt with worse.”
In the monetary pitch darkness, I watched Tifa put her back against the closest tree and fold her arms over her flat chest. When Nanaki returned with Aerith at his side, the flickering light of his tail-flare cast fantastical shadows across Tifa’s altered features, and I did a double take. She eerily reminded me of someone else, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on who.
Nanaki removed himself to the far side of the clearing, and I had to shift my position to make sure I remained undetected. When I found a new vantage point, my hackles went up hard and fast because Aerith was way too close to Tifa. I know it sounds stupid, but Tifa is mine – doesn’t matter what gender she happens to be at that precise moment. When Aerith laid her hand on Tifa’s crossed arms and moved closer yet, I made an angry noise deep in my throat. Nanaki glanced over his shoulder in my direction, but made no other move.
“I don’t really look that much like him... do I?” Tifa asked quietly.
Aerith smiled wistfully. “No... but out of the corner of my eye? Close enough that my heart jumps into my throat.”
“I always think of him as... bigger, somehow. Really tall, with broad shoulders....”
“It’s the pauldrons; you’re close to the same height, though.”
Tifa tapped a spot low on her left cheek. “No scar... or mako eyes,either.”
“Thank goodness for that, or I’d be down for the count every few minutes.”
“Sorry?”
“Not your fault.”
“Not yours, either.” When Aerith bowed her head, Tifa caught her hands. “I’m okay… really.”
It took Aerith a long time to reply, and when she did, her voice was wispy and frail. “I had this premonition that he was in danger, so I called his PHS – it took forever to connect and I was frantic by the time I got through. He told me it wasn’t the best time, that he’d call back later. I said he didn’t have to, because just hearing his voice was reassuring, but then he said he’d come visit me instead.” She was silent for several moments before choking out, “His last words were, ‘I’ll see you – I promise’.”
“Oh, Aerith,” Tifa whispered, pulling the other woman close. I didn’t know what or who the hell they were talking about, but I recognized the bone-deep, gut-wrenching sobs shaking Aerith’s entire body. After a few moments, Tifa slid down to sitting at the base of the tree, arranging the mage in her lap. Resting her cheek against the crown of Aerith’s head, she cuddled the weeping woman close, one hand gently smoothing up and down her back. I tried not to grumble, because Aerith obviously needed Tifa’s support, but it was difficult to watch my friend wrap herself around someone else.
It took a long time until the storm quieted; Aerith had obviously kept all this emotion pent up far longer than it was healthy. When she was reduced to shuddering hiccups, Nanaki stood up and padded across the clearing. Curling up next to the pair, he insinuated his massive head into Aerith’s lap and vocalized this queer rumble that sounded an awful lot like a purr. Aerith buried her slender fingers in his mane and scratched until his one eye closed in bliss and the noise ramped up until the very air vibrated; I had trouble hearing her next words.
“I once told him I had twenty-three tiny wishes - I’ll never forget the look on his face before he told me to write them all down, so he wouldn’t forget.”
“What did you wish for?” Tifa gently prompted while carefully wiping Aerith’s cheeks with her gloved fingers.
“T-to spend more t-time with him.”
A fresh bout of sobs kept everyone occupied for a while; in the bushes, I scratched my head. Neither Tifa nor Nanaki had asked any questions, so that meant they both knew who Aerith was talking about; I assumed it was her SOLDIER boyfriend. If I was right, it was painfully obvious that something tragic had happened to him, and Aerith’s heart had been broken. But... how could Tifa possibly know what the guy looked like? I was frowning over this when Aerith smeared at her eyes and reached up, untying the pink ribbon holding back her hair.
“I need to show you something.” I was just as surprised as the other two when a pale-green, white-swirled materia fell into her hand. “This is very special materia – but it isn’t good for anything.”
Nanaki cautiously sniffed the orb before flattening his ears and objecting, “That is an extremely powerful object, Aerith-sama.”
She cupped it between her palms. “My mother gave it to me as she lay dying; she told me to guard it well because the fate of the Planet could depend on it – and that was all.”
“No pressure, huh?” Tifa muttered, tapping the materia with a careful fingertip. “Does anyone else know about it?”
“Cloud does... but I don’t think he remembers, since he’d just fallen through the roof of the Sector Five church.”
“Odd topic for a casual conversation.”
“I think I was in shock - I commented on the number of materia he had.”
Tifa lightly brushed Aerith’s bangs away from her face. “‘Shock’ is an understatement. Shall we put this away?”
“Actually, I wanted to try changing you back with it.”
Nanaki rapidly shook his head. “I would not recommend that, Aerith-sama. The materia is far too important for such a trivial use.” His eye widened as he realized what he had said, and he stammered, “F-forgive me, Tifa-san! I did not mean to imply that your current condition was unimportant!”
She tugged one of his braids. “No offense taken, Nanaki. I understood what you meant.” Turning to Aerith, she closed the mage’s fingers over the orb. “He’s right. If this materia could save the Planet, then it shouldn’t be used for a sex change. All we need to do is find a mako spring, and I’ll be back to normal in no time.”
Giving in, Aerith tucked the materia back into her hair and re-tied the ribbon to keep it in place. “All right,” she sighed, smiling weakly, then added, “Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.”
“No problem.”
“Oh! Have you decided on a more ‘manly’ name?”
Tifa snorted. “I suppose I’ll just go with ‘T’, as that seems easiest.”
“‘Mr. T’?” Aerith grinned.
“T-san?” Nanaki tried, then nodded. “That will work.”
“Then it’s settled... so long as I’m still ‘Tifa’ to my friends, because in here,” she tapped her temple, “I’m very much a girl.”
The other two nodded, and then Aerith climbed out of Tifa’s lap. Offering Tifa a hand up, she said, “Hopefully it won’t take long to retrieve the Keystone, and then we can look for a mako spring.”
I slunk through the shadows as they picked their way between the bushes, my head spinning from all of the information I’d heard, while still hoping for a chance to corner Tifa. I was handed a golden opportunity when Tifa took her leave of the other two just on the edge of firelight to answer a ‘call of nature’. Pushing through the undergrowth until she found a large tree that hid her from the fire, she unknowingly set herself up. She was biting her lip, no doubt contemplating how best to go about a very basic activity, when I pounced. Her fist came up automatically; I grabbed both it and a handful of her uniform.
I still had no idea of what I was going to say… so I acted instead.
Yanking her down to my level, I kissed her.
Maybe I wanted to remind her that I had first claim on her after Aerith had been all touchy-feely – or maybe I wanted her to know that as far as I was concerned, she was still my girl. I dunno; I didn’t think about it very much. For her part, Tifa was so taken aback that she momentarily dropped her guard and I used the opening to pin her against the tree. Her free hand landed on my shoulder, and she first tensed as if she was going to push, but instead, she pulled me closer.
I now understood how comforting a hug must have felt to Tifa when I was taller, but it felt weird having the tables turned.
I also realized that I absolutely preferred curves to angles.
Breaking the kiss, I whispered, “At least you still taste the same,” which was the truth, and then tried to ease free of her grip. Tifa, however, had other ideas; she slid down the trunk until she could bury her face in my shoulder and tightened her arms. I’ll admit to remaining kinda stiff for a couple of moments until I realized that despite her brave claims to the others that she was okay, the truth was very far from that.
She needed me and I needed to get over myself.
I brought up my hand and gently cupped the back of her head. “We’ll get through this,” I murmured in her ear. “Leave it to me.” She might have nodded, but it felt more like a shudder, so I pressed closer and stroked her side. That way I didn’t encounter any of her uniform straps, which might have made me twitchy despite my best intentions; the metal pauldron pressing against my chin was bad enough.
Her eyelashes were spiky with damp when she finally pulled back far enough to look at me, but she was calm… or maybe ‘resigned’ would be a better term. I really hated seeing that darkness in her eyes, so I impulsively kissed her again. Things got hot and heavy really fast, but not before I noted the edge of desperation in the way she responded. I tried to take control and gentle the contact, but then all bets were off when I felt something familiar raising its head, so to speak, and it wasn’t mine.
Breaking away, I stumbled backwards a few paces, and immediately felt like a bastard at the bereft expression on Tifa’s face. “Sorry,” I said contritely, then ran my hand over my hair, at a loss to explain my abrupt retreat – until Tifa tried to straighten up and almost immediately hunched over, her hands covering her crotch. I nearly snickered until I saw her panicked look; however, I couldn’t resist commenting, “That’s the exact condition you leave me in quite regularly.”
“Wh-what should I do?” she hissed, wincing.
“You might wanna straighten it out… take the pressure off,” I suggested.
“B-but then I’d have to t-touch it!”
I spread my hands in a helpless gesture. “You’re gonna have to anyways, unless you wanna pee on your leg.”
Her face drained of colour. She was horrified, to put it mildly, and I immediately became more sympathetic. When I was a girl, having to drop trou in order to relieve myself had been a pain in the ass more than anything else – ShinRa uniforms aren’t designed to accommodate female anatomy, what with all those belts and straps - but I only had to put up with it for a day or two. Unless we got very lucky, very soon, Tifa might be like this for weeks.
Which, from a purely selfish standpoint, was seriously gonna cut into our snuggle-time.
Damn. Again.
“Nothing for it,” Tifa finally huffed, and shoved her hand down the front of her trousers. She immediately looked relieved and finally straightened up.
“Better wait a few minutes before you go back out there,” I warned. “Can’t disguise a hard-on in these uniforms… unless you can figure out a way to casually hold one of your pauldrons over your crotch.”
She glanced down and made another face. “Thanks for the tip.”
“No problem.” I had half-turned away, before something else occurred to me. “You’ll wake up semi-hard in the mornings; taking a leak usually fixes it.”
It appeared that she was frozen in shock, until she ventured, “Is that what they call ‘morning wood’?”
“Yep. Hey… how do you know about it?” I demanded, since I was fairly sure she was unaware of mine.
Shrugging, she answered, “Johnny and those guys used to brag about stuff like that all the time during recess… where are you going?”
Of course I wouldn’t remember conversations like that, because I was usually in detention for fighting one of ‘those guys’. I raised my hand in careless salute. “Supposed to be on patrol, so I’m gonna do that. Oh… and if I’m not back before you need to piss, ask Vincent for help. Barret and Cid’ll tease you half to death.”
“Great,” she groused in a very un-Tifa-like tone. “So far, being ‘one of the guys’ has sucked.”
Cid wiped his streaming eyes with one hand while waving his cigarette with the other. “Now, as I was sayin’, there’s a fine art to shakin’ the dew offa th’ lilypad – it’s all in th’ wrist.”
“Don’t you think you’ve traumatized Tifa enough for one night?” Aerith demanded, with a glare that would’ve had a lesser man checking for scorch marks; Cid waved her off.
“Jus’ tryin’ to help, missy.”
“I think we’ve all learned more than we ever needed – or wanted - about foreskins, among other things,” Aerith replied tartly.
“Sounds like things have been lively,” I commented, dropping down next to Nanaki.
Behind me, Tifa rose to her feet. “Pass me that flashlight, please.” When Yuffie handed it over, she continued, “I’ll take this watch. Who’s next?” Vincent inclined his head; she tipped him a salute and disappeared into the dark without a backwards glance.
In the lull following her exit, Cid knocked back the contents of his mug, then yawned widely. “Time fer some shut-eye, if goddamn ShinRa is th’ first fucking thing I gotta deal with.”
“Be ready to stand watch after Vincent,” I warned. “And lay off Tifa.”
“No need t’ be so fucking serious, boss. We was just havin’ a bit o’ fun.” Turning to Barret, he boozily hiccupped, “You can make th’ tea in th’ morning.”
That’s when we all realized that Cid – and probably Barret - were too drunk to stand watch. “Yuffie, you’re up after Vincent,” I quietly ordered; she wrinkled her nose, but nodded.
The two girls shooed me out of the way and began laying out their bedrolls. Seating myself on a log, I watched their preparations with only half my attention while wondering if I should go after Tifa. Because of that, it took me a few minutes to notice that they were including Tifa’s bedding in their arrangements. I was about to protest when I realized Tifa’s comfort level was more important, and if she was fine with it, then I’d better keep my mouth shut.
My discontent must have been noticeable, because Aerith reached over and patted my knee. When I petulantly shook her off, she rolled her eyes and tucked herself into her sleeping bag. Nanaki lay down next to her and Yuffie cuddled up to him; he looked quite content to be used as a pillow. Across the fire, Barret and Cid were already snoring with Vincent watching over them. When Barret hit a particularly obnoxious pitch, the gunslinger prodded him onto his side with a sharply-pointed sabaton; the firelight glinting on his armour reminded me of something.
“Hey, Vincent – why’d you collect the dog-tags?”
“I left them in the transport, which will eventually be recovered by ShinRa. That way their families will be notified, since there were no survivors.”
“That’s, uh, good of you.”
“There are too many unidentified victims of ShinRa’s excesses already; I do not wish to contribute to the total,” he murmured, staring into the flames.
Sliding down to use the log as a back-rest, I tried to settle, but couldn’t. The noise inside my head remained at a mercifully low pitch; I had enough things to chew over without worrying about how it would look to the others if I snuggled up to Tifa now that she had balls instead of boobs. Despite all that, I had managed a fitful doze when Nanaki lifted his chin.
“Tifa-san returns.”
A few moments later, Tifa strode into view. Avoiding Cid’s haphazardly-stacked lance, she stepped over Barret and offered her flashlight to Vincent. He shook his head, but then beckoned her closer. “This may be of help,” he said; I heard a tinny clinking sound as he pressed something into her palm.
Holding the dog-tag up to the firelight, she squinted as she read out, “‘T. Laurence, 3rd, Type B’.”
“At least the initials match up,” Vincent offered.
“And the blood type. Thank you,” she replied, dropping the chain over her head and tucking the tag inside her sweater.
Catching my eye, Vincent added, “I left a note with the others,” before vanishing into the shadows with a fwip of his cloak; creepy as hell when he does that.
Tifa gave me a sideways glance as she unzipped her bedroll. “What was that all about?”
“He put the rest of the dog-tags where ShinRa will find them. Doesn’t want the families to be left in limbo.”
“Ah. That was thoughtful of him.”
“I thought so, too.” Shifting to face her more fully, I waited expectantly - for what, I wasn’t sure.
“Do you want something?” she inquired lightly enough, but her tone and body language was defensive.
I frowned; did she think I wanted a goodnight kiss? After what I’d pulled earlier, it was reasonable to assume I might be up to something. On the other hand, no one was watching and it was part of our routine. I slowly reached for her; she didn’t try to avoid my hand as I slid it around her nape, although she remained tense. Gently tugging her closer, I pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well.”
As I released her, her shoulders relaxed. “Thanks,” she rasped, “You, too.” I lightly stroked her cheek with the back of my fingers and was rewarded with a tired smile. Rolling into her bedding, she put her back to me and gave every appearance of falling instantly asleep.
I watched over her for a while, noting that the high collar of the uniform sweater covered up the hickey I’d given her, then wondered if it was still there. Racking my brain, I tried to place who she reminded me of, but gave up when my head started to pound something fierce. Slouching back against the log, I had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.
Aerith yawned and stretched, then gave Nanaki a hug. He rumbled something, and she reached over top of him to help shift Yuffie’s head off his flank so he could stand up. The teenager muttered a protest, but Aerith tucked her bedding closer and she dropped back off to sleep. Catching my eye, the mage murmured, “A few more minutes won’t hurt – today could be very difficult.”
Taking a cautious sip of the mug’s contents, I grimaced at the sensation of my teeth being stripped, then asked, “Where’s Tifa?”
Barret and Cid exchanged glances before the pilot answered, “Come t’ think of it, she has been gone fer a while. Think she got somethin’ stuck in her fly buttons?” Then they both giggled like twelve-year-olds.
Shaking my head at their antics, something tickled under my chin; brushing at it, a long fibre caught on my glove. Holding it up, I recognized the dark strand of hair. As I shook my hand free of the evidence, I felt rather smug that her sub-conscious had sought me out for comfort. That would explain why I slept so deeply, if Tifa was snuggled on my shoulder – and why she’d bailed as soon as she woke up. No need to give the peanut gallery more ammunition.
At that moment, Tifa arrived in the clearing. She was shirtless and water-dappled, her gear carried self-consciously in front of her bare chest. In response to our startled looks, she briskly announced, “Disposed of a Kelzmelzer and found a stream where we can refill our canteens,” before Aerith threw her a towel. Watching out of the corner of my eye as she flexed and twisted to catch all the drips, I couldn’t help admiring Tifa’s new body. Her pecs and abs were defined sharply enough to cut glass, her shoulders and biceps impressively muscled; if I went ‘green’ and she had to clobber me, I’d have broken bones for sure.
Aerith offered to brush Tifa’s wet hair; after a quick glance in my direction that I chose to interpret as wishful, Tifa nodded and sat down on the other end of my log. In the process of combing through the dark strands, Aerith noticed something on the back of Tifa’s neck and made a comment. Frowning, Tifa covered the spot with her hand while shaking her head; then they both looked at me. I smirked, but then a very unwelcome thought crossed my mind and I found myself gripping my mug tightly enough to crease the metal. Forcing myself to relax, I tried to be objective... but dammit, I liked being Tifa’s protector, and the idea that she might not need – or possibly want – my help was highly disturbing. Plus, the fact that the mage was already cadging more than her fair share of Tifa’s smiles this morning was hella annoying.
Unlike when I was thirteen and could thump that punk Johnny if he got too close to Tifa, I couldn’t very well beat up Aerith.
“My goodness! What’s this all about?” Slender fingers were abruptly prying at my fist; I blinked down at the crushed metallic mass, belatedly noticing that my glove was soaking wet. “Cloud? Are you... feeling all right?” Aerith’s green eyes were bright with concern.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, pitching the crumpled mug over my shoulder into the undergrowth. “Let’s get moving.”
“Not until after we’ve eaten,” she gently pointed out, and I sullenly subsided. While Tifa directed the breakfast preparations – some things didn’t change, thank Shiva - I exchanged my tea-drenched glove for a dry one and started honing my blade to keep myself occupied.
“Why d’ye do it?”
I gave Cait a narrow look. “Do what?”
He bravely edged closer. “Risk yer life on a thankless quest?”
Shrugging, I carelessly replied, “Got some scores to settle.”
“That’s it?”
Since he seemed honestly curious, I thought about it before I answered, “ShinRa needs to be held accountable for their actions, and that’s what I plan to do. Why do you want to know?”
Pushing his crown back on his head, Cait slowly replied, “Seein’ the dangers and the risks that ye put up with on a daily basis – all without praise or payment – makes me think about what I’m doin’ with my life.”
“Don’t go fryin’ your circuits by thinking too hard,” I retorted.
“Izzit morning all ready?” Yuffie muzzily queried, rearing up to sitting, her hair sticking up at the back like a Chocobo’s tail.
“Want some tea, kid?” Cid cheerily asked.
“Only if you didn’t make it - I need to be alert, not vibrating,” she yawned.
Cait used the interruption to withdraw from the conversation, although I noticed that he seemed to be thinking things over. If he really was Reeve Tuesti’s creation, then we were possibly in line to gain an ally within ShinRa, and that would be a huge help to staying one step ahead of them; temporarily giving up the Keystone would be worth that.
Yes, I was being childish. Shut up.
“Is this really the right place?” Yuffie asked in a hushed voice, balancing herself with a hand resting on Nanaki’s rump, while just in front of her, Cait Sith gazed in awe up at the towering structure.
“I can hear... a voice? No, more like a feeling,” Aerith said, frowning as she tilted her head. “You’re happy that I’m here? But you’re also uneasy? Why?”
“Voices in your head are never a good sign,” I peevishly commented and Tifa shot me a sharp look.
“I smell blood,” Nanaki announced, his nostrils flaring.
“Come on!” Aerith practically dragged Tifa towards the open gate.
“On your guard,” I muttered to the rest, but they had already primed their weapons. My scalp was prickling and there was an irritating buzz in my ears. “Things are probably gonna get real ugly, real fast.”
That turned out to be an understatement of colossal proportions.
Dazed from a brain-scrambling blow, I let out a panicked yelp when I saw a leather-covered fist driving at my face. Twisting my head, I managed to spare my nose another hit, but I took one to the chin instead. ‘Excruciating’ doesn’t even begin to cover the exploding agony as the bone cracked; I almost passed out on the spot. What the hell?
“Stop! Yer gonna kill ‘im!”
As Barret fended off my attacker, my vision cleared and I nearly choked on the blood trickling down my throat.
It was Tifa turning my face to jelly.
I stared in confusion at my best friend, the crushing ache in my jaw momentarily forgotten. She looked devastated. I tried to say something, but what came out instead was a wet gurgle. Appearing close to tears, she abruptly let go of my sweater and dashed back to where the rest of our team was hovering over... Aerith?
What the hell was going on?
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I squinted against the pain and saw Tifa drop to her knees, tenderly taking Aerith’s face in her glowing hands. The mage had been thoroughly battered by someone or something... shit. Frantically searching my memories of the last few minutes, I vaguely remembered skidding down into the crater and picking up the Black Materia, which now doubled as Cait Sith’s tomb. A sickening suspicion was winding around my guts when Barret abruptly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. Dragging me up until we were nose-to-broken nose, he glared furiously at me for several long moments before making a disgusted noise. Giving me a hard shake that made my loosened teeth rattle, he dropped me on my ass, but I barely noticed.
The livid marks on Aerith’s pretty face rapidly disappeared under Tifa’s gentle touch, but I would see them in my nightmares for years to come. Bile rising in the back of my throat, I tried to move towards them, but a whack from the butt end of Cid’s lance sent me sprawling across Barret’s boots. The pilot shot me a warning look, and I decided to stay where I was. Tugging on Barret’s trouser leg, I pointed at Aerith with one hand while holding my face together with the other, then tried to not obviously cringe away from his fearsome expression just before he roared, “Ya gave Sephiroth the Black Materia an’ then beat down th’ missy, ya fool!”
My jaw would’ve dropped if it could.
I gave Sephiroth the Black Materia? I was so stunned by that my brain almost didn’t process the second half of his sentence - I attacked Aerith? Me? My shock was obvious, because Barret softened his tone the tiniest bit. “Yeah, ya did – Tifa had to bust ya up real good t’ make ya stop.”
“It’s all my fault.” Tifa slumped, her posture utterly defeated. “I thought I could stop him before anyone got hurt.” She ground her fists against her forehead. “I knew... and I didn’t warn anybody.” Bowing deeply to Aerith, Tifa choked out, “I’m so, so sorry.”
The mage wrapped her arms around Tifa. “Don’t take the blame on yourself - we know that Cloud has issues.”
“But... I knew that if Sephiroth showed up, Cloud would lose control.” Tifa swallowed hard. “I-I’ve known for a long time – since the Cargo Ship – that this would happen.” Drooping further, she added, “We call it ‘going green’ because of the change in his eye colour.”
“The fool kinda lost it during th’ Reactor One mission, too,” Barret remarked. “Don’ remember no funny eyes, tho’.”
My stomach had twisted up into what I suspected was a permanent knot when Nanaki left Aerith’s side and approached. Peering closely at my bloodied face, he called over his shoulder, “In order for us to hear Cloud-san’s side of the story, he must be healed.”
Aerith stood with assistance from Vincent; squeezing Tifa’s shoulder on the way past, she knelt in front of me. Critically inspecting my injuries, she asked, “Isn’t there any other way to bring Cloud back to his senses?”
“There is, but this wasn’t the best time to try it,” Tifa replied dully, and no one pushed the issue.
“Yuffie, please find a cloth and dampen it with water,” Aerith directed as green energy coated her hands. It took several passes before the pain entirely disappeared as the bone and cartilage knit themselves back together. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of what I would see in Aerith’s expression, until she applied a wet cloth to my skin and the cold startled me. As she gently dabbed away the blood, her cool fingers tilting up my chin, her gaze was thoughtful and held a trace of... pity?
As soon as I could talk, I flatly stated, “It’s my responsibility. I asked Tifa to not say anything.”
“Why?” demanded Barret, treating Tifa to a hairy eyeball.
“I didn’t want to be known as the ‘crazy guy’,” I reluctantly admitted while bristling over the way he was glaring at her.
“So now yer jus’ a damn jackass,” Barret snorted. “Look, fool, ya got problems – hell, we all do. Ya gotta decide whether yer gonna face up to ‘em like a man or sit around moanin’ about ‘em. What’s it gonna be?” He gave me a considering look. “If ya go nuts agin when ya see Sephiroth, I’ll smack ya upside yer spiky head an’ knock some sense inta ya.”
“I’ll give ya a whack,” Cid offered, exhaling a smoke ring, while Vincent gave the impression that he was debating which end of his gun would be most effective.
“Me, too!” Yuffie chimed in, a tad too eagerly for my taste.
I cautiously glanced around the faces of my team. There was no open hostility; in fact, at least a couple of them appeared – relieved? Huh? Tifa sat apart, silent and miserable; I could almost see her shoulders bowing under the weight of responsibility – for my lapse. Then she met my anxious gaze and the despair and guilt darkening her expression made my heart drop like a stone.
Aerith lightly touched my cheek, bringing my reluctant attention back to her. Smiling softly, she murmured, “Everything will be all right, Cloud. You’re not alone.”
Bowing my head, I mumbled, “I’m really sorry.” The words seemed so inadequate for what I’d done, but it was the best I could do. She nodded, still smiling, and patted my hand before rising to her feet and returning to Tifa. I’m not sure what she said, but Tifa managed a tight smile and accepted a lingering hug once Aerith had pulled her upright. As Barret offered me his massive hand, Aerith escort Tifa towards us. Once I was on my feet, after he nearly sent me flying with a hearty clap on the back, Aerith caught hold of both our hands.
“I don’t blame either of you, so please - don’t beat yourselves up over this,” she insisted, looking at in turn at both Tifa and myself .
“Don’ worry… we’ll keep ‘em in line,” Barret rumbled. “Now, what’re we gonna do about gettin’ back the Black Materia an’ stoppin’ Sephiroth from summonin’ Meteor?”
Aerith stepped away from us. Smoothing her skirt, she briskly announced, “That’s my job.”
“What?” I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who said it; Barret’s incredulous expression would’ve been funny under other circumstances.
“I’m the only one who can stop Sephiroth.” When we all just stared, Aerith sighed gustily. “As the last Cetra, this is my resposibility. You heard Sephiroth – he intends to injure the Planet with Meteor so he can access the energy of the Lifestream and become a god-like being.”
“A human ShinRa reactor,” Cid commented, lighting another cigarette.
Vincent mused, “Completing the destruction begun by Jenova all those centuries ago.”
“How are you going to stop him?” I asked Aerith.
She pursed her lips. “The Planet will tell me what to do when I get there.”
“Where?”
“If Sephiroth really has ‘travelled the Lifestream’, then he probably already knows what the Planet told me, but I can’t risk telling you just in case he doesn’t – and can access your thoughts.”
While I contemplated that unwelcome idea, Tifa protested, “You’re not going alone!”
“If Cloud is being controlled by Sephiroth, then I’m definitely not safe around him,” she calmly pointed out.
Cid stubbed out his cigarette and tucked it behind his ear. “I’ll take ya where ya need to go,” he said, “an’ then come back fer these numbskulls.”
“I shall accompany you,” Nanaki declared.
Vincent moved to stand at Aerith’s side. “I am at your service as well.”
Tifa also took a step forward, but the mage shook her head. “Cloud needs you,” she gently remonstrated. Tifa blinked, and then glanced apologetically at me; I shrugged, because I understood the impulse to protect.
“Awright, let’s get this fucking show on the road,” Cid said, and within half an hour, the Tiny Bronco churned away from the beach.
Barret shaded his eyes, watching until the crippled airship disappeared around a distant headland. “Step lively,” he grunted, gesturing us forward. “Looks like we’re headin’ north.”
Yuffie instantly bounced into the lead, whirling her shuriken. “I’ll take point!” she gaily called, practically skipping over the rocks. Barret rolled his eyes for our benefit as he followed, with Tifa close on his heels. She stopped and turned, waiting silently for me to catch up; slipping my hand into hers, I squeezed and she returned the pressure, but she didn’t smile. I’d intended to stay by her side, but within ten feet it was obvious that matching her now-longer stride was impossible, so I gave her a friendly shoulder-bump before falling back to cover the rear.
For just a moment, I thought I saw my sword on her back in place of her knapsack, but a blistering headache immediately erupted when I tried to recall where I’d seen that image before. Was Sephiroth trying to keep me from remembering something?
After what had happened today, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the truth.
Converting /tmp/phpAKKzqS to /dev/stdout
A/N: Totally making up the bit about when Third Class SOLDIERs receive their first mako treatment, due to a lack of official sources. I can’t really see recruits (willing or otherwise) being pumped with a substance that gives them superhuman strength within five minutes of entering the program. To keep the unwilling from immediately using their new power to thump their captors, a secondary screening program before bestowing the mako/Jenova serum would be more plausible.
You may also assume that dog-tags are made of mythril or some other indestructible material, and that the entire team witnessed the events inside the Temple, as opposed to only a party of three.
Pinching some dialogue from Crisis Core and Advent Children: Complete.
Warnings: Acute whiplash potential and suspension of disbelief required. No, really.
Acknowledgement: Credit (or blame) for the mayhem in this chapter goes to Anjeeru, who snuck a devious little bunny into the Hutch months ago when she reviewed Learning Curve.
Special thanks to my husband, who good-naturedly answered my numerous questions without turning too red.
Bouquets to my wonderful betas Kitsune13/TamLin and Ranuel, who never let the bunnies run too wild.
Learning Curve Continuum
Chapter Ten: Sideswiped
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
“Now that’s what I call ‘firepower’,” Cid laconically commented, using a smouldering branch to light a fresh cigarette. Aside from Vincent, he appeared to be the only one unaffected by the acrid-smelling clouds swirling around the blackened clearing. Wiping my streaming eyes with a shaking hand, I watched Vincent collect dog-tags from the charred bodies of the SOLDIERs; since the gunman didn’t seem the type to trophy hunt, I briefly wondered what he intended to do with them. I also spared a thought for what had happened to my dog-tags, since I seemed to have lost them. Probably removed during my stint as Hojo’s lab animal.
Rolling the Summon materia between my fingers, I forced myself to wait until my heart rate had slowed instead of giving into my first impulse to dash to Tifa’s side. Aerith would’ve taken care of any injuries she suffered, so I knew she was alive and well. Besides, my preferred method of checking Tifa’s wounds would involve a lot less clothing and no audience, and that was definitely out of the question. Putting away the materia, I moved towards the rest of our group, then wondered why Tifa was thoroughly bundled up, her boots and gloves discarded on the ground. I was close enough to hear Aerith’s low comments to Yuffie as she pulled a flap of the unzipped bedroll up over Tifa’s head, but not enough to make sense of them.
“None of us have anything she can borrow - time for you to make good on that boast.” The young ninja looked puzzled; Aerith scowled. “Something about ‘five minutes and a ShinRa supply depot’?”
Understanding dawned, quickly followed by more confusion. “Right! But... there isn’t one around here...?”
“Those SOLDIERs arrived on this island in some kind of military transport, and it’ll be stocked with equipment.”
Yuffie grinned toothily. “I’m on it!” There was a further whispered conference before the teen glanced around. Sprinting across the smoking ground, she buttonholed Vincent; after a brief exchange of words, the gunman nodded, and then they were gone.
Aerith turned her attention to us. “Nanaki, will you stay? The rest of you can set up camp – somewhere far away from here. We’re not going any further tonight, ShinRa and Sephiroth be damned.” Barret stomped off, beckoning to Cid; Cait trailed along behind. When I approached, Aerith pulled Tifa closer, as if I was some kind of threat.
Giving Aerith a sharp look, I rested my hand on Tifa’s shoulder. “You all right?” The huddled form made a movement that felt like an affirmative; I squeezed before letting go. “Don’t be long.”
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
Barret and Cid were thoroughly engaged in their nightly scrap over the tea kettle when Vincent and Yuffie entered the clearing. The teen appeared both mightily pleased with herself and incredibly tense as she threw herself down beside the fire and began breaking twigs to feed the flames; she assiduously avoided meeting my gaze. Vincent wasn’t any more forthcoming when I tried to catch his eye; instead, he tossed Barret a case of ammunition and began cleaning his gun. Hefting my sword, I was about to go in search of the girls when Nanaki arrived in the circle of firelight with Aerith in his wake. And behind her was a tall SOLDIER, Third Class.
The crackle of the fire was the loudest sound in the clearing for a very long moment. Something about the newcomer tugged on the corner of my mind, but I couldn’t quite place it. He fidgeted under the weight of our combined stares, but it wasn’t until he ducked his head in a painfully familiar gesture that realization dawned. “What the hell happened?” I demanded.
As her companion flinched, Aerith lifted her chin and looked me straight in the eye. “It’s my fault,” she said clearly and unwaveringly. “My Transform materia was mixed up with the rest, and I accidentally added it to my array the other day. I thought I only temporarily tweaked the spell, but it must’ve somehow become permanent.”
Cid reached inside his jacket and produced a flask. Silently uncorking it, he poured a generous measure for both himself and Barret; they solemnly clinked their mugs, and then tossed back the shots. The big man shuddered briefly when the alcohol hit his system before looking the ‘new man’ up and down. “Guess we gotta come up with a new name fer ya,” he rumbled. “Jus’ in case yer stuck like this fer a while.”
“Why? When Cloud was a girl, we didn’t change his name!” Aerith objected, and then turned a sickly shade when she realized what she’d let slip.
Yuffie pounced. “Cloud was a girl? Really? When?” A slow grin spread across Cid’s face while one of Vincent’s eyebrows might have raised a fraction of an inch; Nanaki froze in mid-scratch and carefully replaced his paw on the ground.
“Briefly,” I growled, watching Aerith wilt.
“He and Aerith rescued me from a sticky situation in Midgar,” Tifa abruptly spoke up, and everyone stared as she slid her arm around the mage’s shoulders. Not because the gesture was blatantly protective, which it was, but because Tifa’s voice was now a husky tenor. She straightened, squaring her armoured shoulders, and we all finally had a good look at her. Her bangs were spiky instead of smooth, her face was longer, her chin squared instead of pointed, and she had sprouted a pair of narrow sideburns.
Sweet Shiva, she even had an Adam’s apple.
And she was at least half a foot taller than me.
Tifa’s vivid eyes were the same – well, not exactly the same shape – but they were as expressive as always, and right now, she was wary. Ushering Aerith to a seat on the other side of the fire, she held a quiet discussion with Yuffie and soon a meal was being organized. I had a bad moment as she bent over her pack to retrieve a pot – her beautiful hair was much shorter and the ends stuck out in all directions like she’d been caught in a windstorm. Even more disgruntled, I inspected the rest of her. She was long and lean, the snug uniform showing off a muscled physique that subtly conveyed her considerable strength - and she still had an awesome ass.
The inescapable fact was that Tifa made an extremely handsome man.
Damn.
Cait sidled up beside me; I shot him an unfriendly look, but he wasn’t put off. “How’re we gonna fix the lassie?” he asked in a low voice.
“A mako spring and a couple of Restore materia,” I curtly replied. “Know of any springs close by?”
“No,” he answered, sounding genuinely upset.
“Don’t pull the ‘concerned’ act with me,” I snarled. “You called in those reinforcements.”
He honestly appeared taken aback by the accusation. “I didn’t - I swear I didn’t!”
Vincent came over to sit beside me and the cat scarpered, although I noticed that he was wringing his paws. “The choice of a SOLDIER uniform might not have been the best,” the gunman observed. “Her lack of mako eyes is a problem.”
Yuffie popped up from where she was passing Tifa various supplies. “I couldn’t find anything else!” she protested. “I did my best!”
Tifa gently scruffed the teen’s bangs. “You did just fine. Everything fits really well – even the boots.”
“I heard that SOLDIERs hafta pass a test or somethin’ afore they can even get inta the program,” Barret rumbled.
“They do, unless you’re recruited right into SOLDIER,” I said, then admitted, “I failed the exam three times.”
“When did you receive your first mako treatment, Cloud-san?”
My mind went blank, but Cait Sith filled in, “Not until after the Third Class laddies go through a battery of psychological tests.”
“Assuming Cait is telling the truth, I’ll just tell anyone who asks that I haven’t done the tests yet,” Tifa said, and started ladling out the food. After everyone was served, instead of taking her usual place at my side, she remained next to Aerith… and my hackles went up because the mage kept touching her. Nothing big - just a hand on Tifa’s arm, or a brief lean into her shoulder to exchange a few words, but it was often enough that I noticed.
“Your fangs are showing,” Vincent murmured in amusement, and I barely resisted the urge to bare them at him.
Yuffie had collected the bowls when Barret, fortified by the contents of Cid’s flask, brought up the name issue again. “The way I see it, ‘Cloud’ can be girly or manly; all depends on the person wearin’ the name,” he proclaimed, his words only slightly slurred. “Now, ‘Tifa’, on th’ other han’, is compl’t’ly girly, an’ it’s gonna attract all kinds o’ ’tention ‘til we can get ‘er fixed.”
Tifa snorted. “You make it sound like I need a mechanic.”
“Ya kno’ what I mean, right?”
“I do. Let me think about it, okay?”
“Awww,” Yuffie pouted. “I know some great boy’s names! Wanna hear ‘em?”
“Not right now,” Tifa answered, grinning crookedly as she rose to her feet. “I’m going to find out what this body’s capable of. Sorry for sticking you with the dishes.”
Yuffie gave Tifa a speculative look. “Y’know, you look darn similar to another SOLDIER we once knew. Hey – why don’t we call you... ow! What was that for?” she demanded of Aerith while furiously rubbing her shin.
“Definitely not,” the mage said tightly, pinning the teen with a deadly look, and Yuffie clammed up.
“I shall provide light for you, Tifa-san,” Nanaki declared, his tail-flare twitching.
As the two disappeared into the shadows, Cid prodded Barret in the ribs. “Just wait ‘til our ‘young man’ hasta take a leak!” he cackled. Barret burst out laughing, while Aerith and Yuffie were scandalized.
I stood up. “I’m gonna patrol.”
“Gotcher PHS?”
I nodded curtly and stalked out of camp, deliberately choosing the opposite direction to Tifa and Nanaki. As soon as I was out of sight of the fire, I circled around so as to approach my targets from downwind. Nanaki probably wouldn’t bust me anyways, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on him.
The resident critters seemed to have left the area since Ifrit fried the vicinity, which was a good thing because I wasn’t in the mood for petty annoyances. The urgency to keep moving east, further into the island’s terrain, had also subsided but I didn’t give a shit about that. The crunch of breaking wood off to my left lead me deeper into the forest until I came upon a fitfully lit glade. Hunkering down in the undergrowth, I waited for an opportunity to talk to Tifa.
Watching Tifa go through her moves was always a guilty pleasure – those long legs and that silky hair twisting and twirling as she threw rapid-fire punches and kicks were almost mesmerizing. There was no bare skin or short skirts for distraction this time; instead, I was awed by her raw power. She wasn’t so much graceful as explosive; blows sent trees toppling and she caught amazing height in her vertical launches. I saw her stumble a few times on landings, when she was thrown off-balance in the air, but it appeared that she was adapting quickly.
“Well done, Tifa-san!” Nanaki cheered when she landed squarely after executing a killer Somersault.
Straightening, she rolled her shoulders. “It’s a real rush, but really odd at the same time.”
“Odd?”
“Like I’m a teenager all over again, learning how to fight in a body that doesn’t respond quite the way I expect it.” Sheepishly toeing her boot into the loam, Tifa added in that disconcertingly deep voice, “I feel really clumsy.”
He cocked his head. “You certainly do not give that impression. I imagine that it will only take a matter of hours before you are comfortable in your new skin.”
“I hope so.” Extending her arm out in front of her, Tifa commented, “I think I gained about six inches of reach….”
“Hellooo?”
“Aerith -sama?” Nanaki was on his feet and heading into the darkness before he paused. “Will you be all right, Tifa-san?”
“It’s only the dark. I’ve dealt with worse.”
In the monetary pitch darkness, I watched Tifa put her back against the closest tree and fold her arms over her flat chest. When Nanaki returned with Aerith at his side, the flickering light of his tail-flare cast fantastical shadows across Tifa’s altered features, and I did a double take. She eerily reminded me of someone else, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on who.
Nanaki removed himself to the far side of the clearing, and I had to shift my position to make sure I remained undetected. When I found a new vantage point, my hackles went up hard and fast because Aerith was way too close to Tifa. I know it sounds stupid, but Tifa is mine – doesn’t matter what gender she happens to be at that precise moment. When Aerith laid her hand on Tifa’s crossed arms and moved closer yet, I made an angry noise deep in my throat. Nanaki glanced over his shoulder in my direction, but made no other move.
“I don’t really look that much like him... do I?” Tifa asked quietly.
Aerith smiled wistfully. “No... but out of the corner of my eye? Close enough that my heart jumps into my throat.”
“I always think of him as... bigger, somehow. Really tall, with broad shoulders....”
“It’s the pauldrons; you’re close to the same height, though.”
Tifa tapped a spot low on her left cheek. “No scar... or mako eyes,either.”
“Thank goodness for that, or I’d be down for the count every few minutes.”
“Sorry?”
“Not your fault.”
“Not yours, either.” When Aerith bowed her head, Tifa caught her hands. “I’m okay… really.”
It took Aerith a long time to reply, and when she did, her voice was wispy and frail. “I had this premonition that he was in danger, so I called his PHS – it took forever to connect and I was frantic by the time I got through. He told me it wasn’t the best time, that he’d call back later. I said he didn’t have to, because just hearing his voice was reassuring, but then he said he’d come visit me instead.” She was silent for several moments before choking out, “His last words were, ‘I’ll see you – I promise’.”
“Oh, Aerith,” Tifa whispered, pulling the other woman close. I didn’t know what or who the hell they were talking about, but I recognized the bone-deep, gut-wrenching sobs shaking Aerith’s entire body. After a few moments, Tifa slid down to sitting at the base of the tree, arranging the mage in her lap. Resting her cheek against the crown of Aerith’s head, she cuddled the weeping woman close, one hand gently smoothing up and down her back. I tried not to grumble, because Aerith obviously needed Tifa’s support, but it was difficult to watch my friend wrap herself around someone else.
It took a long time until the storm quieted; Aerith had obviously kept all this emotion pent up far longer than it was healthy. When she was reduced to shuddering hiccups, Nanaki stood up and padded across the clearing. Curling up next to the pair, he insinuated his massive head into Aerith’s lap and vocalized this queer rumble that sounded an awful lot like a purr. Aerith buried her slender fingers in his mane and scratched until his one eye closed in bliss and the noise ramped up until the very air vibrated; I had trouble hearing her next words.
“I once told him I had twenty-three tiny wishes - I’ll never forget the look on his face before he told me to write them all down, so he wouldn’t forget.”
“What did you wish for?” Tifa gently prompted while carefully wiping Aerith’s cheeks with her gloved fingers.
“T-to spend more t-time with him.”
A fresh bout of sobs kept everyone occupied for a while; in the bushes, I scratched my head. Neither Tifa nor Nanaki had asked any questions, so that meant they both knew who Aerith was talking about; I assumed it was her SOLDIER boyfriend. If I was right, it was painfully obvious that something tragic had happened to him, and Aerith’s heart had been broken. But... how could Tifa possibly know what the guy looked like? I was frowning over this when Aerith smeared at her eyes and reached up, untying the pink ribbon holding back her hair.
“I need to show you something.” I was just as surprised as the other two when a pale-green, white-swirled materia fell into her hand. “This is very special materia – but it isn’t good for anything.”
Nanaki cautiously sniffed the orb before flattening his ears and objecting, “That is an extremely powerful object, Aerith-sama.”
She cupped it between her palms. “My mother gave it to me as she lay dying; she told me to guard it well because the fate of the Planet could depend on it – and that was all.”
“No pressure, huh?” Tifa muttered, tapping the materia with a careful fingertip. “Does anyone else know about it?”
“Cloud does... but I don’t think he remembers, since he’d just fallen through the roof of the Sector Five church.”
“Odd topic for a casual conversation.”
“I think I was in shock - I commented on the number of materia he had.”
Tifa lightly brushed Aerith’s bangs away from her face. “‘Shock’ is an understatement. Shall we put this away?”
“Actually, I wanted to try changing you back with it.”
Nanaki rapidly shook his head. “I would not recommend that, Aerith-sama. The materia is far too important for such a trivial use.” His eye widened as he realized what he had said, and he stammered, “F-forgive me, Tifa-san! I did not mean to imply that your current condition was unimportant!”
She tugged one of his braids. “No offense taken, Nanaki. I understood what you meant.” Turning to Aerith, she closed the mage’s fingers over the orb. “He’s right. If this materia could save the Planet, then it shouldn’t be used for a sex change. All we need to do is find a mako spring, and I’ll be back to normal in no time.”
Giving in, Aerith tucked the materia back into her hair and re-tied the ribbon to keep it in place. “All right,” she sighed, smiling weakly, then added, “Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.”
“No problem.”
“Oh! Have you decided on a more ‘manly’ name?”
Tifa snorted. “I suppose I’ll just go with ‘T’, as that seems easiest.”
“‘Mr. T’?” Aerith grinned.
“T-san?” Nanaki tried, then nodded. “That will work.”
“Then it’s settled... so long as I’m still ‘Tifa’ to my friends, because in here,” she tapped her temple, “I’m very much a girl.”
The other two nodded, and then Aerith climbed out of Tifa’s lap. Offering Tifa a hand up, she said, “Hopefully it won’t take long to retrieve the Keystone, and then we can look for a mako spring.”
I slunk through the shadows as they picked their way between the bushes, my head spinning from all of the information I’d heard, while still hoping for a chance to corner Tifa. I was handed a golden opportunity when Tifa took her leave of the other two just on the edge of firelight to answer a ‘call of nature’. Pushing through the undergrowth until she found a large tree that hid her from the fire, she unknowingly set herself up. She was biting her lip, no doubt contemplating how best to go about a very basic activity, when I pounced. Her fist came up automatically; I grabbed both it and a handful of her uniform.
I still had no idea of what I was going to say… so I acted instead.
Yanking her down to my level, I kissed her.
Maybe I wanted to remind her that I had first claim on her after Aerith had been all touchy-feely – or maybe I wanted her to know that as far as I was concerned, she was still my girl. I dunno; I didn’t think about it very much. For her part, Tifa was so taken aback that she momentarily dropped her guard and I used the opening to pin her against the tree. Her free hand landed on my shoulder, and she first tensed as if she was going to push, but instead, she pulled me closer.
I now understood how comforting a hug must have felt to Tifa when I was taller, but it felt weird having the tables turned.
I also realized that I absolutely preferred curves to angles.
Breaking the kiss, I whispered, “At least you still taste the same,” which was the truth, and then tried to ease free of her grip. Tifa, however, had other ideas; she slid down the trunk until she could bury her face in my shoulder and tightened her arms. I’ll admit to remaining kinda stiff for a couple of moments until I realized that despite her brave claims to the others that she was okay, the truth was very far from that.
She needed me and I needed to get over myself.
I brought up my hand and gently cupped the back of her head. “We’ll get through this,” I murmured in her ear. “Leave it to me.” She might have nodded, but it felt more like a shudder, so I pressed closer and stroked her side. That way I didn’t encounter any of her uniform straps, which might have made me twitchy despite my best intentions; the metal pauldron pressing against my chin was bad enough.
Her eyelashes were spiky with damp when she finally pulled back far enough to look at me, but she was calm… or maybe ‘resigned’ would be a better term. I really hated seeing that darkness in her eyes, so I impulsively kissed her again. Things got hot and heavy really fast, but not before I noted the edge of desperation in the way she responded. I tried to take control and gentle the contact, but then all bets were off when I felt something familiar raising its head, so to speak, and it wasn’t mine.
Breaking away, I stumbled backwards a few paces, and immediately felt like a bastard at the bereft expression on Tifa’s face. “Sorry,” I said contritely, then ran my hand over my hair, at a loss to explain my abrupt retreat – until Tifa tried to straighten up and almost immediately hunched over, her hands covering her crotch. I nearly snickered until I saw her panicked look; however, I couldn’t resist commenting, “That’s the exact condition you leave me in quite regularly.”
“Wh-what should I do?” she hissed, wincing.
“You might wanna straighten it out… take the pressure off,” I suggested.
“B-but then I’d have to t-touch it!”
I spread my hands in a helpless gesture. “You’re gonna have to anyways, unless you wanna pee on your leg.”
Her face drained of colour. She was horrified, to put it mildly, and I immediately became more sympathetic. When I was a girl, having to drop trou in order to relieve myself had been a pain in the ass more than anything else – ShinRa uniforms aren’t designed to accommodate female anatomy, what with all those belts and straps - but I only had to put up with it for a day or two. Unless we got very lucky, very soon, Tifa might be like this for weeks.
Which, from a purely selfish standpoint, was seriously gonna cut into our snuggle-time.
Damn. Again.
“Nothing for it,” Tifa finally huffed, and shoved her hand down the front of her trousers. She immediately looked relieved and finally straightened up.
“Better wait a few minutes before you go back out there,” I warned. “Can’t disguise a hard-on in these uniforms… unless you can figure out a way to casually hold one of your pauldrons over your crotch.”
She glanced down and made another face. “Thanks for the tip.”
“No problem.” I had half-turned away, before something else occurred to me. “You’ll wake up semi-hard in the mornings; taking a leak usually fixes it.”
It appeared that she was frozen in shock, until she ventured, “Is that what they call ‘morning wood’?”
“Yep. Hey… how do you know about it?” I demanded, since I was fairly sure she was unaware of mine.
Shrugging, she answered, “Johnny and those guys used to brag about stuff like that all the time during recess… where are you going?”
Of course I wouldn’t remember conversations like that, because I was usually in detention for fighting one of ‘those guys’. I raised my hand in careless salute. “Supposed to be on patrol, so I’m gonna do that. Oh… and if I’m not back before you need to piss, ask Vincent for help. Barret and Cid’ll tease you half to death.”
“Great,” she groused in a very un-Tifa-like tone. “So far, being ‘one of the guys’ has sucked.”
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
When I ambled into camp a couple of hours later, it was plainly obvious that something had happened because Nanaki, Aerith and Yuffie were defensively huddling around Tifa. The two girls were shooting daggers across the fire pit at Barret and Cid, who were howling with laughter, while Tifa was wearing an extra-stoic expression as she examined the ground between her boots. I looked to Vincent; he merely shrugged. Cait was sitting apart and didn’t bother to glance up at my approach; if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was depressed.Cid wiped his streaming eyes with one hand while waving his cigarette with the other. “Now, as I was sayin’, there’s a fine art to shakin’ the dew offa th’ lilypad – it’s all in th’ wrist.”
“Don’t you think you’ve traumatized Tifa enough for one night?” Aerith demanded, with a glare that would’ve had a lesser man checking for scorch marks; Cid waved her off.
“Jus’ tryin’ to help, missy.”
“I think we’ve all learned more than we ever needed – or wanted - about foreskins, among other things,” Aerith replied tartly.
“Sounds like things have been lively,” I commented, dropping down next to Nanaki.
Behind me, Tifa rose to her feet. “Pass me that flashlight, please.” When Yuffie handed it over, she continued, “I’ll take this watch. Who’s next?” Vincent inclined his head; she tipped him a salute and disappeared into the dark without a backwards glance.
In the lull following her exit, Cid knocked back the contents of his mug, then yawned widely. “Time fer some shut-eye, if goddamn ShinRa is th’ first fucking thing I gotta deal with.”
“Be ready to stand watch after Vincent,” I warned. “And lay off Tifa.”
“No need t’ be so fucking serious, boss. We was just havin’ a bit o’ fun.” Turning to Barret, he boozily hiccupped, “You can make th’ tea in th’ morning.”
That’s when we all realized that Cid – and probably Barret - were too drunk to stand watch. “Yuffie, you’re up after Vincent,” I quietly ordered; she wrinkled her nose, but nodded.
The two girls shooed me out of the way and began laying out their bedrolls. Seating myself on a log, I watched their preparations with only half my attention while wondering if I should go after Tifa. Because of that, it took me a few minutes to notice that they were including Tifa’s bedding in their arrangements. I was about to protest when I realized Tifa’s comfort level was more important, and if she was fine with it, then I’d better keep my mouth shut.
My discontent must have been noticeable, because Aerith reached over and patted my knee. When I petulantly shook her off, she rolled her eyes and tucked herself into her sleeping bag. Nanaki lay down next to her and Yuffie cuddled up to him; he looked quite content to be used as a pillow. Across the fire, Barret and Cid were already snoring with Vincent watching over them. When Barret hit a particularly obnoxious pitch, the gunslinger prodded him onto his side with a sharply-pointed sabaton; the firelight glinting on his armour reminded me of something.
“Hey, Vincent – why’d you collect the dog-tags?”
“I left them in the transport, which will eventually be recovered by ShinRa. That way their families will be notified, since there were no survivors.”
“That’s, uh, good of you.”
“There are too many unidentified victims of ShinRa’s excesses already; I do not wish to contribute to the total,” he murmured, staring into the flames.
Sliding down to use the log as a back-rest, I tried to settle, but couldn’t. The noise inside my head remained at a mercifully low pitch; I had enough things to chew over without worrying about how it would look to the others if I snuggled up to Tifa now that she had balls instead of boobs. Despite all that, I had managed a fitful doze when Nanaki lifted his chin.
“Tifa-san returns.”
A few moments later, Tifa strode into view. Avoiding Cid’s haphazardly-stacked lance, she stepped over Barret and offered her flashlight to Vincent. He shook his head, but then beckoned her closer. “This may be of help,” he said; I heard a tinny clinking sound as he pressed something into her palm.
Holding the dog-tag up to the firelight, she squinted as she read out, “‘T. Laurence, 3rd, Type B’.”
“At least the initials match up,” Vincent offered.
“And the blood type. Thank you,” she replied, dropping the chain over her head and tucking the tag inside her sweater.
Catching my eye, Vincent added, “I left a note with the others,” before vanishing into the shadows with a fwip of his cloak; creepy as hell when he does that.
Tifa gave me a sideways glance as she unzipped her bedroll. “What was that all about?”
“He put the rest of the dog-tags where ShinRa will find them. Doesn’t want the families to be left in limbo.”
“Ah. That was thoughtful of him.”
“I thought so, too.” Shifting to face her more fully, I waited expectantly - for what, I wasn’t sure.
“Do you want something?” she inquired lightly enough, but her tone and body language was defensive.
I frowned; did she think I wanted a goodnight kiss? After what I’d pulled earlier, it was reasonable to assume I might be up to something. On the other hand, no one was watching and it was part of our routine. I slowly reached for her; she didn’t try to avoid my hand as I slid it around her nape, although she remained tense. Gently tugging her closer, I pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well.”
As I released her, her shoulders relaxed. “Thanks,” she rasped, “You, too.” I lightly stroked her cheek with the back of my fingers and was rewarded with a tired smile. Rolling into her bedding, she put her back to me and gave every appearance of falling instantly asleep.
I watched over her for a while, noting that the high collar of the uniform sweater covered up the hickey I’d given her, then wondered if it was still there. Racking my brain, I tried to place who she reminded me of, but gave up when my head started to pound something fierce. Slouching back against the log, I had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
“Here, boss.” A pungent whiff of cigarette smoke, accompanied by the sharp scent of very strong tea, woke me up faster than a bucket of cold water. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sat upright; Cid nudged a steaming mug into my hand. Glancing around, I noted that Tifa’s bedroll was already neatly packed; I must’ve slept deeper than I thought if I didn’t notice her departure. Aerith yawned and stretched, then gave Nanaki a hug. He rumbled something, and she reached over top of him to help shift Yuffie’s head off his flank so he could stand up. The teenager muttered a protest, but Aerith tucked her bedding closer and she dropped back off to sleep. Catching my eye, the mage murmured, “A few more minutes won’t hurt – today could be very difficult.”
Taking a cautious sip of the mug’s contents, I grimaced at the sensation of my teeth being stripped, then asked, “Where’s Tifa?”
Barret and Cid exchanged glances before the pilot answered, “Come t’ think of it, she has been gone fer a while. Think she got somethin’ stuck in her fly buttons?” Then they both giggled like twelve-year-olds.
Shaking my head at their antics, something tickled under my chin; brushing at it, a long fibre caught on my glove. Holding it up, I recognized the dark strand of hair. As I shook my hand free of the evidence, I felt rather smug that her sub-conscious had sought me out for comfort. That would explain why I slept so deeply, if Tifa was snuggled on my shoulder – and why she’d bailed as soon as she woke up. No need to give the peanut gallery more ammunition.
At that moment, Tifa arrived in the clearing. She was shirtless and water-dappled, her gear carried self-consciously in front of her bare chest. In response to our startled looks, she briskly announced, “Disposed of a Kelzmelzer and found a stream where we can refill our canteens,” before Aerith threw her a towel. Watching out of the corner of my eye as she flexed and twisted to catch all the drips, I couldn’t help admiring Tifa’s new body. Her pecs and abs were defined sharply enough to cut glass, her shoulders and biceps impressively muscled; if I went ‘green’ and she had to clobber me, I’d have broken bones for sure.
Aerith offered to brush Tifa’s wet hair; after a quick glance in my direction that I chose to interpret as wishful, Tifa nodded and sat down on the other end of my log. In the process of combing through the dark strands, Aerith noticed something on the back of Tifa’s neck and made a comment. Frowning, Tifa covered the spot with her hand while shaking her head; then they both looked at me. I smirked, but then a very unwelcome thought crossed my mind and I found myself gripping my mug tightly enough to crease the metal. Forcing myself to relax, I tried to be objective... but dammit, I liked being Tifa’s protector, and the idea that she might not need – or possibly want – my help was highly disturbing. Plus, the fact that the mage was already cadging more than her fair share of Tifa’s smiles this morning was hella annoying.
Unlike when I was thirteen and could thump that punk Johnny if he got too close to Tifa, I couldn’t very well beat up Aerith.
“My goodness! What’s this all about?” Slender fingers were abruptly prying at my fist; I blinked down at the crushed metallic mass, belatedly noticing that my glove was soaking wet. “Cloud? Are you... feeling all right?” Aerith’s green eyes were bright with concern.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, pitching the crumpled mug over my shoulder into the undergrowth. “Let’s get moving.”
“Not until after we’ve eaten,” she gently pointed out, and I sullenly subsided. While Tifa directed the breakfast preparations – some things didn’t change, thank Shiva - I exchanged my tea-drenched glove for a dry one and started honing my blade to keep myself occupied.
“Why d’ye do it?”
I gave Cait a narrow look. “Do what?”
He bravely edged closer. “Risk yer life on a thankless quest?”
Shrugging, I carelessly replied, “Got some scores to settle.”
“That’s it?”
Since he seemed honestly curious, I thought about it before I answered, “ShinRa needs to be held accountable for their actions, and that’s what I plan to do. Why do you want to know?”
Pushing his crown back on his head, Cait slowly replied, “Seein’ the dangers and the risks that ye put up with on a daily basis – all without praise or payment – makes me think about what I’m doin’ with my life.”
“Don’t go fryin’ your circuits by thinking too hard,” I retorted.
“Izzit morning all ready?” Yuffie muzzily queried, rearing up to sitting, her hair sticking up at the back like a Chocobo’s tail.
“Want some tea, kid?” Cid cheerily asked.
“Only if you didn’t make it - I need to be alert, not vibrating,” she yawned.
Cait used the interruption to withdraw from the conversation, although I noticed that he seemed to be thinking things over. If he really was Reeve Tuesti’s creation, then we were possibly in line to gain an ally within ShinRa, and that would be a huge help to staying one step ahead of them; temporarily giving up the Keystone would be worth that.
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
“It doesn’t look anything like what I imagined,” Aerith murmured as we crossed the swaying footbridge leading to the temple compound’s main gate. I didn’t reply, because I was concentrating on my footing as well as stewing over the fact that she and Tifa had been holding hands all morning. When we weren’t fighting our way through Dual Horns and Under Lizards, that is; otherwise, they were practically glued together. Tifa couldn’t very well hold hands with me – well, we could, but aside from other things, I had a suspicion I might feel strange at not having the ‘dominant’ hand because I was shorter – so it made sense that she turned to Aerith for physical reassurance. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.Yes, I was being childish. Shut up.
“Is this really the right place?” Yuffie asked in a hushed voice, balancing herself with a hand resting on Nanaki’s rump, while just in front of her, Cait Sith gazed in awe up at the towering structure.
“I can hear... a voice? No, more like a feeling,” Aerith said, frowning as she tilted her head. “You’re happy that I’m here? But you’re also uneasy? Why?”
“Voices in your head are never a good sign,” I peevishly commented and Tifa shot me a sharp look.
“I smell blood,” Nanaki announced, his nostrils flaring.
“Come on!” Aerith practically dragged Tifa towards the open gate.
“On your guard,” I muttered to the rest, but they had already primed their weapons. My scalp was prickling and there was an irritating buzz in my ears. “Things are probably gonna get real ugly, real fast.”
That turned out to be an understatement of colossal proportions.
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
Having your jaw broken is a helluva way to wake up.Dazed from a brain-scrambling blow, I let out a panicked yelp when I saw a leather-covered fist driving at my face. Twisting my head, I managed to spare my nose another hit, but I took one to the chin instead. ‘Excruciating’ doesn’t even begin to cover the exploding agony as the bone cracked; I almost passed out on the spot. What the hell?
“Stop! Yer gonna kill ‘im!”
As Barret fended off my attacker, my vision cleared and I nearly choked on the blood trickling down my throat.
It was Tifa turning my face to jelly.
I stared in confusion at my best friend, the crushing ache in my jaw momentarily forgotten. She looked devastated. I tried to say something, but what came out instead was a wet gurgle. Appearing close to tears, she abruptly let go of my sweater and dashed back to where the rest of our team was hovering over... Aerith?
What the hell was going on?
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I squinted against the pain and saw Tifa drop to her knees, tenderly taking Aerith’s face in her glowing hands. The mage had been thoroughly battered by someone or something... shit. Frantically searching my memories of the last few minutes, I vaguely remembered skidding down into the crater and picking up the Black Materia, which now doubled as Cait Sith’s tomb. A sickening suspicion was winding around my guts when Barret abruptly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. Dragging me up until we were nose-to-broken nose, he glared furiously at me for several long moments before making a disgusted noise. Giving me a hard shake that made my loosened teeth rattle, he dropped me on my ass, but I barely noticed.
The livid marks on Aerith’s pretty face rapidly disappeared under Tifa’s gentle touch, but I would see them in my nightmares for years to come. Bile rising in the back of my throat, I tried to move towards them, but a whack from the butt end of Cid’s lance sent me sprawling across Barret’s boots. The pilot shot me a warning look, and I decided to stay where I was. Tugging on Barret’s trouser leg, I pointed at Aerith with one hand while holding my face together with the other, then tried to not obviously cringe away from his fearsome expression just before he roared, “Ya gave Sephiroth the Black Materia an’ then beat down th’ missy, ya fool!”
My jaw would’ve dropped if it could.
I gave Sephiroth the Black Materia? I was so stunned by that my brain almost didn’t process the second half of his sentence - I attacked Aerith? Me? My shock was obvious, because Barret softened his tone the tiniest bit. “Yeah, ya did – Tifa had to bust ya up real good t’ make ya stop.”
“It’s all my fault.” Tifa slumped, her posture utterly defeated. “I thought I could stop him before anyone got hurt.” She ground her fists against her forehead. “I knew... and I didn’t warn anybody.” Bowing deeply to Aerith, Tifa choked out, “I’m so, so sorry.”
The mage wrapped her arms around Tifa. “Don’t take the blame on yourself - we know that Cloud has issues.”
“But... I knew that if Sephiroth showed up, Cloud would lose control.” Tifa swallowed hard. “I-I’ve known for a long time – since the Cargo Ship – that this would happen.” Drooping further, she added, “We call it ‘going green’ because of the change in his eye colour.”
“The fool kinda lost it during th’ Reactor One mission, too,” Barret remarked. “Don’ remember no funny eyes, tho’.”
My stomach had twisted up into what I suspected was a permanent knot when Nanaki left Aerith’s side and approached. Peering closely at my bloodied face, he called over his shoulder, “In order for us to hear Cloud-san’s side of the story, he must be healed.”
Aerith stood with assistance from Vincent; squeezing Tifa’s shoulder on the way past, she knelt in front of me. Critically inspecting my injuries, she asked, “Isn’t there any other way to bring Cloud back to his senses?”
“There is, but this wasn’t the best time to try it,” Tifa replied dully, and no one pushed the issue.
“Yuffie, please find a cloth and dampen it with water,” Aerith directed as green energy coated her hands. It took several passes before the pain entirely disappeared as the bone and cartilage knit themselves back together. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of what I would see in Aerith’s expression, until she applied a wet cloth to my skin and the cold startled me. As she gently dabbed away the blood, her cool fingers tilting up my chin, her gaze was thoughtful and held a trace of... pity?
As soon as I could talk, I flatly stated, “It’s my responsibility. I asked Tifa to not say anything.”
“Why?” demanded Barret, treating Tifa to a hairy eyeball.
“I didn’t want to be known as the ‘crazy guy’,” I reluctantly admitted while bristling over the way he was glaring at her.
“So now yer jus’ a damn jackass,” Barret snorted. “Look, fool, ya got problems – hell, we all do. Ya gotta decide whether yer gonna face up to ‘em like a man or sit around moanin’ about ‘em. What’s it gonna be?” He gave me a considering look. “If ya go nuts agin when ya see Sephiroth, I’ll smack ya upside yer spiky head an’ knock some sense inta ya.”
“I’ll give ya a whack,” Cid offered, exhaling a smoke ring, while Vincent gave the impression that he was debating which end of his gun would be most effective.
“Me, too!” Yuffie chimed in, a tad too eagerly for my taste.
I cautiously glanced around the faces of my team. There was no open hostility; in fact, at least a couple of them appeared – relieved? Huh? Tifa sat apart, silent and miserable; I could almost see her shoulders bowing under the weight of responsibility – for my lapse. Then she met my anxious gaze and the despair and guilt darkening her expression made my heart drop like a stone.
Aerith lightly touched my cheek, bringing my reluctant attention back to her. Smiling softly, she murmured, “Everything will be all right, Cloud. You’re not alone.”
Bowing my head, I mumbled, “I’m really sorry.” The words seemed so inadequate for what I’d done, but it was the best I could do. She nodded, still smiling, and patted my hand before rising to her feet and returning to Tifa. I’m not sure what she said, but Tifa managed a tight smile and accepted a lingering hug once Aerith had pulled her upright. As Barret offered me his massive hand, Aerith escort Tifa towards us. Once I was on my feet, after he nearly sent me flying with a hearty clap on the back, Aerith caught hold of both our hands.
“I don’t blame either of you, so please - don’t beat yourselves up over this,” she insisted, looking at in turn at both Tifa and myself .
“Don’ worry… we’ll keep ‘em in line,” Barret rumbled. “Now, what’re we gonna do about gettin’ back the Black Materia an’ stoppin’ Sephiroth from summonin’ Meteor?”
Aerith stepped away from us. Smoothing her skirt, she briskly announced, “That’s my job.”
“What?” I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who said it; Barret’s incredulous expression would’ve been funny under other circumstances.
“I’m the only one who can stop Sephiroth.” When we all just stared, Aerith sighed gustily. “As the last Cetra, this is my resposibility. You heard Sephiroth – he intends to injure the Planet with Meteor so he can access the energy of the Lifestream and become a god-like being.”
“A human ShinRa reactor,” Cid commented, lighting another cigarette.
Vincent mused, “Completing the destruction begun by Jenova all those centuries ago.”
“How are you going to stop him?” I asked Aerith.
She pursed her lips. “The Planet will tell me what to do when I get there.”
“Where?”
“If Sephiroth really has ‘travelled the Lifestream’, then he probably already knows what the Planet told me, but I can’t risk telling you just in case he doesn’t – and can access your thoughts.”
While I contemplated that unwelcome idea, Tifa protested, “You’re not going alone!”
“If Cloud is being controlled by Sephiroth, then I’m definitely not safe around him,” she calmly pointed out.
Cid stubbed out his cigarette and tucked it behind his ear. “I’ll take ya where ya need to go,” he said, “an’ then come back fer these numbskulls.”
“I shall accompany you,” Nanaki declared.
Vincent moved to stand at Aerith’s side. “I am at your service as well.”
Tifa also took a step forward, but the mage shook her head. “Cloud needs you,” she gently remonstrated. Tifa blinked, and then glanced apologetically at me; I shrugged, because I understood the impulse to protect.
“Awright, let’s get this fucking show on the road,” Cid said, and within half an hour, the Tiny Bronco churned away from the beach.
Barret shaded his eyes, watching until the crippled airship disappeared around a distant headland. “Step lively,” he grunted, gesturing us forward. “Looks like we’re headin’ north.”
Yuffie instantly bounced into the lead, whirling her shuriken. “I’ll take point!” she gaily called, practically skipping over the rocks. Barret rolled his eyes for our benefit as he followed, with Tifa close on his heels. She stopped and turned, waiting silently for me to catch up; slipping my hand into hers, I squeezed and she returned the pressure, but she didn’t smile. I’d intended to stay by her side, but within ten feet it was obvious that matching her now-longer stride was impossible, so I gave her a friendly shoulder-bump before falling back to cover the rear.
For just a moment, I thought I saw my sword on her back in place of her knapsack, but a blistering headache immediately erupted when I tried to recall where I’d seen that image before. Was Sephiroth trying to keep me from remembering something?
After what had happened today, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the truth.
Ô Ô Ô Ô Ô
A/N: Don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten about Cait Sith 2.0. Unfortunately.Converting /tmp/phpAKKzqS to /dev/stdout