Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Ice Redux ❯ Reach for the Sky ( Chapter 18 )

Chapter 18: Reach for the Sky

“Cloud! You fucking asshole!” Cid’s brash declaration could be heard clear across the open courtyard of Rocket Town. Sighing heavily, Cloud, accompanied by Vincent and Nanaki, turned to face the fuming pilot. His eyebrow twitched; he was certain of it. It seemed ordering Cid not to come had had no effect, just like he thought it would.

Cid snarled, looking very much like a rampaging train as he stalked their way. “I told your little message boy that I was comin’! I’m not letting ShinRa get my rocket whether you like it or not!” he demanded, storming up to the group, boots nearly digging angry furrows into the ground. He was gripping his Scimitar tightly in his hand as he puffed furiously on a cigarette.

“Get lost, wolfie,” the pilot ordered, jerking his head towards Nanaki.

Nanaki frowned and narrowed his eyes. He turned to look at Cloud, silently asking their leader what his decision was. The blond nodded, and Nanaki shrugged, walking past Cid without a word. He would let the comment slide for now, understanding the blond’s anger, but the pilot would get his just due later. Cid’s eyebrow twitched mercilessly as the lion wolf walked past and headed towards the airship.

The ex-SOLDIER sighed, unhappy about the irascible older man accompanying them. Cid simply could not be objective when it came to the ShinRa No. 26. “Our first priority is the Huge Materia,” he warned, looking the other blond in the eye. “Anything else is too much trouble we don’t need.”

“Tch!” the pilot muttered, plucking the cigarette from his mouth and throwing it to the ground, crushing the tiny flame beneath his heavy boots. He hefted up the Scimitar, balancing it across the back of his shoulders. His eyes seemed to gleam with the need to kick some ass.

“Quit yer stallin’ then! ShinRa ain’t gonna wait on yer sorry ass!” he demanded impatiently. He stormed past Vincent, sparing him not a glance and pushed past Cloud, nearly knocking shoulders with the spiky-headed leader as his boots stomped across the ground.

Vincent and Cloud exchanged glances before following after the determined pilot. The leader watched Cid grimly as they pushed through the stand of trees to the still leaning rocket. This was the entire reason that he had ignored the Captain’s desire to come. The pilot could be volatile when he was angry, and like the Tiny Bronco, the ShinRa No 26 was his baby.

The two friends cleared the trees, finally having caught up to the furious Cid. They caught their first glimpse of the rocket. Other than a few lights blinking on and off when they had not been previously lit before, the rocket seemed just fine. However, it was obvious that something had been activated. There was a subtle thrumming to the ground and an air of excitement to the town itself.

“Those terrorists are here!!” a ShinRa soldier shouted, suddenly noticing their arrival. Three of the lesser grunts rushed the group, intent on stopping them.

Vincent drew his Winchester and shot one of the soldiers before he got anywhere close to them. He quickly re-aimed to take out another but Cid moved in his way, interrupting the shot. Scowling, Vincent dropped his arm to the side as Cid leapt in front of them, growling angrily. He swung his Scimitar in a wide arc, catching both of them in the chest. The soldiers dropped like sacks of potatoes from the pilot’s powerful blow, stars nearly dancing in their eyes. It appeared nothing was going to stop him.

Spitting in disgust, the pilot ran past them and headed for the stairs. Cloud shook his head and hurried to catch up with the madly attacking pilot. The ex-Turk watched with interest as he made his way to the stairs at a much more sedate pace, pausing to make sure that the soldiers were indeed out of commission. It was clear that the two blonds could handle it without him for the time being.

“Don’t let them get any further! Everyone, ATTACK---!” screamed the commander of a group of four soldiers. He stood at the first landing, guarding the second set of stairs.

Cid plowed into them, casting a fire on one of the soldiers as he brought his lance crashing down on the helmet of another, effectively knocking the soldier out. The smell of burnt cotton and flesh filled the other, ash rising into the sky from the powerful spell.

“Urrgh,” the commander in red growled, not at all worried by the quick take down of his first two men. “You’re not going anywhere! Uh, un… nowhere!” He drew his gun and aimed to fire at the Captain who seemed none too concerned with the weapon.

Cloud appeared and tackled the commander, casting Stop at the same moment and effectively canceling the attack. A quick fist to the face had the commander out for good. “Cid! Have you lost your damn mind?” Cloud demanded, turning widening eyes towards the pilot. But he was promptly ignored.

The sound of a Winchester broke through the battle and the fourth soldier was taken care of. Vincent finished climbing the stairs and stood with his companions, the bodies of the unconscious ShinRa soldiers strewn about them. Crimson eyes stared impassively at their fallen forms, slightly impressed that Cid could be so destructive. He made a mental note to never upset the pilot. Ever.

“Goddammit, what the hell do they think they’re gonna do to my fuckin’ rocket!?” Cid growled in frustration, wiping sweat from his brow. He kicked furiously at one of the fallen soldiers, receiving a pained grunt in response. “I’m gonna kick their sorry ShinRa asses right out of it!” he cursed, already heading for the other ladder despite Cloud’s attempts to hold him back.

“Dammit Cid, this isn’t about you!!” Cloud shouted, hurrying to catch up to the rapidly climbing pilot. He grabbed onto the bottom rung and started pulling himself up, wondering if there would be anyone left alive in ShinRa by the time Cid was through. Not that it really mattered. He idly noticed Vincent following close behind him and speculated if the two men really were lovers.

Ahead of them, Cid growled, the distaste in his voice plainly audible. “What the hell you doin’ here?” he demanded to someone they were unable to see. Curiosity abounded. “I thought I told your Turk ass to never come back here!!”

Cloud was the first to reach the platform, popping his spiky head over the top and laying eyes on what caused such a reaction in the older blond. Cid was squaring off against Rude and another contingent of minor soldiers, only two this time. Sky blue eyes were narrowed and Cid’s grip on his spear seemed death-like.

Rude harrumphed, balling his hands up into fists. “I do not fear Cid Highwind. I go where I please,” he countered, speaking for what was the perhaps the first time in Cloud’s experience. The ex-SOLDIER’s eyes widened in surprise as he scrambled the rest of the way onto the platform, half-noting that Vincent was right on his heels and much calmer about the entire escapade.

“Fuckin’ bald-headed bastard! I’m going to kick your ass outta this town, and you better not come back again!” Cid continued, unabated as his face flushed with the fierce scarlet of anger.

Rude snorted, idly adjusting his sunglasses. “I will eliminate everyone who gets in ShinRa’s way, including you, Cid Highwind.” He didn’t seem the slightest bit perturbed as Cloud and Vincent finally caught up, flanking the volatile pilot on either side. Though the soldiers to either side of the Turk began to shake in their boots, he stood his ground.

Cid smirked. “You wouldn’t dare. If I die, you might as well kiss your chances with her goodbye!!” He snarled viciously, giving no warning as he leapt at the taller man, spear glistening in the sun. Clearly, he held some grudge with the bald Turk though both Cloud and Vincent were equally baffled.

Rude hurried to defend himself as the Captain slashed at him mercilessly, backpedaling to avoid the sharp point of the Scimitar. He barely registered the sound of a gun being fired as Vincent destroyed one of his men and the crackle of electricity as Bolt 2 took care of the other. He was more concerned with his own life. If they couldn’t handle it, they should not have joined ShinRa. That was the way the world worked.

He blocked Cid’s spear with one hand, trying to work in his own offensive move but the pilot had a back-up attack already waiting for him.

“Too slow!” Cid exclaimed, slamming the butt end of his lance into Rude’s belly, knocking the Turk to his back and stealing his breath. The platform rattled as he crashed backwards, narrowly missing slamming his head into the railing.

“Ugh…gh…” Rude groaned, desperately trying to draw breath back into his body as he struggled to regain a hold on the pain flooding his abdomen. That stick had hurt a lot more than he thought he would.

Of course, Cid couldn’t resist the change to taunt his defeated enemy. “Tch! Maybe next time you’ll know better than to come back, ne?” he questioned rhetorically as he glared at the Turk. Then, without another glance, he passed by the fallen man and headed for the rocket entrance, his companions on his heels. He was no longer concerned with whatever it was Cloud had in mind. The rocket was his first priority.

Unsurprisingly, there were more ShinRa waiting for him inside. A commander dressed in scarlet seemed especially shocked to see the pilot emerged as opposed to Rude. “You… you!” he exclaimed, backpedaling fiercely in terror. He was afraid of the slightly manic gleam in Cid’s eyes. “Why are you here? Rude of the Turks should’ve been here!!”

“Too bad.” The Captain smirked, thumb gesturing towards outside. “He’s lying on the ground outside gasping for breath.” He idly tapped the Scimitar on his shoulder, as if daring the commander to try his luck.
“Oh man…” the ShinRa groaned, face paling instantly. He shook his head, feeling as if he could actually hear his knees knocking together. “…the Turks, being done in like that… I don’t have a chance.”

Sky blue eyes flashed. “Then get the hell out of here!” Cid yelled, “Before I change my mind!”

“S…sir!!” the commander exclaimed with a rapid salute despite the fact that the enemy wasn’t supposed to get such respect. He scrambled to get past the three friends as he escaped from the rocket. He really wasn’t in the mood for a pounding today and had no qualms about running from such an enemy. Pride bedamned, he was more interested in staying alive.

The pilot frowned at the man’s cowardice before steadfastly continuing towards the cockpit. He was determined to find out what the ShinRa wanted to do with his rocket, despite his excitement at what might be the No. 26’s only flight. The spear slid from his shoulders as the fighting instinct slowly began to die, registering the subtle hum to the once silent rocket. His baby was running; it was really working.

Behind him, Cloud and Vincent exchanged glances, beginning to feel like excess baggage. While Vincent managed to pop off two shots and Cloud had been rescinded to back-up materia guy, they still felt pretty superfluous. Cid seemed to be just fine on his own.

But as Vincent moved to step forward, he felt an unwelcome hand on his arm, halting him place. He jerked free before whirling to face the perpetrator, scowling with his crimson eyes flashing at Cloud. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, idly brushing pretend fuzz of his cloak as if truly offended that Cloud had touched him.

The younger man was unperturbed by Vincent’s anger. He jabbed a finger towards the gunman. “Can’t you do something about him?” he questioned, obviously speaking about the rampaging pilot.

This time, it was Vincent’s brows that went nearly to his hairline. “What are you blabbering about?” he snarled, truly surprised by the blond’s insinuation and internally wondering what it was that Cloud thought he knew. “It isn’t my job to do anything about him.” Apparently, he and Cid weren’t quite as discreet as they thought. How did everyone keep finding out such a hidden secret? Not that it bothered him, but it was reasons like this that had him wanting to keep it quiet.

“You’re the leader, you figure it out,” he snapped before turning on his heels and following after the captain, leaving Cloud to stew behind him. Honestly, even if he admitted to something between he and Cid, that meant nothing in terms of stopping the rampaging pilot. When it came down to it, the stubborn bastard was going to do what he wanted to, regardless of what Vincent asked, even if he was to actually attempt to do such a thing.

This was Cid’s battle, not his.

When Vincent caught up the enraged blond, he was hollering at his crew in the cockpit. “Hey, what the hell’re you guys doin’?” Cid demanded, brow pinched with anger as his fingers twitched in the desperate need for a cigarette.

One of the men, a burly redhead turned to look at his Captain, the look of glee on his face unmistakable and accustomed to Cid’s anger, was unperturbed in the face of it. “Hey! Just when I thought somethin’ was goin’ on, you come back!” His announcement attracted the attention of the others.

A female with blond hair nodded enthusiastically, one fist pumping into the air. “Listen to me, Captain. We’re gonna launch this rocket!” she exclaimed in an excited voice before returning her attention to some digital read-out on the panel in front of her.

Sky blues eyes blinked in miscomprehension. “Huh? What the hell’re you talkin’ about? Have you forgotten what ShinRa did to us before, huh?” he demanded, hand balling into a fist at his side.

An orange-haired man, truly just a kid by all accounts, shook his head fiercely. “No! But... we’re going to load a Materia bomb in this and blow up Meteor!” he explained, eyes filling up with hope. “Our rocket’s gonna be famous! We’ll be famous!”

“Our rocket’s gonna save the planet!!” the redhead cut-in animatedly as his eyes started to get that dreamy look to them, as if he were imagining himself as a knight in shining armor coming to the rescue of Princess Planet. He was oblivious to the steadily decreasing patience of their Captain.

At this announcement however, Cloud could no longer remain silent. He planted his rather short form between the four Rocket Town residents. “Wait just a damn minute,” he demanded, noticing the thoughtful, almost hopeful look on Cid’s face. The Captain was clearly considering it which meant he had to take back control of the situation since Vincent was clearly being no help at all.

“Shut up!! Just shut the hell up!!” Cid growled, interrupting Cloud before the ex-SOLDIER could even continue. Brusquely brushing past him, Cid returned his attentions to the crew. “How’s the rocket?”

Cloud’s lips thinned in anger, eyes becoming little more than narrow slits. If the damned man wouldn’t listen to reason then he would have to use force, perhaps knock some sense into the idiot’s head. There was no way ShinRa’s plan could work. It simply did not make sense nor could they afford to lose the knowledge available in the Huge Materia. However, before he could take even one step forward in an attempt to grab the unruly pilot, Vincent stopped him with just a word.

“There’s nothing you can say or do to change his mind right now,” the ex-Turk intoned, crimson eyes impassive and silent. “We will have to trust he makes the right decision. We all have our own personal battles. Give him the courtesy of fighting his own.”

Cloud blinked at Vincent’s words, uncertain if he should listen to the gunman or not when words filtered into his confused brain, that of the continuing conversation between the pilot and his crew. Sighing, Cloud raked a hand through his blond spikes and decided to wait a few moments before strangling the irascible captain, hoping that Cid might see reason on his own.

“… into Meteor on Auto-Pilot, but the most important device is broken,” the unknown crew member sighed, jerking a thumb towards an open hatch which must have lead to some internal area of the rocket. “Shera is fixing it,” the brunette explained.

Cid, predictably, spluttered in disbelief. “Oh, great! What a buncha wizards you guys are! She’s gonna take 100 years!” he exclaimed as he tapped his hand on his chin in deep thought. Something was definitely brewing behind sky blue eyes as he waved off the three residents of Rocket Town. “I’ll take over, so don’t worry about the Auto-Pilot! Hey, go ahead! Go tell everyone!” A note of excitement was beginning to creep into the pilot’s tone and at that, Cloud didn’t think he could hold back anymore. Cid was only getting more energized.

The younger blond took a step forward as the three crewmembers skirted past he and Vincent, saluting on their way out. “Hey, Cid! What are you doing?” he demanded, gesturing with both hands. “There are generations of knowledge and wisdom inside the Materia. We’re gonna borrow their powers and save the planet from Sephiroth. There’s no way that we can lose the Huge Materia. You understand that, right?”

There had to be some way to get through to the pilot. He looked to Vincent for help but the gunman remained quiet, eyes trained on the engineer in front of them. Cloud clenched his jaw, wondering if all he had heard that night in Icicle had been a fluke after all. There seemed to be nothing behind those crimson eyes that even suggested there was more between he and the captain.

Cid barely cast the ex-SOLDIER a cursory glance as he dropped down into the pilot’s seat of the control panel, leaning his spear against the massive collection of switches and musing over them thoughtfully. He checked each monitor and stat in silence as if deliberately ignoring Cloud. Then he began to speak, quietly at first.

“Yeah, I understand,” he started, explaining himself without turning around to face the others as he fiddled with the control panel in front of him. “I understand that Materia is precious, and I also understood what you’re thinking. But listen. I don’t give a rat’s ass whether it’s science or magical power. No, I guess if I had to choose, I’d rather put my money on the power of science.” He paused, tilting his head upwards to look through the small window that would give him his first glimpse of the stars when they rocket launched.

“Humans, who only used to roam around on the ground, are able to fly now! And finally, we’re about to go into outer space!” He continued, voice quickly gaining strength and energy, “Science is a ‘power’ created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet. I was able to earn my living thanks to science. So to me, there’s nothing greater! Now quit your worrying ‘bout what ShinRa’s gonna do!”

Cid smiled then, briefly, before switching his gaze from the window and back to the panel of buttons in front of him, reaching out to calibrate some instrument. Mako eyes softened, suddenly feeling as if he were the school bully trying to keep the kid from reaching his dreams.

And the pilot’s final reply, added a bit more quiet and calm didn’t make it any easier. “I don’t want to regret not having done something later.”

Nevertheless, there was more at stake then just one man’s dream. “But, Cid…” Cloud protested, words trailing off in frustration. ‘Just trust him’ Vincent had said. With Gaia on the verge of being destroyed by Meteor, could he afford to do just that? Place the fate of the planet in Cid’s hands?

“Shut the hell up!! I don’t wanna hear it!!” the pilot growled, suddenly disturbing Cloud’s thoughts. He waited a moment to see if Cloud wanted to try adding anything else and was satisfied when he received silence as an answer. Not even Vincent had bothered to try and convince him. At least someone had understood. He turned away from the contrary younger male and stared back at the controls, unable to help the small flutter of excitement in his belly.
He reached forward and flipped a switch, activating the intercom that would broadcast over the entire rocket. He wasn’t taking any chances this time. ”Alright, time to get to work! Anyone who ain’t involved, get the hell outta here!” he ordered gruffly before giving it a firm flick off.

No sooner had the words exited his mouth then the rocket started to tremble violently, nearly throwing his standing companions to the floor. Cid’s eyes widened as a mechanical yet feminine voice began a monotonous countdown without him having to touch a thing.

“What the $#@#?” the Captain demanded, eyes flicking from one monitor to the other. He hadn’t touched a damn thing. “What the hell happened?”

In front of him, the radio suddenly crackled to life with an annoying screech of feedback and static. Then a recognizable voice filtered through, instantly causing all three men in the cockpit to grit their teeth. “Hey-Hey!”

Cloud and Vincent exchanged glances. “I thought he was dead,” the blond muttered, furrowing his brow.

“Palmer!” Cid exclaimed, interrupting the quiet murmur. “What the hell did’ya do!?”

“They said they finished repairing the auto-pilot. So I laun---ched it!!” A decidedly un-masculine and pig-like sounding giggle erupted through the speakers and without their permission, the image of a dancing Palmer filtered through the imagination of the three men, causing them to simultaneously fight down the urge to vomit.

Cid cursed for more reasons than one, balled up fist striking the control panel with both a need to vent his anger and perhaps strike some sense into the damn locked-up machine. “Goddamn Shera!” he snarled, though he honestly didn’t think he could blame her this time. “Why’d she pick today to get fast! DAMN! Won’t even budge! It’s completely locked up!”

Palmer snickered, sounding not the least bit apologetic. “Hey-hey-hey! Almost lift off!” he chortled, snorting through the static on the out-speaker. Cloud had the sudden urge to stab the output with his sword but didn’t think that was a wise idea considering they were about to go flying straight up into the sky and he quite liked living for the moment.

“What the? No Countdown? It just don’t seem the--” The captain was cut off before he could even finish and it was then that Cloud and Vincent finally saw reason, dashing to the nearest chair and hurriedly figuring out the strange contraption of straps and buckles that would hopefully save their pitiful lives. If the rocket launched anywhere similar to the way that Cid drove, they were in for a rough takeoff.

Palmer chortled louder again, the clapping of his hands audible through the speakers. “Hey-Hey!!! Blast--- off!!” he sang.

Cid cursed, Cloud winced and Vincent was stoic as the rocket’s main thrusters ignited in a brilliant blaze of explosive orange-white flame, pushing the ShinRa No. 26 directly into the air with all the subtlety of dynamite. The three men were pushed back into their seats from the initial thrust, clutching tightly to the arms of their seats and staring with wide eyes at the large front window.

The rocket shuddered and roared around them as open blue sky quickly became white clouds, then a sudden endless sea of black dotted with white sparkles.

~ ~ ~

“Do you think they are going to be all right?” Yuffie asked, her nose pressed to the glass of the viewing window in the cockpit of the airship. She watched from the currently circling Highwind as the ShinRa No. 26 shot through the sky. None of them had expected that the rocket would actually launch and it only made sense that she was slightly concerned.

Considering her abhorrence to riding in an airship, Yuffie was significantly glad that it wasn’t she on the rocket at that very moment.

Barret snorted, waving one meaty hand of dismissal before crossing both over his broad chest, staring out at the rapidly disappearing rocket. “Afta all that we’ve been through and yer worried ‘bout a lil trip like that?” he questioned with a heavy laugh on the end of his words. Clearly, he thought the ninja over concerned.

Nanaki frowned as best as one with a canine muzzle could and shook his head before padding over to Yuffie’s side, nuzzling her hand with his nose. “They will be fine,” he assured her as he gently licked her fingers. She seemed to take comfort in his words and gave him a slight smile, running her fingers briefly over the soft fur on the top of his head before she turned her attentions back towards the window.

They might have been an eclectic and strange group that rarely if ever completely agreed on anything and more often than not they didn’t really get along or even like each other, but they were still somewhat like a family... if she squinted. Trying to save the world from total and complete annihilation was a bond that really couldn’t be duplicated and though she would probably never say it aloud, she was rather fond of everyone in their group, even grumpy Cid and tactless Barret... on a good day, anyways. And Yuffie, the perceptive ninja that she was, had a feeling that it was the same for everyone, even if they didn’t voice it. Otherwise no one would have cared when Cloud disappeared.

Her thoughts abruptly derailed when one of the crewmen, whose name she hadn’t bothered to learn, suddenly jolted upright in his chair, flickering widened eyes in their direction. “Sir!” he yelled, loud voice disturbing the quiet moment.

In a flash, they were at his side, easily recognizing the slightly panicked tremor to the crewman’s voice.

He had been the one monitoring the radar and as they approached, he plunked back down in his seat and plopped the headphones back over his head before pointing to a strange looking blip on the screen. “I don’t know what the hell that is,” he began to explain in a rushed voice, tracing the rather large outline, “but it’s heading this way and coming up fast!”

Barret cursed, dark brown eyes immediately darkened. “Can’t be nothin’ but ShinRa,” he declared, face drawing into a furious frown. “They know we be separated now.”

“Without Cloud and the others, they believe us to be weak,” Nanaki mused aloud. “At a time like this, it is amazing that all they can think about is destroying us.”

Reeve huffed and a burning anger suddenly appeared in normally calm and somewhat pacifistic amber eyes. “That’s what they think, is it?” he commented aloud, voice almost thoughtful. His eyes narrowed to little more than slits. “Well, we will show them, won’t we?” he asked rhetorically, then with a flick of his wrist, daggers appeared in his awaiting hands, a sudden desire to fight unlike anything he had ever felt before building up inside of him.

Yuffie’s eyes sparkled in agreement, eager to be doing anything that didn’t involve sitting around and waiting and worrying about Cloud and the others. She was about to pump her fist in the air in excitement when suddenly the ship gave a violent heave, rocking to the side. The emergency lights and alarms blared loudly, alerting everyone to the impending attack as the Highwind tilted dangerously, forcing those standing to fight to keep their balance on the shifting slope to the floor.

One of the crewmen, in an effort to find his seat, moved suddenly and subsequently tripped over Nanaki, causing the both of them to go sprawling to the floor. The lion-wolf grunted as he went tumbling, his necklace and Crystal Comb knocked from his head and skidding across the floor. The crewman mumbled apologies and scampered for his chair as the pilot’s voice quickly filled the cockpit.

“Initiating emergency avoidance and landing procedures!”

The Highwind jerked to the side, causing its occupants to gulp and hang on for dear life. Once it was righted, Yuffie moved quickly across the floor, kneeling at Nanaki’s side where he was slowly moving to his feet, wincing at the none-too-gentle grinding of his ribs together, which made him think that he may have bruised them as he grimaced slightly, favoring his side.

“Are you alright?” she asked, frowning at the clumsy younger crewman that had tripped over the lion wolf.

Nanaki nodded. “I will be fine. Just a little knee to my ribs,” he assured, peering up into her stone brown eyes as Yuffie patted his abdomen softly over the bruised area. Her fingers worked through his fur as she carefully cast Heal and then subsequently Cure to ease his pain and speed the healing.

A sudden realization struck the lion wolf and golden eyes widened as he glanced around. “My comb! And grandfather’s necklace…” he blurted out, worried that they had fallen through some grate and were forever lost to obscurity.

“I see ‘em!” Yuffie announced before he could get too worked up, her keen ninja eyes easily spotting the items. She quickly moved to her feet, heading across the floor. It was then that the airship gave a sudden drop in altitude and she stumbled.

“Yuffie, get your damn ass in a chair girl!!” Barret roared as he and Reeve both strapped themselves into their own chairs, fumbling a bit with the mass of buckles and straps.

She rolled her eyes. “One more minute!” the little ninja demanded crossly as she hurried to pick up the Crystal Comb and the necklace. Her fingers had just closed around the two items when suddenly another missile attacked the Highwind, stronger than the others and causing it to rock violently as it exploded dangerously close to one of the propellers.

“Damn!” cursed the pilot, whose name they still did not know. “It’s going to be rough. Everyone hold on to your shorts and don’t piss in ‘em!” he blurted, quoting Cid with an uncanny familiarity that was slightly worrisome.

The Highwind heaved violently, tossing back and forth without warning and Yuffie, usually agile and poised, teetered on her feet as a wave of nausea struck her, setting off her usual even equilibrium. She tumbled to the floor, sliding easily across the smooth expanse but luckily, with the lost items safe in her grasp.

“Yuffie!” Nanaki exclaimed, suddenly bounding across the floor. The ninja was scrambling to grab something as she slid towards the big metal cabinet that contained all the electrical tools needed on the bridge. It was a heavy compartment which had the unfortunate habit of popping open on random occasions, often just because someone happened to walk by. His heart stopped at the thought of what would happen if she crashed into it.

In a flash, the lion-wolf had cast Haste on himself and snatched the back of Yuffie’s shirt between his fangs. The two of them went sliding into a rather harmless wall, the blow cushioned by a well cast Protect over the both of them.

The Highwind creaked and groaned, before with a violent shudder, it touched ground with enough force to rattle teeth in the heads of all its passengers and crew. Reeve hurriedly unbuckled himself from his seat, dashing across the floor to where Nanaki and Yuffie were lying in a crumpled heap against the wall, the shield still glowing faintly around them.

“Yuffie! Nanaki! Are you all right?” Reeve knelt next to them, his hand going to the ninja’s forehead.

The ninja groaned and sat up, feeling Nanaki’s warm body behind her. He had taken most of the damage to himself. “I’m fine,” she groaned, one hand going briefly to her forehead as Reeve pulled back.

“I am, as well,” Nanaki answered, rising to his feet and stretching out aching muscles as he disentangled his tail from where it had inexplicably and of its own accord, wrapped around Yuffie’s right leg.

The Wutaiian beamed in that moment, turning promptly towards her rescuer and opening her tightly clenched palm. “Here,” she announced. “I still have them.”

Reeve shook his head, raising one brow in slight confusion. “All that trouble for just those?”

Yuffie pouted. “What?” she protested. “I didn’t want him to lose the necklace. It’s important.” Her voice was indignant as a cute flush spread across her cheeks, Nanaki nuzzling her hand in thanks.

A sudden explosion from nearby shuddered the ground beneath them, causing the Highwind to tremble by proxy. It hadn’t taken long for ShinRa and whatever method they were using to attack them, to catch up, it seemed. A brief glimpse out of the airship’s huge front windows only confirmed their suspicions. A monstrous something stood out there, both waiting and firing continuous missiles at them.

Reeve chuckled at the two younger members of his party as he unequipped a materia ball from his armlet and tossed it Barret, the gunarm wobbling a little as he struggled to catch it one-handed. “Here, put this in the materia amplifier,” he suggested, brushing aside the question in his mind as to why he hadn’t done it earlier. Only went to show that there was a reason Cloud was leader and he was not.

The dark-skinned man nodded, snatching the materia from the air before moving to the small panel nearly forgotten on the side and opening up the flap. He inserted the tiny green ball into the slot and pressed one hand on it, igniting the spell. The ball glowed, the panel thrummed and within seconds, a Barrier had been put up around the airship, hopefully protecting it from further attacks.

Yuffie returned the Crystal Comb to Nanaki’s mane and the necklace back around his neck, feeling a slight shock as she did so. Shaking her head, she gently treaded her fingers through his fur.

“Hey,” she said, frowning as she played with one of his ears. “You shocked me.”

“I am sorry,” Nanaki commented, his ear twitching. “However, you shocked me, as well.”

“Okay, enough. I’ve gotta keep up this barrier. It’s up to you three to take care of that beast out there!” Barret yelled, gaze flickering to the huge window as explosions resounded around the Highwind.

The three friends nodded in agreement, quickly rising to their feet and preparing to disembark the airship. Before they could leave however, Barret’s bellow stopped them in their tracks.

“Reeve!” The ex-executive paused, turning back to face the gun-armed man. “Take this!” Barret dug into his pockets and pulled out a bright red materia. He tossed it to the ex-ShinRa, who caught it nimbly.

Amber eyes glanced at the materia before suddenly widening in shock, looking at Barret in complete disbelief. It was the gunarm’s favorite and he was usually loath to part from it. “Fenrir[1]?” he queried. That particular summon was the wolf-god of the earth, and Barret had received it from Dyne, which explained his usual reluctance to let it go.

Barret shrugged. “He might come in handy.”

Reeve smiled, a genuine smile because to him, it seemed like much more than an exchange of materia between allies before battle. “Thanks, Barret.” In many ways it was like a new bond of trust was slowly beginning to build and with the hardships that were more likely to come, Reeve couldn’t be happier. As if, in some small way, the hard-headed and stubborn male was slowly getting closer to forgiving the ex-executive for his mistakes.

He slipped Fenrir into his armlet, taking the place of the Barrier and turned back towards Yuffie and Nanaki who were waiting patiently at the door of the cockpit.

“Ready?” the ninja asked, an unmistakable excited gleam in her eyes.

Reeve nodded. “Let’s kick some ShinRa ass.”

* * *

[1] Also known as Eiko’s Summon in FF9 and the name of Citan Uzuki’s omnigear in Xenogears.