Last Exit for the Lost Chapter 13
In the Dark, Despair
By Damodred
They sneaked away easily once the ship reached Costa del Sol, Aerith and
Sephiroth doing their usual disappearing trick while Tifa, Barret and Zack
used the more mundane manner. They had agreed to regroup on the beach and
consider their next move.
Rufus was not pleased as he stepped off the ship, Scarlet trailing him silently
like him a ghost. It seemed that this Avalanche thing was chasing him, instead
of the other way around; they popped up in the damnedest places. Whoever
was leading that group was either insane, or a genius. The audacity of sneaking
into a ship at the biggest ShinRa military base in the world, on the very
day of his arrival! He shook his head. Maybe it was just luck. He faced Heidegger
who was awaiting him at the end of the pier, red-faced. Rufus considered
that he has never seen Heidegger anything other than red-faced. He'd have
to have him replaced soon; the man was entirely too impetuous and petty to
be his military adviser. Not to mention incompetent, Rufus thought as he
brushed his bangs back from his face and addressed Heidegger coldly, "It
seems that security on the ship is rather lax, Heidegger. We had several
dead crew members appear out of nowhere, not to mention that our security
cameras revealed the presence of Avalanche onboard." He paused, eyeing Heidegger
mockingly, "I think you deserve a raise for Aerith's and Sephiroth's presence
as well." Rufus dismissed Heidegger with a wave of his hand and walked on
as the man stammered apologies, sweating. He didn't need to waste his time
on fools; he had enough to worry about. He would start with getting his head
of Weapons Development back and wringing some questions out of her. Sephiroth
could be a problem, but Rufus was confident he could be handled, especially
if he managed to get a hold of Aerith first. Then he could take care of
Avalanche.
Elena woke up and immediately wished she didn't. It seemed that an entire
marching band was lodged in her head and they were playing the same tune,
over and over. No, she was mistaken. It was just the percussion section of
that band. She winced, and moved her head gingerly, taking in her surroundings.
Ah yes, one of those Inn-O-Matics, just drop in your gil and get a small
room, one or two bunk. She was obviously in one of the bigger ones, as Tseng
was sitting on the other bed, one arm propped up on his leg. He held a cigarette
in his other hand, and took a drag off it as he regarded her steadily, a
small twinkle of merriment in his eye. She opened her mouth to tell him to
stop smirking, but the large balls of cotton someone seemed to stuff in her
mouth prevented her from speaking. She croaked in outrage. Tseng deliberately
put his cigarette out, reached for the glass of water he'd set on the floor
earlier and sat next to her. She sat up slowly, wincing all the time, and
drained the graciously proffered water. She murmured, "Thanks. I owe you
one...or is it two?" Tseng chuckled, and in a low voice demurred any favor
reciprocation between friends. He was casting a hook, and Elena snapped it
up. Her head came up, her gaze clearer. "Friends?" she repeated. Tseng replied
blandly, "Why? Aren't we?" Elena's gaze searched him, penetrating. Satisfied
with what she found, she nodded and said, airily, "Among other things." Tseng
played along, and asked obligingly, "Like what?" Elena jumped out of bed
energetically, staggered and groaned as the percussion band struck up a beat
again. She muttered angrily at the spoiled effect and said, in a normal tone
of voice, "We're Turks. Let's go see Cid." She turned and walked out the
door. Tseng's expression changed to one of satisfaction as he followed.
Cid was sitting on the wing of the Bigger Bronco, smoking a cigarette and
gazing at the ocean. He heard Elena and Tseng walking up behind him, but
didn't turn away from his contemplation of the mutable sea. This was one
of the better moments, and he didn't want to spoil it. He felt the plane
dip as someone clambered up on it and walked up the fuselage to drop beside
and behind him, respecting his moment. The plane dipped again, more this
time. Cid raised his eyebrows; that meant Elena came up first, then Tseng,
which was quite unusual. The leadership as well as the respect, both new
occurrences for Elena. Cid grinned inwardly; something interesting must have
happened last night. He turned towards them slowly, noting how closely their
hands were together on the fuselage, as they leaned back and watched the
sea. Tseng met his gaze unblinkingly, as did Elena. As he kept watching her
however, a flush crept up her neck and tinged her face red. He cleared his
throat and spoke, "We've received our orders earlier today. It's nothing
urgent, but we will be making our way across the sea. We hope to cut off
Avalanche somewhere in the area of Gongaga. Intelligence says they *have*
to go through there; even though they've been wrong before, we follow orders.
So, we'll be taking the Bronco," he patted the fuselage fondly, "as soon
as Rude finishes fueling 'er up." He sat back, satisfied as Tseng's eyes
widened at the pronouncement. Rude approached from behind the plane and began
to disconnect the hoses, announcing that the fuelling process was complete.
He winked to Elena and nodded at Tseng calmly as Cid filled them in. "I knew
he was Turk material long ago, and hired him. His mission was to scout out
Midgar for potential threats to ShinRa security. Since it was crucial that
no one know of his mission, not even you were clued in. Sorry, Tseng." Tseng
nodded, acquiescing. He knew that the stakes were often too high in industrial
sabotage for personal trusts. Cid continued, "Now that Reno's gone, and most
threats are external, Rude's mission became of secondary importance. So I
pulled him out of Midgar and from now on he'll be going with us." Elena was
glad to know that he had survived the fall of Plate 7. Of course, he was
probably warned in advance, but still it was nice to know. She wondered why
Cid was talking so much; he usually was close-mouthed, except when conversation
turned to machines. She guessed it was the short break from work and the
chance to work on his plane. Shrugging inwardly, she hopped off the wing
and prepared for take-off.
Cloud, a familiar voice spoke softly. He muttered, stirring restlessly
on his pallet in the dingy room. Cloud! Where are you? He sat up abruptly,
open blue eyes staring into the darkness. Did someone..."Tifa?" he murmured
softly, still looking at something else. He could remember falling for what
seemed to be eternity through the cold, mountain air. Stupid girl, wandering
off into the mountains in search of her dead mother. He had to follow, didn't
he? He'd do the same for anyone...wouldn't he? As the bridge twisted in the
wind and began to fall, he spoke her name. He always wondered if she heard
him on that day. It didn't matter. Soon he left, to finally prove to himself
that he was better than all of them. And he did, by joining SOLDIER and achieving
considerable standing among the ranks. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember
just what his rank was. 2nd class, 3rd class...he almost had it as a wave
of pain hit him, filling his sight with swirling red and black madness. As
he lost consciousness, he could sense a tall, dark figure laughing somewhere
in the corners of his mind.
Tifa was sitting on the cool sand, gazing out to the ocean and thinking of
Cloud. She wondered where he was and what he was doing, not to mention what
his destination was. Her thoughts wandered to Nibelheim, the shared tragedy
that brought them together. She now knew that events transpired differently
than she thought. Cloud did not come to Nibelheim that day; he was freed
instead from his confinement within the reactor. He often told Tifa about
his training and about Midgar, but never mentioned that he was in Nibelheim.
Either he did not remember, or did not want to remember, burying the memories
deep in his mind. After the fire died down and Cloud recovered enough to
travel, they went to Midgar to try and make a living, Zack helping them out
by securing them lodging and a small amount of gil. As the task of rebuilding
their lives progressed, they became too busy to worry about the past and
focused on the present. Tifa sighed, realizing that perhaps was the mistake.
After all, was not a person the sum of their memories and experiences? Perhaps
she should have dug deeper when his headaches recurred and when his stories
seemed disjointed, but she loved him too much and knew that it pained him
to remember. Perhaps too much love was imprisonment...
Her musings were interrupted by soft footsteps and a whisper of cloth as
Aerith sank down to the sand beside her. Tifa looked around and asked, "Where's
your guardian angel?" She immediately regretted her harsh tone and opened
her mouth to apologize when Aerith answered, still looking straight ahead,
"Out scouting. I told him I'd be allright." Her tone gave away nothing, but
her slight smile did. She cocked her head and stared out to sea, "Underneath,
he's still Cloud, you know." As Tifa's eyes widened and she began to speak,
Aerith continued, "I could feel the core of his being within him, being covered
by a shell of hate. If I can break it..." she broke off and turned to face
Tifa, whispering, "He is very strong, but it is such a terrible hate..."
Tifa asked, shaken, "Hate of what?" After a brief silence, Aerith faced out
to sea again and said, quietly, "Life." They sat in silence until footsteps
announced Sephiroth's return.
.