The Fallen Chapter 20
By Tiger
The wind was gentle, but more than enough to carry the over
abundant smell of the sea to the noses of the two men who stood upon the
light green hills of Junon, mingled with sand, allowing a moment of silent
reflection as they stared out onto the shimmering blue sea. The waves that
lapped against the coast were so drastically different than the torrents
of water that had been pouring into the under ground compound it was
unbelievable, and even Zack had to admit that these held a certain ancient
beauty. That didn’t stop a shiver from going repetitively up and down
his spine as he stared, but it did help to lessen the intensity
somewhat.
Emotion and physical, the Gonganan’s loads were lightened. The Ultima
Sword, made of ultra light crystal, now replaced the bulky steel Buster sword
in his back holster, and he had to admit he was taking an immediate shine
to the weapon.
Slowly, Rufus glanced down at the small metal disc he held in his hand, feeling
the unnatural weight of it. A night of testing still hadn’t yielded
a single clue about what it was, though secretly he had begun to wonder if
it was nothing at all. Never a man of faith, Rufus found it much more comfortable
to think how a sword- though incredibly rare, even he had to admit- could
have simply been left behind by one of the men, and there had been no weapon
for Rufus at all.
The two men tore their gazes from the sea and lifted them up, staring straight
into the ever darkening skies out to the west. They knew it was where they
were going, but for several reasons- some much more obvious than others-
they didn’t leave the spot they were on. Fort Condor would still be
there an hour later, more or less, but the sea... huge, powerful, and all
consuming... the sea would be around forever. Taking a simultaneous deep
breath, the two began to walk inwards towards the harbor, where a ship had
been hired to take them between the continents.
***
Reeve didn’t know what to make of his son... or of his bird, honestly.
Both of his new companions were completely foreign to him, but while the
one was made of steel and wires and he seemed to have some sort of a mental
connection with, the other was made of flesh and blood- his flesh and blood,
at that- and was blocking him out to a degree that he felt like there was
a literal wall between the two of them. Tyler was kind enough when he tried
to talk to him, but wasn’t open about anything Reeve tried to pursue,
even to the simplest degree. In fact, whenever it became apparent Reeve was
particularly interested in a certain topic, Tyler changed the subject with
such subtly Reeve never noticed until after the fact.
Tyler himself lumbered ahead of Reeve, ahead of Barret, ahead of Cid and
all the rest of them on their hike over the fields back towards the Highwind.
Saved from fatigue by the aided movement from his new robotics suit, which
he wore more or less like a normal suit- step into it, close it around you,
and it performs its job of concealment and protection. He had gotten used
to the controls almost startlingly fast, the joystick like controllers mounted
a few inches up from either of his thighs glowing to life whenever his fingers
were within a few inches of them.
Cloud and Tifa walked hand in hand, fingers locked, the smallest of a laundry
list of small rebellions against the oppressions that always seemed to be
plaguing them. Barret, seeming to disapprove of such a rebellion with every
fiber of his body, managed to storm past them several times on the way, though
neither could truly remember ever managing to pass him the second way around.
He was taking advantage of his new prosthetic by idly drumming the fingers
on the flat metal sheet of the palm.
Only Cid seemed truly at ease, walking casually off to the side, Neptune’s
Highlight lying stretched out across his broad and burden bearing shoulders.
He wrapped his long lengthy arms backwards around the shaft of the lance,
and used it to stretch his joints as he walked. Had anyone bothered to look,
they would have noticed something very odd about him- something they
weren’t able to place. After a few moments of searching, they would
have noticed that he wasn’t smoking- not that he’d have been free
to, with both arms occupied. It wasn’t entirely a rare occurrence, but
it certainly wasn’t seen often... and for the first time ever in such
an occurrence, he wasn’t twitching.
The group moved in a loose formation, sometimes alternating within themselves
and sometimes changing the order, but there was always some sort of rules
about it. It was the march of a platoon, the march of an army... the march
of soldiers.
***
Its still cold, Rory thought- but then again, it seemed everywhere they went
that didn’t happen to directly be Aeris’ house ended up cold. Still...
she had to admit she felt a little bit warmer with Gabriel’s chilling
blue blade back in its sheath, and his fiery blade on her side of his waist.
Neither of them could really decide if it actually gave off heat or not,
but it sure as hell seemed like it did. She hated the cold. It reminded her
way too much of empty cars her and her brother had been forced to sleep in
during the middle of the night, with all the windows busted out by bricks
and stones, and stray gunfire. Down south, she heard, it would at least be
warmer... though she doubted she could enjoy it with somebody trying to kill
her. Several somebodys.
Gabriel, on the other hand, wouldn’t have minded going back to the cave,
rebuilding the fire, and going to sleep- preferably to stay there. The last
few days had simply been cluster fucked with things he wasn’t used to
and didn’t understand, and he had broken the five month transformation
streak he had developed by switching all of twice in so many days. It was
just... irritating, is all. Gabriel didn’t like action, and he didn’t
like heat. It would be hot down south. At least, he thought, there would
be someone trying to kill him.
***
“So what’s it like to be leaving home right after getting
there?”
Reno snorted, walking alone by himself off to the side of the path. Though
the others pretended not to notice it, Yuffie was off to the other side,
directly opposite of him. He wasn’t snorting at her though, instead
he was snorting at the question. Typical Elena question, something pointless,
and insane, that would serve only to spill valuable information to anyone
who would be listening- in form, and in answer. Stupid.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve only been away from home for
a few weeks.” That was Tseng, openly sharing his opinion of the year
that passed while he was slightly deceased. “So it doesn’t really
matter.” He’d stopped by Wutai soon before going to visit the Temple
of the Ancients, but it wasn’t like it would have mattered to him even
if he hadn’t. He wasn’t a home oriented man, he wasn’t a tree,
and the very last thing he wanted to do was put down some roots. He was a
wanderer, always had been, and always would be. The fact that he was wandering
somewhere insanely dangerous did little to daunt the feeling of calm that
was over him as he walked openly under the stars.
“So?” There came Yuffie, calling from her distanced stance away
from the rest of them. “Any minute off this continent should leave you
wanting to come back, or you aren’t a true Wutain.” A patriot to
a fault, Yuffie truly believed that the waters that ran through the Wutain
streams were the same liquid that ran through her veins. It wasn’t like
Tseng had verbally assaulted her birthplace, but anything short of a roaring
compliment wasn’t enough in her mind. This was the place she would always
return to, and the thought of dying, or being buried somewhere else was
absolutely unbearable, and kicked her patriotism into over
drive.
“I don’t think you’ve ever been to Icicle Inn,” Elena
chided her quietly, resolute but knowing when to keep her tongue in cheek.
Despite the time Cloud had ducked her sucker punch and she had gone
summersaulting down the slope like a snowball, she simply couldn’t get
enough of the towering white peaks. Maybe she was cold blooded, she didn’t
know, but she could walk around in her business clothes and a skirt in ankle
deep snow without even feeling a chill. And now she was heading south, where
it was warm... and dangerous.
Rude, who had been humming an old Mideel tune that he remembered from some
mission a long time ago, began to hum it very much louder, just in case Yuffie
had indeed heard what Elena had whispered, in vain hopes that she would keep
quiet. He was... content. Of course, he was almost always content. Walking,
fighting, working out... as long as he was doing something, he was perfectly
happy with his situation and himself, and that’s why he barely talked-
there was no need to. Lock him in an empty room, he reckoned, and he’d
chatter like a lunatic within the hour. He was the only one who wasn’t
worried about the thing they were about to do.
After all, he thought, its better than doing nothing at all.