I hate this fucking airship.
I grimly clutched at my stomach and willed it to calm down. Didn't work. I'd never been really good at the whole centering your chi crap they teach you in Wutai.
I inched towards the conference room. Cloud was having some kind of meeting and he wanted everyone--everyone--there. I groaned and gave up, flopping to the ground and crawling towards the door. Cid could have been nice and parked the fucking Highwind for this meeting.
Cloud was ranting about one of the WEAPONs and how we had had HAD to go destroy it. Count me out, if we have to stay on the Highwind to fight it.
"You okay, kid?" A smoke-roughened voice said as I walked out of the meeting, doubled over. I looked into the eyes of one Cid Highwind, a chain-smoking, foul-mouthed pilot who probably hated my guts.
It had been so hard to get back in with the group after I stole their materia (I mean, really...I gave it back!) and Barret, Cid's partner-in-crime, was pretty vocal about his distrust. Cid didn't say anything, but I got the feeling he didn't trust me, either.
"Just..airsick." I grumbled. An indignant look crossed his face.
"I fly this thing.."
I snorted. "It doesn't matter how well you fly this monster. I get airsick!" My stomach rumbled ominously and I ran to the back deck to relieve myself of it's contents.
Cloud gave us a day to find out why we were fighting. I knew why I was fighting: because Sephiroth was a jerk! It's not fair to everyone else on the planet for him to get what he wanted; we had a right to life too. If there was one thing my mom taught me when I was growing up is that you gotta stand up for what's right. So I went surfing off the coast of Kalm. Hey, I was bored, and I get seasick, but not on a board!
Oh, that was bad. I think I get the bad joke gene from my dad.
Anyway, I was sitting up in the engine room of the Highwind, waiting for everyone else to show up, when I heard something downstairs. I crept down and saw that everyone else was there! Awsome!
"All we're missing is Yuffie." Cloud said.
"She ain't gonna show up!" Barret stated, loudly. Cid frowned and looked about to say something.
I jumped down. "HEY!" I said. "I worked my butt off to get back here and you go around saying stuff like that?" I stuck my tongue at him. "If I didn't know better I'd think you didn't want me around!"
Midgar was ruined.
Totally ruined.
I couldn't help but think of all of the people who might have been caught in the blast from Meteor. I didn't even succomb to airsickness like I usually do. My eyes teared up and I turned away from it all.
Cid was standing behind me, a horror-struck look on his face. Beside him was Barret, and behind them Cloud and Tifa. Everyone looked completely horrified.
Meteor was gone. And so was Midgar.
"All those people..." Tifa said.
I turned back; looking at the destruction was much, much better than looking at the sadness and terror on the faces of my comrads in arms.
A figure ran out of the rubble and waved it's arms. I squinted; the figure almost looked joyous.
"It's Reeve!" I exclaimed, happily, pointing. Cait Sith, the robot cat/mog that Reeve controlled, had been destroyed during the Lifestream incident, and we didn't know if he'd made it out of Midgar alive. "Reeve's alive!"
We landed. Reeve was happy because a great number of people had survived Meteor's incursion, and they were all supporting each other and surviving as well as they could. Small hearth-fires were burning underneath the wreakage of the city; children ran around, playing with each other, and avoiding their mothers.
Reeve was also happy because he hadn't known if we'd made it, either. We were one big happy family again.
A year had passed. I hadn't seen any of the people from AVALANCHE in most of that year; oh, I ran into Tifa once at Kalm. She and Cloud had a place there. She was running the bar. It had been abandoned in the rush away from Meteor, and she took it over. She had also taken in some of the orphans from Midgar, since she was apparently unable to bear children.
I was travelling home. I had some materia; my Leviathan materia, which Cloud insisted was mine to keep. Also, the new materia Cloud had given to me; all the stuff with little to no AP, which was created when you fully levelled up any other materia. In my travels across the continents I'd found some other materia, and I was leveling it up, but it was so boring to me, and I knew Godo would be disappointed.
Some's better than none.
I stumbled out of the Nibel mountains, exhausted. I'd leveled up most of my materia fighting the monsters that existed there; they weren't overly difficult to beat, it was just that there were so many of them...
A town glimmered in the distance. Rocket Town. I could still see the old launching pad.
Rocket Town had food, and an inn.
I heaved myself up and determinedly, exhaustedly, marched towards it.
After a decent meal, and a good night's sleep, I felt loads better. I ate another meal, a really decent meal, then checked out of the inn and started out; I figured I might as well head into the field and try to level up my materia some more. Wutai was just a boat ride away and if this stuff wasn't in pretty good shape, my dad'd be kinda pissed.
I picked my way through the wreckage of the old launch pad; not sure why I went that way, it just seemed to me that the real hard monsters lay to the north. To the south was Cosmo Canyon, which was hard, but a difficult day's travel, and whenever I come to a town I like to stay near. Civilization is nice, ya know?
"Yuffie?" I recognized that voice; Cid Highwind, pilot extraordinaire, was laying underneath the Tiny Bronco, our old water plane, patiently trying to fix it.
"Yo, Cid." I waved cheerfully, ignoring the wrench I felt at seeing him. I felt that way whenever I saw a person from AVALANCHE. As much as I'd like to say it, I was never a real member of AVALANCHE. No one ever really accepted me and whenever some of them got together in a bar I was never invited.
Then again, I am underage, but still.
Cid sat up real fast and clanked his head on the underbelly of the Bronco. I giggled; a stream of invectives and swear words flowed around me. Finally Cid stood up and shook his head, walking towards me.
"You been alright, kid?" He asked, lighting his ever-present cigarette. "Reeve said he saw ya in Gongaga almost six months ago, and no one's heard from you since. We been kinda worried."
Aw, they worried about me. That was kinda nice to know.
"I'm fine." I said. "I've been leveling up my materia. Dad's gonna want it when I get back."
Cid raised his eyebrow, but just took a puff off his cigarette.
"Where's Shera?" I asked. A dark look passed over Cid's face, but he just shrugged.
"Dunno. She's been gone since I got back. See her, lemme know."
I nodded, slowly. "Well, I'm off to do more levelling up. Bye, Cid." I started off.
"Hey, kid." I turned back towards him, an expectant look on my face.
"Vincent's gonna be in tonight; we're getting together for a drink. You should come."
"I'm only seventeen." I blurted out. Cid laughed.
"Never stopped me when I was your age." With that, he turned back to the Bronco and climbed back underneath it.
I smiled; I'd been invited to an AVALANCHE get-together. Nevermind that it was the old guy and the vampire guy; they were still AVALANCHE and they wanted me around.
A warm feeling was surrounding me, but I resolutely pushed it aside. I was going to fight; I couldn't be getting all tender-hearted.
That night I wandered back into Rocket Town tired, but with a feeling of accomplishment. I'd gotten a lot of AP in today, and if I was lucky, I'd even have some mastered materia before I got back to Wutai.
I decided to get another room at the inn and set my stuff down on the bed. Then I looked at myself and grimaced.
I was covered--absolutely covered--in blood and monster slime. A few spots of Nibel wolf fur stood out on my shirt. I wanted to puke.
At least I had a change of clothes in my bag.
I washed my clothes and took a shower, then slipped into my clean clothes gratefully. They weren't my usual fighting gear, which is made to be easy to move in; this was a regular pair of blue jeans and a babydoll T-shirt, in red. I brushed my hair out, deciding to leave it down for the time being, and sat down for a few minutes, relaxing a bit from the day.
I wondered if Cid had wanted me to go to the bar, or meet them at his place. I still remember the house he lived in when Shera was around; did he still live there? I left the room, locking it securely, and went over to the bar.
Peeking in, I could see no sign of Cid or Vincent in the tavern. I ducked back out and headed towards his house. The Bronco was now behind it, so I figured he still lived there.
Tentatively, I knocked on the door. Cid answered.
"Hey, kid." He said, stepping away from the door so I could enter. Vincent and someone else sat on the sofa.
It was Reeve.
"Reeve!" I exclaimed, happily. I liked Reeve; he was the decent sort.
"Hi, Yuffie." He said, also happy. Unlike the others, he wasn't predisposed towards me just because of the materia theft; apparently he was from Wutai and understood why I stole it.
"Hi, Vincent." I said. The solomn man nodded solomnly. He hadn't changed one bit in a year; Reeve, however, was dressed in black jeans and a white T-shirt, and looked normal, which was really weird on him.
Cid was minus his jacket, but looked pretty normal. "Some more people are on their way in, should be here in a minute." He said, taking a drag on his cigarette.
I sat on the couch, Reeve between Vincent and I, and awkwardly made idle chat. Reeve was more talkative than the other two, and we talked of Wutai and the state of the world at the moment. Cid and Vincent just listened.
"Did you know they put a casino in Wutai City?" Reeve said, incredulously. "It's helped the economy a lot, but it looks really cheesy. I guess one of Corneo's guys got the idea."
"Oh, man, that's awful." I wrinkled my nose.
"Yeah. But I guess Wutai's making a lot of money now." Reeve sighed. "I went there a few months ago, the casino's really flashy."
"Great." I muttered.
"Casino, eh?" Cid said. "Bet Barret'd like to go play some cards there with me sometime. He's in Corel or something."
I didn't say anything.
A knock sounded at the door. Cid stood up and went to go get it.
Tifa walked in. There were two people behind her, people I was stunned to see. I jumped up.
"Calm down, ninja." A cool voice greeted me. "Shinra doesn't exist anymore."
Reno and Rude, the two Turks. I ground my teeth and sat, stiffly.
Tifa laughed outright. "It's alright, Yuffie, they work at my bar now."
An image of Reno in a bar wench outfit crossed my mind, and I laughed outrageously. Rude snorted as if he could hear my thoughts.
"He didn't wanna come, huh?" Cid asked.
Tifa shrugged. "You know how moody Cloud is lately." She said. "He may show up, he may not. I told him about it, that's all."
She seemed aloof and uncaring, but I got the feeling it really bothered her.
"Well, looks like that's about it." Cid said, smiling. He started towards the door. "Everyone ready?"