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Chapter Nine The house which had once been an inn was crowded that night. It had only three beds remaining, and besides the three she'd met on the beach, Kit was sharing the room with three others. Tifa was as she'd expected her to be, calm and confident and perfectly fine with the idea of climbing the fifty foot tower the next morning. Aeris was a little more reluctant - she wasn't used to so much physical labor, she said. Kit had expected this girl to be forceful or arrogant, especially if she was the one trying to stop Sephiroth's plans, but Aeris at first didn't even mention the fact she was an Ancient. "Just a flower girl from the slums of Midgar," was how she introduced herself, until Tifa prompted her to explain why she was there. A beast that looked like a cross between a wolf and a lion introduced himself as Red XIII, much to Kit's astonishment. He'd been one of Shinra's research specimens, he said, and Kit wondered if he'd been made the same way the monsters in the Nibelheim reactor had been made. She knew though, that she couldn't very well ask him.
As soon as the former innkeeper agreed to let them all stay the night, arguments broke out over who was going to get the beds. Cloud insisted that the girls take the beds, but they disagreed. Yuffie was okay with it, but Tifa didn't like being treated any different than Barret would have been, so she said she'd sleep on the floor, and someone else could have her bed. Barret claimed it for himself, and then Aeris suggested that since she and Yuffie were both small, they could share a bed and free up another if Tifa or Cloud wanted it. Yuffie was violently opposed to this at first, but agreed after a lot of muttering about someone's pointy elbows. Tifa said she was perfectly happy on the floor, although she couldn't see why Barret wasn't, and that set off more arguments.
Kit had already removed herself from the argument before it started, saying she'd slept late that day and didn't need much rest that night, so she'd take the floor. Red felt more comfortable on the floor anyway, and he'd curled up and fallen asleep as the others argued. It was just as well Kit didn't need any sleep, because she would have been kept awake anyway by Barret's snoring. The others didn't seem to notice, except whenever a particularly loud snore came, a faint giggle came from Aeris and a sigh from Yuffie. Kit was just glad no one had objected to him taking the bed, because she hated to think what he might sound like if he wasn't resting comfortably.
In the early hours of the morning, music began to drift down from the platform above them. At first it was just now and then, and not loud enough to wake the others who were asleep, but soon it came together into an easily recognizable march, one Kit had heard in parades before. Shinra's marching band really only knew one song. Feeling stifled in the crowded room, she went outside to get a breath of fresh air and a better idea of what was going on above.
Peering up at the platform, she could see billows of dust blowing off the edge, meaning the Highwind must be airborne. That, combined with the march being played, could only mean one thing. Still, just to make sure, she spotted a Shinra officer guarding the elevator and went to ask him. As it turned out, the officer was a man named Daryl who recognized her from her time stationed here.
"Yeah, it's a big ceremony to welcome Rufus - er, President Rufus and congratulate him on becoming president and all," said Daryl, shrugging. "Ignoring, of course, that he's only president because his father was killed. Although I got a look at the kid's face today, and he looks as smug as ever, not as if he's mourning."
Asking Daryl a few questions, Kit became more and more sure that Shinra had not been spreading her description around as a traitor, and it also seemed that they weren't letting it be known who had really killed President Shinra. In fact, Daryl hadn't even been given a description of the members of AVALANCHE. Rufus must be letting Heidegger get sloppy. This was fine with her, and she thanked Daryl and went back towards the inn.
The others were starting to wake up now. Aeris, Yuffie, and Red were already outside, staring up at the platform. "That's a horrible racket," Yuffie was complaining. "Almost as bad as Barret's snoring."
"What was that?" growled Barret as he emerged from the inn with Tifa close behind.
Yuffie just shrugged. "So are we going to climb the tower or what? Not that I'm anxious to get any closer to that music."
"We can't get going until Cloud gets out here," Aeris said. "I think he's still asleep."
"Well then, somebody go wake him up," said Barret, "so we can get moving." Tifa nodded and ran back into the inn, emerging a few minutes later with Cloud. He looked just as puzzled as the others had, which was odd. Everyone in Shinra knew that stupid song.
"Seems like something's goin' on up there," Barret said unnecessarily.
Aeris waved him over to where she stood with Tifa. "I heard that girl regained consciousness," she told him.
Kit smiled. "Why don't you go see her, Cloud? She's a really nice kid."
Cloud nodded, and started up the stairs to Priscilla's house. Before he'd gotten halfway up there, the door swung open and Priscilla came out, looking healthy but subdued. "Are you all right now?" Cloud asked her.
"Ummm... thanks for helping," Priscilla said quietly. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for one of those Shinra Inc..."
"That's all right," Cloud assured her.
Priscilla smiled up at him shyly, and her eyes brightened. "I'll give you something special!" she said all of a sudden. "It's an amulet. Take good care of it, okay?" She pressed something into his hand that shone red. Kit looked at it in surprise. It was summon materia, how had a little girl gotten that? But then again, if she could talk to a dolphin...
"What's that music?" Barret asked her. "It sure sounds lively." There was a fatherly overtone to his voice. Probably Priscilla reminded him of his daughter Marlene. He'd certainly mentioned the girl a lot last night, and sounded worried. Not exactly what Kit had expected from the leader of a group of ecoterrorists.
Priscilla's eyes darkened immediately. "I heard they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra president," she grumbled.
"Rufus!?" Barret bellowed, losing the overtone. "I gotta pay my respects."
"Grandpa and Grandma told me the beach was beautiful when they were small," Priscilla continued, sullen. "But after Shinra built that city above, the sun stopped shining here, and the water got polluted... I was raised on that story and hate Shinra so much I could die!"
Aeris sighed and turned to Cloud. "You think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here too?" she asked.
"What?" Tifa exclaimed. "Does that mean Sephiroth already crossed the ocean?"
Red looked puzzled. "Cloud, didn't you finish Rufus off?"
"We gotta get to the town up there," Barret said before Cloud could answer. "Mebbe we could climb the tower?" he added impatiently. His eyes smoldered with anger, obviously he couldn't wait to get his hands on Rufus.
"No, no! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower," Priscilla warned them. "Don't wander near it, it's dangerous! But..." A gleam in her eye said she'd just gotten an idea. "You might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you. Follow me!" She began to run off towards the beach, then stopped halfway and looked back at them. She aimed another shy smile at Cloud, and then waved to Kit. "Glad you're feeling better!" she said cheerfully, and ran off to the beach.
Tifa and Aeris exchanged glances. "High voltage tower..." Tifa said thoughtfully. Then she shrugged. "I guess this means Cloud'll be all right."
Aeris nodded, with a teasing smile for Cloud, who looked confused. "Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!"
"We're counting on you, Cloud," said Red solemnly.
Cloud stared around at them all. "Hey!" he began, but everyone turned away from him, talking to each other, except for Kit. "Wait a second!" he insisted. They paid no attention.
"Guess they made up their minds," Kit said casually. "Looks like you're the best person for the job."
He grumbled and followed Priscilla to the beach. Kit vaguely wondered what help Mr. Dolphin could be, shrugged, and went off herself to talk to Tifa and Aeris. If they all trusted that Cloud could do it, she wouldn't worry about it either. Not that she would worry exactly, she thought to herself, reminding herself that she was only here to get information about them, not to befriend or encourage them.
To Chapter Ten. To the intro. That means it's mine, not yours! |
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