Chapter Thirty-Five: "I Suggest You All Prepare Quickly"

When Tifa arrived at the infirmary Sabin and Glenn were already there, being checked by the doctors. Cid was there too, arguing with one of the nurses that he should be able to smoke. They all looked up as she entered. "Is it gone?" Glenn asked immediately.

She nodded. "Yes, as far as we can tell." Her gaze shifted over to Sabin. "Are you all right?"

Sabin volunteered his arm to the doctor—a tall, blond woman with her hair pulled back. "I’m fine," he replied blandly.

"Well, I was worried. That was a crazy stunt you pulled."

Cid laughed. "My crazy stunt," he declared. "I’m the one who thought the damn thing up. Daryl’n I used to go rock climbing—that’s where the idea came from." He slapped Glenn on the back. "I’m just glad ol’ green hair here makes such damn good bait!"

Glenn didn’t feign to the other man’s humor. "It was necessary. Did you recognize the man?"

"Yeah," Tifa said, her eyes catching Sabin’s on her. As soon as he was detected he looked away. "Looked like Professor Hojo. But how?"

"The Professor gave himself over to Celes in order to become her Angel," he explained. "He was apparently given some of her tainted cells; or rather, acquired the Jenova Virus. That is what it is sometimes referred to as." He continued to talk as the nurses checked his blood pressure. "I suspect that Sephiroth and Cloud have shared a similar fate. The first creature was Ultros Weapon, and I’m assuming the second was a monster created by Lavos."

Tifa pulled up a chair, and similarly Sabin and Cid moved closer to hear. "I could have sworn Cloud was trying to tell me something," she said quietly, straddling the chair so that her chin rested on its back. "I mean, when that snake-thing first came. That was when I noticed Hojo: he was stuck in its head or something."

Glenn nodded as if he already understood what that meant. "The Angels use those larger creatures as protection, and to make themselves a match for the enormous size of the Weapons. An Angel is not fully developed until it has abandoned its host being. Do you understand that?"

"So the caterpillar guy pilots Mr. Huge-Mother-F***er," Cid surmised, "and when it leaves the big guy it’s a butterfly."

"Well…"

"It’s easier to think of it that way."

Tifa smiled at him. "I suppose that’s the best way to say it." And then to Glenn. "But yes, we understand."

The doctor began to put her things away. "I have no clue," she said brightly, "but that’s all right. You two seem fine to me. You can go."

"Thank you." Glenn stood, retrieving the armor he’d shed earlier. He indicated for the others to follow. "Come with me. There is more to hear."

"How is it you know so much?" Tifa asked as she fell into step beside the older man, the other two trailing behind.

His golden eyes stared straight ahead. "My answers come directly from the Cetra," he replied. "All of their knowledge is a part of me. That knowledge is revealed to me as it is needed."

"Hmm. So you’re saying…" She paused before continuing. "…that Cloud is like that, too? He’s stuck in some monster somewhere?"

"Hopefully, yes. If he has already developed into a mature Angel, there is no way we can get him back. But if he’s still inside his host, then—"

"There might be a way to save him?"

"Correct."

Glenn led them to Locke’s room, who was awake and speaking to Nadia. They stopped as the group entered. Glenn explained to them what he had told the others, and together they discussed a plan of action. "I don’t want to have to kill Cloud," said Glenn. He had unintentionally taken over the group. "There is still a chance that he can be saved from Lavos. General Celes I’m not sure about—" he cast a glance at Locke "—but I won’t give up on her either. She is a strong woman. Sephiroth may not be worth saving."

"How could we save them?" Locke asked, sitting against the headboard of his bed. "We don’t even know where they are."

"If we can find Lavos and Cloud’s host beast, then we’ll find them as well. After that I’m unsure as to what can be done—only that it’s possible."

"That doesn’t help much," he muttered.

Tifa quickly defended the older man. "It’s a start. Let’s be glad there is a chance."

Nadia spoke up then. "What I want to know is what Aeris was doing at the Ancient City. And Crono." They could all feel the strain in her voice in mentioning his name. "Glenn, don’t you know?"

He shook his head slowly. "No, not really. It seemed as if she might have been casting a spell, but I cannot be sure."

"Is there anyone we could ask?"

"Mog would know." Everyone glanced up—surprised, as it was Sabin’s first comment.

Glenn nodded. "Perhaps, but he might not share with us."

"I never understood that little bastard," Cid muttered. "He never helped us do nothin’."

"Well, we’ve only got three days before that thing gets to Midgar," Sabin pointed out. "Whatever we decide to do, it had better be fast."

Locke swept his gaze across the room, considering the options. "Hey, where’s Lucca?" he asked abruptly. "And Cait Sith?"

"Lucca must still be in the control room," Tifa answered, "and Cait Sith, well, he shut down."

"Shut down?"

She nodded. "Said he had things to do. Without his moogle he didn’t think he’d be much good anyway, so he disconnected himself from the doll."

"I guess I can understand that," the treasure hunter said thoughtfully. "I mean, a king would have lots to do during this kind of emergency."

All of the group’s curious attention focused on him, but Nadia beat them all in voicing the question. "What do you mean by ‘king’?"

Locke frowned, then realized that he had compromised the cat’s secret. He shrugged; it couldn’t do any harm to tell them all now. "Yeah, Cait Sith was being controlled by King Edgar in Midgar. I’m surprised that none of you figured it out sooner."

Sabin nodded. "I knew. It was my brother, after all."

"How come you didn’t tell me?" Nadia demanded, as she was trying to keep herself from falling into shock. "It was Edgar the entire time? Why did he lie to us?"

"Dunno," Locke admitted. "Guess it’s easier to say you’re a nobody than it is to say you’re a king."

"All of this isn’t important right now," Glenn interrupted. "We have to start making preparations for battling Lavos, because there isn’t much time." He rose to his feet, and those that were paying attention could see a slight grimace on his face as if he was in pain. The expression passed swiftly. "I am going to find Lucca, as we’ll need her intelligence. The rest of you can have some time to rest before we decide what to do."

"I’ll come with you," Tifa volunteered; more than anything she didn’t want to spend any length of time in a room with Sabin, and this was the best excuse.

"All right. We won’t be long." He moved to the door, and Tifa hurried to keep up. Then they left.

"I don’t believe it," Nadia whispered. Now left alone with the three men she began to remember all the things that had happened. But most of all she remembered the short cat doll, and all the things she’d said and done in his presence. All throughout their trip she’d put Edgar down thinking he couldn’t hear, making their relationship seem less and less of what it was mostly in an effort to keep Crono near her. Was she really so fickle? And what did Edgar think of her now? Was he angry that she had left him for someone else? She began to feel sick.

Someone pulled a chair up beside hers and sat down, startling her, and before she could react she found herself in a warm hug. Sabin didn’t say anything—he didn’t have to. He only held her. Cid and Locke were quiet as well. They tried not to look interested.

"He kept me going," Nadia whispered. "You know? I thought that no matter what happened Edgar would always be there, and he wouldn’t know how much of a fool I’ve been. But he’s been watching me the whole time…"

Sabin tightened his arms about her just barely, but he still didn’t speak. Somehow his silence was infinitely more comforting than any words he could have said.

Everyone met that afternoon for lunch in the Shin-ra base’s cafeteria, sharing their information. "According to all the work I’ve done this morning," Lucca began, "there should be two more Weapons left, two Angel Hosts, Lavos, and Celes. We already know that Lavos is on his way to Midgar by traveling through the ocean, and I’m assuming that Celes is with him or nearby. The flying Weapon—Mana Weapon, most likely—has been attacking other cities with reactors." Her voice lowered. "Nibelheim was just destroyed, and it’s on its way to North Corel. After that it’ll probably either head here or to Midgar. As for the two Hosts, I haven’t been able to locate them because they don’t appear on our radar."

"And the last Weapon?" Locke asked.

"It’s at the Northern Crater," she replied. "There are some massive energy readings from there—it’s definitely up to something. I’ve already suggested to the President that a team be sent to investigate."

"Dat mean us?" Cid muttered, lighting a cigarette.

"Maybe. But if that doesn’t work we’ll still have Lavos to deal with in Midgar. My advice is that we split up."

"I got in contact with Mog," said Tifa. "He explained some what it was that Aeris was doing." She took a deep breath, hoping that she remembered everything Mog had told her. "Apparently Aeris had with her a special materia: the White Materia."

"She kept it in her hair," added Nadia. "I remember her talking about it."

She nodded and continued. "That White Materia was created by the Ancients. It has the power to cast a spell known as Holy, which would destroy anything that threatened the planet. Especially Lavos."

Locke shifted in his seat, contemplating the possibility that Celes would be included in the spell’s victims. "But it didn’t work, did it?" he asked quietly. "I mean, Lavos is still here."

"Precisely." Lucca took over again. "Which means that it’s being blocked somehow, and I’m willing to bet that it has something to do with that Northern Crater."

Cid pulled an empty cigarette box out of his pocket splitting it at the seams so that it served as a reasonable drawing surface. Lucca passed him a pencil. "So we’re here," he said, scribbling in several points, "and one of them crazy shit-head beasts is here, and Lavos’s stuck on his ass in the middle. We send half of us to fight the shit-head and half of us to wait in Midgar for Lavos, right?"

"Right." Lucca took the pencil to draw labels on his crude diagram. "It’ll take Lavos about three days to get to Midgar, which is about the same time it’ll take a plane to get to the crater. It’ll be close." She frowned. "Real close. But it’s the only way to be sure."

Rufus entered then, and he moved quickly to the group’s table without meeting any of their gazes. They glanced at each other, startled by the intrusion. "I thought I’d find you here," the President said, coming up behind Lucca. "Have you decided anything?"

Lucca suddenly found herself to be the focal point of many puzzled and somewhat accusing stares. "Well, sort of. We’re thinking of splitting up, as I mentioned to you."

"I’ve taken that option seriously," he replied, not caring that he was being glared at. "I’ve arranged for the Highwind to take you to the Crater, and the Turks will help you as well."

"That’s generous," Glenn rejoined gruffly, "but unnecessary. We’d rather you used your forces to protect Midgar."

The President gathered himself to his full height. "That’s already been taken care of. I encourage you to accept my offer—no ship can get you there faster than the Highwind. Furthermore, my Turks are highly trained and you already know the Highwind’s pilot.

But the older man was still wary. "We don’t need your help."

Rufus slammed his hand down on the table, startling them and the plates from their meal. "Listen to me," he demanded. "I’m not doing this for Shin-ra. I’m not so stupid as to not realize that no earth means no empire, and I’m doing what I can to stop this. Do you want my help or not?"

Glenn returned his hard glare without falter, clearly unconvinced, but fortunately the rest of his companions were more reasonable. "Of course we want your help," Tifa spoke up, and Sabin put a restraining hand on Glenn’s shoulder. "We’ll just have to figure out how to divide ourselves. Can you tell us what you’re planning for Midgar?"

He nodded, ignoring Glenn. "This evening several airships will be coming to move the Junon Cannon to Midgar. It was effective against the Weapon, and we’re hoping it’ll do the same against Lavos. Even if it doesn’t, it’s still the strongest weapon in our arsenal."

"You might have problems getting it set up," said Lucca. "I think I’ll go with you to Midgar, if you don’t mind, to help."

"I was hoping you would." He met the gazes of the others at the table. "How about the rest of you?"

"I’m going to the Crater," Glenn volunteered first.

Tifa was next. "Me too. Cloud might be there, and I want to go."

"He might not be."

"It’s my best chance."

Sabin considered for a moment, and finally made up his mind. "I’ll go to the crater. My strength won’t be much good against Lavos. That leaves Nadia, Locke, and Cid."

The pilot shrugged. "Might as well go North. Don’t know shit about cannons and big guns—I’d just be in the way. Beside, I gotta keep an eye on my sister."

"I want to go to Midgar," was Locke’s decision. "I don’t know how much good I’ll be, but I want to go where Celes’ll most likely be."

Nadia nodded. "Me too. I can’t fight anyway."

Rufus didn’t look pleased by her choice, but he tried not to make a show of it. "Alright, it’s settled on who will go where. Both ships leave tonight, so I suggest you all prepare quickly." He started to go, then paused. "And thank you. All of you. Good luck."

All that day was spent on preparations. No one quite knew what to expect, and decided to follow the motto of "hope for the best, plan for the worst". Glenn, Cid, Sabin, and Tifa left along with the Turks aboard the Highwind early that evening, but it was quickly obvious that the ships departing for Midgar would take longer to prepare. Disconnecting the massive cannon and readying it for travel proved to be a strenuous and time-consuming venture. But with Rufus giving orders and Lucca’s problem-solving intellect they were able to complete the task only a few hours after the sun had set. They left the base behind, retiring to their rooms as they traveled into the night.

Edgar was in his office the next morning when he heard t he news: North Corel had been destroyed. The reactor was the Mana Weapon’s first target, and the resulting explosion had sent fires all throughout the region. Most of the small city’s inhabitants had died within the first five minutes of the attack, and those that survived were driven either into the mountains where food was scarce, or to the desert where it was even scarcer. Within an hour there weren’t even any remains.

The King sat back in his chair, suddenly fatigued, and Reeve—the bearer of the news—leaned against the desk to steady himself, even as he’d already learned the news minutes earlier. "The Mana Weapon was last reported as heading this way," he continued with his update. "Our specialists say that it’ll reach here tomorrow at approximately 7:20 p.m., based on its speed."

"That doesn’t leave us much time," Edgar mused. "Rufus will be here by tonight with the cannon; I wonder if we’ll have enough time to prepare it before the creature gets here. And even then it’ll have only one direction it can fire from. We’ll be aiming it at Lavos, which is northwest." He pretended sketching a map on the desk with his finger. "But Corel is due west, isn’t it? Which means unless the Mana Weapon alters course a bit, we won’t be able to hit it directly." He sighed, drumming his fingers as he contemplated a solution. "If at all. We’ll have to think up another way to defend ourselves. Once the cannon’s been set we won’t be able to move it in time…what a mess." He rubbed his eyes. "What a mess."

"There’s another problem," said Reeve, hesitant in laying down another concern. "You’ve been sending orders to the military, haven’t you? I don’t know how you did it, but they’re following you. Rufus won’t be happy when he finds out you’ve taken over his company." And then without thinking he added, "He’s older than you."

He snorted. "Only a year. Besides, by tonight he’ll be even more upset. After I give my speech."

"Speech?"

"You’ll see." Edgar pushed out of his chair. "In fact, I have to prepare for that. The only complication will be that Rufus might arrive before then. I’ll have to invest in some… protection."

Reeve shook his head. "You’re taking too many chances," he admonished. "Rufus has more followers than you, and he’ll find some way to get you out of his way. Just what are you planning that’s worth making things worse?"

"You’ll see," the King repeated. "Trust me."

Sabin glanced up briefly as the door opened, only intending to catch a glimpse of the visitor’s face before returning his attention to the icon in his hand. But when he realized the woman’s identity he was forced to pause, letting his eyes mingle with hers as she closed the door behind her. "I hope I’m not intruding," she said quietly.

He shook his head. She could never intrude. She moved to sit in a chair across from him, and all the while he watched her. Her brown eyes were soft, and they captivated him. She had showered recently—he could tell by the moisture that still lingered in her thick hair. No, you could never intrude on a prisoner.

"I just thought we could…talk." Tifa smiled meekly, wondering why she’d bothered to come here in the first place. "I don’t want us to be on bad terms."

"Oh." Finally Sabin forced himself to look away. It had been several days since their encounter in the woods outside Icicle Inn, one he was struggling hard to leave behind. He’d devoted himself to erasing the memory of that one night they’d shared as well, in Cosmo Canyon, but every time he saw her it all came rushing back at once until he imagined that he would drown in her scent. It didn’t help that she was trying to make them friends.

"What is that?"

He blinked, realizing that some time of silence had passed between them. "What?"

"That." Tifa pointed to the coin necklace he’d been looking over before she arrived. "We’ve known each other for a while now, and I don’t remember ever asking you about it."

"Oh. This." Sabin stared down at it himself, contemplating an answer. She could see that she’d stumbled across one of those rare, very personal questions people harbored, and waited patiently for his response. "It…was a gift," he said at last. "The greatest gift he could have given me."

She cocked her head to the side curiously. "He?"

"My brother." Under the gaze of the deep brown eyes he could keep no secrets. "When our father died, a replacement king was needed to pose as Shin-ra’s puppet. They only needed one." He looked away, indulging himself in memories that were easier to bear than those that centered on the woman before him. "I didn’t want to stay—neither of us did. In the end Brother suggested that we settle it with a coin toss: whoever won would decide who stayed and who left."

"Really?" Tifa watched him genuinely interested.

Sabin nodded. "Yeah. He won, and he told me to go. He would stay behind and be king." He lifted the chain over his head and dropped the coin into her hand—a remarkable act of faith that Tifa would not grasp the importance of until later. "Look at it."

She turned the small silver circle over in her hand. On one side was the insignia of a past king, and she was puzzled to find the same on the reverse side. "It’s a double-sided coin," she said.

"He set me up," he continued. "He knew exactly what to do. This way I always remembered that he was the one that made the choice, and he was the only one to blame if he changed his mind later. He didn’t want me to have any regrets about leaving him behind."

"That’s…amazing." She smiled. "You two must have been close. I wouldn’t know what that’s like—I was an only child." She held it out for him to take. "Thanks. I’m glad you told me."

Sabin stared at her, then her outstretched hand. "Keep it," he said abruptly. "For good luck."

But Tifa knew better than to accept such a valuable icon; he would regret it later. "I’d better not," she replied lightly. "Edgar’s not my brother. It’ll work better for you."

Unsure as to whether he should be relieved or disappointed, Sabin retrieved the necklace and slipped it over his head once more. "You’re probably right," was all he said.

"Anyway, I can see that I’m bothering you with this, right? I should probably go." With a faint smile she stood, feeling his gaze on her the entire time. "But listen, Sabin; I don’t want us to not be speaking to each other. I know I’ve hurt you, but…but can’t we at least be friends? This is going to be a tough enough fight as it is."

"It’s not that simple," he replied, trying not to sound harsh or resentful. "I…" He sighed, and forced a smile. "Alright. Friends. But right now I just need some time—alone. I need to settle this by myself."

She returned his gaze, and he prayed that she would understand. She must have seen the anguish in him, for she nodded and said, "Alright. See you later." With an apologetic smile she left.

Sabin let out a deep sigh, returning to his repose.

Nadia stepped off the airship, and was met by a breath of cool—if not tainted—air. Midgar. She’d missed this place, even if it was dark and polluted and plagued by misfortune. However, it now seemed less grand than she remembered: the looming Shin-ra building could never rival the height and majesty of the Nibel Mountains, nor could the sparkling neon lights match the clear beauty of the stars that they dwarfed in shear presence. The fresh air was also something to be missed.

Rufus was still shouting orders as he exited the ship with Dark Nation at his side. He was immediately met by one of the Shin-ra employees, who spoke to him swiftly and in secret. The black panther growled.

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