Violet Shadows (FFVII)

XXI) Hojo's Demise

I swallow hard, peering over the edge of the deck.

Scared?

Have you ever jumped out of an airship and into a fully armed city?

I cannot say that I have.

Then shut up.

"See y'all!" Cid cheers, leaping from the edge and following Cloud and few others. Nanaki frowns, trying to get ahold of his parachute cord, and yelps when Barret shoves him overboard. The big man jumps after the beast with a shout.

"You ready?" I ask, looking over at Vincent. He nods, looking all too comfortable with this situation. He holds out a hand and I take his wrist, pulling myself up onto the railing. Trails of red and black flapping behind us, we soar downward toward Midgar, drifting apart as the air pushes up at us. I bet I could survive a fall from this high just fine without this stupid thing. Wiggling my eyebrows at Vincent, I press my arms to my sides and take a nosedive, eyes squinted as I steadily catch up to Cloud. This isn't so bad. Just as our leader pulls the cord on his parachute, I do the same, the white material puffing up and jerking me backward.

When my feet hit the wet cobblestone street, I tug my pack off and toss it into the nearby alley. I stand tall, placing my hands on my hips as my boots splash through a few shallow puddles. David always said he'd take me and Josh here, even in the condition it's been in all these years. He just wanted us to see how different the world really was.

"Why's it all wet?" Yuffie crinkles her nose. "I thought it didn't rain here?"

"Maybe it was their weather regulators," Tifa shrugs.

"Maybe," Cloud mutters, walking past me to follow Cait Sith, who scrambled ahead to show us a "secret entrance."

"There're a lot of passages in here," Cait explains as he opens the trapdoor. "We'll need to split up."

"I'll go with Cid," I shrug, stepping closer to the pilot.

"But I—fine. I'll go with Spiky."

"Vincent," Spiky looks at the taller man. "You and Nanaki go with Cid as well. Tifa, Yuffie, Barret and Cait Sith with come with me."

We head down the rusty ladder that leads to an underground subway and go our separate ways at the tracks. We keep our phones' ringers on just in case. Cid slings his spear onto his shoulder and puffs away at a cigarette contentedly.

"Why'd ya join me, kid?" he asks, nudging me. "Just curious. I was buggin' ya earlier, is all."

"I'm not holding a grudge," I shrug.

"Yeah? That's good," he chuckles. "Cuz I like ya."

"Why's that?"

"Yer entertaining to be around," he replies, cocky as ever. "Yer just... unlucky. It's kinda funny."

"Oh shut up," I groan, shoving his shoulder. "You're an #$%."

"Yeah? How 'bout this #$% kicks—"

"There they are!" A voice stops us in our tracks. "Avalanche!" Elena cries, charging at us. The oblivious blonde Turk cries out, stopping her charge only once she realizes that she has both a gun and an arrow trained on her head.

"Don't move," I command, Cid and Nanaki exchanging a glance.

"Well, well," Reno croons, tapping his rod on his shoulder rhythmically. "Looky here." He stuffs his hand into his pocket and cocks his head to the side with a cheesy grin. "Hey babe, long time, no see."