'Babble'

[A small chocobo-drawn wagon rolls sedately over the uneven ground, tossing to and fro like some odd looking boat with wheels. In its back sits Yuffie, eyes tightly clenched shut and teeth gritted as if with effort. Sekar, who is just on the other side of the wagon, gives her an occasional glance every now and again, but refrains from going over to help. Ioz sits at the front beside a younger ninja who is handling the reins. Traveling apace with the wagon are three other chocobos, each carrying a rider on its back. Gray is in the lead.
[Yuffie wraps herself up into a ball, moaning.]

Sekar : (hesitantly) Yuffie?

[The girl's hands curl into fists and Sekar reflexively shifts back a notch, but the expected blow doesn't come. Instead, Yuffie brings her hands up to clutch at her head.]

Yuffie : Aaargh! Shut *$&#ing up!

[Her outburst is met by intense silence from everyone around her, not the least because nobody had actually been saying anything to cause her to yell out like that.]

Ioz : (annoyed) What's with her?

Sekar : I don't know. All I did was say her name.

Ioz : (looks at Yuffie) You've been acting weirder than usual since you woke up. Stress getting to you?

Yuffie : (through clenched teeth) As if I don't have enough to worry about without having you adding in your own comments on my behaviour.

Ioz : Hey, you're the one who yelled.

Gray : Enough, both of you.

Sekar : (to Yuffie) Who were you shouting at, Yuffie?

Yuffie : Those voices!

Ioz : (confused) Which voices?

Yuffie : The ones I've been telling you about.

Sekar : (whispers to Ioz) You remember. I told you about it on the ship.

[Ioz's bafflement lasts for another second and then it is replaced with a look of disgust.]

Ioz : Yeesh. Not that again.

Yuffie : (plaintively) Can't you hear them?

[Sekar looks to Ioz. The other man shrugs and makes a face, effectively relegating Yuffie over to his friend's care before turning away.]

Sekar : (leans in closer; to Yuffie) Um, maybe you should lie down and rest...

Yuffie : (snaps) You think I'm going nuts, don't you?

Sekar : (shakes his head vehemently) No! It's just that, well, we can't hear anything of the voices you're talking about.

Yuffie : (mutters) Just won't stop... (shuts her eyes) Not even when I'm asleep.

Sekar : (worriedly) Was it like this when you were on the ship?

[Yuffie nods dully.]

Sekar : (pauses) When did this start, anyway?

[She takes so long to answer that Sekar begins to think that she might have fallen asleep despite her protests. When she finally replies, though, it catches him by surprise.]

Yuffie : (slowly) It was... I think it was... Costa Del Sol.

Sekar : (blinks) That far back?

Yuffie : (nods again) But they weren't so loud then. I think. (groans) I don't know. Maybe they were loud but I didn't hear so well.

[She lowers her face into her hands, the picture of exhaustion and confusion. Sekar hovers nearby, unsure if she would take kindly to any gesture of concern from him.]

Yuffie : (murmurs) Where are you...?

====================

'Gone'

Cloud : Nice view, isn't it?

[Tifa nods, lounging against the rails of the Highwind's upper deck. They are currently flying over the oceans, with Rocket Town's coastline distant, but still visible, in their wake.
[Cloud comes up beside her.]

Cloud : You've been pretty quiet. Does your head still hurt?

Tifa : I'm fine.

[He lapses back into silence, but an air of puzzled hurt is evident to Tifa, even in her preoccupied state. She feels a twinge of guilt and turns to him with an apologetic expression.]

Tifa : It's been a hectic week. I was just trying to make some sense of it all.

Cloud : I see. (hesitant) Did... did something happen to you yesterday?

Tifa : (blinks) What?

Cloud : After the fight with the griffon. (sees her look) That's it, isn't it?

Tifa : How do you figure that?

Cloud : You were acting very distant last night. Troubled. More than usual, I mean. You barely said a word to any of us.

Tifa : (her mouth twitching slightly) Been talking to Barret, haven't you?

Cloud : (surprised, then laughs ruefully) Well... yeah. (serious) He's worried about you. We all are.

[He leans forward, putting his weight on the rails in a contemplative posture that's very much the same as Tifa's.]

Cloud : There has been a lot to think about. So many things happened so quickly during the last year. Everything's changed. Hell, everything's still changing. I can get lost in it all.

Tifa : Yeah, I know the feeling.

Cloud : (watches her) We... We never did find the time to finish our talk, did we?

[Tifa feels her face going very red all of a sudden. She knows exactly which talk he's referring to.]

Tifa : (forced nonchalance) No, but that's understandable given all the chaos that happened in Meteor's wake.

Cloud : Not to mention this happy set of circumstances.

[They share a brief moment of amusement before silence springs to existence between them. A painfully aware silence filled with rapidly fluctuating speculations, acute embarrassment and nervous false starts. It's the kind of silence that's generally shared between a pair of agonisingly uncertain people and usually ends with one of them flailing to find a relatively safer topic of discussion. To her consternation, Tifa reaches that critical point first.]

Tifa : (weakly) So... any word on Utai?

[If Cloud is caught off guard by the sudden change in the direction of their conversation, he gives no sign.]

Cloud : Nothing very encouraging, yet. Nobody seems to be answering our calls, but then, that's nothing new for that part of the world.

Tifa : I guess.

Cloud : Cid says that the weather's acting up a little. The wind's changing. After the troubles we've been having with the engines, we won't be making very good time.

Tifa : (scowls) More delays... (frustrated) What is it with all this bad luck?!

Cloud : It's just a slight delay, Tifa. Nothing to get so worked up about. I'm sure Yuffie's holding her own, after all.

Tifa : But everything seems to be piling up all at once, you know? (pauses) Makes me really wonder if there's something behind all this misfortune. (looks down at materia thoughtfully)

Cloud : I wouldn't know about that... but whatever happens, we can't give up just because things get a little more difficult.

Tifa : (bitterly) And when things happen so badly, so quickly, that you can't seem to find the energy to go on, what then?

Cloud : (with a distant look) Gut it out. Get through it, get over it.

Tifa : (softly) Eventually.

Cloud : Yeah.

[They sink back into the privacy of their own thoughts. Memories which had lain undisturbed and half-forgotten are stirred gently in each person's mind. Finally, Cloud softly clears his throat.]

Cloud : I remember something Sephiroth once said. One guy -- a first class SOLDIER -- made a comment about having some bad luck in his recent fights and I overheard Sephiroth telling him something like, "Misfortune is only unfortunate to those who don't know how to turn the tables on luck." (smiles slightly) I remember feeling so overwhelmed by his words, even if I didn't quite understand what he meant. I spent weeks afterwards trying to figure it out.

Tifa : Did you?

Cloud : No.

Tifa : (muses) You'd be a miracle worker if you do.

Cloud : It doesn't really matter, actually, because I finally decided that it's not that important. Misfortune will always happen, whether I want it or not. The only thing I can really do for myself is to weather it out and learn from it, then do my best to make sure it doesn't happen to me again next time.

Tifa : (smiling) And when did you come to that conclusion?

Cloud : (sheepishly) After we both got out of the Lifestream. (apologetic) I didn't mean to lecture you...

Tifa : No, it's okay. I brought it up, right?

Cloud : Why are you wondering about this, anyway? Does it have anything to do with what's bothering you?

Tifa : (slowly) Ye-esss, you could say that.

Cloud : Mind telling me about it?

Tifa : (pauses) I'm not really sure about it myself, Cloud. (helplessly) I don't know. With all the weirdness happening around me lately...

Cloud : (chides gently) Don't get too much of an inflated opinion of yourself. Weirdness doesn't revolve around one person, after all.

Tifa : I know that! It's just that... well, recently... (sighs) I'm beginning to wonder if I've become jinxed or something.

Cloud : Jinxed?

Tifa : (nods) Seriously. Real bad luck.

Cloud : (gallantly) Nothing wrong with that. Lots of interesting people I know are bad luck.

[Tifa stares at him. It's a strange situation, she reflects, to find herself being on the receiving end of optimism from Cloud. The fact that he's obviously having difficulty with the effort is somehow touching, and she suddenly finds herself unable to hold on to her disquieting thoughts.]

Cloud : Besides, no one I know is as bad luck as me.

[Now her sour mood, already on shaky ground, collapses completely with all the grace and dignity of an avalanche. She leans in to nudge the awkward Cloud gently with a shoulder.]

Tifa : (grins) Shut up, you.

====================

'Activation'

[Night comes to this side of the world like a black veil falling gently to the ground. The skies darken and dot with stars that glitter like diamonds in a soft and smooth bed of coal. The warmth of the day, still evident in the land, is reluctantly coaxed away by the soothing cool breeze, gently erasing the memories of another unforgiving day that is coming to its natural end. Nocturnal creatures of varying sizes and culinary preferences venture outwards from their daylight hideaways onto their nightly forays. Occasionally they lift their voices up in call, breaking their otherwise careful silences.
[Utai nightlife has always been Yuffie's favourite memories of her younger years, especially since the first time she had discovered the giddy thrill of skulking unseen in the shadows, stalking unwary townspeople, periodically coming right up to their side and filching some interesting souvenir or two, then slinking away to earn herself a quick peek into the contents of their money pouches. Often, she would return them to their owners in the same quiet way, although they were a good deal emptier by that time. She would usually console herself with the thought that she wasn't really stealing; she was simply putting her ninja training to practical use. (Rampant burglary had never been a big problem in a village of ninja, and it became even less of a problem whenever Yuffie's materia expeditions take her out of town.)
[At present, however, such whimsical reminiscing is pushed far from Yuffie's thoughts. After spending hours of waiting, biding her time, she is itching to cut loose. Thankfully, the voices had subsided within an hour or two after her outburst on the wagon earlier that day, though she still hears faint wisps of ghostly conversations just beyond the cusp of her mind's ear. The effect strikes her as something vaguely akin to having a mosquito fly mere inches from her ear, moving off to avoid her efforts to brush it away only to come back in again when she gives up. Still, for tonight, the presence of the voices plays a positive role: the others were so confident that she was too mired in confusion over the alleged babble in her head that they neglected to bind her tightly.]

Yuffie : (smiles to herself; thinks) Nice and loose... How convenient.

[Shooting a furtive look to the packs piled up nearby, she sits up, adopting an expression of mute pain and irritation, giving the impression of being unable to sleep. At least her irritation is easy to feign. Her amateur sham works. After a brief glance her way, the sentry goes back to paying attention to his own private musings.]

Yuffie : (thinks) Thank Da Chao for Master Hiro and his acting classes.

[Shifting around in her place as artfully as she can, she keeps her bound hands out of sight from the sentry. A few deft twists is all it takes to work herself free. She slumps heavily to the ground again, drawing the blanket over her and curling up into a fetal-like ball to bring within reach the ropes that bind her feet. She takes slightly longer to undo these for some reason, but she is mollified by the fact that the sentry, comfortable in the familiarity of home soil, doesn't take any notice of her movements. The ropes come away in due time.]

Yuffie : (thinks ruefully) If only I could have this much of an easy time with the _real_ knots.

[A quick peek reveals the sentry idling across from the fire, careful to keep his back to the light in order to retain his most of his nightvision. Yuffie tosses and turns, moaning slightly and the sentry turns to check on her, squinting to avoid blinding himself from the bright campfire. His scrutiny is predictably shortlived and Yuffie continues her periodic restless movements, hoping that she's at least giving a convincing performance of an insomniac's quest for sleep. All the while, she carefully extricates herself from her blankets, inserting rocks, dirt, and wadded up rope and cloth beneath the blankets to create the faint illusion of a body lying there. That done, she pulls herself back from the firelight, keeping the sentry in plain sight, then sneaking softly over where the packs lie.
[To her relief, the chocobos gathered nearby don't make a sound at her approach. It's easy to spot her shuriken amongst the baggage, even in the poor light. In a few seconds, she grasps the weapon tightly in hand, feeling unaccountably better.]

Yuffie : (thinks) Man, it feels so good to be armed again! (looks around) Now then...

[Again, she backs away. Each step is taken with agonising slowness, but even she can understand the value of patient progress. By the time she reaches a distance that is pretty much safe for faster legwork, she's already perspiring heavily. A few precious minutes pass as she waits once again, this time to catch her breath. Sweeping her gaze around, she takes careful note of her surroundings.]

Yuffie : (thinks) That canyon and this pass... That means I should be about a full two days' walk from Utai.

[For a moment, she is struck by the notion of going back to the campfire -- gleaming warm and invitingly within sight. The thought of walking the entire way to Utai is not very relishing, especially in her current state, but she banishes the anxiety with a mental snort.]

Yuffie : (thinks vehemently) No way am I gonna be tied up again. Besides, I'm going to Utai in my own terms.

[It's a consoling thought... for all of three seconds. Nevertheless, she moves out.
[Time passes and the distances fall beneath the steadily quickening pace of her escape. Euphoria begins to pour in once she loses sight of the campfire, and the thrill of freedom is intoxicating. The desire to give in to the temptation to run is strong, but is hindered only by the fact that the uneven ground requires careful navigation and constant attention. Attention that she finds increasingly difficult to allocate due to her condition. The recent days of unconsciousness and limited mobility have been taking their toll.]

Yuffie : (panting) Damnit. At this rate... it'll take forever to get there...

[She pauses to allow her aching muscles an opportunity to rest. With hands on her knees, she props her upper body up and bows her head, taking in huge gulps of air while alternatively fighting against a sudden surge of dizziness.]

Yuffie : (thinks) Who'd've thought that I'd get this out of shape so soon? (straightens up; groans) My feet hurt, my head's aching; my eyes are tired... I haven't even had a decent meal in days. This sucks. (glares at the new materia) I wish I could say that you're worth all this trouble. If I hadn't invested in so much time and effort to find you, I'd've thrown you away on day one itself. (sighs heavily) If I could have gotten you out of this shuriken, that is...

[She shuts up suddenly, aware that she's babbling, and, with an inward grimace, takes a step forward.
[There had been no indication of their approach, neither externally like noise or sight, nor internally from her own danger sense. One moment she's all alone and complaining to a lifeless transparent rock, the next she's surrounded by several large beetle-like creatures, each as long as she is tall. And each -- as she's throughly inclined to believe -- eyeing her with the kind of interest that's natural in all predators possessing voracious appetites for fresh meat.]

Yuffie : (thinks) Edgeheads? Aw, crap... how could I have wandered into their hunting grounds?

[Realising that there's no time to waste in beating herself up for her mistake --]

Yuffie : (thinks) These guys'll be more than happy to beat me up for that, anyway.

[-- she readies her shuriken, glances around her and settles into a slight crouching stance, prepared to fight or flee if either option becomes available to her. The edgeheads, five in all, take this as their cue to start.
[Three of them come for her at once, their movements quick and coordinated. Yuffie waits until the last moment to spring high and back just enough to clear their upstretched forelegs. She lands on the trailing edge of one of the edgeheads' carapace and uses it as her springboard to launch herself back a few feet more. The edgehead gives a peculiar squeak at the momentary addition of her weight to its own. It's obviously not very happy at being trampled on like that and speedily turns on her with open jaws, joined in by its two comrades.
[Yuffie skips back while bringing her shuriken over in a wide sweep. It strikes their tough shells with a dull clanking sound. The animals take no notice of it at all. She's beginning to wish that she'd taken the time to dig through the packs for her supply of materia when she'd taken her shuriken, earlier. As usual, the one materia she does happen to have with her is unresponsive.
[A scrabbling sound off to her right alerts her of the fact that the remaining two bugs are in the fray. She is able to avoid their mandibles, but not their long legs. She falls to the ground and the two are on her in a heartbeat.]

Yuffie : No!

[She struggles, but the edgeheads are heavy. They weigh her down like living anchors. There's nothing to separate her from the direct sensation of their legs, bristly and sharp, moving along her body, or the awful odour of rotting meat that assails her nostrils; cutting reminders of her soon-to-be fate. A set of huge mandibles, framed by the faint moonlight, stands out right before her wide open eyes, clicking and snapping for her neck, the sounds as loud as firecrackers.]

Yuffie : Nononono... (pushes against them) Goddammit, not like this!

[A flash, and she suddenly sees herself as if through another's eyes. Lying trapped beneath two large man-sized insects, terror in her eyes, flailing her limbs crazily in a vain attempt to dislodge the creatures. She can still feel her own self being held down and her efforts to fight free, but these sensations are beginning to be overwhelmed by a gnawing need to feast. A feeling of biting hunger and the desire to devour the stubborn, struggling lump of flesh that is her own self.
[A wave of revulsion, natural and instilled, rises, inspiring her with a desperate need to move, to fight, to be rid of the monsters right now. Like a tidal wave, the need builds and engulfs her entire being, filling her lungs with a cry that seems to translate all of the fear, disgust and loathing into the verbal equivalent of a bullet, and igniting her weary muscles with the strength to throw the beasts off of her. The one covering her legs is kicked away and bowled right into the waiting trio of edgeheads, where it finally lands on its back. The other is simply swept clean off to crash into the ground several feet away.
[Staggering, Yuffie brings her shuriken up in a two-handed grip. Now giving herself up totally to the emotions blazing through her, she leaps into the air right for the edgehead that is bringing itself about to face her. With the new-found strength of her arms and the momentum of her descent, the point of her shuriken is driven right past the edgehead's natural armour, through its insides, to emerge on the other side, not even stopping until it has thoroughly impaled the huge animal into the ground. The panicked scrabbling of its legs brings them brushing up against Yuffie, fueling her rage even more.]

Yuffie : (screams) Die! Die, damn you!

[Gripping the shuriken tighter still and twisting the weapon around savagely, she drives the stake in ever inward. The edgehead emits a long, drawn-out squeal, its movements becoming ever more frantic and pained, only to gradually slow until, finally, it stops completely.
[As soon as the edgehead beneath her lies inert, Yuffie wrenches the shuriken free, flinging up a flow of thick ichor-like substances around her. Whirling about, she starts to head for the other creatures when a hand grabs her shoulder.
[Her nerves are already on the thinnest of edges, and her reactions are shockingly swift. She tears herself away from the offending limb and, in the same movement, flings her weapon at her assailant. Ioz barely has time to drop to the ground before the whirling blades cut through the air, taking a few strands of his hair along with them.
[Another pair of hands grabs the ninja girl from behind and wrestles her to the ground. Yuffie wails and cries out once more, throwing herself rabidly against her captor.]

Sekar : Yuffie! Yuffie, snap out of it!

Yuffie : (wildly) Let me go!

Sekar : (hisses) Not until you calm down!

[His hold is unrelenting and she soon wears herself out. As the battle lust ebbs away, so too does her new reservoir of strength, and she finally slumps to the ground. Two other figures stand before her exhausted frame, looking down at her with grim faces. She blinks several times, trying to shake off the unfamiliar aftereffects of her recent fury, as well as an odd feeling of being in two different places at once. Confused images flood her mind's eye, as though she were watching herself and the others through two sets of eyes.]

Sekar : Are you okay?

[She turns her head, trying to look at him, too, but stops as she catches sight of the smoking and unmoving husks of the other four edgeheads that she hadn't taken care of. A surge of nausea overtakes her senses now, driving out even the whirling confusion from her mind.]

Sekar : Yuffie?

[She pulls away from him and, thankfully, this time Sekar lets go. Yuffie doesn't get very far. Her stomach heaves but she clamps down tightly on the nausea, suddenly unwilling to display this weakness before the other ninja. Sekar comes up to the crouched girl, reaching out hesitantly to her.]

Yuffie : (through clenched teeth) Get... Get away from me.

Sekar : (softly) Yuffie...

[Ioz is uncharacteristically silent. Gray walks over to where Yuffie's shuriken had landed and, with a slowness born of caution, picks it up. For along time, he contemplates the weapon and its materia with an unreadable expression before finally looking up.]

Gray : Pick her up. We're going back to the camp.

====================

'Good, bad'

[Tifa sits by the porthole of Cid's quarters. Cid had been sincere earlier when he offered her the use of his quarters, and the others have been insistent that she recuperate from her injuries. Her previous conversation with Cloud plays back in her mind over and over again.]

Tifa : (thinks) To turn the tables on luck... It sounds like just the sort of thing Sephiroth would say. I wonder... did Sephiroth really mean that? Was it something he said just to sound impressive, or did he really know of a way to manipulate his luck?

[Her mouth twists in a grim parody of a smile. She has no great love for the former SOLDIER who had destroyed her home so many years ago.]

Tifa : (thinks) Either way, his luck certainly didn't hold when we faced him in the crater that time.

[The materia in her glove glints, immediately drawing her attention to it. Nothing drastic happens. No rush of magic, no sudden catastrophe shaping before her, and she finally consoles herself with the thought that it must have been a trick of the light.]

Tifa : (mutters) Maybe I can...

[Mustering her courage, she lays her hand on the stone and gingerly tries to detach it once more. However, she loses her nerve moments later, and lets her hand drop to her side.]

Tifa : Not just yet. (sighs) Not until I have to.

[The rest of the night passes very slowly for her.]

====================

'Analyse'

[The journey throughout the day is uneventful. With Gray still leading, the caravan of ninja and their chocobos wend their way over and through the belt of high lands, stopping only to rest and to eat. In the back of the wagon lies Yuffie, ensconced in her swath of blankets and studiously paying no mind to the others.]

Ioz : Weird, huh?

Sekar : (startled) Wha--?

Ioz : Last night. (gestures at Yuffie) Who'd've thought she'd have it in her.

Sekar : What do you mean?

Ioz : What are you, blind? Didn't you notice her going berserk last night?

Sekar : Oh, that. (softly) Yeah. I mean, I've fought her a lot when we were kids and even then, she could get a little crazy at times, but not like that.

Ioz : I told you she was going off the deep end back while we were on the boat. Guess I hit the nail right on the head, huh?

Sekar : (uncomfortable) I... suppose.

Gray : I don't think so. At least, it's not for the reasons you might think.

[Sekar manages to stop himself from flinching at Grays' sudden inclusion into his and Ioz's conversation. A wave of embarrassment washes over him as he wonders how he could possibly have failed to notice Gray's approach in the first place.]

Ioz : What do you mean, Gray?

Gray : Edgeheads have been said to induce a sort of terror response in their prey when they come up close. Most of the times, the terror is enough to immobilise the prey so they can go for the kill. Sometimes, though, the terror response backfires and actually gives birth to a berserker rage.

Sekar : Like Yuffie's.

Gray : (nods) I haven't seen it happen before last night, but I imagine that's what caused her to lose control. (pauses) Is she asleep?

[Sekar checks on Yuffie.]

Sekar : Yeah. And it's a real sleep this time, not another of her comas.

Gray : (nods again) That's good.

Ioz : (watches Gray) You were really interested in her shuriken last night. Care to enlighten us?

Gray : (smirks slightly) I take it you weren't paying attention during the fight.

Ioz : (frowns) What're you talking about? We did plenty good against those --

Gray : I don't mean the battle aspect of the fight, Ioz.

Ioz : What, then?

[Gray waits a few moments before finally responding. The tone of his voice, however, indicates a stern disapproval over the other two's apparent lack of perception.]

Gray : Don't you find it strange that the others didn't go for her when she was busy skewering that one edgehead?

Sekar : That's because we were fighting...

Ioz : No, no, wait. (thoughtful) He's right, Sekar. They had about... five seconds to make their move before we arrived, but... Now that I think about it, those edgeheads were acting a bit strange.

Sekar : (blinks) Strange, how?

Ioz : They were... confused, or in pain, or something. (shrugs) But then, who can tell with critters like that? I thought they were maybe stunned from being hit by their buddy.

Sekar : Or maybe they were surprised that she was fighting back.

Gray : Neither. The materia activated.

[As one, the others turn to shoot a look at Yuffie's weapon. Seeing nothing untoward, they set their gazes on Gray. There is little doubt in them of Gray's sincerity, however.]

Ioz : So she can use it.

Sekar : But what exactly did it do?

Gray : That's a harder question to answer, but if I could hazard a guess, it exerted some influence over those beasts last night.

Ioz : A Control materia...? (swears) We went all the way to Midgar for a damned Control?!

Gray : (frowns) Think before you speak, Ioz. No Control looks or even behaves like this materia does. (turns away) We won't know for sure what this stone can do, but at least we know now that it works for Yuffie. If she can use it in the same way on Salamander, we might have a chance at putting that beast back where it belongs.

[With that, he spurs his chocobo on faster, leaving the other two to their own thoughts.]

====================

Starting point | Part 7 | Part 9