Violet Shadows (FF7)

17) The Sunken Gelnika

I MIGHT'VE MIXED A FEW THINGS UP IN THIS CHAPPIE, SORRY. I KINDA FORGOT WHAT WAS GOING ON OVER THE COURSE OF TWENTY TWO HOURS.... YEAH...

"Get outta yer rooms, cuz we're almost to that dang canyon!" Cid's voice rudely interrupts my thoughts. With a tired sigh, I stand and grab hold of my bow, missing the feeling of a good battle with this string pulled tightly against my fingers and firing arrow after arrow.

"Cid, we're only retrieving materia," I hear Cloud trying to reason with the pilot. The older blonde scoffs.

"Fine, take yer crew and get out. I ain't waitin' all freaking day."

"Thanks," he nods, turning to meet my gaze. "Did you want to come?"

"Sure," I shrug. Next Vincent steps in, followed by Tifa, both with dark smudges under their eyes. I'm sure I look the same. Cloud hesitantly looks between the two before deciding that he doesn't want the crazy martial artist breathing down his neck.

"Vincent?" Crimson eyes look up toward mako cerulean and then shift to ice blue. I have to suppress the urge to smirk at him and look at the blonde next to me. "Are you coming?" Vincent silently thinks a moment before stepping forward in our direction. Cloud nods and looks at Cid.

"We'll be right back."

"Hurry up."

We climb down the ladder, my shoes actually deciding that they don't want me to die until we reach the stairs leading up to Bugenhagen's observatory. I repeatedly knock into Cloud's back, slightly annoying him and keeping Vincent busy as he rolls his eyes at my clumsiness. Once we finally get up to Bugenhagen's place, after my foot slips on the ladder and lands on Cloud's face, the old man greets us with a smile.

"Ho ho hooo! I didn't think I'd see you so soon again!"

"We came for the materia," Cloud says curtly. Nanaki's grandfather laughs again and leads the way into a room with a round lift in the middle. Bugenhagen looks over his shoulder at me and Vincent.

"You two have never seen this, have you? Ho ho hooo! No matter, you will see the... Well, I don't really know what it's called!" His laugh booms yet again. "Let's just call it an illusion."

That word in itself keeps me from stepping on right away like the three men, who all turn to look at me expectantly.

"You coming?" Cloud raises an eyebrow. I take a deep, slow breath and step onto the platform, subconsciously gripping Vincent's leather clad arm. Only when he gently tugs his arm to loosen my grip do I realize I was holding on, instantly letting go and turning away to hide my red face from the two members of Avalanche. The ceiling lights up in a brilliant display of stars and planets, making me feel as if I'm in space again. Cloud completely ignores the display, heading for the giant materia chunks, but I wander around carefully, looking around in wonder.

"It's so pretty up here," I finally say. Vincent looks up, his neck leaned back to look the the ceiling.

"Ho ho hooo! Yes, it is something, isn't it?" Bugenhagen floats over to a holographic model of the Planet. "I wanted to show it to you before you left, but Elders Hargo and Bughe wished for you to leave after the... Incident." I nod and walk around the model, my eyes instantly finding Nibelheim. But something is missing.

"Hey, there's no mansion in Nibelheim."

"No, unfortunately, but I was thinking of doing one just the other day.."