Guilt’s Cost: Part XLVII

Take Off

Tifa, Tseng, and Cid stood next to the plane. Cid had already opened the door on the side of the craft and had tossed their two bags inside. He was just waiting to finish his cigarette before getting in.

Tifa was closer to Tseng a few paces away.

"Now remember, don’t talk to anyone other than Brandon and those he says you can trust. Once you find out if he’s right or not, get back here." Tseng said to her, perhaps with just a little too much seriousness in his voice.

Tifa dropped her gaze to the ground. "I promise. Keep an eye on Vincent, okay? If something went wrong with that box and he woke up trapped inside, he would freak."

"Don’t worry." Tseng gave her a smile. "I will check on him personally, and I’m sure Angel will keep track of him too. I think you’re friend is ready."

Cid stood with his arms crossed, having thrown the rest of his cigarette to the ground. He was obviously getting anxious.

"Okay." Tifa embraced Tseng, taking one last memory from him about what Vincent felt like. "We’ll see you soon."

Tseng stepped back from her. "All right. Be careful."

Cid helped Tifa into the plane and then climbed in himself. Tifa sat in the copilot’s seat and Cid took up his place to the right of her.

Tifa couldn’t contain her excitement about being in a plane very well. "This is so cool!"

"You’re a girl after my own heart." Cid mumbled to himself as he started the plane’s engines.

The plane slowly crept toward the runway, the engines occasionally giving off a loud backfire. Tseng watched the spectacle and prayed that the ragtag plane would hold together long enough to get them to Mideel.

Cid lined the plane up on the runway and looked over at Tifa. "You’re strapped in, right?"

Tifa grinned pointing to the belt that she had cinched around her waist. "Affirmative."

Cid was not a morning person, and her level of enthusiasm bordered on annoying. "Okay, hold on."

With that, Cid gunned the engines and the plane raced down the runway gaining speed. He pulled up sharply upon takeoff, making Tifa’s stomach sink.

Tseng continued to watch from the ground until the plane disappeared into the distance. Just as he prepared to start heading back into the base, the pager in his pocket went off. He pulled it out to see that it was a page from Quigley. He jogged back into the base, knowing that the spy never contacted him unless it was important.

Tseng reached the secure phone in his quarters and dialed.

Quigley answered before the completion of the first ring. "Hello?"

"It’s me." Tseng said simply.

"Oh, good." Quigley’s voice relaxed just a little. "Hojo is up to some real bad things."

"Tell me something new." Tseng replied, sinking into a chair.

"He has Cloud Strife." Quigley said quietly.

Tseng stood back up. "You mean he has his body, right?"

Quigley sighed. "No, I mean he has Cloud Strife. He isn’t dead. I saw him this afternoon with my own eyes. Walking and talking, I kid you not."

Tseng remained silent. He figured that Tifa could have been mistaken about Cloud’s death. After all, they hadn’t found a body in the house. Finally he responded. "Oh shit. What are they doing to him?"

"He looked fine, and Hojo said he had just been studying him. Tseng, he’s not even being confined; it’s like he’s there of his own volition." Quigley said with a bit of anger.

Tseng was confused. "What would be his motivation for that?"

"Hojo said that he had made a deal with Cloud. In return for being studied, Hojo was going to resurrect the ancient for him." The researcher was clearly disturbed by this.

"Oh…" Tseng fell back into the chair. Cloud had obviously fallen prey to his depression to attempt suicide, and it seemed almost reasonable that for the promise of having the source of his pain healed that he would go through anything. "This is bad."

Quigley was growing nervous about still being on the line. "That is all the information I have, so I’d better go."

"Sure." Tseng hung the phone up and slumped forward in his seat. This combined with the rumor from Mideel was too much. He reached into his coat pocket and quickly took another tablet for his heart.

He was going to have to get Cloud out of the lab; that was a given. But how Tifa would react when she heard that he wasn’t dead was another thing. He didn’t want to tell her, both for her sake as well as Vincent’s, but he knew that wasn’t an option. He needed to go see Angel and Reno.

***

Back on the plane, Tifa was becoming used to the feeling of being airborne. She stared out the window seeing the blue of the ocean beneath them.

"Do you mind?" Cid asked.

"What?" Tifa snapped out of her daydream and turned toward him.

He held up his cigarettes. "Do you mind if I smoke?"

Truth was, the interior of the plane already reeked so much of smoke that it wouldn’t matter. "No, go ahead."

Cid nodded and lit up. He lazily let the plane glide back and forth in the sky, enjoying the feeling of freedom.

Tifa continued to look at him, seeing that he looked completely at ease. She admired him for knowing what his calling in life was. She wished she could find hers.

Cid felt the weight of her stare and glanced over at her. "You’re not gonna start crying again or something are you?"

"No." Tifa managed with a smile. "I was just watching you. When did you know what you wanted to do with your life?"

Cid rolled his eyes. "Oh shit, not more of that heavy talk."

"Cid, I really want to know." Tifa almost begged. She needed to get a conversation started or she was going to cry.

"Fine." Cid thought for a moment. "My dad flew, and growing up I just wanted to be like him. There was never any doubt about what I would become when I became an adult."

Tifa nodded. "So you never even considered anything else?"

"Nope." He flicked some ashes to the floor of the cockpit. "I was gonna fly God Damn it, and no one was going to stop me."

"You really love it, don’t you?" Tifa asked.

"Would I do it if I didn’t? Cid Highwind does what he likes, and tells everyone else to fuck off." He smiled.

Tifa grinned in response. Cid had always held a special place in her heart. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, there was a very nice man deep down within him. "I’m so happy you’re coming with me."

Cid sighed. "Yeah, I know, we’ve been over that already, woman."

"I just don’t want you to forget, that’s all." Tifa turned her gaze back out the window.

"I got it, don’t worry. You keep stroking my ego with your lovey ‘I like you, Cid’ bullshit, and I’m gonna think you got a thing for me." He said, half to himself.

She reached over and mussed his hair. "I do have a thing for you."

Cid looked over at her, his eyes betraying his doubt. "No you don’t. You’re into ‘pretty boys’. I’m more the rugged, handsome type."

"You think of Vincent and Cloud as ‘pretty boys’?" Tifa laughed.

Cid rolled his eyes, letting more ashes hit the floor. "Please, are you kidding? Not to bring up any bad memories or shit, but do you remember how much time Cloud spent on his hair every morning?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, he did have a thing about that, didn’t he?"

"Yeah." Cid smiled at the memory. "And Vincent, come on! With that hair and that figure, he practically is a girl."

"Hey, that’s my man you’re talking about!" She retorted jokingly.

"So, he still is a ‘pretty boy’. Girls just love that shit. Especially combined with that Goth, depression kind of thing. You women just think it means he’s sensitive or some such thing. Never give any thought whatsoever about how gay that whole thing is." Cid flipped a hand at her. "Speaking of which, what do you think about Tseng?"

"He’s nice." She shrugged. "There is a lot of Vincent there."

"Yeah, but don’t you think he might be a little… you know…." Cid looked over at her again.

"If you think he’s queer, just come out and say it, Cid." Tifa said, locking him in her gaze.

"You know him better than I do." Cid responded, turning his attention back to the controls.

She shrugged again. "I might be tempted to think that, but I’ve never asked, and he’s never said anything."

"Uh-huh." Cid nodded. "I thought so."

Tifa raised her eyebrows. "Why? You interested?"

Cid almost took offense to her joke. "I ain’t like that, sister." He raised his left hand flashing the gold band on his ring finger. "I got me a woman."

Tifa laughed. "I know, I’m just messing with you."

"So I figured." Cid relaxed into his seat. He reached down and dropped the remains of his cigarette into a coffee can wedged beneath the control panel. "What do you think we’re in for in Mideel?"

"Tseng never said anything informative." Tifa watched as the clouds rolled beneath them. "All I know is that it involves Brandon."

"As in the doctor?" Cid asked.

"Yeah," Tifa grinned at the thought. "The same one that took care of Cloud after he washed up."

Cid nodded pensively. "Not much goes on down there these days. I wonder what it could be?"

"I haven’t got the slightest clue." Tifa sighed.