Chapter Twelve

Jyleth turned the envelope over in her hands, considering the contents as her eyes adjusted to the dim morning light. Sephiroth had stirred awake a few minutes earlier, gathered up his sword and left to practice without speaking a word to her. Jyleth glanced the in direction he had headed, catching the barest glimpse of glittering metal to reassured herself that he wasn't trying to leave her. The paper crinkled loudly as her hand closed on the letter, protesting the abuse. She frowned, opening her hand and smoothing out the wrinkles.

The contents of the letter called for graduated students of Cloud's Academy of Warrior Training to come to Bone Village and begin a militia. The pay offered was more than generous. Bone Village was also offering a permanent home to them. And Sephiroth could not possibly deliver the message. Jyleth frowned again, thinking of their conversation from the night before. Sephiroth may have been right; time apart could be the best thing for them at this time. He needed space to explore the feelings he thought he couldn't have, and she needed some time to adjust being alive, truly alive once more.

I wish I had just given this letter to Sari back on the boat, Jyleth thought to herself. Having her deliver it would have been much easier. Then again, she wanted to see this Academy for herself. And trusting the important letter in the hands of a stranger…well, Jyleth wanted to make sure that it reached its location safely and in a timely fashion. A crunching of boots on dry soil alerted her to Sephiroth's return to camp. She shook her head, realizing she had spent nearly half an hour pondering over the letter.

"Are you going to practice?" Sephiroth asked, stooping to pick up his pack. He had strapped the Masamune at his waist now, having completed his practice katas.

Jyleth stood up slowly, squinting as the newly risen sun glared in her eyes. "No," she answered. She glanced at her own pack, and the heavy winter cloak that lay beside it. The damp morning promised a hot humid day, making her coat and northern climate clothing redundant. It was definitely time for a new wardrobe. Sephiroth hadn't changed his attire, but she suspected he would soon. Even an ex-SOLDIER could get uncomfortable from heat and humidity. She glanced down at the letter in her hand.

"I think you were right," she said softly, putting the issue of clothing aside.

"Right?" Sephiroth asked, sounding confused. "About what?"

"We need to separate." Jyleth looked up from the letter, meeting his eyes. Sephiroth stood very still, the pack forgotten in his hands.

"I have to deliver this letter," she continued, "and I can check on a few of those leads on my way to the Academy. If we split up, we can accomplish this-"

"Jyleth," Sephiroth interrupted, "you don't need to convince me. I agree." He pulled out the well-perused letter that contained all the leads on the artifacts. "The Golden Saucer is on your way. It is one of the more solid leads. I will meet you at…" He trailed off, re-scanning the contents of the letter. "The Shin-ra museum. It's located near Rocket City."

"How long?" Jyleth asked.

"Two weeks. If you see any of Avalanche there, I don't I need to tell you…"

"Keep my distance. Yes, I know."

"If they are there, I won't be. I'll try to leave you some sort of message at…the inn, if I have to leave." Jyleth nodded numbly.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for many long minutes, neither knowing what to say next. Finally, Sephiroth shouldered his pack and strode away quickly in the direction of Condor, disappearing in a matter of minutes. Jyleth sighed after he vanished from sight, wondering if she would ever really see him again. She worried a little that they might realize during the next two weeks, or however long their separation ended up being, that they did not truly need each other. Not that it matters now, she told herself. I'll deal with it with the time comes. Having quietly set aside her worries, she quickly erased any sign of their camp and headed back to Junon.

"They were here," Red repeated once they had all arranged themselves in one of the rooms.

"How do you know?" Cid asked.

"I was able to overhear them talking after you had walked away," Red explained. "They didn't know I could understand them, much less that I could repeat what they said." Vincent nodded, acknowledging Red's asset to their group.

"Well, whadya waiting for?" Barret demand, thumping his fist on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. The chair creaked warningly, but didn't come apart. "Tell us what they said!"

"Sephiroth was here," Red began after eyeing the rickety chair Barret was seated in for a moment, "no more than two weeks ago. He came into town with a red-haired woman, a warrior. I'm not real sure how it came about, but someone in the town seems to have asked their help in dealing with a sea monster that was sinking all boats that tried to move in and out of port. He defeated it, with the aide of the woman."

"What a minute here," Barret interrupted. "You mean to say Sephiroth saved the town?"

"He wasn't trying to help them," Cloud said. "He obviously wanted to leave the continent, and the monster stood in his way. It was nothing more than that."

"Boy's got a point," Cid agreed. Cloud shot him a dark look, obviously not annoyed at being called "boy."

"But what about the woman?" Tifa asked. "Why would anyone travel with Sephiroth, much less help him?"

"Well, Vince did mention that they was kinda close," Cid pointed out.

"This whole point of Sephiroth having a lover…" Red started to say.

"It's not right," Cloud finished. "Sephiroth's not meant to love anyone other than himself. He's not capable of loving like a normal person. There has to be something else"

"Perhaps he's just using her?" Tifa suggested.

Red shook his head, looking as confused as his animal face would allow. "We are missing something here. I just can't put my paw on it. If only Budgenhaden was still here. I'm sure he would know."

"We could go to the Valley," said Tifa, "maybe one of the elders there would have an idea."

"No," Cloud answered, shaking his head. "The trail is already cold. We don't have the time to consult elders on this. We just need to find him and kill him."

"What about the woman?" Tifa demanded, not willing to give in. "What if she's innocent? What are you going to do about her?"

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," Cloud said, "if she fights us, then it is safe to assume that she is with him. That's all the answer I need."

"That's not all the answer I need!" Tifa stood up, stomping her foot. "I won't just go around pointing fingers and accusing people of guilt when I don't know anything about them! I'm not going to be a Turk, just taking orders and killing indiscriminately. That's not who I am, and that's not what I'm going to let any of us become!" Tifa sniffed loudly as she finished her tirade, wiping away a tear. She met each of their eyes before taking her seat once more. Silence hung heavy in the room for many long minutes before Red finally dared to speak.

"There was more that I learned from overhearing the villagers speak," he said softly.

"Go on," said Cloud, not taking his eyes from Tifa. His wife now looked intently at her hands, trying to ignore the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

"The village has been having trouble with treasure hunters. Apparently, they've been raiding the Ancient's City for all sorts of artifacts." Cloud's head snapped away from Tifa the moment the Ancient's City was mentioned. He focused his attention sharply on the red beast, his eyes narrowing at the thought of the treasure hunters looting the city. "The attacks by the sea monster," Red continued, "seemed to have started when the first batch of artifacts left the continent. The villagers has asked Sephiroth and his companion to retrieve the artifacts, for they believe it will just be a short matter of time before another monster comes to terrorize them unless the artifacts are returned to the city."

"I'll go the Academy," Cloud said, his eyes clearly showing he was only thinking of the body he put to rest at the Ancient's City. "There are several graduates who are laying about without anything to do. They can come up here and take guard the City."

"What about going afta Sephiroth's trail?" Barret asked.

"It will have to wait," Cloud said, shaking his head disgustedly. "I don't want to let them get away, but we have to go the Ancient's City and make sure that there are no looters there now. Then we will have to make a stop by the Academy to send the graduates up here. As long as we have the Airship, we shouldn't lose too much time."

"Just one problem," Cid said, "I can't get the airship any closer to the Ancient's City than she is now. We'll have to walk there."

Cloud nodded, considering the information. "We'll just have to make the time up later," he said. He took a look at the group arrayed around him, noticing several bleary eyes blinking rapidly to fight off sleep. He yawned himself, smiling a little at his own reaction to their exhaustion. "We should all go to sleep now," he said, "we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Cloud stood and walked to Tifa, taking her hands in his gently. She sniffed loudly once, then looked at him with a faint smile. She had felt relief while listening to him after her outburst; he seemed to have regained his sensible leadership skills that he had demonstrated many times during their last hunt for Sephiroth. That he had kept himself calm during Red's speech had greatly relieved her; she assumed that the earlier hints of bloodlust madness he had been showing earlier had been suppressed by his rationale thought. Tifa sincerely hoped that her husband had the strength to maintain his rationale line of thought, for she did not know if there was any person on the planet who could contain him should he allow his emotions and bloodlust to completely take over. She rose to her feet and walked with him to their room in a calmer frame of mind.

It's going to be alright, she thought to herself. Everything is going to be alright.

Jyleth stopped at the edge of the desert, admiring the structure that rose from deep within the sandy dunes. She had never been the Golden Saucer, but the stories she had heard of it filled her with a childlike anticipation. She simply couldn't imagine an entire settlement, however transient-filled, completely devoted to entertainment. Why anyone would have time to play games… her work-oriented mind simply could not grasp the concept.

Well, she thought, I'll find out how they do soon enough. She skirted the edge of the desert, heading for the rail station in Corel. She reached Corel by the end of the day, settling in the inn for a modest fee in gil. The next morning, she boarded the rail for the Golden Saucer. After the short, scenic ride, she found herself at the Golden Saucer. The wave of tourists that had boarded the rail car with her that morning swept toward the entrance, flowing around her with much jostling and shoving as she stood on the ramp leading from the car, trying to get her bearings. She watched the gay crowd bustle for tickets, the run through the entrance in mild awe. How the people had time to spend all day playing.. again, the concept was simply too foreign for her to understand.

"Would you like a day pass or a season pass?" Jyleth started at the teller's question, not realizing she had moved to the ticket counter.

"What is the difference?" Jyleth considered the amount of gil she had, guessing it was more than enough to pay for either.

"A day pass is 500 gil, and it will only get you in once. A season pass is 5,000 gil, but it will get you in as long as you have it."

Jyleth was a bit shocked at the extravagant amount for either pass, but since she had more than 100,000 gil on her, and acquiring more was not a difficulty, she purchased the season pass. In any case, she mused, I don't know how many times I'll have to come back here.

The interior of the Golden Saucer was as blinding shocking with brilliant colors as the exterior. Jyleth stood for many long moments in the front foyer, examining the entrances to different attractions as she struggled with adjusting the sights and sounds. She tried not to jump every time a jubilant brushed by her, racing to reach an entrance with a plethora of equally ecstatic youngsters. The former guide was simply not used to being around so many people. After taking one more deep breath to calm herself, Jyleth finally approached the entrance for the Battle Arena, feeling she should start with something she could relate to, if only in a small sense.

"Welcome!" A booming voice called out the moment she stepped into the Battle Arena. Jyleth jumped at the voice, turning quickly to face the speaker, a heavily-muscled man with bleached blonde hair. He had a wide smile, displaying a grand set of incredibly white teeth. Jyleth couldn't help but notice the deep tan his skin radiated, as the oil he had applied liberally to it made it shine like gold.

"My name is Dio," he explained, approaching her with his right hand outstretched. She took a step back, involuntarily place a hand on the hilt of a dagger on her belt. He stopped immediately, dropping his hand to his side. "I see you must be new here," he said, eyeing the placement of her hand. Jyleth moved her hand from the hilt under his scrutiny, crossing her arms to keep from fidgeting. "You see," he continued, "I run the place."

Jyleth scowled momentarily, the realized she was quite fortunate to have met him. Of all the people who would know about the Ancient artifacts, surely he would what had arrived at the Golden Saucer. "I am lucky I ran into you," she said, offering him a quick smile. "I'm looking for some artifacts that might have been purchased in the Northern continent and brought here."

"Ah!" Dio exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He then paused for a moment, giving her a more thorough look-over. "You didn't come to buy them, did you?"

"Not exactly. They were improperly removed from their location and need to be returned."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, I paid money for them now, and I own them, and I happen to like them quite a great deal, so you see, I can't let them go."

"What?" Jyleth didn't understand. She thought surely the man would want to return the items back when he realized they weren't actually ever in a position to be sold. "If it's gil you want to be recompensed for, I assure you that…" She trailed off at that wave of his hand.

"No, you see, it's not the gil, it's the artifacts themselves. To you, or any other, they might just have a value in gil, but, to me, they are simply priceless. I collect such things, and I hold them very dear." He shrugged, putting his palms up. "It's a personal matter to me, I'm sorry."

Jyleth bit her lip, not knowing how to continue. She had thought that finding the artifacts would be the difficulty, not getting them from their improper locations.

"You know, perhaps we could make a deal," he said, stepping a bit closer to her, "you look like a warrior, you know, and there's only one thing I treasure more than items of history." He took a step closer to her, his face still holding the same smile, but something had changed. Jyleth repressed a shudder at the hungry glint that showed in his eyes. "A good fight," he paused, drawing a deep breath and letting it out slowly, as if to calm himself, "ah, a good fight is a priceless treasure. Now, if you were to fight in my Battle Arena, and win all the challenges, why, I think I could part with the artifacts."

"You wish for me to fight?" Jyleth asked, not taking a step back even though she was nearly nauseated by the scent of perfume that pervaded the air around him.

"Well, yes."

"How many fights?"

"Well, let's see, a typical challenge consists of a series of nine battles, each progressing in difficulty. The battles are fought in successive order; there is no resting. I have three artifacts - I will give you one for each challenge you win."

"Twenty-seven fights?"

"Yes. My only condition is that you only deal with one challenge a day, so that more people might get a chance to witness the spectacle." She scowled at him again, wondering how much gil he was trying to make off her. "It's only fair," he said, sensing her disapproval, "a good fight is priceless, and it's not very often that good fighters come here to the arena. In fact, I think I've not seen a good fight since those Avalanche characters came through here several years back. Surely you will indulge me and the people by only taking one challenge a day."

"I will fight the challenges, one a day, as you ask," Jyleth agreed, finally taking the much needed step back into un-perfumed air. "But you must give an artifact at the end of each challenge I win."

"Of course, of course! Now, let's allow this day to go by in peace; after all, you haven't got a chance to enjoy all the pleasure of the Golden Saucer! Go, now, and enjoy. I will schedule the first challenge to commence at noon tomorrow. Are we agreed?" Jyleth nodded, stepping back once more when he extended his right hand once more. "Come now, I just want to shake on our deal. It's a physical way of showing understanding, you know?" Jyleth stayed where she was, still looking dubiously at his hand. "If anything, just do it amuse an old man who is willing to part with items that he could treasure for a lifetime for a few simple fights." Jyleth sighed, finally stepping forward and placing her hand in his. She grimaced slightly at his sweaty palm incasing her hand, but managed not to pull out of his grasp as he firmly shook her hand.

"Good!" He said, finally releasing her hand. "Enjoy the delights of Golden Saucer! I shall see you tomorrow at noon. And, by the way, your stay at the Ghost Hotel while you are here in on me."

Jyleth nodded her thanks, moving away from him quickly. She opted not to see the sights of the Saucer as he had suggested, but instead found her way to the Ghost Hotel and closeted herself in the room, wondering about Sephiroth and how he was managing on his part of the search… and he was managing without her. Every moment she was awake, she felt she was missing something, something vitally important. It was silly, really, to think that she could not imagine how she had managed before without his constant presence, yet, she couldn't. It didn't seem possible. And yet, here I am. Alone without him and still surviving. She sighed, looking out the window at the fireworks lighting the sky. I wish he was here…