The truck carrying the three travelers emerged from the mountain trail around an hour and a half later. It was around one, and they had parked on the trail to eat the lunch they had packed. The view was breathtaking. While these were not the highest mountains around, and they were nowhere near the top, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret admired the landscape for miles around. The mountain was not too cold, and they had eaten outside the truck since there were no monsters in the immediate area. They had encountered a few, most of which had been ground to paste under Barret's wheels. They left, with Cloud at the wheel, a short while later.
Pleasantly conversing as they drove across the plains in the direction of Fort Condor, they had all but forgotten their strange Zolom encounter. The swampy stench had worn off somewhat, and with the windows down, it was barely noticeable. Cloud figured he would worry about unpleasant things later, since he was currently enjoying the company of his friends. He didn't drive as fast as Barret usually did, so with few things to worry about on the path ahead, he relaxed.
Tifa and Barret were talking about a TV special on AVALANCHE that had recently aired. To honor the "heros" - Cloud really didn't like being called, it just wasn't him - they had told the life stories of everyone in the team. Tifa and Barret were pointing out a few inaccuracies here and there, and commenting over a few unflattering pictures that had been taken of them in battle. Reporters and bystanders with cameras had a way of getting on people's nerves. Lend a hand, pal, eh?
"There was this one, man, I was fightin' wit this big dragon thing, out by Gogonga I think. His guy took this picture, and I was fallin' on my ass!" Barret said, agitatedly.
"I remember that one! You had this look on your face like a kid who just dropped his ice cream in the sand!" Cloud laughed, recalling the picture Barret was describing.
"Can't believe those smart-asses put that on TV."
"You sure scared the guy who took the picture though!" Tifa said, "He probably thought you were going to shoot him, the way you came at him!"
"I hate that. I hate when people go snapping away with the cameras. I mean, if you're not going to help, the least you could do is not distract us." Cloud said, waving his hand in the air.
"Yeah. Or at least, take better pictures." Barret said, snorting.
"You're one to talk." Tifa said turning around, "At least people weren't trying to get a shot of what was up your skirt all the time!"
Cloud laughed hard. "Boy, that was a classic! When he took that picture…you chased that kid, man, he must've been 17, you chased him about three blocks before you punched him! Busted his camera on the floor and everything!"
"Keep laughing, Strife. I'm sure if someone had taken pictures of you when you were dressed up for Don Corneo, you would've done something a lot worse!"
Cloud laughed at the memory. Aeris had managed to get him dressed in drag to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion and save Tifa. The memory of Aeris brought a pain to his heart, but he tried to push it away. "Hey, I've got quite the reputation in Sector 6 now, so I think it makes up for it! Besides, I wouldn't have turned that red!"
Tifa smacked on the arm Cloud as he laughed at her, but despite Cloud's humor, thinking about Aeris again brought his dream to mind. He hid his sudden drop in spirits as best he could. Why couldn't he push it out of his head? It was only one dream…
But so real…
Cloud rubbed his head, trying to push it out of his mind. Tifa and Barret continued talking, and he turned his eyes to the path ahead of them. It was around two now, and they should reach Junon soon enough. They would have some time to kill before they were supposed to be at the restaurant, and Cloud was planning on visiting Priscilla, the little girl he had rescued when he had first been there. He smiled to himself. She was such a cute kid. She was a little older than Marlene, and said that she would marry him one day.
Cute…
Junon was currently under major construction, as it had been since Meteor. The sun had been blocked from the town below by the city above, and Reeve had put a stop to that. He had removed the Mako cannon and reactor and used the parts to rebuild some of the things that had been damaged when WEAPON attacked. He then set about tearing down and rebuilding Junon so that both parts of it could thrive. The waters were cleaning up somewhat, and for the first time in a long time, "Lower Junon", as it was dubbed, saw sunlight. But the work would not be done for years to come.
Suddenly, Barret pointed out the window to their right. "Look!" he exclaimed.
There, not to far off, stood Fort Condor. It was a marvelous spectacle. It had been restored, and the reactor on top of it was long gone. The condor was as well, but it had been replaced with a statue of smaller proportions. It was kind of like a crown on the head of a king; Fort Condor didn't look like Fort Condor without it.
The three watched as Fort Condor passed in the distance, marking the midpoint of their trip to Junon. Not too far from here was an immense crater cause by a WEAPON attack, and just beyond that was Junon. A road had been constructed to better navigate around the scar in the land, and Cloud would have to keep his eyes peeled for it soon enough.
The trip continued uneventfully toward Junon for the next hour.
At about four o'clock, the three travelers pulled into Lower Junon. Barret had arranged to leave his truck there until their ferry arrived at the harbor later that night. Cloud looked around for Joseph, a friend of theirs from the last time they had been here. Upon seeing him, Cloud honked the horn. Joseph pointed to a small clearing just big enough to fit the truck.
After they had parked and gotten out, they greeted Joseph. "Long time no see." he said, shaking Cloud's hand.
"Yeah. How've things been?"
"Pretty good. Reeve's cleanin' this place up nice for us. The fish are back in the water, and Priscilla goes swimming with her dolphin every day! Aside from construction noise, Lower Junon is doing well!"
The four friends chatted for the next few minutes, until Cloud caught sight of a young girl in a blue dress running towards them. Cloud immediately recognized Priscilla, who came leaping into his arms. "How have you been, kiddo?"
"Great! Come see Mr. Dolphin! He misses you!!" Priscilla shouted in excitement as Cloud put her down.
"Hey, don't you say hello to my friends?"
"Sorry! Hi Tifa, hi Barret!" Priscilla said, waving to them. Then she grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged him off towards the water. Barret and Tifa bid goodbye to Joseph, and followed Cloud and his excited little friend.
"How old are you now, anyway? Last I checked, you were about five!" Cloud asked as Priscilla dragged him.
"I'm seven! I'm gonna be in second grade next year!!" Priscilla declared proudly. "I'm gonna be as old as Yuffie soon!"
"Wow! You're getting up there, kid! You'll be as old as Barret soon!"
Priscilla frowned. "Aw, I don't wanna be that old!"
Cloud laughed hard as he heard an agitated "Hey!!" from behind. Priscilla screamed and thrashed madly as Barret scooped her up and tickled her. "Who you callin' old, huh?"
"Ahh! Cloud, Tifa, help me!"
Tifa was too busy laughing to do anything, but Cloud reached over and removed Priscilla from Barret's grasp. He put her back on the ground near the edge of the water, and she pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew it.
They all watched as Mr. Dolphin broke the surface and flew no less than forty feet in the air, returning to the water with a splash. "Wow. He's amazing!" Tifa commented.
"Hey Cloud, Mr. Dolphin wants you to swim with him!"
"What?" Cloud turned to see Priscilla running at him. "Hey don't you even…oh no!!!"
Laughter rang out as Cloud hit the water with a splash.
Author's Note:
I know, it's a little short, but the next chapter is going to be a good one! It's almost ready!
Thanks,
