Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to anything within the Final Fantasy VII Compilation.

A/N: Here is the beginning of the sequel to Life Finds a Way. This first chapter really outlines how much we still have to get through before the globe can even start on peace. It's going to be an interesting ride, so I hope you all enjoy! Thank you!

Chapter 1

It had been a month since Jenova's destruction and still life had not managed to settle into any kind of a pattern for the Soldiers. That didn't mean everything was bad, but it was hectic. Once they all got back from Banora, they had to deal with a dozen small problems that had cropped up since they were all gone at once. None of it was major, thankfully, but it did keep them all busy. Veld had been able to keep anything major from developing.

Once they returned Sephiroth insisted that Clarissa take at least a week to fully recover. She had gone through several major trials back to back and had not managed to shake off her fatigue with the way things happened. For the first time she didn't object. She took the time to spend as much time as she could in the Sector 5 slums before she got so busy she wouldn't be able to go often. Either Zack or Cloud would usually accompany her. She was happy to find that the shy blonde was getting along well with Zack too, as she knew it wouldn't be long until he would be joining their ranks and he was doing well with the military training.

Aerith had been thankful to see her when she first went to visit, but she wasn't as worried as she had been the first time the planet called out to her. Clarissa was not surprised to find that the interference at the reactor had been Holy after all. She was only upset that Aerith had been worried. She was happy to find out that the ordeal had been a catalyst for Aerith to open up further to Zack. Every time she saw the two of them making googly eyes at each other she had to repress a squeal of joy. It was nice to see something so innocently happy after everything they had to deal with recently. Not that it was bad, but it had been hard. She was just thankful that Jenova was mostly gone for good. She tried not to let the thought that there was still more to tackle worry her too much, at least not while she was supposed to be resting.

She ended up needing to take a week and a half to fully recover, mostly at Genesis' insistence, but she still didn't complain. Once she was back officially, Sephiroth finally asked that she let them know what her choice was. She had thought long and hard about it as it had not been an easy decision. All three of the Firsts were in Sephiroth's office when he called her in to give him her answer. She looked at all of them with a crooked smile. She couldn't believe they had all come so far together, but she wouldn't have changed it. She turned back to Sephiroth with a growing smile. "It wasn't an easy decision, and my answer may not be what you are looking for, but I have decided to take the position of First."

Angeal and Sephiroth both gave her a look of surprise. She held up a hand to let them know she wasn't finished. "I know the three of you can handle pretty much anything, but I wouldn't feel right leaving everything on your shoulders. I would like to request permission to be a consultant on whatever team gets built for the alternate energy though. I can assist with that whenever I am here at headquarters."

Once she finished speaking Sephiroth chuckled. "I shouldn't be surprised. You haven't yet not tried to handle everything." He paused and gave her a smile. "Congratulations, Soldier First Clarissa Williamson." He stood and shook her hand before Angeal moved to do the same. Genesis was the only one that didn't look happy about her decision, but he still gave her hand a squeeze before Sephiroth spoke up again. "As for the rest of your request, I think that would be a good idea, but expect to be spending more time at headquarters. Unless it is important, I will not be sending you on any away missions. Most of us will be staying here for now anyway, so make the most of it while you can."

She gave him a nod before she stood up. Sephiroth stopped her before she turned to leave. "Make sure you go down to the requisition office. I had several uniforms made for you in case you decided to take the promotion."

She shook her head at him with a smile. "And here I thought you were surprised at my decision."

"It never hurts to be prepared." He smiled at her retreating form but called out before she walked out. "I almost forgot; there will be a meeting at 13:00. Rufus has returned and has asked that all the Firsts be in attendance as well as the directors. Make sure you get your uniforms before then as you will be expected to attend as well."

She wasn't sure if there was more he wasn't saying, but she gave him a nod before she walked out with Genesis by her side. Now that they were alone she looked over to see him frowning. They had talked about her decision several times and she had not hidden the fact that she was leaning toward staying in Soldier, despite his protests. No matter how much he let her know he didn't like the idea, he had never tried to pressure her toward his way of thinking. She was grateful that he had left the choice up to her and was only showing his irritation that she didn't take his advice, instead of throwing a fit. She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze.

He looked over and his gaze softened. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess. I suppose congratulations are in order. As much as I don't like the idea of you continuing to throw yourself at danger, I can fully admit that you earned it." He paused and pulled her into a light hug before he kissed her forehead and let her go. "I will not ask that you be less reckless as I have seen how effective that is. However, I will ask that you try to remember you don't have to face everything alone. I recall that is advice that I shouldn't need to give you."

She laughed lightly at his admonition. She knew it was only because he was worried about what they still had to face. "I can't say what the future holds, but I hope it never comes to that kind of decision again." His gaze sank back into a slight frown at her words, but he didn't say anything else.

When they reached the requisition office Genesis headed on while she walked in. The man behind the desk smiled at her when she entered. As she thought back to the first time she had seen him, it was a drastic contrast. She supposed a year and a war was enough to make that big of a difference. She didn't even have to ask for her packet before he handed her a pile with several uniforms. "The General already called and gave me the news. Congratulations!"

She smiled and thanked him. It was a little surreal how completely she had finally assimilated. She still thought about the last sight of her daughter often, but she realized that she was already on her way to finding happiness despite the pain she was sure would never go away. She gave him a wave and a smile as she walked out and back to her apartment to change.

It wasn't quite time for the meeting to start, but Clarissa headed up early. She was a little nervous now that she had time to think about Rufus being here. She had not had to interact with him since she arrived, but she could imagine he wasn't too happy with the new direction the company was headed. She only hoped he could be convinced. At least he was younger than the first time he took over and more likely to listen to the advice of the Turks, or she hoped so at least.

When she walked in she found Reeve sitting at the head of the table speaking with Veld. She almost missed Vincent leaning next to the wall near the door too. They all stood at her entrance. Veld raised a brow at her new uniform before speaking. "I had hoped that you would decide to leave Soldier. I feel that you would better fit elsewhere, but I suppose I will extend my congratulations."

She shook her head at his quip. This was not the first time the Turk Director had asked that she transfer. "It doesn't mean that we can't still work together, but I felt it would be best. For now, my focus will still be on alternate energy, while I'm at headquarters anyway."

Reeve held out his hand once she moved to their side. "Well, I am looking forward to seeing what we can make happen." She had the opportunity to meet Reeve when they had first returned. He had searched her out as soon as he had found out they were back. The CEO was still a little overwhelmed by the situation and was still unsure why he had ended up in the position he held, but it didn't take them long to form a friendship. Despite how busy he was, he tried to occasionally find time to talk to her about his passion for electronics. She was in awe as well. She had never had the chance to see something as advanced as the Cait Sith dolls before they spoke. He was still in the design process but had been happy to share once he got passed the idea that she already knew about it.

Not everyone had been told about where she was from, but most of the people at the director level knew. The rest of the team felt it was prudent to try and explain since she had been unknown before the last year. She was sometimes still overwhelmed when she thought about everything that had been accomplished in that year. Most days she tried not to think about it, instead focusing on taking one day at a time. She had plenty to keep her busy, so it wasn't usually a problem.

Vincent had moved to congratulate her as well, but they were interrupted when Rufus walked into the room followed by Tseng. His eyes narrowed when he saw her standing there, but they widened again when he caught sight of her uniform. He didn't hesitate to walk up and introduce himself. "With that uniform I will assume you are our newest First, Ms. Williamson."

He held out his hand and she took it tentatively. "Soldier Se- First Class Clarissa Williamson. Nice to meet you sir."

His eyes had roved over her while she introduce herself. She bristled at his evaluating gaze but didn't say anything. He took another moment before letting her hand go. His eyes narrowed again before he spoke. "I understand that our current state is due to your efforts. Did you think how they might have been taken before you interfered?"

She saw Veld move out of the corner of her eyes, but she stiffened her shoulders and spoke before anyone else could say anything. "That is only partially true. It was due to my efforts that people were able to get a better idea of what was really going on; however, the rest was a group effort to ensure that the world becomes a better place as well as ensuring the continuing growth of Shinra as a company. The way it has been going was unsustainable."

He didn't say anything right away but when he did his voice showed no sign of irritation. "And I am supposed to believe that you only acted to do what was best for the company?"

She didn't let his words faze her. She shook her head before responding. "That would be a stretch so there is no point in me denying I had motives beyond that. I will state that I did not disregard the health of the company though. Shinra Electric Power Company is the acting equivalent of the world government as well as being the largest employer in the world. Had the company failed it could have thrown the world into chaos as well as leaving many people destitute. If my goal is to save the world, destroying this company would be counterproductive."

His eyes had widened further as she spoke. He almost wore a smile when he answered. "I suppose I can see why you were able to make changes. You are certainly persuasive."

Any response she might have had was interrupted by Genesis' sharp voice. "While I will agree that Soldier Williamson has a silver tongue, I did not think that was the reason this meeting was requested. I believe we are all here now."

Clarissa turned and saw that all three of the Firsts had entered. Palmer had also shown up at some point and was trying to make himself invisible in one corner of the room. Reeve was the one to speak up though. "We are almost all here, but we are still waiting on the Director of the Science Department."

At his words a female voice spoke up from behind Sephiroth. "I'm here as well." Sephiroth stepped aside to show Shalua. Clarissa couldn't contain her grin at the sight of the other woman. She didn't hesitate to head over. She stopped short of hugging the woman, but she did grasp her hand and grin at her before speaking. "Congratulations! I'm so glad you decided to take the position!"

The woman shook her head at Clarissa's enthusiasm. "Thank you, but I understand congratulations are in order for you as well. I'm glad to hear we will be working together also."

Reeve interrupted again. "I hate to break this up, but if we are all here, why don't we get started."

Clarissa turned to him with a nod and moved to take a seat next to Genesis with the other Firsts. Rufus looked between her and the fiery red-head and raised a brow. Clarissa ignored it. If he didn't know yet that they were a couple, now was not the time to bring it up. She doubted that was the case anyway. She didn't know if it was part of some game for him, but it wasn't worth worrying about currently.

Once everyone was seated Reeve stood. "I know you were all told that Rufus requested this meeting, and that is the case, but we have other things to discuss as well. For now, President Rufus has asked to observe and get to know the few of you that he has not had a chance to work with yet." He paused, and several people nodded.

Since his statement didn't really require any verbal acknowledgement he moved on. "We are all aware that we are currently working on reconstructing the company from the inside out, but that is our easiest issue to tackle. I received an update today that our team that was working on excavating the entrance to Deepground has run into further issues. From what they can tell the whole tunnel has been collapsed. This is not just a further delay, we also have to pause in further excavation to start reinforcing the tunnel as they dig it out. Since the entrance was in the lobby of the building then further excavation without proper measures would likely cause damage to the building as well."

"We have been looking through the data left by Hojo and Hollander for any further information on possible entrances, but the Turks have found that there many missing pieces of information. Given that we know Hojo was working on cleaning up Hollander's mess before he… left as well, it would seem as if Hollander took much of it with him. Given that we know Hollander has allied with Avalanche we must make sure we are reinforced against any attacks. We also need to be prepared for stronger Ravens, or whatever else they might throw at us."

"As much as that is, we have also found that there are several places across the globe where Hojo had secret laboratories. We have not sent anyone out to them yet, but we cannot wait long until we start to investigate them. We cannot take the chance that Avalanche might find them. There is no telling what research was done there so that will need to be a high priority."

He paused and took a sip from a small glass of water next to him. He looked slightly nervous as he gazed around at all the frowns facing him, but he managed to find his voice again. "In addition to all of these things that we are facing internally, we also need to address how we plan to handle the alliance with Wutai. As it was formed under duress, it will be a delicate matter to address, but we need to decide if it should be continued as is. I am sure it will only be a matter of time before they learn of the upheavals we are facing, and I believe it would be best to reach out first."

This time he paused long enough to listen to alternatives. Rufus looked like he was going to stand but Clarissa noticed Tseng reach out a hand to keep him from saying anything. The young president frowned but didn't stand after he saw Veld look his way also. Most of the gathered people didn't notice as Sephiroth stood and caught everyone's attention. "It has only been a matter of a few months since we signed the treaty with Emperor Godo. If we go back now, it is highly likely that he will bar any Shinra activity from Wutai at all. We also know that Wutai is not only the base of operations for Avalanche, but from what I have seen in the initial reports, there are also at least two of Hojo's hidden bases over there. No matter what, we need to at least secure access to those locations and request that they not allow sanctuary for Avalanche. We have already seen that they have no regard for human life." He paused and looked over at Genesis and Clarissa before speaking again. "I am sure they would not like to see any of us within their borders again, so I would not recommend that be handled by Soldier, however, we do need to make sure to request permission for us to handle the investigation into the missing labs. Once they are cleared we will never need to access the continent again if they so wish. I would understand if that were the case."

Reeve shook his head as Sephiroth took his seat again. "We have a team of negotiators that is ready to go as soon as we give the go ahead. Most of what you have asked is already on the list to speak about. The problem is that we cannot send them until we decide what we can offer them in exchange for access to the continent in the first place. We may have conquered them, but if we are to find a way to global peace, we cannot let things stand as they are. If we were to go there now, it would be likely that they would close the borders, and understandably so."

At that point Clarissa stood. "There are a couple of things that we need to remember, that we might bring up as well. As painful as the last eight years were, not everyone in Wutai, or from Shinra, brought only hate. As we have seen in our recent travels there are many that used to work for Shinra that now live in Wutai. If they were to impose complete sanctions it would only serve to harm people that are now part of their country. The Emperor struck me as a reasonable man, that still held his honor even in defeat. It is my opinion if we approach him with humility and reason we should be allowed at least the opportunity to make things right as well as to investigate the things our ex-employees have hidden away out there. I am sure if he understood why were investigating he would be more than happy to allow us to clean up what is essentially our own mess."

Reeve had been writing several things down while she had been speaking. Once she was done he looked back to her with a slight frown. "I agree that we need to be open, but, as much as I hate to say it, we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If they close their borders we cannot leave without at least finding the missing labs."

Clarissa shook her head. "We have to be honest with them. If we are not completely clear this could start another war and that is the one thing we really need to avoid. Shinra still symbolizes brute force and power across the globe. If we stand any chance of changing that any time soon, we cannot continue to force our way where we want to go."

Reeve's frown only deepened. "I will agree; however, this is all a moot point until we approach them. We will work on a suggested revised treaty and address it as a group before we send anyone over. For now, we need to focus on the things we can address." He turned to Sephiroth at that. "We already have the team working on finding an alternate way into Deepground if the entrance in the lobby cannot be made usable. Until that is completed I would ask that you assign groups to investigate the labs we have identified outside of Wutai."

Sephiroth stood again with a nod. "I will make sure we leave a team onsite in the chance that we do need to tackle Deepground soon, but I will have the teams ready to go by tomorrow. Please send me the list of all known sites."

Reeve nodded before he turned to the rest of the group. "That is all we have for today. I will set another meeting as soon as we have further details."

Rufus was the first to stand and leave with Tseng following close behind again. Clarissa watched him leave with a slight frown. Genesis' gaze matched hers as he turned back to her. "It seems as if we will not be allowed as much time as I had hoped."

She nodded her head as she looked passed him to Sephiroth. "Do you know how many labs there are outside of Wutai?"

Sephiroth nodded to her absently. "We have identified five across the globe with another two inside the borders of Wutai. I would like to have one of us go for each of those labs, but we cannot leave headquarters undefended either. I will let you know your assignments after I confirm the locations." She gave him a nod as they all filed out of the conference room. She barely noticed that there were only scowls between them as they headed back to the Soldier floor.