Such Is Life
Chapter I: Introduction
It had been a year since the Deepground incident, and the world was a happier place. For a while, it seemed as though Gaia had an endless stream of trouble to deal with, as though the Goddess herself actively wanted humans extinct. But after the Wutai war, after the Jenova and Meteor crisis's were resolved by Avalanche, after the economical repercussions of the implosion of Shinra, after Cloud defeated Kadaj and his gang, after Geostigma was finally cured, and after the Deepground incident had been sorted out, Gaia had become a much safer, quieter place to live. The WRO was able to finally concentrate on rebuilding the world instead of defending it. Citizens of Edge could roam about the city without an oppressive fear hanging literally above their heads. A combination of hundreds of companies, ranging from small delivery services to worldwide conglomerates, starting up and quickly thriving, and the ongoing expansion of Edge, had created, for the first time in years, enough jobs for everyone in the major cities such as Edge and Junon. People had time to enjoy themselves, leading to the Gold Saucer doing huge business, as well as several other forms of entertainment becoming popular, such as cable television, video games, and a resurgence of classic theatre, such as Loveless. Monsters still roamed the wastes outside Edge and in the vast wildernesses between cities, but their numbers had been decreasing slowly since the Mako reactors had been deactivated.
Avalanche had, in a sense, disbanded in light of this newfound peace. They still got together in Tifa's Seventh Heaven from time to time, and reminisced about their journey together to save their world, as well as looked forward to the new opportunities the world offered them. Barrett had found a new source of fuel for the world to utilise in the place of Mako; oil. He knew it would very slowly kill the Planet, but he, Cid and Reeve had been working towards making it environmentally friendly, which much success. This WRO approved monopoly on providing for Gaia's energy needs had, of course, meant that Barrett had become quite wealthy. He used his money to help the WRO, and it also meant that, after a hard life that had began taking its toll on his health, he could finally afford to take care of Marlene, many years after he had promised himself that he would be a father to her while fighting for Gaia's cause. He had never been seen so happy by any of the other Avalanche members, and he had even given up swearing.
Cid, in addition to his energy research work with Barrett and Reeve, had used his engineering skills to design new planes and airships for the WRO's use, and had also become quite well off financially, using his money and spare time to rebuild the Tiny Bronco, and four extra (dubbed by Tifa the 'Teeny', 'Little', 'Mini' and 'Micro' Broncos), just for kicks. He had also settled down with Shera, finally admitting (to both himself and to others) that he cared for her. Unlike Barrett, however, he hadn't stopped swearing, and his language in response to Tifa's fuss over him on the day of his wedding to Shera would have burnt the ears of anybody within fifty feet of him.
Tifa herself married Cloud, two months to the day after Deepground were shut down for good. Avalanche had gathered together in Costa del Sol at Cloud's request, not knowing why they were standing on the beach in formal clothes. The penny dropped fairly quickly when Cloud asked Barret to be his best man. It was another sign of the growing change in Cloud's personality, that he finally realised his love for Tifa, showing he had gotten over Aerith's death and wanted to live life to its fullest. After their honeymoon, travelling for a month across the Planet to scenes from their journey, they returned to Edge. Cloud's delivery service had thrived, and he could afford to hire people, allowing him to take three days a week off, sometimes more. Seventh Heaven experienced a similar boom in popularity, with more and more people wishing to enjoy themselves, and Cloud sometimes spent his days off helping Tifa, serving drinks and removing unruly customers from the premises. Both of them, along with Denzel and Marlene, were finally the family everyone had hoped they would be, and although Cloud still occasionally left without warning, he would always leave a note, always answered the phone, and always came back.
Nanaki had returned to Cosmo Canyon to become the elder there. His life had changed the least out of the former members of Avalanche, and he was happy to life in peace with nature, although he always took time to visit the others. He had begun searching Gaia for a sign that there were other (and possibly female) members of his species elsewhere in the world, and had not yet had any success, but he knew he had many years to look.
Vincent Valentine, to the surprise of many, had settled down in the heart of Edge. He had become, as Tifa jokingly put it, 'almost sociable', occasionally appearing at Seventh Heaven to have a quiet chat with Cloud, and even removing his brass gauntlet and cape in public. He was surprisingly good with Denzel and Marlene, and was Tifa's first choice if she ever needed a babysitter. On the day of Cid's wedding, he was asked by the gruff pilot to be his best man, and surprised everyone, including Cid, by wearing a full suit and tie, completely shedding the crimson, 'vampiric' attire he had worn since Hojo's experiments on him, for the first time since his ordeal many years ago. He often worked with Reeve in the WRO, and whenever some small gang began to disrupt the newfound peace, he was the one sent to sort them out. He had accepted that he was not at fault for his 'sins', and began to come to grips with his immortality. He was still known to do some things that were considered odd, such as perching himself on top of the tallest buildings in Edge from time to time, leading Cid to joke that he was 'considering testing how damn immortal he really was'. Despite Cid's joking, however, Vincent never considered jumping, or hiding himself away from the world again, and was possibly the happiest of all of Avalanche, content to just exist in the prospering peace.
Reeve was by far the busiest of the former members of Avalanche, running the largest organisation in the world (though still not as big as Shinra in its glory days before Meteor), dedicating himself completely to maintaining the peace and safety of Gaia. However, of all the members of Avalanche, he stopped by for a drink in Seventh Heaven the least. It was his duty to keep the world safe, to help Cid and Barret meet the demand for jobs and energy left after the implosion of Shinra, and to not let Gaia down after the failings of the past. ''He's stretching himself too thin'', as Tifa would put it to Cloud as soon as Reeve walked out the front door after one of his rare visits to the bar. The stress would get to him sometimes, manifesting itself in insomnia or a loss of appetite whenever it was most inopportune. The protection of the Planet was a duty that he tried to shoulder without aid from others, a constant worry that had a grasp on him and would not let go. But he coped. Such was his life.
Such were the lives of all the members of Avalanche, living out life to its fullest in the peace they had earned.
Until Tseng sent them word that Yuffie had been found murdered in Wutai.
Well, the first thing I've done in months. I will be holding myself to a schedule with this, a minimum of one update every three weeks. Read, review, and probably regret. Cheers folks!
Willington, 16th June 2011