The morning sunlight had just started shining through the bedroom window when Cloud awoke in a cold sweat. The bright light only aggravated his headache, so he opened his eyes slowly to help them adjust. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted but the ponding migraine lingered as he slowly sat up in bed. He looked around the room and noticed that it was a little past eight on the clock. Cloud then looked over next to him to see Tifa sleeping with her back to him. Sleeping in was unusual for her; normally she was the first person up and would have breakfast ready before anyone else was out of bed.

Cloud wondered if he kept Tifa up all night. For the past few weeks he had been having restless, and often sleepless, nights. When he did sleep, he would often wake up suddenly in a cold sweat. Lately many of his dreams were just old memories of his time as a grunt soldier working for Shinra and fighting Sephiroth. The only memories he was unsure of were the ones involving Zack. Many of the dreams involving his old friend were unfamiliar to him but he assumed they were just supressed memories from a period in his life he had forgotten.

Suddenly, the pain in his head started to intensify. These headaches were a common occurrence lately and varied in severity but never lasted too long. The last time he had headaches like these was when he was hunting Sephiroth but those were always followed by voices in his head or flashbacks. He hoped this was not a sign he was going to have a mental breakdown again.

Cloud closed his eyes and laid back down until the pain subsided. He looked over at Tifa who was still sleeping next to him. Cloud rarely got the opportunity to see Tifa sleeping so peacefully like this. She was usually up before him in the mornings and when he would suddenly wake in the middle of the night she would already be up and ready to comfort him. Tifa was the shining beacon of light in his dark soul and the dark memories that hunted him. He had been in love with her since they were children and would never want to do anything to hurt her. Although they have had feelings for one another for a long time, they didn't act them until the night under the Highwind before they went to fight Sephiroth. It was one of the happiest moments of his life and they have been together since. That night, despite being surrounded by death and uncertainty, nothing mattered to him except being with the woman he had loved. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her for as long as she wanted him by her side. The only exception was when he was infected with geo stigma and he distanced himself from Tifa and his family. During that time, he was so consumed with darkness he didn't stop to think about what he was doing to everyone around him, especially Tifa. He regretted this and promised himself to never hurt her like that again.

Realizing his headache was gone, Cloud slowly got out of bed—careful not to wake Tifa—and went downstairs. As he walked into the empty kitchen not a sound could be heard meaning everyone else was still sleeping.

Cloud went over to the fridge retrieving the eggs. It was usually Tifa who did the cooking in the mornings, but Cloud was no stranger to the kitchen. He cracked some eggs into a bowl and started to beat them.

Cloud took a moment to savour the peace and quiet. They had a full house visiting and Cloud knew it would not be long before everyone was up. He didn't mind all the people though; they were all family to him. After meteor and his geo stigma infection, he spent so much time trying to avoid them he felt he had to make up for lost time.

As Cloud cooked, the smell of breakfast stirred some commotion upstairs followed by the sound of footsteps heading his way.

Marlene walked into the kitchen. "Good morning Cloud," she said as she walked over to the fridge, pulling out the juice and laying it on the table.

"Morning Marlene," Cloud replied as he put some cooked eggs and toast on a plate for her.

Marlene walked over to a drawer and took out the cutlery setting the table. After she finished the place setting, she sat down in front of her breakfast.

"Thanks Cloud," she said before she started eating.

A few minutes later Denzel walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and still looking half-asleep. "Morning," he said as he walked over to the table and flopped himself down in the chair.

Cloud dished him up a plate and laid it in front of him. Then, Cloud sat down at the table with his own plate of food and poured a glass of juice for himself and Denzel.

The three ate their breakfast in silence until Shelke walked into the room with a smile on her face.

"Good morning everyone," she greeted the three. She walked over to the table and poured herself some juice.

"Breakfast?" Cloud asked her as she sat at the table.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now," she replied. "Maybe in a little."

"Papa's coming home today, right?" Marlene asked Cloud, finally looking up from her plate.

Cloud nodded. "He should be," he informed the young girl.

"How long will he be visiting before you all leave?" Marlene asked.

Before Cloud could reply, he was distracted by a loud thump coming from the second floor followed by the sound of fast footsteps marching down the stairs.

"Mornin'!" Yuffie shouted as she walked into the kitchen. "Mmmm, that smells good. What's for breakfast?" she asked the group but before Cloud could answer she spotted the pan of scrambled eggs. She walked over and made herself a plate, then quietly sat at the table next to Shelke and started scarfing down her food.

"I think we are heading out tomorrow," Cloud informed Marlene, finally answering her question.

A disappointed look appeared on the young girl's face. She was hoping her father would visit for more than one day.

"Where's Tifa?" Yuffie mumbled as she looked around with her mouth full of cooked eggs.

"Sleeping," Could answered before taking a sip of his juice.

Suddenly, their breakfast was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Cloud was about to stand up and answer it, but it only rang twice before stopping. He figured either the caller hung up or Tifa must have answered it upstairs.

After a minute or two they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and Tifa walked into the kitchen still looking a little tired.

"Good morning," Tifa greeted everyone with a big smile. She sat down in the last available seat at the head of the table.

Cloud walked over to the stove and fixed Tifa a plate of food before bringing it to her.

"Thank you Cloud, this looks delicious," she complimented him while pouring herself a glass of juice. She took a few bites of her breakfast and looked over at Marlene. "I just got off the phone with your father," she informed the young girl. "He said that they are due to arrive at noon."

A smile appeared on Marlene's face. "Can we go meet him?" she asked, looking from Tifa to Cloud.

Cloud nodded causing Marlene's smile to grow wider. She finished the last few bites of her breakfast and stood up from the table with her plate.

"I'm going to go get ready," Marlene explained. She put her plate in the sink and exited the kitchen.

"How long will you be away?" Denzel asked Tifa while looking up from his breakfast. He was starting to appear a little more alert.

"I'm not sure," Tifa answered, laying her fork down. "I guess for as long as it takes to finish the job. I think only a few days, but we should know more after our meeting."

Denzel gazed down at his plate, looking a little disappointed.

"Don't worry Denzel you have Shelke and I here to look after you," Yuffie reassured the young boy, trying to cheer him up. "You are going to have loads of fun with aunty Yuffie!"

Although Yuffie had been a member of the WRO for almost four years, she had to stay in Edge for business and offered to help Shelke look after the Seventh Heaven and the children. Yuffie was unwilling to provide the other with details of her Edge assignment, apart from saying it involved a WRO airship that recently went missing and was believed to be an inside job. Cloud had a feeling that whatever she was doing was also related to the two homicides that occurred last week.

It was hard for Cloud to picture someone like Yuffie working a desk job, but he was assured by Cid and the others that Yuffie was surprisingly professional in her position and was skilled at her job. He was not surprised to hear that Yuffie was good at her job; what a better person to catch liars and lawbreakers within the WRO than the master manipulator herself. When they first met her when she was only sixteen, she infiltrated their group and convinced them to travel to Wutai so she could steal their materia.

After Yuffie's reassuring words, a faint smile appeared on Denzel's face. Denzel wasn't that sad about them leaving; he was more upset about not being able to come with them. He's been wanting to be part of the WRO for a few years now but was told they don't allow children and he still had a few years until he was old enough to join.

No longer able to sleep through Yuffie's high pitched voice, Nanaki strolled into the kitchen. He had been staying with Cloud and Tifa for the last week. It wasn't uncommon for him to visit for a few days or weeks while passing through during his travels. Although Cosmo Canyon will always be his home, over the last year or two he had been feeling restless. Given his species long lifespan he figured he had years ahead of him to settle down at home and had been feeling the need to explore the world on his own. Everyone greeted the large feline as he found a spot in the corner of the kitchen to sit down.

After finishing her food, Yuffie grabbed her phone off the table. "We should text Vincent to make sure he knows what time to meet everyone," she informed Shelke. Being around the same age, Shelke and Yuffie had become good friends over the last few months. Yuffie's outgoing and cheerful personality had appeared to have a positive effect on Shelke.

"I thought he was receiving a ride from Cid," Shelke informed Yuffie, causing the young ninja to stop texting on her phone, looking a little disappointed. She laid the PHS on the table and proceeded to take her plate over to the sink.

After everyone was finished eating breakfast, they all left the 7th Heaven and walked through Edge towards the airfield located on the outskirts of the city. It was located a little north of Jonny's Heaven. Luckily for Jonny, having the airfield nearby brought much needed customers to his outdoor establishment.

The group did not wait in the airfield for long before the Shera landed, and the doors opened. Marlene was jumping up and down with excitement before anyone even exited the aircraft.

After the doors opened some of the crew disembarked followed by Reeve, Cid, Barret, Vincent and a man Cloud did not recognize. The unknown man was around Cloud's age, maybe a few years older, with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and brown dress pants.

As soon as she saw her father exit the aircraft, Marlene rushed up and jumped into Barret's arms.

"Hello sweetie," Barret said, giving her a big hug.

"Hello everyone," Reeve greeted his friends as he approached. "I would like you to meet Miles," he motioned towards the stranger. "He is a specialist who has volunteered for the mission."

"Hello," Miles greeted everyone with a wave of his hand. He seemed a little nervous, but the large group greeted him back with a smile.

Everyone was conversing and catching up when Reeve looked at his watch. "I am sorry to break this up everyone, but I have booked the conference room for one PM."

Yuffie, Shelke, Marlene, Nanakin, and Denzel said their goodbyes and went back to Seventh Heaven while the rest proceeded towards the WRO building. The WRO's main headquarters was in Junon but it had satellite offices in Midgar and Corel, the second and third largest cities. Their Edge location was the second largest, and although it was technically an army, they also provided police and judiciary services to the city. Unlike Junon, Edge had yet to form a functioning government so the WRO filled the void for the time being.

It didn't take long for the group to walk across town towards the WRO building. They group went inside and gathered around the conference table with Reeve standing at the head.

"I know most of you have volunteered for this mission but the reason I requested your participation is because you all have a working knowledge of the targets and the risks associated." Reeve paused and looked around the group before continuing. "I have been assured that all the reactors were turned off two years ago, so they no longer drain Mako. This means there should be very few monsters left around the target areas."

"What kinda risks are we lookin' at besides some goddamn monsters?" Cid interrupted. He was aware of the strange occurrences going on lately and wanted Reeve to lay it all out on the table now, so everyone was aware.

"Some of you probably heard the rumours going around," Reeve explained. "This might be unrelated but some of the WRO members who were working on the Corel reactor project have been disappearing and another two employees were found murdered here in Edge a little over a week ago. So far we have no information on who is responsible or if the two incidents are related."

"Disappearances?" Cloud whispered. "Sounds familiar…"

"It can't be Deepground," Barret added, knowing what Cloud was referring to. "We took 'em down a year ago."

Reeve nodded in agreement. "We have no reason to believe it is Deepground at this point," he explained. "Since the disappearances are limited to just over a dozen WRO members working on the Corel project, there could be a number of explanations if there's even a connection."

"Who or what else could be responsible?" Tifa asked Reeve.

The WRO had been experiencing a lot of challenges over the past few months including thefts, murders, and disappearances. Not to mention the fact that, being an army, there were some people who oppose their operation.

"Well there are some people in Corel who oppose the idea of a reactor being turned into an oil refinery, and there are others who oppose the WRO in general," Miles explained, coming to Reeve's defence. "Not to mention that Corel is a high-density area for monsters which could also explain the disappearances."

Reeve nodded to Miles and scanned the group to see if there were any more questions, then continued briefing them. "The first target is Fort Condor and it should be straightforward. We sweep the reactor to ensure there are no occupants, then we arm it with explosives and detonate it. Since there are no towns or villages nearby, we don't have to worry about creating a controlled explosion."

"What 'bout them people livin' in Fort Condor?" Barret questioned.

"The WRO intelligence division informed me that the people cleared out of Fort Condor shortly after the battle with Shinra," Reeve explained. "But there is always the possibility that people could be occupying it. That is why we are going to conduct a sweep beforehand and relocate anyone who may be living there."

Reeve paused to see if there were any further questions before continuing.

"The next stop is Junon. We are going to dismantle the reactor manually in order to preserve the underwater laboratory for scientific research. This will be a much longer process, but I have a team of engineers who can tend to this project while the rest of you head over to Corel to assist Barret and Miles with their plans. After Corel, the rest of you will head Mt. Nibel and destroy the reactor like Fort Condor." Reeve paused and looked around the room again. "Any questions?"

"Why are we even blowin' up the Nibelheim and Condor reactors if they're shut down?" Cid asked.

Although he loved the idea of blowing stuff up, he was one of the few who suggested that they should postpone this assignment given everything that has been happening over the past few weeks. And more selfishly, he had other projects he rather be working on right now.

"If we don't destroy the reactors anyone can walk in there and use them for nefarious purposes," Reeve explained. "The ability to draw mako from the plant can be tempting for a person or group seeking large amounts of mako." Deepground was a perfect example of a group who attempted to use the Midgar reactors to try to harm the planet, but he didn't need to go into detail since everyone was fully aware of that incident.

Mako had been such a touchy subject lately, all cities banned the production of new materia. People were still able to use and sell materia that was created before the fall of Shinra, as well as naturally occurring materia, but the demand had made it a very expensive and it was becoming a rare commodity. It was also a growing fear that as materia became scarcer it would drive black market demand and criminal organizations might target reactors for production.

"Shouldn't we try to salvage any useable equipment from the reactors before we demolish them?" Miles asked, half raising his hand like he was a student in class.

"We have all the equipment we need for the Corel and Junon projects," Reeve explained. "But if you find anything that could prove useful for your research, feel free to take it. Anything we find relating to Jenova or any projects relating to Hojo or Hollander must be destroyed."

Everyone nodded in agreement on that last point, they all wanted to see anything relating to Jenova destroyed.

"If there are no further questions, we will meet back here at nine-hundred hours tomorrow," Reeve explained, concluding the conference.

After the meeting, Tifa invited everyone back to the Seventh Heaven for dinner and drinks. It had been a long time since everyone was together. Tifa's bar was rarely this full but it always had a good flow of customers. Some would come to drink and others liked it as a place to socialize with friends while grabbing a bite to eat.

There were a few regulars at the bar that night, but they didn't seem to mind the large group. Almost everyone in Edge knew who Tifa and Cloud were. Half the city witnessed Cloud slay the Behomut that Kadage summoned a few years ago so he was a bit of a celebrity around town. Although very few people in Edge knew what Cloud, Tifa, and the others did for the planet by stopping Sephiroth and Shina, many citizens could see that they helped others in need and they were major players in the construction of the new city.

Cloud and Cid sat at the bar along with two regulars while Barret, Marlene, Reeve, and Miles sat in a booth nearby. Vincent was sitting by himself in the next booth over until Shelke, Denzel, and Yuffie decided to sit with him forcing him into a conversation. This prompted Nanaki, who was lying on the floor next to Vincent, to get up and walk over next to Cloud where it was a little more peaceful. He then curled up in the corner while letting out a big sigh and closed his eyes.

Standing at the bar, Tifa happily looked around at the room full of familiar faces smiling and laughing. It was times like this that reminded her of the reasons why she enjoyed owning a bar.

Later that evening Reno and Rude walked into the bar and stood near the front entrance looking around. Tifa was not that surprised to see the two, it was not uncommon for them to stop in for a few drinks when they were in town. Rude walked over to the bar while Reno stood at Barret's table conversing. Seeing Rude approach, Tifa poured them their regulars; a double scotch and a beer.

"Thanks," Rude said as he laid the gil down on the bar next to Cloud and took the drinks.

Without saying a word, Cloud nodded to the bald Turk who nodded back.

Seeing his partner approach, Reno walked over to a free booth by the entrance and slumped himself down. Reeve then excused himself from Barret's table then walked over to the Turk's booth and sat with them. Tifa was not trying to spy but she noticed Rude pull a big brown envelope out of his jacket and hand it over to Reeve. Reeve accepted the package and put it next to him on the table. They talked for a bit and the two Turks exited after finishing their drinks.

With the envelope in hand, Reeve got up from the booth and walked over to the bar with Cid, Cloud, and Tifa. He took a seat next to Cloud and leaned on the bar so Cid could hear him over all commotion.

"Reno and Rude said they spotted lights coming from the Fort Condor reactor on their way here from Junon," Reeve informed them.

"I thought you said the reactor was deactivated years ago and everyone left," Cid commented before leaning back and taking the last swig of his beer.

Tifa reached over and grabbed Cid's glass refilling his drink.

"That's what I was told," Reeve informed the captain. "But they said most of the lights were moving around the outside of the reactor on the hillside, they suspected that it was people with flashlights. When they circled around to get a closer look all the lights were off except one shining through the window of the lookout shack on top. They said it was too dark to make out anything else."

"Then there still must be people living there," Tifa commented as she refilled Cloud's water.

Cloud and Tifa were the only two not drinking. Cloud was never much of a drinker to begin with and wasn't feeling up to drinking that night.

"I sent some people there two weeks ago to check it out and they said it was completely abandoned," Reeve explained. "They even interviewed people in a nearby village and confirmed our intel. The villagers said that after the battle with Shinra the men left the fort and went back to their families since there was no longer a condor egg to protect."

"Maybe they were just raiders," Cloud suggested. "They could be gone by morning."

After the fall of Shinra is was common for people to loot the equipment, supplies, and valuables from all the abandoned and demolished buildings.

"Perhaps you're right," Reeve agreed with Cloud before taking the last sip of his sake. Reaching for his glass, Tifa looked at Reeve who nodded in approval prompting her to refill his drink.

It was past midnight when everyone finally departed for the night. Barret owned an apartment in Edge for himself and Marlene to stay in when he was in town. Even though it was late Marlene did not want to leave his side, so he took her back with him. Since there was limited space at Cloud and Tifa's place, Vincent went with Barret to say in his spare room. Reeve also had his own place in Edge for when he was visiting so he took Miles and Cid to his apartment while everyone else went upstairs to bed.

It was a long day and Cloud was tired. He looked forward to his bed especially getting into bed with Tifa. After he was cured of geo stigma, they decided to share a bed once she forgave him for his selfishness. After that, he always made sure to get into bed first, so he could watch Tifa undress. She was the most beautiful woman he had even seen, and he knew he was lucky to have her. Growing up, every boy had a crush on Tifa and as a child he was treated like an outcast by all the other boys. Cloud chuckled inwardly; they would be so envious if they could see him now.

Tifa grinned at Cloud as he laid in bed with his arms propped behind his head watching her every move. She knew he enjoyed watching her undress for bed every night and she kind of enjoyed the attention from him. It made her feel good about herself. Although she was always a little self-conscious about the huge scar on her chest, she did not mind Cloud seeing it. Even with the scar, Cloud thought Tifa had a perfect body but it did remind him of the time he could not be there to save her in time. He promised to never let that happen again.

Cloud had been feeling uneasy the last few weeks with the headaches and nightmares. He was hoping the uneasiness was due to the upcoming mission and thinking about Shinra and the Mt. Nibel reactor, where many of his nightmares originated from. It was in that reactor where Tifa received her scar and witnessed her father's murder. It was in that reactor that him and Zack were taken prisoner and experimented on for years. It was in that reactor where he battled Sephiroth for the first time as a teenager and almost lost his life. Despite all the negative thoughts and feelings, he had been experiencing the past few days, he was determined to not let it get to him. He made a promise to himself that he would never again let anything get in the way of enjoying his time with his family and the woman he loved.

Watching Tifa undress in front of him, he could not control himself. He sat up in the bed then reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in before she had a chance to put on her pajamas. Taking the hint, Tifa smiled as they proceeded to caress each other and make love before falling asleep in each other's arms.