A/N: Heya huns! And how're ye all? This chapter goes out to; Padfoot - rawr, for her kind words and support! Here's the next chapter anyhu!
"She's only a kid…how did you know her name? Have you met her before?"
Rufus sighed as the questions continued to assault his hearing…a mere thirty odd minutes had elapsed since The Shera had taken leave from the smouldering remains of Gongaga. The company-owner had point-blank refused to discuss that matter of the teenage girl any further, instead; ensuring that the girl was immediately seen by the onboard medical staff, more specifically; the head doctor and scientist; Shalua Rui. For truth to be told; even he was a little shocked by the sudden turn of events, even though he was probably the only person there with the most understanding of why…but it looked as if; answers were in dire need at that moment in time.
Six years had passed since he had last set his eyes upon the girl…it had been that long since ShinRa's greatest wall had fallen; six years ago, Meteor had almost succeeded in ripping the planet to shreds, the people of Gaia had, quiet literally, been tested to their very limits by everything that they had looked up to and feared - Sephiroth had been a Hero…and now look at it all; they were still fighting a losing war… … …six years ago; it had been clear to see the disintegration of ShinRa's strongest force; SOLDIER - with the General having been supposedly dead, all that had remained of the 1st Classes, had been three individuals, of which had disappeared from ShinRa's traces, without any hint of a clue as to where…the three had simply gone MIA and AWOL, those being three holders of 1st Class rank, having been; Angeal Hewley, Genesis Rhapsodos - and Danielle Fair.
"Her name is Danielle Fair, Danni for short…her parents' names are…were; Nick and Josey Fair, her brother's name was; Zack Fair. I have met her before…"
"So that's her… … …"
Tifa glanced back over her shoulder as she registered Cloud's voice, although aware that the blonde had been spoken more so to himself, as opposed to all onboard The Shera. She immediately felt her mind flick upon the image of a certain black-haired SOLDIER as her fiancé continued to talk…sure; things had been fairly rocky, but after Sephiroth had succeeded in his return, things had changed drastically; Cloud had taken several serious blows and injuries that day… … …the short flight to Aerith's church, a distance they had more than likely crossed before without even realising it - but that day; it had seemed agonizingly far away, taking far longer to arrive there as it usually would have…they had all been shocked on board, sure; the Geostigma epidemic had passed, but a worse Nightmare had arisen; one that they did not succeed in stopping in its' arrival…her stomach had been sick and twisted uncountable times as she had prayed to Minerva, The Ancients - even Aerith herself, that her childhood friend would hold on just long enough to utilize the healing water in the flower-girl's old church… … …he had been lucky - even Cloud himself knew that, he'd gained several scars that day, but he'd gotten away with his life… … …just about anyhow, and with it had come a realization in many; take what you desire while you can, because you may not be granted a second chance in the matter, he had, as had numerous other couples…
"He'd mentioned her a few times…but; how did you recognise her?"
Seconds laced with a thick silence slowly elapsed as Rufus mentally considered both sides of the argument; on one hand - he, along with the Turks, were the only people who knew of Danni's past, the only ones capable of revealing all, or leaving her forgotten as she, evidently, so wished to. But then on the other hand; her past made sense as to why Gongaga had been so personally massacred… … …but the youth had successfully managed to keep her location secret for six long years…it wasn't as if ShinRa hadn't tried to search Gongaga for her…several troops had been deployed, on different occasions throughout the years - but none had ever returned to ShinRa, it had finally been concluded to halt such recon regiments…it was suspected that they had either sent severely under-trained individuals on such missions, leading their inexperience to put them in harms way along their orders - or a 1st Class had intervened along the way… … …whatever had been the cause; no trace of any of the three SOLDIERs had ever been found. Rufus sighed as he finally reached a decision on the matter;
"Follow me…"
No one spoke as they followed the company-owner to the one of the onboard computer terminals, all silently watching as curiosity got the better of them - it was now apparent that Rufus knew more of this Danni girl than they did…and now all were eager to see what was so special about this youth…why had she survived the massacre when uncountable others, hadn't? Why had she sustained such serious injuries - ones that seemed consistent with being involved in a fight… … …
Rufus glanced up at the large screen as he entered the ShinRa databanks, pausing for only a second or so as the sealed databanks requested his validation code…then the same routine for the locked files, stepping back well out of the way as the designated profile opened up, filling the entire screen with a picture and background information of a SOLDIER… … …
"Meet Danni Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class…AWOL since just prior to Sephiroth killing my father."
Numerous pairs of eyes all locked onto the image that had suddenly spread across the small screen…an image that rendered most in disbelief as they tried to register why a mere teenager was sporting the tell-tale navy uniform of a SOLDIER 1st Class…wondering why the youth even had a SOLDIER profile to start with. As the silent seconds, once again, began to build up; Rufus took the initiative to start the, evidently, greatly needed explanation;
"Her full name is Danni, Aisling, Fair, she's nineteen…she's also an AWOL SOLDIER, 1st Class. When Zack was a little kid, he got seriously ill and was hospitalized, both Nick and Josey weren't of well-off backgrounds; so ShinRa stepped in with an off…more so; a deal - ShinRa provided the gil for their son's treatment, in return for furthering the J-Project…Josey had been two months pregnant at the time… … …"
"I don't remember her yo…say her name again - ow! Elena; fuck off!"
Hardly a single person turned as an audible smack was heard - signalling the fact that Reno had received a price for his badly timed comment… … …Cloud tore his gaze away from the screen as he caught the meaning behind the company-head's words - The J-Project…but she was Zack's little sister, she couldn't possibly have been a member of SOLDIER also, surely her 1st Class SOLDIER brother would have been aware of it all, surely he would have passed a comment somewhere along the line in regards to his family's connection with ShinRa… … …
"How? How could she - Zack never mentioned anything about his family having ties with ShinRa-"
Rufus immediately cut the blonde off short - wanting to explain and say everything he knew first of all, before being bombarded with questions and queries…it always annoyed the hell out of him when people decided to ask questions in the middle of and explanation; surely if they would just hold on a few more minutes and hear what he had to say; then a lot of their unanswered questions wouldn't exist.
"He never knew, it was all kept secret; apparently it had been part of the deal…as far as Zack had been aware; Danni had been attending a boarding school most of the year…in reality; she had been at Junon, the majority of her training had taken place there, her in-company guardian had been Angeal Hewley, whilst she had been at ShinRa; she had been under his guardianship and his alone, he had been responsible for her welfare and most of her training…her training later switched mentors as her abilities began to develop further… … …Angeal remained her guardian, but her mentorship was switched to another SOLDIER…Sephiroth."
"Now I remember her yo!"
Elena didn't even attempt to swipe for her fellow Turk this time around, instead; the female simply shook her head and rolled her eyes towards the heavens above - Reno was Reno; and that was the scary thing!
An eerie vacuum of sound seemed to envelope The Shera as all onboard registered the bomb-shell that Rufus had just dropped upon them all - the youth that they had just rescued from the smouldering remains of her hometown…had been taught almost everything she knew, by him… … …
"What're you doin?"
Demyx voiced his query hastily as he spotted Cid turning from the computer terminal and making straight for the steering wheel of the vast airship…evidently having decided upon something or other, but without informing any of them to his plans…
"Goin back to Gongaga y'all - leave the kid there; if she's from that same goddamn project thing as him - she'll fuckin live, and if she doesn't; oh well…the last thing this planet needs is another Sephiroth - we can't even handle him!"
"Hold it!"
Within mere split seconds; the blonde nobody had repositioned himself between the pilot and the steering mechanism of the airship, having utilized a corridor of darkness to aid in the hasty relocation…it was unusual for him to object to, more or less, anything really - but this just seemed so wrong in his opinion; the girl, Danni, was evidently hurt a great deal…her hometown had been destroyed, probably along with any of her friends and family, and even; parents…she, literally, had nowhere else to go - and yet Cid was determined to let her fend for herself alone and injured, and no one else was objecting either - why; because of a person who had mentored her, and what she had been part of… … …
"You're gonna condemn her for being part of something?!"
"Damn right - look at the last result of the project kiddo!"
Demyx shook his head adamantly, an unusual strength having found root in the tone of his voice as he glanced over towards the only other member of Organization XIII who was present…knowing that the same thing was going through the flame-manipulator's mind…they were no better…but Danni hadn't been given a choice in taking part in this project thing - whereas him and Axel had willingly aided in the attempted taking of Kingdom Hearts - and yet they were being trusted with full knowledge of the side they had stood by before?
"So you're gonna blame her for being part of something she had no choice in, hold it against her, even though up until minutes ago; you didn't even know who the hell she was? And yet you're willing to trust me?! After everything I willingly did for Organization XIII… … …"
"Cid...she's Zack's sister - I can't let you turn back, I owe him...this is the least I can do... ... ..."
And with those few words; the matter had been settled...Cloud had spoken his choice and thoughts on the matter, albeit briefly; but none were willing to go against the blonde's choices - not on this matter anyhow. They were all too aware of the male's past, the marring times in it and who had helped him when he was in the most direst need of help; and Cloud wasn't about to forget that either...Zack had saved his life, the least he could do was look out for his sister... ... ...
A/N; Okay...reviews would be extrememly appreciated for this chapter huns, mainly because it's the one with alot of the answers and background in it - so don't be gentle, if it sucks; then please let me know and I'll rewrite this chapter. This is a rewrite of the story anyhow, I want it to work out this time huns!LOL