Avalanche
Even though I was openly concerned about the Turks coming after me again it had been oddly quiet. I hadn't seen them at all, or any sort of Shinra enforcement since that one incident. I still felt the need to watch my back everywhere I went. I hated feeling paranoid and uncomfortable but, for now at least, I had somewhere that felt safe that I could go to whenever I needed.
Tifa filled me in on the group she was in: Avalanche were self-declared protectors of the planet, their main goal to stop Shinra's use of Mako Reactors to draw upon the life source of the planet as energy. They weren't a big group, and had only just found their footing, but they seemed to be incredibly serious about opposing Shinra.
Apart from Tifa there were four other members: Barrett, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge. Tifa introduced me to Barrett later on the day I had ran from the Turks. He was an incredibly tall man, almost the height of Kimahri actually, built like a tank, and an amputated right arm that was replaced by a gun rather than a prosthetic. I could see he didn't have to try hard to be intimidating, not that I actually felt that way towards him. He asked me why the Turks were after me, where I was from, why I was in Midgar. I was honest in that I had no clue why they were after me, but I told him about bailing off the train when I had no ID. When asked why I had no ID, I told him that I'd come into Midgar with nothing but the clothes on my back and what I had in my bag, which was nothing interesting. It was a half-truth, enough for Barrett to get off my case about it. The deal was that, as long as I pulled my weight, I could stay.
Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge all seemed pretty welcoming to the new addition. They were nice enough to me, obviously wary since I was a complete stranger with an incomplete back story. I saw no point in keeping to myself so I talked with everyone and got to know them, though I still gave vague answers when they asked about details of my past and where I was from and what I did. One night I overheard them talking, saying I looked like I was from a place called Wutai. I didn't use that as an alibi, knowing I'd probably trip up on myself.
Not long after agreeing to join, I ended up meeting Barret's daughter Marlene. She was only four, shy, but she was absolutely adorable. She was frightened by the scars on my face and kept away from me at first, until I eventually managed to strike up a conversation with her about her drawings. She came around to me, still quite quiet, but at least she felt more comfortable around me.
The last person Tifa introduced me to was a friend of hers she found in Midgar about a month or so before I arrived. He wasn't a part of Avalanche,rather he was looking for work and Tifa said they could use his help. Cloud was a former member of the Soldier group that Tifa had mentioned, and carried a massive sword on his back. He acted pretty distant towards me and the rest of us, only acting slightly warmer to Tifa; they'd known each other as kids and were from the same town. Since he kept everyone at arm's length we didn't talk a lot.
It was now the beginning of December, late night on the eighth, when Avalanche was ready to act out their plan. Oh course we'd all been briefed about the plan beforehand but, personally, I couldn't join them. The plan was to plant a bomb in a Mako Reactor and make it explode. It would be huge, it would be messy, it would mean a lot of casualties. There was some arguing involved, but I stood my ground and told Barrett that I couldn't go through with it, but wasn't in a position to stop him from doing it. He was the leader, he had the final call and I knew he had no interest in being convinced otherwise. Since I'd been helpful around the bar with Tifa, I stayed with her and Marlene.
I was noticing Tifa looking at the clock at the night went on. It was half past midnight and the she was going to close the bar at one. She was serving drinks out front while I kept in the back, washing glasses and the like. I had checked on Marlene earlier, hoping she was sleeping even though Tifa and I had promised to wake her when her dad got back. I dried the last of the glasses and headed out to the bar to put them away. The place was busy as normal, filled with drunken folks and the usual like. I put the last of the glasses away and watched as Tifa looked at the clock again.
"They'll be fine," I told her, getting her attention. "They know what they're doing. They'll be back soon."
"No, it's not that," she frowned, wiping the counter down again. "I'm worried about them fighting. You've seen them; Cloud and Barrett don't usually get along. Cloud gets into fights in a heartbeat, and Barrett's got a short temper, they'll come to blows I know it. And I'm not there to mediate like normal so... yeah, I'm worried." I nodded and then faced the bar.
"Right last orders we close in ten minutes," I shouted out over the noise. I gave Tifa a smile that she returned briefly. "Problem solved." I headed back round the kitchens to start cooking for the guys coming in.
In the back of my head I was trying to rationalise that destroying the Reactor was the right thing to do. It was draining life from the planet itself, destroying life on the surface, the people in the slums suffered never having seen the sun or grass in their entire lives. The people down here hated Shinra for letting them suffer like this, for just ignoring them for profit. People had lost a lot to Shinra. It seemed like all the odds weighed up against them. Then I look at the people in the slums, the people who could count all the things they have in one hand, the ones who made do with what they had. There's going to be people caught in those explosions and there was no way around it. What little they had they would lose and that's not even counting the people on the Plate.
When I thought of it that way all I could think about was when Sin attacked Kilika.
When the bar cleared and was completely empty I started to help Tifa with cleaning the place. Her mind was still preoccupied with worry about Cloud and Barrett despite my reassurances that they would be okay. We did expect them back soon-ish anyway. I was just hoping they'd not be in an argumentative mood for Tifa's sake. She saw them through the window on the approach and went into the back to wake up Marlene.
They all seemed pretty pleased when they came in. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all sat at a table as Tifa and Marlene came back. We started putting the food out when Marlene noticed someone else come through the doors and ran to them.
"Papa!" She stopped herself short of the man who came in and proceeded to run back to the bar, hiding behind it. I looked at Cloud, who kept his expression indifferent.
"Still not good with kids?" I asked. My response was nothing; he walked to one of the empty tables and leant against it. "So it's just people in general then? All right." Tifa glanced over to me briefly before she went over to talk with Cloud while I went to get the rest of the food. I looked over to them, trying to see if I could make out what they were saying. Down in Cloud's hand was a yellow flower that he gave to Tifa. Honestly he looked so awkward giving it to her but she appreciated the gesture. At the same time Marlene rushed to the doors to greet Barrett, who ordered everyone involved in the Reactor explosion to get downstairs for a meeting. As they were leaving Tifa came behind the bar and filled a glass up with water, putting the flower inside it.
"It's cute," I said. She put the glass on top of the bar. To be honest she looked as if she was in her own little world staring at the flower. I leant against the counter. "When was it he left to join Soldier again?"
"Hm?" Tifa turned to me, looking slightly embarrassed. "Oh, he was about fourteen when he left Nibelheim." Fourteen? So, seven years ago then. Geez he was the same age as me. "It wasn't uncommon; a lot of boys left to Midgar to join Soldier. Not everyone made it but that was the dream then, you know."
"Yeah. I suppose it has its perks," I said absently. I honestly knew very little about the whole Soldier thing, other than having one onside was a big deal especially a First Class one. My most logical conclusion was that it was some elite military force and that First Class was the goal. Probably some famous one I haven't caught the name of yet was the poster boy of it all.
"Guess it did," Tifa nodded absently.
"What made you leave Nibelheim?" I got no response to my question but her expression spoke volumes: no eye contact, head turned away, posture stiffening. Something happened in Nibelheim. "Sorry, I didn't realise."
"No. It's... it's fine. You didn't know," Tifa smiled at me. It was quickly taken off by crashing from downstairs. She ran down to the guys in an attempt to break up the fighting.
I stayed up at the bar, listening to the noise. Some more crashing, yelling, a few swears here and there. Eventually Cloud came back upstairs and was storming to the door, quickly followed by Tifa who managed to stop him..
"Listen, Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us," Tifa said to him. Cloud shook his head in response and started heading for the door again. "Cloud, the planet is dying. Slow, but surely, it's dying. Someone has to do something."
"So let Barrett and his buddies do something about it. Got nothing to do with me," was Cloud's harsh reply. He turned again and was just at the door.
"That's it then? You're going to walk out ignoring your childhood friend?" Tifa's voice had hardened a little but you could still hear her frustration and sadness. At least it made Cloud stop again and look at her, clearly at a loss for words.
"... Sorry."
"You forgot our promise, too," Tifa added. Cloud continued looking at her quizzically. "So you did forget. It was seven years ago..." He was clearly thinking hard about it, his arms crossed and looking at the floor. After a while of silence he nodded at Tifa, but then looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. So I can't keep our promise," he eventually answered to her. I couldn't even see Tifa's face but I could feel her hurt. After a moment she let out a breath.
"But you got the childhood dream, didn't you? You joined Soldier?" She asked. Cloud rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "So come on. You've got to keep your promise."
Barrett was already making his way upstairs and to the front of the bar, eyes set on Cloud. I was hoping that a punch up wouldn't start there and then but I just watched the scene play out.
"Wait a sec, big time Soldier," he said, tossing an envelope to Cloud. He looked in it and gave a short scoff.
"This is my pay? Don't make me laugh," I wasn't sure what tone he was going for, but I wasn't happy with it. He looked over to Barrett. "You got the next job lined up? I'll do it for three thousand."
"You're fucking joking, right?" Barrett replied from his gut. Tifa turned him away from Cloud and a little out of his earshot.
"We're hurting for help right?" Tifa said.
"I know, but... that money's for Marlene's schooling," Barrett said. I couldn't let Barrett use that money to hire Cloud again. I sighed and looked past Tifa and Barrett and over to Cloud.
"Look I'll pay you, that sound good?" I said. "Two thousand."
"Two and a half."
"Two."
"... Fine."
