Beyond Paradise II

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuffie, Vincent, or anything/anybody else in this fiction, they belong to Square Enix. I also don't own previously established fictitious characters such as Moira, Zeb, or Jethro. They were created by the original fan fic's author, tolerant. Though, I DO claim a childish, unpatented ownership over my original/semi-original characters--Cleon, Questa, Max, Rakk, and Havern Glaire. And the recurring smoking guard. He's tiiight. This is not an "official" sequel by the original author, more like a tribute by me since the original has been discontinued, unfortunately. I am not affiliated with tolerant in any way, shape, or form (other than being a fan, of course).

Author's Note: I'm back, baby. Much more to come after this.

Blackened is the end
Winter it will send
Throwing all you see
Into obscurity
Death of Mother Earth
Never a rebirth
Evolution's end
Never will it mend
Never

Blackened
--James Hetfield

- Chapter 30: Decisions, Decisions

"No, we have to act now, goddammit!" Cid hollered while pounding his fist on the table. "They'll least expect it, and look, we got 'em on the run!"

"For god's sake," Questa rejoined from the other side of the table, sluggishly rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Look at the Mages; my people, my family! We're exhausted! We lost over half our fuckin' number in one day's time, and our war chief got torn apart by a pack of mutant dog monsters, and all you have to say is to keep on goin' without a breather or even time to think about those we lost?! Give us a fuckin' moment, will ya?!"

As Cid delivered his profanity-laced rebuttal, Tifa sighed and idly scanned the 'war room' of NMI's hideout; a very large, surprisingly well-decorated living space filled with many assortments of furniture arranged in a clustered circular pattern around the main table, which was set up in the middle of the cozy chamber. The couches and seats were filled with men and women dressed in either black suits or street attire prominently leaning towards the blue spectrum. A few were standing, but everyone seemed to be completely focused on the argument at hand.

The raven-haired bartender redirected her gaze towards the table just as Questa sneered at Cid's notion of a spent enemy with it's pools of reserve units more or less as depleted as they are going to get. "This whole goddamn army could have just been a drop in the bucket for these bastards. That thought ever cross your mind?"

"Yeah, think about it," a voice spoke up from the crowd, a common occurrence since the meeting had started, a pre-established accord to accept any and all input towards the discussion having already been agreed upon, "Like, if we all went over there for a final showdown under the assumption that their numbers are exhausted, but then like, we get there and get completely wiped out by a whole legion of ShinRa spider robots or like, super-tanks."

"Or hell," another gang member adjoined with an austere scoff, "Somethin' else we haven't even seen yet."

A younger NMI near the doorway shook her head before voicing her opinion, "But then the longer we wait, potentially, the stronger they get."

The opposing retort from a same-sided attendee showcasing the diversity of opinions, even within an adolescent coterie as ostensibly close-knit as the Mages, was not lost on the others in this unlikely coalition of former foes. The wide range of surprisingly uncharacteristic wisdom from a street gang comprised of what most of Junon perceived to be nothing more than a mishmash of troublemaking, hot-headed youths had quietly earned Norté Magus, Incorporated a solemn respect among the rest of the older, more mature members of the alliance's improbable factions.

"Right," one of the Turks added, "Regardless of how you look at it, whether it's the safest bet or not, the logical thing to do appears to be an immediate counter-attack."

"Let's just say we did decide to retaliate right now," Jethro decided to speak up from his corner, "What would we do? What would the plan be?"

Cid snorted in response, hawked up what sounded like a rather large collection of phlegm, and moved his head to the side in order to characteristically spit on the carpet, but froze himself at the last second once catching the scowls of Questa and several other Mages behind her. After a short pause, he rolled his eyes in defiance, angrily readjusted himself on his seat, and made the effort to fabricate the sound of the swallowing of his salivated warhead so loud as to warrant a scoff of contempt from his congressional rivals. "We just attack 'em head on! That'd be what they'd least expect!"

"Or," Questa lashed back, "'Exactly' what they'd expect?"

"What possible reason could you have to not strike back as soon as possible?!"

"Cid…" Tifa tried to calm her friend.

"Naw, I wanna know! Go ahead, enlighten me, missy!"

Tifa dropped her gaze to the floor, an racking tingle of embarrassment creeping through her veins. The meeting had just started, and already the discussion had grown into a heated debate with two sides struggling for dominance.

"Look, man, one advantage of waiting it out a bit… I mean, look. This whole secret's out, right? I mean, Neo-ShinRa's been exposed and these anti-AVALANCHE rebels you guys've been talkin' about have finally seen the truth and defected back to the good side, right? Think about it. If we wait awhile to just get organized, a week or two, maybe even a few days if we work fast enough, it's possible we could get an entire army together to finally wipe out Neo-ShinRa once and for all! They'd never be able to take on the whole fuckin' world! Look at all those people that helped us fight today. Half of 'em were part of the mob that we fought with in front of the inn before it blew up. The other half were brave, beautiful motherfuckers who decided to man up and help drive Neo-ShinRa outta their home!"

"Yeah," an NMI seated on the couch behind Questa spoke up, "If Junon'll fight, the rest of the world will, too. Remember what happened after Meteorfall, and the Lifestream itself shot out to stop Meteor from destroying the Planet. It was all over the news, headlines, everywhere, that everybody realized how precious the Lifestream is, and that nobody would use the Lifestream anymore as a power source. ShinRa couldn't count on the people anymore so they could never make a profit off the Lifestream again."

"Neo-ShinRa's doing the same thing," the young woman next to him added, "But the difference is that Neo-ShinRa's only using the Lifestream wells for funding to take over the world through force instead of through monopolies like original ShinRa did. That rules out the support of the people, so the people will fight on our side against Neo-ShinRa."

"But the longer we wait to build up our forces," said Jethro, "Gives Neo-ShinRa the same amount of time to build up their forces."

"Yeah, but who the hell would fight for Neo-ShinRa?"

"You saw all those troopers shooting at us today." Reno chimed in from his corner amongst the other Turks. "No matter how messed up a cause can get, the world's always gonna be full of mercenaries willing to join up if the price is right."

"And that's what's gonna encapsulate this entire thing." one of the veteran NMIs, Rakk, stated. "You're all looking at it like it's a black and white issue. There's validity in both sides to the argument. Think about it, Questa. The longer we wait, the more people are gonna join up with the enemy. At the same time, people are gonna join up with us. This could be a figurative powder keg just waiting to explode into a world war the likes of which we've never seen."

"He's right," added Madison, "If that happens, untold thousands could perish…"

"But it could all be avoided if we just march right over there and take those sons a--!"

"If we do decide to attack," a soft voice suddenly spoke behind Cid to cut off his fuse, "We can't just rush things too much. We need to have a very well-thought plan to ensure that as few people get hurt as possible." Cid sighed as Tifa gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "This isn't the time to just charge in, guns blazing, Cid. There's things we need to consider; strategies, backup plans, the element of surprise…" Cid dropped his eyes to the floor and batted the side of his lip, taking the views of one his closest friends and allies into consideration.

Astonishingly, a stillness blanketed the room as the tension in the air actually seemed to halve in proportion after the young woman's approach. She had not said much, but there was a genuine, innocent tranquility in her presence and a hope-filled honesty that hugged her every word. Nobody was the wiser, but her sagaciously judicious insight stemmed from a hidden concern she harbored for a very important person in her life that had been taken away from her time and time again.

"So just what are you proposing, Miss Lockhart?" All eyes turned to Jethro. "Do you have some sort of idea?"

"Well, you all made excellent points. Rushing over there without a plan would be a death sentence, but if we don't do something anyway, they could get stronger. Maybe even too strong for us to handle. Also, if we do wait and recruit more people and build up our own army… well, it sounds like a good idea at first, but think about the long term effects of such a thing. You guys are right in how thousands of people could die. This could all become a catalyst for a huge war that would devastate everybody the world over. Thousands could lose their lives, maybe even millions… entire cities would be devastated, laid to ruin; dozens of Midgars, except worse."

"You suggestin' we do this ourselves?" inquired a Mage across from her with an eyebrow raised.

"To prevent a world war, yes. It's not impossible."

"So how do we actually pull this off, then?"

"Do we all go over to… whatever the hell that place is called and--"

"Modeoheim."

"To Modeoheim and like, lay siege to their headquarters or something?"

"Naw, she's talkin' bout cloak and dagger, foo. A small team can sneak in better than three dozen."

"Sounds like a job for the Turks!"

"Like hell it does! Leave it 'ta us!"

"Don't underestimate the Turks, old man!"

"Bullshit! We whooped yer candy asses every time you tried 'ta mess with us!"

"He's got a pretty valid point, Reno." dumbfounded, the red-haired Turk simply gawked at Madison's support of his former enemy. "Remember, they avoided the whole of ShinRa for a very long time and even managed to infiltrate the headquarters and all those bases and reactors. They might be better suited for Modeoheim."

"And that Vincent Valentine is going to go with them. I hate to admit it, but he's stronger than all of us combined."

"Et tu, Rude?"

"…"

"Alright, so it's settled. We'll infiltrate the enemy base and take out their leaders. If we can cut the head off the snake, it'll be easier for the rest of the company to break apart."

"You sure their whole chain of command's gonna be there, though?"

"It's a chance they'll have to take. And even they're not all there, we can always just hunt the rest of 'em down, y'know."

"Yeah, don't look at this like a quick fix situation. No matter what we decide to do, taking out a corporation as big as Neo-ShinRa's gonna take time and effort."

"It's not like in the movies where we just blow up their headquarters and suddenly it's party time."

"Though, it's been known to happen."

"What the hell are the odds of that, though?"

"…So then what are the rest of us gonna do, then?"

"If you remember the documents AVALANCHE showed us, Neo-ShinRa's got assets across the globe."

"Yeah, like the Mako reactors, those munitions transport routes or whatever…"

"Top priority is shutting down those Mako reactors for good. That's supposed to be the source of their income."

"How many are there?"

"Well…"

"Hey, could somebody get the documents? They're upstairs in that manila envelope under my mattress."

"I got it."

"The underwater one here in Junon's definitely still active. That's what those guys in the warehouse were stationed there for, to protect the reactor."

"There could still be some leftover guards down there."

"Won't be a problem for NMI."

"Watch out for those giant spider robots, though. And SOLDIERs, too, like the ones heading those troops today at the battle."

"They weren't SOLDIERs." Jethro almost immediately declared to the new Turk without missing a beat. "Believe me."

"What makes you so sure?"

Rude scoffed. "Because he was one."

"That one near Costa del Sol…" Elena said in a low voice due to the pain she still felt from her injuries. She was slumped wearily on an armchair next to Madison, looking quite sleepy, but she still remembered what she had read from the documents the night before.

"We can hit that reactor, too." Questa answered with a nod.

"And don't forget the eight all the way in Midgar."

"Leave those to the Turks, yo."

"You guys need more men?" inquired Questa. "Midgar's a big place."

"Don't worry about us," came the red-haired Turk's response, "I got a few favors to call in from some old friends. They're staying in that new town being built near Midgar… Ledge, or Edge, or whatever."

"'Kay, but what about you guys?" Questa asked while turning to Tifa.

"We'll be fine, thanks."

"No, I insist, please. I'll feel better if a Mage goes with you to Modeoheim."

"Well…"

"If you're worried a Mage'll slow you down, don't trip. I'll give you one of our best."

"Okay, then..."

"So then we're agreed?"

Several murmurs and nods were the answer. Rakk then jogged down the stairs and handed Questa the Neo-ShinRa documents Yuffie and Vincent had stolen the day before. She flipped through them for a few seconds, focusing on the important information the late Cait Sith had highlighted and circled the previous night.

"Yeah, just those reactors in Midgar, Costa del Sol, Modeoheim, and the one here."

Madison gave a little motherly rub on Elena's forehead before standing up. "Okay, to clarify, we got the Turks on Midgar, NMI to Costa del Sol and Junon, and AVALANCHE is going to Modeoheim."

"Right, and according to these documents, there aren't many people stationed at any of these bases, anyway, and we already cleared out the Junon warehouse. There should be less than thirty at Costa del Sol, cause there's supposed to be around twenty-five to thirty at each base… except for Midgar which had close to a hundred."

"'Had' or 'has'? After today's battle and the marshaling of that whole army, who knows how reliable those records are now."

"One thing's for sure, though. Neo-ShinRa's not stupid, so if Modeoheim really is their main base of operations, they should know that Modeoheim would be the most logical target for us, so they should be gathering most of their forces over there because they should be expecting a counter-attack."

"And they're gonna get it!"

"Yes… but hopefully, what they won't be expecting is that we're not doing anymore large-scale, high-profile raids. All just cloak and dagger infiltrations, nice and quick, nice and quiet."

"It'd probably be best if we hit all the locations at once, yo."

"Yeah, so they don't have a place to fall back to."

"We'll have to work quick, then. Costa del Sol's a long ride from here."

"We could take you guys on the Highwind, it'd only take a few hours."

"Thanks," Rakk offered, "But you're needed at Modeoheim. You guys have the most dangerous assignment, so you'll need all the rest you can get, Cid, just like the rest of AVALANCHE, and you won't get it if you're piloting your airship all day."

"How are you guys gonna get to Costa del Sol, then?"

"We got connections in the local airplane business. We'll be there."

"So that means we won't be able to start this operation until we're all in place, huh?"

"Yeah, and we'll have to keep in radio contact to update each other."

"Then we just blow up these reactors and--"

"No," Tifa immediately cut in, "We can't blow them up…"

"Why not?"

"Innocent people could get hurt…"

Reno and Rude traded a look, the martial artist's words reminding them of the Sector 7 catastrophe which the Turks were responsible for.

"So what, we just shut down the reactors?"

"It's the safer bet. Some of these reactor's are too close to populated areas."

"Then what the hell's the point? They could just reactivate them again later."

"That's only if we fail to stop Neo-ShinRa."

"But then that leaves 'em open for future bad guys."

"We'll just stop them, too, alright?"

"Before you all get into another senseless argument," Tifa said to get everybody's attention, "Listen… there's really no other option. The choice is either to blow them up and risk killing innocent people, or simply shut them down."

"Could we possibly sabotage the machinery and stuff so they can't be reactivated again?"

"Bad idea. Those reactors are pretty complex, it'd be easier, faster, and cheaper to just shut 'em down."

"Plus, if you mess with them the wrong way, they could self-destruct or something."

"Trust us, we know how our old company's reactors work."

"Alright… so when do we start?"

"First thing in the morning?"

"…All in favor?"

The answer was the most crooked collection of 'ayes' ever.

--

The night would have been pitch black were it not for the battery-powered lamps dotting the walls of the globular porch. The makeshift construction lights worked poorly to illuminate the courtyard, as the rainfall which blanketed the cold, midnight air had grown so heavy that the lamps produced more of a ghostly ambiance of shimmering beacons, radiating their twinkling glow all across the evening abyss.

Yuffie had long-since given up trying to sustain one of her usual one-sided conversations with Vincent because the strident fire-cracker rattling of each drop of sky water hitting the cobblestone surface drowned out all attempts of noise she tried to spit out of her mouth, much to the good fortune of the stoic gunslinger. His younger, bored companion relegated to sitting slothfully at the far arm of the wide outdoor sofa, one foot absent-mindedly tracing across the wooden portico floor and the other planted squarely on her end of the couch, lazily pressed up against Vincent's outer ankle in a manner reminiscent of a stalemated struggle for dominance of space. She was hunched over with her elbow rested above her knee and her cheek buried into her palm as she sung the same continuous, six-noted tune of hers quietly to herself.

What am I doing here? she thought while watching the thick downpour cascade onto the paved surface of the courtyard. The puddles developing on the spots too far from the drains reflected an oddly appealing sheen off the wall lamps, and the disruptive rippling splashes created by the millions of incessant raindrops helped cast a dreamlike afterglow which only added a picturesque quality to the already haunting atmosphere. The little ninja let out a drawn out sigh while losing herself deeper and deeper into the scene. Why am I just sitting here, seriously? I should be inside, it's so freezing out here! Stupid, idiot, dirt-for-brains Vinnie… you just had to go and get yourself all banged up.

She looked over at the lying enigma beside her. His position had remained almost exactly the same for hours, virtually unchanged with his right hand over his abdomen and his gauntleted arm casually rested at his side, party dangling off the edge of the couch. The only real difference worthy of mention was that his head was slightly tilted to his left. His eyes were closed, but Yuffie could not be sure if he was truly sleeping or not. She let out another, more disgruntled sigh at the presumably slumbering marksman.

Stupid… idiot… dumb… can't even take care of yourself… where the heck would you be without me around having to hold your hand all the time, huh? Her mind went blank for a few seconds as she tiredly glared at him, but she flinched once a sudden, out of the blue thought of what it would be like to actually hold his hand crossed her mind. She choked out the tiniest gasp and shot her head back towards the rain. Her mind went blank once again and she shook the occurrence from her mind, but the very notion of it lingered in the back of her head. Whatever…

She then looked up as the door on the other end of the circular porch opened and the participants of the meeting began filing out. They all split up to their own destinations, some turning left and disappearing through various doorways, some going right and disappearing through other various doorways, and the rest finding places to stand, sit down, or otherwise make themselves comfortable all across the porch. The gang members spoke with one another in light, casual conversations as they lounged, a few of them pulling out cans out of a nearby cooler placed down by one of them.

A pair of Mages then caught Yuffie's eye, mostly because they actually stepped out into the freezing, heavy downpour to walk through the entrance of the courtyard. They seemed to be going off to the street to relieve the pair of sentries previously stationed there of their guard duty, one of them being Cleon. They had missed the meeting as well, but knowing Cleon, he probably could not have cared less, anyhow.

"So what's the news?" Yuffie asked Tifa as she and the new NMI leader, Questa came up.

"Well," Tifa began with a stretch of her arms to the sky. "Basically, we're going to strike back."

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow night, we're shutting down the main source of Neo-ShinRa's income– the Mako reactors. All of them, at the same time."

"I would've thought you all would have decided on something a little bit more... conservative."

Questa scoffed. "Well, we eventually decided that the best defense would be a good offense."

"Ha, so we get to kick some Neo-ShinRa butt!" Yuffie rejoiced. "Which reactors do we get? Midgar? Heck, I can handle all of 'em by myself if I have to!"

"Actually," Tifa said, "The Turks are taking on Midgar."

"And we're taking care of the rest," added Questa.

"So then where's AVALANCHE going? Don't tell me we're sitting this one out or some pedestrian pansy crap like that!"

"We're going to their headquarters in Modeoheim to try and stop their leaders."

"Oh yeah, 'cause we're the best ones for the job! I bet their whole military's gonna be there. The four of us against an army, that sounds like fair odds!"

"Well, not just the four of us, Yuffie. Remember, Jethro's going with us."

"And now our group is useless."

"We'll need all the help we can get seeing as how we don't know what to expect from the Neo-ShinRas, especially considering that they have that SOLDIER woman and Moira on their side."

"We're gonna have a Mage tag along with you, too," Questa included. "You'll need the extra firepower."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Who, exactly?"

Questa motioned her head in the direction behind the little ninja. "Here he comes. I'm gonna tell him right now."

They turned their gazes to the entrance to watch Cleon walk through the doorway and into the courtyard.

Yuffie sighed and lowered her head. "And here comes the bane of my existence...."

Cleon headed for the dryness of their stoop, making a curious scene of precariously tiptoeing over and around every deep puddle along the way– complete with bugged-out eyes–as if they were made of hot lava. He climbed up to the porch and wagged his head like a dog, spilling rainwater from his long soaked hair in all directions much to the outcry of the others.

Tifa wiped the drops from her face. "Did you just stay out in the rain all this time without a cover?"

"It's bad luck." He then turned to Questa. "What'd you wanna see me about?"

"We're launching a strategic offensive against Neo-ShinRa tomorrow and while the rest of us head out to shut down the Mako reactors, you're going with AVALANCHE to Modeoheim."

Cleon widened his eyes as if a pulse of fear suddenly gripped his veins. "Uh... what's so special about that place and why am I going with them?"

"Modeoheim's where their headquarters is. You're gonna take out their leaders."

"Don't I get a say in this?"

"You're free to say whatever you want, but you're still going," Questa smirked.

"No way, I-I can't go," Cleon resisted. "Nooo, no-no-no."

"What's got you so spooked?" Tifa asked. "You held your own today with no problem. Jethro insisted you go because he said he liked the way you fought and looked to be the best for the job."

"Remind me to stick SOLDIER boy's head in a toilet! I can't go, not with Dracula coming along!"

Yuffie gripped her hair and felt like tearing it off. "For the last time, Vinnie's not a vampire!"

"Whatever the case, you're going and that's that," Questa preserved. "They'll need your Materia."

Cleon drooped his face and mumbled something in a foreign language. To the two older women's surprise, Yuffie actually responded in a similar tongue. They traded a few sentences, Cleon remaining unenthusiastically monotone and Yuffie rising in a spot of bother.

"I don't like the idea of you tagging along any more than you do," Yuffie finally spoke in a language the others could understand. "We already got the whipping boy for Yuffie's fury, and that's old Vinnie right here! Actually now that I think about it, I'll need a punching bag more than ever 'cause you're gonna drive me insane."

"And I'll be keeping my Materia in a safe."

"Might as well staple 'em to your arms while you're at it cause that's not gonna stop me!"

"You should probably get your things ready for tomorrow," Tifa interrupted the squabble. "Pack warm, the Northern Continent has temperatures cold enough to freeze fire."

Cleon mumbled blankly in defeat and began to leave. "Forget that, I need a bag of garlic and a gallon of holy water..."

"He's not a vampire!"

Everybody jumped at the little ninja's outburst, especially Cleon who spun around in surprise and nearly tripped in the process. Yuffie's urge to strangle faded as he continued for the nearby doorway. She was the only one see him disappear into the building and she lowered her brows in curiosity while he raised his hand through his hair, briefly revealing a marking behind his neck that appeared to be a tattoo looking something like the letter 'V' and a few vertical lines.

"Alright," Questa scoffed, "I've gotta go check up on a few things. See ya around."

Tifa and Yuffie acknowledged likewise and Questa left for further down the porch. Yuffie then turned to Tifa with a question in mind.

"Why do you think Jethro specifically wanted him to come, anyway?"

"Well, I asked him about it, Jethro insisted on Cleon because he liked how well he fought today and believes him to be the best… but honestly, it sounds like he's up to something."

"Coming from Jethro, of course."

"I know, right? When Questa started suggesting others for us, Jethro came along and said that Cleon was the best idea, hands down. He kept shooting down the other names, which was really fishy. But what does it mean, what could he want from this?"

"I dunno. For once, it actually seems harmless… well, er… besides the, y'know, 'crazy paranoid Mage tagging along' part. Maybe he's actually telling the truth?" Though, even the very thought of such a query churned the pit of her stomach.

"Let's just keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious." suggested Tifa, prompting a nod from Yuffie. "…What were you guys just saying to each other, anyway? Did you actually understand what Cleon was saying? It didn't sound like Wutai to me."

"He was using a southern dialect, but we could pretty much understand each other."

"So he's from Wutai, too."

"The island itself, not the town. There's supposed to be small fishing villages and farm settlements along the southern coast. I've haven't met many southerners in my life. Godo always told the town about how 'inferior the southerners are compared to the rest of us,' so we've never really been on good terms with them..."

Tifa smiled. "Really? I couldn't tell at all."

Author's Note: This may have been boring but well, as you can probably tell, this chapter was purely to establish the final plot. And damn, in lieu of this chapter, I feel compelled to change the rating of this fic to at least "Teen."