Days of Exile

Chapter 21 – Explanation

26 December 0007

"… I can't believe it." Meia stared at what was in front of her. "All these while, you were here?"

Tseng opened an eye to look at Meia, but said nothing.

"He just woke up this morning," said Mason. "Could barely speak a word."

"There's no one in the ward when you two came in, right?" Rod asked of Mason and Meia. Mason received the call from Meia just a while ago and took her to visit Tseng. Mason shook his head. There was only a nurse on shift in the front, of which Meia cast a sleeping spell over so that no one could witness her entrance. Security cameras were also dealt with, though there weren't many.

"What happened?" Meia turned to Rod and Kido, standing right by Mason. "Reeve only told me that he asked Mason to bring him to Junon."

"Well," started Mason. "Reeve and I met just a few weeks ago in Costa del Sol. I still don't know how he got my number, but as you can see, he got it."

Rod did not look disappointed by the fact that their PHSes were not as untrackable as he claimed. "Reeve assured Mason that finding our numbers wasn't easy." Rod grinned. "So back to the story, Kido was with Mason in Costa del Sol, so they asked for my help and I came."

"I told him not to inform Cassie, KK and you in case the Jade WEAPON comes to Midgar." Kido added.

"We found Tseng, half dead in the Temple of the Ancients and we brought him back to Junon." Mason continued. "Thank goodness Reeve had pre-empted the guards not to shoot us down." The sandy-haired man gestured at the room they're in. "We've been in this place ever since."

Meia looked around the room that was housing Tseng. There were two other beds but no one was occupying them. This room, adjacent to the main ward, was built specially for the Turks. Apart from the whitewashed walls and light blue curtains, there wasn't anything outstanding about the place.

"The doctor said that Tseng will live." Rod continued. "No doubt he will. That bugger had a Full-Cure Materia under his sleeve (literally) all this while!"

"Rod!" Mason said disapprovingly. "Don't use such words in front of a lady!" Meia waved Mason off, shrugging.

"Tseng just needs more rest, judging by how badly his ribs are broken… two weeks at least." Kido ended with a small nod.

Meia looked at Tseng. "Do you need a drink?" There was a slight nod. She turned to the boys. "Didn't any of you think of giving Tseng a drink?"

Rod stared at Meia. "Then what's that IV drop for?"

"Oh gosh, you three shouldn't be nurses!" She laughed. She took a cup and poured fresh water into it. "Here, Tseng." She moved the cup towards his lips but he turned away, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Think he doesn't want you to feed him," observed Kido.

"Oh, stop being such an obstinate patient and drink up!" Meia ordered. Tseng glared at Meia, but eventually opened his mouth to allow Meia to place the cup on his lips. "Gee… It sure feels weird." She commented casually. Tseng responded by turning his head to the side. "Oh come ON!" She growled. "I'm just saying… You have been our leader for so many years… we Turks took care of each other well, but we neglected our leader's needs the most."

At last, Tseng stopped drinking and replied in a hoarse voice. "I can survive without it anyway."

"Ah, back to the good ol' Tseng!" Rod grinned.

Meia stared at them incredulously. "I think he didn't talk because he didn't even get to drink water!"

Tseng cleared his throat many times. "Meia, what are you doing here?" Tseng asked, sounding less hoarse this time.

Meia grinned. "I can't say too much, not in such a public area. Hopefully you can be discharged quickly so that you can be up to date with everything. Tseng… you know what you have a lot to answer for."

"…"

Meia continued, "Why did you-" Kido's hand wrapped around Meia's mouth. "Mm!" She frowned at her mentor.

Tseng chuckled weakly. "Like your answer, I can't give you my reply here too."

Meia pouted when Kido released his hold on her. "I trust you. I want to trust you. At the very least…" Meia whispered. "Why aren't Reno and Rude in the know of your plans? You know that they will not leave you to fight in Shinra alone."

"I know that they've remained in Shinra for my sake."

"Then… couldn't you at least trust them?"

"Eventually they will know whether what they've done is right or wrong. Even without my presence, they'll continue to serve the company."

Meia took his words in thoughtfully. "Why is that?" She murmured to herself. "Alright then, at least answer me. What was in the Temple of the Ancients? What was he looking for? Because right now… Meteor is summoned and we have no idea how and what to do."

"So… it is summoned in the end," said Tseng, sighing like a resigned old man. "Very well, I shall tell you what I saw in the Temple of the Ancients." He proceeded to talk about what had happened when he and Elena saw the murals of the Black Materia, and what has happened between Sephiroth and himself.

"Thank you for telling me, Tseng." Meia smiled. "I will use the knowledge wisely."

Tseng blinked. "What are you going to do?" He asked, a little uneasily.

"I'm taking a break from being Hojo's assistant."

"That sounds great," said Rod. "Maybe you can come over and help-"

The girl shook her head. "I'm going to Nibelheim." She announced.

"WHAT?!" Rod, Kido and Mason chorused.

Tseng almost sat up on his bed in surprise. "Why are you going to Nibelheim all of a sudden?"

"The Planet is facing a huge crisis as we speak," replied Meia. "Unless we make a decision to stop Meteor, we will surely be in trouble. I'm hoping that the Shinra Mansion will give me some answers."

Rod sighed loudly. "Meia, you're not some superhero. One's actions are not enough to save this Planet." He continued in a softer voice. "I don't even know if any action is enough to save us at all."

Tseng had a sharp acumen when it comes to dealing with one's motivations. From his subtle look of skepticism, Meia knew that he wasn't convinced. She took a deep breath – Whatever that she was going to say won't be well-received. "Also, I had enough of this. I cannot stand being in the dark… I got to know what happened." She spread her hands out. "All these things that had happened to Shinra these years… what the heck happened? First it was Genesis, then Angeal and Sephiroth… then Zack… It all linked down to Sephiroth… and Jenova."

"Meia." Tseng said, his voice taut with tension. He had feared that one day she will snap like that. He had his suspicions when Meia once wanted to tell him just how much she had read. He suspected that perhaps she had read the entire collection of Turk data, but he dared not ask. "It's not a bad thing to learn as much as you can. But there are some things that are taboo. You cannot afford to know these things."

"But…" Meia shook her head. "I can't help it. Professor Hojo has a desire for science. I," She declared, placing a hand over her heart. "Have a desire to learn everything I can. This is who I am."

Kido looked at Meia darkly. "What happened that made you want to go to Nibelheim?"

"I'm sorry," Meia said quietly. "When I was in the Northern Crater, I heard so many people speaking of the same story… but each of them held contradicting details… Nibelheim is the place where everything started. I will not rest until I have the full picture out."

"Meia!" Mason cried. "Do you know your situation now?"

"If Shinra knows that you hold their secrets," Rod growled. "Your life is forfeit."

Meia paid no attention to her comrades. "I'm sorry, Tseng." She said. "I will not change my mind. This is who I am, you cannot expect me to change."

"Hmph." Tseng heaved a laborious sigh. "Listen to me, your biggest flaw is that you cannot accept the opinions of others."

"Excuse me?!" She demanded… and then she pouted, understanding what he meant perfectly. "Fine. Touche."

"Whatever that you've done in the past, you've done with the support of many people behind you." Tseng spoke. "You will never learn from your childishness until you fail miserably in your own actions." Meia glowered at Tseng, but respectfully held her tongue.

"Gee, little Meia." Mason said awkwardly. "I hate to say this, but I agree with Tseng. Can't you see that your actions are more impactful than you think?" The girl shook her head, fixing her gaze at Tseng. One that spoke of a fierce and stubborn determination – Tseng had seen too many of that in the last few years.

"Go to Nibelheim, if you want. But don't expect any of us to help you if you fall into trouble." Tseng said, with equal firmness.

Rod pressed his hand onto the soft bed in protest. "Tseng!"

"Yeah." Mason said quietly. "Don't call us to say that you've got half the Shinra army at your heels… and you want us to save your sorry butt…"

Meia smiled wryly, clearly remembering the time when she said the same thing to him. "That isn't too far an impossibility..." She repeated his words softly and looked away, preferring to stare at the counter next to the bed. "… I understand that I'm on my own." She murmured, more like telling herself than to them. "Please take care, Tseng." With that, she stood and giving a final wave, she walked out of the room.

"Meia…" Mason said.

"That idiot!" Rod groaned. "Can't she see that she's putting all of us in danger too? If she gets caught…"

"Let her be." Kido said gravely. "She may not be a kid, but she still behaves like one. Until she stops seeing the world in the manner that she wants to see, Meia will never wake up of her own dreamland and grow up."

When it came, no one knew what was happening.

At first there was nothing, just a mere star in the night sky. As the days went by, it was clear that that was no star. By the 3rd day people swore they could see the craters and cracks on the massive meteor… although it was the size of a pea in the naked eye. To top it off, there had been reports of unknown monsters the size of mountains attacking innocent people in their towns. Some lurked in places that made that area inaccessible and some hid in places to attack unsuspecting passers-by.

Needless to say, everyone wanted answers – nobody had them.

Shinra only offered assurances that they have a plan to solve this… although no one actually mentioned what kind of solution it was. The people started losing their faith and their hope… for who could hope to defeat a global disaster?

Meanwhile, everyone else was busy…

28 December 0007

The town of Mideel looked completely different from when Cassie was a child.

"… Back finally…" She murmured to herself. The shotgun Turk adjusted her duffel bag and trudged through the forest. The forest was definitely much greener almost ten years ago, when she first picked up her things and left for Midgar. Indeed, the Planet had suffered heavily from Mako extraction in the last decade, more than it ever did in almost half a century. The trees looked dry and lifeless and the soil was cracked. Mideel used to have more wildlife and plants, with a weekly supply of Banora White Juice. "I kinda miss it…" She muttered to herself. It was the juice that she, no – all Mideel children grew up drinking.

The monsters in the forest had always been tough opponents for anyone in general. That was how Cassie honed her fighting skills as a child. Her tenacity and hunting acumen was what made her so valuable as a Turk. Indeed, haughtiness aside, Cassie was an exemplary fighter. Naturally, the monsters in the Mideel forest posed no threat to her. Soon, she was pushing her way past short shrubs and vines again.

At last she stopped in front of a large clearing and looked at the town in front of her. It always amused her to see that in all her family's wealth and prosperity, they never settled for a town that had better infrastructure. The entire town was built on wooden planks and strips, but everyone knew that Mideel wood is one of the sturdiest materials around. That was mostly how the residents earned their living – through timber and seafood from the southern seas. Still, Cassie never thought the wooden houses looked glamorous.

Recognition lit up in the townspeople's faces when they saw her entering the town.

"Cassie! You're back!"

"Welcome home! It's been what? Six years?"

"Look at little William! He was just a baby when you left…"

"I'll go inform master that you are back! Master, mistress and Mister Andrew will be ever so delighted!"

That was her butler, Henderson, an oldtime friend of the family. Cassie grinned and watched him run up the slope leading to her mansion. Well, as a child Cassie always thought it was a mansion, but seeing much more of the world when she was a Turk, her house looked small.

Despite not being back in Mideel for years, Cassie was in no hurry to return home. Her parents were perpetually busy and barely had enough time for her. She could afford to walk around the town to catch up before returning home. Then again, if her father really wanted to see her, he would send Henderson to take her. Ever since she left Mideel to be a Turk, she had only returned home four times… of which all happened in the first four years of her Turk life. After that, work simply piled up. Cassie was so heavily involved with AVALANCHE that she couldn't even ask for a two-week break.

Cassie spent some time around the town, talking to people and friends whom she had not seen in years. On top of hearing good-natured challenges for a round of hunting and making promises of going to their house for dinner, Cassie heard a lot about their recent news.

"... Washed up against the shore just yesterday..."

"... Completely inresponsive."

"… Clutching onto a long sword… and those eyes…"

"… How did he manage to float across the sea without trouble?"

The story of how an unconscious man ended up on the Mideel shores intrigued Cassie. Eventually she went to the town's clinic to have a better idea of the situation. At least she would have something to do if she was bored.

Unlike in Midgar, she thought. Pushing the wooden door, she entered a quaint little clinic with basic medical facilities. "Doc?" Cassie called. "You in there?"

A man with wiry grey hair and a moustache to match walked out from the adjacent room, frowning and adjusting his rimless spectacles. He too, smiled when he saw Cassie. "Cassie? My! Look how you've grown! I suppose Shinra had been good to you?"

The shotgun user's face darkened. "I'm fired." Quickly changing the subject, Cassie asked. "I heard about the injured man. What happened?"

Sighing, the doctor answered. "Terrible. This man has severe mako poisoning. Worst I've ever seen in my life. Not even your SOLDIERs in Midgar get this much Mako." The doctor placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "The amount of Mako… is unnatural. It looked like the man travelled through the Lifestream in flesh."

Cassie blinked in susprise. "Traveling the Lifestream in flesh?" She asked in surprise. The Lifestream was (according to Meia) the life force of the Planet. Only souls of the dead can travel through the Lifestream. It sounded dangerous to be exposed to that amount of Mako.

"It's not impossible, Cassie." The doctor said. "After all, we are pretty close to the Lifestream. If Shinra ever bothered to look in Mideel, they would never need to dig deep to find all that Mako." Gesturing at the back room, the doctor continued. "Right now, the young man's mind is not with us at all. He would not respond, could not talk. He only could make burbling noises." Gesturing at the back room again, the doctor said, "Take a look, if you want."

Cassie nodded grimly. "Sounds real bad. Will he live?"

"Mako poisoning does not kill the person, although if the person does not recover soon, he might as well be dead."

The shotgun user headed towards the clinic's mini ward, where she saw a nurse. Nodding at her, the nurse moved away… and Cassie gasped.

Lying on the bed was a man with a strong build. He wore a SOLDIER First Class uniform, but Cassie was very sure that he never was a SOLDIER First Class, not while she was still a Turk. His blond hair, even after multiple washings, seemed to gleam with a thin film of iridescent Mako. His eyes were now closed in a deep sleep. No doubt when he opened them, Cassie will be seeing bright cyan blue eyes, but that was not his original colour. The bulging muscles told Cassie that the man had only started intensive training barely months, or maybe weeks ago. Maybe that was because when she first knew him, the man barely had any muscle. Indeed, although it was a much older version, undeniably it was...

"… Cloud?"

Alana looked around her and shook her head to herself. "The number has dropped drastically," she commented.

"Well, we can't always expect full strength." Cissnei said, folding her arms. "It's hard for Legend to come to Kalm at such short notice. Wutai isn't exactly a few hours away."

Leia frowned. "Then what of the rest?"

"Well, we all know where Jasper is." Cissnei began.

"And Cassie's in Mideel, visiting her parents." Alana continued.

"Rod, Mason and Kido are in Junon, but we now know why," added KK. "Mr. Reeve Tuesti from the Urban Development contacted Mason to help Tseng."

"Huh? What happened?" asked Haato, reaching towards the coffee table for his glass of hot tea.

"He met Sephiroth and was injured severely," explained KK. "Doctor said that it would take a few weeks before he could get down from bed."

Leia frowned. "How did you finally know all these?"

"Meia." KK said.

"Where is she?" Asked Alana.

"Um…" KK smiled sheepishly. "It's a really long story which will digress from our main purpose of this meeting. I'll get to it later alright?"

"Very well," conceded Veld. "My bigger concern is that meteor above us. Day by day it looked like it was getting bigger. Meia had entrusted you to share everything that she had seen with us, so be detailed."

Katherine sighed. Of all the Turks present, was she the only one who knew of Meia's decision? Being a messenger of this sort of news wasn't a fun thing. "Alright, but it ain't pretty." KK folded her arms. "What happened was, under the guise of Professor Hojo's assistant, they travelled beyond the Great Glacier and discovered the Promised Land."

There were soft gasps around the room, of which Haato piped up, "Is there really such a thing?" After a decade of working in the Turks, it's no secret that Shinra had been actively searching for the abundant land of Mako.

KK nodded. "I didn't quite believe it too, but the Northern Continent wasn't an impossibility."

The Northern Continent had always been one of the most inaccessible places on the Planet. The Great Glacier was one of the hardest challenges for any mountain climber, boasting of hundreds of failures over the years. Even with Shinra's technology of traveling by airships, no one would think of crossing the Great Glacier due to its murderous blizzards.

"Who would've thought…" Veld furrowed his brows. "But please continue, Katherine."

Taking out the map from her bag, KK pointed out places like how she had seen Meia do. "This is Icicle Inn as we all know. The Great Glacier is that line of mountainous area behind Icicle… and this," she circled a large area north of the town. "Is what they call the Northern Crater. Apparently it had been there for centuries, but no one knew of it."

"Because no one explored it," murmured Alana.

Haato nudged Leia. "Weren't you just saying that Icicle boasts of the best natural lights? To think the Promised Land was right behind your town all these while?" Leia wrinkled her nose but only nodded for KK to continue.

"They traveled to the centre of the Crater, where they saw a sleeping Sephiroth."

The effect that name had on everyone was visible. The former Turks all sat straighter and stared at KK. "Sephiroth sleeping?" asked Leia.

"Wasn't he the one who killed President Shinra in Midgar?" Frowned Haato. KK shook her head. "Then if Sephiroth had been behind Great Glacier all along, who is the one that we've been keeping a lookout for?"

"A clone." KK looked at Veld. "Meia said that you will explain it better."

Despite the serious discussion, Veld's eyes twinkled with amusement. "She wasn't wrong. It is perhaps better if I explained this portion." Now, all eyes were on him, the one who knew the most due to his former position. "The Science Department had been doing many things that were uncommon, in the loosest terms. Five years ago, as we all remember, was the burning of Nibelheim. Sephiroth was nowhere to be found after the chaos he'd created. Contrary to what was told to us, there were survivors."

"So there were survivors…" Leia wondered aloud.

Veld paused to sit straighter on his couch. "Professor Hojo made the request for the Nibelheim survivors to be transported to the Shinra Mansion. Reno, Rude and Rod were the only ones present when it happened. They looked uncomfortable with the task and thus I was the one who completed the job for them."

Leia recalled how unusually quiet Reno and especially Rod were that night in the Nibelheim inn. "No wonder Reno and Rod were so subdued that night. Must've been quite a thought-provoking moment for Rod."

Veld nodded. "I did not mention to all of you what happened after that. The truth was that Hojo injected large amounts of Jenova cells in the townspeople… and the two missing Shinra members, Zack Fair and an unnamed infantryman. What he was doing all this while… was to prove his Jenova Reunion Theory."

"His what?" Haato raised his eyebrow skeptically at Veld.

"Hojo believed that even if separated from the main Jenova body, Jenova's cells will somehow reunite as one again. If assimilated properly, the living vessels of the Jenova cells, who are called the clones, can be easily influenced by the cells to move towards Jenova. Hence the Jenova Reunion Theory."

"This is the craziest thing I've ever heard," said Leia.

Cissnei frowned. "How does this benefit us?"

"I believe you do not know Hojo well enough, little one." Haato answered with a grin. "Everything he does… doesn't really make sense." Cissnei frowned at Haato's patronizing comment, but said nothing.

KK nodded happily. "Phew!" She placed a hand over her heart. "Thank goodness I don't have to explain THAT. So back to Meia. She said that Professor Hojo created 14 successful Jenova cell hosts hoping that they will be reunited with the Jenova body… Just that it didn't. For some reason, Sephiroth could control the clones to migrate towards him instead."

"But why can he do so?" Asked Cissnei. "What is he in relation to all these?"

"It may sound too farfetched but perhaps Sephiroth's will overwhelm Jenova's own." Veld suggested.

"But how? Sephiroth is but a human and Jenova is… not," ended Cissnei lamely.

"Of course Sephiroth can." Veld said gravely. "He was full of Jenova cells himself."

"What?!" This time all the Turks exclaimed at the shocking news.

"Sephiroth was the product of a fetus being injected with Jenova cells." Veld explained. "He was a success, a living proof that humans can be physically altered by Jenova cells."

Leia nodded slowly. "That would likely explain his inhuman skills and supernatural strength."

Even Alana covered her mouth with disgust. "That is the most sickening thing I've ever heard." She said quietly.

Haato raised a hand. "I'm kinda overwhelmed by many things now." He admitted. "A short break, maybe?"

Everyone agreed (with relief) that a short break was in order.

My author's notes are on my blog. See you in two weeks' time!