Days of Exile

The more accurate chapter would be called "Jumping to Conclusions, Grasping at Straws", but it's too long, so it stuck at "Jumping to Conclusions". Perhaps some further chapter will be called "Grasping at Straws", hehe.

Chapter 36 – Jumping to Conclusions

Previously on Days of Exile…

Right before Meia was exposed by Hojo for being in the Nibelheim mansion, AVALANCHE had been running around the Planet. Shinra had plans to launch a humongous Materia against Meteor via a rocket, Shinra No. 26. In their last efforts to thwart them, AVALANCHE stole all the fragments of the Huge Materia, leaving an empty shell to collide against Meteor.

With nothing that they could do, AVALANCHE sought the advice of the wise Bugenhagen. Once again, they travelled to the Forgotten City, where painful memories still remained, to look for any answers to stop Meteor.

It was their last hope…

11 January 0008

Tifa shivered against the cold. She wished she had brought a windbreaker with her, for it was very cold in the Forgotten Capital, the ruins of the Ancients. She stared at Cloud, who was walking towards the centre of the shrine with much determination and focus.

"Are you feeling cold?" asked Nanaki concernedly.

"No, not really," Tifa mumbled. She sighed. Now that Cloud had remembered his past while they were in the Lifestream, Cloud dropped his cool and aloof attitude, and became more like the caring Cloud that she remembered. However, issues about Aerith still stuck to him. Like an obsession, Cloud would hunt down any clues he could regarding Aerith.

He quickened his steps and hastily approached Bugenhagen, who had long floated to the centre of the shrine and was inspecting the centerpiece. They soon reached the centre of the shrine. Tifa felt a chill as she stepped upon the stone that was in the centre. As she glanced around the vestige, she wondered how Aerith felt as she was kneeling there mere moments before Sephiroth killed her.

I still don't get it… Tifa wondered. Why did she leave us at Bone Village, to come here all alone?

"The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing." Bugenhagen mused. The party of three looked at him questioningly. "The planet's in a crisis…" Then, the elder shook his head. "A crisis beyond human power or endless time. It says, when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy'."

"Holy?" questioned Cloud.

"Holy... the ultimate White Magic," explained Bugenhagen. "Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear." He suddenly chuckled, as he would often do when he thinks of something interesting. "Meteor, WEAPON, everything will disappear." He leant closer and whispered, "Perhaps, even ourselves."

"Even us!?" exclaimed Cloud.

"It is up to the planet to decide," the wise man answered. Tifa dared not argue. After all, this man had probably lived many centuries before her, perhaps even had friendships with the tribes of Ancients, for all she knew. Bugenhagen slowly lifted himself higher and higher on that green orb of his. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all." He chuckled again. "I wonder which we humans are?"

Cloud stared at the ground, deep in thought. "Cloud…" Tifa murmured. She understood that Cloud wanted to save the Planet, but could he really do that? Perhaps all of them were being too ambitious in hoping that they could really make a difference. Yet, Holy was such a wonderful solution. Surely if Meteor was the ultimate destructive magic, then Holy would be the ultimate countermagic to save the Planet. If there really was a Holy…

Her childhood friend now looked at Bugenhagen again. "Search for Holy... How do we do it?"

"Speak to the planet. Get the White Materia... This will bond the Planet to humans." Bugenhagen nodded. "Then speak to the planet. If our wish reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green."

"Speak to the Planet?" Tifa whispered to Nanaki. "How do we even do that?" Nanaki swished his tail and replied that he was just as clueless. Only the Cetra could speak to the Planet, and they all knew what happened to the last Cetra.

Cloud slumped at the news. "… This is the end," he said, shrugging. "Aerith had the White Materia... But when Aerith died, it fell from the altar..." He stared at the calm water around the altar, where the last of the Materia disappeared into. Cloud shook his head dejectedly. "That's why… this is the end."

Suddenly, Bugenhagen bounced around on his orb. He chuckled excitedly, as if he had discovered something amazing. He floated back down and stared at the altar again, chuckling here and there. However, what he had discovered, he would not tell any of them. Finally, he beckoned them to look closer. "Look at this!" As everyone fixed their attention back on the altar, Bugenhagen pointed out. "Ancients' writing."

"Can you read it?" asked Cloud hopefully.

Bugenhagen looked at Cloud. "I can't even make it out!" He beamed, apparently very excited by his own discovery.

"This is no time for jokes..."

"I'm not an Ancient. I can't read this thing!" Bugenhagen protested. Then, he looked at the altar closely. "I may be old, but my eyes aren't completely bad yet. Look closely below the writing."

Cloud stepped forward to look closer. "There's something written in chalk... (even sunlight can't reach) … (Key)?"

"It was probably written by a scientist who's been here..." answered Bugenhagen. "He probably used all his energy to make out these words."

"Key…?" uttered Cloud. "To what?"

"I don't know... But, it probably has something to do with our riddle. The riddle… then it must have something to do with Aerith."

Everyone cheered up at the hope of that. "So this note points to where the key is?" asked Cloud.

"Probably… Use these words as clues and go find the key. I'll continue to figure out the Ancient's writing."

Cloud looked at the elder. "A place (Even sunlight won't reach) is where the (key) is, right?"

The elder gave a slight nod. "When you find the key, or when you can't go any further, come back here. Maybe I'll understand more from the writing and get some new information for you."

Cloud nodded and, turning to Tifa and Nanaki who had been silent all the time, he said, "Let's go."

He would only be this motivated when it comes to her. Tifa thought. Suddenly, she slapped both her cheeks.

"Tifa," asked Nanaki concernedly. "Maybe you should not join us on the next trip."

"I'm fine," replied Tifa curtly. "Just trying to slap some sense into me… literally, I guess."

Nanaki frowned at the metaphor, for he preferred to speak directly. He shook his fur and continued climbing the steps. In front of them, Cloud walked hurriedly, unaware of what had happened behind him.

Snap out of it, Tifa! She chided herself. You are just jumping to conclusions! Cloud is just concerned about Aerith. He is just as motivated to save the Planet as everyone else is. Besides, Cloud used to want to protect me, and he did. But I guess that was so many years ago. He did save me in a pinch, like he had promised.

She recalled fondly of how he held her as she was wounded by Sephiroth in that Mako Reactor. That was the last I ever saw him until Midgar. So what if he found his memories back in the Lifestream? His feelings would not change anyway. As Tifa walked, she stared at the back of her childhood friend. Yes, it was times like this that she felt that she did not know him at all. Perhaps, she would never know him again.

In Icicle Inn, the temperature fell lower from that in December, but it was warm and toasty in Leia's house. Leia furrowed her eyebrows and muttered to herself. She had checked her packing list three times, still she had a naggy feeling that she had forgotten something. Meanwhile, Haato lounged by the side of the bed, watching her with an amused look on his face.

Finally, Leia turned to him with an irritated look. "Don't just sit there," grumbled she. She gestured at the bags on her bed, half-packed. "I am really frustrated that I cannot recall that last thing to pack. Help me brainstorm."

"Alright," said Haato, sitting up. "Clothes? Food? Gil?" With each suggestion, Leia nodded her head. Haato tried harder. "Toothbrush and toothpaste? How about your weapon- oh, right, you don't have them…" He made a face and made a last attempt at guessing. "A comb, maybe?"

Leia's face brightened at the last suggestion. "I knew I'd forgotten something." She walked to her dresser purposefully for her comb. She smiled at her lover. "You can be counted on for these details, after all," she said, tossing her comb into her backpack with a small flourish.

"That sure was a boost in my ego," Haato replied with sarcasm. "Remind me again, why are we going back to Midgar? You know, if Shinra hasn't thrown banners begging us to return, I'm still guessing that we are not supposed to go back."

She rolled her eyes at his sarcastic remark. "If you remember the phone call from Alana, she suggested that we should return. Day by day, the Meteor is hovering on top of Midgar. They may need us to help with any emergency plans."

"Well, the Meteor is going to wipe out the entire Planet, isn't it?" Haato scoffed. "We could be in Midgar or chocobo island for all I care. All of us are going down." There was a short silence as the couple thought about the inevitable consequence. "You know that I'm right," Haato said, this time a little softer. He never had to apologise for being straightforward and blunt. Leia's speech and behaviour was every bit like that too. Leia moved closer to Haato and he held her hand to comfort.

Then Leia said, changing the subject. "Has Jasper been informed about this?"

"Yeah, Cassie said that she called every one of us. But I doubt Jasper will be with us in Midgar. He has to arrange for his wedding preparations." Haato chuckled. "Cheeky little fellow, who would have thought? The first one to marry in the Turks, and it turned out to be the little squirt."

"It wasn't too hard to imagine that, actually." Leia said. "Among us, Jasper is the one with a family business. Naturally he would go back to his trade. Moreover, marriage is common in the high society."

"Not that," Haato laughed again. "Just that he is younger than most of us. It's almost humiliating to know that the kid is marrying earlier than any of us!"

"Well, you should be grateful that you have the opportunity to even consider marriage." Leia shot back. Haato kept quiet. Everyone was thankful indeed, that Shinra had dropped charges against their "infidelities" and that they can live, albeit in seclusion. Leia quickly changed the topic, efficient and straightforward as ever. "When we are in Midgar, we will all squeeze into Rod's garage," she remarked.

Haato looked at Leia in surprise. "All of us?" He asked in surprise.

"Striking off Rod, Mason and Kido who are in Junon, Jasper who is preparing for his wedding, Alana who has her own house… We are looking at seven people." Leia counted for Haato. "Cassie, Cissnei, KK, Legend, us… and Meia if we can get hold of her." She shook her head as she thought about the young Turk. "I really feel useless and helpless that none of us can help her."

"She is a Turk. She will get out fine," Haato reached for her hand again. "KK is right on this. We have been too protective of her all this while."

"I know." Leia sighed. "Meia isn't what a Turk should be. We never treated her like one. She is like… really like a pet dog or something. Or an adopted child into the Turks. We simply let her do the easy jobs and we pampered her by giving her the easy way out.

"It wasn't fair to us, not that we minded. Guess that in the long run, it was more unfair for her." Leia commented, earning a confused look from Haato. "Now she may not even be equipped enough to fend for herself, after all these years of 'training'. And it would be our negligence that she failed to think or act like a proper Turk. We should have treated her with the trust and responsibility that she deserved."

"Well, wouldn't it be a good time to train now?" Haato remarked jokingly, but Leia knew that there was some seriousness in his words. "Our decision to leave Meia to fend for herself would be the first step for her to wake up from her castle, pick up the sword and fight."

Leia smiled. She knew that Haato was right. Instead of regretting the past, the best way would be to start now. Perhaps things would turn out fine in the end. At least, she wanted them to.

Fred breathed deeply, but it did nothing to quell his motion sickness. "I can't wait to get my feet on land again," said he to his closest comrade, SOLDIER 2nd Class, Kunsel.

His partner chuckled good-naturedly. "The trip from Junon to Midgar is a few hours, tops. Hang in there, big guy."

Both men were on an airship back to Midgar. They were dispatched a few days ago to Junon to assist Shinra in operations. Initially, they were suspicious because they knew it was a ploy to divert them away from Midgar. However, once they knew of the mission's nature and plans, they knew that there was much work to be done in Junon too.

"What do you think they are going to do with 'SR'?" Fred dropped his voice lower so that the loud whirring sounds of the engine could cover his voice.

The younger but more experienced SOLDIER shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows?" He said. "They can do lots of things with that 'SR'."

'SR' was the name of the mission that they were assisting. No one was allowed to speak more than what the plan was; neither did anyone explain the meaning of 'SR'. However, it was clear as day what Shinra was doing. They were transporting the huge Mako canon from Junon to Midgar. The plan involved dismantling the canon into portable sizes, transporting them to Midgar and then reassembling them again. No one explained any further intentions or plans. Then again, no one had to. Everyone knew that the canon was moved to Midgar to fortify their forces against… well, everything.

As they speak, they were among many other airships escorting the gigantic weapon to Midgar. Once they reach Midgar, everyone would need to work overtime to get the canon up and battle-ready as soon as possible. Not much time to rescue Meia out… if she was still around.

Fred did not dare to talk to Kunsel about Meia. Whenever he did, Kunsel would behave very differently. He would change the topic or become so quiet that the conversation would not continue anyway. Fred knew that Kunsel regarded Meia highly and cared for her tremendously. If Kunsel cared so much for an individual, surely he would want to help in any way he could. Moreover, he wished to help Meia because he wanted to know about what happened to Zack Fair. That was a question that Fred Zeffrey definitely would not want to leave unanswered.

This time, it was Kunsel who brought up the issue of Meia. "Hey, Fred." Fred grunted in response. "When we return, if we have the time, I would like to find Meia."

Fred mumbled something. Though Kunsel could not hear him, he knew what Fred's concerns were. "Chances are, Meia is still alive." Fred sat straighter at the news and looked at Kunsel quizzically. "Hojo has a bad habit of jumping from experiment to experiment without finishing it. Hopefully Hojo has been too distracted with Meteor or something to remember that he kept Meia in his cell."

"Good Gaia, I hope you're right." Fred fell back against the seat with a sigh. "I hope we can get Meia out safely."

Kunsel chuckled. "Honestly, I believe in her ability. She may be less talented than the other Turks, but she is capable to keep herself alive. She can be quite the sneaky one, if she wants to." He grinned at Fred. "For all you know, by the time we return, she is relaxing on a couch in the cell, with all the guards at her beck and call."

12 January 0008

It took AVALANCHE some time to find that aforementioned key. There were many places where the sunlight did not reach. They had gone to the Mythril Cave, Nibelheim, Bone Village and the Sleeping Forest to search for the 'key' in vain. It was frustrating because no one knew how this 'key' looked like. Sometimes they were scanning the area for something abnormally out of place. Sometimes everyone got down on their knees to search and dig for something as normal as a house key.

Everyone was contributing ideas and everyone else was jumping to conclusions. It all amounted to a futile effort. Nanaki suggested that they could not afford to be excited about any possible idea. Time was running out.

It was Cid's idea that they search the ocean using the submarine that they had abducted from the Shinra troops. Initially, everyone thought nothing of it, since the sea was always exposed to the sun. However, with more thought and Cid's active persuasion, the party saw more sense in exploring the seabed.

Thus, they headed to Junon. Everyone boarded the submarine and explored the depths of the ocean, looking for something that they know nothing about. They marvelled at how at the surface the water was clear for sunlight to seep through, but down in the depths of the sea it was as dark as night. Without the two shining beams from their Shinra submarine, they could not see anything in the waters. They were too caught up in chasing after the Shinra submarine carrying the Huge Materia the other time.

At some point, after seeing many creatures of the sea, they thought they saw something massive moving. They were about to take a closer look when Vincent suddenly stopped Cloud, who was steering the submarine.

"Don't go any closer," the man warned. "It will not mean well for any of us."

Barret snorted. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Then Tifa, who had been looking out of the window, gave a short scream. "Cloud! Don't move the sub any closer! It's WEAPON!"

Everyone in the cockpit froze at the word, inching slowly to the windows so that they could see better. Indeed, it was WEAPON, rather it looked like one. Similar to the Ultimate WEAPON, it had huge fins attached to its back.

"Whew!" Cait Sith took a step back. "Wouldn't want to run into that by accident!"

Cid stared at Vincent. "How could you not react to something as #$%^%^& big as that?!" He exclaimed. Vincent, taciturn as ever, gave no audible response.

"I'm sure we could defeat that WEAPON if we tried!" said Nanaki confidently.

"But that is not our main purpose, everyone," reminded Cloud gently.

Everyone decided to leave the Emerald WEAPON (named by Yuffie) alone for now. Their task to find the key of the Ancients was more pressing. While Cloud expertly skirted the submarine around the green creature, everyone discussed about the WEAPONs that they had encountered so far.

"There were five WEAPONs that flew out of the Northern Crater that day," began Nanaki.

"The one that injured Tifa," added Cait Sith. "Ultimate WEAPON."

Barret nodded. "Then there's the Sapphire WEAPON in Junon when Tifa and I were captured. Shinra got rid that 'un with their crazy ass canon."

"In the sea now, we see Emerald WEAPON," contributed Vincent.

"Oh!" said Cait Sith again. "Don't forget that suspicious red tentacle that appeared in the desert the day after the Northern Crater. We don't know if that's a WEAPON but let's keep that in mind!"

"That makes it four, huh?" Cid counted. "We haven't seen the last one yet."

Yuffie jumped up and down. "I remember the last one!" She said excitedly. "How about that flying WEAPON?"

The party stared at her with skepticism. "Yuffie," said Barret. "All the WEAPONs freaking flew."

"No, no, no! There was one that looked like some kind of flying insect! I saw it the other time when you guys were in Rocket Town. It just flew past us, and it was so fast that I didn't think too much about it." Yuffie explained. "If all these bozos are WEAPONs, surely that one is one too!"

A short silence followed as everyone considered her words. "Yuffie…" said Tifa gently. "I don't remember seeing any insect-looking WEAPON."

"Must be your imagination," muttered Cait Sith. "There's nothing like that sort."

In truth, Cait Sith, and of course Reeve, knew what Yuffie was talking about. She was referring to the Jade WEAPON, the WEAPON that was now targeting the Turks for destroying Zirconiade. Reeve felt that there was no reason to alarm AVALANCHE with the knowledge of a sixth WEAPON, since that WEAPON will not harm them in any way. Cait Sith agreed. Having to deal or avoid five WEAPONs was bad enough.

"Oh!" Yuffie groaned. "You guys are so frustrating! I swear NO ONE believes a single thing I say!" Everyone kept quiet because this time, there was some truth in her words.

Eventually, they found the 'key' when they were travelling through a small tunnel in between sea cliffs. It looked like a normal stick with some elaborated designs.

"Do you think it's…?" asked Cloud, not daring to complete his question. The submarine quickly but carefully collected the ancient artefact. Everyone waited with bated breaths as the machine did its routine identification scan.

Many beeps later, a robotic voice reported, "… Analysis completed... Exact date of origin cannot be determined... Estimated to be several thousand years old..."

"Key of the Ancients..." murmured Cloud. Behind him, everyone cheered at the knowledge that their work in the ocean was done. Or so they thought.

Yuffie suddenly pushed Cloud off and grabbed the steering wheel. Shouts of surprise and outrage followed after. "Hey! Whaddya think yer doing!" shouted Barret in alarm. "You hijacking the sub now?"

"Relax!" said Yuffie, rolling her eyes at him in the most melodramatic manner. "I just want to explore this place a bit!" Without waiting, she sped the submarine at high speed, playing with the controls.

"Yuffie," Tifa said softly. "We don't have much time. Bugenhagen is waiting for us at the Forgotten Capital." Cait Sith agreed, saying that they could return another time.

"Oh come on!" Yuffie whined. "There is so much potential for adventure in this place! Admit it, you guys, you know that once we go back to the Forgotten Capital, there might be things that we have to do and then we will never come back to the sea here to do fun exploring!" She waved at Nanaki. "I'm sure your grandpoppy wouldn't mind, right?"

"Well… actually I'm pretty interested to check out the ocean," said Nanaki, his tail wagging excitedly. "Grandfather said that we can take our time to find the key, so why not?"

"That's the spirit, Nanaki!" Yuffie grinned. "Give me a high-five… I mean, paw."

Everyone unanimously turned to Cloud for his opinion. The blond scratched his head. Barely concealing his irritation, he said, "You have 15 minutes, then we will leave." Yuffie cheered and promised flippantly. Everyone else sighed, but they could not deny that they were also excited to see what surprises the ocean bed contained. It was not very long when they spotted a grey piece in the distance. Upon closer inspection, everyone was surprised to see a sunken airplane. They quickly formed a group of three to explore.

"No fair!" Yuffie grumbled when she found out that the party of three did not include her. "I was the one who suggested exploring the sea! I want to check out the plane!"

Barret shook his head. "You will stay in the sub, with the others."

"We won't let you go tearing up those things," explained Cid as if he was speaking to a child. "It's too dangerous for us."

The Wutaian ninja sulked. "Well," she relented, rocking on her heels back and forth. "Alright… I guess I will stay here in the submarine… don't blame me if the sub mysteriously disappears…"

"…"

A few minutes later, a curious Cloud, a grumbling Cid and an excited Yuffie left the submarine and headed for the sunken ship.

Have you guys ever wondered who named those WEAPONs? I know the WEAPONs are named for the gamer's identification, but what about the people in the game? Do they even know their names or was shouting "WEAPON!" sufficient enough for them?

So I realized that as Meteor approaches, the scenes with AVALANCHE increases. Some of you are asking, "Gee, where are Reno and Meia?" I know, I heard your call. It's just that I got to write some of the canon scenes out, because I believe most of my readers have not played the game before (It's available on Steam, if you're of age!). So to readers like Kadajclone, sorry to make you guys read information that you already know. Hopefully the extra bits of (made up) information I put inside each scene will make it less… boring.