Days of Exile

In case you've missed it out in my blog (that is, aichioluv dot blogspot dot sg), I've finally finished writing "Days of Exile"! *cue applause* Therefore, the story will resume to its weekly updates until its final chapter, which is Chapter 60.

Enjoy!

Chapter 56 – Xeric Conditions

It had been a few months since Meia returned from Icicle Inn. Rufus Shinra was still missing but Tseng and the Turks seemed to have some kind of plan. Reno had been so busy that he barely had enough time to meet her, much less explain things to her.

Not that Meia was twiddling her thumbs at home.

When Meia returned, Reeve had just begun the "company" that he had in his mind. Apparently while she was gone, there was a rogue group of people claiming to be from the defunct Shinra Military Academy who were given orders to rebuild a new town on the east of Midgar. The leader leading this rogue faction was one named Kyle Muttengate. Incidentally, he was Rufus Shinra's kidnapper, as INTEL found out. Later, Kyle was mysteriously assassinated and Rufus was taken away to somewhere else. That turn of events extended the search and brought the Shinra Turks back to square one. The faction that Kyle led was quickly subdued by the work of the Shinra Turks.

The disappearance of Rufus Shinra did not hinder his influence at all, as Meia found out. Even in captivity, Rufus fed Kyle Muttengate with ideas of a new town, an initial plan that Veld, Reeve and himself were going to undertake. In a way, Rufus indirectly brought that plan that to life through the hands of someone else, which was impressive in Meia's opinion. After the fall of Kyle Muttengate and his faction, Reeve decided that it was a great time to step in to continue the construction.

Meia was utterly impressed with how much work was done in just three short months. The new town – Edge was the name – was half built when Kyle Muttengate's group was disbanded. However, the hands of many Midgar citizens who lost their homes during Meteorfall made light work of the building of the new town. Reeve's comprehensive but user-friendly architectural designs made everything easy for even inexperienced workers. Meia watched all these developments in awe. Reeve was right. If Rufus was the mastermind getting the rebuilding of the city done, his visionary ideals would be just what the people of Midgar need to move on.

She will become a part of it. A part of recreating a brand new world for the people out there.

Reeve's new organization had a simple and straightforward name – World Regenesis Organisation, or WRO for short. As of now, the main aim was to ensure that people in Midgar were given sufficient shelter and the basic necessities needed for future survival. However, Reeve had bigger plans than that. Meia guessed as much from its name.

She was whisked away from Rod's garage shortly after she came back from Icicle Inn.

"Do you enjoy the city of Edge, Meia?" asked Reeve politely as he led her through the crowds of people.

Meia beamed. "Yes. Very much." She looked up, squinting against the sun. "I would never think that I could live in Midgar with everyone else under the open blue sky. It's everything that I could ever imagine." She looked at Reeve with a wide smile. "Everyone must be really excited to start a new life like this, especially the people in the slums!"

The expression on the former Urban Development Head did not match hers. "Come," he said, holding her arm. He wordlessly brought her across the noisy town square, through the busy streets, around the bustling corners and finally stopped at a quieter alley, a few minutes' walk away from the town square.

Reeve gestured Meia to look into the alley, which she did. There had been a funky, though barely noticeable smell around the city, but Meia now knew the source. People were lying on the floor, holding parts of their body from emitting a dark liquid. Meia knew from their faces that death was certain upon them – it was only a matter of time. Seeing how that faint smell was prevalent around the whole town, she wondered if there were many alleys like that too.

"What happened?" asked Meia softly.

"We will discuss this somewhere else," replied Reeve, pulling her away from the alleyway.


Not too far from the alley that they were in, a newly-constructed building stood right at the outskirts of Northern Edge. It was not as big or grand looking as the Shinra headquarters, but Meia could pretty much guess that this building was the new headquarters for WRO.

Being a new company, the building was virtually empty. In fact, Reeve unlocked the doors himself. "It's just you, me and Kent, for now," he said with a half-apologetic smile. He opened the doors and Meia walked in. It was a simple three-storey building with basic facilities, but the land outside the building spoke of potential for expansion.

Pulling out a chair for the both of them, Reeve explained about the mysterious disease that took over Midgar shortly after Meteor struck. They had not discovered any common causes for the sickness, but they noticed that infected people often looked bruised. The bruises would manifest into excretion of a thick, black liquid from any random area of their body.

Meia, for all the reading and knowledge that she had acquired, had never heard of such a condition. Reeve was especially interested to know that there were no such reported cases in Icicle Inn. "You may need to return to Icicle Inn soon… see if we can tease out any reasons to why the people of Icicle Inn are immune to it," suggested Reeve. Meia had no objections. She wondered if Randy and Heidi would want to meet her and talk to her this time.

They also discussed many things, namely her involvement with WRO. Reeve insisted that Meia become his Vice-Commander, much to her embarrassment.

"I very much rather be your bodyguard," said Meia. "I can assure you, I'm not going to be the best candidate for this job."

"You don't have to worry about that," said Reeve truthfully. "I'm aware of your abilities and anything lack thereof. You and Kent will work together as vice-commanders." Meia wrinkled her nose, and Reeve understood that it was not out of disgust but that he needed to explain more. He sighed. "There are many reasons why I chose you and Kent to be my right-hand men."

"I understand why Kent, but why me?" Meia asked… and laughed. "I'm sorry, I know it sounds like I'm fishing for compliments. However, I'm serious. I would want to know what you see in me that makes me competent for the job. If I can't see what you see, then I'm not sure if I can meet your expectations."

Reeve gave a wry smile. "I was told that working with you means I have to answer many questions." Meia laughed apologetically. "It's simple. Back in Shinra, there weren't many people that I trust. In the pool of people that I have personally worked with, the only ones whom I knew professionally and somewhat personally, would be Kent and you.

"You have a good enthusiasm, you learn and pick up skills very quickly. That makes you a role model for future employees to learn from. What you lack as a leader is tactfulness and decisiveness. That is what Kent is good at. However, there is something that he lacks. A strong conviction in wanting the best for everyone. Kent has trust issues involving his past." Reeve smiled, like a father talking about his son. "He's learning, but till then, I don't want him to be the only one being the right-hand man. I need someone to remind me of my calling in WRO, someone who can tell me in my face if, when time goes by, I begin to stray from my initial desire of making Midgar and the Planet a better place." He looked at Meia intently. "Someone like you."

Meia looked Reeve, who was sincere in his words. She sighed. There was no way she could talk herself out of the situation. Despite that, there was a spark of excitement in her. She really wanted to play a part of this big plan. "Yes," she said, a smile forming at the thought of all the possibilities. "Count me in."

With that, she became really busy. First, it was mainly planning. The three of them sat together and discussed the key issues at hand. As a part of WRO, she felt useful. One of the most obvious things that she could contribute in would be her exceptional memory. She could explain and remind Reeve and Kent some of the long forgotten or taken-for-granted processes that Shinra implemented in running a company. Thanks to that, she was given that monumental task to write down all the processes that she remembered – there were many that she knew of.

"Don't worry," laughed Kent with a pat on Meia's back. "I'll help you out with the writing and refining of the processes. You won't be in this alone."

Sometimes, Veld and Elfe would join in, but it was not long before all of them agreed that more people were needed. Thus began major recruitment and eventually, Veld's team of INTEL were absorbed as a sub-division of WRO, though not completely under WRO's jurisdiction. Meia was glad for that too. She could not imagine her former seniors now becoming her subordinates. INTEL was still under the leadership of Veld and Alana.

Still, they lacked manpower. Every day was a busy day from morning to evening. From administrative work to meetings to trainings to walking around the town to gathering feedback, Meia found herself stretched in her capacities. Every evening, she looked forward to meeting Reno. That was the one thing that she was really, truly glad to be back in Edge for.

"We are all being stretched to our sides," commented Reeve one night, after they had finished a long meeting. "The conditions and circumstances for working are dry and harsh, but I know we can get through this for sure. You aren't regretting this at all, are you?"

Meia's smile was wide and her face was glowing with excitement. "I love it."

Kent's face was equally enthusiastic. "Couldn't have found a better job myself."

Meia did a fist-pump, like how she had seen Zack Fair do many years ago. "I'm all fired up!" She grinned. "WRO will keep us and the Planet busy for a long time!"


Late April, 0008

Reeve Tuesti had told Meia many times that there was no need for the vice-commander of WRO to be personally involved in the missions and tasks at hand. However, Meia often found an unexplainable thrill in physically being there at the mission. She preferred it more than staying in the office, figuring out strategies and deployment of manpower. Today was no different.

Meia crouched, hidden among the pile of broken furniture, and peered out of a hole of an armchair cautiously. The building that she was observing had no signs of activity. However, she should not be relaxing. In any minute, she could be out there defending herself.

She flipped her PHS open and reread the mission details given by Kunsel of the Intelligence Department. Yes, the very same Kunsel. Needless to say, Meia was ecstatic to find him again and wasted no time asking him to join WRO. Thank goodness Reeve was impressed with Kunsel's accolades as well. Initially, Reeve wanted Kunsel to head the Combat Division, given his experience as SOLDIER Second Class, but Kunsel said that he preferred to offer his services in intelligence.

The rising threat against Edge and WRO had gotten the entire place in a flurry. As of now, Meia was not sure who this group of resistance was. They had an idea that the group was not from Midgar. That made things a little harder to pin down and conclude. However, Meia was not very concerned. The company had steadily increased its manpower to approximately 50 people (excluding INTEL). Surely that amount of people is enough to get things done, she thought. There were less than 20 Turks last time, but we got things done anyway. Then again, the scale of WRO is closer to that of Shinra, so it's probably unfair to compare to just the Turks…

A sudden light step behind her caused Meia to spin, training her gun at the sneaker. Meia was glad that she took a closer look before reevaluating attack. She recognized the slender figure that was standing behind her. Even with her figure covered by a suit of khaki shirt and pants and her golden hair neatly tucked into her cap, the woman who stood in front of her always made Meia look at her twice. Perhaps it was her beauty, perhaps there was something that Meia could not figure about her, which unsettled her a lot.

"Lindy," said Meia, trying to suppress her surprise by a few notches. "You scared me." She smiled. "What took you guys so long?"

The blonde smiled and gave a salute. Despite being much older than Meia, Lindy was one of the few who never saw Meia's age as incompetence. "I'm sorry," she said respectfully. "I thought against calling you, just in case. Besides," she tapped her nose. "I'm good at hunting people down."

Meia nodded. "Where's Eddie?"

A soft tap on her shoulder caused Meia to turn around. A young woman with bright orange short hair grinned back at her. "I'm here!" She hissed excitedly. "What are we still waiting for?" She bounced from left to right. "I can't wait to get the party started!"

"Not so loud," said Meia gently. "Is everything done and set up?"

Eddie (because no one knows her real name) stood very still and saluted. "All set and ready to go, vice-"

"SHHH!" Meia covered Eddie's mouth with her hand. She sighed. "Be on standby." The two women nodded and retreated a few steps away. Meia sighed again, stealing a glance at the two women occasionally.

Lindy and Eddie are two of the new additions to the WRO's Combat Division. There were many new recruits like them, but Meia noticed the both of them almost immediately. Lindy is twenty-five years old and comes from Mideel. Tseng was the one who found her. Coming from Mideel, Lindy knows Cassie and is apparently good friends with Cassie's brother.

Everything about Lindy is attention-grabbing. With long, blonde hair, big green eyes and a heart-shaped face, she is very beautiful to look at. Furthermore, her shy and quiet attitude towards many things makes her the perfect weak damsel in distress. Treating her like one though, will not be the wisest thing to do. Lindy, being raised in Mideel, has a gift in hunting, using her spear and speed as her weapon. Barely a few weeks into WRO, Lindy became well-known for being one of the strongest fighters in the Combat Division… even Meia was unable to win her in a one-to-one melee match. Reno, being the 'fastest of the Turks' won, barely.

Meia glanced at Eddie, who was now attempting to whistle through her nose. She looks just like a kid. Meia thought.

Reno and Rude first found Eddie when they were tracking down a Wutaian spy in the Shinra warehouses in Midgar. They did not find anything much about their Wutaian enemy, but they had brought back a troublemaker. There were rumours that Eddie was actually a spy from the Wutaian troops but it was hard to conclude anything from that. More like Meia did not want to make conclusions based on groundless speculation.

Eddie is as old as Lindy but she looks half her age. From her petite, boyish figure to her shocking orange hair, her age gives no explanation to everything about her. While Lindy is reserved and meticulous, Eddie is unpredictable and spontaneous. Eddie has a knack for inviting trouble – most of the time Eddie deliberately invited the trouble herself. Reno often joked that if Eddie was a real spy, Wutai would be doing a good job because she was literally turning WRO upside down. It is hard to understand what goes through Eddie's mind. Her behavior and motivation to her actions are volatile. Eddie does not fight well, but her greatest talent lies in the bombs and explosives that she makes. Like Legend and Rude, she creates bombs that do various things. She is currently the main creator of all explosives in WRO.

Despite knowing them for only a few months, Meia enjoyed working with them. Their differences made them the best of friends and they complement what Meia lacks.

"By the way, how is it that you could find this spot so easily?" Eddie glanced at Meia curiously. "Finding the building was not a problem, but it took Lindy and I ages to find this obscure location!"

Meia grinned. "I have been in Edge for a longer time than the both of you, and you know… I have a good memory."

"Ah! That memory of yours!" Eddie groaned. Lindy and Meia chuckled. When Meia exhibited her memory strength to Eddie and Lindy, they were terribly impressed, Eddie being louder about it.

Lindy smiled at Meia. "It's a very good gift to have," she said.

"Indeed. Oh," Meia lifted up her waterbottle. "Anyone wants a sip?"

"I do!" Eddie reached for it – and the waterbottle slipped out of Eddie's grasp – all of them fumbled to catch the waterbottle – but it was too late. The waterbottle fell onto the floor with a loud clatter.

"What was that?" one of the voices in the distance cried out.

"I don't know. It seems to be coming from that side…"

Eddie and Lindy now stared at Meia in shock. "What now?" hissed Eddie.

Meia made a face. She was upset that she was exposed, but there was nothing that she could do. "What can I say?" She grinned. "Just fight them… and whoever else that we see."

"Roger that," said Lindy, pulling out her retractable rod. Since they did not have any spears in WRO, she made do with a rod.

"Cool! I can now try out that thing that I've planted!" Eddie mused.

Meia turned to Eddie. "And do you know when will that thing-"

Lindy rushed out first, tackling the men headfirst with her rod. She swung her rod mercilessly against the men's heads. One hit was all she needed before the men fell.

BOOM!

Lindy and Meia turned to Eddie. "Eddie!" hissed Meia. "Is that…?"

The short redhead kept a grin on her face and pointed at the building. On the right side of the building, there was a commotion. "Explosives, in the right amount for causing trouble in a building." Eddie beamed.

"However, we need to leave this place," said Lindy. "With that kind of commotion and two unconscious people over here, they will come and investigate this place."

"Lindy's right," nodded Meia, picking up the now empty waterbottle. "We have to retreat today."

They made no more comment and swiftly left the scene before anyone else found them. However, once they returned to the WRO headquarters, Eddie tossed herself onto the couch in frustration. She pouted. "It means that their security will be tighter now, right?"

Meia sighed. "We have no choice. It was a mistake on our part about that waterbottle. We can't possibly infiltrate the building now that they know someone is nearby."

"…" Eddie twirled her pendant thoughtfully. "No, it was my mistake for not holding the waterbottle carefully."

Meia smiled. "Don't worry, we'll have lots of chances in the future." She looked around her. "For now… shall we find Kent?" She giggled. "Let's order pizza. I'm hungry."


Thank you for reading. Be sure to leave a comment, because that always means the world to me :)