By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli is an original character.

Part III: Demons

Chapter 71, What Comes Next?

June 22nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 AM

On their way out of Deepground, they had passed a group of elites at the bridge, who had just been standing there. When they saw GUARDIAN approaching they'd looked like they were unsure of what to do.

Zack had stepped to the head of the group and said "Here's the situation. Weiss and Nero are dead, but we will give you the opportunity to lay down your weapons and surrender. If that's what you're going to do, go to the main entrance of the Shinra building and put your weapons by the elevators. We really don't want to hurt you, and we'll treat you fairly, as long as you don't hurt anyone else, but if any of you harm even one more person in this city, it won't be tolerated."

There was silence for a moment and then one of the elites walked forward. "Weiss is… gone?" he asked.

Zack nodded, "His killer was the Shinra company, in the end."

"Then there is nothing left…" the Elite said. "He gave us hope, you know. That was why we stood by him."

Argento stepped forward. "Then perhaps you should find something else to hope for. Deepground may be the only thing you remember, but by far, it is not the only life that exists."

"Lady Argento…" the Elite removed his helmet revealing a man about Cloud's age with red hair, and a scar across his cheek. "What about Shinra?"

"We're working on that," Zack said. "Tell me, did any civilians survive after they were rounded up for Hojo?"

The elite looked confused. "You mean, those people we were asked to gather into the cages…" He shook his head. "I think they were all dumped directly into the Lifestream. Most of us didn't know what that was all about until Nero began the process…"

"No one survived?" Cloud asked, walking forward to stand next to Zack. "Are you sure?"

The man nodded. "We were just following orders. After Nero took them, there was nothing left."

Deep down, Zack felt a quiet rage building and he could tell Cloud seemed equally angered, but now… he couldn't. He had to be a leader. He had to do this carefully. Otherwise, it would just cause a lot more pain. "I see," he said at last. It felt wrong, he knew. But there was nothing more that could be done to make it right. "Spread the word to your other men about surrendering. Too many people have already died," with that, Zack motioned that everyone follow him through the street. He was incredibly relieved to see that no one tried to hinder their path to the elevator. It seemed anyone who would be a hold out decided that now was not the best time to act.

June 22nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 6:00 AM

It wouldn't be long now before a helicopter arrived to retrieve everyone, since Zack had called mission control on the way up. Once they reached the main entrance of the Shinra building, it hadn't taken him long to find that GUARDIAN and Shinra had consolidated their joint control of the upper plate and a vast majority of the slums in their absence. However, Argento asked to make a stop by the lab to retrieve something and it had been decided that the President's personal helipad would be the best location by which to get everyone back to Central Command.

Everyone had ridden up the elevator in a tired silence, and as Zack looked out at the glass separating them from the elements, he noticed that the sun was shining to the east of them, due to the fact that a strong headwind had blown most of the dark clouds away. He quietly hoped this would be a good omen for the future.

When the elevator stopped on the level with the Science department, Argento walked through the door to the upper level and the others followed. It was only then that Genesis' eyes widened in recognition. "The Masamune," he said.

Argento nodded. "I think I've determined why the Turks left us," she said. "It would seem Jenova is gone."

"You mean the head?" Cloud asked.

"I'm afraid so," Argento agreed. "But at the very least, with any luck, no one shall use this blade again." She looked up and Zack could see her grey eye sweep over the Buster Sword and and the Fusion Swords with a small smile. "I trust that its cousins are in good hands," she finished before walking past them towards the last stairs to the President's office. That was when Zack made the connection.

"You're Gin Okazaki's daughter," he said.

"I was," Argento said, and there was a hint of wistfulness in her voice, "Before I became Argento the Lustrous."

The conversation died again for a short while, as they entered the last reception area before the steps to the President's office, and ascended before walking out onto the platform leading out to the helipad. At that point, Kunsel sat down against the wall of the building while Cloud, Tifa, and the others found places to lean against railing. It was only then that Zack asked another question. "Are you going to go home?"

Argento shook her head. "Perhaps one day, when I am no longer needed. For now, I think my path will lead me to follow the Planet's youngest WEAPON." She looked over at Genesis who simply shrugged.

"The lady expressed an interest in seeing Banora," he explained.

"In that case you'll be pretty close to where we are," Kunsel observed, looking up for a moment.

Argento nodded. "Should your blades need repairs for any reason, you will know where to find me."

Zack turned his attention to Genesis. "Now that this fight's over, what do you plan on doing?"

The red-headed swordsman looked out over the city as the wind blew through his hair. "I doubt I shall see this city again," he said. "I have much bigger matters to attend to. I suspect I shall have some time before my duties truly begin, though in the meantime, I will need to make preparations."

"Well, if you've got some time," Zack suggested, "Are you going to try living a little? Seems to me just going back to sleep would be a terrible waste when the Goddess basically gave you more time to… enjoy her gift, don't you think?" He noticed that Vincent had looked off away from everyone at that.

Genesis gave him a slightly annoyed look. "I'll consider it," he said at last. He walked a little away from the others and unfurled his black wing. "For now, I think it is time I bid you farewell."

Argento walked over to him. "Impatient, aren't we?" she commented.

"No. I'm simply tired of our present company," Genesis said. "You may come later if you wish."

"I have nothing left to do here," Argento replied.

"Then let us be off," Genesis looked back over at Zack and the remaining members of GUARDIAN. With that, he placed on arm around Argento's waist and then with a powerful beat of his wing, he lifted himself and the Silver Tsviet into the sky, and began flying south.

After he was beyond their sight, Zack turned his attention to the rest of the group. Freya was sitting next to Kunsel while Cissnei and Shelke were both standing nearby. Cloud and Tifa were watching the sky with Aerith, and Vincent was quietly brooding while looking out over the city.

After a moment, he walked over to the two Turks, turning his attention to Cissnei. "I didn't quite get the chance to thank you back when we were fighting Weiss in the exhibit hall."

"It was nothing," Cissnei said with a smile.

Freya grinned. "I guess Kunsel's rubbed off on us a little," she gave the swordsman a gentle fake punch to the shoulder, "What's that thing you always say? We've got your back."

Kunsel gave her a wry grin before looking up at their leader, his expression turning serious. "So what happens now?"

The dark haired swordsman noticed that Cloud and Tifa were also listening for the answer to that question, but as he considered it, he also heard the whirr of chopper blades in the distance. "I don't know," he said at last. "I guess we'll just have to figure that out."

Aerith let out a sigh. "We will, eventually."

The helicopter was getting a lot closer and soon, it hovered in to land on the pad. As the doors opened, the first person out was Shalua. "Shelke!" she cried upon seeing her sister.

Shelke looked up and then walked a little closer as the woman ran to her and wrapped her arms around her. The shorter girl froze at the contact, uncertain of what the proper protocol for this was, but after a moment, Zack saw her try awkwardly to return the hug.

He looked around at the others. "So, think we can get back to Kalm now?"

June 23rd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 AM

Upon returning to Kalm, it had been decided that everyone would rest a little before getting into the minutiae of figuring out what would happen next. With Weiss gone, and the vast majority of Deepground dead in the fighting, there wasn't a lot of resistance left. It seemed he and Nero had been the driving force keeping them in line. Once that had been removed, many, though most certainly not all of them, had seen the writing on the wall. A few had surrendered, though what remained had fled using the last of Deepground's Dragonflies. They would have to be dealt with eventually, but in the meantime, there were other things to be concerned about.

Among the problems that couldn't be ignored was the glaring fact that even though Midgar was once again secure, a significant portion of the population had been systematically erased from existence over the course of a week. It would take time for rebuilding to occur, and it would have to happen without the reactors, if GUARDIAN had anything to say about it. Even so, people were still in need of services and many of the citizens left behind were afflicted by Geostigma; an even higher percentage now than before Deepground had gone through the city. Not to mention there were still families trying to find loved ones who had gone missing during the city's occupation.

Some of the first questions Reeve had come to Zack hoping for answers about was how he intended to handle the loss of energy, once he had sent in a team to dismantle Reactor 0 for good. Rufus had been displeased by that, but now that the conflict had definitely alerted the public to the truth regarding what mako was composed of, a significant portion of the population had been in favor of its removal, especially once it was revealed that Shinra actually did have emergency alternative energy supplies such as oil and gas for a short period of time, though it wouldn't hold out forever. These were all issues they would need to resolve soon, and Rufus was already pressing that a meeting should take place today. It would, later this afternoon, but now that GUARDIAN had a little time to rest, there was another important thing that needed to be taken care of.

Vincent was waiting on the balcony looking over the computer lab Shelke and Shalua had set up in Kalm, observing the goings on as the two women directed the technicians in setting up for the current project. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was somewhat apprehensive, and the various demons he shared living space with, so to speak, seemed to realize this. He wasn't sure if they understood why, but rationally, he had made the decision, so all that remained was to act on it. While Shelke had assured him there would be no memory loss from another SND, it would very likely be taxing on both of them.

"Even so," she had said the previous night when she had taken him aside to discuss the matter. "It is impossible to completely undo everything I've done, for Hojo, or the Tsviets, but the least I can do is try to repair the damage."

He watched the girl walk across the room to sit at a computer station near her own SND access terminal and type in some code, looking up when Shalua asked her a question and nodding in affirmation. At that moment, the front door opened and he saw that Zack had entered with Aerith and Kunsel. Fortunately for the brown-haired swordsman, Rayleigh had confirmed definitively what Aerith had already surmised. No complications from the wound he'd received from Nero. He'd spent most of yesterday sleeping off the trauma but most of the rest of the party was too exhausted from the previous night for it to be much different from what everyone else was doing. Zack and Aerith stopped on the ground level to talk to Shalua, but Kunsel walked directly up the stairs to the balcony. "There you are," he said before leaning on the railing and looking down at the goings on. "I guess things are just about ready to go aren't they."

"Yes," Vincent said, not really looking in the swordsman's direction. "I expect they will be needing me down there shortly."

"Well, before it happens, I guess I just want to say I hope it works. I'm not too fond of the idea of someone messing around with your mind… or anyone's really, but…"

"I appreciate your concern."

As he spoke, Vincent saw that Zack was looking up at them. "Is there anything you need Vincent? Or would you rather just have some privacy?" The other Ex-SOLDIER asked, his voice carrying up through the room.

Vincent allowed a hint of a smile to play across his face. "That should be all," he said. "This is a matter between myself and Shelke. I would prefer to keep it that way."

"Got it," Zack replied. "In that case, just let us know how it turns out, okay?"

Vincent inclined his head in the affirmative. "I will contact you once the situation has been resolved."

Seeing that Zack was going to continue on his way, Kunsel straightened again. "Well, we'll get out of your hair, but just so you know… we've all got you covered."

There was a moment of silence before he started towards the stairs again. As he reached them Vincent spoke again. "It's not something you have to do," he said.

"No," Kunsel admitted with a sheepish grin. "But…" he laughed self-deprecatingly. "Sometimes, I guess we just can't leave well enough alone."

"That isn't always a bad thing," Vincent said.

"Maybe not," Kunsel agreed. With that, he walked down the stairs and rejoined Zack and Aerith before they all walked back outside.

As they walked out, Shelke looked up at him. "We have finished preliminary checks. Are you ready?"

Vincent walked down the steps to join them near a pair of reclining chairs, one of which was under a familiar looking bell-shaped device. They had discussed whether or not restraints would be needed for this venture, but considering the nature of this particular SND, Vincent was certain he should be able to keep his demons at bay this time. "Yes," he said.

"Then please sit down."

Vincent did as she asked, waiting patiently as she took a seat near her own terminal and donned her custom headset. "With any luck," she said, "Since this is a mutually agreed upon exercise, commencing the dive should prove much less violent."

Vincent waited patiently for a few more moments before Shalua finished typing something at her computer terminal. "All right, I think we're set."

Shelke lay back and Vincent could see her usually blue eyes begin to go slightly golden orange with the power she was utilizing. "Uplink successful…" she said, "Now commencing SND…" That was the last thing he heard before he suddenly had a sensation of falling away from consciousness…

It seemed his demons were uncertain as to what was going on, but they prowled at the edge of his awareness, bade to stay there by his will. Shelke appeared, floating about a foot off what he perceived to be the ground in front of him. "Connection successfully established, begin defragmentation process in three… two… one…"

Vincent found himself looking at what appeared to be a grave, and he could clearly hear a sound of a little girl sobbing. It wasn't long before he realized the point of view was that of the girl herself. "Stop crying Shelke," another girl said from her right.

"But…" the younger girl began to say. "But…"

"It's all right, Mom just returned to the planet. We'll see her again."

"We… we will?" Shelke's field of vision shifted and Vincent could see the girl that Shelke had superimposed into Luxiere's memories. Her own recognition confirmed what Vincent was already certain of. It was Shalua, though much younger, much less injured, and much less battle-hardened.

"Of course we will," the younger Shalua said. "Mom said everything in this world flows around in a circle. That means, she'll come back some day." The younger Shelke was still crying and so Shalua tried to comfort her sister again. "Mom wouldn't lie to us, right?"

"R-right," Shelke said at last.

"Right," Shalua confirmed for her again…

Vincent stood alone but he found himself thinking that while such a thing did have a grain of truth, it was still rather naive. Certainly there were stories of encountering the dead in the Lifestream, and Aerith spoke of it sometimes, but eventually, they became part of the whole, and while that energy did indeed flow in a circle, that which had been reconstituted would inevitably come back completely different from what it had been in its previous life, changed by the mere vastness of the energy cycle it had become a part of. If there was one constant in life, it was change.

"Perhaps…" a voice said. "But it gave me hope, when I had none…"

"Perhaps…" Vincent repeated.

"It would seem a small amount of Lucrecia's data has been left behind as well, most likely a result of when I tried to break your defenses."

"Is there anything more that I must do?" Vincent looked around and noticed that Galian Beast seemed to be trying to press into the lighted area around where he stood, but he gave the demon a hard glare that bade him stay where he was.

"Continue to keep your demons at bay, the repairs should take effect automatically as soon as the data has been uncorrupted."

Vincent waited patiently for a few moments when suddenly, he found himself looking on another familiar scene…

Lucrecia was standing in her laboratory, looking up at the mako tube in which a dark-haired man floated lifelessly. She had tried so many things to revive him already but to no avail. "No…" she said, "It's still not enough… I have to hurry, or the tissue will continue to decay." Suddenly, she felt terribly lightheaded and collapsed to the floor…

Another memory came to the forefront, the one in which Hojo had entered her lab to discover what she had been working on. "Hahahaha, I see. Another experiment? You're using this fine specimen to finish your thesis, aren't you, doctor?"

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong! YOU'RE WRONG! I…" Lucrecia screamed, but then she paused as though something had occurred to her. "Experiment…?"

"I found it…" A voice echoed through Vincent's thoughts and soon it was joined by a multitude of others.

"With him…"

"That's why…"

"I couldn't save him…"

"Proof…?"

"Never again…"

Vincent found himself watching through Lucrecia's eyes and sensing that she felt horribly ill, no doubt from the experiments in preparation of giving birth to Sephiroth. She walked through the underground lab and suddenly found herself looking in on Hojo, to see a body on the floor. It was Vincent, as he had been before Hojo's experiments, and her own. Horror and shock were the first emotions that ran through Lucrecia's mind followed by anger. "Hojo… what have you…?"

Vincent's past self moved on the floor, but it was quite obvious he would die if things remained as they were…

"You had his eyes…" Her voice echoed through the dark as the image faded away. "I didn't…"

"I didn't want to remember…"

"I didn't want to face the truth…"

"I pushed you away but…"

"Now I realize…"

"I never wanted to lose you…"

Lucrecia was curled up on the floor in her laboratory, clearly in pain, and looked up at the lifeless figure in the mako tank. "N-not again… not today…" Pulling herself unsteadily to her feet she leaned against the base of the tank looking in at Vincent's motionless form. "Vincent… did you know… that your eyes are exactly like your father's?" The image flickered away as quickly as it had come…

"I've done it…"

"Born of the Lifestream."

"Bringing all together."

"Stopping the imminent decay of tissue."

"But instead…"

"Born was…"

"The Chaos that took him… away from me."

Lucrecia was once again looking at the mako tank, but within it, Vincent saw a terrifying figure, the very demon herald of the end that now lay within his own body. "Stop!" Lucrecia pleaded, her terror and fear evident as she tried to placate the being that had taken her colleague and was now threatening to destroy his son by tearing his body apart from the inside out. "Stop!" She screamed again. That was when something gleamed to life on the floor, near where Grimoire Valentine himself had died. A materia glittered brightly and in its light, Chaos suddenly went dormant. Lucrecia approached it curiously as the image vanished into the dark. "This…"

"The materia… I found…"

"…we found together…"

Lucrecia was typing furiously on the keyboard of her computer, but for whatever reason, it refused to accept the commands she was giving it. Finally, she slammed her hand down on the keys in surrender. "No!" She cried out angrily. Looking back at where Vincent remained immobile in the tube, she sank to her knees and burst into tears. "What am I doing…?" She moaned at last.

The scene changed again and this time, Vincent found her shouting at Hojo. "Give him back! Give my son back!" She demanded.

Hojo simply ignored her and asked "And how is your experiment proceeding?"

Lucrecia ran across the room, putting as much distance between herself and this man as she could. "I don't know! I don't know! I don't care!"

"Let me see him! Just once!" Her anguished screams echoed through the dark to be replaced by sad acceptance.

"I'm so sorry."

"I can't…"

At last, he saw her curled up under the mako tank, and the defeat in her voice made it clear she had come to a decision. "I'm sorry…" she said. "I can't… take it anymore… My body… my mind…"

"Before I go…" Slowly, the voices began to speak again before dispersing into a torrent. He wasn't sure what it all meant. The emotions attached to these random thoughts were just as confused and fragmented.

"Jenova's cells…"

"Vincent…"

"Stored as data…"

"Must leave…"

"Thought…"

"I loved…"

"Record…"

"Memory copy…"

"For him…"

"It was wrong…"

"Wait…"

"Disperse…"

"…so sorry…"

"Apply…"

"…but I…"

"For…"

"Fragment…:

"Survive…"

"Hope…"

"who…?"

"Who is she?" Shelke's voice carried across an unfamiliar lab Vincent could only assume lay somewhere within Deepground.

"Doctor Lucrecia Crescent, girl, and you are to gather her data so we can find the materia! Get on it! I won't say it again! Idiots…"

"That data is already defragmented. We are almost done… Just let her in Vincent. It will make this a lot less difficult…"

Vincent found himself sitting in Lucrecia's cave, however, as he sat there, her form appeared before him, as he remembered her from thirty years before. "Hello Vincent," she said softly. Then she looked around curiously. "Hmm… something's wrong…" Looking down at him she tried to explain. "You see, this is me, but only in a sense. It is merely a reflection, created with my remaining data." She walked behind him, continuing to look around the cave. "The real me crumbled away long ago." She looked up at the surrounding cavern, thoughtfully. "Vincent? Do you remember our place, under that tree?"

Suddenly, there they were, sitting as though nothing had changed, the flowers of the Nibel mountains surrounding them as they looked down at Shinra Mansion below them. "The warm breeze on our skin…" she murmured, closing her eyes as she took in the sensations of the place, the sound of the wind and the birds in the trees, the smell of the flowers and the mountain air. Finally, she lowered her head sadly. "I know that it no longer exists. Things fade with time, and because of other factors as well." She watched a leaf fall from the tree. "But there are some things we can't let disappear, hmm?"

Vincent continued to watch, transfixed as she leaned a little closer. "I finally realized my true feelings. Even if you may never understand them." She looked back out at the landscape with a nervous chuckle. "Not that I mind though…" almost immediately her expression saddened. "But… this isn't how it was supposed to be… I… I made too many mistakes… And I've hurt you… so… so much…" her voice was on the verge of cracking into a sob as she spoke. "Oh, why did I do what I did?" She turned to face him as the scene was already going dark. "I'm so sorry…"

"But I'm so happy… you survived…"

"I think we're done…" he vaguely heard Shelke off in the distance, already leaving his inner space. "Terminating SND in three, two…

He could detect consciousness approaching, but somewhere deep in this place, he felt something else pulling him, and Chaos was definitely aware of it. Hellmasker, Death Gigas, and Galian Beast all seemed uneasy, but at the same time, felt drawn to it. "Lucrecia…" He didn't know how he was… but something was pulling him towards… he wanted to be where she was… or at least as close as he could physically be…

"Terminating SND in three… two… Shelke paused. Suddenly her connection to Vincent had been cut off in the network. Not that there was any danger for him now. The data on his part of the network had been successfully uncorrupted, but it still would have been better if he'd followed protocol. She sighed impatiently. He truly was a difficult person. It most likely came with the territory of being an Ex-Turk.

"Shelke? You didn't terminate the connection… and Vincent just vanished! Are you all right...?" Shalua's voice echoed through her consciousness.

"I'm fine…" she tried to say, but there was something here that made her linger. Looking around her own inner space, she couldn't quite put a finger on it but… something was off… and then she saw it…

At first, she could barely make it out in the gloom but then, a lone figure walked out of the shadows. "Hey! You! Red head!" the man called out to him. She took in every detail of him, his blue eyes, his young face, dark a hair, and the 2nd Class SOLDIER uniform he was wearing and realized… It was the Tsviet they had manipulated… the one Kunsel had called Luxiere.

"Yes?"

"You played with my life like it was a toy…" The man gave her a disapproving glare.

"I know what I did to you was wrong…" Shelke began.

The man shrugged. "Not much that can be done about that now unless you want me to haunt you. But then again," He considered the area they inhabited. "You and that Lucrecia lady aren't the only ones who royally screwed up. Talk about embarrassing," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you knew they'd wiped my memories anyway by the time you got to me, but… after what happened… I guess some things couldn't be permanently erased. You probably knew that just by how that illusion you named Usher turned out. It looked so much like Kunsel even with that ridiculous red hair that I got confused when I found the real guy. But let me get straight to the point, before I'm… not me anymore… again... Do you think you could let the guys know… I didn't mean to cause so much trouble for them? If anything, I just wanted a taste of the glory… instead of Zack for a change…" he laughed humorlessly. "If I'd listened to Kunsel when I had the chance, maybe even tried to help him… maybe things wouldn't have turned out like they did… I just wanted to tell them I'm sorry too… and thank them for not leaving me… even after what I tried to do…"

"Perhaps…" Shelke said thoughtfully. "But how are you even here?"

"Don't know the details," the 2nd Class said. "But… what you're doing right now? It's a lot like what Zack's wife can do." He chuckled to himself at his own words. "Wow… hard to believe he's married now. And to that cute flower girl of his…"

"The manipulation of mako through the energy utilized for the network… of course…" Shelke observed.

"Whatever. I never was that technically inclined. But do you think you could do that for me?"

Shelke smiled sadly. "I suppose it's the least I can do."

He gave her a nod of gratitude. "I really tried too hard to have everything, and ended up falling further than I thought possible. Heh… Never thought I'd be thanking you…"

"Shelke!" Shalua called out to her drawing her back towards reality.

"I'm coming…" Shelke said. Looking around, she saw that the 2nd Class SOLDIER was gone. Pulling herself back inward she spoke again. "Terminating SND in three… two… one…"

June 23rd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:00 AM

Cloud sat next to Zack and Kunsel across the table from Rufus while Veld presided over the accords. They were in the process of deciding who would maintain control over the various portions of Midgar.

Zack shrugged impatiently. "So the problem is, you don't trust us."

"In a word, yes," Rufus agreed calmly. "It was the pragmatic choice to simply join forces with you when it was clear there were no other options, but now that the threat of Deepground has been removed, what guarantee do I have that you simply won't attempt to have the Shinra company dismantled?"

"Well," Kunsel suggested, "You could just decide not to make your goal world domination."

Reeve nodded. "In all honesty, Deepground was a symptom of the rampant ethical problems the company has been facing for decades. It doesn't have to be that way Rufus. You could be better than your father, if you choose to be."

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "And you think you have the moral high ground? Some of you actually helped forward those ethical standards. We all did." He looked pointedly around the room, his eyes landing on Veld, Reeve, and Zack in particular.

Zack met his gaze. "That doesn't mean we can't do better."

"Regardless," Veld interrupted, "There are people who need us to make a decision so they will be able to get on with their lives, leave or rebuild."

"Sir," an assistant on Rufus's side of the table spoke up. "I apologize for butting in, but without the mako reactors, Midgar is essentially inoperable, as it stands."

"I am aware of that," Rufus said. "That brings us to another question. How are we going to be compensated for damages?"

"From when we blew the reactors?" Zack asked.

"Precisely," Rufus said. "Regardless of their strategic importance, they were Shinra property."

"We'll work something out," Reeve said.

"What about the scavengers?" Another assistant asked.

Everyone looked in his direction curiously. "What do you mean scavengers?" Kunsel asked.

"Well sir, after Deepground fell, we noticed a number of people picking through the remains of houses bereft of their owners. It's been really difficult to determine what's theft and what isn't."

June 23rd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:30 AM

It was a short while later when the negotiating parties broke for lunch, and Zack led the way as they headed back towards their own headquarters. They were almost to what had been the Turks' safe house when Zack let out a tired sigh. "Do you ever get the feeling this is getting us nowhere?"

"Yeah," Kunsel agreed. "The truth is, as long as our interests keep conflicting, we're probably not going to come to an agreement with him."

"If anything, the people in Midgar need a place in this too," Zack said thoughtfully.

"You mean like a government?" Kunsel asked.

"Hmm?" Zack looked over at his friend curiously.

"You need to read more history," Kunsel said. "Back before Shinra they had local principalities and countries that would control parts of the world."

"Like Wutai, yeah, I know," Zack defended.

Kunsel slowed his pace a little as he spoke. "Well, has Midgar really had that for a while? I mean, there was the mayor, but by our time, he was more or less a librarian."

"And Deepground probably got him if he didn't get out," Cloud observed.

Zack considered this as he opened the door. "It would be nice if we had someone looking out for the people that wasn't trying to take advantage of them… but where do we even start on something like that when the Shinra company keeps trying to block us at every turn?"

"Did I catch you guys at a bad time?" a voice carried through the room. As Cloud walked in after Zack, he saw a familiar figure standing near the table in the kitchen area. His straight blond hair looked a little mussed and his SOLDIER helmet sat next to where he stood.

"Eli?" Kunsel said. "What brings you here?"

"A lot more more in SOLDIER are talking about leaving for good, and they want to know if you've got an alternative once rebuilding is finished."

Zack gave him a tired smile. "Of course we do. What about Bradley though?"

"What about him?" Eli said. "He's still pretty loyal in spite of everything, but there are only a few that want to follow him. With the company going through so much right now it's getting harder to control what we do. If we leave, who's going to stop us? The troopers? Scarlet's machines certainly aren't smart enough and Rufus doesn't want to lose an army in the event one of us fought back while being detained."

"I certainly won't," Zack said. "It's nice we're getting some good news."

Cloud had just sat down on the couch when barely a moment later the door opened and Shelke appeared.

Zack turned his attention to the girl. "Hey, how did it go?"

The Tsviet paused for a moment and then answered "Frankly I am not sure what to think of what happened."

"Why?" Kunsel asked.

"Because he disappeared, though… I think I might have an idea of where he went."

"Then, where did he go?" Zack asked. "This isn't exactly the best time for people to be running off."

Shelke looked down at the floor. "I am not certain it is my place to say, but if I am right, it was somewhere very special to him. There was something else too…"

"What?"

June 27th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Kunsel looked out over the scenery below them as Shelke piloted the GUARDIAN helicopter westward across the Corel Mountains. He still wasn't sure why he had volunteered to come with the Tsviet, but after the last few days with no contact from Vincent, Zack and the others had been getting worried since he hadn't been answering his PHS, and as Shelke was the only one with any inkling of where he might be, it had been decided that she'd go with an escort.

The last four days had passed by in a whirlwind of activity as people worked to put their lives back in order, Rufus tried to hold on to what control he had left, and Midgar's ultimate fate was in the process of being decided. Cloud and Tifa had taken a little time off to look for Denzel's family, but unfortunately, the boy's parents had indeed been among the dead. After discussing the matter, Cloud had suggested that maybe they should look after him, and so they had decided to take him back to Mideel before returning to help Zack. There was still so much that needed to be done…

"There seems to be a lot going on," Shelke commented. "It feels as though since the day Weiss and Nero died, no one has stopped working."

"Perhaps," Kunsel said. The young girl looked very different since she had traded her Deepground uniform for some more normal clothing, at Shalua's urging. She still required a significant dose of Mako every few hours in order to maintain her body's equilibrium without the suit, but Doctor Rayleigh had already suggested that if her addiction was handled the right way it would be possible to resolve her inability to function without it if given enough time and the correct adjustments.

The flight continued in an uncomfortable silence for a little longer, and then Shelke continued. "I do not know if what I have done can be properly forgiven, since I know that the truth of my actions while a part of Deepground seemed to have strongly upset you, but…"

"Don't," Kunsel interrupted, still looking out the window. The tone of his voice wasn't angry, but it was abrupt enough to get her attention.

Shelke glanced away from the scenery. "Is that something you do not wish to talk about? I understand if that is the case…"

"No, it's not that so much," Kunsel replied, turning to look in her direction. "The truth is, if a situation gets desperate enough, people can do some pretty terrible things. I'm not saying what you did was right, and… even if what you saw in that last SND was actually him… there's a lot of things I don't get… but I do know one thing. You aren't the only person I know with a little bit of a history. If I refused to accept you for what you were, it wouldn't be fair to everyone else in this motley crew of lunatics now would it? Especially not when I think you really do understand how serious it was and you really are trying to make amends. We all have our skeletons, but as long as you honestly keep trying," he allowed a corner of his mouth to slide up a little, "I'll be counting on you to follow through. Fair enough?"

Shelke returned the smile with a little one of her own. "Then consider it my promise, both to you and to Luxiere, that you can count on me."

"Great," Kunsel turned his attention back out over the mountains just in time to see them part to reveal a valley with a huge river running down the center of it. "Is this the place?" he asked.

"I believe so. I didn't see much, but his thoughts seemed to be drawn to this location when he vanished." Shelke brought the helicopter down over an open field on the west side of the river and the two of them stepped out onto the grass. Kunsel secured his gunblade on his back as he followed the Tsviet towards the cliffside. The girl climbed ahead of him, as though she knew every single step by heart.

"You sure you've never been here before?" he asked, reaching for another handhold among the rocks.

She had just reached the final ledge and stopped to wait for him. "No, I have not, but Vincent and Lucrecia have," she replied.

As Kunsel leapt up to join her he saw that the cliff jutted out from the waterfall in front of an ancient looking cave. He paused to look around at the valley below, taking in the view appreciatively. "He sure knows how to pick his hiding spots. I'm surprised no one lives here already."

Shelke looked back behind them at that moment and spoke to someone standing in the shadows. "They sent us to look for you Vincent Valentine. Not that I… mind though…"

Vincent walked out into the sunlight, and Kunsel noticed there was something different about him… more at peace, he supposed. "Are things progressing in Midgar?" the ex-Turk asked, allowing a small smile for the young Tsviet.

Kunsel grinned. "They are, but we can use all the help we can get. Zack says he understands if there was something you needed to do of course but is everything all right? You kind of left in a hurry."

Vincent inclined his head in affirmation. "No need for concern. He will have my assistance."

"Great," Kunsel turned his attention out across the valley again noting the shadows of clouds floating over the land below them like leaves in a stream. He held no illusion that there would not be any more problems coming their way as Midgar pulled itself back on its feet, but with everyone working together, and a bit of luck, he was sure they'd be more than up to the challenge.

End of Part III

And with Part III now closed, there's still so much to do. I'm really looking forward to getting the show on the road for the Fourth and final part, but next week is going to be a break week since I'm going to be travelling for a bit. After that though, our second interlude, "Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile?" will commence with exploring what Reeve's up to. Same bat time, same bat channel, Midnight Thursday, August 29th/Friday, August 30th. Don't miss it!

Also, to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed so far, I would like to once again thank them from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through this adventure, and I hope the last portions of this Behemoth of a fic will be just as enjoyable for all of you as it has been for me!