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.
Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)
Chapter 72, Birth of the WRO (Case of Reeve)
June 30th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008
Reeve was working in the office at the small house the others had set aside for his work-space in Kalm. After the battle, he had promptly gotten busy, taking inventory of available resources and helping to coordinate teams between the Shinra and GUARDIAN forces. He picked his foot off the floor when a small cleaner robot rolled across the carpet near his feet, as he perused a series of documents. Zack and the others could keep track of things well enough, but for an issue this immense, with no one knowing where to file paperwork for damages, and no one knowing where to find emergency services it was like wading through the swamp to find anything he really needed.
He laid the papers down as he noticed one of his Cait Sith units approaching with a glass of lemonade. "Reeve, how long until yer done with that mess?" the little cat asked. "The meetin's goin' to be startin' soon."
"I just have a few more details on our budget, and then I'll be set," the man said, looking down at the little cat to accept the glass. "Thank you."
"I just think we'd best be hurryin'," the little cat pressed. "Zack needs those numbers if we're to be able to work smart with Rufus."
"I know, I'll be done in a minute…" Reeve sipped his tea and turned his attention back to the paper he was perusing. Several minutes passed as his eyes moved back and forth across the page and he made notes as he went while the morning sunlight filtered through the window to form a sunbeam on the carpet in front of his desk. He was almost finished and was in the process of placing his papers into a briefcase when the front door of the little cottage opened and he heard an indignant series of beeps from the cleaner bot. Looking up, he saw Cloud had entered the room, and had almost stepped on the little thing. He was looking down at it with no small amount of surprise as it almost seemed to be scolding him in its incomprehensible language.
"Are all of your machines this temperamental?" he asked, looking up at Reeve with mild amusement.
"A lot of the objects I work with seem to take on personalities of their own," he walked over and looked down at the cleaning robot, "Shoo," he gestured to the little disk. It let out a single shrill beep and then scurried under a nearby easy chair.
"So it's time then?" Reeve asked.
"Yeah," Cloud said with a nod. From the look on his face he would rather be doing anything else but what they were about to be doing. Reeve had to admit he could understand. After everything the Shinra company had done to Cloud and Zack, and the vast majority of GUARDIAN's other members to varying degrees, it was easy to understand why.
Reeve returned to his desk to retrieve the brief case. "All right, let's go." He turned over his shoulder. "Cait 7, if you would watch the office while I'm gone?"
"Will do Reeve!" the little robot waved from around the corner. Reeve nodded at the cat with a smile and then followed Cloud out into the afternoon sunlight. They strode across the streets of Kalm noting the villagers watching them as they passed.
The last week had flown by in an endless blur of chaos and confusion. Families were looking for loved ones, security forces were overwrought trying to stop scavengers in the city from going after the homes of those who had survived Weiss's genocide, and Rufus… the young President of the Shinra company seemed to have his hands just as full. With employees struggling to protect company property and the military operation not only exhausted and heavily demoralized thanks both to having been decimated in the fight to win back the city and the fact that Heidegger and Scarlet were being held as criminals, the fact they had won back the city was a single bright spot to them on an entire horizon painted black.
Reeve sighed as they passed through the street headed towards the town hall. It wasn't long until they walked through the town square with the familiar sculpture in the center that clearly indicated pride in the quiet mining town this settlement used to be. Not long after that, Cloud opened the door and walked through leading the way towards the conference room where the meeting was taking place. However, he could already hear the tense voices murmuring behind it. To his surprise, as they neared the door, Zack walked out of the room looking rather frustrated. "Hi guys," he said, walking over to a table nearby where someone had had the foresight to place a few pitchers with drinking water.
"Everything all right?" Reeve asked.
"Nothing I can't handle, we've just been arguing over how to organize the cleanup crews for going back into the caves around Deepground," he gave an exasperated sigh. "I hope you remembered those inventories we talked about."
Reeve tapped his brief case. "Of course. I have them here."
"Thank Gaia," Zack murmured. "I'm starting to wonder if there's any way we can get along with that guy. If he's not making demands, he's trying to send us invoices or accusing us of trying to destroy the Company. Sure that's what we were doing before this mess happened but…" as he talked, he poured himself a drink. "Are you still planning to go into the city after the meeting's over?" he asked, changing his thoughts mid-sentence.
"Yes," Reeve agreed. "I'll be checking on some of the crews in Sector 5 today, and there's someone else I'd like to check on while I'm at it."
Zack nodded. "All right, just keep me posted. We'll see what we can work out here. You ready for some negotiating?"
"I'm simply glad to make myself useful," Reeve responded. With that, the three of them walked into the conference room, ready for battle.
It was about an hour or so later when they were heading back towards the building Reeve was using as his office. Reeve opened the door and let the other two swordsmen enter. Zack let himself drop on a couch that sat on the wall opposite the area where Reeve's desk waited. "How do you do it, man?" he asked after a moment.
"You should probably be more specific Zack," Reeve said, motioning that Cait 7 get some lemonade from the refrigerator.
The little cat scurried off while Cloud took a seat in a nearby chair, and Zack looked up at the ceiling considering just what he wondered Reeve was capable of. After a moment, he leaned in "Truth is," he said after a moment, "You're a pretty good negotiator."
"Well, I don't know about that," Reeve said quietly. "I just try to find common ground where it exists and work to smooth things over when waves are made."
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Zack continued. "You're good at that."
"You are too, in your own way," Reeve replied. "Although I suppose legal and political matters are not the sort of thing you're used to handling are they."
Zack ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "Yeah, you caught me. Not that I'm gonna hide from it, if this is what we have to do, but on the other hand…"
"There's something else you're worried about isn't there?" Reeve asked.
"I guess," Zack said. "When we're in there with Rufus, we keep talking about oil when we talk about power generation, and though he seems to get that we can't keep using Mako because of what it does to the Planet every time it's used, I get the feeling he's kind of suspicious of us when we offer our own solutions."
Cloud nodded in agreement. "It's like he's afraid we're trying to take over his empire," he said.
Reeve nodded thoughtfully before he felt something tugging at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Cait offering him a glass of lemonade. "Guests first Cait, didn't I teach you manners?" he said with amusement.
Cait chuckled. "Och… sorry Reeve, I don't know what I was thinkin'." He walked over to where Cloud sat and offered the glass, which the swordsman accepted with a quiet thanks. Cait went back to the kitchen and soon returned with two more glasses filled with the sweet drink. Upon returning, he passed one of them to Zack before finally returning to Reeven. As he took the second glass from the little cat, Reeve sat down behind his desk.
"So what you're saying is that you think it's possible our own efforts to get the Shinra company under control might be hindering things with negotiating with them?" Reeve suggested.
"In a nutshell," Zack mused. "Though I guess I also wonder if there's some truth to us trying to take over."
"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.
Zack frowned as though struggling to put his thoughts into words. "From what Kunsel says, Shinra started as a weapons development company, and then moved into power before they started really taking off," he started. "We know oil is a good source of power… but what happens if we do the same thing? Does that make what we did worth it if GUARDIAN turns out like them?"
"You'd never do that though," Cloud said.
"No, I wouldn't, at least not on purpose, but it's definitely not good to force people to do things they don't agree with without giving them at least the chance to disagree and come up with a different solution, and right now, it feels more like we're arguing over who's standing at the top of the hill while everyone else is trying to get their lives back together."
Cloud looked thoughtful at that. "That is a good point."
"Do you think there ought to be a counterbalance of some kind?" Reeve asked before taking a sip from his glass.
"Maybe," Zack said, his eyes meditatively on the glass in his hand.
Reeve looked down at a few of the other papers on his desk, brow furrowed. "Well, I suppose we can find a solution. But in the meantime, I need to find the last of my papers so I can give the clean-up crews an update on when the next relief supplies are coming in."
Zack nodded and looked up with a grateful smile. "Don't let us keep you, if you're in a hurry."
It was getting into the early afternoon as the helicopter came in for a landing at a helipad on one of the buildings in Sector 5. As the rotors slowed to a halt, Reeve stepped out of the passenger compartment, accompanied by Cait Sith and a pair of GUARDIAN troopers, and looked out over the city, considering what was on his agenda. He had specifically planned to allow some extra time before he was due to meet with the leader of the cleanup crew in order to run a specific errand. They walked into the elevator and waited for it to descend down to the plate level.
There was silence as he reached out and hit the button, and then the sensation of the small box they were in sinking to the ground below them. It slowed to a halt and the doors opened again, revealing the glassed in foyer of one of the smaller skyscrapers in the city and Reeve strode out, pulling Cait Sith up so the little cat could ride on his shoulder. One of the troopers chuckled softly as they reached the door, and he couldn't help but smile. Cait had this way of easing tension in a situation most of the time that was actually welcome now that he could carry him out in the open without worrying about the Science Department.
As he walked down the steps to a waiting car, he reached into his pocket, fidgeting with a pocket handkerchief with a pattern of blooming flowers printed across it. It wouldn't be long now. After taking a seat in the back and letting Cait Sith slip down into his lap, he watched the two troopers enter on the other side, and leaned against the window. The car started, and soon, he was watching the various buildings slide past his field of view. This part of the city felt quiet and desolate. So many people were gone, it was hard to believe.
"Is somethin' wrong Reeve?" Cait looked up at him curiously.
"Not really. I was just thinking."
"You built a lot of the upper plate, didn't you sir?" One of the troopers asked.
"I designed it, yes. But that was before we knew what Mako really was," Reeve replied.
There was an uncomfortable silence as the car left the Sector 5 business district and turned into one of the residential neighborhoods. Not long after, he spotted a Shinra trooper standing with a GUARDIAN trooper and the Shinra trooper lifted his hand to stop the car before the two walked up to the driver. "This area is still under security sir, would you state your business?"
"We're escorting a GUARDIAN official," the driver replied. "Mr. Tuesti has all the proper authorizations."
"Tuesti…" The trooper paused before looking through the window.
Reeve rolled it down to address the man personally. "I understand you all have a job to do, but I assure you my presence will not interfere with your work."
The GUARDIAN trooper had walked up behind his partner, giving Reeve a friendly salute. "It's no trouble sir, you can come on through."
Reeve glanced up at the man and returned the salute. "Thank you. Carry on."
As the car rolled away, he could already hear the Shinra trooper asking his companion "What's Reeve Tuesti doing here?"
"He has his job just like the rest of us," the GUARDIAN trooper said, his voice fading into the ambient noise of activity as they pulled further away. Pulling further into the neighborhood, he could see that things were disturbingly quiet, with the exception of a tent that had been set up with relief supplies. The area surrounding the shelter was quite busy at the moment. He would be headed that way in a moment, but for now the car continued onward until it came to a small house on one of the other streets.
Stepping out onto the street and letting Cait Sith slip down to the ground, he looked at the two troopers in the car and said politely "I'd appreciate it if you'd wait here please."
"Yes sir," One of them responded.
With a nod Reeve strode over to the door and knocked. He did his best not to shift his feet nervously, after all, even if he hadn't been able to see the person who lived here since well before he'd fled Midgar, he had no reason to fear her.
The door opened a few moments later and he found himself looking at an elderly woman with her white hair secured back in a bun, standing in a room in which flowered wallpaper blanketed the walls. "Reeve?" she looked up in surprise and then he could see joyful tears well up in her eyes before she reached out to hug him. "Where have you been? First you disappeared and then all those Deepground soldiers started roundin' up me neighbors. I didna know what to think."
Reeve returned the hug with a relieved smile. "They didn't hurt you, did they mother?"
Ruvie Tuesti pulled back for a moment. "Never mind me. Let me look at you," she said, ignoring his words before nodding in approval. "Well you look like you've been stayin' healthy," she said. "If I didna know any better, I'd have said you'd actually gotten some sun."
"I suppose you could say that," Reeve said.
"Hello mum," Cait Sith offered Ruvie a jaunty wave from where he stood below them, and Ruvie knelt slightly to scratch him behind the ears.
"Hello to you too Cait Sith," she said. "Have you found me son a wife yet?"
"Not yet, but I've been takin' good care of him," Cait responded jovially. He always had been quite fond of Reeve's mother, and he made a noise rather like a purr as he accepted the gesture. Reeve looked down at his mother, noticing she was wearing some of her older clothes and that a pair of work gloves was sitting on the kitchen table, and fresh earth appeared to be caked on the fingertips.
A box of supplies lay open on the table and Ruvie had been quietly enjoying some lunch it seemed. Noticing where his gaze was directed Ruvie walked to the back door. "There was a depression in the back that looked like it would be a good location for a small garden. I haven't managed to coax any flowers to grow, but I'll get them yet," she said, opening the door to show him.
Reeve walked over to look out and sure enough in a corner of the back yard, a set of improvised garden boxes had been set up. "So you've been all right up here, since I've been gone?" he asked again.
Seeing the concern in his expression Ruvie nodded. "Those soldiers did come through here, and they made a nasty row, but after one o'them found me in me garden, I gave them a right scolding they'd never forget. Apparently once was enough for them…" she chuckled softly. "But never you mind about me, I'm just happy you're here. I don't have much that hasn' spoilt since the power went out, but the old coal stove I brought with me from our old house still works just like it always did. A lot more reliable than those reactors anyway if you ask me. But I should be able to cook up something small if you'd like, I was just about to make some lunch anywey."
She was already walking towards the kitchen, even as Reeve was about to open his mouth. There was something off though, something about the way she was moving. It was almost as though his mother wasn't telling him something. He walked over to the kitchen table and that was when he spotted something peeking out from under the box of relief supplies. "It's… all right…" he said. "I was not intending to stay long…" looking down, he lifted the box just slightly and swallowed hard. Underneath the cardbooard sat several bandages. They weren't heavily saturated, but they were definitely stained black.
After a moment, he looked over at Cait Sith who had started playing with a tassel on one of Ruvie's pillow cushions. He had long ago offered to leave one of the other Caits with her, but she had absolutely refused saying as much as she liked him, she had no intention of letting others do what she could do for herself. He walked over to the little cat and whispered "Do you think we could give her a hand?"
"Right'o," Cait responded and scampered over to where Ruvie was searching her cupboards for a pot.
Reeve followed the cat into the kitchen and watched as he hopped up onto the counter to reach for the cabinet door. "Don't worry about me, Cait dear," Ruvie scolded. "I've got it." As she reached up, Reeve watched the collar of her pink cardigan lift a little on her chest, and that was when he spotted the evidence she had been trying to hide. Reaching out, he gently took hold of his mother's hand.
"Reeve?" Ruvie gave him an odd look. as the younger man gently pushed aside the cardigan, revealing a bandage wrapped around her chest under the white blouse she was wearing. The two looked at each other for a moment, Reeve's expression wide with worry, while Ruvie's was hard and challenging.
"The Stigma," he said, trying to hide the shock in his voice. He let go of her, letting his hands fall to his sides. "When did you first notice it?"
Ruvie turned away from him. "Almost two weeks ago," she said. "I did see a doctor, but there was nothin' they could do."
Reeve looked away, the guilt clenching at his heart like a vice. All this time, he'd been off helping to fight a war against the company for whom he had helped to build this city, while without him even knowing, his own mother, whom he had left behind without a word, was becoming a casualty to another threat that the people of Gaia had no means of fighting. And yet, the guilt was made all the worse, because he knew that had she not contracted the disease when she did, she might have been murdered along with all those other people in her neighborhood who weren't sick. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see Ruvie looking up at him. "It's all right," Ruvie said. "I know you are an important man. I wasn't goin' to get in your way if I could help it."
"But you're not in my way, you're my mother," Reeve said. "And I'm not going to abandon you. As soon as I'm done with my meeting, I'm taking you back to Kalm with me. We have a physician there who has been working on a cure. We don't have one yet, but if I have my way, you won't be going back to the Planet for a bit longer yet."
"And what about everyone else?" Ruvie asked, her expression critical. "I'm not the only one."
"That's what we're working on," Reeve said, "But if there is any chance we can keep it from progressing in the meantime..."
Ruvie looked out the window at her barren flower box, thinking for a moment. "Will there be flowers there?" she asked at last.
"I know a young woman who can make them bloom anywhere," Reeve promised.
Ruvie looked up at him in surprise. "Now that is someone I would like to meet."
About an hour later, Reeve stood on a street leading to a different neighborhood when a tall and heavy-set middle-aged man with a long beard walked up to him. The foreman, a man by the name of Gaskin had been working tirelessly the last few days to assist in bringing relief supplies into the city, though right now, he was helping to oversee cleanup at a location where a bomb had leveled a power station in the area. While everyone in their allied force had taken pains to avoid civilian areas, it hadn't been easy to avoid all casualties, since a significant amount of the city planning had been built with convenient access to such locations. Reeve was sad to admit, that had been partly his own fault.
"Welcome!" The man waved in greeting as he approached and Reeve nodded in reply. He had left Cait Sith with Ruvie until he could return.
"How are things progressing around here?" he asked.
"Well enough," Gaskin answered. "We managed to get most of rubble away from most of the relays and we're checking to see if there are any technicians who might have been unaccounted for during the assault. It's fortunate most of the civilians took shelter in the slums, but there were still a few who didn't leave."
Reeve nodded again as he listened. "What's the status on the generators?"
"They're running at full capacity. The emergency facilities have remained operational thank goodness," Gaskin confirmed as he began walking along the street towards what was clearly a crater opening into the upper plate sewers below. The plumbing system in this area has obviously seen its share of damage, but it's nothing we can't repair."
Reeve looked down the hole at the workmen who were shoveling debris out of the waterways. "Have there been any issues with seepage down into the slums?"
Gaskin sighed. "There was a little bit, but we took care of it as soon as we could redirect the water out of the affected area." The foreman turned away from Reeve to lean against a nearby wall, and Reeve noticed the man was gripping his side.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"N-never better," the foreman said. "Just rubbed my shirt on some grease near the work site." He wiped his hand on a handkerchief, and Reeve saw evidence of a black stain on the cloth. He'd never seen grease that looked like that.
Gaskin ignored his concerned expression. "No time to worry about things when there's people who need our help, and the refugees are already starting to come back. No doubt about it, Midgar will be back on its feet in no time."
They spent a little longer looking over the site before Reeve stopped at the tent where relief supplies were being distributed, and then, his business concluded, he walked back towards the car, planning to go back to his mother's house. He hoped she would still be willing to come with him.
He was about halfway back to the car when nearby, he could hear two men who were clearly on break from the repair work arguing nearby. "I'm telling you, with damage like this, GUARDIAN's about as dangerous." The first man, a rather middle-aged fellow with a short beard was talking to his companion his tone clearly indicating how strongly he felt on the matter. "If they really cared, they wouldn't have tried to destroy our reactors just to get Deepground. They wanted us to be defenseless too. It's no secret General Fair had no love for Shinra."
"And why wouldn't he? Besides there wasn't much choice. The Deepground soldiers needed the Mako and now that we know the truth about it…" his friend, a younger fellow with a cleanshaven face argued back.
"Of course there was a choice. And not only that, but I'm not sure there is proof Mako is dangerous. I only hear rumors. Besides, Fair's into oil now. It's the perfect excuse to make people buy what GUARDIAN's selling since Mako's not in favor anymore…"
Reeve walked a little closer to listen, when the younger man spotted him. "Well if you have such a problem with it, then why don't you ask them yourselves. Mr. Tuesti's right here."
The older man looked behind him and only slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Don't know how much you heard, but don't think I'm too scared to look you in the eye and say it. I've been a company man for thirty years, I don't plan on deserting it now."
Reeve nodded in understanding. "I'm not here to judge. If anything, I'm here to listen. I can see why you find our motives suspect, since we have been at war with Shinra for several months. But truly, none of us anticipated Deepground. What comes afterward, will come, but for now, we need to work on what we truly agree is the problem. And that is picking up the pieces now that they've been neutralized. And a cure for the Stigma needs to be found. For now, you have my word, we are paying attention to your concerns."
The man looked back at him, suspicion evident on his face. "If the public good was so important to you, then why did you leave us for them?" He asked.
"Because I'm hoping that what I do will not just help Midgar," Reeve said. "We really do want to change things for the better, believe it or not."
The man looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I suppose. But what do you think is truly best for Midgar, Mr. Tuesti?"
"First, we clean up the mess, and ensure everyone is safe. Once that's been taken care of, we can discuss what comes next and come to an agreement. I truly think this is what those who have left us would want," Reeve said. With that, he bid them good day and walked back to the car. As the engine started and the car started back towards Ruvie Tuesti's house, he reached for his PHS and dialed Zack's number.
"Hello?" Zack answered.
"Zack, when we spoke earlier today, it gave me some food for thought. What would you think if we acted on it?"
"What, you mean a new group to work as a go-between?" Zack asked.
"Precisely. I think once we've finished cleaning up the debris, I can proceed on setting things in motion very quickly."
There was quiet on the other end of the line, and then Zack spoke again, and Reeve could almost taste the relief in the man's voice. "I can't think of a better man for the job Reeve, just let me know what you'll need when the time comes, and from our end at least, you'll have it."
Reeve smiled. "Excellent. I think I might even have the perfect name for it."
On a side note, and probably fitting since a couple of these characters featured in The Case of Denzel, in the original timeline, Cloud would have found Denzel at Aerith's Church the day before, on June 29th, based on the date on his cell phone in Advent Children.
I hope it wasn't too much that I gave Ruvie Cait Sith's accent, but it's suggested in a few sources that he got the inspiration for a lot of Cait Sith's mannerisms from his parents, so I thought it made sense.
I would also like to offer another note of appreciation for Irish-Brigid. Without our discussion of Reeve's Inspire ability, I doubt his roomba would have existed, and it turned out so cute! ^^
Next week, we'll be checking in with Nanaki again. See ya soon!