Our Generation

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, future fics are kind of my drug, since it's like writing a novel without having to do the world building. I don't expect this to be very long, certainly not the epic that Another Side is turning out to be, but I do expect it to be somewhat close to novel-length. I also probably won't update as frequently as I update Another Side, but this needs to get out of my head so I can stop thinking about this while I'm working on other things.

Each chapter will end with a short profile of one of the characters, for the curious.

(Oh, and the next Yuffie's Guide chapter is The Vincent. That's why it's taking so long. Getting into Yuffie's head while she thinks about Vincent is a somewhat complicated venture.)

Warning: OCs ahead. Lots of 'em. I don't usually write fics with OCs, but it's kind of necessary for this one.

XxXxX

There was a flower blooming in the snow.

Her hair was so blond it seemed almost white, her eyes a pale gray. She was a little girl, couldn't be any older than six or seven, and she was standing alone in the blizzard, her back towards him. The wind tugged at her hair and at the fabric of her simple white dress, causing it to billow around her. Snow swirled, blanketing the world in white and ice.

There was ice in her eyes too. He wanted to reach out to her, to ask her what she was doing here, to tell her to go back inside, but his words were drowned out by the wind. She couldn't hear him. He reached out, trying to grab at her, but she took a step back, seeming to slip right through his fingers. His mouth opened, and he heard himself call her. "...Len..."

Why?

She turned towards him, and for a moment, he thought she could see him, that her eyes met his. Her mouth moved, calling his name.

"..Kieran.."

Why? he found himself asking again.

"Kieran..."

I'm here...Len, I'm here. Why can't you see me?

"Kieran!"

His eyes snapped open, and he blinked, adjusting to the light. He was lying on a leather couch, in a large gray room with high ceilings. The sunlight was entering the room through a panel of windows to his right. A clock on the wall displayed the time in glowing digital letters: 08:12. His eyes widened as he remembered where he was, and he sat up quickly, looking around. A young woman was standing in front of him, looking at him impatiently, but this was not the woman from his dream. She had long black hair, falling almost to her waist, soft features, and the almond shaped brown eyes favored by Wutaiians. The girl was dressed in a black suit and tie, with not a button out of place. She was carrying a brown paper bag in one hand, and coffee in the other. He shook his head, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"Sleeping on the job already?" she asked, moving past him and over to her desk. "You just clocked in."

Kieran shook his head, running a hand through his brown hair in an attempt to comb it and getting to his feet. "I clocked in yesterday morning," he said, smiling wearily. "I haven't clocked out." He walked over to his own desk, scooping up a sheaf of folders and papers and placing them on hers. She looked up.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Everything I have on Miles Woodworth," he said. He stifled a yawn. "And for the record, next time, you can stay up all night listening to the midnight transmissions of a deranged pervert."

"We've tapped Reno's house?" asked a voice from the doorway. "Since when?"

Kieran grinned, looking up. The young Turk in the doorway had dark hair and gray eyes, and looked considerably more rested than he was. "Last night," he said. "You missed it."

"Darn," he said, snapping his fingers regretfully.

"Farron, if you have time to be making jokes, you have time to be working," noted the girl, already rifling through the folder on top of the stack.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," said Farron with a mock salute, swinging his chair around and booting up his computer.

The girl sighed and picked up the paper bag on her desk, tossing it to him without warning. It smacked him in the chest, right over his tie, and he scrambled to catch it before it could fall away. It was still warm, and he caught the scent of food. Kieran looked up at her, but she had already turned away, and was busying herself with reading the report.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Breakfast," she said, picking up her cup of coffee and taking a sip. "You look like you need it. Get your own coffee. Or go home and get some rest. We're guarding the Vice President at the benefit tonight."

"It'll have to be coffee, then," said Kieran, opening the paper bag. He pulled out the ham and cheese sandwich from inside it, glancing once at the girl. She looked away, and he hid his smile. Xi didn't even like ham. "I'm heading off in a couple of hours."

"You're making that delivery to the front?" asked Farron, from his desk. "You look like hell."

"I can make it," said Kieran, taking a bite. "The plane practically flies itself."

"Yeah," muttered Farron. "Into a mountain."

"Farron," said Xi again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Farron, waving a hand dismissively. He reached up, snapping a pair of headphones around his ears. "Working, working."

"What's going on?" asked a feminine voice as the door to the office opened again. The girl that walked in was small and slight, and almost dwarfed by the suit she was wearing, but there was a grin on her face, and a large cup of coffee in her hand. She took a swig from it, setting it down on her desk as she swung around and turned to them. Her hair was short and blond, falling just past her ears, and her eyes were a clear, pale gray. Farron grinned at her from his desk but didn't answer, gesturing instead to his headphones and pointing at Xi. She shot him a look, folding her arms and turning back towards the girl.

"We're wrapping up the Woodworth investigation," said Xi, flipping the page.

The girl made a face. "That guy?" she asked. "Yuck. Better you than me, Kieran."

"Gee, thanks," said Kieran, offering her a tired smile.

"I'll review this report," said Xi, setting the folder down on her desk. "Kieran, get yourself some coffee and another hour of sleep before you get on that plane. You look like you need it. Farron, keep working on tracing those messages. Rosa-."

Farron raised a hand, interrupting her. He was staring intently at something on his computer screen. "Boss incoming in three," he said, pressing a button. "Two. One."

The door to the office opened, and the four of them looked up. An older Wutaiian man stood in the doorway, his eyes drifting over the four of them. He was in his fifties, with long black hair liberally streaked with gray, but he still wore the suit, and there was a certain air about him that commanded respect. When he spoke, his wasn't the loudest voice in the room, but everyone heard it all the same. Kieran felt himself straighten up almost automatically under that gaze.

"Kieran," called Tseng, inclining his head towards the hallway.

Kieran nodded in response, and Tseng stepped back, letting the door close behind him. He swallowed down the rest of his breakfast quickly, taking two big bites, then made for his desk, grabbing his cellphone and ID. He knew better than to keep Tseng waiting.

"Take your gun," suggested Xi, looking up at him. "I know the look on his face. You're not going to make it to the front today."

Kieran was already reaching for the handgun in his desk drawer. He gave it a cursory examination, sliding it into his holster. He could feel their eyes on him-Xi, Farron, and Rosa. "Way ahead of you," he said, walking towards the door. "Farron."

"Don't worry about it," said Farron, grinning as he pulled his headphones down around his neck. "I'll say hi to Ari for you."

"Thanks," said Kieran with a smile, as he shut the door.

XxXxX

Aidan's command had driven the enemy into the canyon. From where she sat, she could see them, a stampede of four-legged beasts, all claws and teeth and dark shadows behind them, kicking up a roiling cloud of dust. Behind them, the WRO troops ran them down, a large number of troops all dressed in the WRO field uniform. From above, they looked like a wave of white and gray, chasing down the monsters. She waited with bated breath until she could see their commander, her mako blue eyes scanning the vanguard.

There. A flash of white just ahead of the main force of the troops, swords flashing in unison as they cut through the rearmost monsters. He jumped forward, his signature white coat fanning out behind him as he whirled and turned, surrounding himself in a circle of red.

"Ma'am," said the soldier waiting beside her. He had the same bright mako blue eyes as she did, marking him as a remnant of Shinra's old SOLDIER program. A child of a SOLDIER that inherited the enhancements. Rare, and highly prized.

"I know," she said. "I see him."

She sat back, watching as the stampede edged closer and closer to their perch, until it was just below them, their snarls bouncing off the canyon walls and reaching them where they waited, magnified a hundred fold.

"Ma'am," said the soldier again, more insistently.

She raised her hand. "Wait," she said.

The enemy advanced. She settled back into her seat, taking a slow deep breath and counting backwards from ten as she kept her eyes fixed on them. Ten...nine...eight...Her gloved hands reached up, tugging a set of goggles over her eyes. She checked her sword straps as the stampede passed by, now directly below them.

"Colonel Fair," said the soldier beside her again. She ignored him, her eyes fixed on the stampede. Seven. Six. Five. She could hear the sounds of the battle now, the brigade's main force having caught up with the enemy. Her hands reached up, grasping onto handlebars as her foot made ready to kick away the kickstand. Four, she thought. Three. Two.

"Colonel," said the man again. A roar rose up from the canyon. She could see Aidan clearly now, spinning and whirling, his two swords moving as one.

One.

"Go," said Ari, twisting the throttle. The bike came alive beneath her, releasing a throaty growl. Without waiting for an answer, she took off, sunlight flashing against the small silver decal on the side of the bike. A woman, sitting astride a winged horse. The Valkyrie. She grinned, riding the motorcycle along the lip of the canyon and kicking up a stream of dust. Ari sped up, leaning forward in her seat and letting the motorcycle overtake the stampede. Then, she veered to the right, sailing clear off the canyon edge. Her stomach lurched from the fall, her long black hair, loosely braided, streaming out behind her. She landed on the ground just as the Valkyrie's side compartments opened with a hiss, and she quickly whirled around, grabbing hold onto the hilt of a broadsword. She drew it quickly from its sheath, slashing through the side of the nearest monster as it rushed at her. It vanished in a cloud of smoke and shadow, and she wheeled the bike around, grabbing onto another, sightly smaller sword with her offhand. Her own smaller command was pouring down the hillside, but she had reached the battlefield ahead of them, and was now facing off the incoming stampede.

"Oh, yeah!" she shouted, leading the charge. "Come and get it!"

She sped off into the fray, swords out to either side of her. Ari cut and parried, running down the monsters that rushed towards her and feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She could see Aidan up ahead, and ran down a monster that attempted to get the drop on him from behind, launching her motorcycle forward and slamming her front wheel right into its face. She floored it, the wheels spinning rapidly before she soared straight over, and landed on the dusty ground beside him. He caught her eye, green eyes meeting his, and she saw him give her a quick nod of acknowledgment. In response, she flashed him a smile and a peace sign, then grabbed onto her handlebars with one hand, swinging around and cutting a shadow monster's legs right from under it. Then her own force reached the melee, and the battle truly began.

To no one's surprise, the WRO won that day. After the battle was won, she found Aidan in the command tent. Ari had spent most of her morning after the battle in the medic's tent, seeing to the wounded and compiling a casualty list. It was surprisingly light. Aidan's regiment had more SOLDIER remnants than any other command in the WRO, and he used them to the fullest, putting them in the vanguard and allowing them to absorb the shock of blows that most regular soldiers wouldn't have been able to. And then there was the fact that Aidan himself always led the charge. That was as much a morale booster as it was skill-Aidan Crescent, the prodigy, the white dragon of the battlefield, the Great Sephiroth come again.

And like his father, he hated the recognition.

Said hero was standing over one of the maps in the command tent, both hands braced against either side of it as he pored down at them. The white coat that he wore was streaked with dust, as was the modified WRO uniform he wore beneath it. His expression was troubled and serious, his bright, cat-like green eyes focused on every flag placed on the map. She knew that he knew them all by heart, but he studied them each time after a battle, as though something might have changed. He'd make his own rounds later, she knew, when he could find the time. He'd visit the worst of the injured, but he'd do it at a time when he thought no one was watching him, not even her.

"We lost four on the raid," she said, letting the tent flap fall closed behind her. "Six badly injured. All in all, it could have been worse."

"It could have been better," said Aidan, not looking up at her. He ran his finger along the ravine in the map, marked in red. It was only a few miles south of the huge black scar of the Rift, the tear in the earth that was the source of all their problems. Nobody could get close enough to the Rift to determine what was down there, but everyone agreed that it couldn't be good. Her mother had once told her that the Rift was where the Planet had placed all of its impurities-the impurities it had purged itself of after the events of Meteorfall. Tainted mako, residual Jenova cells, everything within the Lifestream that wasn't supposed to be there had been cast out in one fell swoop. And over time, it grew.

"We should be taking the fight to them," said Aidan. "Not just cleaning up."

"We clean up pretty well, though, you have to admit," said Ari, picking up an unopened bottle of water from the table. She turned, leaning against the map table behind her and taking a long sip. The water helped wash some of the dust from her mouth. Her father had said that when he fought his war-the Wutai War-it had been fought in a damp jungle. She almost would have preferred that to this dust bowl.

"But cleaning up isn't enough," said Aidan. "Men are dying every day."

"Point," said Ari, her expression softening. "But Aidan, you can't save them all."

"Their deaths ought to mean something," said Aidan, shaking his head and running a hand through his short silver hair. "I want to talk to the Commissioner again."

"And tell him what?" asked Ari, capping the bottle in her hands and turning towards him. "We haven't been able to get close to the Rift."

"We haven't been sending the right people," said Aidan. "I could-."

"No," said Ari, cutting him off. She shook her head, setting the bottle aside. "No. Not alone."

"Ari..." began Aidan, looking down at her.

She looked up at him, blue eyes clashing with green. "We've been over this, Aidan," she said. "I won't let you go. Not by yourself. We need you here."

"I could order you to stand down," he said.

"Would you?" asked Ari, her eyes narrowing.

"No," Aidan shook his head. "Gaia, no. Although I should." He turned away. "One of these days, I really should."

Ari frowned up at him, placing a hand on his arm. The touch was gentle, and she felt him tense, then relax into her hold, his expression still troubled. "When the time comes," she said. "If you really want to go down there, I'll go with you."

"And die?" asked Aidan, not looking up at her.

"If it comes to that," said Ari, stepping closer to him. "I'm not afraid. Mom says for the Cetra, death is a curtain, not a door." She smiled. "But if you and I can't beat what's down there, no one else can."

"Ari..." Aidan turned towards her.

The tent flap swung open, a soldier poking his head in. The two of them sprang apart almost instantly, glancing at the intruder. He was a young Wutaiian man. Ari recognized him from her own squad. His eyes passed between the two of them, and a flush spread over his face. "S-Sorry to interrupt, sir, ma'am," he said. "Weapon shipment's here from Shinra."

From Shinra. Kieran.

"I'll take it," said Ari, stepping forward. "Thanks for letting me know, Ryo." To Aidan, she gave a polite nod. "See you later."

"Mm, see you," said Aidan, turning back towards his maps. She let him, letting the tent flap close behind her. She sent Ryosuke off to get some rest, crossing the camp and heading towards the large open area that served as a helipad. A Shinra helicopter was already there, with a handful of WRO soldiers unloading crates, but the Turk that waved her over wasn't the one she had been expecting. She frowned, walking over to him and taking the clipboard he handed her.

"Hey," said Farron. "You look tired."

"We just had a battle today," said Ari, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. She glanced down at the inventory list, matching it up with the boxes being pulled from the helicopter. Ari gestured vaguely into the distance. "A bunch of those shadow cats broke off from the Rift. We channeled them into the canyons and got them from both ends."

"Sounds exciting," said Farron. He leaned back against the helicopter, offering her a lazy smile. "Well, it's all here. Bunch of guns and ammo, and some swords too, for those that want them. They're already paid for."

"Thanks." Ari penned her name at the bottom of the file, flipping through it and looking for other blanks. "Where's my brother?" she asked.

"On assignment," said Farron. "Got called in by the Director early this morning, and haven't seen him since. Must be important."

She knew better than to ask Farron whether or not he knew anything about it. Kieran was her brother, but not even he would talk about his work with her. Instead, she simply nodded, finishing up the paperwork and handing it back to him. "Tell him to call me when he gets back?" she asked.

"Sure thing," said Farron, grinning. "I'll pass it on."

"Thanks," said Ari. She watched Farron get back into the helicopter, waiting until the Shinra chopper was nothing more than a dot in the sky, then sighed, rubbing at her sore shoulder and heading back to the main part of camp. She paused, resting one hand on the hilt of her sword as she looked out in the distance. Even in the heat of the day, the area near the Rift seemed to shimmer with black smoke. The Rift had rebuffed all attempts to study it, but if she and Aidan went, the Valkyrie and the dragon...would they be able to succeed where others had failed?

Maybe. And maybe not.

I wish you'd talk to me like you talk to my brothers, she thought towards the Planet. Maybe then you'd tell me what to do.

The Planet didn't respond. Arielle Fair stood there for a moment more before she turned away, heading back towards her tent, and her men.

XxXxX

PROFILE 001: Kieran

Name: Kieran Fair

Age: 23

Birthday: December 4

Hometown: Edge

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Green

Mother: Aerith Gainsborough

Father: Zack Fair

Siblings: Caden (25), Arielle (20)

Occupation: Shinra Manufacturing Company, General Affairs Department

Notable: Kieran and his brother don't get along. This rivalry is heightened by the fact that his brother works in the WRO special forces. However, both of them care deeply for their younger sister, and will put aside their differences when she is involved. He is the only one out of his three siblings that has not inherited Zack's mako-enhanced strength and endurance, although conversely, out of all of them, he is most in tune with the Planet.

His joining the Turks is often attributed to both initial pressure from Tseng, and a childhood friendship with Vice-President Lenora Shinra. He joined the Turks at age seventeen, the exact year that Lenora was appointed to Vice-President. At the time, he was assigned as partner to Xifeng, an established member of the Turks. They are still partners to this day.