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CHAPTER EIGHT - PROGRESS

'Why, am I changing? ... Why do people, get complacent with the things they're told? ... World disasters they come and go ... I'd give anything just to be back home ... 'Cause there are people, asking why ... There are people, who believe in ... In life, gets confusing but I don't know why ... But I've made my plans already ... Had this trouble with it all my life ... Well world disasters, they come and go ... I'd give all my strength to be back home ... 'Cause there are people, asking why ... There are people asking ... How do I get to where I've come from, now? ... How will I paint this garden I've destroyed, green? ... Can I get back to where I've come from? ... 'Cause there are people, who believe in life ... Well how do we get to where we come from? ... Peace and love ain't enough these days ... Evolution says "Time is running out, ... We've been here too long..." ... How do I get to where I've come from, now? ... How will I paint this garden I've destroyed, green? ... Can I get back to where I come from? ... 'Cause there are people, who believe it ... (Seal: 'People Asking Why')'

Mayor's Tent. Shantytown. Evening.

Quiet. It surrounded him like comfortable clothing. Reeve looked up from the pile of reports and realized that he hadn't been interrupted by yet another argument between Reno and Tifa that required mediation. He smiled momentarily before his brow creased with concern. As the silence of children left to their own devices was ominous, so was the lack of fighting between those two. He hoped that they hadn't managed to murder one another. He wanted both of them alive and well.

Reeve leaned back in his chair, enjoying the reprieve from the bickering and arguing. He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander in a daydream he hadn't indulged in quite some time as he was currently living the demolition process. The dream of a Midgar without the plate and with sunlight streaming onto all residents played out in his head, and he smiled.

"Dinner is served!" Elena announced cheerfully, interrupting his thoughts and jerking him back into reality as she entered the tent bearing two covered plates of food.

Reeve smiled as she entered, realizing that he was very hungry after a day of sketching out drawings of the new Midgar. She insisted on bringing him dinner every evening from the makeshift mess hall that had been set up to feed the refugees turned workers, convinced that if she didn't he wouldn't eat. She was right, but he would never admit that to her.

"I spoke with Tifa this afternoon." Elena said, trying to sound casual as she set the plates down and took a seat across the desk from him. "She told me that she'd decided to try not to fight with Reno anymore."

"And Reno?"

Elena shrugged. "I haven't seen him or Rude all afternoon." She glanced at her watch. "By this time, they're probably in the bar with Reno trying to out drink Rude." Elena grinned momentarily. "I don't know why Reno bothers. Rude wins every time."

"Male pride. But I'm thankful for any reprieve from their fighting." Reeve chuckled as he lifted the cover off the dinner that Elena had brought to him. Standard shantytown fare, embellished with Elena's special touch. A few edible greens and flowers decorated the plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

"You've outdone yourself this time, Elena. Maybe I should reassign you to kitchen duty." Reeve's eyes twinkled as he awaited the disgusted reaction that he knew was coming.

"Not unless you want your entire workforce sick with food poisoning." Elena made a disgusted face at his suggestion, but she was secretly grateful for the casual banter that Reeve engaged in with her. She felt comfortable around him. He had been a Shinra executive and she could identify with that. Her father had been the same, and she had grown up in that world. She understood it and she could interact easily with it.

While Elena had always dreamed of being a Turk, she found that interacting with Rude and Reno was oftentimes difficult. She hadn't grown up in their world, and she sometimes had a hard time figuring out when they were teasing her. Tseng had been different. He never teased, but simply stated his mind.

"On second thought, we do need a healthy workforce." Reeve chuckled softly as he took a bite. "If only it tasted as good as it looks."

Elena smiled wryly. "It's better than starving."

Reeve nodded in agreement, secretly thankful for the dinner company Elena provided him with each evening. She had truly grown from the under-confident young woman who had joined the Turks just a few short months ago into a woman who was poised and readily able to speak up for herself. He suspected that the ceaseless taunting of her fellow Turks had a lot to do with that as well as the responsibility bestowed upon her by the late Tseng. While Reno and Rude both grew exasperated by her habit of being overly talkative, Reeve found it refreshing and insightful, both into the efforts of cleaning up the rubble and into the personality of this charming young woman.

He smiled as he threw his empty plate into the trashcan next to his desk. "How is everything, Elena?" He asked as her plate joined his in the trash amidst discarded ideas and sketches.

Elena sat back in the chair, evidence of her growing comfort level with the de facto Mayor. Reeve hadn't been officially elected by ballot, but if the large chanting of "Mayor Reeve" was any indication, the popular sentiment was that he was the new Mayor of Midgar, appointed by the people to lead them into a future without Mako and, more importantly, without the meglomaniacal Shinra.

"The cleanup efforts in Sector Seven are proceeding ahead of schedule." Elena paused. "Hopefully if Tifa and Reno can really quit fighting, they will proceed even faster. People are anxious to begin rebuilding homes and stores." Elena smiled. "They are looking forward to having normal lives again."

Reeve nodded. "I'm glad to hear that everything is progressing well."

Progress was excellent, but it brought something that had been troubling him back to the forefront: What were they going to use as a source of power? Junon had announced the return to coal, but that was only a viable solution for the short term. The size of Midgar's population, though currently dispersed amongst other towns and shantytowns, was massive and the reliance on coal alone would quickly pollute the city, forming a barrier of pollution. He had been entertaining the idea of utilizing hydroelectric and solar power for a long-term solution.

"But?" Elena asked, hearing the unspoken word that dangled on the end of Reeve's sentence.

Reeve looked at her and laughed. "Am I that transparent?"

"Not to most people. I can just see the wheels turning in your head. Something is bothering you." Elena stated, proud that all the time she had spent reading those self-help books had finally paid off.

"But," He paused, a twinkle of mischief in his eye as he proved her right. "There is the issue of power. All Midgar has is Mako reactors. We can convert the Reactors to coal, but I don't want to utilize that for the long term. It's too dirty, and the close proximity of the reactors to the city will quickly lead to a pollution problem. Living under the inevitable blanket of smog will be as bad as living under the plate again."

"Nuclear?" Elena asked. "It's clean."

Reeve shook his head. "Too risky to put in the old reactors. If they were out in the middle of nowhere, I'd consider it. I have been considering solar and hydroelectric, but they both will take time to implement."

Elena nodded in agreement. "But if it can be done, I think we should. For the future generations."

"Yes, you are right." Reeve shuffled a stack of papers around on his desk. "There is something else. I need you to look after things for a few days. I am making a trip to Kalm."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Kalm? Whatever for?"

"To speak with the mayor there. I'd like to reopen the Mythril Mines."

"That's murder! Sending the miners back into the mines with those creatures running around!" Elena was shocked as she remembered some of the creatures the Turks encountered in the abandoned mines while chasing Sephiroth and Avalanche.

"We have to get rid of the monsters first. I'm sure there are Soldiers sitting around that are more than willing to fight again." This was something he had thought through. They needed the raw materials and there was no harder or more valuable material than Mythril. It could be used to create strong alloys for the new construction of buildings and power generation. And it would help revive the economy of the area, putting both the Kalm miners and some of the Midgar populace back to work.

"How about putting Tifa in charge of that?" Elena suggested. "She's a formidable fighter and it would keep her and Reno from bickering constantly." She knew firsthand of Tifa's abilities. Elena still had slight bruising from the thrashing that Tifa had given her during the Meteor Crisis, and she knew that there was no one better in Midgar for the job.

"You're not just trying to get rid of her?" Reeve asked, serious, and mindful of the precarious relationship between the Turks and the ex-Avalanche member.

"No." Elena said bluntly, but smiling proudly. "I consider Tifa a friend. Reno's an ass, and this will show him that the best man for a job like this is a woman."

Reeve laughed in relief. If Tifa and Elena could become friends, then there was hope for them all.