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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – MEANWHILE, BACK IN MIDGAR
'Take this pink ribbon off my eyes … I'm exposed … And it's no big surprise … Don't you think I know … Exactly where I stand … This world is forcing me … To hold your hand … 'Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me … Don't let me out of your sight … I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite … So don't let me have any rights … Oh...I've had it up to here! … The moment that I step outside … So many reasons … For me to run and hide … I can't do the little things I hold so dear … 'Cause it's all those little things … That I fear … 'Cause I'm just a girl I'd rather not be … 'Cause they won't let me drive … Late at night I'm just a girl … Guess I'm some kind of freak … 'Cause they all sit and stare … With their eyes … I'm just a girl … Take a good look at me … Just your typical prototype … Oh...I've had it up to here! … Oh...am I making myself clear? … I'm just a girl … I'm just a girl in the world … That's all that you'll let me be! … I'm just a girl, living in captivity … Your rule of thumb … Makes me worry some … I'm just a girl, what's my destiny? … What I've succumbed to Is making me numb … I'm just a girl, my apologies … What I've become is so burdensome … I'm just a girl, lucky me … Twiddle-dum there's no comparison … Oh...I've had it up to here! (No Doubt: 'Just A Girl')'
Mayor's Tent. Shantytown. Afternoon.
Elena drummed her fingers on the desktop, bored. Sector Seven's cleanup was nearly complete. Reports from the work crews estimated that it would only be a few more days before they had hauled the remaining rubble from the sector. She had already begun reassigning some of the crews to the rubble of Sector Two, which was the next sector in Reeve's master plan. His goal was to clean up the destroyed and nearly destroyed sectors first before moving to the still inhabitable sectors. Already there was a campaign underway to preserve Wall Market as a historic district. Despite its seedy reputation, it had played a large role in the old Midgar slums and was remarkably unscathed from the Meteor attacks.
Elena had already decided that she would do her best to preserve the church in the Sector Five slums. Since the day she had discovered it and forged the first strands of friendship with Tifa, Elena found herself going back there more and more, seeking solace and perspective. She wasn't sure if it was the idea of communing with a higher deity or if was just the quiet reverence of the church that helped her clear her mind.
Reeve had the church on the model of the new Midgar, but after what she had learned and witnessed during the cleanup of Sector Seven, she wasn't sure how well the old church would stand after the rubble around it was cleared. She suspected that much of that rubble was actually holding the old church together.
Elena shuffled a stack of reports to another section of the desk, distracted and restless at the lack of word from Reeve. Not that she expected him to check in with her, but they'd been gone nearly a week now and a myriad of scenes played out in her mind. The former leader of Avalanche going berserk and killing the group from Midgar in a vengeful rage, Reno and Tifa having a showdown and Reeve getting caught in the crossfire, Cait Sith exploding and showering Reeve with burning sparks, or Reeve noticing just how attractive Tifa was and running away with her. Her eyes widened as that last thought crossed through her mind.
'No, Reeve is more responsible than that. He would have contacted me if that had happened. What am I thinking?! I've got to get a hold of myself. I AM a Turk. I should act like one!'
Deep inside she knew that all of these possibilities were merely her imagination running wild and that Reeve would soon return with good news. She smiled remembering that she had good news for him as well. The mines had reopened the day before. Tifa had done a fantastic job with the Shinra troops she had been assigned, and the monster populations in the mines were under control. Complements of guards had remained at the mines for security and were likely to remain there long-term.
She had watched happily as the miners had left the shantytown of Midgar and headed south towards the mines. It had been bittersweet without Reeve there to witness it and lead it, but she understood that he had to be in North Corel. The people of Midgar desperately needed power. They had all gone too long living in the dark without the amenities they had grown used to in their formerly civilized society. Besides, he had left her in charge of Midgar in his absence. It was only natural that she should oversee the reopening of the mines as the acting mayor.
Despite that she hated all the paperwork and quick decision-making that was required, it still felt good, though tiring, to be leading it all. It had given her a deeper respect for Reeve and what he did on a daily basis. He rarely came out of this tent, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have time to! The constant parade of foremen and work crews with requests and demands and questions through the tent left her head spinning and oftentimes made her feel lower than low as she struggled to find answers. Reeve was the city planner. The mastermind. The one with the ultimate vision of Midgar. She was just the rookie Turk, still green and wet behind the ears.
'Be proud, Elena.' She could hear the words in her head, but she wasn't sure to whom the commanding presence belonged. 'You have no reason not to be.'
She remembered her father, and how she had admired his commanding presence at Shinra parties. She remembered her mother, seemingly docile as she flitted between groups at the parties they had thrown in their home on the plate. She'd seen it all growing up, peering down into the world of the adults from her perch on the upstairs landing, hidden behind the large Wutainese vase that was the pride and joy of her mother's endless collection of bric-a-brac. It had been cream colored with an intricate tangle of intertwined lines forming a complex floral pattern in red. Inset into this pattern were scenes of strong warriors defeating the weak opponent. She always asked her mother about the vase, but the older woman had never been able to tell her young daughter much about it other than that it was a very old remnant of the Tseng Dynasty.
Not wanting to appear a silly girl, Elena had never said anything to him, but she always wondered if Tseng had been descended from that strong Wutainese House. He'd always carried himself with such grace and dignity, like those warriors immortalized on the vase, never allowing his weaknesses to show through to his opponents. It had been completely accidental that she had discovered his affair with President Shinra's daughter. She'd fully expected him to have her killed for her blackmail stunt, but apparently something in the guts that it had taken her to actually blackmail the leader of the Turks had piqued Tseng's interest. He'd apparently seen that she had what it took to be a Turk, despite that she possessed more than her fair share of naiveté.
It was hard to believe that all of that happened just a year ago, and here she was now, sitting behind the mayor's desk, chosen by the mayor himself to help lead Midgar into a new golden age.
"You're right." Elena responded to the voice in her head. Realizing that she'd spoken out loud, she quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard her. She sighed in relief as she confirmed that she was alone. 'Good. Don't need everyone thinking the current de facto mayor is losing her mind.'
Reeve had shown that he believed in her. Despite what her fellow Turks might think, the mayor knew that she had what it took. Elena smiled. Despite the ruins of Midgar around her, life was good.