Chapter Two
Reeve was stampeding down the halls of ShinRa headquarters, yelling into his cell phone as his face sparked red with rage. Two bodyguards silently followed in pursuit, each one properly clothed in dark suits and shades, their faces blank with no visible emotion.
Reeve suddenly turned, alarming the bodyguards for just a moment before they returned to the perfect stillness expected of them. "Now look! You God forsaken moron, why can I not get this through to you? We do NOT, I repeat, we do NOT reply to disobedience with violence."
There was a faint sound of chatter on the phone before Reeve yelled out again. "ARGH! NO! Look, I have an appointment with Hawkings boys right now, and you know what asses they can be. Call back in a bit."
President Reeve sighed, admiring himself in the mirror. Dark suit with tie, shades appropriately set to his face, and his hair slicked back. Wiping the glasses quickly he threw the twin doors open, where a long, rectangular table lay.
Already there were the three representatives of Hawking Enterprises, all suited in grey vests and pants that were far too tight, with a little hawk printed onto their chests.
Also there were most of the higher positioned members of ShinRa. The Head of Military, as well as leaders from the Science, Transportation, and Urban Development. Like most ShinRa members they too were dressed in the appropriate, though bland, black clothing.
The three representatives each stood up and shook hands with Reeves overly firm grip. Turning towards the only remaining seat left on the table at the far end of the Hawking Representative, he placed both his hands onto the chair and glared from beneath the shades.
"So. I'm sorry I was so late, but I had to wait for the vice president to take a hint." Vice president Moors was an annoying little man whom had somehow made it near the top of positions in ShinRa, mostly through means of assassination. He always over reacted and most people tended to stay as far away from his as possible.
"Well, considering the time you have already wasted you better hurry this up, President." Reeves' grip tightened onto the chair. "And it had better be quite convincing. Ever since... then..." the word was spoken faintly, as if the memory brought back pain, "the people have been wary of your actions.
"We at Hawking Enterprises of course realize this is no fault of yours - we proved so by supplying you with the required money for Naval Defences. But with weaponry none shall trust you. As you must understand, it would be a most unwise decision on our behalf."
Reeves grip loosened on the cool leather as he straightened his back. "The weaponry shall be sent to all allies of Junon, including Costa del Sol, Midgar, and anyone else wishing to be associated with. It will mostly be airships, airplanes, great fleets of ships and tanks. It would be a major breakthrough, can't you see?"
"All I can see is a man with false hopes." The mans words were cold, saying that there was no hope for Reeve.
"It would all be for defence purposes..."
"Against what? The ocean? There are no longer any more enemies!"
At last, the young Ms. Rebecca Patterson spoke up, her mind screaming for her to. "Sir, sorry to speak out of order, but don't you think science is the answer? I agree with these men over here - we have detected no enemies besides the monsters who only sometimes attack towns. There is no major threat to life, and for the first time in years more towns are being created. Science can be of more importance to us right now - more than anything."
The speaking representative grinned. "Even your own team disagrees with you. Come back to us when you have something worth telling us about." With that the three made their exit from the dark room, leaving the ShinRa members in silence.
"Sir, I didn't mean to-" Rebecca started to say, but the President rose one hand, his face downwards. Pointing towards the door that was still swaying back and forth, the members began to depart.
Although it was true in most ways Reeve had become a rich man by inheriting ShinRa, he was also heavily in debt. It had turned out the business had been going broke for quite some time - President Rufus had to actually loan money from Hawking to build the Sister Ray.
This had made ShinRa a scavenging business, settling with whatever they could get their hands on - though most of the loyal employees had stayed behind, no matter what the pay cuts were. That was how their technology remained at a state higher than any others, and they were currently looking into using steam or electricity for the being repaired Midgar (renamed Neo-Midgar).
Taking a cigarette from his pocket he began to head for the hangar.
*
Cid began a string of swears and curses he had picked up over the years, crumpling a piece of paper and throwing it vaguely towards a trash can. It missed.
Picking up the pencil again he stared at the sheet filled with his original idea, then scanned it over a few times more just to be sure. Sketching it out onto a blank piece of paper new ideas began to fill his head. It had turned from the original bulky airplane to a sleek design of the Highwind, suitable for only about five or so people. It was very compact and capable of soaring through the skies as well as roaming the ground.
But Cid kept running into problems with the fuel and the weight. It weighed so much from being able to fly and drive that it could only reach about ten yards or so, before it began to fail. If he wanted to keep it aloft he would have to add some feature to have more fuel, considering the speed needed would burn it away.
Though as brilliant as the engineer was he just couldn't find a way. The new design he had just sketched looked quite promising though. And, feeling as if it were a work of art, quickly put his signature in the corner.
Grinning the pale-blonde headed man lit a cigarette and raised it to his mouth, taking a drag and breathing out slowly. The sliding doors opened at the far end of the hangar and President Reeve came walking through, a look of worry on his face.
When he approached the middle-aged pilot he looked at the cigarette with dismay. "You're not supposed to smoke in here, you know." Waiting expectantly for a few moments he realized that Cid didn't care. "...So... How goes the flying car idea?"
"Not too well. Still having the same problem... repeatedly. Constantly. And more. We get the money needed for weapons, though?" Cid sceptically looked at Reeve with a sidelong glance.
"No... But I think we'll bring them around eventually. Until then, try to keep the budget down. I'm not going to limit you to a set amount, but just try to keep everything below normal costs, okay?" Cid gave a brief nod before returning to managing his group of elite engineers, currently working on the engine for some other idea of Cids.
Seeing nothing else needed to be said, the President walked off, ignoring the sounds of metal scraping against metal, and engineers yelling across the hangar. His eyes held a vacant look.
*
That night Cid stayed inside the hangar till the moon was high in the sky, and the last of the engineers left for the weekend, parting with his employer.
He sat as his plain gray desk, with nothing to show the papers before him but a small desk-lamp that soon began to flicker, the bulb dying. Sighing, he looked down from the sheets of blueprints and looked for a lightbulb. A few minutes of rummaging around proved to show that he had finally run out. Throwing the empty box away he saw a pile of letters that had been laying beneath them.
They were the letter Shera used to write to him - most of which just after they had been married and he took this job. Living in Costa del Sol and working in Junon meant that Cid was away from home five days a week, and only got to see his wife on most of Saturday and Sunday.
Though this meant they could be more intimate with one another, it also held the fact that he would have been exhausted from work and she would want to release so much emotion on him he couldn't take it.
The letters were mostly in plain paper, though scented with a sweet perfume that mesmerized Cid. Before her he would say it sickened him, but the aroma would captivate him when in privacy. It always gave the impression she was near him.
Her neat handwriting came in twists and turns, expressing her emotions and showing the deep love she had always held for him. Cid would often feel bad about how small the pile of letters he'd sent to her were, but she understood he was one of those men who tried to act like the 'strong, silent type.'
Quickly placing all the letters in a shoebox he put them into a locked drawer, already holding pictures of his beloved. Locking it, he put all the drawings onto a corner of the desk and walked out of the hangar.
Tomorrow he would see Shera.
*
Cid quickly boarded on the first ship going across to Costa del Sol at six in the morning, the place silent and very few people gathering. But already a group of skaters had met near by, bringing a boom box and Cid could've sworn they did so just to piss him off.
Showing his ticket to the man nearest he moved towards the bar. Having two homes meant he didn't need to bring luggage, but he had a small bag of things he brought to most places.
The bar was as desolate as the rest of the ship, and the air dead. The only person there was the barkeeper, a slim young man with spiked blonde hair. Cids first impression was 'pretty boy musician wannabe'. His impression stayed that way for the rest of the trip.
"Gimme the strongest shit ya got, boy." The young mans eyes narrowed as he heard the words, but he never the less poured him a drink. Taking it all down in one go Cid's eyes widened, and he found himself standing up pushing against the table.
"What is this weak shit?!"
"Speciality. Thirty gil."
"Oooh no! I ain't payin' no thirty gil for this weak, non-alcoholic shit!" Sighing, knowing he had no choice, he pushed the money over to the grinning idiot. Muttering he walked out up to his cabin.
Stomping as loud as he could, praying it bothered someone, he unlocked his door and walked through. Dropping his bag, his mouth gaped. Before his very eyes...
"SWEET MOTHER OF ALL GODS! A MINI-BAR!"
*
"Arriving at destination in five minutes!" the voice boomed. Or seemed to boom. Cid had learnt a valuable lesson. Never drink a lot, especially when you'll be waking up in five hours, meaning having a hangover way too early.
Grasping his head he rolled off the bed, and struggled for a couple of minutes to get up. Shaking his head, he made sure to leave enough money for the mini-bar raid, grabbed his socks and shoes, then his bag, and stumbled out (all done in one sentence!).
Stumbling out, he gripped the nearest rail and began his slow walk, making it towards the front of the ship just as it came in contact with the dock. He brushed a hand through his pale blonde hair and attempted to not look drunk.
Walking down the wide piece of what looked conspicuously like scrap metal, Cid made his way towards Shera, waiting in front of the few other people there, her eyes shining and her smile widening.
Giving a short wave he stumbled past the last few steps and caught her as she flew into his arms, laying her head onto his shoulder. "I have missed you."
"And I you." It didn't seem to sound like the sort of thing Cid the Almighty Swearer would say, but over these past few years a great many changes had taken place. Most of which had been because of the passion he and Shera shared, but also partly because Cloud was no longer in his life.
He had become more dominant when seeing other members of AVALANCHE, as if Cid had somehow become the new leader. As Barret had once phrased it, "Always the blonde dumbasses."
Shera brought her head swaying around to him, before stopping just before their lips met. "You've been drinking. There's no hiding it from me!"
"Yeah, we better get home. I'm not too sure it's safe for me to have a hangover so soon."
"Don't you remember last time you did that?" Seeing his confused expression they both decided it was definitely not safe to have a hangover so soon. Grabbing her wrist the two ran from the docks towards their home, not far from their current position. Their footsteps hit the smooth pavement loudly, and they laughed together.
Soaring through the door and into the expensive villa, the two carried on with their momentum built up. Flying into the bedroom and onto the bed Shera smiled at Cid once, before collapsing onto his chest.
She listened to his soft breathing, and felt around the soft, silk sheets. Cids normally excited eyes were closed, and his breathing began to get softer until it was apparent he was asleep. Grabbing one of the pillows, she slammed it across his tanned face.
"Ah dammit! What's wrong with you?" Smiling sheepishly, he realized he must have fallen asleep.
"You're no fun, Cid!" She immediately regretted the remark. Cid smiled at her, his eyes twinkling despite the dim lights (an ability he had always seemed to have). The grin plastered onto his face was one that brought thoughts to the mind - ones one would not normally think of.
"Oh really..." She yelped as he pounced on her, throwing her off and him on top of her. "We'll have to see about that."
His cool hands sent a shiver down her spine, but soon it became intoxicating, the feel of his rough hands. Despite his breath smelled of alcohol he brought his head down in a fierce kiss, not letting go until she was ignorant of the breath and beginning to get into the mood.
She whispered his name, and they began to take one anothers' clothes off.
Authors Notes: Hmm... Like I said in my other A/N, this one isn't as good. I never do as good as I would normally do in the countryside. I think that's because I find the city life so dull and boring, dark and bland. While the country has sweet aromas, beautiful wildlife, sunsets, hills streaming with flowers, and all that.
In my opinion I think FF7 would have been better if it had been a bit more medieval, don't ya think? I mean, it wouldn't have really worked, but hell, I don't like the idea of businesses and all that. Sorry this chapter got shorter, but since there's less description there's less words.
I'm going to try and improve on the whole city business. The reason I don't just rewrite this is cause I'm tired of always rewriting things.
BTW, I'm going to start on another FF7 fic once I get up to the first fight between the three main characters. I'm not gonna stop this one - jes gonna work on both. It'll be an alternate universe about a young man in ShinRa who is on the case of tracking Cloud down and destroying him after an incident at the beginning of the game.
He'll also be a bit of a summoner.... But that would have to be later in the fic. Put simply though, he'll have a deep bond with his summons. It's an idea I picked up from Jake (meeeee!) in A Hero's Soul (something else I wanna rewrite - but not till WotG is done, which will prolly be at least eight months or maybe more).
C'Yaz!
P.S. If anyone is interested in being a proofreader, I'd greatly appreciate it. I would ask one of my friends to do it, but most of them are busy (though I know some of them could do a really good job). Or not. Pretty soon, I'm gonna use my parents scanner to upload some of my own art for this story, but so far I only have 2 characters drawn (one hasn't been introduced yet) and they're not very good, but by my standards they're great.
Reeve was stampeding down the halls of ShinRa headquarters, yelling into his cell phone as his face sparked red with rage. Two bodyguards silently followed in pursuit, each one properly clothed in dark suits and shades, their faces blank with no visible emotion.
Reeve suddenly turned, alarming the bodyguards for just a moment before they returned to the perfect stillness expected of them. "Now look! You God forsaken moron, why can I not get this through to you? We do NOT, I repeat, we do NOT reply to disobedience with violence."
There was a faint sound of chatter on the phone before Reeve yelled out again. "ARGH! NO! Look, I have an appointment with Hawkings boys right now, and you know what asses they can be. Call back in a bit."
President Reeve sighed, admiring himself in the mirror. Dark suit with tie, shades appropriately set to his face, and his hair slicked back. Wiping the glasses quickly he threw the twin doors open, where a long, rectangular table lay.
Already there were the three representatives of Hawking Enterprises, all suited in grey vests and pants that were far too tight, with a little hawk printed onto their chests.
Also there were most of the higher positioned members of ShinRa. The Head of Military, as well as leaders from the Science, Transportation, and Urban Development. Like most ShinRa members they too were dressed in the appropriate, though bland, black clothing.
The three representatives each stood up and shook hands with Reeves overly firm grip. Turning towards the only remaining seat left on the table at the far end of the Hawking Representative, he placed both his hands onto the chair and glared from beneath the shades.
"So. I'm sorry I was so late, but I had to wait for the vice president to take a hint." Vice president Moors was an annoying little man whom had somehow made it near the top of positions in ShinRa, mostly through means of assassination. He always over reacted and most people tended to stay as far away from his as possible.
"Well, considering the time you have already wasted you better hurry this up, President." Reeves' grip tightened onto the chair. "And it had better be quite convincing. Ever since... then..." the word was spoken faintly, as if the memory brought back pain, "the people have been wary of your actions.
"We at Hawking Enterprises of course realize this is no fault of yours - we proved so by supplying you with the required money for Naval Defences. But with weaponry none shall trust you. As you must understand, it would be a most unwise decision on our behalf."
Reeves grip loosened on the cool leather as he straightened his back. "The weaponry shall be sent to all allies of Junon, including Costa del Sol, Midgar, and anyone else wishing to be associated with. It will mostly be airships, airplanes, great fleets of ships and tanks. It would be a major breakthrough, can't you see?"
"All I can see is a man with false hopes." The mans words were cold, saying that there was no hope for Reeve.
"It would all be for defence purposes..."
"Against what? The ocean? There are no longer any more enemies!"
At last, the young Ms. Rebecca Patterson spoke up, her mind screaming for her to. "Sir, sorry to speak out of order, but don't you think science is the answer? I agree with these men over here - we have detected no enemies besides the monsters who only sometimes attack towns. There is no major threat to life, and for the first time in years more towns are being created. Science can be of more importance to us right now - more than anything."
The speaking representative grinned. "Even your own team disagrees with you. Come back to us when you have something worth telling us about." With that the three made their exit from the dark room, leaving the ShinRa members in silence.
"Sir, I didn't mean to-" Rebecca started to say, but the President rose one hand, his face downwards. Pointing towards the door that was still swaying back and forth, the members began to depart.
Although it was true in most ways Reeve had become a rich man by inheriting ShinRa, he was also heavily in debt. It had turned out the business had been going broke for quite some time - President Rufus had to actually loan money from Hawking to build the Sister Ray.
This had made ShinRa a scavenging business, settling with whatever they could get their hands on - though most of the loyal employees had stayed behind, no matter what the pay cuts were. That was how their technology remained at a state higher than any others, and they were currently looking into using steam or electricity for the being repaired Midgar (renamed Neo-Midgar).
Taking a cigarette from his pocket he began to head for the hangar.
*
Cid began a string of swears and curses he had picked up over the years, crumpling a piece of paper and throwing it vaguely towards a trash can. It missed.
Picking up the pencil again he stared at the sheet filled with his original idea, then scanned it over a few times more just to be sure. Sketching it out onto a blank piece of paper new ideas began to fill his head. It had turned from the original bulky airplane to a sleek design of the Highwind, suitable for only about five or so people. It was very compact and capable of soaring through the skies as well as roaming the ground.
But Cid kept running into problems with the fuel and the weight. It weighed so much from being able to fly and drive that it could only reach about ten yards or so, before it began to fail. If he wanted to keep it aloft he would have to add some feature to have more fuel, considering the speed needed would burn it away.
Though as brilliant as the engineer was he just couldn't find a way. The new design he had just sketched looked quite promising though. And, feeling as if it were a work of art, quickly put his signature in the corner.
Grinning the pale-blonde headed man lit a cigarette and raised it to his mouth, taking a drag and breathing out slowly. The sliding doors opened at the far end of the hangar and President Reeve came walking through, a look of worry on his face.
When he approached the middle-aged pilot he looked at the cigarette with dismay. "You're not supposed to smoke in here, you know." Waiting expectantly for a few moments he realized that Cid didn't care. "...So... How goes the flying car idea?"
"Not too well. Still having the same problem... repeatedly. Constantly. And more. We get the money needed for weapons, though?" Cid sceptically looked at Reeve with a sidelong glance.
"No... But I think we'll bring them around eventually. Until then, try to keep the budget down. I'm not going to limit you to a set amount, but just try to keep everything below normal costs, okay?" Cid gave a brief nod before returning to managing his group of elite engineers, currently working on the engine for some other idea of Cids.
Seeing nothing else needed to be said, the President walked off, ignoring the sounds of metal scraping against metal, and engineers yelling across the hangar. His eyes held a vacant look.
*
That night Cid stayed inside the hangar till the moon was high in the sky, and the last of the engineers left for the weekend, parting with his employer.
He sat as his plain gray desk, with nothing to show the papers before him but a small desk-lamp that soon began to flicker, the bulb dying. Sighing, he looked down from the sheets of blueprints and looked for a lightbulb. A few minutes of rummaging around proved to show that he had finally run out. Throwing the empty box away he saw a pile of letters that had been laying beneath them.
They were the letter Shera used to write to him - most of which just after they had been married and he took this job. Living in Costa del Sol and working in Junon meant that Cid was away from home five days a week, and only got to see his wife on most of Saturday and Sunday.
Though this meant they could be more intimate with one another, it also held the fact that he would have been exhausted from work and she would want to release so much emotion on him he couldn't take it.
The letters were mostly in plain paper, though scented with a sweet perfume that mesmerized Cid. Before her he would say it sickened him, but the aroma would captivate him when in privacy. It always gave the impression she was near him.
Her neat handwriting came in twists and turns, expressing her emotions and showing the deep love she had always held for him. Cid would often feel bad about how small the pile of letters he'd sent to her were, but she understood he was one of those men who tried to act like the 'strong, silent type.'
Quickly placing all the letters in a shoebox he put them into a locked drawer, already holding pictures of his beloved. Locking it, he put all the drawings onto a corner of the desk and walked out of the hangar.
Tomorrow he would see Shera.
*
Cid quickly boarded on the first ship going across to Costa del Sol at six in the morning, the place silent and very few people gathering. But already a group of skaters had met near by, bringing a boom box and Cid could've sworn they did so just to piss him off.
Showing his ticket to the man nearest he moved towards the bar. Having two homes meant he didn't need to bring luggage, but he had a small bag of things he brought to most places.
The bar was as desolate as the rest of the ship, and the air dead. The only person there was the barkeeper, a slim young man with spiked blonde hair. Cids first impression was 'pretty boy musician wannabe'. His impression stayed that way for the rest of the trip.
"Gimme the strongest shit ya got, boy." The young mans eyes narrowed as he heard the words, but he never the less poured him a drink. Taking it all down in one go Cid's eyes widened, and he found himself standing up pushing against the table.
"What is this weak shit?!"
"Speciality. Thirty gil."
"Oooh no! I ain't payin' no thirty gil for this weak, non-alcoholic shit!" Sighing, knowing he had no choice, he pushed the money over to the grinning idiot. Muttering he walked out up to his cabin.
Stomping as loud as he could, praying it bothered someone, he unlocked his door and walked through. Dropping his bag, his mouth gaped. Before his very eyes...
"SWEET MOTHER OF ALL GODS! A MINI-BAR!"
*
"Arriving at destination in five minutes!" the voice boomed. Or seemed to boom. Cid had learnt a valuable lesson. Never drink a lot, especially when you'll be waking up in five hours, meaning having a hangover way too early.
Grasping his head he rolled off the bed, and struggled for a couple of minutes to get up. Shaking his head, he made sure to leave enough money for the mini-bar raid, grabbed his socks and shoes, then his bag, and stumbled out (all done in one sentence!).
Stumbling out, he gripped the nearest rail and began his slow walk, making it towards the front of the ship just as it came in contact with the dock. He brushed a hand through his pale blonde hair and attempted to not look drunk.
Walking down the wide piece of what looked conspicuously like scrap metal, Cid made his way towards Shera, waiting in front of the few other people there, her eyes shining and her smile widening.
Giving a short wave he stumbled past the last few steps and caught her as she flew into his arms, laying her head onto his shoulder. "I have missed you."
"And I you." It didn't seem to sound like the sort of thing Cid the Almighty Swearer would say, but over these past few years a great many changes had taken place. Most of which had been because of the passion he and Shera shared, but also partly because Cloud was no longer in his life.
He had become more dominant when seeing other members of AVALANCHE, as if Cid had somehow become the new leader. As Barret had once phrased it, "Always the blonde dumbasses."
Shera brought her head swaying around to him, before stopping just before their lips met. "You've been drinking. There's no hiding it from me!"
"Yeah, we better get home. I'm not too sure it's safe for me to have a hangover so soon."
"Don't you remember last time you did that?" Seeing his confused expression they both decided it was definitely not safe to have a hangover so soon. Grabbing her wrist the two ran from the docks towards their home, not far from their current position. Their footsteps hit the smooth pavement loudly, and they laughed together.
Soaring through the door and into the expensive villa, the two carried on with their momentum built up. Flying into the bedroom and onto the bed Shera smiled at Cid once, before collapsing onto his chest.
She listened to his soft breathing, and felt around the soft, silk sheets. Cids normally excited eyes were closed, and his breathing began to get softer until it was apparent he was asleep. Grabbing one of the pillows, she slammed it across his tanned face.
"Ah dammit! What's wrong with you?" Smiling sheepishly, he realized he must have fallen asleep.
"You're no fun, Cid!" She immediately regretted the remark. Cid smiled at her, his eyes twinkling despite the dim lights (an ability he had always seemed to have). The grin plastered onto his face was one that brought thoughts to the mind - ones one would not normally think of.
"Oh really..." She yelped as he pounced on her, throwing her off and him on top of her. "We'll have to see about that."
His cool hands sent a shiver down her spine, but soon it became intoxicating, the feel of his rough hands. Despite his breath smelled of alcohol he brought his head down in a fierce kiss, not letting go until she was ignorant of the breath and beginning to get into the mood.
She whispered his name, and they began to take one anothers' clothes off.
Authors Notes: Hmm... Like I said in my other A/N, this one isn't as good. I never do as good as I would normally do in the countryside. I think that's because I find the city life so dull and boring, dark and bland. While the country has sweet aromas, beautiful wildlife, sunsets, hills streaming with flowers, and all that.
In my opinion I think FF7 would have been better if it had been a bit more medieval, don't ya think? I mean, it wouldn't have really worked, but hell, I don't like the idea of businesses and all that. Sorry this chapter got shorter, but since there's less description there's less words.
I'm going to try and improve on the whole city business. The reason I don't just rewrite this is cause I'm tired of always rewriting things.
BTW, I'm going to start on another FF7 fic once I get up to the first fight between the three main characters. I'm not gonna stop this one - jes gonna work on both. It'll be an alternate universe about a young man in ShinRa who is on the case of tracking Cloud down and destroying him after an incident at the beginning of the game.
He'll also be a bit of a summoner.... But that would have to be later in the fic. Put simply though, he'll have a deep bond with his summons. It's an idea I picked up from Jake (meeeee!) in A Hero's Soul (something else I wanna rewrite - but not till WotG is done, which will prolly be at least eight months or maybe more).
C'Yaz!
P.S. If anyone is interested in being a proofreader, I'd greatly appreciate it. I would ask one of my friends to do it, but most of them are busy (though I know some of them could do a really good job). Or not. Pretty soon, I'm gonna use my parents scanner to upload some of my own art for this story, but so far I only have 2 characters drawn (one hasn't been introduced yet) and they're not very good, but by my standards they're great.