Title : Emerald Skies
Author : lynlyn
Author email : cloud121383@yahoo.com
Warnings : Here is where I warn off readers who can't take yaoi. The main pairing here is Sephiroth / Cloud, though that bit will be coming much, much later, after quite a few chapters of character and plot development. If you're open-minded, and like action and adventure, then well and good, but if you don't like romance between two guys, then skip the mushy chapters, or don't read at all. This fic takes off right after the game, and will seem a bit confusing to those who don't know much about the characters' pasts.
Summary : This chapter's just a prelude of sorts to give way to the plot, i.e. tying post-Meteor issues up to prepare for the rest of the story.
Rating : PG-13 for adult themes, swearing, and a bit of violence. The rating might go up in later chapters, though.
Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy 7, its characters, or anything associated with it. I'm not writing this for profit; I'm only doing so for personal satisfaction, plus the fact that I want to try my hand at writing semi-professionally. Any resemblance of the characters or the story itself to actual people and situations is entirely unintentional and accidental. Please don't sue – I'm only a college student.
A/N : This is actually the very first fanfic I'd written, (actually started around a year ago) and it's only now that I've screwed my courage and posted it. I'm still writing the second chapter.
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EMERALD SKIES
~prologue~
"Lifestream… Aeris…"
Tifa Lockheart looked at the young man who had whispered the words they had all been thinking of. His eyes were closed, a barely concealed look of intense pain and guilt on his face; the harsh planes of a SOLDIER's body made softer by his unusual boyish looks. Her heart constricted, and her thoughts turned to the brunette who had sacrificed her life to stop Sephiroth and Meteor.
"Holy didn't work… but Lifestream did," Red XIII murmured quietly, watching the green tendrils of light make short work of the huge chunk of rock that had so threatened the Planet.
"It's Aeris," Cloud spoke suddenly, his voice low but audible enough to startle the team out of their individual musings.
"Cloud?" asked Tifa, confused by his vehemence.
He opened his eyes, but he didn't look at any of them. Tifa wasn't sure, but she thought she saw his glowing eyes glittering with even more intensity than before. She only had a second's look before the sapphire orbs reverted back to their usual mako-induced luminescence.
"I… I don't know how…" he said slowly, "But I know that Aeris did this. She did it. She has saved the Planet."
No one dared to speak in the silence that followed. They waited for Cloud to explain further, but all he did was to watch the scene below them with that unreadable expression on his face.
Their vantage point on the deck of the Highwind gave them an unparalleled view of the Lifestream's power. The lifeblood of the Planet had seeped out with unimaginable speed from every crack and crevice on the surface of the ground. The ephemeral threads had then combined together to form vast masses of green, and had intercepted Meteor before it had a chance to smash into Midgar. It was now taking the rock apart, breaking and disintegrating it into smaller pieces. It was breath taking – and terrifying, this Lifestream. Watching Meteor crumble now, it was hard to believe that they weren't able to destroy it when they had crashed Rocket no. 26 into it. The huge bulk of Meteor grew smaller and smaller in size, until only large boulders were left, like monstrous chunks of driftwood floating in a vast sea of green.
Amazingly, it had taken only a few minutes for Lifestream to complete its work, even though it seemed like an eternity for the watchers. The last chunks of rock disappeared altogether, and the green threads of the Lifestream started their retreat back into the Planet.
"Do you think everyone made it out?" Barret asked. He leaned over the railing, peering into the gloom, trying to discern the condition of the metropolis. It was highly unlikely that Midgar had escaped unscathed, for Meteor had struck the top portions of the plate before Lifestream stopped it. That, and the fact that most of the city was now enveloped in thick gray smoke. That was not a good sign.
"No news yet, Cait?" Tifa asked.
"None," the cat mumbled sorrowfully, his ears drooping. "Not a whisper since they arrested Ree—" Cait Sith abruptly straightened, and Mog gave an excited chirp. "Hang on!" A few seconds passed, with much electronic whirring and garbling coming from the toy cat. Finally, Cait spoke again, but not in his squeaky voice. A man's light tenor came through, but it was slightly muffled and unclear due to static and background noise.
"He—hello? I—anyone—there?"
"Reeve? Reeve, is that you?" Cloud immediately asked. He recognized the voice instantly, remembering it from the time they had infiltrated Shinra tower. How he had known from the garbled voice that the speaker was the Shinra executive-turned-spy, no one in AVALANCHE knew. But they had no time to ask, for Reeve's voice turned slightly frantic and pleading.
"Clou—Cloud Strife? Can't hear—too—static. Damn—terference!" Reeve stopped speaking and they heard what sounded like banging coming from Cait Sith's maw. Cloud chuckled; the cat's expression was too comical – mouth wide open, eyes crossed in bewilderment and chagrin. The others stared with varying levels of amusement on their faces.
"Ah, here we go!" Reeve exclaimed triumphantly. "Sorry 'bout that, I just rigged this transmitter up. And with all the debris lying around…"
Cloud sobered. "Reeve, what's the situation there?"
"It's a bit chaotic down here, and we can't see too clearly. The air currents disturbed by Lifestream and Meteor must've stirred up the dust…" Reeve paused, then continued with carefully weighed words. "I think… there may be casualties, guys. I was lucky enough to evacuate earlier, but I don't think everyone made it out. Meteor took off a good number of floors from the Shinra tower. And, I'm not really sure, but there seems to be much more damage than there should've been, considering the fact that you were able to stop Meteor…"
"Reeve, what's wrong?" Cloud asked.
Prompted by the firmness in Cloud's tone, Reeve continued a little less hesitantly than before, "The backlash created by the forces of both Lifestream and Meteor destroyed some of the buildings with weak foundations. The other damages… were caused by stray pieces of Meteor."
"How big, exactly, are these stray pieces?"
"Some of the pieces I've seen were the size of big boulders… The biggest I saw was about twenty to thirty meters in diameter."
"Holy shit…" Cid exclaimed.
Reeve's voice had turned pleading again. "We're looking at it from a worst-case scenario basis. I'm helping some of the guys here set up a temporary disaster coordination center of sorts, and we need more volunteers. Umm, can you—"
"No need to ask, Reeve," Cloud interrupted, "We'll be there as soon as we can."
Cait-Reeve gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks, guys. I know you're really worn out with the fight against Sephiroth… We'll pay you back somehow, after all this has been cleared. We're at Sector 6 right now; it seems to be the most undamaged area here. I'll give control back to Cait Sith." And with that, Reeve withdrew from the connection.
---ooOOOoo---
Cloud turned to face the rest of AVALANCHE as Cait regained control over his voice. He wasn't sure if his decision went well with the others. Reeve was right; all of them were worn-out from that trip to the bowels of the crater. They were still nursing wounds from their fights with the monsters, Jenova, and Sephiroth, even though they had tried the best they could to heal themselves using materia, and whatever left-over potions they had.
"Uhh… I hope no one's mad at me…" he began nervously.
Barret looked at him weirdly. "For what?"
"I volunteered us without consulting any of you. And we're not exactly bouncing with energy right now." Cloud explained.
"Cloud," Tifa said, shaking her head. "You know us better that that. Of course we'll help! It's not like we're going to drop dead any second now, anyway."
"Yeah, and I'd like to get to solid ground as soon as possible. I don't feel too good…" Yuffie added. She was starting to look a little green. Cloud wondered why she hadn't fallen sick when the Highwind was tossed violently out of the crater. If Cid hadn't pulled the emergency boosters, the erupting Lifestream would have torn the craft apart.
Cid snorted. "There ya go again! The Highwind's stable right now! She's flying smoothly, even though she's damaged." he exclaimed, a bit of pride tinting his voice. "Besides, you were fine when we were thrown out of the crater." he added suspiciously.
"Old man, don't you know what adrenaline is?" Yuffie retorted weakly. "It kept my air-sickness back, and I'm out of the stuff now. And your ship's not stable. It's bobbing in the air, swaying with the wind, and I don't know what else! Urk…" She had turned greener during the exchange and now had both hands clamped over her mouth. She shot Cid one last withering look before rushing from the deck and down the stairway.
Cid glared at the retreating figure of Yuffie running to the toilet. He gave an exasperated puff of his cigarette before turning back to address Cloud. "I'm going back to the cockpit; those idiots might be screwing up while I'm up here wasting time arguing with the pipsqueak. We'll get to Midgar within ten minutes. And yes, I don't mind helping, as long as they still have stores open. I'm running out of cigs." Cloud heard the pilot mutter, "bobbing in the air, swaying with the wind my ass – how dare she call me an old man" as they watched him disappear into the shadows of the stairwell.
"Ah, well – back to the question at hand," Tifa murmured. "Vincent, Nanaki?" she asked.
"We should help," the great feline rumbled.
"It's not like we have anything else to do, anyway," was the ex-Turk's curt answer.
"So it's decided, then. We're not mad at you for deciding what we've already decided on doing." she deadpanned.
Cloud smiled gratefully. Trust Tifa to try to cheer him up. It worked, though… didn't it? He kept the question to himself, lest the depression – which had snuck up on him while they were watching Lifestream – show up on his face.
/ Why? Why do I feel depressed? I should be happy. It's finally over. No more Meteor, no more Sephiroth… everyone's safe… so why do I feel so sad? /
He realized with a start that Tifa was waiting for him to say something. He was doing exactly what he shouldn't be doing – sliding back into angst mode by thinking those stupid questions. So he quashed them viciously, stashing the depressing thoughts into the less frequented areas of his mind.
/ Go away. I don't need you right now. /
Only when he was sure that he would be able to speak without giving his internal dialogue away did he address the team. "Sorry, I kind of drifted back there. Don't worry, I was just thinking about stuff."
Tifa looked worried. "You sure? You look kind of pale."
"Yes, I'm fine. At any rate, we should try to relax while we still can. Around ten minutes, Cid said. We should go down to the cockpit to see how they're doing."
---ooOOOoo---
Cloud's suggestion proved to be the right means of distraction. Any lingering doubts about his state of mind were forgotten as soon as they reached the cockpit. The room was a flurry of activity, crew members running around, frantically working at the controls, and Cid at the center of it all, bellowing orders at the top of his lungs.
The airship appeared undamaged at first glance, but now that the initial crises are over, and more attention was being paid to the state of the craft, the crew was able to assess the damages more carefully, and more systematically. They discovered that the Highwind had sustained several minor damages, not that dangerous, but still alarming. It was – on some levels – luck that had kept the airship flying.
They weren't that far from Midgar, only a few kilometers on foot, to be exact; but Cid wasn't taking chances with the Highwind damaged, even if the said damages were only minor. He took infinite care in finding an appropriate landing area on the plains surrounding the city. He also took a lot of time in landing the aircraft.
Yuffie complained about all the hassle Cid had to go through just to land. ("We could've landed much sooner if you weren't so slow!") In return, he stated casually that hurried landings were usually turbulent. That reminder shut her up effectively.
Cid began to shout more orders as soon as they alighted. Obviously he wanted the Highwind repaired as soon as possible. The crew complied promptly, going through the procedures necessary in long periods of inactivity. They also brought the team's chocobos out from the airship's stables. The birds pranced about, eager to set off on firm ground after being cooped up in the Highwind's small stables for so long.
After a moment of deliberation, Cid and Vincent decided to stay behind. The rest of the team headed for the city gates, dragging along a crewmember, who was tasked to take charge of the crew's shopping lists. Reeve must have seen the Highwind land, for the Sector 6 gates were open, and several people were milling around, apparently waiting for them.
From afar Midgar didn't seem that damaged. The Highwind's landing had blown some of the dust and smoke away. They could see a few cracks here, some crumbled edges there. The most noticeably damaged area of the city was the top of the plate. Cloud thought that it was a bit ironic that what was once considered a luxury now turned out to be a danger to the occupant's lives. The plate actually protected the slums situated below it. Barret mentioned this out loud and added that although he hated the financially privileged for living there and contributing to Midgar's downfall, he didn't want anyone harmed.
Only when they had reached the deeper levels of the city did damages manifest themselves clearly. Some buildings were in a state of disarray; the tops of the taller ones looked like they've been knocked off by some giant's hand. But it wasn't the worst-case scenario Reeve had described it to be. True; there were several chunks of rock lying around, which looked like they had dropped down out of nowhere; but they weren't large enough to cause buildings to collapse. Cloud started to entertain the notion that Reeve wanted them for purposes other than emergency rescues…
They arrived at the Sector 6 slums with more fanfare than Cloud had wanted, which confirmed some of his growing suspicions. There were several people milling in the streets, some white with the dust and debris, and most of them were greeting the team, cheering them on, hailing them as "the Planet's saviors". Reeve met them in front of one of the larger houses, and acted sheepish and a bit repentant when Tifa demanded an explanation.
"They wanted to see you guys. Believe it or not, even with Shinra's bulletins about how 'evil' AVALANCHE is, most of the bottom plate dwellers believed otherwise. And they're been following your activities for the past few months." He explained.
"The past few months?" Cloud muttered, embarrassed and dismayed at all the attention being paid to them.
"You could have told us the truth, Reeve." Tifa countered disapprovingly.
"I'm really sorry, but I couldn't think of any other way. I thought that you might try to avoid the limelight…"
"Hey, being famous isn't all that bad," Yuffie chirped from the side, where some eager materia sellers were showing her their wares. "These guys said they'd give us a fifty percent discount on all their materia!"
"Yuffie!" Tifa scolded, "Shame on you! Don't take advantage!"
"I'm not! I'm giving them my professional opinion!"
Barret snorted in disbelief. Cait rolled his eyes; at least to Cloud, he looked like he was rolling his eyes.
"Let's give her a break, guys. It's not like she didn't earn it anyway," he said. "In fact, we all earned a break…"
Cloud wasn't serious when he said that last statement; he had said it out of jest and goodwill to his teammates, but those nearest to him took it to heart and sprang immediately into a barrage of questions and offers.
"Sir! Would you like to rest? You can stay at my inn, free of charge!"
"You must be hungry! We can get you food and drink–"
"My house is nearest! Granted, it ain't a mansion and all–"
"We'll prepare a feast–"
"Umm…" Cloud looked lost, and astonished at the way the slum dwellers were treating them. He didn't even know any of their names, just a few familiar faces. When needed, he could lead admirably, but he wasn't used to fame and attention from complete strangers. His traumatic childhood, then the rejection from the SOLDIER program, and lastly five years of living hell under Hojo's ministrations had ensured that his social graces bordered on the anti-social.
Seeing his discomfort, Tifa quickly took over. She was, after all, a daughter of a mayor, and certainly didn't lack in skills needed in public relations.
"Don't worry," she said, addressing the crowd, "we're not that tired yet. We're AVALANCHE, remember? And came here to help, but before that, we need to talk to Reeve. Any place quiet where we can do so?" she asked the executive.
"Ah, in here–" he gestured behind him at the two-story building. "You sure you don't want to rest first?"
"Nah," Barret grunted. "Some food'll be fine, though. Haven't eaten a full meal since that damned Meteor got here…"
---ooOOOoo---
A few minutes later they were seated comfortably on old spindly chairs around a small coffee table. Cloud feared that Barret's chair might collapse under his bulk, and Yuffie had pointed that concern out, earning a glare from the black man. He disproved them all by sitting heavily on the furniture, causing it to creak in protest. Surprisingly, it held under his weight. Red XIII opted to sit on the floor beside Cloud's chair, while Cait moved to stand behind the space occupied by his creator. They were in a small room at the back of the first floor of the building, which turned out to be a modest inn, rooms at the second floor and a small restaurant at the first.
Cloud looked around at the room. It was decorated sparingly, plain, whitewashed walls adorned with two small paintings. Looking closer, he realized that they were actually shots of the Shinra tower while it was still whole and standing. His stomach gave a funny flop.
/ We've come a long way… It's over – really, fully, finally over… /
Almost a year had passed since the first time they infiltrated the Shinra building and rescued Aeris from Hojo's clutches. Now, sitting in this bland room, it was hard to believe that what they had gone through wasn't just a dream. Already, memories of the last battle were fading from their minds, and Cloud found it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. He dearly wanted to fall asleep right there and then. They've been fighting for months on end, oftentimes forsaking comfort to avoid danger, and it seemed that his body had started to shut down all by itself at the first feeling of security and safety.
/ I guess I am a bit tired… /
Dimly he realized that they weren't the only ones in the room. Some of the slum dwellers, who looked quite important despite their scruffy and ragtag appearances had followed them into the room. Cloud guessed that they must be the leaders among the civilians. And aside from Reeve, three more men were dressed in rumpled suits, looking none the worse for wear compared to their motley group. How all of them managed to fit in the tiny room, he couldn't even begin to guess.
/ Okay, more than a bit tired… A few hours of sleep should cure that… but not now, though… /
Reeve had begun to speak in a semi-formal tone, but Cloud could see that he was excited about something. He was bewildered that someone could look so grave and yet at the same time seem like a kid trying to contain his excitement at seeing a pile of gifts right in front of him. He tried to hold his exhaustion back and listened to the executive politely.
/ Damage reports… casualties… nothing to get excited over. So why's he all hyped up? /
Despite his best efforts, Cloud nearly fell asleep a couple of times. After he found himself nodding off for the third time, he shook his head, gave up trying to make sense of Reeve's proposed rebuilding projects for this and that, and went back to his musings, looking alert on the outside, but in truth completely ignoring everything around him. He had been doing that pretty often as of late, shutting himself off from the world as he sifted through muddled memories and scattered thoughts. In fact, he was so out of it that he didn't hear a word of what anyone was saying for the next few minutes, until his ears notified him to the utter lack of sound at one point in the conversation.
For some reason, everyone was staring at him.
/ What? /
Reeve had obviously aimed a question, or a statement, at him. And he wasn't listening.
"I'm sorry, but what was that again?" he asked blandly.
Reeve, mistaking his flat tone and blank look for disbelief or incredulity, repeated simply, "We'd like you to be the new mayor of Midgar."
This time, the cluelessness in Cloud's tone wasn't due to ignorance. He was undeniably and unquestionably shocked.
"What!?"
All those not in AVALANCHE cringed back at the tone of voice he used, which Cloud in his surprise failed to moderate. He sounded furious to those who didn't know him personally. He noticed their reactions, and berating himself for scaring them, spoke again in a more even tone.
"I'm sorry – you surprised me, Reeve. But what made you propose something like that? You've been with us long enough to know the things I'm good at. I'd make a terrible mayor! What happened to Domino, anyway?"
"Resigned – says he prefers being a librarian. So we're now looking for a new leader, and everyone agreed to this. They want you as their mayor, Cloud! And why wouldn't you make a good mayor? You're a great leader!" Reeve exclaimed, a bit flustered that the blonde would refuse.
"I'm flattered that you would say that, Reeve, but it depends on the situation. I can advise you if you need guerilla tactics; and I'm crazy enough to willingly agree to lead a bunch of equally crazy people (Yuffie: Hey!) on a semi-impossible quest to defeat a madman claiming to be a god; but I know next to nothing on running a city."
"He's right." Cait Sith interjected from behind Reeve.
"Thanks," Cloud said dryly.
"No, I'm serious, Cloud. I don't think I'll ever be able to imagine you wearing a suit and sitting still behind a desk. You'd be bouncing around the office five minutes into your term!"
"He's right!" Yuffie chimed.
"Spike wearing a tux. Now that I gotta see." Barret said.
"A suit and a tux are two different things, Barret." Tifa corrected.
"They're all the same," Barret argued, "My point is, can you picture him wearing anything not combat-related?"
"Umm… I can try…" Tifa replied slowly.
"What is this, 'bash caveman-Cloud day'?" Cloud muttered.
"Ahh…" Reeve sputtered, for the meantime forgotten as AVALANCHE proceeded to bicker about their leader's supposed "uncivilized" mannerisms.
"Forget bouncing around, Cloud'll probably leave the office in smoldering ruins when he gets bored. Maybe tear up the whole building, even!"
"Cait Sith, I do not think that it is possible to demolish a whole building with only a pair of hands."
"Red, he doesn't need to. He's got a mastered Ultima and a mastered KOR! They're the most kick-ass materia we've got! Now that Sephiroth's dead, I'll never get a chance to try them out…"
"Oh, stop whining, Yuffie. Cloud gave most of our summons to you."
"I know, but… Knights of the Round Table! I wanna have a go at least once…"
"Pipsqueak like you can't handle a mastered Knights of the Round, you'll get blown to bits!"
"Then I suppose your skill in magic is enough to handle KOR, then?" At this Barret's face slowly turned crimson. The large man was a valuable ally in battle, and his gunarm was a deadly weapon, but everyone knew that he'd rather not rely on materia and spells. They were all adept at magic, but that aspect of the battle was usually left to Aeris, Cloud, or Nanaki.
Cloud groaned inwardly. At any other time watching Yuffie and Barret's verbal spars would have been amusing, but he'd rather not have anyone yelling in close proximity right now. His head, which had only been feeling heavy minutes ago, was now playing host to a brewing headache.
"Stuff it, guys," he said wearily. "Have a go at round two later if you want, but we have more pressing matters to deal with right now." AVALANCHE immediately quieted down. Cloud might not have known, but his voice, quiet it may be, held a commanding quality that had the power to persuade even the most stubborn of bodies to obey.
"And Reeve," Cloud said suddenly, raising an admonishing finger – for he had seen the determined glint in the executive's eyes at his latest show of authority, "before you start again on my leadership skills, hear me out first. I'm truly flattered and grateful that everyone would think of me in such good terms, but I simply can't accept this post. Sure, I can handle it, but Midgar will never prosper under me. I don't have the knowledge."
"And don't think of palming the office off to anyone else, either," he added, plunging on so that the flabbergasted Reeve wouldn't be able to think of a suitable argument, "Each one of us in AVALANCHE are leaders by our own rights: Tifa's dad is the mayor of Nibelheim; Yuffie's is the chief of Wutai; Red is Cosmo Canyon's protector; and Barret once lead Corel. Vincent used to be a Turk, and Cid, the Highwind's head pilot, can be considered Rocket Town's unofficial leader. Even Cait can lead when needed. But we're not suited to lead as large a metropolis as Midgar."
"What's your point, then?" Reeve asked weakly.
"My point is: I stand on my original offer. I agree – no, promise to help restore Midgar, but now with one and only one condition," Cloud's finger, which only moments ago was pointed upwards, now angled downwards to jab at Reeve. "YOU be the mayor of Midgar."
"I… What?!?"
A few seconds passed before anyone spoke. Cloud noticed to his satisfaction that only Reeve and some of the civilians were dumbfounded. The rest had looks of comprehension on their faces. Reeve's companions even appeared pleased at his suggestion.
"Now why didn't we think of that?"
"Yes, Reeve would be perfect for the job!"
"B-but–" Reeve's attempt at protest was cut off short. Cloud was in no mood for needless negotiations.
"No buts Reeve. You're the most capable here. You used to be head of urban development in Shinra, if I'm not mistaken. And besides, you heard me. I'll leave as soon as you say no. I think AVALANCHE will agree with my choice."
"But… I can't…"
"Don't think for a moment that you can't handle it, Reeve. You have the knowledge, you have the ability, and you have the support of everyone who wants Midgar back on its feet. You certainly don't lack in compassion and dedication, either. Your being with us even at the risk of being caught is proof of that. You only need guts, which I would be very happy to infect you with." Cloud said, grinning impishly at the last sentence.
"You make it sound like it's contagious or something," Yuffie said, wrinkling her nose.
Tifa frowned at Yuffie disapprovingly before adding her two cents. "We'll vouch for you Reeve, if you're worried that other people might not accept you," she said encouragingly. "Anyone who disagrees will have to put up with us annoying the hell out of them until they say yes."
"What do you say?" Cloud asked, addressing the civilians who were looking on bemusedly.
"Well, if AVALANCHE says he'll make a good mayor, then he'll make a good mayor!"
"I dunno… y'all sure he'll do good?"
" 'Course he'll make a good mayor! Hell, even Cloud Strife's recommendin' him!"
"Yeah, if Mr. Cloud Strife says he's good, then he must be good!"
"Reeve, at least, looks the part."
Silence.
"What?" Yuffie asked, "What did I say?"
"Bloody hell." Cloud muttered.
---ooOOOoo---
In the end a very flattered Reeve finally accepted the office, although it took a lot of convincing and cajoling to make him finally agree. At one point Cloud even thought of resorting to force – his headache had become that bad. It was a good thing Cid remained behind; things would have become downright messy had expletive-prone pilot tagged along.
Reeve was declared the new mayor of Midgar in an impromptu appointment ceremony. In his speech he thanked AVALANCHE for their deeds and actions in the past year. He even came up with plaques of appreciation, which he awarded to the team members in front of a sizable crowd. Cloud gave up trying to figure out how and why things had been going the way they have and instead concentrated on not getting knocked out by his headache. A party in celebration of the destruction of Meteor had started in some of the wider streets and the revelers all but forced AVALANCHE into joining the merrymaking after the appointment ceremony. The others stayed at least a few minutes, Yuffie even boldly participating in a couple of raucous games. Only Cloud politely, but firmly refused the offers and went off in search of an inn. Finding all the inns fully packed with merrymakers and fearing that someone might recognize him, he steered clear of each one and went back to the building where their meeting was held. Thankfully, the back room was relatively isolated. Cloud plopped down on the most comfortable chair available and promptly went to sleep.
The next morning found the party still going on at full swing; but some of the revelers, endowed with less stamina than their more hyperactive companions, had retired when they could no longer stay awake, leaving Midgar to slowly resume its more-or-less normal routine. More-or-less, for Reeve proved to be an able leader, despite his initial misgivings. The noise of the post-Meteor celebrations was soon replaced by that of activity and construction. Reeve lost no time in marshalling the manpower and resources needed for the rebuilding of the huge metropolis. His first task was the dismantling of the reactors and the city plate, or rather, what was left of the plate. And for some reason, he thought that AVALANCHE should do the honors of getting rid of the reactors.
"Wha–? Reeve, doesn't Shinra have experts on mako reactors? Why are you asking us all of a sudden?" Cloud exclaimed when the team was faced with the request.
Taken aback by the sudden question, Reeve wasn't able to come up with a satisfactory reason. "Umm… well… because… you're AVALANCHE?" he sputtered.
"Is this because we started out as guerrillas bent on blowing up all the reactors on the Planet?"
"And very nearly succeeded," Barret muttered.
"Reeve, take note, the key word here is 'blow up' – in the literal sense. I can't just pull out a random materia and then use it to trash the reactors!" said Cloud.
"Why not?" Yuffie asked, grinning devilishly.
"Yuffie, for the last time, I am not letting you use KOR unless it is absolutely necessary!"
"But Cloud–"
"You'll get your chance, Yuffie, but not right now. And you know as well as any of us that using materia needlessly causes more harm than good. You're more responsible than that."
"Okay, okay…" Yuffie groused. "You didn't have to skin me alive…"
"I love you Yuffie, we all do," Cloud said absent-mindedly, reaching out to ruffle the ninja's hair. Yuffie grinned at him cheekily, all pretenses of grousing gone. Cloud pondered briefly at her reaction before speaking again. "Where was I again?" he asked confusedly.
"The reactors?" Tifa supplied helpfully.
"Oh, yeah. Reeve, just send people familiar with the reactors to turn the cores off then move the demolition teams in. It's not that hard."
"Umm…"
"What?" Cloud asked exasperatedly.
"That's the problem. We can't find any of our reactor experts. It's like they just all decided to disappear! We didn't find their bodies in the Shinra tower debris, either."
"Really?" Cloud frowned. "Don't you find it odd that they all just took off right after the Meteor incident?"
Reeve shrugged helplessly. "I could've sent people to investigate, but right now we don't have the time or the manpower to do so…"
A voice at the very back of Cloud's mind was nagging that the disappearance of the mako experts was something they should be paying attention to more than the reconstruction of Midgar, but he couldn't very well just go off looking for them without arousing suspicion and panic – by that time almost everyone knew what mako can do in the hands of people like the late president Shinra, thanks to Reeve's public relations efforts. So he filed that task away in his mental to-do list. It will be one of the first things he'll see to once things calmed down a bit.
/ Nothing is ever easy. / He thought, running a hand through his hair as he started planning what to do. / The sooner we shut all active reactors down, the better. I'm the only one who knows how to do this properly, so… /
"Vincent, do you think you can find your way around a reactor without me?" he asked suddenly.
"Yes. But I'm not that adept at shutting the core reactors down." The ex-Turk answered evenly. He didn't seem fazed by the sudden query the blonde threw at him, whereas most of the people in the room were looking at Cloud confusedly.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're splitting into three teams. That way we'll cover more reactors in a shorter amount of time. Vincent will be heading one team. Cid and Yuffie will be going with him. Barret – you know a bit about reactors, right?"
"Wasn't the first AVALANCHE head for nothing, punk." Barret grumbled. To the casual listener, the man sounded bitter, but Cloud knew better. Barret himself had acknowledged Cloud's authority many times in the past, and it was just his own gruff way of showing his respect for the SOLDIER.
"Second team will comprise of Barret, Reeve and Cait. Reeve, bring some of your spare men along. I want you to learn the layout and mechanics of mako reactor cores as soon as possible." The latter two commands were stated so quickly that the new mayor didn't have time to argue or protest.
"Last team will be Tifa, Red and me. We'll go together on the first trip, and I'll show you how to turn the cores off. You'll each have to watch carefully; consider this a crash course on mako reactors. After that, we'll split into our teams." Cloud then turned to the waiting civilians. "I assume that some of you might want to tag along. I won't stop you, but I highly advise against it. The last time we entered a reactor, we reemerged with all our ammo spent and our weapons reeking of blood. If you still want to come along, bring something to defend yourselves with."
While the civilian leaders conversed amongst themselves, Cloud addressed AVALANCHE with the same serious tone. "Not that I'm turning this into a full-blown mission or anything, but we should be prepared, specially when I've split us into three. Now's a good time as any to clean the reactors of any remaining monsters. Anyway, we'll have to do it eventually, if we're to avoid any casualties when the demolition teams move in."
"Great!" Yuffie said brightly. "I've been itching to kick some ass lately," she added, fingering Conformer.
"Same here. You don't have to worry about us, Spike. We survived the Crater, didn't we?" said Cid, grounding his cigarette on the already-full ashtray.
On the floor, Red XIII bared his gleaming fangs in a feral smile.
Reeve finally found his voice. "Cloud. I don't think –"
"You'll be okay, Reeve. You do know how to fire a gun, don't you?" he asked, indicating the barely-visible handle of a revolver peeking from under Reeve's suit.
"Yes, b-but I'm not the fighting type…"
"Well, I'm teaching you how to be one." Cloud said, clapping the flabbergasted man on his back. "And trust me when I say that you'll be able to learn a thing or two about leadership while you're at it. You have Cait on AI?" He'd noticed the electronic mog and cat duo helping out in the construction even while Reeve was only a few meters away, without any remote controls in sight.
"Yes."
"Alright. We leave in an hour. Use the time to prepare."
An hour and thirty minutes later they left for one of the still operational reactors nearest the sector 6 slums. Their motley group consisted of the original AVALANCHE team, Reeve and three of his assistants – all four looking grim and nervous – and three of the civilian leaders, who had insisted on coming along despite Cloud's warning. They seemed well armed, so Cloud didn't say anything else to persuade them to not go with them.
Any misgivings Cloud might have had were diffused, as the "crash course" went better than he'd thought it would. They did encounter a few of the mako-tainted creatures, but all were quickly and effectively dispatched without hassle. His companions were more than willing to be attentive audiences as they stopped periodically to listen to Cloud explain the general layout and sections of a mako reactor. After he'd shut down the core, with many elaborations on the processes to go through, they divided into the three groups agreed upon and proceeded to give the reactor a fine-toothed comb. Cloud wanted to make sure that there were no more monsters lurking in the corners of the reactor.
A few hours later they emerged unscathed, with one more deactivated reactor on their records. Only Reeve was looking a bit flustered, but anyone who'd seen him enter the reactor could say that he now looked more confident and surer of himself. Cloud had ordered Barret to personally make sure that the executive kill at least five of the mako creatures before exiting the reactor. Barret had gladly risen to the challenge, even going as far as leaving the more difficult monsters alive for Reeve to dispose of. Of course, he had been ready to step in should Reeve find his hands too full, but there had been no need to do so – proving to everyone, and most of all to Reeve himself, that he was already a genuine AVALANCHE member, even if he hadn't been present for the whole duration of their mission.
This went on for the next few days, each team setting out and shutting down their chosen reactor. Cloud left them to do their jobs alone; he had full confidence that they already knew what to do. They worked on the Midgar reactors first, but after they were finished they moved out to the outlying reactors. Cid was only too happy to show the Highwind off. After each shutdown operation Reeve would give the go-signal for the demolition teams to dismantle the reactors. The scrap – and there was a lot of it – would be used in the rebuilding of the metropolis, and any extras are to be sent to the still-developing areas, such as North Corel, Gongaga, and the recently-demolished Mideel.
Needless to say, everyone was relieved to see the reactors go; Barret and Tifa were especially ecstatic, since the destruction of all the mako reactors on the Planet had been AVALANCHE's original motive. They would all have to rely on other sources of energy from now on, but knowing that the Planet wouldn't be in any more danger was worth it. Besides, Reeve had already drawn up plans for alternative energy sources research – he wanted to focus on solar and wind energy, but other options were also to be considered.
The rebuilding of Midgar went on without too many major problems, but it was a massive task. Without the plate, they would have to expand on level ground, and the outskirts of Midgar was a veritable wasteland, nearly uninhabitable and full of annoying creatures and mutations from all the pollution. They had to clean several square kilometers of the land first – and exterminate any of the monsters that proved to be hostile and dangerous. This was where AVALANCHE figured into the equation. For weeks on end they were kept busy with reports from all over the countryside. The task of killing wasn't difficult, but there were so many of the critters that sometimes they had to go out alone or in pairs just to make sure that an AVALANCHE member would always be on hand for any emergencies.
Around three months later things started to level off. The monster sightings had become rare and few in between that Reeve had decided that it was safe to go around with only light protection. It was during that lull that AVALANCHE started to part ways. Red XIII was the first to leave. He had to go back, as he was Cosmo Canyon's protector. The Elders had even sent messengers requesting for his return. But the gentle feline had become quite endeared to the slum dwellers – especially the children – that many were sad to see him go. Red had to remind them that he would always be ready to come at a moment's notice, as each ALAVANCHE member had PHSs to communicate with.
A week later Barret announced his intention to go back to Corel. He had decided to do whatever it took to pull his hometown back to its feet. Of course, he had waited until he could see that his help wouldn't be needed anymore. He knew that Midgar was in good hands with Reeve, and it seemed that Cloud wasn't planning to leave anytime soon. Before he left Reeve gave him the papers to a third of Shinra's remaining funds – they had been using the company's vast resources in the reconstruction. Barret had adamantly refused at first – until Reeve threatened him with his gun, upon which the large man immediately clammed up and accepted the papers without protest. It was common knowledge that the executive had become quite the sharpshooter – almost as good as, if not better, than Vincent himself. And Cloud had been correct in his belief that learning how to fight would give the executive a backbone; Reeve could now be as "persuasive" as the blonde if he needed to be. Marlene and Elmyra went with him. The budding relationship Barret had with the latter hadn't gone unnoticed, but all of them were surprised, nonetheless, when she announced that she would be going with him. This left Cloud and Tifa to look after the house she and Aeris had lived in over the past years.
Next to leave were Yuffie and Vincent, three weeks later. Like Barret, Yuffie had plans for her birthplace, but her job would be much easier since she already had authority among the leading clans, and Wutai had sufficient funds garnered from tourism and trade. Vincent's decision had come as the surprise for this departure. Everyone had assumed that he would either stay in Midgar or go with Cid, but no one had expected him to voluntarily decide to go with the ninja. But now that Cloud thought about it, those two had become exceedingly close the past two months… Well, bully to Godo, then. If Cloud knew Yuffie, the old Wutai chief can expect to see grandchildren anytime now. As his parting gift Cloud gave Yuffie one of her most coveted materia – a Knights of the Round. But it was still unmastered; in fact, it was the one his own mastered KOR had spawned. Yuffie would have to work on it to bring it up to par with Cloud's, but she was still ecstatic, nonetheless.
Last to go was Cid, but before the pilot left, he asked Cloud to help him with an unusual, but oddly satisfying task – shopping for an engagement ring. Cloud agreed immediately, and promptly took a few hours off to accompany the flustered pilot around the newly established shopping district, formerly the seedy Wall Market. One would think it strange to see two men going through display cases full of jewelry, but Cloud had surprisingly excellent taste, and Cid was able to purchase the ring of his choice. Cloud had no need to ask for whom the ring was; he just wished Cid good luck in proposing to Shera – whereupon the pilot immediately flushed a bright shade of scarlet.
At first Cid wanted to leave the Highwind for Reeve to use. He reasoned that they might still need transportation. The executive refused, though, and ordered Cid to take the aircraft and her crew members back to Rocket Town. He knew that Cid loved the Highwind as if it were his own child, and that it would pain the pilot to leave it in Midgar. And Reeve had another motive in wanting the airship to remain in Cid's hands: air transportation research. He didn't tell Cid of his plans to appoint the pilot as the head of the soon-to-be created air transportation department yet, though, as he had heard from Cloud that Cid had decided to ask Shera to marry him. Better give the man a break. And Reeve had no desire to see the Venus Gospel near his anatomy any time soon. Yup, best leave the pilot alone for the meantime…
So that left Cloud, Tifa, and Cait Sith from the original AVALANCHE team. Cait, of course, was going nowhere. Cloud didn't think it possible, but it seemed that the electronic cat had been infected with Reeve's newfound zeal, which bordered nearly on the workaholic level. Everywhere Reeve went, you'll find Cait only a few paces behind, either enthusiastically performing a task assigned to him, or helpfully seeking out jobs to accomplish. Cloud had often wondered if Reeve had done anything to reprogram Cait's circuitry, but the executive always denied doing so whenever he asked. Then again, Cait hadn't changed a bit, aside from his increasing diligence, so Reeve must be telling the truth.
Five months after the constructions started Reeve changed the city's name to New Midgar City, in lieu of everything that had happened to cause the city to change so drastically. Midgar used to be a gloomy, polluted metropolis, and this could be seen all the more clearly from an aerial view. The sky over its metal towers always seemed darker than in uncorrupted areas. Now, it was still a bit overcast, but at least the view-marring plate was gone, and so were the black pillars of smoke that seemed to stream on forever back when the reactors were still active. The piles of refuse and junk were nowhere to be seen, having been cleaned up long before Reeve started on his expansion projects. Rows of gleaming new houses now stood on where the dilapidated slum dwellings used to be. Of course, the houses were given to the citizens free of charge, as a sort of compensation for years of oppression under the old Shinra company's rule.
The city itself was divided into several districts; the residential, commercial, and industrial districts were the main sectors. Reeve had his office in the commercial district, where he directed most of his operations. The commercial sector was also home to the shopping district, with its stores relocated from all parts of the city, and other offices and establishments. Plans to build a school – elementary and university – have been approved, but the old Shinra academy will still remain open, for there will always be those who prefer the military path. Only, Reeve had requested for a restructuring of its academic programs to gravitate more towards law enforcement, and changed the school's name into Midgar Military Academy.
The industrial district remained unoccupied at the start, but it accounted for a fifth of the city's total land area. Apparently Reeve had been thinking ahead; he planned on opening several factories on the site in the near future. Of course, strict controls would be observed; any operation that indicated even the slightest possibility of pollution was to be stopped and put up for review immediately. Some might say that they were being overly paranoid with regards to their environment, but it can't be helped; they owed the Planet that much.
The weddings came three weeks after Cid left. He and Shera were married in Rocket Town, with much publicity and celebration, to the former's chagrin and embarrassment. It was to be expected, since he was, and still is, a member of AVALANCHE. Rocket Town, already booming under Cid's unofficial direction, earned even more revenue that day since many people, even from as far as Mideel, had come to watch the wedding.
The same thing happened in Wutai, several days later, when Godo announced that Yuffie was to succeed him right after the wedding ceremony. Cloud had heard rumors that the preparations had taken longer because Vincent had had to prove his worth to the old Wutai chief, who stubbornly refused to acknowledge the word 'husband' and insisted on 'consort', "as befitting his heir's suitor", he had said. Not that anyone had taken the differences between the terms that seriously.
Tifa, by that time had opened another bar in Midgar, this time calling it Final Heaven. Since she had more funds to burn it was larger and savvier than the 7th Heaven, and by standards it could even be considered a restaurant with a cocktail bar.
Cloud, on the other hand, was still working non-stop. Everyone knew that he was New Midgar's unofficial vice-mayor, and Reeve's direct assistant in all administrative matters. He denied it, though, whenever anyone pointed out that they should just appoint him to the position he had unconsciously assumed.
By that time everyone had been waiting for news of Cloud and Tifa's engagement, but for some reason, both stayed curiously silent. They remained friends, of course, visiting each other constantly. Cloud was a frequent customer at the Final Heaven, while Tifa could be counted on to help whenever Cloud needed an extra hand at work. But other than their close-friends relationship, no other, more incriminating evidence of love between the two could be seen.
In this way ten months passed by, not exactly quietly, but peacefully. Of that everyone was certain. No more psychotic maniacs with seven-foot long swords popping up to murder presidents, no more hundred-feet high super Weapons raging whole villages to the ground, and no more boulders the size of football fields in the sky threatening to drop on everyone's heads. Everyone started to believe that things would be better from then on; all the towns were back on their feet, and were flourishing with the newly established trade routes running along the four main continents. It was as if everything had been reborn; everyone was getting back on his or her life with renewed zeal. Of course, that was what everyone believed. No one had expected the Fates to be more cruel than kind. For Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE, their ten months' time of peace was to be the proverbial eye within the storm.
The other half of the storm was coming.
--- end of prologue ---
notes:
1. First of all, a big thank-you to Chris for helping me out (especially with the titles) and being patient enough to read the stuff I've written. The second word of gratitude goes out to the members of the SephiLovesCloud ml. They were the ones who influenced me to write this fic. (that a good thing or a bad thing, is up to you to decide ^^ )
2. Text enclosed in / / mean the character's thoughts. If it's too confusing, let me know so I can change the format to something more readable.
3. That bit about Cloud saying that he loves Yuffie… he does, but only as a baby sister of sorts. Just clearing that up before anyone gets any weird ideas. Yuffie, on the other hand, might have loved him that way, but the feeling only developed because she looks up to him in this fic. Don't worry, as I've written, she ends up with Vinnie. :)
4. If anyone seems too ooc, or if the writing style sounds… off, at some parts, it's only because this was written a year ago, and my writing style then was lighter than it is now. I tend to employ a Ludlum-esque style, as of the moment. I'm also more of an angst / dark fic person.