"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished; if you're alive, it isn't."
Richard Bach
One year later...
The beginning of the war had been incredibly slow. So much time was spent on organizing, building, and preperation that there had been little time for battles and such. Still, the world had transformed in the past year. Most people lived in one of two places: Junon or Cosmo Canyon. They had both expanded into huge cities that encircled their respective forts. Every city had a fort nowadays; the ones that didn't, did not last for long. Kalm and Costa Del Sol were almost completely destroyed by Junon's army when they refused to surrender. Some survivors managed to seek refuge in Cosmo Canyon, but the others were either killed or forced into employment by Junon. Kalm was now basically an industrial park, overseen by Heidegger. It produced massive amounts of weaponry daily. Costa Del Sol became a marina; war ships were constructed and stored there. The former citizens of Costa Del Sol who had been left behind, became the first members of Junon's navy.
This had all been reported to AVALANCHE by Vincent. He walked slowly and silently down the darkened streets of Junon. His hair had been cut short, and he wore dark, unremarkable clothing. It was a necessary change, though not one he particularly enjoyed. Nevertheless, being invisible was the only way he could continue to help his friends. Vincent lived in a small apartment, in a dark corner of Junon. He was heading there now, ready for some rest now that the most recent skirmish was over. Exactly one week ago, Junon troops headed to Cosmo Canyon to execute their first attack. Luckily, Vincent was able to warn his friends in time. He had just now gotten the news of AVALANCHE's victory.
Vincent sighed as he unlocked his door to the small apartment. Junon was not an ideal home for him. The streets were crowded and poverty-stricken. Kale, who had declared himself President after Scarlet's untimely death, had not proven to be a capable leader. His military knowledge was decent, but he did not know how to run a city. It didn't help that Presdent Kale was delusional and slightly insane. Vincent shook his head and allowed himself a slight smirk. At least he knew his friends were better off.
AVALANCHE and those loyal to them, proved much more efficient in warfare. Red had been incredibly generous by offering use of Cosmo Canyon. He often left Cosmo Canyon to travel around, trying to find refugees and offering them shelter in the thriving city around Cosmo Canyon. Yuffie's father Godo, provided them with war advisors. He also sent Yuffie to Cosmo Canyon to represent Wutai for him. Surprisingly, Yuffie had a lot of knowledge of war. Then again, she had grown up around war-talk. The people of Fort Condor also were a big help. They had an expansive knowledge of defense tactics from spending so many years protecting their fort. The Turks hung around Cosmo Canyon when they weren't otherwise occupied. They made it their job to smuggle weapons out of Costa Del Sol and into Cosmo Canyon. Reeve oversaw the maintenance of the city and Barret was in charge of providing energy for the city. With the help of refugees from Corel, the entire city was powered by coal. Overall, the people of Cosmo Canyon lived comfortably.
Cid, on the other hand, remained in Rocket Town. With the help of Shera, it had only taken him a month to construct a new airship. To everyone's surprised, Cid had named the airship after Shera, and married her soon after. The married couple worked extremely well together; so far they had produced three more airships and countless smaller planes. When they weren't working on some new aircraft, they trained pilots. Cid was on the phone with the others in Cosmo Canyon everyday, updating them on his numerous alterations, and asking for materials. Rocket Town had become the home of AVALANCHE's Air Force.
As for Cloud and Tifa...Vincent felt the corners of his mouth twitching. Cloud and Tifa had been married in the past month, and were inseperable nowadays. The wedding had been a small, private affair which Vincent was unable to attend. He had, however, called to give them his best wishes. As Vincent settled down for the first rest he'd had in days, he wondered amusedly how Barret, Reeve, and the others in Cosmo Canyon managed to get any work out of the newly weds.
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The sun had barely peeked over the horizon of Cosmo Canyon when a shrill beep in Cloud's ears jerked him into wakefulness. He shut the alarm off and groaned into his pillow for a few moments. Accepting the inevitable, Cloud gently peeled Tifa's arms off him and slid out from under the covers. He suppressed a yelp as his feet came into contact with the cold floor. Cosmo Canyon's weather could be easily compared to that of a dessert; smoldering, hot temperatures during the day, and drastically cold nights. Hoping from foot to foot, Cloud got dressed, puting on socks first before everything else. He sighed as he saw that the sun had barely risen. Why schedule a meeting for the crack of dawn? he thought, feeling slightly grumpy. Stretching slightly, Cloud let out a yawn. He smiled at Tifa's prone figure sleeping soundly still. Tenderly, he pulled the sheet up higher over her bare back before heading to the bathroom.
When he came out, Tifa was stirring slightly. He sat down on the bed next to her, and traced his fingertips over her cheek gently.
"Tifa..." he said softly. "It's time to wake up...we have a meeting, remember?"
Tifa sat up sleepily, clutching the sheet up around her chest. She looked as unenthusiatic as Cloud felt. Cloud laughed slightly at her pouty face and mussed hair and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Good morning Tifa." he said softly.
She smiled and gave him a sleepy kiss on the lips.
"Morning Cloud..." she said blinking blearily as the first rays of sunlight slipped through the window.
Tifa sighed as she got out of bed, letting the sheet drop to the floor. She let out a shriek as her feet came in contact with the floor, and her body with the chilly air. Cloud watched her, laughing as she quickly slipped on socks, shorts and a thin strapped top.
"Why is it so cold in the mornings here?" she asked, giving a slight shiver.
Cloud silently walked up behind her, and lifted her hair out of the back of her shirt, pressing a kiss onto her neck. Tifa turned around, pressing close against the cold. She laughed loudly as Cloud pulled them both onto the bed and under the pile of blankets.Now feeling slightly warmer, she gave Cloud a lingering kiss. Cloud pulled away slightly and began trailng kisses down her neck.
"Cloud..." she groaned, attempting half-heartedly to sound stern. "The meeting..."
Cloud looked up to give her a rougish grin.
"What meeting?" he asked, before kissing her swiftly on the lips.
Tifa laughed and kissed him back, all thoughts of the meeting leaving her mind.
But, unfortunately for them, some people had other plans. A loud knock on the door caused them to look up from each other. Cloud felt his heart sinking; he knew what was coming.
"Cloud? Tifa?" Barret's voice boomed. "Git your asses to the meeting! It's startin' in five minutes!"
"You two better not be late again!" Reeve warned, his voice sounding obscenely cheery considering the early hour.
Yuffie's perky voice penetrated the door. "What are you two doing in there!"
Cloud slapped his hand to his forehead and rolled away from Tifa. He often compared the combined effect of Barret, Reeve, and Yuffie's voices to that of an ice cold shower. Tifa giggled at Cloud's exasperation and straightened her shirt slightly.
"We'll be there!" she shouted to their friends behind the door.
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Barret, Reeve, and Yuffie all rolled their eyes at one another as they walked away.
"Those two..." Reeve said, shaking his head slightly, an amused smile on his face.
Barret shook his head in a similar fashion.
"Eh, give them a break." he said fairly. "I was a newlywed once too...I know how it feel."
Yuffie wrinkled her nose disgustedly.
"Can we change the subject, please?" she asked.
Barret laughed boomingly and Reeve gave a hearty chuckle. Yuffie gave them both deeply disgusted looks and sauntered ahead.
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The meeting began at six o'clock sharp. Rude, Elena, and Reno sat at the far end of the table. Reno and Rude both looked as though they were suffering from massive hangovers. It was harder to tell with Rude though; he kept his sunglasses on. Reeve, Barret and Yuffie sat in the middle of the table with Cloud and Tifa, who showed up on time just as promised. The only one missing was Red, who was out once more, searching for refugees. Seated at the head of the table was the war-advisor Godo had sent, and one of the men from Fort Condor.
"Our first battle was a huge success." the advisor was saying. "We suffered very few casualties, and the battle was short lived."
He allowed them a few seconds to revel in the success before cutting them off with a curt hand gesture.
"Yes, yes that's all very good...however...The only reason we were able to defeat President Kale's troops, is due to the fact that we were informed of the attack by Mr. Vincent...If we had been unotified, I believe we would not have been anywhere near as successful."
The room became silent, everyone's mood darkening slightly at this reasonable, but spirit-dampening reminder.
"What do you suggest then?" Cloud asked quietly.
The advisor ran a hand over his beard.
"For Reeve," he said, turning towards him. "I suggest that the outer walls of the city are made stronger. And it would be best to place snipers on the wall at all hours. I also suggest to make an evacuation plan for those living in the surrounding city, so they can make it inside the fort in case of an unexpected attack."
Reeve nodded solemnly. "I'll start working on it today..."
The advisor gave him quick thanks before turning to Yuffie.
"Have you spoken with Lord Godo yet?" he asked her.
Yuffie yawned loudly before answering.
"I talked to him last night." she informed him.
He lifted an eyebrow. "And?"
"And he's sending us more men." she said, stretching her tired arms. "Trained ones too. He thinks we need more men guarding the fort."
The advisor looked relieved.
"What about the rest of us?" Reno asked, his voice sounding scratchy.
"The rest of you can just do your normal thing." he replied. "We'll discuss further plans the day after tomorrow same time same place."
Everyone exchanged unenthusiastic glances when he left the room.
"I don't see why these meetings have to be so goddamn early." Reno said, a whine audible in his voice.
Elena rolled her eyes. "Stop whining for God's sake, Reno."
He shot her a venomous look. "Like you wanna drag your ass out of bed at the crack of dawn..."
"Leave my ass out of this!" she hissed.
Barret sighed loudly. "Do you two always haveta fight like this? It's too damn early..."
"Seriously..." Yuffie said giving another yawn.
Reno and Elena muttered apologies grudgingly.
"I better go..." Reeve said checking his watch. "Unlike all of you, I actually received orders at this meeting."
Everyone glared grumpily at Reeve as he got up from the table.
"See you all at dinner!" he said cheerfully.
Tifa sighed and leaned against Cloud's shoulder as the door slammed behind Reeve.
"What are you going to do today?" Cloud asked her.
Tifa shrugged. "I'll probably see what kind of help they need at the hospital again. Maybe Marlene will want to tag along again, as long as that's okay with you Barret."
Barret smiled briefly.
"Jus' keep her out of trouble." Barret told her. "I don't want none of those nurses knockin' at my door again..."
Tifa laughed at this. Marlene did have a bit of a knack for getting in trouble.
"What about the rest of you guys?" Cloud asked.
Barret sighed. "Reeve will be asking for me sometime today, wanting electricity for that damn wall of his."
All eyes turned towards Yuffie. She, too, sighed.
"Pops will be calling any second," she said gloomily. "He'll be barking a bajillion commands at me."
Everyone turned towards the Turks. Elena and Reno still looked sulky, so Rude answered for them.
"Weapon shipment," he said briefly. "Cid needs some of the goods we brought in two nights ago."
Cloud nodded at him.
"What about you?" Tifa asked Cloud.
"I'll probably go down to the training camp..." Cloud said. "They always need help training the new recruits in combat."
Everyone looked slightly gloomy about their plans for the day.
"Well..." Barret said. "We better get started..."
The entire room gave a loud sigh. They trailed out of the room, each of them filling their cups to the brim with coffee as they left. It was time for another exhuasting day. Cloud gave Tifa a quick kiss before they set off in opposite directions.
"See you at dinner." he whispered in her ear.
Tifa smiled as he set off towards the training camp, and began heading toward's Barret's place to get Marlene.
Author's note: Oops. I forgot to include Red in this chapter...Really sorry about that! I knew I forgot somebody...Well I fixed it! Sorry, won't happen again.