"Shit no…" He said hoarsely.
The reporter carried on. "…Reports say that miraculously, only one person was killed in the bombing, an unfortunate man visiting his wife's grave when the bomb fell…"
"So Marlene's alright then…" Barret sighed and sunk back into his chair, dumping his bowl on the floor, trying not to sob with relief. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her.
But he was going back down to Midgar anyway. Maybe they would need help with the clean up. And it was high time he spent more time with Marlene. This had made him realize that.
Chapter Two: Reunion-A happy and sad time-
The Sierra touched down in the charred remains of the Seventh heaven the next day. It was carrying Cid and Shera, of course, as well as Yuffie, Vincent and Barret, all of whom had called Cid within ten minutes of each other to tell him what had happened, been yelled at that he already knew, and asked for a ride.
The second they landed Barret hauled open the hatch and jumped out, running over to where Cloud, Tifa and Denzel were waiting to meet them. "Where is she? Where's Marlene?" He demanded.
"She stayed at Anna Loral's house last night, we thought it would be a good idea to leave her there until you got here. She doesn't know where the bombs were dropped yet, but I rang Mr. And Mrs. Loral to tell them we're alright." Cloud told him, just as Yuffie hopped out of the airship, staggering a bit and looking very green.
Vincent jumped out next and landed silently behind the young Ninja, grabbing her arm before she collapsed.
"Bit of turbulence." Cid explained, looking down through the hatch. A few seconds later Shera joined him and said, "Do you need us to collect anything for you? Like building materials?"
"No thanks." Cloud shook his head. "We're not going to rebuild the Seventh Heaven."
"Why not?" Barret asked.
"We're going to buy a smaller house in Kalm and live in there for a while, then set up a new bar there." Tifa explained. "I've wanted to relocate to Kalm for ages now, this was just a good jumpstart, I suppose. I'm glad no one was hurt…"
"Yeah, us too." Yuffie announced. She seemed to recover rapidly, and pulled her arm away from Vincent.
"So you want a ride down to Kalm then?"
"Not yet. We've still got to see how Reeve is doing, get Marlene… We're staying in Reeve and the Turk's underground bunker for a while, then heading down to Kalm."
"Ok. So why are we here then?" Cid asked his three passengers.
"To make sure they're alright you moron!" Barret said.
"You mean I've wasted all this fuel on a bloody social call?" Cid demanded, going slightly purple. "We could have jut brought the Tiny Bronco II!"
"Yup!" Yuffie said, grinning up at him.
The Captain muttered a few of the same words Sakura had used on the Turks and clumped back inside the ship. "Shera! Get me some goddamn tea!"
"Yes Captain…" Shera sighed. Her face disappeared from view also, her lab coat swishing behind her.
"Thank you Cid!" Yuffie called after them, not really expecting a reply.
oOo
Reeve slept for well over nine hours, and he woke up feeling much better. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, and he heard the voice of Reed, another new Turk, calling, "Reno Sir! He's awake!"
He looked around blearily to find that he was sitting on the couch in his office that Rude and Elena had moved into his office in the hopes that he would sleep more. Reed had probably been assigned to watch him and wait for him to regain consciousness.
If there was one thing Reed had that no one else did, it was endless patience. She'd probably spent the last few hours keeping an eye on him and sorting out paper work on his desk.
There was the sound of voices and footsteps coming down the corridor, and then Reno and Rude burst through the door, having a rather one-sided argument, as Reed quietly slipped out the office and went to do some work.
"Look, she's not a terrorist." Reno said loudly and irritably.
"I-" Rude started.
"And anyway, we're keeping an eye on her! It'll be fine!" Reno continued.
"Reno-"
If you're that worried, we'll put the handcuffs back on her."
"Reno!" Rude shouted, breaking his usual habit of being quiet and thoughtful.
"Yeah?"
"I never said I thought she was a terrorist! Where did you get that idea from?"
"Uh…" Reno went blank. "What were we talking about?"
"I'd rather like to know that too." Reeve interrupted them.
"Oh, well Rude here seems to think that Sakura is a terrorist, and that we shouldn't let her see you."
"I never said that goddamn it Reno!"
"Of course, now that he knows otherwise, he denies it…"
Rude sighed and turned to walk out the room. "I'm going to get her. She's still asleep."
"Ok, you do that then!" Reno chirped after him.
"You're a strange one Reno." Reeve muttered through his sleep fogged state.
"Yeah, on that note, so is this 'Sakura'. She knows things she shouldn't."
"I know. I think I've figured out who she really is."
"You have? Do tell."
Reeve smiled. "I think that you'll have to figure it out for yourself."
"Boss! You know I'm not THAT smart!" he complained.
"Maybe you won't have to be."
"Ah! Stop with the mysterious act! Tseng used to do that! It was soooo annoying!"
The man laughed quietly. "You'll get used to it. Now, am I going to be allowed to meet this terrorist of yours?"
"She right here boss." Said Rude, entering the office again, this time with a rather sleepy looking Sakura in tow.
"Hiya Reeve." She mumbled, trying to focus her eyes.
"Good morning Miss Sakura." Reeve said, instantly switching into Boss mode.
"G'mornin'…"
Reeve looked around and picked up a cup of god-knows-how-old coffee. "Here." He passed it to the woman. It may be ancient, but it was guaranteed to have you fully awake in seconds.
"Thanks." Sakura drank the whole cup in one mouthful. At first nothing happened, then she want pale. "I need a sink. I think I'm gonna be sick." She said it rather calmly, and Reno pointed out the door and across the corridor.
A few minutes later she was back, looking very much awake, and more than a bit annoyed. "What did you put in that? Are you trying to kill me?" She demanded of Reeve.
"No. It's normal coffee. It's what I drink. Except a bit older, I think."
"Older? As in, how much?"
"Uhm…" Reeve looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'm not sure, but one theory is that it was left on the desk by Rufus when he was here one time."
He watched as Sakura's face slowly stretched into a look of horror. "Oh… ewwww!" She yelled. "You really ARE trying to kill me!"
Rude cleared his throat before an argument could begin. "Sir, we have much to do today."
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Reeve said, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, um, Sakura… You wanted to speak to me?"
"Only after I was arrested."
Reno made a strange squawking noise, and Sakura guessed that Reeve wasn't supposed to know about that.
"Arrested?" Reeve's eyebrows rose, and he looked at Reno, who suddenly looked like he had to be somewhere else. "I hadn't heard anything about that."
Reno squirmed in his seat, and Rude looked over at him too. "Reno? What have you been up to?"
"Arresting people under suspicion of terrorism and breaking the speed limit?" Sakura supplied.
Reno shook his head and made frantic 'Shutupshutupshutup' motions with his hands.
Three pairs of eyes watched him intently. He sank into his huge armchair and glared at Sakura from the depths of the leather and foam cave.
While no one was watching, Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.
"We'll talk about this later." Reeve told him. "In the meantime, Sakura. What do you want us to do? Would you like to stay here in the bunker?"
"No, I wanna find some people."
"Who?"
"Well, Cloud and Tifa Strife…"
"Tifa Strife?" Reeve asked sharply.
Sakura suddenly took on the appearance of a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Oh damn, I forgot, that wasn't for another couple of years! "Sorry, I meant Lockheart. I'm still a bit tired I think…"
Reeve's mouth twitched into a half smile. "I'm sure you are, how long did she sleep, Rude?"
"Three hours."
"Three hours? Out of the past nine?"
"A lot of time was spent arguing with Reno." Rude informed his boss.
"Ah. A very common passtime in the Turks, I hear."
Reno sunk a bit further into his chair cave.
"Well, I'll have Vaughn drive you to the place where Seventh Heaven used to be. I hear Cid and his airship are parked there.
Sakura gave a relieved smile. "Thanks."
oOo
Sakura slept for most of the half-hour drive, so Vaughn very kindly didn't ask her lots of questions or talk loudly like Reno would. He even restrained from turning on the radio.
When they arrived, he shook her and hissed, "Sakura! Wakey wakey!"
"Mffg?"
"We're here. Do you want me to go find Cloud or Tifa?"
"'Kay." She mumbled, shaking her head to try and wake herself up. It didn't work. Soon after Vaughn slammed the car door shut behind him, she fell back to sleep.
The next thing she knew, someone was knocking loudly on the window. It was Cloud. She pulled the door handle and almost fell out the car she was so tired.
She staggered a few feet, then regained her balance. "Hi." She said.
"Hallo." Said Cloud shortly. "This way."
Vaughn and Sakura followed after him to the airship, and Sakura stumbled up the steps that had been dropped out of the hatch finally. Vaughn didn't follow.
Sakura looked back at him, but he gave her a sheepish half smile and muttered that he'd better get back to work. "I'll be back later in the van to pick everyone up anyway." He then said.
"Ok, see you then."
Everyone had gathered on the bride of the Sierra to meet Sakura. She looked around, looking a bit nervous suddenly.
She looked around as Cloud and Tifa introduced her, noting who had come. She almost smiled when she saw Vincent standing at the back of the bridge, furthest away from the window. He had always been a 'lurk in the back' type.
And Yuffie had come as well. So had the Captain and Shera, obviously.
And there, in one corner, sitting and looking out the window impatiently, was Barret Wallace. She fought down the urge to cry from happyness.
"Hallo? Are you listening to me?"
Sakura jerked out of her thoughts and looked round. "What? Sorry."
"I said," Cloud repeated irritably, "How did you know about the bombs?"
Sakura's mouth dropped open. She'd forgotten that she'd have to answer that question. She shrugged non-committally.
"Come on, you must have found out somewhere."
"Um. I did lots of research." She said. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. She had done lots of research. Just not the kind they would assume she meant.
"Huh." Cid grunted. "I don't believe you for one second, but I suppose you did help out, so you're forgiven. Just don't try anything."
Sakura smiled weakly at the Captain, "Thanks…" She mumbled, staring intently at her boots.
"So are you going to tell us your real name now?" Tifa asked.
"Uh…"
"We did some research too. We know that Sakura Kinomoto is a character from a kid's TV show. Cardcaptor, I believe."
"Oh."
"Well? Are you?"
Sakura's face went blank for a few seconds, and then she said, very firmly; "No."
Tifa frowned and went to say something, but Cloud shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose, but I'm not so sure we can trust you."
Sakura gave a half shrug. "You don't have to."
There was a horrible silence as everyone watched her carefully, trying to figure out exactly what she meant by that.
oOo
The next few hours passed painfully slowly for Sakura. They would ask her questions, and she would either avoid them or give them vague answers that weren't really answers.
Finally Vaughn was back with a huge ShinRa van, and Sakura was first out the hatch.
Never had she been so glad to see the young Turk. He grinned at the large group as he jumped out of the driver's seat. He was trying to get his shoulder length black hair into a hair band, but he wasn't succeeding.
Sakura yelled "Shotgun!" And jumped onto the front seat, while everyone still exiting the airship ducked for cover, then realized what she meant.
Grumbling, they all scrambled into the back, Yuffie kicking up a fuss when she didn't get a window seat, until Vincent switched places with her when she told him she would puke in him instead of out the window.
"All aboard?" Vaughn asked.
"Where's Cid and Shera?" Tifa asked suddenly.
"They're staying on the Sierra." Cloud said.
"Huh. Typical." Yuffie said loudly "Antisocial old coot."
Vaughn was the only one who could see Sakura when she froze and narrowed her eyes.
He tactfully pretended he hadn't noticed.
It was another half-hour drive, but they didn't go back to the ShinRa bunker; they stopped in front of a large, fancy looking house with a carefully cared for garden.
"Hey, what are we doing here?" Yuffie demanded.
"This is Mr. and Mrs. Loral's house." Tifa explained. "We're picking up Marlene."
Despite being at the very back of the van, Barret was the first out.
oOo
It was a happy reunion. Sakura remembered it well.
Marlene was so happy to see her Papa again that she didn't even remember to say thank you to John and Leann Loral for letting her stay for the night.
She tore down the path, managing not to trample any of the flowers that overhung onto the footpath, and threw herself into her father's arms. "Papa!" She squealed. "I'm so happy you're back!"
She'd sat beside him on the way to the bunker, holding tightly onto his arm as if he might disappear if she let him go, and bombarded him with questions about what he'd been doing up in Corel.
He explained happily that he'd been looking for an oil field to replace the source of power they'd lost along with the threat to the world. As ofyet he had been unsuccessful, but they had found huge coal reserves which they were mining right now.
He had only just finished explaining by the time they got back to the bunker, and he moved on to telling them about some of the people he worked with as they walked into and along the dull metal corridor.
Another new Turk, a strange looking man with three green marks on the side of his face, and all his black hair spiking out on one side and flat on the other, met them at the door and introduced himself as Astenje.
He showed everyone round, and pointed out anything important, like the coffee machine, and, subsequently, the bathroom.
Then everyone crowded into Reeve's office. He was typing on his cranky old computer again, probably trying to sort out some paper work, like usual.
He started and looked up at the sound of the door slamming behind Cloud.
"Oh, hello everyone!" He said, hurriedly standing up, and managing to knock over his cup of coffee.
"Hi Reeve." Said Cloud, "What's going on? Are you going to rebuild the ShinRa building? Do you know who was responsible for the bombing?"
"Uh… No… and no." He turned to look at Sakura. "But you might ask her."
"Uhm…" Sakura shrank under their combined gaze.
"Well?" Cloud demanded.
"I do know… but… but you won't like the answer…"
"It doesn't matter. We have to know."
Sakura looked at each face in turn, each one was watching her, intently, waiting for her answer…
"No," she said at last, "You don't need to know. Not yet."
Cloud frowned and glared at her. "I hope you know I don't trust you."
"Yes. I do."
Suddenly everyone else went quiet, to see what would happen.
"I don't trust you one bit." Cloud continued, "You know too much, and you refuse to tell us HOW you know!"
"I would tell you how I knew if I though you'd believe me!" Sakura retaliated. She didn't want to argue with Cloud, so she swiveled round and left the room, leaving Cloud to mutter to himself.
"Cloud…" Tifa started, putting her hand on his arm.
"What?" He snapped.
"Uh- Maybe you should drop it… I- I don't think she's lying."
Cloud twitched and looked away. "I'm going to get some sleep. Reeve, where are our rooms?"
Reeve looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, um, the bunker isn't extremely huge, so… well, there aren't that many rooms…"
"And?"
"Well…" The man mumbled something unintelligible, but it could have been, "You have to share a room with Reno and Rude…"
Cloud chose to take is as so, and yelled. "What?"
"Uhm…" Reeve cleared his throat. "Sorry. I know you don't like each other…"
Cloud sighed and clomped out the office, his boots leaving slightly muddy footprints behind them.
Before the door slammed behind him, Reeve noted that his boots were exactly the same as Sakura's had been, except hers were much older looking and worn out. Every second he was more and more sure of who she really was.
He turned back to the others. "Sorry. Astenje, could you please show them to their rooms?"
He flopped down at his desk. "I have so much work to do…"
He didn't even notice as they filedquietly out of his office, as he was fast asleep, random letters and numbers flicking across the screen where his face rested on the keyboard.
oOo
And Sakura sat in her room. Reeve had been kind enough to assign her one that she only had to share with one person… Marlene.
She wondered briefly if he'd guessed. She doubted it though…
oOo
A/N: Well, there you go. The second chapter. I hope you liked it. I got two whole reviews for the last chapter (Not sarcasm. That's a lot, compared to my other chapter fic), so I decided to write another chapter and see if I can get even more reviews.
But seriously folks, please review. I mean it, because this fic is riding on reviews and nothing else. I am writing my other fic for my little sister. This one has no real reason to exist other than if people here like it and review it.
So review. It's not that hard. There's a little button in the corner there, press it, then all you have to do is write a few lines. You don't even have to log in if you don't want to : )
Thank you to the people who reviewed that last chapter; I really appreciate it.
And one more thing: I updated this chapter really fast, but it probably won't happen again, because lots of stuff has started happening now, like our schoolwork has finally arrived, and I'm working on other projects. So, I don't have as much time as I would like to work on my fanfics.