Note: So! I just played the Remake and needless to say I enjoyed it. I brought this up because I will be writing this fic with FF7 and Advent Children canon, NOT the Remake canon. That being said, I hope this doesn't disappoint anyone who wants any expansion on the Remake.

The backpack on her back was stuffed as full as she could manage without ripping the seams apart. Leaning against the railing she opted to stay quiet until she was told what to do and where to go. The team was talking in a group and she didn't feel obligated to ask what was next or what they were planning. She was sure they would tell her whatever they wanted her to know. The flight management team, about four people besides Cid, were all busy around consoles with flickering lights above buttons, levers, and knobs.

They had managed to sneak out of Kalm and past a group of Shinra guards who were just outside the city walls. To say she was shocked when she saw the Highwind, as it was called, tucked sneakily around the far side of the walls of Kalm would be an understatement. She didn't know what she was expecting, given she hadn't had much time to form any expectations. She dumbly asked if it was supposed to fly, to which Cid laughed and stated "I sure as hell hope it does" which set the tone for what she guessed the rest of the evening. A tone of uncertainty.

Feeling out of place in the massive control room of the airship, she stood and looked down at the suitcase to bring her attention from the massive windows. She swayed back and forth, the backpack tugged at her shoulders and threatened to pull her down, yet she didn't set it down on the concrete floor. Looking outside wouldn't help her nerves a bit.

She might have a fear of heights.

Cid, after patting one of the pilots on the shoulder, ending their chat, looked over to her and a grin spread across his face. He took a few steps over and she straightened up, expecting some clarification on what she should and where she should go.

"Haven't heard as much as a peep out of you. Regretting coming along?" He asked, his tone jovial. She shook her head and played with the extended handle of her suitcase.

"No, I just um... wish I knew where to start working." She muttered and he gave a chuckle.

"Oh, I see. Eager to get to it? You can do that later, for now set that bag down. How do you like the Highwind?" taking his order, she slung the heavy bag down and it gave a hefty thud even though she was careful to lower it.

"Oh, it's cool. I've never flown before, so I don't know what to expect. It looks pretty big." She gave vaguely, not sure what to say. Cid nodded and scratched his head.

"Just cool, huh? This ship is one of the finest I've owned, besides the ones that I've made myself. I'm not gonna give you a tour or nothing, but this is the improved version of the Highwind. Sleeping quarters, bathrooms with showers, and even a small workout area. I'm sure the one spare room where we used to keep random junk would be a good spot for you to set up." he explained, but she only half listened, something catching her attention.

"Wait, did you say you made airships?" she asked, hoping she heard right. He nodded.

"Yeah, I made a rocket too, kid. Wish I could show ya the evidence." he smiled before adding, "You think you were getting judged by a bunch of tech-numb idiots? That's true for them, but I know what I'm talking about. Would have thrown you under the bus if your projects weren't worth shit."

That was just great. Being unknowingly interviewed by a literal rocket engineer and showing off her half efforted attempts at something innovative. All of the barely working prototypes weren't enough to be considered worth the time and yet… here she was. She wondered why. After a moment of her silence as she reconsidered every project she showed, until the elder man motioned her to follow him, already taking a few steps in the opposite direction.

"You said it was your first time on an airship? First time flying, you gotta see the view." He ushered, walking right up to the floor to ceiling window. She followed and stopped a few feet away, leaning in to peer through the glass. The farmlands and patches of trees came and went, looking smaller than she had ever seen besides in tv and pictures. The height was dizzying and she felt like she would fall over.

"Beautiful, ain't it? Better get used to it, it gets boring quick." He observed, looking out at the blurring landscape. She wondered how far they had traveled, where they were heading. How far from home would she end up? The passing blurs of greens and browns of the environment made her head spin.

"Oh, lovely. Looks great." she gave, closing her eyes to pull her attention back, her head spinning.

She was definitely afraid of heights.

"Okay, enough sightseeing. Let's get you busy. Cloud!" He called out, his words felt like whiplash. Stella took a few steps away from the window and took the cue to go pull the cumbersome bag onto her shoulders again. There was no answer and she noticed that the blonde was nowhere to be seen. "Cloud? Where is he?" Cid grumbled and Tifa looked away from Barret, their conversation being interrupted.

"He went to lay down." She piped up and Cid scoffed.

"Oh yeah I forgot about the-" he gave a vague hand gesture to hint at something. "If that's the case, Tifa, will you show this one to that one room?" he asked and Tifa nodded.

"The room we used to store junk in?" she confirmed.

"Right, that one." Cid gave, "There's a table in there, she could set up her work station." he informed and turned to Stella, who had already taken hold of her cargo. "You're not claustrophobic, right?" he asked with a chuckle. "Anyway, if you have any questions ask somebody, but not me. I'm busy up here." he offered, non-helpful. Thanks. She watched as he turned with a short wave and headed back over to one of the pilots as Tifa stepped around her and headed down the metal grate stairs.

Stella silently followed the brunette down the stairs, the metal creaked and clanked under their feet. She let her hand trace the railing as they approached the bottom, looking down over the platform to a storage area a level below. Once down the stairs, Tifa turned to face her, a soft smile spread on her face. She pulled her long hair over her shoulder to have it drape down the back of her windbreaker.

"So Stella, do you want a tour first? You can look around later, but I don't mind showing you around now if you want?" The dark brunette asked and Stella gripped at the handle on her suitcase.

"That would be great but can I set all this down first? It's a little heavy." She asked, half laughing from her own exasperation. Tifa looked from the luggage to her and nodded.

"Of course, I'll show you what's going to be your workspace first and you can set everything there." she confirmed and motioned her along.

"Sounds good." Stella mumbled and followed along, past a conference room and down a narrow hall, the fluorescent lights felt so clinical.

Once down the hall, there looked to be a small but compact kitchen with a bar, the metal bar stools looked shiny and unused, perhaps new. A pleather lounge chair and sofa sat in front of a small flatscreen tv, the space hardly fitting both the kitchen and the lounge area. Tight quarters but what did she expect for an airship. Just in front of the opening for the lounge and kitchen common room was a metal door. It looked reinforced and might have been locked up before, but there was no keycard reader present. Only a knob.

Tifa stopped at the door, twisting the knob and pushing it in.

"Here's your room, go ahead and take a look at it and set your stuff down. You can set up later, but I wanna show you the gym and the sleeping dorms." She brightened up at her own mention of the gym. From the look of it, Tifa certainly seemed to favor the gym. Stella wouldn't be confident to arm wrestle her any time soon.

Taking no hesitation to rid herself of the heavy luggage, she stepped into the bare room. The floor was concrete and the walls were bare. A few power outlets were strung against the wall and a chair and metal folding table sat against the wall. It wasn't a large room, but Stella was confident she could work with the space. A single, dull hanging light shined from the center of the room and Stella swung the backpack off her shoulders.

"Cid was right, it is tight in here. Good news, it's next to the kitchen." Stella thought aloud and Tifa stifled a laugh.

"I take it you like to snack and work?" She asked and Stella pushed the backpack to lay against the wall

"Who doesn't? Actually, that may be a bad thing. You might have to lock me in here." Stella half joked, trying to relieve the air of awkward and unfamiliar tension with someone she just met who could definitely get her fired.

"It's a nice kitchen. It's a new addition and it almost resembles my bar." she added, her brown eyes looked out the door at the new furnishings, "I almost think Cid did this with me in mind, even if he'd never admit it."

"Right, the bar in Edge? You briefly mentioned it… before we left." Stella asked, her luggage now neatly laid to the side. She straightened up and sunk her hands into the spacious pockets of her baggy pants.

"The Seventh Heaven, my pride and joy. One of the bar patrons was nice enough to take over for the time I'm away. I was worried I'd have to close it, but lucky for me they know the ropes, being the babysitter." Tifa mused, looking up at the ceiling as she thought, her voice holding an evident fondness.

"You have kids?" Stella asked and the brunette shook her head and laughed, her knuckles met her lips.

"Well, not exactly. There are two kids that I share the house with, you can say. Marlene, who is Barret's daughter, and Denzel who is more like a younger brother than a son. Needless to say, I care for them both a lot, even if it's hard sometimes." She paused and looked back to Stella, giving her a reassuring smile. "That's why I'm glad to have you on board. The more help we get, the better."

"I'm glad you're looking at it this way." Stella began and wondered if she should continue her thought. "I really thought you guys were going to blackmail me back there. I'm still not over everything yet, but now I at least feel a little better knowing that you're not going to blame me for what happened at the inn."

"You thought we we're going to rat you out? What would we even blackmail you for?" Tifa asked and Stella gave a vague hand gesture.

"Well to make me work for you, one. Terrible things tend to happen when someone knows something like that. Cloud saw what that device did, all he had to do was hold that over my head. Yet, neither of you did. I'm not used to seeing that." Stella admitted and sighed. Tifa gave her a knowing look. Surely she knew what Stella meant, especially if she lived around Midgar. There was hardly a doubt that she could sympathize.

A short, lingering silence passed and Stella didn't want any pity or weight in the air.

"Cid mentioned a gym, right? Let's check it out."

Cloud pinched his eyebrows together, his hands cupped over his face. He thought he was over it, but that same sinking dizziness returned to him. Take off was always the worst part and he could manage after the initial motion of it. That was normally the case but it had been so long since he had been in an aircraft that it was much worse, or that was his idea anyway. His nausea had come and gone, the most of it had already passed and he determined he was stable enough to walk down the hallway, but he was too hasty.

Leaning against the wall, the dim lights of the new lounge giving only slight relief to his pounding head, he closed his eyes and tried to steel himself away from his dizziness. He had come to check on the new member after all and he didn't want to cause any concern. The door to the room he was told she had set up in was slightly ajar and as he tried to will his dizziness away, he realized that the new engineer's voice spoke casually and cheerfully.

He shouldn't listen, but he wasn't in the proper state to rush away. Besides, it gave him something to focus on to help him avoid falling over.

"-you know I hate it there, but it'll be okay. It's for dad and he never asks for help, you know how he is. Do me a favor and don't tell him I told you. He wants to run the farm by himself and his ego will be hurt if it gets out that I'm staying with him for a while. I just called to tell you that I won't be at the house for some time. Who knows how long really." her voice explained, sounding calm and casual. She paused and listened, humming along.

"Alright mom, love ya too. Take care. Bye." Then the soft click of a phone. Cloud listened on as there was a short period of idleness. There was the sound of movement and a deep breath.

"Hey dad… yeah, it's Stella… No, nothing's wrong. I wanted to call and tell you I won't be at the house for a while. I'm in Midgar right now. Mom called and wanted me to- hey, shut up….No, I don't have my mace with me but it's okay. Ugh, dad, stop and listen okay?" she gave with a frustrated sigh. "As I was saying, mom needs help with the practice for a while and I won't be home. She's been so swamped busy lately, she barely had the time to call me. I'll be less busy than she is, so call me if you wanna check in, okay?" she gave and Cloud put the pieces together. She was lying and setting both of her parents up not to call each other.

If something happened to her, it would be a while before her parents found out, if they ever did.

"Okay, yeah. No, I'm not buying mace. Look, my train is here, I have to go. Love ya too, dad, bye." She finished the call and the sound of what he believed was the phone being placed on a surface sounded. His dizziness was beginning to subside, but he wanted to give it another minute. He didn't wanna walk in and fall over immediately.

More silence followed and Cloud focused on breathing slowly. He heard more movement from behind the door and barely heard what the woman said.

"Please pick up…" a plea he had heard before and was sure he would hear again.

"Hey, Vanessa?" she gave, excited before her voice fell immediately, "Oh, voicemail. Should have guessed." followed by a groan. He hadn't heard the name before and he guessed it was her friend or sister or maybe some other family member, but he could be wrong. There was no way of knowing.

Letting his light headed state pass until he felt more grounded, he waited against the wall. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and so far so good. His headache remained, but he was sure it would for the next few hours.

Giving a light knock to the slightly ajar door, it swayed open a bit to reveal the woman, hunched over the fried piece of metal. Her sage green denim jacket was washed out in the dull light of the room and her black bun looked like it was hardly intact, loose strands hanging from the thick nest of hair. She held up the mesh net and scrutinized it, giving a slight frown. Her dark eyes turned up at him from where she sat, acknowledging his presence. He cleared his throat.

"Got a second?" his voice was a little soft and he again cleared his throat. He didn't want to sound like he had just been clinging to the hope that he wouldn't throw up just fifteen minutes ago.

"Yeah, come in." She answered, looking and sounding tired. She watched as he stepped out of the doorway and came into the room. It was small and cozy, but he knew it was all they could do right now. It should be fine for a work space, but he didn't envy her. He wouldn't want to spend a long time cooped up in a small room like this. It would drive him crazy.

Several of the inventions that she had shown previously laid on the table along with a jumble of chips, processors, copper wires, and strange lights and components.

"How are you settling?" he asked, seeing that she had already set up her station. Obviously, she was doing fine.

"I'm fine." she gave simply, taking a small hex key screwdriver to the tiny screws on the contraption, "Just starting to feel today's excitement bear down on me." her admittal was surprising to him. He didn't really expect her to be honest with him, but maybe she was the type that didn't care how she sounded. Tifa has said she was fine and dandy earlier when she showed her around the ship. He wondered if this time alone soured her perspective.

"Are you regretting it?" he inquired and she shook her head, her eyes still on the screws she was twisting away at. He leaned against the wall of the room, letting his arms fold into a comfortable position.

"Regret? No. Maybe a little overwhelmed or feeling out of place, but I don't regret anything yet." she said easily, her words confident. "I'm really grateful for this chance to get out and away from Kalm." Her statement irked him a little. He wasn't sure why but he thought it had something to do with how she regarded her own town. It was one of the most closed off and protected towns on the planet and she seemed to dislike it. Lots of people would love to live there. He tried not to dwindle on it.

"This isn't going to be like a vacation, you know." he responded flatly, and she pulled the now free panel from the contraption, a nest of curled and blackened wires sat charred in the center. She scoffed at his statement and he thought he caught an eye roll.

"I know that! I was shot today and that's more than enough proof." she huffed out and took a deep breath, pulling the charred processors from the metal casing of the ball. The next thing she said, her voice had softened and deflated. "I probably don't even know what I'm getting myself into, but it's better than staying and wondering. I'd rather regret this than regret staying."

"Right…" He didn't know what to say. It wasn't his priority to convince her of anything or to make any comment. It wasn't for him to wonder if she made the right decision to come along but it was his own doubt he felt. No matter how many times the members of AVALANCHE fought alongside him, he always wanted to make sure he bore the brunt of it all. He didn't want to share that burden, especially with a new member. He knew it would only get harder, but someone extra to make it easier and hopefully provide some protection was worth the risk. That's what he told himself, anyway.

"Are you the boss around here? I mean, everyone kinda acts like you are. You're not just a guy with a sword?" She piped up, the silence between them broke. He had forgotten to speak. Her question made him smile a little. Just a guy with a sword. That's how he felt sometimes.

"Nope, I'm a guy with a sword and I call the shots sometimes." he confirmed, a little humor tinted his words. She nodded along, pulling a new processor from the mangle of components on the edge of the table.

"So your role is... leader and fighter?" She reiterated to make sure she got it right, pulling her laptop closer and opening it.

"Something like that." he mused and she again nodded, booting up the old laptop, the keys worn with years of use. While she waited, she leaned her face in her palm and looked up at him.

"You know a little about me, what about you? Mr. "not from SOLDIER but definitely looks like it", what do you do when you're not leading and fighting or something like that?" Her tone was slightly teasing but only that. He didn't really want to talk about himself but he looked to what he did know about her, which is what she did for a living. He could start with that.

"I own a delivery service. Drive around from Midgar to wherever else. Midgar is my biggest customer base. It's easy enough and a lot of locals appreciate it. It's no big deal really."

"All of this public service." she tsked and glanced back at the laptop screen, playing with the processor in her palm. " Tifa with the bar and you with the deliveries. Anyone ever yell at you?"

"Can't say every customer is happy" he suggested vaguely. There were many times that being the delivery guy for bad news sent anger his way. Luckily, he never got in a scrap over it, but he had gotten close. The login screen popped up, and Stella quickly typed the code in, the splash screen melting away to show the desktop background. It was a photo of Stella, the guy from the inn, and an unfamiliar face. A long haired girl with frizzy brown hair and blue eyes. He didn't pay much mind and tried to regard it as none of his business.

"That's for sure… So you're really not from SOLDIER?" she asked again and he shook his head. He couldn't count how many times he had heard it and he was more than sick of it. He couldn't blame anyone for the assumptions, however. Stella clicked through some folders on the laptop and found the file she was looking for. A long string of color coded code, and as she scrolled through, it looked like it went on forever. She looked up, expecting the answer to his question.

"...No." he simply answered and she tsked again, pulling a cord around to plug into the processor in her hand.

"I feel bad for you then." she responded, a twinge of pity in her voice. Hearing it made him sore and he could feel his expression change, even if he tried not to let it.

"Why?" he managed and she shrugged as she typed into the file, the code being altered a tiny bit at the bottom. A loading bar appeared and she leaned back in her seat as her eyes watched the screen.

"Having some visual clue about yourself that people are bound to see and make judgements, think they know something about you? Must be horrible, especially with eyes like that." She stated, her gaze fixed on the loading bar.

He looked away at the far wall. She was right. No one wanted to have a stamp on them, some icon or symbol that they didn't want. He certainly didn't and he hated each time it was brought up. There was nothing he could do about it and no way to cover it up. He would have to deal with it and he couldn't let himself get upset about it. He didn't like to talk about it and it never ceased to ache a bit, even if he never showed it.

Taking in what she said, he had stayed unknowingly silent for a little too long and she looked up at him. Biting the inside of her cheek, she unplugged the processor and looked back down at it.

"I didn't mean anything negative. I just meant-" she trailed off. He had made her uncomfortable. She pulled another little technical component and hooked it up to the processor.

"I know what you meant. It's fine." he reassured, watching as she shook the processor and waiting for something to happen. She did it again and nothing. Once again and the light blinked three times. She groaned and frowned. It wasn't working properly yet. "Working on that same contraption from earlier?" he asked, having already figured out that she was working on it. She looked up at him and back at the processor.

"The taser net ball? Yes, and I'm having issues. First, the delay is too long but I can fix that easy, but I have no clue how to make it smaller like I want to. I don't think I can unless I find a way to reduce the battery size. If I make it smaller, it'll lose its punch. I don't know, maybe once I fix it, I'll think of a mark two design." She explained, shaking the processor again and watching as nothing happened.

She had a lot of work to do and he should get to the point, he decided.

"You'll think of something. Anyway, I came in to check in and to tell you we're headed for Gongaga. You'll stay here with the ship. Cid is still filling us in on the details, but my guess is that we'll be gone a while." By a while, he meant several days. He wasn't looking forward to it, but Tifa was getting the tents together now. He knew he wouldn't get much sleep that way, knowing that any sound of the wild would have him spring awake immediately.

"Gongaga… that's so far away…" She trailed off, looking down at the light, which blinked out of sync. He didn't think it was that far, but my foot or vehicle would take a long while to get there. Traveling only made the world feel smaller to him.

"Think you can patch that up before we get there? Barret wants to take it on a test run." he asked, and she gave him a wide eyed and concerned look. That was enough of an answer.

"Um.. it's still a prototype so if it malfunctions…-" What she meant is that it could go off and kill at any moment. He saw what it did and he didn't want it going off in his pocket unprompted.

"Right, nevermind." He scratched at his shoulder. It was worth a shot.

"You can take one of the other two." Stella piped up, waving at the other two contraptions on the work table.

"Oh yeah, the 123." He recalled. That's what it was called, right?

"The EFG, you mean." she corrected, pulling the bowl shaped contraption towards her. The covered button lay loose inside the divetted bowl.

"The TLC." he said back on impulse. She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to argue before she realized he wasn't being serious. Giving a snort, she rolled her eyes and held it out to him.

"You don't deserve this if you can't remember three letters." Teasing, she handed it to him. He took it and was surprised how light it was. It made sense, it probably was solid metal and needed room to hold all of the wires. "Remember what I said about turning it on and off? Also, the detonator controls this one." she reminded. He didn't want another walkthrough of the process, so he tucked it under his arm after he scooped up the detonator button.

"Yeah, I recall." he offered and she gave a judging look at how he was holding it, but kept her mouth shut.

"Try not to fry yourself. I won't be there to remind you how it works" She again reminded, turning back to her work. She plugged the malfunctioning processor back up.

"I can handle it." He reassured and she began to type, pausing as she talked.

"I'm sure you can… if you get any more details, will you let me know? I know it's not my place to come in and ask for secrets, but knowing what my work is doing is important to me." It was understandable that she didn't feel entitled to anything yet. He remembered when he too felt like an intruder in AVALANCHE. He hoped she wouldn't feel as out of place as he did for as long as he did.

"Secrets? You're part of us now… but I'll let you know what I do. I'll leave you to it." He gave, noting that she was pausing her work to listen to him. He never wrote a line of code in his life, but he knew it was no trivial feat. He didn't want a line of code to be botched and have the result be catastrophic. He turned and pulled the door open, announcing his leave.

"Alright, and Cloud?" She called back, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hmm?" He inquired and she paused, tapping her fingers by her keyboard.

"Thanks." She said finally, her tapping stopped. She was thanking him?

"Huh, for what?" He asked. She gave a gesture at her table of gadgets and tangled cords.

"Seeing something in me, in my junk." She laughed in spite of herself. He hardly saw it as junk and even Cid said it had potential. That man doesn't compliment anything, so for him to say it was promising was a lot. It was a lot and if her tech got better than this, he'd be thankful himself, which he was sure it would. She had several days to work and she might fix that one taser net ball, as she called it.

"Don't mention it. Thank you." He returned and she snapped her head back up.

"Me?" She asked, her thumb pointed at her chest.

"Yeah, for trusting us and coming along to help." He concluded and stepped out, ready to go talk to the others.

Taking off down the narrow hallway, he appreciated the lack of spinning that he felt, grateful that his motion sickness had subsided by now. He felt much better and with the… whatever it was called tucked under his arm, he felt a little more prepared.

He was not happy to be back in the Highwind. He wasn't happy to have to travel again for anything other than his delivery service, but this time, maybe he'd be a little more prepared. He knew that stirring the pot with Shinra after these years wasn't going to be easy. It never was, but he knew what AVALANCHE was getting into this time. He may have been prepared and the other members were experienced and volunteered but he still felt a little uneasy about the new addition.

Did she know what she was getting into? He was going to say no way, but if he could help it, she wouldn't be dragged along into every mission. She wasn't a soldier and she didn't need to become one. Not yet. Yes, she'll just stay undercover with the group and make things. He'll pay her and she'll decide if she wants to stick around. He hoped she did. Having a few weapons made and nothing more would be only a lucky break when he wanted to have her as an asset. If her tech got better and she began to make more, then the potential she had was worth it.

The only thing that plagued him is if it would be worth it to her and if she would leave. Tifa already seemed to like her and Barret was already excited about the new fancy toys she made. It was what it was, however, and he would have to be okay with whatever happened.

He just hoped he didn't regret asking her to come along someday.