All But One

Feathers

-Three Weeks after Que'd's Death-

Reeve peered down at the envelope, a little hesitant in opening it. Ever since he returned to the office three weeks ago, he'd been relentlessly pelted with insurance forms and charges concerning the damages done to the Headquarters and the Edge Turn Mall. On top of that, the funding for the Midgar Restoration Project was suffering heavily. Two days ago, he had initiated a project to eradicate the ShinRa underground facility, as well as all the Blindsight materia they could locate, but Reeve still wasn't satisfied. Apparently, there was still one missing from the records.

He pulled at the envelope with a finger, tearing the seal, and opening the flap to pull out the small card. His lips curved up to form a grin as he scanned the letter. "Cid, you son of a bitch," he muttered, reaching over to press the com.

After a few seconds of static, the speaker screamed out with a familiar voice.

"What the hell do you want?!"

Reeve lowered his brow. "Yuffie, you don't have to scream at me every time I call you. You're probably the worst secretary I could ever—"

"Shut up! I'm only doing this for the gil! And you promised it would only last for two more weeks!"

"Yes, yes," Reeve said, scratching his nose. "Or at least until I find a new one. Anyways, have you been able to get in touch with Vincent yet?"

He heard a sigh from the com. "He won't pick up the damn phone! I mean, it's almost like he's avoiding any form of contact from me!

Reeve was about to speak out his thoughts, but restrained himself just in time. He sighed. "Well, I'm sure he's fine. You know Vincent. Vanishing into thin air the moment peace is restored." He let out a small laugh. "Anyways, I was just letting you know that the Highwinds just had their baby."

Yuffie screamed. "OH. MY. GAWD! Is it a boy or a girl?! Huh?! Huh?!"

"Good Lord, Yuffie, settle down! You're deafening me over the speaker!"

"What is it?!"

"It's a boy," Reeve stated, picking at his ear. "Shera says the neighbors think he has her eyes, but apparently Cid disagrees. 'Says he's got pilot eyes."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Reeve lowered his head. "Well…never mind. Has Barret returned to the rig? Or is he still with Tifa and them?"

"I think he's leaving next week. Still wants to spend more time with Marlene."

Reeve nodded, but something else was tugging at his mind.

"Hey Yuffie…"

"What?!"

"Is your offer for wushu lessons still valid?"

There was a brief pause.

"Why?"

Reeve scratched his head, grinning slightly. "Oh, you know…just in case I run into another Neo Titan or something…"

-xXx-

Papers and files were stacked up on his desk, most of which were associated with the WRO Funds for the Midgar Restoration Project. Rufus scanned over them idly, tapping his black pen against the hard surface in boredom. He had decided to take part in Reeve's reparation funds, probably for the mere purpose of paying his gratitude to AVALANCHE. Nevertheless, Rufus found little satisfaction in wasting away his own savings.

The door slammed open, causing him to wince slightly. Rufus glared at the red-headed Turk.

"Can't you learn to knock?"

Reno grinned. "Ya got a letter, boss," he said, walking across the room and placing the envelope on the desk. Rufus stared at it blankly. Who would send him a letter? Hesitantly, he picked it up, tugging at the seal and pulling out the small card.

"So, boss…about that raise we were talking about last week…"

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Yes, remind me to speak with Rude and Elena about their salaries later."

The Turk gaped at him in disbelief, jaw opened. He was about to say something, but stopped when Rufus started grinning, scanning his eyes over the small letter.

"How flattering," he muttered. "We've been invited to a wedding."

-xXx-

Tseng lowered his eyes, peering over the curved blade of the katana that was embedded into the soil. His brother's gravesite was out in an open field, where the trees bordered around the perimeter and the birds chirped merrily before launching out into the blue sky. It wasn't usually used for such purposes, but it was a place Tseng knew his brother would rest in peace.

"I promised you I'd take you to Mideel," he said, his voice calm. "That's one promise I won't break."

Tseng inhaled deeply, lowering his head and letting the wind brush gently against his long hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Just before he was about to turn to leave, he noticed the deep scratch that was carved over the engravings on the blade. His piercing gaze softened as he read over the new inscriptions.

It read giya raemi.

A grudge forgotten.

-xXx-

Her feet landed with a loud thud. She made her way into the darkness, careful not to make any noise. Her hand was grasped over the crimson red sphere, her other one brushing against the cold surface of the stone wall. She knew this was where Que'd had been killed, though she couldn't have known that it was none other than Sephiroth who had ended his life. The chamber was cold, and the single torch flickered dimly from where one of the villagers replaced the old one. Rosianna could make out the faint glimmer of the Huge Materia from one of the far off exits. She quickened her pace, circling around the center pillar and stepping over the heaps of rocks and rubble. Her eye caught sight of a small pile of feathers on the far corner, but she walked on, disregarding the strange presence.

Que'd may have failed, having been betrayed by his own vengeance, but Rosianna was determined to carry out the plan, even if she was the only survivor from the team. She walked past the next corridor and grinned as the multi-colored light shone brighter as she approached it.

When she reached the end of the chamber, she only saw three large crystals placed on the stone floor. Reeve's files had said there were four, but in all honesty, Rosianna didn't care as long as the Blindsight materia reacted to one of them.

She knelt down, reaching out the sphere in her palm and placing it next to the watermelon-sized crystals that emitted blue, green and yellow glows.

Nothing happened.

She furrowed her brows, confused at the lack of a reaction. Why wasn't it working? The materia was supposed to get brighter! Why was nothing happening?!

She rose to her feet, cursing under her breath as she scanned her eyes on the far wall. There was a small rock next to one of the stone pillars, and it tickled at her mind. She approached it, biting her lower lip and hoping to God that it wasn't the last Huge Materia.

The surface of the small rock was cracked in webs, and she could see the faint red color of its interior. The last Huge Materia had been damaged, too much to react to the Blindsight materia.

In her rage, she flung the crimson sphere at the wall, only to see it bounce off and land abruptly on the stone floor.

She didn't even notice as the hand reached out across her face, clutching her by the jaw and yanking forcefully. Her neck made an unpleasant cracking noise as she limped to the floor, eyes still wide.

The last thing Rosianna ever saw was the grinning face of a silver haired man, and the enormous feathered wing that sprouted from his right shoulder blade.

-End-