"Mmm…this is much better than the slop they serve up north. I mean it's not five-star quality, but it's good…"

Ragnar sighed a bit. "I'm sure the mess company is happy for your complement. But I'd like to get on with what exactly you're doing here."

Maritza looked up from the bowl and up to the general. She frowned a moment later. "You're no fun. Straight to business, just like General Leers. And I sure don't want you to end up like him…"

Ragnar, Red XIII, Maritza, Captain Staniv, and several other guards were gathered back in the original command building, which was now used chiefly for meetings. It was the converted restaurant, to be precise. They had thought of taking Maritza back to one of the meeting chambers, but when she saw that there was a much larger area with cushioned armchairs and a fireplace (where the main dining hall used to be), she literally broke away from the guards and threw herself down in the closest one to the fire. She never did say thank you to Ragnar, who had barely moved in time to keep an itchy trigger-fingered soldier from shooting her in the back.

The guards were obviously there for security, and were posted around the room at all entrances. Ragnar and Red XIII were there for obvious reasons as well. Captain Staniv had been awake, and the moment that it was confirmed that the New Shinra personnel had arrived he was dispatched to act on behalf of the Admiral and the WGN. Maritza herself was huddled in the chair she had plopped down in, wrapped up to her neck in a blanket she had been given. Her wet clothes, all save her bra and skivvies, were in front of the fireplace, and to Ragnar's chagrin she had no modesty whatsoever about stripping in front of every person in the room. Not only that, but she had insisted on receiving the soup she had mentioned earlier, which Ragnar thought was just a joke. She was eating it right now, and seemed to be savoring it to the point where it was annoying the others in the room.

Ragnar was seated across from her but wasn't really enjoying the comfort of his own armchair. He had leaned forward to get more in her face at this point. The truth of the matter was he had a hard time believing this was Maritza. Records indicated the woman had to be at least 65. This lithe, wily, carefree young woman in front of him was supposed to be old enough to be his grandmother. Yet all of the other New Shinra personnel had obeyed her orders on arrival, going with the PPA only when she bade them to. Several of them came up and saluted her, calling her "colonel" several times. Either this was some gigantic practical joke or she was somehow serious.

"I don't think you appreciate the seriousness of your situation." Ragnar spoke up again in a sterner tone. "You sailed right into our bay on an enemy destroyer, and you yourself are on our most wanted list."

"You know perfectly well what I was doing here, and I gave you plenty of advance warning with my surrender message." Maritza calmly answered. "So there." Then, again to Ragnar's surprise, the woman actually stuck his tongue out at him.

"Are you trying to make fun of me or something?" He responded, sounding a bit more indignant.

Maritza rolled her eyes and sighed at this. "Don't be such a stuffed shirt." She griped in response. "Look at how uptight you are. You need to chill more. You'll enjoy life better."

Ragnar frowned again. The woman may have looked as old as him…but in terms of maturity she was acting like a twelve-year-old. Was this the reason she had defected…assuming that's what she was doing? Because they thought she was crazy? She sure looked crazy…or that she was trying something equally crazy. It didn't sound like this was any part of any greater plan. She just seemed…childish. He calmed down a bit after this, but then leveled his gaze on her again.

"Alright…let's start further back. We received a message earlier saying that three hundred New Shinra personnel would be defecting. I'm assuming that was you?"

Maritza sighed again. "Do we have to go over every obvious facet of today? Yes, it was me. I'm here, aren't I? Sitting in front of your fire? Talking to you? Eating your soup?"

Red XIII seemed to pick up on Ragnar's growing frustration at this point. He was seated nearby on the ground, watching this exchange patiently. On seeing Ragnar's face, he interjected immediately with his own question as he turned to Maritza.

"I've seen and smelled the Colonel myself years ago at this point. You smell distinctly younger than her, although other than that your odor matches."

Maritza turned to Red XIII here. On seeing him, however, she paused. A look of realization came into her eyes, and she peeled back again and began to marvel.

"I thought I recognized you, fiery little puppy!" She spoke aloud. "You're that cute little canine I picked up near Gongaga! And what's this?" She remarked with some amazement. "You can talk? Oh my! Did we do that?"

Red XIII's one eye narrowed here. The frustration that affected Ragnar was already passing to him…but it was more than that. Ragnar began to come out of his own temporary irritation and look to the two, and he remembered. Rufus had told him that Red XIII had been picked up by Maritza. He suddenly realized that it might not have been a good idea to bring him here.

"No…and I am very grateful that your personnel never had time to do anything to me." Red XIII nearly snapped back with an underlying growl. He calmed down a bit after saying this, however, taking a pause to compose himself. Once he did, he spoke up again in a more accusing tone. "The fact is that the last time I saw you, you were an old woman."

Maritza seemed to snap out of her own momentary joy at this, and crooked an eyebrow. Looking a bit offended, she leaned back into her own chair.

"I wasn't that old, Bingo."

"Old enough." Red XIII answered, nearly growling again. "From what I can gather, it looks as if you've somehow not only made yourself look younger…but that you are, in fact, younger."

Maritza smiled and snickered in response, waving a hand at him. "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Fido. How could anyone grow young? Especially in so short a time?" After saying this, she turned back to the general. "But my secret to looking this good is not the issue here. The issue is what you are going to do with me, and what exactly I can do for you."

Staniv himself shifted here, his frown increasing. He hadn't stopped frowning since he had lain eyes on Maritza, and even now he looked like he was ready to go for his sidearm at the snap of a whip and blow her face off. He sat back in his own chair on Ragnar's right, but only to keep up the oriental calmness during meetings.

"And why exactly would such a person as Colonel Maritza of the New Shinra Army wish to join the forces of the Planet Protector Army and Wutai Gold Navy?" He suddenly addressed. "What have you got to gain from us? Certainly not the same level of power and prestige you enjoyed. Perhaps a prison sentence or worse if you don't benefit us enough to keep us from pressing charges. And with the death of Colonel Seth, you are likely the second most powerful person in the New Shinra Army, after General Marco Leers himself."

Here, Maritza paused. For the first time…her face took on an edge of seriousness. Her eyes narrowed, and her smile twisted a bit. She turned over to the Wutai man, and immediately held up a finger toward him.

"That's where you're mistaken, captain." She answered back. "You see, whether he knows it or not…General Leers himself is the second most powerful person in the New Shinra Army. The one who is quickly coming in first is none other than Admiral Ashiah."

Here, all three officers reacted with surprise. Ragnar leaned a bit closer as his look turned to confusion. "Ashiah?"

Maritza kept her smile and leaned back a bit more into her chair.

"You boys have probably been thinking we're starting to sweat a little up north, what with our resources running low and our recent retreat back to the Northern Continent. But the fact is it's a lot worse. Most of our soldiers expected to sweep the world in a matter of three months, then get higher level jobs and positions than they had during the previous administration. Thanks to you guys…that hope has gone out the window. Now they're stuck up north in the freezing cold with resources dwindling and their enemy not looking to be licked anytime soon. There won't be any victory unless a lot of them spill their blood in the process, and they know this. They also don't realize how much weaker they are since they started…and we're going through great pains to try and keep that from them.

"The resolve of the New Shinra Army hangs by a thread. One more major loss…maybe two…and the army will collapse like a house of cards. You guys have probably been scratching your heads for the past month as to how you're going to attack us, but you realize at the same time that with an established navy in our enemy's hands we have no idea how we're supposed to attack again ourselves.

"The only reason we're holding together right now is because we've broken into factions. Different sides of different and new objectives, depending on what major officer they're under. These officers have been giving promises and benefits to their subordinates, and in return have managed to get enough loyalty and hope to keep the army going a bit longer. But at the same time the house is getting more and more divided amongst itself. Right now it's mild enough…but it's not going to be much longer before there's a major break."

Red XIII kept his eye narrowed on her. "I suppose that you yourself and these troops constitute your own faction?"

Maritza frowned and turned to him. "Hey buddy…do I stick my nose into your business?" She immediately shot back. "No? Then stop sniffing my butt looking for something you like."

Despite the brashness of this comment, so much so that even Red XIII was taken aback, Maritza turned back to the others and continued.

"The New Shinra only has two hopes left. General Leers is pinning all of his on the Gauntlet of Zeus. This is his only trump card left. If he can get it done, then he's got you pegged. That's why he's practically cracking a whip himself at the crew up there to get it finished. He's causing more problems then he's solving by doing this, making them backtrack a lot. But he's moving forward.

"The other, of course, is on my baby: the Juggernaut." The woman frowned again here, nearly scowling. "Admiral Ashiah's taken that as her own personal cruise ship…forgetting who built the thing in the first place. She feels invincible in her. And now that feeling is extending to her behavior in all other walks of life. She's getting more arrogant and impatient all the time. She has every officer who disobeys her, even if it was disobeying her so that they could obey the General's order, executed. She's doing more than ensuring loyalty. She's getting rid of people who stand in her way.

"You may think I'm nuts, General…but Ashiah is insane. She's violent…attacking her own crew members and first officers. She's getting more paranoid all the time, having anyone who looks at her wrong executed or assassinated by one of her subordinates. And worse of all, for me, she thinks that everything is a plot from me to try and upset her or discredit her."

Ragnar crooked his head. "…I don't suppose there would be any truth to that assumption, would there?"

Maritza hesitated a moment at this, looking like she didn't expect this question. However, in the end, she grinned and shrugged. "Hey…a little friendly rivalry…a little trying to see who was the better officer in Leers' eyes?" She innocently answered. "There's no harm in that, is there?"

The three officers glared coldly back. No one smiled.

Maritza turned a little white under their glares, and as her smile faltered she began to sweat a bit. In the end, she leaned back in her chair. Her smile vanished into a frown. "Alright, so I did do some of that. But no more than what she did. But now she's taken it to an extreme. If she gets her coffee too hot out of a dispenser, she has the technician who services it shot for being an agent from me. She's going completely mad, and I'm the source of her anger. She's already tried to have me killed three separate times, and it was only because I'm the one who developed the security measures that I could save my skin. But if I stayed up there, it would only be a matter of time before she had me shot by a whole platoon…especially if the General keeps up like this."

Ragnar again furrowed his eyebrow. "The General?"

"He's losing it." Maritza flatly answered. "He's becoming more moody and depressed, just like he was when we first arrived up north. He recovered a bit when he began to get ready to invade…but you dashed that hope, young man. He's becoming more impulsive and screwing up more in his decisions. Early on, he played the whole game of killing any subordinate who failed him. Now he hasn't a single veteran with enough experience to think of a way out of his current dilemma. He's developing his own complex…wanting to find someone to blame for all of his problems other than luck or himself. He wants me dead too. He's been threatening me ever since that weapon you guys unleashed in the Dome."

Staniv looked confused at this. "You mean…the EMP Projector…"

Ragnar shot out a hand to halt Staniv. His memories from Bahamut already told him exactly the real reason for the damage to the Dome, and there was no need to let that go very far.

"So basically you're not defecting…you're fleeing? You're hiding among us to keep Leers and Ashiah from getting you?"

Maritza gave a shrug. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a part of it. But that really doesn't matter to you. I intend to earn my keep. I've been losing interest in the war myself. You might say…" The colonel paused here, and smiled a bit more enigmatically. "…I found better things to occupy my time with. And though you may not think me for it, I have a large amount of loyalty toward my personnel and the people of Shinra. The best way I can protect them now is by promoting them to surrender.

"Ashiah is keeping hope right now that the Gauntlet of Zeus will accomplish its ends. And rest assured…she's more than willing to blow up as many million innocent lives as she can to guarantee victory. She's also getting as impatient with General Leers as she was with me. In a few months at the most, I think she's going to try and take over command of the army herself. After all…it's been her doing all the work and fighting for almost a year now. Any army personnel that are still effective and hopeful are already in her pocket. And even if the Gauntlet of Zeus fails, she has the Juggernaut. And like I said before, she still thinks she's invincible in it."

Staniv frowned and crossed his arms. "Strong as it is…the Juggernaut can't defeat both of us on its own. It would run out of resources long before then."

Maritza shrugged again. "Perhaps. But it's got more than enough strength to take some place like Junon, one that already has factories, natural land advantages, and the means to defend it. Once that's done, she'll probably try to make a treaty for peace temporarily, but only long enough to get the power to start striking out again. Ashiah believes in killing every civilian she can, knowing that ultimately that's the power behind the military…especially your military. You might be able to beat her then, but only after she's rung the death toll up even higher. And if she does take Junon, she can build a new Gauntlet of Zeus in a place where it would naturally be braced for any level of power."

The three officers were silent after hearing this. They turned and began to look to each other. Naturally, there was an element of distrust involved in all of this. There was no reason to implicitly believe everything that Maritza was saying. But it was the most likely answer, what with her seeming to defect for no reason. What better answer would there be than personal reasons? However…Ragnar couldn't shake the feeling that this could be a trick. Even if this was plausible, it still seemed unlikely to him that such a person would so easily change sides. He took a moment to gather himself together, and finally looked back to the woman.

"Alright." He began again. "You said you planned to earn your keep. How so?"

Maritza blinked at this, as if to say, "What a question!" "Why…by giving you my help, of course, dear boy."

Staniv snorted. "What makes you think we need, or want, your help?"

Maritza gave a snicker in reply. "I may be a little loose…but don't think I'm stupid or blind. You know full well you need me. I built everything in the New Shinra that's still a thorn in your side. I'm the one who can deactivate it. Of course, I'll need facilities, equipment, my staff…"

Ragnar crossed his own arms now. "…And if we refuse?"

Maritza gave a shrug. "Your funeral…and mine, eventually. I'll definitely be executed as a traitor if the New Shinra ever recover me. Or I'll simply die with the rest of you when Midgar is obliterated."

"You're right about one thing. You are their genius." Ragnar continued. "And because you are, it's probably more than likely that you'll build some bomb or something to kill us all without the New Shinra ever having to finish their weapon."

Maritza snorted at this, and finally crossed her own arms. She leaned back a bit and leveled her gaze coolly on the general. Again, she began to look serious.

"…You've got a lot of nerve accusing me of this, general…especially after I've stuck out my neck for you twice now."

All three officers' eyes widened. Ragnar himself was taken aback.

"…Excuse me?"

"I've noticed how unstable the New Shinra have been getting for months. This wasn't some impulse decision to switch sides. My new goals have been in line with yours for some time." Maritza answered. "Did you think it was some coincidence that we took just enough time in finishing our missiles so that Wutai could arrive? Or that the Juggernaut was diverted? Or that I superseded the authority of Admiral Ashiah to order an evacuation? You didn't honestly think I was so blind as to not consider the fact that Wutai might be planning something behind our backs, did you?"

Red XIII crooked his own brow. "…Are you trying to say that we only succeeded in driving you off because of your intervention?"

"Lies." Staniv nearly spat. "You underestimated our power, nothing more."

"Use your brains." Maritza calmly answered. "You know how ruthless Ashiah is. She would have run her entire fleet into yours. You might have won the day, but it would have been far more costly. And trust me, those missiles would have been finished if it wasn't for me."

"A nice story…but it could just be coincidence." Ragnar simply answered.

Maritza frowned and leaned on one arm. "Then how do you explain the power going out in the reactor room?"

Ragnar paused here. He hadn't been in the room when that happened, but he had heard of the event later. He knew that they had been captured, but that for some reason the lights had gone out. After that, when they came back on, Vincent had a gun pointed at Colonel Seth's head. That had ended up turning the entire situation around.

"Our agent did that."

"He most certainly did not!" Maritza retorted, as if insulted. "Like he would know how to hack through one of my systems! You're just lucky I got wind of you! I knew that you were there, General Ragnar! You and your blond, spiky-headed cohort! I knew what it would mean to your army if you were dead! I'm the one who knocked out the lights, giving you your chance to escape! And don't you ever wonder how it was that our security was always one step behind you? How they never tried to cut you off? How you managed to get to the airfield and take off? By then the whole Dome should have been under lockdown. And I must say, I got chewed out very heavily as I attempted to convince the General that it was all a routine mishap!"

Ragnar hesitated again. The part before was a bit hard to swallow…but this made more sense. He did think that their escape from the Dome went a bit too well. The place was swarming with armies. How could they have sidestepped them so easily? It seemed that a little more than luck would have had to been on their side, especially since Sephiroth tipped them off. Still…he didn't trust this woman. And he had a feeling that something else was at work here. In the end, he kept his frown.

"…That's still not enough."

Maritza frowned again…looking like she was nearly pouting at this point. She stewed for a moment, but then finally rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh, very well… Maybe this will convince you."

With that, Maritza reached into the folds of her blanket. She fished around for a moment, before grabbing something. What she pulled out appeared to be a few laminated papers. She proceeded to toss them over to Ragnar's feet, letting them come to a rest right on the ground below him. The General looked down, his face turning to puzzlement again. As he looked it over, he soon began to recognize what it was. It was a miniature schematic of one front of a very large ship…one that could only have been the Juggernaut.

Red XIII again looked confused. "…You stripped yourself. Where were you hiding this?"

"Don't ask stupid questions of which you really don't want to know the answer to." Maritza matter-of-factly replied.

All three officers, and some of the guards, blanched at this…and Ragnar pulled his hand back from the papers, which he was about to pick up.

"Here's an advance payment on my services." Maritza explained. "I built my baby with extra love and care. The entire exterior is refined Adamantite, remade into Adamantium. Thermite wouldn't be able to burn a hole through it. And thanks to a spray-on catalyst I put on it, neither would acid. So unless you have Egil's Torch hidden somewhere with a dash of Sunfire in it, you're going to have to look to me to see how to blow it up."

Ragnar looked a moment longer, but could make nothing out of it. There didn't appear to be any outstanding weakness from the diagram. In the end, he sighed and looked up to her. "…Alright then, how do we blow it up?"

"It's been ridiculously simple this whole time. I'm surprised none of you have figured it out yet." Maritza answered with a smile. "The upper deck and sides are armored, but there was only so much Adamantite I could find. And if I would have made the whole thing out of it, it would have been too heavy to even float. The bottom of the ship is just plain ole' steel. Hit her from the bottom and she's as vulnerable as the other destroyers."

Staniv and Red XIII both paused here a moment as they took this in. Then, both turned and looked at the diagram. Ragnar himself looked down again. At this point, he did notice that a label on the bottom of the ship indicated that it was made of a different substance. Both he and the others continued to stare at it and realize that Maritza was telling the truth…and that this made sense.

"Of course…" Red XIII thought aloud. "She's right about one thing…that I was too dense for not thinking of this before."

Ragnar stared a moment longer, and realized that this was worth a shot. He didn't know much about physics and buoyancy, but it seemed to make some sense to him. After a few moments, however, he looked up and to the woman.

"…It's worth trying, but it may be a lie." He answered her. "You seem to be very affectionate toward this ship. Why would you want to see it destroyed?"

"I like the ship, but I despise its captain." Maritza answered, pure loathing coming out on "despise". "Ashiah is going to get us all killed. Like I said before, I have an interest in protecting citizens of Shinra. The only way they'll live now is if they surrender. And believe it or not, I don't like the idea of killing civilians. The missiles were supposed to drive you out. Ashiah wanted to use them to level the entire city. That's why I went with you. If destroying the Juggernaut means taking her out, then so be it."

"I think we would like to see if there is any merit to your words before trusting you." Staniv responded coldly. "What more, if you speak the truth…then we really have no need of you or any deals with you. The Juggernaut is the only obstacle we cannot overcome."

Maritza merely smiled and snickered at this. "You think so, do you?" She taunted. "You know how to hurt the Juggernaut, but do you possess a weapon capable of exploiting this weakness effectively enough to make a difference? Or even the plans for one? And even if you do destroy the Juggernaut and the fleet, then what? That Defense Grid was built to take on your entire navy and air force if necessary, and it will. If you're willing to endure 25 percent more losses, then perhaps you'd be able to blast away enough to make a landing. Before that, your transports would just be fodder for our guns and cannon. And while you're struggling to overcome the Defense Grid, the New Shinra Army will regroup enough to send a major counterattack your way. Survive that, and somehow overcome the Defense Grid, and you'll still have to march to the Dome. Once you get there, prepare to wage war for a few weeks. I built a shield generator over that facility, remember? You haven't a weapon in your arsenal that will get you through it, and there are enough supplies in there to hold out for two months. That's more than enough time to get the Gauntlet of Zeus finished and to wipe both of your home cities from the face of Gaia, even if the siege began this very second.

"I built all of these countermeasures, and I know how to supplant each one of them. I have plans in the works to get you around every single contingency the NSA has. I can keep your bloodshed down to a minimum by frustrating their plans, just as I frustrated yours with my Weasels, Harbingers, Juggernaut, and long range missiles. But I'll need time, resources, and manpower to be able to bring my latest creations to fruitition. You'll have to supply me with these, and have enough faith in me to let me complete them. What will it be?"

The three officers were silent after hearing this. Staniv blustered a little bit under Maritza's latest monologue. Part of him wanted to say no just to spite her, even if it meant worse for him in the end. However, her words rang true in his head and heart even if he wanted to deny them. Red XIII himself was distrustful. He couldn't sense anything that was false or lying from this woman, but her story had too many holes and her behavior was too strange. Yet he also realized the personal stake he had in this. That was a source both for distrust…as well as hope. It was true that she did capture him…but while she thought he was an animal she never mistreated him. So long as he was under her jurisdiction, she let him wander in an enclosure similar to his habitat, like in a naturalistic zoo, and didn't seem to ever require any tests or conduct any experiments on him. It was only when Hojo took control that he received his tattoo and was moved into the cold enclosures of a true lab. He sensed that she might be telling the truth about having some compassion within her… Perhaps this was what she alluded to earlier…

Ragnar himself took this all under consideration, and had another higher authority, in his opinion, to consult with as well. However, both he and Bahamut had another matter to take into their calculations…Sephiroth. The man was definitely within the Dome, and plotting something horrible there. Neither of them wished to see his own designs come true. What more…they didn't relish the idea of all three armies being holed up in one place together. By now, he possessed enough power to destroy them all together if such a thing happened. And the more time went by…the more that Sephiroth could be doing and accomplishing. The longer the war went, the more likely he would do something to drive Aerith to the point of rage…

It was a mixed feeling for both of them. Maritza was not seen in Bahamut's visions before, neither aiding the PPA nor betraying them. Already, it appeared as if the future had changed to allow this to happen. As such it was a peculiar item. Would it be for good or ill? Would it hasten the end of this war? Or would it hasten their own doom? Neither personality had a good answer for this…or knew what to say.

Staniv didn't speak. It became clear that the decision would rest on General Ragnar. It was his jurisdiction. And so the youth realized at last that he had a choice to make. He looked to the woman again. She had an innocent puppy-dog look on her face now. It unsettled him…making him wonder why she was acting like this or if it had anything to do with her intentions… But as she sheepishly grinned at him, he finally found himself letting out a long sigh and straightening his body.

"…What sort of facilities did you have in mind?"

"He did what?"

Cloud frowned himself at the notion, and the fact that he had to repeat it again. As he tightened his shoulder armor, he turned back to Tifa and spoke again. "…He signed on Colonel Maritza of the New Shinra Army as an advisor."

Tifa gaped a moment longer at the ex-mercenary. But after that, she flustered a moment and sighed. "I don't believe this. This woman has been the biggest pain in our necks for months, and he just signed her on like that? Why isn't she in prison?"

Cloud sighed as well. "…I trust the kid knew what he was doing. Be that as it may, that's why I can't stay this morning."

The Seventh Heaven had once been a rather happy place in the morning. Tifa continued to have more and more company, what with first Ragnar moving in, then Aerith, and finally Azure. That meant she had to do a bit more work in the kitchen, but she didn't mind. Neither she nor Cloud had any family of their own left…and in its own strange way this place began to feel like a real home with a real family.

That was before things had gone wrong. First there was the attack that had left most of the front destroyed. Azure was taken by Sephiroth's spirit. Ragnar spent almost all of his time working after being injured, but even what free time he had was spent only with Cloud or Aerith. There was the fear that neither this restaurant or this town would be here in a few months. In short…it was before tragedy and hard times had come upon them. People rarely laughed or smiled anymore around this place. Even the holidays were grim with the prospect of war all around them. And the kids hadn't been the same…

Tifa had gotten up early to do exercises and then make breakfast as she always did. But while cooking, she had been interrupted by Cloud's appearance in the kitchen. He didn't have good news for her, as she soon found out. It wasn't so much the fact that Maritza was now here in the camp and supposed to be working for them, though. It was that yet another empty spot would be added to their table this morning.

The young woman slowly sighed as she let the bacon fry in her pan, not paying much attention to it today. It might have been getting a little extra crispy, but she didn't care. Anxiously, she turned and looked back over to the ex-mercenary.

"…You can't even stay for just a few eggs?"

"I want to get her checked out before I start with my own exercises and drills for today." Cloud ruefully answered as he tightened the straps of Event Horizon behind him.

Tifa suppressed a frown as she turned back to her bacon. Somewhat mechanically, she began to stir it again. Cloud was more into training nowadays…ever since Ragnar had come back "new and improved". It unsettled her just about as much as Cloud. And the changes left her feeling more out of the loop and grim.

Cloud finished adjusting and looked to Tifa. He saw her as she hung her head over the food, not looking up and seeming slower than normal. He paused here and swallowed, looking nervous himself. After a bit longer, he walked forward and stepped behind the woman. Somewhat slowly, as if testing whether or not this was alright, he slid his arms around her and put his head on her shoulders.

"…I thought you were happy whenever you didn't have to cook for my freeloading ass."

Tifa smiled slightly at this and let out a chuckle. She turned her head slightly toward his. "You know I don't mind. I'd cook every day for you if it meant that you'd be here to eat it in front of me every day."

"Soon." Cloud said. It wasn't just a word of reassurance. It was a bit quieter and a bit firmer than normal. This wasn't the first time Tifa had heard him say this…but each time he said it with a deep, underlying conviction. "I promise."

Tifa felt a kiss against her cheek. She paused a moment after feeling it, but then turned and gave Cloud a kiss on his opposite cheek. She managed to keep her smile as she did so, trying to hold on to the few good feelings that this moment still gave her. Soon after, Cloud pulled away from her, and his touch left her alone to stand in the cold morning kitchen. He turned and began to walk out of the kitchen again. Tifa's smile faded then, and she looked up and watched him as he went through the Seventh Heaven. It was livable now, but still not up to standards for a bar. She watched him as he opened the door and as it slowly closed behind him.

Tifa slowly sighed and turned back to the food. She hoped that Cloud was telling the truth about it being soon. She didn't know how much more she could take. A few months ago she had been so happy when Cloud finally asked her to marry him. Even the thought of death couldn't bring her down. Nothing that happened to her could affect her. However…things had been happening to the world around her. She was seeing so much sadness and disappointment. Each thing that happened reminded her only of more misery from her own tortured past. It was beginning to give her some despair. After so long…after so much…would they ever really be happy again? Could they find a place where they were fresh and new, not weighed down by all that had come? Would things ever feel the same?

Dilly dally, shilly shally.

Tifa couldn't help but smile at the thought, bittersweet as it was. She bowed her head again and once more paused in her work. Back then…it was so easy to just tell Cloud that. But now that she found that she was the one hanging on…it turned out to be a lot harder to let go than she thought. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps part of it was that you felt like you cheapened the memory of the precious thing you lost if you tried to be happy without it. Perhaps it was because you didn't want to open yourself up to being hurt again… Or perhaps it was just because eventually you got sick of it all…and just wanted to let go of trying to hope for things if it meant risking losing that hope…

However, when Tifa's thoughts turned to this, she remembered something else too. It was not something she said…but what her old master had told her.

It doesn't matter if you get knocked off your feet a million times, Tifa. All that matters is that you get up again a million and one times.

The woman paused at the thought and smiled. He had been right. There was always hope if you still wanted to go after it. And Tifa had been full of hope her entire life. She wasn't going to let go now. Who would have thought she'd even be here after all she had been through? Homeless, parentless, half-dead, and without two gil to rub together…and here she was. She had her own restaurant. She had children as dear to her as her own blood. And the man she once thought lost to her forever was going to be her husband. There was still reason to be happy…and many things left to fight for. She couldn't forget that, no matter what happened. She had to keep trying…

As Tifa began to lose herself to these thoughts…she was finally shaken from them when she heard the door to the stairwell creak. Immediately, she snapped awake again. She looked down to the bacon, and winced. They were nearly burnt, almost too crispy to be eaten. She tsked herself and then began to take it off the burner, waiting to see if they were still salvageable. But as she did so, she began to hear footsteps moving into the Seventh Heaven…and she recognized them. This made her pause and listen for a moment, before looking up to the window and out to the bar.

She knew these steps quite well now…ever since she first heard them a few months ago.

Denzel slowly came into view. He hadn't bothered changing out of his nightclothes, as he used to when he was eager to get up and play with his friends. His head was slightly hung, and his look was somber and grim. He somewhat mechanically moved over to his place at the table, as he did every morning. He pulled his chair out, sat in it, and then scooted in. There, he hunched slightly in his spot, and said nothing.

Tifa bit the inside of her lip once as she stared at him. It had been months…but still he was this way. Every day it seemed to take forever to get him to do anything, and he never was interested in anything. He hadn't laughed once since that night. He was almost as sad and withdrawn as he had been when he first arrived…

The woman stared at him a bit longer. She wished she could do something to cheer him up, or get him to talk to her. But he picked up that trait from Cloud too…never talking about anything. At last, she was able to pull herself away from the stove. Her footsteps echoed loudly through the kitchen as she walked to the doorway. Denzel never looked up once. He kept his head bowed and stayed motionless. He might as well have been deaf. Once Tifa arose at the door frame, she came to a halt and looked out to him.

"…Good morning, Denzel." She called out to him, trying to sound cheerful.

"…Hi Tifa." He finally said, fairly blandly and emotionlessly.

The woman hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"…Anything special you want for breakfast?"

"…No." He replied, just as blandly as before.

Tifa paused again, but then ventured a smile. "I can put cheese in your eggs if you want me to."

"…I don't care."

Tifa's smile faded. She stared on at Denzel a moment longer, hopeful for something to come up. He didn't say a word. His head stayed bowed where it was. The woman winced, wishing that she could do something, but standing there helplessly to do anything. The silence didn't bring any change as she waited there for a minute or so. Her face eventually fell. In the end, she began to turn to go back into the kitchen…

"…Tifa?"

The woman froze where she was. Slowly, she turned back around and looked out again to Denzel. He had looked up at last. Now, he had turned and was looking to the young woman. His beautiful blue eyes were shimmering with sadness. He looked almost on the verge of crying.

"…Why did he kill Azure? What did he ever do to him?"

Tifa swallowed on seeing and hearing this. Denzel had never known the full truth…just part of it. However, that wasn't important right now. Tears were about to break out again on Denzel's cheeks. Even after all this time, he missed him that much. Tifa had never really believed they could have been that good of friends. Or perhaps…something inside of her hoped they weren't. She had feared Azure always a little ever since he arrived. In retrospect…she was sorry she did. Very sorry. Perhaps if she had been a bit kinder she could have kept him from running that night… And she would have been…if she had known how much he meant to Denzel and Marlene.

The woman stepped away from the door and walked into the room. She came up next to the table and sat next to the boy. When she did, Denzel instinctively reached out for her and hugged her. She hugged him back, letting him rest his head against her body. Soon after…he started crying again. It wasn't loud sobs, but it was crying. She could feel his tears begin to soak into her shirt as she held on, trying to support him the way a real mother would…

"…He's an evil man, Denzel. He doesn't care whether or not people do things to him." Tifa answered. "It wasn't through anything he or you or I or anyone else did."

Denzel sniffed and swallowed.

"…Marlene told me he hated the whole world."

Tifa paused.

"…Marlene was probably right."

Denzel sniffed again. Suddenly…Tifa felt him start to get rigid in her arms. She felt his hands ball into fists.

"…I hate him."

There was probably no other man on Gaia who was more deserving of righteous anger and hate. And yet…Tifa felt a chill move through her when she heard that. She didn't like hearing a child say he hated anything with the same measure of loathing and passion that she heard escape Denzel's lips. What more…she had already lost too much to hatred against Sephiroth. And she had seen more than her share of lives taken captive and destroyed by that hate…

"Denzel…you shouldn't say things like that."

"…He hates us more than anyone, I think." Denzel continued, his voice calming down a bit but still angry. "He's tried to kill you, Cloud, Ragnar… He killed Azure. Kadaj did that to me…but he was doing it for Sephiroth, wasn't he?"

Tifa didn't answer. She looked a bit uneasy as she continued to hold the boy. However, it didn't matter. He knew the answer as well as she did.

"…I want to get strong like Cloud. I want to be able to fight him too…"

"Denzel…" Tifa spoke up, urged on by this latest statement. "Even if you could do that…killing him wouldn't bring Azure back. It wouldn't make you feel any less unhappy."

The boy paused on hearing this. He seemed to think it over as he continued to rest against Tifa. There was silence again for a few moments. At last…Denzel spoke again, quieter and sadder.

"…I don't think anything will ever make me feel happy again."

Tifa hugged Denzel a bit tighter here. He returned it. "Sure it will." She reassured him. "I know he was your friend…and you'll never forget him. But one day…you'll learn to try and get along without him. That's what I'm sure he wants for you. He'd want you to play and smile and have fun just like you used to. He'd want you to be kind to other kids just like you were kind to him. I've lost a lot of important people to me too, Denzel. I know that you learn to get by eventually. You have to remember all that you still have. Marlene loves you. Cloud loves you. Aerith loves you. Ragnar loves you. And I love you. We'd all like to see you smile again."

Denzel held on after this, saying nothing. He swallowed and sniffled a few more times. He didn't cry anymore, but he didn't shift either. There was another moment of silence and motionless.

"…I still miss him, Tifa." He finally said, although it was more of a statement than anything else. "I wish there was some way I could get him back…"

Tifa slowly exhaled. She leaned a bit over Denzel, and rested her head on top of his so that his own head rested in the crook of her neck.

"…So do I." She finally answered.

As Tifa and Denzel continued to hold in the kitchen silently…neither of them were aware that they were being watched.

Denzel had not shut the door behind him. As such, without stepping into the room, Marlene was able to get close to the door frame and stare inside. She stood there silently now, not entering or making a sound, and listened to the conversation. She watched as Denzel cried, and heard his laments as she leaned against Tifa. All of these she took silently into her heart and thought about them, and her look progressively grew sadder and more rueful as she watched.

In the end, the girl turned and walked back in silently, never letting them know she had been there. She had much to think about herself.

To be continued...

Big problem I see as I go along is keeping track of characters. I'm trying to keep my chapters under ten pages, and I'm trying not to make things drag on too long. But that leaves a lot of people untouched in some situations. Two of those have been Denzel and Marlene. I haven't really had him or her say anything since Azure turned into Sephiroth. I managed to touch on Denzel a bit in this chapter. Hopefully I'll get to Marlene in the next, and if there's enough room maybe a bit of Rufus.