(AN: Once more, I own absolutely nothing created by Square Soft/Enix, Sony, Final Fantasy VII, or Crisis Core. The only thing that I own is my own character, which this story is mainly about, yet the storyline itself I do not own except for any twists I plan to put in, which I hope will not insult any FFVII fans. Please R&R, and if you don't like it, just explain and I'll do my best to try and improve.)

Spirits of the Lifestream

Chapter 7: Good-bye Midgar, Hello… Cissnei?

AVALANCE Log: #3
Time: 04/12/2313 7:04 A.M

Anyways, picking up from last time… I apologize again if it was so short, but I hope this will be longer… Anyhow, after the fight with the tank, the group was exhausted, so they decided to rest here for now, on the end of the highway. No road patrol was willing to risk coming here and fall off the highway from going too fast. I sensed that Cloud still didn't trust me too much, and I can understand, somewhat, but regardless, he stuck me to night-watch, in case any road patrol came by. Tifa and Aerith were still in the cab, Barret and Red XIII had climbed into the back of the same vehicle, while Cloud was lying against the railing next to Fenrir, his sword prepared in case I could not fend any soldiers off myself.

I dozed off a few times while leaning against the back of the scrapped tank, since it kept Cloud and the crew out of view, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw Cissnei's lust-filled eyes from the Shinra tower. I wasn't that attractive, nor was she that needy, was she… or perhaps there was a bit of spark that just made her eyes seem like that…? I was starting to get a bit of a headache from all these thoughts on love; even back in Kalm, I wasn't considered to be too attractive or anything. Even my parents didn't exactly have high hopes in being grandparents with me as their son, at least, that was several years ago. I gave out a soft sigh; perhaps they were right, maybe they weren't even close to being right. Whatever the case, I don't know too much about that now, since all I can keep thinking about is Cissnei.

When the sun began to rise, I was a little tired, but not too much, since I'm used to being night-watch in the Shinra Tower, even if it wasn't too necessary at some points. I climbed off the back of the tank, landing on the ground, and was about to head to the cab, but I heard a motorcycle down the road. Acting natural, I kept my rifle at the side, and watched as the bike came closer, and actually, there were three bikes, each with a Shinra trooper on them. I had no helmet, and my uniform was still drenched in now dried blood, so they knew that I held some information.

"Have you located the people who stole vehicles from the Shinra Tower? We know that it had to be members of that rebel group, AVALANCHE, the ones who were captured before eerie occurrences happened last night, since their cell doors were open afterwards. By the damage on them, they must've forced their way through, since the cameras were disabled at the time the power went out and could not see what occurred at that time. So if you know anything, be sure to tell us…" The ensign spoke, looking at me, knowing that I myself was just an off-duty officer, or so they seemed to assume, anyways. I was no longer of the Shinra armada, yet, how I was dressed, they still had that belief that I was one of them. I had to try and get them away.

"To be at all honest, they had left during the night after destroying this tank. I'm not too certain if it was right after or not, but knowing that Shinra troops would be on their way, they made their escape. When I arrived, I saw nobody here… I can only assume they already left Midgar, and making their way…" I spoke, thinking to myself, since the only way was to Kalm from here, unless they stole an airship, but nobody has something like that except at Junon. "Actually, if you consider the region around this place, there are not very many places they could go… Look, I'll finish dealing with things here, you just report back and inform your superior officers of what went on here. I'll check around to try and find some sort of clue that will hopefully lead us in their direction; they have to be charged of the crimes they committed." I spoke, though I myself was one of those individuals, though these did not seem to think so. The man looked at me, staring down at me, looking me over, seeing the blood but generally, everything seemed to be in line.

"You must have been in the tower during the attack… we lost a number of soldiers in the building to not only to the beasts wandering around, but also from malfunctioning machines. You're a bit wounded yourself also, you certain you don't need any assistance?" I heard the man ask, and I shook my head, and blinked a few times.

"I'm fine, it's no big deal… I used whatever means that I could to get out alive and tried to chase after them. But they were gone when I arrived… My superior officer gave me direct orders to search around and to inform him in case I encounter anything strange or something that will help link us into finding the prisoners." I spoke, and I saw him look around, the tank limiting his view, but he knew full well that this was the end of the road. He, along with his small squad backed up, and drove off down the highway; at least I was able to send them away, which turned out to be a bit easier than I thought. Unexpected too, but then again, they were enlisted as the same rank as myself; and I was here while looking as though I experienced combat. And they did not know that I was actually now with AVALANCHE, yet it did not really matter if they did or not, for some reason. Sure, I would probably get captured and tortured, used in one of Hojo's experiments, or lastly, executed right before the new president, Rufus.

With the darkness of night slipping away, Midgar has a strange feeling it's darker than it usually is sometimes, even when the time said otherwise, but that's due to the heavy mako atmosphere and the 8 reactors. Well, 6 reactors now, technically, since the two were destroyed due to AVALANCHE's advances on them. Actually, it was the first sector reactor that went when I was on my first assignment with Cissnei, in Tifa's Seventh Heaven and saw it on the small television set up and the Shinra News went on about it.

I blinked several times as I soon heard footsteps coming from behind me, and I turned to see that it was Aerith, no big deal. I had only a feeling on why she had come here; perhaps she came to tell me that it was time for us to be heading out. That's merely a perhaps, but it was a bit evident that it was the case at the same time.

"Damien… We're about to head out now… Is there anything you think you need before we leave Midgar for quite some time?" I heard her speak, and I thought it over. Anything I needed… As far as I knew, there wasn't anything that I needed here in the slightest. I merely shook my head as I looked at her just afterwards. Nothing at all was needed from me; wants are different than needs, but I wouldn't push my luck any more than I have already with trying to settle in.

"There isn't anything I need or want in particular before we leave… I think I'm content with what I've got on me right now. If we're heading in the direction of Kalm, it may be a good idea to rest there. It… happens to be my home town, after all." I spoke to her, but my voice drifted a little as I remembered my parents; they would wonder why I had returned so soon. I hated lying to them when I was younger, and I didn't wish to intend to lie to them now. However, would they seriously believe me if I told them of what happened to the President, how Sephiroth has returned, and that I have quit Shinra? They probably wouldn't, that's what; at least, the part about Sephiroth returning, for Rufus would not make a global announcement about such a horrifying topic to be brought up.

Aerith had nodded, and soon enough, I followed her to the rest of the group, who were waiting; for all I knew, they actually could've left without me. It wouldn't have mattered; I may have just left at my own pace like I had told Cissnei back in the Shinra tower. Whether I ran into Cloud and the group or not didn't really appear to matter too much if that would've been the case. However, due to my lack of fighting experience, I may not have lasted too much out in the field, yet still, I had to try to fight and survive. Just makes me wish that I spent more time in that training simulator to enhance my combat abilities and strategic movements.

I saw that everyone was discussing a plan of movement, and I was standing to the side, still thinking to myself. I wonder if I should accompany them or not entirely. I think that I'd probably be fine on my own should we intend to head to Junon, then after that, I'll wander on my own, I hope. I'll try to find my own means of tracking down Sephiroth, and just how exactly I can bring an end to this and avenge Richter. But Cloud probably had his own reasons to be hunting down Sephiroth also, so most definitely, we would encounter each other more frequently than necessary. Junon may be home to the Highwind, however, I had absolutely minimal flight training, and as such, flight would not be in my future.

"Damien… What are your plans as if this point…? You're branded a traitor to the higher voices in Shinra, and you've proven yourself in the battle with this tank…" I heard Cloud speak to me after he finished his plans. I closed my eyes, and my mind had already come up with a decision on what path I was going to walk.

"I'll remain with you until Junon… After that, I'll parting ways with you there… If heading to Junon will be your priority…" I explained, and I saw Cloud appeared to understand.

"I'm not certain yet we'll be heading that far, but… At least you have a plan set up. Honestly, I'll follow Sephiroth wherever he goes, so if we have to head to Junon, then yes, I suppose that gives us time. However, our first stop will be in Kalm so I can discuss more about Sephiroth… You had a personal encounter with him and lost someone you looked up to, so the least I could do is give you information about what we're dealing with." Cloud explained, and I gave a nod to show I understood. In the meantime, I watched as everyone had made their way down; Red XIII, who was not human, had to be on Barret's shoulders while they traversed down.

Soon enough, Cloud began to climb down the wire rope himself, and when he was out of view, I turned to look back at Midgar once more, and thought to myself. I had no doubt Cissnei would be on shift and in search for Sephiroth with her cowardly partners; I still question how they could just abandon her and how they became Turks. I sighed as I soon traversed down the cable down to ground level, where everyone else was waiting, all organized and ready to head out. Once I was at the bottom of the cable, I released and dropped down the several feet, and had a slight stumble in my landing. However, I took a stand a bit of ways away from the group, but Cloud did signal to approach, after Barret told him that it'd be best to split up in two different groups.

After a moment, Cloud made the decision to travel with Barret and Aerith, which would leave me to travel with Tifa and Red XIII. Red didn't know me well enough, though he knew I was in Shinra, now with them, and Tifa… well, I can't say what she thought about me so well. Women completely confuse me for the most part, though I still knew their thoughts should be kept to them alone; Tifa was no different from what I could tell, and perhaps she really liked Cloud and trusted his decisions. But Cloud had appointed that Tifa would lead our group while he took his group to Kalm, both of us heading in our own separate directions.

AVALANCHE Log # 4
Date: 04/14/2313 1:34 PM

I don't know how long we walked, it was definitely a long walk to Kalm, that was for sure. One helicopter ride took only a matter of hours, while a land vehicle took a little less than a full day's drive. So if my guess is right, some time tomorrow, we should arrive at Kalm. We had stumbled off to the side, having just finished an encounter with some critters wandering around this open space. The fighting wasn't too bad or anything, however, it was against wild animals, and we were probably trespassing on their territory. However, we were able to defeat them, but Tifa suggested it was for the best; thankfully for us, we came across a small pond area in a light forest. However, I wandered up river to spend some time to think, Red XIII went to scout the area and ensure we weren't wandering on anime territory.

However, it was not really like Red and I needed to do these things; more like Tifa wished to spend some time to clean her body after these battles with no spots like this anywhere. This was her only opportunity so far, and it was evident that she didn't really wish to take any chances, so yeah. Sitting on the riverbank and thinking actually relaxed my mind and helped me think about my next plan of movement should we go to Junon. Sneaking onto a ship wouldn't be too much of a problem, but only if I got into a cleaner uniform; this bloodstain had to go.

So much to do and so much to think of; I mean, I could go and take a peep on Tifa if I set my mind on it, but I knew I'd get caught and I'd be disciplined, if not as a Shinra trooper, then as a part of AVALANCHE. Ugh, where am I getting these thoughts; I'm not a pervert, and besides, I'm more loyal to Cissnei, and I said it to myself that I'd sooner see her in such a state than any other woman, more especially someone of Tifa's figure. Actually, scratch that… I need to get my mind off these matters and away from this topic, in case anyone does make an attempt to read this journal.

Anyways, just before I could think of anything, I heard what sounded like footsteps approaching me from behind. And before I had a chance to respond, I was blindfolded, grabbed and brought up against a tree, my back towards whoever this was. The figure wasn't like Tifa's; if it was, then her breasts would've been felt, however, in this case, all I felt were elbows digging into my shoulders a bit painfully. I was struggling, however, whoever it was definitely had experience in putting most in this situation and prevented escape.

"The sooner you cooperate, the sooner I can let you go…" I heard the voice, and I immediately recognized it as Cissnei's. Wait, didn't she want me to head to Kalm, now that I thought about it, and would be waiting for me there? I had stopped struggling, and her forcing me up against the tree ended, and the blindfold was easily removed. When I did turn around, I did see Cissnei standing right there, smiling softly. "I had you convinced that you were actually being captured, didn't I?" I heard her speak, and I sighed softly.

"Kind of yeah, but… I mean… You never did this before… Wait, this isn't your way of asking me to come back, is it? I meant what I had said before, Cissnei, that I would be going on a journey to find Sephiroth-" Was all I said, before she pressed a finger on my lips like before; is this going to be another sort of romance thing she intended to play out? However, it didn't look to be the case when she had a serious expression on her face, like she actually meant business.

"Yet, you're traveling with them…? They wish to bring an end to Shinra, and yet, you're traveling with them to accomplish this…?" I heard Cissnei speak, and I looked a bit surprised that she knew about them, and why I was with them.

"Cissnei, at least, give me time to explain myself…" I said, but she turned her head away, looking disappointed.

"You have five minutes to try and give me your reasons on why you're traveling with the enemies of Shinra…" I heard Cissnei spoke, her voice still serious-sounding, though her expression still had a concerned look, and her eyes had a depressed feeling in them. I seriously did not hurt her that much that I was with them did she?

"It's not that I believe in their motives, Cissnei… I mean, being in Shinra for so long, going by them is the only way I know… The reason why I'm with them is because their path happens to be in the same direction and, well… I guess that they just want an extra hand with them until they did not require my services…" I explained to her, but she didn't appear to believe me so much. "My allegiance belongs to nobody as of this point, Cissnei… I mean, if you weren't a part of the Turks, I actually would've asked you to come along with me, yet I didn't wish to be conflicting with what was going on with your work. You have a fairly high pay-cheque, and you can easily live off whatever Gil you make from working. I could barely get by with what I got, and after what had happened in the tower, I just… I was a bit tired of following orders even if I received only a few of them, and I would not be recognized of my work anyways…" I spoke to her, my words sincere and meaningful to the best of my ability, yet Cissnei hardly appeared to have budged much.

I also wished to say, "I love you, Cissnei…" however, what good will come out of saying that at this point? Moments afterwards, Cissnei's radio beeped, and she immediately answered.

"Yes, this is Cissnei…" I heard her speak into it, and I could hardly make out the voices on the other end. I saw her look towards me, and after a moment, she spoke up again. "…No, I haven't come across any traces of them just yet. I don't know, maybe we… You'll be heading south from here…? I understand, I'll get back to you in case I find anything…" I heard Cissnei finish up, and she hung up on it, and looked down.

"I just bought you some more time, Damien… The other Turks are on the lookout for the prisoners, with absolutely no regard to what happens to you. However, when you do happen to begin to travel on your own…" I heard her begin, and I couldn't believe it; she believed me? "Just give me a call, and I'll come and find you. As a Turk, I have my connections, and one of our reasons for following the group is because of Aerith… She is an Ancient, and she supposedly knows the way to the Promised Land… Sephiroth, though, is Rufus' main target, since he has a feeling that where the Promised Land is located is more than likely filled with Mako energy sources." I heard Cissnei explain, and by the sounds of it, she was starting to have doubts towards being with Shinra.

"Up until you travel alone, Damien… I'll remain a Turk, but promise me, that when we travel together, I would like us to treat each other as equals, alright? But, my time here is nearly up; Red XIII, the creature who was formerly Hojo's experiment, would probably pick up my scent if I stay too much longer. Until next time, Damien, take care…" I heard Cissnei speak, and I could tell that there was still something inside her that was attracted to me. I saw her then turn around and walked away, until she was eventually out of sight.

"Take care of yourself too, Cissnei…" I whispered, looking in her direction for a while, even after she was long gone. Plans have changed, it would seem; after I do manage to get away from Cloud and the group, and travel on my own, Cissnei has offered to come along with me, even if it would cost her job just to travel with me. I really didn't wish to have done that, but now I know I may not be able to change her mind; though Cloud and them won't see it, Cissnei was now an ally of sorts.

"Damien, what are you looking at…?" I heard a voice, and I turned to see that Tifa was clearly finished with what she was doing, and Red XIII had finished looking around. It would seem he had yet to pick up anything, but he appeared to, yet he didn't seem to concerned.

"N-nothing… So, we're done here, aren't we, Tifa…?" I asked her, knowing it was her decision, and saw her nod a bit moments later. "Then, lead the way, Tifa…" I said to her, and I listened to her chuckle a bit, before we began our tread to Kalm, which of course, obviously, did not come with several creature encounters over the duration of the rest of the trip...