"Hell no! Ain't no goddamn way that's gonna happen!"
Cid Highwind was pissed off. He had taken the week off from commanding the WRO's airship fleet to spend some time with his wife Shera at their home in Rocket Town and just get away from it all.
"And yet, that fucking bastard Reeve sends the brat to bother me?! God-dammit all to hell and back…" Cid thought until his inner musings were interrupted by the self-proclaimed "Single White Rose of Wutai."
"Aw, c'mon Cid! Reeve promised you'd help me do some spying on Nibelheim!" Yuffie protested in her usual annoying manner. Most people thought that, at age 20, Yuffie Kisaragi would've grown up a bit and become more ladylike.
That couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, Yuffie had grown up into a lovely young woman in her own right and had handled the responsibility of commanding the WRO's reconnaissance force admirably. But deep down at heart, she was still the same whiny little girl that, only Holy-knows-how, ended up helping AVALANCHE save the Planet from Sephiroth and Meteor. If anything, her role in the WRO had made her even more pushy and intolerable, as she thought it was a testament to not only her "elite ninja skills," but her "incredible knack for espionage and military management."
Cid continued smoking his cigarette at a fast rate even by his standards as Yuffie continued ranting, "And don't forget that your sorry butt works for the WRO too, buster! Reeve wants us to keep an eye on Nibelheim, and I'm not leaving until you get off your old ass and come with me!"
"Yuffie, although Reeve probably neglected to mention this to you, I'M ON FUCKING VACATION!!! So get yer scrawny ass off my front porch before I take my goddamn boot and kick your ass myself!"
"Yeah right, you sexist old geezer! How in the hell does Shera put up with you? Gawd, I thought she would've kicked you out the minute she figured out you were nothing more than an over-the-hill, scraggly, impotent bastard!!"
"Yuffie, I swear to Bahamut, if I hear one more word outta that shithole you call a mouth, I'll…"
"Cid, who's at the door?" said the calm voice of Shera from the kitchen.
"No one!" Cid angrily shouted back.
"Hi Shera! It's me, Yuffie! Just stopping by to visit!" Yuffie said in her sweetest voice possible.
"Oh, hello Yuffie! Please, come in for some tea!" Shera said in response
"I'd be happy to!" Yuffie stated with a look of superiority on her face. As she passed Cid by the front door, she stuck out her tongue as one final insult before marching into the house. Cid grabbed the goggles from on top of his head and threw them down in disgust. He was one second away from smashing them with his foot when Shera interrupted:
"Oh, and Cid? There's another visitor here to see you?"
"Another visitor? When the fuck did I become so popular?" Cid mused as he picked up his goggles and entered the house. There was Shera, chatting it up with Yuffie over a teakettle. The pickup Cid was working on rebuilding in the makeshift garage next door, the table in the center, everything was in place. Except for that giant pink marshmallow…
"Hiya Cid! Long time no see! How's the married life treating ya??"
Cait Sith…Reeve's personal creation, a two-foot tall robotic black cat possessing a highly advanced AI program. While it was under Reeve's command, Cait Sith was capable of independent thought and decision-making, making it a valuable tool for spying and infiltration. However, when paired with the giant moogle doll he was currently sitting on top of (who Cait Sith insisted on calling "Mog"), Cait Sith was able to put up a decent fight. Not directly, of course; Cait Sith would sit on the moogle's shoulders and shout orders through a megaphone. A marvel of technology…too bad it suffered from a similarly annoying personality to that of Yuffie. Plus, this Cait Sith's predecessor had betrayed AVALANCHE in the past, a fact that Cid Highwind wasn't about to forget anytime soon.
"So, I get the annoying brat and the alley cat. For fuck's sake, why can't I just enjoy my time off in peace?!" Cid shouted. His frustration continued to build at the thought of having to deal with not only Yuffie, but Cait Sith as well.
Cait Sith responded, "Yikes! Nice to see you too, Highwind! Geez, I knew when Reeve sent me here you'd be a little irritated, but I didn't expect this at all. Not even a 'how ya doing, Cait old buddy, old pal?'"
"I ain't yer pal. And if yer here for what I think yer here for…well, talk to the ninja brat. I'm on vacation, so get the hell outta my house!"
"Cid!" Shera exclaimed with her hands on her hips. "That's no way to talk to our guests?"
"GUESTS?!?! Shera, they're here to ruin my…I mean, our vacation. I don't get a whole lotta time off, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let these two take away our time together."
"But Cid, this is important!" Yuffie interjected. "And not just the normal kind of important, either! It's super-duper important!"
"She's right!" Cait Sith chirped in. "Reeve's got a really bad feeling about this group that's moved into Nibelheim, and the boss's bad feeling plus freaky Nibelheim can only mean trouble for the Planet!"
"A bad feeling, eh?" Cid said mockingly. "Well, sorry, but I'm gonna need more than a bad feeling from Reeve before I…"
Cid stopped as he heard something out of place…something like the flapping of bat's wings. "Ah, hell," Cid muttered under his breath as he grabbed his spear and bolted out the front door.
"H-hey! Cid! Wait up!" Yuffie shouted as both she and Cait Sith followed the pilot out onto the main street of Rocket Town. As they met Cid outside, they followed his eyes to see what he was muttering about…a trio of Green Dragons were circling the village and preparing to land.
"Holy Leviathan…" Yuffie stammered as she unfastened her trusty shuriken from her back and stood in the ready position. Cait Sith said nothing, save for some small whispers to his moogle companion.
"Cid?" Shera shouted from the kitchen. There was a slight tone of worry in her voice as she asked, "What's going on out there?"
"Nothing to worry about," Cid replied without skipping a beat. His tone oozed of confidence as he continued saying, "Just say in there and keep the tea hot. I won't be long."
Shera shouted something unintelligible as Cid firmly gripped the shaft of his trusty weapon. The first dragon landed in the center of the village as Cid stood ready, spear directed towards the mighty beast.
"Some fucking vacation," Cid thought as he jumped into battle.
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Fenrir pulled into the makeshift collection of tents and mining equipment that was once the village of North Corel. After the destruction of the original Corel Village, the population was forced to move north into the mountains and live like vagrants. The only people who came to North Corel were usually just passing through on their way to the Gold Saucer.
However, after Meteorfall and the subsequent Shinra collapse, North Corel and the people who lived there became incredibly important. Because of the people's unwillingness to use Mako energy, Corel's miners and excavators were now needed more than ever. In the years following Meteorfall, the people of Corel had rebuilt their village on the eastern side of the continent in the foothills of the Corel Mountains and used the old North Corel location as a base camp for mining and drilling operations, renaming it the Corel Mining Camp.
As Cloud idled Fenrir to a stop in front of the largest tent, he stopped to admire just how much the camp had changed over the years. When he and his friends first passed through this area, the atmosphere was one of anger, hopelessness, and despair. Now, just four years later, the camp was a bustling hotbed of activity.
Cloud smiled a little as he and Tifa dismounted Fenrir and walked into the large tent. There, standing with a group of miners and discussing today's drilling locations, was a very large man with a mechanical arm.
"Hey, Barret!" Tifa shouted. "Long time no see!"
"Tifa! Spiky!" Barret shouted back as he quickly finished giving out jobs to his crew. He ran around the table where he was looking at his maps and gave Tifa a big bear hug. After nearly squeezing the life out of her, he shook Cloud's hand before pulling him in for a hug as well.
"Nice…to…see…you…too…Barret," Cloud managed to croak out as Barret finally released him.
"Damn, it's been too long, you two! Well, come on…I'll give ya the grand tour!"
Barret led Cloud and Tifa outside and started talking to them all about the work he and the Corel miners had been doing over the past year. He pointed out specific pieces of equipment and explained how they worked and where they were being used. Cloud and Tifa listened as intently as they could, knowing that asking Barret to stop or looking inattentive was the quickest path to a Barret-sized slap to the back of the head.
Finally, Barret stopped talking about the mining camp and asked, "So, how's Marlene doin'? She keepin' up with her schoolwork and all that?"
Both Cloud and Tifa nodded as Tifa answered, "Yeah, both Marlene and Denzel are doing great in school. They're staying with Elmyra until we get back, so you don't have to worry."
"Did I say I was worried? Still, it's good they staying with Aeris's momma. She'll keep 'em in line. So, whaddya doin' all the way out here?"
Cloud took a quick breath as he proceeded to explain everything that Vincent had told him in the Crystal Cave. Barret listened intently and nodded when it seemed appropriate. When Cloud finished talking, Barret crossed his arms and looked up towards the sky.
"Yeah, that does seem kinda weird. But, I'm afraid you lookin' at the wrong guy. I ain't heard nuthin' about Nibelheim or any strange group, so I couldn't tell ya nuthin' new. But if I hear sumthin' you'll be the first people I tell."
"Thanks Barret. I'd appreciate that."
"What? Naw, it ain't anything to be thankin' me for, Spiky! Just helpin' a couple old friends out, nothing too…"
The ringing of his phone interrupted Barret's sentence. He looked more than a little upset as he answered the phone.
"Yeah, it's Barret…look, I'm kinda talkin' to some friends of mine and…whoa, whoa, slow done Gray…what? You shittin' me? GODDAMMIT!!! All right, calm down. Keep yourself out of trouble. I'll be there soon, got it?"
As Barret hung up, Tifa asked, "What's going on, Barret?"
"That piece of shit Mako Reactor's been offline for years, yet Reeve and his group of jackasses haven't gotten around to tearing that sumbitch down. It's a big nest for a lot of monsters, and apparently sumthin' set 'em off. They're swarmin' around one of our dig sites, and I gotta get over there and bust some skulls!"
Tifa nodded. "Cloud?"
Cloud nodded in agreement. "I'll go grab my sword."
Barret realized what they were getting at and nodded in approval. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I'll bring the truck around, so you two get ready to kick some monster ass!"
Cloud was already heading towards Fenrir to grab First Tsurugi along with the rest of his collection of blades. Tifa never relied on anything other than her fists and feet to fight with, so all she had to do was take out a pair of fingerless fighting gloves from her pocket and slide them on. Despite the danger, Tifa had to smile a little. It had been a long time since she, Cloud, and Barret fought together, and a small part of her looked forward to it.
"Just like old times," Tifa thought as she and Cloud ran towards where Barret was waiting. They climbed in as Barret floored the accelerator and sped towards the area of the old Corel Reactor.
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Cyrus held onto his cane as he sat in one of the bedrooms of Shinra Manor, looking very intently at the videos streaming onto his computer screen.
"Let's see just what they're capable of," he thought as he sipped a glass of water and thumbed through one of the books from the basement of the manor. As he watched, a sly smile formed on his lips as he remembered what he had told Atlas earlier that day.
Knowledge is power…
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Author's Notes: So I said that I wasn't going to be uploading every day...well, I couldn't sleep last night and decided to start on this chapter. So there.
If I can sleep normally, I probably will be a little less frequent. Of course, if my insomnia continues...well, let's not think about it.
Again, thanks to everyone for reading and stay tuned for Chapter 5. Extra bonus points for reviews!
Later,
"The Exile" Cyrus Truth