Before Crisis: The Beginning

By DarkAngel

Disclaimer: The almighty Square of the Enix owns it, not I.

Chapter 27: Holiday Cheer

When Tseng had put his signature on the release form that Rosalind had submitted, she had wasted no time in preparing for her journey home. It had been almost a full year since she'd been able to go and see her family; although she called them every now and again, and even managed the occasional one day trip home, it wasn't the same as being with them. Needless to say, she was excited.

"I'll be able to see mom and maybe dad – assuming he isn't going to be doing the winter term drills this year – and I haven't seen Kelvin or Elena in ages –" It was rare, seeing her get so excited about something, and Reno had merely laughed, ruffling Rosalind's hair. For once she didn't swat him or glare; she was far too preoccupied with thoughts of seeing her family again.

"Take it easy, rookie," Reno said, shaking his head in a worldly way. St. Andrew rolled his eyes at Reno's 'father knows best' attitude, but said nothing. Samantha, who had been flipping through a magazine, looked up at Rosalind, pouting.

"How come you get to go home and I don't?"

"You probably didn't fill out the right form," Rafe replied coolly. He was sitting at the desk across from hers, polishing his guns. Samantha stuck out her tongue at him.

"I did! I even left them in Tseng's inbox, but he never even told me he got it. And now it's too late!" She slammed her magazine shut, glaring at them all, as if they were to blame for her lack of vacation time.

Reno and Rude exchanged glances. Eventually, Reno ventured, "Uh, Sam? When you say Tseng's inbox, where do you mean?"

"Well the one on top of his desk, of course!" Samantha snapped, looking at Reno with one eyebrow lifted, as though he were subnormal.

Reno sighed. "Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that."

"That –"

"…isn't his inbox," Rosalind cut across Rude, sparing him an apologetic glance as she did so.

"The stack of papers on his desk, right? That's what you're talking about, right?" Samantha asked, exasperation evident in her voice. She threw up an arm for extra emphasis. "Why are you all being so mysterious?"

Rosalind glanced at St. Andrew, who looked at Rafe. Rafe flicked a look at Rude, who glanced at Reno. There was an internal five-way conference before the eventual spokesperson was decided. It was Rosalind who sighed and bit the bullet.

"Samantha, that's not Tseng's inbox."

The other woman looked at Rosalind dubiously; one perfect brow arching in a way that clearly said she thought Rosalind was being daft. "Oh, really."

This was why nobody really tried to correct Samantha when she was wrong. On her better days she would go on as though she hadn't heard the offensive piece of news; on her more irate days, she would do this.

"She's telling the truth, rookie," Reno said, coming to Rosalind's rescue. "Look, he uses that bit of his desk for gathering all the reports he's received from the week and then he sends them on down to the archives." He waggled his eyebrows at her, sticking his tongue out. "I can just imagine it now – the Shin-Ra archivists finding a round-filed holiday application in with all the mission reports."

There was a silence that reigned for the better part of thirty seconds. And then Samantha opened her mouth on a screech, leaping up. Reno scrambled off from his perch on Rude's desk, and St. Andrew started to guffaw. Rafe merely shook his head and returned his attention to his computer screen. Rosalind sat bemused, tapping a pen. While she was thankful that Reno had saved her, she couldn't help but wonder if some of the men in this building enjoyed the punishment.

"So Rosie, you're gonna bring us back some souvenirs, right?" St. Andrew leaned back in his chair, tipping it so far back she was afraid he'd fall right over. With a heavy clunk, the chair returned to its upright position and Rosalind breathed a small sigh of relief before responding.

"Oh… you're from Junon, right? Was there something you wanted?" She wasn't exactly going far – after all, the Midgar slums was kind of accessible any time of year to any of them. Still, she figured it couldn't hurt to be polite, and St. Andrew was her partner. He grinned at her, showing teeth, and despite herself, she smiled back. Only just.

"I'm from Midgar same as you, actually. Moved when I was a little older," he said, the grin still in place. He flicked a pen into the air, catching it neatly in one hand before repeating the process again.

"Why did you move?" Rosalind was curious. "Was it the slums?"

"Naw. I was born on the plate."

Rosalind's brow furrowed. She could understand people wanting to get out of the slums, but life on the plate was –

Perhaps St. Andrew could predict her line of thought. Giving the pen one last flip, he caught it before jamming it into his desk drawer. "I left because there was nothing left for me here." Although the smile never left his face, she could have sworn there was a clip to his voice that hadn't been there before. Nodding, she let it go.

Which left her wondering, now she was on holiday, just what to get him and the others. It wasn't as though she had to, but the part of her that had always grown up with niceties and rules told her it was the polite thing to do. She spent a lot of her time with her mother. Her father, as she'd suspected, was busy overseeing some holiday classes over at the academy; Elena, although on break, was holing herself up in her room or was at the library a lot of the time. And Kelvin… well, she hadn't seen him since he'd received his last posting. Such was life, she supposed, though she couldn't help but feel a small pang in her chest. She'd really been hoping to see the whole family again.

"It can't be helped," her mother said with a delicate shrug and a pacifying arm on her older daughter's shoulder. "They all wanted to come, but when duty calls…"

"Yeah." Rosalind nodded, though she still couldn't shake the negative feelings from her mind. "I know." Elena, at least, could have come out, but she kept saying she wanted to be ready for the post-holiday exams. Rosalind couldn't shake the feeling that her sister was avoiding her.

And so it was that she found herself in one of the city's shopping arcades, looking for suitable souvenirs to bring back when she saw it. She'd agreed to meet her mother later that evening; Elena had (miraculously) agreed to come out of study mode that evening, so they were all going to work on dinner together.

She was standing in a jewellery shop, looking ruefully at the list Samantha had given her when something dashed by in the periphery of her vision. Normally, Rosalind wouldn't have looked up, but it was late afternoon; plenty of shoppers were outside, doing the same as she was, or else strolling leisurely along the boulevard. They weren't dashing madly as though Bahamut was nipping at their heels. She looked up just in time to see a dark grey blur pass by the shop window. Moments later, a woman ran past, screaming. The shoppers stopped what they were doing to stare. Rosalind's brow furrowed. The slums were noted for this kind of thing, but really…

It only took a moment's consideration and then Rosalind was out the door, running after the woman. It wasn't that difficult to track them. The woman was screaming at the top of her lungs and the figure in grey was shoving people out of his way, toppling things as he went. Rosalind overtook the woman and jumped neatly over a bunch of spilled cans. She zigzagged between the crowds of people, ignoring the surprised gasps as she passed.

The grey-clad assailant looked back momentarily and jerked a little in his run. Rosalind smiled grimly. Picking up speed, she rounded a corner, dodging a stack of tiles that had been left on the ground. The thief, for now Rosalind could see the blue purse clutched under his arm, stopped. "Who the hell are you?!"

Rosalind raised an eyebrow. It wasn't even a dead end…

The purse snatcher was hunched over in what Rosalind had initially thought was a threatening manner. He was reaching into his pocket and belatedly, Rosalind bemoaned the fact that she'd left her gun at home. The words 'Turk off duty' flitted through her mind, and she grimaced. How naïve she'd been.

She nearly dropped her fighting stance when the assailant took out not a knife or gun as she'd been expecting, but…

There was a small whooshing sound, and a small cough. Rosalind blinked.

Was that…?

An asthma inhaler?

"Um…" She wasn't sure just how to proceed. Taking a step forward, she reached out an arm for the purse. The man stuffed his inhaler back into his jacket pocket and took off at a run again.

"Damn it!" Rosalind made a grab for the thief, but he was surprisingly fast. She concentrated on picking up her speed. She only hoped the others were having a better time than she was right now…

-----

Here they were again. Two days before Winter Day and still the same old. Only it wasn't. Rafe watched uncomfortably as Reno and Rude repeated their routine: Reno announcing that it was time to call it a night and Rude making his excuses. They watched the taller man walk down the path. Rafe knew that as soon as Rude was out of sight, it would begin. He didn't want to tell the redhead what he'd seen last night. His previous work had been full of private affairs and gossip, but it just didn't feel right.

So when Reno, predictably, prodded him for more information, Rafe considered his options. He could tell him anyway, and watch Rude's love boat sink faster than a man encased in two hundred pounds of concrete; he could play dumb and try to distract Reno onto another topic; or he could run. That last option was dismissed easily. There was no way he was going to outrun the fastest Turk in the service. It would only lead to pain and embarrassment on his part anyway.

Option B it was, then.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

The look Reno shot him told Rafe that he wasn't buying it.

"I sent you out yesterday, didn't I? So let's hear it."

Rafe's mind whirred with the possibilities. Was there anything going on tonight that he could drag Reno to? Maybe there was something important he'd forgotten at home. Come to think of it, Rafe thought, he might have left his wallet back at HQ…

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't find anything. You're a Turk, aren't you?" Reno's voice was mocking, though there was something else under that tone that Rafe didn't entirely like. He didn't think the other man would resort to violence to get what he wanted, but then again, with Reno you just couldn't tell sometimes. Especially when it came to stuff connected with his partner.

Option B had now sprung several leaks and was bubbling under the surface.

"He was with a woman," Rafe said curtly, hoping that this would put an end to things. Not even Reno would be so insensitive as to butt in on something like this –

"What?!" Reno's eyebrows shot up, disappearing into his bangs. "That's news to me. All right, we're gonna get over there right now!" Rafe almost expected the other man to whoop as he started sprinting in the direction Rude had gone. He turned, watching his senior with disbelief etched clear on his face. He really wasn't going to… Was he?

"Hey, let's just leave him alone," Rafe called. This really wasn't his thing, and he had no idea what Reno had in the way of hobbies, but if peeping on his best friend was one of them, it was something Rafe would rather Reno did alone.

But the redhead was already far gone, turning the corner. Rafe sighed, watching the tail end of his suit jacket disappear. Well, at least he was doing it by himself. There would be no need for Rafe to get involved with this, thank Shiva. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Rafe began walking too. It had been a while since he'd spent some time to himself. There was probably stuff in the apartment that needed tidying or whatever…

The phone in his pocket rang. Rafe grimaced. If that was Reno…

"It's me," came a gruff voice that sounded as though several rocks had gotten lodged in the throat. Veld. Well, it was far better than anything Reno could have thrown at him.

"Boss," Rafe murmured in acknowledgement. He listened as Veld filled him in. There had been an outbreak of monsters in Sector 8. While there had been no serious injuries, the fact remained that citizens of Midgar were getting attacked by the creatures.

"You're the closest agent we've got to the outbreak spot," Veld went on. "I want you to eliminate all the monsters in the area."

Acknowledging his orders, Rafe hung up. He was relieved that it wasn't Reno. Clearly the other man was determined to find out for himself, with or without cooperation. At the same time, he really hoped Reno wouldn't end up doing something stupid. He worked with both of them and the last thing he needed was tension, especially the kinds of tensions that formed when a woman was involved.

He looked over at the mini-map Veld had sent to his PHS. The outbreak location wasn't too far from where he was now. His brow furrowed. They'd done an inspection of the area. Why hadn't they detected anything like this? Why had it only been brought to their attention now?

A scream broke him from his musings. Rafe ran to the source of the sound, taking his handguns out of their holsters as he went.

A woman was backing away, terrified, from what looked like an overgrown praying mantis. Rafe blinked. These guys definitely weren't native to Midgar. He hadn't seen anything like it even in the slums, and below-plate was notorious for the vermin that dwelled there.

The woman's gaze caught his. "Please, help me." She whimpered, screaming as the monster came closer, raising a sickled forelimb.

"Stay back," he ordered the woman. He rushed in. Disposing of the creature took no time at all. All it took was a couple of bullets before the mess that had been the praying mantis was taken care of. Taking a step toward the downed monster, he prodded it lightly with its foot, holding back a grimace as he heard the crack of the carapace giving way. He turned his attention back to the woman, who had been watching the entire time.

"Thank you so much," the woman said, once her stuttering had cleared. She smiled shakily. "If there's anything I can do…"

Rafe shook his head. "I'm not anyone worth remembering. It was nothing anyway."

The woman stared at him, open mouthed. Rafe, realizing he was still armed, put away his weapons and stuck his hands in his pockets. He shifted uncomfortably. He loped back down the streets, ignoring the woman. He had never been good at this kind of thing…

He managed to find the source of the outbreak with little trouble. Some enterprising citizens had taken care of some of the bugs, and he found scattered bits of shell and flesh and other debris along the way. He shuddered to think of just how large this infestation might be. If it got out of Sector 8… The gooseflesh on his arms rose. Better not to contemplate that possibility. That's what he was here for, anyway.

As indicated on the map, there was a manhole at the end of the alley. It was slightly ajar, and at this, Rafe frowned. He didn't know the strength of these bugs, but he had a hard time imagining they could push aside a heavy metal manhole cover.

Rafe lifted the cover. He peered down. There was nothing suspicious. He began to climb down.

The main passage from where he was standing ran for about fifty metres before branching off into different directions. There was no telling where exactly the monsters were coming from. It all came down to picking a direction and hoping it was the right one. Rafe tapped a command into his PHS. It affirmed his actions with a satisfying soft beep. Now it would keep track of where he'd gone in the sewers. With any luck it wouldn't take long for him to find the creatures he was supposed to be taking care of.

Which just left the problem of a light source. Rafe's eyes had adjusted a little in the time he'd been down here, but not nearly enough to navigate, and his PHS couldn't do everything for him. He hit the number for the boss. Within moments he was navigating his way through the tunnels, Veld's directions and the PHS guiding him.

Eventually, he found himself scrabbling at the wall, feeling for the metal box that housed the breaker. His hand found a likely candidate, and he lifted the switch up. With a loud clapping sound and a humming noise, the lights came on. Great. It was time to get to work.

He followed the map on his PHS, clearing out any monsters he saw on his way. He had to suppress a shudder every time one fell under his attack. Their bodies were still soft, the protective shells not having hardened yet. They left quite the mess, and Rafe had to step carefully to keep from slipping on the excretions they left behind. What a way to be spending the holidays. More than ever, he wondered if he'd really made the right choice in leaving the Don. After all, taking care of those elements that had been targeting him was infinitely easier than what he was doing now…

When Rafe turned the corner he came face to face with what was arguably the most shocking and grotesque things he'd seen in his entire life.

"….." Rafe swallowed. It was huge. Where the other monsters he'd been dealing with had been big, they had only come up to just past his shins. This one… you could put a harness on the damned thing and ride it.

That wasn't the only difference. Rafe watched with dismay as the tough shell of the creature repelled his bullets. Whatever magic he threw at it bounced off its hide. In a list of thoroughly disheartening situations, this definitely made the top five. As much as it shamed him to admit it, there was only one option left.

He turned and ran.

As soon as he was out of the sewers, he hit Veld's number.

"What's your situation?" Veld asked. Rafe could have laughed. Where could he even begin on that one?

"There's a giant monster living there. It looks like a giant praying mantis. None of my attacks worked against it."

"A praying mantis, you say?" There was a pause. "This could mean trouble."

No kidding, Rafe thought sourly. He wasn't used to losing, and the fact that he'd lost to an overgrown bug was like a canker sore on his pride. "Do you know what it is, boss?"

"They're Kimara Bugs." Veld's replied calmly, given that they were facing a potential major outbreak of bugs that definitely fit Rafe's definition of creepy. "One of their distinguishing characteristics is their shells. They're tough enough to protect them from most forms of attack."

Oh. I'm glad that we've got that cleared up, then. "Is there any effective way of taking them out?"

"They're only weak against water-based attacks. You can defeat them if you have a Water or Watera Materia."

Rafe's inventory currently didn't have any such Materia in it.

"Rafe, return to Headquarters for now. You can get what you need, then go back."

There was no other way to do it, really. His pride might have been wounded, but he wasn't so stupid that he was going to take the monster on with his bare hands or some other foolhardy venture. "Roger." He shoved his hands in his pockets and began the walk back to HQ. He would get what he needed, and then he would crush every last one of those monsters. Starting with the big one.

-----

Rosalind blinked. "So you're telling me –" She paused, trying to get the story straight. "You're telling me that you needed money to buy Winter Day gifts for your brothers."

She'd caught up with the purse snatcher, and after a brief altercation, had liberated the purse. The man lay on his knees, gasping. He nodded.

Rosalind frowned. "You know, stealing isn't nice."

The man stared at her for a moment. Apparently he'd decided that fighting back, even verbally, wasn't going to get him anywhere, because he nodded once more.

"Well, I'm going to return this purse to its owner." She gave him a look. "You're coming with me."

The man gaped. He would have said more, but a fit of coughs racked his body. Rosalind felt a small stab of pity. Well, it wasn't as though she didn't know what it was like to be poor. Before her father had started at the academy they'd lived in pretty similar conditions. It was Shin-Ra's scouts that had given their family the chance they needed. It had only last month that the family had been able to finally afford a house outside of the slums; as a matter of fact, after the holiday season, her family would be relocating to Junon.

Shaking herself back into the present, Rosalind placed a hand on her hip. "Once we find this woman, I want to meet your family." She paused. "If it turns out you're telling the truth… well, I want to help. If it turns out you're lying just to get off easy…" She trailed off. The sentence didn't need finishing. The man nodded fervently. He made a grab for his inhaler. Rosalind watched him dispassionately. She waited for him to finish, then turned.

"Okay. Let's go. I think that woman must still be around here somewhere…"

-----

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" If this woman bowed any lower, Rosalind thought, she was going to sweep the ground with her head. She squeezed her fingers around the purse snatcher's – Jed, he'd said his name was – wrist. Jed hadn't tried escaping or fighting since Rosalind had caught up with him, and this made Rosalind wonder if he wasn't telling the truth. Still, she wasn't letting go of him anytime soon.

"Can I do something for you? Anything, please do let me help!" The woman was still bobbing, and Rosalind was getting a little nauseous. She held up her free hand.

"That's all right, really. I only did what was right. And I'll be taking this gentleman with me, so…"

The woman shot him a loathing glare. Rosalind repressed a sigh. She didn't want drama. She just wanted to resolve this, get a few souvenirs, meet up with her mother and head back home. Finally, she managed to extricate herself and Jed from the situation and they made their way back to the innermost area of the slum. They were silent for a few moments until Jed spoke up.

"Hey, thanks."

Rosalind shot him a look.

"For saving me. You could have turned me in, but you didn't."

"Don't thank me yet," Rosalind replied dryly, looking away again. "What happens to you next is entirely dependent on your honesty. Are you an honest man, Jed?"

He laughed at that. "More than some 'round these parts, Miss."

Rosalind smiled. "I see," was the only thing she said.

The little shack (for there really was no more appropriate word: it was four sheets of metal propped up by large beams of wood) housed three people. Jed and his brothers had been living here for almost two years now. "Pops died in the war, see, and Ma… well, she followed him soon after. The docs at the time said it was an illness, but I'm going to go with the old cliché that it was a broken heart."

Rosalind watched the younger boys at play. The older one couldn't have been more than ten, and the younger one according to Jed was turning six in a few months. She'd never had to live like this even when the family had been living in the slums. Jed and his family were a lot worse off than she and her family had ever been.

"What were you going to buy them?" Rosalind asked quietly, when they'd gone off a slight ways away from the shack and the boys playing a game of tag around it. It was obvious the elder brother was going easy on the younger: he would occasionally stop and wait for the younger one to come around the corner before running again; at other times he would pretend to trip up and let his younger brother tag him. Rosalind smiled. They reminded her of her years growing up here. Back when everyone had been at home and there hadn't been the strain in their relationships like there was now.

Jed rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Well, it's nothing big, see. Tyke – that's the little one – is a huge fan of Sephiroth and wanted an action figure. And Wes…" He went quiet for a moment. "Wes wants to keep going to school. Says he wants to be smart enough to join Shin-Ra some day."

"…I see." She wasn't sure how to respond in any other way. In a lot of ways, this family was like her own. She shifted. "And you? What is it you want?"

Jed looked surprised at that. "Me?" He pointed to himself. "Well, I guess I want my brothers close to me. And other things that are kind of impossible." He smiled, waving his hand airily. "Forget about it."

Rosalind gave this some thought. They were simple enough requests. Easy enough for some, and a world away for others. "I'll see what I can do," she said at last.

Jed held up his hands. "No, it's all right, really. I mean, I did try, yeah? I guess I just have to try something else." At her look, he shook his head and grinned. "No more purse snatchings, I promise." Rosalind tried to offer him something, but he was adamant about not accepting anything. There was only one thing to do, then. She smiled, shrugging.

"I guess I'll wish you good luck, then. Thank you, Jed."

He looked surprised. "Er, you're welcome?"

Rosalind just smiled and waved. She began the trip back home.

As soon as she was out of sight, she took out her PHS. "I'd like to speak with the promotions department…"

A week later, Jed and his brothers woke to a delivery man from the surface carrying a small package. Books, vouchers, money, a Sephiroth action figure, and a small note. As Jed opened the note and read, a smile crossed his face.

Miracles like these came but once a year for some, and for others, never. He was, he thought, one of the luckier ones.

Author's Notes: Yes, I went on a huge side-trip with Rosalind's holiday. :P My reasoning could best be described as, "I felt like it. So I did it." I reworked this chapter so many times. I hope it's to your liking. Next chapter will bring us back to our regularly scheduled programming. Rafe goes monster hunting. Reno pokes his honcho into Rude's love life. All fun and good times on the next instalment of The Beginning!