Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. Enjoy!
..:-X-:..
119 – Hell Breaks Loose
Yuffie had her eyes pinched closed, hands on either side of the headphones encompassing her ears, frowning slightly as she listened to the recording from the satellite video. Aerith had already listened to it close to a dozen times over the past week, and she nibbled on her fingernail as she watched Yuffie's reaction.
When the recording ended, the younger woman plucked the headphones off and gave a short shake of her head. "Whew, that'll give you the heebie jeebies."
The surveillance and monitoring subsection of the Alliance was nestled in one of the lower levels of the headquarter building, several stories underground and teeming with scientists and analysts who were constantly bustling around, keeping the outer spatial perimeters of the Alliance secure. Any and all anomalies in surveillance were logged and studied somewhere in this department.
There were rows and rows of computer stations and isolated cubicles forming a catacomb of work blocs across the floor, and half a dozen massive screens were mounted on the walls, depicting running matrices of data and charts that made Aerith dizzy trying to interpret. It felt downright Big Brother down here.
The central mounted screen was currently showing the audio curves of the noises caught on the lost satellite's video feed. The line was practically flat starting from the left, but as it moved to the latter half on the right end, it abruptly spiked up and violently see-sawed across the chart before dropping back to flat at the far right end. The department had been running amok since Cid had brought the data to them, subjected to uncountable tests and measurements as they tried to figure out what in Kingdom Hearts had happened.
"I am NOT jealous of the squad that went out to find the satellite." Yuffie quipped, setting the headphones aside. "Did they find anything?"
"Diddly squat." A female scientist with ginger hair replied, bending over her work station. She straightened. "No debris, no energy trails, nada. It's like the satellite was just swallowed or pulled into a black hole or something."
Aerith touched her chin, mentally replaying the noise. "It sounded too…I don't know. It wasn't organic; or at least I've never heard any living creature make that noise."
"Heartless technically aren't organic." Yuffie pointed out.
"But Heartless aren't immune to the vacuum of space." Aerith countered. "Even they have to use some kind of transport. Nobodies—"
"—don't travel by space." Yuffie cut in. "They just…loiter around in whatever world that they spawned in. They don't travel like Heartless do."
The scientist adjusted her lab coat. "Heartless are bred from the essence of Darkness. They're composed of Dark Matter, or what you might call the opposite of true matter. They exist on a separate plane than humans and animals."
"Then how come they don't explode when they contact real people?" Yuffie pried.
"That's why this department exists." The woman said with a small smile. "To answer those questions."
Aerith rubbed her neck. "So, if it's not Heartless or Nobodies, what else is out there?"
The scientist pursed her lips, as though to stop herself from voicing her thoughts.
Aerith lifted her eyebrows. "What's your theory?"
The scientist chewed the side of her lip before pressing her palms together in front of herself. "This department has been developing a new theory on the existence of Light and Darkness. It's entirely hypothetical, all of our evidence is circumstantial and requires a tremendous amount of assumption and…filling in the gaps."
"Basically, it's a crap theory?" Yuffie smirked.
The scientist looked ruffled but continued. "We think that the realms of Light and Darkness are not theoretical planes of existence, but rather that they're tangible. We believe that, given the proper equipment and time frame, a human being could push beyond the fabric of this plane and breach the realm of pure Light and Darkness."
Aerith paused, digesting that. She had been experimenting for months on the dynamics of the essence of a world's heart. She had managed to even summon it and bend it to her will when it gave her permission to do so…because the heart of a world was sentient, she had concluded.
"Are you suggesting that Light and Darkness are self aware?" She prompted.
Both the scientist and Yuffie looked at her at that.
"I…" The scientist hummed lightly. "I'm not sure I would phrase it like that, but it wouldn't be so far-fetched. Conscience and consciousness aren't my area; I'm more specialized in detecting the matter."
Aerith swallowed. This could potentially open all kinds of doors regarding what they understood about the realm of Kingdom Hearts. If the forces of Light and Darkness could be physically contacted, or even manipulated…not to even broach the subject of whether those essences were self aware…How would the Alliance even fight something like that?
"So…" Yuffie canted her head. "Is the satellite in Hell now?"
The scientist snorted, breaking Aerith's thought process. "Again, not exactly my field."
"Hmph." Yuffie tutted, "I'mma listen to it again."
She snatched up the headphones, and Aerith glanced toward the screen again. What had they found? More importantly…what had found them?
..:-X-:..
120 – Wash Your Hands of It
"Wonderland." Cloud read aloud, lifting his eyes from the transfer paperwork to look at the soldier sitting across the desk from him.
Private Mindy Tallman shifted in her seat, hands twisting together in her lap. "Yes."
"Wonderland." He muttered again, trying to search her eyes for explanation.
"Yes." She repeated.
Cloud pursed his lips and glanced down her paperwork a second time. She had flown through basic training, come close to breaking several standing records at combat and weapons proficiency, and showed real promise as a tactician or field strategist. She was clearly bred for the battlefield, or at the very least a hot zone that needed mediators and quick thinkers…but she was electing to be transferred to the bizarre, nonsensical world of Wonderland?
"You've been assigned to Yuffie Kisaragi's department." He informed. "You're not in the system yet, but even without the red tape, you're not mine to transfer anymore."
She looked disheartened, "I know. I mean…I'm glad…to be in that department. It's just…" She shifted again, "I need to get out of here." She looked at him pleadingly. "I think I would be better utilized outside of Radiant Garden."
"You don't think you're cut out for this place?" He asked rhetorically.
"No, it's not that—" Her pride was kicking in. "I just—"
"You're afraid of having another public altercation with Tabaeus McCallister."
Tallman seemed to shrink into herself. "Wonderland is illogical, inconsistent, and as far from structured as any world can get: she'd never voluntarily go there."
Cloud studied her for a silent moment. He understood where she was coming from, but it still irked him that she was basically ruining her chances as a start-up in Radiant Garden because of some feud between her and another soldier that she might only occasionally bump into.
"Take it from me, you'll want a better reason than that to leave." He remarked. "Otherwise you're just running away from a problem, and trust me, that's no reason."
Tallman looked contemplative for a beat before nodding once. "I understand, but I still would like to be transferred out of Radiant Garden. Please. Sir." She tacked on.
Cloud frowned and sat back in his seat. "Why did you come to Radiant Garden?"
She stared at him. "To join the Alliance."
"Why?"
"To…make a difference. To help people. To fight evil."
"Why?" He pressed.
"Because…I've never done anything else." She made a vague, frustrated gesture. "I was tired of feeling…mundane and…Life back home felt tedious and hum-drum."
"Why now?"
She was getting flustered and gave a jerky shrug. "I don't know. I just…saw something in the newspaper one day, talking about the Alliance and the war effort and…there was recruitment information and…her name popped up." Another vague gesture. "I don't know."
Cloud stared at her for a vague beat and then grunted and shuffled her paperwork back into the file. "Fine."
She straightened, caught off guard. "Sorry?"
"I'll send the papers through to Yuffie's department with the transfer recommendation." He replied.
Tallman stood. "Thank you, sir."
"Dismissed." He waved her out absently.
Tallman looked uncertain for a moment, opening and closing her mouth before turning and leaving his office.
Cloud set her file aside, but he didn't immediately pick up the next one in line. The latest batch of recruits had finished their basic training, and now he had to sort them all concretely into their departments. Some were easier than others. Some were pains in the ass. The heads of the department got primary dibs that superseded the individual soldier's preferences, but most wound up where they were best suited.
The whole Tallman-McCallister shitstorm was a mess that he had avoided thusfar and was happy to be rid of. He honestly didn't care what had gone sour between the two women; it was history and in the past. Aside from the small skirmish, McCallister hadn't let it interfere with her daily work. Clearly Tallman wasn't quite so apathetic. So while Cloud wasn't enthusiastic about recommending Tallman's transfer away from Radiant Garden, if she couldn't give a better reason other than avoiding the other woman, he would just let her go quietly. It was no skin off his nose.
Another round of new recruits would be arriving within the week. He groaned and glared at the remaining files on his desk. It was either finish going through these files or go home and clean up the mess of his research on Radiant Garden's history and documented time travel.
Neither sounded appealing, but he begrudgingly tugged the recruit files toward him, pulling open the next soldier's documentation.
..:-X-:..
121 – Reset
Tabaeus was the first to arrive at the Weapons Specialist Department that morning. This had slowly become the norm since Commander Leonhart's daughter was born. Not that she minded; when her superior officer did come in, he never looked like he had gotten much sleep.
She hung up her jacket just as the night shift put their jackets on, leaving when she arrived. She was early, so she spent a few minutes moving about the department, picking up anything that was where it shouldn't be and making sure the copy room was well stocked. By the time she brewed her second cup of coffee for the morning, a few other soldiers were trickling in to start their day.
Her cubicle was at the end of the row farthest from the department entrance and closest to Commander Leonhart's closed office door. A stack of demanding paperwork was glaring up at her out of her inbox, and she glared back at it, booting up her computer and sitting down at her work station. A blob of bright orange caught the corner of her eye.
Glancing over, she saw a crisply folded paper crane made out of orange paper resting beside her desk phone. She stilled, staring at it. She hadn't folded any paper cranes since Jake had filled her apartment with 1,000 of them. Where had this one come from? What was it doing here? Who had—
With a frown, she plucked the paper crane up and turned it a few times, inspecting it. Sure enough, there was writing in black marker on the underside of one wing. It was Jake's loopy handwriting: Go on a date with me?
Tabaeus stared at the six words. He got points for persistence. She pursed her lips and set the crane down, folding her arms and staring at it for a long moment. Jake seemed to have developed this belief in a Reset Mode, as though they could just start over and ignore that awkward situation from a few weeks earlier. He clearly wanted to get back together, and it wasn't that Tabaeus didn't, it was just…
Had they ever been 'together?' What did that mean? Had they actually been dating or a couple? Was there a certain point, a certain number of dates or romantic encounters that you had to reach before two people qualified as officially dating? If they had been together, had those few weeks of not talking qualified as breaking up? Or just a break? Or—
"Ugh." She groaned, rubbing her temples.
With a huff, she snatched up her desk phone and dialed his cellphone. It rang several times and almost clicked over to voicemail before he picked up.
"Lo?" was his garbled greeting.
"When were you at my desk?" She replied.
He made a low, confused noise. "Tabs?"
She deadpanned, "Your little invitation doesn't list a date or a time. How am I supposed to know if I'm free to go on a date?"
"Um…It's…" He mumbled, sounding like he'd just been woken up. "Do you have any idea what time it is? It's…It's seven o'clock."
"Exactly. Far too early to be getting confused about dates." She said, flustered.
"Wait, wait." She heard him shuffling out of bed. "You said you needed to make sure you were free…So that's a yes?"
Oh, jeez, she could practically hear him grinning.
"You…" Her face warmed and she was glad for the high walls of her cubicle. "You think you're so clever…The paper crane was a bit over the top."
"I thought it was romantic." He quipped.
"You still didn't answer my question. When were you at my desk? Did you have somebody plant this for you?" She lifted the paper crane again idly.
"Nope, I snuck in during the night shift."
"Snuck in…This is a high security building. This is the headquarters of the Alliance, and you just 'snuck in'?" She blinked.
"I am the black panther!"
"You're an idiot." She snorted.
"You still haven't said no." He returned to the matter at hand. "Is that a yes?"
"You still haven't told me when or where." She huffed.
"I'm flexible." He prompted. "Anytime, anywhere. Whatever works for you, works for me." He paused. "I just winked…but I realize you can't see me, so imagine me winking."
"Fine."
"You didn't imagine it, did you?"
"No."
"Is that a yes?"
Tabaeus smiled despite herself. "Yes." She glanced back and saw that Commander Leonhart had arrived and was unlocking his office; he looked miffed. "I have to go."
"Okay. Call me later when it's—I'll call you when it's actually day time. Who is voluntarily conscious at seven am? The Hell is wrong with you?"
"Goodbye, Jake." She replied, hanging up the phone.
She set the paper crane beside her computer. He did have a cute little wink though.
..:-X-:..
Preview for next week: Tifa had faced death a number of times, but this time felt different.