Days of Exile

Apart from writing about Meia, I'll write about the other Turks too. I've also decided to focus on some of their backstories. These backstories would likely be a flashback or a reminiscence. Their chapter titles will also be named pertaining to the Turks.

Chapter 7 – A Son For A Daughter

11 December 0007

Gongaga was a town that was once thriving full of houses and life. Technically, every town will be vibrant and lively as long as a Mako Reactor is NOT nearby. But the Mako Reactor was built, for years it serviced the town with electricity and filled the hearts of young boys with ambition to one day work for the company who provided them such privileges.

Then a few years back, the Mako Reactor exploded, killing almost everyone in the one-kilometre radius. The cause of its destruction was unknown, some said that it was the broken pipes in need of a repair that was never made. Some said it was the work of an anti-Shinra terrorist organisation AVALANCHE, headed by a young girl named Elfe. Some said that it was Shinra behind everything. Whatever the reason, many townsfolk lost their lives and few survived to rebuild the devastated town.

There was a surviving couple named Daniel and Annie Fair. The neighbours called them Dannie and Annie. They had a friendly but hyperactive boy who couldn't stop running around the town, creating trouble for the villagers. Many years before the explosion of the Mako Reactor, the boy bade his parents goodbye and left for Shinra, hoping to fulfill his dreams of being a SOLDIER and be like Sephiroth.

Dannie and Annie Fair never saw him again. In the first few years, their son often wrote back, complaining about the tough training and excitedly recounting his adventures in Midgar. Then, everything ended. Suddenly Dannie and Annie couldn't find any way to contact their son. Their last letter from him, a shy but happy letter stating that he has found a girlfriend, gave them no clue as to what had happened to their son. Of course they wanted to travel to Midgar to find their son, but for many years they withheld their plans. It was as if they were afraid to find out that their son was dead.

Then, she came along.

Cissnei never explained why she was in Gongaga. Dannie and Annie never asked. It all happened because Annie saw Cissnei standing in the middle of the town alone. Dressed as a Shinra Turk, many people would've fled at the sight of the black suits. No one talked to her, only Annie walked towards Cissnei and asked if she would like a drink since she had been standing under the hot sun. Upon realizing that she needed a place to stay, Annie boldly offered hers. It has been that way ever since.

Daniel Fair saw that his wife must have been desperate for news of her long-lost boy, to have welcomed the dog of Shinra to their homes. So he relented and treated Cissnei nicely. They eventually figured that Cissnei knew nothing about their son, but did not stop treating her well.

Initially the girl clammed up and said nothing more than formalities. Soon, as her stone-face cracked under simple care and concern, Dannie and Annie decided that even without having news of their son, she would make good company nevertheless. Dannie and Annie never stopped being friendly to the Turk and the couple even confided in the Turk their worries about their son being in trouble. Whenever Annie lamented about how her son might end up not finding a wife, Daniel will joke about making Cissnei a bride for his son instead. In those times, Cissnei would simply smile and say nothing more.

For two weeks she stayed with them. Then she announced that she would be returning to Midgar. They waved goodbye, but not before telling her that she had been a joy in the last two weeks and encouraged her to visit whenever she can. Cissnei nodded stoically before hopping onto the Shinra helicopter, but Annie thought she saw Cissnei wiping a tear off the sleeve of her blazer.

That was almost ten months ago. In September, Cissnei returned to Gongaga, much to the couple's surprise. She merely said that she was no longer in Shinra, could she stay with the couple if she helped them with their chores? Dannie and Annie were only too happy to comply, embracing Cissnei like a daughter to substitute their absent son.

Cissnei treaded down the staircase lightly. It had been her nature to move around like a stealthy cat. However, she had learnt that common citizens do not have enhanced hearing like her enemies did. So Cissnei purposely stomped the last few steps so that Annie Fair could hear her.

"Good morning." Annie smiled at Cissnei. Cissnei mumbled her greetings shyly and asked for Daniel. "Oh, Dannie's down at the Ruined Reactor." Cissnei nodded that she understood. Junk picking is quite an interesting hobby, especially if you find something valuable. "Would you like some breakfast?" Annie asked, pointing her cooking spatula at the frying pan.

"Not now," smiled Cissnei. "I'm thinking of going hunting. I haven't been exercising enough, you see." She patted her shiny shruiken, Rekka beside her. "I'll be back before lunch."

Annie frowned at Cissnei's obsessive hobby, for she often hunted every other day, if not daily. However, the older lady didn't argue. She simply waved the redhead goodbye and Cissnei half-skipped out of the house. Cissnei was glad that when she came to Gongaga, she had brought more light clothing than long-sleeved ones. Gongaga was sweltering hot, even in the wintry months of December. She was also relieved to see Daniel and Annie welcoming her again, this time for a longer period than before.

Initially, she kept apologizing for imposing on their hospitality, but the couple wouldn't hear the end of it. Eventually, Cissnei found a better way to show her gratitude: Hunting and household chores. Daniel and Annie Fair were very glad to have the extra help given by Cissnei and even though she never said it, Cissnei too enjoyed the different set of tasks given to her each day.

Cissnei cut through trees, slashing at obstructing vines with Rekka occasionally. Finally, Cissnei stopped at a clearing, listening intently to the surrounding sounds. There were no sounds of wildlife, which Cissnei found weird. Instead of proceeding to the next area to search, her thoughts drifted away to the events that have happened starting two months ago.

There were things in life that Cissnei can never fully explain. For example, why the young Cissnei who was a Wutai spy sent to infiltrate Shinra, decided to trust Veld, a man whom she had only met for less than a day. Or why she insisted on using Rekka, despite it being from Wutai Wings. Or why Cissnei became a self-made motherly figure among the Turks. Cissnei can never fully explain why she was obsessed with angels and wings, nor can she explain why she wanted to change her real name to the one that she's using now.

Or why Cissnei felt the desire, the need to return to Gongaga – to Daniel and Annie Fair.

Perhaps it is because Daniel Fair cracks the funniest jokes, at least for a man his age. Or it is because Annie Fair makes the best chicken curry. Perhaps because Gongaga is the place where Zack Fair came from, and it soothes her heart knowing (and grieving) that this is as close to Zack Fair as she can ever get.

Or maybe it was because despite her first family in the Turks in Shinra, Daniel and Annie were the first parents that she knew of – the closest thing to a real family.

Over the past two months, Cissnei lived an entirely different life. Much different from her tortured childhood under Wutai Wings, much different from being a family of like-minded Turks. Here she was normal. Daniel and Annie were two people different from the world she belonged to. Yet they genuinely showed concern for her well-being, asking if she had eaten or if she could help them with the household chores. Indeed, it seemed like an unspoken decision that Daniel and Annie were treating Cissnei like a daughter to make up for their lost son.

And Cissnei has grown used to this – having a family.

A large presence loomed behind her and immediately Cissnei turned to raise her shruiken in defense. A long, sleek katana was wedged in between the blades of her weapon and Cissnei stared into the bright eyes of a grinning comrade.

"Haato!" She exclaimed, lowering Rekka. She looked at the woman behind the katana-Turk. "Leia!" She smiled when she saw the martial artist.

"Hello, Cissnei." Leia greeted. "You seem well."

"Sure she is well," Haato teased. "Hanging out in Gongaga and being all comfortable!" He nudged her playfully. "Not so rusty with your shruiken yet, huh?"

Cissnei smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'll come back and pay my respects to my dead folks." Haato shrugged. "Ever since I was taken out from Gongaga by Shinra, I have never stepped back into this place." He looked around him. "Not as if there's anything to look for, except graves and new debris." He said sadly.

The redhead nodded. Haato was permanently not allowed to return to Gongaga, not because of Shinra's orders but more because the villagers of Gongaga shunned him. Most of the villagers, including Haato's parents, perished in the Mako Reactor explosion, so she supposed it didn't matter to Haato if he returned. Cissnei tugged her curls and then folded her arms. "Where will you and Leia be staying in?"

Haato shrugged. "I'll swing by my house and see if it has been destroyed by the Mako Reactor explosion. If it is then..."

"We'll stay in an inn." Leia finished for him. "Where have you been staying at?" She asked Cissnei. In a few short sentences, Cissnei explained how she met Daniel and Annie Fair.

Haato chuckled. "You must be really hung up on that Zack guy. Do the folks even know that he's dead?"

Cissnei instantly clammed up and looked away. Leia kicked Haato and earned a yip in response. Cissnei gave them a withering look. "They don't." Her frown softened as she thought of the kind couple. "I haven't brought myself to tell them that he died." Leia pulled a grim smile but Cissnei shook her head at the martial artist. "I'll tell them soon. I promise."

"… If you say so." Leia said quietly. She saw a certain motivation behind Cissnei that prevented her from persuading the shruiken-user any further.

The clearing was filled with a brief stillness as the trio looked at each other awkwardly. Finally, Haato broke the silence. "Anyway, we'll just be visiting here for a few days and then we'll go on our way to Wutai." He looked at Cissnei. "Jasper and Mason sent their regards."

"Well, you two don't look like you have been eating well." Cissnei frowned. "Are you-"

"No. Cissnei, don't." Haato raised a hand to stop her from talking. "Don't go motherly on us. Please don't do this to us even after we are not Turks anymore!"

They laughed jovially but stopped when Cissnei's PHS rang. Cissnei picked up the call and was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was Rod. In a good mood, she told Rodzen that Haato and Leia were with her. Haato wanted to reach for the PHS as well but Cissnei wrinkled her nose at him. Serves him right for calling her 'motherly'.

However, Rodzen was not in the mood for jokes. Going straight to the point, Rod requested that Haato and Leia stay in Gongaga and wait for him. He will be traveling to Gongaga the next day. Cissnei frowned and asked Rod what the matter was. Rod then answered that it was not convenient for them to talk over the PHS and pleaded them to stay in Gongaga till he arrived. Cissnei shrugged. It was not like Rod to be this secretive, so there had to be a reason. Haato and Leia also promised that they would stay in Gongaga till they meet with Rod as well.

Only then did Rod sound a little happier. "Cool beans." He said. "Can't wait to see you guys tomorrow. Take care." With a click, the phone call disconnected.

"Cool beans?" Cissnei gave a disgusted look. "Who uses that phrase anymore?"

When Elfe walked into her father's room, she frowned and looked at her father worriedly. The former leader of the Turks was buried in his work and barely noticed her presence. Elfe vaguely remembered that when she was a child she would try to sneak up behind her father. Veld has an uncanny sense of presence – he could always tell someone approaching no matter how quiet they walked. The young Elfe found it a great challenge to sneak behind her father. Looking at his burdened expression, Elfe marveled at how Veld didn't sense her approaching.

She softly called her father. "Do you want to take an afternoon nap?" She asked.

Veld looked up from his notes and stared at her blankly. "Oh… no." Veld shook his head. "No, I don't need one. I had a good rest last night, thanks to the sleeping pills."

The brunette frowned but said nothing. Instead, she walked towards her father who was sitting at his desk, pouring over some books. "Is there anything wrong?"

Veld ran his fingers through his dark hair. "It's just…" He paused, wondering how he should explain it to his daughter. Then, he remembered that Elfe was no longer a child whom he lost, but a fully-grown lady. In fact, she was involved in the cause of his research. Sighing, Veld told his daughter his recent research that arose because of a nagging feeling inside. When he was done, he was glad to see that his daughter understood the reason behind his distress.

"It's not a good sign, indeed." Elfe said solemnly. "Our troubles have not come to an end."

"But I don't know how to be sure." Veld said. "I've never seen such a thing, even though Professor Gast Faremis has discussed about this in one of his reports. Even so, he was also making a hypothesis…" Veld sighed at the death of a man he once was close with. "If only Gast is still alive…"

Elfe placed a hand on her father's shoulder. "We should probably ask Meia to check out his research as well. I mean… if it's really true that this new creature…" She paused to read the given name that Gast Faremis wrote in his report. "… WEAPON, if it will pose as a threat? … It's worth looking into."

The former Turk smiled at his daughter, delighted that there was a second perspective that he could look for. "I suppose I will give Meia a call later…"

"Did you call Tseng to inform him to let Meia into the building?"

"Yes, I did." Veld reached for his mug of coffee. "In fact, she was right by him when he picked up my call. From the sound of it, Tseng doesn't intend to let Meia know that he and I are still in contact. Nevertheless, he'll take her to the Shinra Building." He smiled. He had spent years keeping a straight face at people whom he cared for, he wouldn't do that anymore. Especially not to the daughter whom he thought he had lost for forever. "I trust Tseng."

Meia looked up and frowned at Tseng. The helicopter has landed smoothly on the helipad. Meia didn't need to look at the sign to know that she was on Floor 55 of the Shinra Building. The helipad looked exactly the same as it did when she first came here with Reno, watching the city lights of Midgar against the pitch dark sky. That was the night where Meia first found out that Reno lost his parents because of falling debris and ended up in Shinra under Tseng's mercy. It was also the night that Meia found a regretful and lonely Reno inside the cocky and nonchalant exterior.

She chided herself for letting her mind distract her so. It was not the time for her to go down memory lane. But it was hard for Meia not to reminisce about everything that had happened to her in this fateful building. Even when Tseng held his gun at Meia earlier on, she was reminded of herself once doing the same to him. Meia had been complaining that she wanted to go on field missions instead of administration and tests in the Shinra Building. Not only did he not indulge her, he threatened her to shoot him dead so that she can get what she wanted. Meia didn't; she told Tseng that she would not 'go around shooting comrades'.

A chill tingled down her spine as she thought of Tseng's words to her then: Turks are trained to obey orders, even if it defies our morals. Therefore unlike you, if there is a necessity, I will kill you.

Was… Was Tseng really going to kill me just now? Meia shivered. She thought about her fight with Tseng earlier on… When he was that close to killing her…

There was no way she could win. Even if she gained the upper hand and have him at her mercy, Meia couldn't shoot Tseng. She loved every one of the Turks, Tseng included. Even if Tseng ultimately became the bad guy, she couldn't bring herself to kill him. Maybe that's why Reno was unable to leave him here.

Yet… Tseng had no hesitation to kill her. Meia knew the look in his eyes. She had been with him on missions often enough to know when Tseng has no second thoughts about ending someone's life. Meia decided that she could hate herself for being soft-hearted later. Now she has to be alert and wary of the surroundings, especially Tseng. Tseng's behavior always befuddled her, this was no exception. Meia could not make any conclusion as to whether Tseng was a friend or a foe.

Thinking too much always gave Meia a headache, but she didn't have to worry long. Tseng alighted the helicopter, not affected the slightest by the fact that the gusts of wind generated by the buffeting helicopter blades were messing his long hair. Before Meia could react properly, he turned and pulled her out roughly, not caring if her knees became scraped.

"Let- go of me!" She growled, yanking her arm away from Tseng in disgust. "I can walk by myself perfectly fine!"

Ignoring Meia's comments, Tseng turned to the soldiers who were with him, the ones who grabbed Meia from the back and knocked her unconscious. "Take her to Professor Hojo." He pushed Aerith towards them. Aerith and Meia reached for each other but the soldiers pulled her away before they could hold each other's hands.

"What about her?" The soldiers asked of Meia, but his tone was not friendly. Meia frowned at him. He must've thought she was a slum citizen who tried to prevent Tseng from capturing Aerith.

"I'll handle her myself." Tseng said, undoing his tie a little as he said so.

The soldiers immediately exchanged knowing glances at each other. Meia groaned inwardly, realizing that the soldiers must have thought Tseng was going to have his way with her. Aerith, on the other hand, eyed Tseng cautiously, as if she could read his mind. Meia waited for Tseng to rectify the soldiers but he didn't. With a salute (and a snigger), the soldiers took Aerith, though not roughly, by the arm and led her away.

Left alone with Tseng, Meia felt conscious of herself. Why didn't Tseng correct them? Meia looked at Tseng suspiciously. Was he really going to-

"Don't think too highly of yourself." Tseng said, answering the question that burned in her heart.

Relief and embarrassment flooded her heart. She asked sheepishly. "Then why-"

"Show them what they want to see and they'll leave you be." Tseng walked towards the elevator. "Let them hear what they want to hear, and they won't disturb you for a year." He turned around and looked at Meia questioningly. "Didn't you learn that from Reno?" Without waiting for her answer, he turned back and walked on. "Move along, Meia. You are still a captive here."

Indeed, Reno had said that to Meia once. Reno was infamous for using unscrupulous means to portray the image he wanted to present to the people around him. Sadistic and merciless, it was a wonder how Reno could juggle both sides of his personality. Sometimes, Meia wondered which side was the real Reno – the carefree and kind Reno, or the heartless and apathetic one. Sometimes, Meia didn't care.

"Tseng…" Meia called out, feeling a little exposed and vulnerable at her next question. "Are you… Will you kill me?" She asked quietly.

The Wutaian turned to her and regarded her indifferently. "If I had wanted to kill you, I would've done it the minute you opened your mouth in Sector 5. Now, walk fast before I change my mind."

Marveling at the emotionless mercy, Meia trudged behind Tseng, inwardly thankful that Tseng wasn't going to kill her… yet. As Tseng and Meia entered the elevator, Meia noticed that Tseng punched a code into the controls and recognized the set of numbers. She had watched former Turk Rodzen Daisa key in the same code to control the elevator and bring its occupants to the desired floor without interruption. She kept quiet, for Rod was not authorized to possess the code. Besides, she had the code memorized in her head too. Maybe she will need it later. Neither breathed a word while the elevator brought them to the specified floor. Meia focused on looking out of the glass elevator, preferring to watch Midgar from above.

When the lift doors opened, Meia instantly recognized the place. It was Floor 53, the place where she used to call home. The Turk residences barely changed and it sent a pang to her heart; she was now in this place not as one who had returned home after a long mission, but a visitor… a prisoner of Shinra.

"Hurry up," spoke Tseng as if he was addressing a stranger. "Before I bring the guards on you."

Grumbling inwardly, Meia quickened her footsteps and followed the silent Turk. When he stopped again, Meia looked at the door in front of her and realized that she was staring at a room which her former colleague, Kido, used to reside. She glanced at Tseng. "What are you up to, Tseng?" She asked suspiciously.

Suddenly, she felt Tseng grab her arms, locking her so that she can't fight back. "Go in. This is where Meia shall die." He said solemnly.

I'm sure you figured out who Daniel and Annie Fair are… right? And I'm SURE you know who their missing son is? Also, kudos to my asian reference of chicken curry! To those who've never tried, you ought to if you ever visit the south-east asian countries! It's spicy and most wonderful! Extra cookies for those who knew that Veld was the one on the phone with Tseng in the last chapter!

Do not wonder about Tseng's last sentence, all will be revealed next chapter!

IceQueen69: I definitely did not consider what you've mentioned. If time permits, I'll try to write a reconciliation to this mini loophole!

Rachel: The chapter has answered your question! Once again, AVALANCHE and Meia won't cross paths :P Nevertheless, thank you for making my story your weekly entertainment. It gladdens me to know that I'm making someone's week better!

Thank you everyone else for reviewing! It makes me so happy to see people enjoying my story, really!