Days of Exile
Chapter 19 – The Beginning of Truths
26 December 0007
Meia stepped out of the airship, wearing her cardigan and large coat. Still, she could feel the winds all but frosting her nose. The entourage walked the narrow path into the crater. It was cold, but the chill from the whirlwind unsettled her more.
Just like what Rude predicted, they encountered many monsters along the way. Meia did not interfere as the Rude and the guards fought the monsters, but there were too many. In the end, Rufus Shinra pulled out his shotgun and single-handedly took down some of them.
Huh. Meia mused as she watched the President in action for the first time. Nobody uses the shotgun with one hand. The recoil is simply too strong for an arm to handle it. One would need vigorous training, Meia supposed. He's pretty good. His arrogance isn't unwarranted. Cassie would love to fight him someday.
It wasn't a long journey, but when they've finally reached the centre of the crater, they stopped.
"I can't believe my eyes…" Meia stared at the crystalline place in front of them.
Just that it wasn't just crystals, but Materia. Hundreds, if not thousands, of naturally-made Materia orbs hung from tree roots, like a wooden chandelier. All around, the cave walls shimmered varying shades of iridescent blue, as if the walls were made of molten aquamarines.
Meia took a step closer, wanting to admire the place better, but the scientist stopped her. "Stay here, I won't have your grubby hands meddling with anything here!" Professor Hojo barked at Meia.
"Gee, go on then." Meia muttered under her breath. It wasn't like she could not see what was happening. The area was small and everything they say could be heard because of the echoes. She looked at Rude, who stood outside the area as well. "So, you and I are like guard dogs, huh?" Rude shrugged and wisely kept his remarks to himself.
Rufus walked alone into the arena, with Scarlet following after. She laughed as she saw what was in front. "Wow! That's amazing!" She almost twirled in joy when she made her way to the centre of the cave. "It's all Materia!" She exclaimed, looking up at the roots.
The President too, marvelled at the sight. "The outside is rich with Mako energy. The inside is a treasure grove of Materia." Meia could sense satisfaction and pleasure at his discovery. "This truly is the Promised Land." He remarked.
"There is no such thing as the Promised Land." Hojo hobbled along behind. "It's a legend… an old wives' tale..." He looked at the magnificent sight in front of him and regarded Rufus with equal cynicism. "… It's utterly ridiculous."
Ignoring the scientist's words, Rufus turned to Hojo. "Everything's as I imagined it to be. Isn't it splendid?" His following words showed that Rufus was annoyed by Hojo's earlier comment. "It is that kind of dullness that makes you a second-rate scientist."
Meia looked at Rude and shrugged. Let them handle their own discord.
Suddenly, there was a tremor that shook the land. Meia tried to stable herself while Rude prepared himself for a fight.
"What's happening?" Rufus asked sharply.
Scarlet, who was the furthest from them, turned to them in panic. "It's coming from within' the wall!" She shrieked. "Something's in there! It's moving!"
What? Meia looked at the walls and realised that the darkened areas of the walls were not simply unevened crystalline walls… but actual… actual beings encased in crystal. A large eye, the size of a basketball, opened and blinked at them. Meia's body was rigid with fear. With an eye that big… how big is this monster?
"WEAPON..."
Meia stared at Hojo, who was the one who spoke. Not just any monster, but WEAPON? She thought. As in… like the Jade WEAPON?
"Then it really does exist... I didn't believe in it." Hojo murmured to himself.
Rufus looked at his scientist in curiosity. "What does this mean?"
"... WEAPON. Monsters created by the Planet. It appears when the Planet is in danger, reducing everything to nothingness. That's what was stated in Professor Gast's report."
Professor Gast's reports… Meia read those exact reports in the Science Archives then. That was what gave her the information to Veld about the Jade WEAPON. I… I did not realise that WEAPONs are actually… dormant. I've always thought that they were made only when the crisis appeared. So Jade WEAPON is not the only WEAPON alive…
Meia almost smacked her forehead. Jade WEAPON! She thought miserably.
The truth was that when Alana, KK, Cassie and herself went to search for the Jade WEAPON two days ago, the WEAPON was almost un-damageable. Nothing they did could hurt the WEAPON. It was amazing that Cissnei and some others could fight the WEAPON. Eventually, they wore down the WEAPON and dealt some strong damage, but it wasn't enough to kill it.
If these WEAPONs in the Crater are awakening as well… Meia cringed. They could join the Jade WEAPON in a happy family reunion or something. Or participate in a carnival of Planet destruction. Every thought was gloomier than the previous one.
President Rufus listened to Professor Hojo's explanation with new interest. "I never saw that report... Where is it?"
Professor Hojo chuckled and tapped his large head. "Here, right here."
Meia did not correct Hojo, even though she knew that Professor Hojo had lied to the President. So now we know that even the higher ups keep their secrets… like THAT's a surprise. There were too many secrets in Shinra, she knew better than to meddle in them. She would not jeopardise Hojo anyway; the fact that the top executives were not meddling into the affairs of the Science department was liberating, in a sense.
Rufus narrowed his eyes briefly. Then, he flipped his blond hair and shrugged. "You keep a lot of things to yourself." The scientist only smiled mildly in response.
Scarlet walked back to Rufus, her face was now lined with anxiety. "Mr. President… I've got a bad feeling about this place..."
The President considered her words. "Hmm... maybe we should go back to our ship now. We need to prepare for the inspection anyway."
There was a sudden flash of light, and Meia shielded her eyes. When her eyes shifted back to focus again, there were more people in the centre of the crater, three more who joined.
The most outstanding one was a man with spiky blond hair, wearing a SOLDIER First Class uniform. For a moment, if not for the abstract blond hair, Meia would've mistaken him for Zack Fair. There was something disconcerting in the man's eyes. He was a man whose mind was in somewhere distant. Not too far away from him was a woman with long dark hair and bright wine-red eyes, now full of worry and fear. The last man was a middle-aged man with goggles on his forehead and wielding a spear in his hand.
How did they get here?
Rude leant closer to Meia and whispered, "Be careful. They are AVALANCHE."
"AVALANCHE?" She almost hissed. "I have been hearing of them. They are not the ones led by Elfe?"
"No, they are a new group, completely unrelated to Elfe, Fuhito and Shears." Rude replied.
Whatever more questions Meia wanted to ask, she couldn't because Scarlet instantly exclaimed, "Hey! Where did you come from?"
"… Don't know." The blond man looked up and turned to them. "This place is going to get rough." He spoke with authority, as if he knew better. "Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can!"
Rufus flipped his hair haughtily. "Leave things to you? Hmph... I don't know what you mean."
A cold voice replaced his normal one, and it chilled Meia to the core how different it sounded. "This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins and ends." The man's head drooped, falling back into a trance.
The woman ran towards him and shouted, "Cloud!" But the man named Cloud did not hear her. Cloud, thought Meia, now remembering. This is the one whom Reno asked, if he was a SOLDIER First Class.
"What is an AVALANCHE member wearing a SOLDIER uniform for?" Meia whispered to Rude.
Rude shook his head. "That eluded Tseng, Reno and I for a while now. When we first met him, he was already in this uniform. In fact, he was very confident he was a SOLDIER First Class, according to my sources."
"Impossible." Meia whispered. "He was never in First Class. Who is he?"
"Exactly."
Up the narrow path, Meia saw a burly, tanned man running up the path. It was his figure that triggered Meia's memory that while she was in the Shinra helicopter, she had actually seen Cloud, that woman and this burly man up in the Sector 7 tower less than two weeks ago. So this is the new AVALANCHE… how many more are there? Meiathought.
"Out of my way!" The man snarled, more at Rude than at Meia. Meia noticed the gun built in his arm and by reflex, took a step back. Rude did not even budge, he only watched the man without much expression on his face. The man reached the cave and looked around, sizing up the people in the area. No doubt he knew who they were, but they weren't an immediate concern. "Hey!" The man shouted at Cloud. "We're here to help you!"
For a minute, Cloud did not respond to the man's words. Then suddenly, he grabbed his head as if fighting a massive headache. He recovered a little, then suddenly he convulsed in pain again.
Meia stared at the others in the cave. Why isn't anyone helping him? She thought, but as she tried to move towards him, she realised why. I can't move! She thought. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rude, immobilised too. She stared at him, but she knew that Rude offered no answers of his own as well. None of us can move nor speak… what sorcery is this? When she found no possible explanation, Meia stopped struggling. She had no choice but to observe what happened next.
Cloud spoke, now in front of the man. "Thanks... Barret. Where's the Black Materia?" The woman, Cloud's friend, shouted again but this time, Meia couldn't hear her. It seemed that no one could hear her at all.
"It's safe." The burly man grinned. "I have it."
"I'll take it from here." Cloud said. "Give me the ... Black Materia."
The woman spoke again, Meia could see her lips moving, but she heard nothing. However, from her body language and her fearful face, Meia knew that something bad was happening and she couldn't stop it with all that she had.
"You alright?" Barret asked with concern. When Cloud nodded his head, he sighed with relief. "Okay then, here. Had a lot of pressure holding this thing."
The woman was screaming silently as Barret drew out a black orb from his pocket. Goosebumps appeared on Meia's arm. She had never seen a Materia that was black. Whatever this Black Materia could do… if it could create so much pressure on the big guy Barret and so much fear in that woman… it could not be a good thing at all.
There was another flash and then Meia felt her body relaxing. I can move again.
Cloud was now looking at the rest of them in the cave again. "Everyone, thanks for everything. And... I'm sorry." Turning to Barret, he apologised again. Then, he turned to the woman. "Especially you, Tifa. I'm really sorry. You've been so good to me... I don't know what to say... I never lived up to being 'Cloud'. Tifa... Maybe one day you'll meet the real 'Cloud'."
The woman, whom Meia assumed to be Tifa, curled herself into a ball and to Meia's surprise, started crying. Finally, it was Hojo who broke the silence by laughing. "... This is perfect! It means that my experiment was a complete success. What number were you? Huh? Where is your tattoo?"
Number? Tattoo? What are they talking about? Meia frowned. Everyone is really talking in a different language!
"Professor Hojo... I don't have a number. You didn't give me one because you said I was a failed experiment."
Cloud's words for some reason surprised Professor Hojo. The scientist turned his back against Cloud and murmured to himself, though everyone could hear him due to the acoustics of the cave. "What the-? You mean only a failure made it here?" His voice carried surprise and much disappointment.
The blond man looked at himself and back at Hojo. "Professor..." Cloud pleaded. "Please give me a number. Please, Professor..."
"Shut up, miserable failure..." Hojo retorted harshly.
Meia bit her lip. Hojo was mean but he had gone too far with his words. Cloud slumped at the scientist's words and then, a sudden unknown force pulled Cloud off the ground.
"Oh!" Meia gasped as she watched the man levitate all the way to the top, at the centre of the chandelier-looking roots.
"Who... was that?" Rufus asked of Hojo.
"He's a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago," Hojo answered. "Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life."
Meia listened in astonishment. This man... is not a real human being? Has science advanced so much such that we can create human beings with such complex intelligences? And Jenova again... Just what is Jenova?
"... I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has now been proven. You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the Clones have begun to return."
Five years... Meia furrowed her eyebrows. "Five years ago was the Nibelheim incident, wasn't it?" She turned to Rude. "What happened? What of this Jenova?"
"There's... There were many things that happened in the Nibelheim incident..." Rude answered. "Even I who knew a little more, am quite clueless."
Professor Hojo continued talking. "I thought the Clones would begin to gather at Midgar where Jenova is stored. But my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenova itself began to move away from the Shinra Building."
Jenova... Meia recalled the metal case in the Shinra Building, where it looked like something monstrous broke out of it. So that's what happened. Jenova broke out of the case and came... all the way here?
"But being a genius that I am, I soon figured it out." Hojo smiled, revealing a set of small, immaculately white teeth. "You see it was all Sephiroth's doing. Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream; he wants to manipulate the Clones itself."
Meia looked up at the roots, where Cloud was curling up against. It was strange looking at him, for he was standing on the roots, upside down, as if they had their own gravity pull. Though Cloud was way up there, he did not fall off the roots at all.
"I wondered where the clones were going," Hojo said. "But I was never able to figure it out. The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destination."
There was a loud rumble. As Rufus and Scarlet moved away, the roots gave way as a large shard of crystal dropped further, allowing Meia to see clearly what the crystal was.
It was a crystal tomb.
And trapped inside the Mako crystal, like an insect in molten ember, was Sephiroth.
Meia felt her breath quicken. "Sephiroth!" She hissed at Rude. "No... No... No, no, no!" Rufus Shinra and Scarlet, who were now standing much closer to her, turned to look at her. Meia quickly shook her head and pretended as if nothing had happened.
Rude frowned at Meia and pulled her back a few more steps. "What is it?" He asked in low tones.
"I first came to Midgar because I SAW Sephiroth outside Icicle Inn, heading in the direction of the main contintent." Meia looked at Rude in total confusion. "If Sephiroth has been here all this while... then what..."
"Perhaps what you saw was... a Sephiroth clone, as what Professor Hojo puts it." Rude answered. "Damn... that would mean that the Sephiroth in the Shinra Building... was a Sephiroth clone as well..."
"Sephiroth was in the Shinra Building?" Meia asked, shocked. "Since when?"
"Two weeks ago." Rude rubbed his chin in thought. "That would mean that all this while... Cloud's gang and us... we have been chasing a mere clone across the Planet... Tseng and Reno will not be happy to hear this."
Meia frowned. "The night where Sephiroth assassinated President Shinra?" Rude nodded. "No, it is not just a Sephiroth clone. I'm quite sure."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you hear Professor Hojo just now? Jenova moved away from the Shinra Building. Jenova broke out of her laboratory, wasn't it? I think the one you and Cloud have been chasing is probably Jenova, disguised as Sephiroth." She clutched her head in frustration. "Then the one that I saw in Icicle Inn was probably just a random Sephiroth clone?" She murmured to herself but there was no clarity in her thoughts. "This is all too confusing. Everyone is telling the same story but with different details. What is happening?"
Hojo's eyes glittered when he saw Sephiroth. "Did you see it! It's Sephiroth! So he IS here!" Turning to Tifa, Barret and their last comrade, he spoke excitedly, even to the point of gesturing his arms. "This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here!"
Meia wondered at his reaction. Hojo has hardly, if never, shown interest in anything. His behaviour when he talked about Sephiroth was highly unusual, the way he somewhat puffed up in pride when he looked at Sephiroth...
Either Sephiroth did some BIG favour for him a long time ago that he prized Sephiroth very highly or… Meia frowned. Hojo was looking at Sephiroth almost... lovingly? Like a father would do to a son... Meia cringed immediately at the thought. As if they would have genetically anything in common.
Tifa shook her head in protest. "What are you so happy about, Professor? You know what this means, don't you?" She spread her arms out. "Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor! Every single person is going to die!"
But the scientist was delirious in his discovery to hear her. Meia doubted that in his 'sane' manner, he would've listened anyway. She knew nothing about what had happened in the last fifteen minutes, but one thing was clear now.
Everyone is going to die.
Rufus walked pack to Hojo. Meia saw that finally, he got it too. A grim look settled on his handsome face. "Whatever I say is too little... too late..." He murmured. Firming his tone, he spoke, this time with more authority. "We must evacuate." When the AVALANCHE group looked at him, he shook his head. He had something in mind for them. "I want you all to come with me. There is still much more I want to hear."
Then what about that Cloud who is up there? Meia looked up at the man who is in a complete daze. The blond man was embracing the crystal tomb, muttering under his breath like a chant.
"Yo! Cloud! Knock it off!" Barret yelled.
Cloud turned and twisted in agony. Then for a moment, his face broke free of whatever that was holding him. He floated down and looked at his comrades in concern.
Then all of a sudden, a force pulled him to Sephiroth sharply.
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted in panic.
Meia watched as Cloud drew out the Black Materia. His arm passed through the Mako crystal as if it's water. The Black Materia moved on its own to merge with Sephiroth's body… and Meia did not wait to see what happened.
"Hey! Are we leaving or not?" Meia shouted at the group impatiently. All of them didn't need asking twice. They turned and fled the centre of the crater. Instincts kicked in before she could even think them through. "Follow me!" Meia commanded, running ahead and jumping over the rocks as if she visited the Northern Crater daily. In a moment of panic, no one noticed that it was unnatural that a lowly lab assistant would suddenly know the Northern Crater terrain as if it was the back of her palm.
What took them almost 30 minutes to get to the centre of the Crater now only took ten when they returned to the airship. The group made it to the Shinra Airship in record time, hindered slightly only by monsters who had not yet figured out that the Crater was shaking unnaturally.
"All of us are aboard!" Rufus shouted to another of the crew.
Scarlet shrieked. "Move, move, move!"
The airship was already fired up and ready for flight. Within the minute, the airship groaned under its own weight, but lifted off easily. They left AVALANCHE to themselves on the deck and all Shinra personnel headed to the cockpit.
"Faster, faster!" Heidegger urged the pilot.
When the airship finally emerged from the crater, a huge magical force shot out from the crater, spewing torrents of lifestream like an inverted waterfall. Forgetting all forms of etiquette, Meia squeezed to the front of the window to see if she could get a better view.
"Look out! WEAPON!" Someone shouted.
For a moment, from behind, the sky looked brighter. Then, a sudden crash rattled the entire ship. Everyone grabbed onto something for support.
"What was that?" Rufus asked sharply.
"Sir!" A lanky pilot crew ran in the cockpit and saluted the President. "It appears that we were attacked by one of the WEAPON. The airship is not harmed in any way."
Rufus nodded urgently. "Keep going."
"Yes sir!"
It was then that Meia remembered that AVALANCHE were still on the deck. She ran out of the room and up the stairs, where the deck was. Up the deck, it was dangerous. Since the airship was moving at such high speeds, if one was not careful, he could be thrown out from the airship. Meia's breath was stuck in her throat. Against the night sky, the Northern Crater looked dangerously beautiful with its explosive display of cyan lights.
From the centre of the crater, five streams of blue lights shot out. Meia's heart plummeted when she saw that they were not just lights, but light streams from the movements of five monsters, humongous creatures almost double the size of the Jade WEAPON.
Oh great. 5 WEAPONs? Meia groaned inwardly. With one, we are struggling. Now we have five more. Together with our friend, the Jade WEAPON, this is going to be one heck of a party, alright.
Her attention quickly shifted to the people on the deck. She immediately recognised Cait Sith, the robotic cat that was sent by Reeve. There was also Tifa, Barret, a lion-looking creature, two other people whom she did not recognise and (she gasped) Vincent Valentine. Tifa was lying on the floor, unconscious.
What's wrong with Tifa?
"Dunno! That damn monster just released some weird beam and Tifa was caught in it." Barret answered worriedly when Meia asked him. He held her tightly and his brows were furrowed in anxiety. Meia knelt down and placed her hands over Tifa's head. Sensing how tense Barret was, Meia told him to relax. With a soft tone, Meia released a curative spell and Tifa's breathing stablised.
"Oh great, Cure." A distinctive Wutaian voice spoke from behind. "Because none of us thought of using that!" Meia turned to face the woman, not really sure if she was sensing sarcasm or overwhelming enthusiasm. After knowing Jasper, Meia couldn't really tell the difference. On closer look, the Wutaian was more like a girl, probably closer to Elena's age. She had short black hair showing a bandanna beneath her bangs. She held a shruiken, reminding Meia strongly of Cissnei, though Cissnei had more grace and elegance than her.
"Matilda." Another voice spoke, this time Meia knew it was from Cait Sith. "We tried potions, spells, everything. But she is still not stirring."
Barret frowned. "How did you two… Oh, I know. You two are both from Shinra." He spoke with some distaste in his speech. It was clear that AVALANCHE, at least Barret, did not like Shinra.
Ignoring the burly man, Meia answered, "She may have slipped into a coma. There is no knowing what that WEAPON possessed, its attack could be anything from a sleeping spell to a major concussion." She stood up from where she was at. "When we reach Midgar, why don't you allow us to run through tests with her or something? Maybe-"
"No," a deeper voice spoke, and Meia knew who it was.
"Mr. Valentine…" She turned to face him. His face showed signs of time stopping, for he did not age despite being around fifty years old.
Vincent Valentine frowned when she mentioned his name, but did not address it. "No tests."
Meia immediately understood what he was saying. "Don't worry, Mr. Valentine-"
"Vincent."
"I won't allow Dr. Hojo touch Tifa."
"And I don't trust ya Shinra!" Barret barked defensively. "As if any of you could be trusted!"
Ouch. Meia flinched at his harsh words, but who was she to blame them? She watched Vincent Valentine. By being a former Turk, he was a Shinra employee too. Didn't he feel any indignance at those words? Judging by his expression, she doubted so.
"Whatever the case," a middle-aged man stood by the corner, smoking a cigarette. He was the man who was with Tifa and Cloud initially in the cave too. With his rough voice and stubble, Meia thought that he looked pretty handsome in a rugged sort of way. "We are going back to Midgar, right into the hands of Shinra. Are we going to let that happen?"
"We need to stick together!" piped the Wutaian girl. "I can't go without taking the Mate- I mean, without knowing that Tifa is fine!"
Meia raised an eyebrow at her slip. Looking at the faces of her comrades, her kleptomania probably wasn't the first time.
To her surprise, the lion-looking creature talked. "Yuffie is right. We've lost Cloud, we cannot lose another of our comrades."
"It talks!" Meia stared at the creature in utter surprise.
"I would appreciate it if you call me Nanaki. I am-"
"One of the aboriginals of the Planet!" Meia replied, with awe. "I... I'm really honoured to meet you."
It was clear that Nanaki looked a little proud to be recognised. "You know a lot, miss."
Meia grinned. "I'm paid to read a lot, you see."
Turning back to the group, Nanaki spoke, "Once Tifa wakes up, then we'll leave Midgar and we can worry about the plans then."
Meia cleared her throat. "Sorry everyone, not wanting to argue whose problems are bigger, but we do have bigger things to worry about." She pointed them to the sky.
A small speck of light shone high above them.
"What the %$^%& is that?" the middle-aged man asked.
Meia bit her lip. "Earlier on, your friend," she jerked a thumb at the crater behind them. "Gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth and your friend here," she gestured at the sleeping Tifa. "Said that Sephiroth was going to summon Meteor. So… If you ask me... I think that's-"
"Meteor..." said Vincent solemnly.
"Damn..." Barret cursed under his breath. "DAMN IT ALL!" He yelled. He raised his gunarm and shot a few rounds into the air. Obviously the bullets didn't deter the incoming Meteor, but Meia knew that if he didn't stop soon, the Shinra staff below will notice.
Thinking back on how desperate Tifa looked, Meia thought about the implications of this Meteor. Are we really going to die?.
Meia stared at the distance, where the five trails of blue light can still be seen in the great distance. "And we have five huge monsters, of which no one has any clue as to how to defeat it, running around the Planet."
"Oh yeah? And who do we have to credit all these to?" shot back Barret disdainfully.
Meia turned to look at him levelly. She understood Barret's dislike towards the electric company. However, generalising everyone who worked in Shinra as scum just because of a few people was going too far. "Mr. Barret," Meia found herself blurting. "I agree with you that Shinra may not be the most moral people around here. But we did everything we did for the sake of Midgar. We want Midgar to live a comfortable life."
"At the cost of the Planet's life!"
"Like I said, Shinra may not be the most morally upright people around." Meia stared at them, wondering how much she should reveal. In the end, she decided that keeping quiet was still the wisest thing to do, even if these people were not from Shinra. "I'll do my best to keep Tifa safe. If not, I'll promise you a safe route out of the airship if you really feel threatened. I have nothing against you. Please... trust me."
Barret looked at her with such intensity that Meia felt awkward. Perhaps she was pushing her luck too far. Finally, the man grunted his approval. Thank goodness. She thought. If he creates any more trouble Rufus might just personally come up to the deck to kick them off the airship. Quite literally, off the airship.
This chapter is the easiest to upload. Look! No line breaks AT ALL! I apologise for the lengthy looking chapter. This is one of my shortest chapters, around 4900 words. This is one intense chapter, however. I had to force myself to break it off here, or I can't end it till I'm hitting 8000 words, and we REALLY don't want that! I'll continue the rest of the flight back in the next chapter.
Thank you for your reviews once again! It was real lovely to see all the wonderful comments! Also, I am grateful to those who favourited and followed my story! I shall do my best not to disappoint!