Days of Exile
Chapter 25 – Vying for Trust and Approval
31 December 0007
Meia stiffened at the sounds of a stone wall closing. Far in the distance. Fear racked her brain and body. Who still comes to the Shinra Mansion? Meia thought with horror. Before leaving for Nibelheim, Meia had ensured that no one was patrolling inside the Shinra Mansion. She stole the schedule list from SOLDIER, so she knew when to enter the territory at the right time. Due to the crisis of Meteor, many soldiers were recalled and brought back to the main headquarters and Junon office, leaving only two pairs of sentries guarding the exterior of the mansion.
Security had relaxed in Shinra Mansion, despite it holding the darkest secrets of Shinra. Meia barely broke a sweat infiltrating the mansion because the soldiers were not vigilant in keeping their watch. Nobody had attempted to break into the mansion in the last six years (breaking out of the mansion was a different story though).
Instinctively, Meia stuffed the books and documents into the nearest corner she could find and leant by the corner of the wall. The basement library had two adjacent rooms, connected by a tunnel of bookshelves. If she were to stay in the inner room, she might be able to take the intruder by surprise.
The intruder's voice, however, took Meia by surprise. "Meia?" There was a pause. "Are you here?"
Stunned, Meia stepped out of the corner that she was hiding. "Alana?" Meia quickly walked towards her. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same question," replied the blonde. She put her duffel bag and looked at her. "Shinra should level up their security here."
"That's why it's so easy to come inside," shrugged the younger woman. "The guards were recalled back to the headquarters." She narrowed her eyes at her mentor with suspicion. "You should know why I am here. Didn't KK tell you?"
"She did. That's why I'm here to tell you that you're being ridiculous."
The younger woman tensed. "I am not leaving… and you can't make me."
"… Did I mention that you're being ridiculous?"
"Alana, please," pleaded Meia. "I am doing what I feel is right."
"You're doing what you feel is right… for you," countered Alana harshly. "Did you consider the opinions of everyone else?"
"I know everyone is skeptical about it, but whatever I'm doing…" Meia paused to gesture at the bookshelves around her. "… May give us a clue as to save the Planet from Meteor!"
Alana's look was skeptical. "And did you find anything yet?" She asked with a mocking tone.
"… No." Meia mumbled and twirled her thumbs. "... Nothing much."
"Then you're just playing a bet on something that you aren't too sure yourself." Alana shook her head. "Just who do you think you are? Are you so caught up in your self-importance to overlook the repercussions of your actions?"
Meia reddened at the accusing tone in Alana's voice. "I am not going to hinder you guys! All that I'm doing here is of my own decision!"
"When will you ever learn?" Alana argued back. "Nobody is alone in this entity, that's how we've been working as Turks!"
"Well, newsflash! We are not Turks anymore!"
Alana groaned loudly. "Why are you always so reckless and thoughtless?"
"Because this is the Planet we're talking about," Meia replied seriously. "If nobody does anything to stop Meteor… then we are surely doomed." She paced back and forth the length of the corridor, speaking as fast as a bullet train. "I know I don't have the ability, but I have the resources." She inclined her head towards the mountain of books behind her. "Oh, well… I don't know where else I can go, but at least I am starting on something! And if this place doesn't have the answer I want, then I'll keep finding!
"I'll keep finding until I know for sure that this Planet is doomed… because…" Meia slowed down and sniffled as heavy tears swam around her eyes. "Because I like this Planet, and everyone in it." Meia looked at Alana boldly in her eyes, desperate to find some agreement or even acknowledgement to what she had said. "Don't you feel the same?" Meia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The blonde did not reply; she only stared at her. Meia understood that look. To Alana, nothing was more important than protecting the exiled Turks. Leave the Planet crisis to someone else, but Alana could not afford to see anymore colleagues gone. Her loyalty to the Shinra company was unquestionable from day one, but Meia knew that Alana deeply cared for the Turks behind her unnecessary politeness and sharp tongue.
But Meia's interests lie not only in the Turks alone. Indeed like what Rod said, she would rather be the superhero that sacrificed her safety if it meant helping the Planet. She quickly wiped her tears away and with convicted determination, she looked at her mentor. "Thank you for coming all the way here, Alana. But please… go back."
The blonde Turk did not reply, so Meia looked away. She could not bear to see the disappointment in her mentor's eyes. Finally, she said, rather curtly, "If you won't leave with me, then at least take this."
Only then did Meia look at Alana quizzically, but the handgun Turk said nothing more. She only motioned the younger woman to open the duffel bag. When unzipped, Meia's face brightened. There were loaves of fresh bread, cold meat and bottles of water. Her eyes shone with gratitude. "Alana…" Meia choked.
"Don't get me wrong. I still think you're not doing a wise thing," Alana huffed. "But since you are most likely getting caught, don't starve yourself at least," she added nastily.
Impulsively, Meia ran and hugged Alana. "Thank you for believing in me. You're always so nice to me even though you're so fierce."
"Not that…" She answered in a rather awkward air, embarrassed that Meia could guess her intentions. "I figured that you'll be too stubborn to return with me anyway." She roughly pushed the younger woman away. She hadn't had many people hug her for a long time, especially not from her younger sister. "Be safe," Alana said, more like a warning than an advice. When Meia nodded, the blonde Turk turned to walk out of the basement library.
The Turks lounge looked too spacious ever since the exiled Turks left the headquarters, but Reno and Rude had gotten used to the extra space and silence. No more Haato lounging on the couch with his legs propped on the coffee table, no more Cassie and Rod squabbling over the tiniest things, no more Mason's warm voice and his friendly noogie, no more Cissnei insisting that they take those special supplements, no more KK polishing her knives–
Reno drew a deep breath. It has barely been months since the other Turks left, still he feels their presence and hears their laughter. He relished their brainless conversations and unreasonable fights. They had not been close – no one comes to Shinra to make friends– but Reno had to admit, they were the closest people he had to friends, if not family. Possibly in the last decade, they have found more in common in each other than they ever could in others in a lifetime… The common objective of protecting Shinra's secrets at all costs… The necessity to kill… The worries of never finding their romantic other who could accept their jobs…
Only the Turks could understand themselves.
He had not realized how much he'd actually miss them until they were gone.
"… tried contacting the others?"
"Sorry, what?" Reno turned and gave an apologetic look to Rude. He had not realized that his partner was speaking.
"I said, have you tried contacting the other people about Tseng?"
Reno didn't need Rude to explain what 'the other people' meant. Next to the current Turks themselves, the exiled Turks were the most resourceful pool of people that Reno could gather information from. "I would if I could… The problem is that they've vanished," the redhead answered. Rude threw him a quizzical look. "Just two weeks back. I could not call any of their numbers. Their phones were switched off, yo? Only Meia's still worked…" Here, Rude noticed a slight dip in his tone. "… But not anymore too. A few days ago, her PHS went kaput too."
Looking at the frown in the redhead's face, Rude had mistaken Reno and asked, "Have you heard any of their plans through Meia?" Reno shook his head and offered no rejoinder. Rude tried not to be surprised. His redhead partner was actually looking a little dejected. That was when Rude realized that contacting the other exiled Turks were the least of his concerns. "Have you been able to contact Meia at all, Reno?" Rude pressed on.
The disappointed look on his partner's face was as clear as a neon sign. "She just… vanished," he murmured. "I… I feel real dumb now. When I saw her in Midgar then, I should've kept her by my side before she slipped away."
"You knew that it was not possible to have her so close to Shinra."
"I could have had her by my side when I saw her in Sector 5, but I didn't keep her," Reno growled softly. "I'm not going to let her go this time round. I thought I'll not see her ever again back when they first left…"
Rude pressed his lips together. He needed Reno to get his act together. With Tseng away (he dared not think 'gone'), Reno, being second-in-command, will be in charge of all Turk affairs. The leader-to-be of the Turks must not show such weakness in front of his people… Then again, with only the two of them and Elena left, there weren't many others to bare his truth feelings in front of.
"… Trust her," Rude said, feeling awkward as he did so. Why did that sound like an Aunt Agony advice column? "Believe that she will contact you when she can."
The redhead laughed. "Gee, Rude! When you have to sound like Aunt Agony, I know I'm really pathetic!" Rude pushed his sunglasses against his nose and kept his comments to himself. "Although… I did discover something interesting about Meia…" Leaning over to Rude, Reno whispered something in his ear. Rude was impassive in his reaction, but that wasn't unusual to Reno. "Don't you think it's likely?"
"… It is plausible, but farfetched," he said.
"Yeah, that's what I think too, yo?" Reno grinned. "Alrighty, no time for chit chat! We gotta get our act together, if not when Elena comes back tonight, she'll scold us for being mopey!"
Rude raised his eyebrows at Reno, but decided to simply nod his agreement. "… We need all the manpower we have to find Tseng."
"Yeah, but…" Reno looked up in the afternoon sky, where Meteor was almost as big as the sun. "We don't really have much time, do we?" He asked quietly. "Rufus is now in Junon with the plans on the Mako Cannon."
Mako Cannon is the pride and joy of Shinra's Weapon Development. It was built together with the Junon office to be the main fighting force when Junon is under attack. For many years the cannon was barely used… until now. With the emergence of these new creatures named WEAPON, Shinra had been running data and tests continuously in the Junon office. Reno and Rude were not dispatched to Junon, but they were still in the loop regarding all Shinra matters, since Tseng was currently missing.
"Whatever the case, we have a lot of work to do once the President comes back. No more drinking till this problem is over."
"What? You've gotta be joking, yo? Don't we already have a lot of work to do?" complained Reno.
"We should be grateful that our main task is only to locate Tseng and confirm his safety."
"Fine, fine," grumbled Reno further. He fell back onto the couch with a sigh. "And then… what if he's…" He trailed off when he saw Rude's look. "What if we can't find him?"
The older Turk folded his arms and considered the implications. Reno would then become the leader of the Turks, and his first mission will be to eliminate the WEAPONs and Meteor that threaten to wipe out the entire Planet. In the meantime, Reno will need to devise ways to help Rufus Shinra garner support from his people – be it helping citizens or assassinating naysayers. Speaking of which, they would need to hunt the rest of AVALANCHE down. Tifa Lockhart and Barret Wallace were in captivity in Junon but the other members were nowhere to be found… especially their leader, Cloud. All these to be done in probably less than a month.
Hardly the friendliest assignment as a leader.
When Rude conveyed his thoughts to Reno, the redhead closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't do this alone."
"… You have the support of Elena and myself behind you."
"Still…" Reno took another deep breath. "I rather Tseng do all these crap. This is not my forte at all. I hope he's alive, yo?" There was no reply from his partner, so Reno continued. "When we find Tseng, we aren't going to let him rejoin the Turks so easily!"
Rude frowned at Reno's words. "Reno…"
"I'll go like," he showed a palm of denial at Rude. "'No way you can come back to the Turks because you've freakin' MIA-ed on us for weeks!' Then, he'll beg us to take us back and I'll be all reluctant and merciful and say something like, 'Okay, since you have such a sincere heart, I shall give you a second chance only if you do all the paperwork from now on.' Then Tseng will be so grateful, tears will roll down his cheeks!" Reno traced two lines from his eyes down his cheeks theatrically. "Imagine! Free from paperwork!" He chuckled.
The bald Turk shook his head in amazement at his partner's imagination. Reno never ceased to surprise him with his stupidity every day.
"Tseng will be back and he'll nag us to do our work… Elena will be ecstatic to see him that she'll probably tackle him upon first sight… And he'll know what to do with this mess that we're in." Rude smirked and said nothing, so in the end, Reno had to admit it. "Rude," he said softly.
Rude responded with a grunt.
"… I'm worried for him."
"… Me too."
(A/N: Happy new year!)
2 January 0008
Too soon. Cassie thought. I've barely been here 6 days.
Her butler, Henderson, was adding the finishing touches to her backpack – a bottle of spring water, a packet of dried meat, an extra bottle of hair leave-in conditioner. Meanwhile, her mother and father spoke to her.
"Must you leave so soon, Cassandra?" asked her mother gently. "You aren't a Turk anymore, are you?"
Cassie smiled. Despite her mother being aggressive, pushy and narrow-minded, she still was her mother who ultimately wanted the best for her daughter. "I'm not anymore, but there are some… issues to settle." She glanced up at the sky nervously.
"You're welcome to visit us whenever you can." Her father, Quentin Windell, said kindly.
"I will make the time to visit more often," Cassie promised. "Also, thanks for giving Andy another chance."
"He is my son. I will give him all the chances he needs if he is willing to learn. I daresay that you're pretty happy the burden is not on you anymore."
"I ain't gonna-"
"Cassandra!" said her mother disapprovingly.
Cassie rolled her eyes at her, though she was smiling. "I am not going to lie. I am relieved to hear that I don't need to marry any random old fart-" She smiled mischievously when she heard her mother sigh in frustration. "I hope that I can support my little brother too, whenever he needs it."
Her parents nodded in understanding. Soon, they nudged her away and she was walking around the town on her own – her personal time with the village before returning to Midgar. However, she wasn't exactly paying attention. In her mind, snippets of her conversation with her brother appeared in her head…
"Get lost, I don't want to talk to you."
Cassie could remember Andy lying in his room. The door was locked and Andy refused to open until he heard the click of her shotgun readying outside his door. Then he opened the door, though his eyes shot hundreds of daggers at Cassie. Cassie simply walked in, propped herself down and asked Andrew what he was up to.
"Spare me the formalities, Cassie. … Don't have to pretend that you care."
Cassie had to admit. That stung quite a bit.
"You walked out on us ten years ago. Do you really think you can just pop by this place and expect everyone to welcome you with open arms and treat you as though you've never left? Everyone hates you for leaving this place."
That was not true, thought Cassie. It was only Andy who held that resentment, as she quickly discovered. As he talked and ranted, Cassie quickly profiled her own brother. Some Turks were highly proficient in profiling – they can predict a person's characteristics and motives based on their behavior. Soon, she realized why her brother displayed such erratic behavior, though she found it hard to believe.
"Andrew… Did you do all these only because I left to become a Turk? You couldn't… Please don't tell me that all that anxiety of being separated from me drove you to murder?!"
Her brother scoffed at her words, but did not deny it. Despite her own discovery, Cassie was surprised to find that her brother's delinquency was because of her. She had known that her brother adored her very much; he would totter after her and follow her everywhere he went… but to be that affected when she left? Cassie had no idea. She had left the house when Andrew was ten and herself, 16. What kind of impact can a 16 year-old have on a kid?
Seeing that his façade was finally torn apart, Andrew confessed. He blamed Cassie for not being around for him in the ten years when he was growing up. She had been a role model in his life, a source of his ambition.
"I know I wasn't thinking much when I killed the boy. Then again, I realized that I couldn't care less about what Father and Mother will think of me. But I… I had actually thought… that doing something as drastic as that might bring you back to Mideel for good." Andrew covered his face and sighed. "Of course," he said, his tone turning cold and distant. "I should've known that nothing will make you come back home. You've sold your soul to Shinra and…" He glanced at her from head to toe. "You are not the Cassandra I used to know. That company must've done much things to you, such that you don't even look the same. Was it all that money? Or did you enjoy being feared by all? Maybe you've enjoyed your share of SOLDIERs-"
The slap she gave Andrew was resounding, and he took almost two seconds to register that his elder sister slapped him. "Listen to yourself, Andy. Listen to yourself… And wake up," she said through gritted teeth. "Have you forgotten your place in this family? How dare you speak to your elder sister like that?"
She was willing to take the risk to be harsh on her brother. His reaction will give her enough answer as to whether he was still the Andrew she knew and loved.
Andy rubbed the stinging cheek… and smiled weakly at the distant memory of her disciplining him. "That's the Cassie I know." He chuckled.
Cassie responded by pulling her brother into a fierce hug… apologizing for what she had done. She never knew how important she was to Andrew. To her relief, her brother's tough spirit finally broke and he wept.
Cassie didn't take long to visit the town. There were just a few families who insisted that she bring back some tangerines from their groves and some of their famous medicine… "just in case". The person whom she really wanted to visit though, was Cloud.
Unfortunately, Cloud was still in the vegetable-state in the clinic, exactly the same as when she first saw him in Mideel. Also, there weren't any of his friends who came around looking for him. Cassie fed him some porridge and watched how distant his eyes looked – he was awake, but not aware of his surroundings. Cassie could've plunged a knife in his arm and he wouldn't even flinch. The blond only made burbling sounds and groaned to anything that others said to him.
Cassie knew that Cloud was beyond hope. A few years ago, Haato was exposed to low amounts of Mako radiation in a Corel Reactor incident. As a result, the katana Turk was in a coma for three long years before he woke up. Traveling through the Lifestream… Cassie could not begin to comprehend the intensity of the Mako on Cloud's bare skin. It was indeed a miracle that he did not die instantly, but Cloud was so fragile that perhaps a gentle push would send him to his death.
"Do you remember that one time when we were in a mission together?" She murmured. "I was under orders to protect the data that Doctor Rayleigh was carrying. You were under orders to protect Doctor Rayleigh. And then our interests clashed when it came down to rescuing one or the other…" Cassie smiled, remembering the look of determination mixed with compassion on his face. Does he still show that same compassion now? "Thank you, Cloud, for reminding me that sometimes it's more worthwhile to save someone's life… although it is your fault that I had to disobey Veld's orders… So you wake up soon, you hear me? You have some explanation to do…" She prodded his arm playfully. "… And I'm sure you also have friends that are waiting for you somewhere…"
She stood up from her chair. She too, have friends and loved ones that are waiting for her now…
Right before she left for Midgar, there was one last person Cassie had to talk to before her departure. Andrew was sitting on the patio of their mansion. He smiled and patted the empty chair next to him, inviting her to sit with him.
"Hey little bro, what's up?" Cassie grinned.
"You know mother will be most unhappy if she heard you speak that way."
"Oh ho, all of a sudden you want to speak formally with your older sister?" She clicked her tongue. "Where was the sullen boy that I spoke to days ago?"
Andrew only chuckled in reply. As Cassie had thought, his terrible attitude was merely an act, a mask to cover his disappointment when his sister left for Midgar, and a further shield to hide his shame after that murder. After the terrible confessional and sobbing session, Andrew looked visibly happier. He should be. In the last few years, he had to endure his share of guilt and shame alone. It couldn't have been easy for him.
"Will you be alright now, now that I'm going to Midgar again?" Cassie asked.
"Don't think too highly of yourself, sister," Andrew replied with a slight twinkle in his eye. "I'll be too busy with my own stuff to even care about you."
"Oh, right. I forgot." Cassie smacked her forehead in mock surprise. "I forgot that father had decided to trust you with the business. See? Didn't I tell you that if you drop your nonsense, father and mother will trust you even after all that rubbish you did?"
Andrew shrugged and said that he'll work harder to fortify that trust. What Cassie didn't tell her brother was that her father initially wanted to give it to Cassie instead, and that it was Cassie who convinced him to pass it to Andrew. The last thing she wanted him to know was that he was not the first priority in inheriting the business (for it was not so common for females to take over businesses). Her parents still had their reservations against their son but in time to come, they'll see that though their son deviated a little, he was not completely lost.
"… but you will come back, right?" Andy asked cautiously.
Cassie grinned evilly at her brother. "Of course I will! I have way too much time in my hands now! Then again…" She placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. "For all you know, someday you will need to come to Midgar for business… Or whenever you're free." She grabbed a glass of orange juice he poured out for her and lifted it. "May Mideel's timber be stronger than ever," she toasted.
"May Mideel's business continue to prosper," her brother responded.
It was in such a happy note that Cassie returned to Midgar, not knowing just how accurate her passing remark will be in years to come.
Aha, so this chapter is quite a big step for me. I incidentally checked up on the rules of punctuation when writing dialogue. I've learnt a lot of things and I think I will share on my blog soon (within the next few months!) So, knowing a lot more than I did previously, I went to edit and proofread my story one more time. Now, it's a lot clearer what the proper way of using punctuation during dialogue is. Previously, I just placed whatever that suited me. I also took their advice of reading the dialogue to assess if it sounds natural enough.
In case you're wondering since when did Cassie and Cloud met and worked together, you may refer to Chapter 30 of "I Want To Be A Turk"! You're welcome.
Please read and review! And… have a good weekend!