Days of Exile
Warning. This chapter has so much fluff and clichés that I am half-cringing. But, a story has got to have its share of fluff and clichés to make it fanfiction, woots!
Chapter 48 – Assertiveness
Previously on Days of Exile…
As Tifa and Cloud shared a close moment of reconciliation, Meia was surprised by Reno for a day out to the chocobo farm. And of course, things got better…
17 January 0008 (Four days to Meteorfall)
Sector 4 slums. It was midnight. While everyone else was deep in sleep, on an old pickup truck, four children laid on their backs, staring at the darkness above them. The stars twinkled dimly and a gentle breeze passed through the sector, bringing a chill instead of the warm sewage smell that they were accustomed to.
Meia was in a dream, but a special one. It was nothing like a reenactment of her memories. It was completely different. None of these had ever happened. In here, Meia could see and feel every detail in her vivid dream. Here, Meia knew that she would never forget this moment. Here, Meia was in charge.
"Stars…" murmured Carmelle. "I've never seen them before. Is this how they look like?"
"Who knows?" chuckled Sunny. "I'm not complaining though. They look amazing."
"They really do." Tihan smiled to himself.
Meia smiled as well. "Seeing stars is nothing, compared to seeing you again."
Without a word, the four children joined hands next to each other.
Tihan spoke again, saying that words that Meia had heard in a dream too long ago. "Meia, you've achieved your dream to be a Turk!" This time, Meia welcomed his comment happily.
"So… Meia, a Turk, huh?" Sunny teased. "All those years of pestering and making vows to work hard… I never thought that you would really become one. It's hard to imagine such a small one like you fending off the big guys."
"Brother Sunny!" Meia pouted. "You're teasing me again!"
Carmelle's voice was full of concern. "It must have been hard, being a Turk."
Meia paused, thinking of the 9 years that led her to this point. "Yes. Yes, it has been. I feel like I've lost so much. Sometimes, it is difficult to convince myself to see the good in others. It's especially hard when it's Shinra. Sometimes it's so much easier to see the world through the eyes of a child. One would be so much happier. I had lost my faith in Shinra, and in people occasionally."
"But you didn't regret it, did you?"
Meia's face slowly broke into a wide smile. "No, I didn't." She laughed. "In fact, I would do it all over again. I've lost so much, but I gained a lot more."
"Sure you did," said Tihan warmly.
"You know, Meia," Sunny said, sitting up suddenly. "We never blamed you for anything. Those things happened because… it was meant to be."
Meia smiled, knowing what he was talking about. "I know you would not blame me… but I'm glad you really didn't." She sighed. "I had such a hard time getting over it – I'd always get nightmares."
"Still do?"
Meia pondered about the question. "Not as much as before, I guess," she answered. "I got over my issues and moved on. But I would not have done it if not for the help of everyone else." She thought of the people in her life now. The Turks, Veld and Elfe, Tseng, Reeve Tuesti, Rude, Reno…
"Our biggest wish right now is that you live the life that you've dreamed of," Carmelle said, squeezing her hand. "You've met so many more people who cares for you. Live that life with them in the picture."
"But…" Meia covered her eyes with an arm, because she did not want them to see her cry. "But I want to have you back as well. Why must we be like this?"
"Meia…" Tihan mumbled.
"There's so much that I want to tell you, to share with you." Meia felt the hot tears trickling down her face and her neck. "We could have finished all the dreams that we had. Why am I the only one left here?"
"You are not alone, Meia." Tihan took her hand and squeezed it gently too. "Not anymore. You have the support of the people who love you. We have always been here, helping you and giving you the strength that you needed. It was the best we could do…"
Sunny nodded and said with slight urgency in his voice, "It's almost time for your dream to end. Wake up, Meia, and see that the world before you is at its biggest crisis. But fear not, we are here for you. Everyone in the Lifestream is rooting for you and your friends."
Meia was quiet, thinking about how strange this dream was. "If I were to be able to destroy Meteor… will I still be able to see the three of you?"
The three children laughed gaily at her question, but gave no answer. Only Carmelle replied, saying, "We love you, Meia."
"…" Meia smiled and whispered, "I love the three of you too."
They continued to lie back, holding hands and staring at the stars above them. Then, slowly, Meia felt the hands that she was holding losing shape and substance. It felt like sand, lesser and lesser their presence felt to her.
Suddenly, it was Meia again, alone on the old pickup truck in the Sector 4 slums.
When Meia opened her eyes, she found that her cheeks were still wet. It was a dream, wasn't it? Just not the usual memories of my past.
Why did it feel like a real farewell?
… Where in the name of a chocobo's butt am I at?
Quickly and shyly, Meia remembered. She turned and saw Reno, who was still sleeping. He was not clothed and his back was facing her. Meia would have been utterly embarrassed, but she was distracted by number one, the lack of clothes on herself, and number two, what she saw on Reno's back.
Look at all the battle scars.
With her index finger, Meia traced the canvas of his back, filled with scars, cuts and bruises. Dark scars ran across his back, some long, some short. Most of them were scars, healed over almost a decade. She recognized an old wound, a knife being stabbed from behind his back some years back when he and Rude were on a mission. That was how she first found out that he was on a strict, low-sugar diet because of his family history of diabetes.
His back is full of injuries.
Years of injuries and old injuries… each probably had a story to tell, if Reno still remembered. Meia thought she would be put off by the sight, but she was not. On Reno, the scars were more like a display rather than a consequence. The injuries on his back were the sum of his life as a Turk.
Meia peeked at her own body. There were not many scars on her – she had to be honest with herself. There was a recent scar on her left arm – acquired when she was fighting with Tseng. There's another one on her ankle. Apart from that, Meia could see no ugly scars that she would carry for the rest of her life. She had been lucky enough to get only bruises, cuts and small scars… which said a lot about the intensity of her Turk career.
She sighed. She remembered something that Reno said. Perhaps Reno is right. I am one of the more protected Turks in the division. There was once an outsider who mentioned something about her being the 'pet of the Turks'. He got the price for his brainless comment (who would ever dare make a remark on the Turks?), but Meia could see the meaning behind it. Had she always been mollycoddled by people around her, even Veld?
Veld had once made it clear that he had no favourites, so Meia trusted that if there was any reason behind keeping her, it was because she was not capable enough to succeed.
But I had my fair share of work too. Meia thought of all the tasks that she was given. She helped to round up SOLDIER candidates at Costa del Sol. She was involved in intelligence when AVALANCHE first came into the scene. She was in charge of destroying Modeoheim. But were they barely the tip of the iceberg? She glanced at Reno's back again. My body looks nothing like his.
She was about to reach out her hand to touch his back again, when Reno turned to face her. He slowly opened his eyes. "Good morning," he murmured lazily, reaching forward to kiss her forehead. "You alright?"
Meia's face turned red. "Yeah, I think I will be."
"Good." Reno kissed her again. "It's almost time to go, but I feel so comfortable here, yo?" He yawned.
Meia could not help but agree. Here in Reno's room, there was no sense of time, no urgency of what they were facing. All that mattered, at least for a few moments, was each other's presence. Meia reached out to caress Reno's cheek. "Did you know that you have the nicest blue eyes?" She asked.
He grabbed her hand, chuckling. "No, I've always thought that they were rather dull… Did we have this conversation sometime before?" Reno peered at Meia curiously. "We DID have this conversation before, right?" Meia smiled, but said nothing. Reno did not pursue the matter further. He was pretty sure that it happened somewhere, sometime, but he could not really remember when. "So… what's on your mind?"
"Heh." She could never hide much from Reno. "I was looking at your scars on your back." Reno was self-conscious about it, then Meia quickly added, "I thought they looked really cool. Did all of them come with some kind of epic story?"
He shrugged. He could remember how he got some of them, but definitely not all of them. "What about it?"
"My back has nothing."
"I'm not complaining," Reno grinned and pulled her closer.
Meia frowned. "I'm not joking around. I mean it."
Rod gave her a lopsided smile at her comment. "You mean to say that you want a back full of scars?"
"I don't know…" Meia twisted the blanket with her hands. "I just wonder if I have been overprotected all this while… I don't know about the rest, but look at you. Did you guys put me on easy jobs or something? Maybe that guard was right then – I was the pet of the Turks."
"The jobs… Were they easy?"
That question threw Meia a little off-guard. "Um… no." She admitted. Now that she thought about it, none of the missions that they gave her were exactly easy either.
"That's your answer." Reno sighed. He was not going to get any affection from her until she was satisfied again. "Veld knew what he was doing when he gave you the jobs. Some people are better at assassinations, some, like Cassie, are better at negotiation and all that social party talk, some are even better at administration and paperwork. Tseng is stuck in the office virtually all the time. Does it make him a bad Turk?"
"... No."
"Exactly. Veld delegated us according to our talents. I know you are a good fighter, but Veld must've seen something else in you such that he will give you specific jobs. Just a guess." He sighed. "Why do you still doubt yourself? I don't believe Veld or Tseng would strive to keep you injury-free. Only I would. You have to stop thinking that you were placed on some pedestal."
Meia coloured at Reno's frankness. "I do not think that I'm on some pedestal," she said hotly.
"Then, don't." Reno shook his head at her. "It does not matter anymore. You are no longer a Turk. You should be worrying about other things. There are many things that have been entrusted into your care, no?" Meia nodded. "If you think you did not do a good enough job as a Turk, then you damn well make sure you take care of them this time around."
So blunt were his words, yet so much truth in them.
"And what if I want to do the job well, but the job is not going well?" Meia sighed. She felt like a rookie Turk all over again, asking for advice from her seniors. The biggest difference now was that both of them had nothing on except a blanket over them.
The redhead laughed. "Not going well? You've forgotten the motto. There is no job-"
"Impossible for the Turks." Meia finished for him.
"You want to get something done? You do it. You can whine all you want about the morality and all, but think of the bigger picture. Assertion is not always violence." Meia nodded slowly, understanding what he was implying. "Now, are we going to discuss some more?" he complained. "Because if we are, I'm going to just throw on a shirt, yo?"
Meia grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Sorry." She grinned, looking at his face fondly. "You know, you've got to stop wearing those awful goggles. They are making a mark on your face." She frowned and rubbed his bare forehead, darkened by his useless eyewear.
"Hmm. I'll think about it after we leave this bed. If we can," murmured Reno, planting another kiss on Meia's head.
When Meia returned to the garage, there was no one at home, except for Legend who was on the couch, fixing some random metal bits. He said nothing when she entered the house. He only told her to change into something more comfortable. Meia quickly took a shower and dressed herself into a purple tunic with leggings. Deciding that today would be a difficult day in many ways more than one, Meia pulled up all her hair into a single ponytail. She fitted her feet into her combat boots and holstered her guns, checking that all her Materia was securely fastened onto her gun. Legend gave an approving nod at Meia's getup, and the both of them left.
It was before long that Meia felt really uncomfortable with Legend's silence. He was an extrovert like her, and it was not like him to be silent. "Argh! Stop going quiet on me!" She groaned. "I know you are dying to laugh at me." Indeed, the bomb specialist was. The minute Meia uttered those words, Legend released an unmistakable snigger. Meia gasped in horror. "I can't believe that you actually laughed at me!"
"No, no," Legend said, placing a hand on her head. "I'm not laughing at you. I definitely do not find the thought of you and Reno tossing and turning hilarious."
Meia rolled her eyes at him. "What's with the tossing and turning? We did not do that!" Legend raised an eyebrow at her. "And I'm NOT going to tell you what we did! Don't be disgusting!" She inched away from Legend.
"Aw, you wound me." Legend clutched his heart. "I was just being concerned. If I'm not wrong, don't girls like to gossip about these things?"
Meia remembered how she overheard two girls at Costa del Sol who were talking about their amorous escapades in Nibelheim. Brushing that uncomfortable experience away, she replied, "If I'm not wrong, girls are usually the ones asking." She threw a doubtful glance at Legend. "Perhaps you should reconsider your gender."
"Alright, now you've wounded me." And that was the end of that topic.
The duo reached Sector Five's Wall Market. Its grey metal doors were tight and silent. Meia glanced around her. There was a playground near the entrance, but no one was there. The whole street was empty, save a few straggling monsters.
"Ready?" Legend asked. Meia nodded the smallest of nods. "We have a deal here, right? We will get them out of this place, whether they like it or not."
"Without harming people unnecessarily," added Meia. Legend paused to look at Meia in utter disbelief. "We are not going to leave this place empty-handed, I promise you." She stopped and gave him a look.
Legend sighed and spread his arms wide, showing the plain interior of his trenchcoat. "No bombs," he promised. "I'm not as stupid to bomb the place." Meia nodded with approval. Then, Legend reached for the switch by the side…
The metal doors rumbled and creaked, but slowly it opened. The door gap widened, allowing the neon orange light spill out and splash onto the floor in a widening line. Meia braced herself, expecting the worst. She dreaded having to resort to force, but if the people were as stubborn as before, she would have no choice but to…
"Well, now… This is interesting," said Legend with an amused expression on his face.
Right behind the metal doors, sat many people, mostly women and children, with their bags packed. They were chatting among themselves as if nothing was wrong, but they were seated right at the entrance of Wall Market.
"Seems like they're waiting for someone, huh?" said Legend to Meia. Meia responded with a wide smile on her face.
When they saw Legend and Meia, some of them recognized their faces. "The two of you… You were the ones who said that you'll bring us out, right?"
Legend nodded. "But this is not everyone, is it?"
The crowd looked at each other in resignation. "Not everyone. There are still many who insist on staying and supporting Mr Beren."
"But we are willing to leave with you," another spoke out loudly. "Anywhere is better than to be trapped here under all this steel."
Meia looked at them with worry. "I cannot guarantee you that we will leave Midgar to seek shelter. We may stay in the lower plates." She paused because the crowd murmured among themselves. "Don't misunderstand. The lower sectors may be safer."
"Who are you kidding, Turk?" someone sneered. "Isn't it common sense that when Meteor strikes Midgar, the structure will collapse? As if this place is strong enough to endure a meteor impact!"
Indeed, Meia could not guarantee that. However, she knew by experience that living in the slums, nobody was ever affected by anything above the Plates. Not even the destruction of Zirconiade in the Sector 6 slums nor the Mako Reactor bombs ever disturbed any of the further sectors. That was how sturdy the infrastructure was designed. Two worlds could live in their own privacy without ever needing to interfere with each other… that was the ideal world, thought of by absolute dictator Leon Shinra, brought to life by genius architect Reeve Tuesti.
Not that anyone would be interested to hear her explain how the metals were melded and fused to create the perfect combination of strength and flexibility. "Please…" said Meia, subdued and tired of the distrust around her. "What I'm asking of you may be difficult, I'm a Turk, after all. I know it's not easy to ask you to cooperate with a Turk willingly. But just this once… Please… Please trust us that we mean you no harm." Meia made a full bow, an absolute sign of respect.
The crowd fell silent at her action. Legend tried to pull Meia up in vain. "You don't have to do this," he said to Meia loudly. "We were given orders to save as many people as we can." He threw a doubtful glance at the people. "If they would rather stay here, then at least you've done your part."
"No, we cannot," retorted Meia, head still low. "I follow orders, which said to save as many people as we can… As long as I see someone here, I'll take them out of here."
Legend pulled Meia up roughly this time. The force of his pull made her stumble upon her feet unelegantly. "I will not allow you to put yourself down just to puff up the egos of these people." He looked at her. He was not going to take her nonsense of caring and loving.
"Hey!" One of the men cried out. "I wouldn't say that again if I were you!"
"Yeah, it's not like we were not going to follow Miss Turk here!"
Meia blinked out of her thoughts and stared at the slum citizens. "What did you say?"
They exchanged glances among each other. "We didn't mean to be difficult," one confessed. "Whether you really want to save us or not, we intend to leave Wall Market."
Legend grinned. "Really? Then that's great news for us all."
Meia nodded happily. "Thank you everyone! Thank you for believing in us. Just get yourselves ready and I'll direct you to the evacuation camp."
"Will you come back for our families and friends?" A woman asked. By the looks of her belongings, she was alone in the decision. "If this is the last time that you're coming here, then I would like to convince my family one more time."
Meia's heart ached at the sight of the woman. She was too capable of imagining all the taunts and mockery the woman had to go through to persuade her loved ones to evacuate with her. Still, the woman was asking for more time to persuade her family again… Meia admired her determination. "Don't worry," she grinned. "I will come back for them."
"WE will," Legend added firmly.
Many citizens sighed in relief at the news. "It's just that there are many of them who are stubborn about it," they said. While some of the slum citizens discussed about convincing the others to leave with them, Legend pulled Meia aside.
"Not too bad as a catalyst, huh?"
The girl blinked, and soon realized what he meant. "Ooh! You did that on purpose?" She exclaimed, punching him on the arm. "And I was pulled along by your acting!"
"Of course I was acting. It's all about 'reverse psychology'." Legend shrugged. "Not that I needed to act, as it turns out. These people are quite willing to go."
Legend and Meia's face fell when they heard a familiar voice shouting. It was Mr Beren. "What's the meaning of this?"
"It is as you see," replied Legend quickly before Meia could respond. There were times that Meia knew exactly the right words to say to get a win-win situation out of everything. This was not the time. "We have returned, as promised, to evacuate Sector 5 to a safer place."
"Do you not understand plain English?" Mr Beren mocked. "Or are you just stupid?"
Legend glared at him with a look that equaled ten daggers, but his old and feared reputation of "Death God of the Battlefield" was not known here. Meia noticed his Beren was not fazed by the man's glare. Perhaps Mr Beren was not as innocent a citizen as he claimed to be. "What are you trying to say?"
"Because I believe I said that I did not want you to return," Mr Beren grinned and pulled out a cigarette to light. "However, you seem to be a little slow on your comprehension. It looks like I've got to ask my guards to get your heads fixed up."
Meia stared at him, her mind working in a messed up whirlwind. Soon enough, she started giggling. Mr Beren glared at her. He had heard that the Turks were not to be trifled with, so he expected big men with big talk and fists to go with them. He knew that kind of people. Just insult their intelligence and trick them round and round. The big boys often fell prey to Beren's taunts.
Not this one. This girl's light-hearted attitude irked him. He looked at her closely for the first time. Her slender limbs and fresh face did not match his idea of a 'big-fisted, small-brained man". (A/N: Funnily, none of the Turks are of that type.) Was she really a Turk? "What is so funny?" Beren asked in an annoyed face.
"No offence but," Meia giggled between her explanation. "I think the one that should go and check his head checked up is you." There was a murmur that rose amongst the crowds. Mr Beren's face turned green at her response, so Meia quickly explained. "You don't start a sentence with "because" unless it is a complete sentence. You've said, 'Because I believe I said that I did not want you to return,' was more of a sentence fragment… a phrase." She walked towards Beren and leaned closer to him. "Perhaps you need to go back to school," she uttered softly, enough for Beren, his guards and a very amused Legend to hear.
Beren's guards raised their sidearms at her, ready to pull the trigger if Meia made another move. The young woman regarded the threatening weapons with as much concern as with a passing butterfly. "Besides," said Meia, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You never said that we cannot return. You've only ordered your guards to take us 'mad people' away. It's not that we did not comprehend, but more of you not being specific enough. Hmm," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should get your head fixed up with us too, your memory's a little fuzzy." She said brightly.
"You!" By this time, Beren's face was turning a lovely shade of purple. He quickly waved the guards to put down their guns. He was not going to let this woman get her own way. Violence may not be the best way to handle people like her.
Standing beside Meia, Legend laughed loudly. "That's what you get when you mess with her, Beren," he grinned. Beren tried not to look appalled that Legend had addressed him directly without any honorifics. "Her photographic memory will remember everything for you. So it'll be better not to lie."
"What do you want from us this time?" He asked, pulling himself straighten in hopes of intimidating them.
Meia gave an annoyed look. "We were not joking when we said that we will be back to get everyone out of this place."
The sector leader sneered at her. "No one said that they are following you."
"You are wrong!" A voice shouted out. As Meia turned, she saw the group of people who were sitting at the entrance. They had gathered around, this time to stand on her side. She smiled widely.
"We are willing to leave this place!"
"It's not like you are willing to help us out when we are here!"
Legend and Meia exchanged glances. Life in the Wall Market was not exactly a bed of roses too.
Mr Beren threw a dirty look at the two of them. "There, since these people are so willing to throw their lives away into the great unknown, you may have them."
Meia wagged a finger at Beren, tutting. "I said, I will get everyone out of this place. E-VE-RY-ONE." She sighed. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"
That was the last straw for the arrogant man. Beren was not used to people making fun of his intelligence; and he was not going to get his first public humiliation from (of all people) a girl!
"Guards!" he bellowed. His lackeys did not need to be told twice. They formed a defensive line in front of him, their sidearms raised and ready. "Teach this obnoxious girl a lesson!" he roared.
Meia and Legend raised both hands into a fighting stance. "Whoa, you've really made this man mad, huh?" Legend commented lightly. "What's up with goading him?"
Meia shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just sick of not getting things my way. So I'm pretty ready to whine, complain and break some bones."
The bomb specialist grinned at Meia's answer. "Told you that being assertive is the way to go."
"It was Reno who convinced me to do so."
"That explains why you sound so annoying today. You are seriously bipolar," said Legend, shaking his blond head at her. One moment you worry about hurting people, the next you are one feisty little thing, declaring war upon eight armed men."
"You can always back out of this if you deem it a little dangerous," said Meia with a mocking smile on her face.
"Dangerous? That's my middle name." Legend smirked. Meia rolled her eyes. That was incredibly corny. She holstered her gun and adjusted her gloves. Her partner stared at her in surprise. "No weapons against these people?" he asked.
"Nah, let's just keep to breaking bones today, not killing lives." She decided cheerfully. "Besides, it ain't fun if you're the only one getting all that challenge," she said, nodding at the lack of weapons in Legend's hands.
"Aww, how sweet."
"Are you going to let those two chat idly?" Beren yelled at his guards. "Kill them!"
Thank you for reading.