Start Date: April 29, 2023

Windwillow

After the Novelization: The Calm after the Storm

Chapter One: Bridge to the Future

Scene One

They called it "Meteorfall."

All the world was threatened by the advent of the most destructive gravity-elemental magic that could be harnessed: the Ultimate Destruction Magic, Meteor. It cobbled together space debris into a single, massive asteroid with the power to devastate the entire planet. With the company partially responsible for the threat dismantled and its summoner dead, Gaia seemed to have survived a cataclysmic event of unimaginable proportions. Which it had, but not without cost. Shinra Inc. was now defunct, the core structure of the world's economy thrown into chaos, and the use of Mako energy heavily discouraged due to the Planet's invaluable aid in destroying Meteor. While it was next to impossible to entirely cut off their use of Mako, it was clear that a new power source was badly needed. In the interim, coal mining accelerated almost unbelievably to provide power, and the fledgling use of solar and wind energy offered a future of unlimited possibilities.

AVALANCHE had been disbanded, permanently. Each of its valiant warriors scattered across the globe to rebuild their own lives, although most of them kept in contact by phone. There was one in particular, however, who was saddled with more responsibility than the rest. Although Shinra had been unofficially dissolved, its involvement with the world's economy and resources posed a significant threat to the entire world. With no overseer, everything seemed to be devolving into chaos, leaving the burden on a single man who played with dolls. It had been only a couple of months, but it felt like years as Reeve Tuesti threw open the door to his parents' temporary home in the village of Kalm. Bloodshot eyes and bags beneath them, it seemed like all the life inside of him had drained him into a lifeless husk. At least, that's how he looked. Mrs. Tuesti had been the one who'd invited him home, and she was the one who met him at the door.

"You look like hell!" chided Mrs. Tuesti. As she ushered her son to the dining room table, she pulled out his chair and helped him into it. "Is there anything I can do for you, son?" she asked, attempting to sound as optimistic as possible.

He'd nearly been driven to death. Reeve slowly stumbled into his seat across from where his father sat, turned a semi-cheerful look to his mother and mumbled, "Coffee. Anything you have that has caffeine..." he croaked before slamming his face head long onto the dining room table. Once he'd received his drink Reeve took it in both hands, chugged it as if were the nectar of the gods, and again fell face first onto the table, still exhausted.

"Are you... alright, son?" asked Mr. Tuesti hesitantly.

With a haggard grunt Reeve dragged his head back up and leaned back in his seat. The coffee had helped a little, but it was like plugging a dam with a wine cork. He'd been through so much paperwork that his fingers were laced with cuts, met with so many people that he'd begun to hate the English language, and was so disappointed by the failure of all of it that all he wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep.

"Yeah..." muttered Reeve. He lifted a hand to his face, wiped the sweat from his brow, and gave the most sincere smile he could muster. "I need more coffee, though..." he moaned. "I haven't slept in two days..."

"You have to stop overworking yourself!" Mr. Tuesti scolded sharply. "You're too young to handle this much stress! I know you've got a lot of responsibility, but you still have to look after yourself! I know there has to be a lot of work, but-"

"-and I'm the only executive left that can breathe to do it!" choked Reeve, to the shock of his father. Once he'd received and downed a second cup of coffee, he groaned and finally managed to gather himself. He laced his fingers together and leaned towards his father, much like his former bosses had done. "Scarlet and Heidegger have holes in their heads, Palmer is God-knows-where, and good riddance besides... All the resources of the company are in limbo, and there isn't anyone else to actually manage them..."

"What about President Rufus, son?" asked Mr. Tuesti. "I heard on the news that he was a casualty of WEAPON's attack."

Reeve let out a frustrated scream and slammed his fist on the table. The fact that they'd pulled Rufus out of the line of fire from Meteor certainly didn't give him any joy. He would have left his sorry ass to burn to ash by Meteor's heat. "I wish I could say otherwise, but the bastard survived the war..." he growled, laying his face in his hand. "My friends dragged his half-dead body out of his office before Meteor struck... and since he's universally - and rightly - hated by virtually the entire world, he's in hiding with the few employees still loyal to him."

"If that's the case..." murmured Mr. Tuesti, "then what will happen to the company?"

"What do you think I haven't slept in two days for? The whole God damn thing falls to me!" snarled Reeve. When he realized he'd upset his parents, he sighed and reached for a third cup of coffee. "I'm in the process of dissolving Shinra and distributing its assets to rebuild the world. But, there's nowhere for it to go. Shinra's defunct and its monopoly on the world broken! Every city and town has turned to bartering for goods, and a majority of them want to break out and form their own individual city-states. That's even worse. If everyone prints their own currency the value of the Gil will turn to zilch and the world's economy will be trashed."

"Well, you won't get any work done if you have a nervous breakdown and keel over dead in your chair," said Mrs. Tuesti plainly. She pulled up a chair next to her son and sat down, running her hands down Reeve's shoulders. "But I want to tell you the truth. It's the same thing we've taught you all your life: follow your heart. If you want to help and can help, then help. But don't drive yourself into an early grave in the process. Do you realize how much pain I'd feel if I had to bury my own son?" she asked softly, though with enough force behind it to jar Reeve.

With everything falling in around him it hadn't occurred to him to remember that simple piece of advice. Reeve took in a deep breath and exhaled, slowly leaned back in his chair, and laid a hand on his face. When he opened his eyes there was a strange, lighthearted sort of smile on his face. He really couldn't keep going the way he had been.

"As long as it keeps beating..." said Reeve quietly, "I intend to follow my heart. But you're right... I can't keep going like this, so..." He paused and laid his hands on his mother's shoulders. "Keep the lights on for me, and I'll try my best to be home by midnight," he smirked. "No promises, mind, but hearing you say what you did... I could never live a good afterlife if I made the two of you cry over me..."

Scene Two

"Junon... has already begun electing its own officials. North Corel is becoming so full of life that they want to become their own country. The only place in the God damned world that isn't fussing is Mideel, and that's because they don't give a damn anyway!" groaned Reeve. The more he studied and the more he worked, the more convoluted the situation became. When his phone rang for the umpteenth time, he angrily snatched it up and put it to his ear. "I told you to hold all my calls!" he snapped. "And cancel all my appointments! I need a breather..."

"How does it feel, being the leader of so many people?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. "Now you must realize how my father and I have felt for our entire lives..."

While at first Reeve's blood ran cold, it didn't take long for it to explode into red hot flames. His breathing quickened and his pulse became irregular, and as his anger built Reeve finally smashed his fist on his desk with enough force to make it rattle. "You..." hissed Reeve, his teeth gritted as a slight trickle of blood dripped from his lips. "The world ends and I still can't get you to shut up and leave us all in peace?! How many lives have you ruined?! How much damage have you done?! It takes some serious balls to dial this number, you bastard!" he roared.

"Are you finished, Reeve?" Rufus asked flatly. As Reeve stewed, Rufus laid his feet on top of his desk and leaned back in his seat. "And you can drop the bravado. I didn't call to gloat or insult you, or anyone else for that matter," he said softly. "It's hard enough when the whole world hates your guts and you've got half a dozen bounties on your head..." sighed Rufus. True enough, it seemed like half the world wanted him in jail and the other half wanted him flat out dead.

"And I have one of them out," growled Reeve. He wasn't the only one, but he was probably the only one who wouldn't push for summary execution. "I'll promise you that they won't execute you if you turn yourself in now. The headhunters won't give you that luxury."

Rufus took his face in his hand and threw his head back and laughed, something that only further stoked Reeve's fire. "I'll pass. I never did like being in confined spaces..." he chuckled. "Regardless, I'm perfectly happy living in peaceful seclusion. The Turks have provided me all the legwork necessary for me to live a comfortable, solitary life. All of my assets have been safely stored in an anonymous location that you'll never find," he sneered, much to Reeve's frustration. "It's a pity that no one else is making use of my fortune..." Rufus sighed. He intended not to waste any more time and get to the point of why he'd called.

The fact finally struck him: Rufus was offering to donate his money. As Reeve wiped the blood from his mouth he leaned back in his desk and began to think. Shinra's resources were significant, but President Shinra had always squirreled away a ton of cash somewhere no one else would ever look. The sheer amount of capital Rufus now had to draw from would help pay for almost an entire country's national debt. At least that was his guess; the first President was even more covetous than his son was.

"Assume I'm interested..." said Reeve softly. "Where would it go?"

"Obviously, somewhere that can make a difference," laughed Rufus. "There isn't a central authority like Shinra anymore. The world is in almost as much economic chaos as it was in mortal chaos from Meteor. Without someone calling the shots, everything collapses. But... Let's say that there is a central authority, one that isn't interested in capital," he proposed quietly. This was the reason he'd called: to step up and let the world recover. "The world's regeneration is our top priority... We could certainly use an organization to pull the world back together."

"The World Regenesis Organization..." murmured Reeve. He put his hand to his face and took in a deep breath, pondering the situation. Rufus was right, unfortunately. If there was a central authority dedicated to protecting and restoring the Planet, there could be no greater public relations pull to put it all back together. Even so the idea had holes, so Reeve remained unconvinced. "Do you realize what you're doing, Rufus?" Reeve said sharply.

"Oh, I'm quite aware that no one would listen to me. That's why I contacted you," said Rufus. "You're the only Shinra executive that is both alive and respected. Nearly dying at the hands of the world's own protector - WEAPON - has put things into perspective for me, and believe it or not I really am legitimately sorry that I contributed to the whole mess. Doing my part to help might make me a bit of a better person..." he sighed.

Reeve smiled darkly. As if he had a chance of that. "There's a catch, right?" he asked. "The words altruism and Shinra don't mix in the least."

"Quite right. I'll still have full access to my own resources so that I can live a comfortable retirement," chuckled Rufus. As Reeve began to boil again, Rufus quietly removed his boots from his desk and stared down at the drawing he'd been sketching, a sketch of nine individuals who hated him with a passion. One of them in particular made him honestly, truly regretful. "I'm partially responsible for her loss..." he murmured, laying a hand to his head. When he spoke Reeve's eyes opened wide. The idea that he cared was nothing he'd ever considered possible. "And she saved all of us, myself included. I owe it to the eight of you left to help renovate that church..." Rufus said quietly. This time, he meant it.

Scene Three

Meteorfall all but ruined what remained of Midgar, the parts that hadn't been affected by Diamond WEAPON's assault. The ruins of Midgar were all but impossible to live in, so much of the surviving populace migrated to the nearby village of Kalm. While they were at first welcomed warmly, the sheer influx of people forced the village to send a majority on their way back to Midgar. Trudging through the mutant-infested wastelands towards an uncertain - and certainly unpleasant - future dulled the hopes of the thousands who had been displaced by Meteorfall. Whatever remained of Midgar was all they had to work with, and while at first they'd accepted a future of fighting with vermin for the few remaining resources the sight of several unknown and unusually dressed troopers halted their advance ever-so-slightly.

They wore white uniforms, strapped with leather and armed with rifles and sidearms that they'd used to fight through the wastelands themselves. While there were only a handful of these soldiers they seemed to be well-fed and well-led by their benefactor, Reeve. He had discarded his suit and took to wearing tight purple robes tied together with silver bindings. As the weary horde approached, a warm smile crossed his face. He was ready to make amends with them, even if they did want to slaughter him and everyone associated with Shinra. The displaced halted in their forced march when they sighted the soldiers. With glances to each of the troopers in turn, Reeve lifted his hand and clenched his fist, the signal to begin their dismantling of the ruins. There were already other workers inside the city that had begun to salvage for parts and the remaining resources within, though it was the few that took hammer and claw to rip open its gates that greeted the astonished citizens.

Reeve lowered his hand and crossed his arms, a warm smile on his face. "My fellow citizens of Midgar... I've come to build you a new future," said Reeve smilingly. "I've begun salvage operations to dismantle the remainder of the city, harvest its resources, and create a new settlement where you all can live in peace. I ask only that you forgive me... and if you can't, I'll still understand, but I intend to keep fighting."

"Who the hell are you?" shouted one of the citizens sharply.

Pausing, Reeve bowed his head towards the people. There was no more delaying it now. "I am Reeve Tuesti, former head of Midgar's Urban Development of Shinra Inc." said Reeve softly. The people almost immediately revolted, shouting curses and searching for rocks to throw, but when Reeve dropped to one knee and his head went even lower they slowly halted their verbal assaults.

"What are you doing here?!" snapped one of the displaced populace. "To hell with Shinra and to hell with you!"

"Shinra Inc. has been permanently disbanded and is in the process of dissolving itself, in favor of a new organization dedicated to rebuilding what Shinra has destroyed: the World Regenesis Organization," said Reeve. As the shrieks of hatred halted, Reeve hoisted himself to his feet and smiled at the people. "What you haven't yet been told is the origin of Mako energy. It draws on a planetary circulatory system called the Lifestream. Each and every usage of Mako has drained the Lifestream, putting the entire world in peril. As a former executive I bear the sins of those lost souls, but what is gone is gone. All we can do is try to put the pieces back together and hope for a better future."

We've been burning through the Planet's blood for decades. Whether there's even enough left for us to survive is something I'm hesitant to hope for. Bugenhagen died despairing, and he was perhaps the foremost expert of the Study of Planet Life. Nanaki and I have decided to give it a shot, but... We didn't fight that bastard just to give up on ourselves. The Lifestream saved us... so maybe the Planet really is giving us one final shot...

Reeve extended his hands warmly to the former citizens of Midgar. "We stand at the cusp of a new era for Gaia! A new future with new hope, and a unity not shackled by the chains of money, greed, and power!" he said proudly. "Since we live on the edge of the new era, I propose we call our new city Edge! Our people didn't fight and survive Meteorfall just to surrender to anger and despair!"

The people were skeptical, to say the least. For over thirty years Shinra had led both them and the entire world into its present condition. Why trust another man in a suit who'd been party to their sins? The crowd steadily began to revolt again, throwing curses and stones at Reeve, but when he fell to both knees and placed his head to the ground they quietly stopped and began to listen.

"If you want me to beg, I will. Even if I'm not fit to lick your boots, I beg for your cooperation in restoring what Shinra has destroyed! And I'm not alone! The people who saved the world beg for your cooperation as well!" shouted Reeve tearfully. Once the din had passed Reeve lifted himself up again, bowed his head, and stretched out his hand. "There are eight individuals who stopped the unstoppable Sephiroth. I am one of them. Believe me or not, but it was the heroism of eight brave men and women that brought about our deliverance! They've all asked me to give my all in the name of their sacrifices, and I intend to do so even at the cost of my own life! Those eight people saved us... and now, they want to save you once more!" Beneath his breath, however, he muttered, "Nine of us. There were nine of us."

We fought the battle, but she won the war. I watched that bastard cut her down, and I couldn't do anything to help her, but she still saved us all because of her own pure, selfless soul. All of us are in agreement, even someone as dense as Yuffie: We'll take the hope she offered us and run with it! So long as we can spread those flowers she so loved across the world... maybe we'll be able to face her when our days end. None of us will surrender... because she never did, either.

Author's Notes

I ended the main fic where the game cuts out, but I couldn't leave well enough alone and just end everything there. The next five chapters will act as an epilogue to the novelization, showing the activities and developments of the eight surviving party members as they acclimate to life in a new world. Originally, the final scene was going to be in Cloud and Tifa's chapter, but I figured it would work better to include it at the start with Reeve's chapter. Having Rufus create the idea for the WRO was just my idle thought... and because it ended up that way when I wrote the notes. I suppose the son of a bitch has to get some credit for what he does to help the world. It's just that Reeve does all the work while Rufus leans back and relaxes in a cozy retirement.

Obviously expect BS to be found at every corner, and I'll just be doing my own little thing along the way. None of it's canon, but I think I've done a decent job of fleshing out the cast's after hours and showing how the world rebuilds. I know that I won't be novelizing Advent Children... but Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core are vague possibilities, like I've said before. I doubt there'll be that much interest, though, so I don't expect to work on them any time soon. A unique sequel is in the works, though... It's ambitious and I don't know if I have it in me to pull it off, but if I do, it ought to be better than all this nonsense.

The next five chapters will be posted irregularly. Expect one every twenty or so days, it varies.