Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy Seven: Shadows of the Light ❯ Arc One: Rebirth of ShinRa ( Chapter 9 )

Arc I: Rebirth of ShinRa

Part IX:

Riya snarled with disgust as she watched the idiots move down the street. "...two hours...only the gods know what Silvara's gotten herself into by now." She stared at the departing men and muttered ever obscenity she knew at their retreating forms. Thankfully, Sierra's troops didn't seem terribly disciplined...or overly bright, they'd accepted her claim that she was leading new recruits on a field trial without any suspicion.

'Well...not after they demanded to search me and found the 300gil in my wallet,' she thought darkly. A detached rage rose within her as she thought about the blatant pawing she'd just had to endure but she managed to set it aside. After all, they couldn't afford to draw to much attention, the kind that would result from her slaughtering four of Sierra's men. Still pale with anger, she swung up onto her chocobo, 'at least they didn't confiscate them,' and called back to Kidd and Anaimone. "Well, lets get going."

A commotion drew her attention back towards Sierra's troops and Riya chuckled softly as a hissing blur of nightmarish claws and fathers cut through the men, knocking them to the ground. The laughter faded as she saw the look in the chocobo's eyes, fear....and a burning rage. Her breath caught in her throat as she met those blazing eyes and a word formed within her mind. "Silvara." Nothing could panic Siydi. For him to be this crazed...Silvara must be in danger. Without a second thought, Riya leaped onto Siydi's back and the enraged chocobo whirled and took off down the street.

In a few moments, they had reached the outskirts of Junon and were skirting the steep cliffs on their way to the ShinRa mansion. Riya glanced back to make sure that Anaimone and Kidd were keeping up and then turned her gaze towards the looming structure, anger and fear warring on her face. Anger at her friend's impetuous nature and stubbornness....and fear that Silvara had been right.

Had she really misjudged Rufus.....and Ferris. She remembered the laughing amber eyes as they touched her own...the gentle way he'd stroked her hair when they were children, how he'd asked for a strand to remember her by. Then she saw those gentle eyes blazing with rage as he'd fought Silvara at the tavern. 'Please...please Ferris, don't let me be wrong about you...don't make me choose...Silvara, please be safe. you're the only family I have left.'

The gates rose before her and she clenched her jaw tightly at the sight of people standing between her and the mansion, 'If they're who I think they are and Silvara is in danger, this could be...difficult.' She drew her back up proudly, thankful that she'd changed into the black and green body armor of her guard and freed her hilt guards from her sword. A calm swept her, the quiet peace that filled her before a battle as Siydi carried her through the gates.

Tseng heard something come up from behind him before the gate. Turning he saw Rude and Elena watching three people enter the front lawn of the mansion. One of them had armor on. Raising an eyebrow he stepped away from Silvara and toward the new people. He then realized who the leader of the three was.. Riya. Interesting. He walked over toward her and the black chocobo she was riding. "Hello...Riya is it?" he said as he stopped a couple feet away from the black chocobo. Elena and Rude took place on either side of him. "What do we owe the honor of your visit?" he asked her.

'No signs of battle.' Riya smiled tightly, "Tseng," her hazel eyes swept past the Turks, settling on the slight figure standing before the entrance to the mansion. The calm faded, replaced by annoyance as Silvara waved cheerfully at her. 'She enjoys doing this to me, it's a wonder I'm sane.' Still, the sharp edge faded from her voice and the smile came easier when she turned her gaze back to the Turks. The wind swirled her auburn hair about her face and the fading light glistened off the body-hugging suit of dragon scale armor as she swung down from Siydi's back. "Just checking up on a friend, and since the mansion is still standing, I'll assume Silvara has been behaving herself." As if in defense of his mistress, Siydi hissed menacingly and began building up for an attack.

Riya caught the subtle play of muscles under the glistening feathers and read the malevolent gleam in the bird's eyes. "No you don't!" she yanked his head around to face her, ignoring the outraged whark. "Go to Silvara," his large red eyes narrowed menacingly, "I mean it Siydi!! NOW!" With a last hostile glare at the small group, the chocobo sped towards his mistress.

Sighing, Riya started walking towards the mansion, the Turks flanking her. She didn't know them personally but she'd met them all a time or two before Rufus was driven from power. While she would have gladly fought to protect her friend, she thankful that Silvara must have had the good sense no to make enemies out of... That last thought stopped her dead in her tracks and she cast a wry smile at Tseng. "So tell me, what exactly has she done? Knowing her she probably waltzed right in the front gate and started threatening everybody..." She groaned at the faint glimmer in Tseng's eyes and shook her head in disgust, "I'm going to kill her."

*

Ferris cast a quizzical glance at Reno as he moved to the window of the library and looked down upon the small group of people approaching the mansion. His eyes were drawn to the woman speaking with the Turks. "Riyathena..." a blend of admiration and tenderness softened his gaze as he watched her. The way the fading sunlight caught in her hair, the natural grace in her stride, the way her eyes...he chuckled

mirthlessly before turning away from the window. What they had once shared was long gone, but the dreams of youth were the hardest to forget. Sighing he sank back into a chair and forced a cheerful smile as he regarded Reno. "So...what was this all important information?"

Reno glanced out the window once then turned to look at Fenris with cold blue eyes. "As you know Reeve is the leader of a underground group opposed to Sierra. He has decided to help the mercenaries by having his people join them. He also has a spy within Sierra's little group, he uses the information he gets to make trouble and keep his group out of Sierra's hands. I thought you would like to know this, and I was wondering what you planned to do with the bounty hunter out there?" He waved a hand towards the window as he finished speaking.

*

Anaimone swung herself off the chocobo and looked from new face to new face with curiosity. She bent down to pick up Kuku, who was scrambling about her feet, and cradled her in her arms. Anaimone then stepped beside Riya and listened to every word that was spoken carefully as to get the slightest idea of what was going on.

***

"Governor Myst!" An aged man ran through the beige halls of an amazing structure, being ever so careful not to knock any of the lovely vases and decorations from their place. "Governor Myst!" He was quite out of breath now, as he brought his feet to a halt on the velvet blood red carpet beneath him that ruffled up. He delivered a frisk knock on the door of the Governor's sleeping quarters and began to speak as soon as the door opened. "Governor! It appears that this information is from Sierra's loyal company themselves!" He took a deep breath, and held the files out in front of him. " I believe you should review them with the General as soon as possible!"

The sleepy Governor yawned and rubbed his eyes, then plucked the bunch of papers from the messenger, and waved him away. Shutting the door behind him, he tossed the files on a nearby feathered sofa and squinted at the grandfather clock in the far corner of this large room. "Can't even get my privacy at these hours!"

"Mmmm.... What did she want?" Came a gentle voice from the covers of the wide spread bed.

"He....He wanted to disturb your sleep." He replied with an apologetic grin, and pulled the covers up to his wife's chin. "Sleep Victoria, I have a late meeting, I'll be back in a few hours."

"You better be, Alestar. Quietly also." She murmured. Alestar laughed softly, and stepped silently into his bathroom to prepare for the meeting that he was about to announce.

When his company was gathered around a large briefing table, Alestar removed the newly delivered papers from a folder and slapped them down on the surface for all to view. "Let's get straight to the point, shall we?" After receiving a variety of agreeing statements and nods, he continued. "These papers are written evidence that Sierra aims to conquer every major city on this continent. He's left us with this decision: Either surrender to his arms, or lead our men into an unsuccessful battle against them. Not much of a choice."

"What will we do, Governor?" Came a question from one of the many faces surrounding the table.

"I'm not one to bring down war upon his fellow men. I say we offer our arms in battle." Alestar flashed a charming smile towards his company.

"You're an idiot Governor! Sierra doesn't need our men in battle! He'll laugh at the bargain and slaughter your people like sheep!"

"Oh?" Alestar slowly began to circle the table. "Not if we have something important in exchange for our state...."

"You're talking about those mercenaries?" The General spoke up. "You would be considered a coward of your own people if you hand someone with your own views over to the very enemy."

Alestar laughed. "No no no! Don't jump to conclusions. We'll make a smart deal with the mercenaries!" Alestar's expression faded into his serious business- type mask. "Invite them, and apologize for this short notice. I wouldn't want Sierra jumping the gun anytime soon." He received nodding heads from the crowd, and they departed to take on a number of jobs.

Alestar arrived at his daughter's room, and quietly opened the door. She turned in her sleep, and the hall light cast a soft gleam on her light blue bangs as they fell across her face. "Vinnie..." He sat down on her bed and stroked her waist-length hair until she opened her eyes. "Is it too late?"

"No, not at all daddy." She said sleepily. "What is it?" Alestar smiled at his daughter's dedication towards her work.

"Another small errand." He said, handing her a file. "It's all written there. I would come with you but -"

"But you promised mother you'd be back in a few hours... I know, I know." She hoisted herself up onto her elbows and smiled. "Don't worry about me."

After Alestar returned to his sleeping quarters, Vincentia had already packed a few required items into a backpack and swung it over her shoulder. She glanced at herself in the body long mirror across the room before heading out, and reviewed the file quietly in her mind before tossing it in the trash.

***

Silvara let a small delighted laugh escape her lips as her chocobo raced towards her. Stepping away from Reeve she smiled happily as the chocobo came barreling up to her only to gently lay his head upon her shoulder. Silvara felt a surge of relief bubble up inside her and realized that she'd been more shaken then she'd thought by the last few minutes. "Shame on you Siydi, I thought I asked you to find Raven."

She wrapped her arms around his serpentine neck before running her hands and eyes along his body, checking for any injuries.

When she met his expressive red eyes, she could read the amusement in them before he turned his head to glare back at the people approaching them. Silvara laid her hand on his side and murmured, "I know. I don't like this either, but try to behave." His head swung around and she met his questioning gaze, "No!" Her lips twisted in a wry smile, "At least not right now. I've got a job to do and the last thing I need is for you to start something." Siydi hissed and spread his wings in a defensive gesture as the small group approached them and Silvara frowned. "Knock it off." before she turned to face them, flashing a cheerful and extremely innocent grin at Kidd and Anaimone before turning to her friend. "Well it's about time you guys showed up!"

Riya's long stride quickly ate the remaining distance between her and Silvara. Anger radiated from her body in a tangible aura as she pulled her aside, "Not another word." She resisted the urge to shake some sense into her friend by folding her arms across her chest. Silvara's eyes widened and Riya dropped her voice to a barely audible hiss. "What the hell was that all about!? What happened to waiting for us!! If this HAD been a trap of some sort do you honestly think you could have gotten away by yourself?" Her tone turned frosty. "I don't know what sort of game you're playing here Silvara but I'm not going to put up with it!" She shook her head in amazement, "Do you really think you could have faced off against Ferris, Rufus AND the Turks!? They're trained killers! Do you know what would have happened to you if you'd had to fight them!!?"

*

Ferris shook his head in amazement, "I'd heard rumors about the resistance group, but a spy within Sierra's organization?" He grinned in admiration, `who'd have thought that Reeve would have the...well I guess everyone changes.' Still smiling, Ferris nodded his thanks, "I appreciate it Reno." Standing, he moved to the window, and the smile faded as he gazed down at the two women in the courtyard. By the looks of things, Riya was giving the feisty little bounty hunter an earful and he chuckled as he turned back to Reno. "Right now Silvara is useful in Rufus's plan. Everything I've ever heard about her claims that she's fanatical about fulfilling her contracts and with her skills, she'll definitely be an asset on this job." His amber eyes hardened, "But as soon as the mission is over, Silvara becomes fair game. Now that I know what to expect from her, I know I can defeat her." He motioned for Reno to join him at the window and gestured at the shouting woman below. "But there can be no interference...which leads me to Riya." He was silent for a moment as he studied the auburn haired beauty, "She'll insist on coming along to protect her friend, she's always been like that." His emotionless eyes met Reno's, "Tie her up, lock her in a closet...as long as she's not harmed just make sure she doesn't tag along." Ferris watched them a moment longer before turning away, "I'd be in your debt."

Reno looked back out the window towards Riya. "Before we get ready to leave I'll distract her and let the others get away from here without her knowing, and if she tries to slip away.. then I'll resort to rope and a closet." He looked out towards the cliff that hid Junon from them and hid the mansion from Junon. "So are there more mercenaries than this?" He changing the subject, the deal was done and that was that until it the job was done.

*

Reeve watched the young women talk or for a better word, he watched one woman yell at the other. He sighed then looked over at Tseng. Walking over to the black-haired Turk, he spoke quietly. "Where's Gold and Green?"

"Safe. In Junon." Tseng replied glancing once at Reeve before returning his attention to the two women.

*

Silvara bore the brunt of her friend's anger with ill-concealed annoyance. She knew Riya normally prided herself on remaining calm and detached, both on and off the battlefield, but a few things could still manage to bring out her fiery temper. Unfortunately, the bounty hunter was one of them and Silvara was fed up with people talking down to her. "ENOUGH!!" The word came out as an impressive roar before Silvara's voice dropped to a frosty murmur. "Exactly who do you think you're talking to Riya? One of your sniveling little recruits?! I don't need your permission OR your protection."

Silvara let her anger slip away and a sad smile shaped her lips, "I'm not a child Riya and I haven't needed someone to protect me for quite some time now." She sighed wearily, "Nor am I a fool, if I had fought them all, I would have died." She shook her head and grinned, "Just what do you think I've been doing the last few years? Brushing my hair and looking cute? I'm a bounty hunter Riya, when I track someone or accept a contract, I run the risk of being killed...Just as you do when you hire out your sword, but it's MY decision to make!" She gazed past Riya towards the Turks but her mind was on Ferris, "If that means I have to fight someone stronger who might kill me, so be it...even if all I can hope for is the chance to take them with me." She flashed her a sunny grin, "Now, if you're done yelling at me, I need to go talk to Rufus, if I'm going to take the job he offered, I need to find out the details." With that she turned and walked into the mansion.

'Well I certainly handled that well,' Riya thought with a disgusted sigh as Silvara disappeared into the mansion. 'I'd have reacted the same way,' she smiled wryly as she remembered her parents reaction when she decided to become a mercenary, 'I DID react the same way.' She turned to walk back to Anaimone and the Turks, 'And she's right, she's not a child anymore...and it's not my place to protect her.' She hid her sadness behind an emotionless mask, 'She's changed so much.'

Riya caught Anaimone's questioning glance, "Well, it's not as bad as I thought. Evidently Raven is fine and Silvara has been hired by Rufus." She chuckled and glanced back towards the mansion, "She didn't say much about it and I have a pretty good idea why, but for now lets..." Her eyes were drawn to a movement in one of the windows and her smile slipped from her face. 'I thought so, Silvy I hope you know what you're doing.' She glanced at the Turks and the man speaking with them before turning back to Anaimone, "For now, let's just wait and see what happens, maybe get something to eat and rest up a bit."

Anaimone placed a sturdy hand on her hip and nodded at Riya's 'order.' "Good. Friend's fine. Eat, rest later." She then sat on the ground, crossing her legs, and swung her bag of rations from her back along with Kuku who had been picking through it. "Kuku! Wait. Like others." She patiently waited for the rebellious Ku to behave itself. The Ku sat down beside Anaimone obediently and listened to the oddly muffled voices of the surrounding people blending together in a meaningless murmur. Taking out a sharpening tool from her boot, Anaimone observed the Turks and began to strike the end of her newly made spear. 'Maybe they talk trouble...'

Kuku listened attentively to the whisper of her thoughts, and hurried over to the group, pouncing on a small creature and muttering absently to herself. Anaimone slowly stood up, and watched the Ku's actions closely. "Be good Kuku!" It was only expected of the Ku that she'd try to get into mischief. Anaimone turned her gaze towards Riya and shook her head from side to side. "We need this wait?" She was always prepared to launch into battle, and couldn't understand why the group didn't dart after Sierra.

Riya understood the woman's question...and privately agreed. From what Silvara and the others had told her about Sierra, 'We should be going after him, not sitting around doing nothing.' She frowned thoughtfully, for Silvara to accept this job from Rufus when she was already involved with the mercenaries...there was only one possible conclusion. Rufus was going to try and reclaim Junon. 'That would explain it...the only time she'll take on more than one job is when the end result met. If Rufus suddenly reappeared in Junon and established himself, it would seriously undermine Sierra's influence...possibly even drive him from this continent.' Her frown deepened, 'Of course, this isn't necessarily the best course...to allow the ShinRa to claim power.'

Her ties with the Nothgalea family and her father's staunch support of the late president ShinRa has brought Riya under the president's eye a few times. Not long before his assassination, he'd even tried to hire her to hunt down a group of activists hiding in the slums of Midgar. With all the outraged scorn of her 19 years, she'd refused and left for her home in Junon...but she remembered what the ShinRa organization had done to stop the terrorists. The question was, would Rufus try to follow his father's footsteps, or would he prove to be a better man? She'd met the young charismatic leader a few times, Ferris had introduced her when they were children, and she remembered being impressed by the ShinRa heir. But times changed, people changed...her eyes drifted back to the now empty window. 'Everything changes. Ferris.'

Shaking off her dark thoughts, Riya turned back to Anaimone. "Well, we can't very well take on Sierra by ourselves...not until we find out more." She glanced at the Turks before seating herself next to the Ku, tickling her paws with a long blade of grass. "For right now...his forces here are too strong for a direct assault. Well....it could be done...." Ever the tactician, Riya lost herself to her thoughts, calling up the reports she'd received on Sierra's presence in Junon and trying to plan the best course. Riya flopped on her back in the grass and stared up at the sky. It was an old habit, one she had since she was a girl and she was barely aware as she took out the elegantly curved dagger from her boot and began flipping it into the air. 'But if I'm right about Rufus and his plans...things will start happening pretty fast, maybe in the confusion.'

Anaimone began to shift uneasily at the sight of the dagger twisting through the air repeatedly, and cringed. It added more discomfort to the overall situation; Waiting for the unexpected while standing by a group of people who's power was unknown to her. 'His forces are too strong for a direct assault...' Anaimone didn't care much for those words because all there was ever to do in battle was assault directly, if she wasn't launching a surprise attack in the grasslands on the approaching enemy. 'Maybe Sierra too chicken to face directly.' She stuck her tongue out in disgust at the thought of being imprisoned again, and was more than happy to be involved with some resistance group against her captor, no matter what they were capable of. Anaimone found a place in the grass by Kuku and Riya and watched the Ku cock her head in curiosity, with her eyes fixed on the moving dagger.