Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ Shot in the Dark ( Chapter 26 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 26: Shot in the Dark

The sounds of metal against rock clanged against the mountain walls as miners shuffled to and fro. Cid and Barret were busy barking orders around making sure that the work was done and done as soon as possible. Shera was busy running the gigantic metal praying mantis that was chipping away at the rock like shredding paper. The miners knew well to stay clear of the petite woman and if the sympathy pains that they had all felt for Dirk weren't enough warning, the jealous eye of a certain short tempered pilot kept the miners' libidos in check.

“Captain Highwind, how are things progressing?” Thomas asked as he walked through the mines.

“Peachy keen. You don't need to sweat kid. We're doin' good,” Cid said as he balanced a cigarette between his lips.

“Then you wouldn't be too put off if I give my usual report to Ms. Noval?”

“Take as long as you want. Me and Little Bear can hold the fort down.” Cid gave Thomas a thumbs up.

“You better shut yo' mouth there Highwind. Only my Aunt Donna can call me that,” Barret's voice boomed in the tunnel.

“You two aren't going to start throwing grenades at each other again, are you?” Thomas asked with a tinge of unease.

“Nah, we learned our lesson. We'll wait until we get to Kalm before I bust a cap in his ass,” Barret laughed.

Thomas hesitantly left the mines as he passed nervous glances over Barret and Cid. He whispered a silent prayer as he left the mines and hoped that the dynamic duo would refrain from taking pot shots at each other during the dig. Private Pete quickly joined Thomas as the soldier escorted the executive through the winding tunnels.

“Pete, do you think they'll behave?” Thomas asked hoping for a little reassurance.

“I don't know? They sure like picking on each other a lot. I think they'll be okay. I mean, we got rid of all the grenades after what they did yesterday, right?” Pete smiled innocently.

“True,” Thomas answered without feeling any more persuaded. After all, it was human to err and Cid Highwind and Barret Wallace were two humans who tended to side on erring: a lot.

Pete and Thomas quickly made their way outside the caves and walked out into the grassy plains near Fort Condor. They were immediately accosted by a skittish buxom blonde-haired woman.

“You're five minutes late Mr. Wheeler,” the woman crossed her arms in front of the two men.

“I apologize Ms. Noval. I just had to make sure that there was someone competent to supervise the miners.”

“Mr. Highwind and Mr. Wallace I presume?”

“Unfortunately.”

Autumn raised her brow in amusement as she tried her best to hide the levity in her voice. “I guess I can forgive you this time. But don't expect that excuse to work again.”

“Well, if they decide to blow up the mines again, I'm sure that would be a good enough excuse to be late,” Thomas teased.

“Don't worry, I already told you that I think they got rid of all the grenades,” Pete chimed in.

“You think there are no more grenades?” Autumn asked doubtfully.

The ShinRa soldier looked startled, almost as if he recognized Autumn as some venomous snake that was about to strike. “Well, I ah, I don't know for certain. I just heard from the guy getting the stuff out that there weren't any. I mean, I'm sure the guy did his job, right?” Pete winced under Autumn's scrutinizing gaze. “Hey come on lady, give me a break. I'm just telling you what I know.”

“Pete, don't worry about it. Just stand over there in the corner and do whatever it is that you do,” Thomas quickly added to save Pete from the awkward situation he had gotten himself into.

“Aye, aye Captain!” Pete said as he saluted and quickly walked a safe distance away from the pair.

“Sorry about Pete, he tends to get too enthusiastic about his job.”

“No, it's okay. He was just doing his job and I'm just doing mine. But now that we have all those formalities out of the way, how about we start on that interview you agreed to yesterday evening,” as Autumn flipped open her notepad and flashed him a warm smile.

“I've never really done this before, but I promised you an interview and I'm not going to go back on that Ms. Noval,” Thomas said as his green eyes flashed with a tinge of excitement.

“Please, just call me Autumn.”

“Alright Autumn. By the way, you can call me Tom.”

“What's important is to be comfortable and upfront with your answers,” Autumn advised. “And don't worry, I'll be gentle. So what made you decide to become a civil servant?”

“I've always wanted to work for the government since my grandfather did years ago. How about you? What made you decide to become a journalist?”

“Hey, I thought I was the one giving the interview here,” Autumn playfully chided.

“Oh, did I breach some sort of interviewer, interviewee rule? I was just curious.”

“Sort of. It's an unspoken rule. The interviewee doesn't get to ask personal questions. But since you're new at this, I'll let that one slide,” Autumn winked. “Now where was I? Oh! How long have you been with the company and what sort of changes do you think the company will go through after these recent events?”

“I started working for the company two years ago as an aide to Mr. Palmer. In terms of what will happen to the company, that's really hard to say. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of reshuffling within the company as we assess which divisions need more staff and try to accommodate for all the people who have been misplaced by this tragedy.”

“Un, huh. Got that.” Autumn wrote his quote down in a fervor. “So how long do you project it will take for the company to restructure?”

“Probably a few months. Hopefully sooner.” Thomas watched as Autumn scribbled down his quote. “So do all journalists write out every single word like you do? I thought they all knew shorthand.”

Autumn pulled her notepad closer to her as she gave Thomas an exasperated look. “Just so you know, not all journalists use shorthand. It's just more accurate to write everything down like I'm doing.” Autumn shot him a warning look.

“Sorry, I breached the unspoken rule again, didn't I?” Thomas smiled apologetically.

Autumn stared at Thomas's emerald-like eyes and sighed as her irritation at him melted away. He was much too honest and Autumn found that redeeming quality: attractive. “Yes, you did. I guess I'm going to have to satisfy your curiosity in order for me to get the answers I need. How about we make deal? I ask you a question and then you ask me one so we can both satisfy our curiosities.”

“Another deal?” Thomas tilted his head. “You're certainly quite a gambler making all these deals with me.”

“Tit for tat Tom, tit for tat.” Autumn poked Thomas with the end of her pen. “So what's your first question to me?”

“Well you never answered my question about why you became a journalist,” Thomas smiled.

“You're actually going to laugh at me when I tell you this. But I made a bet with my college roommate that I could write a better story than she could. She was a Journalism major at the time and I was just an English major. We decided to submit stories about the same subject to the college paper and see whose story got published. The story that got published was the person who won. Well, as it turns out, neither of us won because one of the dorms on campus caught on fire so all the headlines were changed at the last minute. So then we tried our hand at writing an article about the dorm fire and pretty soon, my roommate got me to join the editorial staff of the paper. I decided to change my major, graduate and then I landed a job at the Junon Star and the rest is history.”

“What happened to your roommate?”

“That's another question that I'll answer after you answer my question. Remember, tit for tat.” Autumn flipped to a fresh page of her notebook. “So, what are the immediate plans for the citizens of Midgar once they are evacuated?”

“Right now Mr. Johnson and Mr. Rivers are working on that solution while I stay and monitor the progress of the tunnel dig. When I last spoke with them, they informed me that they are considering a new settlement to be built somewhere near both Midgar and these mines to quickly get the citizens some shelter,” Thomas answered. “So, what happened to your roommate?”

Autumn smiled as she finished writing down his answer. “Oh, my roommate is an editor at the Junon Star. She was always better at the administrative part of working a paper. But I was the better writer. Are their any plans to rebuild Midgar?”

“Those discussions have been briefly touched on and the President has agreed to consider it, but the primary focus will be on the excavation and safety of the citizens. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I have one sister and one brother, both younger than me. My brother just finished military training in Junon and my sister just started her term with the Bone Village exploration team as an archeologist. What sort of safety concerns will the President be looking at when considering the rebuilding of Midgar?”

“He'll be looking at the extent of the structural damage and what parts of the city are still stable enough to house citizens. We also have to explore the possibilities of numerous mako leaks around the city since Meteor damaged all the mako reactors. So you're the oldest of three. You're kinda lucky. I'm an only child and never had the privilege of siblings, especially younger ones.”

There was a slight pause as Autumn eyed Thomas inquisitively. “You know that you didn't ask me a question, right? How can this be a tit for tat when there's no tat?”

“Ah, that's true, but I don't have to answer that because I haven't provided you with a question for you to answer,” Thomas said. “So what was it that you wanted to do before your roommate sucked you into the world of journalism?”

Autumn closed her notepad as she comfortably looked up at the sky; a faint memory triggered a small smile on her face. “I wanted to be a novelist. Not just any old novelist mind you, but a writer who wrote stories about far away places and different worlds that only appear in our imagination.”

Thomas studied Autumn's face. He could tell that she was dreaming of her imaginary worlds with her imaginary characters dancing in her mind. He wondered what her characters were like and if he could read her stories. “Why don't you go ahead and write them?”

“Don't be foolish. No one would ever read them,” Autumn laughed.

“I'll read them,” Thomas answered truthfully.

Autumn looked at Thomas as she gazed into his eyes. They were bright and hopeful, masking nothing. Autumn was slightly startled at how honorable he was and she was touched. Men like him were rare these days. “If I write them, do you promise to read them all, even if they're really bad?”

“I promise I'll read all of your books. Even the bad ones, though I somehow doubt that you would write a bad story considering how you claim to be such a good writer.”

“Being a good writer doesn't necessarily mean that I'll write stories that people will like. But thanks, that really does mean a lot to me,” Autumn's face softened.

“You're welcome,” Thomas smiled. “Um, I guess you don't have anymore questions for me, do you?”

“No, the interview is officially over. I may have some follow-up questions for you later, but for now, you survived.”

“I guess they don't give out T-shirts for things like this saying something like `I survived an interview with Autumn Noval,'” Thomas said as he laughed.

Autumn laughed along with him as she relaxed herself around the young executive. “No, but they should.”

Pete watched the pair as they talked comfortably in the grassy plains. He couldn't believe that he didn't recognize her name when he first heard it. It's not everyday that you meet a reporter for the Junon Star named Autumn; the same reporter who Pete had heard many infamous stories about from his friend Larry. Stories about a woman who could chill your blood with a look, which was what Pete felt when she glared at him. He was certain that the woman Thomas was talking to was the same woman his friend Larry had warned him about.

Now when Pete first heard the story from Larry, he didn't believe that such a woman existed. Pete concluded that Larry was just making up how cold and calculating the woman was and she was probably just misunderstood. But now after seeing Autumn and being victim to her ice-blue eyes, he decided that it was probably better to believe his friend Larry after all.

“Thanks for the interview Tom. I look forward to the time when you have to give me that next update,” Autumn shook Thomas's hand.

“You're welcome Autumn. I'm glad to be of service.”

Thomas watched as Autumn walked back to her dusty jeep she had apparently driven all the way down from Junon. Her small tent was pitched right next to it as Thomas wondered why she wasn't afraid of any monsters sneaking up on her in the middle of the night. He briefly considered ordering one of the soldiers to guard the plains where Autumn slept to ensure her safety, but thought better of it since they were short-staffed as it was. Besides, she was a tough girl.

Pete came up behind Thomas and gently prodded him in the shoulder. “You okay buddy?” Pete asked sincerely.

“Yeah, why would I not be?” Thomas wondered why Pete was being so overprotective.

“Well you were talking to that woman for a long time and frankly, she's downright scary,” Pete whispered.

“Autumn? Scary? Intimidating yes, but I wouldn't go so far as to call her scary.”

“She sure as hell scared me. But I heard that she has sort of a bad rep.”

“Bad rep? What sort of bad rep?” Thomas asked slightly intrigued.

“Well, I heard that when it comes to getting a story, she can be kind of . . . well . . . a bitch.”

“Who told you that?”

Pete took off his helmet and scratched his sandy blonde-hair as he told his story. “Well, my friend Larry has a sister whose boyfriend works for the Junon Star as a photographer. I think the guy's name is Luke, or Duke. Anyway, from what I heard Autumn over there stole some guy's story before he could publish it and then claimed all the credit. Not only that, but she once put laxatives into someone's coffee so she could steal an interview with President ShinRa.”

Thomas looked at Pete skeptically. “How do you know if those stories are true?”

“Well, I don't. But I heard it from Larry's sister, so it's gotta be right. Just believe me when I say that the woman's scary. I'm trusting my gut on this one.” Pete emphasized his point with a pat to his stomach.

“Well, if you're trusting your gut, then I'm going to trust mine and I think she's not the way you make her out to be. Sure she's very pushy, but I guess you gotta be when you're a journalist. She's just doing her job Pete. Don't worry.”

“If you say so,” Pete sighed as he replaced his helmet. “I just can't help thinking that she's bad luck.”

“Don't worry. I'll take care of her. If anything happens, then I'll accept the blame,” Thomas said.

“Famous last words,” Pete muttered.

“Thanks, your optimism truly motivates me,” Thomas said sarcastically. “Come on; let's get back to the mine to make sure that Cid and Barret haven't blown themselves up.”

* * *

The sun was setting over the horizon casting shadows along the mountainside. On the mountain trails one could see lines of miners could be seen making the trek back home. Some miners rode their chocobos while others took a boat across the swamps. The miners had been working hard digging the tunnel deeper while putting support beams alongside the tunnel walls. With the combined efforts of the Kalm miners and the small group working inside of Old Midgar, they would probably break through to the other side in a day or two.

“Hey, we dun pretty good today,” Barret wiped his brow as they watched the setting sun.

“Yep, nothing like mother nature to welcome you home after working your ass off in her hot dank hole,” Cid crudely spat.

Shera flushed as she heard Cid's words and only deepened her blush as the object of her affections put his arm around her shoulders. She never would have thought in a million years that Cid Highwind would kiss her this morning, and kiss her the way he did. “Do you think we'll finish with the tunnel soon?”

“Sure! We'll probably get hit the other side sometime tomorrow and then spend our times widening up the tunnel `til we can drive a tank through it,” Cid said with a flash. “Don't you worry Shera. We'll get it done.”

“So I guess that means I win my bet.” Barret smiled slyly as he watched the couple out of the corner of his eye.

Cid glared at Barret while he mumbled something incoherent as Shera giggled at Cid's expense. In the distance, Cid could hear a few miners shouting out, “You'll owe me five gil Highwind!” off into the distance. Needless to say, Cid's mood was quite foul and holding onto Shera was the only thing keeping him from snapping at everyone. Unfortunately, that was the mood that loomed over Cid as he noticed Nanaki hopping down from the jagged rocks with two companions in tow.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Cid said hoarsely.

“Nice to see you as curt as ever Cid,” Nanaki said as he leapt towards his friends. “I found something interesting while I was exploring the mountains.”

Nanaki turned his head so everyone would focus on the two lion-like creatures slowly making their way down from the mountain trail. They were the same species as Nanaki and the group was left speechless as they watched the pair gracefully hop from rock to rock. Though the miners had gotten used to seeing Nanaki around, watching the two other creatures along the mountain caused them to pause in awe.

“We're almost there mother,” Kaya said as she kept close. “I hope the journey wasn't too much.”

“It is best to travel now rather than later,” Sersa said between labored breaths. “I certainly want one last look at the world before I go.”

“Kaya, Sersa. Let me introduce you to my friends. The large black man is Barret Wallace. The blonde man is Cid Highwind and his female companion is Shera Dorsley.” Nanaki introduced the AVALANCHE members. “Cid, Barret, Shera. This is Sersa and her daughter Kaya. Kaya is my new mate.”

“Well whaddya know! You ole' dog you. You went and found yourself a girl!” Barret said as he ran up and hugged Nanaki.

Shera followed suit as she hugged Nanaki and scratched him in his favorite spot behind the ears. Kaya watched curiously at the exchange between her mate and his human friends. Shera then turned her attention to Kaya and held her hand out in a friendly gesture.

“You must be Kaya. I'm sure you'll make Nanaki proud. Can I pet you?”

Kaya hesitated as she turned to her mother who was busy lapping water from a bowl that a miner had brought over to her. She then looked to Nanaki who nodded his head as Barret was working his magic over his mane.

“But, we're not pets,” Kaya said in an embarrassed whisper.

“No, but it feels really good,” Nanaki purred.

Kaya cautiously bowed her head for Shera and the woman gently obliged as she scratched the soft spot behind her ears. Kaya nuzzled up to the woman's petite hands as she purred in synch with the soothing sensations running through her body. It was bliss.

“Wow, who would have thought that this would feel so good,” Kaya sighed.

Sersa was having the same thoughts as the miner who brought her the water bowl was gently rubbing her back. If she didn't trust Nanaki and wasn't so thirsty, she would have never let a human near her so much as touch her. But even she couldn't deny the euphoric feeling of being pampered.

“Oh Cid. Isn't it great to see Nanaki with more friends?” Shera gushed.

“Yeah, I thought Red said he was the last one. Have you started repopulating Cosmo Canyon yet?” Cid laughed as he pat Kaya's stomach.

Kaya responded with a low growl to the insensitive pilot as Cid slowly backed away from the angry female.

“Are all of your friends this crude?” Sersa asked, hearing the blunt comment.

“No, only Cid and Barret,” Nanaki said as he gave a warning look to the pair.

“Hey, I heard that! I ain't crude,” Barret mumbled.

“Sorry there. I ain't got much of a tongue for manners and pleasantries. Just ask Shera here, she'll tell ya.” Cid smacked Shera in the ass, eliciting a high pitched yelp from the mousy woman.

“I see that you've been busy as well.” Nanaki mused Cid's strange way of showing affection. “But I know of a way to make up to Kaya and Sersa for your insensitivity.”

“Yeah, how's that?”

“We'd like to return to Cosmo Canyon,” Sersa spoke. “I haven't returned to my birthplace since I left the Canyon before Kaya was born and my daughter has never seen where her ancestors lived.”

“Sure, let me see what I can do,” Cid said as he pulled out his PHS. “Johnson! Burns! What are you two slackers doing now? . . . Whadaya mean you're tired? . . . You've been flying the Highwind how long? And tell Johnson not to drool all over the control panel! . . . You didn't put a scratch on her or anything did ya? . . . Good, when can you two get back up in the air? . . . Tomorrow morning? Sure, sounds good. . . . Don't forget to fill `er up before you leave. . . . No I'm not coming along! I still have work to do here. . . . Where? Cosmo Canyon. . . . Good. You two better be up and fresh to fly tomorrow morning.” Cid gruffly hung up. “Looks like I can get you a one-way ticket to Cosmo Canyon early tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you; your services are greatly appreciated.” Sersa bowed her head low to the pilot.

“So I'll finally get to see Cosmo Canyon.” Kaya excitedly spoke with Nanaki.

“Yes, you'll finally get to see Cosmo Canyon. I'll show you all the sights and introduce you to everyone. I'm sure that grandfather will instantly love you.” Nanaki nuzzled Kaya tenderly. “And perhaps we'll be able to find some medicine that can help you Sersa.”

“It's an optimistic thought, but we'll see,” Sersa said softly.

“I don't know about you all, but I'm starving. Let's say we carry this here party over to Elmyra's place and chit-chat while my Auntie Donna cooks us up something good,” Barret said as he rubbed his hands together.

“I think that would be best. Sersa and Kaya haven't eaten since their morning hunt,” Nanaki said as he walked over to his chosen mate.

“As long as we're not on the menu,” Cid joked.

“I don't think so. I fear that eating you would be hazardous to my health.” Kaya brazenly retorted.

Everyone laughed as they began to make their way back towards Kalm. The sun was just starting to dip over the horizon as the silhouettes of men going home shrank and shrank until there was only a tiny spot in the distance; and then nothing.

* * *

Reno strolled into The Seaside Inn hoping that this hotel was the jackpot. He had been to more hotels, inns and hostels than he knew existed within one city block. He leaned against the counter and slammed his hand over the silver bell as he silently took in his surroundings. The lobby was full of guests loitering around with nothing to do. There was hardly anyone of interest, but enough people to make sure he had his guard up. When the concierge finally made his way to the front desk, Reno silently wondered when the man last saw a bed or even a shower.

“Can I help you?” the weary man asked.

“Yeah, I'm here looking for my Aunt Maddy. She said I could come over, talk to ya and you'd get me a key to her room,” Reno said in a deep voice. “She's expecting me.”

“Do you know what room she's staying in?”

“No, but her last name's King.”

“Hold on a minute sir,” the concierge replied as he began searching through a ledger. After flipping a few pages, the tired man barely looked up from his desk as he opened a drawer and pulled out a key. “The room is down the hall on your left. Room 113.”

“Thanks buddy,” Reno grinned as he grabbed the keys.

Sauntering up the stairs, the Turk passed by a few drunk guests who were exiting from a room where loud music roared. It looked like these guests were still celebrating the fact that they were still alive. The hallways smelled like a mixture of vomit and sex: two things that Reno was very familiar with having experienced both extensively. He made his way to the room and quickly put his ear to the door to check if anyone was in the room. Utter silence greeted him.

Taking the key that the concierge had given him, Reno cautiously entered the room. He made sure to shut and lock the door silently before boisterously announcing his presence with his trusty magrod in hand.

“Lucy! I'm home!”

Reno held his breath as he waited for someone to respond to him, but nothing happened. Inching closer into the room, he kicked open the door to the bathroom to find no one in there. Walking further into the room he noticed that the room was bare except for the body of an aging woman on one of the twin beds. The woman's eyes were wide open and her arms lying outstretched as if she was staring at the ceiling waiting for it to collapse onto her. Her pale skin was marred by dark bruises around her neck as Reno peered in to study her face.

“Fucking-A!”

Reno scanned his eyes around the room and tried to see if there were any items that were important or clues to where the son was located, but he didn't find anything. There were no bags in the room, no important pieces of paper and no nothing. The only thing Reno knew was that Matilda King was dead and her son Nicholas King was missing.

* * *

The two-story home in Kalm was very similar to Elmyra's old home in Sector 5. The rooms were spacious and the décor was homey. Spending her time with Marlene also brought back memories of raising Aeris when she was younger. The house should have felt like her real home, but it didn't. It was probably the fact that the only flowers she had were the two small flower pots sitting outside the window. They paled in comparison to the grandiose garden she and Aeris had in Sector 5. But she didn't even know if her house in Sector 5 was still standing or if it was buried underneath all the rubble. All she knew is that she probably could never return. Kalm was her new home now and she'd have to find the time to plant more flowers.

“Auntie Elmyra, whatcha thinking?” Marlene curiously looked at the older woman as she stood pensively at the window.

“I was just thinking that I should plant some more flowers. Do you think that's a good idea?”

Marlene nodded as her eyes lit up. “We could fill the whole house with flowers! Tifa always wanted to have her bar filled with flowers.”

“Yes, we should do that,” Elmyra smiled. “Then the place would really feel like home.”

“Can we go and pick some flowers before Papa gets home?” The girl squealed as she bounced up and down with excitement.

“We will, but you've got to eat some lunch first. I'll make you a sandwich,” Elmyra said as she walked over to the kitchen.

“Aw, but I'm not hungry,” Marlene whined. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited for her sandwich with a small pout on her face.

“Don't you want to grow up to be a big girl just like Tifa?” Elmyra said knowingly, remembering how Aeris was the same as Marlene.

Marlene peered curiously at Elmyra with her wide brown eyes. “Did Tifa eat all her sandwiches?”

“Every last bite.” The older woman winked as she put the sandwich down in front of the little girl.

There was no more argument as Marlene silently finished her sandwich while swinging her legs back and forth as she sat at the table. Elmyra couldn't help but see a part of Aeris still living in the innocent young girl. Their lives were similar in a way and they both had this spark of life to them that brightened up any room.

Elmyra smiled as she took Marlene out to the florist. The little girl pointed at all of the flowers on display and begged Elmyra to take them all home. Though the thought was tempting, the pair could only bring home as much as their arms could carry. They filled the room with sweet smelling flowers as the vibrant colors brightened the house. All the vases in storage were taken out and placed in various places throughout the house as the reds and blues crated a peaceful atmosphere. Even Marlene donned one of the many flowers they had bought as a pink lily graced her round face.

The soothing scent of flowers was what greeted the many guests to Elmyra's house as they returned from the Mythril Mines. It was a welcome sight for the group as well as for Kaya and Sersa who had been living in the wild for forty years. Their entrance was shortly followed by the boisterous Donna and her companion, Casey. Elmyra couldn't think of another time when she had seen so many warm and welcoming faces in her home. It made the house come alive and Elmyra looked upon the beautiful flowers lining her house finally feeling like she was home.

“Oh you poor little things living up in that mountain all by yourselves. Let me cook you up something nice. What do you two like to eat?” Donna smiled widely at Kaya and Sersa.

“Wild rabbit and boar,” Kaya politely replied.

Donna stared blankly at the two females while Nanaki snickered nearby. “How about I fix you up some fried chicken?”

“That should be fine,” Kaya responded, somewhat uncertain what fried chicken was.

“You both will like it. It's just like regular chicken, but cooked and crispy,” Nanaki said as he comforted his mate.

“You certainly have surrounded yourself with some wonderful friends.” Sersa watched the group with approval as she lounged on the plush, carpeted floor.

“There are a few who are missing. I wish I could show you what they all looked like,” Nanaki sighed.

Just then a bright flash of light startled the three lion-like creatures. They turned to see Marlene hefting a camera around her neck as she beamed at them with a bright smile.

“I'm taking pictures so everyone will remember!”

“Pictures? What are those and what is that device?” Kaya asked.

Marlene fearlessly walked up to Kaya and showed her the camera. “Pictures are what you get when you use a camera. You just look into the little window and if you like what you see in the window, then you press this button. After you press the button too many times, then you have to take the camera to the shop and they give you the pictures that you took.”

Kaya looked curiously into the small glass window that Marlene described. She saw the house and residents as she did before, but with a black border outlining the image. “Do your pictures look exactly like what you see through the window?”

“Yep. Let me go get some to show you,” Marlene quickly ran off to her room.

“I forgotten how many things you haven't been exposed to living up in the mountains all these years,” Sersa chuckled lightly. “You remind me of what you were like when you were a mere cub, always asking questions and wanting to learn new things.”

“Mother! I can't help it if I've never seen these things before. I'm learning so much and seeing so many wonderful things. You know I enjoy learning.”

“Wait until you see my Highwind. That'll knock yer socks off!” Cid added to the conversation before returning his attention back to the chess game he and Casey were playing.

Nanaki grinned at the pilot as he turned to his mate. “Don't worry. I'll do my best to explain everything to you.”

Kaya smiled in appreciation as she rested her paw overtop of his.

“I found them!” Marlene's shouts echoed across the house. She ran over to the three and plopped herself down on the floor as she started to spread the photographs across the carpet. “These are pictures!”

Kaya gazed at the pictures one by one and was amazed at what she saw. Many different images were looking back at her like paintings that were captured in exact detail. She saw a picture of a desert like land with Barret kicking a large mechanical vehicle that had some sort of smoke coming out of it. There were pictures of three women all smiling at the camera with a large white animal with a cat on top of its head. Many more pictures littered the ground, but Kaya could only see the ones on top. “These are amazing!”

“I have more!” Marlene shuffled through the pictures picking up the ones that interested her. “This one here is of Yuffie, Tifa and Aeris. They're all my Aunties. I like to call Aeris the flower-lady because she sold flowers. Her flowers were always really pretty.”

Kaya nodded as she studied the pictures. She remembered hearing their names from when Nanaki was telling her about AVALANCHE and their battle against Sephiroth, though somehow the name `Tifa' seemed to strike more of a chord with her. “What's that white creature in the back?”

“Oh, that's Cait Sith. Cait Sith is Mr. Reeve's toy. But Mr. Reeve's shy and I don't have any pictures of him.” Marlene put the picture away and picked up another one. “This picture here is of Papa, Cid, Nanaki, Vincent and Cloud. They're all my Un'cas and Mr. Reeve is too. But my Papa's my Papa, so he's not my Un'ca.”

The picture showed the group of five standing close together with smiles on their faces. Kaya looked at the men one by one until her eyes landed on the last one on the end. His hair shot up like golden spikes ready to pierce through anything. His shining blue eyes held a bit of coldness and sadness that completely contradicted the smile on his face. It reminded her of a dark day when the smell of blood tainted the mountains. Then she realized; she knew that man. “I've seen him before.”

“Who?” Marlene flipped the picture around so she could stare at it.

“The man on the end with the spiky hair.”

“You mean Un'ca Cloud?”

Kaya nodded her head as the AVALANCHE members raised their heads up in curiosity.

“You've met Spike?” Barret asked confused.

“Not really met, just saw.”

“When was this?” Nanaki asked.

Kaya looked at all the AVALANCHE members and then eyed Marlene warily. “It's not really a story that little Marlene should hear.”

“Why not? It's a story about Un'ca Cloud, right?” Marlene asked innocently.

“Yes, but you're too young to hear it right now,” Kaya gazed sympathetically at the girl.

Elmyra came to the rescue as she picked up the little girl and told her that she would tell her some other stories. Marlene struggled a bit as she whined, “but Elmyra! If they're going to tell the story about Un'ca Cloud and Auntie Tifa underneath the Highwind, I wanna hear it again.”

Barret's face flushed a bit as he glared at Cid who only shrugged as he looked back at the large man with apathy.

“Wasn't me,” Cid declared.

Nanaki shook his head at the pair as he turned to Kaya. “Could you tell us your story about Cloud?”

“Yes, of course. It happened a few months ago. I was out hunting in the mountains when I heard a commotion along the mountain trails. Curious, I peeked down towards the trail to see what was making all that noise. When I looked, I saw a man dressed exactly like Cloud with long black hair that was also very spiky. The man was carrying Cloud along the trail while wielding a large weapon. It looked quite heavy. He must have been a very strong warrior.

“I saw the man with black hair put Cloud down along the trail as a group of armed men ran down the trail towards them. The man with black hair fought them off. I could hear him yelling at Cloud, but Cloud looked like he was asleep since he didn't move. I think the man was distracted because the men used their weapons. Something shot out of them and hit the man. The next thing I saw was the man falling as blood was pouring out of some holes in his body. Then I saw the group of men shoot him some more with their weapons until the man didn't move anymore. All I could smell was his blood in the air as the men walked off leaving the dead man and Cloud on the mountain trail. It was heart wrenching.

“I didn't know what the man and Cloud had done, but no one deserved to be treated that way. I was tempted to kill those men, but their weapons were strange and powerful. I didn't know how to fight against them. So I sat and watched the fallen warrior. Then Cloud started to move. He crawled towards his fallen companion and realized what happened.” Kaya closed her eyes briefly as she paused in her story.

“I've never heard any creature moan like that before in my life. It was filled with sorrow and grief. Cloud was in pain. I could only watch silently as he dug a hole with his bare hands and buried his friend. I could hear his cries and see his tears from where I stood. I almost approached him, but then he stood up and grabbed the large weapon the black-haired man had left. He spoke a few words and then left walking towards the large metal city.”

The AVALANCHE members exchanged worried looks. Cloud hadn't mentioned much about his past to anyone besides Tifa. Though he did open up and talk about how his friend Zack was killed trying to save him from ShinRa.

“Do you remember what Cloud said?” Nanaki asked.

“It was only a few words, but I think I remember them,” Kaya said as she concentrated. “All he said was, `Mother, Nibelheim, Tifa, and now Zack.'”

A loud gasp was heard in the adjoining room as Elmyra walked into the room with her face white as a sheet. Marlene followed her, taking off the headphones that Elmyra had put over the child's ears.

“Did you say Zack?” Elmyra asked with wide eyes.

Kaya nodded her head.

Elmyra slumped against the wall and held her hand to her mouth. Marlene was gently tugging on the woman's dress asking questions like what was wrong and who Zack was.

“You okay Elmyra?” Barret asked concerned.

“I'll be okay. I just need a minute.”

Barret nodded as he picked Marlene up and whispered soft soothing things in her ear. Donna had come out of the kitchen and shot a look at Casey before running to comfort Elmyra. Casey nodded his head as he went into the kitchen to make sure that dinner wasn't burning. The atmosphere was solemn as everyone sat quietly.

Shera finally broke the silence as she held Cid's hand for comfort. “Poor Cloud. All that time he thought Tifa was dead. I wonder if she ever knew.”

“We should tell her. She has the right to know,” Barret spoke up.

Cid sluggishly pulled out his PHS as he flipped the phone open. “I'll call her.”

* * *

The stale air seeped into the small wooden house as two men in over-worn suits labored over papers, reports and a steaming pot of coffee. They were grateful that the Junon military had the sense to send large quantities of coffee in their shipment of supplies. If there was no coffee, then the citizens of Midgar would have started a riot days ago. Overstressed executives simply could not function without caffeine. But that wasn't the main issue that Chris and Eric were worried about.

“So we both agree that we'll definitely need more reinforcements from Junon, correct?” Chris said as he twirled a pencil around his fingers.

“Correct.”

“So why can't we agree on the other main issue? I think Kalm's the right place.”

“Because there's no way we can get all of these people safely across the Midgar swamps and into Kalm,” Eric sighed.

“Well, how are the miners getting to the Mythril Mines? They have to be using some sort of transportation.”

“They have boats, chocobos and a few members of AVALANCHE helping them get across the swamp without getting eaten. They also use the mountain roads, which are far too treacherous for most people to travel. Remember, these are big burly miners who are trekking to and from Kalm, not tens of thousands of civilians, some of whom have little children.”

“So you really think that we should build the new settlement near Fort Condor and not near Kalm?”

“It would be ideal if we could have the new settlement closer to Kalm, but logistically, it wouldn't work. It's safer to have them resettle near Fort Condor.”

Chris tossed the pencil into the air and caught it with a frustrated sigh, “Yeah, you're right. It just seems like too much trouble to have to deploy troops out to Fort Condor and build a temporary settlement. You know that the people in Fort Condor don't like us.”

“I know. But these are desperate times. Hopefully they'll put aside their differences and be willing to let us build. Besides, ShinRa isn't what it used to be back when the late President ShinRa was at the helm. I hate to think how he would have handled this situation,” Eric shuddered.

“Well, depends on which ShinRa you're talking about. If it was Augustus ShinRa, he would have probably moved to Junon and let the people of Midgar fend for themselves. If it was Rufus ShinRa, well . . . I really don't know what he would do. Kinda weird knowing that all the times we worked with him, we were probably working with his body double.”

“I know what you mean. People aren't always what they seem and you can never really tell what goes through their minds,” Eric said as he gave Chris a thoughtful look.

The two executives continued to mull over how they were going to divvy up resources to start on the settlement near Fort Condor. They were short on staff and soldiers to help in the preparations of the settlement. A majority of the troops that were around were busy keeping the peace around the underground city and those that they could spare weren't enough.

The two executives were so busy ironing out plans for the settlement, they failed to notice the strange conversation that their current armed guards were having with another ShinRa guard who just entered. If they had been paying attention, then they would have noticed that the uniformed guard who just entered was a woman. Her facial features were hidden by the token helmet that all ShinRa soldiers wore but her physical features were quite visible. Taking a closer look, they also would have seen the two soldiers flirting with the one female soldier, lowering their defenses.

Before the two soldiers could react, the woman quickly pulled out a knife and slid it into the gut of one of the unsuspecting soldiers. The other soldier barely had time to raise his rifle and point it at the woman, but she was quicker and grabbed the muzzle turning so it pointed at his partner. A multitude of bullets spattered across the poor man's chest as the woman kicked the gunner in the stomach and slammed her palm into his nose, breaking the tender bone structure of his face. Assuming the man had survived that blow, he would have had to have reconstructive surgery to repair his face, but some bone fragments had pierced his brain so things like that would never be an issue for him ever again.

If the two executives hadn't been paying attention before, they were now. They could only watch in horror as the two guards fell to the ground dead. They could do nothing as the woman quickly picked-up one of the rifles and pointed it at the defenseless executives. Time seemed to stand still as the men waited for the inevitable.

Just before the woman pulled the trigger, the door behind her burst open and a single ShinRa guard kicked the rifle out of the woman's hands before she could fire. The two execs watched as the woman tried to plunge a knife into the man's chest, but he quickly deflected the blow with a gun he had in his right hand.

Twisting her wrist, she sliced the man's forearm, causing him to drop the gun. She dove in for the kill, but the man grabbed her wrist and pushed her arm to the side while head butting her while she still had some forward momentum. The impact cracked the helmets both were wearing. Fragments of glass and plastic sprinkled the bloody floor. The clang of the man and woman throwing off their helmets was overshadowed by the sounds of the two bitterly fighting to the death. Somehow during the scuffle, the man Eric briefly recognized as the Captain of the 5th infantry division, managed to wrestle the knife out of the woman's hands. The knife bounced on the ground once before skidding to a halt somewhere along the blood and debris.

The stampede of soldiers could be heard outside the door as the woman and the Captain continued their fight. The fiery-haired woman's eyes lit up slightly as she saw the gleam of gun metal behind the soldier. With a quick series of jabs and kicks, the woman forced the Captain back until the gun was almost within reach. After a powerful roundhouse kick knocked the Captain down, the woman dove for the gun with a smirk.

Chris and Eric tried to warn the Captain, but their mouths wouldn't move. The soldiers climbing the stairwell were still too far away. The executives were numb with fear. Everything was a blur as the woman grabbed the gun while the Captain picked himself off the ground. Then it happened. A shot was fired that echoed across all the walls of Old Midgar as a body fell into death's embrace.

(continued…)