Chapter One: Direct Aftermath
Six days before the demise of Sepiroth and the saving of the world at the hands of AVALANCHE, one man’s quest for the unimaginable soon became his quest for his own life. It had been almost a day since he had nearly been killed at the hands of Sepiroth, but to Tseng, it felt like an eternity. His blood stained hands still covered his now partially healed wound. It took every ounce of his strength to save his own life, and the task of casting the Cure Spell several times had exhausted him mentally. Now, all that was left for him was getting out of the jungle. Easier said than done. The longer he staggered, the more and more he thought he was going in circles. Damn! He cursed to himself, Why did I let Sepiroth get so close to me? Oh well, no time to think about that now. Maybe this is the last tree..... as he stepped around that “last tree” he felt his legs give way. Soon, he was plummeting into what seemed like an eternity. When he hit the ground, he managed to look up and see two pairs of eyes staring dumbfounded at him. “Come on dad, he looks hurt...let’s get him back to the Fort.”
“All right, let me get the stretcher.” After hearing that, Tseng collapsed into a heap at the bottom of a huge hill.
Seven Days Later:
“Yo buddy, you awright?”
“Um, I think so....where...”
“You’re a tough one, where were you coming from?
“Um, I was lost.” Tseng made sure that no one knew where he had been.
“Were you at the Temple of the Ancients?”
“What!!! How did you know about that?”
“Come on buddy, you’ve been asleep for two weeks, but a lot has happened since then. Hell, the world’s been on the brink of destruction and back again! What with Sepiroth, WEAPONs, the Sister Ray, Mete.....”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tseng was confused, “slow it down just a little bit.”
“Oh, sorry, forgot you’ve been out of the loop. Let me start from where you left off in the jungle...” The man told Tseng everything, about Meteor, Sepiroth, the WEAPONs, and AVALANCHE.
“So what were you doing near the temple?” Tseng asked, still getting over the mass of information that had been laid down upon him.
“Well, we heard the Shinra was heading there for some kinda new Materia. We wanted to scout the area out for a possible attack to take it back and hide it.”
“Well, it may be a little late for this, but I’m a...well...”
“A Turk?” the man asked, seeming to know everything. “I know...I could tell by your unusually high standards of dress for these times. Don’t worry, no hard feelings. Our battle here is over. Shinra’s got a new leader now, and the hard times of the past are slowly bein’ solved. I mean, the monsters have vanished, the planet’s healing, the......”
“Wait a minute! Who’s the new president?”
“That Reeve fellow. Yep, and for the short amount of time he’s been in there, he sure as hell has done a better job than Rufus or his father any day!”
“So what happened to everyone else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Heidigger, Scarlet, Palmer? And, wait a minute! You never told me anything about Rufus!”
“Oh, I didn’t? My bad. Rufus died when the Diamond WEAPON attacked Midgar. Blew his office clear out of the sky with some sort of energy weapon. Heidigger and Scarlet apparently died when they challenged Cloud and co. They were in some sort of robot and Cloud destroyed it. Palmer, well, he died of idiocy. I saw on the news when the Shinra Rocket took off. Apparently he forgot about the blast those damn jet engines put off and got fried to death. The genius of space killed by his own invention! Ha!”
“Do you know of any other Turks?”
“Yeah, they’re still around. They still do jobs for anyone who’s willing to pay, but they really have lost their influence. Last I heard they were at the Gold Saucer.”
“On the other continent, whooo boy.”
“Well, I was going to go to Junon this week anyway to pick up some imports, I can take you as far as there if you’d like.”
While Tseng was still recovering from his past experience, another person who had been on the wrong end of Sepiroth’s deadly Masamune was heading north, riding the newly restored Little Bronco. He touched down in front of a village filled with wreckage and rubble, immediately identifying it as Bone Village. Apparently some years back, a daring pilot flew his plane into a terrible monster to save his people from annihilation. When he entered the village he was immediately greeted by the Foreman of the Excavation Project, who had immediately recognized him.
“Well Cloud Strife! How are you? It’s been....”
“About a week?” Cloud replied with that cocky smile of his.
“Has it only been a week? Wow...it seems like it’s been a year buddy! So, yah need anything excavated?”
“Actually, no.” Cloud responded. “Ya know that harp I gave to you? I was wondering if I could borrow it back for a day.”
“Hell yeah, of course ya can! It was your money that found it in the first place! Hang on lemme get it.” Cloud watched as the foreman disappeared into the tent and then reappeared carrying the Lunar Harp used to awaken the Sleeping Forest.
“You going in there alone?”
“Yeah,” Cloud said, giving his best tough guy stance,” I think I can handle it.”
“Well, good luck!” Yelled the foreman as he watched Cloud disappear into the dark forest.
The journey was easy for Cloud. The first time he came here, he thought he wouldn’t get out alive. The monsters were pretty tough, and the terrain was treacherous. This time, however, he was amazed at the simplicity of it all as he crossed the rocky terrain like it wasn’t even there. Soon, he was making his journey down the rocky path and into.....The City of the Ancients. To this day it still awed Cloud to think that years before, a superior race had actually lived in these buildings, safeguarding the life of the planet at all cost, even the lives of their own. He got over his admiration quickly, and hurried towards the left side of the city.
God this brings back memories. Tifa Lockheart had been amazed at how quickly Shinra, Inc. had managed to clean out most of the rubble of the now ruined Sector 7 Slums. However, their friend Reeve was in charge now, and he had made rebuilding his number one priority, so the surprise had faded quickly. So far, Shinra had managed to remove a good portion of the platform, so most of the destruction that was left was that of the slums themselves. She kept hopping over the rubble, looking for any means of identifying exactly where she was at. Finally, she got a breakthrough, the base of the pillar that once held up the platform was fifty feet in front of her. Now, if I can just think a little here....damn! Where the hell was my bar?
“It’s about 500 yards to your left, Tifa!” A cheery voice came from behind her. She turned and saw Cait Sith bouncing in his merry little way coming up the hill of rubble. “It’s one advantage to being a robot. Pure, unquestionable data is stored up here” he said, pointing to his robot cat head. After Sepiroth’s demise and the fall of the evil Shinra empire, Reeve had felt that there was no need for Cait Sith anymore. However, Cait Sith had begged him to let him live on, and the rest of AVALANCHE had convinced Reeve that no harm could be done. So, there he was.
“Hey Cait! Thanks, but could you show me the way.”
“Sure thing Tifa, follow me!” He led her to another hill of rubble a little ways from where she had been standing. “This is the spot on my map where the Seventh Heaven was before the incident.” Tifa sighed. She had many homes, but this had been the one permanent spot where she had settled. It seemed every time she had a place where she could stay forever, someone or something would come along and destroy it. Suddenly, Cait Sith interrupted her daydream.
“Hey Tifa I found something I think you’d like!” She hopped over to his location where she found him pointing over to a sign that said “7th Heaven”.
“Thanks Cait! Here, think you could help me lift it out of here”
“Sure thing.” Together they carried it from the rubble into the playground that had been converted into a HQ / Helipad for the excavation operations.
“Oh, Tifa, I forgot to ask you a couple of things.”
“Mmmmm?”
“That sign wasn’t the only thing you were looking for, was it?”
“You read my mind, Cait. Actually, I was hoping that they might have found a couple of bodies....some of my friends died when this went down.”
“Well, if we found them, and they were carrying I.D. cards, then I can access the records and find out.”
“Hmmm, lemme see if I can remember their fake names....”
“Fake names?”
“Yeah, well....don’t forget, we were a REBEL group. Let’s see, Jessie’s fake name was Terra Jones, Biggs’s was John Smith, and Wedge....Wedge was Timmy Johnston.”
“All right, gimme a sec......................................................Terra Jones: Condition: Deceased. Time of Examination: 3.4 Hours Ago. Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound / Crush Affect.............................Jonathan Smith: Condition: Deceased. Time of Examination: 5.8 Hours Ago. Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound / Crush Affect............................Timothy Johnston: Condition: Deceased. Time of Examination: .5 Hours Ago. Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound / Crush Affect............................All bodies will be taken to Shinra Morgue until Shinra is notified by family / friends of proper burial location. I hope that helps Tifa.”
“Yeah,” Tifa said, sighing and bowing her head. “Thanks Cait, I’ll have to tell Barrett.”
“Where is Barrett anyway?” Cait asked, confused.
“What the f%*& do you mean ‘we’re gonna be late’?” People on Corel’s brand new restored runway could only watch as a huge man with a gun grafted onto his arm lost his cool with a busboy.
“Daddy, watch your mouth!” The four year old daughter standing next to him seemed to be the only one who wasn’t afraid of him. She seemed more like a mother than a daughter.
“Sorry hon. It’s just that daddy wants to get to North Corel because he doesn’t want to miss the reopening of the coal mines! Plus, we’re gonna see the town that you were born in. Are you excited?”
“Yeah daddy!” Just then, the brakes slammed on and Barrett Wallace almost fell on top of the lady next to him.
“Sh--------------------it! What you guys trying to kill me now?” Just then the train started going in reverse and the driver came over the loudspeaker. “No need for alarm folks, there are a bunch of hostile birds outside the train, but as long as they don’t get in, we should be fine. So just stay calm.” Yeah right. The second he announced ‘hostile’ people started going into a panic.
“Son of a bitch! Those f%*&ing birds picked the wrong f%*&ing train! I’m gonna bust their asses! Marlene honey?”
“Yeah daddy?” She and Barrett seemed to be the only ones staying calm.
“Daddy’s going outside for a second to kill those nasty birds. You stay right here, okay?”
“Okay daddy, but try not to swear at them, okay?”
“Awright, hun.” Barrett jumped out of the car and on to the tracks. He had done this a couple of times before, and he sure as hell was gonna do it again. Breaking his promise to his daughter about his language (again), he began to swear like a madman the second he saw the holdup.
“Awright you mother f%*&ers. I’m gonna pump yo’ asses so full of these bullets that yo’ gonna be shittin’ lead for the rest of yo’ life! Take that f%*&s!” He unloaded with his Missing Score cannon, and within 20 seconds, all of the “hostile” birds had been knocked out of this sky. Barrett didn’t even break a sweat. “I got some saved for yo’ mama’s too.” Just then, the mama appeared. About 15 times the size of her siblings, the mother would scare the piss out of a normal person. But Barrett was far from normal. He didn’t even think about fear. “Watcha want, bitch?” He charged up his gun and unloaded with a Big Shot. The bird was caught off guard and took the blast full force, sending it crashing into the side of the rocky mountains. He got into the engine of the train and asked the conductor, “Can we please get this f%*&ing journey over with before I turn this f%*&ing gun on your bitch asses?” He left the engine and made his way back to Marlene. The ride into Corel took ten minutes more, and it would have been shorter had the conductors not cleaned up the mess left on the tracks.
“What the f%*& do you mean it’s on its way? You said that two f%*&ing days ago!”
“Yes sir, we’re doing the best we can, but the boat got tied in Junon because of a faulty engine, so it’s behind a couple of days and....”
“I don’t want none of your bullshit excuses! Just get the f%*&ing thing to Rocket Town by tomorrow or it’s your ass!” Cid Highwind slammed the phone down and smiled to himself. Boy, it sure is fun being the boss! President Reeve had elected him as Chief Administrator of Space and Aerospace Technology, a position previously held by that fat ass Palmer until he met his demise at the hand of Cid’s prize rocket. Cid had been working vigorously since taking up the position to build a new rocket to go into space and develop ways to make one land on the moon.
Cid’s office lay on the outskirts of Rocket Town in a temporary headquarters until his main building was designed. Cid refused to take the look of a traditional Shinra Executive, and in some ways he even cursed himself for becoming a part of Shinra in the first place. Well, if I ain’t here, who the hell else is going to get funding for the space program? Indeed, the new Shinra had its hands full. It seemed that every part of the world had to be rebuilt from scratch, and so unless someone with influence was in power for space, there was going to be no exploration. That is how Cid justified his position.
“Excuse me, sir?” Cid heard his secretary’s voice over his intercom. He walked over and hit the transmit button.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Ms. Shera is here to see you.”
“Send her in.”
“Yes, sir.” A moment later the door to his office opened and a tall, beautiful young woman walked in.
“Good morning, Mr. Highwind.”
“Oh come on Shera!” Cid exclaimed, shocked, “we’ve known each other longer than that! It’s always been Cid.” Cid couldn’t believe how kindly he had said that to her, and he realized the shock of it must have worn off on her.
“I....I’m sorry.” She said, lowering her head.
“Oh come on, stop apologizing already. Remember, you don’t owe me anything anymore, you saved my ass up there in space.”
“Th...thank you, sir, I mean, Cid.” She looked a little nervous.
“Also, despite your slow ass tactics, you were right. That god damn Number 8 Oxygen Tank was faulty......Jesus Christ that was a shock. Which brings me to why I called you in here.”
“Sir...I mean, Cid?”
“Shinra wants me to start hiring key staff members to run specific roles in the space program. It is only fair that you get to be a part of it.” Cid sighed. “As slow as you may be, I have to admit, you’re one helluva safety administrator, and you know more about flying into space than most of these eggheads. I’m going to assign you as Under Chief Administrator of Space and Aerospace Technology and Chief Coordinator of Safety and Repairs. Providing you’re willing, of course.”
“Th...th...thank you sir!” Cid shot her a glance.
“I mean, Cid.” Cid smiled at her and she smiled back.
“That’s all for now, Shera. Sorry I can’t chat, but I got tons of shit to do and those f%*&ing boneheads over at Junon screwed up for a second time! If you talk to Wendy outside she can help you get to your office and get you settled. You’ll be pretty busy as well.” Cid grimaced at all of the work he had in front of him.
“All right. Thank you Cid, really.”
“Don’t sweat it, but you may not be thanking me much when you sit down.” She gave him another quick smile and went for the door. Damn! Cid thought to himself, when did she become so hot? Wait a minute, what the f%*& am I saying. Get a f%*&ing hold of yourself you f%*&, or kick your f%*&ing ass! There, that feels better. However, Cid still made a special note in the back of his head (where his attitude wouldn’t find it) to ask Shera to dinner sometime that week. Then, he swore at the work and picked up the phone.
“Awright you lazy as bastards! Get the f%*& back to work before I f%*&ing f%*& you with this f%*&ing broom handle! You f%*&s!”
He had crossed this valley many time before, but he never quite had remembered it being this easy. The Highwind had dropped him off several miles back, because it couldn’t land in the rocky terrain, and the ship’s captain had wished him well. Red XIII had a new understanding for humans now. With the exception of maybe a few people, he had always thought that humans were savage beasts bent only on destroying themselves and their world, nothing more.
For one of the few times in his life, Red XIII, or Nanaki, had been wrong.
Cloud Strife and his friends had proven to him that humans cared for the world they lived on like any other race. They fought with their heart and soul, warriors that would make Seto proud. They did not fight for money, or power. They fought for themselves and their friends. When Aeris died, they had taken it the same way as Nanaki. First, a display of emotion. Then, they put it behind them so they could complete their tasks at hand. However, Nanaki had learned how to read humans and could tell that just like within him, Aeris was burned into their hearts and souls. When they fought Sepiroth in the Northern Crater, Nanaki and his friends were no longer thinking of themselves at all. It was a fight to keep their friends alive and allow Aeris to return to her loved planet. They were all thinking when they approached the center that they could not allow the gift and the sacrifice that Aeris had made on that altar to be wasted. She was going to be avenged, and avenged she was.
The thoughts that were running through his mind managed to waste enough time that when he snapped back into reality, he was less than two miles away from Cosmo Canyon, his hometown. When he arrived, people came rushing over to see him. The day was declared “Nanaki’s Day,” the day the great warrior Nanaki returned to his homeland after defeating the most terrible of evils. Great ceremonies were held in celebration of this triumph. After the area had settled down a bit, Nanaki walked up the stairs on his way to Bugenhagen’s House. Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.
“Hey Nanaki!”
“Yes, Bombo?”
“I....huff....forgot to tell you earlier....wheez....before Bugenhagen moved on, he changed the access codes so that only you could enter.”
“He did? How?” Nanaki was confused now.
“I don’t know, other than the fact that Bugenhagen can do anything.”
“Thanks, Bombo.”
“Hey, anything for the Great Nanaki! Are you going down there?” Bombo looked a little bit worried.
“Yeah, but don’t worry about me, Bombo, I’ve done it before and I will do it again.” He made his toughest stance.
“You take care of yourself, Nanaki.”
“Thanks, Bombo.” He hurried off, opened the door, and made his way quickly through the dark twisting corridors of the Cave of the Gi. This time was different, though. No monsters. Strange, Nanaki thought to himself. He didn’t really think about it much, because soon he was out of the cave and in a Canyon, at the the top of which lay the fallen warrior Seto, whose body was forever cast in stone while doing battle with the Gi Warriors. After a quick hike up, Nanaki, son of Seto, flopped next to his father’s side and began howling at the moon.
“That’s Reeve?!” A sixteen year old girl almost choked on the rice she was eating. “That’s Reeve?! Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!! Ai yai yai yai YAI!!!!!” She ran out the door of her house after watching Reeve give a speech on Live TV. People turned in amazement as they saw this teenager go into an absolute frenzy. Spinning around in circles, hands over her head, Yuffie Kisaragi thought she was going to go mad. “I made myself come all of the way back to you no-brainers when the perrrrrrrrrrfect cutie is on another continent?” Yuffie ran back into her house and down into the basement. He’s cute and rich too, Yuffie thought evilly. Wait a minute! I’m not corrupt anymore! Besides, I have too much Materia as it is! She opened a chest, revealing blinding glows of colors. After the battle with Sepiroth, it was agreed that Cloud would safeguard the Master Materias, while everyone else received one of the offspring. It sounded weird to relate to Materia as parents and offspring, but, that’s how it was. Stupid Cloud, gets the best of everything. Yuffie had secretly held back a crush on Cloud, who was the OTHER reason besides the fact that she wanted Materia that Yuffie joined them on their little quest. Now, well, if anyone got Cloud now it would be Tifa. While she was alive, Aeris was the only one who truly let out her feelings, especially for Cloud. Even Yuffie was devastated when Aeris died, because she seemed to be the only one who trusted her. Yuffie shook the thought which still haunted her, grabbed her Materia, her Conformer, some armor, and a Ribbon, and left her house. On her way out, she was intercepted by her father, Godo.
“Where are you going now, young lady?”
“Young lady, huh? I certainly whooped your sorry butt for a young lady.” Yuffie replied, seeming ready to fight again. Godo sighed.
“Child, when will you grow up?” He asked.
“When I get myself a boyfriend, how’s that?” Yuffie shot back.
“With that attitude, who’d be crazy enough to date you?” Godo was dead serious.
“How about the president?”
“Reeve?” Godo lost all seriousness and burst out laughing. “Hoooooo boy! That’d be the day Yuffie, that’d be the day. You go get yourself a boyfriend. Then, bring him back here so I can whack him upside the head and call him an idiot.” Godo continued to laugh and went back towards his tower. Yuffie, not used to public humiliation, especially by her father, ran out of Wutai to try to find a route as far away as possible from her father. “Stupid jerk, what does he know, I’ll show them.” Just then a tear rolled down her cheek. “Cut that out you stupid head, I’m not hurt.” Yuffie didn’t realized how hurt she really was. Maybe it is time I act a little older....Yuffie thought to herself.
About a mile under the deep blue sea, a former Turk had just broken off dock from Junon’s Underwater Submarine Pen. With both Sepiroth and his horrible father, the twisted Hojo, dead and now only a memory, Vincent Valentine felt that he had been lifted of his sins. All sins, that was, but one. With Cloud’s permission, he had borrowed the sub that they had taken from Shinra (and weren’t going to give it back to Reeve, as Barrett didn’t like giving prizes of war back to the ‘enemy’). Now he was going to take it back through the underwater tunnels to find a lake that was all too familiar now to him. While Vincent could fly, he could only do so for brief periods of time. While he was a Jenova Beast, he wasn’t Sepiroth.
She had tried to hide like he had. If only now she could see the truth that he knew. They could work on making themselves whole again together, like Tifa had helped Cloud in the Lifestream. Maybe one day, they could even extract the Jenova Cells from their bodies to make themselves more human. Yes, maybe one day. His only fear was that she would feel guilt, or fear, or hatred. He didn’t want that. He wanted to start anew. Lead a normal, decent life.
He turned the sub into a hard left bank, weaving his way around the canyons and into the tunnel artery. Watching for falling rocks, he made his way through the tunnel in about an hour. At the end of the tunnel he emerged from the ocean and into the surface. He was in the center of a lake, being filled to capacity by a waterfall. An all too familiar waterfall. Bringing the sub over to a rocky ledge, he managed to dock it and lock it down. The last time he came here she was nowhere to be found, but she left him gifts, anticipating his upcoming battle with her son. He rubbed the shiny gun which was named the “Death Penalty,” gathered his courage, and walked through the waterfall and into a hidden cave. And there she was, facing away from him, on her knees, praying. He tried to speak for several minutes, but couldn’t. Finally, he managed her name. “Lucrecia......”
He hadn’t drank that much in years. With the safety of the world secured, Shinra becoming a ‘friendly’ company, and monsters disappearing, not much work had been left in the mercenary business for Rude and his buddies, Reno and Elena. And, with Tseng gone, there was no leadership to keep the gang motivated. So, instead of worrying about their problems, they pooled their money and moved to the Gold Saucer, renting an apartment in that damn spook center, and mooching off of the GP that they earned betting on Chocobos. It wasn’t a hard choice. The green, blue, and black chocobos that were Cloud’s always won. Cloud had kept his prize golden Chocobos in the pen at Chocobo Bill’s Ranch, but the other three he had rented out to top notch jockeys so that they could compete with the former champion Joe and and his black Chocobo, Teioh. Unfortunately for Joe, he had not spent enough time properly training his Chocobo, and that proved to be his weakness. For now, Rude was just hanging out at the newly constructed bar inside Dio’s Restaurant. “Hey Rude!” Rude looked up to see his best friend, Reno, walking towards him.
“What’s up?”
“Man, you should see it! A tram load of chicks just walked into the station. I was just standing outside, smoking a butt, and when I turned around, I almost swallowed my own tongue!” Reno was happier than Rude had ever seen him.
“Which way did they go?” Rude asked, keeping the momentum.
“Check it out man, it’s perfect! They went to the Battle Arena. Why not go there and kick some ass?” Reno pounded his right fist into his left palm.
“I’m there buddy. By the way, where’s Elena?
“Who cares? Let’s go...man, they’re all wearing the shortest, tightest clothes, kinda like that Tifa girl....man they’re.....”
“Ok, you’ve sold me, I get the picture.” Reno took off with Rude at his heels.
“Umph!” Elena hit the ground hard. When she got up, she saw a bunch of eyes looking at her...eyes that could scare the scales off a dragon. But not Elena. She took an evaluation of her surroundings. It looked like a desert town, filled with the scum of society. She knew from memory that this was the Prison Town of the Gold Saucer, where no one got out, well, almost no one. The reason she was there? Some teen mugged a fat Chocobo that was bouncing around, and took the head off, leaving the person inside unconscious. He was a blonde, and when he passed by Elena in Wonder Square he threw the head at her. Elena was instantly arrested and dropped down by some sort of robot.
Now, she had to figure out how to get out of here. She walked over to the nearest scumbag and asked him an obvious question. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Well, lady, I could tell you that but it’s gonna cost yah.” He said, obviously interested in her looks. Like hell she was going to let him get away with that. She grabbed him by the throat and picked him off the ground.
“Now I’m going to ask REAL nice again, and then I’m going to break your neck. So, what would you like?”
“O.......gag.........wheez.......ok lady, just put me down.” She dropped him and he tumbled to the ground. “Huff........wheez.......whooooo....” Not wasting any time, Elena asked again. The man pointed to a large building. Without hesitating, she ran inside. There she saw a man with a towel wrapped around his head, busy working with papers.
“Are you in charge here?” She asked in a violent manner.
“Um....yes....yes I am.” He said with a weird accent. He looked frightened.
“Ok, now here’s the story. I got framed, and now I want out of here. And I mean NOW!” She put her hands on his desk.
“Sorry, miss, but the only way that is going to happen is if someone from the outside pays a healthy fine and you win in a Chocobo Race. It’s our new policy.”
“Fine! Then get a hold of a couple of guys named Reno and Rude....NOW!”
“Sorry, miss, but.....” He was interrupted by Elena pulling out her hidden pistol and sticking it at his head.
“Listen, buddy, I’m a Turk. While we may be losing influence, we can always get it back at the drop of a hat. And I can start with you! So I don’t want to here anymore ‘sorry, miss, buts’, you just make it happen, or you won’t be able to write because I’ll shoot off both hands! Clear?” She put her hands over the trigger to further express her point.
“O...okay ma’am, I’ll...I’ll see what I can do...” This is one tough broad, he secretly thought to himself.
Now is not the time to be piss drunk or hitting on chicks, guys! Elena thought to herself. But the chances of either of those NOT being a problem right now were slim to none if she knew her fellow Turks well enough.
The new president of Shinra Electric smiled to himself. Since he had been in office, the world had taken another firm step in the direction of recovery. And it had only been a week. Whereas before Shinra sought to destroy the world, now, it was trying its best to make up for its actions.
In Nibelheim, the actors had been removed and a memorial was to be built for those who had been massacred five years earlier.
North Corel was being rebuilt, and its coal mines redone and reactivated. Again, a memorial would be built.
There were no longer restrictions on trade, allowing Junon to gather enough money to begin a massive cleanup of the city and the surrounding ocean.
Shinra HQ, Sector 7, the Sector 7 Slums, were all to be rebuilt, along with another memorial dedicated to those who died when President Shinra ordered the destruction of the support pillar (Reeve made that known to the people that it was a Shinra decision).
All of the slums in Midgar were to be cleaned up, and were going to be given artificial light equal to that of the sun to provide warmth and give grass and flowers a chance to grow.
All Mako Reactors were shut down, and other ways of providing electricity such as coal, wind, the sun, even heat were being developed and built.
Fort Condor was made a Safety Zone, so that the baby Condor that had returned could lay its eggs when it became old enough.
Mideel was to be moved and reconstructed until the wound that the Lifestream inflicted was fully healed.
Gongaga was to be cleaned up, and yet another memorial was to be built there, celebrating the lives of those that died in the reactor explosion.
Rocket Town was to be refunded, giving them sufficient money to start up their Space Program again, so that one day other planets could possibly be explored, a thought that even made Reeve smile, despite his stress.
Reeve would also publicly apologize for all of those that died over the past decade, through Shinra, Sepiroth, even accidents. It was the least he could do. He also would make public all other secrets that Shinra had withheld from the people during the era of President Shinra and his son, Rufus. Reeve sighed. Over the loudspeaker, one of his secretaries said goodnight.
“Oh and sir?”
“Yeah?” Reeve responded.
“Try and get some rest, or you’ll have a breakdown.”
“Yeah thanks, I’ll try.”
“Then, goodnight.” Rest....Reeve thought to himself. Wouldn’t that be nice. Oh well, no time for sleep, can’t afford to.......and with that, Reeve passed out at his desk.
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