Comments and constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated.
Flames get deleted. ^.^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    FF7: J I H A D
        By Winter Weil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        CHAPTER THREE
        The Gang's All Here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer:
    All rights to Final Fantasy VII and its characters belong to
SquareSoft.  The characters of this series are used without permission
only for the purpose of entertainment.  This fanfiction is not meant
for sale or profit.
    All original characters are copyright to the author.  Don't use
these characters without contacting the author first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Text Conventions
   /  / are character thoughts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

F F 7 : J I H A D
Chapter Three

"Uncle Cloud! Aunt Tifa! Celia! Mr. Reeve!"

A blur about the size and shape of a young girl came shooting out of the
house of Barrett Wallace and wrapped her arms around Tifa's legs.

The team had just arrived in Kalm at about noon, after a two day journey
from Fort Condor. Luckily, most of the monsters had passed them by, but the
trip had been grueling nonetheless. They were glad to be in civilization
again, and couldn't wait to get a shower and sleep in a real bed. "Hey,
Marlene, how are you?" Cloud laughed as he ruffled her hair. "It's good to
see you again."

"Are you here for my birthday? Wow, Celia's bigger! Hey, who are you?"
Marlene was an absolute chatterbox, curious about everything.

"Marlene?" a soft voice called out. "Who is that?" A middle-aged woman with
her graying brown hair held back in a bun appeared in the doorway and
smiled when she saw who the visitors were.

"Oh Cloud, Tifa, so good to see you all again! But where are my manners,
come in, come in!"

The suddenly energetic woman bustled them into the house, her face glowing.
It was much as Tifa remembered it: faint pastel colors filled the rooms,
with vines and flowers and green thriving plants everywhere. The woman,
Elmyra, was the foster mother of their long lost Aeris; she grew the plants
to keep the memory of her adopted daughter alive.

Elmyra was devastated after losing Aeris, but after the brief period of
watching over Marlene, she was taken. She lived with Barrett now, watching
his adopted daughter while he was away. Her argument was that Marlene was
maturing; Barrett knew nothing of the things she would need. She would need
a mother now more than ever. Though Barrett didn't entirely agree with
Elmyra's assessment of him, he didn't argue, either.

Elmyra led them into the small livingroom and bade them sit. By now she
noticed the strange girl that accompanied them, how dirty and tired they
were, and the weapons they carried. She frowned slightly, but said nothing.
She took Celia from Tifa, and smiling led her and Marlene into the kitchen
to find something to occupy them with. Elmyra wanted to talk to the weary
travelers unimpeded.

She came back into the livingroom, sat down, and simply took in the sight
of Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve sitting across from, and Karri standing by the
window, fidgeting with the lace curtains. She sighed, softly. "Tell me,
Cloud, Tifa. And you, Reeve. Tell me why you are here, dirty and travel
worn, with your weapons at the ready, instead of in Junon safe and happy.
What happened?"

So Cloud told her. He told her of how Karri got involved, their escape from
the 'new Turks', and their flight to Fort Condor, then to Kalm. She
listened intently, and didn't interrupt.

"Elmyra, we'll have to leave Celia here with you, whether or not Barrett
helps." Cloud shook his head. "I can't have her involved in any more of
this."

The silver-haired woman nodded gravely. "I understand your concern. And I
will do what I can for you. But I already know Barrett will go with you.
Time cannot heal all our wounds. He still loathes Shinra with all his
heart." She shuddered. "As do I."

They were silent, contemplating. They all still remembered what it was like
living under the Shinra rule. Nothing had been better since it had been
destroyed, and the fear of it coming to power again was not a fun thought
to entertain.

Karri, still fidgeting, abruptly stopped. "Company," she said softly. They
tensed.

The door to the house opened and slammed shut, and the thumping of a large
person echoed down the hall. A big dark-skinned man appeared, filling the
hallway. His gruff appearance contrasted sharply with the soft pastels and
plants. He also made the hallway seem a lot smaller with him standing in
it. Barrett carried a bag in his arms, and the gun he normally had grafted
onto his right hand had been replaced by a prosthetic arm.

"What the hell are y'all doin' here?" he roared in his deep baritone.
Pleasure was shining obviously on his face. That is, until he saw the sword
strapped on Cloud's back, the gloves on Tifa's hands, the worn,
battle-weary look in their eyes, and the unfamiliar girl by the window. He
placed his bag on the floor and advanced toward them, a frown furrowing his

brow. But he didn't get very far, for just then Marlene and Celia burst out
of the kitchen and literally leaped into his arms. The frown disappeared,
and the big man laughed, caught them up easily, and set them on his
shoulders.

"Daddy!" Marlene squealed, and Celia gurgled in delight.

"How're my girls?" Barrett growled, and began tickling Celia.

"Miss 'Myra gave me cookies!" the little girl said through her giggles.

"Well, you'd better go 'n hide them, or I'm gonna go 'n eat 'em all up!" He
set them back on the ground, and they scampered into the kitchen again.
Barrett laughed softly after they were gone. "You're little girl sure has
grown, Cloud," he said. "What're you feedin' her on, Miracle Grow?"

"Unfortunately not," Cloud replied.

The big man sighed, and turned to Cloud. "So why are you guys here?"

Cloud launched back into his narrative, and repeated to Barrett what he had
told Elmyra. Barrett was somewhat suspicious about Karri's involvement, but
otherwise accepted her part in the story.

"Heidegger's back, huh." Barrett's voice was grim. "We have to call the
others."

"That's why we came to you," the blond warrior admitted. "We couldn't pack
the PHS."

"Then I'll get right on it. I'll call up Cid first, so he can pick the rest
of us up." Barrett went to get up from the couch, but Reeve caught his
sleeve before he could leave.

"When you're done," Reeve requested, "there are some people I can get in
contact with to help us."

"Who?"

Reeve grimaced. "You won't like it."

"Any help's better than none," Tifa responded.

After a pause, Reeve replied, "Reno, Rude, and Elena."

Barrett's eyes flared open wide. "The Turks?!" he roared. "Why the hell
them?!"

"I told you you wouldn't like it," Reeve sighed.

"Barrett, shut up," Cloud snapped. "They've been working for Reeve ever
since he was elected Mayor. They're on our side now." Despite the resolve
in his voice, the assurance didn't quite reach his eyes.

"So you may think!" Barrett snapped back. "How do you know they won't go
running back to Heidegger as soon as he snaps his fingers?"

"We don't," Reeve replied. "But it's a chance we'll have to take. The Turks
have more knowledge than us on Heidegger's tactics."

"And that doesn't mean we're gonna like it," cautioned Cloud. "But if
they're seriously on our side, we'll have to put up with them."

"I'm not going to like it either, Barrett," Tifa addressed him. Her face
was white and it was apparent that she was forcing herself to say this. "I
was there when Reno took down the Sector Seven Plate. I watched him push
the button, and cause hundreds to lose their lives. But if he can help
bring down Shinra again, I- I'm willing to work with him. To a point."

"Hmph." Barrett was unmistakably unpleased, but he also knew when he was
out-voted. He gestured at Karri. "So what about her?"

Everyone turned to Karri. She stood silently, watched them back, and didn't
say anything.

"You haven't got any reason to come with us, Karri," Reeve said softly.
"They aren't after you."

Karri looked a him. Her smoky grey eyes seemed so familiar to him with that
odd fire flickering in them. "Shinra is going down," she replied. "Hard."

That seemed to satisfy everyone's question.
 

***********************************************************************
 

Cid and Shera lived in the same house they had lived in for the past eight
years, right on the outside edge of Rocket Town. Well, at least it used to
be the outside edge of Rocket Town. The once small town was now third
biggest of the cities, with an airport second only to Junon. It was mostly
because of Cid. Since he finally got his pride and joy, the Highwind, back,

he demanded there be someplace to land it on. The rest of the town, of
course, agreed with him, and it happened.

But before any of that occurred, Cid proposed to Shera. As soon as he was
able, after Meteor fell, he returned to Rocket Town and asked Shera to
marry him. All of the past events showed him how much he needed her, and he
damned himself for how bad he had treated her in the past. Shera was
delighted. Of course, she accepted.

They now had two children; a boy, Kiel Marcus Highwind, and a little girl,
Milysa Highwind. Kiel was four years old, with dark brown hair like his
mother and brown eyes. He didn't look a thing like his father, but he had
an excellent grasp of daddy's language.

Milysa, though, was a frail child, three years old, and a spitting image of
her father. She had nearly died during birth, but thankfully was saved by a
superior doctor, who rescued her by cesarean section. Not only did she look
like Cid, she shared the same mechanical genius he had, even at three. Cid
hoped she would share his love of flying as well.

At the moment, Cid sat in his livingroom, watching Milysa disassemble one
of their clocks. Even though the electric clocks weren't very common, he
wasn't worried. No matter what she took apart, if she couldn't put it back
together, he knew he could.

Kiel was asleep in his bedroom, after attending a sleepover the night
before. Shera was at the airport because of some problem with the control
towers radar system.

Something began to faintly beep.

He looked around, not finding the source. "You stay here, baby," he said to
Milysa. "Daddy'll be right back."

Cid stood up and moved toward the back rooms, where the bedrooms were.
/Maybe Kiel's playing some new-fangeled game from that party,/ he thought
to himself. But when he peeked in on his son, the boy was still asleep.
/What the hell is that?/ The beeping was driving him crazy and making him a
bit paranoid.

He followed the sound to his and Shera's bedroom, and found the source of
his irritation. "Damn PHS," he muttered as he switched the machine on. "Who
the hell are you?" he said in way of greeting.

"C-man, it's Barrett," replied the caller.

"Barrett!" Cid laughed. "What'd'ya want, ya big bear?"

"Nothin' to laugh over, man," replied Barrett seriously. "Some bad stuff is
goin' down. We'll need your help."

"I'm with you all the way. Just say the word."

"Heidegger's back."

Cid's jaw dropped. "You're shitting me. That fat bastard's been blow to
bits."

"I ain't shittin', man. I got Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve to back me."

"What happened?" Cid began patting himself down, looking for his
cigarettes.

"He took over Junon. He tried catching Reeve, too, with some new Turks, but
Cloud got in the way, an' they're here with me now."

"Shit." He finally found a pack in his bedside table. He lit it up and took
a deep drag off it. /Stale,/ he thought to himself, /but better than
nothing. Shera may want me to quit, but it ain't happening yet./ "Where are
you?" he asked.

"Kalm."

"I'll be there in four hours."

"I'm callin' the others, too."

"Then we'll get them after you. I'm there in four hours." He hung up on
Barrett. /Heidegger's back. Well, shit./ Cid inhaled the last of his
cigarette in one breath and reached for another. He needed to call Shera.
 

***********************************************************************
 

Red XIII returned to his homeland of Cosmo Canyon immediately after Meteor
fell in order to take over Bugenhagen's observatory. Since his old mentor
had died, he was now the youngest Eldest of the tribe. He took his position

with honor, and erased his past as Red XIII. He was now Nanaki, son of
Seto, heart and soul.

He was in the observatory at the moment, listening to the Planet using
several of Bugenhagen's old machines. It was disturbed for some reason- not
outright alarmed, but unnerved by something that had recently occurred. Up
till now, the Planet had kept up it's usual humming. /I wonder why.../ he
mused silently.

The PHS on the other side of the room went off, beeping insistently. He
sighed, and turned off his machines. Since his paws were totally incapable
of handling the human-made machines, some modifications to the equipment
were made so that he could use them with ease. Since this was so, the PHS
had been inserted into another machine, and he activated it with a swift
tap of his muzzle.

"Nanaki," he said.

"Hey Red, it's Barrett," replied the caller.

"Barrett!" the beast replied happily. "It is good to hear from you again.
What is the occasion?"

"Not chit-chat, unfortunately. We got a problem."

"And that is?"

"Heidegger."

"He is alive?" queried Nanaki.

"Yeah, and kickin'. He took over Junon just two days ago."

"Cloud, Tifa, are they-?"

Barrett cut him off. "Yeah, they're here with me, and their little girl and
Reeve."

"Have you contacted any of the others?"

"Just Cid n' you. I'm callin' Vincent next."

"I will be awaiting Cid at the entrance to the Canyon, then."

"Good. We'll see ya then." The PHS clicked off.

Nanaki sat back on his haunches and contemplated for a few seconds.
Memories of Shinra, Hojo, the Meteor, Sephiroth, everything that went wrong
because of them. /And now Heidegger may want to bring that chaos back./
Nanaki growled softly. His blood boiled at the thought. /I will never allow
that to happen again. Not to my last breath.../
 
 

***********************************************************************
 

Vincent went back to Nibelheim when he was no longer needed and resecluded
himself in the old Shinra mansion. For the past four years he had rarely
ventured past the front door, and spent his days searching for anything
Hojo may have left behind. He read all the books, searched all the papers,
examined all the equipment. And then he burnt it. It did not matter to him
how much good there was mixed in with the bad. He would not allow any of
the information he found to fall into another scientist's hands, no matter
what the reason. He was guilty for not moving fast enough against Hojo. He
would not be guilty again.

He sat in the expansive living room of the mansion, staring out of a huge
picture window, watching the sun set behind the Nibel Mountains. He had
cleared the mansions monsters out long ago; none, if there were any left,
would dare bother him now. This, now, was how he spent most of his days.
Sleep, as he had done before, he would not; he wanted to make sure he kept
tabs on things, so that nothing would pass him by as it had before. So he
sat.

At one point, he drug himself enough out of his thoughts to realize his PHS
was ringing. He had placed it on one of the shelves when he'd come back,
and hadn't touched it since. Now, as he stood to approach it, he saw a
layer of dust nearly an inch thick covering it. This, of course, didn't
faze him, and he simply blew the dust off and answered it.

"Yes," he answered.

"Vincent, it's Barrett," was the reply.

"What do you need?"

"Still ta the point, ain't ya? Anyways, we got a problem an' need your
help."

"What for?" he asked.

"Heidegger's back. He's already taken over Junon. Cloud an' Tifa an' Reeve
are here with me, 'cause they barely made it out."

"He is." Vincent kept his voice carefully neutral.

"Yeah, he is. I already called Cid. We should be there in four 'r five
hours."

"I will be waiting."

The PHS clicked off.

Vincent slowly set down the PHS. /Heidegger back.../ He did not like that
one bit. If Heidegger succeeds in bringing back Shinra, Shinra will bring
back SOLDIER. And if they do that, they will need another Hojo. Vincent
balled
his left hand into a tight fist. His left hand, turned into a metallic claw
so many years ago, was a potent reminder of his hatred of Shinra.

/They will not do it again!/
 
 

***********************************************************************
 

She sat on top of Da Chao, the huge, carved mountains that towered over the
island city of Wutai. The once small town, defeated in a war by Shinra, was
prospering once again. The Lord Godo had used the materia his daughter had
gotten successfully. Wutai was no longer just a tourist attraction; it was
now a power second only to Junon. Wutai was back to its former glory. And
this made Yuffie glad.

The biggest reason why Yuffie had joined Cloud's party four years ago was
not just the lure of his materia, but the lure of how that materia could
help her town, once the materia capital of the world. That was foremost in
her mind when she left it; Cloud was the perfect opportunity. And she
wasn't one to pass up opportunities.

/And I'm not ashamed of it either,/ she told herself. /In this case, the
end definitely justifies the means./ In four years, Yuffie had bloomed into
a lovely twenty-year-old. She filled out so that her once gangly frame
turned into a form of curves in all the right places. She allowed her hair
to grow out past her shoulders, keeping it back with a green headband and a
tight
french braid. Instead of a turtleneck and shorts, she now wore black
leggings and a semi-loose long sleeved black shirt. Except for the
headband, it allowed her to blend perfectly into the background.

She sat on Da Chao, watching the sun set on her beloved city. She had left
everything that would distract her behind; she just wanted to listen to the
sounds of the earth, for a change.

"Well, that was a bust," she sighed to herself. Just then, a darkened
window in the upper story of her father's pagoda flashed with light. It was
a Morse code message that was, unfortunately, for her. "Telephone call on
line three," she muttered to herself as she got to her feet. "Like I care."

And so she left behind the heights of Da Chao for the sights and sounds of
Wutai City. She was a tad irritated at being interrupted; she was
determined to get back at whoever summoned her. She had already decided it
was probably her father, since most of their servants were barely even
literate. /Sneaking up on the old man will be great,/ she thought to
herself.
/I'll finally give him the heart attack that he deserves./ She grinned
wickedly and slipped into the shadows.

None of the servants saw her once she entered the pagoda; she knew they
wouldn't. Her father had insisted on the best of sensais for her training.
No son or daughter of the Kisaragi clan would go without knowledge of
self-defense. Not while Lord Godo was alive. So her passage to the room
where the window message had been sent was about as smooth and as quick as
a hot knife through butter.

The door was open, the room was dark. As she crouched outside the doorway,
the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. Nothing
moved. /...And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even
a mouse.../ she thought wryly. The young ninja proceeded into the room.

"Gotcha!"

From behind her, someone switched on the light and slammed the door shut.
Yuffie, taken completely by surprise, uttered a tiny squeak and jumped at
least a foot into the air. The mysterious person started laughing
hysterically.

Yuffie did her best to bring her scattered nerves back where they belonged,
and glared angrily at her father. "That wasn't-" she started off in her
squeaky voice, then cleared her throat and tried again. "That wasn't funny,
dad!"

Her father, the Lord Godo, did his best to smother his laughing. "Ah, but I
couldn't help it, my daughter," he snickered. "You were a perfect target."

At fifty years in age, Godo was still the excellent image of health. He was
still in very good shape, and very little gray hair adorned his temples.
Right now he stood with his arms wrapped around his body. He laughed again.

"You should be more careful, Yuffie. I was behind you every step the minute
you entered the pagoda. And not once did you look over your shoulder." The
smile left his face, and a concerned look entered his eyes. "I know you are
a grown woman now, but you can still hear my advice and learn. Remember, my
child, always watch your back. You are my only daughter."

Yuffie sighed. It made her mad that her had sneaked behind her that whole
time and she hadn't even known, but she knew he was right. Not that she
would admit to that, of course. She growled. "So where's my phone call?"
she demanded.

Her father chuckled. "It was one of your friends, Barrett. He said he was
on signal twenty-four." He handed her the PHS.

Barrett picked up on the first ring. "Yeah?" he answered.

"It's Yuffie," the ninja replied. "What'd'ya want?"

"Frankly, I don't like the idea of ya comin' along, but I at least gotta
tell your dad. Heidegger's back and he's taken over Junon."

"No freakin' way! We saw him blow in the Proud Clod!"

"Apparently there was an escape pod," Barrett replied. "Anyway, he tried to
pick up Reeve, but he, Tifa 'n Cloud 'n their kid got away. They're here
with me in Kalm now."

"When are you picking me up?" Yuffie demanded.

Barrett sighed. "Maybe five hours."

"I'll be outside Wutai."

"Yeah, whatever." The PHS switched off.

Lord Godo waited patiently while his daughter stared at the machine in her
hand. "Well?" he asked softly.

She looked up at him.

"I think now's a good time to start handing out materia."
 

***********************************************************************
Friday, December 17, 1999
4:39:38 PM