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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    FF7: J I H A D
        By Winter Weil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        PROLOGUE
        Devotion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
Prologue

How can one describe devotion?

No, not the devotion one feels for a fellow man. The devotion of a man
for a god he worships. And not a simple devotion. More fanaticism,
willing to kill, die, and make war in the name of their god. Of course,
one like this would not see it as fanaticism. They would see it as
acting upon the orders of their god, as being the hand of their god.
They would call it devotion.

But what is the true definition of 'devotion'?
 
 

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

Junon is a busy place. People cram the sidewalks, making their way to
home from bars, to bars from home, some looking for a good time, some
just out enjoy the night-time affairs of the sea-side city. Lamps
flicker on the darkened streets from every block, illuminating the
cobblestone roads just enough that the shadows hide from the piercing
light, and follow hesitantly behind their makers.

A figure made its way down one of those paths, making his way slowly
through the loose throng of people that crowded the streets of his
city. Many lingered in doorways and simply stared as he passed, most
intoxicated, others, uncaring. Those few who recognized him gave him
respectful nods, or small waves; he, in turn, ignored those silent ones
and returned the gesture of greeting to others. And once past, he would
pause and shake his head in a thoughtful way, before continuing down
the fitfully lightedstreets to his destination.

Time made it's slow way around the clock, and he found himself staring
up at the sign which hung over the entrance to a bar. It bore the
carving of a pitcher and a tankard a beer, and in neat script painted
above it was the name of the establishment: Tifa's Seventh Heaven. It
always made him wonder why they named the bar that; the orginal was
destroyed many years in the past, in the deserted city of Midgar.
Perhaps it was because of emotional significance. Perhaps it was to
honor those who had died in the past; and how everything that brought
them together seemed to have started from that tiny bar. Perhaps.

He pushed open the doors and made his way inside.

The pub was well lit, better lit, even, than the streets outside; there
were no darkened corners that could be hidden in, where illegal
transactions could take place, or tiny booths that gansters could have
meetings within. It was actually quite large, with ten to fifteen
six-seater tables scattered randomly in the open area of the room. One
wall occupied the bar itself; a large cherrywood counter ran the length
of that side of the room, with a shelf behind it that took up the
entire wall, filled with beverages and liqours of all sorts to
tantalize customers. Two television sets were set onto the shelves, and
currently were broadcasting a football game, a sport that had recently
come to the world's attention, and already had many devoted fans. A
brief glance told the visitor that it was the Gold Saucer Moogles
versus the Midgar Serpents; so far the Serpents were winning 18 to 6.

Another brief glance told him that the customers were not ones to feel
easy around, and yet something about the vibes of the place indicated
safety. He had no doubt that any barfights were quickly and efficiently
contained, and were severely punished. Tifa, and her great knowledge of
kickboxing and karate, no doubt had put it practical application in the
past, teaching customers to mind their manners. And if the threat of
Tifa wasn't enough, the threat of her ex-SOLDIER husband certainly was.

There was no one minding the bar when he first entered, but as he made
his way through the crowd, a lithe young woman of elegant beauty
appeared from a door between the shelves. She was clad in a slimming
pair of blue jeans, overlaid with a white tank top and waitress apron,
her dark brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail. With a small quirk
of a smile, he advanced to the counter.

Her back was turned when he reached the row of stools, seemingly intent
on a section of stock. Slipping into a seat, he rested his elbows on
the counter and said with a smile, "Buy a drink for a pretty lady?"

She spun in surprise at the familiar voice and nearly dropped the
bottle she held. Her burgandy eyes widened, and a smile spread across
her face as she recognized her visitor.

"Reeve! I wouldn't expect you to come to a place like this on a work
night! What brings you here?" She set the bottle on the counter and
moved to give him a hug.

Accepting the hug, Reeve grinned at her wickedly. "Can't keep away from
a pretty face."

She leaned back and laughed. "Better watch yourself, or Cloud will take
you seriously. He's been telling me how he thinks his sword's getting
dull- he might try out a new edge on you."

"I'll take my chances," he replied with a wink. "Speaking of which,
where is Cloud?"

"Putting Celia to bed. Sometimes I swear I can hear her hollering all
the way down here."

"She's still going through her tantrums?"

Tifa smiled. "Yes. The Terrible Two phaze. But I've heard that the
worse they are now, the less rebellious they are when they're
teenagers. I hope, anyways."

"Sometimes I wonder how Cloud's going to make it through life being
outnumbered by women. Its probably bad enough with just you around, but
when Celia becomes a teenager..." He shuddered, teasing.

Now four years after Meteor and the mega-corporation Shinra had fallen,
Cloud and Tifa were married with children- or only one child, to be
exact. Celia Aeris Strife was a delicate three year old girl, with her
mothers hair and features, and her father's intense blue eyes. For a
time, it had seemed she was to inherate her name-sakes mild temperment,
but at eighteen months old, the terrible two's had arrived, and
apparently weren't letting up anytime soon.

Tifa simply pinned her friend with a stare that would have melted snow.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll survive somehow..." she replied dryly.

"Survive what somehow?"

From the doorway between the shelves, a man stood with hands on hips,
his sharp blue eyes surveying the scene in the bar. Not tall, nor big,
he wasn't an imposing man, with an unruly mess of blonde hair that
seemed to defy gravity. It wasn't until he was looked closer at that
the slight mako-green glow to his eyes was seen, the confidence in
himself, and the ease with which he used his weapons, that Cloud Strife
would be seen as a dangerous man to mess with.

"Nothing, honey," Tifa replied with a deceptively sweet voice. "Just
talking with Reeve."

Reeve just smiled cheekily and waved.

Cloud blinked and took a closer look at his friend. "Do you feel sick?"
he asked after a moment.

"What?" Reeve asked. "No... why?"

Cloud shook his head, and made his way about the bar to sit beside his
friend. "I just never thought I'd see the Mayor of Junon in a T-shirt
and jeans."

"Hey," Reeve protested, "I have my casual fridays."

In the four years that had passed, the brain behind Cait Sith had done
everything within his power to gain control of the remnants of Shinra
and repair the damage that had been done. First, by relocating the
survivors of Midgar, then, with much persuation on his part, by
shutting down all the remaining reactors in the known world. Protests
were wide-spread, of course, and many attempts had been made to oust
him from power, but with majority support behind him, Reeve had managed
to create altenate energy sources that hadn't been used in years.

Taking the initiative from Cosmo Canyon, many of the small citys like
Kalm and Nibelhiem reverted to gigantic windmills and coal-fed
reactors, which completely reversed Corel's position and brought
prosperity back to Barret's people. And, for the largest city, Junon,
he brought together the most mechanically inclined people he could
gather, and created the first power sources of their kind:
hydroelectric generators. Of course, being new technology, they were
prone to break-downs, and black-outs were not uncommon, but on the
whole they created more than enough power for the entire city.

And in the creation of these generators, Reeve, once the Urban
Development Planner of Shinra, Inc., became the unanimously elected
Mayor of Junon. Unable to decline graciously, he was rarely ever seen
in anything other than a suit and jacket these days, if he was ever
seen in town at all.

"But you still haven't told me why you're here," Tifa remarked.

"Oh, the usual. Business."

Cloud raised a pale eyebrow at him. "With what, a bottle of beer?"

"No, actually. You've heard about JEC, the Junon Educational Center?"

His friend nodded. "Yeah. It's a school for all the grades, including
college."

"Right. Anyway, I've scheduled a meeting with the director of JEC-
well, maybe not the REAL director. She's more of a..." He paused to
find the word he was thinking of. "...supporter of the school. She
wants to talk about bringing in more funds for the school, since it's
been in real bad shape since the Meteor dropped."

"So why are you here?" Tifa asked. "This is hardly a place for a
meeting."

"Yes, well..." Reeve shrugged slightly. "I've been feeling the need to
get out. Spring fever and everything. Everyday, it's home, office,
home, office, cafeteria, home, office.... she said she had no
difficulty in a casual meeting, and I knew there was no place I could
trust better than this one. I've haven't met her before this,
though..." In a thoughtful voice, Reeve added, "Kinda like a blind
date."

Cloud snickered. "Since when have you ever been on a date?"

"I have a life, thank you, unlike some people I know."

"Was that supposed to be an insult?"

"Depends on which way you look at it."

"Boys, boys," Tifa admonished, and they grinned sheepishly at each
other. To Reeve, she asked, "When are you supposed to meet this
mysterious person?"

He checked his watch. "About a half an hour. Probably a little later,
since we politicians are not renowned for being early."

Husband and wife exchanged brief looks, and Tifa smiled as she handed a
beer to their old friend. "You'll just have to sit back 'til then,
yes?"

Reeve happily accepting the drink.
 

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

A good fourty minutes later in the hour, yet another group of
merrymakers entered, intent on a night on the town. With them came a
young woman, slight of stature, who blended perfectly with the
night-time crowd. She stopped within the door to look about her,
silently taking in the strategic entrances and exits without
consciously meaning to. As she stood there, one of the more regular
visitors laid eyes on her. Being roaring drunk, a bit near-sighted, and
not seeing a simliarity between this new-comer and the barmistress
Tifa, he took it upon himself to become better acquainted with her.

Quickly coming up beside her, the drunk man placed a commanding arm
around her shoulders. She nearly disappeared beside his bulk.

"Hey, doll, wus a pretty thang like yoo doin' in a place like thish?"
he asked in what he probably imagined was a seductive voice. Instead,
all he accomplished in doing was spreading the funk of his breath.

The woman wrinkled her nose, attempting to guard herself against the
man's offensive breath. Trying to disengage herself gently from the
drunk mans grip, she remained silent.

In his inebriated state, the man took this as an insult. Grabbing her
arms in a grip of steel, he thrust his face into hers and growled,
"Yoo'd best be watching yoorself, bitch, er I'll haveta teach ya a
lesson." She averted her head to avoid his breath, and kept her
silence.

At the table where the man had been sitting, one of the sitters called
out to the persistent man. "Danny, quit worrying about her watching
herself. You better watch YOURself, or Tifa'll whup your ass good!"

This seemed to be enough to deter "Danny" from his target. With a
muttered curse, and a glare at the woman, he lurched back to the table
and resumed his drinking.

She took a moment to adjust her jacket, keeping tight reign on the
temper that had threatened to break free at his words. Ignoring the
rest of the silently leering bunch, she set her gaze forward, and moved
for the bar.
 

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

"You thinking maybe your visitor won't show?" Cloud asked. He had been
helping Tifa about the bar as she worked on requests, and stopped for a
moment to check in on Reeve.

"It's only 15 after. I'm not going to worry till she's an hour
late," he replied genially. "Even so, it's better to wait out here for
a no-show then in that damned office. I swear, I'm going to destroy
that room one of these days." Tilting his head back, he finished off
the last of the beer he had been nursing.

Tifa peeked her head out of the kitchen, a platter of food on one hand
and drinks in another and began distributing them about the counter
with help from her husband. "You want another?" she asked the mayor as
she gathered up the gil.

"No, that's fine." He shook his head. "I want to be able to discuss
whatever it is I'm going to discuss with a fairly clear head. I'm sure
that one beer would be nothing to you hard-core drinkers, but I was
raised on the fake stuff."

She just smiled and took the empty bottle from him. "Whatever you say,
Reeve."

He couldn't help but think she was teasing him.
 

Watching her move down the length of the counter and take new orders
from the customers, he leaned his elbows on the counter and reexamined
the crowd. Some new people had come in, and some older ones had left,
but so far none had approached him. He wasn't sure if that was a good
thing or a bad thing.

While he was somewhat interested in the meeting with this Ms. Davis, on
the other hand he wasn't so sure he should have agreed to it. He had
encountered some of the education nuts around Junon, and they were as
obsessed with the school system as Hojo had been for Jenova.

He grimaced slightly. /Well, maybe not that obsessed. But this time I'm
wondering if I should have let my claustrophia talk for me. No doubt
this is going to end in disaster..../

He heard someone come up behind him.

"Lovely lot, ain't they?" a low, husky voice asked.

Reeve turned. To his right stood a young woman, her hand resting
casually on her hips. While she wasn't exactly beautiful, with a high
cheekbones and a jaw that was too strong, she could be defined as
'pretty', with dark blonde hair was brought back in a tight braid and
smokey gray eyes that focused intently on him.

He nodded slightly, not really wanting to engange in conversation. She
was dressed conservatively, in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, overlaid
with a tan leather jacket, but with the voice she had, he wasn't about
to get caught up with one of the many ladies of the night he'd seen
come and go from the bar this night.

She motioned with a slender hand at the stool beside him. "May I sit?"
she asked.

/Damnit.../ he thought to himself, but smiled and nodded graciously.
"Of course," he replied.

The woman smiled and seated herself, resting both hands on the counter
before her. Reeve couldn't help but take a close look at them, at the
rough nails and callouses on the fingers, and wonder if maybe his first
asessment of her was wrong.

Those gray eyes glanced sideways at him, and a sly smile appeared on
her lips. "I know you..." she said softly, a mischivous air about her.
"You're famous."

/Oh, great.../ he thought sourly. /The last thing I need is a whore
from the streets saying she's met the Mayor of Junon.../

/You're too suspicious, Reeve,/ another part of him chided. /Shinra
rubbed off on you a little too much./

He pasted a polite smile on and raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" he asked
innocently.

She laughed softly. It wasn't an unpleasant sound; in fact, it was
almost musical. "Relax," she replied. "No need to get all political on
me. In fact, that's the last thing I need right now." She shifted
slightly and held out a hand to him. "All I need right now is someone
who'll listen with an open ear, Mayor Allens."

His eyebrows raised slightly, and he paused a moment before shaking her
hand. Her grip was firm. "Listen to what?" he asked.

"To my ideas for JEC, of course." She withdrew her hand and winked
teasingly at him. "You didn't think I was here for something more
carnal, did you?"

Reeve felt himself flush slightly, and mentally cursed himself. This
was the woman he had been waiting for, and all he'd been thinking of
was sex. /Bad performance on your part, Reeve.../

"Of course not," he replied quickly. "But these days, you can never be
too safe. You must be Ms. Davis?"

"Karri, please," she said. "No need to be so formal. This is supposed
to be casual, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." he conceded. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cloud
returning from the kitchen, and look at Karri with a small frown. He
could only wonder what was going through his friends mind. "About
JEC... what was it you were interested in?"

"More funding, of course." The woman waved a hand idly in the air.
"We're falling apart. Right now all we're running on is private
contributions and donations from the families who's children attend
there. All our funding from the government was cut back when Shinra
fell, and the current director was stupid for thinking he could run the
place on piece meal. So I'm here to try and rectify a few of his more
obvious mistakes."

Reeve nodded slowly. "Do you have the authority to do any of this?" he
asked. The last thing he needed was to strike a deal with some con
artist.

Her reply was surprising. "Of course not," Karri said brightly.
"Director Derricks believes I'm nothing more than a meal on wheels,
with air between my ears and peanut butter for legs. However, I do have
the majority support of the school board, thank goodness, and they've
given me the word that if I come up with anything, they'll give me the
go-ahead, with or without Derricks' permission."

His eyebrow's fairly went to his hairline at her words. Such
straight-forward candidness was something he rarely came across in
these days, even among the more common crowd that he dealt with. He
couldn't help but admire her for that.

Just at that moment, Tifa reappeared from the kitchen and moved
straight for Reeve and Karri.

"Excuse me," she said softly, and as one the two looked up at her. "Are
you old enough to be in this bar?"

Karri blinked, and then grinned widely. "Of course I am," she replied,
and reached into her jacket pocket. Pulling out a card, she handed it
to Tifa and winked widely at Reeve. "So difficult, looking young these
days..."

The barmistress took a quick look at the identification card, before
nodding and handing it back to the woman. "Just needed to make sure,"
she said in apology. "I like to keep up the twenty-one and older rule
here."

She only shrugged and tucked the card back in her pocket. "No big
deal," Karri replied. "Happens all the time." With that, Tifa gave the
woman a nod and moved back down the counter.

Reeve stared at Karri during the encounter, surprised at the fact he
had not noticed how young she looked fromt he very beginning. "How old
are you, anyways?" he asked when she turned back to him.

She shrugged idly. "Twenty-four," was her easy response. "Not that age
really matters these days. Well... not in most places, at least," she
added with a side-long glance at Tifa, down at the other end of the
counter. "Does it matter?"

He smiled wryly to himself. /You've got such bad perception on first
impressions, Reeve,/ he mentally chuckled. /I'm beginning to like this
girl more and more./

"Not in the least," he replied immediately. "Now, tell me exactly what
you hope to get done."
 

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

\Four Hours Later\
 

Darkness crept over the land with velvet paws, sweeping in like a
silent vulture as the last rays of the light died away. A cresent
circle of light brightened a small section of the sky, with wispy
clouds occasionally trying to blot it out and bring completely darkness
to the land, not succeeding, and not failing. At this time, Tifa
finally managed to shoo the remaining drunks from the bar, and watched
them from the thresh hold of her tavern as they stumbled across the
road to their respective homes. Her husband appeared behind her and
wrapped his arms about her waist, nuzzling her neck. They stood in
silence, enjoying the small amount of free-time they got.

"You know," he started softly, "you don't have to keep this bar open by
yourself. If make more than enough money pushing paper for Reeve that
you could close this place. Or hire help."

The burgandy eyed woman sighed softly, and leaned back into his strong
arms. "I know," she replied. "But I can't make it as a house-wife. I
have to have something to do... and something that keeps me close
enough to home to keep an eye on Celia. I don't want to get a job where
I'd have to get a babysitter- and I don't want to knit, either."

Cloud chuckled at the wry tone in her voice, resting his chin on her
shoulder. "I know. I guess peace just isn't for people like us."

"I wish it were..." Tifa shook her head. "It isn't fair, how we have to
keep so busy... If only we *could* slow down, and live like normal
people..."

"I thought we did live like normal people," he replied teasingly.

She laughed. "Oh? Then why do we own a bar?" She sighed and shook her
head again, and answered her own question. "Because we need it, I
think. We both do."

"Need it for what? The beer or the excitement?"

Tifa spun in his grip and punched him lightly in the shoulder, laughing
gaily. "Both!"

At that moment Reeve and the woman he was scheduled to meet with showed
up behind them, fatigue from the late night plain on their faces. They
both turned to look at them.

"I didn't introduce you earlier," the mayor said as he approached.
"Tifa, Cloud, this is Karri Davis, a student at JEC. She's also a
volunteer on the school board." He motioned to the couple at the door.
"They own the bar."

The woman grinned widely, her gray eyes crinkling slightly at the
corners. She winked at Tifa. "Yeah. I kinda figured that when you asked
how old I was."

Tifa smiled faintly back. "It's a habit."

"What exactly do you do at JEC?" Cloud questioned.

"Oh, lots of things. Mostly put up with the teachers, and with the
students. I'm a songwriter, you see," she explained, "and I both attend
and teach classes. I don't have that much of a life outside of it. And
since that's the case, I figured I might as well try getting a few more
pennies into the account while the getting's good. It's not entirely
self-less."

"While the getting's good." Reeve shook his head with a wry smile.
"Keep talking like that and things are likely to get worse."

Right about then the streetlights began to flicker again.

Cloud chuckled and shook his head. "You've got great timing, Reeve," he
said.

Reeve shot him an evil glare.

The blond woman grinned and shoved her hands in the pockets of her
jacket. "Well, good or bad, I need to be off," she said. With a nod at
Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve, she stepped off the sidewalk. "Great meeting
you guys. And thanks expecially for the meeting, Mayor Allens. You've
no idea how much that means."

Surprisingly, the mayor felt himself blush slightly. "It's no big
deal," he replied. "Any time."

With another grin, she turned and headed down the road. They watched
her go. Reeve couldn't help but admire her as she left. A good looking
woman like that who was as intelligent as she was was actually a hard
find these days.

He all but slapped himself out of those thoughts, now finding it not so
surprising at his blushing. /Way to go, Reeve.../ he muttered
internally.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise slightly, and he turned
to see both Cloud and Tifa watching him with small smiles on their
faces. He blushed even further.

"What?" he snapped.

They glanced at each other and grinned more. "Nothing," Cloud said, not
trying hard to hide his amusement. "But speaking of bad times, would
you like an escort back to your apartment? Junon wouldn't want their
favorite Mayor getting mugged on his way home from an obscure meeting."

"Bad publicity," his wife murmured, mischief glimmering in her eyes.

"Oh, shut up," he muttered. "I'll be fine."

"Famous last words," his friend chided.

Reeve chose not to respond. Stepping off of the sidewalk, he took the
road back to his apartment. And to the very moment he stepped into his
home he tried to beat back a furious blush of embarassment.

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

Two other pairs of eyes spied upon the exchange. One pair was
interested mostly in Reeve and slightly in the bar-owners. The other
was interested mostly in the bar-owners and slightly in Reeve. Neither
paid the slightest bit of attention to Karri's departure.

The spies were from two entirely separate corners of the world, and yet
fate had brought them to be interested in the same people. This
interest would end up clashing in the weeks to come.
 

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

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

First Written: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 (5:44:40 PM)
Revised: Monday, November 26, 2001 (6:05:56 PM)

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

Wow. That's the first I've written on this in years. Funny to think
that it's been sitting on the backburner for so long! At any rate, now
that I've started back on it, I'll be revising the old chapters before
I start typing up the new... so don't expect any new chapters any time
soon.

~
Winter