Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 12

Edge: Seventh Heaven Bar\

            Daisy dropped Yuffie off at the bar before returning to the Lodge to rest.  Yuffie offered to let her stay but didn’t have the heart to argue when refused.  Instead, Yuffie shuffled inside as the sun climbed slowly over the buildings and glittered against the windows.  Marlene and Denzel were just waking as she entered and offered sleepy greetings that she didn’t remember returning.

            Yuffie slept deeply, forgetting for a time the aches and the bruises, both physical and emotional.  Her dreams were peaceful and faraway, memories dragged up in the wake of her battles.  She didn’t remember them clearly when she woke up, just lilies floating on the water and Wutai seen from a mountain top.  The sun was golden, and she had prayed to Leviathan before leaving home for good.

            Her phone work her when she saw that man again.  He was wearing a mask this time, but his eyes were dark like hers.  They were Wutai.

            “Hello?”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi.”

            Yuffie felt her face to make sure it was there and found it hurt to move her arms.  She groaned slowly as everything else began to hurt again, too.  “What?”

            “How are you?”

            “Sore and sleepy.”  She sat up, slowly, whining with each movement.  It wasn’t just pain anymore.  Her muscles felt dead.  She was sleeping so well and needed a bit more of it.  The world was blurry when she opened her eyes and a bit too bright.  She felt sick and had to take a few minutes to breathe through the nausea.  “Why are you calling?”

            “Ms. Daisy Gould returned without you.  I was just making sure you were well.”

            “Well enough,” Yuffie said.  She stretched her feet and toes and listened as they popped.  A breath, and it didn’t hurt so much to breathe anymore.  “We followed your lead to Shinra HQ and found some bad people up to bad things.”

            “Of course.”  Yuffie could hear the distraction in Shelke’s voice and imagined her in a dark room, lit only by the glow of her eyes and the holographic monitors that surrounded her on all sides.  “Did you find anything of value?”

            “Not really.  They’re looking for materia, it seems.”

            “We knew that already.”

            Yuffie pulled away from the phone long enough to blow a raspberry.  Then, she remembered the data she got from the hard drives and rose to dig through her clothes to find it.  She held up the thumb drive in the light.  “We got something for you, too.”

            “Good.  You should deliver it to me here.  I do not trust it going through the W.R.O.’s system.”

            Yuffie frowned and thought of Reed.  Then, she thought of Reeve, and her frown deepened. “Know what? Neither do I.  I’ll be there soon to see you in person.”

            “Good. I have something to tell you when you get here.”

Midgar Region: W.R.O.’s Hunter’s Lodge\

            Daisy was awake already when Yuffie called, and she arrived shortly after.  Yuffie hid out in her room and nursed her hurt.  When Daisy arrived, Yuffie offered a passing farewell to Tifa and the others before going outside.  She didn’t eat breakfast because it would just come back up during the car ride.

            Half an hour later they arrive at the Lodge.  The surface damage was mostly cleared.  Anti-air turrets broken in the assault had been repaired or patched.  Their remains stood, stunted, in the distance, their wiry insides tightly knotted or otherwise frayed, exposed like a fresh wound.

            Underneath the damage was still showing.  Walls were blackened from flame, cracked and fractured or otherwise collapsed entirely.  The workers there were tired and frightened.  They looked over their shoulders constantly, fearful of what might come.  The W.R.O.’s lingering suspicions helped nothing.

            Yuffie followed Daisy through the halls, holding her stomach and lamenting her decision to forego breakfast.  They got her some bread before going to Shelke’s office.  When the door opened, she greeted them without looking away from the glowing monitors in front of her.  Yuffie groans.

            “You’ve brought the data.”

            Another groan, and Yuffie handed off her thumb drive.

            Shelke turned it over in her hands and gave it a quick glance.  Then, she jammed it into a console on her left forearm and started sifting through the data.  Her eyes darted around from monitor to monitor.  “It’s encrypted.”

            “How long will it take you to break it,” Daisy asked.  She tried to follow along with Shelke’s work for a time but gave up after a few seconds.

            “I already have,” Shelke said.  “Now, I am compiling data and distilling it to the most important parts.  I have to be careful, though.  A dip in my productivity might arouse suspicion.”

            Daisy looked at Yuffie, who shrugged and said, “She’s always like this.”  Then, she moved forward, stuffing the last of the bread into her mouth and leaning against the wall.  Her stomach still felt raw, but she could breathe again.  “So, you said you had some other information for me?”

            Shelke nodded absently.  Her eyes glowed like the monitors.  It wasn’t reflection.  They produced their own light.  “Yes.  The Emerald Lotus didn’t just target Edge.  Reports of attacks all over the world have come in.  They struck many W.R.O. facilities alongside more public areas, and it seems they were looking for something.  A pattern points to something more than materia.”

            “Of course.” Yuffie scratched the back of her head and glanced at Daisy.  “Whatever it is, must be old Shinra, huh?”

            “Seems likely,” Daisy said.  “And they must think that either we’ve found it or that we know where to find it.”

            “Right.”  Yuffie returned her attention to Shelke.  “It’s been half a decade and Shinra is still kicking our asses.”

            “Somethings are hard to kill,” she said, fingers flying across a holographic keyboard.  “They’ve started many fires to keep us distracted.  Reeve will be leaving soon to deal with it.”

            “Probably.  How long until you’re done compiling?”

            “I will message you.”

            Yuffie nodded and pushed off the wall.  “Then I am going to get breakfast and digest it before we have to go anywhere.”  She passed Daisy on the way out and gave a wave over her shoulder.  “Happy hunting,” she said, and Daisy followed her.

            Shelke didn’t even look back to see them leave, but she did say goodbye before the door slid shut.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie ate a light lunch and then went outside to rest.  Her body still ached from the battle the day before, and she didn’t feel comfortable wasting energy on her cure materia.  After the surprise attack made by Reed, she didn’t feel comfortable wasting her energy on anything.  The halls were narrow now and dark, and everyone was jumping at shadows.

            Daisy kept her company.  They set out on the deck, watching the sky.  It was clear, devoid of cloud or smoke, and they could smell the sea again.  From where they were, they could see canyons in the distance and the dusty red landscape of wastes.  On the opposite side, they could see Edge and the ruins of Midgar rising behind it.

            Midgar, the city where it all began and, for her, where it all ended.  She didn’t get the chance to fight Sephiroth in the planet’s core, but she was branded a hero anyway.  When she was young, she always felt cheated being stuck with Reeve and Vincent at the meteor’s impact.  It was probably why she was so quick to join the W.R.O.

            During the Deep Ground crisis, she was on the front lines, fighting right alongside Vincent.  At the beginning it felt to her like she was making up for her inactivity during the final battle.  After the fight with Nero, however, she had a different perspective.  It was so dangerous, so deadly, and she was lucky to have survived.  Looking back, she isn’t so sure how she would have handled Sephiroth.  The thought still shook her sometimes.

            The Emerald Lotus attacks were beginning to feel the same way.  Yuffie could see something wrong, and she could see no one was taking steps to fix it, but she didn’t feel right fixing it herself.  The end of the world was a fight she had avoided twice already, and she wasn’t qualified to be in the middle of it now.

            Reeve cleared his throat beside her and drew her attention.  He was wearing a white vest and pants, with the vest buttoned up to his neck.  His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair styled, but he had bags under his eyes.  “You look distracted,” he said, and he leaned forward.  Yuffie glanced at Daisy, who was keeping her distance, and then returned her attention to Reeve.  “Care to talk about it?”

            “Nothing to talk about.”  Yuffie sat up, stretched.  “Just thinking about old battles.”

            Reeve nodded.  “I do the same sometimes.”  He grinned.  “It seemed simpler back then, didn’t it?  Back when the evil was so obvious.”

            “Wasn’t obvious to some people,” Yuffie said, and she gave her own grin.  “Some of us worked for them.”

            Reeve laughed.  “Some of us did.”  He adjusted his cuffs and looked her head on.  “Yuffie, we found a curious thing the other night.  A group of Lotus soldiers had infiltrated an old Shinra lab beneath Midgar.  By the time we mobilized and ended up on scene they were already neutralized.  Would you happen to know anything about that?”

            “Nope.  I was with Daisy all night last night.”

            Reeve glanced at Daisy, who stared resolutely out at the sea.  “Were you?  And what were you doing, exactly?”

            “Checking some leads on materia trade and keeping away from the Emerald Lotus, like you asked.”

            Reeve hummed and smoothed his suit.  “Fine.  If you want to be that way.”  He stands straight, towering over her like he does so many people. He really was tall.  Sometimes, when he spoke with her casually, she forgot about that.  When he looked at her like a disappointed parent, however, she could see it clearly.  “I know you won’t listen, but I am warning you as a friend.  Stay out of it, Yuffie.”

            “Stay out of what, sir?  We were just doing our jobs.”

            He frowned.  “Of course.”  He went to the door and left her there, alone with Daisy, who hazarded a glance back at Yuffie only after he left.

            “He knows.”

            “Of course he knows,” Yuffie said.  “We weren’t discreet.”

            “Should we be worried?”

            “Nah.  We go way back.”

            Daisy sighed.  “I don’t think that will protect you much longer.”

            “Maybe, but it will protect me for now.”  Yuffie’s phone chimed, and she pulled up a message from Shelke.  Then, she stood from her seat.  “That was fast. Come on, Shelke has gotten it ready.  Let’s go and see where we’re off to next.”

            Daisy sighed and nodded her agreement, and she followed Yuffie back inside.

-Disc One-

            Shelke doesn’t turn to greet them as they enter her room.  The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in darkness and the blue glow of the holographic monitors, which were suspended in the shadows.  Information flashes across each monitor in a blur, and Daisy has a hard time believing any of it is memorized.

            Yuffie moved forward and leaned on Shelke’s chair.  “A little birdy told us you had some information.”

            “Is the door closed?”

            Yuffie glanced back.  “Of course.  Do you see the light in here?”

            Shelke took the time to look around.  She returned to her work, fingers dancing across her keyboard with robotic precision.  “I hadn’t noticed.”  Code drifted across screens, looking to Yuffie like alien script. “I was able to access the files,” Shelke said.  “It was old and damaged.  Much of it is fragmented as a result.”

            “Of course it is.” Yuffie sighed toward Daisy, who gave a shrug.  “We can never get a break, huh?”

            “Was it all for nothing,” Daisy asked.  She had leaned against the door frame and watched from a distance.  Shelke frightened her, and Yuffie’s relationship with Shelke confused her.

            “No,” Shelke said absently.  She held out the thumb drive Yuffie had given her earlier, and Yuffie scooped it up.  “What was left on the drive gave me enough information to search in, and I find a direction.”

            “Oh?’  Yuffie glanced at the screens again but saw nothing.  There were personal notes kept in the corner, clipped phrases that meant nothing to the casual observer.  “And what direction is that?”

            “Project D,” Shelke said.  “Multiple files alluded to this Project D.”

            “Let me guess, a secret Shinra project?”

            Shelke nodded.  “It was run by Shinra’s Science Division many years ago.  Information is sparse, but drawing from other sources, I was able to ascertain the goal of the project: the creation of specialized, military grade, hyper powerful materia.”

            Yuffie frowned.  “Makes sense.  And that’s what Lotus is after?”

            “That I do not know.”

            “Right, right.”  Yuffie paced a small circle around the room, which was cluttered with cables and hardware.   She was careful to avoid them as she marched over around and scratched her head.  She stopped behind the holographic monitors and stared through them at the glowing faces of Shelke and Daisy.  Only Daisy seemed to look back.  “Well, that’s good, I guess, but we already knew they were after materia.”

            “There is more,” Shelke said.  She glanced at Yuffie with empty, glowing eyes.  “I cross-referenced the information on these files with information from the W.R.O. databases.”

            “And?”

            “And what I found was highly classified.  Even I didn’t have clearance.”

            “So you hacked it?”

            “So I hacked it,” Shelke said, allowing a ghost of a smile.  “The information was well-guarded, but it led me to an index showing the location of an isolated database that should have what we want.”

            “Isolate database?”

            “High level security.  Anything connected to the network can be accessed by anyone with enough time and skill.  To keep something truly private, you keep it isolated from the network, which is what any adequately run organization will do.  Even then, references to it are kept for practical use, but clearance must be given before the files can ever be accessed.  All of the details about Project D are hidden in the W.R.O.’s primary databases, beneath HQ.”

            Yuffie rubbed her chin.  “So, we already knew about all of this.”

            “It appears so,” Shelke said.  “It has never been secret that Shinra has facilities beneath Midgar.”

            “But they never made it public knowledge, either.”  Yuffie eyes went wide.  “There might be more facilities we don’t know about.  Which means if we access the database, then we can figure out Lotus’ next move.”

            Shelke nodded.

            Yuffie whooped and reached through the monitors to hug Shelke, who allowed it limply.  “Thank you, thank you so much you little brat!”   Then, she ruffled Shelke’s hair on the way to the door.  Daisy stood from the wall and waited.

            “Be careful, Yuffie Kisaragi.  This information isn’t meant to be seen by people of your clearance.  It will be dangerous, and it may lead to trouble.”

            Yuffie grinned.  “Then we’ll just have to keep from getting caught.”

-Disc One-

            Daisy remained silent as she followed Yuffie outside to the car.  They stopped beside it and stared back at the base.  The asphalt was still covered in soot from where the battle took place.  The air defense towers were shattered stalks of exposed circuitry and carnage.  Maintenance workers were taking a break in the hot sun.

            “A lot has happened,” Yuffie said, and then she met Daisy’s gaze.  “You’re worried.”

            Daisy looked at her and nodded.

            “About stealing from the W.R.O.?”

            Another nod.

            “You don’t have to come.”

            “I do.”

            Yuffie laughed and shook her head.  “Nah, Daze, you don’t.  Not there, not this,” she said.  “We’re partners and all, and I’m always happy to have you watch my back, but this is full-blown treason at this point.  Nothing dubious about it.  We’re stealing from our bosses.”

            “I know.”  Daisy chewed her cheek and kicked at the asphalt.  When she had been assigned to Yuffie, she was excited to see what type of person a hero of the Jenova War would be and, at first, was a little disappointed.  Yuffie was loud, impulsive, and disorganized.  She hardly seemed like someone who had saved the world.

            After everything that happened, Daisy had changed her mind.  It seemed like everyone else was the problem and Yuffie was the only solution.  The Emerald Lotus was a crisis on par with Deep Ground, and yet no one was organized.  There were no heroes taking to the streets, just two lone women being hobbled at every turn.

            The thought frightened Daisy.  More than that, it made her feel weak.  She liked working for the Hunters, and she liked working alongside Yuffie and Oliver.  It was a good life, hard work, but safe by comparison to what was recently started.  Yes, there was combat involved, but it wasn’t war, and what the Lotus brought with them was, and if they were to get caught it would be a front on both sides.

            “Seriously, Daisy,” Yuffie said now, all of the humor leaving her face.  In all their years working together, Daisy never saw Yuffie so sober.  She looked almost like an adult as she took Daisy’s hands and gave them a squeeze.  “I’ll be fine on my own.”

            “No,” Daisy said.

            “Sure, I will.  I mean, come on, I’m the great ninja Yuffie.”

            “That’s not what I mean,” Daisy said, and she was shaking.  “I’m scared, Yuffie.  This is big and it’s scary, and that’s why I know I can’t stay.  Something is going on out there.  A storm or something, and everyone here just has their heads buried in the sand.”  She squeezed Yuffie’s hands back.  “And that’s why I know this is where I should be.  I just don’t like it.”

            Yuffie laughed.  “Me neither,” she said, and she sighed.  Sobriety left her, and she smiled like an adolescent again.  “Well, then, I guess this will make us partners in crime.”

            Daisy laughed nervously.  “I guess, but we’re only doing this because it’s right.  Because it has to be done.”

            “Exactly,” Yuffie said.  “Betraying them to save them.”

            “How many people thought that way before they died, you think?”

            “Doesn’t matter, Daze, ‘cause we won’t die.  Now, come on.”  Yuffie grinned and pulled Daisy toward the car.  “I think it’s about time we went and broke some rules.”

Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 11

Edge: Seventh Heaven Bar\

            Daisy dropped Yuffie off at the bar before returning to the Lodge to rest.  Yuffie offered to let her stay but didn’t have the heart to argue when refused.  Instead, Yuffie shuffled inside as the sun climbed slowly over the buildings and glittered against the windows.  Marlene and Denzel were just waking as she entered and offered sleepy greetings that she didn’t remember returning.

            Yuffie slept deeply, forgetting for a time the aches and the bruises, both physical and emotional.  Her dreams were peaceful and faraway, memories dragged up in the wake of her battles.  She didn’t remember them clearly when she woke up, just lilies floating on the water and Wutai seen from a mountain top.  The sun was golden, and she had prayed to Leviathan before leaving home for good.

            Her phone work her when she saw that man again.  He was wearing a mask this time, but his eyes were dark like hers.  They were Wutai.

            “Hello?”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi.”

            Yuffie felt her face to make sure it was there and found it hurt to move her arms.  She groaned slowly as everything else began to hurt again, too.  “What?”

            “How are you?”

            “Sore and sleepy.”  She sat up, slowly, whining with each movement.  It wasn’t just pain anymore.  Her muscles felt dead.  She was sleeping so well and needed a bit more of it.  The world was blurry when she opened her eyes and a bit too bright.  She felt sick and had to take a few minutes to breathe through the nausea.  “Why are you calling?”

            “Ms. Daisy Gould returned without you.  I was just making sure you were well.”

            “Well enough,” Yuffie said.  She stretched her feet and toes and listened as they popped.  A breath, and it didn’t hurt so much to breathe anymore.  “We followed your lead to Shinra HQ and found some bad people up to bad things.”

            “Of course.”  Yuffie could hear the distraction in Shelke’s voice and imagined her in a dark room, lit only by the glow of her eyes and the holographic monitors that surrounded her on all sides.  “Did you find anything of value?”

            “Not really.  They’re looking for materia, it seems.”

            “We knew that already.”

            Yuffie pulled away from the phone long enough to blow a raspberry.  Then, she remembered the data she got from the hard drives and rose to dig through her clothes to find it.  She held up the thumb drive in the light.  “We got something for you, too.”

            “Good.  You should deliver it to me here.  I do not trust it going through the W.R.O.’s system.”

            Yuffie frowned and thought of Reed.  Then, she thought of Reeve, and her frown deepened. “Know what? Neither do I.  I’ll be there soon to see you in person.”

            “Good. I have something to tell you when you get here.”

Midgar Region: W.R.O.’s Hunter’s Lodge\

            Daisy was awake already when Yuffie called, and she arrived shortly after.  Yuffie hid out in her room and nursed her hurt.  When Daisy arrived, Yuffie offered a passing farewell to Tifa and the others before going outside.  She didn’t eat breakfast because it would just come back up during the car ride.

            Half an hour later they arrive at the Lodge.  The surface damage was mostly cleared.  Anti-air turrets broken in the assault had been repaired or patched.  Their remains stood, stunted, in the distance, their wiry insides tightly knotted or otherwise frayed, exposed like a fresh wound.

            Underneath the damage was still showing.  Walls were blackened from flame, cracked and fractured or otherwise collapsed entirely.  The workers there were tired and frightened.  They looked over their shoulders constantly, fearful of what might come.  The W.R.O.’s lingering suspicions helped nothing.

            Yuffie followed Daisy through the halls, holding her stomach and lamenting her decision to forego breakfast.  They got her some bread before going to Shelke’s office.  When the door opened, she greeted them without looking away from the glowing monitors in front of her.  Yuffie groans.

            “You’ve brought the data.”

            Another groan, and Yuffie handed off her thumb drive.

            Shelke turned it over in her hands and gave it a quick glance.  Then, she jammed it into a console on her left forearm and started sifting through the data.  Her eyes darted around from monitor to monitor.  “It’s encrypted.”

            “How long will it take you to break it,” Daisy asked.  She tried to follow along with Shelke’s work for a time but gave up after a few seconds.

            “I already have,” Shelke said.  “Now, I am compiling data and distilling it to the most important parts.  I have to be careful, though.  A dip in my productivity might arouse suspicion.”

            Daisy looked at Yuffie, who shrugged and said, “She’s always like this.”  Then, she moved forward, stuffing the last of the bread into her mouth and leaning against the wall.  Her stomach still felt raw, but she could breathe again.  “So, you said you had some other information for me?”

            Shelke nodded absently.  Her eyes glowed like the monitors.  It wasn’t reflection.  They produced their own light.  “Yes.  The Emerald Lotus didn’t just target Edge.  Reports of attacks all over the world have come in.  They struck many W.R.O. facilities alongside more public areas, and it seems they were looking for something.  A pattern points to something more than materia.”

            “Of course.” Yuffie scratched the back of her head and glanced at Daisy.  “Whatever it is, must be old Shinra, huh?”

            “Seems likely,” Daisy said.  “And they must think that either we’ve found it or that we know where to find it.”

            “Right.”  Yuffie returned her attention to Shelke.  “It’s been half a decade and Shinra is still kicking our asses.”

            “Somethings are hard to kill,” she said, fingers flying across a holographic keyboard.  “They’ve started many fires to keep us distracted.  Reeve will be leaving soon to deal with it.”

            “Probably.  How long until you’re done compiling?”

            “I will message you.”

            Yuffie nodded and pushed off the wall.  “Then I am going to get breakfast and digest it before we have to go anywhere.”  She passed Daisy on the way out and gave a wave over her shoulder.  “Happy hunting,” she said, and Daisy followed her.

            Shelke didn’t even look back to see them leave, but she did say goodbye before the door slid shut.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie ate a light lunch and then went outside to rest.  Her body still ached from the battle the day before, and she didn’t feel comfortable wasting energy on her cure materia.  After the surprise attack made by Reed, she didn’t feel comfortable wasting her energy on anything.  The halls were narrow now and dark, and everyone was jumping at shadows.

            Daisy kept her company.  They set out on the deck, watching the sky.  It was clear, devoid of cloud or smoke, and they could smell the sea again.  From where they were, they could see canyons in the distance and the dusty red landscape of wastes.  On the opposite side, they could see Edge and the ruins of Midgar rising behind it.

            Midgar, the city where it all began and, for her, where it all ended.  She didn’t get the chance to fight Sephiroth in the planet’s core, but she was branded a hero anyway.  When she was young, she always felt cheated being stuck with Reeve and Vincent at the meteor’s impact.  It was probably why she was so quick to join the W.R.O.

            During the Deep Ground crisis, she was on the front lines, fighting right alongside Vincent.  At the beginning it felt to her like she was making up for her inactivity during the final battle.  After the fight with Nero, however, she had a different perspective.  It was so dangerous, so deadly, and she was lucky to have survived.  Looking back, she isn’t so sure how she would have handled Sephiroth.  The thought still shook her sometimes.

            The Emerald Lotus attacks were beginning to feel the same way.  Yuffie could see something wrong, and she could see no one was taking steps to fix it, but she didn’t feel right fixing it herself.  The end of the world was a fight she had avoided twice already, and she wasn’t qualified to be in the middle of it now.

            Reeve cleared his throat beside her and drew her attention.  He was wearing a white vest and pants, with the vest buttoned up to his neck.  His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair styled, but he had bags under his eyes.  “You look distracted,” he said, and he leaned forward.  Yuffie glanced at Daisy, who was keeping her distance, and then returned her attention to Reeve.  “Care to talk about it?”

            “Nothing to talk about.”  Yuffie sat up, stretched.  “Just thinking about old battles.”

            Reeve nodded.  “I do the same sometimes.”  He grinned.  “It seemed simpler back then, didn’t it?  Back when the evil was so obvious.”

            “Wasn’t obvious to some people,” Yuffie said, and she gave her own grin.  “Some of us worked for them.”

            Reeve laughed.  “Some of us did.”  He adjusted his cuffs and looked her head on.  “Yuffie, we found a curious thing the other night.  A group of Lotus soldiers had infiltrated an old Shinra lab beneath Midgar.  By the time we mobilized and ended up on scene they were already neutralized.  Would you happen to know anything about that?”

            “Nope.  I was with Daisy all night last night.”

            Reeve glanced at Daisy, who stared resolutely out at the sea.  “Were you?  And what were you doing, exactly?”

            “Checking some leads on materia trade and keeping away from the Emerald Lotus, like you asked.”

            Reeve hummed and smoothed his suit.  “Fine.  If you want to be that way.”  He stands straight, towering over her like he does so many people. He really was tall.  Sometimes, when he spoke with her casually, she forgot about that.  When he looked at her like a disappointed parent, however, she could see it clearly.  “I know you won’t listen, but I am warning you as a friend.  Stay out of it, Yuffie.”

            “Stay out of what, sir?  We were just doing our jobs.”

            He frowned.  “Of course.”  He went to the door and left her there, alone with Daisy, who hazarded a glance back at Yuffie only after he left.

            “He knows.”

            “Of course he knows,” Yuffie said.  “We weren’t discreet.”

            “Should we be worried?”

            “Nah.  We go way back.”

            Daisy sighed.  “I don’t think that will protect you much longer.”

            “Maybe, but it will protect me for now.”  Yuffie’s phone chimed, and she pulled up a message from Shelke.  Then, she stood from her seat.  “That was fast. Come on, Shelke has gotten it ready.  Let’s go and see where we’re off to next.”

            Daisy sighed and nodded her agreement, and she followed Yuffie back inside.

-Disc One-

            Shelke doesn’t turn to greet them as they enter her room.  The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in darkness and the blue glow of the holographic monitors, which were suspended in the shadows.  Information flashes across each monitor in a blur, and Daisy has a hard time believing any of it is memorized.

            Yuffie moved forward and leaned on Shelke’s chair.  “A little birdy told us you had some information.”

            “Is the door closed?”

            Yuffie glanced back.  “Of course.  Do you see the light in here?”

            Shelke took the time to look around.  She returned to her work, fingers dancing across her keyboard with robotic precision.  “I hadn’t noticed.”  Code drifted across screens, looking to Yuffie like alien script. “I was able to access the files,” Shelke said.  “It was old and damaged.  Much of it is fragmented as a result.”

            “Of course it is.” Yuffie sighed toward Daisy, who gave a shrug.  “We can never get a break, huh?”

            “Was it all for nothing,” Daisy asked.  She had leaned against the door frame and watched from a distance.  Shelke frightened her, and Yuffie’s relationship with Shelke confused her.

            “No,” Shelke said absently.  She held out the thumb drive Yuffie had given her earlier, and Yuffie scooped it up.  “What was left on the drive gave me enough information to search in, and I find a direction.”

            “Oh?’  Yuffie glanced at the screens again but saw nothing.  There were personal notes kept in the corner, clipped phrases that meant nothing to the casual observer.  “And what direction is that?”

            “Project D,” Shelke said.  “Multiple files alluded to this Project D.”

            “Let me guess, a secret Shinra project?”

            Shelke nodded.  “It was run by Shinra’s Science Division many years ago.  Information is sparse, but drawing from other sources, I was able to ascertain the goal of the project: the creation of specialized, military grade, hyper powerful materia.”

            Yuffie frowned.  “Makes sense.  And that’s what Lotus is after?”

            “That I do not know.”

            “Right, right.”  Yuffie paced a small circle around the room, which was cluttered with cables and hardware.   She was careful to avoid them as she marched over around and scratched her head.  She stopped behind the holographic monitors and stared through them at the glowing faces of Shelke and Daisy.  Only Daisy seemed to look back.  “Well, that’s good, I guess, but we already knew they were after materia.”

            “There is more,” Shelke said.  She glanced at Yuffie with empty, glowing eyes.  “I cross-referenced the information on these files with information from the W.R.O. databases.”

            “And?”

            “And what I found was highly classified.  Even I didn’t have clearance.”

            “So you hacked it?”

            “So I hacked it,” Shelke said, allowing a ghost of a smile.  “The information was well-guarded, but it led me to an index showing the location of an isolated database that should have what we want.”

            “Isolate database?”

            “High level security.  Anything connected to the network can be accessed by anyone with enough time and skill.  To keep something truly private, you keep it isolated from the network, which is what any adequately run organization will do.  Even then, references to it are kept for practical use, but clearance must be given before the files can ever be accessed.  All of the details about Project D are hidden in the W.R.O.’s primary databases, beneath HQ.”

            Yuffie rubbed her chin.  “So, we already knew about all of this.”

            “It appears so,” Shelke said.  “It has never been secret that Shinra has facilities beneath Midgar.”

            “But they never made it public knowledge, either.”  Yuffie eyes went wide.  “There might be more facilities we don’t know about.  Which means if we access the database, then we can figure out Lotus’ next move.”

            Shelke nodded.

            Yuffie whooped and reached through the monitors to hug Shelke, who allowed it limply.  “Thank you, thank you so much you little brat!”   Then, she ruffled Shelke’s hair on the way to the door.  Daisy stood from the wall and waited.

            “Be careful, Yuffie Kisaragi.  This information isn’t meant to be seen by people of your clearance.  It will be dangerous, and it may lead to trouble.”

            Yuffie grinned.  “Then we’ll just have to keep from getting caught.”

-Disc One-

            Daisy remained silent as she followed Yuffie outside to the car.  They stopped beside it and stared back at the base.  The asphalt was still covered in soot from where the battle took place.  The air defense towers were shattered stalks of exposed circuitry and carnage.  Maintenance workers were taking a break in the hot sun.

            “A lot has happened,” Yuffie said, and then she met Daisy’s gaze.  “You’re worried.”

            Daisy looked at her and nodded.

            “About stealing from the W.R.O.?”

            Another nod.

            “You don’t have to come.”

            “I do.”

            Yuffie laughed and shook her head.  “Nah, Daze, you don’t.  Not there, not this,” she said.  “We’re partners and all, and I’m always happy to have you watch my back, but this is full-blown treason at this point.  Nothing dubious about it.  We’re stealing from our bosses.”

            “I know.”  Daisy chewed her cheek and kicked at the asphalt.  When she had been assigned to Yuffie, she was excited to see what type of person a hero of the Jenova War would be and, at first, was a little disappointed.  Yuffie was loud, impulsive, and disorganized.  She hardly seemed like someone who had saved the world.

            After everything that happened, Daisy had changed her mind.  It seemed like everyone else was the problem and Yuffie was the only solution.  The Emerald Lotus was a crisis on par with Deep Ground, and yet no one was organized.  There were no heroes taking to the streets, just two lone women being hobbled at every turn.

            The thought frightened Daisy.  More than that, it made her feel weak.  She liked working for the Hunters, and she liked working alongside Yuffie and Oliver.  It was a good life, hard work, but safe by comparison to what was recently started.  Yes, there was combat involved, but it wasn’t war, and what the Lotus brought with them was, and if they were to get caught it would be a front on both sides.

            “Seriously, Daisy,” Yuffie said now, all of the humor leaving her face.  In all their years working together, Daisy never saw Yuffie so sober.  She looked almost like an adult as she took Daisy’s hands and gave them a squeeze.  “I’ll be fine on my own.”

            “No,” Daisy said.

            “Sure, I will.  I mean, come on, I’m the great ninja Yuffie.”

            “That’s not what I mean,” Daisy said, and she was shaking.  “I’m scared, Yuffie.  This is big and it’s scary, and that’s why I know I can’t stay.  Something is going on out there.  A storm or something, and everyone here just has their heads buried in the sand.”  She squeezed Yuffie’s hands back.  “And that’s why I know this is where I should be.  I just don’t like it.”

            Yuffie laughed.  “Me neither,” she said, and she sighed.  Sobriety left her, and she smiled like an adolescent again.  “Well, then, I guess this will make us partners in crime.”

            Daisy laughed nervously.  “I guess, but we’re only doing this because it’s right.  Because it has to be done.”

            “Exactly,” Yuffie said.  “Betraying them to save them.”

            “How many people thought that way before they died, you think?”

            “Doesn’t matter, Daze, ‘cause we won’t die.  Now, come on.”  Yuffie grinned and pulled Daisy toward the car.  “I think it’s about time we went and broke some rules.”

Emerald Crisis--Final Fantasy VII--Disc One, Mission 4

Edge: Town Square\

            Meteor Fall had forever changed the world.  In the wake of the final battle with Sephiroth, Midgar was destroyed.  The Sister Ray, along with the Holy spell, caused reactors to erupt in a furious display of the planet’s power.  The sky glowed, on that day, and the world shook.

            Survivors from the slums and the plate alike gathered together, and they founded a new city on the outskirts of the old.  Called Edge, it became a refuge for some, a home in time, and a fresh start for everyone.  Working together, the people of Edge built for themselves a bright new future, and they clung to it tightly.  Since, they then, they endured many a trial, including Sephiroth’s Remnants and return, as well as the invasion of Deep Ground and the activities that followed.

            Once a year, to celebrate the founding of the city and its continued survival, the populace took to the streets with floats, balloons, and fireworks.  This Founding Festival, as it was called, started as an informal gathering that quickly grew into a city-wide event.  In time, it even drew the attention of nearby cities and brought in crowds.  With the W.R.O.’s investment in the city, which it often called its throne, the festival flourished further.

            Yuffie spent her time with Tifa and the kids at the festival.  They woke early and walked the streets, visiting sidewalk markets and enjoying food and games.  By noon, they were ready for a break and took lunch at a small, street side cafe near the town square.  The sky was clear and blue, that day, and the air warmed by unrestrained sunlight.

            Leaning back in her chair, stretching her arms overhead, Yuffie took the city in.  People had flooded the streets.  Streamers were hung from every building.  The Edge she knew was lost in the hubbub, which was good.  Normally, the town was all cement and steel, a testament to mankind’s ingenuity and resolve colored on in muted greys.  The festival, however, and the people, brought it to life.  That day, the city shined.

            It had been days since she left the Lodge, calling Tifa for a ride and refusing to go back.  She had grown lazy and, in her own eyes, soft in the time, sulking around the bar and coming out only at Tifa’s insistence.  Sometimes, Tifa liked to send her on errands.  It was just to keep Yuffie busy and, while Yuffie complained, she was also secretly grateful.  When left to herself she thought, about Reed, about Lotus, and about Daisy.

            Tifa gathered the plates together after their meal and stacked them carefully with the silverware on-top.  “I’m glad you could make it out with us,” she said, speaking as she always did, with a genuine, motherly warmth.  Yuffie had been sour for days, and if Tifa minded, she certainly didn’t show it.  She was as Yuffie always remembered her, tall, strong, graceful, and always forgiving.  Even when Yuffie sulk about the bar, Tifa cleaned up after her with the sober patience of a saint.  “And it’s been nice to have someone help me keep an eye on the kids with Cloud off again.”

            “We don’t need an eye on us,” Denzel said, sulking in the corner.  As he got older, he got taller, and he got moodier.  At times, he reminded Yuffie of Cloud as Cloud was when they first met, solemn and laconic.  It made Yuffie laugh sometimes, because the older Marlene got, the more even-tempered the young woman became to compensate.

            Yuffie spared a glance at Denzel, flashed a grin, and rested her head in her arms, staring across the table at Tifa.  “Where is Cloud, anyway?”

            “Working,” Tifa said, her tone soft.  “He’s always working anymore.”

            “Got to pay the bills, doesn’t he?”

            “Of course, but I’m a bit worried this time,” Tifa said.  “It’s not the usual courier work he does.”

            “Then what is it?”

            “Something for Reeve,” Tifa said, sweeping her long hair back over her shoulder.  “They wouldn’t tell me the details of it.”

            “Oh.  One of those,” Yuffie said.  She chewed her straw and blew some bubbles into her iced tea.

            From where they were sitting, they could see a large, bulb-like object stationed in the center of the city.  A green tarp was leashed to it and held in place by a series of thick riggings that were worked into the asphalt.  The W.R.O. emblem—a bronze atlas showing the world they wished to regenerate—was emblazoned on the tarp.

            Yuffie sat up to regard it.  “Wonder what they’re doing over there.”

            “I think that’s the airship Cid was talking about.”  Tifa stood from the table and bent at the waist just long enough to get a better look.  “He was talking about the thing years ago.  I have to admit, I wasn’t sure he would ever really finish it.”

            Yuffie leaned back in her chair, holding her stomach and groaning to herself.  “Ugh. I wish he hadn’t finished it.”

            “Why,” Marlene asked.  She had been quiet to this point, scooping ice cream into her mouth and pretending not to notice whenever Denzel stole a bite.  “Airships are amazing.  They make it so easy to travel, even over long distances.  Without them, I wouldn’t be able to see papa nearly as much.”

            Yuffie grinned, and she reached across and messed Marlene’s hair.  “Leave it to the book worm to think like that.”

            “She gets motion sickness,” Denzel said, pointedly, as he continued sulking.

            “Well,” Yuffie said, standing up and leaving the table.  “Looks like they’re about done setting up now.  We should head over and nab the best spots.”

            “Good idea.”  Tifa stood with her and directed the children to do the same.  Everyone gathered their trash and tossed it into the bin.  Then, while Tifa took the dishes back, Yuffie waited with the kids on the sidewalk.  When they finished, it hardly looked like they had even ate there at all.

            The stage was completed when they arrived and the W.R.O. official took their places around it.  Reeve moved among them, greeting people and offering smiles.  He was as tall and thin as Yuffie remembered him, but the years of hard work were showing.  His face had more lines than she remembered and his hair more gray than before.  He stayed healthy, though, and carried with himself his characteristic vitality.  Watching him, Yuffie wondered where he got all of his energy from.

            Half an hour passed as people gathered around them.  It reminded Yuffie of the rally, though the energy was different.  There was tension, but it was excitement and joy.  Families were gathered with children whispering among themselves.  Everyone was safe here, protected by the W.R.O., and they were excited to see what new wonders would be brought to them.

            In a way, it reminded Yuffie of everything that she was fighting for.

            Fifteen minutes passed, and people continued to gather.  A few hundred were in attendance before a call was made for silence.  Among a group of W.R.O. officials—Reeve at their center—a short, round man appeared.  His hair was thinning, his face red and wet with sweat.  He held a microphone in is pudgy little hands and, looking like a beach ball in a brown suit, took center stage. In front of everyone, he tapped the microphone once, and the single finger-fall echoed through the streets.

            The man winced.  “My, that is loud, isn’t it?”  He teetered and laughed, rocking on his heels uncomfortable.  Yuffie knew him: the mayor of Edge, a sort of incompetent that gave the Emerald Lotus credence.  He was jovial and friendly, but the work he did was limited.  With the W.R.O. so close and so involved in the town’s politics, he didn’t so much run the city as make appearances and try not to be in the way whenever Reeve came by.  Many people didn’t even know him by his face, and those who did certainly weren’t impressed.

            As he stared out at the crowd, who stared back, his cheeks grew shiny with sweat.  He wiped it, ineffectually, with the napkin in his pocket.  “Anyhow, it is a good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for attending.  As you know, it has been many long years since the fall of Shinra and the founding of this city, and we, the people of Edge, that is, have really built something great, haven’t we?”

            He paused for applause.  There was none.

            “The, uh, the answer to the question is, of course, yes, yes we have.  We’ve faced trials!  Difficult trials, and we’ve overcome them, those trials.  We certainly did.”  He coughed. It, like his previous finger-fall, echoed through the streets.  His cheeks turned a more violent red.  “But, we, erm, we didn’t survive alone.  In fact, we had help.  Invaluable help, from the W.R.O., and through those, er, trials, we built a city with their help.  And today, that is what we celebrate.  Our city.  And their help.”  He looked back, went wide-eyed, stammered.  “Oh, and, uh, oh yes, we have a speaker!”

            The mayor turned, waving a short, fat arm toward the group of suits, and from them Reeve stood.  “Er, Chief Director Reeve, of the W.R.O., when you are ready.”

            Reeve smiled and stood.  A light applause sounded when he took the microphone, and he smiled again and adjusted his jacket before speaking.  His tie-clip shined in the afternoon light.

            “Thank you, mayor, and thank you to everyone here for your warm welcome.  I’ve always been fond of Edge, and I visit as often as I can, because the people here are of the strongest stock this world has ever known.  Survivors of Midgar, children of the meteor, enduring attacks by Shinra and its remnants time and time again.  Some may think that Edge has only survived with the support of the W.R.O., but I feel the opposite is true.  We of the W.R.O. can only survive and thrive as we have because of the hard work and faith of people like you.”

            Reeve’s voice, even his very presence, filled the town square.  It dwarfed the massive tarp behind him, dwarfed whatever was beneath it. Whenever Yuffie saw Reeve, she was always struck by how tall he was, how neat he dressed, and the precision of his every movement.  Even now, surrounded by people, she felt outnumbered by him.

            “The foundation of this city,” he continued, “was not a miracle but providence, and its survival was and is inevitable.  When you take people who know nothing but survival and challenge them, then they will rise to meet that challenge, and they will overcome it.  As you have, and as you will forever continue to do.

            “And you will not do it alone.  We at the W.R.O. will be there at your sides, helping you as you have helped us since day one.  We will guide you when you are lost, feed you when you are hungry, and heal you when you are sick.  We will not shepherd you, but walk alongside you, meeting each challenge with you and learning from your example.  Overcoming it with you.

            “And it is in that spirit that we celebrate today, the day of founding for your lovely city.  I have a special treat for you, a surprise of sorts, though I suspect many of you already know what it is.”  The crowd cheered and laughed, and he gave another smile.  “Now, enough from me.”  He turned and gestured toward the rounded tarp behind him.  “Now for the real show.  Cid, take it away.”

            Behind Reeve, the enormous black straps holding the tarp down snapped off.  The tarp fell away, revealing to the crowd the sleek, shining frame of an enormous airship.  It was larger than the Shera, with long, steel wings extending from the aft.  Enormous fan blades spun, slowly, within the wings.  Windows, each a story tall by themselves, covered the front and showed the crew working the bridge.  Standing at its helm was Cid, smoking as always, and shouting orders through his cigar.

            Yuffie whistled at the reveal.  “Okay, even I’m impressed by this.  I mean, I’ll never ride in the damn thing, but I am still impressed.”

            Tifa laughed and nudged Yuffie.  “Come on, not even a short ride?”

            “Tifa, please.”

            Projectors shot images of the airship across the town, showing different angles of the ship for everyone to see.  Still on stage, Reeve began speaking again, his voice clear until the ship’s engines roared to life.  “This is the newest airship straight from Cid’s workshop.  Known as the Model 3 Ricard, is boasts a brand new, remodeled engine, upgraded from the original Shera and outclassing her in speed, power, and even fuel efficiency.  Within a few months, full production will launch on this model, which will then replace all Model 6 Highwinds and Model 2 Sheras now on the market within only a few years.”  He turned his smile on the complex mechane behind him.  “And isn’t it a sight to behold?”

            The crowd roared loudly, stomping and flailing in their praise, competing now with the engines in noise.  Even Denzel was impressed enough to take time from his adolescent sulking to cheer alongside everyone else.  Marlene had to stop cheering long enough to note his excitement and earned a glare from him in return.

            “And now, if we could all wait while Cid gets it into the air, then we can show you that very speed which I was just bragging about.”

            The crowd fell silent, watching with eager anticipation as the airship came to life.  The propeller blades built into the wings gained speed, creating a whirlwind of air and noise around them that spread through the streets.  People in the crowd had to cover their eyes to keep watching.

            Tifa tied her hair back to keep it out of her face before leaning over to Yuffie and whispering, “I think Reeve wants to stay and see everyone after the meeting.”

            “That sounds nice.”

            “You should talk to him about your boss.”

            Yuffie stuffed her hands into her pockets.  “No, I shouldn’t.  Reeve’ll probably just take his side.”

            “Come on, Yuffie.  Reeve’s not like that.  He knows you.  He trusts you.”

            “And that’s why he threw me into the Hunters, because he trusts me,” she muttered to herself, and she felt Tifa staring.  She hated when Tifa stared.  It was always warm, always comforting, always accepting.  No matter what Yuffie did or said, Tifa was always there for her, and what made it so bad was that, deep down, Yuffie knew Tifa was genuinely trying to help.

            “He could help,” Tifa said, calmly.

            “I don’t need help,” Yuffie responded, not so calmly.

            “Fine.”  Tifa touched Yuffie’s shoulder and squeezed her gently.  “Then, I’m glad you’re taking time off to recover.”

            “Only because they blocked my onsite password to everything.”  Yuffie crossed her arms.  “I’ll be back in once I figure out how to hack it.”

            “And after you’ve recovered.”

            “I’ve been drinking Cure magic like its water for a week now.  I’m fine.”

            “But you haven’t been sleeping.”

            The Airship’s roar swelled and interrupted them, much to Yuffie’s delight.  It groaned and growled as it lifted into the air.  From one of the propellers, a stream of smoke appeared and a flash of fire.  The entire thing shook as it lifted above the nearby buildings, the engines whining so loud that it shook the windows along the street.

            Everyone covered their eyes to see it again the sun.

            “Wow,” Marlene cooed, and Tifa smiled at her.

            “It’s great, isn’t it?”

            “Yup!  And they’re putting them everywhere, so papa can come back and visit whenever he wants, right?”

            Tifa nodded in response.

            The airship rose, higher and higher, clearing even the tallest buildings and finding home in the air.  The black smoke grew thicker and darker as it ascended, and now it created a smoldering wake as the airship shined like a shooting star.

            Yuffie squinted.  She could smell fire.  A series of pops, like firecrackers echoing inside of a tin, and the left propeller erupted into flame.  Shrapnel and screws came loose, littering the streets, crushing cars and buildings beneath.

            The crowd screamed and scattered as shards of hot steel rained down from the airship.  The smoke was a plum now, gushing from the open, blazing wound. The Ricard scraped a building, tearing glass as it descended, exposing the framework to the city.

            Yuffie and Tifa pushed their way through the crowd, dragging Marlene and Denzel with them to the stage.  Reeve met them there and took the children into his care as the airship made a graceless descent.  Another bomb went off, on the other side of the ship, which was tilting for a nosedive.

            Yuffie looked at Tifa.  “Hey, Tifa, you been working out lately?”

            “What?”

            “Remember Cloud-tossing?”  Yuffie grinned and nodded at the sinking airship.

            “Yuffie, this sounds like a bad idea.”

            Yuffie produced, from her pocket, a green sphere—like a large marble—that gleamed in the sunlight.  “Just throw me already.”

            With a deep breath, Tifa hopped from the stage and held her arms out, hands folded together.  Yuffie took a ten-foot sprint and leaped, landing in Tifa’s hands.  Tifa dug in.  The asphalt cracked beneath Tifa, who hurled Yuffie with all of her might.  The small, Wutai woman rocketed through the air, like a bullet through the smoke.

            Yuffie met the airship with both feet and covered her eyes as she passed through the bridge windows.  She sailed through the bridge itself, catching herself on a handrail to keep from flying through the other side.  Her inertia pulled the rail apart.

            Cid, who held the control tightly in a desperate effort to keep the airship aloft—cigar still in his mouth—shouted, “Yuffie? Th’ hell you doin’?”

            “Saving your ass!”

            Yuffie squeezed the Materia tightly and closed her eyes. Green light filled the bridge interior.  A sphere of energy spread through the helm and caught the ship in its net.  The helm slowed; its descent eased.  The rear, still under normal gravity, came apart and crumpled to the ground before the rest of it landed lightly, still intact.

-Disc One-

            Yuffie winced when she opened her eyes.  The light bleeding in through the fractured glass made her head throb and her stomach churn.  She could smell smoke and little else.  Around her, the crew was stirring, working hard to help each other to standing or to evacuate the ship.

            She stood and braced herself against the railing.  Using her gravity materia, Yuffie was able to slow the bridge’s descent, but she could not save the ship.  The crash landing had left the floor slanted and the wind shield fractured.  The street around her was littered with debris, while the ship’s aft burned a short distance away.  There were bodies there, ones Yuffie would rather not see.

            She staggered her way to the open air and coughed for breath.  Her face was black with smoke and soot.  Cid walked among the surviving crew, checking them while he chewed an unlit cigarette.  Yuffie went to him, wiping her face as best she could on the way.

            “Goddamn.”  That was his greeting, delivered with a solemn breath.  “The hell is goin’ on here?”

            Yuffie struggled to stay standing.  The world continued to spin, and the fresh air was making her feel lightheaded.  She braced against the ship for support and eyed the street.  There were cars in the distance.  The W.R.O. in attendance at the ceremony were already doing what they could to help civilians.  Sirens wailed.

            Yuffie coughed until it hurt and then held herself.  Cid clapped his hand against her back.  “You okay, kid?”

            Yuffie straightened herself and pushed him away.  “Are you?”

            He rubbed his nose and chewed his cigarette more.  “’I’m fine.  Pissed off.  What kind of $@*% is going on here? Spent goddamn years working on this goddamn thing, and now it’s just a scrap in the &*#@ing street!”  He kicked the airships frame.  Something shifted inside as he screamed and clutched his foot.

            “But you don’t know what happened to it?”

            “I did, would I be standin’ here?!”

            Yuffie took another deep breath and forced herself to standing under her own power.  Her head was clearing slowly, but her body continued to hurt.  Cid watched her with concern.

            “You good to be movin’?”

            “I’ve got to go.  I’ve got to...”  Yuffie’s phone rang.  She answered. “What?”

            “Yuffie Kisaragi.”

            “Shelke?”  Yuffie staggered away from Cid and across the street, finding sanctuary against an alley wall.  “Shelke, what in the world is going on here?”

            “Sabotage.”

            “Yeah, thanks, I couldn’t figure that out on my own.”  She covered her free ear as the siren grew closer.  The W.R.O. was arriving in full now, and people were shouting orders.  “How?  Why? What can you tell me?”

            “I’ve traced the Lotus broadcast.”

            “The Lotus what?  How long was I out?”

            “I am uncertain,” Shelke said, “But for clarity, after the airship crashed, the Emerald Lotus made a broadcast and took responsibility for the attack.  They have set off bombs across the city and are declaring an official war against the W.R.O.”

            Yuffie stumbled away from the wreckage, toward the far end of the alley.  She looked back toward the city and saw four pillars of smoke, evenly spread across the sky.  “Oh, no.”  She rested against a nearby storefront to keep her legs from giving out.  “You said you traced it?”

            “Yes.  I’ve already sent the location to your phone.  Can you intercept them?”

            “Of course,” Yuffie said.  “And can you keep this between us?”

            “You have ten minutes.”

            “Right.”  Shelke hung up, and Yuffie checked her phone.  Afterward, she pocketed her phone and did some light stretches.  “Ten minutes,” she said, a grin on her face.  “That’ll be more than enough time to clean up this mess.”

-Disc One-

            The streets Yuffie took were empty as she passed.  Shelke sent her a map leading across the city to an old Midgar sewage system that was abandoned long ago. When she arrived, she found fetid water and refuse pooled beneath a long, hollow tube of rusted steel, an unfinished relic still struggling against time.  All around the water there were footprints left in the mud.

            Yuffie climbed the tubes and entered their depths.  She followed through winding curves, breathing shallowly of the stink of rotten feces and stagnant water.  Fungus grew along the walls and led her even deeper in.  Narrow walkways blocked her path, and she had to shimmy across them, her body tight against the wall, trying hard to ignore the cold, slick feeling against her back.

            The deeper she went, the stronger the smell of decay and damp became.  Holes in the walls allowed faded light inside.  The tubes went up, and she had to climb hand and knee, trading her phone between her hands to follow the map inside, and her journey came to a stop in the heart of the sewer network.

            The network itself met at a large, domed room with a circular, stone-laid floor.  Water flowed around the floor, crisscrossing under steel grates blackened by age.  Yellowed light bulbs buzzed overhead, casting a dull light.  The air was stale and, at the far end of the room, another set of tunnels, wider than the last, were exposed behind a broken wall.

            Lotus soldiers were at work in the center, packing as Lotus himself oversaw their activities.  A tall, tan man stood beside him, hair dark, sideburns looking like a wild mane.  He was enormous, almost beast-like, and he was the first to notice Yuffie’s approach.

            The man tapped Lotus on the shoulder, and Lotus turned to regard her.  His cloak flourished with his movements.  “And so, they sent a dog to sniff us out.  Congratulations.”

            “THEY didn’t send anyone,” Yuffie said.  She reached into her back pocket and produced a small switch blade.  “I’m here on my own.”

            “Seems you’ve chewed through your leash, then.  Let’s hope you haven’t gone rabid.”

            “The dog thing is getting real old, pal.”

            The tall man beside Lotus laughed.  It was a deep laugh, chest-rattling.  “At least he hasn’t called you a bitch, yet.”

            Yuffie flipped the blade, held it backhand, and ignored the man.  Her gaze was fixed on Lotus’ mask.  “So, you decided to forego the protecting the innocent thing.”

            “I decided to make myself known,” Lotus said, serene.  “And what about you?  Shouldn’t you be up there tending to the wounded and distraught?”

            “Not my job to clean up your mess.  I’d rather kick your ass and drag you up there to do it yourself.”

            “You always did imagine yourself to be the hero, didn’t you? But you’re not.  You’re just Yuffie Kisaragi, a little girl playing at saving the world while you hold onto the coat tails of your betters.”  He laughed and smirked behind his mask.  “You haven’t changed at all.”

            Soldiers gather around him, some carrying weapons, some baring only fists.  Lotus stood straight, body obscured, hidden behind his cloak.  He appeared at ease.  The man beside him towered over the group, his big, sculpted arms folded over his chest as he watched her.  Like Lotus, he was entirely at ease.

            “I’ll show you play!”  Yuffie threw her knife before charging.  One of the soldiers intercepted it, knocking it away while another stepped in with a wide stance.  When in range, Yuffie leaped and knocked the second soldier away with a kick to the head.  In the air, she spiraled, bringing her foot into the other soldier’s chest.  He fell backward, toward Lotus, but was intercepted by the big man.

            The big man held the soldier momentarily before tossing him to the side.  Lotus looked at him while Yuffie made a quick retreat, watching them as she hopped away.  Lotus said, “Hollis?”

            The tall man, Hollis, flashed a feral grin.  “Now, now, Mr. Lotus, you’re the big man in charge here.  We can’t have you dirtying your hands on her.”  Hollis flexed his big hands, popping his knuckles.  “Besides, she didn’t find us on her own.  She might be the first one here, but she won’t be the last.  Leave me to handle this.”

            “Are you sure?”

            Hollis’ grin broadened and his eyes went wide.  He looked more bestial with each passing moment.  “This is what you hired me for.”

            Lotus nodded and turned away, his cloak fanning.  “Right.  Everyone, back up and follow me.  Hollis,” he stopped on his way out, “Take care.”  Lotus leaped down and disappeared into the hole in the wall.

            Hollis sauntered forward, a big man standing nearly two-feet taller than Yuffie.  He could wrap his hands around her midriff and join them, if he chose.  “Sorry,” he said in his deep, harsh voice, “But boss man is busy.  I’ll be handling you myself, but don’t let that make you sloppy.  I’ve seen you in action before and let me tell you this: this’ll be an uphill battle for you.”

            Yuffie glared up at him, hands on her hips.  “Oh, I’m going to enjoy wiping the floor with you.”

            Hollis laughed.  “Name’s Hollis Ramsey.  I guess you could call me an enforcer of sorts.  See, my job is when people try to get rid of the boss, I get rid of them, first.”  He moved into a tight stance, legs close together, arms tight to his body.  Even coiled like this, he remained enormous.  “Which means, now, I got to get rid of you.”

            “Trust me,” Yuffie said, slinking, unfolding, “I’ll take care of you, first.”

            “That’s the spirit!  Finally, someone ready for a fight for once.  So, come on!  Show me the strength that saw you though the Jenova War.”

            Yuffie charged up the center, her footsteps echoing around the chamber.  When close, she leapt, spun, and came at him with a powerful kick, which he met with his big, meaty forearm. Using her momentum, she kicked off of his arm, flipping over him, and came to a stop behind him.

            She spun again, kicking at his leg to destabilize him, but it was like kicking a solid wall of granite.  His muscles were unyielding, and her foot bounced off.  He turned on her with a smile and waited, which only made her angrier.  She punched him in the face, as hard as she could, repeatedly, until she felt blood, and then retreated.  Both hands were wet and red with blood, but Yuffie didn’t know whose blood it was.

            Hollis laughed and followed her retreat.  “That the best you can do?”  He wiped away the blood, revealing a swollen nose and lip.  His sideburns were bristled, giving him the appearance of a wild animal.   Lunging, he grabbed her by the shoulders and held her in place while driving his knee forward into her gut.

            It felt like a cannon blast.  All of the air left her in a hurry, and she coughed and staggered away, struggling to remain standing.  She tried to kick at him, but he merely seized her once more and tossed her across the room.  She landed on her back and rolled once, onto her face.

            The battle stopped, briefly, as Yuffie caught her breath.  It hurt, what he was doing to her, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t suffered before.  Pushing herself to standing, she steadied herself, centered herself.  The battle was nothing new to her, and it was hollow.  He had strength, and she had speed, but she would never be able to whittle him down fast enough.

            Tifa came to mind, tall, strong, swift, and Yuffie thought again of the Death Blow.  It was too slow to work on Lotus, but Hollis was different, and she was never afraid to try again.  Planting her feet, she closed her eyes and breathed through the pain until it was far from her thoughts.

            She cleared her mind, pushing away the good and bad, leaving room only for the blow, for the air she breathed, and when she opened her eyes, she could see him clearly.  Energy suffused her body.  Every ounce of her, she knew, would have to go into her fist.  Each step, each breath, and one forceful, powerful strike.  She charged, and he met her with a humorless grin.  It wasn’t bloodlust but undiluted rage that powered him.  For a moment, Yuffie thought to retreat, but she didn’t have time.  If she didn’t end the fight, then she would never leave the sewers alive.

            When she entered range, she planted her feet, and she threw herself into the punch.  All of her followed through, all of her became a fist. She struck him, at full force, in the solar plexus, and she felt the world move.

            Hollis’ grin held.  He remained firmly rooted in place.  With all of the force in her tiny body she couldn’t move him an inch and so was moved instead.  There were scuffs where her feet had been, and her fist was bleeding.

            He breathed and then laughed.  “I have to admit, that was a pretty good punch, but I don’t think you did it right.”  He said that, and then he hit her.  Lotus was fast and precise, like a bullet.  Hollis was a wrecking ball.  Normally, she would see it coming.  Normally, she would dodge.  This time, she was dug in, feet planted, hand burning.  She saw him swing, followed the movement, but didn’t have the time to react.

            With one blow, she was knocked to her knees, bloodied.  Then, he kicked her and sent her spinning and skipping across the floor like a stone on water.  Her entire body was numb from the pain, and she bounced into the wall before coming to a stop.

            Hollis sauntered toward her, his big body blurred and obscuring the light like a great shadow.  He towered over her, like death, and stared down at her while she tried desperately to stand.  She wasn’t sure what she looked like, scrambling and struggling, but it seemed to amuse him.  “What you did earlier, I think it goes something like this…”

            Move, she told herself, but her body wouldn’t listen.  She had to hold the wall to keep herself standing, and she was too hurt to escape and too weak to block.  She stared, as he braced himself, and he punched her so hard in the stomach that she went through the wall.  The brickwork crumbled around her, and she was left limp, hanging from his enormous hand.

            He dropped her and dusted off his meaty palms.  Her world was fading, and she prepared for the ground’s cool embrace.  Instead, she found strong arms, soft and firm, that carried her away.  There was a swirl of brown hair and an encouraging whisper.

            The last thing Yuffie saw was Tifa, charging Hollis, and Hollis losing ground.