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Final Fantasy VII: Awakening	By : Saan Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 844 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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FINAL FANTASY VII: Awakening
For the past three years, she had been wandering this place. Was there any hope for her in sight? Probably not. She was assigned to look for this man...was, was, was...she kept reminding herself. The faction that hired her went bust but being a skilled assassin; she made it her reputation to keep at the job until the end.

"Midgar," she hissed, "of all the places."

The metal remains sprawled out before her. The greenery of the area was slowly beginning to take back what it lost from humanity and its technology. Miles of nothing but scrap metal and hints of lives lost so long ago. It was amazing that anything could live here in the first place, humanity or otherwise.

"Nothing left but scrap. No one left after that Holy incident." Those words echoed through her head. One of the most peculiar little girls told her this. She had to have been at least twenty maybe younger. First, the little one offered to be a guide than she vanished...of course not before she took a few gil.

Leira shrugged than started closer towards the ruins. The floating plate was battered. All the support pillars had crumbled. The few remaining people who survived the collapse of the slums blasted out the deadly reactors for good measure.

"Why am I doing this, again?" she asked herself aloud.

"Because, you want to find him."

Leira spun around on her heels. The last thing she wanted was an interruption. "What do you want?!"

The little girl grinned at her. "You want what everyone knows you can't have." She smiled. "I saw what he became and I know what that bud of mine did to him...he's gone."

"Why did you follow me all this way then? You know he's gone. What good is it going to do you? Besides, the remaining gil you can't have!� Leira's green eyes narrowed to slits and she reached for the little dagger she brought with her on many expeditions.

She kept it just inside her shirt collar. It seemed to be a convenient place to keep it since a lot of the undesirable people she met were usually men anyway, at least whenever she traveled through these parts. She would just reach up to her chest; move the collar of her shirt out of the way, and bam.

"You don't need to go reaching for anything." laughed the little girl, "My father told me once that true evil never dies so you might be in luck!"

"Who said he was evil?"

"He's just misunderstood?!" The little one slapped her hand over her face and pulled her lips down. "He almost destroyed the world!�

"We all have our bad days," sneered Leira, "From what I've heard from the people of Kalm, he's kind of in a recovery state. He's still got incredible power but the godlike side has subsided. My orders were to bring him in or make sure that he wouldn't be a danger to anyone."

"Lady," the little girl pushed her white bandana further back on her head and scowled, "You're nuts! Whose orders are you following?"

Leira laughed as her long brown hair came to a rest over her shoulders. She folded her arms and pursed her lips. "I'm working on a job for the Turks...Tseng to be precise."

"You are nuts...When did you get this job? He's dead too, in fact he was one of the first ones to die by Sephiroth's hand!�

"Obviously, little girl, he gave me the orders before he died."

"Are you a Turk?" the girl frowned as she folded her arms underneath her chest.

Leira looked down at her black button down shirt and blue pants, her uniform of sorts. "I'm part of a special unit of Shinra. I'm an elite Turk."

"Wow, aren't you something special?!" The little girl stretched out her arms above her head and laughed. "Who are you, anyway?"

"You first." sneered Leira.

"I'm Yuffie Kisaragi, of Wutai, daughter of the head honcho of tourism and marketing."

"Wutai...That would make you a little Ninja wouldn't it?" It was hard for her to believe this skinny little girl sporting a short blue shirt and green shorts could possibly be as lethal as Leira herself. Leira looked thoughtfully at the wreckage in front of her. "That was one of the few places untouched by Shinra and their reactors"

"Yeah, score one for the Turk lady! Now what's your name?"

"I am Lieandra Thompson...Leira for short. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a man to find."

"Well, Leira," Yuffie shrugged, "you won't find him in that melted mess."

"Well than, where is he?"

"How should I know? The people in Kalm said he was wandering through a few days ago trying to find a way back to Nibelheim."

Leira turned her back on the girl and started heading in the direction of Kalm.

"Wa..wa...wait! Where are you going? Are you giving up?" Yuffie jumped up and down, waving her arms wildly.

"I'm heading back to the inn. After that I'm going to see about transport to Nibelheim."

Yuffie swallowed hard, "Hey, do you have a ride cuz I don't. I want to come too. There are wolves after me and I'm frightened."

"What's wrong, now?" Leira asked glancing back at the little ninja.

"I can be a guide." Yuffie smiled. "Where you're going, you're going to need one."

Leira slowly got into her vehicle, bestowed upon her by her superiors for successful completion of all the training and beer runs they threw at her.

A four door Shinra Motors Hightime with a large engine that did not require Mako energy to run. It ran on battery power and was very fast; which was perfect for getting through bandit territories.

"Hey you got the sport model!� Yuffie purred. "How come all you carry is change?"

"So little girls like you can't steal much." Leira said matter-of-factly as she pressed the ignition button and turned the key.

Yuffie opened the door and climbed into the vehicle. She noticed a picture of someone on the dashboard wearing a white shirt and blue blazer. The tails of their shirt hung out over blue trousers. He had a short cane in his left hand that was resting behind his neck. The shiny black sunglasses resting on top of his head interrupted his reddish hair giving him a him a youthful appeal. "Who's that? He kinda looks familiar."

"Hmm, oh...that's Reno. He was new when I was bumped up to Elite status."

"Reno! You're kidding? He's a Turk? He's a major hottie!�

"Are you saying Turks are ugly?"

Yuffie gulped and shook her head. "So...uh...where is he anyway?"

It was Leira's turn to gulp. "I don't know. After Holy and Lifestream made their way through Midgar all communication with him was lost."

"Were you two in love?" Yuffie asked.

"When it's you're business, I'll keep you informed."

"Sheesh, I'm just asking. That's all, wicked witch." Yuffie folded her arms in front of her and slumped into the seat.

"Look, did you want a ride or not?" Leira pursed.

Yuffie slowly nodded her head and they were off.

"I know that Aeris and Tseng had a thing for a while, and after talking with my bud Cloud, I heard that Rude had a thing for Tifa, but I didn't think Reno was up for flings in the "family". I would have thought he would have had a thing for me, since there were no more hot chicks left."

Leira smiled, "After a while he did. After the one you call Cloud, and others, saved you from Don Corneo."

"Corneo? The slob in the white suit? Whotta perv he was!�

"Yep. After I was sent over to Costa del Sol to protect the President's son, Rufus, our relationship was pretty much over. He would write to me about how he missed me and how he wanted to find someone as spunky as he thought I was. That didn't happen until a little later, though." Leira focused on that part of her life with a certain distaste.

"You?" Yuffie crooned, "Maybe he wanted someone a little peppier and..."

"Are you done?" Leira shot back at her, "It's over, Reno's gone and..."

Something darted in front of the vehicle catching the girls by surprise. Leira slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a stop inches from�

"Ello, Ello, Ello, what do we have 'ere?"

"Bandits," murmured Leira.

Yuffie looked over at Leira and back out the window as one of the three masked men approached the vehicle.

"Yo ladies, lookin' for a good time?" The first one drawled.

"As if you would know how to provide one,� said Leira.

"Great, go ahead and insult them." Yuffie spat.

"Awright, get out of the car." The second one pushed.

The girls opened their doors and left the vehicle.

"Walk to the front and get out your precious possessions." Said bandit number three.

"Show us those pretties." sneered number two as he took Leira by the shoulders and pushed her along.

Number one already started to peruse the vehicle�s interior by the time the girls reached the front bumper. Leira looked back and saw the thief pull out the picture of Reno.

Yuffie followed her glance and smiled. "You're in some real shit now."

Just as she spoke, Leira grabbed number two by the neck and pushed him into number three who had just come around the other side of the vehicle. Number three wobbled backwards and went to grab a weapon concealed in one of the pockets of his dirty faded pants.

He pulled out a long blade and started towards his friend.

Number two grabbed his knife also and took a few swings at Leira.

Leira backed up and put her arms behind her as she dodged. After moving away, she spun around and delivered a crushing right sidekick that caught her attacker square in the ribs.

Number two crashed to the ground holding himself.

Not to be forgotten, number three lunged at Leira blade first. Leira fell to the ground flat on her back and swung her legs up over her head. Her confused attacker stood there for a second before he started to come closer. She smiled and kicked her feet out to meet his face.

Yuffie could not do much more than watch her companion in disbelief. She had to be a Ninja, too, or at least one hell of a fighter, but she did not recognize the technique. She could not have been from Wutai, could she?

"Hey, girlie, this has gotten out of hand!�

Yuffie spun around in surprise, confronted by the masked number one. He saw her astonished glance and grabbed her by the waist.

"I'm coming!� Leira hollered. Flipping herself to her feet she trudged over the newly fallen number three.

Yuffie smiled to herself, "It's my turn to show off!� She pulled her head back and catapulted it into number one's stomach.

Yuffie was not just about injury, she wanted to add a little insult at the same so she stomped on his foot. As expected, her foe was thrown off guard. As soon as his grip released, she pulled her arms back into her sides and pushed them into his ribs. The blow was so powerful it knocked him flat on his back.

Leira smiled as she watched Yuffie standing with her arms out in front of her. The look of concentration and power on her face was admirable for such a young little girl. Leira heard a rustling behind her and knew that at least one of her attackers was in the process of getting up. She smiled and reached for her Turk knife. When she felt the blood warm blade in her grasp, she launched it in a beautifully executed left-handed throw. The blade sailed through the air. On its final approach, it arched and imbedded itself in the ground right between number two�s legs.

Sweat trickled down his face and the slow realization came to him that he should not have messed with these two females...ever. He raised his hands above his head and retreated to the shadowy, foreboding, ruins of Midgar.

Number three would not be swayed as easily as his companions. He jumped to his feet rocketed toward Leira. He let out a holler and knocked her to the ground.

"Oof." Leira suffered a hard hit and knew the ground was not somewhere she should be for too long. She managed to get up enough energy to roll onto her left side. Her attacker got in closer to try to kick at her. Expecting this attack, Leira opened her legs so they were on either side of his and closed them like a large pair of scissors right onto his knees. Number three just become landlocked.

Yuffie ran over to Leira to offer her a hand, when number one grabbed her again. "You little twit!� he bellowed, "This'll teach you!� he hammered his head into hers and tossed her limp body to the ground. He then started for Leira.

Leira formed her lips into a sneer. She put her hands on her hips waiting for his attack.

"Are you going to just stand there?" He yelled, "Good!� With a long shout, he drew back his right arm and delivered a haymaker. Leira stepped back with her right leg and blocked with her left arm. Undaunted, her attacker kicked her in the stomach. She collapsed to the ground under the force of the blow and coughed up a little blood.

"Great on the ground again." she murmured to herself.

"Now whot ya gonna do, huh?"

"Oh, nothin' just this..."

She pushed herself on to her hands and knees and mule kicked him in the stomach then jumped to her feet. He did not fall this time; he only wobbled back a bit. This was just what she needed. She lunged at him and punched him square in the face, with a right jab that sent him crashing to the ground.

Sensing he was down for the count, she approached Yuffie, still lying unconscious. Again, the tell tale sound of someone trying to get up. She turned her head and noticed number three decided to run away.

"Hmmph." She stepped over the beaten number one and reached for Yuffie. "She's still breathing...she's a tough little girl." Leira said with slight disbelief.

"Ya think so?" Yuffie murmured, regaining some of the wind forced from her lungs.

"We've got to get back to Kalm. There might be more coming." With that, Leira helped Yuffie onto her feet and they both hobbled to the car. Once safely inside, they began to drive back to the little city.

"Do ya got the picture?" Yuffie asked as a little bit of blood began to run down her dirt-covered face.

"It's safe." Lieandra smiled and patted the picture lying across her lap.

The drive to Kalm was short but Yuffie had already fallen asleep. Leira wondered if she looked that innocent when she was Yuffie's age.

Once in the city Leira nudged the sleeping girl with her elbow and they both exited the vehicle.

"You girls look like you've had a tough time." said a red headed passerby. "You didn't meet up with the man in the black cape, did ya?" His green eyes had a thoughtful look as he spoke.

"No." muttered Yuffie, "I would have rather dealt with him any day."

The girls made their way to the inn where Leira was staying. Once inside her room Leira began assessing any injuries to herself and to Yuffie. "Here," she smiled, "this might sting a little."

She removed a little pouch from her dresser and took a green liquid filled cloth from it. The liquid smelled bitter and it felt very cold.

"What is it?"

"It's a disinfectant made out of sap from the Ancient forest. You know the one next to Cosmo Canyon."

"Cosmo Canyon," Yuffie said softly, "I've got a couple friends you've got to meet sometime."

"Maybe later. We've got to get some sleep and than we've got to get transport out of here."

"So, am I like a sidekick now?" Yuffie smiled.

"Girl, the only sidekick you're gonna get will be right out of this room tomorrow morning. I'm too tired to kick you out tonight."

That evening Leira had a dream.

"So, daughter of Shinra, your search for me continues." said a soft masculine voice.

"Who are you?" Leira saw an image of herself wearing a long white sleeveless dress. It had a plunging neckline and its hem went down past her knees. She never really cared too much for dresses; to feminine for her tastes.

"You aren't sure what you'll do once you find him?" the voice prompted.

Leira walked around. Everything around her was black and yet she could see. An image appeared a few feet ahead of her. It had its back to her, whatever it was. As she stepped closer, she began to notice more about this strange figure. It was tall and had to be at least six feet in height. It seemed to be dressed in a long black cloak that came down to its ankles. She took note of the shiny black boots that were so much like her Shinra issued ones. The hair of this...was it...yes, it was a man, came down past his thighs. It was almost a silver color, or was it white?

"Who are you?" Leira asked again.

"You don't really know who you seek, do you? What he looks like, what he sounds like, it's all unfamiliar to you." The figure started to rise off the ground a couple inches and turned slowly.

"I'm looking for Sephiroth. It's true, my boss only showed me a picture and it wasn't a very good one. But, I do know that he is a man of great power, and I do know that he's supposedly still alive." Leira stammered.

She realized how sad her situation was becoming. The only picture she saw of the man called Sephiroth was a burnt photograph of some girl identified as �Tifa Lockheart� and a tall SOLDIER with black spiky hair only identified as �Zack�. The charred left side of the picture only revealed part of a man dressed in a black cloak. The man's hair looked almost white. His seemingly effeminate features made him look young and very arrogant. Those aquamarine eyes of his could not be human, she thought after seeing the picture for the first time.

"That's your target," she heard her boss, Tseng, say, "That's Sephiroth."

"Don't you have any better pictures? This one's gotta be old."

"It's almost six years old and was salvaged after Nibelheim was burned to the ground. You remember Hojo right?" Tseng winced.

"The head of Shinra's science division? What about him?" asked Leira as she leaned over his desk.

"He burnt all of his research documents and all his specimens, after that Jenova thing came up missing. Than he just disappeared without a trace."

"So?"

"Ahh," Tseng sighed, "Sephiroth was part of Hojo's Jenova experiment. So was Sephiroth's mom, Lucrecia. She was reported missing, and presumed dead, right after Sephiroth was born. That's all we know. Hojo��

"...Was very careful about not leaving any traces of Sephiroth's existence, or his own for that matter." Leira finished.

A breeze started to blow and Leira's hair and dress started to dance in its gentle caress. She looked down at the skirt and than noticed she was not standing alone. The Shinra issue boots were now in front of her bare feet.

"Do you know that he stands before you?"

Leira looked up in surprise. "How did you...?!"

She looked into the face of the image from her picture. His long black cloak was open revealing two leather straps crisscrossed his chest, leaving his pale skin visible below. At his middle, underneath the "X" formed by the straps, was a symbol. Leira had seen that symbol before. It was a mark of SOLDIER. The other man from the picture, Zack, wore one. For that matter Leira, herself, adorned that same symbol. She was not a member of SOLDIER but her dress uniforms for the regular Shinra army and Turk Elite included such a symbol in the exact same location. She always thought it looked like a bulletproof vest. Come to think of it, she never heard of Sephiroth being a member of SOLDIER or any of those other factions. Why did no one educated her of this possibility?

He lowered himself to the ground. His green-blue Mako enhanced eyes stared into hers. She felt a coldness coming from them but at the same time a powerful attraction. His grayish locks were softly blowing in the strange breeze as he looked at her.

She felt herself start to tremble.

"Do not be afraid." he whispered reaching up with his right hand to brush strands of Lieandra's long brown hair from her face. He smiled and moved his beautifully sculpted face towards hers. She felt him wrap his arms around her. "It is you who I seek."

Still mesmerized, her eyes closed as she felt him kiss her deeply.

A whirl of emotions surrounded her. She had never expected this. His kiss was passionate. She noticed his lips were warm and somewhat forceful, too. She wanted to cry. She was face to face with the Great Sephiroth himself. There were women that would have killed for what she was experiencing just now. Rumors spread about him never taking a wife and never settling for other romantic entanglements. She felt his black-gloved hands move slowly up and down her arms. She felt the gentle caress of his long bangs across her neck. She felt weak and afraid. She felt afraid?

It was like a bolt of lightning striking her. When was she ever afraid? She was a Shinra soldier for Christ�s sake, one of the best. "No." she managed to say and stepped back tearing her away from his strangely wonderful embrace.

She threw her eyes open expecting to see him standing before her. There was nothing but empty black air. She reached out with her hands to see if she could feel him. She than noticed her hands were gloved. She looked down at her clothing. No flowing white dress. She was now wearing the uniform of her trade...her Turk uniform. The button down black shirt and blue pleated pants had more of a comforting feel, at this moment. "Same old shiny black boots." she thought to herself as she stared at her feet.

"UHHHMEGAAAAAH!� shrieked Leira as she fell out of bed. It had not occurred to her that she had been tossing in her sleep.

"We shall meet again, Lieandra,� the voice of Sephiroth echoed.

"Must've been a good sleep," Yuffie mused as she leaned over Leira, "you drooled all over your pillow."

Leira, clearly embarrassed, reached up onto the bed and grabbed her pillow. As soon as it was in her grasp, she hurled it at Yuffie, catching her in the face, and knocking her on her backside.

"So-or-ry!" Yuffie muttered, dusting off her oversized green nightshirt. "I was only trying to help."

Leira exhaled and walked over to Yuffie who had gotten up and was now lying on her bed at the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry." Leira apologized. "I had this strange dream, and, well, I learned that I really don't know as much as I thought I did about my target."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't told that much about Sephiroth to begin with. The picture I was shown was badly burned and old. I had no idea what he really looked like. Have you actually encountered him?"

Yuffie wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "I'm trying to forget."

Leira gave Yuffie a questioning glance. "He was really powerful. He probably had the strength of a hundred men. He could fly, too." Yuffie's boyish face darkened as she spoke, "He hurt us, me, and the others back at the Northern Crater where he was holed up. I never felt such a searing power before. Now, I've played around with Materia before but this power was truly out of this world. When he jolted us with that power of his, it felt like my arms and legs were being ripped from my body."

A tear fell down Yuffie's cheek. "I just wanted to die right there it hurt so bad."

Leira looked at the girl with almost the same sadness in her eyes. "Are you sure this is something that you want to involve yourself in?"

Yuffie stifled a sob and gave a wide glowing smile. "Are you crazy? Of course I'm coming!�

Leira's green eyes opened wide.

"If anything I'm going to get some kind of payback out of Sephiroth." She hammered her fist into her palm.

Leira looked down at the floor. Sensing some kind of distress Yuffie looked at Leira's withdrawn gaze. "What's wrong with you?"

"I...I...uh, am not quite sure how to say this but..." she took a deep breath, "I'm not even clear on what to do when I meet up with him..."

"What do you mean you don�t know?� Yuffie jumped to her feet. "He killed a lot of people! He slaughtered villagers and burnt their villages to the ground. You were sent to stop him...weren't you?"

Leira took a deep breath. "I was on leave when Tseng called me in. He gave me those orders one week before Sephiroth killed him. I didn't believe the rumors of Sephiroth's death after meteor. I wasn't going to believe them unless I had hard evidence in front of me. I was only told to find him and stop him. I wasn't told how."

"Where I come from, that usually means you're supposed to kill the bastard D-E-A-D anyway you can think of!� Yuffie started jumping up and down with anger.

"I know but I kind of thought that Shinra...or what's left, would want to run some tests on him to make up for all the information they lost."

"Sephiroth the lab rat! Sorry sister, I just don't see it!�

"I really don't have any ideas on how to stop him. This is all quite new to me." Leira shrugged solemnly.

"Me neither, I'm too tired and agitated to think." Yuffie said as she lay down to pull the covers over herself.

"Me, too." Leira smiled, "Me, too." She wandered back to her bed, pulled the covers over her and lay down to sleep.

Morning came and with it the promise of a fresh start. Yuffie and Leira visited the weapons shop for some knew armor than Yuffie showed Leira her favorite hang out...the materia shop.

"We have a chocobo wagon to catch in a few minutes we can't spend to much time bargaining." Leira pointed out.

"You mean we're not taking the car?" Yuffie's disappointment with the situation was obvious.

Leira shot Yuffie a broad smile. "Of course we are; I just don�t feel it necessary to put too many miles on it.�

"Where're we goin'?" Yuffie asked a little shocked.

"We're going to Junon." She said. "Kalm is such a little town I doubt that anyone has really seen too much more around here."

Yuffie tapped Leira on the shoulder as their transportation to the large cliff-side fishing village pulled its way into the gates.

The wagon was a large metal platform, with eight big red wheels, that could fit at least three of Leira's cars on its back. A crew of twelve large men and at least thirty tall, yellow chocobos powered the cart. After a large crane hoisted the car onto the rear platform, the girls soon followed.

"Umm...Can I ask you a question?" Yuffie asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"You're single, right?"

Leira grimaced, "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

Yuffie smiled devilishly, "You'll see." She said.

The trip to the bustling cliff-side fishing village known as Junon was rather quiet, save for the constant "Wark, wark" sound that the giant yellow birds made.

Instead of heading, back in the direction of Midgar the cart was supposed to link up with a ferry located in the northwestern Kalm lands. Once on this ferry they would enter Junon through its harbor. It was a long way but Leira really wanted to do some sight seeing.

The chocobo cart stopped and the girls departed.

"Take care ladies." waved two of the cart drivers.

The girls smiled and made their way to the docks. This area had been built almost a year after meteor hit. It was made of scrap metal salvaged from Midgar. The first year was the toughest, for people that lived in the once legendary city. The majority of the people that lived and worked in Midgar were wealthy and influential. When the catastrophe from the skies known as meteor hit, those that would survive could not function and abandoned the life they once had. With a bleak financial outlook for the future, jobs were scarce as people tried to build a new life for themselves.

The ferry port, Gelnika, was a testament to the power of the human heart and mind and the financial wealth of one of the last remaining Shinra higher ups. His name was Reeve. He originally was in charge of the people living in the clouds and the people who lived in the slums by the president of Shinra, Inc himself. He cared very much for his people and worked to ensure both sides received electricity, food, and shelter, and listened to any other concerns that they might voice. His port project gave jobs to those who needed them.

"Why did you want to know if I was single?" Leira asked.

"We're heading to Junon, they're are tons of eligible guys just waiting for a gal like you," she smiled, "and miss Yuffie here, will be the one to set you up real good."

"I'm not out here to find a date, Yuffie. I have a mission that I'm supposed to complete" Leira blushed.

The girls boarded the ferry to Junon. This time they were forced to fight through a crowd of people. Junon was a very popular city even back before meteor threatened to destroy all life on the planet. The vessel docked at the port was made of steel. In it's early days it carried the Shinra army and tons of civilians. It made regular trips to the foreign land of Wutai, vacation resorts like Costa del Sol, Junon, and just recently the Gold Saucer. Leira figured the majority of people were there to see the Gold Saucer. Gambling was at an all time high and no one could deny this theme park and resort was the best way to tempt fate.

Leira and Yuffie made their way to the railing to look out at the ocean. The reflection of the sun on the water's surface was beautiful but it was beginning to hurt Leira's eyes. She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. She than pushed her hair back to allow for a comfortable fit as she moved the thin wire framed lenses to rest on her face.

Yuffie watched Leira for a moment. The little girl noticed a kind of sadness appear in Leira's usually stern face. She figured it might be the real reason for her companion to hide the most expressive part of the human anatomy, her eyes. When she was younger, her father always told her the eyes were a window to the soul. She wanted to reveal a secret to her new friend but felt, for some reason, this was not the time or place. She decided to let her newfound guilt and Leira's sadness linger for a little while longer.

"Looks like Fort Condor found a new occupant." Leira pointed out. Fort Condor was a Shinra reactor that attracted the most unusual of visitors. Large condors would visit it to lay their eggs on top of it as a means to incubate them. Shinra fought many battles with the reactor workers in order to recover a special type of materia. The Shinra lost the battles and ever since, the long abandoned reactor became a sanctuary for the rare and wonderful birds.

"Yeah." Yuffie said stretching out her arms, "Looks like the condors are here to stay."

The boat rocked gently and Yuffie suddenly felt an odd feeling overcome her. It struck her, but not before it struck Leira.

Lieandra, noticing that something seemed to be wrong, leaned in to offer some kind of help to her companion who seemed to be getting...

"BLEEEAAGH!� Yuffie's complexion grew pale and she vomited on Leira. The oozy brown "yuck" that had been the little Ninja's lunch was now decorating Leira's uniform.

"Seasick, huh?" Leira said gazing down at the mess. "That's okay, I guess. I'll just have to go below deck and pick out a change of clothing."

"Umph, sorry." Yuffie blushed trying to regain her composure.

Leira turned and walked down the ramp leading to the baggage area. "No place to change here." she thought to herself as she found her luggage and began to rifle through it. She did not just carry around clothes; she made it a point to carry around assorted weapons, from guns, to knives and swords. On occasion, she carried different types of small explosives with her on her travels. It was a habit she picked up from being a Turk Elite and obtaining a bounty hunter like status.

Leira continued to leaf through her belongings. "Okay, this'll do." she said after finding a new change of clothes. She now needed a place to change. After scanning the area her eyes rested upon the engine room. She walked towards the door and turned the knob. Opening the door slowly, she looked around for any signs of life.

"No one here." she concluded.

There were plenty of gadgets and dials and other electrical equipment in this room. If she were to guard this vessel, the engine house would have been one of the rooms she would have spent the most time protecting. She could not believe there was no one around. "Oh, well." she sighed and removed her vomit soaked clothing. Since the barracks were not set up to separate the differences in gender, she was used to changing clothes in front of her fellow soldiers. Their only purpose was to house the soldiers in the Shinra army. Modesty was not a strong ideal for Leira but for some reason being caught in front of tourists while stripping off her clothing was not a very pleasant thought for her to entertain.

After changing outfits, Leira heard a knock at the door. "Yo, Leira...You in there." Yuffie shouted.

She opened the door slowly. "You trying to wake the dead?" she whispered. "I'll bet you half the ship heard you."

Yuffie smiled and punched her arm playfully. "We're there!� she said excitedly. "I borrowed someone's phone and made a call to a friend of mine."

"May I ask, who?"

Yuffie smiled broadly at her. "You'll see. He's single too."

"Who?"

"God, can you believe it, he's twenty four years old and hasn't had a date in three years?"

"Yuffie..."

The little Ninja was already on a roll, "He's been living in Junon just brooding over the loss of his last girlfriend, Aeris."

"Aeris?" whispered Leira.

"She was a flower girl from the slums back in Midgar. He really dug her, too. It was a shame when she died. I kinda liked her, too. I thought they would have made a cute couple. I could just see little spiky headed kids running all over the place..."

"Will you stop?!" Leira shouted to try to quiet the little one.

Yuffie stepped back. "I...I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You just haven't told me who we're meeting."

"Oh, it's a surprise." she said plainly looking at the confusion starting to form on Leira's face. She turned and headed out the door. The little Ninja paused in her steps and looked back at Leira. "Oh, by the way, nice outfit." she winked and continued on her way to the upper deck.

"Junon harbor!" shouted one of the vessels crew as the ship began to enter Junon port. "Now boarding for the Gold Saucer."

Leira and Yuffie disembarked while hundreds of people began to board.

The small group of tourists not going to the Gold Saucer made their way down the boarding ramp and entered a small area where they would receive their baggage and any other items. They watched with envy as another crane lowered Leira�s Hightime to the ground.

"Thompson and Kisaragi, your vehicle is waiting." Leira and Yuffie walked over to the vehicle and climbed in.

The boat docked on the outskirts of the city. Busses lined up to provide transportation to Junon�s many visitors.

It was not much of a drive from the dock to the city. Yuffie wished it had been longer. The car rode smooth and the soft leather seats were quite comfortable. Yuffie swore that she could close her eyes and drift off to sleep.

"Here we are." Leira said as they pulled into the little fishing village underneath the large cliff-side city. She looked around as she exited the vehicle. "Didn't you say someone was supposed to meet us here?"

Yuffie got out and stared in disbelief. "I thought he'd be here. I...never mind." she stopped. "There he is!"

The little girl pointed over to a young man with spiky blonde hair. He seemed thin and wiry. He was wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue shorts. The young man was rather engrossed with a small bed of yellow flowers. "Don't mind the flowers,� she said apologetically. "It's just something he's been doing to keep the memory of his last girl alive."

Leira suddenly could not take the brightness of the sun. The reflection of the sunlight bouncing off the ocean was beautiful but it was murder on her eyes. She leaned into the car to rummage around for her sunglasses. For a town built underneath a bustling city the sun was very bright.

"Yo, Cloud." Yuffie shouted jumping up and down waving her arms excitedly. "Cloud, over here!"

The blonde haired boy looked up from his work to see where the shouting was coming from. He pushed himself to his feet. A smile seemed to cross his lips as he started to dust his hands off onto his shirt. He spotted Yuffie and waved back at her.

"I'm going on ahead. I'll wait for you over there." Yuffie ran down to Cloud and embraced him. She pushed her head into his chest. "It's been a long time."

"It has." he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, Yuffie." he said slowly. "Who did you want me to meet?"

Yuffie looked up and at him than looked back in the direction of the car. "She was over near the car,� she murmured. Just as she started to open her mouth to yell for Leira, the Turk emerged from the vehicle.

With sunglasses on her face, Leira walked forward a little than stopped, eyeing the young boy. "Oh, my god." she murmured quietly.

Cloud stared at her. This woman was beautiful. She had long wavy hair that went down to the small of her back. She wore a little white shirt that exposed her midsection and a black jacket over her shirt.

He looked her up and down noticing the little black mini skirt she wore and her black knee high boots with long stiletto heels.

Leira slowly started to remove her jacket. She pulled her left arm out of its sleeve than the right. The shirt was rather revealing. It had straps instead of sleeves and just barely covered the modest curves of her bust-line.

"Tifa?!" Cloud murmured.

Yuffie smiled looking up at Cloud. "No. Cloud, meet Leira."

Cloud looked down into Yuffie's gaze with a look of confusion on his face. "Leira?"

"That's me." Leira removed her sunglasses.

Cloud shook his head in disbelief. He had seen this woman before. Where was it he first met her? He wondered. The memories of his days in SOLDIER suddenly came flooding back to him. How could he forget her?

"Mom, is that you?"

"Mom?" Yuffie blurted out, slapping her hands over her face. "I thought you told me your mom was..."

Leira slapped the back of Yuffie's head. She put her face next to the girl's. "She is, and he knows that."

"Strife?" the Elite paused. "You've grown. Look at you."

"After all these years," Cloud moving to embrace the woman who supported him through his first years in the Shinra military, "you're still calling me by my last name."

Leira smiled and held him close to her. This boy was very much like a son to her in the early days before she became one of the Elite. It reminded her of how small the world really was.

"I can't believe you guys know each other." Yuffie said still in shock.

"God, you were only sixteen when you entered into the army. �Look at those Mako eyes." Leira whispered to him. "Still got the hat hair,� she said playfully.

"Hey,� he returned, "Have you been doing any more centerfold shots?"

Leira blushed and grabbed him in a front headlock. "Shhh." she said letting go with her right hand to gently pound the back of his head.

Yuffie was still in shock. "You guys know each other?" was all she could say for the moment.

"Cloud...Cloud who's this?" inquired a small voice.

Leira let go of the spiky headed boy and turned to look at the owner of the voice. A little girl, maybe a couple years younger than Yuffie stood before her.

This girl had a deep tan and dark brown hair.

"Priscilla, I'd like you to meet one of my friends back from my army days."

The girl turned pale. "You...How dare you bring in a Shinra." she spat.

Cloud began to get upset. "Damn it. She's a friend of mine. I've known her for a long time..."

"Next thing you're going to tell me she's a Turk!" Priscilla became angrier.

"Actually�� was all Leira had the time to say in her defense.

"I wanted to marry you of all people, Cloud Strife. Now I see that will not ever happen. No, now you're content on bringing in Shinra FLOOZIES!" With that, Priscilla turned on her heels and headed for a small house located just inches from the cliff wall.

"What was that about?" Leira asked slowly. "Was that your fianc�?"

Cloud shook his head. "No. She wished she were though." He paused and looked over at the flowers. "No. Back when we came here on the trail of Sephiroth, Priscilla got caught up in one of our battles. She almost drowned. I kind of saved her life, now she thinks that because I gave her CPR we're to be married."

"I'm sorry, kid." Leira said apologetically.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders. "Yuffie, could you go and explain things to Priscilla. I've got some catching up to do."

"Right-o." Yuffie turned and made her way towards the house that Priscilla ran off to.

Cloud smiled at Leira. "Let's go down to the beach. The residents of Junon did a great job cleaning up the majority of the pollution here. Reeve really got them motivated."

"Is Reeve here?"

"No. He went over to Costa del Sol last week. Everybody here figured he needed a vacation." Cloud replied.

The two of them made their way to the solid granite steps leading down to the beach. Once at the beach Leira removed her military issue boots.

"You really don't know how good it is to see you." Cloud sat down on a rock sticking out a few feet above the ocean.

"It's good to see you, Cloud,� she said with a distant smile.

"You called me by name." Cloud yelped with mock surprise.

Leira sat down next to him and smiled. "I need you to help me."

"That's it huh? Call me by my name when you need something." Cloud smiled. He edged his way over to Leira and put his head against her shoulder. "What's up, mom?"

Leira breathed in deep. "Before he died, Tseng gave me a mission."

Cloud straightened up. "What mission was that?"

"He wanted me to find someone."

"Who?" He asked.

Leira looked away from him. She knew it was going to be hard for Cloud to hear and understand what she was about to say. It was almost eight years ago to the day when her target went on a tirade and burned down the boy's hometown. His real mother was one of the lives claimed that day. "I'm looking for Sephiroth. I was hired to find him and stop him."

Cloud closed his blue eyes and shook his head. "If I told you he was dead, would you believe me?"

Leira looked at him for a moment and turned her gaze to the ocean. "No." she said finally.

Cloud was used to this. Once she had her mind on something, it would only take strong evidence to make her believe anything else. Cloud had no proof the man called Sephiroth was dead. He was the one who finished him off but, for some odd reason, he was unsure of Sephiroth's death. "True evil never dies." He rested his head on Leira's shoulder again. "I can feel him. I know he's still alive. I've been trying to ignore my feelings for a while now."

"I'm sorry, Cloud. If you're able, I would like your help in finding him."

"I can't believe everything Aeris did was for nothing. Holy couldn't stop him. She died at his hands for nothing." Cloud stood. "We could have had a future together and he took it all away. I'll do anything I can to make sure he pays for what he did to us and for what he did to the planet."

Leira looked down at her knees. She folded her hands in front of her. She knew Cloud for almost five years, he was like a son to her. Why was she hurt by the feelings he had for Aeris. "She was important to you. It's only natural you feel this way."

Cloud looked down at her. He noticed Leira�s knees pulled up into her chest with her face buried in her arms. "You okay?"

Leira looked up into his deep blue eyes and nodded.

"If we're going to be looking for Sephiroth we will definitely need help. The rest of the guys are scattered around the world but we've been keeping in touch. Some of the gang I haven't heard from in a couple years. It'll be good to see them again."

Leira watched as Cloud sat back down next to her. "How do you think they'll feel about seeing a Turk?"

A grin crossed Cloud's face. "Shinra's gone and you're still a Turk?"

"Until the mission's done that's all I can be,� she straightened out her legs.

Cloud Strife looked at her for a couple seconds. The smile on his face never faded as he rested his head on her knees. "I know."

"Hey guys!" Yuffie shouted, "Priscilla's still mad but if she sees you guys like that she's going to be out for blood."

The spiky haired boy got up and smiled. He extended his hand to Leira to help her up off the ground.

"What did you guys do?" Yuffie whispered into Leira's ear.

Leira blushed and turned to walk up the steps ahead of the others.

"Couldn't you just get lost in those green eyes?" the young ninja turned to look at Cloud.

The boy stood for a moment pondering her words. "Yuffie,� he said, "I don't think I will ever be the right one for her." with that he turned and made his way up the steps after the Turk Elite.

"You've just got to try harder!" she yelled after Cloud. "Hey-wait for me."

Leira, Cloud and Yuffie entered Priscilla's house. Ever since he saved her life, Priscilla had always welcomed Cloud into her home. His friends were welcome also, depending on who they were.

"Listen,� Priscilla, said to Leira, "I'm sorry about earlier. I just have a lot of things to hate your kind for. Yuffie told me that you�re just wearing those clothes because you�ve got a job to do and you�re sticking to it until it�s done. I understand that. I also understand that you used to live here, too." she paused to look at Cloud. "I'm going to be nice to you even though you are Shinra and you lived in the city above us."

Leira's eyes narrowed at the girl.

"Priscilla," Cloud noticed Leira's expression. "She's done nothing to you yet. I wouldn't push her anymore."

"Sorry, Cloud." the girl said quietly. "What's your mission anyway?" she directed to Leira.

"I'm looking for Sephiroth. I�ve been inspecting the Midgar area and following some other possible leads to him. Everything's come up bleak in terms of..."

"That's before I found her." Yuffie butted in.

Cloud looked around the room than back at Priscilla. "I'm in on this, too,� he said choosing his words carefully. "Yuffie, Leira and I will be leaving tomorrow."

"Where will you be going?" the girl asked in surprise.

"I'm pretty sure we'll find him in one of the places that he has the most ties to. I have a feeling that we may find him in Nibelheim."

"You can't be serious." Leira said sharply. "That's all the more reason for you not to go, Cloud!"

The ex-SOLDIER stood up and put his hands on the table. "Thanks, mom, but it only makes sense for him to be there. I also think it would be good to start getting the troops together. We don't know if Sephiroth�s been weakened any, since we last saw him. It's best for us not to take any chances."

That night the group prepared to catch a ferry the next morning. To Yuffie's pleasure, the car was going to travel, too. They would sail to Costa del Sol and drive to the sacred mountainside village of Cosmo Canyon. Once there, Cloud hoped he would be able to meet up with two more of his friends.
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Final Fantasy VII: Awakening