Final Fantasy VII 100 Word Challenge

Title: New Beginnings / Promised Lands
Characters: Various
Team: AVALANCHE
Rating: Safe for Work
Word Count: 11 x 100 words (1100 words total)
Notes: Not all new beginnings are Promised Lands, but they’re all a step on the journey.

Cloud Strife
He'd sat with Reeve and Cid for a long time, working over designs and plans. They'd figured out how to build it. It took time - and a lot of chasing around on chocobo to get parts, as well as selling off a couple of the mastered "All" materia they had to cover costs. Now it was finished.

His first ride on Fenrir was true love for Cloud. Racing faster than even the best gold chocobo, on a bike only he could control... this was all his. Nothing of Zack in there, nothing of Sephiroth. It was all Cloud Strife.

Tifa Lockhart
It had been inevitable. She'd known what she wanted, known what she needed, and she'd started setting up the business almost before she knew what was happening. But today, they moved her bar into a custom-built location, with a proper countertop, proper taps, proper plumbing - not a series of tumbledown shacks with trestle tables, not buckets and basins dipped out of wells.

When Cloud brought her an armful of lilies from Aerith's church, reminding her of a long-ago dream of decorating the whole shop with flowers, she'd almost cried at his thoughtfulness. It was the right touch, she agreed.

Barret Wallace
He'd headed back to Corel, in the end, after Tifa had promised to keep an eye on Marlene for him. Edge would need a power supply, and Barret had a feeling about the old mines. He'd headed into the depths; passed his good hand over the walls, remembering years of previous excavations; kept going until he'd reached the rock face that defeated the miners years ago. Then he drew up his new prosthetic - a hammer drill, strong enough to crack granite.

Finding the seam he just knew was in there was enough to bring a grin to his face.

Cid and Shera Highwind
"Shera! Bring me some godsdamn tea, okay?"

Shera Highwind (married three days ago) smiled, and headed out to the kitchen. Cid had definitely turned a new leaf. He was sitting at his drafting table, drawing up plans for the biggest and fastest airship the world had ever seen. She'd shooed him there herself - she knew Cid well; two days of honeymoon was the most she was going to get out of him. Besides, this work was more play for both of them. He'd handed her the job of designing engines, saying she was the best person to do it.

Nanaki
Nanaki lay with his head on his forepaws, listening to the gabble above him. The question of what was to be used to power Edge was a fraught one. On the one hand, after seeing the Lifestream stretching out to catch and destroy the meteor, people agreed mako power was likely a Bad Idea. On the other... people had a lot of trouble getting their heads around other ideas. Nanaki had said what was used in Cosmo Canyon and the discussion exploded.

He glanced upward at Reeve. "I can ask our engineers to call yours, if you'd like?" Nanaki offered.

Reeve Tuesti
Midgar had been a triumph. But a flawed one, built forever on exploitation and division. Now, with Midgar in ruins (not all of it, and there was a part of him which was somewhat proud about the bits still standing, too) there was a chance to build something new from the ruins - something better. A place which wasn't built on the idea of demonstrating domination over the world, or creating a playground for the wealthy and well-to-do. A city which functioned.

Reeve couldn't wait to get his teeth into some of the problems which were bound to come up.

Yuffie Kisaragi
She'd returned to Wutai after the dust settled. Cloud had given her a gold chocobo - "start a new flock of your own", he'd told her. Everyone had donated the materia they weren't going to be using again - the only one who'd kept any was Cloud. That mastered Enemy Skill materia could be ... borrowed when she next visited. She'd clear out the ones they'd left behind in Del Sol, because finders keepers. All in all, not a bad haul to be returning home with. Now she just had to decide what she was going to do with herself…

Vincent Valentine
He'd returned to Nibelheim, to the crypt below the manor, but the idea of contemplating his sins didn't appeal any more. He was... restless. He'd wound up heading over the mountains to Rocket Town, visiting with Cid, who seemed happy in his marriage to Shera, busy setting up the scaffolding for the construction of his new airship. Down to Corel, where Barret was busy chivvying the populace into being coal miners again; across to Edge, where Cloud was running a delivery business out of Tifa's bar. He considered going to visit Nanaki in Cosmo Canyon. Reeve offered him a job.

Rufus Shinra
Rufus Shinra woke in a hospital bed in Junon. The doctors weren’t overwhelmingly positive about his chances – shattered bones, spinal nerve damage, his right eye lost to a stray shard of concrete, organ failure which meant he would be swallowing a cocktail of medications for the rest of his life, and a long, hard road to rehabilitation in front of him. Oh, and Midgar was gone – the Meteor had crushed it completely - the Shinra Electric Power Company was shattered, and the only one of the board who’d survived was Reeve Tuesti. Some days it didn’t pay to wake up.

Tseng of the Turks
When they’d brought Rufus Shinra in, Tseng had asked to move his bed next to Shinra’s. He was recuperating from the damage caused by Sephiroth (and Strife’s gang’s well-intentioned efforts in patching him up – they’d poured a couple of potions onto him, which fixed the slashing damage from Masamune, but hadn’t prevented septicaemia). As the last remnants of the Turks arrived – Reno, Rude, and Elena had escaped the worst of the damage from Meteor, but the rest had been in the building when the Weapon had fired – he made plans for the future. All was not lost. The Turks survived.

Aerith Gainsborough
She hadn’t expected this, not at all. Living on in the Lifestream was … well, it wasn’t like anything she’d experienced before, that was a fact. She’d learned a lot from her ancestors, and from the Planet itself, some of it surprising. When the Masamune had passed through her, she’d despaired, thinking the Cetra were gone forever. But the Planet told her otherwise. “The Cetra travel the Planet, speak with the Planet, and find their Promised Land, a land of supreme happiness.” Watching from the Lifestream as her friends each find their Promised Lands, Aerith realises she’s found her own.

Title: Through Other People’s Eyes
Characters: Various
Team: AVALANCHE
Rating: Safe for Work, occasional swearing.
Word Count: 12 pieces x 100 words each (1200 words total)
Notes: A series of snapshots of Barret Wallace from the perspective of other people in the story.

Tseng of the Turks

The destruction of Corel was a mistake. In the aftermath of the loss of Sephiroth and Fair at Nibelheim, the Shinra corporation tested other board members in command roles to spread the leadership load of the SOLDIER corps. Scarlet, clearly, failed. Not only did she not root out the AVALANCHE partisans in Corel, she turned one of our strongest supporters in the region into the leader of a new branch of AVALANCHE. Wallace was surprisingly effective in the role, though we could find no connection between Wallace and the previous leaders of AVALANCHE. His true triumph was in recruiting Strife.

Reno of the Turks

Wallace? Oh yeah, big guy with the gun arm. Yeah, we came up against each other a couple times. These days he's driving the boss potty, what with his oil wells and coal mines and such - he's the go-to guy for petrochemicals, and with the whole mako reactors killin' the planet thing bein' all problematic these days, Wallace is in with a good spot there. But rumour’s we're startin' to hear news from Cosmo Canyon - those petrochemicals Wallace is so keen on are just as bad for the planet as mako power was, from the sound of it.

Reeve Tuesti/Cait Sith

Barret Wallace is a surprisingly intelligent person beneath the bluster and the mannerisms. His background is as a coal miner from Corel, so he doesn't have a high level of education, or a lot of social graces - he grew up in a mining town, and he's always going to be more comfortable in a dive bar rather than a fancy restaurant or a corporate office. But he's astute beneath the bluster, and he cares about his friends in a lot of ways. He was the one who suggested Cloud start a delivery business, you know. He cares about people.

Cid Highwind

Barret? He's an okay fucker, for a Corellian coal miner. Knows his way around a toolbox, and he's pretty handy for a guy with only the one working arm for fine stuff. Well, it used to be the one working arm - Reeve gave him the latest one with the multi-guns and stuff after everything settled, and he’s got a lot more fine motor capacity now. Looks cool, too. He's pretty devoted to that girl of his, spends all his time making sure she's safe and not wanting for anything. Yeah, I'd say he's a good guy. Likes his beer.

Cloud Strife

We didn't get on at first. He was too loud and aggressive, I was too fucked up. We get along better now. I think it was things like seeing him working on some of his prosthetics - did you know he made the Atomic Scissors out of bits and pieces of Sweepers we'd picked up on the way out of Midgar? Plus he really does care about Marlene, despite appearances - I mean, you wouldn't believe it given he's leaving her with Tifa a lot of the time, and the way he left her with Elmyra. He's a good guy.

Vincent Valentine

He's the polar opposite of what I am - loud, boisterous, un-subtle, unsophisticated. He has some leadership ability, but Cloud, Tifa and Cid are much better at providing direction than he is. He's a much better sergeant than he is a captain - more skilled at dealing with the practical side of things than coping with the subtleties of leadership. He was the one who dealt with the business of setting up the campsite while we were travelling. He'd be the one who pointed out - usually to Cloud - it was time to stop for the night as well.

Yuffie Kisaragi

He's loud, and he blusters, and he swears a lot - different ones to Cid, but they're still fun to piss off the more stuffy courtiers here! He's good with his hands - I know Cloudy toldja he made the Atomic Scissors, but he made the rest of his prosthetics himself too - all that work just with one hand to do it! Oh, and he's the only person Cait Sith trusts to do repairs on him other than Reeve. Everyone says what a wonderful Dad he is, so you know, there's that, although I'd double-check with Marlene about it.

Red XIII/Nanaki

He has a big heart, and a big mouth to go with it. He's unrefined and coarse. He swears almost as much as Cid. When he drinks, he drinks too much. He always smells of oil - either from the oil wells he's built, or the machinery he works with, or the prosthetics he's wearing. Below that, he smells of dust and sweat - he'll always be much happier doing than thinking. He's very accepting of others, once you get past his barriers. Getting past them is easy enough - all you have to do is be in his company.

Tifa Lockhart

He's loud; loud enough to be heard over the top of a bar full of happy people. He's stubborn; he won't back down no matter what the odds against him. He has all the subtlety of a brick through a window, and all the guile of a small child - you always know exactly where you stand with him, and surprisingly often it's with him backing you up all the way. He's accepting of a lot of things, and willing to support those he cares about. He loves Marlene – really loves her – and he’s willing to do anything for her.

Elmyra Gainsborough

I've only met him a few times, and spoken to him on the PHS. He called regularly while they were off chasing across the Planet. He was the one who let me know about Aerith - Strife was too broken up, he said. But he abandoned his daughter with a stranger - he didn't know me at all when he left Marlene with me after the collapse of the Sector Seven plate. I can't stop judging him for that. I know Marlene is as much his daughter as Aerith was mine... but doesn't that give me the right to judge?

Denzel

Barret is Marlene's Daddy. Or at least, that's what everyone says. He doesn't visit much - he's always off somewhere building stuff. Cloud may not be my Dad, but at least he's there. I see Cloud every day when he's not on one of his deliveries, and he's only gone for a night or two at the most. Not months at a time, like Marlene's Daddy. He's nice when he visits - he always brings something for Marlene, and me as well. But I think Marlene would prefer to see her Daddy rather than just having him getting her gifts.

Marlene Wallace

I never see Daddy. When I was little, he was off with Avalanche, and leaving me with Tifa. Then he left me with Aunty Elmyra when he went after Sephiroth. Now I'm back with Tifa again. I see more of Cloud than I do of Daddy. At least Cloud comes back here when he's finished deliveries now. Daddy only visits once every few months. He says he's doing all this to make me happy, but I'd be happier just seeing him more than three or four times a year. He calls me on the PHS, but it's not the same.

Title: Bureaucratic Revenge
Characters: General Sephiroth, Professor Hojo, Original Female Character (Nesa Conway)
Team: SOLDIER (of course!)
Word Count: 100
Series: Fits into the Nesa-verse (any point after Shooting Fish In A Barrel)
Author's Notes: A condensation of what started out as a much longer piece.

General Sephiroth walked in from the meeting, and very calmly and deliberately closed his office door. Given his expression said he'd prefer to slam it, Nesa Conway made a note in her diary and cleared his appointments.

She made one phone call. Over the next three days, while the General was out of the office hunting monsters, she had morning coffee with a young up-and-comer from Quality Assurance, lunch with a keen blue-flamer from Accounts, and an afternoon tea with an ambitious young woman from Human Resources.

Professor Hojo didn't see the top of his desk for another three months.