"Strife Delivery Service, this is Tifa."

Another day, another set of orders for Cloud Strife to handle once he finished his rounds for the day. It's been close to a year since the incident with Deepground and the Omega Weapon, and for the most part things have settled down in the world again. Reeve Tuesti and the World Regenesis Organization had been busy cleaning up the many messes that the Shinra Electric Power Company had left in their wake both prior to and after Meteorfall. Thanks to the efforts from the WRO (with help from former members of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE), the Planet had been steadily repairing the damage caused to it by Shinra and the Mako Reactors.

For Tifa Lockhart, life went on much as it always had after she and her friends banded together to save the planet four years ago. She still managed the Seventh Heaven Bar and Restaurant in the city of Edge, built after the destruction of Midgar. Since Meteorfall, it seemed as if the battles never ended. First, the assault of Geostigma and the Remnants; then the Omega incident…

Still, between Tifa's bar and Cloud's deliveries, the two had managed to create a comfortable life for themselves and the children in their care. Not only that, but lately Cloud has been smiling more and spending more time at home...a difference that Tifa was very pleased with. Cloud still had problems expressing his feelings, but Tifa figured that would come in time. For now, Marlene and Denzel were happy, and so was she.

Tifa finished writing down the delivery details and headed back behind the bar to clean up the shot glasses. Business was a bit slow today, and with Marlene and Denzel still at school, the Seventh Heaven was unusually quiet. Tifa considered turning on the radio to try and break the silence; but before she could flip the switch, the familiar sound of Fenrir's engine echoed in the distance.

Tifa's heart skipped a bit of a beat. With the number of deliveries that Cloud had today, he shouldn't have been home until much later. Did something happen on today's run? Was Cloud injured in a fight with some monsters?

"Stop thinking like that, Tifa," she told herself. "Cloud's too strong to get blindsided by some dumb animals. It's probably nothing…"

Still, once Cloud pulled up in front of the bar and Tifa saw him alive and well, she breathed a sigh of relief. Cloud dismounted Fenrir and removed his goggles like he always did, and did that little wave of his as he walked into the bar.

"Cloud!" Tifa said as she rushed over to hug him. "What are you doing here? I thought you had deliveries all day!"

Cloud was a little shocked with Tifa's reaction, but he placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled a little. "Hey, Tifa. Sorry. My deliveries didn't take as long as I thought they would. I finished early."

Tifa released Cloud and gave him a light smack on the head. "Hey, what's this 'Sorry' crap? It's just that you never finish early. You're either making deliveries or killing monsters for spoils."

"Hmm, there were no monsters worth killing today. So, I finished up my last delivery to the Chocobo Ranch and decided to come home early…is that a problem?"

"No, no!" Tifa replied while shaking her head. "It's…nice having you home. Just didn't expect it. The kids'll be happy to see you when school lets out."

Cloud gave a little smile and grunted like he always did. Tifa chuckled a little as Cloud sat down to go over the new deliveries for tomorrow as Tifa poured him a drink of Corel wine. "So, how's Goldie holding up?"

"As happy as a chocobo gets. I think he's a little jealous of Fenrir," Cloud answered.

"Well, can you blame him?" Tifa playfully retorted. "You raised that chocobo, raced him to a championship in the Gold Saucer, and rode him for miles in the ocean for that materia on Round Island. Then all of a sudden, you trade him in for a large, noisy, mechanical replacement. If I were Goldie, I'd be jealous too!"

Cloud made what seemed like a laugh disguised as a grunt as he continued flipping through the orders. As he finished his drink, his cell phone started ringing. Cloud looked at the caller ID with a confused look on his face as Tifa asked, "Who's that?"

Cloud opened the phone as he replied, "It's Vincent. Hey, what's up?"

Vincent, in his usual cool and somber way, answered, "Cloud, I have a problem…"

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The quaint village of Nibelheim had been a ghost town ever since the fall of Shinra. The elaborate charade that Shinra had spent millions of Gil to construct was no longer needed since the events of the Nibelheim Fire became public knowledge after Meteorfall, and thus the former Shinra employees left the rebuilt town to return to their own homes and restart their own lives. Save for the enigmatic and reclusive Vincent Valentine, the only people who come to Nibelheim those days were only passing through the Nibel Mountain Pass.

"That makes this place perfect for our Collective," thought the strange man in the tattered grey overcoat. His fingers fidgeted with his glasses as he observed his comrades moving equipment, weapons, and various other supplies into the abandoned houses. The man in the glasses looked over his clipboard and continued taking inventory and monitoring the action when one of his comrades ran up to him.

"Master Cyrus! It seems that our earlier intelligence was indeed correct. The Shinra employees who masqueraded as this town's population have all vacated. In addition, there is a large quantity of Shinra technology and supplies that seem to be in working order. It appears that the residents did not feel the need to take the tech with them when they left."

"Very good, Nimuria…see if we can't repurpose that technology and use it in our operations. Before that, make sure our comrades have everything set up. I have a feeling we'll be setting up shop here for quite a while."

"Yes, sir!" Nimuria said with a bow as she ran off to supervise the set-up of an armory in the old weapon shop. The man called Cyrus smiled in satisfaction at his first officer's dedication and capability. As he was admiring her striking silhouette and her long, auburn-colored hair, another of his lieutenants walked up to deliver his report.

"I take it your search of Shinra Manor is complete, Atlas," Cyrus stated, even though he knew what the answer was.

The hulking monolith called Atlas replied, "It is. And as we expected, the original manuscripts detailing the Jenova Project as well as the various 'side projects' conducted in Nibelheim are all accounted for in the cellar. Our comrades have cleared the mansion of all monsters and have started repairing the gates and walls to keep them out."

"And the red-cloaked specter?"

"He was nowhere to be found. But we found evidence suggesting he has been residing in the manor recently. If he returns…"

Cyrus cut him off with a wave of his hand. "If he returns, we will deal with him. For now, concentrate on fortifying our defenses. The last thing any of us needs is unwanted intrusions from the local wildlife. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, master," Atlas answered as he lumbered back in the direction of Shinra Manor. Cyrus readjusted his glasses as he continued to look over the hustle and bustle of his companions. He wryly smiled as he felt the warm glow of the morning sun.

"Oh, yes. This place will do quite nicely."

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