Blue Destiny

After the long meal, Shingo, Usagi, and Cloud left the house much to the reluctance of Usagi's parents. Stepping into the afternoon sun, they walked together to the well and scaled the structure, and together they sat in an amicable silence strangely reminiscent of their childhood days. Although it was only a couple of years ago they shared each other's company, they had all grown to the point that those days seemed a lifetime ago. Little did they know how carefree the days in the Nibelhelm that they knew would be.

"When are you going to see your mom?" Usagi asked Cloud looking at her feet as she swung them back and forth over the edge of the well.

The boy did not reply for a moment running his hand through his hair. "I don't know. Some time."

Turning to look at the hesitant Shinra Guard, Usagi frowned. "You should see her soon. She'll be so happy to see you."

Shingo did not join the conversation. It was something they had spoken about as soon as they had known they were assigned on the mission to Nibelhelm. Shingo had eagerly sent out a letter to his sister, but Cloud, more reserved after failing to join SOLDIER, was uncertain about returning to his hometown. Finally, Cloud let out a small sigh.

"I should see her," he said gripping his helmet with his right hand. The anonymity of being a Shinra Guard in the town brought him reassurance. Simply sitting atop the well in daylight made him uncomfortable as though it pointed out to the world his shortcomings in his inability to join SOLDIER, but he did not voice his concerns to the younger girl. Although he was incredibly close to Shingo, telling his friend made his fears more apparent and real rather than something nearly imaginary that he did not truly have to confront.

The siblings both fixed their attention on the boy with frowns pressed to their lips. To them, even contemplating not visiting home was unthinkable. In her mind, Usagi thought of how she would not speak to her brother if he were to come to Nibelhelm without visiting, and to Shingo, the idea of not seeing his family was inconceivable. Under their scrutinizing gazes, Cloud finally stood sliding his helmet over his head. "Fine," he said with little enthusiasm and slight hint of bitter resignation. "I'll see you at the inn."

With that, he scaled down the well alone and disappeared. After a moment, Usagi turned her attention to her brother. "When do you leave?"

Running a hand through his disheveled hair, Shingo replied, "We leave early in the morning to investigate the reactor. I guess that'll take the majority of the day. I guess either Zack or Sephiroth will decide what to do from there."

The girl nodded slowly resting her head on her hand as she surveyed the town in the afternoon light. "How long will you be home?" she asked hesitantly. Although she new that her brother would not be in the town long, she wished that he could stay longer or perhaps never leave.

Shingo shrugged, "A couple of days."

After a short silence, he regarded his sister. Although they had frequently corresponded, it felt as though he hardly knew the girl before him. She was different than he remembered. Although she was still a child, she had grown and mature in her solitude becoming a teenager that little resembled the clumsy little sister he had last seen. As a result, there was an awkward stiffness that had never existed. "How are you?" he asked.

"Okay…" she paused, a slight frown adorning her face. "It's hard sometimes without you and Cloud."

She brightened after a moment, smiling at her brother. "I'm training to join Shinra."

"What?" Shingo asked confused.

"I'm learning martial arts," Usagi leapt to her feet and threw some punches in the air demonstrating her progress. "I've been training for the past couple of years. I'm going to go to Midgar, and I'm going to become a Shinra guard like you and Cloud."

"You can't!" her brother scrambled to his feet and blocked her punches. "It's too dangerous!"

Dropping her fists, the girl put her hands on her hips frowning at her brother once more. "I'm not a little girl. I can do it."

Shingo's frown mirrored his sister's. She was being stubborn and headstrong. Didn't she understand that Midgar was nothing like Nibelhelm? The boy turned away and sighed not wanting to argue with the girl. He didn't want to ruin his time at home. Finally, he looked at her once more, his jaw firmly set. "You're not going to Midgar, and that's it."

His sister glared at him, angry thoughts filled her mind as her eyes welled with furious tears. She had expected a completely different reaction from her brother. Support perhaps or excitement. Hadn't she been completely enthusiastic for her brother when he first broached the topic of joining SOLDIER? How could he refuse to let her go to Midgar when she had been working so hard to prepare? Hadn't she told him how difficult life was for her in the small mountain town without any friends? Instead of voicing her thoughts, Usagi turned and climbed down the well running for the valley in the late afternoon light.

The next morning, Usagi did not see off Cloud and Shingo as they made their way with the rest of the convoy to the Nibel Mountains. Her anger from the previous evening made her bitter, and instead, she had gone to school with little acknowledgement of Shinra's presence in the town. She regretted her decision later that evening, when the convoy returned bearing news that Shingo had been separated and lost when the bridge gave way underneath the weight of the equipment and people making their way to the reactor. After delivering the news, Cloud stood quietly in the kitchen as he watched Kenji held his wife who sobbed uncontrollably at the kitchen table. Unable to bear her mother's grief any longer, Usagi left the house.

In the cool darkness, the village was empty. No one dared to leave their homes once the sun set, and to Usagi, the town seemed to be grieving with her. Slowly, she made her way to the village square and stood staring at the well. Instead of climbing it, she stared at the looming structure without seeing it. She couldn't bear to scale the looming structure knowing that at the top she had argued with her brother, the last memory she had of him. Silently, she bore the guilt of all the anger she had at him, but now she only had sadness.

She shook herself as she heard heavy footsteps approaching. Cloud stopped beside the girl, hesitating for a moment before putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I was so stupid," she whispered hoarsely her voice laced with grief that threatened to choke her as she struggled to come to terms with her childish behavior. "I was so mad at him. I just wish—wish I told him I love him."

Unable to suppress her tears any longer, the girl let them fall as her sobs racked her body. Voicing her thoughts aloud unleashed the sorrow she refused to accept that had built up inside her as soon as the Shinra guard had brought the news to the family. Cloud said nothing as he held her, tears staining his own face as he rested his head upon hers. As time past, the girl quieted even though her tears did not abate. Hesitantly, the girl looked up at the Shinra guard, and he regarded her for a moment. After a small sigh, he wiped the tears from his face and stepped back. "Let's go back. It's not safe out here."

Usagi nodded, not trusting her voice. Cloud gently put his arm around her shoulders once more and led her up the gravel path to her house. Once inside the empty house, the girl made her way to the couch and sat down on the end. Wiping her face with her sleeve, she looked at the Shinra guard as he stood hesitantly by the door. "Are you going back to the inn?" she asked softly.

He pressed his lips together and met her eyes with his own blue eyes. "I don't really want to," he admitted quietly. "I don't want to be alone."

"Then stay," the girl replied.

After a moment's hesitation, he crossed across the room and sat down beside the girl. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her close once more and held her in silence until sleep stole them away from their grief.

With Sephiroth locked in the library, Cloud was free to spend his days in Nibelhelm grieving with Shingo's family. The small town also reached out with villagers quietly slipping into the house to share their condolences and bringing vases of flowers and freshly baked casseroles to leave in the kitchen. Lost in their grief, they hardly ate. In those dark days, Cloud was Usagi's only comfort. Together they would sit in the valley as the shadows moved from one side of them to the other. They would sit in a companionable silence, lost in their own thoughts, but sometimes Usagi would listen attentively to Cloud as he spoke of his time in Midgar. In greater detail than any letter she ever received from him, she heard about adjusting to life in the vast city. She learned how much he relied on Shingo, and Shingo relied on him. In return, she confessed the difficulties of being in the mountain town by herself, and her hopes and dreams of going to Midgar to be with them. With Shingo's death, everything had changed for her. She didn't think she could bear to leave her parents alone for herself or for them.

After a few days mourning, Usagi and Cloud were sitting in silence beneath the dead oak tree as the sun slowly slipped behind the western mountains. The girl was about to ask Cloud if he wanted to go back to town, when she spotted a figure slowly making its way towards them from the mountains. At first she hesitated thinking it was a monster lurking close to the town, but as it neared, she froze thinking it was a ghost. "Cloud," she whispered to the Shinra guard and pointed.

He stood abruptly startled to see Shingo's haggard countenance. He was pale, and his face thin and twisted with pain. Still, he came closer.

"Shingo?" Usagi called tentatively, and she was startled when, he looked at her.

He began moving faster, and as he neared, Usagi and Cloud saw that he was not a ghost. Getting up, they broke into a run and met him feeling flesh and blood. Shingo let out a rattling sigh in the company of his friends leaning on Cloud for support.

"Oh Shingo," the girl cried as she pulled him into a hug. "We thought you were dead."

Without any more hesitation, they made their way back to the town bringing Shingo's battered body to the inn. Cloud bore most of the burden of helping Shingo make the rest of his journey to Nibelhelm while Usagi ran ahead to find the village doctor. There, the rest of Usagi's family joined them relieved that he was alive, but still heartbroken over the terrible ordeal of thinking that he had died in the mountains. Shingo's mother clutched her son as fresh tears covered her face, but these tears were tears of happiness. She was thankful that her son was alive. Kenji stood a step behind his wife, his eyes shining bright.

Shingo had lain unconscious on the precipitous outcropping for several hours with a severe concussion. Upon waking, he forced his battered body to make its way through the steep paths back to Nibelhelm, but disoriented and badly injured, Shingo had a difficult time finding his way back wandering lost through parts of the mountain range he had never seen. His injuries included three broken ribs, a broken arm, and countless bumps, bruises, sprains, and cuts combined with a concussion. The doctor recommended a lot of rest for the Shinra guard.

Those days would be the last truly happy days Usagi would know still wrapped in the innocence of childhood. In the mornings, she would briefly stop by the inn to visit her brother on her way to school. Cloud would almost always be there after waking and stopping by the mansion to check in with the SOLDIER assigned with the party. After school, Usagi would join Cloud and Shingo once again, joking with them, telling them about her training with Zangan, and enjoying her time with her closest friends. She would stay there late into the evening doing her homework, and more often than not, her parents would come with her mother bringing dinner to share with the boys. In the room at the inn, they would play board games on Shingo's bed laughing loudly at Kenji's stories or reminiscing about the three when they were children and the mischief they would conjure up to terrorize their parents. After it was dark, Cloud would escort the family back to their house, and every night, he would linger outside the door with Usagi for a brief moment before making his way to the inn once more.

One night, the family made their way back to the house, with Usagi's mother yawning loudly as Kenji unlocked the door. Together they walked into the house arm in arm while Usagi hesitated in the dim glow of the porch light. Cloud stood just at the edge of the lamplight, his eyes unreadable as he regarded the girl standing in front of the doorway. Instead of saying goodbye as he always did, Cloud sighed and looked up at the stars. "Sometimes, I almost wish we could just stay in Nibelhelm."

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked softly almost afraid of ruining these quiet moments together with her silly questions and thoughts.

The Shinra guard turned his attention back to the girl before him with a slight frown pressed to his lips. "I don't know. We're so happy here together, all of us. I almost don't want it to end."

"I want you to stay too," the girl replied her heart racing. She was afraid of her words, of what she might accidentally reveal in this quiet moment together.

Cloud opened his mouth to say something and clicked it shut with a small frown. After a moment, he shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step back out of the reach of lamplight. "Goodnight, Usagi," he said as he turned and made his way up the gravel walkway.

"See you tomorrow," she called her voice laced with false peppiness to mask her slight disappointment.

With a sigh, she stepped into the house and locked the door. Her parents were sitting on the couch talking happily about the nice weather and planning what to do the next day when they visited Shingo. Usagi said goodnight to her parents before scaling the stairs, absentmindedly skipping the creaky step. Once in her room, she changed into Shingo's old t-shirt and sweatpants and climbed into bed. Her head was racing with thoughts of Cloud as she tried to sort through his actions and at the same time quell any hope of affection. Maybe tomorrow, she told herself, she would talk to him and tell him how she felt. Maybe she would tell him about how much she enjoyed the time they spent together but say only enough to leave herself barely vulnerable to hope and expectation. As sleep slowly overtook the girl and her thoughts turned into dreams, she had no idea that the plans and dreams for the next day and the rest of her life would never come to pass. In just a couple of hours, everything would change in the moment Sephiroth emerged from the library sword in hand, and when she would wake to the sounds of her mother's screams, her life would be set on a course that she never could have imagined.

The world was too bright so she closed her eyes for a moment before forcing them open again blinking rapidly struggling to adjust to the light and trying to focus on something. The smooth metal of the ceiling. The ceiling lights that were too bright. Taking a deep breath, she asked aloud, "Where am I?"

"Junon," a deep voice to her left replied. "You're in the med center."

Her head seemed so heavy as she tried to turn it to the left. Rude was sitting beside her, his suit impeccable, and his sunglasses high on the bridge of his nose. "You've been out for a couple of days." His face revealed nothing.

Memories flooded back to her. The Crater. Meteor. Guardians. AVALANCHE. The Black Materia. Cloud. "Where's Cloud?" Usagi asked struggling to sit up, but Rude gently pushed her back down with a hand on her shoulder. "Where's Elena?" Her voice was hoarse and strange.

"No one knows where Cloud is, not even AVALANCHE. Elena's right there," he said calmly nodding to the next bed.

The blonde turned to see her friend still unconscious in the next bed perhaps lost in her own memories. Surprisingly, her hair was as she had seen it with the other guardians. It had grown incredibly long since she had seen her just days before, the long blonde strands pooling around her sleeping form. Usagi ran her hand through her own disheveled locks that seemed to be knee length or so, longer than it had been in the Crater. Once again, Usagi struggled to sit up, and when Rude reached to prevent her from doing so, she brushed away his hand with a small frown.

"You should rest," Rude insisted.

"No," Usagi replied with a hint of anger as she sat up with mild difficulty. Her body was stiff from inactivity. "I need to find Cloud."

"Cloud doesn't concern you," the older Turk replied with mild impatience. "Your mission is over."

"How? Don't we need to know what AVALANCHE is doing?"

Rude frowned. "You have nothing further to do with AVALANCHE, if they would even let you near them. They know you're a Turk."

Usagi felt her heart sink at his words. Did Cloud know? She turned away unable to even bear the thought of his reaction. Where was Cloud? She wanted to know if he were safe, if he were able to escape to collapsing Crater alive. Memories of the Crater flooded her mind as the memories of Nibelhelm faded once more into memory. The light fleeting kiss on her cheek. The way Cloud had looked at her and brought his hand to touch her face. The way she had pressed the cold heavy materia into his hand. Once more the burden of guilt weighed down on her.

Unwilling to rest any longer, the Turk began pulling of the leads for the EKG much to Rude's dismay. "Usagi, really you should rest," he insisted grabbing her wrist.

"No," she snapped with a slight edge to her voice. "I need to do something." She yanked her wrist away from her senior ignoring the small frown on his lips.

At that moment, the door to the infirmary slid open, and the doctor from Costa del Sol stepped into the room chart in hand. "Hello, Usagi. It's good to see you awake," there was a hint of recognition in her eyes although her voice betrayed nothing. "I'm Dr. Mizuno, and I'm here to check on you."

Usagi stopped untangling herself from all the wires as the doctor neared stethoscope in hand. She checked her heart, made her patient following her pen with her eyes, and tested her limbs. The Turk felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the guardian with her strange familiarity. She wanted to ask her a thousand questions about the guardians, about what progress had been made, about Elena, but with Rude beside her, she could only ask with her eyes.

"Well, you seem fit as a fiddle," the doctor announced as she scribbled on a pad of paper in a messy scrawl. "Here is a prescription for any pain you might have from your fall. Let me know if you have any questions."

With that, the blue haired girl left the room. Usagi looked down at the prescription in her hand. It read, "Dragonfly Café 7pm." She crumpled up the paper in her hand and placed it on the table. Turning to look at Rude, she asked, "Do I have a uniform here?"

He nodded and pulled open the bottom drawer of the bedside table. He watched in silence with a small frown as she rummaged through her uniform and found her watch fastening it onto her wrist. 5:43. After a moment contemplating her father's watch, Usagi looked up at Rude. She could feel the intensity of his gaze as he watched her, which made her slightly uncomfortable. It had been a long time since she had last seen him in Gongaga.

Unfolding her uniform, Usagi sighed. Although she had worn parts of the uniform while traveling with AVALANCHE, she had not worn it as Turk. The fresh uniform was completely different from the dirty suit jacket she had been wearing for the past couple of months. "I'm going to change," she told her senior.

He left the room without saying a word. After a moment of staring at the uniform in her hands, Usagi changed into it from the thin hospital gown she had been wearing. It felt strange standing, wearing the familiar unfamiliar clothes. Everything was new, fresh, and crisp. She didn't feel like herself, and she felt like an imposter in her uniform. She had changed from the Turk who had stood in her SOLIDER quarters the first time she slipped on the uniform tying her tie with hesitation in the mirror.

Stepping across the room, Usagi pushed the button the raise the blinds in the infirmary. She stood at the window looking out at the ocean as she braided her hair, the sky tinged an angry red with Meteor looming high in the sky, larger than anything she could have imagined. The weight of guilt slowly settled onto her as she saw the monstrosity looming over the pitiful planet. Turning away, she looked at her friend still lost in her memories with her long blonde hair pooling around her. She wondered how long it would be until Elena woke from her sleep. Feeling restless with her inactivity, Usagi made her way for the door determined to find the other guardians and start finding a solution to Meteor. There must be something they could do to stop it. Seven o'clock seemed so far away. She also had to find Reeve. She needed to know what happened in the Crater.

As soon as the door slid open, Usagi was startled to see Rude standing on the other side waiting for her. He regarded her through his sunglasses, but she made no acknowledgement of him as she made her way down the hallway to the tram, pulling out her PHS from her pocket. "What is it? Does Tseng need to see me?" she asked as she searched through the contacts to find Zeus.

"I just want to make sure you're okay," he said in a voice that did not seem to be his own.

His words caused her to stop her determined pace, and she turned to look at him confusion clear on her face. "I'm fine," she replied hesitantly.

"You've been gone for three months, and when I—we—when we see you again on the airship you collapsed…" his voice trailed off for a moment. "You really should rest."

Usagi felt confusion steal over her. What had happened in the time she had been gone to change Rude from the quiet self-assured senior she had known when she first became a Turk. Somewhere deep her in mind, the memory of her last night on Costa del Sol came to her, but it was so long ago, another lifetime.

"I can't rest," she said finally, determination slipping into her voice once more. After a moment, she pressed her lips into a small frown. "I'm the reason why Meteor is hanging there in the sky," she admitted in a small voice. "I need to stop it."

"Rufus is already leading an effort to try and stop it. It doesn't concern you."

"Whatever he is thinking isn't good enough," she replied sharply. "It does concern me, and I'm going to fix it."

With that, she turned away walking briskly down the hallway as she sent the message "Where are you?" to Zeus. Within seconds, her phone was vibrating. "My office, 4-3-5." It took all of her willpower not to run. Rude made no effort to follow her watching her make her way down the hall way with a small frown on his lips.

Within a few minutes, Usagi had found the office she was looking for after running up the stairs. Standing at the door, Usagi hesitated for a moment before knocking. Although Reeve had been there throughout the entire journey, she didn't know Reeve. Yet, at the same time, she shared the bond with him of being a part of AVALANCHE. Her desire to find out what had happened in the Crater drove her as she lightly rasped on the heavy wooden door. Reeve's voice calling, "Come in," filtered through and she opened it.

Sitting behind his desk, Reeve looked up to see the Turk standing in the doorway. After regarding her for a moment, he waved to a seat in front of his desk. "It's good to see you, Usagi," he said pushing aside paperwork and sitting back in his chair.

"Likewise," Usagi replied strangely uncomfortable interacting with him face to face rather than through a robot.

After a moment of silence regarding each other, Reeve sat forward in his chair. "You wanted to see me?"

"You were there in the Crater when…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she frowned under Reeve's scrutiny, "…before I gave Cloud…what happened?"

The older man nodded gravely for a moment before he picked up his PHS for a moment and put it back down turning to glance in a corner behind him. Usagi had not noticed it earlier, but Cait Sith sat deactivated in the corner with the cat sleeping on top of the moogle. A deep frown crossed his face as he sighed heavily. "Usagi, I don't think Cloud is the Cloud you knew as a child, the Cloud that was a Shinra guard according to his files.

"Sephorith told Cloud that he was a clone of Sephiroth created by Hojo after Nibelhelm was destroyed. Cloud wasn't actually in Nibelhelm when it was destroyed."

"That doesn't make any sense," Usagi interjected, her frown mirroring Reeves. "Even if that theory were plausible, it doesn't account for Cloud's memories or my memories of him."

"I don't know. Sephiroth said that the cells from Jenova melded with Tifa's memories to create who he is. Maybe Tifa's memories of Nibelhelm substituted for what was actually Cloud's childhood and when Nibelhelm was destroyed."

"No," Usagi interjected standing and beginning to pace with impatience. "Cloud was in Nibelhelm," she said passionately. "I remember him so clearly. When he came with Shingo, when he told my family that Shingo died in the mountains, those days we spent together mourning my brother, and when Shingo came back, all the time we spent together, the three of us…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she fought to check the emotions that threatened to burst from within her. The memories she relived in her sleep swarm through her mind. "Cloud was there."

Reeve said nothing for a moment regarding the Turk before him. "Sephiroth said that Cloud never became a SOLDIER first class, which coincides with the records we have of him. Is this true?"

"Shingo and Cloud were Shinra guards," Usagi replied, her emotions receding into the background. She paused at the corner of Reeves desk staring intently at the lamp without seeing it, lost in her thoughts of Cloud.

"So there is some truth in what Sephiroth said, that Cloud isn't exactly who he thinks he is."

"No," the blonde replied without hesitation. Her mind was churning as she berated herself for letting them go into the Crater without her. She should have been there when they confronted Sephiroth. She should have been there to deny Sephiroth's claims, to establish the truth. She should have been there for Cloud. Don't leave him when he needs you most. Vincent's ominous words floated into her mind. She had abandoned him, left the person she loved most.

"Tifa seemed uncertain about what Cloud believed, almost fearful of Sephiroth's words. Do you think she would know?"

Usagi shook her head. "Tifa didn't believe Cloud. She didn't believe that he was in Nibelhelm with Shingo, but I know with certainty that Cloud was there." Slowly, the passion slipped into her voice once more. "I'm not sure what Sephiroth was doing to manipulate Cloud, but Cloud isn't a clone of Sephiroth. Cloud is Cloud, and we need to find him. Where is he? Where's AVALANCHE?"

Reeve frowned contemplating Usagi for a moment and choosing his response carefully. He wasn't sure what to make of the passionate Turk. Even though he had not always been at her side when they traveled with AVALANCHE, he had seen in the Crater the look she had given Cloud before she gave him the Black Materia. He saw, when they were at Holzoff's cabin, how she had looked at him across the room and he in return, and he remembered very clearly seeing her standing on the top of Gaia Clifs looking at the Crater as Cloud came up to her. He wasn't sure Usagi's intentions in finding Cloud, but he was certain that whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Shinra or Meteor. It was personal.

"AVALANCHE is scattered throughout Junon. Tifa and Barret are being held by Shinra, and there have been talks about what to do with them since they are prisoners."

"And Cloud?"

"No one knows."

Usagi nodded slowly. His answer was the same as Rude's.

After a moment, Reeve cleared his throat drawing Usagi's attention. "I don't think you should attempt any contact with AVALANCHE. They're well aware that you are a Turk."

"They knew you were a spy," she replied sharply.

"Yes, but only you and Cloud did. I still have a role in AVALANCHE. Your betrayal…goes a little deeper."

The Turk stared at the man for a moment without saying anything, anger and frustration churning within her. In the back of her mind, she should have known that it would happen, but a part of her ached knowing that the people she had come to know were no longer friends. Aside from Elena, Cloud, and Shingo, she had never had a close group of friends. Even then, the experience of being a part of AVALANCHE was completely different. The way she had come to know Tifa and Yuffie. The bond that she had shared with Red XIII as they traveled through the frozen snowfields. The respect Barret gave her at the Temple of the Ancients. Cid's fixation on his dreams and his understanding. Even Vincent's ominous words and his ability to see through and understand her was something she had never had. It was strange to know that she could no longer share in the experiences of her friends.

"I need to find Cloud," she said softly attempting to control her voice. Putting aside her thoughts, she focused on what she had to do now. "I need to fix this."

Reeve nodded slowly uncertain how much he should inform the girl or how much to include her. "I'll let you know if we need help."

"Thank you," the blonde glanced at her watch. 6:38. "Please, tell me if you hear anything about Cloud."

"I will."

The girl turned and made her way to the door even though Reeve's responses were unsatisfactory to her. She could feel that he was withholding something and trying to prevent her from finding Cloud, but she knew that she would get no more from him. As her hand touched the door handle, Reeve called out to her. "Usagi," he said causing her to pause and turn to look at him. "Don't go looking for AVALANCHE. That's an order."

Usagi pressed her lips into a thin line as she thought of something to say to the man sitting behind the desk, but she decided to keep silent nodding in slight acknowledgement. She bit back the words of anger and frustration. She wanted to tell him that she needed AVALANCHE, she needed them to help her find Cloud. Pulling the door open, the Turk stepped into the hallway with the unbearable weight of guilt and loneliness settling around her shoulders. Meteor. Cloud. All of it was her fault. She could have prevented everything.

Alone in the hallway, she leaned against the wall for a moment letting the condemnation sink in and absorbing the weight of her burden. Somehow, she had to fix everything. Somehow, she had to set everything right again. In her mind, she heard Aeris's last words come to her. Usagi, the rest is up to you. Knowing that she had failed her friend was unbearable even more so now that Meteor loomed over the planet. She had failed Aeris and Cloud. AVALANCHE was no longer a part of her life.

The Turk sighed heavily her breath rattling in her throat. She knew that she had to fix everything. She had to find Cloud and stop Meteor. She could only hope that the guardians would be able to provide some advice or guidance on what to do. Refocusing her thoughts, Usagi made her way to the tram determined to find a way to set everything right hoping that she had the power to do so.

-end Chp. 22

So….I guess it didn't take as long to update as I thought it might. I've been sort of in a weird place recently. I moved into a nice little apartment with my dog. It's wonderful having AC.

I've spending a lot of time recently trying to put my apartment in order and working. Everything is still a mess. I can't wait until I get a couch on Wednesday to make it more like a home. I've been spending quite a bit of time writing lately too, not just this story but just in general.

I hope this story enjoyable enough. I fee as though the past couple of chapters haven't been quite as exciting as the previous ones. It seems like a decent number of people have been reading this story. According to my story stats, I have over 9,00 hits, which is 3,000 more than my most reviewed fics, although those were pretty awful. I hope you enjoy it, and even if you don't like it, I just want to know what you think. How else am I supposed to improve? Tell me what you think about the story, the character development. Does it feel believable to you? Do you understand the character's intentions?

Thank you for the kind reviews I have received. Although things haven't been great as of late, everything has been relatively normal, which is more than I can ask for because for a while, everything was just going downhill. As August is steadily moving forward, I'm excited for September. I'll be turning 22, and maybe soon, I can start a new chapter in my life.