Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was morning and the sun had just peeked through the clouds for the morning, shining through her massive windows and white curtains she awoke.

While being caught up on her rest, hopped up on pills and finally starting to feel like herself. She woke up in her dorm opened the small orange container and popped the last two white little devil's into her mouth and took the glass at her bedside table. She wiped her mouth with her hand. She looked across the room at her uniform recently washed, ironed and hung up neatly.

She turned on the shower and quickly did her morning duties. Steam billowed out of the bathroom as she opened the door into her bedroom, covered by a dark red towel she reached for her clothes. The radio had gone off when she was in the shower. 'Looks like its going to be a sunny day for the new President's speech! Isn't that something to look forward too? On note traffic-'

She buttoned up her white shirt and tucked it in, tied her tie and applied her jacket to the uniform. She stood straight in front of her large bedroom mirror and examined herself. Washed and brushed hair, clean teeth trimmed nails and. 'What is that?' She picked a long white hair off of her uniform. '..Gross' and flushed it down the toilet. Wydda shuddered 'Blegh'.

Wydda took a deep breath and sorted some papers on her desk across from her bed and slipped them into a folder. She checked and loaded her pistol and then left to get an early start on her office work.

Kim opened her eyes as the morning rays of the sun filtered through her window. She roughly rubbed her eyes and sat up stiffly on her already-made bed. 'Had I been so exhausted? She thought, pouting, I wish I had at least undressed.' She slowly pushed herself off the bed and gathered her bathing tools with the speed of a snail.

The warm water of the shower woke her up more than anything else could. As the droplets hit her weary body, she felt her famillar vigor start to return. She wrapped herself in a towel and returned to her room to change. The cool wind from the blowdryer dried her hair and she swiftly put it up in her trademark bun. After cleaning her dusty glassses, She pulled out a clean, ironed suit and dressed. Today should be fun,' Kim lazily thought, 'The President has his speech, and everything has returned to it's normal peace... at least for now. I wonder if the other Turks, Reno and the gang, have come back? I really do...'

In the midst of her musings, her stomach gave a loud, obnoxious rumble that startled her thoughts. She gently patted her stomach and walked over to the mini-fridge. She pulled out a bottle of orange juice and a pre-prepared bowl of cereal. She plopped down at her desk and hungrily ingested the simple breakfast. "I don't think..." Kim pondered out load, between chews"... my stomach could wait... for me to reach the company cafeteria... if it's even open..."

She cleaned up and checked herself one more time in the mirror. Her glasses were a little crooked- she'd have to get them fixed. Her hair looked almost presentable and there were dark circles that were present under her gray-blue eyes. "They'll go away with a full night's rest," She assured herself. All in all, she looked alright but her spirit was ready to face the day. She hoped no one would mention her raggedness.

"Well, here I go!"

The rays of intense sunlight shining upon her face made her blink once, twice, sleepily. Her hand drifted up to her eyes as if trying to shoo the unwanted light away, and then they snapped open. Where..? The infirmary. She'd fallen asleep in a chair next to Ehren's bed. She glanced off to the side thoughtfully. It was such an impossibility. Sephiroth? If he was alive, then where had he been all these years?

Sighing, she rose slowly to her feet, her eyes probing the room. The other Turk that had been particularly injured--his name, she wasn't familiar with--was gone. Ehren, on the other hand, was still out unconscious on the bed next to her; the medics had told her last night that they had a shortage of type O blood, which naturally was Ehren's type. Universal donor, yes, but they could only accept blood from other O donors. Upon inquiry, she discovered that they'd had some delivered from a nearby hospital overnight, but they were keeping him until they could ascertain how he was taking it. Either way, he'd be fine now.

It was good to know. One less burden to trouble her mind, at the least. The idiot was always off doing something more dangerous than he needed to. Had he seen him? Sephiroth? Then again, who else could have left Ehren propped up against a wall in a pool of his own blood? He might not have been the strongest fighter, but he was certainly one of the most effective, one of the most ruthless; he knew how to get things done in a manner of his own choosing. Why, then, would he even have been fighting somebody so far out of his league?

Nothing makes sense anymore, she thought bitterly. Ehren was taking risks he didn't normally take, Sephiroth may or may not have been back from the dead, President Shinra was dead... What was going on with the world all of a sudden?

Her eyes narrowed as she thanked the medic currently on duty, and quickly exited the infirmary. She had some exploring to do, and she made her way to the elevator. Her finger hovered for a moment, hesitantly, above the button for the floor she knew she shouldn't go to, but had to, before coming down on it hard.

A few moments later she had arrived on the 48th floor--the tech department, and the location of the heart of the Shin-Ra mainframe.

Kim's phone rang on her way to the company building, spewing the Turk theme song as loud as it could. It startled her at first, since she didn't expect to be getting a call from anyone. She lifted the phone and pressed it to her ear, "Hello, this is Kim."

"Kim? Oh, thank god I got a hold of you!"

"Dad?" Kim exclaimed, blinking.

"Of course it's me! I was watching the news all night, worried sick about you! Are you all right? Did those rebels touch you?"

"No, not at all, Dad. Just a few scratches, but I'm alright now. I'm just heading over to work now."

"Heh, sounds like I taught you well."

"Oh, so you're being cocky now?" Kim grinned.

"No! I just wanted to know that you were okay. You should have called me. You could have been dead and I wouldn't have even known."

"I know, I know." She sighed.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Going so soon?"

"I have things to do. You just didn't call me."

"Alright Dad. I'll remember to call you next time."

"Good. Bye, Honey."

click

Kim sighed and put her phone away, rolling her eyes. That was her Dad: he never said much. He's always worried about her, but never likes to show it. Man, I feel like a high schooler. Didn't I grow out of the "have to call" stage.

She stepped into the building, greeting the unfriendly secretary at the front desk. She passed by many things, not really knowing where to go. There were construction signs all over, on every floor. She wondered if the offices were destroyed in the attack. Passing the cafeteria, which was still in good shape, she saw someone famillar. It was Ater, sitting by himself and eating breakfast. Kim smiled and walked over taking a seat across from him. "How are you doing?"

"You look pretty good yourself," Kim smiled, sitting back in her chair. She paused for a second and then grinned, "But I expect that from you. I know by now that you can make it through anything."

Being put in a good mood made her do a weird thing: she took Ater's porridge and spoon and swirled the gunky contents as she continued to answer Ater. "I was a little shaken up, especially because it was a big suprise. Who was expecting it? I'm alright now, though. I think I was more concerned about everyone else's welfare instead of my own."

She spooned a big goop on the spoon and watched it flop back into the bowl.

Kim shrugged, spooning some more muddy gunk into the spoon. "I haven't heard a thing yet. I wish I did though- I can't help but feel overprotective of the new president, you know? Plus, I'm so ready to kick the butt of anyone who tries to pull such a stunt. And, as you said, it will be very likely that such a thing will happen." She paused, pushing up her glasses and knitting her brow.

"Do you... " She trailed, her cheeks turning slightly pink, "...Do you think the other Turks will be there too? Tseng and the gang?"

Kim played with the slop some more while keeping her ears perked as Ater spoke brief words into his phone. He briskly hung up the phone and addressed her,

"We're sorry, we've got to go to the labs. Something's come up. Doesn't sound serious but we guess you can tag along if you want. Would save us having to call you when all the plans for the outing have been laid."

He got up and started to walk towards the lifts - it seemed to Kim that he knew she would follow. Before he could make it to the nearby lifts, Kim grabbed the trash on the table and dashed to the garbage can. After hearing a satisfying thump at the bottom of the can, she jogged up to him and grinned, "I'll keep you company! I don't have much to do anyway... just waiting around for orders. Plus, I've gone with you to the labs once before, remember? I don't mind."