Author's Note: Wow, I've been away for quite a while now! I'm not so sure that I have a legitimate excuse, either... So this is my first Final Fantasy VII fic!! I'm really excited for everything that I hope it becomes. And I've got a lot more planned; you can check out my page for that. Even though I have no idea when I'll be able to touch on any other ideas...this story is going to take a while, I know that much. And I am aware that many have wrote similar stories as this...after all, everyone had their own ideas about Elena, and this is mine. But I can promise that this one is different. I'll do my best with updates, and hopefully I'll have upcoming chapters written before I even reach them (if that makes sense! :)). Oh, and thanks goes out to Moiranne Rose for betaing this fic! So I hope you enjoy the story, if you're reading! Same goes for everyone else!!
Disclaimer: It would be great if I allowed myself to even dream of owning FFVII... =)
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:. Sheer Equality.:
Chapter One: Prologue
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
- - - - - - -
She sighed in frustration. It had been the third time she'd rifled through the contents of her locker, and she still hadn't found the notebook in question. Her usually pristine locker was now a horrific mess, the books that it contained threatening to spill everywhere at any moment. In an attempt to prevent this, Elena slammed the door shut quickly, attracting the attention of a few passing peers. Judging by the small amount of people left in the hallways, she only had a minute or so to make it to the next class on time. She tried her best to avoid colliding with anyone as she sped down a set of stairs, but in the process of doing so she lost her footing and tripped on the last stair, sending everything she'd been carrying to the ground several feet ahead.
Yeah, it was definitely going to be one of those days.
No one paid any heed to her as she collected her things. Not that she really expected them to. At her high school, Elena Meyers was a nobody, just a soon-to-be 17-year-old with no ambition in life. It was the beginning of her junior year, and most of her classmates had already begun planning the next step in their education or career path. Elena's only goal in life was to make it through each day.
She continued sprinting, no longer bothering to keep from jostling anyone on the way, until the door to the classroom was clearly visible. She flung open the door and took her seat just as the bell rang; once situated, she purposely averted her eyes to avoid the perfunctory stare on her teacher's face. When he began his lecture, she deemed it safe to look up, and sighed in relief. He seemed to be in a more cooperative mood today, which was good considering she'd been late the past two days and she was fresh out of believable excuses. She pushed some of her long blonde hair that had been made untidy by her running out of her face and behind her ear.
Elena had never really appreciated Midgar History, so she usually spent the entirety of the class mentally comparing her plump, appalling teacher to a specific animal based on his equally hideous choice of wardrobe. She decided that today he was a gorilla; his gray sweater vest was, in fact, oversized and hairy...
"Ms. Meyers!" Elena's daydream was abruptly ended. "Perhaps you could answer my question?" The teacher's smug little eyes looked at her from behind even smaller glasses.
"No, sir. Sorry," she replied, not even bothering to ask what the question was. To her surprise, he gave up on badgering her and called on someone else. I guess that bit of luck makes up for the stairway injury, she thought. With that, her mind went adrift again.
* * * * *
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, and she was more than grateful to hear the final bell of the day. Not that she was looking forward to what awaited her at home... it was the fifteen minutes of solace, the separation between the two hells of her life, that she craved. She had been "lucky" enough, as deemed by her family, to receive a hand-me-down car from her older sister Rosalind when her sister had been granted a new one. If it hadn't been for that fact, Elena would have loved her car. But anything that connected her to Rosalind was unforgivable.
Elena had always believed that if she herself had been the first-born in her family, her life would have been dramatically different and probably exceedingly easier. It was always about Rosalind when it came to her family; she was her parents' pride and joy. Rosalind was capable of doing the impossible, she was destined for greatness, she had potential. Her parents believed in her so much that she was enrolled in the Shinra Military Academy at the first possible occasion, because anyone who had potential became involved with Shinra. When Rosalind was initiated into the Turks, Elena knew that she would never hear the end of it. And it was pathetic in a way, because if people hadn't given Rosalind so much attention she might have had a chance. But they did, and it caused her to become the arrogant, loathed, heartless bitch that even Rosalind herself knew she was.
As for Elena...well, Elena was basically part of the background that just made her sister look better. That's why Elena never became passionate about anything; why bother if it would just be taken away from her? Did she ever consider herself a failure? No, nor did anyone else. She just wasn't noteworthy enough for the world she lived in.
But maybe things will be different now, she thought to herself, ignoring countless horns blaring in the traffic engulfing her as she drove home. Her sister, for reasons Elena didn't care enough to know, had not been at home for roughly two weeks, which was unusual. At first, her parents supposed it was work-related; it was the most conceivable possibility, being that Rosalind was a Turk, and Turks often received confidential missions that required them to be away for long periods of time.
However, it had been today, in the morning, that those thoughts had been changed. As Elena tiredly stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen, she caught sight of her father sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper before him, and her mother reading intently over one of his shoulders. Elena had always thought it strange that her father, who was employed as a teacher at the Shinra Military Academy for as long as she could remember, followed the happenings in the Midgar Inquirer so closely, when he was already aware of any news dealing with Shinra. Which was basically the only thing the newspaper covered.
On this particular morning, Elena took in the confusion that had been etched into her father's face as he read, and she became equally confused in turn. She plopped down into an empty kitchen chair and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She noted that her father's own cereal and coffee had remained untouched. Every once in a while he would finger the handle of the coffee mug as if to pick it up, but always hesitated and let it remain unmoved. Her mother fidgeted with her hands as she read.
After a few minutes of deafening silence, her father let the paper fall with a noisy crinkle upon the table, with him muttering, "How did we not know about this?" to himself. He then stood, picking up his mug of coffee and his car keys and hurried towards the front door; the only explanation he offered was his response of "Someone at work has to know more," before the door closed behind him. Elena's mother's reaction was to clean up the coffee that he spilled on the floor in his rush.
Fully awakened, Elena picked up the paper and searched for the article that caused the scene she'd just witnessed. It didn't take long. In bold print across the front page of the paper were the words "Majority of the Turks Said to be Missing in Action."
* * * * *
Now, as Elena parked between two cars on her street, she considered the headline from that morning. It was strange that the Midgar Inquirer had even got their hands on any information about the Turks. Very little was known about them, only that the position of a Turk was highly prestigious, and that an encounter with one of them never ended well.
She sat for a moment in the stationary car, contemplating what the headline meant for her life. All she could think of was change; she couldn't distinguish whether the change would be good or bad.
As for the fate of her sister, Elena couldn't force any emotions upon herself. Was she supposed to feel anything? Anger? Grief? All she felt was indifference. It didn't matter that she was her sister; it never had. Regardless of what had befallen her sister, Elena was certain that Rosalind's thoughts did not concern her.
Her parents had returned from work at the usual hour. Elena had heard no news from either of them until they were all seated at the dinner table, and her mother had glanced at her father with a look of expectation. Understanding her gaze, he began, "They suppose there was an assault committed by assassins out for revenge. The weakest were probably taken out, while the others went into hiding. From what I gather, the assassins have been handled by the Turks that remained with the company." He paused, taking in his wife's expression, which was a mix between unease and confusion. She started, "But what if—"
"I have the utmost faith that Rosalind, wherever she may be, can take care of herself. I'm not going to address the possibility that you were considering," he interrupted. With that, Elena's mother remained silent, immersed in thought, for the rest of the meal. The only words spoken came from her father. He was discussing what changes were now occurring at the Academy. He mentioned that teachers were allowing more students into combat programs and were given more opportunities to become Turks.
After a while, Elena tuned out his words. Matters of Shinra were never important to her. After all, it was the company that, according to her parents, she wasn't good enough to be a part of. At least that was what she always assumed, that they didn't want to waste their time on her because she didn't have potential like her sister did. She had learned to accept it with time.
When she had finished eating, Elena dismissed herself and retired to her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed, grateful that it was the weekend. She wasn't excessively tired, and it wasn't that late, but before long she had drifted into sleep. Her last thoughts of that day were thoughts of hope, hope that life would improve, and that from now on her life would have purpose.
* * * * *
Behind the closed door of a meeting room, three men were gathered for a discussion. One was seated behind an expensive mahogany desk with files strewn across it; the other two were opposite him. Although the room's objects were luxurious, the overall atmosphere was austere and it reeked of business and efficiency.
The one behind the desk was the first to speak. "I'm sure you two understand the importance of this mission. I know it isn't exactly something we do every day, but we're turning to desperate measures." He handed each of the other two a few files, while keeping a few for himself. "Inside each of those is information concerning the families of those who have gone missing. Or at least what we could find of them," he said.
One of the men in front of the desk spoke in a gruff but quiet voice, "Sir, why not just recruit senior members of the Academy?"
"We are attempting that as well," the first man said smoothly. "But from what I have seen, the supposed "talent" that the Academy is currently nurturing doesn't look all that promising. So the people you are pursuing will act as a backup."
"Sounds like we're screwed, then," the third man said. "If any relatives of our employees were interested in this type of career, they would have already been enrolled. I think you should get used to just the three of us," he added with a smirk while rocking back in his chair, an action that clashed with the stern air of the room.
"Well, unlike you, I don't plan on giving up just yet," the first man countered with a tinge of anger. "With everything that is happening with the company now, we can't afford to be less efficient in our work. The people mentioned in those files have just as much aptitude as some of the best students that the Academy is training, although it is untapped. So it is our job to devise ways to test them, without them suspecting our purposes." He then stood up, signaling the end of the meeting.
The two others followed suit. On their way out of their leader's office, one turned around and asked, "But how in hell are we supposed to test them?"
"Be creative," the leader said curtly.
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Author's Note: So that's the first chapter! I know there wasn't really much going on, I was mostly just setting the scene and giving details. I hope you guys liked it! Stick around for lots more to come, and don't forget to review!