Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any ideas related to the game or the movie. However, I do own Shakura, Dustta, and any other characters that I may come up with. Please do not steal. Thank you very much.
Oh, and before I forget.
Italics: These will appear when a character is dreaming, or in a dreamlike state.
CHAPTER 1- NEW AWAKENINGS
Friday started out just as any other day; the alarm clock woke me up at 5:00, I showered and got ready for school, caught the bus, and went through life just as any other teenage girl my age would do. When 3:00 rolled around, just like everybody else, I was happy that the day had finally ended; because I would now have three months to kick back and relax... or get a job. I hadn't decided which yet. As I boarded the bus and sat next to my little sister, I couldn't help but feel a little sad to know that I would be hidden away from society for three months. Brushing away these thoughts, I sat back and listened to Dustta talk about someone she had seen at school that day. We talked about many different subjects, Dustta's bright greyish-blue eyes flashing with excitement as we discussed our summer plans. We talked a lot about my favorite game, Final Fantasy VII and how unfair it was that Sephiroth had to grow up in a laboratory.
I had introduced her to the world of Gaia about two years ago, and she had fallen for Cloud Strife, the spiky-blonde haired mercenary. I had probably told her everything there was to tell about Gaia; everything that I knew, anyway. Final Fantasy was my passion, my entire life. I had to pass it to someone, and that someone was my sister. She had probably heard all my stories more than once, but I didn't care; I had to tell them again, to pass on the legacy. I guess I was selfish, but she had much to pass on to me, though, including her love of horses and drawing. Life was certainly different when I was around her; especially considering the situation at home. She fell silent, and I followed suit, and we both looked out the window. The screams and laughter of the many young kids on the bus were slightly annoying, but I didn't pay much attention, because my mind was busy comprehending what life would be like once I got home.
The past few months had been hard on us all; my parents had quit smoking, for the first time in thirty years, and their attitudes were not the best in the world. I had to be on guard constantly, not knowing whether or not to be happy or angry. One thing was for sure, however; I had totally changed. My attitude, my lifestyle, everything. I was more cautious, and more depressed than I had ever been in my life. I had picked up some bad habits along the way, and nobody seemed to understand me. My scars proved that. I blamed myself for what my parents said to each other. It felt good to be able to escape for even just a moment. The pain never lasted long, anyway...
"Are you even listening to me?" Dustta asked. "You have been staring off into space for the past ten minutes, and you've not said a word to me or anyone else. Are you okay?" I saw her bright grey eyes stare into my own green ones. She knew what happened when I felt like this. I didn't want to ever put her in that position again. Last time I had had a mental breakdown, it had been tough on us all. Tough, and a little funny...
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." I said. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. So, are you looking forward to next year? I understand you'll be a freshman, is that right? I'll have show to you around the high school and everything, won't I?"
Her eyes shone with light as she considered the fact that we would both be in high school next year. She stared at me for a long moment, considering the possibilities, then went back to staring out the window, the happy expression on her face reflecting on the glass. As I looked out the window, I noticed that the bus had made a wrong turn. We were heading in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be going.
I turned towards Dustta, who looked at me in return. "Do you know where we're going?" I asked her, as she raised an eyebrow. As she looked out the window, her eyes grew in surprise.
"No, I can't say that I do. Maybe we picked up a new kid or something." She said. That was when I first noticed the man sitting in the seat behind our bus-driver. I hadn't noticed him when he first got on, because I had been so lost in thought. "Wait a minute." I told Dustta. "I'm going to go figure out who that man is." She nodded her head and watched as I made my way up to the front of the bus, nudging legs out of my way as I went. Mustering up the courage, I lightly tapped the man on the shoulder. He didn't respond, and neither did my bus-driver, who, I noted, looked slightly frightened.
"Sir... ," I began. I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth again, as I saw him pull a gun from the depths of his cloak, and jam it under my chin, forcing my head to tilt back. "Oh... In that case, I think I had better go back to my seat." I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.
"That... would be a wise idea." the man stated, in a cold, deep voice. He lowered the gun and gave me a harsh push, almost sending me to the ground. I walked quickly back to my seat, and caught a questioning look from Dustta. "What was that all about?" she asked.
"A man has taken us hostage." I whispered as quietly as I could. "He has a gun. I just found it under my chin, a moment ago." Her eyes grew even wider as she fully comprehended what I was getting at. "We have to say something!" she said, almost hysterically. At that moment, however, the bus came to an abrupt stop, but there weren't any houses around. Some of the older people in the back yelled in protest, but as they caught sight of the man with the gun in his hand, they fell silent.
"Everyone off. NOW!" said the man, as he brandished the gun wildly. We all obeyed. Once everyone was out of the bus, the man came to stand in front of us. I stood protectively before my sister. The sound of the man's voice snapped us out of our thoughts, though, as everyone pondered what exactly was going to happen to us.
"Now, when I call your name off this list, you will come, stand before me. You will empty your pockets, before I end your pitiful lives. There is to be no talking, and anybody who reaches for their cell phone will die a slow, and very humiliating death." he said. "Now, we shall proceed." he looked at the list in his long, thin fingers. "Johnathan! You first!" he yelled.
When nobody moved, he shot a couple of rounds into the air as a warning. Slowly, a little boy, who had to less than seven years old moved to stand before the man, his little legs trembling as he went. The man moved toward the boy, and ordered him to empty his pockets. When the boy didn't comply, the man backhanded him, and little Johnathan fell to the ground on his knees, tears staining his face. The man yanked him up roughly by his arms, and ordered the boy once more to empty his pockets. The boy dropped a cell phone to the ground, and the man smirked. He then turned the boy around, to face us, and placed the gun at the back of his head. There was a collective gasp as we all heard the bullet exit the gun and many people screamed as the young boy's body his the ground. The ground was stained with crimson.
"NEXT!" the man cried. He wiped the barrel of the gun on his pant leg, and cried, "Shakura, you're next!" Time seemed to slow down as I walked boldly up to the man, with a slight swagger in my step. I was ready for death; I had accepted that fact long ago. I came to stand before the man, and he looked me up and down. I already knew the routine, so I pulled everything out of the pockets of my jeans; my wallet with my driver's license, and a small amount of cash that I always carried around with me. He put his hands on my shoulders and roughly turned me around. I felt the barrel of his pistol tickle the back of my long red hair, and waited for the familiar noise of the gun going off. I heard him ease the hammer back, and suddenly, the gun was gone. I whirled around to see that Dustta had run toward us, and the look of determination on her face told me she wasn't going to let me die. I heard a very loud blast, and watched as she was flung back. Somehow, she picked herself up, and continued toward us. The man looked shocked as her fist collided with his face. He pulled the hammer back once more, before I found myself.
"You BASTARD!" I screamed, as I struggled with him. He backhanded me, and I felt something in my mouth come loose. I spat a tooth on the ground, and took advantage of his shocked state. I twisted my hands around the barrel of the gun, and I felt as though my chest had exploded. I barely registered the loud bang, or the fact that I was becoming weaker with every breath that I took. All I knew was that I had to stop this man. I was being selfish again. I wanted to become a hero.
I moved back, gasping in pain. His eyes grew wide in shock as I lifted the gun, with trembling arms, in his direction. I struggled to stand up, and as I cocked the hammer back once more, nobody moved or said anything. Time seemed to slow down as the bullet exited the chamber, and collided with his chest. He fell to the ground, and began trying to crawl towards me. I then proceeded to unload the whole gun on him, until he was nothing more than a bloody stain in the dust. I let the gun drop to the ground, as I just stood there, oblivious to my injury. All of a sudden, I heard a loud noise, as I looked up to see everybody screaming and running toward me.
I found that I couldn't hold on any longer, and I dropped to my knees in the dust. Nobody around me seemed to care about Dustta and I. Looking around myself, I watched her crawl over the body of the young boy, her hand on the wound in her chest. The red stain was slowly spreading over the front of her jacket as she painstakingly made her way toward me. I looked up to find Dustta's tear-filled eyes staring back into my own, and tried to give her a comforting smile. "Saved your life, now you owe me one..." I struggled to make the words out. She smiled a sad smile at me, but I could barely see it; my sight was beginning to fade. "Are... you... alright?" I gasped; my speech really starting to trouble me. "Yeah... I'm fine." I could hear the pain in her voice. But as I watched, I knew that she wasn't fine; neither of us were. I could hear people around me making phone calls but I didn't care; I wouldn't live long enough to make it to the hospital, anyway. I would make sure of that.
"Dustta, search in my... my bag, and find my... knife, would you?" I asked, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. She did so, before collapsing in the dust. Knowing that I had just lost nearly everything that had ever mattered to me, I took the knife from her still hands, and slashed my wrists, the excruciating pain making me wince. Slowly, my vision turned from red to black, as my blood poured out crimson upon the ground. I looked toward the sky, and felt gently raindrops on my face. My eyes closed, and the pain disappeared with the light of day. I knew no more.
--
I seemed to be standing in an endless white room. There weren't any walls, and there really didn't seem to be any floor or ceiling, either. The light was so bright that I was nearly blinded. As I looked down upon myself, I saw that I was not wearing anything and my many scars were very visible against my pale skin. I tried to cover myself up, but found that I couldn't move my arms or legs. Suddenly, I felt a presence near me, and a young man appeared before me. I could feel a blush creep over my face as I struggled to cover my nakedness, but I still couldn't move. The young man looked deep into my dark green eyes, as I noted that his own eyes were a milky white. He was blind, but he still seemed to see me... how was this possible?
"We have decided to give you a second chance in life, if you accept." the young man said in a voice that belonged to an old man. Just listening to him speak made shivers travel up my spine. "However," he resumed. " your second chance at life will be dangerous and nowhere near how your old life used to be. If you accept the challenge, you may find yourself in many positions that you don't want to be in, but you must find the solution within yourself, and make the right decision. It's your choice. Make your decision. I must tell you that if you decline, you will go straight to hell for choosing to end your life." he warned.
'Well, that wasn't much of a decision.' I thought to myself. "I choose to live a second life", I said. With a nod of his head, I found myself flying through an endless white tunnel, and then the blackness consumed me.
--
I didn't know where I was, or how I had gotten there. The first thing I had noticed upon waking up was the fact that I was face-down in the dust, my clothes covered in dirt. I tried to remember what had happened before I woke up here, but my mind was fuzzy. I couldn't remember a thing, and, as I thought, I didn't even know my own name. I struggled to get up, brushing off the dust as I did so. I felt very lightheaded and sore, although I didn't know why. The night was so dark that I could just barely make out what seemed like a large building up ahead. Not knowing what it was, I began walking toward it.
As I walked closer, I heard what seemed to be footsteps behind me. I turned around quickly, but there wasn't anything there. That's when I felt the body collide with my own, and I fell to the ground. I rolled over to see a very large, wolf-like monster coming in for the kill. I stood up and began to run as fast as I could, but there seemed to be more and more of the creatures with each step I took. Panicking, I didn't notice the rock in my path, and I tripped, falling beneath a sea of writhing bodies intent on ripping me apart. I was in a fight for my life.
--
He was drifting along in something akin to a river, but he wasn't wet. He could hear so much going on at once; the voices of the dead communicating with each other. It was quite annoying. After all, he had to plot how he was going to get out of the Lifestream. "Mother... " he called out with his mind. Nobody answered him, however, and he repeated the mental shout over and over again. It was as though Jenova had been completely erased from his mind. Well, Kadaj and the other Remnants had used the last of the Jenova cells to recreate him the last time; maybe she was gone forever. But what would he do? How would he escape?
As if in answer to his question, he found himself in an endless room, the light so bright that it nearly blinded him. It was a very strange room, as it seemed to have no ceiling or floor or walls; it just went on forever. He tried to move, but couldn't, and to his horror, he found that he was completely naked. He struggled to move, but no matter how hard he fought, he still couldn't. Just then, a young girl appeared before him, and he noticed that her eyes signaled that she was blind. ' Perhaps she couldn't see him after all.' he thought to himself. At that moment, however, she spoke, and her voice was that of an old woman. His skin crawled at the thought.
"We have decided to give you a second chance at life. Your goal will be to redeem yourself, and you will achieve that by helping someone let go of their past sins. If you are successful, you will be reborn, where you will live a normal life, however that you want to. If you do not succeed or you harm this person, you will be placed back in the Lifestream, where you will be forced to relive your own sins and the sins of the dead around you, for all eternity, as punishment for your evil deeds. The taint of Jenova has been cleared from your mind, so you should be the way you were, anyway. Make your decision now." the young girl explained, in her strange voice.
Quickly, he thought to himself. If he went along with this, and helped this person, he would be able to live a relatively peaceful life, something he had always wanted. Jenova would no longer whisper those hateful lies to him anymore, and he could be at peace, for once in his life. "I accept." he said before he could change his mind.
"Your wish is granted." the girl stated. With those final words, the ex-general found himself flying through a very bright tunnel, and then the blackness enveloped him.
--
Thanks so much for reading! This is my first story ever, so I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and give me some advice. If there's anything you would like to see happen, just tell me, and I'll give it some thought. Again, thank you!
Author's note: This is the third time I have changed this story, but NO MORE! Just leave me a review.
