I love .flow: it was easier to speculate what was going on than in Yume Nikki. Disease was a pretty prominent theme in .flow, so I thought Sabitsuki would fit right in in the world of Advent Children.

Session 1

Two years ago, the Lifestream itself came to stop Meteorfall from destroying the world. Midgar was left in ruins, leaving everyone to rebuild outside of it. The new city of Edge was still a work in progress, but everything was moving on.

Everything but Sabitsuki.

She looked out the gaping hole in the wall of the ruined room she called home. Eight stories below, she could see one of the many alleyways in Edge covered in shadow from the setting sun. A few homeless people, including children, either walked or sat slumped against the walls.

Sabitsuki was one of the lucky ones. In scavenging the building she was in, which used to be a hotel, she had found a key and claimed one of the rooms as her own. Other homeless people lived in it, of course, but most people chose to live at one of the many shelters in Edge. Over time, after scavenging in the ruins of Midgar, she had managed to acquire blankets, clothes, a bucket to catch and carry rainwater, and an iron pipe that she used as a weapon. Food and other sources of water was something she strived to get every day, either through scavenging, stealing, or the charity of others.

Sabitsuki was also one of the unlucky ones. Two months ago, she had contracted something that everyone had come to fear. It presented itself as black scars that oozed a foul substance, and it was rumored to be contagious. Pain and fatigue were the primary symptoms, but everyone who had contracted it would die sooner or later. There was no cure.

They called it Geostigma.

It had only started appearing once the Lifestream had manifested to stop Meteorfall. It mostly affected children, but there were some adults and teenagers that had it too, like Sabitsuki. Because people were afraid of contracting it, they stayed away from everyone that had visible black scars on their bodies. The most the infected could do was quarantine themselves as best as possible.

She could have gone to a shelter; they would have accepted her whether she had the disease or not. However, it was because of the people there that she chose not to. She did not want to look at the others who were doing worse than her, close to the brink of a painful death. She did not want to see the looks of pity or false hope of those that volunteered to help others. She thought it would be better if she stayed alone and kept herself away from the eyes of the public.

As such, Sabitsuki only left her home to get food, water, and other things to try to make her living space more comfortable. When she did leave, she made sure she wore her black hoodie with the hood just barely drooping over her eyes. As long as she kept the hood down and didn't make eye contact, no one would notice that she had the Stigma on her forehead. So far, no one had seen it, and she wanted it to stay that way.

In the alley below, she saw a man shove a young girl to the ground and snatch a box of cookies out of her hands. She turned her head away from the scene. Thievery was common in the alleyways, and even among the communities of the homeless, no one was kind towards those who had the Stigma. This was why she carried her iron pipe wherever she went.

Sabitsuki went to the backpack she left in the corner of the room and opened it up. She fished out today's findings: a can of corn, a bottle filled with puddle water, and a handheld device with a screen on it. She took a closer look at the mystery piece of electronics.

The surface was worn and its writing barely legible. There was only one thing written on the front: .flow. She checked the battery casing and saw that the batteries were still in there. Attached to the bottom was a pair of headphones. She had found this thing in a ruined electronics store in what used to be Sector 6 of Midgar. Curious about it, she had decided to take it with her.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Sabitsuki pushed the power button.

The screen lit up and a rotating logo appeared on it: . When the logo vanished, two boxes with text appeared: "Start" and "Options". Sabitsuki touched the "Options" button on the screen, hoping to get a better idea of what this thing was. The options presented were volume settings, time out counter, and disclaimer. She pressed the disclaimer option.

"The 'Binaural Listening Device' (BLD) is a product of luciddreaminteractionsdotflow and may not be copied in any way. If the product breaks within three months of purchase, you may return it for a new one. Luciddreaminteractionsdotflow is not responsible for any nightmares or night terrors that may occur. Do not take any sleep aids or medication when using this product."

Okay, so I guess this helps you to sleep. No…I think it helps you to lucid dream. Never lucid dreamed before.

Sabitsuki decided to give it a try after she ate her dinner of canned corn. She set the BLD aside and went to the bathroom. Inside, the walls and floor were cracked and it smelled of urine. There was no plumbing, and she had no idea when people would come to this part of Edge to fix it. Then again, the day people would come to fix the plumbing would also be the day the buildings were fixed up and either turned into more shelters or actual homes and businesses where the homeless would be shooed out.

In the bathtub was a dishrack that held some plates, silverware, and a can opener. (Sabitsuki had yet to find an intact bowl or glass.) She took a spoon and can opener and went back to the bedroom. She picked up the can of corn and got to work opening it. To her, this can opener was her most useful possession. When she got the can open, a bad smell wafted up from it.

"Damn." She swore.

She debated whether or not she should eat the spoiled corn. It was too late outside to go scavenging again. She knew the dangers of eating spoiled canned food, but she had Geostigma, so it didn't matter if she ate it or not: she was going to die either way. She sniffed it again and found that there was no way she could bring herself to eat it. She went to the hole in the wall and threw the can out. The sound of metal hitting the ground told her the consequence of her choice: she would remain hungry tonight.

Pain shot through her head. She put a hand on her forehead. The black scar was damp and threatened to ooze. She went to the bed and dropped to her knees. She fished out some scraps of fabric that she kept under the bed for these occasions. She picked up a piece of brown cloth and pressed it against her forehead. Underneath her pressing fingers, she could feel the cloth absorb whatever was oozing out of her forehead.

She withdrew it and looked at it. There was a light splotch of black on the fabric. She felt over her forehead and found that it was dry again. She felt fortunate that this was only one of the lighter spells. There were times when the pain was much more severe and the fluid came out by the handful.

Sabitsuki slumped against the bed, suddenly overcome with fatigue. This would also happen after one of her spells, no matter the severity. It was getting dark outside, so she used what little light was left to find the BLD. She crawled up onto the bed and slipped the headphones over her ears. She powered it on and pressed "Start" on the screen.

Words appeared on the screen: "Binaural tones will stop in 1:00:00".

The timer began to count down. Through the headphones, Sabitsuki could hear a blend of sounds and music. The only ones she could actually distinguish were the sounds of trickling water and an odd, constant hum. She could relax like this. She closed her eyes and gave herself in to the strange sounds she was hearing.

Sabitsuki found herself in a room she had not seen in two years. There was a small bed, a table, an old game console, and posters that advertised SOLDIER, popular music groups, and LOVELESS. She blinked slowly as a thought crossed her mind.

This is my room.

She rested a hand on her old bed, nostalgia filling her. Her old life had a lot of issues, most of them due to teenage rebellion, but it was still better than what she was going through right now. What she would give to be able to go to school again, to talk to her old friends and parents…but all of that was gone now.

She removed her hand and walked to the door that led out of her room. She wondered if her mother was downstairs cooking breakfast, if father was watching the news before he left for work. She opened the door and stepped through.

What is this?

Instead of a hallway, Sabitsuki found herself in a large black room lit up by multicolored lights. Hard trance music was playing and there were various lines, squiggles, and shapes that were moving to the music. She glanced down and saw that her skin was glowing in various neon colors.

Whoa. Didn't think I would dream of something like this…and why am I neon?

"Wow! Those lights look so cool, mom!"

Those words echoed all around her. She remembered saying that to her mom when they first went to Wall Market. She thought neon symbolized a life better than the one she was living in; a life full of fun, action, and comforts that one would not find in the slums.

Still glowing neon, Sabitsuki took a look around. She poked at the dancing shapes, but they only responded with a "boing" sound. She wandered further until she found a DJ stand. Seeing that no one was on the stand, she decided to take a closer look at it. The platters of the turntables and the dials were moving on their own and there was a mess of characters and numbers on the computer. It was almost like the machine was possessed by a ghost. She carefully placed her fingers on the spinning platters.

A pair of headphones appeared on her head and she could hear a blend of music. Her head bobbed to the beat and her fingers seized command of the turntables. If there was a ghost, it had turned its possession to her, since she had no real experience with this. All the shapes changed their movements to match the new music. Sabitsuki hadn't had this kind of fun since Meteorfall.

"I love this music! When I grow up, I'm going to be a DJ!"

It was a dream she had since she saw what clubs looked like on TV. It was a dream that was no longer attainable since her life was left in shambles, and especially since she had contracted Geostigma.

Everything suddenly went dark and the music was replaced by a loud heartbeat. Sabitsuki took a step forward and heard a splash. She walked forward with her arms outstretched, hoping to find something. She felt increasingly uneasy as she walked, and it didn't help that the heartbeat was becoming faster.

I hate this. I hate this. Get me out of here.

Sabitsuki found herself in the lobby of a school. There were a few students in uniform that were loitering about. What stood out was that they all had white or silver hair. Sabitsuki looked herself over and saw that she was no longer neon. However, instead of her purple shirt and white skirt, she was wearing one of the school uniforms.

"Mom, do I have to wear this thing?"

I remember this. White hair was the leading fad back then. Heck, some of them grew their hair out and dyed it silver so that they could look like Sephiroth. Mom and dad were really mad when they saw that I had bleached my hair.

She approached a male student and said, "Hey."

Instead of answering, the boy's mouth stretched into a grin and he giggled. The other students lifted their heads up and did the same thing. Sabitsuki backed away from them, obviously unnerved by what she was seeing.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

Their grins stretched wider and they all suddenly ran at her. With nothing to fend them off with, she had no choice but to run. She ran through hallways and up several flights of stairs until she reached the roof. She slammed the door behind her and pressed her back against it. She could hear the giggling from the other side, though she found it strange that no one was trying to force the door open. She looked ahead and saw that she was not alone.

Standing near the edge of the roof with his back turned was another student. Unlike the others, his hair was black. He turned around and Sabitsuki's eyes widened at what she saw. There were big plus signs over his eyes and a wide smile on his face. He slowly approached her with a black marker in his hand.

Sabitsuki squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the marker press against her eyelid. It moved up and down, then left and right, then it moved to the other eyelid and repeated the action.

"Cool, aren't they? Come on, Sabi, smile."

He was always the odd one out: never followed fads, always did things his own way. That's why I liked…

The sound of static filled her ears.

…what was his name? I…I know this, but…too much static. I can't think. Shut up. Shut up!

Sabitsuki was alert when she woke up. It actually felt like she was in the dream. It was something she had never experienced before. She removed her headphones and looked down at the BLD. It was off. Wondering if it had run out of battery, she pushed the power button.

The screen lit up and the choices of "Start" and "Options" popped up. She thought back to last night and figured that it had shut itself off after the one hour time limit. She set it aside and placed a hand over her empty stomach.

She needed to secure food as soon as possible. The spoiled can of corn told her that it would be useless to try scavenging in the ruins of Midgar. The only way to get fresh food was to go to the center of Edge, where more people were gathered.

Thrown back into the harsh reality of her world, Sabitsuki pushed the dreams out of her head and went about preparing for another day.

Will any actual Final Fantasy VII characters appear? Yes, several will appear later on.

Will Sabitsuki play a big role in the plot of Advent Children Complete? Kind of.

Thought I would get those out of the way before anyone asked.