FULL SUMMARY:
A teenage girl who only craved adventure. A father who created a dimension gate, just for her. In the new dimension, the girl soon finds out that the dimension gate has broken and is stuck there for 4 years. Reno offers her a place to stay, but only if she becomes a Turk.

Kidnapped, the girl is tested on for a number of days. After awhile, she learns that she has become a perfect Sephiroth clone.

Will she ever return home? How long can she fight off the affects of being a clone? What will become of ShinRa if she stays?

RATED T FOR:
Mild Violence
Slight Language
Small Themes (if you know what I mean)

I roll over and see him sitting there, slouched backwards with his lanky arms crossed. He is asleep and snoring quite loudly. With his hair out of his pony tail and the way his goggles are pulled over his eyes, he looks so darling. The fact that he is sleeping in that chair like that gives me the immediate understanding that he has been at my side every second I've been unconscious. Then I realize this moment may be the last that I'll ever get to see him doing something nice for me, caring for me; the last time I notice him when he doesn't notice me.

"Hey," I say as I sit up, my voice gravely from no recent use.

"Hmm?" He is instantly awake. "Zinica!" At first he's smiling and excited. Then his smile melts into an expression of horror and tragedy as he realizes there is only one reason I am awake. "You made your decision?" he asks softly.

"Yeah," I reply. "I don't really have a choice. I'm sorry but, I have to go back."

Okay, so I guess that I should start from the beginning.

Ever since I was a little girl I craved adventure. Sadly, I was deprived of anything adventurous in the world that I exist in. I would always mention how I was born in the wrong time period, exactly one year after the war ended. Even with my father in the Military, life was just lackluster. No matter how many stories my parents told me about the excitement and devastation of the war, it wasn't enough. I wanted to live it, not hear about it. I stopped caring about how Midgar split into Civil War, eventually tying in the rest of the world powers and making the biggest World War of any before it. My mother was a nurse during the time and my father fought for our rights, but what I wanted more than anything was to have been there, helping out the people I love.

When I turned twelve, I was finally fed up with the bores of existence. I realized this emotion while lying in my bed, watching the sun rise as I resisted sleeping. Rest, for me, was always more boring than being awake. I never dreamed, but when I did they were always nightmares. Yes, I'd mentioned it before to my parents, but to them I was their frail little girl. Twelve was when I could start volunteering around the neighborhood and get paid for it. Twelve was when I could get a couple market jobs. Twelve was when I wasn't a frail little girl anymore. If my age would give me the responsibility to interact with people in a professional manner, then why wouldn't I be allowed to adventure? I ripped the covers off my bed and stomped out of my room to the kitchen where my parents munched on breakfast. In the room, I plopped down next to him in the empty chair and crossed my arms.

"What's the matter, Zinica?" my father inquired as he sipped a mug of coffee.

"I can't take it anymore," I mumbled.

"Take what anymore?" my mother asked, pouring herself some tea.

"Life is so boring. I want to do something fun, something exciting; I don't mean coming with you to sell flowers, mother."

"Well, what do you want us to do about it?"

"I want to leave this place! I want to go to another place where excitement happens!"

"Why don't you apply for SOLDIRE?" That was the name of the Military division my father was involved in.

"Zack, she's only twelve," mother objected.

"Hey, it's a thought."

"Grrr... I'm going back to my room!"

I stopped trudging halfway down the hallway and sat down on the floor, holding my knees close to my chest. I wanted to hear if my parents were going to talk about what had just happened. In reality, I was a pretty cunning kid. Most of the time, I could understand how people would act in a certain situation and manipulate it to my advantage. I hated doing that though. It made me feel so dirty.

"Aerith," my father began. "What do you think she means by, 'another place?'"

"I don't know."

"Well, what about dimensions? That idea has been tossed around before."

"It has."

"Maybe you don't have to be a scientist to figure things out."

There was a long pause in their conversation. I was about to retreat to my room when my father spoke once more. "I am going to try to build a dimension traveling device."

Ever since then, I had been thinking about if he was still constructing it or if he had given up on pleasing his little girl. Seven years had passed and I had just about given up on the idea. With the thought of having wasted thousands of nights foolishly dreaming of the day my father would burst into the house and take me with him on a magically adventure like the ones in stories. Nineteen years old. I didn't have any more dreams. I had to think about a career and potential spouses. I had to stop living with my parents.

With all of my belongings packed, I walked down that same hallway to the kitchen. My mother was preparing some kind of dessert when I asked her where father was. She told me that he had been out all day, but wanted me to wait for him to get home before I left. I sighed and sat down at the table, making small talk about how her day was going and what the treat was for. Before I knew it, my father burst into the room out of breath, calling my name. His blue eyes shone in excitement at me, however the bags underneath them told a different story. I asked him what was wrong, but all he only urged me to follow him. I looked to mother for advice. "Just go with it, Zinica," was all she said to me.

I was dragged by my father all the way down to the basement. It was where he spent most of his time when he wasn't assigned a mission. Once there, the only thing that I saw was a huge circular object—a few feet taller than me and wider than my arm span—in front of me. It had a sheet draped over it that was beige with stains and smelled of oil and sweat. I knew it was there to prevent any eyes from seeing what was underneath, but that only made me even more curious.

"This," was all that my father said. I slowly walked over to it and pulled off the cover, realizing that it was heavier than it appeared. The object underneath resembled a gate. There were lights that bordered the top of the circular part that flashed on and off in a pattern of green, blue, and red. On the floor were tons of wires that ran from the item to hundreds of outlets on the wall or numerous batteries on the floor.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a gate."

"Yeah, I got that much; but a gate to what or where?"

"Other dimensions."

I was intrigued. "Explain," I commanded, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes. If he was joking, this was just about the last thing that I would want him to be joking about. My father knew better than anyone how neurotic I was about time. There was a specific time frame that I had to get into my new home and if I didn't get there because my father was feeling a little crazy, I would have a serious panic attack.

"A dimension is a level of existence; a place where other beings like you and I live. Heck, they may even be exactly like us. Live like us, have the same names as us, just have a different story line, basically."
Sure, it was a plausible idea, but my patience was wearing thin. "How did you make this?"
"It took me four years to build; three years to do the research. The in between parts are kind of a blur, but I managed to make it and it works."
"You tested it?"
"Yeah. I went to a dimension and I want you to go too. There, everyone in this world exists in that one. Well, they aren't the same, but there are qualities that are similar and the names are all the same. Sounds pretty cool, huh?"

It did, and I have to admit, I was a little excited at the aspect of it all being true. But it was too good to be true. And too impossible.
"Father, you know I have to be somewhere," I told him. "Can we please just stop this?" I turned to leave, rubbing my forehead in an attempt to be rid of the horrible headache I suddenly had.

"Zinica, please!" he called. "I'm not lying! Just believe me! I've been working every second of my free time for this. For you!"

I spun around to face him. I wouldn't stand it anymore. "I haven't seen you at all in the last seven years! If this joke is your excuse, then you must not care about me at all!" It was true. He had missed every good moment of my life. When it was finally time for me to leave that jest was all he had to say to me?

"How could you say that? Zinica, I love you more than anything, if you would just listen-"

"Listen to what? I'm tired of this, father." I turned to leave again, "I'm leaving now."

When my foot reached the first step of the stairs, he said in a quiet tone, "This happened with your mother too." I didn't turn to look at him. "While we were dating in college, she told me she loved flowers, but that she couldn't find a specific kind that was her favorite. I guess I must have neglected her for a few months while I searched for even just the seeds to those flowers. When I got a hold of them, she freaked out at me like you are now. I couldn't give them to her in person, so I mailed them to her after she dumped me."

"What's the point of this story?" I asked.

"The point is that I was stupid then and I'm the same stupid person now, but I need you to know that it's because I love you." He walked closer to me. "You asked me for an adventure, so I searched for a way to make that possible."

I sighed, deciding that I might as well give in. I had three hours before my time frame would be up, so wasting a little bit of time wouldn't hurt me, right? "If I went through this gate to another dimension, would the amount of time I spent there be the same as if I were here?"

"Not exactly," he said once I spun around to look at him again. "Every minute you spend in the other dimension is only a second for us. So how long would it be in this dimension if you spent an hour there?"
I quickly did the math in my head. "One minute because there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour."
"Correct."

In resignation, I suspired, telling my father that I would go to the other dimension for only a moment. His mood was instantly lifted, his eyes glowing even brighter than normal. He informed me of all of the protocol I had to follow and all of the issues I'd have to look out for. I don't remember how long it took to explain it all, but I still know every little detail he mentioned. I was smart—sometimes too smart. With each word he said, I could feel excitement creeping up inside me. I tried to keep it down by telling myself that it was simply not possible, but my attempts were basically failing me.

"Hold out your hand," my father instructed. Once I did so, he placed a teal colored materia in my hand. It sunk through my skin and into my palm, soon appearing only as a glowing, circular outline on both sides of my hand. "This is your controller for the gate. With this, we can communicate through either voice or video. You can also tell the gate to bring you back here or to even go to another dimension. If for some reason the gate isn't working, then you can't go anywhere, but the communication will still work on the remote."
More time passed. I started to phase out when I looked at the clock and saw that only an hour was left for the amount of time I had to get into my apartment. I was snapped back into reality when he said, "All right you can go now. Your mother and I will see you soon." That's when I started to panic. Shaking, I gave my mother and father a goodbye hug. He reassured me of his love and our soon reunion. I inquired about my apartment and they promised to move me in if I wasn't back in time. Though their words were kind and true, I was still afraid of what lied beyond the mysterious gate my father built. The only thing I could do was breathe through it and remind myself of the wishes I had as a child. They were coming true, but I had built up too many walls to really let my true emotions show.

I looked up at the gate flickered to life. Stepping through it, I'm not sure if I had ever felt more alive and scared at the same time.

The physical feelings I had were definitely a lot different than my mental ones. It was as if I had gone into a temporary coma. Everything went black and my head started to feel light. I think I remembered father saying something about the first time is rough, but you get used to it the next time. Gee, what a relieving thought.

The moment I arrived in the new dimension was really weird. I was in the sector five slums, but I knew that it wasn't the slums where I lived. Where I was trying to move away from.

Someone was running towards me. He had fire red hair that ended in a long ponytail in the back and goggles on his forehead. The outrageous appearance he was sporting didn't quite match the suit he was wearing. It kind of clashed, but that might just have been his fashion sense. I tried to act like I didn't notice him. I began to walking the opposite direction of where he was running. It didn't work. The man rammed into me with full force while my head was turned, knocking us both to the ground. "Hey!" he yelled, wiping the dust off his unbuttoned blazer. "Watch where you're going!"

"Excuse me, I wasn't the one running at high speed away from nothing," I objected, pulling myself to my feet. The other stared up at me with glimmering green eyes. He outstretched his hand as if he were asking for me to help him up. I denied his silent request.

"What, you expect to me to say 'I'm sorry?'" I glared at him as he put his hand down and rose to his feet on his own. It turned out he was a good three inches taller than me. "All right, I'm already on a death list; I don't want to be on yours too."

I scoffed and started walking away.

"I'm sorry," he called after me. I guess I should have been nice and yelled over my shoulder that it was alright, but dismissing him a little bit more amusing.

"Reno!" I heard from behind me. It wasn't the voice of the red-haired-clashing-outfit guy. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a bald guy wearing the same suit as who I assumed to be named Reno, but better. By that, I mean that it was actually buttoned and a matching tie was tucked neatly underneath. Bored, I trained my eyes forwards and continued walking.

"Rude! I don't, ah! No!"

I laughed, deciding that whatever happened was what the guy deserved.

"That's what you get for running into me!" I called as I turned around and winked at Reno with my hands on my hips. I discovered that Rude had Reno in a headlock. It was quite comical. Chuckling under my breath, I determined that it wouldn't be too bad if I ran into those two again.
Soon after the scene, I thought that I would go to the old church that my mother told me she used to grow flowers in. In my own dimension, the building had burned down a year before I was born in the war. I had only ever seen it's ashes, so I hoped that it would be there in this world. On my way, I ran into someone who was extremely familiar—my father. Well, it wasn't actually my father. It was him in this dimension, but he looked too young to have a daughter. As a matter of fact, he only looked to be a few years older than I was. He sported what I recognized as a first-class SOLDIER uniform and one difference upon his face, a scar. I was curious where it had come from, but since he didn't actually know me, I refrained from inquiring.

"Excuse me!" he asked, grabbing my shoulder and my attention.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered, surprised to see him looking so handsome and energetic. My father was always so tired from the day's work. At least, that's what I remember of him from when I was a kid.

"Have you seen a man with red hair and-,"

"He's down by the market," I answered before he could finish.

"Oh, well, thanks." He turned to go towards the area I informed him of. I didn't want him to go. I frantically searched my mind for something to say to make him stay, but I came up with nothing. Luckily, he came up with some words for me. He made it only a few steps away when he said, "My name is Zack." We both turned around and looked at each other. He had on a warm smile—one I knew well. Except, that time it was more welcoming instead of knowing. I knew it was because I wasn't someone he knew, but it still made me feel a little upset. Zack walked towards me and outstretched his hand.

"My name is Zinica," I answered, taking his hand and smiling.

He stared at me for a short while, not letting go of my hand. I imagined he was thinking about the name like it was strangely familiar, but he couldn't place from where. "That's a pretty name," he replied. I thanked him and he asked where I was going.

"I'm looking for the church."

"R-right," he said. He let go of my hand and turned to continue leaving, but he seemed a little down. I thought of something to say.

"Hey, Zack," It was weird saying my father's name. "Tell Reno the girl he bumped into says hi."

He brightened up a bit at my words. I believe it was because he felt like he knew me from somewhere and didn't want to lose a chance to figure out where from. It was as if he was the determined and good willed type of person. "I will."

"It was nice meeting you." His mood was lifted even more.

"You too." That time, we actually parted.

When I arrived at the church, I stood outside for a few moments, just staring at the building. It was there with every detail just the way I imagined it. I thought of all of the things my mother must have done here, trying to picture her inside of it. I played through the story of when my father first met her there. He burst through the door and deeply inhaled through his nose. He told her that a beautiful smell drew him in, and she offered a flower. My father denied the flower and insisted that it was she who truly smelled so wonderful.

I smiled in my memories and gathered the courage I needed to open the doors before me. I exhaled and started to push them open.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone to be in here," I called as soon as the door was open far enough for me to notice the younger figure kneeling on the ground. The figure turned her head to look at me and revealed her identity as Aerith—my mother in my dimension. She was younger than I knew, like Zack was, and her hair was far longer. The white dress she sported was so precious and the sunlight pouring in from the hole in the ceiling cast a halo of light around her head. If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed her to be an angel.

"It's alright, I love company," her soft voice said. "I rarely get company from someone other than Zack," she chuckled and then gestured for me to come towards her.

Nervous and cautious, I eased my way into the church, taking in all of my surroundings. It was as if I were dreaming—everything seemed so perfect. My mother was there. The churched I longed to know was still standing. It was too good to be true.

"So what are you doing over there?" I asked as I approached her.

"Just tending to my flowers," she answered, not looking up at me.

I gazed down at the lovely assortment of floras around her. Aerith was sitting amongst a patch of yellow, purple, and white flowers. "Oh how beautiful," I commented.

"Thank you. My friend, Zack Fair, has been encouraging me to sell them."

"He is right to do so," I said. Thinking back to my own family, I remember how my mother told me the same thing when I was young. She said that the flowers around our house wouldn't be there without my father.

There was a buzz coming from my arm. My hand began to vibrate.

"I apologize, but I must go." I started to walk quickly out of the building, wanting desperately to talk to my father and tell him how things are going. Honestly, I was having a great time and I had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Aerith stood and stared at my retreating form. "Can we meet again?" she called out.

Looking back at her, I saw how worried she looked. It was as if I left at that moment she would be losing a large part of her own life forever. In a way, it was like how Zack reacted when we almost parted the first time.

"Of course," I told her. "I can look here for you?"

"Sure," she replied with a look of relief washing over her face.

I rushed out of the church as quickly as I could. I sprinted all the way to an empty, dark alley before I looked at my hand and tapped the holographic button that read, 'answer video message.'

"Zinica," my father began. His voice was serious as if something bad had happened. I swallowed, nervous about what he was going to tell me. "I have some bad news."

"What's wrong, father?" I asked.

"Something happened to the gate after you stepped through it. It won't work. You can't come home."

I think my heart stopped for a moment at that time. I was all of a sudden stuck in a foreign place. I couldn't go home. I didn't know anyone. I had no place to live. The one thought of security that I had—that I could go home whenever I wanted—was ripped from me. "W-what?" I stuttered.

"It might take me two years my time to fix it." He sighed, avoiding looking at me. "You're going to have to find somewhere to live, I'm sorry."

"Father," I began. My eyes began to water and my throat felt like it was clogged.

"Zinica, I love you, and will contact you once every day your time. Okay?"

"Okay." I had to choke out the word, a tear escaping my eyes.

"Now I have to go." No. Don't go. Stay. Stay with me forever.

"Bye." The holographic picture of my father disappeared. I leaned back against the cement wall and slid down it until I was sitting, my knees bent and legs squished up against my body. I let the tears run down my face. Hope washed out of me. I was alone, abandoned, and eventually would be forgotten. I couldn't go home. I had no options and no schedule to follow. Isn't that what I had wanted? To live in a new place away from my parents? No, not like this.

I sat there for a while—at least that is what it felt like. It must not have been that long because there was someone eavesdropping.

"You need somewhere to stay?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I looked to the side and noticed the Reno was leaning nonchalantly against the opposite wall in the tiny alleyway. "Because, if you become a Turk, then you'll stay at headquarters with us."

My face felt stiff and crusty from the salty tears that dried on my cheeks. I must have looked like a mess to him. "Why would I want to stay in the same place as you?" I scowled, my voice raspy and throat horse.

"Ouch, that hurts me right here," Reno said as he stood up straight and tapped his chest where his heart is with his right index finger. I really had no intentions of dealing with people at that moment. I barely wanted to deal with them normally. Plus, I knew this guy was obnoxious already, so why would I want to take his help? I rose to my feet and walked out of the alley. To my dismay, Reno followed. "Can you please stop following me?" I asked.

"Not until you tell me that you want to be a Turk."

"I don't want to be a Turk."

"Yes you do!"

"Go away."

"You do."

"I can take you down."

"Prove it."

Without even a second in between, I crouched with my one leg sticking out, spun and kicked Reno in his ankle, sending him crashing to the floor. I rose and flipped over him, landing on his ponytail. Putting all of my weight on his hair, I prevented him from escape.

"See?" I mocked. I kicked him in the shoulder for good measure before I moved off of him and walked a little to his left.

"Okay, so you're good. Which only proves that you should be a Turk."

I glared at him for a few seconds as he climbed to his feet. He wiggled a little on the ankle I kicked, showing that I managed to injure him. He was just too cool to show that it actually probably hurt a whole lot. From my dimension, all of the same organizations existed, so I knew what the Turks were and did and I assumed that it would be the same in this strange place. That would mean that the Turks were more of an investigative, intelligence group rather than a military division, therefore enhancing my curiosity as to why my combat skills would be of use. "Okay, I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no. So just, leave me alone. I'll find you when I have an answer."

"That's good enough for me." Reno shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

"No goodbye?" I yelled. Completely rude.

"Nope."

After standing in the middle of the market for a minute, I decided that there was only one place I knew I could go back to—the church to see Aerith once again.

When I was right outside, I noticed that Zack was making his way towards the doors as well. "Hey, Zack!" I called, trying to act happy. He spun around and smiled in my direction. He didn't notice that I was actually incredibly upset, so pretending like I wasn't in an attempt to make myself feel better must have been working.

"Hey, Zinica!" he replied. I jogged towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Aerith, as are you, I believe?"

"I am," he replied, his tone sounding slightly suspicious.

I heard footsteps from behind me. "Someone's coming," I whispered. I quickly spotted a wall that the two of us could hide behind not too far away.

"It's no big de-" Zack began to say, but I grabbed him by the forearm and tossed him over to the wall. I sprinted over. "Hey what's the big idea?" he yelled. I grabbed his wrist and yanked him to his feet. Then I seized his shoulder in addition to his wrist and spun him around so his face met the wall. I watched as the person I heard behind us approached the Church. He was wearing the same suite as Reno and Rude were wearing, so I assumed that this was the 'dress code' for Turks. He had black hair that was tied up into a short pony-tail. "That's Tseng," Zack mumbled, his face smothered in the concrete.

The two of us waited there for a few minutes before we saw Tseng leave the church with a hand full of flowers. When he was out of sight, we emerged from or hiding spot and walked back towards the church.

"How did you know?" Zack asked.

"How did I know what?"

"That there was a Turk coming?"

I shrugged. It just came as an instinct to me now. Ever since I was five, my father taught me how to be SOLDIRE material. Every time he came home, he would show me the latest combat move or the newest stealth move. As I learned all these things, my senses sharpened. I could hear more, smell more, and see more than before. People I wouldn't normally notice would seem suspicious. Mother was worried about me, but father was determined to get me into the corps when I was twenty-one. It was two years before that would happen.

We walked inside, but not before I noticed Zack's expression He had on a solemn gaze. His entire face was pointed down and I was assuming that his mood was too. I pondered what could have made him so serious.

"Hello, Aerith!" I called as I waved my hand in the air.

"Hi!" she replied. I turned my head to look at Zack. He was smiling the same way he was when we first met, except brighter, like the way my father smiles at my mother—full of love and happiness. This guy was curious and I couldn't decide if he was worth decoding or not.

The three of us were simply kneeling on the ground having a pleasant conversation and getting to know one another when the entrance doors burst open.

"Are you Zinica?" a deep voice asked. I turned around and recognized him. It was Rude. I stood up.

"What do you want with me?"

"I have orders from Director Lazard himself to bring you to Shinra," he answered, starting to walk towards me while adjusting the gloves he was wearing. I noticed that Zack stood up too, putting his hand on his weapon and getting ready for battle. "No, this is my fight," I said.

"Then you're going to need this." Zack handed me the giant sword he had slung on his back.

"Protect your honor," he whispered as I tightened my grasp on the handle. I shouldn't have been thinking about it, but I wasn't even sure if I had any honor.

And if I did have honor, what would it be for? I was distracted which didn't help my fighting ability at all.

The two of us charged at each other. I swung the giant sword in Rude's direction, but he dodge out of the way. He took many attempts at punching me and kicking me and flipping me, but I dodged all of them. Our battle went on for a while, composed of these ways. If I had two swords like I normally do, I wouldn't have been doing so badly. It wasn't that I couldn't left the sword because I sure could, I was just bothered by the fact that I couldn't hit him and that I wasn't entirely focused.

I didn't notice it, but someone entered from above and landed behind me. "Zinica! Look out!" Zack shouted.

I spun around and discovered the person dropping in on me was Reno. He was standing only a few inches away from me with our noes practically touching. I noticed something jabbing me in the stomach. "Surprise," he said, smiling cockily. I looked down and saw him holding a metal rod at me.

"What is-" was all I was able to get out. Reno pushed a button on his rod and sent an electric shock through my entire body, sending me crashing to the floor and unconscious.