Thought I'd try my hand at a Final Fantasy story. I haven't been doing much writing recently (too many stale ideas in me noggin. You have no idea how frustrating that can be!) so it's good to have some fresh inspiration. Enjoy!
Buster never liked his brother Sephiroth.
The pair lived in a village, 2,000 years before Midgar was built. The village was called Centurion, and it was the biggest village in the tribe known as Cetra. Centurion was a special place, a land where the Lifestream flowed close to the surface, sometimes crystallizing to form natural Materia, which was mined and used for jewellery before being returned to the Lifestream again during the summer festivals.
Sephiroth and Buster were the oldest of five brothers. Sephiroth was the oldest, then Buster, then the triplets Ultima, Ruby and Emerald. In the hut next door lived a girl named Crystal, who was a few months younger than Buster.
Buster and Crystal were the best of friends. They often tried to include Sephiroth in their fun, but he often snubbed them, resorting to bullying tactics and demoralising Buster.
Today was no different. Buster and Crystal were playing near an old Materia mine, unaware that Sephiroth was watching from a distance.
"Hey Buster," Crystal sat down on a rock, exhausted from running around after him. "Have you ever thought of marriage?"
Sephiroth perked up at the question. Crystal was only ten years old! Who was she to be thinking of marriage?
"Yuck." Buster flopped down beside her.
"But you'll get married one day when you grow up." Crystal pointed out.
"I know, it sucks." Buster picked up a leaf of grass.
"But don't you want to be someones Prince?" Crystal asked.
"Don't tell me you think you're gonna be a Princess on your wedding day!" Buster teased.
"I will so! I'll have a beautiful dress and I'll wear lots of flowers!" Crystal argued.
"If you can find someone to marry you!" Buster poked his tongue out.
"I bet I'll find someone to marry me before you do!" Crystal got up spoiling for a fight.
"Oh yeah?"
"YEAH!"
The pair started wrestling, laughing. Sephiroth looked on in jealousy. He wished he had a special friend like Buster had.
The pair soon stopped wrestling and looked at each other. Both were a dirty blonde, although Buster had bright blue eyes and Crystals were grey. Crystal had fair skin, whereas Busters complexion was ruddy. He looked nothing like his older brother, who had silver hair and green eyes.
"When we get married we won't be able to play like this anymore." Buster pouted.
"Not unless we marry each other." Crystal mused, sitting down. "OWCH!"
She had sat on a clear Materia.
"Alright! Go Crystal!" Buster walked over to look. "OW!"
He too had stepped on a clear Materia.
"Wow! We gotta show our folks!" Buster laughed.
"Not so fast."
Sephiroth stepped out of his hiding place in one of the caves. Buster yelped.
"HEY! Dad said no going into the mines! You are in SO much trouble when we get home!"
"Oh really?" Sephiroth snatched his brothers Materia.
"Give that back! Buster found that! It's his!" Crystal protested.
Sephiroth said nothing, instead he gave her a good shove, knocking the Materia out of her hand. It broke into two pieces. Buster ran to help her up, while Sephiroth laughed. He was about to give Buster a good shove too, when the Materia in his hand changed colour.
It turned black.
The sky began to grey and a large rock fell from the sky, nearly hitting the three children.
"Let's get outta here!" Buster grabbed Crystal and ran. They made it back to the village and hid behind one of the wells.
"We should get married." Buster said when he'd gotten his breath back. "After all, you're my best friend. I'd hate to marry someone else and not get to play with you any more."
He opened his hand. He'd grabbed the broken Materia before running away with Crystal. He put one half in her hand.
"Deal?"
"Deal!"
Sephiroth inspected the fallen Meteor. He wondered if the Materia had magic powers.
"Silly! It's just a pretty rock! Materia doesn't have magic!" He scolded himself.
The Meteor had split in two. Inside was a beautiful woman.
"Hello?" He asked. No answer. She seemed to be made of metal. Maybe she couldn't understand him?
"Are you okay?" He tried again. The head turned to look at him.
Sephiroth bolted. He ran all the way home and hid in his room. He wouldn't even come out for dinner.
His mother ended up bringing a plate full of Chocobo meat to him in his room.
"Buster tells me you were in the mine." His mother said sternly.
"I wasn't! He's a little liar!" Sephiroth cried.
"You know Buster doesn't lie. And Crystal backed him up. You know you're not allowed in those caves Sephiroth." Lucrecia frowned at her son.
"Yes Mother." Sephiroth glared at his hands. Stupid perfect Buster.
Lucrecia kissed his forehead. "I don't want you to get hurt. Now eat up like a good boy, and I'll see you bright and early in the morning."
She left Sephiroth to his thoughts. He thought of the woman in the stone. Was she okay? Was she hungry?
Without a moments hesistation, Sephiroth took off out of the window and rushed back to the Meteor, his dinner gripped tightly in his hand. The woman was still there.
He carefully laid the food at her feet, taking a bread roll for himself. She continued to look at him.
"Here's some food..." He stuttered, before running away again.
Next day, the food was gone.