So I've taken another stab at writing something...interesting, and hope you like it. I realize it's a bit long at first but it all has a point, I swear.
No, this is NOT a CloudxOC story. I can promise you that.
Comments, criticisms, and such are appreciated. No flames, please, since I'm working hard on this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children characters that make appearances in this story. I have characters of my own that are mine; you should be able to tell them apart.
Chapter One
"Where am I?" Looking around, he could no more figure out which direction he was going in than where on Gaia he was. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, casting shadows on everything around him. There was no way to discern north from south, and he had been driving in the same direction for what seemed like hours.
Blue eyes cast up at the clouds again, he felt a droplet of water fall on his face, sliding down onto his neck. Another followed, the rain slowly increasing to a steady fall. He pulled his goggles over his eyes, starting his motorcycle again to see if the shadow far in the distance was what the thought it was.
After a few minutes, the shadow grew bigger, buildings quickly coming into view. He had been right—it was a town. It seemed out in the middle of nowhere, as his mileage read that he had gone quite some distance away from Edge.
At the outskirts of the town he saw a few children playing in the mud, dark stains on their arms. His first impression was that it was mud, but upon closer inspection as he passed, he noticed it was a discharge similar that he had seen disappear not to long ago, though of a dull, reddish-black tincture rather than the true, inky black he knew so well.
Geostigma.
"Why is it here?" he whispered to himself, continuing through the dark town.
All the windows and doors were shut, only few lights emitting from the dirty windows. It seemed darker than Edge and Midgar had ever been, a strange air surrounding it. He came into a clearing, the town square, he assumed, as it had a large fountain in the center as well as a clock. He stopped in front of the fountain, confused, when he saw there was no water.
"The water has been gone for quite some time now." A soft voice came from behind, startling him.
Turning around, he saw a girl standing under a tattered umbrella, her golden hair standing out against the grey background. It seemed unnatural to him. Around her neck was a cross, an unusual sign back in Edge.
"It rains here almost constantly, yet we have no water. Is it a curse from the heavens?" Her voice was soft yet held a commanding sort of air to it, one of firmness and control, though what really drew his attention was her eyes—one green, the other blue. Not just green and blue, though—he could tell that, because of her unusual condition, the pigments were a different shade than normal.
"Who are you?" he asked her, the clock beginning to chime. Three o'clock. He'd been out for nearly seven hours.
"I am Ayden, the priestess to the church here." She motioned to the road branching to the left out of the square, leading to a rather well-kept building of graying white stone. "I heard your motorcycle and came to greet you. It is not often that we get visitors here."
"Where am I?" he said, wanting to know everything about where he was. He had never encountered a town where they actually still had religion, and a church, too, at that.
Ayden smiled gently. "You are in Greyhaven, the place of light."
"Light?" Giving the town a once-over, he snorted. "Doesn't look very light to me."
"Ah, of course it looks like that." Ayden nodded sadly, though hope still shone through. "When the plague came many lost hope and died, the rest fleeing. The few that still remain here are immune, dying, or have battle through the sickness."
"Plague?"
"The Red Plague. Did you see the children outside the walls?"
He nodded. "That's geostigma."
"You know of it?" Ayden's eyes suddenly were filled with a different kind of hope. "Is there a cure you know of? Please, can you help us?"
Shaking his head, he removed his goggles and let them settle around his neck. "I'm sorry, the only way to fully cure them is to take them back to Edge. Even I don't know which direction that's in."
"Oh, Edge? That is…" Ayden made some motions with her index finger in the air, trying to remember which way the new city was. "In that direction." She pointed a little south of the direction Cloud had come from.
"How come no one's heard of you out here? You need help."
"Yes, but we in Greyhaven prefer our solitude."
"Even when it means the death of half of your people?"
Ayden gave another sad smile. "We will fight on and believe in our Goddess to protect us. She is out light now."
There was no getting through to this girl, was there?
"Would you like a place to stay? I would think the rain will get worse shortly. You will need shelter unless you plan to ride in this weather." Ayden motioned toward the church, already walking away.
Clenching his teeth slightly, he knew he had no other choice. The rain was getting worse, and he turned toward the church to follow the girl, jaw relaxing slightly. Parking his motorcycle outside, Ayden already had a tarp to cover it, making sure it was completely hidden.
"There. You may come inside now." In the entrance to the church there was one step, leading up to the interior where the floor was covered in a polished wood. The entry way was a grey stone, similar to that of the exterior. "Please remove your shoes and place them here." She pointed to a spot on the end of the row of shoes already there, all of them pointing out like they were ready for whomever to come out immediately and go.
Slipping off his shoes, he placed them where Ayden had indicated, toes pointing out as well. Ayden shook her head, picking them up and reversing them. "You are our guest. Yours go in, telling the Goddess you want to stay. Having them out as a guest says you want to leave as soon as possible, while as a resident here it says that you are here temporarily but need to go out to complete the Task given to you and will return."
He gave the golden-haired girl an odd look, clearly unaccustomed to this town's ways.
"Our customs are different, as you will see, from yours. I was fortunate enough to travel to Midgar when I was a girl, and came back with culture shock, as my mother called it." She stepped onto a mat next to the door, streaks of mud staining the black material. She folded the umbrella and placed it in a vase next to the mat. Stepping onto the hardwood floor he realized she wasn't wearing any shoes.
"You're barefoot?" he asked, slightly taken aback with this strange way. "Does everyone do that?"
Ayden placed a finger on her lips. "Shh. It is not allowed, but I do it anyway. I hate wearing them, even when it is raining. I prefer at least that much freedom." She motioned to her top, which he had noticed was a faded blue that he guessed had once been vibrant, hand-stitched. The waistline looked inordinately small, even for someone her size. "Our clothes are designed to provide a feeling of constraint and restriction to remind ourselves to hold back and never overindulge ourselves in anything."
"Sounds like a strict religion to me."
"It is, but it is also for the good of the people. Those with true faith have survived the plague, and those who have ever doubted the magic of Her have all died or left." She paused. "Geostigma, was it? Do you know much about it?"
He nodded, water dripping from his hair as his head moved. "It's gone, now, in Edge. After the final battle with Sephiroth a pool of water in an abandoned church was found to have healing powers that removed the disease from the body altogether. Everyone's been cured of it." Seeing Ayden's expression, his eyes narrowed. "Except here. What's going on?"
Ayden shrugged, rubbing her arm through the sleeve of her tunic top. "We have never been fond of mingling with you city-folk. As I said earlier, we like our solitude apart from others who oppose our beliefs."
"Ayden!" A voice came from outside the church, the click of boots hitting stone audible over the rain on the stones. "Ayden! They're coming!" A young man around Ayden's age stepped inside the church, slamming the wooden door behind him.
"I thought they were not coming until dawn," Ayden said, voice full of concern. "We must make the necessary preparations. Please gather everyone inside and lock the gates. Tell the patrolling scouts that they need to report to their stations. I want every tower filled with four, no, five soldiers, and the doors to all houses locked. The power will be shut off. Candles must be used. Ration out materia again."
"You use materia?" He sounded so surprised, Ayden couldn't help but laugh.
"Yes, we do. Our Goddess granted us the gift of magic but we could not contain it. Only when those from Midgar came with materia were we able to truly control it. Now, we only use it for practical purposes, never for fighting for nothing. We defend ourselves using it."
"Who is this?" The man who had just arrived pointed at the visitor, slipping off his black boots.
"Cloud," the blonde said simply, not offering his hand in greeting. "Who's attacking you and why? Maybe I can help."
"Ayden, did you tell him about the weapons policy?"
"Oh, right." Ayden gave a nervous smile and turned back to Cloud. "We cannot allow you to stay here without confiscating your weapons. I am sorry, but we cannot risk the enemy infiltrating our town, either. This is Finn. He is responsible for documenting all weaponry in the town. If you can give him your swords and materia I will show you where you can stay tonight."
"I can help," Cloud said shortly, not wanting to give up his swords. "And how do you know what I have with me?"
"Do not play innocent with me, Cloud Strife," Ayden said quietly, kindness slipping from her voice. Finn disappeared down the hall into the dark, a faint light glowing as he searched for the hidden materia below the church. "I know who you are and what happened. I happen to know you killed something important to us and that we are being gracious to you for letting you stay. I highly suggest you comply with our wishes and hand over your swords." Her bi-colored eyes seemed to flash slightly in the dim lights, a warning of such to Cloud.
The swordsman sighed, slipping on his muddy shoes again and stepping outside to Fenrir. He pulled the tarp off and drew out his swords, tucking them in the straps on his back temporarily. Once back inside he handed them over to Finn, who placed them in a large metal box with several locks on the outside. His large swords and materia were tucked away from sight under the stone tiles where the town's small supply of materia had been moments before, to ensure that no one would be taking them.
"This way, please, Mr. Strife." Ayden motioned down the opposite hall toward a row of doors, candle in hand that Cloud had never seen lit.
"You can just call me Cloud," he muttered, wondering how anyone had overlooked this strange town.
"As you wish, Cloud. You may have this room," she said, pushing open a door to a rather empty, dreary room. The only furnishings were a bed, a desk, a chair, a lamp, and a rug. The sheets on the bed were neatly made, as if they were washed and made often. Everything was plain, expected of a church, especially one in a town like this.
"Thanks," Cloud said, shrugging off his jacket. He sat down on the bed and stared out the single window, watching the rain hit the glass.
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, so you may come down and join us when you are ready."
Cloud nodded, the pitter-patter of the rain distracting him. There was something about this strange town, something that he could not place. What was it that made the geostigma stay, that made it red, like blood? He had been here before, though he wasn't quite sure when.
Finally his stomach's growling brought him back, no luck of remembering anything. A scent filled the air and beckoned him to the dining room.
As he opened the door and stepped outside his room a young girl suddenly ran by him, stopping to slide a few feet before running again, sliding around the corner into the kitchen and dining room.
"That was Umeka. She's a regular ball of energy, you might say." Finn was suddenly standing directly next to Cloud, holding out a lit candle. "You won't see her sitting still unless she's working, and in that situation you shouldn't bother her, or you risk losing something very dear to you," Finn said with a straight face, heading in the direction Umeka had gone in.
"Do you think she'll come again?" Umeka said, already seated at the low table near the fireplace.
"Who?"
"Her. You know, the 'Angelic Sniper'."
"Do not speak about her that way, Ume. She has helped us a great deal, and if she hears you talking about her like that she may not come back." Though Ayden's tone of voice was stern it was clear she held this person in high standards, as her eyes seemed to twinkle slightly at the mention of this girl.
"Who?" Cloud asked, taking a seat next to Umeka.
"There is a girl who appears on the battlefield in times of need, the 'Angelic Sniper' as many call her, as she has a small pair of wings on her back and has impeccable aim. She carries a large gun around with her and is almost indestructible."
"She's immortal," Umeka chirped, bright eyes shining with the thought of seeing the girl again tonight.
"No, Ume, she is not. No one is immortal." Ayden's eyes hardened over again as she poured Cloud a glass of a strange, clear liquid. She refused to believe it, and nothing anyone did could change it.
"You can take your tunic off now, Ayden," another girl said seated beside the golden-haired priestess. "No one's around."
"No one is around, Fye." Ayden was clearly against contractions and was correcting the other girl to teach her the same. "Remember what I said about that. And I do not think it would be appropriate to take it off in front of our guest. Cloud, this is Fye. She is training to be a priestess, too."
"Though I'm not really looking forward to it. Mom made me."
"Fye!"
The young redhead sighed. "Though I am not looking forward to it. My mother made me."
"Better."
"Is everything about your religion strict?" Cloud paused, chopsticks resting on the side of his plate. "Or is that just how you do things?"
"This is a religion for those who believe they can fully commit themselves to the challenge. Most religions are weak, open for corruption. Here, people can come and go without worrying about being swindled or falling to immoral temptations. Here, there is protection." It was her eyes again—they seemed to speak with her, the deep blue and green shining with a dark, inner secret that dared anyone to speak against her words. "I believe in the Goddess and always will, and for that I am kept safe. The exchange for safety and security beyond life is constraint. I cannot leave this town, nor can I indulge in activities that would defy Her."
"Activities? What kind of activities would 'offend' this goddess?"
Ayden's face turned slightly pink. "There are many. If you are curious about our religion I will show you the Book. There, you should find your answers."
Suddenly, a shell exploded somewhere nearby in the town, rocking the building and shaking the windows violently. They did not break, however, but cracked slightly.
"See, many windows will be shattered after that. We, however, are lucky because She is protecting us." Ayden stood up. "I will escort you all to the basement, except Finn." She turned to the man already standing beside her.
"Please make sure our town is safe."
Finn gave a short nod and disappeared down the hallway into the darkness.
"Where are we going?" Cloud asked as he was jerked up by Umeka, dragged down the hall in the opposite direction.
"To safety."
"Where would that be?"
"The basement. It's sealed off with magic to protect us. Every house has one. We don't all use them, obviously, or we'd have no soldiers left to protect us. Please do not resist." They stopped at what seemed like a dead end in the hall, though it was more than that. Umeka shoved Cloud rather violently into the wall, which was not a wall after Cloud hit it. Instead of making contact with the stone he found himself falling. Falling down a short slide that led to a spacious room underground, alight with candles and filled with necessary provisions.
Cloud rubbed his arm slightly, the one that he had fallen on when he tumbled into the room. He suddenly found himself under two teenage girls, however, when he realized he should have moved aside sooner.
"Sorry," Fye muttered, standing up and brushing herself off. In the candlelight Cloud saw her waist was small as well, though not as small as Ayden's.
"Where's Ayden?" Cloud asked, wondering where the priestess had gone.
"She's upstairs, probably praying or helping with the materia," Umeka said, plopping down on a blanket and pulling out a chain made of some kind of silver material. "Fye, do you want to help me? I'm almost done with it and you can bless it."
"I don't think I have that power yet, Ume…I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Just come over here and practice!"
Cloud turned his attention from the two small teenagers to trying to find a way out. He wasn't about to let the town get hurt. He was going to fight, whether they liked it or not. Sliding his hands along the walls a brick suddenly compressed into the wall, revealing a door that lead down a dark passageway.
"That was easy," Cloud muttered. He lifted a candle from the wall and began walking down the long hallway, the floor soon sloping upward to another small room, bare, except for a door and a window. Opening the door he found himself just inside the walls of the city, below a tower where he saw half a dozen soldiers using miscellaneous ranged weapons.
"Except…I don't have my swords. Dammit." Cloud cursed softly as he headed back to the church, the large bell atop it visible above the other buildings. Once inside he found the box where his swords were, cursing again as he realized he'd need the keys. Looking around, he saw a set lying on the ground. His eyes narrowed…it was too easy.
"Oh, well. Desperate times call for desperate measures." He took the keys and opened the box, lifting his swords and materia out. The materia slid into the weapons easily, the slots glowing slightly on contact. He put two extensions in the straps on his back, combining the rest and returning outside to the dark town.
It was still raining, if not harder, when he exited the church, heading for the towers again. He'd need to find a way outside—after all, he was a close-range fighter. Sure, he could use his materia, but it was most effective with physical damage. The large sword clutched in his hand was capable of much that he was determined to use to help this town so he could, in turn, find out what he wanted to know about it.