[ Through Torrents of Time ]
Storm Torrent's Life
By: (Penname) StormTorrent
Foreword:
The long awaited revision is taking place. Here's the first installment.
After playing FFVII: Crisis Core, I decided I needed to revise Storm's past a little more thoroughly to fit in with that timeline and the circumstances whereabouts. Also, my writing was absolutely atrocious, so I'm happy to tear it apart and glue it back together. So...a little about Storm.
She began as Storm McCloud, as I made her up when I was only six sitting on my daddy's lap watching him play FFVII when it was first released. Over the years, however, she's changed quite a lot; gone through a name change, costume change, personality change—and now Storm Torrent has become the model for most of my original characters. She's obviously the oldest of my original characters, and has become so independent and over the years has evolved so much. Her story and past continues to deepen and grow and I have put a lot of myself into her. I hope that in some way Storm can be my little contribution to everyone and to the Final Fantasy community. I hope she doesn't screw up anything important either. I hope you can get just as involved in her story as I am. And with no further ado—here's Through Torrents of Time.
Also, thank you Bre for how much you've helped me develop Storm's character. I wouldn't be the same without you, and Storm would not be the multi-dimensional character she is without your help! You're amazing, thanks so much for your friendship.
Chapter One: It Begins
"Twai, Twai!!" A young girl's voice rang out through the old abandoned Midgar Playground down in the slums near the lousy Orphanage.
"Storm, get back here!!"
Giggling she refused and continued to evade her fourteen year old brother's snatching hands. It had always been like this ever since her mother and father died; homeless but happy; an orphaned family of siblings, one girl and five boys living in uncaring bliss.
Here, I am not saying the death of her parents did not devastate the young four year old girl, Storm Torrent. The death of her parents was brutal, horrible, her mother and father shot down by Shinra Guard by order of the President. The girl was left with no mark, only the knowing that she was important, special, the vibrant eerie glow of mako in her eyes…alas how was she to know? She was far too young. And she had no possessions of her own. Only the clothes on her back and the friendship with her brothers.
"Gotcha!!"
Laughing as her brother tickled her she kicked and screamed, arms flailing about. Eventually both brother and sister collapsed on the ground, chests heaving. Storm had never been happier, really. She loved her brothers Twai especially. Twai and Storm were practically inseparable. It all came crashing down when an unusual sound was heard…a click, a strange crunching click, unknown to the four year olds ears but not to Twailaron's. He sat up with a start.
"Freeze, and do not move."
Shinra guards were all around them and Storm found herself in tears, Twai's arms protectively around her. It took no explaining nor convincing for Twai, he knew what they were here for and under no circumstances would he let them do as they initially charged. Storm sat frightened in her brother's arms, completely oblivious…
"I'll do it…" Twai breathed, looking up the barrel of the gun shoved at his head.
A moment later Storm found Twai's arms no longer around her or the guns trained on the two of them. Twai stood, looking down at the fearful girl, "Run fast and find Eveo…I love you little sis..."
She got up and ran. It was the last time she would see her brother Twai…
--
It was six years later, Storm was only ten years old. Still, the memories of Shinra dragging her brother away tore in her thoughts daily. Nothing made sense about it, she was far too young to understand. But the words 'I love you little sis' rang in her head, haunting her continuously. She could still see the torture in his face. What horrible things awaited him? She sat cross-legged on the cold street pondering these things, running her tiny grimy finger through the dirt in the street. The shape of a star…
"Storm!"
Her head jerked up from where she was sitting tracing her figures in the filthy dusty street. Her eyes met a familiar form—eyes, nose, mouth, nose, all identical to her own; it was Desrito, her twin brother. Desrito halted, and heaved a moment. He had been running a long way it seemed. "Storm," he wheezed, "Eveo and Chrome are talking about dad."
This made Storm leap to her feet. Together the twins raced through the cobble stone streets, feet padding along, rushing to where the eldest brothers were talking about the most confidential family issues. It was dark that night, a flickering street lamp hanging over Evening and Chrome's heads was the only light to be found. They sat on two rocks, adjacent each other; their discussion place. With Twai gone, Evening, being the second oldest of the brothers, was the one with all the family secrets. Perhaps now things might be clearer? Shrinking behind a pillar of stone on looking the brother's discussion place Storm and Desrito fell hushed trying to listen.
"…I know dad worked for Shinra, Eveo, but what difference does that make?" Chrome asked in an exasperated tone, "Tons of people work for Shinra. Is Shinra really all that bad?"
Evening sighed, running a hand through his shaggy light brown hair. His locks only flopped back down over his navy eyes as he shook his head. Pausing a moment to collect himself Evening chewed his lip thoughtfully, "Chrome, it's Storm. She's the key."
"The key to what?" Chrome asked, cocking his head to the side.
"The key to everything." Evening responded solemnly. "Twai told me everything…he looked into dad old files before he burned them. You know he burned them right?"
"He did!?" Chrome sounded shocked, "Why!?"
"So Shinra couldn't get to them, of course." Evening replied, "Apparently dad had been unknowingly participating in one of Hojo's damned heinous experiments. One of dad's final wishes were for those files to be destroyed. He trusted to truth to Twai, but he never wanted anything to go forward."
Chrome nodded slowly, "I see…"
"But you see," Evening continued, "When Shinra found out that Twai destroyed all the data…they went to the source. They took the next best thing."
"Twai himself." Chrome finished bitterly.
Evening clenched his fists over his knees and closed his eyes. "Yes…"
There was a long pause. Storm could see her breaths coming out in white puffs before her and Desrito's hands were warm and tight on her small shoulders. She trembled, "Des…" she mumbled, "I'm scared."
"Shhhh." He soothed, tightening his grip on her shoulders.
"Chrome, do you know what Shinra did to Storm?" Evening asked, finally lifting his head.
"No, I don't." Chrome acknowledged, "That's what you were about to tell me right?"
With a reluctant sigh Eveo continued, "Well…when Storm was only a baby, they injected her with massive amounts of Mako."
"Mako!?" Chrome sounded stunned, "I thought you said something before about those weird Jenov-"
"Yeah, yeah I know…" Evening cut him off, "Those were the specimens that dad's initial study was on. He was working with Dr. Hollander—you remember him?"
Chrome nodded after thinking for a moment, "Yes, I remember Dr. Hollander, and Professor Hojo having dinner with us quite a lot."
"Well, Hollander took over the Jenova Cell study," Evening continued, "that branched off to other experiments I think. Not really sure what happened…but I remember hearing dad say that it was corrupted piece of work, unethical practice, and he was happy to be rid of it."
Chrome nodded again, "Yes, I remember that too."
"Well, Hojo wasn't really rid of it—they intended to inject Storm with the cells."
Chrome's eyes widened. Evening went on, "They injected mom with it. Shot her up with Mako and the Cells…apparently they were seeing results, but it was making her really sick. They thought that perhaps a younger body would more easily adapt to it. Since mom always brought Storm to work with her, she was the easiest to get to."
"Didn't dad know what was going on?" Chrome interrupted, "This is horrible…"
"Dad caught on when mom was getting sick. He saw mom drinking mako one day…" Evening swallowed, making a face, like the worlds left a horrible taste in his mouth, "She was drinking it, Chrome, like an addict—"
"Stop it." Chrome cut him off, holding up a hand, "I don't even wanna think about it. I don't wanna know…just stop…"
A pained silence passed between them and Chrome digested the information more thoroughly.
"Poor Storm…" Chrome breathed after the long pause, "She's our only sister…we have to protect her. We can't let Shinra get to her. We can't let them finish whatever abomination they started."
Evening nodded in firm agreement, "I don't know what it was, but Shinra wanted her for something and something big. Either her or the information that is. If Twai gave it to them, I don't know what'll happen…" Eveo dropped his head into his hands.
Storm was stone. Completely still, stunned. Shinra…Jenova…Mako…her mind whirled with the information, she was positively dizzy. Her mother….her father…Hojo…Hollander…she shut her eyes, trying to shut it all out. But she couldn't contain it. The tears came. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop, stop, stop!!" Storm ran out from behind the stone pillar and threw herself into Evening's arms. Chrome's face twisted, shooting Evening a knowing look; Storm had heard the entire thing. Wrapping his arms right around Storm Evening began to rock her back and forth. Storm cried, bawling, soaking her brother's shirt with tears. The two brothers sat there, silent, solemn while their only sister sobbed. Des looked on in equally solemn silence. Then Evening broke the silence, lips parting he began to sing softly into Storm's ear. Evening's voice was mellifluous, light but masculine and always evenly tuned. He hummed out a familiar tune:
"Twinkle, Twinkle little star…"
Storm's favorite lullaby, both brothers knew it was. As he sang, Storm's crying subsided into a fitful rest, snuggled into Evening's strong comforting arms,
"How I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky…Twinkle, Twinkle little…" He couldn't finish. Chrome threw his gaze upward when he heard Evening's voice fall short. His face was red, so close to tears, and then they came. They flowed over his bottom eye lid, and he crying silently into Storm's long dark brown hair.
"…Star, how I wonder what you are." It was Storm who finished, reaching up and brushing away her big brother's tears then giving him a tight squeeze around his middle.
Little Star, it was official; Storm would find her little star and reach it no matter how tortured to the core she was. She knew Chrome, and Evening, and Des would help her, she knew they wouldn't let her down…she was not alone.
--
The Midgar sky was blacker than ever as it hung over the trash heap Storm called home. How she loathed it…and she felt bitterly alone. When Storm turned fifteen, Evening left town, looking for a job to support their starving family. It had been a full year with no word and no return. They no longer had money for food, let alone clothing. Storm had a single outfit, one she had long since grown out of but needed it badly. The sleeves were far too short, and the pants were high-water, so she's simply did her own alterations in tearing the arms off of her shirt from the shoulder down and the legs of her pants from the knee down. She looked like the street girl she was. She needed a job too. Badly. Immediately.
Her other brothers, Chrome and Marq, also went out of town looking for a job and a new place for them to stay. Midgar wasn't safe any of them anymore, what with the possibility of Shinra looking for Storm and the other brothers. However, Storm insisted on staying in Midgar. It was all she knew, the thought of leaving everything behind was far too much for her. She promised to steer clear of Shinra and keep to herself. So—the brother's entrusted her to her twin's care. Yes, they'd left her with the minute-thirty-two-seconds-older-than-she, annoyingly egotistical twin brother Desrito…what a pain in the butt.
Storm kicked at a rock and thrust her hands into the pockets of her pants. Her left hand tore through the pocket. With no money for needle or thread she cursed and kicked at another rock wondering how long these clothes would last before she had to walk around naked. Not a favorable thought.
Des wanted her to meet him at the Shinra Building. Yes, it was exactly what her brother's didn't want them to do, but that was the thrill of it. This was the only delight in the twin's lives; watching the soldiers train outside in the deep of the night. Even on a crummy night like this Storm loved it. No one ever saw them; it was completely safe watching there from their little hiding place; the one place where they could stay out of sight of the soldiers. That was a small notch in the wall, just around the corner from the outside training square. Storm and Des could fit there perfectly and from what they knew, no one but they knew about the small notch. Storm thought about the training soldiers often; the fluid way they swung their massive blades, their glowing eyes waiting on the instructors every command. That instructor was Sephiroth…Des' idol.
Des loved it, yes, but Storm adored it. She knew every type of sword each soldier swung, the name of every move, and how to do it. Her fingers longed to touch the smooth cold metal of the blades. Her ever mechanical mind ticked day and night with ideas. So many moves could be perfected if the swords were altered in such ways. Storm was obsessed with it. She knew every soldier's name, their best move, the type of sword they used and how they could perfect it…if only she could tell them!!
She began to pick up her pace remembering it. Jogging now, she followed the familiar path to Shinra Inc. The night before the President's son came out to watch. His name was Rufus, he was seventeen years old just a year older than herself. From the moment she first saw him, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. His voice was commanding a strong for such a young age. His stature, the way he carried himself, tall and confident—it thrilled her, left her strangely breathless. She smiled, remember how she'd listened intently as he drilled questions into Sephiroth and the squads he was training. All the while he did she murmured the answers softly to herself. She wished that night she could answer them to his face, but dreams like that never come true, Storm had come to that realization. He was the president's son. She was a penniless nothing. Besides, he was connected to Shinra…it was absolutely out of the question. And yet, she still admired him from afar.
Storm's feet padded to a halt. She'd come to the notch in the wall just as the squadrons were emerging single file from the door. The angry eyes of her brother were on her in an instant.
"Where've ya been!?" Des growled, grabbing her arm and yanking her into the notch.
"Around…" Storm responded shortly, scanning the flat for Rufus. He was no where in sight to her slight disappointment. Letting a soft sigh escape her lips, her heart sank. But it was then that her eyes caught sight of a new Soldier. It made for a good distraction, someone else to study and learn about, "Des, that blondie over there…" She paused studying him. She looked him up and down observing. He towered well over some of the other soldiers, but obviously fresh with the sword given his lanky arms and obviously swollen calloused hands, "Tall…scrawny…" she snickered.
But then she caught sight of his eyes, glowing with mako enhancement like her own, a clear, honest, crystal blue. She was sure for a moment if they looked her way she knew she'd be reduced to a puddle. They were such soft eyes, telling and pure, "Blue eyes…Who is he?"
"Who Travis?" Des responded distractedly.
"No, no, the other blonde!" Storm hissed, "You never listen. You see?" she pointed, "That one there, the one with the really spiky hair and the loose ponytail." She added, noticing the short stub of a pony tail sticking out of the back of his head.
"Oh." Des regarded him for a moment before shaking his head, "No idea…he must be new."
Storm nodded and gave up her momentary obsession. She'd learn about him soon enough as they began to train. Sephiroth stood at the front of the lines. He called the Soldiers to attention with a rising of his hand. Storm smiled eagerly, ready for him to give the customary commands. Sephiroth made another motion, this one unfamiliar. The Soldiers turned toward the notch in the wall, all facing them. Storm knew they couldn't see them.
"Ohh Des, this must be a new drill!" Storm muttered, her voice buzzing with excitement. Des nodded eagerly.
Sephiroth snapped his arm in their direction again once again. Then all the Soldiers began to march toward them. They were caught! Shock and adrenaline jolted Storm's system—they knew it might happen one day. Des and Storm scattered. Des fled, but Storm ran forward toward the Soldiers.
"Storm!!" Des yelled, panic riddling his call, "What the hell are you doing!?"
Deaf to his shouting, Storm surged forward. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as adrenaline was building. She'd waited too long for this. Far too long. First, a brown haired soldier rushed at her, bringing down his buster sword to connect with her arm, but Storm was expecting it.
"Good down slash, Michael, but you really need to work on other things." She commented with a smirk, sliding to the side to avoid it. Another sword swung her way, a side slash.
"Nice try, Travis, but if you want that to actually hit some one try sloping it a little." She continued, leaping to avoid it eaily. A laugh escaped her; this was a delight, a game, all too much fun! The Soldiers became enraged as this stranger girl called them by name and corrected them, who did she think she was!? Another sword came her way, slashing at her ankles. She jumped it and jerked back to avoid a jab from another blade
"Jonas and Keith was it?" She stifled a laugh as her feet hit the ground and she stuck her hands on her hips, a haughty smile plastered on her face, "Really, your jujitsu is so much better…stick to hand to hand guys--"
WHACK!!!
For a moment she didn't realize she was struck, but sure enough she was. Dazed, bleeding, she fell to she ground looking up blearily at her attacker…
The new blonde soldier…
She wasn't sure where she was bleeding, where she'd been hit, but she'd been hit hard and she was in such a trance the pain hadn't kicked in yet. Oh there. It came. She screamed a blood curdling scream until her voice died out. Her eyes zoomed down to her side where she found a gaping wound. Curling herself into the tightest ball possible, she cupped her hand over the gash, trying to block out the blinding pain. It didn't stop the flow of the deep red liquid surging from her side. Her attacker, the blonde soldier, looked on terrified and glanced around for help from the other soldiers.
"What do we do now!?"
"I don't know!! He just said to get em!"
"I know, but wh--"
Another cry filled the air, but it wasn't a cry of just pain, it was much more. All eyes turned Sephiroth's way. He stood sword splashed with the crimson paint of blood…Des' blood. Des' lifeless body lay on the ground, a puddle of blood growing fast, it was gushing from his chest. The new blonde soldier looked like he was going to vomit. It was sickening. The stench of Torrent blood filled the night air and no one spoke in shock.
The last thing Storm remembered was Sephiroth's head hovering over hers, an extended hand, and then…her eyes closed and the night became all the darker.
!PREVIEW!
Chapter Two: Things Begin To Turn
Things aren't looking too great for our heroine, Storm Torrent. But things really do begin to turn when someone finds her and takes her in. Perhaps there is a place she can call her own? This is where Storm's life truly begins.