Stockholm Syndrome

Author: Mask of Mirage

Rating: M

Comments: Finally, I got my hands on the copy of the movie! Then the plot bunnie hit me and it hit me hard. For a few months now I've been wanting to work on this concept of 'empathizing with your captor', commonly known as Stockholm Syndrome. Hence the title, hence the mood song, yada yada yada. And to date, there are only seven stories with this pairing so I was like, "Why not?" Enough with my insanity, now enjoy.

Mood Song: Stockholm Syndrome by Muse (obviously)

Prologue:

Stockholm syndrome: (noun) and emotional attachment to a captor formed by a hostage as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival

XxXxXxX

The Lifestream.

That's what we call the river of life that circles our planet…

…giving life to the world and everything in it.

The Shinra Electric Power Company discovered a way to use the Lifestream as an energy source. Because of Shinra's energy, we were able to live very comfortable lives. But wasn't that because we were taking away from the planet's life? A lot of people thought so. Shinra used their power to try and stop anybody who got in their way.

Shinra had a special group of warriors called SOLDIER. And all of the SOLDIERs had Jenova cells put inside them. Jenova was a calamity that fell from the sky a long, long time ago …

…and tried to destroy the planet.

Anyway, there was one SOLDIER named Sephiroth who was better than the rest. But when he found out about the terrible experiments that made him he began to hate Shinra. And then, over time, he began to hate everything.

In the end, the planet itself had to make the battles stop for good. "Sadness was the price to see it end…."

Then there was one. One resembling those who strive for their parent's approval. One who felt so detached from the world that they only way to prove their worth was through the suffering of others. One who holds a complete stranger prisoner and one who, ultimately, finds salvation in that stranger.

But this isn't his story but of someone far more crucial to this tale. It's about the stranger who comes to realize the true meaning of,

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer".

Chapter One

I couldn't help but think if I wasn't beaten, bloody, hogtied and thrown across the big one's bike, that this situation would almost be called comical. I mean it wasn't everyday that Sephiroth's Remnants were able to knock me for a loop and kidnap me, like one of those sobbing damsels in those movies that Elena likes to watch.

I suppose I should admit, not that there was a chance in hell I would, that it was my own fault for getting too cocky before the fight. I had so underestimated that tall, pansy-looking one.

Throughout all this, I had no idea whatsoever where Rude was, whether they had got him as well or he was lying dead back in Edge.

The loud roar of the steel beast beneath my body caused a deafening split to erupt in my head along with the steady drip-drip of blood from a cut above my eyebrow. Above the sound of the bike, I could hear the deep, low breathing of Loz and felt, with a sudden sense of overwhelming apprehension, the even lub-dub of his heartbeat beneath his leather jacket. We just got finished having an all-out brawl and I was still breathing hard; was this guy even human!

The edge of the seat was cutting into my side and I desperately hoped we didn't hit any bumps as I would have gone flying off to have a sudden date with the dirt. My eyes snapped shut on reflex as a thin trail of warm, crimson liquid seeped into my eyes and I moaned slightly in pain. Above me, I felt a deep rumble of laughter escape Loz.

"Hey Yazoo, I think Red back here is getting uncomfortable. Y'think I should knock 'im out, y'know put him out of his misery?"

I felt rather than seen the other bike slow down to ride parallel to us. A long, glove-covered finger lifted my chin, forcing me to squint up at the person who had beaten me. Due to the blurry haze of my eyes, Yazoo's expression was indecipherable and I let out another low groan of pain as my head was released to fall back heavily back onto the hard metal.

"No, let him be. Kadaj will be angry if he's too out of it to respond," Yazoo replied in his usual monotone.

A wave of relief rushed through me and I closed my eyes once more, allowing the soft vibrations of the bike beneath me to lull me into that dark abyss of unconsciousness.

Author's Note: Anyway the whole first paragraph in italics I obviously don't own. I believe Marlene said it in the opening scene of Advent Children. This was just a story I needed to get out, to help me concentrate on Carnal Attraction so, please, don't hold your breath on updates. They'll be posted when they come to me.

Feedback is appreciated.

Mask of Mirage