[Tribute to "Pictures of You" by Makoheadrush, Dillon Marquard is her OC, and Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix.]
The night is still, almost unsettling. Dark clouds roll in with soft rumbles of thunder. All of Kalm are safe in their homes, away from the cold rain…All except one person. A figure treads onto a hill overlooking the dreary world. She pulls the dark cloak tight, the hood over her head for some protection from the rain. This is where they held the service, it's still fresh on Harmony's mind. She couldn't speak out loud during the funeral, but her heart screamed as she stood in the crowd with tears streaming from her human eye. Her other eye, an addition to the cybernetic implants from Hojo's experiments, pierces in the shroud of darkness. Its emerald glow remains hidden by a curtain of long, brown bangs and the hood of the cloak.
Harmony couldn't sleep. Her body wracked with pain that isn't physical, and her heart still mourning. All who held the lost soul dear still mourn. The sadness ate away at her and she could no longer take it. Harmony got out of bed, got dressed and wandered from the village of Kalm to that little hill. Standing here made the cyborg feel so alone….So very alone. All she has left are memories of the man she loved, and made her new life bearable before he met his doom. Dillon Marquard was a courageous man who was capable to be in SOLDER. He had his whole life ahead of him, even when a few parts of it remain secret. Lips part to finally speak.
"Dill…" Harmony's voice is very faint, weak from spending so long crying. "It's been about a week…Since you said you would come back. You even promised that night." She knows that Dill never thought he would die on that mission. Harmony got a bad feeling about it, but orders are orders, and he seem so excited about it. "It's been two days since everyone said their goodbyes, and I couldn't, no matter how bad I wanted to." She knew better. Harmony was once a soldier like Dill. They met at ShinRa Academy. They quickly became friends, and it wasn't long until they developed feelings for each other.
A mission Harmony was sent on was a simple one: Check out the Sector Three Reactor to confirm if the speculations of AVALANCHE attack were true. It was a simple mission gone wrong. Suspicions were true and they left a surprise, which Harmony discovered. She warned everyone, but it was too late. The bomb went off and she was sure she met her end. One thing led to another, and Harmony was revived as a cyborg. Her left eye, which was gouged out of her skull replaced with a bionic eye. The right arm that was ripped off from the explosion has a cybernetic arm at its place.
Oh, those ugly memories of pain and misery. The Laboratory is where hope dies and humanity is nonexistent. Harmony is free, but hides from ShinRa's watchful eye, determined to get their experiment back. It was a reason why Dillon and Harmony kept this a secret, the bond that kept them closer together than before.
Rage fills Harmony, how dare he? How dare Dill go out of his way, only to get himself killed. "Dillon, you were a fool!" Harmony's voice becomes louder and angry tears fill her human eye. "Why?! Why did you have to die? I wanted to wear white when I saw you again! To stand beside you in the chapel! I didn't want to be in black and find you in a coffin!" Thunder roars with a vivid flash of lightning light the world around her. Fists clench tight and she falls onto her knees. The pain is too much, and the loss seem too surreal. Harmony wanted it to be a nightmare, a nightmare she will wake up from. She heaves a sob, eyes downcast onto the green grass under her. "I question why you were so reckless…But it was one of the reasons why I loved you." Harmony says softly.
"I missed seeing you and that goofy smile. I miss when you would tease me, but you never meant any harm…I missed those long hours staying up at night talking on the phone. We had to resort to texting because we got into trouble for being so loud." A light laugh escapes Harmony from the memories when they were teenagers at the Academy. "You were silly with all of the things you got yourself into. I even missed when we used to hold each other. I felt safe when we hugged, and when we kissed, I felt like I could take on the world. You even loved me when I got out of that Hell…and even though I looked different, you still loved me. You still wanted to talk to me. We promised, Dill…That we lost each other once, and we were not going to let that happen again." Harmony keeps her head low.
"I lost my father…Killed in action. I never thought I would be considered killed…And I never, ever thought you would be killed. I fell into an illusion that you were invincible, that no one can hurt you." Harmony whimpers and she looks to the west where the church bells ring. It goes once, twice, thrice times in the sorrowful night. Harmony is silent for a long moment.
"I always wanted this to be just a dream, something I will wake up to. What you did was reckless…but very brave. Dill, you were a hero to me, and you died as a hero. I will always love you…No one can ever take your place…But I still wish this was a dream, a bad dream." Thunder rumbles as the rain fades to a light sprinkle. "I miss your voice, your hair…your green eyes." Harmony whispers tearfully, her hand strokes the grass beneath her as she thought about Dill's eyes of emerald.
"I love you…and I miss you."