Real
Prologue
That one day was just like any other day. Normal, or at least, in some ways. But, on that one night... The unexpected would occur.
That one night, all was dark. I was just sleeping in my bed like every night when a loud crash woke me up. I was wondering what it could've been, but then, a loud scream resounded from the room downstairs where my mom and Bryan usually slept. I hurried downstairs only to see Mom staring out the window. On her face was a worried expression. "Who screamed?" I asked, clearly alarmed. My mom didn't answer. She was still staring out the window. When I got up close enough to see what she was staring at, I could only gasp in horror. The house had gone up in flames. The flames seemed to dance elegantly as they scurried to the top of the house. At this, I instantly thought of Sephiroth, and my own creation in my story, Sephidaj. But, it was weird. I remember that when I thought of him I had a instant feeling of pain in my chest. I struggled to breathe as my brain conjured up an image of Sephiroth in a blazing fire. Then, for some reason, I wanted to go find Sephiroth as my brain only thought of one thing: for Sephiroth, for Reunion. Then, after what seemed like hours, my eyes opened. I was being led outside my house. As this happened, I looked around. I could see that all the grass around the front and back yards were black and burnt. And our house... What happened to it? I let go of the hand that was guiding me, as I shouted to them, "What happened to our house?!" The man sighed and shook his head. "You should be asking yourself that question." "What do you mean?!" I asked angrily. "I just did!" "No, I mean..." The man sighed deeply again. "You were in the house... When it was burnt down. We had to come directly inside the house to get you out." I gasped. "Me? In the house?" He nodded. "When we came in, you were muttering something to yourself about the Reunion... And about coming to Sephiroth, that this 'Sephiroth' was calling to you... I dunno what that means. Do you?" I shook my head. "No." "Oh." The man said. "Well, I think someone might've been controlling your mind. Making you think you needed to do things that you don't know anything about." I nodded. "Makes sense." There was a silence. "Wait! You said I was in the house when it was burnt down, right?! Then..." I looked at my arms, legs, hands. Nothing. No injuries at all. Not even death. "How did I not die?" The man shrugged. "We really don't know. The last we heard, this weird ball of light picked you up... And carried you up into the air. Then, when we came back to check on the house again, you somehow still had your memories. You weren't burnt at all, but was a bit unresponsive." He shivered. "Do you... Remember any of that conversation we had in the house, young girl?" I shrugged. "I don't think so. All I remember is seeing the flames dancing near the top of the building." "You don't remember ANY of that conversation we had?" He asked again. I shook my head. "No, I don't. I don't remember it at all." The man put his hand on his chin. "Hm... I wonder..." Just then, his phone rang and he was forced to pick it up. "Hello?" He asked, already walking away. "Wait!" I called out. "What about my parents?!" But no one answered. I thought I was all alone in the darkness of the night, that is, until... A arm tightly grabbed me into a hug. "Oh, Grace! I thought you were done for!" A voice cried out. And that was when I knew... My parents were still here. They had waited here for me. They had waited this whole time. And with that, I hugged my mom tightly, promising to never again let her go... That is, until she said, "Our house was burnt down, sweetie." My eyes filled with tears as I gaped open-mouthed at her. "What?!" "I'm sorry." Bryan said. "But we need to move to another town." I gasped. I don't want to cry, I don't want to cry, I don't want to cry. Tears spilled out of my eyes. I started to cry as I buried my face in my moms chest. "We're sorry, sweetie." Mom said. "But we have to move. For now, we're staying at the Hampton Inn nearby." I kept on crying, as my Mom tried her hardest to comfort me. But I would never be comforted. I would never be calm. I would never happy. That is, until my house - no - our house - somehow miraculously came back.
Deep in the sky, higher up than the clouds, a young man stood in the midst of the Mako. His clothes were torn away. And yet in his deep green eyes shone the power of Mako energy. He knew he needed to become one now. And so, as he calmly closed his glowing eyes, his body slowly changed. He became one with him. One with one of his puppets. And then, as he opened his eyes, the Mako flowing nearby started to flow slowly. Then, all of a sudden, it completely stopped. Someone gasped with horror as the man smirked with delight. His body was now being carried to the real world. He only had to do one thing to get back his original body: get that girl broken. Broken even more than she is now. And he knew just how to do it.
Real
Chapter 1
A Day Filled With Sorrow
The moment I found out that our house was burnt down. The moment that I found out we had to move to a new town. "Why?" Was all I had thought at that moment. "Why do we have to do this? Why was our house burnt down? And why do we have to move?" My thoughts were interrupted by the car pulling into the parking lot. "We're here!" My mom says happily, a tiny smile beaming on her face. "I know, trust me." I muttered sarcastically. "Oh, Grace, you should be happy." Mom says sweetly. "Isn't there free Wifi here?" Yeah, there's Wifi here. Yeah, like that's what I want right now, Mom. I manage to roll my eyes unnoticed as I jumped out of the car. Mom got out right after me, as did Bryan. "Hey, Grace, shouldn't you be happy?" Mom again asked me. I rolled my eyes again. "Sure.." I muttered under my breath. And, with that, we walked toward the hotel room.
"Why?" I asked myself again for the second time that day. "Why do we have to do this? Why was our house burnt down? And why do we have to move?" At our house, Mom did nothing but clean things. I could tell Mom might be getting homesick, because she now cleaned everything she put her eye upon. At our house, Bryan did all the cooking. I could tell that he might be getting homesick, mostly because of the messy dishes that now covered the floor. (We didn't have a trash can in our hotel room!) Mom suddenly interrupted my worried thoughts by saying, "Hey, why don't we go to the pool?" I rolled my eyes. "Sure, whatever." I muttered under my breath. I had (slightly) said yes to the idea of going to the pool. But, little did my mom know, I wouldn't enjoy it one extra little bit, nor would I enjoy the time afterward.
"That was HORRIBLE!" I complained as I threw off my shoes. It really was. It was the worst. I had tried to get the Internet out at the pool, but it didn't work all the way out there! Plus, as I was getting in the pool, this little kid splashed me in my face! And, to top it all off, my toys sank all the way to the bottom of the pool and I couldn't get them. So, as a result, I asked this little girl to get them for me, and she did! But, guess what? She stole them for herself just like a little thief! It was the worst ever! I am currently very mad. Very, very mad. So mad that right when I go back into my room in the inn, I forcefully jump back into the bed and bury myself in the covers. And that was when I felt a sharp pain. "It feels like it's coming from both my shoulder and my face!" I thought to myself, suddenly scared. I rapidly jump up off the bed and look in the mirror... Only to see some mysterious, painful black ooze dripping down my forehead. I instantly gasp, and I wipe the dripping ooze off my face. But then, I felt another pain in my shoulder. I turn to look at it, only to see a big black bruise forming there, right on my shoulder blade. And then, I heard a voice. Not a voice like in real life, but rather a voice inside of your own mind. And it sounded very familiar. "Come..." It said darkly. "Come here to me." I hesitated for a second. "Why are you hesitating? Don't you want to join Reunion?" It asked me. At the word Reunion, a sudden pain shot up my shoulder blade as I gasped, trying my best to breathe in air. After a silence, the voice sighed. "Humph." It said. "So you really won't come with me. You seem to be more powerful than you let on. ... Nevermind that. You'll soon regret this.." The voice seemed to fade out within my mind as the pain dispersed, but the wounds on my shoulder did not. Just then, I remembered Denzel's first symptom of Geostigma: the black ooze. ... The black ooze! I had had black ooze dripping down my forehead! That was when I realized... I had gotten the deadly disease known as Geostigma. Searing pain suddenly shot up my arm. Alarmed, I gasped in pain as it slowly enveloped me. And, with that, I fainted into a world of darkness...
Chapter 2
Run Away
I woke up in a room of white. A doctor was leaning over me, touching my arm. "Tell me, does this hurt?" He gently slapped my bruised arm. "Ow!" I screamed. "Apparently it does." The man said. "Let me take a look here." The doctor looked at my bruised arm closely, inspecting it. Then, all of a sudden, he gasped and threw back his hand as if it had been burned. "GEOSTIGMA!" He screamed loudly. The people turned toward him and screamed. The nurse ran into the room. "Who has Geostigma?" She asked worriedly. The man pointed a finger toward me. "Her!" The nurse suddenly fainted. I gasped and looked around. Everyone was panicking. Even my mom and dad. Was it all because of me? Not knowing what else to do, I ran out of my hospital room, making sure to remember to cover up my bruised arm with my shirt on the way out. "Where's the closest place of relaxation near here?" I asked the hospital attendant. "Hm.. The closest place of relaxation... I would say that's the Croatan. It's just across the nearby walking bridge." "Ok! The Croatan! Thanks!" I started to walk away, but just then, the hospital attendant called out, "Wait... You aren't.. Planning on going out there all by yourself, are you?" I turned and nodded. "Yeah, why?" "Because... There's been rumors." I tilted my head. "Rumors?" "Yes.." The man shivered. "Rumors." There was a silence. "Rumor has it," the man started. "that in the woods of the Croatan, there's been a voice." "A... Voice?" I inquired. "A singing voice." He emphasized. "From which part of the woods?" I questioned. He slapped his forehead. "You really don't know anything about these woods, do you?" "No, no I don't." I admitted, rubbing my forehead nervously. The man sighed. "There are two parts of the woods: one that runs in a straight line, and one that runs through the middle of the woods. Do you think you should take this task?" "Uh, yeah, sure, whatever! Well, gotta go!" The man sighed again when he looked up and saw that I had left. "I wonder if she'll be alright..." He muttered to himself.
I wandered through the woods, growing more and more tired by the minute. I was so tired, I decided to create a poem in my head to drag me along... And so I wouldn't fall asleep. "Wandering, wandering, wandering, through the woods... So, so, tired, I feel like I could die..." But then, I heard another voice. And it was a real one. "Listen to my voice..." It sang. "And watch it resound through this forest..." I froze. Who was this? Just then, I remembered. The singing voice! Right now, I was the only one who wasn't afraid to hear it. I was the only one who would have to face it. And do, without fear, I raced toward the bushes and opened them... Only to see a young girl wearing a battered white dress with her eyes closed. I got up close to her, but then, almost instantly, her glowing green eyes opened. She struck her sword at me, making me step backward in shock. "Who are you?" She demanded with a cold expression on her face. "And why are you here?" "I..." I started. I thought about everyone who had ran away from me. I thought about everyone I had run away from. And I thought about my family. Were they missing me? Or were they perfectly fine without me? I couldn't help it. I started crying. "I.." I said, through tears. "I... I don't know." The girl scowled up at me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I took a shaky breath, and finally said, "I ran away." "Oh.." The girl was now staring at me with what looked an attempt at a sorrowful expression. "Are you a fugitive too?" I almost laughed. "A fugitive?! No! I just ran away from the hospital because of a sudden sickness I have. Because of that sickness, nobody wants to be around me." "Oh." The girl said quietly. Her face slowly turned back into that cold, heartless expression I'd first saw. "So.. You aren't a fugitive?" She asked me. I nodded. "Nope. Not a fugitive." "Well then, if you're not a fugitive, I don't need to be hanging around with you anymore." And with that, she flicked her hair back away from her face and started to walk away from me. "Wait!" I called out. She turned her head slightly toward me without a word. "What's your name?" "Sara." She said slowly. "Don't forget it." And, with that, she was gone. "Gone, huh?" I thought to myself. "Maybe, back at the hospital, they think I've vanished, just like that..." I sighed and leaned my hand on a old-looking tree. "Maybe so." A equally quiet, yet still calm and cold-sounding voice resounded throughout the forest. "But, maybe... Maybe they don't even know you're missing." I straightened up. Who was that? And whose footsteps were those? It sounds like they're heading this way... I got to my feet and started to run, but, just as I did, I felt a hand roughly press on my shoulder. I looked beside me. Standing next to me was a young man with green cat-like eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light of the forest who was wearing a unzipped dark coat with silver gauntlets on the front of it. He snickered, right before doing a wicked smile. And then he said the words, "He will be reborn someday."
Chapter 3
Sephidaj