ATE: Hello everyone! I happen to have a new story for you. This happens to be called Through Innocent Eyes, which is a side story to Insight. What's different about this story is that it explores Amalthea's past, which had certain memories touched upon in the main story through flashbacks. I am writing chapters ahead of time for this (and have summarized some of them in flashbacks), but the thing is that I won't be posting those (specifically Chapter 2) until I reach a certain part of the main story. You'll know why when the time comes. I hope that you enjoy this story, and that it would shed some light on Amalthea's character.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Final Fantasy VII. I only own my OC.

Through Innocent Eyes

~*~The Beginning~*~

It was like any other day in the Sector 8 Slums. The denizens went about their way-even if it was just working jobs or running errands—trying to improve their lives or make ends meet in the dreary setting below the Plate.

The sound of gleeful laughter filled the air as a group of children played among each other, providing some relief to the hearts of anyone passing through the area, for witnessing the carefree sight in the Midgar Slums was enough to brighten up things regardless of how small; coming across such things weren't rare as long as you knew where to search.

But despite all this, the little 5 year old girl didn't seem to mind the life she was born into. That, and she was too young to understand how the world truly worked (such was the simplistic way children viewed the world through innocent eyes). All that mattered to her at the moment was the game of tag she was playing with her friends.

"Tag, you're it!" A boy announced as he quickly tapped her shoulder.

She laughed as she could hear her friends playfully telling each other to run away as she chased after them. Her attention was drawn to the girl closest to her started running faster to catch her. At first she ignored how fast her heart was beating (believing it was due to her excitement), but soon she found herself having problems breathing as a hand grasped her chest in pain. She started becoming fearful as she the longer the problem continued.

Her friends seemed to noticed the state she was in and stopped running as they gathered around her, but kept their distance.

"Are you okay, Amalthea?" The girl she'd been chasing had asked. She made to approach her, but then one of the boys stopped her.

"Don't go near her." The boy that had grabbed the girl's shoulder told her. "She could be faking it."

By this point Amalthea was breathing heavily as she started getting dizzy, along with having trouble hearing. Somehow, she managed a weak cry for help before passing out.

(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)

Amalthea wasn't sure what was going on. One moment she saw the worried faces of Mommy and Daddy, and then the next to see an unfamiliar face in a white coat seeming to look her over. Things seemed to blur together like this until she found herself waking up in her bed, her body feeling weak. The voices of her parents reaching her ears as they talked to someone else, and though she couldn't seem to make out what was being said, the tone of the conversation didn't sound good.

"Not much can be done for her at this point." The man talking to her parents said. "If anything, all you can do now is make her comfortable and limit how much physical activity she can perform each day. That, and make her last few years the best for her."

Mommy seemed to choke on a sob she was trying to hold back. What was going on? Why was Mommy sad? What did the man mean by what he said? What would happen in the next few years?

"That's it?" Mommy asked. "You want us to accept…? How can you say that?"

"Irene…" Daddy started.

"No, David! I won't accept that our daughter only has a few years left to live! She's just a little girl! She's our little girl!"

Amalthea froze at this.

She…was going to die? And there was nothing that could be done to stop it?

Why…?

She started crying as she realized the meaning of their words.

She didn't want to die. She wanted to live

She didn't want her parents to be sad. She wanted them to be happy.

She was only 5 years old, and yet they were saying that her life was going to be short. What was she supposed to tell her friends?

How much would her life change before she took her last breath?

(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)

Amalthea sat on her bed, a crayon held in her left hand as she made a drawing on the blank piece of paper before her (that she had placed on top of a hard covered book to use as a surface). Beside her was a plate with a few pieces of pie crust sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon on top as a snack, something that was special whenever Mommy made it for her.

Things hadn't been the same since the news concerning her condition had been found out. She hadn't seen her friends since their game of tag, and she hadn't been outside since then. Her parents had kept her inside, limiting her physical activity inside the house. Were her parents really that scared?

She didn't blame them. She was scared, too. That's why she was making them a drawing of their family to cheer up Mommy and Daddy.

Amalthea soon finished her drawing and the pie crust and jumped off her bed, carrying both the piece of paper and plate out of her room as she made her way to the room that served as both kitchen and living room. She found her parents sitting at the table, but what she didn't expect to see was the two men talking to them.

The first man her eyes fell on looked to be around her Daddy's age, having both brown eyes and hair, a long stray bang falling into his face. He wore a black business suit with a matching tie around the collar of the white shirt he wore underneath.

The second man that sat beside the first had dark hair and brown eyes, wearing a black turtle neck shirt underneath the long white coat he wore (which looked similar to one a doctor would wear). The sleeves on the coat were rolled back a bit, and pin to the front was a tag.

"Mommy? What's going on?" She asked, gaining the attention of the adults in the room. "Who are they?"

Both parents looked at each other, unsure of what to tell her.

"Well, sweetie…they're guests." Mommy told her, giving her a smile.

The man in the black suit stood up from the table, taking a few strides in her direction before kneeling down to be eye leveled with her.

"You must be Amalthea. My name is Veld." He told her, giving her a kind smile as his eyes seemed to soften a bit. "I happen to have a daughter around your age. Her name is Felicia."

"You do? Can I meet her?"

Veld laughed at this, amused by her question. He didn't seem so bad.

'Perhaps one day. At the moment I have a job to do."

"What do you do?"

"I work with the Turks." He stood up before turning to face her parents. "I know this decision isn't an easy one to make, but there is a chance that it could save your daughter's life."

"Would you do it if it was your own daughter?" Daddy asked.

"I would." He nodded. "I love my daughter enough to save her, even if the chances of success were slim."

Daddy and Mommy exchanged looks, seeming to come to an agreement.

"We'll sign the papers."

Upon hearing this, the man in the white coat handed her parents some papers, providing them a pen to use. Amalthea watched as they silently read over the forms before signing, not knowing what was going on. Once the papers were signed, the paper was returned to the man in the white coat, when then handed them a single page, saying that it was their copy to keep.

"You'll bring her back once she's well enough, right?" Mommy asked.

"If all turns out well." The man in the white coat replied.

"What's going on, Mommy?" Amalthea asked.

"Sweetie, you remember how you're very sick?"

"Yes."

"Well, these nice men were telling us about a procedure that the Shinra Corporation has developed, that will make you better." She explained.

"I will?"

"Yes. They were just telling us that you'll be away from home for a few days. I know the idea of being away from us is scary, but you'll be back once they make sure you're better."

Amalthea looked at Veld and the man in the white coat, considering them before turning back to her Mommy.

"Can I take my Chocobo doll with me?" She asked. That doll had been with her since she was 3, and she couldn't imagine going a day without it.

"Of course! I'll go help you pack as well."

Mommy led her back to her room by the hand to help her pack. It wasn't long before she had both her Chocobo doll and small suitcase in hand. She hugged her parents, telling them that she would be back soon before she left with both Veld and the man in the white coat.

If it made her parents happy, she would do her best to get better.

ATE: That concludes this chapter. And yes, I did include Veld from Before Crisis, but in this chapter it is 10 years before the bombing in Kalm (according to the timeline concerning everything in the compilation of Final Fantasy VII). As for the man in the white coat, he's actually one of the generic researcher NPCs seen in Crisis Core, shame I didn't give him a name.

As for the cover image, it is of a 5 year old Amalthea.

I hope you all like this first chapter, and it'll be awhile before I post Chapter 2. Let me know what you think in a review! ;D