"You called?" "Yes, I did, Dr. Sora. You have a new patient." He sighed. He wasn't in the mood to see another patient. "Can it wait 'till tomorrow?" "I don't think so, doctor. You'll probably want to see this." Sora sighed again. "Alright, Riku, I'll be right there."
_______________________________________________________
The girl sat in the plain beige room, wearing a beige shirt and pants. Her white-blond hair stood out in stark contrast to her surroundings. Dr. Sora pushed open the door. "Hello," he said," What is your name?" "Anna Maria." "Well, Anna Maria, seems you have a concern about your well-being." She nodded. "Can you explain why?" She looked around, her blue-grey eyes betraying no emotion. "Well, uh, I, I hear voices. Everywhere." Sora nodded. She must have been in shock at some point in her life, causing post-traumatic distress. He realized she was staring at him. Her piercing eyes bore into the core of his being. If not for the color, it would've reminded him of his uncle Cloud. Same stare, same manner, same bearings, in fact, there were a lot of things about her that reminded him of Cloud. Sora shivered, despite the pleasant temperature of the room. "Quick question, are you, by chance, related to Cloud, of Hollow Bastion?" Anna Maria blinked. Then, she shook her head. "No. I don't think so." Sora was sure that one of two things were true. One, she was lying. Or two, she honestly didn't know. Sora stood and left. As he passed Riku in the hallway, Riku said, "Damn, Sora. You look as if you've seen a ghost." "I don't know Riku. I don't know."
____________________________________________________________
When Sora got home, Kairi had dinner ready. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Anything good happen to you today?" Kairi shook her head. "Nothing important, or interesting. 'Course, nothing ever does in a library." Kairi was the librarian at the elementary school down the street. Sora forced a smile, but Kairi saw through his facade and asked, "What happened?" Sora hesitated, then reluctantly told her about Anna Maria. She listened, then laughed. "Sora, you're so paranoid. Cloud doesn't have any close relatives. No sisters or daughters, and she's too young to be his mother." Sora thought about it for a moment, then laughed with her. "You're right, honey. I'm being paranoid." She nodded, red hair bouncing. "Come on, Sora, I've got dinner ready."
_________________________________________________________
Anna Maria walked around the room. It was different from her old room. The walls were a plain, boring color. No art decorated the bare walls, no rug covered the oak floor. "Well, you could splash some red around. You know, sprucen things up with your color." The tall, dark-haired man stood before her, dressed in all black. "What do you want?" He smirked. "Same thing you want. Freedom." Anna Maria shook her head. "Get the hell away from me. I don't want freedom, I want you gone for good. You and the others." His smirk stretched into a grin. "You and I both know that's not true. You want out, so you can get home. So you can see him." "Shut up! Shut up, shut up and leave me the hell alone!" A nurse threw open the door, a concerned look on her plain face. "Are you all right?" "No," she screamed, "I'll never be alright until I get out of here!" The nurse tried to calm her down, but in vain. Anna Maria screamed and screamed. She kept screaming until Dr. Riku rushed in with a syringe of sedative. After they forced the needle into her vein, Riku picked her up and layed her on the bed. The nurse looked at her, then said, "Poor thing. Couldn't be more than sixteen. She doesn't belong here." Riku nodded. "Poor thing," he agreed.
_________________________________________________________
Sora woke up to the sound of a woodpecker. He opened his blue eyes and looked around. Kairi was still asleep beside him. Sora decided to get up. He padded down the hallway into the kitchen. His cell phone buzzed to life just as he stepped to the coffee machine. He flipped it open. "Hello?" "Sora, it's Yuffie. I need you down here, ASAP." "Yuffie, do you have any idea what time it is? It's 6:49." "So? You're a doctor. Get your ass down here." She hung up. Sora sighed. He headed for his room, mumbling something about a vacation.
__________________________________________________________
Sora was just getting out of the car, when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open. "Hello?" "Sora! Where in the hell are you? We need you down here now!" "Riku, calm down. What's going on?" "Anna cut herself. She's bleeding to much. Did you give her blood thinners?" "No, I didn't." Riku started to say something, but yelled something to a nurse. Something that sounded like, 'What do you mean, she stopped just like that'? "She, she just stopped bleeding. Like she wasn't cut in the first place." Riku's shock colored his voice. Sora's shock equaled his. How did someone stop bleeding, just like that?
___________________________________________________________
Anna screamed. The knife had been so cold, it burned. Her skin stung. Her blood was pouring out of her arm like a crimson river. All five bastards towered over her. Xemnas, Axel, Xaldin, Marluxia, and Zexion stood in a star formation, laughing at her pain. Xaldin dragged the knife across her skin again. She kept screaming, then it stopped. They vanished into thin air. She kept bleeding, but it didn't hurt anymore. She felt a knife in her right hand. Warm, as if it had been there all along. A tall blond man knelt beside her. "Come home." Anna felt her life slipping away. The man grabbed her arm. "Look at me. Don't give up. Just come back. You promised." He vanished, replaced by a man with jagged silver hair. His teal eyes showed just how worried he'd been. She felt light-headed. She knew what she had to do. No one would get in her way. No one. Her reflexes were lightning fast. The knife slashed across the man's pale skin. The nurses didn't stand a chance. Anna was out the door, running as if Hell was chasing her.
___________________________________________________________
Sora opened the door, the exact moment that Anna bolted out. A flash of silvery blond hair passed inches from his face. Then she was gone. Sora had a bad feeling about what had just happened.
____________________________________________________________
Kairi hummed a song as she cleaned up the living room. She straightened the pictures on the mantle. As she did so, she saw an old picture had fallen behind a bigger one. It was a photo of Cloud and Aerith, but something was odd. Aerith held a baby. It was asleep, with vivid blond hair and a sweet expression. Another thing was strange. Cloud was smiling at the child, his blue eyes full of untarnished love. Cloud, smiling? That's really weird. Kairi had never seen him smile, never ever. The small child in Aerith's arms must have been special, the most precious thing to ever come into his possession. Kairi felt something was familiar about the child. She turned the picture over. There were three names on the back. Cloud, Aerith, and Anna Maria. Anna Maria? The name sounded familiar. Then it dawned on her. Anna Maria was the name of Sora's newest patient. Apparantly, also Cloud's daughter.
___________________________________________________________
Sora's cell phone rang. "Hello?" "Sora, it's Kairi. I need to tell you something." "What is it?" "Remember Anna Maria?" "Yeah, she's not here though. Why?" "She's Cloud's daughter." Sora was dumbstruck. Cloud didn't have a daughter, or a son. Hell, Cloud didn't even have a pet. "Are you sure, Kairi?" "Positive. I just found a picture to confirm it. Sora, you have to find her!" "Right." He hung up and explained everything to Riku, who found it as hard to believe as Sora had. "Cloud doesn't have a daughter," he said for the hundredth time. Sora rolled his blue eyes and sighed. "Doesn't matter what we thought we knew. All we need to do now is find her, and fast. Who knows what she could do to herself?" Riku nodded, silver hair bobbing with his head.
____________________________________________________________
Cloud lept back as Leon lunged at him. "Good, Cloud! Keep him on his toes!" Leon panted as he swung the gunblade at Cloud. This time, the swords met in a shower of sparks. The blow threw both of them back. The timer sounded, ending the match. Leon and Cloud stood up and shook hands, as was custom. Then, they turned to their own corners. Leon talked to Merlin about stamina and concentration. Cloud watched them, trying to catch his breath. "You were great. Better than before. You're improving." Aerith touched his shoulder, her brown hair was swept up into a pink ribbon. She smiled at him. He touched her hand and held it for a second. Aerith's eyes betrayed a faint sadness. His bright blond hair still reminded her of the child. Our child, he thought sadly. Oh well, no sense dwelling on the past. He picked up his sword and gave Aerith one last, long look. Then, the starting bell dinged, and the match began.
____________________________________________________________
Anna Maria arrived in Hollow Bastion at about 3:40 in the morning. The time, however, didn't stop the bustle of the city. She wandered around the marketplace for a while, looking at shops and assorted vendors. She kept waiting for someone to stare at her, or to make fun of her hair, but no one did. A tall woman with neon pink hair walked by. Two small children, twins, walked past, arms linked together. No wonder no one has noticed me. I'm not a novelty here. Everyone has something strange about them. What she didn't get, though, was why there were so many people around. She noticed a large, colorful poster that read 'Tournament today! Watch the greatest warriors battle it out for the title of strongest man in the universe!' Sounds interesting, she thought. She headed for the arena to see the fights.
___________________________________________________________
Sora and Riku got to Hollow Bastion Stadium just in time for the first match. They saw Leon going against a tall, lean redhead. They were good, but Leon was slightly better. The match was over after only five minutes. Riku happened to look at the stands. What he saw was a girl with silver blond hair, watching the match from the top of the stadium. Riku gripped Sora's chin and directed his gaze to the stands. They also noticed five men looked in the same direction. The redhead, a man with soft pink-ish hair behind the balloon vendor, two men with silver hair standing at the entrance, and a dark-haired man that sat a few rows behind her. "Damn!" Riku and Sora bolted towords the stands. Anna didn't see them. They sped up. We can't lose her. Not again, Riku thought as they neared the stands.
__________________________________________________________
Cloud took a deep breath as he stepped out into the light of the stadium. The crowd roared. He scanned the seats for Aerith. As he did, he noticed a young girl with white blond hair sitting in the stands, near the top. She looked about sixteen or so. The age my daughter would be, if she was here.He shook the feeling of pain that tore his already ripped heart. Facing his opponent, Auron, he readied himself for the best fight yet.
___________________________________________________________
Anna noticed two men had started running towords the stands. One had spiky brown hair, the other had long silver hair. She knew them. Anna scooted over, preparing to sprint away. As they climbed the steps, she ran up to the emergency exit, ignoring the two or three people that watched her questioningly. By the time the two men had reached her seat, Anna had lept to the ground. She ran down the deserted street. She heard a soft thudas they landed behind her. She kept running. Ten minutes later, he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and spun her into the wall. Her head cracked against the rough stone. Dazed, Anna looked up, blue gray eyes hazy. She immediatly recognized the tall redhead that stood above her. He grinned wickedly as he reached for her. Pulling Anna to her feet, Axel's green eyes flickered with lust.
___________________________________________________________
Axel pinned Anna's arms to the wall behind her. Still grinning, he reached down and licked her neck. She struggled against him. That's right, Anna dear. Fight me, try to break free. You know you can't, but you do it anyway. It only serves to turn me on more. Moving her arms so he could hold them with one hand, he took his free hand and gripped her jaw. She tried to bite him, but he pressed his lips to hers with a vigorous force. She stiffened as his tounge parted her lips. His tounge explored her mouth, savoring it's sweet taste. She bit him, hard enough to draw blood. He drew back. Then, he commenced to kiss her jaw. She bit him again, drawing blood again. He finally tired of the bites and punched the wall beside her head. Anna, shocked into a frozen state, couldn't do anything. Her silence was more annoying to him than the bites. He pressed himself to her. Her arms weakened, relaxed in his crushing grip. His tounge parted her lips more easily than before. He gently bit her lip, pulling it just as gently. She relaxed under him, her will to fight had evaporated beneath his fire. Suddenly, he stopped, his breath came in pleasured pants. His green eyes seached her face. He stared into her soft eyes, lost in the depth of them. He wrapped his free arm around her narrow waist. Pulling her close, Axel allowed her arms free. Instead of fighting, like he expected, Anna wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled herself up and kissed him softly. His hand cupped her neck, pushing her harder into him. Out of the blue, she jammed her sharp knee into his area. He doubled over in pain. She kicked his head, knocking him into the other wall. Anna whirled around to run, only to find Zexion behind her. He slapped her soundly across the face. She fell to the ground. "Hey, stop!" The voices rang out in unison. Anna, Axel, and Zexion looked to see the men from earlier standing not four feet away. They had come to rescue Anna. Not if I have anything to do with it, Axel thought angrily.
__________________________________________________________
Sora and Riku were ready for a fight. Axel and Zexion stood over Anna like wolves over their prey. Just as Riku prepared to leap at Axel, Cloud walked out of the arena. He noticed the fight that was brewing. "All right, all right. Break it up," he said. He waved them apart. Zexion drew his weapon, the blades gleamed menicingly. Cloud's sword was pressed to his throat before Zexion could point it at him. "I'll say this nicely, once. Leave now, and you'll live another day." Cloud's tone was no nonsense. They must've heard it, because they turned tail and ran. They ran like dogs, tail between their legs.
___________________________________________________________
Cloud watched them run. After they dissapeared around the corner, he walked over and helped the girl up. She was shaken up pretty good, but she stood up by herself. "Anna!" His nephew, Sora, came running up to them. She hid behind Cloud's sleeve, whimpering softly. She's scared? Of Sora? He couldn't hurt a mosquito."Anna Maria, you need to come back with us," Riku scolded. Anna Maria? The ripping pain seared the shreds of his heart at the name. The name was all he needed. She was the right age, she had his hair and Aerith's eyes. He looked down at her. She was looking at him, just as she had ten years ago. "Anna." He swept her into a hug, tears glistening in his eyes. "Daddy," she whispered, "I came back, like I promised." "I know, Annie, I'm so happy." For the first time in ten years, Cloud felt the tears fall from his eyes.
___________________________________________________________
Aerith couldn't find Cloud anywhere. No one had seen him since his last match. She started to panic. First my daughter, now her father. Who next? Just as she finished the thought, she saw his mop of blond hair appear from a hallway. Tucked under his arm was a girl. She looked about sixteen, with white blond hair and blue gray eyes. I don't believe it! "Annie!" The girl's face lit up as her mother recognized her. "Momma! Momma!" Anna and Aerith hugged, both of them crying. Cloud wrapped his arms around the two of them, not caring who saw them. They were too happy to care at all.
The End
(Awwwwwwww)