Edit: The "Lucid Dream Interactions .flow" was originally supposed to be all lowercased with no spaces, like a website, but Fanfiction wouldn't allow it, so I had to make changes.


Session 2

It was most likely because of the way she carried her iron pipe or how she walked with her head down, but people tended to avoid Sabitsuki. She focused on her goal of obtaining food in her head and worked out how she would go about it today. Should she resort to begging, or would she steal from a store? To make sure she didn't develop recognition, she went to a different part of Edge.

Curiosity struck her when she saw a group of kids gather around a large truck loaded with crates. The kids would hand off pieces of scrap metal to one man in a construction outfit, who would hand it to another man to place in one of the many scrap heaps behind them. Once relieved of their load, the kids would be given fruit, candy, bags of chips, and even MREs. It seemed that their rewards were based off of what they had given.

So they're giving food to anyone who brings metal?

Sabitsuki approached one of the men who was tossing scrap into piles and said, "Excuse me?"

He looked at her and said, "You need to get in line if you want to hand off that pipe."

She tightened her grip on the iron pipe. "I'm not getting rid of this. I want to know what all of this is about."

"'All this'? This is about adding on to Edge. We have a good sized city now, but there are many spots that still need work. We're giving food to anyone who can salvage scrap metal from Midgar."

"But they've got machines to do it now."

"True. However, many children have been doing this for a long time, and they don't want to give it up, plus they can go to some places that machines can't reach. You can help out, we could really use some pipes and copper, but it looks like you're better off with a job in Edge."

Sabitsuki let out a short laugh. "I may be sixteen, but I highly doubt anyone's going to hire me."

"You won't know until you try."

She sighed and walked away from the truck. She might be able to do small jobs, but in the state she was in now, there was no way she was getting a real job. She looked at the iron pipe in her grip. She could trade it in for a bag of chips, but it held some sentimental value for her. She only got into a few fights with this thing, but it had protected her well.

Her stomach growled in protest. Right now, she needed the food more than she needed the pipe. She joined the crowd and, when her turn came, she relinquished the iron pipe. The man she had talked to earlier gave her a small nod as he took the pipe away. A man standing on top of the truck tossed a bag of Choco Crips to Sabitsuki. She caught it and made her way back to her room.

As soon as she had returned and locked the door behind her, she tore open the bag of chips and started devouring them. She could have eaten them while she was still outside, but she never felt safe out there. The taste of the meaty seasonings on the chips only made her eat faster. It did not take long for her to finish off everything inside the bag, crumbs included.

She went to get her bottle of water and drank most of it to quench her thirst. She knew the risks of drinking dirty water, but it had not rained in some time, so she had little choice. She went over today's plan in her head: get pipes from Midgar and receive food in exchange. She left so that she could get an early start.


Having explored Midgar before, Sabitsuki had an idea of where to look for pipes and copper. She had seen a lot of piping in the underground parts of Sector 4, but she wasn't sure if she could get them with her bare hands alone. That was the place where she had originally found her pipe, so she thought she still had a good chance of finding something she could carry back.

The place also came with risks. Sabitsuki didn't have a flashlight or something similar to help navigate the dark parts of the underground. The only parts she could explore were the ones with holes in the ceiling, where sunlight could pour in. She also stayed away from the dark parts because that was where monsters tended to live. Fortunately, she had always managed to avoid a confrontation with one of those things.

There were indeed pipes in Sector 4, but most were still attached and could not be removed without a tool set. Even if she did have the tools, they were too big for Sabitsuki to take back. She would have to make do with the small things. She searched for a few hours, occasionally taking short breaks to sit and drink from her bottle of water. As she made her way down a corridor, she spotted something that caused her breathing to hitch.

Several feet ahead lay a clothed skeleton. Near it was a closed toolbox. If there were still tools in it, then it would be a great find. Sabitsuki slowly approached the skeleton. When she was close enough to see the detail of the skeleton, she stiffened.

The right humerus was stained black.

Stigma.

Sabitstuki moved closer until she was within reach of the toolbox. She crouched down and opened it up. Seeing its contents made her feel like she had just found a treasure chest.

"Yes!"

There were several types of wrenches and screwdrivers inside, as well as a hammer. Instead of taking the whole toolbox, she took out all the tools and put them in her backpack. The only tool she didn't put away was a pipe wrench. She looked at the walls, which were lined with smaller pipes, and she got to work on removing them.

The work was hard, as most of the pipes were rusted and Sabitsuki didn't have much strength. When she got the first pipe removed, she set it aside: that would be her new weapon. She managed to remove two more before she had to stop. Her arms hurt and she was covered in sweat. She looked at the three pipes she had managed to remove. With most of her strength spent, this was all she could do for now. She tucked two of them under her right arm and held the third with her left hand.

Sabitsuki retraced her steps. Twenty minutes into her trek outside, she felt her forehead throb in pain. She stumbled and dropped the two pipes. She froze when she heard the loud "clang" of the pipes hitting the floor. Monsters would have definitely heard that. She scooped up the pipes and broke into a run.

At some point, she had heard something big scurrying in the air ducts above her. Adrenaline pumped through her body and she continued to run until she was finally out of the underground. She turned around, expecting a monster to come rushing at her, but nothing emerged from the dark tunnel.

Pain struck again and she could feel something trickle down her face. She didn't need to look at it to know what it was. Her legs wobbled and she dropped to her hands and knees. The pipes were dropped once more with a loud "clang". She tried to get up, but the fatigue was now setting in. She soon collapsed, still conscious, but unable to muster the strength to get up.

Sabitsuki lay there, hoping that no monsters would come out and eat her. Minutes passed, and she eventually heard two sets of footsteps. She lifted her head and saw two children approaching her: a girl with two ponytails and a boy holding a Moogle doll. The boy ran up to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

His eyes widened when he saw the streaks of black staining Sabitsuki's face. He asked, "Does it hurt?"

"A little." Sabitsuki answered. "I'm just having a hard time getting back up."

The boy looked to the girl with ponytails and said, "Help me out, Rei."

She nodded and also walked up to Sabitsuki. Working together, they managed to get her on her hands. Sabitsuki set the end of the pipe on the ground and used it to help her to her feet. She slowly stood up, though she leaned her weight on the pipe like a cane.

"Thanks." She told the two children.

"You're welcome." The boy said.

The girl looked at the two pipes on the ground and asked, "Are you getting these for the collectors?"

"Yeah. Are you here doing the same?"

"Yes. I need to get food for my brother."

"But you need it too, Rei." The boy said.

Sabitsuki got a better look at the children. They were thin and their clothes were dirty. She could see the telltale markings of Geostigma on both of Rei's arms. She couldn't see any markings on the boy, but she assumed he had it, too.

It's just like that boy from school, and his sister.

She nudged the other two pipes with her foot and said, "Take them."

"Really?" Rei asked.

"I've got other things to trade in, and you said you needed to get food for your brother."

Sabitsuki was hoping to turn in the pipes and keep the tools to help gather more scrap, but she felt a kinship with these children, and she didn't want them to brave the dangers she had faced today. She would just have to turn in most of the tools for food. Knowing their value in use, the collectors just had to take them.

Rei picked up the pipes and said, "Thank you."

The boy took out a handkerchief and held it out to Sabitsuki. "You want to wipe that off your face?"

She nodded and took the handkerchief. She carefully wiped the fluid off, making sure she didn't smear it on her face. She looked at the now soiled surface of the cloth, then at the boy.

"You can keep it." He said.

She nodded again and pocketed it. She looked off in the distance and said, "I need to get back."

"Let's go together." Rei suggested.

So the three of them slowly made their way back. Over time, Sabitsuki slowly got her strength back and she was able to walk without the support of the pipe. They eventually returned to the collectors. There was no crowd of children this time. Rei handed over the pipes and got two apples and two bags of Choco Chips. Sabitsuki gave up everything but her pipe and the pipe wrench.

"Wow." The man on top of the truck said. "These are a good find. You deserve this."

He tossed an MRE to Sabitsuki. She blinked in surprise. She was going to have a hot meal for once. She parted ways with the children and went back to her home.


Sabitsuki found herself in her room again. She wondered how her dream would turn out this time. She opened the door and walked through.

This time, she found herself in outer space. She was surrounded by stars and she could see a beautiful planet up ahead. She knew that a rocket had been launched to try and stop Meteor, and that there were people aboard. She had seen an interview on one of the people in rocket, Cid Highwind. What he had said described what she was seeing now: pretty damn incredible.

Despite there being no surfaces, she found that her feet were standing on…something. With nowhere else to go, she decided to go forward, towards the planet. She didn't know what she would find, but she was suddenly filled with anticipation.

There was a loud, sudden crash behind her. Sabitsuki turned around and saw a broken TV. Despite the screen being cracked, it still buzzed with static. She slowly approached the TV.

"Sabitsuki, you've been watching too much TV. Why don't you go outside and play?"

Once more, the words echoed all around her. She remembered her mother telling her that when she was younger. Since there was nothing to do in the slums, watching TV was all she did.

"Sabi…Sabi…ki…"

It was a woman's voice that she did not recognize, and it was coming from the TV. The way it spoke through the static creeped her out. Despite this, she leaned close to the TV and asked, "Who is this?"

"Sabi…a…up…list…go…time…Re…"

She couldn't hear most of what the voice was saying through the static. The TV abruptly shut itself off. She backed away from it and decided that she didn't want to be near it. She continued to walk towards the planet until she was close enough to reach out and touch it.

Sabitsuki was suddenly in a white room. There were no furnishings, but there were two people in front of her. One of them was the boy she saw from the last dream. The other was a little girl who was hiding behind him. She peeked her head out for a moment before withdrawing it.

Him, and his sister.

"Hello again." She greeted.

The boy only smiled in response. His sister did nothing. Sabitsuki reached a hand out to him when she saw that it was in a black glove. She looked herself over and saw that she was wearing a black dress. It was very familiar to her.

"Today, we are gathered here to mourn those who have died in this terrible tragedy…"

That's right, when the plate dropped…

Sabitsuki wanted to cry. She had remembered what had happened years ago, yet she couldn't even remember the names of the ones in front of her. She felt guilty for forgetting.

"Come on, Sabi, smile." The boy said, his smile stretching.

"Easy for you to say." She said bitterly. "Look at my life: there's nothing to smile about."

The girl peeked her head out and softly said, "Smile."

"I can't…I can't."

Sabitsuki shook her head and turned to leave.

"Don't go." The boy pleaded.

She hesitated, but left the room anyways.

Sabitsuki was now in a snowy field, its pure landscape soiled by blood, corpses, and scattered limbs. Her eyes widened at the horrific scene before her. She tried to turn and run, but she wound up falling on her back. That was when she realized that she had changed once more.

Her arms and legs were gone.

"This movie's about a serial killer who chops off his victims limbs. Sister's too young to see it, so you want watch it with me, Sabi?"

She screamed, "This isn't happening! This isn't happening! Get me out of here!"

Sabitsuki was suddenly back in the slums. However, it was completely devoid of life. She looked herself over and was grateful to see that she had her limbs back. The outfit she wore this time was a purple dress and witch's hat. In her hand was a broom.

"Look at me, mommy: I'm a witch!"

Yeah, I always pretended to be a witch whenever I was told to sweep the house. Maybe I can actually fly this time?

Sabitsuki decided to give it a try. She straddled the broom and it started to hover. She kicked off the ground and the next thing she knew, she was flying over the slums. Unafraid of how high she was, she circled the city until she saw an opening in the plate above. She ascended higher and higher, never looking down. She lifted her head up, expecting to see the sky.

She did see the sky, but it looked like it was being swallowed up by a giant, flaming red ball. It seemed to be growing bigger…no, it was moving closer. Sabitsuki could never forget that dreaded thing in the sky.

Meteor.

She was suddenly falling. She tried to fly back up, but the broom no longer responded. She panicked.

"No! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

She didn't wake up, but she did find that she was back on the ground. She looked up and saw the surface of the plate. She was back on the ground level of the slums. She tried to walk, but found that her legs didn't work. She looked down to see what was wrong.

She had no legs, and she was not standing, but hovering, over her own corpse.

"Wow, do corpses freak you out that much, Sabi? I must admit: the makeup team did a good job with those things."

"A…aah…"

She looked at her hands and saw that she could see through them. The same thing applied to the rest of her body. There was nothing below her waist.

"Ghosts? Grandpa says that all living things go back to the Lifestream when they die, so I don't think they exist, Sabitsuki."

"I…I'm not dead." Sabitsuki told herself. "This is a dream."

Black smoke rose from her ghostly form and she started to fade away.

"Wake up! Wake up!"


Sabitsuki was alert once again the moment she woke up. She removed the headphones and put her hands over her face. She had been dealing with nightmares ever since Meteorfall, but since she started using the BLD, those nightmares started to feel more real. She groaned.

I should give this thing a break.

She slid out of bed and prepped her mind for another day of scavenging metal for food.


Yeah, I gave the Moogle Girl a name. Makes things easier this way.