hey! welcome to chapter 2.

i messed with some of the stuff in chapter 1, edited some things, added new dialogue, so go check it out! it's hopefully better in context.

also, exposition galore! yayyyyyy


Humans are selfish.

Human evolution has made it very clear: Altruism, true altruism doesn't exist. Every action has an equal opposite reaction. If you perform a good task, you expect something in return.

Human selfishness, then, is how we cope with the threat of non-existence. If helping someone will destroy yourself, then why would you do help at all?

No one wants to die, and no one thinks they're going to die until the last possible second. You walk down a street and forget to look both ways for cars, but it's okay, because there's no way you're dying today. Our brains are funny like that. Sometimes they forget the only constant in life is death.

But in my case, even death wouldn't grant me peace.

-x-

My first new memory was of a woman's face, brow furrowing in panic and grasping my cheeks with her labor-rough hands.

"Zack? Zackary! Zack, can you hear me?"

Her face swayed in my vision. Messy tufts of dark hair, eyes a blue so deep they bordered on violet, and an accent that emphasized the last consonant of my name. Za-cuh, Za-cuh, that what it always sounded like. There was only one person that could be.

"Ma?" I slurred. "Wha' happened?"

There was red everywhere, smeared across my hands, across her smock, on her face as my trembling fingers found their way to her cheek. A muscle leaped on her jaw.

"Tian ah," a person said, "is he alright?"

(He died, the woman next to me—not woman, I reminded myself—murmured as we watched the small body drift down the stream, trailing a ribbon of rust in the water behind it. I said nothing, watching the five-year old boy's corpse bump against the bank and spin in a lazy circle.

It wasn't meant to happen so soon. An error. An unprecedented mistake. The Goddess waved her hand and the image disappeared from the dark expanse of space we occupied. But I can do nothing. His soul is in the hands of the Lifestream now.

"And I wasn't?"

Close, but not quite, she said. Same, but not the same.)

We were next to a river, I think. Beyond the forest, the sun was a golden disk dipping below the horizon, setting the sky blaze. A golden koi fish coiled through the air and glanced at me with oily black eyes. Better get up, it seemed to say, before someone finds you.

My entire body thrummed with pain, centered somewhere around my head. Someone had dragged me by my legs, leaving ugly strips of skin where my arms had scraped against the ground. And my hands... They were riddled with scratches.

Did he die in fear? Did he struggle valiantly before succumbing to the bliss of nothing, realizing there was nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable?

Did he die with his ma's name on his lips?

"Zack," pleaded Ma, "Zack, talk to me, sweetie."

"Get him some towels," someone murmured in the background. A shadow nodded and slipped from the forest.

I blinked blearily and stared at the sky, wondering why I was so cold. Then someone wrapped a fluffy towel around my shoulders and muttered something under their breath, causing a full-body shudder to rip through me. I gasped as a blanket of warmth fell upon my skin.

(There are fixed points, the Goddess told me. Zack Fair (and my heart leaped at the name) will always be born in 1984 to a small Gongagan family of two. Zack Fair will always run away at the age of thirteen to join ShinRa. Zack Fair will always die on that cliff overlooking Midgar.

I scowled at the mention of these familiar events. "And you want me to, what, play your little game like a good little SOLDIER?"

Her perfect lips curled into something resembling a smile. I know you will.)

Once I was no longer hyperventilating and was safely curled up in Ma's arms, a raspy voice spoke out. "Xifu, I apologize."

Ma's voice lashed out, changing from a warm coo to a frigid snarl. "Don't," she said, and I let myself be lifted into the air and pressed close to her chest. I stared over her shoulder, picking out a few uneasy faces in the darknesss. "Just... don't."

"Grace," murmured another voice.

"Come on. I'm taking Zack home."

A pause. Ma's tone turned sharp. "Come on, Todd. Let's go."

After a moment of hesitation, the shadow slipped from the crowd of murmuring spectators and joined Ma's side. A rough hand curled around my own, rubbing their calloused thumb over my knuckles. "Zack..."

I blinked blearily at the man's face, so similar to my own. I remember— No, I don'tNo, no, a face in the mirror, a steady hand guiding mine over a set of alphabet blocks, whispering strange syllables in my ear. Yi for one, er for two, abrupt consonants and rolling vowels, so different from the town's that it might as well have been a different language. There was a woman, too, black hair falling over an intelligent face, shrewd eyes softening with pride when I arranged the blocks to spell her name. Grace.

Ma? Grace was my ma. Mother. Mother, I will destroy the world that shunned you— No, that was later. A frost-bitten town, a green-tinted room.

Now? Now I was led into a car, and my head fell on someone's shoulder as we pulled away from a house. There was a house? I struggled to turn around and watched a pinprick of light shrink into the distance.

"Rest, Zack," came Ma's voice in a whisper "We'll be home soon."

The rest of the trip passed in a blur. I faded in and out of consciousness, my soul and my body working at odds with each other to recalibrate our systems, so to speak. Once I woke with Ma's hand on my forehead and worried voices conversing over my limp figure. Another time I jolted awake with a name hovering on the tip of my tongue and tears pricking my eyes.

Hate tore through my mind, breaking the fog for a split second. I hated the Goddess, hated the circumstances that had brought me here, hated the little boy for tripping and falling and dying in the same breath.

Too late, another wave of exhaustion washed over me. I grit my teeth and fell back into darkness.

The town filtered in through the mist. Those of us in the backseat were jostled as the road became bumpy and uneven. The driver murmured a brief apology and offered nothing else.

"Let's go," Ma said before the car had even completely come to a stop in the town square. She cradled me in her arms and rushed down the shadow-smothered path.

Home was a cottage squeezed between two other identical twins. It was cramped but homely, sectioned off into the kitchen, living room, and upstairs area. Strips of sausage and dried meat hung from the ceiling, filling the air with the scent of spices and herbs. The narrow staircase led to an even narrower hallway with three rooms.

Once I had stumbled and tripped my way upstairs, Ma helped me tug off my wet clothes as I sat on my familiar-unfamiliar bed.

My eyes wandered. Pictures littered the walls, drawn by an unsteady hand and pinned proudly to every crevice of the room. There was a handmade wooden desk crammed in the corner, covered with colored pencils. One of its legs was bent so the table tilted to one side. A wilting plant drooped on the windowsill.

There was a picture on his nightstand. A bright-eye boy had his arms wrapped around his parents's shoulders, dragging them down into frame. A smear of white frosting on the corner of his mouth interrupted his grin. Fourth birthday! the caption said.

I wasn't cold anymore, but I shivered, tearing my gaze away.

Ma yanked off my socks harder than necessary. "What were you thinking, Zack?" she asked, addressing me for the first time since the accident. Her brow was furrowed with anger, but not at me. At herself, probably.

The memory hit me like a brick. "I wan'ed to play with the tadpoles." He wanted to play with the tadpoles?

"No, Zack," snapped Ma as she turned around and rummaged through his— my wardrobe. "I told you, remember? We have to wait until summer to do that. The water's too cold."

That explained why he hadn't just swam out as soon as he fell in. The combination of the head injury and the shock must've killed him instantly.

A thought. I caught the pants and blue shirt with a green frog that she tossed me and pulled them on. "Ma, what's my middle name?"

She paused, a flicker of worry darting across her face before she masked it with confusion. "Must've hit your head harder than I thought," she muttered, running her hands through my damp hair and straightening my collar. She tugged me to my feet and held out her hand. "Come on, let's go see if Doctor Freeman's home."

"But what is it?" I repeated, struggling to keep up with her much longer legs.

Ma looked surprised. "It's Alistair, like your grandpa," she said. "Zackary Alistair Fair."

Alistair.

Al.

I almost laughed. That stupid, idiotic Goddess. I wanted to rip her perfect head off her body and toss it into the Crater with her so-called mortal enemy so they could stew there together for eternity.

Zackary Alistair Fair, the boy destined to die.

"I like that," I said as I toddled down the stairs. "Can you call me tha' from now on?"

We stopped at the base of the steps. I snuck a peak at Ma's expression.

"You hated being called Alistair," Ma said, her brow furrowing. "Said it made you sound a stuffy old man." She stopped, gathered her words, then started again. "But if you changed your mind... Alistair it is."

"No," I said, heart pounding. "Not Alistair. Al."

Ma paused and glanced down. "Okay, Al."

(You will help me fix this, you of another world. Death is your end and your beginning.

"I won't play your game."

You don't have a choice.)

-x-

I left Reeve standing there with his mouth agape, glancing between Ma and I like he was trying to dislodge his head from his shoulders. I threw myself to my bed, burrowing myself like a mole into my blankets. The walls in my house were thin enough that I could still hear snippets of conversation downstairs.

"Your child is very smart," Reeve was saying.

Ma's sharp laugh-snort could be heard even upstairs from my bedroom. "You can sleep on the couch tonight, Mr. Tuesti."

"No, I do mean it."

"You're very kind, but I insist that you go to bed now. It's getting late."

Pause. Then Reeve said, "Are you planning on sending him to a boarding school?"

For the first time, Da's voice spoke up, low and unassuming as it always was. "Mr. Tuesti, how was your day? Was dinner to your taste?"

"Hm? Oh, it was wonderful, thank you. But Al—"

"You fixed the reactor, yes? We're all very thankful for that. I'm sorry you couldn't see more of Gongaga, but if you're willing to come back sometime else, we'll welcome you with open arms and show you a better side of this town. I'm sure you know, but Gongaga is very famous for our fish stew."

Reeve perked up, interested. "Yes, the fish stew! It was amazing, better than anything I've had in Midgar. How did you do it?"

"Oh, you'll have to ask Grace." I could hear Da's smile in his voice. "The things she can do with a radish."

"Todd," Ma began.

"You're amazing, Grace," said Reeve, and I could tell the genuine respect in his voice embarrassed Ma. "I mean, I can barely make cereal with a disaster!"

Without even trying, Da had diverted the conversation to safer waters. As the conversation drifted into harmless chatter, I closed my eyes. Another day tomorrow, I thought.

Tomorrow.

-x-

A few hours later, the edge of my bed dipped, and a presence settled near my feet. Face pressed to my pillow, I woke up when a light touch fluttered over my face, touching my cheek.

"Al?"

No response.

A sigh. The mattress creaked as Ma turned to face the window. I opened my eyes, just a slit, and saw how the moonlight grazed her exhausted features. She wasn't old, not by a long shot, but there were creases at the corners of her eyes that weren't smile lines. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just... I worry about you too much."

I said nothing, pretending to be fast asleep.

"Oh, Al." A jolt of surprise went through me when I realized Ma was crying. "What will I do if you die? You're growing up so fast, and I-I can't bear to see you leave so soon."

Like a coward, I didn't respond.

Her chapped lips brushed against my forehead. "Good night, Al. I love you."

-x-

When I woke up, something felt wrong. Reeve's voice wasn't quietly discussing cultural osmosis with Da in the living room. Ma wasn't interjecting every once in a while with her own opinion, often completely contradicting theirs. I stared at the ceiling for a while more, straining my ears and wishing I could hear that far, then threw off my blankets and ran down the stairs in the same rumpled clothes I wore yesterday.

Ma let out a shout of warning when I sprinted past the kitchen, but didn't stop me from throwing open the door and gazing out into the town square. Reeve whirled around, blinking. There was row of ShinRa-issued military trucks parked behind him, waiting to take him home.

"Al!" he said, surprised. "I thought I was being sneaky when I woke up this morning."

"You were," I said, a little bit out of breath. I straightened and stared at him accusingly. "I thought you were going to stay."

"I'm sorry," Reeve said. "There's been a change of plans. I have so much work to do at ShinRa, so staying here isn't going to do me much good."

No. He couldn't leave. There were so many things I needed to tell him, so many ideas that we hadn't exchanged. I inhaled, about to retort, when his expression caught me off guard. It wasn't the lingering smile on his lips, or the fidgety nature of his stance. It was his eyes, bright with wonder, bright with determination, and for a second I wondered if this visit had helped him more than it helped me.

I swallowed my reply and nodded. I heard Ma's footsteps behind me. "So I guess this is it," I said.

"Yup."

"Anything else you want to say?"

Reeve smiled and stuck out his hand. "Keep in touch, Al."

A wide grin spread on my face. I accepted the handshake with vigor. "Absolutely." We shook on it. Behind me, I heard Ma let out a groan and mutter something about conniving little boys and their mentors.

Reeve noticed this. "Your mother isn't still mad at you for what happened, is she?"

I shook my head. "She's still a little pissed that I ran off by myself, but..." I shrugged and tried not to show my sheepishness on my face. "I'll explain everything. She'll understand." Probably.

"Thank you," Reeve said. "Really. You opened my eyes to a world of possibility."

I flushed, remembering our conversation on the steps yesterday. I hadn't meant to sound so forceful, nor like I was on the verge of crying.

Clearing my throat, I said, "So what are you gonna do now?"

Reeve scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. "I go back. I'll tell ShinRa what happened here, and they'll send someone to check out the mako reactor, see if they can recycle it somehow. Though given what happened here yesterday, I doubt that that will happen."

True. It wasn't as if Gongaga's local economy depended on the reactor, either. If it disappeared, we'd simply live our lives normally, though we'd have to find a new place to hide when the local monsters invaded.

Reeve suddenly perked up. "Oh, that reminds me." He rushed over to the first truck in the line and said something to the infantryman, who rummaged around and retrieved a square package from the back seat. Then he returned with a proud look on his face. "This is yours. I was going to leave it with your mother, but now that you're here, I'll give it to you."

I accepted it and almost fell backwards. It was heavier than I'd expected, covered with hard components that poked me through the thick packaging. "What is it?" I asked, turning it over.

"A computer."

"A computer?"

"You're welcome." Reeve's grin was brilliant. "Newly issued from ShinRa. You like it?"

I ripped open the package and ran my hand over the black screen, prodding the various buttons and mechanics. The computer was advanced for this time period, but I knew it'd be completely obsolete after the new model came out next year. But for Reeve, who was relatively low on ShinRa's hierarchy, to pull a never-seen-before model fresh off the press and give it to me, a boy he'd met face-to-face only once?

It was incredibly generous, and very characteristic of the one man at ShinRa who still owned a heart.

"Thank you," I said, hugging it to my chest. "This is amazing."

Reeve's pleased smile faltered when he saw me wipe my eyes. "Wait, are you crying?"

"Am not," I said, whirling around.

"Oh, Goddess, I made an eight-year old cry. What would your mother say now?"

"That you're incredibly generous for giving Al such a wonderful gift," said Ma as she stepped forward, hand landing on my shoulder and making me start. Her eyes weren't unkind when she looked at Reeve. "Thank you for all you've done for this town, Mr. Tuesti."

"It was nothing, Grace—"

"No, really. I may not approve of your methods, but we wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you and Al." Ma sighed. "As much as I hate to say this, I guess you lot at ShinRa aren't that bad after all."

Reeve laughed awkwardly. "I wouldn't say that, exactly. But I appreciate the compliment anyways."

We stepped back. Reeve hesitated, then stumbled as one of the infantrymen tugged him backwards towards the truck. "Thank you for everything, Al, Grace," he called as he climbed into the backseat. The engine revved, and he twisted around and continued to wave until we couldn't see him anymore.

Once Reeve was out of sight, Ma asked, "You like him, don't you?"

"He's nice," I said.

"Hm. Maybe we could visit Midgar one day. If your da agrees, of course."

It was her way of apologizing. I perked up. "You mean it, Ma?"

She waved it off. "Get ready for school, Al."

-x-

The teacher swept through the yard, ringing her tiny bell and herding students into the schoolhouse. I stood up and brushed off my hands, looking down at my drawing in the dirt with triumph. At my side, Alice groaned and hopped off the fence, brushing off her pale-pink dress.

"This is so dumb, Al. Let's just go in."

"You're dumb," I retorted

"Haha, very funny. Honestly, are you five?"

"Eight, actually," corrected Jackson from my other side. He reached over to tug on Alice's pigtails and grinned when she whirled around and glared at him. "Sorry. Love girls with black hair and blue eyes."

"We're almost all dark-haired and blue-eyed, you weirdo," said Alice irritatedly. "And don't even try, Jackson, I know you like Al more than me."

Jackson held his hands up. His black sweatshirt was smeared with chalk, which I squinted at, bemused. "Guilty as charged."

Unable to resist it, I blew him a kiss. He caught it and held it to his heart dramatically. Alice grabbed our hands and she tugged us towards the schoolhouse, which was really just a renovated two-story house with terrible ventilation. "Come on. We're going to be late for Common."

"Common," Jackson bemoaned as we lined up for attendance, "my worst subject."

"Is not," said Alice.

"Is too!"

I don't want to hear a word from you, you perfect-scorer," I interjected.

"This is discrimination," Jackson complained. "I can't help that you guys are just terrible at memorization."

Alice stifled a giggle. Her eyes widened as I whirled on her, and she shook her head, hands jerking up in surrender. "I said nothing," she swore. I narrowed my eyes and jerked my fingers between us. I'm watching you.

We paused momentarily as the teacher called Alice and my names. Then Alice lowered her voice as the teacher continued with attendance. "Did you guys hear about what happened with the reactor yesterday?"

Jackson nodded and wiggled his fingers. "Supposedly we almost died because of a malfunction. They even had to activate the emergency shut-down mechanism." His eyes gleamed. So who activated it? he didn't ask. "But it's all rumors and hearsay."

"There were ShinRa troops all over the place this morning," said Alice. "You think rumors can summon the actual army to our doorstep?"

"You guys are gossiping like old ladies," I said.

"We are old ladies," said Jackson. "We're ancient."

Alice rolled her eyes and mouthed at me behind his back, "He thinks he's a hot-shot because he turned ten last month." I hid a snicker.

The teacher called Jackson's name. "Over here!" he shouted over his shoulder, then turned back to us. "Well, we're not getting a straight answer out of the adults. Why don't we investigate for ourselves after school?"

Panic made me hiss, "No!" rather loudly, making Jackson and Alice shoot me twin looks of shock. I quickly amended myself. "It's too dangerous, didn't you hear? It almost blew up yesterday, who knows what will happen if we poke a sleeping Bahamut?"

"You would gladly poke a sleeping summon if it meant you could learn something," muttered Alice.

We began to shuffle towards our desks, taking our customary seats in the back of the classroom. Gongaga didn't have enough children to separate into grades, so instead the older kids were stuffed into one corner of the room and given worksheets to work on while the teacher taught the younger kids letters and basic addition.

The teacher handed out the worksheets, and Jackson lifted it to his face, scanning it. Boredom quickly overtook his expression, and he set down the paper and gazed at me. "So about that reactor," he started.

"No."

"We can't look at it? Not even a little bit?"

"Not unless you want to be run over by a monster," I said. "Or get mako poisoning, do you want that?"

Alice rested her chin on her hand and narrowed her eyes at me. "You seem very adamant about not going, Al," she said. "Are you hiding something?"

"No," I said.

"He's definitely lying," said Jackson.

"I'm not. I swear." I paused. "Look, if you want to throw yourself into a hopeless endeavor, then do it, what do I care? But don't come running back to me when it all comes crashing over your heads."

Alice asked, "Can we at least come over to your house?"

"Not today."

"Stingy," muttered Jackson as he began to write. "Someone's keeping a secret."

Sometimes I hated how well he knew me.

-x-

After the Incident, capital "I" and all, Ma refused to let me out of the house for a week.

I protested, of course. Even at the age of five, I understand the merits of the outdoors. More importantly, I was jittery, unfocused, even more so than when I was twenty-something and seeing the world for the shithole it really was.

Da took my personality change in stride like he did with everything else in life. When he saw me bouncing off the walls of the house, nearly out of my mind with boredom and anticipation, he chuckled and ruffled my hair, muttering something about how grateful he was to not have to bury another body.

After the first day or so, I couldn't keep still anymore. I followed Ma around the house and pestered her with questions. She kept her answers close to her chest, only replying when it suited her needs. Her intuition was sharp; without even realizing it, she'd picked up on the strangeness of the situation and raised her guard against it.

Ma's wariness mostly originated from her worry. When she wasn't writing papers or interviewing clients, she badgered me with her own questions, ensuring that my personality shift was just a natural course of life and not caused by the head injury. She grew more and more aggressive, commanding every minute of my day, refusing to let me play with my old friends or even venture out into the forest by myself anymore.

Eventually, I stopped talking to the kids my age entirely, though I suspected it was in part due to my massive change in attitude. Children dealt with abnormality even worse than adults, and having the previously chirpy Zack become a random genius who knew why the sky was blue and how to multiply three-digit numbers was definitely odd.

As spring came and passed, the Gongagan summer smacked us in the face like a farmer with a sack of potatoes. An unbearable heat smothered the town from the north, making the trees drip with humidity. Thankfully, there was an array of trees behind my house that blocked the sun and provided some semblance of shade. This is where I spent most of my summer.

Well, until I met them.

One morning, I was etching something in the dirt with a twig—remember their faces, remember what you lost—when twin shadows fell upon my crouched figure. "You're a terrible drawer," a childish voice said, rather pompously. "What is that, a potato?"

"Don't be mean, Al," chided another. "He's doing his best, can't you tell?"

I mentally steeled myself for the normal jeers and taunts. Then I looked up. To either side stood two children, maybe seven or eight, dressed in dirt-smeared clothes and carrying a plastic bag swimming with tadpoles. The girl, an awkward thing with long limbs and jutting elbows, tossed her pigtails over her shoulder and frowned. I blinked, bemused.

"You're really not very good at drawing," she pointed out.

The boy crouched down at my side and pointed to the doodle on the far right. "Lemme guess. That's a mushroom."

"It's a man, actually," I corrected, glancing at him. He had a mop of black hair that fell over his forehead in a messy sweep (typical) and pale green eyes (not typical). "Who are you two?"

"I'm Alice," said the girl. Something about the sweep of her brow and the firm line of her mouth seemed familiar.

"Jackson," said the boy, sticking out his hand. "Shake my hand. It's very professional."

After a moment of hesitation, I did. "I'm Alistair."

"I've heard of you," said Alice as I rose to my feet. "Zack Fair. You're the boy that fell into the river a few days ago."

"Your name's Alistair?" Jackson asked. "Wait, we can't have two 'Al's. That's gonna get confusing."

"No one calls me Al," said Alice.

"Then you can be Al instead," Jackson said, pointing at me. He grinned, and I was taken aback by how bright his eyes shown through the shadows. "Now you're the only Al around!"

"That's nice." I waited for them to get bored and leave.

Alice hit Jackson over the head with her bag of tadpoles. "Don't listen to him," she told me, rolling her eyes. But it lacked the usual sting of the action. "He thinks he's so clever, but he's really not."

This wasn't the direction I'd imagined the conversation taking. I'd become used to jeers and screaming, children shunning me for the change from cheerful, outgoing Zack to clumsy, clumsy Al with two left feet and oversized hands, who walked like he wasn't used to his own body. They were different, and I found that I didn't mind this strangeness.

"How's your injury?" Alice asked. "My ma told me you hit your head and that's why you're acting so weird."

"So you're a doctor now?" asked Jackson. Alice swung the bag again, and he dodged. "Ha, missed!"

"Yeah," I interrupted. "Yeah, I hit my head. That's why... Well, that's why I'm like this." I shrugged. "Guess that's why no one wants to talk to me now. I'm too different."

Alice crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Huh."

Jackson cast her a quick glance that said nothing and everything at once. Then he smiled at me. "We'll talk to you! I mean, we never knew you before so it's like not we have expectations or anything."

Alice looked furious, eyes like shards of dark ice on her face. "People are jerks," she snapped. "Don't listen to their stupid opinions."

I wondered if she had some deep psychosocial issue she wanted to talk about. Then I found that I didn't care. "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem," chirped Jackson. "Let me introduce myself again. Jackson Kunsel, genius extraordinaire, at your service!"

Halfway turned around to continue doodling in the dirt, I whirled around at his name, eyes widening.

Kunsel? Kunsel wasn't from Gongaga. He was a Second with a penchant for sticking his nose where it didn't belong, not a smiling boy with coal-black hair and pale green eyes. Besides, Kunsel was his first name... Right?

This better not be another one of the Goddess' games.

"Alice Freeman," said Alice, interrupting my whirling thoughts. "Nice to meet you."

"We'll be your friends from now on," said Jackson. "No, don't protest. You don't have a choice in the matter."

"Thanks?" I said, unable to stop it from sounding like a question. I hesitated, feeling a prick of uncertainty. But looking at Jackson's smile, seeing Alice roll her eyes fondly and gaze back at me expectantly, ready to accept me into their little group, I couldn't refuse.

"Alistair Fair. It's a pleasure."

-x-

"I swear to the Goddess, if I have to do one more LOVELESS analysis, I'm actually going to run away and become a hobo in the woods," groaned Jackson as we filtered out of the schoolhouse.

Alice kicked a pebble in her path, her mouth drawn in a thin line vaguely reminiscent of her ma. "You probably wouldn't miss much," she said.

I glanced at her as we followed the crowd of children down the path towards the town square. I didn't miss the clear resentment in her voice. "What are you talking about, Alice?"

"Nothing," she replied.

We stopped in square, where the road abruptly split into four, one of which traveled past the mako reactor and out of town towards Gold Saucer. Jackson paused and eyed this one for a long while. "What's so scary about a mako reactor anyways?"

"Everything," I said, elbowing him in the side. "Don't go near that thing, you hear me?"

"Aye, sir," he said, saluting mockingly.

I lunged to elbow him again, but he ducked out of the way, twirling around to tap on my shoulder. Alice caught me by the back of my sweatshirt and yanked me backwards before I tripped over a pebble. "Careful!" she said as she pulled me back to my feet. "Sometimes I wonder why I even try with you at all."

"Because you love us," cooed Jackson, sweeping us all into a bruising hug. I found myself crushed against his side, Alice's pigtails swaying dangerously close to my face. There was a speck of dirt on the collar of her dress.

"Get off!" groaned Alice. "Otherwise I might actually not love you at all."

"Don't be like that," said Jackson as he released us. "Come on, I'll treat ya to dinner. It's fish stew!"

"It's always fish stew."

"Is not. Ma made Midgardian noodles once." He wrinkled his nose. "Was not good."

Despite her continued protests, Jackson hooked his arm around Alice's neck and began to pull her towards the road that headed towards his house. He glanced over his shoulder. "You coming, Al?"

I didn't move. "Sorry. Stuff to do at home."

Nothing on Jackson's face revealed disappointment. He'd always been good at poker. "Next time, then."

"Yup. Next time."

I waited until they disappeared around the bend of the road. Then I sprinted down the path to my house and practically leaped up the steps to the door. "Ma, I'm home!" I shouted as I passed her figure at the dinner table, her head stooped over a stack of papers.

"Dinner in an hour, Al," she called.

I shouted my assent and then leaped up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. My heart pounded as I veered around the hallway and slipped into my room.

Good. The computer was still on my bed.

I unwrapped its packaging and tossed it aside. Then I lugged it over to my crooked desk, tossed myself on the stool, and plugged it in, waiting with bated breath for it to start up. ShinRa's logo popped up and began to flash.

Create new account.

Al Fair, I typed without hesitation. It threw up a new message. Password?

I paused. Then I inputed the one name that I would never forget.

The computer beeped. Account created. I grinned with delight, then logged in, echoing the same steps I'd taken to create it. When I finally arrived at the desktop, a small red icon jumped in the corner of the screen. After a moment of hesitation, I clicked on it.

Hey, Al! it read in cheerful print. Reeve here. How are you liking the computer so far? It's a SRbook Pro. Don't worry about paying me back. Just think of it as a present for helping me at the mako reactor.

You already know my work ShinRa-mail, but here's my personal one. It's for friends and family only, so keep in touch, okay? I want to talk to you about some things.

Sincerely, Reeve Tuesti

I smiled at the screen, fingers tapping a furious pattern on the able. I couldn't help but swing my feet and scoot forward as I clicked on ShinRa-mail and began to type.

"Hey, Reeve.

Nerd.

Just kidding. How's life back at ShinRa? Have you talked to anyone about dismantling the reactor?

Now that it's basically useless, I don't want the town contaminated by mako. Super-strength isn't as cool as it sounds, you know. Trying to eat with a fork is hard when you can bend it with two fingers easily..."