Mosaic of Silver

IV

NIGHT

Vnútri Zorja

Sigma walked through a forest of bright white trees, her footsteps echoing softly after her. The full moon, yet again, shone in the distance. Soon enough, the edge of the forest drew near to reveal a large lake with mountains in the distance. A figure stood at the shore, seemingly undisturbed by the Turk's presence. A moment of "something" passed between the two, like some common understanding that needed no words. The figure's shoulders slumped just a bit… before it evaded the first bullet.

The silver-haired Turk shot again, this time narrowly missing her target. The figure, a teenage girl, seemed to smirk as she bolted towards Sigma. The Turk fired three shots in quick succession, one of which hit the girl's shoulder. Hissing from the pain, the girl drew out her handgun from thin air and attacked.

Now on the defensive – and running out of bullets – Sigma tried to retreat to the forest for cover. However, the girl intended to finish everything quickly and pointed the gun towards her – the first bullet hit her abdomen and the second one scraped her right arm. Suddenly, Sigma changed her trajectory, now heading towards her opponent. It took her only a moment to aim and shoot, her actions so fast they could barely be seen.

Blood gushed out of the bullet-hole as her opponent's eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground. A breeze passed by, unnoticed. The sound of waves crashing onto the shore continued peacefully, as though a fight had not just taken place just seconds ago. Like the calm after the storm…

"Itai yo!" the girl exclaimed loudly as she sat up, both hands on her forehead. "Was that really necessary? I only managed to cancel part of the pain when you fired that shot! I don't recall "being shot to death" as part of the contract, you know."

Sigma's blank expression did not change. "If I wanted to, you would be dead already. Overconfidence will destroy you."

The black-haired girl sweat-dropped. "Now where have I heard that before?"

"Your speed has greatly improved, but your skills with a gun leave much to be desired," the Turk continued, ignoring the comment. "You have ceased to hesitate when shooting me, however."

"Apologies for being unable to shoot you before," the teen rolled her eyes as she wiped off the blood on her forehead. "I've only had seventeen years of morals preaching me to not injure or kill others unless absolutely necessary."

Sigma was not amused. "I believe your current circumstances make it so."

"Sigma, there is a difference between shooting a person during training and under duress."

"It is unfortunate that I cannot help you with other weapons – you will need to find the one that suits you on your own." Sigma commented almost mournfully.

"Right. Anyways, what did you think of our "SOLDIER" trio?" the black-haired girl asked. "You were awfully silent after you left them behind."

"Commander Rhapsodos seems to have changed. He has begun regaining his honor."

"Is that so?" The handkerchief was thrown away, revealing unmarred skin. "I didn't peg you as the "honorable" type, but you were trained under Tseng… I wonder what kind of person he'll turn out to be, with his degradation cured and all."

The silver-haired Turk raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Do you not already know? Since he was awakened in the end."

"He only appeared at the end of Dirge – the secret ending," her companion replied with a shrug before doing a poor imitation of Genesis' voice. "It is not yet time to slumber, my brother. Anyways, why wasn't he taken by Deepground? That's the only explanation I have for his presence." She frowned thoughtfully. "We couldn't have changed that much already…"

After all, the only major change they participated in so far was saving Zack Fair's life. None of the small ripples they created should be able to make so great a wave. Granted, the Crimson Commander's presence in Deepground served little purpose other than to have his genes spliced into the Tsviets and create the catalysis that would later serve to drive Dirge of Cerberus' plot. Okay, so his presence there would have been important. But really, whether he ended up in Sector Zero or not, the Deepground soldiers would eventually revolt.

"I do not see why it is a cause for concern," Sigma interrupted. "Is his presence not an advantage for us?"

The younger girl could only sigh. "I suppose you're right. We're going to change a lot more events in any case – might as well get used to the unexpected."

Sigma was no longer looking at her, but at the lake reflecting the moonlight. Following the Turk's gaze, the teen became solemn. A bitter smile graced her lips as the two let the silence fall on them. They were both in a situation neither of them asked for – Sigma because of the experiments and herself because…

"Four years… Time sure flies."

"Two more to go, correct?"

The teen stretched her arms. "Yup, hopefully. Are you really to say goodbye?"

"Is it not supposed to be "See you later"?"

"Hey, Sigma?" Arian spoke as she watched two small orbs of light float in her hands.

The silver-haired woman's eyes did not leave her handgun as she cleaned it thoroughly. "What is it?"

They were in a cave, amongst glowing white trees, next to a large, moonlit lake. The elder of the two was leaning against one of said trees as the younger sat on a rock at the water's edge.

"Do you think I can actually do anything?"

"About the alien?" Sigma looked at her reflection on the gun's barrel before returning her weapon to its place. "Or Aerith?"

"Ripples form on the water's surface – like the flapping of a butterfly's wings – evolve into tragedy." The two orbs floated upwards until they disappeared amongst the stars.

Sigma snorted at the quote half-heartedly. "I'm sure you'll become fast friends with Rhapsodos. He's always been Loveless this and Loveless that." She walked over and sat beside the short-haired girl. "I don't believe it – that our existence's goal is to re-enacted that play. A play's a play, no need to get it all wrapped up with reality."

"Is that why you refer to her that way?" Her black-haired companion refrained from mentioning one of her theories about Loveless. ""Alien" and not "Calamity" or even "Jenova"."

"That thing will not become the Calamity you knew her as," the Turk declared. "We'll stop her and Sephiroth."

Arian stared at Sigma's determination in surprise, but turned to face the lake, her own eyes becoming hard. Her next words marked the beginning of the end.

"A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead."

- Graham Greene, The End of the Affair

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