Thanks to the Iliad by Homer I found the city named Lycia and decided to use it here, hope you all like it.
Throughout most of the night Larissa went to the cliff where Zack's buster sword stuck out of the ground. She allowed her spirit to take over her inhuman body for a few minutes to see what the experience would feel like. The sensation was brutal because of her wing; it was rebelling against the transformation. Forcing all of her strength into her body Larissa was able to cause her spirit to appear in front of the body she inhabited. When she looked into the ocean over the cliff's edge she saw the illuminating glow of the soul that controlled her life at this point. It bothered her to feel restrained and she expressed this by saying to herself, "I want to be free of you, yet you say I need this kind of energy to survive. Since I am letting you take control of the situation can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure, why not? You have as much right to say anything as I do right now. But remember that we are both named Larissa and it will continue to be that way," says Larissa to the inhuman body. With a deep irritating sigh she replies, "Fine have it your way as usual. My suggestion would be to kill them all off after we tell them our secret. Why should they remain alive anyway? If a word leaks out to the Turks that hang around them, we will be in deep over our heads."
"Why is it that when we have a problem you resort to violence? We are not going to kill them, but you do have a point when it comes to the Turks. I would never slaughter those people who have become my loving friends. Why don't you see it that way?"
Larissa turns her head and faces the person she has become over the years to see a hint of sadness mixed with anger as she says, "The only friend I ever had, Shinra destroyed when he tried to escape. He is no longer here to tell me that everything will be okay or the actions I take are not too harsh for others to understand. Once the so called friends of yours know about our situation they will abandon us completely, just like the rest of the world. No one has ever tried to help us before except him."
"You honestly don't believe in that do you? People can change," Larissa says quietly to herself. "It seems you were not awake when I woke up to see what that damn scientist did to me. Threatening me with a tranquilizer, a tranquilizer! Can you even image that? A person with my power threatened by a green liquid in a tube," says her body sarcastically.
"You are right; I was not awake until here recently. It was when my new friends showed me to feel and to live on, even though I am not fully human. In any case I will be talking to them today without any interference from you. They need to understand where we are coming from and what happened. No killing until necessary, which I hope does not come to that," says Larissa firmly.
Her body just shrugs her broad shoulders as she peers at the buster sword with deep hatred of what Shinra did to society as a whole. Her weak hand touched the blade with sweet affection for the one man who once possessed it. Larissa's spirit says to her body, "He still thinks of you from time to time, he always will." Her body continues to stare at the sword until her hollow eyes look at her spirit. "You really think so?"
"I know for a fact that he does," says Larissa soothingly. Looking out at the ocean again her spirit began to ache. She doubled over unexpectedly into the sand until her body reached out to catch her before she fell off the edge. "What is wrong? I think if we had a problem I would know about it to." Her spirit rose up to reveal the cuts that Hojo did on his surgery. The head was splitting open where the mad scientist had taken out her brain and her chest was opening up to reveal the missing heart that she needed to survive. Quickly her body embraced her impaired spirit back into it before it floated off into the Spirit World. "It looks like we are in deeper than I thought. I guess I will do all of the talking for you. I plan it to be clean and simple, no major details will be allowed."
"Yes that would be the best way to handle this. I wish I could do it though, it would be much warmer. Promise me that you will go easy on them, I know for a fact that we will need them later."
"Ok, I can promise to a certain extend. I think it is time to head back now and tell them everything since it looks like about 8 or 9'oclock in the morning." Rising from the cliff Larissa gathers herself back together and heads for the inevitable meeting that needed to take place as soon as possible. Entering the swinging doors of 7th Heaven she sees that the Turks have come in for an early breakfast from Tifa instead of the diner on the corner of Fair Street. The whole crew this morning consisted of Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng that ate fried eggs and hash browns with a deep cup of dark, pure coffee.
Tseng gazes at who enters through the front doors and instantly spits out his coffee all over the countertop in surprise of the least likely person he would ever bump into. He continues to stare at Larissa until he could not handle the temptation to grab her to see if she was actually the girl he remembered so long ago. Rising hastily from his chair he tries to head up the stairs when Vincent blocks his way. 'No Turks are allowed upstairs as a number one rule from Avalanche. Besides do you need something?' questions Vincent because of the way Tseng expression took on a desperate look.
"Well Vincent you cannot just hog the whole hall here. I need to get by so I can check on Maddox and the others at the park since Tifa is too busy to do so. Do you mind?" Tseng moves swiftly out of Vincent's way to see Larissa's figure more properly. She did not even set her eyes on Tseng as she passed Vincent for the front door, she only waved goodbye to everyone before leaving.
After Larissa exited 7th Heaven Tseng rushed out right behind her, not caring if Vincent or anyone else would try to stop him. Running at top speed through Midgar he finally caught up with Larissa entering the little gate that led to the new park for children. Tseng stops to catch his breath at the edge of the gate and says hoarsely, "Larissa wait."
Larissa freezes in place from the familiar voice that reached her ears so clearly, yet so far away. Turning around to face the man who called her name she sees Tseng as her friend from many years ago. Not knowing what to do next, Tseng subconsciously opens up the gate to reach Larissa on the other side. Walking crookedly toward her he leans against the sleek aluminum pole that is part of the jungle gym. Larissa decides to close the gap between them by strolling closer to him and resting her body on the opposite side.
"What brings you here old friend? Do not tell me that Shinra has ordered you on another wild chase for me," says Larissa jokingly to the exhausted Tseng. Laughing quietly he says, "Well hello to you too friend. As a matter of fact I am on business for Shinra to investigate you. I thought you might want to know that up front."
Shrugging her shoulders indifferently she says to him, "I am not surprised they have not done so since my incident in Nibelheim. The funny thing is that they will never be able to find a damn thing on me. Everything has been erased or destroyed. I am the only one who knows it all." She starts to laugh aloud at Shinra's desperate efforts to search for something that will be impossible to find.
Tseng laughs with her in relief to know that his long lost friend was still normal as she could be. "That is why I took the job to investigate you; I really wanted to know if you were alive somewhere on this miserable earth. I will not tell them anything since Rufus pissed me off so badly the other day. I love to hold out on them, it brings me great joy."
"Well now that is something to celebrate over, what did he do? I am sure it is not as worse as what I put you through most of our time together," says Larissa charmingly. "That is not important. The important thing is that you are here and that we might have a huge problem later on. If Shinra does not have anything on you after a period of time they will most likely try to capture you again like in the old days. Quite honestly we might have to fight them off…again," Tseng says matter-of-factly.
"Now if you do not mind me asking, who is this "we"? I do not plan on Avalanche fighting for me; I think I can handle it." Walking closer to Larissa, Tseng whispers in her ear, "I am the other person who is part of the "we". Whatever you say I will do because we both helped each other out one way or another in that hell whole. It still is like that today, but being the inside man is way more fun than the regular gunman. Will you let me do it?"
Larissa gazed into his dark black eyes and agreed for his help since it would be way too boring if she did not include him in the game. "Well when do you want to start Tseng? I have to tell you though that Avalanche will know everything before I leave to rebuild the village Sephiroth burned. You can attend the meeting if you want to, but if you decide to back out and leek any information I will have to eliminate you. Is that clear?"
Stroking her hair like he did on that day he says, "I would not have it any other way Larissa." They walked together over to the children to see if everything was ok. Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox, were playing on the stainless steel fort that was donated to them by one of the children's foundation. "Maddox, it's time to go back to the diner! We will be leaving in a little while. Marlene and Denzel you two come also, we can all have lunch together," shouts Larissa to the children at play.
"Ok, coming Miss Larissa," said the children as they climb off the fort toward her to go back to see Tifa and the others. "I cannot believe we are going back today! Hey Marlene and Denzel, you guys should visit us once we redo the village. Its gonna look great," says Maddox excitedly. Maddox stops suddenly to look at Tseng for a few seconds before allowing him to walk by Larissa. Tseng waves a hand for them to go ahead, so he could take up the rear for protective reasons. The children run off to see Tifa at the front door while Tseng caught Larissa's arm and said, "If you are going to the village then I am going with you. I can just tell them that I am observing you for anything suspicious. Rufus should love that idea." Giving Tseng a friendly smile she accepts his offer.
Once inside the door of 7th Heaven, the children run in at full speed to the counter for their lunch. Tifa hands them their meal in shock of how hastily they want to eat. "Why are you all in a hurry to eat? Slow down and enjoy it," says Tifa. "We have to hurry because Maddox is leaving soon. We want to play with him and give him some souvenirs before he goes," says Marlene as Denzel has an eating contest with Maddox. Tifa peers at Larissa who nods her head in approval to Marlene's statement.
After the children ate Larissa suggested that they should play upstairs for a little while before they left. Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox all ran up the stairs in a flash to play for a few more hours. Tseng signals for Elena, Reno, and Rude to go around Midgar to check on things, he would meet with up with them later. He continued to stay close to Larissa while they went out the doors, hearing Reno whine again through the oncoming crowd. "Are you ready Larissa?" asks Tseng. "Yes I think it is time, come everyone to the board room. I have many things to tell, most of it will be very unpleasant."
Vincent and Cloud saw the sudden closeness of Tseng and Larissa and that made them uneasy. Everyone filed in as Larissa took the top spot at the long wooden table filled with small creaking chairs. When all were seated Tseng stood beside Larissa's right side, which looked like moral support. When Barret saw this he said, "I don't see why you have to be here Tseng. Aren't you supposed to be out in Midgar killing people or something?" Tseng remained silent at Barret's remark of a Turk's life. Larissa smiled and said to Tseng, "If only you had escaped with me, you would have had a better reputation than that. Oh well such as life." Tseng had to chuckle too at the golden opportunity that he missed out on so long ago.
Everyone else seated quickly and remained completely quiet to hear what Larissa had to say. "Alright Avalanche, I am about to tell you confidential information on myself that must not leave this area or your mouths for that matter. If you break this vital rule I will have to end your life and believe me, you will not be able to survive my wrath no matter how strong you are. There is no gentle, sugar-coated way to say this, but lucky for you all I will be brief. Do we all understand each other?"
They all nodded in understanding, yet felt anxious to know what they would have to protect for the rest of their lives. "Ok let's begin. I am not completely human, which you people should be aware of by now. I was created for the Jenova Project, but my human body failed. Hojo implanted my brain and heart from my original body to this new form, and her I stand before you as Sephiroth's other half except more powerful. As you have all noticed when I came here that I have similar characteristics as he does and even more. We also have a wing embedded in our backs, his on the left as black and mine is on the right as white. I was the back up if his precious son should fail in whatever he was supposed to do. I even did side jobs for the Turks when they were not quick enough to dispose certain people that Shinra did not like. An assassin if you will, just thinking about it now almost equals the loathing I have for Sephiroth who used to rape me continuously when I first met him. Anyway, Sephiroth wants my body so he can come back into full power and to top it off Shinra Inc. is investigating me. Apparently the incident of me blowing up the Shinra Mansion caused a disturbance with President Rufus. Shinra knows nothing of this and this way until necessary."
Turning to Tseng she says, "Tseng that will be your cue to sell me if your life is on the line. I need you to live; you are the only criminal I have inside that corrupted business. And about your offer, I have to reconsider. You will only check up on me, but you must remain with Rufus so as to not draw too much attention to our situation. If war is what Rufus wants then he will receive it with full force of many deaths and the fall of his corporation."
Facing the other again Larissa continues to say, "I am leaving today to restore the village and will mostly likely stay there when it is finished. This battle I face is mine and partially Tseng. You cannot and will not help me fight unless you like this sort of thing. That is it, I am done. Oh and this battle will be pointless for you once Sephiroth and I come together. Whatever happens during and after that is out of your control. You will have to deal with it your own way somehow."
Larissa at that moment gripped the chair with a violent force that left an imprint in the gorgeous mahogany woodwork. Suddenly another woman's voice says, "You are so cruel to these people who have given you their hospitality. Why must you treat others like trash, does their company really mean nothing to you? You could have at least told them about me being alive inside your hollow limbs of a body. It might clarify some things that are confusing them."
"Why must you interfere with me and what I want to do as usual? How else am I going to tell them, by lying and saying that everything will be ok, that we may all live? It is too late to lie about such things now since Shinra is on the move and Sephiroth is becoming impatient. You know what we have to do and you still seem to think we can change it. Our fate is sealed, get used to it," says Larissa savagely to herself as a faint outline of a woman with many cuts and bruises shines through for everyone to see.
The chair collapsed into dust at Larissa's feet as the spirit continued to shine forward for a clearer picture of the original woman who had such a promising life. Vincent rose from his seat and walked cautiously over to Larissa to see if the spirit was indeed real. "You must be Vincent, says the spirit of Larissa, I have enjoyed your company just as much as the rest of you. I am Larissa the unsent soul of this miserable body. The reason why this body is so hostel is because of the abuse it has gone through and the wing is causing some malfunctions. The development of it is fast approaching, it seems only a month or two before destruction will happen or maybe we will be lucky to suppress some of the power within. Either way be prepared and good luck in finding your own way of survival. I am sorry for what I have done to your lives and hopefully you will all forgive me or at least forget my existence. I just know it will be over very soon."
That is all Larissa's spirit could say to them because the Spirit World began to call her to their gates. Luckily her body was able to drag her back inside where she could be safe from death for a little while longer. As for Larissa's eyes, they changed randomly again like a slot machine until they finally focused on her golden eerie color of brown. Breathing heavily Larissa says, "Now you have an idea of what I face and remember to keep it here, keep it safe. If Rufus ever has a hold on this kind of information he will have a field day. There is still a way for the scientists in the lab to take control of me in some way or form. I have just been informed by Tseng that they have found an old dissolved file of how to do this by Hojo himself. Ahh, this pain is becoming unbearable."
Larissa continued to shake compulsively against the table since the chair vanished from under her fingertips of solid white. Tseng knew the drill of Larissa's condition very well and quickly took hold of her trembling body to try and balance the power flowing freely through her veins. After a few minutes she calmed down in Tseng's mighty embrace where she could breathe normally.
When her spirit became whole with her body again she began to speak. "What she says is true. This wing of mine is a serious problem that I cannot control. I probably will not recognize any of you once this monster develops inside me. Do not take it to heart personally I guess. You cannot change my form, but I will be pleased on the outcome. Either way if we communicate at all it will be business concerning supplies. Midgar besides Rocket Town are the only places with the best lumber and other materials. We should make our parting simple regardless of our strong emotions. The best way to do that would be to erase me from your memories, and then we can all move on with our lives."
Her body continued to flinch as Tseng held her in his arms gently like a father to a helpless child. "This is outrageous! I will not stand idly by and watch you suffer. You are very valuable to me and my heart says that I should help. Don't push us away from you now, this is your darkest hour," says Vincent earnestly.
"Vincent's right," says Cloud, "We need to stay together and I too will never erase you from my memory. Even though your heart is cold, I can at least warm it with kindness and love, we all can. As a group we will always keep you near, won't you do the same for us?"
Larissa gazed at everyone and realized that these people were actually sincere in their speech. Breathing in deeply she replies, "I will try my best after the transformation, is that enough?" They all nodded their heads in agreement and Cloud says, "Yes that is enough to reassure us for a little while, thank you."
'When will this transformation begin Larissa?' asks Nanaki quietly in the corner of the board room by the window. "I fear it will come by the end of this year, much faster than I had hoped. I tried using shots of some kind of liquid from my old laboratory to reduce the swelling, but it failed terribly. It caused me to have morning sickness on odd occasions. I at least am lucky enough to finish the village on time," she says with a hint of hope in her hardened voice.
'You can count on us to be there with you when that happens. I know for a fact that I will not leave you just because you tell me to. What do the rest of you guys think?' asks Cloud. "I agree wholeheartedly with Cloud on this one Larissa," says Reeves, "We will keep everything safe for you and that's a promise." Yuffie suddenly jumps up and says, "Woo! Another adventure we can all do as a group again. I can't wait to get started."
"I'm game," says Cid when at the same time Barret says, "Bring those Shinra bastards on!" Nanaki growled in approval for himself as well as Shelke and Vincent continued to walk closer to Larissa to see how she was feeling. She looked at him with blank eyes as she says to him, "Do not waste your time concerning yourself with my health. It will be what it is made to be and I have done pretty well so far. I think I should leave you all now with Maddox, I will be in contact with most of you in a few days. Goodbye everyone who thought I would last forever in your presence."
Larissa, followed by Tseng, left the board room with little noise from the all too familiar squeak of the door. Vincent along with rest of the crew felt heartbroken by her departure of coldness that they were not used to. Hearing her faint voice from the diner entrance they heard her cry, "Maddox! We are leaving now, say goodbye to everyone." Maddox came streaming down the stairs from Marlene and Denzel's room with a duffle bag full of little toys and other trickles that filled him with joy. "Thank you Marlene and Denzel for giving Maddox gifts before we set out on our project, hopefully you all can visit the town when we are finished," says Larissa as her final farewell to Midgar and its wonderful inhabitants.
Filing out of the board room, Avalanche walked toward the front of the diner to see Larissa and Maddox off. "Bye everyone," says Maddox, "I hope we can play again real soon. Come on Miss Larissa lets go home and what are we going to call our new home anyway?" Smiling brilliantly Larissa replies, "We are going to call it the town of Lycia. What do you think Maddox?" His little face lit up like a field full of fireflies as he said to her, "That is a wonderful name Miss Larissa. I think the people back home will love it too. Come lets go already, they are all waiting for us."
Strolling out of the door of 7th Heaven, Tseng came to Larissa and said, "I want you to have this cell phone so we can keep in touch. It has everyone's cell number including Cloud's entire group. I will call you periodically to update your investigation and where Rufus stands. Please take my car with you to your destination. I can always have a new one anytime for any reason, take care." Resting an elegant hand on Tseng's shoulder she thanked him quietly while Maddox immediately opened the passenger seat to sit inside the new vehicle. Waving to everyone else Larissa took the car keys from Tseng's slender hand and opened the driver's seat to start the engine of the new Audi A4 that had just come in from Shinra Inc.
The beautiful, sleek Audi came to life instantly and Larissa shifted into drive and drove down the lane toward the exit of Midgar, giving one last wave and a honk before disappearing in the distance. Back at the door Marlene began to cry silently and Denzel instinctively wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders to comfort her. Vincent leaned against the now pealing panel from the front porch of 7th Heaven and Cloud took up the other side with deep sadness equal to his.
Tseng motioned for his crew to come back with him to Shinra Inc. to finish the report of Larissa's departure from Midgar. 'When do you think we will see her again?' asks Denzel shyly. "I would give it a few weeks Denz," says Cid, "She is bound to need supplies right away because of the time limit she is under. I will go to Rocket Town in a few days to see how the progress on Lycia is going." Everyone else filed back inside to run errands or other activities that needed to be done. They did not realize how much Larissa impacted their lives in just a few months, with her presence gone it seemed like an eternal night had fallen on them all. It would be at least a month or two before they would hear from her again. All they could do now is wait for a reply, which was something that made them extremely impatient.