Question: Am I the only one who has the song 'Rocket Man' start playing in their head when they think about Rocket Town?
…Yeah, my braid does that. Anyway…
Final Fantasy VII and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII storyline (such as Astrid and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts.
(Rocket Town)
She was standing in the middle of a field of water, ripples at her ankles. Everything was white, the air was still and the water had no temperature, but she could still feel. She could feel the water tickle her skin as she moved slightly, sending small waves spreading out from underneath her and carrying off into the distance, black outlines rising and falling out forever until they faded to white.
She raised her hands and looked at them, flexing and twisting them, watching her black outline move as she willed it. Like her surroundings, she was white. Her only dimensions lay in her thin black outline, looking as if it had been drawn by a pencil or a lightly inked pen.
Then she felt the water change and she looked down. Black was spreading out from her feet, tainting the water around her. She began to sink, slowly, into the water, the black around her growing the deeper she sunk. Her outline was washing away.
When it got to her head, she tried to hold her breath, but found that there was no air. She sank into the water and spread out, nothing more than a giant black spot in a sea of white. Then she began to dissolve, turning from black to grey, and from grey to a light ash. Then she was white. Then she was gone.
Astrid's eyes snapped open and she breathed in deeply though her mouth, gasping air into her lungs. She went too quickly, though, and the air scratched her already raw throat, making her sit upright and cough, wincing at every one.
"Here, drink this."
A hand suddenly appeared in front of her, offering her a glass of water. She took it and gulped it down, sighing into the water when the itch in her throat went away and the raw flesh was cooled. Then, the water was taken from her hand and someone sat in front of her, looking at her meaningfully.
"That was too close, Astrid." Aerith said, hr face grave, "We almost couldn't bring you back. We all had to use 'Cure2' and 'Thunder' on you several times, and the doctor wanted us to back off and let you go." She let that sink in, but when Astrid didn't even offer a facial reaction Aerith scowled, "Do you have a death wish? Are you tired of living? Because it seems like every decision you make concerning Marcus leads to you nearly killing yourself, and I can't help but wonder if it isn't intentional."
Astrid looked away from the angry Centra and looked around the room. Everyone was there, and they were all glaring at her, except for Cait Sith, Vincent, and Yuffie, who weren't sure how to react.
"Astrid, answer me." Aerith snapped, grabbing Astrid's chin and turning her head back to face her, "Why do you keep doing this?"
Blinking vapidly, Astrid pulled away from Aerith and swung her feet off of the bed, standing. She swayed for a moment, but recovered quickly, walking across the room to where corner where the party's belongings were stashed. Something was pulling her there. She dug through the bags and pulled out the Book, running her hands over the cover. So… Marcus hadn't taken it.
"Astrid!"
Spinning around, Astrid watched Aerith as the woman jumped to her feet and glared at her with passion and concern, tears forming in the woman's eyes. Astrid shook her head and sighed.
"I never wanted any of this."
Aerith blinked, frowning, "What?"
"From the very beginning." Astrid looked up at Aerith, face blank, "I never wanted any of this. All my life, I thought all I wanted was to live a normal life, go off to college, and settle down in some damned mediocre town and live a damned mediocre life like everyone else I knew." She clenched the Book tightly, still looking at Aerith, "I never wanted a grand fantasy. I never dreamed of going to another world and being anybody different from the person I was. So why me?
"Why did I, of everyone else in my pathetic little world, get chosen to come to this place and take part in a journey I'm not ready for? Why was I chosen to travel across continents to reach a goal that I have no real interest in, other than my brother? Why couldn't it have been one of those people who spend their lives dreaming of going to a fantasy world? Why, in a world full of dreamers, was the pragmatist chosen for this damned journey?"
For a moment, no one answered her. Then Vincent stepped forward, saying in a voice Astrid was beginning to suspect was perpetually husky, "Because pragmatists are the best ones for journeys of fantasy. Dreamers would spend their time trying to make things perfect, trying to make themselves stand out in a story that was already standing out on its own. Pragmatists… adapt only for the time being, imagining only the goal rather than seeking personal side quests, knowing it all could end at any time."
Astrid stared at him for a moment, then said, "Being a pragmatist sucks. People expect too much of us."
Vincent chuckled once, shaking his head, "Correct."
The room fell silent again.
"Uhh…" Everyone looked at Yuffie, who was scratching the back of her head, "What did you mean by… you being from another world?"
Astrid sighed, holding the Book with one hand and running the other through her hair, "That's the story of another place and time, back before I was disillusioned and shoved into the world of cruel, fantastical reality. Something completely irrelevant to your own lives and something you will probably never hear me mention again. Now," She looked around the room, blinking confusedly, "Where are we?"
"Rocket Town." Cloud answered immediately, apparently picking up on her want to change the subject. "An isolated settlement in the Rocket Launch Pad Area. Used to be the major base of Shin-Ra's space exploration division, but was abandoned after an accident with the launching of the last rocket."
"Ah." Astrid answered shortly, blinking. "And how long was I comatose?"
"Three days." Cloud answered again, "Though the doctor thought you might have stayed that way a lot longer, if you ever did recover."
"Ah, the wonderful advantages of exposure to mako." Astrid grinned cynically, shaking her head. "I'll have to remember to thank Hojo later." She sighed, "So, now that I'm done recovering, what next?"
"No clue." Barret said, crossing his arms and frowning, "We've pretty much reached the end of the line. There're no ships in this area, and we've searched this continent dry. The next area we might head would be the Wutai Area, but we ain't got no way to get over there… unless we want to build a raft."
Astrid frowned, "There's no way to get anywhere else from here?"
"Well, there is a plane, the Tiny Bronco," Tifa said, scratching her arm, "But the owner isn't too keen on letting anyone use it. So, unless there's a miracle, we're stuck here for a while."
"I see…" Astrid blinked, then looked down at herself. She was in a different pair of clothes than she had been in back in Nibelheim, but she figured she'd been wearing this pair since they had gotten into town. "I'm gonna go look around town." Taking her bag and walking into the bathroom, she pulled on a fresh pair of pants and a sweater, then strapped her sword to her hip. 'Still feels a bit awkward not having the gun, but I'm getting used to it.'
She walked out a moment later to find that only Yuffie and Barret had left the room. Everyone else was either napping or sitting and staring off into space. Pulling on her boots, Astrid walked out of the room and down the stairs, heading out of the inn and into the town.
Rocket Town was a sleepy, quiet place, which was probably derived from the fact that the town hadn't seen much action since the rocket incident that had occurred roughly… ten years ago, wasn't it? And all of these people were still here, keeping things in working order for the day that Shin-Ra came back to them. It was kinda… sad.
She walked through the town and headed straight for the rocket, the mammoth needle aiming for the sky at an angle. The metal scaffolding was rusted and green from the ocean mist, but someone had been working hard to try to keep the shuttle in working order; its green was two shades lighter than the green of the support towers.
Walking to the top of one of the ladders, Astrid sat down and stuck her legs through the railing, leaning back and looking up at the ship. The bars were uncomfortable against her back and the metal underneath her butt was cold, but she didn't care, she was too busy thinking. 'Hmm… if Palmer heads the Space Exploration department, and they haven't been doing much for the past ten years, was he really getting paid to basically act as the president's lapdog/jester?'
"Hey, you!" She sat up and looked around, eyes landing on someone waving at her from the footpath that lead to the entrance to the rocket, "Yeah, you! Come over here for a minute! I need a bit of help!"
Too bored and lost in meaningless thoughts to argue, Astrid walked over to the ladder and climbed, finding that the person who had called her over had already headed back into the rocket. She walked through the sliding door and looked around. 'Now where…'
"Down here!"
She looked down at her feet and found another ladder. After climbing down that, she looked up and down the room. It was a short hall lined with giant cylinders on both sides. Underneath one of the cylinders, someone was lying on their back and clanking around with some tools, only his thick work jeans and boots visible.
"There's a panel on this air tank I'm workin' on." The man's muffled voice grunted, his hand reaching out to grope for a screwdriver before it disappeared again and the clanking resumed, "Just look at it and tell me if anything turns red."
Astrid got closer to the cylinder and stood on her tiptoes, looking at the only panel on the front. There was a black and blue digital grid work on it with a green line running across, spiking like a seismograph.
"It should turn red… now."
But nothing happened on the screen.
"Nope." Astrid said, taking a step back, "Nothing changed."
"Damn!" Astrid jumped back as the man pulled himself out from underneath the cylinder, jumping to his feet and glaring at the panel, "Damn Shera! Why the hell does she keep insisting something's wrong with this &# thing?! It's functioning normally!"
Astrid stared at the back of the man's blonde head with wide eyes, recognizing his clothes and distinctive use of foul language. "Cid Highwind…"
"Eh?" Cid turned around and looked right above Astrid, then blinked and looked down at her. He frowned, "You ain't one of my workers!"
Astrid blinked, then looked at her hands. After a few moments, she looked back up and shrugged, "Nope. Guess I'm not."
Cid's eye twitched and he looked like he wanted to smack her, "Damned uppity brat…" He then glared at her and bellowed, "You're too damned short and too damned young to be down here! It's dangerous! What the hell are you doing?!"
She shrugged calmly, "Helping you, like you asked."
He twitched again and turned away from her, punching the cylinder, "!)(# bratty teens!" He then turned back to her, pointing to the ladder, "Get the hell out of here!"
Astrid blinked. 'This guy is funny.' "Why?"
"Because!" Cid bellowed, his face turning red, "This is my ship and I make the (# rules around here! Now GET OUT!"
Astrid clicked her heels together and saluted, "Aye, aye, mon capitaine!" She then turned and started to march out of the ladder, Cid swearing behind her the whole time. At the top of the ladder, she smiled back down at the room, 'Yeah, traveling with him is going to be oodles of fun!'
When she was back on the ground and the rocket was too her back, Astrid wandered into the forest, admiring the trees as the sun set and turned the sky red, then purple. She then plopped down on the grass and laid back, staring at the sky as it began to turn starry. She sighed peacefully. 'Okay, this place definitely ranks up with Cosmo Canyon on my 'places I would live if I were to live in Gaia' list. Hmm… maybe one spot above it…'
"You shouldn't stay out late."
"Aahh!" Astrid screamed, whirling around while reaching into her pocket and pulling out a random materia. She blinked at who she saw, "Vincent?"
He stepped out of the shadows, looking down at her, "Cloud and the others are out searching for you. Aerith was afraid that you had left in search of Marcus."
"Damn it." Astrid muttered, taking out her PHS and dialing Aerith's number. "Hey, Aerith? It's Astrid. …Yeah. …Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. …Yeah, Vincent found me. …I'm still in town. …Near the rocket. …Yeah. …Okay. …Don't worry, I won't. …Mmhmm, yeah. …See ya later. Bye." She closed the device and shoved it back into her pocket, sighing and throwing a smile at Vincent, "Thanks for that. They've had too much reason to worry about me lately, so there's no telling what Aerith would have done if she had honestly thought I had left town."
Vincent nodded silently, watching her as she lay back down on the grass. After a moment, he said, "Am I to understand that situations like the one back at the Nibel Reactor happen often with you?"
"Yeah, unfortunately." Astrid answered, crossing her arms behind her head. "I'm super susceptible to mako poisoning, so being around reactors like that can kill me if I hang around too long. All in a days work, though, when you're still a work-in-progress of the infamous Professor Hojo." She flinched slightly, wondering if she should have said that.
"…Hojo." Vincent replied after a moment, staring down at her pityingly, "To be one of his experiments at such a young age…"
"Egh." Astrid waved her hand at him disarmingly, tilting her head back so she could see him, "It's not as bad as it was. Back when I was still in the Shin-Ra building, it was really bad. Being like this," She stretched her back and closed her eyes, "Is a blessing compared to that experience, even with the bad reactions to mako still being considered."
He was silent for a moment, then said, "You said that you're still… a work-in-progress?"
"Yep." She answered, yawning, "Hojo's not working with Shin-Ra anymore, so he's wandering Gaia right now, probably looking for Sephiroth. The last I saw of him was in Costa del Sol, but he'll probably pop back up again to check up on me. He said I'm still 'in the process of being analyzed'. A 'real world' experiment, I guess."
"I see…"
They were silent for several moments, and above them the sky was black, white stars twinkling and a silver moon peeking over the trees. When the moon was nearly overhead, Astrid sighed and stood, looking over to where Vincent had been standing. He was still there.
"I'm heading back." She said, brushing her back off, "Are you going to stay out a bit longer, or…"
"I'll be walking back with you." Vincent answered, stepping back into the shadows. When she walked up beside him, he turned and started walking with her.
"So…" Astrid said after a moment, "Does Gaia seem any different to you?"
Vincent sounded a bit confused when he asked, "What?"
She shrugged, "Well, you were in that coffin for the better part of, what, thirty years? Have you noticed any changes about Gaia?"
He was silent for a moment, then answered, "It's less green than it used to be."
Astrid nodded slowly, "I can see that. Mako reactors have probably increased their production quite a bit, and now that Rufus is in charge it'll probably increase even more."
"Rufus?" His voice carried a hint of a frown.
"The former president's son." Astrid said, ducking under a branch, "Sephiroth killed the late President Shinra a few months ago and Rufus took over the night he died. So far, Rufus has proven to be more of a tyrant than his father was."
"I see." They were silent again, then Vincent asked, "That boy, Marcus… is he really your brother?"
"Yeah." Astrid answered, blinking. 'Vincent sure is inquisitive tonight. …Maybe he's just trying to get caught up with the current events.' "Sephiroth kidnapped him about ten months ago and kind of… took him under his wing. Marcus has changed quite a bit since then."
"And you're trying to get him back?"
"That's what it started off as, yes." She nodded, glancing over at him, "But things have… changed. Marcus has told me a few disturbing things, and I think he means to kill me the next time we meet. On top of that, he has some kind of mental link with me, and he's using it to his advantage. I'm not sure what I'm doing, now."
"Mental link?" Vincent looked over at her, frowning.
Astrid nodded, "The only way I could have stepped into that reactor and held out against the side affects of the mako for as long as I did would have to be if someone prevented me from feeling the pain. Sephiroth wasn't anywhere nearby, I don't think, so that leaves Marcus. It would also explain a few other phenomena that have happened since I started this journey; oddly realistic nightmares, visit's from Marcus when I least expect it, odd transformations my body has been undergoing, being able to hear Marcus talking to me telepathically… it all points to Marcus having a link to my mind."
Vincent gave her a thoughtful look, "Have you told anyone?"
"Nope." She answered lightly, jumping over a large root, "I was just thinking about it when you came. Then, I thought about it some more before I came to my conclusion and decided to head back in. I'm not sure I'll tell any of the others, either."
"Why not?"
She shrugged, "I don't want them spending too much time thinking about my issues and loosing sight in battle or something. You, on the other hand," She shot a look at him, "I trust to keep a cool head at all times." She paused, looking away. "Vincent, I know we haven't known each other very long, but can I ask something of you?"
He gave her a long, hard calculating look before asking, "What?"
She stopped walking and bit her lip, looking up at him when he turned to stare at her, "If I… if I happen to start acing odd… like someone else might be controlling me… If you suspect, for even a moment, that Marcus might be controlling me, could you… subdue me in any way you feel necessary. I would ask one of the others!" She shouted quickly when he raised his eyebrows in astonishment, "But you're the only one I trust to have good judgment in this matter!"
Vincent stared at her for a moment longer before giving her a barely perceptible nod.
Astrid let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Vincent." They then started walking again.
At the edge of town, just between the rocket launch pad at the walkway onto the main road, Vincent stopped her and held something out to her. It was the silver revolver, holster and all.
"You're going to need this more than I will." Vincent said, eyeing her sword. "There aren't many longswords available for public sale these days, so it's best you have a backup weapon. I'll teach you how to use and…" He frowned at something near the muzzle of the gun, "Care for it."
Blinking, Astrid took the belt and looked at the gun. There was a bit of dried blood caked along the sight where she had split open the chin of that man back at Gold Saucer.
"Hehe." Astrid laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. She then strapped the belt to her waist, smiling at Vincent, "Thanks."
"Hmm." He turned and started walking, Astrid trailing not far behind.