AN: I'm a few days off, but I updated! XD I'm very close to finishing My Guilty Horrors… Actually, there's only one chapter left. It's a spoiler for My Favor to the Planet though, so I'm a bit hesitant about posting it up so soon. It'll probably just confuse you guys.

Chapter XXIX: The Reality of War

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The wind stung as I fell towards the water. I was unsure of my ability to swim. I was not a strong swimmer, so diving into a large body of water was like suicide to me. But, I had more of a chance to be uninjured if I landed in water than on land.

I held my breath seconds from impact with the water. My eyes burned furiously in the water and my illusion failed. My short hair gently floated around me as I swam to the surface. When I broke through the surface, I coughed and rapidly blinked my eyes. My eyes immediately darted towards the sky in search of the helicopter. Instead, I saw a trail of smoke falling towards the north.

I sighed at the problem I was in. I was not familiar with the Mideel area, but I knew that it was full of mako springs. Floating on my back, I backstroked towards the small beach that surrounded the lake. Personally, I hated beaches with a passion. My being a very clean person meant that I felt very uncomfortable with any object that was not smooth. So, sand and I did not mix well at all.

Wet and a little grumpy, I decided to build a small fire on the beach. Before I perished in my original world, Vincent and I went on a camping trip for a school competition. The ex-Turk had taught me how to build a fire and what to do in survival situations. After stripping out of my wet clothes, I went around gathering wood for the fire. Quite obviously, I had on my more important pieces of clothing, namely a sports bra and underwear. By the time I had finished gathering the wood, my uniform was dry. The uniform was made up some weird and comfortable synthetic material that dried at an abnormally fast rate.

Not really up to lighting the wood with the traditional methods, I merely shot a Hell Firaga at the dried wood and sat down, warming my still slightly wet body. I pulled out my PHS from my uniform's waterproof pocket to check for a signal. Sadly, there was no reception at all. Not wanting to be the damsel in distress, I quickly pulled my uniform on and pocketed the cellular device in my pocket.

"Well, I've had enough sitting around. Time to go." I announced to myself, kicking sand into the fire and slowly walking north.

I had trouble getting through the thick bushes and shrubbery at first, but after losing my patience and taking out Vice and Grim, I was able to slash a path towards the crash site. On the way, I did not encounter any type of monster. The wilderness was too quiet for my liking, so I activated my illusion materia to disguise and cloak myself. Hunger eventually hit me like a darn boulder, but I was able to satisfy it with the canteen of water that I kept in my uniform. I wasn't eating healthily lately. Despite the fact that my blood was mixed with mako, I still had to take care of my body. I refuse to become anorexic or overweight! If that happened, all the training that Sephiroth put me through would have been for nothing at all… and the bruises! Shoving those thoughts away, I realized that I had finally reached the crash site.

The helicopter sat in the middle of a few large and splintered trees. Flames and smoke rose from the rotors and power plant. I smelled burnt flesh and oil, which made me have flashbacks to how I died. I remembered the heat on my skin, the lack of oxygen, and the sting in my eyes. The memory of suffocating and blacking out in pure despair was still fresh in my mind as I searched for bodies.

At first, I noted that the helicopter merely had about three minutes before it exploded. Then, I activated Lucis Reaper to buy myself some more time. I was well aware that my body could only handle using the Limit Break only once, but I felt that the troops should have the right to return to their families after death. Speeding around at the speed of light, I managed to secure all five bodies from the aircraft before the machine blew up.

By the time the oil in the machine set on fire, I was standing a full kilometer away, identifying the bodies. I did not recognize four of the five bodies, but when I went to identify the pilot, I whimpered and knelt in morbid sadness. "R-Ren." I whimpered, staring at his open blue eyes. "Why did it have to be you?"

I became friends with Ren after my training session with Genesis on the 7th. He was going to turn 20 this year. I met Ren while grabbing lunch.

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Flashback: September 7 1:43pm

As per usual, I sat alone during lunch at the back corner table in the cafeteria. The others were too busy to eat with me, and I was trying to avoid Genesis for the rest of the day. It was fun teasing the Commander, but I wasn't in the mood to become ashes and mincemeat. The pasta was delicious and I loved the tomato soup that they served today. I won't lie. It got lonely, eating alone while others around me were happily chatting away with their peers and co-workers.

I'm not sure when, but eventually, a body stood in front of me. Tilting my head up, I was met with a friendly and warm smile. Blinking at the man in question, I asked, "Yes, what is it?"

The tall and lean man gestured to the seat in front of me. "Do you mind if I sat there, Captain?"

Blushing at the formal and polite address, I waved to the empty seat. "Go ahead."

When the stranger sat down, I was able to get a better look at him. He had slightly wavy, medium length, light brown hair, high cheekbones, fine eyebrows, average nose, thin lips, and gentle looking blue eyes. All of a sudden, I found another reason for my blush. This man was gorgeous. The man caught me staring and smiled gently. Embarrassed, I immediately glanced back down into my pasta, turning a shade redder.

"You're Captain Valentine, right?" the man asked, head propped upon one hand and staring at me.

I furrowed my brow, "Er… yeah? Who are you?"

The man's eyes widened as he stretched his hand out to me. "Ren Sakamaki. Nice to meet you, ma'am!"

I quickly swallowed my bite of pasta before shaking Ren's hand. "You, too. I fyou don't mind, could you call me Loki instead? I'm not comfortable with being addressed as someone who's older. I'm still young."

Suddenly, Ren started to laugh. "No problem, Loki!" While the handsome man laughed, I just stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Eventually, Ren sobered up, but it wasn't until after I was finished eating, did he speak. "Sorry about that. I just find it funny that you don't like your title. So, anyways, what's a cute girl doing sitting alone?"

"My friends are busy when I have lunch." I replied honestly, face heating up at the compliment. "And I tend ot avoid people in general."

Ren smiled, understanding. "Me, too. I don't like crowds or groups that much, so I usually eat by myself."

"If you like eating along, then why are you sitting with me right now?" I asked with a smirk.

One eye open, Ren raised his hands, "Okay, you caught me. I wanted to ask if you had a boyfriend."

The gears in my head turned as I replied with a guarded tone, "No… why?"

Ren scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um… do you wanna go on a date sometime?"

Blinking in surprise, my grin stretched just a little. "Well, I'm not against the idea. But are you sure that you want to date a fourteen year old?"

Ren's smile disappeared, "I'm sure. I'm only five years older than you." He said this with a serious face, so I sighed, taking out my cell phone and exchanged numbers with him. I even took his picture to tag him as one of my contacts.

"Only a date between friends, okay?" I reinforced with a smile on my face.

With an excited grin, Ren stood from his seat. "Yeah, sure!" The man abruptly gave me a peck on the cheek before grinning at my blush and bouncing away.

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Tears rolled down my cheeks at the loss of a friend. The two of us never did get a chance to go on the date we promised each other. I knew that people died in the military, but now I understood how it felt to the troops in each squad. The sadness and overwhelming grief that came with the death of a friend. So, I cried over Ren's body with reckless abandonment. I sat on the ground and cradled Ren's body. Ren had been the first real friend that I had made in this world, and already, I had lost him to the war.

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Bane: (*sits in gloomy corner)

Sephiroth: What's wrong?

Bane: I killed him off.

Genesis: Ren?

Bane: Yes.

Genesis: You can bring him back if you want.

Bane: (*perks up) I can

Genesis: (*sweatdrops) You're the writer, dummy

Bane: VOOOOI! Out of my way people! I gotta get planning!

Sephiroth: …

Genesis: (*pats his shoulder) Don't worry, my friend. She'll remember your existence soon enough.

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Poor Sephiroth! I've been neglecting him!

Mata Nui: Genesis will be good again soon! Don't beat him up! I made him a jerk, but I still like him!

KaosTHedgehog: Yeah… The Movers kicked my ass in like fifteen seconds… I went on a level up rampage after that. I couldn't have Zack dying on me afterall.

Tiryn: (*nudges Maigen) you hear that? Stay alive. (*to Tiryn) Don't worry. She's not going to die again. Someone else will. (*Maigen: What about Ren?) (*Bane: thunder cloud) Don't remind me.

AmmyChey3X: Yeah, I try not to make my chapters too short, but it happens once in a blue moon. I keep them at a normal length… Unless it wouldn't make sense to cut a part in half. Plot twists add more fun to a story when it makes sense. For this reason, I made My Guilty Horrors. It pieces together with the plot twist.

Tifa2001: Hahaha Nice to know that you waited for me!

Hallberra23: Thank you for following and favoring!

Dusk Nisshoku Valentine: Thanks for following! (*winces) Poor Reno. I didn't mean to make him that much of a jerk. He's just a flirt… that's all. (*screams to Vincent and Chaos) Hey! Ryvek says "Hi!"

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Until Next time! XD