A/N - Hey {^_^} I got more reviews! Yay! I'm gonna make longer chapters
now... or Ill try {o_o} but that's alright anyway, cos about three chapters
always go up at once! I've written the next two already, they're in POV,
and now I must do the narrative one first. What a drag. I'm best at POV
chapters, and the normal narrative ones are much harder for me to make
interesting, as I'm sure you've noticed... By the way, any of the people
who play FF9 will know of the idea that memories are passed down from
parent to child, and everyone shares their memories. This fic uses a
similar idea.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Midnight knocked at Elmyra's door with a tremble in her arm and a doubt in her head. ("What if she doesn't get what I'm on about?") Caen noticed this and put an arm around her waist reassuringly, which only made Midnight more nervous, as anytime he touched her she grew nervous anyway, let alone now.
A short and curvy woman who looked in her early twenties opened the door. She had blonde hair, which was dyed by the look of the roots at the top of her head, and deep brown eyes, which were studying the couple with distrust. Then, she realised who this boy was. Her face relaxed into a friendly look, but faintly worried. "Caen! How come you're here? There's nothing wrong with Leaf is there?"
Caen grinned. "Nah, he's fine, and he's gobbling all the gysahl greens as normal. My friend Midnight needs to see you and your ma..." The girl frowned. "Oh, hi, er... Midnight (that name sounds so familiar but I've never seen her before.), you want to see me? Sorry, but do I know you?"
Caen answered for Midnight. "You think you don't, but you actually know her quite well..." He laughed at the puzzled look on the face of the blonde. "I'll help you out on this one. Does Midnight Strife mean anything to you? Or maybe Midnight Lockheart would mean more..."
"Cloud Strife... and Tifa Lockheart...!!! You...you can't be...!?
Midnight stepped forward. "Do you remember me? You're Marlene, right? My mom left a letter for me, and this" (she pulled the sword up, where the shocked Marlene could see it) "and said I should come find you. I got it yesterday. So I came here... oh, and by chance ran into Caen, who..."
Marlene sighed. "Zack. I know... Elmyra told me it all... I know about you too, Midnight... all about you. I cant believe you're actually here... does that mean, you're avenging the Avalanche?"
"Yeah, something like that..." Midnight sighed as well, the images of her father's death running through her mind. She didn't know why she could remember it, it seemed to be from Tifa's point of view, maybe she left it to Midnight? She was roused from these thoughts by Caen's hand on her shoulder, as they stepped inside the house.
Elmyra cried her heart out when she saw Midnight, saying how much she looked like Tifa and Cloud, and how proud they'd be. She then explained that she ran an orphan fostering system that she had set up as soon as the Highwind went down. "Faced with all that loss, I felt I had to do something..." Then, she walked over to a drawer and took out a picture. It showed a group of nine young people, all smiling at the camera. Midnight recognised the place, it was Junon; and she recognised the people on the photograph. She could name every one of them. "That's Yuffie... and that's Aeris..." Suddenly, she became overcome with grief, Although she had never known these people, she mourned for them inside her heart so badly it hurt to keep it in; for no reason at all, she turned to the person next to her, which happened to be Caen, and collapsed into his arms, crying harder than she had ever thought possible. Through her head flashed images of the Highwind going down, of Cloud dying in his fiancée's arms, of the lifeless bodies of Cid and the crew, of Vincent and Red who died protecting their homes. It was strange, but she felt like her heart was breaking.
Later on, Elmyra was making everyone something to eat while Caen was chatting to her about something. Midnight sat upstairs in the tower room, silently crying, although she willed herself to stop but the tears kept flowing. She wondered if this was the pain that Tifa had felt, if somehow she had not mourned and so Midnight had inherited it? Marlene walked quietly up behind her. "We all grieved, you know. At sometime or other. Caen for Zack; me for Barrett, and all of Avalanche too; Elmyra for Aeris, and Barrett too because she had just fallen in love again. She lost the man she loved twice. We all know what you feel..." Midnight shook her head. "I know, Marlene, and thanks, but I don't think you do. Forever I was told my parents had given me up, and I read in the newspapers about these heroes and wanted to be like them... this is so fast for me. It's not my pain I'm feeling; its more I think... it sounds stupid but...anyway, can I keep this picture? I need to know what I'm gonna be fighting for..."
Marlene smiled. "You sound just like your dad... Yeah, keep that. Its what we will all be fighting for..." Midnight turned round, slightly shocked. "You gonna be coming too?... Then Id better give you this. My mom left me it, along with this sword and a gun. She said in the letter that it's yours..." Midnight handed Marlene the God's Hand glove, and Marlene burst out crying at that. "You know, Tifa raised me more than Barrett did, in the bar in Midgar... I'm so happy she thought of me..." Midnight gave Marlene a warm smile. "Well. We're nearly sisters then... Come on, we should set off soon. I need to ask Elmyra where to find Kierann Valentine." And with that, Midnight sheathed her sword again and set off down the winding staircase, not noticing the shocked blonde's face behind her.
"He's a WHAT??" Caen exploded, as Midnight sank to the floor with her face in her hands. "What the hell made him become a Turk?" Elmyra shushed the outraged young man, who leant down and placed his arms around Midnight. "He became a Turk after he was moved foster homes. He became restless, and decided that the best way to get some action in his life was to become a Turk. He would have been training under Reno, but now..." Elmyra looked at Midnight, with sorrow in her eyes. Midnight, remembering that Reno was a friend of her mother's and had tried to save her from Sephiroth's troops, gasped and questioned further, "What? What's happened to Reno?? ... Tell me!" Elmyra hung her head. "I just heard, on the news. Reno was caught apparently trying to help a resistance member and was sentenced to death at noon tomorrow. But... They said that the resistance member... was a member of the new wave of Avalanche." She looked up again. "There's only one person that could be..."
Midnight groaned. Of course. Reno had delivered the package. "We have to help him! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know who I am!" She felt like crying. Sentenced to death... Caen spoke up. "I'll help you. I wanna kick some Extreme (A/N - Sephiroth's government; sorry, forgot to put this in the last chapter! ^_^) butt for executing my dad... and I expect you wanna get some revenge for Avalanche to, Marlene?" Marlene flexed her fingers and punched the air. "Too right!!! Elmyra... Don't worry, Ill come back to you... I'm not gonna hurt you anymore, but I have to do this." Midnight looked up at these two people and smiled through her tears. She was about to thank them when a loud rap at the door sent Elmyra running towards it. Then came the words they dreaded...
"Open up!!! Extreme Soldiers with orders to search for resistance!"
"Run! Out the back!" Elmyra cried. "Just a second!" Too late. The soldiers had burst through the door. Four of the silver-clad men forced their way in and attacked the nearest person. Midnight. Caen suddenly pushed her out of the way. "Midnight! Get out the back! We'll take care of this, cos its you they want!" Taking one last look at Elmyra cowering in a corner, and at the brave friends of hers who were fighting for her, she ran out the back door into the field behind the tower house.
Bad mistake. Crowded around the back fence, there were eleven or so soldiers, armed and ready to barge in. They took one look at the startled teenager and shouted, "That's the Strife kid; her eyes glow. Stop her at any cost!"
Midnight jumped at they fell into position. Her eyes were good so she could see through the failing light. There was so many... ("Don't mess with me...but I cant take you all...not alone..." A voice rang clear in her ears. *You're not alone, Midnight... I'm here with you...* ("Mom?") One of the soldiers charged at her, and Midnight realised her sword was in her hands. Her reaction movement served her well; one slash and the soldier was down on the deck; one more and he was history. Looking at the sword, she realised she had unconsciously drawn it. Glancing back up at the enemy, she realised the others were hanging back after seeing the ease in which she had killed their counterpart. With her Mako eyes glinting in the moonlight, long hair blowing across her back and spikes sticking up from her forehead, she grinned an evil smile (unbeknown to her, the same smile her father used to terrify Shinra with...) and whispered into the breeze...
"Lets roll..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Midnight knocked at Elmyra's door with a tremble in her arm and a doubt in her head. ("What if she doesn't get what I'm on about?") Caen noticed this and put an arm around her waist reassuringly, which only made Midnight more nervous, as anytime he touched her she grew nervous anyway, let alone now.
A short and curvy woman who looked in her early twenties opened the door. She had blonde hair, which was dyed by the look of the roots at the top of her head, and deep brown eyes, which were studying the couple with distrust. Then, she realised who this boy was. Her face relaxed into a friendly look, but faintly worried. "Caen! How come you're here? There's nothing wrong with Leaf is there?"
Caen grinned. "Nah, he's fine, and he's gobbling all the gysahl greens as normal. My friend Midnight needs to see you and your ma..." The girl frowned. "Oh, hi, er... Midnight (that name sounds so familiar but I've never seen her before.), you want to see me? Sorry, but do I know you?"
Caen answered for Midnight. "You think you don't, but you actually know her quite well..." He laughed at the puzzled look on the face of the blonde. "I'll help you out on this one. Does Midnight Strife mean anything to you? Or maybe Midnight Lockheart would mean more..."
"Cloud Strife... and Tifa Lockheart...!!! You...you can't be...!?
Midnight stepped forward. "Do you remember me? You're Marlene, right? My mom left a letter for me, and this" (she pulled the sword up, where the shocked Marlene could see it) "and said I should come find you. I got it yesterday. So I came here... oh, and by chance ran into Caen, who..."
Marlene sighed. "Zack. I know... Elmyra told me it all... I know about you too, Midnight... all about you. I cant believe you're actually here... does that mean, you're avenging the Avalanche?"
"Yeah, something like that..." Midnight sighed as well, the images of her father's death running through her mind. She didn't know why she could remember it, it seemed to be from Tifa's point of view, maybe she left it to Midnight? She was roused from these thoughts by Caen's hand on her shoulder, as they stepped inside the house.
Elmyra cried her heart out when she saw Midnight, saying how much she looked like Tifa and Cloud, and how proud they'd be. She then explained that she ran an orphan fostering system that she had set up as soon as the Highwind went down. "Faced with all that loss, I felt I had to do something..." Then, she walked over to a drawer and took out a picture. It showed a group of nine young people, all smiling at the camera. Midnight recognised the place, it was Junon; and she recognised the people on the photograph. She could name every one of them. "That's Yuffie... and that's Aeris..." Suddenly, she became overcome with grief, Although she had never known these people, she mourned for them inside her heart so badly it hurt to keep it in; for no reason at all, she turned to the person next to her, which happened to be Caen, and collapsed into his arms, crying harder than she had ever thought possible. Through her head flashed images of the Highwind going down, of Cloud dying in his fiancée's arms, of the lifeless bodies of Cid and the crew, of Vincent and Red who died protecting their homes. It was strange, but she felt like her heart was breaking.
Later on, Elmyra was making everyone something to eat while Caen was chatting to her about something. Midnight sat upstairs in the tower room, silently crying, although she willed herself to stop but the tears kept flowing. She wondered if this was the pain that Tifa had felt, if somehow she had not mourned and so Midnight had inherited it? Marlene walked quietly up behind her. "We all grieved, you know. At sometime or other. Caen for Zack; me for Barrett, and all of Avalanche too; Elmyra for Aeris, and Barrett too because she had just fallen in love again. She lost the man she loved twice. We all know what you feel..." Midnight shook her head. "I know, Marlene, and thanks, but I don't think you do. Forever I was told my parents had given me up, and I read in the newspapers about these heroes and wanted to be like them... this is so fast for me. It's not my pain I'm feeling; its more I think... it sounds stupid but...anyway, can I keep this picture? I need to know what I'm gonna be fighting for..."
Marlene smiled. "You sound just like your dad... Yeah, keep that. Its what we will all be fighting for..." Midnight turned round, slightly shocked. "You gonna be coming too?... Then Id better give you this. My mom left me it, along with this sword and a gun. She said in the letter that it's yours..." Midnight handed Marlene the God's Hand glove, and Marlene burst out crying at that. "You know, Tifa raised me more than Barrett did, in the bar in Midgar... I'm so happy she thought of me..." Midnight gave Marlene a warm smile. "Well. We're nearly sisters then... Come on, we should set off soon. I need to ask Elmyra where to find Kierann Valentine." And with that, Midnight sheathed her sword again and set off down the winding staircase, not noticing the shocked blonde's face behind her.
"He's a WHAT??" Caen exploded, as Midnight sank to the floor with her face in her hands. "What the hell made him become a Turk?" Elmyra shushed the outraged young man, who leant down and placed his arms around Midnight. "He became a Turk after he was moved foster homes. He became restless, and decided that the best way to get some action in his life was to become a Turk. He would have been training under Reno, but now..." Elmyra looked at Midnight, with sorrow in her eyes. Midnight, remembering that Reno was a friend of her mother's and had tried to save her from Sephiroth's troops, gasped and questioned further, "What? What's happened to Reno?? ... Tell me!" Elmyra hung her head. "I just heard, on the news. Reno was caught apparently trying to help a resistance member and was sentenced to death at noon tomorrow. But... They said that the resistance member... was a member of the new wave of Avalanche." She looked up again. "There's only one person that could be..."
Midnight groaned. Of course. Reno had delivered the package. "We have to help him! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know who I am!" She felt like crying. Sentenced to death... Caen spoke up. "I'll help you. I wanna kick some Extreme (A/N - Sephiroth's government; sorry, forgot to put this in the last chapter! ^_^) butt for executing my dad... and I expect you wanna get some revenge for Avalanche to, Marlene?" Marlene flexed her fingers and punched the air. "Too right!!! Elmyra... Don't worry, Ill come back to you... I'm not gonna hurt you anymore, but I have to do this." Midnight looked up at these two people and smiled through her tears. She was about to thank them when a loud rap at the door sent Elmyra running towards it. Then came the words they dreaded...
"Open up!!! Extreme Soldiers with orders to search for resistance!"
"Run! Out the back!" Elmyra cried. "Just a second!" Too late. The soldiers had burst through the door. Four of the silver-clad men forced their way in and attacked the nearest person. Midnight. Caen suddenly pushed her out of the way. "Midnight! Get out the back! We'll take care of this, cos its you they want!" Taking one last look at Elmyra cowering in a corner, and at the brave friends of hers who were fighting for her, she ran out the back door into the field behind the tower house.
Bad mistake. Crowded around the back fence, there were eleven or so soldiers, armed and ready to barge in. They took one look at the startled teenager and shouted, "That's the Strife kid; her eyes glow. Stop her at any cost!"
Midnight jumped at they fell into position. Her eyes were good so she could see through the failing light. There was so many... ("Don't mess with me...but I cant take you all...not alone..." A voice rang clear in her ears. *You're not alone, Midnight... I'm here with you...* ("Mom?") One of the soldiers charged at her, and Midnight realised her sword was in her hands. Her reaction movement served her well; one slash and the soldier was down on the deck; one more and he was history. Looking at the sword, she realised she had unconsciously drawn it. Glancing back up at the enemy, she realised the others were hanging back after seeing the ease in which she had killed their counterpart. With her Mako eyes glinting in the moonlight, long hair blowing across her back and spikes sticking up from her forehead, she grinned an evil smile (unbeknown to her, the same smile her father used to terrify Shinra with...) and whispered into the breeze...
"Lets roll..."