Disclaimer: These wonderful characters belong to neither me nor you.
Squaresoft owns them, thus restricting us to serving their glorious empire
for all eternity. *lights candle and chants in low voice* Squaresoft
rules the world, Squaresoft rules the world. *blinks and scratches head*
What was I saying again?
Author's Note: Well, I'm glad to see some of you have taken up the contest already! Yeah! So far, Cloud and Zack have been guessed. That means, who's left? Almost everyone. Ooh… the excitement. I really have no idea how the rest of these chapters are going to go. I know the order the main events will happen in, but the rest is writing itself. Makes it easy on me. ;p Oh, and sorry about the spelling of Lucrecia. I'm probably never going to go back and change it, I won't lie about it. I juts don't have the time. If I do, then yeah! If not, well, I did warn you. I'll spell it right from now on, though. Now, for some more FF7 fun!!
Chapter 7:
People Feel Different
It was dark.
That was the only thing he really knew.
Darkness.
It felt wrong somehow…
And yet so… right…
There was something there with him.
It was right there, just below the surface.
What was it?
What could it be?
It almost hurt, thinking about it.
Almost as if-
But no.
He couldn't think about that.
He had almost forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~
It was getting dark outside. He should have been home by now. What could be taking him so long? It was only a short walk from the school to here, really. It was one of the reasons she had chosen this home for him to grow up in. So what could be taking him so long?
Lucrecia paced by the window and fought to remain calm. Her thoughts were running away with her, simple as that. There was no other explanation for her worries. So what if he was a bit late getting home from school? It's not like he had been kidnapped or…
She stopped in her tracks. A horrible thought grew in her mind, and try as she might to push it back down, she just couldn't get it out of her head. It made sense- a little too much sense, in fact.
Hojo… did Hojo… ?
No. She shook her head, forcing the thought away from her mind. No, of course not. He had told her himself that Sephiroth had absolutely no potential as a test subject.
But what if… what if he had…
She ran into her bedroom and found the note that she had carefully hidden from Sephiroth. Pulling it out, she read through it carefully. Her eyes scanned the note quickly, then read it back once more. Short and to the point, much like everything else about Hojo. But those words at the bottom… 'for now'.
A frown creased her features. What did that mean? 'For now'. It sounded like a line some corny old villain would say. If the situation had been different, she might have laughed at the thought.
Lucrecia sighed and put the note back in the drawer. She shook her head and took a deep breath. He was fine. He was. Really. He probably just made some friends at school. And that's what she had been asking him to do, right? So she should be pleased. That's right. Be happy for him. Be happy.
But her eyes drifted back to the drawer, and against her better judgment, she picked up a phone to call a man she was sure wouldn't be pleased at all to hear from her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Elmyra glanced out her kitchen window once more. No matter what her hands were busy with, her eyes and mind stayed focused on watching her daughter outside.
Her daughter… it was strange the way she had come to think of Aeris as her own child, but in a way it seemed so natural. Aeris did act exactly as she had always imagined her child should act. She was friendly and popular, although she often did things that no one else understood.
Now, for instance, was one of those times. Perhaps that was why every time Elmyra pulled her eyes away, she felt forced to keep them riveted on her daughter.
Aeris sat in the middle of Elmyra's garden. Her fingers trailed lightly along the flowers as she hummed to herself, softly. The flowers seemed to respond to her, in a way that made her seem otherworldly. Her eyes were closed, and her hair was carelessly thrown behind her head, resulting in a completely natural pose that Aeris herself was not aware of. Her young face was bright, and her mouth curved upwards slightly. Her lips moved in an inaudible murmur, and Elmyra knew what was happening.
Aeris was speaking to the planet. Whenever she spoke with the planet, she always acted the same way. It was something that had confused Elmyra when she had first learned of it, but of course it was to be expected. Aeris was an Ancient, probably the last alive. If she was the only one the planet could talk to, no wonder she seemed to be always communing with it.
Aeris lifted her head up and peered into the sky, searching for something. She had been doing this for a while now, and Elmyra was beginning to worry. Was there something wrong with her? Aeris wasn't the sort to complain until something got too big for her to handle. And it was rare that she would ask for such help.
Aeris suddenly stood up and looked over at Elmyra. Elmyra smiled and waited for her to run inside.
"Mommy!" Aeris called out as she ran through the open door. "Can I have some water?"
Elmyra pursed her lips and placed a hand on Aeris' forehead. "Why? Do you feel sick? I knew I should have given you some medicine before."
Aeris giggled, which made Elmyra smile. "No, mommy. I'm not sick."
Elmyra lowered her hand and turned around to get a glass out of her cabinet. "You know, Aeris, you looked pretty serious out there. Was there anything wrong?" She filled the glass with ice-cold water while she waited for an answer. "Here, you go."
"Thanks."
When it was apparent that she would not answer, Elmyra sighed. "Well, Aeris, what happened? You've been like that ever since you came home from school today, and I just thought that-"
Aeris looked thoughtful and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. It's just-"
"Yes?"
"Well," Aeris said, then shrugged. "I don't know. I was looking for someone, and I just can't find him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, people feel different to the planet, so it knows who's where. If I want to look for someone, I can just ask."
"And you couldn't find this person."
She sighed. "Well, I could but… I don't know. It was really weird. He was there, but he felt… different, I guess. I don't know."
Elmyra put a hand over her daughter's shoulder. "Well, I'm sure your friend will be fine."
Aeris nodded absently and went up the stairs to her room. She needed some time to think things through.
Elmyra watched her go with a mixture of concern and regret. She did want to help Aeris, but without knowing exactly what the child was going through, how could she even hope to begin o figure out a way to approach the issue? She knew nothing about speaking to the planet or how o find people by how they 'felt'.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her gaze drifted away form the stairs towards a worn picture that rested on the windowsill, bathed in sunlight. A tall man with bright eyes looked back at her, laughing at some joke that was just told. Next to him, she saw a reflection of a younger version of herself. That woman was also laughing, and the two of them looked so right standing next to each other.
She ran a finger down the man's face, longing to feel a slightly rough texture against her skin, but was met with only smooth glass.
How much had she longed to see him, to be near him, these past few months. More so than before, but still they were kept apart. If only that war would stop. What did ShinRa want with Wutai, anyway? It wasn't as if there was any great land or minerals there.
A sudden thought made Elmyra stop. What if Aeris could find him? She had said that she could find people by how they 'felt', right? Well, maybe she could find where he was, and if he was alright.
But that thought went away just as quickly. Who was she to ask Aeris to do such a thing? And, besides, what would she do with the information? He was alive and in Wutai. If he wasn't, she'd have gotten a letter by now saying so.
Her gaze was drawn once again out the window, but this time instead of landing on a young girl deep in prayer, it landed on an old image drawn out of her mind. A young couple, newly married, knee-deep in mud and dirt. She said flowers would brighten up Midgar. He said nothing would brighten it more than she could. She blushed. He laughed. They kissed.
Elmyra closed her eyes and let the memory draw her in.
Author's Note: Well, I'm glad to see some of you have taken up the contest already! Yeah! So far, Cloud and Zack have been guessed. That means, who's left? Almost everyone. Ooh… the excitement. I really have no idea how the rest of these chapters are going to go. I know the order the main events will happen in, but the rest is writing itself. Makes it easy on me. ;p Oh, and sorry about the spelling of Lucrecia. I'm probably never going to go back and change it, I won't lie about it. I juts don't have the time. If I do, then yeah! If not, well, I did warn you. I'll spell it right from now on, though. Now, for some more FF7 fun!!
Chapter 7:
People Feel Different
It was dark.
That was the only thing he really knew.
Darkness.
It felt wrong somehow…
And yet so… right…
There was something there with him.
It was right there, just below the surface.
What was it?
What could it be?
It almost hurt, thinking about it.
Almost as if-
But no.
He couldn't think about that.
He had almost forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~
It was getting dark outside. He should have been home by now. What could be taking him so long? It was only a short walk from the school to here, really. It was one of the reasons she had chosen this home for him to grow up in. So what could be taking him so long?
Lucrecia paced by the window and fought to remain calm. Her thoughts were running away with her, simple as that. There was no other explanation for her worries. So what if he was a bit late getting home from school? It's not like he had been kidnapped or…
She stopped in her tracks. A horrible thought grew in her mind, and try as she might to push it back down, she just couldn't get it out of her head. It made sense- a little too much sense, in fact.
Hojo… did Hojo… ?
No. She shook her head, forcing the thought away from her mind. No, of course not. He had told her himself that Sephiroth had absolutely no potential as a test subject.
But what if… what if he had…
She ran into her bedroom and found the note that she had carefully hidden from Sephiroth. Pulling it out, she read through it carefully. Her eyes scanned the note quickly, then read it back once more. Short and to the point, much like everything else about Hojo. But those words at the bottom… 'for now'.
A frown creased her features. What did that mean? 'For now'. It sounded like a line some corny old villain would say. If the situation had been different, she might have laughed at the thought.
Lucrecia sighed and put the note back in the drawer. She shook her head and took a deep breath. He was fine. He was. Really. He probably just made some friends at school. And that's what she had been asking him to do, right? So she should be pleased. That's right. Be happy for him. Be happy.
But her eyes drifted back to the drawer, and against her better judgment, she picked up a phone to call a man she was sure wouldn't be pleased at all to hear from her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Elmyra glanced out her kitchen window once more. No matter what her hands were busy with, her eyes and mind stayed focused on watching her daughter outside.
Her daughter… it was strange the way she had come to think of Aeris as her own child, but in a way it seemed so natural. Aeris did act exactly as she had always imagined her child should act. She was friendly and popular, although she often did things that no one else understood.
Now, for instance, was one of those times. Perhaps that was why every time Elmyra pulled her eyes away, she felt forced to keep them riveted on her daughter.
Aeris sat in the middle of Elmyra's garden. Her fingers trailed lightly along the flowers as she hummed to herself, softly. The flowers seemed to respond to her, in a way that made her seem otherworldly. Her eyes were closed, and her hair was carelessly thrown behind her head, resulting in a completely natural pose that Aeris herself was not aware of. Her young face was bright, and her mouth curved upwards slightly. Her lips moved in an inaudible murmur, and Elmyra knew what was happening.
Aeris was speaking to the planet. Whenever she spoke with the planet, she always acted the same way. It was something that had confused Elmyra when she had first learned of it, but of course it was to be expected. Aeris was an Ancient, probably the last alive. If she was the only one the planet could talk to, no wonder she seemed to be always communing with it.
Aeris lifted her head up and peered into the sky, searching for something. She had been doing this for a while now, and Elmyra was beginning to worry. Was there something wrong with her? Aeris wasn't the sort to complain until something got too big for her to handle. And it was rare that she would ask for such help.
Aeris suddenly stood up and looked over at Elmyra. Elmyra smiled and waited for her to run inside.
"Mommy!" Aeris called out as she ran through the open door. "Can I have some water?"
Elmyra pursed her lips and placed a hand on Aeris' forehead. "Why? Do you feel sick? I knew I should have given you some medicine before."
Aeris giggled, which made Elmyra smile. "No, mommy. I'm not sick."
Elmyra lowered her hand and turned around to get a glass out of her cabinet. "You know, Aeris, you looked pretty serious out there. Was there anything wrong?" She filled the glass with ice-cold water while she waited for an answer. "Here, you go."
"Thanks."
When it was apparent that she would not answer, Elmyra sighed. "Well, Aeris, what happened? You've been like that ever since you came home from school today, and I just thought that-"
Aeris looked thoughtful and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. It's just-"
"Yes?"
"Well," Aeris said, then shrugged. "I don't know. I was looking for someone, and I just can't find him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, people feel different to the planet, so it knows who's where. If I want to look for someone, I can just ask."
"And you couldn't find this person."
She sighed. "Well, I could but… I don't know. It was really weird. He was there, but he felt… different, I guess. I don't know."
Elmyra put a hand over her daughter's shoulder. "Well, I'm sure your friend will be fine."
Aeris nodded absently and went up the stairs to her room. She needed some time to think things through.
Elmyra watched her go with a mixture of concern and regret. She did want to help Aeris, but without knowing exactly what the child was going through, how could she even hope to begin o figure out a way to approach the issue? She knew nothing about speaking to the planet or how o find people by how they 'felt'.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her gaze drifted away form the stairs towards a worn picture that rested on the windowsill, bathed in sunlight. A tall man with bright eyes looked back at her, laughing at some joke that was just told. Next to him, she saw a reflection of a younger version of herself. That woman was also laughing, and the two of them looked so right standing next to each other.
She ran a finger down the man's face, longing to feel a slightly rough texture against her skin, but was met with only smooth glass.
How much had she longed to see him, to be near him, these past few months. More so than before, but still they were kept apart. If only that war would stop. What did ShinRa want with Wutai, anyway? It wasn't as if there was any great land or minerals there.
A sudden thought made Elmyra stop. What if Aeris could find him? She had said that she could find people by how they 'felt', right? Well, maybe she could find where he was, and if he was alright.
But that thought went away just as quickly. Who was she to ask Aeris to do such a thing? And, besides, what would she do with the information? He was alive and in Wutai. If he wasn't, she'd have gotten a letter by now saying so.
Her gaze was drawn once again out the window, but this time instead of landing on a young girl deep in prayer, it landed on an old image drawn out of her mind. A young couple, newly married, knee-deep in mud and dirt. She said flowers would brighten up Midgar. He said nothing would brighten it more than she could. She blushed. He laughed. They kissed.
Elmyra closed her eyes and let the memory draw her in.