Negawakuha
(I pray)
by: ~Goddess Aeris~
prologue:
It has been one month since Meteor and the final battle with Sephiroth. Avalanche has moved into the villa at Costa del Sol. Everyone mourns the loss of Aeris and thanks her for giving them all Hope. Especially me. Lately, I have have been having visions of her and people I have never seen in my life. I sense that something is amiss...horribly wrong... Cloud has recruited two of the best fighters on the planet as new Avalanche members. They are my friend, Brandy McCarty and myself. I am Danielle Gast, this is my story...
Chapter 1 Visions (Tuesday, 2:00 PM) The tall brunette stood in front of her mirror brushing out her waist length dark brown hair. She wore a white tanktop and brown shorts. Someone knocked on her door. "Come on in, Danielle!" she said. I walked in, my long chocolate brown hair flowing over my shoulders and down my back. "Hey Tifa, the girls and I are going to the beach. Wanna come?" Tifa nodded. I wore a dark pink halter top, jeans, and leather boots. Yuffie and little Marlene met us at the front door. "Let's go!" Tifa smiled and grasped the little girl's hand as they walked down the street. When we hit the sand, Marlene and Yuffie went to play in the water as Tifa and I changed into our swimsuits. When we came out, we saw my best friend and ex-turk, Brandy McCarty, in her red bikini talking to Rufus. He had secretly admired her for a long time and now they were a couple. I smiled at Tifa and we sat in some chairs to catch some rays. After about 30 minutes, we heard a roar from the sea. A giant sea worm emerged from the waves. Everyone began running back toward the town. Yuffie told Marlene to run and got her Conformer. Rufus got his shotgun, Brandy her Shuurai (fire) whip, Tifa got her Premium Heart, and I got my 'Hand of Life' Masamune. The sea worm roared and the battle was on. Rufus fired his shotgun at the monster but it had little effect. As he began to power up a spell, the worm's tail slammed into him and sent him flying into a wall. "Rufus!" shouted Brandy,"F^%$ you! Burning Rage!" She charged up her whip with the power of fire and whipslashed it many times. It roared again as I pulled out a green materia and tossed it to Brandy. "Thanks Danni!" She knelt by Rufus' side and cured him. I jumped up and slashed at the worm's head but it's tail slammed into me and sent me flying at the sea wall. I was aware of someone having caught me before I fell unconsious. ***** "Ultima!" shouted Yuffie, a green materia glowing in her Conformer. An explosion, like an atom bomb, struck the creature and it roared in pain. The sea worm fell dead in the waves. Everyone turned to see the silver haired man who had caught me and the other two people who stood on both sides of him. "It can't be..." said Tifa. "I told you I'd come back when it was all over! Where's Cloud? I need to talk to him," said the woman smiling. Tifa led the men and woman to the villa with the rest of the crew in tow. ***** (5 hours later) I woke up staring at the ceiling of my room at the Villa with a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. I turned my head to the side and came to see a face which I thought I would never see again... "Aeri?" I whispered. The 22 year old woman turned at the sound of her nickname. "Danni! You're awake!" Aeris quickly ran out of the room and returned a few moments later with Cloud right behind her. "Danielle, are you alright?" he asked me. I nodded and looked at Aeris. "Aeri, how...?" "I was waiting for you to wake up before Cloud called a meeting for me to explain everything," she replied. I stood up, pulled on my boots, and went to the conference room with them. When I walked in, I noticed AVALANCHE waiting for us. I sat in my seat next to Brandy and watched as Cloud and Aeris came in along with two people who I knew had died... "Oh my God..." I whispered,"Sephiroth? Zack?" I looked at them with an inquiring look as Zack stared back at me with nothing short of amazement and love for me present in his eyes. Sephiroth nodded to me, his green eyes glowing softly. I nodded back at both of them and returned my attention to Cloud, who was about to speak.
"Everyone, Aeris is going to explain what's going on and why she, Zack, and Sephiroth, of all people, have returned to life." "Good, because I want to know what this f&^%$* is doing back among the living!" replied Cid. Brandy kicked him under the table and he shut up. Aeris smiled slightly,"When I died, The Cetra in the Promised Land let me stay in the Lifestream with Zack because they knew another evil was coming and that you'd all defeat Sephiroth. They had me pray to Holy to cure Sephiroth's insanity. We brought his soul into the Lifestream after he was cured and told him the truth of his birth. Zack and Sephiroth wish to join Avalanche and I have returned to re-take my place on the team and fight this new evil to my last breath."
Having said her piece, Aeris sat down and sighed. "Aeris, you are granted to return to Avalanche. Now we vote on Zack and Sephiroth's entry," said Cloud," All those in favor of Zack?" Everyone raised their hands because of all the good things Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris had said about him. "Alright. Now, All those in favor of Sephiroth...?" Aeris and Zack raised their hand because they trusted him. Brandy, Nanaki, and Yuffie raised their hand/paw because they thought he deserved a second chance. Vincent raised his hand because he owed it to Lucretia to protect him. He wouldn't fail again. I raised my hand for reasons unknown to the others. "Very well. It is decided. Welcome to Avalanche, Zack and Aeris. I swear, Sephiroth, If I find out this is a trick..." "It is not," the silver-haired man replied. "Fine." Cloud has to strain to finish his sentence because he hated Sephiroth so much. The ones who didn't vouch for him abruptly stood up and left after breaking their hostile stares. (Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Rufus, and Cid.) Everyone else left as well after welcoming Zack and Sephiroth. The only ones who were left were Zack, Aeris, Sephiroth, and me. I walked over to Aeris. "It's been a while, Aeri." "Yes, it has. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon." I smiled and looked to Sephiroth who was leaning against the wall staring at the floor. "Thank you, Sephiroth." "For what?" he replied distantly. "For saving me from getting my brain splattered on the sea wall." He smirked. "You're welcome. And Thanks...for many things." I smiled at him, said good-bye, and left to go to bed. ****** "You two look so much alike it's uncanny." said Zack as I left. "You don't know the half of it, Zack." she replied mysteriously. Sephiroth could only stare as I left the room. ****** It was the dream again....I stood in a castle courtyard staring at a group of people, a robot, and a talking frog. I saw a 16 yr old boy with spikey red hair to rival Cloud's, a 16 yr old girl in a light blue outfit who carried a crossbow and wore a royal pendant, another girl the same age with violet hair, glasses, and a tool-belt. The frog carried a deadly looking broadsword and wore a cape. I also saw a 24 yr old woman who wore the fur of a giant cat animal and talked primitively. She was a cavewoman. The robot was gold in color and..seemed to have EMOTIONS! Finally, I noticed a man who stood away from the group with dark clothes, a scythe, and blue hair. He faintly reminded me of Death himself. As I stepped closer, I could hear what they were saying. "Crono! Will you get your head out of the clouds!? We need to worry about Lavos!" said the girl with glasses. "Sorry, Lucca. I know we need a plan but I can't think of one. We need to do the quests Gaspar told us about. Maybe we can learn something from them." "So, it's plan B. Right?" asked the girl with the crossbow. "I agree with Princess Nadia," said the frog, "We must do something to make ourselves stronger to face that fiend." "It's Marle, Frog." Frog nodded as the robot turned on. "My sensors indicate something is coming." "Can you tell what it is, Robo?" "No, Lucca. I advise that we get ready because it's not going to be friendly." "Magus, can you tell what it is?" asked Crono. "Yes, it's Ozzie, Flea, and Slash. They've come to make me pay for leaving them." He drew his scythe and the picture faded to black. Another picture came into view as the people fought who I could only guess was Lavos. On the outside, it looked like a giant porcupine with a three pronged eye, but the core....it was humanoid...controlling evolution for it's own purpose...
I then sat up in bed drenched in sweat. I looked at my alarm clock. '12:30...' I got up, dressed, and silently snuck outside to the docks. I found Sephiroth there, the moon shining on his thigh length silver hair, watching the waves crash against the shore. "Good-evening, Danielle," he said without turning. "Hello Sephiroth, couldn't sleep?" I replied. He shook his head. "And you?" "I had a strange vision. It disturbed me and woke me up. Now, I probably won't get back to sleep. What about you?" "I'm just thinking. I've just had my whole life re-arranged...It is very hard not to make myself jump off a cliff and put myself out of misery." I turned to him with wide eyes. "No one cares whether I live or die..." he added. "That's not true," I argued,"Aeris and Zack would be crushed..." 'What about you?' he thought.
As if I had heard his thoughts, I hugged him tightly. "I would miss you too..." I whispered. He smiled at me gently. 'Why am I so attracted to her like this...? I've known her since I was a child. She's only a friend to me...right? I'm not worthy of any love...' he thought as he held me. I smiled at him and brushed his silver bangs out of his eyes. He brought his face closer to mine and our lips met in a gentle kiss. My eyes closed and my arms went around his neck. When he broke the kiss, his mind was spinning. He stared into my green eyes... 'She is so beautiful... I feel as though I want to spend my life with her.... What is this feeling I'm experiencing...?' He felt a fluttering in his heart and vaugely wondered if he was ill. He kissed me again, deeply this time. "No, Sephiroth, we can't!" I told him, breaking away from him.
"Is there...someone else..?" he asked quietly. He remembered the way Zack had looked at me when they had entered the room. "Not really...but I'm not sure of my feelings...I've known you since I was a little kid..." I trailed off. He nodded quietly, his heart hardening as it has been before. His eyes turned cold and expressionless as he blocked his emotions once more. "I understand... Good-night, Danielle." He turned quietly and walked back to the Villa. Tears filled my eyes as I whispered,"Just give me some time...I'm so sorry, Sephiroth..." I sat on the edge of the dock, adding my tears into the salty ocean.
by: ~Goddess Aeris~
prologue:
It has been one month since Meteor and the final battle with Sephiroth. Avalanche has moved into the villa at Costa del Sol. Everyone mourns the loss of Aeris and thanks her for giving them all Hope. Especially me. Lately, I have have been having visions of her and people I have never seen in my life. I sense that something is amiss...horribly wrong... Cloud has recruited two of the best fighters on the planet as new Avalanche members. They are my friend, Brandy McCarty and myself. I am Danielle Gast, this is my story...
Chapter 1 Visions (Tuesday, 2:00 PM) The tall brunette stood in front of her mirror brushing out her waist length dark brown hair. She wore a white tanktop and brown shorts. Someone knocked on her door. "Come on in, Danielle!" she said. I walked in, my long chocolate brown hair flowing over my shoulders and down my back. "Hey Tifa, the girls and I are going to the beach. Wanna come?" Tifa nodded. I wore a dark pink halter top, jeans, and leather boots. Yuffie and little Marlene met us at the front door. "Let's go!" Tifa smiled and grasped the little girl's hand as they walked down the street. When we hit the sand, Marlene and Yuffie went to play in the water as Tifa and I changed into our swimsuits. When we came out, we saw my best friend and ex-turk, Brandy McCarty, in her red bikini talking to Rufus. He had secretly admired her for a long time and now they were a couple. I smiled at Tifa and we sat in some chairs to catch some rays. After about 30 minutes, we heard a roar from the sea. A giant sea worm emerged from the waves. Everyone began running back toward the town. Yuffie told Marlene to run and got her Conformer. Rufus got his shotgun, Brandy her Shuurai (fire) whip, Tifa got her Premium Heart, and I got my 'Hand of Life' Masamune. The sea worm roared and the battle was on. Rufus fired his shotgun at the monster but it had little effect. As he began to power up a spell, the worm's tail slammed into him and sent him flying into a wall. "Rufus!" shouted Brandy,"F^%$ you! Burning Rage!" She charged up her whip with the power of fire and whipslashed it many times. It roared again as I pulled out a green materia and tossed it to Brandy. "Thanks Danni!" She knelt by Rufus' side and cured him. I jumped up and slashed at the worm's head but it's tail slammed into me and sent me flying at the sea wall. I was aware of someone having caught me before I fell unconsious. ***** "Ultima!" shouted Yuffie, a green materia glowing in her Conformer. An explosion, like an atom bomb, struck the creature and it roared in pain. The sea worm fell dead in the waves. Everyone turned to see the silver haired man who had caught me and the other two people who stood on both sides of him. "It can't be..." said Tifa. "I told you I'd come back when it was all over! Where's Cloud? I need to talk to him," said the woman smiling. Tifa led the men and woman to the villa with the rest of the crew in tow. ***** (5 hours later) I woke up staring at the ceiling of my room at the Villa with a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. I turned my head to the side and came to see a face which I thought I would never see again... "Aeri?" I whispered. The 22 year old woman turned at the sound of her nickname. "Danni! You're awake!" Aeris quickly ran out of the room and returned a few moments later with Cloud right behind her. "Danielle, are you alright?" he asked me. I nodded and looked at Aeris. "Aeri, how...?" "I was waiting for you to wake up before Cloud called a meeting for me to explain everything," she replied. I stood up, pulled on my boots, and went to the conference room with them. When I walked in, I noticed AVALANCHE waiting for us. I sat in my seat next to Brandy and watched as Cloud and Aeris came in along with two people who I knew had died... "Oh my God..." I whispered,"Sephiroth? Zack?" I looked at them with an inquiring look as Zack stared back at me with nothing short of amazement and love for me present in his eyes. Sephiroth nodded to me, his green eyes glowing softly. I nodded back at both of them and returned my attention to Cloud, who was about to speak.
"Everyone, Aeris is going to explain what's going on and why she, Zack, and Sephiroth, of all people, have returned to life." "Good, because I want to know what this f&^%$* is doing back among the living!" replied Cid. Brandy kicked him under the table and he shut up. Aeris smiled slightly,"When I died, The Cetra in the Promised Land let me stay in the Lifestream with Zack because they knew another evil was coming and that you'd all defeat Sephiroth. They had me pray to Holy to cure Sephiroth's insanity. We brought his soul into the Lifestream after he was cured and told him the truth of his birth. Zack and Sephiroth wish to join Avalanche and I have returned to re-take my place on the team and fight this new evil to my last breath."
Having said her piece, Aeris sat down and sighed. "Aeris, you are granted to return to Avalanche. Now we vote on Zack and Sephiroth's entry," said Cloud," All those in favor of Zack?" Everyone raised their hands because of all the good things Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris had said about him. "Alright. Now, All those in favor of Sephiroth...?" Aeris and Zack raised their hand because they trusted him. Brandy, Nanaki, and Yuffie raised their hand/paw because they thought he deserved a second chance. Vincent raised his hand because he owed it to Lucretia to protect him. He wouldn't fail again. I raised my hand for reasons unknown to the others. "Very well. It is decided. Welcome to Avalanche, Zack and Aeris. I swear, Sephiroth, If I find out this is a trick..." "It is not," the silver-haired man replied. "Fine." Cloud has to strain to finish his sentence because he hated Sephiroth so much. The ones who didn't vouch for him abruptly stood up and left after breaking their hostile stares. (Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Rufus, and Cid.) Everyone else left as well after welcoming Zack and Sephiroth. The only ones who were left were Zack, Aeris, Sephiroth, and me. I walked over to Aeris. "It's been a while, Aeri." "Yes, it has. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon." I smiled and looked to Sephiroth who was leaning against the wall staring at the floor. "Thank you, Sephiroth." "For what?" he replied distantly. "For saving me from getting my brain splattered on the sea wall." He smirked. "You're welcome. And Thanks...for many things." I smiled at him, said good-bye, and left to go to bed. ****** "You two look so much alike it's uncanny." said Zack as I left. "You don't know the half of it, Zack." she replied mysteriously. Sephiroth could only stare as I left the room. ****** It was the dream again....I stood in a castle courtyard staring at a group of people, a robot, and a talking frog. I saw a 16 yr old boy with spikey red hair to rival Cloud's, a 16 yr old girl in a light blue outfit who carried a crossbow and wore a royal pendant, another girl the same age with violet hair, glasses, and a tool-belt. The frog carried a deadly looking broadsword and wore a cape. I also saw a 24 yr old woman who wore the fur of a giant cat animal and talked primitively. She was a cavewoman. The robot was gold in color and..seemed to have EMOTIONS! Finally, I noticed a man who stood away from the group with dark clothes, a scythe, and blue hair. He faintly reminded me of Death himself. As I stepped closer, I could hear what they were saying. "Crono! Will you get your head out of the clouds!? We need to worry about Lavos!" said the girl with glasses. "Sorry, Lucca. I know we need a plan but I can't think of one. We need to do the quests Gaspar told us about. Maybe we can learn something from them." "So, it's plan B. Right?" asked the girl with the crossbow. "I agree with Princess Nadia," said the frog, "We must do something to make ourselves stronger to face that fiend." "It's Marle, Frog." Frog nodded as the robot turned on. "My sensors indicate something is coming." "Can you tell what it is, Robo?" "No, Lucca. I advise that we get ready because it's not going to be friendly." "Magus, can you tell what it is?" asked Crono. "Yes, it's Ozzie, Flea, and Slash. They've come to make me pay for leaving them." He drew his scythe and the picture faded to black. Another picture came into view as the people fought who I could only guess was Lavos. On the outside, it looked like a giant porcupine with a three pronged eye, but the core....it was humanoid...controlling evolution for it's own purpose...
I then sat up in bed drenched in sweat. I looked at my alarm clock. '12:30...' I got up, dressed, and silently snuck outside to the docks. I found Sephiroth there, the moon shining on his thigh length silver hair, watching the waves crash against the shore. "Good-evening, Danielle," he said without turning. "Hello Sephiroth, couldn't sleep?" I replied. He shook his head. "And you?" "I had a strange vision. It disturbed me and woke me up. Now, I probably won't get back to sleep. What about you?" "I'm just thinking. I've just had my whole life re-arranged...It is very hard not to make myself jump off a cliff and put myself out of misery." I turned to him with wide eyes. "No one cares whether I live or die..." he added. "That's not true," I argued,"Aeris and Zack would be crushed..." 'What about you?' he thought.
As if I had heard his thoughts, I hugged him tightly. "I would miss you too..." I whispered. He smiled at me gently. 'Why am I so attracted to her like this...? I've known her since I was a child. She's only a friend to me...right? I'm not worthy of any love...' he thought as he held me. I smiled at him and brushed his silver bangs out of his eyes. He brought his face closer to mine and our lips met in a gentle kiss. My eyes closed and my arms went around his neck. When he broke the kiss, his mind was spinning. He stared into my green eyes... 'She is so beautiful... I feel as though I want to spend my life with her.... What is this feeling I'm experiencing...?' He felt a fluttering in his heart and vaugely wondered if he was ill. He kissed me again, deeply this time. "No, Sephiroth, we can't!" I told him, breaking away from him.
"Is there...someone else..?" he asked quietly. He remembered the way Zack had looked at me when they had entered the room. "Not really...but I'm not sure of my feelings...I've known you since I was a little kid..." I trailed off. He nodded quietly, his heart hardening as it has been before. His eyes turned cold and expressionless as he blocked his emotions once more. "I understand... Good-night, Danielle." He turned quietly and walked back to the Villa. Tears filled my eyes as I whispered,"Just give me some time...I'm so sorry, Sephiroth..." I sat on the edge of the dock, adding my tears into the salty ocean.
