Faded Dreams, Falling Like Rain

A Final Fantasy VII Fan Fiction by Sarah Digna Yudlowitz

Dream . . .

Dream of death . . .

Dream of moonlight . . .

Legal Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all of its characters belong to the company of Squaresoft. I do not claim these characters or the concept of the game for my own. This work is not to be distributed, sold, or posted anywhere without the consent of its author. Comments and encouragements are always welcomed, as they are a part of the enjoyment of writing Fan fiction. Please take this into consideration while you read the following fiction.

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Author's Note: Yes, it's been a while since I've added a new chapter, so think it's a miracle. As always, review. I get really crappy reviews on anything else. (())

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Chapter Eleven







The sun was setting over a calm evening, and Lilith stood at the rear of the ship headed for Costa del Sol. It had been countless hours since she boarded it, leaving the North Crater behind. As she stood, contemplating the palette of colors the sky beheld, Lilith thought of how strange it was to be off somewhere on her own, not knowing when her next meal was, or even if she would ever have a warm bed. At Shinra, she had a hammock and a thin blanket, and a gold ticket to the cafeteria. The food supplied to the military was good enough. Sometimes the meals were hot. Sometimes she ate rations, just like them. Sometimes, if Hojo needed her for extended periods of time in the laboratory, she got nothing at all for up to three days. Hojo sometimes forgot the necessities of living organisms; other than the ones he had a particular fascination for.



The cafeteria was a place where hundreds of soldiers (ranks undeterminable as they were dressed down) came to socialize like school children. When she sat amongst them, hearing their laughter, she felt like she was a silent specter; someone that really wasn't there. She could never intrude upon their lives. She could only observe as their lives as war-machines halted for mere moments, and they remembered their lovemaking and friendships as they sat together, ate together, and talked together. It was in these moments that Lilith felt the loneliest, but she also felt the most free here.







"Sephiroth!" a young man called out as the older man, never out of uniform, came into the cafeteria, his steps heavy. It was seldom that he ate with the members of SOLDIER. He usually took his meals in awkward hours, after long hours of preparing layouts of the day's events, and battle strategies.





"Zack." Sephiroth's eyes stopped drifting over the masses of various faces. That was all he ever saw anymore - faces. Even after all the years of war and battle, Sephiroth memorized faces. Those of his foes, those of the ones supposedly on his side, those of his superiors, and especially the faces of the recruits. They had never seen death like he had. He had been desensitized from it. "I'll be blunt with you, Zack. You shouldn't get too attached to these recent jobs together." The silver-haired man produced a black folder, the Shinra seal clasping it together. "As always, look these papers over. If you have any questions, you'll need to ask Scarlet about it. She's been interested in these last expeditions."



"Thanks! Hey, Sephiroth, do you want me to get ya some grub?" Zack asked, tucking the folder under his arm, managing to nearly drop it as he did so.



"That won't be necessary. Thank you. I will see you in a week, then." With that, Sephiroth turned on his heel as if commanding attention, and as he was about to leave, was stopped by a firm hand.





"Here. At least take this, will ya?" An apple appeared before Sephiroth, and he stared at it for a long moment before taking it into his palm, looking at Zack over his shoulder. The younger man bowed respectfully and disappeared into a crowd of men his age. Sephiroth looked at the apple quizzically, then walked out of the cafeteria.





"They're all so ambitious," he muttered to himself as he passed Lilith's table on his way out. She watched as he walked away, in his own little world, not caring that she was there. He looked back to check that Zack was really among the throngs of people, not aware of him. He stared at the apple for a moment, and then threw it away, continuing to walk out, ignoring the Shinra recruits' stares. He was, after all, used to being their idol.

As he walked away, Sephiroth looked at the apple, regarding it as if it was a way to tell him that Zack had grown attached to him, and Lilith could see him checking amongst the throngs of people, to make sure he wasn't watching him. Sephiroth then threw the apple out and left the Cafeteria. It was then that Lilith decided that she should follow him, as his behavior today was odd. As she got up to leave, however, she saw Zack making his way through a line of men waiting for their food. He had seen Sephiroth throw out the apple after all. He bumped into her, and stared at her for a few everlasting moments, his eyes filled with horror, and then he slammed the double doors of the tightly packed area open. They closed again with a dull thud.

Lilith became very curious now, and went around the other side of the Cafeteria to sneak out. Zack had made quite a scene, running after the General like that. Rumors would be spreading like wild fire.





"Sephiroth!" Zack called after the silver-haired general, who was making his way from the cafeteria to the elevator. He turned around, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at the young man who ran up next to him, huffing and puffing as if he'd been in a race. Once he had caught his breath enough to speak, he flung his arms around the older man.

Lilith then heard a noise behind her. She turned around expectantly to see a young blonde boy with unkept hair closing the door behind him. When he looked up and saw her, his eyes widened a bit. Lilith cursed herself for not wearing something that would conceal her hair. He was a recruit, but he somehow seemed so much younger. His big blue eyes hadn't been infused with makou yet, and his uniform was ridiculously baggy on his small body. He said nothing, however, because he had just come out here to check on Zack, because he was glancing in his way several times.





"You're being a childe," Sephiroth hissed, moving away from Zack. The physical contact had left him clumsy, as his hands were shaking when he retrieved his things from the floor. Lilith had never seen him falter like that, and it was scaring her. He hadn't even faltered when Hojo broke his bones unceremoniously.





"Uhm, I'm--"





"Yes, you're sorry. I know." His features were stony again.





"It's just that . . ." Zack trailed of, scratching his head. He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make him look stupid. Usually, as Lilith observed, that wouldn't mean anything to him, but now the silence between him and Sephiroth was extremely awkward, and she could sense that with every passing moment, Zack was more desperate to find something to say that wouldn't make Sephiroth even more unapproachable. "Last nighte meant a lot to me," he finally blurted out. Sephiroth turned away, starting to approach the elevator again, when Zack practically knocked him over, throwing his arms around his neck and pressing his hard lips to Sephiroth's. It seemed like, for a moment that he would return the kiss, but Sephiroth pushed Zack away roughly, leaving Zack on the floor. The boy next to Lilith was going to run toward Zack, abandoned on the floor, but she held him back, whispering some soothing things into his ear, and there was silence for some odd seconds before Zack, started to cry.