Chapter 7: Gray
"Hey Aeris, I've got a present for you."
Adam sat atop a rock near the ocean, staring at the small, white piece of jewelry resting on the palm of his hand, his face unflinching and indifferent, lost in thought.
"What is it?"
From under his collar, he withdrew a similar stone, attached to a necklace. He tugged at it, pulling it over his head and letting it dangle just in front of his face. Black and looking to be an opposite of the pearl in his other hand, the two pieces bonded meticulously into the shape of a perfect circle when he clicked them together.
"It's a yin-yang. Here. You hold onto one half, I'll take the other, and we'll keep them around our necks. This way, for as long as we wear them, we'll know that we're both one half of something bigger and better.
He had found the sister jewel to his own in his angel's room, buried in the depths of her belongings, forgotten.
"Isn't that a little sappy for a SOLDIER? I thought you guys were supposed to be tough."
He swung both of the laces around his neck, and stared out at the endless blue ocean, concentrating on the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, ignoring the triumphant marching beat of the celebration above, his face lazy and soft.
"Nah. Everybody needs something to fight for. You just happen to be that little thing that keeps me going, 'Rissy. That's why I got this little memento. When things get their darkest, I'll just look down at it and remember that I'm part of something more important, and that I need to get back to my other half as fast as I can. No matter what."
Today was the day he would get his chance. Today was the day he would fix everything. Today was going to be perfect.
"Is that a promise?"
Little drops of rain fell from above as he sat atop his rock, cleansing his dirty face.
"Of course it's a promise! Why wouldn't it be?"
Dock Seventeen. The two words kept repeating themselves inside his head, whispered in by something unseen.
He stood to his feet and stared at the ocean in front of him, the wind whipping against his body. He would make it up to her. All that he had done didn't matter, this was his chance at redemption.
"...Rissy? What's wrong?"
He looked up to the dark gray sky, past the clouds and at the pale sun, cold resolve in his hopeful soul. He stood to his feet, the rain dripping down onto his face as his eyes stayed fixed upwards. It was time to go.
"Aeris?"
***
Cloud stood upon the deck of the number seventeen Shin-Ra class transport, his arms folded and his wild blonde hair caught in the wind as he leant against a wall, calmly waiting out the ride. Across from him sat a pretty green-eyed girl, her elegant cheek resting on her thin hand, bored as she too waited. Her dark blue uniform hung off her skinny figure, and her long flowing chestnut hair was tucked under an ugly helmet. He grinned to himself. Even dressed in a baggy grunt garb, she was still beautiful. Noticing he was staring at her, she turned, met his eyes, waved and smiled warmly at him. He blushed and bowed his head, and she giggled sweetly. She could even make a SOLDIER melt.
Not far away stood a second girl, equally pretty but for some mysterious reason not quite as noticeable. She had long, dark, raven coloured hair and big brown eyes, that always seemed somewhat sad and far away. She had the sort of figure that men drooled over: toned, hard and ideally shaped. All guys declared her a 'hotty', and competed futilely for the chance to share a night with her, never realizing that she wasn't that kind of a girl. Men would lust after her, but they would never truly be in love with her. No, men always fell in love with someone that they had never thought of as an object, someone like Aeris. The charming, perfect little innocent girl next-door was the sort of woman for whom love was reserved. So, lately she watched the young, sweet flower girl with an envy that made her heart-ache, and she suddenly found herself wishing to be less of a hot chick and more of a beautiful woman.
"Fuck!" A big burly dark skinned man nearly shouted, knocking Tifa out of her momentary trance. "Come on Teef, they're so close! You tellin' me I can't do nothin'?!"
"It would jeopardize every single one of us if we tried to assassinate him here." The girl told him, distracted and impatient. "We're in his territory, we're outnumbered, and we're on a boat in the middle of the ocean. If we kill him, how do you expect to make a getaway? Jump in the water and swim? The sea has as a good a chance of killing us as the half-dozen SOLDIERs that'll be swinging at our heads. We can't risk being seen. That means no funny stuff," Her voice became softer and more sympathetic with the brawny man, lifting his chin so he'd look her in the eye. "okay?"
"Yeah, yeah..." He brushed her hand aside, turned his back to her, crossed his arms and rather uncharacteristically began to pout. "I know you're right Teef, but those Shin-Ra bastards..."
"I know, I know." Tifa stopped him short, reminiscing briefly until an alarm broke her daydreaming like a brick falling through glass.
"Emergency alert!" An exasperated voice came over the intercom as a siren sounded loudly. "Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!"
"Shit! They found us?!" Barret whispered anxiously.
"I don't think so..." Tifa eased him, looking across the deck at Cloud and Aeris who were equally confused. "That alarm doesn't sound like it'd be us."
"I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!"
"I think we need to get moving." She told her comrade, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a sprint across the deck
"Is everyone okay?" Cloud conferred with the group as they each pulled off their dark blue disguises. "Where's Yuffie?"
A four legged red skinned creature pointed his snout off to the side at a young girl who was vomiting over the side of a nearby guard-rail.
"Fine." Cloud sighed as he decided to continue despite the girl's nausea. "Who did they catch?"
Each member confirmed no wrong doing amongst themselves
"It doesn't matter." Cloud decided quickly "We have to find a way off this ship and fast. We can't risk getting captured."
"I don't think it's us they're after..." Aeris pointed a finger as she saw a trio of armed grunts make their way down a flight of stairs and under the deck.
"Well who the fuck else is there?!" Barret shimmed in loudly.
"Sephiroth..." Cloud muttered as he bowed his head, and all eyes immediately turned to him. "He's here...I can feel his presence..."
An abrupt hush fell upon the small group of freedom fighters as they each exchanged worried and frightful glances.
"We move quickly..." Cloud began anew, his voice sharp as steel and his eyes filled with a cold determination as he pulled the infamous Buster Sword out from its holster. "Nothing fancy, just go for the kill."
Slowly, each member of AVALANCHE nodded their heads, and without a word escaping their mouths among the millions traveling through their heads, they were on their way.
***
He made his way through the streets and the huddled masses, ignoring all the cheer around him as the people rejoiced for their new king. They had so much hope for the young heir, who accepted his new position as graciously as could be expected. A fake plastic smile plastered on his face, few could guess the incredible industrialization he envisioned behind that artificial look of gratitude and modesty.
Zack stopped for a moment to gaze at the new Pr. Shin-Ra. The ignorant audience was like putty in his hand as he made insincere promises of improved economy and safer cities. Zack could have struck him down there and then had he not more pressing matters. Instead, he simply put it on his always lengthening 'to do' list. Everyday it seemed like he found something new he felt he should fix. But of course, there was one thing that had priority, and it needed to be dealt with sooner rather than latter.
He stared at the faded number seventeen on the side of a big gray tanker in the distance. It swayed back and forth as the waves crashed against its bulky hull, the light rain softly pelting at the impenetrable steel. He pressed on through the crowd, walking hastily as something unspoken drew him towards it.
Finally, he stood there in front of it, dwarfed by its massive exterior. He scanned the hull for a ladder, assuming he was supposed to board the behemoth. He looked to the left, and found nothing. He looked to the right, and still found nothing. He sighed, his mind drawing a blank as he pondered his next move. He looked to his left once more, and there where not more than a moment ago sat nothing, stood the beautiful little girl, a detached look on her face.
Zack's entire body tightened just a bit as she watched him. He swallowed the lump in his throat as she stayed there frozen, her hands behind her back and her little violet eyes fixed on him like he was all that was there, yet still seeming somewhat distracted in the way they flickered. Neither dared speak a word.
"She really does miss you, you know." A calm factual voice told him from afar. "It's not fair that they took her away from you like that. Neither of you had done anything wrong. But that hardly ever matters to them, does it? They take what they want whenever they're able, regardless of the repercussions."
"Shut up." Zack hissed shakily as the silver haired demon stood at his side. "She's not there..." His body quaked just a bit as he tried to stay as still as possible, his eyes wetting as he unwillingly felt a mournful gnawing at his heart. "I don't know her...She doesn't exist..." He bowed his head and shut his eyes. "Get her away from me!" He finally screamed at the beast.
"Why do you refuse to feel?" The beast questioned curiously.
"She's not there...I don't know her...She doesn't exist..." He paced for a moment, repeating the words to himself and fidgeting as he kneeled and buried his head in his arms. "I shouldn't have to feel this...this thing! She's not there..."
It was an emotion quite a bit stronger than anger or discontent. It was painful and debilitating, draining his body of energy and hope. Needless to say, Zack was not complacent in feeling it, and did his best not to succumb to it. He wanted the flow of it through him gone, and the source of it to be nonexistent.
"Grief is not so easily eluded." The man sighed, telling him simply "If you refuse to see and accept what's right in front of you, you will fall beyond anyone's reach. So goes life."
Zack groaned loudly and then roared at the little girl. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!?!" She cringed and cowered as he tossed himself to within a couple inches of her face. "What the hell gives you the right to make me feel this way?!?!"
"Daddy, stop..."
"TELL ME!!!"He grabbed the girl and shook her violently, as she bit back her pained tears. He stopped abruptly when he heard her sob, and she backed away in fear and deep pity as he simply fell onto his backside, confused and regretful with his fury. He shook his head in his hands as he grabbed two handfuls of hair, disgusted and frustrated with himself. "What are you trying to do to me..." He muttered, shaking his head in his hands as he rocked back and forth. "Why are you making me feel this..."
"Because you need to." The beast kneeled down to stare him in the eye. "I've seen how you've turned your back to your responsibility and it's appalling." Zack shifted away uncomfortably, but the man forcefully grabbed his chin and pulled him back, face-to-face. "You don't want to see her face, but she still loves you, despite the fact that you wronged her. I don't care how badly it hurts, you WILL remember the mistakes you made, and you will fix them. For her." The man ended bitterly, tossing Zack's head backwards into the hull of the ship upon which he leant and simply walking away.
"What do you expect me to do?!" Zack shot himself up and screamed at the beast who stopped to a halt. "Nothing I could do would ever make it up to her, so what the hell am I supposed to do?!" He sobbed as he fell back to the ground, staring down at his own shame as he simply broke down into hysterics "I failed! I wasn't there when she needed me, and I failed her! What can I do?!" The beast didn't answer him, instead simply disappearing in a flash of black. He changed his attention to the pained little girl. "Please..." He begged shakily "Tell me what I can do...please...I'll do anything..."
She simply stared at him, her innocent yet apologetic eyes locked on his own. The two were completely still for the longest time, dead silent. Regretfully, she shook her head, and began to fade into nothingness. He once more broke down, sobbing pathetically as he was again left alone in the universe to ponder what the hell was happening to him.
Around him, the colours began to melt away. The yellows, the reds, and the oranges were all abandoning him. Gone was the vibrance. Gone was the sense of life in the world. All's that remained was a bleak, barren gray, that made everything seem generic and dead.
In front of him sat a long, thin blade, left behind by the beast. His face was stained with tears, his eyes were hollow and empty, oblivious now and forever to the pinks, the greens, the blues, to everything other than that empty gray. He took the sword in one hand, slowly rose to his feet, and boarded the ship.
***
"Abandon ship?!" The newly crowned Pr. Shin-Ra boomed at an intimidated officer from his luxurious quarters situated above the deck.
Pr. Rufus Shin-Ra was a young man in his mid-twenties, who upon the death of his father, inherited the industrial kingdom that was Shin-Ra Inc. With his fiery orange hair and bright blue eyes, he was quite handsome, and he very well knew it. Despite his suave exterior, he was the ideal business man: cold, calculating, but above all ruthless. Only the uninformed questioned his ability to handle the presidency of the world's most powerful company. The smart knew that he was unquestionably the right man for the job.
"T-Those were the captain's orders." The young boy mumbled nervously. "Please don't fire me, sir."
"You mean to tell me that one 'suspicious character' is going to make us abandon ship?" He nearly laughed despite his fury. "Just send a couple of SOLDIERs after him, he'll be dead within fifteen minutes."
"But sir, his sword..."
"What about his sword?" He thundered back at the boy.
"It's the same one that killed your father..."
Rufus Shin-Ra was not a man easily surprised. He had grown up as a child in a cold loveless world of greed and corruption, and as an adult he now ruled that world. He had done many dark and disturbing things for the sake of business, and all the while he had never even flinched. But when he had heard the useless officer mutter those few words, something about it had stopped him in his tracks.
"Leave." Rufus told the boy very simply, who only stood there looking baffled "Now."
With a shaky nod of his head, the boy was off to tell the captain the President's response, or lack there of.
Rufus sighed, shook his head, and sat down on a plush velour couch, calmly brushing the wrinkles out of his expensive white suit. "What do you think we should do, Taggart?" Rufus asked his escort across the room, who until now had remained anonymous.
General Theodore Taggart was not the ideal image of a first-class SOLDIER. He was old and wise, not young and dashing. His skin was gritty and blemished, not soft and flawless. His body was tall and muscular, but not as lean and well sculpted as the ladies liked. His face was square and beginning to show signs of age, his short gray hair and beard the opposite of the flowing coiffes of the imaginary youthful heroes of Shin-Ra Inc. He wore his many scars and years proudly, knowing them to be the marks of a real SOLDIER. Taggart may not have been the ideal SOLDIER in the minds of the masses, but he was certainly a true warrior, and he had very much earned his spot at the top.
"I think it would be wise to evacuate." Taggart told his employer calmly, grabbing his torn blue shawl and pulling it over his shoulders. " I suggest we take the chopper and make our way to Costa Del Sol from there." Taggart stood up, brushing some dust off his arm and grabbing his blade off from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder and into its holster. While the President's clothes were spotless and white, Taggart's were dirty, ragged and completely black, with numerous silver buckles keeping his light armor in place. Certainly an odd duo, they couldn't have looked to be more different had they tried.
"Hmm..." Rufus murmured thoughtfully before putting his hands together and snickering. "Afraid of the Masamune, are we?"
For a long moment, Taggart said nothing, only staring plainly at the arrogant President "Let's just say that if Sephiroth were to get in our way." The veteran began stoically "I would most certainly deal with him. But today, I don't think that that's necessary."
From his bag, he pulled a very strange contraption. Dozens of multi-coloured wires spilt out from each of its sides, and a small clock and control panel were all that they connected to.
"A mako bomb." The President smiled as Taggart inserted a minuscule green glowing orb into a compartment and set the clock for thirty minutes. "Smart. But I guess this is the sort of thing I pay you for, isn't it?"