The House of Strife II: Rebirth

By General Quistis and Zhakeena

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Chapter 3: Riku

"How is he, doctor?" asked Tifa outside his room.

The doctor shook his head. "I don't understand it at all…" he mumbled as he wrote some notes on a clipboard.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked. She swallowed, anticipating bad news.

"Well… I don't know, honestly. You both only suffered from minor head injuries only and a few scratches here and there, nothing serious. Nothing broken. But… I don't know. President Rufus doesn't seem to be acting himself."

"What do you mean?"

"He's grown very weak. He can't stand up and walk around like you do, Mrs. ShinRa. He can't even talk properly. If he wants to move around, he has to be on a wheelchair." The doctor shook his head again.

"Oh, dear!" Tifa exclaimed. "Does he have to stay in the hospital?"

"No. We can take him home. I'm not sure if he could function as a President in this state, though."

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"Hey! How are you doing, Kairi?"

Kairi didn't look at Riku. She continued staring in empty space.

"Gee, I wish you would say something…" he said solemnly. He sighed when she didn't respond.

"It's useless. She only talks to Mommy," Samara told Riku.

"I noticed… how long has she been in this state?"

"5 months. She's worse than I am," she replied. "She doesn't like seeing light in her room. I think she sees things when her windows are open…"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

Samara smiled sadly. "I hear her screaming sometimes…"

He just shook his head in dismay. "Poor girl. First it's Sora… then it's her…" he sighed heavily before taking Kairi's hand in his, squeezing it gently. As he did so, he heard Samara gasp. He turned around to look at her. "What?" he asked.

Samara was staring at their hands in horror, but she could not say anything. He figured that maybe she felt… jealous or something because used to be, he thought he liked Kairi but realized that he only liked her as a younger sister. He instantly let go of Kairi's hand with a confused look on his face. "Well… I think I have to go now." He said softly before he moved away from Kairi. He waved goodbye to Samara. "I'll just call you." He told her, still wondering why she was still staring hard at the empty space beside Kairi.

Riku just forced a smile at her before walking out of the room.

Samara heard the door close and she snapped back into her senses. She looked behind her to see if Riku was still there, but he wasn't. She began to feel nervous as she recalled what she saw: Before Riku held Kairi's hand, Sora was already holding it… and what Riku held was Sora's hand. She saw the look in Sora's face. He was glaring angrily at Riku as if he wanted to harm him because of jealousy.

She turned back to Kairi again and was surprised. Sora wasn't there anymore and Kairi was staring tearfully at her. "Samara…" she said hoarsely. Samara's eyes widened as she sensed something bad within her surroundings. Kairi's tears fell. "Samara…" she said.

Without further ado, Samara just ran out of the room going to the elevators. She stopped when she noticed that the door kept on closing and opening repeatedly as if there was something wrong… to her horror, she saw Riku's feet caught between the doors. "Riku!" she cried out as she rushed towards the elevator, but then something just pulled Riku further inside the elevator and the door shut. "No!!!" he screeched as she pounded against it. She watched the indicator's numbers descending going to the 66th floor and then up again to the 70th floor in a swift motion, and then it stopped there for a while. She froze, not knowing what to do. Her eyes widened when she suddenly heard some croaking sound "Oua-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a…"

She quickly pressed the down button, her hands shaking. The elevator finally arrived again on the 68th floor where she is… and slowly the door opened… and she screamed at what she saw.

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Her scream echoed all throughout the building and it shattered some glass and made the lights flicker.

Tifa's eyes widened when she recognized her daughter's scream. "Samara!" she exclaimed as she got up from the couch by Rufus's bed in their masters' bedroom and rushed outside the room.

From the 70th floor, Slate, their eldest son and the Vice President of the Company who is also the acting President at the moment that his father is ill, also heard the scream of your younger sister. He instantly went to the elevator and pressed the down button, but he waited for several moments. He realized that it could be stuck so he used the stairs. When he reached 68th floor, he saw his younger sister being comforted by his twin sister, Morrigan, and their mother. "What's going on in here?" he asked as he approached.

"Slate," please call someone for help…" Morrigan told him with a worried look on her face. Slate raked his fingers through his blonde hair. "Why?" he asked… and what's inside the elevator came into view. There was no one there but there was blood smeared on the glass walls… the blood was in the form of handprints of a young boy… and there was some writing on the floor too with the use of the blood. It read: "Kairi is mine."

"Oh my God…" Slate uttered in disbelief as he took a step backward.

Samara continued to stare horridly at the writings before breaking loose from her mother. "Kairi!!!" she screamed as she headed back to Kairi's room.

"Samara!" Morrigan sprinted after her younger sister. "Kairi!!! Kairi!!!" Samara kept on shouting until she reached her friend's bedroom, but she heard muffled screams coming from one corner of the room where the closet is located. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw that Kairi was being dragged into the closet by Sora. "NOOOOOO!!!!!" Samara shrieked as she went after Kairi and grabbed hands feet. Kairi was struggling to break free from the hands holding her back. "Samara!!! Samara!!!" she was screaming.

Samara still tried her best to pull her friend away from the closet, but she could not hold onto her anymore. The force pulling Kairi away from her was simply too strong and more powerful than her. She even used her mind control against it but it was useless. "Let her go!!!" she screeched.

Morrigan arrived at the scene and her mouth dropped open. She can see Kairi inside the closet being pulled by an invisible force and her sister trying to pull her back.

"SAMARA!!!" Kairi shrieked in agony as tears fell from her eyes. Morrigan just rushed to them and pushed Samara away from Kairi and took her place, trying to pull Kairi away from the closet. "Hang on!!!" she said.

Samara moved away from them when she saw her Auntie Aerith emerging from the closet and then grasped Morrigan's hands. Morrigan froze, looking up from beyond Kairi. She gasped.

"MORRIGAN!!!" Samara shrieked as she watched Kairi and Morrigan get sucked inside the closet in one swift motion and then the closet doors just shut by themselves.

Tifa and Slate arrived in the room with some SOLDIERs. They just stood by the doorway, staring in shock at Samara who was frantically pounding against the closet door while trying to open it. "LET THEM GO!!!" she was shrieking in mixed anger and hysteria.

Slate went to his younger sister and pulled her away from the closet, embracing her from behind, "Samara, stop it!" he said sternly but his blue eyes revealed fear and confusion.

"Please!!! Let them go… Sora!!! Auntie Aerith!!! Let them go!!!" Samara cried out hysterically while reaching out to the closet.

Tifa felt her heart sinking as tears filled her eyes. She leaned against the doorway. "Cloud… Aerith… why are you doing this?!" she thought as she began to cry.

"Ma'am, please get out of here. Let's take you back to your room." One of the Soldiers advised before letting him escort her back to the masters' bedroom while still listening to the anguished cries of her daughter, Samara, begging for Sora and Aerith to bring back her friends and her older sister.