Damn... I can't use karots or squiggles... -- If you wanna see the fic in its original prettyness, go over to my account at DeviantArt dot Com. --;; It should be linked in my bio.

Experimental

Beginnings: Part Two

Henshin

-- Hallow Bastion

Leon walks through the hallways, trying to find Yuffie's room. The ninja, despite being overly chipper, had always been dependable and friendly-- no matter how bad Leon's mood, or what troubles were advancing on the worlds.

Yuffie can also be a terrible gossiping busybody with a nose for trouble. But that's all to the good when you're trying to find something out-- such as how something impossible happened. Even in the small community of the Bastion, Yuffie can uncover things no one else knows about. And information is invaluable to Leon at the moment.

After a few wrong turns, Leon finally manages to reach Yuffie's room, expression dark from the extended walk through the labyrinth-like halls and elevator system.

He knocks softly, and calls quietly, "Yuffie? I need your help."

Neko jumps and hisses in surprise, starting as her brother seems to melt out of nothing. "Bloody hells, Oni, don't scare me like that!" she hisses vehemently, eyes narrowed.

He doesn't reply, simply staring at her, his eyes moody and dark with a sickened green tinge.

After a moment, Neko drops her face towards the floor, fidgeting slightly. "What?" she asks, twisting her fingers into her pants, the charcoal-grey cloth wrinkling as she worries at it.

"He did see you." Oni chokes slightly on his words, dull yellow-green and tense blue swirling into his eyes. "He SAW you. He told the woman, the one with dark hair." He drops his chin and closes his eyes, rubbing the heels of his hands against them. "Why can't you be careful, Imouto? Why?"

Neko looks back up at him, shaken by the heartbroken tone in his voice. "Niisan? I..." She hesitantly reaches to him, uncertainty in her eyes. "Are you crying?"

A shudder runs through Oni's body as her hands come towards his face. Then, with a quick, violent strike, he slaps her hands away, eyes burning scarlet in rage. "Baka," he growls, the harshness strange from his nine-year-old throat.

"Oni?" Neko steps back, bumping against the wall of the narrow passage, confusion running rampant over her features. "What..."

"Baka. You, you let them know, and now... And..." The harshness fades away, and Oni's voice quivers again. "Imouto..." He sniffles, looking down and away from his sister.

Then he turns and dashes down the passage, leaving his sister confused and alone in the darkness.

The dark-haired duo of Leon and Yuffie sit in the library, searching for any hints of what a silver-haired apparition was doing there. Or, rather, searching again for anything they missed the last three times they had searched. Yuffie had even started pulling books off shelves around where the girl had disappeared, trying to find a lever, then sifting through them for ANYTHING of intrest.

Unlikely, considering that they're in the philosophy section, but...

"Hey, Leon, I think I might have somethin' here." Yuffie gently opens an old book, wrinkling her nose at the musty scent of dust and glue hits her nose-- then grinning broadly. "Look!" She pulls the neatly-clipped papers out of the center of the book. "It's something!"

Leon snorts softly. "What do some documents have to do with a person?" he mutters to himself. But he wanders over anyway, leaning over Yuffie's shoulder as she peels the blank front page back.

An hour later, they pull themselves out of the reverie that the documents inspired.

"Yuff'?"

"Yeah, Squall?" She stares wide-eyed at the pile in front of them, shaken. Leon doesn't even bother correcting her.

"Tell people there'll a meeting. Tomorrow morning." And Leon turns on his heel and heads towards the Lift Stop, leaving Yuffie sitting at the table, flipping back through the papers.

Takeo Dreams.

Unhappy, cruel, sad dreams; those are the Dreams Takeo has. Dreams of possibilities-- the worst possibilities.

Isis and Bastet; The not-Anzu, the not-Neko. They flee, fly, away from twisted, angry, vengeful people-- people who can't see the children, can only see the differences, the changes, the inhuman.

Bastet dies, protecting her most precious, her beloved sister. Dies so young, barely seven years old--- just like the girl she mirrors.

For Takeo... Neko will die.

Isis is cornered; Crying underneath the weight of pain, of coldness, of hate and loss and destruction.

Anzu is just as fragile as the Isis from the Dream; To Takeo, Anzu will break.

And he knows Neko's wrong.

But she doesn't live her death, over and over again...

The Chapel is tense, expectant; this is only the second "meeting" of the Bastion, and everyone knows something's wrong, something is about to disrupt their peaceful, placid life.

Leon steps up onto a wooden chair, and a cough signals the few residents to quiet down; it's about to start.

"Yuffie and I recently found something. An important something." He pauses, waiting for the murmurs to die out. "Some of you might have heard-- or been asked about-- what I saw a week ago." He fidgets slightly as the people who do know inform the people around them. Then as they become quiet again, Leon continues.

"Yuffie found something that told us who that was-- as well as that whoever it was might have siblings. They are--"

Before Leon can continue, a loud bang reverberates from down the hall. Everyone starts at the noise...

"NO! Please, Imouto, they'd KILL you! I don't want you to die!" Takeo drags at Neko's arm, tears in his eyes, making them shine more brightly than ever. She hisses at her brother, but slows.

"Did you have a dream again?" She stares up at him, eyes narrowed slightly. "You know I don't believe your dreams. The people-- they aren't us, aren't them." She pauses, then the growl fades out of her voice. "I'm going to find the pink lady. She'll be nice to us. Like Anzu said." She leans to the side, around Takeo, and smiles at Anzu. "Right, Anzu-chan? She'll be nice?"

Anzu smiles wanly at Neko and nods. "Hai. She's always nice. I like her."

"Neko..." Takeo pulls her into a hug. "I don't want you to go away. Or you, Anzu-chan..." He turns slightly, his gaze brilliant and sad as he meets Anzu's eyes.

She smiles at him. "Ne, Niisan, you know Neko can protect me. She always protects me." Stepping forward, she nestles into the hug, standing on tip-toes and pecking Takeo's cheek. "Don't be afraid. We'll be fine."

They stand together for a moment, then Neko slips out of the hug and darts down the passage, quickly slapping open a panel. "C'mooon, Anzu, I can't wait any longer!" And with a swirl of russet-streaked silver hair, she slips into the hallway.

Straight into Cloud Strife.

"What the--"

Cid's next word is thankfully drowned out by another clamor, this one of Aerith jumping to her feet and yelping, "Cloud's not here!" And in a swirl of pink skirts, she dashes down the hallway

.

Cloud bites out a curse as a silver blur crashes into him, the warrior in him snapping a hand out to fend her off.

But his warrior side is used to fighting people twice her size, or fighting monsters hundreds of times her size, and she crashes back against wall violently. Right next to where her sister has half-climbed out of the passage.

"NEKO?!" Flames burst out around the child, and Cloud can't help but throw up a hand-- and orange lighting flickers to life, sensing danger, and--

"Neko! Neko, wake up, let us out!"

"K'so!" The sound of flesh hitting something hard and unyielding. "I told her, I TOLD her..."

Aerith slows at the sounds of young voices, desperate-edged and thin.

"Neko-neesama! Wake UP! I can't melt this! Onegai, wake up!"

"If he hadn't summoned lighting... Oh, kami, please..."

Aerith finally turns the corner, glancing around quickly. And she's barely able to hold in her gasp as she sees Cloud sprawled in the middle of the hallway... And three children.

Two are inside a crystalline bubble, the girl with red and silver hair curled in a protective ball in the exact center, the points on her ears clear as day. The other girl is pressed against the outer wall, hands glowing with blue flame and pressed hard against the crystal.

:: No,:: Aerith realizes as she takes a step forward, :: That's not crystal... That's ICE.::

But more striking than the flames are the two amber wings folded tightly around the child, feathers sparking as they puff out and smooth.

The third child is nearly as odd, his warm chestnut hair streaked with vibrant silver. But it isn't until Aerith takes another step and he whirls at the sound that she sees the true odd thing is his eyes.

"They're old. And hurt," she says, staring into the brilliant aqua, the tiny smokey topaz chips by the outer corners of them barely registering.

He hunches in, looking past her.

"Oni..."

An orb of darkness falls around Aerith, and she faints under the pressure of Graviaga.

"How could this HAPPEN?! Wh-why did you LET it happen, Takeo, why didn't you try to STOP it?!" Oni's voice wavers between sobbing and screaming in Neko's ears as she slowly wakes.

"Niisan... PLEASE don't be angry." Soft and quiet and sad, Takeo continues, "I did try and stop them. But we can't always protect them, no matter how much we want--"

A slap of flesh hitting flesh cracks across the dark passage, Neko snapping awake instantly, eyes opening to see a tilted view of a shocked Takeo staring at Oni. The nine-year old is snarling, but his eyes are silver and bronze, confused and crying. He slowly drops his hand as Takeo touches his cheek, tears flooding his eyes and falling down his face.

Neko stands as quickly as she can, swaying unsteadily on her feet as she growls at Oni. "You hit Niichan. You HIT him," she hisses, flexing her hands. "How COULD you?!"

Anzu whimpers under the onslaught of angry emotions, and Neko turns wide-eyed towards her sister. "A-Anzu-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you-- I didn't see you..." Her hands unclench, guilt sweeping fury away. "I'm sorry," she whispers again, hanging her head.

Feet patter quickly as Oni turns and runs into the darkness, leaving his siblings behind.

Glossary:

Niisan: Older Brother (semi-respectful)

Baka: Idiot

Imouto: Little sister (informal)

-chan: Affectionate diminuitive

K'so: Kuso, a swear word

Neesama: Older Sister (respectful)

Niichan: Older Brother (fairly informal)