Kids

Seven

"I can't believe he threw me inside this prison…" Riku muttered miserably with an angry look on his face.

"This isn't a prison; it's a hospital room." Tifa corrected.

"Well it is a prison now. We're in it and we're locked up in it." Riku snapped as he sat down on the bed.

"Gee… it's even harder to communicate with Uncle Rufus now compared to where we came from!" Kairi said sadly. Tifa scratched her head, "I still can't figure out how I fell in-love with him? Could you explain it to me?" she demanded from the three of them with a disturbed look on her face.

"You know you shouldn't have told this woman that she will marry Rufus ShinRa in the future. Now she'll be blabbing on and on and on and asking us more questions. Aren't you all tired of answering questions?" Riku demanded, feeling so impatient already. "Shut the bloody hell up, Riku. I'm beginning to lose my patience with you." Tifa told him with a stern look on her face before turning to Kairi and Sora.

"That's up for you to find out for yourself, Auntie Tifa… because we don't really know the answer." Kairi explained with an apologetic smile on her face. Riku got up from the bed and stomped angrily on the floor. "Goddammit! We have to find a way to get out of here! If we can't go back to the future, the entire past is going to change and… we'll be stuck here forever!" Riku told him.

"Okay, think… what can soften Uncle Rufus's heart from our time?" Sora asked.

"Auntie Tifa?" Kairi asked.

"Can't do that now. They're not yet a couple here." Riku pointed out.

"Oh right… Uhm… what about…" Kairi began to think of something else, but realized that she doesn't know anything else about Rufus.

"Darn." Riku rolled his eyes and went to the door, peeking outside through its little window. No one was there. "If only I have my keyblade with me…" he muttered before turning back to the others. "Is anyone equipped with Materia or any other weapon?" he asked.

"I don't have Materia with me and I don't have my keyblade." Sora replied sadly.

"I have my level 1 glove right here but it won't work against that door, these walls and that window. I've already tried it… and I left all my materia with Vincent at home." Tifa said as she remained crouched on the floor and hugging herself. She looked rather disturbed and bothered by a certain revelation of Sora and Kairi regarding her future husband. "Who, what, when, where, how….. why?" her mind was screaming at her.

Kairi brought out 20 Shuriken blades. "I have some of these. Mommy says to always carry at least 20 of these wherever I go." She said.

"Oh good! We can use one of those to pick the lock!" Sora declared happily as he and Riku rushed over to Kairi to check out the shuriken blades. She nodded. "Alright. I'll try. My dad taught me how to pick locks." She said before proceeding to the door and started to pick the lock with a shuriken… but it wouldn't work.

"Damn it…" Riku muttered under his breath before turning away.

"You know you should've hit the Turk or you should've harmed Rufus before they could take you in here, then we could've escaped by now." Tifa told him.

Riku was surprised at her, "Hey, I know I can be so rude and mean sometimes but I'm not all that bad! I can't hurt Uncle Rufus even if he's stubborn now!" he said.

Sora snickered. "Yeah. If he does that, he'll lose brownie points in Samara. Hah hah…" he said teasingly. Tifa narrowed her eyes on Riku, "Oh so that's why! You have a crush on my future daughter!" she realized with an evil smile on her face.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

They stiffened when they heard someone knocking on the door. Sora, Kairi and Riku backed away from the door when it slowly creaked open. It was Reno.

"Mister Reno!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Shh!" Reno told them before he quickly handed Sora the pendant and then stormed out of the room.

They were all silent, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Reno peeked through the small window on the door. "Listen, I found that while you kids were looking for it too. And I just want you to know that… I believe you." He told them. He felt light-hearted when he saw the thankful smiles on Sora and Kairi's faces before he proceeded, "And I want you to convince the President to free you from here because I can't do that. You can do so by showing him what that pendant can do, alright?" he asked.

Sora handed the pendant to Kairi and she held it tightly in her hands.

Tifa was awestruck. "Gee… Turks are nice after all…" she said.

"Of course they are! They're human too! If they had been mean, they're just doing their job." Riku told her.

Kairi took a deep breath and closed her eyes, putting her hands close to her chest. "Samara," she began in a hoarse whisper.

The room was silent and Reno was still watching them.

Kairi opened her eyes and blinked. Nothing happened. She turned to Sora and Riku with a panicky look on her face, "It's not working!" she said.

"Are you sure that's the right pendant?" Tifa asked. Kairi checked on the pendant and nodded. "Yes it is. It has ShinRa on it and it has the barcode too!" she declared. Tifa got up and went to join Sora and Riku who were standing beside Kairi and she looked over their shoulder, examining the pendant.

"Well?" Reno asked.

Tifa turned to him with a frown on her face, "It's not working." She told him.

Reno looked quite disappointed but then something caught his attention from behind Tifa, Kairi, Sora and Riku. His eyes just widened and his mouth dropped open. "What the?" he cried out in shock as he continued to stare past the four. Noticing his reaction, the four of them turned around to check on what he saw… and there was a little girl about the age of 10 sitting on the steel chair just beside the window. She had black hair which length was way past her waist and she had the bluest eyes anyone has ever seen. Her skin was very pale and smooth, almost like porcelain, and her tiny delicate hands were placed comfortably on her lap as she was looking up at them with a slight smile on her face.

Kairi, Sora and Riku were all awestruck at first, but then Riku had the guts to greet her. "…Hi, Samara." He said. He sounded like he was even scared.

"Hello, Riku." Samara replied rather shyly in her usual low and creepy tone.

"Samzy!" Kairi and Sora both ran to her and pulled her up, embracing her tightly. "You're here!" Kairi said happily. "Oh we're so glad! Hah hah!" Sora said. Samara grunted, clenching her fists and turned to Sora, "Stop hugging me!" she pushed him away from herself. "Hey, I just missed you, Samara. Is that bad?" Sora asked with a silly grin. Samara pouted and turned to Riku. "What took you guys so long! Mommy and daddy are already nagging my head off for days now for what I have done!" she told them.

"We ran into some trouble… but we're alright now. It's just that, we're imprisoned here… and we can't get out." Sora said.

"Who put you in here anyway?" Samara asked before turning her attention to Tifa Lockheart who was just standing by the door and gaping at her. Samara was in awe upon seeing the younger version of her mother and she was quiet for a while, relishing the moment. Tifa forgot to breathe during the long moment of staring with her future daughter… and she didn't know whether to be afraid or not. She backed away further when the little girl rushed to her for an embrace, and she felt her hairs rising when the little girl had finally embraced her. "Mommy." the little girl said softly.

Tifa felt awkward in that moment, not knowing whether to hug the little girl back or just push her away.

They were interrupted when Reno opened and door and was staring unbelievably at Samara. All eyes turned to him. He pointed an accusing finger at the girl. "Aren't you the girl from the horror movie?" he asked.

Samara blinked and let go of Tifa. "Oh. Yes. It's one of my roles in a remake during our time… and my mommy got my name from the original horror movie itself. Hee!" she said proudly.

Silence filled the room.

Kairi approached Samara and handed her back the pendant. "Here you go. You'd better wear it again." she said. "Thanks, Kairi." Samara said as she took it and fastened the necklace around her neck again.

Reno shut the door again. "Wait here, I'll get the President. He has to see this." He told them before running off upstairs to get Rufus.

"It's actually your dad who imprisoned us here because he wouldn't believe us." Riku told her with a disappointed look on his face. She turned to him. "What?" and then turned to Tifa with a look of disbelief on her face. "And you're here too?" she asked.

"During this time, they're not in-love with each other, Samara, so don't count on any pity from him at this point in time." Sora told her.

"And I can't even imagine why I would even fall in-love with someone so… so despicable like him!" Tifa said in disbelief, turning away and crossing her arms in frustration. Samara turned back to them, "You're wrong! Mommy could've hated daddy and ShinRa before but daddy never…" she stopped herself from continuing any further. She almost said something that is supposed to remain a secret. "Let's just go home." Riku told his friends. Tifa turned to him, "What are you trying to say? You're going to leave me here?" demanded in awe.

"No, we can't leave yet. I have to erase their memories and make them forget that they've seen us or known us so that our future wouldn't be affected!" Samara told them in protest.

"Aw man! You mean we're staying here for more days? What if the 7th day comes?" Sora asked in worry.

"As long as I'm here in the same timeline, it won't take effect anymore. First we have to get out of here and you guys have to bring me to whoever knows that we will exist in the future." She explained.

"Well it's basically just acquaintances and our future parents…" Kairi pointed out.

"And your confused mother over there," Riku pointed at Tifa. Samara turned back to Tifa and smiled at her before turning back to her friends. "Hey you were saying something about your dad awhile ago?" Tifa asked.

Samara felt as if a heavy boulder had been dropped upon her head. "Me and my big mouth…" she thought miserably before shrugging. "I did? Oh you must've heard the wind. I couldn't remember anything." She fibbed, hoping that Tifa would just forget about it because she can be very gullible sometimes.

Not this time. "No, you said that I hated ShinRa and Rufus but then Rufus never what?" Tifa demanded.

"Yeah, what?" Sora chimed in, also unaware of the situation.

Samara fell silent. "Well… daddy told me… the story on… how he and mommy met and how he… and she… got together…" she stammered.

"Well how?" Tifa asked, crossing her arms. "So that maybe I can't prevent it?" she was thinking to herself with a sweet smile on her face. But Samara could read her thoughts. The little girl bowed down her head and looked away. "No, mommy. I won't allow you to prevent it." She muttered.

Tifa was surprised at her. "She can read minds." Riku reminded her.

Before Tifa could react further, the door burst open and there was Rufus ShinRa seated on his wheelchair with the Turks and three guards standing behind him.

"Daddy," Samara began.

"How did this girl get in here?" Rufus asked the Turks.

"I told you, President Rufus, she just appeared out of nowhere." Reno explained.

Samara ran to Rufus and knelt down before him, placing her hands on his knees as if begging, "Can you release my friends now? I really have to return back to the future with them so that their parents wouldn't worry anymore." She pleaded.

Rufus stared unbelievably at the little girl. Looking at her eyes seemed to remind him of his own blue eyes whenever he would look at himself in the mirror. He scanned the look on her face before turning to the base of her neck, seeing the pendant. "I see you've found the pendant, huh?" he asked. And to their surprise, he just snatched it rather forcefully and then pushed Samara away from him. The girl lost her balance and fell backwards onto the floor. Riku, Sora and Kairi were mortified upon what they had just seen. Tifa knelt down beside the little girl and helped her sit up. "Are you alright?" she asked softly. Samara's face was covered with her hair and they were not sure if she's looking at Rufus or not, but she was not reacting or talking. Rufus wheeled himself away from them and shut the door again. "You're all staying here until further notice." He told them, leaving them there.

Riku went to Samara's aid. "Samara, did he hurt you?" he asked her as he parted her hair from her face. She had this stunned look on her face and her eyes were wide in fear and they were moist with tears. "...Oh no… don't cry," Riku told her.

Samara just sniffed as she began to tremble. "I know that people hate ShinRa because they said we're mean… but… I thought daddy was different until… until…" she began to cry. Tifa felt sorry for the girl and embraced her, hoping that it could comfort her. After all, she is the future mother of the girl. "Hush now, Samara… it's alright. ShinRa is really mean to begin with… and I guess it didn't change?" she asked with a frown on her face.

"No! We're not bad! Grampa Old Man is the bad man and not daddy!" Samara wailed angrily. The lights began to flicker, scaring Tifa. "Bloody hell! What happened?" she demanded, letting her go.

Samara wiped her tears away and just crawled towards the corner of the room and continued to lament there. "Perhaps it's time for her to let her temper out so that she can start killing people and get us out of here! Without that necklace we will be stuck here forever!" Riku told them in protest.

"We can't let her kill everyone! And you know how hard it is to control her once she starts with the killing!" Kairi told him. "Well then how can we escape from here if we don't start killing anyone?" he replied with an airy look on his face. Samara got up and went to the door, banging angrily on it with her fists, "Daddy! Let me out of here! I can't believe you would do this to me!" she screamed angrily.

The lights began to flicker again, but this time, it wouldn't stop flickering. The little girl kept on screaming and banging angrily on the door.

Riku just sat down on the bed, crossing his arms, "That's it, Samara. Go on." He was thinking with a sly smile on his face. Sora couldn't take the flickering of the lights. It was way too freaky and it was giving him the heebie-jeebies already so he went to Samara and pulled her away from the door. "Hey, Samara, quit that! It won't do you any good! He is not yet your daddy at this point in time so you can't blame him if he is cold towards you or even to Tifa." He told her. "But he's going to be my daddy? Can't he at least feel the connection between us? Doesn't he have pity?" she asked while sobbing.

"Darn it, Sora. Why'd you stop her?" Riku asked him.

"What kind of friend are you? Forcing her to get angry at the world?" Kairi told him.

"Well she is angry at the world in the first place, Kairi." He responded with an arrogant look on his face. "Oh yeah? How would you know anyway?" Sora demanded.

Tifa noticed that pressure was beginning to form within the four and knowing that panic wouldn't help any of them, she clapped her hands twice to catch their attention, "Alright, that's enough you nasties!" she shouted sternly, making them shut up. She got up with an annoyed look on her face and marched toward them, taking Samara away from Sora. "You leave Samara alone for a while. You're making it more traumatic for her." She told them as she carried the little girl onto the bed and made her sit there after shooing Riku away from it. Riku rolled his eyes and moved away, going to the window.

"It's already night time and I'm sure Barret and the others will start worrying about us. Once they do, Cloud or Vincent will come back here and ask for us. I'm sure." Tifa told them with a little optimism in her tone.

X-x-X-x-X

"Sushi for dinner?" Barret asked in disbelief.

"Hey it's the only food I can serve you guys since Tifa's not here and she failed to do the groceries again." Yuffie told them, crossing her arms as she sat down on her chair. Vincent stared at the sushi before taking a piece. "Where's Tifa anyway? She hasn't returned with those three yet." He told them before taking the initiative to eat it. "Not bad." He remarked.

"Of course it's not bad." Yuffie told him proudly before getting some for herself. Cloud began to eat a piece. "I guess they're not yet through talking to Rufus." He told them.

"You left them there?" Barret asked.

"They'll be fine. They're with Tifa." Cloud told them. "But it's Rufus we're talking about! A ShinRa?" Yuffie protested.

"Yeah. You know we can't trust them! The last time we did, all of us almost died!" Barret snapped. Cloud shrugged. "Well if that's the case, do you want me to go back there and fetch them?" he asked almost with a sarcastic tone. Everyone was quiet for a while before he got up to leave, but the lights began to flicker and soon, there was power failure. "Aww man!" Barret cried out in exasperation. "GAWDS!"

Red XIII's tail was still glowing and it served as little light for a while. "Thank goodness for his tail," Vincent murmured while Yuffie got some candles from one of the kitchen drawers and lit them immediately, putting them by the sink. "Geez… what good timing for a power failure. I wonder why." She muttered miserably.

"On second thought, I'll just stay here and eat dinner with you guys." Cloud told them as he sat down again and grabbed three more sushi and stuffed it all in his mouth.

"What is wrong with you, foo'? I thought you're going to go out there and look for them?" Barret asked.

"It's too dark and there's no moon! Do you want me to trip around and step on Chocobo manure on my way to the Healin Lodge and embarrass myself in front of everyone including Rufus and my future son?" Cloud pointed out with a look of disbelief on his face.

X-x-X-x-X

"I can't believe I'm out here walking in this dark road going to the Healin Lodge and I've tripped on random stones and rocks for like 10 times already and then I still have this feeling that I will be stepping on something stinky for the 7th time right about…"

SQUISH

"…Now." Cloud froze and stepped away, but tripped again and fell on the ground. "I don't know how you can see in the dark, Vincent, but could you please guide me?" he pleaded as he struggled to get up despite the annoyance that was pressuring him.

Vincent just shrugged. "Like what you said, Cloud, every man for himself. It's why you didn't want to go and check on Tifa and the rest right? Because you know that they can defend themselves." He told him with a slight smile on his face.

Cloud dusted himself. "My boots really stink now… you think there's a lake here somewhere?" he asked.

"There's not time to be looking for lakes, Cloud. We have to get to the Healin Lodge before visiting hours are over." Vincent told him as he sped up. Cloud caught up with him. "Alright. But I'll stay outside because I wouldn't want to soil the ground that Rufus walks on." He told him sarcastically. Vincent just said, "Alright."

They were quiet for a few moments before Vincent told him, "I'm actually worried about Riku."

Cloud felt like choking. "… well… I kept on wondering if Sora is okay…" he admitted.

They stopped in their tracks.

Vincent turned to his side and sighed heavily, "Alright, Yuffie, come out of hiding and stop stalking us." He said out loud.

They heard some bushes rustling and finally, Yuffie came out of hiding, dusting herself.

"Well… we're like a group of parents looking for their children." Vincent said with a slight smile on his face.

"Aw c'mon, I can't help but feel this weird closeness with that Kairi girl!" Yuffie said sheepishly.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Yuffie and Cloud." Vincent told them before he proceeded. "After all, they will be ours someday." He said in monotone. Yuffie and Cloud followed after him "You think something bad happened to them?" she asked with a worried tone. The two men did not answer. She sighed heavily, "I kinda feel bad about over-reacting and screaming at Kairi the other night and this morning… I hope she didn't feel offended." She said.

"Who doesn't feel offended when you scream at their faces?" Cloud asked mindlessly.

BONK

"OW!" Cloud cried out in pain, realizing that Yuffie was just walking beside him. He still couldn't see well because it was really very dark. "How can you manage to see in this kind of environment?" he demanded from her, rubbing the back of his head where she hit him hard with her fist. "Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk! Hey, I'm a ninja. I was trained in the dark too so I got used to moving around even if there's no light. Hee!" Yuffie said proudly. "That's an asset." Cloud muttered with a sarcastic tone.

"But I still wonder who my future husband will be. You think he'll be handsome and big and strong and princely?" she asked dreamily.

"Dream on." Cloud muttered.

"Aw c'mon! Don't you ever wonder how Aerith will get back? Doesn't the future interest you, Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"But those kids won't talk and tell us everything." He responded. "Of course they won't. At least try to understand their situation." Vincent said solemnly. "I mean, I wonder about how Lucrecia will be back, but at least I know that one day she'll be here again. I just don't know how or when." He continued with a slight smile on his face.

Yuffie began to snicker while Cloud was trying to stop himself from chuckling as he pursed his lips. "Well… may I ask what is so funny?" Vincent asked coolly.

"And at least we know now that Sephiroth isn't the father of your kid! Har har!" Yuffie laughed gleefully. Vincent raised his eyebrows as his jaw dropped slightly. "I beg your pardon?" he demanded.

"Well… to tell you the truth, Vincent, we got into thinking that you are the mother of Riku when he told us that he is the son of Sephiroth." Cloud explained. "Yeah! Because he keeps on looking rather lovingly at you… you know, the way a child would look at his loving mother?" Yuffie chimed in with a silly smile on her face.

"Oh pish-posh! Do I even look like a woman to you?" Vincent demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well… you sure act like one." She responded. "But Yuffie, Vincent is refined like Rufus. You know, like Brits and stuff… so they both move with grace and so-called finesse." Cloud pointed out.

Vincent felt offended. "What's wrong with being like this? Tifa speaks with this accent too…" he muttered miserably before telling them, "You people are such racists."

"We Wutaians are not racists, mind you. It's the Midgarians who are racists! Hmf!" Yuffie protested, glaring at Cloud.

"Don't look at me, I know I was born in Midgar but I was raised in Nibelheim." Cloud told her.

"Ugh… and what is that smell?" Yuffie asked, covering her nose. Cloud sniffed the air. "Oh forget that." He muttered.

"It's just his boots." Vincent pointed out before he stopped in his tracks and looked up at the Healin Lodge situated on top of a hill. "Looks like they're experiencing power failure too." he stated flatly.

"That's it. I can't go on walking like a blind man. I'll just stay down here and wait for the two of you to come back with Tifa and the kids." Cloud told them as he stood still.

"Fine." Vincent declared before proceeding. Yuffie snorted at Cloud, "And clean your boots while you're bumming around here." She said before running after Vincent.

Cloud just rolled his eyes. "I can't believe a brat like her could ever become a mother in the future…" he muttered.

X-x-X-x-X

"Why aren't the generators activated?" Reno asked Rude.

"Tried. Won't work. It's like the entire power supply has been sabotaged by some… unknown." Rude explained, not really sure what happened.

Reno shrugged. "Oh well…" he turned to Rufus who was still seated on his wheelchair and examining the pendant by candlelight. "You okay, Prez?" he asked.

"Just leave me alone." Rufus instructed.

"Alright. But we'll be back for your 10 o' clock medication." Reno pointed out before proceeding to the door with Rude.

Rufus clutched the pendant tightly in his palm and stared blankly at the flickering flame of the candle. "Reno," he called.

"Yes, sir?" Reno stopped on his tracks and turned to face him again.

"Have some food delivered inside the room where those kids are." Rufus instructed.

...

note: talk about cliff-hangers. Wait for the next chapter. I'm trying to get inspiration for "humour".