The shopkeeper looked up as the door was flung open. A young man rushed in, desperation written on his face. She took a closer look as he approached the counter, and her tone was one of surprise as she spoke.

"Tyren?! Is that you? I never expected to see you back again, not after everything that was said and done."

The man looked up, obviously confused.

"Do I know you?"

He examined her more closely, and his eyes, once a deep brown but now astonishingly emerald, widened.

"Sandi, right? We were friends once, weren't we? I need your help now. What happened to my parents? Where are they? Or, at least, why aren't they here?"

She gave him a strange look, wondering why he seemed so disorientated and confused.

"What's wrong with you? This is some kind of weird joke, right?"

"What do you mean, a joke?! This is serious! I need to know about my family! Please, you gotta help me!"

Looking into the two pools of green, she saw that he wasn't kidding around. He honestly had no idea.

Softly, she said, "Tyren, I don't know how to tell you this. The Shinra arrested your parents and escorted them to Midgar when we were fifteen. You left to find them, remember? You swore you'd never return unless it was with them."

He was held back, arms and legs waving wildly while his vision filled with tears, as the Shinra soldiers led his parents away. They claimed it was because they were at the head of a conspiracy to destabilise Shinra, but he knew better. That stupid Mako plant. They just HAD to be the ones rallying everyone else against it. He'd told them repeatedly to tone it down and just leave the issue alone, but they'd ignored him. Protecting his future. Hah. That'd got them far. His anger welled up inside him as he clenched his fists and dreamed of revenge.

That night, he packed his stuff and walked down the street to where Sandi was waiting.

"I'm going alone. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it. I swear to you, I won't come back until I find them and wreak my vengeance on those Shinra bastards."

Before she could do or say anything, he slipped into the inky darkness, following the trail of the soldiers.

Tyren's eyes went blank, she noticed, after which he seemed to crumple before her. She was shocked at how hard it had hit him. It was worse than the event itself. He stumbled out of the shop, and she followed, a frown creasing her face. Finally coming to a halt at his house, he sat down in a foetal position on the front step, head resting between his arms, as his body shook uncontrollably. She didn't know what to do, so she simply sat down beside him and waited for him to calm down. After a few minutes he raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, and said in a steady, determined voice, "I'm going back to Midgar tomorrow, and I'm going to find them this time."

His voice wavered and his tone changed, as uncertainty and self-loathing made their entrance.

"I won't disappoint them this time 'round, Sandy. I can't. This is much too important for that. I haven't done anything right in so long because I'm a failure, but this'll be the first."

With that he strode down the street and into the inn, shoulders hunched. Why does he insist on torturing himself? Why can't he accept himself for who he is?, she wondered.

His words echoed in her head as she made her way back to the shop.

"Because I'm a failure."