(Greetings! Topaz, checking in. Extreme Cloud-Aerith fans be warned: this chapter includes some Cloud-OC romance...please don't hurt me...(cowers behind a rock) But anyways...enjoy!)
Topaz was dragged back to the lobby by her enthusiastic older cousin. Once there, they saw that a secret door had been lifted in the lobby's tiled floor. Most of the people who had watched the fight were filing down through the small opening. Nika pointed excitedly and chirped, "Look! I told you. This is gonna be a total blast!"
Cheerfully, Nika pulled her cousin through the throng and down a small, crowded stairway. Every few feet, fat candles set into the walls lit the way. The white noise of chattering people seemed to quiet down a little bit in that mysterious passage. This is getting more amazing by the minute! Where the heck are we going, anyway?
Finally, the stairs ended, turning into a towering half-oval doorway. As Topaz and Nika shuffled through, a breathtaking sight crashed onto them like a wave. They were standing on what looked like a wide, circular deck dotted with people. Positioned at intervals around the deck were sleek tables laden with refreshments and some of the same long couches that decorated the lobby. Tiny round spots of cold-hued glass on the walls and ceiling glowed blue, green and purple, making the room's atmosphere sort of chic and mystical.
Topaz broke away from Nika and ran up to the iron railing that rimmed the innermost part of the deck. She looked down and saw a huge, round area filled with people. The area was easily as big as the stadium. In the very center of it stood a round stage, pale and empty. In its entirety, the place was truly astounding.
Nika came up beside Topaz and leaned on the railing. "Not a bad place they have, huh?" "Not bad?" breathed Topaz. "Are you crazy? This is amazing!" Nika laughed. "Like, obviously, I need to take you to more parties." Neither one talked for a fewmoments. At last, Topaz asked, "Nika...do you ever...miss anyone from home?" Nika blinked. "Where did that question come from? That was, like, totally out of the blue."
"I...don't know. It's just...I miss Mom and Dad and Kabira sometimes. The last couple days, I've been so busy and excited for tonight, I haven't really thought about them. But now..." Topaz smiled sadly. "Now, it seems like my emotions are making up for lost time."
Nika smiled in a real, kindly way, which she was unaccustomed to. "Oh. Well, Topaz...I miss them all too. All my family and friends...I like to think that they're out there somewhere, missing me like I'm missing them. I'm, like, totally lonely. Which is why I bought Dee. But...about Dee...you were right about the whole evil thing. So I got rid of her." Smiling at the shocked expression on her cousin's face, Nika added, "Yeah, I know. I decided to listen to you for once.
"But now you gotta listen to me. I figured out that, even though it's important to love and miss someone, you shouldn't, like, fall into depression and all that stuff. Which you haven't been, by the way. Still, I just wanna let you know that you need to live in the present. It's important to miss someone...but even so, missing them won't bring them back. You gotta just keep living your life. It's definitely what your loved ones would want you to do."
Nika straightened up and grinned. "So, now that I'm done being, like, all philosophical, I'm totally ready to go find my sweet Sephiroth! See ya, Topaz." Without another word, Nika turned around abruptly and walked away. Topaz shook her head. I swear, she's so...bipolar...sometimes. But...at least she makes sense.
Topaz helped herself to a big slice of honey cake with sweet butter cream icing and sat on one of the couches. The whole time she was eating, she thought of what Nika had said. For once, there was a lot of truth in her words.
After she finished her cake, Topaz wandered down to the huge lower level of the area. Something sharp in the back of her mind told her to be on the lookout for Cloud. Topaz dismissed the thought almost immediately. He was hurt pretty badly. There's no way he could possibly be healed in time to attend this party. For some reason, Topaz's own words made her a little bit sad. She told herself that it was fact, but didn't bother to extinguish the little flame of hope dancing in her heart.
Topaz picked her way through the crowds to an unoccupied couch. Before very long, the Colosseum announcer himself clambered up onto the circular stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted predictably, "I welcome you all to tonight's post-fight bash!" Everybody cheered. Man, can this guy work a crowd, or what? "First of all, kudos to both fighters in tonight's battle. Boys, I know you're out there somewhere. Don't be shy! Come up on stage!" Thunderous applause erupted up around the whole room, but eventually died off when neither Cloud nor Sephiroth appeared on stage. The announcer shrugged, making everyone laugh. "Huh. Thought I'd give it a try, anyway.
"Next order of business!" he continued. "Allow me to introduce tonight's first special performer, miss Alice Blanque!" More applause and cheering ushered an angelic-looking girl up onto the stage. The girl was tall and slim with huge, dark eyes and wavy flaxen hair. She picked up the hem of her simple white dress and curtsied, bringing on more applause. Topaz watched with some interest. Hmm. I wonder what this Alice girl can do. She's probably even younger than me.
Silence settled easily, like a linen sheet, on the people in the room. The girl on the stage composed herself delicately and began to sing. The song that flowed from her lips had no words, nor any musical accompaniment; it was merely the lilting of her voice. The melody flowed sweet as nectar through the immense underground room.
Topaz listened intently from her spot on the couch. She was so entranced by the singing that she did not notice when someone sat down beside her. She didn't hear the gentle breathing or smell the scent of snow that was characteristic of only one person in Topaz's life.
Alice Blanque ended her song. A few musicians clambered up on stage. As soon as the performers were ready, Alice began to sing a syrupy pop song that Topaz knew pretty well. Topaz was amazed at how well the ethereal singer could carry such a modern tune.
I am still unbroken as of now/And yet I see my destiny/My fate is to have you/Break me/This I see plain as the moon/Hanging in the sky/And you and I/We're still together/Although I know/Someday I will be broken/By you/But here tonight/It feels so good/So right/Don't hurt me yet/Please let me be/I'm still unbroken...
Some of the couples in the area got up and started slow dancing. Topaz spotted Nika drag a hesitant Sephiroth up near the stage to dance. The way the tall, silver-haired young warrior held Topaz's mindless cousin so close...so lovingly...it got Topaz daydreaming about her own warrior. Where is he, anyway?
"She's not a bad singer." Topaz's heart practically jumped into her throat. She didn't even have to turn around to know who was sitting there with her. She tried to act cool and natural, but she didn't know if she could. "Yeah," was all she could manage. Her insides felt like a hundred butterflies fueled by sugar. She turned slowly around to meet the icy eyes of her ultimate dream, her ultimate prize: Cloud Strife. He was in a new suit of half-armor, this time without his signature cape. He was bandaged in several places. Cloud smiled. "It's good to see you here, Topaz."
Topaz forced a tiny smile back. She tried to crush the hyperactive butterflies inside of her before saying, "It's great to see you too." She eyed Cloud's patched wounds. "Are you okay? That fight...looked like it hurt. A lot." Cloud blinked. "I have to be okay. I can't miss my own fight's after-party, can I? Philocetes says it would be bad for business."
Quiet descended uncomfortably on them both. At last, Cloud said, "So, Topaz...tell me about yourself. What do you do? Are you a warrior?" Topaz shook her head. "Hell, no. I'm no warrior. I'm about as useful in battle as a blind slug." Cloud laughed a little, somewhere deep down in his throat. Topaz continued, "I guess I'm a writer. A storyteller, really. I take the things I experience and write them down. I take a little creative license, of course, but for the most part, I'm a recorder of the world as we know it."
Cloud nodded. "Interesting. So you must do a lot of things and go to a lot of different places, huh?"
"You could say that."
"In my opinion, you should give fighting a shot. It's pretty interesting, and after all, the more things you do, the more you can record." He looked at her in an odd way, like he was sizing her up. "You could probably be a decent archer. You...have the upper body for it." Topaz, who still wasn't used to having a normal conversation with her fantasy, instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. Cloud blushed bright scarlet. "Uh..." he stammered. "That's...not what I meant." Topaz laughed a little uneasily. "Oh. Um...okay."
As the night wore on, Cloud and Topaz became more and more relaxed in each others' presence. Topaz asked about Cloud's life, and Cloud asked about Topaz's. Topaz told Cloud about jumping from world to world in her trusty spaceship, and regaled tales of the things she had seen. She also told him of how her home world was destroyed, and how her family and friends were all scattered...or dead. "Except Nika," she said. She gestured toward her slightly tipsy cousin, who was still standing near the stage with Sephiroth. Cloud raised one perfect arched eyebrow. "She's your cousin? Who two...certainly...aren't anything alike." Topaz giggled. "You can say that again."
In turn, Cloud told Topaz about his home, which had also been overrun with Heartless. He said it had been a breathtaking world of climbing castle spires and intricate waterways, surrounded by waterfalls that actually flowed upward. He talked about grand mahogany halls and a library that held every wise book ever written. Most fondly, though, he talked about the people that used to live there. He had a few friends: a perky little ninja girl, a quiet warrior boylike himself, and a man in his twenties who built spaceships. "Gummi ships," he called them. The same ships that Sora mentioned. Cloud went on and on, Topaz listening to him, wishing the night would never end.
For unknown reasons, there is something about late nights that inebriates a person, even if they don't touch alcohol. It's like moonlight gives someone privileges to do things they would never dare try in daylight. As time marched well past midnight, Cloud and Topaz seemed to be drawn toward each other, and before long, they were sitting right next to each other. Topaz felt dizzy as she realized Cloud's leg was against her own. I'm touching Cloud Strife! Eek!
That was only the beginning. At one point, Cloud stopped talking and placed a hand on Topaz's smooth upper leg. She thought for sure that it was a dream, a mirage, but she could feel his rough skin and the worn leather of his fingerless gloves pressing onto her. Her insides tightened, almost pleasurably. Her mind, though, exploded into chaos. No, no, no, no, no. I didn't think he would TOUCH me touch me! I'm just a kid! I'm not ready for anything serious... In contrast, her face remained perfectly calm, as if gorgeous warriors did this to her all the time.
It was an odd sensation which can only be described as love.
Cloud's one hand stayed on her thigh, and his other hand gently cupped one side of her face, bringing her to face him. The next thing Topaz knew, she was being kissed by Cloud Strife!
She was a searing bonfire of emotion at first. I'mbeingkissedbyCloudStrifeI'vedreamedaboutthisforeverandnowwhatamIgonnadoamIgonnamessupwhat'sgonnahappen? The butterflies from earlier that night had infiltrated her whole body, threatening to make her explode. A couple of seconds passed. Then, for the first time, she really felt her lips in his and kissed him back. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. It was...beautiful, to say the least. She could only feel him against her, and it was like paradise in its purest form. That's all there was to it.
The kiss ended far too soon for Topaz. Cloud still held her close, though, looking at her in a way that Topaz had never seen him look at anyone. He touched her face, his other hand still on her leg. "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen," he said tenderly. "Thighs?" teased Topaz. Cloud laughed smoothly, and it sounded like life unfurling from winter snow. "Those too."