The chilly darkness around Senna felt familiar, but for some reason, her mind did not want to settle into a coherent pattern. She was on her feet and stumbling around—not that she seemed to be getting anywhere. Although it was difficult to tell in the absolute lack of light. She had the vague thought that the situation should have frightened her more, but that too slipped away before she could fully grasp it.
She had no idea how long she had been in the darkness, but it was long enough that she felt numb. With both her mind and body not functioning like they should have, it came as no surprise that she fell into the grass at her feet when light finally sprang up around her.
It took a few moments after that, but her reasoning was finally starting to return. She gingerly pushed herself to her feet as she tried to process where she was. Although that didn't take too long. The feel of her strange dreams was as familiar to her as her waking hours after having had them for so many consecutive days. Even though that made sense, something else tickled her thoughts with the fear that more was going on.
She looked around slowly but froze when she saw the people standing nearby. It wasn't Rufus Shinra like she had expected. No, it was her parents, her brother, Natasha, even the guy she had just met—Sam, along with more than a couple dozen others. They were all standing around a hole in the ground that made Senna feel nauseous. There was no mistaking the grave for anything else, though it made no sense.
Some part of her mind was rebelling, but she slowly made her way forward. She caught part of the whispered conversation between Natasha and Sam. The petite woman had a hand on his arm, and her voice was full of concern as she said, "Sam, it wasn't your fault. We all know that, and no one blames you. Sometimes accidents happen that we can't do anything about. All I can do is hope—" Natasha cut off with a sob that made Sam's face twist in guilt and anguish. He pulled the petite woman into an embrace that did nothing to abate her tears.
Senna's heart was picking up the pace as she backed away from the two of them. Neither of them had said a name, and she realized she didn't want to hear who they were talking about. Although, her movement had taken her nearer to where her family was standing.
Her older brother had an arm around their mother's shoulder while she hid behind a handkerchief to conceal the tears that didn't seem to want to stop. It was easy to see that he was trying to be stoic while he comforted their mother, but the tears that silently fell were a tell that he couldn't seem to hide. Her father was standing a short distance from them. He wasn't crying, but there was a blankness in his gaze that spoke more of his pain than tears ever would.
Senna couldn't stand the sight of it. She had always been a daddy's girl, and seeing him there like that broke her heart. She reached out a shaky hand and tried to place it on his arm as she said, "Dad, what's wrong? What is all this abo—"
Before she could even finish her question, her hand passed straight through him. Her whole body was trembling as she cut off and jerked back. The fear and nausea were nearly overwhelming as she spun to face her brother and mother. The panic was clear in her voice as she said, "What is going on? Why are you all crying?'
Some part of Senna's brain did not expect an answer. That didn't mean the lack of one did not make her panic. She tried to reach for her brother to shake him into acknowledging her, but like with her father, her hands went right through him. By that point, she could feel panic setting in. She backed away from them slowly as she shook her head and ignored the rest of the people standing nearby.
In her attempt to distance herself from the idea of her family not being able to see her and what it might have meant, she nearly fell backward over the headstone. She managed to grab it and keep herself from falling, but her eyes slammed shut in the process. There was a name already carved into the stone, and she didn't want to confirm what she already knew she would find.
She sat there frozen like that for several minutes as the drone of the priest's voice went on somewhere behind her, mixing in with the soft but ragged sound of crying that filled the air. Senna had never been particularly religious, even if she had been brought up Catholic, but that didn't keep her from praying as she fought back tears of her own.
As lifelike as her dreams had been of late, this was the first one that she was terrified was actual reality, and the thought made her feel like she was going to break in two. She was so busy trying to force herself to wake up that she didn't notice the sound around her had dropped to a muted whisper. She only became aware of it when she felt a warm and gentle hand on her arm, and a soft feminine voice called her name.
Her eyes shot open to see an unfamiliar woman kneeling next to her. She shook her head and blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things before she said, "You can see me?"
The woman gave her a sad smile as she stood and held out a hand to help Senna to her feet. It wasn't until they were both standing that the woman said, "I can see all my children, yet you are fading from my sight."
Those words sent a jolt through Senna, and she immediately had an idea of who this woman was. Though that was just one more thing she didn't want to put a voice to. Still, she would get no answers by ignoring the situation, so she swallowed and asked, "What is going on? Did I—did I really, you know—" She couldn't bring herself to say the word, but the answer was visible in the woman's eyes nonetheless.
For a moment, Senna thought she might start hyperventilating. How was she supposed to come to terms with facing her own death? It was far too surreal, and that was saying something for someone who had spent the last week seeing a fictional character in lifelike dreams.
Before she could fall to her knees again, the woman gathered her in a soft embrace. Although Senna had never laid eyes on her before, she instantly found warmth and comfort that she had not been expecting. It was enough to prompt her tears to finally begin. Senna hated crying in front of others, but this time, she just didn't care.
The woman allowed it to go on for several moments before she finally said, "I wish I had better comfort for you, my child. All I can offer is the knowledge that this was not meant to be. I had other plans for you."
Senna could appreciate what the woman, or maybe angel, or perhaps goddess, was trying to say, but it was far from comforting. Instead of letting it go, she pulled back with a frown and tried not to glare as she said, "Not meant to be? How is that supposed to make me feel better? I never had a chance to fulfill any of my dreams, and now it's all over, and I'm supposed to be comforted by the fact that it wasn't part of your plan?"
Instead of getting angry, the woman gently took her hand. Though she didn't speak right away. It made Senna even more uncomfortable than before that the woman seemed to be deliberating on what to say. She had to repress a shiver when the female sighed softly and nodded to herself before she said, "I do not believe you would understand how this happened, but I can try to explain."
Senna had to turn away from snapping, as she knew her anger was not at the other woman but at the situation. It didn't help that she felt more than a little offended at that assessment. However, when her eyes landed on her still mourning family and friends, she turned right back around. That was too much to deal with while trying to figure out what the divine being meant.
When Senna was facing the woman again, the goddess, or whatever she was, smiled at her as she said, "Your life is not over; it is simply not the life I had hoped for you."
By that point, Senna was sure her brain was about to break, so she took a deep breath and remembered her mentor's training—you can't think clearly if you are getting emotional. Above all, a good lawyer needed to remain objective. She then asked, "If my life isn't over, then explain what that is?" She gestured over her shoulder to the proceedings that hadn't stopped.
The divine being did not seem the least bit perturbed by Senna's tone or the blunt question. "Your life as my child has finished, but you have one of the rare souls that are connected to another outside my influence."
Senna blinked a few times and felt incredibly stupid as she could only stare as she said, "What?"
The woman held out a hand and said, "Come. Your time here grows short. This image was the last of my influence on your soul, and I wished for you to be able to eventually have closure."
Instead of taking the outstretched hand, Senna took a step back and then turned to face her family. She refused to believe that was the last time she would ever see them. However, she barely had time to note that her father had finally given in and embraced both her mother and brother at the same time. It broke her heart to see her family huddled there without her and knowing she would never be part of that again, but the image had already started to fade into familiar icy blackness.
Senna turned to see the ethereal woman was glowing and wasn't sure if she was overcome with rage or despair. Either way, it was too much for her to express, so she remained silent while the woman said, "This place is a pathway between worlds. Your spirit has already traversed it many times. The last few days were not the only ones you spent away, but they were the first since you were a child."
Those words immediately had Senna trying to remember if they were true or not. She was surprised that maybe the woman was right. The memories were faded and spotty, but she vaguely recalled having an imaginary friend she would talk to while she slept. She even remembered her brother teasing her about it when she was older because apparently she had told them all about the pretty boy that played in her dreams.
Though that wasn't really an answer. "So you're saying Rufus wasn't the first imaginary friend I had? So what? What does that have to do with your cryptic talk about me not being dead? I mean, seriously, I've had about all I can handle right now, and some clarification would be really fucking nice."
Senna hadn't meant to curse, but she really was at the end of her rope. She still had not adequately processed everything, and damn it, she didn't want to just disappear, or whatever it was that happened to people once their lives were over.
She was pulled from the brink of outright panic by the woman's soft voice. "Please, let me explain as best as possible. Your connection to me grows dimmer by the second."
There was no point in Senna arguing, so she kept her mouth shut and only nodded. The woman took that as permission to continue. "In the multitude of universes, sentient beings have many connections. Most are within their own worlds, but sometimes two souls across dimensions will pass the same spot where the barrier is thin and form a bond. Your dreams with Rufus Shinra were the outcome of such a meeting."
Senna had resolved to keep her mouth shut, but she was too stunned and incredulous at that announcement. "Wait, are you trying to tell me that not only is he real in another dimension, but he's somehow bound to my soul? You have got to be kidding. There is no way in hell he is my soulmate. Even if I believed in that kind of bullshit. Which I don't, by the way."
The woman only smiled at her outburst. "The term soulmate has been twisted by humans to mean something different than what this is. To tell you the truth, this type of bond is rarely romantic in nature because there are no chances of the people meeting outside their dreams. They usually never realize it is more than something intangible in their minds."
Senna put one hand over her eyes as if blocking the sight of the woman could make things make sense. Still, that didn't keep the other woman from continuing, "You must listen carefully. I am struggling to hold your spirit even now."
That garnered Senna's attention. As soon as their eyes met, the other woman continued, "The bond is both why you are leaving my influence and why it is not the end for you."
Senna opened her mouth to argue how ridiculous that sounded, but the woman did not give her a chance. "Something other than the goddess of Gaia found your bond and tried to manipulate it. We do not know how it happened, as it has never been possible before. Yet, I do not think it realized that severing the bond so suddenly on one end would make it snap back to the other. It was like a taut rubber band that had been cut. Your spirit is passing from my influence because it is dissolving into Gaia's. You started as a child of Earth, but your last days will be as a child of Gaia."
There had already been too much for Senna to take in, and that news was just the icing on the cake. She was going to Gaia? More importantly, Gaia was real? That left her with so many questions, but when she looked up to ask them, she saw the blackness fading and the goddess fading with it. She didn't even have a chance to call out as she heard the whispered words as the darkness was extinguished. "Be well, my child. I could not protect you, and for that, I will beg your forgiveness. I have pressed for a promise that you will not be left with no alternatives. It does not erase my failure, but I hope it will allow you to live a brighter life where you have gone. It is all I can give you now."
Those whispered words seemed to echo inside her head as she dropped into a different kind of blackness. It wasn't as cold, nor was it as impenetrable, but it did not seem any more welcoming.
Senna groaned as she rolled over. The sheets slipped across her skin, and the coolness served to help her focus. They were too soft to be hers. Even so, she had to blink several times before she could force her eyes to focus. Her head still had a dull ache that reminded her of her post-drome days. Her mouth also felt like it was full of cotton, but by then, she could see enough to know she was somewhere she didn't recognize.
A dizzy spell nearly laid her out when she sat up, but she held herself on one shaky arm until it passed. She took more time to stand just to make sure she wouldn't fall. Once she was on her feet, she looked around with a critical eye. The walls and floor were black marble, and the sparse furniture was in various shades of grey and white. A soft, thick, white rug covered most of the floor. It was very modern chic, and fashionable, but still not familiar.
The conversation with the goddess was still rattling around in her brain, and she was sure now that the woman had been some sort of incarnation of Mother Earth. Not that any of it made much more sense than it had before. Plus, she couldn't quite face the fact that she was—well, not in Kansas anymore, to paraphrase one of the first isekai characters. It was better than focusing on the hows and whys of that fact.
A few minutes passed while she stood there trying to make sense of her surroundings. After that, she was fairly positive she could walk without falling, so she made her way over to the door. The soft rug under her feet was a pleasant counterpoint to her growing unease.
There was no way to know what would be on the other side of the door, but she couldn't put off finding out forever. Even so, what she saw was not at all what she expected. As soon as she stepped into the other room, a very recognizable face greeted her with a smirk. The drawl he used was so familiar it gave her chills as he said, "Well, lookie here. The bossman said it was a girl I was guardin', but nobody mentioned that you'd be leggy and hot. I guess I'll have ta reconsider my opinion of the littlest Shinra. Seems he has better taste than I gave him credit for."
Senna was sure that if it had been possible, she would have just broken her eyes; she rolled them so hard. Her voice was scratchy and tired, yet there was no mistaking the irritation when she said, "I have zero patience for your bullshit right now, Reno. Instead, why don't you be a good boy and tell me what the hell is going on?"
Had Senna not just witnessed her own funeral, she might not have been so snappy, but she still wasn't entirely convinced the whole thing wasn't a dream. Maybe she was in a coma somewhere. That would be easier to believe than having her life snapped into another world that was supposed to be entirely fiction.
Unfortunately, Reno did not look at all upset by her outburst. Instead, he gave her an evaluating look as he said, "So ya know me?"
Senna wanted to sigh at the suddenly suspicious look in Reno's eyes. Maybe she should have handled things a little differently on the off chance that she wasn't in a coma on Earth. She couldn't bring herself to smile, but she did force the snark out of her tone as she said, "Yeah. I've heard a lot about you. Obnoxious, lazy, awful at paperwork, and still a damn good Turk."
She had made sure to carefully word her response, and it seemed to do the trick. Reno still had an evaluating look to his eyes, but his smirk was firmly back as he said, "Damn, now I almost feel bad about starin'." He then sighed gustily, like he was making the most difficult choice of his life before he pointed back to the room she just exited. "We left ya some clothes. Ya might wanna get changed. The little prince will be back soon, and I don't imagine ya wanna be seen in that by the whole crew."
It was only then that Senna looked down to see she was in a nightgown that was beautiful but barely there. She somehow managed to keep an embarrassed flush from forming, but she didn't say another word before she turned on her heel and went back into the bedroom she had just exited. No wonder Reno had been like that. She was going to kill Rufus, as she had no doubt it was somehow his doing.
A/N: And now Senna is officially a resident of Gaia. What do you all think of what the goddess told her? What are your thoughts on what her last statement might have meant for what is to come? I'm so looking forward to the fun times to come lol. I'm honestly not sure which of our main characters I feel the most for. It's not going to be easy for either of them, that's for sure. For now, thanks for reading and cheers!