ATE: Sorry I took so long to finish this chapter! Not only was it difficult for me to figure out how I wanted this to go, but it was just as hard to get myself to type it up. I also decided to change the image I'm using for the story as well. Anyways, thanks go out to Lyumia, the kid, Guest, and animefairy299 for their reviews on the last chapter. Even if I have a hard time typing up chapters, your reviews help me find some motivation. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Final Fantasy VII. I only own my OC.
~*~Chapter 2~*~
Amalthea found herself waking up all of a sudden, much to her confusion as she sat up in bed fully alert. She didn't understand why she was in such a state, and it was as if something had roused her from her sleep. Even now her eyes were searching her room, but found nothing to warrant her reaction.
Getting out of bed she went over to the door, and as she got closer she noticed a distinct lack of noise from the other side; there was always some form of sound outside her door, from the footsteps of someone walking through the hall either doing patrol or heading to their destination to the sound of people talking. The fact she didn't hear anything concerned her.
Something wasn't right.
When she opened the door, her suspicions were confirmed.
Not only was there a lack of sound, but a lack of people as well.
Something wasn't right.
She shivered, rubbing her exposed arms as the cold air caused bumps to form on her skin. The hallways weren't usually this cold, making it apparent that something must've happened.
But what?
Amalthea headed back into her room, going into her closet to pull out a white bedsheet which she wrapped around her shoulders. It didn't do much to keep her warm, but it was better than nothing. She was about to leave when her eyes caught sight of the clipboard hanging on the wall by the door, and taking it off she looked over the information on the first page.
Amalthea Harper
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Height: 5'5
Birthdate: April 15, 1982
Birthplace: Midgar, Sector 8 Slums
Blood Type: A
She stopped reading, knowing there wasn't any benefit in continuing further; she knew that the information on the first page had been updated since her last birthday. Maybe she would take the clipboard with her, if not for some form of self-defense. Cautiously, she went out into the hallway, clutching the clipboard in her left hand while her right hand held the bedsheet close around her, following it to the door that led out of the medical wing.
What she didn't expect was to find the sliding door dented with only a small gap underneath it.
Upon further examination, Amalthea noticed that the gap appeared to be big enough for her to crawl underneath. With that thought in mind she lowered herself to the floor and was somewhat excited to know that she was able to get through. But that small amount of excitement was short-lived when she spotted the trail of blood before her, seeming to head in the direction to her right and through the nearby door in that same direction, the trail having originated from the curved hallway to her left that led to Hojo's lab. The sight of the blood unnerved her a bit, as well as the dismembered body of a scientist slumped against the wall opposite her with-!
She had to look away momentarily, the details too gruesome for her to describe, and soon questions appeared in her head.
Where had the blood come from?
Who did this?
Was this the reason why no one was around?
Amalthea shook her head to clear her thoughts. Whatever did this was likely still in the building, and judging by how the trail of blood led to the door on her right, it probably was best that she headed away from whatever did this. She got to her feet before heading in the direction of Hojo's lab, remembering that there was an elevator in that very room that led to the floor below.
She couldn't help but be reminded of what he said to her not that long ago, how he wanted her to escape from the Shinra Building and Midgar (possibly by any means, she assumed). Despite only being an imaginary friend, she knew he had been concerned about her safety, and she wished she hadn't said what she did to him. If she hadn't, maybe he'd be here to help her get out of this place.
'At least I'm getting out of here.' She thought.
Amalthea passed through a doorway, almost stopping when she saw claw marks on the wall in front of her; only more proof that she had to get out of this place if whatever made those marks was still here. She veered left in the direction of the door leading to the lab, clutching the clipboard tightly. She was about to pass through the doorway and enter the lab when she spotted something red inside off to the right, only to recognize it as the red creature she'd seen earlier as she saw him sitting before the dead body of one of the scientists. Quickly, she darted back through the doorway to hide from the creature's sight, and she assumed that the creature might've had something to do with the dead scientist.
'No.' She thought, glancing at the nearby claw marks on the wall to her right. 'He doesn't seem like the one to make those. But what if…'
Her thoughts came to a halt when the faint sound of sniffing reached her ears, causing her to freeze in place. Her grip tightened on the clipboard in her hand. Was the red creature sniffing? She had to get away, especially if it picked up her scent! Maybe she should go back to her room and hope that neither the red creature or whatever had been responsible for the missing people would get her.
"Come out. There's no use hiding at this point."
What?
Where had that voice come from?
There was no one in the next room except the red creature.
Unless…
'It couldn't be…'
Steeling her resolve Amalthea cautiously stepped out from her hiding place, making sure to keep her eyes on the red creature as she did so. She noticed how his good eye widened slightly upon seeing her, and it was safe to assume that he recognized her.
"It's you."
She was surprised, not at all having expected to hear the red creature talk. The only way she could describe it was being deep and soft, all the while having a certain calm undertone to it. The voice itself wasn't something she'd associate with the creature before her, yet at the same time it seemed only fitting.
It was strange how she felt at ease, but no sooner had that thought crossed her mind did she put her guard up (despite the red creature showing no sign of hostility towards her), remembering what had happened.
"Did you do this?" She asked.
"No. The carnage you have seen so far was not my doing, but that of someone else." The red creature replied, confirming her suspicions. "I had gone ahead of the others in order to see where the trail ends."
"Others?"
As if in answer to her question the nearby elevator (which led to the floor below the current one she was on) opened before four people stepped out and started approaching.
The first person (who appeared to be leading the others) was a young male, looking to be around 21 years old and stood at 5'7 in height. The outfit he wore was mainly black, consisting of a sleeveless turtleneck and pants that puffed out slightly, all while being held in place by the brown belt around his waist; from the belt were what looked like suspenders with the one of his left shoulder giving support to the pauldron. He wore brown boots and gauntlets on his hands, completing the overall outfit. His blonde hair was spiky, but what she found interesting were his eyes; at first they appeared to be blue, but there was a strange glow to them that almost mesmerized her. On his back was a large broadsword, and she couldn't help but wonder how a man such as himself was capable of wielding it, assuming that it weighed more than the wielder or the larger man standing near him.
Speaking about the other man, he appeared to be 35 years old, being muscular as well as an intimidating 6'4 and dark-skinned. His outfit consisted of a black tank top worn underneath a brown vest (the sleeves looking as if they had been torn off, showing a clear view of the tattoo on his left arm) while the lower half of his torso had a strange looking harness or brace (she assumed) wrapped around as if to give him support. Around his waist was a belt that kept the dark green pants in place with a pack hanging from his left, while strapped around each thigh were more packs for whatever possessions he carried on his person, and large brown boots were on his feet. His black hair was cut in such a way that the top had more volume while the sides around his head were shaved, and on his right cheek were three scars; he had the early stages of a beard growing around his face. There was a gauntlet on his left hand, but as for his right hand there was none, for in its place was what looked to be a machine gun, and she presumed that he must've lost his original hand in some sort of accident (whatever said accident was, it wasn't her place to know).
With the two men out of the way, that let the two women that were with them.
The first woman appeared to be 20 years of age with a height of 5'4. Her outfit was an interesting one, consisting of a sleeveless white shirt (her breast size being…exceptionally…above average) exposing her midriff and a black miniskirt that was kept in place by suspenders, all the while showing off her legs; on her hands were red and black gloves that went up to her elbows (on her left elbow was a metal guard of sorts), as well as boots. Her long dark brown hair (that almost appeared black) fell below her waist and was tied near the end to have a sort of tail, and her eyes were a reddish brown.
The last woman looked about 22 years and 5'3 in height, and it was her appearance that contrasted with the first woman. She wore a shin-length pink dress that buttoned up, and over that she wore a red short sleeved jacket; there were metal bracers on her wrists and brown boots covering her feet. Her brown hair was long (with large bangs framing her face), pulled back into a rope braid with a large pink ribbon tied at the base of the braid itself. Her eyes were an emerald green, giving off kindness or at least a sense of it.
It had only taken her a few moments to take in the four people, and it was in that same amount time that the blonde haired man spotted her, his eyes narrowing and his stance becoming tense as his eyes regarded her. The others stopped as well, seeming to feel the same way, but not to the same extent as the sword wielder.
"Who are you?" He asked, getting straight to the point.
Suspicion.
She wasn't the least bit surprised that the sword wielder was suspicious of her. She was in the same position as well given the circumstances. She glanced down at the clipboard she still help before returning her gaze to the blonde man.
With her mind made up, Amalthea took a few steps forward before holding the clipboard out to him. At first his right hand twitched upon seeing her move, but then relaxed somewhat (if that's what it could be called) when he realized she wasn't going to do anything.
"This is everything you need to know about me." She told him.
"Why can't you just tell us yourself?" He asked.
"It'd be faster if you just looked over the information yourself as opposed to my own words."
He considered her words a moment before taking the clipboard from her, watching as the swordsman's blue eyes moved as they read the first page.
Hmm... Maybe that's what she could call him since she didn't know who he was.
Seeing as she didn't know any of their names, she might as well give them nicknames for the time being until she found out what they really were.
As Swordsman was reading the information, both the dark haired woman (she'd call her Legs for now) and the woman wearing pink (Miss Pink) went over to look over his shoulders to look at what was written, while the taller man (Gun Arm) merely glimpsed at it. Amalthea watched as both Legs and Miss Pink's eyes widened in surprised at whatever they read before they turned to her.
"You were experimented on?" Legs asked.
"Unless you consider having trial medicine tested on a person as such, then no." Amalthea answered.
"These papers seemed to indicate otherwise, at least after the first few initial pages that serve as hospital records." Swordsman stated. "Pretty clever of them to do that, actually."
"What do you mean? Does it say what kind of experiments?"
"Nothing specific, other than mostly saying 'no reaction' with only a few 'positive reactions' to whatever they did to you."
Though she didn't show it, Amalthea was troubled by this. Had the doctors and scientists known that she wouldn't have looked past the first few pages on the clipboard? Had they really done more to her than just cured her disease?
She didn't like this.
Maybe her friend was right when he wanted her to leave while she still could.
'I'm sorry I doubted you.' She thought sadly.
"Are you trying to leave?" She asked, getting the attention of the group.
"Naturally." Swordsman replied.
She took a deep breath before saying her next words.
"Take me with you."
"Now why would we do that?" Gun Arm asked.
"Because I have no other means to do so. For one, I'm not familiar with the Shinra Building aside from this floor. If you read the information on that clipboard, you'll know that I've been living here for 20 years. I don't want to be here any longer."
"No one does." The red creature said, speaking for the first time since the others arrived.
"Cloud, we can't leave her here." Miss Pink said, turning towards Swordsman (whose name was apparently Cloud). "It wouldn't be right to do so."
"But we have no way of knowin' if she's with Shinra." Gun Arm stated.
"I can vouch for her." The red creature said. "From what I've observed earlier today, she has done nothing that would make me believe she is of ill intent."
"Are you sure, Red XIII?" Cloud asked?
"If you're doubtful of my words, then I will personally take responsibility for her myself, if only to set your minds at ease." Red XIII (how fitting?) looked towards the trail of blood. "As for our directive… It looks like it leads up…"
Amalthea was a little surprised that the group Cloud led was following the blood trail, doing her best to suppress a shudder at the thought. Did they know what caused this?
"Stick close to me." Red XIII told her.
Heeding the red creature's words she made sure to stay close to him as she followed the others back the way she came from. She wasn't the least bit surprised by the curious glances the group made towards the damaged door that led to the Medical Wing.
"That's the Medical Wing, where I was kept." She told them, answering their unspoken question. She also used it as an excuse to distract herself from the dead body nearby.
"Looks like high security." Cloud commented after examining it.
"That's because it was."
Cloud turned to her, his eyes regarding her for a moment before turning his attention back to the blood trail they were following.
"Let's keep going."
As Cloud led their group, Amalthea couldn't help but noticed how the swordsman's gait looked familiar, as well as his outfit. Though it was only 5 years ago, she remembered having once seen a man having been dressed in a similar outfit, though there had been a slight difference between the two.
Where Cloud had only one pauldron on his left shoulder, the other man had two, and he had worn black leather gloves as opposed to gauntlets. Another significant difference was their hair; while Cloud was blonde, the other had black hair, as well as seeming more cheerful than the stoic swordsman.
But that was as far as the difference between the two went.
Amalthea had been distracted by her own thoughts that she hadn't realized where the group had been going until she found herself standing with them in what she recalled as being the President's Office, with President Shinra slumped over his desk with what appeared to be a long katana having been stabbed in his back.
A sight she found quite morbid.
"He's dead... The leader of Shinra is dead." Gun Arm noted, seeming surprised by this.
She watched as Legs ran around the desk in order to reach the dead man in order to get a closer look at the blade.
"Then this sword must be..." Legs trailed off.
"Sephiroth's!" Cloud finished for her, his tone sounding indignant.
"...Sephiroth is alive?"
Cloud nodded.
"...Looks like it. Only Sephiroth can use that sword."
Amalthea was confused by this.
Who was this Sephiroth they were talking about?
He must've done something bad if both Cloud and Legs current behavior was any indication.
"Who cares who did it!?" Gun Arm enthusiastically exclaimed. "This is the end of Shinra now!"
"Uh!"
Everyone's attention was drawn to the direction the voice came from to see a short overweight man (with thinning gray hair and wearing a tan suit) having jumped out from behind the desk and tried to make a break for it, only for Cloud and Gun Arm catch him before he could get away. The man looked terrified as the two held him by the arms.
"P, p, p, please, don't kill me!" He wailed.
'What a pitiful man.' She thought, frowning.
"What happened?" Cloud demanded, causing the man to turn his attention to the swordsman.
"Se...Sephiroth. Sephiroth came."
"Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth?"
"Yeah, I saw him! With my own eyes!"
"You really saw him?"
"Uh! Would I lie at a time like this!? I heard his voice, too!" the overweight man whined. "Um, he said something about not letting us have the Promised Land."
"Then does that mean the Promised Land really does exist and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?" Legs asked, having come back from the desk to join the others.
"So he's a good guy then?" Gun Arms guessed.
"Save the Promised Land? A good guy? No way!" Cloud replied, shaking his head. "It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"
It was at that time the overweight man managed to get himself free from Cloud and Gun Arm's hold before running away towards a door leading outside, and it wasn't until then that everyone heard a sound approaching. They all turned towards the large windows behind the desk in time to see a helicopter descending to land.
"Rufus! &*%$! I forgot about him!" Gun Arm growled.
"Who's that?" Legs asked.
"Vice President Rufus. The President's son."
"I wonder what kind of person he is..."
"I've heard that no one's ever seen him bleed or cry." Miss Pink commented.
"I heard that he's been assigned somewhere else for a long time..." Gun Arm said.
"I only know his name." Red XIII stated.
Amalthea watched as Cloud ran out the door the overweight man ran through, and upon following the others found that it led to a balcony located at the top of the Shinra Building where the helicopter had landed. By the time they reached the landing pad the group not only found the overweight man, but another man who she assumed was Rufus.
He looked young in appearance (though was probably around if not older than Cloud), having short blonde hair and blue eyes. His outfit was a white business suit with a matching jacket worn over a black turtleneck shirt.
"So... So Sephiroth was actually here. ...By the way," Rufus trailed off before turning to face them, all while the overweight man ran towards the nearby helicopter. "just who are you?"
"I'm Cloud, ex-SOLDIER, First Class!" Cloud answered.
"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Gun Arm replied.
AVALANCHE?
"Me too!" Legs responded.
"A flower girl from the slums." Miss Pink supplied.
"A Research Specimen." Red XIII stated.
Amalthea thought she'd go unnoticed, but then Rufus turned his cold eyes to her.
"And you?" He asked.
She didn't know what she could tell this man about herself, seeing as there wasn't much to say. Growing up she was led to believe she was a patient, but after having found out she'd been an experiment the whole time, she didn't know what to believe.
Who was she, aside from her own name?
"I'm…nobody, really." Were the words she recalled her friend telling her once upon a time.
"I'm nobody."
After all, wasn't that what she was?
Rufus shrugged.
"What a crew." He commented before smoothing his hair nonchalantly. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."
"You only President 'cause yer old man died!" Gun Arm growled.
"Correct. I'll let you hear my inauguration speech." Rufus then started walking over to Legs. "...Father tried to control the world with money, and that worked for him." He then walked over to Miss Pink. "The people believed that Shinra would protect them." He made his way over to Gun Arm. "Work at Shinra, get your pay. If terrorists attack, the Shinra army will help you. It looked perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It's too much to do it like my old man." Rufus went over to the railing. "A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste good money on them."
There was a slight pause as everyone took in this information. Amalthea didn't like the impression she got from Rufus, considering him to be cruel.
"He likes to make speeches just like his father." Legs commented, seeming put off by the new president.
"Get Aerith outta this building!" Cloud ordered, turning to face Gun Arm.
She couldn't help but wonder which of the women was Aerith.
"What?" Gun Arm questioned.
"I'll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"
"The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"I'll explain later! Just take my word for it!" Cloud insisted. "I'll go after I take care of him!"
"Alright, Cloud!" Barret (previously Gun Arm) eventually relented.
With that Amalthea followed after Barret with the others while Cloud stayed behind. They had rushed down the stairs from the President Office and were about to head through a door they had come through earlier when Miss Pink stopped.
"Cloud... I just thought of something." She said, looking concerned.
At this Legs went up to Miss Pink.
"...I'll wait for Cloud!" She reassured Miss Pink. "Everyone, get to the elevator!"
Miss Pink nodded in agreement before rejoining Barret, Red XIII, and herself while Legs stayed behind in the doorway. Amalthea could sense the tension everyone seemed to be experiencing and had a feeling that escaping wasn't going to be easy for them. She followed after Barret and Miss Pink (while keeping close to Red XIII) as they went through a door off to the side before they came across a set of elevators, which they entered.
As the elevator traveled down she couldn't help but stare out through the glass window that contained them inside, gazing down at the countless lights of the large city below. She never thought much of the view due to having seen it every day from the window of her room, but with everything that's happened so far it only began to sink in.
She was going to be free.
Suddenly the glass of the elevator shattered, forcing everyone to cover their faces to protect themselves from getting cut from the shards. Amalthea could feel her hair whipping around her with the platform being exposed to the elements and the chill of the wind. She managed to get a few strands of hair out of her face before looking up, not at all expecting the large almost tank-like machine that was situated on the second elevator platform across from the one their group was standing on.
"Stay behind me!" Red XIII called to her.
Amalthea didn't think twice before getting behind the red creature, ducking as close to the floor as she could while keeping a tight grip on the bedsheet wrapped around her. She had no way of protecting herself in this situation and had no choice but to rely on the three before her.
So far it looked like Barret was the only one able to attack the machine, but then she saw that Miss Pink (who fought with a metal staff) was able cast thunder at their opponent while occasionally healing everyone from the assault. She couldn't help but cover her head whenever bullets were fired at them, squeezing her eyes shut from the loud noise.
Never before had she heard something so loud in her life.
She stayed like this for the entire battle until something nudged her hand, making her look up to find Red XIII gazing at her with his good eye and that the elevator had reached its destination. Quickly she got up before the two followed Barret and Miss Pink to what appeared to be the Shinra Building's main entrance (or in their case the exit).
"I'll go on ahead!" Barret volunteered before going outside, only to rush back inside when he was met with gunfire. "*&^%(*... We're surrounded! If I was alone this wouldn't be a thing, but I gotta reputation to protect."
Miss Pink shook her head, looking remorseful.
"You all get out while you can." She said. "It's not you they're after... it's me."
"Yeah, well that ain't happenin'. You got caught up in this over Marlene. Now, it's my turn to help you!" Barret turned back to the doorway, looking as if his mind was made up. "Ok, playtime's over jackasses..."
Miss Pink approached Barret.
"...Thank you, Mr. Barret!"
"Who you callin' Mr. Barret? That don't sound right!" He complained, having turned to face her.
"Well then... If you are through talking, may I suggest that we think of a way to get out of here." Red XIII stated.
"Huh? Oh, oh yeah... You're cold, man. Just like someone else 'round here I know." He muttered the last bit.
"Did you say something?"
"Notta thing. So what're we gonna do?"
"Barret!"
They all turned to the direction the voice came from and find Legs sprinting down the stairs towards them.
"Tifa! Where's Cloud?" Barret asked.
At this Tifa (formerly Legs) started running over to the other side of the room. So that meant Miss Pink was Aerith
"Everyone! Over here!" She told them.
"Huh? What's up? Where's Cloud?"
"He's coming! Hurry, Hurry!"
Amalthea followed Tifa with everyone else through a doorway into what looked like a showroom, and it was as they were jumping into a pickup truck (the dark haired woman and Aerith climbing inside while Barret got into the bed of said truck) that she saw Cloud riding a motorcycle; she managed to climb into bed of the truck (as Red XIII jumping in) before Tifa started driving, but she was confused when they started driving up the stairs, stopping momentarily.
She jumped slightly when Barret suddenly pulled her close, and it wasn't until the truck sped through a broken window and was propelled through the air that she realized why. She was a little shaken up once the truck roughly landed on a freeway.
She jumped slightly when Barret suddenly pulled her close, and it wasn't until the truck sped through a broken window and was propelled through the air that she realized why. She was a little shaken up once the truck roughly landed on a freeway, but despite that she managed to compose herself enough to grab hold of the side of the truck.
There seemed to be more surprises in store for her as she spotted Cloud driving near the truck, remaining alert (and rightfully so) as their group was being pursued by Shinra soldiers riding motorcycles; wielding his sword in his left hand the swordsman was able to take out the soldiers that got too close to the truck in order to protect them, though occasionally there were a few close calls. Sometimes it got to the point where even Barret and Red XIII had to help out in warding off the soldiers as well in their own way.
Amalthea was doing her best to keep herself in place, but the truck did a sudden sharp turn around a corner that flung her light frame through the air; she would've fallen out of the truck if it hadn't been for Barret catching her when he did, to which she was thankful for.
They eventually managed to lose the Shinra soldiers, although their victory was short-lived when a large machine started chasing after them and cornering them at the end road. Cloud quickly dismounted from the motorcycle he was riding while Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red climbed out of the truck in order to confront their enemy while Amalthea stayed in the bed of the truck.
She was fascinated with how the five participants were capable of working together, never having seen anything like it before (though there was the battle Barret, Aerith, and Red XIII had been involved in while on the elevator, but it was nowhere close to what she was currently witnessing). As she observed she noted how everyone fought, as well as the machine's behavior.
Cloud was tactful when considering where to strike, as if having years of training under his belt. Though considering how he stated he was SOLDIER First Class (she assumed this was something akin to an elite warrior or something for lack of better understanding) this was probably the case.
Barret simply used his gun to fire at the machine regardless of whether or not it was effective. To Amalthea, she could see that he put heart into it as well as personality.
Tifa was skillful as she was beautiful, having a certain grace about her as she kicked, punched, and dodge, her outfit not at all hindering her movements and agility. The dark haired woman showed an amount of discipline that she found curious.
Even during battle Aerith's demeanor remain calm and collected as she kept vigilance over the group as she made sure to heal their injuries. Unlike the others, she would cast spells as opposed to attacking head on with her staff. She could only imagine the amount of concentration she used all while staying at a safe distance.
Red XIII was interesting to observe, seeing as his method of fighting differed from the others. Like Aerith he would occasionally use magic, but most of the time his attacks were animalistic in nature. There was no other way to describe it than that.
There was a part of her that wished to help out, but Amalthea knew she didn't have the means to do so. But just from watching them, she could see that they had a purpose.
What was it like to have purpose?
What was it that they fought so hard for?
She wanted to know what it was like to actually fight for something, to have a reason to keep moving forward.
But how did one find such a purpose?
How does a person know what to fight for?
These were things she didn't know and had no idea as to how to grasp such a concept.
As the battle continued the machine used an attack that involved a flamethrower, and out of a sudden sense of concern Amalthea threw her hands out.
Only for her eyes to widen as thunder shot out of her hands and hit the machine dead one.
Not only did this force the machine to stop using its flamethrower, but allowed the others to recover from the attack. Still surprised by this she wasn't aware of the brief words exchanged between Barret and Red XIII.
Eventually the others were able to take down the machine and with their victory came a few sighs of relief. At the edge of the freeway (which looked as if it had collapsed some time ago with no effort having been made to rebuilt it) Amalthea could see mountains in the distance, something she had never been able to see from her room in the Shinra Building.
"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked.
Cloud walked closer to the edge, as if taking in the sight before him.
"Sephiroth is alive. ...I have to settle the score." Was the blonde swordsman's response.
"Will that save the Planet?" Barret walked over to join him.
"...It seems so."
"Then, I'm going!"
"I'll go, too." Aerith said. "...There are things I need to know."
"About the Ancients?" Cloud guessed.
"...Many things."
"I guess it's goodbye, Midgar." Tifa commented.
Hearing that phrase felt surreal to Amalthea. Goodbye meant leaving.
It also meant that she was leaving Midgar.
She was free.
(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)
Amalthea slipped off of Barret's back once his feet were planted on the rocky ground. The first thing she noticed was that everything was bright and her eyes were having trouble adjusting. She pulled the bedsheet over her head in an attempt to provide some shade but it only help out a bit.
From what she could see, the surrounding area outside of Midgar was nothing but wasteland, stretching as far as the eye could see. Around her she could hear the others talking amongst themselves while she was taking in her surroundings. She noticed how the fresh the air was unlike Midgar, as well as having more color. In fact, she had no idea that the sky looked as blue as it was.
"Let's go!" Cloud suddenly announced, catching Amalthea's attention as she turned to face him.
"We need a leader for our journey. 'Course that could be me." Barret stated enthusiastically as he was air boxing.
"You think so?" Tifa asked, turning to Barret.
"I think it should be Cloud." Aerith said, walking over to Cloud.
Barret froze upon hearing this and turned to Aerith.
"^#$^%...alright." Barret agreed begrudgingly. "Go Northeast to a town called Kalm. If something happens, we'll meet up there." He then sat down. "'Sides, we can't all be strolling around out there. Let's split into two parties..."
Cloud regarded everyone, as if carefully considering who to take. After awhile he made his decision.
"Barret, Tifa. You're with me." He decided. "Aerith, Red XIII, and Amalthea, you'll be your own group."
She was a little surprised that Cloud remembered her name but dismissed the thought. That wasn't important right now.
"We'll see you at Kalm!" Aerith said.
Amalthea was about to follow after Aerith and Red XIII when she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to find Barret, who was holding out a pair of sunglasses.
"You look like you need these more than I do." He told her.
She regarded the taller man before accepting the offered sunglasses, placing them on her face.
"Thank you." She told him.
"It's nothin'!" He waved her off.
With that she followed after Aerith and Red XIII while Cloud, Barret, and Tifa went on ahead. Amalthea was grateful that Barret lent his sunglasses to her since it easier to see. They spend the majority of the day traveling until the sun started to set, causing them to stop for the night.
As Amalthea stared into the fire Aerith created she couldn't stop herself from shivering and drew the bedsheet closer around her. She didn't think it'd be cold during the night, but then again she had been used to living inside a building where the temperature was controlled and adjusted to a person's satisfaction. She tensed when she felt something brush against her, but calmed down when she saw that it was Red XIII who had decided to curl up beside her. Her gaze lingered on the red creature for a moment before turning back to the fire.
"…Why did you vouch for me?" She asked, her voice quiet.
"Because you were kind to me." He told her.
"I was under the impression that you didn't like humans."
"I don't. But perhaps I may consider you an exception."
At this Amalthea turned to face Red XIII, a little surprised by his words. Had the brief moment of kindness she'd given him (despite how little it was) really make that much of a difference to him?
She never would've thought.
"What will you do now that you're free, Amalthea?" He asked.
"I don't know. I want to find my parents, but something tells me that I should get as far away from Midgar as possible."
'More like someone.' She thought, recalling what her friend had wanted her to do.
Just thinking about him brought a sense of sadness, but she didn't show it.
"What about you, Red XIII?" She asked.
"I plan on going back to my hometown if we ever travel that far." He lifted his head and turned to her. "If you want, you could choose to stay there as well."
Her gaze softened at this before a small smile appeared on her face.
"It's something to consider."
ATE: That's it for Chapter 2. Next chapter I plan involves everyone meeting up in Kalm and Cloud telling the others about Sephiroth since I feel that that should have a chapter of it's own.
I also added four new drawings of Amalthea (two of them uncolored, while one of the colored ones is the new image for this story). You can find them on my DeviantArt gallery (just look up Aerith-The-Evenstar) if you feel interested in seeing them.
Thank you for taking the time to read and please review! ;D