mia:HAPPY Turkey day!!!!!!!!!i'monly going to be here for a while because i need to help with the sweet potatoes.(yummy)
Kelana-ti: Well, if you are going to leave me, then get. (i mean that in the nicest way possible)
mia: ! and have a great thanksgiving!-steals vincent's headband on the way out-
Vincent:...-glare-
Yuffie: Hey! Give that back!
Cloud: Yuffie, calm down.
Cid: Where the -bleep- is the sugar?
Mom: It's in the cabinet. And don't swear. We have kids here.
Cid: -grumbles, grabs sugar-
Tifa: Cloud, help me keep Yuffie away from the oven.
Brother: -runs past, chasing Denzel and Marlene-
Dad: Mia, help me with the pickles.
Mia: PICKLES! 8D
Kelana-ti: O.0 wow. okay, yeah. It's a little crazy around here. With AVALANCHE and my family here (and by family i mean parents, brother and sister, aunt, uncle, grandpa, nana, papa, older half-brother, and two extra dogs) it is going to be one heck of a Thanksgiving. But yeah. C:
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or its characters, only my OCs and the plot in this story.
Chapter 3
Sephiroth floated in the inky,suffocating blackness that was the only life after death for Jenova's children. There was no light, and the only thing the ex-SOLDIER could feel was a cold chill that numbed not only his body but his mind. The only thing he could hear was his so-called mother's thoughts. It was the closest thing to hell Sephiroth had ever felt, besides his grief for what he had done. This was his punishment.
And yet, Sephiroth did not want to go back to the living, for when he was alive, he was Jenova's puppet; her adopted son who would do whatever she wanted him to do. For years, the only time the former general was sane was when he was dead.
The first time he had entered Jenova's mind, Sephiroth had tried to escape. He had no way of knowing how to escape a place that has no physical plane, but he tried anyway. But Jenova has clever ways to punish her slaves.
At the back of his mind, Sephiroth knew that Jenova was planning something. Some time ago he had heard not only Jenova's thoughts, but those of his remnants as well. But now, he could not. That could only mean that they were back on the Planet. And Jenova seemed distracted, but Sephiroth had never been able to hear her individual thoughts anyway, unless she wanted him to.
Then, Sephiroth felt someone fighting with Jenova, trying to reach him. Whoever it was, Sephiroth knew he had met them when he was alive. Several times they had tried to take him into the Lifestream, and they had failed every time.
As Sephiroth concentrated, he could separate the presence into two people; one male, one female. A weakness appeared in Jenova's mind, and, sensing that this time they might win, Sephiroth joined them in pushing against Jenova. Then, something happened that had never happened before. The Deceiver slipped.
Light cut into the darkness, blinding Sephiroth. Jenova screamed out of rage and frustration, and her grip on the swordsman slipped. For the first time in years, Sephirothfelt the touch of a human hand, not in hatred, but in love. Two hands held onto both of his; one was gloved and the other was slim and delicate. Than they pulled him out of the darkness and into the light.
~#~
Cherise lived in a five-story apartment building behind 7th Heaven. There used to be a warehouse between the two, but it was ruined in the Battle of Midgar and was now only an empty lot. She had heard that AVALANCE had bought it, but did not know what for.
The former Turk took the outside stairs up to the third story. Before entering her apartment, Cherise turned around. The sun had set, leaving a pink line on the horizon. There was a cool breeze, causing her blond hair to get in her face. She looked at 7th Heaven. Cherise could hear talking. She bet that AVALANCHE was having fun. Probably eating dinner, and talking about old times. And here she was: alone.
She turned around and unlocked her door. Cherise stepped inside, and turned on the lights. The apartment was better than others she had stayed in; a living room with a corner dedicated to a kitchen, to the right was a bathroom and two bedrooms. When she first moved to Edge, a fellow WRO worker had asked Cherise if she would like to share apartments. Cherise agreed. The other worker's name was Jordan, but it did not matter, since after two weeks of living together Jordan had run off with her new husband, leaving everything to Cherise. Not that she really minded: she couldn't have bought all the furniture anyway. After Jordan left, Cherise had converted the extra bedroom into an art room and moved all her paintings in there.
Cherise closed the door, took of her boots and put them under the table against the wall to her left. As she stood up, a brown-gray tabby cat meowed and rubbed up against her legs. Cherise smiled. "Hello, Alex. You're hungry, huh kitty?" She stepped over him, across a blue and green rug and around the dinner table into the kitchen. She opened the cabinet over the oven and got out the cat food, then filled up Alex's dish beside the refrigerator next to his water bowl. She gave him a pat, and he meowed again before starting to eat.
Cherise sighed. After work, she would usually draw or paint for awhile, but today had been busy. Not only that, she had not gotten a lot of sleep lately. Alright. I'll go to bed early.
~#~
It was raining. Cherise stepped out of the helicopter into the mud. As she stood there, she felt the rain soaking into her hair. Aarin stepped down beside her. He sighed.
"It looks like we got here too late," he said softly.
Cherise shook her head. She did not trust herself to speak. Not when everything inside her was screaming; "No! Zack can't be dead! Not when we just learned he is still alive! I won't believe it. Not unless I see it myself." But Cherise was a Turk. So she locked up her feelings where they could not get in the way of her job and started walking across the battlefield.
Aarinfollowed her. Out of the corner of her eye, Cherise saw him looking at her. He knew her well, and in those brown eyes Cherise could see that he knew she was hurting. But he did not say looked around. The mountain side was littered with bodies. She shook her head. All these men, sent to kill just one ex-SOLDIER. The rainwater flowed down the hills, and into the barren plains around Midgar. On the other side of the battlefield, Cherise could see Reno and Rude looking at the dead. Looking for survivors.
She slipped. Aarin tried to catch her, but he had not been paying attention. Cherise was on her hands and knees in the mud. She noticed that there was blood on the ground. The Turk looked up, and saw a young MP laying next to her. His helmet was off, and his gray eyes were staring sightlessly up into the rainy sky.
Cherise stood up, looking away. Then, on the edge of the cliff, she saw something out of place. She froze.
"Cherise?" Aarin asked. He frowned, and followed her gaze. He saw Cissnei kneeling near the edge of the cliff, next to a body. He was wearing a SOLDIER uniform.
As if in a dream, Cherise walked forward. It seemed unreal; the colors were dull, the ground mud, the sky fray. Even the blood had been soaked up by the wet walked next to her, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Reno and Rude approaching. The siblings reached Cissnei. She looked up, brown eyes sad, red hair hanging limply down to her shoulders. Without a word, Reno kneeled next to her, and put an arm around her shoulders.
Cissnei and Aarinsat down. Finally, she looked at Zack. His blood covered face was pale, contrasting with his spiky hair. Reno swore softly. Cissnei nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. "That about sums it up."
Cherise started crying. This was worse than Nibelhiem. Then, there had been a chance that Zack had lived. But now, there was no doubt: he was dead.
And then, everything shattered.
~#~
Cherise woke up to find her hand covering her mouth to keep from screaming. The place where Sephiroth had cut her burned; it always did after a nightmare. She looked at the clock: 10 p.m. She had gone to bed at eight.
She sighed, and lay back down. Alex jumped up next to her and started purring. Absentmindedly, Cherise started petting him. For now, she just wanted to sleep. But one day, maybe she could sleep through the night without having nightmares.
A/N:
I was going to kill Cissnei, but I have something better planed for her. -evil smile- I know that this chapter is a little sad, but it will get better, I promise! And once again, happy Thanksgiving.