Eloise was driving through the city, calmly watching her surroundings.. A lot of people were walking, running, talking, playing. Everything was full of life.
One thing that ticked her off and confused her at the same time was their behavior towards children. There were orphans who were hiding in different dark corners of the city. They were seen as outsiders and it enraged Elly.
She started to wander around the city by foot as well and, surprisingly, she started to walk towards those children. At first they were scared of her and just backed off. When she started to smile and grabbed her wallet, they titled their head to one side curious. She chuckled and signaled for them to come closer. She gave them money; enough for a good meal.
"Why are you hiding?" She figured that she could get some answers after she showed them she meant no harm.
"Nobody likes us. They think we have a disease." The young girl sighed. She was the oldest out of them all. "I guess we do. We are orphans but moreover, we have Geostigma" She knew exactly why people didn't like them. It broke Elly's heart. They were innocent children who didn't deserve that mean treatment.
She forced a smile and tugged the girl's hair behind her ear.
After such an acquaintance, she started to feel bad again. She had a gram of fault in their pain. She was part of that crisis.
Seeking for silence, Elly found herself in front of a familiar place. It was Aerith's church. She needed a moment to calm down and rearrange her thoughts.
Nothing looked different. The garden of flowers was the same. She felt relieved from a reason or another. When she walked closer, she realized there were people in there already. She met the two faces she wanted to see the last.
"What are you doing here, turks?" Reno was the first to turn around. He was trying hardly to carry someone but it was a little difficult. She eyed the body, thinking that it may have something to do with Shinra, It didn't. It was Cloud.
"Nice to see you again yo" She raised an eyebrow and watched as Reno tried again to carry Cloud. Rude already had a tight grip on Tifa. Wait...Tifa?
"What happened to them?" Elly furrowed her eyebrow in concern and walked closer to Rude. She grabbed Tifa from him and verified her pulse. She was alive but she didn't look well.
"We came here and found them like this, yo. It must have been that Kadaj" She glared at the red haired man. He smirked. He started to remember how fun it was to annoy her. He missed those times.
"Rude, take Cloud and I will carry Tifa" Rude nodded. She turned to Reno and bit her lower lip. "Show the way, idiot" He rolled his eyes but did lead the way to Seventh Heaven.
The place didn't change either. It might have been a little more organised but that was all. However, Elly saw the small details that showed signs of children.
Reno led the way upstairs and opened the door for Rude and Eloise. They placed Tifa and Cloud on their own beds and walked downstairs. Reno auto invited himself behind the bar and grabbed a drink.
"How come you choose to come back to Edge? Missed your old friends?" He raised his eyebrows up and down but Elly didn't budge. She contained her poker face.
"I certainly didn't miss you" His enthusiastic face dropped instantly. She was different. The girl he knew was happy, excited, lovable. The one he had in front of him was cold and selfish. There was nothing human in her, not anymore.
"Maybe you should think more about your attitude, Elly. The world didn't end in the moment you lost something" He grabbed her by the collar and glared at her.
"You're wrong" She grabbed his arm and started to dig her nails into the skin. "My life stopped in that moment. I lost everything that was dear to me. You have no idea how that feels" Even though her tone was cold and sent chills down Rude's spine, her face was expressionless.
The small confrontation stopped when they heard movements above.
"He woke up" Reno and Rude went upstairs while Elly stayed behind. She still had so many memories flashing through her eyes. she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to return to Edge but she couldn't lie to herself; she wanted to see her old friends again. She wanted to get rid of the loneliness.
In the moment she placed her foot upstairs, she could hear Reno's voice.
"You were heavy, yo."
She rolled her eyes. For understandable reasons, she didn't go any closer. She just remained near the stairs and listened.
"…you were leaving with some kids?" Rude asked getting Cloud's attention.
"It's empty" Reno finished. That wasn't good.
"It's ok?" Rude asked again. There was a pause. It ticked Elly off. They were talking about children not adults. It was a different matter. The kids had nothing to do with Sephiroth.
"I…" Was the only thing that came out from his mouth. She never thought he would descend to such a level.
"You're so annoying, yo" That was the last thing before Reno and Rude walked out the door and towards the stairs.
She stopped Rude.
"Where are the children?" He smirked knowingly and pointed at Cloud.
"You should help each other or you're going to end up in a dark whole" That was all he said before he walked away.
She didn't feel like she was ready to see Tifa awake but with a heavy sigh, she went inside.
Tifa was, thankfully, still unconscious. Cloud was just staring into nothingness.
"You took me with you yet you are running away from everyone else? Do you think being miserable is something we have to go through?" He didn't budge. She was slowly getting annoyed.
"It's my fault for what happened" She scoffed and walked further more into the room.
"What happened to you, Cloud? You weren't like this. How can you stay here when those kids are in trouble? Are you going to let the past control you?" He bent his head, disappointingly. She placed a hand on his head and messed his hair.
"I did change too. I think it's my fault too for what happened. Everything had a big impact on me but Cloud…look around you. You have to live in the present. Grow up" Even though she had spoken such big words, she felt like those were more meant for her. That was what she thought and what she wanted. But, it was easier to speak than to take the initiative.