Dear Journal

A Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Luxaria

How she had gotten mixed up in all this, she wasn't exactly sure. She did know was that in the last 72 hours Tifa, Cloud, Reno and Rude had been very kind to her. She also knew that Marlene had been kidnapped, along with a boy named Denzel, both of which were under the care of Cloud and Tifa. Apparently, the silver haired man that took Marlene had two brothers; Luxaria was sure he had mentioned something about that. She also heard that like him, they also were violent, if anything they might have been worse. Not that it mattered. One way or another, Luxaria was determined to help get the children back. She adjusted the goggles she had been given by Reno. The outfit wasn't the best for water, but it would have to do. Currently, she was riding on the back of a motorcycle; to what Rude had called the "Forgotten City." Which wasn't really much of a city at all: it was more of a glowing, almost snow colored forest. If they weren't riding to imminent danger, Luxaria would have loved it. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Cloud asked, stopping his bike a little ways from the edge of the 'city.'

"Yes." Luxaria said, sliding off the bike.

"These men are dangerous."

She nodded. "So am I…You worry too much, Spikey One." She waved before turning and heading towards the Forgotten City.

Using Luxaria as bait for the silver haired trio was not the best idea. At first, they had bought into her role, truly thinking her to be their 'Mother.' The silver haired man from earlier even got a little tear eyed when he saw her. But then things took a turn for the worse. Kadaj, the leader of the brothers, was not as easily fooled. In an attempt to save Marlene and Denzel, Luxaria got herself captured as well. Cloud had to come in to save them all, only for that plan to backfire, and Cloud had to be rescued himself. The rescue came in the form of a swirling, crimson blur. It grabbed Cloud and Luxaria, only when they were safely out of harm's way, did it stop. That's when Luxaria realized it wasn't just a blur…It was a man. His eyes were like two pools of blood. His skin had an otherworldly paleness to it, not unlike Luxaria herself. He was only about a shade or two lighter; Luxaria matched the color of freshly fallen snow. This man's hair was long, cascading down around his shoulders, and framing his face, it was pulled back by a red bandana. His hair color itself as dark as a raven's wing. Luxaria stared up at him; he must have been at least six feet tall, the strange golden boots he wore and possibly giving him added height. The swirl of crimson she had seen earlier was probably the tattered and beaten crimson cloak he wore. Just looking at it, you could feel how much history, how many battles…the many stories it had to tell. It clung to him by three buckles across the chest, and covered part of his chin. His clothes themselves were as black as his hair; he wore a golden gauntlet upon his left arm, and on his right a leather glove.

Currently, Cloud sat in the grass as the cloaked man leaned against a tree, his eyes looking towards the ground. Luxaria sat not too far off from Cloud, her eyes glued to their savior.

"See, I knew I'd be no help." Cloud said, looking away from both of his companions. "Vincent? What you know about this?" Luxaria blinked, his name was Vincent? Was it not enough he already looked like him?

"I come here often." The man said, he looked up and his eyes shifted from Luxaria to Cloud. "I've seen what Kadaj's group is doing." He said and with a swish of his cloak he moved towards Cloud, he took a place beside him and grabbed Cloud's hurting arm. Cloud flinched as Vincent said, "The stigma... It's a symptom of alien matter infesting the body. When it tries to eliminate it, it overcompensates. Inside our bodies there's a current, like the Lifestream. That current is what fights off any malevolent intruders." The two men continued talking, but it was as if the whole world had been sentenced to silence for Luxaria. She could not help but stare at the man, at this …Vincent. Why it was everything in this world, had been bringing her closer to what she had lost. Why did Vincent have to look so much like him? If his hair were only a little lighter, and his eyes the color of her own. Then he would have looked exactly like him. If he were only dressed in a commoner's clothing. Their names were even similar Vincent ... and Valdis. Why? Why did this man have to look so much like him? He had been gone for so long…but this man looked like her father. Wonderful memories danced before her eyes, she could feel the tears as they threatened to fall for the second time.

"Luxaria?" Cloud called as he looked at the girl that had done so much for him and his friends, even though she didn't have to. When she didn't react, he stood, walked over to her, crouched in front of her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lux, are you ok?" he was concerned; he hadn't seen her cry once in the small amount of time that he had known her.

She quickly nodded, "Yes." Her eyes quickly focusing on Cloud and Vincent, who had gone back to leaning against a tree. "Just…tired." She smiled slightly and held out her hand to Cloud so that he could help her to her feet. It was silent between the three of them for a moment; just as Cloud was about to same something a rustling from the bushes could be heard. They each turned to face the noise, ready for anything… then Marlene tumbled from out of the bush.