DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER
IF YOU WANT TO KEEP TRISTIS MYSTERIOUS.
IT HAS SPOILERS/CLUES.
Sorry for writing so many 'memory' chapters. I just keep listening to sad songs (specifically Why by Ayaka and Aerith's theme). Memory chapters help me remember some bits and pieces of her past life because this is the first ever story I haven't planned through properly. I don't even know how to make Tristis save everyone! So this will fill up the spots until I get an idea (or stop listening to depressing music).
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot.
Memory Chapter 2 - Waiting For The Day
The church was run down with with broken pews, cracked pillars and cold drafts entering the crumbling building... Yet it seemed so peaceful and beautiful. In the center of the church was a patch of flowers basking in the gentle light coming from the stained glass window. There, kneeling by the patch, was a girl humming. It was Tristis.
She was barely sixteen with the same river of chocolate brown hair. Her eyes were focused on the opal flowers with her hands gently caressing each one of them. She was so peaceful and happy...
"Aerith!" A voice had shouted as the double wooden doors creaked open. It was Zack.
She slowly turned and looked at him, "I'm sorry, Aerith has gone somewhere with her mom. Is there something you need?" She kindly spoke, carefully standing up to reveal her full costume.
She was wearing something quite beautiful compared to the slums of which she resided in. Her main dress was a sky blue dress with two black lines outlining her abdomen with buttons on either side. The bottom half reached her knees, frilled and ruffled with hems of see-through white material and lined with black. The sleeves were long and wide made of white material with half of it a silvery-blue see-through material, so he could see her forearms. It had material wrapped around her shoulders, almost like a cardigan, but it didn't need buttons nor did it have sleeves. It was also lined with black with a lacy white collar and a big black ribbon tying it all together. Her shoes were black and she wore white knee-high stockings. She looked innocent... Like an angel.
"Woah, sorry. I was thinking of introducing her to my friends..." Zack muttered sheepishly.
She nodded with understanding and beckoned to come forward, "You can keep me company while we wait for her. She is a relative of mine."
He nodded and looked behind him, "Come on."
One by one several men entered: Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth and even Cloud. They sat on the pews and she smiled. "My name is Nix Somnium."
"I'm Zack. That's Genesis, Cloud, Angeal and Sephiroth."
She giggled, something that rarely happened now so they drilled the sound into their minds. "Aerith has said a lot of things about you Zack."
They continued to converse, sometimes with her, sometimes with eachother while she only listened while tending her flowers. Then, Angeal yawned which caught her attention. He was sitting next to her by the flowers and she glanced at him, "Are you alright?" She softly asked.
He smiled, nodding. "Just a little tired. I haven't slept a lot lately."
Her stare was half-lidded as she carefully picked up a flower and handed it to him. "You can brew this as tea or you can sleep with it near your bedside... It will help you sleep I think."
He gratefully accepted it and gingerly held it. It looked as if he didn't know if he would destroy it from his hands, but she gently patted his forearm and continued to tend her flowers.
Afterwards, all the SOLDIERs began visiting the church more often in hopes to talk to Aerith or Tristis. But it was clearly noticable that Angeal and Zack visited more often for the girls. Aerith and Zack would do their usual of talking and making a flower wagon while Angeal only sat down in silence while listening to Tristis sing or hum as she watered the plants. Sometimes he would help her too.
"Nix." Angeal called out her name to gain her attention, which did so effectively.
"Yes?"
"Next week, Monday... I'll take you out somewhere nice... Above the plate."
She counted on her fingers and smiled, "The twenty-fifth? That sounds lovely. I heard it's sunny on that day."
He chuckled at her response, "I'll take you out to eat... Maybe we can buy you some new flower seeds too." He suggested.
She clasped her hands together in excitment, "Okay. We'll forget all about our troubles on that day! I'll wear something really nice okay? I'm really excited now..." She said as she went over to sit next to him. She patted her lap and he quirked an eyebrow at her.
"You haven't been sleeping well, right? You can have a nap until your called in for a mission or something." Without further discussion, although with hints of hesitation, Angeal gently laid his on his back with his head on her lap.
He stared up into her eyes and his expression softened and his lips tugged into a small smile. Her gaze was half-lidded, dreamy and happy as she let her fingers brush his raven black hair. His muscles relaxed exceptionally from the gesture and he began to close his eyes. She began humming something soft and soothing. It lulled him to sleep easily while she remained in bliss as she constantly shifted her gaze from the flowers to his face. If she could pick whether the flowers were more beautiful or Angeal's peaceful sleeping face, she'd definitely pick Angeal. But that was her little secret. Just thinking about next Monday was making her lips curve into a smile.
But a few days later, Tristis was alone inside the church and she tenderly did her usual things. Suddenly, she gasped and looked up, as if to search for the sky. No doubt, there was a small hole above the plate and she could see the blue skies. She saw something float down and gingerly held it... A snow white feather. Her eyes slowly closed and she grasped it to her lips, shaking her head in disbelief.
The next day, Zack sitting on the floor cross-legged. He was crying with the buster sword in his hand. "He... He's dead..." Zack muttered, trying to push back the tears. Aerith's eyes were filled with sympathy as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her chest against his back and soothingly told him that everything would be alright.
At the doorway was Tristis. It was most likely the twenty-fifth because she was wearing a new set of clothing. It was a white lacy dress with see-through material on top that only reached the middle of her thighs in a pleated pattern. She wore a cherry blossom pink hooded top over it, reaching her hips with a satin ribbon tied around her waist. It was slightly unzipped to reveal the top lacy bit of her white dress. She wore a pink ribbon to clip strands of her chestnut hair away from it's usual spot that covered her right eye and white wedges adorned her feet.
Her eyes were filled with tears and she held the feather tightly to her chest. Her body trembled as tears slipped down her smooth cheeks, yet she was so silent. She was mouthing Angeal's name like a mantra and Angeal standing next to her, his arms wrapped loosely around her. He had one white wing wrapping around them, protective of her with his eyes revealing emotions filled with love and sorrow.
She really loved him. She may not have spoken the words before, nor showed anything other than friendliness, but she loved him. Maybe she didn't even know it herself. But it was obvious, there was a small connection between them that didn't need any words, they just felt it.
As he began to slowly disappear, carried away by tendrils of the life stream, giving her a last caress on her cheek, which made her weakly smile. "Thank you for being there for me..." She whispered.
When Zack had calmed down and was called for a mission to find Genesis, Tristis had stopped him. "Please, take me with you." She begged, "I know how to fight if the worse comes. Please... There must be a way I can convince Genesis... He's my friend..." Zack peered at her with guilt. He had killed Angeal and he knew how much Angeal loved her. This was a small price to pay for what he had done to her.
"Okay, but be careful."
And that was her first life cycle...
I really want to change the last sentence, but I couldn't think of anything to replace it with, so sorry if it had a lame ending!
As you can see, I've decided Tristis's pairing. It took me a while, but I decided to do Angeal because there isn't much fan fictions about him. He's also kind and honourable, which Tristis likes about him too.
You know, I have a tendency of reading my stories out loud to see if it sounds right. When I read it, I started crying because I felt so pitiful for Tristis.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
-LoliMochi.