Author's Note: Okay, so I think an apology on my part is in order. I'm terribly sorry that it's been so long. I've been super, crazy busy with school and life...and there were some small, but important changes that I had to make with this chapter before it was ready. If anyone was wondering O.O So, on with the story! Hope you guys enjoy! Oh, and please review!! I really do care about reviews, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think so far! It helps a lot, I promise. =)

Disclaimer: Well, last time I checked I wasn't delusional, so....


:. Sheer Equality.:

Chapter Three: So It Begins

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew

- - - - - - -

After parking outside her house, Elena opened the front door with some difficulty. Homework had been piled on top of her today, quite literally, and she had to shift the load of books into the crook of one of her arms to push the door open.

Her parents were already home and appeared to be discussing something together in the living room. It had been about a week since Rosalind had gone missing and since the incident with the gang. With each coming day, Elena realized how wrong she had been about her life changing for the better.

Her sister's "situation" had an unpredictable effect on her parents. For a while nothing seemed different, but over time Elena noticed change. Both of her parents were currently in a delirious state and seemed to be in denial of the entire incident. Whenever something reminded them of Rosalind, they would gush to each other about how proud they were of her, or how she was surely doing the family great justice, or about how excited they would be when she came home.

After throwing the oppressive books she'd been carrying into a nearby chair, Elena took in some of the chatter drifting from the living room. Just can't believe...so thrilled that she joined the Turks...can't wait to see her again...Definitely Rosalind-related.

One of them must have seen her in the adjacent room, because her father soon gestured for her to join them. Elena considered pretending not to see him; she usually didn't partake in Rosalind conversations. And that homework definitely wasn't going to finish itself. But he looked rather insistent and appeared to be in a good mood.

She crossed the foyer and into the living room, taking a seat in an empty chair. Looking at her parents' eager but hesitant faces, she waited for an explanation of her own presence. Giving up, she put her head in her hands and asked, "What's going on?"

Her mother took her cue, speaking in a careful tone that Elena didn't like. "Well, we were just discussing how Rosalind has been away..." Yeah, what's new?

Her father picked up where she had left off, "We were thinking of having some sort of celebration when she returns. We expect it will be soon." Elena couldn't even count how many things were wrong with what she had just heard. "We wanted your opinion on a theme, since we weren't exactly sure what she would want."

Elena was in complete shock. They really were losing it, and they had no idea. She couldn't believe that this was what everything in the last week had come to. Inside, she was furious.

"Can't you hear what you're saying?" Wait, did she just say that aloud?

Her parents didn't seem to comprehend. Her father chuckled. "What do you mean, Elena?" She couldn't help it; the blinder they were, the angrier she became. Suddenly, she didn't care what came out of her mouth anymore.

"Stop it! Just stop! She's never coming back!" Elena screamed shrilly, earning an appalled, harsh glare from her mother. "You don't think it's a little unusual that she's been out of contact for so long? That none of those missing have returned?"

Her father opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "No, you're too busy being proud of everything she's done to notice what's staring you in the face. You're losing your minds." At this, her father's grip on the arm of his chair increased and her mother began to rise from her seat. Before either could reply or stop her, she ran from the room and out the front door.

* * * * *

She sat on the curb outside her house, her fists balled so tight that her knuckles were white and her body still shaking with righteous anger. Luckily her parents had been wise enough not to follow her outside. She could only hope, for their own sake, that they were currently contemplating their sanity. She didn't wish to find out.

She had never expected her parents' attention to turn completely to her, but didn't expect all of it to remain with her sister, either. She'd never felt so disregarded in her life. Was she really that invisible? Another thought hit her. A party? Even if Rosalind was coming home, she hated parties. Did they forget that, too?

She sighed and stood up, facing the end of her street that led to one of the main streets in Midgar. Maybe a walk would help.

She set off at a slow pace, thoughts racing though her mind endlessly. She desperately needed change. Was it something she needed to put effort into finding, or would it come in its own time? Her life never took any unpredictable turns in the past, so did that mean that it never would? She smiled to herself ruefully. This wasn't really helping at all.

As she stopped at a corner, she was suddenly reminded of the past week's incident. She continued on after assuring herself that she wasn't lost this time and wouldn't let it happen again. The neighborhood she was presently passing through was no better than anything beneath the plate, but nowadays, what neighborhood wasn't? Except for anything relating to Shinra, the world was falling apart.

Even the attitudes of the people were different here. Anyone that passed her regarded her with a suspicious, untrusting look that was unlike anything she was used to. They were all dressed in shades of gray that blended in well with their surroundings, making Elena's bright blonde hair even more of a contrast than usual.

She soon approached a brick building that stood out from the other buildings on the block. It was obviously aged since most buildings in Midgar were now made from various types of scrap metal. A slightly crooked sign was attached to one side of the building, reading Gaia's Best in large, peeling black letters, with Rated Finest Tavern in Midgar! written underneath. Gaia's Best? Maybe twenty years ago...

Nightfall had overcome the city during her walk, and the only visible parts of the block were those that were under the streetlamps. Elena was about to turn around and head home, but an idea struck her. The bar was clearly less than respectable, but the adventurous spirit inside her was urging her to enter it. She had never been inside a bar in her life and had planned never to come near one until she was of age. Yet here she was, and her faulty judgment was telling her that the opportunity wasn't going to present itself again any time soon. She finally settled on entering just to observe the bar out of her sheer curiosity. After all, she'd never planned on drinking anything, especially something from such a decrepit and questionable place.

She slowly ascended the rickety stairs and pushed open the groaning door. Her eyes pirouetted about the room. It wasn't far from what she had expected: a shady atmosphere that reeked of must and alcohol where burly, beer-saturated males were predominate. There was a hushed chatter that filled the room that was interrupted with raucous laughter at some intervals. Most of its inhabitants sat in groups around the room, while the rest occupied the stools facing the bar. Being that there was nothing fantastic waiting for her at home, she searched the room for an empty seat and tried to keep a low profile.

Easier said than done. Upon the first step she took toward the seat, a self-conscious feeling overcame her. Was it just her, or was every pair of eyes in the room now focused on her? It was only then that she became aware that she had never changed out of her school uniform. As if she didn't stick out enough to begin with...

She turned around and left immediately, hoping that anyone who had seen her was convinced that she had entered the bar by mistake. She descended the stairs two at a time, suddenly feeling intimidated by the surrounding darkness. Every step she took away from the bar made her feel safer.

All of a sudden she heard rushed, heavy footfalls on the creaking stairs behind her. A gruff, heavily intoxicated male voice slurred, "Hey blondie, where ya going?" She didn't dare turn around or stop walking. They weren't talking to her...there had to be some other blonde in the area, right?

"You deaf or somethin'?" She swore internally and turned around. A rather husky man, swaying slightly, was approaching her. For every step he took toward her, Elena took one back. "Everyone saw ya back there. How'd a pretty little girl like you end up in these parts?" He grinned wildly, baring a crooked smile and continuing his advance. She stole a quick look behind her. The street was narrow and her backwards footsteps were taking her into an alleyway with a dead end. Recognizing that it was no use escaping, she stopped and prayed that the man was more of an upstanding citizen than he looked, and that she could walk away after a brief conversation. Unfortunately, he appeared to have no interest in small talk.

She began to rack her mind for anything that could help her out. She'd taken a martial arts class about three years ago, and she tried to focus on any memories from the class. But in doing so, she missed his advance and gasped when her wrists were grasped tightly in the man's large hands and pressed against a nearby building.

"Let go," she hissed, locking eyes with the man. His grip didn't loosen in the slightest as he began to close the gap between them. Elena turned her head to avoid inhaling the alcohol that the man exuded from his mouth.

She could feel her knees about to buckle, and she took in a haggard breath. After regaining some control of her legs, she kneed him in the groin as hard as she could, causing him to relinquish his hold on her. He staggered a little, and Elena took advantage of this by placing a forceful kick to his chest, sending him backpedaling unsteadily. She kicked him in both of his shins, which made him fall ungracefully backwards with a thump, his arms scraping against the concrete. After his head collided with the ground he remained motionless.

Elena backed away cautiously, panting heavily. She could feel adrenaline rushing through her veins; there was a feeling of hyperawareness in her body. She realized with a start that it felt good...incredible, even. She tried to calm herself down, but failed in doing so. It didn't help that she noticed a small, dark red stain on the concrete beneath the man's head that was slowly expanding. She warily bent down next to the man, checking to make sure he had a pulse in his wrist, and let go the second she found it.

Before anyone could see her standing by the unconscious man, she turned to leave the scene. She noticed too late that there was someone strolling toward her, breaking the eerie silence with light, but confident footsteps. It was too dark in the alleyway to distinguish what the person looked like, but whoever it was, their steady footsteps didn't indicate them to be alarmed by the man who was passed out or the blood pooling about his head.

Elena squinted her eyes, finally seeing the form of a lanky young man before her. The first thing she saw was a shock of red hair that stuck out messily in all directions, followed by vivid aquamarine mako eyes that shone in the darkness, and deathly pale skin. There were two deep, identical scars shaped like half moons on his thin face, one resting high on each of his cheekbones, and he wore a pair of goggles on his forehead. From what she could see, he was dressed in a dark suit with an untucked white dress shirt fully visible from beneath its unbuttoned jacket.

She had to admit she was intimidated. The man had to be at least a head taller than her, not to mention he carried a nightstick in his left hand and had a dangerous aura about him.

"Elena Meyers, right?" He drawled, seeming almost bored with the situation. Elena was completely taken aback. Of all of the things she had expected him to say, that was definitely not one of them. How does he know my name? She was certain that she had never seen the man before in her life, because if she had she wouldn't have ever forgotten it.

"I couldn't help but notice your little performance." She followed his gaze to the body on the ground. "Shouldn't have bothered with his pulse, though." Her eyes quickly returned to him, not wanting to miss any unforeseen movement. Was he...grinning at her? What the hell...?

"Who are you?" She'd intended for the question to come out way louder than it actually did. His smile just grew, and the question went unanswered. A second later the grin was gone, replaced by a pensive stare that wasn't focused on anything in particular. One of his hands dug around inside his pants pocket until he found a small scrap of paper and a pen.

"Even though I would set our standards a little higher," he muttered, turning to a nearby wall to scribble something on the paper, "I think the director might like to see you." Once he was done writing, he faced her again and handed her the paper. "Go to that address as early as possible tomorrow."

Now she was utterly bewildered. Tearing her eyes away from the man, she read what the barely legible handwriting said. 3030 Shinra Square, Floor 64. Shinra Square? But that was...Shinra's headquarters...

She laughed. "This is a joke, right?" When she received no answer, she looked up again. The man that had been standing before her moments ago was now nowhere in sight.


Author's Note: Now we're getting somewhere :) I hope that was suspenseful enough for everyone. This was a really fun one to write. Again, drop me a line and let me know how I did, what you liked or didn't, what you want to see, whatever. Fourth chapter's coming soon!