CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Snowboarding
Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends,
Never lose a chance to make them.
Francesco Guicciardini
I felt like I was curled up into a ball, almost like I was wrapped in protection and warmth. The bitter cold was gone, and I heard a strange sound by my ear; a sort of whirring sound. My tired, heavy eyes blinked, fighting to open. Just before my head sat Furball purring happily. There was a bit of snow in his fur.
"Hey buddy" I murmured weakly, stretching over to pet him. He rubbed his neck against my hand as I scratched him.
"Hey, you're awake" The door to the room opened, but I had my back to it. It was then I realized I was on a warm bed, with a fireplace roaring in the opposite corner, and a person had just entered the room. Slowly, I turned around, still very stiff and worn.
Standing before the bed were two people; one a red head, the other a bald man wearing glasses. They wore clothes that looked like they were getting ready to hit the slopes.
"Good morning sleeping beauty" The red head winked at me. I knew him… he was Reno, from the movie. And his partner was…
"Uh, hi" I muttered, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Furball rubbed against my side. "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Reno" The red head bowed a little, very flirty. Playfully, I rolled my eyes. "This is my partner, Rude. We came to Icicle Inn looking for a vacation; usually we come with some friends of ours, but…" The man sighed heavily.
"They went on a date" Rude spoke frankly.
"Oh" I spoke. I supposed their friends were the blonde girl and the dark haired guy from the movie, the ones who'd been tortured. I hoped they were okay.
Not that I had any right to hope anyone was all right. I had killed someone. I …
Stop thinking about that, stop thinking about that
Reno looked me over squinting. "Are you okay?"
"We just found her in the snow do you think she's all right?" Rude told him. Reno gave him a look and shrugged his shoulders.
"So, what's your name, pretty lady?" Reno was definitely a flirt.
"I'm…" I was ashamed to say my name. "Sam"
Reno blinked. Rude looked a little surprised too. They shared a look. I think they were surprised by the sudden turn in my attitude.
"Hey, what's wrong? I mean, emotionally?" Reno added when Rude gave him another look. Sitting next to me, Reno put an arm around my waist supportively.
"How'd you end up in the snow?" Rude asked, taking off his glasses for the first time, as he sat in the rocking chair.
"I … I …" I didn't know what to say. Oh, how I wanted to tell someone! I didn't care who, or what they would think of me, I just wanted to tell someone!
With a sigh, I shook my head. "Just cold." Rude and Reno looked to one another.
"Just a little cold, that's all"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Sighing, Reno rubbed the back of his head, thinking. I knew he was thinking of a way to make me feel better. Rude didn't say anything and I couldn't tell what was on his mind. He just sat there… very solemn.
"Well, where're you headed?" Reno began standing up again. I shrugged, still in a kind of half asleep daze, not really noticing the questions I was answering.
"Why'd you come up here?" Rude leaned forward, curious though it didn't show on his face. "What were you doing?" Jenova didn't like them. My hand flexed. She really didn't like them.
"Apologizing" This seemed to take the two by surprise. Reno looked like a puppy, eagerly awaiting some sort of story. I almost laughed. "I caused the death of someone and I was here… apologizing"
Reno blinked his eagerness for a story dimming, as he realized I wasn't giving one. Rude was deep in thought. I looked both of them over; what did they want from me? What was with the questions? Where they going to use me?
Stop that, that's Jenova thinking…
Rubbing my forehead, I looked up at them, my eyes half closed. "Why do you ask? I have no idea where I'm going. You can just leave me here"
Rude and Reno seemed to have the same thoughts there. "No way" They said at the same time. Blinking, they looked to one another, and laughed.
"Elena, and Tseng, not to mention the boss, would kill me if I left a lady out in the middle of nowhere, stuck on a mountain." Reno leaned back, arms behind his head. In his mind, the decision was made.
"If you'd like, we can take you home. Where do you live?" Rude asked, thinking the details over. I wondered what they used to travel.
"Actually… well…" I didn't live anywhere.
"Well, I'm looking for some people." Suddenly, I realized what to do. I became excited. "I'm looking for my friends. One's got short silver hair and…"
Rude and Reno watched in confusion as the light dimmed in my eyes and my hands slowly fell to my sides. They shared another look as I bit my lip. My thoughts were quick, and when I spoke again, the words lacked excitement.
"I'm looking for my friends… Crystal and Jamie."
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I told Reno and Rude that the three of us (Crystal, Jamie, and I) had been traveling up the mountain when we got separated, but that they really could be anywhere. They didn't really question my explanation, but I knew they knew I wasn't saying everything. Reno didn't seem to mind; he bought me dinner, and was joking all the time. Rude was kind of our silent tag along, but he didn't seem to mind.
I laughed more than I had in a while during that meal; we ate downstairs and there were few people other than us. It seemed most everyone was out snowboarding at this time of day.
"So, anyway" Reno continued his story, his hands moving as he spoke animatedly. Rude was laughing too, as it seemed he'd been present for the story Reno was telling. He was looking over his glasses, his head in his hands. Reno gave him a look and a grin and continued.
"The boss" I learned the boss was Rufus Shinra; "he was busy in his office, and whenever he's in his office, he's really bitchy to who ever tries to come in, and that day…"
I listened to the story, laughing at the funny parts, as Rude helped Reno relay the "true" story, and I enjoyed my first good dinner in a while. Furball was curled up around Rude's leg, and he kept trying to leap into the man's lap. I had begun to become attached to the two; something I had told myself I didn't need to do. I'd already become attached to Vincent; I wondered where he was, and if he was okay. I wondered what he'd do if he knew I had aided in the death of one of his friends.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked as Reno's story wound down. Reno was drinking a soda, and Rude had tea.
"Well, Rude and I aren't… really here on vacation" Reno said. "Well, we are, but we've got a job to do"
"Mr. Shinra asked us to find someone" Rude continued. "He's been seen near the Northern Crater, which is"
"North of here" Reno smiled and finished.
"So, I'm coming with you guys to this Northern Crater"
"Along the way we keep an eye out for your friends" Reno added.
"And after our mission, we'll see if Mr. Shinra himself can't help you out any" Rude nodded and concluded the discussion.
Furball mewed below Reno's feet. "Hey there, kitty cat" Reno smirked, opening his arms to the cat. The white fluff ball grabbed onto his leg and scrambled up, and I laughed when Reno winced at the claws digging in his skin. Smirking at him as he petted the cat and talked to it, my eyes fell.
"You guys don't have to do this for me" I told them.
"Nope, but we're the gentlemen who'd do that for ya" Reno grinned, giving me a little "okay" signal with his hand. Furball mewed at me, as if to say the same thing.
I looked sheepishly from Reno to Rude. "Thanks … guys, I promise, I'll pay you back"
It is not so much our friends' help that helps us,
As the confidence of their help.
Epicurus
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Darkness. Everywhere darkness.
Sephiroth? Sephiroth where are you?
(he doesn't want you he never wanted you he is mine my son my son)
Where am I? The dark void?
Zack! Kadaj! Loz, Yazoo, please!
(you and I are the same now you can't escape me you never will)
Help me!
Sephiroth! Please come back!
I'm sorry!
I wish I'd never run away!
I was scared.
Please!
… S – Sephiroth? O – Oh god, Sephiroth…
(you are alone)
(no, she's not)
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Still half asleep, and yet feeling awakening coming on, that was when I felt the presence come over me. It was like a blanket, separating her from me, and I could feel his heartbeat as the presence became recognizable. I almost cried, clinging to the feeling of him in my heart, hearing him speak to me softly. Unable to make out a word of what he said, I still didn't care, he was here.
"Sephiroth – oh, I'm so sorry"
He was a part of me, fighting her off, allowing me peace for the first time in my dreams since she'd come into me. Kissing my neck, he wrapped his arms around me, and continued to whisper to me until I was no longer able to speak to him and I fell asleep again.
When I did fall asleep, Jenova did not bother my dreams. As I slept I felt a protective, warm presence, and I knew he'd never left me. If only I could talk to him, see him in person… I was so confused, so afraid. I felt him touch my cheek.
I forgive you… I forgive you for everything…
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Hey, girlie's awake"
I groaned to see the green eyes of Reno smiling down on me. Smirking a little, I pushed him away and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.
"Come on, we've gotta get moving!"
Reno tried to urge me out of bed. I didn't feel like moving… at all. He had been so close. So close, and yet, I couldn't hear a word he said to me. So close… so far.
"Hey, come on, Sam" Reno nudged my shoulder.
"I want to be alone"
Blinking, Reno frowned a little and crossed his arms. "Women"
Throwing his hands in the air, he turned as if to stalk off. I was glaring at my pillow as I petted Furball. Turning a little, Reno looked down on me again.
"TICKLE FIGHT!"
With an "OMG" look of surprise on my face, I felt Reno hit me, childish and innocent, and he began attacking my sides with devious precision.
"Reno – Reno – Ah, stop it! Reno!" I was laughing in spite of myself, in the precarious position Reno and I were in; his legs over mine, holding me down, with a big grin on his face as I kicked and squealed beneath him. If Sephiroth could see us… well, I avoided depressing thoughts.
"Ah! I'm going to kill you!"
He was laughing to now; I liked how he laughed. I really liked Reno a lot. He reminded me of an old friend of Jamie's. But somehow, Reno was more genuine. At this time, Rude walked in with a pack of coffees in his hands.
"This is… interesting…" Rude muttered, seemingly unaffected by the strange situation. I shoved Reno off, as he laughed at me and brushed himself off.
"All right, all right, I'm up" My dark mood had been brushed away, and I continued to ignore the dark thoughts that were creeping up on me.
Reno grinned at my heavy breathing, and I proceeded to throw my pillow at him. Okay, so he dodged it. Looking about, I smiled at the cat and picked him up, petting Furball.
"Okay then" Reno mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He screamed when I threw Furball at him.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"So how do we get to the Northern Crater?"
"Well" Rude, Reno, and I began walking out of town, away from the inn we'd stayed in. Rude explained the plan. "We'll have to travel through a lot of snow to get there. But before that"
"To leave town, we gotta hit the snow" Reno grinned, lifting a snowboard up. He was holding two, and Rude had his own.
"You mean"
"It is a mountain" Rude smiled a little at my discomfort.
"Don't worry it's not a hard slope!" Reno grinned to make me feel better, handing me a helmet and a snowboard. Gulping, I took them both, realizing I may be too busy fearing for my life to worry about Sephiroth soon enough.
"Good luck" A man standing by the road gave us a fearful look. That was not comforting.
We came to the slope, strapped on our helmets and our boards, and I took a deep breath.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just avoid the trees" Reno smirked. Then as an afterthought, he mumbled. "Might wanna avoid the huge rocks too…"
"Rocks!?" I gaped, shivering slightly. At least this time I had a jacket.
"All right, here we go!" Both Reno and Rude had one arm around me, and at the same time, we fell over the edge and became skimming the snow down.
"OH MY G –"
"Ha, ha, all right, let go!" Reno laughed loudly, and pushed away. His board hit the snow and sped down the slope, easily speeding by trees. Cheering, Reno hit a small incline, went into the air, and showed off with a few little moves.
"See you at the bottom" Rude told me, before pushing away just in time to avoid hitting a tree. By pushing me, I almost hit one myself, but I managed to freak out and send my weight spiraling in a different direction.
"Nice move there!" Reno roared over the wind. I didn't say a word; I was busy concentrating to make sure my knees didn't buckle out from underneath me.
My hands were flailing in front of me as huge snowballs bounded towards me on the flatter part of the slope, and then, a sharp turn came and I smashed face first into the side.
"Keep trying!" I saw Rude fly past above me, as I wiped snow from my face and tried standing again. If Jamie and the others could see me now… I could almost see Sephiroth, arms crossed, a smirk on his lips as he shook his head. Rolling my eyes, I tried to balance, and leaned forward to begin moving.
Flying around the bend I leaned and leaned until my back was straight; and then pulled up immediately with a scream when I realized I was going REALLY fast. Wow… I was slow. Trying to balance again, I dodged a tree, only to realize I was going headfirst towards a rock.
Reno swept by, grabbing my arm. "Come on girl, don't you have any sense of direction?" Flinging me out into the snow again, Reno sped me up and I screamed. I was aimed at a slope, and in seconds was hurtling through the air with my arms flailing. My throat was almost hoarse; Jenova was hiding in the back of my mind, very much embarrassed by my actions, and almost deaf from the screaming.
Ah, up hers. I could handle this and anything else… without her. She was not MY mother.
Determined, I turned the next sharp bend without hitting anything, but when I escaped the tunnel, a huge snowball fell off the roof and started rolling after me. I was beginning to wish I had stayed in bed.
"Don't die, don't die, don't die" I kept repeating, leaning very far forward. I ended up rolling forward by accident, smashing my head into the board, and turning my body into a living snowball.
With a sound crash I hit the snow at the bottom of the slope, and the giant ball bounced down, missing me by an inch. As I groaned and sat up, shaking snow from my hair, I watched it roll away.
Behind me, Reno and Rude landed face first in the snow. Even though they'd navigated the course much better than I had they still landed flat on their faces. To me that was a personal victory. As they shook their heads and looked around, I stuck out my tongue with a grin.
"Ha!"
0-0-0-0-0-0
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
J.K. Rowling
Hours later, having traveled snow fields and scaled cliff sides, we arrived at the Northern Crater. I was tired, but not as much as Reno and Rude; the former had been kind enough to allow me rest on his back when we climbed, but I turned him down. When I almost fell from the mountainside, Rude made me do it. I didn't understand why now that I had so much power, how I was still so weak. I knew my muscles were stronger, and yet perhaps I wasn't controlling it correctly.
"Well, we're here" Reno muttered, looking around.
It was a dark path through a windy abyss, up to a precipice in the center. Jenova's power was throbbing… she knew this place. And she didn't like it.
Grasping my head, I grimaced, pulling at my hair.
"What's wrong?" Rude asked.
"Nothing" I muttered. "Just a migraine" Reno walked up, concerned. I just smiled at him.
We began walking up the snow covered stone steps, trying to avoid being blown over into the darkness below. Many a time one of us had to help the other, trying to keep us all alive; Reno tripped and Rude grabbed the back of his jacket. I was pushed by the wind, and Reno hugged me to give me better leverage.
As we came up the rocks, through the snow and wind, I began feeling apprehensive; I wasn't sure I wanted to make it to the top. "Have you seen him yet?" Rude asked. Reno shook his head, and pushed a button on his belt, speaking into a headset on his ear. "No sign of him yet boss" He muttered above the wind.
Sighing, I looked ahead, not at all concerned with their business. Pushing ahead into the lead, I walked on against the wind, clutching my arms. I was terribly cold, but fighting it. I heard Reno rush after me. Rude seemed to wait behind tentatively, but he too followed.
"Hey!" I called into the wind, almost expecting an answer. Reno looked at me funny. "Where are you?" Why did I feel like he could hear me?
As we came up to the top, I saw a form waiting there. The person was sitting in the snow, head down; his hair falling over his eyes and swaying in the wind. When he heard our footsteps, he turned, his green eyes gazing into my soul. The Masamune was implanted in the ground in front of him, and his legs were crossed, like he was just sitting there waiting for someone. Was he waiting for me, or…?
Reno frowned and pushed the button on his waist again. "We've found him sir, he's here"
Reno's voice reawakened me. Eyes wide and tearful, my hair blowing every which way, I hunched down clutching my stomach and gave a bellowing scream.
"SEPHIROTH!"
0-0-0-0-0-0
The helicopter was larger than most, as it usually transported cargo for the Shinra Electric Company. The Shinra hardly dealt with electricity any longer; staring out into the cloudy distance afar, Rufus Shinra crossed his arms and awaited the call. He needn't wait long.
"Sir"
A pale skinned man, seemingly in his thirties, stepped into the office. He stood at 5'11" with scrawny features and long blonde hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail. A red feather was in the band that pulled his hair back, and another feather was tucked behind his ear. Purple eyes stared reverently at Rufus's back.
"Reno has reported sir. The target has been sighted"
"Very well" Rufus did not like this business. "Set a course to their location. Notify me when we come within a mile of the crater."
The man's lips broke a little, forming a small smile, before it morphed into a grin and he gave a strange giggle. "Yes, sir!" Spinning around, he made to leave the room.
"Wait" Rufus turned a bit to look over his shoulder. The blonde stopped walking, and his face still to the door. "Tell them not to harm him yet. I want to take him back to Edge"
The twinkle left the blonde man's eyes. Gripping the doorknob tightly, he grimaced angrily. "Yes sir" His tone of voice was still light and airy, though his attitude and demeanor had changed. It seemed the man had looked forward to the death of their target.
Rufus did not bother looking back when the man left. He did not care. Looking out over the clouds, he frowned.
He did not like this. He didn't like it at all.
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The pale skinned, blonde haired man scowled, stomping away from his employer's office. Running his thin fingers over the red make up covering his eyes, he brooded over Sir Rufus's orders. He'd just have to "tweak" them. This thought returned the pale man's grin, as he slowly opened the door to the briefing room.
"Greetings soldiers! I just wanted to let you all know that we're going to kill someone today!" He screamed, releasing a shrill, cackle.
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HEY GUYS!
Just a little note from the author. I want to say a few things.
Thanks to all you guys who've stuck it out and reviewed and read all the chapters, thanks guys, I'm doing my best. I wish more would review, but I suppose you won't if you don't want to. What I do want to ask is if you want some sort of…
How to put this…
I don't like lemons. Mostly, they're gross, unoriginal, and written terribly. I do like some yaoi stories, but only ones with actually writing talent. I have written some of these more descriptive … love scenes… before, but I do not think it suits this story.
If I were to write something of this kind, it would not be so detailed, but more romantic, more a reunion between Sam and Sephiroth. If you want something of that kind, kind of… insinuative, I'll write it, but I'm not putting a full out sex scene here. Most of them are gross.
Also, I found this cool website for people who read and write FFVII fan fic. It's called the Genesis Awards, check it out.
This story is coming to a close, and I've loved writing it. Eventually, I'll pick it back up again, since I do like it.
Next time, I want Jamie to be the main character, since he's funny and interesting to write. I want to tell more about his back story.
If there is a sequel, it will be, if I get my way…
A VINCENTOC YAOI!!!!!
Of course if enough people disagree, I won't. Well, it's your choice! Do you want to see Vincent and Jamie together? Do you think that's gross? Do you want a romantic insinuative thingy? Do you think that's gross? Are you a prude?
Anyway, thanks for reading!
SULHADAHNE