Persistent Illusion

Sable Xane

A/N: I'm going to try not to spend too much time catching up with the main events of the story. That being said… I don't want to spend large portions of the later story explaining things via flashback. Compromises are being made. Another short chapter, but hey, a chapter.

Chapter Five

"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."
― Ken Levine

XXX

"Eeny Meeny Miny Moe," he mumbled under his breath. He was quickly approaching the point where he would have to choose which way to turn. The voices were determined to make that choice as hard as possible for him. Where north had seemed more urgent at first, south had doubled it's efforts to draw him there. He wanted to scream to heavens that he couldn't be in more than once place at a time, but the whispers had never listened to him before.

"Alright, I'm giving this one up to chance." He drew a coin from his pocket. "Heads we go north, tails we go south." He flicked the coin into the air and stepped back letting it hit the dirt. "Tails it is."

XXX

He'd never seen such trees in his life. They looked as though someone had done a strange herbology experiment. Instead of reaching toward the sky they twisted back to the ground like they'd grown too tired to hold their heads up. Each of the trees was heavily laden with what looked like lavender pears or maybe apples.

The town was even smaller than most that he'd visited and almost everyone seemed to be supported by the orchard that surrounded their village. Banora White or Dumbapples, as he had learned they were called, were only found in this one small valley. They were highly prized all over the world for their unique color and taste. The shops in the village sold ever imaginable apple related product. During the highly unpredictable harvests these products were shipped far and wide for any who could afford them.

He spent several days exploring the valley. He knew that this is where he had been drawn. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but he was very close.

Being that it was harvest his presence was hardly noticed. It was rather common for strangers to spend time in town waiting for orders to be filled while the fruits was fresh. It was completely be accident that he came across a very pregnant Gillian Hewley.

XXX

He was very tempted to kill the man. He had never met a more repugnant lump of flesh. The very idea that he thought it acceptable to experiment on fetuses and infants was disgusting. Gillian and the Rhapsodos couple were hardly any better. They had agreed to to allow said children to be experimented upon. He therefore felt no remorse obliviating the events from the whole town's recollection and removing the newborns to safer locals. He could only hope that all of Hollander's records were accounted for when he'd burned the building.

Of course the problem then became that there was nothing he could do in order to fix what had already been done. Not as such anyway. He listened to the whispers and did the best he could to stabilize the children. It took him several months to travel back north with the infants in arm. Unfortunately he didn't feel that he could risk apparition or a portkey as he didn't know how safe it would be with the infants.

The boys were close enough in age that there was no disparity in their diets yet. He had a clear destination in mind. He was almost certain that he could board the boys with Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon.

The whispers were still calling him north.

XXX

Okay, so it wasn't as easy to pass Genesis and Angeal off on Bugenhagen as he thought it would be. The old man reminded Harry horribly of Dumbledore as he encouraged Harry to play a more active roll in the boys lives.

"You made yourself responsible for them when you took them from their home. There is a reason Gaia chose you for this. You made your decision to go to them first. Now you must see this through before continuing on."

Trying to explain to the man that he had no intention of abandoning the boys permanently did no good. He couldn't take the boys with him like that. He didn't know what he was walking into. So he settled in Cosmo Canyon, hoping that he was doing the right thing by waiting. For more than two years he fought the whispers as they pushed him to go north. Knowing what he'd found in Banora he dreaded what might be happening. Was it another child? Was it suffering?

One night the whispers became screams. Harry woke covered in sweat. He rushed to the boys' room, but they were sound asleep Genesis curled up in Angeal's bed and wrapped around the bigger boy like he so often was. It didn't matter how many times Harry relocated Gen back to his own bed, the redhead was always sleeping next to his brother come morning.

The sight was only a small comfort. Something was very wrong. He slipped on his shoes and headed up Bugenhagen's tower. The man was pacing in his study when Harry came in. He didn't even look up. "It's time for you to go. Your sons will be fine here. You must make haste. I fear I've kept you here longer than I should have."

Harry didn't respond. He was out the door and leaving the village within the hour. He hated that he was leaving his boys behind, but he would return to them as soon as he could.

XXX

Unburdened and with Gaia dogging his footsteps he made the long trek north in only twelve days. He'd been to Nibelheim before and he wished that Gaia had been able to just communicate the location, he could have gotten there in an instant. The atmosphere was completely different than his last visit. Something dark and menacing festered in the air. His steps lead him right to the door of the Shinra mansion. He knew right away that he was too late.

The house had been mostly cleared and he expected that the occupants had been gone for less than a week. The villagers confirmed that suspicion when prodded.

He didn't know what to do. He started by thoroughly exploring the mansion. Most of what was left was a jumbled mass of nothing. He did find a survivor of sorts, but he honestly didn't know what to do with the man. It was obvious that he'd been through unknown horrors to end up as he was. Harry chose to take the safest path. He cast several spells to ensure that the man remain asleep and apparated backed to Cosmo Canyon.

XXX

TBC