It's CHRIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS!
I don't own anything, anyone or anywhere you recognise. Sapphire, along with a few others who'll crop up every now and then, are mine.
Well okay, it's a little bit away, but I think this year I'm starting early. Gotta get me some of that Christmas cheer!
Super duper shoutout to VocalVenom and JustAFemaleGeek for reviewing last chapter! I can't put into words how much I'm motivated by your feedback, so massive thanks to you :D
Also yep, getting the sense that last chapter was confusing! Hope that's in an intriguing way and not in a bad writing way, oof...
I cannot guarantee things will get any clearer in this chapter, buuuuut next chapter should start to clear things up! Fingers crossed. Incidentally, next chapter should be the last of 2020, and the last of my bi-monthly update schedule. After that, it'll every man for himself xD
Alright, enough blabber! On we go!
Chapter 16 - Hello
Noise. A voice. Words, maybe, but garbled. Indistinguishable. Loud.
Touch. To my shoulder. A hand, gentle. Pressing. A light squeeze.
Sight remained the same. Blurred, yet unmoving. Glowering into the dusty trail, agonisingly unstained and untouched. The body that once lay there long gone, returned to the planet in a nauseating display of twinkling, mako green light.
Of its own accord, my body had rocked back to sit on my knees. My hands had fallen to my sides, and still hung there, heavy as lead.
And then there was noise, and touch. Alien to my senses after the passage of time, disrupting the stillness, the nothingness. The noises became louder, the touch squeezed tighter. Overwhelming.
After a blink, I realised that I was somewhere new. Indoors. Unfamiliar.
So I got to my feet and left. I wandered, aimless, but the sight I searched for was burned into my mind's eye. A dusty trail. Some white, bending trees.
A hand in my pocket, fingers fraying the edges of a stiff feather. I walked.
Noise. Touch. The sight of the same unknown home, where I did not belong.
I tried to leave, but the way was shut. The result of which was an unholy shrieking, which echoed in my empty mind, bouncing off the walls. An alarm?
Such noise.
Then touch.
And then the sight. A dusty trail. Some white, bending trees.
I sat on my knees, hands by my sides, and glowered at the ground. No more noise. No more touch.
…
Lana had been my saviour. Prickly and sarcastic, but irrefutably good. Not everyone would take in a crabby invalid and nurse them back to health, for months on end, with no reward to be gained.
Not everyone would, I was sure. Was it just good luck then, that I kept finding the exceptions? Or was it bad luck that had me landing in their laps, perhaps some kind of cosmic power that recognised when I needed the best of humanity, and nudged us together? Either way, I supposed it was something I should be grateful for.
Lana the second was an older woman, but not for the first time my estimate had a range that spanned multiple decades. She was a little softer than her predecessor, and was more or less happy to leave me in quiet solitude for large portions of the day, which I appreciated. She seemed to understand what I was going through, on some level, and appeared to have adopted a careful balance between allowing me my space and providing a quiet, stalwart presence. A peaceful sort of person, who seemed to know how to deal with me too well. Perhaps she had her own demons.
She seemed to understand my grief, better than I did. She'd brought me to her home just a week ago, and watched over me like a parent hovering over their mischievous toddler. During spells of wandering back to the dusty trail, she followed closely. The day after, when I remained all but catatonic in bed for fifteen hours, she left water and fruit on the bedside table. While I sat immobile, mind churning, slowly processing, she said nothing and allowed me to have my silence. And the previous evening when I'd returned from my daily walk with an armful of freshly-picked dumbapples, she had only smiled.
Reading between the lines, I think she expected me to be stricken with grief for longer than I had been. In reality, I'd refused to let myself mope around her home for longer than I needed to. I was going on walks, picking apples. I'd sit out and watch the sunset. I'd had some lovely conversations with her neighbours who, it seemed, had spoken more with me in my week here than with the homeowner in a month. Longer, if they were to be believed.
Surrounding myself with idle chitchat and the vivid outdoors had been a good distraction from the lonely white room that pervaded my dreams. Determined not to dwell on that, I focused all my energy on convincing myself nothing had changed, because my trip to Banora really had just been a detour from Mideel after all. My pursuit of my past life had ended when I left Midgar, and nothing had changed.
There was nothing for me here in Banora, so the only question was, where to next? Back to Mideel? I had intended to go back there, it had been my home after all. And people remembered me there, old friends. I had lived there for over a year, so I must've loved it there, to some extent. And I'd had such nostalgia on my arrival. I remembered it all, and had definitely been comforted by it.
But then there was Nibelheim, and the amazing woman who had nursed me back to health after my escape from the basement. I certainly felt I had to go back there someday soon, and thank Lana properly for all that she'd done for me. I'd travelled so far since then…
I'd have to go back to Mideel anyway, whether I was staying there or returning to Nibelheim or wherever else. Nowhere else on these Mideel islands even had docks, so that was a given. I supposed I could work out what was next when I got as far as that.
Before then, I owed my second caretaker a debt I could hardly repay (though I supposed the week here was less extreme than the couple months in Nibelheim) so I tried to dedicate my scattered brain into coming up with a meaningful way to repay the woman for allowing a total stranger to wallow in her guest bedroom for a little while.
Something monetary? Though my reserves were a little low since the boat ride over had cost an arm and a leg.
She seemed a modest sort, so a modest gesture. A bouquet of flowers? A thank-you card? A basket of fruit?
A basket of fruit, in this town, probably just meant a basket full of apples. Not the most exciting thing ever. Though I knew she liked dumbapples.
…Ugh. Am I really considering going out to pick apples for her, as a thank-you gift? That's just sad. I can come up with something better than that!
In the meantime though, I was feeling antsy, and I could go out and pick them while I continued thinking, and just hope that I came up with something better as I did so.
"Bye, Gillian," I called to Lana II, who seemed to be having a down day herself. She said nothing but gave me a sombre smile and a raised hand in farewell. That's okay, I'd pick her some apples.
The sun shone down with an intensity that was unusual for the time of year, had we not been on the exotic southern hemisphere. I had to squint to adjust to the glare as I left the house; almost more out of habit than of necessity, another lesser-known quirk of Mako eyes. A huff of labour caught my attention, and I looked to the origin.
Gillian's older neighbour (this woman was for sure past her seventies… or maybe sixties?) was pushing a wooden box out of her house along the ground, visibly struggling. I jogged over, offering, "Can I help?" while tying what little I could grab of my hair back into an untidy bun.
"Good morning, dear," she greeted me with the kind of warmth I associated exclusively with old ladies. "Would you? I'm just not as spry as I once was," she explained, as if I had demanded an explanation for why she might need help, even as I crouched to lift the heavy box.
Lift with your knees, not with your back; something I knew to do without recalling exactly how I had learned such. But the box really didn't seem all that heavy, and my back probably would've been fine if I'd tried to lift it by bending over backwards, let alone forwards. Still, I tried not to let my ease be too obvious, and moved slow towards her car, which was already running.
"Thank you, I've got a couple more boxes, if that wouldn't be too difficult for you?" she requested, her voice rushed. She strode back into the house with purpose. I followed, hot on her heels.
"You're moving out?" I enquired, squinting at the room practically stripped of all its possessions. The walls were covered in lighter rectangles, where pictures had previously been hung and remained unmoved for years apiece.
"Well, of course," came the unexpected reply, "isn't Gillian?"
Eh? "Why would she?" I asked, starting to feel very out-of-the-loop. Had they planned a holiday together? Why wouldn't she have told—?
Well no, duh, the woman was packing her whole house into the car. But then why would she expect Gillian to leave too, if she just wanted a change of scenery?
"Has something happened? Gillian hasn't mentioned wanting to leave." The frantic old woman shook her head in dismay, starting to add bits and bobs to the few cardboard boxes in the centre of the room, as if needing a distraction.
After a few moments, she sighed, shaking her head sadly. "If you can, try and convince her to leave, too. The poor dear though, I don't think she will. But you should leave as well, as soon as you're able," she explained frustratingly little as she fussed about her belongings. "That one's ready to go out to the car," she pointed to one that was as good as overflowing.
I rushed out with it, and rushed back in again, finding her in the kitchen. "I know you're in a rush, but please, can you spare a few minutes to explain to me why you're leaving?" I pleaded, arms outstretched in what I hoped was a calming gesture, genuinely concerned that the woman would cause herself some harm with how flustered she was.
She took a deep breath through her nose, prompting me to smile. Deep breathing like that couldn't hurt. And then she began to explain all that she knew, while I sat, the picture of calmness and composure.
…
"Gillian?!" I called into the house, not even taking the time to slam the door shut behind me. "We have to get out of here! Gillian!"
Not seeing her in the living room where she had waved me off, I stormed up the stairs.
"Come on! You haven't heard?" I hollered, heading for her bedroom. Opening the door quickly but keeping a hold of it to prevent slamming it, I scanned the room.
Oh. She must've gone back to bed. "What's going on?" she complained sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"Was talking to your next door neighbour," I explained, and approached her wardrobe, opening the doors and examining the contents. "You got a suitcase in here?"
"Wha— no! What is happening? What did she say to you?" Alerted now, she hopped out of bed, approaching me like one would an injured deer.
I shook my head, barely able to think straight. Probably in exactly the same state the neighbour was in when I first approached her. "SOLDIERs," I whispered the word, almost breathless. "Apparently a whole army of them, and— we need to leave!"
"Why?"
Her reaction floored me. "Because they… because…" I trailed off, unsure how to express something that felt like it should go without saying. "Because they're SOLDIER! This is a village, why would Shinra send an army here? And they've just taken over some old abandoned factory, and done nothing?"
Gillian's lips curled upwards, though the smile didn't get anywhere close to her eyes. "Surely they would be here to protect us, then?" she suggested, sitting back on her bed.
"But— it's a whole army! If they're here to protect us, then there must be a massive threat here— something we should be trying to get away from!" The pitch of my voice was quickly approaching a level that could shatter glass.
"I won't leave," she spoke with sudden gravity, holding my gaze, almost like she was challenging me to carry her out kicking and screaming. The thought was tempting. "But I won't keep you here. Leave, if you wish."
I frowned, suddenly feeling dejected. I sure didn't want to stay, that was asking for trouble (a euphemism for probable death sentence) but I could hardly leave Lana II here without any sort of protection. Against an army. I feel like I had said that so many times and been casually acknowledged every single time, like it wasn't the insane massive scary looming threat that it so obviously was. I must've been losing my mind.
Hold up. If I stayed…
"I want to stay, to protect you," I said slowly, my mind racing, "but if I stay, I'm putting you in danger." I met her eyes again, having dropped them to the floor in my contemplation, and took a breath in preparation of owning up to my guilt. "I'm a fugitive, an escaped convict from Shinra. I don't know why they're here, but if they find me and recognise me, I might be taken captive again. If I'm with you, you could be seen as an accomplice."
"Then leave," she urged, appearing wholly unfazed by my confession.
Furrowing my brow, I complained, "That's leaving you here, with nothing between you and them. If I got away, and you suffered…"
She met my eye again, but almost seemed to look right through me. There was a heaviness there, a guilt, one which I had seen on her this morning and many times before. This woman had demons. "They cannot hurt me," she retorted chillingly.
Well, there were my options. Stay to defend a woman who didn't want to be defended, and condemn us both to becoming fugitives (assuming the miracle that I could defend us from the mass of SOLDIER troops), or flee by myself, and give her a chance of flying under the radar.
Coward, or killer?
I bowed my head, teeth gritted, and turned to leave. "Do you have a gun? Or a sword, even," I asked quietly, knowing I would need mine.
She said nothing. I assumed sticking with her earlier proclamation. I supposed I couldn't stop her from being an idiot.
Coward, every time. But not so cowardly that I would leave her here, defenceless. "If you don't have something, I'll leave mine," I continued, expecting that would spur some kind of reaction.
"My son will have left a sword somewhere, I'm sure," she dismissed, not sounding too concerned. I wasn't convinced.
But then, if I stayed… she'd have to use it. If I left, she might not have any trouble. What would an army want with a quiet middle-aged woman anyway?
Coward. I shook my head, and left for my room. I retrieved the cheap, well-worn sword that had seen me all the way from Nibelheim, allowing myself a second to admire it. Still hanging in there, just like me. At my hairline I tied a bandana, over my head went a slightly-too-large hoodie, and I stared at myself in a full length mirror, scanning myself almost too fast to take in anything.
The hood was a little large, obstructing a lot of my peripheral vision, but if I was the target, it could be the difference between anonymity and being recognised. The hood was worth the lack of visibility if I could keep incognito, with the bandana keeping the hair out of my face and also out of sight. Hoodie was subtle enough, light grey and with no writing or logo; nondescript loose trousers, dark blue; and my sturdy dark boots-
Aw, no. I'd have to ditch these for sure. I loved these boots! Say what you will about SOLDIER but they spring for good boots.
Grumbling but grateful that I'd had a final cursory look, I kicked them off and switched to a pair of trainers Gillian had kindly donated. Barely used (obviously because they were extremely cheap and thin enough to feel even the tiniest stone through the soles) and again, boring, dark grey. That'd do.
Back on the landing, Gillian hadn't emerged from her room.
"Stay safe, Gillian," I called to her as I dashed down the stairs, taking two at a time. No response. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but I didn't have time to dwell on it either. The sooner I got away from her, the less likely we'd be seen together and associated with one another.
I knew my days of flying under the radar would only last so long, and the very last thing I wanted to do was put others in danger, least of all those that helped me. A good lesson to learn; I needed to stop relying on people for safety.
"Hello!" Gillian's neighbour called out to me, waving. Her hand was on the door handle of the driver's side of the car. "Is she coming, should we wait for her?"
Darn. I had said I'd go with her, hadn't I? Well, this was awkward.
I returned her wave and jogged over, scanning the surroundings like a true SOLDIER. No sign of any; I counted myself lucky. Myself and the innocent civilians I had surrounded myself with.
"Gillian isn't coming," I reported with urgency, eyeing her as she shook her head in exasperation. "You expected this?"
"Honestly, that woman…" she trailed off, clenching and unclenching a shaking fist, "she calls it honour, but she just puts herself in danger, needlessly!"
The old woman grumbled to herself for a few moments longer, while I tried to ignore the tightening in my chest. Honour. That tickled a nerve somewhere.
The mention left a teasing thread dangling somewhere in my head, but I couldn't see where. Reaching out in every direction to find it, spreading further and staggering blindly in the dark; it only seemed farther and farther away.
That was okay. Good or bad, I'd find out what it meant. I'd just have to remember the word that inspired it. Honour.
"So, do you want to stay, dear?" she prompted me back into awareness. "I'm going to my sister's in Mideel, you'll be more than welcome."
Gah. "That's nice of you, but…" I looked back at Gillian's house, still torn. If I stayed with the stubborn woman, she'd be in danger by association. But if she got hurt and I wasn't around to protect her, what would that make me? A coward was the kindest way to put it. "I'm gonna stay," I decided firmly. I could just occupy the neighbour's house while I did so. Close enough to protect, far enough to be disassociated. I hoped.
"Well, alright then." The elderly woman didn't sound too enthused by my decision, as she opened her car door and braced herself to get in. "Help me in, would you?"
I held one arm in support to balance her while she lifted herself in, and closed the door for her. Casting another wary glance around the small town (no sign, same as before) I made a snap decision and tapped on the glass, indicating her to wind down the window, which she did. "Can I come with you as far as the outskirts of town, maybe? I'm sure you'll be safe to drive the rest of the way."
She barked a laugh, "You think I'll be in trouble?" I wasn't fazed, and raised my eyebrows, unimpressed. She deflated, looking more like the scared old woman that she was. "Well… alright then. Door's unlocked."
I dashed hastily around to the other side of the car, and hadn't even closed the door before she propelled us forward. "Hey, take a deep breath, alright? Focus on driving, and I'll protect you."
She said nothing, but smiled, so I assumed she took it well enough. And then she looked like she saw a ghost straight ahead, so I looked forward.
After breathing a deep breath through my nose, my eyes locked on the sight, I asked Gillian's neighbour, "What was your name?"
With a stammer, she answered, "L-Lilah."
"Lilah," I echoed, aiming for a reassuring tone. "I want you to keep driving, just a little bit faster if you can, and keep away from what's going on. Eyes on the road, and focus on your breathing. Okay?"
"Alright," she whispered, immediately starting to breathe heavier and more rapidly. That wasn't quite what I meant, but if it got her past the SOLDIER beating down on two of her fellow villagers, I wouldn't start complaining. Until we were well clear, at least. She didn't really speed up though. And I could tell she was looking directly at the altercation, so she really didn't do anything I asked for.
"So what's your sister's name? Do you get along?" I enquired, trying to lighten the mood as we passed by.
Lilah stammered and whimpered for a few moments in a valiant attempt to engage, but sadly fell short, which I couldn't blame her for. After all, my heart was in my throat, and I didn't really want either of us to associate this sight with the poor old lady's sister.
No sweet old woman should have to see that. No innocent civilian should be getting beat on by someone more powerful, someone they're supposed to be protected by. No human should exploit the power they've been given and to such excess, no matter what their opponent did; only to subdue when necessary, not to punish, and never against the innocent.
At the sight of Lilah's hands shaking on the wheel, my fists clenched, and I glared in the wing mirror at the perpetrator. Coward, or killer? Should I get out and face the SOLDIER, leaving Lilah in the lurch? Would there be more ahead that I would need to protect her from before we got out of the town?
The woman beside me let out a soft sob. The SOLDIER stood upright, watching after us, lifting a radio from his belt to his lips. Either one of those two things were reason enough to stay with Lilah and see her out of Banora, seeing as we were now a target and would likely be pursued, either by him or some of his comrades further ahead.
The road took us uphill out of the town, beyond that one expensive mansion and past the apple orchard. The road was shaded by Banora White trees even outside of the orchard, curled over the road and casting speckled shade, surrounded by green hills and fields. A few small windmills were dotted around the place, and there were occasional small branching lanes off the road, perhaps to farmer's fields farther out. I wasn't familiar with this area, or anything past the orchard. From Mideel, I had only made it to the outskirts of the area when…
When I discovered my old tutor, the SOLDIER: First Class…
There was no way those two things weren't linked. An entire army out here… had he been with them? It was hard to imagine how many SOLDIERs it would take to overwhelm a First Class, but the army Lilah had spoken of seemed like an accurate enough number. And if they took him by surprise, then the outcome was hardly a surprise.
Maybe the army started to hassle the locals - if you could call that display we just passed hassling - and my old tutor fought back against their heavy-handed behaviour. As a Commander and a First Class SOLDIER, he would have had the authority to order them to stop, but they fought back.
There hadn't been a scratch on him, when I found him lying there, outside the village. Dirty tactics. SOLDIERs would have access to all sorts of weapons, not just physical. Maybe one got his hands on… I don't even know, was there some sort of Poison Materia? If I learned a lot about Materia when I was in SOLDIER, I had forgotten it by now. I had the weirdest aversion to it, I could barely remember…
But the narrative I came up with seemed to fit the circumstances, and imagining it did nothing for my attempts to stay calm. The anger built up in me, the desire to exact vengeance for the person I had lost, and for the innocents being preyed on. I pushed it down and let it simmer, channelling my limited focus remaining onto getting Lilah a safe distance from the village. After that I could let loose.
"Does your sister have a place where you can hide this car out of sight, like a garage?" I asked slowly. If the SOLDIER hadn't got her registration, he had the colour, make and model. If there wasn't somewhere secure it could be hidden, it'd have to be destroyed.
"Uh," she whimpered, then shook her head. "Her neighbour uses her garage, so it may not be available."
"She'll have to tell her neighbour that the offer's been rescinded, her sister needs it more."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a nuisance…"
…Really? Did I have to spell it out for her? "Not a negotiation, Lilah," I disputed, causing her to sigh. Well, I guess if she was fixated on something so minor, she wouldn't be worrying too much about the seriousness of the situation as a whole. Not a bad distraction technique, I supposed. A self-inflicted distraction. That was interesting.
"Do…" Lilah's voice wobbled, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Do you think Gillian will be okay?"
I smiled, putting one hand over one of her quivering ones on the steering wheel. "I'll protect her, I promise. I'll make sure she's okay. Right after I finish with—"
The car ground to a halt. Lilah screamed, thrust forward in her seat, the seatbelt she wore preventing her from going too far. I was able to distinguish the sound of my seatbelt clasp rattling against the car, as I flew through the windscreen, tumbling onto the dirt road ahead.
Well, had to look at the bright side. Being thrown from the car let me inadvertently tackle the SOLDIER who had stepped out into the middle of the road.
If it protected the sweet old woman, I could be a projectile flung from a car for sure. Hopefully I wouldn't have to be that more than once though. It hurt my… everything. My head had been the main point of contact through the glass, which blurred things a little, so the pain I was feeling was probably less than it should've been. A very comforting thought. My left shoulder caught the SOLDIER's, sending him spinning to the ground. A good cause, but my shoulder wasn't built to be a battering ram, and exploded in dull, throbbing pain.
I'd managed to get my hands ahead of me before I barrelled into the ground. The impact was bruising, but in a move that probably looked a lot less natural and fluid than I thought it did, I used my momentum to tuck into a forward roll and buried my feet into the dirt to grind to a halt, standing upright in moments. I presumed I had SOLDIER training to thank for that.
Looking up at the SOLDIER starting to scramble to his feet, the three vivid red lights on his helmet burning in my direction, I drew my sword from my hip and held it defensively, retreating several steps.
If the SOLDIER was focused on fighting me, I could get him off the road, and give Lilah a chance to get away. I just had to hope that there was no more SOLDIERs down the road. But frankly, I didn't fancy my chances against this guy, and I wasn't about to make her wait for more backup to arrive. Or for me to lose and for the SOLDIER to move on to her.
Whatever those villagers did to inspire the other SOLDIER to beat down on them, it probably wasn't as bad as myself and Lilah had just done.
I hoped she would take the initiative and drive on past when the SOLDIER was clear, and hopefully I could wrestle his radio off of him and destroy it before he could call ahead like the previous did. I didn't really want to be yelling at her to go; was a little bit obvious.
The SOLDIER sheathed his sword and drew a gun, training it on me. That sure put a spanner in the works of getting him off the road. "Identify yourself," he commanded.
Maybe he had a list of people of interest? A list of people to attack, or to find? To kill? Or to spare?
Was he looking for a specimen that escaped from the Shinra manor several months ago?
"You first," I challenged, holding my sword up higher, pointed to him as I skirted closer. "Who are you looking for?"
He cocked his gun, arms bracing. "I don't answer to civilians!" he retorted angrily. "Identify, and drop your weapon, or I will use lethal force!"
"Why does it matter who I am? You only dishing out beatings to certain people?" I threw back with equal fury, gritting my teeth as I chanced another step forward.
"Drop your weapon!" he hollered, almost drowned out by the roaring of an engine. His head turned to the car, and I launched forward, ready to take advantage of the distraction—
Lilah rammed into the SOLDIER, the sound of the engine stalling accompanied by the man's anguished screams. That was not the plan. Albeit, I capitalised, and grabbed up the radio on his belt before he had the chance to, dropping it and stomping the heel of my cheap shoe onto it half a dozen times.
I'd wager it'd buy a small amount of time, if any, but wow. I had to hand it to her; seemed like a foolish move, but it definitely took our opponent by surprise, and gave me that opening.
I met Lilah's watery eyes, and tossed my head to the right, to gesture her to get moving. The SOLDIER had already barrel rolled to get out of the path of the small car, so she had a clear exit. She fumbled with the controls of the car, engine stalling in her panic.
Gritting my teeth at the delay, I leapt at the SOLDIER, wrestling for his gun. Bang. Bang bang.
The ringing in my ears was disorientating, my heart pounded, but I still fought to pull the weapon out of his hand. Bang. Around the explosions, I could hear the car speed away, saw it go from the corner of my eye.
Inspiration striking far later than it should have, the sword in my right hand came to his neck; he immediately fell limp, and let go of the gun. Sure, I could tuck and roll after being flung from a car, but it took literal seconds to realise I had a sword in hand? Good grief.
Knowing I would only do more damage with it than good, I slid the gun along the ground a few feet ahead, the weapon finding a home under a bush.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded to know, from my advantageous position. "Why are you hurting the villagers?"
With a resolute expression, perceptible even with the obtrusive helmet, the SOLDIER declared, "Kill me."
My jaw dropped, and suddenly the sword I held to his throat was thrust to the left, my elbow knocked away over my chest. Balance tipped, I fell onto my right shoulder, as the SOLDIER scrambled to straddle me as I had him, one hand at my right wrist holding my sword hand down while the other reached over his shoulder for his sheathed sword on his back.
I could see the surprise on his face, as he had underestimated my strength. Without any tremendous difficulty, my right arm broke free of his grip and thrust upwards.
Time froze, as two pairs of mako eyes locked on each other. Realisation dawned in eyes that slid out of focus. With a shuddering breath, he collapsed on top of me.
"Requesting backup, SOLDIER down!"
No time to think. I rolled him off me with a great heave and leapt to my feet. The new arrival reached for the gun holstered at his hip. I launched myself forward, howling, with my sword at the ready.
Lilah would make it to Mideel, and be safe. Gillian would be protected. The rest of the villagers would be avenged.
"Restrain her."
The woman from his SOLDIERs' panicked reports was unremarkable by appearance, but for the darkly impressive (for a regular person) number of bodies strewn haphazardly at her feet. Unfortunately, she gave up with surprisingly little resistance. When the few SOLDIERs that had accompanied him threw themselves at her arms to weigh her down, she simply fell with them, landing heavily on her knees. Her head bowed to be parallel with the ground. Her position made her look like she was bowed to him.
"Just like that?" he lamented, approaching the suddenly immobile combatant. "How disappointing. You fought well."
No response. She didn't even look up at him. Didn't even acknowledge him.
Genesis didn't appreciate that. But he was curious. "Your resilience is unlike anything I've seen before. Admirable by SOLDIER standards, let alone for what humans are capable of. How? Who trained you?"
That got a reaction. Not an answer, unfortunately, but she let out some noise, perhaps the beginning of an answer; if it was, it was consumed by a sharp intake of breath, almost akin to a sob.
"A tender subject, perhaps?" he mused, not expecting an answer as he studied her with narrowed eyes. He stood a cool few metres away so as to avoid any unfortunate accidents were she to chance her arm. That said, he suspected the rapier he held in his hand, the tip not a great distance from her and in plain sight, was motivation enough not to try such a brash act. "Tell me something else, then. What is your goal?"
Not a difficult question, by his reckoning, but again met with a response that was more of a depressing whimper of a noise than anything.
As a SOLDIER: First Class, he had been faced with his fair share of surrenders. Regardless of his choice to show or withhold mercy, he often found it admirable. An opponent able to recognise their shortcomings enough to know when they were beaten was a wise individual, worth far more than simple-minded brawn could ever be. Genesis admired the action; he did so despite certainty that he would not perform said action.
This particular example, however, left him with a sour taste in his mouth. This was not admirable. She hadn't even looked like she was exhausted, or ready to give in. She just looked like she had been taken by surprise, and relented. How could one win and honourably accept a surrender when the opposition had not fought their hardest?
"So, you would prefer to die as a mystery, than survive by honesty?" he prompted, hackles beginning to rise. "Well?!"
She recoiled then, and seemed to return to her senses. She managed to sputter out a syllable before her voice was lost to a sob, whilst half-heartedly pulling at her arms, still in the tight grasp of the copies at either side. The syllable she spoke was nigh unmistakeable. "Gen—" His first name.
Very familiar. Genesis narrowed his eyes at the woman, who turned her face up to gaze at him. A face that was narrow but not emaciated, lightly tanned, with a streak of blood from a broad cut trailing down from her forehead, to wide open eyes the colour of— "Ah," the SOLDIER intoned with an air of accomplishment, bending at the waist to examine those eyes a little more closely. "That explains your fighting prowess." Those were SOLDIER eyes, unmistakably. Light aqua around the pupil, bordered with the thinnest circle of a richer dark blue. Genetics most often overwritten by the SOLDIER treatment, it was rare to see a shade so—
Wait. A SOLDIER?
"How are you—?" he began to ask, breaking his mako eyes from hers to scan her face, trying to place the individual. Of the female SOLDIERs currently in Shinra - of which there were two - neither of them looked like his captive. But bells of familiarity rang in his head, if dully. There was something he recognised in this individual, who clearly recognised him too, judging by the myriad of emotions crossing her face. Her? Was she perhaps just a very feminine-looking man—?
…No.
…Couldn't be.
Couldn't be.
But he let himself dare to think so, and on his knees before her as she was before him, he could think nothing else. She looked so different, and yet so much the same, except almost… more refined, prettier, even. And those eyes, familiar enough to comfort him yet different enough to entice him, only now with tears beginning to flow as she grinned wide enough to crease them into overflowing.
She was here. She was alive, and here, and smiling. It was her.
Her smile dropped, her expression becoming serious. "Hello," she whispered, her voice breathy, and hers. And then the grin was back, with a huff of laughter, and she continued, "Been a while?"
What happened next either happened slowly, or Genesis was struggling with his comprehension of the present and his perception handily slowed things down for him. Thin yet muscular arms were jerked from the grasp of those at her sides, and they rose as she did, pushing herself high up on her knees. Now they were at eye level, and he could feel something. Seeing her wide smile, and aware of his own dropped jaw, his slowly closing mouth twitched upwards. A smile like that simply had to be returned.
Her raised arms closed in, on their way to curling over his shoulders. Almost without the thought registering, he dropped his rapier, his hands hovering by her waist. In total disbelief, and acting on instinct, he craved what he was about to receive, so much so that everything else was beyond his own awareness.
A hug. Something so simple, so pedestrian. Genesis felt he was beyond such things, seeking comfort, physical or otherwise from another person. He had no qualms whatsoever with being by himself, working for himself. He had never needed to depend on someone else. A hug. When was the last time he'd had a hug? Had he ever even wanted a hug?
It didn't matter. The instant he would feel her arms make contact with him, his hands would close their distance, and return the embrace. His fingers twitched in anticipation.
Movement, from behind her, and his stomach gave a sickening jolt as she grunted, her smile fading, her striking blue-green eyes losing focus before her eyelids fell shut.
Her arms made contact, as they fell limp over his shoulders. His left shoulder throbbed at the dead weight. Genesis lunged forward, letting her chin fall onto his right shoulder. His arms wrapped around her, the left hand at the small of her back and the right between her shoulder blades, securing her unconscious body to his. The feeling was surreal. She was small enough that he could nearly touch his elbows with the opposite hands. It felt…
Genesis stamped down whatever positive feeling he might have felt, in preference of directing his almighty fury through a dagger glare to the SOLDIER that had butted the back of her head with his gun. Baring his teeth, he growled, his arms unconsciously tensing around the woman.
"You may never comprehend how fortunate you are to still have your life," he uttered coldly. A single SOLDIER was more than expendable, but they were livestock, and there was no gain to eliminating him now. Not when there were other uses for him that could further his cause. The urge was undeniably present though. He would have to find an alternative outlet. "Pick up my sword," the Commander ordered the other, before sweeping his former student up into a lift, one arm under her back and the other under her knees. Her arms fell, as of course they would, but he couldn't help but notice the loss. The position he carried her in brought back memories, from a long time ago.
It was her. She was alive, and she was here.