My conscience slips away as I embrace the darkness.  It offers a calm the
waking world lacks; the peace and tranquility of where we were at the end
of time, before the wheels would turn once again, and the endless cycle
would begin anew.

Sleep reminds me of that place, the place I want to stay, without straying
back into this chaotic and confusing world.  Only tonight, the similarities
are even more so.

She stands before me, like she does every time we fail.  Her weary eyes,
her saddened expression.  Even in a place of peace, she cannot be at rest.
And how could she?  Life is ripped from her body endless times, the same
way.  By my hands.  Or hands that would be my own, but are not anymore.

Aeris looks at me sadly.  Have I lost again?  Did it go wrong already?  Her
image is pale, fading away just as I come to truly appreciate that she is
here.  How can she be here, how can _I_ be here, if we have not both died?

Finally, she speaks.  Her mouth opens and closes, but her voice is separate
from her lips; it speaks directly into my mind.

~This is just the memory of our time together; the fragments that speak to
my mind, that awake my ambition.  But only enough to lead me to the wrong
decision I make every time.~

I reach out towards her, or imagine myself doing so.  I do not know if my
body exists here or not.  But then, I was never entirely sure of that.

~You have not failed, you have simply begun remembering yourself.~

I sigh in relief.  It has repeated many times before, but each time makes
me more weary.  I fear this may be the last time I will be able to stand
the endless pantomime.  I do not want to leave this place; I do not want to
leave her...

~I cannot help you much, Sephiroth...  But I can tell you this much.  You
must wake up.  Now, or it will all be over for another round.~

I resist, my mind wanting to stay in this peaceful spot forever, but I feel
her will pushing me away.  My essence is swept away from where I wish to
be, back towards the cold, confusing world of man.

And I open my eyes.

~*~


Final Fantasy: Fated

Chapter 9: Dreams and Fantasies
By: Eric Jones

Hosted by Improfanfic
Started by Samantha Rodgers


~*~

Cloud stared intently at the sleeping form in front of him, sword raised
well above his head.  Only one way of dealing with spies, he reminded
himself.  Or at least, one part of his mind said that.  Another was
screaming at him to stop this and think about things more rationally.

A small, imperceptible nudge pushed at Cloud's mind.  There was no time for
debate, spies needed to be dealt with, and quickly.

He tensed his muscles, preparing to slice through the spy's body in one
clean swipe.  Then Gabriel opened his eyes.  Suddenly, the intent weakened,
and his will struggled against what his arms intended to do.

Cloud's arms shook as the struggle began, he shook his head, but his arms
followed through anyway, slicing through the air...  and little else,
hitting the mattress of the bed with a hollow thump.  Gabriel was crouched
on the floor nearby.

The sword fell out of Cloud's hand, and he took a step back, horrified.  "I
almost, I..."

Gabriel stood, looking at Cloud with a look of pity.  "It's not your
fault."  He said simply.

"But I almost _killed_ you!"  Cloud hissed, retreating to a corner of the
room, gripping his head tightly.

Gabriel shook his head.  "But you didn't.  Besides, that wasn't you."

"If it wasn't me, then who was it?"  Cloud asked incredulously.

"I think you know who."  Gabriel stated, walking out of the room, "Come
with me, we need to talk.  About Sephiroth."

~*~

Barret grunted under the weight of his pack.  He didn't think of it as a
burden though.  In fact, he was carrying the one thing that gave him peace
of mind in this world.

"Daddy!  I can see trees!  And...  mountains, right?"  A young girl bubbled
from her perch atop Barret's backpack.

"That's right Marlene.  Been a long time since you've seen those...  A damn
long time.."

Marlene gently swatted at Barret's head.  "Daddy, language!"

Barret did his best to ignore the muted chuckles from Jessie and Biggs
behind him.

The trio had made it back into Midgar without much trouble; they'd managed
to 'borrow' a key card from some explorer wannabe who was looking for a way
up to Bone Village.  Hopefully he wouldn't be returning any time soon.

Inside of Midgar was chaos.  Shinra troops and even SOLDIER units were
patrolling the streets on a regular basis; in the slums no less.  It was
common to see them marching on the upper plate, but rarely did they even
bother venturing down to the lower levels anymore.  Luckily, Barret and the
rest of Avalanche had one distinct advantage over the Shinra lackeys; they
actually knew the territory.  Any back alley, they took; every possible
alternate route, they followed. They saw a lot of the Shinra presence, but
Shinra never saw a whiff of Avalanche.

The only real problem came when they tried to talk Aeris' stepmother into
letting Marlene come with them.

-

Marlene was playing upstairs with Jessie at the time; Biggs and Barret were
left to talk to her in private.  She was not taken to the idea at all, and
was giving the pair a stern look.

"She's not going with you."  was her simple reply, "It's too dangerous for
her out there."

Barret shook his head in frustration.  "Damn, don't you realize it's too
dangerous for her here, too?  Shinra knows who I am, knows who the members
of Avalanche are!  Once they get a mind to kidnap her, they're gonna do it."

Aeris' stepmother looked sullen, and almost desperate.  "But..  if she goes
with you, she'll be facing danger all the time.  You're not going to ignore
your war against Shinra, are you?"

"She ain't going to be with me all the time.  She's just better off as damn
far away from here as possible!   ...I've heard of this place, Cosmo
Canyon, they live a peaceful life there, wit' no Shinra getting in their
faces..."  Barret trailed off, a pained expression on his face, "Just want
her to be safe, that's all I want.."

Her shoulders depressed, and her whole frame slumped down as she nodded her
assent finally.  Barret ran upstairs to greet his daughter, carrying her
back down on his shoulders moments later.  Jessie followed down soon after,
an extra back slung across her back.

She never said a word as the trio took away Marlene.  Barret turned to look
at her solemnly as he left.

"I promise you, I ain't going to fight nothing I don't have to until I get
her to safety."

She remained stony-faced as the group left, taking away the child; another
precious youth pulled away from her because of these barbaric
circumstances.  Where would she find solace now that she had nothing to
care for?  Her mind passed fleetingly back to the religious traveler who
had been talking of a great church in sector one not long ago...

-

The departure from Midgar took a little more planning and effort than
entering.  Having the additional factor of an exuberant (at least around
her father) young girl definitely complicated matters.  They'd ended up
almost making routes of their own through the abandoned garbage that
littered most of sector 5.  They marched their way through unofficial slum
housing well off the main path - Shinra troops wouldn't care enough to
travel in these areas, even if they were looking for someone.  Getting
through the gates leaving Midgar had proven simple enough, too.  Explosions
tended to catch the attention of Shinra troops, pulling them away from
posts quite handily.  Especially when they happen to be caused near known
rest stations for Shinra troops.  One last point for Avalanche before they
left Midgar, for good, as far as Barret was concerned.


But now, nightfall was approaching, and they had a long road ahead of them.
First they had to find a way to Costa Del Sol, then they had to find out
_where_ exactly Cosmo Canyon was. It was probably best for Aeris'
stepmother's confidence not to let her know Barret had heard of the place
only as a legend.

That was inconsequential at the moment though, their immediate concern was
how to find a boat heading towards the west; especially one that wouldn't
have 'wanted' posters with Barret's face plastered all over it.  The
solution for the time was to search around Kalm looking for someone willing
to sell a boat, or give them passage.

First things first, sleep was definitely required.  Barret was exhausted
from Marlene bouncing around, pointing out all the things she'd never had a
chance to appreciate in the smog-filled, nature-deprived Midgar
'environment'.

Arriving in Kalm, they immediately checked into the local hotel, and were
greeted by some fellow travelers who were lounging in the downstairs area.
They were three men, or so Barret assumed.  Two were swathed in robes,
which concealed even their faces.  They were accompanied by a much smaller,
presumably younger man, with short, orange hair.  They too, just happened
to be going to Costa Del Sol.  And they were willing to offer space on
their boat.  Such hospitality brought some suspicions from Barret, but he
wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth...

~*~

Elsewhere, in the heart of the Midgar slums, a wizened beast smiled.  His
heart was given joy to know his ambassador was doing so well, while at the
same time, his mind screamed for the fate of those foolish, trusting souls.

There were, however, more important matters at hand.  The so-called
'Reunion' was getting ready to commence.  A little premature, perhaps, but
it was certainly time to confront a certain 'old friend'.

"I'm heading for the North Crater."  Ioviano announced suddenly to his
assembled acolytes, "prepare the others to follow soon after.  I shall
ready the area for their arrival."

Those in attendance bowed in unison as Ioviano turned to leave.  Yes, it
would be prepared very well indeed.  First the removal of his competition,
then he could observe these slavish fools coming to worship HIM as the
great mother's emissary.

Ioviano chuckled.  A reunion indeed.  Though he doubted Sephiroth would
enjoy this meeting.

~*~

Cloud followed Gabriel outside the hotel, silently watching the man as he
lead Cloud down towards the beach.  The moon reflected brightly off the
clear waters, illuminating Gabriel's face, which was etched with worry.

"Look Cloud," Gabriel began, "it's like this..."

"I don't care what it's like."  Cloud snapped.

Gabriel started.  "What?"

"I don't know what happened in there, but I don't care.  You HAVE been
acting suspicious lately.  How did you know you that was Jenova on the
boat?  How did Sephiroth know where we'd be?  Why the HELL were you trying
to justify his actions?"

"Cloud, I can explain everything..."

"I don't want to hear it."  snapped Cloud.  "I won't be able to know if
it's just lies or not.  Didn't Inno say she wanted a vacation?  I want you
to take it.  The rest of us will go ahead across the Corel mountains.  You
can meet us on the other side in a few days.  If we encounter Sephiroth in
the meantime, we'll talk."

Gabriel looked hopeful at this, and was about to say something, before
Cloud continued.  "...if we don't see him, and then just _happen_ to
encounter him soon after we all meet up again though, we'll have words.
None of which you'll like."

"Clou-"

"No."  Cloud said with great finality, "We'll talk again when we meet on
the other side of the mountains."

With that, Cloud stomped off back to the hotel, leaving Gabriel alone to
his thoughts.

~*~

Inno peered hazily into the murky depths around her.  She was enveloped in
a nurturing warmth, something so comforting it eased the soul.  All around
her she could hear voices, fell them even, she just couldn't see a thing.
But it didn't matter, really.  All that mattered was the comfort around her.

The noise died down, or more accurately, was drowned out by a more
predominant voice.  ^Sleep.^   it said soothingly, ^Rest, relax...  All is
fine in the world.^

Something was close, close enough that Inno could almost make out it's
shape.  It was alien, too different to actually comprehend.  Inno could see
it clearly, but it simply didn't register in her mind as being anything
recognizable.  Still, it's message was hard to ignore.

^It will all work out; you must simply relax.^  The voice encouraged, ^Let
your conscious go where it may..^

Inno slipped away deeper into slumber, to the point that even her
subconscious was no longer truly aware.  The shape, if it could be
recognized, was obviously smiling.  It engulfed Inno's entire body,
throbbing an incandescent glow.

^Save Aeris,^ it said, ^She mustn't die.  Stop Sephiroth.  Stop Meteor.  But
most of all, stop Holy...^

~*~

The next morning found Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Cait Sith, and Nanaki grouped
together in the entrance hall of their hotel.  They had all their
belongings ready; Cloud had pushed them for an early start this morning.
The only thing holding them up was Gabriel and Inno.

"Where's Gabriel?"  Cait Sith finally whined, "I didn't even see him when I
woke up this morning."

"We can't just leave them behind."  Said Aeris, "They've been of help before."

A curt snort was all Cloud managed before Gabriel walked down the stairs
towards the group.

"Actually, it looks like you'll have to leave us behind."  Gabriel said
this with bemusement, but his eyes suggested a different sentiment, "Inno's
still unconscious from the tranquilizer last night.  Looks like she's going
to get her vacation whether she wants it or not."

"Not that she'll really be able to enjoy it."  Aeris giggled.

"We can't wait for you; every day we wait, Sephiroth gets that much further
ahead of us."  Cloud interjected.

"I know."  Gabriel replied evenly, "We'll do our best to catch up to you."

"We'll look for clues along the way, and we'll give you a day or two to
catch up at the next town."  Cloud said, stomping out of the hotel.  The
others looked confused, and gave Gabriel farewell before chasing off after
Cloud.  Cait Sith was the last to leave, making sure to hand his roomie his
fortune from last night.

"Don't forget about this, roomie!  It might be important!"  The cat spoke
dramatically, before leading his oversized Moogle out of the building.
Gabriel sullenly watched him leave, latching onto the scrap of paper Cait
had handed him.

'You see echoes of the past in the present.'  He saw echoes _everywhere_
now.  The hatred in Cloud's eyes, that was his doing, of a sort.  His anger
was justified, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

"I just hope I can let you know the truth in time."  Gabriel whispered,
making his way back to Inno's room.  She really was still out like a light;
the magics she'd been throwing around the last while must have put more of
a strain on her than he'd first thought.

But then, those spells were incredibly powerful.  The fact that no one had
ever questioned how Inno had these powers suddenly occurred to him.  He had
never really been that curious either, until now.  What kind of person
could cast a 'life 2' without the aid of materia?  Even he hadn't been able
to do that, at the height of his ability.  Something about these abilities
sparked at the back of his mind, but stayed well out of conscious
recognition.

Shrugging, Gabriel sat himself down by Inno's bed.  He'd have to ask her
about it when she finally woke up...

~*~

Reno was one happy man. R&D projects usually ended up being fatal for the
users, but this latest gadget really took the cake, and hadn't killed him
yet, either.

It was a simple device, much like a cattle prod, albeit a cattle prod with
barrier, mbarrier, and time materia grafted into it's frame.  The end
result, anyone who got hit with the sucker was stuck inside a barrier that
they themselves could not break, because they couldn't move.  Brilliance.
And all the better to capture some of those Avalanche sods who'd dared to
cross his path.  Oh, they'd get theirs, all right...

First would be that Inno girl, on direct orders from the highest level of
Turks command.  Some medical reports had cropped up from a few weeks ago
that showcased some of the girls...  unusual talents.  The nitwits who had
dismissed the girl as being unworthy of further research had since been
sacked, probably in both senses of the word.    She was Special.  Possibly
an even more important discovery than the Aeris girl, or so Hojo claimed.

Whatever that meant, it spelt glory for the captor.  And that was gonna be him.

~*~

Author's notes:
My goodness!  A serious piece by me?  I hope my travails into dramatic
writing wasn't too traumatic for people - I actually rather liked trying my
hands at it.

This isn't to say the piece is without faults; it could certainly be
longer, that's for sure.  :/   Hopefully my attempts to bring characters
back into the fold worked okay, and I hope my rampant Reno fanboyism isn't
too obvious.  ^_^

I hope the Inno dream part doesn't annoy too many people.  A point I wanted
to raise in the piece was the fact that maybe it _is_ a good thing that
Aeris dies, or at least necessary...
My personal theory is that the summoning of Holy awakens the Lifestream to
a higher level, and makes the spore that's currently controlling Inno
powerless to suck their energy away from them.   If that makes any sense.
o.O

Anyways, hope you liked!


   Eric
   mikado@maison-otaku.net
   http://maison-otaku.net/~mikado/