Second Side 16
Chapter 16. Last chapter.
“I understand. Thanks.”
Axel and Riku looked up at Cloud as he hung up, “Well?”
“Hojo got away. For now. They think it might have been purposeful to show himself as a distraction technique. Be on guard.”
They both nodded a little and Axel paused a moment before asking, “Is Roxas ok?”
“He’s getting there…”
“What happened?”
“He seems to have acquired mine and Zack’s memories. He’s having trouble pulling them apart from his own memories.”
Riku looked confused, “But he was fine before, wasn’t he?”
“I think he was still in a state of shock so nothing could really get to him. Once he came out of that shock the memories assaulted him. Probably why he was out of it earlier.”
“That makes sense… I guess,” Axel murmured.
“That’s also probably why he was having trouble telling Leon what happened and why he had no idea what was making him panic. He couldn’t access his memories properly.”
“Weird,” Riku said, turning his attention back to Sebastian and Anastasia as a block flew through the air and nearly hit him, “Hey! No throwing.”
Roxas wandered out of the kitchen were Cloud had dragged him and made him eat and into the living room. Everyone looked up at him but he just crossed the room and sat down next to Axel, leaning against him and closing his eyes. No one said anything for a moment and Riku caught the second block that flew at him before it could hit him in the face.
“What did I just tell you two? No throwing!”
________________________________________
Sora felt a bit guilty at the relief he felt being back at the lab. He comforted himself by saying he was just relieved to be able to do something. He knew though that, that was only partially true. He had wanted out of that house and away from everyone. He needed a quiet place to think and not worry about anyone adding anything else to his worries.
His greatest worry was Roxas. Sure they had known there was going to be some psychological damage, but this was more than Sora could handle at the moment. Maybe if they had been in a different place at a different time, but not here and now.
The second slap in the face had been discovering his brother’s secret love life. It would have been one thing if they had just recently started dating, but nine years and not one word to him. Plus he had just had that conversation with Cloud and Cloud had lied to him about it. If it weren’t for the much more pressing matters at hand, Sora would have been very hurt over the whole ordeal.
The third thing, the one that plagued him even as he ran the prints he had lifted through the system, was the newest revelation. Zack and Cloud had been at the mercy of Hojo just like Roxas had. For much longer than Roxas had. Sora couldn’t even begin to fathom what they had been like when they first escaped considering how Roxas was reacting now.
Sora knew that they had mentioned being in Hojo’s care for close to a year while they had been at school. He knew that he really should have understood the implications of what they were saying then. But at the time he had still been dazed and confused and a little hurt since they had just revealed the fact they were dating.
So really that little tidbit of information just slipped into the back of his mind and was forgotten about as more pressing matters demanded his attention. When Cloud had said they had escaped, however, understanding had smashed down on Sora like a ton of bricks and flipped his whole world around again.
Yes he could remember Cloud rather suddenly becoming withdrawn. His parents assured him it was a High School thing. Yes he could remember hearing odd sounds in the night. His parents had told him it was a teenage thing and not to embarrass Cloud by asking. He could even remember a time when Cloud flinched at touches, but then waved them off as being startled.
Each and every memory from the time Cloud came back from his ‘program’ on had suddenly held an all-new meaning. Every dodged question, every forced smile, every answer that had never made any sense to Sora. It all suddenly clicked right into place.
But being trapped in that house with Cloud, Roxas, and Zack had made it so that Sora couldn’t think on any of it. If it had just been him and Riku he would have gone off on one of his rants that Riku just sat and listened to while Sora tried to talk himself through it all. Maybe even if it had just been him, Axel, and Riku. But with the other three there Sora hadn’t been able to utter a single word out of fear of what would come out of his mouth.
When Sora talked himself through things, he didn’t pay any attention to his wording. He just let the words flow out his mouth in a steady stream to clear his mind a little and organize his thoughts. Riku had often commented that Sora should be careful who he thought aloud around since some of the things he said came off wrong. Sora took those words to heart and was very cautious about who he ranted to and what he was ranting about.
So yes, Sora was very relieved to be back in the lab, by himself, where he could mull everything over while doing the tedious task of running every print he collected through CODIS.
Well, technically he wasn’t by himself. He was surrounded by lab techs and he knew that Leon and Zack were around somewhere, but at this exact moment he was alone.
He was pulled from his thoughts as the computer started to beep at him. He looked up curiously and watched Hojo’s face pop-up on the screen. No doubt about it now. It was definitely Hojo who had been on that bus.
______________________________________
I was dreaming. At least, it felt like I was dreaming. Hell, maybe everything I had thought was real was the dream. I really couldn’t tell anymore. It was a very odd dream. I was standing in some old church that looked faintly familiar to me. About half the floor was missing and a large patch of yellow and white lilies was blooming in it. I moved toward them.
“Pretty, aren’t they?”
I turned, knowing that voice. Aerith was standing behind me, smiling. I blinked at her as she moved past me and toward the lilies.
“Do you know where we are?”
“No,” I answered automatically then hesitated, “but it does seem familiar.”
“We’re in Midgar.”
“Midgar?” I echoed.
“Mm hmm. We found this church while we were fighting against ShinRa. I planted those lilies. I bet they’re the only flowers you’ll find in this city.”
I didn’t doubt that, “Why am I here?”
She looked back at me with a smile, “You’re the one who came here. Ask yourself.”
I looked at her in complete confusion, “What are you talking about?”
“You came here on your own Roxas. Can you feel it? It’s calling you.”
“Calling-? What’s calling me? Feel what?”
“The life force of our planet. Can you hear the whispers?”
And suddenly I could. I could hear whispers floating all around me like wind. I looked right and left, trying to find the source of the voices and Aerith giggled.
“You can’t see them,” she said with a knowing smile, “What are they saying?”
I hesitated before turning my focus to the whispers, trusting that Aerith would warn me if we were in any danger.
“Battle… a great battle…”
“The world will be coated in blood.”
“Warriors will rise again.”
“One of their own will fall.”
“Fate of the world…”
“…depends on them…”
A shudder ran through me and I looked back at Aerith with wide-eyes, “Does… does that mean…?”
“Something horrible is coming Roxas. Something that will make or destroy the entire world.”
“I understand. Thanks.”
Axel and Riku looked up at Cloud as he hung up, “Well?”
“Hojo got away. For now. They think it might have been purposeful to show himself as a distraction technique. Be on guard.”
They both nodded a little and Axel paused a moment before asking, “Is Roxas ok?”
“He’s getting there…”
“What happened?”
“He seems to have acquired mine and Zack’s memories. He’s having trouble pulling them apart from his own memories.”
Riku looked confused, “But he was fine before, wasn’t he?”
“I think he was still in a state of shock so nothing could really get to him. Once he came out of that shock the memories assaulted him. Probably why he was out of it earlier.”
“That makes sense… I guess,” Axel murmured.
“That’s also probably why he was having trouble telling Leon what happened and why he had no idea what was making him panic. He couldn’t access his memories properly.”
“Weird,” Riku said, turning his attention back to Sebastian and Anastasia as a block flew through the air and nearly hit him, “Hey! No throwing.”
Roxas wandered out of the kitchen were Cloud had dragged him and made him eat and into the living room. Everyone looked up at him but he just crossed the room and sat down next to Axel, leaning against him and closing his eyes. No one said anything for a moment and Riku caught the second block that flew at him before it could hit him in the face.
“What did I just tell you two? No throwing!”
________________________________________
Sora felt a bit guilty at the relief he felt being back at the lab. He comforted himself by saying he was just relieved to be able to do something. He knew though that, that was only partially true. He had wanted out of that house and away from everyone. He needed a quiet place to think and not worry about anyone adding anything else to his worries.
His greatest worry was Roxas. Sure they had known there was going to be some psychological damage, but this was more than Sora could handle at the moment. Maybe if they had been in a different place at a different time, but not here and now.
The second slap in the face had been discovering his brother’s secret love life. It would have been one thing if they had just recently started dating, but nine years and not one word to him. Plus he had just had that conversation with Cloud and Cloud had lied to him about it. If it weren’t for the much more pressing matters at hand, Sora would have been very hurt over the whole ordeal.
The third thing, the one that plagued him even as he ran the prints he had lifted through the system, was the newest revelation. Zack and Cloud had been at the mercy of Hojo just like Roxas had. For much longer than Roxas had. Sora couldn’t even begin to fathom what they had been like when they first escaped considering how Roxas was reacting now.
Sora knew that they had mentioned being in Hojo’s care for close to a year while they had been at school. He knew that he really should have understood the implications of what they were saying then. But at the time he had still been dazed and confused and a little hurt since they had just revealed the fact they were dating.
So really that little tidbit of information just slipped into the back of his mind and was forgotten about as more pressing matters demanded his attention. When Cloud had said they had escaped, however, understanding had smashed down on Sora like a ton of bricks and flipped his whole world around again.
Yes he could remember Cloud rather suddenly becoming withdrawn. His parents assured him it was a High School thing. Yes he could remember hearing odd sounds in the night. His parents had told him it was a teenage thing and not to embarrass Cloud by asking. He could even remember a time when Cloud flinched at touches, but then waved them off as being startled.
Each and every memory from the time Cloud came back from his ‘program’ on had suddenly held an all-new meaning. Every dodged question, every forced smile, every answer that had never made any sense to Sora. It all suddenly clicked right into place.
But being trapped in that house with Cloud, Roxas, and Zack had made it so that Sora couldn’t think on any of it. If it had just been him and Riku he would have gone off on one of his rants that Riku just sat and listened to while Sora tried to talk himself through it all. Maybe even if it had just been him, Axel, and Riku. But with the other three there Sora hadn’t been able to utter a single word out of fear of what would come out of his mouth.
When Sora talked himself through things, he didn’t pay any attention to his wording. He just let the words flow out his mouth in a steady stream to clear his mind a little and organize his thoughts. Riku had often commented that Sora should be careful who he thought aloud around since some of the things he said came off wrong. Sora took those words to heart and was very cautious about who he ranted to and what he was ranting about.
So yes, Sora was very relieved to be back in the lab, by himself, where he could mull everything over while doing the tedious task of running every print he collected through CODIS.
Well, technically he wasn’t by himself. He was surrounded by lab techs and he knew that Leon and Zack were around somewhere, but at this exact moment he was alone.
He was pulled from his thoughts as the computer started to beep at him. He looked up curiously and watched Hojo’s face pop-up on the screen. No doubt about it now. It was definitely Hojo who had been on that bus.
______________________________________
I was dreaming. At least, it felt like I was dreaming. Hell, maybe everything I had thought was real was the dream. I really couldn’t tell anymore. It was a very odd dream. I was standing in some old church that looked faintly familiar to me. About half the floor was missing and a large patch of yellow and white lilies was blooming in it. I moved toward them.
“Pretty, aren’t they?”
I turned, knowing that voice. Aerith was standing behind me, smiling. I blinked at her as she moved past me and toward the lilies.
“Do you know where we are?”
“No,” I answered automatically then hesitated, “but it does seem familiar.”
“We’re in Midgar.”
“Midgar?” I echoed.
“Mm hmm. We found this church while we were fighting against ShinRa. I planted those lilies. I bet they’re the only flowers you’ll find in this city.”
I didn’t doubt that, “Why am I here?”
She looked back at me with a smile, “You’re the one who came here. Ask yourself.”
I looked at her in complete confusion, “What are you talking about?”
“You came here on your own Roxas. Can you feel it? It’s calling you.”
“Calling-? What’s calling me? Feel what?”
“The life force of our planet. Can you hear the whispers?”
And suddenly I could. I could hear whispers floating all around me like wind. I looked right and left, trying to find the source of the voices and Aerith giggled.
“You can’t see them,” she said with a knowing smile, “What are they saying?”
I hesitated before turning my focus to the whispers, trusting that Aerith would warn me if we were in any danger.
“Battle… a great battle…”
“The world will be coated in blood.”
“Warriors will rise again.”
“One of their own will fall.”
“Fate of the world…”
“…depends on them…”
A shudder ran through me and I looked back at Aerith with wide-eyes, “Does… does that mean…?”
“Something horrible is coming Roxas. Something that will make or destroy the entire world.”