Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Stairway to Hell ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: I own......uh.....what do I own?

(A/n: Alright people, in case you haven't noticed, my story is a MAJOR AU *alternate universe* fic...so get ready to just take surprising blow after blow!)

Chapter 17: Stairway to Hell

Irvine's jaw dropped. "You're kidding. This is the town?"

Erik sighed. "Yeah, this is the place. I'm hoping no one will recognize me."

Irvine shook his head. "Well, why not? I thought you told me your---"

"I just left a lot of people behind here, and the last thing I need to do is start having a bunch of memories. I buried my past here, and this is where it stays." Erik said, staring at the cobblestone street.

With that statement, Erik looked up and began to walk away. Irvine stepped after him, but was held back by Red. "He wants to be alone." The hybrid said, grabbing Irvine's arm.

"But he's like my little bro! I'm supposed to be there for him!"

"Irvine, you only know half of Erik's story. Do you know why he left?"

Irvine, clearly frustrated, looked at the blonde-haired figure walking away from them. "Yeah, he said that his dad died and that he had nowhere to go, so he ended up in an orphanage in Cetra, where these people named Cid and Matron took care of him and me and the rest of the orphanage gang---"

"Alright, enough. You only know half the story, Irvine. Erik wasn't simply abandoned, he ran away."

"Ran away? From what? His father had a heart attack and died. The kid had nowhere to go."

"Erik had plenty of places to go to. He ran away, Irvine, and he wasn't alone. Someone took him to Cetra and saw to it that he was taken to Balamb Garden."

Irvine tried to absorb all of the information he was being given. "Then...who took him?"

Red shook his head. "That isn't for you to know, I'm afraid. All I can tell you is that I have known Erik far longer than you might think." And with that, the 1,700 year old hybrid walked away, towards the outskirts of town, Irvine following after in his confusion.

Erik continued to walk down the mostly empty streets, keeping his head down. He sifted through the pool of mixed memories in his mind, matching images up with the ones he saw now, digging up his dead past, creating his own personal torture chamber in his mind, then hurriedly trying to put it away. Suddenly a voice caught his attention. "Hey, you! Uh....Erik, stop!"

Erik paused and turned around to see Kira, the nurse from the clinic rushing after him. "Hey, you wanted me?" Erik asked, watching as the girl hurriedly straightened her braid.

"Yeah, I just figured something out." She said, looking up at his face. He had gotten so tall.

"Uh... what's that?" He asked, suddenly afraid of being found out, but uncertain why.

"I think I know you. You used to live here, didn't you? What's your full name?"

Erik gulped. "Erik. Erik Sandoval, why?"

Kira smiled, suddenly jumping with excitement. "Hey, do you and your friends need a place to stay?" She asked, seeming to avoid his question.

Erik sighed. "Yeah, actually, we do. Why?"

"Because my mom sent me out to look for you guys and offer you room at our house!" She cheerfully said, almost seeming not to tell him everything.

"I uh...I guess that sounds okay. I'd have to find Riku and the others first, though. I hope you wouldn't mind coming with me to find them all."

"Not at all." She cheerfully said, seeming all to willing to tag along.

Erik tried to not mind the cheery countenance as he wandered along the streets, then shouting when he spotted Akirame and the girls in a nearby store, trying on sunglasses. "Hey, Akirame, Kairi, Jerdania! Over here!" Erik shouted, putting a hand up to his mouth to amplify his voice.

The girls looked up and quickly spotted him, then came running out after a few moments to join them. "Oh, hi, you're Amanda from the clinic, aren't you?" Kairi said, offering a friendly hand.

"Yep, she says her mom might have room for us to sleep over tonight." Erik said, quickly taking the bags that the girls kept handing to him.

"We'll have to see what Riku thinks first. Where did Irvine and Red head off to?" Akirame asked.

"Uh...I think Red and Irvine are still somewhere back towards the Station." Erik said, struggling to hold all the shopping bags. How did girls manage to buy so much in so little time?

Kira laughed and quickly took some of the bags. "Here, let me help you with those." She said, taking a few.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, we can take them." Jerdania said, taking her bags back from a relieved Erik.

"Ok, look, We'll go get Red and Irvine, and you two can find Riku and Sora." Kairi quickly said, now handing her bags back once again to the exasperated Erik.

"Okay then, I guess we'll just come over and meet you guys then." Erik said.

"Alright, come on girls." And with that the trio of girls rushed off, leaving Erik carrying a load of plastic bags full of stuff to carry.

"Okay then.... I'm guessing Riku and Sora would be wherever a supply story would be at." Erik said, looking around as if he didn't know the city by heart.

"Come on, I'll show you. You probably don't remember anymore." She said, pulling on his arm and leading him down the street.

"Remember what?"

"Nevermind."

Kira continued to drag Erik down the street until they came upon another open square, where Sora and Riku were exiting a store with bags of their own. "Riku, Sora!" Erik shouted, trying to keep a grip on the five bags he had.

"Erik!" Sora shouted back, rushing over to meet them. "Hey, wazzup Amanda?"

"Hey Riku, Amanda here says that her mom might be willing to take is in for the night." Erik explained.

"Anything is better than outdoors right now, and I think we're all dying to take showers." Riku said.

"All right then, I guess we go meet the others, and I'll show you to my place." Kira cheerfully said.

And with that Riku and Sora added their four bags to Erik's already heavy load, and walked ahead to talk to Amanda while leaving Erik to carry the stuff. "Ahh man, what did I do to deserve this? What about my hand?!" Erik moaned, struggling to keep from dropping anything.

"Here, let me help you with that." Kira said, quickly taking several of the bags before Erik could protest.

The group headed down the now shadow-filled street, happily chatting as Erik tried his hardest to balance everything with his one good hand, and somehow was managing to succeed.

They quickly approached the Station, and allowed Erik to drop the bags so he could run over and get Irvine and Red. "Geez, what am I, a bell boy?" Erik asked as he quickly rushed down the stone path that led to the outskirts.

He passed by a couple familiar Swedish-style homes that had a loving environment that seemed to emanate all around him. He paused for a moment to admire the dazzling flowers, and paused to pick a simple white Easter lily before continuing his jog.

Irvine and Red hadn't even managed to get their own gear out, as they were arguing over something. Erik paused for a moment behind a bush of highly fragrant roses and listened.

"What happened to Erik is none of your business!"

"Why not? I'm like his older brother! We even grew up at that orphanage together!"

"I have no right to tell you about Erik's past unless I had his permission. Friends keep secrets."

"Friends tell! They don't keep secrets from each other!"

Erik decided to quickly stop the argument before it got any more turbulent. "Hey guys!" He quickly shouted as he jumped out of the rose bush and back onto the path.

"Oh...hey Erik. Wazzup?" Irvine sheepishly said.

"Nothing much. That girl Kira, from the clinic, says her mom might take us in for the night."

"Oh, that's great. Uh... you gonna help us carry our gear?"

Erik sighed. "Geez, Red, you're a dragon. Just, morph or something and carry the stuff. I'm pretty sure no one here would attack you, seeing as to how you're a sissy-sized dragon."

"Excuse me? Did you say a sissy dragon?" Red quickly countered, stepping forward.

"Oh, it's okay to be a tiny dragon. I mean, because of your small size, no one has any need to feel threatened around you."

"So what are you saying, I'm to little to be scary?"

"Too little to be strong too." Irvine added.

"All right, that's it. You wanna see a sissy dragon?" Red challenged, shifting into his pathetic pony-sized form. "Alright, bring it on! Give me all the bags, and I'll carry them the whole way! We'll see who's puny now."

Irvine and Erik gave each other a high-five and quickly mounted the various luggage onto the dragon's back. "There ya go, my dear reptilian pack-mule." Irvine drawled, strapping the last duffel bag on.

"Pack-mule nothing. Let's go." Red effortlessly stood up and proudly trotted ahead of the two highly clever boys.

Kira was rather shocked at the sight of a dragon, and had no idea how to react when she saw the nonchalant looks on her guests' faces. "Now who's sissy, huh? Bring it on!" The dragon shouted with a Scottish ring, now trotting backwards and strutting like a boxer who had just won a championship match.

"Oh yeah, you are so totally not a wuss, even though you are the smallest dragon I have ever seen." Erik said, trying not to laugh.

"Oh jeez, Erik! What did you tell Red?" Akirame laughed, enjoying the scene.

"Nothing, I just said that I thought he was a wuss, and now he's trying to prove us wrong."

"Oh, whatever."

The boys and the red beast of burden joined the others. "So, is this all of you guys?" Kira asked, looking at the large number of people. With luck she could cram them into the guest rooms.

"Yeah, this is all of us. No, wait...where's Bob and Frank?" Sora teased, covering his eyes from the glare of the early sunset and trying to spot the two fictional friends.

"Oh boy, I sure hope Mom can take all of you guys. Come on, I'll show you how to get to my house." Kira said, turning and mentally calling herself a fool for ever thinking that all these people would fit into her house.

Erik slipped towards the back of the group, distancing himself slightly from the others. For some odd reason, his stomach had tied itself in a knot, and he had a hunch that he was going to have to face his long-dead past head-on. He was screaming in his mind, trying to think of any way to escape from this situation. What if he had another one of his persistent "visions"? Or what if something triggered one of his violent flashbacks? How would he explain it? What was he going to do?

His mind was going a hundred miles an hour when he felt Riku's hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" The older teen asked, eyeing the blonde through strands of silvery, chrome-blue hair.

"I....I just..." Erik paused, trying to think of what he should say. His mind only drew a blank, and he felt cornered.

"Do you feel uncomfortable about staying at Kira's?" Riku asked, picking up on the tense waves of nervous energy running through the younger boy's body.

"Sort of. I mean, I just... I can't explain it. I just... it's personal." Erik managed to stammer, trying to fight the urge to run.

"Erik, don't worry so much. You and I have been through more stuff together in less than three weeks than most people do in a lifetime.

This crazy `Journey of Fate' has really caused us to grow incredibly close, you know? So, don't worry about coming to any of us to talk, all right? I mean...." Riku trailed off for a second, realizing that he was actually preaching to himself.

He took a deep sigh before continuing, "We really shouldn't distance ourselves from our friends. We need each other. So, if you've got something on your mind, I'm always open, and I know that everyone else here will listen too."

Erik took in the undeniable wisdom in Riku's words and nodded, tucking them away somewhere in his mind...perhaps his heart, for later reference. "Thanks Riku."

Kira made the last turn on the street and led them along a sidewalk, then stopped in front of a two-story yellow and white-trimmed house. Erik looked across the street and a flash of....recognition? Pain? Fear, even? Something lit up his eyes as he stared at the seemingly abandoned house that looked run-down, with its windows caked with dirt and the wooden deck badly in need of painting, or better yet, burning.

"Well, this is my house." Kira cheerfully said, taking a quick peek back at the blonde boy who was standing in somewhat of a trance as he stared at the old "Drunken Death" house.

Quickly looking away, Kira opened the door and walked into the hallway. "Mom! I'm home! I brought those kids from the clinic with me too!" she shouted as she took off her shoes and neatly lined them under a coat-rack, a million things buzzing in her mind.

"Okay honey! I'm coming!" Her mother shouted back from somewhere in the house.

Kira nodded at the group for them to come in, and made sure that they left their shoes in the hallway before leading them into the spacious living room. Kira's mother soon came dashing out of another hallway, her graying hair pulled back into a clip to keep it from flying around her face. "Dr. Kadowaki?! She's your mom?" Erik asked, turning to look at the brunette.

"Yep. Pretty cool, huh? Well Mom, here they are...wait a minute...where's the lizard guy?" Kira asked, looking in the hall to count all the visitors.

"I'm right here." Red spoke up, having reverted to his human form so he could get through door.

"Huh?"

"He's a hybrid. Half-human, half-dragon, half-Chihuahua." Irvine proudly said, earning a shove from the insulted one.

Dr. Kadowaki laughed. "Boy, what a strange group of people. You kids should probably give your gang a nick name."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't think of anything!" Irvine said, tilting back his hat.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to help you while you're here then."

"Hey, how come you're not all strict like you were in the clinic?" Sora questioned.

"Yeah, and where's my lollipop?" Erik demanded, holding up his bandaged hand.

The doctor laughed again, adding to the warmth of the room. "You kids are a hoot! Well, let's just say that it's that darned white coat that gets me so stiff."

By now the entire group was completely at peace with their arrangements. The kindly, middle-aged doctor led them up the stairs and showed them where the two guest rooms were. The boys would stay in the room at the end on the left wing of the hall, while the girls would be staying at the opposite end. With that settled, The kids ran downstairs and began to collect their bags from outside and basically dumped everything on their beds.

Erik walked up the stairs with several bags and managed to slip through the hall and into the boy's room, where Riku and Sora were sitting on their beds. Kira rushed up behind him, trying to offer her help.

Her hand gently brushed against Erik's arm as she attempted to grab the grocery bags. All it took was that one indirect motion to make Erik snap.

"Woah!" Riku shouted, backing away as Erik violently whipped back his arm, swinging the bags back and nearly knocking Sora over.

"Erik, calm down!" Sora said, slowly moving towards his unstable friend like a zoo keeper approaching an injured lion.

Erik stood in a defensive fighting position, his good hand curled into a fist while the other was placed across his heaving chest, his eyes narrowed and piercing.

Riku slowly approached his friend, his hands up as if he were surrendering. "Erik, what's wrong?" He asked, taking a step towards the seemingly crazed boy.

Erik backed up until he hit the wall. "Don't touch me." He said in half-sob, half-threat.

"Erik, just calm down a second, all right? Sora, get Kira out of here and make sure she's okay. I'll deal with Erik." Riku quickly instructed.

Sora led Kira out of the room and tried to comfort her as she tried to calm down. "What...what was it? Was it something I did? Did I hurt him?" She asked, instantly feeling guilty.

"No, I don't know what Erik's problem is. I've never seen him like that before." Sora said, trying to slow down his own pulse.