Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII: After Crisis ❯ First Strike ( Chapter 2 )

That was the last time she ever saw Genesis, the last time that anyone ever saw him. People had tried to tell her that he was dead, but she refused to believe it. She knew that he was still alive. If he was dead, she would have felt it. She knew that much. He was out there somewhere, being unseen by those who he wished to not see him and only seen by those who didn't know him. She believed that one day, she would see him again. It was only a matter of time. Nothing could keep them apart.

 

Rose continued to stare at the spot where Cloud had released Aerith's body after she was killed by Sephiroth. She would have never thought that in a million years that Sephiroth would turn bad, but he had and it took everything they had to stop him. Cloud had been devastated by the loss of Aerith. Rose knew him well enough to know that, and she could see it in his eyes. She could still see that sadness in his eyes and she knew that it would always be there.

 

When Rose and Cloud had been reunited, Cloud had become a member of a group called AVALANCHE. They were the opposite of SOLDIER, posing a threat only to Shinra. The group had also contained Tifa Lockhart, a childhood friend of both Cloud and Rose. There was also a guy named Barret Wallace in the group. They gathered more along the way: Cid Highwind, Yuffie Kisaragi, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Vincent Valentine. With the help of their friends, they were able to defeat Sephiroth, and stop Shinra. However, they were lucky to have escaped with their lives.

 

Now, several of the friends lived in what remained of Midgar, now called Edge. Tifa had opened a bar called 7th Heaven. She lived there with Cloud, Rose and some of the neighborhood kids, two of which the three had become fond of: a young boy named Denzel and a little girl named Marlene, who resembled Aerith a lot. Marlene was a girl that Barret had took in and adopted when her parents were killed. Denzel is an orphan that they took in and he has become close to Cloud.

 

The unpleasant thing was that Rufus Shinra, now the president of Shinra since his father was killed by Sephiroth, and four of the Turks: Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena also lived nearby. Rufus wanted to rebuild Shinra, claiming to want to help rebuild the world and right the wrongs that Shinra had done. He swore that he had turned over a new leaf but it was difficult to trust him. He seemed to understand that and claims that he doesn't blame people for not trusting him after all that Shinra had done in the past.

 

Right then, Rose was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned to see what it was only to see that it was only Denzel, Marlene, and two other kids who had become fond of Rose, Kera and Noah. The two were siblings, Kera being the youngest and Noah her older brother. Their parents had been killed like many others by Sephiroth when he had attacked Nibelheim and set the city ablaze. An old friend of Rose's, who was also one of the few to survive the attack on Nibelheim, had brought them to 7th Heaven and Rose took them in.

 

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" asked Rose as she stood up from where she sat on the ground.

 

"Looking for you, of course. Tifa had told us that you had come down here, so we thought that we would come down here too." said Denzel.

 

"Why do you always come down here alone Rose?" asked Marlene.

 

"I guess 'cause it helps me clear my head sometimes. I like being alone every now and then, but only so I can think." said Rose.

 

"Is it because of those nightmares you've been having? We all heard you last night, and the other nights as well." said Noah.

 

Rose was a bit taken back by this. She didn't think that anyone knew about her nightmares. She didn't even know that anyone had even heard her. No one had ever said anything to her before so she never brought it up. But it was true, she had been having nightmares that past few days. Each one was different, but all of different bad memories from her past, of her worst fears.

 

"Will you sing a song for us Rose?" asked Kera.

 

Rose looked at the young girl. She knew that Kera and the other kids all loved to hear her sing to them and often requested her to do so, which she never minded and was always happy to do. She smiled and nodded at the little girl.

 

All four children found a spot on the ground to sit and sat around her, watching as she sat down as well.

 

"Armies have conquered, And fallen in the end, Kingdoms have risen, Then buried by sand, The Earth is our mother, She gives and she takes, She puts us to sleep, In her light we'll awake, We'll all be forgotten, There's no endless fame, But everything we do, It's never in vain;

 

"We're part of a story, part of a tale, We're all on this journey, No one is to stay, Where ever it's going, What is the way?

 

"Forests and deserts, Rivers, blue seas, Mountains and valleys, Nothing here stays, While we think we witness, We are part of the scene, This never-ending story, Where will it lead to?, The earth is our mother, She gives and she takes, But she's also a part, A part of the tale;

 

"We're part of a story, part of a tale, We're all on this journey, No one's to stay, Oh where is it going? What is the way? We're part of a story, part of a tale, Sometimes beautiful and sometimes insane; No one remembers how it began.

 

"We're part of a story, part of a tale, We're all on this journey, No one's to stay. Oh where is it going? What is the way? We're part of a story, part of a tale, Sometimes beautiful and sometimes insane; No one remembers how it began."

 

The four children clapped and applauded for Rose's little private performance. They always enjoyed it when she would sing just for them, no one else. It seemed to make they feel like the songs that she sang when she sang to them were only for them and not for anyone else to hear. Rose never sang the same songs that she sang for the children as she did for others.

 

Just then, as a soft breeze blew, Rose sensed that something was wrong. There was someone else there with them, watching them, and she got the feeling that they weren't friendly. She knew that she had to protect the kids. She quickly grabbed her sword from her bike and stood ready.

 

"You four stay close to me." said Rose.

 

The children did as they were told, standing as close to Rose as they could. Denzel stood with Marlene and Noah stood close to Kera, the boys using themselves to shield the two girls if they had to.

 

Suddenly, in a blur, a figure came out of nowhere and attacked Rose but she deflected the blows and defended herself and the children. She fought off each attack and even dealt blows of her own, which were also deflected. Her main concern right now was not winning the fight but making sure that the children stayed safe.

 

Right then, two figures came out of nowhere and attacked Rose as well. Now she was up against three and she didn't like the odds. She needed help but the others were too far away. She was on her own. Then she heard the sound of a bike and without even having to look, she knew that it was Cloud.

 

The three attackers jumped out of the way as Cloud zoomed by. He then turned the bike around and came back to Rose and the children. Marlene and Denzel climbed on behind him. Rose quickly climbed on her bike, putting her sword in a compartment on her bike, and Kera and Noah climbed on behind her before Rose and Cloud sped off, heading back toward Edge.

 

"Who were those guys Rose?" asked Cloud.

 

"I don't know. They just came out of nowhere." said Rose.

 

"Here they come!" exclaimed Denzel.

 

Rose and Cloud both looked behind them and sure enough, the three attackers were on their own bikes and were speeding after them.

 

"Noah, come up here." said Rose, helping Noah as he moved in front of her. "I need you to take over. You remember what I taught you?"

 

"Yeah, everything." said Noah as he took over the driving.

 

"Good. And no matter what, you don't stop. Keep going, no matter what happens, you got it?" asked Rose as she pulled her sword back out and held it ready.

 

"Yes ma'am." said Noah, although he didn't like the fact that if something happened to Rose, he wouldn't be able to stop but he had his sister to think about.

 

"Protect your sister alright? She needs you. Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright." said Rose. She helped Kera move up behind her brother than stood on the back of the bike, ready for action.

 

"Rose, here!" yelled Cloud, tossing Rose a second sword, which she caught and held ready like hers.

 

Inside of 7th Heaven, Rose sat on a chair at the bar while her arm was being bandaged up by Tifa. Cloud sat next to her, watching. Their other friends (Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, and Red XVIII) were there as well. The children had gone upstairs, slightly shaken but otherwise unharmed.

 

"So you have no idea who those guys were who attacked you, or what they even wanted?" asked Barret.

 

"Not a clue. They never even spoke, they just attacked us. I'm just glad that none of the kids were hurt." said Rose. She had got a small gash on her arm from where one of the guys had tried to attack Kera and she had pushed her out of the way, getting cut by the guys' sword.

 

"Well you're lucky that all the guy did was give you a cut on your arm. It could have been a lot worse you know. You really shouldn't go out anywhere by yourself. It can be dangerous." said Yuffie as Tifa finished bandaging Rose's arm.

 

"Thank you Yuffie, I am quite aware of that fact." said Rose before getting up and going upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her. She then leaned back against it and heaved a sigh.

 

Downstairs, all the others were looking at Yuffie. She seemed to cower under their looks. She knew that she had done or said something that she shouldn't have.

 

"What? What did I say?" asked Yuffie.

 

"Rose is well aware of the dangers out there Yuffie. And she can handle herself. She doesn't need anyone to protect her." said Cloud.

 

"Yeah, she sure proved that today." said Yuffie sarcastically.

 

"She was more worried about the kids. Rose isn't like the rest of us. She's been through a lot more than we have. Her whole family disappeared when she was just a kid. She lived on the streets until she met Cloud." said Vincent.

 

"Even then she felt alone. Then there's everything that Shinra put her through. We were supposed to be in SOLDIER together, but when President Shinra saw her fighting skills, he forced her to join the Turks. After that, we didn't see each other very much and when we did, it wasn't for very long and we were always watched. Then she was sent on more and more missions and we were unable to see each other at all. I don't know everything that happened after that. She never talks about it." said Cloud.

 

"Cloud and I have been the only real family that Rose has had for the longest time. She doesn't know anything about how her family disappeared or what happened to them. And she's been afraid to get close to anyone because she's afraid they'll disappear, just like her family. Just imagine losing your entire family and living alone when you're still just a child. I think that's why she's so close with Noah and Kera. She understands what they're going through and how they feel." said Tifa.

 

"Oh. I didn't know." said Yuffie.

 

"And you wouldn't. Rose doesn't like to talk about it much, only to Cloud and I once in awhile. Even then, it makes her uncomfortable to talk about it." said Tifa.

 

"I'm sorry you guys." said Yuffie.

 

"We're not the ones that you really need to apologize to." said Tifa.

 

"Oh. Yeah, right." said Yuffie nervously. She didn't like it when Rose was in one of her moods. It usually meant that the next person to mess with her was going to get hurt, badly. Yuffie didn't want it to be her. Rose scared her enough as it was.

 

Everyone who knew Rose knew that she was normally a calm, very sweet person but once you made her mad, you had better watch your step or you would end up on the wrong end of her wrath. And Rose wasn't exactly the easiest person to upset. It took a lot usually but when she did get upset, it was never a pretty sight.

 

Yuffie decided that it would be best to just get it over with and headed up the stairs to Rose's room. She hesitated a moment before softly knocking on the door.

 

"Come in." came Rose's voice.

 

Yuffie took hold of the handle, turning it and pushing the door open. She saw Rose standing in front of the window, staring out of it.

 

"What can I do for you Yuffie?" asked Rose. She hadn't even turned to look at who had entered her room.

 

"I just...I wanted to apologize..for earlier. I didn't mean anything by it and..." said Yuffie but she was cut off.

 

"Yuffie, it's alright. You couldn't have known. There's no need for you to apologize. Don't worry about it." said Rose. She had heard the conversation that had taken place downstairs moments ago.

 

"Oh." was all Yuffie found that she could say.

 

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for awhile." said Rose.

 

"Yeah, sure thing." said Yuffie before turning around, walking out of Rose's room and closing the door behind her, heading back downstairs.

 

Once Yuffie left the room, Rose was able to return to her thoughts, to what she remembered about her dreams that she had been having recently. She didn't know what to do about them, or how to make them stop. She did, however, know what they were about. Or at least who. She remembered seeing his face very vaguely in her dream, but she couldn't mistake the voice that she had heard.

 

"Genesis." whispered Rose. She knew that it was him. And her dreams were trying to tell her something about him. Just exactly what, she didn't know yet. She just knew that she had to figure it out, and something told her that she needed to figure it out soon. Or else if she didn't, it would be too late. She was certain of one thing. If Genesis was in her dreams, he had to still be alive. And maybe he was trying to send her a message through her dreams. "I'll find you Genesis. Wherever you are, no matter what it takes, I will find you."

 

Lost in the darkness, Hoping for a sign, Instead there's only silence, Can't you hear my screams? Never stop hoping, Need to know where you are, But one thing's for sure, You're always in my heart;

 

I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying, Until my dying day, I just need to know, Whatever has happened, The truth will free my soul;

 

Lost in the darkness, Tried to find your way home, I want to embrace you, And never let you go, Almost hope you're in heaven, So no one can hurt your soul, Living in agony, Cause I just do not know, Where you are;

 

I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying, Until my dying day, I just need to know, Whatever has happened, The truth will free my soul;

 

Wherever you are, I won't stop searching, Whatever it takes, need to know;

 

I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying, Until my dying day, I just need to know, Whatever has happened, The truth will free my soul.