Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Prophetic Fulfillment ❯ Lost ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Darkness. An inky blackness stretching for an eternity. Never ending. Silence encapsulating, a silence that one can almost hear, drowning out all semblance of reason. All thoughts. Nothingness.

Loneliness.

A great void. Reno was trapped within the confines of a great void.

And he'd never been too fond of voids.

"Hello?"

His voice echoed through the vast stretches of nothingness, the returning vocal waves sounding strange to his ears. It belied the tough visage he hoped to grasp. It couldn't be his voice.

"Is anyone here?"

No response. No response of any kind.

"Anyone?"

Am I all alone?

Tifa looked at the young woman, worry clearly discernible in the burgundy depths of her eyes. What could have triggered such an attack? She hadn't seen anyone fall like that. Gen seemed to be in perfect health.

"What happened?"

Genesis rose to her feet as carefully as possible. She was obviously very woozy and slightly dizzy as she attempted a response.

"I saw him..." Her voice was soft and tinged with pain and worry.

"Who? What was that?"

"A vision... Reno... Something's happened. He's hurt." She leant against Cloud for support.

But, how? Tifa was at a loss. Something strange was going on... Something supernatural. After everything she and her friends had gone through, she should have been used to strange things like this by now, but still... "How do you know?"

Gen looked up, her eyes meeting Tifa's. Amethyst eyes nearly as intriguing as Vincent's ruby tinted gaze. Something within her eyes told Tifa to trust her.

Pain. Sorrow. Fear. Hope.

"He... He called out to me."

Tifa continued to stare at Gen, stifling a gasp as her amethyst eyes rolled in the back of her head as she fell unconscious.

"Genesis?" Cloud grabbed for her, catching her in midfall. The woman moaned softly as her full weight fell upon Cloud's embrace. He picked her up in one swift movement, and looked to Tifa.

"This can't be good."

"She just passed out like that?"

Nanaki sat at his grandfather's desk, once again wearing his PHS headphones, and speaking to Tifa. She had called him, worried over the state of the woman who had passed out in her bar.

"What are her symptoms?"

"She's delirious. Feverish. Unresponsive."

Nanaki nodded silently. This wasn't good at all.

"I'm going to call Cid, Tifa. I want Genesis here as soon as possible, but first I need to have Cid scope out the area. We need to find Reno as well."

"We'll be waiting. Don't worry Red. We'll take care of her."

"I know." Nanaki sighed as he hung up and began dialing Cid's number.

It isn't just Genesis I'm worried about...

"@$#%&!" Cid eloquently yelled into the receiver. He heard Nanaki's request and he didn't like it.

"Cid... please. I know what you're thinking," Nanaki pleaded. He knew what Cid's response would be, yet had no choice. Cid had an airship. Nanaki needed Cid.

"Let me get this straight. You need the Highwind to help an enemy--"

Nanaki sighed. "A former enemy." Why did this have to be so difficult?"

Cid rolled his eyes and propped his boots on the coffee table. "Whatever. You need the Highwind to help a former enemy. And why is this?"

"It is very long and very involved. Find Reno and then pick up Tifa, Cloud, and the girl who is with them. I will see you here."

Cid growled an affirmative reply, hung up, and turned around to find Shera. She placed a hot cup of tea on the table and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. They remained in such a state for a few minutes until Shera mustered up the courage to speak.

"Nanaki's smart. I'm sure it's for a good reason." She smiled, slightly.

He snorted, "Yeah, yeah. Now where's my tea?"

Stifling a giggle, Shera playfully mussed Cid's hair up. "It's in front of you!"

The cigarette dropped from his mouth as he, for the first time, noticed the cup of tea sitting in front of him, the steam rising steadily, the scent drifting through the air.

It was going to be a long day.

She opened her eyes slowly, painfully, and found herself in what appeared to be a lush, beautiful forest. A paradise.

Where am I?

Gen rose to her feet slowly, wiping the dirt from her knees. No one was around her, save a few birds and a squirrel. No Cloud. No Tifa.

"How?"

An illusion, she thought sullenly. She had fallen unconscious in Tifa's bar, that she knew. However she got to this forest was beyond her comprehension. It just wasn't right.

Go to him.

She looked around, frantically. Where had that voice come from?

"Who are you?!"

Go to him.

"Where are you?!"

Go to him.

She fell to her knees, tired and exacerbated.

"What? Why? ... How?"

Go.

And once again, she fell into oblivion.

Bang. Bang. Bang!

Cloud looked up suddenly, his eyes meeting those of Tifa. So soon? He made a subtle motion to the woman and turned back to the still unconscious stranger, readjusting the cool cloth they had administered to her forehead.

Bang. Bang. Bang!

Tifa opened the door to their closed bar, surprised to find that Shera was the cause of the loud rapping on the bar's heavy wooden door. The scientist barged in, obviously weary and catching her breath.

"We need elixers, potions, antidotes, anything."

She paused, breathing heavily and in disarray. Tifa looked outside and saw the wavering image of the Highwind in the distance, barely visible in the darkness.

"Shera, calm down. Breathe..."

"We found the Turk, Tif. The bastard's half dead."

Author's Note: I have to apologize for several things. First of all, I'm sorry for this chapter. It is not exactly my favorite. In fact, it is the least of my favorites. Somehow I convinced myself that it was crucial to the plot, so please don't flame me on that. ^^;

Second of all, I'm sorry that this is taking so long. I have three writing classes this semester, so not only am I writing essays, but poetry, a short story, and thirty pages of screenplay script. Needless to say, my creativity's been tapped about dry these past few months. I am NOT giving up on this fic, though! I like the ending far too much to quit!

The next chapter will be very introspective and... well... anything else would give it away... Toodles!