Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Prophecy's Refrain	By : butabara Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 1023 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not in any way own FFVII or its affiliates. I make no money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Chapter 19

"Psst."

Harmony groaned and rolled away from the evil demon that was trying to prod her awake.

"Psst."

"Go away!" She moaned.

"PSST!"

Harmony huffed and opened her eyes, throwing her blankets off and kicking Kadaj in the process of sitting up.

"What the hell do you-oh. Morning Sass." Harmony said, seeing unruly red hair and bright blue eyes.

She immediately plopped back down onto her mattress and tried to pull the blanket back over her head, snuggling back into Kadaj's warmth. He must've been really drunk if all this moving hadn't awoken him.

"Oh no. I don't think so, mo chara(1). Get lover-boy up and lets get going. There's a whole lot of people downstairs with hangovers, and I am not going to be the only one taking care of them!" Sassi chuckled.

"I'm awake, and don't call me that." Kadaj said.

Harmony poked her head out from under the covers. "How long?" She asked.

"About the time she opened the door. I hoped she'd just go away and let us sleep."

Harmony huffed and 'accidentally' elbowed him in the ribs as she sat up.

Sassi grinned at the display between the two, happy that her friend seemed to be comfortable with this man, even if she didn't realize it completely.

"Downstairs. Five minutes." She ordered.

"Sea, Mathair."(2) Harmony sassed.

"Okay, I'm here!" Harmony called as she stepped off of the staircase and into the den.

"Oh dear Gods, please keep your voice down!" Genesis complained from his position sprawled across the floor in front of the largest couch. He made a gagging sound and covered his mouth with his hand, sitting up and leaning over a bucket.

"Oh gross." Zack said, turning away from his fellow First.

"Okay, guys," Sassi said, entering the den from the kitchen, "I've finished making breakfast. I don't want to hear about how it looks, or smells. Eat it." She said. She helped Genesis to his feet, making sure to only grasp his clothes and not touch his skin at all.

Harmony took the hint and started helping others to the kitchen.

"That was one wild party. You guys have great booze!" Yuffie said, grasping her head in her hand after she spoke. "Holy. Shiva. Ouch."

"You okay there, Yuffs?" Cid said, snickering.

"You don't look too bad." Harmony commented.

"'Course not. I can handle my liquor." He boasted.

"That's 'cause yer a drunk!" Yuffie accused.

"'Course I am."

"That's not something I'd boast about. Being an alcoholic." Harmony said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey!" Cid snapped. "I am not an alcoholic. Alcoholic's go to meetings. I…" he paused for dramatic effect, "…do not."

"So you're just a damned drunk." Sassi cut in. "I like it. Very Irish."

"How stereotypical." Harmony said, chuckling as she sat down at the large table in the dining area.

"What's an Irish?" Tifa asked, making herself known. She and Cloud really didn't look too bad, either.

"Its not 'an Irish'. Ireland is a country across the Atlantic ocean." Sassi clarified. "I'm Irish."

"Oh. So that's where the accent comes from?" Kadaj asked.

"Yep. Its more prominent when I'm annoyed, or angry. Or really drunk."

"I noticed." He said dryly.

They ate their meal in silence, the only conversation being Zack complaining about the food.

"It is a traditional Irish hangover cure." Sassi defended. "I told you not to complain about it!"

"Oh yeah? I think it stinks." Zack said.

"Oh its on now. No more miss nice Sassi."

"Bring it. I bet I can take you down." Zack said, lifting his arms out in a taunting manner.

Harmony almost spit out her orange juice. "Um, Zack, I don't know about that… She's not as against-"

"Shut-up, Hari. You'll ruin the surprise."

Zack really didn't like the way Sassi had said that.

"Okay, Har. How do you guys usually do this?" Sassi asked when the group arrived at the meadow.

"Hand to hand to start, no serious injuries. With Zack, I usually fight 'first-to-bleed'." She answered.

Sassi pulled her aside. "You ever beat him?" She whispered.

"Once. But I have my suspicions he was holding back. I've seen him fight with Cloud." She stopped and sent a glare at the SOLDIER. Deciding to pay him back a little, she leaned in closer to Sassi and whispered instructions in her ear. "They call him 'Puppy'. I think you should work with that a little bit. He's off balance on one foot, aim low."

Sassi snickered, knowing what Harmony was up to. No one babied her and got away with it.

"Hey, what are you saying? I don't like the thought of you conspiring against me!" Zack said, sounding slightly panicked.

Sassi grinned, a malicious look that had even Yazoo a little creeped out. And he was the master of malicious looks!

"Oh don't worry about it, madra beag bideach!" Sassi said. She whispered under her breath, barely loud enough for the others to hear.

"Biotáille na máthar domhain, éisteacht le mo ghlao. Lig dó labhairt mar atá mé a ordú, ach amháin go dtí mé scaoileadh saor é, nó go dtí go mbeidh sé cruthaithe go fiúntach. Iarr mé in ainm seo do gach cumhachtach, agus mar sin go mbeadh sé Mhóta!"(3) With that, she flicked her fingers in Zack's direction.

Everyone in the meadow broke down into near hysterical laughter as Zack attempted to say what they were sure was supposed to be something along the lines of 'What was that about'.

All that came out was a resounding "Woof!" followed by a startled-sounding "Yipe!"

He then shot into a long tirade of barks and growls, pointing at Sassi and then at his mouth, wanting her to reverse the spell.

"No can do, Pooch. There's only one way you're gonna get out of this one." Sassi snickered.

Zack narrowed his eyes and held his hands out as if to say "Well?"

"You have to beat me."

Zack rolled his eyes. 'As if that's going to be a challenge!' he thought to himself. He rushed forward, taking the initiative and trying to knock the unprepared woman off of her feet.

She saw him coming and dodged with a roll to the side, and the fight was on.

For a while, it seemed as if Zack had the upper hand, constantly keeping Sassi on her toes. They did not fail to realize that she would not strike at him if her skin would touch his. Zack realized this, too, and intended to use it to his advantage.

Sassi watched with bright blue eyes that were almost glowing with the force of her concentration. She dodged each blow sent her way, waiting for the right moment to strike. It came when Zack fell right into her trap, reaching out to grab her shoulders, thinking that she would recoil and throw herself off balance in her attempt to avoid skin-on-skin contact. She threw a right-handed uppercut his way, forcing her energy into her fist and sending Zack sprawling onto the ground.

He shook himself off- much like a wet dog would -and glared at her. His shirt was singed in the perfect imprint of Sassi's wrist.

Sassi only grinned at him and folded her hands together, moving her fingers in an intricate dance so quickly that Zack barely had time to dodge by the time he realized that she sent a ball of fire flying at him.

"Don't… underestimate me." Sassi deadpanned.

She played with him a little more, chucking fireball after fireball in his direction. She had to admire his agility. For such a big man, he was able to dodge every projectile sent his way.

With every dodge, he was slowly moving closer to the (literally) fiery redhead. At last he was right on top of her. Really.

He tackled the woman to the ground with a shoulder spear that would have made one of those television wrestlers burst with pride.

"Oof!" She exhaled. She made to push the man off of her and stand, not realizing until it was too late that he wore a sleeveless shirt, and she wasn't wearing her gloves…

*Flash*

'I can't see…' was the first thing that passed through Sassi's mind. She knew her eyes were open, knew there was something happening around her… but blackness was all that met her vision.

"Sephiroth!" She heard a voice she instantly recognized as Tifa's, followed by a high-pitched cry of pain, and the sound of a body falling heavily to a metal floor. The coppery smell of what could only be blood assaulted her next, and she fought not to lose her breakfast. She heard a metal door slide open, and heard herself screaming Sephiroth's name in a rage.

"How could you?" She screamed, "They were innocent people!"

She wondered what was happening, what she was talking about, until the smell of burning oil reached her nose. Oil and wood and flesh. She heard the screams from the town not far from where they stood.

*Flash*

Sassi gasped and tried to push away, the only thing her movement seeming to accomplish was to slide her bare hand down the confused SOLDIER's arm.

*Flash*

She knew instantly that while she was still in the same place, time had passed. Pain filled her body and she could feel the slick, alien wetness of blood dripping down her face. She fought a feeling of terror and desperation, worrying for her best friend that was currently fighting a very powerful madman.

*Flash*

"Stop!" Sassi screamed, finally shoving the big man off of her and scurrying on her behind to flatten herself against the base of a tree.

The terror she felt… the pain and the rage… It had all seemed so real. And yet, she couldn't see anything! What was wrong with her powers? What had these strangers done when they came here that effected her most powerful ability?

"Sass?" Harmony said quietly, slowly approaching the shaking woman. Sassi looked up. She had a wild, unfocused look in her eyes.

"Nach bhfuil mo chumhachtaí ag obair! Chonaic mé rud ar bith! Ach ... ach chuala mé ... agus an boladh, A Dhia, an boladh …" Sassi said, allowing Harmony to pull her into her arms. "Bhí sé chomh Uafásach ... Tá a fhios agam cén fáth fuath siad i bhfad é sin …"(4)

"Cad atá i gceist agat, ní gá do chumhachtaí ag obair? D'oibrigh siad breá an lá eile-"(5)

"Speak in a language we can all understand!" Zack snapped, glad the spell had broken and he was able to do so. His statement earned a smack to the back of the head from Angeal.

"Quiet! You know we're not supposed to touch her skin!"

"But she's the one who-"

"Stop." The redhead interrupted them. "It was my own fault. I shouldn't have taken my gloves off."

"Alright." Came a voice from Sassi's left. She and Harmony looked over to find Vincent staring at them with those unnerving red eyes of his. "I think its time you told us why we shouldn't touch you. We have a right to know what we are being exposed to."

Harmony turned on him in an instant, ripping herself from Sassi's grasp and advancing on the tall gunman.

"It hasn't got anything to do with what you are exposed to, Darkness! Its what she's exposed to when you-" She stopped short, her eyes going wide. Whirling around, she let her eyes meet Sassi's. "Sorry!" She said.

Sassi sighed and shook her head. "Its all right. He has a point." She hefted herself to her feet and leaned back against the tree. They all stared at her as she seemed to collect her thoughts.

"Its called retro-cognitive psychometry." Everyone save for Hojo looked confused. Hojo looked positively smitten.

"What's that?" Reno asked.

"It means that if my skin touches your skin, I can see into your mind. Past. Present. Everything. Every thought you've ever had. Every memory. Every feeling. Everything you've ever smelled, or tasted-"

At that point, Kadaj cut her off, racing to her and grasping her by her covered arms. "What did you see?" He snarled, thinking of the moment he grabbed her hand be accident, thinking it was Harmony he had been pulling from the tent.

Sassi never got the chance to answer him, as he was suddenly yanked away from her and flying through the air.

In a move too quick to be seen, and even more difficult to comprehend, Harmony had Kadaj pinned to the ground, his own sword torn from his hip to press against his throat.

"Don't you touch her!" She growled. Kadaj cautiously lifted his hand to move the blades from his neck, only to have her press them harder against his skin. He dared a glance at her face. Her eyes seemed to glow bright green, brighter than even their normal color.

"Harmony?" He asked, softly. "I'm sorry. Let me up."

Those simple words seemed to do so much. The glow faded and the woman above him swayed slightly. "Kadaj?" She said. "What happened?"

"You kicked my ass, is what happened." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"Wha'? How? Why?" Harmony looked sincerely confused.

"I was hoping you could tell me." He said, standing and letting her still-weak body lean against him. "You shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Hey, I've been getting better! I almost beat you the other day!"

"Harmony, I wasn't fighting you with my full strength." He said, hoping she wouldn't become violent again.

"What?" She snapped. "You mean to tell me… all this time I thought I was making progress and you've been…"

"Hari, we all have," Yazoo said.

Harmony's face fell. "Why?" she asked. "You're the Master. You should be the first to tell me that an enemy won't hold back! You've insulted my honor and my intelligence!" She spun on her heel, marching away from the group and leaving Kadaj staring guiltily behind her.

"Harmony, wait!" Yazoo called, sparing a glance at Kadaj and Sassi before taking off after her.

"Leave me alone!" At her words, the sky began to darken again, ugly gray rain clouds bursting into life and dropping heavy rain drops over the group of people. The women, who had not yet witnessed Harmony's control over the weather, stood rooted, sounds of awe escaping their lips.

"Please just listen." Yazoo pleaded, catching up to her and grasping her hand. A jolt of electricity shot through him and he flinched, quickly snatching his hand back. "Ouch! That was uncalled for!"

"So was holding out on me!" Harmony snapped.

"Look, we knew that you couldn't keep up with us, Hari. We're Remnants! We are a part of Sephiroth! We have enough Mako in our blood to kill a normal human, and let's not even mention the Jenova cells!" He reasoned.

Harmony sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Okay. I get it." She turned toward him completely. "But don't. Do it. Again."

"Deal." Yazoo said. Harmony looked behind the man to see Kadaj approaching.

"Harmony," He started, fully intending to defend himself and his actions.

"Stop. Whatever. Its done, can't change it now. But you don't get to do that anymore." She said, pointing her finger in his face.

"You're asking for it." He said, raising his eyebrow.

"Does this look like the face of someone who gives a shit?" Harmony sassed.

Kadaj smiled. She was so refreshing.

"Okay then. Center of the field, right now. Let's see how you can handle a Remnant's real strength."

Lightening flashed, illuminating the meadow and reflecting off of Harmony's dancing eyes.

"Bring it."

"Oh, shit! He's kickin' her ass!" Loz laughed, leaning down to whisper to the redhead cuddled under the blanket at his side.

He had apologized for his idiotic attempt at improper humor, and was now huddled closely with Sassi under the boughs of a large tree at the edge of the meadow.

"Well, she asked for it!" Sassi laughed. She felt strange. Normally, she was not very fond of close physical contact, however, she did not mind Loz being as close as he was. She still wouldn't allow him to touch her skin, but she did allow him to slip her gloved hand into his as he talked.

Loz agreed and changed the subject. "So how does your power work? If you don't want to talk about it that's okay." He rushed to add.

"Its very simple. If my skin were to touch your skin, I would see everything I wanted to see, and then some. I would know every second of your life, from birth until now. This very moment." She looked away, expecting him to call her a freak as others had done.

He surprised her. "That is wicked cool." He said with a grin. "Will you try it with me?"

Sassi stiffened against him, and he wondered if he had just messed up again. "I really don't like-"

"Okay, I understand. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable… I'll just go over here and see if Cloud or Reno or some one will spar with me…" He rambled, starting to stand.

Sassi sighed, resigned. "Wait!" She said. Loz quieted and sat back down. "Give me your hand." She hesitantly drew her glove off of her fingers.

Loz let out the breath he'd been holding when their fingers touched. Sassi's skin was undeniably soft, almost like what he would imagine a baby's skin felt like. He looked at her face to see her staring hard at her fingers.

"What do you see?" He asked.

"I… I can't tell…" Sassi said, confused. "It's fuzzy. Kind of like watching through a wall of water… Who is the big man with the bright green shirt? And what the hell is that next to him? A giant chicken?"

"That's my pa!" Loz crowed. You must be seeing him before a chocobo race!"

"But its not right!" Sassi pressed. "I can't see it as clearly as I should! Harmony!" she called.

The beating in the clearing stopped and Kadaj helped Harmony to her feet, She, Kadaj, and Yazoo making their way to the couple under the tree.

Sassi held her hand out to Harmony and, shocked, Harmony wove her fingers into Sassi's. Sassi never instigated this, so it must be important.

Crystal clear images flooded Sassi's vision, mostly thoughts of Kadaj and how much Harmony wanted to- "Ew. Well, its not broken…" Sassi muttered to herself.

"Why can't I see your mind?" Sassi said, more to herself as she looked at Loz. She turned her glance to Kadaj and held out her hand. "Do you mind?" She asked, unused to asking permission to touch someone.

"Actually, now that I know what you're capable of, I would really rather not." Kadaj said, trying to be as polite as he could.

"Alright." She turned to Yazoo. "May I?" she asked.

Yazoo nodded hesitantly and took his glove off of his hand, extending the pale appendage to the redhead.

Again, Sassi only stared at the foreign fingers in utter frustration.

"Ugh! I never thought I'd be so upset and not being able to use my power!"

"You can't see them?" Harmony exclaimed.

"No! Its like watching one of those old Tvs with all the static! Fascinating!"

"Hang on a second. Sass? One more person? Maybe two?"

Sassi nodded, knowing that Harmony would not do anything that would harm her in any way.

Harmony whistled sharply. "Cid! C'mere a sec. Please?" The blonde pilot jogged over.

"Yeah?"

"You know what Sassi can do."

"Yeah…"

Well, she can't get a read on these guys." Harmony gestured to the Remnants. "I'd like to find out if its because you are all from a different world, or if its because of all the mako and Jenova cells they have in their blood."

Yazoo snapped his fingers. "Of course!"

"Uh… Sure?" Sassi smiled gently and reassuringly as she held out her hand.

Just before their fingers touched, Cid gave her a warning. "Uh, ya might wanna avoid my whole teenage experience. Jes sayin'."

Sassi smiled and then was thrown into an intense vision. Frigid cold against her skin, but the sight before her eyes made it worth it. It was space. Literally. She was in space. The stars seemed so bright, and when the body she was a part of moved just a bit, she saw what she could only guess was the planet Gaia. She released Cid's hand.

"That was absolutely amazing! You've been to space?"

"You saw? It worked?" Harmony asked.

"Oh yeah. It worked. That was so beautiful…" Sassi said.

"Well, Sass… wanna test my theory?"

Before half an hour had passed, Sassi had tested her power on every person at the meadow, save for Hojo. He would not allow her to touch him. In all truth, Sassi didn't really want to touch him, anyway.

"That settles it. it's the Jenova cells." Harmony said. Sassi was unable to read the SOLDIER's, Vincent, and the Remnants, but was able to read everyone else perfectly.

"Well. That's interesting." Harmony muttered.

"If by 'interesting' you mean 'fucking awesome', then hell yeah!" Sassi said.

"What's the matter, Sassafrass? Getting tired of being omniscient?" Harmony sassed good-naturedly.

"…What did you just call me?"

(1) - Mo chara = My friend

(2) - Sea, Mathair = Yes, mother.

(3) - Spirit of mother earth, hear my call. Let him speak as I command, until I release him, or until he is proven worthy. I ask this in the name of all that is holy and powerful, so mote it be!

(4) - My powers are not working! I saw nothing! But ... but I've heard ... and the smell, God, the smell ...

It was so horrible... I know why they hated him so much...

(5) - What do you mean, your powers don't work? They worked fine the other day-
- 18
- 19
- 20
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Prophecy's Refrain