Stained Hands

By: Aeris

Disclaimer: Yeah. I don’t own FF7. And I know for a fact that the dialogue in this fic isn’t accurate, because wouldn’t ya know it, I haven’t gotten around to memorizing every single word in the game yet.

Reviews are highly appreciated. Onto the fic.

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I don't hear a sound..

Silent faces in the ground

The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen…

If there is a hell

I'm sure this is how it smells

Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't…

"Rain" – Cowboy Bebop

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I still remember it…

It’s been so long. Times have changed. Hell, I’ve changed. Ever since that day… when I lost it all.

My home.

My family.

My sanity.

Eleanor and Marlene… they both died in that fire. They were my everything. All because of the damn ShinRa, their goddamn reactors…

God, damn Barret for going along with all that. I was against it, all the way. If they had listened to me, Corel wouldn’t be a pile of shit right now. People would still be living. Dammit, it’s all because of them.

I hate them all. I hate this world, and every single person in it. I want to destroy it all…

I aim my gun-arm at a piece of metal, watching without satisfaction as the bullets ricochet wildly off the surface. This gun-arm…

I got it when I could no longer use my arm. After being shot, and the traitor letting go of my hand, letting me fall God only knows how far…

That metal wasn’t enough. Nothing will be enough until they pay for what they’ve done…

I hear footsteps behind me. I turn to look, with mild surprise. It’s the traitor.

He has some damn nerve coming here, of all places.

He steps toward me…is he expecting a welcome or something?

"Dyne!"

"Hmph." I shoot at another piece of metal, "You. I hear Eleanor now, telling me not to hate your guts…"

"Look, Dyne, I need ta’ talk to you. About what happened—"

Heh, I didn’t let him finish. I shot at the space near his feet, "Don’t bother…" I spat the words out like poison, "Traitor…"

Barret shook his head and took a step towards me, "No, Dyne, ya don’t understand! Look, I know what happened those years ago, but it’s in da’ past!"

I raised an eyebrow, and then, I laughed. A maniac laugh. "The past? I know that’s in the past. Along with my home. My wife. My daughter. Should I let them settle in the past too?? Forget about them??"

"No, Dyne, jus’ listen! Marlene’s alive!"

I was truly shocked, "…she is?"

"Yea, man! I went back to see if… if Myrna was alive, but that’s when I found Marlene. I got her outta there as fast as I could. Look, I can take you to Marlene! Just come with me!" He extended a hand to me. I thought for a second, then turned around.

"Well, I guess this means you and me gotta fight."

"Fight? Why? What for?"

I held my gun-arm out, "For the right to keep Marlene."

"Right…? She’s your daughter, man! I’ll take you to her!"

I looked up towards the cloudy sky, "I’ll take her to see her mother…"

"Are you insane?!?! You’d kill your own kid?!"

I shook my head, "She misses her mom, doesn’t she? Eleanor is lonely…" I clenched my one fist, and turned around, "Let’s go."

He stepped back, "No, man, I ain’t gonna fight you!"

I glared, and fired a few rounds at him, "Then stand there and die!!"

I saw him writhe in pain after I shot him. The sweet satisfaction… I snickered, and threw a Molotov cocktail at him.

Surely, he’d never stand a chance. Or so I had thought… that’s where my second surprise came in. I don’t know what the hell it was, some Limit Break I suppose, but the next thing I knew I was down on one knee.

I saw the traitor motion towards me, "I don’t wanna do this to ya, man, just come wit’ us!"

I spat at his feet, and limped towards the nearby cliff, where my wife’s makeshift "tombstone" lay. I fell to my knee again near the edge, staring into space. "Look… take care of Marlene…"

I could tell he was confused, "Wha? Man, you come with, we can raise her together!"

I shook my head, "Barret, how long ago was the fire? Marlene was small… if I went to her now, she’d have no idea who the hell I was." I managed a small smile, "She’s already four…huh…"

"…"

I coughed up a small bit of blood, "My hands are too stained to carry her anymore… raise her to be a good kid. Someday, tell her that… her daddy loves her."

"Dyne, wait!!"

I used my last bit of strength to hurl myself over the edge of the cliff, into the sweet oblivion below. The ground rushed up to meet me all too quick… there was a sensation of pain, and then… nothing.

There was darkness. And a swirl of green, as my stained hands…my stained soul left the mortal world, and melded with the others within the Planet.