Assassins in Gaia

Desmond woke up to bleak sunlight coming through the clouds and a sharp knocking on the door. Ace, he noticed was still fast asleep on his bed, on his right side. He rubbed his eyes when there was another knock and finally he got up grunting and opened the door. The Inn's helper boy was the one knocking. The young lad had reddish brown hair and green eyes with dimples on his cheeks. Despite his brain being sleep ladled Desmond was able to keep himself from pinching those cheeks.

Desmond yawned, "Yeah? What is it kiddo?"

The helper, "The name's Luke. M the cleaner around here. Not a kid. The boss wanted me to check in on ya. You and your brother are kinda late for breakfast."

Desmond nodded at that and smiled charmingly, "Ah, I guess we are, aren't we? Thank you Luke, for waking us up Luke. We would have slept in otherwise. We had a tiring day yesterday."

Luke nodded flushing at the gratitude, "No problem Mistah. Ah saved ya some milk and bread though. Figured ya might like it. here ya go."

Desmond smiled in thanks, "Don't call me Mister. Makes me feel old, call me Desmond."

Desmond closed the door after giving a tip of twenty Gil, to the boy for saving them some breakfast, making him beam at him for the extra cash. Luke told him to call on him if he needed anything else. Desmond looked at Ace who was still fast asleep and decided to clean up in the bathroom first. Thank sanity, his new self in this world always carried some toothbrush, mouth paste, soap and face wash. He finished up his morning rituals and exited the bathroom to see Ace who was awake and rubbing his eyes.

Ace saw him and smiled, "Good morning, Desmond."

Desmond smiled back while drying himself with the towel, "Morning Ace, go wash up. The bathroom is free. Mind you the water here is cold though. It does wake you up however."

Ace laughed then pointed at his toothbrush, "Um.. You got some extras with you?"

Desmond took out another pack and handed it to him, "Here, this one is yours. After you are done we can have breakfast and go searching for our family members."

Ace nodded and went to the bathroom to wash up. After he had finished they had their breakfast together, which was still a pretty surreal experience for Desmond, which is, watching the previous artifact eat. Although he had already seen him eat last night, he figured he would have to get used to it now. Once they had finished their meal, they went downstairs, they only had two bags so they didn't bother leaving them behind.

Luke beamed at them, "I will have yer rooms cleaned by the time ya return."

Ace, "We appreciate it. Can you point us to the market area?"

Luke, "Sure, just go left from here, past the village square. That is where our market is."

Desmond, "Thanks Luke."

Luke, "No problem."

Desmond followed the directions, "I think that is it."

Ace looked around the bustling marketplace, "So.... What now? We go around asking or do you want me to sense them out?"

Desmond, "Look around the town and ask. But you can try and can sense them, if you want. We can ask for our Uncle's whereabouts. A Storm Miles wasn't it?"

Ace smiled at that, "Yeah we could. Let's go find our family."

The two of them looked around the shops while asking around for his 'Uncle's' whereabouts in the village. When the shopkeepers heard the name they were surprised and shocked but then looked at the two carefully. One of the shop owners, a baker looked at the boy and the young man infront of her and noticed the very similar eye shape the young man had to the person they were searching for.

The bakery owner pointed at the road leading to a small house on the hill, "Well boys, I believe I know who you are searching for. But I'm afraid I got bad news for you. He passed away years ago and now it's only his wife and son who lives there."

Desmond smiled at her, "Better than being completely alone I say. Thank you."

The Lady mumbled, "Maybe having an older man in the house will be good for the Strife boy."

The two of them left the baker's place and Ace spoke up frowning, "What was up with that last bit?"

Desmond, "Who knows? Maybe the kid loves pranks? But that's normal for children."

Ace nodded grinning, "So we now know, where they are and our Uncle is dead too. That's kind of a bummer, if you ask me."

Desmond eyed him, "You sound like you didn't expect this outcome."

Ace puffed his cheeks, "That's because I didn't. I was expecting a family to be present here to care for and love you and I. Not end up as an orphan the moment we wake up here. This changes things a bit for us. Not by much because we still have family here, just a bit."

Desmond shrugged, "Guess this incident just shows you are a human now, not an all knowing being anymore. Plus the fact you are emotionally invested tells me, you will do just fine as a human."

Ace frowned and then brightened, "Huh ~ I guess, that's true. You are right, it's cool! What are we going to tell them though?"

Desmond hummed, "The truth about their family here on this planet. I mean, I don't think telling anyone we're from another planet will end well."

Ace rubbed his head, "Yeah, we'd probably end up in one of those institutions for mad people or something."

They walked down the dirt road to the quaint looking house at the end. It may have looked small and quaint but it looked well cared after, homey and lived in. It had a few winter primrose and bright yellow lily growing in front. Desmond noticed an open shed half filled with the firewood and the forest behind it. He looked back at the village and noticed an old building a little further away. He had not realized the large house was there last night. He half wondered who it had belonged to, it gave a very eighteenth century feel and looked quite lovely, despite the run down poor condition it was in. Desmond turned back to the house and Ace went over to the wooden door and knocked on it. They heard a woman's voice coming from the inside and the door opened.

Claudia Strife was a strong woman, she was a widow who raised her son on her own despite the hardships. She and her husband had been happily married and had a healthy and wonderful child together. Her husband for some reason wanted her to keep her family name and avoided using his name in their marriage certificate. He had told her being a Turk was a dangerous position and it would be better if she could make a nice clean break if anything happened to him. Then all of a sudden when Cloud was merely two turning three years old, her husband was pronounced dead by Shinra. She could have left this backward village but there were many happy memories here and she didn't trust Shinra to not try anything if they knew her husband had married and had a child. She shivered thinking about her late husband's warning.

Flashback:

Storm was scowling, "Hojo has a disturbing interest in children, not the sexual kind but the scientific kind. Especially towards those who react well to his experiments. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Claudia shivered holding a two year old Cloud, "Why do you work for him?"

Storm sighed, "I'm a Turk, we do as we are told or else."

Claudia frowned at the sliced neck gesture her husband made before sighing, "I.. Alright, I will drop this matter about the use of my family name but you better be careful, you hear me?"

Storm kissed her cheek, "Of course dear!"

Cloud raised his arms, "Papa! Papa! Kiss too, kiss."

Storm had laughed heartily picking Cloud up and peppering his chubby cheeks with kisses getting happy giggles from the toddler. Claudia smiled in content, as long as her small family was together, safe and happy, she was happy too. Who would have thought that will be the last memory they have of him.

Flashback end!

But despite that she knew her little Cloud dreamed of joining Shinra and becoming a hero. And honestly, in her heart she couldn't bare to stop him from going and fulfilling his dreams. He was following in his father's footsteps whether he realized it or not. Today had been a normal day like any other and she and Cloud had just finished their monthly house cleaning when there was a knock on the door.

Claudia looked at the door curiously before answering and opening the door, "Hello, how may I help you?"

Desmond smiled politely, "Apologies for bothering you out of nowhere but... Are you Storm Miles' wife?"

Claudia was taken aback and became very cautious, "Yes that would be me, why do you ask?"

Ace smiled jumping, "We found our aunt, Des."

Claudia was bewildered by the sudden turn of events. It was a normal morning so far till the two visitors came knocking on the door. She shook herself from her shock and opened the door as that was not the place to talk. She was an aunt, since when?

Claudia motioned for them to enter, "I think, you boys need to come in and explain a bit. And what do you mean by 'found your aunt', I had no idea, I even had nephews."

Desmond grinned, "Of course, we will. Do you mind if we call you aunt?"

Claudia hesitated a bit, "Well, if I'm truly your aunt and you can prove it. I don't mind!"

Desmond nodded understanding while Ace smiled giddily. They saw a blond tuft of hair peeking from the stairways and Desmond figured that kid was the main reason Ace was truly excited. He smiled at the kid and the blond ducked his head embarrassed at being caught. They sat at the table and got ready to tell Mrs Strife about their family in this world. They hoped things turned out okay for them.