Moving On

This is something I've been working on for about three years, somewhere abouts when I saw the preview movie for the Ehrgeiz somewhere. Call me a bit weird or silly or whatever - but I was convinced the part with Han was actually Yuffie. Sorry, wrong character, wrong gender. But hey, it's what I thought. And you'll see this scene is based a bit on that opening movie. I've always believed Yuffie had a prosthetic leg, even before this, and so...here she does. It's all part of the story - honest. What is fan fiction for, if not for such things? This is the prologue chapter and since I've just tacked on this title last minute, then that will probably change, too. Expect the rest of the story...someday soon. I hope. *crosses fingers* We will be seeing Cloud and Tifa, and I have plans for Vincent to make an appearance, but he still might not make the cut in the final version. Sephiroth will not be in this story, even though he was in Ehrgeiz. Since this is part of my official FF6/7 series, he is officially dead by the time this story takes place, and I'm not a fan of resurrecting people for the sake of one story. Okay, on with the story now.

The cool wind blew through the leaves of the trees she sat beneath, sending wisps of cold up Yuffie's arms, but she was too preoccupied to notice her body's need for a jacket. She was adjusting her prosthetic leg -- installing a fresh round of missiles. In her youth, long before she had many experiences in the real world, she had a regular prosthetic that merely bent at the knee and ankle at the proper times, which was about as fancy as she knew of in those days. But in her mid teens, she had met Barret, who had his artificial hand replaced with a gun-arm - and that got her to thinking. A lost limb did not have to be a detriment. All you had to do was add a gun or two, a missile turret, and there you had one really cool weapon. Her new leg had helped her out on several occasions since she had it put on. And now it was becoming more important.

She started when she saw something pouncing towards her. She struggled to catch her screwdriver which the shock had made her throw into the air. She caught it cleanly in her other hand. She felt silly when she realized it was only one of her pet cats, seeking affection and a warm spot to lie down. It set itself gently on her lap.

She put her screwdriver away and closed up the compartments on her leg, then began to pet the creature's light grey fur. Her mind began to wander to another time. When this park hadn't been a mere park. When no tourist would even consider vacationing in a place like Wutai. When her townspeople had been warriors -- strong, noble and proud. She was awaiting the day it could be like that again. If she had anything to say about it, that would be soon.

"Ehrgeiz...." she whispered to herself. "A mysterious tournament. Nobody's heard of it before. Just about the prize... A special, really powerful materia. The materia's supposedly even stronger than those huge ones we got that're stored in Cosmo Canyon." She sighed. "Materia...even all that materia those guys gave me after that Sephiroth thing didn't help restore Wutai. It's still a cheesy tourist trap. Hell, even Godo's given up on this place. I'm Wutai's only hope.....I've gotta at least try." She grit her teeth. "No. I've gotta do better than try. I've gotta win. No matter who gets in my way...."

She looked off towards the ancient DaChao Mountains in the distance, her cat purring contentedly. Her mind was wandering to another time, even further away in her mind than the Sephiroth incident, but it was an uncomfortable memory. She cursed herself for thinking about it and tried to think of something else when her cat abruptly meowed and its fur bristled. It jumped from her lap and ran away.

"What?" she questioned. What had it so jumpy?

"Hey, what about payin' some attention to a talking cat?" came the voice. It was familiar, but one she hadn't heard in years.

She set eyes on him and smiled in spite of herself. He was a strange looking creature -- a large, furry moogle that smiled deftly at all times. Atop its head, however, was a striped black and white cat with a tiny crown on his head, and a burgundy cape he wore proudly around his shoulders. Though it appeared to be two creatures, it was actually only one, and certainly one of a kind.

"Hey, Cait Sith!" she exclaimed.

"You remember me! Good to see you! Heyyy...look at you. You're all grown up."

"Sure am."

"Well, you look good."

She grinned sheepishly. "Thanks."

The cat atop the moogle nodded.

"So what brings you this far west?" she asked.

"Oh, Reeve just got me up and runnin' again and I'm wandrin' the world to see how it's changed. Gee, this place sure hasn't."

Yuffie sighed. "I know." She stood quickly.

Cait Sith paused a moment, just looking at her.

"Whaaat?" she asked, frustrated with his strange silence.

"You look ready for battle," he said suddenly.

She nodded. "You got that right. I'm off for Costa Del Sol in the morning."

Cait Sith (both the cat and the moogle) put his hands on his hips. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you're gonna compete in that Ehrgeiz thing."

"Yup. Sure am."

"Why?"

"The prize is this mega-powerful materia. And where there's materia..."

"There's Yuffie Kisaragi."

She nodded. "Now you're gettin' it."

"But not a lot's known about the people runnin' this tournament.," he replied. "And that sword....if it was so powerful, why would they just give it away like that? Who knows what they're up to?"

"Who cares? I only want to win that materia."

"You think it will help revive Wutai?" Cait Sith asked suddenly.

She gave him a look he didn't want to match. "And what business is it of yours?"

"Because I'm your friend?" Cait Sith tried.

She sighed, leaning back into the tree, seeming to accept his answer. "Yeah, I hope it'll revive Wutai. If this doesn't....I don't think all the materia left in the world will." She looked up to the sky. "I'm the only one who can do it."

Cait Sith merely nodded. "Need a friend to travel with? It's a long, quiet way to Costa Del Sol..."

"Well, I guess so. But no wise cracks, okay? I've gotta take the ferry (ugh!) and I'm not looking forward to it. So just leave me alone and I'll be great."

"I won't bother you when you're sick. That's not fair."

Yuffie looked at him a moment. "Fair?"

"To mock you when you're sick."

"Why not? Everyone else does."

"Well, I never found it too funny."

"Really?"

"No. So trust me."

"I guess I've gotta."

"So when do we head out?"

"The ferry leaves tomorrow evening from Oshinaka. It'll take most of the day to get there. Say, ten o'clock?"

Cait Sith nodded. "See you there, then."

"Don't be late."

To be continued...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Fantasy 7 and Ehrgeiz both belong to Squaresoft, and I don't own them.