Prolouge - Into The Unknown
The unknown can scare anyone. No one knows whats there, and though they are afraid to find out, the unknown has a certain... pull to those with even a little bit of adventerous spirit in them. The unknown was what was drawing a stranger towards what was left of Midgar. Wrapped up in a thick black cloak that reached down to the feet, a twin pair of swords peeked out from the very bottom on the duster, the scabbards half an inch from the ground. Hands were incased in tight black leather gloves, and on the figure's feet were a pair of heavy and tall black leathers boots that were fastened in the front by a row of clips. Stopping at the cliff were you could look out at Midgar, the figure looked down and combed the wide desert-like area between it and the city. "It really hasn't changed that much..." The voice that came from the figure's lips was of unknown gender, muffled by the thick black cloth that covered the bottom of the face. Emerald eyes turned and, with a swish of a cloak, the figure disappeared from the cliff's edge.
Edge was a town that this person hardly knew at all. So when the figure found itself stranded, and having no idea where to go, the figure's head slowly looked around, emerald eyes watched as people passed it. The looks it was getting was starting to irritate the figure, so it sighted the nearest building and walked into it. There was someone behind the bar counter, but the figure didn't bother looking at the person, finding a secluded and dark corner to sit it. Releasing it's swords from their clasps and then proped them up in the corner. Shrugging off it's cloak, the figure reached up and relased the headcorvering that had hid the mass of sun-bright red hair that was now trumbing down to rest about waist length. Even without the jacket covering the slender frame, and the black cloth on the face, it was quite apparent now that this figure was a woman. Shifting in her seat, the red haired, emeral-eyed woman grabbed her swords and swung them over her shoulder to rest them in her lap. Digging in her pocket to pull out a oil cloth and a whetstone, un-sheathing one of the long katanas, then set to work on it.
Today was supposed to be uneventful for her. She was going to pass through Edge and go on her way after getting a good night's sleep, but suddenly a feeling came over her. It was a feeling that someone she knew, or had known at some point, was coming closer. Just as she finished with her swords, replaced them in the corner, and propped her heavy-booted feet up on the table in front of her, the door to the bar opened. Concentrating on a map that covered the sight of her covered face and hair, she tuned her hearing a little as the person behind the counter, a female, spoke with laughter in her voice. "Well, you haven't changed all these years. You still got that cellphone, Vincent?" The red-head's hands tightened with a light creek of leather, just as a hot flash washed over her. That name... She hadn't heard his name in years. The last time she heard that name was over eighteen years ago. She had been told that he had died. At the memory of the man that had told her that, her right shoulder started to burn. That damnable scientest... He had lied to her!
Taking a deep breath, she lightly ruffled her map a little, not wanting to seem the red-cloaked man's presense had faded her. At the sound of the map, the woman behind the bar jumped slightly as she placed her hand on the bar-top. "I forgot that you were there. Do you need anything?" The woman's voice was a little strange, and using the 'gift' the red-head had, she deduced that woman was at least two weeks along, and didn't know it yet. Also at that instant, a shock shot down her spine. She threw her map to the side, jumped to her feet and ran at the woman, who had walked out from behind the bar, and Vincent, knocking them to the ground. She was a second too late to get herself to the ground, because at least four bullets pounded into her back. Letting out a curse that was muted because of the cloth on her face, she fell to her knees and simply passed out from the shock of the wounds, slumped over a little.
After an hour, she finally sturggled out of her shock-induced sleep, gritting at the pain coming from her back. Hands incased in finger-less gloved tied the bandages around her chest. She was still wearing her boots and pants, but her jacket and shirt was gone, everything from her shoulders down to her lower back covered in virgin bandages. The red-head was aware of two people in the room, the person who had been wrapping her up right by the bed, and then one person by the door to the... bedroom she was in. The hands that had been working on her bandages moved up to remove the cloth around her face. The red-head wanted to tell the owner of those hands to back away, but she just didn't have the enrgy to speak at the moment. She felt the cloth slid from her face, and suddenly she broke out in a cold sweat. The person near the door stand to their feet, and she instantly knew who else was in the room. With a suprizing amount of strength, she opened her eyes. Pained blurred her eyes for a minute, but when they cleared, she saw two faces. One was of a woman that she didn't know, but the other face... He was actually standing there.
The red-head really didn't know what to do with herself. She stared into those all-too-familiar eyes, instantly knowing that the owner of those eyes thought she had been dead as well. After a minute, her lips worked as she summoned the energy to speak. When she did, the usual gruffness she had developed in her voice over the past eighteen years melted away. "I see... That you are still alive. Who knew?" She fell into an uneasy silence, and the silence got more heated and uneasy as he just looked at her. As if seeing the sparks flashing between them, the woman spoke up. "You two know each other! Well, isn't this nice?" The red-head looked away quickly, staring up at the ceiling, taking in a shuddering breath. She closed her eyes, her hands tightening at her sides when he spoke. "Tifa. Could you step out for a moment?" Tifa looked at Vincent, who had his eyes on the red-head, then to the red-head herself. "Okay..." Standing, Tifa left the room and shut the door. More silence streched on, but the uneasyness was there no longer. Maybe it was because Tifa was gone now. "Lucy."
The red-head, Lucy, took a calming breath before lowering her gaze from the ceiling, and turned her head to the right, her emeral eyes widdening a little when she saw how much closer he had come to her. "You are supposed to be dead." His voice was a little more blunt than it used to be, but she didn't mind. It made it that more interesting. "So were you... It been over eighteen years since that day." The two looked at each other, and that heat flashed over her again. "D-Did you need to say something?" She had a feeling there was was a lot he wanted to say, but she sensed his hesitation to broach the subject. She almost blurted out her secret, but she bit it back when he spoke again. "No. I just wanted to make sure you were alive, real, and not just an illusion." The pain in his eyes was evident, but it was gone whe he stood to his feet. "You need rest, Lucy." She watched him as he left the room. Closing her eyes, she settled back into the bed, ignoring the pain coming from her back as she put her arm over her eyes. "Vincent..." Closing her eyes, she willed herself to sleep, squishing the fear that he would be gone when she woke up. She had a feeling he'd still be there when she would wake the next time.