A/N: So... this is my first time writing a fan fiction and I must apologize in advance if the characters are slightly or too OOC. I've never played or even owned a copy of the game except DoC (and even that is actually borrowed from my brother's friend). I'm rating it T on the safe side for now but it may go to M in much further chapters.
2nd March Re-write: It's still the same plot but I've just cleaned up some of the messier part with a few dialogs re-written.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Square Enix except for the character OC for she is mine.
Prologue
0012.
It has been two years since Gaia had earned its peace again. After the emergence of Deepground and near apocalypse of Omega's departure, people of Gaia had been left in times of devastation. Luckily WRO, World Regenesis Organization, led by Reeve Tuesti with the help of sponsors manages to provide aid to those in need. Now when everything is peaceful again, they've moved on to the restoration of Midgar.
The story begins in an encampment area where WRO is currently operating in.
Chapter 1
The sky was orange in hue, like flames dying out as the sun sets in the horizon. The first evening star now shines like a single diamond and below the darkening sky lights lit amongst the ruins of the once advance city of Midgar. And among the ruins are small parties of WRO soldiers preparing to return to base for the day.
"Are we done yet?" Yuffie moans as she leans in on a giant shuriken. Her partner was pulling his spear out of a monster's carcass.
"What? I thought you never get tired, brat," Cid scoffs while chewing on an unlit cigarette.
"Well I'm bored! All this hunting and I was supposed to have a vacation with him!" the ninja exasperates. Cid literally rolled his eye at that and said, "Yeah? Well good luck with that because I ain't gonna be your pilot."
"Why not? Come on old man can't you do something as simple as that for me?" Yuffie goaded the pilot in a sing song voice. Then with a gasp of realization she adds, "Unless… you're jealous I'm not taking you with me!"
"Ha! As if I'd get jealous over something related to you. And quit callin' me old!"
And all the while they were bantering at each other they'd arrive back at the encampment without realizing until their companions called out to them. Both Cid and Yuffie move in to join them around a campfire.
"Good job everyone. Now we can begin the reconstruction fully on the city," Reeve said as he emerged from a tent nearby. He was wearing a blue robe similar to the one he had worn during the Deepground incident – in which had earned him a skeptical Yuffie asking him to add more clothes to his wardrobe. He looked at the tired AVALANCHE members and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Vincent? I'd thought he would have been the first to return."
At the mention of the silent gunslinger's name everyone looked around in confusion. Then Cloud turned to the small ninja and said, "Wasn't he supposed to be with you Yuffie?"
"Yeah but after a while he said Chaos wanted to go somewhere," the young ninja replied nonchalantly. "He didn't mention where they were going but they can take care of themselves. Vince's an adult after all."
Chaos – the harbinger of destruction and one of the many demons in Vincent's mind. After the incident two years prior, the demon was supposed to have returned to the Lifestream along with the other demons. But one day Vincent had found Chaos in a materialized form. The demon had forced his way into their little group and since then he'd been one of them.
"True but we were supposed to gather here when the siren rang just now," Tifa said worriedly. She turned to look at the direction they came from hoping to spot a red dot somewhere.
"No point in worrying 'bout that guy. I'm sure he'll show up later when he gets bored of doing whatever he's doing out there," Cid said with a wave of his hand to dismiss the topic.
"I hope so," Tifa sighed. Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her and she returned the gesture with a smile of her own.
Everyone nodded silently in agreement and they went into a tent where refreshments were prepared for them.
Meanwhile somewhere inside Shinra building…
A man clad in red tattered cloak stood still in a dark empty hallway. A small group consisting of three WRO soldiers stood on guard with their torches the only light in the place. They did not know why they were inside Shinra for but because they had orders to follow the silent gunslinger they were here.
The damp and stuffy air was uncomfortable and the darkness around them was unsettling. Vincent walked slowly down the hallway, his crimson eyes searching for something even he does not know what. He had come to the place because Chaos forced him to. He was surprised at first when the demon suddenly flew towards the ruined building, dragging Vincent along, when they were supposed to gather back at camp after the siren blared.
"Chaos, might I ask again why are we here?" Vincent said monotonously to the winged demon.
"I told you before; I sensed something strange in here. It feels familiar in a way," the demon replied feeling rather annoyed that his ex-host had to ask him something so obvious. He hovered casually down the hall, his yellow eyes shining golden in the darkness.
The WRO soldiers followed silently, their guns ready for any unsuspecting monsters to leap out. Vincent could feel their uneasiness of being alone with the demon and he didn't blame them for even he was feeling slightly unnerved as much as he hated to admit it. He placed his hand close to Cerberus' handle, his fingers twitching in readiness to pull the trigger anytime.
Chaos continued to float around the hallway, opening each door he passed by to inspect the inside before moving on to the next door when he didn't see what he was looking for. This little expedition went on for what felt like hours to the small group before they finally arrived at the end of the hall.
A reinforced steel door stood in front of them, barred by more steels and yellow tapes with 'warning' written on them. A board hung sideway on the wall beside the door, its letters faded from age. Vincent walked up to the door to examine it only to turn around to face the winged demon in disappointment.
"It's sealed shut. What now Chaos?"
Said demon only gave a low growl, baring his fangs slightly with a threatening look on his face. He held his arm up and Death Penalty appeared in his hand. The gun was aimed at the steel door behind Vincent and knowing what the demon was about to do Vincent quickly leaps out of the way just in time to avoid the powerful shot.
Thick clouds of dust filled the air making it impossible to see anything for some time. When the dust had settled, the small group slowly opened their eyes to see what was inside the lock room. Vincent got up from his crouching position and rubbed his eyes.
A large hole had appeared in the middle of the door and the man could see that Chaos had already entered the room. He followed in carefully behind the demon. The room was dark as to be expected but there was a large tube standing in the middle of the room with thick green liquid glowing abnormally.
Soft beeps of electronics echoed at set interval in the laboratory. Vincent saw multiple screens blinking unevenly and some flashing statistically. On one of the screens displayed something akin to a bio data of a human.
Chaos moves closer to the tall tube in the room and placed a hand on it. A soft clink sound was heard upon contact. The gunslinger turned to look at the demon, about to voice his doubt when he noticed something.
The tube was connected with many thick cables from the outside to the inside and floating gently in the green liquid was a body. It was human from the looks of it and it was wearing a jumpsuit of the sort with what seemed like a helmet on its head. Long hair floated around covering some part of the body and a cable was attached to the neck and helmet.
Without thinking, Chaos fisted his hand and punched the glass wall of the tube, effectively cracking the glass before it shattered to pieces. Chaos got away before the liquid burst out, emptying the tall tube. When it stopped, he hovers in front of the hole he had made in the glass.
Slowly, the demon walks into the tube, towards the now limp body that lay on the tube's floor. He carefully turned the body over and as if hesitant, he slowly removes the cable and helmet off. Vincent inhaled sharply when he stood next to the demon, his crimson eyes wide in shock when he saw the body.
There laying still was a young woman seemingly in her late teens or early twenties with long brown hair and a pale complexion. The jumpsuit she wore clung tightly to her body, showing of her curves effectively. A soft whimper escaped her thin lips and her fingers twitched a little.
The woman lay still for a while more before her eyelids flutter open slowly, her right arm shielding her eyes from the bright light shining down from the top of the tube. She weakly tries to get up on the other arm but couldn't.
"Careful," Vincent knelt beside her and help balance her up. The gunner said nothing more as he placed his gauntleted arm behind the woman's back to support her in her sitting position.
"Where… am I?" the woman said. Her voice was soft and slightly cracked probably due to not having used in a very long time. She turned to look around slowly, her eyelids half open. Both Vincent and Chaos could see she had deep emerald pupils that shone almost like Mako.
Not wanting to stay in the place any longer Vincent said, "Can you stand?"
The young woman made an attempt to stand but she could barely move them. "Can't… feel my limbs…" she muttered softly. Then before she could say any more her eyes closed shut and she lay unconscious in Vincent's arms.
Chaos moved in and carefully picked the now sleeping woman up and walked out of the tube, Vincent following behind him, amazed at the demon's action. The three WRO soldiers who had remained at the entrance guarding now turned to look at the demon and the gunner emerged from the tube. Vincent moved forward to them and said, "Search for anything of value in the room and see if you can get a copy of the reports in the computers."
"Sir!" the soldiers saluted before moving quickly about the task given.
Chaos stood outside the entrance, void of emotion and with the woman cradled closely to his chest. After some time, the soldiers grouped together again, files and reports in hand. Vincent gestured for them to move out and silently the small group marched out of the crumbling building and return to the encampment which was located in what used to be Sector 1 station.
It was already night when they came out of the old building. The stars were shining brightly in the black sky above. After a long while of walking, they finally arrived at the camp site. Yuffie was the first to spot them returning and the ninja ran up to them waving her arms in the air.
A/N: Please drop a review to tell me what you think of my very first story. Thanks and see ya in the next chapter!