Final Fantasy

Project VII

Chapter I-Before My Sleep

Every family dreams of a perfect life. Having kids that grow up and make something of themselves, a mom and dad both there to teach them right from wrong, and a home in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a lawn. My family... well not so much. My family consists of Dr John Duravis, a Shinra scientist from Nibelheim, Mao Yuuki, the daughter of a former advisor to the emperor of Wutai, and me, Edo Duravis. A redhead, and a half wutian who hardly resembles one.

I was originally born and raised in Wutai up until about I was six months old. We then moved back to my father's hometown of Nibelheim because... well frankly, my dad didn't want to put up with the in-laws B.S. Anymore. I didn't blame him. I hated them as much as he did because they treated him like he supposed carry the piss bucket for them. Fortunately, that was about the only drama in our family that we had.

I had a normal, quiet childhood. I was never much of a hell-raiser only because I didn't like being punished with time-outs and groundings. My dad spent most of his days working at Shinra Manor while mom and I stayed at home and worked on schoolwork together. I wanted to do well enough in school so could get in a university and have a career that could support both my parents when Dad retires. The only thing that was keeping from doing that was English, especially the writing part of it. Essays weren't my thing, but my mother helped push me to keep writing until it was finished. After I finished that essay, the others became easier to write. It was easier to understand grammar and spelling rules because the way Mom explained them to me.

It was about a year ago when my mother passed away after a fight with cancer, not long after I graduated from college. Even my grandparents paid their respects at the funeral. They may have been pricks, but they loved Mom just as much as we did. Mom did leave us one gift before she left; she brought our two families closer.

Mom left us with another gift. Bills. Her funeral costs alone kept us from buying the house in Kalm that we've been looking at for the longest time, plus Shinra had called Dad on a very important project at the manor that 'needed his immediate attention', So I was up to me to find a job in order to support the two of us and try to get our financial situation solved. Trouble was that not many people in town were hiring at the time. Since women weren't allowed to join SOLDIER, the only decent paying job working for Shinra was working as a Turk, the company's personal bodyguards and go-to guys. Only problem was I didn't know a damn thing about fighting or using firearms which made for an interesting conversation with the recruiter, but I managed to strike a deal with him. It involved me training for about a year. Still, it was better than working as a maid at the inn. I think...

Fresh out of training, I was immediately assigned to keep watch of Shinra Manor back home. The protesters there were getting a little out of hand and needed someone to keep order. SOLDIER was already shorthanded due to the recent terrorist attacks in Midgar. Made me feel a little bit better about being a Turk. At least I wasn't being used as a Shinra bullet sponge.

The mansion itself was a lot different from what my dad told me about when I was younger. Hell, I didn't even know about the underground laboratory beneath it till my first day out there. Even though I was restricted to the upper levels of the mansion, I still couldn't help shake the weird feeling knowing I was protecting an underground lab that conducted human experiments in secrecy. The screams seemed to seep though the cracks in the bookcase. Sent chills up my spine every time I heard them, but at least I wasn't the only Turk posted here at the mansion. I met him the second day on the job during my break. Vincent Valentine... I think that was his name. I remember faces better than names sometimes. He was pale,thin, and a real quiet kind of guy. Never really spoke much unless someone asked him about something.

I used to spend time with him during my break, talking about things in general. The weather, what I did last night, and sometimes stories from my childhood. At least something to keep my mind off what was going on down below. Usually his vocabulary consists of "Yeah?", "Really?", "That's cool", and "I'm sorry", but one day I finally managed to get him to start a conversation. Surprisingly, Vincent was quite the talkative one once you got him motivated enough. The way he carried on about Dr. Crescent gave me the idea that Vincent might have a crush on her. I thought I'd try and convince him during my smoke break. A nasty habit I developed while training for the Turks, though I've slowed down since I first started.

"So Vince, when are you going to ask her out?" I looked over just in time to watch Vincent almost choke on his energy drink. "Excuse me?" I took another drag, slowly exhaling "Dr. Crescent, when are asking her out on a date?" "Well... I... don't even know if she has one already." "One what?" " A boyfriend..." "Might help if you ask her about it instead of waiting here everyday for her to jump into your arms." There was a bit of an awkward silence than seemed to hang on my last sentence. Stupid Edo, you just can't seem to keep you big mouth shut, can you? Now he probably thinks I'm an ass." Listen, I'm..." "Thanks, Edo." "For what? Being an ass to you?" "No. Helping me realize that sitting here won't get me any closer to her." What the hell did I say to turn his life around? The only thing I did really was ask when he was going start dating. Then again, I didn't know what was really going on in that head of his. Really more or less... I just guessed. "You're welcome... I guess." I smothered the lit end of the cigarette and threw it in the ashtray. "Well... we better get back." Vincent gave me an appreciative nod and headed back inside. "Hey Vince, don't come back till you get a date out of her, okay?" "Okay, I'll see you later." he said, giving a small wave as he left. A few days day later, I spotted him with Dr. Crescent enjoying a picnic underneath one of the willow trees out back. "Can't wait to meet her, Vince."

Vincent stop showing up for work a couple of weeks after his date with Dr. Crescent. I assumed he was out on sick leave at first, but after about two weeks, I started to get worried. I asked Dr. Crescent about him, but she told me that he was just transfered this morning. It was strange because I never saw any paperwork about a transfer for Vincent and his things are still on his desk, too. Even stranger, my upper level restrictions lifted all of a sudden, allowing me access to the basement. Somehow, the idea of working close to my dad didn't thrill me as much as I thought it would, since I knew what he did for a living now. So, now I mostly stay on the upper levels until someone calls me down there. I still had duties to attend to up top as well so I just blew most of the little stuff off. "Hold this patient down.", and "Help me reach this.". This went on for weeks.

One day after I finished making my rounds in the labs and finishing up for the day, I started making my way back to the main floor. I was in a hurry to get away from the labs, and I was almost home free, too, but unfortunately in the hallway, I stumbled blindly into one of the scientist in my soon-to-be-failed escape attempt.'Professor Hojo' was hand-written on a faded name tag pinned to his lab coat. I felt a small prick in my stomach. "Watch where you're going, you stupid... Ahh! My experiment!" I pulled back to find an empty syringe lodged in my abdomen. This can't be good. Almost immediately, I felt a painful, burning sensation in my stomach that seemed to spread out from that point. Nope, not good at all. "Dammit! Look what you've done! Now I have to..." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just follow me, so I can sort this mess out. Hopefully you don't turn out like the others. I have enough problems as it is."

I followed Hojo back to his private facility in th lowest level of the basements. The pain was starting to get worse with each minute that passed. We entered his office where he pointed to one of the office chairs by his desk "Sit here. I'll be back with the suppressant for you." striding back outside the door, mumbling something under his breath. I sat in his office chair waiting. The desk beside me was littered with reports of recent experiments. I was tempted to skim through the reports of what was being conducted here, but I quickly pulled myself away. Just in time too. The door behind me opened. "Oh hello Edo. What are you doing back here?" "Hello Dr. Crescent, I had a little run-in with Hojo and ended up being stuck with a syringe full of something." I said, wincing as I filled my lungs. It was getting harder for me to breathe. Hojo strode up behind her, injections in hand "Well hopefully this suppressant should stall the growth of the Jenova cells before it consumes you and ruins my only sample from Gast. It's a shame I can't use you for my next experiment, but your father might frown upon that idea of making you a guinea pig." chuckling softly to himself. My instincts were practically kicking at the back of my head, screaming "Get the hell out of there!", but I held still, trying my best to ignore that disturbing comment from Hojo. Jenova cells... are eating me alive? "Dr. Crescent, please restrain the patient while I prepare." Dr. Crescent quietly pulled out several thick velcro straps from her lab coat and strapped down both my wrist, palm up. I just had to ask Dr crescent about this. "Is this true? These Jenova cells, will they really kill me?" "Don't worry Edo, everything will be all right. You'll be back to work in no time at all." she said, trying her best to fake a smile. Professor Hojo didn't waste any time sticking the needle into a vein in my forearm. "Yes, yes... You can leave now, Lucretcia. I'll take care of the rest." "Okay, I'll just go ahead and contact Dr. Duravis and..." "No! Don't bother him right now. I'll tell him myself later. Now let me finish." Hojo said scowling as proceeded to push down the plunger. The pain in my abdomen subsided... but something was off. I couldn't feel anything... or much less move anything. What the hell? Hojo pulled up my shirt just enough to see a large, black, blotch that had formed on my stomach. "Interesting... Maybe I can use you for something after all." My vision was blurring rapidly as the room started spinning. "Project Seven, test number one. Begin." It was too late. Anesthetics... damn.

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A.N: Yes I'm rewriting Project VII. I wanted to tweak some things with the plot. (Plot bunnies, ate at me for months. I gave in.) Don't forget to review.

Short? Yes. Better? That's for you to decide...