Hello! Thank you for continuing on to chapter two! Hopefully you wanted to be here and didn't wind up here on some freak-o accident.

I don't own the FFVII franchise. Or anything, really. I probably don't even own my OC.

Boobs.

Chapter 2 - And All my Hopes and Dreams

The festivities were loud, as expected, but not nearly as crowded as I had hoped. Apparently, things like this were being held all over the Planet, so not much foreign traffic was found. That did mean, however, that I got a good room at the inn at a pretty awesome deal. A bed, a real bed. I would have paid good money for that, but instead I paid the money I swindled out of old safes in Midgar.

But even then it was only fifty gil for the night.

It should have been illegal.

I sat down on the bed, excited to sink into the mattress – even if it was a little bit stiff. I stretched out my leg, sore from the running and the slight wound held there. I stood only long enough to shimmy my trousers off of my bottom and sat back down. I kicked my boots and socks off with the pants, and examined the damage.

Not too bad. I thought. I'd definitely had worse. The skin split across my knee about an inch, although I could tell that damage had been done far deeper in the tissue than a mere cosmetic mark. Although the potential was there to be significant, so long as I kept it clean it would do just fine. I looked to the odd weapon I procured from one of the men chasing me, and without hesitation, I dumped it into the alleyway below one of my windows.

The thing probably had a tracker in it.

It was entirely possible, purely because of the fact that I had never seen a weapon like this before, and I knew weapons. Hell I used to train people in combat – usually to be used against weapons but hey. This one, though, fired a round of what could only be described as pure energy. It felt as if it had bored into my skin, not ever letting me go, and suddenly it just vanished – and most of the pain left, too. Possibly a timed response, to render the victim motionless for a hot minute. ShinRa had been developing a technology very similar to this, and that realization put fear in my stomach, hitting like a stone in my chest.

I rolled my shoulders back, popping a spot in my back, and cracked my neck. Tension effectively relieved, I proceeded with wrapping my bare knee with the silks I bought from a Wutain merchant. The trade situation since the fall of ShinRa must have improved greatly – the strips were less than thirty gil total. Or it was a cheap imitation.

I didn't care, I just don't do doctors.

Looking out into the crowd below, I found a slight sense of peace. This town truly was Kalm, in more than one way. Time seemed to slow, maybe even halt, here. ShinRa hadn't hit here as hard, the death of the Lifestream avoided in just this little spot. Or they recovered quickly. The sun was just setting, painting oranges and gold and blood across the sky, in the far distance you could see the purples coming to mark the night's arrival. The crowd grew by the minute, the music flowed up and into every crevice.

It was beautiful.

And with that, I decided to take a walk.

"How long has he had this, Tifa?" Reeve said, agitiated.

"I-I thought it was a bruise, Reeve. He's had it for a week – you know boys, they get into everything." I raised my hand to my chin. I felt like a mother who was being accused of child abuse.

Reeve had stayed the night and had been up early. He stayed on the phone all day, not with one person in particular. The first half of the day he spent pacing about the downstairs area, arranging meetings and to see how the offices in Junon were doing. I brought him lunch in Cloud's office, where I found him with legs up on the desk, looking absent minded and sorting through the mail that was, at some point, a month old. It wasn't until the sun set and the sky was drenched in purples and reds that he came into where I ate with Marlene, looking at Denzel with a mixture of relief and sadness.

His fever broke around noon. He was eating by five, and now he was up and having idle conversations with Marlene, who kept dabbing a wet cloth on his forehead where the discoloration lay.

"Reeve – please don't think that –"

"I'm not, Tifa. Believe me, I know that you would never harm Denzel. But there are more pressing matters afoot than what I had originally came to tell you, apparently," Reeve was pacing in the hallway, his voice hushed so that the young ones couldn't hear, "Let's talk downstairs."

And so there we sat for a brief period, Reeve collecting his thoughts, and I poured myself a glass of rum again. My nerves were so on end, I could the exhaustion eating me alive. I didn't sleep last night, neither did Marlene or Reeve.

"Barret will be here in the morning," I said.

"Oh? Did you call him last night?"

"Yeah, he wants to make sure that Marlene is alright. He's also going to take the two of them to Cid and Shera's. She's expecting, you know… I didn't know. But she said she's happy to watch them while we do… whatever it is you want of us," I said, taking tiny sips during my pauses. The spicy drink make my chest tickle and burn, I wanted to cough but never let it out. I owned a bar, the least I could do was handle my liquor, damn it.

"I'll send a medical team to watch Denzel, then," he said, leaning forward on the stool to grab the rum himself, and poured it into the glass I immediately offered him.

"He is sick, Tifa, more sick than you or I could ever imagine. A lot of children have it, those that were rescued from the ruins of Midgar. A lot of refugees have it, period. We have been testing – with permission!" he added at my pointed glare, "We've been trying to see what is causing this… mystery disease. Every organization seems to have their own theory."

"And what's the popular one?"

"Well, ShinRa released a statement about Mako causing it – where there was Mako poisoning, there could also be a super-concentrated version. But people in Wutai and Costa del Sol are contracting it, too, although the numbers are much, much lower. There are barely any reports of Mako poisoning there."

"So what does the WRO think, then, Reeve?"

He paused, downed his glass he had been nursing since he began, and shifted to rest his chin on his hands. Reeve looked up to the ceiling, before russet eyes landed on mine.

"What happened when Sephiroth died?"

I couldn't keep my eyes off of one particular boutique. I had passed up and down the streets, the shoppes staying open later than usual for the celebration. I had already gorged on some seriously good chow – all free due to the saving of the Planet. The clothes I had on were nice, but they were old and I was a girl at the end of the day. I had little to no intention of buying anything, but whatever. It might be nice to get out of the turtle neck once in a while.

And if those militia men were as good at tracking as they claim to be, a new outfit might do me well.

So I went.

The little shoppe was quaint, like most of Kalm. The walls were wooden, and potted saplings littered the corners and stood next to tables. It was incredibly bright, but in a dimly-lit restaurant way. You could any and everything you needed, but the yellow light cast by the little paper lanterns in the trees and from the ceiling made everything look… better.

"Hello, dear. In for the sale?" The young lady at the register seemed about my age, with hair up in a large bun and some rather fashionable – if not mildly outlandish – clothes on.

"Uhm. Sure? I really just need some new clothes. These are kind if… outdated," I stuttered, trying to find something acceptable to substitute the fact that I was being chased and might be a wanted woman.

The girl smiled sweetly before walking me in front of a mirror and taking a long, hard look at me. I did so as well; my hair needed to be cut, the last several inches of my long mane was definitely split and dead in all the wrong ways. I had zero makeup on my face, which I kind of missed. My shirt was ShinRa issued, just a long-sleeved navy turtle neck. The hunter green pants bagged due to weight loss that I would probably never get back. The shoes came to my knees, the brown leather cracked and worn from lack of care and abundance of use. I rarely had them off.

"I'm going to assume you're about… a twenty-three in the waist. Small tops?" I nodded, "And… what size shoes?"

'Uhm… I really don't know. These are too big for me."

"Alright, just take a seat. I'll bring you some to try, hun. What's your name? I'm Maritza!" She smiled.

"I'm… Maria. Maria Weathers," worst alias ever, can we just decide that right now?

I had begun reading my letters in chronological order. Mainly, they were asking if I was alright. Some told me of projects that Reeve wanted me to be involved, others were rescue missions, hunting jobs, and scouting out pieces of Midgar that was still too dangerous for the general population to be in. Then there was the post card, which had wished me a happy summer and invited me out to Costa del Sol to join in on the celebration. The last letter arrived in the middle of my reading, and by the time I had reached it, the sky had already turned an inky black.

Vincent,

I regret to inform you that I can no longer simply request your assistance. I was planning on visiting you after my stay with Tifa, and continue on with my rounds. I am currently at Seventh Heaven, and an emergency has come about. I have to send Cait Sith out now if it is to get to you in time. Please, Vincent, we need everyon we can get at this point in time.

I will explain more at the bar, see you by the morning,

Reeve.

I sat back and sighed. It was true that I was concerned for my former comrades, but finding the energy to travel was becoming more and more difficult. I suppose it was the effect of Chaos, where he was becoming more and more demanding in his presence. I never had to worry about him before, locked in the coffin, because there was nothing either of us could do. During my stint with AVALANCHE, I was constantly fighting and, from time to time, Chaos was needed. It was understandable, his need to get out, but certainly unwanted. And draining. Within twenty minutes, though, I was packed up and ready to head on. I left a few hundred gill on the table in Sophia's entryway. I even left her a note in messy scrawl, with my full name signed at the bottom. I felt compelled to be nice, even though I couldn't tell her in person that I was leaving. Possibly for good.

I took care to travel light; a bag with gil in it and my old clothes from AVALANCHE wrapped safely so that I didn't puncture anything else. Like my bag. I also had some clothes to sleep in and a spare change of civilian clothes folded neatly.

Tonight, as I wondered through the crowds of Kalm, fighting my way past a severely rowdy section, I was dressed to attract as little attention as possible. Tifa had pointed out that, although she was sure my leather ensemble was comfortable, it wasn't exactly the most conspicuous getup in the world. Eventually, I relented and allowed her to take me out and buy some new clothes. Tonight was the navy button down, dark denim jean, and some boots Tifa fished out for me at the thrift store. The outfit was comfortable, although I was used to the restricting leather, and before that I wore mainly my Turk uniform…

Mt attention centred on a young girl not far from me, walking with some difficulty. I wanted to say it was the young girl from yesterday, with the limp. This one's clothes were different though, much more up to date, and lighter to account for the weather. A brightly patterned kimono, a beige one with russet and purple details, hung loosely from her shoulder. Under that, a denim shirt was unbuttoned – the bottom had a lace trim and the sides of the shirt were replaced with a tribe-looking fabric. Under this, a white tank with a graphic print on it. Shorts, far too short for a lady back in my day, had one leg painted a similar pattern as the shirt's panels. She was short, and her shoulders were small. With some effort, she climbed atop a stack of boxes to look above the crowd. I was maybe ten feet away at this point.

But my job was to get to Tifa's, not to worry over a young girl, and so I made my way towards the outskirts.

A few more blocks and the music was the only thing left blaring my ears. Last year's festivities were not nearly as extravagant – merely a large feast and some dancing in the square. The celebration had happened right as I moved in with Sophia, and I only ever cared to pick at some of the free food offered. I had actually stashed a great portion of it so that I wouldn't eat more of Sophia's groceries.

Of course, it wasn't like I didn't have a job or anything. Odd jobs around town seemed to be fixed into my routine, but I also worked at the bar in town. Serving those who suffered regularly and those who hunted regularly helped with my own guilt. It was still there, and it was still heavy, but it was slowly ebbing.

I stumbled after hitting… something. I turned quickly, hand on the knife in my pocket – I hardly carried a gun any more, unless I was out hunting. To my disbelief, the young girl from before was also carefully regaining her footing. She was looking at me with wide eyes, and I'm sure my expression wasn't the best either.

"S-sorry. I can't seem to find my way out, I'm in a sort of hurry, you see," she stammered only slightly, but otherwise held her composure.

"It's night, you shouldn't be outside the city. The Planet still isn't safe."

"It's not really a choice."

I nodded slightly, and pointed her off in the direction I was intending on travelling as well. She smiled and waved, and took off at a fairly fast pace.

Someone must be following her…

And with that, I rounded a corner, and jumped. I missed someone's window by an inch, springing the rest of the way up to the roof. It had been years since I had done any real scaling. I had believed that my fighting days were over, so I never really bothered in keeping up with anything. The only real skill that was ever sharp had remained my shooting.

As I walked on, jumping over smaller alleys when needed, I heard the commotion. Several men were approaching from behind, weapons out and ready to fire.

Well, looks like I'm right…

Didn't I know him? I swear to God, I know him.

Suddenly, I was cold. I felt like I had hit a ghost, I probably had, who knew. I didn't. I could feel that sensation in my chest, like a shard of ice resided there and was tightening up on me. I was ready to spring at any moment, but I hadn't anticipated that I'd need to go so soon. I bent down to pull my socks up higher, over my knees, when the wind was knocked out of me again.

"Hot… dam-" hand over mouth, yet mine were shoved above my head. I let my legs go, attempting to surprise my assailant with what little weight I had dropping to the ground, but the hand on my mouth went to my waist. I opened once more, ready to scream, ready to bite, but a shoulder struck my teeth hard and my head hit the brick wall behind me. I was lifted before I could see again, and the bouncing signified that I was definitely moving. I struggled a bit, but my head was swimming. I sent a swift kick, but my foot collided with hard back and didn't do much. My assailant rounded the corner and once again a wall was at my back. I struggled, but he simply pushed me flush with the wall, knee pinned between my legs.

Oh shit, oh hell, what the hell? No, no. No.

"Stop this. You're being followed, just play along," came a deep voice, right the fuck next to my ear. I breathed in, holding it, still not sure if this was part of the 'game' or not. A heavy body against my own, one hand held captive while the other did whatever, uselessly lying against my side. The man stood still, an arm still tight on my waist. Aside from being overly close, he wasn't moving. I couldn't even hear him breathe. All I could really see, too, was fuzzy black… hair?

Was this the dude from earlier?

Footsteps could be heard a few feet away from us, and I was so prepared to bolt I think my leg cramped up. But the man just stood there, bodies touching, us (I would assume) looking intimate as hell, and the moment that I heard the men wander off, I went for it.

Pain shot through my wrist. He still had a firm grip on me, and I swear I drug him a foot before I stopped, plating my feet and attempting to rip my hand away once more.

"Why were they after you?" he demanded. I looked the man in the face for the first time, and was met with eyes burning like hot coal. My own bright eyes widened till it was painful

How?

"How am I supposed to know, yo? Get off, man," I tried to alter my voice, to put a bit of foreign in it, but it had been so long since I'd heard anyone from the other continent that I probably just sounded stupid. He couldn't know it was me, but he also probably didn't even know I was alive.

"You were going to run."

"No shit!"

"Why?"

I could feel a power running through, the fire building up. I gave a final tug on my hand, and he didn't release me, so I released the energy. A bright as fuck light, my wrist was released, and off I went into the inky black night. I had never left Midgar in the two years since meteor at night, so I prayed to the Planet to let me be safe.

Left, right, down the alleyway and through a little gated area.

I was out, and I was running again. The pace was slower than yesterday, making my way carefully so as to not injure my knee, and to not wake any monsters….

Well, here is chapter two. I don't know if I care for it that much. I was kind of just writing this one to write, so it's a little bit scrambled. I'm beginning to not like the way I had everyone super spaced out. But the little bits that I am missing, when I skip between pov's will probably come into this next chapter. The way I had originally intended to write this was much longer, but the breaks in time with one character allowed for meaningful progression with another. Mainly Tifa, because I like this story line. Vincent isn't going to be vampish, and Vincent isn't going to have Chaos speaking to him. The prescence will be there, but really only in a migraine/exhausting way. It's like severe depression on top of crippling depression.

Anyways, thank you for reading, please rate and subscribe and review and all of that goody good stuff. Makes me feel loved, y'all.

S.