Chapter 2

The After Effects

(Tifa)

I awoke the next morning, in the same exact bed and the same exact room that I had fallen asleep in. I sighed, slowly scanning the room like I was waiting for it change into something else, before climbing out from under the warm sheets and redressing. I went into the bathroom and combed my hands through my hair since I didn't have a brush, wincing as I caught my fingers on some tangles, and looked down at the sink as I ran my tongue over my teeth.

What I wouldn't do for a toothbrush right now, I thought, sighing.

After taking one last nostalgic look around the room, I walked out and went downstairs, passing my key back to the young lady I met yesterday.

"The airship will be arriving shortly," she said, smiling at me. "You can wait at the entrance of town for it."

I nodded and smiled back. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome," she replied, sending me small wave as I left the hotel.

I pulled the door shut behind me and took a deep breath, stuffing my hands in my pockets as I looked around. Kalm had changed so much that it was hard to distinguish it from the quiet little town I used to know. All the strange, new technology made me wonder if I would ever adjust to living in this new world. It almost felt like I had been blind and was suddenly gifted with sight. Exhaling slowly, I made my way out town and approached a small congregation of people that had gathered over by a small cleft of rocks. I decided to keep my distance and pulled the hood of my sweater up around my head, lest someone else recognize me.

After about ten minutes of staring down at the ground, I began to get antsy wondering if the airship was ever going to show up. Then, not but a few moments later, I heard the familiar sound of the approaching airship's engines before it emerged from behind a tall cliff. As the airship descended towards the ground, the group of people began to form a single file line in preparation to board. I slowly made my way toward them, keeping to the back. Once the airship landed, everyone boarded and went their separate ways.

I was greeted by a deck hand as soon as I climbed aboard. He happily handed me a map and I told me about a few of the things I could do during the trip. I was waiting for him to say something about how familiar I looked sometime during our conversation, but was slightly surprised when he never did. I ventured around for a while, the metal hallways reminding me of the Highwind. As I went past a small café, I found myself once again wishing that I had some gil. Sighing, I brought my eyes down to my map, looking for a place that I could sit or lay down in until I arrived at Cosmo Canyon and sighed in relief when I saw that the cabins weren't too far away from where I was. Not long after setting off, I found an empty cabin with a small bed and desk inside. A porthole like window was in the back wall and peered out, wondering if we had gotten underway yet.

I frowned in confusion when I saw that we were already flying over Junon. "Wow," I muttered to myself, backing away from the window. "I didn't even feel the ship take off."

I laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and mentally chastised myself. It's three hundred years in the future, I thought, still coming to terms with that very real fact. Of course the technology is going to be way more advanced than it used to be.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as a voice blared over the ship's intercom. "Good afternoon everyone! I hope you've had a pleasant stay so far. We'll be arriving at Cosmo Canyon in approximately two hours."

I frowned again, staring at the speaker in my room in bewilderment like confetti had randomly started spraying out of it. In the Highwind, it usually took us five plus hours to get to Cosmo Canyon. This new world would never cease to amaze me. I smiled and laced my fingers behind my head, getting comfortable while I waited.

The airship arrived at Cosmo Canyon on the appointed time and everyone that had boarded with me got off, immediately scattering. I stepped off into the dark red dirt of the canyon, grinning to myself, and power walked toward the town that was carved into the side of the cliff, anticipation flowing through me.

When I reached the bottom of the immense staircase, I craned my neck back and stared up at the Observatory, doing a double take when I found it was no longer there. The small canyon town that I had grown to love was no more. It had expanded considerably and could now be considered a bustling city. After reaching the top of the stairs and gasped, not quite believing what I was seeing. Everywhere I looked, large red cats almost identical to Nanaki vacated the canyon. A species that I thought for sure was long extinct had been revived. A large smile stretched across my face as I watched two small cubs play while their parents looked on not far away.

I stood stationery for many long moments just observing, astonished that I got to witness such a large number of these creatures in real life. After awhile, I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding and decided to ask a few of the red cats where I could find Nanaki. I approached a young female that was lying next to her mate and kneeled down next to them. The female sensed my presence and opened her eyes, looking up at me expectantly.

I cleared my throat. "Um, can you tell me where I can find Nanaki?"

The female's eyes got wide and she looked over at her mate, whispering a few silent words before rising. "Please, follow me," she said, her voice delicate and soft. She began to walk off, but stopped short and turned around, cocking her head to the side. "How do you know Nanaki? I've never seen you here before."

I smiled. "It's a long story, but Nanaki and I are old friends."

She nodded, my answer seeming to satisfy her, before resuming escorting me to where Nanaki was. She led me into a cave and I was surprised to find the same small weapons stand that we had bought so many of our weapons from still taking up residence. I stopped to take a quick look at it and jumped slightly when I felt the young female gently nudge my hand with her nose.

"This way," she said silently.

"Oh," I said, looking from her sparkling yellow eyes back to the weapons stand with a sort of dazed look. "Sorry."

She nodded then continued on. At first, it looked as though she were leading me up to the Observatory and as I stopped to ask her where exactly we were going she hit the hidden switch that opened the door to the Gi Cave. I frowned as I stared into the opening. Why this creature would be leading me into this place I had no clue. I lowered my eyes to look at her and my puzzlement must have been obvious for she nodded her head, seeming to understand.

"There is nothing to worry about. Nanaki has moved the canyon's histories down here for safe keeping. The spirits of the Gi have long since passed. It is just an empty tomb now."

The way she said the cave was just an empty tomb made my skin crawl, but I nodded and followed her inside. Once we reached the entrance, the young female stomped her paw down on a rock then continued inside. I frowned, staring in confusion down at the rock she stepped on before turning and jogging to catch up with her.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, intently looking around the cave like this was the first time that I'd ever been there.

"It opens a secret room," she replied, looking over her shoulder at me.

"Oh."

We remained silent for the rest of the trek through the cave. When we arrived at the room where we fought the Gi Spirit, there was a new opening off to the right that I had never noticed before.

"He's in there," she said, poking her head in the direction of the door. She began to walk away when she stopped and looked back at me. "By the way, my name is Nikita."

I kneeled down and ruffled her fire red man. "Thank you for helping me, Nikita."

She closed her eyes and purred. "No problem," she said, grinning at me before leaving.

I watched her disappear before I turned and walked toward the entrance to the small cave that Nanaki was in. I peeked my head into the doorway before slowly stepping inside, examining the room. The interior of the cave was quite lavish. A large bookcase filled to the brim with books and all types of scrolls stood in the back. A large colorful rug was placed on the floor with a pile of pillows and blankets in the center. Sconces with brightly burning candles hung about the walls producing a meager source of warmth and minimal lighting. A small desk sat against the wall next to the bookcase, which Nanaki was presently occupying.

I smiled as I watched my old friend. He had grown considerably since the last time I saw him. His mane had grown longer as well, becoming a darker shade of red, and was decorated with more beads and feathers than I was used to seeing. The flames on the tip of his tail were brighter, resembling a torch. I recognized some new tribal tattoos that were on the right side of his body and down his back.

"Come inside or leave me to my – " he began, turning his lone yellow eye to see who was intruding on his privacy. As soon as he saw me, his speech immediately halted and his mouth dropped open. He jumped down from the bench he was sitting on and hesitantly made his way over to me. On instinct, I reached my hand out and let him sniff it. "Tifa?" he stuttered, still bewildered that I was standing in front of him.

I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around him, glad that I had found someone in this world of strangers that I knew. I still couldn't remember anything about the nameless man with black hair and red eyes in my memory. It was all a blank. A blank that I was hoping Nanaki would be able to help me fill.

"Tifa, how are you still alive?" he asked as I backed away from him. "I heard all of Midgar's remaining power ran out years ago."

I shrugged as I settled on the floor in front of him. "I think the room I was in was the only one that had power left."

"Well," Nanaki said, padding over to the pile of pillows and stretching out on one of them. "I'm sure you have many questions."

I nodded, sitting down next to him. "Yes, I do."

"Before you start asking, allow me to address something first."

I leaned forward slightly. "What is it?'

"When you woke up, you could remember all of us, correct?" he questioned, turning his head so he could fully see me.

I opened my mouth to say yes, but then the dark red eyes of the man I still couldn't remember flashed through my mind and I shook my head. "Almost all of you." Nanaki's ears flattened against his head and he looked away from me, more than likely already knowing of whom I was speaking. This made me frown. I moved closer to him, trying to get a better look at his face. "Red," I whispered, calling him by his nickname. "What's wrong?"

He shifted restlessly and kneaded the pillow he was lying on with his front paws, avoiding the questioning look in my eyes. I was close to grabbing his face and making him look at me when he got up from his place on the floor and pressed his front paw down on a rock near the entrance. A hologram flickered to life and molded to the exact pattern of the rocks on the wall.

Nanaki then walked back over and laid down next to me once more. He was silent for a few moments as flicked his tail back and forth. "We have much to discuss."

I nodded and scooted closer to him, leaning against his side. "I'm ready when you are."

He breathed in deeply then let it out in one big huff. "So you remember nothing of Vincent Valentine?" he asked, his tail nervously flicking back and forth.

My eyes widened slightly. "Is that his name? All I've been able to remember is what he looks like."

Nanaki nodded and looked down at the ground for a few moments before bringing his gaze back to me. "So I'm assuming you haven't not noticed the ring on your finger?"

"Huh?" I said, raising my left hand. My eyebrows pinched together when I found, for the first time, that there was indeed a ring wrapped around my finger. The band was made of yellow gold and a heart shaped ruby was in the middle surrounded by two dolphins. I squinted my eyes and stared hard at it. How did I never notice this before? "Did I get married?" I asked, looking back up at Nanaki.

He shook his head, causing all the beads that hung in his mane to clack together. "You were going to."

I frowned once more and looked down at the ring that adorned my finger. "Were Vincent and I going to get married?"

The large cat nodded. "After Meteor, Cloud, Vincent and yourself all moved to Nibelheim together. You lived in your old house and Vincent stayed with Cloud in his. Your lives were going pretty much the way they should have been until Cloud left. You were still in love with him at the time and you didn't take it very well. So, in your time of need, you turned to Vincent. He helped you get over Cloud and you eventually fell in love with each other. He proposed to you one month before you contracted the virus."

As Red told me the story of my past, I could actually picture what he was saying, but wherever Vincent was supposed to be, wherever he should have been, he wasn't. It was like he wasn't even there at all. "Red, I can remember everything you've just told me, but when I try to remember Vincent it's like there's a void where he should be."

Nanaki nodded his head knowingly. "Then the procedure was a success."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. Nanaki had managed to alleviate the confusion I previously had, but now it had returned full force. "Procedure? What do you mean 'procedure'?"

The large carnivore inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. "All of us were present when Reeve put you in suspended animation," he explained, going through the memories of that day. "Vincent must have been standing there in front of the tube you were in for hours, just staring at you. Reeve approached and Vincent told him to erase your memory of him."

"What? Why?" I asked, even more confused than before.

"Of course, you know the Chaos demon inside of him has granted him immortality. He knew he would probably still be alive when you woke up, but he didn't want you to feel obligated to him after you woke up."

"Obligated to him? Red, wasn't I going to marry him? Didn't we love each other? Wouldn't he want me to be with him when I woke up?" Now I was downright frustrated. Nanaki was only succeeding in totally befuddling my thinking even more with everything he was saying.

"Tifa, please understand that he wanted you with him more than life itself, but he didn't want his memory to cause you pain. So Reeve totally erased your memory of him."

"But I still remember him…kind of," I said, looking off to the side. "So my memory of him is still there." I paused and looked back at the red beast in front of me. "Will it be possible for me regain my memory of him?"

"Of course you can. The mako used only numbed the nerves in your brain that help you access that certain memory. Eventually the affect of the mako will wear off and you'll remember everything."

"Did Vincent know that?"

Nanaki shrugged. "He left before Reeve performed the procedure. None of us ever saw him again after that. It's like he totally disappeared off the face of the Planet. That is, until he showed up here at my doorstep much like you did."

"When did he come here?" I asked, excited that I might be able to find him.

"Oh, that must have been over a hundred years ago."

My shoulders visibly deflated, disappointment weighing them down. "How was he?" I asked reluctantly.

"Same as always. He still sports the black clothing and red cape. He told me that he had just returned from visiting you."

"He visited me while I was sleeping? If only I could have woken up when he was there." I hung my head, sadness drifting through me.

"Oh, yes, on many occasions. He made it a habit to see you every chance he could."

"Do you know where he is now?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him and hoping that he had some idea where I could find him.

Red sighed and shook his head, causing his beads to once again hit against each other. "He never told me where he was living and I never asked him. He stopped by long enough for him and I to have a short conversation before he left again. I'm sorry, Tifa, I should have asked him." Nanaki hung his head in shame almost as if he failed me.

"Nanaki, it's alright. It's not your responsibility." I gently squeezed one of his paws then looked off to the side, staring at the grown forlornly.

I felt so strange in this new world, almost like I shouldn't even be here. I could have easily been killed by all the mako that I was immersed in or I could have slept for the rest of my life or the rest of Nanaki's and Vincent's. I could have woken up one thousand years into the future.

I looked back at Nanaki who had a helpless look in his eye. "I have to find him, Red."

He nodded his head knowingly. "Yes, you must." He rose from his spot amongst the pillows and started to walk out of his chamber. "Come, we will plan."

I followed him out of the Gi Cave and back up into town. We entered a small hut where a group of elderly men were sitting around a table. When they saw Nanaki enter they immediately got up and bowed. Nanaki waved his paw at them. "Please sit down," he said, hopping up on a bench. "I'd like to introduce all of you to a very close friend of mine." Nanaki looked back at me and smiled, flicking his head to signal me to come closer. I sat down next to him on the bench and looked warily at the men who stared back at me with puzzled stares. "This is Tifa Lockhart."

Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, their faces brightened and they began chattering amongst themselves. I looked at Red and slowly leaned toward him. "They know me?"

"Of course. Everyone all around the Planet knows about what we did."

I nodded and straightened up. It was going to take me a while to get used to how everyone knew about me. One of the Elders looked at me. "Tell me, Tifa, were you the girl that was engaged to Vincent Valentine?"

I nodded and looked down at my finger before lifting it up so everyone could see the ring. "I think I still am." They were silent so I decided to ask a question of my own. "Please, can any of you tell me where he is?"

The Elders looked at each other with blank before gazing back at me. The one closest spoke up. "We are sorry, miss. We know nothing of Mr. Valentine's whereabouts."

I sighed and looked down with a sad look on my face. Nanaki took this opportunity to take the attention off of me. "Tifa is going to be taking a journey to find out where Vincent is. I am going to accompany her." I frowned and looked up at him, but said nothing. "I would like all of you to fill in for me and take care of things in my absence."

All the Elders nodded then left the table. I gave Red a funny look. "You don't need to come with me."

"I want to," he said, turning his yellow eye on me. "Vincent is my friend and I want to find him just as much as you do."

"Well," I said, getting up. "Where should we start?"

Red looked thoughtful for many long moments before speaking. "Let's go to Wutai. I'm close friends with the new Emperor. Vincent would spend a lot of his time there after you were put to sleep. Maybe he knows something."