I want to apologize to those of you who've actually read the fist chapter. If any of you are familiar with me, then you know that I am a huge procrastinator. It takes me forever to get chapters done, and just as long to actually post them. I will try and keep this story going. Though, to be honest, I change my mind about the plot so many times that I may just take this story down and make a completely new one.

Just a warning.


Rose let the door swing shut behind her as she gazed around the bar. It wasn't nearly as full as she had hoped it would be. There were three men sitting at a table in the corner playing a game of cards, and a couple seated at the bar. The woman working the bar had long dark brown hair and was dressed in black leather, with a white apron tied around her waist. Rose sat down a few stools away from the couple and rested her elbows on the counter. The woman glanced up from what she was doing and smiled, walking over to Rose.

"What can I get you?" She asked. Her voice was light and cheerful. Up close, Rose could see that her eyes were dark brown. Rose looked over the woman's shoulder at a small menu on the wall and noticed that, underneath the alcoholic drinks, the words "Free Glasses of Water" were written. She turned her gaze back on the woman.

"A glass of water, please." She said. The woman raised an eyebrow and turned to get a glass, filling it up before setting it on the counter in front of Rose.

"You came all this way for a glass of water?" The nametag pinned to the woman's apron read "Tifa". Rose picked up the glass and raised it to her lips, looking at the woman over the rim.

"Honestly, no." Rose replied. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't let me stay unless I ordered something."

"I don't think a free glass of water counts as an order. So, what do you really need?"

"Information." Rose glanced around at the people in the room to make sure no one was listening. She didn't know why, but the thought of someone over-hearing their conversation made her uneasy. "What can you tell me about the hospital outside of town?"

Tifa gazed at the counter thoughtfully for a moment. "Oh! You mean the one on the hill? Shinra had it built for the Infantrymen that used to be posted here. It's been abandoned ever since the company got shut down."

"Shinra? What is that?" Rose asked, earning an incredulous look from Tifa. "I'm not from here." She added, averting her gaze.

"You would have to be from another planet to not hear about Shinra..." Tifa muttered. "They were primarily a power company, supplying Mako energy to the world and making electricity efficient and easily available. They also operated in genetic engineering, space exploration, and they had a strong military force that included a group called SOLDIER."

"How did they get enough energy to power all of the towns?"

"That's the thing. They stole from the Planet's Lifestream and turned it into Mako."

"That's awful." Rose couldn't imagine someone wanting to harm the planet like that. "What happened?"

"Naturally, once people started finding out the truth, they got angry. Several different Anti-Shinra groups starting appearing all over the place. A group called AVALANCHE was responsible for finally bringing down the company." Tifa smiled, and Rose thought she saw a tinge a pride in the expression. "I'm actually part of that group."

Rose nodded slightly, feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden flow of information. She was quiet for a long moment, before finally asking "So, no one has used the hospital since then?" Tifa nodded.

"As far as I know, it's been empty for years. I don't think it even has power anymore."

That couldn't be right. Someone was obviously still using it, if they'd taken Rose there. But she still didn't know who "they" were, or even what had happened to her. She'd been awake for almost a day, and so far, the only thing that had come to her were the numbers.

The numbers...

What did they mean?

Rose hadn't thought about the numbers since she'd left the hospital. But now that she had, she didn't seem able to think about anything else. She stood up suddenly, setting down her still-full glass of water. "Thank you for the information." She said, flashing Tifa a small smile before turning to leave. She thought she heard Tifa say something, but she was already on her way out.

The fresh air made Rose relax a little, and she looked around again, wondering where she could go next. She decided to see if she could find a library. If they had old newspapers, she might be able to find something that would give her some clues as to who she was or what had happened to her. It took about an hour of wandering around the city before she finally found one.

Rose took the steps leading up to the library two at a time, hesitating at the door before entering. Once inside, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. The size of the place was overwhelming. She swallowed past a newly-formed lump in her throat. How was she supposed to find anything in this place?

With a deep breath, Rose started forward, determined to find what she needed but having no idea where to start. There was a large desk up ahead, and the woman sitting behind it must have seen how lost Rose looked, because she waved her over.

"First time here?" The woman asked. She didn't have a name tag, or even a plaque on the desk, so Rose had no idea what to call her.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked, managing a meek smile. The woman chuckled.

"You're practically screaming 'Tourist'." She said, then looked Rose up and down, assessing her. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Rose nodded. "Actually, I was wondering if you had any past newspapers. Maybe from a few months back?"

The woman gave her a skeptic look. "Old newspapers? What would you want one of those for?"

Rose shrugged in a manner that she hoped was nonchalant. "I'll be staying here for a while." She replied. "I want to make sure it doesn't have some really bad criminal history or anything."

Not looking convinced, the woman turned her chair so that she could check something on her computer. She made a small 'tsk' noise. "Well, I'm afraid you're out of luck." She said. "The library recently underwent some minor renovations and system updates, and all of our newspaper records were accidentally erased. All we have are articles from the past couple of weeks."

Rose's face fell. She'd been relying on finding those articles. "There's really nothing left?" She asked. "Not even bits and pieces of older articles?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but there are no articles past the beginning of the month."

There was a moment of silence, during which Rose chewed on her bottom lip and tried desperately to think of something else. When she couldn't come up with anything, she sighed softly. "Okay. Thank you." She said quietly, turning to leave the library.

The sunlight blinded her momentarily as she opened the door, and she blinked her eyes several times until they adjusted to the light. Rose took the steps slowly, pausing once she reached the sidewalk to look around. Now that she knew the articles were a dead end, she'd have to think of something else. The problem was, she didn't know where else to go.

Rose sat down on the last step, resting one arm across her knees and resting her chin on her other palm. Her eyes scanned over the other buildings in the area, her expression thoughtful.

How many of them could possibly help her figure out who she was?