Fun Fact!

Some of the story about Yuffie's mom is actually true. Her name really is Kasumi and she died due to an illness when Yuffie was little. Even I didn't know this until I looked it up and found the info on the FF Wiki.

Back to the story! *^*

Chapter 4:

Vincent tried to follow the sound of Yuffie's yells and screams, but to no avail, since it echoed from all directions. Vincent decided to go airborne, but even in the sky, he couldn't find her through all the fog. Then the yelling had abruptly stopped, making it harder to search for her. Damn, Vincent cursed as he landed on a tree branch.

Meanwhile Shelke was on her way to pay another visit to Lucrecia. Only, when she got there, Lucrecia was gone. Inside the crystal chamber that she was kept in was completely empty. The crystal chamber was shattered in some places, meaning that someone broke in and took Lucrecia. Shelke pulls out her phone and dials Vincent. She gets a system message saying either his phone was turned off or it was out of service. That was due to Vincent having no signal wherever he was at. Shelke leaves him a voicemail instead. Then she makes her way to Edge to meet with Tifa and the rest, hoping they knew what happened. By the time she got there, Cloud had just returned to 7th Heaven from making a delivery and was about to leave for another. "Shelke! What are you doing here?" Tifa asked. "Have you seen Vincent?" Shelke asked. "Mm..he did stop by, but that was almost three days ago. I haven't seen him since. Why do you ask?" said Tifa. "I need to find him. Someone took Lucrecia!" said Shelke. Cloud and Tifa exchange a surprised look. "Maybe Yuffie knows where he is. She's been looking for Vincent all this time, so when he came back, I'm sure she's been clinging to him. You should go find her and ask," Tifa suggested. "If she's even here," said Cid as he walked over.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked. "As far as I know, no one's seen her around either. If Vincent is gone, she most likely went with him," said Cid. "Where do you think they went?" Cloud asked. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" Cid said as he frowned. "That's three people who've gone missing in just three days...," said Shelke. "Let's ask around then. Surely someone must have at least some kind of clue about where they went," said Tifa. "We'll split up. If no one finds anything, we'll rendezvous at the center of town," said Cloud, and the others nodded in agreement. They claim parts of the town they will search and then meet in the center. They talked with as many people as they could, but no one seemed to have known Vincent had even came to town, or they did see him, but didn't really pay much attention. One person said they remembered Yuffie making a delivery to them, but that was the last time they saw her. They didn't see where she went, but figured she went back to 7th Heaven. Shelke thanks them for the info and decides to head to the center of town, where everyone else was already there.

"Anything?" Barret asked. Shelke shook her head. "The closest I got was one of Tifa's customers," she said. "My customer?" Tifa questioned. "The one you had Yuffie make a delivery to. They said that was the last time they saw her. They didn't see where she went," Shelke explained. "That must've been when she went missing..," said Cloud. "But what about Vincent?" Tifa asked. Cid was about to say something but was interrupted. "Young lady in black," a man suddenly called out. The group turns to see who said that, and it turned out to be Gerald. "Who's this 'Vincent' you're looking for?" he asks, not even looking at the group, but sharpening a piece of wood with his dagger. The group exchanges looks, then Tifa walks over to him. "May I ask who you are?" she asked politely. "Name's Gerald, milady," he answered. "You know Vincent?" Tifa asked. "I might. Just need to confirm. That's why I asked who he was. Can you describe?" said Gerald. "Pfft! Black and crimson is really all the description anyone needs," said Barret. Gerald laughed. "Yeah, I know him. I like the guy," said Gerald. "Where is he? Is he alright? Was Yuffie with him?" Tifa began questioning. Gerald chuckled. "Easy there, ma'am. Don't worry, I'll explain," said Gerald. "Make it short!" said Barret. Tifa gave Barret a death glare that read 'Respect your Elders or I'll kill you', which made him flinch.

"Ahem, sorry," Barret said quietly. "I saw him walking by. He looked capable so I called him over and offered him a special mission. Then this girl showed up out of nowhere and clung to him like a cub. I'm guessing she's this 'Yuffie' you're asking about. I thought she was his girlfriend," Gerald started. You could suddenly hear Cid and Barret snickering. "Girlfriend," Cid whispered to Barret, trying to hold back a laugh. "Next thing you know, Vincent will be a woman," Barret whispered back, then he and Cid bursted out laughing. Tifa slowly turned to them with a straight face. Cloud tried to hide his smirk by covering his mouth and fake coughing. Tifa frowned at him in disbelief. "No wonder opposites attract!" said Cid, and he and Barret laughed harder. Shelke just stood there looking completely blank. Tifa rolled her eyes and turned back to Gerald. "Please continue," she said politely. Gerald chuckled. "Anyways, Vincent declined at first, but then the girl asked what we were talking about. So I explained the mission. Then Vincent was interested. So they both took up the mission and claimed they'd do it with no pay. I told them the place they needed to go, and suggested they take the train to get there. Don't know if they actually used that method or not," said Gerald. "What was the mission?" Cloud asked.

Gerald explained all that he knew about it, and how he discovered the ZICON. "You're better off heading straight to Wutai. I just heard recently that they attacked that place. There's a chance your friends might be there. If you're wanting to take up this mission, I'll be glad to pay," said Gerald. "Thanks for telling us, but no thanks. We'll go without pay," said Tifa. "Let's go," said Cloud, and the group nodded. Then they were off. "Tch! Youngsters these days..so generous," Gerald chuckled, then took a sip of beer.

...

Vincent is stuck camping alone for the night, but stays high up in a tree so he can't get attacked. Aseach minute goes by, he can't help feeling more and more restless. Meanwhile, Yuffie slowly awakens to find herself hanging, tied up by the wrists. "Uggh...my head," Yuffie groans in pain. She looked around at her surroundings. Where am I? she thought. The place was very dark, she couldn't tell where she was. The only things she could see was what looked like a computer screen from the far left, but most of all, what stood before her took her breath away instantly. A large capsule filled with liquid glowed before her, with a brown-haired woman dressed in white who looked as if she was sleeping soundly, floating inside it. Yuffie was highly shocked to see the woman, she almost didn't believe it. "L-...Lucrecia?" she breathed out.

Suddenly a door swings open from the left, revealing a man-shaped figure standing in the doorway. He switches on the light, making Yuffie squint her eyes until they adjust to the light. "Ahh! You've awoken," the man said. He looked quite elderly. Short grey hair, wrinkled skin, emerald green eyes, and had scars on his neck and the side of his face. He wore a white lab coat, a white shirt underneath and black pants with slacks. "Who are you?" Yuffie asked. "You may call me Dr. Schwartz," the man answered. "Why do you have Lucrecia? What do you want with me?" Yuffie questioned. Schwartz walked over to his computer, chuckling. "I got to witness something very extraordinary from you. That's why I've taken interest in you, and will make you my first test subject," he said. Yuffie was very confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked him. Schwartz turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "You don't remember?" he asked. Yuffie remained silent, trying to think of what he could possibly be talking about.

"That immense power you used to destroy my minions in Wutai, you don't remember that happening?" he asked. "Your minions..? Wutai...wait..! You're the one behind the ZICON!?" She asked. "Yes, I was there in Wutai, spying on the people who suddenly started killing my minions. It was there I saw you use your powers. Try to remember," he said. Yuffie frowned, deep in thought. Her thoughts roamed to when Vincent asked her the last thing she remembered before she fainted, and when he told Godo that she didn't know 'it' happened. Could this be what Vincent was talking about? she thought. Dr. Schwartz sighed. "Oh well. No matter. Either way, I know you have power hidden inside you, and I'm going to use you as my first test subject for it. Congradulations!" he said, then rolled his chair over to his desk and started to grab things as if to piece them together.

"What are you going to do?" Yuffie asked, trying to move her wrists together to break free from the ropes while he wasn't looking. "I, am going to resurrect Lucrecia," said Schwartz, then turned around in his chair holding a needle and tube that was filled with slight yellow liquid. Yuffie then looked frightened. Schwartz laughed as he stood, then walked over to Yuffie and stood in front of her. He held her chin up with his finger. "For this to work, it's time for you to go bye-bye," he said. "No!" said Yuffie and she began shaking her body, trying to set herself free. "No use struggling," said Schwartz as he lowered himself and rubbed his hand on Yuffie's thigh, making her legs go numb. "It's a shame. You look quite tasty too," he said as he licked his lips. Yuffie felt her eyes getting warm. "Worry not. It'll be over before you know it," said Schwartz as he slowly inserted the needle into her thigh, and injected the liquid. Yuffie breathed heavily, then slowly. Vincent..., she thought before she passed out.

"Heh heh heh heh hehh," Schwartz laughed proudly. He set the needle on his desk, then grabbed a small dagger off of it. He walked over to Yuffie and cut the rope above her hands. He still left it tied around her wrists, carried her over to the capsule that was behind her, and laid her inside it. He closed the glass lid over her and pressed a button that started to fill the capsule with thick liquid that looked kind of like water. Then he connected tubes between Yuffie's capsule and Lucrecia's. He pulls down a large switch, and the tubes light up. Power begins seeping out of Yuffie's capsule into Lucrecia's, and soon Lucrecia begins to cough. Schwartz quickly pulls the lever back up and runs over to her capsule. He opens it and lets the liquid pour out all over him. "YEESSS! I'VE DONE IT!" he shouts with his fists in the air as Lucrecia continues to cough. She climbs out of the capsule warrily and falls to her knees. "Lucrecia!" Schwartz quickly gets on his knees next to her and grabs her arms. Lucrecia slowly looks up at him. Schwartz smiles. "Do you remember me?" he asks her. Lucrecia looks back down. She lifts her hands as if to inspect them. "Who...am I?" she asks. Schwartz's smile fades as he realizes what she had said.

A/N:

Surprise! Plot twist! Also, if you haven't realized, Dr Schwartz is indeed one of the characters I own. I completely made him up! xD Haha! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the story so far. Thank you for reading, it's much appreciated as always. I've got a bit of a busy day today but I'll try to have the next chapter posted tonight!