Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the rights to Final Fantasy VII, they belong strictly to their respective owners, Square-Enix. I own the rights to Resia Tomebar as she is of my own imagination as well as Kenichi. This is meant only as entertainment.

Gemini Syndrome

Chapter 8 - Gemini Syndrome

The days grew harder for them mainly because of Resia, she sighed, and when Vincent looked at her, he could see the ends of her hair curl. The eyes held a different light too, the male watched as Seira removed herself from Eyrie, her feet touched the ground with determination, and the group progressed more quickly. He noticed that Seira ate and drank methodically, as if she had to instead of wanting to, and this made him interested in her. Seira conversed with Kenichi mostly but Vincent knew that this persona knew about the Emerald giant of the seas and the purpose of that sword. As they progressed, he slid next to her, he noticed that she didn't flinch when he spoke, "Who are you?"

"No one of importance."

"Your important to Resia."

"No, I'm only here to protect her until she can get to the Northern Crater then she's on her own so she needs to figure out who she is by then. If not then Gaea is doomed."

"You can't help her?"

"No."

"Why?"

"It's not my place. I don't know her, I don't have her memories just what I learn from the Lifestream."

Vincent was quiet for a time and whispered, "There was an Emerald giant on land a few nights ago." Seira glanced at him, he could see the hidden shock in her eyes. "He was protecting us from Shadow Creepers but I doubt it was the group as a whole. I believe there was a particular individual that he was protecting." Still the strange warrior was silent, "I think that you're a conscious part of that giant and that's why you cannot touch that sword she carries."

"What makes you think that?!" snapped Seira quietly.

Red eyes stared into those dual colored ones, Seira looked away, "I know a lot of things as well Seira."

"Humph."

"What is the real reason that the Emerald giant of the sea protects her?"

Seira was silent for a time before whispering, "Resia is artificial in a sense." Vincent was silent, his eyes narrowed as the strange persona realized that she was allowed to tell him. "It was called the Gemini Syndrome." Still he was silent, her voice barely above a whisper, "Other scientists that were not part of the project to create a super soldier were given another a task; create something that could control a WEAPON. It wasn't easy, it was far worse than the SOLDIER project as that had already advanced to the birth of Sephiroth but there was some progress. A small child had been born using the same technology to create the clones but that child had no memories of anything just darkness but that child was created using DNA from a human and something else. The earliest memories would be of white walls and men in lab coats but that child was created from DNA gleaned from the WEAPONS mainly Emerald. Emerald was more accessible since he stayed in the bay, they managed to get such a small sample but they created a child by combining human DNA with that of Emerald's. The Gemini Syndrome was complete but what they didn't count on was that child had two personalities harbored inside one body. The one that could control Emerald wanted to protect Gaea but the human half wanted to destroy humans. It baffled the scientists that the personalities could have switched like that and they learned that their project title meant more than they first knew. The child had a Gemini Syndrome, one half wanted to help,the other wanted to destroy but they couldn't do any more research because Sephiroth rampaged through Nibelheim. The project disbanded for fear of the menace even though they were in Gongaga, they set the village on fire to hide their work but couldn't find their prodigy anywhere, they assumed she died in the fire somewhere even though they couldn't find a body."

"What happened to the child?"

There was a ghost of a smile on Seira's face, "She grew up to become a pilot for Shinra." Vincent continued to stare at her while that smile faded, "Resia isn't just the Augur of Emerald, she's, in a sense, Emerald's daughter." More silence from her conversational partner, "I said before that she was an innocent who got mixed up in something horrible and it's true. She didn't ask for this life given to her but now she has no choice and until she remembers her birth and able to assimilate her two personalities, she won't be able to actually survive in this world. I'm surprised that she's survived this long on her own."

"Interesting. So you're not really part of the giant, you're her other half." She stared at him as he continued, "You don't touch the sword because you know that he'll come to do your bidding, the bidding of destroying humans." Still she was silent, "Why allow humans to live if you want to destroy them?"

Seira turned away from him and he could see that ghost of a smile on his face, "I drift in the Lifestream and I have always watched Resia, guided her sometimes, and she fascinates me. She's the conscious part that Emerald protects, she can wield that sword, and I truly want to know if she can make a difference on her own; if she has the courage to face her own nightmares." There was a pause as her voice dropped in octaves, "The moment she figures out who she is, then we will assimilate, and there will be no stopping her power; only then will she decide what to do. Destroy the humans or help them. It's her choice but only when that time comes."

"How will we know?"

"You'll know."

"There were other secret projects inside Shinra?"

"Yeah but I doubt Rufus Shinra would know about them. The Gemini Syndrome was so buried that it would be impossible to find any information about it. The data was wiped clean and the papers burned, the fact that Kenichi used the very same lab in Gongaga that she was first created is an astonishing coincidence but now there are other memories inside other than her earlier life. I can only say a certain amount of information as I'm limited."

"Limited?"

"Gaea limits my ability. But she seems to trust you a great deal so that's why I can speak to you about these matters. Whatever happens, if Resia remembers her birthing then you'll know it's time to face that thing in the crater, I only hope you can get to it before it awakens fully. But don't let her get Lucrecia's memories, she may not be able to differentiate between her own and Lucrecia's. It's dangerous." Vincent only nodded while she kept silent once more through the day. As night fell she kept her back towards the fire, her hands on her weapons, and her eyes glaring in the dark. She could hear those whispers, saying that they'll claim what is rightfully theirs; Resia's body to bring forth the calamity and infect Gaea, to kill the planet that everyone loved, and to destroy the Lifestream. Seira took in a deep breath and kept focused, she closed her eyes to listen to the darkness more closely, there were hissing sounds, growling sounds, and those taunting words about stealing her body. "I won't let that happen," she murmured.

Day broke, Seira was rested from her nightly meditation, and they journeyed towards Rocket Town; although she could feel the Creepers closing in on the village. "Tch." Seira walked alongside the black chocobo and ground her teeth together, their journey was slow, and she knew they were running out of time. Soon that creature in the Northern Crater was going to awaken fully instead of sending out Shadow Creepers and she knew it was going to be hell to fight it. The group pushed onward, her mind turned to Resia, the product of a horrible project to control a WEAPON. Her mind faded and Vincent saw the ends of her hair fall flat, Resia felt refreshed but her mind was jumbled with memories of something green with glowing gems, water, and some kind of white light. She shrugged, mounted Eyrie, and nuzzled the back of his head, his crest rose with contentment, and she chuckled. The woman on the back of the chocobo began to fascinate Vincent, there was much to learn about the woman called Resia Tomebar.

-::::::-

The more they traveled, the more Resia thought about her memories, and the more she began to focus on them while she rode Eyrie. Her eyes were currently closed as she focused on that sea of images, she saw Seira on the opposite rock, and there was that strange shadow in the distance, she squinted her eyes at it but couldn't make it out except the glowing gems. Resia looked into the pool of images, took in a deep breath, and dove head first. Seira yelled at her to stop but it went unheard as her body cleaved through the water, the images were scrambled, she could still hear Seira yelling, but she moved through the images, watching them, trying to make sense of them, and getting nothing but confusion.

Resia opened her eyes, she noticed that the light was fading, she sighed, rubbed her face with her hands, and dismounted the chocobo. He warked quietly at her, nuzzled her face, and she returned the affection; Vincent could see that she was disturbed by something. Resia approached Kenichi, "Can I see your bag?" He nodded, handed it to her, and she began searching it, looking for papers about anything. He watched her with curiosity as she returned, "I was hoping to find something about a project. Something called Gemini Syndrome." At this Vincent turned his face towards her, he watched as Kenichi told her that he didn't know anything about that, she thanked him, took her seat next to Eyrie, and stared into the flames. The man in the red cape watched as she mouthed those words, as if she knew them, and she closed her eyes to concentrate on her own mind once more.

Barrett nudged Vincent in the side, "How are ya Vincent?"

"Fine. Yourself?"

"I'm doing good. I notice ya watcher her a lot."

"She needs to be protected."

"True but that don't mean ya have to watch her all the time." Barrett only received a glance from those crimson eyes, "Ya know somethin' don't ya?"

"Perhaps."

"Care to share?"

"Not yet."

"Alright then." Barrett stayed next to Vincent as the fire roared to life and Cait Sith watched Resia, the robot began to ask Reeve about the Gemini Syndrome, and his creator had begun to dig into those files. "We're half way there to Rocket Town. Should be there in a few more days I think." Vincent nodded, "You gonna say anything to any one?" Vincent stayed silent and Barrett sighed, "Even though you're a pain in the ass to talk to, I still missed ya Vinny." Once more the dark male received that quick glance from the ex-Turk before those red eyes returned to watching the garnet haired woman stare into the licking flames.

Resia was oblivious to those around her as her eyes hardened and focused on the center of that flame, she could faintly hear Seira's voice telling her to dig deeper. Resia wrapped her arms around her knees as she brought them up to her chest and she buried her face in her arms. Her mind focused on those memories that she had seen, memories of the plane, the crew, and names began to fall back into her mind. The man in the white suit was Rufus Shinra, her employer, and she recognized the Turks at his side; Reno with the flaming red hair, Rude the bald man with glasses, Elena the blond woman, and Tseng the man with long dark hair. She lifted her eyes to stare at the flames, her mind kept turning through pages of memories, she had faces, and names now. It was progress but then they turned to a woman with purple hair and a scientist that she knew all too well. "Hojo..." she whispered but there was malice in her voice, "Hojo and Lucrecia...they made Sephiroth, Sephiroth burned Nibelheim." Once more there was malice in her voice but there was a turk in those memories that she didn't recognize, there was a name but she couldn't make it out. Those memories surfaced quickly, they flipped so fast that she barely had time to process them, and she buried her face once more.

"Should we help her?" asked Barrett.

"No."

"Why Vinny? She might need it."

"No. She needs to do this on her own."

"If you say so." He gave a curt nod as they watched Resia struggle with the memories of Lucrecia, eventually they could see that she shivered, and stared at the flames; there were tears running down her face. "She's crying..." Vincent nodded but still kept silent as they watched her wipe her tears away, she rubbed her nose on her bandaged hand, and held an angry look. "Now she's angry..." Vincent nodded once more and Barrett was beginning to truly wonder what was going on with her. Cait Sith ran to her side, she picked him up, and began to speak quietly to him and he to her. Barrett strained to hear what was said but couldn't make out a single word whereas he knew that Vincent could probably hear everything.

Many of the group members turned in for the night, Resia was snuggling with Cait Sith and Eyrie while Vincent dozed near them. His own mind turned to Lucrecia and the past, it wasn't pleasant, and he could feel the anger and resentment rise up inside but it puffered out the moment he remembered that Resia held Lucrecia's cells. Crimson eyes opened to see dual colored eyes staring at him, when he fully awoke, she put a finger on his scarf where his lips were, she whispered, "Shh...they're still sleeping. Come with me." Vincent did as he was told, he noticed that she had wrapped up her sword to keep it from making any noise, she stayed close to the ground as they went up a hill, and she laid down. He did the same, she pointed for him to look over the ridge, what he saw astounded him. There were a group of Shadow Creepers huddled in a circle staring out in all directions. "I think they're looking for me."

"How can you be sure?"

"A feeling. I've never seen them this organized, it has to do with that the crater. She's moving towards her awakening and she's gaining power."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I have some of my memories back, ones where I remember who I am, who my friends were, how I lost them, and who I used to work for. I also saw Lucrecia's memories, I didn't much like those, but she tried to take over...I wouldn't let her. I know those memories are hers but they are guided by the evil in the crater. She can sense me but not as good as I can sense her."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing now. There are too many of them even for our little group. Our best plan is to hope that they don't find us camped out so close by or at least we might be able to surprise them." Vincent stared at her, waiting for her to continue, "I found some materia in Gongaga that I didn't tell Kenichi about. I think it's Gravity, Barrier, and a Summon." She pulled them out of her pocket to show Vincent and he nodded, "I think the Summon is Alexander..." The orb glowed when she said his name, she smiled, and nodded, "Got it."

"You can speak with materia?"

"More like I can feel what they want to say. It's kind of hard to explain but we should get back." They moved quietly from the ridge and began to trek back to camp. "I'm not sure what we can do to get those creatures to disperse but they're between us and Rocket Town. I'm afraid if we attack then they'll head straight the town and I don't want that."

"Your concern is valid."

Resia sighed, "I only want to travel Gaea and help her, why can't people leave the dead alone? Why must they try to control death?" Vincent shrugged, "So much power they crave and yet they cannot have it. Humans can never control life and death, they can't; it's too much of a burden." The ex-Turk nodded in agreement while he watched her sigh, she ran a hand through her shoulder length hair, "I wish I knew more about myself but it's hard. I kind of know some things but Seira is still a mystery to me and she won't tell me who she really is."

"In time, you'll find out." Resia smiled at Vincent and nodded just as the others were beginning to wake up, Cait Sith jumped into her arms, and she snuggled him while telling him about the Creepers jut over the ridge. All of the information was relayed to his controller, "Is there something that you can do Cait?"

"I can try to contact Rufus but that's about it." Vincent kept silent while Cait Sith tried to contact Rufus so that he could send out a helicopter to pick them up and drop them off at Rocket Town. Resia continued to hold the robot while the invisible conversation took place. She had moved one hand to her Desert Eagle, she made sure to put the materia in the proper slots, and Vincent eyed her keenly as she gave a small smile. After a long while Cait Sith was able to speak, "He's sending a chopper this way. It should arrive in thirty or so minutes." The others nodded in agreement while they packed up their camp, Cait maneuvered to her shoulder, and whispered. "I found some things about Gemini Syndrome." Resia thanked him by kissing his cheek and he became bashful, "Aww, I'm glad to help out Resia." She kissed him once more and Cait Sith grinned while they waited for the promised helicopter.

As the half hour mark came around, they could hear the propellors but what Resia sensed was something far more sinister. She could feel her in the crater, it was darkness, it was evil, and it was thrumming. Cait looked at Resia as she gripped her chest, "It's strong...calling..."

"Fight her!"

Resia shook her head, "It's not calling me...it's calling Seira. She doesn't want me, she wants Seira because Seira is just like her." Cait Sith and Kenichi were baffled as were Nanaki and Barrett but Vincent knew better. Seira had told him who she was and he watched as Resia, for the first time, fought Seira for control. "I won't let her take Seira!" she growled and Cait Sith told her that she was stronger than that thing in the crater. Resia nodded while Vincent watched, her hair began to curl but fell flat instantly, Resia began to perspire with her effort but she wasn't about to give up. When she felt on the edge, she immediately reached around, moved her hand underneath the cloth, and grabbed the blade. Instantly the power washed over her, Seira was pushed back into her mind, and Resia could breathe easily, "She can't do anything as long as I touch the blade. It's the one thing that she is forbidden to touch." Cait nodded while the helicopter began to land, "But we have another problem. The sound attracted the Creepers."

"We gotta hurry!" exclaimed Kenichi. They ran towards the helicopter, Reno was piloting while Rude helped them on board, Vincent easily leapt inside while Resia was having a hard time, she relinquished her grip on the sword, snuggled Cait Sith close, and jumped into the helicopter. She looked down and yelled for Eyrie but Rude said there was no space for the chocobo.

The black chocobo warked happily to her and she held tears in her eyes, "EYRIE!" He looked at the oncoming horde with pride and determination. "EYRIE! NO!" As the bird readied to attack, Resia took in a deep breath, unwrapped her sword, and jumped out of the helicopter. The others hollered at her but it was Vincent who told them to back down and watch, the others were on the edge of their seat as Resia hit the ground, and rolled to her feet. She ran to Eyrie, snuggled against him, and mounted his back. "I won't leave a friend behind." He warked happily as she held her sword in her hand and gripped his feathers in the other, "We're not going without a fight. If you want Seira that bad, you're going to have to get through me, Eyrie, and my friend first." Resia lifted her sword high into the air and yelled, "ALEXANDER!" Eyrie charged towards the oncoming hoard, while she began to swing her sword, and her summon appeared from the air to help out. Resia used Gravity multiple times and her Barrier but Alexander had outlived his ability, he faded from view but not before she was able to thank him.

Now that her summon had gone, it was only her and Eyrie as they battled the Shadow Creepers. She could hear their voices, urging her let go of the sword, to give up the bird, that they would eat him, and she would be happier. "I will not leave my friend! He's mine! You can't have him!" Resia swung her sword expertly in her hand as she sliced through a Creeper, she kept pushing forward with Eyrie, he would peck, jump, and kick any Creeper that got too close to them while she used the range of her sword. Resia used a few of the light arcs to make a path for them but the hoard was large. Just as a portion of the hoard jumped all at once towards her, she glared at them, but they were stopped by a laser. Resia looked over and recognized those glowing gems on the chest of the creature that was towering over her, it rumbled at her, and she smiled up at the machine. "I feel like I know you." She was quiet as he protected her and Eyrie, a smile graced her lips once more, "I do know you, don't I?"