Chapter 9
Signs of a Struggle
The only people who were virtually unaffected by Hikari's strange and abrupt bout of violence were Marlene and Denzel. Neither child was given the full details of the story, but they were warned not to mock fight around Hikari and to keep her near the house out of sight of weapons. At first, Hikari was shy and awkward around them, as if she was afraid that the slightest touch from her would injure them, but, gradually, Denzel's optimism and Marlene's charm allowed Hikari to relax a little. Neither child left her alone for a moment, and Marlene even took to bunking right next to Hikari at night. Their presence seemed to both reassure and cheer the strange young woman immensely.
As for the rest of the companions, they kept a close eye on Hikari. While Barret did not act hostile towards her, nor did he request her removal, he refused to leave the house if Marlene was with Hikari. Nanaki kept a fluid perimeter around Barret's house, keeping an eye out for any possible danger that might become a threat to Hikari. Yuffie stuck to her side like a burr and apologized for nearly two days straight until Hikari begged her to stop tormenting herself, reassuring the ninja that the carnage wasn't Yuffie's fault. Tifa, Cloud, and Vincent tried to make sure that at least one of them was either at or in the house at any given time. Hikari slowly regained her spirits with no signs of slipping back into her battle-mode and an air akin to relief began to settle over the household. Only Vincent, who contacted Reeve each day for updates, remained on edge.
After thinking over what Rufus Shinra had told him, Vincent asked Reeve to look into other companies that might have had the ability to manipulate human genes, or perhaps some Shinra experiments that had slipped under the radar by masquerading as a completely different project. He also suggested that Reeve conduct a search into all the girls, age twenty-five and younger, who were either part of experiments or disappeared mysteriously seventy years ago. So far they hadn't found any matches, but the amount of information that they had to go through was so staggering that Vincent tried to be patient and understanding. But the delay still rubbed his nerves raw.
About four days after the incident, Reeve called Yuffie back to the WRO to help with the investigation. Hikari was sad to see Yuffie go, but brightened when Tifa told her that Yuffie probably wouldn't be gone too long. "She'll solve this mystery before anyone else; you can count on that," the dark-haired girl said, and she was rewarded with Hikari's tentative smile.
The next day, Vincent was away from Barret's house when he got a call from Tifa.
"Vincent? It's Tifa. I've got to make a quick trip to the store. Barret's on the front porch and Nanaki is patrolling, but Cloud's out on a delivery. I know you like at least two of us at the house at all times, so I figured I'd give you a call."
"Thanks, Tifa. I'm on my way." Vincent flipped the phone closed and began retracing his way back to Barret's house, wrapped in his own thoughts.
As soon as he was within sight of Barret's house, Vincent knew something was wrong.
It was still. Too still. Where's Barret? Vincent thought, stepping back into the shadows and eyeing the house warily. Tifa said he was on the front porch. In fact, where is Nanaki? I should have met him by now if he's on patrol… Every sense honed by years of training as a Turk was screaming danger signals. Vincent stayed in the shadows, using what natural cover there was in the alleys to creep closer.
His foot struck something. Looking down, the ex-Turk saw a massive red paw poking out from beneath a mound of hastily dumped trash bags.
It was Nanaki. Vincent pulled the bags off him and checked for a pulse in the great cat's neck. He found a small dart embedded in the jugular. Nanaki was still alive, but the drugs in the dart had knocked him out.
Worry increasing by the second, Vincent moved as stealthily as he could, Cerberus at the ready. The door of the house was open, but there was still no sign of Barret. Tense as a coiled wire, the ex-Turk stepped through the door, scarlet eyes darting everywhere, searching for enemies and traps. The only thing that met his searching gaze was overturned chairs and Barret lying on the floor, a dart identical to the one that felled Nanaki in his neck.
Silently and methodically, Vincent searched the rest of the house. The place had been quickly and systematically torn apart. There was no sign of Hikari or the children.
Vincent called Cloud and Tifa, then went back outside and dragged Nanaki into the house with Barret. By the time the red cat and the big man were inside, the roar of Cloud's bike announced his friends' arrival.
Tifa lept off Cloud's bike almost before the wheels stopped spinning, eyes dark and afraid on her pale face. "Vincent! Did you find them?" When the ex-Turk shook his head, Tifa slumped, putting a hand to her face. "Oh God, this is all my fault. If I hadn't left the house before you got here—"
"You would have been knocked out just like Nanaki and Barret," Vincent said, interrupting her stream of self-accusation. "This job was a fast one."
"But not necessarily professional," Cloud said grimly, nodding at the destruction inside. True professionals would not have left such an obvious sign of their passing…and the darts would have probably been lethal as well.
Tifa looked stricken. "But…why? Why would someone do this? What were they looking for?"
Vincent's voice was grim. "Hikari. Someone is after Hikari."
With dusk beginning to draw its curtain across the sky and no sign of the missing children or Hikari, Vincent was feeling a growing anxiety gnaw at his insides. Vincent, Cloud, and Tifa had started their search by combing the area surrounding the house, gradually spreading further into Edge as the hours progressed. Nanaki and Barret were still unconscious, and there was only so much three pairs of eyes could do. Vincent had a terrible feeling that if they didn't find Hikari or the children before sundown, then the chances of tracking them down at all would drop to near zero.
While Cloud and Tifa were searching in the more populated areas of Edge, Vincent had moved into the abandoned sections, a veritable maze of ramshackle buildings in various stages of disrepair and shades of monotone gray. It was also the perfect place to hide if someone was chasing you.
As the sky grew steadily darker, Vincent wound his silent way through the crumbling gray monoliths, senses on hyper-alert. Every sound, every shadow, was noted, analyzed, and then often dismissed as non-threatening. He dared not call out, just in case the kidnappers were nearby. He wanted to find the children and Hikari, but losing the element of surprise could be fatal.
Hikari, where are you? Vincent thought with a rising sense of desperation. He forced himself not to hurry, to keep things thorough and methodical but the lower the sun sank in the sky, the harder it was to stay calm and focused.
Suddenly, the ex-Turk froze. There was a sound, very faint…Like someone moving, he thought. It had come from the derelict house on the right. Vincent listened for a moment, but the sound was not repeated. Could be nothing…but then again, it might be them.
He started to draw Cerberus, but halted the motion. If it is Hikari, I don't want to send her into battle-mode. She's probably scared enough already... For some reason, the thought of Hikari being afraid ignited a slow, deep anger inside him.
They will regret this, Vincent thought, sliding into the shadows as he approached the house.
It was a broken-down wreck, just like every other building he had passed, a shell of what it had been, home now only to rodents, cobwebs, dust, and faded memories. The door leaned open on rusty hinges, letting the fading light shine on the twisted remains of furniture and fallen beams well-gnawed by mice and other vermin. There was no sound, no movement, save for the faint swish of Vincent's cloak and the light click of his boots on the wooden floor.
Vincent carefully surveyed the room, scarlet eyes searching for any sign of disturbance or ambush…but there was nothing. No sign that anyone had been in the house for years. Nothing had been disturbed.
The ex-Turk turned to go, but something made him hesitate and look just once more, just in case…There.
In the dust that had settled on the bottom step was the faint imprint of a child's shoe. A slight smile of satisfaction slipped across Vincent's face as he carefully crouched down by the print. Judging from the size, it's probably Marlene's, he thought, looking up into the shadows of the rickety staircase. So they were here…and might still be. Eyeing the steps warily, Vincent started climbing, the creak of the wood and the click of his boots painfully loud to his straining ears.
Suddenly, a dark shape dropped down in front of him. Vincent instinctively lashed out with his clawed hand, trying to pin the form while his other hand went for Cerberus. His attacker was surprisingly fast. It twisted out of the way so his claws met only air, and darted under his arm. He tried bringing Cerberus up, but the form pinned him against the wall and pressed something sharp against his throat.
"No move!" a voice hissed in the dark. "What name? Who sent?"
"Hikari?" Vincent could not keep the surprise and profound relief out of his voice.
The shape and the sharp object both withdrew. "Vincent?" Hikari's whisper sounded equally surprised and relieved. "That you? You here?"
"Yes, Hikari," Vincent said reassuringly. "Tifa, Cloud, and I have been looking for you. Are you alright? Where are Marlene and Denzel?"
A slender finger touched his lips. "Shhh," Hikari said, still whispering, and he felt her hand lightly tug on his cape. Puzzled, Vincent silently followed Hikari the rest of the way up the steps, entering what looked like an attic. The sharply slanted ceiling made it impossible for Vincent to stand upright except in the very center of the room. A single window, slanted like the ceiling, faced the street. Sitting in a corner behind some boxes on a moth-eaten rug were Marlene and Denzel.
The children looked up when Hikari and Vincent entered. Denzel looked relived and Marlene started to stand, but the little girl sat again when Hikari motioned sharply at her. Hikari tugged Vincent's hand, and crouched low, crab-walking towards the window. Vincent followed her lead. While Hikari peered cautiously out of the window, he went to the children.
"Are you all right?" he asked them in a low voice.
Denzel nodded. "But we've been here for hours and Hikari won't let us leave. Is Mr. Barret okay?"
Vincent inclined his head. "He and Nanaki got knocked out, but they're fine."
Marlene's brown eyes were worried. "Where's Tifa and Cloud?"
"They're out looking for you." Marlene relaxed.
The scarlet-clad man glanced over at Hikari who was still cautiously looking out the window, mismatched eyes wide and muscles tense. Her make-shift knife, a jagged piece of metal, was clutched by white-knuckled fingers. Despite the fact that Vincent had not seen the slightest hint of danger, the strange young woman was acting like their enemies stood in the middle of the street. Her face was smudged with dirt, and her hands and knees had collected some small scrapes. A shaft of fading sunlight illuminated the young woman's serious expression. It wasn't the deadly blankness that had accompanied her killing spree, but her fear was evident. He could almost see it rising off her like heat.
Hold on… Vincent's eyes narrowed and then widened with shock. There was something around Hikari, a faint shimmer so slight he could barely see it. But it was there. What in the world…?
The shimmer abruptly disappeared and, a second later, Hikari relaxed. She turned towards Vincent and the children. "It all right," she said, relief coloring her voice as she set down the make-shift knife. "Safe." Hikari looked at Vincent. "We go home now?"
"Yes, please," said Vincent, and Hikari smiled slightly at the relief in the man's gruff tone.
She is playing with the little ones in the yard. The day is nice and sunny, a good time to play. They are laughing. She is laughing. All is laughing.
She stumbles. The little ones look at her, ask if she is all right. It is not all right. Something is wrong. She bends down to listen. The earth groans. The earth shrieks. The Light whirls and whirls and cries of dark and death and danger. She hears them. She feels them. They are coming. The red cat cannot see them, cannot scent them in time. He is down and they are coming. The big man does not know, cannot know, cannot stop them.
The little ones cannot hear. They only see her pale face and shaking hands. Their mouths move, but she can only hear the scream of the Light. She grabs the hands of the little ones and begins to run. They try to fight her, but she is too strong, too fast.
They hear a shout and a crash. It is the big man. Now the little ones can hear and they stop fighting and run with her. She picks up the smaller little one and runs faster. She can hear their footsteps seeping into the earth like ink. They know she is not at the house. They have not found her there. They will look for her. They will keep looking until they find her. She runs faster.
She finds the shadow-places, the dead-houses. It is a maze. Throw off the scent, double back, dart and duck and hide. That is the only way. They must run and run and run and then hide, still and silent until they leave. The little ones are tired but they feel her fear and keep going. The ink-black footsteps come closer. They are coming.
Moving silent, she finds a place, a place to hide. She takes the little ones in, so careful and quiet. Weapons, she needs weapons. She takes the metal. It is sharp. It will draw blood. She thinks of the bright-happy-music-place and shivers. She does not want to fight them. But she cannot let them take her. She does not know why. There is only fear.
She waits by the window. The Light is still screaming, swirling. They are coming. They are searching. They look and look, but they cannot find her. The ink-steps slowly leave, but still she stays, still and silent. The fear is too great, the Light is too loud, and they are still too close.
So she waits. She waits and waits until He comes. When He comes, she feels better. Safer. But still she waits. She waits until the Light is quiet, until the earth is calm, until there is no trace of the ink-black footsteps. Only then do she and the little ones go with Him.
"So that's what happened," Cloud said thoughtfully after Hikari finished her explanation. Marlene and Denzel had been sent to bed after reassuring themselves that the rest of their strange family was safe and well. The drugs that felled Barett and Nanaki had worn off by the time Vincent, Hikari, and the children returned, leaving them with monstrous headaches and a few bumps, but nothing serious.
"Still wish I'd gotten a good look at those bastards," Barett grumbled, wincing as Tifa placed another cold compress on his forehead.
"Can't be helped," Tifa said softly.
Hikari, curled up in one of the chairs, wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the ground. "Sorry Hikari not know more. Not know who or where. Just know they bad. Bad mens."
"Eh, don't worry about it, kid," Barett said gruffly. "You got Marlene and Denzel out okay and protected them. Pretty brave of you."
The strange young woman looked up. "Brave? What is brave?"
"It is doing something that is hard, but right, even when you are very scared," Nanaki said, turning his great golden eyes towards her.
Hikari's mismatched eyes became thoughtful. "Brave…" she whispered, as if tasting the word.
Tifa looked at Vincent who had said nothing since he'd brought Hikari and the children back to the house. The ex-Turk had stayed in the shadows with folded arms, giving no sign of his thoughts or intentions. "So," Tifa asked, her quiet words like a bombshell in the silence, "what do we do now? We don't know anything about our enemies."
"Yes, we do." The dark tone in Vincent's voice drew all eyes in the room towards him.
"And that is…?" Cloud asked.
"They know about Hikari. They know where she is." The ex-Turk's scarlet eyes flashed with something akin to rage as his voice turned cold. "And we know they'll be back for her."
