Tifa and Shelke looked at each other in silent understanding. The Vincent previously mentioned was the Vincent whom they all knew. Claudie had obviously been mislead. Yuffie had allowed herself to become too intent in the story to actually process those facts and so she remained oblivious.
I lead a very normal life for a young airsailor after I left Nibelheim. I trained on my own time with the weapons I'd bought. I learned and learned about life in the air and, even after I felt like I knew all there was to know, I learned more.
Eventually, I was able to win a sparring match against Audrey. It was the crowning achievment of that particular period in my life. I couldn't believe I was that good and I let my pride get the better of me. Audrey got back at me.
It wasn't long after that when I received word that another airship captain wanted me on his ship. It was a bittersweet announcement. I didn't want to leave the Blackbird but the opportunity was one I might never receive again if I refused. I accepted the offer and was scheduled to arrive on the Prima in a month. Three weeks of that month would be spent in continued service on the Blackbird, one week would be the first vacation I'd received since I began working for ShinRa not quite a year before.
"Good things happen to me every year," I told Audrey with a laugh as I got off the Blackbird for the last time. "Next year I'll be a captain."
"If you are," he said, "remember me." I promised to do just that and went to visit Lucretia. She was the only non-sailor friend I could boast of and I wanted to see her once in a while.
The visit wasn't exactly a surprise but as I approached her home I began to wonder if she'd forgotten I was coming. The wondering became near certainty when I stood before the door knocking without an answer. Morbid thoughts ran through my mind that perhaps something horrible had happened to her and she was dead.
She looked like something horrible had happened when she finally opened the door.
"Oh, Rosie!" she said sniffling. I don't know why she'd begun to call me Rosie, but I didn't mind. It didn't make sense in my mind but if it fit to her... I couldn't argue since I called her Lu. "I'm sorry, I thought it was tomorrow that you were coming."
Yup, I thought. She forgot. I smiled and entered when she moved away from the enterance.
"No, it was today," I said almost apologetically. "I really hope I'm not intruding. I could go to the inn, you know." Lucretia wouldn't hear of it. She said she'd promised to let me stay and by Gaia I was going to stay.
"What happened to you?" I finally asked her after I'd been forced into putting all of my things away in the dresser provided. Lucretia smiled sadly into the tissue she'd been carrying with her the entire time and hmmed and hawed.
"How well..." she mumbled after a good deal of stalling. "...Dr. Valentine."
"How well do I know him?" I asked trying to guess what she meant. "Not very. Why?"
"...He's dead." I felt all the blood drain from my face. I didn't know what to say, but I gave Lucretia an awkward hug. I wasn't used to giving hugs, they were a rare thing on airships.
"Oh, Lu," I told her. "I'm so sorry. I..." My language skills failed me and I just let her cry into my shoulder.
"It's all my fault," she sobbed. I tried to tell her it couldn't have been, after all being a scientist had it's risks too. She cut me off and recounted the events.
I didn't feel that Lucretia was responsible for Dr. Valentine's death. I didn't know who was but poor weeping Lucretia couldn't have been. There was a vague feeling of blame that settled on some unnameable source.
I didn't know it then but that was the first thing I blamed ShinRa for. I kept telling myself that it wasn't exactly ShinRa that was to blame. It was whoever the hell had told them to start researching Omega and Chaos in the first place. Well, that lead back to ShinRa. I couldn't think of anything ShinRa related as evil, though. Annoying? Yes. Unnecessary? Of course. Something to bitch about? Absolutely. But evil? No.
I spent my entire week of vacation consoling the distraught Dr. Crescent. I don't think I got anywhere. It frustrated me to no end and I spent my nights kicking that damned dresser and having nightmares.
Finally on my last day there, as I was walking out the door to become a member of the Prima's crew I told her something that I think may have gotten through to her. I took the front of her blasted lab coat and shook her by it a good bit first though.
"Look, Lu," I said. "I don't give a rat's ass whose fault it is and I don't think Dr. Valentine does either. Do you see his freaking ghost comin' about here to bitch about what you done? I don't think so. He's kickin' back in the Lifestream havin' a beer or somethin'. Let it drop and give us all the peace that Grimoire's enjoyin' right now." Then I walked out the door.