---
Yuffie grinned; it was great to feel the sun shinning down on her, an adventure looming on the horizon once more. Letting out a sigh, she buried her fingers into Starlight's warm, yellow feathers as the Chocobo raced across the Gongaga landscape.
"Can you believe what that woman had to say?" Yuffie scowled, angrily brushing her dark bangs out of her eyes as the wind whipped around her. She cast a sideways glance at the small river separating Gongaga from Cosmo Canyon, shaking her head as Starlight sprinted over the small river, they're reflection staring momentarily up at them. "I can't believe it; I don't think she liked my end performance very well though," she added as an afterthought.
Starlight let out a wark as Yuffie grasped her yellow feathers a bit too roughly.
"Sorry," Yuffie amended, patting the yellow feathers back into their rightful places. Grinning, Yuffie leaned down, getting a better view of the Chocobo's face. "Do you remember Vincent, Starlight? He came with us on that last journey to Wutai. He had to go away for a little while . . . but, I'm going to bring him back! He should know that, right? I'm too stubborn to give up that easily, right?!"
Starlight let out another wark in response.
"I knew you'd agree with me!"
Yuffie laughed, letting her storm grey eyes rest on the stream that separated the Cosmo Canyon from Nibelheim. She was all most there . . . Nibelheim was right there. Letting out a small smile, Yuffie cast her eyes up at the looming mountain range that was situated between the two areas, the waterfall situated in the top peaks.
"Lucrecia's cave," Yuffie mumbled, frowning slightly. "It's too bad that you can't climb mountains, Starlight."
Yuffie ruffled the Chocobo's feathers, the Cosmo Canyon's rocky terrain disappearing behind them. She sighed, flicking her eyes up to the mountain – Lucrecia's mountain. In a way, she found it kind of ironic. Hojo had come between them, but in the end, they were both buried close by; Vincent in his coffin and Lucrecia in her mako crystals.
Starlight warked once more, turning her head, her beady black eye piercing through Yuffie's concentration. Yuffie blinked, looking around at her surroundings. The stream separating the two towns was behind her, the grassy plains stretching to Nibelheim before her.
"I'm home, Starlight. This will be my new hometown."
"Wark, Wark!" The Chocobo responded, turning its yellow head in the opposite direction, looking forlorn back at the opposite side of the stream.
Yuffie shook her head at the Chocobo's natural response, clicking her tongue together in minor annoyance. Grabbing the reins that rested on its back, Yuffie pulled on them lightly, directing Starlight's attention back to the deserted town. She patted the Chocobo's side in comfort, digging her booted heels into the Chocobo's side. With another indignant wark, Starlight started forward slowly, warily looking at the upcoming village.
"You'll be okay, Starlight," Yuffie grinned, pulling the reins as they approached the town's limits.
Starlight skidded to a stop, ruffling its wings slightly. Yuffie grinned at the response, if the Chocobo knew what had taken place here in the past; anyone would try to suppress a shudder. Shifting slightly on the Chocobo's back, Yuffie slipped down from the saddle, running her hand across the Chocobo's long neck in a soothing motion. Grinning, she grasped the reins in hand as she started forward, the towns' cobbled street reaching out to meet them.
"It'll be alright Starlight, if there's anything in the streets, they'll see – and attack – me first. No big deal, right?"
Yuffie shrugged, laughing at her flippant words, as she tossed her head back. Her feet slapped against the cobbled street, the circle of empty, deserted houses surrounding them as they approached the middle of town. Yuffie let out a sigh, closing her eyes as the silence surrounded her, ringing in her ears. If she was here by herself . . . she might find it just a little creepy. The good news was that no more of Sephiroth's clones littering the streets.
"It's a quaint little town, isn't it?"
Starlight warked in response.
Yuffie grinned over her shoulder at the Chocobo, tugging on the reins lightly. Closing her eyes as she moved forward, she sighed, allowing the small town air to surround her. She let out a laugh as she felt Starlight's hard beak jab into her lower back, an indignant wark following suit. Yuffie opened her eyes, whirling around to face the Chocobo, dropping unceremoniously onto the ledge surrounding the town's monument.
"You're pretty talkative today, aren't you girl? Do you want to go for a walk?" Yuffie chirped, bringing her fingers up to buckles decorating the brown harness. Yuffie jabbed her fingers over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. "I've got to check out that old decrypted old mansion, but you can't come with me – well, not unless you want to be monster chow."
Starlight gave another wark, ruffling her wings in annoyance at her riders' works and light laughter. Yuffie smiled, undoing the buckles, running her fingers over the Chocobo's harness-free face. "There you go, that feels better, doesn't it? I wouldn't want something like that on my face – especially with someone pulling on it all the time . . . now, don't wander away too far, okay?"
Starlight ruffled her feathers once more before she lumbered away, warking slightly. Yuffie grinned as the Chocobo strayed towards Nibelheim's limit looking for any travelers with greens, or at least some good grass. Shaking her head, Yuffie let her storm grey eyes wander around the small circle of houses – the inn, the store, Cloud and Tifa's houses – they all still stood, waiting for their next inhabitants.
"I'm just glad no more of those freaky clones are here," she muttered angrily, getting up from the ledge, brushing off the seat of her shorts.
Sure, the clones didn't do anything to them while they were here last time . . . but still, they were helping Sephiroth – totally not cool in her opinion. Stretching her limbs over her head, she clasped her hands behind her back, keeping her eyes trained on the mansion as it loomed over the towns' houses.
When they finally did make it to Nibelheim, it wasn't what they had thought. The town was supposed to be all rubble, burned down five years previous by Sephiroth and his anger at the world when he found the truth of his birth. Everything about the town was back to normal – well, as normal as you could get with block cloaked clones roaming the town, calling for Sephiroth and reunion. However, all those details seemed relatively unimportant to Yuffie, the mansion that loomed above the town caught her attention as it stood out like a beacon.
"We should go there!" Yuffie stated, pointing up at the towering mansion as they excited Tifa's old house, the clones running rampant within the house as well.
"Why?" Aeris muttered; eyebrows quirked. "It looks kind of creepy in my opinion.
"Don't worry Aeris, Cloud will protect you," Yuffie whispered with a wink. "It'll be an adventure . . . and Cloud? Didn't you say that was the mansion you had visited with Sephiroth?"
Cloud squinted up at the building; the sun was at such a horrible angle! "Yeah, yeah that's it. It might help us in our quest . . . let's check it out guys."
Tifa nodded, hands balling up into fists. "I'm going . . . I want to know what happened here. I remember the fire vaguely . . . he killed my father! I want answers!"
"Count me in too!" Aeris grinned, holding her rod out threateningly.
"Heey! Wait for me!" Yuffie pouted, waving a hand over her head at the group as they started up the hill to the mansion. "I want to go too – you're all mean, you know that, right?"
Aeris laughed, stopping beside the rusted Iron Gate for the smaller ninja. "I'm mean?"
"Not you, Aeris," Yuffie laughed, looping her arm with Aeris, the two starting up the unkempt lawn after the rest of the group. "You're my best friend after all, you know that."
Aeris nodded, her ponytail swaying with the motion. "I'm glad; I'd hate to think something happened between us."
"Awe, you know I love you, Aeris," Yuffie laughed, shouldering the ornate, heavy doors open a little bit more for them.
"Hey, what's going on guys?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow, dropping her arm from Aeris, clasping her hands behind her back as she tiptoed up to the larger group in a little room off to the left/ Aeris let out a light giggle at Yuffie's actions, wandering over to the group as well.
"What did you guys find?" Yuffie asked, looking over Cait Sith's crown, confusion written on her face. "What's that Cloud? Is it a letter from Sephiroth?"
Tifa shook her head, glancing momentarily over at Yuffie. "It sounds like a riddle . . ."
"A riddle?" Yuffie's face lit up, her storm grey eyes locking onto the paper in Cloud's hand. "Let me see that! I can solve these things, no problem!"
"I doubt it," Cloud said offhandedly, not looking up from the paper in hand.
Yuffie shook her head, pushing the overstuffed moogle aside, reaching a gloved hand out for the small paper. She let out a grin as she grasped the paper, ripping it out of Cloud's lax grasp.
A loud rip sounded.
"You ripped it," Barret shouted, pointing an accusatory finger in Yuffie's direction. "You're such a klutz."
"Shut up," Yuffie shot Barret a look as she unrolled the paper. "See, no rip! Well, only at the bottom – big deal, old man."
Barret glared at her, the comment dying in his throat as Aeris laid a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.
"Let's see, it says; 'I must get rid of all those that stand in the way on my research. Even that one from the Turks," Yuffie frowned, crumpling the note into a ball. "It's about a Turk, who cares."
"Yuffie, don't say that," Aeris chided, picking up the crumbled paper. "It's still a human being, it sounds like this guy is – was? – in trouble. If it's a riddle, maybe he's still here, trapped somewhere?"
"Or at least his bones are here . . ."
"Yuffie, stop that!" Aeris huffed, her emerald eyes scanning over the page. "I scientifically altered him, and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area."
"Scientifically altered . . .? This sounds pretty creepy . . ."
"Don't worry Tifa. Put him to sleep – it's just another word for dead, my father did that once to my cat . . ."
"There's still more," Aeris cut in, shaking her head. "But, this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary for you to participate if you don't want too."
"See, we don't have to participate, let's just look for clues about Sephiroth, not some Turk."
"I think we should look for the clues. I'd feel bad knowing that we left someone to rot, locked up in the basement," Aeris frowned looking behind her at the dusty old mansion. "I wonder how old this is – now, let's see, something about a safe next. Move the dial on the safe carefully, but quickly. You have twenty seconds. You can't go past the numbers while turning. The four hints for the numbers are . . ."
"What are the clues?" Tifa asked, trying to concentrate.
"The lid to the box with the most oxygen, Behind Ivory's short of tea and ray, the creak in the floor near the chair on the second floor . . . to the left five steps, up nine, left two, up six, and the fourth number is Right 97."
"Okay, so we have one of the numbers, let's split up and have a look around. Aeris, you go with Yuffie, Tifa you come with me, Barret –"
"I'm going on my own; I don't need any help."
"Alright," Cloud shrugged. "Cait Sith, Red XIII, you can go together. Let's meet back here in twenty minutes."
---
"That thing was pretty ugly," Yuffie muttered, picking herself up off the ground after Aeris had tossed a Phoenix Down at her. Stretching, she stood up, brushing the dust from her clothes. "Whose freaky idea was it to put that purple thing in a safe?"
"It was orange too . . ." Aeris amended.
"It's still ugly as hell."
"It was called Lost Number," Tifa called, looking at the message that was scrawled onto the safe's door. "There was something else written here too, but most seems to be scratched away."
"Really?" Cloud frowned, leaning over the brunette. "Hmm . . . defeated my experiment . . . key to the basement . . . Valentine . . . curse . . . for eternity – that's all that's legible."
"A curse?" Yuffie mused, hands clasped behind her back as she wandered towards the door. "I say we don't use the key . . . but, I hate an unsolved mystery, keeps me up at – hey! I found a materia!"
"What a one track mind."
"Whatever, that's Yuffie, let's get to the basement." Cloud shrugged, taking the led of the group, once more leaving the small room.
"It looks pretty good, doesn't it Cait?" Yuffie laughed, showing the robotic cat the orb before sticking it into an empty slot on her Conformer.
"It does, what is it?"
"Summon materia," Yuffie shrugged, unsure what creature resided within.
Yuffie sighed, looking around the still extremely dusty mansion, the floorboards creaking under her weight; they hadn't been used in such a long time, she supposed.
"Nothing's changed since the last time I was here," she mused, hands clasped behind her back.
She allowed a small smirk as she saw the charred doorway – from a misguided Fira attack – that led into the small room with the safe for the basement key.
The Lost Number, now that had been a horrible fight. She suppressed a shudder as she thought of the large purple and orange monster that had lunged out of the safe at them. Unfortunately for them, they had defeated the orange side of the monster first, leaving them to fight the magical purple side. What could have been worse . . . all they had left was their physical attacks and their low level limit breaks, their magic having been used up earlier in the drawn out fight.
"It's funny looking back on that," Yuffie mumbled to herself, running her hand along the charred doorframe. "I was so dead set against this . . . I didn't want to save a Turk," – she shook her head, pushing the bangs out of her eyes – "Who knew I'd end up romantically inclined towards him and running around the planet trying to track him down."
She sighed, leaning against the second floor railing, looking down at the deserted first floor beneath her. She wondered what the mansion would have looked like thirty years ago when it was lived in. Sure, Hojo had tainted the building with his mere presence, but she knew that Vincent had liked this place before everything happened – and, if he had liked it, she knew she would have too. Yuffie snapped her head up, an idea coming to her, a plan formulating. Her eyes narrowed in deep thought before closing slowly.
She could see it . . . the hardwood floor would need to be cleaned and polished, the markings' of the monsters nails, teeth and whatnot would have to be buffered away most likely. The floor would shine brightly when the ceiling light fixtures were fixed and cleaned up. The monsters roaming around the mansion's many rooms would have to be taken care of . . . she'd have to find out where they were coming in from also. Most of the furniture would have to go, it was either moldy from rain falling from the patched up roof or ripped to shreds by the many monsters. The banisters would need to be fixed, quite a few of the rungs were missing and some new paint would have to be bought. Then, there was the outside landscape . . . but she'd worry about that when the inside was finished.
Yuffie opened her eyes, the old mansion coming back into her view. She sighed; this was going to take a lot of work. She could hear it now, the sound of gil ringing in the nearest supply store, but, it was quickly overrun by the idea of having everyone under one roof, happy together again.
"Now, to find Vincent . . . he lived here long enough, so he probably has some back door to get in undetected," Nodding her head, she pushed herself away from the railing, a hand reaching back for her Conformer, eyes roving the deserted rooms for the ever present monsters.
---
Yuffie curled her nose up as she descended down the final loop in the circular, wooden basement steps. She brought her hands up, rubbing her arms to keep the heat inside as the cool underground air surrounded her.
"There's another thing that I'll have to fix . . ." she mused, the grimy walls of the corridor staring back at her. "The coffins will have to go also . . . um, that is unless Vincent wants to keep one as a souvenir of the past," Yuffie shook her head, her laughter echoing through the hallway, she doubted that. "I suppose I'll keep the library for now, Vincent seems like the reading type. However, those lab testing things are going, bad memories there," Yuffie nodded, grimly thinking about the things in question; Vincent and Lucrecia, Cloud and Zack, and who knows how many others Hojo had experimented on.
She hummed to herself as she worked; pushing her bangs back behind her ears as she searched the grimy walls for any sort of nook or latch that might lead to some secret way in or out of the mansion.
---
"Hey, it's me, Yuffie! Where'd you run off to? I can't believe you did that, that's mean you know!"
"Did you catch the interview with Junon New Crew on channel six the other day? It was pretty interesting, huh? They really butchered my interview though, it was hardly anything! I'm glad they didn't air it all though, they had no right to ask those questions!"
"Hey, your phone's still on! Ohh, are you hanging around with Cloud? Tifa said he disappeared after they finished building Edge, isn't that weird? TIfa's kind of mad though, now she has to take care of business and kids alone – they started an orphanage, did you know that?"
"I know you like books, so I kept those! I got rid of those weird scientific tanks though, talk about a mood downer! Do you still want your coffin? You've got a till next week to call me back, buddy!"
"So, you should know by now that you can't ignore me! You should come by Nibelheim – I know that you hate it – but it's so much better now, and it's still a deserted town, just like you liked it! By the way – you owe me nine thousand gil for renovations."
"January 2nd, eight, twenty six am, 1st message . . ."
"You didn't even come visit me – or call – during the Christmas and New Years holidays! It's been a while . . . but I thought we could patch things up. Well, I shouldn't do this because I don't think you actually care – but, Merry Christmas . . . happy New Year . . ."
"January 2nd, four, fifty seven pm, 2nd message . . ."
""Don't bother . . . it's been almost two years, Vincent. I got the picture, I won't contact you – you can lose my number, you obviously already did that long ago, though. I just hope you realize – I gave up Wutai for you, for us, I wanted to be with you regardless of my fathers' words! I – I'm leaving Nibelheim in half an hour, I can't wait any longer. About the gil you owe me – whatever, it doesn't matter. I just wanted you to know –"
"End of messages."
Click.
"This is wrong; it sounded like she was crying."
"It's nothing but an act, why would she like someone like you? The witch is probably married and Lady of Wutai now."
"Lord Godo is still alive."
Chaos shrugged. "She destroyed your link to your past though. You heard her message: money for renovations of your mansion, as she said. She threw out all that scientific crap from your last fling, that god-forsaken coffin was thrown out as well . . ."
"There's no need for those things any more, ShinRa is gone, it holds no purpose in the rapidly evolving world," Vincent muttered, ignoring the sneer from Chaos; rapidly evolving world . . . one that doesn't include you. His crimson eyes glanced around the cavern, the sound of the waterfall cascading quietly behind him in the distance. "It might be time to let go of the past."
"And yet," Chaos sneered. "Here you sit in this tomb."
"No one would look here," Vincent brushed Chaos off, trying to suppress the demon.
"Except that ninja . . . she's a stubborn one," Chaos snarled. "She can play the field pretty well."
"Shut up," Vincent scowled; his eyes sweeping the damp cave, stopping on the mako crystal's that encased Lucrecia's body. "Yuffie's a good person, she . . . never thought of herself first."
"You sound like you loved her back then," Chaos snarled, pulling his lip back over his sharp teeth. "You should know, host; how long will it be until you figure out that no woman will ever want something like you."
Vincent shook his head, drowning out the demons' words. "What do you know anyways, demon? You know nothing except hate."
Chaos shrugged. "I know that women can't be trusted, the brat wasn't meant for you either – you only want those that are attached to another man."
Vincent sighed, ignoring the winged demon's words, as he thought back to the small ninja. He hadn't seen her for the better part of two years. Closing his crimson eyes, he reflected on that last time he had seen her . . .
She had been so angry about what her father had planned for her; she had her hands balled up into fists, screaming at the sky outside of the pagoda. She had been happy to see him; she wanted to run away to the mountains with him, wanting him to teach her to shoot a gun. He shook his head; his black bangs falling into his eyes as he thought about the small ninja, her personality could change rapidly. She had been so happy when they got off Starlight in Wutai, she was happy to be back with someone who actually cared for her, as she had said many times. From the sounds of her conversations from her childhood, after her mother, Lady Ayumi, had died, she had been pushed away by her father. Yuffie had everything planned out for them; things to see and do, and things she wanted to learn from him.
They could have had a good time together, at least for a little while. Surely, there was no way that Yuffie would want him when she surpassed twenty seven.
Vincent frowned slightly, his crimson eyes trained on the ground beneath him. Yuffie . . . sometimes he wondered what Yuffie was doing now. She had sounded so desperate on that voice message . . .
"Vincent . . ."
Raising his head, his crimson eyes narrowing at the sound – there wasn't anyone else within the cavern; hardly anyone knew it was here anyways. His eyes stopped on the mako crystallization around Lucrecia's form, was it her? It had sounded exactly like he had remembered her voice . . .
"Lucrecia?"
"Again with that woman?" Chaos snarled, rolling his beady eyes. "She's long dead, host."
Vincent shook his head, his crimson eyes staring at the mako crystals, blocking out the demon. "It is you . . . but . . ."
"You need to move on . . . get out of here . . ."
Vincent struggled to his feet, his limbs protesting against the movement as he had sat so long on the cold stone. His cloak rustled with his movement, his shoes echoing against the stone floor as he approached the crystallization, placing his real hand on the colder surface.
"Lucrecia . . . what?"
"I'm so sorry . . ." her words echoed through the small cavern, her frozen form never moving.
"I'm the one that's sorry," Vincent mumbled, his crimson eyes falling to the ground. "I couldn't save you, I just let it happen. I let your words stop me . . ."
Vincent's head shot up, his crimson eyes narrowing. Chaos . . .
You can't remain here forever, host.
No one could ever love you . . . you're the monster.
That bratty ninja . . . why would she ever love someone like you, when she has someone of her own kind? Why, even that Lucercia didn't want you.
She made you feel pity, made you lose your distrust of people . . . she is just like Lucrecia.
Are you willing to sleep in a coffin for her sake? She will leave you . . . you're immortal and will always be alone.
You sound like you loved her back hen. How long will it be until you figure out no women will ever want something like you?
"Nibelheim . . ."
I'm leaving Nibelheim in a half hour.
"You're not actually going after her?" Chaos snarled; his tone louder then normal.
"Shut up, demon," Vincent growled.
Ignoring the demon's taunts about repeating the past once more, he turned on his heel, heading for the waterfall's entrance, his cloak rustling slightly with the movement.
"When that bratty ninja leaves you for another man, you won't have any sympathy."
Vincent rolled his crimson eyes, the waterfall thundering as he approached the falling water. "I don't remember asking for it," he muttered as he past the walls, the rocky ground beneath him wet with multiple puddles as the water pounded into the silent body of water on his left. "Thanks . . . Lucrecia."
He heard Chaos snarl in the background of his mind in annoyance. Passing the waterfall by, Vincent blinked, the last of the sun's rays shining down at him in the mountains' mouth. Narrowing his eyes from the blinding light, he raised his hand above his eyes, effectively blocking out the last of the strong rays.
How long had be been sitting in that cavern? He knew it had been a while; he had gotten lost in his past – the good old days, he wasn't quite sure. Lucrecia had been there – regrettably Hojo was there too, in the Nibelheim laboratory. He shook off that particular thought, Lucrecia had said to move on, get out there . . . move on with life.
His crimson eyes finally adjusting to the light, he let his hand drop back down his side. His eyes scanned the small amount of land surrounding the body of water; he let out a sigh, his crimson eyes not finding any form of life.
Chaos smirked, the demon coming back to the forefront of the gunslingers' mind. "Looks like that stupid bird ran away," Chaos bit out a smirk. "That's too bad, would have been a good meal . . . now, it looks like the brat's going to forget you ever existed."
Vincent shook his head, reaching a hand back for his long black hair, wet from the waterfall's thunderous flow. "The Chocobo wouldn't remain here anyways; not for this long a time period. It would have gone back to Chocobo Billy as soon as we disappeared from view."
Chaos bit out a laugh at the discovery. "You've got no way to locate the ninja before she jumps ships. You'll be alone forever; I doubt she'll wait any longer for you to come for her."
Vincent shook his head, trying to suppress the demon like he had so many times before. He knew from traveling the planet with AVALANCE two years previous that this mountain – its true name lost to time – was located between Corel on the left and Nibelheim on the right.
"That matters little, demon. We don't need the Chocobo."
He could sense Chaos mulling over his words as Vincent treaded through the tall, overgrown grass and weeds as his crimson eyes surveyed the mountains' wall for a foothold.
"So, then you've given up on the woman . . . her half hour should be up anyways."
Ignoring the demon once again, he tried to push the demon's thoughts away from his own conscious. Chaos smirked, leaving his host with one final thought before he was pushed from the line of conscious.
No matter how much you try to deny it host, the past will only repeat itself . . . this woman won't want you anymore then the last . . .
---
Yuffie sighed, her storm grey eyes looking dejectedly around the atrium of the now cleaned mansion. It had been an interesting idea at first; trying to rebuild a decrypted old mansion, thinly veiling the fact that she was trying to rebuild her own life. She had hoped that Vincent would mysteriously return one day – probably in the dead of night – and they could patch things up between them.
False hope, it seemed.
Yuffie figured that Vincent would return to his home one day, it was his home after all. As the months wore on, she started to laugh at her own idea, why on earth would Vincent return here, the place where his nightmare had begun. Yuffie tried her PHS then, she still had everyone's phone numbers in the small device – Aeris' too; she didn't have the heart to delete it yet – and started calling Vincent's number. She got his answering machine, so she left a message for him. She called his number a few times a week – daily, if she was bored.
She never got one phone call in return.
Gradually, Yuffie got wise to the fact that she was being ignored, so the calls grew fewer in between. It started out as once every other week, then monthly. After still not getting any sort of response, it became every once and while, before she finally put the phone – her final lifeline – to rest. Yuffie only made that last phone call to call his bluff.
No phone call; no response, no nothing.
"I guess this is it," Yuffie mumbled to herself, her footsteps leading her to the right of the door – the room where they had found Hojo's cryptic letter.
Yuffie smiled vaguely at the memory, thanks to that she had met a relatively good guy to hang around with for a little while at least. She paused in front of the small table that held the cryptic letter – now framed, it had led her to what she thought was her future, another photograph sitting beside the aged letter. Yuffie had found the photo when she was cleaning out the secret laboratory in the basement.
She had gotten rid of Hojo's desk without bothering to look at it – she didn't want to know what that man thought – but had kept Lucrecia's for the time being, she wanted to look through her things.
Lucrecia was like a mystery to her.
She was a woman driven by her passion and blinded by it at the same time.
The more she found out about Lucrecia through her findings, the more she realized they were the polar opposites of one another.
Lucrecia was brilliant, smart and pretty. Yuffie was unreliable, silly and a loudmouth.
Lucrecia was a scientist. Yuffie was a ninja thief.
After looking through the deceased scientists' desk, she had stared at it for a few days before deciding to move the desk into the back library – Vincent might indeed turn Cerberus on her if she junked any of Lucrecia's work – locking the door behind her. She didn't want to look at the scientists' work anymore, thinking of the brunette scientist made her frown. Chaos and Omega . . . sure, she didn't understand most of the jargon, but from what she could make out, it sounded awful.
Yuffie smiled vaguely, running her finger across the frame's surface, shrugging off her backpack and dropping it to the floor – her key chains jangling with the movement, as she knelt down, unzipping the bag with her free hand. Hey storm grey eyes drifted back to the photo, and nodding her head, decided to take the photo with her.
The frame was a pretty black basic one, an old photo inside it – she was surprised it was a coloured photo – the ends a little bent and torn, creases running throughout the photo. That didn't really matter though, after flattening the photo with a few heavy books it looked pretty good in her opinion. The photo was simple, three people standing outside the mansion, the Iron Gates behind them, staring at the camera. The woman – it must have been Lucrecia – stood in the center, a smile on her face as she waved to the cameraman, the breeze catching her long hair and lab coat. Hojo stood to her right, glaring at the camera as if it was interrupting some experiment – which it probably was – hands shoved into his lab coat's pockets.
Yuffie didn't care so much about them . . . but the man standing on the other side of Lucrecia. It had taken a little over a minute to recognize him – who knew Vincent originally had short, brown hair? – leaning against the bricked pillar beside the Iron Gates. She knew it had to be a Turk, she'd recognize the pressed, black suit anywhere. The outfits hadn't changed a lot in thirty plus years. His appearance hadn't changed all that much – except the hair and eyes, they looked, was it, brown? – he looked just as alert to his surroundings for any sort of arising problem then, as he was now. She smiled when she saw him as a Turk; he never wanted to talk about those days. He didn't seem to act like the Turks she knew; Reno was too laidback and Rude was too . . . well, the opposite of Reno.
Running her gloved finger across the photo of Vincent, she nodded, placing the worn out photo carefully in her backpack, zipping the pack carefully up. Smiling, Yuffie stood up, shouldering her bag – Red XIII had gotten it for her for her eighteen birthday; a key chain from each town decorating the bag – and closing her eyes, dipped her hands into her pockets, pulling out her PHS.
She knew she wouldn't need the PHS anymore; this was simply the best time to get rid of. When she had visited Edge a few months ago – Tifa had ordered her that she came down for a visit – and everyone had surprised her by throwing her a surprise eighteenth birthday party; she was legal now. Reeve had surprised her the most by buying her a top of the line, sleek cell phone with all his money from ShinRa. She had long since transferred everyone's phone numbers into the device, even Vincent's, she wasn't ready to completely let go, although she did let go of Aeris, leaving the Ancient's number in her old PHS, in the old mansion.
Yuffie let out a sigh, turning on her heel to leave the small side room; she paused, pulling a small folded up paper from her pockets. The small slip of paper contained her initials and her new number – on the off chance that Vincent past through Nibelheim at some point in time.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," a small smile came to her features as her grey eyes scanned the room once more, her hand clutching the door handle.
The mansion didn't look half bad now, it looked slightly livable now. When Tifa and Cloud had past through after seeing Marlene off to Barret for a while, she had quickly put them to work. Cloud had gotten stuck with pulling up the old and scratched up hardwood floors to install the new laminate hardwood Yuffie had bought on a trip through Mideel weeks earlier. While Cloud worked on the flooring, Yuffie employed Tifa with helping her solve the mansions' monster problem – Tifa had hung it over Cloud's head for months, she got the fun job. Together, the two of them had found out where the monsters were getting in from; the secret lab in the basement. Yuffie rolled her eyes, in typical Hojo fashion, he had experimented on the local variety, locking them away an unlocked side room. They just locked the door, and simply annihilated the monsters roaming the rest of the house.
Yuffie shook her head at the memory; the last rays of the days' sun shone through the old roof – she still hadn't gotten around to fixing that yet – and turning on her heel, pulled the heavy, ornate door open, taking in the last of the suns' rays. She shifted her backpack slightly as she walked down the small path, the gravel crunching under her feet as she pulled the still rusted, but recently oiled, Iron Gates shut behind her.
Casting a glance at her watch, Yuffie's eyes bugged slightly. "Ah, I'm going to be late!"
Shaking her head, she started running up the overgrowth path that separated the town from Mt. Nibel, her backpack thumping against her back as she raced out of Nibelheim . . .
---
Vincent landed lightly as he slid to a stop on the outside of the mountain, marks from his claws gracing the side of the rocky terrain, the grass of the Nibel area rustling lightly in the breeze rushing across the plains.
Home . . . he had never thought he'd return here; nor that he would ever call this place home. He never wanted to return there after AVALANCE had awoken him two years previous.
"Awe, how sweet," Chaos smirked, breaking through Vincent's barriers. "Returning to your own personal hell for that ninja."
Vincent smirked at the demon's words, as he silently treaded across the barren plains, the wind rustling his hair and cloak slightly. "You sound like you actually care," he retorted, Nibelheim coming into view.
"No, I don't really care," Chaos smirked, his pointed teeth protruding over his lip. "The irony is interesting though. The scientist witch experimented on you, the ninja – also romantically tied to another – returns here thirty years later to wait for your return," Chaos let out a bark of laughter. "You must admit, it is ironic."
"Perhaps," Vincent responded, the cobbled streets of Nibelheim stretching out to meet him.
"Uh huh, but you can't deny it host," Chaos muttered, rolling his eyes as Vincent's footsteps on the cobbled streets echoed through the deserted town. "The ninja has you . . ."
Vincent didn't respond, his crimson eyes taking in the town. Nothing much had changed since the last time he had been through the town, only a few more houses had crept up over the years and grass and weeds had cropped up around the gaps in the stones. The mansion still loomed above the town, casting a dull shadow onto the quiet town.
"Yuffie . . ." his footsteps led him out of the main square of the town – in his day, the square had been the busiest part of town, nearly impassible to pass through during the afternoon.
But, now, the town was deserted, as it had been for the past seven years since Sephiroth had destroyed it. Not a single soul lived in the town now, except Yuffie, if she was still here.
"I wonder what renovations she did to the place," Chaos broke in, the houses being left behind as they started up the path towards the mansion. "It must have been a lot if you owe her nine thousand gil."
Vincent allowed a rare smile at Chaos's words, he was curious about what the small ninja had been up to for the past two years. In all honesty, he had been toying with the idea of visiting the ninja after he got the message regarding the gil he owed her, it had made him curious. Now, that was something he hadn't been in ages.
"The ninja ain't half bad for renovations . . ."
Vincent looked up, his footsteps faltering as he came to a stop in front of the mansions' Iron Gates, his crimson eyes looking at the decrypted place. From the outside, nothing looked all that different. Rust had long since claimed the gates, making them a bronze colour instead of the silver they used to be. The bricked podiums on either side of the gates were chipped and cracked, scorch marks from the fire playing across the bricks and wrought iron fence encasing the mansion. The house still looked decrypted as he pushed the gates open – he was surprised when the hinges didn't make a sound, they must have been recently oiled. The roof was still in disrepair, fallen shingles from the roof piled on the front doorstep in stacks, and the windows looked new, an off white paint decorating the windows' trim. The weeds were also gone from the lawn – and by the looks of it – the grass had been cut too.
"Nine thousand gil for weed pulling and a paint job – she's not pretty good with money . . ." Chaos laughed, shaking his head.
Vincent shrugged; Yuffie must have done a lot to the inside of the building.
Making his way up the lawn – the path now actually visible – he pushed the heavy doors open; moving a hand to Cerberus' holster as he cautiously moved inside the building, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Knowing the mansions interior very well, he reached a hand out for the wall, flipping on the light switch.
The six ceiling fixtures flickered to life – the fixtures newly installed and polished, casting a certain glow across the large atrium. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he turned his back to the room, closing the ornate door behind him. The walls, he noticed, had been painted an off white colour to match the window trim outside, and seemed to light up the already brightened room. As he walked further into the atrium, his crimson eyes taking in the subtle changes. The old hardwood flooring with the many monster tracks scratched into it was gone, replaced with a laminate hardwood that gleamed in the artificial lights, all traces of scratches gone. The banister had also been fixed up, the broken rungs had been replaced with exact replica's – new paint adorning them as well – and the railing had been replaced with a wood design similar to the floor, glinting in the light as well.
As he ascended the staircase to the second level of the mansion, he noticed the little amount of furniture that decorated the atrium and hallway. It wasn't a lot, your eyes weren't drawn to it right away, but it made the place feel homey – something Vincent never thought he'd say about the old mansion. He suppressed a grin, if Yuffie didn't pride herself on being an amazing ninja thief, she could have made it as an interior designer. The walls were mostly bare, the odd picture hanging off the walls. The pictures were mostly of neutral things such as flowers and fields, but the odd pictures were ones Yuffie had taken when everyone was aboard Cid's airship during their adventures.
"Nine thousand gil," Chaos repeated. "You sure owe that ninja a lot . . ."
Vincent shook his head, what Chaos said was true. Yuffie had done a lot . . . all in hopes of getting him back.
"I suppose I do."
"I knew you'd see it my way," Chaos smirked, shaking his head. "Now, where'd that ninja disappear too?"
"I don't think she's here anymore," Vincent muttered, moving into the farthest back room that held the secret stairwell to the basements laboratory.
Chaos snarled, the automatic door to the basement whirling open as Vincent punched in the access code. "Why the hell are you going down there?"
"She knew the place was here, she mentioned it in her messages."
"The Library and coffin, right. Do you think she actually got rid of that thing?" Vincent shrugged, descending the staircase, the dampness of the underground corridor greeting him. "She sure didn't fix anything down here."
Vincent had to agree with the demon, not much had changed in the underground corridor. The only new thing – that he could see – was a thin carpet that lined the corridor, ending at the door to the laboratory. Walking down the hallway – his footsteps not echoing due to the carpet – Vincent's crimson eyes scanned the corridor, looking for the inset for his room of sorts, stopping in front of the door when he found it.
Vincent blinked, an eyebrow raised.
Chaos let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back.
What the hell had Yuffie done?
Vincent's old beaten up door had been replaced with a solid wooden door – it had taken Yuffie months to beg Cid to help her put it up, only to end up forcing Reno to do it – and a brass doorknob with a lock and key.
However, that wasn't the worst of it. In typical Yuffie fashion, she had to make things personal.
In the middle of the door, hanging on a small nail, was a name plate. Inwardly, he suppressed a sigh; Yuffie would always be Yuffie, even if she wasn't with him. Distantly, he could imagine the ninja laughing at his reaction. The name plate – it looked hand made, possibly from the Cosmo Canyon . . .? – was a deep red colour, large black letters spelled out that it was Vincent's room, a smiley face sticker decorating the bottom of the plate.
" . . . I'm at a loss for words, host," Chaos said between snickers, a smirk gracing his features. "She doesn't even have to be here to make you speechless."
Vincent rolled his eyes at the demons' last comment, and upon grasping the brass handle, pushed the door open warily. Who knew what other changes Yuffie had made to the basement?
Chaos smirked; enjoying Vincent's current dilemma as the gunslinger pushed the door open, flipping on the light switch. Chaos's smirk dropped as Vincent entered the circular room – nothing had really been done to the place. Obviously, the ninja hadn't started designing the room, but it must have been next on the list, almost everything had been moved out.
All of the coffins – except for the one the group had found Vincent in – had been removed, to where, who knows. The black coffin seemed to have been polished, the black sides glinting in the artificial light from above. The lid of the coffin had been removed, leaning haphazardly against the wall, a deep red rug residing underneath the bottom half of the coffin. Some supplies littered the room – a paint can and paintbrush, what looked to be fabric for curtains and plaster for the worn down, slightly molded walls.
Obviously this room was Yuffie's next target.
"It's not nearly as bad as I thought . . ." Vincent muttered at last, crimson eyes taking in the unfinished room.
"Wait till she gets finished," Chaos responded. "At least she kept your coffin . . ."
Vincent rolled his eyes, moving out of the circular room, closing the door solidly behind him, throwing a glance down the hallway. Chaos hissed as Vincent started down the corridor to the laboratory. Vincent's footsteps echoed soundlessly down the carpeted corridor, the automatic door to the laboratory whirling open as he got within range.
"I hate this place," Chaos snarled. "Tearing that Hojo to pieces though – now, that was surprisingly fun."
Vincent nodded in agreement; it had been an interesting run when they met up with Hojo on the Sister Ray in Midgar. Entering through the threshold, Vincent's crimson eyes took in the room, the scientific tanks had been removed, a massive bookshelves that stretched up to the ceiling, a ladder with wheeled ends resting against the shelves so people could reach the books on the top shelves. Taking a quick look at the titles of the books, he noticed most of them were scientific, books from the past, he had assumed. A few new books littered the shelves; they seemed to be of the fantasy and adventure genre. He allowed a small smile; that was Yuffie, she had helped save the world from destruction, but she still daydreamt about fantasy and grand adventures.
A large wooden desk resided in the middle of the room, a few books piled up on the top; a small desk light perched in the corner, a folded note in the center of the table. Raising an eyebrow, he approached the desk, his claw pulling the wooden chair out. Slumping down in the chair, he picked up the folded note, Yuffie's handwriting greeting him.
January 1st
Hey Vinnie!
Ha . . . if you're reading this – then I'm long gone, meanie. Secondly, you can't shoot me for calling you that – deep down, I know you like it. A smiley face was drawn in beside that last statement. I got you some new books; that scientific junk's too hard to understand! I thought you'd get a kick out of the ones on the table – I know you'll kick me for it – they're some vampire books, I got them from Rocket Town. It was Cid's idea – kill him!
Now, don't you worry your little demonic head – ha ha – I left Lucrecia's desk for you. I looked through it, but since you had a thing for her, you can have the final veto on her stuff. The desk's in the next room – it was sooo heavy though!! I got rid of Hojo's desk though . . . um, if you're looking through Lucrecia's stuff . . . ignore the ripping sounds. Tifa and I rounded up the monsters, locking them up in a sideroom – the key to that room is in the second drawer down on your right. I put Hojo's desk in there too – it'll be shreds in no time.
Anyways, I'm going to be late . . . you're just mean. How could you come now and not when I'm there! I hope you like your mansion . . . I did it all for you.
Yuffie.
"Late?" Vincent muttered, dropping the note back to the table, a frown marring his features. "What could Yuffie be late for?"
Chaos smirked, shaking his head. "Wutai – she must be returning to marry that pagoda god. And to think . . . she waited all that time for you."
Vincent shook his head, that couldn't be the reason behind Yuffie's sudden disappearance. His crimson eyes looked back down at the white paper, January 1st. The date meant nothing to him . . . but to Yuffie . . . it had to be important.
Important . . . what did Yuffie find more important then anything else? Her mother and Wutai came to mind at first . . . stealing materia . . . friendships. His eyes narrowed, looking at the date scrawled on the paper – January 1st.
Friendship . . . January 1st . . . then it clicked in.
Aeris.
She had died soon after New Years; he remembered that was the first time the Ancient had actually convinced him to join in their celebrations of the New Year. Aeris had pouted, grasping both his hands, her emerald eyes staring directly at him as she pleaded with him to come down to the terrace to watch the firework display. He had refused – he could see the fireworks fine where he was – but she wouldn't hear of it. She had somehow broken into his room, Yuffie was a bad influence on her, and had refused to move from her spot on the edge of the bed till he joined her. Eventually, he had agreed to join the others on the terrace, much to Aeris's delight as she threw him a smile, grasping his hand in hers.
That was the last time he'd ever really spoken to Aeris, as the next day Cait Sith stole their Keystone and they raced off to the Temple of the Ancients after ShinRa. The next thing he knew, they were waking up in the Gongaga infirmary, Aeris's materia sitting in the corner, the brunette long gone.
"City of the Anicents . . . that's where she's gone."
"City of the Ancients?" Chaos repeated. "I thought that place was locked up."
"It is," Vincent shook his head, standing up from the chair, quickly leaving the room. "However, Aeris died there, Wutain traditions state that once a year, the living must visit the departed. That's the closest Yuffie can get to Aeris's memory . . ."
---
Yuffie grinned as she spotted the small town nestled within the mountains and the endless plains surrounding it. The rocket launcher that hovered high above the town was a dead give away, she had finally made it to Rocket Town, not that it was too far from Nibelheim anyways. The town hadn't changed much either, the inn and the item shop greeted her, followed by the houses lining the streets. She quickly spotted Cid's house, the white bricked house stood out among the grimy and soot covered homes – Shera, she always prided herself on their clean house – the light yellow door and welcome mat standing out among the white house, flower pots sitting in the window sill, a small picket fence surrounding the house.
Smiling, Yuffie skipped up the door, and balling her hand up into a fist, raised her hand and knocked loudly on the door. Silence echoed through the house. Yuffie let out a sigh, shaking her head. As much as Cid liked to construct things, and Shera liked to keep things clean, they still didn't have a doorbell. Frowning slightly, Yuffie raised her fist again, knocking loudly on the door once more.
"Cid, Shera, you home?" Yuffie called through the silence.
Great . . . just great, they aren't home, Yuffie thought, frowning as she moved away from the door, hands clasped behind her back. Cid promised he'd be here!
The sound of a latch being undone caught Yuffie's attention, her storm grey eyes narrowing as she gazed off to the right of the house. The small gate in the wooden fence swung back, a brunette woman with a lab coat looking tentatively at the door. Upon seeing Yuffie standing back from the front door, she grinned, waving to the ninja.
"Hey there, Yuffie, I thought I heard someone pounding and calling our names. Cid's in the back, working on his latest model, we weren't sure if you were even coming, you're later this year."
Yuffie nodded vaguely, smiling slightly as she jogged up to Shera, latching the fences' gate behind her. "Sorry about that Shera, I had to call Vincent one last time – I wanted to see if he would come. He didn't, he didn't even call. But anyways, how are you two making out?"
"We're fine," Shera called, resting a hand on her slightly enlarged stomach. "It's only about four more months to go."
"That's great. Are you sure you don't mind Cid dropping me off up there?"
Shera shook her head, waving the comment away. "Not that much is going to happen while he's gone . . . I don't mind, it'll give me some peace and quiet."
Yuffie laughed, following Shera as she opened up the hangar's door, ushering Yuffie inside. "I can understand that, Cid worries too much!"
"Ah, so it was you Yuffie, you're late," Cid called, poking his head out from his latest airship model. "I didn't think you were coming this year."
Yuffie laughed, leaning against the ladder resting against the airship. "You should know me better then that, Cid; as if I wouldn't be here!"
Cid nodded, jumping down from the opening hatch of the airship, motioning Yuffie to follow him. "Did Vince ever show up in Nibelheim?"
Yuffie shook her head, ducking under the airship's hull, the old model of the Highwind coming into view. "No, I called him before I left; I gave him a half hour. If he had at least called . . . I would have waited for him."
Cid nodded, punching in the access code on the Highwind's side to open up the hatch, the ramp starting to descend. "Vince is one strange guy, if he doesn't want to be found, you won't find him."
"I know that," Yuffie muttered, starting up the ramp, the pilot following her. "But still, I'd like to know what happened. I've tried to talk to my father about it, but, augh! He annoys me to no end! He won't tell me anything, unless you include, just let the past be Yuffie, a Turk has no business with a Princess and then he starts on about Chekov and our engagement. Ha, as if!"
"I see," Cid mumbled, flicking the buttons on either side of the airships' steering wheel. "Are you sure you want to go to the City of the Ancients, Yuffie?"
Yuffie raised an eyebrow at the pilot's odd comment from her position against the railing. "Why wouldn't I go there? That is where Aeris is buried after all . . . although that is a loose term for it."
"Not that," Cid said, shaking his head. "If you'd been watching your television –"
"You mean the one that's supposed to plug into the wall? The electric wires you were supposed to help me fix . . .?"
"I was going to get to that," Cid muttered, stubbing out his current cigarette. "I've been busy with Shera."
"Obviously."
"Shut up, brat," Cid smirked, reverting back to his nickname for her. "Anyways, some freaky things have been going on it that area; it's all over the news. They said some strange kids appeared in Bone Village a few weeks ago, nearly destroyed the place because they couldn't get through the Sleeping Forest. Same thing happened in Icicle Inn a few days ago; they were heading for the Northern Cave. Elena and Tseng were there, I saw them in the background during the news report. From what the reporter said, these kids looked like Sephiroth . . ."
"Tseng . . . I thought he was dead. Wait, Sephiroth . . .?"
"It's strange, but be careful if you're going. If they're still in that area, it won't be long until they find the City of the Ancients . . ."
Yuffie nodded, crossing her arms across her chest, frowning slightly as she thought of the news in the Northern Continent.
Someone like Sephiroth was walking around . . . was Sephiroth still alive, or had one of his clones survived? Yuffie vaguely heard the airship whirl to life, raising into the air as the roof of the hangar fell back, the night air enveloping them as they headed out towards the Bone Village.
---
The Prelude to Advent Children!
Anyways, enjoy!