Chapter Twenty-One: Reminder

The screaming continued.

Yuffie stood near the balcony door, arms folded and brow furrowed as she watched her mother moan in agony. She never begged for death, never cried; she only screamed to release the pain. It was all she could do.

Beside her sat Godo, stone-faced as usual. Every once in a while his eyes would soften at his wife's groaning- which was more emotion than his daughter had seen him show in the last fifteen years or so. The people around them had been dismissed, which meant it wouldn't be much longer.

Yuffie wanted to sit beside her mother- to hold her hand. But the stubborn, logical part of her mind reminded her sternly that this was just a flashback- no one here could see or hear her, much less feel her- there was no reason for her to relive this terrible moment in her life.

At least, no reason that she could think of.

"I don't want to go inside."

From where she was she could hear her six-year-old self whining to one of the men that waited with her on the deck.

(Typical.) Crossing to the door, she leaned on the frame and watched as little-Yuffie swung her legs hard in protest.

"I want to stay here!"
"But Yuffie, if you stay out here, how will you see your mother?"

Older-Yuffie snorted. The man talking to her was Tseng. How had she forgotten that?

"I can see her fine from here," she grumbled, glancing at her dying mother before resuming her scowling.
"But your father-."
"His name is Godo-."

"Yuffie."

The sound of her name falling from weak lips barely carried to where they were, but it instantly made the girl quiet. She turned to see her mother's raised hand.

"Come here, sweet girl."

As if she'd never said she didn't want to go in Yuffie stood and walked into the room, taking a seat on her knees opposite of Godo and wrapping her fingers around her Mother's.

"Yes, Mother?"

Kasumi smiled weakly at her daughter, her eyes bright despite her fading spirit.

"You'll always be strong, won't you?"
"As long as I have you, Mother."
Kasumi sighed. "Of course. You will always have me, Yuffie," she removed her hand from Yuffie's grip and placed it on her chest. "Right here."
"Mother..."

They sat quietly, and Kasumi turned her eyes back to the ceiling.

"The time will come," she breathed, "when the Planet will need you, Yuffie. When your Ancient ancestors will need you."

Grown-up Yuffie had only been watching loosely up to that point, but her mother's quiet words caught her attention. She looked down at the scene in the floor.

(...What?)

"You have a gift, my love. There are so many things you don't know about your bloodline. So much I wanted to teach you."
Beside her, Godo shook his head. "Kasumi..."

Yuffie shook her head, too. (How do I not remember this?) She looked at her younger self to see she was playing with one of the ribbons on her skirt. (Oh, well...Okay.)

"Godo," she didn't move; her focus seemed to be set on something only she could see above them. "Teach her. Train her to be a warrior. Raise her to be the Princess she was meant to be, with or without a guardian."

(Guardian?)

"I-," the old man started, then hung his head. "I will do my best, my love."

Kasumi breathed relief, closing her eyes. In her moment of silence the music from the square could be heard playing gently below.

"Such a beautiful sound," she murmured. "I should hope...I always hear such beautiful music...wherever I..."

Yuffie closed her eyes, a few tears escaping down her cheeks. It was hard, watching her mother die...again. But it was a scene she'd replayed in her mind a million times growing up, so in some aspect her heart had been hardened to the memory. Inhaling deeply, she reopened her eyes to the vision in front of her, bracing herself for what came next.

"Mother?" her childhood voice squeaked as she began to cry. "Mother...?!"
Across from her, Godo glared. "Yuffie, stop it."
She didn't. Instead, she began sobbing, and her father's eyes became dark.
"I said enough!"

The old man reach over his dead wife and grabbed his daughter by the back of her neck. In a bitter rage he dragged her to the tier door and shoved her out to the deck. When she hit the wood she skinned her knees, but didn't move; she covered her face and continued crying.

"Your tears are an embarrassment," he spat. "Your mother is free of her pain. It is selfish for you to lament her this way!"

Tseng, who hadn't left his post outside the door, stepped between them.

"Master Godo-."
"Get her out of here," he growled, storming back into the dojo and pulling the curtain behind him. Yuffie sat up, sniffling and wiping her eyes. The Turk turned to her.

"Yuffie, are you alright?"
"Go away," she hiccupped, "leave me alone..."
Concerned, he crouched beside her. "Your Father is a good man, Yuffie. He loves you."
"Leave me alone!"

She got up and ran, indifferent to the blood dripping from her knees. As she took off down the stairs she passed through her older, invisible self, who watched the living memory with slight amusement as down the Pagoda she went, ignoring the calls of family and friends as she raced by them. Several of her caretakers gave chase, but she was much faster than all of them and quickly disappeared into the crowd that had formed in the square to mourn the loss of their beloved Kasumi.

Tseng stood, looking out over the village with a small sigh before turning and entering into the dojo with Godo. Outside the thick curtain Yuffie heard their muffled voices, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. Curious, she reached up to move the cover- but an invisible seal blocked her.

The omnipotent voice of her mother echoed around her. "This memory is not yours to witness."
Yuffie sighed, too drained to question the entire 'my mother's ghost is haunting me' situation- or her own sanity. She decided it best to just leave the deck and go find herself...literally.

"I wish none of this was mine to witness," she replied as she walked, making her way through the village to the place she knew she was hiding.

The tavern was somber for the occasion. There were only a few people at the bar- all of them older men, no one she recognized. In front of them Johnny's grandfather stood, drying off a row of freshly cleaned glasses as he listened to his customers talk about Yuffie's mother.

"Won't be long now."
"It's a shame. She was the only thing keepin' Godo strong against ShinRa."
"Wonder what'll happen now that she's gone?"
"Who knows. Whatever he does, I hope that kid of theirs turns out alright."
"Yeah, well," Johnny's grandfather grunted, leaning on the bar. "It'll be hard for her if he does sell out. All I know's I'm movin' myfamily to Midgar if he signs this place over."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. Apparently none of them had seen her run in. Walking along the side of the room, she looked for the booth she vaguely recalled cowering under. If her memory served correct there was some poor, unsuspecting oaf enjoying a drink above her, completely unaware he was shielding her from sight.

When she found the man, she knew she'd found the booth, but what she didn't expect to find was Vincent Valentine.

She froze, her mind going completely numb. He was younger- probably mid-twenties- and he looked...normal. His hair was trim and he wore a suit. Everything about him spelled Turk, and nothing about him seemed haunted.

"This isn't happening," Yuffie turned from the table, rubbing her temples as she tried to grasp the situation. "How could Vincent have been in Wutai the day you died? I thought he was locked up in the basement of ShinRa Mansion-."

"This was before his time in Nibelheim," Kasumi's voice entered her mind. "When he was training."

"Stop it," she whimpered. "Please, just stop." Spinning back to the table, she groaned. "This is too much. Why did I need to know he was here? Like things weren't already weird enough!"

As if the Planet had decided that her mother's voice alone wasn't enough anymore, Kasumi appeared. Startled, the ninja tripped over her own feet and crashed to the floor with a squeak.

"Fate, Yuffie. Fate needs you to understand that yours and Vincent's lives were bound together long before either of you knew you would become friends- before either of you realized you're in love."

The ninja choked. "Love!?"

"I can hear you, you know."

Yuffie jumped at the sound of Vincent's voice. She looked at him, relaxing when she saw he wasn't talking to her.

Well, he was talking to her- just not her, her.

"Go away," her young self scowled as she curled into a smaller ball.
"I was here first," he replied dully. "You go away."

"What a dick!" grown-Yuffie howled, then shriveled under her Mother's sharp look. "...Sorry."

"This is my hiding spot," little-Yuffie argued. "I live here."
"That's unlikely. People don't usually live in their 'hiding spot.'"

The girl huffed, then pinched the Turk's leg. Vincent only twitched, then very coolly reached under the table and tapped her head with the lightest of Bolt spells. The Princess squealed, popping up in the booth across from him.

"That hurt, you jackass!"
He smirked. "Big words for someone hiding under a table."
She pouted. "I could have you thrown out of here, you know!"
"Oh, you could?" he raised an eyebrow, amused. "On whose authority?"

Grown Yuffie stood and watched as the man who'd worn a cold, quiet mask since the day they 'met' chuckled at the child in front of him. There was a light in his eyes, a life in them, something she'd never seen before. Something that must have been taken away during his time in Hojo's captivity.

While the thought of Hojo stealing that light broke Yuffie's heart, the sight of him as a normal man- smiling, teasing- made her skin prickle. All at once the suggestion that she might, well...you know...didn't sound so terrifying.

"Yuffie, what are you doing here?"

Johnny's grandfather finally caught sight of the hellion, and she writhed in her seat when every man at the bar turned to look at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the Pagoda with your mother?"
"Does your Father know you're gone?"

As if to answer their questions the village gong sounded in the square, signaling the passing of Kasumi. All at once the bar was quiet, and Yuffie shifted in her seat awkwardly. Across from her, Vincent furrowed his brow.

"You're Godo's daughter."
"I'm not going back there," she protested before he even thought to mention it. "You can't make me."

He looked at the bartender and the regulars. When they all averted their eyes, he quirked his lips and looked on Yuffie with pity. She didn't move.

"He doesn't want me there anyway."
"I'm sure that isn't true."
"It is," she piped, looking at him with wide eyes. "He threw me out right after..."

The thought of her mother dying brought her back to tears, and she buried her face in her arms on the table. Vincent frowned. Beside them, one of the patrons stood from his chair.

"Dammit child, you need to get back to the dojo- this isn't the time for runnin' off and actin' foolish."

He moved to grab her by the arm, but Vincent held up a hand.

"I'll take her."

The man narrowed his eyes. "And just who the hell are you?"

Not taking kindly to his tone the gunslinger rose from his seat, towering a good foot above the old drunk and looking down at him darkly.

"My name is none of your concern, sir. But what I am is someone you don't want to anger."

Older Yuffie didn't realize it, but she'd literally stopped breathing. Clasping her hands to the side of her face was all she could manage to do as she watched the man sit back down, paling when one of his friends leaned in and whispered "He's a Turk." Vincent then turned to the girl in the booth and offered her his hand.

"We'll be going now."

Quickly and quietly she obeyed, taking his hand and pulling herself to stand. She hobbled a few steps- knees finally beginning to feel sore from the scrapes; the Turk saw her wounds and, without hesitation, reached down and picked the Princess up, letting her straddle his hip as he carried her out of the bar.

"Breathe, girl."

Yuffie sharply did so at the command of her mother. Recovering from her shock, she followed the two outside.

They had stopped at the square, where Vincent set her down to look at her scrapes. This she remembered. The kind stranger who had taken the time to heal her. She hadn't known what materia was at the time, and the magic he used frightened her- having only seen it used unsuccessfully on her mother or for fighting- but the moment the soreness stopped she'd smiled, thanking him in her own, shy, 'little-girl' way.

Shortly after that moment one of her maidservants spotted her from the crowd ahead, and rushed to retrieve her. Yuffie didn't protest, but watched the tall man as long as she could see him while she was dragged back to the Pagoda.

When she was finally out of sight Vincent stood upright, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turned and went back to the bar.

"Poor kid."

The door shut behind him. When it did, everything and everyone in the village faded away and Yuffie was left alone in the square.

It didn't faze her. Looking around, she shook her head.

"I still don't understand how a chance meeting when I was six is supposed to mean we're bound by Fate."

In an instant the world around her dimmed and she was standing in a void. Like the very first time- when she'd initially disappeared- a flame sparked to life in front of her, and she saw her mother.

"The Planet chose you long ago, Yuffie. You were meant to protect it from an evil it couldn't prevent- to save it from one who would be born of its Spirit, and can only be defeated by materia given to your Ancient ancestors thousands of years ago."

"There," she held up a hand. "Right there- my 'Ancient ancestors'? But I'm not-."
"Yes," Kasumi cut her off. "You are. And your Guardians were chosen as they came into your life to protect you, whether you realized it or not."
Yuffie hesitated. "So...Vinnie is one of my 'Guardians.'"
She nodded. "Oh, my child...there are so many things you still do not know. Things your Father was supposed to teach you as you grew..."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Of course. Godo failed to do something when he raised me. Big surprise."

Her mother looked pained by her words. Yuffie cringed inwardly.

"I'm sorry."
"He is a good man, Yuffie. You will soon see that."

"Right," she murmured. "Do I get to go back now? I'll bet the others are worried sick-."
"There is one thing more I have to show you." Kasumi waved a hand, fading into the light. "Something you need to know if you wish to understand how to fulfill your destiny."

The flame disappeared, and Yuffie found herself back Wutai. This time it was the Wutai she knew. She was on the bridge leading into the village; the lantern at the end flickered weakly in the rain, but she didn't need it to know where the road was.

Just ahead the tavern was open- and it looked just as it had the last time she saw it. Feeling a twinge of relief she made a beeline for the door.

It wasn't until she was a few steps away that something clicked- the door was open. Johnny always propped the bar door opened when it rained, because he liked the smell of the wet earth.

...But Johnny couldn't have propped the door open. Johnny was dead.

Slowing her eager pace, Yuffie made her approach with caution. Peering inside, she groaned.

"I swear to Titan if I come out of this and find out I've been kidnapped by the Turks again and this was all just some goddamn drugged-up-coma-dream I'm going to take Reno by his pretty-boy face and knee him in the fucking throat."

There was Johnny, mixing drinks behind the bar. There were no bullet holes in the walls, no blood stains on the floor, no sign of a shootout at all. And there she was, sitting on a barstool off to the side, sipping on a drink and playing on her phone.

Rolling her eyes, present-time Yuffie folded her arms and walked inside, taking a seat in a booth off to the side.

"Alright. Let's do this."

~~~...~~~...~~~...~~~...~~~
"Rufus ShinRa isn't himself."

Aeris and Cloud stood in the flower-speckled clearing of Minerva's Ancient Forest "In Between." It hadn't been long since she'd begun to explain their purpose in this new battle, but already things didn't make sense.

"I don't think that man has ever truly been 'himself," the Flower Girl replied.
Cloud agreed. "He may be quiet from time to time, but ShinRa's greed for power never stays away for long."

"He repented once," the Goddess went on calmly, looking at Aeris. "On the bank of your Lake. He begged for forgiveness and healing. That's when she found him."

They exchanged lost expressions. Aeris tilted her head.

"Vecena?"
"Mm," Minerva nodded. "She came to him in his moment of weakness and granted him peace from his illness. Little did he know he would pay for it with his soul."
"He's possessed," Aeris concluded. "So he really isn't himself."
"Who is Vecena?" Cloud asked. "What is she?"

"Vecena is the result of hatred, heartbreak and greed intertwining and taking physical form." Minerva walked the length of the clearing, clasping her hands in front of her. "It is a manifestation of every truly evil soul that has gone back to the Planet. Finding one another in the Lifestream, they have joined together in their despair to take revenge on Gaia."

The ex-SOLDIER could only stare at the woman as she continued her pacing. Beside him, Aeris cleared her throat.

"Goddess, how can that be? Is there not a way the Lifestream can keep those souls from gathering? In all the years of the Planet's existence, surely something like this has happened before?"

"There is a strain of the Lifestream that keeps a greater part of the Planet's darkness, but that is a story for someone else at another time. This phenomenon, however, cannot be controlled by Gaia, and has happened before- in a time long before the oldest of your ancestors found their hand and began writing the stories of the Ancients. A creature- known then as Altria- came to be in the Northern part of the world. It was born under the same conditions as Vecena, and threatened to destroy humanity in an attempt to harness the Lifestream. Warriors came from every corner of the Planet. Many fell, but there was one- an Ancient of great heart- who used the power of her spirit to defeat the being. The warrior was protected by three Guardians- one of them another Ancient-." she paused to look at Aeris. "That was your ancestor."

Aeris smiled slightly, a small trickle of pride running into her heart at the thought of coming from a long line of defenders of the Planet.

Minerva continued. "Your ancestor went back to his village on the Central continent. The other Guardians also returned to their towns of origin. Both of them went on to father long lines of innovative researchers- namely Dr. Grimoire Valentine and Professor Hojo.

"Hojo!" they both echoed incredulously, seeming to completely miss Vincent's father's name.

Cloud crossed his arms. "If his family passed that story down through the years, that may explain why he wanted to researched it."
"But it doesn't explain where the materia came from," Aeris pointed out. "Or what they're for."

"The Jenova materia were created in anticipation of this feud," the Goddess was all too eager to explain. "It was said that the reason Jenova chose to crash on Gaia was because of the amount of power the Lifestream emitted from the Northern Continent- coincidentally the same place Altria was born. When the Cetra sealed the monster inside the Crater she had created, they found that her alien presence- along with their ability to draw power from the Lifestream- made it possible to forge extremely powerful materia from the Mako that pooled in the Crater."

Overwhelmed, Aeris sat in the grass, taking in the new information slowly. "So they made the Jenova materia."
Cloud moved to stand beside her. "But how did they know they needed to?"

"The Warrior," she turned to face them. "The one who defeated Altria- chose to settle her life on the Western Continent, where she married and started a family. When it came to pass that Jenova was to be sealed away, they called on her long-descended grandson to help. Upon entering the Crater, the Planet spoke to the young man, warning him of the evil to come- of Vecena. It was after he shared the knowledge of this threat that the Cetra decided to create the materia- nine pieces in all- and spread them over the Planet. When the time came, they would be brought together again and placed inside the weapon of a Guardian, who would keep them until they could be used by the next Ancient Princess."

Waving a hand, Minerva summoned a dark, stone fountain to rise from the ground. Sitting on its edge, she gazed into the water.

"The young man- the Warrior's descendant- continued his lineage on the Western Continent, and through the years the legend of their purpose was passed down until twenty-one years ago, when the Princess of Wutai was born."

"Yuffie," Aeris stood, pressing a hand over her mouth.

The Goddess nodded. Humming softly, she touched her fingers to the surface of the water, and it began to glow.

~~~...~~~...~~~...~~~...~~~

The sun was setting on Rocket Town as the group began collecting on the airship.

In 7th Heaven Barret stood outside Elmyra's room, frowning at the sight of her staring listlessly out the window.

"Myra."

She only glanced at him. Shaking his head, he entered the doorway.

"We're gonna get her back. We're gonna get all of 'em back."
"I learned a long time ago, Barret," she started slowly, "that sometimes things go away, and you can't get them back. You just...can't."

Unable to take her heartache the large man crossed to her and took her by the arm, turning her to face him. She didn't fight it, and leaned into his embrace.

"This ain't over, 'Myra. I don' know what happened, but I'm gonna find out, and I swear to you, we'll get her back."

...-...-...-...

"It's in here, I know it is."

Shera leaned against one of the sawhorses in her husband's workshop, watching with bittersweet amusement as he tore through the shelves around them mercilessly in search of his materia.

"Where was the last place you had it?"
"If I knew that, dearest, I wouldn't be lookin' for it now, would I?"

She snickered, crossing to the sink in the corner and kneeling down to rummage through a basket beneath it. Several minutes passed as Cid continued to storm about, swearing under his breath and nearly lighting a cigarette twenty times or so, all the while overturning boxes, emptying baskets, and making an overall mess of the place.

He never noticed when his sweet, sweet assistant returned to the sawhorse behind him holding a balled-up shop-towel in her hands. At least, not until she cleared her throat.

"Yeah?" he jerked around, face souring when he saw she'd found it and was silently laughing at him. "Where was it?"
"In the basket under the sink. The one you labeled 'materia'?"

The old pilot huffed, looking to the basket. Sure enough, the word "materia" was printed on the side in permanent marker. He let out a sound of disgust.

"I can't write worth a damn, Shera- you know that! Yer the only one who coulda ever read that."

The woman gave a small, knowing smile. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I was here then."

Cid snorted, his temper melting instantly at her good nature. Walking to meet her, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled the towel away from the materia with his free-hand.

The orb was a deep yellow- not too unlike the command materia he carried in Venus Gospel. Inside, it almost looked like a storm was happening- complete with swirling clouds and sparks of lightning.

Before he could pluck it from the rag, Shera pulled it away.

"Maybe you shouldn't touch it," she worried. "At least, not until you find the others."

Understanding her concern he covered it back up. Taking it carefully from her hands, he tucked it- still wrapped- into an open pocket on his utility belt.

He kissed the top of her head. "Gotta get goin', Sher."

Before he could walk too far, though, her quivering voice whispered behind him.

"Come back to me."

Cid stopped, turning back slowly. Seeing the fear and love in her eyes moved him in the worst way, and he rushed to hold her.

"Of course I'll come back to you. I'll always fuckin' come back to you, do you hear me?"

She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks as he took her face in his hands and kissed her roughly. After a second she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and gripping onto him as though her life depended on it.

Before either of them knew what was happening Cid picked his wife up and carried her into the spare bedroom of the shop, shutting the door behind them.

...~~~...~~~...~~~...

A/N: In case you're interested, I've posted a drinking game to go along with this fic on my profile page. Thanks for reading! :)