Larissa did not ask any questions to Vincent's request to go to Kalm; she knew he would explain once they got there. His speed was excellent when they arrived on the outskirts of the town. Vincent wanted to change back before carrying Larissa in, so as to not alarm the villagers. He diligently crouched down to put Larissa on the ground before warping back to his former self. The transformation did not take very long at all to her surprise when she looked up to see those familiar crimson eyes staring down at her.
Larissa knew she was not that weak and picked herself off of the moist ground to transform back to her former self too. When she did, Vincent noticed that her hands did not look normal. He started to see the nerves and muscles that made up her being. Looking even closer he also noticed that her skin was disappearing like someone had sucked the color dry, only to leave a transparent film on the structure to make sure it stayed intact. Larissa sensed his staring and looked at her own hands to see what the problem was.
When she looked to see her muscles instead of her skin, she did not panic like a normal human being would. She just observed them like the change was supposed to happen. Vincent could not hold back his curiosity any longer and asked her, "Larissa what is happening to you? Where is your skin?!"
"It seems I am not longer privileged to have my skin anymore. The withdrawal is taking it away along with other material. My emotions seem to be fading away into one form of indifference. I am afraid it will continue to spread and who knows what will follow after that, but that does not mean I will not be able to function. As I told you before there is always a price to be paid for something like this and mine happens to be another big one."
Vincent just stood there in a deadly silence as he scanned Larissa over more carefully. "There has to be something we can use to cover it up, what do you think?"
"True it will have to be covered up for a little while. What is Kalm's supplies like, it is a good selection?"
"Leave everything to me Larissa. I know the perfect products that will to the trick. I am glad I brought you to Kalm first. If we went back to Midgar the Turks would be all over you besides Rufus. And you know the whole gang would be there too. Now how am I going to get you to my apartment?"
"You sure are right about that Vincent. This will delay them a little bit, but they will confront me sooner or later. I can teleport us there if you tell me the location."
Vincent took hold of Larissa's hand for the first time and found it colder than ice. He never did shiver though like a regular person, yet there was nothing regular about this pair. Teleporting to the middle of Vincent's one bed and bath apartment above the local grocery store, Larissa scanned the room to see that it was really clean and inviting. The front door was behind them as she saw that the huge plush full sized bed placed straight against the wall to the right of the door. The head board was made of black metal with a dark red comforter that matched him perfectly. On the left wall was a dark cherry wood desk with a nice flat screen TV hanging above it, complete with cable. Beside the bed was a black lamp that shown brightly when the light was turned on. By the only window in the room was a nice dark leather couch for guests or anyone that should visit him. Instead of a form of drapery for the window he decided to use thick wooden blinds to block out the world from invading his personal space.
In the next room was the single bathroom he had that glowed brightly when the lights were on. Surprisingly it was done in a warm shade of gold for the floor and bath tiles while the appliances were in white. That was all the apartment had besides his mini closet he owns by the left of his end table by his bed.
"I love your place Vincent," says Larissa, "it makes me feel so at home in this world."
"Yeah that is why I like it too," he says back to her as he guides Larissa to sit on his bed while he takes the couch, so they would be facing each other to talk.
"Larissa about your skin, I know a place where I can order some gloves for you to wear and possible a face mask to hide the muscles that might appear. Then I can call the doctors to see what they can do for you about your condition. There has to be something they can give you for this."
"The supplies sound great Vincent, but there will be no doctors. They will be unable to treat me because I am definitely an unusual case. They will want to run tests on me to figure out what medication will work the best. It is too risky; all I need is some kind of pain killer that can be picked up at a local drugstore."
"Fine, but at least tell me you will sleep here for a while before we go back to Midgar."
"Ok I will for a little while to satisfy your mind."
"Thank you, now I am going to the store to get what you need. I think it is obvious that I want you to stay here. Will you do that for me?"
"Yes Vincent I will be here waiting for you."
Vincent gave away a smile before leaving the apartment with Larissa still sitting on his comfy bed. She watched his slender body gracefully leave the room and lock the door behind him on his way out. Looking at the bedside table she could not resist the temptation to look through the leather bound book resting there ready to be opened. Larissa gingerly picked it up and flipped to the first page. Inside she found drawings of people and at first she did not recognize them until she read the citation at the bottom of each page.
Several of the drawings were of Avalanche and the children back in Midgar and some in Edge. There were even pictures of Lucrecia from his memory that he drew for many pages. After those few pages she started to see drawings of a beautiful girl she did not recognize. Her features became more pronounced as Larissa flipped through them, and saw that a young man she did not know either was standing by her in a Turk looking outfit. He was not Tseng by the look of it. When she came to the last page of the man and woman together, she saw that they were holding each other in a loving embrace. When she looked at the title at the top it read:
Your Light Has Filled The Hole In My Heart, Now I Can Breath
Larissa's eyes continued to stare at the picture before her and realized that the picture was of Vincent and her when they were normal. She remembered him saying that he was a Turk when he was young before he was shot by Hojo for trying to stop Lucrecia. When she placed her slender hand on the drawing the door opened to accept Vincent back into his apartment. His eyes automatically found Larissa sitting on his bed still, but with his sketch book in her hands.
"I see you have found my drawings. Tell me do you like them?"
Larissa remained transfixed by the drawing Vincent made of both of them together and happy, so happy. "Where did you learn to draw like this Vincent? It is remarkable."
"I picked it up in my spare time when I was not working for Tifa or hanging out with Cloud and the others. You can say it is a kind of therapy I do to keep my mind focused."
"It is excellent, are these two people us right here Vincent? They look too normal and happy to be real."
Vincent set the supplies on his black leather couch by the door and took a seat next to Larissa on his crimson bed. Looking over her shoulder he says to Larissa, "Yes that is us. I remember everything about myself when I was 27, and when I saw your body in Cloud's arms I knew exactly what to draw. The eyes might not be exactly right but I like to see them that way, soft and happy. Just like you once were and still are."
Larissa gazed at the drawing a little longer before closing the book to look at Vincent with dim gold eyes. Then she placed the book back on the dark cherry wood end table and hugged him for the very first time. His instant reaction was to accept the invitation and to bury Larissa deeper in his arms.
"Hmm, for some reason I do not feel as happy as I am drawn in your picture Vincent. In fact I really do not feel anything at all," Larissa says disappointedly.
Vincent buried her even further into his broad chest to see if he could feel the rhythm of her heart beat against his. Frightened he felt nothing at all except a normal pulse, all of her emotions and senses seemed to be drained from her body. "Maybe it is because you are too tired from our journey to feel anything. I think a good rest will replenish some of the senses you have lost. Come and lay on the bed for a while, we are in no hurry to go back to Midgar just yet. Oh and I bought a pair of white leather gloves that I think you will enjoy. The face mask is another story I am afraid."
"Thank you Vincent and do not worry about the face mask. I think the Heavenly Tear will keep this unknown disease away from my upper body. It is just the lower half of me that is changing."
Releasing Larissa from his tight embrace, he went over to the brown paper bag with the Kalm grocer's logo on it and produced a sleek pair of white gloves for Larissa to try on later. Vincent laid her down on the right side of the bed closet to the door while he went to pull out a red blanket to drape over Larissa as she slept. The gloves he had in his hand before he retrieved the blanket from his closet were placed on the cherry wood desk underneath his flat screen TV.
Larissa laid down gently as Vincent pulled the blanket over her hands for her to sleep comfortably. When her light gold eyes began to close Vincent came to lay beside her for protection as well as for the company. Before going off to sleep himself like Larissa requested earlier, he turned off the lamp beside his bed and put his right arm over Larissa to make sure she was still there. If anything were to happen he would feel it. In this position they both drifted off to sleep. What awaited Larissa in her dream world would catch her completely off guard by far.
Returning to Midgar, Cloud was with Nanaki and Shelke to put Larissa's human body up for safe keeping. In the back room of the Midgar Laboratory Shelke prepared the tank by Nanaki's instructions so the Lifestream would not leak out or cause any other problems.
The tank was displayed against that one blank wall beside the computer desk Shelke and Nanaki always used whenever they came to do research. Shelke thought it would be a great spot to put it so they could monitor it from time to time. All the mechanical work did not take very long once Shelke had her mind set on what she needed to do. It only took a few hours before she had the tank up and running with the fans turning on at the bottom of the built in air conditioner.
"Ok Red I think we are ready to pour in the Lifestream into the tank. What do you think?" asks Shelke.
"That will do just fine Shelke, you did a wonderful job. But before we do that we need to tie Larissa's body inside the tank; otherwise our labor will be useless. Cloud will you do the honors?"
Cloud nodded his head without any hesitation as he pulled out the cold white casket where Larissa's body was resting. Opening the coffin once more he witnessed her porcelain, slender body relaxed and beautiful in the eerie fluorescent lighting of the room. Cloud went to draw the cables out of the wall of the tank to ready them for use in a few minutes. Lifting her out of the casket a second time, he carried the body over to the cables and started to attach the first titanium cuff to her feet before he did her arms and neck.
Once all of the latches clicked into place, Cloud stepped back to look at Larissa one last time before Shelke poured the Lifestream inside to fill the empty space. He stepped out of the tank and locked the leaded glass door and waited for Shelke to do the rest. She came back in the room with the vacuum cleaner that took the Lifestream from the Nibelhiem Crater. Shelke placed her tiny hand underneath the filter of the vacuum and pulled the bag out that swished of the neon liquid.
Next she placed a ladder against the glass of the tank so she could reach the top since she was too short to reach the top by herself. When she reached the top of the tank, Shelke opened the black lid that covered the upper part of the human container. As the lid mechanically opened up all the way she poured the Lifestream in slowly so as to not harm the specimen in any way. The Lifestream filled the tank to full capacity, giving Larissa's body a floating affect when someone came to look at her. Cloud remembers this feeling very well.
"It seems the tests are going well. I think she will be just fine, but just to make sure I think we should print out a few copies to keep on file. Shelke will you help me with this?" asks Nanaki as he looks straight at her from below while she was still on the ladder.
"I would be happy to Nanaki. Cloud you do not mind watching Larissa for us do you?"
"Not at all Shelke, everything will be fine," says Cloud while watching them walk out the door and down the long spiraling hallway.
After they had left the room, Cloud turned to gaze at Larissa with a longing that had grown inside his heart for some time. Walking over to the tank he placed both of his hands against the glass where her hands were hanging down by her sides. Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead on the glass's surface to see if he could feel any kind of pulse. When he did not feel anything Cloud frowned. He wished the sound of her heart would pound to let him know she still existed somewhere. Thinking that closing his clear bright eyes might help; Cloud did just that and was suddenly placed in this white room.
Alarmed at where he ended up, he scanned his surroundings and found that he was in a blank pure white room with a black dot in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, Cloud started to walk toward the black dot to see what it truly was. He arrived at his destination with little effort to find that the black dot was Larissa's body entombed in this clear white crystal to keep intruders out. Cloud reached out to touch the crystal, but was instantly shocked by the touch. I guess there was a barrier around it too. It also reminded him of Lucrecia's tomb that Vincent always likes to visit. Now he knew how if felt to have a loved one sealed off from you without being able to touch them.
"Larissa, how did it come to this?" You are right here, yet I cannot touch the warmth of your flesh I have been longing to feel. Nor can I hear your laughter or any other emotion you have that drives me. I have to admit I have never felt this way since Aeris died. I thought I would never discover this longing emotion ever again no matter how hard I tried. I know you think I am crazy or maybe a fool for this kind of thing, but I cannot control what I feel and I do not want to.
You are probably thinking, "How can you feel this way when you barely know me?" Well Larissa it is because when I first held you in my arms I knew what you were like just by the touch of your frozen skin against mine. I knew that you were a warm loving person with a heart full of hope. I cannot believe what Shinra has done to you, a woman full of promises and desires.
After all we have been through I have discovered something else. Larissa I love you, I honestly love you with all of my being and it will never change. You once told me my heart was weak because of my past that continued to haunt me from time to time. But now it has grown strong, all because I was thinking of you and how we will be happy when this nightmare reaches its end.
Oh Larissa I wish you could talk to me, so you could tell me how you feel. At least open your eyes. I want to see the clear gray color that calms me every time I go to bed at night."
When Cloud looked at her droopy head he realized that Larissa was not going to wake up.
"Larissa, please wake up!! I beg you; I want to see your eyes. I want to know if you are still there. I don't think I can handle another death of a loved one. Whatever happens, do not leave me! That is all I ask, please do not leave me."
Cloud looked at Larissa and saw that her head was coming up, but her eyes did not open. That is all she did while he continued to encourage her to open them. He gave one last shout before giving up for the day.
"Larissa, wake up!!"
Her eyes opened slightly, but before Cloud could look at them he was thrown back into the laboratory room where her body was being stored. A jolt of energy flowed back through his veins that caused him to land on the floor. When he did he noticed that he was crying and not just a little bit either. Cloud was practically crying a light rain of tears that landed on his clothes before him. He felt so heart broken.
Nanaki was the first one to return to the room to find Cloud on the floor in this state of heart ache. Before asking questions Nanaki looked at Larissa and then looked at where Cloud fell on the floor in a mess. It came to him in a second just by looking at the scene before him.
"Cloud, are you in love with Larissa?" Nanaki asks with the fatal answer already in his mind.
Cloud wipes the tears away fiercely and says in a whisper, "Yes I do Red. I really do."
Nanaki walked over to him and gave a friendly rub against his back to show that he understood. Cloud ruffled his ear to show that he appreciated it and got to his feet to wait for Shelke and the test results of Larissa's condition.
While this was going on, Larissa saw every bit of it in a dream like state. She immediately bolted awake with a start that made Vincent wake up instantly to see what was going on. Breathing heavily she told Vincent, "Cloud confessed."
Vincent perked up at this statement and knew exactly what it meant. He was expecting it to happen any day now, especially since they found her human body. "How bad was it?" Vincent asks with his piercing crimson eyes not leaving her site.
"Worse than I expected. What am I going to do with him or you?" she says in exasperation as her breath eased into a steady pace.
"Well you know I am already taken care of and as for Cloud you do not have to do anything if you do not want to. Remember he does not know that you heard everything he said. As far as I am concerned you could leave it the way it is unless it is bothering you severely. There must be a part of it that sticks on your mind the most, what is it?"
Thinking, Larissa heard the words that echoed in her mind and said to Vincent, "The part of his words that scare me is when he tells me not to leave him. If I do he will crumble for sure and that he wants me to wake up. It's not the love that I am worried about; it is the consequences that will come if it is not fulfilled. I think he has gone off the deep end on this one. At least I know you will be ok if anything should happen, right?"
"I will survive if that is what you are implying, but in a poor condition no doubt. Hopefully it will clear over time."
"What is it that draws you toward me so? I cannot be that appealing no matter what state of being I might be in at the time. I am not good for either one of you."
"You know the old saying of love works in mysterious ways, so I think it applies here in full force. I wish I could give you a more definite answer Larissa."
"That's ok Vincent; this is why I love to talk to you. Everything seems to make sense after we talk and you are right about love. As for Cloud I am not going to do anything because it will undoubtedly make the situation more complicated. It will just be between us."
"I think that is for the best Larissa," says Vincent while lightly squeezing her hand that felt like cold dry ice from a freezer. When Larissa gave a squeeze back, Vincent's cell phone started to vibrate in his black jeans. He took it out with accelerating speed and recognized the number as Tifa's from 7th Heaven. Still holding Larissa's hand, he flips his cell open and said in a deep voice, "Hey Tifa, what's going on?"
Larissa perked up from hearing the name and decided to sit up for this call. On the other side of the receiver Tifa says, "Hey Vincent, where are you guys? I had thought you two would be back by now."
"We had to make a stop at my apartment to get a few supplies and check on things here in Kalm. Everything is ok, don't worry."
"Oh well since you and Larissa were having such a relaxing time the Turks have been by here several times looking for her. It seems urgent and they won't leave me alone about it. I told them I really didn't know where you guys were, but now that I do I can tell them."
Vincent gave Larissa an alert look that made her ask Vincent to put the cell on speaker phone so she could talk to Tifa too.
"Tifa, I am going to put you on speaker so Larissa can talk to you as well. Hold on."
Vincent reached over to the draw in his end table and pulled out speakers to plug the phone in so they could talk to Tifa easily.
"Ok Tifa you are on speaker now," says Vincent.
"Oh good hey Larissa," Tifa says back in a crystal clear voice.
"Well Larissa, Tifa was saying a few seconds ago that the Turks were looking for you non-stop and they want to know what you have been doing apparently."
"Whatever you do Tifa do not tell them where we are. I will deal with them when we arrive tonight. Just stall on them a little longer," says Larissa flatly.
"You are kidding right? How am I supposed to stall them any longer? They have been coming by here every 10 minutes to see if you have come back yet. They looked pretty anxious about something."
"Did they tell you anything at all?" asks Larissa.
"No they just told me to phone them whenever you arrived. I think Tseng is going to loose his head if he does not talk to you real soon. Why can't I tell him where you are?"
"I do not want him to raid Vincent's apartment. They might think we have something to hide. They need to leave this untainted place alone."
A deep sigh could be heard from the other side of the phone when Tifa replies, "Ok fine Larissa, but you definitely owe me."
"Sure Tifa, whatever. As long as they do not know our location right now everything will go smoothly. We will be leaving in a few minutes just hang on a little bit longer."
"Ok, oh I have to go. Tseng just walked into the room and he doesn't look happy. I will see you when you get here. Bye"
The phone line went dead after that while Larissa rose from the bed to put on her new white powdery gloves Vincent had bought for her.
"Sorry Vincent, but it looks like I am needed back in Midgar. Are you coming with me?"
"You know I am Larissa," he says with a definite tone that settled the matter.
As Larissa and Vincent departed for Midgar, Tseng enters 7th Heaven for the tenth time to see if Larissa has arrived yet. Of course who would not want to miss out on the fun but Reno, Rude, and Elena following close behind him into the diner. Tifa closed her cell phone as the Turk team walked in and decided to tell him the same answer she has been telling him all day. Opening her mouth and using the same civil tone, Tifa tells Tseng before he reaches the counter, "Tseng she has not come back yet from wherever she went this morning. Don't you trust me enough to call you guys when she's in?"
Tseng walks briskly to the counter to meet Tifa and responds, "No Tifa, I do not trust you at all. Where is she and who were you talking to on your cell?"
"If you must know I was talking to Vincent. He is running a few errands in Kalm and I was calling him to see if everything was alright. As for Larissa I honestly do not know where she is."
"Liar," Tseng yells, "you know exactly where she is. I can see it in your eyes. You better damn well tell me where Larissa is or suffer the consequences for secrecy."
"I cannot believe you do not trust me Tseng. I honestly have nothing to hide, I really do not know anything," Tifa says.
Reno came up behind Tseng and said, "Tseng come on man. You know Tifa would never lie to anyone and if she did it would be like a little white lie, nothing serious. Just cool your jets and sit down with the rest of us. I am sure Larissa will come through that door any minute now."
Rude had to admire his best friend at that moment. Reno could be quite stupid at times, but it took real guts to stand up to Tseng in his war path mode. Tseng shook Reno's hand off of his shoulder and completely ignored everything he just said. That was the unfortunate thing about Tseng's temper; he would not listen to anyone else except himself and selected others.
Quickly pulling out his gun from his black leather belt, Tseng pointed the barrel right at Tifa's forehead and threatened, "For the last time Tifa, where is Larissa?"
Tifa did not know what to do as she continued to look at Tseng's weapon pointed straight at her. If she did not do something soon she imagined that her blood was going to decorate her countertop. As terror took a tight hold of Tifa's nerves she was praying that someone would come through that door to save her since Reno, Rude, and Elena were too in shocked to do anything productive.