Chapter 18

She was lying on her back, eyes facing the ceiling and her skin still glistening with sweat. Next to her she could hear Jessie's even breath, telling her that she was deeply asleep now.

Truth be told, Cissnei was also quite beat from the passionate rounds of sex they've had. She didn't really know what overcame them. As soon as her girlfriend had dropped the towel it was like a switch inside her had been flipped and she found herself unable to resist.

It had been good. Very good, in fact. And rough.

Much rougher than Jessie usually was.

It was unlike her, yet the thought of it sent another wave of desire through her body.

Cissnei turned to face Jessie's sleeping form, reaching out to brush some of her hair aside to look into her peaceful face for a few more moments. A part of her just wanted to remain here, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she checked this one lead.

So against her own desires, she got out of bed and dressed herself, then walked over to her backpack and pulled out a flashlight. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Jessie was still asleep, before turning the backpack around and opening a hidden compartment where she stored her Shuriken. It wasn't like she expected trouble, but it was better to be safe than sorry in case a monster actually ventured into town.

Having gathered all she needed, she sneaked out of their room and left the hotel. Once outside, she turned to the left and followed the path towards where she knew the Shinra mansion was located.

She was surprised that there were still lights on in some of the homes that she passed by. Sounds came from them that she couldn't properly make out, and if she didn't know any better it sounded like moaning.

While she walked, she could feel the sweat on her arms returning as the air seemed to grow heavy and warm. A sound from the left made her whirl towards the source, but there was nothing.

What's going on? she wondered, looking in every direction. Why did she feel like she was being watched?

The trees rustled in the distance, the sound mixing with the buzzing in the back of her head, telling her that she should be in bed; that's a bad guest.

Bad, naughty guest!

Cissnei shook her head violently, and whatever it was, it was gone again, leaving her only with the silence of the night and the sounds of the town further back as she stood in front of the old Shinra mansion. Her heart hammered inside her chest and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

What in the hell? she thought, looking around, gripping her Shuriken tightly. Nobody there.

Running her tongue over her now dry lips, Cissnei swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before turning to the large wooden doors and stepping inside.

Skritch skritch skritch

Inside, Cissnei pulled out her flashlight, turned it on and immediately started her search. Like Zack had told her, the place had clearly seen better days, broken floorboards and cobwebs adorning pretty much every room.

She had heard the Shinra mansion had a hidden basement, something that was on a need to know basis, but wasn't entirely sure where exactly it was located.

The ground floor had been a bust, so she headed upstairs, where she eventually managed to find the entrance in one of the rightmost bedrooms.

Turning the hidden lever, the wall slowly slid open to reveal staircase spiralling down well below ground. She made her way down the stairs and entered a large cavern leading straight ahead, a set of wooden doors separating it from the lab behind it.

As she walked, Cissnei took note of another door to her left, but otherwise didn't pay it much mind yet. She could check it afterwards.

Placing her hand on the door, she pushed it open to find...nothing.

There was nothing but a huge empty room.

What? Cissnei blinked in surprise and stepped inside, the sounds of her heels echoing through the chamber as she moved around. Turning the flashlight to the ground, she spotted a few marks on the stone floor and knelt down to inspect them closer. Looks like something heavy had been dragged across here.

"You won't find anything here," a deep voice said from behind her. Cissnei immediately whirled around and swung her weapon at the intruder. Sparks flew as it was blocked by what looked like a brass claw, and she found herself staring into a set of dark red eyes that seemed to glow almost predatorily in the light of the lamp. "Hmm. General Affairs, I see."

"Who are you?" Cissnei demanded.

"Nobody that wants to harm you. You can lower your weapon," the stranger said matter of factly. She scanned him for a few seconds and, sensing no hostile intent, dropped her weapon back to her side. He looked at her evenly before walking back a few steps into the darkness.

A click sounded, followed by the lamps on the ceiling turning on.

Turning her flashlight off, Cissnei took in the person in front of her. Tall and lean, dressed completely in black aside from a red cloak and bandana, his long dark hair flowing freely down his back. "So what is a Turk doing here?"

"Who says I'm a Turk?"

He looked straight at her, his ghostly pale visage a mask of neutrality. "The way you stand while you fight gives it away."

"Fine. I was one. Not anymore," she told him.

"Shinra doesn't let their agents quit. Too much of a security risk."

Cissnei shook her head, her jaw tight. "Shinra doesn't exist anymore. It's gone."

His eyes narrowed for a moment. "Hm...Do you know a man named Hojo?"

The head of scientific research? "Not personally. But he's dead. Shinra Tower was crushed like a soda can. The only known executive to survive was Reeve Tuesti."

"I see." Cissnei could swear the corner of his lips were slightly curled up now. "Can't say they didn't have it coming. Shinra committed a great deal of sins. The place you're standing in saw quite a bit of human suffering."

"What do you mean?"

"Human experiments."

Cissnei frowned at his words. She couldn't really deny his accusations; the Turks alone had a whole lot of blood on their hands, and the SOLDIER project wasn't exactly created with care for humans in mind.

"Who...are you?"

"Vincent. And let's say I've been around to know Shinra well enough."

"So, what happened here?" Cissnei asked and looked around. "Did the company clean house?"

Vincent released something that might be mistaken as a chuckle. "No. This was the townsfolk. It happened while I was sleeping in my chamber."

She stared at him, waiting for him to continue, but he denied her. "Don't ask."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is—" He walked a little towards her, eyes fixed on hers the entire time, never blinking once. "This town is different from others. It has its own secrets. Ones that did not align with Shinra."

He sized her up for a moment.

"Don't you feel it? That feeling in the air, like something wants to worm its way into your skull and wrap itself around your brain?" he tapped the side of his head. "That's their god. Awoken from his slumber. The land of Mt. Nibel is old and almost alien in nature, and it did not like what Shinra was doing here."

"Their god?" Cissnei asked in an unbelieving tone. Old local religions weren't exactly strange, but this?

But at the same time, she had experienced something on her way here, something that had just felt wrong.

"Over a year ago their god awoke again, I do not know how or why, but what I know is that ever since then the town has gone back to its old ways, praying to their fertility god that rules over the mountain," he explained. "If I were you, I would pack up and leave as soon as possible. You won't find anything here. The land itself hated Shinra enough to get rid of it all."

With that said, he turned around on his heels, the metal plates on his boots scraping on the ground as he did so, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Cissnei found herself asking.

"I'm leaving. Tonight is the perfect chance since the entire town is...distracted," he replied. "Good luck to you." He then stalked off with a bellow of his cape, vanishing in the darkness beyond the door.

Cissnei remained where she was for a while longer, mulling over what he had just told her.

An old mountain religion... fertility god... It all didn't make any sense, but something was strange about this town, she couldn't deny it. She breathed deeply, fingers gently rubbing her temple when her head started to pound as it tried to process all this.

She needed to get back to Jessie.

By the time she had left the mansion again, Cissnei felt utterly exhausted, every part of her being screaming out to get some rest. In the back of her mind she managed to make out the sounds of the town; their prayer to the one presiding over this land.

Cissnei made it back to the inn and up the stairs, locking the door behind her twice and keeping the key inside. In her fogged up mind, she barely managed to hide her weapon and undress once more before crawling back into bed next to Jessie.

She stared at her girlfriend, lying there peacefully as she slept, mumbling something that she couldn't understand at all. Slowly, she reached out to stroke her cheek, but as much as she tried she couldn't resist the call of sleep any longer and her eyes fell shut just shy of touching Jessie.

And she dreamt of a land, unclaimed and free, filled with goats and spiders.

With a groan, her eyes opened to the bright light of the sun shining in through the window. She stifled a yawn, turned around and found, much to her surprise, Cissnei lying next to her, very much asleep.

A smug smile formed on her lips; she must have tired her out quite a bit last night for her to be still out like a light.

She would tease her a little bit later.

Moving closer, she planted a small kiss on her girlfriend's shoulder then got out of bed. After grabbing a change of clothes, she headed into the bathroom to wash up.

Once done, she made her way downstairs, humming to herself while pulling her hair into her signature ponytail. She was greeted by Tifa, who seemed to be in quite a good mood as well.

"Someone's pretty cheerful," Jessie commented, causing the younger woman to blush a little and bite her lower lip. Seems like she was right in her assumption that Cloud and her would be getting some heavy alone time.

"So are you," Tifa countered.

"Mmh." She sent her a wink. "Guilty as charged."

"Breakfast?"

"Absolutely," Jessie replied and sat down at the table. Tifa went into the kitchen, only to shortly return with a nice breakfast of eggs and sausages and a cup of coffee.

"Interesting that you're up first for a change, and not Cissnei," Tifa remarked and sat down opposite of her.

"I might have worn her out just a little bit," Jessie said with a grin, taking a bite from one of the sausages. Tasty.

The two talked about this and that while Jessie enjoyed her meal. After she was done, she rose to her feet and stretched herself a little, causing her t-shirt to ride up her body just a little.

"That-that's an interesting tattoo," Tifa said as she picked up her plate, staring at the amber eye on her hip.

"Hmm? Oh, that. Yeah, I got it some time ago. Was a spontaneous decision."

"Really?" Tifa tilted her head a little. "It's an...interesting design, I have to say."

Jessie chuckled, running a finger over the tattoo. "You could say it came to me in a dream."

"I see..." Tifa lowered her gaze and started to pick up the cutlery. "Oh, before I forget. Aerith wanted to talk with you. Why don't you go by her store? Don't worry, I'll tell Cissnei where you went when she comes down."

Aerith wants to talk? Jessie wondered. Let's see what she wants.

Leaving the inn, she headed to where Aerith's shop was located. She found the flower girl in front of it, inspecting every single flower for damage or signs of wilting.

"Hey," Jessie greeted her. "Tifa said you wanted to talk?"

"Hello!" Aerith gave her a bright smile and turned towards her, dusting off her hands a little. "That I do."

"Okay. What about?"

"Hmm." Aerith looked at her with a thoughtful expression on her face, before pointing at the shell hanging from her neck. "I wanted to know where you found it. It's so very pretty."

"Oh, is that all?" Jessie placed a hand on her hip. "Found it one night at Costa del Sol. Kinda by accident, nearly stepped on it."

"Ooooh, that wouldn't have been good."

"Yeah." A smile formed on Jessie's lips, and her other hand rose to gently grasp the shell. "It was actually the night Cissnei and I got together. She was the one that made it into a necklace sometime later. You know, as a reminder."

"Aww, how romantic. That makes it especially precious," Aerith said with a smile, before walking a few steps forward, her hands folded behind her back. "You know, I've never been to the beach before."

"Is that so?"

"Mmh." The flower girl nodded. "I grew up in the slums of Midgar."

"Ha! What a coincidence, I'm from Midgar, too. Uh, well, topside that is. But two of my friends grew up in the slums of Sector 5."

"No way! I'm from Sector 5, too!" Aerith exclaimed with an excited grin and clapped her hands together. "Now that's a coincidence!"

"Really? Funny we haven't run into each other in the past," Jessie replied.

"I would say that just makes it all the more special we've met now!"

Jessie released a chuckle. "I suppose."

"Anyway, thanks indulging me," Aerith said and turned back towards the flowers. "I should get back to work. See you around?"

"Sure!"

With a final wave, Jessie turned around and headed back. She had just made it back to the inn when she saw Tifa leave the building, a small basket hanging from her arm.

"Running an errand?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah. We're out of some ingredients for lunch, so I just wanted to head over to the morning market to buy them real quick," Tifa replied.

"Hmm, why don't I accompany you then?"

Tifa shook her head gently. "Oh, you don't have to, really."

"It's not like I have anything else to do right now," Jessie said with a shrug.

The corners of Tifa's lips curled into a small smile. "In that case, I'd love the company."

"Great! How about we also buy some additional stuff and I show you how to make pizza?"

"I, uh, i—if it's not a bother, then sure!" Tifa leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Cloud's been kinda bothering me about pizza since we've talked about it, to be honest."

They shared a little laugh.

"Well, after you, then."

The market was similar to the weekly market in Costa del Sol, wooden wagon full of produce and farmers from the area hawking their goods to the townsfolk. Tifa and Jessie walked around for a bit, looking at everything from grains to fruits, with Jessie pointing out whenever there was something she needed for Operation Pizza.

"You'll need some tomatoes..."

"...And that's for the sauce, right?" Tifa asked as she bought some.

"Yeah, but it can also be a topping and, umm, do you guys have any stretchy cheese?" Jessie made a motion with her hands, like she was pulling something apart. "Like, gooey when it warms up."

Tifa nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes! We call it spider silk cheese. It's a popular snack."

"Interesting name."

"Because it's as smooth as silk when it melts on your tongue," Tifa explained.

They walked around some more when something caught Jessie's attention. "Oh, smoked sausages!"

"Can they go on a pizza too?"

"Anything can go on a pizza if you try." She thought about what she just said, and decided to correct herself. "But some things are definitely better than others."

By the time they were done, Tifa's basket was filled to the brim, and the younger woman was visibly excited. It was a little infectious, Jessie had to say.

"Alright," she said after they returned to the inn and entered the kitchen. "I may not be my mother, but I can make a pretty good pizza as well."

Tifa giggled and did a formal bow. "Please teach me your ways."

"Just watch!"

A satisfied sigh passed her lips as Jessie stepped outside again, her belly full and still warm from the delicious pizza that Tifa and her had made.

It was such a simple dish, but to her it was a symbol of home; of when things had been simple.

From inside, she could hear Tifa eagerly talking to her husband, whom they had picked as their designated taste tester together with Cissnei, who had finally come downstairs earlier.

The look on Cloud's face had been priceless, and she couldn't resist teasing him about almost drooling at the prospect of pizza.

A frown formed on her face at the thought of Cissnei though. She seemed distracted and much more quieter than usual. Jessie hoped she wasn't getting sick or something.

Deciding she would talk with her about it later, Jessie headed towards the outskirts of town to take a stroll through the local woods, patting one of her pockets to make sure she had that summon Materia from Gongaga with her. Just in case.

Being born and raised in Midgar, Jessie had acquired an appreciation for nature now that she had seen how the world looked outside that steel Moloch of a city.

She closed her eyes as she passed the first row of trees, listening to the leaves rustling softly in the wind coming from the mountain, creating a soothing melody that made all her worries evaporate.

Jessie deeply inhaled the fresh, herb spiced air, letting it mingle in her lungs for a bit before exhaling again. For a moment, it was like she was floating and there was nothing but peace.

But that peace was soon disturbed by the sound of a branch snapping nearby. Snapping her eyes open, Jessie turned to see a deer standing there, looking at her with its wide eyes as it chewed on some grass.

"Well, hello there," Jessie said with a smile. "Now where did you come from?"

The deer just looked at her, obviously not understanding a single word she said, but tilted its head adorably. It remained where it stood even as Jessie slowly approached it, carefully taking a single step at a time to not scare it away.

She was just about to reach out and stroke it when its ears perked before jumping away.

"Hey!"

It came to a stop a few yards away from her, looking at her once more with its wide eyes, then turned and hopped away.

Oh, so you want to play? With a grin, Jessie dashed after it. Of course she had no way to catch it, but she still followed its silent challenge, running past trees and small dirt hills.

Jessie was just climbing another one of those slightly weird looking hills, when something underneath her feet started to rumble, making her halt in her tracks. A big mistake, as soon after the ground gave away and pulled her down with it.

And shortly after; only darkness.