After Effects
By: Yuffie Kisaragi

Yuffie: I've been told by a few friends who've been reading this but not leaving reviews, that I need more intro. ~shakes her head and sighs~ Soooooooooooo...I'm gonna have them help me out every now and then. Derek is based on my friend. So, he's my first friend to help out with the disclaimer.
Derek: So... What do I say?
Yuffie: Talk about what I don't own, you moron.
Derek: Oh! Well, she doesn't own Final Fantasy 7, any songs that get mentioned in the fic, me, or Aliah. That it? OH! And nothing else in this world except the lint in her pockets, and I think that's probably Reno's...
Yuffie: Err...That'll work, I suppose... Kay! On with the fic!!! ~smacks Derek in the back of the head and continues to grin broadly~

Chapter Five: Yuffers's Plan
"Memories may come back in dreams." -Vincent Valentine

Three days later, Aliah was released from the hospital. Eleven days after that, Derek got his cast off and was released. Two weeks after Derek, Yuffie was finally able to get out of the hospital that she oh-so-despised.
Yuffie walked quickly down the street, she had to find someone. She stopped in every store, but so many bars had suddenly popped up that she didn't think she'd ever find who she was looking for. She stepped into Turtle's Paradise and saw Rude.
"Hey, Rude! Have you seen Vincent?"
Reno looked around his bald buddy. "Vampire Boy and Elena are at La Chaos Restaurant across town. Why'd ya wanna know, Pest?"
Yuffie glared at him. "His name's VINCENT not Vampire Boy! And it's my business, not yours!" She stuck her tongue out and left.
Rude looked at Reno. "There's a La Chaos Restaurant?"
Reno shrugged. "No, but she doesn't know that."

Yuffie stopped outside of the bar next door. *There's no La Chaos Restaurant. He's just a jerk!* She went into the small, run-down bar and looked around. She quickly spotted Vincent, because he's fairly taller than most everyone. Something had changed about him though.
Elena looked normal, wearing torn jeans and a pink halter top, but Vincent looked almost...hot! He was wearing cowboy jeans, a white T-shirt, and had a beer in his hand.
"Vincent!" the young ninja called out and started over towards him. She started to push past a group of guys when some guy pinched her butt. "You JERK!" She screamed, turning around and slapping him across the face in one motion.
"Why you little whore!" He raised his hand to slap her, but Yuffie cast Fire on him. It only caught his jacket on fire, so he took off his jacket and started towards her. "C'mere you little slut." She dropped to the ground and swept his legs from under him. He got back up right after she did, but before either of them could do anything else, a tall man with long black hair stepped between them, his back to Yuffie.
"Something wrong, Miss Yuffie?" he asked.
"Naw, Vincent. I had it completely under control. But if you insist on ruining my fun..." The man looked at Vincent furiously, but his look of fury soon turned to fear as he looked into the Dark One's fiery red eyes. He sprinted out of the bar, screaming like a baby.
"What do you need?" Vincent asked, walking back to the pool table where he and Elena were hanging out.
"OH! I know someone else with something like the Chaos best inside of her." Vincent looked down at her thoughtfully and Yuffie continued. "The only difference is that she suddenly gets a headache and BOOM! She's Destruction! Think you could talk to her for me? Maybe help her remember her past?" Vincent nodded. "Really!?! Thanks you!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him, then took off out of the bar. Elena laughed at the expression on The Dark One's face.
"She only hugged you," she said through fits of hysterical laughter.
Vincent's face went unreadable again. "It merely caught me off- guard, that's all."

A man in a lab coat, glasses, and black hair tied back rooted through some old books. A man wearing a SOLDIER's uniform walked in.
"All preparations are ready, sir."
"Excellent. Do you have the MAKO tank full?"
"No, sir. We were waiting for your to give the word, sir."
"Yes, sir. It will take one week to fill the tank completely, sir."
"Yes, yes. Now...GO START THE DAMN REACTOR!!!!!!!"
"Y-yes, sir!" The man started to turn, but stopped. "Professor Hojo, sir?"
"What is it now, Rohan?" Hojo asked, a note of irritation to his voice.
"What if someone finds out?" Rohan wasn't really worried about anyone except a small rebel group called AVALANCHE. He knew someone in AVALANCHE, and really would rather not fight her, if she was still alive.
"Then we'll deal with them IF that happens. Now, GO!" Hojo screamed and Rohan turned and left calmly. The professor walked over to a cage that held a woman. "You'll be the first woman to get this treatment, if those morons get their jobs done right."
She glared at him. "Hojo, you need a real life. 'Till then, Get the f(*@ away from me!"
"Now, there, my project."
"My name is Trinity! Use it!" ~(No, not from Matrix. She's actually a character I made up for a game called Dungeons and Dragons before The Matrix even came out.)~
Hojo chuckled. "Calm down, *Trinity*. You'll be fine. Get rest, for tomorrow brings bad tidings for you."
Trinity brushed a strand of vibrant red hair out of her blue eyes. "Oh, that's different from any other day, how?" Hojo ignored her. She acted all big and bad on the outside, because Hojo lived off of fear. But, on the inside, she was scared shitless. *Maybe this is a bad dream. Maybe big brother will save me. Maybe...Maybe...What the hell am I thinking!?! Reno left me for dead in Midgar and I'm definitely NOT dreaming. I am so screwed unless I find a way out of here and fast!*
Hojo had his back to her. All she could do was wait, which definitely wasn't her strong point or favorite thing to do.

Cid sat down to eat his sandwich. Shera still hadn't come back. *Maybe she never will... Maybe it's only a faze... Maybe I'm going insane!!!* He cracked his knuckles, a thing he only did when he was stressed out and lit a cigarette. *Wonder how the gang's doin'. Ain't seen them in a while... About three weeks, I guess. Damn, I'm thinking too damn much. I'll just call them.* He picked up the PHS and dialed the number for Barret's apartment.
"Hello?"
"Marlene! Hey, it's Cid! Is your dad their?"
"Nope, he's at a meetin'. But Aunt Tifa and Uncle Cloud are here. Wanna talk to them?"
"Yeah, lemme talk at the spiky headed...er... Cloud."
"Okay!" Silence, then Marlene's high voice, Cloud's tenor, and Tifa's sweet voice.
"Hello?" The tenor asked.
"Hey, ya spiky headed f(*@$#!!! How ya doin'?"
"Hello, Cid. I'm alright. Has Shera returned yet?
"Naw, I'm better off without her.. She always got in the way. How's Tifa?"
"I'm good!" Tifa's sweet voice said, obviously over Cloud's shoulder.
"Are you bored or what?" Cloud's tenor broke the silence.
"Yeah, a little bit. Hey, isn't there a get-together any time soon?"
Cid heard a knock on the door come over the PHS and Tifa's voice. "Cloud, answer the door, please. I'll talk to Cid. Hey again, Cid! Nope, no get-togethers until Yuffie's birthday tomorrow night! Make sure you're there! I'll probably call you tomorrow!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the f(*@$#% world!!! See ya, Teef!"
"Bye, Cid!" Cid hung up the PHS and looked down at his sandwich. He suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.
"Ah, what the hell, I'll go work on my new jet engine." He walked out the back door to the taro that covered his new jet engine. He grabbed a wrench, then heard a terrified shriek. He jumped over the small white picket fence and ran around front. A woman ran from what looked like a giant rat walking on two legs. It was almost the same height as Cid.
"Holy shit!" He lit another cigarette, ran inside, grabbed his spear, then ran back out. The woman fell at just the right moment and he threw his spear at the rat. The thing fell back, then started towards Cid. "Oh, damn, oh, damn, oh, damn, oh, damn, oh, damn, oh, damn," was all that could be heard from the man's mouth as he scrambled to find a materia. "FIRE!" He bellowed. The rat burst into flames. "Heh, like a vampire in sunlight," Cid said with a grin, then went back inside. Monsters were back, that couldn't be good.

"C'mon, Yuffers! Our spot's still here!" Derek called down to the young ninja girl. It was near sunset and the two friends wanted to watch it from their spot atop Da Chao. Yuffie found that Derek's hand holds were too far apart for her to use, so she had to find different ones. "I'm coming! I...AHH!" She screamed as she slipped. Derek reached down and grabbed her hands, then pulled her up.
Unfortunately, he overestimated her weight and pulled a little too hard. The both went sprawling, and Derek landed on top of a startled and sputtering ninja girl. "Heh, sorry."
Yuffie rolled him off of her. "Sure ya are," she said sarcastically.
"But I am.
"Prove it."
Derek looked thoughtful. "How?"
"Don't ask me, you're the one who's supposed to be proving himself."
"Okay, so I'm not sorry. How shall I make it up to you?"
"How about... dinner! At Da Chao Restaurant!"
"Dinner?"
"Your treat, of course, "she added with a grin.
"Alright, a date, shall we call this?"
Yuffie nodded. "But only as friends!"
"Of course! You think I'd be interested in you? You're my lil' sis."
Yuffie smiled mischievously as a plan formed in her mind. "Okay, big bro. How'd you like to help your lil' sis out with an evil-ish plan?"
"What d'you have in mind?"

Aliah felt her head start to throb, but couldn't think of a pattern. The door opened and she assumed it was Mr. Vincent Valentine. He was quiet, but she'd seen him and held up a hand to keep him from getting any closer. She was losing again and soon became Destruction. She stretched her wings and growled down at Vincent. He stared in disbelief. There was someone like him!
"Aliah? Calm down, control your thoughts!" Destruction looked down at him with fiery red eyes, full of hatred, then they turned a bright emerald green full of sadness.
"Shhh... Calm down. It's alright. Try to change back, think of a pattern." Soon, Aliah was back to normal.
"I-I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I was trying to remember something.. anything, really. But every time I do, I turn into Destruction again." She looked up into his red eyes, he was standing right beside her bed now. "Yuffie said that you have a demon inside you too. We thought that maybe....you could.. like.. help me?"
Vincent looked at the girl. How could he refuse? He may have seemed to be very, very cold hearted, but even this girl couldn't keep him cold. She was so innocent and harmless looking, so unlike himself, yet had a beast inside of her that she couldn't control. "You need to control your anger to control your beast. Then, to get it to leave, think of a pattern, whether it's numbers, colors, letters, anything. Anything at all to keep your mind off the rage." "So.. it's true? You have a... a demon inside of you too?" Vincent nodded. "How? I mean, I don't remember anything before I was nine, other than my name, age, and birthday. It's like someone purposely erased certain things of my memory."
"I will give you the short version. An evil scientist did experiments on me." He brought up his metal claw. "I used to have two normal arms, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a golden tan. But you see me now. Black hair, pale skin, red eyes, a metal claw. I look like a vampire gone worse."
Aliah looked at the floor, then closed her eyes. Maybe his hints would help her, maybe not. Flashes suddenly came to her. A tube filled with blue-green liquid held a boy, older than herself. She looked around and she was in a tube filled with clear liquid, like water, but tasted like metal. A man in a lab coat walked to her tube and the liquid started to drain out.
Next, she was leaning against a desk, looking at the boy in the other tube. He looked frightened. She looked around the lab, no one was in there, or looking. She clicked a button and the blue-green liquid drained and the door opened. The boy stumbled out, his long silver-ish hair wet and in his face. He smiled at Aliah.
"The patterns, Aliah!" a voice interrupted her. She opened her eyes and realized she was Destruction again. She thought about a few numbers repeating them over and over, then was restored to the eighteen-year-old Aliah once again.
"How... How long was I like that?"
"Nearly ten minutes," Vincent replied, putting the Death Penalty away.
Aliah hung her head, "Damn."
Vincent looked at the girl curiously, "Memories?"
"Yeah, but I actually remembered something other than blue-green mist." She explained to him what she remembered, or at least what she *thought* she remembered.
Vincent looked thoughtful, but didn't say anything for a while. Then, "Get some rest. Memories may come back in dreams."

Yuffie looked in the mirror again. She really hated wearing dresses, but in order to make her plan work, she had to. The dress was a deep forest green that sparkled. It went down to her ankles and had a slit from the bottom to mid-thigh. Her hair was brushed out straight, falling half-way down her back, and she wore a pair of heels that matched her dress perfectly.
"Miss Yuffie, Mr. Sherum is waiting for you downstairs," Shake called in to her.
"Kay, I'm comin'!" She walked downstairs to meet Derek.
His eyes lit up in surprise. "You look beautiful, Yuffers."
She smiled, "You don't look so bad spiffed up yourself."
They both laughed and headed out the door. Outside was a chocobo drawn carriage the gold trimming gleaming in the sunlight.
"Wow," Yuffie said in amazement. "Godo really out-did himself this time."
"Well, tomorrow is you eighteenth birthday." Derek had a look of awe on his face as well.
Yuffie cast a quick glance around and saw Rude. The two friends got into the carriage. "I saw Rude, and where there's Rude, there's Reno."
Derek laughed and looked out the window, she was right. Reno and Rude were headed towards Lord Godo's palace. "Hey, they're goin' to your place."
Yuffie shrugged. "I kinda added a step to ensure they'd be at Da Chao Restaurant. You remember those two girls that were 'following' Reno around yessterday?" Derek nodded. "Well, I paid them to do that. I also told Reno that I knew someone who liked him and that her friend wanted a date also. So, Joleene and Icewen are getting paid 100 gil each. Joleene is supposed to act annoying, and Icewen is supposed to just keep friendly conversation with Rude. They're going to Da Chao Restaurant also."
"Wow, Yuffers," Derek said with a grin. "You can actually be evil still. If only Sharkie were here to hear this plan." At the mention of Sharkie, Yuffie stared out the window, she hadn't heard from him since she was thirteen. She started playing with one of her mis-matched earrings.

Trinity looked around the lab room that she was in. A lab table, a small metal table, one-way glass so she only saw a reflection, her cage, and a door. She knew why she was there and also knew she only had six days to escape. She reached up and fiddled with her pony tail, pulling out a black hair band. On it were two bobby-pins.
She smiled inwardly at Hojo's stupidity and began to disengage the lock on her cage. It clicked open after a minutes frustration and she checked it quickly for any alarms. There weren't any.
The red head opened the cage and let herself out, then started towards the door. After careful inspection, she revealed there weren't any wires or buttons that she could trip. The small window at the top of the door would unlatch easily for a nice surprise attack.
She took a deep breath and jumped, catching hold of the ledge. She pushed the small window open and climbed up, half of her body hanging over the guard standing at attention. A quick glance revealed no one else down the hallway, that was only to the left. She pushed her way through the window and dropped down on the guard. A quick punch to the face and he was out like a light. She checked the door on the outside, still no wires. She dragged the man into the lab room and switched him clothes. She tucked her fiery jaw-length hair under the cap and could pass easily.
She looked down at the outfit, then checked it out in the one-way glass. Too much shirt for her small frame, so she used her jeans and T- shirt to take up the room. His shoes were too big, but they'd work for the time being. She stood outside and waited for her relief, a gun holstered at her side.
Her plan was perfect except for one thing... Hojo was on the other side of the one-way glass.
He stepped out of the room next to the lab room with five guards. "Trinity, back to your room ,now. You've proven me wrong on your intelligence."
"But, sir. She's still inside the room, sir." Trinity's voice was disguised, but Hojo only chuckled and took out a small remote. He turned a dial and a loud screeching noise filled the young woman's head. She fell to the ground clutching at her head. Hojo turned off the dial and ordered the guards to take her to her cell. They half dragged half carried Trinity down the hallways. She tried to keep track. Left, right, right, left, third door to the right, or was that the fourth? She finally gave up and lost consciousness.

Derek and Yuffie picked a corner with a window view of a small pond and waited for their victim to arrive. waiter arrived. "I'll take the special and a glass of wine."
"I'll take the same," Derek said and the waiter left. "So, the reason we came so early in the day is...?"
"So I can go to Da chao to see the sunset tonight and you... Can go to Aliah!"
"Me and Aliah again, eh?" Yuffie grinned. "Okay, so what's your excuse for not seeing her tonight?"
Yuffie shrugged. "Well, Godo wants me to be there, so I'm definitely not gonna be there. Besides, I wanna see just how well our plan works. What time is it right now?"
"7:00. You're going to be home tonight, right?"
"Yup. I hafta scout out the plans for my birthday partay!" Derek laughed and heard a familiar voice.
He looked three tables over and saw the two Turks and their dates. "Ah..." he whispered quietly to Yuffie. "Our victim has arrived." Yuffie glanced Reno's direction. He was obviously not very happy with his date. Joleene was short, looked rounder because she stuffed a few towels in her shirt, and had curly blonde hair. not only that, but she could talk faster than anyone Yuffie'd ever known, including herself.
Yuffie smiled and Derek saw an evil gleam in her eye, then looked out the window. The sunlight was beginning to fade a little, but it was another hour before sunset. She looked out across the pond and suddenly heard a voice, almost like a memory. "Tell you what, you make it through this and remember this promise...And I'll...er...One date, kiddo." She remembered looking up into the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen, then darkness.
"Yuffie? Yuffers? Hello? Earth to Yuffie Kisaragi."
Yuffie looked across the table at Derek, "Huh?"
"You got all spaced out suddenly." The waiter came with their food, but Yuffie suddenly wasn't very hungry. She played with it and sipped her wine, but Derek wolfed it down quickly. She glanced over at Reno, who looked bored out of his mind. Joleene was chatting merrily, Icewen and Rude were engrossed in their own conversation.
Reno looked over at Yuffie, who smiled innocently and waved. His look soon became a glare. Yuffie turned back to Derek, "What time is it?"
Derek glanced at his watch. "8, why?"
The ninja's eyes got wide, then she glanced towards Reno's table again. His table was blocked from view by the people next to them. Yuffie suddenly got an idea. "Derek," she whispered. "Lean in." Derek did as he was told. The ninja girl took a napkin and wiped off her lip gloss. "When we lean back up, wipe a napkin across your mouth."
They both leaned back up and Derek wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Ready to leave?" He asked. The soon to be eighteen-year-old nodded and they paid for their dinner. As they walked out, Yuffie slipped her hand in Derek's, Reno's eyes went wide, but only momentarily. Once outside, Derek turned to Yuffie. "What was the leaning forward thing about?"
Yuffie grinned, "The people next to us blocked us as we leaned forward and Reno was watching. So, to him, it looked like we kissed. My lip gloss gone and you wiping 'something' off your lips." She started towards a bush. "Now, you go see Aliah and I'll go watch the sunset!" She grabbed her clothes that were in a bag behind the bush, then slipped into a bar's bathroom and changed into a pair of khaki colored flare-leg pants with cargo pockets and her normal green halter top. She slipped her gym shoes on and left the bag for some poor shmuck to find.
She ran out of the bar without being seen by anyone and sprinted to Da Chao. *Please let my plan work, please let my plan work, please let my plan work, please let my plan work!* She prayed silently.

Reno saw Yuffie leave and tried not to pay attention, but couldn't help himself. No, he hadn't been paying attention to Yuffie and the blonde boy when it looked like they kissed, but he saw Yuffie and the boy holding hands. Ten minutes later, Reno and Rude were walking towards their hotel by themselves.
"I'm going back to the hotel for some asprin and sleep. Joleene talked nough to give a deaf man a headache," Rude said, heading towards the hotel.
"Alright, I'm gonna go drown my headache in beer. If ya need me, check the bars." Rude nodded and the two parted ways. Reno started towards Turtle's Paradise, but looked up at Da chao for some unknown reason that the author decided. ~(A/N: Hee hee hee.. Sorry, had to add that in there, because he had no reason to look up at Da chao.)~ On Da Chao's hand, he saw a small figure. He smiled to himself and started up the mountain.
He reached the top just as the orange and pink started to streak the sky. "Pretty, huh?" a voice asked from above him. He spun around and looked up at Yuffie, who was sitting cross-legged on a ledge just above his head.
"Yeah, it's nice."
Yuffie turned her gaze from the sky over Wutai to the red head Turk. "I never got to thank you."
Reno looked surprised, "For what?"
"Saving my life." Sh jumped down next to him. "I got your blood and without it I wouldn't be here." She smirked. "And if I wasn't here, you never would've had that wonderful date with Joleene."
"Hmm... If you weren't here, then maybe Wutai woul be alittle more tolerable. I mean, they *did* lose the war with Shinra. Then, they have a really sucky leader, but with you here... I mean, damn! How does anyone stand it?"
"Y-You'd better take that back, you JERK!" Yuffie said warningly, a serious look to her eyes.
"Or what?"
"Or this!" Yuffie shoved Reno hard enough to knock him to the ground, then took off running, climbing higher and higher.
"Why you!" He screamed and chased after her. He followed quickly, being taller, he got closer and closer quicker. The ninja girl climbed to the top and smiled menacingly at the Turk.
"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Reno walked over to her, his night stick ready. The rain started to fall. Yuffie started back, but fell. She quickly got up and looked over her shoulder. There was only water, and very few rocks, but it was stil a long fall. She took another step back, the edge crumbled, and she started to fall. She grabbed hold of Reno's shirt and heard a ripping sound.
"Dammit, not the shirt!" was the last thing heard from Reno's mouth before they both toppled over the edge.

Yuffie: And that's the end of Chapter Five: Yuffers's Plan. Derek: I thought her plan was pretty good, although the lip gloss stuff was a little much. Yuffie: ~rolls her eyes~ Ah, you're just mad that you Aliah aren't hooked up. Anzywho, the next chapter... Derek: Chapter Six: Swimming and Turning Eighteen. Yuffie's last night being seventeen and she's trapped in a cave with Reno! Tifa and Cloud's dilemma on what to get the young ninja for her birthday. How's everyting going to work out? And how many chapters does Yuffers actually have done as of right now? Yuffie: ~grins~ Almost fourteen... I've been working on this for a while, and you're going to be surprised on who Sharkie is. Yes, he plays a fair sized part in this fic. So do Rohan and Trinity. So, hope you liked it, and as always... Derek: Review!!!