The Masquerade Chapter 1 - A FFVII Fic by AmazonSoul
"You know, I want to find out about Aeris and about me just as much as you
want to know about you and about Lucrecia."
One year after Shinra, after meteor, after Hojo, Jenova and Sephiroth; the
world looks ahead to the future. So much has changed in a year. Midgar, the
once proud city, is nothing more then a wasteland filled with harmful Mako
pollution. It is the most unsanitary place on earth. Not a soul, if it
wishes to live, should wonder there. Yet, souls do wonder. Not all of them
wish to live, but most do and they desire the same for others. That is why
the members of AVELANCHE can be seen there each day. At first their mission
was clear: get Midgar evacuated. Most left eagerly, but some where to
attached to their homes and dismissed the warnings of the harmful pollution
that came from the exploded Mako reactors. But as time passed the job
became more gruesome. It was no longer a search for the living, but for the
dead.
Each day, as he made his way from the camp AVELANCHE had made outside Midgar to the dammed city, Vincent would see the body of an innocent child dead on the cold ground. It's open jaws and clenched hands stiff in the horror of the convulsion, his eyes filled with a fluorescent glow and his mouth overflowing with foam. Or he would see a woman grasp her bosom as she tried to inhale and exhale all to no avail, for the poison was clogging her arteries and seeping through her circulatory system. Not infrequently, Vincent and the others had no other choice, but to release these people from their pain. Today they awaken to the same horror, but will find a more intriguing terror as the heavenly stars overtake the sky.
" I think it's fair to say that our mission is complete. We've been finding more dead people then live ones. We don't even find them dying anymore just dead. Its over."
" Yeah, it's been too long. They're all dead by now. Poor fools"
Cloud and Barret sat around the morning fire as the others listened in sadness. There was nothing they could do anymore. It was time for their lives to move on.
" Guess the old fart is gonna be happy to see me" Yuffie said through a sad smile. She was so young and yet she witnessed the most gruesome things on earth.
" I don't think anyone is gonna be happy to see you, runt," Yuffie gave him an evil look. Barret just smiled cockily. " But I'm sure Marlene is gonna be happy to see her daddy everyday, and you know what? So I'm i. Me, Elmyra, and Marlene, we're probably gonna go to Corel and help undo what I've done." He looked sadly into his bowl of oatmeal. Tifa had made it with blueberries, his favorite, but suddenly he didn't feel like eating anymore.
" Would you quit blaming yourself!" Tifa yelled from the side of the rusted cauldron as she served Cloud his third helping of oatmeal. " Here!" she thrusted a large bowl at Cloud. " Listen Barret you gotta stop this. You know that it was Shinra, not you." She gave the sad man a reassuring pat on his shoulder and sat next to him.
" Guess it's a habit," he smiled weakly at her. " So what are you guys gonna do?" he asked his crew.
" I'm going home, but not before you hand me your materia! Remember you singed a contract" Yuffie smiled greedily as she reached for the glowing orbs in Cloud's bag. She found her nimble hands stopped mid way by the arm of a strong young man.
" I don't think so Yuffie," Cloud said in between loud slurps of oatmeal. " We already gave you the other ones we mastered." He gulped the last of the oatmeal down and wiped his mouth with his forearm in one swift crescent movement. " And I didn't sing any contract!" he added. " You're a big liar Cloud Strife" the ninja retorted with an angry face, but it soon turned to disgust when she noticed his manners. " And a pig." Cloud just shrugged as Yuffie stamped her feet.
" You can have mine Yuffie. I doubt that I'll need them at Cosmo Canyon." Yuffie's eyes lit up at Red's words.
"Yes! Did I ever tell you that you were my favorite all along?"
" So you're gonna pick up your duties as guardian. Figures. Well, as far as I know I won't need any materia in Nibelheim. I'm going to open a bar there." Tifa looked at the object of her affections as she spoke, but he didn't seem to react or take a hint. Instead he just seemed to be lost as he stared towards Midgard. No doubt he was spacing off, thinking about some unshared sadness that he wouldn't share with her. And why didn't he share it with his best friend? She had gone into his consciousness once. Didn't he trust her? Tifa wanted to help Cloud, but it wasn't welcomed and she wasn't going to pressure him too much about it. After all, what he would say might only cause her pain. He was probably just mourning about HER and considering the circumstances she wasn't the best person to talk to. /I'm so evil I resent her for dying. Oh why did she have to die? Things could have been so much easier. But I just can't compete with the dead./ Immediately Tifa bit her lip. It was a habit she had picked up. Every time she was having what she thought were bad thoughts, she would tighten her fists and bite her lips.
"So I guess you're going to Nibelheim too, huh Cloud?" Yuffie said as she collected all the materia in her small bag.
"Hey, don't worry about me" he said with a shrug. Now Tifa really felt hurt. How could she not care? "Call Cid. Tell him this will be his last trip. I think he's repairing something Reno blew up in the last infestation. He probably won't get here until nightfall. That'll give you a long time to pack up your stuff and arrange your trips to were ever you're going." He picked up the Ultima sword and walked over to Squall, his golden chocobo.
"Wait. Shouldn't you pack up too?" Tifa looked at him in despair.
" No. I still have some business here."
"What are you talking about! Business? Cloud, you said it yourself, there is only death in that city!" Her emotions were getting the best of her, but Cloud didn't seem to care. He mounted Squall and turned his back on her. She wasn't about to let this happen. Tifa ran next to the chocobo and grabbed the reins. " You'll go insane if you stay here. You should at least have someone with you."
Cloud looked at her with kind eyes and a smile. " Don't worry Tifa. Vincent's gonna stay with me. I'll be fine"
"You're counting on him to keep you well? Do you even realize what's coming out of your mouth? I'm staying with you!"
"Tifa, I think we all know I've never had a full set of marble. Now quit mothering me I'll be fine. Go, live your life. Don't waste your time." He sounded harsher then what he meant. His face contorted in regret. " Look, this isn't good-bye. I'm going to see you again. All of you. Now, I'll see you later." He waved his hand and rode his chocobo towards Midgard.
"Harsh," was all that Yuffie could say. The rest of AVELANCHE tried to cheer Tifa up. "Hey where is Vincent, anyway?" Yuffie wondered.
* * * *
Vincent Valentine hit his chocobo's backside and sent it off to camp. If the chocobo were to remain there it would have probably been poisoned in an hour. He put on his oxygen mask. Normal people would also need goggles along with the black gloves, or rather glove he was wearing. However, Vincent's alteration made his eyes almost invincible to any poison or darkness of Midgard. His lungs were another thing. They didn't agree with pneumonic Mako poisoning at all. Vincent entered sector 6. He'd have to wait for Cloud inside the church were Aeris' flowers laid. Cloud treated them like his children.
The beauty of the church was still preserved. The sunlight made a soft haze around the white roses and carnations of all different colors. Mainly pink; Aeris' favorite color. Vincent could relate to Cloud's love and his torture and he could also understand why he wanted to preserve this place. It seemed to Vincent that Cloud had a little help from above. Tough fighters like him, who know nothing but battle skills, don't self-teach themselves how to plant and maintain a garden. They just don't learn how to grow the most beautiful flowers Vincent had ever seen. He knew Aeris had never left Cloud. Vincent also felt Tifa's pain. He knew all too well the pain of an unrequited love. Lucrecia. No, he wasn't about to put negatives thoughts into Cloud's sanctuary. Instead he bent down and smelled the white roses and carnations that Cloud had poured all his love into. The sweet scents calmed his senses and relaxed his muscles. He could swear these things were magical.
"You got here quick. I left half an hour before you," he commented calmly as he took in the rich scent of a white rose.
" It didn't take that long to explain to everyone we where staying," Cloud said while he walked towards Vincent and the flowers with a large bottle of fresh water. "Plus Squall is way faster then Irvine." He added arrogantly. Vincent stood up and let Cloud water the plants with the large watering jug that had a bright yellow daisy imprinted on it. He watched him as Cloud carefully inspected each flower with a serious face. Mainly he dawned over the ones he saw Vincent touch. A curse on anyone who would harm his babies. It was hilarious to Vincent or anyone who saw this spectacle. Here was the earth's number one hero watering plants from a watering jug with a daisy imprinted on it, carefully and with all the seriousness he had ever possessed, monitoring the way the sun hit them, the amount of water they where getting, the richness of their soil and so on and so forth, all of this for a friend who was lost. That part of it deserved respect, which Vincent readily gave. /A friend like Cloud is a true friend./
" You mean you explained to them that you were staying. I doubt that they needed to know about me. I'm mysterious remember?" Vincent said nonchalantly. "And Irvine is faster. Some people just like to take in the scenery" he added in the same tone, but Cloud understood it was a joke.
"Whatever man. And they did ask about you," Cloud fibbed. "Anyways, where is this lab we were gonna check out today?"
"Its in Sector 1. It's actually more then one lab it's a whole building or at least it used to be. It's the Shinra Bio-technology center. Hojo practically owned the building. He managed it and the 2 basements where for his eyes only, supposedly not even Heidegger could get in."
"I asked where it was and that's it. Too much information," Cloud said jokingly and hit his rather unemotional friend in the back. " Well, I'm done for now." Cloud dusted off his hands and looked at his flowers quite adoringly.
"She would be proud," Vincent said.
"You think?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"It's too bad that I'm gonna have to leave them. Reeve and his buddies are tearing down Midgard. And some day new constructions are gonna come up." Cloud said remorsefully.
"So why don't you just pick them?" "But that would be killing them, not my babies!" Cloud yelled melodramatically, trying to make his quiet friend laugh or at least smile, which he did. "Ah. There is nothing' like a morning smile. Hey! You are going to help me pick them later, right?"
"Why? Too much work for the world's hero?" Vincent replied in a smug voice. "Come on we have to get going if we want to make the best of our time here. And put your mask on, or you'll die." Vincent said very seriously. His friend, Cloud didn't like that all that much.
" We've been over this. I'm practically a walking Mako reactor. I'll be fine." Cloud said much like a disobedient child talks to his mother. The two heroes started to walkout of the little piece of heaven that was Aeris' church.
"And Squall is faster"
"You know he is not Cloud so drop it," Vincent said in a monotone voice.
"Is too"
"Is not"
"Is too." and the conversation went on and on and on..
* * * *
Back at camp, Tifa picked up her things morosely.
"Tifa, don't worry there are plenty of fishes in the sea and most of them don't have such dangerous hair."
"You just don't understand, Barret. He just needs time and then he'll be ready. I mean he has gone through a lot his whole life." She punched her clothes angrily into her bag.
"Well. I guess so. Just don't let it get to you." Barret went to pack his own stuff and left Tifa to her thoughts. Barret knew that some day Cloud would take notice of Tifa's love. He had better take notice soon or I'll kick his ass!
" Hey Yuffie what the hell are you doin' in Vincent's tent!?" Barret spoke to the silhouette of a small girl with a large round weapon inside the Ex- Turks' tent.
"Ah.. Yuffie? There's no one in here by that name, this is Tifa" the ninja lowered her voice pitch and put two melons in front of her chest giving her an "exaggerated" version of Tifa's chest. Barret didn't laugh. He entered the tent and looked dead straight at Yuffie who was still holding the melons. She laughed nervously as she put them down where she found them.
"Return all his stuff right now! He wouldn't be too against killing your ass and frankly neither would i."
"Stop exaggerating. We all know he's not that bad."
"Better then you, you thief. Now put all his stuff back" Barret retorted.
"Fine! It wasn't like I found any useful materia. The weirdo took it all with him. And so did Cloud, so don't worry about me stealing anything from him neither."
Barret spoke softly to himself."Why would they need all that powerful materia? There aren't that many monsters in Midgar. They all dead or little pee ons."
"How should I know?" Yuffie commented out of turn.
"Get the hell out of this tent!" Barret raised his fist angrily and chased Yuffie out of the tent.
"You old fart!!" She yelled back and hid behind Red. "Well, perhaps they're just being careful. After all, Hojo's labs could have some pretty gruesome monsters," Red said after his sharp ears picked up Barret and Yuffie's argument. The young Ninja cowered behind him.
"They're going where!," Tifa screamed across the encampment making Cid who was on the other line of the PHS, curse out loud.
"Hey! What in hell was that Tifa?" Cid asked "Oh nothing, our fearless leader just decided to take Vincent and go on a tour of all of Hojo's labs!" Came Tifa's loud and completely outraged, sarcastic answer.
"Why the fuck would they do a thing like that?"
"They have their own specific reasons, but they both want information," Red answered in calm deep voice, his flaming tail happily moving about. "Don't worry so much. Nothing bad is going to happen."
A loud deafening explosion interrupted Tifa's planned come back. Cid drew the phone away from his ears and the rest of AVELANCHE covered theirs, as Midgar seemed to roar in agony from the great damage it had incurred. Metal shrieked against metal. Corrosion begot corrosion. Midgar seemed to die all over again. Tifa gave Red a very mad "I told you so" look.
"Hey Cid you there? How fast can you come to Midgar?
"Not until nightfall," he answered. "Reno banged the engine up pretty bad trying to kill that huge bug, but it's not worst then what I just heard. What the hell was that?" Came the old Captain's anxious query.
"Cloud's cry for help," Tifa replied worriedly. " Get to Midgar as soon as you can and bring the Turks. We're going to the dammed city. God only knows what kind of danger our friends are in."
* * * * *
"A bug! A bug!" The spiky headed hero exclaimed. A shot rang out of a long rifle named The Death Penalty. Steam rose from its barrel as one of its bullets hit a bug, or more precisely. a moth.
"Cloud Strife that's the second bullet you've made me waste," came Vincent's rather annoyed words.
"Sorry, I'm bored. I just think it's cool, the way you can hit that across the room," Cloud happily screamed so that his friend could hear him on the other side of Lab B1-8. The dark lab was like all the other 7, a rather large room filled with: lots of useless paperwork thrown around everywhere, a foul morbid stench, and a dark dreary look that made anyone's skin crawl. Vincent Valentine gave out a sigh of annoyance.
"Did you find anything useful?" He asked as he walked towards Cloud.
"Well, this is the last file I dug up," he meant that literally. "It's different then the others."
"You mean it's really large." Vincent rolled his eyes and walked towards his friend.
"Exactly."
"Well then, what does it say?" Vincent asked now next to Cloud.
"Hold your horses. The moth stopped me from reading." Cloud gave a small smile. Vincent wasn't in the mood for joking, if ever he was in that mood. He forcefully snatched the large overflowing file from Cloud and started reading. The mood turned somber.
"You know, I want to find out about Aeris and about me just as much as you want to know about you and about Lucrecia. But that doesn't mean we have to get so stiff. Vincent, they wouldn't want us.."
"Cloud, shut up and listen to this. It's one of Hojo's top secret projects."Vincent read out loud.
"'Project N seems to be very resilient to the Mako. At this rate she should be poisoned, but I suppose her genes are too strong. Her body doesn't oppose the Mako, but rather seems to welcome it. She shows some sort of consciousness in the Mako tube. She's tried to brake it twice in some sort of reaction to the Jenova cells that I have injected in her. Her body rejects them with far more force then any of my other projects. It could be as a result of the evolutionary changes I made. I will leave her in this semi-conscious state until the end of this year. Perhaps then she will be more obedient to me.'"
"Whoa!" was all that Cloud could say. The shock had left him speechless. Vincent was not surprised at Hojo's inhumanity until he read the last part in the document. Cloud watched as Vincent read out loud, his eyes wide in quiet disbelief.
"'Age of capture: 17, Projected age of release from Tube:23, Name of Specimen: Nemesis Hojo, former Turk."
"I was definitely NOT prepared for that one. Hojo was making another Sephiroth out of his other kid." /Not again/
"According to this she's been in a sort of conscious sleep for about 6 or 5 years," Vincent said pensively.
"Does it say which year he plans on letting her out?" Cloud asked anxiously.
"No. It simply says 'at the end of this year.' Hojo was never good with dates." Vincent remained cool and calm which only fueled Cloud's anxiousness.
"You know what this means? It could be meteor all over again." Cloud said wiht a surge of anger and sadness. He grabbed the hilt of his sword as if he was ready to fight. Cloud's heart began to beat faster. Images attacked his already weakened mind. /Burning buildings, a long sword piecing a lovely young woman, and the image of the one he hated the most. He who made him both strong and weak, the angel of death himself, laughing calling him his puppet/ /Not again, I can't bare it all over again. How many more will die because of YOU?/ Sweat beads adorned his as he shook involuntarily.
"Cloud," Vincent addressed him calmly stopping Cloud's tortured train of thought. He put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. " Don't forget that foremost she is like us, victims of Hojo. From what it says here she went through treatments similar to both of ours. Imagine what he did to her. Our pains are her pains." Vincent knew what kind of torture would come to that woman. He wasn't about to fail again. /Never again, Hojo./
"Maybe," Cloud said weakly. "But we still should be on guard."/ I know I'm not about make friends with a demon./
"I wouldn't have it other wise, but lets give her the benefit of the doubt. We could help her the way our friends helped us." Vincent's honest words brought back the casual cloud.
"You just love us don't you?" he teased. Vincent ignored him.
"The rest of this is just dosages of Mako and Jenova cells and there is also a book. 'Sorrow and it's Chaos'." Chaos, how Vincent hated that name even in a word.
" Does it say where he left her?" Cloud interrupted.
"No. She could not only be anywhere in Migard or maybe even anywhere in the world, but there is a strong possibility that she may be dead. We don't know what kind of special care she needed to survive or if her facility was crushed"
"A so called 'project' like that. No way. Hojo, would have taken better care," Cloud acknowledged softly to Vincent's surprise. He was smarter then he acted. " She could be in the last floor. You said so yourself that only Hojo was allowed down there."
"It's possible. We're going there now anyway," Vincent replied and hoped that they would find her. He kept thinking of this new chance to atone.
Vincent gave the file and the book to Cloud, who in turn put it in a battered briefcase they had found. The two warriors walked through the broken down metal door and looked for the staircase. Suddenly there was a huge explosion everything seemed to shake. The reminiscence of the building above the basements began to crumble and fall, which seemed to cause a domino effect with the other buildings. A terrible shrieking sound caused the heroes to fall on their knees and block the ear-splitting sound.
" What the hell is this?" Could both asked and exclaimed. "Why it's me, my failure," a sinister voice answered. It sounded like a snake speaking.. The voice elongated its speech with S's and an unatractive amoount of saliva. Smoke surrounded the very large creature making it hard to see what it was. The silhouette behind the thick sand colored smoke gave away the identity of the attacker. It was a creature much like a Zolom, but with small bat wings that let it fly above them.
"Vincent! Is it just me or is a flying snake talking to us?" Cloud asked confused out of his mind.
"Yeah Vincent. Is it really a flying snake talking to you?" The smug voice chuckled as it spoke
Vincent knew who it was and he wasn't about to bother answering the mad man. Rage built inside his heart and he shot his gun at the head of the large snake that screamed in pain. His blood boiled and his lust for vengeance was slowly giving away to darkness inside. Not yet! He forced himself not to give in. He wanted to remember how he killed his arch- nemesis.
"Cloud, it's Hojo!" Vincent screamed in rage as he cast a powerful Fire3 spell that almost knocked the flying creature out. Cloud imitated the same angry rage and slashed at the creature who responded with a swift hit to Cloud's head. The young man quickly got up. The smoke cleared and both the decaying green-man with a torn dirty lab coat and the large, flying Zolom where in plain sight of Cloud. Hojo's new pet was quite impressive. It had large sharp teeth that oozed in thick hungry saliva, eyes that glowed in an iridescent yellow, a scaly body that was covered with grotesque skin tumors, and yet ,still, Cloud found it prettier then the man at it's head.
" Hey Hojo!" Cloud screamed. "You're ugly" The decaying scientist seemed to take this to heart. He ordered his giant abomination to take another shot at Cloud allowing the swift Vincent to levitated to the Zolom's back. He climbed up stealthily, like a panther at night as the Zolom and Cloud exchanged blows. As Vincent neared the head he readied himself to pounce on the scientist and disembowel him with his claw. He leap high in to the air and readied his torture instrument, but before he could get to his prey, Hojo grabbed him in mid-air with one of his many tentacles that grew from his back. The sick monster laughed maliciously.
" I suggest surrender project C or you'll find your loser of a friend here dead." Vincent didn't give Cloud time to surrender. His sharp metallic claw dug into Hojo's tentacle. Once inside he grabbed the nerves and flesh and proceeded to rip them out. Hojo screamed in agonizing pain. He slammed Vincent unmercifully next to Cloud and his tentacle squirmed back to him. Vincent's battered body got up again and the pale man smirked evilly at Hojo's torture. The scientist held his tentacle in hand as it oozed and sprayed the red-green blood. He screamed in pain and anger.
Cloud took advantage of the momentary weakening of Hojo's psychic connection with the mutated Zolom. He charged the beast with his Ultima sword and with one vertical swipe the beasts oozed in blood and its insides began to fall out. The creature gave a terrible deafening shriek of pain, as did Hojo.
"No!" Hojo screamed. "Flying Zolom A, Poison Gas!" The weakened flying snake stopped screaming, opened it's mouth obediently and let out a green- gray gas that blinded both Cloud and the usually very sight gifted Vincent. Cloud coughed uncontrollably, but luckily Vincent's mask made the poison less harsh to his lungs.
"Sorry, my failed specimens, but I must be going I have a rather prompt-to date with a very important project. No doubt she will be more promising then you two." With a maniacal laugh and a snotty attitude Hojo left the heroes. But he also left sounds, which told Vincent which direction he was going in.
The Masquerade Chapter 2 - A FFVII Fic BY Amazonsoul
When the smoke cleared Vincent found his friend unable to keep his balance. Cloud held his chest and coughed frantically as he swayed. His chest burned and cried out for air, his lungs confused as to why they could not supply.
Vincent took out his Gun. "Poisana All," he said weakly. Even though with his mask, the poison took an affect on him. He felt light headed and weak. The magic from the materia swirled around then in a healing haze. Cloud could feel the burn ceasing, his lungs relaxing and air seeping in to his lungs once again. He regained his equilibrium and grabbed his now blue sword. As he touched it, life exploded in its core.
"Cure3 All" With those words a similar hazy swirl surrounded the two, giving them back their energy and strength.
" He went down the left hall. That's where his voice trailed of to," Vincent said gravely as he ran down the hall in said direction. Cloud followed his lead.
"Vincent, not that I don't appreciate your talents, but following the trail of blood would tell you the same thing and more." Cloud eyed a fresh trail of thick, crimson blood at his feet. Vincent didn't seem to care about Cloud's smug comment. He led the way through winding dark hallways, various labs with hidden doors, and the wreckage that Hojo's oversized companion made.
"Vincent stop!" Cloud said from behind his inhumanly fast friend. If it hadn't been for his advanced skills he doubted he could have kept up. Cloud stood in the middle of a crossroads. Vincent skidded to a stop and sharply turned to face Cloud.
"What!" Vincent exclaimed in outrage at his partner's plea for him to stop. " How can you ask me to stop when I've just found that the most insane man, If you can even call that demon a man, of all this world is still alive, torturing another victim's soul for his pleasure? Cloud we can't let.
"Vincent shut up and look at this." Cloud said using Vincent's earlier words and tone. "There are two trails of blood."
"What?" Vincent pensively glided towards Cloud.
"While you where busy following your 6th or 7th sense, I noticed that there is both a trail of blood in the hall in front of us and the hall to the left of us." Cloud pointed his finger towards the left corridor. " So which one do we go to?"
"The trail of blood here is.." Vincent's reply was cut short by the agonizing sharp scream of a Zolom.
"Guess it's this way." Cloud dashed to the left, leaving his partner confused
"But that doesn't." Vincent hesitated to follow his friend making Cloud stop his steps.
" Weren't you the one going on about 'we have to get the girl'. That's the annoying shriek of that stupid Zolom. Now c'mon it's not that far. "
"Fine." Vincent veered left, quickly striding further then Cloud. At their stop they found Hojo's mutated Zolom and a robotic black cat with a white breast dancing atop its mog in victory.
"Cait?" Cloud asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh well lokee here I finally found you. Tifa and the others are sure gonna be glad." The cat reached in its mog's pocket and pulled out a PHS. " Hey, what were ya guys."
"Did you see Hojo? Cloud interrupted Cait's question rudely.
"Hojo? Maybeh in my nightmares.
The too men didn't bother to listen to the rest of it. They shot through the hall that Vincent had originally ran to and came to a halt where the trail of blood ended. They were in crossroads once again.
"Hojo must have had his friend bring him this far and when he noticed it was leaving a trail of blood so he sent it back to confuse us." Cloud concluded. " So where now?"
Vincent filled his lungs with the concoctions in the air. He pondered briefly, then swiftly followed the hallway to the right of them. Before the two warriors reached the brake of the hall they heard Hojo working. Metal and trinkets of alloys spilled clumsily on the floor. Vincent and Cloud reached for the door and drew their respected weapon. The door was an enormous monster of sleek steel. It alone glistened in the battered hallway, preserved in its eery beauty. The too men looked at each other knowing that their enemy lay behind 7 inches of metal. Cloud gave Vincent a confident smile that was replied to by the phlegmatic stare of a man on a mission. With that, Cloud pushed the protruding red button on his side. They charged inside only to find a very mad scientist. Hojo cowered in front of a seven feet tall tube. An enormous grey, stained blanket covered the system, but attachments breathed outside of the veil.
Cloud was ready to attack, but a swift strike of a tail sent him flying back to the entrance, bouncing like a pebble in water. Vincent guarded his fallen friend and aimed his gun at the Flying Zolom. The quick creature moved in fast fluid motions, contorting its grotesque body to escape Vincent's bullets. His impeccable aim allowed him to hit the beast, but a few of his bullets escaped towards the covered tube. Hojo stopped his tinkering with the machine and stared wide-eyed at his nemesis.
"Well, now Vincent don't you at least want to see my knew creation, my daughter before you kill her? You can't be that heartless. Or are you?" The decaying scientist eyes gleamed maliciously. He pulled off the large grey sheet covering his masterpiece and gawked at the figure within.
The silhouette of a woman floated in a glistening green pool of Mako. She was locked in fetal position; hugging her knees close to her body as her head hung lifelessly. Her hair, long and full, seemed to be the only living part of her. It rippled and swayed with the small vibrations of the capsule. Numerous wires were attached to her naked body, while a respiratory mask covered her face.
When Vincent laid eyes on this vague form he felt his heart beat inhumanly fast. A ghostly shiver came to his body as chivalrous desire filled his blood. His mind dance in a chaotic intoxication. His soul reached for something in hers frantically, perhaps reaching for a distant past. The connection he felt to the woman whose face he had not yet seen filled him with guilt. /Lucrecia/ Vincent did not understand this unearthly rush of unfamiliar yet welcomed emotions All he knew was that this woman was important somehow and he needed to protect her, needed to save her from Hojo. He was determined not to fail again, but his captivation left him motionless. Vincent looked in awe at the creature within the cage.
"Oh, I can assure you, she's very beautiful. We wouldn't want to hurt such a vessel." Vincent remembered Hojo and shook from his trance. " Flying Zolom B get him!"
The flying snake took a swipe at Vincent with its large tail, but made no contact. His agile opponent leaped and rolled over the constant attempts. The Zolom snapped at him with incredible speed and strength as Vincent zoomed from power cables and tables. He attempted to get a good shot at the monster, but this Flying Zolom proved to be quicker then his familiar. Quicker, but not smarter. Hojo's pet didn't notice a certain blond man with a large, glowing sword. Cloud had received enough injuries for today. He raised his sword up high as clouds and heavenly light surrounded him with a garish glow. A rush of energy came to him as he slashed the Zolom in all of its body sections with inhuman speed. The hero cut the unnatural beings wings and diced up its snake body. With a sad scream, the Flying Zolom accepted the last blow. Its head split in half and ceased its life of servitude.
Vincent emerged from the cable high in the lab ceiling and landed next to his friend. They both stared at Hojo, weapons drawn, determined to take the scientist down. Hojo seemed just as eager to fight and just as confident that he would be the victor.
"It's so hard to make good help today. You can change their strength, their agility, their appearance, but their intelligence is another thing."
"Face it, Hojo. You're out matched and out numbered," Cloud hollered.
" Really now? Well, I'm not opposed to getting my own hands dirty." Hojo was ready to fight for his precious specimen. Vincent wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The heat of battle would prove to be his excuse his savageness against the mad man.
"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she, Cait Sith, Barret, Yuffie, RedXII, Cid, and the Turks ran towards them. Each drew their weapons swiftly.
"No!" Hojo screamed. He realized he had no chance of winning this battle. His precious specimen would go unclaimed by the rightful owner. Vincent aimed to shoot at the man who had lost his taste for a fight, but lowered his weapon when Hojo placed himself in front of the Mako tube.
"Give up Hojo!" Yuffie commanded as she pointed her giant Conformer at him.
" Never! This is only the beginning" he responded to her command. An ear- piercing shriek was heard and the Lab began to tremble.
"Turn that damn thing off!" Yuffie grasped her head to stop it from shattering. The shrieking hit its peek and the roof of the Lab disintegrated into nothingness. 2 floors above them the heavenly stars and a Flying Red Zolom laid above them. The Zolom flew down and pushed the group to fall 5 feet. The blast left the Turks, who where in the back, still standing. Elena shot at Hojo with great aim, but the chimera did not phase.
"Stop! You'll hurt the girl," Vincent said as he stood up. Another screech and he was knocked down again by the Flying Red Zolom. Hojo climbed on his creation's back in obvious fury.
"This is not over. You little ingrates will pay." Hojo looked back at Vincent as the Zolom rose to the second floor above them. /Perfect/ Vincent thought, /now I can shoot./ He shot towards the sky as it where a massacre, but now his enemy was in the cloak of the night sky and out of range.
"Take care of her! One day she'll take care of you" Hojo yelled back at his enemies in spite. He flew away on the back of his creation, smug as ever. Vincent looked despairingly in rage and hate. /Someday I'll get my revenge and you will not be free to plague others./
"Whoa." Reno whispered in awe. He saw the girl in the capsule and felt her familiar presence. He ran to her, stepping on some of the members of AVALANCHE who where now getting up from the shock. They rubbed their heads and stood on their feet as Reno brushed his fingers on the glass of the Mako tube. He looked intensely into its interior, trying to figure out who the girl was. He could have sworn he knew her. Reno couldn't see anything, but he just felt it. His body was limp, his insides floated, as if suddenly recognizing that he was empty. She felt of a presence he had once know, perhaps loved. There was a connection to this woman made a specimen. Everyone had regained their composure now. Cid shook himself out of disbelief and asked the questions on everyone's mind.
"What did you guys do? How the hell is Hojo alive? And who the hell is that!?" He massaged his head with one hand and pointed accusingly to the Mako tube with the other. Cloud was still in a state of disbelief.
"She is . um she's . Hojo he. and Vincent and me we just."
"It's a long story." Vincent spoke more words then he had spoken for a long time in front of the group."And as for her, she's a woman in need. A victim of Hojo." He looked at the woman somberly. /How can I help you?/ Reno still glared at the capsule. / She WAS a Turk..../ vincent thought. "Hey Cid you think your guys can bring this thing up? I don't want to open it without someone professional there." Cloud formed coherent sentences and mentally thanked Vincent for his sacrifice in character.
"Sure Cloud." The pilot replied.
" And I'm sure we can find a doctor who can take care of her in Neo- Mideel." Red commented in a daze as he too stared at the woman with the rest of the group.
"Hey Cloud!" Yuffie called when she got over the awe phase "You do realize that you're going to have to explain this in details. I mean this is freaky" The others joined in with an almost angry
"Yeah!"
"Hey, Vincent can explain too," He pointed to Vincent who looked at him with his usual face of apathy and anti-socialism.
"Vincent doesn't talk."
"Ain't you s'pose to be the leader anyways?" Barret added.
/The man does have a voice box/ Cloud thought, shaking his head in dread of the big long speech he would have to make to the group by himself.
"Ok let's get to the Highwind I'll explain there. AFTER I get some rest!"
* * * * *
Cloud laid on his bunk inside the Highwind, starring at the ceiling, battling with himself, thinking all too much. /What if she goes crazy? What if she's just a scared girl? What if she's been brainwashed and Hojo can control her? What if she has a strong will that could not be broken? What if she's like Sephiroth? What is she's like Vincent or me, or maybe even like Aeris? / Aeris, he missed her. He still had to pick the flowers he left behind. /Aeris/ he called her name like he always did when he needed help. /what should I do?/ He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. Maybe this time she would answer him. He thought of her and what she might have done. The beautiful image of her face filled his mind, patiently he waited for her to answer. Only silence spoke back as he fell into a deep slumber.
* * * *
"I know her . I just can't." Reno looked at the girl in the tube intensely as if another hour in her company would help him figure it out. He was at the storage room of the Highwind where each sound wave mourned the death of the other."Rude help me out here. Don't you feel it too? You know that weird feeling that you've seen a person before?" He plastered his face on the glass. Would her heartbeat reveal her secret?
"Reno, you haven't even seen her." His other partner replied instead of Rude. "There is no way you can see anything other then a shadow in there." Elena walked up to Reno and forced him off the glass. "And the lighting," she moved her hands throughout their surroundings, presenting to them the darkness of the dusty room, "is really not helping you see anything more."
"You can't see but you can sense in the dark." Rude glanced at the specimen. His partner grabbed the surprised man's collar and looked passed the dark shades, into his eyes.
"You sense it too! We know her Rude !" Reno let go of the collar abruptly and put his hands in his pocket. He thought hard of who the woman could be. /Let's see, it's gotta be someone we both know. There can't be that many. Well, actually at the bars.It could be anyone /
"She was a Turk once," the Ex-Turk clued them in. Vincent floated towards where the Mako tube and the Turks where.
"What?" Elena asked both startled and confused by Vincent.
"According to Hojo's report. This woman was a Turk, captured when she was 17." Vincent repeated coolly. Both Reno and Rude gasped and looked wide- eyed towards the shadow of the woman. Their breaths grew longer and deeper. Their bodies trembled in undefined emotions. /They know who she is/ Vincent thought.
"You guys know who she is don't you?" Elena asked echoing Vincent's thoughts.
"It can't be." was Reno's quiet reply.
"Impossible, she's dead," Rude turned his back on the woman and regained his composure. /I just got used to the idea that she's gone, it can't be./ He crossed his arms and refused to think of the possibility that it could be her. Reno, on the other hand, embraced it.
"Hey, Vincent.was her name."
"Nemesis, Hojo's daughter." Vincent answered before Reno finished asking.
"Hojo's daughter!" Elena said surprise. "That bastard should have had hamsters for kids!" She glared intently at the abomination in the tank. Fear crept and held her nerves hostage.
"Yes! I knew she couldn't die like that!" Reno screamed in happiness. He gave Rude a big pat on the back, making him stumble forward.
"Reno, Sis didn't have a father." The bald man let the words spew from his mouth like venom, but Reno was not about to give up hope.
"You're wrong, she didn't know who her father was, but she had one just like everyone else." He was sure this woman was his old friend.
"She didn't look anything like Hojo." Rude retorted sternly
"Well there's no doubt about that, but she looked a little like Sephiroth. Specially at the end..."
"The end, exactly Reno. She's dead."
"Hey, what if she goes crazy like her brother?" Elena asked no one in particular. /You're so riled up about this mystery woman. Bet it slipped your mind that she could be a lunatic/ She saw through Rude's pessimism, she knew he wanted Reno to prove him wrong, and badly./ I wonder what they would say if that were me./
"Elena, you don't know Neme. This woman tied me to a tree once for a whole day without food because I said nature was stupid and it could kiss my ass. She wouldn't let me go if I didn't apologize to the tree." Reno now laughed happily at that miserable day. "She wouldn't do anything like Sephiroth tried to do."
"I'm glad you think so." Vincent said. Reno had forgotten he was even there. "Reno, Rude, she is going to need people on her side." He looked sternly at each one of them. "Her family is going to make her very few friends."
"If this woman is who Reno thinks she is, then the Turks will be behind her." Rude spoke sencerily and quietly. Serious and somber to a fault. Elena looked at the floor, trying to hide her anger. No one asked her how she felt about it. Reno was right, she didn't know this woman and that's why she couldn't trust her.
"Hey, you know, I still have her clothes." Reno's grin grew sloppy and wide.
"What?" Everyone replied.
"Yeah she handed her uniform to me, before. well, she said she would comeback for it." His voice trailed of as he looked towards the Mako tube and the woman. "She always did keep her promises" * * * *
//Cloud//
/What?/
//Cloud, you must help her. Cloud, she needs your help. / /
/Aeris is that you? /
Cloud Strife opened his eyes to a world where beautiful flowers of all different colors, shapes, and sizes grew. The grass was fresh and lemon green, with a soft dewy texture. In the air were the songs of bluebirds and the smell of roses. But nothing neither felt nor smelled, nor sounded, nor looked as beautiful as the woman who stood before him. He cupped her face with his hand and felt her soft skin. A sad smile appeared on his face as he looked at her there, with her kind green eyes and her beautiful smile. She was there with him, but not really there at all.
/Aeris, there is so much I want to tell./Aeris placed her delicate fingers over his lips. She looked urgently at him. As she spoke her voice was accompanied by a plethora of voices, repeating or adding to her statements.
//I don't have much longer Cloud. Please hear me out. Help Nemesis. Help her. She will help you, all of you. She may me cold and sarcastic, but that's not real. It's just a mask, just a mask. Help her and you help me, you help the planet. Please Cloud help her, help yourself, help your friends, and help the planet. Don't let her have Nemesis, don't let Nemesis become her namesake. Please./ /
With those words the dream world began to fade. The brilliant colors dimmed, the songs hushed and Aeris began to vaporize. Aeris, who in her own enamoring way, both smiled and pleaded at the same time.
/Aeris don't go! Please stay just a little longer. Aeris please./ Cloud ran after her fading image with tears in his eyes and a knot in his throat.
"Aeris?" Cloud whispered as his eyes faced the light of the real world.
"No Cloud, Tifa." Tifa looked down at her best friend worriedly, his hand cupped her face. Cloud gave her a big smile that told her not to worry so much and took his hand back. He knew he had hurt her by calling her Aeris, but his mind was too intoxicated with the dream to care.
"Hey, are we in Mideel yet?" Cloud stood up and massaged his face, trying to bring his head back to the real world.
"Yeah, and you still haven't told us what happened," she said, softly punching him in the chest. "Or what in the world possessed you to go to Hojo's labs with only Vincent. We could've helped you, too."
"I didn't want you guys to go because this was something I wanted. Not something to drage you guys in to. Everyone deserves a rest. Plus Vincent and me handle ourselves just fine. We have common goals."
"Yeah, but you were also planning on doing this for as long as it took and your were going to live with him. The man doesn't talk." Tifa said in outrage at Clouds plans that excluded her. She was hurt./ He talks, you just don't listen,/ Cloud thought, but he wasn't about to fight with Tifa.
"Where are the others?" He asked. "At the bridge, waiting for you to explain everything."
"What about the girl?"
"Vincent and the Turks are taking care of that. They brought her to the Mako poisoning facility."
"Good. Let's get to the bridge."
Cloud and Tifa walked into the bridge as anxious faces waited for his story. He would tell them about what happened, the girl's situation, and the truth about who she was. Then they would make their way to the Mako poisoning facility, hoping she would be awake. When he reached the fore front of the drawbridge, Cloud inhaled deeply. Anxious faces stared back at him. His mind began to weave the story and his lips began to divulge it. He wondered how they would take this.
* * * *
Vincent looked at the girl who rested in the bed of a square hospital room. There were two doors relatively to the left of the bed. One lead to a bathroom and the other led to the waiting room, where Avalanche and the Turks, after they got done with the paper work, would wait for Sephiroth's sister. However, there was a slight chance they would meet no one at all. In the windowless room the doctor checked the woman's pulse and then her eyes with his flashlight. The woman named Nemesis still did not move after she was fed adrenaline shots. Vincent simply stared at her, only a white bed sheet covered her body. The way she looked, she was so.
"She's alive. That's about all I can tell you. She should be dead though." The young doctor studied the girl through his chic square eyeglasses. He raked his fingers through his sleek, jet-black, short hair as his dark eyes wondered how this woman could still be alive. "Five to Six years immersed in Mako would kill anyone. I gotta tell you, this woman is strong, not to mention beautiful. She'll pull through." He let out a sigh. "I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up any minute now. For now all we can do is wait."
"Thank you doctor," Vincent forced the words out of his mouth. He didn't like doctors, they where too much like scientists.
" No sweat," the young man said, happy to help. " I'm gonna grab some lunch. My secretary will page me when the patient is out of it." The doctor smiled and went out of the room through the door furthest to the left. Vincent could tell the doctor was scared of him, which made him eerily pleased. /I hate White coats./ He turned his attention to the square room. It was light blue, with no windows, and it close to being barren. Only the bed where the patient laid, a cart with an empty food tray, an IV pole, and a blue chair next to the bed, were the objects inside the room. Vincent walked to the girl's side. He leaned over to look at her face, maybe he would remember her. * * * *
Nemesis heard voices outside of her head. They were foreign. The consciousness of the Mako was no longer with her. She could feel that her own consciousness was back in her body, no longer flowing with the Life water. Her senses came back to her; she could smell the sterilized hospital smell, she could hear the sound of distant steps, she could taste the sourness in her mouth, she could feel the starchy sheet that covered her body, and she could sense. She could sense the square shape and cramped size of the room, the IV pole to the right of her, the cart with the food tray to the left of her, and the chair to right, past the IV pole. She could also sense a presence, someone that was glaring at her intensely. The culprits breath caressed her face lightly. She slowly opened her eyes, who revealed that the world was a haze. In seconds, the first thing she saw clearly where crimson eyes, jet-black hair, and the pale face of a man. /A man! Not again,/ she thought. Nemesis instinctively reached for the empty food tray and swung it against her attacker. Vincent leaned back to avoid such slapstick comedy to be used on him, but her will had already stopped her attack midway.
"Sleeping beauty." The food tray was dropped and she wrapped the white sheet around her. Nemesis looked in awe at his surprised crimson eyes. Without knowing, she leaned closer to take a better look at them. Their lips where inches away from each other, almost brushing each other's surface as she peered into deeper into his soul. All Vincent could do was remain paralyzed "You have beautiful eyes," she said frankly. "How did you ever manage to open them?" Her voice was cool and unintentionally seductive.
"Excuse me, 'Sleeping Beauty?" was Vincent's only reply. He was confused, but remained still as she studied him and in turn let him study her. He felt he knew this girl, this woman, but it was as if his memories of her had been wiped out."I'm sorry, do you know me?" He asked politely. His voice was almost a hush. A secret was transpiring between them. Some untold sensual aura had a grasp on both of them.
"When I was in Shinra Mansion, I saw you there in the coffin." Her speech did nothing to conceal the daze she was in. " You where sleeping, you're gorgeous, thus Sleeping beauty." Her eye lashes bated lazily but exploded open as she broke from the spell /What the hell did I just say?/ She drew away and stopped gazing at his illustrious eyes. Looking off to anywhere, but his direction, she muttered one last hazy sentence"Strange that you should be the one to wake me from my sleep."
Vincent regained his composure and remembered abruptly that she was Sephiroth's sister. His straightforward demeanor was back, but his nerves caused him to become informant and more talkative then he had been since his Turk years. "AVALANCHE is here and so are the Turks. You're in Neo- Mideel. We know that you're Hojo's daughter, so you're going to have to prove yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if they made you a prisoner. Although I don't think that's the case. " /Did I just speak abnormally fast?/
"All that in one breath, huh?" Nemesis looked at him with sun strained eyes. She too took repossession of her Turk self. "AVALANCHE and the Turks?" She paused. " Wait, AVALANCHE was that new terrorist group in Midgar. What are they doing with the Turks?"
"Long story," was all Vincent said. He got up the courage to look at her again. She looked...
"Ok, so do you have any women's clothing by any chance?" She said sarcastically, painting a lopsided grin on her face. At that moment Elena walked in with Nemesis's old uniform and other things.
"Oh she's up." Elena said startled. She walked up to Nemesis and gave her the outfit. Her heartbeats grew fast. She was half expecting a sword to pierce her heart right at that moment. Nemesis sensed her fear and she also noticed Elena's outfit or more precisely her uniform. /New Turk./ Nemesis stood up, her sheet still covering her body. She took the clothes from Elena's hands formally.
"If you don't mind," she said looking at both of them. "I need to change."
"There's a bathroom behind you and through this door is the waiting room. The people I told you about will be there soon," Vincent noticed Elena was struggling to speak as he found the words himself. Nemesis looked behind her and walked inside without a word or care. Vincent's heart now stopped its maddened pace. /What happened here? How can so affected by someone who I never saw? I was asleep. Is there no where else we might have met? /
"Hey, you wanna wait in the waiting room? The others are coming and a lot of them seem pissed." Elena kept her voice quiet. She stared at the bathroom door in suspense as she talked " They didn't take it well. Cloud said that they want Sephiroth's sister to be watched at all times."
"They're taking away her privacy?"Vincent was not too surprised.
"It's better then Barret's idea of putting her back in the capsule. Let's give her a last moment of privacy and wait for her outside." /She looks so.../
Each day, as he made his way from the camp AVELANCHE had made outside Midgar to the dammed city, Vincent would see the body of an innocent child dead on the cold ground. It's open jaws and clenched hands stiff in the horror of the convulsion, his eyes filled with a fluorescent glow and his mouth overflowing with foam. Or he would see a woman grasp her bosom as she tried to inhale and exhale all to no avail, for the poison was clogging her arteries and seeping through her circulatory system. Not infrequently, Vincent and the others had no other choice, but to release these people from their pain. Today they awaken to the same horror, but will find a more intriguing terror as the heavenly stars overtake the sky.
" I think it's fair to say that our mission is complete. We've been finding more dead people then live ones. We don't even find them dying anymore just dead. Its over."
" Yeah, it's been too long. They're all dead by now. Poor fools"
Cloud and Barret sat around the morning fire as the others listened in sadness. There was nothing they could do anymore. It was time for their lives to move on.
" Guess the old fart is gonna be happy to see me" Yuffie said through a sad smile. She was so young and yet she witnessed the most gruesome things on earth.
" I don't think anyone is gonna be happy to see you, runt," Yuffie gave him an evil look. Barret just smiled cockily. " But I'm sure Marlene is gonna be happy to see her daddy everyday, and you know what? So I'm i. Me, Elmyra, and Marlene, we're probably gonna go to Corel and help undo what I've done." He looked sadly into his bowl of oatmeal. Tifa had made it with blueberries, his favorite, but suddenly he didn't feel like eating anymore.
" Would you quit blaming yourself!" Tifa yelled from the side of the rusted cauldron as she served Cloud his third helping of oatmeal. " Here!" she thrusted a large bowl at Cloud. " Listen Barret you gotta stop this. You know that it was Shinra, not you." She gave the sad man a reassuring pat on his shoulder and sat next to him.
" Guess it's a habit," he smiled weakly at her. " So what are you guys gonna do?" he asked his crew.
" I'm going home, but not before you hand me your materia! Remember you singed a contract" Yuffie smiled greedily as she reached for the glowing orbs in Cloud's bag. She found her nimble hands stopped mid way by the arm of a strong young man.
" I don't think so Yuffie," Cloud said in between loud slurps of oatmeal. " We already gave you the other ones we mastered." He gulped the last of the oatmeal down and wiped his mouth with his forearm in one swift crescent movement. " And I didn't sing any contract!" he added. " You're a big liar Cloud Strife" the ninja retorted with an angry face, but it soon turned to disgust when she noticed his manners. " And a pig." Cloud just shrugged as Yuffie stamped her feet.
" You can have mine Yuffie. I doubt that I'll need them at Cosmo Canyon." Yuffie's eyes lit up at Red's words.
"Yes! Did I ever tell you that you were my favorite all along?"
" So you're gonna pick up your duties as guardian. Figures. Well, as far as I know I won't need any materia in Nibelheim. I'm going to open a bar there." Tifa looked at the object of her affections as she spoke, but he didn't seem to react or take a hint. Instead he just seemed to be lost as he stared towards Midgard. No doubt he was spacing off, thinking about some unshared sadness that he wouldn't share with her. And why didn't he share it with his best friend? She had gone into his consciousness once. Didn't he trust her? Tifa wanted to help Cloud, but it wasn't welcomed and she wasn't going to pressure him too much about it. After all, what he would say might only cause her pain. He was probably just mourning about HER and considering the circumstances she wasn't the best person to talk to. /I'm so evil I resent her for dying. Oh why did she have to die? Things could have been so much easier. But I just can't compete with the dead./ Immediately Tifa bit her lip. It was a habit she had picked up. Every time she was having what she thought were bad thoughts, she would tighten her fists and bite her lips.
"So I guess you're going to Nibelheim too, huh Cloud?" Yuffie said as she collected all the materia in her small bag.
"Hey, don't worry about me" he said with a shrug. Now Tifa really felt hurt. How could she not care? "Call Cid. Tell him this will be his last trip. I think he's repairing something Reno blew up in the last infestation. He probably won't get here until nightfall. That'll give you a long time to pack up your stuff and arrange your trips to were ever you're going." He picked up the Ultima sword and walked over to Squall, his golden chocobo.
"Wait. Shouldn't you pack up too?" Tifa looked at him in despair.
" No. I still have some business here."
"What are you talking about! Business? Cloud, you said it yourself, there is only death in that city!" Her emotions were getting the best of her, but Cloud didn't seem to care. He mounted Squall and turned his back on her. She wasn't about to let this happen. Tifa ran next to the chocobo and grabbed the reins. " You'll go insane if you stay here. You should at least have someone with you."
Cloud looked at her with kind eyes and a smile. " Don't worry Tifa. Vincent's gonna stay with me. I'll be fine"
"You're counting on him to keep you well? Do you even realize what's coming out of your mouth? I'm staying with you!"
"Tifa, I think we all know I've never had a full set of marble. Now quit mothering me I'll be fine. Go, live your life. Don't waste your time." He sounded harsher then what he meant. His face contorted in regret. " Look, this isn't good-bye. I'm going to see you again. All of you. Now, I'll see you later." He waved his hand and rode his chocobo towards Midgard.
"Harsh," was all that Yuffie could say. The rest of AVELANCHE tried to cheer Tifa up. "Hey where is Vincent, anyway?" Yuffie wondered.
* * * *
Vincent Valentine hit his chocobo's backside and sent it off to camp. If the chocobo were to remain there it would have probably been poisoned in an hour. He put on his oxygen mask. Normal people would also need goggles along with the black gloves, or rather glove he was wearing. However, Vincent's alteration made his eyes almost invincible to any poison or darkness of Midgard. His lungs were another thing. They didn't agree with pneumonic Mako poisoning at all. Vincent entered sector 6. He'd have to wait for Cloud inside the church were Aeris' flowers laid. Cloud treated them like his children.
The beauty of the church was still preserved. The sunlight made a soft haze around the white roses and carnations of all different colors. Mainly pink; Aeris' favorite color. Vincent could relate to Cloud's love and his torture and he could also understand why he wanted to preserve this place. It seemed to Vincent that Cloud had a little help from above. Tough fighters like him, who know nothing but battle skills, don't self-teach themselves how to plant and maintain a garden. They just don't learn how to grow the most beautiful flowers Vincent had ever seen. He knew Aeris had never left Cloud. Vincent also felt Tifa's pain. He knew all too well the pain of an unrequited love. Lucrecia. No, he wasn't about to put negatives thoughts into Cloud's sanctuary. Instead he bent down and smelled the white roses and carnations that Cloud had poured all his love into. The sweet scents calmed his senses and relaxed his muscles. He could swear these things were magical.
"You got here quick. I left half an hour before you," he commented calmly as he took in the rich scent of a white rose.
" It didn't take that long to explain to everyone we where staying," Cloud said while he walked towards Vincent and the flowers with a large bottle of fresh water. "Plus Squall is way faster then Irvine." He added arrogantly. Vincent stood up and let Cloud water the plants with the large watering jug that had a bright yellow daisy imprinted on it. He watched him as Cloud carefully inspected each flower with a serious face. Mainly he dawned over the ones he saw Vincent touch. A curse on anyone who would harm his babies. It was hilarious to Vincent or anyone who saw this spectacle. Here was the earth's number one hero watering plants from a watering jug with a daisy imprinted on it, carefully and with all the seriousness he had ever possessed, monitoring the way the sun hit them, the amount of water they where getting, the richness of their soil and so on and so forth, all of this for a friend who was lost. That part of it deserved respect, which Vincent readily gave. /A friend like Cloud is a true friend./
" You mean you explained to them that you were staying. I doubt that they needed to know about me. I'm mysterious remember?" Vincent said nonchalantly. "And Irvine is faster. Some people just like to take in the scenery" he added in the same tone, but Cloud understood it was a joke.
"Whatever man. And they did ask about you," Cloud fibbed. "Anyways, where is this lab we were gonna check out today?"
"Its in Sector 1. It's actually more then one lab it's a whole building or at least it used to be. It's the Shinra Bio-technology center. Hojo practically owned the building. He managed it and the 2 basements where for his eyes only, supposedly not even Heidegger could get in."
"I asked where it was and that's it. Too much information," Cloud said jokingly and hit his rather unemotional friend in the back. " Well, I'm done for now." Cloud dusted off his hands and looked at his flowers quite adoringly.
"She would be proud," Vincent said.
"You think?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"It's too bad that I'm gonna have to leave them. Reeve and his buddies are tearing down Midgard. And some day new constructions are gonna come up." Cloud said remorsefully.
"So why don't you just pick them?" "But that would be killing them, not my babies!" Cloud yelled melodramatically, trying to make his quiet friend laugh or at least smile, which he did. "Ah. There is nothing' like a morning smile. Hey! You are going to help me pick them later, right?"
"Why? Too much work for the world's hero?" Vincent replied in a smug voice. "Come on we have to get going if we want to make the best of our time here. And put your mask on, or you'll die." Vincent said very seriously. His friend, Cloud didn't like that all that much.
" We've been over this. I'm practically a walking Mako reactor. I'll be fine." Cloud said much like a disobedient child talks to his mother. The two heroes started to walkout of the little piece of heaven that was Aeris' church.
"And Squall is faster"
"You know he is not Cloud so drop it," Vincent said in a monotone voice.
"Is too"
"Is not"
"Is too." and the conversation went on and on and on..
* * * *
Back at camp, Tifa picked up her things morosely.
"Tifa, don't worry there are plenty of fishes in the sea and most of them don't have such dangerous hair."
"You just don't understand, Barret. He just needs time and then he'll be ready. I mean he has gone through a lot his whole life." She punched her clothes angrily into her bag.
"Well. I guess so. Just don't let it get to you." Barret went to pack his own stuff and left Tifa to her thoughts. Barret knew that some day Cloud would take notice of Tifa's love. He had better take notice soon or I'll kick his ass!
" Hey Yuffie what the hell are you doin' in Vincent's tent!?" Barret spoke to the silhouette of a small girl with a large round weapon inside the Ex- Turks' tent.
"Ah.. Yuffie? There's no one in here by that name, this is Tifa" the ninja lowered her voice pitch and put two melons in front of her chest giving her an "exaggerated" version of Tifa's chest. Barret didn't laugh. He entered the tent and looked dead straight at Yuffie who was still holding the melons. She laughed nervously as she put them down where she found them.
"Return all his stuff right now! He wouldn't be too against killing your ass and frankly neither would i."
"Stop exaggerating. We all know he's not that bad."
"Better then you, you thief. Now put all his stuff back" Barret retorted.
"Fine! It wasn't like I found any useful materia. The weirdo took it all with him. And so did Cloud, so don't worry about me stealing anything from him neither."
Barret spoke softly to himself."Why would they need all that powerful materia? There aren't that many monsters in Midgar. They all dead or little pee ons."
"How should I know?" Yuffie commented out of turn.
"Get the hell out of this tent!" Barret raised his fist angrily and chased Yuffie out of the tent.
"You old fart!!" She yelled back and hid behind Red. "Well, perhaps they're just being careful. After all, Hojo's labs could have some pretty gruesome monsters," Red said after his sharp ears picked up Barret and Yuffie's argument. The young Ninja cowered behind him.
"They're going where!," Tifa screamed across the encampment making Cid who was on the other line of the PHS, curse out loud.
"Hey! What in hell was that Tifa?" Cid asked "Oh nothing, our fearless leader just decided to take Vincent and go on a tour of all of Hojo's labs!" Came Tifa's loud and completely outraged, sarcastic answer.
"Why the fuck would they do a thing like that?"
"They have their own specific reasons, but they both want information," Red answered in calm deep voice, his flaming tail happily moving about. "Don't worry so much. Nothing bad is going to happen."
A loud deafening explosion interrupted Tifa's planned come back. Cid drew the phone away from his ears and the rest of AVELANCHE covered theirs, as Midgar seemed to roar in agony from the great damage it had incurred. Metal shrieked against metal. Corrosion begot corrosion. Midgar seemed to die all over again. Tifa gave Red a very mad "I told you so" look.
"Hey Cid you there? How fast can you come to Midgar?
"Not until nightfall," he answered. "Reno banged the engine up pretty bad trying to kill that huge bug, but it's not worst then what I just heard. What the hell was that?" Came the old Captain's anxious query.
"Cloud's cry for help," Tifa replied worriedly. " Get to Midgar as soon as you can and bring the Turks. We're going to the dammed city. God only knows what kind of danger our friends are in."
* * * * *
"A bug! A bug!" The spiky headed hero exclaimed. A shot rang out of a long rifle named The Death Penalty. Steam rose from its barrel as one of its bullets hit a bug, or more precisely. a moth.
"Cloud Strife that's the second bullet you've made me waste," came Vincent's rather annoyed words.
"Sorry, I'm bored. I just think it's cool, the way you can hit that across the room," Cloud happily screamed so that his friend could hear him on the other side of Lab B1-8. The dark lab was like all the other 7, a rather large room filled with: lots of useless paperwork thrown around everywhere, a foul morbid stench, and a dark dreary look that made anyone's skin crawl. Vincent Valentine gave out a sigh of annoyance.
"Did you find anything useful?" He asked as he walked towards Cloud.
"Well, this is the last file I dug up," he meant that literally. "It's different then the others."
"You mean it's really large." Vincent rolled his eyes and walked towards his friend.
"Exactly."
"Well then, what does it say?" Vincent asked now next to Cloud.
"Hold your horses. The moth stopped me from reading." Cloud gave a small smile. Vincent wasn't in the mood for joking, if ever he was in that mood. He forcefully snatched the large overflowing file from Cloud and started reading. The mood turned somber.
"You know, I want to find out about Aeris and about me just as much as you want to know about you and about Lucrecia. But that doesn't mean we have to get so stiff. Vincent, they wouldn't want us.."
"Cloud, shut up and listen to this. It's one of Hojo's top secret projects."Vincent read out loud.
"'Project N seems to be very resilient to the Mako. At this rate she should be poisoned, but I suppose her genes are too strong. Her body doesn't oppose the Mako, but rather seems to welcome it. She shows some sort of consciousness in the Mako tube. She's tried to brake it twice in some sort of reaction to the Jenova cells that I have injected in her. Her body rejects them with far more force then any of my other projects. It could be as a result of the evolutionary changes I made. I will leave her in this semi-conscious state until the end of this year. Perhaps then she will be more obedient to me.'"
"Whoa!" was all that Cloud could say. The shock had left him speechless. Vincent was not surprised at Hojo's inhumanity until he read the last part in the document. Cloud watched as Vincent read out loud, his eyes wide in quiet disbelief.
"'Age of capture: 17, Projected age of release from Tube:23, Name of Specimen: Nemesis Hojo, former Turk."
"I was definitely NOT prepared for that one. Hojo was making another Sephiroth out of his other kid." /Not again/
"According to this she's been in a sort of conscious sleep for about 6 or 5 years," Vincent said pensively.
"Does it say which year he plans on letting her out?" Cloud asked anxiously.
"No. It simply says 'at the end of this year.' Hojo was never good with dates." Vincent remained cool and calm which only fueled Cloud's anxiousness.
"You know what this means? It could be meteor all over again." Cloud said wiht a surge of anger and sadness. He grabbed the hilt of his sword as if he was ready to fight. Cloud's heart began to beat faster. Images attacked his already weakened mind. /Burning buildings, a long sword piecing a lovely young woman, and the image of the one he hated the most. He who made him both strong and weak, the angel of death himself, laughing calling him his puppet/ /Not again, I can't bare it all over again. How many more will die because of YOU?/ Sweat beads adorned his as he shook involuntarily.
"Cloud," Vincent addressed him calmly stopping Cloud's tortured train of thought. He put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. " Don't forget that foremost she is like us, victims of Hojo. From what it says here she went through treatments similar to both of ours. Imagine what he did to her. Our pains are her pains." Vincent knew what kind of torture would come to that woman. He wasn't about to fail again. /Never again, Hojo./
"Maybe," Cloud said weakly. "But we still should be on guard."/ I know I'm not about make friends with a demon./
"I wouldn't have it other wise, but lets give her the benefit of the doubt. We could help her the way our friends helped us." Vincent's honest words brought back the casual cloud.
"You just love us don't you?" he teased. Vincent ignored him.
"The rest of this is just dosages of Mako and Jenova cells and there is also a book. 'Sorrow and it's Chaos'." Chaos, how Vincent hated that name even in a word.
" Does it say where he left her?" Cloud interrupted.
"No. She could not only be anywhere in Migard or maybe even anywhere in the world, but there is a strong possibility that she may be dead. We don't know what kind of special care she needed to survive or if her facility was crushed"
"A so called 'project' like that. No way. Hojo, would have taken better care," Cloud acknowledged softly to Vincent's surprise. He was smarter then he acted. " She could be in the last floor. You said so yourself that only Hojo was allowed down there."
"It's possible. We're going there now anyway," Vincent replied and hoped that they would find her. He kept thinking of this new chance to atone.
Vincent gave the file and the book to Cloud, who in turn put it in a battered briefcase they had found. The two warriors walked through the broken down metal door and looked for the staircase. Suddenly there was a huge explosion everything seemed to shake. The reminiscence of the building above the basements began to crumble and fall, which seemed to cause a domino effect with the other buildings. A terrible shrieking sound caused the heroes to fall on their knees and block the ear-splitting sound.
" What the hell is this?" Could both asked and exclaimed. "Why it's me, my failure," a sinister voice answered. It sounded like a snake speaking.. The voice elongated its speech with S's and an unatractive amoount of saliva. Smoke surrounded the very large creature making it hard to see what it was. The silhouette behind the thick sand colored smoke gave away the identity of the attacker. It was a creature much like a Zolom, but with small bat wings that let it fly above them.
"Vincent! Is it just me or is a flying snake talking to us?" Cloud asked confused out of his mind.
"Yeah Vincent. Is it really a flying snake talking to you?" The smug voice chuckled as it spoke
Vincent knew who it was and he wasn't about to bother answering the mad man. Rage built inside his heart and he shot his gun at the head of the large snake that screamed in pain. His blood boiled and his lust for vengeance was slowly giving away to darkness inside. Not yet! He forced himself not to give in. He wanted to remember how he killed his arch- nemesis.
"Cloud, it's Hojo!" Vincent screamed in rage as he cast a powerful Fire3 spell that almost knocked the flying creature out. Cloud imitated the same angry rage and slashed at the creature who responded with a swift hit to Cloud's head. The young man quickly got up. The smoke cleared and both the decaying green-man with a torn dirty lab coat and the large, flying Zolom where in plain sight of Cloud. Hojo's new pet was quite impressive. It had large sharp teeth that oozed in thick hungry saliva, eyes that glowed in an iridescent yellow, a scaly body that was covered with grotesque skin tumors, and yet ,still, Cloud found it prettier then the man at it's head.
" Hey Hojo!" Cloud screamed. "You're ugly" The decaying scientist seemed to take this to heart. He ordered his giant abomination to take another shot at Cloud allowing the swift Vincent to levitated to the Zolom's back. He climbed up stealthily, like a panther at night as the Zolom and Cloud exchanged blows. As Vincent neared the head he readied himself to pounce on the scientist and disembowel him with his claw. He leap high in to the air and readied his torture instrument, but before he could get to his prey, Hojo grabbed him in mid-air with one of his many tentacles that grew from his back. The sick monster laughed maliciously.
" I suggest surrender project C or you'll find your loser of a friend here dead." Vincent didn't give Cloud time to surrender. His sharp metallic claw dug into Hojo's tentacle. Once inside he grabbed the nerves and flesh and proceeded to rip them out. Hojo screamed in agonizing pain. He slammed Vincent unmercifully next to Cloud and his tentacle squirmed back to him. Vincent's battered body got up again and the pale man smirked evilly at Hojo's torture. The scientist held his tentacle in hand as it oozed and sprayed the red-green blood. He screamed in pain and anger.
Cloud took advantage of the momentary weakening of Hojo's psychic connection with the mutated Zolom. He charged the beast with his Ultima sword and with one vertical swipe the beasts oozed in blood and its insides began to fall out. The creature gave a terrible deafening shriek of pain, as did Hojo.
"No!" Hojo screamed. "Flying Zolom A, Poison Gas!" The weakened flying snake stopped screaming, opened it's mouth obediently and let out a green- gray gas that blinded both Cloud and the usually very sight gifted Vincent. Cloud coughed uncontrollably, but luckily Vincent's mask made the poison less harsh to his lungs.
"Sorry, my failed specimens, but I must be going I have a rather prompt-to date with a very important project. No doubt she will be more promising then you two." With a maniacal laugh and a snotty attitude Hojo left the heroes. But he also left sounds, which told Vincent which direction he was going in.
The Masquerade Chapter 2 - A FFVII Fic BY Amazonsoul
When the smoke cleared Vincent found his friend unable to keep his balance. Cloud held his chest and coughed frantically as he swayed. His chest burned and cried out for air, his lungs confused as to why they could not supply.
Vincent took out his Gun. "Poisana All," he said weakly. Even though with his mask, the poison took an affect on him. He felt light headed and weak. The magic from the materia swirled around then in a healing haze. Cloud could feel the burn ceasing, his lungs relaxing and air seeping in to his lungs once again. He regained his equilibrium and grabbed his now blue sword. As he touched it, life exploded in its core.
"Cure3 All" With those words a similar hazy swirl surrounded the two, giving them back their energy and strength.
" He went down the left hall. That's where his voice trailed of to," Vincent said gravely as he ran down the hall in said direction. Cloud followed his lead.
"Vincent, not that I don't appreciate your talents, but following the trail of blood would tell you the same thing and more." Cloud eyed a fresh trail of thick, crimson blood at his feet. Vincent didn't seem to care about Cloud's smug comment. He led the way through winding dark hallways, various labs with hidden doors, and the wreckage that Hojo's oversized companion made.
"Vincent stop!" Cloud said from behind his inhumanly fast friend. If it hadn't been for his advanced skills he doubted he could have kept up. Cloud stood in the middle of a crossroads. Vincent skidded to a stop and sharply turned to face Cloud.
"What!" Vincent exclaimed in outrage at his partner's plea for him to stop. " How can you ask me to stop when I've just found that the most insane man, If you can even call that demon a man, of all this world is still alive, torturing another victim's soul for his pleasure? Cloud we can't let.
"Vincent shut up and look at this." Cloud said using Vincent's earlier words and tone. "There are two trails of blood."
"What?" Vincent pensively glided towards Cloud.
"While you where busy following your 6th or 7th sense, I noticed that there is both a trail of blood in the hall in front of us and the hall to the left of us." Cloud pointed his finger towards the left corridor. " So which one do we go to?"
"The trail of blood here is.." Vincent's reply was cut short by the agonizing sharp scream of a Zolom.
"Guess it's this way." Cloud dashed to the left, leaving his partner confused
"But that doesn't." Vincent hesitated to follow his friend making Cloud stop his steps.
" Weren't you the one going on about 'we have to get the girl'. That's the annoying shriek of that stupid Zolom. Now c'mon it's not that far. "
"Fine." Vincent veered left, quickly striding further then Cloud. At their stop they found Hojo's mutated Zolom and a robotic black cat with a white breast dancing atop its mog in victory.
"Cait?" Cloud asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh well lokee here I finally found you. Tifa and the others are sure gonna be glad." The cat reached in its mog's pocket and pulled out a PHS. " Hey, what were ya guys."
"Did you see Hojo? Cloud interrupted Cait's question rudely.
"Hojo? Maybeh in my nightmares.
The too men didn't bother to listen to the rest of it. They shot through the hall that Vincent had originally ran to and came to a halt where the trail of blood ended. They were in crossroads once again.
"Hojo must have had his friend bring him this far and when he noticed it was leaving a trail of blood so he sent it back to confuse us." Cloud concluded. " So where now?"
Vincent filled his lungs with the concoctions in the air. He pondered briefly, then swiftly followed the hallway to the right of them. Before the two warriors reached the brake of the hall they heard Hojo working. Metal and trinkets of alloys spilled clumsily on the floor. Vincent and Cloud reached for the door and drew their respected weapon. The door was an enormous monster of sleek steel. It alone glistened in the battered hallway, preserved in its eery beauty. The too men looked at each other knowing that their enemy lay behind 7 inches of metal. Cloud gave Vincent a confident smile that was replied to by the phlegmatic stare of a man on a mission. With that, Cloud pushed the protruding red button on his side. They charged inside only to find a very mad scientist. Hojo cowered in front of a seven feet tall tube. An enormous grey, stained blanket covered the system, but attachments breathed outside of the veil.
Cloud was ready to attack, but a swift strike of a tail sent him flying back to the entrance, bouncing like a pebble in water. Vincent guarded his fallen friend and aimed his gun at the Flying Zolom. The quick creature moved in fast fluid motions, contorting its grotesque body to escape Vincent's bullets. His impeccable aim allowed him to hit the beast, but a few of his bullets escaped towards the covered tube. Hojo stopped his tinkering with the machine and stared wide-eyed at his nemesis.
"Well, now Vincent don't you at least want to see my knew creation, my daughter before you kill her? You can't be that heartless. Or are you?" The decaying scientist eyes gleamed maliciously. He pulled off the large grey sheet covering his masterpiece and gawked at the figure within.
The silhouette of a woman floated in a glistening green pool of Mako. She was locked in fetal position; hugging her knees close to her body as her head hung lifelessly. Her hair, long and full, seemed to be the only living part of her. It rippled and swayed with the small vibrations of the capsule. Numerous wires were attached to her naked body, while a respiratory mask covered her face.
When Vincent laid eyes on this vague form he felt his heart beat inhumanly fast. A ghostly shiver came to his body as chivalrous desire filled his blood. His mind dance in a chaotic intoxication. His soul reached for something in hers frantically, perhaps reaching for a distant past. The connection he felt to the woman whose face he had not yet seen filled him with guilt. /Lucrecia/ Vincent did not understand this unearthly rush of unfamiliar yet welcomed emotions All he knew was that this woman was important somehow and he needed to protect her, needed to save her from Hojo. He was determined not to fail again, but his captivation left him motionless. Vincent looked in awe at the creature within the cage.
"Oh, I can assure you, she's very beautiful. We wouldn't want to hurt such a vessel." Vincent remembered Hojo and shook from his trance. " Flying Zolom B get him!"
The flying snake took a swipe at Vincent with its large tail, but made no contact. His agile opponent leaped and rolled over the constant attempts. The Zolom snapped at him with incredible speed and strength as Vincent zoomed from power cables and tables. He attempted to get a good shot at the monster, but this Flying Zolom proved to be quicker then his familiar. Quicker, but not smarter. Hojo's pet didn't notice a certain blond man with a large, glowing sword. Cloud had received enough injuries for today. He raised his sword up high as clouds and heavenly light surrounded him with a garish glow. A rush of energy came to him as he slashed the Zolom in all of its body sections with inhuman speed. The hero cut the unnatural beings wings and diced up its snake body. With a sad scream, the Flying Zolom accepted the last blow. Its head split in half and ceased its life of servitude.
Vincent emerged from the cable high in the lab ceiling and landed next to his friend. They both stared at Hojo, weapons drawn, determined to take the scientist down. Hojo seemed just as eager to fight and just as confident that he would be the victor.
"It's so hard to make good help today. You can change their strength, their agility, their appearance, but their intelligence is another thing."
"Face it, Hojo. You're out matched and out numbered," Cloud hollered.
" Really now? Well, I'm not opposed to getting my own hands dirty." Hojo was ready to fight for his precious specimen. Vincent wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The heat of battle would prove to be his excuse his savageness against the mad man.
"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she, Cait Sith, Barret, Yuffie, RedXII, Cid, and the Turks ran towards them. Each drew their weapons swiftly.
"No!" Hojo screamed. He realized he had no chance of winning this battle. His precious specimen would go unclaimed by the rightful owner. Vincent aimed to shoot at the man who had lost his taste for a fight, but lowered his weapon when Hojo placed himself in front of the Mako tube.
"Give up Hojo!" Yuffie commanded as she pointed her giant Conformer at him.
" Never! This is only the beginning" he responded to her command. An ear- piercing shriek was heard and the Lab began to tremble.
"Turn that damn thing off!" Yuffie grasped her head to stop it from shattering. The shrieking hit its peek and the roof of the Lab disintegrated into nothingness. 2 floors above them the heavenly stars and a Flying Red Zolom laid above them. The Zolom flew down and pushed the group to fall 5 feet. The blast left the Turks, who where in the back, still standing. Elena shot at Hojo with great aim, but the chimera did not phase.
"Stop! You'll hurt the girl," Vincent said as he stood up. Another screech and he was knocked down again by the Flying Red Zolom. Hojo climbed on his creation's back in obvious fury.
"This is not over. You little ingrates will pay." Hojo looked back at Vincent as the Zolom rose to the second floor above them. /Perfect/ Vincent thought, /now I can shoot./ He shot towards the sky as it where a massacre, but now his enemy was in the cloak of the night sky and out of range.
"Take care of her! One day she'll take care of you" Hojo yelled back at his enemies in spite. He flew away on the back of his creation, smug as ever. Vincent looked despairingly in rage and hate. /Someday I'll get my revenge and you will not be free to plague others./
"Whoa." Reno whispered in awe. He saw the girl in the capsule and felt her familiar presence. He ran to her, stepping on some of the members of AVALANCHE who where now getting up from the shock. They rubbed their heads and stood on their feet as Reno brushed his fingers on the glass of the Mako tube. He looked intensely into its interior, trying to figure out who the girl was. He could have sworn he knew her. Reno couldn't see anything, but he just felt it. His body was limp, his insides floated, as if suddenly recognizing that he was empty. She felt of a presence he had once know, perhaps loved. There was a connection to this woman made a specimen. Everyone had regained their composure now. Cid shook himself out of disbelief and asked the questions on everyone's mind.
"What did you guys do? How the hell is Hojo alive? And who the hell is that!?" He massaged his head with one hand and pointed accusingly to the Mako tube with the other. Cloud was still in a state of disbelief.
"She is . um she's . Hojo he. and Vincent and me we just."
"It's a long story." Vincent spoke more words then he had spoken for a long time in front of the group."And as for her, she's a woman in need. A victim of Hojo." He looked at the woman somberly. /How can I help you?/ Reno still glared at the capsule. / She WAS a Turk..../ vincent thought. "Hey Cid you think your guys can bring this thing up? I don't want to open it without someone professional there." Cloud formed coherent sentences and mentally thanked Vincent for his sacrifice in character.
"Sure Cloud." The pilot replied.
" And I'm sure we can find a doctor who can take care of her in Neo- Mideel." Red commented in a daze as he too stared at the woman with the rest of the group.
"Hey Cloud!" Yuffie called when she got over the awe phase "You do realize that you're going to have to explain this in details. I mean this is freaky" The others joined in with an almost angry
"Yeah!"
"Hey, Vincent can explain too," He pointed to Vincent who looked at him with his usual face of apathy and anti-socialism.
"Vincent doesn't talk."
"Ain't you s'pose to be the leader anyways?" Barret added.
/The man does have a voice box/ Cloud thought, shaking his head in dread of the big long speech he would have to make to the group by himself.
"Ok let's get to the Highwind I'll explain there. AFTER I get some rest!"
* * * * *
Cloud laid on his bunk inside the Highwind, starring at the ceiling, battling with himself, thinking all too much. /What if she goes crazy? What if she's just a scared girl? What if she's been brainwashed and Hojo can control her? What if she has a strong will that could not be broken? What if she's like Sephiroth? What is she's like Vincent or me, or maybe even like Aeris? / Aeris, he missed her. He still had to pick the flowers he left behind. /Aeris/ he called her name like he always did when he needed help. /what should I do?/ He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. Maybe this time she would answer him. He thought of her and what she might have done. The beautiful image of her face filled his mind, patiently he waited for her to answer. Only silence spoke back as he fell into a deep slumber.
* * * *
"I know her . I just can't." Reno looked at the girl in the tube intensely as if another hour in her company would help him figure it out. He was at the storage room of the Highwind where each sound wave mourned the death of the other."Rude help me out here. Don't you feel it too? You know that weird feeling that you've seen a person before?" He plastered his face on the glass. Would her heartbeat reveal her secret?
"Reno, you haven't even seen her." His other partner replied instead of Rude. "There is no way you can see anything other then a shadow in there." Elena walked up to Reno and forced him off the glass. "And the lighting," she moved her hands throughout their surroundings, presenting to them the darkness of the dusty room, "is really not helping you see anything more."
"You can't see but you can sense in the dark." Rude glanced at the specimen. His partner grabbed the surprised man's collar and looked passed the dark shades, into his eyes.
"You sense it too! We know her Rude !" Reno let go of the collar abruptly and put his hands in his pocket. He thought hard of who the woman could be. /Let's see, it's gotta be someone we both know. There can't be that many. Well, actually at the bars.It could be anyone /
"She was a Turk once," the Ex-Turk clued them in. Vincent floated towards where the Mako tube and the Turks where.
"What?" Elena asked both startled and confused by Vincent.
"According to Hojo's report. This woman was a Turk, captured when she was 17." Vincent repeated coolly. Both Reno and Rude gasped and looked wide- eyed towards the shadow of the woman. Their breaths grew longer and deeper. Their bodies trembled in undefined emotions. /They know who she is/ Vincent thought.
"You guys know who she is don't you?" Elena asked echoing Vincent's thoughts.
"It can't be." was Reno's quiet reply.
"Impossible, she's dead," Rude turned his back on the woman and regained his composure. /I just got used to the idea that she's gone, it can't be./ He crossed his arms and refused to think of the possibility that it could be her. Reno, on the other hand, embraced it.
"Hey, Vincent.was her name."
"Nemesis, Hojo's daughter." Vincent answered before Reno finished asking.
"Hojo's daughter!" Elena said surprise. "That bastard should have had hamsters for kids!" She glared intently at the abomination in the tank. Fear crept and held her nerves hostage.
"Yes! I knew she couldn't die like that!" Reno screamed in happiness. He gave Rude a big pat on the back, making him stumble forward.
"Reno, Sis didn't have a father." The bald man let the words spew from his mouth like venom, but Reno was not about to give up hope.
"You're wrong, she didn't know who her father was, but she had one just like everyone else." He was sure this woman was his old friend.
"She didn't look anything like Hojo." Rude retorted sternly
"Well there's no doubt about that, but she looked a little like Sephiroth. Specially at the end..."
"The end, exactly Reno. She's dead."
"Hey, what if she goes crazy like her brother?" Elena asked no one in particular. /You're so riled up about this mystery woman. Bet it slipped your mind that she could be a lunatic/ She saw through Rude's pessimism, she knew he wanted Reno to prove him wrong, and badly./ I wonder what they would say if that were me./
"Elena, you don't know Neme. This woman tied me to a tree once for a whole day without food because I said nature was stupid and it could kiss my ass. She wouldn't let me go if I didn't apologize to the tree." Reno now laughed happily at that miserable day. "She wouldn't do anything like Sephiroth tried to do."
"I'm glad you think so." Vincent said. Reno had forgotten he was even there. "Reno, Rude, she is going to need people on her side." He looked sternly at each one of them. "Her family is going to make her very few friends."
"If this woman is who Reno thinks she is, then the Turks will be behind her." Rude spoke sencerily and quietly. Serious and somber to a fault. Elena looked at the floor, trying to hide her anger. No one asked her how she felt about it. Reno was right, she didn't know this woman and that's why she couldn't trust her.
"Hey, you know, I still have her clothes." Reno's grin grew sloppy and wide.
"What?" Everyone replied.
"Yeah she handed her uniform to me, before. well, she said she would comeback for it." His voice trailed of as he looked towards the Mako tube and the woman. "She always did keep her promises" * * * *
//Cloud//
/What?/
//Cloud, you must help her. Cloud, she needs your help. / /
/Aeris is that you? /
Cloud Strife opened his eyes to a world where beautiful flowers of all different colors, shapes, and sizes grew. The grass was fresh and lemon green, with a soft dewy texture. In the air were the songs of bluebirds and the smell of roses. But nothing neither felt nor smelled, nor sounded, nor looked as beautiful as the woman who stood before him. He cupped her face with his hand and felt her soft skin. A sad smile appeared on his face as he looked at her there, with her kind green eyes and her beautiful smile. She was there with him, but not really there at all.
/Aeris, there is so much I want to tell./Aeris placed her delicate fingers over his lips. She looked urgently at him. As she spoke her voice was accompanied by a plethora of voices, repeating or adding to her statements.
//I don't have much longer Cloud. Please hear me out. Help Nemesis. Help her. She will help you, all of you. She may me cold and sarcastic, but that's not real. It's just a mask, just a mask. Help her and you help me, you help the planet. Please Cloud help her, help yourself, help your friends, and help the planet. Don't let her have Nemesis, don't let Nemesis become her namesake. Please./ /
With those words the dream world began to fade. The brilliant colors dimmed, the songs hushed and Aeris began to vaporize. Aeris, who in her own enamoring way, both smiled and pleaded at the same time.
/Aeris don't go! Please stay just a little longer. Aeris please./ Cloud ran after her fading image with tears in his eyes and a knot in his throat.
"Aeris?" Cloud whispered as his eyes faced the light of the real world.
"No Cloud, Tifa." Tifa looked down at her best friend worriedly, his hand cupped her face. Cloud gave her a big smile that told her not to worry so much and took his hand back. He knew he had hurt her by calling her Aeris, but his mind was too intoxicated with the dream to care.
"Hey, are we in Mideel yet?" Cloud stood up and massaged his face, trying to bring his head back to the real world.
"Yeah, and you still haven't told us what happened," she said, softly punching him in the chest. "Or what in the world possessed you to go to Hojo's labs with only Vincent. We could've helped you, too."
"I didn't want you guys to go because this was something I wanted. Not something to drage you guys in to. Everyone deserves a rest. Plus Vincent and me handle ourselves just fine. We have common goals."
"Yeah, but you were also planning on doing this for as long as it took and your were going to live with him. The man doesn't talk." Tifa said in outrage at Clouds plans that excluded her. She was hurt./ He talks, you just don't listen,/ Cloud thought, but he wasn't about to fight with Tifa.
"Where are the others?" He asked. "At the bridge, waiting for you to explain everything."
"What about the girl?"
"Vincent and the Turks are taking care of that. They brought her to the Mako poisoning facility."
"Good. Let's get to the bridge."
Cloud and Tifa walked into the bridge as anxious faces waited for his story. He would tell them about what happened, the girl's situation, and the truth about who she was. Then they would make their way to the Mako poisoning facility, hoping she would be awake. When he reached the fore front of the drawbridge, Cloud inhaled deeply. Anxious faces stared back at him. His mind began to weave the story and his lips began to divulge it. He wondered how they would take this.
* * * *
Vincent looked at the girl who rested in the bed of a square hospital room. There were two doors relatively to the left of the bed. One lead to a bathroom and the other led to the waiting room, where Avalanche and the Turks, after they got done with the paper work, would wait for Sephiroth's sister. However, there was a slight chance they would meet no one at all. In the windowless room the doctor checked the woman's pulse and then her eyes with his flashlight. The woman named Nemesis still did not move after she was fed adrenaline shots. Vincent simply stared at her, only a white bed sheet covered her body. The way she looked, she was so.
"She's alive. That's about all I can tell you. She should be dead though." The young doctor studied the girl through his chic square eyeglasses. He raked his fingers through his sleek, jet-black, short hair as his dark eyes wondered how this woman could still be alive. "Five to Six years immersed in Mako would kill anyone. I gotta tell you, this woman is strong, not to mention beautiful. She'll pull through." He let out a sigh. "I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up any minute now. For now all we can do is wait."
"Thank you doctor," Vincent forced the words out of his mouth. He didn't like doctors, they where too much like scientists.
" No sweat," the young man said, happy to help. " I'm gonna grab some lunch. My secretary will page me when the patient is out of it." The doctor smiled and went out of the room through the door furthest to the left. Vincent could tell the doctor was scared of him, which made him eerily pleased. /I hate White coats./ He turned his attention to the square room. It was light blue, with no windows, and it close to being barren. Only the bed where the patient laid, a cart with an empty food tray, an IV pole, and a blue chair next to the bed, were the objects inside the room. Vincent walked to the girl's side. He leaned over to look at her face, maybe he would remember her. * * * *
Nemesis heard voices outside of her head. They were foreign. The consciousness of the Mako was no longer with her. She could feel that her own consciousness was back in her body, no longer flowing with the Life water. Her senses came back to her; she could smell the sterilized hospital smell, she could hear the sound of distant steps, she could taste the sourness in her mouth, she could feel the starchy sheet that covered her body, and she could sense. She could sense the square shape and cramped size of the room, the IV pole to the right of her, the cart with the food tray to the left of her, and the chair to right, past the IV pole. She could also sense a presence, someone that was glaring at her intensely. The culprits breath caressed her face lightly. She slowly opened her eyes, who revealed that the world was a haze. In seconds, the first thing she saw clearly where crimson eyes, jet-black hair, and the pale face of a man. /A man! Not again,/ she thought. Nemesis instinctively reached for the empty food tray and swung it against her attacker. Vincent leaned back to avoid such slapstick comedy to be used on him, but her will had already stopped her attack midway.
"Sleeping beauty." The food tray was dropped and she wrapped the white sheet around her. Nemesis looked in awe at his surprised crimson eyes. Without knowing, she leaned closer to take a better look at them. Their lips where inches away from each other, almost brushing each other's surface as she peered into deeper into his soul. All Vincent could do was remain paralyzed "You have beautiful eyes," she said frankly. "How did you ever manage to open them?" Her voice was cool and unintentionally seductive.
"Excuse me, 'Sleeping Beauty?" was Vincent's only reply. He was confused, but remained still as she studied him and in turn let him study her. He felt he knew this girl, this woman, but it was as if his memories of her had been wiped out."I'm sorry, do you know me?" He asked politely. His voice was almost a hush. A secret was transpiring between them. Some untold sensual aura had a grasp on both of them.
"When I was in Shinra Mansion, I saw you there in the coffin." Her speech did nothing to conceal the daze she was in. " You where sleeping, you're gorgeous, thus Sleeping beauty." Her eye lashes bated lazily but exploded open as she broke from the spell /What the hell did I just say?/ She drew away and stopped gazing at his illustrious eyes. Looking off to anywhere, but his direction, she muttered one last hazy sentence"Strange that you should be the one to wake me from my sleep."
Vincent regained his composure and remembered abruptly that she was Sephiroth's sister. His straightforward demeanor was back, but his nerves caused him to become informant and more talkative then he had been since his Turk years. "AVALANCHE is here and so are the Turks. You're in Neo- Mideel. We know that you're Hojo's daughter, so you're going to have to prove yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if they made you a prisoner. Although I don't think that's the case. " /Did I just speak abnormally fast?/
"All that in one breath, huh?" Nemesis looked at him with sun strained eyes. She too took repossession of her Turk self. "AVALANCHE and the Turks?" She paused. " Wait, AVALANCHE was that new terrorist group in Midgar. What are they doing with the Turks?"
"Long story," was all Vincent said. He got up the courage to look at her again. She looked...
"Ok, so do you have any women's clothing by any chance?" She said sarcastically, painting a lopsided grin on her face. At that moment Elena walked in with Nemesis's old uniform and other things.
"Oh she's up." Elena said startled. She walked up to Nemesis and gave her the outfit. Her heartbeats grew fast. She was half expecting a sword to pierce her heart right at that moment. Nemesis sensed her fear and she also noticed Elena's outfit or more precisely her uniform. /New Turk./ Nemesis stood up, her sheet still covering her body. She took the clothes from Elena's hands formally.
"If you don't mind," she said looking at both of them. "I need to change."
"There's a bathroom behind you and through this door is the waiting room. The people I told you about will be there soon," Vincent noticed Elena was struggling to speak as he found the words himself. Nemesis looked behind her and walked inside without a word or care. Vincent's heart now stopped its maddened pace. /What happened here? How can so affected by someone who I never saw? I was asleep. Is there no where else we might have met? /
"Hey, you wanna wait in the waiting room? The others are coming and a lot of them seem pissed." Elena kept her voice quiet. She stared at the bathroom door in suspense as she talked " They didn't take it well. Cloud said that they want Sephiroth's sister to be watched at all times."
"They're taking away her privacy?"Vincent was not too surprised.
"It's better then Barret's idea of putting her back in the capsule. Let's give her a last moment of privacy and wait for her outside." /She looks so.../