Chapter 6: Rusty Contellations

We headed into Nibelheim later that day. Isako had headed out with Yuffie to the tailor, to purchase some new clothes. Cloud and Tifa decided to go back to Tifa's childhood home, while Barret, Cid, and red XIII each decided to go and train in the mountains.

Me? I decided to go to the only home I knew.

The ShinRA mansion looked just as ominous, and foreboding as it always did. Ripped curtains dressed the windows, while a gate moaned its welcoming creek.

As I walked inside, the musky, stale odor of the abandoned mansion hit me like a ton of bricks. I coughed slightly, as my lungs adjusted, and carried on towards my destination, upstairs in the right wing of the house.

I made my way into a room with a small bookcase against the far right corner of the room. Approaching it, I pulled out a book, and the bookcase slid open, revealing a passageway into a secret basement area.

The door to my chamber remained open, I observed, just as I had left it. I walked partially inside, and noticed that the coffin lid, was also left astray from the container, as I had propped it, when I left in my haste to catch Cloud and his group.

I snorted, and moved on, towards the library, containing Professer Gast's research of JENOVA.

I walked down the two rows of tall shelves, towards a small armchair. I sat down, and closed my eyes, with a sigh. It was time for some serious thinking.

"I'll bring these back to the ship for you! See yah later!" Yuffie said, cheerfully, as she dashed out of Nibelheim.

"Alright then." Isako called after her, turning to look around the city. It wasn't long before her eyes rested on the large, abandoned ShinRA mansion.

She made her way towards it, swiftly, and entered, closing the large, oak door behind her. The lighting that came from the evening sky gave the main foyer an eerie glow. But, Isako edged forward, after a few minutes of observing, to look around the rest of the large mansion.

The last area she had decided to check out, was the right wing, upstairs.

As she entered a small room at the end of a hallway, she noticed a small passageway door, open, in the far corner of the room, "What is this?" she whipsered, curiously, moving closer, to take a look inside.

As far as she could see, there was a long, winding staircase, which led to a hidden area in the basement. Curiosity got the better of her, and she followed the long staircase, downward, into a dark, dimly lit, cave-like corridor.

She walked slowly, and cautiously, peering over her shoulder every now and then, nervously. She wandered to the end of the corridor, towards a room, which was lit up much nicer than the dank corridor she was currently walking through. When she entered it, she looked around in amazement at the numerous books lining the many bookcases in the room. They appeared to contain hundreds upon hundreds of log books, and text books.

She walked between the two rows, towards the back of the room. She stopped suddenly, when she caught a glimpse of Vincent sitting in the armchair, with his eyes closed.

She leaned towards him, closely to his face, to determine if he was breathing, and just as she reached out to touch his shoulder, his golden arm flew up and grabbed her wrist.

He opened his eyes slowly, "Isako?" he said, with amazement, "How did you find this place?"

"I.....guess you left the door open...." she said, slowly, still leaning close to his face, "C..can you let me go, now, please?"

Vincent blushed slightly, "I'm sorry..." he muttered, releasing her wrist, to let her stand up.

"What is this place, anyways?" she asked, curiously, moving towards the bookcase, lining the back wall, to read the titles on the log books.

"A ShinRa scientist's old research lab." he said simply, standing from his chair to follow Isako as she read the book's spines, "His name was Professor Gast, and his main research area was the Cetra."

Isako froze in her footsteps, and turned to face Vincent.

"Are you alright? You've gone pale.." he asked, concerned moving closer towards her side, "You're shivering?"

"I'm ............ alright ........ it just brings back some bad memories, is all..." she said, shaking her head, and looking up at him, with a more cheerful smile.

"Maybe, I should take you out of here." he said, putting an arm around her shoulder, as if to guide her safely from her fears.

She sighed, "Just once, I'd really like to be able to just forget everything that's ever happened to me. The labs, those nasty scientists.....the tests....everything..." she muttered, as Vincent led her from the room, "But it seems that every turn I take, just leads me to more goddamn reminders.."

"I know precisely what that is like." Vincent said, softly, stopping in his tracks, in the middle of the cave-like hallway, "Isako, some day I will tell you my story, so you will understand. Just like I'm coming to understand yours. Well...partially anyways."

Isako looked up at Vincent, and felt the pain eminating from him again, "Vincent...I..." she stuttered, not knowing what it was she was wanting to say.

Vincent smiled, and looked down at her, "Come on now, I'll bring you back to the airship. From here, we'll be going to Cosmo Canyon. Red XIII's home. Just a freindly get-together." he explained.

Isako sighed inwardly, but smiled up at him, "Sure. Sounds like it'll be loads of fun."

Yeah...I was sort of disappointed.

The more I got to know Vincent's friends, the more I felt like all I really wanted was to be with Vincent. To get to know him.

Yeah, this was complicated, all right.

To know how you feel for a person, so quickly after you meet them, and to not be able to tell them, because of a stupid fear of rejection.

It's true. I was sick of being alone. And if I told him my feelings, and he rejected them, then what?

I would be alone again.

All I wanted at this point was to sit and cry. And although crying wasn't an option, it didn't stop me from feeling like crap.

As we walked back to the ship, I looked up at the sky. Aries, the contellation was up there, looking down on me. It helped a bit to know she was there watching over me.

I'd tell them the connection....soon enough, I would have to.