Chapter 4

As Litta ran she wondered what the others were doing. I hope they got my note. Of course they did, it was pretty obvious. But will they listen, or will they come after me? I almost wish Squall wou- no, I can't think about that. That will only cause me to lose my concentration.

She walked for another couple of hours before she heard a sound. Something, or someone, was following her. She could hear it stop when she stopped and start when she started. She turned around, but of course saw nothing. It's just my imagination, she concluded. She walked on. She heard it again, only now she was sure of it. She started to speed up, so did her follower. She ran, only not fast enough. Soon she felt a hand grab her and spin her around. It was a Turk.

"I've been looking for you," he said.

"I bet you have. What do you want?"

"You need to come back to the Shin-Ra building with me and have a little chat with Rufus."

"And if I don't cooperate?"

"You'll be coming either way"

"I don't think so."

She pulled out her gun. She aimed but had to dodge a bullet first. She fired but was off by an inch or so. I need to concentrate, she thought. She dodged another bullet, and then took the time to aim. She hit his shoulder.

"Ugh, you'll regret that." He lunged at her. She was unprepared and he knocked her flat.

"I'm not going with you," she told him.

"Yes you are." He punched her in the stomach. He got up when she doubled over in pain. "Now get up," he commanded.

"I told you. I'm not going with you." She pulled out her gun and was about to fire when someone knocked the gun out of her hand from behind. Then, by the same person, was kicked in the back of the head and knew no more.

"I thought you said you could handle her Rude."

"I was doing just fine, Tseng."

"Right. Heal yourself up and catch up to me." Tseng picked Litta up and threw her over his shoulder. He left Rude behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough. Your father wanted to make sure he would always be able to find you, that's all."

"I don't understand. Who are you?"

"My name is not important." He turned on the machine. She felt an electrical charge course through her body. She screamed. "That's nothing. But soon you won't feel anything." Suddenly she was very tired. She couldn't focus or keep her eyes open. She blacked out.

-------------

She woke up in the same room. She remembered being electrocuted, and the man, but could remember nothing else. "Where am I?"

"Don't you know?" said a voice.

"Who's there?"

"Rufus Shinra, child. I came to check up on you. Since you're awake, we'll see how Hojo did." He turned on the machine. She felt the electricity again. She screamed again. He looked at another monitor and muttered something about "it's working". He turned the machine off.

"Did it work?" someone asked.

"Wonderfully."

"Litta, look at me." She turned her head. It was her father. "Now when you run away I'll know how to find you." She groaned. "Show me how this works," he told Rufus. He turned on the machine again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Litta woke from her dream into a nightmare. She was strapped down onto another table exactly like the one in her dream. There was a machine to the side of her, an exact copy of the one from her dream. She was afraid of what would happen next. Rufus walked into the room which only increased her fears.

"Well it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry to hear you attacked Rude. That wasn't very polite of you."

"Who are you to tell me what's polite?"

"That doesn't matter. Shall we begin?"

"Begin what?" She was afraid of what the answer would be.

"You shall see." He went to the machine and turned it on. It was the same. She screamed at the pain. "You still react the same, and I haven't even warmed up the machine yet. What a pity." He walked over to a monitor and seemed to be inspecting something.

"What are you looking at?" she was able to spit out.

"I'm just checking to see if your chip is still in order. It appears to be in need of repairs though. I'm afraid we're going to have to give you a new one." He shut off the machine. "I'll be right back."

She tried to reach the machine but with her arms tied down she was short about a foot. She tried using her legs but couldn't reach it still. She shook the table but it was bolted to the floor. Maybe I ought to save my strength for whatever they have planned for me. I don't know if I can take much more of that machine. Rufus came back in with another man.

"This is Hojo's replacement. Surely you remember Hojo."

"I'm afraid I don't." I'm not sure I want to.

"Well, regardless of that, this is the doctor that will replace your chip."

"Is that really necessary?"

"I'm afraid I have no choice in the matter. If I don't cooperate then your father will kill me. He wants to be able to find you when he needs to. I'll leave you to your business Sans." The other man nodded and Rufus left the room. "Make sure you put it in the same shoulder," Rufus added before the door closed.

He picked up a needle and filled it with a liquid. He injected it her arm. She began to feel drowsy. He turned on the machine again, but her eyes were already clouded with blackness. She knew no more.

Squall and Vincent ran ahead when they heard the gun shots. They got there and saw Rude with a bullet wound.

"What happened to you?" Vincent questioned. Squall held his blade to Rude's throat proving they meant business.

"Get out of here before I kill you."

"Where is Litta?" Squall asked.

"Tseng took her. Now leave me a-" Vincent sent one strong punch in his stomach and he fell over. Squall hit him with the sword and Rude was out cold. They ran in the direction of the Shin-Ra building.

"You seem rather worried about Litta, Squall."

"Aren't you?"

"Yes, but your concern is different. Are you not telling me something?"

"Of course I've told you everything. Why wouldn't I?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You like her don't you?"

"Who, Litta? No!"

"Are you sure?" Squall made no reply. "I thought so. You know, there is no shame in feeling for her. Why do you hide it?"

"I would feel like an idiot when she says she doesn't like me back."

"You say it like you know what she will say, yet you haven't talked to her. Are you sure she doesn't share your feelings?"

"I don't know, but right now that's not important. There's the Shin-Ra building, but how are we going to get inside without setting off the alarms?"

"Good question. I usually climb the wall myself, but that might not be an easy task for you. Wait, follow me." Squall didn't question him. Vincent found the back way in, a way that only a Turk or ex-Turk would know. They took the elevator to the experiment floor, but all was silent.

Litta woke up. She remembered where she was after a moment, and then looked at the scientist. He hadn't seemed to notice that she was awake yet. He turned around then, and moved to the machine. "Let's see if your chip works," he said. He turned on the machine. She screamed. "It's working fine." He turned it off. "I need to see what Rufus wants me to do now."

Squall and Vincent heard someone scream from within one of the rooms. Then one of the doors opened and a man walked out. He saw them, but they had seen him first. They closed the door and pulled him away from it.

"Who are you, and who's in there?" Squall asked him.

"I'm only the scientist working for Rufus Shinra. There's a girl in there who I just experimented on."

"What did you do to her?" Vincent asked.

"I just replaced a tracking chip that her father wanted working, or at least that's what Rufus told me. What do you want with me?" They didn't answer him. They knocked him out to prevent him from setting off the alarm. Then they went into the room he had come out of.

"Litta!" Squall unhooked the monitors and unlatched the bars holding her to the table. "Are you ok?" She looked somewhat drained of her energy.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. What are you guys doing here?"

"We got your note. Vincent and I came after you while the others went to Esthar. We couldn't just let you get yourself caught."

"It seems I got caught anyways though."

"Come on, we need to get you out of here before the alarm goes off. Can you walk?" He helped her off the table. She was a bit unsteady, but could stand.

"I think I can manage. How do we get out?"

"Vincent knows this place better than I do. Vincent?" But before Vincent could answer, Rufus walked into the room, followed by Tseng.

"My, my, my. I guess my security just isn't what it used to be. Vincent, it's been a while since I've seen you in one of these rooms."

"Not long enough for me," Vincent replied.

"So bitter. Why do you hold a grudge against me? Isn't because of what I did that you were stronger and able to defeat Sephiroth?"

"You just enjoy putting people through pain. Now, move aside, out of our way." Instead of moving aside, he motioned to Tseng who moved towards Litta, but Squall stepped in his way.

"Leave her alone."

"Are you her bodyguard? Or her boyfriend?"

"I'm her friend." Litta hid her disappointment. "Now do as Vincent said and move aside."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He pulled out a gun, but Litta already had hers back and had it pointed right at Tseng. Her other was aimed at Rufus.

"If you shoot him," she said, "then I shoot you and your boss."

Tseng noticed her guns. He lowered his gun, but then brought it back up and fired at Vincent. He dodged and landed a little ways from Rufus. Tseng turned and rushed at Vincent. Vincent moved away from Rufus, causing Tseng to immediately stop himself before running into Rufus. Squall swung his sword at Tseng, knocking him against the wall. Tseng got up, but was shot in the stomach by Litta. Vincent threw Rufus against the wall next to Tseng.

"Squall, Litta, let's go," Vincent yelled. They ran out. They were at the exit when the alarm went off. They ran into the forest and headed towards Esthar.

"Don't worry Tseng, we can track her. Go heal yourself." Rufus headed to his office.

"Litta, hurry up." That's the third time I've had to remind her, Squall thought.

"I'm trying," she told him.

"Do you need help?"

"No I'll be fine." Why does he care so much, she wondered. Vincent smiled inwardly.

They traveled in silence for the next few hours. They slowed the pace down some so Litta could keep up. Eventually they reached Esthar.

"We're at the wrong entrance," Litta said.

"I know," said Squall. "We'll walk through the city until we get to the other side." Litta moaned. She had hoped they were done walking when they reached Esthar.

"How far is it to the other side?" she asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"No. How long will it take us to get there? No, don't answer that either." Squall laughed.

"Come on. The sooner we start the sooner we'll get there." They walked for almost an hour before Squall spotted Zell.

"Irvine, Yuffie, over here," Zell shouted. They met each other half way. "What took you guys so long?"

"We ran into a few problems, that's all," Squall told them.

"You mean Turks?" asked Yuffie. Vincent nodded. "Oh, I missed all the fun," she whined. I'm sure that's not the last time we'll see them, Litta thought.

"So why'd you run off, Litta?" Irvine asked.

"I thought I needed to do something," she started, "but I was wrong."

"What was it?"

"That's not important now," Squall interrupted. He could tell Litta didn't really want to talk about it and he wanted to avoid another argument between Irvine and Litta.

"But it's her fault we're all in Esthar," Irvine persisted.

"Would you rather be somewhere else?" Irvine shrugged his shoulders. "Unless you want to take over as leader, I suggest you keep your mouth shut." Squall turned away from Irvine, who was now looking at the ground.

Why did Squall defend me like that, Litta wondered. I could have handled Irvine. Does he think I'm a child or something? Is that why he came after me, because he thinks I need protecting?

"What now Vincent?" Squall asked.

"Let's take down Sephiroth!" Yuffie jumped in the air to emphasize her point.

"Calm down Yuffie. We can't take on Sephiroth before we know how strong he is. Let's find a place to stay the night," Vincent said. They moved into the city to find a hotel.

"Rufus, where is my daughter?"

"I hadn't expected you back so soon, Sephiroth. I'm afraid we let her get away, but the chip was successfully implanted."

"Good. Find her now," he commanded.

"One minute." Rufus went to his computer and clicked a few buttons. "Ah, here she is. Right now she is in Esthar. Would you like me to send someone to fetch her for you?"

"No. You couldn't keep her here, what makes you think you can bring her back? I'll get her myself." The door shut behind him.

After everyone had their room, they met in Squall and Vincent's room to discuss what to do next.

"How are we going to find out how strong Sephiroth is without battling him?" Zell asked. "I mean, it's not like we can look up his records or anything."

"Zell's got a point," Litta added.

"Are you saying we should battle Sephiroth?" Squall asked her.

"No, but we won't know how strong he is unless we fight him. Couldn't we just run away after we know, then figure out how to beat him next time?"

"Sephiroth won't let us escape," Vincent told her. "Once we're in that battle, we have to fight it out, to the end."

"So what do we do then?" Irvine asked. "We can't just sit around here and wait for Sephiroth to find us."

"You're right, we can't," Squall told him. "But we need to practice fighting before we fight him so we'll at least be somewhat prepared."

"I agree," Vincent said. "We should practice. Irvine can give Litta a few more pointers since he's the one with the most gun experience."

"I'd be happy to lend my knowledge to Litta," he said. That's asking for trouble, Squall thought, but there isn't another person here with more experience than Irvine. Maybe they'll be all right. He can't do that much harm. She'll probably do more harm to him.

"Let's sleep tonight and practice in the morning though," Yuffie suggested. "We'll do better when we're wide awake." Everyone agreed and headed to their room. Yuffie and Litta were sharing a room, so were Zell and Irvine. Squall and Vincent were the first ones up the next morning, so they decided to wake everyone else up. Squall was to wake up Litta and Yuffie while Vincent woke up the other two. Squall pounded on Litta and Yuffie's door.

"Wake up in there!" No answer. "Wake up!" Still no answer. Squall would have broken down the door, but it was a hotel and he could get in trouble for that. He pounded continually on the door for the next five minutes, and eventually he heard someone come to open the door.

"Who's there?" asked a sleepy sounding Litta.

"It's Squall, open up." Slowly the door opened. Squall looked into the face of a very tired looking Litta, with major bed head.

"What do you want at," she paused to look at the clock, "five-thirty in the morning?"

"It's time to get up. We're going to go practice."

"Now?"

"Yes now. Get Yuffie up and meet us downstairs in ten minutes."

"Ok." She closed the door in Squall's face without a second look. Vincent walked over to where Squall still stood.

"Are they up?"

"I guess. Are the other two?" Vincent nodded. "Let's head downstairs then."

Ten minutes later everyone was downstairs in the lobby. Squall led them outside the city into a nearby forest where there was a little more privacy, and secrecy. Squall went to one area to practice with Yuffie, and Vincent went to another area with Zell. Irvine took Litta a little farther away to practice with her gun.

"Why are we so much farther away from the others?" Litta asked him. She was somewhat suspicious of Irvine's motives.

"I thought it would be safer. If they're farther away, they are less likely to be hit by a stray bullet."

"Oh," she said. It seems reasonable enough, I guess. "So what do we do first?"

"Well, to make it easier on yourself, you ought to take off your jacket. Otherwise you'll probably get really hot." He took his own coat off as well. She followed his advice. "Now, how well can you aim?"

"Pretty well I think."

"Show me." So she pulled out her gun, found a target, aimed, and fired. She hit the tree right where she had been aiming for. "Not bad. How about moving targets, though?" He picked an apple off a tree. "When I throw this up, aim for where it's going to be, not at the apple itself." He tossed it in the air. She aimed just below it but missed by a second.

"I thought you told me to aim where it was going to be?"

"I did, but you still were following the apple. You have to see its path and choose a spot on the path. When it's about two seconds away, fire. Try again." He tossed another apple. She tried to see a path, fired, but just barely hit the top.

"Good, you're getting better. Watch me this time." So she went and tossed an apple in the air. He waited, fired, and hit the apple dead on.

"But it looks like your doing the exact same thing I was. What am I doing wrong?"

"Come here. For one thing, your stance is all wrong. When you're fighting someone, you don't have time to stand and then fire. You just have to fire from wherever you are. Go ahead and stand the way you normally do." She got ready to fire.

"So how do you practice a firing stance?" He came up behind her. Squall came up to see how they were doing at that moment. He stood off to the side and watched.

"Relax. Firing a gun should become like a reflex. Loosen up your arm here," he placed his hand on her arm to show her. "Now bend your knees a little and pull your shoulders back," he put a hand on each shoulder and gently pulled back till he was satisfied. He stepped back.

Squall had been watching and wasn't too happy. How could she let him touch her, he thought. He just wants to get close to her. Doesn't she realize that? Maybe she doesn't, but I know exactly what he's thinking. He must be so happy to be that close to her. I should probably get back to Yuffie pretty soon before she comes looking for me. He walked off silently without ever disturbing the other two.

"This is a little more comfortable. But how will I remember to not get into this stance when I'm about to fire?"

"When you fire you need to be relaxed. So when you practice, practice shooting different targets in different positions; but always remember to relax. Now try shooting the apple again." This time she hit it.

"Yes! I hit it!"

"Good job." They practiced a few more times with the apple until she only missed once here or there. "You've improved a lot. Now try hitting something you can't see."

"If I can't see it how can I aim at it though?"

"Good question. First I want to see how you think you should do it. Then I'll show you the proper way. Turn around."

She did as Irvine instructed. He does seem to know what he's doing. I guess maybe there wasn't any reason to be suspicious of him after all. She turned her attention back to what he was saying.

"Now, follow my voice. When I say fire, I want you to turn around to where you think I am and fire."

"But what if I hit you?"

"If you do eventually hit me, when you get the hang of this, I'll use magic to heal myself. You should know that."

"Oh, right." Why would I think of that, I don't use magic. Maybe I should start. Hmmm, I'll ask Squall about it later.

"Ok. Ready, fire!" She turned around and fired. She was off by more than five feet.

"How could I be that far off?"

"Voices can sound close when they're far, and far when they're close. Don't trust your ears, trust your instincts. If you think someone is closer than they sound fire closer. You'll find that when your instincts get better, they're often more accurate than your other senses."

"Can we try it again?"

"Of course. Turn around. Ready...fire!" She turned and fired, and was a little closer, but still nowhere near Irvine. "Maybe I should show you how it's done."

"Would you? Oh, but wait, you'll hit me. I don't really want to be shot."

"Don't worry. I'll fire right above your head so I won't actually hit you."

Litta moved around a little while Irvine turned around. When she was ready, she yelled, "Fire!" Irvine turned around and shot right above her head. She didn't speak. "I didn't hit you did I?"

"No, but you came awfully close."

"Sorry. Why don't you try it again." She turned around and waited. "Fire!" She turned and hit his arm.

"Sorry!"

"Don't worry. But look, you actually hit me. A little off still, but you hit me."

"I guess that's good, but I really didn't want to hit you."

"Curaga." His wound healed in front of her eyes. The bullet dropped to the ground.

"I really ought to learn how to use that stuff," Litta mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's get back to practicing. But can we try something else?"

"Do you have something in mind?"

"No, I just would rather do something that doesn't involve firing at you."

"All right, let's try this. We both go into the other end of the woods, even farther away from everyone else, and we'll hide. After a minute, we'll try to find each other. Whoever gets shot first loses."

"But neither of us wants to get shot."

"You mean you don't want to get shot."

"Hey!" Irvine had already stared sprinting towards the other end of the forest. Litta ran to catch up. When they arrived, they each hid and after one minute started hunting for one another.

Litta heard something behind her and turned. She saw Irvine a split second before he fired. She dodged and ran. When she was a distance off, she circled around and came up behind Irvine. She was careful to watch where she stepped to make sure she avoided making noise. She aimed and fired. He had heard her though. He dodged her bullet and fired back. He hit her in the chest. She fell back.