Chapter 2
When Litta arrived at the Shin-Ra building with Reno, she thought about finding Cloud. If he is alive, then I'll find him. Then I can ask him about my past.
"Keep moving. Rufus is waiting for you." Reno pushed her forward into the elevator. When they reached Rufus, he was sitting at his desk. He seemed to be unhappy about something.
"What took you so long Reno?" he asked.
"I had a few problems with her," he pointed at Litta.
"And I thought you wanted to see her after all this time. If I knew you couldn't handle her, I would have sent Tseng." Reno said nothing. "Go check on our newest Turk and see how she's doing." He left Litta with Rufus without saying another word. "So Litta, how have you been since our last meeting?"
"Why do you care?"
"Such anger. Perhaps I should let you calm down before we talk."
"I'm not going to calm down. What do you want with me?" Before Rufus responded, another man walked up.
"You wanted me sir?" he asked Rufus.
"Yes. This is the specimen I informed you about. I've already given you your instructions." The man nodded.
"This is my personal," Rufus thought for a moment, "doctor," he finished. "He will be running a test on you."
"Specimen? Test? Do you think I'm just going to let you experiment on me?"
"Yes actually. If you don't go with him willingly, I have ways of forcing you." She didn't trust Rufus, but she had no choice. She walked in front of the man, and he led her into what looked like a lab.
"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.
"Get on that table over there." He pointed to an operating table across the room. It was standing upright, so she stood against it. He came over and strapped her down, then he raised the table so she was lying down.
"What are you going to do to me?" she asked again. He didn't respond this time. He just walked over to a control panel and started to push a few buttons. Suddenly Litta felt an electric charge and then she blacked out.
She woke up later in a room that looked familiar. Must be the same cell I was in last time, she thought. At that moment, Reno came in.
"Awake finally I see. Did you enjoy your nap?" he asked sarcastically.
"What do you want?"
"Rufus wants to see you."
"I could have guessed that." She allowed herself to be led back up to Rufus. He seemed to be in a better mood today.
"I hope you are a bit calmer today." Litta said nothing. "No comment? Well, then-"
"What did you do to me?" she interrupted.
"I do not enjoy being interrupted. We just did an experiment on you involving the strength of magic. As I was saying, I would like to do some tests on you today." The scientist walked in. "Sans, you know what to do." Sans nodded.
Reno pushed her out of the room. He pushed her all the way to the lab, then left her in the care of Sans.
"Please get on that table over there." He pointed to a nearby table. She obeyed and he strapped her in just like the day before. This time though, he inserted a needle into her arm. He didn't bother to numb the area first, so she felt the pain. Then he hooked up some more tubes and went to the monitor.
"This shouldn't hurt very much." He pressed a button and she felt something entering her arm from the needle. He lied. This hurts worse than anything, but I won't cry out. I won't let him know he's hurting me. "Maybe you're stronger than I thought." He turned a lever and the pain increased. Still no cry of pain.
"Sans, please come up to my office for a moment. I need to see you," Rufus said over the loud speaker. Sans turned off the machine and left her. Litta let out a sigh. After a minute, Reno came in.
"You made me look like a fool in front of Rufus yesterday. Thought you'd get away with it too, didn't you?" He had a smile on his face that scared Litta.
"I never said much did I?" she replied.
"You said enough." He turned on the machine, only he turned it on all the way. The pain was unbelievable. Litta did everything she could to not cry out. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, a man with spiked blonde hair came in.
"What do you think you're doing Reno?" he yelled. He ran to the machine and turned it off.
"Why are you up here Cloud?" Cloud! I knew you were alive.
"You didn't think I'd actually let you torture her to death did you?"
"I was hoping. Get back. She deserves this."
"The only one who deserves this is you." He pulled out his sword as Reno pulled out his blade.
"Put your weapons away, both of you." Rufus had come back. Sans was behind him. "Reno, I thought I told you to leave this girl alone. Take Cloud back to his cell."
"Yes sir." Reno pushed Cloud out.
"Sorry about that Sans. I hope your test isn't ruined.
"Actually that will work just fine."
"I'll leave you to your work then." Rufus left and shut the door behind him. Sans went back to the machine.
"It's amazing how much pain you can endure. I'm impressed."
"Is that a compliment?" She was in no mood to talk.
"Yes, well, I guess I'll get back to work. As for you, for being such a good sport, I'll let you rest for the rest of the day." Tseng came in at that moment and took her back to her room. She fell asleep immediately, against her attempts to stay awake.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She knelt by her father, watching the rocks tumble around. She saw her father's enemies leaving. The one who had dealt the final blow to her father was trying to get to her. His friend was holding him back.
"Leave her Cloud. We have to go." They were cut off right then by some rocks.
"Go Litta," her father told her. He was whispering now, close to death.
"I won't leave you."
"You can't die here. You have to get out. Please, leave now..." He died on those last words.
"No!" She shook him, hoping to wake him up, but it was no use. The rocks were falling harder and quicker. She got up, and with one last look at her father, took off. She climbed up through the tunnel she had used to get down there. She fell down the first time when she was hit by a rock. She started again and held on tighter. When she reached the top, she turned into the tunnel she had used to get to the cave.
She crawled through the tunnel for a while. She stumbled every so often, over a rock or from the ground shaking. She knew she was in a tunnel under the ocean, but she wasn't thinking about that. She was only thinking of her father. After a long time crawling through the tunnel, she arrived under Midgar. She crawled out and looked around. Everything was in ruins. Not just her mansion, but the rest of the remains of Midgar as well. She sat down and began to cry silently. She heard footsteps approaching. She stood up and turned around.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Squall had returned to his hotel room, a bit disappointed he had lost her. He was hoping to talk to her. She was obviously the one who had been writing him the notes, yet she still was running from him. I don't get it. I thought she'd be ready to talk to me by now. Maybe if I get Cloud back for her, she'll talk to me. I have to see her again and sort things out. He decided to head to Shin-Ra to get Cloud. That was the only thing he could do.
When he reached there, it was late and he was tired. He found some caves nearby and decided to get a little rest before he got Cloud. He never suspected that Cloud wouldn't be the only one he would be rescuing.
Litta was woken up in the middle of the night by someone gently nudging her. It was persistent, so she decided to open one eye.
"Cloud!"
"Ssh," he told her. "Everyone's asleep except Reno, and he's waiting for an excuse to come in here and beat the tar out of you."
"Sorry," she whispered.
"Follow me. We can talk later," he added, noting the look on her face.
"But what about Vincent?"
"Vincent's here?" She nodded. She showed him the room and Cloud opened it. Vincent quickly got up, without asking questions. They followed Cloud out and were on the bottom floor when the alarm went off.
"Quick!" Cloud led them outside and into a cave he thought only he knew about.
"Squall!" Litta saw him in the back. He quickly put his hand over her mouth, knowing full well they shouldn't be heard. She struggled a little, but eventually gave up. Above them, they could hear Reno and a few others running about. Once they thought it was safe, they got out and ran into the forest, still without talking.
"Long time no see, Cloud," Squall said after a while.
"Too long I say." They shook hands. Vincent stood off to the side. "You too Vincent," Cloud said as he shook Vincent's hand. Then he turned to Litta. "And I'm happy to meet you Litta, without being in danger of death."
"That's what you think." Tseng came out from behind a tree.
"I thought one of you might have stayed out here, but I had my money on Reno. Did you get stuck with the dirty work this time Tseng?" Cloud teased.
"I'm here for Litta. You and she need to come with me, and I'll let the other two live if you come quietly."
"And you should know by now that that isn't going to happen," Cloud replied.
"Yes, well, I expected that." Cloud and Squall drew their swords, while Litta, Tseng, and Vincent pulled out guns. "But who is bold enough to make the first move?" he asked. Squall did the honors. Tseng dodged and fired at Cloud. Cloud blocked, but the bullet went into Litta's stomach. "I think that will do for now." He smiled and then ran off. Squall was puzzled, as was Cloud, but both turned their attention to Litta.
"I'm out of magic. They took it," was all she said. Squall used Curaga, but something was wrong. The wound healed up and the bullet dropped out. Litta on the other hand doubled over in pain. She screamed out.
"What's wrong?" Squall asked.
"I...don't...know," she gasped. She couldn't move because that made it hurt, but doing nothing seemed just as bad. What did he do to me? Maybe he used the wrong magic by mistake. But no, I heard him say Curaga. And the wound is healed. But then, what's wrong? Why am I in so much pain?
"We have to keep moving Squall."
"I know, but what about her?"
"I don't know. We'll just have to carry her until we can heal her." Cloud started walking, leaving Squall to carry Litta. She wasn't happy and would have protested, only she was in too much pain. They walked, then ran, then walked some more. No one spoke. They reached Maetar and checked into a hotel. The clerk looked at Litta a bit funny, but said nothing.
"Squall, are you sure you used Curaga on her?" Cloud asked.
"Yes. I know I used Curaga, but I don't know why she's in so much pain."
"Neither do I."
"Maybe I should try," Vincent put in. Squall nodded, so Vincent went over to the bed where Squall had put her. He healed her with Cura, but again Litta doubled over in pain. "I don't get it. This should be helping her, not causing her pain."
"It might wear off in a while, so why don't we let her rest," Cloud suggested. "We can talk in the other room." They filed out and shut the door.
"Why is she in so much pain?" Squall asked.
"When I saw Litta after she was brought in," Cloud said, "she was in the lab for an experiment."
"What kind of an experiment does that?" Squall asked again.
"No one knows Squall," Vincent said. "The experiments are kept top secret for a reason."
"Well how do we find out what he did to her?
"Squall, calm down," Cloud told him. "We need to think this through before we act. For now, we can't use any curative magic on her."
"What if she gets hurt?" Vincent pointed out. "How do we heal her then?"
"We can't let her get hurt," Squall decided.
"Cloud, how did you get out?" Vincent asked.
"Tseng left when Rufus called him and I was able to bust down my door. I knew where they were holding Litta, so I went to get her. She told me you were there Vincent so we got you too." No one said anything for a little bit. All they could hear was Litta in the other room.
"Squall, could you watch Litta for a few minutes," Vincent asked.
"Why?"
"I need to speak with Cloud and I want to make sure someone's watching Litta."
"Fine." Squall walked back in, leaving Vincent with Cloud.
"What happened to you Cloud?"
"You mean a little over two years ago?" Vincent nodded. "I told you that I was going to see Rufus about Litta. I got there, but somehow he found out that I was coming. Tseng was waiting for me and they put me in a room. I wondered why he wanted me, and why he waited to see me, but I found out when I heard them with Litta. I'm sure she told you how she saw me die, along with Reno. Shortly after she left, Rude came and revived both Reno and myself. They locked me up again, and made sure they kept security on me at all times. They wanted to make sure I didn't escape, since they knew I had information on Litta.
"Rufus called me in to talk every so often. He tried many different ways of getting me to tell him what I knew, but I never told him. I lied a little and sometimes insulted him. I knew his patience was running thin when I found out that they were experimenting on Litta. That was the first time the security on me relaxed a little. I took my chances and was able to get out, along with you two."
"How much do you know about Litta?"
"Not a whole lot, but more than anyone else I'm pretty sure."
"More than Sephiroth?" Cloud stopped. Sephiroth? He's alive?
"What do you mean Sephiroth?" Vincent explained what happened when Litta read the book. "So he's alive again." I wonder if he knows I'm alive. Hopefully not. Would he go to Rufus? "What has happened since I've been at Shin-Ra?" Vincent told him everything up until he was brought to Shin-Ra.
"You'll have to ask Squall or Litta about the rest. I've been at Shin-Ra for the past two years." Cloud only nodded.
When Squall walked in, Litta seemed to be doing a little better. She was facing the wall, but turned over slowly to see who had come in.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"What do you want?" She's angry with me, but why? Is she still wondering about the things Sephiroth told her? I thought she'd have been over that by now.
"Are you angry with me?" She didn't answer. "Why?" Still no answer. "If it's because of what Sephir-"
"Do NOT mention his name in my presence!" She held her stomach as the pain made a revisit. Once it had subsided, she tried again. "I don't want to ever hear my father's name as long as I live. Is that clear?" So she's calling him her father, not Sephiroth.
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." He sat down, slowly, on the edge of the bed. She turned around so she could see him clearly.
"Why do you care?" There wasn't as much anger in her voice this time.
"I want to know why you've been avoiding me all this time. I've been looking for you, and then when I finally find you, you run the other way. Don't I deserve to know why you are hiding from me?" She thought this over for a few minutes.
"When I left you, I told you I wanted to sort things out." Squall nodded. "For two years, I was running and not thinking. I wanted to be alone, but there were Turks and you and-" she paused.
"Sephiroth?" Squall offered.
"Yes. I had one run in with him since I left you."
"What happened?"
"It was about a year ago. I was in the ruins of Midgar, searching through debris from my old homes. I heard someone behind me and thought it was a Turk. I turned around and Sephiroth was standing there. He told me it was time for me to rejoin him. Time to destroy and rebuild the world. I thought I'd be able to get away. He brought me to that island again. He thought I had the book and was sorely disappointed when he found out otherwise. I tried to lie and play along with what he said after that. He could see right through me though. When he eventually brought me back, I ran away. At first he didn't see me, but he did pretty quickly. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong. Suddenly he stood up and left. I had no idea where he went or what he was doing, but I wasn't staying around to find out.
"I made my home in Maetar (see bottom) and tried to keep a low profile. I found out that Cloud was alive, and knew I had to talk with him. That's when I saw you in town. I left you those notes hoping you would get Cloud and bring him to me. I was still trying to avoid you. When you were chasing me that day, I got home and Reno was waiting for me."
"What did they do to you at Shin-Ra?" He was hoping to find a clue as to why they couldn't heal her.
"They did an experiment on me. I don't know what exactly. Then they were doing testing, seeing how much pain I could endure. They were going to do more but Cloud got me out first." At that moment, Vincent and Cloud came in.
"You seem to be doing better," Cloud commented.
"Yes. I want to ask you some questions if that's all right."
"I thought you might. But I'd like to wait until the morning. I think we're all a little tired, and you most of all."
"I guess. It's just, you seem to have all the answers to my past. I've been waiting to talk to you for over two years."
"I know, but I think you can wait one more night."
"Okay." They all went to bed and planned on hearing Cloud answer some very important questions in the morning.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"What do you know about her?"
"I told you. The only person who will ever get this information out of me is Litta." He received another punch in the mouth.
"Don't be smart with me. I will make you tell me Cloud. You can't resist forever."
"You'd be surprised Reno." Reno continued beating him up.
"How sad Cloud. It's only been an hour and you can't even stand up anymore." He kicked him in the stomach, again and again. There was blood dripping from Cloud's mouth. "Now tell me what you know!" He threw him against the wall, but Cloud didn't get up this time.
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Maetar: one of a few new cities that were built during the two years of Litta's absence