A/N: Hehe, I did say I was going to work on chapter seven earlier. (thumbs up) Wow, I wrote so much, I can't feel my fingers anymore.
Thankies for reviewing you two! Hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter!
Disclaimer: I read some of my old disclaimers from BTTHY and… I decided to bring back Aeris and Cait Sith!
Cait: Ah! You
really missed us!
Author: Uh…
sure I did.
Aeris: Aw…
where are the others?
Author: Uh…
they're eh… stuck. In the… bathroom.
Aeris: …you
locked them in there?
Author: (shrugs)
Yeah, sure why not.
Cait: …can I
hug you?
Author: …no.
Aeris: FF7
doesn't belong to Miss Author!
Chapter Seven
Connections
"Just a big guess." -Vincent
Professor Gast watched as Yuffie's appearance gradually changed. Since her body had been contaminated with the green liquid for some time, it caused some abnormal growth to occur. Small gray spikes emerged out from within Yuffie's back. Her whole body made no reaction to it, as she was now unconscious. Her green fur was now a solid black color with needle-like tips on the ends of them.
Gast quickly took notes as he was observing the experiment. And as he did, his head shook side to side. Of all the experiments he had been working with in the past, he admitted that this was far too much. Ever since he arrived in the Lifestream a long time ago, he'd think that his science life was over. But, when Hojo finally made an appearance, he still had the desire to continue his experimentations. Gast wondered what he could possibly do anymore. The only way to find out… was to be introduced to his science life once again. So far, Hojo's intentions were to make all Lifestream civilians suffer under his control. His brain washing experiment had failed already, and he was obsessed in destroying Gast's daughter, Aeris. The only question that hasn't been answered was… 'why?' Why would Hojo to go such lengths just to see people suffer? However, Gast would never ask why. Such a question was far too suspicious and he felt that Hojo didn't exactly gain full trust in his colleague. Gast shook his thoughts away and continued observing the creature.
'I don't want to see people suffer… especially in the Lifestream. Everyone serves an important purpose here…' he thought to himself.
Just then, the doors behind him suddenly opened. Hojo entered with several needles wrapped in a brown paper bag. He set them down on his worktable and made his way to his colleague. Hojo ran his finger against the cold tube from side to side.
"Has stage one completed its duties?" he said peering over to Gast's clipboard.
Gast scribbled in more notes and answered, "Almost completed, Professor. There's one more change yet to be conducted."
"Ho? I can see that my specimen has completely changed appearances."
"But, before we continue, she must have a cross-shaped slit on both eyes."
Hojo made a face then turned to the test tube. He tapped his finger several times. When the creature made no reaction, Hojo grunted and tapped louder.
"Damnit. Her eyes must be open for the chemicals to make contact to them." He paused and scooted over to his work desk. After filling one of the needles with red liquid, he scooted back to Gast and handed it to him. Gast blinked and stared at his colleague.
"Sir, this is-"
"Do it."
Gast bowed his head and slowly made his way around the tube. A small portal appeared to place the needle in. He hesitated for a moment.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to Yuffie. "If I don't do this, I will never truly know what other things Hojo intends to do with this Lifestream. As soon as stage three commences, I'll save you."
He bowed his head in shame and shoved the needle straight into the portal. Red liquid suddenly appeared inside the test tube, causing Yuffie's body to shake around like crazy. Hojo grinned with pleasure as he watched his specimen suffer. As soon as Gast made his way back to Hojo, Yuffie's eyes were wide open. They were completely red with a black cross-shaped slit in both of them. Hojo patted his colleague's back and turned away from him.
"Commence stage two."
"Yes… sir."
"In the meantime, I will be having fun with my little machine again. It just so happens that she is trying to interfere with my plans."
After Hojo left the room, Gast stared up at Yuffie with a sad face on.
"Soon… I promise."
"H-How did you know my name?" the woman nervously asked Vincent. She backed away from him as he took a step forward.
"Just you wait a minute!" Tuck stood up and blocked 'Raine' from Vincent's view. "Who do you think you are? Have you been stalking Raine?"
Vincent stared at Tuck, then to Lucrecia. He couldn't believe it. It had been a long time since his eyes gazed upon his first love. He was so shocked, he couldn't even answer Tuck's simple question. Vincent took another step forward and stretched his arm to Lucrecia.
"…Lucrecia…"
"Alright, alright," Cid finally said, pulling Vincent back. "I dunno what's going on, but it's pretty obvious that Vincent has met this chick before. 'Em I right?"
Tuck swiped his hand to his side. "That's nonsense! You couldn't have met her! She came to this Lifestream a very long time ago!"
"T-That's right!" 'Raine' quickly responded. "I-I don't know you at all!"
Vincent's arm slowly dropped to his side at that. 'You… don't remember me… at all…?' His fists clenched tightly. "Have her memories-"
"That's enough! I would like all of you to leave at once!" Tuck opened the door and gestured for them to exit.
Cid glanced at Vincent for a moment and sighed. "C'mon. No point in staying," he nodded and made his way out of the room.
Before Vincent exited out, 'Lucrecia' stood up and stared into his dark red eyes. The man blinked once and finally left the room. Tuck sighed in relief.
"What was that about, Raine?… uh… Raine?"
'Raine' stopped in front of the door and turned around. She smiled as her eyes glowed a strange green color.
"Merri… she should be fine now."
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Uhm… gil?"
"Yeah, don't we need to pay to stay or something?"
"N-No sir. We don't charge… at all."
"Really!" Cid jangled the gil in his pocket and turned to Vincent. "You hear that, Vin? A free stay! Isn't that sweet?"
Vincent didn't respond to that. He was still lost in his thoughts about his encounter with Lucrecia. The first thing that popped into his mind was, 'she lost her memories… just like all the others.' However, if her memories were lost, then she wouldn't even remember her real name, right? Perhaps only some of her memories were forgotten. Vincent rubbed his head at such confusing thoughts. He had to see her again… alone.
"Whoo hoo, wakey wakey, lover boy," the pilot waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "I'm gonna open our room now."
Vincent blinked out of his thoughts. He never even realized that they already arrived to their room. "I'm sorry."
After Cid managed to open the door, he immediately rushed in and collapsed on the soft bed. He moaned in delight and soon found himself in dreamland. Vincent slowly entered and closed the door behind him. He noticed that the room only had a single bed. Luckily, there was a place near the window where he could rest. With a sigh of relief, he removed his mantle and hung it over a chair. It was unusually hot in the room. He was surprised that Cid slept so soundly with the blankets wrapped around him. Vincent walked towards the bathroom and tried opening it. However, the doorknob wouldn't budge. He tried shaking it again, but that's when he heard something behind the door. Someone was talking… and it sounded like a woman! The man paused and gently knocked on the door. That's when she stopped.
"Is someone in there?" Vincent asked.
She sighed. "I am, Papa. I'll be done in a few minutes."
'Papa…?' Vincent turned his head to Cid. "Cid, I think we got the wrong room."
The other man flinched at that and finally woke up. "W-What? How could I? The guy said that this room was definitely ours."
"Well, I think you got it wrong, Cid. Someone's already in here."
The woman inside gasped and quickly opened the door. Vincent jumped back in shock and looked away with a red face on.
"Cid! Vincent!"
"T-Tifa?"
Cid rose up from his bed like a zombie. "Tifa?
Tifa smiled and wrapped her arms around Vincent's neck. "Omigosh! I'm so glad you guys are here!"
The door to the room suddenly opened. Tifa's papa was seen holding some food in his hands. He blinked a few times before asking,
"…honey… why're you hugging a strange man… with a towel wrapped around you?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Papa! These are my friends I've been talking to you about. This is Vincent and Cid."
Tifa's father bowed down. "Pleased to meet you. You gave me quite a shock at first."
"Ehe, well… I thought this room was empty…" Cid blushed. "Never expected to find Tifa so soon."
"So," Vincent started. "How did you come across this town, Tifa?"
Tifa took a sip of her drink then answered, "Well, when I arrived here, I was already in this room. This is where I met my Papa for the first time in a very long time. I was so happy…" She hugged her papa at that. "So, how did you guys find this place?"
"We weren't far away from here. "
"I see…"
"Hey, where's spiky hair?" Cid interrupted.
Tifa frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure. I wanted to look but Papa kept telling me I shouldn't."
He furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. "That's right! It's too dangerous out there! What if you lose your memories like the other girls in this village?"
"But! He's my friend! He could be in trouble right now! I've been through much more dangerous things than this! Please let me go!"
Outside of the Inn they were staying at, Vincent decided to get some fresh air. The thought of finding his friends was hard enough, let alone his little encounter with Lucrecia. He observed all the villagers that had happy faces on. Even some the women seemed to be quite happy. Why would they be? They lost their memories…
"Wondering about the girls, hm?"
Vincent quickly turned around. It has Lucrecia. He looked away and responded, "Yes. Why would they… be so happy? I would think they would be… depressed."
The woman leaned forward and smiled. "What would your reaction be if I told you that… I helped them regain their memories?"
"…w…what?"
"I don't understand why either, but… I can help them. Just by being near them, they somehow remember everything."
"So that girl…"
"Yep. Her memories have returned. But in exchange… bits of my memory must be taken away. So, that's why some of the women here seem a little depressed and confused. I really want to help them… but… I won't be able to if I don't have any memories to give up. The only memories I have are my name, my occupation and… Hojo."
Vincent turned to face the woman. "Lucrecia, do you…" he paused. Now wasn't the time to be asking something that she obviously couldn't remember. He put his thought aside and asked something else. "…do you know who is behind this act?"
Lucrecia lifted her head to the man. "I have a feeling… that it's Hojo. Before he came, everything was normal. All the women had their memories. But, ever since he arrived, all the women started to forget their memories. And not just here, but other places as well. I only found out about my powers a week after the incident. I was surprised that my memories weren't wiped out."
"Maybe because… you are still connected with Hojo. You were with him a long time ago."
"… I know. But… how do you know?"
Vincent paused. He couldn't reveal his true feelings for her. It would only send pains straight to his heart. He was just glad that he could see her for a little while. She was all right. He placed his hands on Lucrecia's shoulders and smiled.
"Just a big guess."
She smiled and secretly placed her necklace inside Vincent's pocket. Something inside told her that it would serve a purpose someday. She just hoped that he would know how to use it when the time was right.
"Heeeey, Vin!"
The two couple turned around at Cid's annoying voice. He and Tifa came rushing towards them, with 'Papa' on their tail.
"Papa says that I can look for Cloud… after finally convincing him." Tifa fake-coughed at that.
"Please take good care of her." Tifa's Papa said with a bow.
Vincent turned to Lucrecia at that. "I better go now."
She smiled. "Okay. Please be safe."
"…you too, Lucrecia. It was nice meeting you."
"Finally we're out! Man, that trip took longer than I thought. Damn."
Barret stretched his arms out and groaned. Nanaki, who was now carrying Aeris, gently placed her on the ground. He observed his surroundings, finding nothing but empty space. He tugged his blue vest and tapped his brown leather boots. He had no idea why he was wearing such silly clothing, but at least it was better than nothing. Nanaki stared up at the dark sky and frowned.
"No stars… no moon."
"R…Red?"
He turned to the voice. "Aeris!"
Aeris slowly sat up and rubbed her head. "Ugn… my head hurts…"
"How are you feelin'?" Barret asked cautiously. He didn't want to surprise Aeris with the former-enemy-being-all-friendly-now. She turned to him and stared into his dark eyes. A smile finally formed on her face.
"Barret! You're alright!"
He blinked. "Y-You remember me?"
"Of course I do! Red told me so much about you!"
Barret smiled nervously and gave Nanaki a look. "Oh… really."
Nanaki grinned. "She said she wanted to know about you. This is one step for her in remembering her friends. Barret, let's try our best."
The man nodded and turned to Aeris who was confused at the moment. "Awight then. Since Red has told you allllll about me, let's talk about him! And… why he's… a human right now."
Aeris smiled at that. "Okay!"
"But first!… let's head for my friend's place. We'll rest there for tonight."
"AHH! EEE! TH-THERE'RE BODIES! T-TWO OF THEM!"
"God! Calm down already, Elena!" Reno growled at her. "And what was up before?"
"I-I don't know! I fell down and… I'm wet!"
"So you wet your panties, big deal."
"RENO!"
Rude cleared his throat. "Sir, these bodies are… the guys from AVALANCHE."
"I know. I got three bodies here. The pilot, the vampire, and the big guy." The redhead kneeled down and poked them with his nightstick. "They're dead."
"I don't think so. They're still breathing."
"Whhaaaat?"
Elena shrieked. "Ew, ew ew… I don't want to be here anymore! It's so freaky!"
"Be a man, Elena!"
"But I'm a woman!" she whined. "Besides, these two are glowing a weird color.
"Yours too?" Rude responded. "How about you, Reno?"
"Yeah… yeah they are, now that you mentioned it. It's all green and really… disgusting-looking." He lifted himself up and looked around. He began to wonder how they ended up in that state. There weren't any signs of enemies or anything dangerous… but there was Sephiroth. Reno lifted his cellphone to his ear. "Alright, look for any doors or anything that can lead us deeper to the cave."
"What!" Elena exclaimed. "W-Why do we wanna do that?"
"Yes, I checked. There's nowhere to go from h-"
"…what? Rude! Speak up!"
"I… break… can't… you…" Elene's voice completely went static at that.
Reno shook his cellphone around. They were losing connection all of a sudden. He grunted and stuck his cell back into his jacket. There was something… or someone trying to interfere with their connection.
"Show yourself!" he yelled in the dark.
"…is that you, Reno?" a voice squeaked. A small black cat with a crown made its way to him. It saluted with a big small on its face. "Glad I found you!"
The Turk grunted and slapped his face. "Cait Sith… no… Reeve."
A/N: End of chapter seven! (stretches face) I'm sorry the Nanaki part was incredibly short. I got so into the Vincent and Lucrecia reunion thing, I didn't really concentrate on the Nanaki part. I'm sorry! At least I mentioned them! Next chapter, I'll concentrate more on them and… possibly where the heck Cloud is. Anyways! Hope you enjoyed and please tell me how you thought of it!