Chapter 8

The Cheery music of 'chocobo's theme' filled the room Bernice groaned. She sat up in the half-light of her room and rubbed the fuzziness from her eyes. The room she'd been assigned to was simple but spacious. As far as she could tell, its ceiling, walls, floor and even the furniture, seem to be made of the same kind of bluish-green metal. A wardrobe sat on one side of the bathroom door, and a desk and chair sat on the other. The bed on which she sat lay opposite the wardrobe. The two connected rooms were lit by an adjustable florescent light which was built-into the corners of the ceiling. The whole setup made her feel as if she were sleeping in the cabin of some great, futuristic ship.

She made to reach for her phone, only to pull it back half way. She winced in pain. Yesterday's rigorous training session with Cloud had left her muscles aching. Ignoring the aches which surged through her arms, she reached once more for her phone. She flipped it open, thereby silencing the alarm. Upon flipping her phone close again, she turned the knob located above the headboard and the room brightened, making her squint a little.

She yawned. She hadn't been up this early in years, but had decided that this was the only way she would be able to make Tifa's session on time. She got off her bed. The ground felt surprisingly warm to the touch. Out of habit, she made her bed.

After a quick shower, she donned the spare set of clothing she found in the guest's wardrobe—a white, sleeveless turtleneck, a pair long, black pants and a black corduroy coat. She pulled on some socks and fastened on her sword belt. Finally, she pulled on the gloves which Shelke had given her the night before and slipped her feet into her new shoes. Upon flexing her hands, the gloves and shoes were activated. She felt them gradually weigh her down.

While she slipped her gun-blade into the holster and her phone into her pocket, she glanced round to where her own clothes lay drying on the rail by the bathroom door.

Once satisfied that everything was in order, she left for the mess hall.

------

Left foot…right foot…left foot…right foot…She gripped her fists tighter as she struggled to walk with the weight of her shoes. She had begun to become more accustomed to them as she walked, but each step still took a huge amount of effort to accomplish. At least I'm not stumbling anymore. She thought bitterly.

Upon arrival at the mess hall, she checked the time on her phone. 6:10am, it showed. Okay, so that gives me bout' 5 minutes to eat, and hopefully I'll be at the gym by 7. She shook her head. Nah, too little time. Then, a smile crossed her face. She had an idea...

Bernice through the mess hall quickly, gathering the things she needed—a paper bag and some sandwiches. It was difficult to lift her hands at first, but before long, she was on her way to the gym once more.

Left foot…munch…right foot…munch, munch…Bernice ate a couple of sandwiches as she walked. Not only did it help to keep the rhythm of her walking (which she felt, made it easier to walk with the deadweight of her shoes), she was making great time.

When she arrived, she saw that she had arrived just a minute early. Tifa greeted her with a smile, "Cloud wasn't kidding about your punctuality…"

Bernice shrugged, "Just lucky, I guess."

Tifa studied her new student and saw the bag she was carrying. "What's in the bag?"

"Um…the reason I'm punctual…"

This earned a hearty laugh from Tifa. "Take out's?"

Bernice indicated her gloves and shoes. This produced an understanding 'Ah…' from Tifa. "Don't worry, you'll get used to em' soon. Just take it one step at a time"

Tifa beckoned her to come forwards and continued, "I guess I'll be coaching you on moving more efficiently with your new 'accessories'. And for now, we'll be working on increasing your stamina."

Bernice spent the next few hours walking round and round the gym. Surprisingly, she found it easier to walk with each passing lap. Tifa also showed her how to lift her arms without injuring herself. "Lift using your shoulder blades. Let the force come from beneath your arms." Bernice did so, and found that her hands did not ache as much as before, when she lifted it previously. "Don't swing your hand, that's cheating." Tifa scolded occasionally. "Don't drop em'. With those gloves on, you could end up dislocating your arms."

Bernice furrowed her brow. She was out of breath but said nothing. She followed Tifa's instructions with grit. By the time the session ended, her muscles felt numb. Great…it hurts so much I can't even feel the pain anymore…She thanked Tifa for the lesson and waited as Tifa left.

------

After that, she sat down on a bench and started eating the rest of the sandwiches. She took out her phone and checked the time. It was 12:45pm. Enough time to rest for a while. She patted her gun-blade fondly.

After a fifteen minute rest, Bernice double-checked the location of the shooting range. To get there, she would have to exit the building on the east side. The shooting range would be in the next block.

Sighing, Bernice got up. She put her phone away and threw the empty paper bag into the rubbish bin behind the bench. Time to go…

------

Bernice had to admit, it was certainly easier to get around after Tifa's lesson. In a half-hour's time, she had reached the eastern exit. She headed out the sliding doors and began making her way across the garden. Here, shrubs and small trees dotted the landscape. She was basking in euphoria when a strange dog-like creature sporting familiar colors jumped out from behind the shrubs.

The creature snarled at her, revealing a layer of long, sharp fangs. Thick, clear saliva issued from its gaping mouth. Bernice had barely pulled her gun-blade out before the creature lunged. In a flurry of black and blue, the teen found herself being pinned to the ground. She opened her eyes to see her gun-blade wedged between the creature's jaws. It jumped back, confused to find a mouth full of gleaming, sharp metal instead of the yielding neck-flesh it had sought. Apparently, Bernice had swung her gun-blade fast enough to get it between the creature's head and her body. Blood and saliva stained her gun-blade where the creature had bit it.

Lying on the ground, she thought about to weights on her hands and feet. It would have been futile for her to run. "HELP!" she screamed.

Meanwhile, the creature had recovered and made to lunge at its victim once more. Time seemed to slow down as it did so. Bernice had lifted her arms protectively over her face. She shut her eyes. This was the end…

Suddenly, BANG! Three shots sent the creature flying into a nearby tree. Bernice heard the swish of a cloak and several more shots. In a moment, it was over. She opened her eyes to see a tall figure looming over her. He helped her to her feet. "You alright?"

Bernice nodded. In his head, Vincent swore. He and the others would have to keep a closer watch on the girl from now on. Not that the DG couldn't be handled…after all, he'd single-handedly dealt with DG infiltrations before, even though the result wasn't always pretty. He waved that thought away and mused. I'll have to tell Reeve about this attack later anyway.

Bernice turned to where her attacker lay dead by the tree. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as the creature's body slowly turned into millions of sparkling specks, floating heavenward.

Vincent watched with amusement as the teen as she went to examine to spot where the creature's body had dissipated.

Bernice was confused. One moment, she was being attacked by some monstrosity, and the next, her attacker's body had disintegrated right before her eyes. Now, the body was gone. It's as if it never existed!

She turned towards her savior, puzzled. "Thanks. But…what just happened?"

"You were attacked by a DG guard hound." His reply was curt.

"I know that…but where did it go?"

"I killed it. So, it returned to the Lifestream. Things that die tend to do that…"

"Oh…" It was all she could think to reply. She remembered reading about it during her first visit with Shelke. I didn't think they meant that so literally…

Seeing the blank expression on Bernice's face, Vincent asked, "You…sure you're alright?"

Just then, Vincent's phone began to ring. He sighed, "Time to start our lesson." He took out his phone and silenced it. "If you think you're up to it, c'mon." He turned skillfully on the spot, allowing his cloak to swish gracefully after him as he stalked off.

At the sound of the alarm, Bernice had snapped back into reality. She picked up her gun-blade and followed her instructor.

------

Once inside, Vincent handed her a piece of rag. She took it and cleaned her weapon. On a table, an assortment of things was neatly laid. There were bullets, and a variety of cleaning aids.

"You already know that it is important to keep that thing in good shape." Vincent said.

Bernice nodded.

"Then, can I have a look at your gun-blade?"

Bernice handed it to him. To her shock, Vincent started to take it apart! "What are you…?"

"I just wanted to make sure, that's all." He answered as he laid each component on the table. "We'll put it back together again later." He continued studying each component as he took it apart. Then, he took his own gun, the Cerberus, out and started taking it apart too. He compared the different components of each gun.

After a while, he spoke, "Right, Bernice, I want you to memorize each of these components. You'll have to know your gun inside out."

He taught her the names and uses of each component. When they were done, Vincent showed her how to put the components back together. He told her that she would have to practice assembling and dismantling her gun-blade till' she could do it fast whilst blindfolded. He assembled the Cerberus with practiced speed, and Bernice was awed. Vincent showed Bernice how to assemble and dismantle the gun-blade. He also timed her as she did it. It took her seven minutes to dismantle and another ten to assemble it the first time she tried. On her next try, it took her a total of fifteen minutes.

"For starters, I want you to be able to assemble and dismantle in less than ten minutes during our next lesson."

"Fine."

Next, Vincent showed her how to lock and unlock her gun-blade as well as to load her gun.

As twilight came, Vincent ended their training session. As Bernice turned to leave, he called out to her, "One more thing. Always remember to keep that gun-blade of yours close, if it's no in your holster, you should be holding it."

"I will."

Vincent watched his pupil disappear into the fading light. All in all, the lesson wasn't as bad as he'd expected. You've got a long way to go kid. But since I got you into this mess, I'll have to make you the best gunner on Gaia…

------

That night, Bernice dismantled her gun-blade and laid each component neatly on her desk just as Vincent had done in the shooting range. She took care not to lose even the tiniest of screws. "Magazine, barrels, material slot…what was a materia anyway…revolvers, hammer, trigger…"She thought aloud as she tapped the respective components.It wasn't hardly as easy committing the components to memory as it was to memorize the WRO map.

This is gonna take me a while. Better set tomorrow's alarm before I forget…She did so, and then went back to her pervious endeavor. Several hours later, she managed remember them all. I'll have to learn them by touch soon…she thought grimly. Next, she practiced assembling and dismantling her gun.

At some point, she fell asleep with her gun-blade (thankfully) fully assembled.