A/N: Not much to say here, this chapter will mainly be a wrap-up of the recent excitement. I tried to get some more plot development going in this chapter so I can push things towards the ending I want.
Final Fantasy VII – Remembrance
Chapter 14 – Can You Change the Future?
Nanaki was the first to notice that something was amiss. As he lay near the lake of Lifestream, one of his ears twitched as he caught an odd bubbling sound. Cracking his good eye open, he glanced towards the lake to find a disturbance on the surface of the glowing liquid.
"I believe something is emerging from Lifestream," he stated in a calm yet urgent tone.
Despite his softer voice, the other members of AVALANCHE perked up immediately when he spoke and looked out across the lake. Barret was first in action as he rushed over to the edge of Lifestream.
"Someone go grab a rope or somethin'! We probably need to fish 'em out!" He directed.
There was a burst of movement as Cid ran off towards the the camp where the citizens of Mideel were staying in search of a towline. Tifa joined Barret by the edge of Lifestream, a worried look on her face.
"I see them!" She cried out suddenly.
The gunman squinted against the glow of Lifestream to find that two figures had floated up onto the surface. The bright yellow of Cloud's hair was unmistakable even against the light of the liquid they were rising from. The man's head broke the surface as he gasped for air, flailing momentarily before grabbing a hold of Yuffie who was floating nearby.
"I think… I think he's conscious!" Tifa shouted excitedly as she pointed out towards her childhood friend.
At that moment, a panting Cid returned with a bundle of driftwood and planks tied together with rope from a former sky bridge.
"HEY!" He called out across the lake. "Grab on!"
The old pilot launched the tied bundle of debris out towards their leader. It landed with a splash near the man and bobbed slightly in the viscous liquid. Cloud thrashed for a moment before getting into a smoother motion. He dragged Yuffie along and grabbed onto the splintered wood with his free hand. On the shore, the team began to haul the pair towards them, struggling against the Lifestream's inherent suction. With the combined effort of five people, the wayward pair was soon pulled onto dry land.
"Cloud! Can you hear me?" Tifa asked as she hovered near the half-drowned man.
The blonde coughed several times and spat up some liquid before nodding.
"Y-Yeah… I'll live," he stammered. "How's Yuffie?"
The young woman looked over at her teammate to see Cait Sith monitoring her.
"I think she's okay," the toy replied. "She's just unconscious."
The man let out a sigh of relief as he slumped slightly. Tifa caught him and supported his weight as he leaned tiredly into her.
"Are you okay?" She countered worriedly.
Cloud nodded a bit as he glanced around the remains of Mideel.
"Where… where are we?" He asked in confusion.
"Mideel," Cid answered as he came back over with Doctor Wastryn. "Let's get the two of you taken care of before story time though."
The rest of AVALANCHE waited nervously as the old doctor looked over the unconscious girl with a combination of physical checks and a Sense Materia. After a moment, he carefully channeled a Cure spell. The green magic swirled elegantly around the Yuffie's torso for a moment before sinking into her sides.
"She had a bit of fluid in her lungs," the man reported. "Fortunately, it's not impeding her breathing and she should be able to cough it up with a bit of effort."
Cloud let out a small sigh.
"Thanks doc," he said.
Doctor Wastryn merely stared at him with one eyebrow raised.
"I still need to give you a check up as well," he replied pointedly.
The swordsman looked a bit uncomfortable with this.
"I'm fine," he said. "Really."
The old doctor did not look impressed.
"I'll be the judge of that, young man," he said contritely. "People don't simply break out of severe dementia like you apparently have."
Tifa gave her friend a small squeeze on the arm, and the man let out a resigned sigh. Cloud wisely put away any other protests he had and let the good doctor do his job. Doctor Wastryn spent a considerably longer period of time casting multiple Sense spells over the blonde's head, all the while muttering incoherently to himself. Finally, the man stepped back with a sigh.
"I don't get it," he said in awe. "It's like you were never sick at all. What the hell happened in Lifestream?"
A strange look passed over Cloud's faced before he shrugged slightly.
"I… had a bit of spiritual experience, I suppose?" He offered.
The old man shook his head in disbelief.
"If we all make it through this," he said in a hopeful voice, "I do hope you'll stop by again so we can talk a bit more about Lifestream."
Cloud looked decidedly uncomfortable about this and more than a bit confused as to what was going on.
"The entire thing was kind of personal," he said instead.
While Wastryn looked a bit disappointed, he nodded nevertheless.
"Of course, Lifestream is the very essence of the Planet. It connects us not only to those around us, but also to ourselves," he sighed. "It's a bit of a pity. I would've loved to know how you were healed."
Cloud brightened up a bit at this.
"I can answer that," he said happily. "She helped me find myself again."
He nodded at the unconscious ninja with a fond smile.
"I see…" the doctor looked satisfied by this response.
Cid chose this point to interrupt the little discussion they were having.
"This is great and all, but we're still on a timer," he reminded the Doctor.
Wastryn blinked in surprise before nodding.
"Of course, of course," he said waving a hand. "I won't keep you any longer."
With that, Barret scooped up the tiny girl and Tifa helped Cloud to his feet.
"Thank you for all your help," Tifa said gratefully to the doctor as they left.
The group moved away from Mideel and out towards where the Highwind was located just outside of the jungle. Cloud's look of confusion only grew when they entered the airship.
"When did we get an airship? I thought only Shinra had these," he asked as the others boarded.
"Commandeered it, of course," Cid said proudly. "I knew the folks piloting it and they were happy to lend us a hand."
The team gathered in the meeting room after putting Yuffie into her bunk. Cloud was directed to sit at the head of the table, which he did so looking only slightly uncomfortable with being put on the spot.
"What exactly happened since North Crater?" Cloud asked after everyone was situated.
The others were silent as they considered everything they had been through in their leader's absence.
"What do you remember?" Tifa asked first.
Cloud furrowed his brow as he tried to remember North Crater.
"I…" he started haltingly. "I remember Sephiroth showed up. He talked about Zack…"
Tifa perked up at this.
"You remembered!" She exclaimed.
The man scratched his head and averted his gaze in shame.
"Yeah…" he muttered.
He briefly shook his head and took a breath before addressing the others.
"Actually, I need to say something first," he announced before continuing when no one else spoke. "Some of what Sephiroth said back in North Crater was true. I am not, and have never been, a part of SOLDIER. I was merely a standard MP accompanying Sephiroth and another SOLDIER named Zack on that mission in Nibelheim."
Tifa looked a bit sad at this revelation, but seemed to understand. Barret on the other hand sighed as his earlier suspicions about the man were confirmed.
"So why did you think you were?" He asked.
Cloud bit his lip and looked down at the table.
"I attacked Sephiroth in a rage after he killed everyone in town and hurt Tifa," he continued, glancing over at the brunette. "I don't know how, but I got the jump on him initially and eventually overpowered him. I think that's when he fell into Lifestream. But I was injured, and so was Zack. Hojo was able to capture both of us for experiments with those cells from Jenova."
Cid raised a hand.
"Hold up," he interrupted. "If you and Zack were captured, why didn't they take Tifa as well? Wasn't she injured before you killed Sephiroth?"
The swordsman looked over to his childhood friend, hoping she might be able to clarify things further.
"My martial arts teacher Zagan was in Nibelheim trying to save any survivors," she explained. "After that, he chased after Zack and found us in the reactor. He got me out first since I was the most injured, but when he went back for the others, the place was already swarming with Shinra troops. Someone must've alerted them of the incident."
Cloud looked a bit pale.
"You were lucky Zagan got you out," he said quietly. "Who knows what could've happened if they also found you in the reactor."
The young woman nodded with a similar expression.
"I don't know how long we were in that underground lab," Cloud pushed on. "Zack was usually more alert because he had adapted to Mako exposure from his SOLDIER treatments. Eventually he broke us out, but Shinra was quickly on our tail. I think they sent an army after us… well, after Zack really. I don't remember much, I was suffering pretty badly from Mako poisoning at the time. He… he died fighting them off until they got in too many lucky shots I think. I remember only seeing three enemies in the end."
He paused for a moment, caught up in the memory. When he began again, his voice was thick with emotion.
"I buried him on that cliff overlooking Midgar. I took his sword and… somewhere in there I guess I took his memories too. I wanted so badly for him to still be alive that I practically thought I was him when you found me at the train station," he finished looking towards Tifa.
Tifa grimaced at that memory.
"Yeah," she muttered. "You were pretty out of it when I found you. We couldn't get much out of you and since you said you went to join SOLDIER, we figured maybe a mission went wrong or something. I didn't really start questioning your memory until we got tied up in this whole Sephiroth affair."
The group was silent as they digested the true story behind the Nibelheim fire.
"Is this what you discovered in the Lifestream then?" Nanaki finally asked.
Cloud nodded.
"Yuffie was there in… spirit, I suppose. She helped me piece together my past and separate my memories from the ones I picked up by being around Zack."
Then he looked around the conference room.
"So, what exactly happened after I gave Sephiroth the Black Materia?" He sighed guiltily.
"Meteor got summoned," Cait Sith began. "Shinra freaked out over it and tried to have Barret and Tifa executed to 'calm the masses' so to speak. Thanks to some smooth infiltration from Vincent and a lot of planning, we managed to rescue them and even got this awesome airship on top of it all!"
Cloud cast a concerned look over to Barret and Tifa.
"They tried to have you executed?" He asked worriedly. "How'd they even catch you in the first place?"
Tifa fidgeted slightly.
"You probably don't remember this much, but we got hurt trying to stop you at North Crater…" she said quietly.
"You hit us with some kinda energy," Barret added. "Stunned me pretty badly, but Tifa was worse off."
Their leader let out a pained sigh and rubbed his face a few times.
"I'm sorry…" he apologized. "I don't know if I really thought I was a clone, or if it was the JENOVA cells Hojo injected me and Zack with, but at the time, I really didn't have much control over my actions."
Barret waved it off.
"What's done's done," he grunted. "We've got bigger problems to worry about."
Cloud nodded again.
"Right, Meteor. So where do we stand on stopping it? What do we know?"
It was like a switch had been flipped. Cloud seamlessly transitioned back into the Leader position. Cait Sith was all too happy to oblige.
"Well, Meteor's currently still gathering rocks and debris," he explained. "The scientists at Shinra estimated a twenty percent increase in mass over the last few days. We don't know how much larger it'll get, but even the way it is right now is sufficient to wipe out all life on the Planet. It hasn't slowed down its gathering process, so the scientists are remaining hopeful. Maybe Sephiroth wants to eliminate everything immediately; maybe the spell just has a really long windup period. No one really knows."
"So we have time," Cloud mused. "Anything else?"
Cid spoke next.
"We grabbed two Huge Materias from Shinra. They were trying to destroy Meteor with it, but now that we've got them, maybe they'll try something else?" He then turned to Cait Sith. "Yo, Cat. Any updates from Shinra?"
The robotic cat paused as he contacted his controller for information. Then he nodded and turned back to the group.
"The group is going after one final Materia in Junon's underwater reactor. They've already started moving the one they got from Nibelheim towards Rocket Town. Seems they've got plans in Rocket Town afterwards."
The old pilot cursed at this.
"You think they're gonna use that old rocket?" He demanded.
Cait Sith shrugged casually.
"That seems the most likely," he replied.
Cid suddenly stood from the table.
"Like hell they're going to space before I do!" He snarled. "I'm setting a course for Junon. We'll stop them there and then we're going to Rocket Town!"
He stormed out of the room, leaving the others to stare at his retreating form.
"So…" Cloud finally said looking around. "Where's Vincent?"
Tifa looked a bit sad at this.
"We think he was attacked by Sephiroth," she said as she placed her bag onto the table. "This was all we could find near Mideel."
She pulled out the gunslinger's mangled prosthetic. The forearm had been sliced through and the rest of the hand was badly damaged. As she brought the hand out of the bag, several small bolts and scraps of metal also rolled out onto the table. Cloud stared at the arm in silence.
"He might've fallen into Lifestream," Nanaki suggested.
Cloud considered this explanation.
"Maybe he did," he mused. "But if he did, it was at a different time as me and Yuffie, we didn't even see a hint of him in that mental world we were in."
The group was silent again at this disheartening news.
"Cait, keep an ear out for any mentions of Vincent," Cloud finally requested. "Who knows, maybe he resurfaced somewhere else. After all, I went from North Crater to Mideel."
The robot nodded. At that moment, they felt the ship lurch as it rose into the air.
"Looks like we're off," Cloud said idly. "You guys should get ready. We don't know what kind of resistance we'll encounter in Junon."
"Speak for yerself," Barret mumbled with an incredulous look. "Yer the one who needs rest the most!"
Cloud grimaced at this.
"Yeah," he relented. "I'll catch a nap during the flight."
Their leader asked a few minor questions about the state of the world, but eventually the group dispersed to prepare for their upcoming mission in Junon. As they were filtering out of the conference room, Cloud caught Tifa's attention as she was packing away Vincent's prosthetic.
"Can I talk with you for a bit?" He asked.
The young woman looked over at her longtime friend.
"Sure, what's up?" She asked happily.
Cloud fidgeted for a moment.
"It's about Nibelheim," he said at last. "It's about the things I remembered."
Tifa's eyes widened a bit before she nodded.
"Do you want to take this to your room?" She suggested. "We'll have more privacy and you can rest a bit better."
The blonde simply nodded and the two headed off towards the cabins on the Highwind. With Tifa leading the way, they quickly found the room that had been set aside for Cloud. He sat down on the bunk while Tifa leaned against the small desk in the room.
"What did you want to talk about?" She asked when it was apparent the man was not feeling vocal.
The silence dragged on a bit longer as Cloud fidgeted with his armor.
"I had a crush on you when I was young," he suddenly admitted.
Tifa blinked.
"Oh…" she responded blankly, not expecting such an opening statement. "And now?"
She winced internally, knowing it wasn't the best response. But somewhere deep inside, she still wanted to hear it directly from him.
"I… I think I got over it," her friend replied sheepishly. "Sorry."
They sat in an awkward silence for a while.
"Sorry I never noticed," Tifa mumbled in embarrassment.
Cloud shrugged nonchalantly.
"I was a pretty awkward kid," he reasoned. "I was surprised you even knew who I was."
"Was that why you joined SOLDIER?" Tifa asked softly.
The swordsman let out a frustrated sigh.
"Sort of?" He hesitated before continuing. "What do you remember about your fall?"
Tifa shrugged at this. Much of that time was a blur for her. It seemed that things progressed quickly after the fall and, before she knew it, Cloud had left for Midgar.
"Not much really. From what I was told, I fell in the mountains when I ran off to follow that silly children's story I had heard." She thought for a bit before continuing. "Dad seemed to be pretty mad with you after that happened though?"
Cloud let out a small scoff.
"Yeah, most of the town blamed me for it. He was pretty vocal about how I had led you there."
Tifa raised an eyebrow at this.
"And the real reason?" She asked pointedly.
"You slipped, I tried to pull you up but I wasn't strong enough," the man said guiltily before looking away.
The young woman huffed in annoyance at this.
"Honestly," she exclaimed. "I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but he could be so small-minded sometimes. There's no way you could've saved me. I'm lucky I survived at all. I visited that place a few years later, you know? That fall could've easily killed me."
Cloud was silent through her small rant. She turned back towards him.
"Was this why you wanted to join SOLDIER then?"
Her childhood friend merely nodded.
"You came to help me in the end," she said gently. "You defeated Sephiroth and saved my life. I think that proves you're pretty strong now, don't you think?"
The blonde shrugged mulishly.
"I got the drop on him," he groused after a time.
Tifa gave an exasperated smile at this.
"And this time you're stronger and you have all of us to help you," she finished for him. "We'll beat him. You'll lead us to victory."
Cloud looked up at her and eventually nodded.
"Yeah…" he said slowly. "I'll do my best."
Tifa pushed away from the desk and stretched.
"Well," she began. "I should – "
A bright chime from her PHS interrupted her train of thought.
"Who…" she muttered as she pulled out the device.
She gasped when she saw who was calling.
"Vincent!" She shouted as she put the call on speakerphone. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
The gunslinger's voice was crackly, as if coming from an old transmitter.
"Yeah…" he said. "I was dragged into Lifestream by Sephiroth but I got away."
Cloud leaned over.
"Where are you now?" He asked.
There was a pause.
"Cloud? You're okay now, I take it?" came Vincent's reply.
"Yeah," the man replied. "I took a little dip in Lifestream as well. Funny how we didn't meet up. Yuffie was there with me through my recovery."
Vincent let out a thoughtful hum.
"I take it she guided you back to yourself or something to that extent?"
"Yeah," the blonde replied. "It was all pretty crazy. I imagine you got your own vision trip in that goop?"
The gunslinger let out a dry chuckle.
"To some degree. I assume you're on the airship?" He asked. "I need to request a pickup."
Tifa butted back in at this point.
"I'll let Cid know you're alive. Where are you?" She repeated.
There was another short delay. It appeared whatever Vincent was using was not his PHS.
"I'm at Bone Village," the man replied. "I surfaced at the lake in the City of the Ancients. My PHS died from the water damage."
Cloud frowned at this.
"Strange place to come out," he muttered. "But I showed up in Mideel, so who am I to talk?"
"We'll be over right away!" Tifa interjected. "Hang tight!"
She hung up and pointed at Cloud, who looked a bit surprised.
"You! Get some rest. I'll take care of Cid, you need to recover," she commanded.
Cloud gave her a faint smile.
"Yes ma'am," he answered.
That smile remained on his face as he watched his childhood friend run off out of the cabin. He had his suspicions on the young woman's relationship with the former Turk and her actions only confirmed those thoughts. With a sigh, he leaned back into his bed, content to let the others take care of things for the time being.
His shoulders felt surprisingly light at the reprieve.
…
Vincent watched as the Highwind touched down outside of Bone Village. The massive thrusters of the airship sent blades of grass flying around him. When it finally set down, a ladder was lowered from the outer deck and a figure disembarked. He moved towards the ship but before he got close to the ladder, someone collided with his stomach.
"You're okay!"
Tifa gripped his torso tightly as she buried her face into his chest. Vincent smiled slightly as he wrapped his single arm around her in reciprocation.
"Barely, but yes," he agreed.
She looked up at him, a questioning look in her eyes.
"What happened?" She insisted.
"Sephiroth tried to absorb my demonic powers," he explained quickly. "The Cetra somehow managed to save me."
The young woman looked as if she wanted to ask more, but he gestured for her to stop.
"We can talk later," he said urgently. "I imagine Cloud wants us to get moving?"
Tifa nodded and the two of them climbed back up onto the ship. Cid was waiting for them just inside the ship.
"Sorry for the detour," Vincent sighed. "I know time is of the essence."
The old pilot waved a hand dismissively.
"Just glad you're back," he said gruffly. "How's the arm?"
Vincent glanced down at the jagged edges of his ruined prosthetic.
"I'll manage for the time being," he said hesitatingly. "It'll most likely need to be replaced."
Cid nodded as they walked deeper into the ship.
"I took a look at the remains we recovered," he said with a sidelong glance at Vincent's severed prosthetic. "Intricate stuff. I might be able to fix the metal, but the electronics are probably shot."
Vincent winced at this.
"I figured as much," he replied dully.
"We'll figure something out," he said. "For now, you get yourself some rest. Just like Spike, you've been through quite a bit in Lifestream, I imagine."
"Indeed," the gunslinger muttered.
Shortly thereafter, the airship took off back towards Junon. Inside, Tifa turned to the man.
"Well?" She asked again, trying to get more information.
Vincent gestured for her to follow him into his room. Once they were there, he sat down with a sigh.
"I think Sephiroth and Jenova are catching on," he said plainly.
Tifa looked startled at this.
"What?" She exclaimed. "What do they know?"
The man shook his head.
"Not too much, I think," he said trying to ease her worries. "They suspected something because I proved to be a bit too competent. Jenova guessed that the Cetra were helping me."
"The Cetra?" Tifa asked perplexed. "The race that Aerith was descended from?"
Vincent nodded.
"I see…"
Tifa remained silent after that unsure of what advice she could offer.
"I met Aerith in the Promised Land," Vincent said after a moment.
The young woman's head jerked up at this.
"When you fell in Lifestream?!" She exclaimed. "What did she say?"
Vincent shrugged helplessly.
"Not much unfortunately. The so-called Elders were the ones to give me that vision and they're keeping a pretty close eye on me to make sure we're making good time."
"So Jenova was right?" Tifa frowned at this.
"Yeah."
The man sighed heavily as he pulled his broken PHS out of his pocket and left it on the desk in the room. As Tifa watched, her eyes widened briefly and she turned.
"Be right back!" She called out as she rushed out of the room.
Vincent merely stared at the open door, standing near his bunk and waiting for her to return. Moments later, she came back with a bag. Opening it, she proffered it to him. He took it, looking inside to find the remains of his prosthetic arm, the cuts Sephiroth made throughout the length of the limb standing out among the residual scraps of metal. He swallowed hard remembering how badly his fight with Sephiroth had gone.
"Cid is right," he admitted quietly as he set the bag down on the desk as well. "It's beyond repair."
Tifa frowned and slumped a bit.
"I had hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked," she said weakly.
Vincent smiled grimly.
"I faced Sephiroth alone," he scoffed. "I'm lucky I'm still alive."
"Yeah…" Tifa sighed sadly. "This didn't happen in your vision?"
The man shook his head again.
"As it is, I've lost my weapon and arm," he continued. "I'd like to stop by a place to grab another weapon if we get the chance."
The fighter glanced over, a questioning look in her eyes.
"Where?"
Vincent hesitated for a moment but seemed to quickly make up his mind.
"A cave where I think Lucrecia as isolated herself," he said. "I'd like you to come along if possible."
Tifa looked taken aback by the offer.
"Uh… sure, I guess?" She stammered out. "Why?"
The man looked a bit guilty.
"When I still wasn't sure what my dream was, I had shown Lucrecia the full story," he admitted.
The young woman looked a bit crestfallen at this revelation.
"Oh…" she mumbled quietly. "So… she knows… everything?"
Vincent nodded. Tifa let out a huff of annoyance.
"Why does she get to know?" She pouted childishly with her arms folded across her chest.
The gunslinger sighed as he leaned against the small desk in the cabin.
"Sephiroth is her son, if you recall."
Tifa flushed and turned away.
"I-I know that," she groused unconvincingly.
The girl fidgeted when Vincent did not say anything further.
"S-So…" she stammered again turning back around. "Aerith… she's doing well then?"
"They say she's favored by the Planet," Vincent recited. "They're all a bit worried now that things are moving in real time. Reality tends to differ from premonitions, as we've already experienced."
"But we're doing okay, right?" Tifa asked nervously.
The man thought for a moment.
"Cid didn't mention it, but we're on our way to Junon for another Huge Materia, yes?" He mused. "After which, we'll be heading to Rocket Town."
Tifa looked pensive at this.
"The rocket? So they're really trying to use that to reach Meteor then?"
Vincent merely nodded, unconcerned that Tifa knew that tiny tidbit of information. Based on how the Cetra Elders were treating the entire scenario, there were only a few points he even cared to keep from the young woman now. The only thing he truly wanted to keep away from her was the knowledge that his dream had been the worst possible outcome in the end. He voiced his opinions on the matter.
"Now that Shinra is wholly committed to their plans to stop Meteor, I don't see a problem with you knowing what happened next. After they fail, they're likely going to remove the Sister Ray cannon from Junon and use Midgar's multiple reactors to power it, firing it at Sephiroth in an attempt to kill him outright. By letting that happen, we'll be able to get around that barrier at North Crater and reach Sephiroth. We'll need to prevent the second shot, which will likely destroy Midgar in the process."
Tifa's eyes grew wide as she realized the gunslinger was finally revealing more about the near future.
"Wait what?!" She exclaimed as she processed the last part. "Destroy Midgar?"
The man nodded again.
"The first shot is all we need to access North Crater. Afterwards, we'll only have a few precious hours while the cannon recharges. We can discuss it later, but it's all the more reason I want to be better equipped."
Tifa sighed in frustration as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Fine," she finally relented. "That was honestly more than I thought I'd get. I'll let Cloud know when we're done with the underwater reactor."
She then pointed a finger at him.
"You on the other hand need to get some rest. We'll handle the Huge Materia in Junon while you and Yuffie recover. She's still out from her time in Lifestream. I'm honestly amazed Cloud stayed awake for as long as he did, he passed out shortly after you called."
"I see," Vincent said idly as he sat down on his bed. "Well, please get me when we're ready to leave. I can make do with a standard issue pistol for the time being, but if we're going to be utilizing Materia, I'll need something a bit more conducive to magic."
"Will do," Tifa chirped before glancing down at the jagged stump of Vincent's arm again. "You want me to grab something to wrap that in? It looks rather sharp."
"I think it's removable, but I'll need help," the man replied as he looked over his shattered prosthetic again.
Tifa moved nodded and moved closer. Under his direction, she found a segment just past his elbow where artificial nerves and muscles had been painstakingly connected to his organic upper arm. His elbow joint had been modified, allowing for a mechanical connection to the rest of his arm, which was currently a shattered stump. Fortunately it seemed like that there was a trio of steel latches circling the joint underneath the end of the gauntlet, which inherently protected seam and electronics underneath. Once she popped those off, she was able to disconnect the lower arm with a twist, leaving Vincent with the connector piece that had been grafted into the socket of his elbow. She set aside the second half of the ruined prosthetic and grabbed a small roll of bandages. She carefully wrapped the exposed electronics in Vincent's elbow.
"There we go," she sighed as she sat back and inspected her work.
Vincent lifted his arm and inspected his wrapped joint.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "That should prevent accidental damage of the joint. I'll talk with Cait Sith later, maybe Reeve can help with a replacement. The man's pretty good with robotics after all."
Tifa then stood and strode over to the door.
"I'll go talk to them. You get some rest."
The gunslinger merely nodded and lay down on his bed. As he listened to the dull hum of the ship's engines, he went over the more subtle details he had gleaned from the Cetra: their fervent fixation with the Planet after escaping Jenova thousands of years ago, their view of humans as malleable chess pieces in their own plans, and their willingness to see results no matter the cost. Then there was Aerith and the small faction of dissenters. He was not able to get much out of them while he was in Lifestream, but he did get the impression they were his real allies among the now-extinct race. As he gradually drifted off to sleep, he concluded that, even with their help, he would need to try to get AVALANCHE to North Crater as soon as possible.
He just hoped his efforts would be enough.
…
Yuffie awoke rather suddenly in a coughing fit. She curled up painfully, hacking away for a few seconds before the pain and discomfort subsided. Blinking tears out of her eyes, she realized she was in her bed on the Highwind. She flailed around a bit before untangling herself from her sheets. Just the action made her feel a bit winded and her lungs ached slightly. With a sigh, she let her limbs fall heavily onto the mattress as she thought back on everything Leviathan had said, and everything the god had shown Cloud. The young girl could feel her face heating up in shame and embarrassment. Just the idea of the person she had a crush on knowing her darkest secrets was enough to make her wish the ground would swallow her up. She fretted over what had happened in Lifestream for a while before heaving a sigh. Worrying about it wouldn't do her any good. The best she could do was act normal and see how Cloud behaved around her.
At least she was good at acting.
Blinking blearily, she pushed herself up while stifling a heavy yawn. Looking around, she found her belongings sitting on her desk. Ignoring them for the time being, she got up and left the room. The Wutai princess wandered the empty metal halls of the Highwind, making her way towards the bridge. The entire way she had not seen a single member of AVALANCHE. Granted she was only looking for Cloud, but the ship felt strangely quiet without people milling around the ship. She finally stepped out onto the bridge and looked around. There were only members of the ship's crew looking over different computers and monitoring the ship.
"Where is everyone?" She asked the nearest pilot.
The man looked up.
"Oh! Miss Kisaragi! Good morning," he greeted. "We're at Junon and the others have gone to assault the underwater Mako Reactor."
The girl frowned ever so slightly, feeling a bit left out.
"They didn't wake me?"
The pilot shrugged.
"Mister Strife asked us not to," he explained casually. "Said you were still recovering from your little dip in Lifestream."
Yuffie looked a bit embarrassed by the gesture but pushed onwards.
"Anything interesting happen since we left Mideel?" She tried asking.
"Not much," the pilot answered. "We picked up Mister Valentine in Bone Village. Seems like he also fell into Lifestream around the same time you did."
The ninja arched an eyebrow.
"What was he doing there?" She wondered aloud before shaking her head and asking, "Did he go along with the others?"
The man shook his head.
"He's also resting."
Yuffie nodded.
"I see. Thanks," she said and left the bridge.
She made her way back towards the cabins and looked around. Eventually she found the room Vincent had been staying and knocked lightly. When she got no response, she tried the door and found it to be open. She peeked in cautiously and found the former Turk sleeping inside. She crept inside and found herself staring at the remnants of Vincent's prosthetic. Her last memories of the man were fuzzy at best. He had been with AVALANCHE when they found Cloud, but she didn't remember anything specific, her being preoccupied with Cloud's wellbeing. She ran her fingers gently across the sliced metal wondering what blade had done it. Looking at the joint of the prosthetic caused her to glance over at the sleeping man. She moved in closer to look at the wrapped left elbow.
"Can I help you?"
Yuffie let out a smalls squeak as she stumbled backwards landing on her butt. She looked up to see Vincent glancing down at her, half-propped up by his right hand.
"S-Sorry," she mumbled. "I was just…"
Vincent waved off her concerns.
"How are you now?" He asked.
The girl stood, brushed herself off, and sat down in the chair near the desk.
"Better," she replied. "Much better, actually. What about you? What happened to your arm?"
So Vincent told her. His one-sided fight against Sephiroth left the girl with her mouth hanging open.
"So… he just pushed you into Lifestream?" Yuffie clarified.
The man nodded.
"He was trying to take the energy of the demons inside my body."
Yuffie shuddered at the thought.
"You're alright though, right?" She asked looking him over.
"Yes," came the reply. "I was apparently whisked away to the Promised Land before he could do any permanent damage."
The young ninja's eyes widened at this.
"Promise La… then… did you see Aerith?"
She leaned forward urgently. Vincent merely nodded again, confirming her guess.
"Is… is she… well?" Yuffie continued in a small voice.
"As well as she can be given the Planet's current crisis."
"Even from Lifestream, Aerith is still looking out for us, huh?" The girl asked quietly.
Vincent smiled slightly.
"It's pertinent that we make our way to Sephiroth soon, though," he admitted. "I believe we're the only ones left on the Planet with the ability to stop him."
The Wutai princess let out a small sigh and let out a soft "yeah".
"What about you though?" She finally asked.
"I've asked Tifa to pass along a request to stop by the area near Nibelheim when convenient," he explained. "There's someone I want to meet to pick up a new weapon. As for my arm, I'll need someone with expertise to look into a replacement."
Yuffie was silent for a while.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" She offered after a while.
Vincent shook his head.
"Just train yourself and prepare for the eventual confrontation, I suppose," he shrugged. "My help will be limited until I replace my weapon at the least."
"Oh…" Yuffie muttered before standing. "Well, I guess I'll let you rest then…"
She turned to leave.
"Yuffie," Vincent called out as she was about to open the door.
She turned around to face him.
"I'm glad you're doing better now," he said with a small smile.
The girl smiled back, uttering her thanks before exiting and closing the door behind her. She returned to her room and picked up her gear. Then she made her way down to the cargo hold where there was a lot of space. Drawing her shuriken, she began to go through some practiced forms to get herself both mentally and physically back into shape.
…
"I know we're on a tight schedule. Thanks for making the stop."
Tifa stood on the outer deck of the Highwind as she spoke with Cid. Below, Vincent had already started moving out towards the mountains range southeast of Nibelheim. Nearby, Cloud stood looking out towards the small mountains they intended on traversing.
"You sure you can make it?" The swordsman wondered aloud. "Seems a bit high."
"Yeah," Tifa replied. "Vincent said he's been there before."
"Still, what on earth did the Turks hide equipment there for?" Cid asked as he also looked out towards the landscape.
Cloud shrugged.
"Who knows? They were really shady even when I joined them. It was only recently that they've become somewhat… lax in their training."
The pilot grunted and turned back inside.
"Hurry up, Spike," he called out behind him. "Rocket's waiting."
Cloud took one last look at the mountains before turning to Tifa.
"Stay safe. Both of you," he said seriously. "Vincent's short of any real firepower, especially since he's only got that junk pistol we had lying around. I doubt Sephiroth will randomly come after him again, it seemed like Vincent had at the very least stopped that particular clone from functioning further."
The fighter gave her friend a brief hug.
"Don't worry," she reassured him. "I'll keep us both safe."
Cloud's face betrayed his true worries, but he nodded anyway. Tifa made her way down the ladder and disembarked from the Highwind. She ran off across the plains to catch up with Vincent, who was standing just outside the landing zone. Once she had joined him, the Highwind took off northwest towards Rocket Town. Soon, the ship was out of sight across the distant mountains around Nibelheim. Tifa turned to Vincent.
"So," she started. "How are we getting up?"
Vincent glanced up at the mountains.
"Chaos says he's strong enough for this," he reported after a moment. "The others are still unresponsive."
Tifa felt a bit strange talking with the gunslinger about his literal inner demons. But despite her brief encounters with two of them, she did not feel particularly nervous about meeting the strongest.
"Will they be alright?"
The man nodded as he closed his eyes. He breathed deeply a few times, seemingly falling into a trance. Tifa let out a small gasp as purple skin appeared, almost flowing across both skin and clothes alike. A new arm even grew past Vincent's missing prosthetic. Moments later, the fighter found herself facing an eight foot tall, horned demon with clawed wings. Slowly, it opened glowing red eyes. However, the demon did seem to appear weary even if it was almost impossible to tell. The young woman felt her breath stop for a half second when it glanced down at her.
"Hi?" She greeted cautiously.
Chaos didn't speak, merely gesturing with one clawed hand. He beckoned her closer. If Tifa had been a religious woman, she might have found the entire situation somewhat disquieting. But as it were, she knew the being before her was still, at least in part, Vincent. Once she was in place, it quickly lifted her into his arms and crouched. With one mighty leap and a powerful flap of his wings, the demon soared into the sky. Tifa felt her stomach drop as the ground quickly fell away from her. Feeling a sense of vertigo she had never felt on the Highwind, she resolved to clutch the demon tighter and stop looking down.
They flew for what felt like hours but the trip was probably closer to forty-five minutes. The entire way, Tifa could hear the powerful demon's heart beating beneath his chest and feel his muscles straining to maintain flight. Tifa's own arms felt numb from the constant strain of her impromptu ride. Even though she knew Chaos was unlikely to drop her, her arms instinctively tensed anyway. It was with some relief that she felt them begin to descend. Cracking one eye open, she peered through the cold mountain air. Both eyes widened as she found that they were descending into a small crater with a waterfall at one end. She felt herself relax somewhat as they neared the ground. Chaos finally landed with a soft thud in a small grassy field a short walk from the waterfall. The demon faded away, leaving an exhausted Vincent behind.
"You alright?" Tifa asked as she handed him a canteen of water.
The man gratefully gulped down the cool liquid as he caught his breath. A few minutes later and he stood and took a deep breath.
"Let's go," he said a bit nervously.
The pair entered the dimly lit cavern. Tifa strained her eyes to see.
"You're sure Lucrecia is here?" She whispered feeling an unprecedented need for silence.
Vincent didn't answer, but a moment later he didn't have to. They rounded a corner and she began to see a faint glow up ahead. They emerged from the dark tunnel into a small cavern. Tifa let out a gasp when she caught sight of the luminescent crystal in the far back. Scattered around the place were signs of habitation and the resident was clearly seated in front of the glowing stone, head resting against its slightly pulsating surface.
"Lucrecia…" Vincent whispered.
His voice easily carried across the cavern, causing the woman to sit up in shock. She turned quickly, causing her light brown hair to sway across her face from the movement. Her eyes widened momentarily before she marched over quickly. Caught off guard, the gunslinger barely had a chance to react before a loud smack resonated throughout the cavern.
"W-Wha…?" The man mumbled in a tone that Cloud would have been proud of.
Tifa tensed in annoyance at the woman's actions before she spoke again.
"You didn't contact me at all!" She hissed angrily. "I waited for thirty years to see if you even survived! Didn't you even consider Hojo might've just killed you?! And what the hell happened to your arm?!"
Vincent blinked uncomprehendingly at the outburst.
"Sorry… Sephiroth…" the gunslinger croaked out in response.
The woman looked a bit guilty for a moment. The next thing Vincent knew, Lucrecia had wrapped her arms around him. He blinked dumbly.
"I'm glad you're safe," she said in a sudden change of tone. "I never found out if what happened with Hojo. He was very tight-lipped about it before we left Nibelheim."
"How did you escape?" Vincent asked, finally finding his voice.
Lucrecia gave a sly little smile at this.
"I drugged the soldiers escorting my vehicle during the trip out of Nibelheim," she explained. "Hojo had left in a hurry but I couldn't shake the feeling that he had given someone orders to eliminate me. So when we stopped for food, I simply dosed the water with a strong sedative. I was gone before anyone noticed."
Tifa found herself annoyed for a completely different reason. She let out a small huff of frustration as she watched the reunion of the two former Shinra employees. The two seemed to be off in their own little world. She had to admit, for someone who was probably close to sixty Lucrecia still looked as if she was in her thirties. At the noise, Lucrecia stepped back and peered around the man.
"Oh, excuse my manners," she said lightly as she walked forward to greet Tifa. "I'm Lucrecia Crescent."
Tifa smiled awkwardly as she tried to come up with a response.
"Er… nice to meet you?" She stammered. "Vincent mentioned you a few times… he said you had read that notebook?"
A sad look flashed across Lucrecia's face before she schooled it into a small smile again.
"And I see you're in the know as well," the scientist replied lightly. "At least that'll let me talk freely."
She looked back at Vincent.
"I take it since you're both here, things are still as expected?"
Her voice was a bit tighter now. Tifa wondered what it was like to be the woman who gave birth to the man now hell-bent on destroying the Planet. In response to the scientist's question, Tifa nodded slightly. The woman gave a sad sigh before turning back to Vincent and pointing into a corner of the cavern.
"The stuff you wanted me to bring here is in that corner," she directed.
The man gave a curt nod and wandered off. Looking around the place, Tifa idly wondered if Lucrecia even ate food anymore. The two stood around a bit awkwardly as they waited for the man to come back.
"So where are you in this story?" Lucrecia suddenly asked softly. "Have… have you encountered Shinra yet?"
Tifa glanced over at the other brunette.
"The others are stopping the rocket and getting the last of the Huge Materia," she replied.
She felt a bit strange to be talking about current events as if they were a part of some fantastical narrative. Lucrecia let out a disquieted hum at this.
"Tell me, how much of that notebook have you read?"
Tifa looked strangely at the scientist.
"Only up to recent events, why?" She replied curiously.
The scientist smiled sadly shaking her head at something only she knew.
"It's funny," she continued, not answering Tifa. "I sometimes wonder if things would've been any different had I not read a word of that book…"
Tifa frowned at this.
"What are you talking about?" She asked feeling slightly annoyed that the scientist was being deliberately unclear about things.
Lucrecia then looked directly at Tifa, the older woman's brown eyes searching Tifa's own.
"How much have you changed so far?" Lucrecia challenged. "Truly changed?"
Tifa paused as she realized the validity of the scientist's words.
"I… I don't know…" she muttered more to herself than as a response. "Things seemed to have gotten a bit worse to be honest…"
"I've had a lot of time to think, sitting here," the older woman sighed. "I've started to wonder if all of this is inevitable, that no matter what Vincent does, the history will still be the same…"
Inwardly, Tifa wanted to challenge that statement, wanted to believe that what they were doing was having an effect on a stopping Sephiroth, but even now the impending fight still seemed close to impossible. She could only swallow hard as the scientist rambled on.
"I wish it wasn't the case, but honestly, I haven't seen or heard of anything significant changing. Nibelheim still burned. People were still murdered."
"We… We're changing things though…" Tifa protested albeit half-heartedly.
Lucrecia raised an eyebrow.
"Not in a good way, if Vincent's arm is anything to go by," she countered. "How many things have changed for the worse?"
Tifa winced and looked away.
"Ah… so that's why…" the scientist muttered under her breath.
"What is it?" The fighter asked worriedly.
Lucrecia didn't respond, but that thoughtful look on her face remained. Before Tifa had a chance to ask, however, Vincent reappeared with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
"Thank you for brining this," he said as he approached the scientist again. "I know there were a lot of pieces to keep with you."
And immediately Lucrecia had turned her attention away from Tifa and back towards Vincent. The brunette casually waved off the thanks as she took him by the hand.
"I know you two are busy," she said. "If there was anything I could do I would help, but I can't exactly fight and Hojo would quickly have me killed if he even saw me."
She began to lead them out of the cave.
"Just promise me you'll come back and visit once everything is over?" Lucrecia asked as they neared the entrance.
Vincent gave the woman a curious look agreed anyway.
"Tifa, can you give us a moment?" Lucrecia asked.
"I'll give the Highwind a call, see what their status is," the young woman said as she walked out into the light.
Vincent glanced down at Lucrecia questioningly.
"What's going on?" She asked quietly. "Why are you here earlier than your vision? What really happened to your arm?"
The gunslinger sighed but relented.
"I'm trying to speed things up a bit," he admitted. "Sephiroth and Jenova started to suspect me of being too capable so he attacked. They guessed that the Cetra were helping me and didn't like the interference."
The frown on Lucrecia's face deepened.
"Why is this so different?" She asked. "What are you not telling me?"
Vincent looked back outside to see Tifa several paces away making a call on her PHS.
"Vincent…" Lucrecia prompted.
"My visions were caused by the Cetra Elders still existing in the Promised Land. I had a brief encounter with them after Sephiroth dragged me into Lifestream. The vision was apparently the worst possible outcome of the current events. I'm worried we might not save the Planet if we don't hurry up."
The scientist looked thoughtful at this.
"Worst case scenario, huh?" She mused. "Then… you getting targeted by Sephiroth and losing your arm… might be a good thing…"
Vincent gave the woman a strange look.
"How can any of this be good?" He asked bitterly.
Lucrecia shrugged.
"Well, if the vision was really the worst outcome, you can't really do any worse right?" She pointed out.
"We could fail," Vincent deadpanned.
"Or, whatever changes you're now making are slowly pushing us to a better future somehow?"
The man looked doubtful.
"Well," she sighed. "Until the world ends, I'll trust you to see things through."
Lucrecia then wrapped her arms around him again.
"Do come and visit once it's all over," she whispered. "I doubt I'll live long after Jenova is gone."
Vincent pursed his lips. He had clearly not considered the aftermath of stopping Sephiroth, the mission taking the highest priority.
"I will," he promised.
Then he broke away from his oldest friend and confidant. She waved him on and he left the cave hidden behind the waterfall to join Tifa. After a few short words, the man transformed once again into Chaos and the pair was flying up and out of sight.
…
A/N: Thanks for reading.
…
Omake 14:
Vincent stared forlornly at the stump of his elbow. It was a strange feeling, missing everything past his elbow. While he had lost the limb decades ago, the loss was offset by the surprisingly well-installed prosthetic. More surprising was that Hojo never put any sort of trap or explosive in that limb to serve as some kind of sick failsafe somewhere in the future. With a sigh, he leaned back on his bed.
Then he blinked.
Getting up, he reached over to his bag and rummaged around. He had hidden this deep within after all the trouble it had originally caused, but on a crazy whim, he decided to give it a try.
Equip Vincent's Left Hand? (Y/N)
The textbox floated above the skeletal remains of his former left forearm. Wondering if he had finally snapped and gone insane, Vincent pushed a finger on the space that had the letter Y. It depressed with a merry ding. Vincent started when the limb disappeared from his hand and reattached itself to his empty elbow joint with a hollow pop.
Vincent blinked again and moved the skeletal limb experimentally.
With a small shrug, he stood and left his cabin. He ran into Yuffie training down in the cargo hold.
"Hey! Vincent!" She greeted when she caught sight of him. "Do you wanna spar or some – "
The young girl's screams echoed through the ship.