Chapter 4
Yuffie sat down on the bed at the Cosmo Canyon inn, again thinking about all that has transpired sense she met this group. She has been shot, slashed, blown up, and a number of other things during this time. Her least favorite was being sent into the desert prison. But she still would rather be here then on her own again.
She smiled when she remembered that when they got inside of Gold Saucer, Cloud was stuck trying to figure out who to go with, Tifa or Aeris. And she had a feeling that if he didn't decide soon, they would make him regret it. So, out friendship for all three of them, she went over to him. "Come on Cloud," grabbing his arm, "lets go! I want to have some fun!" She did this to prevent him from putting himself in the doghouse and so Tifa and Aeris wouldn't get mad at the other for being the center of Cloud's attention. "Yuffie, I really owe you for this," Cloud whispered as she dragged him to the Chocobo Square. "Okay, but don't think I'll save you every time you get in trouble with those two."
It wasn't long afterwards that they were in the prison, and she was putting a few attempted rapists in their place. "Just why is this happening," she asked before delivering a final kick to the crotch of the man at her feet. "Remind me to never get her mad at me," Yuffie heard this come from Cloud, who was talking to the newest member of their troupe, Cait Sith.
After that, Cloud, Barret, and Red XIII went after the person behind their problems, leaving Tifa, Aeris, Cait Sith, and me inside the house we met in. "Typical of Cloud, leaving us here while he goes off in danger to protect us." Tifa quickly agreed with what Aeris said and the silence returned.
After they came back, Cloud went up and got us out. And when he returned, he had another summons materia. "Oh, let me see!" "This is going to happen with every summon, isn't it?" "Yup." She held it in her palm as she looked to see who was inside. It was an old man with lightning bolts and thunder appearing around him. "Barret, do you still have Ifrit?" "No, I gave it to Red XIII, why?" "Because this one's element matches your temper and mind." She tossed it to him to let him see and when he realized what she meant, glared at her. "His name is Ramuh, the lightning god."
Next they were at Gongaga and here they obtained the summon Titan. That one went to Cait Sith. While we were there, something happened with our resident love triangle concerning a person named 'Zack.' I never heard of him but I have a feeling that his name is very important to what's going on. The one that was most disturbed about it was Cloud. I'm sure no one else noticed it but there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. But then he shook his head and it was gone.
And now, here I am, lying on a bed in Cosmo Canyon. My friends are going through decisions about whether or not to keep going. I'm not sure about them but I will. All this fun and excitement recently has gotten me too interested in it and I couldn't stop if I wanted to.
But with everything that has happened, I don't remember what that voice sounded like. How am I going to know who it is? Hold up, I'm depending too much on this dream, I'll find him on my own.
She went outside to the Candle and saw three of their companions missing, Cloud, Red XIII, and Aeris. She went over and sat down by Tifa, "Hey where is Red XIII? I wanted him to show me around." "Bugenhaden took him and the others to show them something important. They'll be back soon." "Oh, okay. And what about you?" "What do you mean?" "How do you feel about Cloud taking Aeris instead of you?"
Tifa stared at her for a minute before answering. "I wish he had taken me instead. What else were you expecting?" "Then why haven't you told him about this, you love him right?" "Shh, keep it down!" "Why, everyone knows it but Cloud." "Sigh, it's not as easy as you think." "Well, we'll see what I do when I'm in love. Good night Tifa, see you tomorrow."
She woke up to Cloud calling out that they were leave in a half an hour. "WHAT? Why didn't anyone wake me up? Oh, I'm never going to be ready in time!" Grabbing a change of clothes, she ran down the hall and into the bathroom, getting in before Barret. "Sorry Marshmallow." "Just hurry up, Brat!"
As they were leaving they heard someone yell "WAIT UP!" They turned around to see Red XIII racing down the cliff side to get to them. When he got in front of them, he said, "I'm coming with you guys. I want to help save the planet."
Inside the Buggy, heading to the next town, Yuffie felt like she was going out of her mind because it was taking so long. Then she noticed they were coming up on a town. I don't remember being to this town before, what's it called?" "Nibelhiem," came from Tifa. And the way she said, it did not bode well with her. "Wait, THAT Nibelhiem?" "Yes, that Nibelhiem."
"This can't be right," Cloud couldn't believe what was in front of him. Nibelhiem looked like it had never seen Sephiroth. "Who is that bozo?" Yuffie pointed to a man in a cloak going inside Tifa's house. She ran after him and went inside the house. She grabbed the cloaked man and turned him around. Inside the hood of the cloak was a face that barely looked human. It was human, but something about it said it wasn't anymore. The only part that she could tell for sure was his eyes, they seem distant, and they had lost their humanity. "Sephiroth… the great Sephiroth…the mansion."
She didn't know it but Cloud was behind her when he had said that and was going to the Shinra Mansion. "Wait Cloud," Tifa said as she stopped him, "I know you want to go after him but we need to investigate here first." He looked like he was going to protest to this but then agreed. Up stairs, Tifa was looking at her piano, wondering if this was the same one. Cloud, who was sitting on the bed, stood up and went over to it. "Do-Ra-Mi, Ti-La, Do-Ra-Mi, So-Fa, Do-Re-Do." When Cloud finished playing that, a gil slipped out of a secret compartment.
"My secret stash, so this is my real piano. But how did you know that tune?" "I played it when I came here five years ago, remember?" "Guys, take a look at these." Yuffie was holding some sheets of paper. "These are to that pervert we met at the beach, the one surrounded by girls, Hojo. It's about this town. 'There have been three people who have passed through here in the last six months but none knew about the incident five years ago'. What is going on?"
After checking the other houses, they headed inside the Shinra Mansion. When they got into the middle of the room, monsters attacked them. It didn't take long to kill them but they were a pain to kill. When they had the chance, they looked around the room. It was huge, with a stairs going to the second floor, three side doors, and two sub rooms by the front door. Inside the left sub room was a piece of paper.
"What's this? '…Prisoner in the basement…key in the safe…Lid of the box with the most oxygen. Behind the Ivory's short of tea and ray. The Creek in the floor on the second floor…' And the last slot is empty. Wait a minute," holds the paper to the light, "Part 4, right 97. It's the safe combination!" "Lid of the box with the most oxygen,' what does that mean?" "It means, Tifa that in the lid of the box in the green house is the first part of the combination. Ivory probably refers to the piano in the ballroom over there. And, if I remember right, there is a creek in the seconds floor floorboard on the right side of the house." "Well, let's see if we can help him out," Tifa offered.
After collecting the four numbers, they went to the safe on the second floor. "Okay, right 36, left 10, right 59, right ninety… damn missed it!" Cloud tried a few more times before Yuffie shoved him aside. "Let me do this, I guess I'm better qualified to do it then anyone here." She spun the dial to the right and stopped it on 36, then to the left, right, and right again, and it was opened in five seconds. "Wow, nicely done Yuffie." As they opened it, a materia fell out and also a monster!
They fought this monster; Loss number was what Sense said it was, for a half an hour. When it looked like they had it on the run, it just changed from being two colors and using two attacks to being one color and attacking physically only. When it finally died, Yuffie fell over from exhaustion. She turned her head and there was the materia. It was a Summon and inside was a warrior riding an eight-legged horse. He was holding a spear and had a sword at his side. And he had his head bent forward, showing that he had been fighting for a long time. "Odin…" As Yuffie said this, the horse stopped moving and he lifted his head and turned to her. He gave her a nod and then the horse started walking again.
"Okay, lets see what we have here," Tifa said since she was up first. Inside were the key they needed and a manual with the words Cosmo Memory. "Now what might this be?" She flipped through it but it made no sense to her. "I think this is for Red XIII. Here we go, let's go on then."
This basement is more dark and dreary then any basement has a right to be. There were shadows everywhere and a two-headed skeleton was by the wall. "AGHH! BATS! BATS! GET IT OFF OF ME!" By then, the others had joined up with them. "Just what I needed, comic relief," came from Barret.
Yuffie grabbed the bat by a wing, hit it upside the wall, and threw it at Barret. "Marshmallows don't get comic relief, they get eaten!" When she found the door, she took the key and opened it. What was inside was not what she expected. There were five coffins inside, four were opened and filled with skulls. The fifth was closed and looked brand new, though the dust that covered it looked to be building up for about twenty five years. "This is where that person is being kept?"
Vincent blinked; did he just hear a voice? Chaos, did you hear that? Yeah I did, now either we are both going insane or someone is outside. But how do we get out? This coffin is locked from the outside and it keeps my strength at half, the only way that to be undone is for who ever it is out there to open it. And that is too much to hope for.
"A tomb, how scary," Barret said as he entered. "Shut up." She looked at the coffin in the middle and saw that it was locked in a couple of places. "Who ever is in there is not getting out, are they?" She didn't know why but she went ever to it and pulled down the locks, releasing who ever was inside.
Click! Click! What is going on? I feel like myself again. Vincent pulled his hand to his shoulders and pushed them out with all his strength, launching the lid off the coffin. He jumped out of coffin and landed on the edge. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He saw only a few people inside, two men, a member of the Cosmos Canyon clan, a woman and… When he saw Yuffie, his heart skipped a beat. Wow, she's beautiful.
WOW! Yuffie couldn't say anything; she could just stare at this person. "My name is Cloud, and we are here looking for Sephiroth." "Sephiroth… Have you heard of a woman named Lucrecia? She was his mother." "I thought Jenova was his mother." "In a matter of speaking, she is. But Lucrecia is his mother. I think you should tell me what you know." "I hardly know where to start. Okay, in the beginning…" "…And that takes us to here." "Hmmm, so Hojo is still alive. Your stories have placed more sins on me. More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had. Good night." He lay back down in the coffin and the lid closed on him. When he went back inside, Yuffie shook her head and opened the lid again. "Why do you still bother me?" Yuffie swallowed before answering, "We didn't get your name." "…Vincent Valentine." With that he closed the lid and refused to let it be opened again.
"Lets go, we still need to find Sephiroth." Cloud turned to leave and the others followed him. Only Yuffie stayed in the room. Who is he? What is he like? And what was all that talk about sins and nightmares? With one last look at the coffin, she turned and left.
What were you so mad about? You acted like they did something wrong. And since we are on the subject of wrong, WHY DIDN'T YOU LEAVE? Because I don't deserve to leave this coffin. You heard what they said. Sephiroth has turn into a mad man because I failed Lucrecia. Then why don't you get the person responsible for all of this? Hojo. Right, he betrayed you, turned you into a monster, your own words, and left you in this coffin. Worse, he betrayed Lucrecia and Sephiroth, his wife and son. If you will not leave here as the man you were, then leave here as Hojo's angel of death.
Vincent thought about this for a moment before answering. For once, Chaos, we agree. I will go with them. Why did you give up on that dream, anyway? Dreams don't always come true. And they often turn into nightmares. Besides, whom could I protect? How about that girl, the one that held your attention the longest. Maybe she needs your help. I'm going already, you can be quiet.
Chaos chuckled, but remained silent. Truth be told, he found that to kill Hojo would only be an added bonus. To him, finding this person that needed Vincent was the real reason to leave the coffin. Vincent may not have figured out what Terra had meant in the message to him, but he did. She was hoping that she would fall in love with Vincent and Vincent with her. He didn't know why but with how he is right now, it would do him good.
Vincent threw the lid off and jumped out. As he did, he heard the voice of Cloud talking with someone he didn't know. "Head north, if you want to get to Reunion." Then something was thrown down the library hall and hit Cloud in the chest. And the person who threw it flew out of the basement and the mansion. As Cloud and his friend went after this person, he came out of the room with the coffins in them. "Cloud!" They stopped just short of the stairs and turned to look back at him. "Will you meet Hojo along your journey?" "We will be fighting Shinra so we probably will." "Okay, I'm going with you." "YOU ARE?" It was the girl again, and as soon as she said it, she clapped her hands over her mouth as everyone looked at her. "Yes, I have a score to settle with Hojo."
As they headed up the stairs, the girl slowed her pace until she was walking next to him. "Um, my name is Yuffie, Yuffie Kisaragi. It's a pleasure to meet you." He didn't even look down at her, "the pleasure is all mine Miss. Kisaragi. Hmm, that name sounds familiar." Yuffie couldn't help but intake her breath at this; she didn't want anyone to know who she was. She has had enough trouble because of her father and the war; she didn't want him to hate her too.
"Oh yes, it's Wutain, right? How has it been there?" "Don't you know?" "Know what?" "About the war, about how Shinra crippled it once it gained occupation there. It's only a tourist town now." "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I haven't been in there for a long time." "The war ended over five years ago." "Well, let me put it this way, I was put in there after Sephiroth was born. Heck, I was there when he was born." "But that was twenty five…" "Twenty five years ago, I know. Hojo, the man I'm after, shot me and…" He lifted his left arm out from behind his cape, "And took my left arm, just above the elbow. I don't want to burden you with what else he did."
She seems too innocent to find out about us just yet, doesn't she? Not to mention too nice. I hope she never will find out.
She remained silent, just staring at his hand. At first, she found it unnerving. But after a minute to get used to it, she found it nice. She wished it hadn't happened to him but since that it had, she had to live with it. "Well, even if you're not in mint condition, Vinnie, I think you should let the old ties be and continue the life you have now."
Vincent arched an eyebrow and slightly turned to her. "Vinnie?" In the back of his mind, he heard four demons snickering before one actually started howling with laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry! I make nicknames for everyone, just about. I'll just stick to Vincent if you want me to." "Do as you will." Yuffie smiled at this, "okay Vinnie!" Remember, Vinnie, girls like this are naïve. Galian Beast, be quiet and leave Vinnie alone. And besides, this one is mature; she's hiding it for some reason. SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! But you don't seem to mind when she calls you it.
"But like I said, everyone has a nickname. Cloud is Spike. Tifa, the one in the mini skirt with the brown hair is Tif. Red XIII is Red. Cait Sith doesn't have one and I don't think I can create one for him. You'll know who he is when you see him. And then there is Aeris. Just plain Aeris, well, as plain as an Ancient is. And finally, is Barret, the Marshmallow. He's the one with the gun arm. I'll tell you about that name later."
She spent the next few moments just looking at him before saying something. "You know, you remind me of Odin. Here, take a look." She gave him the crimson orb and when he looked inside, he had to agree. He looked nothing like Odin except with the way they held themselves. When he tried to hand it back she declined. "No I think it matches you better then me. And besides, you need materia; you're bare on your armor and weapon."
At the top of the stairs, they split into three groups, Cloud with Aeris and Tifa, Barret with Red XIII and Cait Sith, leaving Yuffie with Vincent. For a moment she wondered why the split up at all but then she remembered that a small group of people is less noticeable then a larger one. Especially when Shinra was doing the looking. Before the others left, she grabbed some materia for Vincent and herself. She covered the basics first with a Restore level 2, Lightning level 2, Fire and Ice. They kept the ones they had on them, Odin, Throw and Steal, and they took an all for the Restore. "Well, we're all set. Do you want to stay here for a little bit to get more powerful?" "That would be a good idea. I haven't practiced in twenty five-two years so my skills might need to be polished a little. And I would rather do it here instead of mount Nibelhiem.
At the first fight, Vincent thought he would give his Summon a try. When he called Odin forth, his since of sight seemed to expand; he was able to see what was going on all around him. Behind him, Odin appeared, bearing a sword that would cut a hair if it fell on it. He was riding the eight-legged horse, Sleiphnir. He came charging at the monsters and in a swing of his sword, cut them in two.
When they reappeared, Yuffie had her mouth open. "WOW! I had heard that Odin was powerful but I never dreamed he was that powerful!" Yuffie doesn't know just how right she is in comparing Odin to me. We both kill with no hesitation. "The only problem is that we are supposed to be training your skills, not Odin's. The next batch has to be killed by your skill, not his, okay?" "Sure." "By the way, what is your weapon, I never saw you draw it." "I use a gun; I was a sharpshooter for the Turks before the coffin."
After about an hour of fighting, Yuffie just asked this out of the blue. "Vinnie, how old are you?" He barely glanced at her as he finished the last monster of this group. "I was twenty seven when I was put in stasis inside that coffin." He turned to look at her. "Why?" "Oh, just wondering."
Well, Chaos, so much about your theory about this girl needing protection. She can very easily hold her own against any enemy she will come across. So it appears but not all enemies are as easy as the ones in here. And some are not fought on the battle field. Remember, you were told that once in a lecture by your teacher.
His teacher was a man from Wutai who was going around the world, trying to master all the weapons he could find. But he had taught him more then just that. He had taught how to speak, read, and write in Wutian. But most importantly, he had taught him to listen to his heart. The first thing his heart had ever told him was to watch his friends back when they could not. And he listened to everything it said, right up until Lucrecia died and was resurrected. The same way that Vincent was put in stasis, with the cells of Jenova.
They were on opposite ends of the ballroom when the fight was over and they started over for each other. A chain dropped down behind Yuffie and a person with a half moon blade for legs started swinging for her, blade first. "Look out!" Vincent just reacted, never really realizing what he was doing. He jumped to intercept this thing before it hit Yuffie and while in the air, he changed into Galian Beast. He landed on the things chest, digging his claws in and biting his neck. They both fell to the ground, where it tried to get Vincent off of him and fight back. But it couldn't get him off. It died before too long. Galian Beast stood up and turned to look at Yuffie, who had her hands over her mouth in a silent scream.
"Miss. Kisaragi, I'm sorry you had to find out about us this way. This is what Vincent meant when he said 'I don't wish to burden you with what else he did'. Please don't hold this against him. He is a good person and he needs friends more then he will ever let on. Hojo shot him, like he said and injected Jenova cells into him. But it wasn't him that joined us, but he doesn't know that yet. We won't hurt you or your friends so you don't have to worry about us. I'm sorry I have to go. My energy is about spent."
Galian beast disappeared back into Vincent and he fell to the floor, exhausted. "I think that is enough for now. We should try to rejoin the others." She went over to him and helped him up, not saying anything about what had just happened. As they headed outside, she realized that he hadn't told her all of the reasons he had for wanting Hojo dead. She knew that he deserved to die for doing this to Vincent. But that was not the reason Vincent wanted him dead.
They found the others at the foot of mount Nibelhiem, resting before going up. As a rule, they stayed in different camps; they would stay that way until they could all regroup again. They set camp in between the others, about five hundred feet from each.
They had been there for about an hour without saying anything before the Yuffie broke the silence. "Thank you for what you did. And, um, can you thank Galian Beast for me." "Okay," his eyes went distant for a second; she guessed he was talking to him. "He says your welcome." "Can you tell me about what happened? I want to know everything that happened to you."
Vincent was surprised at this; he had thought no one would want to know. "Well, twenty five years ago I got a call from the head of Turks, giving me a new assignment. I was to meet with a person I would be working with for the next few years the next day. When I got there, the person I met was a woman named Lucrecia. We went to a restaurant to get to know each other. I think I fell I love with her right then."
"She also told me about my assignment in full detail. She and another scientist would be working on a project inside the Shinra mansion. But they didn't want a score of soldiers around so they asked for a Turk for protection. It was only after I went there that I met this second scientist, Hojo. Over time, I thought that Lucrecia loved me but then I found that she loved Hojo. I really didn't care about that; I just wanted to protect her. Then one day she told me she was pregnant with Sephiroth. She was so happy about it that I was happy for her. But then some problems started happening with her. Nothing to bad but enough to get me to worry…"
"She died after labor. I tried my best to save her but I had no knowledge in medics so she just about died in my arms. I was under orders to follow Hojo's orders to the letter and he ordered me not to call for help. I shouldn't have listened to them but I did. That was my first sin. After I gave her son to her, I went down to the basement to Hojo. I told him that if help weren't called soon Lucrecia would die. When he refused, I told him that I was going to call for help anyway. My orders were first and fore most to protect them. As I headed for the door, Hojo shot me. I'm not sure if it was with a sedative or a bullet but it put me down anyway."
"I woke up for a moment some time later. There was Hojo, looking down at me. 'You're to late Turk. She is dead…and she will live again. That trouble she has been having is because I injected her with this.' He held up a needle with a red liquid in it. 'This is mako with a mixture of cells from a creature called Jenova. An immortal and a being with unlimited power.' You saw some of this when I closed the coffin lid without touching it. 'Anyone injected with this gets strange powers… or at least that is if they survive. The dose I gave her wasn't enough to affect her in any big manner but it was for her child. He will be a clone of Jenova! No, not a clone, he will control Jenova!' Whether or not he spoke more, I don't. I returned to unconsciousness after that. Or maybe I died. All I know was he injected me with that mixture he showed me."
"When I awoke afterward, the restraints were gone, along with my hand. In its place, I had this. I think this was for going against him. But whatever the reason, he did a good job with it. I can feel everything that touches it. I can move it as well as my hand. It's like nothing changed except the look. When I got up, my head started pounding. And then I heard the roar of Galian Beast inside my head. I think I transformed right then. I just know that my suit was gone and I had this on. Hojo came to get me after that and locked me inside that coffin, telling me that he had given another dose to Lucrecia and her son, finishing the test. Letting him do that to Sephiroth and Lucrecia was my next sin"
"You know, I have heard that Sephiroth has powers like flying and telekinesis. Maybe your power is telekinesis and creating clothes around you for after you change." "Well, as far as the telekinesis is concerned, my ability with it only went as far as getting the lid off and jumping. But the second one seems right. Maybe these cloths are a visual representation of how I saw myself. But it doesn't matter."
"What about you? You're from Wutai and something is there that makes it so you wish I didn't know that. Tell me about you."
"About me, well before I joined up with Cloud and the others, I was a materia hunter. I was trying to get enough to thrown Shinra's hold over Wutai off. That was it pretty much. My mother taught me all the skills I have now. That is, before she died. I'm not sure what she died from, only my father knows and he hates speaking of anything concerning my mother. After that he gave up on fighting, and he was the only one who could go against Sephiroth on equal ground. Without him, we quickly lost the war. We had few materia then but Shinra had more than enough to do the job. With materia and the use of its magic, our warrior's were now out gunned as well as out numbered. We didn't hold a month without my father. What few materia we had was taken away and we had lost our spirit."
"I left when I was thirteen. My father hurt when ever he saw me and even went so far as to buy a house for me when I was old enough to live on my own with little assistance. He loves me but I don't think he is ready to face the pain of my mother's death just yet. And I've been told by others that I look just like my mother when she was my age." She grew silent as it was hurting her too much to continue. "You go to sleep Vincent; I'll take the first watch."
That night, the eagle that lives in the area flew down to her, carrying a note. When Yuffie took it, the bird flew off. The note was from her father, and she had a feeling that this was not good.
Yuffie KisaragiThis is an order for your future plans. The companions that you are traveling with try to get them to come to Wutai. If you can get them to the island, take their materia. Return to Wutai and loose them before you get here. If you cannot, lose them here and give me the materia.
Lord Godo of Wutai
Yuffie's heart sanked as she read this message, she had thought that the materia she had been sending to him had been enough to keep him satisfied. But the powerful materia that right next to his daughter was too much for him to stand. With the order given, he had only to wait to get the materia that might be enough to finally give him an edge over Shinra.
I'll try, she decided, to convince Cloud only once. And I won't try to hard. She put the letter into the fire before waking Vincent for his turn. As she laid down she thought about how could her father expect her to do what he wanted. He expects it because he is the lord of Wutai.
Author's notes
Chapter four done, and on to the disclaimers. I do not own Final Fantasy 7 nor do I own the characters from the game. Well, nothing to say this time. Have a good one.