-1A short drop, and a southern stop
Kat spent the rest of the day at the Seventh Heaven drinking some juice that Kat was positive had been spiked so Marlene wouldn't get mad that she got juice and not what Kat had. The night was spent in laughter and surrounded by friends. At some point Yuffie had joined the little party.
The party ended late that night Marlene had fallen asleep her face on the bar. Kat said to Tifa a little dizzy.
"Hey, were those things spiked?" To Kat everything was slowly starting to spin into a rollercoaster like mission space at Disney. (The movements of the ride are made by spinning you really fast you start out slow then get to the point where you are spinning so fast you cant even tell. I got sick on this ride, I am like Yuffie and have motion sickness)
"Ya, guess you had a little to much." Tifa said with a smile on her face. Kat couldn't tell why but everyone seemed to be smiling and looking at her, what was she doing that was so funny?
"I think I might be sick." Kat groaned. Tifa pulled Kat from the stool and over to the bathroom, Kat stumbling the way there. Kat barfed in the toilet, Tifa held back her newly dyed hair so she didn't get anything…gross on it. Kat spent a while at the toilet after her fist span of vomiting. Kat had been given some time to herself while Tifa got her something to make her feel less sick. Kat pushed herself up off the floor and with a clumsy hand flushed the toilet. Keeping her hand on the wall Kat made her way back to the Bar. Tifa had some weird drink ready for her and Kat let go of the wall and tried to make it over to the stool so she could sit down. Kat was drifting from side to side as she walked. Her legs gave up the attempt to get to a seat and Kat fell to her side. She hit the ground hard her head surged with pain. Her lazy eye saw everyone running over to her as her vision faded to black.
Kat woke up in the spare bedroom her head throbbing. Kat pushed herself up and noticed that they were kind enough to put a bucket next to the bed if she woke and couldn't make it to the bathroom. Kat put her hand over her eyes the sun streaming through the window was blinding. As Kat moved the pain that was settling in her head started up again just as powerful as when she woke. Kat stood up and walked down the hallway and made her way into the bathroom. Kat looked at herself in the mirror confused for a moment about why her hair was brown. She remembered that she had dyed it so she wouldn't look like herself and better protect herself from the Turks that wouldn't give up on catching her. She washed her face with cold water. The refreshing water was helping with the head splitting throbs that continued on like her blood pulsing. Kat managed to get down stairs not letting go of the wall. Instead of making her way to the bar Kat followed the wall to a table and flopped down. Tifa walked over to Kat setting down a drink in front of her.
"Here its for hangovers."
"Thanks." Kat mumbled and took the drink. It looking like a mixture of milk egg and something else. Kats mouth was still bitter from last night so she drank it thinking it couldn't be any worse than what she had to taste throughout the night. The drink was surprisingly good to Kat. She drank the rest without asking what was in it. Like most Americans in Japan it was a don't ask don't tell sort of thing. If the tourist didn't want to know what was in a certain sushi roll then no one would tell them. It was more of a thing that the Americans had, they would probably eat trash if it looked like some type of good food. Kat grimaced at the thought of eating trash. But it was much more fun to pickup some American family on vacation and take them to a Sushi Bar and order many things that seemed totally weird to them and see what they would eat. Most everyone would totally refuse to have the Gobi. Kat was a personal fan of it though, plus Gobi was like a drink and a meal in one, so it was saving some money if she bought that instead of sushi and a marble soda. Yuffie was asleep laying on a table a have empty drink sat next to her. Vincent walked over to Kat and asked.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like my head is going to split open any moment." Kat said finishing the drink.
"Well you did hit your head trying to make it to the bar stool, I'm surprised that you are up so early."
"Sun up till sundown that's how I work. What happened last night? I don't remember anything."
"You had to many rounds and just lost it all when you had finished your last drink. Tifa was going to bring you a drink that would make you feel better but you had made your way downstairs by the time it was ready."
"Damn, next time don't let me have so much."
Vincent smirked and said.
"Alright, I wont."
Kats headache slowly disappeared and she felt better after sitting for a while. Tifa walked down stairs with Marlene and she smiled to see Kat was there and safe.
"Kat!" Marlene said running over to her and giving her a hug.
"Hey there, how are you?"
" Good!, I am so happy you are ok." Cloud walked in and said quickly.
"Rufus, Reno, and Rude are coming. We need to hide Kat."
"Don't worry they wont recognize me, my hair is a totally different color and I can speak Al Bhed. Caa hu bnupmas." Kat smiled and quickly moved to a table near the center of the room no longer dizzy. She sat down just as Rufus, Reno, and Rude walked in.
"What do you want?" Cloud asked. Ready to grab his buster sword.
"Calm down Cloud we came to get a drink-" Rufus stopped and looked at Kat with a studied look and said.
"Miss, may we see your face?" Kat looked at Rufus and said in Al Bhed.
"Fryd? Fru yna oui?"(what? Who are you?) Rufus looked at Rude and he replied.
"Ra fyh…dat du caa ou-in vyla, yht ra ec dr-a bn….ace…tahd uv Creh-ny amald…nel lusbyho." (He wanted to see your face, and he is the president of Shin-ra electric company.)
"Ask her what her name is." Rufus said. Looking at Kat like he knew it was the person they were looking for.
"Fr…yd ec oui…n hy…sa?" Rude said with a patchy Al Bhed fluency when he talked.
"Neggi, fro tuac drec Creh-ny syh fyhd du ghuf cu silr ypuid sa, ymm E fyhd ec y tnehg, pid draca baubma tuhd ihtancdyht sa." Kat said with ease knowing that the others had no clue what she was saying. Rude looked a bit confused for a moment then said to Rufus.
"She says her name is Rikku, she wants to know why you are asking so many questions and she wants a drink but they don't understand her."
Rufus looked at Kat for a long moment then said.
"Alright, tell her that we will buy her drink and that we are sorry for taking up her time."
Rude repeated Rufus's message and Kat said her thanks and they bought her a drink, most of the time Rufus, Rude, and Reno glanced at her as if they knew she was the one they were looking for. Kat was a bit uneasy that they were staying so long and that they had bought her, her drink. Tifa handed it to her right away and not letting them near it. Kat guessed that she wanted to make sure they didn't slip anything into it.
"So has your friend come back yet? I see that Vincent is here and the last I herd about her she was with you." Rufus said after a long moment. Yuffie was waking up and totally tensed up when she saw Rufus and the Turks here and Kat sitting at the bar near them. Cloud gave her a glance to not say anything.
"She ran off and we haven't seen or herd from her since."
"Oh well to bad, this Al Bhed girl looks a lot like her though. But I don't think this girl has seen or herd anything about the little Cetra you are hiding. Kat gave Rude a confused look when Rufus motion to her.
"Fryd ec ra cyoehk?" Kat asked trying not to let the fear in her voice show.
"Oui muug y mud….. mega dra bancuh…. fa yna dnoehk du veht." (You look a lot like the person we are trying to find.) He replied quickly.
"Ask her what kind of machines her race uses." Rufus said.
"Fryd …geht uv sylrehac ran …nyla ica?" Rude said what Rufus told him to. Kats mind raced for the answer she remembered reading about the Al Bhed machines She couldn't remember at all.
"Fa ica is...zicd dra vunpettah cdivv. Fro fyecd ed?" (We use um...just the forbidden stuff. Why waist it?) Kat said quickly hoping that her stall hadn't alerted them to the fact that she wasn't an Al Bhed person and really the girl that they had almost caught so many times. Rufus studied Kat for a long moment then put some Gil on the table and said.
"Well we should be off, unlike you we have to find that girl." Rufus walked out Reno and Rude followed him. Kat sighed as she herd the car they came in drive off.
"That was quick thinking there Kat." Cloud said sitting down in the stool Reno had been in moments ago.
"They'll be coming back, we should get you somewhere safe." Vincent said leaning against the wall.
"Your right, Where should you go? They have been at the Church and everywhere in town." Tifa said putting her pointer finger on her bottom lip.
"Hello! Aren't you forgetting something!" Yuffie yelled.
"What?" Kat asked.
"You can speak Al Bhed! All we have to do now is change your appearance some more and you will be well hidden. They didn't recognize you with brown hair."
"They knew that something was up. Its not everyday that an Al Bhed is found in a place and cant even speak the language. And I don't want to trust some hair dye to keep me safe. I mean we kind of let it slip that I was a Cetra when I first got here. I was being careless." Kat said standing up and facing Yuffie.
"Ya, but they already have the impression that you really are an Al Bhed. You seem fluent in Al Bhed."
"I'm not, I don't know that much. Say that I am like a 7 year old Al Bhed. That's how much I know." Kat said.
"You two stop fighting it wont help find somewhere safe for Kat to stay." Tifa said. "Cloud do you know of anywhere else Kat could hide?"
"No, they will be checking all of their abandon warehouses in the outskirts and they have the city searched out."
Ah, so the girl has no where to go. You know she could stay at your place, its not like anyone lives in that part of town. And you got there by flying, it would be perfect go on and ask her to come to your home Vincent. Chaos egged Vincent on.
"You know, the part of town I stay at is deserted. Kat could stay at my home." Vincent said with out emotions making sure that it sounded like he didn't care if she came to his place or not.
That's it, now don't take no for an answer! Chaos cheered.
If she doesn't want to come then I wont peruse the topic. Vincent said to Chaos silently.
"You live in the ruins right Vincent?" Tifa asked. Vincent nodded, Tifa looked at Kat and said.
"You want to go? If they find you there those Turks must have grown wings." Tifa said with a smile.
"Ok, anyways I have always wondered what Vincent's home looks like." Kat said with a little smile. Vincent shrugged and said.
"Ok, we can go whenever you want."
"Ok, we should probably go soon. I don't want those three to come back or Tseng to come here. I know this hair dye wont fool him." Kat said.
"Kat, here take this. You know how to use Materia right? Just put it in a slot on a weapon and you activate it when you want to. This is an Exit Materia. You can get away easier than you would just running." Yuffie said holding out that Materia, it was a shimmering green sphere the same size as Kat summoning Materia.
"Thanks Yuffie." Kat said taking the Materia from her. Yuffie smiled and said with a cheerful tone.
"You need it more than I do." Kat smiled.
"Kat don't forget your things." Cloud said handing her the back pack full of Kats things. Kat took them and bid everyone farewell until they would meet again. Kat and Vincent walked to the far end of town and from there Vincent flew carrying Kat along with him.
"Vincent, why do you live out here where there is no one else?" Kat asked. Vincent waited a moment before answering and said with a calm voice.
"Because when there is no one around there is no one to hurt you, and one can live in peace." Kat looked away from Vincent and said with a saddened tone.
"Did you never want to come to my world? Did you only want to come back here to live in peace?" Vincent landed in front of the house and set Kat down saying.
"You saved me from staying isolated, I am glad that I came to your world. At first I didn't know what to think but the more of your world that you showed us the more I understood why you wanted someone you could trust." Vincent said looking down at Kat with his crimson eyes. Kat gave him a sad smile, she had never been around anyone that could change her mood so quickly like Vincent could. Kat didn't understand why but he did. Vincent pulled Kat into a hug and said with a calming tone.
"Don't be sad when you have a new world to live in and explore." Kat felt safe in Vincent's arms she wished that she would never have to feel the cold hands of the Shin-ra company taking her for experiments that she had no say in what they did. Kat's phone rang breaking the warmth that was in Vincent's hug. She looked at her phone, the number was new to Kat. She flipped it open and Aya's voice yelled through at her.
"Where are you! You have been missing for 3 weeks and you haven't been answering your phone! I was so worried!"
"Aya? How can you call me?" Kat asked, even Vincent looked confused Kat only got calls from people in the Final Fantasy world anymore.
"What do you mean how can I call you! This is your phone, what happened to you? You have been on the news on the top of the missing persons list. Everyone has been worried sick about you!"
"Aya, you don't understand we shouldn't be talking I'm in the Final Fantasy world. I have only been here a few days."
"Well come back then!" Aya's father took the phone from Aya.
"Kat? Where are you? Are you ok? Have you been kidnapped?" Aya's father ran off the questions. Kat couldn't tell him that she was in the Final Fantasy world, he wouldn't believe her, with Aya Kat had a chance.
"I'm fine I wasn't kidnapped, and I'm not sure where I am." Kat said only lying with the last bit.
"What was the last sign you remember seeing?"
"The sign above the gates to Mt. Fuji."
"What direction have you been walking?"
"I don't know everywhere, can I talk to Aya?" Kat asked getting frustrated with Aya's father.
"Kat you need to tell us where you are." Aya said.
"I told you, I can't talk I need to go." Kat said.
"Kat No! Wait!"
"What? I don't have long."
"The police are tapping the phone, we need 30 more seconds to get your locations."
"What? You mean my phone is being tapped? I already told you where I am."
"We need to find out where you are in the Final Fantasy world." Aya said thinking Kat had snapped and thought she was in the Final Fantasy world.
"I'm in Midgar, I was just at the Seventh Heaven Bar." Kat said not speaking for a long time.
"Kat don't hang up we need to get 10 more seconds." Aya said waiting for a moment.
"Aya? Are you there?" Kat asked after 10 seconds had passed.
"Kat, your cell phone has no current location, your not even on Earth."
"Mt. Fugi, the ring of rocks." Kat said hanging up.
With Aya
"Miss what did she say? We didn't catch that." A police man asked her.
"She said Mt. Fuji, then hung up." Aya said with a saddened look.
"Thank you for your help, call us if you get in contact with her again. We'll keep looking." The police left and Aya said.
"Father, can I go to Mt. Fuji today?"
"Yes, just be careful, if that was the last place Kat remembers being then I don't want you getting lost."
"I'll have my phone, don't worry." Aya left home and went to Mt. Fuji.
With Kat at Vincent's home
"What happened? Cloud didn't get any calls from Tifa or anyone when we were in your world." Vincent said.
"I don't know its weird because I thought that Cloud would be on the phone every day with Tifa." Kat said looking at her phone. "Do you think the clue I told her was enough to lead her to the portal?" Kat asked looking up at Vincent.
"I don't know, but we should call Sephiroth and tell him that she might be coming to this world." Vincent said. Later that night after they had called Sephiroth telling him that Aya might be coming through the portal like they had. Kat was reading the books that Vincent had let her borrow up in the guest room. It was a nice room mostly red and black colors some nicely aged cherry like wood made a dresser and a stool and vanity in the bathroom that was connected to the guest room. The closet held Kats things her cell phone sitting on the wooden night table next to the bed in case Aya called again. Vincent opened the door and said standing in the door way.
"I'm going to bed, I'll be in the basement if you need anything."
"Ok, thanks for letting me stay here." Kat said with a small smile glad to be looking up from the small print of the dry pages in the book, she was on the second book, the story was only good at the battles or when the group went to the Elves. Vincent nodded and closed her door and she herd him walk down the hall and down the stairs. The sound of his foot steps drifted into silence. Kat finished the second book rubbing her eyes she stretched her arms out. She had been leaning over the book for the past 3 hours. She figured Vincent was asleep and it would be safe to go down stairs and take another look at that Journal that Kat found on the top shelf. She took the book she had finished and went downstairs quietly just in case he was still awake Kat could say she was putting the book back. There was no one is the room, all of the lights were out and Kat crept over to the book shelves careful to step lightly. She knew Vincent would hear her down in the basement if he was still awake. She slid the book back on the shelf and reached up for the Journal. She brought it down with ease the floor creaked under her feet. She stood still for a long time before opening the Journal to a random page. It read
The days pass anymore with nothing happening. This is the third day I have spent in here not leaving this house. Chaos is my company talking to me we have gotten to know each other and we are beginning to understand what makes us different.
I haven't eaten since my last entry. I left my home today, Cloud has asked me to help him fight against Sephiroth. I agreed. I don't know why, perhaps it was the desire to be around other people that drove me to agree. I do not know. It seems that whatever I do I will always be like a separate person from this world, as if I don't belong. I have been thinking about Lucrecia a lot recently, I have been in my coffin for many days, I cant make up for my sin no matter what I do it seems that I will always be cursed.
Kat looked at the page, there was nothing else written on the old pages. Kat was about to flip the page when a sound came from behind her. Closing the Journal and shoving it back on the shelf Kat put her hand on the book she had returned and turned lowering her hand. Vincent walked up from the basement and looked at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Just putting the book back, I didn't mean to wake you." Kat said.
"Its ok, I wasn't asleep. Go to bed, its late." He said to Kat watching her from the top of the stairs to the basement.
"Good night." Kat said walking up stairs again to her room at a slow pace as if she hadn't been snooping around.
"Night…" Vincent muttered. Kat closed her door and sighed that was close, to close. Vincent walked over to the book shelves and looked at the book that she had put back. He looked up at the shelf that the Journal sat on, the dust in front of the Journal was swiped away like the book had been pulled out. With a sigh he pulled down the Journal and sat in a chair and began another entry.
She is a bit snoopy if you ask me. Chaos said.
I wonder how much she read, no one has ever really noticed the journal before now. Vincent said.
I think she will come to read it again, if you don't want her to read it then you should put it somewhere that she wont find it. Like on top of the book shelves is better than on a shelf that she can easily reach. Plus she would have to stand on a chair to get to it then, we would hear her if she tried to get it again. Chaos.
What would I do then? I don't want to scare her, and I wont let you handle it. She knows that you can surface easily when I am mad, I would rather not have her terrified that I would get mad at her. Vincent said.
Just saying, but I don't think she is scared of me, remember when you let me out at the church and we escaped? She wasn't scared at all of me. A little spooked when I kissed her yes but not scared.
"Just stay out of the matter." Vincent said with an irritated tone closing the journal he set it on top of the book shelves. Chaos had been with him for so long that he felt part of Vincent yet a totally different person at the same time.