Broken Wings - Chapter Twenty One
"She said to find someone named Vincent Valentine," Aralyn said, finishing her story of her encounter with Dr. Crescent. "She seemed to think he would help."
"I've heard that name," Sephiroth agreed. "Can't say where, though."
"Can we get into the records room or something?" Aralyn asked.
Sephiroth frowned. "Not easily. That place has the tightest security in all Shinra. If we use the vents, I can get us in there, but who's to say what's inside? Maybe if we swiped an ID from one of the nurses or something…"
"Will a nurse's ID work?" Aralyn argued. "I'd think we'd need someone with higher authority, like a professor or something."
"That complicates things, but I think you're right. Besides, it's bound to have thumbprint identification or an eye scanner or…something. I can't really replicate that anyway."
"Maybe if we ask someone about Vincent?" Aralyn suggested. "If he worked here, someone has to know something!"
"I'm going in through the vents. I'll play it by ear."
Aralyn stared at him, wondering why he would take such a daring risk.
"You don't have to come, Aralyn. I'll understand." He read the expression on her face and continued. "I just feel like this is something I need to do."
"Are you always this reckless? Honestly, give it a few hours and we can come up with something!"
"No. I just…I want to know. What Lucrecia meant. I've always felt different from the children I read about in books. I know I'm not normal. I feel like she had the answers, and Vincent must too!"
Aralyn sighed, and grabbed Sephiroth's hands. "I'll let you go, if you take me with you. If it means this much to you…I'll risk it."
Sephiroth smiled and swept her up into a tight hug. "Thank you, Aralyn. You're a real friend."
Two pairs of eyes peered from behind the bars of the grate: one a deep, ocean blue and the other a bright emerald. A pair of feet passed through their vision, causing Aralyn to stifle a surprised cry. The steps stopped, but when silence continued, the professor moved on none the wiser.
"Ready?" Sephiroth asked.
"Just do it."
Sephiroth nodded and deftly tampered with the screws that held it to the wall. He wormed his way out first, then offered his hand to Aralyn and eased her through the small opening. They leaned against the wall for a moment, breathing deeply and brushing the dust from the vents off their clothes. To Aralyn's amusement, Sephiroth's long, silver hair was flecked with the fuzzy gray specks too. She chuckled quietly and helped him get them off.
"He'll be in the 'V' section, whether it's listed by first or last names," Aralyn reminded him.
"Right, let's go."
They had entered in the "R" section, so they didn't have far to go. Sephiroth went first, his eyes constantly darting back and forth, scanning for potential traps. They ducked into the rows, keeping out of the main aisles as much as possible. With a sigh of relief, they located a drawer labeled "Vac-Ven".
"That would be the one," Sephiroth muttered.
The drawer was just above either of their reaches, so Sephiroth motioned for Aralyn to get on his shoulders. She silently complied, though her clumsiness caused Sephiroth a lot of discomfort. He remained silent and bore it with a false and encouraging grin on his face. She managed to stand on his shoulders, his strong hands tightly gripping her ankles to balance her.
Aralyn's fingers pulled on the drawer and it slid out with a loud creaking sound that echoed throughout the room. Sephiroth and Aralyn grimaced and waited for something to happen, but no one came.
Breathing out the breath she had been holding, Aralyn flipped through the manila folders, letting out a jubilant whisper when she saw a folder labeled "Valentine, Vincent". "Got it!" she whispered.
"Drop it, you'll need your hands to get down."
Aralyn obeyed, letting go of the folder and watching as various colored papers spread across the floor. After another minute of intricate maneuverings to get her feet on the ground, the pair began to gather them. Sephiroth hid them in his white overcoat and whispered, "Let's get out of here."
But footsteps that weren't their own were echoing through the main aisle. To their surprise, Professor Hojo casually strode to the aisle across from them, casually whistling a tune as he searched for the files. Sephiroth whispered something that sounded like a curse and handed the papers to Aralyn, who took them without a sound.
The luck that had protected them for this long ran out as the professor turned his head. Eyes narrowing, he hissed, "Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth grabbed Aralyn's hand and ran, turning as much as possible to try to shake him from their trail. However, it was a matter of seconds before a red light blinded them and a shrieking alarm pierced their ears. Metal bars as thicker than their arms suddenly blocked the door they had been headed for.
"No. No…no!"
A/N: Now would be a good time to say that I am in NO WAY hateful of scientists in general. I'm a bit of a science geek myself, so don't be offended. Science is good... Hojo is not. I'm sure we all agree on this.