FF7: Red and Silver
Chapter 2
Road to Rocket Town
"Is she feeling better?" asked Cloud.
"Still having nightmares but better than when I found her," said Vincent.
"Does she remember anything? Silver had mako addiction up until a few days ago," said Aerith, who was exhausted.
"I think you've healed her as much as you can for now. You should rest, Aerith, before you hurt yourself," said Cloud.
"Okay, I'll rest for now, but I'm going to monitor Silver until she's well enough to walk," said Aerith.
"At least she's well enough to speak," muttered Vincent.
"Why are you so fascinated by Silver? Ooooh, is this what I think it is?" said Yuffie.
"No," said Vincent.
"But Yuffie's right about the fascinated part. Why is that Vincent?" asked Aerith.
"She knows Hojo," said Vincent who left to go to Silver's room.
"Ungh!" said Silver.
"Careful, if you keep flopping around like that I won't be able to get all the glass out," said Tifa as she tended to Silver.
"Sorry," said Silver.
"Don't be sorry, Silver. It was an accident and I'm sorry I didn't notice this before," said Tifa.
"Agh. How did I get glass in my arm?" asked Silver.
"You were in the Shinra Mansion when we found you, Silver. You were soaked in mako in one of those glass tanks long enough to develop mako addiction, so you wouldn't remember what happened," said Tifa.
"What do you remember, though?" asked Vincent.
"Please tell us so we know how to help you," said Aerith as she entered the room.
"Hojo put me to sleep and did a few experiments while I was out. After the cuts healed and the stitches were gone, I was put in the mako tank as he said I was a worthless failure. He turned off the lights and just left after that," said Silver.
"That's horrible!" gasped Aerith. She hugged Silver and tried to offer support.
"You're not worthless or a failure. You're a person and I wish Hojo would've treated you like one," said Aerith.
"But I can't even repay you guys for saving me. I'm sorry I'm useless," said Silver as she cried.
"We didn't ask for money, and you aren't useless," said Tifa.
"I…No one's ever said that before," said Silver.
"Get used to being with us, then! We'll all support you," said Aerith. Silver smiled and closed her eyes momentarily.
"Is Silver well?" asked a voice from behind a door. Somehow, Red XIII managed to open it a few seconds later.
"She's still unable to walk. We tried not too long ago," said Tifa.
"What about chasing Sephiroth? Won't this hinder us?" asked Red XIII. He had been sent to check on Silver while Cloud looked for clues to Sephiroth's whereabouts.
"Agh!" cried Silver as she fell out of bed and crawled backwards into a corner.
"What's wrong, Silver?" asked Aerith as she helped Silver walk to the bed.
"That's my brother! Hojo always compared me to him and tried to turn me into another Sephiroth. Hojo hated me even more because I wasn't as good as my brother," cried Silver.
"Please, stay calm," said Tifa.
"There're so many Jenova cells in my body, so many injections of Jenova cells. I'm a failure, I'm imperfect, I'm so weak compared to Sephiroth," said Silver as she began to curl up on the bed deliriously.
Good night, my Failure…
"Father!" screamed Silver as she remembered Hojo's farewell before he abandoned her.
"Calm down, please," said Tifa as she attempted to restrain Silver who was crawling out of bed and attempting to flee.
"No, don't use force! You'll only set her off further," said Aerith. Vincent heeded Aerith's warning and spoke to Silver softly and reassuringly.
"It's us, Silver," said Vincent. She remembered being carried out of the mako tank by a red caped man.
"Vincent?" said Silver, becoming calm and regaining her senses. Vincent nodded.
"Yes," he said. Vincent carried her back to the bed and put his gauntlet hand on her head to hold her gently in place.
"Calm down," he said.
"Yes, Vincent," said Silver as she fell asleep. Only Vincent and Aerith remained when Silver awoke.
"The others went ahead without us. We'll catch up to them later," said Aerith.
"I'm sorry," said Silver.
"What happened wasn't your fault. It'll take a little while for you to recover from the Mako addiction completely," said Aerith. Silver felt relieved and tried to go back to sleep but realized it was already evening and Aerith was fixing salmon for dinner. She handed Silver a plate and Silver practically devoured it.
"Thank you," said Silver.
"No need to be so shy," said Aerith, giving Silver seconds. Silver thanked her again and felt more energized than before.
"By the way, we found these in the mansion and assumed they were yours since your name was on the chest," said Aerith, handing Silver two katana gunblades.
'Yeah, thanks for returning them," said Silver. She got up and stood perfectly as she held her gunblades.
"Hey, you're standing!" said Aerith.
"Y-yeah, I didn't realize I stood up though…" said Silver. She walked over to a coat rack and put on her trench coat that was slightly big but then again, it was actually a man's coat she owned. Vincent chuckled slightly.
"Did I do something wrong?" asked Silver.
"No, you just look tiny in that coat. I didn't think it belonged to you," said Vincent, smiling slightly.
"Oh, look who's happy!" said Aerith as she grinned widely. Vincent became somber again.
"She just seems so innocent like a little girl, that's all. The jacket just made her look the part," he said.
"Well, I think it looks good on her," said Aerith.
'Thanks," said Silver, who then decided to wear a hat and hide her silver hair.
"Whoa, what are you hiding your hair for?" asked Aerith.
"I know Father's still alive, so I can't let him know I'm alive," said Silver.
"So that's why you wear men's clothing?" said Vincent.
"No, I just like guy clothes," said Silver shyly.
"Plus Sephiroth's the only other silver-haired person in the world. Silver would be easy to track just by her hair color. I don't want to think of what would happen if Hojo found out," said Aerith.
"Mm, good point," said Vincent.
"But where are you going?" asked Aerith.
"There was a Turk in the mansion. I want to see if he's okay. Do you want me stay? I'm sorry," said Silver.
"That Turk was me," said Vincent sadly.
"I'm so sorry!" said Silver. Vincent's eyes became wide as he was reminded of Lucrecia.
I'm so sorry!
"Lucrecia," he whispered.
"Lucrecia?" said Silver.
"Please, tell me if you know of her," said Vincent.
"I don't," said Silver. She wished she could help Vincent. He too was hurt by Hojo.
"I see…" said Vincent.
"Who is she?" asked Aerith.
"She was a beautiful scientist who got mixed up with Hojo. She was…never mind," said Vincent. His girlfriend or wife maybe, thought Silver. For some reason, that made Silver sad yet she wanted to reunite her and Vincent if it made Vincent happy. It was the least she could do for the one who saved her from the mansion.