My head's pounding when I wake up, my chest aching, my arms sore. And I don't even know where we are, I just know that it's some sort of vehicle. The first thing I do is feel over my stomach, where the folder should be safely tucked away under my tight shirt... Yup, still there. At least something remained. The next thing I do is freak out, sitting up quickly.
"Vincent!" I yelp when the pain in my chest stings and clutch the place where Rosso practically turned me into a pumpkin ready for Halloween carving.
"Careful!" I look up quickly at the sound of a cheerful voice. "You guys got really hurt!" I look over to see Vincnet just opening his eyes. "Morning!"
"Where..." His head turns to look at the raggedy white figure. "Who are you?" Couldn't you tell by the voice? The person stands.
"Well, I'm glad you asked." I roll my eyes. Here we go. "I am the champion of the earth and of the sky. I am the conquerer of evil. The single white rose of Wutai!" Dramatically, the disguise flaps away and that lovely ninja princess I hate appears. "Yuffie Kisaragi!" She twirls dramatically. "Feast your eyes on... Whoa!" She falls back and hits her head on the hard metal of the wall. "Ow!" She whines like a toddler. I roll my eyes and resist the urge to repeatedly smack my head against something hard. Vincent sighs and looks up at the ceiling.
"So, where are we?" Yuffie huffs.
"Cmon, aren't you guys just the least bit concerned!?"
"Well Yuffie," Vincent starts over, just to make the brat happy. Wish he'd do that for me. "It's been awhile. How's your head?" I fight the urge to smile at his bored voice, still as gentle as ever when talking to a child. Yes, I consider this idiot a child still. Being nineteen makes no difference.
"You... Could you at least pretend to be sympathetic?" I huff and bang the back of my head against the wall in frustration.
"No one cares, Yuffie. You got knocked on the head. I got surgery from a crazy woman. Vincent got his butt whooped. Big deal." Vincent rolls his eyes and starts to sit up, wincing when the pain finally gets to him. Yuffie jumps out of her seat.
"Hey! Take it easy! That was a big hole you had in your chest!"
"A hole in my chest?" He frowns. I sigh.
"You don't remember?" He shakes his head. "Rosso ripped some funky glowing materia stuff out of our bodies. It hurt a whole freaking lot especially when that wacko decided she was gonna try to cut my head off."
"I seriously thought you guys were both goners, but then the wounds healed themselves right back up! Violet's was way bigger too, because she was running at Rosso or something." Crimson eyes give me a look and I scoff.
"I thought you were a goner too, okay? Don't bother me."
"Yuffie, what're you doing here?" Vincent finally asks.
"Me? I'm just helping out Reeve and his gang. I was poking around Nibelheim and I found you guys looking all corpse like in the Shinra manor. So I saved you! Imagine that, me, saving the two great Jenova War heroes Vincent Valentine and Violet Crescent! Do I get any thanks?"
"Thank you," I mutter, wanting badly to pull the folder out and read it, and not because I probably have a million paper cuts by now.
"Thanks, Yuffie." She shakes her head.
"No no, whoa. I didn't mean for you guys to take me so seriously."
"I didn't," I grumble to myself.
"Anyway, Reeve wanted us to contact him the second you two woke up." The TV turns on and Yuffie types some crap in, Reeve coming on. Blah blah this, blah blah that. Midgar here, Omega there, and Deepground doing the chicken dance in the corner. Who cares? It's the same crap that's been confusing me forever. I don't know if I even want to make sense of it anymore.
"There you have it," Yuffie swings her legs back around. I don't know what's going on but it sounds big. I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on those Deepground punks. They've had their way long enough. Now it's time to give them a taste of Pain a la Yuffie!" She swings her fists wildly. "Just give me three minutes with those guys! No, make it two. Well, maybe three. Or four! Well, it really depends on how many of them there are, but if there was five I could probably take 'em in two or two in five or three in four!"
"Be quiet," I huff, pulling the uncomfortable folder from my clothing. Yuffie tilts her head.
"Oh yeah, I almost left that, but then I saw your name on it and thought maybe you took it for a reason. You're lucky I was able to get back in there!"
"Thanks," I mutter, frowning at my name and the wrinkled picture of me paper clipped up in the corner. I'm not even looking at the camera, just kneeling by the violets David pointed out before he left and was killed, hands deep in the dirt. My black skirt and leggings are smeared with brown and gray, my white cardigan dirty too. My bow lays on the ground beside me along with a quiver of arrows, a one year old Josh sitting in the flower bed with his thumb in his mouth, holding the flower pot of the next plant I was going to put in. I took care of those flowers after David died as if they were all my children, just for him. Whoever took the photograph, I have no idea.
"What's in that thing anyway? It looks important!"
"I don't know," I shake my head. Vincent's piercing eyes burn into me as my hand slides across the front toward the opem edge. I look up at him quickly and he just stares back. You don't care? Alright... I sigh and flip the cover open, immediately freaked out by how many pictures of me there are. "Holy #-%+, this guy was a freaking stalker..."
"What do you mean?" Yuffie sits down beside me on the floor. I don't care if she sees, do I? Of course not... "Whoa, you're right! There's like three or four pages full of you!" Her tanned fingers brush over a picture of me and David, hugging tightly and grinning at the camera. After he got back from Icicle Inn... "Is that David?" I nod, glancing up at Vincent. He tilts his head and smile slightly. Creep old Hojo. "Geeze, you were so pretty!" Were? I feel my face warm just the tiniest bit.
"Uh.. Thanks."
"You guys looked so perfect together!"
"They were," I hear Vincent grumble under his breath. Oh come on, don't be like that. After pointing out a few pictures of Josh and a couple more of me, the ninja turns the page, gasping.
"What the...?" She trails off, trademark gray Kisaragi eyes wide. My breath catches in my throat, heart skipping. No way. It's all David Harper. Dead David, laying on the ground and bleeding from his head with his beloved video camera beside him, David grinning for a photograph, in his third class SOLDIER uniform with his helmet tucked under his arm, David with Josh in the air, spinning, and the boy's arms out with a laugh spread across both their features. The one that scares me the most is the photograph of him in some dark city, seemingly underground, holding up a machine gun against his shoulder instead of his usual sword. The one detail I didn't mention...
He's in a Deepground uniform.
He... Was part of Deepground? Why didn't I ever find out? Yuffie's eyes settle on the picture, moving to my face and then back to the picture. Vincent notices the sudden silence and looks back at us with an eyebrow raised. Yuffie swallows hard and leans her head back against the walls.
"Wow, that's rough. Your boyfriend was part of Deepground?"
"I... I never knew." My fingers brush over the picture, a lump I hate so much growing in my throat. David, what were you hiding all along? That you were part of this horrible place? Is that why you were never at the Manor? I thought you working with SOLDIER or doing something with Gabe or Darren or even Vincent. But this... "He never said anything."
"Never?!" Yuffie shakes her head quickly. "You had a bad boyfriend then! But I gotta admit, he's really cute, especially when he smiles like that." Years ago, I would've glared at her. Now, I just release a small smile and nod.
"Yeah. He used to stare at someone with his eyes crossed until they either left or started laughing. Then he'd just pretend he wasn't doing anything and everyone thought the other person was an idiot."
"Aw!" She giggles. "How did you guys meet?"
"My sister's graduation party," I shrug. Vincent shifts uncomfortably, feeling awkward while listening to us talk about my, well, I guess you could say ex now. "Can we move on? All these Deepground pictures are freaking me out."
"It's yours silly," Yuffie laughs, me shrugging and turning the page. What's next makes me even sicker. Photos of my experiments, some Yuffie saw in the cave with Lucrecia such as me drowning in a tank, but there's more. My body tightly stapled against a table, a cloth tied tightly over my eyes and over my mouth. She probably doesn't understand, but I can still hear it. Drip drip drip... All day long, for days straight. Another of me screaming, in the tank again, but there's shock zapping through the liquid now. My skin hugs my bones, my eyes barely open, I look undead. Am I still your role model, kid? I clench my jaw and look over the pictures with bitter hatred. Yuffie suddenly hugs me tightly.
"Wow, you survived all that? You're pretty awesome!" I blink at the top of her head a moment before sighing and turning to the next paper. Ah, here we go.
Violet Ann Crescent
Gender: Female
Height: 175.26 cm
Weight: 58.513 kg
Blood Type: O+
Heart Rate: 53 bpm
Allergies: None
"Wait, you're five foot nine!?" She shrieks. I nod, looking over the notes. Was I really that skinny? Geeze... "No wonder you're so tall!"
"I'm the reason Vincent looks shorter than he is, right Vince?" He sends a weary look toward me, probably annoyed by my constant thought interruptions.
"We'll be arriving shortly," a WRO member says over the speakers. The van bumps. "What the heck?!" Yuffie stands quickly, only for another rough bump to send her flying back into the wall, knocking her out cold. The vehicle suddenly stops and I tuck the folder away again, determined to learn more later. Vincent opens the back doors, the two of us hopping out. Wait, are we just leaving Yuffie..? He just moves forward more. I guess we are. I look back at the car and shrug. I don't mind. Then I notice the robots around us.
They're easily fought off, but something doesn't feel right the entire battle. Like I'm vulnerable. I wonder... On we go, plowing through the guard hounds and animals of the area.
"Where are we going?" I finally ask, curiosity taking over me.
"The WRO headquarters. There may be something for us there."
"Deepground?" A hum is my only answer, which I take as a 'yes'. The world gets darker the closer we get, Vincent heading straight into a tight cave. I follow carefully, only to avoid a blob of something. Vincent shoots his gun twice before the large mechanical bug dies. "Did that thing just @&%- acid?" Vincent sighs.
"It is just me, or are you swearing a lot more than usual lately?"
"Hey, don't judge me. I'm special, you know that better than anyone."
"How about David?" Was that jealousy I detected?
"He's dead," I force out, squeezing past him. "And so I've moved on. Let's get to the WRO." We move through the tunnel quickly, me worried because Reeve hasn't text spammed me like a worried father yet.
We come put to a platform and jump down- right into the middle of a Deepground camp. Me being weaponless, I kick some guy multiple times, punch him too, and take his gun. Is this the kind of gun David used? My fiancé, the man I thought the love of my life, the enemy? How did it get to this point? David was such a innocent person, loving to laugh and defend those he loved. But now... Maybe I never knew him at all. We shoot down everything living, including more acid crapping bugs, and move down to the next canyon. Right in the other side, is the WRO HQ. Time to save your wimpy soldiers, Tuesti. I really wish he'd pick some good fighters already instead of every moron that comes in with a sob story on avenging their chocobo farm.
I shoot down two Deepground that're firing at WRO members, earning a grateful a nod. I send the gesture back and kill several more enemies, including those hounds and those giant soldier men with huge guns. One of them drops a card key and I grab it, calling to Vincent. There're only three Deepground guys left out here, they'll be fine. The dark haired man turns his head at the sound of his name and hurries toward me while I use the key on the door. He leads the way with Cerberus in hand and shoots down two more soldiers in our way. There's no one else in the corrider, the two of us splitting our four potions between us, each of us taking two just in case.
Outside, it's a different story. Dozens of Deepground soldiers rain bullets on us and the sound is nearly deafening. Vincent jumps right into the fight as usual and I stick to the dark, choosing to be safe. More Deepground soldiers die than in our previous battles. Am I killing people he knew? People he was close to? A bullet slices along my cheek, bringing me away from my thoughts and causing me to automatically shoot them. We fight our way to the next door, me drinking one of the gross potions and hoping it works. Through the next empty corrider we go, a few WRO members on our tails. Then it's the same thing all over again, the Deepground soldiers killing of our little WRO buddies and then getting killed themselves. Nothing new except that we go into a dark tunnel this time.
The speakers around us fire up, screams echoing through the tunnel.
"This is headquarters! We need backup!"
"Get away!"
"What is that thing?!" More screams and then a roar. Vincent's eyes lock on mine and we nod simultaneously, sprinting off toward the exit. In the next large room, we pick off the soldiers quickly, hurting forward to the main center. Only, we can't go much further because one of those spider things from the mansion comes out, making me sigh. Just a palette swap, eh? I get a quick idea and crouch down beside the stairs, Vincent following my lead on the other side and the two of us firing into the underside when it starts down the stairs. It only takes fourbullets to kill the thing, five more to kill the four soldiers at its side.
The door slides down and we step inside, guns out. I grabbed some ammo off one of the guys back there and loaded it into my machine gun, my weapon now ready again. Vicnent leads the way to a very destroyed ground floor in the main building. We shoot down more soldiers and hurry on through the next blue lit door.
"You think Reeve's okay?" I ask, shooting a Deepground member in our path.
"One would think Deepground and gotten to him by now," Vincent replies grimly.
"Let's hope you're wrong."
The further we go, the more destruction we see, the sights very unsettling. Dust floats through the air, debris blown everywhere. My heart speeds up slightly when I see fire burning in the corner of a collapsed corrider. Cmon Reeve, Shalua, Shelke, be okay. We turn a corner and pause upon seeing a giant beast throw a WRO member, killing three men at the same time.
"What the #-%+?" Vincent says under his breath. Exactly, Vince.
"Azul," a calm voice says behind us. Shelke. We turn to see she and Shalua standing behind us, the older of the two missing her lab coat. Azul roars loudly, making me cringe. The monster charges us, Vincent pushing me back out of the way and firing at him. Shalua jumps up to attack, only to get thrown into the wall.
"Shalua!" Vincent calls, hurrying to defend her.
"Wait, Vince, look out!" My warming comes to late and he's slammed into the concrete siding of the building. Azul turns to both me and Shelke. We dodge his attacks, Shalua holding up a ball of materia that causes him to freeze.
"The extreme potency of this Shield materia is comparable to that of your barrier field, Azul." A brilliant flash fills the room and I cover my eyes with my arm. The man appears instead of the beast, a frustrated look on his face.
"Shelke? Why do you stand in my way?" Vincent.... Shelke sighs.
"I had to protect myself. You were trying to kill me." Azul smirks.
"Hm. Then now is the time." He swings at her and she dodfes quickly with a gasp. They're turning on her... Why? "You are no longer required."
"No longer..?"
"You are no different than the others. Your weak body wouldn't last a day without mako. Your only skill is collecting data from inside a virtual reality. It makes me sick to even think of you as a member of the Tsviets. Lionheart, on the other hand," he chuckles darkly.
"Lionheart?" Shelke whimpers.
"Weiss has ordered your termination. Your mission was to locate and identify the keepers of Omega's Materias. That is why we uploaded the doctor's data into your neural network." Doctor...
"Lucrecia..." I whisper.
"But now, we no longer need it, and we cannot let it fall into the hands of the WRO. Your fate has been decided, Shelke. It is time for you to return to the planet."
"No," I shake my head, standing in front of the girl. She reaches out a hand from behind me, trapped Azul behind her Shield spell. Shalua suddenly scrambles to her feet, grabbing Shelke and pulling her along.
"Vincent, Violet, let's get out of here!" I nod and rush after her, pulling Vincent to his feet. He runs into the door followed by me, but Shelke stops stubbornly. "Cmon!"
"Let go of me!" The girl yanks.
"I don't think so," her older sister shoots back. "We have ten years to catch up on. I'm not gonna let this end here..." The door begins closing quickly.
"Shalua," Vincent hurries toward the door, but she jams it with her prosthetic arm, me hurrying forward to poke my head out.
"I don't think you've noticed, but we need to go now, you two." Vincent helplessly pulls on the side of the door, trying to pry it open while I search for a switch.
"Why are you doing this?" Shelke demands. Not now, kid!
"You can still get through," Shalua ignores her question. "Go on!" She pushes Shelke in. The girl turns around to look at her older sibling. "Shelke, I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister. I'm sorry I let you suffer so long." Azul's footsteps can be heard stomping toward her. The cover snaps off her arm, leaving just a pole zapping with electricity. "Violet take care of her, will you?"
"You're not gonna die, #-%+-#@$^!" I snap.
"Wait," Vincent forces, voice strained as he struggles to hold the door.
"Shelke, I'm glad I was able to find you. And remember, I'll always love you."
"No!" I jump forward to grab at her, anything. Shelke catches my hand and pulls me back, Vincent banging his balled up fists on the door. "Shalua!"
"Why?" Shelke whispers to herself. A loud thump follows and clear yellowish fluid spears out from under the door. I hope that's not what I think it is... Vincent grabs her arm and pulls her behind him, the two hurrying away while I just stare at the door. Why didn't I do anything? I could've helped, I could've saved her, I could've... I could've been the person behind the door instead of her. Shelke needs her not me. I hear footsteps behind me and stiffen.
"I should've done something".
"You did all you could."
"All I could?" I turn around and scowl at Vincent. "If I'd actually done all I could, I could've pushed that thing open on my own and saved that woman's #&$! All I did was stand there like an idiot."
"Violet, I felt as if I.." He starts, hand reaching to gently touch my shoulder. I jerk back.
"Don't touch me." He sighs, another thump loudly shaking the door. This time he doesn't hesitate to physically drag me away, me trying desperately to pull away from the restraint. He ignores my whining and the bruises forming where I'm pulling too hard, making sure I get to safety. We wind up in the same exact room as Reeve, though I'm so wound up I don't have time to be relieved. Shelke follows us silently, watching me boredly as I pull harder.
"I'm so ashamed," Reeve murmurs. "I am supposed to be a hero of the Jenova War." You never did any fighting, moron! "But look at me." Vincent finally releases me, sending me stumbling into a pile of rubble. Ow! I grimace at the cut on the back of my forearm when I get to my feet.
"Don't take all the blame." The commits oner remains unresponsive, looking so down on himself that Vincent steps forward. "Reeve."
"Huh?" He looks up.
"You're not thinking of giving up, are you?" Reeve sighs and looks down again. Vincent crouches beside him. "I used to be nothing but a stone in the river of time. But three years ago, it was you and the others that taught me I had to move ahead."
"Vincent..." Vincent glances at me and leaves the room. Reeve looks at me dejectedly.
"Did something happen?"
"Shalua..." I mutter. "She... Chose Shelke's life over hers." The commissioner blinks at me before understanding, sadness washing over his features.
"I see." When will the cycle end for us?
I WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY SAD WHEN SHALUA DIED :'( I LIKED HER, THOUGH SHE HAD A WEIRD CLOTHING CHOICE...
I LOOKED UP SOME OF THE TSVIETS' NAMES, AND I REALIZED SOMETHING.
AZUL- BLUE IN SPANISH
CERULEAN- A SHADE OF BLUE
THAT MEANS HIS NAME IS 'BLUE THE BLUE".
ROSSO- RED IN ITALIAN
CRIMSON- A SHADE OF RED
HER NAME IS 'RED THE RED'.
NERO- BLACK IN ITALIAN
SABLE- PITCH BLACK
'BLACK THE BLACK'.
AND THERE'S JUST SHELKE... WOW. I THINK I KNOW SQUARE'S THREE FAVORITE COLORS NOW...