Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy VII: Awakening	By : Saan Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 844 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
In the morning, Sephiroth sought out Rudah for information on how the group might get a shower. A hooded figure bumped into him as he stepped out of the shelter. Sephiroth looked down at the person. He almost towered over him. The man's head was almost level with his chest. The shroud of the figure slowly lifted and he became aware that his gaze was being returned. The general was unable to see a face beneath the large hood. Strips of metal poked out of the shadows that concealed the man's identity. "A mask perhaps." Sephiroth muttered.

"Out of my way!" the man shouted in a low husky voice. The figure put its tiny black gloved hands against his chest and forcefully pushed him to the side. Upon examination, Sephiroth first thought that the group responsible for his second chance at life had found him but relaxed when he noticed the cloak of the rude person was shredded and gray. The hooded man seemed to be in quite a hurry as he stomped away.

"What can I do for you, sir?" yelled Rudah from several feet away. He was waving an arm around excitedly.

Sephiroth looked back at the rude man that had shoved him. The pace seemed to be inhuman as it navigated a heap of scrap metal. Within seconds, he was gone.

Rudah strode up to him. "Don't mind him. He's just a local here."

"Not very friendly is he."

"Nah," agreed Rudah, "He comes around every so often for a drug that I got from your file cabinet�wasn't expecting to find that kind of thing in there. Hojo had the papers on it and everything. It's highly addictive but it's a great pain reliever if you've undergone major internal surgery or amputations. Lots of people were put on it when Shinra was big. This guy, he knew about me being fired and found me a few years ago. Poor sucker doesn't know that another drug was made four years ago that has less than half of the addictive qualities�"

"Anything for some quick gil." said Sephiroth as he shook his head.

"Wouldn't have it any other way! Funny thing is though�that guy saw your chocobos and suddenly struck up a conversation. That was weird. He usually just asks about my supply and hands me some Gil�don't know how he comes up with it�but what do I care."

"What did he want to know?" Sephiroth rubbed his chin with his index finger.

"That'll cost you extra. I will tell you though that as soon as he saw you, he grabbed those tablets and couldn't wait to leave. That guy has a nasty streak a mile wide. He got pissed at me when I shorted him a pill. That's how I got this�." he pointed to his old back brace. "He's tiny but damn, look out!"

The questions were mounting as Sephiroth began to ponder the identity of the hooded man. "Have you ever seen his face? Do you even know if that really is a man underneath that hood?"

Rudah thought to himself for a minute. He rubbed at his balding head. "Nope. Never seen his face. I figured that it had to be a guy since he tossed me a good four feet into my little waterfall."

A smirk lit up the white haired man's face as he caught a mental image of Leira fighting with the thugs from the day before. He decided to leave the junk dealer to his own impressions.

"You didn't originally want to ask me about that guy did you?" asked Rudah as he cocked an eyebrow.

Sephiroth told him about wanting to find a place to shower off and maybe get something to eat.

"Why would you want to know that?" The old man asked.

Sephiroth was about to answer, when the junk dealer gave a black-toothed smile. "I know. I know, chief. There's an open shower out back."

"Open?" the former Shinra general was clearly puzzled.

"Yeah," Rudah reached underneath his dirty red and black plaid flannel shirt and scratched at his stomach. "It's more like a broken pipe that has constantly running water. I dug up the ground around it to make it look like a waterfall flowing into a lake. Make it look romantic like, ya know" His voice sounded almost sentimental.

Sephiroth crossed his arms and realized what the man had been implying. He was suddenly confronted with a memory of his own. He covered his face with a hand and let out a huge laugh. He wondered if Leira would share the same case of déjà vu.

Rudah watched the man's face turn red with each guffaw. Sephiroth was known throughout Shinra for his rather awkward style of laughing�when he did laugh.

"How much are you going to charge for this luxury?" he asked the junk dealer while he began to calm down.

"I'm hurt." Rudah lied. "As long as you guys don't take forever, I'll let you guys shower for free�because, it's Leira and all�I'll even throw in a couple bottles of champagne as a going away present."

Why was he being so kind all of a sudden? Sephiroth could not understand it. After a short pause, he thanked the man and walked around to the back.

There was indeed a hole in the ground filled with water. It looked like it was large enough to accommodate three grown people at the same time. A long metal pipe stuck up from the ground about ten feet. It reminded Sephiroth more of a large shower head than anything else. A grating in the pipe acted as a type of sprinkler that distributed the rushing water into tiny drops. The pipe grating alone was eight feet wide.

As he entered the room, Sephiroth noticed Leira's sleeping position. Her arms were wrapped around Vincent as she slept. He could not help but feel a little jealous of the former Turk as he looked for something heavy to drop. Time was running out. It would not be long before his employers began to hunt for Leira themselves. If they lost faith in him, he was not sure what would happen. He decided to reopen the door and slam it shut instead.

BANG

Leira pushed Vincent off the bed and removed her Glock 21 from the holster underneath her shoulder. Her knees were drawn into her chest and the gun was pointed right at her former general. After she realized who had wakened her she calmed down a little. "This better be good." She growled as she lowered her handgun.

"I know how you like to keep clean so I went ahead and asked Rudah about a place to clean off at." He said as he approached her.

Vincent got to his feet and dusted himself off. He stood face to face with Sephiroth. His eyes seemed to glow with distrust.

Sephiroth turned and went over to one of his bags. He removed a few items and headed out of the room. The figure that had bumped him earlier was still making him uneasy. He did not want to tell the others about his experience just yet.

Once he was back outside, he removed the last articles of clothes he was wearing and stepped out into the makeshift pool. The water was deeper than it looked. He was amazed to see that it went up to his navel. He knelt down and tilted his head back a little to soak his hair. He brought soap with him and began to lather himself.

A minute later Vincent had shown up. He too removed the black uniform that usually was covered by his cloak. He was not sure how he felt being naked beside another man. He figured that it would not matter. He understood the importance of good hygiene as much as any other human.

The general was not sure what to make of Vincent's arrival. "This is how it was before she became an Elite. She stayed close to me."

"Even in showers?" Vincent asked as he entered the warm water. The temperature was strange. He ducked below the water and immediately arose. He pushed his black hair out of his face. He was surprised to see that his companion was a lighter skin color than he was

Both men had their backs to the small dirt path that led to their bathing area. Leira stood in the open air. She slowly unbuckled the brown SOLDIER emblazoned belt around her waist and began to unbutton the top part of her uniform. She arched her back and let the blue fabric slide off her shoulders and onto the ground.

Vincent and Sephiroth seemed to be ignoring each other as she stood in the distance. Both men obviously held feelings for her. It made her uncomfortable to know that they knew more about her than she did. She removed her white undershirt. At least they were both attractive. Her boots remained back in their room. She had walked barefoot to the wading pool. To Leira, the boots were two less articles of clothing that she would not need to worry about in her pursuit of cleanliness. With ease, she pushed down her tight black leggings and stepped out of them.

The proud Elite uniform was spread out in a path along the ground. She did not bother to pick it up or look back.

"Was Leira with you?" asked Sephiroth.

"She said she would be out in a minute�that she had some decisions to make." Vincent answered. Something told him to turn around. He could suddenly feel a presence behind him. He could not understand this sudden feeling. After a quick glance, he determined that Sephiroth was not feeling the same thing he was. Was someone really watching them bathe? "What kind of sick, twisted pervert?!" he growled to himself.

As Vincent sloshed around in the water, his eyes fell upon human feet. He followed the legs before him slowly up the rest of the body. He marveled at every inch of the person. Leira's form was a mix of muscle and softness. She was lightly sculpted in certain areas but it was evident that she was not weak by any means.

Her arms were bent at the elbows and covered her chest. Her hands rested on her shoulders as she too entered the water. Sephiroth turned around just in time to see her. She was just as he remembered her so many years ago. He recalled the fond memory that had come to him when Rudah mentioned the open shower.

"I wanted to make sure that I was able to keep an eye on you." His smile was heartwarming but there was an odd look in his eyes. Something was bothering him.

She lowered her head and stared at her naked toes. Their wriggling motion added a touch of amusement to her questions. It almost seemed like she had discovered these digits for the first time. Her brown hair poured over her face as it accepted its watery burden. Of all the places to be, why had he chosen the men's shower room? Was that even a question that she should be asking herself?

Leira had found that she was growing fond of her general. It was just days before her transfer to the Turks and she did not know how, if she would ever get a chance to see him again. Heck, she was not even sure if she would be able to remain in Midgar period.

Reeve seemed adamant about her new position. "Trust me; I'm your uncle,� he would say over and over again. Leira let his words slip by as she looked at her soon to be former general's body.

Sephiroth's arms reached toward the sky and solemnly bent at the elbows. His reddening hands traced the back of his neckline downwards toward the shoulders before finally slipping over and grasping the long white locks of his hair. Slowly, he elevated his hair above his head before unceremoniously dropping it. Leira watched as he cocked his head to the side. The fact that his eyes were closed in an almost rapture drew her in closer.

Without warning, Sephiroth dropped his hands and looked right at her.

Leira gasped in shock, as his eyes seemed to stare through her very being. It was almost thirty seconds later when she realized that he was not looking at her. He was looking passed her.

"Incoming." his voice said warningly.

Leira was too caught up in his looks to heed his words. After a couple seconds, the girl decided to follow his gaze. As soon as she locked onto that same area, a white bar of soap slammed into her forehead. Her head swung backwards with the rest of her body. After a couple seconds, she was able to collect herself. She looked back at Sephiroth and saw a glint of humor on his face.

He noticed the embarrassment in her face and quickly closed his eyes. He reached up with his left hand just in time to catch another flying bar of soap.

"That does it!� Leira growled out of frustration. She put her hands on top of the shower stall panel and pulled herself up. She than hurtled over it and took off at a dead run through the steamy Shinra shower room. No one was going to humiliate her in front of her dream man.

Leira saw Sephiroth staring at her and raked a handful of water at him. "Wake up!� she snapped. "I know what you're thinking!�

Sephiroth blinked his eyes several times, as the water ran out of his eyes. "I�I'm sorry?" He was too in shock to hear her correctly.

"You were remembering something from our shared past. You can't fool me!"

Rudah approached with three bottles of champagne and set them down by the side of the small pool. "Well, well, what do you know? The gang's all here!" He focused in on Leira's upper body. "Just like me, some things actually do get better with age."

"Whatever�" Leira said as she rolled her eyes.

Vincent was about to respond but bit his lip as he thought about asking the junk dealer about his age.

Sephiroth let the words slip passed him as he grabbed a bottle. He opened the bottle and turned to Rudah. "No glasses."

The junk dealer watched as Sephiroth found a place to sit down. "Nope, tha�"

"Let me guess�that'll cost us extra." said Vincent as he picked up another bottle and handed the remaining one to Leira. She accepted it with open arms and thanked him.

Rudah looked at the three of them one last time before he sauntered off to his hut.

"You know," Sephiroth said studying the bottle in his hands. "Getting back to your thought, Leira. When Reno came along, I almost gave up on you."

"What's that?" Leira turned to him. "What about Reno?"

"Now with Mr. Valentine in the picture, I'm not sure what to think." He ran a hand down the length of the scar she had given him back in Kalm. "She does like you, Vincent. Be careful." He took a drink from his bottle and walked off.

"What was that all about?" Vincent asked slightly unnerved.

They watched him as he disappeared. "There's that change in attitude again,� said Leira.

"It almost seems that he's trying to distance himself from you." Vincent commented as he climbed out of the water and sat on the ground.

"Why?" The Elite could think of several reasons for her ex-general�s strange behavior. Her notions ranged from jealousy to fear�but fear of what? Losing her�

"Do you think his behavior has anything to do with the lists and that map?"

Sephiroth sat on one of the beds with his knees tucked into his chest. He had pulled on the bottom portion of his uniform. Beside him was one of his favorite books. An old manual on how to control materia rested against his foot. It would not be long now before Leira's memories and sanity would be put to the test. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his head. Usually, the old manual cheered him up but somehow that small joy was overshadowed by his worries on her becoming just like him. Was that possible? He had indeed been trying to distance himself from her but the years that they shared together while under Shinra employment were weighing down on him. "Why couldn't you just have died like everyone else?" he cried in the darkness.

Back in Costa del Sol Reeve continued to worry about his niece. The rest of the team did not really seem to share his concern. "She'll be fine." Cloud had told him once. For as much faith as he had in his sister's child, there was also skepticism. He sat in his personal sitting area with his hands folded in his lap. The worrying had been keeping him awake for a couple days. What could be keeping them so long? Had Sephiroth done something to her?

He picked up a framed picture on the coffee table in front of him. Behind the golden frame and glass was a picture of him, Leira and his sister. "Reann�" Reeve said as he traced the outline of his sister. Her red hair was so short back then. He could recall a time long ago when her eyes used to be brown and not the deep blue created by the Mako that had run through her veins.

Why couldn't he stop her from joining SOLDIER? Why hadn't he stopped her from marrying her husband when he had the chance? Would things have been any different if he did?

Reeve set the picture down and sighed as he watched the film created by fingers fade from the glass. Just than something caught his eye. There was another picture behind the one he had set down. He dropped to his knees and snatched up the picture.

For all the people in this photograph had put him through, he had no idea why he kept it at all. It had been taken during the sixteenth birthday of the last president, Rufus Shinra. Reeve found himself with a partial smile on his lips as he remembered how Leira had embarrassed him that day. The mutilated black dress that she wore in the picture had been a gift from him. Of course, the woman that had been a friend to his sister did the skin bearing alterations that occurred to it later. Leira stood there with the Scarlet�s arms around her shoulders. Scarlet had been the head of the Weapon's Development team long before his niece was hired. To the left of the two stood the young president. Beside him was the boy's father, the then president Shinra�maybe it was just as well that Reeve could not remember his name.

Slowly, his smile was replaced by a frown. On the other side of Scarlet and Leira was her boyfriend, a Turk named Reno, Sephiroth and the head of the Shinra Science Department himself, Hojo. Reeve's anger steadily began to overtake him as the mad professor glared back at him. "Why did you have to ruin everything for us?! It's all your fault�and that damn son of yours!� he snarled. Just then, the phone in the next room began to ring. Reeve did not even bother to put the picture down as he crossed over to the dining room. He lifted the phone from its carriage and leaned against the wall. "Reeve here." he spat.

"Mr. President, you've got a call from someone,� said the voice of one of his secretaries.

"This is Melody right? Listen, I'm not up for calls right now. Tell them to call back later if it's important."

"I tried that, sir. She�or he says it's important. The connection's not really that great. Anyway, they said that they've got a lead on some valuable information concerning your niece."

"Is that so?" Reeve muttered. "Put him through. Oh, and Melody, put a trace on it."

"Yes, Mr. President." The phone went through a series of clicks and than fell silent as the line was transferred. For several seconds Reeve thought the line had gone dead or the person on the other end had hung up. "Is anyone there?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"She is here with him and another man,� said a ragged voice. "They have a copy of the map, too. It looks like they are going to try and find the others."

"Who is this? What are you talking about? What map? This is about Leira isn't it?!" Reeve rubbed at the sweat that had formed on his forehead as he tried to puzzle out everything he was being told.

"You were given one�Mr. President. You have a copy." The voice said menacingly. "The two of them are an attractive target. It's only a matter of time before the others catch up with them."

"Who are you?! Where are you calling from?!" Reeve demanded.

The voice on the other end said something but was interrupted by static. The last part sounded like Midgar. "Midgar, you said?!" Suddenly, Reeve knew who it was. So Leira and the others had made it that far, he thought to himself.

"Correct." Said a voice he had hoped he would never hear from again.

"Look�look, just watch after her for as long as you can�"

"The others are after me too, sir. Or have you forgotten?"

"Please, I'm begging you!! I'll pay you�just keep her safe! I'll be down as soon as I can!!"

CLICK

The person on the other end hung up on him. "This can't be happening,� he said as he slammed the phone down. "URRRRGH!�

Reeve straightened himself and tried to put the entire telephone conversation behind him. He made his way back to the sitting room and looked at the images of Hojo and Sephiroth. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!� he shouted as he flung the picture at the door to the outside. Milliseconds before the photograph erupted into tiny bits of glass, Cid Highwind had swung open the door.

The frame whizzed past his face and exploded against the doorframe. "Is this a bad time, Reeve?" He said slowly, rubbing his chin with concern. The object had just missed his face by a couple inches.

"What is it?!" Reeve shouted.

"I was just�" Cid reached up and scratched the back of his head. He had almost swallowed his cigarette when Reeve had thrown the picture at him.

The president pushed his anger behind him as best as he could. "I'm sorry, Cid. It's just that this is the hundredth time you people have knocked on the door�or in your case, just flew in."

"Yeah, sorry about that chief."

"What did you want to say?" Reeve asked as he got up from his couch.

The old pilot had almost forgotten what he wanted to tell him. "Uh, yeah! Well, you see some guy with a weird tattoo came up to Cloud as we were running some checks on the Highwind. Funny thing is�"

The dark haired president was now eye-to-eye with the grizzled pilot. "Tattoo?"

"Yeah, some number�Cloud seems to think he's seen the guy before, too. Says he's from Wutai to boot. You should've seen Yuffie drooling all over 'im. Like she's never seen a guy before�I haven't seen her like that since she got a load a that Turk�what's 'is name�" Cid frowned as he tried in vain to remember the name of the redheaded Turk that had saved the little Ninja's life almost three years ago.

Reeve's expression began to darken as he realized that Cid had no idea of the importance of his message. "That would be Reno�"

"The guy with the tat�or the Turk guy�?" Cid asked as he took a puff from his cigarette.

Reeve would have laughed at the man if the message were only concerning his niece's former lover. His face went red with anger and he shoved the man out of his way.

The impact sent the poor pilot into the side of the door. He tried desperately to keep himself from dropping his cigarette. "What the hell was that about?!" he managed to shout as he watched Reeve stomp out of the villa.

Cloud stood in the sunlight. The pounding of the sun's rays was starting to take its toll on him. His white T-shirt and his denim cut off shorts were soaked with his sweat.

Yuffie sat at the boy's feet with a piece of aluminum in her hands. She held it just below her chin to reflect the sun's rays toward her face. She wore a skimpy purple bikini with large blue flowers on it. She had originally worn a pair of shorts like the ones Cloud had adorned but had quickly removed them when the stranger had approached them. "Wha oh, Spiky boy!" she said as she noticed Reeve coming toward them. "Looks like Cid's message hit its mark. Might I add too that he does not look happy?�

Cloud looked at the nineteen year old for a moment and than back at the fuming Reeve. "I didn't think he would be happy." He walked toward Reeve to try to catch him halfway. He thought that if the president were to continue any further in his dark blue shirt and pants he might drop from heat stroke.

Yuffie lie back in the sand after putting on a dark pair of sunglasses. She could not recall seeing one of her fellow compatriots being as muscular as the tattooed man. He had been darker than her in skin color and tall. He had to have been over six feet in height. His body, from what she had seen of it, was entirely devoid of hair, with the exception of the clean-cropped black hair on his head. The man's tanned skin was blemish free. His dark eyes were exactly like Cloud's. Their deep blue put the oceans themselves to shame. Yuffie threw her arms out to her sides. "DUDE, where have you been all mah life?!!" She yelled out.

Cloud stopped to look back at her. He thought she was being attacked. He grinned as he realized that she was just remembering their strange visitor.

"Will she be alright? No one got hurt, right?" asked Reeve as he forced an awkward smile.

Cloud turned his focus to Reeve. "Nah, she's just love struck I guess."

Reeve pondered his own brown leather shoes for a moment. "Cid said you recognized him."

Cloud nodded. "He had Mako eyes like mine�if that means anything to you. I kind of remember seeing a guy that looked like him in SOLDIER. He was numbered, too."

"Where did he go? What did he say?"

"I don't know. Yuffie screamed and went running around like a wild girl�"

"I HEARD THAT MISTER!� the little Ninja interrupted.

"�By the time I looked back he was gone." Cloud continued. "He just asked about Mom's whereabouts and that was it."

Reeve bit his lip before he asked, "�and what did you say?"

Cloud shook his head. He was becoming interested in Reeve's reactions. "I just told him that I didn't know what he was talking about. He just smiled at me and called me a liar�that was when�well, y'know�Yuffie�"

The president did not want to hear anymore. He noticed that the gangplank of the Highwind was down and stormed up to the bridge.

"What's with him alla a sudden?" Yuffie blurted out as she joined Cloud. "He looked like he'd just seen a ghost!"

"I just think you need a good boyfriend." Cloud said meekly.

"Why you�" Yuffie dropped her jaw and elbowed him in the stomach. She stormed off toward the town creating a mini-sandstorm as she walked.

Since the Highwind's ramp was lowered for its maintenance checks, Reeve knew that at least one of the Costa del Sol team was aboard. "Cait Sith!" he called out.

"Down here, boss!" said the little black and white mechanical cat.

Reeve looked down at his creation. "Looks like my work on separate mobility has helped you out. Where's the Mog at?"

"Him? Oh, he's out mopping up the observation deck. I was just on my way to check out the instrument panel myself."

"Did you hear about our mystery visitor?" Reeve questioned.

"Yep, I was there. That's what I was going to check out,� said the cat as he readjusted the oversized golden crown balancing between his pointy ears. "Hey, boss�" The cat said as he looked up at his creator.

"Yeah."

"Can I have a hand up? You've got longer legs than I do and all�it'd probably take me forever to get to the control room."

Reeve bent down and picked up the cat. Together they both made their way to the Highwind's bridge. Once inside Reeve kicked a chair over to one of the computer terminals and set the cat in it.

It was still quite a stretch for the feline but he managed to reach the important keys. "Do you think she'll still remember this guy?" he asked.

Reeve cocked his head back. Not this guy. He had wanted to say. Just the original copy.

"Boss, you okay?" The mechanical cat's eyes were still on the keyboard but he knew his creator enough to know that Reeve was more than bothered by these recent events.

"I'm okay, Cait. I am sure she remembers him well. If it is him." Reeve had not intended to sound cryptic but he could not think of anything else to say on the matter.

The little android kept hitting several keys. The light tapping on the keyboard reminded Reeve of his days back in Shinra. He remembered having to type out report after report about the plates and any kind of leaks that the floating city had. Anything that was deemed as a hazard for his people he had to attend to. Unlike the rest of the organization, Reeve felt that he and Mayor Domino were the only ones that really cared about Shinra's relationship with the people who dwelled in the city, slum or otherwise.

"Before I go on, do you think the old records are still stored in the computer? I mean�it's been a long time since�you know�"

Reeve knew that the cat's worries were justified. Meteor had caused many disturbances and a lot of necessary data had been lost from the old computer systems. He figured that if things like old Shinra maps and dossiers could be found than why not computerized data. He rested his hands on the back of the cat's chair. "Go on."

"Righty O', Boss." The cat continued to type. Suddenly the large wall panel monitor sprung to life. The screen went black with the exception of a large red "M" outline. "I think we've found it." Cait Sith purred.

A red cursor appeared underneath the Mako emblem, and a female voice spoke. "Password please."

"Ain't she a hottie?!" blurted the cat. "Rowr Rowr!�

Reeve winced at the thought. "Type in SOLDIER DOA."

"Got it." The cat did as he was instructed.

The screen began to flicker wildly as it began to match the password to its correct file.

The cat crossed its gloved paws. Reeve on the other hand was as confident as ever. He could not think of anyone still living that had access to these files, besides himself.

"Access Granted." said the snobbish computer generated voice. "File type SOLDIER Dead On Arrival access has been granted."

"If that's all you had to type, anyone could have gotten to it�it's not a very secretive sounding password�the least you could have done was had it voice imprinted or something." said the cat smugly.

"Quiet, fur-ball." coaxed Reeve.

Hundreds of pictures were shown on the screen. Many of them consisted of human faces.

"Hey, Cait�Who do you think it was?"

The cat considered all the possible options. He himself was one in a string of several disposable androids. If one model were to fail or be destroyed, an exact replica would replace it. The new Cait Sith would have all the data from its predecessor downloaded into him so he could act and carry on like there was never a gap. "Maybe if we start with the beginning numbers we'll find the guy."

"Why don't you just go ahead and type in Wutai for your search?" asked Reeve. For a copy, this latest Cait Sith liked to back talk.

"I tell ya what. I'll go ahead and cross reference them." The cat turned and smiled as his paws kept typing. Reeve poked the small triangular nose and smiled before he returned to look at the screen."

Large pictures of SOLDIERs from Wutai flashed on the monitor. "They all look alike don't they boss?"

Reeve ignored the comment and continued to watch the faces. His eyes suddenly caught a familiar image. "Cait stop there!" he demanded.

Cait Sith furiously struck a couple keys to stop the images from cycling. "I don't think that's the guy, boss�"

The face on the monitor was that of a SOLDIER First Class named Timal Klefmon. His hair was short and multicolored. The hair from his forehead to his ears was almost a burgundy color while the rest was shaved close and black. There was a tiny scar beneath one of his ears. A large black number hung above his head. Number twenty-nine.

"Boss, that ain't our guy." The cat said as he brought his crown down to cover his ears.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Our guy had black hair�no scar either."

Reeve felt like yelling at the cat. Instead, he decided to explain as patiently as he could. "Cait? Our guy is a clone. Somehow, this guy was cloned. He wasn't born with the scar or the�colorful hair."

"Hmmm." the tiny creation wondered. It hopped up onto the terminal and did its best to cover up the scar and the hair with its paws. "Y'know. I think this is him alright!" He laughed excitedly and clapped his gloved paws together. The cat scrambled down into his chair and crossed his tiny legs. "It says here he died on the way to Junon three years ago. He was just a kid�had turned twenty-seven just before he was killed. Poor guy. He's buried in Midgar somewhere, now."

Reeve was stumped. Hojo had reportedly quit days before the SOLDIER died. Surely, he had to have gained access to the body somehow before it was buried. If the professor had nothing to do with the cloning of the young man who did?

"Y'know, Reeve." The cat�s voice became small. "While I was hiding out at the Gold Saucer, waiting for Cloud�I saw the same guy too�"

"It couldn't have been."

The cat flinched. "It was, boss. He was in the group that was following Sephiroth�err, the clone of Sephiroth anyway�"

Reeve tried to grab for clues as the cat continued. "He was killed than too. Some nutcase named Dyne shot up a bunch of people. Leira and a handful of officers barely made it out with their skin!"

"How many clones did you make you bastard?!" Reeve slammed his hands down on the back of the chair. "How many more of them are going to be searching for her?"

"Wow, if we're talking clones, there's no telling how many there could be!" Cait Sith pulled his ears down against his head. His circuits were becoming as stressed as his creator.

Vincent and Leira picked up their clothing and walked, naked, into the shelter.

Sephiroth was shining Masamune when the two entered. "I trust that you two had a good time.�

Leira threw the blue upper half of her uniform at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?!" she giggled. Her smile seemed to put him at ease. He quickly set the sword down behind him, caught the uniform and grabbed her when she got close to try to snatch it back. All three of them blushed as she squealed out. "Let go of me you pervert!�

Sephiroth did as she asked and dropped the naked woman to the floor. Leira struck with a dull THUD. She landed face down with her hands beneath her shoulders. She looked up at him with a scowl on her face and than over to Vincent.

The ex-Turk had turned his back and was trying to look as busy as he could while getting dressed. He was scared that if she were to catch him smiling at her fall she would beat on him relentlessly.

Much to Sephiroth's surprise, as soon as Leira made her way to her feet she tackled him. He ended up sprawled out along the length of the bed with her above him. The Elite's hair began to drip down their faces. "This seems familiar,� he said as a couple drops of water entered his eyes.

Her face dropped its humorous appearance and quickly turned into an angry scowl. "You're hiding something! What is it?" she climbed off him and started to put her uniform back on.

Vincent had just finished securing his cloak to the rest of his uniform when he heard her interrogate Sephiroth. The white haired general was trapped, he thought. Leira fumbled, with one hand as she searched for something in her uniform. In a split second, she pulled out her knife and held it against his throat.

The dead man was quick to respond. He ran for her and pulled her off him. "He's not scoring any points with me either but we do need him!" he barked.

Sephiroth sat up and felt the area where the tiny blade had touched. There was a tiny trickle of blood on his finger. "We'll all find out at the same time." he coughed and slid his arms through the sleeves of his long black coat.

"That's not fair!� Leira shouted as she freed herself from Vincent, only to have him grab her in a double arm lock.

"Easy, girl!� he said in an attempt to comfort her. "I get the feeling that things aren't going the way he had planned to begin with."

Sephiroth humbly nodded and began to buckle the leather straps of his white shoulder guards.

Vincent felt the angered Elite relax in his grip. He slowly let her go but remained ready in case her temper was to flare up again.

"That's a reassuring thought�" she grimaced.

"It's only going to get better,� said Sephiroth in a small voice.

Once they were completely suited up, the three went out to look for the chocobos. To Vincent's chagrin, there were only two birds. "He did take the damn bird, didn't he!" he growled.

"He's a businessman after all." Leira smiled while she untied the tethers that held the birds to their hitching posts.

"What do you think he did with the last bird?" asked Sephiroth as he put his bags onto the back of one of the birds.

"Don't you know? Chocobos have become a delicacy here since most types of meat are scarce. I'm sure Rudah chopped it up and got it ready to sell. I wouldn't put it past him."

"She said that with such ease." Vincent remarked to Sephiroth. The two men each boarded a different bird.

"Decisions decisions." she huffed. For reasons unknown to herself, Leira walked over to Sephiroth's chocobo and climbed aboard. "You've got the map right. Who's our first target?"

Vincent took the old map and list out of his pocket and studied them. "That would be the one you called Ecka. She looks like she should be pretty close to here�" he paused as he noticed something that could hinder their progress.

"What's wrong?" asked Sephiroth. He was the first to notice Vincent's voice trail off.

"This map�it's old. I'm sure everything's been buried since Meteor." He readjusted his head wrappings.

Leira's brow wrinkled in despair. That had been something she had not counted on.

A piece of metal rolled down a nearby rubble heap. Sephiroth raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. A dark figure could be seen running over the dune in an attempt to get away from them.

"Who or what is that?!" Leira asked as she followed his gaze.

Vincent's curiosity was also piqued.

"That�is one of the secrets I've been hiding from you,� the former general said softly.

Leira was becoming increasingly uneasy but she grabbed the bird's reigns from Sephiroth and snapped them sharply to get it moving.

"KWEH!� the bird cried out as it prepared to begin its run.

Sephiroth was a little shaken at Leira's sudden decision. He began to turn his head to express himself but noticed something else. The bird had started its sprint when Sephiroth caught sight of three black-cloaked beings standing beside the hut that they had occupied. Leira's eyes were still stuck on the escaping being and Vincent was already closing in on their chocobo. It was a safe bet that he had not seen the shadowy figures either. The general began to whiten and grow cold. It seemed like he and Leira were running out of time.

While the chocobos sped off after the runaway, none of them had noticed the figure dangling from the shadowed side of the hut. The three-cloaked figures watched their targets scramble off and left Rudah's bloated corpse hanging from the structure's awning. They walked in the opposite direction, unconcerned with what had happened. There was always another day.

Sephiroth, Vincent and Leira had only been riding for a couple of minutes through the crumpled wasteland. They never lost sight of the figure that they were following.

As soon as they were in range, the gray-cloaked figure stopped in its tracks and turned to face its pursuers. At first, it looked like it was going to pull something out of its cloak but had decided on something else. It sent its arms skyward before dropping them to the ground. A loud feminine sounding yell echoed through the ruins.

Leira heard the voice and knew what was about to follow. "SPREAD OUT!� she barked.

A brilliant orange flame encircled the person they had been chasing after. Leira had steered the bird to the far left as the circle of fire disengaged and flew through the empty air where the three had once been.

Sephiroth was clearly puzzled. "I haven't seen a fire spell like that since�"

The figure cursed and began to raise its arms again for another try. The former Turk was not about to give the creature another chance. As soon as he was close enough, Vincent leapt off his bird and tackled the figure to the ground. Together they slammed into a mound of rusted scrap.

The figure in the grey cloak landed flat on its back and let out an audible "WHUFF!� as the wind was forced from its lungs. The ex-Turk pulled out a handgun and held it on the creature.

Leira and Sephiroth dismounted and stood beside him. Their suspect shook a little as its chest began to heave.

From her vantage point, the person before her looked almost like an ordinary thief. The body seemed petite at best. It wore brown leather gloves and boots with grey tattered trousers. Everything else was hidden beneath its flowing grey cloak. How could something like this spook Shinra's best general? "This was that secret of yours?" Leira asked unimpressed.

In what seemed to be a miraculous recovery, the tired being sat bolt upright. "YOU�YOU BITCH!� it hissed.

Leira was in shock. Did she know this being?

"OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU?!� The grating voice of their captive boomed. In the blink of an eye, the hooded figure propelled itself forward and flew into the Elite. They crashed to the ground and were almost laid out upside down, as they slid down the side of a nearby dune. The hood of the cloaked figure was now hanging around its shoulders as it raised a fist at the unsuspecting Turk. Its face was covered in a burlap-looking mask with chrome accents around the eyes and mouth. No hair was visible from the outside of the mask. Leira was immobilized while their prey relentlessly pummeled her with its closed fists. The person seemed to be extremely irate with her for some reason. A glint of silver caught Leira's eye and she managed to trace it back to the left arm of her attacker. The person was wearing some kind of brace around its arm.

Vincent slid down and managed to pull the strange person off his teammate. "I'M NOT DONE WITH HER YET!� the person bellowed.

"I think you are." Sephiroth said confidently as he stood between Leira and her attacker. The dead man grabbed the person's wrists and lifted him off the ground while the former general focused on Leira.

The Elite cautiously worked her way into a sitting position. There was a mix of blood and dirt smeared all over her face. Sephiroth knelt beside her and began to try to clean up her slowly drying cuts with a corner of his long black overcoat. "You�never will�forgive me�" she managed to stutter.

"Is that a trick question?!" a menacing voice seemed to spring out from Vincent's captive. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten!� the hooded figure pointed at Sephiroth. "I'm sure�" The shabbily clad knees seemed to shake furiously beneath the angered humanoid. "I'm sure Zack would never have forgotten either! You're the only one that has!�

Before Vincent could react, his prisoner thrust its shoulders into his stomach and turned rapidly to knee him in the groin. The scarlet clad man dropped to his knees clutching himself.

Sephiroth stood above the short aggressor. "I do know you." His eyes searched the person as he tried to look for anything that might remind him of someone he had once known. A SOLDIER First Class by the name of Zack had once served in his unit almost ten years ago. Sephiroth had left the young SOLDIER for dead when he had set fire to the town. Was that the Zack she meant?

Vincent pulled himself up to his feet as he managed to push the pain behind him. He grabbed a shoulder of the figure with one hand and ripped off the brown mask with the other. He was not in the mood for any more games of tag.

The face that greeted them had everyone in awe. The humanoid was indeed human. The person that Sephiroth had once expected to be male was really a young girl. Long straight black hair stretched to her shoulders. Her skin was almost a deathly white. The girl's eyes were truly her most breathtaking feature. They were a captivating Mako enhanced blue.

Before them stood SOLDIER First Class Ecka. "I'm surprised you remembered me at all!� she brought her hand to her chest and gasped.

The last time Sephiroth had seen this girl was shortly after a failed mission in one of Wutai's provinces. He remembered being there with Zack and Leira at a hearing for the young SOLDIER. Because of her left arm being shattered by enemy fire, she was to be honorably discharged from any and all military functions. She was not a happy sixteen year old.

Zack had done his best to mold her into the woman that stood before them presently. "If only you could see her now." Sephiroth whispered under his breath.

"If it weren't for either of you, I would still be kicking ass with Zack! But NO, you two had to play goo-goo eyes and get me transferred! I was happy with Zack in Norelliies' camp!�

Vincent was more than confused at that point. He had no idea how someone that young could maintain such a constant hatred. He remembered when Cloud had told them about the SOLDIER named Zack. His story, according to the blonde spiky haired boy had taken place close to eight years ago.

Abruptly the girl stopped her verbal tirade and looked behind the spot where Sephiroth was standing. "I'm far from done with you!� she hissed and pointed an accusing finger at Leira. "If you wanna know more let me ride on one of your chocobos. We won't get to safety in time if we travel by foot!�

Sephiroth hazarded a glance behind. He could not see anyone, but he agreed. It was better to be safe than sorry. Sephiroth helped Leira to her feet and aboard one of the tall golden birds, leaving Vincent to share his bird with the young SOLDIER.

Once the birds were off and running the young girl relaxed against the front of Vincent's body. "I'm sorry about what happened back there,� she whispered.

Vincent looked down at her. "I guess it's�alright."

The girl tilted her head and gave him a warm smile. "I got my temper from him." she nodded toward Sephiroth. "I'm Trabian�by the way�no one could pronounce my name so they called me Ecka instead�it was Zack's idea."

"I'm Vincent�Vincent Valentine." The dead man introduced himself.

"Vincent." she repeated. "You must have had a hard life to be traveling with these guys."

Before he could ask her what she meant, the girl had straightened her posture and was pointing ahead. "That's where we need to be, just beyond those hills!�

Sephiroth nodded at her. Leira could not bring herself to look in the direction of the twenty six year old girl.

After traveling for nearly a half hour the birds came to a stop and their passengers climbed off. Ecka helped them unpack their gear and pulled a handgun out of her cloak. Vincent noticed a silencer attached to its barrel. "I was going to shoot at least one of you, but than I remembered that there's a hefty paycheck attached to your girlfriend." she smiled at Sephiroth.

"So you were going to bake us instead?" asked the general shortly.

The girl let his words slip by and pulled the trigger. What little noise came from the weapon was still enough to scare away the golden birds. "They were about to be a huge burden anyway." she muttered. "Now, follow me."

The three travelers could not understand their guide's actions. Not only were they stranded without a quick means of escape; they were stranded outside of a huge dune created out of several years of trash. They followed her reluctantly as she pushed a silver six-foot tall object out of the way. A long dark corridor was suddenly revealed. "Get in and follow it all the way to the end! DO NOT LOOK BACK!�

Leira went in first. After all these years, she wanted to prove to her former teammate that she still trusted her. Next was Sephiroth. The ex-general knew that he would be the most likely candidate to protect the Elite should the young SOLDIER go through another mood swing. Vincent entered and was closely followed by Ecka. He had become curious about her intentions and helped her close the makeshift door behind them. When their task had been completed, the awkward pair continued their walk to catch up with the others.

The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. It was damp as well as narrow and dark. Sephiroth wondered why someone would want to stay so far away from civilization. He had been expecting to see rats or some kind of creature inhabiting the tunnel they were passing through.

"Hang a right before you smack into the wall." came Ecka's voice from behind him. The three did as they were instructed and ended up walking into a large shelter. There were several torches hanging on the walls to provide some kind of lighting.

"Where are we?" asked Vincent.

"This is my hideout. In it's heyday it was called the Freezer,� said Ecka smugly. "This is where dead SOLDIERs ended up being sent before they were buried. You name 'em, they've been here�with a few exceptions." her eyes shifted to her former general.

Leira looked at Sephiroth. They had both heard of this place.

"That would mean that we're underneath Shinra headquarters�or what's left of it�" Leira spoke carefully.

"That's exactly where we are, dear heart."

Sephiroth looked around at the room. There was a bed and a small table and chair set beside one of the rounded walls. He could faintly see a familiar looking picture hanging on a wall just behind the table. He walked inside the compound and stood below it. The wall hanging was the same map that Vincent had been carrying with him. Suddenly it all made sense to him. "You were discharged before Jenova called everyone to the crater, weren't you?"

"Yep." Trabian leaned against the wall in front of him.

"I didn't kill you?" Sephiroth rested a hand below his chin as he pondered this idea.

Vincent could not believe his morbid style of questioning.

"Nope." answered the girl.

"You were in SOLDIER. You had a number. How did you resist her call?" The girl's former general was completely beside himself.

"That would be�yep, number seventeen, and medication!" she replied flippantly. "Lots and lots of medication!�

Sephiroth suddenly found himself wanting to ask about her comment when Leira cut him off. "It's because of her arm. Remember when she got shot�because of me?"

He recalled the girl's arm being in a cast during the discharge ceremony. He also was able to recall his conversation with Rudah about drugs that were handed out to people who had suffered horrible injuries. "Apparently the drugs that Rudah gave you had an almost identical effect as the ones that Leira was put on to shield her memories. It must have done something to silence Jenova's blood. So you knew about what was going on with everyone else."

"I sure did." stated Ecka not even trying to hide her pride. "I've been hiding out ever since. I've been looking after Hojo's cloning projects, too. I've been making sure that the dead stayed dead." She twirled her black hair around one of her fingers.

"What was that?" asked Vincent.

"That's why everyone had numbers,� she said in a matter of fact tone. "Hojo had a plan for everyone in SOLDIER after he started playing around with Jenova. The latest generation of SOLDIERs were supposed to follow her to the ends of the earth�oh," she looked Sephiroth up and down from head to toe, "and Seph too."

"Hojo's dead! I was there when he was killed!" Vincent blurted out.

Ecka rolled her eyes and flung a hand at him. "Whatever�"

She looked to Leira. "Now where was I? Oh, I remember, now! You don't have to worry about Zack coming back; he's been nothing but scattered ashes for years! He's never coming back!�

Lieandra was surprised by the hatred in the girl's eyes. She sat down in a chair beside Sephiroth. She had never thought about Zack's former partner being so close to him.

"HE WAS MY MENTOR!� the black haired girl barked. "You sent one of your cronies out to find me and never thought about attending the services yourself. His body was so bullet riddled by the time the burial rights started they figured it would be best to just burn him anyway!� Ecka leaned over the shaken Elite. "Instead, you got to go take up a cushy job in Costa del Sol!�

Sephiroth was amazed with how much information the girl carried inside her head.

"I'll bet you don't even remember Norelliies!� There was that name again.

Ecka knew Norelliies? "Who was she?" asked Leira.

"Who was she?" Ecka had not been prepared for the Elite to ask her that question. She sat down in another chair and rested her forehead in her hands. "You don't remember Sephiroth putting you in her unit?"

"No�"

"I'm still not sure what you hoped to accomplish by putting her in there with us�" the twenty six year old spat. Sephiroth was slowly becoming her next target for her anger.

"I had my reasons,� he said sternly.

Ecka wrapped her head against the solid wooden table a couple times. She looked at the faces around her and rummaged inside her cloak for something. "My arm's starting to hurt�hang a sec�" she withdrew a small bottle of pills and opened it. After lightly shaking its contents, she dumped two tablets into her palm. "The arm's a lot more technical than it looks." she smiled as she tried to hide the pain she was experiencing. "It's a tiny mix of metal and a cast I will never be able to take off. What little bone is left was pinned together after the shrapnel was removed. Everything was wired to this damn covering." She strummed her fingernails against her shiny metal arm.
- 14
- 15
- 16
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Final Fantasy VII: Awakening