Keys to the Past

More details bear with me, and read on.

Chapter 7

“I should explain what is going on,” Nanaki said.

Yuffie looked at him and said, “Why are there so many Shinra and Turk jackasses around? Is the bug back again?”

“We will know soon enough Yuffie. Hikari was a pupil of mine, and she grew up with Tifa in Nibelheim. Cloud may remember her, and some of you may know her by her family name. Her full name is Hikari Halcyon-Sato. She is the Great Sword Sato’s Granddaughter.”

There was silence. “I thought she looked familiar. Halcyon? They are all dead. They were killed a long time ago. We learned about them when I trained for SOLDIER. I’m getting a strange feeling,” Cloud said.

“There are Shinra soldiers, and Turks searching for her. Cloud is getting that feeling again, and we are all getting uneasy. Something is about to go down, and Hikari knows about it, so we need to listen to what Nanaki has to say,” Tifa said.

Everyone took a seat except for Vincent.

“Hikari’s grandfather was murdered a few days ago by Shinra soldiers. She told me they shot him several times. He died in her arms, but before he died he revealed some things. Her parent’s had a secret lab, and she has to search for the keys to this lab. He gave her his ring, and sent her to the Halcyon ruins for the first clue. She encountered Tseng and his goons, and fought with Elena. She then came to me, and I gave her the Halcyon sword. We found out that it is one of the keys when her mother came to her in a vision. There are three more keys. One of the last things he said was that she had to ask Vincent for his help. He also told her part of a prophesy that her grandmother had seen, ‘ The Heavenly Light and the Beast shall become one.’ I know Hikari’s parents worked with Hojo, found out about Jenova, and tried to stop what he was doing. They were murdered because of it. I believe they may have tried to experiment on their own to stop Sephiroth, but we won’t know until we get to that lab. Rufus has somehow found out about this lab, and wants into it, so I may be correct in my assumptions. He knows about Hikari, and he is after her now."

~~~~

There was darkness surrounding her, and she couldn’t breath. Looking down she noticed she was naked. She was in some sort of liquid, and she was breathing it. A small, blurred blinking light appeared in the room ahead of her. She was in some sort of lab, and it didn’t feel right. She tried opening whatever she was trapped in, but it wouldn’t budge. Looking towards the light, she tried to call her sword, but it wouldn’t come to her. Why? She wasn’t controlling her body either; it was almost like she was in someone else’s body. She felt like there was another presence with her in this body too.

She sensed yet another presence, and then it said, “I have found you. I knew you were here. I will release you, and then you will release me.” Then the giant tube she was encased in emptied of the liquid, and opened. She fell to her knees.

“Who are you? Why do I need to release you?” she asked.

“I am trapped like you are, but I cannot release myself like I did you. Your bonds were easier to break. You have been hurt badly, and I am here to cure you of what has been done to you.”

“What do you mean ‘what has been done to me’?”

“It is the same as what has been done to me, but we will take care of those who have harmed us. Let your senses guide you. Now stand and do what must be done.”

Her legs were weak, and she tried to stand. She couldn’t, so she crawled from the giant tube on the floor to the blinking light.

Looking around she found herself inside a room with computers, chemicals, and medical equipment. She crawled over to one of the computers. Lifting herself into a chair she was able to see the screen, and she accessed the computer “How am I doing this?” She thought. It feels so real.

Curious, she started typing something into the computer, and accessed a file. This was Shinra’s database she was accessing. Is this one of their labs? The file was blocked, and a warning came up that blocked her from accessing the rest of the file. She knew how to break this, and typed in several lines of programming. The file opened completely, and granted her access. A diagram of a tube like the one she was encased in showed a figure inside. It showed the stats on the figure, and the symbols that she had seen on the stone at her grandfathers. She tried to stop herself, but she accessed the diagram, told the computer to empty the liquid inside, and open to let the figure out.

The voice came to her again. “You did well. Now you must come to me. We need each other.”

“Where are you? How do I find you?”

“You will know. We are tied to each other. Your soul will guide you to me.”

“I will come.”

“Good, now hurry. Time is running out.”

She stood up from the chair. Her legs were stronger this time. Walking to the only door leading from the room, she looked around to see if there were clothes she could put on. There were only lab coats. She grabbed the biggest one she could find to cover herself, and left the room. The hall was dark, and she walked into that darkness.

Hikari awoke with a start. Sitting up in bed she thought that this was a strange dream to have. She swung her legs over to the side of the bed, and stood. Walking to the door she opened it and looked into the hallway. She heard everyone talking quietly downstairs.

Hikari walked down the stairs, and everyone turned when she appeared.

“How long was I asleep?” she asked.

“Only an hour. Will you be ok Hikari?” Tifa asked.

“Yeah.”

“I should introduce you to everyone. This is Cloud. I’m sure you might remember him.”

Hikari nodded and looked into Clouds eyes. Blue Mako eyes.

“You know Nanaki, Cid, and Barrett. This is Yuffie, CaitSith, and Vincent Valentine.”

Hikari shook hands with everyone as they were introduced, and turned around to greet her family friend. When she saw Vincent she gasped, and blushed. Vincent looked into her eyes. She looked right back. The red-gold eyes in her dream belonged to this man.

Tifa looked at her with concern and put her hand on her shoulder. “Hikari are you alright?” she asked.

Hikari pulled out the pictures she had found. “You haven’t aged at all Mr. Valentine,” she said quietly. Breaking his gaze, she looked at the pictures in her hand. Looking back up at him she walked over and handed him the pictures.

“How did you get these? You look like a Halcyon I knew, but she is dead. She never had any children that I knew of, but you look just like her,” he said as he looked at the pictures.

“That Halcyon was my mother. I got these pictures from a box in the Halcyon ruins. My Grandfather sent me to ask for your help.”

“Please call me Vincent, Lady Halcyon.”

“Only if you will call me Hikari. I don’t think it would be wise for anyone to call me by either of my last names. He must have still trusted you. He never trusted anyone after what Shinra did to my parents. Something bad is going to happen, and I need as many people as I can get to help,” Hikari walked over to a chair and sat down.

“There are three more keys, and I believe I know where one of them is. Vincent has it. It’s his gun. There is a clue on the back of one of those pictures. It says Cerberus and JI Project. I’m not forcing anyone to stay, but I know in the end I may die for what I will be fighting to protect.”

Vincent looked at Hikari and said, “I feel a force awakening. It may be Sephiroth, or it may be something Shinra is working on. This time even I am not sure. I will help you.”

“If Red, Tifa, and Vincent trust you Hikari, then I will join you as well. Anyone else in?” Cid said.

Cait Sith being held by Marlene, raised his paw and said, “Miss Hikari I’m in. I want to see what’s gonna hit me before it happens.”

“My name is Yuffie, and if the shit is going to hit the fan I wanna know about it too. I’m in. Barrett?” Yuffie said.

“I don’t want anyone, or anything to hurt the kids, and it’ll be fun to kick some Shinra and Turk ass while we’re at it,” he said looking at Hikari.

Everyone looked to Cloud for his answer. Tifa walked over to him, put her hand on his shoulder. “Cloud, please, we need you too. Hikari wouldn’t bring any harm to any of us on purpose.”

“Alright, but I have a bad feeling about this. If anything happens I will hold you responsible. Understand?” Cloud said looking at Hikari,

“Yes I fully understand. Thank you everyone. Now we need to get those last two keys to my parents lab, and find out what’s going on.”

“We will finish with the plans Hikari. I’ll take you to the kitchen to get something to eat. I know you haven’t eaten for awhile,” Tifa said.

Hikari nodded reluctantly. Tifa took her to the kitchen.

As Hikari followed Tifa, she looked at Vincent one more time. He looked back, and she felt his eyes penetrate her. Her heart beat faster, and she wondered what this feeling was.

When Tifa and Hikari were out of sight Cloud asked, “Red what do you know of Hikari Halcyon? There’s something about her that bothers me.”

“I know almost everything about her. Hikari’s parents were killed when she was five, and I found her wandering the woods near Cosmo Canyon. Grandpa and I were her teachers after her Grandfather took her in. Before that I’m sure Tifa can tell you about Hikari.”

~~~~
When Hikari and Tifa entered the kitchen, Hikari sat on a stool. “Tifa? Cloud seems …bothered by my presence. Will he be ok?”

“He will be alright. He’s extra sensitive to things when it concerns anything having to do Shinra. I’ll talk to him.”

“You’re in love with him aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes when you look at him.”

“Yeah. He’s a good man, so please don’t judge him by the way he talked to you,” Tifa said as she blushed.

“You don’t have to defend him to me. I can feel his heart. He has a bright aura around him, and has a great strength, but there is also sadness. His eyes, they are Mako eyes. What happened to him? I remember his eyes were normal when you first introduced him to me so long ago.”

“He joined SOLDIER, and they changed him. Shinra changed him. I have so much to tell you about what’s happened in the last few years. Please eat now before your stomach decides to take on a life of it’s own and attack us. I’ll come get you when we are ready to leave.” Tifa paused before leaving the room. “You looked at Vincent strangely. I didn’t know you knew him.”

“I don’t. He trained under my Grandfather, and was a good friend of my parents. Nanaki told me he has stayed at my grandfathers a few times after Sephiroth was killed. He has a very intimidating presence. He made my heart beat fast when he looked at me. No one has made me feel that way before. It caught me off guard. I’ve had a sheltered life since Grandfather took me in. He wouldn’t let any man even look at me.”

Tifa eyes widened and she smiled. “It’s called attraction Hikari. He’s a handsome man, and has a heart of gold. Maybe you should talk to him. Oh, if you want to break the ice, he likes chocolate. Call me if you need anything. I’ll be at the bar.”

“Geez, that was embarrassing. I probably made a fool of myself staring at that man. Well, I guess this is the real world and I will have to deal with it. Tifa’s right. It must be attraction; otherwise I wouldn’t have been caught off guard,” she said to herself.