Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII: Awakening ❯ To The Town That Ate People ( Chapter 5 )

People go naked and pick up these trails
Someone before me laid down these rails
When it's loaded up too heavy,
This engine fails
In lovetown
I can't settle down
And do those teeth still match the wound
Take a good look around
In lovetown - Peter Gabriel (Lovetown)

Leira was in no shape emotionally to get back to the inn by herself. She did not want to stay with Cid and Shera. In fact, she really loathed being around anyone at all. Vincent considered happenings and decided that the Turk Elite stay under watch.

Almost everyone agreed. Yuffie disliked the prospect of Leira falling for the walking dead. With Cloud missing, she realized that in a struggle she probably would not be able to put up much of a fight against this woman especially since she had something precious taken from her. As much as she hated to admit it, the Turk and Turk Elite pairing made the most sense.

Vincent Valentine walked over to one of the closets in the room set-aside for him by the innkeeper. He opened up the solid oak door and removed what looked to Leira like a human arm. From her position on her bed, she could see it somewhat clearly. She put her hand to her mouth and watched as Vincent began to twist off his golden claw. "What are you doing?"

Vincent offered a faint. He knew removing and attaching his prosthetic arm could be unsettling to those that were not prepared for the sight. "You didn't think the claw was permanent, did you?" he asked. "It does give me an advantage when lifting certain objects, when it comes to being 'human' it can be bothersome."

Leira watched as he attached the human looking arm. It seemed like it was second nature to him. She guessed if she were in the same situation, she might be the same way. She preferred having both arms though.

"So, what did you do when you were a Turk?" she asked trying to get her mind off Cloud missing in action and Vincent's prosthetics.

He sat down on the bed across from Leira. "I was kind of an overseer, I guess, maybe more of a bodyguard. I really can't put it into words. I would make sure that the Jenova project in Nibelheim went smoothly...no interruptions from the locals."

"Hired muscle, huh?" she smiled.

Vincent looked at his arms. "Actually, besides some obvious, and some not so obvious changes, my build hasn't changed." he paused. "The hair was shorter. Back in my Turk days, you either had short hair or you had no hair."

"If you weren't hired muscle, what were you?"

"I was a paper pusher to a degree. My main expertise was in weapons. I was a sniper,” he answered flatly.

"That is so cool!" Leira smiled broadly. "I was hired muscle and a sniper when I first started out. The desk job wasn't fun for me. Tseng got rather pissed when I made paper airplanes out of his, so-called, important documents. He'd walk into my office and end up bombarded with the tiny little air force I created. I'm surprised I made it to Elite status."

It had been a long time since he was able to carry on a conversation with a female, let alone a Turk female. During the first crusade to stop Sephiroth, Vincent kept to himself. He never really cared for Yuffie and he never was too interested in conversing with Tifa or Aeris, he was not sure why exactly. The only one that he seemed to connect with was Cid Highwind. Maybe age brought the two together as friends. Vincent began to blush. His normally pale appearance turned almost as red as his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Leira raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm fine. I just had a thought."

"Oh, what was it?"

Vincent shook his head. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

Leira looked at him. "I feel like a part of me is missing. I never really thought about Cloud that much after I was sent away to watch over Rufus." she thought for a moment, "I really didn't have much time to think, when I piloted Rufus over to Midgar."

His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I saw Cloud fighting Rufus on top of the Shinra building when we got word that Aeris was in custody. I saw Cloud again, when Tseng ordered me to pilot a helicopter to the Gold Saucer to pick up a sacred object from a spy we had planted in your group. I was following orders. When I saw him person to person in Junon, I..." a tear fell down her cheek. "I remembered that this was my comrade."

Vincent Valentine sighed deeply. He got up from his bed and walked over to the window. Her feelings for Cloud were confusing to him. He dared not question them though for fear of making the situation even more painful for her.

"I was in love once. I guess I understand what you must be feeling at this point.” He put his hands on the windowsill as he gazed outside.

"Cloud went through a lot. He's a tough kid. He's still easy to embarrass. When I saw him that last time I realized that he had done a lot of growing up. He's become quite the young man."

Now came the tough part for Vincent. He was unsure if he should ask Leira more about her relationship with Cloud. "Were your feelings for him simply paternal?"

The smile that Leira was beginning to lose rekindled. "My, my, Mr. Valentine, are we beginning to take interest in the one that almost kicked your ass not too long ago."

He wheeled around to face her. "That is not your concern! Besides, if Cid hadn't gotten in the way you would not have gained the upper hand so easily."

Leira was enjoying this conversation. She started to laugh as she got up from her bed and approached Vincent. She stood in front of him, smiling still as he clenched his fists in anger. "You've definitely got the temper that comes with being a Turk." Leira leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips before turning her attention to the window.

Vincent was in shock. He fell back against the wall next to the window and put his left hand to his lips.

"Geez, it was only a kiss. You're not going to die,” she said pointedly.

Suddenly he remembered the actions of an old acquaintance. The young woman from his past had no qualms about her actions. She was free spirited and almost childish. Often times she unintentionally treated her compatriots like children by patting them on the head or using reverse psychology. So similar to Aeris. He thought.

Leira stared out the window. Water began to trickle down the outside of the window as it slowly started to rain. "Do you think they're out there still?" she asked letting her smile fade away.

Vincent moved to Leira's side and watched the rain with her. He spoke slowly. "I'm not sure,” he said finally putting a hand on Leira’s shoulder.

The next morning was hard for Lieandra. She had tossed and turned all night. Sleep was foreign to her. Vincent ended up sitting at her bedside all night keeping watch and trying to soothe her. She was grateful to this man for his attempts to comfort her.

"We'd better get cleaned up and meet with the others,” he said staring at the door to their room. "You go first."

"Are you expecting company?" she asked as she followed his gaze.

"I'm not." Came his reply.

She turned over to where her luggage and unpacked her Turk uniform. She spent so much time in her muddy dress uniform; she figured it would be in her best interest to keep up with her Turk uniform. It was a habit for her. When she visited places without a strong Shinra presence, she would don her Turk uniform. For places booming with Shinra life, she would wear her Turk Elite dress uniform. There were a few exceptions, though, in sacred places and in case of accidental messes she would where her normal clothing.

Once she picked out her clothing for the day, she unbuttoned the top portion of her dress blues and let it fall to the ground. She started to remove the pants when she heard a loud, "Ahem!" She looked behind her and saw Vincent blushing again. "Yes?" she said slowly.

"You…you are not bashful are you?" he asked trying not to stare at her lithe frame. Leira looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. "Fine." she said and stomped into the bathroom.

As soon as he heard water running, Vincent heaved a sigh. He figured that she must have spent a lot of time around the men of Shinra. "Reeve," he whispered to himself, "You must have had your hands full with that one."

After Vincent and Leira got in their bathing time, they headed over to the Highwind household where Yuffie was staying. Shera was out front. She waved them over excitedly. "Cid knows where Cloud's at!"

"Where?" prompted Leira.

"Where's Cid at, Shera?" asked Vincent.

"He's out back. He's got the Tiny Bronco going again."

"Not that again." Vincent said in horror as he hid his face in his hands.

"The Tiny who?" Leira asked in puzzlement.

Shera smiled at the two of them. She looked at Leira, "It's a small airplane. It's only a two seater, but that's okay. Last time it flew, it didn't need a pilot, anyway."

Vincent rolled his eyes and took Leira by the arm.

"What was that about?" the Turk asked.

Vincent heaved a sigh and guided her to the backyard of Cid's house.

"Yo, Turk lady!" exclaimed Yuffie as she ran out to greet Leira.

Vincent Valentine walked over to Cid, who was busy working on one of the wings. "I thought you said it would never fly again,” he said hopefully.

"Aww come on, Vince. Anything can be fixed,” the pilot said rubbing his brow.

Leira and Yuffie approached the two men. "Where's Cloud at?" Leira demanded. "Is he really back in Nibelheim like Sephiroth said?"

Cid nodded. "Yep. Sephiroth is there, too. Cloud called in on the PHS. It kind of looks to me like a frigging hostage situation."

"Is he okay?" asked Yuffie.

"He's fine." Cid spoke again.

"A hostage situation, you said. What could Sephiroth want?" This was making Leira angrier. What could this man possibly want? It just did not make sense.

"I think he's got a thing for you. He just asked for an opportunity to speak with you in exchange for Cloud,” Cid evilly grinned.

Yuffie and Vincent looked at each other. This was indeed a surprise to everyone.

Cid smiled and took a long drag off his cigarette. "I figure that we'll do what we did the last time. I will pilot the plane this time around of course. We'll get two people to double up in back." he winked at Vincent. "Than I figure that'll leave the last one a wing seat. Yuffie that'll be you."

The little Ninja eyes widened in horror as he spoke. The last thing she wanted to do was to hang from the wings of an airplane.

"I think it would be best if I went alone." Leira stepped in. "Sephiroth wants me. He's using Cloud as an excuse to get to me. I want to know why."

Cid's face contorted as if he ate something sour. "Shit'n kids no respect,” he murmured as he went back to working on the little airplane.

"I think it best we travel in numbers.” Vincent folded his arms.

"Than we'll all get killed! Than what!? If the flight doesn't kill us I'm sure Sephiroth will." Leira said defiantly.

Sensing an intense argument Vincent shook his head. "If we're going to meet Lucrecia's son I’ll have to dress appropriately.” The ex-Turk turned and jumped over the fence that surrounded the backyard of Cid's house, and proceeded to the inn.

"Hmm." Cid thought. "It'll be good to get the old clothes out. That's a good idea he had."

"I doubt you'd be able to fit in yours." Yuffie said pointing at Cid's beer belly.

The old pilot picked up a wrench in his left hand and raised it above his head.

Leira began to wonder about what clothing had to do with anything. At this point, she did not care. "I'm going alone." She grabbed the wrench from Cid. "I'm a pilot and somewhat of a mechanic myself. I'll make the final repairs on the plane and take off alone. If you really think repairs are needed."

Cid clenched his fists and dropped them to his sides. "Uh, oh." Yuffie said as she backed away from the pair.

"Yuffie, let's go inside." Shera said grabbing the youth by an arm and dragging her inside. "I think this is going to get ugly."

Cid waited until Shera and Yuffie were out of sight. "Now listen here, Shinra tried to take the Highwind away from me, they took my rocket and my dreams from me, they tried to take the Tiny Bronco from me once before and now they're trying it again…”

"Not Shinra-me. Not a Turk or Elite, just me, Leira." she moved up to Cid so that her face was right in front of his. "I need that plane."

"You know what? You've got guts, getting in my face like that, lady. If you weren't a woman I'd knock your ass out."

Leira had heard this before from her fellow officers during her army days. Sooner or later, they all learned the hard way. She shot Cid a wide smile and kissed him on the lips. "You know what? I was hoping you'd say that."

Cid's eyes opened wide as he saw her fist flying towards his face. There was no way to dodge it. Her punch sailed through the air at a tremendous speed and hit its mark with such force that it knocked Cid Highwind back against the Tiny Bronco and than down to the ground.

Leira stood there for a second looking over Cid's unconscious body. "Hmpph." she sighed as she dusted off her hands.

"Oh, my." Leira tilted her head to the side.

"What did you...? You know he's going to be pissed when he comes to." Yuffie was beside herself. "If he comes to,” she said.

"You put a little pepper into that one." Shera added as she made her way over to examine Cid.

Leira looked around quickly and climbed up one of the Tiny Bronco's sidesteps. She glanced at the controls in the tiny cockpit. "I can do this. It's just like a Gelnika." She whispered to herself.

Shera looked down at the still form of Cid and than up at the determined Leira. "Yuffie and I will take care of Cid. Go ahead and take the plane. The rest of us will catch up with you later."

Lieandra smiled as she climbed in and waved at Shera and Yuffie. Within seconds, she the plane was started and taxiing down the makeshift runway.

Vincent had heard the noise of the airplane and had decided to go investigate. The plane was almost upon him when he noticed who was in the cockpit. He shook his head and started running towards the plane. As soon as the Tiny Bronco was in range, he lunged for its landing gear, grabbing one of the wheels with his claw.

Leira had not noticed the stowaway until she was up off the ground.

"Cid's going to be pissed, you know." He yelled as he scaled his way over to her.

"I don't care."

He smiled to himself. "I know. Let's get Cloud."

The flight was bumpy because of turbulent air surrounding Nibelheim. Vincent marveled at the land stretched out before him. He could see the healthy green forests and tiny beaches. From his perch just outside the cockpit, he looked behind him and saw the town which three years ago was known as Shinra 26. Rocket Town moved farther and farther away from him. He knew he would see it again.

Leira eyed Vincent in a side mirror. She watched him looking back at Rocket Town. She noticed that he was dressed differently this time. He was wearing a black double-breasted suit with a blood red cloak that reminded her of the uniforms adorned by some of the assassin guilds in medieval times. It had little leather straps that held the neck of the cloak closed while holding the cloak securely to his black suit. She noticed that he had his hair held out of his eyes by a bandana that was the same color as his cloak. The claw was also back on his left arm.

Vincent, sensing an unshakeable feeling of distant eyes watching him, looked back at the pilot. Leira caught his gaze and looked towards the front again. The air started to get choppy as they neared the imposing range of mountains known as Mt. Nibel. The mountains were so dark and cold; it was hard for her to believe that Shinra had been so determined to build a Mako reactor on its top. It was hard for her to believe that that mountain was capable of producing any kind of energy.

"We're almost there." Vincent yelled. "Be careful. Conditions are going to get worse especially since we're being expected."

The closer the plane got to the mountains the more trouble Leira had controlling it. The plane bucked and shimmied so much Lieandra was scared it would rip apart in flight. "Maybe we should have driven over the mountains." She yelled at the ex-Turk.

This was just how he had remembered his last flight on the Tiny Bronco. He remembered when he was on it last; Shinra shot it down over the same ocean. It made him chuckle to himself at how similar that flight was to the one he was currently experiencing. "There it is. Bring her down on the outskirts. Hopefully we haven't been detected." Much to Vincent's surprise the plane began to shake uncontrollably. "Leira, we're too close to the mountains to be showboating!"

"It's not me! I can't control it anymore!" Leira tried to fight with the controls but it was no use. The plane started to roll end over end. There was a loud "POP" as the tail section began to smoke and eventually started spewing flames.

"Uhm, we've got a problem!" Vincent was quickly reminded of how little he enjoyed flying on the Tiny Bronco.

"Hang on!" Leira cursed herself once more for not driving. She climbed out of the cockpit and made her way over to Vincent. "I guess we're going down, huh."

The ex-Turk looked at her. He found it hard to believe how calm she sounded. It made him uneasy the way she was handling herself. "We might die here if we don't jump."

"I didn't see any parachutes in this thing. What do we do?"

Vincent shook his head and looked towards the ground racing below him. "When we're closer to the ground, jump."

"Uhm. We're over the water. I'm leaving now." Leira waved at Vincent and jumped off the plane, which was now a couple feet over the ocean. Vincent shook his head and looked back where Leira had once stood. It was hard for him to believe that the next generation of Turks had become that crazy. Vincent jumped off the plane just as it flames engulfed it.

Leira had hit the water first. She forgot to mention to Cid and Vincent that swimming was also one of her many skills. Just seconds after she surfaced Vincent plummeted in. She swam over to where he had hit to see if he was all right.

After a few seconds, Vincent finally surfaced and looked over at Leira. His waterlogged bandana hung loosely before his eyes. That wild black hair of his had become tame. Leira smiled at the pathetic sight in front of her. "I'm surprised that cloak of yours didn't act like a parachute." She prodded.

Valentine rolled his eyes and splashed her. "We'd better get to land and dry off."

"You can. I'm on a mission. I don't have time to waste." With that, she swam to land. Vincent had no choice but to join her. He was in no position to argue. His whole reason for being there was to help her out.

Once they reached the beach, Leira wrung her hair out and stared out at the tiny town of Nibelheim. "It's been a long time since I've been here. I was one of the Turks sent to survey the damage caused by the fire. I'm surprised that they decided to salvage it."

The dead man averted his eyes as Leira removed her shirt and squeezed the water out. "Sephiroth burned it to the ground after he found out that he was part of Hojo's Jenova Project."

"I wasn't sure of that at first." The Elite said as she replaced her shirt. "We were just told to give an estimate on how much it would cost to rebuild. We weren't told how the fire happened."

"Let's go. There are still monsters roaming around here." Vincent said at last.

The pair crossed the beach and made the hike over to the tiny town. Once inside Lieandra surveyed the area. She wandered around the buildings. Suddenly she had a feeling she was being watched. She looked back at Vincent. He was over by the front gate of the Shinra mansion. There was that sadness again. She decided that she would check back on him later. The feeling of eyes watching her made her uneasy. She followed her instincts and turned towards the area where the inn was located. As she made her way up to the inn, something in one of the second floor windows caught her eye. There in the window was a pale figure. Could it be Cloud or Sephiroth? She blinked and the figure had disappeared. Leira thought about yelling for Vincent but than again, Sephiroth wanted to see her alone. She heaved a sigh and entered the inn. There was no way she was going to back down and ask for help now. This was her fight.

"Can I help you?" asked an old man sitting behind a counter. "Maybe you'd like a nice room to dry off in?"

"No. Thank you. I would like to know if you have a guest here with long silver hair and blue green-eyes. When last seen he was dressed in a black outfit with a long coat. He also carried a long sword taller than himself.”

The old man looked around the room nervously than looked back at her. "Sorry. I can't help you there."

"You're kidding right?! I was told that he was here in this town right now." She was beginning to get angry.

"I'm sorry miss, I can't help you. This is a quiet weirdo free town. Can I get you a room or not?"

"I saw someone upstairs. Who was it?"

"I am sorry. There isn't anyone here. We haven't gotten too many people here since Meteor took out Midgar."

The Turk Elite clenched her fists and headed towards the stairs determined to find out who was up there. The wood steps creaked as she made her way up. She wanted to laugh at the wet footprints she was leaving behind. She was sure that the other Turks would have had a good laugh at her too. During her initiation ceremony, when she was first accepted into the regular Turks, they had thrown her off the airstrip in Junon. They were all pretty drunk then. When she got back into the city she had looked the same as she did now, hair flat against her head, shirt so waterlogged it was heavy and transparent.

She rounded the corner in the reception and perceived a black object lying on a windowsill. She approached the object and looked out the window. The figure had peered through the same window. The black object was a long coat. She lifted it up and found white shoulder guards under it. "Wow!" she whispered as she saw little materia gems embedded in them.

"Do you like them? I have more with the rest of my armor."

Leira flung her head back and turned around quickly. There in front of her was the man she was sent to find.

Sephiroth stood before her shirtless. He wore a pair of black pants and was barefoot. His thigh length hair hung over his shoulders with his long bangs hanging over his face like fangs. Those aquamarine eyes seemed to burn a hole through her soul. Sephiroth's arms crossed in front of him just underneath his strong hairless chest. Leira glanced down at the materia before putting the coat and shoulder guards down. "Sephiroth."

His lips curled into a sneer. "Miss Lieandra Thompson, Turk Elite."

She stepped back. She did not know Sephiroth. How could he possibly know her?

The look of puzzlement on her face seemed to bother him. He stepped towards her and outstretched his right hand to touch her cheek. She closed her eyes as his bare skin made contact with her face. When she opened her eyes, again she was staring into those cold Mako enhanced eyes.

"You don't remember me do you?" The disappointment in his voice took her by surprise. She stepped back again, her eyes never leaving him. "Why should I remember you? We've never met before."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. A scowl washed over his handsome features. "What have those Shinra bastards done to you? I'm sure my 'death' wasn't traumatic enough to make you forget me."

None of this was making sense to her. When the plane went down the gear that she had decided to bring with her went with it. She was regretting not having called Vincent for help. She swallowed her pride. "Where's Cloud?" she asked as she began to regain some of her composure.

Sephiroth smiled. "What is he to you?"

"Where is he? Tell me." She insisted.

"You're friend will find him. You'll see him again." Sephiroth turned his back to her and walked towards his room.

Leira clenched her fists and made a run for him. He spun around in shock and raised a hand at her. He had planned to use a restraining magic to stop her. Leira ignored his raised hand and grabbed him by the throat taking them both to the ground. From her position on top of him, she bounced his head off the floor. "You're going to tell me where he is. You're going to tell me now."

The Great Sephiroth puzzled over the position he was in. Awed by the fact his powers did not stop her. He could not believe that all he did was wave at her. Could his powers have diminished that much? No. There was something more to this.

The Turk Elite had bounced his head off the floor a couple more times until his blood began to flow freely from his nose. When she noticed his perplexed look, she stopped and stared down at him.

"How could this be?" he whispered to no one in particular. He looked up at the ceiling of the inn as he pondered these strange events.

"Anything's possible." She said. She had no idea what he was scared of but she was not too concerned. She had Sephiroth on the ground. He could not be as strong as the Shinra organization had feared.

Sephiroth focused his attention back on the Turk. He shot an arm out and grabbed her by the throat. An evil smile crossed his lips as he watched fear wash over her face. He flung her off him and into the wall by the stairs.

She must have flown at least seven feet before she hit the wall. She swore that she heard her bones crack as she hit.

The former general of the Shinra army was now in control. He got up off the ground and positioned himself over Leira. He put his face to hers. "Clearly, there have been more changes since I've been away." He suddenly looked up and put a hand over Leira's mouth. "Shh." He whispered.

Leira eyes shifted to see the area of his concern.

"Your friend has come to play, too."

A voice traveled through the floorboards of the first floor. "I saw a woman enter this building earlier is she still here?"

"Vincent." She whispered.

"Yes." Sephiroth said flatly.

"Yep. The pretty lady was soaking wet, kind of like you. I told her that there was a room upstairs for her where she could dry off… She hasn't come back down yet." The voice of the innkeeper echoed from the floor below.

"I would suspect company will be arriving shortly,” said Sephiroth as he hefted Leira over his shoulder. "It's best we prepare ourselves." Sephiroth carried her into his room and closed the door behind him.

"Thank you." Vincent turned from the innkeeper slowly making his way up the stairs. He noticed that there was water stains on the steps. They had to be Leira’s footprints. As soon as he reached the top step, he slowly rounded the corner. He noticed each door closed. He carefully approached the first door and opened it. "Nothing." He murmured. Vincent hated games but it looked to him like he was going to have to play one. There were still two other doors that were closed. He really did not want to have to open both of them.

"Vincent!" a woman shrieked from the second door.

He ran over to the door. "Leira!" he yelled back.

There was a bright flash of light as Vincent kicked the door open. A ball of lightning hit him in the chest and sent him flying into a windowsill. Vincent coughed after he hit. Dazed, he looked over his singed clothing. He looked at the doorway where the bolt originated. He saw Sephiroth coming out of the room towards him. From where he lay, he could see Lieandra behind him.

"So we meet again." Sephiroth leered hovering over Vincent. "I thought it was made clear that she was to come alone. Oh, well." He sighed and raised his left hand slowly into the air. With the movement of his hand, Vincent lifted off the ground. "I can see that I still have some power left."

"Stop!" yelled Leira as she grabbed Sephiroth from behind.

Stunned he dropped Vincent to the ground. Vincent hit hard but it was not enough to knock him out. He had strength enough to play his hand. Vincent closed his eyes in concentration as a white ball of light surrounded him.

Shocked, Leira and Sephiroth were blinded by Vincent’s transformation.

In an agonizing display, Vincent’s slender body contorted sprouting wings and a tail. Muscles bulged from everywhere as his whole body began to turn gray.

Once the transformation ended, a winged creature stood before them. It was like nothing Leira had ever witnessed before in her thirty-four years of life. Could it be some kind of limit break, she wondered.

"Temper, temper, Mr. Valentine." Sephiroth poked as he began to work Leira off him.

"Let her go." The creature that once was Vincent Valentine spoke in a hollow almost incoherent voice. It sounded like thousands of people screaming in pain all at once.

Sephiroth cast Leira to the side and started to raise his hand again. Leira could not believe that he was this fearless. She got up and ran over to Vincent as another lightning bolt surged its way towards him. Once she neared the path of the bolt, she was instantly struck. The creature had tried to push her out of the way but it was too late. Even Sephiroth showed some concern. He put his hand down and slowly made his way over to Leira.

Lieandra dropped to the ground nearly unconscious. Vincent was not about to waste any time. He grabbed her by the waist and took flight. The only means of escape that he could think of was out the window. He smashed through the window of the inn and flew her to the front of the Shinra mansion. Once on the ground he transformed back to his human form. He laid her down and started to check for any wounds.

"What happened?" her voice came in heavy gasps. "What happened *cough, cough* to you back there?"

"Shh." He said as he looked at her. "I'll tell you once we're back in Rocket Town. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about Cloud?"

"I haven't found him yet." Vincent said wearily. That transformation had taken a lot out of him. He did not knock it though, just as his other ones they left him completely healed. He reached a hand out to her. "Do you think you can make it?"

Leira took his hand and got to her feet. "Let's find Cloud!"

She pushed by him and strode over to the mansion. "What do you think the chances of him being in there are?"

"I didn't get to look in the mansion yet. I'd say the chances of him being down there are pretty good."

Leira went in first. If there were any surprises in store for them, she wanted a piece of the action too. Vincent followed close behind her. Surprisingly the mansion was deserted. There was no furniture and the scorch marks that it once sported so many years ago were gone. "Usually you get attacked as soon as you walk in the door. What up with that?"

"You're disappointed?" Vincent asked as a smile began to grow on his face.

Leira grimaced at him. They moved up the first flight of stairs leading to the second level. It looked like there was some rebuilding going on. The walls had a new coat of paint on them. The stairs gave the appearance of fresh wood grain. When they reached the top, they took a right and entered one of the side bedrooms.

"There's supposed to be a secret room in here." They said in unison. Leira put her hands behind her head and smiled.

Vincent, in astonishment, stepped away from her. "You knew it was here? What else do you know?"

"I stumbled on it when we were doing the damage report."

Vincent eyed her inquisitively. "Did you enter any of the rooms down there?"

Leira shrugged her shoulders at him. "Not that I can remember. We just guessed on what could be down there and let it be…Hojo‘s orders"

The Elite walked over to a silo shaped stonewall and pushed on a block. The wall did not budge. She tried pounding on it. It still did not slide open.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked as Leira heaved a sigh.

"The door's stuck. You don't have a jack hammer or maybe sticks of dynamite do you?"

"No." he said with a smile. "I've got something better. Stand back."

Leira shot him a questioning glance as she watched him pull up one of his sleeves. She immediately took notice of a strange looking bracelet decorated with at least six tiny materia gems and listened as he softly chanted.

One of the gems emitted a soft green glow and the wall was encased in ice. The beginning stage of ice materia, its weakest form she noted.

Vincent approached the wall and pulled back his claw. He breathed in the air and slammed his golden left arm into the wall of ice shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces.

"Nice touch." She said as her eyes bulged.

"Thank you." Vincent looked down the winding staircase. "Ladies first."

The Elite looked down into the darkness. This was her first time going down here. Ever since the Nibelheim disaster, she heard strange stories about some of the goings on in the Shinra mansion. Tales about secret experiments and the creation of monsters by Hojo himself began to pop into her head. She breathed in deep as she began to enter the stairwell. She suddenly felt uncomfortable about having the dead man behind her.

Upon reaching the bottom, Vincent looked around at the cave like layout of the basement. "This hasn't changed." He whispered.

"Old home week, huh." Leira cackled softly.

Without warning, the place was overflowing with bats. Vincent reached into his cloak and pulled out a handgun. He started to pick them off left and right but there were too many. The ex-Turk grabbed her by the wrist, pulled her into a side chamber, and slammed the door behind them.

Leira looked around and noticed that there were coffins lining the room. "Great now we're in the Ghost Hotel."

"No. See that coffin over there." He pointed over to a large coffin in the center of the room. "That's where I'd been sleeping, atoning for my sins. That's where Cloud and the others found me."

The Elite walked over to the coffin while Vincent reloaded his pistol. She looked at the coffin and tried to imagine what it was like spending almost thirty years in a tiny little box. The thought sent chills down her spine. "At least it's probably got a satin lining." She muttered. Gently she began to push the heavy lid aside.

CRASH

"OH MY GAWD!” she shrieked and fell backwards onto the ground. She had not expected to see a body inside it.

Vincent put the gun back in his cloak and ran to her side. "Looks like we found Cloud."

Leira crawled over to the edge of the coffin. Sure enough, Cloud was inside the coffin with his arms crossed over his chest. She took one of his gloved hands and felt for a pulse. "He's alive."

Vincent came around the other side and helped her lift him. They then laid him on the ground.

"Uhhn." Cloud moaned. The spiky haired boy blinked as his eyes began to adjust to the weak lighting. "Where…Sephiroth?"

Leira wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay…it's okay."

Cloud Strife reached up to return her embrace. "Mom."

Vincent stood at Leira's side and watched her hold him. Is this what he would have experienced if he had been able to be with Lucrecia after the birth of Sephiroth?

"He's in no shape to make it out of here, Vincent." Leira said flatly. "I don't have any weapons either."

"I'll be fine." Cloud said as he started to get back on his feet. "We'll make it out of here." It was a painstaking process but he managed to stand without help. He looked at the two and forced a smile. "I think you guys would be cute together."

Leira blushed and shook her head while Vincent rolled his eyes. The Elite walked over to the door and opened it slightly to look out into the hallway.

"Did Sephiroth say anything to you?" asked Vincent.

"Not really. He just muttered something about returning to the planet for some kind of weapon."

"Returning to the planet?" Vincent did not have time to ponder what Cloud said. Leira slammed the door shut and ran over to them. "I hate to ruin the party but we've got company."

The door was suddenly blasted open revealing Sephiroth. "Need I point out that he does not seem happy?” Leira pointed out.

Sephiroth entered the room and stopped as he passed the doorway. His long black coat fluttered behind him. He folded his arms as he surveyed the threesome. "I see you won your prize. Congratulations."

Cloud staggered forward followed closely by Vincent. "What do you want with her?" asked Cloud.

Leira grabbed Cloud by the wrist and pulled him behind her just as Sephiroth began to raise his hand. He stopped and looked at the drying Turk. "I suppose you want to leave now." His head hung low allowing his silver bangs to cover his face. There was almost a sorrow in his voice.

Leira stepped up to him. She eyed him curiously. "What is it you want with me, general?"

A strange smile crossed the face of her former general. "I see you remember at least that much. There will come a time when it will be just the two of us. Then all will be revealed." He held out his right arm and pointed to the hole in the wall that used to be the door.

Leira looked him over again and walked out the door. "Come on." She motioned to Vincent and Cloud.

Cloud looked behind at Vincent who seemed to be covering them. He watched as Vincent's eyes continually scanned the area. He had to admit, the whole idea of Sephiroth letting them all go seemed a little strange.

The spiraling wooden staircase was far from easy for Cloud to climb but he managed. He was hurt and needed to get out of that area. "Do we know how we're going to get out of here?"

Vincent shook his head. "You might want to ask your ‘mother.’"

Cloud was puzzled.

Leira tried her hardest to find the right words. "I kind of punched out Cid and stole the Tiny Bronco. On our way here it had…technical difficulties."

Cloud fell silent. He prayed for Sephiroth to let them escape.