Chapter 3
 

“ That woman is Sephiroth’s sister and a Turk. Means she doesn’t mind murder, and she’s down wit’ crushing thousands of innocent people if there’s money involved.”
 
The tall, strong, barely clothed, lean woman looked at her self in a small mirror of a miniature hospital bathroom. Had it really been a whole year since she last saw her face? She studied it, scrutinized it. It was as if a long- lost and forgotten friend was staring at her, but as she touched each feature of her face with her delicate hands she began to remember. Her face was oval with high attractive cheekbones that bathed themselves in soft pink, complementing her light Café au Lait skin. She drew closer to the mirror on the sky-blue wall leaning against the porcelain sink, looking straight into her large glowing green eyes. Those features she had never forgotten. With or without the glow they always served the same purpose. They defined her emotions. They could communicate friendliness and an innocence that she believed was never there. They could also communicate pride, strength, and a seductiveness she many time wished she didn’t have. However, sadly, they could not lead you into her soul, into her fears, insecurities, and her over all despair and grief that she carried around in the form of an angel of sorrow. No the windows to her soul were boarded up, barred, and very heavily guarded. Not even a meager ray of light could pass.
She stood straight again. Looking at her ever-glowing eyes blurred her vision. She moved on to studying the rest of her. Hair as white as the snow and as soft as a cloud flowed from her head down to her calves. A look of disappointment was written in her eyes. She would remember to cut it later. Wavy, long hair might be pretty to look at, but certainly not practical. Not, for a warrior. Locks of curls from both sides of her head framed her face, a style she and her only female friend had decided to embrace. That way they could look like sisters. She grabbed a curl with her finger, twirled it, and let it bounce back. Lowering her eyes she saw her lips reflected in the mirror.  They were full; their crimson color never surrendering it’s dominance over them. She softly outlined them with her index finger, recalling the only person who had ever had the honor of kissing them. She quickly brushed her memory away, like she did with all things that were not of relevance. She concentrated on the now, on studying the vessel she had forgotten. She could ask questions later and she would be sure to ask about him.
She grabbed the dark satin ribbon and a brush on the sides of the sink and proceeded to style her long hair. She put most of her gorgeous locks into a high ponytail, leaving a section on the bottom loose. Then taking the bottom section she had left and braiding it’ she made a large bun around the ponytail. Her up-do still reached significantly past her lower back in full thick waves. Too long, she thought.  She let the wavy strands of hair on top of her head fall on each side of her face as she always did. They had gotten long, passing her chin, but she still had the same “Sister Do” she had agreed upon a long time ago.  She picked up her dark-blue slacks with white stripes from on top of the toilet seat and put them on. Continuing to clothe herself she put on a cotton sleeveless vest with the same pattern that zipped up in front. Complementing her outfit were a pair of black sleek leather boots.
She looked good in her Turk uniform, but it didn’t agree with her, it never did. There was nothing good about being a Turk, the only reason she stayed was because the people had such a since of caring, loyalty, unity, and respect. Something she had never experienced before. They didn’t look at her as if she was from the very bowls of hell or as if she was some scientific miracle. They neither feared her nor treated her like a freak. She was their equal. A fellow human being. Something her biological father and most of her so-called sisters failed to acknowledge. The Turks respected her and joked with her. They were such nice people. How odd that they would have one of the most in-humane jobs around. Tseng was honorable, Rude was sincere, and Reno was as friendly and as funny as you could get. They would always hit on her, playing funny jokes on her, but when it came down to it they never disrespected her, never overstepped her boundaries like so many other men had.
 Then there was Rufus. A chord in her heart was struck at the mention of that name. He wasn’t really a Turk, but he had a lot to do with the department. He was the vice president and the son of Shinra himself. Rufus had a lot of power, a lot of powerful “friends”, but his real friends were the Turks. There he would be himself and melt his shell of egoism and businessman persona. The handsome blond hated his father and all he stood for.
“When I’m president you can bet your emerald eyes that you won’t see slums and the Turks, you, won’t have to do all those… dirty jobs.” Rufus had once told her this, bringing a small smile to her face. Who would have thought that an Amazon like her would end up being best friends with men? Well, with women like Scarlet flooding the city of Midgar she had no choice. The Amazon remembered her only female friend her “sister”.
The girl she was thinking of had long, soft, brown hair that she braided in a ponytail and those same locks that fell on the side of her face. She had such a lovely name, Aeris. Aeris wore pink dresses and loved flowers. What a girly girl, she laughed inside. A true damsel in distress. But What Aeris lacked in strength she made up in character and spirit. She was a better person then any Amazon the strong woman had ever met at the Themiscyra Amazon fortress and they were supposed to be her family. The Turks and Aeris where her only true friends. They were the ones that saw her without her mask of superiority, apathy, and strength. But she always had another mask for them.  For some reason thinking about her friends worried her. She had a bad feeling about everything since Vincent awoke her. Relevance. This is nothing of relevance. You will find answers later. Your mind needs training, came her self-imposed mental attack.
She looked at herself once more before going out of the small bathroom. Now she remembered who was staring at her. She was Nemesis Hojo. No, she slammed her hands down on the sink. Death to all that would dare call her by that atrocious last name. She was titled Nemesis the Amazon, the Turk. Reno called her the book/computer nerd and the morbid green goop loving scientist wannabe. She chuckled inside and let her anger slip away. There where other titles she had gained in her last months before her sleep, but no one knew those and she liked it that way. Nemesis fixed her collar and looked at herself straight in the eyes.  Compose yourself out there. Be on guard the people of Avalanche are not your friends. They’ll ask you many about your father. Get to know the new Turk or just stay away from her. As for the others, in plain sight of strangers is not the place to show emotions. Please control all emotions, keep ALL emotions in check. It is not fitting that you make yourself look like someone other then a warrior, an Amazon.
         * * * *
Vincent Valentine leaned against the right wall of the L shaped waiting room with his friends and the members of the Turks. All were pensive. Elena and Rude sat quietly on the red torn sofa, waiting patiently. Rude was just as stoic and as unemotional as ever. Vincent heard Rude’s heart beat just a little faster, giving away his anxiousness to no one that didn’t have super-human hearing. Elena sat to the left of Rude with her arms crossed; she seemed a little agitated, a little left out. /Jealousy/. Vincent noticed that contrary to his partners’ cool persona, Reno was showing off his zeal. On the bottom of the L room, he paced back and forth from the secretary’s desk to the old couch.
“Is your Doc messing with her? He better not be trying no weird shit on her or he’ll be finding this up his ass!” Reno raised the nightstick in front of the short secretary; sparks surrounded the weapon. Lines of agitation and worry decorated his sun-kissed face. He leaned over and came within four inches of the secretary’s face. Malice shined in his eyes as he gave away a small smile. The other Turks didn’t seem to care about how their partner was acting. AVELANCHE seemed a little more concerned Nevertheless Reno clenched his teeth as he spoke, this time a low spiteful voice declared his apprehension. “And if you don’t tell me what the fuck he’s planning to or doing to her, you will also find this weapon of choice up your mother f….”
“Come down Rude I’m sure she’s fine. Dr. Cain is a man of medicine not a scientist. Not everyone is corrupt you know”, Red’s calming, reassuring voice came from the corner appeasing some of Reno’s anger, but not his anxiousness. Doctors, scientists, same thing, Vincent thought, a spark of hate in his thoughts.  He watched as the petite, horrified secretary stepped forward from the wall that she had been clinging to behind her desk. Reno stepped back and let out an annoyed growl. He continued his pacing once more, tapping his nightstick on his shoulder.
 Mrs. Page’s voice quivered. “He’s not with that woman, she’s changing and he’s just waiting.” Her voice stuttered. “ WA…aaiting in the lunch room that is, until she comes out so that he can do small tests.” Tests. Reno turned to look at her with a flash of hate and was about to turn on his nightstick again, but Cid grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to the wall adjacent to the one Vincent was leaning on. Mrs. Page gave out a shriek
 Cid struggled to hold down the youth, his voice was calm, but agitated. “Son, calm the hell down! You’re driving us nuts here. Look, the chick is fine. She’s just putting some god dam clothes on.  She’s not being made into green goop or nothing.”
 “Wouldn’t be half bad if she where, one less psychopath to have to deal with. We got enough of that from her other psycho siblings,” Yuffie murmured from the floor next to Rude. /Not good/, Vincent thought. Rude twitched a little and Elena gave an unnoticeable little smirk. Reno was reaching for his nightstick yelling curses, but now Cid, Vincent, and Tifa, who had been helping the traumatized secretary, held him to the wall and covered his mouth. Vincent couldn’t believe how much strength Reno was showing. Guess he’s her knight in shining armor he thought, struggling to pin him to the wall.  Mrs.Page gave out another shriek and a rush of tears as well.
 “Yuffie!” Cloud yelled. The blond spike headed man’s voice was calm, but showing his definite authority as the leader of Avalanche. He didn’t want to upset the secretary. Yuffie rolled her eyes.
 Great, here comes another lecture, Yuffie thought.
 The huge black man leaning on the side of the door interrupted Cloud before he even started. While pining Reno with all his force Vincent noticed Barret’s tone to be one of a worried father’s. “ Cloud. For once, I’m gonna have to agree with the runt I can’t believe I’d eva be saying this, but little miss spoiled is right.” Yuffie ignored the name-calling and nodded her head frantically. “The psycho gene runs in the family. Ya know? And she was a dirty Turk or is a Turk, whatever.” Elena almost stood up after this insult, but settled for an evil stare. “ The point is Cloud I don’t want my little girl to have to worry about the sky falling.” His tone changed, becoming jagged with hate. “ That woman is Sephiroth’s sister and a Turk. Means she doesn’t mind murder, and she’s down wit’ crushing thousands of innocent people if there’s money involved.” Barret looked straight at Reno with eyes ablaze in fury.
 Reno finally stopped struggling. “Get off me.” He leaned against the wall with his head down. /Sector 7/. Vincent wasn’t there, but he’d heard what happened. He felt himself being pushed away by the red head, as did Cid and Tifa. Ms. Page had enough. She was too scared to stay around these people and decided that this was a good time to leave. With her nervous hands clasped together on her heaving chest, she left the room sobbing silently. The former rivaling groups didn’t care.
 “ It is not our place to judge, Barret.” The dark silent man leaned once again on the same wall he had leaned on before. Vincent understood his uneasiness, but he didn’t agree with his hate. He spoke with power and decisiveness. Barret had forgotten that Vincent had been a Turk as well. The large man fell silent and waited for that evil bitch that he was expecting. Cloud stood next to Vincent with a harsh worried expression written in his face.  Vincent knew what he was thinking about. /Sephiroth’s sister/. Cloud hoped she would not carry any of her father or brother’s character traits. He couldn’t bear to loose everything again. His friends, his life, and his sanity. Or had he already lost the last two with Her death? He tried not to think about Her as much as Vincent thought of how he had failed to protect his own Her. They both had that in common, but Vincent thought of his failure as a sin, while Cloud’s was more of an undesirable fate.
 The President of the Prevailing Earth Alliance of the Conservation Effort, a.k.a. P.E.A.C.E, a.k.a.  the relocation and cleanup crew of Midgar after meteor, entered the silent room. There was a lot of tension. The President just frowned. “She out yet?” Reeve asked quietly with anticipation in his eyes. His very breath seemed to oppose its voyage into the stagnant air.

“You mean the psycho? Nah, she’s not out yet” Barret commented in malice. Yuffie laughed out loud and everyone else remained quiet and annoyed. Some more then others. Vincent was one of the more annoyed, but he noticed someone who wasn’t at all. Elena seemed to smile a little. She couldn’t help it. She was a little jealous. Rude and Reno seemed so worked up about this woman. So her bust size could compete with that other girl’s. Big deal. I handed her clothes and she didn’t even say a “thank you” the petite blond thought. Bitch. She beat herself up inside for letting emotions get the best of her. Still a rookie, Vincent thought as he noticed Elena’s definite discomfort. She isn’t the only one feeling guilty though. He looked over at the brunette bombshell. Tifa obviously found all the hatred that she had for that woman unbearable. Her hands remained tight fists and she bit her lips hard. She hated that woman only because she was Sephiroth’s sister. Vincent hypothesized that when Sephiroth died Tifa had been left with the same agonizing wound that would not heal and Cloud‘s non-helping hands only acted as catalysts. Tifa needed to hate that woman, to blame someone for her torture. Same way we all need to hate and blame Shinra with all its ideals. The same way I need to hate Hojo.
  Even minutes after Barret’s harsh joke Yuffie laughed hysterically disturbing Vincent’s evaluation of the people in the room. On the side of Vincent, Reno gripped his nightstick tightly attempting to control his rage, as was his partner, Rude. Barret’s joke didn’t exactly amuse them. Vincent noticed how the bald Turk seemed to clasp his hands extra hard, cracking all his knuckles as he rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. He was trying very hard to control himself. Suddenly and so out of character, Rude’s fist hit the wall behind him with such strength, almost crushing Yuffie’s head that was swung back from laughing. Then he calmly went back to his previous position, like a stone figure that had come to life only to sleep again. Reno laughed with the same rudeness and disrespect Yuffie had so readily shown. Yuffie would not control her anger. Vincent was about to grab Yuffie so she wouldn’t fight, but… Oh. A certain shadow caught his eyes.
 

Author’s notes:
 What’s Vincent Oh-ing about? Amazons? Bet ya didn’t expect that one huh. I’m telling you, you should keep reading. Got comments? Criticism? Then why don’t you E-mail me at AmazonSoul14@aol.com? Can anyone tell that I like those mythological fighting women? N-E- ways hope you keep reading. OH… and /this/ means it’s a collective thought. There won’t be any gruesome action on the next chapter, but they’ll be fight alright. Just hang in there this is my first fanfic, I’ll get better eventually. And I hope this chapter didn’t confuse anyone.
 

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