Chapter 5
“Understand? We’ll see how much you two understand.”
She just sat there. Breathed and blinked, breathed and blinked.
She gazed into nothingness. Showed no emotion. Just breathed and blinked,
breathed and blinked as if in slow motion. Her arms where folded on her
lap and she listen to them, those males who were telling her all these
horrible things. Inside, her mind raged, her heart burst, her soul cried
in agony and pain, but she showed them nothing. Nemesis couldn’t understand
it or maybe she just didn’t want to. Her mind refused these impossibilities,
these malicious lies. How could it be? No it could not be. It must not
be, and yet it was. She had known it from inside the consciousness of the
Mako; there had been no dreams, just realities. /Another banquet of pain
for the Angel of Sorrow/.
She felt like bursting into tears, like ripping someone’s heart out
so that they could feel her pain. She felt like screwing with their minds
and yet…she felt like protecting all the people, shielding them form further
harm, she felt like tearing Hojo limb from limb, but then… she felt like
decapitating AVALANCHE and even the Turks. The so –called “heroes” deserved
it for not protecting Aeris, and the Turks, they deserved it for going
against the Planet, they deserved it for following the demon Rufus had
turned into, they deserved it because while they did all these insane things,
they knew better. However, another, more logical, part of her was sure
AVALANCHE tried their best and that part also understood that the Turks
always followed their orders, many times in hesitation or in undesirable
circumstances.
Nemesis felt a lot of things inside her, but at the same time, numbed
from the pain, she felt nothing at all. Her emotions were an enigma wrapped
in a riddle. She was more dead then alive and how she wished she were really
dead. But she would not succumb to these feelings. She would not be weak,
but she would be strong and bare her burden with no one’s help. So
her feelings were stuffed into that black corner (or had it become a room?)
once more, as she just breathed and blinked, breathed and blinked, while
she stared at nothing, listening to the silence that had recently overtaken
the room.
“Is that it?” She asked as if she had just heard an extremely
boring story, but her mind didn’t think it boring at all.
/Not one, but two years I’ve been submerged in the Mako. A total
of six years that I’ve lost, six years in which Rufus did a 180, in which
the Turks turned on Aeris, and in which Reno killed hundreds of people
with a push of a button. And in only 1 year of the six, my biological brother
has killed not just Shinra, but Rufus, Tseng, and, Aeris, and he too is
dead, he who tried to enslave mother earth so that he could be a god. And
I’ve lost my identity to that bastard. No longer will I be known as myself,
but as the daughter to a mad man with an equally mad son. The sins of the
father and the son have been laid upon me. I will pay for their sins and
my own, but I will not quiver in fear and be weak like they where. Hell
no./
“Well, yeah that’s…um yeah…that’s it in a nutshell I guess,”
Cloud said in confusion as he watched Nemesis. Did this woman not feel?
She was just sitting there hearing the worst possible thing and she just…well
she sat there. The Turks and Nanaki too, looked worried and confused. Reno
sat next to her and looked into her face trying to find some hint of pain
or even anger at what he had done, but there was none. //Why do you
always hide?// Reno wondered along with Rude, who stood next to Nemesis,
where Yuffie had once been. Vincent did not wonder along with them. He
looked at her with sympathy, not pity, but sympathy, a very dangerous emotion
considering whom it was aimed at. He knew very well what she was going
through.
Cloud looked back at his friend Vincent and declared his confusion
with his frowning eyebrows. That’s when Cloud noticed it. /Nemesis is just
like Vincent/. He now remembered the words Aeris had told him in his dreams:
/“She may be cold and sarcastic, but that’s not real.”/ Just like Vincent/,
he thought. Cloud had come to know and understand Vincent, most of him
anyway, he could, no he would for the sake of Aeris, do the same with this
woman, even if she was Sephiroth's sister. Cloud turned around and gave
Nemesis a smile.
“Hey, you want something to eat? I don’t know about you but I
always thought Hojo never supplied a decent meal.” Cloud’s kindness and
carefree attitude almost caught Nemesis of guard. The joke wasn’t much
though. She had not eaten a decent meal in years and not at all for 1,
no, 2 years. How her body somehow survived was a complex topic that could
only be understood by the most scientifically learned.
“ Yeah my mouth tastes like Mako.” She replied cynically as she
got up.
“But Cloud, we still have other business.” RedXIII said calmly
in his rich deep voice. Nemesis looked back at him expectantly. True, Red
did realized that this woman was perfectly sane, although cold, but she
still had to know that she was to be guarded. There was also still the
matter of her background and what exactly Hojo’s plans for her where. There
where many questions to be answered.
“Hey, if Nemesis wants to eat, she’ll eat! Whatever other ‘business’
that you have can be handled later.” Reno said happily as he slid over
to his friend’s side. Nemesis placed one hand on her hip and sighed.
“Look, I’m not starving, so we can handle this so-called ‘business’
of yours. What is it?” Nemesis asked, tired of being in the same room for
too long.
“She doesn’t have to hear it now,” Cloud said nervously. His
voice cracked and staggered in unusually high pitches. “Let’s go eat!”
He didn’t want to tell Nemesis that she lost her privacy; that she was
going to, and she had to be, watched 24/7 by AVALANCHE. Her freedom to
explore this new world as she pleased would be taken from her. But he was
the leader and he had to tell her, he had to be blamed for the decision
and be the bad guy. That predicament he wanted to hold of, but RedXIII
wasn’t going to let him.
“No, Cloud she must know now.” Red warned him.
“Know what?” Rude asked in his deep acoustic voice, not liking the
look of this.
“I’ll tell her, Cloud,” Vincent volunteered to the surprise of everyone.
Nemesis turned to face him and he was about to speak, when Cloud interrupted.
“No, I’m the leader of this group, I have to say it.” Cloud took
a deep breath and sighed. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t in charge.
He looked straight into her luminous eyes that showed no emotions.
She was intimidating, but he could be too. “AVELANCHE and the Turks have
decided that under the circumstances it is best that you remain with us
and that your are kept in watch because of the possible harm that you represent.
This means that you are not to be left alone.” He paused before saying
the last word, “ever.” Nemesis’s gaze shifted from Cloud to Reno to Rude
with a cool, curious smile on her lips. This was painfully hilarious.
“Say what!?” Reno exclaimed in rage. He was next to Nemesis and in front
of Cloud. “The Turks never agreed on anything like this. Hell! We weren’t
even asked and if we where the answer would be no. We’re not allowing you
to do this. It’s insane.”
“No, Reno, I’m the one who’s insane,” Nemesis said, sarcasm oozing
form every word. “I plan on modeling after my brother and my dear old dad,
whom I love more then anything. Yes, I, whom am sworn to protect mother
earth, will soon try to destroy it. Don’t you know?” Then she whispered
darkly. “I’m evil to the core.” She smiled mischievously. How she
hated this, they feared her so much because of the deeds of her father
and brother. Nemesis expected it, but did not welcome it. Part of her wished
that it didn’t even have to be an issue. These people where heroes, protectors
of her beloved Planet, and part of her did want to know them. However,
if at any point Nemesis had seriously thought of becoming friends with
all the new people she had met, that thought was obliterated from her mind.
“You’re not evil,” Vincent said sincerely. She wished he were right.
“Nah, really?” Rude commented sourly with a slight growl.
Vincent ignored him and looked at her. “But Hojo has warped many
people’s minds, making them do… unthinkable things.” Nemesis remembered
what they had told her, about how Cloud couldn’t control himself for some
time and that at that time he, the brave hero, did some “unthinkable things”.
“We would not have him use you for his twisted plans,” Vincent finished.
“Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Nemesis responded
with a cocky smile. “Ok, but only one or two guards at a time, I would
hate to be an inconvenience.” The sarcasm of her voice was a sweet melody
that Reno and Rude missed dearly.
“Well, the Turks didn’t agree with this, but hey, me and Rude
will keep ya company.” Reno said with a smile.
“I don’t think the other guys would like that.” RedXII commented.
“They know you are friends and they would feel that you wouldn’t do your
job.” Reno crossed his arms and rolled his eyes in annoyance. / A Turk
always does his job./
“So who IS going to be with her? Yuffie and Barret?” Rude hissed.
“That would be so much fun.” Nemesis said indifferently as she sighed,
convinced this was to be so.
“No,” Cloud said to her surprise. “I would never do that. I think Vincent
and I would be better for the job.” Nemesis raised a suspicious eyebrow.
/What does this man think? That he and his buddy can get in my pants?”/
“Why you two?” She asked plainly. /And you better not lie, I can tell./
“If you want to know the truth, it’s because we are the strongest ones
in the group. If anything happens we can handle ourselves.” Cloud said
in sheer honesty, something he had picked up from a certain flower girl.
“You sure are confident.” She commented unimpressed. /But, at least
you’re not a liar./
“It’s also because we understand more than you think. We too have suffered
at the hands of Hojo.” Vincent said frankly as he looked at his deadly
metallic claw, moving each finger at his command. Nemesis looked at it;
it was the same as it was when she first saw it. To see it moving was little
more astonishing. Her eyes made their way towards his aristocratic face
and to his ruby eyes. To her, they screamed in pain and agony, more so
then his claw. This time she did not turn away from their screaming, rather
she locked on to them. Vincent locked on to hers, a strange vision came
to him, needles pinched his entire body, blood oozed. There was screaming,
the smell of rotting corpses, and something evil seemed to caress his face
adoringly, but nothing was worse then the pain; this incredible pain that
was beyond physical or emotional, but that included both kinds. He somehow
saw her pain, she had allowed him a glimpse and it was horrifying. A glimpse
her Turk friends and Rufus, when he was alive, would have killed for. Nemesis
scoffed at Vincent’s reaction. His eyes had looked away.
“Understand? We’ll see how much you two understand.” She gave him a
lopsided grin and a contemptuous wink. He remained unmoved and disappointed
at his weakness.
“Well, if they don’t, maybe I will,” RedXIII said earnestly. From his
tattoo and scars, it was obvious that he too had been a victim of the madman.
Nemesis gave him a surprisingly kind, but skeptical grin. She had little
hope that any of them would, “understand.”
“Wow, that was easier then I thought,” Cloud said as he scratched
the back of his head. Nemesis just looked at him cockily. What did he think?
That she was going to magically break out a huge Katana and whoop on them?
/Very funny./ No, although she did resent the hate, she understood the
danger she could represent to them. /I’ve always been a danger girl/, she
thought morosely.
“So, can we get some grub, I’m starving!” Reno commented hastily as
he started out the door. In his hastiness he almost rammed into Dr. Cain,
Nemesis’s doctor.
“Hey watch it!” Reno warned. He had not met the doctor before.
The doctor’s weak frame and sleek black hair did not impress him much.
“Sorry, I’m Dr.Cain, the Doctor of the woman you brought in. I see
the pretty thing has awakened,” the doctor replied as he looked into the
room. He saw Nemesis glare at him unkindly. What did he mean by “pretty
thing?” Last time she checked she was a person.
“Oh so you’re the dipstick?” Reno said as he blocked the entrance to
the waiting room. “Listen, your help is not needed. She’s fine, we’ll be
going now,” he said as he flicked the doctor’s chest. “C’mon, let’s get
going, people.” Despite Reno’s threats the doctor pushed himself in unimpressed.
Reno growled.
“I have to take care of my patient.” The doctor said snobbishly
as he walked up to Nemesis who glared at him. She could sense his hidden
fear of her and that made her, a very happy woman. “And what is your name?”
He asked with a smile, as if he were speaking to a two-year-old. Here was
Nemesis, standing 5’8, same height as he, and he talked to her with a baby
voice.
“Nemesis,” she said with a dark smile. Her name struck him a bit. Having
a name like that did have its advantages. “And like my friend said, I’m
fine. Thank you for your help. I’ll be leaving now.” She started to leave,
but the doctor grabbed her arm sternly. A gesture she did not like and
neither did anyone else in the room.
“I would like to do some small tests on you. Just to see if you’re
ok.” He said in an uneven voice. Nemesis did not like his mannerism. She
freed her wrist from him forcefully, making him stumble forward a bit.
Reno gave a loud “ha!”
“The answer is no. I hate White coats.” She said flatly. Everyone,
but Red agreed silently. He was the only one who managed to remain unbiased
after his torture.
“You heard the lady,” Reno said from outside the room. “Now let’s go!”
“But perhaps it is best that Dr.Cain, takes a blood sample. Even that
would give some light into your condition.” RedXIII said calmly. He said
this as a suggestion; Nemesis could do whatever she wanted. He was beginning
not to like the doctor as well.
“No” She replied as she looked at Dr.Cain.
“Oh. But you don’t have to be afraid of me, I don’t bite,” Dr.cain
said with a smile, in that same baby talk tone. Cloud looked at Vincent;
they were both thinking the same thing. //This man is very annoying and
possibly dangerous//.
“Me afraid of you?” Nemesis gave a small taunting chuckle. “ Don’t
misunderstand, I don’t fear you, I just don’t like you.” She pinched his
left cheek briefly as she grinned mischievously; she was going to treat
him like a baby, too. “And I’ve been studying both science and medicine
as far as I could remember. All I need is a syringe and a microscope and
I can diagnose myself.”
“But surely…”
“No.” Her voice was stern and calm and yet he persisted.
“It would be better if you stayed. You’re a scientific wonder. You
said you studied medicine and science, surely you understand what kind
of milestone you represent…years in a Mako tube and yet you still live
and we don’t know what effects its had on you. We could learn so much…”
“No,” was her cool answer. She started to walk towards the door where
Reno stood. His face was written all over with anger; he didn’t like the
doctor either.
“No? What do you mean ‘no’? You have to stay!” The doctor screamed
in anger. He reached out to grab her hand once more. Nemesis turned to
the side, grabbed his harm and flipped him over. With a loud thud on the
carpeted floor, the doctor landed hard on his back and head. He groaned
loudly and slowly opened his eyes. All he could see where shady visions
of sharp teeth, two guns and an electric rod pointing at him. His glasses
had fallen off. The doctor shuddered in fear.
Cloud picked up Dr.Cain’s glasses off the floor. One lens was completely
cracked and the other remained chipped in the corner like a spider web.
The blond man squatted down next to the scared doctor and assisted him
in putting his glasses on.
“Good job! Now he can actually SEE how we kick his ass!” Reno said
as he raised the power of his nightstick. Dr.Cain shuddered as electricity
flirted with the metal in his glasses. Cloud waved his hand in front of
the doctor’s eyes to get his attention. The doctor turned his head to look
at him.
“All of us in this room aren’t too fond of White coats for very good
reasons. Red is an exception, but then again he isn’t too fond of aggressive
people like you, so he’s not gonna help you out.” Cloud let out a deep
sigh. “ Bottom line is, I have no control over these people, heck not even
myself, so I suggest you don’t ever try anything like that ever again.”
Cloud stood up, helped the groaning man to his feet and laid him down on
the red couch. The weapons where still aimed at Dr.Cain. “Err…you guys
can put those down now,” Cloud said slowly, a bit scared that perhaps he
really couldn’t control them.
“Wait. We’re really NOT kicking his ass?” Reno asked.
“If he doesn’t apologize you can.” Nemesis commented coolly. She gave
the doctor a small grin and waited for his apology.
“I’m sorry…you must understand…(cough) your special.” Dr.Cain said
as he held his head and groaned in pain.
“Special? No, I’m not special, all beings are special.” She chuckled
lightly, but she really believed that. “ I’m more of…unique, but then again
doctor, each person has his or her own unique fingerprint.” That same arrogant
lopsided grin came back to her face once more. “You are forgiven, but I
don’t forget things and neither should you, because, Doctor…” She bent
over to the doctor’s ear and said, “I do bite.” Her voice was cool, deep,
and menacing. The doctor just closed his eyes in pain. Nemesis went towards
the door and looked at Reno, who was holding back his laughter with a huge
smile. How he had missed her arrogant ways and her cool intimidating voice.
“And I’d really like to bite on some food right about now.” She said
in an out of character, whinny voice with her hands on her stomach, purposely
trying to make him laugh. Reno couldn’t resist and laughed, loudly, and
unapologetic. Nemesis just looked at the rest of the people. “May we go
now?” She asked politely. Rude smiled and joined his partners at
the door. Cloud and Red could not help but chuckle and be amazed. All three
members of AVELANCHE came walking towards the door. Reno and Rude made
their way towards the left side of the long hallway, but Nemesis stayed
in front of the door looking cocky like always. “What did you think? That
I didn’t come complete with a sense of humor?” Cloud just smiled warmly.
“The Cafeteria is down the left.” With that, the group left the young
Doctor to his painful sleep, something Nemesis and Vincent knew a lot about.
* * * *
Vincent Valentine was almost burning a whole through the new acquaintance
(soon to be friend, he hoped.) He was behind everyone: Cloud and RedXIII
led
the way, behind them where Reno and Rude who walked side by side with Nemesis.
Vincent walked alone in the back, starring at the girl. When she had looked
at him in the waiting room, he saw something, not sure how he saw or what
he saw, but he new it wasn’t good. It was pain, anger, and sorrow.
Or was it an emotion that transcended all those too common feelings?
It did not matter; he had looked away instinctively, like a rabbit running
form a wolf. How did he hope to redeem himself and help her if he was a
coward? He had his own nightmares to deal with. /But they will all end
once I help her/. And who was she anyway? She was apparently, some
sort of scientist, an assassin, a warrior from fairy tales, and according
to the story Reno had told him she was a nature lover. /A beautiful and
mysterious nature lover, who has some enchantment on me/, he shook his
head rapidly to rid him of that inane thought, /but she is also Sephiroth’s
sister and a victim of Hojo. She is merely a way for me to makeup for failing
Lucrecia./ That was probably why Vincent had that strange reaction when
Nemesis spoke to him for the first time. He had gotten stiff and professional;
a reaction he had experienced many times when he first came in contact
with Lucrecia. It all made sense to him now; he was comparing her to poor
defenseless Lucrecia.
“I’m not defenseless. Not even when it comes to hand to hand combat.”
Nemesis said as she took a glimpse at Vincent. Was he starring at her?
“But if I’m to face Hojo I will need weapons, Mr.Cloud.”
“Just Cloud, please,” he responded without looking back. “ And I understand,
but the others…”
“The Turks are also part of ‘the others’.” Rude said coolly.
“And we would all agree that she should have something to protect herself.”
Reno said.
“Don’t worry, Vincent and I will protect her.” Cloud said. Nemesis
scoffed and looked back at Vincent.
“An Amazon relying on men to protect her, now that’s hilarious.” She
looked ahead once more, “ It is also an insult.” She responded darkly.
/She should have something to protect her, or at least something to make
her feel like she doesn’t need us/, Vincent thought. Cloud sighed deeply,
stopped, and turned to face Nemesis.
“I’m very sorry, but you must understand…”
“Yes I know, ‘the others’. I understand, but don’t think I won’t get
my hands on something. I hope you realize that I am accepting these terms
on my own accord. Although I probably won’t, I can get the hell out of
here whenever I feel like it. That’s something your going to have to deal
with.” She said frankly. Cloud just sighed again and smiled. /Just like
Aeris said: “cold and sarcastic”/.
“Ok, now lets get some food.” Cloud said as he turned. They resumed
walking and made their way into the lunchroom.
The cafeteria wasn’t very crowded, only about a couple of dozen
White coats and secretaries sat in the round mahogany tables that laid
about in no particular set up. The professionals where all eating chaotically
as if their lives depended on it, and maybe it did for some. After all,
time is money.
Running vertically in the middle of the large rectangular room was
a salad bar and buffet tables. The cafeteria smelled like steamed rice
and barbecue ribs. Cloud pointed to an empty table near the middle.
“Let’s go sit over there.” As the group made their way towards the middle
an elderly lady with large framed glasses stood up and bumped the chair
into Nemesis.
“Oh, I’m sorry dear, I didn’t see you….” The woman gasped. “Your
eyes!”
“Pretty aren’t they? Like emeralds.” Nemesis said mockingly. She tried
to walk away.
“But the last women who where in SOLDIER died,” the graying red
head said following after her. “Oh… you’re that woman who Dr.Cain was talking
about! What are you doing here? You should be in bed! What about the tests?”
“There will be no test.” Nemesis kept walking along with the
group ahead of her.
“Oh you don’t like Dr.Cain? I can help you if you’d like.”
“No that’s fine.”
“Oh! Come on! You where in Mako for years, someone needs to test you”
The tall, old, lady said in a very loud voice. A bit of anger and desperation
came into her voice. “I am the best researcher here.”
The whole Cafeteria was looking at the too women now. Murmuring began.
Nemesis could hear them say, “Oh is she the one?” People stopped eating
their lunches and hurried to where Nemesis was. Suddenly the tall woman
was in the mists of a sea of White coats; doctors and scientists alike.
Author’s Notes:
What do you think? Yes, Nemesis has some kind of psychic abilities.
Angel of Sorrow umm… picked up anything? I’ll go into that in later chapters,
but first I got to get Nemesis out of this mess! Remember to e-mail me
with cc.