Life Finds a Way

Chapter 72

The next morning Clarissa almost missed her alarm. She was only awoken when Genesis reached out and tried to smash it. She crawled over him to finally shut it off. When she noticed the time, she realized it must have gone off a couple of times already as she had very little time to get ready before she was supposed to meet Veld.

She jumped up and hurriedly got dressed, ignoring Genesis' grumbling the whole time. When she was ready, she knew she didn't have much time, but she still leaned over her lover's still sleeping form. She gave him a kiss and he managed to barely open his eyes. She had to dodge his hands as he tried to grab for her. "I have to go Gen. I promise I'll be back as quickly as I can. Try not to fry anyone while I'm gone." She laughed at his expression before she snuck in another kiss. She backed away quickly before he could try to grab her again.

She didn't really want to leave, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. She watched as he sat up groggily and couldn't resist another kiss before she headed toward the door. She waved at him as she left. "I love you!"

She heard his grumbling pick up in volume and wished she could forget this and go back to bed with him, but she was already going to have to run most of the way to get there on time. She started jogging as soon as she was out in the hallway. She turned the corner out of the apartment hallway and nearly ran into Sephiroth. His surprise quickly turned to a frown. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

She couldn't ignore him, but she tried to make it fast. "I have a mission with Veld. I know he told Lazard. I can't get into it now though. I'm already late." She didn't give him a chance to ask any more about it as she started jogging again. "The Director can fill you in. Keep Genesis out of trouble." She waved as she turned and started running again.

She felt a little bad for not telling any of them where she was going, but they already knew that Jenova was in Nibelheim and she didn't want to take the chance that they might follow her. She sent up a prayer to Minerva that they wouldn't find out until she was already on the way back at the earliest.

When she reached the helipad she almost turned back around and said screw it. Reno was leaning against the chopper while both Rude and Veld were standing near it. There were also two helmeted infantrymen. She slowed as she reached them. Before she could say anything, Veld spoke up. "I thought Soldiers were supposed to be punctual. You were nearly a minute late."

She ignored his jibe as she moved to get into the helicopter. The Turks followed her up and the infantrymen followed them. She nodded at the two of them as they took their seats. Both Rude and Reno moved to the pilot's seats, although it looked strange with Reno in the copilot's seat. She realized he was still pretty young and not the pilot he would eventually become. Although she remembered some of his antics from when he was older and was suddenly glad Rude would be the main pilot for this trip.

They all put on their headsets as they got into the air. She leaned back and thought about dozing again when Reno's voice piped up over the line. "Hey, Clarissa, I heard that the Firsts and Seconds that live at headquarters are all signing a petition to allow Genesis to get an apartment outside the building. I know it's not allowed for the Firsts, but everyone is saying it would be worth it to have a good night's sleep again."

It only took her a moment to understand what he was getting at. Veld shot her an amused look as she realized they all heard what the annoying ginger had said. The only thing that kept her from smacking the back of his head so hard his teeth rattled was the fact that he was controlling the machine that was keeping them all airborne. That didn't stop her from growling out her frustration. "One day Reno you are going to mouth off at the wrong moment. I'll pray that whoever it is has mercy, unless it's me of course."

Veld didn't seem to take offence at her threat as his laughter only increased. Her glare intensified as she picked up a quiet chuckle from Rude as well. She gave all the men a dirty look, even the two infantrymen, before she leaned back and purposefully closed her eyes. She was not looking forward to the several days it would take them to get to Nibelheim. At least a couple of them would be on a ship and not in the helicopter. That would allow her a little bit of a reprieve.

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By the time they made it to the little village, Clarissa was ready to freeze Reno's mouth shut. The only thing that kept her from doing it was the fact that he would probably complain about frostbite nonstop once he thawed. As it was, she had to practice her selective listening. He didn't bother her as much if she didn't react. It was the only thing that saved him in the end.

It was midday when they arrived, but there was no one in the streets as the six of them walked into town. Clarissa wasn't surprised that everyone was avoiding the Shinra employees, but she hoped it wouldn't always be like this. They didn't bother stopping at the small inn. Clarissa had told them that the mansion was probably a little dusty, but it was still furnished.

When they walked through the large gates, she looked up at the place and realized there was more to in than she had thought. It made sense in a way. The game only allowed so much data to be shown but seeing it person it was easy to see there were way more than a handful of rooms. She only hoped it didn't make finding the secret entrance to the basement harder.

The door was locked when they first got to it, but it didn't take Reno long to take care of that problem. The infantrymen were the first to enter the building and did a sweep of the closest rooms. Once they were all in, Veld turned to Clarissa. "So where are we supposed to find Vincent?"

She pointed up the large staircase that dominated the entrance area. "There is a room up there that has a rounded brick wall. There is a secret entrance in that wall to the basement. He is down there."

At her words they all headed up the creaky stairs. She was alert for any monsters. It wasn't until they made it all the way to the hallway on the right side of the building that she realized the monsters were probably allowed to take over after Nibelheim burned to keep people out. She also realized there was a good chance they would be in the basement as she was sure Hojo didn't want anyone down there until he sent Sephiroth to lose his mind.

It was easier than she expected to find the room with the brick wall. It was the only room upstairs that didn't have normal wallpapered walls. Finding the secret entrance was a lot harder. It wasn't as easy as walking up and pushing on it. Veld did point out the outline of the door, so they all knew it was there, but it took them over an hour to finally notice the switch inside a small hole on one of the bricks.

They all stood back as the door finally opened. The stale air that came up from the basement had Clarissa covering her sensitive nose. When one of the infantrymen moved to head down, she stopped him. "I should probably go first here."

Veld gave her a curious look that she rolled her eyes at. "You are free to go first if you want, but I'm pretty sure there are some nasty monsters down there."

At her words Veld gestured toward the door. "Ladies first then."

edit 11/21/2019