Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII.

Warning: I actually hope that you know this by now. Violence and Language throughout. Additionally, Vincent will probably be very OOC for this first installment.

Fading Light

By athrunzala

Formation 1

Whispers

"I know that, and you know that, but he just won't listen!" This was the fifth time in two days that they had had this argument. And the brunette was sick of it. She stormed out of the room, leaving her opponent standing alone. "Where are you going?" "Out to retrieve him!" "Tifa, wait." "No, Cloud. You say he'll return on his own. That's total bullshit!" That said, she stormed off to the car that was waiting for her out front.

At the cave, Vincent was sitting, reminiscing. As he sat, a solitary tear rolled down his cheek. He had lost the two women that mattered most to him. First to go had been Lucrecia, who had died giving birth to Sephiroth. And now… Tears filled his crimson orbs as he thought about the two of them. "Lucrecia. Tell me. Why?" "Vincent?" The gunman snapped around, Cerberus in hand when he heard the voice.

"What are you doing here?" The brunette raised her hands, palms forward, as if to indicate that she meant no harm. "Vincent, I came to check on you. You have us all worried. Why don't you come to my house?" Vincent looked back at her, confusion in his eyes. "Why would I do that, Tifa?" She looked back at him as he returned to sitting with his back to her. "It'll do you some good to have human contact. After all, you've not picked up your phone in eight years. Your son is getting quite tall. Please, Vincent, come home." Reluctantly, he rose and followed her out.

Back in Edge, Marlene and Denzel were watching Gin and helping him with his homework. While Marlene was a whiz at science and history, Denzel was double checking his math. "Why isn't my dad here?" Gin asked, scratching his black and red hair with his right hand while his left held the pencil that was busy fixing the math errors that Denzel had found. "Well, he's… um… busy right now," Marlene said, looking over to Denzel for support. Explaining things to a teenager was harder than she thought. "But," the boy looked up, a longing to understand clearly visible in his steely eyes. "Well," Denzel said, while running his hand through his unruly copper hair, "Sometimes, adults just have to do things. Like when Cloud disappears for months at a time. We all know that he'll come back." "But…" Marlene went into the bar and put her head in her hands. Denzel looked at Gin. "I'll be right , back. Okay, buddy?" The boy looked up at his friend and smiled.

"Marlene, what's wrong?" When she looked up, it was obvious to Denzel that she had been crying. "Denzel, this isn't our parents that we're talking about. This is his dad. Vincent will disappear like this for years at a time. This isn't the first time that this has happened." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Marlene, he'll come back. He has to. Mom went to get him."

Even though his last name had been Strife for years now, Marlene just couldn't get used to Denzel calling Tifa and Cloud mom and dad. It was shortly after their wedding that Tifa and Cloud had chosen to adopt him. And then, he had a family again. And Marlene could see him more often, since Barret was constantly leaving her at home to go out with his prospecting company.

Denzel sat down and took Marlene into his arms, pulling her into a hug. This was the state of things when Tifa walked through the door. "Denzel, is she… okay?" Her fears were calmed when Denzel gave her a nod. "Alright, as long as she's fine. Gin?" Denzel looked back at her. "He's in the back room. His homework should be just about done now, so…" he fell silent as Vincent walked through the door, his attire no less ragged than it was the last time he was seen. As he walked through the room, his cloak flowed behind him much like a sheet in the wind. Upon entering the back room, he was greeted not by a small child, but a boy who was already starting to look more and more like his mother, except for the hair and eye color. "Dad? That really you?" Vincent looked down at him and smirked, which was about all the smiling that anybody could ever get out of him.

As the boy ran over to hug him, Vincent stooped slightly, as to prevent the boy's knees from hitting Cerberus. He looked up at Tifa. "Did you keep them?" The brunette pointed to the back door. "They're all in the basement. I didn't want him down there until you felt he was ready." The gunman looked at his son. "Come with me. There's something that I want to show you." And, taking him by the hand, Vincent led Gin into the basement.

Upon arrival, the boy's eyes lit up. He was standing in a room that was filled with guns, knives, and ammunition. "What is this place?" the gunman led the boy over to the only clear table in the room, and pulled over two chairs. "This is where I was keeping any extra parts for my weapon. Your mother kept hers in Nibelheim. That door on the left leads to an underground dock for a submarine. The other end is just outside of Nibelheim. All of the things you see here are going to be moved to my house there unless you think we should live here, in Edge."

"Dad, when I was born, we lived in Nibelheim, right? Well, I wasn't to live here, in Edge, with Marlene and Denzel. They're getting married next month." Vincent ran it through in his head. "Alright. We'll stay here. You've made the choice." As Gin turned to leave, Vincent said his name. "Yes, dad?" the gunman shook his head. "You can call me Vincent if you like. You see that box over by the door? It's contents are for you. I had it made special." As the boy opened the box, he was greeted by the sight of his own custom weapon. "But, dad. I …" Vincent put a finger to his mouth. "Not a word. Next week, you leave with me to go to the wilderness around Nibelheim. I'm gonna teach you how to properly use that thing. How's that sound?" Gin placed the gun back in it's box and ran over to his father, giving him a hug that would rival stop magic. As the two left the basement, Tifa knew that Gin was going to enjoy having Vincent for a father, whether he liked it or not.

Back in the bar, Vincent was greeted by another child was about three or four. "Mommy, who's that?" she said with all the innocence a child should have in her voice. Tifa went over to her and picked her up. "That's Gin's daddy. He's one of mommy and daddy's friends." The child smiled, and Tifa put her down. She then toddled over to the gunman almost as though Tifa had told her to do it, and looked up at him.

"Hello, Mr. Gin's-daddy." As he looked down at her, Vincent couldn't help but let a full smile slip through his "tough-guy" appearance. He leaned down and picked her up. "Hello there. Who are you?" she looked back at him and pushed the collar of his cloak down so she could see the source of the voice that she was hearing. He smiled at this, and asked again. "What's your name?" seeing that he meant her no harm, she answered with a resounding, "I'm mommy's little angel!" This caused him to chuckle a little, as well as getting Tifa to say, "Her name, Vincent, is Joyce. She's more like me than Cloud, but she's fascinated by her father's weapon collection." Vincent looked back at Tifa as he put her daughter back on the floor. "I'll be back next week. I promise. I just have to arrange a few things first." And he walked out the door.

At Cloud's house in Nibelheim, the blonde had just returned from the store. He was stocking up for Marlene's wedding. Additionally, he had picked up Denzel's birthday present. He opened the crate and removed the contents. Taking care not to slice his hand open, the blonde took a few swings with the beautifully crafted blade. "The perfect size and weight for him." he thought. Looking around, he spoke out loud. "Better go and get him." And he got on Fenrir and rode off to meet Cid, who was taking him to Edge to pick up Denzel.

Just outside of town, Cloud was attacked by a winged creature that he had never seen before. Luckily, Cid picked up on the locator beacon that he had installed in the motorcycle, and flew in low enough for Cloud to take a flying leap into the airship. "Damn! What the hell was chasin' ya, Spiky?" Cloud looked up to see Barret walking across the hangar towards him. "don't know. Thought you might." The prospector scratched his head. "Nope. Notta clue. They attacked my prospecting area as well. Propeller brains rescued me. You goin' to collect Denzel?" The swordsman nodded an affirmative and left to inform Cid about his sighting.

Back on the ground, the creature had landed and shifted form. As a hooded figure emerged from the spot where the beast once stood, he was met by a man with shoulder length white hair, who immediately dropped to one knee. "How might I serve you?" the hooded figure looked down on him. "Arise, Kaijar. Go and summon our brethren. The time for their destruction is at hand. Once you have accomplished that, meet with me. We shall then begin the next phase." Kaijar stood, bowed, climbed onto his motorcycle, and rode off, leaving the hooded man on his own. "Now… Where shall I begin?"

Back in Edge, Gin was practically walking on air. He finally sees his father after eight years, and he is given a weapon. When Cloud pulled up in front of the bar, he beat Denzel to the door by a full two minutes. However, he was disappointed when the blonde stepped into view. "Denzel, are you ready to go?" When he got a nod from the soon to be swordsman, the two left and rode off.

Denzel was not gone more than five minutes when Vincent and Reno came flying through the front window, coming to a halt just short of the reconstructed bar. "Dad, what's going on?" Vincent looked at his son and gave a simple command. "Take Tifa and go downstairs. Don't forget your gun. Release the safety, point, and shoot. And leave the door unlocked." Gin nodded and ran out of the room.

"Gin, what's going on?" Tifa had been taken by surprise when Gin ran through the door and grabbed her arm. "We have to go!" Tifa's expression worsened. "What about Joyce?" Gin pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her. "Push three and then send." Not wanting to question his logic, the brunette did as she was instructed. "This is Rude. What's going on?"

If ever there was a voice that could reassure her, it was Rude's. "Rude, this is Tifa. Can you stop by the bar and get Joyce to safety? We're under at…" "I know," the Turk said. "I was waiting for Reno to get back here from the area when he radioed in a distress call. I'm already there. She's upstairs, right?" "Yeah. Please, get her to a safe location." I know just the place." As soon as she had thanked him, she hung up and returned the phone to the teen. "Where are we going?" the boy looked back at her. "To someplace safe." And they rounded the corner and sped down the stairs. Once in the basement, Gin picked up and loaded his gun.

"What the hell is going on here?" The brunette was furious. Gin looked back at her, his face looking more like Vincent's than it ever had before. We need to get to Nibelheim. There's nothing more for us here." Shocked by the sudden transformation from boy to man that had occurred, Tifa followed the teen into the tunnel behind the door.

Back on the surface, things were progressively getting worse. Cloud and Denzel were tied up helping Cid, so Reno and Vincent had to rely on each other for defense. That was, of course until Rod and Chrys arrived. Once they got there, the quartet was attacked by a hooded figure. During the fight, the person's hood fell away to reveal a middle aged man who looked a lot like Yazoo. "Why don't you just lay down your weapons and submit to our order?" He then reached into his cloak and removed a modified EMR. Upon its release, a blade slid out on one side and locked into place.

Vincent tapped Reno on the shoulder. "I'm gonna duck out momentarily." "Go for it, buddy. We got this one. Hey, Rod. You ready?" The other red-head gave an affirmative, and the two jumped into action, while Chrys followed Vincent.

"Where the hell are you going? The trouble is that way!" The gunman glared at the woman. "I know that. Just help me grab the stuff in this room. You're gonna learn how to shoot really fast." The Turk was puzzled about this until she saw the basement walls. "HOLY SHIT! WHERE THE FUCK DID ALL THIS COME FROM?" Vincent glared at her and she shut up. "You see that pistol on the wall? You can have it." Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Chrys took the gun without question.

When she looked over at Vincent, she noticed that he was sending things down a hall on shielded carts, as well as holding a new weapon. "What in the hell is that?" the ex-Turk looked at her. "The one on my back is called the Death Penalty. The other one is called Callysto. The latter I made myself." With an almost astonished look on her face, Chrys followed the WRO captain out of the basement and into the streets, where they rejoined the fray.

Reno knew that help was on the way when four shots rang out. All of them landed squarely on the blade of the man's weapon. The stranger moved to attack Vincent, but Reno was closer and hit the man in the shins with his EMR, while Rod knocked his elbows with his, causing their assailant's blade to fall to the ground.

Vincent walked up to the attacker and placed the business end of the Cerberus right under his chin. "We want answers, and we'll start with your name." Knowing that he was dead if he didn't answer truthfully, the stranger looked up at Vincent and spat in his face before answering. "My name? Why my name? I'm just a messenger after all. But if you insist. It's Rychal. And you are all invited. Right now, the boss is planning a little "celebration" so to speak. And you are all welcome to it." This perked Reno's interest. "What kind of celebration?" Rychal looked over at him. "A once in a lifetime event. Front row tickets to the end of this miserable planet's existence. And you mother fucking assholes are all gonna die when they return."

Vincent glared at him. "Who, exactly, are they?" Their assailant smirked at this. "Only Hojo's Pride and the Nightmare." Reno looked at Vincent. "What's he talking about, man?" Vincent looked back at him and pulled the trigger. "I'll explain later."

To Be Continued…

As with all things, even plans can change. As the chaotic storm that is engulfing the planed escalates, will the few who can stop it be able to counter attack? And what of the stranger with the hood? What is his purpose? Next Formation: Cryptic.

A.n/ - Well? I know that this is probably getting on the nerves of some people. You know what I mean! It's like that song that just doesn't end. Oh well. I guess that this might be the last story here. But I'm not really sure. After this, keep an eye on the internet for the special editions of the stories to show up, as well as a whole… um… I think the word is novel that will contain even more bonus material. Hope you have enjoyed the story thus far.

Thanks and as always, read and review! See ya next time!

-athrun