Final Fantasy

Eternal Interference

The Coffee cup rested in its Saucer, almost like a hand into a warm silk glove. The soft breeze crept through the Oak and Maple trees around the small Cafe. A Typical day, in a typical season. Surveying the silhouettes in the distance, Vincent produced a fresh pack of Lucky Silvers' from the inside of his tattered red cape. His eyes were hidden behind his shoulder-length raven hair, even though the sun had been hidden behind a wall of grey clouds. Vincent took out the most prized possession he had always carried with him, a golden Zippo lighter. It had been a present from his Father for his 21st Birthday, all those years ago. Vincent had always been careful when to use this lighter; he clutched it like a bible when walking through the streets of Edge. On good occasions, he would flash the bright gold metal and let the seductive blue flame kiss the tip of his cigarette. On bad occasions he would use plain matches, then dump them wherever they landed. Vincent rested the butt of his cigarette between his bottom and upper lip and stroked the flint from the Zippo. The lighter yawned and breathed out a bright blue flame, the cigarette underneath the seductive warmth.
Then it happened, almost on cue. Like a prostitute to her knees, the rain pelted down from the heavens. All around, ceaseless drones came. The scurry of citizens running for shelter, the traffic building up to a peak. Vincent was still enjoying his dark coffee. Everyday, he had ordered the same Cup. Extra black, no milk but three sugars. He claims it calms him down, even though he is a chain smoker. Vincent tossed the cigarette beside the ashtray given by the pretty young waitress. She was not much younger than him, maybe two years younger. They had never spoken properly before, just a friendly nod now and then. Taking his briefcase into his dripping wet palm, he stands up. Amidst all the chaos around him, and ignoring the fact that the rain had near enough blinded him, "Cheque please", was what he said.

Like a blurred shadow, Vincent's metallic boots trudged off the cobbled pathway of Edge. He was the only living person walking through Edge now; the citizens had hidden under any means of shelter. Edge's citizens had gotten more jumpy and anxious as the years went by, having survived Sephiroth's plan to destroy the Planet and most recently, the attack of Bahamut-Sin right in the middle of the Square. All of these memories were woven in Vincent's mind like spider webs. Every night, he was plagued by the Banshee-like screams of those who had returned to the Lifestream. Each Nightmare and each Night without sleep, had forced Vincent to stay away from towns like Edge. The vast sea of people in the Marketplace, the endless sound of traffic. It irritated the Gunman. Having spent thirty years in a coffin, he had become his own best friend. Vincent stopped in front of Seventh Heaven, a bar run by his old friend Tifa Lockheart. Vincent hadn't seen or spoken to any of his old friends in 6 Months, after Kadaj and his gang were defeated. He wrapped his metallic gauntlet around the bar's entrance handle and paused suddenly. 'Why should I ruin Tifa's day?', he thought to himself. Slowly, his fingers loosened up and his hand moved away from the handle. He took one final look at Seventh Heaven, turned his back, and walked away slowly.

Meanwhile, in a dank and drenched alley, a hunched figure had their back against the side of a building. The only source of warmth in the alley was from a barrel. There was rubbish inside it, but it was now lit on fire. Reno's clothes were creased badly, like they had been slept in. His I.D tag had been clearly ripped off his Jacket's breast pocket, as there was a tear mark. Reno's fingernails were caked with dirt and his hair was greasy and knotty. He was barely in touch with reality, as his blue eyes would roll back into his head for a few seconds, then he would snap out of his daydream and be welcomed back into the harsh reality of real life. His forearms had brail marks, Morphine was the culprit. Since the fall of Shinra, Reno had lost all interest in life itself. He remembered that faithful day when his job and only home collapsed in front of him. The dying screams of his comrades, the fires bursting out of each floor. Only four Turks survived the explosion. Himself, Rude, Elena and Tseng. Tseng and Elena got married a few months later after Kadaj and his gang were defeated. Although Reno had tried, almost desperately, to wear a happy face at their Wedding. But it ripped him open to watch the only woman he loved get tied to the man he despised. Reno never liked being told what to do in Shinra, he swung his own baseball bat when it came to orders. Tseng had known for years about Reno's addiction to Morphine, and would always threaten to inform Rufus Shinra that one of the Turks was just another junkie in a suit. It got to the point where Reno would distance himself from the people he once knew, only finding happiness in Morphine. One could say he was having a Ten CC love affair. And now, he was homeless. Before Tseng hung up his Shinra tag along with Elena, his last words to Rufus were "Whatever remained of Shinra's money went into that junkie's arm", and ended it all with a Judas like smile to Reno. Of course Reno wasn't just fired immediately, his former President beat him to a bloody pulp. Even nowadays he had severe trouble moving his neck at a normal speed. The excruciating pain was a reminder of his hatred for Tseng and for Shinra. In his right hand were two vials of Morphine. He clenched them tight and held them to his chest. Reno exhaled deeply but only ended up spluttering and coughing up chunks of black tar along with bile. The worst thing for a junkie in this situation is not having the right rigs. Sure, he had the Morphine. But he had dropped all of his needles when he was running away from the Marketplace after stealing an apple, which he dropped too. Unbelievably hungry and jonesing for a fix, Reno's teeth began to chatter off one another. And then, he heard footsteps. He glanced up to the entrance of the alleyway, half scared to death. He carefully slid the vials of morphine into his dark corduroy trousers. His eyes scanned his surroundings for anything he could use to defend himself. A led pipe, a 2x4, anything. His thin, bony fingers grasped onto a brick. He then glanced back to the entrance of the alleyway.

Vincent stood at the mouth of the alley, his arms folded and his tattered red cape blowing in the wind. His crimson eyes flared as he finally recognised the overly thin Reno. Having first hand witnessed the atrocities and dark Secrets that Shinra disguised cleverly to the Public, Vincent's initial reaction was to put a bullet between Reno's eyes and save someone else from doing the job. However, something was off about Reno. He looked more like a beaten up dog than a Turk. Slowly, Vincent entered the alley, his metallic boots crunching the pebbles and rubble. "S-S-Stay back man! I'll kill you I swear!", Reno cocked his arm and held it a few inches over his spiky hair. To Vincent, it looked like Reno was holding ten times his body weight with one hand, his arm was beginning to shake. Vincent was now standing directly in front of Reno, whose pale lips were beginning to quiver. Obviously Reno had no idea who this Grim Reaper was. 'Track Marks and yellow eyes. He's definitely a junkie, but his teeth aren't grey…probably Morphine', Vincent thought to himself. Crouching down in front of Reno, Vincent stared him in the eyes. Slowly, Reno brought his hand down and dropped his weapon. "You going to lecture me or what?", Reno's cocky accent was still as strong as ever despite his body being a war-zone. Vincent crimson eyes shifted to Reno's trouser pocket. The vials were just about hanging out. Vincent then looked back slowly to Reno and grinded his teeth. "Shinra lapdogs giving special Medicine?", Vincent spoke in his monotone voice, which was almost hypnotic. Reno went dead silent; the only noise coming from him was his heavy breathing. Faster than a speeding bullet, Vincent snatched the two vials and held them in his Gauntlet hand, and kept Reno at bay with his other hand. Reno kicked and screamed like a spoilt child, desperately reaching out to grab the vials of Morphine. "Awww man! Don't take my dope! Take anything else I have but not my dope!", Reno pleaded. Vincent gazed at the vials with pure and utter disgust. Reno once again tried to reach out to the vials, as if it were all the money in Gaia. "L-L-L-Listen bro, I'll do anything you want! I'll get you as much cash as I can…just Gimme back my dope man!". Vincent then stared at Reno, his crimson eyes bursting with anger. "You would barter your life with Chemicals?". Vincent closed his Gauntlet hand and squeezed as hard as he could. Reno's life shattered into a million pieces, just like the vials of Morphine. Vincent let him go slowly, but didn't leave. Reno desperately tried to find any parts of the vials that hadn't have been smashed, he only cut his fingers in the process. He looked up at Vincent, his bloodshot eyes filled with tears, his voice half broken. "Jeez man! Those were my last vials!" Reno then slumped back against the wall of the alley and hugged his kneecaps. Standing up now, Vincent looked slowly to the mouth of the alley. He always had a Sixth sense about these kinds of things, and he was never wrong. Without looking, he grabbed Reno's dirty shirt collar and brought him to his feet. "We're leaving", he told Reno as he took one step forward. However, Reno tried his best to stay put and grabbed Vincent's hand with his bony and frail fingers. "No way man, I want nothing to do with you!", Reno protested but it was to no avail. Vincent made the decision for both of them and began to trudge his way through the alley, his grip on Reno got stronger. With his Gauntlet hand, he reached into his cape and produced the packet of Cigarettes. He slammed them into Reno's right hand. It was like giving a pacifier to a baby who just wouldn't stop crying, no matter how much attention you could give them. "Take these, and shut up", Vincent ordered him. Reno and Vincent made their out of the dark and dank alley, which was now starting to get flooded thanks to the dense and heavy rain. Of course, Vincent's Sixth sense about danger had once again proved right. To the North, his crimson eyes focused on 6 blurred figures, armed to the teeth with the most sophisticated and advanced Shinra weaponry. Vincent could tell a Shinra model weapon to a normal weapon as much as he could tell the difference between Sunlight to Moonlight. Pausing now, Vincent reached to his gun holster and grabbed the handle of his Trademark gun Cerberus. Reno on the other hand had no clue what was going on and began to get fidgety now that they stopped walking. The world was going ten times the usual speed in Reno's mind. His stomach turned and twisted, like he was strapped into a Roller coaster that was doing three loops every 5 seconds. "What's goin' on? Why did we stop man?", Reno's words broke the eerie silence. The 6 figures began to get closer, Vincent's face was emotionless. Killing was just a thing that Vincent was good at. Over his life, Vincent had taken the lives of thousands of men and beasts. And each face distorted in fear and agony had been permanently burned into his mind. Vincent had pushed all of these images to the back of his head, but slowly they would build up to a peak, causing many sleepless nights. The leader of the 6 was now a few feet away from Vincent; his lackeys stayed behind but kept their rifles pointed at Vincent and Reno. Vincent's eyes cascaded to the guard's I.D tag. In big black print were the words "SHINRA CORPORATION". Vincent grinded his teeth slowly, his crimson eyes flaring. From what Vincent had remembered, The Shinra Corporation had bitten the dust after Diamond Weapon counter-attacked the Sister Ray attack. This struck a chord with Vincent. Either these guys were fans of the dreaded Shinra, or Shinra had ultimately clawed itself back into people's lives. The leader stepped forward, his eyes hidden by black sunglasses. "Well this guy ain't aware of the weather…", Reno whispered to Vincent, who replied back with stone cold silence. The leader cocked his head towards Reno, immediately he recognised the former Turk. "Reno Sinclair…it's been a while. Running from Shinra now are we?". The leader flashed a cocky smile, and straightened his belt. Reno edged himself towards the leader, but Vincent kept him at bay with his gauntlet hand. 'There's six of them. Each are armed with AXM's…the wind is starting to pick up, shooting them could make my bullets curve', Vincent thought to himself. "Well Sinclair, Shinra's got a hit out on you. 5,000 gil for your sad excuse for a life", the leader said. Reno went paler than he already was. Once Shinra put a price on someone, nowhere was safe. Shinra had eyes everywhere, spies always looking to fulfil their contract. "You guys are nothin' but gorillas with guns yo!", Reno shouted back trying to sound like a big shot. 'Shut up Reno, don't provoke them', Vincent said to himself. The leader snorted and spat onto Reno's left shoe. Reno looked down at his shoe, and his expression dropped. Like someone had pissed on his Father's grave. "You're nothing but a scumbag Reno. A morphine abusing scumbag. President Shinra specifically asked we bring you back alive, so he can take you out by his own hand", the leader smiled again. Behind him, his grunts chuckled and nudged each other. The rain was starting to build up. This was possibly the heaviest Edge's rain had ever been, it blurred Vincent's vision slightly. "Rufus couldn't do this by himself…so he sends the best the Shinra's got?", Vincent finally said. The leader then turned his attention to the enigmatic Vincent. He was surprised that this walking Vampire had the ability to speak. The leader was now face to face with Vincent. "Listen here boy, I'm gonna give you to the count of three to get the hell out of here. Sinclair's the one we want. I'm giving you a 'Get out of jail for free' card, so beat it!", the leader ordered. From his peripheral vision, Vincent could see Reno cowering. Sighing slowly, Vincent thought of the choice he had. He could hand Sinclair over, get out of Edge and be on his way back to the Forest in the Forgotten City. He could put all this behind him. Or, he could try his luck at taking out the Grunts and getting Reno as far away as he could from Edge. Maybe someone outside the city limits would be more than happy to take a Morphine addict and a Lone gunman to live with them for a few days, until they get their bearings together. Vincent was so wrapped in his own thoughts that he wasn't aware that the leader had begun the countdown. "…2. This is your last chance boy, get the hell out of here". 'Three', Vincent said to himself. He grabbed the leader's collar and spun him around, then quickly grabbing him at the back of his neck with his cold as death Gauntlet hand. Reno jumped out of his skin and hid behind a nearby trashcan. Vincent applied pressure with his Gauntlet hand, so much so that the leader's veins were beginning to protrude and bulge. With his free hand he grabbed Cerberus and aimed down the side. Quickly he pulled back the trigger, the bullet exploded from the steel chamber and pierced one of the grunts between the eyes. A wall of gunfire blasted through the rain, thankfully the leader acted as somewhat of a riot shield. His blood splashed onto Vincent's face, the acrid smell of the stale blood burned Vincent's nostrils. Finally, the leader dropped dead in a pool of his rancid, corrupted blood. However the thunderstorm of bullets didn't stop flying towards Vincent. He rolled out of the way and hid behind the corner of a clothes shop, a few feet away from where Reno was hiding. Silence enveloped the entire battlefield. Vincent was panting heavy, the adrenaline was building up. He checked Cerberus, like a Mother to her hurt child. He still had 6 bullets left in his magazine, more than enough. He looked towards the trashcan that Reno had retreated to and then poked his head out of the side of the clothes shop. Astonishingly, the rest of the grunts had vanished into thin air. Something was sour about this situation, Vincent could smell it. The only two people left at the scene was the leader of the Guards, and the dead guard he shot himself. He glanced at the guard at the far end of the scene, and his face dropped when he realised the horrible truth. There, in the guard's left hand was a radio. Vincent then retreated back into cover, and kept his back against the wall. Reno was completely unaware of the situation. Slowly, he moved away from the trashcan. He squinted and saw the two dead bodies, but didn't think about the other 4 grunts and where they had run of to. Vincent noticed this, his eyes widened. "Reno! Get out of there!", Vincent shouted. Reno looked towards Vincent with a puzzled look; in his mind nothing was wrong. He and Vincent were home free. That was until a thin red dot had appeared on Reno's chest. Completely unaware of this, Reno waved towards Vincent with a smile that would light up even the darkest room. "Vincent! We're home free man! We're home…", a loud explosion had cut off Reno's sentence. The bullet had teared straight through Reno's shirt, leaving a small black hole that was oozing blood. Reno fell to his knees, his kneecaps splashing into pools of rainwater and blood. He looked down slowly and saw the entry wound the bullet had left, his mouth open. Then, he felt such sharp pain in his right shoulder. Pain that he wouldn't even wish upon Tseng, or Rufus or anybody else for that matter. He fell back onto the cold cobbled street, breathing heavily. Reno lay spread-eagled on the floor, blood frothing at his mouth. "Reno! Damn! Reno!", Vincent shouted at the top of his lungs. The rainwater splashed onto Reno's cold as ice face. He slowly looked at his right shoulder. This entry wound was a lot larger than the entry wound on his chest. Vincent crouched down slowly. Suddenly he wished he didn't smash the Morphine vials. Reno's life, much like the vials, had smashed into a thousand pieces. Vincent burst into anger and punched the floor with his Gauntlet hand. He then looked over at Reno, who was still breathing heavily. 'It's a damn trap…the Sniper's using him as bait to get me out', Vincent said to himself. Reno looked over at Vincent. His face had lost all colour, his bright blues eyes were slowly losing their spark. The rain continued to fall, this time building up. Vincent's long raven hair felt ten times heavier, he never took his eyes off Reno. Slowly he stood up and breathed in deeply. He had always despised Shinra, everything and anyone to do with it. But he saw a part of himself in Reno now. Having been left alone to rot in a Coffin for 30 years, Vincent could almost taste the pain and fear leaking from Reno. Vincent already knew what it was like to get shot and to be face to face with his maker. He knew what to expect. He darted out past the sanctuary of cover and made his way towards Reno. Immediately, a bullet blasted past Vincent's left ear. He could feel the velocity and could smell the stale gunpowder. Vincent still had Cerberus in a tight grip but all of a sudden, he had lost all interest in shooting back at the Sniper. Maybe it was because the Sniper was a good hundred feet away and in a good hiding place. Or maybe it was because Vincent had lost all interest in fighting. Whatever the reason, Vincent discarded the thought. He picked Reno up as fast as he could with his free hand, grabbing him by his shirt collar and dragging him back to the cover he was in a few moments ago. He didn't pick Reno up all the way; he let his heels drag off the cold stone of the cobbled street. Vincent placed the slumped Reno up against the wall and crouched down in front of him. As Vincent had expected, Reno had lost a lot of blood and was going grey from the shock. The adrenaline in his blood had gone thin; the pain receptors in the brain will be going haywire in a few short moments. Vincent had seen it all. He cast his mind back all those years ago when he was working for Shinra. He was placed on a mission in some godforsaken village in the back end of nowhere on a 'Peace Keeping' mission. Well, that was the words that Shinra had announced to the Public. In reality, Vincent and 3 other Turks were to assassinate the bigwig of a company that Rivalled Shinra. As soon as Vincent and his comrades entered the village, explosives were detonated. Vincent still recalls the fire bursting out from the dummy cottages, the sight of his comrades being blown to pieces and of course, the thunderstorm of bullets coming from everywhere angle. Vincent was still green at this point and suffered a bullet wound to his thigh. The adrenaline had suppressed the aching pain for a few moments, but when it wore out, it was a completely different story. The excruciating pain nearly brought tears to his eyes, but he remained calm and professional. Even when he was wiping his fellow Turk's blood off his face.

Reno was now screaming in pain, the veins in his neck bulging to a peak. Vincent held Reno's forehead to stop him from moving as he tried to remove the bullets from Reno's thin, weak body. He shook his head slowly. "…The bullets went straight through…", he muttered to Reno, who was fighting to stay awake. Reno looked back to Vincent, his bottom lip trembling. "G-G-Good…thing?", Reno spluttered out a pool of blood that was tinted with black. Vincent didn't reply. He had Reno in good cover now; his next priority was to take on that Sniper as fast as he could. Vincent gripped Cerberus' leather handle tight as he etched his way out of cover. Then he heard something in the back of his head, a familiar voice:

"In the Doorway of Glory he finds death who puts his hand in hers and whispers to him, "Now…come home now". "Soon", he says.

To be continued…?

Written by VincentLionheart