-Final Fantasy VII-

City of Graves

Disclaimer: As we all know none of us own Final Fantasy, not I or III, VII or X so don't sue me. I'm broke and I have a newborn son to feed. Oh, yeah and that old lady living in the shoe… I'll give a discount if anyone is interested. She doesn't eat much, really!

A chill breeze whipped past his face, sending his raven black hair blowing in the wind. Red eyes watched as seagulls cut a lazy swath across the sky all the while singing their mournful song. Vincent felt a kinship with them. Constantly in motion searching for something that could not be defined they cry out. Even now on a ferry full of people he felt the burden of his imposed solitude. A petite woman squeezed past the small space between him and the window. Her perfume lingered long after she'd gone.

She would have been sweet…I could take her and no one would intervene.

I would.

Yes, always the brooding repentant type. So quick to force your bleeding heart morals on little ol' me.

Go back to sleep.

Sleep? You expect me to go back to sleep? I'm here to stay m'love. Here to stay and torment you for as long as you held me captive in your slumbering mind. 15 years…talk to me of sleep in 15 years.

I'll kill myself before then.

Kill yourself? You're a vampire m'love. An Immortal. We'll wait, 15 long agonizing years. You'll still be here begging for death and I'll still be here laughing at your pain!

I hate you.

My sentiments exactly, m'love.

Another cold breeze swept away the lingering scent of the woman and Vincent was again distracted by the passing seagulls... they cry out, but he wouldn't. His sins, his actions had damned his soul for eternity and he willingly accepted his tormented existence as penance. To cry out would be wrong. It was his destiny to suffer in silence. A rhythmic rocking swayed the ship as the waters buffeted its shell. The waters of the north were never calm but the increasing strength of the seas spoke of an approaching storm. Vincent watched the foamy crest of the waves and imagined those very waters swallowing him forever. Would submergence in those depths silence his pain or would it just act as a watery prison?

A familiar scent of cinnamon and coconuts alerted Vincent to the presence behind him. He turned as the small woman from earlier made her way to the window. Her hair was a dusty blonde and cut into layers rising from just below her shoulders to slightly above her ears. Her complexion would have been pale if she hadn't been standing next to Vincent Valentine. Her eyes were breeding of baby blue and a hazy grey hue. Her ears were adorned with long lengths of silver with tiny onyx crosses at the ends. Her dress was a dress made of a long piece of white denim. Her jacket, a thing of long sleeves that ended just above the waist, was made of the same fabric. In her hand was a cup of soft drink similar to the kind sold by the ferry's concession stand.

"Mind if I stand here?" she asked. Here blue-grey eyes met his red. They searched his but managed not to be pleading or challenging. Just curious.

"It's a free world." answered Valentine. He looked away from her and searched out his flock of gulls. A part of him found her large eyes attractive but he ignored it along with the chuckles of Chaos deep within.

"With Shinra in shambles I think you're right." Her tone was full of humor and she even chuckled a little.

She took a long sip from her drink studied the inside of the ferry. Her inspection brought her to the tall man standing beside her. He wore all black from trousers to shirt. His boots were of red leather with two bands of steel at the tips. His hands were hidden beneath crimson gloves and he wore a thick red cowl that hung below his waist. His mouth hid behind that red cowl leaving only his red eyes and his long black hair visible. There was a feral quality to the man that simultaneously thrilled and frightened her. His handsome face turned to her and then went back to studying the monotony of the passing sea. Sadness lingered behind those eyes of blood. It's what caught her attention when she had passed earlier.

"I hope you don't mind me sharing your window it's just I wouldn't feel comfortable standing down her alone and upstairs is far too crowded." she said. His demeanor relaxed slightly as her words registered with his distant mind. He could sense lies and his perceptions detected none. Her words rang of truth though she had omitted a simple fact. He reminded her of someone she one knew. "My name is Margarette." He watched her for a long moment before he responded.

"I'm Vincent." he said. She smiled and extended a friendly hand his way. He reluctantly shook it. Her grip was firm though a little damp from the cup of soda. Her face was pretty, though a little boyish, and her smile augmented her features.

"Was it too cold out there for you too? I can't stand the crush of some many people but the chill out side was too much."

"No, I just wanted a quiet place to think." He lied. It was none of her business that he'd come inside to avoid jumping. Beside he was beyond the influence of any but the extreme temperatures.

"Oh…" His responses were so clipped. He must not be the talkative type she deduced. "Well it is nice and quiet down here. I doubt whether most of the passengers even know there's all this empty space."

Yeah, we're all alone, Just the three of us. No witnesses to hear you scream.

"You stumbled across it."

"I was looking for a place to escape the press of bodies. I'll let you in on a little secret. Crowds scare me."

I should scare you girl!

Who? You? You're just a psychotic apparition trapped in the confines of my psyche.

Hmmm, that's more like it. Watch how she looks at us. She can sense my presence… or she thinks you crazy. Ha ha ha.

"Is that why you're leaving the mainland?" he asked. He wasn't truly interested; he just needed something to say that would preoccupy her mind.

"Not exactly. I need a job and I hear that employment is easier to find the further you get from Midgar. You know, less people." She again smiled her great smile and took another sip from her soft drink. Are you from Midgar?"

"No!" he said abruptly. He had lived in that place once but that was long ago, another life. "I'm from Nibleheim." She nodded her head having heard of his so called hometown. Another gust of wind forced its way through the open window and she huddled beneath her small jacket.

"What about you, why are you leaving the mainland?" Margarette asked. She shivered and absurdly took another sip from her cup.

"Me? I… just needed a change in scenery."

Tell her the truth. Tell her you're looking for a place to die, m'love.

Don't look so amused. I'll find such a place… then we can both rest.

Don't make me laugh.

Laughter could be heard coming from the gathered people upstairs. Vincent's senses could detect the false humor in the laughter, false contentment. He took a deep breath and then glanced down at the little woman beside him. At least honesty still existed in some places. He suddenly longed for his new friends and not for the first time. That motley crew knew about honesty and loyalty. In their presence he hadn't said much but secretly he felt like he'd finally found a place he could belong. They all shared a bond, a single driving force. But once that unstoppable force had been thwarted what did they have?

With Sephiroth dead that bond fell apart and AVALANCHE went their separate ways. Cloud and Tifa had offered to let him stay with them but he knew it wouldn't be the same. He tried to stay at that old mansion but the place was full of old memories that he had no desire to revisit. She had been there with him once… long ago, another lifetime. Every inch of the place was permeated with her aura. He needed to go somewhere, anywhere and Vincent didn't want to risk running into any of his fellow heroes. He had to leave the mainland behind, at least for a while.

"Is this your first time going to Graves?" asked the small woman. He watched her from the corner of his eye. He had no desire to answer her myriad of questions but somehow couldn't bring himself to ignore her. He found it both unsettling and intriguing.

She such a curious little thing, m'love.

"Yes." His response was clipped. She flinched at the curtness of his words. She wasn't trying to anger the handsome but strange man he just piqued a certain curiosity within. Shyly she said as much. "I apologize for being short with you I'm just not used to people being so interested in me."

"It's okay. I've heard that I'm a bit annoying, no apology necessary." She said between mouthfuls of soda. A burp escaped he lips and she turned an embarrassing shade of red. There was a long pause and then they both were caught in a short fit of laughter. This time she apologized. He felt his ever-present dark mood lift slightly.

"I've never been to Graves but I hear it is one of the few cities never truly corrupted by Shinra. I want to see what such a place is like." Vincent said. Though he wasn't sure why.

"Yeah a place with no mako fumes or corporate goons… that does sound nice." He nodded his head in agreement. He wanted to add 'and a place without friends or a past' but held his tongue to the amusement of Chaos.

"I'm hoping this place will hold a new start for me." he said. She flashed him an understanding smile. She too was searching for a new beginning. "How about you, have you been to Graves before?"

"Once. Years ago. My work brought me here for a few days but I never actually saw the city. I spent all of my time in a gloomy building filling out paper work."

"So you're a secretary?"

"No, I'm a Research Scientist." Her words were confident as if she took great pride in the fact. She smiled up at Vincent but his features were strained. He looked on the verge of yelling or maybe crying.

She's a Scientist!

You heard as clearly as I did!

She was a Scientist…

Right, your beloved. Lucrecia wasn't it, m'love?

You know very well you bastard.

Careful, you're starting to shake. Ha ha ha.

"Are you alright Vincent?" asked Margarette, her voice held a hint of fright.

"I… I'm okay." He said. He gave her a reassuring smile and though his cowl concealed his mouth he had learned long ago how to show such thing with the rest of his face. "Did you say you are a Research Scientist?"

"Sometimes at least. Usually I'm just a nosey pain in the ass but the pay isn't good so I freelance as a researcher." He laughed at her comical response.

"Why not just quit your day job?" Vincent mused. It was her turn to laugh.

Wait a minute m'love, did you just make a joke? What on earth has come over you?

"I figure I can manage two jobs. It's hard living but I enjoy it." The two enjoyed another bout of wild laughter until it was cut short by a particularly bitter blast of cold northern air. He watched the waves and wondered at his sudden friendly mood. This woman wasn't Lucrecia. They only had that one thing in common.

It appears that that is enough

No one asked you

She rubbed the sleeves of here jacket like they were exposed skin, shivering like a flag caught in a storm's gale. Vincent watched and wondered whether he should comment on the wisdom of drinking a cold drink when she was obviously freezing. She looked around almost franticly and finally set her eyes on a set of benches halfway across the room. She looked up at Vincent longingly. The vampire could sense something in her gaze and at that moment his thoughts jumped to a woman from his past, but not the woman he expected. He wondered where was Tifa at that exact moment… was she alone of with Strife?

Hmmm, maybe Cloud has some competition.

"Mr. Valentine, I'm a little cold. Would you mind sitting with me on that bench over there? I sorely don't want to be alone." said Margarette, slightly embarrassed. Another shiver racked the diminutive woman and her soft drink fell from her hands. She made a feeble attempt to catch it but Vincent's hand caught it far before she would have and just before it hit the floor. She gasped in shocked awe and Vincent glanced upward from his crouched position. Their eyes met and the two were struck by a wave of déjà vu. She reminded him of a love lost and he reminded her of… someone, someone important to her past.

"Call me Vincent." He said in a husky voice.

Do you realize how ridiculous you look down here like some caped superhero?

Why won't you just die!

After you m'love

She cocked her head to the side and for one absurd moment he thought that she might have read his thoughts and seen the turmoil within. Quickly he forged ahead.

"If you'd like, I'd gladly sit with you." he said. She grinned broadly and led the way to the benches. She sat at the center of the bench closest to the wall. He watched her with his blood red eyes and then looked away before she could notice. The seagulls were gone but their mournful cries could still be heard though faintly. He slowly joined her but sat with plenty of space between them.

"Thank you, Vincent."

"Your welcome, Ms… ms… I'm sorry. You've never told me your last name."

"Palmer-Clemente, I have both my mother and my father's last names." Again the shy smile. Vincent was beginning to take a liking to that embarrassed grin and dreaded the teasing he was sure to receive from Chaos.

"Margarette Palmer-Clemente. Well Ms. Palmer-Clemente, what branch of science do you research? If you don't mind me asking." He asked boldly. Something inside of him needed to know how deep the resemblance to that long lost love went.

"I study the effect genetic alteration has on the psyche of test subjects." The confidence that seemed to always permeate her words when she spoke of science returned. "Mainly I study ex-SOLDIERs but my research sometimes produces some interesting characters." Vincent's heightened senses detected no guile in her statement but the vampire still felt the words were too close to the mark.

I don't think I like her m'love


A/N: I want to thank Hipathya because without her hardheaded guidance this first chapter would have never been written. I'd also like to thank Shikaku Zetsumei for inadvertent inspiration.