Vincent sat on his bed staring at the wall opposite him. He was alone, in a darkened room. This is it? He thought to himself. He thought once he helped Cloud and his friends save the planet his life would change, become more bearable. But all that had changed was he sat in a dark room alone instead of lying in a dark coffin. Some of his friends contacted him occasionally. The conversations were always short and awkward. Mostly it was Cloud asking him for a favour, or Yuffie. He smiled at the thought of her, surprising himself.
Yuffie Kisargi, she had shown him that not everything in the world was death and pain. Not all women were like Lucrecia. He winced at the thought of her name: that bitch. It had been a while since he had heard from anyone. They had taken the hint, left him alone to his darkness; the darkness that was drawing him back into its clutches. Perhaps he would rest, just lie down upon his bed in his darkened room and sleep away the years. Until someone else accidentally woke him and gave him the strength to fight off the demons raging inside of him just a little longer.
Vincent's train of thought was interrupted as he heard screaming come from out side. He turned to look and was greeted by a large aircraft hovering just beyond his open window. He heard the buzzing as the missiles locked onto his home. Grabbing his phone and Death Penalty, with superhuman speed he flipped from the window landing with a crouch on an adjoining roof top. The thought struck him, why didn't I just let it kill me? But his survival instincts kicked in as he heard the aircraft turning to begin its pursuit of him. He stood and ran across the roof tops leaping to a fire escape and climbing the ladder firing a few well aimed shots at the craft causing one of its engines to smoke dangerously.
He reached to roof of a taller building and rolled behind a heating vent to reload. He took a deep breath and stood shooting at the craft causing flames to erupt and the craft to come crashing loudly to the ground.
"That was rude," he mumbled to himself re-holstering his gun.
He looked below. Soldiers in grey suits infused with blue Mako energy were herding people into large grey containers to the east of the city. Vincent dropped to the ground, his cape fluttering out behind him as he fell. He jogged through the streets towards the containers. As he grew closer a shot flew past his ear and he leapt forward tucking his shoulder in and rolling. Drawing his gun, the soldier behind him was dead instantly. Several more descended upon him from upper balconies. Dispatching of them quickly he continued onwards.
He was however too late. Most of the containers had already been removed by large transport crafts. He growled in his throat with frustration before he noticed a solider slumped against the wall. The solider was near death but he was wearing a crimson red beanie. The colour of the resistance, Vincent walked over to him.
"Vincent Valentine?" the soldier asked in a gravely voice.
Vincent nodded.
"We were told to look for you; we hoped to find you before they could…." The solider coughed violently blood pooling in the corner of his mouth.
Vincent knelt down beside him.
"Who sent you?"
It was too late the soldier's eyes rolled back into his head and death claimed him. Vincent stood up and looked around, uncertain exactly of what he should do next.
He heard screams coming from the direction of the town square and took off at a sprint. A blood hound was chasing down a group of people. A young girl of about seventeen stumbled and was torn apart before he cold save her. Vincent felt rage blaze through him as he fired a shot into the beast's head causing it to skid face first into the cobble stoned street.
"Stay here," he pointed to a large stack of crates and motioned for the civilians to hide behind it.
Vincent turned and headed back out of the alleyway. A large burst of flame forced him back. A line of shots hit the ground from a flying transport above. Vincent dove through the fire and using it to blind the pilot, shot him through the transports glass window. Not hesitating to watch the machine crash to the ground he carried on towards the town square. He heard gun shots ping around him. Thats enough! He thought of the memory of the young girl he had been unable to save flashing through his mind. I am sick of these people shooting at me!
Vincent felt the change take place as the Galian beast took over. He felt the change over whelming him. The beast roared in triumph as Vincent let himself slip into the background of his consciousness. The beast raced forward shooting flaming balls of materia killing the snipers that were littered across the roof tops.
Vincent satisfied for the moment and his temper soothed forced his way back to the surface of his mind, pushing the beast back down, much to its discontent. Vincent smiled at the beast's complaints. He was becoming quiet fond of him, in a way. He wasn't as vile as the other demons inside of him anyway. Vincent pulled his attention back onto the present moment. He looked around, studying his surroundings.
He saw a young boy running between the buildings. Vincent acting on instinct took off after him. Following him to an old bar where he cornered the young boy.
"Mister, why are you following me?" The boy yelled at him.
"You shouldn't be running around out here, its dangerous,"
"I'm not scared! I know all the secrets in this city,"
"Really?" Vincent raised an eyebrow suddenly more interested in what this boy had to say.
"Yes, I even know how find the bad men's secret hide out!" The boy clamped his hand over his mouth suddenly regretful of his bragging.
"Will you take me there?" Vincent asked the boy with uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice.
"Aw man!" the boy complained "Mum always said my big mouth would get me into trouble!" he stomped his foot as he led Vincent out into the street.
A Blood hound infused with Mako energy dropped on the boy as soon as he stepped out of the shadow of the bar. Vincent ripped the hound off of him and shot it in the chest. The beast fell like a stone and blood began to pool around its body.
"How did you manage to survive this long?" Vincent asked the boy.
"I have skills!" they boy poked his tongue out at him and ran off. Vincent hurried to follow him. The boy stopped before a grey door and punched in a code.
"This is it!" He announced proudly.
"Thankyou," Vincent pushed open the door ignoring the boy who had already run off in the opposite direction pleased to be out of Vincent's intimidating presence and eager to get home and tell his mother about the strange man.
Vincent rushed through the building, it was heavily guarded. What do you know that kid was right? He thought as he killed another soldier, hitting him with a short burst of thunder materia. Vincent came to a large room, he was about to cross it when the wall to his right exploded. He raised an arm shielding his face from the debris. A large monster sized man stepped into the room. A small girl heavily infused with Mako at his side. Interesting, Vincent thought as the giant began to speak.
"Vincent Valentine, at last a worthy opponent, I am Azul,"
Vincent ignored the larger man words and drew his gun preparing to kill the giant. Everything happened so quickly that Vincent had trouble recalling what happened first. Almost simultaneously the young girl to Azul's side slumped and Deep ground soldiers came running out from behind them, WRO men close behind them. Azul picked up the girl with surprising tenderness.
"Until later then," he called to Vincent over the din and retreated back through the large hole in the wall.
The doors on the opposite side of the room burst open and Reeve came running through them. The WRO soldiers having efficiently dispatched Deep ground left the room heading back into the complex to remove any remaining soldiers Vincent had left alive.
"Reeve…what's going on?" Vincent demanded, annoyed.
"We need you help Vincent, something big is happening. You have heard of the disappearances?"
Vincent nodded. A solider burst through the door behind him and shot Reeve several times in the chest before Vincent could react. Vincent holstered his gun and ran to Reeve's side as he lay on the floor, anger coursing through him. This was the second person he had failed to save this evening. Vincent looked up as he heard someone step into the room. He reached for his gun ready to eliminate anyone who crossed him.
"Reeve," he muttered, relived and angered in the same moment.
"Lucky I had this thing laying around," he nudged the fallen robot with his foot.
Vincent stared at him in cold silence, his crimson eyes burning like hot coals.
"We need your help," Reeve implored him.
"I don't seem to have much choice," Vincent stood and followed Reeve out of the room. They wove their way through smoke filled corridors until they exited into the cold night. Two WRO soldiers stood guard at the exit and Reeve nodded to them as they stepped into a large transport truck and Reeve slammed the doors shut behind them.
They sat in silence, Vincent wondering how he had let himself get drawn into all this, while Reeve sat in silence being thankful that Vincent had agreed to help. They didn't have much of a chance with out him. Lord knows it had been hard enough convincing the other Ex-AVALANCHE members to help him out.
The transport shuddered violently and Vincent grabbed the seat to secure his balance, looking at Reeve who reached out and pushed a large red button. The rear of the transport opened and a large gun ascended from the floor. Vincent moved quickly. They were heading out into the wastes. Towards WRO head quarters, he manned the gun and started destroying as many of the Blood hounds as he could, which was a considerable number. But they were still overwhelmed. Blood hounds were vicious but not normally this persistent, someone had been tampering with them.
Vincent heard a thud on the roof. He left Reeve to man the gun and hoisted himself on to the roof, battling with the vicious beasts, using his sharp claw to slash at their flesh as he deflected it away from his body. Suddenly he was thrown violently forward as the transport crashed into a large boulder. Standing and shaking himself Vincent ran to the back of the trailer.
"Reeve?" he called worriedly into the transport.
"I'm fine!" Reeve shook his head and stood up.
The driver came around to check on his commander.
"You two take the emergency flyer it will only hold two people, I will go ahead on foot and meet you at the base,"
Reeve was inclined to agree and nodded as Vincent jogged off in the direction of headquarters.
Slowing as he came upon a familiar patch of vegetation he stooped behind a large bush, creeping around the outskirts towards the bunker door. Several deep ground soldiers were there massing supplies.
"That can't be good," Vincent muttered and made a sprint for the door. Slipping inside before they could fire a shot but failing to go unnoticed. He was greeted by the sounds of gun fire as he entered the building. Apparently they were not the only ones who had been travelling to WRO headquarters. Reeve should have made it back to the base long before Vincent had arrived.
Ducking for cover and finding him self in a group of WRO soldiers fighting to maintain their position Vincent wondered if the driver and Reeve had made it back.
One of the soldiers blinked at him in surprise for a moment.
"Where's Reeve?" Vincent asked snapping the solider out of his daze.
"He should be in central command, but you have to get their first. We have lost control of the upper levels south and east wings, the rest is cut off by barricades," The soldiers gestured to the upper levels.
"I will find a way," Vincent left the man with a blur of his red cloak, he ran towards the stairs using the railing as protection as he sniped some of the heavily armed guards off of the higher levels. Seizing the opportunity the soldiers on the ground level pushed forward regaining control of the level. Vincent continued up the stairs two at a time. Spinning and kicking a solider at the top knocking him over the rails to his death, his dying scream cut short as his skull smashed into the floor.
Firing quick shots as he ran up the walk way he cleared the area and patted down the dead bodies looking for the access card to deactivate the barrier. He smiled slightly as he felt it in the front pocket of a solider he had shot cleanly through the head. Deactivating the beams he headed up another level. Reloading as he moved and listening to the movements from below as the WRO soldiers took defensive positions.
The wall beside Vincent exploded and he was thrown to the floor. Shaking his head and causing debris to fly from his hair he scrambled to his feet and released a bolt of ice materia at the offending solider. It stunned him for a moment and Vincent, taking note of his heavy shielding shot him in the ankle causing him to stumble. Rushing forward Vincent quickly relieved the solider of his life.
Progressing slowly through the building Vincent made it to the final corridor leading to central command. A frightened young woman stood there clutching at her gun and staring wide eyed across the scene.
Vincent chose to ignore her and walked into the corridor.
"Wait! You can go in there!" she called out at him.
"Why?" Vincent asked her.
"There's too many of them, I tried to save him, but there is just too many," She whispered ashamed of her inability to rescue her leader.
Vincent turned once more and continued down the corridor. Who had allowed such a young girl to join the WRO? No one least of all a young woman should be forced to face what was happening. If it was not for him the WRO would have been slaughtered.
Vincent was torn from his thoughts as two largely armoured guards blocked him in. They each holstered a large rocket launcher to a shoulder and he heard the buzz of target lockers. Sprinting towards one of the men, he dove behind him shooting him in the back of the neck, making his head wobble sickeningly as he toppled to the ground. The other solider stared at him in surprise and Vincent took the opportunity to incapacitate the second man with a bolt of lightening materia.
Climbing back to his feet and rounding the final corner Vincent jumped backwards as the door was blown open.
"Ahh, Vincent!" Reeve smiled at him "We were just planning our escape,"
"Hmmm," Vincent replied fairly certain that Cait Sith and Reeve would not have been able to dispatch of those two soldiers alone.
"It's come to my attention that something is happening in Shin-Ra mansion, they are guarding something, they call the Omega Report. I don't know what it is but they are investing a lot of man power in keeping it from us,"
"Then I shall take it from them,"
Reeve smiled, he had hoped that Vincent would offer his assistance.
"Take the sewers it is the only way you will make it into the basement alive,"
Vincent was inclined to agree, there was only so many opponents even he could take on. Reeve led him out of the corridor and down into the basement. Vincent noticed the young girl was missing from her post, he hoped she was not one of the many bodies that littered the floors of the building. Hoisting up a round metal plate from the ground Reeve gestured for Vincent to enter.
"What about you?"
"I have a building to take back,"
Vincent nodded; he respected the commander's courage and was fairly certain that he would be able to survive the reclaiming of his headquarters. So he descended the ladder, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as the plate was returned to its place by Reeve.