Joey By Crimson Sun
One
Mr. Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk, Avalanche member extraordinaire, had a lot of good deeds next to his name. He had, in his life, achieved a great deal, including breaking ties with his assassin past, trying to prevent a scientific breakthrough with catastrophic consequences, helping to rid the world of the evil parasite that is Shinra Inc, and of course, the cock of them all - Vincent had been a part of the crew that defeated the unknown villain that is Sephiroth before he could do as all villains wanted and plunge the world into oblivion. But all that was in the past for Vincent. After saving the earth so many times over, he was, understandably, just a little tired, and had long ago retreated into the only bed he felt comfortable in to spend another thirty years in comforting nightmares to atone for the new sins he had committed while atoning for the original ones. Indeed, Vincent would have slept until the end of time, with no spiky-haired demon to constantly flip open the lid of his coffin to hear him repeat his infamous phrase, if it had not been for that unruly sound that jarred into his thoughts like metal bars and prevented everything but a light dozing.
The sounds started only a few days ago, accompanied sometimes by the ground moving like no ground should move below him. Vincent hated the state of light dozing - it reminded him oh so painfully of the days he spent inside a glass tube, on display for the amusement of one evil bastard that should henceforth go unnamed. Vincent had dozed lightly when he was doped, drugged, high, or in need of more morphine, his face pressed against the window so that when he woke up, one of his cheeks was always cold and hurting. Dozing also reminded Vincent of that evil bastard himself, who was where he rightfully belongs, in the land of the dead - heaven, hell, it didn't matter. Hell would fry him and heaven would freak him. Ah, at last Vincent would be free from those tormented images of that brute's hideous face. In his dreams he would cackle occasionally because the mental picture of the evil bastard with white wings, a halo, and a harp was just too much. If only he could get back to those. Now, what was the problem again?
Oh yes, the rumbling and shaking. Vincent opened his eyes for a brief moment and hoped they were just a part of that dream he was having. No such luck, the floor went on boogying beneath him and the uneven music continued beating. Humph. Did this mean he had to get up? Wiping years worth of crud from the corners of his eyes and yawning in a fed-up sort of way, Vincent pushed open the lid of his coffin and arose from the dead, brushing his beautiful locks of raven hair away from his eyes as he did so.
"Viiiinnnnnceeeeennnnnt....."
Or maybe he would just sleep for a few more years, because he was DEFINITELY not awake yet.
"Viiiiinnnnnnceeeeennnnt......" Said Aerith's severed head, floating a few inches above his chest so that their eyes met directly. She had been drained of all colour so that her large, apparitional head looked like a water jug of some sort, hanging there and rippling with the skill of the dead. Vincent gulped.
"A...Aerith?"
"Viiiiinnnnnnceeeeeeennnnt....." The ghost moaned louder. "Aaaaaveeeeeeenngeeee myyyyyyy deeeeeeeeaaaath...."
"But we already did!" Vincent explained, backing away from the monstrosity as he did so. "We killed Sephiroth! The world is at peace! The peoples are united! The war is over! Humanity is saved! What else is there?"
The head stopped, thought, and suddenly broke into a large friendly smile that reminded Vincent of the old Aerith, which made him almost choke with relief. If only she had a body to go with that gentle smile, or some legs, for Gods' sakes.
"Oh, I know, Vinnie-chan." She grinned. "But what fun is being a ghost if you can't even scare anyone?"
"A ghost, eh?" He laughed nervously. "And here I was thinking you've only lost a few pounds. What are you doing here?"
Aerith opened her mouth wide dramatically. A gust of cold wind swept underneath her neck and blew her curtains of pearly white hair into perfect waves.
"Waaaaaarrrrrrrrnnning yooooooooouuuuuu..." She answered. "The paaaaaaaaaast is unfiiiiiiiniiiiished...."
"What the-"
"That, and, they're knocking down your house." Aerith vanished in a puff of dried ice just as a iron boulder came whirling overhead, making Vincent realize the mansion no longer had a roof, or a sustainable structure, it seemed, as the whole three top floors caved into the basement on top of him.
Well, so much for sleeping in today.
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AN: Next chapter soon.