The Pact 1/?

Usual Disclaimers Apply. Remember Friday the 13th, the T.V. Series?

Episode 1: The Inheritance

Yuffie coughed as the dust settled around her. She looked at her surroundings and frowned. There was still so much work to be done, and it was already late. With a defeated sigh, she walked to where the couch was and took her cell phone out and dialed a number for a local pizza restaurant. After placing her order, she sat down and looked at the white ceiling and closed her eyes. She tried to block the noise of the traffic out the street when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered with out checking the caller i.d.

"Yuffie, are you okay?"

Yuffie smiled at the sound of the voice. "Yeah, Reeve. I'm fine. What about you?"

"I wasn't the one who moved half-way across the country to run an antique store that was left to me by an uncle…"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Well, this antique store hasn't been open for a while. I'm amazed nothing was stolen… at least I think so anyway."

"Are you going to sell?"

The young woman didn't miss the hesitation on her friend's voice. "No, I don't think so… I think I'll stay. It will take a while to get this place up and running, but… it's going to be good."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

Yuffie pretended not to know what Reeve was talking about. "Everything's going to be fine, you'll see. By the end of this year, I'll give you a run for your money!"

Reeve laughed. "Okay… okay… I better leave you to run your antique store. Call me if you need anything, you can always count on me."

Yuffie nodded even if Reeve can't see her. "I know, Reeve. Thanks for everything. Bye."

Putting the phone in her jeans pocket, Yuffie stood up and took a deep breath. She was going to do this, and everything will be fine. Unknown to her, there was someone watching her from the other side of the street. The store window had no blinds or curtains, leaving Yuffie in full view to the man who was watching her.

The man took his phone out and dialed a number. "She's here. She looks like she's going to open the place." He waited as the other person gave out instructions.

"Understood." The man replied and ended the phone call. He simply waited in the shadows and watched.

A few hours later, Yuffie looked around in satisfaction. Sure, there was still a lot of work, but the ground floor looked so much better than when she first walked in. "Well, there's always tomorrow. Good night, antique… things." Yuffie laughed at her own absurdity and walked up the stairs into the living quarters, never knowing that she was still being watched.

-0-0-0

"I have to take it back… I have to take it back…" The old man muttered as he hauled a sack inside a vault. He paid no attention to the chills in his spine or the pain on his body from heavy lifting. He knew what he was doing would be the death of him, but he didn't care. All he knew was that it had to end…

Without warning, the light bulb above him exploded, and in panic, he rushed outside the vault. There was nothing but darkness, and the sound of lightning added to the fear that was growing inside of him. The wind howled and rattled the windows in the basement and he gave a scream when a clap of thunder followed the sounds of the broken glass.

"You must pay…" A voice hissed and the man shook his head.

"You will pay!"

"No… I… I don't want anything from you anymore." The man stammered as he whirled around. "I take it back!"

"Too late!" the sinister voice sneered and the old man tried to run up the stairs, only to stop when he saw a robed figure blocking his way. "Too late, mortal. I'm here to claim on what is now mine"

He stepped away as the robed figure walked closer until the old man felt the cold brick wall against his back. "No… please… take me… but leave her alone"

Cold, red eyes glared at him. "Suffer."

The old man choked as the man continued to glare. "I will... punish me… but stay away from her…"

"Suffer."

The old man fell to the ground and no words came out of his mouth as his hand sizzled when he clutched the robe of the figure before him. He looked at his burnt hand and back to the soulless eyes that only glared. "Suffer."

Yuffie watched in horror as the robed figure turned around and looked at her and smiled. "You belong to me, now." Before she can run, he was before her. Red eyes full of wickedness. "Mine." He kissed her harshly and Yuffie felt her soul burn.

Her scream startled the intruders and one of them ran up to where she was.

"Vincent!" The other man hissed as he followed his companion.

Vincent Valentine followed the screams until he reached the room where the noise was coming for. He drew his gun out and kicked the door open and aimed at the figure on the bed.

Yuffie continued to scream, her back against the wooden head rest, blankets clutched tightly, and as she saw the red eyed stranger, her screams grew louder.

Sensing nothing, Vincent returned the gun to his holster and walked closer to the screaming girl. "Wake up."

The girl just continued to scream and Vincent did the only thing he could think of. He covered her mouth with his gloved hand to muffle her screams. He felt her body tense in fear, and saw the glazed, vacant look in her eyes. "Yuffie Kisaragi. Wake up."

Vincent squinted as the dark room was enveloped in brightness. It also seemed to work on Yuffie as she stopped and the glazed look in her eyes disappeared. She looked at the man whose hands covered her mouth to the older blond man.

Sensing that she has calmed down, Vincent took his hand from her mouth and stepped back.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Yuffie's reaction was swift. From silent to rage. She picked the closest thing to her, which was her alarm clock and threw it at the red eyed man. "Perverts! Get out! Get out!"

"Perverts? With a brat like you? Keep on dreaming, kid." The older blond man snapped and Yuffie glared at him before she grabbed a book and threw it at him. "HEY! This how you thank us from saving you from that dream?"

"How… how the hell do you know I was dreaming?" Yuffie screamed as she picked up the leg of an arm chair she broke a while ago. "Get out!"

"We know a lot more than you think, Yuffie Kisaragi."

"How the hell did you know my name?"

"We know… your uncle."

"Uncle Makoto?"

Both men nodded.

Yuffie kept her grip on the arm chair leg. "How?"

"This will take a while to explain." The red eyed man said and Yuffie pushed the fear she felt down. "Well, you'd better start now."

And they did. After five minutes, Yuffie collapsed on the floor, as the man who introduced himself as Vincent Valentine explained the whole situation. Who they were, what they did, and what the hell she really inherited.

"Let me get this straight. My now dead uncle, made some pact with a demon named Chaos and this pact made everything in this store cursed, and for every cursed item he sold, he becomes more richer, and powerful… then why the hell is he dead?"

"Because brat, he wanted out. That's why we were here. He called us and wanted our help in reclaiming all the shit he sold."

Yuffie fumed as she looked at the man she now know as Cid Highwind.

"And your broke into the store to look for this… black book."

Vincent nodded. "That's what he called it. It's a register that has the details of who brought what."

"I don't believe you."

"Have you seen the vault in the basement?"

Yuffie blinked. "What vault? What basement?"

Vincent didn't answer her but simply walked out of her room, followed by Cid. She stomped her foot in frustration before she followed. "Where are you going?"

She received no reply and she didn't bother to ask again as they reached the ground floor. Vincent walked to the very corner of the store and slammed his fists on one of the bricks. Before Yuffie can say anything, the cabinet at the side creaked and Yuffie was astonished as she watched the two men open it up and walked inside. She reluctantly followed as they walked down the steps and Yuffie felt the fear she was trying to hide rise. This was what it looked like in her dream. She didn't realize that she stepped closer to Vincent and grabbed his coat lightly as she followed him. The place looked exactly like in her dreams. They all stopped as they saw an iron door.

Vincent heard Yuffie take a deep breath. "Is… is that the vault?"

Cid nodded as he tried to open the vault. With a little effort, the iron doors opened and Yuffie followed Vincent as he walked closer. With only a flash light that Cid turned on when they walked in, the place was still dark, and Cid used the flash light to check the items inside. The light stopped on a doll and Yuffie looked at the doll, a little freaked out with that curly hair and red ribbon, and the green eyes that blinked…

Yuffie looked at the doll, and the doll blinked again and hissed, and this time, Yuffie let the fear out. She screamed and made a run for it. She ignored Vincent and Cid as she rushed up, and continued to run with the intention of leaving the store when she tripped on a rug. She grasped blindly for anything to hold onto and grabbed a tall ivory coat hanger and fell to the floor, and winced as something hard and heavy fell on top of her head. "Ouch…"

She heard footsteps, but instead of helping her, Vincent grabbed whatever fell on her. "Cid."

Yuffie watched as Vincent handed a book to Cid who looked pleased. "Good work, brat."

She scowled as she stood up and looked above her to see a small opening on the ceiling.

"The coat hanger must have triggered this." Vincent said as he pulled the coat hanger up and showed the wall lamp that was turned to the left. Vincent turned it up and they all watched as the opening closed.

"Hey, look what's in here too." Cid said gruffly and Yuffie watched as Cid pulled out newspaper clippings. "Vincent, check the book if there was anything about a watch sold on the 12th of May last year."

Vincent flicked the book until he saw what he needed. "One locket to Ridge Stein."

Cid swore. "May 15, says here that an accountant by the name of Ridge Stein died when lightning hit his watch… what about a perfume bottle probably around June?" He asked as he looked at another clipping.

"Emerald Binder. June 20."

"June 20, Mrs. Emerald Biner died of toxic…"

"That is full of shit!"

They both turned to look at Yuffie.

"It has to be a coincidence. No way are those things real…"

"You think so?" Vincent asked and Yuffie felt herself unable to answer. "Check this yourself."

"Look, it's almost three in the morning. Why don't you two go home… or whatever. Just go."

Vincent didn't answer but kept his hands outstretched with the book.

"Fine… fine. Let say you're right. My uncle made some stupid deal and now he's dead. Now what?"

"We get everything back, and we lock them in the vault."

"Oh, and how are you going to do that?"

"Not 'you'. 'We'"

"We?" Yuffie repeated. "And why should I be involved?"

Cid and Vincent looked at each other. Cid nodded and walked away leaving Vincent to explain the answer to Yuffie.

"When your uncle made this pact, Yuffie. He sold not only his soul. Chaos wanted more."

"Okay…" Yuffie said slowly not liking where this conversation was headed. "What does that got to do with me?"

"Chaos demanded some sort of collateral so to speak. Should he back out. He just doesn't forfeit his soul. Chaos wanted what was most important to him, after his own life, and that was you."

"BULLSHIT!" Yuffie snapped back as her dream came back to her in full force. Feeling absolutely drained, Yuffie did the only thing she could do. She fainted.

To be continued.