Title: A History of Summons
Author: Mijacogeo
Rating: T
Pairing: Valenwind
Warnings: Some swearing
Genre: Drama, angst, romance
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters (sadly).
Summary: Vincent remembers a story from times past…
Author's Note: This randomly came to me from a dream I had! I also owe some of the summon inspiration to DracoQueen22 thanks to her awesome Shattered Universe fics. I do apologise for my poor attempt at fight descriptions! Anyway, hope you like :)
"Now, where did we get up to?" The man asked, more to see if the boy had been paying attention, rather than needing an actual prompt.
"You'd just finished about magic materia, father." The young boy on his lap reminded him, eyes wide and expectant.
"Ah, yes. Well then, that only leaves the great mystery of the summon materia. Quite a tale, I'm sure, but most of it has dwindled over the centuries so we know very little of these curious beings."
The man reached behind him, mindful of the small body sat precariously on him, pulling out a glowing red orb from a drawer in the mahogany desk. After a few moments, he handed the materia to the boy whose eyes widened further at the thrum of energy emanating from it.
"As we know, materia is created by the planet but, unlike all the others, summon materia is born from a life-force. As beings, be they human or creature, go back to the lifestream, the soul usually follows suit. But on rare occasions, the soul is so strong, bound by a sense of duty to another person or a certain cause that legend has it the planet creates an earthy capsule that would allow them limited access to their world."
"Who is this?" The child asked, his voice an awed whisper as he raised the pulsing sphere.
"This…is Odin," the man said, a finger tracing across a barely visible engraving on the outer shell.
"Why did he stay behind?"
The father sighed, taking the materia back and gently rolling it between his fingers. "He would be the only one to know, son. His purpose lost to the planet, along with his true name. But as long as he knows and feels the need to protect and serve, the summon materia will remain active."
"True name?" The boy asked with a small frown, eyes never straying from the orb.
"In their mortal form, they went by their true name. But once they are contained in the summon materia, they are given a new name, one to be summoned by. It is said that, if the summoner knows the true name and speaks it in their presence, they are allowed to revert back to their original form. But this has never been proven as summon materia are gradually becoming rarer and rarer, only the truly ancient ones having the resilience to remain."
Suddenly, the orb was put back in the desk out of eye sight but it didn't stop the child from being mesmerised by his father's tale.
"Honestly, Grimoire," a woman's voice spoke up from the doorway, startling them both, "you need to stop filling his head with such stories." But, regardless of the stern sentiment, she was smiling as she looked at them.
"He's just curious, is all. I suspect he will need to know such things for the adventures he's going to go on." He said with a smile which the young boy returned, his heart and his head filled with so many exciting possibilities for the future. He wondered if materia hunter qualified as a viable profession…
"Come on, Vincent. I think it's time you went to bed…" said his mother. Vincent slid off his father's lap, giving one last look at the closed draw that contained the mysterious object. Yes, when he grew up, he was going to be a great adventurer…
That was one of the few early memories Vincent had of his father, one that didn't seem tainted by Shinra or revolved around work projects. It was bittersweet in a way, thinking back on times long since past where he had his whole future ahead of him, completely unaware that it would ultimately be taken out of his hands and potentially destroyed.
But, at the age of 57 (though he looked no older than late 20's), he was finally given the opportunity to become the adventurer his 6 year old self had dreamed of. With his introduction to Yuffie, he realised that the role of "materia hunter" was already filled and it was, it seemed, not a viable profession.
But it mattered not, by joining Cloud's motley crew, he was given the opportunity to regain control of his life, travel the world as he had once done as a Turk, collect rare treasures, save the world…
But there was one treasure that he could never have predicted finding on his travels. The friendship and subsequent love from an unlikely pilot. It was an almost seamless transition; from reluctant acceptance to mutual friendship, then close confidantes to eventual lovers.
After Meteor, Vincent had a sense of dread, fearing that Cid would no longer have any use for him and he would be alone once again. But oh that unpredictable pilot…he'd already made arrangements for Vincent to move in with him in Rocket Town and had no intention of letting him go.
For some unknown reason, Cid thought he was perfect. He could see past the scars, the gauntlet, the experiments and the demons. While the others accepted his dark passengers, Cid was the only one that came close to understanding what they truly meant to Vincent.
When he first became aware of their presence while locked away in his coffin, he cursed the madman that did it to him, cursed the voices in his head, the powers that he felt taking over his body. But, over time, he came to realise that he wasn't the only victim here.
Recalling the tale his father told him, he realised that these four souls had stayed on Gaia for a reason, they had a purpose…and now they were trapped in a body, all in the name of "science". He could never bring himself to fully accept them, they were a constant reminder of all the evil in his past, but he learned not to fight them.
It came as no surprise to him when he went up against Omega, that Chaos took the opportunity to return to the planet, his purpose to remain bound by the summon materia long since forgotten in his imprisonment.
Both he and Cid had secretly hoped that the loss of Chaos would end Vincent's slight case of immortality but it soon became apparent that it was not to be. Cid hid his disappointment well but the gunman knew that it came as a blow to him.
As the years went on, they would look to find ways of releasing the other demons but without any luck. Eventually, they gave up, deciding instead to just enjoy the time they had together.
Each year would involve an Avalanche meet-up which, somewhere along the line came to include the Turks as well as they were reluctant to miss out on a good booze-up, claiming "we're all on the same side now, yo!"
After many years, it began to reach a point where fewer and fewer people attended. Some too old to make it, others no longer with them. News of each death hit them all hard, but Vincent more than anyone. Whether he admitted it or not, he wasn't ever going to be prepared for Cid to leave him, he knew he couldn't, wouldn't accept it. He had to confess that he was amazed that Cid managed to outlive some of their younger comrades considering his never ending smoking habit, he certainly was tenacious.
But, nevertheless, the day came and went like a surreal dream. Vincent wasn't even there when it happened, having gone into town to get some tea and came back to an empty house, knowing that Cid had been taken by the lifestream.
That was 17 years ago, now. Only two of them remained and knowing in part how Vincent felt, Nanaki chose to stay with Vincent to keep the gunman company, fearing he would only lock himself away in that coffin again.
Considering their ages, they both had the strength and energy of those much younger and so chose to continue doing what they had always done best; protecting towns and their population from the ever decreasing hordes of monsters that steal stalked Gaia.
"Vincent, behind you!" Nanaki yelled, grabbing the gunman's attention who proceeded to spin round to shoot a wolf-like creature in the head with one shot.
"We need to get rid of the wolves before we can take on the fire-dragon. We mustn't be divided!" Nanaki nodded in acknowledgement as he struck another wolf with a fireball, knocking it down.
With a grace that hadn't diminished remotely over the years, Vincent leapt up the nearby rocks of the canyon to gain advantage, seeing the four remaining wolves surrounding them while the blood red dragon raged in the centre.
He whistled to Nanaki, pointing him in the right direction before leaping back down, Cerberus in hand, to attack the two wolves he had assigned himself. On his landing, he managed to knock one out cold before hitting it with an Ultima to prevent a later attack. The other lunged at him, teeth bared but unfortunately for him got a mouthful of metal as Vincent raised his gauntlet in defence. A quick blow to the head and it was down for the count.
Quickly spinning around, he noticed Nanaki had taken care of his assailants and was already in confrontation with the giant dragon. Running up to flank him, Nanaki pounced on its forearm to strike at its throat but was violently thrown off before being able to cause any real damage.
In the moment of distraction, Vincent fired three shots in rapid succession, the third managing to cause some kind of wound, the dragon's screech almost deafening. Vincent darted back to skid to halt beside Nanaki, both watching the enraged beast.
"Its scales are too thick; we'll be here for eternity if we try to take it out with our weapons…" Vincent said, barely even out of breath.
"We are to rely on materia?" The fire-creature asked, eyes never leaving the thrashing monster.
"Yes, long ranging if you have it. And no fire." Without exchanging any more words, they both dove in opposite directions, momentarily confusing the creature. From Vincent's side, a Bolt3 was let loose while from the other side there was a blinding flash of Contain.
The screeching filled the air as both attacks struck, successfully causing damage but the beast wasn't about ready to give in. A wing extended in an attempt to pin Nanaki but narrowly missed as he threw out an Ice3, causing significant harm.
As it howled, smoke flaring from its nostrils, Vincent tried to gain a better vantage point to fire his next spell. But whilst trying to avoid the lashing claws and gnashing teeth, he was unable to evade the almighty swing of its tail as it struck his back, flinging him effortlessly across the wasteland.
Falling awkwardly, he heard something snap, realising that he'd probably just broken his leg. Looking up, he managed to see Nanaki failing to hold his own as an Ultima misfired and he found himself pinned under the dragon's talons.
He quickly examined his equipped materia, eyeing the red orbs. He ran a finger over the first, the carving now but a memory, faded completely from years of use.
"This…is Odin."
His father had given it to him the day he left to join the Turks, it had been passed down in the family; a Valentine heirloom. When Hojo took it away from him, along with all of his other possessions, he never thought he'd see it again. That was until he saw that spiky-haired leader of theirs summon it not long after he joined them.
Apparently it had never left the mansion, being useless to someone like Hojo who just stashed it away in some safe. When Vincent asked if he could have it, Cloud was reluctant, claiming he had fought some violent monster to get it and it was rightfully his. Despite what he knew was his better judgement, he elicited the help of a certain ninja by trading his own mastered Poison for her "services".
Not seeing it as a fair trade but keeping her mouth firmly closed (for a change), she did as requested and swiped the materia with ease. Naturally, it wasn't long before Cloud knew what had happened but didn't broach the subject figuring it must be important if he would resort to confiding in Yuffie.
But Vincent's fingers trailed from the orb onto the other which seemed to pulse in response. They ran over the clearer engraving before coming to a decision. With a mental nod, he applied more pressure to the sphere, channelling its energy.
"I need you…Starseeker!" He yelled the last part, loud enough for the heavens to hear before being enveloped in a white light.
The air was suddenly filled with a rumbling roar, all eyes looking to the sky to see a brilliant winged creature, silhouetted by the setting sun.
As it began its rapid descent with grace of a being born to fly, the grounded beast abandoned Nanaki, realising that there was a greater threat at hand and shifted its position.
The tan coloured dragon landed gracefully in front of the other, quickly turning its head to face its summoner, pinning Vincent with beacon-like azure eyes, as if to judge his condition. The gunman gave a sharp nod before the smaller dragon turned to consider its enemy.
Almost immediately, it became an almighty clash of fangs, wings and talons as the two creatures became a blur of brown and red both on the ground and in the air. It was unclear to the two spectators who was winning but they could tell from the ear-piercing sounds that damage was being inflicted.
Nanaki made his way cautiously over to Vincent who had propped himself upright on a rock. The lion-wolf cast a restore on the leg which had already begun to heal itself, sealing the wound up completely.
An almighty crash distracted them as they saw the giant beast fall on its back, its wings trapped underneath it as Starseeker dove down repeatedly with its tail thrust forward to slash at the momentarily vulnerable dragon.
On the third strike, they were both knocked into the air as the fallen dragon heaved itself up with the force of its wings, making them both falter for a moment.
"It seems to be weakening but I don't know if we can hold up long enough to see it through to the end." Nanaki said as he watched the two gather themselves together.
Vincent noticed the sudden painful limp in his summon and flinched at the sight of it before getting an idea. "I need your Ice." He said, simply.
Knowing it wasn't a request, Nanaki tapped the green orb from his bracelet which Vincent quickly inserted into Cerberus. Gingerly, realising his leg was still a little weak, he hobbled forward, whistling to gain the attention of the sylphlike dragon.
It turned to see the gunman beckoning him back and, with only a second's hesitation, he obeyed. Vincent swiftly ran up the spiny tail before settling on the creatures back without so much as a growl of protest from it.
Mindful of its passenger, the dragon beat its wings against the ground, rising an impressive distance before descending like a speeding bullet. Both watched as the other dragon took off, ready to meet them in a devastating collision.
"Flame him!" Vincent yelled over the rushing wind around them.
The dragon turned to look at him, what must have been a look of disbelief on its reptilian features. Red eyes focused on blue as he gave one of his signature sharp nods. "Trust me!"
The creature turned to face the oncoming opponent increasing its speed even further. When there was barely more than six feet between them, Vincent wrapped his hands around the dragon's neck before yelling "NOW!"
Without delay, flame burst from the dragon's mouth…But instead of an orange and red frenzy, there was a fierce cloud of white and blue.
Vincent's hands continued to glow as he concentrated the Ice materia into the airways of his summon, the power of the arctic flame pushing the other beast back to solid ground. Its attempts to beat its wings proved futile as the ice was quickly freezing up its entire system, leaving it defenceless.
As Starseeker landed, Vincent instantly ended the spell, completely drained of energy. As he slid himself off the creature down a leathery wing, he stumbled slightly, looking to the incapacitated monster.
He looked to his summon who seemed to be looking back at him expectantly before the dark-haired man sighed.
"Go ahead, do what you do best." If it were possible for a dragon to grin, he was sure he had just witnessed it as he watched the formidable tail swing back before powering into the frozen being, shattering it into irredeemable fragments.
Nanaki came to stand beside Vincent, admiring the falling shards. "Well, they may be getting fewer but they are certainly getting meaner."
"They're becoming desperate, they know their time is coming and won't go out without a fight."
"Sounds like some people I know…" Nanaki replied with a sly nod. Vincent looked up at the bright-eyed dragon sitting patiently before them, looking at them with some interest and possibly slight irritation.
"We couldn't have done it without you…Thank you, Cid."
A sudden white flash forced the two of them to shield their eyes only to be faced with blond hair, blue eyes and a lopsided grin when they could see again.
"Damn right ya couldn't have! Thing was beaten the crap outta ya, must be gettin' on, fuzzball." The pilot said in Nanaki's direction to which the lion-wolf just scoffed. "And you-!" Cid began to rail on Vincent but stopped at the warning look he received, changing direction to, "…How's yer leg?"
Vincent smirked to himself, "It is fine, Cid. Nothing a Cure couldn't handle. How about you?" He asked, remembering the limp he had witnessed.
"Nah, just a scratch. It'll heal up in a bit, no sweat."
Suddenly, there was an awkward silence and sensing his apparent intrusion, Nanaki slinked away to leave the other two in their discomfiture.
"So….Ya found anythin' out recently?" Cid started, running a hand through his hair, his other hand thrust in a pocket.
"No. I'm staying with Nanaki here in Cosmo Canyon, we thought maybe Bugenhagen's research might be of some help."
"Good idea, that guy sure knew some crazy shit about materia." Vincent nodded at his sentiment.
Ever since Vincent had discovered the Starseeker materia and realised what it truly was, he was determined to find some way to unbind a soul from its materia. Nanaki had promised to help him find anything that may release the spirit altogether while keeping it bound to the planet.
It wasn't looking promising.
"I've been thinking about the other route, lately." The gunman whispered.
"Yer demons? You heard somethin' about that?" Cid knew that it probably wasn't even possible for him to permanently live on Gaia without the orb but wasn't prepared to take the hope away from Vincent. But the principle of releasing all his demons a la Chaos, that was something that Cid saw as viable. If they could get rid of Vincent's immortality, then all their problems would be solved.
"Not exactly. But I know that Hojo had to have done extensive research on it before hand, most of which is probably still at the mansion-"
"No." Cid said sternly, shaking his head.
"Cid-"
"Dammit, Vincent, you are not going back to that house! It fucks with your head, you got more demons in that place than in your damn body!"
"You can't stop me, Cid. I need to-"
"Like hell I can't!" Cid growled, getting more annoyed at Vincent's adamant attitude.
"Cid-"
"You think I can't stop ya just cos I'm…"
"Dead!" Vincent spat venomously, taking Cid aback, his blue eyes wide with shock. "Because you aren't here? Because you left me!" He drew in a shaky breath as his crimson eyes bore into sapphire, not with anger but with intense pain.
Though it came as something of a blessing to have Cid still accessible to him in one form or another, to keep having to say goodbye when the summon's time was up proved to be a new kind of heartache that Vincent struggled to deal with.
"Vince, I- I didn't…" Cid was at a loss for words, his time as a summon not feeling as long as it had to his lover, he didn't realise what a toll it had been on him. Seeing his stoic gunman fall to pieces in such a way, all because of him and his stupid mortality caused his own heart to break.
"I miss you…" Vincent muttered, barely above a whisper. Cid ached to embrace the man so tightly he threatened to break ribs but, as he knew would happen, as he edged forward, Vincent was forced to back away, the intense heat of his elemental summon magic too much to bare at close proximity. Just another stipulation that drove them on to their research.
"I miss ya too, Vince. Ya don't know how much. But…this is all I got, I know it ain't what we want but-"
"Shut up, Cid." Vincent mumbled but it was without malice. "You've done more than could be thought possible and I should appreciate that. It's just…"
"Hard. I know it. Shit, every time I get ta see ya it's when you're in trouble! What I wouldn't give to just have a moments peace with ya, to be able to hold ya close whenever I want…with a nice hot cuppa tea…"
Vincent chuckled at the dreamy look on Cid's face, despite the sombreness of the moment. Silence fell upon them again as they just stared at each other before Vincent spoke up, voice more serious and composed.
"I'm going to Shinra Mansion, Cid." The statement drew a long sigh out of the shorter man but he now understood that there was no talking the gunman out of it.
"You'll do what ya hafta, Vince. I jes wish I could help ya, feel like a useless jerk makin' ya do all the legwork, when it's my doin'."
Cid had barely finished the sentence before Vincent was shaking his head, vehemently. "You are not useless, Cid. Knowing that you stayed behind for me, it's the best thing you could have ever given me."
Cid shuffled and coughed in his embarrassment, refusing to acknowledge the sentiment. "Enough o' this mushy shit. You," he said, suddenly pointing an accusing finger at Nanaki who, despite being several feet away, had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation, "go with him to that hellhole and at the first sign of him gettin' spooked, get him the fuck outta there! You hear me?"
Nanaki nodded, enthusiastically. "I hear you, Captain."
"I'll be alright, Cid. Just…be patient with us."
"Hell, I ain't goin' nowhere. Not unless I know you're gonna be there with me."
"Now who's being mushy?" Vincent said with a sad smile. Cid smiled back before stumbling a little, eyes rolling in his head. The sight caused Vincent's chest to tighten as Cid looked to him with apologetic eyes.
"Time's up."
"I know."
"I'll see ya soon, though."
"Yeah." Cid gradually became more and more translucent, his life-force returning back to the orb. Vincent always hated the small talk they made at the end, drawing out the inevitable.
"Love ya, Vince." He said, voice breaking just the tiniest bit and Vincent was gone. He didn't care then what the consequences would be, if it caused him irreparable physical damage, he wasn't going to let pitiful words speak what was in his heart.
Triggering the Ice materia, he let it envelope him before catching Cid completely off guard by pulling him into a tight embrace, lips connecting firmly and desperately.
Cid gasped at the all too familiar contact, the taste he had craved for so long. He returned the gesture feverishly, feeling himself slip away but desperate to cling onto the man he loved until the very last moment. He felt the summon flames dance over his skin, only to be held off and repelled by the magic radiating from his companion.
When they finally felt the need to break apart for air, they parted only marginally, their foreheads still pressed together as their breath passed over each other's lips.
"Shit…why ain't we thought of that before?" Cid muttered, regret clear in his voice.
"We know for next time. Hopefully it won't even matter soon."
"What I wouldn't do to give you a real ride, if ya know what I mean." Cid whispered, kissing along the pale neck in front of him, blood positively boiling in his veins.
Vincent's eyes went wide, darting over to Nanaki who pretended not to have heard. "Cid, you are incorrigible." But he didn't resist the ministrations, leaning further into the touch.
"That's the reason you love me…"
"It's one of the many reasons I love you." Cid clutched the gunman tighter, leading another kiss, shorter than the last but this one filled with promises and passion.
As the blond felt the last of his energy waning, he pulled back to see a more determined look had replaced the one of sorrow on his lovers face.
"To be continued…" The older man said, with a knowing nod.
"Damn straight." Was the last thing that Cid spoke before he was once again bound to the red orb.
Vincent stood silent and still, staring at the space his lover, his life and reason for living had just stood. His features hardened in resolve as he turned to Nanaki.
"We head for Nibelheim."
As they set off in silence, Vincent absently ran his finger over the pulsing globe, feeling the warmth radiating from it.
"But as long as he knows and feels the need to protect and serve, the summon materia will remain active…"
Just a little longer, Cid. I'm not giving up. Not ever.