Dark Angel
by KalDesolation.
That was the word that came to his mind, as he looked the ruins of what had been once Midgar. The once proud city, example of technic and ingeniery, now was nothing more than piles of metal, piled on a barren land. The cries of the Meteor´s victims could be heard at every corner of the city. That was what lead them there.
Vincent turned to see his friends. Their leader, the young man named Cloud was calling for them to gather around him.
"All right people, listen up. There are already some rescue teams coming from Kalm, and Cid heard on the radio that rescue parties are being sent from Junon as we speak. We have to help as much people as we can,but unfortunately, we are going to have to do some hard decisions. We have to help those who can still be helped. We cannot,and I say, CANNOT stop to help people who clearly doesn´t has a chance."
"But..."
"I said that we CANNOT help people who clearly doesn´t has a chance.We might as well go help the ones who still have an opportunity.Understood, Yuffie?"
The ninja girl nodded silently. It was obvious that she didn´t liked the idea of not helping someone who needed it, but what was being asked of her...No, of all of them,was to help those who needed them the more, the ones who still could live...While trying not to hear the pleas of the ones who couldn´t make it to the next day.
"Now,we will work in pairs. Tifa, you come with me, Barret, you go with Red, Cid, you and Yuffie will have to work together, so please, try to cooperate with each other. Vincent..."
Cloud turned to see Vincent, but he was nowhere to be found. Guess he already went to help, Cloud thought.
"Well, Ca... I mean, Reeve, if you find Vincent, go with him. This is a disaster zone and no one must be alone. Now let´s move out!"
With that, they parted ways, everyone hoping that they could reach those who needed them on time.
Vincent began to ran, hearing the cries of people in need. He soon was entering a building in flames, helping to take out the people who couldn´t get out on their own. After he had finished, he soon was again ready to run to help more people, when his ears catched a sound amidst all the confusion.
It was a sobbing.
From a child.
Vincent ran in the direction of the sound, hoping he could do something to help. He found a small boy, dressed in rags, with a green trench coat that was obviously of someone bigger covering him.No more than five years old, Vincent calculated. He stopped crying when he saw Vincent. His eyes opened widely.
/He must be scared of me. No wonder./
He though, seeing how he looked. Clad completely in black, with a blood red cape, and his golden claw, he must look like a children´s worst nightmare, he realized.
He kneeled to appear less treathening to the kid, and spoke with a low voice.
"Hi. My name is Vincent. What´s yours?" he asked as soflty as possible.
The kid didn´t make a sound.
/I was never good with kids./
"I know I must look scary, but trust me, I want to help you."
The kid still didn´t move, he was just staring at Vincent with wide, frightened eyes.
/What can I do?/
Vincent then extended his rigth hand. The kid then moved a little closer to see it.
"Look, I´m like you. I´m not a monster." Vincent said.
He waited there, with his hand extended, waiting for a reaction. The kid then began to move closer to Vincent. He got near him, and touched his hand.
"Am Joey"
"My name is Vincent, Joey. Where are your parents?"
"Dunno."
"Then I´ll help you find them, okay?"
"OK."
Vincent then carried the kid in his back. They advanced through the devastated streets of Midgar,covered by the rests of the plate that hours ago would have blocked the stars above them. They could have seen them, but the smoke from the numerous fires in the city blocked the sky. The numerous cries and yellings of the people trying to save their families and their homes almost eclipsed the roar of the flames.
Vincent was passing near a mountain of debris that had been a building until the Meteor almost crushed Midgar. His ears heard a faint sound. A faint breath... A plea...
"Help...me...somebody...please......"
Vincent stoped. He got Joey down from his back.
"Wait here for a moment Joey. Don´t move, understood?"
The kid nodded in silence. Vincent ran to the pile of debris and began to excave. Soon,he found a hand. To the hand waas attached an arm. And to the arm was attached a woman, probably in her mid-sixties. Blood was in her forehead, and dirt covered a bright colored dress. Vincent grabbed her by her right arm, trying to not let her fall.
"Thank you...thank you, young man."
Vincent smiled upon hearing the words young man. He had born many years ago, and, if it weren´t for Hojo and his experiments, he now would look as old as this woman. He tried not to think about that. That happened many years ago, and there were people who neede him now, in the present.
"Are you okay? Can you walk?"
"Yes,I´m fine. Thank you for helping me."
"Do you need help? I can stay with you until someone comes."
"Thanks, but I´m sure there´s more people who need your help. Don´t let this old woman stop you."
"Could I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, anything that I can do."
Vincent then turned to where Joey was standing. He signaled him to approach them.
"His parents are lost. Could you watch over him until he finds them?"
"Of course!"
Vincent was about to leave, when he heard something.
Another faint breath.
It came from beneath the same pile of rubble he had helped out the old woman. He excavated a lot deeper, and what he discovered shocked him.
It was a man. He was in a bad shape,but it needed little help to get out. A chill went down Vincent´s back. If he hadn´t heard him, who knows what could have happened. He left the man with the old lady and the kid.
He soon was entering a building engulfed in flames, taking people out. He was carrying out ayoung woman out, when he saw an old man struggling with a young black haired woman.
"Let me go! Sheryl´s inside! I must go for her!"
"Don´t do it! It´s an inferno in there, you both will die!"
"But...but..."
The woman then fall crying. Vincent then got near the old man.
"Where´s her daughter?"
"She was in their apartment aat the sixth floor. When the fire began, I got her out, but when I tried to go for the child, I couldn´t reach her. I´m afraid she´s already dead."
The old man then lowered his head, not seeing Vincent going inside the building. He quickly got to the sixth floor, and searched the apartments. It was in the second he searched what he looked for. Inside a room he found a little figure laying down in the floor, hugging a toy moggle. Vincent then got near the little figure, and saw it was still breathing. He thanked in silence to God, and carried it in his arms. He saw the cute face and the blond long hair the girl had. Her blue eyes opened enough to see Vincent.
"Are you an angel?"
Vincent smiled. In all his life, he had thought as himself as many things, and angel was the less likely to ocurr to him.
"Don´t worry, I´ll take you out of here."
Vincent then got out of the apartment and began to run down the stairs. Vincent rushed his pace. The stairs were starting to fall, engulfed in flames as the rest of the building he was in. The little child he had in his arms hugged her moggle doll thighter, as it could protect her from the flames. Suddenly, a big chunk of debris fell in front of them. They couldn´t get down.
/Time for a different approach./
Vincent then began to ran upstairs, looking desesperately for an exit. He climbed the stairs all the way up to the roof. He tried deseperately to find a way to get down safely. There was none. There was only one way to get off that building safely.
"Close your eyes." He whispered to the girl.
The little girl close hard her eyes. Vincent then began to concentrate. He had only made this when he was enraged, to bring death and destruction to his enemies, in the form of a winged demon. Now, he could use it to give someone a chance to live.
With a roar, Vincent transformed into the demon, flying into the dark skies for a moment, before descending to the ground, where flames engulfed everything. For a moment, it seemed as a small part of Hell had appeared on the face of earth, with a winged demon holding something very closely completing the picture. Dante or Virgilio would be impressed by this sight.
The demon soon returned to its human form, revealing the black haired Vincent holding the small girl in his arms. He was pleased to hear a soft laughter coming from the bundle of blankets the girl was in.
"Again! Again!" the small girl said while clapping her tiny hands.
Vincent was relieved. Soon,a couple of figures showed up from the darkness the city was engulfed in, being lit only by the fires made when the gas tubes exploted in the houses.
"Sheryl! Sheryl! Are you ok?" the young woman shouted, running towards Vincent.
"Mommy! Can I do it again, puh-lease?"
The woman took the girl in her arms, and with a look that said more than any words, she turned to Vincent and kissed him.
Vincent was surprised. The kiss had taken him off guard. But it didn´t last long. Soon,the woman was going away,with her daughter in her arms. An old man approached Vincent, obviously some relative of the woman and her daughter.
"Thanks,mister! I have no way to thank you for what you´ve done, really! Sheryl it´s the little angel of my daughter since her husband died two years ago. Really, thanks!" said the man, as he shook hands with Vincent.
"It´s nothing." Vincent said.
"C´mon, not anyone could have leaped those 10 floors as easily as you did. It would appear as if you had wings! How did you do it?" said the man, turning to signal the roof of the building. Then he turned to see Vincent.
He had already left.