A/N: Hello~ This is my first story here for a long time, so please be kind. ^.^ Oh, and the first part of this is in Astaroth's POV, set right after the last conversation in the confessional / right before Vincent's final battle with Dumuzid, and... well, read on and find out, I guess~
You know, it was strange watching you then; watching you after you'd come through the nightmares... after you'd learned the truth about it all... when you were ready to take on odds that you knew may have been insurmountable...
Watching you then made me think back. To when you were just another of my sheep, facing your tests and your punishments... I never would have thought, way back at the beginning, that you would be quite as special as you turned out to be. You're truly a man with potential.
...It almost makes me sad, knowing you're gone. Whatever happens now, you'll leave for good; either you manage to stay alive against Dumuzid and leave the nightmares forever, or... or you don't manage to stay alive at all.
But I'm not gonna think like that, though. If anyone has the strength and the determination to get through this, it's you.
I've been waiting for you, Vincent Brooks. I have been waiting for so long. I really never thought a man like you would've come along... I guess I'm glad you'll never hear any of this, in a way. After all, I bet you'd just call me some kind of 'sick bastard' like you usually do. It's a shame, really... so perfect in so many ways, but so cruel to me.
Well, I suppose I've gone on long enough now. I should probably wrap this up...
I don't know what it is that I feel for you, and I likely never will. But no matter what these things I feel for you are, I meant what I said.
I will always be near you, no matter what happens. And when the world is bathed in Ishtar's love... I really do long to meet you again.
So, goodbye, Vincent. I may not know if I should be saying 'I love you' or not, but I wish you luck in any case.
The morning came after what felt like an eternity, and Vincent Brooks tore his eyes open, shooting forward in bed.
He looked at himself; looked at his arms, his hands, anything he could see, in sheer disbelief.
'I... I did it,' he thought, his eyes widening. "I did it!" His arms thrust into the air, and he suddenly broke into a laugh of sheer elated relief. Even though some of his memories were fading fast, he remembered the main event of last night's 'dream' clear as day; he outran Dumuzid and his powerful attacks, shattered his massive face into a million pieces, and won the right to meet Katherine again.
'Katherine,' Vincent thought in realization, leaning over the edge of his bed to retrieve his phone, which was lying somewhat dangerously on his bedroom floor. Sure enough, when he turned the device on, he saw that Dumuzid had kept his promise; there was a message from Katherine waiting, telling him that she was at the Stray Sheep right now.
"Alright," Vincent said, smiling as he closed his phone. "Time to go."
In no time, he was dressed, out the door and on his way, all with a grin on his face like nothing in the world could go wrong. And all the way there, although most of his memories of what had happened last night were gone, there was this one memory that kept drifting back to him; a phrase, a... a promise, spoken by a voice that he felt he'd heard before, though he knew he hadn't.
When this sanctuary is bathed in Ishtar's love, we will meet again, in a place far removed from here.
Vincent blinked a few times and paused in the middle of the sidewalk. That voice... whose was it, again...?
Slowly but surely as he stood, some things fluttered in and out of his memory; the nightmares, the tests... the sheep, and the one behind it all, all for the good of the population... He remembered now. And he remembered that, if he'd had his way, he'd have had a few more answers from that Astaroth.
And so, with that thought in his mind, a little, wry smile crossed his lips and he closed his eyes for just a second.
'Oh, yeah. I might not know where... and I might not know when... but we'll meet again. ...Wonder if you'll still love to talk as much then, kid.'
A/N: So, that was that! This was just inspired by me reckoning Astaroth had a few more feelings for Vincent than he was letting on, especially near the end. And the last bit just felt right to do as a kinda wrapping up thing. ^.^
So, yes! Please let me know what you thought of this, if anything. Any constructive criticism's welcome, too. In any case, thank you for reading this and thank you if you didn't, and hopefully see you around! ^.^