"G'pa Cid?" A young boy with dark hair was sitting in the middle of the floor in front of a fireplace.
The once blond smiled as he looked up from his book, "Yes, Vincent?"
"could you tell me about the Dragoons?"
The ex-pilot smiled, he thought back over the years. To the boy they'd found in one of Hojo's abandoned labs, the DNA it showed that went into it, Yuffie falling for the poor boy and now this child. It wasn't how Cid Highwind had wanted a family, but he never denied any of it. Hojo had been one sick bastard, but the fact that he had taken samples of every person that had major potential in ShinRa and made spliced clones that ended up as children with two parents of different skill sets in his pursuit of the perfect solider had ended up with an amazing child for the pilot. They'd found the boy after DeepGround, after Vincent had disappeared, and the DNA was the pilot and the gunner. He had smiled at the boy that had looked so much like Vincent, only his blond hair had been taken from the Pilot. He'd taught the boy, who had been aged to just 20 at the time, had raised him and treated him as his own. Grimore. He smiled at the thought of the now thirty year old man, now why the poor sap had married Yuffie was anyone's guess, but one doesn't normally get to chose who they fall in love with...Plus, they had given him Vincent..this Vincent. A boy of Seven with sandy blond hair and eyes that were a deep violet color, looking much like he had as a child.
"Are ya sure? it's a long story..." He put a bookmark in his book and set it aside, moving to gingerly stand and move to the fireplace. The old man put another log on the fire and stirred up the flames before moving back to his rocking chair.
"Hai, G'pa Cid!" The boy grinned broadly and waited, shifting to sit and put his head on the elder's leg.
Cid smiled and let his hand run through the hair, he had nearly had a gasket when he'd found out the name of the boy, but then he realized they'd meant no harm, other than to honor the missing man.
"A long time ago...There were three companions..." he smiled down at the boy, "Kain, Rosa and Cecil. They were th' best of friends, Cecil was Kain's adopted brother..."
"Adopted? Like G'uncle Barret Adopted Aunt Marlene?"
Cid chuckled, "Yup, Kiddo, jes' like that." he gave the boy a mock stern look, "Now, as I was saying, the three grew up together, but Kain was fiercely jealous of Cecil, for he was not treated as sternly, not as much was expected of him...overall, Cecil seemed like the favored child."
"there were dragoons then, but, they were dragon knights, men that rode upon dragons, but they weren't granted the abilities that I have, that you have."
"the jump limit breaks?" The sleepy boy looked up at Cid and the man smiled softly.
"Yes, exactly," The old man coughed, bringing a handkerchief to his mouth. The coughing lasted a few moments before he set it aside, hiding the red spots from the boy. He knew he was dying, it was a matter of time and he refused to die within a hospital.
"now, y'see, a lotta things happened, Kiddo, they went through a journey and a lot of issues, an' when all was said and done...Rosa married Cecil, breakin' Kain's heart."
"But he had to have gotten Married G'pa! otherwise there'd be no Highwinds!"
Cid laughed, "you're right, but we don't know who...he married, but there were more dragoons, like you and I, within twenty years..."
"Whoa, what happened, where's the rest of the family?"
Cid smiled sadly into the fire, "back when I was ten, there was this fight within the family, kiddo, I was th' last, til we found yer Pa."
The boy wanted to know more, but he obviously wasn't going to ask, seeing as the Elder refused to talk about it ever.
"C'mon now. off to bed."
"g'pa! I don't wanna!"
Cid chuckled softly, "come on, Kiddo, you've a long day ahead of you tomorrow."
The blond tucked the boy into bed and then waited with him until he fell asleep, smiling and nodding to Yuffie and Grimore as they came into check on the boy. The old man moved out of the room, barely holding back his coughing fit before he walked outside. The two adults knew to leave him be, knew that he needed to be left alone to gather himself up. Every Adult knew he wasn't going to be alive much longer and he was simply waiting on...something. They didn't know what, but they wished they did.
As the man closed his eyes, he felt a presence and looked towards a grove of trees. Cid gave a warm smile as he walked towards it and stood close, "hey, Chaos, is it time?"
"You know, none of us are happy with this, Sky Rider."
"Never asked ya ta be happy, we know Vincent went back inta his head an' left th' four o' ya in charge...I missed all five o' ya crazy bastards," Cid moved to lean against the demon, "Jes'...do this fer me..."
"Are you in that much pain?" Chaos frowned a bit.
"Feel like I'm Drownin' a bit more every day, Batty...I said I'd wait for you to get back from...whatever, but I'm not sure I could have waited much longer."
"we do not wish to do this..." Chaos spoke softly, a tear slowly curling down the demon's cheek.
Cid wiped away the tear, murmuring, "I Know, but...it has ta be ya, yer th' only one tha' can leave th' atmosphere an' take me ta space one last time..."
Chaos sighed faintly, he could feel the remorse from within, but it was the only thing the pilot had ever really asked of them and he moved to bundle the pilot into Vincent's cloak, drawing it around the weakening frame. With a movement of the powerful wings, the two took to the sky, the sound drawing Yuffie and Grimore to the window and the two watching for a moment.
"CID!" Yuffie cried as she opened the window, trying to get out, she knew she wasn't going to be able to stop whatever was going on, but, as tears curled down her features, she struggled against her husband's hold, "let me go, please!"
"Stop, Yuffie, we knew something was going to happen..." the man swallowed his own tears, "he's been in pain for weeks now, trying to keep himself alive...now we know why..."
The two stood there, Yuffie's fist hitting the other's chest as she cried, "he wasn't supposed to ever die, ever."
"Everyone has to die, Yuffie," was all the man could say as he closed his eyes, burying his face to hide the tears that were coming.
Chaos flew up, feeling the chill and feeling the bundle he had in his arms start to shake and cough. The Demon felt a pain from deep within, all five that shared this body felt the pain of the one human that had never treated them any different than anyone else. Chaos drew power around him, creating a bubble of air that would help the former pilot breathe easier as they rose, when they finally crested the atmosphere and continued up. The pilot smiled as he looked towards space, the sun and the planet itself.
Though his body was weak, in that moment, his eyes showed the same life that they had so many years ago when AVALANCHE had first met. The Five in One body were warmed by the look but then they were shocked, Chaos not being able to move fast enough as the old pilot mustered strength from somewhere and shoved himself away from the other, out of the protective bubble he was in that kept him from the harsh effects of Space.
Chaos Let out a Howl of pain as he got to the body too late, holding it close, he watched as a green tendril swirled towards the planet. The Demon knew exactly what that was, the Spirit of the Pilot, returning to the planet. One clawed hand curled into the green, Chaos holding the bundle close and following after the last wisp of the Captain.
"Thanks, Batty, Vin...all five o' ya...it meant a lot ta see it all one more time. The words flittered through the other's head as fingers slid through the green energy and the demon had to pause, losing track of it as he ended up in the atmosphere.
As Chaos landed in the snow outside the pilot's previous house, he held the body gently, Cure magic flowing through the body, repairing the destruction that the death had caused, but not reversing it. He didn't even flinch as Yuffie was pounding on his back, crying and trying to get out her anger and sorrow. The Demon looked to her husband and energy swirled around the demon, leaving one unaged Vincent Valentine standing there.
"hello, Father," the blond man smiled sadly, "he...was waiting, you know..."
Vincent's brow slowly drew into a frown and he nodded as he held the body of the Beloved Pilot in his arms, "I know."
"it's good to see you, Yuffie, stop...you know Dad wanted it this way."
Yuffie collapsed as she sobbed, Grimore picking her up, "come...let's get inside, out of the snow...and before your grandson wakes up."
The man's hopes were shattered as the young boy was standing in the hallway, tears curling down his cheeks and he sniffled softly, rubbing one cheek. Vincent just stared at the boy in shock, the boy just stared between his father and the new arrival before smiling sadly.
"Nice ta meet ya, G'pa Vincent. 'm Vincent, Ma named me after you," the boy's voice had a lower than normal quality, but it had a bit of scratchiness that shouldn't be there, "g'pa Cid said he was waitin' for ya."
Vincent had to admire the courage that the young boy had, realizing that had to be something he'd gotten from Cid's blood, it certainly wasn't from him. While he had not wanted to be found by his old traveling companions, he had kept an eye on what was going on and knew everything.
"Ma, it's ok...g'pa Cid's not in pain anymore," The boy walked towards them, avoiding Cid's body and looking up at Yuffie, who seemed to collapse to the floor, hugging the boy.
Grimore shook his head and smiled to Vincent, "Come..follow me."
the two silently prepared Cid's body, each feeling the loss of what had happened, but on different levels. Yuffie had composed herself, but was laying on the fur rug in the Den area, the young boy gently running a hand through her hair as she dozed lightly. The two men moved into the room and looked at the boy, watching from the doorway.
"he...is a lot like Cid," Vincent spoke softly.
"He's a lot like you as well, he rarely shows any sort of emotion, the tears were the closest thing to any emotion other than excitement that we've seen in awhile, I think he knew when Dad was going to die before the rest of us," the young man looked at Vincent, "Thank you...for at least coming at the End."
"I told him I would."
Fin.
Please. do. not. ask. I don't know where this came from, I don't even think it's that good and i'm fairly sure I shouldn't have published this.
I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to kill him! It just happened and i feel so sad about it.