Chapter 1: The Stranger
Vincent Valentine wasn't much of a people person, but tolerated the ones who called him their friend. Needless to say, he was none too pleased to find a new addition to the household when he came to visit. He supposed she wasn't too bad. She only gave a short nod when Tifa introduced the two. Her name was Lya Farrow. According to Tifa, she was found unconscious in the park Marlene usually played in. Vincent looked back down at Lya.
"Unconscious in the park," he repeated slowly, mulling the idea over in his head. Surely that wasn't the basis for taking in a complete stranger. Lya blankly stared up at him.
"I was only passing through," she said quietly. "I had been travelling for a while, so I was pretty tired."
"Yeah, well," Tifa picked back up, "Marlene found her and woke her up just as some thugs came. I think they were probably kidnappers. They were on them before I could do anything. As it turns out, Lya's a pretty adept magic user. She saved Marlene, and when Barret found out, he insisted she stay with us." Vincent continued to stare down at Lya as Tifa finished explaining. He supposed she was a pretty girl, with auburn hair and honey colored eyes.
"I might leave soon," she said as she got up. She gave Vincent another short nod and left the room. Tifa smirked after her.
"She always says that, but I don't think she means it." She turned back and winked at Vincent. "Seems like she's got a weak spot for children. Just like someone else I know!" she exclaimed, looking back at Cloud who was sitting on the couch. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, but didn't say anything. "She's been here two months now," said Tifa thoughtfully, but Vincent had already left for the room he usually took when he was there. She looked around, sighed, and plopped down on the couch next to Cloud.
"He hasn't changed," said Cloud, and Tifa chuckled.
Vincent opened the door to the guest room he usually used. Besides being cleaned, nothing in it had been touched. Pretty sentimental of them, he thought, but secretly he was glad of it. He sat down on the bed and stared out the window. The sun was high in the sky: it was lunch time. He leaned over and closed the blinds, darkening the room, and let his mind wander.
Was Lya a good person? What did she do all day? Was she just using the others' kindness to continue staying here? He blinked up at the ceiling. Why did he care? It wasn't any of his business. Cloud and the others could house who they wanted. He sighed and closed his eyes, and heard Chaos laughing in his head.
They've replaced you, taunted the demon. Vincent scowled, trying his best to ignore it. He tried to clear his mind and began to meditate.
Late that evening, Vincent's meditation was interrupted by a strange scent. He had never smelt anything like it before, so it intrigued him. He supposed he had meditated long enough to keep his head partially clear for a bit, so he decided to investigate. The scent was coming from the kitchen. He hesitated before cautiously sticking his head through the door. Lya was there, cooking dinner. She felt his eyes on her and glanced at him for just a moment before returning her concentration to the contents of the pot she was stirring.
"Will you be eating with us?" She asked as he was about to leave. He turned back. She was blankly staring at him again. He wasn't sure what to make of her.
"…Perhaps." He left with that, wondering if he could assess her more at the dinner table, or if he should just leave her alone.
Vincent came down the stairs after dinner had already started. He heard Barret arguing with Yuffie, who was here just like him, for Marlene's upcoming birthday.
"I did not!" screamed Yuffie, pointing her spoon at Barret.
"You did too, you fucking bitch!" Barret bellowed back, jabbing a middle finger from his prosthetic in her direction. Lya spoke up.
"If you don't sit down and be quiet, I will not cook for you again," she said in a low, stern voice. Barret and Yuffie both stopped and looked at her, and then back at each other. They liked her cooking too much to continue their argument, so they huffed out a begrudging truce and continued eating. Vincent silently watched from the doorway as the dinner table resumed a sensible level of concentration. It was then that Marlene looked up from her plate and grinned, her entire face lighting up.
"Mister Vincent!" she exclaimed happily. Evidently, no one had mentioned his return, and she had been a little worried he wouldn't show up before her birthday. Everyone else looked up from the table as well, startled at his presence during mealtime.
"Finally decide you weren't too good for us?" jeered Barret before Tifa elbowed him.
"I came down because for a moment I thought it was quiet. Perhaps I was mistaken," Vincent calmly replied, making Barret grind his teeth. Before he could start yelling, Lya cut in.
"If my cooking is desirable, it should stay quiet." She said this looking directly at Barret, and he put his head down in defeat, begrudgingly taking in another spoonful of stew. Vincent stared curiously at her before taking a seat in the corner of the room.
"Too good for the table, huh?" murmured Barret. Marlene elbowed him this time.
Dinner continued without incident, civil conversation taking the place of Barret and Yuffie's bickering.
"So Lya," Yuffie piped up. "Where're you from?"
"Just a small village in the grasslands," she replied quietly, not looking up from her bowl.
"Hm? Was there a town there…?" Tifa wondered aloud, but no one disputed it. Vincent watched the conversation drifting around Lya, keeping his ears open and her in his peripheral. Marlene was talking about her day at school, Tifa encouraging her. Lya got up so quietly that no one seemed to notice except for Vincent. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her head into the kitchen. The conversation had moved on to Tifa's bar, and Cloud's delivery service. Evidently, both businesses were doing well enough to help Barret pay for Marlene's schooling, and Tifa said how thankful she was to have finished the extension to the building just before Lya came to them.
Lya came back into the dining room with a bowl in hand, still just as quiet as she'd left. She wordlessly handed the bowl to Vincent and took back her place at the table, letting the conversation wash over her as if she'd never left, smiling slightly as Marlene pitched an idea to Cloud about transporting kittens.
Vincent stared down at the bowl he'd received. It was full of an unfamiliar stew, dark red in color, bits of meet and vegetables peering out at him from the red, gravy-like broth. Thanks to Hojo's experiments, he didn't need to eat to survive, but he still could. He slowly shifted the bowl to his other hand and grabbed the spoon, lifting it to his mouth.
The taste was familiar , yet different than anything he'd ever had before. It wasn't too spicy, despite the red color. After wrestling for some time with why it seemed familiar, he finally realized it reminded him of some dishes from Wutai, though it was different enough for him to have not known that.
He realized she was watching him. He normally wouldn't bother with formalities, especially with this group, but for some reason that gaze demanded a polite response. He gave a short nod, and made himself take another bite, which didn't take much effort as it tasted pretty good. No one else seemed to notice any of this, which suited him just fine. He didn't want anyone making a big deal out of it.
He didn't learn anything else about her for the remainder of dinner. She mostly kept quiet, responding in short sentences, any opinions she might have never allowed to show. In that respect, she wasn't much different from Vincent. The only thing he did learn was from that gaze. She valued politeness and respect, though she didn't voice it. She didn't seem like a bad person, so he dismissed any suspicions he might have had, and quietly finished his stew while listening to the others talk.
Barret was the first to finish, loudly expressing his satisfaction, and patting his stomach. Marlene smiled up at him. It was good to know she wasn't picking up his bad habits. He excused himself, saying he needed to call Cid about the oil field. Apparently, he came to visit for Marlene s birthday even though Cid and the others were incredibly busy. Her party was in two days, and everyone was getting ready for it. Even Cid would allegedly visit the day of, effectively halting progress on his new business.
"You haven't met Cid yet," Tifa told Lya. "He's one of our friends, but recently his business has really taken off, so he hasn't had the time to visit."
"I see," was all she said. She stared blankly down at her stew and continued eating.
They've replaced you! taunted Chaos again, laughing with Glee. They got someone just like you who won't leave them—she's prettier, too. Vincent ignored this, giving no indication that the demon was bothering him. He quietly stood up , setting his empty bowl down in his chair, and trailed back up the stairs to his room to meditate. He clutched at the protomateria in his chest, lamenting the fact that it couldn't shut the monster up. He sat down on the bed and began putting his mental walls back up to push Chaos's whispers as far back into his mind as was possible.
The next day held more of the same, with Vincent learning absolutely nothing about Lya. Denzel came back from whatever boarding school he'd insisted on going to, and Shelke came back from her advanced studies to prepare for Marlene's birthday tomorrow. Vincent stood in the doorway to watch everyone going over the plan—evidently, this was to be a picnic. They'd have to travel a bit out of Edge, but there was a safe enough field out there, and with so many experienced fighters, it wouldn't be a problem. Knowing Marlene, she may even try to sneak one of the cuter creatures home with her. Shelke would probably make sure she didn't. Yuffie excitedly danced around at the mention of party poppers, and Marlene grinned from ear to ear at the mention of strawberry cake.
While they were debating whether to do presents before or after cake, Vincent spotted Lya out of the corner of his eye. She'd come into the living room from the kitchen, and was watching from that doorway. Her expression was unreadable but he'd given that up the day before. Tifa spotted Lya as well, and smiled.
"How's it coming?" she asked.
"I just put it in the oven," Lya replied. Apparently, she was the one making the cake. Barret nodded in approval.
"It better be perfect," he warned, though Lya seemed to take little notice of the not quite threat.
The rest of the day was busy with the planning, and cards were coming in, either RSVPing or expressing regrets they could not attend. Vincent kept silent and out of the way as did, he noticed, Lya. There was something off about her expression, and it only increased as the day went on. By the end of the day, she looked terrible. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her skin held a deathly pallor.
"…I don't feel well," she informed Tifa before disappearing up the stairs to her room. A deep frown creased Tifa's face.
"I hope it's not like last time," she muttered, looking worried as Cloud entered the room.
"What?" he asked, hearing her remark and seeing the look on her face.
"Lya doesn't feel good," she said, turning to him. "And she looks the same as she did last month. That time, she didn't come out of her room at all the next day." Clouds brow bent in concern.
"Think she'll be okay? Marlene'd hate it if she missed the party." Tifa's expression said she didn't know.
Vincent silently watched all this unfold, unconsciously tucking the information away—a habit he'd formed as a Turk, which he didn't seem to be able to break. It did come in handy at times, though. Like remembering birthdays and how to speak to whom. His eyes flicked towards the staircase. So she'd been sick before. Part of him tensed at the thought that it might be Geostigma. This didn't last long, as he reminded himself that the Geostigma was chronic, plus they'd already cured everyone with it. He decided it must be a stomach bug, and that her immune system might be weaker than everyone else's. Nothing to worry about. He put it out of his mind for the remainder of the evening, and didn't give it a second thought until the next day.
Vincent came out of his room the next morning to find Tifa with Marlene, knocking on a door down the hall.
"Lya, are you sure you can't come?" Tifa asked. Marlene was frowning.
"My sincerest apologies," came the muffled reply. She sounded hoarse and weak. "But I do not think I can." Marlene looked crestfallen, but then brightened back up. Vincent could almost see the lightbulb above her head.
"We'll save you some cake," she said, smiling. "Cake'll make you feel better, if you just wanna come late."
"Thank you," Lya said after a brief silence. "I'll try." With that possibility, Marlene skipped down the stairs and disappeared into the living room. Tifa sighed.
"If you need anything, my cellphone's always on," she offered before heading after Marlene. Vincent stared at the door before going down himself.
Everyone was already heading out the door. Vincent waited a while for the doorway to clear up, but before he could follow everyone outside, Yuffie grabbed and yanked his arm.
"Hold up," she said in a low voice. "I need your help." He stared down at her, waiting. "I need you to get Lya for me," she whispered as the last of the party headed out the door.
"Lya is sick," he reminded her. "Just leave her be." She smirked.
"She may just be trying to get out of going. But I rigged the lock—she's gotta come no matter what. For Marlene."
"Then why don't you get her?" he asked, and turned to leave. She grabbed his arm again.
"She won't listen to me—that's why I need you to do it. Please, please, please?" He closed his eyes as Chaos mimicked her pleases, mocking her. Perhaps it would stop if he did her this favor. Or it wouldn't, out of spite. Either way, a little extra time behind the others wouldn't matter that much—he could easily catch up.
"Fine," he said, wrenching his arm from her grasp. "But I can't guarantee she'll come." Yuffie grinned at him before disappearing out the door. Just in case, he checked his pockets. Everything was still there. Good. He slowly headed back up the stairs, pushing Chaos's taunts to the back of his mind where it wasn't quite as loud. He got to the door he'd seen Tifa at and hesitated. He knocked.
"Who is it?" came the hoarse reply. Vincent cleared his throat.
"Yuffie told me to come get you," he said without announcing himself.
"I am sorry," she replied. "I can't go."
Vincent hesitated again before trying the handle, Chaos's taunting growing louder and louder.
Please, please, please, it sang. Please, please, please take hold of her throat and strangle her until there's no breath left.
The handle gave way, as Yuffie had said it would. There was a movement as he pushed open the door, and the sound of cloth being viciously shoved back as Lya wrenched the covers off of her, when suddenly Vincent's breath left him, and his whole world was jarred and distorted. He was on the bed, staring wide-eyed back at himself. The Vincent at the door stared back, eyes wide open in shock.