A while later, Vincent had Aries dressed in a bath robe, her wounds treated. Vincent stood by his dining room table, watching Aries feast on the groceries he'd just bought.
"I don't know why I've been brought back," Aries said between mouthfuls. "All I know is that something isn't right, and I guess I'm here to tell you that."
Vincent nodded. "So you'll have to talk to the others as well, won't you? Do we have to save the world again?"
Aries shrugged, pushing her plate away from her and patting her stomach lightly. "I don't know."
Folding his arms, Vincent approached the problem in his mind. Having not spoken to anyone over the past five years, Vincent didn't know where anyone was. The last he'd heard was that Tifa had set up a new "7th Heaven" in Neibelheim with Cloud, but he didn't have phone numbers or addresses. If he wanted to find them, he would physically have to walk to Neibelheim and find Cloud and Tifa, and from there, find the rest of them. It was a simple concept, but it was going to take a lot of time and effort, and by the sound of it, did they really have that much time to spend before whatever Aries came to warn us about comes around?
"We'll have to go to Neibelheim," Vincent conveyed his thoughts to Aries. "We'll find Cloud and Tifa first, and then we'll find the others."
Aries stood up, smiling. "OK, but ..." She looked down at Vincent's bath robe as she trailed off. "I think I need to wear something a little more appropriate," she continued, giggling.
After packing a few potions and other necessities, equipping materia to weapons and accessories, and sending Vincent down the road to buy Aries something to wear ("Anything in a size 14," she giggled), the two were ready to go. Vincent locked the door behind him as they headed out of the apartment room. He paused for a few seconds, looking back at his door. He had a feeling he wouldn't be back here for a while. Shrugging internally, he ignored the puzzled look on Aries's face and walked towards the stairs.
It was still pouring rain when they stepped out of the apartment building. Moving quickly to avoid being attacked, Vincent and Aries made their way towards the Sector 5 gate out of Midgar. They were passing the old church when Aries stopped suddenly. Vincent stopped running when he realised Aries was behind, and turned back to see her approaching the old oak doors.
Aries stepped inside apprehensively. She scanned the inside carefully, remembering the days so many years ago when she could be found in here almost all the time. As she compared the sight before her to the one in her memories, she noted that the place was just an old, run-down dump. It was falling apart – some of the roofing had caved in, and one of the main support beams had collapsed. Most of the windows were broken, and the wooden doors were almost coming off their hinges. The flowers were the only things that remained unchanged; they were still blooming like nothing had ever happened in the hole in the floor near the front of the church. Aries smiled; no matter what happened, the flowers would always grow here.
Vincent peered in from outside the doors, wondering what Aries had stopped for. Did she recognise the place from the Advent Children event, five years ago?
"This used to be my favourite place in Midgar," Aries spoke out of the blue, as though answering Vincent's unasked question. "Before I died, I spent most of my life here."
Aries knelt down and stroked the petals of one of the flowers. She leaned down and sniffed it, and sighed.
"Some people say that you can't grow flowers in Midgar," she said, standing and turning to Vincent, smiling. "But they've always grown here just fine. It's because this is such a holy place."
Vincent nodded. He watched as Aries looked up at the ceiling, and pointed up at it. He followed her finger and saw a large hole in the roof different to the others; it looked as though something had crashed through it.
"This is where I met Cloud," Aries giggled. "After he tried to blow up the Sector 5 Reactor, he fell through the roof, and landed here on my flowerbed. He helped me escape from the Turks when they came for me again. He was the reason I got into all of this."
Aries walked back to Vincent and looked into his eyes.
"We can go now," she said, sounding apologetic. "I just needed to stop here. Sorry."
Vincent turned around and began to walk out of the church when he felt something touch his left arm, his metal one. He looked around sharply; Aries took his hand in hers, not looking up at him. Vincent blinked. What did she want? After a few seconds, she looked up at him, and it occurred to him that she wasn't doing anything, strangely. She smiled up at him, and he mentally shrugged, and started walking out. Aries continued to hold his hand, and Vincent led her out of the church. They proceeded out of Midgar with every intention of heading to Neibelheim.
"So ... how are we getting to Neibelheim?" Aries asked, her cheerful attitude evident in her voice.
"We're going to walk," Vincent replied. "We'll head to Junon first, and from there we'll take a barge to Costa Del Sol. Then we'll walk the rest of the way."
Aries blinked. "That's a long way to walk."
"We'll make necessary stops on the way."
"Well, sounds good to me!"
Vincent kept walking, hand in hand with Aries, the few hours from Midgar to Junon. On the way, Vincent wondered why Aries would want to hold his hand, his cold, metal hand, at that. The only thing it was good for was reminding everybody that he was a monster. Everything about him reminded him of his sins. There was nothing special about Vincent Valentine. He was an ex-Turk and a criminal, guilty of committing terrible crimes. It's not that he minded her there, of course. It could almost be said that he liked the attention, especially from Aries. Since the moment he had met her, when his coffin was opened and his sleep disturbed, he always knew that there was something different, something special, about her. It made sense when he found out that she was an Ancient, it was almost as though he'd already known. Even so, there was something else about her that he just couldn't figure out. When Sephiroth killed her, almost seven years ago, he was disappointed in himself for not being there to save her. He was also sad that he hadn't taken the chance he had to ask her what it was about her that intrigued him.
However, now that he was walking with her, her hand clasped around his, and he had his chance, he was unable to say anything. What was holding him back? Well, it would seem a little strange, just asking her what was so special about her. What is it about you that intrigues me so much? That'd sound great. Not.
He kept walking. Aries began to hum softly to herself as they walked. It was almost nightfall when they reached Junon. Wandering around, they searched for the nearest hotel, but the place was packed with people, and most hotels and inns were sold out. However, they eventually found a shabby place on the outskirts of Junon, conveniently close to the docks where a barge would take them across to Costa Del Sol in the morning.
"We only have one room left," the innkeeper told them. "One room with one bed. But if you take it, I'll give you a discount. Only 50 Gil per night, best price in Junon, whadda ya say?"
"Is it just a single bed?" Aries asked.
"Naw, a double, miss. How's 40 Gil sound then?"
"What's the room like?" Aries inquired further, making the man uncomfortable. "Does it have a window?"
"A little one above the bed," he replied quickly. "20 Gil, that's my final offer."
"We'll take it," Vincent agreed, pulling out the money. "Just for one night."
"We'll take it?" Aries asked him quietly. "Are we that desperate?"
"No," Vincent replied. "But I'd rather sleep here than on the barge. I'll sleep on the floor," he added as he took the key from the innkeeper and headed upstairs. "You can have the bed."
Aries followed him as they walked to their room. "Why the floor? I mean, you did say you preferred to sleep here tonight."
Vincent sighed and stopped outside a door with a big number 15 on it. He stuck in the key and looked up and down the hallway, then opened the door and let Aries in first, making sure to lock the door after himself. He gave Aries the spare key, and as she took it, he grabbed her hand and leaned towards her to murmur in her ear.
"I'd rather sleep on the floor here protected by a door with a lock than on the barge where I'm wide open for anyone."
Aries nodded slowly, choosing not to reply.
The room was reasonably small, but it was fine for Vincent. A dusty window, as described by the innkeeper, was situated on the back wall above the double bed that looked as though it could only hold two children. The window was open, and the tattered blue curtain was gently fluttering as a breeze cooled the room. A cupboard stood in the corner by the door, open and empty except for a few broken coat-hangers, an iron and some extra sheets. Vincent looked at the dirty carpet floor and decided that he would sleep at the end of the bed. He dropped his back pack on the designated piece of floor and picked up a pillow and some of the sheets from the cupboard, where Aries was now putting her bag.
After everything was sorted, the blankets unfolded and the pillows in cases, Aries sat on the bed and sighed, then looked over to Vincent, who sat on the floor at the end of the bed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he spoke over the ruffling of his blankets. "We'll get up early so that we can catch an early barge and be at Costa Del Sol before dark."
"Okay." Aries agreed, climbing under her own blankets.
Vincent watched Aries tuck herself in and then turn out the light. He followed suit and got into his little bed on the floor, still watching her until she was out of his sight. He could feel something nagging at the back of his mind, but he didn't know what it was. Deciding not to worry about it, he rolled over under his thin bed sheet, contemplating the strangeness of his latest thoughts and feelings, until he fell asleep.
It didn't last long, however, because he woke up shortly afterwards to a muffled voice. He sat up and looked over the edge of Aries' bed. She was tossing and turning. Vincent frowned and got up, walking around the right side of the bed and listening to her talking in her sleep. The moonlight shone through the window onto her bed, highlighting her under the blankets as she tossed. She was mumbling things like "stop" and "leave me alone" in a frightened tone.
Vincent came to the conclusion that she was having a nightmare. He sat down on the bed and extended his metal arm, resting it on her shoulder and shaking it slightly. She cried out softly, "Stop, let me go, don't touch me..." Vincent frowned some more and put both his hands on her, and shook her a little harder, mumbling her name this time. She panicked and grabbed his arm, still asleep, and tried to push him away. He got out of her grip and took both her arms, and spoke her name loudly, and she woke up.
Aries shot upright with a cry. She looked around wildly, breathing heavily, looking like she was about to cry.
"Aries, it's okay," Vincent whispered, a little concerned.
Aries "eep"ed and turned to face Vincent, whom she obviously hadn't noticed there. She looked up at him for a moment, and he looked right back at her, a worried look on his face. His hands slowly released her arms and then dropped in his lap. Aries blinked and looked away.
"Are you okay now?" Vincent asked softly.
Aries nodded in reply. Vincent heard her sniff, and she raised her hand to her face, wiping tears. Vincent watched her for a moment, then stood up. The movement seemed to startle Aries, and she turned to watch him walk back to his own bed. He stood over it for a second, almost as though he was waiting for something. After a while, he sat down on his bed. He was about to lie back down when Aries spoke.
"Sorry for waking you up," she choked, tears evident in her voice.
"Don't worry about it," Vincent reassured her, looking at her from the end of the bed. "If you need anything, just let me know."
Aries looked thoughtful. Vincent waited and watched her, in case she was going to say something, She turned her head to the right, contemplating. Vincent noticed as he watched her how beautiful she looked with the moonlight shining in her hair from behind her through the window. It lit up one side of her face and he could see her green eyes full of tears that shined like glass in the light. She looked pale, with a tinge of pink on her smooth cheeks, from the crying. She was biting her bottom lip gently and sobbing. Vincent couldn't help feeling sad; it was depressing watching her cry. After a few moments, she turned back to him and sniffed.
"Um..." she started, her voice trembling. "Can I ask a favour?"
Vincent nodded.
Aries took in a deep breath, but didn't hold it long before she broke down involuntarily. Vincent stood back up and walked over to her as her head fell into her hands and she cried. He sat next to her, and without thinking, pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned on him as he held her, and he rocked her from side to side.
"I'm scared," she murmured.
"I know," Vincent replied, hugging her. She clung desperately to Vincent's cloak and sobbed into it.
They sat there for some time, until Vincent was almost asleep. He noticed that Aries had stopped crying and looked to have fallen asleep in his arms, and so he stopped rocking to lay her down, but just as he was moving away her grip tightened on his cloak.
"Don't go," she whispered, barely audible.
Vincent stopped. Stay? He was about to fall asleep, and so was she.
"I don't want to be alone," she continued. "I don't want any more nightmares."
Vincent thought for a moment. It was a reasonable request. He slid under the warm blankets and pulled them up around her. He rolled over to face her and she moved closer, curling up next to him. He draped his left arm over her and slid his right under the pillow under her head, where she rested surprisingly comfortably.
Vincent felt rather strange, and he didn't know why; but it only took him a few moments to realise that he usually wouldn't let anybody this close to him, physically or mentally. What's more, he realised that he liked being this close to her. He looked at her, her head nestled against his chest, and discovered how much he actually enjoyed it. It was almost as though he was lying with Lucrecia...
Vincent frowned slightly as he made that connection. Lucrecia? This was the first time he had anybody lying in his arms since Lucrecia. It was the first time in a long time he'd even thought of her. Why did Aries remind him of her? Did he really feel as comfortable, as happy even, with Aries as he used to be with Lucrecia?
He pulled Aries closer and closed his eyes as he made the mental link. It wasn't that Aries was special, different, in any way. It was how he felt about her that was different. He was in love with Lucrecia once, and now he was spending time with Aries, who was a living reminder of the woman. That was the reason why he felt so strange.
Author's note: Unfortunately, this is where the story ends - not because it's complete, but because I started writing it when I was 14 and never finished it. I have abandoned this story and won't be writing any more. For spoilers about the direction which I had intended to take the story back when I started writing it, head to the last chapter.