*bows very low* I'm so sorry for the inordinate amount of time it took to get this up. I wrote it shortly after the first chapter, but I didn't like it and didn't like it when I read it. Then Christmas hit and on top of Christmas, my sister decided to monopolize our life and move her into her new apartment (even before the 25th!) And then the new year hit and I had extra work to do at work (though I don't begrudge the money) and I was doing 11 hours day and then we're in the process of selling our house and moving into another and and... *sigh* So yeah...
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Vincent climbed into the 'Tiny Bronco' with a great deal of trepidation. Traveling from Rocket Town to Midgar was a very long journey, for one thing, and for another, this aircraft looked older than himself. Cid naturally swore for its integrity, which only made Vincent doubt the machine's capabilities even more. The noise it made as it started up made him wince. It reminded him of someone taking two pieces of blunt metal and rubbing them together, creating the worst grating sound that could make rocks sweat blood.
"You do realize there are mountains and oceans between us and Midgar, correct?" Vincent hated having to do so, but had no choice but to practically shout as Cid had the plane start moving for takeoff. It was the only way to be heard over the racket. At a sharp bump, Vincent immediately grabbed at the metal that connected the wings to the metal body of the plane. He wasn't sure of flight terminology and he didn't particularly want to know. All he wanted to know was that they wouldn't crash land.
"Sure," Cid shouted back. "We're going over both of those things!"
And he was sure this wreck could do that? Could it actually go that high without them plummeting for a nasty death in the ground? Somehow he doubted it and Cid's confident manner surprisingly failed to do anything to relieve those doubts. Despite the long journey, he would have rather traveled on foot. It wasn't that Vincent was afraid or bothered by heights; Chaos had a fondness for flying when he had control, and even when he didn't, he enjoyed injecting such a feeling of vertigo and flight into his dreams. No, what Vincent had an argument with was being so high in something that he didn't think was capable of safety past the first five minutes.
Due to the racket the old plane made as they flew, conversation was nonexistent even if Vincent had felt the need to 'chat' with Cid. He did seem to be a competent pilot, if he could make the wreck steady like this, but that was the only concession he was likely to get from the former Turk.
Even more surprisingly to Vincent, after the third hour or so, was they were still in the air. He watched as they came to the nearby Nibelheim mountain range and Cid turned their direction left. Despite the noise that threatened to make Vincent deaf, he watched as the ground beneath them change to an inlet that led to the ocean and another twitch on whatever flight control Cid used had them swerving slowly into a gap between two mountainous regions that lay behind the smaller Mount Nibel.
Vincent had just about chalked up the fact that they had gotten through most of the narrow areas of flight through the mountains and were slowly and gradually being overtaken by flat land when there was a slight jerk to the whole plane. His stomach seemed to plummet to his feet and even through the racket, he heard Cid cursing up a storm. This did not seem good to him…
Slowly but steadily smoke radiated from the motor. At first it was just little wisps, something that Vincent might have dismissed were it not for Cid's shouting. That told him such a thing wasn't good. Keeping his eye on it to tell them how bad it was getting, he wasn't reassured to see the little wisps turn into a steady stream and the gray smoke turning a bit blacker every minute or so.
As the plane swerved dangerously out of control, Chaos couldn't seem to keep quiet. This, in case you hadn't noticed, is a bad thing. And you are also, in case you hadn't noticed, not invincible. This thing crashes while you're in it, you're going to die.
And you're saying this out of compassion? he shot back.
Absolutely not. However, if you die, in a manner of speaking, so do I. My spirit is immortal, this is true, but I don't want to be trapped in a dead body for eaons until it decomposes enough to escape. Supposing you even do decompose.
You wouldn't say this if you didn't have a solution. What is it?
Let me have control. I have wings, I'm capable of flight. You are not. Let me save us both.
Vincent was very leery of any deal that Chaos offered. It seemed to be legitimate, something that benefitted them both, which was what made him worry. He had to look for any particular loophole he could find before agreeing; any single option he might not mention that Chaos could tell him he never asked about after something had happened.
On a few conditions first.
Make it quick, mortal. You don't have much time.
You will not abandon Cid. You will grab him as well and land him safely on the ground and give me back control.
There was a moment of silence and Vincent had a sense of satisfaction that he had found the area of the bargain that Chaos had been banking he wouldn't. He could almost feel the vague consternation. Annoying. Fine. Keep in mind that I am only agreeing because I don't wish to end up 'dead' as well.
Vincent sent back that it didn't particularly matter why Chaos was doing what he was, so long as he did it. An agreement brought on by a mutual threat was often how he interacted with those beasts trapped inside of him. Thankfully his mind, honed to thinking in a certain way because of the Turks training, was able to keep up with them. They were not, Chaos included, exactly trained in the art of subtly and espionage.
He let go of the spokes he held and unbuckled the safety belt. In the short time of his conversation with Chaos, Cid had managed to keep the plan from crashing into the mountainside or the water, but they were heading for a downward spiral toward a nearby grassy plateau and two miracles were apparently enough to use up the pilot's luck in flying.
Taking a deep breath, Vincent crawled from the small second seat in the cockpit and clung onto the side of the plane. Cid, he thought, was yelling at him for something, but the screaming of the motor drowned him out. With his human hand, he reached out and grabbed the pilot's jacket. It was only as he was tugging that he realized Cid was still strapped in with his safety belt.
Growing annoyed, Vincent let go and switched hands until his human one kept him on the side of the plane and used his sharp, sharp claws to slice through the straps. It seemed to enrage Cid even more, but Vincent paid him no mind and yanked him out of the cockpit. He kicked off from the side of the plane and waited. For a terrifying second, he thought Chaos had deserted him and they were plummeting into their death.
He shouldn't have doubted Chaos' desire to 'live'. Pain from the transformation staggered through him and he felt, first and foremost, wings ripping through the skin and clothes on his back before his whole body seemed to shudder and change. In moments, a fanged grin was thrown at Cid's shocked expression. Claws had half ripped Cid's jacket. Being so sharp, there was little left in the grip. Vincent sent warning thoughts at Chaos about breaking the deal and with a grumble, the monster yanked Cid toward him and wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him like an annoyed parent would carrying a disobedient child home.
With a fearsome puff of smoke and scream of metal, the Tiny Bronco had an intimate meeting with the ground. Far as Vincent could tell, nothing had been on the plateau thankfully. Chaos growled a little and lazily did a few circles in the air over it before acceding to Vincent's pestering to land. He was sure Chaos wouldn't have ever done so, if it weren't for Cid. Cid was a full-grown man and not exactly a lightweight. Nor was he exactly quiet. The only thing either could be thankful for was that at least Cid was not struggling in the grip, otherwise Chaos might have dropped and he wouldn't want to get into a discussion of if it was done on purpose or not.
As soon as they were on the ground, Cid yanked himself from Chaos' hold. Much to both their amusement, the pilot's knees gave out on him and he landed with a 'huff' onto the ground. Had Vincent been the teasing sort, he could have had endless fun with that, but as it was, he had bigger things to worry about. Unlike their deal, Chaos was putting up a fight about giving in to Vincent's control.
Our deal—
Never specified when I had to give back control, only some time after we landed. I'm not as dumb as you seem to think I am, being trapped in this small space that you call a soul for so long.
Chaos! Don't make me use force!
Chaos threw him an internal frown that he couldn't see, but felt very clearly as it was followed by waves of annoyance. That would hurt you as well. Your mind would be in agony for the rest of the day.
And so would you. There was silence from Chaos' end and Vincent threw up some warning mental pressure. You think I won't do it? He hadn't been living with these demons in him for so long without learning how they thought, worked, and indeed, he wasn't defenseless against them. They were his enemy, no matter that they came in handy in fighting and certain other situations.
…I believe you would. Che. If only to spare myself the same agony, you can have your control back.
Vincent would have heaved a sigh of relief that Chaos gave in to him if it weren't for the fact that even changing back was painful. His clothes were ripped, though still serviceable, and his back was one massive ache. Dried blood ran down and stuck to his skin, but at least going back to himself wasn't quite as bad as going to Chaos' form. Even the other three weren't as bad as him.
He's picking up human mannerisms, Vincent thought to himself, thinking over Chaos' 'che'. Never before had he heard the demon say anything remotely like that. After so many dozens of years and internal conversations, he supposed it wouldn't be impossible for it to unconsciously seep into Chaos' speech pattern. Vincent didn't particularly want to admit it, but that would mean the reverse was also true and that some of Chaos' mannerisms would have affected him as well.
A hard yank on his arm brought the former Turk right back to reality and he realized that Cid had been 'talking' to him, albeit it sounded remarkably like yelling to him, for a good minute or two while he'd been conversing with Chaos and then lost in thought. There was a wild look in the pilot's eyes that he couldn't begin to fathom, but what shocked Vincent the most was that he wasn't recoiling in fear. Instead of being three or more feet away from him, maybe cowering, Cid was right in his face and demanding an explanation at the top of his lungs.
Which was giving him a headache. "I will explain, if you stop shouting," he said, hoping his calmness would be injected into Cid and the man would become a rational being for once.
There was no luck on rational, but Cid at least moved back so they weren't nose to nose. He gave an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms. Rough fingers yanked a cigarette from the band of his goggles and stuffed it in his mouth, though he didn't go so far as to light it just then. Instead, he chewed on it and Vincent could only guess that meant that Cid had far more that he wanted to say, but was restraining himself.
That actually gave just a bit of a notch of respect for the pilot in his estimation. His impression had told him that Cid had no such concept of restraint and that he could at all, even for however long it took before he broke down was something to at least grudgingly admit was in his favor. "Well?!"
This wasn't a conversation that he particularly wanted to have with anyone, much less Cid who was, more or less, a total stranger. When he contemplated saying nothing, or perhaps even lying though, Cloud's face floated in his mind's eye. Oddly enough, he trusted the teenager. Though his body was young, he could see the age and maturity in the man's eyes. Not to mention that his story rang startlingly true to Vincent's instincts…and Cloud had sent Vincent to Cid. That had to mean something.
"I was a former Turk. I was shot by Hojo, taken to his lab. The result of his experiments is what you see."
Cid waited with a tapping of his foot for a good minute or two until it became clear that was all Vincent was going to say. It was true, everything in a nutshell…and it was all the explanation that he was going to give Cid. He wasn't about to offer details that horrified even himself.
"Wait, that's it? That's all you're going to fucking say?! What about that creature that—"
"Like I said," Vincent interrupted, sensing a long tirade if he didn't end it abruptly now. "Chaos came about in the experiments. You asked for an explanation, that is your explanation."
"You…You have a really shitty personality, you know that?" Cid snapped, finally hunting around his clothes and multitudes of pockets for a lighter. Finding one, he spent an inordinate amount of time almost beating up the little metal lighter until it decided to heed to the cursing and spout a tiny flame. Apparently it needed more oil, but with what Cid was currently saying, anyone would think that the poor creation was the pilot's mortal enemy and had killed millions.
"I think it is best we press on if we are to make it to Midgar within the year," Vincent suggested, withstanding the glare with the same fortitude he did everything: by just not caring. "I believe Costa Del Sol is a week's walk north of us."
Cid seemed to want to hit him or step on his foot or something equally childish, or so it appeared to Vincent, but thought better of it. The former Turk didn't stand physical abuse well after what happened to him and he would have had no problem with giving Cid just a little injury back. His mood wasn't at its best, as he had had a rotten day from the moment he'd laid eyes on the pilot, and he was rather itching to take it out on something. Perhaps a monster in the area would be stupid enough to attack them.
"And how do you know that, are you fucking psychic now?"
"Of course not. Chaos saw it when he watched the plane crash."
Vincent actually found Cid's frustration at his calmness amusing, to be honest. He didn't particularly understand why. Maybe it was because it was unexpected. No one had ever seemed to care that he was the way he was. Cloud, Sephiroth, and Zack didn't seem to even think about it. Cid, on the other hand, seemed to take an overwhelming exception to the fact that he was calm and expressionless, as if it were somehow a personal insult. That, of course, made Vincent wonder if Cid would be childish enough to make it a goal to get beneath his stoicism.
Rather than waiting for Cid or even saying anything, Vincent straightened his cloak to cover the rents that his change had made in his shirt and started north. He would at least like to have gotten somewhere before dark. The pilot shouted something that Vincent chose blithely to ignore and hurried to catch up with the former Turk's longer stride. When Cid immediately started to chatter, words broken up with tirades and bemoaning for his precious Tiny Bronco, he knew that before long, he would start to question his sanity.
