Title: Only in 1,000 Ways
Author: ~AVA~
Rating: PG13 – R (at most, depending on situations)
Game: Final Fantasy VII (after Dirge of Cerberus)
Characters: Reflective Vincent, Semi-Emo Cloud, Crazy Insane Slightly Emo Reno, Slap Happy Yuffie, Papa Cid, the Kids
Pairing(s): Vincent/Cloud
Warning(s): Language, Adult Situations, Emo-ness (from the Chocobo)
Summary: Sephiroth's back with a vengeance, wreaking havoc in Cloud's dreams.
Notes: Written instead of/around my JRock fanfics. Because I'm totally uncool and boring like that. BTW, I prefer calling Aerith by the name she's supposed to have. I even fixed it in-game when you got to name her character. I'm a dork, too. Also, for my friend, DK's appreciation, I'm tossing in a Reno side-story to take place throughout the main plot line. =^__^= Gotta keep the Kitten happy, yo!
Disclaimer: SqueEnix beat me to it! Noooo!
Date: March 8, 2009
I don't promise greatness, and I know I have a knack for being long-winded, but if you'll bear with me, I promise I'll do my best. :)
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Reno's lethargic mood was shattered abruptly when something small and solid collided with his back, knocking him face first into the pavement. His EMR, which he'd been twirling idly in his boredom, went bouncing and skittering away from him. Said "something" commenced with pummeling his back and shoulders with sharp fists, a loud, shrill voice ringing through the air, making people stop and stare.
"Where is it?" Yuffie Kisaragi demanded, tugging none to gently on Reno's red ponytail. "I know you have it! Where is it?!"
"Ow! OW! Knock it off, you maniac!" Reno protested his treatment loudly, clasping his hands over the back of his head. "What? I don't know what you're talking about, yo!"
"Don't lie to me, you Turk imbecile!" Yuffie shrieked, grabbing the back of Reno's coat and shaking him. Reno's hands quickly flew in front of his face to keep from smashing his nose against the concrete. "Where'd you hide it?!"
"Let me go, pipsqueak!" Reno yelled, trying to throw the young ninja from his back. "You're messing me up, yo!"
"I'll do more than that, you-EEK!"
The weight of Yuffie on his back suddenly lifted. Panting, Reno rolled over. Yuffie was currently dangling four feet from the ground, held in one hand by Rude. Still gasping, and rubbing a few ribs, Reno saluted his partner with a thumbs up.
"Okay there, partner?" Rude asked.
"I've been better," Reno replied. "I've also been worse."
Climbing to his feet, Reno dusted himself off, wincing at the scrapes on his hands. He retrieved his EMR and came back to Rude, still holding a sulking Yuffie, and glared at the girl.
"Now," he said, trying to stay calm, "why don't you act like a human, yo, instead of a wild animal and tell me what the hell you mean by attacking me?"
Yuffie glared, the affect lost completely in her position, but Reno knew better than to laugh. The Wutain ninja was capable of anything.
"Marlene told me you swiped my Master Ifirit Summon materia," Yuffie literally hissed between clenched teeth. "And I want it back."
Reno quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Marlene told you that? Marlene, Barret's eight year old daughter?" Yuffie deflated a little. "If an eight year old told you that Chocobo's lived on the moon, would you believe that too, yo?"
Yuffie deflated the rest of the way. Rude set her down on the ground and, with one large, yet gentle, hand straightened her jacket back out. The girl had the presence of mind to nod and mutter her thanks before returning her stare to Reno.
"You… really don't have it?"
"Damn, even I'm not dumb enough to steal from a Wutai ninja," Reno said, smirking. "Nothing good ever comes from it, yo."
Yuffie shrugged. "All I know is it's gone and Marlene said you took it. What was I supposed to do?"
"You coulda asked, you know," Reno said. "It ain't that hard to do."
"Yah, sure," Yuffie retorted. "If you don't have it, someone else does."
"Go ask Marlene," Rude put in.
Yuffie jumped, caught off guard by the big man's voice. "Sure. Yah. I'll do that."
Spinning on her heal, Yuffie strode off in the direction of Seventh Heaven. Reno rubbed his sore ribs once more, watching her leave. "Would've made a damn good Turk, yo."
Rude grunted. Rolling his eyes, Reno turned and started walking in the direction he'd been going before Yuffie's attack.
"Where you goin'?" Rude asked softly.
"Everywhere and nowhere, partner," Reno returned, chuckling. "It's been quiet lately, yo. Even the two heroes are acting boring."
Rude chuckled. "Wishing for a bad guy attack, Reno?"
"Not on your life, partner." Reno laid his EMR across his shoulders, gripping it with both hands as he studied the sky. "It's nice, ya know, not having to look over my shoulder all the time. A little down time for this Turk. R-and-R, yah?" Rude grunted his agreement. "Besides, I've been thinking about get-"
Reno was interrupted by an explosion a few streets away.
"You were saying?" Rude joked before running in the direction of the smoking building. Reno sighed, shaking his head sadly before following suit.
*
As the moon rose that night, Vincent escaped to the rooftop of the building he and Cloud lived in. From there he could see the brightly lit sign for Tifa's bar the next street over. Glancing downward, he noted that Fenrir was still gone, meaning Cloud was either late getting back from his last delivery, or else he'd stopped off at Aerith's church. It still bothered Vincent a little that Cloud did that, but the visits had become more and more infrequent in the last two and a half years. The dark haired man could only hope that this meant Cloud was finally starting to move on.
Tipping his head back, Vincent focused his gaze on the near-full moon, feeling Chaos stirring within his chest. He couldn't blame Cloud for wanting to be near a friend. Only last month he'd traveled to the cave of crystals, just to sit and talk to Lucrecia, even if she never responded. She'd departed this world, even if her body was perfectly preserved for all time. The echoes of her voice, her sorrow, had faded, finally, but he could still hear her in his heart. He could imagine that it was the same of Aerith with Cloud.
Although they lived together now and shared a bed, Cloud was still a mystery to Vincent. How they'd come together was anyone's guess, but Vincent suspected that it was their kinship based on what had been done to them. Cloud's body had been altered; he'd age slowly, he'd heal well. Much longer in Hojo's clutches and he might have ended up like Vincent: locked in a box beneath the mansion, drowning in his own perceived sins, and trapped in a body that would likely never die. Even now, Vincent dreamed he was still there, and that all that had passed in the last four and a half years was nothing more than a dream. Above all else, he prayed that it wasn't so. He enjoyed the freedom he now had, even if it had cost him part of his soul.
He'd found a family here in Edge. He'd learned to love again, despite it all. And love he did, because with Cloud, everything was new and exciting, no matter how often they did anything. It was enough to chase away Vincent's regrets and sadness.
A familiar rumbling reached Vincent's ears, curling his lips into a thin smile. Fenrir roared into view moments later, Cloud bent low against the cold air flowing over him. Vincent slid from the roof and landed softly on the ground. The blonde spotted his companion quickly, gliding to a stop before the building and killing the engine. Dropping the kickstand, Cloud slid from the bike. Vincent noticed the fatigued look around his eyes, the way his shoulders slumped a little. Moving forward, he wrapped the shorter man in his arms, enjoying the sensation of Cloud melting against him.
"Sorry I'm late," Cloud said, his voice muffled against Vincent's shoulder. "I stopped to see Zack. Needed to talk to him."
Vincent nodded. Zack Fair lived in part of Cloud's soul, a voice that spoke to him from time to time, and had actually saved him on occasion. Cloud spoke of him once in a while, always with pride and anguish evident in his voice. It made Vincent wish he could have met and known him. It was because of Zack that Cloud had survived Hojo and had made it to Midgar. It was because of Zack that Cloud missed Aerith as much as he did.
"It's alright," Vincent said, stepping back. "I knew you were safe."
"I'm sorry if I woke you last night," Cloud added, dropping his gaze to the ground. "I tried not to."
"I don't mind. Cloud, what's going on?"
Biting his lip, Cloud turned away to shuffle through one of the compartments on Fenrir. He pulled a saddlebag free and tossed it over his shoulder before quickly assembling the many pieces of his sword and tucking it into the overly large sheath on his back. His head still down, he moved past Vincent and into the building.
It wasn't until they were both securely in their own small apartment that Cloud let his defenses drop. He was one of the Planet Heroes, one of the revered among the crowd, a twice-made icon. Even now people, especially children, looked up to him, their eyes full of awe and pride. Cloud, having come through so much adversity, including his rejection from SOLDIER in his younger years, felt compelled to keep up appearances. Tifa, Barret, and the rest of AVALANCHE had gone back to normal lives, fading into obscurity as best as "slum-rats" could do, but Cloud couldn't. The populace wouldn't let him. No, that wasn't true. SHINRA wouldn't let him.
Vincent suppressed a growl at the thought of those two Turks, Reno and Rude, out there prowling through Edge, just waiting. The former Turk knew that they were always waiting for Rufus Shinra's order to attempt to drag Cloud back into service. They'd tried a few times, but Cloud managed to evade their grasp. Still, Vincent, whose theory was agreed upon by both Tifa and Cid, knew that sooner or later, Cloud would be brought in, and he'd go in swinging. First Tsurugi would be used to a grand extent that day.
Even so, Cloud had carved out a living, setting up and running Strife Delivery Service, much of which he did on his own. Just yesterday he'd left to deliver supplies to Gongaga, which was still rebuilding around the debris of the old reactor. Zack's parents had both passed in the last two years, and Cloud made sure that their graves were well maintained for his departed friend. He'd even paid to have a marker for their son placed between them in the small cemetery plot. It was normally that which prompted Cloud to go to the cliff side monument to Zack: the Buster Sword, passed to Zack from the hero Angeal, thrust into the earth that claimed him.
Cloud set his bag and sword aside, slumping into a chair in the corner of their living room space.
"I can't explain it," he said, his head tilted back, eyes closed. "Sephiroth was dead all those years ago, yet he still haunted me. Through Kadaj, he tried again to kill me. I was never able to understand his interest in me."
"What about these dreams?" Vincent prompted when Cloud fell silent.
"That's the crazy part." Cloud looked up at Vincent. "I fall asleep, nothing unusual about it. I start to dream, normally about plain old everyday things, but suddenly, Sephiroth's there, invading, cutting everything down. I watch people die over and over. Zack, Aerith, Tifa, the kids. You."
Vincent moved to kneel in front of Cloud. "Are you sure that it's Sephiroth?"
"Until the day I'm too old to remember my own name, I'll never forget his face."
Vincent caressed Cloud's face with his clawless hand, hating Hojo a fraction more for the grotesque metal appendage, wiping the errant tears away. He hated to see Cloud cry, even if he did it so infrequently. After surviving the last encounter with Loz and Yazoo in which he'd been rebuked from death by Aerith and Zack, Cloud had spent weeks in which he'd cry when he thought no one was looking. But Vincent always saw the tears, and he always held Cloud, shielding him from others, just so the tears could fall. They'd made many visits to the Lost City during that time.
"Sephiroth said he wouldn't remain a memory," Cloud whispered. "He wasn't lying."
*
A few days later, Tifa heard the bell over the door to the bar, indicating that someone had come in. Not looking up from her opening preparations, she sighed.
"We're not open for another fifteen mi-"
"Tifa?"
The dark haired woman looked up with a smile. "Vincent. Come in. Lock the door, will you?"
Nodding, he did as asked, turning the bolt that Tifa hadn't had time to secure when she'd come in from the market. The interior of the bar was cool, the few fans on the ceiling turning on a low setting. It was dark compared to the late afternoon light outside, but Vincent preferred that.
"Can I… talk to you?" he asked, settling at the bar.
"Sure." Tifa smiled. "Just give me another minute to get this done."
At his nod, Tifa dropped her gaze back to her ledger. Cloud normally took care of the accounts for her, but he was off on a delivery to Rocket Town, and knowing Cid, wasn't allowed to leave until the old pilot was caught up on all the goings-on in Edge. According to his last phone call, Cloud expected to escape early the next morning, unless Cid tied him to something and tortured more information from him.
Biting back a laugh, Tifa made a few more notations and closed the book. Stowing it back beneath the bar, she turned to Vincent and smiled.
"What can I do for you?"
"It's about Cloud."
Tifa's smile faded, her brow furrowing at the obvious concern in Vincent's voice. If he was coming to her about Cloud, then something must really be wrong.
"What is it?"
"When you were children, was Cloud prone to nightmares?"
Tifa's brow furrowed further. "Sometimes. He went a few years where he was scared of the dark. Our houses were next to each other, so I knew when he was having a bad night. There was always a lamp on. I remember once he said that a giant was coming to kill him."
"A giant?"
"He even drew it once," Tifa nodded. "It was black and grey, kind of tall and thin. Now that I think about it, at once point he did a drawing of it that looked a lot like Sephiroth. Of course, at that age, we didn't even know who Sephiroth was. But it scared Cloud so badly that he tore the picture to pieces and burned them. Vincent, what's going on?"
Vincent fell silent for a time, digesting this bit of information. After a while, he looked up at Tifa grimly.
"Cloud's nightmares have returned," he said softly. "And this time, the giant has form and a name. Sephiroth's back."
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