Chapter 2: Pride
"Love is a strong emotion. It's a complicated thing, that we must learn to respect." Vincent spoke his piece of wisdom. Adelya snorted quietly, shaking her head to disagree.
"Love always leads you in the wrong direction. It destroys you." She said, staring down at her drink. Tears began filling her eyes as she thought of her first love. It had been her best friend, Daemen. She had been seventeen at the time, and remembered it clearly. They had met at the store, both buying flowers. Adelya for her mother's grave, Daemen for his home. They had both reached for the same one, and blushed and apologized.
Flashback
"I'm sorry." She withdrew her hand, looking up at the man in embarrassment. Her stomach began to tie in knots as she thought, 'how handsome'. The man before her was brushing his brown bangs from his light green eyes, grinning at her. He was sporting a green turtleneck, the sleeves rolled back to show his well-muscled arms, and jeans held up by a brown belt. They covered his shoes, so she couldn't quite see what they were. Her guess was boots, but it was just a guess.
"Don't be. I should have been paying more attention." He held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. "I'm Daemen, Daemen Uru." He introduced.
"Adelya Kentarre." She shook his hand, surprising him with a firm shake.
"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new to the area?" Daemen asked politely.
"Kind of. I'm taking classes up at the university." Adelya explained, releasing his hand.
"Really? That's a good half hour away. May I ask why you decided to shop here?" He lowered his hand back to the flower, lifting the pot.
"I came home to visit. My mother, she died a few years ago on this day. I wanted to get some flowers to plant at her grave." She said quietly.
"Then you need this flower more than I do. Is there anything else you need?" Daemen handed the flower over, keeping his fingers beneath it until she had it in her hands. She felt something of a shock run through her as their skin touched, the feeling sending shivers down her spine. She felt all tingly inside as his warm fingers left her hand, allowing the pot to fit snugly against her palm.
"Well, there are a few things I need to look for…" She admitted, a warm blush rising to her cheeks.
"Awesome. Mind if I join you?" He watched her expectantly, vibrant green eyes piercing her own. The color deepened, and a few strands of hair slipped over her face as her chin lowered.
"Sure." She pulled her buggy back, allowing him to pull alongside her. Together, they began hunting for lilies.
"ADELYA!"
End Flashback
"ADELYA!" Vincent's voice snapped her back into a painful reality.
"…what?" She looked at him with a blank expression.
"You were staring off into space. I couldn't get your attention." He explained quietly.
"Sorry. Just thinking…" She sighed, shaking her head. How had something so good gone so wrong? She had loved Daemen, and he had been so kind to her. Why had he changed?
"Do you wish to talk about it?" Vincent inquired awkwardly.
"No. I'd like to hear more about you, if you don't mind." Adelya said quickly. Her past was full of misery, and she didn't want to think about it anymore. Perhaps Vincent's story could distract her.
"Very well. It all started when I was a Turk, thirty-three years ago. I was given the task of a bodyguard, to Dr. Lucrecia Crescent. She had worked with my father when I was younger and witnessed his death. When I was sent to guard her, she wasn't enthusiastic. I kept hearing her whisper, asking why they had sent his son. Of course, I didn't think clearly back then, and never tried to understand.
The longer I stayed with her, the more I began to love her. Every little quirk, every little thing, I began to love and admire. But she could never feel quite the same. A part of her loved me, she said. But another part was guilty about my father's death. After a one night stand, she left me for Hojo, another scientist working with her and Professor Gast.
Hojo shortly began the Jenova project, and Lucrecia agreed to have his baby and use it in the experiment. I was furious, demanding she reconsider. But Lucrecia was stubborn, and insisted on using her baby in the experiment. I confronted her and Hojo several times, but they wanted to continue the project anyways.
Eventually, I confronted Hojo alone. He was annoyed by my constant pestering, and pulled a gun. He shot me in the chest. I can remember Lucrecia running in, but that was about it. I next woke up on an operating table screaming in pain. Hojo sawed my left arm off. He replaced it with a golden claw. I realized then, that he was using me for an experiment. I died during the procedure, I'm positive I did. But somehow the Chaos gene Dr. Crescent had been studying revived me. Hojo locked me in the basement in a coffin, and AVALANCHE woke me several years later." Vincent's story took altogether half an hour, as he went back and explained in more detail some of the events.
By the end, Adelya realized they had quite a bit in common. They had both been experiments of a mad scientist, they both hosted demons, and they had been hurt by love. Also, Adelya knew Yuffie and Tifa quite well, after meeting them at Tifa's bar one night. Vincent had recalled Tifa telling him about a new friend, but had thought nothing of it.
"It's sad, isn't it? How Tifa fawns over Cloud and he continues searching for Aeris?" Adelya asked absently.
"Indeed. I've tried talking to him about it, but he refuses to answer his phone."
"Yuffie says you never answer your phone, either."
"I don't." A smile tugged at his lips.
"Why? You have friends that want to check up on you every now and then."
"They do not need to worry about me."
"Vincent, I hate to break it to you, but friends worry about each other all the time. They want to know if you're still breathing."
"That's something I don't understand. Why they care about me so much."
"You. Are. Their. Friend. They. Like. You." Adelya said it plain and slow. He frowned severely, but she was unfazed. "So, you say Lucrecia is in a cave somewhere? We should visit-"
"No." His icy tone cut her off.
"It's rude to interrupt. Now-"
"Adelya." He warned. They had only known each other for a few hours and already she was prying too deep. She acted like they were friends.
"Vincent, listen to me for a minute. We should visit so you can face your past and get over it."
"Get over it like you're over Reno?" His words were bitter. She felt the water in her eyes but ignored it.
"That was yesterday. It's going to take some time-"
"So I can't take my time either?"
"Vincent, it's different! You've had over thirty years-"
"Repenting for my sins!" His claw slammed against the table, silencing her instantly. "You have no idea what I went through. It took a lot just to accept that I'm different."
"Because you're an experiment?" She growled, anger covering her fear. "Because you think you're a monster? Because you look different? Vincent-"
"I've heard enough." He snapped, glaring daggers at her. She broke, standing up and pointing her finger at him.
"You think you're the only one with problems? I've got news for you, Valentine. You're not the only experiment on the planet! You're not the only one with a broken heart! I suffered the same way you did, when I was much younger." And with that, she ran from the kitchen, grabbed her bag from the couch, and darted out.
"Shit." Vincent got up, going to get Cerberus and his phone. He needed to call Tifa and put her on alert. He planned to call Reno as well.
She just couldn't stop. The tears continued to fall as she ran, mixing with the rain streaking her face. She had just wanted a friend, or someone to care at least. Vincent had thrown her life to the trash, claiming it to be nothing compared to his. He didn't know about Orez. He didn't know about Zion, or Jaiku and her father. And there was no way he would ever know about Daemen or Antimony.
Her heart began to pound faster, and her breath came in quick gasps. She had to stop. The pain in her lungs was growing, and it was getting harder to focus. Her legs tangled, sending her face first into the rock. She laid there, watching blood began to form by her chin. It was dripping from her mouth, larger drops slowly coming.
Bringing up her hand, she pushed herself up weakly. Everything was hurting. Her legs were burning from the intense run, her lungs were searing from the pain inside, her face now hurt from the fall. She closed her eyes, lowering herself back to the ground. It was no good. She couldn't run another mile, even if it meant her life. At least she had made it outside of town.
But her life was in danger. No one was safe wandering the mountains. Then again, it had never been safe. Demons lurked everywhere, waiting for prey to come close enough for them to strike. She was now the prey. Adelya was positive she wouldn't last more than an hour unless she found shelter. But there was nowhere to go except to old reactor, and she didn't want to go there. Too many memories of Sephiroth.
Flashback
"Mom!" The fourteen year old tried running through the flames, but they severely burned her skin.
"Mommy's not here right now." She spun around, angling her neck to stare up into those sick green eyes.
"Sephiroth…" She tried backing away, but she hit the counter and sank to the floor. He raised his sword, but the blow never came. She looked up, surprised to see Sephiroth on his knees, holding his head in pain.
"No…" He moaned, staggering back to his feet. Without looking back he ran, leaving her alone in the burning house.
End Flashback
She had never seen her mother again. Her father had left her, going to join Sephiroth. She had been alone. God had it hurt. She remembered crying herself to sleep in the orphanage, being teased by the other kids. They had assaulted her countless times, and to this day she still had some scars. It had been a nightmare there, until she was sixteen. She had been adopted by an elderly gentleman, and lived with him for a while.
Then she had met Daemen, and her world turned upside-down. She had fallen deeply in love with her first true crush. They had dated until she was seventeen, where they became engaged and soon married. She had been happy with him, until he changed. He was no longer the sweet, gentle nymph that she knew. Now he was a cold-blooded man who harmed her in any way he could.
Now all she wanted to do was forget. Forget and move on. She didn't ever want to love again, as it had ruined her both times. So she wanted to move in with a friend, most likely Tifa, and try and start her new life there.
"Tifa, I'm sorry!" Vincent sighed in exasperation into the phone, closing his eyes. His palm rubbed his forehead in frustration. Tifa had exploded in anger when he told her about upsetting Adelya. She was scolding him about how he should have known better than to yell while she was sick and in distress. Now that he thought about it, she had only been trying to help. And now she was gone, most likely in danger once more.
"Tifa, calm down. I need you to call Cid and have him bring you all here. I'm not sure I'll be able to find her on my own. She's probably already left town by now." A pause. "Thank you. I will see you then." He hung up, and sank back into the couch.
"You idiot." He muttered angrily. "She was just trying to help you out. And you had to go and anger her. She's sick, and now she's out in the storm. Leviathan, what have I done?" He buried his face in his hands, trying to think. He was nothing but a monster. He had hurt an innocent girl, and now she was on the run. Reno would probably find her, and do who knows what to her.
He had to find her. Getting to his feet, he checked his gun and headed out the door. She couldn't have gone too far. He would check town first, and then a few of the mountain trails. Yes, that's exactly what he would do. Sighing, he walked off to the inn in hopes of finding her safe and sound.
"Stop it!" Adelya cried, kicking at the monster attacking her leg. It snarled, baring its fangs at her. She kicked harder, knocking it out. Fearfully, she looked back at her bleeding leg. It felt broken. No, it was broken. She tried getting up, but collapsed back to the ground. She was definitely a goner now.
It was all her fault she was out here. She had pushed Vincent across the line, wanting to help him. She had only made things worse, and he was sure to hate her more now. In fact, he was probably sitting at the mansion, hoping she was miserable, or dead. Tears filled her eyes again. She had only tried to help. Was that so wrong? She always failed when she tried to help. She had failed her mother, her friends, and ultimately Vincent.
Of course, that had been ages ago. At least, that's what it felt like. In truth, it had been little over three hours. She was a little hungry, but she would last for a few more hours before she actually wanted food. The only thing she direly wanted was water, and for her leg to stop hurting.
"Adelya?" The voice belonged to a male, one she wished she would never see again.
"No…" She moaned, thinking of the pain to come as Daemen approached.
"Adelya, I'm here to help you. Come on, let me take you back to the-"
"No! You hate me, all you do is abuse me!" She covered her ears, loud sobs echoing around her. Wait. Was that coming from her? Yes. Now that she thought about it, it was indeed coming from her. It was making her chest ache worse.
"Adelya, you're sick with a fever. You don't understand-"
"Don't touch me!" She screamed as he gently touched her shoulder. "All you ever did was hurt me! I tried to get away from you, but I fell right back into the pain when I met Reno. He hurt me the same way you did. It was like he turned into you, Daemen."
"Adelya, listen to me-"
"NO!" She screamed, kicking with her good leg as he began to pick her up. "NO! LET ME GO! VINCENT! TIFA! RENO!" She screamed for the first people that came to mind before the darkness took her. With one last sob, her eyes lost focus of Vincent's concerned face, and closed.
"How is she?" Vincent stood as Tifa entered the room, biting his lip.
"Alive, if that's what you mean. She has a high fever, and she won't wake up. She's having nightmares." She replied coldly, as if blaming him for all of this. Of course she was. This was his fault, after all, he thought sadly.
"Tifa? Who was…Daemen?" He asked, hoping to gain some information. She stiffened, turning her back to him.
"I'm not the one who needs to tell you." She said quietly, leaving to go get some rest herself. It had been five long hours since rescuing Adelya, and he had been worried every moment. He could hear her screams from upstairs every so often and an occasional sob. She was clearly suffering from her nightmare. Daemen had to be the cause of it.
He remembered finding Adelya curled up on the cliff, right at the edge. If she rolled the wrong way, she would have fallen over the edge and been crushed. He had been surprised to see an unconscious creature laying at her feet, muzzle dripping blood. She must have been laying there for a while for something to attack.
Which only made him feel worse. It was his fault she was now worse, and had a slim chance of survival. She had pneumonia, and a deadly case of it that he had only made worse by chasing her out into the pouring rain. And now her ankle was broken, definitely not helping her case.
"Don't beat yourself up over this Vince, it was just a girl." Cloud said from the recliner, sighing.
"You're one to talk." Vincent snapped, in no mood to be reprimanded.
"Uncle Vincent!" A nine year old burst into the room, slamming into his chest. He hugged Marlene fiercely, pressing his face to her hair.
"Hello Marlene. How are you?" He asked, continuing to hold her.
"Dad says I'm going to stay with you for a few weeks!" She completely ignored his question, trying to pull his cape around her. He pulled her up into his lap and unbuckled it, draping the cloth around her.
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, glancing up as Barret entered the room.
"Yo Vince! How's it goin'?" He asked, voice loud as usual.
"Barret, keep it down! Adelya's resting!" Tifa scolded, entering the room.
"Sorry 'bout that." He chortled, seating himself on the opposite end of the couch.
"FUCK!" A curse came from outside, followed by a thump and a yell.
"Cid's here." Tifa sighed, going outside to see what was up.
"Vincent!" Yuffie barged onto the scene, grinning happily. "I brought materia!" she exclaimed, holding up the green orbs.
"Give them to Tifa. She can try it when she goes to check on her aga-"
"VINCENT!" A scream came from upstairs. The team was up immediately, hurrying up the stairs. Vincent threw the door open, looking at the bed. Adelya was sitting up, gasping for breath, blood oozing from her shoulder where a knife had been thrown.
"What happened?" He demanded, hurrying over to pull the knife out.
"W-Where's Tifa?" She asked, ignoring his question. She pushed his hand away, trembling as she scanned the team. Each had an expression of concern, especially Yuffie and Marlene. "Yuffie, go get Tifa." She said quickly, heart pounding to no end.
"Was it-"
"Just go!" Adelya's voice was practically hysterical as she told the ninja to find their friend.
"You okay?" Cloud asked, walking over.
"I need to talk to Tifa." Adelya replied, staring down at her lap.
"I understand that." He knelt beside the bed, offering a smile. "She'll be up in a minute. Will you let me get the knife out?" His voice was unreasonably calm, but it did help calm her down. She nodded, whimpering when he grabbed the handle. "Here, just grip my hand and it won't hurt for more than a second." He soothed, setting his hand on her side. She grabbed it instantly, squeezing her tearful eyes shut. The knife was pulled out and she yelped, clutching his hand with all her strength. He noticeably winced, surprised that she was so strong.
"Here, let me take her." Tifa said from behind him. Cloud nodded, pulling his hand away. She held out a bandage, beginning to wrap the shoulder. Adelya hissed in pain, clenching her jaw tightly.
"Tifa, he's back." The words made Tifa stiffen just as Vincent had seen and her movement stopped.
"That…that's impossible. We killed-"
"Daemen?" Cloud asked, frowning. "But he's dead. I saw-"
"It was him!" Adelya insisted, narrowing her eyes. "Check the window. He broke the lock, and I think he left a note. He said something about you finding the answer with the lock." She added quickly. Barret went to the window, pulling back the curtain. He saw the lock and a slip of paper sitting on the sill, just as she had said.
"Cloud…" He handed the paper over.
"Read it aloud!" Yuffie spoke up, wanting direly to know what it said.
"Dear Team,
So, you've found my girl, have you? Are you protecting her like you should be? I should think not. It was quite easy getting in, especially since she was alone and defenseless in the room. I can't wait until I get to try again! You thought you had me, but your foolish pride blinded you. You just walked away, expecting me to be dead after you stabbed me. But I lived, and I shall always haunt your steps. I want you to know that despite what she tells you, Reno wasn't at fault. It was me. I took Reno's place, I drove her away. She doesn't deserve to be happy after killing our children and running away. She does not deserve happiness. Oh well, she'll be dead soon enough, and so will you.
Sincerely, Daemen."
"What does this mean?" Tifa asked, frowning. Cloud sighed,
"It means we're at war."