Chapter 3: First Steps Are Taken

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

JiLLiBeanZ: I'm updating, I'm updating. It might be a little bit before my next update. I'm going home from college on Saturday, and I live out in the boonies, which means: NO WIRELESS INTERNET!!! *Sobs* But don't worry, I'll work on it and do a mass update unless I decide to drive to my aunt's house to upload stuff. Just stay with me.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The dreamscape was dark and Vincent expected Chaos and the others to jump out at any moment.

"They won't come you know. They're busy meeting with their mates." Vanessa stated as she appeared at his side.

"How?" Vincent asked, looking at her.

"Order and Chaos. It seems they share a power that allows them to share dreams."

Vincent said nothing.

Vanessa looked around at the darkness. "There's a song I like by a band called Atreyu. There are two lines in it that speak to me every time I hear it. There are a couple lines in between them, but they do fit."

"…" was Vincent's reply.

Vanessa smiled at him as she moved to stand before him. She took both of his hands, ignoring his attempts to take the gauntleted one back. "The first line is 'the darkest reaches of my soul are riddled with self doubt'. You have that same problem. We both constantly ask ourselves if we can do it or are we going to fail miserably."

"The second?"

"'It's only as dark as you make it.' Our lives are only as bad as we believe them to be. We have to think positively and hope for the best."

"What is there to hope for?"

She reached up a hand and put it against his cheek. "There's always love, Vincent. Love is a great and powerful thing. I know you've been hurt before, but not all love is painful. Yes, there will be moments when you'd think that you would be better off without it, but you won't be. Open your heart, Vincent, that's the only way you'll be happy. Love is a partnership. You have to give some to get some. It's not always a fifty-fifty percent effort. There'll be times when you have to give a little more than the other or do most of the giving, but it pays off in ways you can't imagine."

Vincent raised his now free hand and covered hers. "Who do I let in?"

"Whoever you want to." She rose on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. She pulled back and grinned. "You get to choose. And just to let you know, there's plenty of people out there ready and willing to let you in. And I'm one of them. My cousin would say that I've already let you in, but I think that people get in at the same time, never one before the other."

He smiled at her. "Thank you."

"It's what people do for those they care about."

*~*~*~*

Vincent thought about the dream he'd had the night before as he stood in the doorway and watched Vanessa cook.

She caught his eye when she turned around to get something and smiled. "Everything I said was true."

He looked at her in shock. "It was real?"

She nodded. "Every single bit." She turned back to the stove and began to hum as she cooked.

Other members of AVALANCHE made their way into the kitchen as the smells of the food Vanessa was cooking spread to the outside.

Vincent watched Vanessa all through breakfast as she talked with some of the others. He started when Cloud addressed him.

Cloud smiled. "We've decided to help fix this place up. If you and Vanessa are going to live here, then it needs to be fixed. That all right with you?'

Vincent nodded. He let his eyes drift back to Vanessa. "She mentioned trying to fix up the Manor last night."

Cloud watched Vanessa as she talked with Denzel and Marlene. "She's a good person, Vincent. Give her a chance to help you."

Vanessa met Vincent's gaze and smiled. She turned back to Denzel and Marlene when Marlene said something that made her laugh.

Vincent looked back at Cloud. "I think she's already started."

Cloud shrugged and went back to eating.

Everyone gathered in the living room of the Manor once breakfast was done and dishes were washed.

Vanessa perched herself on the back of a broken down armchair. "So, what's going on?"

Cloud spoke up. "We've decided to help fix up Shinra Manor so you and Vincent have a safe place to stay."

Vanessa clasped her hands together. "That's wonderful! Now to just figure out where to start." She thought about it for a moment. "Why don't we start at the bottom and work our way up? We can purge the basement of monsters, take inventory of things we have and things that we need and need fixed, and then go up by floors."

Vincent nodded in agreement.

Vanessa grinned and took off running.

The others shared amused looks and followed after her.

*~*~*~*

It took two weeks to completely rid the Manor of monsters and make lists of what was there and what needed to be repaired because the group had to find all the nests the monsters had and get rid of them.

Cloud had decided that it would go faster if they split into teams. He went with Tifa and Denzel while Cid, Barret, and Cait Sith were a group.

Reeve, Yuffie, Marlene, and Nanaki were the other team, which meant that Vanessa and Vincent were a team.

Tifa had suggested that they clear room by room and clean the room once they were done getting rid of the monsters in the room, taking care to lock the room up once they were done.

Yuffie, Cid, Barret, and Cait Sith all complained about that, but they did it anyway.

It was during one of these purging/cleaning sessions that Marlene screamed.

Vanessa and Vincent had been working in the formal dining room, cleaning it after they'd finished destroying all the nests there. Vanessa had been listening to her MP3 player as they worked and instantly dropped the cleaning cloth she was using on the table to run to Marlene's aid.

The girl had gone out into the hallway on the second floor to get a breath of fresh air since the room she, Yuffie, Reeve, and Nanaki were in was covered in dust.

A monster had appeared and started to drag the girl off.

The others came running at her scream, but Vanessa was the fastest and jumped onto the monster's back with a growl.

She quickly freed Marlene and handed her over to Tifa before going back to battling the monster.

The Behemoth became enraged and tried to squash Vanessa with a large paw.

Vanessa laughed gleefully as she dodged its attack and landed one of her own.

That only made the Behemoth angrier, which led to it making a fatal mistake.

Vanessa stood there as it faded away, covered in dust and monster blood, smiling proudly. She turned to Marlene. "Are you all right, Marlene?"

Marlene ran over to her and hugged her. "I'm fine. Thank you, Vanessa."

Vanessa pulled away slightly and smiled. "I think you and I need to get cleaned up. We're covered in monster guts and goo."

Marlene wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, we are."

Vanessa took her by the hand. "Well, off we go." She paused and looked down at Marlene. "Then again, we aren't done for the day and will probably only get dirty again. What do you say to you and me sticking together since we're covered in the same stuff?"

Marlene grinned up at her. "Let's do it!"

Vanessa laughed and led Marlene into another room to begin cleaning.

Nanaki walked over to Vincent. "I shall help you finish up the dining room."

Vincent nodded.

Once the monsters were gone, repairs began.

The men started with the roof, getting help from the people of Nibelheim.

The outside of the Manor was easy to fix with the help of the townsfolk. They were grateful to Vincent and the others for saving them and were happy to help. One of masons even put in a huge stained glass window at the top of the stairs on the second floor that had a lot of crimson and the shape of the Cerberus charm to represent Vincent. They had even put in a full moon to represent Vanessa. (They had been unsure about putting the Cerberus symbol there until Vanessa had pointed out that Cerberus had been a guardian to the gates of the afterlife and Vincent was a guardian of the Planet. That led them to put stained glass at the top of her bedroom windows with Cerberus and roses.)

AVALANCHE was regulated to only helping when the townspeople needed help on the inside since they were doing everything they could to try and repay Vincent for what he'd done.

It was one of those days when shrieks of laughter filtered down from the attic while everyone but Yuffie, Vanessa, and Marlene were helping hang some drywall in the kitchen and living room.

Vincent looked up from the piece of drywall he and Cloud were holding in place.

The final screw that was needed for them to be able to let go of it was screwed into place and they both went to the doorway to look up at the second floor.

Marlene and Vanessa came running down the hallway, both laughing as Vanessa carried something.

Yuffie stuck her head out of the dining room where she was helping repaint the walls with their second and final coat of paint.

Both Vanessa and Marlene were streaked with dust and had cobwebs in their hair.

Vincent stepped out into the foyer. "What's going on?"

Vanessa leaned over the new railing and grinned. "Just wait 'til dinner, then you'll know." She continued on, Marlene shadowing her.

They ducked into Vanessa's room and locked the door after them.

Vincent rolled his eyes and went back to helping.

*~*~*~*

Vanessa tugged on the dress she wore to get it to fit properly.

Marlene giggled as she stood next to Vanessa, dressed in a dress of her own that fell to her knees. "Uncle Vincent won't have anything to say when he sees you in that."

Vanessa shook the mass of ringlets back from her face and added the finishing touches to her make-up. "You think so? Making Vincent Valentine speechless is a hard thing to do."

Marlene took Vanessa's hand and pulled her along after her towards the door. "Not for you."

Vanessa smiled as she was forced to follow Marlene to the formal dining room.

The next couple days would be the last needed to finally fix up the Manor and Tifa and the women of Nibelheim had made a huge dinner for everyone in thanks.

Marlene poked her head into the room. "Everybody here?"

"Come on in Marlene. Dinner's on the table." Cloud stated.

Marlene came skipping into the room in her dress, reminding Vanessa of Alice in Wonderland.

Tifa smiled. "Where did you get that dress? It's very pretty."

Marlene giggled. "Vanessa and I found it in a large trunk while we were cleaning the attic. There's a room full of trunks and wardrobes filled with clothes." She turned towards the door. "Come in, Vanessa."

Vanessa straightened her shoulders and entered the room.

Vincent's mind went blank and his crimson eyes widened.

Vanessa's dress was as crimson as freshly spilt blood on snow and hugged her curves. It was made of crush velvet and was off the shoulders, showing her collarbones and hinting at her cleavage. Her black hair framed her face as tight ringlets, though some was pulled back and held in place by a ruby studded silver barrette. She wore very little make-up, just eye liner, a little gold eye shadow, and some lip gloss.

Barret gave a low whistle as she walked over to her seat at Vincent's left (Vincent sitting at the head of the table).

Vincent had stood the moment she'd walked into the room, an engrained habit from his childhood. He pulled out her seat for her and pushed her in, shooting a glare at Barret. He took his seat once more.

Vanessa smiled at him as she placed her napkin in her lap.

Marlene giggled from her seat next to Barret.

Vanessa turned pink slightly as she asked her neighbor for the bowl of garlic and parmesan baby red potatoes.

Conversation rose up around the table as people began to eat.

"You look wonderful tonight." Vincent told Vanessa in a low tone.

She smiled shyly at him. "Thank you. I've always loved things made of velvet and silk and that I can actually see what I look like in a dress like this, it makes it better."

Vincent swallowed the bite he had taken. "It seems like the dress was made to fit you."

She laughed softly. "Well, that's good. I would have hated to be forced to make any adjustments to it." She turned to her neighbor and began a conversation.

After dinner, Vanessa helped clean up the table.

Vincent cleared his throat behind her and waited until she turned to face him.

"Yes, Vincent?" she questioned, scarlet eyes fixed on his.

Vincent swallowed. "Since there is very little that has to be done yet and you have not had the chance to explore the surrounding area, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me tomorrow as I check the borders of the Manor's lands. It might be useful for you to know the lay of the land."

She smiled at him. "I would love to join you, Vincent. What time should I get up?"

"We'll be leaving after breakfast, so you can sleep until your normal time. Until tomorrow." He bowed politely over her hand and kissed the back of it. He left the room.

Marlene grinned at her as Vanessa stared after Vincent. "See? I told you he likes you."

Vanessa swept Marlene up and spun her around with a happy laugh full of glee. She had just basically been asked on a date by Vincent Valentine.

*~*~*~*

Vanessa was up long before dawn the next morning. She stood on the new roof and watched the sun rise.

A vision of Persephanie rose up behind her closed eyelids.

Persephanie was stretched out on a bed, or she would have been if she wasn't being tightly held close to a man with long silver hair.

Seph, the moment of our meeting is getting closer. It's almost upon us, she thought to her cousin.

Persephanie stirred and her brown eyes blinked open. Give me a couple more days, V. I'm almost to the point that I can request being able to carry her head.

You'll have those couple more days, Seph, but no more than three. I'll get rid of the two or three pieces around here, but you must have the head when we meet again.

I'll have it, even if I have to steal it from him. Love ya, V.

Vanessa smiled and opened her eyes. And I love you too my sister. Vanessa walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

Vincent showed up soon after she began cooking for everyone. "You're up earlier than usual."

"I'm anxious to see the lands around the Manor." Vanessa replied.

Vincent nodded and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Tifa came in five minutes later. She took the spatula from Vanessa. "I'm sure you're ready to get out of this house. I'll handle the cooking."

Vanessa smiled at her. "Thank you, Tifa." She put some already cooked French toast on a plate for her and a plate for Vincent.

He refrained from rolling his eyes when she put it before him, but ate it all the same.

Vanessa ate as she checked her weapons. She'd been given some daggers by Cloud one day after he'd been in the village.

They had scarlet hilts with what looked like a rose vine wrapped around them to the hand guard where a silver rose was etched into the red metal.

She also had a more feminine version of Cerberus given to her by Vincent.

It was just a bit smaller than Cerberus with a slimmer tri-barrel. There was even a charm hanging from the Grip.

Vincent had requested it to be specially made by the best metal-worker in the Nibelheim. He had no idea why he'd requested a blood red rose with a very small Cerberus charm placed at the middle, but something told him that it was the only charm that did Vanessa any justice.

She put it back in her holster, took her last bite, and checked her cloak's pockets for what little materia she owned (having found it lying about the Manor while cleaning), useful items, and ammunition.

Vincent wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood. "Vanessa."

Tifa grabbed their plates before Vanessa could grab them. "Go. I'll take care of this."

Vanessa gave her a smile and followed Vincent from the Manor.

At lunchtime, they were in the foothills of the Mt. Nibel.

Vanessa had already eaten her lunch and was poking around where they sat while Vincent ate. She turned to him. "I'm going to go up the path a little ways. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He went to put away his lunch. "I'll come with you."

She shook her head. "No, no. I'll be fine. I just want to look at stuff and see if I can't find an herb that likes to grow along mountain paths. I'll be back in ten minutes tops." She really just wanted to go alone so she could slip off to the cave that was nearby. She had a feeling a Jenova piece was there.

Vincent nodded. "Very well. Yell for me if you need anything."

She nodded and set off at a brisk walk. She began to run once she was safely out of sight and earshot.

The large opening of the cave loomed above her after she squeezed her way past the natural rock wall before it. The sound of dripping water was misleadingly calming.

Order lent Vanessa her ability to see in the dark.

Something moved near the back of the cave where it twisted to go farther into the mountain.

Vanessa stalked it until she came to a large cavern.

At the center of it was a tentacle-like appendage Vanessa knew was one of Jenova's arms.

It rose up like a snake and focused on Vanessa.

She smirked at it. "You know why I'm here and you know what I'm going to do. You think you can win, but I will not let you. They will be free once you're completely gone, and I will not allow my family to suffer because of you. Even that bit of you that's been disguised as his old love and placed 'safely' within a Mako crystal in the cave behind the waterfall will be destroyed."

It reared back and then attacked Vanessa.

She moved to the side and plunged a red hot dagger she's heated with magic into it.

It writhed violently and tried to attack from a different angle.

Vanessa plunged another dagger, this one ice cold, into it.

The battle continued for ten minutes with Vanessa alternating her attacks with fire and ice until the arm was weakened.

Vanessa's eyes turned completely silver and her eyeteeth lengthened.

Order laughed darkly over her and Vanessa's enemy. "You won't win, Jenova. Vanessa has too strong a will to let you." She made an orb of crackling power appear over Vanessa's palm. "Goodbye, Jenova. Enjoy Oblivion."

The arm was lit for a moment after the orb hit it. It froze and then burst into dust.

Order watched impassively as the dust settled to the ground. She turned on Vanessa's heel and strode towards the entrance of the cave.

Vanessa took back over once they were back in the sunshine. She smiled as she heard Vincent calling for her. "We're finally taking our first steps towards becoming the family we should be." She hummed happily as she slipped out from behind the rock wall and went to join Vincent.

*~*~*~*~*~*