Leaving Sorrow Behind
Chapter 3
Decision Bell
* I noticed that when I uploaded it, the format in chapter two went all to hell. I've tried to fix the problem, but I guess if it's still there, there's nothing I can do about it. Sorry! On another note, I have changed a few things in the plot, both in this chapter and the previous one.
Sephiroth sat watching the screen watched had mysteriously appeared before him a while ago. He had no idea what was going on, but he had been instructed to watch, so watch he did. He wasn't sure how Vincent, Lucrecia, or Hojo had anything to do with his future, but he was sure he would find out soon enough. Vincent, Hojo, and another scientist had begun to make their way through the Nibel Mountains to the reactor, out of fear of the villagers rioting and killing them and destroying the reactor.
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Vincent stared up at the forboding peaks above them, not at all looking forward to what he had to do. Protecting his worst enemy and guiding him through one of the most dangerous places around. But, he was a Turk, and Turks always got the job done He turned to Hojo and stared at him for a moment before speaking.
"Well, come on then. I'll take the lead, Hojo, you follow in the middle, and you there, he gestured to the other scientist, bring up the rear."
Hojo looked satisfied with where Vincent had placed him, since he was the most protected if a monster attacked. He turned to the other scientist and shoved the travel bag Vincent had given him earlier at him.
"Take this. If you drop it, you're fired."
Vincent's blood boiled. Hojo would never perform any sort of physical labor, even carrying his own travel bag, which he had been about to force his wife to carry. If Tseng had not had more room in his jeep, they would be carrying a whole lot more, and he was grateful for that. The startled scientist accepted the bag into his arms already full with one of his own bags and another of Hojo's. Vincent would have taken one, but he had to have his gun at the ready in case a monster attacked. He turned and began to walk slowly up the trail, keeping a reasonable pace so that the poor scientist could keep up. They walked along on a fairly level trail, but Vincent knew the going would soon be much tougher. He spotted the twin peaks off in the distance, and knew that the bridge to the reactor lay just beyond them. Glancing back towards the village, all the lights were on, unusual considering the hour. He turned to the others.
"We better hurry up. Something's up down in the village."
Hojo and the other scientist, Vincent glanced at his name tag for the first time and found his name was Sanchez, turned and glanced down. Hojo turned to him.
"Yes, we had better."
Vincent started up the trail again, picking up the pace a little bit. He was thankful it was a full moon tonight, as he would not have been able to see the many ravines and sharp drop-offs without it. After walking for about another half hour, they neared the twin peaks on either side of the bridge. Vincent glanced back and saw Hojo and Sanchez about 15 feet behind him, just in time to see Sanchez stumble and fall, the bags flying out in front of him and knocking Hojo to the ground. The moment he fell, a Nibel Wolf jumped out of the shadows and attacked the fallen Sanchez. He screamed and put up his arms to shield his face as it's claws tore at his stomach. Vincent drew his gun and fired even before it had come up to his chest level. The Nibel Wolf fell over on it's side, a hole in the side of it's head beginning to ooze blood. Sanchez lay motionless underneath it. Vincent walked over to it, ignoring the cowering Hojo for now. When he reached Sanchez, his fears were confirmed. The man's throat was torn out, the wolf's claws must have done it when it first lunged at him. He pitied the man for a moment, but then his training kicked in. He scooped up one of the bags and tossed it over to Hojo.
"You can get up now."
Hojo rose slowly, glancing about as if he feared another attack.
"He's dead?"
"Yes. The wolf tore his throat out."
Hojo paled. "Don't they usually hunt in packs?"
"Yes. We had better get out of here on the double. Here."
he shoved the bag at Hojo.
"We're going to have to leave one of these behind you pick which one.""What?! We can't leave any of these! They contain the JEN-....the Ancient tissue samples!"
Vincent growled. He picked up the heaviest of the bags and walked over to the bridge and tossed it over the edge.
"There. Now you won't have to worry about it."
Vincent looked at Hojo and found he was beyond anger.
"You dirty bastard! The contents of that bag were worth over half a million gil!"
Vincent shrugged."It was either that bag, or your life. I normally wouldn't care, but if you don't get to the reactor alive, I don't get paid."
"I'll see to it that you're fired for this Valentine!"
Vincent shrugged again. It wasn't likely that he would be fired simply because Hojo wanted him to, he was a Turk, and Hojo was just a scientist, even if he was in charge of this operation. Since the president ran the Turks personally, he would have to convince Shinra to fire him, which was not likely to happen considering the amount of training they had poured into him. Vincent turned and started up the bridge. He glanced over one shoulder and saw that Hojo wasn't following him.
"You said yourself they hunt in packs. IF you don't want to share his fate, I suggest you stick close to me."
Hojo's eyes widened and he made his way and the bridge to Vincent with surprising quickness considering he was carrying a bag that weighed 90 pounds easily. As if to confirm Vincent's earlier statement, a wolf howled somewhere off in the distance. They made their way up the bridge as quick as they possibly could with Hojo toting his precious bag. They reached the top and headed for a cave opening in the side of one of the cliffs. He knew just beyond there was the Mako fountain which the monsters wouldn't come near.
They could rest there for a while. Vincent glanced at his watch and was shocked to learn they had been walking for well over 3 hours. It hadn't seemed that long to him. He strode confidently inside the cavern which contained the mako fountain, and came face to face with another Nibel Wolf. It was staring at the mako fountain as though hypnotized by it. Vincent drew his gun and fired, blowing a bloody hole in the back of it's head. It fell to the floor without a sound, blood pooling under the bullet wound. He replaced his gun in it's holster and walked over to it's body.(What was it staring at?)
He glanced into the mako fountain and immediately saw the object the wolf had been so fascinated with. A small green orb lay in the cleft in the hardened formation. He picked it up and closed his eyes for a moment....
(Contain...pretty strong stuff.)
He pulled out his gun and glanced over the orbs fitted into the barrel. Lightning...Fire...Ice...Restore...and a Ramuh-HP Absorb combo.
(No open slots....)
He turned to Hojo.
"Can you handle this?"
Hojo looked slightly insulted.
"Of course."He motioned to his armband.
"What is it?"
"It's a Level 3 Contain, Freeze, Break, and Tornado."
Hojo's eyes gleamed. Apparently he had never used such a powerful piece of Materia before.
"I'll take care of it for you."
Vincent turned and tossed it to him over one shoulder. Hojo attempt to catch failed, and it fell to the floor and Hojo scrambled madly after it. He finally got it and popped it into his armband. He held it up to the green light emanating from the mako fountain and admired it for a moment. Vincent turned to him.
"Do you need a cure spell?"
Hojo's answer was distant, as he was preoccupied with his new materia.
"No, I'm fine."
Hojo was being surprisingly civil towards him.
"Well, if you're ready, we better start moving again."
A grin spread across Hojo's face.
"Sure thing."
Vincent raised on eyebrow as he stared at him. Hojo was plotting something, but he wasn't sure what.
(I'll kill him with the materia, then Lucrecia will be mine alone....he'll never reach the reactor alive.)
Hojo laughed insanely at the thought. Yes....he would kill Vincent....the only question was when and where? Vincent turned and walked out of the cavern with the mako fountain in it, and into the next strangely colored cavern. Hojo quickly followed, although not so close this time, now that he had something to defend himself with. They walked alone in silence for quite some time. Eventually, they came to yet another cave set into the face of a cliff. Vincent knew that this one would lead to the reactor. They only had about ten minutes of walking left.
Vincent strolled into the cave, lost in thought. He was suddenly shocked of his reflections when an incredibly loud roar split the air. Vincent stopped dead in his tracks, only a few feet in front of him stood a Blue Dragon, the remains of some animal hanging from it's mouth. He glanced over one shoulder to see if Hojo was planning on assisting him in any way. He was nowhere in sight.
"Damn!"
The Blue Dragon advanced. Vincent drew his gun and fired five shots at it's head and underbelly. It roared, but the shots were probably more of an annoyance to it than anything. It swung one of it's massive blood covered arms at him, almost catching him in the head. Vincent ducked out of the way, concentrated, and chanted a Fire 3 spell. Spheres of flame exploded all around it's body. It screamed horribly as it's body was charred by the powerful spell. It spun around and lashed out with it's spike covered tail. It caught Vincent in the chest and knocked him off his feet. The dragon took advantage of the lull in the battle and cast Cure 2 on itself. Most of the damage from his fire spell was healed, but his bullet wounds remained. Vincent glanced at his armband, the fire materia gently glowing yellow, recharging slowly.
"Damn, hurry up!!"
He chanted Bolt 3, and immediately several lightning bolts struck the dragon in rapid succession. It screamed again, one of it's eyes put out by the powerful blast. Great. Now all he had left was Ice, which would heal it, and Ramuh. He aimed his gun at it's other eye. If he blinded it, he could get behind it and shoot at it's underbelly. The Dragon began to glow again as it started to cast another healing spell. He had wanted to hold back Ramuh, but he had no choice now.
"Judgment Bolt!"
Bolts of lightning rained down all around the dragon, as Ramuh did it's work. The bolts pummeled the dragon back into a corner, breaking it's concentration and stopping the healing spell. Vincent glanced at his gun again. None of the attack materia had recharged yet. All he had left was an Ice, Restore, and his gun. Ice would heal it, so would Restore. He fired the last bullet in his clip, hoping to hit it's remaining eye. He missed, hitting it's heavily armored skull, but leaving no more than a scratch. He popped out that clip and slapped in a new one. The dragon was concentrating again, but it didn't seem to be a healing spell this time.
Vincent was sure he wasn't going to like it though. (Why did I give Hojo that Contain?!)
The Dragon opened it's mouth and screamed. Snow floated down around Vincent, and he recognized the beginnings of a Freeze spell.
"Shit!"
He tried to dodge to one side, but it was too late. The spell activated and trapped all except his gun arm and head inside a gigantic crystal of ice. He felt the deathly cold almost immediately. A cold so bitter and harsh that it almost burned. He realized his gun arm was free as the dragon began to advance on him. He had six shots.... He took aim as best he could and fired. Miss. He fired again. Miss. He realized that his arm wasn't going to be able to move enough to shoot at it's head. He glanced down at his gun. The Fire materia was recharged! He chanted Fire 3 immediately. The spell activated in an impressive display of fiery explosions.
The heat from the spell was also enough to melt away the ice surrounding him. He saw the dragon beginning to cast another heal spell, and he turned and fired his remaining three bullets at it's face. The dragon screamed horribly. He had hit its remaining eye. It clawed at it's face even as it continued to prepare the healing spell. Vincent glanced down. The lightning was now recharged. He ran for one of the pipes protruding from the wall. Hiding behind it, he chanted Bolt 3. He didn't actually see the spell, but he heard the dragon scream again. A flash of light coming from the other side of the pipe told him it had been able to finish casting the cure spell. He glanced out to assess the damage. The dragon's eyes had completely healed, as had the other burn wounds he had inflicted.
"Damn!"
He glanced down at his gun. All the materia had lost its' color. He was out of magic power.
He was going to die. He imagined the dragon's claws tearing through his flesh, ripping out his guts and forcing them down the gigantic creatures throat. He closed his eyes as the dragon began to lumber towards his hiding place. "Tornado!"
He heard Hojo shout the spell at the same moment a rifle shot blew through the side of it's head. Vincent turned towards the entrance of the cave and found Hojo and Tseng standing there, Tseng holding a smoking rifle. The Dragon screeched and lumbered towards them exposing it's back to Vincent. That was all the opening he needed. He rolled out from behind the pipe and landed in a kneel. He fired a single shot at the soft unarmored back of its head. The front of the dragon's face exploded as the bullet came out the other side, blowing off the protective armor on it's skull. The dragon fell to the floor, the bloody mess that was where it's head had been making a soft splat as it hit the floor.
Tseng ran over to Vincent.
"Are you alright?!"
Vincent slowly got to his feet.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Tseng looked at the remains of the dragon on the ground.
"What's a Blue Dragon doing here? I thought these only lived up on the Northern Continent."
Hojo stepped forward.
"I may be able to explain that. All animals with any sort of consciousness are drawn towards strong natural sources of mako."
He glanced at Vincent.
"You remember the Nibel Wolf from earlier that seemed transfixed by the materia?"
Vincent nodded.
"The dragon must have been drawn here to the mako we're drawing out of the ground. We should be careful, other monsters from this area and elsewhere may show up."
Tseng whistled and glanced up in thought."He had to have flown over 5,000 miles to get here!"
Hojo nodded. Once they "smell" the mako, they will stop at nothing to get to it."
Vincent broke in
"We should get back to the reactor. You can explain more there."
Hojo nodded.
Tseng started up the path he and Hojo had come from followed closely by Hojo and Vincent. Hojo was silent as usual, but this time he looked troubled.
(Why did I help him? I swore I would kill that bastard.....)
Vincent was having similar thoughts.
(Why didn't he just leave me? It's not at all like Hojo...He probably just did it to impress Lucrecia....Yeah that's it.)
They emerged from the cave and rounded another bend, the normally well-lit reactor was surprisingly dark, all the external lights off. Tseng noticed his surprise.
"We turned off all the lights so the villagers wouldn't be able to find it as easily. We also cut the rope bridge before they could cross."
Vincent nodded as Tseng continued.
"We're fortifying our position. President Shinra is sending a SOLDIER division out to help defend the reactor."
Vincent brightened a little bit. With SOLDIER around there job would be a lot easier. Tseng and Vincent were the only two who could really fight if they were needed to. They approached the reactor, the double doors sliding open to reveal the hallway which lead to the interior. Vincent started down the hall to the lounge, leaving Tseng and Hojo behind to discuss their plan of attack, or in this case, defense.
He had just about reached the lounge, when the door to the infirmary opened and a sobbing Lucrecia threw herself into his arms.
"Vincent! Oh, Vincent, I'm so glad you're alright!"
She kissed him full on the lips with incredible passion. His eyes were as wide as saucers. She pulled away from him, looking a little bit embarrassed.
"Why don't you let me give you something for that",
she said, motioning to the wound the dragon had left in his chest when it had hit him.
"That's okay, I'll just cast cure on it."
She gave him a look he couldn't quite read.
"No, really, I insist. Please, let me look at it."She took his arm and pulled him into the infirmary, shutting and locking the door behind her. She pun around and kissed him again, pressing his body up against the door.
"Lucrecia, what are you doing?!"
She put a finger on his lips.
"Vincent...I was worried about you."
"I know."
He pushed her away slightly, but she pressed herself up against him again, putting one of her legs in between his.
"I was REALLY worried about you."
"I can tell."
He said, his voice cracking slightly. She smiled. Her smile was so beautiful.... she took him by the hand and led him over to one of the beds. She pushed him down on it, and pulled herself into his lap.
"Lucrecia....we can't...you're married."
He didn't mean that. He wanted to hold her so bad that his hands tingled with frustrated desire.
"Vincent...please...just for tonight...I need you."
He sighed. She pulled herself off of his lap and stood.
"Vincent...I-I'm sorry...what am I...?"
She felt him take her by the shoulder and turn her around. He kissed her passionately.
"Vincent..."
He slowly lay back on the bed and pulled her body over his, kissing her at the same time. He slid her labcoat off of her shoulders. It fell slowly to the ground. He kissed her again and pulled her even closer to him.
"Thank you....."
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How about THAT eh? Cliche right? I honestly don't know. Anyhow, please R&R. I'll have Chapter 4 up within a week.
Chapter 3
Decision Bell
* I noticed that when I uploaded it, the format in chapter two went all to hell. I've tried to fix the problem, but I guess if it's still there, there's nothing I can do about it. Sorry! On another note, I have changed a few things in the plot, both in this chapter and the previous one.
Sephiroth sat watching the screen watched had mysteriously appeared before him a while ago. He had no idea what was going on, but he had been instructed to watch, so watch he did. He wasn't sure how Vincent, Lucrecia, or Hojo had anything to do with his future, but he was sure he would find out soon enough. Vincent, Hojo, and another scientist had begun to make their way through the Nibel Mountains to the reactor, out of fear of the villagers rioting and killing them and destroying the reactor.
**********************************************************************************
Vincent stared up at the forboding peaks above them, not at all looking forward to what he had to do. Protecting his worst enemy and guiding him through one of the most dangerous places around. But, he was a Turk, and Turks always got the job done He turned to Hojo and stared at him for a moment before speaking.
"Well, come on then. I'll take the lead, Hojo, you follow in the middle, and you there, he gestured to the other scientist, bring up the rear."
Hojo looked satisfied with where Vincent had placed him, since he was the most protected if a monster attacked. He turned to the other scientist and shoved the travel bag Vincent had given him earlier at him.
"Take this. If you drop it, you're fired."
Vincent's blood boiled. Hojo would never perform any sort of physical labor, even carrying his own travel bag, which he had been about to force his wife to carry. If Tseng had not had more room in his jeep, they would be carrying a whole lot more, and he was grateful for that. The startled scientist accepted the bag into his arms already full with one of his own bags and another of Hojo's. Vincent would have taken one, but he had to have his gun at the ready in case a monster attacked. He turned and began to walk slowly up the trail, keeping a reasonable pace so that the poor scientist could keep up. They walked along on a fairly level trail, but Vincent knew the going would soon be much tougher. He spotted the twin peaks off in the distance, and knew that the bridge to the reactor lay just beyond them. Glancing back towards the village, all the lights were on, unusual considering the hour. He turned to the others.
"We better hurry up. Something's up down in the village."
Hojo and the other scientist, Vincent glanced at his name tag for the first time and found his name was Sanchez, turned and glanced down. Hojo turned to him.
"Yes, we had better."
Vincent started up the trail again, picking up the pace a little bit. He was thankful it was a full moon tonight, as he would not have been able to see the many ravines and sharp drop-offs without it. After walking for about another half hour, they neared the twin peaks on either side of the bridge. Vincent glanced back and saw Hojo and Sanchez about 15 feet behind him, just in time to see Sanchez stumble and fall, the bags flying out in front of him and knocking Hojo to the ground. The moment he fell, a Nibel Wolf jumped out of the shadows and attacked the fallen Sanchez. He screamed and put up his arms to shield his face as it's claws tore at his stomach. Vincent drew his gun and fired even before it had come up to his chest level. The Nibel Wolf fell over on it's side, a hole in the side of it's head beginning to ooze blood. Sanchez lay motionless underneath it. Vincent walked over to it, ignoring the cowering Hojo for now. When he reached Sanchez, his fears were confirmed. The man's throat was torn out, the wolf's claws must have done it when it first lunged at him. He pitied the man for a moment, but then his training kicked in. He scooped up one of the bags and tossed it over to Hojo.
"You can get up now."
Hojo rose slowly, glancing about as if he feared another attack.
"He's dead?"
"Yes. The wolf tore his throat out."
Hojo paled. "Don't they usually hunt in packs?"
"Yes. We had better get out of here on the double. Here."
he shoved the bag at Hojo.
"We're going to have to leave one of these behind you pick which one.""What?! We can't leave any of these! They contain the JEN-....the Ancient tissue samples!"
Vincent growled. He picked up the heaviest of the bags and walked over to the bridge and tossed it over the edge.
"There. Now you won't have to worry about it."
Vincent looked at Hojo and found he was beyond anger.
"You dirty bastard! The contents of that bag were worth over half a million gil!"
Vincent shrugged."It was either that bag, or your life. I normally wouldn't care, but if you don't get to the reactor alive, I don't get paid."
"I'll see to it that you're fired for this Valentine!"
Vincent shrugged again. It wasn't likely that he would be fired simply because Hojo wanted him to, he was a Turk, and Hojo was just a scientist, even if he was in charge of this operation. Since the president ran the Turks personally, he would have to convince Shinra to fire him, which was not likely to happen considering the amount of training they had poured into him. Vincent turned and started up the bridge. He glanced over one shoulder and saw that Hojo wasn't following him.
"You said yourself they hunt in packs. IF you don't want to share his fate, I suggest you stick close to me."
Hojo's eyes widened and he made his way and the bridge to Vincent with surprising quickness considering he was carrying a bag that weighed 90 pounds easily. As if to confirm Vincent's earlier statement, a wolf howled somewhere off in the distance. They made their way up the bridge as quick as they possibly could with Hojo toting his precious bag. They reached the top and headed for a cave opening in the side of one of the cliffs. He knew just beyond there was the Mako fountain which the monsters wouldn't come near.
They could rest there for a while. Vincent glanced at his watch and was shocked to learn they had been walking for well over 3 hours. It hadn't seemed that long to him. He strode confidently inside the cavern which contained the mako fountain, and came face to face with another Nibel Wolf. It was staring at the mako fountain as though hypnotized by it. Vincent drew his gun and fired, blowing a bloody hole in the back of it's head. It fell to the floor without a sound, blood pooling under the bullet wound. He replaced his gun in it's holster and walked over to it's body.(What was it staring at?)
He glanced into the mako fountain and immediately saw the object the wolf had been so fascinated with. A small green orb lay in the cleft in the hardened formation. He picked it up and closed his eyes for a moment....
(Contain...pretty strong stuff.)
He pulled out his gun and glanced over the orbs fitted into the barrel. Lightning...Fire...Ice...Restore...and a Ramuh-HP Absorb combo.
(No open slots....)
He turned to Hojo.
"Can you handle this?"
Hojo looked slightly insulted.
"Of course."He motioned to his armband.
"What is it?"
"It's a Level 3 Contain, Freeze, Break, and Tornado."
Hojo's eyes gleamed. Apparently he had never used such a powerful piece of Materia before.
"I'll take care of it for you."
Vincent turned and tossed it to him over one shoulder. Hojo attempt to catch failed, and it fell to the floor and Hojo scrambled madly after it. He finally got it and popped it into his armband. He held it up to the green light emanating from the mako fountain and admired it for a moment. Vincent turned to him.
"Do you need a cure spell?"
Hojo's answer was distant, as he was preoccupied with his new materia.
"No, I'm fine."
Hojo was being surprisingly civil towards him.
"Well, if you're ready, we better start moving again."
A grin spread across Hojo's face.
"Sure thing."
Vincent raised on eyebrow as he stared at him. Hojo was plotting something, but he wasn't sure what.
(I'll kill him with the materia, then Lucrecia will be mine alone....he'll never reach the reactor alive.)
Hojo laughed insanely at the thought. Yes....he would kill Vincent....the only question was when and where? Vincent turned and walked out of the cavern with the mako fountain in it, and into the next strangely colored cavern. Hojo quickly followed, although not so close this time, now that he had something to defend himself with. They walked alone in silence for quite some time. Eventually, they came to yet another cave set into the face of a cliff. Vincent knew that this one would lead to the reactor. They only had about ten minutes of walking left.
Vincent strolled into the cave, lost in thought. He was suddenly shocked of his reflections when an incredibly loud roar split the air. Vincent stopped dead in his tracks, only a few feet in front of him stood a Blue Dragon, the remains of some animal hanging from it's mouth. He glanced over one shoulder to see if Hojo was planning on assisting him in any way. He was nowhere in sight.
"Damn!"
The Blue Dragon advanced. Vincent drew his gun and fired five shots at it's head and underbelly. It roared, but the shots were probably more of an annoyance to it than anything. It swung one of it's massive blood covered arms at him, almost catching him in the head. Vincent ducked out of the way, concentrated, and chanted a Fire 3 spell. Spheres of flame exploded all around it's body. It screamed horribly as it's body was charred by the powerful spell. It spun around and lashed out with it's spike covered tail. It caught Vincent in the chest and knocked him off his feet. The dragon took advantage of the lull in the battle and cast Cure 2 on itself. Most of the damage from his fire spell was healed, but his bullet wounds remained. Vincent glanced at his armband, the fire materia gently glowing yellow, recharging slowly.
"Damn, hurry up!!"
He chanted Bolt 3, and immediately several lightning bolts struck the dragon in rapid succession. It screamed again, one of it's eyes put out by the powerful blast. Great. Now all he had left was Ice, which would heal it, and Ramuh. He aimed his gun at it's other eye. If he blinded it, he could get behind it and shoot at it's underbelly. The Dragon began to glow again as it started to cast another healing spell. He had wanted to hold back Ramuh, but he had no choice now.
"Judgment Bolt!"
Bolts of lightning rained down all around the dragon, as Ramuh did it's work. The bolts pummeled the dragon back into a corner, breaking it's concentration and stopping the healing spell. Vincent glanced at his gun again. None of the attack materia had recharged yet. All he had left was an Ice, Restore, and his gun. Ice would heal it, so would Restore. He fired the last bullet in his clip, hoping to hit it's remaining eye. He missed, hitting it's heavily armored skull, but leaving no more than a scratch. He popped out that clip and slapped in a new one. The dragon was concentrating again, but it didn't seem to be a healing spell this time.
Vincent was sure he wasn't going to like it though. (Why did I give Hojo that Contain?!)
The Dragon opened it's mouth and screamed. Snow floated down around Vincent, and he recognized the beginnings of a Freeze spell.
"Shit!"
He tried to dodge to one side, but it was too late. The spell activated and trapped all except his gun arm and head inside a gigantic crystal of ice. He felt the deathly cold almost immediately. A cold so bitter and harsh that it almost burned. He realized his gun arm was free as the dragon began to advance on him. He had six shots.... He took aim as best he could and fired. Miss. He fired again. Miss. He realized that his arm wasn't going to be able to move enough to shoot at it's head. He glanced down at his gun. The Fire materia was recharged! He chanted Fire 3 immediately. The spell activated in an impressive display of fiery explosions.
The heat from the spell was also enough to melt away the ice surrounding him. He saw the dragon beginning to cast another heal spell, and he turned and fired his remaining three bullets at it's face. The dragon screamed horribly. He had hit its remaining eye. It clawed at it's face even as it continued to prepare the healing spell. Vincent glanced down. The lightning was now recharged. He ran for one of the pipes protruding from the wall. Hiding behind it, he chanted Bolt 3. He didn't actually see the spell, but he heard the dragon scream again. A flash of light coming from the other side of the pipe told him it had been able to finish casting the cure spell. He glanced out to assess the damage. The dragon's eyes had completely healed, as had the other burn wounds he had inflicted.
"Damn!"
He glanced down at his gun. All the materia had lost its' color. He was out of magic power.
He was going to die. He imagined the dragon's claws tearing through his flesh, ripping out his guts and forcing them down the gigantic creatures throat. He closed his eyes as the dragon began to lumber towards his hiding place. "Tornado!"
He heard Hojo shout the spell at the same moment a rifle shot blew through the side of it's head. Vincent turned towards the entrance of the cave and found Hojo and Tseng standing there, Tseng holding a smoking rifle. The Dragon screeched and lumbered towards them exposing it's back to Vincent. That was all the opening he needed. He rolled out from behind the pipe and landed in a kneel. He fired a single shot at the soft unarmored back of its head. The front of the dragon's face exploded as the bullet came out the other side, blowing off the protective armor on it's skull. The dragon fell to the floor, the bloody mess that was where it's head had been making a soft splat as it hit the floor.
Tseng ran over to Vincent.
"Are you alright?!"
Vincent slowly got to his feet.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Tseng looked at the remains of the dragon on the ground.
"What's a Blue Dragon doing here? I thought these only lived up on the Northern Continent."
Hojo stepped forward.
"I may be able to explain that. All animals with any sort of consciousness are drawn towards strong natural sources of mako."
He glanced at Vincent.
"You remember the Nibel Wolf from earlier that seemed transfixed by the materia?"
Vincent nodded.
"The dragon must have been drawn here to the mako we're drawing out of the ground. We should be careful, other monsters from this area and elsewhere may show up."
Tseng whistled and glanced up in thought."He had to have flown over 5,000 miles to get here!"
Hojo nodded. Once they "smell" the mako, they will stop at nothing to get to it."
Vincent broke in
"We should get back to the reactor. You can explain more there."
Hojo nodded.
Tseng started up the path he and Hojo had come from followed closely by Hojo and Vincent. Hojo was silent as usual, but this time he looked troubled.
(Why did I help him? I swore I would kill that bastard.....)
Vincent was having similar thoughts.
(Why didn't he just leave me? It's not at all like Hojo...He probably just did it to impress Lucrecia....Yeah that's it.)
They emerged from the cave and rounded another bend, the normally well-lit reactor was surprisingly dark, all the external lights off. Tseng noticed his surprise.
"We turned off all the lights so the villagers wouldn't be able to find it as easily. We also cut the rope bridge before they could cross."
Vincent nodded as Tseng continued.
"We're fortifying our position. President Shinra is sending a SOLDIER division out to help defend the reactor."
Vincent brightened a little bit. With SOLDIER around there job would be a lot easier. Tseng and Vincent were the only two who could really fight if they were needed to. They approached the reactor, the double doors sliding open to reveal the hallway which lead to the interior. Vincent started down the hall to the lounge, leaving Tseng and Hojo behind to discuss their plan of attack, or in this case, defense.
He had just about reached the lounge, when the door to the infirmary opened and a sobbing Lucrecia threw herself into his arms.
"Vincent! Oh, Vincent, I'm so glad you're alright!"
She kissed him full on the lips with incredible passion. His eyes were as wide as saucers. She pulled away from him, looking a little bit embarrassed.
"Why don't you let me give you something for that",
she said, motioning to the wound the dragon had left in his chest when it had hit him.
"That's okay, I'll just cast cure on it."
She gave him a look he couldn't quite read.
"No, really, I insist. Please, let me look at it."She took his arm and pulled him into the infirmary, shutting and locking the door behind her. She pun around and kissed him again, pressing his body up against the door.
"Lucrecia, what are you doing?!"
She put a finger on his lips.
"Vincent...I was worried about you."
"I know."
He pushed her away slightly, but she pressed herself up against him again, putting one of her legs in between his.
"I was REALLY worried about you."
"I can tell."
He said, his voice cracking slightly. She smiled. Her smile was so beautiful.... she took him by the hand and led him over to one of the beds. She pushed him down on it, and pulled herself into his lap.
"Lucrecia....we can't...you're married."
He didn't mean that. He wanted to hold her so bad that his hands tingled with frustrated desire.
"Vincent...please...just for tonight...I need you."
He sighed. She pulled herself off of his lap and stood.
"Vincent...I-I'm sorry...what am I...?"
She felt him take her by the shoulder and turn her around. He kissed her passionately.
"Vincent..."
He slowly lay back on the bed and pulled her body over his, kissing her at the same time. He slid her labcoat off of her shoulders. It fell slowly to the ground. He kissed her again and pulled her even closer to him.
"Thank you....."
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How about THAT eh? Cliche right? I honestly don't know. Anyhow, please R&R. I'll have Chapter 4 up within a week.
