Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters used in this story, they are all part of Square Enix and I thank the heavens everyday for having SE create them.
Note: a short note about the lay-out
"regular speech"
- mental speech -
- genes speaking -
thoughts
I think that about covers it, should anything be unclear, feel free to let me know :)
This part contains Vincent's first appearance in my story.
As usual, enjoy and please let me know what you think, I already really appreciate the interest in my story and I'd love it if you readers gave me some feedback, it can only help me improve :)
Big thanks! Once again to dragondeathqueen and 555LordBacon666 for their reviews :)
Greetz!
The Howling Vampire
Part 3: Familiar Faces
- 3 years later –
By now, Midnight was 26 years old and had travelled over almost every part of the Planet. She'd kept in touch with Skylar and Nathaniel over the phone, texting and calling every once in a while. The last time Skylar had called, he'd told her that if she ever got back to Midgar, she should check out a place named 7th Heaven, it was where Cloud lived now. It was dark when she once again reached Midgar, she decided to return to the inn where she'd stayed 3 years ago and look for Cloud the next day.
"Get behind me Marlene!" someone yelled.
As she passed an alley, she heard a boy's voice followed by a whimper and a growl. She looked and saw 2 children standing against a wall, a boy with bronze hair and a girl with brown hair standing behind him. His stance was protective but Midnight knew they'd never be able to get away from this creature. Much to Midnight's annoyance, it was a Werewolf. After the Vampires had started to leave her alone, they'd 'replaced' them. They'd started following her, never challenging her, but always leaving a small number of casualties in every town she went, pulling just a bit of attention to the new stranger in town, it was unnerving. She'd managed to kill some of them, but there were still too many of them left for her liking.
Damn it, I should've known they'd still be following me.
She let out a low growl as she stepped toward the creature, her face hidden in the shadows of the hooded cloak she was wearing. The Wolf turned its attention to her, let out a growl and attacked her at full speed. She dodged it with ease and moved behind it, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword in the process. The Wolf turned around and lunged at her again, this time she met him head on and easily slashed through it, making it fall to the ground with a large gash across its stomach. As soon as it hit the pavement, it disappeared. Midnight turned to the children.
"Are you all right?" she asked in her usual low, soft voice.
They both nodded, the girl was the first to speak.
"What was that?" her voice was still shaky.
"A Werewolf. You should go home as soon as possible, it's not safe for you to be out in the dark."
The girl nodded.
"What's your name?" she asked.
Midnight knelt down so she was at eye level with the girl, earning a curious look from the girl when the girl noticed her eyes were a bright gold.
"Call me Midnight."
"I'm Marlene, and this is Denzel," the girl smiled, pointing to the boy next to her.
Midnight just nodded and continued her way to the inn as she heard the children scurry away behind her, hopefully hurrying to get home.
As she entered her room, she threw her bag down in a corner and took of her cloak, letting her eyes scan the room and her senses scan the environment outside.
6 Werewolves... Nothing I won't be able to handle should anything go wrong.
She pulled her hair out of the tight bun she usually kept it in and sat down on her bed, taking off her heavy boots and let out a sigh. She put her head down on the pillow and drifted off into a nightmare filled sleep.
Midnight woke up when a stream of light fell through the window on her face. She sat up and realized she'd gone to sleep in her clothes, not her best choice, but still effective should anything happen. She got up and rummaged through her bag to find the things she needed to freshen up. She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. As she walked back into her room, dressed in only a towel, she noticed her reflection for the first time in months. She looked at the person standing in front of her in the full length mirror. Her dark blue hair almost looked black in its wet state, the silver streaks still standing out, her eyes were a brilliant gold, her neck, her collarbone, her pale skin... but then... her arms... they were covered in scars. She let out a soft sigh as she turned away from the mirror, put on her underwear and decided to dress in a pair of dark jeans, a black boy beater top and a pair of long, fingerless black gloves that reached up to her elbows. She slipped into her black sneakers while wrapping her dagger belt with her faithful katana around her hips, shrugged on her long coat, draped her cloak over her arm and decided to go downstairs and get some lunch, seeing as it was already noon.
After her lunch, she pulled the map out of her pocket again and looked for 7th Heaven. When she wouldn't find it (the map was too old) she decided to just stroll around Midgar, in hopes of finding it on the way. And find it, she did. It was already 5pm and she'd been walking around town for 4 hours when she finally saw a sign that read "7th Heaven". She looked inside through the window and noticed it was still closed. She pulled out her map and marked it with the place so she'd be able to find it easier later on. She continued her way around town, had dinner at a small local restaurant and then went back to the inn to change. She replaced the sneakers, jeans and boy beater by her usual heavy platform boots, leather pants and her leather corset. She put on a pair of leather arm pieces over her gloves and decided to take all of her armory with her. She didn't know what to expect when she met Cloud again so she wasn't taking any risks. By the time she'd once again reached the street where 7th Heaven was, it was dark outside and she saw lights on in the bar in the distant. When she was about halfway there, she heard a growl behind her. She turned around and was greeted by a rather tall man.
"Well well, if it ain't the very person I'm looking for," he said in a sugary voice, a smirk coming over his features.
Midnight just looked at him, sensing he was a Werewolf. He was tall, had a slightly tan skin, dark hair and black eyes with a crimson edge. He was dressed in a black suite with a dark green shirt and a knee-length coat.
"A woman of few words, as expected," he continued, Midnight still ignored him.
They stood in silence for a few more moments.
"Why are you here?" Midnight eventually spoke.
"I have orders to pick you up," he smirked.
Damn this guy smirks a lot.
Midnight carefully pushed her cloak and coat back and softly put her hand on the hilt of her sword, signaling that she wasn't going without a fight.
His eyes followed her every move, his smirk never faltering.
"Don't worry, I'm not picking you up just yet. From what I've gathered you're going to that bar over there and I must say I'm curious to see how thing will turn out. Until we meet again," he said with a bow before walking off.
For some reason, this guy looked familiar... I just can't say where I've seen him before...
Midnight looked at his retreating form, not trusting him enough to turn her back on him just yet. She took in his words and was left slightly confused. She still had to figure out why the Wolves were after her. She thought they were keeping an eye on her to see whether or not she'd end up joining the Vampires, but now she just wasn't sure anymore. She had no idea why that man could possibly have orders to 'pick her up', only lord Marius knew of her Wolf powers, the Werewolves didn't. As soon as she opened the door to 7th Heaven, she was greeted by a relaxed atmosphere. People were sitting around, chatting amongst themselves. She slowly entered, carefully closing the door behind her and went to take a seat at the bar. She noticed several pairs of eyes on her, trying to figure out who she was since her face was completely hidden behind her cloak, she just chose to ignore them. A young woman with brown hair that went just past her shoulders suddenly stood in front of her.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked with a smile.
"Bloody Mary please," Midnight replied.
The young woman nodded and went to fix her drink. Midnight let her senses roam the room, looking for any possible Vampires or Werewolves. Every person in the room was human, except for one. She felt his presence in a dark corner behind her and looked into the mirror of the bar to see him. He was sitting at a table with several others, turned away slightly from the laughter filled conversation, legs crossed and stretched out in front of him, his arms crossed and his eyes focused on the back of her head. She took in his apparel, black clothing, tattered red cloak, red fabric wrapped around his head, nothing too unusual, until she noticed the gold. He had a golden claw for a right hand and gold tips on his shoes. He wasn't human. She tried to figure out what he was but couldn't put her finger on it.
- That man has been staring at you since the moment you stepped in – Ainra, her Vampiric genes, mentally told her.
- Indeed, and I must say it's rather unnerving – Manalani, her Werewolf genes, mentally said.
- Can either of you figure out what he is? – she questioned them.
- We'll try – Ainra said.
She was used to having mental conversations with the genes inhabiting her body. They often helped her through trouble but sometimes also unnerved her with their arguments. In this case, she was hoping they'd be able to help her.
The brown haired woman put her drink down in front of her and asked if she wanted anything else.
"I'm looking for a Cloud Strife," she replied, her monotone voice barely audible.
The woman gave her a questioning look but nodded anyway. She walked over to the table where the mysterious non-human was sitting and tapped a blond man on the shoulder, telling him somebody was there for him and then pointing at Midnight at the bar. Midnight saw him in the mirror and immediately felt a bit foolish for not noticing him sooner. He was still the same blond bed-head she'd met 3 years ago. He nodded to the woman and stood up, making his way over to her. He took a seat next to her as he tried to figure out who she was.
"Tifa told me you're looking for me," he asked as he slightly turned towards her.
Midnight nodded and slowly took off her hood. She heard the man in the corner take in a short breath but just ignored him.
"Skylar told me I could find you here," she said, looking him dead in the eyes.
Could just gave her a bewildered look, before it dawned on him.
"Midnight!" he exclaimed as his eyes lit up slightly in recognition of her golden eyes and the memory of the day Skylar had dragged them to a bar to meet her.
"Has Skylar been here?" she questioned, the corners of her lips pulling up slightly to indicate that she was happy to see Cloud.
Could nodded.
"He was here a few months ago, he left again about a week ago, I don't really know where he went but he said something about Wolves in town?"
Midnight nodded.
"Could you contact me when he comes back?"
"Sure, just give me your number and I'll give you a call."
Cloud got up and went behind the bar to get a piece of paper for Midnight to write her number on. By then, the brown haired woman, whom Midnight understood to be called Tifa, was back behind the bar and picked up her empty glass, asking her if she wanted another. Midnight just shook her head and began writing down her number on the piece of paper Cloud had handed to her. She gave it back to him, he nodded, and she left after paying for her drink.
"Could, do you know her?" Tifa asked as she saw Midnight walk out.
"Yes, she's an old friend. I met her while I was in SOLDIER. She's also a friend of Skylar."
Tifa just nodded.
Cloud returned to the table and resumed the conversations, answering their questions of who that blue haired woman was with a simple "an old friend".
- Oh boy was she something eh Vinny – Chaos mentally spoke to Vincent, the man dressed in black, red and gold.
- Shut up Chaos –
- Awww come on, she was hot. Even though she was completely covered in that cloak, you could tell from those shining golden eyes there's something special about her. She's smoking, just admit it –
Vincent didn't reply, he just pushed Chaos further back into his mind and continued to stare at his shoes, only half listening to the conversation his friends were having and thinking back to those shining golden eyes he'd seen the moment she'd taken off her hood.
- Figured anything out about that guy in the corner? – Midnight asked her genes as she once again entered her room in the inn.
- He seems to be human but from what I could tell, he has the genes of some sort of demon inside of him. – Manalani said.
- But we couldn't figure out what kind. His demon was too busy staring at you and thinking how attractive you are to let us get in touch with him. – Ainra added.
Midnight just rolled her eyes and sighed. He was strange. Was there a reason why he was wearing that claw? If so, that 3 barrel gun on his thigh seemed slightly unnecessary. But then again, she herself loved both long and short distant fights.
I was wondering, has Square Enix ever revealed what's underneath Vincent's gauntlet? I personally don't know because I've only seen Advent Children and a bit of the Dirge of Cerberus footage. I started playing the FFVII game a few weeks ago but I haven't gotten that far yet. So if anybody knows why Vincent wears the gauntlet or what's underneath it, I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know, it'd be a great help for my story :)
Thanks for reading!
