Okay, so I went a little overboard with this chapter. It's gonna be the longest so far, I think. It's gonna make you hunger, and I think I might make some of you cry a little. If I do, I'm sorry! Reviews would be great! :D
Oh! And I decided to make Chaos's dialogue bold. I see a lot of others on here that do it, so yeah!
Guardian Demon
Chapter 3: Preparation
The sunlight was beaming from behind, trying to get through the thick leaves of the trees. Dew drops made them shimmer lightly as a gentle breeze made the light branches dance. This freed the dew drops fall from the tree's grasp, landing on the soft grass below, and on an unsuspecting ninja.
A sleeping Yuffie was awoken by cold water dripping on her face. As she opened her storm-grey eyes, all she saw was red. Lazily, she reached for the odd colour in front of her, discovering that it felt leathery and soft. Her eyes looked at the red membrane to find it was being held in place by a black, bat-like frame. This was Chaos's wing. Still half-asleep, Yuffie tried to get away from the demon only to be held in place by his claw wrapped around her waist. She was about to scream, but everything that happened last night suddenly came flooding back into her mind. Deepground. The poisoned bracer. Vincent trapped in Chaos's form.
"Yuffie?" Vincent asked the startled ninja. His voice was slightly warped due to the transformation. Yuffie turned her head to look into his glowing yellow eyes.
"Umm…" She tried to put her sudden fear into words. "Please tell me you're Vincent?"
"It's me," Vincent sighed, but he understood her fear. He removed his claw from around her waist and moved his left wing behind himself. As soon as Yuffie was freed, she stood up to stretch. "What are you afraid of, Yuffie?"
"Uh, well," she began, thinking of how to say this without insulting Vincent. "I guess I'm kind of afraid of Chaos. But not now, 'cause you're in control. I just wasn't with it when I woke up. Hehe…!" Yuffie finished with an innocent smile.
Vincent just looked at her and sighed. "That's only half the answer." Yuffie looked at him confused. "You're worried that Chaos will take over in my sleep and go berserk."
Her face went from confusion to shock. "Yeah. That's one way to put it."
He looked at the ground, thinking to himself for a moment. "There is one way to tell who's in control," he said, looking up at Yuffie.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm listening."
"Our eyes," Vincent continued. "While I'm in control, the pupil is round." Yuffie leaned closer to his face a little, looking to see if he was telling the truth. She nodded, seeing his round pupils. "But, when Chaos takes over, the pupil becomes slit, like a dragon's." Closing his eyes, Vincent let a door in his mind open just a little bit for Chaos to come through. Then he opened his eyes again, revealing two glowing yellow orbs with the pupil slit down the middle of each.
"Aahhhh!" Yuffie shrieked as she jumped back and ran behind a near-by bush. "Don't you DARE let that thing out! I've freaked out enough for one morning, thank you!"
"I only did that to show you," Vincent tried to defend himself. He noticed her head peaking over the bush. She was inspecting his eyes again, and she stood up after making sure it was still Vincent in control.
"Well, thanks for the heads up," she told her demonic companion and she walked around the bush towards Vincent.
As she walked closer, Vincent heard a low rumble coming from Yuffie's direction. He didn't sense anything large behind her, but he had a thought as to what made the sound.
"Yuffie?" he started. She looked up at him, obviously embarrassed. "Was that your stomach?"
She threw her head down. "Yeah."
Vincent completely forgot about that. Regular humans needed to eat at least three times a day. He, on the other hand, can last a month without eating. That time was coming for him as well. He shook his head slightly and crossed his arms over his chest as he thought. Yuffie sat on the ground in front of him, brought her knees up to her face and sighed, realizing how hungry she was.
"I'll be right back," Vincent informed the hungry ninja, spreading his wings as he walked.
"What? Hey! Wait!" Where are you going? Don't leave me!" she shouted.
Flapping his wings once, Vincent's feet left the ground. Turning in midair to face Yuffie, he told her, "I'm going to see how far we are from Gongaga. If we're close, I'll fly you there to eat."
Yuffie just stared at him, not knowing what to say. "Uh, thanks, Vince," was all she could think of.
With that, Vincent turned back, flapping his giant wings again, and took off into the morning sky. Yuffie watched the red speck until it was too far away to see. She then proceeded to play with the bracer. Pressing the green button and touching the holographic screen, she went to the area where the green indicator was. It didn't move during the night, still west of Gongaga. She remembered the silver-haired Tsviet saying that once they defeated the first one, another would appear in another location, and so on. With every defeat, a number would appear on the screen's bottom-right corner, four in total. Then there was the puzzle of "making the numbers into three identical numbers by whatever means necessary. Just thinking about that part made Yuffie's head hurt.
A sudden gust of wind caught her attention as Vincent landed behind her. "That didn't take you long."
"Gongaga is a five minute flight from here," he told her bluntly.
Yuffie froze. She didn't like that one word in his sentence. Flight. Anything that had to do with flying, air, boats, and fast movement made her stomach do back flips. "Vince," she began slowly. "You remember what happened when we first got the Highwind, right?"
He remembered alright. After they seized the airship, they had to get Tifa off of the Junon cannon. Cid and Barret threw a long rope over the railing for Tifa to climb. Vincent watched the martial artist sway in every direction possible. Cait Sith and Nanaki had to look away because they were feeling dizzy. Yuffie rush to the rails to help her friend. As soon as she saw the height and the rope's movements, Yuffie threw one hand over her mouth and the other around her stomach. Vincent remembered Cid yelling, "Other side, brat!" to avoid her blowing chunks on Tifa. Yuffie ran as best as she could to the opposite side of the deck, but she ended up tripping. Unable to hold it in, her stomach gave up the battle and let loose its content. Everyone on board, including Tifa as she clung to the rails, looked at her in disgust. Cid, on the other hand, was burning with rage.
"Unfortunately," Vincent answered her question.
"So, how long might it take to walk there?" Yuffie offered an alternative.
He thought for a moment. "Half hour to an hour."
"Ah, hell!" she yelled as she threw herself backwards. "I don't have the energy to walk that far! I'm so hungry."
Vincent sighed and decided to try to convince her to fly. "Yuffie. Flying with me isn't as bad as being on an airship," he told her, watching every word he said. "I don't get that much turbulence, which is what causes your sickness."
Yuffie sat up, looking at him with her bright eyes. "Really?" He nodded, reassuringly. "Cool! That makes me feel a bit better. Just don't go too fast or do flips and whatnot."
A small grin crept onto Vincent's face. "Don't worry. I won't do anything extreme."
"Good," Yuffie stood up and dusted herself off. Vincent came up behind her and took her into his arms, figuring it would be more comfortable for the young ninja. Yuffie's face turned a bright red at this point. She would have gone on his back again, but his wings and the odd crown on his head would get in her way. This was the only other option.
"Are you ready?" Vincent asked as he spread his wings to their maximum length.
Quickly, Yuffie wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head near his shoulder next to the Protomateria. "Now I am," she muttered.
With that, Vincent beat his wings and took off for Gongaga. Yuffie shivered as the cool air rushed past them. She was glad that, true to Vincent's word, her airsick stomach was behaving itself, unlike on an airship. As Vincent descended a little, she could see the small village ahead. It looked beautiful from the sky. However, her stomach could care less as Vincent's feet hit the ground.
As soon as he saw her paled face, Vincent let go of the sick ninja. She staggered as she walked behind the nearest tree. As soon as she was out of sight, Vincent heard the young girl throw up, not very much thankfully. He sighed and placed his hand on his forehead.
Yuffie came out with a look of embarrassment on her face. "Sorry, Vince. You were right, though. It's not as bad with you. You fly very smoothly."
He nodded. "What made you throw up?"
She leaned against the tree wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I looked down. I'm not the biggest fan of heights, either."
Again, Vincent heard Yuffie's stomach growling for food. "You should go to the village and get something to eat," he told her while turning around. "I'll meet you south of here. Call my name when you're ready." With that, he jumped into the air and flew out of sight again, leaving the starving ninja behind.
"Oh, come on! Don't leave me here!" Yuffie screamed. Her stomach protested in hunger again. "And you! Shut up!"
Gongaga was a small village with little huts for its people to live in, the ruins of an old mako reactor, and a small graveyard for those who perished in the blast. As Yuffie came into town, her nose picked up the scent of something sweet and delicious. A fresh breakfast being cooked? As she got closer to one hut in particular, she recognized the smell as pancakes and bacon. Yuffie just stood ten feet from the door, lost in the smell. A moment later, an elderly woman came out to hang a towel and noticed Yuffie standing there. She greeted her with a gentle smile.
"Why hello, dear," she said, catching Yuffie's attention. "Would you like some of my blueberry pancakes? You look rather hungry."
As soon as she said "hungry," Yuffie's stomach begged for anything at this point, growling louder than before. Not to mention blueberry pancakes were one of Yuffie's favorite breakfasts. "Yes! Thank you so much. My stomach is starting to hurt."
The woman smiled, showing Yuffie inside her home. "Come now, don't be shy."
As Yuffie went inside, she was overcome by the intoxicating aroma of fresh blueberry pancakes and bacon. A dish full of pancakes and a bowl of bacon rested on a small table in the kitchen. The old woman gave her a plate and a fork and placed a bottle of syrup and a dish of butter on the table. "Eat as much as you want, dear," she told the young ninja.
Yuffie sat herself at the table and took three pancakes, stacked them up, lathered them in butter, and poured the syrup on each of them. She cut a triangular piece out of the layers and took a bite. To her surprise, these were the best pancakes she has ever tasted. They were even better than Tifa's pancakes. She decided to try out the bacon, and they were just as good.
The woman watched Yuffie eating happily. She walked over to the fridge, picked up a clean glass and poured some milk into it. She offered the glass to Yuffie, who took a large gulp out of it. "You have an appetite like my son. He use to love my pancakes," she laughed.
Yuffie looked up at her and swallowed. "I don't blame him. These are awesome! He's lucky to have you," she said cheerfully.
All of a sudden, the woman's face went from happy to sad. "Yes. Yes he was." She walked to a small window and looked outside. "He was in SOLDIER. He wrote to us every month, but he died in the line of duty many years ago."
Yuffie looked away from the grieving mother. "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know."
"That's quite alright, dear," she told her guest, putting a smile back on her face. "He wouldn't want me to be sad anyway."
Yuffie smiled back at her then went back to eating her breakfast. Later, the woman went outside to do some laundry while Yuffie sat on the couch digesting her breakfast. She forgot how filling pancakes can be. As she lay there, her eyes wandered around the living room until one photograph caught her attention. It was a picture of the woman that lived here, a man she assumed was her husband, and a teenage boy. He was the one that caught Yuffie's eye. He had spiky, black hair and bright, blue eyes. He was taller than his mom and dad, and very well-built. "Weird," Yuffie thought back many years ago. "Did I… try to take his materia back then?"
Sitting up, Yuffie realized that Vincent was still out there waiting for her. As she stood up, she stretched and walked to the door. The elderly woman was sitting on a bench outside enjoying the fresh air. "Oh, are you leaving so soon?" she asked.
"Yeah. I have to go meet someone in Icicle Inn," Yuffie told here.
"Icicle?" The woman had a surprised and worried look on her face. "Well, dear, you're not really dressed for the weather up there, are you?"
Looking down, Yuffie realized that she was right. A tube top, short shorts, and knee-high socks and boots in -30˚C/-22˚F weather, not the best thing to experience. "Hehe, I guess not," she shrugged.
The woman smiled. "Wait right there, dear." She walked around the ninja to the front door of her home and went inside.
Confused, Yuffie sat on the small bench. What could she be getting for her? As she thought, a large black and blue dragonfly landed on her knee. It looked unusually pretty for an insect. She placed her finger in front of it, and it climbed on it. She brought it closer to her face, examining its wings and tail. "You know, you're one of the few bugs I'll ever hold like this," she told the dragonfly. Suddenly, it's wings started to vibrate as it moved around her hand to the tip of her finger and took off towards the sky.
As she looked up at the sky, Yuffie heard the door open as the old mother came out with a large, dark-blue winter jacket. "This used to belong to my son. I know that it is a little large, but it should cover most of you." She handed the jacket to Yuffie. "Why not try it on before you leave?" she asked kindly.
The ninja accepted the jacket and put it on. It was far too big on her small frame, as the bottom reached down to her knees and the sleeves covered her hands. At least it was warm and cozy. "Thank you, ma'am," she said to the woman.
"It should protect you from the wind, as well," the lady informed. "And don't worry about returning it. Give it to one of your friends. It has no use here."
"Don't worry," Yuffie said as she walked to the forest. "I've already got someone in mind!" Cloud hates being cold, and he needs a new jacket, too. "Thanks for the food!"
Meanwhile, sitting in a tree deeper in the forest, Vincent has been trying to revert back to his human form, but to no avail. After numerous attempts, he was still stuck in Chaos's form. Even the demon hated this situation they were in. He wanted Deepground brutally massacred.
"Chaos," Vincent called the demon's conscience out, wanting to ask him something. "What do you think was in that tranquilizer? I'm sure you saw it before I blacked out."
Vincent head a growl in his mind as Chaos came to the surface. "The one with the red liquid in it?" Vincent nodded. "It might have been tainted mako, mixed with other chemicals that I don't know. That's my best guess," the demon shrugged.
"And whatever they are," Vincent thought out loud, "they're preventing me from changing. The mako's responsible for dragging you out."
"You're thinking out loud again," Chaos sighed. "Even I know what's going on. To get back to your human form and remove that thing from the girl's arm, we have to defeat those four Tsviets, unlock some code, which in turn will give the girl an antidote for the poison in the thing she's wearing, and reveal that silver-haired bitch's location. Find her, beat her, and get our antidote. There. I just did your thinking for you!"
"And we have two weeks to do all of that," Vincent added.
"Not to mention you'll be stuck as me for the rest of your life," Chaos pouted. He did not like the thought of that at all. "Oh, and your girlfriend dies, too."
"Don't call her that," Vincent hissed, baring his fangs.
"That's another thing," the demon said, noticing Vincent's behavior. "The longer you remain like this, the more you'll adapt to this form."
"What do you mean by that?"
Chaos paused, thinking of a way to say this for his host to understand. "Well, for example, you've been hissing, growling, and showing your fangs a lot lately. That's demonic behavior. The more time goes by, you won't even realize you're doing it."
Thinking over what Chaos just told him, Vincent clenched his right hand in a fist as a low growl came from deep within his throat. He was right. He was acting more like a monster now! Vincent didn't want to look and act like the beast he was for the rest of eternity. He wouldn't be able to go into towns, everyone would run away. He didn't want to be feared.
"Great. You're thinking sad thoughts, again," Chaos complained, shaking his head. "Look, you're not gonna go berserk or anything. You'll still be you, just different."
Sighing, Vincent looked down at his clawed left hand. "I just hope we can resolve this soon."
In the distance, the wind carried the sound of a high-pitched voice calling to be picked up. "…ent…ver here…ready…!" Vincent was far from Gongaga but he knew right away that it was Yuffie calling for him.
"Your girlfriend is calling," Chaos teased, smiling in amusement.
"I know," Vincent said, sending a mental death glare Chaos's way. "And stop calling her that."
Standing on the branch he was sitting on, Vincent leapt off and flew into the afternoon sky, heading in the direction of Yuffie's call. That was the one thing he liked about being Chaos. He could fly freely to wherever he needed.
After walking south from Gongaga for a while, Yuffie came to a small clearing surrounded by trees and flowers. She sat on the side of a fallen tree, exhausted from all of the pancakes and bacon she ate. Looking to her right, there was a small group of brightly colored flowers. They looked like lilies, similar to the ones in Aerith's church. There was one in particular that caught her eye, because it was moving. Looking down into the flower, Yuffie saw a bee gathering its nectar. As it climbed out, its furry body gathered the pollen from the anthers, and flew past her head. Yuffie liked watching bees pollinating. They were always so busy.
Busy. That's right! She and Vincent were busy trying to save themselves!
"Oh, God. Where is he?" Yuffie looked around franticly, looking for the demonic gunslinger. "Vincent! Get over here! I'm ready!" She really hoped he was close enough to hear that. Then again, he could hear a pin drop a mile away.
Vincent landed near a small clearing; the same one Yuffie stood in, and watched her for a moment. She was watching a bee flying from flower to flower. He didn't want to surprise her, especially with the stinging insects nearby. Silently, he spread his wings and slowly crept up to Yuffie. Luckily, she hadn't noticed his presence yet. But then, he felt Chaos come up from the depths of his mind.
"Do you mind letting me out for a moment?" the demon asked. "I want to tell her something."
Telling from Chaos's voice, it was something important. "Just promise me you won't hurt her," Vincent demanded.
"I won't."
With that settled, they switched minds.
Chaos looked at the young human in front of him. She was still squatting in front of the flower bush watching the insects. His feet were two feet from the ground, and had his arms crossed.
He smiled to himself. "Don't too close or they'll sting you."
Yuffie froze as she heard that icy voice. Turning her head slowly, she saw Vincent floating in midair. Or was it Vincent? She looked up to his eyes. The glowing orbs had a vertical line going down the middle. His pupils were slit.
"Aaaahhhhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran behind a large tree.
Laughing quietly, Chaos floated closer to the terrified ninja. "You can relax, human. I just wanted to talk."
Yuffie poked her head out from behind the tree. "About what?"
Planting his feet on the ground, Chaos answered her question. "I just wanted to let you know that I won't do anything to hurt you." He looked into her surprised, storm-grey eyes. "I saw your fear of me in the past. The fights with Hojo, Sephiroth, and Omega. Even the events of yesterday."
Yuffie just looked at him in confusion and felt her cheeks turning red. Did Chaos, the demon that was supposed to kill all life on the Planet, care for her? "Uh, did I hurt your feelings?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No. I just… feel bad about scaring you." He extended he right hand to help her up. "I can't explain what I'm feeling, but you have my word that I will never harm you."
The ninja didn't know what to say as she took his hand, helping her stand up. Her face was red as she looked at the demon. "Umm. Thanks. That makes me feel a bit better."
"I'm glad."
Chaos closed his eyes, only to have them open again. Instead of having slit pupils, they were back to their round shape. Vincent was back in control.
"Hey, Vince!" Yuffie beamed, looking at the confused gunslinger. "If you're wondering, Chaos didn't hurt me."
Vincent's golden eyes looked at her, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I know. It's just that, he never says those kinds of things to anyone. It's odd for him to do that."
"That… is weird," Yuffie thought out loud. So Vincent was aware of what was happening even though Chaos was in control? "Well, anyway," she broke her train of thought. We're still going to Icicle Inn, right?"
"Yes," Vincent nodded his head. "I'm just worried about your airsickness and the weather up there."
"Way ahead of you." Running to the flower bush she previously sat at, Yuffie grabbed the oversized blue jacket she was given in Gongaga. "I got this from an old lady that was nice enough to give me pancakes. It's really big but it should handle the cold. I'm gonna give it to Cloud when I get a chance, 'cause she didn't want it anymore."
"And your airsickness?" Vincent asked, crossing his arms. How was she going to avoid that?
"Mmm. I think I'm good as long as I don't look down," Yuffie said. "That's what did me in last time. And again, no extreme stunts."
Vincent nodded again as Yuffie threw on the large coat and started to walk to him. "Where's that Tsviet?" he asked her suddenly "I don't want any trouble while we're flying."
Pulling back her sleeve, Yuffie activated the holographic screen on the bracer. She pulled it to the location were the green indicator was last seen. "It's still west of here. Hasn't moved at all."
"Good." Vincent walked behind her to pick her up. Yuffie wrapped her arms around his neck. They both looked at each other; Vincent to make sure she was ready and Yuffie to make sure it was him in control. "Are you ready?" he asked her.
Yuffie's body tightened against his as she braced herself. "Now I am."
Spreading his wings, Vincent gently jumped into the air and headed north towards Icicle Inn in hopes of finding their friend, and former Tsviet, Shelke Rui. She would be the only person on the Planet who would know anything about this "other" Deepground, and why they did what they did to them.
I think I should explain some things:
Chaos's Slit Pupils- I know that this never happened in Dirge of Cerberus, but I thought it would help Yuffie out a bit. Plus, I think he should have slit pupils! Adds to the whole demon persona.
Flashback on the Highwind- I had to make up a bad memory for Yuffie that involves flying
Pancakes n' Bacon- I was REALLY craving pancakes when I first wrote this... ^_^'
Black and Blue Dragonfly- I was at my aunt's lake lot and I saw this big, black and blue dragonfly. Thought it was pretty! I was also going through Crisis Core again at the time and I kinda thought that the dragonfly would represent Zack in a way. *shrug*
Bees in the flowers- Again at the lake lot, saw bees in the flowers. I was amused!
That's it for now! Chapter 4 should be up... well I have no clue. Gotta find the time to work on it. But it will get done eventually! Promise!
