"Looks like we're home free." Fang said as she looked down the winding dirt road that lead on for miles.
"We need to go back and help him." Cloud demanded. "He won't last long against Genesis.."
"I've just got you back. There's no way we're going back there.." Claire said as she dressed his gunshot wound. "Who's genesis?"
"He was a Soldier 1st class and one of Sephiroth's two friends.. There's still blank parts of my memory around that time because of the mako poisoning but I was sure he was killed in action.." Cloud answered.
"Looked to me like our mystery archer was more than holding his own. I wouldn't worry about him." Fang said comfortingly as she searched for her phone before flicking through her contacts and dialing. "It's me, we're heading north on a dirt track. The package is secure but we need an extract location.. -No you moron! 'The Package' as in Cloud. Put Rude on before I cut that stupid pony tail off and ram it down your throat!" The huntress barked down the phone at Reno. After a much more civilized conversation with Rude, the group where instructed to continue their heading north until they reached an abandoned Disciple air force base.
Claire lifted her head up from the blonde's shoulder and gave him a warm smile that was reciprocated until their eyes locked and Cloud could see for the first time since they had been reunited the lengths Claire went to, in order to bring him home safely.
"What have you done?" The blonde asked in horror as Claire looked away quickly.
"It's not as bad as you think.." Claire mumbled, still unable to look him in the eyes. "It only hurt a little.." she lied.
"You could have lost your mind!" Cloud shouted, shocking himself more than anyone else with his raised voice.
"I was loosing my mind without you!" She fired back.
He saw the hurt look on her face and mentally scalded himself for shouting at her. He placed his hands on Claire's face and gently turned her head to face him, noticing for the first time just how beautiful her eyes actually were. When he looked in the mirror, all the blonde saw was a monster but on Claire they were different. The bright blue eyes that looked at him seemed to sparkle in the dullness of the truck. Cloud did not agree with what she had done but he loved her regardless. "I'm sorry for shouting.. I love you.." He whispered, kissing her on the forehead.
"Let's play a game!" Vanille shouted, turning everyone away from their own conversations. "I spy, with my little eye..."
Fang let out a laugh as Vincent sighed and looked out of the window, seemingly ready to throw himself out of the truck if he had to listen to her for the next two hours.
(Aerospace design and engineering department)
"Hoist the damn crane up! That rail gun ain't gonna fit itself!" Cid barked as he watched his crew operate the large crane that lifted electromagnet powered cannon up towards the new airship.
"Hey! Highwind! Is that really necessary?" Sazh shouted up to Cid as he and two of the crew mounted the rail gun onto bow of the Airship.
"Quit ya yappin! If we had this puppy on the last one we could have leveled that stupid Disciple city!" Cid shouted down defensively.
"I think you've overlooked a problem with your design.." The dark skinned pilot said, regretting his words as soon as they left his lips.
Cid inserted the last of the foot long bolts through the rail gun's swiveling mount and handed the wrench to the nearest of his crew to tighten it up as he slid down one of the many ladders that hung from the unnamed ship's hull that stood in the kilometer long hanger. He marched over to Sazh who was waiting to receive the bad tempered pilot's wrath.
"I'm waitin'..." Cid said with his arms crossed.
"You've added to much weight to the front, it's gonna throw the stabilization system out of sync." Sazh explained with a smile on his face.
"Well smart ass... I took the glass out of the bridge and replaced it with bullet proof lexan, it's a quarter of the weight and twice the strength and I've added more weight to the rear." Cid answered, wiping the smile of Sazh' face.
"More weight?" Sazh asked.
Cid didn't tell his fellow pilot but instead took a walk to the other end of the hanger and climbed up onto the rear, outer deck of the airship with Sazh right behind him, curious to see what Cid had done. With a look of sheer pride across his face, the spear wielding pilot took a small tablet out of his pocket and began to tap his fingers across it. Seconds later motors could be heard winding up and blocks of the teak deck began to rise, revealing 4 sentry guns that now stood on the edges of the deck, scanning their surroundings for enemies.
"..." Sazh sighed and shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have introduced you to the head of the weapons development and manufacturing.."
"Just quit ya whinin' and help me wire up the shield generator.. Where is that little squirt with that barrier materia anyway?..."
"WATCH IT OLD MAN!" Yuffie shouted from the hanger floor. "You stopped smoking for two days and you're all ready getting on everyone's nerves!" She shouted as she scaled the ship quickly with her ninja skills.
"Took your time didn't ya?" Cid moaned as Yuffie handed over a mastered barrier materia.
"You know how long it took my to master this with such weak monsters around here?! What do you need it for anyway?" She asked.
"Sazh here has made a generator that can activate the materia and shield the ship from small arms fire and limit damage from rockets. We needed it mastered because of how big the ship is." He explained.
"Sound's cool... Anyway... I'm off to continue mining! I've found that much gems that me and boobs are going to have a billion gill by the end of the month!" Yuffie beamed as she began to walk away.
"Er... Yuffie.."Cid whispered as he chased after her. "You couldn't smuggle some cigarettes in here for me? Shera has told everyone not to buy me any.." He pleaded.
Yuffie slapped the man on the forehead, leaving behind a small plaster that wrinkled as he frowned.
"Nicotine patch.. Now stop being a moody old man and play with your expensive toy.. You thought of a name yet by the way?" Yuffie said.
"I'll name it the Kisaragi if you bring me some cigarettes.." Cid said in a final attempt to persuade her.
"Bye Cid.." Yuffie laughed as she walked away from him and left the hanger.
(Abandoned Air force base)
"We're here.." Fang said with a yawn. "Dumb and dumber should be here soon.."
"I spy with my litt-"
"VANILLE!" Everyone shouted in unison, all finally snapping after two hours.
"There here.." Vincent pointed to the sky.
"Okay everyone, let's get out of this truck." The huntress said as she opened the door and jumped out onto the broken concrete runway.
The group waited on the edge of the runway as the ancient looking plane bounced across the pothole covered strip of concrete barely managing to stop at the edge. Reno gave the group a thumbs up from the cockpit, as the side door opened. The blonde haired turk, Elena booted out the ladder and waved her arms to signal them to hurry up. The team of seven ran to the plane and climbed on board one by one. Reno had the plane turned around before Elena had the door shut and moments later they were in the air and on the way home.
After a long flight that consisted solely of sleeping, the plane began it's decent as Reno picked one of the widest country roads that lead into Claire's home town. He announced their arrival over the speakers, rousing the group from their slumber. It took a while for his words to sink in but once they had she leaped up from her seat next to Cloud and ran into the cockpit.
"There isn't a runway near my town Reno. What are you doing!?" Claire said.
"No but there's a road there.." Reno pointed.
"There are cars on the road!" Claire shouted.
"I'm sure they'll move when they see a plane coming." The red haired turk grinned as he sent the plane into a shallow dive and lined it up with the road below.
"If we don't all die in a plane crash I'm gonna kill you Reno!" The pink haired woman shouted as she held on tightly.
Reno turned the plane's light's on and descended closer and closer to the ground. Startled drivers slammed on their brakes as they saw the aircraft fly over their heads with the landing gear almost scraping on one of the cars roof's. The huge rubber wheels touched down on the road, screeching as Reno applied the brakes, eventually coming to a stop on the edge of town.
"You could have killed us all you idiot!" Claire roared as Cloud and Fang entered the cockpit to find out what was going on.
"Ahh but I didn't." Reno grinned, causing Rude to smirk and Claire to lunge at him.
Fang grabbed her pink haired friend around the waist and struggled to pull the mako enhanced woman off the irritating turk. Cloud debated letting Claire beat his former enemy up but decided to help the brunette drag her away instead.
"Hey.." The blonde said softly, catching her attention. "I don't care how we got here.. We're here now.. Let's go home.." He smiled.
The group departed from the plane and walked down the quiet street together until one by one they said their goodbye's and entered their own houses.
"Where's the nearest hotel?" Fang said, not wanting to get on another plane to their home across the country.
"You may stay with me.." Vincent said, causing Fang's emerald eyes to light up. "But I like silence.." He added, looking at the bubbly red head.
Vincent walked down the street with Fang and Vanille following in his wake after saying their goodbye's to Cloud, Claire and Tifa. The silent walk ended as the trio reached the cloaked man's home. He opened the door and stood back, gesturing them to enter. Fang looked around at the minimalistic living room as she walked inside. The room had an old fashioned look to it with most of it's furniture made from dark mahogany. There was one small, black leather sofa and no TV in sight. Instead, a large bookcase dominated the room, taking up an entire wall. The only other notable feature being a potted white orchid that stood in the opposite corner, brightening the room and filling it with a gentle fragrance.
"You don't have a TV?" Vanille asked in shock.
"I prefer to read.." Vincent replied, pointing to the bookcase. "You will have to share a room.." He informed them as he lead them upstairs.
"This house is huge. You don't have loads of bedrooms?" Fang asked.
"I don't like guests..." The dark haired man said in his gravelly voice. "In here."
"I feel honored." Fang joked as her and Vanille entered the bedroom.
The bedroom, like downstairs was just as plain but much brighter. Other than a thick gray carpet everything was white; from the walls to the bedding. Fang walked over to the large window that overlooked the rear of the property and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Splashes of reds and yellows contrasted beautifully with the purples and blues that separated them in a rainbow of flowers. A stone path ran between the mass of beautiful plants and lead to a large pond that had a small waterfall flowing into it from a set of well arranged rocks and pieces of slate. Fang opened the window and heard the faint trickle of the waterfall hitting the pond, breaking up it's placid surface.
"Vincent... It's.. beautiful.." Fang said as the scent of lavender and mint filled took over her senses.
"Thank you.. I'll be downstairs.." He said, turning to leave.
"Why is your bedroom downstairs?" Vanille pried.
"This is my bedroom.." Vincent answered before shutting the door, disappearing from view.
"Well I wasn't expecting that.." Vanille said as she looked out o the window.
"Vincent Valentine.. You are a mystery to me..." The bronze skinned beauty mumbled to herself. "Alright you.. go to sleep."
Downstairs, Vincent removed his Clawed gauntlet and placed it on the arm of the sofa and pulled out a laptop from a drawer in the mahogany coffee table. He opened it and logged in before walking through the house to the kitchen at the rear. He turned on his coffee machine and took a mug from one of the cupboards, placing it underneath the machine before it dispensed his coffee. While he waited for his coffee, Vincent searched a different cupboard, pulling out a small box before walking to the sliding patio doors with it. He slid the glass doors open and stepped out into the garden, allowing the gentle breeze to cast his long black fringe to one side. Pacing down the stone path, Vincent stopped at the pond and opened the lid on the box and withdrew a handful of it's contents, casting them into the pond. Large koi carp raced to the surface in flashes of silver and orange as they feasted on the pellets as the caped man watched them briefly.
Fang watched him with avid curiosity from the bedroom window. She could see right through everyone she had ever met within seconds but the man she gazed at was an enigma to her. He was cold and distant and hardly ever spoke, yet at the same time he cared greatly for life and nature in general. The man was clearly wise and calculated, only doing or saying something after giving it careful thought; much unlike herself that was wild and reckless. I wonder if you want some company...
Placing her spear in the corner and removing her sandals, the huntress headed down the stairs silently. She walked through the living room, where the only source of light came from a laptop screen. Curiosity taking the better of her, Fang took a look at the laptop to find documents labeled 'Chaos research' by Dr. Crescent. She only took a brief look but the mention of demons and mako was sinister to say the least. Puzzled as to why he would be looking at something so dark and inhumane she turned to make her way to the garden, only to be met with Vincent's crimson eyes stood right behind her.
"What are you doing?" Vincent asked as soon as she turned, causing her to jump out of her skin.
"I er.. I wanted to see your garden.. The light caught my eye. I'm sorry.." Fang replied, burying her eyed into the floor.
Vincent walked past her and closed the laptop, sending the room into darkness. Brushing past the huntress once more he turned on the light and walked into the kitchen to retrieve the mug of black coffee that was waiting for him. Fang looked up, wondering where the cloaked man had gone, receiving her answer as he reentered the room with a single mug.
"Black, no sugar.." He said, offering it to the brunette.
"Thanks. How did you know?" Fang asked, her emerald eyes peering into his.
"I am observant.." Vincent replied. "sit."
"So.. You like flowers.. I never expected that." Fang said as she took a seat on the sofa that sent goosebumps across her body as it made contact with the cold leather.
"Nature in general.. I've spent my life watching science go beyond the laws of nature and corrupt men.." Vincent answered.
"You mean Cloud?.. And Claire?" The brunette asked.
"They are a light in an otherwise dark and twisted fate.."
"You seem to know a lot on the subject." Fang implied, pointing to the mass of biology books that filled the bookcase. "A former scientist?"
Science project... "No, I was a Turk." Vincent answered, receiving an amazed look from Fang.
"You were the same as that idiot, Reno? I don't think I could picture you in a suit." She grinned as she looked him up and down.
"It was a lifetime ago.." He said, remembering the day his simple life was turned upside down with a bullet.
"You're not old enough to say a lifetime ago." Fang laughed, guessing him to be thirty at the most.
"Hmph." Vincent scoffed. "Drink your coffee and get some sleep.."
Realizing this was the former turks subtle way of telling her he was done talking, she downed the mug of coffee gratefully and rose to her feet, smiling as she caught Vincent's crimson eyes inspecting her. Fang walked over to the man who had remained on his feet for the entirety of their conversation and stopped within inches of him.
"Ya'know.. You really shouldn't let the past prevent you from having a future.." She whispered as she watched his blood red eyes flicker, confirming her deductions. "Your eyes told me.. Not your friends." She added, watching his mind race as to how she knew.
"How very perceptive.." Vincent said softly, his eyes never leaving hers.
"When you've sorted out your demons I'll stand in front of you like this again and we'll see what happens.." The bronze skinned beauty said seductively as she got so close the tip of her nose brushed against his and she could hear his already erratic heartbeat increase..
"How do you know that I do not have less... orthodox.. desires?" He asked, ashamed at how well he was being read.
"Because you're blushing mister Valentine." She smiled before turning on her heels and walking back up the stairs, knowing that his eyes never left her until she had disappeared out of sight.
(Claire/Cloud household)
After a surprisingly warm goodbye between Tifa and Claire, Cloud and the pinkette finally made it home. A short argument with the lock on the front door later and the pair where inside and could already hear their bed calling them. Denzel had done his job impeccably in looking after Duke; tiring him out so much that he did not wake at the sound of the front door. The pair made their way into the bedroom and began to get undressed out of the cold, damp clothes and slid into bed. On their bedside table, Cloud's phone lay untouched for days. He had no idea what made him do it but the blonde picked up his phone and unlocked it to find a text message waiting for him.
From: Unknown
Subject: Safe and sound
I hope you got home safe. I took a good beating from Genesis; he's much stronger than me but I got out of there once I thought you had enough of a head start. I hope that woman with the pink hair is as honorable as our friend. That sword deserves to maintain its legacy of serving a hero. Stay out of trouble.
A/N: Nothing major in this short chapter, just a bit of Cid being his usual bossy self and a Fang x Vincent moment.. It's so hard to do without making it really ooc! After watching advent children and playing dirge of Cerberus I can't see him doing anything else other than living forever alone as a miserable git!. But... and its a big but.. I shall make it work, slowly but surely. Let me know what you think. Anything you like/ dislike or would like to see, just let me know and i'll do my best.
Reviewer answer time... I purposefully made the mako infused men relatively weak because they were initial tests and are basically zombie soldiers (all the strength but their mind is barely functional) I also did this because later in the story they will have to fight Disciple soldiers that will be like a soldier member, thus posing a huge problem for our hero's. I'm glad Cloud using sephiroth's lines with genesis went down well. It was not intentional on cloud's part but relevant when you find out what genesis is up to. Noel is currently living in peace with Yeul, leading the quiet life but when things go from bad to worse you never know ;) Also none of you have guessed the mystery man but I may have given it away in this chapter so keep guessing. Thanks for reading and if you could spare a minute please let me know what you think :D