Under the Guiltless Sun
Volume II of the 'Sun' series
Tseng yawned, and stood.
The ground was freezing. He curled his toes.
He glanced around the tale hotel room painted with morning light. Where were his pants?
He looked to the bed. Elena was still asleep. He wouldn't wake her until he was dressed and had hotel room coffee brewing.
He found his pants in a sleeping jean blue heap on the floor. He smiled tiredly. He threw them off in the heat of passion the night before.
Passion? He glanced back at Elena as he picked them up.
Not really.
It was just sex; pure and simple. He said that he would take her out if she'd agree to come, but, he realized something over the years- he wasn't looking for love.
Love was just something to do when your bored and have nothing else in your life.
You have to MAKE something to do in your life, and Tseng was done with revenge.
Reeve, AKA Cait Sith, after all, was dead.
The bastard.
Reeve left him alone to die in the Temple of The Ancients.
Funny, Tseng thought as he buttoned up his white shirt, after you have your revenge, it's like waking up after you die. You think, 'What am I going to do with my life, now?'
Look for something ELSE to do was the answer.
Actually, finding Ray and following the lighting beasts wasn't the most important thing to do in the world. Actually, it doesn't even matter. It's just something else to occupy his time with, and wasn't a 9-5 job.
Tseng couldn't stand going back to an ordinary job, once he had a taste of Turk life- that's what this mission was all about.
He needed to do important things.
He needed to do BIG things, like find out what's at the bottom of this monster conspiracy.
It's a Turk thing.
It's a guy thing.
It's a Tseng thing.
Tseng lived in the streets for several years after the Temple collapse. He couldn't work if he WANTED to because of his paralyzed- numb arm. Then, he stopped feeling sorry for himself, and sought revenge on Reeve.
Really, deep down, all Tseng really wanted back was his job as a Turk. Maybe, just maybe, searching out the monsters was his way of trying to get something back that was lost forever.
Tseng sighed. He knew this whole thing was useless, and he was dragging other people down along with him. Rude, Reno, and Elena.
"Really, Tseng," He said to himself as he began to comb his long back hair. "Your just a jobless bastard. Totally nuts, still doin' this shit. And, look, you ain't gettin' any younger, either." Tseng placed his comb down, and looked into the hotel-room mirror.
Elena's shoulder slowly rose and fell with each sleeping breath in the mirror's background.
Look into your own face, Tseng, what do you see?
Be honest.
And empty shell, Tseng, that's what I see.
Tattered. Torn. Tiered. Aging.
You ain't who you used to be.
I know. That's my shadow. That's my burden I bear. I'm only a shadow of who I used to be, that shadow keeps following me. I used to have money, power, and...
This wild goose chase is going nowhere. Why keep going?
I don't want to be on the streets anymore. I don't want to become an ordinary Joe. No 9-5 job... please, no, I'm better than that. I was a TURK! A TURK!
You hear me!? Tseng Fong of Shin-Ra!
Tseng's narrow brown eyes swelled in clear, hot, salty liquids.
He brushed it away, cleared his throat, and straitened his collar.
He tried pulling the sleeve on his left arm strait. He wished that it would someday wake up, and be what and who he used to be. It wasn't supposed to end this way, crippled, and penniless. He wanted his arm back.
He looked into the mirror once more.
Killing Reeve didn't bring your arm back, did it?
Tseng blinked.
No, it didn't, but, it felt good.
For the moment, anyway. I wonder if he had family.
Why do you care? You killed lots of people as a Turk.
Reeve just wasn't another guy- Reeve worked for Shin-Ra. Reeve had power, too, like me. Did... I betray Shin-Ra by killing him?
No. You don't even WORK for Shin-Ra anymore. You didn't betray anybody, Tseng.
Tseng pressed his palm against the mirror. The two hands touched. He lowered his weak head a moment. As he removed his hand from the icy glass, a ghost palm appeared upon the reflection of his face.
Slowly, the hand evaporated.
"God. I just want to... fucking... start over again. I wish I had money again. And a job, I... I don't want to be dead anymore."
Elena sat up. She had been awake for a half hour now, lying there, listing to Tseng quietly talk to himself.
"Tseng?" She said. Tseng turned around as she sat with her back against the headboard, and the sheet wrapped around her naked skin.
"You heard me?" Tseng spun around, and looked at her.
She spoke, while clutching the sheet around her chest. Her blonde, short hair was ruffled. Her face with yesterday's make-up was smeared around her puffy blue eyes.
"Well, yeah, Tseng, uhm, I- know how you feel, you know, I was a Turk, too, and now I'm barely making ends meat, come and sit down, will ya?" Elena patted the bedspread. Tseng paused, then sat down on the beds corner.
"Goin' on this mission doesn't make us Turks again, but we are going anyway. We know that. It's just for fun. Your taking it way too serious." She pushed a lock of her yellow hair behind her ears, and leaned forward, giving Tseng a playful, wise smile. "Having fun. Remember that? You know, I've grown up a lot in these last few years, and you know what I've learned? That, money isn't everything. Living is. Making it day-to-day is important."
"I'm trying, Elena, I really am. But, I- NEED money to be happy. I keep comparing my life to the way it WAS to what it is NOW. It's not fair, it isn't as easy for me as it is for you. I can't 'just get over it.' I have NOTHING, and I can't STAND it." Tseng stood and nearly snarled as he spoke, but it was not towards her.
"You got me." Elena said as she laid back down on the bed.
Tseng glanced at her as he walked out of the hotel room.
His glance was empty.
It seemed to say,
'Yeah, but, you mean nothing to me.'
He slammed the door shut.
Tseng sighed and rested his forehead upon the hotel hallway's wall.
The walls had the most hideous, ancient looking wallpaper hugging them. In the corners, they were peeling with a brown and yellow banana splotches in curling dog ears.
Under his feet, the rusty hotel rug seemed to have laid down and died several years ago.
Tseng closed his eyes as his forehead rested upon the wall. He basked under the flickering, dull light. He just needed a moment to collect himself.
It was a shitty, gray morning. He knew it was gray without even walking outside.
He woke up feeling like pure shit.
Something smelt familiar. It wasn't the dusty, musk smell of the hotel, either. It smelt like cigars.
It was cigars. He couldn't quite place the brand. It was an expensive kind, though.
"Fancy meetin' you 'ere, partner. Howdy. Didn't catch yur name before, I rememba ya' though. I never forget a face."
Tseng lifted his head off of the wall. He sort of felt like just banging it really, really hard.
The man before Tseng was a fat, framed, stout man in a gray cowboy hat. Around his middle, dividing his humpty-dumpty-egg-frame in half, was a thick brown belt and a huge, oval, belt-buckle squarely in the middle.
Under the black, ring, shadow of his hat, was a lumpy, red face and two, tiny, bullet eyes.
He had a mischievous smile, and a dark, manipulative twinkle to his eyes.
"Do I know you?" Tseng asked without a hint of patience in his voice.
"Surely ya do! Cigar?" The fat man offered as he plucked two long, brown, stogies from his inside suit pocket.
"Uh, I guess." Tseng took one, why, he knew not. He supposed that he needed a smoke. The fat man placed his between his thin, pinkish lips, and took out a pure gold lighter. He lit Tseng's first.
Then, Tseng remembered. This was Ray, the man they were looking for... How stupid he was for not recognizing him! How... ironic this was! This wasn't any old fat, old, cowboy, this was...
"Ray Romeo! Yur that fella that shot that other fella in the dark! Can't forget a face! I bare no grudges, you prolly shot him with your own reasons!"
Ray held out his thick, huge hand.
Tseng glanced at it, and shook it while not leaving his locked stare.
"Ray, I've been looking all over for you, we need your held in tracking down the lighting beasts." Tseng said in once quick sentence without taking a break.
Ray laughed. His belly shook. He removed his cigar, and continued on one, long, heavy, gawfaw. He slapped his knee.
His hilly, chubby face turned redder.
Tseng was left to wonder just what was so damned funny.
"Let's get outa this hallway and go have a drink, we will talk." Tseng pressed himself against the hallway wall, letting Ray lead the way. Everything about him seemed to be huge.
They sat at the bar of the hotel. It was only 11 in the morning when Ray ordered his first beer.
Tseng drank orange juice, normally, he would have had something like scotch, but, it was just too early for him. He was surprised that the bar was even open and serving.
Anything for a buck, he guessed.
"Now, you wanna know 'bout the lighin' beasts. Why do ya think I know anythin', and if I did, why would you think that I'd tell ya?" Ray asked bluntly as he sucked on his cigar. Under his huge, bulbous body, the bar stool vanished.
Tseng wondered where he got a suit that size.
"Well, I know that throughout the years, you are the one man behind the Shin-Ra who has been pulling the strings. I know you have billions of gil, and I also know that you're the foremost expert on monsters, and I know that the lighting in the past few weeks, isn't any ordinary storm. I KNEW you had to be found somewhere near it. I also know that your probably heading North."
Tseng tried smoking his cigar, but found the smoke was really harsh on his throat.
Ray paused as he lifted his sweating beer. Clearly, Ray seemed impressed with Tseng's knowledge of him.
But, Ray kept a poker face, and lowered his deep, accented voice,
"Whut's all this in it for ya, anyway, why do ya wanna know more? If I told ya anythin' about what's REALLY goin' on, there ain't no turnin' back, you know."
Tseng nodded, "I know. And I WANT to know more." Tseng leaned in as he spoke seriously. His brown eyes were forever locked to the older, fat man.
Ray sighed, and looked away, then he took a pull from his beer, and adjusted his large carriage on the bar stool.
"Right, well, fine then, I'll tell ya. You pulled me leg. Fine. See, monsters, they got tissue from this dead girl, whose a Cetra, and tissue from Jenova, er, Sephiroth, really, I don't know, either or, doesn't matter, don't ask me how, and they are makin' a new creature outta this. The lightin' beasts was just an accident."
"What? They are making something worse than Sephiroth, then!"
"Don't interrupt me, boy, and keep your voice down, I ain't finished! Shin-Ra- Dante Julius, our stupid ass president, he don't know much 'bout what's goin' on. I do. I know the guy in charge of this project. I'm goin' to see him right now."
"Why are you telling me this, anyway?" Tseng whispered suspiciously.
Ray finished off his beer, and ordered another. He burped, then glanced at Tseng with a squinted eye,
"Cuz, you ain't goin' to live for much longer, so, it don't matter WHAT I tell ya."
Tseng didn't understand. He stared at Ray.
"Your... you... think your going to kill me? Ha, I don't think so. I've lived on the streets, I know how to take care of my self, old man." Tseng snubbed out his cigar, and stood up.
Ray shook his head, "You don't know what yur in for, boy. And I ain't finished tellin' ya what is going to happen."
"Oh?" Tseng turned, interestedly, dabbing sarcasm into his tone.
"The sun," Ray began.
"Yeah, what about it?" Tseng asked, folding his good arm about his chest.
Ray turned on his barstool, and tipped up his hat, then pointed to the ceiling with a short, stubby finger.
"I got a feelin THAT'S what's gunna kill ya."
"What do you mean? You know, your probably a bit off your rocker, Mr. Romeo."
"Am I, kid? Yur the one whose gettin' involved with sumething much bigger than yurself, and you certainly don need t' be." Ray stood, leaving several dollars on the bar.
The barstool seemed to have emerged from nowhere. It's shiny metal stem looked bent.
"Stop being so cryptic! Just tell me what's what!" Tseng's nostrils flared with impatience. The empty hotel bar paid no heed at all to the two men, neither did it's tender.
"Yur wanna know? Fine. I'll tell ya, kiddo, although, you prolly ain't much younger than me, I feel sorry for your immaturity, I surely do."
Tseng fell silent as Elena's words echoed in his head. Elena thought that he needed to grow up, too. Maybe she was right. Maybe they were all right. Was his immaturity that obvious, or was Ray really that perceptive?
"Awright. His name is Stygian, like the river Styx. He's a vampire. He's the one who moved Jenova from the Shin-Ra mansion basement, to his lab in the North continent. He then used da Jenova cells, and Aeris' cell tissue, and made a baby. Now, this whole thing is not without religious involvement." Ray paced about the bar, back and forth, as he spoke. His fingers were semi-tangled behind his back, but, his large, ball-shaped body made it impossible for his fingers to fully touch. "Monsters believe that Jenova was a dead-dormant Cetra goddess body. That means, Sephiroth REALLY WAS part god. That means, that since Sephiroth is part god, he really can't die. That means, that they are MAKING something that is part goddess- this is all because they believe, religiously, that they are making a savior, because Sephiroth was a failure."
Tseng was trying to let this all soak in. He didn't fully understand.
"Wait, are you saying Jenova isn't really dead, just dormant, because she's a goddess? Sephiroth took off her head. And... are you saying Sephiroth isn't dead?"
Ray sighed, and stopped pacing, "Yep. Can't die, just, like, sort of dead, dormant, really. She won't move or talk or nuthin. But her cells are alive, she's a goddess, she's immortal." Ray slid his fingers into his jacket pocket for a cigar. "So's Sephiroth. But, he's... kinda like an angel. Anyway, just not human. MORE than human. Which leads to Sephris- the Aeris/Jenova creation. She and Sephiroth share the same mother, Jenova. They both will have her DNA. Brother and sister. She's already created and growin'. They serve donuts here?"
Ray looked up from behind his cigar smoke. He slid his gold lighter away, and asked the barman for a donut.
"What's that have to do with the sun and me dying?" Tseng asked impatiently.
"I'm gettin' to that. Sephris is goin' to be mighty powerful. We only hope that she'll be usin' her powers for good- meaning, good for the human race. Little chance of THAT happinin', because the monsters will use her to get their power over us humans back. Monsters were here on Earth, along with Cetra, before us, you know. This is THEIR land we are usin' up. Word is, the monsters WANT Sephris to call down the sun with her power when she's of age, to burn us all to bits. Fire and brimstone, the whole nine yards. Sephiroth wasn't as strong as she will be. He could only call on meteor, and needed materia to do it. Sephris won't."
"Where IS this lab? Where is this all happening?"
"New Gomorra. Thanks, pal." Ray thanked the barman for the donut. "A little coffee, too, with the beer?"
Tseng was engrossed in the story. Was this all true? It seemed so... far-fetched. The end of the world? Again?
"Where's New Gomorra? Northern continent?"
"Close. UNDER the Northern continent. Under the crater Sephiroth made. WAAAAAAYYYY far under there." Ray replied as he ate his donut.
"Is this all true?" Tseng whispered intensely.
"As true as the fat on my face, kiddo. I ain't makin' up stories. Not good at it. Fact is, I only lie when it comes to business and politics, not End of the World crap." Ray thanked the barman again when he returned with his coffee.
"Now, kiddo, I gotta get goin'. I got a boat to catch. Gotta go to New Gomorra, if ya know what I mean." Ray finished his donut, and waddled to the door without touching his coffee or leaving a tip.
"Wait!" Tseng called out. Worry sprinkled his voice and face.
"What?" Ray stopped, and looked over his enormous shoulders.
"End of the World? Are you serious?" The quiet, dark bar walls seemed to listen in on the heavy conversation.
"Sure. Boy. It ain't nuthin' new. The World comes close to Endin' nearly every day. Don't you know anythin'? It's always dumb luck and stupidity of individuals- such as yourself- who have no idea what they are doin or what's going on- that save it. HAHAHAHA!" Suddenly, Ray bent over, crippling himself with laughter and slapping his knee. His red, thick face jiggled and flapped under the pressure of hilarity. Tseng was afraid that he would pop like a red balloon filling with too much air.
Then, he stopped, and whisked away the few tears that tumbled down his features.
Tseng stood still. He didn't find any of this at all funny.
"...Sniff... Sorry, kiddo, I can't 'elp but laugh at the irony of it all. Some buck like Cloud er sumeone will save the world again. No doubt. Its how all stories end. The World never explodes, really."
Then, Ray left.
Tseng turned and ran as fast as he could, upstairs to wake Elena, and find Rude and Reno.
The barman- who didn't listen to a word that passed, found himself annoyed with the untouched beer and coffee- and crumbs of a unpaid for donut on the bar counter.
~
"You have no reason to lie to us, Red. But, that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard!" Yuffie poked at the fire with a long twig, and shook like the leaves when the wind rattled them.
"Puh! I heard nuthin' %#@!%$!@ weird when I was goin' down! I heard no voices, no nuthin'!" Cid crossed his ankles, passing a blank glance at Red.
Red 13 stared into the small flames that crackled and flared before the three.
"It's. True. I do not lie, Cid." Red spoke like a bird with it's wings clipped.
No mess. Just plain, flat truth.
"I know, Red, no one's doubtin' ya. It's... just, well, what's next?" Cid asked, trying to brighten himself.
"I don't know about you, but, I'm going North. I HAVE to. If there is a risk of Sephiroth being back, I have to go for the sake and safety of my people at the Canyon." As Red turned away and paused in thought, the image of the beautiful woman from his dreams slowly seeped into his head like water to a dry sponge.
He looked up at Yuffie and Cid after the moment of reflection.
He said nothing about his vision to them. He was quite sure now that the vision that he told his wife about was a bad omen.
"Me too! I'm going, too!" Yuffie smiled with years upon her young face.
"Why, Yuffie?" Cid asked venomously.
"Because..." She searched for a reason, "Vincent. Uhm. I'm going for him."
"I don't get it. I thought you hated him." Cid asked. Red continued to say nothing.
"I MISS him. I think he's in trouble. I LOST him, Cid. We were traveling together. I bet he's either gone home, or gone North. Call it a hunch, call it... women's intuition!"
"Puh. Women." Cid spat.
The fire before them sparkled on into the night.
~
Tifa's Dairy
September 22, 2005
Dear Dairy,
I made reservations at a really nice restaurant for me and Cloud. I had news to tell him.
I told him, 'Yes.'
He gave me the ring. I knew that he had been holding onto it.
I bought a really nice dress behind his back the day before we went to dinner. It was a short, black velvet, strappy dress.
I wore the heels that I bought for a funeral several years ago, but never had a chance to wear again. He hugged me and kissed me and promised to be a good husband.
And you know? I believe him. I also had other news for him, but, well, I don't think nows a good time to tell him. Maybe in a month.
I don't know why I'm so sacred to tell him. I think I'm scared because I think HE'S going to be scared. I'm not sure if he's ready for it.
Well, weather he is ready or not, it's in me.
I don't feel it, but, I can tell.
I took the test yesterday, it SAID I was. I was in denial before.
See, I sort of knew that I was... because... I never told you this, but, I have been missing my period for some time now. I just thought it was stress, I didn't believe that I could be pregnant.
I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. I have a FEELING that it's a boy...
I wish it were a girl. I'd name her Isabell.
Why am I so scared? Is it hormones? It's not like he will leave me. Maybe he will. I doubt it. I think I'm being stupid.
It makes me feel so loved, something needs me, it's a living thing, swimming inside my skin, warm and safe- because I'm eating good and exercising. I want to be a great mom.
When I touch my belly, I get this feeling that shakes and heats my whole body. I love it. I love it, whomever it is in me, and whatever it will be. I love it. I feel so good. I'm so happy, but I'm so scared. Were going to be ok. We have a lot of money, and live in a good neighborhood. I think we are ready for it.
I just have to tell him. Johnny knows. Barret and Cloud don't.
I wish MY mom were around. My step mom and my real mom... I need someone, a female, to talk to about this. I... I... even wish Aeris were around...
Your Mommy to be,
Tifa R. Lockheart
(Isabell Valentine)
~
Sephris sighed as she looked into the mirror. Why was her dad fussing so much? Why was he bitching to her? She hated his black eyes. She could never tell if he was looking strait at her or not.
Sephris hated her hair. It never did what she wanted, and she found a long gray hair lost in-between the rivers of reddish brown wavy locks. How could she be going gray, now? She's only 17!
It seemed like only yesterday that she was 12.
Life was easier then.
In reality, Sephris was only several weeks old. But it was the Jenova cells in her that made her grow unusually fast. When her body ages a little more, Stygian will give her mako injections, much like the late Sephiroth, to slow her aging process. Stygian stated himself in her mind as her father.
His coal colored face, and space black body was etched in her mind forever as the man who raised her. A vampire.
Sephris looked much like Aeris, but had the eyes of Sephiroth.
She didn't feel good today; she was a little depressed.
Stygian knew that puberty would last a few more hours for her.
That was why he locked her in his office. He wanted nothing to do with feverishly raging female hormones.
He also left her with a box of tampons and a bottle of Midol.
"Dad's such a prick. Where IS he? GOD I hate him! I think he abandoned me! Where is the radio!?" Sephris grunted out loud to herself.
Sephris looked into the mirror, and picked at a black head. She felt so bored.
"Sephris...?"
She looked around. Something, someone, said her name.
But there was no one there.
The office was empty.
Sephris stood. The office was small, and gray, and cramped with towers of stacked papers and files. There was a broken black radio in a filthy, dusty corner. It stared at her with two silent speaker eyes.
"Sephris. Sephris. Seeeffffiiiirruuuhhhhissssss... hisss..." The voice sounded like mist and ocean waves. It was gentle like a old oak tree. It sounded as if it were in pain, like the cry of a dying Grandmother.
Sephris turned in circles. Who was calling her? It seemed to come from nowhere, like the ripples in an echoing, disturbed pond.
She was hesitant to answer. What if she were crazy. No.
She wasn't crazy. She was hearing the voice.
The office was dimly lit. The only light source was a soft, blue glow from a glowing stone on a iron black stand. It acted much like a floor lamp.
It gave the room a hazy look, with many holes riddling ink black shadows in the corners.
"What?" Sephris whispered. She clutched herself. Where was her father?!
"Sephris. Listen to me. With your heart. Always listen. You are confused. You know me. You know Us. You always have. I am all around you."
"Are you god?" Sephris asked naively.
"I am. I am your ancestors. I am your parent. I am every living being's parent."
Suddenly, Sephris felt calmer. The voice was like water, and she wanted to bathe in it. Sephris sat down on the floor of the room. She wanted to feel closer to the voice, and being close to the Earth made her feel that way. She wanted to listen.
"Sephris. You can speak to me. We can speak. We are the Earth. We are your Mother, and your Father. You are gifted, Sephris. So was your mother before you."
"My mom? You knew my mom?" Sephris' heart leapt into her head. She always wanted a mom...
"Yes, darling, her name was Aeris, she too, could speak to Us. And we are she. I know it's hard, but We are Aeris. We are Jenova. I am the Earth. We are everyone that once was, and everything that will be. We are the Lifestream. We are Jenova, whose blood runs in your veins, we are human and we are Cetra."
"The Earth, you're the Earth? I'm... special? Can everyone hear the Earth? Can everyone hear you, too? My mom could talk to you?" Sephris suddenly stood. She was excited, as if she had made a new, wonderful friend.
She had so many questions.
The Earth had all the time in the World to answer them.
~
Vincent had been feeding for hours.
He was on top of the world; he knew humans were not cattle.
He KNEW that what set them apart from him was the soul. He no longer had one, they all did.
That's what set them apart from being cattle. Why they always won the wars.
Things were certainly starting to make sense one he died.
The chaos was gone too. That was a blessing. His body no longer ripped apart to sprout wings whenever he felt angry.
Everything about the old Vincent was dead.
Vincent left New Gomorra, without saying good-bye to Stygian.
He would return, though, in a few days, once he was done praying on the street urchins of Midgar for blood.
It just was so much fun.
When the sun began to rise, he felt that his skin was on fire; as if it were a terrible, rapidly approaching sun burn.
He swiftly retreated to Niblehiem with in-human speed, traveling in the shadows.
He spent his first night as a vampire in his old coffin, for old times sake.
Never had it felt so foreign before.
As he slept, he wondered- he KNEW that he wasn't who he used to be... So, just who was he? He felt so young, he, like a teenager, didn't know who he was or what he wanted anymore.
Everything seemed so new and fascinating, even little things like candle flames. It was as if he saw everything for the first time again. He knew that it wouldn't last. After all, vampires live forever, and eternity was a long time indeed.
What would his old friends think of this? Cloud, Cid, Red... and... and...
Yuffie.
Oh, god, they had been getting so close, lately. Where was she, anyway? He betted that she was looking for him... Poor, poor Yuffie. What did he DO to her? Things couldn't be like they used to be. Impossible. They weren't the same species anymore. He could never look her in the eye again.
It just... isn't the same anymore. He wasn't who he used to be. Vincent Valentine is dead.
Vincent turned slightly in the soft, cushioned, violet coffin. He would sigh, but, he did not breathe any longer.
The salty after-taste of blood still tolled in his mouth. It tasted like jasmine and roses to him. It just smelt, felt, and tasted so good. It was life, it was warm and flowed with watery memories...
Like... like tears.
Yuffie. No, ... wait... he didn't before... does he now, he wondered?
No, of course not.
Vampires didn't love, they couldn't.
Everything seemed so different now. He felt different- about everything and everyone, including the people he once knew. Including Yuffie.
He turned to his other side.
He fought the urge to go and find her, just to see her again.
It would be too weird, too awkward, what would she say?
"Wow, Vincent you really changed. You died, and, oh! Look! There is something totally different about you! Did you get a haircut, uh, oh, no, you're a vampire!"
He sighed. Vincent... who are you now? He wondered. Are you... evil? You just spent a whole night killing people- The thought in his head swirled and mixed with pounding hammers.
He wished that he would stop thinking, and lying half awake, half dreaming.
Never before had his coffin seemed so uncomfortable.
Would you kill Yuffie, too?
Vincent didn't know the answer to the question he asked himself. He just didn't know.
Volume II of the 'Sun' series
Tseng yawned, and stood.
The ground was freezing. He curled his toes.
He glanced around the tale hotel room painted with morning light. Where were his pants?
He looked to the bed. Elena was still asleep. He wouldn't wake her until he was dressed and had hotel room coffee brewing.
He found his pants in a sleeping jean blue heap on the floor. He smiled tiredly. He threw them off in the heat of passion the night before.
Passion? He glanced back at Elena as he picked them up.
Not really.
It was just sex; pure and simple. He said that he would take her out if she'd agree to come, but, he realized something over the years- he wasn't looking for love.
Love was just something to do when your bored and have nothing else in your life.
You have to MAKE something to do in your life, and Tseng was done with revenge.
Reeve, AKA Cait Sith, after all, was dead.
The bastard.
Reeve left him alone to die in the Temple of The Ancients.
Funny, Tseng thought as he buttoned up his white shirt, after you have your revenge, it's like waking up after you die. You think, 'What am I going to do with my life, now?'
Look for something ELSE to do was the answer.
Actually, finding Ray and following the lighting beasts wasn't the most important thing to do in the world. Actually, it doesn't even matter. It's just something else to occupy his time with, and wasn't a 9-5 job.
Tseng couldn't stand going back to an ordinary job, once he had a taste of Turk life- that's what this mission was all about.
He needed to do important things.
He needed to do BIG things, like find out what's at the bottom of this monster conspiracy.
It's a Turk thing.
It's a guy thing.
It's a Tseng thing.
Tseng lived in the streets for several years after the Temple collapse. He couldn't work if he WANTED to because of his paralyzed- numb arm. Then, he stopped feeling sorry for himself, and sought revenge on Reeve.
Really, deep down, all Tseng really wanted back was his job as a Turk. Maybe, just maybe, searching out the monsters was his way of trying to get something back that was lost forever.
Tseng sighed. He knew this whole thing was useless, and he was dragging other people down along with him. Rude, Reno, and Elena.
"Really, Tseng," He said to himself as he began to comb his long back hair. "Your just a jobless bastard. Totally nuts, still doin' this shit. And, look, you ain't gettin' any younger, either." Tseng placed his comb down, and looked into the hotel-room mirror.
Elena's shoulder slowly rose and fell with each sleeping breath in the mirror's background.
Look into your own face, Tseng, what do you see?
Be honest.
And empty shell, Tseng, that's what I see.
Tattered. Torn. Tiered. Aging.
You ain't who you used to be.
I know. That's my shadow. That's my burden I bear. I'm only a shadow of who I used to be, that shadow keeps following me. I used to have money, power, and...
This wild goose chase is going nowhere. Why keep going?
I don't want to be on the streets anymore. I don't want to become an ordinary Joe. No 9-5 job... please, no, I'm better than that. I was a TURK! A TURK!
You hear me!? Tseng Fong of Shin-Ra!
Tseng's narrow brown eyes swelled in clear, hot, salty liquids.
He brushed it away, cleared his throat, and straitened his collar.
He tried pulling the sleeve on his left arm strait. He wished that it would someday wake up, and be what and who he used to be. It wasn't supposed to end this way, crippled, and penniless. He wanted his arm back.
He looked into the mirror once more.
Killing Reeve didn't bring your arm back, did it?
Tseng blinked.
No, it didn't, but, it felt good.
For the moment, anyway. I wonder if he had family.
Why do you care? You killed lots of people as a Turk.
Reeve just wasn't another guy- Reeve worked for Shin-Ra. Reeve had power, too, like me. Did... I betray Shin-Ra by killing him?
No. You don't even WORK for Shin-Ra anymore. You didn't betray anybody, Tseng.
Tseng pressed his palm against the mirror. The two hands touched. He lowered his weak head a moment. As he removed his hand from the icy glass, a ghost palm appeared upon the reflection of his face.
Slowly, the hand evaporated.
"God. I just want to... fucking... start over again. I wish I had money again. And a job, I... I don't want to be dead anymore."
Elena sat up. She had been awake for a half hour now, lying there, listing to Tseng quietly talk to himself.
"Tseng?" She said. Tseng turned around as she sat with her back against the headboard, and the sheet wrapped around her naked skin.
"You heard me?" Tseng spun around, and looked at her.
She spoke, while clutching the sheet around her chest. Her blonde, short hair was ruffled. Her face with yesterday's make-up was smeared around her puffy blue eyes.
"Well, yeah, Tseng, uhm, I- know how you feel, you know, I was a Turk, too, and now I'm barely making ends meat, come and sit down, will ya?" Elena patted the bedspread. Tseng paused, then sat down on the beds corner.
"Goin' on this mission doesn't make us Turks again, but we are going anyway. We know that. It's just for fun. Your taking it way too serious." She pushed a lock of her yellow hair behind her ears, and leaned forward, giving Tseng a playful, wise smile. "Having fun. Remember that? You know, I've grown up a lot in these last few years, and you know what I've learned? That, money isn't everything. Living is. Making it day-to-day is important."
"I'm trying, Elena, I really am. But, I- NEED money to be happy. I keep comparing my life to the way it WAS to what it is NOW. It's not fair, it isn't as easy for me as it is for you. I can't 'just get over it.' I have NOTHING, and I can't STAND it." Tseng stood and nearly snarled as he spoke, but it was not towards her.
"You got me." Elena said as she laid back down on the bed.
Tseng glanced at her as he walked out of the hotel room.
His glance was empty.
It seemed to say,
'Yeah, but, you mean nothing to me.'
He slammed the door shut.
Tseng sighed and rested his forehead upon the hotel hallway's wall.
The walls had the most hideous, ancient looking wallpaper hugging them. In the corners, they were peeling with a brown and yellow banana splotches in curling dog ears.
Under his feet, the rusty hotel rug seemed to have laid down and died several years ago.
Tseng closed his eyes as his forehead rested upon the wall. He basked under the flickering, dull light. He just needed a moment to collect himself.
It was a shitty, gray morning. He knew it was gray without even walking outside.
He woke up feeling like pure shit.
Something smelt familiar. It wasn't the dusty, musk smell of the hotel, either. It smelt like cigars.
It was cigars. He couldn't quite place the brand. It was an expensive kind, though.
"Fancy meetin' you 'ere, partner. Howdy. Didn't catch yur name before, I rememba ya' though. I never forget a face."
Tseng lifted his head off of the wall. He sort of felt like just banging it really, really hard.
The man before Tseng was a fat, framed, stout man in a gray cowboy hat. Around his middle, dividing his humpty-dumpty-egg-frame in half, was a thick brown belt and a huge, oval, belt-buckle squarely in the middle.
Under the black, ring, shadow of his hat, was a lumpy, red face and two, tiny, bullet eyes.
He had a mischievous smile, and a dark, manipulative twinkle to his eyes.
"Do I know you?" Tseng asked without a hint of patience in his voice.
"Surely ya do! Cigar?" The fat man offered as he plucked two long, brown, stogies from his inside suit pocket.
"Uh, I guess." Tseng took one, why, he knew not. He supposed that he needed a smoke. The fat man placed his between his thin, pinkish lips, and took out a pure gold lighter. He lit Tseng's first.
Then, Tseng remembered. This was Ray, the man they were looking for... How stupid he was for not recognizing him! How... ironic this was! This wasn't any old fat, old, cowboy, this was...
"Ray Romeo! Yur that fella that shot that other fella in the dark! Can't forget a face! I bare no grudges, you prolly shot him with your own reasons!"
Ray held out his thick, huge hand.
Tseng glanced at it, and shook it while not leaving his locked stare.
"Ray, I've been looking all over for you, we need your held in tracking down the lighting beasts." Tseng said in once quick sentence without taking a break.
Ray laughed. His belly shook. He removed his cigar, and continued on one, long, heavy, gawfaw. He slapped his knee.
His hilly, chubby face turned redder.
Tseng was left to wonder just what was so damned funny.
"Let's get outa this hallway and go have a drink, we will talk." Tseng pressed himself against the hallway wall, letting Ray lead the way. Everything about him seemed to be huge.
They sat at the bar of the hotel. It was only 11 in the morning when Ray ordered his first beer.
Tseng drank orange juice, normally, he would have had something like scotch, but, it was just too early for him. He was surprised that the bar was even open and serving.
Anything for a buck, he guessed.
"Now, you wanna know 'bout the lighin' beasts. Why do ya think I know anythin', and if I did, why would you think that I'd tell ya?" Ray asked bluntly as he sucked on his cigar. Under his huge, bulbous body, the bar stool vanished.
Tseng wondered where he got a suit that size.
"Well, I know that throughout the years, you are the one man behind the Shin-Ra who has been pulling the strings. I know you have billions of gil, and I also know that you're the foremost expert on monsters, and I know that the lighting in the past few weeks, isn't any ordinary storm. I KNEW you had to be found somewhere near it. I also know that your probably heading North."
Tseng tried smoking his cigar, but found the smoke was really harsh on his throat.
Ray paused as he lifted his sweating beer. Clearly, Ray seemed impressed with Tseng's knowledge of him.
But, Ray kept a poker face, and lowered his deep, accented voice,
"Whut's all this in it for ya, anyway, why do ya wanna know more? If I told ya anythin' about what's REALLY goin' on, there ain't no turnin' back, you know."
Tseng nodded, "I know. And I WANT to know more." Tseng leaned in as he spoke seriously. His brown eyes were forever locked to the older, fat man.
Ray sighed, and looked away, then he took a pull from his beer, and adjusted his large carriage on the bar stool.
"Right, well, fine then, I'll tell ya. You pulled me leg. Fine. See, monsters, they got tissue from this dead girl, whose a Cetra, and tissue from Jenova, er, Sephiroth, really, I don't know, either or, doesn't matter, don't ask me how, and they are makin' a new creature outta this. The lightin' beasts was just an accident."
"What? They are making something worse than Sephiroth, then!"
"Don't interrupt me, boy, and keep your voice down, I ain't finished! Shin-Ra- Dante Julius, our stupid ass president, he don't know much 'bout what's goin' on. I do. I know the guy in charge of this project. I'm goin' to see him right now."
"Why are you telling me this, anyway?" Tseng whispered suspiciously.
Ray finished off his beer, and ordered another. He burped, then glanced at Tseng with a squinted eye,
"Cuz, you ain't goin' to live for much longer, so, it don't matter WHAT I tell ya."
Tseng didn't understand. He stared at Ray.
"Your... you... think your going to kill me? Ha, I don't think so. I've lived on the streets, I know how to take care of my self, old man." Tseng snubbed out his cigar, and stood up.
Ray shook his head, "You don't know what yur in for, boy. And I ain't finished tellin' ya what is going to happen."
"Oh?" Tseng turned, interestedly, dabbing sarcasm into his tone.
"The sun," Ray began.
"Yeah, what about it?" Tseng asked, folding his good arm about his chest.
Ray turned on his barstool, and tipped up his hat, then pointed to the ceiling with a short, stubby finger.
"I got a feelin THAT'S what's gunna kill ya."
"What do you mean? You know, your probably a bit off your rocker, Mr. Romeo."
"Am I, kid? Yur the one whose gettin' involved with sumething much bigger than yurself, and you certainly don need t' be." Ray stood, leaving several dollars on the bar.
The barstool seemed to have emerged from nowhere. It's shiny metal stem looked bent.
"Stop being so cryptic! Just tell me what's what!" Tseng's nostrils flared with impatience. The empty hotel bar paid no heed at all to the two men, neither did it's tender.
"Yur wanna know? Fine. I'll tell ya, kiddo, although, you prolly ain't much younger than me, I feel sorry for your immaturity, I surely do."
Tseng fell silent as Elena's words echoed in his head. Elena thought that he needed to grow up, too. Maybe she was right. Maybe they were all right. Was his immaturity that obvious, or was Ray really that perceptive?
"Awright. His name is Stygian, like the river Styx. He's a vampire. He's the one who moved Jenova from the Shin-Ra mansion basement, to his lab in the North continent. He then used da Jenova cells, and Aeris' cell tissue, and made a baby. Now, this whole thing is not without religious involvement." Ray paced about the bar, back and forth, as he spoke. His fingers were semi-tangled behind his back, but, his large, ball-shaped body made it impossible for his fingers to fully touch. "Monsters believe that Jenova was a dead-dormant Cetra goddess body. That means, Sephiroth REALLY WAS part god. That means, that since Sephiroth is part god, he really can't die. That means, that they are MAKING something that is part goddess- this is all because they believe, religiously, that they are making a savior, because Sephiroth was a failure."
Tseng was trying to let this all soak in. He didn't fully understand.
"Wait, are you saying Jenova isn't really dead, just dormant, because she's a goddess? Sephiroth took off her head. And... are you saying Sephiroth isn't dead?"
Ray sighed, and stopped pacing, "Yep. Can't die, just, like, sort of dead, dormant, really. She won't move or talk or nuthin. But her cells are alive, she's a goddess, she's immortal." Ray slid his fingers into his jacket pocket for a cigar. "So's Sephiroth. But, he's... kinda like an angel. Anyway, just not human. MORE than human. Which leads to Sephris- the Aeris/Jenova creation. She and Sephiroth share the same mother, Jenova. They both will have her DNA. Brother and sister. She's already created and growin'. They serve donuts here?"
Ray looked up from behind his cigar smoke. He slid his gold lighter away, and asked the barman for a donut.
"What's that have to do with the sun and me dying?" Tseng asked impatiently.
"I'm gettin' to that. Sephris is goin' to be mighty powerful. We only hope that she'll be usin' her powers for good- meaning, good for the human race. Little chance of THAT happinin', because the monsters will use her to get their power over us humans back. Monsters were here on Earth, along with Cetra, before us, you know. This is THEIR land we are usin' up. Word is, the monsters WANT Sephris to call down the sun with her power when she's of age, to burn us all to bits. Fire and brimstone, the whole nine yards. Sephiroth wasn't as strong as she will be. He could only call on meteor, and needed materia to do it. Sephris won't."
"Where IS this lab? Where is this all happening?"
"New Gomorra. Thanks, pal." Ray thanked the barman for the donut. "A little coffee, too, with the beer?"
Tseng was engrossed in the story. Was this all true? It seemed so... far-fetched. The end of the world? Again?
"Where's New Gomorra? Northern continent?"
"Close. UNDER the Northern continent. Under the crater Sephiroth made. WAAAAAAYYYY far under there." Ray replied as he ate his donut.
"Is this all true?" Tseng whispered intensely.
"As true as the fat on my face, kiddo. I ain't makin' up stories. Not good at it. Fact is, I only lie when it comes to business and politics, not End of the World crap." Ray thanked the barman again when he returned with his coffee.
"Now, kiddo, I gotta get goin'. I got a boat to catch. Gotta go to New Gomorra, if ya know what I mean." Ray finished his donut, and waddled to the door without touching his coffee or leaving a tip.
"Wait!" Tseng called out. Worry sprinkled his voice and face.
"What?" Ray stopped, and looked over his enormous shoulders.
"End of the World? Are you serious?" The quiet, dark bar walls seemed to listen in on the heavy conversation.
"Sure. Boy. It ain't nuthin' new. The World comes close to Endin' nearly every day. Don't you know anythin'? It's always dumb luck and stupidity of individuals- such as yourself- who have no idea what they are doin or what's going on- that save it. HAHAHAHA!" Suddenly, Ray bent over, crippling himself with laughter and slapping his knee. His red, thick face jiggled and flapped under the pressure of hilarity. Tseng was afraid that he would pop like a red balloon filling with too much air.
Then, he stopped, and whisked away the few tears that tumbled down his features.
Tseng stood still. He didn't find any of this at all funny.
"...Sniff... Sorry, kiddo, I can't 'elp but laugh at the irony of it all. Some buck like Cloud er sumeone will save the world again. No doubt. Its how all stories end. The World never explodes, really."
Then, Ray left.
Tseng turned and ran as fast as he could, upstairs to wake Elena, and find Rude and Reno.
The barman- who didn't listen to a word that passed, found himself annoyed with the untouched beer and coffee- and crumbs of a unpaid for donut on the bar counter.
~
"You have no reason to lie to us, Red. But, that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard!" Yuffie poked at the fire with a long twig, and shook like the leaves when the wind rattled them.
"Puh! I heard nuthin' %#@!%$!@ weird when I was goin' down! I heard no voices, no nuthin'!" Cid crossed his ankles, passing a blank glance at Red.
Red 13 stared into the small flames that crackled and flared before the three.
"It's. True. I do not lie, Cid." Red spoke like a bird with it's wings clipped.
No mess. Just plain, flat truth.
"I know, Red, no one's doubtin' ya. It's... just, well, what's next?" Cid asked, trying to brighten himself.
"I don't know about you, but, I'm going North. I HAVE to. If there is a risk of Sephiroth being back, I have to go for the sake and safety of my people at the Canyon." As Red turned away and paused in thought, the image of the beautiful woman from his dreams slowly seeped into his head like water to a dry sponge.
He looked up at Yuffie and Cid after the moment of reflection.
He said nothing about his vision to them. He was quite sure now that the vision that he told his wife about was a bad omen.
"Me too! I'm going, too!" Yuffie smiled with years upon her young face.
"Why, Yuffie?" Cid asked venomously.
"Because..." She searched for a reason, "Vincent. Uhm. I'm going for him."
"I don't get it. I thought you hated him." Cid asked. Red continued to say nothing.
"I MISS him. I think he's in trouble. I LOST him, Cid. We were traveling together. I bet he's either gone home, or gone North. Call it a hunch, call it... women's intuition!"
"Puh. Women." Cid spat.
The fire before them sparkled on into the night.
~
Tifa's Dairy
September 22, 2005
Dear Dairy,
I made reservations at a really nice restaurant for me and Cloud. I had news to tell him.
I told him, 'Yes.'
He gave me the ring. I knew that he had been holding onto it.
I bought a really nice dress behind his back the day before we went to dinner. It was a short, black velvet, strappy dress.
I wore the heels that I bought for a funeral several years ago, but never had a chance to wear again. He hugged me and kissed me and promised to be a good husband.
And you know? I believe him. I also had other news for him, but, well, I don't think nows a good time to tell him. Maybe in a month.
I don't know why I'm so sacred to tell him. I think I'm scared because I think HE'S going to be scared. I'm not sure if he's ready for it.
Well, weather he is ready or not, it's in me.
I don't feel it, but, I can tell.
I took the test yesterday, it SAID I was. I was in denial before.
See, I sort of knew that I was... because... I never told you this, but, I have been missing my period for some time now. I just thought it was stress, I didn't believe that I could be pregnant.
I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. I have a FEELING that it's a boy...
I wish it were a girl. I'd name her Isabell.
Why am I so scared? Is it hormones? It's not like he will leave me. Maybe he will. I doubt it. I think I'm being stupid.
It makes me feel so loved, something needs me, it's a living thing, swimming inside my skin, warm and safe- because I'm eating good and exercising. I want to be a great mom.
When I touch my belly, I get this feeling that shakes and heats my whole body. I love it. I love it, whomever it is in me, and whatever it will be. I love it. I feel so good. I'm so happy, but I'm so scared. Were going to be ok. We have a lot of money, and live in a good neighborhood. I think we are ready for it.
I just have to tell him. Johnny knows. Barret and Cloud don't.
I wish MY mom were around. My step mom and my real mom... I need someone, a female, to talk to about this. I... I... even wish Aeris were around...
Your Mommy to be,
Tifa R. Lockheart
(Isabell Valentine)
~
Sephris sighed as she looked into the mirror. Why was her dad fussing so much? Why was he bitching to her? She hated his black eyes. She could never tell if he was looking strait at her or not.
Sephris hated her hair. It never did what she wanted, and she found a long gray hair lost in-between the rivers of reddish brown wavy locks. How could she be going gray, now? She's only 17!
It seemed like only yesterday that she was 12.
Life was easier then.
In reality, Sephris was only several weeks old. But it was the Jenova cells in her that made her grow unusually fast. When her body ages a little more, Stygian will give her mako injections, much like the late Sephiroth, to slow her aging process. Stygian stated himself in her mind as her father.
His coal colored face, and space black body was etched in her mind forever as the man who raised her. A vampire.
Sephris looked much like Aeris, but had the eyes of Sephiroth.
She didn't feel good today; she was a little depressed.
Stygian knew that puberty would last a few more hours for her.
That was why he locked her in his office. He wanted nothing to do with feverishly raging female hormones.
He also left her with a box of tampons and a bottle of Midol.
"Dad's such a prick. Where IS he? GOD I hate him! I think he abandoned me! Where is the radio!?" Sephris grunted out loud to herself.
Sephris looked into the mirror, and picked at a black head. She felt so bored.
"Sephris...?"
She looked around. Something, someone, said her name.
But there was no one there.
The office was empty.
Sephris stood. The office was small, and gray, and cramped with towers of stacked papers and files. There was a broken black radio in a filthy, dusty corner. It stared at her with two silent speaker eyes.
"Sephris. Sephris. Seeeffffiiiirruuuhhhhissssss... hisss..." The voice sounded like mist and ocean waves. It was gentle like a old oak tree. It sounded as if it were in pain, like the cry of a dying Grandmother.
Sephris turned in circles. Who was calling her? It seemed to come from nowhere, like the ripples in an echoing, disturbed pond.
She was hesitant to answer. What if she were crazy. No.
She wasn't crazy. She was hearing the voice.
The office was dimly lit. The only light source was a soft, blue glow from a glowing stone on a iron black stand. It acted much like a floor lamp.
It gave the room a hazy look, with many holes riddling ink black shadows in the corners.
"What?" Sephris whispered. She clutched herself. Where was her father?!
"Sephris. Listen to me. With your heart. Always listen. You are confused. You know me. You know Us. You always have. I am all around you."
"Are you god?" Sephris asked naively.
"I am. I am your ancestors. I am your parent. I am every living being's parent."
Suddenly, Sephris felt calmer. The voice was like water, and she wanted to bathe in it. Sephris sat down on the floor of the room. She wanted to feel closer to the voice, and being close to the Earth made her feel that way. She wanted to listen.
"Sephris. You can speak to me. We can speak. We are the Earth. We are your Mother, and your Father. You are gifted, Sephris. So was your mother before you."
"My mom? You knew my mom?" Sephris' heart leapt into her head. She always wanted a mom...
"Yes, darling, her name was Aeris, she too, could speak to Us. And we are she. I know it's hard, but We are Aeris. We are Jenova. I am the Earth. We are everyone that once was, and everything that will be. We are the Lifestream. We are Jenova, whose blood runs in your veins, we are human and we are Cetra."
"The Earth, you're the Earth? I'm... special? Can everyone hear the Earth? Can everyone hear you, too? My mom could talk to you?" Sephris suddenly stood. She was excited, as if she had made a new, wonderful friend.
She had so many questions.
The Earth had all the time in the World to answer them.
~
Vincent had been feeding for hours.
He was on top of the world; he knew humans were not cattle.
He KNEW that what set them apart from him was the soul. He no longer had one, they all did.
That's what set them apart from being cattle. Why they always won the wars.
Things were certainly starting to make sense one he died.
The chaos was gone too. That was a blessing. His body no longer ripped apart to sprout wings whenever he felt angry.
Everything about the old Vincent was dead.
Vincent left New Gomorra, without saying good-bye to Stygian.
He would return, though, in a few days, once he was done praying on the street urchins of Midgar for blood.
It just was so much fun.
When the sun began to rise, he felt that his skin was on fire; as if it were a terrible, rapidly approaching sun burn.
He swiftly retreated to Niblehiem with in-human speed, traveling in the shadows.
He spent his first night as a vampire in his old coffin, for old times sake.
Never had it felt so foreign before.
As he slept, he wondered- he KNEW that he wasn't who he used to be... So, just who was he? He felt so young, he, like a teenager, didn't know who he was or what he wanted anymore.
Everything seemed so new and fascinating, even little things like candle flames. It was as if he saw everything for the first time again. He knew that it wouldn't last. After all, vampires live forever, and eternity was a long time indeed.
What would his old friends think of this? Cloud, Cid, Red... and... and...
Yuffie.
Oh, god, they had been getting so close, lately. Where was she, anyway? He betted that she was looking for him... Poor, poor Yuffie. What did he DO to her? Things couldn't be like they used to be. Impossible. They weren't the same species anymore. He could never look her in the eye again.
It just... isn't the same anymore. He wasn't who he used to be. Vincent Valentine is dead.
Vincent turned slightly in the soft, cushioned, violet coffin. He would sigh, but, he did not breathe any longer.
The salty after-taste of blood still tolled in his mouth. It tasted like jasmine and roses to him. It just smelt, felt, and tasted so good. It was life, it was warm and flowed with watery memories...
Like... like tears.
Yuffie. No, ... wait... he didn't before... does he now, he wondered?
No, of course not.
Vampires didn't love, they couldn't.
Everything seemed so different now. He felt different- about everything and everyone, including the people he once knew. Including Yuffie.
He turned to his other side.
He fought the urge to go and find her, just to see her again.
It would be too weird, too awkward, what would she say?
"Wow, Vincent you really changed. You died, and, oh! Look! There is something totally different about you! Did you get a haircut, uh, oh, no, you're a vampire!"
He sighed. Vincent... who are you now? He wondered. Are you... evil? You just spent a whole night killing people- The thought in his head swirled and mixed with pounding hammers.
He wished that he would stop thinking, and lying half awake, half dreaming.
Never before had his coffin seemed so uncomfortable.
Would you kill Yuffie, too?
Vincent didn't know the answer to the question he asked himself. He just didn't know.