AN: Well…no long spiel today. I own nothing now…hey! I own my clones! I made them up all by myself…sort of. Christmas shopping sucks! The stores are always packed with crazy people. Sheesh…
It was nearly pitch black out on the deck of the Sierra, the moon being the only source of light. That was more than enough for a set of well trained eyes. Whisper quiet, she made her was to the helm, adjusting the heavy bag on her back. Cid sat slumped in his chair, a tooth pick hanging precariously from his lips. She smiled softly at the pilot.
With a quick glance behind her, the little ninja ducked into the chocobo holding pen. He was down there still, shifting from foot to foot, eagerly waiting for her.
"Hello, Valentine…" She easily hopped onto the chocobos back. He turned, slowly heading towards the section of the pen that had been opened up for Cloud to keep Fenrir. "…Fly" she whispered. Without hesitation the bird leaped over the railing, spreading his small wings and gliding down to the ground. A small giggle escaped Yuffie as the fell. She activated a summon, closing her eyes she reveled in the feel of the materia in her Imperial Guard. Reno won't mind her borrowing it.
Below her the ground began to shake and crack. A rift formed and two strong arms appeared and pulled the rest of the large body up. He leaped toward the falling choco, easily catching it in one large hand, then landing heavily on the ground and setting the pair down. Yuffie smiled as Titan turned and dove back into the rift, closing it behind him. The materia losing its glow.
She glanced back up at the Sierra as it flew in a slow circle above the crater. A sudden pain shot through her, from her toes to the back of her head. She grabbed the red reins of Valentines bridle.
"Hurry, we have to hurry!" Yuffie hissed as the bird bolted for the opening at break neck speed.
'Well…now what? She got you that time.' Chaos chided.
'What are you talking about?' Vincent groaned, he couldn't move a muscle or open his eyes. '…Yuffie cast sleep on me.' He sighed heavily as the grogginess started to lift.
'She has gone down to the Temple of Light…Get up already.' The demon forced Vincent's eyes open. With a thick groan, he stood. His head felt heavy and his vision was still blurry. He stumbled to the door, holding himself up for a full minute before moving again.
"What the hell was that?" came a groggy voice beside Vincent. He slowly turned, regaining his composure. Reno stood rubbing his eyes and wobbling slightly.
"Yuffie cast sleep on us." The gunman answered in his usual monotone.
"That takes a lot of time though…" Tifa pushed passed Reno. "God, that kid can be so stubborn." She hissed.
"What should we do?" Reno shook his head again, trying to shake the sleep spell.
"Go look for her." Tifa stated, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We should hurry. She has a bit of a lead on us." Vincent turned toward the helm where Cid had been keeping watch. He stumbled out, none too gracefully, affirming Vincent's suspicion that he hadn't been spared.
"She took my goddamned 'All' materia! It took me six months to master that damn thing!" Cid growled, still trying to shake the effects of sleep.
"Cloud's still sleeping, so are Barrett and Red-"
"Red ain't here!" Barret interrupted from just down the hall. "Not in my room or Spikes."
"Think he went after her?" Reno glanced to Vincent. He merely nodded in reply.
"Let's get whoever is here up and get moving. We don't have much time." Tifa turned her attention to angry clouds forming on the distant horizon. "It'll be here soon."
They practically flew down threw the cavern, dodging boulders and low overhangs as they made their way deeper into the crater. The passageways were getting smaller, too small for a large black chocobo. She easily dismounted and told him to head back to the top of the crater. At least she could be sure Cloud or Cid would take him back to the Sierra at some point. Obediently it turned and made its way to the mouth of the caves and Yuffie turned to move deeper inside.
She was driven to something. She had no idea who or what she was going to find, all she knew was Aeris said to go. She held the opal colored materia in her hand then slid it into the only open spot on her newly acquired Imperial Guard. She felt faster and stronger and she could swear she could even see better than usual.
A noise behind her caught her off guard and she slipped. 'Ah, hell…they can't have found me already.' She struggled to get a new hand hold but failed. She felt herself falling backwards. 'I'm gonna die…nononono!'
"Gotcha!" Came a gruff voice threw a mouthful of her arm.
"Red?" She cocked her head to the side as he began to pull her up to safety. "What are you doing here?" He nodded to a resist materia.
"Guess it works on ninja too." He chuckled as she rolled her eyes.
"Figures that you, the only cat beastie in the group, would resist the magnificent charm of the great Yuffie Kisaragi!" She threw her hand up in a triumphant gesture. He scoffed at her remark. Slowly she turned to look at him. "So what the hell are you doing following me?"
He shot a wide eyed stare her way. "I uh, I came to find you…" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"So I've noticed…why?" She frowned now, hands on her hips. "I have to do this alone; I can't take you all down with me…" she sighed looking down the dark corridors of the cavern. "I don't remember it being this big."
"It has indeed grown since the last time we visited." Red spoke softly, nodding his head slightly. "Well I'm going with you. If you're in danger, I'm going with you. I shall offer as much of my assistance as I can ninja Kisaragi." She gave him a warm, rare smile. Her eyes shone with a sort of gladness he'd never seen in her. He was noticing that there was a lot there he hadn't noticed before. She was no longer the materia hunter/thief from Wutai. She was the Empress defending her country and avenging her people.
"Thank you, Nanaki." She bowed slightly and turned to the darkness. "Let's move…they aren't far behind." He nodded in response.
'She's moving quickly, deeper into the temple. The beast has followed her.' Chaos growled in frustration. 'He is upon us again and he will tear us apart. You are not prepared to deal with it yet.' The worry in the demons voice was evident, and it constantly gnawed at the edge of Vincents mind.
'Does it have a weakness, anything at all?' Vincent struggled to keep the demon locked inside. He clamped his eyes shut in frustration. Nothing was coming together, Yuffie was down in Sephiroth's tomb and he was faced with an invincible foe and a demon. He was angry with her for not having faith in him enough to let him help her, for stealing equipment from the rest of the crew, at Red for going. He opened his eyes, he gasped as a flash of light engulfed him. 'Aeris…'
'Vincent, why are you so worried?' her soft voice echoing in his mind.
'She is in danger, I am helpless to save her…I cannot fail this time.' His voice was low and he was sound in his resolve.
'How can you fail if it is not your task to complete?' she reasoned.
'Yuffie may die-'he could feel the panic and anger wrapping around his heart.
'At any moment you may lose the one you love. That does not make you the failure; it completes the natural progression of their life.' She spoke softly, a hint of a smile in her words. However, Yuffie dieing was not the natural progression of anything as far as he was concerned.
'You were murdered.' Vincent growled, anger he never showed flaring up. He had let her down as well.
'I did what was needed.' That shocked him, causing him to become angrier with her and himself.
'He ran you through, he murdered you and you call it natural progression.' She smiled at his little outburst and nodded.
'It is. He is ruled by another, his mind was never his own. When you are one faced with such a heavy task as that, you learn to forgive before the wrong is done.' His anger melted. He had killed him, had heard of all the testing and lived…or died in the mansion he lost himself in and had loved the woman who had been his mother. He had been there…and failed. Then it hit him…
'You were smiling…' Vincent could clearly see the light smile gracing her lips as Sephiroth hovered over her, sword rammed through her heart. The whispered 'I love you…' floating from her lips as they breathed their last.
'I love him. I love you all, Vincent. I have part of him with me always now, to look after his shattered soul.' He could almost picture her standing there, smiling down at the remains of the man who had taken her life.
'Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, they're with you?' His voice lost much of its bite, now sounding calm and peaceful.
'Always, their heart is my heart, their pain was my pain. You alone cannot beat the darkness above, but you will defeat the demon within. I believe in you.' She began to fade; quickly his human hand caught hers. She paused, giggling at him.
'Aeris…' He breathed, turning sideways enough to see her out of the corner of his eye.
'Yes, Vincent?' She smiled at knowing what he would say.
'…' For the first time in a long time he felt it. Unrelenting, unyielding passion, unfailing trust and need for another person. He felt it racing through him like fire. He couldn't find the words to say what he felt, thirty years with a dead heart had robbed him of the ability.
'I know.' She smiled, laughing a beautiful, silvery laugh just for him. She could never say with words what a victory this would mean for all the others, but she was unabashedly proud with her own small win. 'And I am so glad.' She gave his human hand a tight squeeze and then was gone.
AN: Ok, hope you like this one. Sorry it's not as long as I wanted it to be. BUT! I really like how this turned out. Up next: Yuffie and Red go spelunking in materia heaven. As always, please review! I love 'em soooo much:)