DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII or X. Sucks to be me.
This chapter is dedicated to Harley McCoy. Happy Birthday darlin'
Chapter XXV
Back on the Path
Juron was a beehive of activity: the appearance of a the massive METEOR in the sky, the release of five WEAPONS sent to protect The Planet by destroying its occupants responsible for its plight, and the arrival of Rufus Shinra with the AVALANCE terrorists "responsible" for the imminent destruction of The Planet had sent the city into a confused panic. Citizens formed mobs in the streets, rioting and breaking into shops for supplies. Shin-Ra troops struggled to maintain order while protecting the President and his corporate entourage. Roboguards were assigned to guard the unconscious prisoners while an airship and several Gelenka aircraft waited on the airfield, fueled and ready to whisk the VIPs away in a moment's need.
Amidst the confusion, it was fairly easy for Vincent and Yuffie to sneak into the city.
The gunslinger and young ninja had been separated from the rest of AVALANCE when Cloud lost control and handed Sephiroth the Black Materia. The resulting chaos of magic, WEAPONS, METEOR, and barriers had been a blessing in disguise for the two. While the rest of AVALANCE was taken captive on board Shin-Ra's airship, Vincent and Yuffie remained on the mountainside, forgotten or perhaps blatantly ignored by Shin-Ra; after all, they already had the founders of AVALANCE, plus several followers; why bother searching the frozen wastelands of the Northern Crater for a mystery man and a Wutai thief?
It had been a short jump for Vincent to fly Yuffie out of the Northern Crater to Icicle Inn; flying her to Juron had been a different story. In order to reach the fortress-city before the executions of their friends, Vincent had to fly over the ocean at high speeds. Yuffie screamed and threw up for over a quarter of a trip until Vincent gained altitude. The thin oxygen didn't affect Vincent and, after Yuffie had passed out, the trip was much more pleasant.
Vincent landed in the forests outside of Juron and held a potion under Yuffie's nose until she woke with a start.
"Urgh," she moaned as she sat up and glared at Vincent. "I hate you."
"Sailing would have been too slow and you would have gotten sick regardless," Vincent answered and helped her up.
"I still hate you," Yuffie repeated and looked around. The slums of Lower Juron took her back, things have gotten even more polluted than when she had first visited just after joining with Cloud and the others. For Vincent, it was just another slum caused by Shin-Ra's greed.
"Well, the elevator's out," Yuffie said as they walked down the single street and nodded towards the heavily guarded Shin-Ra lift. Two full platoons of Shin-Ra troopers, armed with machine gun and grenades, kept watch in and in front of the lift.
"Is there another way in?"
"Well, there is one way. C'mon!" Yuffie smiled and pulled Vincent towards the beach. The beach was deserted, though a single dolphin fin could been seen farther out to see.
"There's the way up," Yuffie pointed to a large electrical tower. Vincent looked at the tower and raised an eyebrow at Yuffie.
"I'm serious! That's how we got up last time. You see, we saved this little girl from this chicken-fish monster and then we waded out to the shallows underneath the tower and the girl blew a whistle and her trained dolphin knocked us into the air and onto the tower."
"And I suppose you plan on for me to fly us up there without touching one of those electrified wires that would cook us faster than dragon's breath?"
"Pretty much," Yuffie smiled. Vincent rolled his eyes and grabbed onto Yuffie's arm guard. He leapt into the sky and carried her onto the tower platform high above the electrified wires. He dropped her onto the platform and she quickly ran to the edge and vomited.
"Give me some warning next time!" she yelled after cleaning the drool from her chin. "I thought my stomach was going to jump into my mouth!"
"Where next?" was Vincent's reply.
-X-
The streets of Juron were full of frightened civilians and over-tired Shin-Ra troopers. The civilians were terrified by the sudden appearance of METEOR in the sky and reports of monstrous WEAPONS roaming The Planet. When they heard that President Rufus Shinra was bringing the eco-terrorists, AVALANCE, to Juron to execute them for crimes against humanity, people had crowded the streets and gathered towards the head of Shin-Ra power in Juron: the great Mako Cannon: Sister Ray.
Vincent and Yuffie slipped into these crowds effortlessly, moving separately but maintaining visual contact, using them to work towards the Sister Ray and avoiding the roving Shin-Ra patrols. Vincent, despite his unique appearance, seemed to melt into shadows and blend with groups of people; Yuffie, with her ninja training, moved through the crowds like a petite wraith, picking as many pockets as she could.
"You are going to get caught," Vincent whispered to Yuffie as they passed through a Shin-Ra road block.
"Ha! As if any of these Shin-Ra goons are smart enough to catch me."
"HEY! YOU THERE! STOP! THIEF!" an angry voice shouted from the crowd. People immediately grabbed for their wallets and/or purses and took up the cry themselves. All eyes suddenly turned towards Vincent and Yuffie, the only two people not panicking or shouting.
"THERE THEY ARE! GET THEM!"
"You were saying?" Vincent glared at Yuffie, grabbed her arm, and took off down a long alley. The robbed mob chased after them, led by all the Shin-Ra troops within earshot. The Juron alleys were windy, but narrow, and Vincent immediately realized his error. There was no way to lose the mob in the alleyway; it was only a matter of time before they cut Yuffie and him off at the other end.
"What are we going to do?" Yuffie asked as they came to a screeching halt. "They're still coming!"
Vincent responded by grabbing the teen by her belt and hurling her straight up into the air. Yuffie screamed at the intrusion to her personal space and the sudden flight, but soon landed hard on top of a building. A second later, Vincent landed quietly beside her.
"What's the big idea, grabbing me like that, you big pervert!" Yuffie yelled, but Vincent ignored her.
"Come," was all he said before he raced across the rooftop and leapt over the alleyway. Yuffie watched, amazed at the gunslinger's prowess. She ran after him, making the leap but not landing as smoothly or as gracefully.
The pair raced over the rooftops, swung around corners, vaulted over smokestacks and chimneys, snuck past Shin-Ra sentries, and carefully made their way towards the Sister Ray cannon. When they were close, Vincent and Yuffie carefully climbed down from their rooftop perch and slipped back onto the streets.
While they had lost the angry mob, the Shin-Ra soldiers and guards remained on high alert. Vincent and Yuffie cautiously moved down the streets, unconsciously feeling every eye focused on them. Vincent turned as a loud whistling and stomping noise was heard down the street. An entire platoon of Shin-Ra soldiers, each fully armed and accompanied by three SOLDIER 2nds, marched toward them.
Vincent touched Yuffie's arm lightly, alerting her to the platoon's presence. She let out a sharp breath, but kept her composure. Vincent nodded to a nearby doorway and they discretely made their way towards it. Vincent and his cloak shielded Yuffie while she opened the door, just as the platoon approached.
They marched straight and rigid, weapons shouldered and safeties on. Honor guard, parade troops for the president's speech, Vincent realized and relaxed slightly as he followed Yuffie through the door.
The door led to a dimly lit tavern; a tavern full of off-duty Shin-Ra troopers and officers, drinking and watching the execution pre-show on television. The entire bar turned and looked at the strange new comers, the awkwardness and tension almost tangible in the air.
"Uh, hi," Yuffie smiled politely and gave a little wave. She froze in place like a deer startled by a predator and Vincent feared she would lose her composure and another merry chase around Juron would ensue. Vincent, watching the soldiers shift uncomfortably in their chairs and stools, let his hand drop casually toward his holstered gun. Suddenly, the television blared and the troops let out a holler as a scantily clad celebrity personality appeared onscreen. She was interviewing Scarlet, Shin-Ra's head of Weapon development, about the upcoming execution and the rumor that she and President Shinra did more than work late at night in Shin-Ra HQ in Midgar. The two beautiful women on television successfully captured the Shin-Ra soldiers' attention away from Vincent and Yuffie. Vincent gave Yuffie a gentle nudge toward the side of the tavern with the least Shin-Ra personnel and sat down at an empty table.
"Relax," he whispered to Yuffie. The girl looked like she was about to hyperventilate.
"How can I relax? I walked us right into a Shin-Ra bar!" she hissed back. "We're in Shin-Ra central! We need to get out of here!"
"Who walks into a bar and walks right back out? If we leave now, it will look even more suspicious," Vincent replied and beckoned for two drinks.
"What are you doing; we don't have time to have drinks!" Yuffie was in a near panic at this point and Vincent wondered if he'd have to gag the teen before the rest of the bar heard her.
"Like I said, it would look more suspicious if we left right away, especially after you barged in like that."
"I did not barge in." Yuffie's panic was turning to anger. Vincent smiled. Anger was better than fright. Vincent was about to respond when a tired looking waitress appeared with their drinks on a small platter.
"That'll be six Gil," the waitress sighed after putting the drinks on the table. Vincent passed her a ten Gil piece and she left as quickly as she appeared.
"We don't have time for this," Yuffie said again as Vincent passed a drink across the table to her.
"Look at the television," Vincent replied. "Rufus isn't making his speech for another twelve minutes."
Yuffie spun around and squinted at the television. Sure enough, a counter reading 00:11:54 ticked away beside the title: "President Shin-Ra Addresses the World, Execution of Eco-Terrorists Responsible for Crisis!"
"We need to be in position before Rufus begins his speech," Yuffie reminded Vincent. "Cait Sith was really anal about the time table."
"Even at my slowest, it will take no more than two and a half minutes to reach my sniper post from here. At your slowest, four minutes to the press checkpoint beneath Sister Ray."
"What's your point?" Yuffie asked, a little perturbed at Vincent implying that she was slow.
"So until that counter reaches six minutes, we stay here, drink our drinks, and hide in plain sight," Vincent concluded.
"That's, that's, that's actually not a bad idea," Yuffie admitted after a moments deliberation. Vincent raised a single eyebrow and took a long sip of his drink. Yuffie merely wrapped her slender hands around her glass and gently rubbed the condensation away.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Yuffie smiled sadly. "I just thought my first drink would be under happier circumstances."
"Hmmph," Vincent huffed and raised his glass towards Yuffie. "You're on a secret mission to rescue your comrades from unjust execution at the hands of a tyrannical autocracy while five monsters of epic proportions circle overhead with intention to eradicate us all while a massive METEOR hangs in space capable of creating a wound in The Planet that would utterly destroy it all masterminded by a madman with an Oedipus complex that just happens to be the single greatest warrior in history. Weigh it."
Yuffie sat still, wide eyed at Vincent's speech. It had been the most he had ever said to her, probably to anyone, all at once. But, more importantly, it somehow made complete sense to her.
"You know, you can be a real bastard Vincent," she smiled, shook her head, touched her glass to Vincent's, and took a deep swallow.
-X-
Vincent jerked awake and stared into the coughing mouth of the unshaven Shoopuf driver sleeping in the bunk opposite of him. Vincent rolled away from the offensive man and sat up; the thin blanket that covered him fell to the bunkroom floor. Vincent quickly gathered his things from the locked chest at the foot of his bunk (his gun and Materia hidden in the secret recesses of his cloak, just in case) and silently walked out of the bunkroom. The rest of the inn outside Djose was still asleep, despite being full to capacity.
Vincent had arrived just before nightfall; flying from Mushroom Rock had been slow with his wounds and exhaustion. For the first time in years, Vincent had felt the need to sleep, not for atonement, but for restoration. Battling the WEAPON, traveling through the wilds filled with fiends driven away from Mushroom Rock by Operation Mi'ihem, and avoiding the mobs of Al Bhed soldiers and Yevon Crusaders that were probably after him were enough reasons for Vincent to seek safety indoors. He remembered a small inn just outside Djose Temple and made his way toward it. It was still too close to Mushroom Rock for Vincent to feel safe or even at ease, but Vincent lacked the strength to fly any further. Vincent landed a mile away from the inn and made the rest of the trip on foot. It was a slow trek; several other travelers, people stopped from returning to Luca because of Operation Mi'ihem, passed him on the way to the inn. When Vincent finally entered the inn, he was on his last legs. The innkeeper was a fat sod of a man with a hard belly and greasy mustachio. The inn was full, he had said even before Vincent could open his mouth to speak. Only one bed left in the bunkroom. Vincent took it without arguing and paid the ridiculous amount of Gil the innkeeper had demanded.
The innkeeper slept in a large, overstuffed chair behind the front desk, scratching his belly and then privates obscenely while leaning backwards in the chair. Vincent marked that the man was no less vile or piggish asleep than he was awake. Vincent resisted the petty urge to tip the man over while he snored; but it was wiser to leave without causing a scene, better to be forgotten than remembered. Vincent made his way to the door, tightening his gunbelt, and wrapped his cloak around his shoulders to ward off the chilly, predawn air. He let the door swing shut behind him with a slight bang.
The following yelp of surprise, the clatter of a falling chair, and the thud of a fat man hitting the floor brought a small smile to Vincent's lips.
-X-
Dawn crept over the surrounding mountains as Vincent reached Djose Temple. When the new day's light reached the temple, Djose's famous lightning sprang to life. Vincent paused in amazement, watching the massive boulders orbits intertwine, but never touch. It was a familiar show, but one that never ceased to amaze or disappoint Vincent.
Vincent tightened his cloak again and shot into the air, mingling with the lightning and the boulders. 'I wonder if all the temples have small passages leading right to the Chamber of the Fayth like the Kilika temple.'
He flew along the temple's peaked roof, searching for a tell-tale crack or vent that would lead him inward. It didn't take long for Vincent to find one on the southern face of the temple. He dodged a sparking boulder and landed. Vincent assumed the vent would be as narrow as the one in Kilika, probably longer as well considering the mountainous size of the Djose Temple. Vincent swirled his cloak around him, transformed, and slipped into the vent like a wisp of smoke.
Vincent was right; the path was much longer than the one in Kilika. It was narrower as well; by the time Vincent reached the Chamber of the Fayth, he felt like he had been wrung through an old fashioned laundry ringer.
Vincent fell from the vent, his cloak slipping away from his body, and when he landed the pointed tips of his boots made a loud clatter on the stone floor. Immediately, another clatter rose up in the cavernous room. It was the galloping clip-clop, clip-clop of hooves approaching quickly. Vincent stepped aside just as the massive unicorn, Ixion, stormed past, flickers of lightning sparked off its silvery hooves.
Ixion circled around, shook its shaggy head at Vincent, its golden horn gleaming, and pawed the ground. For a moment, Vincent thought the Aeon would charge, would attack him like Ifrit's bestial Aeon had, but Ixion faded into pyreflies and Ramuh walked toward Vincent, leaning on his staff.
"Hello Vincent," the elderly Summon smiled. "It has been a few years, though not as many as before."
"Ramuh."
"I admit I am surprised to see you again. You already have my Summon Materia from my crypt and received enough lectures on punctuality from my brethren."
Vincent raised a single eyebrow in surprise. "How do you know about that?"
"We Summons are capable of some communication with one another, limited though it may be. It shames me to admit, but I did take some pleasure when Phoenix told me how she set you straight after all those years."
Vincent rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you enjoyed my guilt and pain. For immortal creatures of immense power, you all have the patience of newborn Chocobos."
"Thousands of years of imprisonment will do that," Ramuh reminded Vincent. "So, returning to my original question: why are you here?"
"Perhaps I merely wanted to say hello?" Vincent smirked, hamming it up for Ramuh. "It would be rude to pass by without stopping."
"You aren't exactly the social call type, Vincent," Ramuh laughed.
"No, I suppose not," Vincent nodded. "I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about these new WEAPONS: Onyx and Granite."
"I know some, but not all. Please tell me what happened."
Vincent quickly told Ramuh everything that happened: from Onyx's cryptic warnings and promises of revenge to Granite's last words. Ramuh remained silent the entire time, smoking a lightning bolt shaped pipe while he processed the new information.
"The WEAPONS were always The Planet's last resort, its last line of defense," Ramuh finally spoke, smoke billowing from his nostrils and weaving through his great white whiskers. "They were first created when JENOVA fell to the Planet. They would have destroyed her as well, if the Cetra hadn't sealed her away. Without a threat to the Planet, the WEAPONS were crystallized in Mako and set to watch over JENOVA in hope that if she ever broke loose, they would be there to stop her."
"If they were designed to protect The Planet and fight against JENOVA, why did they attack Shinra and not Sephiroth?" Vincent asked.
"When Sephiroth summoned METEOR, the WEAPONS sensed the imminent threat and awoke, as you saw with your own eyes. And they would have attacked and, in all likelihood lost to Sephiroth, if his barrier hadn't hidden him from them. Unable to strike at the greatest threat, the WEAPONS turned to the next worst offender: the Shinra."
"So they attacked Juron and then Midgar, the two biggest cities and consumers of Mako power."
"Precisely," Ramuh smiled behind his pipe. "They even attacked Mideel because Cloud Strife was recovering there and posed a threat to them in his own way."
"It's a shame they couldn't attack Sephiroth on their own; I believe Emerald may have been able to defeat Sephiroth," Vincent mused.
"If Sephiroth were foolish enough to venture underwater, perhaps. But he was quite content to watch you, your comrades, and the Shinra waste time, energy, and manpower battling the monsters."
"So what makes these new WEAPONS different? Why are they singling me out and not attacking SIN? Surely I am not a greater threat to The Planet than SIN," Vincent scoffed.
"You, no. But Chaos did destroy The Planet's final WEAPON, Omega. Omega was supposed to be The Planet's Ark, transporting the Lifestream across the stars so it could begin again. Perhaps The Planet is angry with you for cancelling its trip?" Ramuh suggested.
"It did try to reabsorb Chaos into the Lifestream after Omega was defeated," Vincent admitted. "It was Chaos' own decision to remain bound to me."
"So the WEAPONS have a personal vendetta against you," Ramuh said as he stood, his pipe vanishing in a tiny crack of thunder. "I would recommend caution in your travels to gather the remaining Materia orbs from the tombs. Once my brethren and I are restored, we will be able to help you with this problem."
"Aside from fighting beside me once again, how can you possibly help?"
"Alas, I am merely an advisor, not a planner. These things are left to my elders; they will be able to explain far better than I," Ramuh chuckled and stood up. "I'm afraid your social visit will have to be cut short. There is someone here to see me about a horse."
"Yuna is here already?"
Ramuh shook his head. "It is a young man named Isaaru I believe. Good lad from what I hear. He even has a little bit of potential, but nothing like your Yuna."
"So Yuna is the one that can restore your Materia?" Vincent pressed anxiously.
"I do not know; I am merely going off what I have heard from Besaid and Kilika. Best if you left the way you came in; I wouldn't want you scaring my guests. Good bye, Vincent Valentine. Thank you for stopping by, it was very polite of you, and good luck."
-X-
Vincent was in a fairly bad mood as he walked toward the Moonflow; paying a visit to Ramuh had left more questions than answers. Why did the Summons speak only in half truths and riddles? Gods forbid one of them give him a straight answer instead of just creating more questions before sending him along on his task to restore them.
'You would think they would be nicer and more accommodating to the one traveling to set them free,' Vincent mused as he reached the Moonflow paths. He walked toward the Shoopuf docks, just as he had when he first awakened in Spira. The path had not changed in ten years: overgrown plants still choked pathway, the path itself remained unpaved dirt (much like every other path in Spira, Vincent surmised), and bandits still prowled in the shadows for unprepared travelers. One such bandit had stepped onto the path in front of Vincent. Vincent merely drew back his cloak and gave the bandit a look at Cerberus. Recognition flashed in the bandit's eyes and he turned tail with a scream and a trail of urine in his wake.
It was nearly midday when Vincent reached the Moonflow banks and the Shoopuf docks were busy and crowded with traders and travelers. Vincent strode toward the docks casually, aware of eyes on him, but he was unconcerned until he reached the first trader outpost.
The outpost was a semi-permanent structure with three clay walls and a thatched roof that probably had to be rebuilt after each and every heavy storm. Tacked to one of the walls was a sheet of yellowing parchment with a crude, but easily recognizable picture of Vincent's face on it. Vincent tore the flyer off the wall and read it closely.
WANTED!
VINCENT VALENTINE, CAPTAIN
AKA
JYSBENA, THE CRIMSON KING, FAYBUH
Charged with:
ILLEGAL USE OF MAGIC
POSSESSION OF ILLEGAL MACHINA
USE OF ILLEGAL MACHINA WEAPONS ON FIENDS
USE OF ILLEGAL MACHINA WEAPONS ON SPIRANS
USE OF ILLEGAL MACHINA WEAPONS ON AL BHED
USE OF ILLEGAL MACHINA WEAPONS ON SINSPAWN
USE OF ILLEGAL MACHINA WEAPONS ON SIN
SELLING ILLEGAL MACHINA
IMPERSONATION OF A MEMBER OF YEVON CLERGY
ASSOCIATION WITH UNSAVORY CHARACTERS
DISTURBING THE PEACE
INSULTING A MAESTER OF YEVON
ASSAULTING A MAESTER OF YEVON
SEDITION
HIGH TREASON AGAINST YEVON
CORRUPTION OF YOUTH
ALLIGENCE TO THE AL BHED
TRESPASSING IN A TEMPLE OF YEVON
ILLEGAL COMMUNICATION WITH AN AEON OF YEVON
HERESY
PIRACY
ATTEMPTED MURDER
MURDER OF AN AL BHED
KIDNAPPING A SUMMONER OF YEVON
SUSPECT IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APREHEND! IF SPOTTED, REPORT TO NEAREST CRUSADER OFFICER!
Vincent read the list of charges against him and mentally retraced his actions and deeds since awakening ten years ago. He smiled when he realized that they were all legitimate accusations and that he had indeed done each and every thing on the list, whether during his time with Cloud and the others or his tenure as a pirate; although he felt calling Biggs and Drya unsavory characters to be a grave insult to them, his murder of Raff had been more self defense than anything else, if you could even still call Raff an Al Bhed at all after his corruption, and he had never actually kidnapped Yuna. He didn't expect his accusers to recognize the difference and instead laughed at Yevon's blatant hypocrisy.
Deciding that strutting around the crowded docks with surrounded by Wanted Posters bearing his likeness was trouble he didn't need, likewise with flying and waiting around for the cover of darkness, Vincent walked away from the docks. He headed back up the path and walked over a mile farther down the riverbank. Far enough from the docks to avoid being recognized, but still close to observe the stationed guards, just in case, Vincent removed his gunbelt and cloak. Wrapping the weapon within the folds and hidden recesses of his cloak for protection, Vincent slipped the gun and cloak into his bag of belongings and stepped into the water.
The Moonflow was cold and clear as Vincent slipped beneath its glossy surface. He brushed aside moonlillies as he dove into the river. He sinks into the deep, deep river, startling fish and fiend alike. Vincent wondered why the Moonflow was referred to as a river; in parts it was deeper than the oceans surrounding Spira. As he swam, Vincent stares down at the ruins beneath him, vaguely recognizing the largest structures.
The people of Spira thought the sunken city beneath the Moonflow was a thousand years old, built atop bridges that spanned the river just so they could prove they had mastered nature. But the bridges snapped when the city grew too large and the city sank into the massive river. But Vincent knew better.
After METEORFALL, Mako power had been outlawed and all but banned across The Planet. Only the reactor in the Nibel Mountains and the undersea reactor beneath Juron remained active and only ran at minimal strength, just enough to keep people alive while alternative sources of power were researched and put into use. The North Corel mines reopened immediately and, just two years after the Deepground Incident, the Corel Prison was relocated to the northern wastelands and the Gold Saucer had joined with North Corel to create a brand new city spanning from the ocean, across the desert, and into the mountains. The new city was dubbed Corel City. Trenches were dug and rivers were created and expanded until part of the city really did rest on specially built bridges. By the time Vincent fell asleep, its industrial might and entertainment draw made Corel City a city that could have rivaled Midgar in its heyday.
'Until SIN came, destroyed it, and it sank beneath the waves,' Vincent theorized as he swam. A moment later, he swam over a deep fissure cutting through the heart of the city, proof of SIN's assault on the city.
Vincent dove deeper, his ears popping as the water pressure increased. It would have killed a normal person, but it was a mere inconvenience to Vincent compared to diving for salvage in the oceans. He dove until he was mere feet above the sunken city streets. Vincent past by a Shin-Ra Clothing store and paused to look into the window. It was filled with slowly disintegrating uniforms very similar to the yellow and blue outfit Tidus wore. A large banner stretched across the display saying: BLITZBALL WORLD CHAMPIONS—THE ZANARKAND ABES! ALL NEW JECHT SERIES BLITZBALLS AVAILABLE SOON!
'Tidus wasn't joking about his father being famous. Reminds me of all the endorsement deals Reno took after Kadaj's attack. His hair product deals alone made him nearly as rich as Rufus,' Vincent remembered.
Vincent continued swinging farther and farther into Corel City, forgetting about his need to cross the Moonflow and let his curiosity get the better of him. Vincent searched his mind for what he remembered about the city, but no landmark stood out to him. Corel City had changed greatly while Vincent slept; there was nothing left but ruins and fragments, both in his mind and across the city.
As Vincent approached the center of the city, more and more vehicles, both civilian and military, appeared in the street. The vehicles were overturned and piled into barricades and makeshift fortifications in the streets, growing denser and stronger as Vincent got closer to the city center, ending around a large, partially destroyed building. And across the building's face were the letters W-R-O.
Vincent could see skeletons, too many to count and picked clean by time and sea life, littered amongst the slit and debris. Buried rifles and rusted swords were scattered beside the bodies. Heavy artillery, mounted on vehicles and even the occasional tank, scattered between barricades confirmed Vincent's suspicion that this had been a last stand and an unsuccessful at that. Devastation and ruin increased the closer Vincent got to the ancient WRO building. Vincent saw great gauges carved into the vehicles; Sinspawn claws had torn through the steel as easily as they had flesh; and great craters from demolition and explosives scarred scattered pockmarks in the mud.
Vincent passed over the destruction and swam through a hole in the WRO building, entering a hallway full of corner offices and cubicles. Debris, office supplies, and random skeletons bobbed up and down as he passed by. Vincent twisted through the chaos until he reached an elevator shaft. His claws easily pierced through the doors and opened them.
'The sealed labs and armory should be in the upper levels. There might be a few usable items, maybe even weapons or Materia,' Vincent thought and swam in.
Vincent followed the elevator shaft up toward the restricted levels. Vincent's path came to an abrupt end; the elevator car blocked the shaft and Vincent was trapped. Vincent searched the bottom of the car for a trapdoor, maintenance hatch, or even a tiny gap between the shaft walls and the car, but found nothing. Vincent felt a heartbeat of panic, the narrow walls of the shaft seemed to press in closer and closer, the water's weight tripled and bore down on Vincent's body, the first sparks of fire ignited in his lungs. Then it was gone, quashed by Vincent's will and experience before it could take root.
He flexed his claw and speared his fingertips into the bottom of the elevator car. The gold claws pierced through the weak metal and it only took another three strikes to open a hole large enough for Vincent to crawl through. The elevator was dry and Vincent took a deep breath of stale air. Water slowly trickled through the hole in the floor as Vincent looked at the rows of buttons. He pushed the button marked "Twentieth floor, Main Labs" out of amusement and wasn't disappointed when nothing happened. He pried open the elevator doors, Vincent was greeted by a bare black wall. The car had stopped between floors.
Vincent searched the ceiling and spotted a trapped door. He pushed it open and climbed out of the elevator car. The shaft above the car was damp and the occasional drip rang off the metal car, but Vincent didn't see any signs of additional flooding above him. It appeared that there was a natural equilibrium between the remaining air and water in the remaining floors above him. Vincent gently rose into the air, closing the trap door behind him. He rocketed up the shaft to the twentieth floor and hovered in front of the elevator doors. The metal was cool to the touch, not damp at all, and Vincent couldn't see any signs of flooding. He pried the doors open and stepped through.
A massive bulkhead, nearly as large as the Highwind's exterior deck, towered over Vincent, the blast doors marked RESTRICTED in bold red letters. To the left was a small computer console and monitor built into the wall. Vincent approached it and rapidly punched commands into the keyboard. When the monitor remained black and powerless, Vincent opened the small access panel beneath the keyboard. Vincent poked at the rat's nest of wires, looking for a power cord of some kind. He found one and stripped it with his claws. Vincent popped the Mastered Lightning Materia out of his claw, wrapped the bare copper wires around the glowing orb, and prayed that it wouldn't explode in his face.
The Materia hummed and sparks shot out of the access panel, but the monitor flickered to life. Vincent punched up the WRO computer system and waited. Suddenly, a tiny arm sprang out of the monitor right at Vincent's face. Vincent remained perfectly still as a small red laser scanned his eyes.
"Welcome Vincent Valentine," the computer spoke in garbled, mechanical monotone. Vincent quickly entered more commands into the keyboard, rerouting power for more systems through the Mastered Lightning Materia. Lights began to flicker and the blast doors opened with a metallic groan and a puff of oily dust. The doors shuddered and stopped halfway, their ancient gears and mechanisms shredding after centuries of nonuse.
Vincent walked through the halfway opened breach and into a massive laboratory, his movement activating panels of ceiling lights slaved to motion sensors. Most of the lights flickered on, but several burst into showers of sparks before going black and dead. The half light and occasional flare of sparks cast garish glares, lengthening shadows into moving black monsters trapped on the walls. Vincent's own shadow slipped silently among the other monsters as he explored the lab, his demons briefly conquering all others as he walked past.
Much of the lab was in total ruins, victims to the ravages of time and the attack on the building. Vincent past workstations covered in shattered cell phones and PDAs, complex engines reduced to rusted scrap metal, swords shattered like glass, and guns twisted into impossible shapes. He continued deeper into the lab, away from the initial wreckage, and found portions of the lab still intact.
Vincent pocketed what he could and what may be useful along the way: a potion here, a trio of grenades there, he even managed to piece together a workable Hydra rifle stock, long barrel upgrade, and scope for Cerberus, making a heavy, but powerful sniper rifle. He even found an unmastered Seal Materia.
His pockets and pack filled with fresh (relatively speaking) supplies, but his curiosity unsatisfied, Vincent wandered deeper into the lab. He stopped in front of a bank of reinforced windows, miraculously unbroken, and stared into the depths of the Moonflow.
Night had fallen and the Moonflow glowed with pyreflies. Vincent wondered at the waters calm beauty and dizzying depths, the swarms of pyreflies that comingled with the swarms of bioluminescent fish and the irony of the city beneath its glossy surface.
Another bank of lights burst into a storm of sparks, tearing Vincent away from the windows. He resumed his search of the lab and finally reached its very end. Another pair of blast doors greeted him; these doors, however, were marked with a three-headed dog emblem identical to the one that dangled from a chain on Cerberus.
"What are you playing at Reeve?" Vincent wondered aloud as he approached the door. He stopped as a blue laser sprang to life and quickly swept over Vincent's entire body.
"Identity confirmed," a mechanical voice wheezed. "Welcome, Vincent Valentine, to WRO Research and Development Station 4AG. Accessing Lab 701. Codename: Dirge. Please stand by…File Cait Recording 01 found. Playback…"
The laser light widened and grew until a three-dimensional hologram of Cait Sith stood in front of Vincent, waving and bouncing around happily. Vincent felt the corners of his lips curl upward all on their own as the holographic doll danced around in a circle before running past him. He briefly wondered if he could rewire Cait Sith to function off a Lightning Materia like the building computer, not a battery.
The laser hologram flickered and grew as an image of Reeve appeared, stooped down, and picked up the doll. Vincent's smile faded away as he stared at Reeve. The hologram was good. It brought out every wrinkle and grey hair Reeve had at the end of his life, but did no justice to Reeve's eyes; Vincent remembered them bright and full of creative sparks of genius, even in the man's final days.
"That's not as easy as it used to be," Reeve's voice cut through the silent lab. He looked down at the doll in his hands and smiled sadly. "There was a time I could carry you around with one hand all day long. Now, well it looks like all those long days and wild nights at the Gold Saucer have caught up with me." He scratched the dolls ears and looked straight at Vincent as if he somehow knew where Vincent would be standing when he recorded the message.
"Time's caught up with us, my friend. I'd be jealous of you, Vincent, staying young forever, if I didn't know any better. Sadly, if you're listening to this, I'm long gone and Cait Sith's batteries are dead. A good 1.21 gigawatts will charge him back up, by the way," Reeve chuckled as if there was some inside joke Vincent was missing.
The hologram flickered and Reeve disappeared for a moment. Vincent feared the ancient projector had died, but the hologram sputtered back to life; Reeve, now without the Cait Sith doll, looked much more serious than before.
"Vincent, I know you don't like to hear the obvious, but you are going to outlive me, Cloud, Red XIII, even the WRO. That means it's going to be up to you to continue our work, to continue to protect The Planet and its people. And just because I'll probably be a pile of dust in some tomb somewhere by the time you see this recording…"
"Got it in one Reeve," Vincent muttered.
"…doesn't mean I can't leave you a little bit of help. You always said I shouldn't leave things lying around; I guess I couldn't help myself one last time. Farewell, my friend," Reeve saluted. "I hope this helps you find what you've always been looking for."
The hologram flickered, dimmed, and shut off, leaving Vincent alone in the lab once more. Suddenly, a loud klaxon burst to life and the Cerberus adorned blast doors rumbled open. Vincent stepped into the widening gap; there was no issue or harsh complaint from these doors, Reeve had made sure they were built to last; and stared as banks of floodlights burst to life. Vincent stared into the lab, let out a low whistle, and smiled.
"Reeve, you out did yourself."
-X-
He always dreams when he sleeps, always has nightmares. Sleep is never a peaceful, resting activity for him. It is atonement. Atonement for his sins.
He hears himself scream with rage, with pain, giving himself completely to the darkness in his soul.
He's fighting fighting fighting, against what he never knows. People? Things? Demons? Monsters? Fiends? Fate? Himself? All of that? None?
He has no clothes, the better to see the marks drawn on skin that's been stripped of hair, the better to see the livid scars that follow the marks as he's opened from crown to crotch, shoulders to fingertips, hips to toes.
He sees himself in the reflector overhead, lying on a examination table, dissected like a frog, skin peeled back, organs laid bare, watching his heart beat, his lungs pulse. He hears voices, dissecting him as clinically as the scalpels, hears a voice, his voice, asking over and over what was happening, why are they doing this? Hears laughter, they aren't interested, they don't care, they think it's funny. Hears threats of bloody vengeance give way, impossibly; to words he never imagined saying, begging, pleading for mercy.
He can't wake up. He has to watch. To atone.
He sees their faces, dark shadows, blurry shapes that flay and dissect him. The faces are unrecognizable, then blurs, then clear and sharp as the dawn.
Lucrecia stands beside him; she takes lots of notes.
Little Rikku holds up a mechanical arm, golden with evil looking claws for fingers. She slashes the claws into the wall, making an indelible mark on the armored plating too thick for him to cut all the way through. Her giggles echo through the chamber.
He's in a tank, lights flashing red and green, the lights resolving into what's supposed to be a pair of eyes in a face too horrible to be remembered except as repeating images of pain and horror. The tank fills with liquid, covering him, drowning him, turning bright yellow as the face spits venom at him like a cobra, burning him inside and out.
Pinpoints of ink dot his body, targets for the series of 4 large, stainless steel needles that hang ominously overhead. Drya, in a biohazard suit, hovers over him, aligning the needles for injection. Biggs walks towards the table carrying a tray of 4 glowing samples: a small glowing purple, a twitching yellow, a green one filled with disgusting ooze, and a very large black one. Lulu loads the samples into the needles, one sample each. He watches as the needles slowly lower down until their tips graze his skin.
From her director's chair, Yuna nods to begin. Shelke and Shalua Rui flip series of switches and toggles. Tifa and Yuffie watch from seats behind glass, opera box seats for the performance.
The needles pierce his skin and drive into his bones and tissue. Liquid fire spreads through his veins. Searing, blinding pain blossoms with each breath, each heartbeat.
Rage now, beyond comprehension, beyond control.
He's fighting fighting fighting…
No more yellow anymore, but lots of red and black.
Not alone…someone, something else in his head.
No more floors beneath his feet, only earth, then rock, then nothing but air as he tumbles from a precipice…
Tumbling down into the abyss…
-X-
Vincent snapped awake with a growl, his claw flexed and his gun in hand. He panted as the adrenaline and terror caused by the nightmare faded. Vincent put his gun away and forced his claw to relax. His makeshift bed, nothing more than his cloak draped over the ground and surrounded by kicked aside boxes and debris, was a crumbled mess.
"There is nothing like recurring nightmares," he muttered and pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead as if it would push the images and distorted memories out of his mind. It wasn't the first time people and loved ones from his life had taken roles in his nightmares; Lucrecia and Drya had been longtime staples in his nightmares, the same with Tifa and Yuffie. But this was the first time Yuna, Lulu, or Rikku had appeared. Rikku in particular was unnerving; her innocence twisted by the nightmare disturbed Vincent to no end.
Pushing the nightmare aside, Vincent stood and gathered his things. He made his way out of the Lab, carefully resealing the bulkheads and airlocks as he departed. With a touch of luck, the Lab would remain as it had for the last thousand years until he could return.
Vincent plunged back into the dark Moonflow, swimming over the ruined streets and staring into the river's depths. Once again, the sheer size of the Moonflow amazed him; in places it was shallow enough for a man to cross on foot, in others a Shoopuf could cross, while other areas stretched to depths that Vincent had only encountered in the vast oceans. The greatness of the river recalled a line from an old sailor's poem Drya sang often: "Only the sea knows the sea's own depths…"
Vincent swam across the center of the river, heading for the Guadosalam bank of the Moonflow. In front of him, a Shoopuf swam; its thick legs churned the water into a violent froth. Just beyond the Shoopuf, twinkling lights danced sporadically through the watery gloom.
Curiosity, Vincent's current modus operandi, drove him toward the dancing lights. He swam toward the Shoopuf, timing his course so he passed under the beast's heavy belly and away from its powerful legs, and treaded water between the approaching lights and the animal transport. At first, Vincent thought the lights were a cluster of pyreflies or even a school of bioluminescent fishlike those he had seen on his deep salvage dives. But as the lights grew closer, Vincent's claws curled in an angry twitch. The lights came from a pear-shaped machina with four, paper thin tentacles waving in the Moonflow. The machina was crowned with three strange-looking prongs and propelled by three sucker-shaped feet. Nestled between two armored bulwarks was a robotic shaped cockpit; Vincent's sharp eyes could see two figures clad in diving suits and armor inside. The larger of the two sat at the controls, dressed in blue and green; the other was clad in orange and light tan and sat towards the rear.
The machina approached Vincent at high speed, jinking and wobbling violently. The machina rattled all the way and came to a sudden stop. It bobbed in the water and Vincent heard a dull thud echo through the river before the machina sprang back to life. Three tentacles swung at Vincent, but overshot past Vincent by more than a body length.
The machina began to spasm and jink again. Vincent heard a loud thunk and the machina whirled straight at him. He swam to the side and rolled in the machina's wake. Unsure which of his many accused crimes he was being attacked for, Vincent flexed his clawed fingers and darted at the machina. The machina spread its tentacles like an angry octopus to reveal a small hatchway. Bomb bay doors opened and spat a crude-looking cylinder at Vincent.
The depth charge somersaulted in the water for five seconds before exploding in a dull flash. Vincent tucked his head to his chest and crossed his arms in front of him to shield off the pressure wave, but the wave of rapidly expanding energy still slammed into him like a locomotive. Vincent could feel his teeth rattle in their sockets and his internal organs shudder in violent protest as he tumbled wildly through the water.
Vincent's tumble through the Moonflow was interrupted as the machina tentacles shot through the water and wrapped around his flesh and blood wrist and both his legs. The tentacles constricted and Vincent let a gurgling scream of pain. He lashed out with his claw, but the tentacles remained just out of reach as they dragged Vincent back toward the machina. They held Vincent in front of the machina cockpit; for a heartbeat, Vincent could see into the cockpit again. The figure in blue and green sat in the pilot's chair, hands dancing over the controls. The other figure, the smaller one in orange, was struggling to get up off the floor and was slowly succeeding.
The tentacles tightened and began to pull in their slack. Vincent's limbs stretched like he was tied to a medieval rack. He grit his teeth as the three tentacles pulled his limbs farther and farther and watched the fourth tentacle slowly wind its midsection around his neck. The tentacle's tip curled back around to face him; a long, thin spike slid out of the tip and took aim at the point of Vincent's nose. Vincent's eyes narrowed on the tip of the spike, focused on the tiniest bit of metal on the point.
Suddenly, the machina tilted on its side and the spike's jab went wide over Vincent's left shoulder. Vincent peered back into the machina's cockpit and saw the figure in orange grapple with the pilot. Unsure if he had an unknown ally or if the two were merely fighting over who got the pleasure of killing him, Vincent wasted no time. He grabbed the tentacle wrapped around his neck with his claw and speared its spiked tip into the tentacle restraining his other arm. The tentacle's light flickered, dimmed, and died before the entire mechanical limb went limp and lifeless. Vincent quickly freed his legs and darted beneath the teetering machina. He placed his hand on the machina's hull and focused a tiny Lightning spell through his claw and into the machina. The surge of electricity instantly shorted out the machina's delicate electronic systems. Lights, internal systems, and tentacles went offline; the machina was completely dead in the water.
Vincent pried open the depth charge hatch's bomb bay doors and gently removed one of the underwater bombs. He swam back in front of the machina just in time to see a cascade of bubbles erupt from a jettisoned escape hatch, followed closely by the orange figure. Frowning, Vincent triggered the depth charge, hurled it almost as hard as he could at the machina, and sped after the escaping Al Bhed.
The depth charge hit the machina hard enough to puncture the hull, but not go straight through it. The depth charge rested half in-half out of the machina, its fuse burning. The pilot had just enough time to look at the device before it exploded.
The explosion and pressure wave decimated the machina, smashing its hull and destroying its power core. What the explosion didn't destroy, the Moonflow's rushing water did as it quickly dragged the wreckage to join the remains of the ancient city at the river's bottom.
The pressure wave expanded and raced toward the surface. The orange figure, having paused to look back when the machina exploded, now cursed as the wave flew toward with uncaring and deadly purpose. The orange figure knew there was no way to outrace it, outmaneuver it, or even hope to escape. Behind the diving mask, green eyes closed tight and braced for the brief pain, then nothing.
Vincent swam just ahead of the pressure wave like a red clad torpedo. He reached out and grabbed the orange figure's wrist. Vincent pulled the figure closer to his body before tripling his speed. The pair shot far ahead of the pressure wave and rocketed out of the Moonflow like bullets from a gun. The wave broke the surface behind them, exploding in great geysers of water into the air, dousing the Shoopuf and its clueless passengers. Vincent used the exploding water as cover and flew as fast as he could towards the far shore.
-X-
"What in the name of the heroes and gods of Blitzball was that?" yelped Tidus as he dripped water all over the soaked passenger car.
"Don't blaspheme!" Wakka snapped and swatted the back of the blonde's head. "It's just the Shoopuf playing around. No harm, no foul; a little water never hurt anyone."
"Yuna all wet again," Kimahri said with the closest thing he could manage to a smile.
"And I didn't even have to jump in and get picked up by the Shoopuf this time!" Yuna smiled cheerfully.
"It sounded like an explosion," Auron said as he wiped water off his glasses.
"Nah," scoffed Wakka with a dismissive wave. "It's probably just another Shoopuf swimming around underwater. These big guys are always goofin' around, ya?"
"Whatever it was, it ruined my dress," Lulu growled; her voice was low and dangerous almost to the point of an animal snarl. She had been standing at the rear edge of the passenger platform and was hit by the brunt of the churning water. Her belt and buckle dress was soaked, the leather warped and loosened almost to the point of falling off her completely and her carefully done hair hung in wet knots down her face and neck.
Tidus opened his mouth to comment or, Yevon forbid, laugh, but Yuna quickly darted across the passenger platform, pressed her hand over his mouth, and pulled him toward the other side of the Shoopuf before he did something stupid and Lulu froze, burnt, fried, and/or bludgeoned Tidus to death.
Auron chuckled at the proceedings and Wakka was smart enough to hand Lulu a towel out of his pack, all the while avoiding looking in places he knew he shouldn't. Auron replaced his glasses and gazed over the side.
"Wakka," he called with a humph, "is this from your playful Shoopuf too?"
Everyone hurried to the see what Auron was staring at. The burnt, bloated, and crushed remains of a man dressed in a blue and green diving suit, floated face down in the water, rising and falling with the current and the Shoopuf's wake. Shards of debris floated beside the body and lapped against the Shoopuf's legs.
"What, what happened to him?" Yuna asked. Her voice shook, but not much. After the carnage of Operation Mi'ihem, one body, even as mangled and destroyed as this one, wasn't as horrible as it once was.
"He's an Al Bhed," Lulu noticed and looked at Auron. "Another attempt on Yuna?"
"More than likely," the legendary guardian nodded.
"There might be more of them! We need to get to the other side of the river and look around!" Wakka shouted.
"But I thought it was just playful Shoopuf's," Lulu gently mocked.
"Oh knock it off and dry off, Lu. We need to make sure no more of those heathens are running loose around here," Wakka said. "Driver! Hurry up, ya? Get a move on!"
-X-
Vincent set the orange clad figure onto solid ground about a mile away from the Shoopuf docks. Now out of the confining machina and dark water, it was clear that the figure was a petite young woman, a girl even, with blonde hair poking out of her diving mask. Vincent laid the girl on her side and slapped her back hard. She convulsed and began coughing mouthfuls of water out of her mask. After a fit of coughing, the girl slowly sat up and took in her new surroundings. She peered out behind her thick goggles at the river lands and woods until she stopped on Vincent.
She stared at Vincent, occasionally wiping the condensation from her goggles. Vincent shifted under the girl's pressing gaze. He watched as she stood up, his fingers rested cautiously on the butt of his gun.
"Who are you?" he asked, but there was no response. "Fru yna oui? Fro tet oui yddylg Oihy?"
The girl tapped on the front of her mask twice; Vincent understood immediately. She couldn't speak with the mask on. Vincent nodded to the girl, but kept his fingers on his gun.
The girl unbuckled, unsnapped, and removed her bulky diving suit. Fingers worked quickly, stumbling in their haste. The last of the bulky armor fell away and revealed a colorful wetsuit that clung tight to the girl's figure. She reached behind her back and unzipped the suit. The girl was wearing a sand colored, sleeveless top with a short red cape clasped around her neck. A single green orb hung from the metal clasp. Her right arm was wrapped in dark leather and ended in a gold knuckle duster-like claw. A thick utility belt was wrapped around a pair of short green shorts while knee-high desert moccasins covered her legs. She stepped out of the wetsuit and tossed aside her breathing mask and goggles.
"Uncle Vinny!" Rikku shouted and threw herself at Vincent. Shocked, startled, and genuinely happy, Vincent caught Rikku in midair and returned the embrace.
"Little Rikku," he whispered into her matted and wet hair.
"Hey! I'm not little anymore, mister!" Rikku scowled and playfully swatted Vincent in the chest.
"I see," Vincent replied and rubbed the spot Rikku hit.
"Oh, c'mon, I know that didn't hurt a big ol' jysbena like you."
Vincent laughed with Rikku as he took in her changed appearance. Ten years had greatly changed the little girl he once knew. She was considerably taller, roughly the same height as Yuna was; skinny, but athletically built; and deeply tanned from living in the desert. Vincent was particularly glad to see that her eyes still sparkled with curiosity and clever cunning.
"What is this?" he asked and gestured towards her claw, cape, and utility belt.
"My Stalker gear, of course."
"You are a Stalker?" Vincent could barely believe it.
"You didn't think Cys and Brienne would do it forever, did you?"
"Your father would never allow it. He seemed like he wanted to make a proper lady out of you," Vincent smirked, remembering Cid's hollering at Rikku to stop climbing in rafters and air ducts and get back to school, even though Rikku was brilliant and already well beyond what was being taught.
"Eh, he got the hint a few months after you left when I burned down the kitchen taking apart one of his old Shin-Ra laser rifles. After that I became Brienne's apprentice."
Vincent couldn't help but smile; he could clearly see Cid standing in a demolished kitchen, veins pulsing wildly in his bald head.
"How are Cys and Brienne?"
"Eight kids," Rikku laughed. "They even named one of the boys after you." Vincent laughed, again, the images coming too thick to brush away. Eight children climbing over a grumbling Cys while Brienne looked on in the very quintessential image of motherly love was enough to make the stoic gunslinger crack up.
Rikku laughed with him while she slowly began to edge her way back toward the river, her breathing mask hidden in her hand. She was almost at the water's edge when Vincent's voice stopped her.
"Making your escape so soon? I thought after ten years would like to spend some time with me, maybe learn to use that Fire Materia I gave you, before you ran off to try and kill me again."
"That's not fair, Uncle Vinny. I wasn't the one trying to hurt you; I was trying to help you back there! Nivic was the one trying to attack you!"
"That doesn't explain why you were in that machina and why you are in such a hurry to escape," Vincent replied coolly.
"There isn't time to explain now! Those Guardians have landed by now and I'm sure are running this way to figure out what caused that explosion!" Rikku cried. "They'll throw me into the Via Purifico if they found out what we were doing!"
"I won't let that happen," Vincent reassured her, although he wondered what the Via Purifico was. He had heard stories from pirates and other criminals about people vanishing into the bowels of Bevelle, but had never heard or seen any proof it existed beyond idle chatter.
Vincent craned his neck and cocked an ear towards the sky. "Judging by Wakka's panting and Tidus' stomping, you have approximately ninety seconds before Yuna and her Guardians crash through this brush like wild Chocobos."
Rikku bit her lip, looked at Vincent and then the water, and finally dropped her breathing mask onto the ground with a humph.
"You know what happens to Summoners, don't you? When they finish their pilgrimage?" she whispered, her eyes fixed on Vincent's. He nodded, remembering Braska's battle in the Calm Lands ten years ago.
"Then why haven't you stopped them?" Rikku lashed out in sudden fury and slapped Vincent across the face. "Yuna is my cousin; were you going to let her blindly die like her father?"
"Not if I could help it," Vincent answered. He wanted to say more, tell her about his own quest to free the Aeons, but this was neither the time nor place for such a conversation.
"I was going to take her out of here, get her away from her guard dogs, and convince her to stop this pointless pilgrimage once and for all."
"And if kidnapping Yuna didn't work…" Vincent paused. "It was you that hired Raff and the others in Luca; you started the attack on the Blitzball Stadium."
"No! I mean, yes. I hired the Psyches to kidnap Yuna, but I didn't know Raff was with them and none of us had anything to do with the fiends attacking the stadium!" Rikku shouted in her defense.
"If you didn't start the attack, then who did?" Vincent wondered out loud. His musings were cut short as Wakka, Tidus, and the rest of the Guardians crashed through the underbrush and surrounded them.
"You!" Wakka and Tidus shouted at the same time; Wakka shouted toward Vincent while Tidus at Rikku.
"You know each other?" Lulu asked.
"Rikku saved me when I first arrived in Spira, before I washed up on Besaid," Tidus explained. Meanwhile, Wakka marched towards Vincent until he was nose to nose with the gunslinger.
"You're under arrest, heathen. In the name of Yevon, I charge you with heresy, treason, kidnapping, murder, umm, what else was on that wanted poster, Lu?"
"You forgot piracy; that was my favorite," Vincent suggested with a smirk.
Wakka held his Blitzball out, ready to throw at a second's notice, his lips were curled into a vicious snarl and his eyes darted back and forth between Vincent's claw and holstered gun.
"You really are a fiend, ya? You don't even care, do you?" Wakka asked.
"Not enough to continue this conversation," Vincent snapped and grabbed Rikku's wrist. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Hold on."
Rikku wrapped her arms around Vincent's slim waist and Vincent shot into the air. Wakka let out a shout of surprise and anger; he threw his Blitzball after Vincent, but the gunslinger and Al Bhed passenger were already out of range. Vincent hung in the air for a moment (Rikku took the opportunity to wave at Tidus and Yuna and stick her tongue out at Wakka) before flying towards Guadosalam.
"Um, not that I don't wanna be ungrateful for getting away from them," Rikku shouted over the wind, "but what are we doing?"
"Saving the world," Vincent answered.
Rikku raised an eyebrow. "You're going to piss a lot of people off in the process, aren't you?"
"Absolutely."
She smiled. "So what's the plan?"
Author's Notes: Yay! An update! Hooray!
So if you haven't noticed, I'm changing the FFVII-FFX storylines a little bit, playing with the history and making it suit my purposes instead of the other way around. I am letting Yuna and her group go do their thing while Vincent and Rikku now (the perfect little sidekick!) go and continue his quest. Do not worry, the two groups will meet back up eventually, maybe sooner than later hahahahaha.
Like always, comments, concerns, and general praise is more than welcome. I truly adore hearing from my readers and always take serious criticism and suggestions to heart. So leave those reviews! I know I used to get back to everyone that reviewed before I posted my next chapter, but unfortunately working 60 hours a week and traveling a great deal limits my writing time. Once my schedule opens up, I will go back to responding to everyone, so in the meantime, send me those reviews and keep an eye out for the next chapter!
Til next time,
N.W.