The next morning, I wake to a cold, empty tent. Where's Ruka? I frown and sit up slowly. With a sigh, I stand and climb out of the tent to meet the bright morning sun. Where's Vincent? Frowning, I sit down beside out dead fire and turn on my phone. We have to be careful out here because I obviously can't charge this thing in the woods, but I just want to check. Yep, a text from Cid, as expected. I open the message and wrestle a small smile.
C: Tell Vin to answer his fucking phone or I'm gonna hunt y'all down and shove my spear up his ass!
I roll my eyes and dial the pilot's number. I prefer to hear a voice instead of trying to tap out a message through tiny buttons. Impatiently, I wait for Cid to pick up. He does so on the fifth ring.
"What?" he snaps.
"Someone's in a good mood," I scoff.
"Shut up, Vi. The ship's givin' me a hard time. Where's Vince?"
"I actually would like to know the answer to that question, too," I frown. "I woke up and he was gone, but his stuff's here, so I guess he didn't just run away."
"Violet," Cid sighs, sound exasperated. "What'd ya do?"
"Hey!" I protest to his accusing. But then I give in. "Well... It's actually a really long story, but to make it short, last night I told him that I'm sick of the BS and that I'm giving him three days to decide between me and whatever it is he's chasing around in La La Land."
"Damn... So he's been causin' problems?"
"We both have," I admit.
"Can I talk to the poor guy?"
"I told you, I don't know where..." I pause upon seeing Vincent walking toward the camp, wading through the tall grass with Ruka bouncing at his heels. "Hang on, he's back."
"Well then tell him to get on the fuckin' phone!"
"Hey, Vince!" I call, holding the phone away from my mouth. "Cid wants you to get on the fucking phone!" The pilot chuckles and Vincent raises an eyebrow. I walk toward the gunman and hand him the device before heading to my backpack and digging around. I'm starving.
"Yes?" Vincent sits on the ground a few feet away, frowning. "No, I did not. Why does it matter?" I pretend that I'm not eavesdropping, but I'm trying to piece together their conversation as I pull an old granola bar from the bottom of my bag. That's gonna have to work. "It was an overreaction, Highwind. I sure she would never do such a thing." I frown, pausing. Are they talking about me? Better not be. "I appreciate your concern, Cid, but it is not necessary. I can handle this on my own." He sighs, listening for a long time. "I don't doubt it, though I don't see why this concerns you." He cringes and holds the phone away from his ear as Cid shouts so loudy that I can hear every word loud and clear.
"What the hell's gotten into you!? She's the best damn thing that's ever happened to you and when she leaves, don't drag your sorry ass to me!"
"I see," Vincent mutters, avoiding my questioning gaze. "Goodbye." He hangs up quickly, snapping the phone shut and tossing it back to me. I catch it easily and take a bite from my dusty granola bar. Vince eyes my breakfast.
"How can you eat so much?"
"How can you eat so little?" I retort. "You should be dead."
"That makes two of us."
I grin and start to pack up our stuff. Despite how we've been lately, we still have our days when we get along just fine. Although, I didn't imagine that to be the morning after I threatened to leave him for good. We always seem to bounce back, but it's always temporary. I shake my head. Lately, he's my only reason to smile. Then again, he's also the reason I'm losing my mind.
Vincent leads the way far ahead of me, seemingly lost in thought. Ruka runs back and forth between us, barking and letting her tongue fly around outside her mouth. Kalm looms on the horizon in the early evening, decorated with ribbons and posters and streamers. I stop at the edge of the town beside Vincent, my gut twisting upon seeing the impenetrable crowd before us. Shit... I forgot about the festival. Inn rooms will be booked up.
"Oh joy," I mutter as a woman gives me a cheerful wave. Ruka yips when a little girl tugs on her tail.
"You weren't the only one who forgot," Vincent sighs, gently nudging me out of the way of a family of bike riders.
"Welcome to Kalm!" a man calls as we step onto the deep blue cobblestone of the street.
"Don't care," I snap, waving the flier he's offering out of my face. Ruka's lost in all the people, but she'll be alright. She'll find us later. I'm pushed away from Vincent by people so many times that finally I just link my arm through his and hang on tight, sticking close. Eventually, we make it to the biggest inn in Kalm, packing ourselves into the lobby with everyone else. I let go of Vincent, peering up at him after looking over the long line. "Are you getting the room, or am I?"
"I'll get it," he shakes his head and glances at the line. "Stay here. It may take a while."
I nod and move to the back of the lobby, pulling my backpack off and setting it at my feet. Exhausted, I lean back against the smooth white wall, closing my eyes. This place is the definition of a headache.
"Hey, babe." I open my eyes, frowning at the young man that stands before me with a cocky grin. "You tired? I got extra space in my bed."
"No, thanks," I scoff.
"Aw, really?"
"Yes, really."
"C'mon, don't be like that, hon." He chuckles, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I'm goin' out to the festival later. Wanna join?"
"No," I huff, leaning away when he comes closer. "I'm staying here with someone."
"Your boyfriend?"
"Something like that."
"Shame," he croons, tracing a finger along my jaw. "Must not be a great guy, leaving a pretty girl like you all alone here."
"Get off me," I roll my eyes, batting his hand away.
"My offer still stands."
"Leave me alone."
"Can't do that, Sweetheart."
"For Odin's sake," I huff, watching Vincent converse with the hotel manager that just pulled him out of the line. Must've been recognized. Sometimes it's nice to get special treatment for saving the Planet.
"Who's your man?" the guy asks, leaning an arm against the wall and looming over me. "That cherubic blonde boy in the middle?"
"Definitely not," I scoff, entertaining the thought of a blonde Vincent Valentine.
"Whoever he is, you could definitely do better." He drops his arm around my shoulder and I roll my eyes, watching Vincent approach.
"Did you get it?" I ask, lifting my bag from the floor.
"Yes, but—" Vincent pauses, noticing the man with his arm around me. "Who are you?"
"The name's Mike. This's my girl for the evening, aren't you, babe?"
"Fuck off," I scoff, giving Vincent a dry look. He, on the contrary, looks thoroughly amused by my unfortunate circumstances.
"Yeah, she's a feisty one, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is," Vincent replies all too easily. I roll my eyes, shoving Mike away.
"Alright, we're going now." I grab Vince's arm and drag him after me, heading for the stairwell. "My god," I groan, pausing when the door shuts behind us. "That guy was a nightmare. How'd you get a key so fast?"
"The manager knows who we are," Vincent sighs, holding up a small brass key. "Though, they warned us that the room may be rather small. There were only two left."
"Lead the way, then," I nod, motioning to the stairs.
And lead the way he does, but not before he pulls the backpack from my hands and carries it himself. I roll my eyes. We stop at a door on the fourth floor and Vincent turns the key in the lock. He was right; it's very small. There's a bed tucked up beside the window, a small box TV, and a mini-fridge that's set underneath the rickety TV stand. A white door at the end of the room leads to an equally cramped bathroom. Vincent ducks through the particularly low doorway, setting my bag on the bed.
"Nice place you got here," I tease, running a hand through my hair. "I call the bathroom first."
"It was free," he mutters, watching me as I step into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. Once I'm finished with a quick shower, I ruffle my hair with a rough towel for a few seconds before tossing it over the shower curtain and leaving the bathroom. My stomach gurgles, and not in the hungry kind of way.
"Ugh, I don't feel so good," I groan, throwing myself onto the narrow bed that Vincent sits on, yelping when my skull smacks the wall. Vince tears his eyes away from the window, fighting a smile when I jerk forward instinctively, knocking my forehead against the windowsill in the process. "Ow!" He raises an eyebrow.
"Who was that man?"
"Some guy who thought he could sweep me off my feet like a damsel in distress," I mutter, lifting my head to rest my chin on his leg. "But just for tonight, if you catch my drift. Talked a lot of trash about you."
"... I didn't like him."
"Not like I chose him," I retort. "You weren't the one he was hitting on." My stomach churns and I groan. "Gods, I think Shadow hates me."
"... Do you know why you don't feel well?"
"What did you do?" I frown.
"The granola bar you ate this morning... It was the same one we found on the side of the road weeks ago. I thought you'd thrown it out."
"... ... Oh, that really didn't help," I hiss, leaping to my feet and rushing to the bathroom to throw up my breakfast. I can hear that bastard laughing softly to himself from the room, so I give him the finger as another wave of vomit spills out.
Later that evening, I sit on the bed beside him. The TV plays the news quietly behind us. I sigh, looking out onto the street, where several girls are dancing with large, colorful skirts. Leaning my head on Vincent's pointy shoulder, I watch as a round of vibrant fireworks sets off. Vincent glances down at me before looking at the reporter on the screen that's talking about the recent Midgar disappearances. On the nightstand, his phone vibrates as it receives another call that we both know he won't answer.
"Violet," he starts, his voice a low rumble in my ears as he breaks the silence. "About last night—"
"I'm not in the mood to fight," I interrupt, reaching over and resting a hand on top of his knee. "Just... Let it be." He nods, turning to face the festival yet again. I sigh, lifting my head up. "But I meant everything I said, for the record."
Vincent nods and tears his eyes away from the street, facing me. His eyes flit over my face as he mulls over something. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for any sort of reply. Instead, he leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips, reaching a hand up to tuck my hair behind my ear. I push back when he moves to pull away, bringing my hand up to rest on his chest and losing my other hand in his hair, dragging him back down. My lips part as I turn, slinging a leg over him and pushing until I'm straddling his hips.
Vincent's hand pushes my hair away from my face, the other loosely gripping my arm as we fall backward onto the mattress. It leaves me wondering if this means anything to him at all, or if he wasn't lying when he said this was all a joke to him back at the Highwind. I'm forced to pull away for air, looming over the very man I've found a purpose in. I know my eyes say it all when they find his; I don't care anymore. What am I supposed to do if after three days he decides he doesn't want this after all? Hide away in a forest? Live with Josh? Bake cookies in a fucking tree? Vincent swallows hard, his brows furrowing.
"Violet..." he murmurs, starting to sit up. "I can't do this to—"
An explosion erupts from the building across the street; my eye catches the glint of a missile moments before it strikes its target. I scramble off of Vincent's lap, kneeling in the window.
"What the hell?" I look up to see three dark planes flying overhead, dropping all sorts of soldiers and beasts dressed in the same gray and blue uniforms. They instantly unleash a wave of bullets on the crowds.
"Jump!" Vincent commands as an aircraft stops right in front of our window.
It fires a missile and we leap from the window. I draw an explosive arrow and fire it into the craft as I soar through the air. Vincent shoots it three times, pushing his feet off the side of someone's roof and flipping back over to shoot the helicopter several more times. I follow, though with a lot less unnecessary flipping, and land on the same roof as him just as the helicopter crashes to the ground. Vincent catches his balance with his hand as he feet hit the ground firmly. I roll to my feet to lessen the impact, standing at his side and watching a crew of soldiers load a group of people into one of the crates that fell from the planes earlier.
"Stay by me," Vincent says, standing straight and looking over at me.
"I'll try," I huff, following when he jumps down to the balcony below us. His hands grip the cold railing and his eyes scan the city.
"What's going on?"
"No idea," I shake my head. "You think these guys have anything to do with the disappearances in Midgar?"
"Possibly," his brow dips lower as a child is ripped to shreds by one of the beasts that dropped with the soldiers. I jump when I hear the click of a gun behind me. My arrow finds its mark before Vincent can shoot the first soldier, though he quickly takes down the two remaining men. Frowning, I leap back up onto the roof and pick up one of their guns. Curious, I aim it at Vincent, looking through the rather hefty scope. He frowns. "What are you doing?"
"Name: Vincent Valentine," I read. He huffs, starting to walk away. "No, wait! I just want to see if—"
"This is no time to mess around," he replies sharply, loading his gun.
"I'm not playing," I snap. "I'm seeing who they're after. Now stay still! Geeze..." The scope scans him again.
"I cannot lie," he sighs, turning to face me. "It's unnerving to look down the barrel of a gun that you're holding."
"Don't be a wuss. Let's see... Gender: Male." I look up, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's good. I wasn't sure if your dick was real or not."
"... I'm not sure how to take that."
"Blood type: A. Hang on..." Fuzzy, flickering text corrects itself. "Target One: Vincent G. Valentine. Target Two: Violet A. Crescent." I frown, lowering the gun. "Damn... Killing all those people just to get ahold of us? Why us?"
"I don't know," Vincent shakes his head. I nod, setting the gun down and summoning my bow.
We leap down from the balcony, running through the street. Vincent turns to say something to me, but he's forced to duck when I fire an arrow at the soldier that's preparing to shoot at us. The shot was supposed to fire while we were still moving; I had no intention of killing him, as frustrated as I am. He straightens quickly to kill the two dog-like beasts that come rushing at us. When the street is cleared, he frowns at me.
"Hey, I'm not the one who stopped without warning," I accuse before he can lecture me, holding my hands up.
"... Just be careful." He eyes my bow. "Perhaps you should have kept the gun."
"What? A bullet would have done more damage than that arrow," I raise an eyebrow. He shakes his head.
"Not with your accuracy. However, the bullet would be faster."
"Hint, hint," I huff, letting my bow dissolve and summoning a rifle just like the ones the soldiers are carrying. "You know, I think you're pretty biased on this one."
"Perhaps."
"This thing's heavy," I whine as he starts to take off again.
"Protect the citizens," he commands, ignoring my protests. I roll my eyes and follow, catching up easily. We run along the alleyways, shooting down several of the odd men and women in uniforms. Where did they come from? And why are they killing so many people just to get to us? I push my thoughts away and rush down a long stone staircase, my gun firing much quicker than Vincent's to take down another rush of soldiers. My shoulder's aching from the kickback of the weapon and my ears are stinging from the loud noise each shot makes as the bullets explode from the barrel. I much prefer bows.
One soldier endures the shots, rushing toward Vincent with a sword. Vince slashes his gauntlet upward along the man's face, kicking him back and ending him with a bullet between the eyes. Vincent pauses to reload his gun, a frown planted on his face.
"Where was I supposed to meet Reeve?"
"You were supposed to meet Reeve?" I ask, arching an eyebrow. "Is that why we came out here?"
"I told you before," he replies, starting to walk again.
"Uh, no you didn't, actually," I retort, catching up to his side and mocking his voice. "'We're going to Kalm, Violet' doesn't tell me anything except that we're hauling our asses to Kalm."
"That's what we did," he sighs. "And now we're looking for Reeve."
"Why?"
"Not now," he shakes his head, shooting down a lone soldier and leading the way into the town square.
"You're pissing me off, Valentine."
"As per usual."
Several citizens run to safety as we rush into the square, pelting the enemies there with bullets. Many, many shots are returned and I clench my jaw, clutching a collection of bleeding holes in my side. Crimson oozes through my fingers as I shoot another man down.
"Shadow..." I grit.
Yes, Mother.
Plot twist: you're Sephiroth.
Quickly, she stitches my wounds back together. I continue fighting, Vincent running far ahead of me. I huff and release the gun, summon Nightmare and strike down the first man I see in a uniform. I kick the gun out of the grasp of a crazed citizen, slamming him back against the brick wall of an item shop and pressing the edge of my sword to his throat.
"I'm on your side, idiot," I hiss, turning and hurrying after Vince. I skid around a corner to see him lifting a green materia off the ground, studying it carefully before glancing up at me.
"Do you want this?"
"Do I look like I want to use that?" I demand, giving him a flat look. He sighs, letting the orb melt into his forearm. We head around the next corner in the ally, stopped by a high fence lined with flickering blue lights. 'What's up with this?" I frown, pressing a foot to the bars and pushing. A sharp shock jolts through my body. I yelp, jumping back to Vincent's side and gripping his arm unconsciously.
"You likely need a key card," he sighs, turning and shooting a blast of fire at the soldiers that charge at us from behind, killing all three with one spell. A window's thrown open in the building ahead of us and I hardly have time to shoot a soldier through the eye with an arrow before he's fired his gun, the bullet just barely missing my head. I kneel beside one of Vincent's burned victims, fishing through his pocket and pulling out a card decorated with bright blue and gray lines.
"Got it!" I call, hurrying back to Vincent.
The moment I hold the key up to the barricade, its electric blue bars vanish and another wave of soldiers chases us back out into the open. On the next street, people are screaming and running, most being shot down before they can find cover. My gut twists and I send an explosive arrow toward a group of soldiers. We rush to the next road over, hearing a child cry for her mother. I pause to search for the source of the sound, but Vince keeps running like the heartless bastard he is. I huff, loading my bow and following.
I stick to the shadows, tackling the snipers that line the roofs and Vincent slaughters the men on the ground. A spray of blood comes from the gunman as he's shots several times, though he hardly seems to notice. I shake my head, though I do get an idea. Is healing an element? Only one way to find out. I draw my bow, wish the arrow the best, and fire it straight into Vincent's shoulder. He flinches, swiveling around only to see me grinning at him as a wave of glittering green magic washes over his body, healing his wounds. I am a god.
We take down the rest of the attacking men in the area, grabbing another key card and heading to the next block of the small town. A crate bursts open just as we come out into the open, one of the beasts leaping out. Vincent turns his attention to the gunners in the windows. The monster has no reaction to arrow I hit it with, lunging for me and knocking me onto the ground. My head slams against the pavement and my forearms press into the horrifying creature's neck, avoiding its snapping jaws by mere inches. It stomps a clawed foot onto my throat and I press harder. It snarls, clamping its jagged silver teeth down onto my wrist and tearing into my flesh. I cry out, slamming a knee into its stomach.
What is this thing?
An experiment?
Experiment...? Why aren't you helping?
I'm tired.
Are you kidding me!?
I fight the urge to scream as its jaw clamps down on my neck, tugging. I hear a bark and suddenly the monster is thrown off of me. I sit up quickly, holding my throat with a wince and summoning Nightmare. My heart stops and I leap to my feet, charging at the beast as Ruka is thrown onto the ground, blood staining her white patches of fur.
"No one hurts Rukie!" I growl, slashing down on the creature and killing it instantly as my blade slices it cleanly in half. Ruka limps toward me, her tail wagging as I fall to my knees, letting her lick my face. "Hey, baby," I murmur, kissing her black nose and prodding at the wide cut in her side. I turn to see Vincent shoot the last man, freeing a group of people from the crate beside us.
"That lady got hurt!" a little girl calls, pointing at me. Vincent frowns, looking back to see me fussing over my dog more than my own injuries that gush an alarming amount of blood.
"Violet," he huffs, crouching by my side and tearing my hands away from Ruka. I yank one away, scowling and going back to check the cut. Doesn't look too bad... This ticks Vincent off- again. "Forget the dog for one damn second and let me—"
"Ouch," I hiss when he takes my mangled wrist into his hands, my blood running down the black leather of his gloves and dripping onto the blue bricks below. "That thing mutilated it while I was trying to keep it from tearing my esophagus out. I'd be careful," I warn.
"Hurry and heal," he frowns, eyeing the clouds of smoke that line the horizon.
"Shadow's not being any help," I huff, shaking my spinning head and pressing a hand to my temple.
"Violet?"
"Just..." I wince, falling against his side as my vision wavers in and out. "Gimme a sec." He sighs, pushing me upright by my shoulders and summoning up a weak Cure spell. He hooks a finger underneath my chin, forcing me to look at him as he looks back and forth between my eyes.
"That's the best I can do for now."
"Fucking demon," I mutter, closing my eyes and swallowing hard to wet my dry throat.
"Stay awake," he shakes his head, dragging me to my feet. "I can't carry you and fight."
"I'm sure you could," I reply, giving a half-hearted shrug. "Just... hang on a moment." He nods, though he looks impatient as I take a deep breath, letting the fog in my mind clear. "Okay. Let's go."
"Help me!" a little girl screams. We follow her voice, shooting down the soldiers that surround her with the intent to put her in one of those crates they're filling.
"You should be alright from here," Vincent says, turning on his heels and heading on his way.
"Thank you!" she calls. I smile at her and whistle for Ruka to follow me before heading after Vincent. Another woman screams for help in the distance and we hurry to save her, too. Vincent shoots down the sniper in the window to our right. I fire two arrows, taking two soldiers down. The woman looks incredibly relieved.
"You don't know how grateful I am!"
"I'm sure I do," I mutter, earning a disapproving look from Vincent. We head down the next street, collecting another key card and using it on a third barricade, this key dissolving away just like all the others before it. We hurry into a building, fighting our way through until Vincent stops, stooping and picking up a piece of someone's weapon. After a moment of fiddling around with the end of Cerberus, he manages to extend the barrel, standing.
"You know," I cock my head to the side, grinning. "That kinda makes it look like you're compensating for something." He glances over at me, eyebrow arched. I shrug. "Hey, I told you I was wondering if your junk was genuine, okay?"
"... Genuine?"
"Yeah," I shrug. "Don't look so offended. What, do you think your—" My sentence is cut off by a burst of gunfire and I shut up, disappointed that I couldn't tease the poor guy more. Though, I guess I've made enough weird \jokes for the time being.
Far too many.
We push the door open on the other side of the building, leaving to see a hovering aircraft scanning us. A wave of missiles blasts toward us and I dodge them, jumping above the blast and firing an explosive arrow into the machine's body. This should be fun.
