Kei: Glad you're back! Feeling better? I adore Vincent, he's so understanding. Ugh, Rufus... Why does he have to go and ruin everything? Into the mansion we go!
Chapter 193
We exited into a large, wide hallway that smelled of mold. The flowery wallpaper was peeling, stained in places with something that looked suspiciously like dried blood. The same thing could be said for the faded threadbare red carpet below our feet. There were no doors along the walls, only two massive, oak doors at the end of the hall, stretching all the way from left to right. Vincent let go of my hand and took the lead, grabbing his Cerberus as a precaution as he moved towards the decorated doors. When we got closer, I noticed carvings of an underwater scene. There were mermaids and seahorses, weeds and fish. The closer I got, the more details I saw. There were even some shells and turtles. It looked rather lifelike. Something about the image was hypnotizing to me, and a few times I thought I even saw it move out of the corner of my eye.
"Don't lose focus," Vincent warned me when he saw what I was staring at. "That carving is there to give you a false sense of tranquility and security." He placed his hand on the curved door handle and looked at me. At that moment, I saw in him the Turk he used to be. Strong, handsome and capable. I nodded at him, and he opened the door. Immediately, a flock of bats tore through the door, darkening the very hallway. We both ducked in reflex, and I covered my ears with my hands to block out the terrible shrieking sounds they made. The black cloud swarmed towards the elevator and then returned, flying back through the door and up, before disappearing from sight. I rose and walked over to Vincent, who was already making his way into the grand foyer. Stairs curled away from us, and the ceiling was so high I had to crane my neck to see it. The bats were still flying around the broken sky-light, circling around before they tore down an upstairs hallway. As I walked and observed the mansion I had been to twice before, I failed to mind my steps or my surroundings. I saw something come flying at me from the right. I only just managed to jump out of the way of a giant blade that sliced the air right where I had been standing only half a second before. A heavy chain was tied underneath the flight of stairs, a half-moon shaped blade swinging from it, gleaming in the light from the chandelier. Astride it, sat a man. My eyes traveled up to his eyes, and in that moment, everything stopped existing. He was strangely enticing to me, his fingers waving at me lazily, as if beckoning me to him. An exquisite specimen, with half long blond hair and fiery red eyes. Muscles rippled over his form, and it took me a moment to realize the blade was attached to his body, like the tail of a merman. He hung from the chain by his other arm, which bulged with cords of muscle. I wasn't exactly sure why, but it seemed important to me to go to him. It was a matter of life or death.
"Eden," Vincent warned me from somewhere far away.
"Well, hello," I said to the alluring man, and he smiled at me, flashing a set of perfect whites. My feet moved of their own accord, stepping closer to the beautiful creature. "Where are you going?" I asked him in desperation when I saw him swing away from me. He turned his body towards me, and I was reassured, because then I knew he was coming back to me.
"Eden, be careful!" Vincent's voice pulled me from my daze, but I was still frozen to the spot, seeing the blade come swinging my way again, cutting a deadly path trough the air, right at me. A force slammed into me, bringing me crashing down to the hard tiles. My shoulder hit the ground painfully, but I knew Vincent had just saved my life. I looked at him in bewilderment as he hovered over me, looking down at me with concern. "Are you all right?" I nodded weakly, my eyes moving away from him to the bladed man behind him. I saw him twist his lower body, spinning the large blade in our direction, and this time, Vincent was in his way. Grabbing him by the shoulders, I pulled him aside, rolling away to make sure to get out of range and to safety. We ended up in tangles against the wall, red cape obscuring my vision. I slapped it off me with a growl, shaking my head to rid myself of the enchantment. I removed myself from Vincent's form, a gun already in my hand, and flung my arm up, hitting the man square in the chest. With an inhuman screech, he fell from his chain, crumpling to the ground pathetically. There, he tried to crawl away from me, dragging his useless form along like a ball and chain. I followed him relentlessly, placed a boot on his back and ended his existence with one final bullet.
"Sorry," I said, angry that this creature had managed to entice me. "I'm not into blonds." Vincent looked at me sternly as he passed me by, heading for the stairs. "Right, focus..." I mumbled, feeling slightly ashamed of myself for having fallen for a simple manipulation ability. It wasn't the first time I'd lost control of my own actions due to a spell, and last time had almost ended in disaster. For myself, for Cloud and for the Turks. I followed Vincent up the stairs, knowing the secret entrance to the dungeons was located on the top floor of the massive manor. Other than the bats flying past again, there was no sign of anything else alive as we ascended. Vincent took a turn at the top of the staircase, moving into the right-hand hallway. The entrance we were looking for was on the right side of the mansion, through a parlor that led to a adjacent bedroom. There, it was hidden behind a stone wall that stood out like a sore thumb. We stepped into the parlor, my sights falling on a large, beautifully curved silver mirror that hung above the dressing table by the wall. I hadn't noticed it years ago, when I was last here, but then again, I had been in a hurry. Not to mention very emotional. Vincent strode into the bedroom with determination, pressing his fingers in between the bricks as if he had done it a hundred times before. As the wall moved and the passageway was revealed, I thought I saw something move just outside my peripheral vision. I spun around and looked towards the doorway, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. Against better judgment, I slowly walked back into the parlor, craning my head around the corner to take a peek. What I saw startled me, and actually made me gasp. "..Reno?" He turned around at the sound of my voice, his face cracking into the most blinding smile he'd ever offered me. It was almost unearthly. "Hi," He said, eyes gleaming with joy. My eyes darted around the room in confusion, wondering what he was doing here. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to find you." He replied, still smiling at me.
"But.. Did something happen?" It felt a little strange to me that he would follow me here, especially after the way we'd said our goodbyes. Or rather, our lack of goodbye. Maybe he felt sorry about that?
"No," He shook his head, his face falling into that of innocence as he took a step closer to me. "I just missed you so bad." I let my eyes wander around the room again, trying to find something to make sense of it all. I noticed the large mirror was missing. Had I imagined it being there? Had it been an illusion too? "Haven't you missed me?" His voice was husky, and close. So close in fact, that he could touch me. I hadn't even seen him move. His hands reached out, wrapping around the flare of my hips, pulling me closer to him. "Noticed the big, soft bed next door?" He whispered to me while I felt the heat of him through our clothes. "Imagine us together...We'd have all the time in the world, no one would disturb us." My breath hitched when my eyes shot up to his. They were dark with feral hunger, the bright turquoise obscured by shadows. "I would savor you forever. All you have to do... is come with me." His alluring whispering was almost to much for me, and I felt my knees go weak at the prospect of his promise. A hand rode up my spine, fingers dug into the base of my skull, pulling my hair.
"What...are you doing...?" I managed to say, my voice barely more than a whimper.
"Give into me..." My head was tilted back, the heat of his breath caressed my face. "I'll make your deepest desires come true, be your living fantasy. I yearn for you... Give into me." When I was about to close my eyes in sweet rapture and surrender, they fell on his earring and I frowned. I'd looked at him so many times, remembered every detail about him. My heart skipped a beat. The earring was on the wrong side.
"You're not Reno." I pulled back, freeing myself from his grasp. "What are you?"
"What are you talking about?" His voice was different, demanding in a way that wasn't like him. My blade was in my hand in a flash, slashing at him as I jumped backwards, out of his reach.
"You're a reflection." I smirked at him as this knowledge dawned on me. It also pissed me off, not believing this impostor almost had me fooled. "Nice try." In the blink of an eye, Reno's face contorted, and he flew at me, going for my throat. His eyes had gone all black with silver pupils. The skin on his face sagged, turning a sickly gray. His red, flaming hair went dull and bleak, all color fading from it. Thin fingers elongated into claws, perfect teeth fell from a torn mouth, falling to the carpet between our feet. I lifted a foot and kicked the horrendous thing away from me, disgusted at the thought I had almost ended up kissing that. "What the hell is wrong with this place?!" I cursed at no one in particular, as the gray creature hissed at me from the floor.
"Come play with me." It croaked, trying to smile at me, but only freaking me out with its black tongue. "I'll be whoever you want me to be." It scuttled over to me across the carpet, a deranged giggle leaving its absent lips. My Sais cut through the air, creating a large gash across bony shoulder. No blood poured from the cut, only dry sand flooded to the floor. It hissed at me again, reaching for me with its claws. "You're mine! Let me become what you desire most!" I slashed at it again, cutting it across the cheek this time, unsure of whether to kill it or pity it. The skin broke into shards, leaving a gaping hole in the side of its face. Once again, it tried to form words, but more pieces crumbled to the floor as it tried to open its mouth. I made a face when it flung itself at me, feeling disgusted. My boot collided with skull and it broke apart into a hundred fragments, raining down onto the faded carpet. I fired a bullet into the parched body, and it crumpled to the ground, the hissing turning into wheezing. The sight of it folding in on itself, twitching and coiling was disturbing to say the least, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to end its misery. I shot off a final round, straight into its heart, and it stilled, frozen in time. Then is dissolved, and all that was left on the floor was a large, cracked, broken silver mirror. I swallowed and quickly stepped away, hurrying through the doorway and down the staircase after Vincent.
"Where have you been?" He asked me when I found him standing at the end of the corridor, near the door where I had found Sephiroth after he'd first disappeared. I stalked over to him and looked him over top to bottom, looking for anything off.
"Are you you?" I asked him out of the blue, slapping his cloak aside to see if his claw was on the correct side of his body. He raised his brow at me in question, probably wondering if I'd lost my mind. "This house is starting to drive me insane," I gave him no other explanation, embarrassed that I had again fallen for this mansion's tricks. "Can we please get what we came here for and get the hell out of here?" Whatever he was thinking about my current mental state, he made no comment, but simply pushed the door open, his gun at the ready. Maybe I'd dreaded stepping into this room -since it was the place where Sephiroth had hurt me for the first time, both emotionally and physically-, but when I did, it didn't feel at all the way I had imagined it would. I'd never actually been inside here, and all that I felt was anger and sadness over the things that had taken place here in the past. My gaze was drawn to two glass cylinders, not unlike the ones I had once encountered down in the labs at Shinra HQ.
"This is where Cloud and Zack were kept," I said as I looked around the large room full of books. "And where Sephiroth went insane." There was a large table in the middle of the room, more books than one person could ever read in a lifetime, and broken computers. A small passage led to another room to the left, which contained another table and more books.
"As was I," Vincent said as he stared at the containers. "This was Hojo's laboratory."
"Too bad he's dead," I growled. Hojo had been a despicable human being. Maybe he had been a brilliant scientist, but he was a sad excuse of a man, working for an even worse company. Anger for all of Shinra resurfaced within me again. "He deserved worse than what he got. What is that?" I added when I noticed Vincent staring at something on the floor. A ball of materia came rolling towards us, luminous like the Lifestream itself. Vincent picked it up silently, holding it out in his gloved hand. I was just about to step up beside him, when the ball suddenly exploded into the brightest light I had ever witnessed. Both Vincent and I averted our eyes, being almost blinded by the blazing whiteness. Slowly, it faded, a strange glow remaining behind. We shared a look, but then my attention got caught by a woman in a white lab coat. A woman that definitely hadn't been there before.
"Huh?" I uttered out loud, wondering where she came from and who she was. Vincent looked over his shoulder, slowly turning around to face her. Judging by the look of surprise on his face, there was no need to ask who she was. It was his Lucrecia. I could tell what he'd seen in her. She was lovely. Long, light brown wavy hair was tied in a high ponytail, bangs escaping over her face. She seemed almost...delicate. Was she real? Or was she another trick? How could she be real? She'd died thirty years ago.
"Lucrecia," Vincent stated. I pulled a gun from my holster, but he froze me with a single look, his eyes flashing at me dangerously. "Don't," Slowly, I replaced the weapon on my thigh, hoping this wasn't another trap.
"Vincent, right?" Lucrecia asked, her voice clear. Her light brown eyes seemed sad as she cast them down with a sigh. "Have you come to check up on me?" Vincent stood frozen, unresponsive. I felt like I was interfering with a private moment, something I had no business being witness to, but I couldn't simply walk out and leave him. Lucrecia stepped forward and in a reflex, I palmed the weapon again. This time, Vincent didn't react, he only had eyes for the woman walking towards him. He took an eager step in her direction, spreading his arms, but then to my own surprise, she passed right through him. It all became clear to me then. She was only a projection. A hologram recorded years and years ago. This realization must have pressed on Vincent's heart like a vice. As he turned to look at her, she started flickering in and out of focus, her eyes on something in the distance. She sighed and halted. "Omega," She started, and at the sound of the name I looked at Vincent briefly. He didn't acknowledge me in the slightest, he was too caught up with his memories. "His awakening is upon us." Lucrecia said, sounding solemn. She shimmered again, disappearing and then reappearing like a ghost. "Soul wrought of terra corrupt, quelling impurity, purging the stream to beckon forth an ultimate fate. Behold, mighty Chaos, Omega's squire to the lofty heavens." Chaos? All I knew about Chaos, was that Vincent was infused with it. I'd always thought of it as something like a summon, an entity he could summon at will, even though it was as much a part of him as his own cells. "I came across this passage while studying the scriptures of the Ancients," There is was again, the Ancients. The last of them being Aerith, who died three years ago in Cloud's arms. The Ancients were a special, spiritual people, who were in close contact with the Planet and could speak to it. "The Chronicles of Yore," Lucrecia continued. "Omega. The End." What was she talking about, the end? A part of me wanted to butt in, my curiosity getting the better of me, but seeing Vincent to utterly vulnerable made me think better of it. He needed this moment. This moment with her. "Just like all other sentient beings, he too is born of the Lifestream. However, his only purpose is to cleanse the Planet of all things living, and lead their immortal souls through the abyssal aether to a new beginning, far, far beyond the neverending sea of stars." I didn't like the sound of any of this, but she wasn't done yet, so it seemed. "Just as life circulates through our Planet, so too does our Planet through the Universe. Or at least in theory. However, what I can be certain of is, if Omega awakens, then all life as we know it will end." Oh? Is that all? "And when Omega has embarked on his journey to the Cosmos, out Planet will wither and die." She turned around, facing us again, without seeing us. "I will leave a copy of my records here for you, Vincent." She looked at the ground for a moment, seemingly unsure of what to say. "Though I cannot imagine what help they might be, if any at all. Just remember..." Her voice broke, and she seemed to shrink, almost hugging herself in sadness. Her breath hitched, close to crying now. "I am so sorry." With those words, she was gone. At any other time, I would have made a smart-ass remark, but the look of absolute abandonment on Vincent's face made me at a complete loss for words. That, and the fact that the world was close to ending. He stood staring at the spot where she had disappeared, the materia still glowing in his hand. It emitted one last blast of light, and then shattered, the shards dissolving into nothingness.
"Lucrecia..." Vincent whispered hoarsely, before he shut his eyes in torment. I wished I could take it from him, make it easier, but I couldn't. This pain was his and his alone. His eyes opened and wandered to the table. I hadn't noticed before, but when following his gaze, I saw a disc that I wasn't sure had been there before. Or maybe it had and I'd simply missed it. He stepped over to the table and picked it up, turning it over in his hand, staring at it like it was the most foreign object he had ever laid eyes on. He pocketed it and looked at me, as if finally remembering that I was there with him.
"You okay?" I asked him, only now noticing my body felt as tight as a coiled spring. When he nodded, I felt the tension lift, and I sighed, breathing in deeply through my nose. "Well, home-front is going to lose their shit, that's for sure." Vincent left the room in silence, and I admired his resilience to keep going as if nothing had happened. Had that happened to me, I would've picked a fight with whoever was in closest proximity, or I would've destroyed something. However, for Vincent to lose control might be a bad idea, with Chaos being part of him and all. He'd told me so before, that he might hurt someone if he were ever to lose control. I was grateful for his ability to compose himself, maybe even a little jealous. I sighed again and followed after him, hoping there would be a way to stop this impeding doom that seemed to be hanging over all our heads. End of the world was on the way and what had I achieved? Nothing. Eden Fox had nothing at all. I found him outside in the hallway on his knees on the floor. My initial thought was that he had collapsed from emotional strain after all, but it soon became apparent he was in physical pain. "Vincent! What's wrong?" I sank down beside him, unsure of whether to touch him or not. I settled for a hand to his arm. He was clutching his head, a grunt escaping his throat.
"This pain," He said, and it was obvious from his voice that it hadn't subsided yet. Where was this suddenly coming from? As far as I knew, he'd never been in pain before, not without reason. As a matter of fact, I couldn't recall him ever having shown pain before. A shadow fell over the both of us, accompanied by the sound of heels clicking on tiles.
"Well, well," A female voice cooed, making us both look up at the visitor. Standing before us was a tall, feminine woman with flaming red hair and red eyes. I recognized her as Rosso the Crimson, one of the Tviets, and the only female SOLDIER besides myself, and the little girl. I'd never even known of her existence until yesterday. She wore a smirk that told me she was used to wearing it, easy and arrogant. She wore some sort of uniform, but was scarcely covered, something that made me raise my brow at her in mocking. She was all legs and skin, but there was no doubt she was dangerous. She simply reeked of it. "We meet again," She continued casually, drawling her words. "This is perfect. I so wanted to see you, my love." Vincent rose up from the floor, his posture confident and strong, meeting her head-on.
"Deepground," He said as I too rose, feeling the sense of threat build up in the air. "What are they attempting to do with Omega?"
"I don't know," Rosso said dramatically. "And to be honest, I don't care."
"What?" Vincent asked, clearly surprised by the answer.
"This is what Weiss desires," Rosso explained. She fell silent for a moment and her madness was palpable. "Hail Weiss. And what Weiss orders, we do. It is very simple. If he desires the awakening of Omega, then that is what all of Deepground desires. We could care less what happens to the Planet. But all this matters little to me. It is not every day you are granted the chance to cleanse the world of all life," She stared off into the distance, adding to the drama. "Just the thought sends a chill of excitement through my body. The Deepground soldiers were born and bred to kill. We were chained to a destiny of servitude. But then, three years ago, we were freed from our chains –though waiting for us was darkness lit only by the faint glow of Mako. And what do you think we did when we gained our freedom? Hmm?" She laughed, gasping from excitement. Why do bad-guys always feel the need to make long-ass speeches? "We killed. That is how we were raised. That is all we knew. And so I bathed in the blood of a thousand soldiers. And I enjoyed it. Reveled in it," I noticed Vincent tense up beside me, listening to her madness with narrowed eyes. I too felt the rage built up inside me, wanting to hurt this woman, this monster of a being. I clenched my fist at my side, and she smirked at me again, her indifferent arrogance pissing me off even more. Who did she think she was dealing with? "And when I finally stepped out of the abyss," She smiled at us. "I craved for more."
"I'll give you more." I hissed, gnashing my teeth in fury.
"Oh, come now..." She said coyly. "You understand, right?"
Vincent stared her down for a few more seconds, before raising his brutal gun and pointing it straight at her. "I don't think so." I'd never heard him speak with so much suppressed anger, and it fueled my own.
"Ha," Rosso chuckled while taking a few slow steps back. "How can you say that, darling? We're one and the same." She suddenly pushed off, and flung herself away, disappearing down the hallway. Vincent and I were in immediate pursuit, tearing after her and down the hall. But when we reached the first corner, instead of running into Rosso as expected, we ran into something else all together. From around the next corner appeared a spider like machine, its spindly legs tapping the tiles as it moved. It searched for us, and locked on target. I kicked off from the opposite wall, launching myself up and over the sentinel just as it propelled a handful of grenades at us. Vincent shielded himself with his cloak, taking the full blast, but I knew he would be all right. The man had dealt with more than a few bombs flung his way. My feet touched ground behind the machine, and I rolled across the floor to position myself underneath its metal body. I plunged a blade into its circuit, tearing a cut all along its underside. It spasmed, as if feeling what I had done. I had to roll out of the way time and time again as it lifted its thin legs, slamming them into the ground to try and pierce me. Vincent in the meantime, was blasting holes into it the size of fists. I kicked out at its legs, collapsing one side to the ground. I used the advantage to climb onto its back, and cut my way into the thick metal body. Once the hole was large enough, I stuck a hand inside, wrapping my fingers around anything I managed to grab onto, and yanked. Out came an entire bundle of red and blue wires, and with a crash, the spider went down. It twitched a few more times, trying to get signals through to its useless limbs, but with a few final sparks, the red light of the search scope went out, and it went still beneath me. I flipped off its back and tossed the wires aside.
"Shinra technology, no doubt." I said to Vincent as he joined my side, reloading his weapon with more flair than I ever could. "Guess it's not as indestructible as they like to think. The same can be said for Deepground. This Rosso broad is about to get her wiring removed."
"Let's hurry." We made our way up the basement stairs, guns at the ready in case more danger lurked around the corner. Rosso may not be indestructible, but she was still an alien cell enhanced SOLDIER, and most likely stronger than I was. She was spliced from Genesis himself, mixed with his DNA, like all the Tsviets. After her lighting fast disappearance, we hadn't spotted her anywhere, but she may be waiting for us around every corner. When we stepped into the parlor, the broken mirror was still on the ground, but neither of us paid any heed to that. We pushed on, hearing Rosso's footfalls down in the grand foyer. The sound of quick tapping followed us when we descended the stairs. Vincent skidded to a halt before me, almost sending me crashing into him. The tapping sound got louder, and we spun to see another spider machine standing on the upstairs balcony. I cursed and shared a look with Vincent. There was no need for him to say anything, the look in his eyes told me all I needed to know.
"Got it." I breathed and shot past him, in pursuit of Rosso. I had no idea where she'd gone, but I ran into a hallway leading off both ways. After picking a side, I ran into a room on the far left, the only door that was open. I kept my guns pointed ahead in case she caught me off guard. A large round table was standing on the left side of the room, bathed in sunlight shining through the large windows. There was a piano in the far corner, and another door leading out of the room. Behind me in the foyer, I heard the battle between Vincent and the spider commence, but I wasn't worried about him. He would make quick work of this and join me.
"Foolish girl," Rosso's voice swam towards me from somewhere behind me. I spun around, barrels pointed square at her armored chest. "You think because you are SOLDIER that you can fight me and live to tell the tale?" She laughed mockingly. "Oh, right, you're the one who killed Max, yes? Well, don't flatter yourself, sweetheart, he was worthless to begin with. Just like the little girl." What little girl? Was she referring to the girl we saw in Whiterun? What was her name again? Shelke? "It was only a matter of time before we disposed of him."
"You talk too much," I snapped, thinking she was beyond cruel. Max wasn't worthless, he was a good friend. But what would she know of friendship? All she apparently cared about was the sound of her own voice. Shots rang through the house, the ceiling shook as the spider moved about. Crumbs of old plaster rained down on us. "Are we gonna do this, or what?" I challenged her, and her mouth curled up into a cold, seductive smile. Then fast as lighting, she moved. She was standing behind me brandishing her double ended blade before I even had time to anticipate. I spun and blocked her attack just in time, letting her push me back a few steps. I retaliated, blades grinding together with a resonating zing. She spun, I leaped, she sprang backwards, I ducked. We moved back and forth like this, and I had to be at my top game. She appeared behind me again, was there in front of me one second and gone the next. In a reflex, I twisted away, but not before I felt the sharp sting of her blade cut me across the back. When I rolled back onto my feet, blood splashed to the ground around my boots, making me stumble for a moment. I grit my teeth and flew at her again, not giving her a moment to enjoy her short lived victory. My blade slashed her way, missing her by a hair's width. She pulled the same trick on me a few times, but now I was better prepared. I now knew that she had the ability of teleportation, something I had read about in the file the Turks had brought with them. The gunshots in the distance faded, the rest of the mansion falling into silence as we fought. I managed a kick to her knee, a knee to her face, and a slash across her hand, but I never got close enough to do real damage. She on the other hand, seemed be getting the upper hand. My body may have been enhanced, but she was even more so. I felt my muscles growing wearier, but she never wavered in her strength and speed after all this time of combat between us. When I sprang back again to avoid another deadly swipe of her blade, she kicked me in the chest, sending me flying into the wall with a groan. I felt the brick crumble on impact, and I landed on the hard floor painfully. She was beside me in a flash, kicking me into the wall again and again, numbing my body as I felt my ribs break. I screamed in pain, curling in on myself to try and shield my body from further harm.
"Not so brave now, are you?" She taunted as she crouched down beside me, running her clawed gloves through my hair. "You are strong, yes. But no match for me."
"Eden!" Vincent called from the grand foyer, his voice strong and loud.
"Oh," Rosso smiled, getting up and leaving me on the floor. "Almost forgot about the grand price." With that, she was out the door, leaving me to worry for Vincent now.
"Vin-!" I groaned and clutched my ribcage, once again reminded of at least one cracked rib. After a moment, I managed to push myself up onto my knees, seeing the blood from the open cut on my back dripping onto the floor below me. I grit my teeth and pushed myself to my feet with a moan. This was the first time I had ever broken a bone in my body, and I suddenly felt sorry for all those people who had ended up with broken bones because of me. Even breathing hurt. I stumbled out of the room, looking for support along the wall as I hurried towards the foyer, towards Vincent. I arrived just in time to see him standing right in the center, his back towards me. Rosso was slowly crawling her way towards him, her body prowling like that of a predator. The moment I opened my mouth to try and call to him, he seemed to notice her presence and started to turn. But it was too late. Rosso called upon her ability, flashing over to him in the blink of an eye. With a mighty swing, she plunged her hand into Vincent's chest, burying it wrist-deep. I gasped in shock, not even registering the pain that tore through me anymore. Vincent doubled up, his body going limp. He choked, breath catching in his damaged chest. With one smooth move, Rosso tore something from inside him, and he crumpled to the ground in agony. My eyes fell on Rosso, and I felt shocked for the second time in half a minute. She was holding... materia? Looking at it as if it were the most prized possession in all the world.
"I'm sorry," She said coldly. "Were you not expecting that?" Vincent collapsed to the ground fully, no longer being able to hold himself up. His body twitched, breaths leaving him in starts. I pushed on, willing myself to get there in time to help him. Suddenly, a red light appeared in his eyes, glowing like embers. A red haze surrounded him, engulfing him in mist. I had seen this before. Back in Fort Condor, before he had transformed into Chaos.
"No..." I whispered, finally staggering into the foyer, almost close enough to reach him now. With a flash of white, Vincent was gone, and what remained on the ground was Chaos. Winged, crowned and growling in pain. All the while, Rosso remained standing by his side, looking down at him in mild interest.
"Aaaah..." She finally concluded. "So, you cannot control the beast without this." Vincent returned to normal, Chaos disappearing with another flash. "Well," She laughed. "There will be no need for it when I'm done with you." She drew back her arm at the same time I did, ready to fling my blade at her back, but then something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. A shuriken came twirling past, cutting through pillars and flying straight at Rosso. She moved away, sending herself to the other side of the grand foyer in a heartbeat. A little figure followed after Rosso, the shuriken circling back towards it, embedding itself in the floor. There was a small pop and then a blinding flash, making me shield my eyes. I yelped in pain when I felt an arm wrap around my waist and dragged me along and out of the mansion.
