Heartstrings
Vincent Unleashed
by TacomaSquall
Part Twenty-one:
Vincent was too
chilled and weak to even shiver any more. It had been hours since the missiles struck the inner wall of the
caldera that contained the source of the Gongaga River. Evidently the cave was below the surface
level of the lake, for water had been slowly leaking into the now-sealed
chamber.
Of greater danger
than the damp was the dwindling supply of oxygen. Elena and Rude had both already succumbed to the unconsciousness
due to hypoxia. Vincent and Reno had
barely maintained consciousness, although Vincent couldn't hear the red-headed
Turk's breathing any longer.
They had been lucky
to avoid being killed by the cave-ins caused by the multiple explosions,
Vincent knew. However, if they had died
then, it would have been quick, instead of this lingering torture.
This is where it
ends. If nothing else, I gained revenge
upon Lucresia for what she did to me. I
wish I could see Yuffie one last time, to tell her good-bye…
* * * * * *
The survivors of
AVALANCHE whirled to face the Research Center at the sound of the Whisk's
explosion. Finally, they heard the
cacophonious sounds of combat from the other side of the massive building. Cloud pointed with his off-hand towards the
near corner of the mansion. Yuffie and
Hieros sprinted forward, racing to look around the building, in a hope to see
what was going on.
It was at that moment
that Chaos landed. He laughed and
launched the mystic Diamond Dust spell, coating all of the members of AVALANCHE
in a rime of cold that froze them momentarily, before exploding in shards of
ice. In the aftermath of his spell,
Lord Chaos' Vanish enchantment wore off, restoring the massive Mako-twisted
monstrosity to AVALANCHE.
Lord Chaos brandished
the Chaos Saber and smiled. "Come
on. I've been waiting for you. AVALANCHE, it is time for all of you to
die!"
* * * * * *
Tenebrius brought
Rimewand up, deflecting a burst of bullets fired at him by one of the human
defenders of the Research Center. He
looked at his master, noting the lord of Nessos' fury. First, Inanna, and now, Uragi. These humans are more resourceful than we
thought.
He was brought out of
his brief reverie by a scream. A human
was charging him, his automatic pistol raised above his head like a
truncheon. With an overhand chop,
Tenebrius brought Rimewand crashing through the human's body. The human was cleft in twain by the powerful
blow from the Horseman, slain before he could deliver his blow.
Tenebrius looked
around and noticed that the remaining humans were retreating to the large mansion
they had issued from. He started to
pursue, but was brought up short by a command from Tenarrus.
"I will deal with
these pests. Find AVALANCHE. They are still our primary targets."
Tenebrius and Coyote
split up, each heading towards one side of the mansion, looking for the heroes
whom them had come to kill.
* * * * * *
Vincent gasped
fruitlessly. The air of the collapsed
cavern was stale, with little usable oxygen within. As the fouled air swept into the former Turk's lungs, he found
his mind going back to the years he spent, imprisoned in his coffin under the
ShinRa Mansion.
Once again, I am
buried. Unlike before, I care now
whether I live or die. However, just
like then, I have little choice. My
life and death are no longer in my own hands.
A luminescent glow
spread over Vincent's body. As it
spread, the areas touched by the glow began to tingle as magical energy
suffused his being. Vincent looked over
at the perhaps dead, perhaps merely unconscious forms of the Turks. They too were limned in the glowing energy.
The glow became
unbearably bright, as it covered more and more of the their bodies. As the glow completely covered them, Vincent
felt the collapsed cavern fade away. His mind went back to his previous thought.
My life and death are no longer in my own hands…
* * * * * *
As AVALANCHE stared
at Lord Chaos in shock, he followed up on his previous spell with a massive
Avalanche. The slopes of Mount Nibel
heaved and shuddered, and a massive slope of scree, rock, and earth bore down
upon the members of AVALANCHE. Overborne by the slide, Yuffie and Nanaki were both buried beneath the
slide, while the rest were buffeted mercilessly.
As the slide ended,
Chaos chuckled at the delicious irony. Burying
AVALANCHE with an Avalanche…
He was staggered by a
Quadra casting of Ultima by Tifa. Before the monstrosity could react, both Cloud and Barret used their
Mime Materia to blast Chaos with the powerful spell eight times.
Chaos grimaced in
pain, and took to the air, reactivating his Vanish enchantment. "I will be waiting for you atop Mount Nibel,
AVALANCHE! I believe the one who
separated me from Vincent is coming for you. You had best be ready for him!"
Grennek tried to
activate the Counter Null Materia, but the Mako-twisted Lord was already
gone. At the same time, Maiji used her
Heal Materia to undo the immobilizing effect of the Avalanche, and Cait Sith called
upon the power of the White Wind to heal their injuries.
* * * * * *
Coyote sped around
the side of the Mansion. Already, he
could taste the power that would be his if he were able to defeat AVALANCHE
without Tenebrius' help. Two of the
Horsemen are gone. Their passing leaves
a void, one that I can exploit!
The shapechanger
abandoned all pretense of being human, adopting a guise that was well-suited
for wading into enemies. His body
lengthened to double the height of a normal human, becoming not only taller,
but more dense as he grew. His hands
became huge slabs of bone and muscle, tipped with diamond-hard claws. His skin flaked away, revealing hardened
scales. His eyes became compound orbs
that had hardened, transparent eyelids that covered the optical surfaces at all
times, with a second lid that could respond to lighting levels, ranging from
translucency to opacity.
Two horns thrust
their way forth from the skin of his forehead, pushing forward until they
protruded for nearly a foot from Coyote. The head itself grew more reptilian in appearance, bearing strong
mandibles and cruelly sharp fangs, similar to those of a Dragon.
Coyote hurtled around
a corner and came face to face with the angry members of AVALANCHE. They were led by Barret. The massive black man had had enough.
"Lemme guess, you
must be one of Lord Tenarrus' Horsemen. Asshole, when I'm done with you, you'll be wishing that you had never
even considered coming here!" Barret
cut loose with a stream of heavy fire from the Missing Score. A golden Materia shone in the prosthetic
limb, as the former terrorist sent an unbelievable rain of explosive-tipped
bullets at Coyote, riddling his form with explosions. The Horseman was knocked head-over-heels, backwards.
As Coyote started to
rise, Cloud activated the Mime Materia he wore in his Mystile. He charged forward, and struck four times
with the Ultima Weapon before the shocked Horseman could react. Tifa followed up this devastating attack
with the newest of her Enemy Skills, the Sunspot Flare, learned from Jenova
earlier that morning.
Coyote hurtled
skywards and was consumed by the fury of the Sun. Only ashes remained of the shapechanger when he returned to the
Planet. The ashes were blown away on
the wind.
* * * * * *
Tenarrus called upon
the power of the Shadow Brand. The same
tongue of darkness that consumed the fusion gun and its crew stretched out
towards the Research Center. Where the
darkling flame touched, the material of the Center began to corrode. A hole was rapidly burned through the wall,
and Tenarrus stepped forward.
"I suggest that
you stop, 'Master.'"
Tenarrus whirled at
the sound. Standing behind him, wounded
but smiling evilly, was Lord Chaos. "Where have you been? How did
these humans gain such ability to resist me?"
"These humans, as you
so indignantly put it, are each capable of the heroism that was manifested by
the members of AVALANCHE." Lord Chaos sneered at Tenarrus. "In your hubris, you felt assured that
only the members of AVALANCHE were a
threat to you. You thought that they
would lie down for you, meekly accepting the doom you brought. You colossal fool, all you have succeeded in
doing was throwing away the lives of three of your most able leaders. ShinRa was ineffective against AVALANCHE for
one reason only – AVALANCHE fought a guerilla war against them. ShinRa would mobilize against your assault
and beat it back within minutes."
Tenarrus charged,
drawing Midnight's Heart as he ran forward. The massive greatsword met the Chaos Saber and was deflected away from
the Mako-twisted betrayer. "No one
speaks to me like that, Chaos. No one!"
Tenarrus rained a series
of blows down upon the demon. Chaos
parried each blow laboriously, weakening from the exertion of defending himself
from this all-out attack on top of the wounds that he had suffered from
AVALANCHE's assault earlier. Chaos
staggered backwards, driven away from the Research Center by Tenarrus'
ferocious attack.
A dozen steps Chaos
retreated, until he came to a small rock outcropping. His attention focused on the blade that was menacing him, Chaos
never even saw the uneven rock that he placed his foot on. The rock slipped under Chaos' weight,
driving the Mako-twisted master of uncertainty off balance. Unable to regain his balance, Chaos fell in
a heap at Tenarrus' feet.
Tenarrus raised
Midnight's Heart high over his head in preparation for the killing blow. "Now, you shall pay the price for your
treachery."
* * * * * *
Vincent rose
unsteadily to his feet. He was atop the
roof of the Research Center. Below him,
he saw the remains of a battlefield. At
one edge of the battlefield, he saw the monster that had taken his Limit Breaks
from him menacing a figure lying on the ground.
In one smooth motion,
the sniper grabbed the Twilight Scope, aimed, and fired.
* * * * * *
Chaos smiled as the
tungsten-steel sliver from the Twilight Scope punched through the back of
Tenarrus' head. The sliver continued
out the demon lord's face, tearing an opening between Tenarrus' eyes. His eyes wide in shock, Tenarrus crumpled
bonelessly in front of Lord Chaos.
Chaos stood slowly
and saw Vincent Valentine, slouching on the roof of the Center. Jauntily, the Mako-twisted lord waved at his
former avatar. He cried, "Tell
AVALANCHE that I will be waiting for them on the summit of Mount Nibel. Now that I am free, it is time for all the
world to bow to its rightful ruler!"
End of Part Twenty-One