Hope is slipping from my hands, I only wish to die
I've given up on everything and ceased to try
All but bitterness had been stripped from the heart
My soul has turned black and the world has gone dark
Tremors and fears felt at every sight seen
Scared of what will come and those that once had been
I'm deep in this tunnel, and I've lost sight of the light
My day has disappeared, swallowed by the night.
What more is left in this world but deceit and failure?
Disappointments and pains I have long endured?
My soul is black and the world is now dimming.
Just when the light has entered, the darkness finally lifting.
-Black Soul, Dark World
Act Three
Darkness Come Again
:Present Day:
"And then?"
She took her sweet time answering him. "That's it. That was the first of their kind that I came across... But at that time, I didn't know it, I couldn't understand what he had been saying." A frown settled on her face, as if an eternity of pain had been unearthed from her memories.
"So..." He waved his hand around, causing a few ashes from his cigarette to fall on the table. "Who is he? Or would 'was' be a better word?"
An irritated look crossed her features. "Does it matter?"
Does 'what' matter? The rephrasing of the question or the name of this... being? "I'm asking you. It should be a substantial information."
"And for what purpose are you asking me this?"
He met her gaze and broke into a laughing fit. "And you think you're in the position to ask me questions?" He discarded what remained of his cigarette and lit another one before gesturing at her bound wrists. "In case you forgot, you're the one tied up. You're the one who got caught. You answer the questions, not me."
Not a word from what he just said seemed to hit her. "Then I shall not say a word."
It was hard to read her facial expression, not that it was easy to try dealing with her attitude. "You will speak. I will make you." He gave her an almost malicious smile but she didn't appear to think of him much as a menace, in fact instead of instilling fear in her, it was as if his warning just amused her.
If she had been even the least bit eager to find out what he meant by that, she was good in masking that curiosity. She continued watching him unemotionally, eyes seemingly hollow just then; she very much resembled a porcelain mannequin. Or a corpse. Anything dull and lifeless, so it seems...
"Sunlight." The man said it as though that would explain his threat. He was about to say more, to probably elaborate on it, but he froze right then and there. Just the sight of her shoulders shaking with soft laughter was enough to send shivers down his spine; it was obvious from the way it looked so wrong and horribly out of place that she was not the type who smiled much.
"You think you know everything..." He could only watch her, the aftershock of hearing her humourless laugh still etched on his mind. As swiftly as it had appeared, her smile wilted, replaced by that blank look. He found himself grateful for this frosty, unsmiling version of her. "Just to show you just how much they should be feared, let me tell you that not all of them get burnt to a crisp the moment sunlight touches their skin. There are a few who could roam the earth anytime they want, and the price to walk in daylight is only a little pain..."
Act Four
A Glimpse of a Phantom
No one else had stirred such clashing emotions inside of her, all at once. A certain part of her loathed his cold persona, still another voice was telling her it's best that they remain strangers to each other. His aura of mystery roused a curiosity she never knew she had in her, at the same time there was this dread that was somehow convincing her not to know anything about this man. She wanted to understand what he had been meaning to say just a while ago, to see beyond this hardened man and his cryptic words, yet fear just kept her rooted in place, unable to do anything.
His words from earlier made her feel like an ignorant fool, and as if satisfied that she shut her mouth, he refused to say anything as well. The air suddenly felt so heavy and she was having trouble breathing. It was the stagnant silence and the ominous atmosphere of the room that were causing all these, she concluded.
And to make matters worse, he was watching her. Mustering as much courage as she could, she lifted her head and stared back at him. There was a saying that said: "The eyes are the windows to one's soul," and if that was true, then his was so terribly wounded. A sea of conflicting emotions was what she saw in them... Somehow, somewhere, she'd seen that same look before... Realization dawned on her.
"You- Your eyes!" They were the same as hers.
She had seen that look every time she had chanced upon her reflection in the mirror. There was this unsatisfied emotion similar to a caged eagle yearning to be rid of the bars restricting its flight to the blue heavens. But one way or another, the emotion on his was different; the raging fire was much, much fiercer, that the very moment his gaze lighted on her, it was as if her soul had been burnt by hell's fire itself.
"You have a lot to learn, girl." It was hard trying to decipher this man. Only an instant ago did he show her that he was in no frame of mind to speak with her, and now, it was like he was attempting to start a conversation. "Things are never what they seem in the outside word."
"And you would know?" Scared as she was of this man, his indifference and rudeness annoyed her. She softened up almost immediately after getting a glare him and remembering that this very man saved her. "And I have a name. It's Tifa, not girl. Please address me as such."
The look on his face barely disclosed that he acknowledged her introduction. "I used to be called Vincent." He turned his back on her, detesting the memories that surfaced upon uttering that cursed name. "But that had been a long time ago. You may call me however you wish."
"I... I think Vincent is fine." He started walking towards the door and she could only follow him, not sure of what else to do. "Umm... Where are we going?"
"You have a lot of questions." He wheeled around and faced her, a phantom of a smile playing on the corners of his lips. " 'I' am going somewhere, it's none of your business where precisely." He opened the door and peered out into the hall. "Wait for me here. Lock the door and do not let anyone else in."
"Can't you take me with you?"
He levelled her with a stare, and she could only shrink back at the intensity of the gaze. "It is not negotiable." With that, he left before she could even say anything again.
Left all alone in the company of the darkness, the room appeared to be more foreboding. The candles' glow stained the blackish interior with an orange tinge and the shadows in the corners taunted her, as if crawling towards the entryway where she was standing. The dark looked as if it came alive at that moment and she did what any other normal person in this situation would have done: she fled.
fin chapter two
Author's Notes: A short chapter... So, the two in the prologue happened to be Vincent and Tifa. Were you able to guess it beforehand? I apologize if they were OOC, I just wanted to create an alternative scenario for the FF7 characters and I chose this one (That's why the summary did say AU).
BTW, sorry if this chapter is really short. It was supposedly the beginning of a much longer chapter, but I decided to divide it into two (since I'm not quite satisfied with how the latter part was written, and I'm currently rewriting it). Hopefully, it will be up in a few days.
Anyway, hope you all liked this! If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or any violent reactions, please feel free to write them in a review or drop me an email at sodacolapop at yahoo dot com
Again, thanks for reading.
Additional Author's Notes upon editing: well, yeah, this was written more than four years ago, and even back then, I was a Vincent and Tifa fan. (Of course, I love Zack too, but that is a different story). Yes, this chapter was edited, slightly though, because of the grammar errors I have committed then. If ever I missed out on some grammatical mistakes, please do inform me? Thank you very much.