Disclaimer: Sony and SquareSoft's FF7 characters were used in this story for non-profitable purposes. No infringement intended.

Hope is slipping from my hands, I only wish to die
I've given up on everything and ceased to try
All but bitterness has 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
The 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 Five
Servants of the Night

The night had such effects on the mind... The manor was empty and darkness filled that void, touching all of the areas with its ebony fingers and leaving traces of its sinister kisses in places where the light could not go. Its children, fear and malice, were somewhere inside the place, wreaking havoc to those unaware of their presence.

Out of the room and away from the guidance of light, there was nothing to see but an endless blanket of darkness. Despite the heavy blackness of the surroundings, Tifa ran. Away from what, to go where, she had no idea. All she knew is that she had to get away from that room before she loses her sanity. It didn't take much time before she got herself deep into the endless winding black maze of the manor's corridors.

Blinded by the dark, she collided with a solid figure and the impact would have sent her flying off to the other direction if it hadn't steadied her balance. There, standing in front of her, was a blurry silhouette.

"What is the rush, little lady?"

In Tifa's state of panic, it didn't even enter her mind that she should have apologized for barrelling into the stranger; instead, she pushed past him and took off running once again. By some means, she stumbled into an abandoned room. There was no way for her to see anything without the help of light. Damn, she was tired and scared, but it was her own fault she had no way back to Vincent's room.

Using the wall as her aid, she sluggishly felt her way into a corner before sinking to the floor, drawing her knees to her chest and willing sleep to take over. And ironically, when it was needed most, sleep didn't come. Time stood still, she did not know how long she stayed in that same position but just when her eyelids were about to drop...

"If you hadn't done that, we would have had our meal!"

"Hell, you saw how he provoked me-"

"Yes, and that little exhibition of yours scared our food away!"

"Damn it you two! This bickering won't get us anywhere!"

At first, the voices were a bit muted, probably in the adjacent room, but the last statement was spoken much louder than the ones before it. It took only a moment for her to realize that they were now in the same room she was in.

She opened her eyes, surprised that there were now a dozen or so candles with their tiny flames flickering in the wind. Ever thankful for the cabinet that was concealing her hiding place, she moved further back until her back was pressed firmly against the wall.

The first two who had spoken began arguing again and this time, she concentrated on keeping quiet and cramming herself into that small space behind the dresser instead of listening to their squabble. But try as she might to continue being undetected, they had their way of knowing if someone else was there... Or rather, the third one had... and discovered her.

"You look a bit lost." A pretty girl with wide emerald eyes greeted her with what appeared to be a friendly smile; however, if one would only look close enough, that person would notice her frosty eyes. She pulled Tifa up with strength unlikely for any girl. The other two continued their dispute, ever oblivious to her little discovery. "Ahem, gentlemen? We have a guest."

The argument was instantly forgotten, and the strangers' undivided attention came to rest on her. The girl's friends stood in front of her, looking practically identical yet one would easily figure the two were not related. It was almost eerie just seeing them standing side by side.

"It's a girl." The dark-haired fellow gave her a once over, grinning and flashing his white teeth at her. He took a step nearer but the green-eyed girl enclosed her in a hug. It was extremely awkward for Tifa, but the other girl didn't seem to be having the same sentiment.

"I found her first. She's mine."

"Aeris, it's best if we don't mess with her yet. For all we know, she could be someone else's." The blond spoke up, and only then did she see how pale they were, in fact their skin colour matched that of Vincent's pallor- Vincent! If one of them knew him, then maybe they could tell her the way back to his room...

"Do you know Vincent?"

The green-eyed girl immediately withdrew her arms from Tifa at the mere mention of that name. Her dark haired companion stared in awe. "Vincent's pet!"

"I told you." The blond man admonished them, shaking his head slightly.

The dark haired man lifted one hand and touched his fingers on her neck. His coldness seemed to seep right through her. She stepped away; he smiled. "If that is his pet, then how come she is unmarked?" He tried to touch her once more, this time looking at Tifa with newfound suspicion and she could only avert her eyes from the intense glare.

The girl sighed, seemingly tired of her companion's hard-headedness. "We haven't seen all of h-"

"Heh, that old geezer has taste." He smiled yet again, if such mood swing was possible. He took Tifa's hand in his, and planted a kiss on the back of her hand. "I'm Zack, the blond is Cloud and the lovely lady here is Aeris. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss...?"

"It is not important." He must have had a knack of suddenly arriving when she needed him the most, or maybe there was some strange link connecting their minds together. Who would have thought Vincent himself would appear at that very second? But he did, he came and dragged her away from the second child's minions. And for the first time since she spoke with them, the three were tongue tied, left without anything to say.

On the other hand, she and Vincent had a lot to talk about. The scalding fire in his eyes showed her exactly how angry he was at her and his next few words proved likewise.

"Tifa, it seems to me you cannot keep even a simple promise."

Act Six
See no Light
:Present Day:

"I should fear that?"

The scepticism was evident in his tone of voice and he made no point of hiding it. Nonetheless, what he said didn't affect her one bit. She was still as inexpressive as she had been the whole interrogation through; her face remained unreadable, like the enigmatic words of some ancient language. The two of them held their gazes for what seemed like an eternity. He was the first to look away, disgusted by her lack of reaction.

"You have no patience." One side of her mouth lifted into a vague smile, barely disclosing just how amused she was of his irritation. He wanted to hear this, he desired to know this, he needed her to speak... and she knew that as much as he did. "I've only just started my little story... You asked me to tell you about their kind. Don't you want to hear every single bit of it?"

He threw up his hands in defeat. She got him there. "Well, Ms. Lockheart, do continue your tale."

Her eyebrows rose slightly. "Sarcasm isn't the best method to use on me, you know."

Folding both arms on the desk, he sighed. "Go on. Please."

She appeared pleased for a while, but that small show of expression was gone as soon as it had transpired and he was left wondering whether he had only imagined it or not. "That's one thing you have to work on: your respect. Not to worry, though. I'll make sure your insolent nature would be taken cared of by the time this whole thing is done..."

Act Seven The Woman in the Windowless Chamber

He led. She had no choice but to follow. The passageways became a black blur as he practically dragged her to their destination. And then, they were back in his room. Or so she thought.

It had the same canopied bed, with black silken covers, the identical Persian rug, the possibly dozens and dozens of candles serving as the only light in this blackness... But on the eastern wall, where the bay windows should have been, was an enormous oil painting of a lovely young woman with the skin of virgin snow, lips as red as a bloody rose, and eyes that resembled the deepest part of the ocean.

For a moment, Tifa started to wonder if it was a portrait of the girl she had met, Aeris... But that possibility was quickly pushed aside when she spent more time gazing at the picture; the lady's eyes held a high degree of wisdom and the slight smile playing on her lips made Tifa feel as though this woman knew a lot more than she did, that she held so many deep-seated secrets... And considering she got all that impression just by looking at a painting, a replica, what more if she was to meet this woman in person?

"She's... beautiful." Tifa murmured softly. The woman was eerily mysterious, but it fitted her well. Tifa sat down on the bed, relishing the feeling of the smooth cloth on her fingers. The other girl's gaze never left her. Vincent did bring her here for a purpose, right? He wanted her to see this woman... all for what reason? "Who is she?"

"Lucrecia." His voice was almost as soft as a whisper, but she heard it anyway. "She was too good for this world… And as I had warned her, it stained her." Every emotion, all the pain and anger, she could see in his eyes and they reflected the candles' flames like blazing pools; that vision seemed appropriate at this moment. "But now, she's... gone."

"Where?" Oh, how he would have laughed at her ignorance had she chosen some other moment to ask this foolish question. But the look on her face didn't reflect that lack of knowledge; instead, all he saw was genuine curiosity. And as a saying went: "Curiosity killed the cat."

He turned away from her. "She's dead."

"Dead?"

Vincent approached her with unearthly speed, stopping only when his face was right in front of hers. "Yes. Dead." He whispered coldly, without any regard for her reaction. "And you would end up just like her if you pull another stunt like you had done a while ago." Having the feel of his cool breath on her cheeks, Tifa could only pull back, enraged by what he said and humiliated by their closeness. She turned red, perfectly capturing the emotions of anger and embarrassment.

"You have a lot of nerve threatening me!" she raised a hand to slap him, but he was much, much quicker than she was. He grasped her arm tightly in one hand and pulled her from the bed, hard eyes penetrating the bold front she had created. There were no words to describe just how infuriated he was.

"Is that any way to express your gratitude?" his voice came out as a hiss; it was uncanny how he very much resembled a serpent at that exact time. He flung her arm away in disgust and, to her relief, finally tore his gaze away from her.

"Yes, you did save me and I'm indebted to you but that doesn't mean you could make me do everything you want!" she would have yelled at him, but fear already had taken its toll in her. The closest thing to a scream that she could do was raise her voice; nonetheless, he still wasn't pleased with it.

He stared at her, his blank facade returning. "You are in my domain. For now, you do as I order."

"And why should I? What w… Would you kill me if I disobey you?" She was asking for it... If she only knew he was doing this for her sake, she would've went along with it. But this was her choice, and who was he to influence her decision?

"Have it your way. When daybreak comes, I shall send you back to your home."

fin chapter three

Original Author's Notes: First of all, let me explain Aeris's role... I've never read Ann Rice's vampire series but the "Interview with the Vampire" movie played a big part as an inspiration for the chapters after the prologue (Visions of Mercy and The Charmer's Scheme at Work were the only ones written and edited during physics class). I grew especially fond of Kirsten Dunst's character, Claudia (the innocent-looking, literally bloodthirsty vampire kid who kept killing people for their blood) so technically, I wanted someone-who-doesn't-look-or-won't-even-pass-for-a-vampire to be, oh well, a vampire... I just thought it would be nice to have someone who won't hurt a fly (Aeris) being something/someone that is actually dangerous (I considered Yuffie or Lucrecia... but something made me choose Aeris). An innocent vampire, I love the irony of it... What do you think?

I know some of them might be OOC... Well most of them would probably be OOC since this IS AU. I really was intending to make a novel, or a really long short-story... but the characters I've been "designing" were really crappy so I figured that maybe I should just turn this into a fanfic (since the FFVII characters are cool and Vincent and Sephiroth make really "beautiful" vampires, haha).

Oh yeah, some of you might have been confused... and I really am sorry for that! My way of writing this fic IS confusing. Umm, just imagine the movie Now and Then. The intro where they were playing that game is like this story's prologue, Act1 is the present (same as Act3 & 6) and Act2 (like all the other remaining Acts) is technically the girl's "narrative."

Before I end this, let me tell you that what I'm writing is reflective of how I view certain things and concepts. It may sound weird, or confusing... But then I promise you all, it would be explained in time.

Anyway, hope you all like this! Thanks for reading.

Additional author notes after editing: I think this is one of my favourite chapters… ) I still am sorry if you guys feel as if the characters are OOC, I simply borrowed them and placed them in a world quite different from that of FFVII's.