Chapter 4: Unexpected Guest
Nanaki growled at his opponent. He was smart, maybe even smarter than Nanaki. The canine warrior was all alone in his endeavours. Nobody could help him now. Why didn't I back out when I had the chance? he wondered. I thought I could bluff my way through this, but I can't! He's too clever for that. Well, it's time to do or die.
"Three of a kind," he sighed as he laid his cards on the table.
"Full house. Guess I win this hand, eh Red?" grinned Cloud as he pulled the pot towards him.
"You won't be so lucky next time," said Nanaki.
"Yeah, it's my hand next time, y'all!" laughed Cait Sith.
"Hey, ya mean our hand!" said Reeve in annoyance. Since they could read each others thoughts, the rest of the group made Cait Sith and Reeve share a hand.
"I know what I meant," answered the cat.
"Just hurry up and deal, will ya?" came Cid's impatient tone, "Before the next ice age comes!"
"All right, gimme a minute. It ain't easy ta deal cards with only one hand, ya know," moaned Barret.
"I have never had any trouble with it," commented Vincent.
"Ah, *&^% you, Fangs!"
"Hey, Barrett, enough with the language, ok?" said Cloud, "Just deal."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Smart ass sonuvabitch," he muttered. As he dealt, Cait Sith broached the subject of the Zuus, passing on what Aeris had told him. Nanaki frowned.
"It's not their mating season or anything," he said,"So there's no reason for them to be aggressive. Are you sure Aeris didn't get mixed up?"
"She didn't. Myself and Yuffie were passing and helped her out," contributed Vincent.
"Well, it's too late to do anything about it tonight," decided Cloud as he threw another chip into the pot, "So we'll deal with it in the morning. In the meantime, Vincent, what were you and Yuffie doing out at that time in the morning together?" Vincent said nothing, but his red face gave it away.
"HAHAHA! Who'da thunk it? The vampire and the brat! Well I..." Cid's voice trailed off under Vincent's fiery glare. If looks could kill, the pilot would have been six feet under.
"I mean... Vincent and that lovely young lady who we all adore, hehehe," he added, trying desperately to recover before a bullet shut him up for good. Vincent gave him one final scowl before turning back to the table. Cloud cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation away from Cid's impending doom.
"Well, I think it's great that you guys finally got together. Congratulations!"
"Thanky-" Vincent started to say, but Cloud cut him off.
"Let me finish. Before we get back to the game, I'd like to propose a toast." Vincent groaned in embarrassment, making Cloud grin before he continued. "Gentlemen, mogs, cats and dogs, please raise your glasses." He paused and looked around the table. "Sorry, I meant beer cans. To Yuffie and Vincent. Long may they know happiness."
"To Yuffie and Vincent," repeated everyone. Vincent smiled.
"Thank you all," he said.
"Speech! Speech!" cried Cait Sith. Vincent sighed and rose from his chair to speak.
"Very well. First of all, I would like to thank Cloud for the toast. I was really touched. Second of all, I would like to thank all of you for everything. I had never really known true friendship until we met. Thank you." The group smiled embarrassedly, with the odd, "Aww, shucks," thrown in. "Thirdly, I promise you all that I will take good care of Yuffie. I will never hurt her, and I will make her happy. This I swear. Lastly, I would just like to say that my royal flush has you all beaten for this hand." Their faces darkened in an instant as Vincent showed his cards. The sharpshooter smirked as he pulled his winnings towards him. "Now, whose deal is it?"
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"So, what happened?" asked Tifa, feigning innocence. The question was addressed to Yuffie, who simply returned the fake ignorance.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Tifa," she replied with an impish smile.
"Oh come oooooonnnnn Yuffie," whined Aeris, "Spreading gossip is what a girl's night is for! Spill!"
"Spill what exactly?" she grinned.
"About Vincent, of course!" exclaimed Shera, "We want to know exactly what happened!"
"Weeeeeeelllll..." began Yuffie with deliberate slowness.
"Look, are you together or not?" said an exasperated Tifa.
"Yes!" she blurted out, unable to contain her excitement any longer. The friends squealed in excitement, raised their glasses and toasted her and Vincent. Then, refilling their glasses, they toasted the couple again, and a third time, by which time Tifa was pretty toasted herself.
"So, Yuffie, let's hear some details. Is he a good kisser?" she asked, whilst swaying slightly.
"Well, uh..." stammered Yuffie, going red in an instant.
"Did you slip him the tongue?" queried Elmyra, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Mother!" cried Aeris in shock.
"What? I was young once, you know. I remember what my husband and I used to get up to back then, down on the beach at Costa Del Sol...". Her eyes misted over as she took a trip down memory lane.
"EWWW!" screamed Aeris. "MOM! I DON'T WANNA HEAR ABOUT YOUR SEX LIFE!"
"But I can give you some great pointers, dear!" grinned Elmyra evilly.
"So, back to Yuffie!" said Shera hastily.
"Yeah, you still haven't answered my question!" Tifa said, trying to keep the slur out of her voice with an overwhelming lack of success.
"Look, I-" started Yuffie, before she was cut off by an explosion outside. Rushing to the window she saw an enormous red flash and a rising pillar of smoke just outside the town gates, at the start of the mountain trail. "That looked like a Fire3!" she exclaimed.
"Better check it out. Let's go!" Aeris said. She and Yuffie grabbed their weapons, picked up some mastered materia from the display cabinet and ran outside. Tifa tried to follow, but was blocked by Shera.
"Wanna go fight," she mumbled.
"Tifa, you're drunk. Let them take care of it."
"Wanna go fight," she repeated, then threw up on the floor. Elmyra sighed, and went to get a mop, whilst Shera retrieved a lightning materia from the cabinet, just in case whatever caused that explosion should slip past the others.
"Good luck," she whispered.
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Rushing out to the street, Aeris and Yuffie met the guys, who had also heard the explosion. "Where's Tifa?" asked Cloud.
"Drunk," explained Yuffie with her usual subtlety. "She's a bit of a lightweight."
"Hehe, like husband like wife, eh Cloud?" laughed Cid. "I mean remember at your stag party? It only took three pints before you were dancing on the table with a bucket on your head, shouting 'I'm a SOLDIER, I'm a SOLDIER!'."
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!" retorted Cloud. "At YOUR stag night, after two vodka and cokes you had a dress on, singing copacabana!"
"All right, all right, alright!" shouted Aeris. "Knock it off already. The testosterone level is killing me here! I'm sure you've both got some very interesting stories about your stag nights, especially about those strippers Barret hired-"
"How did you- uuh, I mean, what strippers?" blurted out Barret, digging a hole for himself.
"-but right now we've got more important things to worry about! So let's move!". And with that, Aeris darted off to the town gates, the others following a moment later, Cloud and Cid still drawing each other daggers.
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Zack leapt backwards just in time to avoid being barbecued by the powerful spell, but losing his eyebrows in the process. Cursing, he threw his sword up just in time to parry a vicious blow from his opponent's razor-sharp talons, barely escaping disembowelment, then swung the hardedge in a low arc. The creature facing him somersaulted away, dodging the sweep. "You can't win, Zack!" it laughed at him, then charged. Zack blocked a series of slashes, backing up towards the Nibelheim town wall.
Think fast, man! If you get stuck against the wall, you're history! An idea struck him. Whilst fending off the cruel claws, he chanted quickly in the language of the Ancients. The Earth materia in his weapon started to glow, the light spreading to coruscate around him in green rings. Too late, the beast realised what was happening and tried to back off.
"QUAKE3!" bellowed Zack. A gigantic mound of rock and soil burst forth underneath the monster, slamming into it with the force of an avalanche. It was hurled from it's feet, landing in a bloodied heap some yards away. It didn't move. Zack sighed with relief and half sat, half fell on to the ground, weary from his long battle, and the journey beforehand. It had taken him two days to hike down from the mountains, with no food and little water. Now that he was here, he could afford a rest. Why not sleep? The others would be along in a minute. They must have heard the battle. Everything would be fine, if he just slept...
The monstrosity cackled as it's Sleepel took effect. Brute force wasn't always necessary. Rising to it's feet, it winced slightly. The Scum's spell had hurt more than it had realised. It would pay for that. The fiend lurched towards Zack's sleeping body and prepared to slice him in two, to destroy him once and for all.
Author's Note: So, whaddaya think so far? All reviews on the back of a postcard to the usual address. Flames welcomed, as long as they offer constructive criticism. Chapter 5 coming soon to a net-linked PC or Mac near YOU!