Chapter XXXIII: The Mirror.
Vincent walked around aimlessly. Here, there was no sense of distance or time, just a spurt of bizarre now-ness. Vincent gazed in horror as the greatest points of history seemed to unravel before him: The war of the ancients, The finding of Jenova, The Wutainese war, The assassination of president Shin Ra and many other events he didn't know the significance of, they all spiralled around him into a screaming mass of evil. But what scared Vincent the most was that before him his own past was coming into view. He saw Lucrecia's smiling face, Hojo laughing manically, Sephiroth impaling people, but worst of all, he saw himself killing, with the same emotionless look on his face.
"Who's there?" a hissing voice said.
Vincent turned his horrified eyes away from the images around him.
"Vincent Valentine." Pause. "The Black Angel."
A head bearing a foolish darted into Vincent's vision. A long neck that seemed to come straight out of the floor supported it.
"The Valentine is it?" The head asked.
Vincent nodded.
Another head exactly like the first popped up.
"Oh it IS the Valentine." It said, with a smile.
"Well, we'd best be poppin' off to ready the test." The first head said, the foolish grin widening.
Both heads darted down into the floor. Vincent looked down to see them, but only saw the hard ground.
"Odd." He said bemusedly.
Vincent heard a screech of metal. He looked up to see the silhouette of something that resembled a huge snake, but at the same time looked strangely human. It stood, bathing in the light around it. Then it seemed to notice Vincent, and let out an odd laughter. It moved fast as lightning, darting from right to left, so Vincent couldn't keep up with it. Before Vincent knew what was happening the thing was behind him, and had put its cold, clawed hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" It hissed laughingly.
Vincent was caught up in surprised rage. He pulled the hands away.
"Ooo. . . A spoiled sport!" The thing said with the same hissing tone.
Vincent looked at the creature before him. It indeed had the build of a snake in its lower portion, but it looked perfectly human in the upper portion (Despite the fact that it had black skin, clawed hands, and viscous fangs). It wrapped its coils around itself, sniggering to itself.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked, his patience melting in the presence of the strange beast.
The thing shot forward, pressing its face against Vincent's.
"Who are you?" It asked.
Vincent pushed the face away.
"Vincent Valentine." He answered
The thing snaked its way around Vincent, laughing madly all the way.
"Ah, but," It asked suddenly, turning its body upside down. "WHAT are you?"
It laughed. Vincent kept silent.
Cruel silence as the two pondered the question.
Then the thing laughed again.
"HAHAHAHA!" It's cruel laughter rang. Then it took on a sad look "Oh yes, WE sympathize with you, Vinnie."
Four of the heads with their long necks popped up.
"WE sympathize!" They laughed.
They disappeared into the ground again.
Vincent glared at the snakelike beast.
"Don't call me that." He said nearly automatically.
"Not quite a demon, not quite a human. Oh YES Vinnie, WE sympathize!" It laughed again.
"Don't call me that!" Vincent yelled, swiping at the thing with his claw.
But the beast was too quick. It darted away from the claw and wrapped its coils around Vincent.
"We will call you anything we like." It hissed darkly.
Then a big toothy smile broke out across its face.
"Hyahahaha!" It cackled. "We can tell you what you are," I paused momentarily. "In fact, we'll make it your test!" It hissed.
Vincent stared at the odd creature.
"What ARE you talking about?"
The creature produced a mirror from behind its back.
"Look into this mirror, Vinnie, and tell me what you are." It hissed.
Vincent gazed into the mirror. At first he saw only himself as he was, then his reflection twisted into an ebony, sneering face.
"What makes you think you deserve to live?" It asked.
Hojo suddenly appeared beside the violet demon.
¨
"You think that girl can EVER like you? A monster?" Hojo spat.
"No," Vincent muttered.
The two faces disappeared, replaced by the smooth face of Yuffie.
"Gawd, Vinnie, how could you think THAT?"
"Stop." Vincent pleaded.
Yuffie's face turned back into his own.
"You can never be human!"
"NO!" Vincent screamed.
The metal claw was golden blur as he swung it at the mirror. It shattered into thousands of tiny shards.
The snakelike creature smiled it odd smile.
"Now, Vinnie, can you tell me what you are?"
"I'm a monster." Vincent answered sadly.
"No," The thing laughed. "No monster would have reacted so to a mirror. You are a human trying on a demons skin."
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you may TECHNICALLY a demon, but you can never be one of us. You're too," The thing searched for an appropriate word. It gave up shortly. "You're too good."
"I've done things no human would do!" Vincent yelled.
"I beg to differ," The thing said. "Look around you, look at history. People have killed and enjoyed it. You killed and didn't care. People have killed for the sake of killing. You killed because you were ordered to." The thing said, nearing an expectant laughter. "People start wars were thousands die, merely for a few miles of land and money. What is more evil? The man who kills on order, or the man who kills for the sake of money?" It could no longer hold back. It laughed.
Vincent found this slightly hard to digest, considering he was being told by a demon with giggling fits.
"What do you mean?"
The demon produced a paper hat from behind its back.
"You are as much of a monster as you make yourself out to be." It hissed while stringing the hat around its head.
Vincent gave the demon a very strange look.
"What's your problem?" He asked.
The thing laughed again.
"They say that there is only a marginal difference between insanity and brilliance, but they're wrong!" It laughed. "Insanity is MUCH more fun!"
Vincent continued giving the demon his odd look.
"The saying is "The difference between genius and insanity can only be measured by success."" Vincent remarked.
The demon let loose a wicked cackle.
"But thats too obscure!"
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Obscure?"
The demon began constricting around itself.
"Successsfulness in what, does this saying refferre to? Science? Murder? Destruction? Succes can only be measured by usefullness."
Vincent nodded understandingly.
"Oh."
"You failed this test, Vinnie, but I'll won't tell if you don't!" The demon cackled as it snaked away.
Vincent watched the odd creature as it snaked back into the light it had first emerged. As if there was a door there, the light swiftly changed back into the blackness it had first been. Vincent could dimly hear its mad laughter.
"What an odd person." He remarked, and continued walking.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Yuffie strolled coolly through bone village, heading towards the forest.
"Hey!" Someone called. "Yer gonna need a lunar harp t' get in there!"
Yuffie pulled out a harp that had "mysteriously" appeared in her backpack when she left the others. She showed it to the man.
"Oh, go right ahead."
And that's exactly what she did.
The forest was no less menacing than it had been five years ago, with its trees twisting around as if in agony. She was put on edge as she walked past them, their trunks seeming to reach out for her. She shivered. There was something about these woods that made her think that she was being watched.
In this particular case, her suspicions were right.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Mech-Head watched the girl from his vantage point in the treetops. She moved cautiously through the forest, spinning her head at every little sound. The metallic demon didn't blame her. He himself feared this forest, but for a different reason. He sensed something familiar. Something he should know and fear, but somehow different. He sensed a. . . Cetra.
He dropped to the ground when girl was out of hearing range, walking just as cautiously as she had through the forest.
Whatever he sensed, he would not take the risk of awakening it.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"Ok, own up!" Cid yelled. "Who stole my beer!"
There was an awkward silence, and then Rude and Elena came forward, with shameful faces.
"*#"¤"#%&/)!" Cid swore loudly.
"I wouldn't be complaining too loudly," Tifa said. "You DID let Yuffie get away."
Cid grumbled sourly. Cloud turned to face the old pilot.
Cid would have backed down, if the entire building hadn't been shook.
The entire group sprang into action as another tremor rocked the building.
"They'er attacking again!" Red growled, sliding around on his canine legs.
Jarred leapt to his feet, fell down, leapt to his feet again, and fell again, and bellowed out confusedly.
"I destroyed the tank!"
Seph X peeked out the window.
"Well, either you didn't do a very good job of it, or they built another one." He commented.
Jarred gave another shot at standing, abd found that gravity wasn't on his side.
"Can I kill it?" He asked, a hopefull look passing over his face.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Malice watched as his massive cannon blasted mounds of rubble and steel into the Shin Ra headquarters.
"THEY WILL SOON BE FINISHED" He said with a smirk growing on his fanged mouth. "CONTINUE!" He ordered imperiously.
Just as he bellowed out this order, a blue light erupted from the Shin Ra building, lightening up the night sky.
"SHIT." Was all the demon said as the light swiftly turned his weapon into memories.
The demon howled out his rage.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"I goddim, i goddim." Jarred was chanting as the explosion illuminated the scene below them.
"So you did." Seph X remarked, coming to a new respect to the destructive follower he had acquired. "So you did."
Cloud glanced nervously at Seph X.
"I thought you said they wouldn't build anything like this?" He questioned.
Seph X grunted in agreement.
"Another person is no doubt in charge of the army now, and we must plan accordingly."
The others all looked at the machine.
"How?" The common question was.
Seph X turned to the window, to survey the damage below him.
"We must strike back."
Jarred yelled his appreciation of this prospect.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My machine died. (AGAINO_O!!!!!) I was able to finish this chapter on my brothers laptop, but I can't promise anythimg else. Sorry.
Vincent walked around aimlessly. Here, there was no sense of distance or time, just a spurt of bizarre now-ness. Vincent gazed in horror as the greatest points of history seemed to unravel before him: The war of the ancients, The finding of Jenova, The Wutainese war, The assassination of president Shin Ra and many other events he didn't know the significance of, they all spiralled around him into a screaming mass of evil. But what scared Vincent the most was that before him his own past was coming into view. He saw Lucrecia's smiling face, Hojo laughing manically, Sephiroth impaling people, but worst of all, he saw himself killing, with the same emotionless look on his face.
"Who's there?" a hissing voice said.
Vincent turned his horrified eyes away from the images around him.
"Vincent Valentine." Pause. "The Black Angel."
A head bearing a foolish darted into Vincent's vision. A long neck that seemed to come straight out of the floor supported it.
"The Valentine is it?" The head asked.
Vincent nodded.
Another head exactly like the first popped up.
"Oh it IS the Valentine." It said, with a smile.
"Well, we'd best be poppin' off to ready the test." The first head said, the foolish grin widening.
Both heads darted down into the floor. Vincent looked down to see them, but only saw the hard ground.
"Odd." He said bemusedly.
Vincent heard a screech of metal. He looked up to see the silhouette of something that resembled a huge snake, but at the same time looked strangely human. It stood, bathing in the light around it. Then it seemed to notice Vincent, and let out an odd laughter. It moved fast as lightning, darting from right to left, so Vincent couldn't keep up with it. Before Vincent knew what was happening the thing was behind him, and had put its cold, clawed hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" It hissed laughingly.
Vincent was caught up in surprised rage. He pulled the hands away.
"Ooo. . . A spoiled sport!" The thing said with the same hissing tone.
Vincent looked at the creature before him. It indeed had the build of a snake in its lower portion, but it looked perfectly human in the upper portion (Despite the fact that it had black skin, clawed hands, and viscous fangs). It wrapped its coils around itself, sniggering to itself.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked, his patience melting in the presence of the strange beast.
The thing shot forward, pressing its face against Vincent's.
"Who are you?" It asked.
Vincent pushed the face away.
"Vincent Valentine." He answered
The thing snaked its way around Vincent, laughing madly all the way.
"Ah, but," It asked suddenly, turning its body upside down. "WHAT are you?"
It laughed. Vincent kept silent.
Cruel silence as the two pondered the question.
Then the thing laughed again.
"HAHAHAHA!" It's cruel laughter rang. Then it took on a sad look "Oh yes, WE sympathize with you, Vinnie."
Four of the heads with their long necks popped up.
"WE sympathize!" They laughed.
They disappeared into the ground again.
Vincent glared at the snakelike beast.
"Don't call me that." He said nearly automatically.
"Not quite a demon, not quite a human. Oh YES Vinnie, WE sympathize!" It laughed again.
"Don't call me that!" Vincent yelled, swiping at the thing with his claw.
But the beast was too quick. It darted away from the claw and wrapped its coils around Vincent.
"We will call you anything we like." It hissed darkly.
Then a big toothy smile broke out across its face.
"Hyahahaha!" It cackled. "We can tell you what you are," I paused momentarily. "In fact, we'll make it your test!" It hissed.
Vincent stared at the odd creature.
"What ARE you talking about?"
The creature produced a mirror from behind its back.
"Look into this mirror, Vinnie, and tell me what you are." It hissed.
Vincent gazed into the mirror. At first he saw only himself as he was, then his reflection twisted into an ebony, sneering face.
"What makes you think you deserve to live?" It asked.
Hojo suddenly appeared beside the violet demon.
¨
"You think that girl can EVER like you? A monster?" Hojo spat.
"No," Vincent muttered.
The two faces disappeared, replaced by the smooth face of Yuffie.
"Gawd, Vinnie, how could you think THAT?"
"Stop." Vincent pleaded.
Yuffie's face turned back into his own.
"You can never be human!"
"NO!" Vincent screamed.
The metal claw was golden blur as he swung it at the mirror. It shattered into thousands of tiny shards.
The snakelike creature smiled it odd smile.
"Now, Vinnie, can you tell me what you are?"
"I'm a monster." Vincent answered sadly.
"No," The thing laughed. "No monster would have reacted so to a mirror. You are a human trying on a demons skin."
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you may TECHNICALLY a demon, but you can never be one of us. You're too," The thing searched for an appropriate word. It gave up shortly. "You're too good."
"I've done things no human would do!" Vincent yelled.
"I beg to differ," The thing said. "Look around you, look at history. People have killed and enjoyed it. You killed and didn't care. People have killed for the sake of killing. You killed because you were ordered to." The thing said, nearing an expectant laughter. "People start wars were thousands die, merely for a few miles of land and money. What is more evil? The man who kills on order, or the man who kills for the sake of money?" It could no longer hold back. It laughed.
Vincent found this slightly hard to digest, considering he was being told by a demon with giggling fits.
"What do you mean?"
The demon produced a paper hat from behind its back.
"You are as much of a monster as you make yourself out to be." It hissed while stringing the hat around its head.
Vincent gave the demon a very strange look.
"What's your problem?" He asked.
The thing laughed again.
"They say that there is only a marginal difference between insanity and brilliance, but they're wrong!" It laughed. "Insanity is MUCH more fun!"
Vincent continued giving the demon his odd look.
"The saying is "The difference between genius and insanity can only be measured by success."" Vincent remarked.
The demon let loose a wicked cackle.
"But thats too obscure!"
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Obscure?"
The demon began constricting around itself.
"Successsfulness in what, does this saying refferre to? Science? Murder? Destruction? Succes can only be measured by usefullness."
Vincent nodded understandingly.
"Oh."
"You failed this test, Vinnie, but I'll won't tell if you don't!" The demon cackled as it snaked away.
Vincent watched the odd creature as it snaked back into the light it had first emerged. As if there was a door there, the light swiftly changed back into the blackness it had first been. Vincent could dimly hear its mad laughter.
"What an odd person." He remarked, and continued walking.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Yuffie strolled coolly through bone village, heading towards the forest.
"Hey!" Someone called. "Yer gonna need a lunar harp t' get in there!"
Yuffie pulled out a harp that had "mysteriously" appeared in her backpack when she left the others. She showed it to the man.
"Oh, go right ahead."
And that's exactly what she did.
The forest was no less menacing than it had been five years ago, with its trees twisting around as if in agony. She was put on edge as she walked past them, their trunks seeming to reach out for her. She shivered. There was something about these woods that made her think that she was being watched.
In this particular case, her suspicions were right.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Mech-Head watched the girl from his vantage point in the treetops. She moved cautiously through the forest, spinning her head at every little sound. The metallic demon didn't blame her. He himself feared this forest, but for a different reason. He sensed something familiar. Something he should know and fear, but somehow different. He sensed a. . . Cetra.
He dropped to the ground when girl was out of hearing range, walking just as cautiously as she had through the forest.
Whatever he sensed, he would not take the risk of awakening it.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"Ok, own up!" Cid yelled. "Who stole my beer!"
There was an awkward silence, and then Rude and Elena came forward, with shameful faces.
"*#"¤"#%&/)!" Cid swore loudly.
"I wouldn't be complaining too loudly," Tifa said. "You DID let Yuffie get away."
Cid grumbled sourly. Cloud turned to face the old pilot.
Cid would have backed down, if the entire building hadn't been shook.
The entire group sprang into action as another tremor rocked the building.
"They'er attacking again!" Red growled, sliding around on his canine legs.
Jarred leapt to his feet, fell down, leapt to his feet again, and fell again, and bellowed out confusedly.
"I destroyed the tank!"
Seph X peeked out the window.
"Well, either you didn't do a very good job of it, or they built another one." He commented.
Jarred gave another shot at standing, abd found that gravity wasn't on his side.
"Can I kill it?" He asked, a hopefull look passing over his face.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Malice watched as his massive cannon blasted mounds of rubble and steel into the Shin Ra headquarters.
"THEY WILL SOON BE FINISHED" He said with a smirk growing on his fanged mouth. "CONTINUE!" He ordered imperiously.
Just as he bellowed out this order, a blue light erupted from the Shin Ra building, lightening up the night sky.
"SHIT." Was all the demon said as the light swiftly turned his weapon into memories.
The demon howled out his rage.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"I goddim, i goddim." Jarred was chanting as the explosion illuminated the scene below them.
"So you did." Seph X remarked, coming to a new respect to the destructive follower he had acquired. "So you did."
Cloud glanced nervously at Seph X.
"I thought you said they wouldn't build anything like this?" He questioned.
Seph X grunted in agreement.
"Another person is no doubt in charge of the army now, and we must plan accordingly."
The others all looked at the machine.
"How?" The common question was.
Seph X turned to the window, to survey the damage below him.
"We must strike back."
Jarred yelled his appreciation of this prospect.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My machine died. (AGAINO_O!!!!!) I was able to finish this chapter on my brothers laptop, but I can't promise anythimg else. Sorry.