Part Ten

"What is that thing...?" Riku questioned quietly, the child coming closer.

They all looked behind, seeing something happening. They almost stood back in surprise as they saw what it was moving. It was grass, planets growing up through the snow and melting it. The sun showed through the clouds, warming the surroundings and the river to there side beginning to flow once more. It just continued to smile, staring at them with question, until suddenly it flew up into the air, passing by trees and brush and turning the land into a glorious green. They walked along and followed it, up to a tree where it began plucking flowers from the roots in the branches. It swirled up, trees growing and flowers blossoming, as she came back down to face them, growing a flower from the dirt. They all though tit was beautiful, but the girl frowned, dissolving it again and growing an even larger one, glowing a sort of gold in the sunlight.

The child moved up to them again, green to her fullest and butterflies in her hair. her amber eyes just looked softly at them, waving them along to follow her. They did what they assumed and followed, walking all the way to the base of a gray mountain. The little girl's face turned blank, going up and some grass growing by others stopping half way up. They all looked in question, the girl shrugging and waving for them to come up, in which they did.

Over the ridge of the mountain was a creator, a tall pillar centered in the middle of it. It looked as if it was hunched over, cold and dark. The little girl slowly approached it, the others hesitating.

"I don't think this is the greatest idea," Riku stated.

"For once they kid's got a point," Cloud said. "This isn't such a good idea."

"Something is wrong here...Something...dark..." Vincent murmured, not entirely sure he was saying it out loud but only meant to think it.

"What do you think it is?" Aerith asked.

The little girl approached the tall standing pillar, reaching up a hand to touch it. Jeria's eyes narrowed, speaking at the very last second, "Evil..."

And with that, a great explosion awoke from the pillar, a bird made of lava spreading it's wings and making them all jump, the bird crawling back into its place in the ground and the lava beginning to spew out. The little girl ran as fast as she could, as well as the others, as the lava flowed over the ridge and gained speed to catch them. A pair of eyes could be seen in it, angry, and intent of destroying all life there.

Jeria shouted something to Riku but he could barely hear her over the commotion over breaking and burning trees. She suddenly stopped, Riku doing the same in wonder. She shook her head, her voice able to be heard as the lava approached, a dark glow coming to her face.

"This was never suppose to happen. It happened too early."

"What? What are you-"

She smirked, making him stop, as she said. "Death...is but an excuse for escape, as he used to say. My father will make sure I don't die, but he'll kill you to make me suffer. And it won't happen." She suddenly ran forward, pushing him to the ground as it began to split apart from the other side. It would create a path for the lava to fall into, but to all things on the other side, it was not quite so.

Jeria turned slowly, facing the beast that soon took form, looming above her. It narrowed it's eyes, glaring as she grinned, looking up. She reached up her hands, beginning to laugh, and shutting her eyes as if it were a joke. Vincent finally looked back when he heard the ground split apart, seeing her so this and the lava phoenix staring down upon her. He shook her head, not believing he was seeing this, and began to run towards her.

"Out of all the stupid, idiotic..." he mumbled as he leaped passed the splintering ground, reaching to grab the back of her shirt. He thought he could just jump out of the way as he always could, but this thing was too fast, too evasive, as it opened its mouth wide and suddenly came tumbling on them, Vincent nor Jeria not able to be seen.

Riku's heart suddenly sank to his feet then, feeling as though he would drop dead right then from his unbelieving shock. He just couldn't understand why she had just stood there, waiting as if to die. He heard a dull scream from the overwhelmed Aerith to his side, as he soon remembered he had forgotten to take his hearing pill earlier from Jeria...

He felt a sudden cold shudder, his conscious returning to him. He opened an eye, sitting up and looking around. Everything was dark, all but the for corners of the room to be seen. But he looked at his hand, seeing he was still there, and glowing slightly. He saw another glowing figure to his side and turned, Jeria sitting up with her arms wrapped around her knees and sitting up.

"Say, where are we?" he asked.

"Why did you do that...?" she whispered, shaking her head.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I said why did you do that? Save me? This was never suppose to happen. You were suppose to stay with the others and rain against the Heartless without my knowledge to be transferred to my father..."

He stood up suddenly, clenching his clawed hands. "What?!"

"You heard me," she replied quietly.

"So all this time you were feeding info to your father? No wonder we were brought to that planet, so you could set us up!"

"No...I only knew what would happen because I made it happen. My father had no control. If I let you go to any other planet your lives would certainly be extinguished by now, for it is the only place he refused to go."

He grinned. "It was the dancing hippos, wasn't it?"

She laughed, nodded her head. "Yeah, how could you tell? He gave that planet for me to control a long time ago. That's why I knew everything as it would happen, and as I tried to look surprise with the flamingo with a yo-yo." He looked over her shoulder to him. "But I guess it's not as bad as the brooms, now is it?"

He shuddered, shaking his head. "Don't even mention those things."

She smiled, looking back in front of her. She suddenly stumbled in fear, though, crawling away. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing, as he saw nothing there.

"N-no...get away!" she shrieked, pawing her hand in the air.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

"What? D-don't you see them?! Hands...T-the hands, they're here to take me away!"

"What?" he said skeptically. He stepped forward, kneeling down and swiping out a hand. Surprisingly, his hand suddenly hit something, and he narrowed his eyes, believing her.

She felt herself being picked up, placed over to the side, and oddly enough it was Vincent doing this. He made her stay calm, putting a hand on her head and saying not be scared of him after he had done this, turning back to the invisible entities. His hands grew tense, his eyes becoming cold and emotionless and he looked to the floor, finally fisting his hands and shouting.

"Back off!" he about screamed, his voice changed somehow. It was like a beast, and roar that echoed though the room. He could hear things cower, the small skittering crawling away back into the shadows of which it came. His eyes returned to normal and his hands relaxed, looking back to Jeria who had fallen on the floor, her eyes wide.

He just stood there in silence, knowing why she was like this. She was afraid, as everyone had come to be. But he saw her shake her head, her eyes turning to question.

"You sound...just like father when he became angry at his advisers...But...y-you're not like him...you're not..."

"I was once human," he tried to explain, kneeling down, "But I was captured, and turned into this monstrosity you see before you. See, I do what I need to do to protect, but I do not do it in anger. You see what I mean?"

She nodded, smiling half-heartedly. "Yes, I know. For I am half of what he is, after all."

"You are nothing like him," he said suddenly, and she stared.

"What do you know?" she shot back. "I was the daughter of a damned fool, still of such being, and thus I am in part."

"Why do you call him a fool?"

"He...didn't realize what he did when he was away..." she said shallowly. "Mother died when he was away, because Hades stole her heart for darkness. I didn't wan to her go, but Hades had taken control of this man named Sephiroth for protection purposes, as well as Cloud. I grew a hatred for them both, but at least Cloud was smart enough not to look him I the eye, to mock my weakness. My father did not realize that my mother had been taken until her heart had been totally eclipsed. That was when he took me into his care, though I began to hate him just as much as he hated me after he was consumed with his power. So, in some point, he still thought something of me to possibly defeat this man Sephiroth who had killed my mother, and I took no pity that day." She smirked almost evilly, remembering that day, and remember the sound of Sephiroth's bones cracking beneath her feet. "Yes...How thoughtful that was. But I did it in revenge, not self gain. With it, my father knew I was stronger than he was at that point, and stole some of my power, banishing me to Kingdom Hearts where he assumed I would remain."

"But you got free. How, exactly?"

"I met Riku, the only link to the real world. His heart still had a dim light of reality left with him, and I was able to latch onto it and break free."

"But you know, that still makes you nothing like him," he repeated, and she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter...I was born Heartless, and so I shall remain..."

"Heartless?" he laughed. "Since when are you Heartless? I have seen one moment when you were! All you've been doing this whole time is helping other!"

She sighed, shrugging. "But you know, you still haven't answered my question. Why did you do it? Why did you save me?"

He paused, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't exactly find the words to mention it, because it just seemed odd. But eventually he got it out. "You know...A long time ago, a boy was born. A woman that I had known from an organization grew close, and I fell in love once. But she was taken away from me, for an experiment, giving birth to that boy that was supposed to be my son, and I never saw her again. They took me away and turned me into what I am, and the sad part is, that boy grew up, never knowing the real truth."

"Who was it?"

"It is the man you call Sephiroth. He believed he was an experiment, in which he was partly, but that he was born from a different mother, one of evil, vile intentions. It kind of reminds me...of Ansem, and then, seeing you..." His eyes suddenly softened, Jeria struck with shock of all this. "I saved you because...you're kind of like the daughter I never had..." He smiled. "Sorry if this kind of shocks you." He stood up, cracking his hands and putting them behind his back, turning away. "It's a stupid notion. Just ignore it."

She shook her head, standing up too. "Y-you...really think that of me...That I'm...that important."

He turned around, surprised that she had said that. "Of course. Why wouldn't you be important?"

Her eyes suddenly became watery, Vincent raising an eyebrow. He shook his head, knowing that she was going to cry just like a regular human would, and shrugged, opening his arms. She ran to him, hugging him and she cried. He patted her on the head, bring her away and wiping away the tear on her face with the bottom of his thumb as to not scratch her. He grinning, laughing slightly.

"Just don't go callin' me papa or nothin'. Just call me Vincent as always, okay?" he said. She nodded, smiling too.

But she turned quickly, hearing something behind her. A gray figure emerged, waving out a hand. They both knew who it was, stepping back in fear.

"How sweet. The girl's finally found a real father. Unfortunately," he reached out his hand, a darkness coming forward and wrapping around her throat and mouth, "I am your real father." More darkness came from behind Vincent, wrapping around his waste and holding him back as he was pulled forward, unable to shout in anger as his mouth was covered up, and Jeria unable to scream in terror as she disappeared through the floor. The figure just laughed, walking back to the shadows whence he came....