Chapter 4: Dedication and transformation
Lily opened the door that led into the cathedral. Lightning struck and briefly illuminated the cavernous interior of the church.
ÒVincent?Ó
She looked warily around. There was no sign of him. She wandered through the rows of empty pews, past statues of saints and glowing candles. The storm outside raged with passion, as if to frighten Lily into remaining in one place. The silence was near maddening. She knew Vincent was in here somewhere, but he was so good at hiding that even in a place with little cover, he could remain hidden. Lily walked forward quietly, then she heard it. A sort of sickenng crack, followed by a stifled cry. It was nearly inaudible, but because of the silence of the place, it echoed off the walls and could be heard by anyone in the cathedral. However, the only person in the cathedral was Lily and she knew who had made the noise. She felt panic start to claw at her being, she was unable to determine the source of the sound. She began to run through the rows of pews, her feet making echoing noises as she ran. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, what if something was wrong? There was obviously something wrong, or she wouldnÕt be searching for Vincent, but what if it was something really wrong? It must be something terrible, What if heÕs hurt? She was a nurse, but even she didnÕt know how to treat all types of wounds. She stopped dead in her tracks out of frustration. She stood there, dripping and shivering, alone in this enormous house of sanctuary, and yet, she found none. She gathered the last of her stregnth and let out a cry of desperation, ÒVincent!Ó
ÒLily?Ó
The voice was quiet and raspy, as if pained. Still, she knew it was his, she seemed to find new stregnth and ran in the direction of the voice. She slowed down when she saw him, she drew a hand to her mouth and a gasp escaped her lips. There he was, huddled in a corner, a pair of large bat-like wings were wrapped around him, his entire body shivering, he looked up at her with an immense sadness and shame.
ÒLily, go away,Ó The words seemed to have trouble escaping his mouth, she could see that his teeth had become fang-like and his eyes were begining to drip tears. She continued walking toward him, careful not to show her fear and pity, she knew he hated it when people showed their pity to him. Lily never broke eye contact, for fear that she look someplace else and do something she would regret. As she drew nearer, he pulled himself farther into the corner. She could see that the change had progressed further than his wings. One of his feet was a claw, his flesh hand was a angerous talon and his pale face seemed to be covered with black blotches, his eyes glowed a soft red in the dark He warpped his wings close to him.
ÒLily, please go away. I donÕt want to hurt you and I donÕt want you to see me like this,Ó
ÒVincent, IÕm not going anywhere. You scared me to death when you ran away. After those horrible men had beaten you. I followed you, I was so scared Vincent. IÕm not leaving you here. please show me where they hurt you, IÕll see if thereÕs anything I can do to make you better,Ó
ÒLily, why donÕt you listen to me? Please go away, I donÕt know what IÕll do,Ó
ÒI know nothing bad is going to happen to me because ou wonÕt let it. ThatÕs the kind of man you are. YouÕd die for those you care about. ThatÕs the kind of devoton marriage should be. IÕd die for you Vincent, I love you that much. I had to let you know that. It doesnÕt matter to me what you look like, it never has. Never to me, you are the person I want to spend my life with, no matter what. I accept you for you,I understand why you kept this a secret from me, but I find it sad that you thought you had to. IÕm here for you, I always will be,Ó
She knelt down next to him and reached between his wings for his hand, which he withdrew. she looked at his face, which he had turned awa from her. She reached out and forced his head to look at her.
ÒVincent, you are the love of m life, please donÕt think you need to hide from me,Ó
With that, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his mishapen mouth.
VincentÕs mind raced, Why was she doing this? DidnÕt she know that if Chaos materialized, that he could kill her? He couldnÕt live with himself if that happened. Tears verflowed from his glowing eyes and he wrapped his arms around Lily. She returned the embrace gently, as if not wanting to hwrm him. Lily felt his back with one of her hands, carefull searching for any open wounds. Her fingers reached the place where his wings were attatched and he shuddered. She removed her hand and looked at it. It was smeared with blood.
ÒThereÕs a terrible cut back there. I need to reach it Vincent,Ó
ÒLily-ÓVincent started.
She looked at him again, his face was now all black, but retained its human shape. Another bolt of lightning cracked hideously outside and illuminated everything for a brief moment. Vincent looked down at Lily. She had clenched her eyes and was clinging to his shirt. He knew that he needed to comfort her, but it was becoming difficult to hold her in his talons without hurting her. He wrapped her close to him with his wings in a desperate attempt to feel her warmth. Her grip loosened and she said again that she needed to tend the wound.
ÒThere are more than that, but it stopped bleeding, weÕll worry about it later,Ó
ÔVincent, whatÕs happening?Ó
ÒI donÕt know. ItÕs never ben so slow before, itÕs always so fast. Lily, you have to go now. Please, You need to go. I am begging you to go
Lily looked up at him, but all she could see werehis glowing eyes
ÒIÕm not going, I already told you. I meant what I said and IÕm not abandoning anyone, especially my fiance, suffer alone in a cathedral,Ó
He could not help it, she looked so strong in the face of danger. Vincent realized that she really wasnÕt going. He could force her away, but he knew Lily would come back. why? He ould not understand why Lily remained by his side. Sickening bone shifting sounds coul be heard coming from him, but Lily clung to him under his wings, ears pressed o his chest, hearing those sounds of cracking. Vincent suddenly became aware of how small Lily seemed now, he wodered how long it would be before he lost awareness and Chaos took control.
ÒDonÕt leave, Please donÕt leave me Vincent,Ó LilyÕs voice came in sobs. He hadnÕt even realized she was crying, heÕd assumed the warm droplets running over his chest were his blood, but they were LilyÕs tears. he was aabout to tell her to stop crying, when the scene was interupted by the sound of footsteps. lily turned to see who was approaching. A red haired man with a pony tail and sunglasses on the top of his head was walking towards them chuckling under his breathe.
ÒValentine, youÕve looked better. Oh, youÕve got a lady with you,Ó
vincent pulled Lily close to him and wrapped a wing over her to protect her from anything the man was planning on doing.
ÒWhat do you want, Reno? Rufus behind that little escapade back there? ItÕs not enough to beat your targets to near death, youÕve got to humiliate them too?Ó
ÒRelax, Rufus isnÕt behind this. IÕm here to gather info on those punks running around claiming to be on Turk business. It doesnÕt look good when legitimate business is rumored to be participating in less than respectable matters. I was not able to find anything on my own. but just when I was about to give up, your little girl there was running around calling your name and I figured IÕd let her do the finding for me. That was a very touching little spectacle, you should take care of that one, Valentine. I donÕt think youÕll ever find another chick whoÕd kiss your ugly face,Ó
ÒWhat does that has to do with us?Ó, VincentÕs cheeks burned with the thought of that greasy little sleaze watching them.
Lily could hear his voice becoming a growl, he squeezed him to remind him of her presence and keep his human ind in control. She could tell from VincentÕs voice that he felt violated by RenoÕs secret intrusion of their most intimate moment. She knew that was not RenoÕs intention, he had only been looking for information.
ÒExcuse me, Mr. Reno, I know that youÕre here on business, but I fear for your safety if you stay,Ó
ÒHah, ÒMr. RenoÓ, YouÕre priss arenÕt you? WhereÕd you dig up this one, Valentine? a library?Ó Reno asked .
ÒYou still didnÕt answer me, Reno. what does this have to do with me?ÓVincent calmly inquired. Lily could tell he was struggling to remain in control.
Reno pushed some red hair out of his face. ÔWell, it concerns soem Turk wannabes following the orders of some ex-shinra head something. They go around messing up RufusÕ good name, which heÕs actually tried to keep after they pulled him outta the rubble of his office. Pulling up and posting confidential information, publishing HojoÕs old work. ItÕs crazy, Rufus has been following ReeveÕs advice for everything, but these punks are trying to ruin the company. It was already ruined, but theyÕre trying to undo all that good wok. Darn shame. Hey are you goonna be okay?Ó
ÒConcern from a Turk? ThatÕs a change,Ó Vincent was suspicious.
ÒWell, I donÕt want you to change into whatever it was that kicked the TurksÕ collective ass at that reactor two years ago,Ó
ÒIn that case youÕd better go,Ó
ÒSo, youÕre in the dark about this as much as me. All right, check in with you later. Bye, freak,Ó
Reno sounded disappointed, he had only called Vincent a freak to vent his own anger. He left the cathedral with a toss of his pony tail. Lily looked at Vincent for the first time sice RenoÕs sudden entrance. Chaos had almost fully emerged now, but Vincent seemed in control.
ÒLily, are you sure you want to stay? Things could get ugly,Ó
ÒYes, I want to stay. Ò
ÒLily, I couldnÕt live with myself if something happened to you,Ó
ÒNothing will. When you lose consciousness, think of meeting me at the park by the fountain, where you asked me to marry you. will you make me that promise?Ó
ÒAll right, When I wake up, IÕll meet you at the fountain. That will be my beacon of light in the darkness,Ó
Lily smiled and held hs claw to her face. She rubbed her chek up and down his hand. when she looked up again, the human glint was gone from the glowing eyes There was no longer any human influence, Chaos was free. Lily did not move. she felt fear clinging to theback of her mind. She had never truly believed that the transformation would complete. she had believed that it would stop, reverse and everything would end happily. She had never expected herself to come face to face with the monster within her fiance. Every nerve in her body could sense the raw power eminating from the dark form, her face was sleek with cold sweat. Chaos cast its fiery eyes at her with a swift movement. The eyes burned with a strange intelligence. Lily felt hypnotized by their glow. It regarded her as odd, it brushed her away easily wit a sweep of its sharp claw. Lily, being small and slightly lightweight, was sent sliding across the stone floor. When she came to a stop, she sat up. She turned her gaze to Chaos, who was licking at its wounds and ignoring the strange creature who had been clinging to it. It became very frustrated with a piece of shrapnel that was trapped in its back. It thrahed and screamed its fury at that jagged shard that caused it incredible pain. Lily observed this from a safe distance. lily felt great pity fo Chaos. It was in pain and there was no one to help it, but her. Lily knew Vincent would be angry if he found out about her getting that close to Chaos, a loud scream broke her line of thought. Chaos had collapsed and was trying to reach the shrapnel that was embedded in its back, with no luck. Lily knew she would have to face Chaos sooner or later in life, and the sooner she got on good terms with the monster the better. She slowly approached. Lily began to speak softly to it and kept her eyes down cast, she knew that some animals found eye contact a threat when injured. Chaos noticed her immediately. It assumed a defensive crouch and growled at her, a deep frightening sound. Hojo had given it enough intelligence to be aware of itself, but also made sure to alster its voicebox so that it cold only make unintelligible sounds that would terrify anyone who was not already intimidated by its fearsome appearance. Lily was indeed afraid, but she had to give chaos a chance, no one had ever treated it kindly before, the only touch it knew brought pain. It could attack her, kill her in one swipe of those talons, still, she walked forward, her satchel lightly hitting against her side She outstretched one of her arms in a gesture of peace. She continued to speak tothe monster.
ÒDonÕt worry, IÕm not going to hurt you. I jut want to help you, Chaos. ThatÕs your name , right? Yes, you recognized it when I said it. IÕm Lily. I want to be your friend, okay? IÕll never hurt you, I promise. IÕm going to help you get that shrapnel out of your back, okay?Ó
chaos could not understand this strange person. She had returned even after it had pushed her away. Most opponents never came back, this one was different and dangerous. She was unpredictable and did not behave as a human should. Humans were the bringers of pain and a threat to life. They were not supposed to be quiet or gentle. It backed itself as far as it could into the corner where Vincent had been sitting. It bared its teeth and continued to growl at the advancing Lily. She gentl placed her hand on chaos shoulder. It took a moment for chaos to understand what was going on. The touch of a human never felt like this before. It had always been a slap, a kick, or other painful action directed at causing suffering. This touch brought no pain. ChaosÕ skin tingled at the unfamiliar feeling, it could always toss her away again if this did lead to pain, it had done it easily before. The hand moved up the shoulder to ChaosÕ face, where it ran over the monsterÕs cheek gently and wiped the blood from a cut above its eyes. Chaos felt strange. It had never met a human like this one. It was gentle, it took pain away, could it trust her ? It wanted to, for some reason, it wanted her to trust it, where this feeling originated, it had no idea. It decided to follow this feeling, just to see what happened.
Her other hand reached over its back, searching for the shrapnel that it could not reach. Chaos sensed what she was looking for and lowered itself to the ground. This was turning into an interesting encounter and it enjoyed a little adventure. With its cooperaton, Lily was able to find the shrapnel at a much quicker rate than if it had remained standing. She grasped the shrapnel tightly in her hand and gave it a fierce tug, being careful to stroke the creature with the other to keep it calm. the shrapnel moved a little, but part of it remained caught in the flesh. The creature howled in pain, but did not lash out et, something about the soothing touch and soft sounding sentences kept it from striking. Lily gave a second tug and jerked the metal free. The creature could not stop its own reflexes. The shrapnel had been embedded near he base of its wing. when lily had pulled it out, it flexed the wing and sent her flying, unitntentionally. She struck her head on a pew and remained motionless on the ground.
It sat there for a moment, trying to realize what it had done. The girl had been tring to help it and it had merely released a reflex action and it had hurt her. It had never unintentionally hurt anyone before. It never had the choice, whenever it materialized, there were always enemies, threats that would kill if they were not. It felt a strange feeling that it had done something wrong. It never wanted to hurt her! Regret was a new feeling, it didnÕt lke it, not in the least. It slowly walked on all fours over to where Lily had landed. She was breathing, but she was unconscious, a lage cut was on her head and blood was flowing from it. A foot twitched suddenly, so she wasnÕt paralyzed, it deduced. It whimpered and sat her up, her head fell forward. It turned her head to face it, she was so soft, it feared it would cut her with its sharp claws. It had never seen a human this close before, they were so weak, how could they cause such pain?
it whined in an attempt to wake her, but she did not move. Something wet rolled down its face. It touched one of itd claws to its face. Tears? A human thing. It was not human, why did it hav tears? It felt a surge of rage come over it. why did things have to change? Everything had been so simple before, fight the target, win continue to live. now with the appearance of thi strange human, all it had ever known did not do it any good. It laid its head on her lap and sighed. The exhaustion from its wounds and the emotional trauma it experienced grew to be too much and it plunged into sleep.
When Lily regained consciousness, she was sitting up. The first hints of sunlight were begining to shne through the stained glass windows. She felt something smooth and cold against her hands, when she saw what it was, she stifled a cry. In her lap was the large, black, fanged face of a monster. After a moment she remembered where she was and the face brught her no more fear. She suddenly remembered the woundnear the base of its wing and immediately looked for the large wound. It had actually begun to heal very nicely. She still reached into her bag for her small bottle of rubbing alchohol that she always kept with her. she dabbed some of the alchohol onto the sleeve of her duster and carefully rubbed it over the wound to stop any infection. There was a twitch of the creatureÕs ears, but that was the onl sign of reaction to the stinging sensation. She began to absent mindedly stroke the monster as if it were an enormous pet of LilyÕs. After half an hour, lily opened her eyes again to see that VincentÕs flesh hand had returned, lthough it looked quite odd attatched to the monsterÕs body. His body quiveredand began returning to its original state. The grisly spectacle was horribly fascinating to Lily, she kept her eyes glued on the shifting body, deciding that if she closed her eyes, her imagination would make it worse. By the time Vincent opened his eyes, the only things left were the wings and his fangs. He rolled off of her lap and lay on his stomach on the cold floor. He sat there gritting his teeth and sweating very profusely while the wings were drawn into his back. When the pain beame too great, he clawed at the floor with his hands to draw attention away from it. When a last they were gone, he collaapsed from the painand rolld onto his back so he could look up. Lily saw the fangs shrink back into his mouth. He lay there with a look of relief on his face, his black hair spread out on the floor behind him. Lily felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Òvincent,Ó was all she could manage.
ÒLily? YouÕre alright! I was so scared IÕd done something, I just had this horrible feeling and I was helpless, I couldnÕt do anything,Ó
ÒVincent,
IÕm so glad to haveyou back. DonÕt ever run fro me again! Please tell me everything from now on,Ó
ÒLily, why are you crying?Ó
ÒI thought IÕd lost you! I thought you were going to bleed to death hddled in that corner. ThatÕs what I thought when I first saw you. You had that jagged piece of who knows what stuck in your back and you didnÕt even tell me! I had to help that monster pull it out or you could have died!Ó
ÒWhat?Ó
Lily regretted mentioning getting close and causing pain to VincentÕs other side.
ÒYou didnÕt. You didnÕt get close to it did you? You know how dangerous it is! Ò He noticed the cut on her head.
ÒIt that how got that? Did he do that?Ó
ÒIt wasnÕt on purpose,Ó
ÒDonÕt ever do that again! Lily, I mean it! He could kill you! Just promiseyouÕll never get htat close again,Ó
ÒI...I canÕt promise that,Ó
ÒWhat?Ó
ÒYou might need me, IÕd be breaking a promise to you if I helped. But I will promise that IÕll only get close in an emergency,Ó
ÒThatÕs goig to have to do. IÕm sorry for yelling, Lily. WeÕve been through a lot, especially you. I donÕt know how to say this exactly, well, youÕre the only one who iÕve felt this way about since, well before what happened. YouÕre also the only one whoever stayed with me through, well a spell.Ó
Lily looked right at him, she grasped both his hands and held them close to her heart.
ÒThatÕs the way I always want it to be. Vincent, youÕre the only person IÕve ever loved. You make me feel completed. You , vincent are my soul mate. IÕd never want anyone else. LetÕs go to the park together like you promised. WeÕll sit together and talk about whatever you like.Ó
Vincent smiled and nodded, he felt Lily sounded better when she spoke about how she felt than he could. They left the cathedral together and strolled down the street in the sunshine. Vincent could hear the birds singing in the trees, life truly was beautiful . He was happy for the first time in years, he couldnÕt believe it. Happiness was a feeling he had lost forever that night long ago when heÕd confronted that deranged professor. He looked at Lily closely, heÕd never noticed how beautiful she was. HeÕd never thought about it, she was always Lily. She had long light brown hair that was tied in a pon tail and seemed to bounce gracefully as she moved. Her eyes were pale blue, the lightest heÕd ever seen. Her skin was creamy and very smooth. She smelled like roses and always carried a satchel full of useful tems. She had chosen him. Of all the men who could offer her so much more, who she wouldnÕt have to hide, who she could hold two flesh hands with. She hadnÕt chosen any of them because she didnÕt love any of them. She loved him. The very thought of that person loving him made his chest burn with an unknown emotion. All he could tell was things were wonderful for the first time in years, and with Lily, they would be for a very long time.
Not far off, two black suited figures watched them go. The man smiled. The woman noticed and asked,ÓWhy are you smiling?Ó
ÒBecause, the professor is going to have two things to be happy about by tomorrow afternoon.Ó
Lily opened the door that led into the cathedral. Lightning struck and briefly illuminated the cavernous interior of the church.
ÒVincent?Ó
She looked warily around. There was no sign of him. She wandered through the rows of empty pews, past statues of saints and glowing candles. The storm outside raged with passion, as if to frighten Lily into remaining in one place. The silence was near maddening. She knew Vincent was in here somewhere, but he was so good at hiding that even in a place with little cover, he could remain hidden. Lily walked forward quietly, then she heard it. A sort of sickenng crack, followed by a stifled cry. It was nearly inaudible, but because of the silence of the place, it echoed off the walls and could be heard by anyone in the cathedral. However, the only person in the cathedral was Lily and she knew who had made the noise. She felt panic start to claw at her being, she was unable to determine the source of the sound. She began to run through the rows of pews, her feet making echoing noises as she ran. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, what if something was wrong? There was obviously something wrong, or she wouldnÕt be searching for Vincent, but what if it was something really wrong? It must be something terrible, What if heÕs hurt? She was a nurse, but even she didnÕt know how to treat all types of wounds. She stopped dead in her tracks out of frustration. She stood there, dripping and shivering, alone in this enormous house of sanctuary, and yet, she found none. She gathered the last of her stregnth and let out a cry of desperation, ÒVincent!Ó
ÒLily?Ó
The voice was quiet and raspy, as if pained. Still, she knew it was his, she seemed to find new stregnth and ran in the direction of the voice. She slowed down when she saw him, she drew a hand to her mouth and a gasp escaped her lips. There he was, huddled in a corner, a pair of large bat-like wings were wrapped around him, his entire body shivering, he looked up at her with an immense sadness and shame.
ÒLily, go away,Ó The words seemed to have trouble escaping his mouth, she could see that his teeth had become fang-like and his eyes were begining to drip tears. She continued walking toward him, careful not to show her fear and pity, she knew he hated it when people showed their pity to him. Lily never broke eye contact, for fear that she look someplace else and do something she would regret. As she drew nearer, he pulled himself farther into the corner. She could see that the change had progressed further than his wings. One of his feet was a claw, his flesh hand was a angerous talon and his pale face seemed to be covered with black blotches, his eyes glowed a soft red in the dark He warpped his wings close to him.
ÒLily, please go away. I donÕt want to hurt you and I donÕt want you to see me like this,Ó
ÒVincent, IÕm not going anywhere. You scared me to death when you ran away. After those horrible men had beaten you. I followed you, I was so scared Vincent. IÕm not leaving you here. please show me where they hurt you, IÕll see if thereÕs anything I can do to make you better,Ó
ÒLily, why donÕt you listen to me? Please go away, I donÕt know what IÕll do,Ó
ÒI know nothing bad is going to happen to me because ou wonÕt let it. ThatÕs the kind of man you are. YouÕd die for those you care about. ThatÕs the kind of devoton marriage should be. IÕd die for you Vincent, I love you that much. I had to let you know that. It doesnÕt matter to me what you look like, it never has. Never to me, you are the person I want to spend my life with, no matter what. I accept you for you,I understand why you kept this a secret from me, but I find it sad that you thought you had to. IÕm here for you, I always will be,Ó
She knelt down next to him and reached between his wings for his hand, which he withdrew. she looked at his face, which he had turned awa from her. She reached out and forced his head to look at her.
ÒVincent, you are the love of m life, please donÕt think you need to hide from me,Ó
With that, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his mishapen mouth.
VincentÕs mind raced, Why was she doing this? DidnÕt she know that if Chaos materialized, that he could kill her? He couldnÕt live with himself if that happened. Tears verflowed from his glowing eyes and he wrapped his arms around Lily. She returned the embrace gently, as if not wanting to hwrm him. Lily felt his back with one of her hands, carefull searching for any open wounds. Her fingers reached the place where his wings were attatched and he shuddered. She removed her hand and looked at it. It was smeared with blood.
ÒThereÕs a terrible cut back there. I need to reach it Vincent,Ó
ÒLily-ÓVincent started.
She looked at him again, his face was now all black, but retained its human shape. Another bolt of lightning cracked hideously outside and illuminated everything for a brief moment. Vincent looked down at Lily. She had clenched her eyes and was clinging to his shirt. He knew that he needed to comfort her, but it was becoming difficult to hold her in his talons without hurting her. He wrapped her close to him with his wings in a desperate attempt to feel her warmth. Her grip loosened and she said again that she needed to tend the wound.
ÒThere are more than that, but it stopped bleeding, weÕll worry about it later,Ó
ÔVincent, whatÕs happening?Ó
ÒI donÕt know. ItÕs never ben so slow before, itÕs always so fast. Lily, you have to go now. Please, You need to go. I am begging you to go
Lily looked up at him, but all she could see werehis glowing eyes
ÒIÕm not going, I already told you. I meant what I said and IÕm not abandoning anyone, especially my fiance, suffer alone in a cathedral,Ó
He could not help it, she looked so strong in the face of danger. Vincent realized that she really wasnÕt going. He could force her away, but he knew Lily would come back. why? He ould not understand why Lily remained by his side. Sickening bone shifting sounds coul be heard coming from him, but Lily clung to him under his wings, ears pressed o his chest, hearing those sounds of cracking. Vincent suddenly became aware of how small Lily seemed now, he wodered how long it would be before he lost awareness and Chaos took control.
ÒDonÕt leave, Please donÕt leave me Vincent,Ó LilyÕs voice came in sobs. He hadnÕt even realized she was crying, heÕd assumed the warm droplets running over his chest were his blood, but they were LilyÕs tears. he was aabout to tell her to stop crying, when the scene was interupted by the sound of footsteps. lily turned to see who was approaching. A red haired man with a pony tail and sunglasses on the top of his head was walking towards them chuckling under his breathe.
ÒValentine, youÕve looked better. Oh, youÕve got a lady with you,Ó
vincent pulled Lily close to him and wrapped a wing over her to protect her from anything the man was planning on doing.
ÒWhat do you want, Reno? Rufus behind that little escapade back there? ItÕs not enough to beat your targets to near death, youÕve got to humiliate them too?Ó
ÒRelax, Rufus isnÕt behind this. IÕm here to gather info on those punks running around claiming to be on Turk business. It doesnÕt look good when legitimate business is rumored to be participating in less than respectable matters. I was not able to find anything on my own. but just when I was about to give up, your little girl there was running around calling your name and I figured IÕd let her do the finding for me. That was a very touching little spectacle, you should take care of that one, Valentine. I donÕt think youÕll ever find another chick whoÕd kiss your ugly face,Ó
ÒWhat does that has to do with us?Ó, VincentÕs cheeks burned with the thought of that greasy little sleaze watching them.
Lily could hear his voice becoming a growl, he squeezed him to remind him of her presence and keep his human ind in control. She could tell from VincentÕs voice that he felt violated by RenoÕs secret intrusion of their most intimate moment. She knew that was not RenoÕs intention, he had only been looking for information.
ÒExcuse me, Mr. Reno, I know that youÕre here on business, but I fear for your safety if you stay,Ó
ÒHah, ÒMr. RenoÓ, YouÕre priss arenÕt you? WhereÕd you dig up this one, Valentine? a library?Ó Reno asked .
ÒYou still didnÕt answer me, Reno. what does this have to do with me?ÓVincent calmly inquired. Lily could tell he was struggling to remain in control.
Reno pushed some red hair out of his face. ÔWell, it concerns soem Turk wannabes following the orders of some ex-shinra head something. They go around messing up RufusÕ good name, which heÕs actually tried to keep after they pulled him outta the rubble of his office. Pulling up and posting confidential information, publishing HojoÕs old work. ItÕs crazy, Rufus has been following ReeveÕs advice for everything, but these punks are trying to ruin the company. It was already ruined, but theyÕre trying to undo all that good wok. Darn shame. Hey are you goonna be okay?Ó
ÒConcern from a Turk? ThatÕs a change,Ó Vincent was suspicious.
ÒWell, I donÕt want you to change into whatever it was that kicked the TurksÕ collective ass at that reactor two years ago,Ó
ÒIn that case youÕd better go,Ó
ÒSo, youÕre in the dark about this as much as me. All right, check in with you later. Bye, freak,Ó
Reno sounded disappointed, he had only called Vincent a freak to vent his own anger. He left the cathedral with a toss of his pony tail. Lily looked at Vincent for the first time sice RenoÕs sudden entrance. Chaos had almost fully emerged now, but Vincent seemed in control.
ÒLily, are you sure you want to stay? Things could get ugly,Ó
ÒYes, I want to stay. Ò
ÒLily, I couldnÕt live with myself if something happened to you,Ó
ÒNothing will. When you lose consciousness, think of meeting me at the park by the fountain, where you asked me to marry you. will you make me that promise?Ó
ÒAll right, When I wake up, IÕll meet you at the fountain. That will be my beacon of light in the darkness,Ó
Lily smiled and held hs claw to her face. She rubbed her chek up and down his hand. when she looked up again, the human glint was gone from the glowing eyes There was no longer any human influence, Chaos was free. Lily did not move. she felt fear clinging to theback of her mind. She had never truly believed that the transformation would complete. she had believed that it would stop, reverse and everything would end happily. She had never expected herself to come face to face with the monster within her fiance. Every nerve in her body could sense the raw power eminating from the dark form, her face was sleek with cold sweat. Chaos cast its fiery eyes at her with a swift movement. The eyes burned with a strange intelligence. Lily felt hypnotized by their glow. It regarded her as odd, it brushed her away easily wit a sweep of its sharp claw. Lily, being small and slightly lightweight, was sent sliding across the stone floor. When she came to a stop, she sat up. She turned her gaze to Chaos, who was licking at its wounds and ignoring the strange creature who had been clinging to it. It became very frustrated with a piece of shrapnel that was trapped in its back. It thrahed and screamed its fury at that jagged shard that caused it incredible pain. Lily observed this from a safe distance. lily felt great pity fo Chaos. It was in pain and there was no one to help it, but her. Lily knew Vincent would be angry if he found out about her getting that close to Chaos, a loud scream broke her line of thought. Chaos had collapsed and was trying to reach the shrapnel that was embedded in its back, with no luck. Lily knew she would have to face Chaos sooner or later in life, and the sooner she got on good terms with the monster the better. She slowly approached. Lily began to speak softly to it and kept her eyes down cast, she knew that some animals found eye contact a threat when injured. Chaos noticed her immediately. It assumed a defensive crouch and growled at her, a deep frightening sound. Hojo had given it enough intelligence to be aware of itself, but also made sure to alster its voicebox so that it cold only make unintelligible sounds that would terrify anyone who was not already intimidated by its fearsome appearance. Lily was indeed afraid, but she had to give chaos a chance, no one had ever treated it kindly before, the only touch it knew brought pain. It could attack her, kill her in one swipe of those talons, still, she walked forward, her satchel lightly hitting against her side She outstretched one of her arms in a gesture of peace. She continued to speak tothe monster.
ÒDonÕt worry, IÕm not going to hurt you. I jut want to help you, Chaos. ThatÕs your name , right? Yes, you recognized it when I said it. IÕm Lily. I want to be your friend, okay? IÕll never hurt you, I promise. IÕm going to help you get that shrapnel out of your back, okay?Ó
chaos could not understand this strange person. She had returned even after it had pushed her away. Most opponents never came back, this one was different and dangerous. She was unpredictable and did not behave as a human should. Humans were the bringers of pain and a threat to life. They were not supposed to be quiet or gentle. It backed itself as far as it could into the corner where Vincent had been sitting. It bared its teeth and continued to growl at the advancing Lily. She gentl placed her hand on chaos shoulder. It took a moment for chaos to understand what was going on. The touch of a human never felt like this before. It had always been a slap, a kick, or other painful action directed at causing suffering. This touch brought no pain. ChaosÕ skin tingled at the unfamiliar feeling, it could always toss her away again if this did lead to pain, it had done it easily before. The hand moved up the shoulder to ChaosÕ face, where it ran over the monsterÕs cheek gently and wiped the blood from a cut above its eyes. Chaos felt strange. It had never met a human like this one. It was gentle, it took pain away, could it trust her ? It wanted to, for some reason, it wanted her to trust it, where this feeling originated, it had no idea. It decided to follow this feeling, just to see what happened.
Her other hand reached over its back, searching for the shrapnel that it could not reach. Chaos sensed what she was looking for and lowered itself to the ground. This was turning into an interesting encounter and it enjoyed a little adventure. With its cooperaton, Lily was able to find the shrapnel at a much quicker rate than if it had remained standing. She grasped the shrapnel tightly in her hand and gave it a fierce tug, being careful to stroke the creature with the other to keep it calm. the shrapnel moved a little, but part of it remained caught in the flesh. The creature howled in pain, but did not lash out et, something about the soothing touch and soft sounding sentences kept it from striking. Lily gave a second tug and jerked the metal free. The creature could not stop its own reflexes. The shrapnel had been embedded near he base of its wing. when lily had pulled it out, it flexed the wing and sent her flying, unitntentionally. She struck her head on a pew and remained motionless on the ground.
It sat there for a moment, trying to realize what it had done. The girl had been tring to help it and it had merely released a reflex action and it had hurt her. It had never unintentionally hurt anyone before. It never had the choice, whenever it materialized, there were always enemies, threats that would kill if they were not. It felt a strange feeling that it had done something wrong. It never wanted to hurt her! Regret was a new feeling, it didnÕt lke it, not in the least. It slowly walked on all fours over to where Lily had landed. She was breathing, but she was unconscious, a lage cut was on her head and blood was flowing from it. A foot twitched suddenly, so she wasnÕt paralyzed, it deduced. It whimpered and sat her up, her head fell forward. It turned her head to face it, she was so soft, it feared it would cut her with its sharp claws. It had never seen a human this close before, they were so weak, how could they cause such pain?
it whined in an attempt to wake her, but she did not move. Something wet rolled down its face. It touched one of itd claws to its face. Tears? A human thing. It was not human, why did it hav tears? It felt a surge of rage come over it. why did things have to change? Everything had been so simple before, fight the target, win continue to live. now with the appearance of thi strange human, all it had ever known did not do it any good. It laid its head on her lap and sighed. The exhaustion from its wounds and the emotional trauma it experienced grew to be too much and it plunged into sleep.
When Lily regained consciousness, she was sitting up. The first hints of sunlight were begining to shne through the stained glass windows. She felt something smooth and cold against her hands, when she saw what it was, she stifled a cry. In her lap was the large, black, fanged face of a monster. After a moment she remembered where she was and the face brught her no more fear. She suddenly remembered the woundnear the base of its wing and immediately looked for the large wound. It had actually begun to heal very nicely. She still reached into her bag for her small bottle of rubbing alchohol that she always kept with her. she dabbed some of the alchohol onto the sleeve of her duster and carefully rubbed it over the wound to stop any infection. There was a twitch of the creatureÕs ears, but that was the onl sign of reaction to the stinging sensation. She began to absent mindedly stroke the monster as if it were an enormous pet of LilyÕs. After half an hour, lily opened her eyes again to see that VincentÕs flesh hand had returned, lthough it looked quite odd attatched to the monsterÕs body. His body quiveredand began returning to its original state. The grisly spectacle was horribly fascinating to Lily, she kept her eyes glued on the shifting body, deciding that if she closed her eyes, her imagination would make it worse. By the time Vincent opened his eyes, the only things left were the wings and his fangs. He rolled off of her lap and lay on his stomach on the cold floor. He sat there gritting his teeth and sweating very profusely while the wings were drawn into his back. When the pain beame too great, he clawed at the floor with his hands to draw attention away from it. When a last they were gone, he collaapsed from the painand rolld onto his back so he could look up. Lily saw the fangs shrink back into his mouth. He lay there with a look of relief on his face, his black hair spread out on the floor behind him. Lily felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Òvincent,Ó was all she could manage.
ÒLily? YouÕre alright! I was so scared IÕd done something, I just had this horrible feeling and I was helpless, I couldnÕt do anything,Ó
ÒVincent,
IÕm so glad to haveyou back. DonÕt ever run fro me again! Please tell me everything from now on,Ó
ÒLily, why are you crying?Ó
ÒI thought IÕd lost you! I thought you were going to bleed to death hddled in that corner. ThatÕs what I thought when I first saw you. You had that jagged piece of who knows what stuck in your back and you didnÕt even tell me! I had to help that monster pull it out or you could have died!Ó
ÒWhat?Ó
Lily regretted mentioning getting close and causing pain to VincentÕs other side.
ÒYou didnÕt. You didnÕt get close to it did you? You know how dangerous it is! Ò He noticed the cut on her head.
ÒIt that how got that? Did he do that?Ó
ÒIt wasnÕt on purpose,Ó
ÒDonÕt ever do that again! Lily, I mean it! He could kill you! Just promiseyouÕll never get htat close again,Ó
ÒI...I canÕt promise that,Ó
ÒWhat?Ó
ÒYou might need me, IÕd be breaking a promise to you if I helped. But I will promise that IÕll only get close in an emergency,Ó
ÒThatÕs goig to have to do. IÕm sorry for yelling, Lily. WeÕve been through a lot, especially you. I donÕt know how to say this exactly, well, youÕre the only one who iÕve felt this way about since, well before what happened. YouÕre also the only one whoever stayed with me through, well a spell.Ó
Lily looked right at him, she grasped both his hands and held them close to her heart.
ÒThatÕs the way I always want it to be. Vincent, youÕre the only person IÕve ever loved. You make me feel completed. You , vincent are my soul mate. IÕd never want anyone else. LetÕs go to the park together like you promised. WeÕll sit together and talk about whatever you like.Ó
Vincent smiled and nodded, he felt Lily sounded better when she spoke about how she felt than he could. They left the cathedral together and strolled down the street in the sunshine. Vincent could hear the birds singing in the trees, life truly was beautiful . He was happy for the first time in years, he couldnÕt believe it. Happiness was a feeling he had lost forever that night long ago when heÕd confronted that deranged professor. He looked at Lily closely, heÕd never noticed how beautiful she was. HeÕd never thought about it, she was always Lily. She had long light brown hair that was tied in a pon tail and seemed to bounce gracefully as she moved. Her eyes were pale blue, the lightest heÕd ever seen. Her skin was creamy and very smooth. She smelled like roses and always carried a satchel full of useful tems. She had chosen him. Of all the men who could offer her so much more, who she wouldnÕt have to hide, who she could hold two flesh hands with. She hadnÕt chosen any of them because she didnÕt love any of them. She loved him. The very thought of that person loving him made his chest burn with an unknown emotion. All he could tell was things were wonderful for the first time in years, and with Lily, they would be for a very long time.
Not far off, two black suited figures watched them go. The man smiled. The woman noticed and asked,ÓWhy are you smiling?Ó
ÒBecause, the professor is going to have two things to be happy about by tomorrow afternoon.Ó
