Disclaimer: Square owns everything, even all the new characters. Fuckers.
A/N: Everyone like the surprise? Thank you SOOO much for the reviews! They make me happy! Anywho, this chapter will basically be a "catching up" chapter. I.e., How good ole Vinnie and Joe know each other, where's Wedge, etc. etc. And sorry for the cheesy ass title, but I felt like rhyming a lil.
Chapter 12: What's the Story, Morning Glory?
"Vincent, put that gun away…"
"Vince, stop it."
"Valentine!"
"Vinnie, please…"
Red was all Vincent Valentine could see. The blood boiling beneath his skin tainted his vision even more than normal. Rage was something he knew very well, but not something he had felt in such a long time.
"Ahh, just let him kill the bastard…"
"Let 'im kill em? Do yer sorry ass have any fuckin' clue how long it took us ta find em?!"
"Vincent, I will not let you murder someone in my bar!"
He couldn't hear a word they were saying. His mind was too filled with rage. His ears could only hear one word. It was screaming at him. He couldn't ignore it. Lucrecia!!
"Vincent!"
"Vinnie, I don't feel so good…" The childlike innocence in Yuffie's voice somehow cut through the rage. His death red eyes turned just in time to see her falling to the floor. Instincts took over. If you asked him to describe what happened then, he couldn't tell you. For all he knew, he blacked out. But for the first time in his life, he acted.
The heat was too intense. She couldn't stand it. It felt like flames were crawling all over her. But there was no light being given off by any fire. It was all… green.
What a strange color to be engulfed in…
The cold was too much to bear. She couldn't control her shivering. No limbs would move of her will – they only shook. Her skin raised into goose-bumps .
I always thought Death would be more… black. Not green…
But it still burned. Oh Laviathan, how every muscle and organ in her body burned with such intense heat. How could she still be shivering so bad? Why wouldn't the heat melt the ice that she could feel growing within her skin? Why couldn't the ice put out the flames charring every nerve ending? Surely either of the extremes would be better than being caught in this limbo.
This hurts too much to be death… I'm sure mama didn't feel like this when she died…
Soon, her frail body became numb to the hot and cold. Now it was something far more frightening – an overwhelming feeling of unidentifiable discomfort. The fear of the unknown was a great thing. At least before she knew she was hot, and cold. Now, she didn't know what she was feeling.
Mama, where are you? Please hold me. Hold me like you used to. Remember when Godo would train me too hard? I'd be so sore, and you'd just hold me, and sing. I loved that…
Then, there it was. That warm, cozy feeling. She had been falling – falling into this green abyss. But now, she was safe, in her mother's arms. She wasn't falling anymore – she was being carried. It didn't matter where to, she just enjoyed the feeling…
When Vincent Valentine came to, no wave of panic came over him. Anyone else would be grasping desperately for anything they could recall, but he was far used to this feeling now. Waking up in a strange place he didn't recognize was a daily event in his life.
He did not "freak out" as some would call it. On the contrary, he simply took in his surroundings and reasoned out his situation. He was standing, in front of a bed. Yuffie was in it. She wasn't bloody. Good; that meant Chaos had not come out. He must be in her room. He'd figure out how he got there later.
Coming back into the main room of the bar, Vincent was quickly greeted by Tifa. "Wow, Vince. That certainly was nice of you…"
In his days as a Turk, Vincent picked up how to listen selectively. From hearing the keys words she was so readily handing out, Vincent gathered that he had caught Yuffie before she struck the ground and carried her back up to her room. Simple enough.
"I think someone needs to tend to Yuffie."
"Wait just a second." It was Cloud that approached Vincent next. "Before anyone does anything, I'd like to know just what the hell is going on."
Apparently, the original members of AVALANCHE had been rejoicing together while Vincent was gone, but no one bothered to explain what was happening. It looked like everyone was counting on Vincent to explain. After all, he was the first to react.
He searched for the words to justify his actions. Of course, he knew why he had done it, but it was not something anyone else needed to know. "I will not taint you with my story."
"Awww c'mon, Vincent…"
"Damnit! I KNEW he'd say some shit like dat!"
"Spill the beans, old man!"
The chorus of requests targeted at the generally shy Vincent elicited a response from Joe. "Valentine and I used to be Turks together."
The ex-chocobo racer's statement caught everyone off guard, especially the present-day Turks. This old man with a silly hat was once a deadly Turk? Reno was the first to vocalize their questions.
"You mean to tell me you were a Turk, old man?"
Joe, despite his arms being tied behind his back, walked straight up to the red headed Turk. There wasn't the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. A chocobo jockey willing to stand up to a Turk? "You're damn right I was a Turk, son. One of the best fucking Turks you've ever seen. An original, too!"
Yep, he's a Turk alright. Anyone could spot that Turk attitude a mile away. They're not even afraid of their own kind.
Cloud knew this wasn't going to get anywhere fast. It took them about a half of an hour to get Joe so say anything before, and no one could hope to make Vincent speak when he didn't want to.
His attention quickly turned back to the two his eyes had been riveted on the whole night. "Ok, well, what's going on here? I mean… Biggs? Jessie?"
Jessie managed to pull herself out of Tifa's strong embrace (Tifa had the mind set that if she could hug it, it was real). With a smirk, she directed Cloud's question else where. "Why don't you ask Reno?"
Reno's face contorted into an I-Can't-Believe-You-Just-Said-That-You-Little-Punk-and-Stop-Looking-At-Me-Like-That stare. After emitting a long sigh at the thought of having to talk to Strife, he began his story.
"Yeah, well, just because I'm a Turk doesn't mean I'm a bastard. I mean, I grew up right next door to the Sector 7 slums. Tseng did too. There were a lot of kids down there that didn't deserve death, so we didn't give it to them. Right before I put in the codes for the plate to drop, Tseng issued an order to have the area evac-ed. Simple as that."
Before this, no one saw Reno as a "nice guy." He liked it that way. He fed on fear and hatred. Luckily for Reno, it didn't look like he'd starve, because no one seemed too interested in his act of kindness. Cloud, Tifa and Barret were only half listening to his explanation. They only picked up on the facts that explained the sudden re-emergence of their lost friends – not on Reno's valiant effort.
Tifa was overjoyed. She darted to the kitchen, her mind set on whipping something special up tonight. Wedge always loved her food. It had been too long since she heard his generous compliments being paid through a full mouth. Where was Wedge, anyway?
She poked her head back into the main room, eyes aimed straight for Jessie. "So where's Wedge?"
The seemingly innocent question immediately got a teary response for Jessie. Through sniffles, she attempted to answer. "Wedge… he… he…"
Biggs quickly came to his hurt friend's aid. "Wedge… didn't make it. We tried, but, he was already… gone. We flew him out, but there was nothing we could do for him."
Silence. That goddamned silence filled the room. The silence so quiet that you could hear someone's heart breaking. The silence so quiet that you can hear that glimmer of hope, so new to someone's life, being ripped out of their tight grasp.
Vincent was not afraid to tread on this silence. He let a few moments pass before speaking. "I think someone should tend to Yuffie."
Much to his surprise, his words were not met with anger. No one asked how he could think of some little girl while Tifa was grieving over the death of a friend. Maybe I relieved some tension? He was beginning to forget how the human mind worked
"We'll check up on the girl." It was Biggs that offered. As he stood, he tugged on Jessie's arm, getting her to follow. He had a feeling Tifa would burst into complete sobs if she saw Jessie cry anymore.
It only took a matter of moments for Biggs to come back from Yuffie's room. The grim look on his face didn't give anyone much hope. "I think she's got Mako poisoning…"
A/N: Ok, I'm gonna cut myself off here, because the next chapter should be a doozy. Apologies to all you Wedge fans out there. I know I loved him. Anywho, Review and make me smile. Or, rather, Review OR ELSE I'LL KILL OFF YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER!!! WAHAHAHAHA!!!