So you have come to the next chapter. Beware! Icky, gross things happen in this chapter. As you have been forewarned, enjoy! Oh yeah, I don't own the characters, the game, or rights thereto. I do own a copy of FF VII and the soundtrack, but nothing more.
"...And don't peek!" Yuffie finished her list of things for Vincent not to do while she was changing. It just didn't do to have someone peeking on a girl. On the other hand, it wasn't much better if a girl didn't feel a little wanted. Either way, she would have fun tweaking Vincent no matter what he did. Now that she thought about it, why should she care? Could it mean that she would feel flattered to know that she was desirable? And what did Vincent say earlier? Lucrecia? Wasn't that the name of Seipheroth's real mother? Why would he say that? As Yuffie pondered these thoughts, she failed to notice the huge mass of green tentacles slithering it's way over to her.
Vincent wasn't too happy about where he had to sit while Yuffie changed. He would have preferred a better spot to act as lookout. The dunes where they were at, was a short distance from the beach. The slopes made it difficult to see what was going on. At least someplace downwind to see if he could smell anything. He had seen some odd reports of creatures, moving to new places for apparently no reason. Many powerful creatures. Maybe it was because of the defeat of Seipheroth or the summoning of Meteor. It didn't matter; he had to protect Yuffie no matter what. Now there was an odd thought. Why did her teasing joke bring a smile to his face? And why did she remind him of Lucrecia?
As Yuffie finished pulling on her shirt, she noticed a whiff of a foul air. Yuffie half-turned to see what could possibly smell so bad. As she did, the Malboro struck, wrapping several smelly tentacles around her arms and legs, pulling her up into the air.
"Vincent, help!" Yuffie cried as the Malboro's tentacles drew her closer to its mouth.
From the dune where he was sitting, Vincent twisted from his cross-legged position to a standing one and took off towards Yuffie's screams. Twenty feet away, Vincent leaped into the air and over the brush that served as Yuffie's changing spot.
"Yuffie! What is it?"
"Malboro! Now help me you idiot!"
As Yuffie said that, Vincent landed on top of the Malboro and leapt back up into the air, now behind the monster.
"Yuffie, sound check!"
"You idiot! I said help; not get help!"
"That'll do."
Vincent pulled out his rifle and fired a shot directly into what passed for the Malboro's central nervous system. Landing lightly, Vincent turned and ran back to Yuffie. As he ran, Vincent pulled out a custom-made bullet and loaded it. For the third time, Vincent jumped into the air, over the Malboro, and fired the shot, point blank, into the creature's mouth. Vincent landed between the Malboro and Yuffie and caught her as the Malboro let her go. Not wanting to be caught at ground zero, Vincent ran as fast as he could up and over the nearest dune. The shot did what it was made to do. First it activated the Gravija (Demi 3) spell that had been sealed within it. As the monster was pulled into itself, the second part took effect. By the time the Gravija spell was over, the Firaga spell had burned away all evidence that the creature had ever existed. When Yuffie dared to look again, she was cradled in Vincent's arms like a baby. Not that she objected to it in the least. As the shock of nearly being eaten wore off she, decided that she wanted to be let down.
"Hey Vincent! Put me down!"
"You don't need to yell." Vincent said calmly, letting her get up on her own two feet.
Yuffie wasn't going to let him off that easy and glared right into his eyes. Then she blinked. His eyes were closed. As she stared slack jawed, Vincent opened his eyes and looked around, spotting where the short battle had taken place. Then he looked at Yuffie with a questioning look. Yuffie shook herself out of it.
"You did all that with your eyes closed? You idiot! How could you endanger my life like that? How arrogant do you have to be to pull that sort of stunt off? What in Leviathan's name would posses you do something that stupid?"
"You told me not to peek."
The answer took her by surprise. She never would have believed that someone would be so chivalrous as to mind a woman's privacy while saving her life. The thought struck her as so unbelievable that her mind couldn't comprehend it and shut down.
"She'll be all right. She just needs some sleep. A Malboro attack is not to be taken lightly. Just make sure to keep a remedy around. Good bye."
"Thank you doctor. Good bye."
Yuffie was lying in a large soft bed. There was a damp towel on her forehead and a headache that wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Sitting up, Yuffie looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She was trying to stand up when Vincent walked in the door.
"You're awake. You should lie down. You need rest."
"I'm fine. Have anything for a headache?"
"Wait a moment."
Vincent returned a few moments later with a couple of aspirin and a glass of water.
"Thanks."
As Yuffie swallowed the tablets and drank the water, Vincent walked over and sat down on the bed next to hers. He pulled out of his pocket a small book. It was a rare piece of work. The binding was made of onyx and there were gilded flowers crawling along the edges. A gold clasp held the book together. The title was written in silver mithril. It read: Cloud Strife.
"What's that?"
"A book. Left by Cloud."
"Cloud? Our Cloud? The jerk who ran off with all of my materia?"
"With the exception of 'your materia,' yes it is."
"Where did you find it?"
"Here. In the basement."
"Well, where's here?"
"Back in Costa del Sol. In Cloud's Vista."
"What are we doing back here?"
"You were sick, you needed medical attention."
"The Malboro, yeah, I remember now. So, what's in it?"
"I believe it's a journal. Cloud apparently wrote it during his trip after he left all of us."
"So where did he go? What did he do? And where the hell is my materia?"
"You obviously have your materia. What you don't know, since everyone else either went home or remained accessible, is that Cloud sent several materia to all of us with a note. Checking up on everyone else, I managed to find out what everyone got. Barret got a Quake and a Cure materia. He mentioned a note, something about how Cloud wouldn't be there to help Barret figure it out this time. Tifa got a Doublecut. Red XIII got a Fire. Cid got a Time. Cait Sith got his Manipulate back and a Poison. I myself received a Demi as well as a Destruct materia. If you were expected to have returned to Wutai, you probably would have gotten some materia. But in Cloud's note to me, he explained that some materia had gone missing and decided that you had helped yourself before hand. Ironically, they were the same materia he would have given you, except the Leviathan. And that brings us to the matter at hand."
"And that matter would be?"
"Cloud apparently needed that materia for something. He said as much in the letter to me. He said he wasn't going to look for it. He felt that you would run as far as possible if you knew he was after you, looking for the materia. He apparently had something else to do. So, he asked me, that if I met up with you again that I was to take you to Costa del Sol and find a book that matched his description. This is it. I was given a key and I have kept it on me from that time since. While you have slept, I have read the book and it tells me what Cloud was doing. There is nothing about where he's going, or why."
"Well, what was he doing?"
"Writing about what he was to do on the trip. What weapons were being sold or put into safe keeping. Nothing really put into detail. Towards the end, it seemed like Cloud was getting to the point, but that is where the journal stops. It ends with Cloud talking about another book and I assume that there is another journal that he wrote. The problem is where is it? All that is Cloud said was he was heading here to drop off the book and then head south."
"To the south? Nothing down that way except, Gold Saucer!"
"Exactly. As soon as you are back to full strength, we're going to see Dio."
"Why Dio?"
"Why not? If you need some info, no greater place to get it from then from Dio. Besides, I would be surprised if he didn't know."
"So why do I have to go?"
"Because you have the materia and I do not wish to take it from you. Cloud asked for you to come and said that you could have your pick of materia available and if you don't want to come, I'll simply arrest you for theft and claim it in Cloud's absence."
"Not much of a choice is it? And what about your job?"
"While you were asleep I called HQ and I am now officially off-duty until further notice."
"You can do that?"
"Paragraph 51, Section C, Sub-section Gamma states: 'As long as the notification of a temporary release from the current mission, as stated in Paragraph 32, Section U, Sub-section Sigma, is logged at the WDO HQ, said organization cannot discontinue employment, request services, and/or alter status of said agent. All wages, informational services, and/or supply and acquisition requests will be put on hiatus, as per rules stated in paragraph 32, Section U, Sub-section Theta.'"
"And you remember all of that?"
"Memorized the handbook. All 3,092 pages. I have a lot of spare time."
"What no friends?"
"No"
"What about girlfriends?"
"Again, no."
"What about, what's-her-name? Lucrecia."
The sudden change in Vincent was horrifying. His usual calm demeanor was shattered. In his place was a broken man. The deep sadness he gave off was as clear an answer as his spoken one.
"She's dead. Do not ask about her again."
"Sheesh. Sad story No. 4. 'Night."
Yuffie rolled over and went to sleep. Vincent lingered for a few moments, then left. Yuffie, not really asleep, would normally have waited for any person watching her to go to sleep, but two things stopped her. The first was that every time she had tried the same stunt in the past, Vincent was always there. He never seemed to sleep, always took first watch and was still awake for the last. Even at inns, he would just sit in a corner, or watch out a window. What he did with his time didn't normally concern Yuffie, except that it stopped her from doing her job. What surprised her the most was the second reason. She had seen the last look he gave her as he walked out of the room. It made Yuffie ache in sympathy. It was a sad combination of grief, pain, and a profound sense of regret. Yuffie curled up and, for the first time in her life, thought of someone else.
Vincent sat in thought. He was obligated to escort Yuffie to wherever Cloud was, but how could he do that if it hurt to look at her. When he first met Yuffie, there wasn't a problem. He had never seen Lucrecia when she was young, but now. Now there wasn't anything he could do. Vincent sat seething with impotent rage, not realizing that he was unintentionally carving deep scars into the arm of the chair. Soon, for the first time in many years, merciful sleep overtook him.
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"...And don't peek!" Yuffie finished her list of things for Vincent not to do while she was changing. It just didn't do to have someone peeking on a girl. On the other hand, it wasn't much better if a girl didn't feel a little wanted. Either way, she would have fun tweaking Vincent no matter what he did. Now that she thought about it, why should she care? Could it mean that she would feel flattered to know that she was desirable? And what did Vincent say earlier? Lucrecia? Wasn't that the name of Seipheroth's real mother? Why would he say that? As Yuffie pondered these thoughts, she failed to notice the huge mass of green tentacles slithering it's way over to her.
Vincent wasn't too happy about where he had to sit while Yuffie changed. He would have preferred a better spot to act as lookout. The dunes where they were at, was a short distance from the beach. The slopes made it difficult to see what was going on. At least someplace downwind to see if he could smell anything. He had seen some odd reports of creatures, moving to new places for apparently no reason. Many powerful creatures. Maybe it was because of the defeat of Seipheroth or the summoning of Meteor. It didn't matter; he had to protect Yuffie no matter what. Now there was an odd thought. Why did her teasing joke bring a smile to his face? And why did she remind him of Lucrecia?
As Yuffie finished pulling on her shirt, she noticed a whiff of a foul air. Yuffie half-turned to see what could possibly smell so bad. As she did, the Malboro struck, wrapping several smelly tentacles around her arms and legs, pulling her up into the air.
"Vincent, help!" Yuffie cried as the Malboro's tentacles drew her closer to its mouth.
From the dune where he was sitting, Vincent twisted from his cross-legged position to a standing one and took off towards Yuffie's screams. Twenty feet away, Vincent leaped into the air and over the brush that served as Yuffie's changing spot.
"Yuffie! What is it?"
"Malboro! Now help me you idiot!"
As Yuffie said that, Vincent landed on top of the Malboro and leapt back up into the air, now behind the monster.
"Yuffie, sound check!"
"You idiot! I said help; not get help!"
"That'll do."
Vincent pulled out his rifle and fired a shot directly into what passed for the Malboro's central nervous system. Landing lightly, Vincent turned and ran back to Yuffie. As he ran, Vincent pulled out a custom-made bullet and loaded it. For the third time, Vincent jumped into the air, over the Malboro, and fired the shot, point blank, into the creature's mouth. Vincent landed between the Malboro and Yuffie and caught her as the Malboro let her go. Not wanting to be caught at ground zero, Vincent ran as fast as he could up and over the nearest dune. The shot did what it was made to do. First it activated the Gravija (Demi 3) spell that had been sealed within it. As the monster was pulled into itself, the second part took effect. By the time the Gravija spell was over, the Firaga spell had burned away all evidence that the creature had ever existed. When Yuffie dared to look again, she was cradled in Vincent's arms like a baby. Not that she objected to it in the least. As the shock of nearly being eaten wore off she, decided that she wanted to be let down.
"Hey Vincent! Put me down!"
"You don't need to yell." Vincent said calmly, letting her get up on her own two feet.
Yuffie wasn't going to let him off that easy and glared right into his eyes. Then she blinked. His eyes were closed. As she stared slack jawed, Vincent opened his eyes and looked around, spotting where the short battle had taken place. Then he looked at Yuffie with a questioning look. Yuffie shook herself out of it.
"You did all that with your eyes closed? You idiot! How could you endanger my life like that? How arrogant do you have to be to pull that sort of stunt off? What in Leviathan's name would posses you do something that stupid?"
"You told me not to peek."
The answer took her by surprise. She never would have believed that someone would be so chivalrous as to mind a woman's privacy while saving her life. The thought struck her as so unbelievable that her mind couldn't comprehend it and shut down.
"She'll be all right. She just needs some sleep. A Malboro attack is not to be taken lightly. Just make sure to keep a remedy around. Good bye."
"Thank you doctor. Good bye."
Yuffie was lying in a large soft bed. There was a damp towel on her forehead and a headache that wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Sitting up, Yuffie looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She was trying to stand up when Vincent walked in the door.
"You're awake. You should lie down. You need rest."
"I'm fine. Have anything for a headache?"
"Wait a moment."
Vincent returned a few moments later with a couple of aspirin and a glass of water.
"Thanks."
As Yuffie swallowed the tablets and drank the water, Vincent walked over and sat down on the bed next to hers. He pulled out of his pocket a small book. It was a rare piece of work. The binding was made of onyx and there were gilded flowers crawling along the edges. A gold clasp held the book together. The title was written in silver mithril. It read: Cloud Strife.
"What's that?"
"A book. Left by Cloud."
"Cloud? Our Cloud? The jerk who ran off with all of my materia?"
"With the exception of 'your materia,' yes it is."
"Where did you find it?"
"Here. In the basement."
"Well, where's here?"
"Back in Costa del Sol. In Cloud's Vista."
"What are we doing back here?"
"You were sick, you needed medical attention."
"The Malboro, yeah, I remember now. So, what's in it?"
"I believe it's a journal. Cloud apparently wrote it during his trip after he left all of us."
"So where did he go? What did he do? And where the hell is my materia?"
"You obviously have your materia. What you don't know, since everyone else either went home or remained accessible, is that Cloud sent several materia to all of us with a note. Checking up on everyone else, I managed to find out what everyone got. Barret got a Quake and a Cure materia. He mentioned a note, something about how Cloud wouldn't be there to help Barret figure it out this time. Tifa got a Doublecut. Red XIII got a Fire. Cid got a Time. Cait Sith got his Manipulate back and a Poison. I myself received a Demi as well as a Destruct materia. If you were expected to have returned to Wutai, you probably would have gotten some materia. But in Cloud's note to me, he explained that some materia had gone missing and decided that you had helped yourself before hand. Ironically, they were the same materia he would have given you, except the Leviathan. And that brings us to the matter at hand."
"And that matter would be?"
"Cloud apparently needed that materia for something. He said as much in the letter to me. He said he wasn't going to look for it. He felt that you would run as far as possible if you knew he was after you, looking for the materia. He apparently had something else to do. So, he asked me, that if I met up with you again that I was to take you to Costa del Sol and find a book that matched his description. This is it. I was given a key and I have kept it on me from that time since. While you have slept, I have read the book and it tells me what Cloud was doing. There is nothing about where he's going, or why."
"Well, what was he doing?"
"Writing about what he was to do on the trip. What weapons were being sold or put into safe keeping. Nothing really put into detail. Towards the end, it seemed like Cloud was getting to the point, but that is where the journal stops. It ends with Cloud talking about another book and I assume that there is another journal that he wrote. The problem is where is it? All that is Cloud said was he was heading here to drop off the book and then head south."
"To the south? Nothing down that way except, Gold Saucer!"
"Exactly. As soon as you are back to full strength, we're going to see Dio."
"Why Dio?"
"Why not? If you need some info, no greater place to get it from then from Dio. Besides, I would be surprised if he didn't know."
"So why do I have to go?"
"Because you have the materia and I do not wish to take it from you. Cloud asked for you to come and said that you could have your pick of materia available and if you don't want to come, I'll simply arrest you for theft and claim it in Cloud's absence."
"Not much of a choice is it? And what about your job?"
"While you were asleep I called HQ and I am now officially off-duty until further notice."
"You can do that?"
"Paragraph 51, Section C, Sub-section Gamma states: 'As long as the notification of a temporary release from the current mission, as stated in Paragraph 32, Section U, Sub-section Sigma, is logged at the WDO HQ, said organization cannot discontinue employment, request services, and/or alter status of said agent. All wages, informational services, and/or supply and acquisition requests will be put on hiatus, as per rules stated in paragraph 32, Section U, Sub-section Theta.'"
"And you remember all of that?"
"Memorized the handbook. All 3,092 pages. I have a lot of spare time."
"What no friends?"
"No"
"What about girlfriends?"
"Again, no."
"What about, what's-her-name? Lucrecia."
The sudden change in Vincent was horrifying. His usual calm demeanor was shattered. In his place was a broken man. The deep sadness he gave off was as clear an answer as his spoken one.
"She's dead. Do not ask about her again."
"Sheesh. Sad story No. 4. 'Night."
Yuffie rolled over and went to sleep. Vincent lingered for a few moments, then left. Yuffie, not really asleep, would normally have waited for any person watching her to go to sleep, but two things stopped her. The first was that every time she had tried the same stunt in the past, Vincent was always there. He never seemed to sleep, always took first watch and was still awake for the last. Even at inns, he would just sit in a corner, or watch out a window. What he did with his time didn't normally concern Yuffie, except that it stopped her from doing her job. What surprised her the most was the second reason. She had seen the last look he gave her as he walked out of the room. It made Yuffie ache in sympathy. It was a sad combination of grief, pain, and a profound sense of regret. Yuffie curled up and, for the first time in her life, thought of someone else.
Vincent sat in thought. He was obligated to escort Yuffie to wherever Cloud was, but how could he do that if it hurt to look at her. When he first met Yuffie, there wasn't a problem. He had never seen Lucrecia when she was young, but now. Now there wasn't anything he could do. Vincent sat seething with impotent rage, not realizing that he was unintentionally carving deep scars into the arm of the chair. Soon, for the first time in many years, merciful sleep overtook him.
Please Read and Review. Flames, however, will be put out.
