Things are getting alot more serious now. Also a lot shorter. But short and sweet are just as important as long and interesting. Warning. There are scenes which may upset those who whine abouts things when warned in advance. Just thought to warn and pick fun of people first. I don't own any characters from the Final Fantasy series.

"Vincent?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to ask a question."

"Yes?"

"This probably isn't the best time to ask, but."

"What is it? I doubt there's anything you could say that could make things worse than it already is."

"You're probably right. I just wanted to know what happened to your arm."

Vincent didn't answer for a while. When he did, his voice was subdued a bit.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know why you keep acting so damn depressed all the time. I figure your arm might give me a few clues. I just want to see you smile. You have such a handsome smile."

Vincent went quiet. After a long while, Yuffie almost told him to forget it altogether, when he started again.

"When Hojo altered me, he took bits and pieces from several creatures to replace a few of my organs that he had ruined when he shot me. During this time, he found out that I would not survive the process. For some reason, ego I guess, Hojo decided to try and make me live. First, he needed a test sample. He severed my left arm. He kept it alive by injecting it with Jenova cells. When he reattached it, my arm wasn't my arm anymore. It was something else. Through the Jenova cells, I survived. They bound the alien matter within me together and made them work. It is the Jenova cells that allow me to transform. It was because of them that I didn't die in my long sleep."

"So is that why you're ashamed of your arm? Because it looks evil or horrific?"

"I wish. No, from what I learned from Hojo's notes before I slept, my arm had retained a level of psychic energy, a personal wavelength if you will. The Jenova cells picked up on the wavelength and enhanced it. All my other transformations are as a result from pieces from one of four different creatures: the Galian beast, the Death Gigas, The Hell masker, and Chaos. My arm became the epitome of myself. My soul revealed. How could I not hate it? After all I had failed to do. I, indirectly, almost doomed the world because of what I failed to do. Wouldn't you feel at least a little guilty?"

"That depends. Show me what your arm looks like."

"I don't want to."

"Show me."

"No."

"If you don't I'll throw myself out of this thing."

"You would never do that. Your bluffing."

"Well, maybe I am bluffing, but can you afford to call it?"

"Fine, you win."

"Yahoo! I win again!"

"Please stop that."

Vincent started to work a few hidden latches on his arm. Carefully he pulled the metal pieces off of his arm and placed them on the seat. When all of the parts were off, Vincent pulled off a long black glove that covered his arm. Yuffie gasped at the sight before her eyes. It looked like a normal arm, with four fingers and a thumb, but it was different. It was pure white and glowed softly. Here and there, there were patches of feathers, like a dove's. Yuffie stared for several moments before she broke eye contact.

"Vincent?"

"I know. 'Why are you upset?' 'Why do you feel this is a curse?' I know what you're going to say. It's because I screwed up and this is what I got. I was proven wrong in the worst way possible. It makes me seem like I'm not a dark, demonic, and evil person. That I'm beating myself up over nothing."

"Vincent! Shut up! I understand why you feel bad. I understand why you keep having problems. And you are beating yourself up over nothing. You're my friend, a good, dear one. Please stop. It's over, you can stop it now."

With the hum of the engines, the gondola started up again. Vincent and Yuffie didn't say much during the rest of the trip. The staff apologized for the inconvenience and as way of making up for it, they got a bonus 100 gold points. In the silence on the way back to the hotel, Yuffie could feel that there was something left unsaid. Something important. Thinking of all the problems Vincent showed during the trip, Yuffie narrowed it down to one. As bad as Vincent might feel right now, Yuffie had to ask about Lucrecia.

"So, shall I take the couch or the bed?"

Yuffie and Vincent were back in their hotel room. It was a very cheap, but very nice room. Vincent was looking out the window, watching the fake lighting hit some illusionary tower. He had put his claw back together and was absently flexing it. He looked lost in thought and had probably missed Yuffie's question.

"I'll take the bed, you get the couch, okay?"

Vincent continued to stare.

"I said I'll take the bed. Hey! Vincent! Answer me!"

"What?"

"Jerk."

"What I do?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"And I was supposed to do something?"

"Um, yeah. Tell me what happened to Lucrecia."

"How can I tell anyone that?"

"Like you always do. Very sad and very depressed."

"Your not going to let up on this until I tell you, right?"

"Better believe it."

"Where shall I begin?"

"How about where it becomes relevant to now?"

"Then it would have had to have been about four years ago. I had decided to take a year to try and find Lucrecia. I failed. All traces of her were merely diversions. I doubt I ever came close. I gave up and started to work for the WDO. It was my second assignment. A leftover ShinRa monster was attacking people near Nibelheim, I was to hunt it down. It was Lucrecia. She had fled her cave to hide from me. She found out a lot of what had happened. Then, she found out Sephiroth was dead. She found out I lied to her. So, I killed her. She had transformed into a Jenova monster and was attacking people. Do you know what it's like, staring your best friend in the eyes and knowing that they want to kill you? That they are gone forever? I killed her and I felt nothing. When I returned, all I said was 'Mission complete.' That's what happened."

"Oh, Vince. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I know how you feel though."

"How could you know how I feel? What would you know of heartache? Well?"

"I lost my mother when I was young. I was almost two. I still remember her a bit."

"Shut up! I don't care!"

"Vincent Valentine? I never expected that coming from you. Cloud, maybe. Cid, more likely than not. Or is this because I look like her? It is isn't it?"

"No, not anymore."

"I see. You have no patience with anyone but your precious Lucrecia. You don't care about anyone but her."

"That's not true."

"You're right. You don't even care about her!"

"Shut Up!"

"I'm not Lucrecia. Lucrecia is dead! You killed her. Let her go."

"Don't wanna."

"Please Vincent. I'm here for you. I want to help you. Let me help you. I love you Vincent."

"Y-y-you what?" Vincent started.

"I, I love you. Let me help you. Open up, share your feelings for once, let me know how you feel."

"Don't want love. Love dies."

"Vincent, I'm not Lucrecia, I'm not going to die."

"Yes you will! Your'e just like Lucrecia! You'll die and leave me alone again!" Vincent's voice rose.

"I'm not Lucrecia! Will you get your god damn mind off her and focus on me for once?" Yuffie's voice rose to meet his.

"Fine! I will!"

Quickly, Vincent rushed over to Yuffie, put his hands on her face and kissed her. Yuffie was only too shocked to respond for a moment. After the moment passed, she was still there, arms thrown around Vincent's neck, returning his kiss. When the need for air forced them both to break the kiss, Vincent was speechless about what he had done.

"Yuffie, I, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was just so angry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't you dare be sorry. Now come here and do it right!"

The night passed relatively quietly. The hot sun rose quickly over the desert theme park. The first rays revealed, that in the end, neither person got the bed.

What do you think? I said it got serious. Read and review please. I want to know what your thinking. Mindreading is exhausting.