~Enough...Enough...~
The child's eyes misted over, and its hands stopped in mid-grasp. It felt itself shrinking... back to what it was? And for the first time, it was aware of a limp body - a limp and BLOODY body - slumped across its small knees.
Gods... What did it do? What has it done?
Before the child could even try to panic, the VOICE rang once again in its ears.
~Leave the present... Leave the present, child...~
It obeyed without a mind of its own. Slipping off a ring from its right hand, still sticky with blood, it dumped the 'present' in the mud next to its victim's carcass.
~Enough...Enough...~
The VOICE left its head completely.
And then did it fully realize the impact of its own actions. Someone was dead... It had killed someone! Killed someone with its bare hands and fists!
But how? HOW?
But that was no matter to the child anymore than the rain, which had started to pour after so much forward warning. The only thing that was in the small person's head was:
RUN!
It was not the VOICE the child so dreaded ordering, but its own conscience, and the conscience was SCREAMING. Gasping and slipping on mud, it tried to escape the horrors that held it in the middle of a tangled web. And like being trapped in a web, the child found fleeing next to impossible. It was paralyzed in the moment, being pounded flat mercilessly by the falling rain, and the howling wind threatened more than once to carry its light body away.
DRAT, KID! GET UP! RUN!
Finally, when it was able to stand without its legs giving way beneath it and the pounding of the rain pushing it down, another voice - a real voice - came from behind it.
"Stop!" The stranger commanded. If he had anything else to say, thunder cut the sentence off.
The child has been discovered!
And only then did the unwilling murderer have enough energy to brace its tiny legs, and race, still stumbling, out of Cosmo Canyon Village.
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun
Chapter Two
Yuffie's stomach did a full flip-flop at the sound of the voice. She felt nerves sending panic all the way to her brain, and her brain sending it back to the ends of her fingers and toes. Beside her, Vincent also froze, but she saw the remains of what must be his Turk instincts pull his flesh hand to his gun-holster.
"What the hell was that?" Yuffie finally managed to splutter, feeling all the while her momentary comfort washing off her by an invisible indoor rain.
Vincent, however, did not answer. He leapt over the table between them and the door with all the grace of a deer and was out of the inn before Yuffie could pull herself together.
Upstairs, the young ninja could hear groans and some other signs of awake- ness. The others MUST have heard that bone-chilling scream, how could they miss it? Even if they could sleep through thunder, that sound has the ability to penetrate through dreams and stab at the mind like ice. The weather does not. They would want to know what happened, and would Yuffie want to hang around long enough to answer (or stutter at) their questions?
Most certainly NOT!
"ViVi, wait!" Yuffie had wanted to follow Vincent's example and leap over the table, but decided against it. A Wutainese with a broken leg never helped anyone during crisis, and she wouldn't want to be the first to try.
She heard Vincent call a harsh 'Stop!' into the storm outside and felt her insides flip again. Whoever caused the scream was still out there? The monster in her head, twenty feet tall with rolls of spiky, sharp teeth and a appetite for blood, was still out there? Geez, will there EVER be a time for peace for the always-courageous but tired-off-their-asses members of Avalanche?
~But most importantly, ~ she heard her brain say, ~WHO had been the monster's victim? ~
Nanaki did not hear the scream, being in Bugenhagen's house and observatory and too far away to, but he felt it.
He FELT the pain of the screamer bolt into his being, frying his insides and turning everything liquid.
He FELT the waves of dizziness that followed the screamer's injury, threatening to bring up the sour water at the back of his throat.
He FELT the air pressing him down as the screamer realized his fate and come to understand the horrible act done to him.
And he FELT the dreadful second pass, returning him from the victim's mind into his own body once again.
Without the slightest proof, nor the slightest doubt in his head (though he failed to see how he could be so sure of himself), Nanaki knew just who it was that had been linked to his heart, and had been caused so much suffering...
"Grandpa!"
Stricken, the creature bounded up and raced into the rain outside, hoping to whatever God there was that he wouldn't be too late.
Through the pouring rain, Vincent made out a small shadow, running with all its speed and disappearing under the stairs that led out of Cosmo Canyon.
~Could that tiny thing be the intruder? ~
But he knew it was. He saw it, covered in blood, kneeling in the mud before the injured body before the rain really began to fall and obscure his vision. And when he had shouted 'stop', he was sure he smelt the distinct fear of guilt in the atmosphere. Even when the time was midnight, and the weather conditions could not exactly be described as 'fine', Vincent knew he could trust his senses. The professor had put a lot of work into them, after all...
Now was not a good time for a trip down memory lane. Ignoring what the rain was doing to his hair and clothes, Vincent took a few brisk steps and jumped onto the platform that held the Sacred Fire of the village, now nothing but a pile of damp logs. He has heard Bugenhagen once say that the fire was supported by the strongest of spirit magic. Not a normal storm would be able to put it out. That was how they were forewarned of evil, Bugenhagen said...
Oh, Gods...Bugenhagen...
The Wiseman of Cosmo Canyon lay on his face in the mud, blood flowing freely from an ugly wound that stretched from his shoulder to his left hand. Gods, was his flesh ripped off or something? The rain was mixing his blood with the mud around him, making the area around the man look something like the crater of a recently erupted volcano. Despite everything, Bugenhagen uttered a low, pitiful moan that spoke for itself.
He was alive. But he may not be happy about it.
Vincent moved quickly. Being careful as to not widen Bugenhagen's wound any larger; he ripped off a piece of material from his own cape and tied it as best he could over the bleeding area. Bugenhagen groaned again and tried to open his eyes.
"Don't." Vincent warned him. "Don't move and remain perfectly still."
And it was then that something else caught his eye. It was almost buried in mud and invisible through the curtain of rain, but Vincent felt unspeakably drawn to the tiny object. It looked like... a ring of some sort...
Yuffie didn't want to get herself wet, not to mention risking tripping on a loose pebble in the darkness. It was almost ~eerily~ dark this night; normally the fire of Cosmo Canyon would be burning despite a few pitiful raindrops. But...
If it weren't for the tiny lamps still glowing somewhere far off in the distance of the village, Yuffie would have never spotted the platform of the Sacred Fire, and would have never spotted Vincent, apparently kneeling over something. Something? SomeONE, more like it. Her dinner rose up again to her chest, but she forced it down and climbed onto the structure next to Vincent.
"Omigod! Bugenhagen!" She screeched as she reached down to try and assist the poor old man in some way. "Vincent, what-"
But Vincent wasn't looking at the Wiseman. Nor was he looking at Yuffie. Something in the palm of his claw got the full attention of his ruby eyes. He seemed far away, lost another one of those dream worlds he often drifted into. Despite her worry for Bugenhagen, anger bubbled up inside the young ninja. What the hell is so important that Vin can risk the life of their old friend?
"Vincent Valentine!" She slapped his back, and was pleased to see that his claw immediately closed on the tiny object he was holding. It seemed to Yuffie like some ring-shaped thing (probably a RING?). But she couldn't care less if it was a million gil at the moment.
"Yuffie, look after Bugenhagen." Vincent's voice was cold, colder than usual. Much to Yuffie's amazement, dismay, and anger, Vincent Valentine, who was supposed to help her with this horrible situation, rose to his feet, jumped off the platform, and disappeared down the stairs out of Cosmo Canyon with all the unnatural speed of the vampire that he was. After a blink to clear the raindrops stuck in her eyelashes, Yuffie found she could no longer see Vincent. He's gone.
"What the hell?" She cursed openly into the storm. Yeah, just what the HELL does that man think he's doing, leaving her like this? And just what the HELL was he looking at in his hand just then? Whatever it was, Yuffie knew that that thing had to be the cause of Vincent's stranger-than-usual behavior. He was often the most responsible in crises! What the HELL could have driven him to leave Cosmo Canyon's Wiseman in this time of need?
She had to find out. And then afterwards, she can let Vincent have a little piece of her mind, too. But she couldn't just leave Bugenhagen irresponsibly like Vincent did! Damn, where were the other members of Avalanche when they were needed?
As if on cue, Red XIII appeared out of the darkness. And never have Yuffie seen a more grieved, frustrated, angry, sad, and confused Red all at once.
"Grandpa!" Red jumped onto the platform and howled his fury to the night. "Are you all right? Speak to me..."
Here was her chance! Yuffie could see the other members of Avalanche now, running out of the inn and into the rain. They wouldn't need her here anyway, and she wanted to make her move before the others get a chance to question her actions.
"Red, listen, ViVi took off a moment ago, probably after the freak who did this." She explained as calmly as she could, and as quietly as she could. But it was hard to be quiet when she had to shout to be heard over the storm.
"Take me with you!" Red growled, his voice dangerous and low. But before Yuffie could respond, Bugenhagen did for her, his voice thick with effort.
"Nanaki, stay here...with me...I don't have... much time, dear child..."
Yuffie felt pity for the Wiseman, and for Nanaki, whose shoulders sagged visibly just listening to the pain his grandfather was in. But she had to go. It was now or never. The Wutainese hopped off the platform of the Sacred Fire, being careful not to trip over her own feet in the darkness and rain.
"And tell Cloud I've borrowed his Chocobo!" She screamed as a goodbye to Avalanche before she, too, disappeared into the night.
Chapter Two ~ Fin
AN: There was a lot of point-of-view changing in this one. Sorry everyone.
This has got to be the longest chapter of anything I have ever written. So probably it is full of mistakes and confusing bits. Still, tell me about it in your reviews.
And thanks to the people who reviewed the first chapter. I hope you still wish to continue reading this...
The child's eyes misted over, and its hands stopped in mid-grasp. It felt itself shrinking... back to what it was? And for the first time, it was aware of a limp body - a limp and BLOODY body - slumped across its small knees.
Gods... What did it do? What has it done?
Before the child could even try to panic, the VOICE rang once again in its ears.
~Leave the present... Leave the present, child...~
It obeyed without a mind of its own. Slipping off a ring from its right hand, still sticky with blood, it dumped the 'present' in the mud next to its victim's carcass.
~Enough...Enough...~
The VOICE left its head completely.
And then did it fully realize the impact of its own actions. Someone was dead... It had killed someone! Killed someone with its bare hands and fists!
But how? HOW?
But that was no matter to the child anymore than the rain, which had started to pour after so much forward warning. The only thing that was in the small person's head was:
RUN!
It was not the VOICE the child so dreaded ordering, but its own conscience, and the conscience was SCREAMING. Gasping and slipping on mud, it tried to escape the horrors that held it in the middle of a tangled web. And like being trapped in a web, the child found fleeing next to impossible. It was paralyzed in the moment, being pounded flat mercilessly by the falling rain, and the howling wind threatened more than once to carry its light body away.
DRAT, KID! GET UP! RUN!
Finally, when it was able to stand without its legs giving way beneath it and the pounding of the rain pushing it down, another voice - a real voice - came from behind it.
"Stop!" The stranger commanded. If he had anything else to say, thunder cut the sentence off.
The child has been discovered!
And only then did the unwilling murderer have enough energy to brace its tiny legs, and race, still stumbling, out of Cosmo Canyon Village.
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun
Chapter Two
Yuffie's stomach did a full flip-flop at the sound of the voice. She felt nerves sending panic all the way to her brain, and her brain sending it back to the ends of her fingers and toes. Beside her, Vincent also froze, but she saw the remains of what must be his Turk instincts pull his flesh hand to his gun-holster.
"What the hell was that?" Yuffie finally managed to splutter, feeling all the while her momentary comfort washing off her by an invisible indoor rain.
Vincent, however, did not answer. He leapt over the table between them and the door with all the grace of a deer and was out of the inn before Yuffie could pull herself together.
Upstairs, the young ninja could hear groans and some other signs of awake- ness. The others MUST have heard that bone-chilling scream, how could they miss it? Even if they could sleep through thunder, that sound has the ability to penetrate through dreams and stab at the mind like ice. The weather does not. They would want to know what happened, and would Yuffie want to hang around long enough to answer (or stutter at) their questions?
Most certainly NOT!
"ViVi, wait!" Yuffie had wanted to follow Vincent's example and leap over the table, but decided against it. A Wutainese with a broken leg never helped anyone during crisis, and she wouldn't want to be the first to try.
She heard Vincent call a harsh 'Stop!' into the storm outside and felt her insides flip again. Whoever caused the scream was still out there? The monster in her head, twenty feet tall with rolls of spiky, sharp teeth and a appetite for blood, was still out there? Geez, will there EVER be a time for peace for the always-courageous but tired-off-their-asses members of Avalanche?
~But most importantly, ~ she heard her brain say, ~WHO had been the monster's victim? ~
Nanaki did not hear the scream, being in Bugenhagen's house and observatory and too far away to, but he felt it.
He FELT the pain of the screamer bolt into his being, frying his insides and turning everything liquid.
He FELT the waves of dizziness that followed the screamer's injury, threatening to bring up the sour water at the back of his throat.
He FELT the air pressing him down as the screamer realized his fate and come to understand the horrible act done to him.
And he FELT the dreadful second pass, returning him from the victim's mind into his own body once again.
Without the slightest proof, nor the slightest doubt in his head (though he failed to see how he could be so sure of himself), Nanaki knew just who it was that had been linked to his heart, and had been caused so much suffering...
"Grandpa!"
Stricken, the creature bounded up and raced into the rain outside, hoping to whatever God there was that he wouldn't be too late.
Through the pouring rain, Vincent made out a small shadow, running with all its speed and disappearing under the stairs that led out of Cosmo Canyon.
~Could that tiny thing be the intruder? ~
But he knew it was. He saw it, covered in blood, kneeling in the mud before the injured body before the rain really began to fall and obscure his vision. And when he had shouted 'stop', he was sure he smelt the distinct fear of guilt in the atmosphere. Even when the time was midnight, and the weather conditions could not exactly be described as 'fine', Vincent knew he could trust his senses. The professor had put a lot of work into them, after all...
Now was not a good time for a trip down memory lane. Ignoring what the rain was doing to his hair and clothes, Vincent took a few brisk steps and jumped onto the platform that held the Sacred Fire of the village, now nothing but a pile of damp logs. He has heard Bugenhagen once say that the fire was supported by the strongest of spirit magic. Not a normal storm would be able to put it out. That was how they were forewarned of evil, Bugenhagen said...
Oh, Gods...Bugenhagen...
The Wiseman of Cosmo Canyon lay on his face in the mud, blood flowing freely from an ugly wound that stretched from his shoulder to his left hand. Gods, was his flesh ripped off or something? The rain was mixing his blood with the mud around him, making the area around the man look something like the crater of a recently erupted volcano. Despite everything, Bugenhagen uttered a low, pitiful moan that spoke for itself.
He was alive. But he may not be happy about it.
Vincent moved quickly. Being careful as to not widen Bugenhagen's wound any larger; he ripped off a piece of material from his own cape and tied it as best he could over the bleeding area. Bugenhagen groaned again and tried to open his eyes.
"Don't." Vincent warned him. "Don't move and remain perfectly still."
And it was then that something else caught his eye. It was almost buried in mud and invisible through the curtain of rain, but Vincent felt unspeakably drawn to the tiny object. It looked like... a ring of some sort...
Yuffie didn't want to get herself wet, not to mention risking tripping on a loose pebble in the darkness. It was almost ~eerily~ dark this night; normally the fire of Cosmo Canyon would be burning despite a few pitiful raindrops. But...
If it weren't for the tiny lamps still glowing somewhere far off in the distance of the village, Yuffie would have never spotted the platform of the Sacred Fire, and would have never spotted Vincent, apparently kneeling over something. Something? SomeONE, more like it. Her dinner rose up again to her chest, but she forced it down and climbed onto the structure next to Vincent.
"Omigod! Bugenhagen!" She screeched as she reached down to try and assist the poor old man in some way. "Vincent, what-"
But Vincent wasn't looking at the Wiseman. Nor was he looking at Yuffie. Something in the palm of his claw got the full attention of his ruby eyes. He seemed far away, lost another one of those dream worlds he often drifted into. Despite her worry for Bugenhagen, anger bubbled up inside the young ninja. What the hell is so important that Vin can risk the life of their old friend?
"Vincent Valentine!" She slapped his back, and was pleased to see that his claw immediately closed on the tiny object he was holding. It seemed to Yuffie like some ring-shaped thing (probably a RING?). But she couldn't care less if it was a million gil at the moment.
"Yuffie, look after Bugenhagen." Vincent's voice was cold, colder than usual. Much to Yuffie's amazement, dismay, and anger, Vincent Valentine, who was supposed to help her with this horrible situation, rose to his feet, jumped off the platform, and disappeared down the stairs out of Cosmo Canyon with all the unnatural speed of the vampire that he was. After a blink to clear the raindrops stuck in her eyelashes, Yuffie found she could no longer see Vincent. He's gone.
"What the hell?" She cursed openly into the storm. Yeah, just what the HELL does that man think he's doing, leaving her like this? And just what the HELL was he looking at in his hand just then? Whatever it was, Yuffie knew that that thing had to be the cause of Vincent's stranger-than-usual behavior. He was often the most responsible in crises! What the HELL could have driven him to leave Cosmo Canyon's Wiseman in this time of need?
She had to find out. And then afterwards, she can let Vincent have a little piece of her mind, too. But she couldn't just leave Bugenhagen irresponsibly like Vincent did! Damn, where were the other members of Avalanche when they were needed?
As if on cue, Red XIII appeared out of the darkness. And never have Yuffie seen a more grieved, frustrated, angry, sad, and confused Red all at once.
"Grandpa!" Red jumped onto the platform and howled his fury to the night. "Are you all right? Speak to me..."
Here was her chance! Yuffie could see the other members of Avalanche now, running out of the inn and into the rain. They wouldn't need her here anyway, and she wanted to make her move before the others get a chance to question her actions.
"Red, listen, ViVi took off a moment ago, probably after the freak who did this." She explained as calmly as she could, and as quietly as she could. But it was hard to be quiet when she had to shout to be heard over the storm.
"Take me with you!" Red growled, his voice dangerous and low. But before Yuffie could respond, Bugenhagen did for her, his voice thick with effort.
"Nanaki, stay here...with me...I don't have... much time, dear child..."
Yuffie felt pity for the Wiseman, and for Nanaki, whose shoulders sagged visibly just listening to the pain his grandfather was in. But she had to go. It was now or never. The Wutainese hopped off the platform of the Sacred Fire, being careful not to trip over her own feet in the darkness and rain.
"And tell Cloud I've borrowed his Chocobo!" She screamed as a goodbye to Avalanche before she, too, disappeared into the night.
Chapter Two ~ Fin
AN: There was a lot of point-of-view changing in this one. Sorry everyone.
This has got to be the longest chapter of anything I have ever written. So probably it is full of mistakes and confusing bits. Still, tell me about it in your reviews.
And thanks to the people who reviewed the first chapter. I hope you still wish to continue reading this...