Chapter 14
"You're free to go." Vincent, even though his mind was clogged and fuzzy, still could register those words. Freedom always came at a price, but what? Had Rufus changed his mind? Vincent snorted, pushing that thought from his mind instantly. Rufus, from what he had heard and briefly seen of him, didn't seem like the type that would give up easily.
The guard allowed Sephiroth and Reno to slip his arms over their shoulders, effectively dragging him along, much more smooth of a ride than he had been in the cell and when it had been Tifa and Reno dragging him, though he felt uncomfortable, like baggage.
Reno would glance at him out of the corner of his eye, then look away when he saw Vincent shift the tiniest bit, then go back to staring as if he was waiting for Vincent to fall apart. Sephiroth, on the other hand, just stared straight ahead, his jaw muscles taunt, his green eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He didn't like this anymore than the silver haired man, it seemed. Maybe there was some things he had in common with him, though he didn't think he'd forgive him easily for the wound on his side. It still hurt like a demon gnawing at it, the burning fangs of pain digging in deeply. He wasn't too happy about having all these injuries, and he most likely would be a hindrance if any battle or anything was to occur.
Just like the last time something like this had happened.
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"Lucercia?" Vincent called into the darkness, the once blindingly illuminated halls of the Shinra headquarters was cloaked in shadows, and Vincent, wounded heavily, inched painfully along the corridor, leaning feebly on the wall for support. His breath rattled against his sore throat, sounding almost like wind blowing roughly. It hurt to call out her name, but it also worried him beyond all logic of where she might be.
He hadn't meant to get mixed up in Shinra in the first place, but they offered a good place to stay, a roof over his head with three square meals a day. The only catch, which Vincent was soon learning rather painfully, was that you had to obey them. Everything you did was for the 'good' of Shinra and the 'good' for all. Where was that motto now?
He dragged his foot along, stopping as he pressed his hand back against his side, trying hard to regulate his breathing. His makeshift bandages from his fallen comrade's shirt weren't the most ideal material, and it did nothing for his bleeding temple. Multiple hues of purple and black sported his arms and torso, signs of a struggle and a fight. With another pant, he forced himself to call for her again.
"Lucercia!" His voiced echoed down the corridor, and he paused, listening intently for anything, but all that greeted him was the silence of ill intentions, of surprise, of fear and death.
He had first become interested in joining the police force when he had meet Cid Highwind, a rookie police officer with dreams sky high, literally. He had wanted to become a pilot, but he had said that his girlfriend, Shera, didn't want him flying those contraptions without him taking any schooling. So, he had settled on his second choice, and was happy about it. Cid was a man that Vincent could respect, blunt, not full of deceit and lies, and he also was motivated. And he loved Shera like Vincent did Lucercia, so it was hard to find much fault with the man.
So, due to Cid's loud encouragement, Vincent soon became a double agent, leaking information to Cid who told his superior, the two becoming quite a team. But, he had been found out, and like all traitors in Shinra, he would be tortured, broken mentally, then physically. They had succeeded in physically injuring him, but he didn't care if they broke all of his limbs as long as Lucercia was safe.
They had captured her as their way of getting back at him, and he was too worried about Lucercia to care much of his wounds, though she figured she would scold him for being so stupid in pushing himself on like this. Lucercia didn't approve of him being in Shinra, but she supported him in mostly anything he did. Except for killing.
Suddenly the lights flickered on, the power resounding with a buzz, and Vincent squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the glare and burst of light that had momentarily blinded him. Blinking and trying to figure out why the light had suddenly been brought back to life, Vincent rounded the corner tediously slow, and stopped short.
Lying, wide eyed and staring at him in horror, was Lucercia, in a pool of her own blood, and in that blood, 'love hurts' had been scrawled in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The place seems awfully loud. I think it's coming from the main hall." Aeris said softly, tilting her head to the side as she looked up from redressing Vincent's wounds. It would be better to check up on them before anything happened, and she didn't want her patient to get an infection or anything worse. What kind of doctor/nurse would she be?
"Thank you." Vincent said softly, while Aeris only nodded, giving him a warm smile before turning to Sephiroth, who seemed deep in thought, staring in the general direction of the main hall. It seemed it bothered him much more than it did her, that Shinra had released them so easily, so readily. Aeris figured they had seen the error of their ways, but Sephiroth knew that Rufus wanted something bloody for them all to pay.
All the respect he had for the elder brother Shinra, all the 'people' in Shinra had long ago been erased, and only cold hard anger remained there. They had used him as a tool, and he had just now been able to finally see that. Aeris had known all along that they had been related, and she probably had been forced into secrecy so she could stay here, the only place where she could remember Zack.
"It seems kinda fishy, y'know? I think we should check it out." Reno said slightly, the guards around them shifting nervously, wondering why they had to be the ones escorting someone like Sephiroth out of the building. If he decided to get angry, there was no way they'd be able to control him, so they had allowed them to stop so the green eyed girl could take care of the wounded man.
"How? We couldn't very well sneak in!" Aeris whispered, her face flushed a bit with nervousness, her hands twisting her skirt, and she had no real desire to be captured again. The very thought of going back to that horrible cell sent chills down her spine.
"Why not? Y'know those vents are pretty nifty." Reno said with a roguish grin, pointing up, drawing everyone's attention the vent conveniently placed above them. "We just need to get rid of dumb and dumber before we make our move."
"I'll handle this." Aeris suggested, while Sephiroth gave her a slight look, while she just smiled reassuringly at him. Who knew that the one winged angel Sephiroth could be such a worry wart?
With a small flirtatious smile on her face, Aeris sauntered over to the two guards, who looked semi-nervous, glancing over at each other while Aeris stationed herself in front of the two.
"I'm really sorry about this." Aeris said, giving a slight bow of apology, while the two men just stared at her dumbly, and with a quick flick of her delicate wrist, the two men crumpled, suffering a slight blow to their necks. Reno gave a tiny whistle in approval, while Aeris dragged them, with the help of Sephiroth, to a nearby wall so they would be somewhat comfortable.
"Nifty trick you learned there, sunshine." Reno commented dryly, while Aeris only blushed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, tilting her gaze to Vincent, who had somehow gotten himself to stand. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. That man would be the death of himself and whoever grew attached to him, and she had an unfortunate feeling that one of those people might be Tifa, though she wouldn't say anything until everyone was safe.
"Tifa taught it to me. Let's go find out what all this ruckus is about."
~*Author's Notes*~ Okies, the thing in the middle, the little thing about Lucercia? That was a flashback, y'know how that stuff goes. I still don't know how to get italics or bold on FF.net, so any tips would be appreciated. Well, anyway, I wanted to end this chapter much more differently, but I guess it's okay. Please read and review, and thanks so much for all who do!
"You're free to go." Vincent, even though his mind was clogged and fuzzy, still could register those words. Freedom always came at a price, but what? Had Rufus changed his mind? Vincent snorted, pushing that thought from his mind instantly. Rufus, from what he had heard and briefly seen of him, didn't seem like the type that would give up easily.
The guard allowed Sephiroth and Reno to slip his arms over their shoulders, effectively dragging him along, much more smooth of a ride than he had been in the cell and when it had been Tifa and Reno dragging him, though he felt uncomfortable, like baggage.
Reno would glance at him out of the corner of his eye, then look away when he saw Vincent shift the tiniest bit, then go back to staring as if he was waiting for Vincent to fall apart. Sephiroth, on the other hand, just stared straight ahead, his jaw muscles taunt, his green eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He didn't like this anymore than the silver haired man, it seemed. Maybe there was some things he had in common with him, though he didn't think he'd forgive him easily for the wound on his side. It still hurt like a demon gnawing at it, the burning fangs of pain digging in deeply. He wasn't too happy about having all these injuries, and he most likely would be a hindrance if any battle or anything was to occur.
Just like the last time something like this had happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Lucercia?" Vincent called into the darkness, the once blindingly illuminated halls of the Shinra headquarters was cloaked in shadows, and Vincent, wounded heavily, inched painfully along the corridor, leaning feebly on the wall for support. His breath rattled against his sore throat, sounding almost like wind blowing roughly. It hurt to call out her name, but it also worried him beyond all logic of where she might be.
He hadn't meant to get mixed up in Shinra in the first place, but they offered a good place to stay, a roof over his head with three square meals a day. The only catch, which Vincent was soon learning rather painfully, was that you had to obey them. Everything you did was for the 'good' of Shinra and the 'good' for all. Where was that motto now?
He dragged his foot along, stopping as he pressed his hand back against his side, trying hard to regulate his breathing. His makeshift bandages from his fallen comrade's shirt weren't the most ideal material, and it did nothing for his bleeding temple. Multiple hues of purple and black sported his arms and torso, signs of a struggle and a fight. With another pant, he forced himself to call for her again.
"Lucercia!" His voiced echoed down the corridor, and he paused, listening intently for anything, but all that greeted him was the silence of ill intentions, of surprise, of fear and death.
He had first become interested in joining the police force when he had meet Cid Highwind, a rookie police officer with dreams sky high, literally. He had wanted to become a pilot, but he had said that his girlfriend, Shera, didn't want him flying those contraptions without him taking any schooling. So, he had settled on his second choice, and was happy about it. Cid was a man that Vincent could respect, blunt, not full of deceit and lies, and he also was motivated. And he loved Shera like Vincent did Lucercia, so it was hard to find much fault with the man.
So, due to Cid's loud encouragement, Vincent soon became a double agent, leaking information to Cid who told his superior, the two becoming quite a team. But, he had been found out, and like all traitors in Shinra, he would be tortured, broken mentally, then physically. They had succeeded in physically injuring him, but he didn't care if they broke all of his limbs as long as Lucercia was safe.
They had captured her as their way of getting back at him, and he was too worried about Lucercia to care much of his wounds, though she figured she would scold him for being so stupid in pushing himself on like this. Lucercia didn't approve of him being in Shinra, but she supported him in mostly anything he did. Except for killing.
Suddenly the lights flickered on, the power resounding with a buzz, and Vincent squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the glare and burst of light that had momentarily blinded him. Blinking and trying to figure out why the light had suddenly been brought back to life, Vincent rounded the corner tediously slow, and stopped short.
Lying, wide eyed and staring at him in horror, was Lucercia, in a pool of her own blood, and in that blood, 'love hurts' had been scrawled in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The place seems awfully loud. I think it's coming from the main hall." Aeris said softly, tilting her head to the side as she looked up from redressing Vincent's wounds. It would be better to check up on them before anything happened, and she didn't want her patient to get an infection or anything worse. What kind of doctor/nurse would she be?
"Thank you." Vincent said softly, while Aeris only nodded, giving him a warm smile before turning to Sephiroth, who seemed deep in thought, staring in the general direction of the main hall. It seemed it bothered him much more than it did her, that Shinra had released them so easily, so readily. Aeris figured they had seen the error of their ways, but Sephiroth knew that Rufus wanted something bloody for them all to pay.
All the respect he had for the elder brother Shinra, all the 'people' in Shinra had long ago been erased, and only cold hard anger remained there. They had used him as a tool, and he had just now been able to finally see that. Aeris had known all along that they had been related, and she probably had been forced into secrecy so she could stay here, the only place where she could remember Zack.
"It seems kinda fishy, y'know? I think we should check it out." Reno said slightly, the guards around them shifting nervously, wondering why they had to be the ones escorting someone like Sephiroth out of the building. If he decided to get angry, there was no way they'd be able to control him, so they had allowed them to stop so the green eyed girl could take care of the wounded man.
"How? We couldn't very well sneak in!" Aeris whispered, her face flushed a bit with nervousness, her hands twisting her skirt, and she had no real desire to be captured again. The very thought of going back to that horrible cell sent chills down her spine.
"Why not? Y'know those vents are pretty nifty." Reno said with a roguish grin, pointing up, drawing everyone's attention the vent conveniently placed above them. "We just need to get rid of dumb and dumber before we make our move."
"I'll handle this." Aeris suggested, while Sephiroth gave her a slight look, while she just smiled reassuringly at him. Who knew that the one winged angel Sephiroth could be such a worry wart?
With a small flirtatious smile on her face, Aeris sauntered over to the two guards, who looked semi-nervous, glancing over at each other while Aeris stationed herself in front of the two.
"I'm really sorry about this." Aeris said, giving a slight bow of apology, while the two men just stared at her dumbly, and with a quick flick of her delicate wrist, the two men crumpled, suffering a slight blow to their necks. Reno gave a tiny whistle in approval, while Aeris dragged them, with the help of Sephiroth, to a nearby wall so they would be somewhat comfortable.
"Nifty trick you learned there, sunshine." Reno commented dryly, while Aeris only blushed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, tilting her gaze to Vincent, who had somehow gotten himself to stand. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. That man would be the death of himself and whoever grew attached to him, and she had an unfortunate feeling that one of those people might be Tifa, though she wouldn't say anything until everyone was safe.
"Tifa taught it to me. Let's go find out what all this ruckus is about."
~*Author's Notes*~ Okies, the thing in the middle, the little thing about Lucercia? That was a flashback, y'know how that stuff goes. I still don't know how to get italics or bold on FF.net, so any tips would be appreciated. Well, anyway, I wanted to end this chapter much more differently, but I guess it's okay. Please read and review, and thanks so much for all who do!