All he could do was watch as Chaos killed them. Like a dreadful movie, except this time there was no 'stop' button. This was reality. Dreadful reality.
How could he continue on living this wretched existence? All he did was put others, both human and otherwise, in danger. Surely there were other monsters around, but none so much as himself. He was a monster. Nothing more. And monsters deserved to die.
He felt Chaos start as somebody or something crept up from somewhere. Not being able to control Chaos' movements, he thought. What could it be? Chaos suddenly spun to face a sword which seemed rather familiar, for some reason.
It was familiar. It was the Ultima Weapon. That meant…
Cloud…
So all he could do was watch as the weapon came down, connecting with Chaos. Chaos roared before retaliating with a swipe of his claw. Cloud easily avoided it. The pain ran through him as well, even though he wasn't physically there. And it hurt.
More swipes. Chaos didn't stand a chance. Why, he didn't know. Usually Chaos could have taken down any of his fellow AVALANCHE members, not that he had tried it, but he knew that it was possible. Then Chaos' voice echoed through his mind.
*All the more for you to suffer through, my dear Vincent…*
That would explain it. There was always a reason. Chaos fell in an ungainly heap to the ground, and Cloud, sensing that his work was done, simply left. The metallic scent of blood was making him feel sick. Chaos on the other hand was probably revelling in it. He supposed it was a matter of taste.
I deserve to die. Maybe I will, this time.
He slowly felt his strength ebbing away as he lost consciousness.
*~*
I felt the breath leaving me as my feet pounded on the soft ground, sprinting to the chocobo farm. Cloud wasn't in Kalm, even though I had looked everywhere that was still open. That meant that I had messed up badly. Which could cost Vincent his life.
Finally, as I round the corner, I freeze. My feet simply stop moving. I had been trying not to hope for the worst, but the worst was indeed in front of me. Chaos, surprisingly still Chaos, was lying motionless on the ground in a pool of blood, luckily darkened by the night. However, the night didn't stop the horribly metallic scent from wafting up to me.
I kneel beside the prone body, ignoring the smell of the blood, and examine the wounds as best as I could with the light or lack of. They were deep and could have easily killed him. Luckily, Chaos, or Vincent, I didn't know, was still breathing. Lightly, unevenly. But still.
Examining my bracelet, I plucked off a small stone imbedded into it, before muttering a single spell. "Life 2,"
Chaos wakes up magnificently, beating his wings before swiping a claw at me. I wasn't expecting it, and the claw slashes me across my arm.
"Vincent! It's me!" I cry, trying not to cry out aloud at the pain of the wound itself. Chaos ignores, and simply lunges at me. More slashes, this time across my legs. Then it grabs me, pinning me down to the ground. I can't free myself from the clawed grip, no matter how I struggle, dirt, rocks and other hard things digging into my back. But suddenly, just as I am about to get a spell materia out of my bracelet, Chaos stops, before dropping onto the ground. Vincent slowly materialises, unmoving. Casting Life 2 again, I step back before casting Cure on myself. It won't help the wounds themselves, but it will give me my strength back. Vincent slowly regains consciousness, standing up before looking around himself cautiously. If Vincent's eyesight is anything like Cloud's, then he can see everything as if it were daylight, according to Cloud himself, anyway. He suddenly drops to his knees, eyes shutting slowly.
"Not again… Chaos…"
Poor Vinny. Hey, I guess it happens to the best of us, hey? *Ignores weird looks being shot* I apologise profusely if this chapter screws up, but because my computer's stuffed up AGAIN (if you've read Crimson Heart you might have heard about my computer dilemmas) I don't have a decent copy of Word, so this could show up like anything, for all I know. Sorry again, and because of this I don't know when the next chapter will come. Hopefully soon!
