Chapter Seven

"Vincent!" I ran to the other side of the enormous lake, skirting along the narrow shoreline to where I could see his red cape trailing in the water. I knelt down in front of him, trying to ignore the blood pooling at my knees, and dragged him out of the lake. To my relief, he was still breathing. I placed my hand on his pale wrist, and could feel the faint pulse flowing there.

The rest of him was a mess. His clothes had been torn to shreds, and he was covered in deep gashes and bite marks. His skin was a frightening shade of blue, and he was shivering uncontrollably. I frantically dug around in my pack, taking out a blanket and a canteen. I wrapped him up as well as I could, gently shoving him and patting his face to try and wake him up. His skin was icy cold.

"Vincent, wake up. Vincent! Come on, dammit," I muttered, starting to panic. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered open. Narrow slits of glowing crimson that mirrored the blood that covered his body.

"Ti…fa…" he whispered, closing his eyes again.

"Vincent!" I cried out, afraid he'd slipped away, but his chest was still moving up and down slightly. He was unconscious again.

I used some of the clean water from my canteen to wash the blood off his face, though it didn't do much to improve things. I tilted his head back, and carefully poured some of the liquid down his throat, cursing myself for not bringing bandages. But how was I supposed to know that I'd find Vincent half dead?

What puzzled me even more was how he'd gotten so badly injured in the first place. It was obvious that something had attacked him, but it didn't explain why he hadn't been able to defend himself. Not only was Vincent an expert marksmen, not to mention a former Turk, but he had those . . . creatures on his side. The monsters Hojo had grafted into his very consciousness. I had seen him transform in battle on several occasions. What had gone wrong?

I didn't have time to try and piece things together, I had to get Vincent back to Nibelheim, or risk losing him. And there was no way I was giving him up to the Lifestream just yet.

I carefully picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, staggering under his weight. He might have looked as thin as a rail, but he sure didn't feel like it. But I was somewhat glad to hear him groan slightly as I slowly took a step. It meant he was still with me. I could only hope he stayed that way long enough for me to do something for him.

But nature, it seemed, wasn't going to give me that chance. A low, threatening growl made me lift my head, only to see three Nibel wolves blocking my path away from the pool. Wonderful.

As they slowly circled closer to me, I carefully crouched down and slid Vincent to the ground. Unless I was inclined to swing him at the beasts, he wasn't going to be of much help.

To my advantage, the narrow strip of earth that surrounded the lake made it so they had to come at me one at a time. However, it also meant I'd have less room to maneuver myself. I adjusted the Premium Heart, and too up a defensive stance. These wolves must have been some of the ones who attacked Vincent, and they'd come back for dessert. But I was definitely not on the menu.

The first leapt at me with alarming speed, but I quickly ducked, grabbing its tail and throwing it over my shoulder. A few quick words to the Planet, and the creature burst into flames. Within a few minutes, the wolf was burnt to a crisp. I didn't have long to enjoy the victory though, the next one was coming for me, and I had to think fast. If only there was a way to take them both out at once. But I hadn't brought an All materia with me. All I had was a Fire, a Lightning, and a weak Cure. The next wolf came at me, and I sent him flying backwards with a swift, powerful kick that almost made me lose my balance on the wet ground. Wait. . .that was it!

I ran back to where I had placed Vincent, hefting him over my shoulder once more. As the two wolves came closer, I muttered the words for the strongest lightning spell. As the powerful bolt came down, I jumped as high as I could into the air. The lightning spread across the damp ground, electrifying everything in contact with it, including the wolves. They howled in pain, then fell silent. It was all over before my feet touched the ground. I wiped my forehead with the back of one arm, adjusted my grip on Vincent, and began the slow trek back to Nibelheim.

Without even thinking about it, I carried Vincent back to the mansion. Despite its drafty halls and creepy atmosphere, I felt he'd be more comfortable there than at my house in the center of town.

Once I'd gotten him upstairs into bed, I quickly ran to my house to exchange the lower level Cure for a mastered one. Remembering to grab some bandages, I dashed back to the mansion, amid many whispers and exchanged glances from the townspeople. No one went near the old Shin-Ra mansion if they could help it, but I seemed to be spending an awful lot of time there lately. I knew it boggled their minds, but I didn't have time for explanations, nor did I really care what they thought.

Some of the color seemed to return to Vincent's face as I placed a Regeneration spell on him, but since he usually didn't have much color anyway, it was hard to tell. I had to cut off what remained of his cape and shirt, but for both our sakes, left everything else where it was. He had so many cuts and bruises, it seemed impossible that a few wolves could have inflicted this much damage. Especially to a man like Vincent Valentine. I wrapped up the more serious wounds, and swabbed the rest with antiseptic, leaving them to heal on their own. If I tried to cover up all his wounds, not only would we be there for months, but Vincent the vampire would become Vincent the mummy.

He seemed to be breathing more regularly, and after giving him more water, I sat down on the edge of the bed, exhausted. I didn't really want to go back to my house to rest, but Vincent was currently occupying the only bed in the mansion. I scooted up so that I could lean against the headboard, and in what seemed like no time, drifted off into a light sleep.

"Tifa. . . thank you." I didn't know if the words were real, or if I'd dreamt them.