So dreadfully bout the wait. Work, life and laundry been weighing me down. Still with me people?
*********
Pain.
That was all that filled his world right then. Pain and a lot of dust. Something weighed heavily on his back, all over his body if he was correct. Every small movement hurt like hell, breathing was slowly becoming more difficult.
Why is it that pain follows me? Have I got a target sign strapped to my ass? Are the gods playing some sick joke on me? Vincent rarely bitched about how bad his life really was, he simply allowed it to consume him.
You were caught in a rock slide, Chaos casually told him, trying to save the ninja from being crushed to death. How very noble.
If she is safe, then I don't mind, Vincent calmly retorted, Perhaps my death can at least save one young life.
Your ideas of heaven and the life stream suck if you believe this is it, Chaos shot back, I suggest moving in order to finish what you started. Sides all you have done is replaced her death with a new method.
I have started nothing. I would be ending the life of my love's son, the former Turk said in the same eerily calm voice.
I'm being buried by the weight if my sins that I haven't atoned for, Vincent deduced.
Chaos roared mentally at the words being spoken by the human part of him. When would the human learn that he was never the one who sinned? When would he realise that his precious love did not love him?
You mean that bitch that placed us here? Trust me, I doubt that would of worked out between you. She was far to wrapped up in her science. Sides, she was the one who requested for you to be taken off the Jenova project after you found out that they were using human specimens. Anyhow, we love Highwind. Not that woman.
We?
……if you care for someone, so do we, Chaos admitted slowly.
A gift from Hojo. He thought it would be fun if we shared the same feelings, an extremely sour laugh came from the winged demon, so please, continue believing that your love for her was true and she you. She loathed you.
Then who does love me? Everyone I love leaves me.
Who? Cid does.
Vincent tried to shake his head, only to find he was unable to. After a few moments, he gave a pathetic little cry. He didn't want to hear the accusations and truths Chaos was spouting at him.
He did know that he had been ordered from the Jenova Project hours before he had been shot by the bastard Hojo in the secret lab. Watched as Lucrecia had witnessed the shooting from the little office and the look of sorrow as blackness claimed him back then and in the present…
Vincent's past….
He took a deep breath of the cool, crisp Nibel air. Coughing as some of the cigarette smoke he was smoking went into his windpipe.
His thoughts resting and dancing all at the same time, dreaming of the future. A future ran by the all wonderful Shin-Ra.
Was he going to have children? A wife? He leaned a little further against the railing and considered those mile stones that he should consider passing.
I have plenty of time for those things. I'm only 27 years old and I am not gonna drop down dead within the next couple of years, Vincent sighed again and took another thoughtful puff of the cigarette.
"Those things will kill you," a gentle female voice filtered through his thoughts.
Vincent smiled broadly, "No…I think that honour will go to time…or perhaps a bus. Or even better…"
He pulled the female into his arms and gave her a mischievous grin as he whispered softly into her ear, "Dying with you on top."
The answer made the woman blush and squirm, "Stop that Vincent Valentine!"
"You're right. I don't plan on dying. I'm gonna live forever," Vincent lifted his dark brown eyes to the heavens and raised his voice.
"Do you hear me stars?! Vincent Valentine will see you all burn out long before the reaper comes a knocking on my door!"
Lucrecia gazed into the intent eyes of her secret lover. Amazed at the determination in them and if anyone could defy the stars and their fate. It was the man standing in front of her.
He could if he wanted live forever, that's why she had fallen for him. He never followed the road set for him, always tried to deviate from the path.
"What are you doing up this late?" she asked, "I heard from Hojo that you had asked for some time off. So very unlike you. Is something wrong?"
"No. I was just sick of staring at his greasy assed, spectacled wearing, badly dressed, whiny voiced nerd ways. Sides…he smells," Vincent gently caught Lucrecia as she attempted to break free of the loose embrace.
He could see the patience thinning for him as he slagged off her husband to be, "Vincent. I care for him and I hate it when you torment him. He's only doing his job. Just like you should be."
Vincent released his grip, "He treats you like some measly little lab assistant!"
That earned him a patient sigh with just a hint of anger, "I am a measly little lab assistant! He's my boss!"
Vincent was desperate to smooth the waves he had created by bad mouthing his love's fiancé. He looked at the stars and smiled.
"I'm sorry. I guess you do know what you are doing, I mean, you are a grown woman."
You couldn't fucking stop her from screwing up her life, ya know? It was her choice, don't let it beat ya up. A voice suddenly sprang into his mind.
Not again…I thought I had taken care of that, he closed his eyes and tried to block out the words and conversations that always seemed to follow. The voices had started a few weeks ago, starting only as timid whispers.
And…uh…I was wondering if you would be my valentine? the voice continued. A male voice with a distinctive drawl to it.
"Vincent? Are you alright?" Lucrecia's voice filtered once again into his mind.
"……Yes," he lied.
How could he explain that he had been hearing things and voices for the past couple of weeks? More to the point, it was the same one over and over.
He could feel a headache form in the back of his head. Was he finally going crazy?
Insanity was not that common for a Valentine family member…well, except for great aunt Tannie who proclaimed to the world that she was a giant chocobo and was betrothed to the chocobo king.
Well, I'm not a fan of chocobos so I doubt I will proclaim love for them, Vincent rubbed his neck tiredly and gave Lucrecia a small smile.
"You look tired Vincent," the lab assistant replied gently. She gently pushed him in the direction of the mansion.
Something made the Turk pull back from the direction, "No…I…I'd rather not. I'll stay at the inn or something."
Lucrecia frowned, "Vincent…don't be so ridiculous. Your room is the only place to be if your not feeling well."
"It's nothing. Really," Vincent gently kissed her forehead, concerned that he had to bite back bile that seemed to grow stronger when he even went near her.
A few days later
"Come with me, leave Hojo," Vincent pleaded as he held her hands.
The small woman shook her head, "I can't. I…I'm going to have his child."
An evil thought crossed his head, "I can kill him for you if you want me too. I don't care. I can kill him, hell. It's my job. Just say the word!"
"What?!" the woman looked horrified, "No! I love him!"
"Sure…enough to screw me for the past few months. Oh yeah, I'd hate to see what hate is for ya," he didn't expect the slap but even he wouldn't deny that he didn't deserved it.
"We're different. Don't ever compare us to me and Hojo!" Lucrecia hissed.
The sentence should of struck warning bells in his mind but it hadn't. he was fuelled with the urge to get out of Nibelheim as fast as he possibly could. He wanted to take Lucrecia to safety and away from the experiments.
"But I love you, more than anything on the planet. doesn't that mean anything?" Vincent had to stop from sounding to whiney as he pleaded with her not to stay.
"I've made my decision. I can't leave him, my work, our work is far too important," Lucrecia turned away from him.
"The child might be mine. Did you ever think of that?"
He tried to stop her leaving as she ran to the mansion. He rubbed his eyes, what had Hojo have over her?
"Why? How can you love him? He doesn't love you…" he hung his head sadly.
A week later
Vincent slammed the phone down in pure anger. His usually calm temper had been pushed to new heights because of the new experiments by Hojo and the other scientists.
They were messing with the very foundations of life!
Using humans in their mad schemes. Who the hell did Hojo think he was?
It was bad enough that Lucrecia was pregnant with the bastard's child but the fact was that she was allowing Hojo to use her in the experiment!
"That stupid bitch! You don't screw with the planet, it only pisses off mother nature," Vincent grabbed his coat and headed out of the door.
"Hojo!" he roared as he bolted down the aging stairs. Sanity for the moment had left Vincent.
Hojo looked up from the table he was working at as the young man burst into the room. His beady eyes narrowing straight away.
"Mr Valentine," he hissed, "I was expecting you sooner."
Vincent stalked over to the doctor, towering above the measly little man. His eyes burned with rage as Hojo avoided eye contact.
"Is it true that you are planning on using Lucrecia in an experiment?!" Vincent found his rage was barely keeping in check. If he wasn't careful, he would have quite happily pounded Hojo's face into the wall.
"She and I are both scientists," Hojo explained calmly.
"I don't care if you and her are both limbo dancers! What you are planning on doing is morally wrong on god knows how many levels!" Vincent took deep breaths, feeling the cold butt of his handgun press against his rib cage.
Oh how tempting it was just to place a well aimed bullet in Hojo's head, end all the pain that was bound to follow this experiment and lie to Lucrecia about how the bastard died. Simple suicide explanation would do.
Hojo spoke in the same calm voice, "Tell me Valentine. Do you think the child is yours?"
That broke all the anger within Vincent, it replaced it all with surprise. Did Hojo know…of course he did if he asked that question.
"How…?"
"Did I find out? She told me. Did you honestly think that she would go with you? Leave her work behind and run like a pair of love struck teens?" Hojo had Vincent transfixed to the spot. He enjoyed the look of surprise that had replaced the anger.
Hojo screamed the last words at the frozen Turk, "SHE IS MINE!"
The young Turk didn't even have time to grab his gun as Hojo calmly shot him. He gasped as the bullet tore through his skin.
Lines of a poem gently floated into his mind, well, it had more of a revenge thing going to it and he could never remember the entire thing but his fading mind thought it was fighting those small two lines.
He fell forward, he spotted Lucrecia in the small office. Her face marred with tears and a mixture of guilt and sorrow.
From Hell's heart I stab at thee, For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.
VINCENT?! YUFFIE! CAIT! the voice it seemed was calling his name from the darkness…
Present
Cait Sith had opted to stay with the fallen Vincent and the rocks. Hoping against hope that the scary man would emerge from his tomb any second but his hope had began to fade the longer he waited.
He had waited over an hour or so for the man to arise but, as the minutes ticked by, so did the chance of stopping Meteor. The longer he waited, the closer the thing came.
He had began the slow walk out of the cavern when he had heard someone bellow out his name in the room he had just left. Never in all his days did he expect to be so happy in hearing the course tongue of the blonde pilot.
We sure have changed, Cait thought, we never would of bonded expect for Aeris…
"Vincent?! Yuffie! Cait!"
Cait span round on his small hind legs and bounded back into where he had left, stunned to see one tired looking Cid Highwind. Had he been able to contact the others, he would of done so in an instant. How great was this?! A morale boost at long last.
"….CID!" the cat leapt the few metres separating them and onto the blonde's blue flight jacket. If he could have cried then the small grey and white cat would have.
Cid with all his usual friendliness peeled the small grey and white mechanical cat off him and held him at arms length, "Where the fuck is everyone? Why aren't ya with 'em?"
"They all should be at the second meeting point by now. Yuffie and Red will be meeting up with the others," the cat explained.
"What about Vincent?"
Cait Sith watched as the blonde's blue eyes narrowed. He wasn't going to enjoy hearing this. He wasn't going to enjoy saying it either.
"…he pushed Yuffie out of the way when we got caught in a rock slide. He…he," his human operator, Reeve found it difficult to even say the words.
Numbly, he lifted his tiny arm and pointed to the huge rocks, his head lowered to the ground. He felt Cid tense under him, felt Cid's expert hands squeeze that little bit harder on his frame.
A damn cold chill ran up and down the length of the pilot's spine like wildfire. It spread it's icy grip down his arms and legs, across his back. It felt like his world had came crashing down.
"No…no," Cid dropped the mechanical cat and stumbled back, "You're lying."
Cait recognized the pain that suddenly flashed in the blonde's blue eyes. The exact same look had been placed on it 10 years back. The look of denial and horror as you tell the surviving love their lover was dead.
"You have no idea how much I wish I was," Cait lowered his head even further.
The captain span round to the rocks and shook his head, "No…not Vincent. He can't die…he…I…"
"Let's get back to the others," Cait offered.
Cid seemed frozen to the spot, "You go. I'm staying here."
Cait Sith frowned, "Don't…we need you. We're all in this together."
Cid ignored the cat as he began to franticly pull rocks away, hoping against hope that his valentine was somehow still alive. His gloved fingers sliding over the slimy rocks.
"Cid!"
"I'm not leaving til I see proof," Cid sniffed back tears, "Not again."
********
Can we all say eek? Sorry bout the wait. Next chap, why cid's disastrous love life is so bad.