Beyond Paradise
Disclaimer: The places, people, and stuff of this fic belong to Squaresoft/enix's best-selling game, Final Fantasy VII. The only things I own are Jethro, Zeb, and Moira.
Author's Note: I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. Personally, I thought nobody would like it. Also, Tifa and Cloud didn't summon any dragon; it was just a random dragon that decided to save their lives (or try to eat them afterwards). Now, onto the Ninth Chapter! Enjoy!
Agatha Fry, she made a pie,
And Christopher John helped bake it.
Christopher John, he mowed the lawn,
And Agatha Fry helped rake it.
Zachary Zugg took out the rug,
And Jennifer Joy helped shake it.
And Jennifer Joy, she made a toy,
And Zachary Zugg helped break it.
And some kind of help
Is the kind of help
That helping's all about.
And some kind of help
Is the kind of help
We all can do without.
Helping
-- Shel Silverstein
- Chapter 9: A Deal With the Devil
It was early in the morning when Vincent awoke to the sound of rushing water, a type of maniacal laughter, and a strange sound that resembled the squawking of the crows in Corel. He tiredly glanced to the door, only to shoot out of bed at the sight of the mahogany crafted object lying flat on the floor.
How could something have broken in without him hearing it? This brought confusion along with worry when he noticed he could not see Yuffie anywhere. He made a dash for the bathroom and kicked the door open, only to stare in wonder at the sight that lay before his eyes.
There sat Yuffie, laughing loudly with the squirming cat that was one half of Cait Sith over an overflowing bathtub.
"Oh my god! Vincent! Save me!! She's trying to kill me!!" the cat screamed out in fright, gloved hands clawing at the curtains to try and escape from the grip Yuffie had and the water below.
Vincent stared for a bit longer, allowing the laughter of his four demons to subside before leveling his gaze on Yuffie. "You do realize that if you put him in there, it will electrocute you as well, right?"
Yuffie paused in her laughter and tugging to think about it. A roasted Yuffie for the death of the annoying robot in her hands. Was it worth it?
She seemed to make her decision as she released her death grip on the cat and turned the water off. She reached into the water and pulled the plug, allowing the warm liquid to drain. "You know," she started, "I was only getting revenge for what he was planning on doing to you."
Vincent tilted his head to the side in question as the black cat made a mad dash to hide behind the man's legs. "And what was he going to do to me, Yuffie?"
The little ninja grinned and pointed to the fat moogle that was stuffed in the cabinet below the sink. "He was gonna sit on you and wake you up with his megaphone."
The cat quickly came to its own defense. "I was not! That's what you were going to do!" the black cat pointed accusingly to her from between Vincent's legs, then ran out the door and down the stairs, the fat moogle popping out of the cabinet and following close behind.
Yuffie watched quietly before shrugging and standing, her bare legs wet from the puddle forming at the side of the now empty bathtub. "Tifa's going to make you clean that out," Vincent commented on it as Yuffie made her way past him.
"That's okay. I'll make you help me anyway."
"Why should I help you?"
"Because, you were part of the reason it's there."
"I had no part of this."
"Yeah you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes. You did."
"No, I—" He let out a sigh, seeing where this would lead. "Let us go downstairs and take the verbal abuse for your mess." He could already hear Cait Sith blaming Yuffie for a mess that Tifa hadn't seen yet, but was quickly becoming frustrated over.
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Jethro watched calmly as Zeb passed him for the fifteenth time. The silver man had been pacing the length of his office for what felt like hours upon hours when, in truth, it had only been a few minutes. The bells of the attached puppet rang as Jethro shifted in his position against the wall, arms crossing over his chest from lack of anything better to do. "You really should sit down," Jethro said with a crack of his neck. Zeb sent him a glare as he passed by the seventeenth time. "Or not..." he grumbled.
Zeb's hands flew up in frustration and he stopped to stand in front of his friend and right-hand man. "Despite everything we're doing, we're not getting anywhere! And Moira," he spat while pointing at the jester attached to Jethro's belt, "is becoming less and less cooperative! Explain this to me, Jethro. She's a doll; she shouldn't have a mind of her own."
The other man stood up straight and stretched his arms up above his head. "She's more than a doll. Moira is the link to us and the Promised Land. You say she shouldn't have a mind of her own, and she doesn't," he countered angrily, annoyed that someone he had once considered a friend was insulting a creation of his. "She has the minds of everyone in the Beyond..."
His silver-haired friend turned away and stalked to his desk, sitting in his leather chair and shuffling through the paperwork of AVALANCHE information collected throughout the Meteor crisis. "Everyone, huh? Anyone these crooks would know?" He motioned with the papers to his friend, grinning at the possibilities.
Jethro cocked his head to the side, then lifted the jester to eyelevel. "Well, is there anyone in there they might know?"
In the darkness, the blonde girl smiled softly, nodding a little though she knew the disembodied voice couldn't very well see her. "Yes. So many people they have loved and lost." She picked up her jester doll and gently stroked the blue hair back.
Zeb gave a crooked smirk as he lifted one paper from the stack. "Aerith Gainsborough. Ancient, or Cetra, wanted for scientific purposes by ShinRa. Deceased," he read off the paper, silver-colored eyes inspecting the contents of the white sheet before traveling up to meet with Jethro's own blues. "Could Moira break AVALANCHE down with her?"
Jethro stared into the blue eyes of the puppet again, repeating the question for the blonde girl in the shadows to hear.
"She's one of them..." The blonde girl's voice faded away and she wiped away at tears that began to brim her dulled eyes. She hung her head low and hugged the doll closely.
"It's impossible to reach the Cetra. Their race is far too protected." This voice was older, innocence lost and thick with wisdom from the decades that had passed. Pale arms wrapped around the crying girl from the shadows, blue strands brushing over the blonde girls bare shoulders.
Jethro's gaze hardened as the blue eyes of the puppet flashed darkly. He shook his head and glanced to Zeb. "We can't use the Ancient."
Zeb frowned and went through the separate papers again. "Well, we'll just have to break them... one by one, won't we? Each had someone close to them." Silence fell over and Zeb's silver eyes flared angrily up towards Jethro. "Make her do it!"
The crying girl fell limp in the arms from behind and a body emerged from the darkness, long blue hair becoming a curtain around the bare figure. Lips painted purple spread into a smile as bright blue eyes focused kindly onto the sleeping ghost in her arms, tears staining the child's cheeks. "This girl is no longer needed. Let her sleep... I'll do the rest." The light faded and the ring of bells echoed in the darkness.
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Yuffie huffed and crossed her arms sourly over her chest. Cid ignored her and took a long drag from his cigarette, puffing out the smoke towards the window. Tifa leaned patiently against the railing, fingernails tapping thoughtlessly against the steel. The little ninja huffed again, stomping her foot against the metal flooring of the airship.
"God dammit, stop fidgeting!" Cid finally shouted in annoyance. Yuffie poked her tongue out at him and stomped her foot again just for good measure. The older man flicked his cigarette out the open window and lit up another one. "Impatient brat... It's only been five bloody minutes!"
"Yeah, but I don't see why I couldn't go with them!" she argued, arms uncrossing to flail around at her sides. "I'd be just as helpful as Vincent, you know." Lower lip protruded in a pout and she went back to crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.
Tifa let out a sympathetic sigh and stood straight, arms stretching out in front of her. "Well, they just went to talk with Zeb, so I'm sure they'll be... alright..." she was almost uncertain with the ending of her sentence, but covered it with a smile. "And if anything goes wrong, I'm positive they'd call us. Right, Cid?" she turned to the walking chimney for help.
He grunted in response and took another unhealthy drag from the burning stick.
Yuffie grumped and allowed herself to relax only slightly. "Maybe, but I don't see why the three of us had to sit around in this stinky airship," she stifled a chuckle at the glare Cid gave her, "while everyone else besides Spike, Vinnie, and Red get to lounge around in Cosmo Canyon."
Cid lifted the cigarette from his chapped lips only to respond. "If anythin' happened, they'd hafta call me an' Tifa for backup. You, on the other hand, I have no fuckin' clue. I sure as hell wouldn't want to rely on you to save my ass if—"
A swift smack on the back of the head by Tifa was all that was needed to take his insult to an end. Wine-colored eyes moved to settle on the younger member, in human aging, of their group, smile never faltering. "Don't worry, Yuffie. Just relax, and in another couple of minutes they'll be coming back—" the PHS rang.
Three pairs of eyes fell onto the ringing contraption on the table, only one hand reaching out to silence it. "Cid."
Both women watched the older man as his expression became troubled. "Yeah... Gotcha." Then he hung up and set the PHS down on the table. "They're comin' back," he started, ignoring the relieved sighs as he finished, "With company."
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Rewinding the world back a few minutes, the sun shone down on the blonde spikes of Cloud Strife as he and two comrades trudged through the rubble of Midgar. Vincent was silently leading the way to where he and Yuffie had last seen Zeb, and Nanaki was attempting to sniff out the man.
Vincent stopped and pointed a golden claw towards an opening. "That is where we met with Zeb." He failed to inform Cloud of, what he considered to be, the murder of the people Zeb had forced upon Yuffie and himself. The leading man nodded and made his way forward, senses on high alert for any sort of ambush should the man they were looking for know they were coming.
Nanaki stepped into the opening cautiously, tail flicking this way and that as he sniffed around at the ground. "This place smells... strange," he managed between thoughts as he tried to separate the scents.
Vincent wasn't the least bit surprised at the lack of bodies that should have been littering the area. The only thing that brought on shock was the missing stench of the blood that should have been staining the dirt. He crouched down and brushed his human fingers along the ground, hoping to find some signs of a cleaning crew having come through. Nothing came up that he could recognize.
A breeze whistled through the air and Nanaki lifted his head immediately. "Someone's coming."
Indeed, in a matter of seconds, Zeb emerged from the shadows, arms folded over his well tanned and very bare chest. "I thought I had taught you not to come here unannounced." His gaze leveled on the ex-Turk as his head tilted to the side cockily.
Cloud ignored his comment and stepped into his line of vision. "We needed to talk." An understanding went between the two leaders and Zeb led the three through the shadows and into a second opening, a small hut built in the center. Zeb held the door open courteously for the men as they entered cautiously.
Vincent immediately glared at the other man standing in the corner, blonde hair a contrast to his tanned skin and blue eyes shining brightly. Zeb shut the door and maneuvered past Nanaki to his desk, sitting calmly with hands folding beneath his chin. "You wanted to talk. About what? As you've noticed, your presence isn't appreciated."
The blonde AVALANCHE leader frowned and placed his hands at his temples, rubbing lightly at them to rid himself of a growing headache. "A member of AVALANCHE was attacked earlier this week by... something, we weren't entirely sure what..."
"And you think that we sent it," Zeb finished for him, gray brow rising in question. Cloud nodded to him, arms folding over his chest.
"You have something dangerous in your possession and I want to know what your plans are with it," Cloud finished in annoyance, unhappy with the stare of the unnamed man in the corner. A bodyguard for all Cloud knew.
Zeb grinned and nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "I understand your concern, Mr. Strife, but that creation is no longer under our control. It seems that it has grown a mind of its own and is now out, terrorizing whomever it pleases," he replied, far too calmly for Nanaki's liking. The extra man chuckled and stood up straight, arms hanging limply at his sides.
Vincent placed his hand over the holster of his Death Penalty, watching every move the extra man made carefully. To trust the situation completely was a suicide note waiting to be written. Zeb seemed to take notice of this and merely grinned in amusement.
"You want us to help you control it again, don't you?" Nanaki inquired.
Zeb nodded to the beast and slowly stood, hand held out towards Cloud.
"What makes you think we'd want to help you with anything? You're the one who organized the entire rebellion against AVALANCHE," Cloud pointed out, hands resting on his hips in a way to avoid the outstretched hand in front of him. Zeb laughed and shrugged at him.
"I understand your concern. If it pleases you, I will call off the 'angry mobs'." The hand was once again offered in a truce.
Cloud shook his head. "You'll call off the entire thing. You know for a fact we meant no harm to the people. Do it or there's no way in hell that we help you find and control your creation."
Zeb seemed to think this over, sending a questioning glance to the silent man in the corner awaiting his words. With a nod, Zeb smiled towards Cloud. "Alright then. Everything's off. No more rebellion as long as you find our creation, with the help of my right-hand man here."
Cloud sent a wary glance towards the man, then took Zeb's awaiting hand and the two shook on the deal.
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The phone call passed and soon four extra bodies were boarding the Highwind, much to the displeasure of Yuffie. The little ninja just about jumped at Cloud the moment he stepped into the bridge, but Tifa had beaten her to it, yet for an entirely different reason Yuffie refused to pay attention to.
Nanaki moved to his normal post on the ship, Vincent following closely behind. Yuffie watched the extra man cautiously from her perch on the railing, stormy hues staring holes into his back. A chill ran down her spine as he turned to look at her, blue eyes burning into her memory. Flashes of Kalm and the meeting with Zeb ran through her mind and she suddenly remembered the blue eyes from the outside darkness, waiting for the man that had insulted her home. With a surprised squeak, she toppled backwards in an ungraceful attempt to run away from the thoughts.
Vincent, just as surprised as she was, caught her before she hit the ground and gently set her down to her feet. "Yuffie?" He followed her gaze up to watch the mystery man approaching them, a glimmer of amusement tainting his features. Vincent resisted the urge to push Yuffie behind him and settled with placing a protective hand to her shoulder.
Blue eyes filled with laughter as the blonde man leaned against the railing that separated him from the lowered section Yuffie and Vincent stood in with Nanaki relaxing by the stairs. "Well, dear, are you alright? Would've caught you myself if I were closer," he said with a suggestive wink. Yuffie's cheeks grew hot and she took an unnoticeable step back towards Vincent. "The name's Jethro. You might as well get used to me now. I'm going to be here with you guys for a while."
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Zeb stepped up onto the makeshift stage and held the megaphone up to silence the crowd of rebels forming before him. He was a man true to his deals and would stop the fight against AVALANCHE, if only momentarily. "My friends, AVALANCHE has had enough weight to handle on their shoulders as of late, haven't they?"
One man stood angrily, waving his machete in the air. "They killed our friends and family, what does it matter?"
Another woman agreed and shook her spear around. "My son is gone and my husband lost his job since they got rid of ShinRa. Why should we give them a break?"
Zeb smiled down at his followers, agreeing full heartedly with them. But he had a deal to keep if he wanted to destroy his main obstacle. "True that they have caused us pain, but we mustn't give them such trouble during these times. Besides, we know how weak they are... Let them rest before we finally take them down, hm?" he offered.
The people murmured their complaints and agreements then finally settled as Zeb raised the megaphone again.
"We'll strike them down only when they think it's safe. I have faith in you, my friends. You're such great actors, aren't you?" he said with a grin.
A cheer rose from the people and Zeb took this as his finish. He walked off the stage and disappeared into his hut, sitting calmly at his desk. He looked over the spread out papers of AVALANCHE and almost laughed. "This is too easy. So trusting..."
His gaze flitted over to the corner and he smiled. "You know they're searching for you. You should leave if you don't want to ruin the plan."
A pale finger twisted around a blue lock as purple lips pulled into a smirk. "I don't like being called a creation," she said slowly, the bells that decorated her jester outfit remaining abnormally silent as she sauntered over to stand in front of him. "You will call me by my name..."
"You aren't a living creature, therefore you should have no name. I'm surprised Jethro tried to give you one," Zeb argued in annoyance, legs crossing and hands folding in his lap.
The female jester shrugged and sat herself down on his desk, hands venturing to pick up a paper with the picture of a young Wutaian girl. "Who shall I destroy first?" she said, changing the subject.
Zeb glanced up at her then back down to the papers littering his desk. "The one that gives us the most trouble. Watch them closely, and whichever you tend to dislike first is the one you can... hurt," he replied, pausing for his choice of wording.
Blue eyes glared down at him momentarily before she blinked out of his office, the paper of Yuffie Kisaragi floating down into Zeb's lap. He looked down at the picture of the smiling girl and couldn't help but smile back. "Jethro was always my favorite actor, you know," he said to the picture. He didn't really expect a response.
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It had taken both Cid and Vincent to hold Barret back as Cloud had explained the reason for Jethro's arrival. "What the fuck d'ya think you're doin', ya Spikey-ass!" he roared, waving his fist and gun angrily in the air. Jethro smiled calmly from his standing position behind Yuffie and Nanaki, knowing fully well that he was safe behind the two youngest members.
Cloud stood in the center, arms stretched out at his sides to stop the oversized bear of a man if he were to break free of Cid and Vincent. "He can find this thing and stop it, Barret!" he explained over the fuss the black man was making.
Barret growled and thumped his feet on the floor in frustration. "He's the damn ass who created it in the first place!" he argued. "What makes ya thinks he's trustworthy, huh?"
Jethro chuckled and held a hand out as if in proof that he was unarmed. "I know that I've created it, and I regret doing so, but to stop it, you need me around. Even to recognize it—"
"What is it?" Yuffie suddenly turned from her stance, storms glaring into the blue eyes of the man she had previously been protecting. Hands were placed firmly on her hips as she watched him visibly struggle for a response. "Well?" she was growing impatient.
Jethro covered his uneasiness with a smile and shook his head. "A weapon. Similar to the ones the Planet created for its own protection."
Yuffie frowned, finding herself unable to trust his answer, and turned back to Barret. The larger man calmed himself greatly and simply turned to grouch in a corner of the room. Nanaki, finding no more threat, trotted to the door.
"I'll have the Inn ready some rooms for you guys..." he informed them as he exited through the doorway. Cloud whispered something to Tifa and readily followed Nanaki out. The woman made her way to Barret and began to tug at his arm.
"Let's go outside, hm? Maybe you can get a call in to Marlene," she offered as the man slowly started on his way out. He grumbled a response and the two left the room, the tension in the air following him out.
The remaining occupants of the room filed out slowly, each finding their own comfortable destination. As the others gathered to their own locations, Jethro found himself wandering up to the observation deck, arms folded over the railing as his gaze traveled up to the ever-present stars above. It hadn't been long till someone joined him.
"Your friends don't trust me," he said towards the horizon, knowing very well the young girl heard him. She came up to his side and leaned against the railing as well, gaze falling to the Cosmo Candle below.
"It's not like I trust you, either," Yuffie retorted, legs crossing at the ankles as she supported her weight with one leg. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, inspecting his features and choice of clothing. To her relief, he wore nothing that could hide a weapon.
As if noticing her inspection, Jethro took a step away from the railing and pulled his pockets out. "I'm safe, don't worry. Nothing that could hurt you is hidden away." He smiled as he settled back against the railing, blue eyes trailing over her figure. "You know, I don't believe I ever really caught your name..."
"You don't need it," she spat at him.
"Ah, but it would be nice, wouldn't it?" He could easily see the reason Moira had taken such a liking to the Wutaian princess standing beside him. Yuffie sent him a glare, then returned to watching the fire below and the people wandering around it.
"Yuffie. Kisaragi, Yuffie. Princess of Wutai and whatnot." Her arms unfolded as she pointed down to a familiar figure walking into the building. "That's Vincent Valentine. He's an ex-Turk. Very good with a gun, so you'd be smart not to try anything."
Jethro was almost saddened at the admiration she held in her tone as she spoke the gunslingers name. "Ah, yes. Vincent Valentine. So I take it you're off the market."
Yuffie gawked at him and immediately, as if on instinct, moved to smack him upside the head. His fingers caught around her wrist in lightning speed and she felt a sudden fear build in her chest as he held her arm up above her head, blue eyes laughing at her misfortunate position now. Yuffie's free hand moved to scratch his grip off, but his own free limb took hers and held it away.
Jethro chuckled as he leaned towards her, head tilting to the side in amusement. "Maybe not..?"
A shot rang out, bullet barely missing Jethro's nose as he jerked away from the little ninja, effectively releasing his hold on her. She squeaked in surprise and fell back, dust blooming around her as she landed on her bottom. Eyes turned to the man standing by the entrance, gun aimed at Jethro.
"You would be wise to never lay a hand on her again..." Vincent spoke darkly to the shocked expression on the opposing man's face.
Jethro quickly relaxed himself and shrugged. "I didn't think she'd be so touchy on the subject," he responded coolly. He flashed a grin to Yuffie before sauntering past Vincent and down the ladder behind him. "She gets flustered so easily," he murmured on his way down.
Yuffie stood up and brushed herself off, cheeks still red from the previous moment. Vincent quietly made his way over to her, gaze running over her figure quickly to check for any extra injuries the blonde man could have done before he had arrived. "You're not injured?"
The young princess shook her head and hesitated to smile up at him. "Thanks, Vinnie."
Vincent looked away from her, finding himself unable to look directly into her eyes without feeling a dull ache in his chest.
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Jethro was halfway down the stairs when a familiar voice stopped him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The blonde man looked up and smiled at the woman he recognized from his 'missing' jester puppet. "Ah... Moira. How long were you watching me?"
The woman frowned, arms crossing over her stomach. Thin blue brows knitted together in frustration as she took a step towards him, bells remaining eerily silent. "Don't you ever attempt such a thing with her again, do you understand me?" The puppet's voice had changed and Jethro smiled as he recognized it.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Would you mind allowing me to speak to the one I created now?"
The jester shivered slightly, then the blue eyes calmly glanced over to him. "Oh my, it seems her mother doesn't like you very much."
Jethro laughed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I guess not. Who does Zeb want you to break first, hm? Are you really going to hurt the Kisaragi girl?"
Moira shook her head, blue locks curling along her waistline. "I would never willingly hurt her. I've chosen my doll for the meantime. He's a mean one, he is," she stated simply as she blinked out of his vision, bells ringing in her place.
The blue eyed man laughed and continued down to the Cosmo Candle, finding the way events were going quite humorous.
A/N: ...No way in hell do I like this chapter. =.= In fact, I have no idea why I'm allowing it to be put in. Probably 'cause I don't want to make you guys wait forever. So sorry... Well, the next chapter may take another long while to come in because I have the worst case of Writer's Block ever known to man at the moment. I'm really beginning to wish I had planned the chapters out... Well, review with your thoughts and whatnot. Thank you.