Beyond Paradise
Disclaimer: I don't own Vincent, Yuffie, or any of the other characters or places in Final Fantasy VII. Squaresoft/enix owns it all. The only things in this fanfic that I do own are Zeb, Moira, and Jethro. Everyone seems to love the last two. o.o Lucky..?
Author's Note: Wow, you could never comprehend the joy I feel when I get an e-mail at roughly three in the morning, telling me I received reviews. I swear, I just about started giggling like a madwoman in my glee. Now, concerning the questions and confusion about Moira, she's the jester (::gives cookies to Noriko::). The blonde girl is just another one of the dead from 'Paradise'. ("She has the minds of everyone in the Beyond..." The blonde is simply the dominant one. I should've explained this, huh?) :O I hope no one's confused now. On with the chapter! Enjoy!
It's the deadly eye
Of Poogley-Pie.
Look away, look away,
As you walk by,
'Cause whoever looks right at it
Surely will die.
It's a good thing you didn't...
You did?...
Good-bye.
The Deadly Eye
-- Shel Silverstein
- Chapter 10: We All Fall Down
Arms stretched up and Yuffie let out a loud groan that was sure to wake the sleeping woman in the bed five feet away. Tifa murmured something in her sleep and twisted in the thin sheets to bury her face in the pillow, yet no other movement announced an awakening of any sort. With a snort, Yuffie rolled off the bed and placed her bare feet to the wooden flooring of the Inn. Cheap, she thought to herself as she slid on a pair of sandals and left the building.
Outside, the night was cool compared to the heated days in the canyon. Yuffie wrapped her arms around herself and made a beeline for the Cosmo Candle centered in the town, hoping for the warmth of the ever burning flame. As she approached the fire, she came to realize that she wasn't alone. Stormy hues flickered to the shadow beyond the flame and she frowned. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Jethro grinned and made his way over to the young Wutaian girl. "I should, but you know how hard it is to sleep when you've got someone eyeing you the entire time." He jerked a thumb to the right, and Yuffie realized there was another shadow watching them.
Metal tipped boots stepped out into the circle of light and Vincent glared down at Jethro, whom was only two or three inches shorter than him, then down to Yuffie. "Why aren't you in bed?" he questioned her, arms folding beneath his cape. Watching Jethro had been a simple enough task, but the moment Yuffie had arrived, a sudden sense to protect the ninja had risen in his chest.
Yuffie turned away from both men, her hands balling into fists against her hips in a defiant manner. "What, do I have a curfew now or something? Gawd, Vinnie, you're starting to act a lot like my dad, you know that?" In truth, she was hurt that he didn't want her around, but her nature refused to allow the pain to show.
Jethro watched on as Vincent visibly winced at the comment, yet he covered it up with the high collar of his cape and turned his glare towards the fire. The blonde man of the trio was far too amused to wish for the moment to end, but end it would, with a scream of terror that could only be recognized as Shera.
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Yuffie rushed to the room that had been given to Barret and Cid and kicked the door open. She stumbled in, Vincent and Jethro close behind her, and let out a gasp at the sight. Time stood still as Yuffie frantically looked over the scene. Shera was cowering in a corner, cradling an unconscious Cid closely as wide chocolate hues stared at the female jester floating just above Barret.
Time resumed and Yuffie focused her fear and anger on the creation. "Moira!" she shouted at the puppet.
The jester smiled down at the black man and danced over to Yuffie. "He's mine now!" She giggled and disappeared as soon as Vincent pulled Yuffie back. Yuffie jerked away from him and rushed to Shera and Cid just as the other members of AVALANCHE barged in as a group.
Tifa cried out in shock and ran to Barret's side, fingers pressing to his neck. She visibly calmed and placed her hand to his forehead, her own screwing up into a frown. "He's alive, but he has a fever..." she murmured as the room went silent.
Cloud stepped over to Yuffie, who was still trying to calm Shera down, and crouched down beside the two women and unconscious man. "Shera, what happened here?" he asked calmly, much to Yuffie's surprise. Then again, he was the leader and should have been used to situations like this.
Well, maybe not quite... Yuffie thought to herself as Shera's wild-eyes turned to Cloud.
"There were noises, and I was worried, so I came in and this girl was doing something to Cid. Her eyes... They were terrifying! Cid was... was screaming, and then – oh, it happened so quickly! – Cid was out, and she was over Barret, and he looked like he was in so much pain... Then Yuffie came in! The girl left... but..." all sanity seemed to settle back into the engineers mind and she took a deep breath. "I'm not sure what she did to them..."
Cloud nodded in understanding and slowly stood up. "Nanaki, do you have a doctor of some sort that can come in and take a look at them?" At the lion- beasts nod, Cloud turned to the others and motioned for them to leave. "It's too crowded in here. Vincent, help me put Cid back into his bed. Tifa, take Shera to yours and Yuffie's room. Nanaki, go get the doctor. I don't care how late it is, he's checking on them now. Everyone else, get the sleep you're going to need. We'll be up and in search of that thing in four hours," he ordered. AVALANCHE did as told and filed out of the room.
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The doctor exited the room, closing the door behind him before shuffling over to Cloud. Dulled eyes stared up into sapphires tainted with mako as his wrinkled hands wrung themselves raw. "Their vital signs are normal. The old one," Jethro snickered, despite the situation, "should wake up soon, but the one you call Barret..." The doctor seemed to hesitate as he chose his words carefully. "He seems to be in a type of coma. Although he is physically in the best of health, his emotions and mentality are fluctuating abnormally."
Cloud frowned in thought, rubbing at his chin before letting out a sigh. "Is there a chance of just waking him up?"
The elderly doctor shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not... He will only wake up of his own accord. I'm very sorry." With a nod, the doctor left the three men to stand in the hallway.
Jethro snorted and scratched idly at the base of his skull. "Bull... He doesn't have a choice in whether he wakes up or not," he grumbled. In one quick motion, Cloud's fist balled around the collar of his shirt and slammed the blue eyed man against the nearest wall.
"What the hell do you know?" he growled. Vincent stood off to the side, threatening enough with his ever present silence and the icy glare.
Jethro laughed and held his hands up defensively, ignoring the pain that darted through him the moment his head had hit the wall. "I know nothing that could help you, Strife."
"But you know something, don't you? Something you're not telling us," Vincent spoke up, hand falling dangerously over the Death Penalty.
Jethro took the silent threat well and avoided eye contact with the gunslinger. He focused on the man holding him to the wall and managed a grin. "Someone's coming."
It was at that precise moment that Yuffie came racing in, hand over her heart as if she had run a marathon. Cloud released his tight grip on Jethro and turned to face her, giving her time to catch her breath before explaining her rush.
"Something-... Something happened to Red!" she exclaimed, arms flailing around before pressing to her heart again. It took less than a second for Cloud and Vincent to break into a run, Yuffie close on their heels, to get back to the lion-beast.
Jethro stood silently, rubbing at his throat where Cloud's fist had been digging into it. A soft breeze and the sound of a bell announced the arrival of his creation and he smiled sadly. "You work fast, dear..."
Moira frowned at him, pale fingers running over the forming bruise. "They hurt you?"
"Only the stupid one..." he grumbled in response. Moira looked up at him in silence, studying his expression thoroughly before turning away. "What's wrong now, hm?"
She snorted at him, a very ugly sound coming from such a beautiful doll, and crossed her thin arms over her stomach. "Your friend," she nearly spit the word out, "wants me to work faster. I don't think he realizes how tiring it is on my mind. I've taken two with me in one night, and another is out for the time being, am I right?"
Jethro merely nodded, though she wouldn't be able to see it. "It's enough for now... Let them figure things out." The jester spun on her heel, blue eyes wide in question. Jethro smiled down at her and stepped forward, arms circling around the puppet and chin resting at the top of her blue hair. "Take a break, Moira..."
For once, the female jester simply faded away.
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Cloud began to rub at the bridge of his nose, eyes shut tightly to block out the problems that were rising at each moment they could. Vincent stepped out of the room across from the blonde leader, quietly shutting the door behind himself. Mako sapphires opened to watch the gunslinger. "Is it the same?"
Vincent gave a nod, confirming the idea. "He's fallen into a comatose state."
"Cid, too?" Yuffie asked from her place leaning against a wall. She hadn't been nearby to listen to the doctor, whom was now fretting over Nanaki inside the room.
"No. Cid was knocked unconscious... He should be waking up at some point. But Barret and Nanaki..." Cloud trailed off in thought, trying to figure it all out. He ran a gloved hand through his spikes and let out a puff of air. "In not even an hour, we've lost two of our friends to a long-lasting sleep... And Jethro knows something that—" There was a sudden intake of breath and Cloud spun around. "Where is Jethro?"
"I'm right here. Don't have a heart attack..." the man in question grumbled as he approached the three.
"Yeah? Where were you earlier?" Yuffie countered, arms crossing angrily over her chest as she took a threatening step towards him.
Jethro smiled down at her, palm resting on the top of her head and ruffling her hair. "Worried about me?" She swatted his hand away and stepped back as he chuckled. "I see the love..."
"Oh, you'll be seeing something, that's for sure," Yuffie snarled, right hand balling into a fist. Cloud grabbed her wrist and pulled her away before she had the chance to swing at him, and she stumbled back into Vincent. "Psh..." she snorted and jerked herself away from the taller man before storming out of the hall.
The men watched her till she turned a corner, then all focus was on Jethro. He shrugged, hands folding behind his head in a careless manner. "She's a feisty one, huh?"
Cloud glared at him, arms crossing over his chest. Jethro could've sworn he was puffing his chest out to make himself seem bigger. "Don't go near her. If one of us doesn't like you, and she seems to have good reason not to, then you won't find AVALANCHE to be as cooperative as you might be hoping." Cloud let the threat hang in the air as he turned and entered the room holding Barret, Cid, and Nanaki.
Vincent settled with glaring down at the man. "I warned you once already, haven't I? I didn't think you'd need a second..." And with that, the self- proclaimed demon left Jethro standing alone, once again.
"It's not like you've claimed her yet, anyway," Jethro grumbled to himself before leaving the hallway to the prying ears of a jester.
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"Rise and shine!" Cait Sith shouted with his megaphone, waking the occupants of the ladies room. Tifa bolted up in her bed, her hair a tangled mess around her head. Cait Sith visibly cringed and backed out of the doorway as a rather annoyed Yuffie, similar in appearance to Tifa, shot him a glare.
"Two hours of sleep, Cait... Do you hear me? Two hours!" Yuffie grabbed a pillow and threw it at the robot. The bag of feathers smacked into the face of the fat moogle and fell to the ground, leaving the moogle with the same goofy smile on its wide head. Yuffie was not pleased.
Cloud tilted his head to the side. He quickly quieted the others of the group down and listened more intently. "Duck!"
Reeve sent him a questioning glance, but did as told. Everyone in the bar dropped down just as the moogle came flying through the air, smashing into the wall and landing, upside down, on the counter. There was a cry from upstairs and the black cat came soaring through the air as well, body hitting the wall and falling limply into the stomach of the fat moogle as it attempted to right itself.
Various colors of eyes shifted up the stairs to Yuffie in her oversized nightshirt, fists at her sides and angry eyes focused on the remaining of AVALANCHE. "Who's the smart ass that sent Cait Sith to wake us up?" Tifa came up to her side, dressed for combat that she and Yuffie were ready to deliver.
All fingers pointed to Cloud.
This was the day Cloud Strife learned never to wake a woman from her sleep. As he would be told later in life, it is always safer to wake a woman with a bouquet of apology-flowers.
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Yuffie yawned loudly, making it a point to smack Cloud upside the head for the umpteenth time while stretching her arms out. The battered leader of AVALANCHE sat warily between the little ninja and Tifa, vulnerable to their revengeful attacks that were seemingly accidents when they gave him sarcastic apologies. Although Tifa's attacks had ended quite a while ago, Yuffie's were just becoming worse, and he had a feeling it wasn't just because he sent Cait Sith, of all people, to wake her up.
"Stop hitting me," he grumbled to the younger girl.
Yuffie eyed him. "I'm not hitting you. You're just in the way of my stretching." With that said, the girl brought her arms back to her sides, fingers pinching his upper arm in the process.
"Agh!" Cloud jumped up and backed away from her, teetering on the edge of the raised platform holding the Cosmo Candle. He glared down at the innocent face Yuffie was giving him before letting his gaze travel over the remaining members of AVALANCHE. "We're going to find and get rid of this Weapon... Shera, I want you to stay here with Cid, Barret, and Nanaki. Call us when Cid wakes up," he ordered. The engineer gave a firm nod and rushed off to the room holding the three members. "The rest of us can split up and—"
"We don't need to split up," Jethro interrupted him, blue eyes closing as if in thought. "I know where she is." The silence he received urged him to continue. "She would be where she fits in the most," he opened his eyes to glance over each and every expression on his listeners faces. "Where do clowns love to play?"
Tifa smacked a fist into her opposing palm with a grin. "The Gold Saucer! Right? It's an amusement park, so I would assume that a clown would be happier in that type of area."
"Just my area of expertise!" Cait Sith shouted out in glee, bouncing around on the fat moogle.
"Alright, then. The Gold Saucer, it is! It'll take a while with Cid out of the picture, so we'll have to walk..." He got a few groans in response, but quickly waved them away. "Besides, some of you need the exercise," and this statement was said with mako-sapphires focused on Yuffie.
The little ninja poked her tongue out at him as he chuckled and walked past, the few members of AVALANCHE following behind him. "Pfft... I'm in perfect shape..." she grumbled to herself. A hand was placed onto her shoulder and she just about jumped out of her skin.
"Perfect shape, indeed," Jethro commented. Yuffie sent him a glare just as Vincent stepped up to the two. A glare went between the two men and Jethro's hand slowly slid off of Yuffie's shoulder. "Right, right. Warnings, yeah?" He grunted to the taller man and folded his hands behind his head before sauntering off to follow Cloud and the others on their long trek to the Gold Saucer.
The two remaining watched the group head down the stairs in silence. Yuffie figured silence wasn't her thing. "You don't have to keep coming to my 'rescue', y'know." Vincent said nothing, crimson hues simply focused on the top of her head as Yuffie refused to look anywhere but straight ahead. "Let's go, before they leave us behind..."
Vincent nodded and followed the young Wutaian girl out of Cosmo Canyon, pace quickening to catch up to the group.
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It was during that day and age that Yuffie chose to loathe water. They had no chocobo's and no Buggy, which meant to wade through the river that ran between Cosmo Canyon and the Gold Saucer. Yuffie's entire lower half of her body was soaked, and she let out a whimper every time she felt a fish slide against her legs. "Oh, grossness!" she shouted out as something else just as slimy caught on her right leg then slid by with the current.
Tifa smiled sympathetically to the younger girl and continued on, fingers closed around the back of Cloud's shirt so she wouldn't be swept away by the stronger currents she was passing through. She heard Yuffie yelp again from behind her and let out a sigh. "Maybe the guys should've carried us girls..."
Cloud chuckled at this and shook his head. "You're fine. It's just some weeds and fish, they won't kill you."
Reeve grunted from his place in the back, shifting the weight of the fat moogle in his arms before continuing across. Jethro was walking beside him; the black cat perched gleefully on his shoulders. "Sure you don't wanna switch?" Reeve managed to say past the stuffed animal. Jethro just laughed at him and continued on.
Another shriek from Yuffie and she was next seen climbing up onto Vincent, arms circled around his neck and legs tied around his waist. "There's something in there! It touched me!"
A golden claw reached in, much to Yuffie's horror, and pulled out a long blade of seaweed. "I'm sure it meant you no harm..." he murmured with a slight turn of the head to watch her from the corner of his eye.
Yuffie frowned in her own embarrassment and made sure to look away, far off into the distance. "Pfft... I knew that's what it was... Well, now that I'm up here, you can give me a ride for the rest of the way."
Vincent let out a sigh and slid his right hand under her thigh to prop her up. He was much more hesitant with his claw as it was placed in a similar fashion beneath her left thigh, holding her up more carefully. He was well aware of Yuffie's small breaths against his neck as her chin was settled onto his right shoulder, and all his attempts to ignore it were useless.
It had taken a full five minutes to get out of the river, and another five to pull both the fat moogle and Reeve out of the current together. AVALANCHE was exhausted and Cloud opted they took a break, if not just to dry their legs off so walking wouldn't be such a battle. As others settled themselves down quietly, Yuffie went about making sure everyone knew just how tired, wet, and hungry she really was.
"Did we bring any food? Wait, never mind. If we did, it's soaked by now. How 'bout towels? Those would be the same as the food, huh? Well, what about water? We have to at least have some water around here. No water? What are you guys, crazy? When I was traveling by myself I carried probably too much water!"
"Gah! Yuffie, Shut up!" Cait Sith shrieked, gloved paws slapping over its own ears to muffle her voice out.
Yuffie grinned and tackled the stuffed robot down, rolling the two of them closer to the river before leaping off. "Bwa!" She started a laugh and crouched by the river, cupping her hands and splashing the water onto the robot.
"Yuffie, stop! You'll damage him!" Reeve cried out in annoyance, scrambling to save his precious Cait Sith. Yuffie rolled onto her back and started laughing as the ex-ShinRa employee nursed the cowering robot and stuffed animal duo.
Cloud shook his head at the scene and slowly got to his feet. "Alright, guys. Let's mosey," he grumbled as he turned on his heel and headed towards North Corel. The blonde leader barely got two feet before he heard Reeve yelling at Yuffie again.
"I told you to stop splashing at Cait Sith! His circuits might blow."
"I didn't do anything!" Yuffie shouted in her defense. There was a low hissing from the river and all bodies turned to stare at the River Zolom, slowly growing in size to glare down at AVALANCHE.
The oversized river snake slid out of the water and circled around the group as they inched closer to each other. Forked tongue shot out every once in a while as its elongated body surrounded AVALANCHE, leaving them no possible chance of escape. Its tail flicked out, sharpened scales cutting along Tifa's leg and receiving a cry of pain in response. Beady black eyes focused on the blood trickling down her leg and it let out a hiss, folds of skin flaring at the sides of its head. The creatures jaw opened wide and it shot forward...
...only to meet with the Ultima Weapon's blade. Fang met with steel and the battle had begun.
"Tifa!" Reeve rushed to her side, pulling a Potion out of his knapsack and pouring the liquid substance over the wound. The blood dried and the cut closed as the bottle emptied and Tifa gave him a silent 'thank you' before tightening her gloves over her fists. Reeve went about his items, pulling out a Bolt Plume and tossing it into the direction of the snake. "Cover your eyes!" He shouted just as the bagged item made contact with the scales.
All did as told just as a bright flash of light and a crashing sound surrounded AVALANCHE and the snake. The creature blinked back the spots just in time to see a spiraling Shuriken whiz through the air, nicking its right side as it flew by. The Zolom seemed to laugh down at Yuffie with its eyes and it lunged forward, once again being stopped by a sharp sting in its back. The tail flung about wildly, with Cait Sith hanging on for dear life, as it hissed angrily. Yuffie smirked and leapt up onto the stiller part of the snake and ran up the body, jumping up to grab hold of the Conformer which was now dug into the back of the snake. But, to her frustration, the weapon refused to budge from its place buried into the scales and the thrashing of the creature had become wilder with each attempt to pull the Conformer out.
"Yuffie!" Tifa shouted with worry evident in her voice. She refused to stand by and watch her friend be thrown around and quickly buckled the metal toeing to her boots. She rushed up to the snake and dug her heel into the side of the Zolom, using the next thrash to propel herself up to Yuffie. Gloved fingers dug into a scale that caught the Conformer and she pulled it out, ignoring the warm blue blood oozing over her covered hands. The weapon came free and the two girls were allowed only a second of happiness as the head of the snake swiveled and a fang caught on Tifa's right suspender strap, thus throwing the woman into a nearby rock.
Yuffie slid down the snake's back and, with a flick of the Zolom's tail, fell into a tumbling ball with Cait Sith. Reeve went to curing the wounds on the two girls as quickly as he could as Cloud was forced to fight, steel to fang, again. "How are they?" He managed to shout out to the man.
"Tifa's knocked out, and I don't have any Phoenix Down's! Cait Sith's wires have been cut pretty badly and need repairing, and Yuffie is..." He trailed off, looking over the girls wounds as they slowly healed together after the potion. "She's good to go!"
Cloud leapt up and sliced the sword towards the Zolom's neck, but only cut through air. The creature slithered back and into the river, the only thing visible becoming the top of its head.
"Is it retreating..?" Reeve asked as he finished dragging Cait Sith to Tifa's side.
"Be careful," Vincent spoke up, remaining in the same place he'd been for the duration of the battle.
Yuffie staggered over to stand beside him, fingers pinching his human arm. "You don't have the right to say anything! You just stood there looking pretty!" she said angrily, brows knitting together in frustration.
"No he wasn't. He couldn't do anything. It's hard to get a clear shot at something that doesn't stop moving," Reeve said in defense of the crimson- caped man. "Same goes for Jethro. He doesn't have a weapon," he continued before Yuffie could spit another insult.
The Wutaian ninja couldn't respond intelligently. A wave of water fell over AVALANCHE as the Zolom jumped out of the river, jaws wide open as it fell towards the group. Yuffie cried out in shock and held her Conformer out to protect herself, eyes closing tightly as she readied herself for death. Two clear shots rang out, followed by a loud thump, and she could only feel the upturned dirt falling over her in a sheet. All she could hear was screaming. Something grabbed the Conformer from her and she could feel the air slicing apart as the weapon was thrown. There was a sickening crack, then silence.
One stormy eye opened, then the other. The dirt had settled over the ground and her comrades, giving her a clear view of the crumpled up body of the Zolom, her Conformer buried deep between its shot out eyes. Blue blood sprayed out from the three wounds in the head, but nothing else showed signs of life within the monster. She eyed the Conformer warily, taking a few hesitant steps towards the snake to get close enough to pull it out before scrambling back to her friends. I didn't throw it... she thought to herself as she examined the blue blood trickling off the blade.
Vincent placed the Death Penalty back into its holster, gaze focused on the man standing by Yuffie. "When did you learn to throw the Conformer?"
Jethro glanced to Yuffie first then up to Vincent to answer his question. "It was a lucky toss... Adrenaline kicked in." It would be enough to silence any questions for now. All he would have to do is avoid any alone- time with the ex-Turk. He looked back down to Yuffie, smile forming across his face. "Looks like I saved your life, huh?"
The ninja frowned and hooked the Conformer to her back, ignoring the warm blood soaking into her shirt from the shuriken. "Don't you ever touch my Conformer again," she said tersely before turning on her heel and walking off to help Reeve with Cait Sith.
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The sun had just set as AVALANCHE staggered into the blue ropeway that would lead to the Gold Saucer. All were exhausted from the walk after such a fight and their muscles were screaming to rest. Cloud sat down slowly, careful since he held Tifa in his arms. Although she was awake, she was still far too weak to move on her own. "How are you holding up?" He asked her as he placed her beside him.
Tifa smiled and let her eyes close. "I'll be fine. Just have to get some sleep..." she murmured, head falling against Cloud's shoulder. The leader of AVALANCHE relaxed his muscles and tilted his head back against the headrest, his own eyes closing in hopes of getting just a little rest to get him to the Ghost Hotel.
The blue car stopped and AVALANCHE filed out, slowly making their way to the Ghost Hotel. Three rooms were rented out and Cloud helped Tifa to her room with Yuffie before leaving for the room he was going to share with Reeve. The ex-ShinRa employee was a little reluctant to let the staff of the Gold Saucer take Cait Sith away for repairs, but eventually did so and passed out on his bed soon after.
In another room, Jethro's worst nightmare came true and he sat on his bed quietly, watching as Vincent hung his cape over a chair and tucked the Outsider beneath his pillow, Death Penalty getting its own place in the drawer of the nightstand by his bed. But the man didn't question him, and he idly wondered if Vincent even cared about what he knew about the ninja girl's weapon. Anger rose in the back of Jethro's throat as he thought more about it. He doesn't deserve her admiration, he thought to what he supposed was himself as he lay down in his bed, eyes closing as darkness closed around the room.
In Vincent's mind, Chaos refused to rest peacefully. Its wings beat against the frozen winds and sharpened claws thrashed against the walls of Vincent's mind. His host refused to listen, and all the demon could do was fight against those walls until it tired itself out.
Tifa groaned and turned to rest on her side, ignoring the pain that shot through her body from the pressure to her ribs.
"You shouldn't move too much," Yuffie said in the darkness, shadows hiding the concern written over her features. "You got hurt pretty badly back there. Just rest." There was silence, but Yuffie felt she had to at least say one last thing before the woman fell asleep. "Thanks for helping me with my Conformer, Tifa. If you didn't come up, I'd probably still be hanging from that stupid thing's back."
She heard a muffled 'y'er welcome' from Tifa before she knew the martial artist dozed off. Yuffie's own eyes fell shut as she let sleep claim her. But sleep would not come. Not yet, at least.
A knock at the door forced Yuffie to remain awake and she muffled a cursing grumble with the pillow before rolling out of bed and dragging her feet to the door, fingers fumbling with the lock before pulling it open. Yuffie stared tiredly at the person standing in front of her. "Vinnie? What's up this late?"
Without a word, the man pulled the Outsider from the Death Penalty's holster and aimed between her eyes.
Yuffie was now wide awake. "Vincent? What are you doing!?"
Vincent ignored her panicked question and pulled the trigger.
A/N: Yes... Yes, you hate me. I know! ;.; I had a really bad case of writer's block, then this came up, and I fell in love, and I had to do it. I guess I own the River Zolom (think Midgar Zolom... but with a blue tint), but it's dead, so no point in that. As you can tell, I'm shooting down some of the characters so I don't have to fret over if they seem in character or not. Well, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner. You guys are great for having so much patience with me and 'Beyond Paradise'. Thank you!