A/n: I love Philosophy. And I love you Machiavelli
Chapter Three: Machiavelli's principles of Love and Fear
"Is it better to be loved more than feared or feared more than loved? Ideally, one ought to be both feared and loved, but it is difficult for the two sentiments to go together. If one of the two must be sacrificed, it is much safer to be feared than loved."- Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince
Ha! You sir, have apparently never been feared. You went into exile and wrote this book to weasel yourself back into the De Medici Family's good graces. Of course you are talking about royalty, and that is not what I am. I am fear. I harbor what everyone fears. What I would give to know what love is.
Lucretia...
Vincent closed Machiavelli's book and set it down on the table. His eyes stung and burned. Vincent could not even fathom how many hours he had been awake in here reading book after book. Vincent had imagined it was early morning. Hobbes had fallen asleep several hours before and his body had begun to stir as if he were to wake up. After a moment of sitting and debating, Vincent rose up from his spot on the cold, damp floor. He had finally decided that he would go for a short walk, perhaps find something to eat in the market. The tired, stoic gunman covered his eyes as the burning light of midmorning hit his eyes. The air outside was already hot and sticky for this time in the morning. It was already shaping up to be another hot day. The streets of Wutai were far from empty, people were everywhere. Shopping, eating, trying to move through the crowded streets. There was something different about everyone today. Voices were hushed and their was no laughter what so ever. What had happened?
Vincent calmly walked through the hushed crowd and stopped just outside a supply store. A strong, yet squeaky voice echoed through out the street. Vincent knew that voice, it was Shake from the Pagoda. The villagers were quickly hurried out of the way by a rather large legion of Wutain soldiers.
"Go, Go, Go! Check every building, cave, and shadow! I want him found!" Shake shouted his order's in his squeaky prepubescent voice. The soldiers split into smaller groups and jogged through the market place with their swords and armor clinking at their sides. Vincent sunk into the shadows of the darker shop as the soldiers jogged by the store. He was pretty sure they were not after him, but he could never be sure of it.
The store owner stared at him as he slunk into his shop. He was an odd looking man, in his red cloak and with his shining metal forearm. Vincent turned to the relatively old store keeper and approached the front desk. After he had picked out his supplies Vincent looked around for a moment.
"Perhaps you can answer my question, Why is everyone so on edge?" Vincent asked the storekeeper anxiously. The old man signaled for him to lean in closer. Vincent leaned over the counter slightly.
"Didn't you hear? Staniv was murdered last night!" The old shopkeep whispered harshly. Vincent vaguely remembered him, all he knew was that he was a Pagoda Guardian.
"I'd watch out, their looking for anyone suspicious. Plus this morning Lady Yuffie disappeared as well." The old man continued as Vincent stood in silence. Vincent picked up his brown paper bag full of food and left, nodding his head to the old man.
A murder? At the Pagoda? Why must people stir up trouble while I am around. Then there is Yuffie, so she was around. Where did she disappear to?
"Perhaps she was captured" Chaos snorted inside Vincent's mind.
"Or murdered! Oh, now that would be a sight I would like to see! Ravaged bloody flesh!" Hellsmasker cackled in his high toned scratchy voice.
"Ha! Someone is probaly using her luscious body for a sex toy!" The Galian Beastsnarled lustfully.Death Gigas was quiet as usualhe never really said much.
Vincent ignored them. He thought nothing, they were just blood crazed, sex-starved beasts. Vincent casually made his way back to the library. He was actually quite aware to avoid any of the military personnel, but he couldn't show his caution with out suspicion arising. He entered the quiet, smelly library and found that Hobbes was gone. Perhaps they had arrested them, but then again he liked it better with no one around.
The old guardian of the gate hobbled his way up the Pagoda stairs, assited by two strong young soldiers. He slowly made his way up to the fourth floor where he saw that blood stained the floor where he imagined that Lord Staniv had fallen. The old man reached the fifth floor and kneeled infront of Godo. The two soldiers that had assisted him stood near the door in silence. Godo looked as if he were in some kind of meditation. It was not a peaceful meditation though, his brow was wrinkled with stress and his lips were curled into a snarl.
"L-Lord Godo, you wished for my presence." The tired, sickly old gate guardian whimpered. He was in even more distress, his son was dead. Now he had no heir to his family. It was all his fault. This whole mess was his fault. Lord Godo now rose from the floor with his eyes open. His broad shoulders were pronounced by the black shirt coat his was wearing and his black hair was slicked back against his head.
"Why weren't you at your post last night?" Godo said strongly, he still had the same hard face he had had on when he was meditating. It was an cold and unforgiving face.
"I was ill, I had placed trust in my son to guard the gate." The old man said with his head bowed to his elder.
"Ill or not it was your job to be there." Godo said louder and more sternly this time. The gate guardian knew some form of yelling was coming next.
"I'm sorry, my son...He wanted to prove himself." Godo gritted his teeth at this comment and picked the old man up by his collar.
"Because of your family's impudence STANIV WAS KILLED! And Now Yuffie is missing!" Godo yelled at the guardian shaking him roughly from side to side. The two guards rushed forward and forced him to set the old man down. Godo snarled and waved his arm, signaling for them to leave his sight.
Yuffie stood stoically on the top of Mt. Da Chao. He grimly stared down at the town before her. Early this morning, without her father's knowledge she had decided to leave the town. Not on a search for Materia, but to go find her own life. It was unbeknowence to her that a guardian had been killed and she was considered missing. After moments of her false stoic facade, Yuffie's face turned into a smile.
"Aahahaha! Pops I ain't doing your job no more! Nuh uh! Not no more! Lalalala!" Yuffie squealed happily as she jumped upside down on the bent thumb of Da Chao.
On the head of one of the other nameless guardians stood the cloaked figure who still had the blood of Staniv on his hands and sword. His cloak was still placed lightly on his head and his bloody sword lay next to him. He was watching this rather unusual girl jump and down on his thumb. Truthfully, he was waiting for someone. Jumping out of windows came with its benifits and hindrances. The strangers quickly looked over to the side when his ears picked up the sound of someone scrambling up the rocky surface. It was his fat, pug-nosed companions Hobbes.
"It is about time, I am in dire need of many repairs." The stranger said to the panting Hobbes as he finally made it up to the top. The stranger held out his arm, it had sparks and many odd broken wires sprouting from the cracked synthetic flesh. Hobbes put his ear to it, there seemed to be an odd 'whhhhr' sound as well. Hobbes went directly to work as the stranger watched the odd girl continue her dance, whilst singing an annoying song.
"Ah! Finished!" Hobbes said proudly, as the stranger flexed his newly repaired hand.
"Just in time, that song is really annoying me..." The stranger clamored to his feet. He stared to wave his hands in a circle, a light blueish sort of ball appeared between his mobile hands. The stranger leaned down with the ball of air still between his palms. He pushed the ball forward and a rush of tornado force winds was sent directly at Yuffie.
Still cackling about her mission to leave the town, Yuffie didn't really notice the wind until it started to pick up. A sudden burst of wind caused her to lose balance on the thumb, but luckily Da Chao had other fingers for her to wrap her arms around. Yuffie held on for dear life until the winds died down.
"What an odd storm!" Yuffie laughed as she pulled herself up onto Da Chao's palm.
