Guess who's back. Back again. Zack is back, call some friends. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back. Howdy y'all! Been awhile. And guess what! I have a really good excuse this time! No really! See, the thing is, my computer was being rebuilt, to get the viruses out and make it faster and stuff. So I was internet-less for awhile.. actually for a couple of weeks... I think... lost track of how long. But yea! I had no control over it whatsoever. So this time, it wasn't my fault 0) Good thing is... we just ended up throwing the computer away, once we got it back because it still didn't work, and we got a new one. This computer is quicker and doesn't have a million viruses on it, making it easier for me to update... and I think a little break might have done me good. Bad news is.... I forgot what I was planning! Plus I had to wait for the chance to go out and by CDs to burn the chapter on because the new computer doesn't have a floppy disc inserter thing. So I have to save to CDs in order to transfer the documents. Yup. That's the line of it. I forgot. You think I'm smart enough to keep notes or something. But nope. Oh well. If I forgot what I was planning it obviously wasn't good. So now I'll just have to wing this chapter and hope for the best heeheehee.
Disclaimer-
Sephiroth- (Currently strangling Zack) How the hell could you forget what you were doing! This is suppose to be important!
(Cries) I'm sorry! Really I am!
Sephiroth- No you aren't! But you will be!
Aren't you suppose to be killing Vincent at the moment?
Sephiroth- (Blinks a bit in thought.) ...... (Turns to Malice) Here. (Hands Zack to Malice and unsheathes his Masamune before running off.)
Malice- (Smirks evilly) Now it's my turn!
(Whimpers)
The Secrets We Hold
'Why do I have this linger?
My reasons are unknown.
Leave me, triumph envy.
Suck marrow from my bones.
But don't leave me here, I'm not ready to die.
Something is wrong, I'm ready to know.'
(Silver By Red 13)
Vincent stands speechless, his crimson orbs wide with shock as he stares at the Masamune's blade clutched in his claw. If he hadn't heard the blade scraping against the sheath at the last moment, he probably wouldn't of been able to catch the attack in time. Slowly, Vincent moves his gaze from the blade to Sephiroth's face, becoming a bit unnerved at the expression across Sephiroth's face. The emotionless mask pasted across the cold swordsman's face rivaled his own, it's the same expression Sephiroth had when the group battled him to free Holy.
After the initial shock of the attack wore off, Vincent's brows furrow in confusion. Has Sephiroth turned against the group? Why now? Has he been planning to from the beginning? The questions continue to race through the Ex- Turk's head, unaware of the boot speeding towards him until he felt the impact of Sephiroth's kick, causing the dark gunslinger to loose his grasp on the Masamune and fall back.
"Sephiroth! What the hell ya doin'!?" Daisuke shouts a bit shocked that Sephiroth would just suddenly turn against them. She quickly unsheathes her blades, ready to defend herself against the swordsman. Sephiroth paid her no heed, he simply walked passed her, advancing on Vincent in cool confident strides.
Vincent sits himself up in the snow, and tilts his head to the side as he continues to stare confused at Sephiroth. 'Is he only after me?' He thinks to himself as Sephiroth stops in front of him, his sword raised over his head, ready to deal the deathblow. Vincent quickly rolls to the side as the Masamune crashes down. In an instant, Vincent's up on his feet. He takes a couple of feet back to put a safe distance between Sephiroth and himself.
Daisuke watches the scene unfold, unsure how to proceed. Should she attack Sephiroth? Or wait until he attacks her? Tightening the grip on her swords, she takes a step forward, the snow making a soft crunching noise in the process. Sephiroth immediately turns toward the treasure hunter, the Masamune pointed towards her, "Stay out of this unless you wish to die." Sephiroth warns. Daisuke glances over to Vincent, receiving a silent nod from him, she steps back, staying out of the fight that's obviously not her concern. Sephiroth turns back towards Vincent, his gaze cold as the ice and snow around them. He points to Vincent with the tip of his sword, "Now you die Valentine."
------
Rima watched silently as her savior walks towards the dieing fire, to replenish it's fuel, ignoring the fact that she's awake. Tossing the logs into the flames, the fire comes alive with new vigor. Rima's mouth clamps shut as she stares into the fire, trying to find something to say. "You saved me." She finally speaks up, keeping her voice just above a whisper, "Thank you, Cyrus."
There's no response to her gratitude, leaving Rima to believe that he either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her.. Slowly, Malice turns around, his face overshadowed, "Why do you call me Cyrus?" He asks, his hollow voice echoing off the walls of the cave.
Rima draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, not answering the question. Seeing how she isn't going to answer his question, Malice turns away and begins heading towards the exit of the cave. "You... don't know?" Malice stops at Rima's voice, her tone unsure.
Malice glances over his shoulder towards Rima before turning completely around and head back towards the fire. "Know what? Who is Cyrus?"
Rima frowns as she stares into the fire, "Cyrus was my brother." Rima glances up at Malice to see him watching her, expecting her to continue. "I don't remember everything from my childhood, only my brother. He had a half-moon tattoo on his right hand." Rima watches Malice as he raises his right hand to stare at the same tattoo on the top of his hand. Rima half-smiles as she recalls the memory, "It was the symbol of our tribe."
Malice's hand drops to his side, "I am not your brother." Rima frowns a bit, but doesn't say anything, she wasn't expecting him to actually believe her, well actually, she was, but it was more like wishful thinking. "Don't confuse me with such matters anymore."
"Is that why you saved me?" Rima asks a bit depressed, "Because you wanted to straighten things out?"
"No." Rima glances up, a light of hope shinning in her amber eyes, "I came to deliver a message to your group, I just happened to find you."
The light of hope quickly flickers out of Rima's eyes. Blinking a few times, she pushes her feeling aside, "What is it?"
"The last surviving Wutinease, or Yuffie as you call her, will soon have her mind torn from her, giving out a certain thing to the wrong person." Malice reaches into his navy green trench coat and pulls out a folded piece of paper. Tossing the paper to Rima, he turns around, "If you wish to save her, have your group go to those coordinates. She's being held there." Malice begins walking away.
"Wait." Rima calls out. Malice stops, but doesn't turn around. Rima bites her bottom lip, not sure if she should ask her question. "If you're not Cyrus... then who are you? Or rather, what are you?"
Malice glances over his shoulder at her, than turns his gaze back ahead, as if debating whether to walk out or not. "The Ancients are dead, I'm their replacement."
"Ancients? Replacement?" Rima says in confusion.
"The last Ancient sacrificed herself to save the planet a few years ago. Her purpose was to keep the Ancients' line continuing, but she sacrificed herself. The Ancients were the planet's protectors. With no Ancients left, the planet is left vulnerable. Now no one can use the ultimate white materia 'Holy' in the event of a new threat arising. The threat is here, so the planet has brought me here to get rid of it. Once the threat is gone, I'm to prevent anything from ever happening again."
Rima lowers her brows in confusion at the last statement, "How are you going to prevent something from happening again?"
Slowly, a smirk crosses Malice's face at the question, causing a chill to travel down Rima's spine. "Only those with the strength to be a threat shall be exterminated. In other words, once the threat is destroyed, your group will be next."
Rima's eyes widen in surprise as she jolts to her feet, "But that's insane! They helped save the planet. They're trying to save it now!"
"Which is why they are not on the top of my priorities. I follow the planet's will, and it says to get rid of any threat by any means possible."
"I won't let you!" Rima shouts as she pulls out her sniper rifle, aiming it at Malice.
Malice stands in his spot, unmoving, "You can't stop me."
------
A chilling wind blows through the valley as the two warriors stare down one another. Neither one of them move, wanting to wait for the other to make the first move. Around them the snow continues to fall, leaving a thin white blanket of snow on them. One man, a swordsman, bent on his own personal revenge, the other, a lone gunslinger, trying his best to understand the situation.
Vincent dodged, as another attack is directed at him. Still he has not grabbed hold of his Death Penalty, opting to fight with his hand and claw, he doesn't want to kill Sephiroth, even if Sephiroth is trying to kill him. Vincent blocks the strike from the Masamune with his claw and jumps back a few feet, "Why do you wish to fight me?" Vincent asks.
Sephiroth stands in his spot glaring towards Vincent, "I do not wish to fight you, I wish for you to die!" With that said, Sephiroth lunges forward, his long sword leaving a trail in the snow as he swipes upward.
Vincent manages to get away with only a small scratch on his arm. As small as the injury is, it's still a small victory for Sephiroth, causing him to smirk even wider. Turning towards Vincent, Sephiroth stares at the Ex-Turk, his eyes filled with mirth at the excitement of battle, "I'll tear you apart piece by piece if I have to."
"What is it I did that would make you want to kill me?" Vincent asks, wanting to know.
Sephiroth's eyes narrow into thin slits, his presence seeming to darken, "Don't act innocent with me Valentine. I know what went on between you two."
"......."
"I was right outside of your door." Sephiroth can't help but give a half-smile, "I was going to break the door down and kill you right then and there. But I couldn't... at least not where everyone would see, and I didn't want to see Rima all over you."
"What?" Vincent's crimson eyes blink frantically, a bit confused.
Sephiroth scowls, "You heard me. Tell me Valentine, do you go after all the women who are taken? Or is Rima a special case? Maybe you've gone after all of them before I came. Or maybe not all of them yet." Sephiroth rubs his chin in mock thought, "Hmm... Let's see if I can guess who you've been after... that ninja brat?"
"......"
"Then there's Lockheart."
"......."
"Let's not forget the Ancient, I'm sure you had your eyes on her, before her demise."
"......."
Sephiroth raises his chin up as he gives a cold smirk, "Seems your type is those who are already taken. Perhaps that's why you were after my mother." Vincent's demeanor darkens, his bloody red orbs darken, as if a demon had suddenly taken him over. "It's all a sick game of yours." Sephiroth continues, completely unaware of Vincent's change, "You feel nothing for them. You never loved my mother, and she must of known it which is why she crawled to Hojo, just because----"
By the time Sephiroth even noticed Vincent was dashing towards him, it was too late to defend himself. He was sent flying backwards by the force of Vincent's fierce punch. The shearing pain on the left side of his face was the first thing he noticed, then the fact that he is no longer holding the Masamune. Then he finally noticed the firm grip Vincent's deadly claw has on his neck as the obviously infuriated man glares down at him with crimson orbs that seem to have a blazing flame trapped with them.
Despite the fact Vincent could snap his neck any moment, Sephiroth can't help but laugh, "Oh I hit a nerve did I?" His laughter dies down as his eyes darken once again, "Good, remember that feeling, it's the same way I feel." The snow underneath Sephiroth is shot away from him as a large black wing extracts from Sephiroth's shoulder. "Let's see how well you fair now Valentine." Sephiroth comments before throwing Vincent off of him with a quick shove. Getting to his feet, he flaps his huge wing once, slinging the snow off of it.
Daisuke stares, wide eyed, at the wing coming out of Sephiroth's back. Slowly she raises her right hand up, and smacks herself in the face, "Ow!" Daisuke rubs her sore cheek, "Nope, no Dreamin' Pretty Boy has a bloody wing comin' out of him. Now why wasn't I informed of this?"
Vincent takes an uncertain step back as a dark aura surrounds Sephiroth. The dark swordsman remains expressionless, "I'll get rid of you now." Vincent's brows furrow in thought, trying to think of where he's seen this before. Sephiroth had done the same thing once before, he only needs to remember when, and what he's doing exactly.
Vincent's eyes widen a bit as he remembers the attack that Sephiroth used to finish off Jenova, without even looking to see if his suspicions are correct. Vincent leaps to the side, just before a large meteor crashes to the ground, followed by several more. The meteors begins to circle around Sephiroth, melting the snow around him, all the while Vincent moves out of the meteors' paths.
The meteors stop and Vincent freezes in his spot, only his crimson orbs glancing around, waiting for them to start up again. Instead, one by one, the meteors begin to blow up, leaving small craters in their wake. Vincent pushes himself to his feet after being knocked down, glancing over to Sephiroth, he stares up into the large sphere of energy formed above his hands. Sephiroth can't help but smirk at Vincent, "You won't dodge this Valentine."
"Maybe not." Vincent replies just before he pulls the Death Penalty out from it's holster. Sephiroth's eyes widen in surprise, having not expected Vincent to use his gun. Wasting no time with aiming, Vincent raising the gun up and fires a single shot at Sephiroth. The large sphere of energy Sephiroth had formed disappears as Sephiroth falls down on his back, his blood coloring the ground.
------
Malice stood there unmoving as he stares blankly at the end of Rima's rifle. Slowly, Malice raises his right hand up and rests the palm of his hand on the barrel of the gun, "Go ahead and shoot." Malice gives a sly smirk, "You know it doesn't have an affect on me. No weapon made by man can harm me."
Rima grinds her teeth in frustration, knowing the truth to his words. Nevertheless, she can't just let him walk away. Turning her head to the side and closing her eyes, Rima pulls the trigger. The shot echoes throughout the dimly lit cave. Hearing no reaction, Rima slowly opens her eyes, only to see Malice still standing in front of her, his hand still held up. A small glowing hole shines in the center of Malice's palm. The mystical green glow slowly disappears leaving no traces of the gunshot in Malice's palm.
Malice's hand drops to his side, "Satisfied?" Malice's voice cuts through the silence. Rima drops the rifle to the cold rocky ground and quickly pulls out two daggers, holding them up defensively. Malice raises his head up a bit, tilting his head to the side, a ghost of a smirk appears across his face.
Rima gets the wind knocked out of her as she collides with the wall behind her from the force of Malice's blow. She lifts her head up to see Malice standing in the center of the cave, his ghostly white eyes peering down at her, "You can't stop me." Malice repeats what he said from before. Turning around, he begins heading out of the cave, only to stop at the sound of Rima's haunting laughter.
A strong gust of wind blows into the cave, causing the fire to die and leave everything in darkness. The screeching of hundreds of bats fill the cave as they begin to fall from the ceiling and swarm around the cave. Malice stands in his spot, letting the bats fly around him to exit the cave. "You escaped me last time." Rima's chilling voice sleeks its way through the screeching of the bats, "I won't let you get away this time."
Malice glances over his shoulder knowing, before he even looks, what will be there. A pair of bloody red eyes gaze straight at him. "I hope you don't mind the fire.... the light hurts my eyes." Rima lets out a cackle that would frighten the most hideous of demons. As quick as a blink of an eye, Rima disappears into the darkness. Malice looks around the cave, to find any trace of the vampire. "Up here." Malice looks up to see a pair of crimson eyes looking down at him from the ceiling. As quickly as he saw them, they were gone. "No weapon made by man can hurt you." The vampire states, "Then I'll just have to fight you by some other means."
------
Soft steps crunch on the frozen grass. The snow falling slowly begins to replace the melted snow from before. The victor of the battle stops above the defeated, his large deadly gun hovering above the fallen. The once proud warrior withers in pain and disgrace, his pride broken along with his frozen heart. The stream of life slowly slips out of his wounded shoulder, covering the ground underneath him with the same crimson color of the winner's cloak.
Vincent continued to stand towering above Sephiroth, the Death Penalty never leaving its target's head, for fear that the opponent will lash out again if given the opportunity. Although his stance appears that of one who's furious, with his hand clenched tightly on the handle of the Death Penalty while his golden claw is clenched into a tight fist, Vincent's eyes appear empty, void of any emotion as the mask he's famous for hides any hint of emotion. "Now you'll explain why your trying to kill me." Vincent orders, his usual calm voice taking a low dangerous tone.
Sephiroth continues to clutch the wound in his shoulder with his good hand, the same scowl across his face. Painfully, he forces himself up into a sitting position, wincing a bit while doing so. "Quite playing innocent Valentine." Sephiroth snaps, his anger still present, "I know what happened between the two of you last night. I could hear it! And I bet everyone else in the place could hear it! I was right outside your door."
Vincent blinks a few times, his hand dropping to his side, "You were the one outside my room." Vincent stated rather than questioned. Sephiroth silence was the only confirmation Vincent needed. "And you heard everything?" Vincent asks.
"Hey! Um... If y'all are done, do ya think we could uh..." Daisuke begins as she heads towards the two men. She stops in her tracks as both men turn and glare at her, both set of eyes clearly telling her to back off. Holding up her hands in defense, Daisuke begins taking several steps back, "Whoa... okay... I see how it is... right... I'll be right here when y'all are done doin' what ever it is y'all are doin'"
Sephiroth turns back to Vincent, now that they will be left alone, without any curious ears, "You bet I heard everything."
Vincent's eyes drops shamefully to the ground, "I'm truly sorry for your loss."
Sephiorth scuffs, "I bet you are." His voice drips with sarcasm.
Vincent shakes his head, holstering the Death Penalty at his side, "Hojo has done many horrible things."
Sephiroth's brows furrow in anger and annoyance, "What the hell does he have to do with you screwing around with Rima!?"
Vincent raises a surprised eyebrow at the question, his face a mask of confusion. "Excuse me?" Vincent asks, thinking he heard wrong. "I don't think you understand what's going on."
"Oh really? Care to explain the noises coming from the bed in your room?" Sephiroth asks. Vincent's gaze lowers to the ground as he scratches the bridge of his nose, an old habit of his that he does when he's embarrassed or uncomfortable, he nearly had it broken too.
------
Vincent stumbles back as Rima pushes him back into the room, the door closing behind her. Vincent's eyes widen slightly as he begins to fall backwards onto his bed, Rima falling on top of him. Giggling fills the room, and Vincent soon realizes it's Rima. Quickly, he shoves the woman off of him, on to the bed. "Wow.." Rima begins, her voice filled with laughter, "You sure got the good cut of the deal here." Rima says as she stands up on the bed, "The rest of the beds, as I recall, are a bit..." She pauses a bit, seemingly forgetting what she was saying, "Springy.. yea.. springy! Yours is soft and yet bouncy." She proves her point as she begins jumping on the bed, the springs creaking in protest.
Vincent quickly jumps off the bed and turns back around to look up at the bouncing woman, "Please stop, you're going to wake the others." Vincent asks politely.
"Good!" Rima states, "If I can't sleep then no one sleeps!" She says, never losing a bounce.
Vincent closes his eyes and rubs his temples, fighting the urge to just yank her off of the bed. He hears a creak in a floorboard near his door. Turning around quickly, pulling out the Death Penalty at the same time, he stares at his door. His eyes gaze down to the crack of the door where the light in the hallway snakes in. He begins to quietly make his way to the door, noticing a shadow in the light. Before he gets there however, the person leaves, perhaps sensing Vincent's presence. Vincent quickly holsters the Death Penalty, but keeps his eyes on the door, as he listens for any sort of noise in the silence.
'Silence?' He thinks as he notices the sounds of Rima's bouncing have desist. Turning around, Vincent raises his brows as he notices Rima sitting at the edge of the bed, staring blankly ahead, seemingly lost in thought. Vincent shakes his head before leaning back against the door and crossing his arms.
"Memories aren't cracked up to what they're suppose to be." Rima suddenly says, the laughter in her voice now gone, replaced by sorrow. Vincent makes no reply as he continues to stare at her in the dark room; watching her as she leans her head on her palm. "I've been wanting my memories for so long, but nothing good comes from the ones I remember... It only torments me more. I thought I'd be happy once I remembered who I am." Rima rubs her eyes with her knuckles, "But look at me... I'm the most miserable person alive right now."
Vincent let's out a tired breath, how much he wishes that he'd never have to hear another's problems will never be known by anyone but himself. He tires from all the complaints his companions make about their lives. He has problems of his own, and yet he just let them be, choosing not to worry about them, can't anyone else do the same? "Drinking yourself to oblivion doesn't solve your problems." Vincent states, not knowing what else to say. Honestly, what else could he say? 'I'm sorry for your troubles, I hope you don't take them too hard?'
"You think I don't know that?" Rima practically hisses at Vincent. "I drink because I want to, it's my only time of peace. I don't need a lecture from anyone on how to live my damn life! You best remember that."
"Sounds to me that you are asking for help." Vincent replies emotionlessly, "Why else would you speak about such things to anyone?"
Rima snaps her head up, her eyes sending a menacing glare at the dark gunslinger. Pushing herself off the bed, she swiftly strides over to Vincent and grabs fistfuls of the collar of his cloak, "Listen and listen good you bastard, I don't need help from anyone! I just wanted to talk to someone, get things off my chest, got it?"
Vincent turns his head to the side, finding the far wall entertaining for a moment, "Why talk to me?"
"Because...." Rima pauses a moment, trying to collect her thoughts some before continuing, "Because you already know about one of them, and no one else needs to know."
"I'm not the one you should be speaking to." Vincent replies softly, "Sephiroth is."
"He doesn't need to know anything that can't be changed." Rima releases her hold on Vincent. She lets out a sigh and hangs her head, "Know what? Forget about it." Slowly she reaches for the doorknob and opens the door. Before she can leave however, it's quickly closed. Rima blinks as she stares at the golden claw holding the door shut. Following the length of the arm with her eyes, she stares up at Vincent.
Vincent keeps his eyes closed, deep in thought, wondering why he suddenly stopped her from leaving. Shaking his head, clearing all thoughts from his head, he opens his crimson eyes and looks over to Rima, "I apologize for my behavior. I'm not in the best of moods. The traveling is beginning to take its toll on me. If you wish, I will listen."
Vincent removes his claw from the door, telling her that she can leave if she wants to. Rima seriously thought about just leaving, after all, why should she speak to him when he didn't want to listen in the first place. 'Damn men can never make up their minds.' Rima thinks annoyed. She lets out a deep breath, trying to calm down her annoyance. Turning on her heel, she makes her way back to the bed for some place to sit.
Vincent leans back against the wall again, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches Rima stare down at her hands in her lap. Vincent is probably one of the most patient people you could meet, however, knowing that the upcoming conversation is one that he wishes not to have, he just wants to get it over with, "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Vincent asks, deciding to get her started.
"How do you think..." Rima pauses a moment, thinking of her choice of words wisely, "How do you think Sephiroth would react if he found out I lost his child before he even knew about it?"
"I can't answer that." Rima frowns a bit at the answer, "However, you have to remember. You didn't lose the child, it was taken from you.... by Hojo." Vincent feels the familiar wave of anger grow in him whenever Hojo's name is brought up in a conversation. Some many years have passed and he still can't stand talking about the man.
------
Vincent stood there silently as he stares down at Sephiroth. Watching as the man tries to regain himself from his obvious shock. Sephiroth blinks a few times, finally getting out of his trance, "She was.... pregnant? With my child?" Vincent doesn't reply, but Sephiroth doesn't need one, the look in Vincent's eyes tell him all he needs to know. 'So I was wrong...'
'He's lying... Why believe him?'
Sephiroth's brows furrow in frustration as a headache begins to make itself noticed, "Why should I believe you Valentine? How do I know if you're lying?"
Vincent crosses his arms over his chest, his eyes filling with anger, obviously getting annoyed with the swordsman, "Because I'm the one here who actually knows what happened that night. Instead of accusing me of lying, why don't you wait to question Rima? Then you can draw out your own conclusions."
'Don't listen to him. He's trying to save himself. Get the Masamune and get rid of him.'
'.....'
Sephiroth blinks a bit surprised as he feels the wound in his shoulder close up. He looks up at Vincent as he watching him put a Cure materia back in one of the Death Penalty's slots. Turning away from Sephiroth, Vincent heads over to the discarded Masamune, picking it up, he tosses it over to Sephiroth, "We can finish this discussion when we find the others. We've wasted enough time already." Vincent states.
Sephiroth pushes himself up to his feet, and sheathes the Masamune. Nodding his head once, the two continue on their way. "HE-----Y! Wait for me ya idiots!" Daisuke shouts before racing after them. She quickly grabs Vincent's cloak and wraps herself up again, trying to get any sort of warmth available, "We need to get out of this weather."
Vincent shakes his head in annoyance before reaching up to the buckles of his cloak and unclasping them, letting Daisuke fall face first in the snow with the sudden looseness of the cloak. "Oof!" Daisuke wraps herself up tightly in a bundle using Vincent's discarded cloak. She blinks in surprise as she stares at his retreating form, realizing that he did, in fact, take his cloak off. Not wanting to miss the chance to see what he's been hiding for so long, she quickly catches up with Sephiroth and Vincent, opting to walk by Vincent's side. Trying to make it look like she wasn't starring, she glancing out the corner of her eyes to see Vincent's face.
"If it causes you to stare, I can take the cloak back." Vincent says, clearly annoyed.
"How'd- I mean... I wasn't!" Daisuke exclaims, snapping her gaze straight forward. Honestly, she didn't mean to stare, she didn't even realize she was. The treasure hunter can't help but let her eyes wander back over to the man next to him, with his cloak off, not only can she see his face, but she can actually make out his build somewhat, granted the somewhat loose long sleeved black shirt hides his muscles a bit, but not all of them. 'Wonder if he's cold.' As she glances back up to Vincent's face, she notices him starring right at her, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "I can't help it!" Daisuke immediately replies, trying to defend herself, "I didn't think there would be anyone in the group who would match up to Pretty Boy's looks!" Daisuke stops in her tracks as the sudden appearance of the Masamune's blade hovers in front of her nose. "Um.. I mean... ya pretty... but not as pretty as Pretty Boy." Daisuke says, giving a nervous laugh.
Sephiroth shakes his head, deciding not to even bother with Daisuke. Sheathing his sword, he continues on. Daisuke glances up to Vincent, "Geez... what's up with him? By the way... what were y'all fightin' bout anyway?"
"Nothing." Is Vincent's short reply. Although he told Sephiroth the discussion Rima and himself had last night, he had not told Sephiroth the whole story. And he wouldn't either, after all, he doesn't break promises he makes with others, no matter how small or big they may be. Vincent is still a bit unnerved at what he learned from Rima last night.
"I found my brother." Vincent raises an eyebrow at the change of subject, but remains quiet. "He's alive." Rima keeps her gaze to the floor, not wanting to look at anything else at the moment.
Vincent's brows furrow in confusion. He recalls the conversation they had on the Highwind, when Chaos took control of him. He remembers how old Rima said she was. "Is he a vampire as well?" Vincent asks, thinking that's the only way he can be alive. Rima shakes her head silently. Vincent's head tilts to the head slightly, "How is it possible he is alive than?"
"I don't really know." Rima pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, "It took me awhile to figure out who he is, and when I did find out, I wished it wasn't true." Vincent remains silent, letting Rima continue with her story. "I figured it out while fighting him in Mythril Caves."
"Fought him?" Vincent questions.
"Everyone has fought him so far, and no one could beat him. Yuffie was there when he showed up, I told her to run, I stayed behind to fight against him so Yuffie could get away. That's when I found out, found out that he was my brother. Then he fled, I chased after him, out of the Mythril Caves."
'When Yuffie was taken.' Vincent thinks to himself. 'She chased him out of Mythril Caves...' Vincent remembers seeing Rima outside of Mythril Caves with Hojo and Dregon. Vincent eyes narrow a bit as he guesses who her brother is, "Dregon is your brother?"
"No..." Rima shakes her head, Vincent blinks a bit confused, that means the only other person could be Hojo, and he knows it can't be him. "My brother's name is Cyrus, although he doesn't seem to know it himself anymore." Rima notices the look of confusion flash through Vincent's eyes, obviously not familiar with the name. A small smile crosses Rima's lips, reasons unknown to her, "You know him better as, Malice."
Whether Vincent is shocked or not, is hard to tell. The only physical reaction he gave at the news is lowering his head ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably. "What do you plan on doing?"
At first, Rima doesn't reply, still a bit surprised that Vincent could be so calm after being told that the seemingly invincible Malice, is her brother. Than again, it doesn't really change much of anything, after all, Malice isn't the one they are after. Bowing her head a bit, Rima replies, "I don't know." Vincent gives a short nod of understanding, "But..." Rima trails off, "No one needs to know of this. I will deal with him the next time I see him." Rima gives him a threatening look, as if telling him not to say anything to the others.
Vincent nods his head, "I understand." Vincent shifts his gaze from Rima's gaze to the floor, only to glance back up to her, becoming uncomfortable with her starring. Vincent glances over to the side, trying to look anywhere except the amber depths of Rima's eyes. After a moment, Vincent glances back to Rima, finding her still staring at him, her lips set in a annoyed scowl. "What is it?" Vincent finally asks.
Rima growls and frustration before reaching out and grabbing the front of Vincent's cloak. Vincent's crimson eyes widen a bit startled as he's forced down. Making quick work of the buckles, Rima pulls off Vincent's cloak, confusing the gunman even more. "Do you know how annoying it is to talk to you with half your face covered!?" Rima explains, as she manages to take the cloak from him and throwing it onto the bed, "It's enough to guess what your thinking without you covering your expressions."
Vincent stands back up, shaking his head in moderate amusement. "No one else seems to say anything."
"That's probably because they think you'll pull out your gun on them if they take your damn cloak. So stop trying to hide in it. It doesn't do you any good."
Vincent crosses his arms over his chest, if only for the sudden coolness from not having the extra layer of clothing covering him, "It keeps unwanted company away." Vincent points out.
Rima shakes her head as she lets out a sigh. Grabbing the discarded cloak again, she places it on her lap and examines it. "What's with you and the color crimson anyway?"
Vincent arches and eyebrow at the question, "What about you and black?"
Rima can't help smirk at the question, "I look good in black." Vincent shakes his head disbelievingly. " But you didn't answer my question, is it your favorite color or what?"
Vincent lets out a tired breath and closes his eyes, "No. In fact, I despise the color."
------
Even with the strength of a vampire, as she is now, Rima can't seem to inflect a dent in Malice. He takes each of the blows as if they were nothing, and in turn, counters with his own, quick and powerful. Rima daggers, as sharp and deadly as they are, act as if they were dulled down to a flat point, never spilling an once of blood.
Rima stares down from the ceiling, safe from Malice's reach. Her crimson eyes glowing with her growing aggravation. With each attack she inflicts, Malice remains as strong as ever, while she tires as the fight proceeds. His life force seems limitless, how is she suppose to fight against that?
In the back of Rima's mind, she tries to remember something she heard, something that Yuffie once told her awhile back. What was it that she said? If she could just remember. It was the night they were at Wutai. Yuffie told them about the fight Cloud had with Malice. Rima closes her eyes as she tries to remember the ninja's words.
'Cloud's Blade Beam sliced right through Malice! He has the strangest blood! It's Mako!'
'Why does that attack cause a real injury while others don't?' Rima thinks to herself, 'What is so different than that attack?' Rima herself has witnessed the attack first hand when she fought against one of Cloud's clones in the forest near Junon. With a quick slash of his blade, Cloud can send a sharp blast of air, easily slicing through anything it touches. But why does it affect Malice? Just trying to think up of an answer for that question gets on Rima's nerves.
'Go ahead and shoot. You know it doesn't have an affect on me. No weapon made by man can harm me.'
Malice's words swarm through Rima's mind. They hold meaning, she knows it. Suddenly, an idea crosses her mind, causing a small smirk to cross her lips. She may have just found out the secret to Malice's strength. Everyone who has fought him in combat has lost. They would try to overpower Malice with their brute strength, swinging their swords and shooting their guns, repeatedly failing. Why didn't anyone think of this before?
Rima lets out a laugh, unable to control herself. She had just figured out what no one else could. Malice stands there, silently, unmoving, as Rima drops from the ceiling, landing on her feet. "The irony of it all!" Rima says, after getting control of herself. She glances up to Malice, unmoving and expressionless as ever. The small smirk on Rima's face widens, causing the tips of her fangs to peek through her lips. "I just figured you out."
Malice watches as Rima puts her daggers away. He tilts his head slightly to the side in confusion as the crimson glow of Rima's eyes slowly fade away, replacing it with her normal amber eyes. Thinking that Rima has given up, Malice turns around and begins walking away, only to have the back of his trench coat yanked on, "I never said you could leave." Rima says, her voice seeming more wicked than her vampire one, "Like I said, I just figured you out. I won't let you get away."
"You're a fool if you think there's anything to figure out." Malice speaks, his voice low and monotone.
The smirk across Rima's face doesn't seem to seize, "On the contrary. One's greatest weakness is its creator." Silence hangs in the atmosphere for a moment before Rima continues, "If what you claim is true, and the planet did in fact create you. Than the planet can kill you too."
"What you speak is nonsense. Stop wasting time. Go and save the last of the Wutianease line before it's too late."
"You think I'm that stupid. You wouldn't help us unless you were plotting something. You intend to wait in the shadows as we spring her loose, and when we are out in the open, you try to kill her once again. Am I right?" Rima's grip on his trench coat only tightens as she speaks.
Slowly, Malice glances over his shoulder, and stares at Rima, his expression void of emotion. Slowly however, the same wicked smirk he's known for spreads across his lips. "So? What of it?"
Rima closes her eyes and bows her head down a bit as an amused smile graces her lips, "Well than...." She releases her hold on Malice and steps back a few feet, "I'll just kill you. You're not my brother, I know that now. You're just like all the rest of the monsters lurking on this planet. The only difference between you and them is that you look human." Slowly, Rima reaches into her trench coat, her hand closing on the object she desires, "Every monster has a weakness... "
Malice takes a hesitant step back as a bright green aura surrounds Rima, brightening up the cave. Rima outstretches her right hand, a small glowing sphere glowing in her hand, "Fire." Flames shoot out from the materia, soaring through the air in a fiery stream. Rima watches, as the fire explodes at it's mark. Soon the flames slowly diminishes, it's target gone from sight. Turning her gaze to the side, Rima spots Malice, off to the side of the cave. "So... there is something you're afraid of." Rima can only chuckle at the prospect, "I was right. Your creator is also your destroyer. Materia holds the power of the elementals of the planet. I may not be a magic user, but I don't think it'll take much to destroy you by the way you seemed to dodge such a weak spell." The magical green aura surrounds Rima once again, "I have you now."
Malice bows his head, lifting his right arm up. A spiral of flames travels up his arm, gathering up into his palm in a fireball. Rima's fire spell shoots out of the materia as Malice lets out his own fiery blast, the two spells clash into each other, causing a huge sphere of fire to form between them, growing in the size of a 'Fire 3' spell, only to blow up. Sending the two fighters crashing into the cave walls.
Rima sits up, shaking her head a bit to clear her head of the buzzing. 'That didn't work out well.' She thinks to herself. Rima puts her Fire materia back in her coat, deciding to try another one. Of course she doesn't have a wide variety of materia, opting to fight at the front line in battles. She only carries the basic set of materia. Puling out another one from trench coat and looks down at her palm to see what she picked. Glancing across the cave she notices Malice just starting to get to his feet, 'So I am right. His weakness is magic.' It explains why a Blade Beam affected Malice considering it's a sharp blast of wind caused by a quick slash of Cloud's sword.
The irony of it all is that she killed her brother with a magic spell, and here she is about to kill his look alike in the same way. It doesn't matter though, like Malice said, he's not her brother. With that thought drilled in her mind, her eyes narrow in a new wave of determination. Pushing herself up to her feet, she begins concentrating on the materia in her hand. "Quake!"
As Malice gets up to his feet, the ground underneath him begins to tremble, causing him to stumble about his feet. The floor underneath him caves in. Malice collapses to the ground, rocks and boulders rolling into the small quake spell caused. Malice manages to get himself out of the crater, only to have a quick blast of fire to explode at his back. Malice stumbles forward before falling to the ground, motionless.
Rima stands there, short of breath. Not one to use magic often she isn't used to the effects of casting magic, making her head throb and her body feeling exhausted. 'Is he dead?' Rima thinks to herself. Amber eyes blink a bit surprised in the darkness as they take in the sight of the glowing stream of mako coming out of the opponents back. Stepping hesitantly towards Malice, never taking her eyes off of him for an instant, Rima prepares for any tricks. Once she reaches him, Rima turns Malice on his back with a push of her foot. She draws her head back in surprise as she sees Malcie cough up more of his mako blood. 'I've beaten him.'
Rima stares down at Malice, as he stares back up at her with his empty white eyes, looking defeated. Slowly a smirk crosses Rima's face as she realizes that she has, in fact, defeated the seemingly invincible man. "I can't stop you eh?" Rima can't help but give a soft chuckle, "I guess I can thank you the information about Yuffie's whereabouts. Perhaps I do owe you, but if I let you go, you'll just come back for her. I'll get rid of you now." Keeping her gaze looked with Malice's, Rima slowly draws out the power of her Fire materia, "You'll die here Malice."
'Seria...'
Rima quickly steps away, her expression looking as if she just saw a ghost. "No! He's not Cyrus!" Rima shouts at herself as she shakes her head, trying to clear her head from any doubts.
'Seria...'
Rima drops the her materia on the ground as she covers her face with her hands. 'Stop! Stop! Stop! Where's this voice coming from!?' She can almost here her brother's voice in her memories. 'I can kill him now, let me be! Not now, not then, not ever again. I don't want these memories anymore!' Rima freezes in her spot, concentrating on getting herself under control. Why is she suddenly short of breath? Rima peeks between her fingers, looking over to the last place Malice was, only to see him gone, a glowing puddle of mako left in his wake. Rima grits her teeth in anger, furious at herself for letting him get away. 'Well... At least I know how to kill him. I'll get him next time.'
Well everyone, that's it! Oh I just remembered.. There was a comment... I forget who made it.... but they pointed out that Materia wouldn't be anything new in Rima's past because the Materia was around when the Ancients were about. I am aware of this. The way I look at it though is that this is in the years where people live off the land, technology pretty poor. Not everyone in the world would know about Materia and magic. What's an everyday thing to one culture is new to another. Kind of like in the game, not everyone knew who the Ancients were, or about the Promised Land. And when Cloud is telling his story there's apart where he asks Sephiroth why they can use magic in battle when they equip materia. So even then not everyone understands materia. Well anyways, I'm back everyone! I hoped you liked this chapter... longest one yet lol. Well and review and let me know what you think! TTNC!