Chapter 10
Farewell Part 2
"See you later, Vincent Valentine," she said quietly. He began to correct her, but dropped it and only smiled sadly. Kali watched silently as Tifa came over the hill and Vincent turned to face her.
"Hello, Vincent," she said angrily.
"Hello, Tifa," he returned.
Kali watched Tifa fly at Vincent, a whirlwind of fists and feet.
"Ah," he gasped as her fist connected with his stomach. He bent over in pain.
Before she could kick him, he turned and slashed at her with his gauntleted arm. She leapt away and kicked him hard in the chest. He knelt to the ground, but as she tried to strike again, he reached up, grabbed her foot, and spun her in the air. She landed hard on the ground. As he began to leap up and drop kick her in return, she flipped up and dodged his attack. Kali watched fearfully as Vincent and Tifa fought hand-to-hand. Tifa was amazingly fast for a woman her age and with that large of a chest. When Vincent relentlessly and tirelessly dodged and blocked each blow, Tifa finally gave up on her hands and pulled out a dagger. Vincent stared at it; he hadn't gotten a good look before, but something told him that this was the same weapon Cloud had used to kill Sephiroth. He brought his gauntlet up as she swung at him. Kali covered her ears as a horrible ringing noise filled the area. She struggled to keep from screaming in pain. Tifa stepped back and shook her head before Vincent tackled her and knocked the dagger away. She landed face down in the dirt.
"Let's keep it fair, shall we?" he suggested, sitting on the small of her back to keep her on the ground.
"If you want fair, get off of me," she snapped, her voice muffled as the hand pinned her head down against the dirt.
"But you see, I am the one who is free. I have the power to get up when I want and let you up when I want. You see, since I cannot die until my gauntlet comes off, I can sit on you like this for days if I wish, and while you die slowly of starvation and thirst, I will be just fine," he taunted. He brought his face to her neck. "And seeing as how the full moon is coming soon, it will be nice to have I meal I won't have to struggle with for once."
"You asshole. What happened to you? Why are you helping his bitch's daughter?"
"Because she and Kadaj are the only remaining family of Lucrecia. I wouldn't want to lose her memory now, would I?"
"Get off of me. I'll only say it this last time."
"How could Cloud stand you? Were you like this on your honeymoon?" Vincent laughed. "It's no wonder you two had no children."
"GET OFF!" she yelled. She suddenly jerked her body to the side and threw Vincent off balance. She picked up the dagger as he stood.
Kali watched silently, fear growing greater in her chest each moment. Tifa cut open Vincent's chest, drawing vast amounts of blood. He stared at it for a moment before licking it off of his hand. Tifa took his distraction as an opportunity to try and cut off his arm, but as she ran up, he lifted his hand and grabbed her neck. She struggled for a moment, but Kali smiled. She knew that when Vincent saw or tasted blood, his strength grew enormous. Tifa finally sliced open his upper arm with it. As he let go and she stumbled backwards, she clasped a hand to her throat. Her hand came away with blood. Tifa's neck had five neat holes around it, almost as if she wore a satanic necklace with an invisible string holding it together. She gazed up at Vincent in shock as he stared back, eyes glowing blood red. He was shaking with fury as his two cuts healed.
Before Kali knew what was happening, the two of them were running at each other. She watched Tifa cut him open with the dagger, watched as Vincent tore Tifa's body open with his gauntleted arm, watched as their blood stained the grass the color of the sunset sky. Kali gripped her pistol tightly, ready to use it if things turned bad or Tifa approached her. The two of them turned and dodged each other's attacks swiftly; she hardly knew who was winning or losing, and so she decided to take no chances.
She nearly screamed as she watched Vincent make his worst mistake. He paused for a millisecond to reach for one of his guns, finally giving Tifa the moment she had waited for. In that miniscule hesitation, she ran up to him and tore at his arm, just above the elbow. Vincent fell to the ground and screamed in pain. Tifa sat on his stomach and hacked at his left arm with one hand while she held the other hand down. Kali began crying as she watched Tifa finally cut through the bone, then disconnect the flesh in one swift movement. She stood and stared at what she did. Vincent moaned in pain as he stood and grasped the stump of his arm, the fabric of his shirt torn and the coat flying in the wind to reveal the mess. Kali grimaced at the sight of his torn muscles, bone, and blood. Tears of anguish poured down his cheeks as he stared at his bleeding appendage and his eyes became their normal selves. He swallowed weakly before kneeling to the ground to keep from fainting of blood loss. Tifa walked up to him and pulled out a pistol.
"I'm sorry Vincent. But you know how we feel about Sephiroth and everyone who has helped him," she whispered. She knelt in front of him and smiled, running her hand through his hair and the back of it along his cheek. "You always were a handsome man. I wish things didn't have to turn out this way. You know, I've secretly wished that Cloud had been killed by him. Then maybe I could have had you," Tifa whispered. She kissed Vincent on the lips slowly. She unexpectedly pulled away when his lower jaw jerked up slightly and she felt her tongue with her fingertips. It was bleeding.
"You know I love Yuffie," Vincent said as he stood shakily.
"Of course. The young ninja. You don't need to worry about her or Kali in your death. They'll be with you again soon enough."
"Yuffie's an immortal vampire now, and as long as she lives, Kali will stay here," he said knowingly. Kali saw that his eyes were beginning to glaze over. She knew that look; it was the one her mother had just before she died only a short time ago. Kali bit down on her coat collar to keep from crying out loud. Tifa stared at Vincent.
"I beg to differ. Where are they?" she said quietly.
"I'll never tell a bitch like you," he said smoothly. "You may find her yourself, but they will never let you take Kali."
"We'll see," she whispered. She glanced and pointed at the inscription on the grave. "What is that?"
"It's a spell that was put on Sephiroth as a baby. Hojo made a witch pissed and she put it on him. That's why he came back. He couldn't die until he went to another world, screwed around with a woman, and got her pregnant with a daughter. But Kali's part of something bigger now. You can't kill her."
"We'll see about that," she said again. Tifa pointed the pistol at Vincent's head. "Or should I say, I will see about that."
"Tifa?" he said somewhat sweetly.
"Yes?" she returned, her voice somewhat softer. Vincent spit some blood on the ground before he stared at her right in the eyes.
"Go join Cloud and burn in Hell."
"You first," Tifa said angrily. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
"No," Kali gasped.
BANG! Time seemed to slow down for Kali. She watched the bullet leave the barrel of the gun and fly through the air. She wanted to turn away, but she somehow found herself unable to move, so she was forced to watch as the bullet hit Vincent in the forehead right where, unbeknownst to Kali, Hojo had shot him. Kali struggled to keep her hands off her gun and resisted screaming as she watched a few drops of blood fly from the wound and even more spray from the back of his skull. She trembled with tears as she watched him fall surprisingly slowly backwards to the ground. Tifa lowered the gun and stared at her handiwork. She pulled a cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
"Marlene? Have you found them?" She waited. "Damn it. I found Vincent, but not the girl." She paused again. "No, he's dead. He wouldn't tell me where." Tifa listened. She sighed exasperatedly. "I'll meet you outside the city then."
Kali glared at her as Tifa put the phone back. She took one last look at Vincent and began walking down the hill, back to where she had come from. When Kali heard the cycle and was sure Tifa was gone, she ran from behind the stone and knelt by Vincent.
"Vincent?" she gasped, shaking him. "Vincent, no," she sobbed.
His red eyes were half-open and blood still dripped from his forehead. His gauntlet was lying next to him while his right arm was extended slightly from his side. She sat next to him and laid his head on her lap. She massaged his temples, as he had done to her the last time she was knocked out, but she knew it was no use. She finally began to feel sleepy. After staring into his kind face a bit longer, Kali curled up next to him and sobbed harder. She didn't care that he was a bloody mess; she laid her head against his chin, put her arm around him and his around her, and cried for minutes. She finally fell asleep.
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Kali sat up at a noise nearby. Vincent was still lying dead next to her, and the sun was still setting. She felt as though she hadn't been asleep at all. She looked around slowly before noticing that there were a dozen people standing around her. She immediately recognized Cloud, Barret, and Nanaki, but she didn't know who the others were.
One of them was fairly short, had short, blonde hair, and wore a red business suit. He was puffing on a cigar. Next to him was another blonde man, this one a bit taller, and he wore a white suit with a blue tie. To their sides stood two people, a man and a woman, both in blue suits and standing straight up, hands behind their backs. The man had long, black hair and a black tie, but the woman had blonde hair down to her shoulders and no tie. Kali turned around and saw five more people standing there. She immediately recognized the man in the white coat and glasses, his long, black hair pulled back. He was watching her intently, a smirk on his face. The woman to his left was beautiful. She, too, was familiar, and wore a lab coat and glasses, but she had long, loose brown hair. She was crying silently. After watching a moment, Kali realized that they were all crying silently. She turned back to see two people who looked just like her father, except one had hair that was cut very short and the other was quite scrawnier than her dad. She stared up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. A beautiful young woman in a pink dress stood over Kali. Her brown hair was in a ponytail with a large, pink bow and she had bright green eyes. The woman smiled sadly at Kali before looking to Vincent.
Kali followed her gaze and gasped as Vincent stood slowly, but it wasn't truly him. It took Kali a moment, but she realized that although his body was gone, his soul was still alive, presently separating from the body, and these people were here to welcome him to the Lifestream. The woman in the dress nodded to Kali. She looked at her hands and saw that she was holding his physical one tightly, thus confining his soul to the body. She closed her eyes with sadness; she knew that if she let go, Vincent's soul would be free and she might never see him again. Kali slowly released him anyway. He smiled at her and, a few tears falling down his face, laid a hand comfortingly on her shoulder before approaching the woman in the coat. They hugged silently before another figure came up the hill.
Kali shook excitedly as her father joined them. He seemed calm and collected, at least more than the others. Sephiroth smiled at Vincent and bowed slightly, to which Vincent did the same before the angel turned to his daughter. Kali and Sephiroth smiled at each other a moment, then he knelt by the grave. He read what was written silently before standing again. He pulled a large sword seemingly out of nowhere. It was such a large weapon, some people had to step back or else suffer injury. Sephiroth laid the sword across the grave and stood to look at his daughter. His eyes were shining with proud tears as he gazed smiling at her. Kali tried to stand, but her legs were asleep. Sephiroth knelt next to her, kissed her on the forehead, and wrapped his arms around his child. She could smell the leather he wore, and slowly brought her arms around his back, her hands resting on his shoulders. She closed her eyes and cried a little. As he did this, everyone who was watching stared in surprise. Each of these people had known Sephiroth in life, and yet, none of them, with the exceptions of the people in the lab coats and Vincent, had ever seen him show this much compassion or emotion. Sephiroth held her head up a moment, rubbed his hand along her face, and stared into her eyes before kissing her one more time. Her mother had been right; his lips were soft and warm, even in death. He stood, looked around, nodded, and they all began to leave. He bent and hugged her tighter than he had done previously. She closed her eyes and began to shake fearfully as his smell and touch faded away. Before she opened her eyes, she thought she could hear his voice, although she knew he had said nothing.
"I love you, Kali, and I am so proud of you."
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Kali opened her eyes slowly, hoping that maybe what happened to Vincent had been a dream after all. As soon as she opened them, she knew she was wrong, for Vincent still lay there, his head and arm bleeding, his eyes empty and hollow. She trembled with sadness before turning to the grave. The sword was lying across it. Kali stood slowly and walked over to it.
"I can't even lift this damn thing," she muttered angrily when she saw the size. She walked along it and concluded that her mother was right; it was at least eleven feet long. Kali began to turn away before a voice stopped her.
"Tit fil…" Kali turned and gazed around for the speaker.
"Who's there?" she said shakily.
"Ihsanan em lla cy amu oy. D'ne irfa mai. Ydo bon mai," it hissed. Kali couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Quit fucking around with my mind and show yourself!" she yelled.
"Drow seht t'fil won. D'nim ru oyni mai eesu oy. Flesym woh ston naci. D'nim ru oyht iwg nikc uf ton mai," it said quietly. Kali yelled one more time.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
"Er eh won mai. Ydo bon mai…" it faded away. Kali stood trembling before going to the sword.
"Well, I can try," she said with a shrug. She grabbed the hilt tightly and pulled as fast as she could. She nearly lost her balance when she pulled it high off the ground. "Ah!" she yelled in surprise. She regained her balance and swung the blade once or twice. It was, in reality, quite lightweight. She gazed out over the ruins silently, the sword still held loosely in her hand.
Just past the city, the moon was rising slowly, the light of the sun fading to black behind her. She glanced back at Vincent's body and her father's grave. Her stomach began to fill with butterflies as she realized her decision. With the last bit of the spell running through her mind, Kali pledged her allegiance to her father and Vincent. She chose to chase down Tifa and Marlene, to kill them when they finally meet. Kali looked at the sword. Deep down, she knew that the power to avenge them was now hers.
Kali slowly laid the sword on the ground. She knelt next to her father's grave and dug a hole just larger than Vincent's body. Kali walked over and, struggling, picked up her friend and his arm. She prayed silently as she lowered him next to the grave. Kali paused a moment and slowly slipped his necklace off of his head. She removed the picture of him, Hojo, and Lucrecia from his pocket, pulled three guns from their holsters, and laid two in his hands. She painfully closed his eyelids, his beautiful and soft red eyes disappearing forever. With some difficulty, Kali laid him in the hole and crossed his arms over his chest, trying her best to put his gauntlet where it was supposed to lay. She struggled with the tears as she covered his body with dirt. Kali was careful to hide his face last, just in case Yuffie came and wanted to see him, but she never arrived. Kali packed the dirt around his head carefully, tears dripping into his wound. Before she finished covering him, she kissed her fingertips and pressed them against his forehead.
When he was covered, she picked up his other gun and necklace. With shaky hands, she arranged her gun and his so that the triggers were touching each other and the mouths of the barrels were just a hair apart. In the middle of the diamond she had formed, she laid the picture in it and gently placed the crystal cross on top. She closed her eyes and cried silently. She looked up as she heard three motorcycles come up the hill. They cut off, and she stared across the hilltop to find Yuffie, Reno, Rude, and Cid coming towards her.
"Hi," Kali said quietly. She stared back at the makeshift tombstone. Yuffie followed her gaze.
"He's gone," Yuffie muttered. It wasn't a question, but Kali bit her lip and nodded weakly, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"I'm sorry. I should have been here to stop it," Cid whispered after an awkward silence. Yuffie trembled and finally knelt to the ground.
"No," she gasped. Tears streamed down her face as she began screaming. "He's not dead. He's not! No! He can't be! Oh, Vincent, god, no!" She shook violently and hit her temples with her fists. "No, no, no! Vincent, you're not gone, you're not gone! Don't leave us, please!"
"Yuffie," Reno said gently after a minute of this. He began crying, too, but not just because Vincent was dead; he felt his heart aching at her cries. He knelt next to her and tried to hold her.
"Get off of me!" she snapped as his hands barley made contact with her shoulders. She stopped when she saw who it was. "Reno, I'm sorry," she muttered, burying her face in his chest and sobbing, "Why Vincent? Why did it have to be him? Why is the world so fucked up? God, no! He's not gone! He's faking it, just like he did fifteen years ago! He's not buried in the fucking ground!"
"I saw him go to the Lifestream," Kali whispered. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I dreamed that we were sitting on the hill and everyone he knew through his life was there to greet him. At least, I think that's who they were," she muttered. Kali stood and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they fell on the necklace. She picked it up and looked harder; it was actually two pieces that could come apart and were currently fitted together. Kali slid one piece off, laid the necklace back down, and clasped the piece in her hands. "Yuffie?" she said, kneeling before her and Reno.
"What?"
"Here. I think Vincent would want you to have this," Kali explained, extending her hands and opening them to reveal the crystal. Yuffie took it shakily and held it against her heart.
"Why am I feeling like this?" she gasped, eyes closed. "My entire body is shaking and numb. My heart and chest is aching terribly. My mouth and eyes are dry, and yet, my eyes are burning with tears. How could she do that? How could Tifa do it?"
"Anger and hatred blinds and corrupts even the most pure and honorable heart," Rude said quietly. Kali looked up at him, surprised at how deep the meaning of his words was.
She looked at the ground and cried silently. Reno moved so that he was between the two women and wrapped an arm around both. Cid sat on the women's other sides and wrapped them into a hug. Rude joined Kali and Reno and knelt with them. They bowed their heads and cried silently. Rude was the only one to show little emotion, but they all knew that behind his glasses, his eyes were filling with the tears that he had never shed. Kali slowly opened her eyes and raised her head after about twenty minutes.
"Reno, where's my bag?"
"Hmm? Oh, on my cycle, just a few feet down. Why?" he asked as she stood. Kali walked away and came back with two yellow items in her hands.
"For Daddy and Vincent," she whispered. She dug one hole at the base of her father's tombstone, laid one of Aeris' flowers in it, and packed dirt around it. She turned to Vincent's guns and planted the other flower just above them. "Someday, this hill will have more flowers covering it. I hope we'll all be able to take care of them."
"Kali," Cid said. He took a breath and looked from the teenager to Yuffie. "I think we should go get some sleep. Both of you have had a long day."
"Okay," Kali agreed. She picked up the sword, receiving stares from her friends.
"I haven't seen that thing in years," Reno said in awe. As he returned to his motorcycle, he called, "Put it away before you poke someone's eye out."
"Ha," Kali laughed weakly. She closed her eyes and laid the sword against her hip, just as she did a normal one. She felt the weight disappear and looked down to see that it was gone. "Where'd it go?"
"The magic that went into the forging of Masamune allows it to disappear when not in use. Just grab the air next to your hip, right where a normal sword's hilt sits, think about holding it, and then pull your arm out as if unsheathing a normal blade. You'll be able to use it in seconds," Cid explained. He led her down the hill.
"You and Vincent were close friends, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Damn it, I haven't cried like this in years," Cid sighed. He rubbed his teary, red eyes and took a deep breath. "I tried to talk him out of going with Cloud, but once he knew Yuffie was going, there was no changing his mind. It was meant to be."
"Cid, I'm sorry. Vincent was a great man," Kali whispered. She hugged Cid and sat in front of Rude on his bike.
"Thanks, kid," Cid whispered as he got on his. Kali never heard him, for they were already speeding down the hill towards the ruins to find a place to sleep.
They rode for a few minutes before stopping at Aeris' church. They lit a fire just outside and sat around it, their sorrow feeding the flames and keeping them cold. Yuffie curled up next to Reno, Rude sat close to the flames, Cid sat close on the other side, and Kali sat by herself, her coat wrapped tightly around her. She couldn't help feeling that they blamed her for what happened to Vincent. She was, after all, right there when Tifa attacked. She could have done anything to save him. She shivered violently despite the flame. Kali drew her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her face in her arms. As she gazed back up at the fire, the last thing her father had said in her dream echoed through her mind.
I love you, Kali, and I am so proud of you…
Kali smiled to herself. Her task was almost done; she could feel it. She only had to avenge her father and Vincent, and then everything would be great. She smiled on and on before lowering her eyes and closing them. She jerked her head up when the voice spoke again.
"Dehsi nif g'ni ebote solc neveto nerau oy. Eve ihcad nan rae loth cumy revoso doth cume vahl litsu oy. G'nor werau oy."
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NM: ((tear)) Vincent's dead. I'm sorry Vinny fans! Maybe you'll see him again… ((shifty eyes)) Anyway, I really want to know your feedback on the subject; whether you felt indifferent, cried, enjoyed watching (er, reading) him die, etc (I was crying, and I'm the one who wrote it!). But be honest! Oh, and sorry if the fight was kind of weak. Anyone who's read my other stories will know that I'm not good at writing out violent conflicts. Also, does everyone know who all of the people in the Lifestream were? I'll tell you in the next chapter's author notes if you don't. Just let me know. Okay, next order of business: a man with three buttocks.
All Prisoners: ?????
NM: ((laughs weakly)) Sorry, Fawlty Towers marathon on today. John Cleese is running through my mind randomly. Anyone who's watched Monty Python or Fawlty Towers will understand… Onwards! Okay, seriously now. Could anyone decode the stuff that the 'voice' was saying? Here's a hint: You will be able to decode it if you could decode the message on the Mirror of Erised from the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone for my British readers). I'll provide a translation in the next chapter. Reviews:
Sayahiei: I kind of like KHCoM. Of course, I'm still in Traverse Town… Anyway, you'll soon find that I cut off my chapters at critical moments. I like to keep the readers guessing.
Panny Savage: YES! Thank you! Soul Vagabond and I have been saying that about Tifa for ages! THANK YOU! Ahem… Yeah, Kali and Daj should meet up next chapter or early in the one after that. Yeah, I liked the Meteor smiting, too.
Arcander: Aw, thanks! It makes me feel so good when people enjoy my work. You won't have to wait long for updates in this story until much later; I still have plenty of ideas for this one.
Merielle: He's in the next one. Or at least, he will be briefly at the end, if not sooner.
Mediciner: Okay, I explained earlier in the chapter. Better? ((rereads review)) So yeah, you were right. And I'm glad to see you updating more now! As for FF7DoC, it's going to star Vincent and Cait Sith. All I know so far is that there are a group of people who were either trapped or hiding out (different sites say different things) in/under Midgar when Meteor hit. The men, called Deep Ground (DG) soldiers, didn't come out until three years went by; Two years after AC. They begin attacking peaceful towns, and so Vinny has to fight back. I have no clue what Cait Sith is doing there, but I think Reeve is in there, too (he kind of has to be for CS to be there, huh?), because some scans have been released showing a man that looks like him. Other than that, I have no idea. Oh, and it looked like it's going to be a shooter game, not ATB. And there's a woman attached to a big machine. Anda guy that looks like a cross between Amarant Coral (FF9) and Mr. Hyde. And… How bout I shut up?
NM: Next chapter, be ready for the translation of the voice, Kadaj, and (maybe) the identity of the shadow revealed (you all probably know who, but the characters don't, so there!).
Review!
NINJA MAGE
