A/N: I don't own FFVII or Dirge of Cerberus or Vincent Valentine nor nothing else related to FFVII. I do own Luciel, Sky, Kendal, and Seth... and that's more than I can say for a lot of things I have. Enjoy.
- - - -
Seth stepped into the room of children carrying a metal tray. It was morning, although none of the kids would have known it in the first place. He set it down on a crate as quietly as he could. The tray was banged up and rusted, but served the purpose of carrying the plates of gruel. Regretfully, gruel was the only functional meal around here. He didn't even like to eat it more than once or twice a day. Then again, he didn't need to eat very often at all.
He reached over and turned on the light. It flickered, and momentarily blinded him. A pair of white faces were already looking at him with apprehension and anxiety.
"I want my mommy," one of them said softly; he began to cry a little.
"Everyone will go home as soon as I find out if one of you is the one we need to help us," Seth said comfortingly. "I promise you that. Here, some of you should eat something." He held up a plate of rice and fried pork. It smelled better than the gruel.
A girl with dark hair and penetrating green eyes stared at him, then at the plate. "I don't like that crap. It tastes awful."
Many of the kids agreed with her. Seth knelt and balance the plate on his thigh, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "This is different, you understand. This is actually my breakfast, but I can't abide you eating this other stuff here. It can sustain you all if you each have some. It's better for you, at least."
Some of the children began stirring from their bedrolls, rubbing their eyes and looking at each other and at the silver-haired boy-creature who was offering them his better food. Gradually, he tempted them with a spoonful, then more came over. The only one who didn't eat was the girl with penetrating green eyes.
Seth stood, and stepped carefully over the sleeping bags and bedrolls toward her, his leather coat brushing past the children, who reached out to touch it as if touching the body of some holy being. He knelt in front of her. "Eat. You'll get sick if you don't."
"It's poisoned," she spat. "I'm not eating that shit!" She struck out at the plate - the contents spilled over the floor and she buried her face into the wall, away from him.
The children watched with wide eyes. Then they turned away and began talking to each other. Seth stared at the girl a moment longer. He tried to remember her name. Saph...Sephiroth? He stood up slowly, dusting his hands off and picking up the plate. His gaze fell on the group of children, sitting together. They seemed happier with food in their stomachs.
He left the room and locked it behind him. It wasn't long before Sky pinioned him against the wall and gave him a rough kiss on the mouth. "Brother!" he cried. "I was wondering if those little monsters had eaten you up."
"They're fine. Today, I think, I'll go back up to the surface and get them better food. They look terrible. That gruel--"
"--tastes like bat shit, I know." Sky ruffled his own hair and yawned. "I feel something..."
"You always feel something," the silver-haired man replied lovingly. He teased him with a poke to the groin. "You're horny twenty-four-seven."
"That's not true! I'm horny when we're fighting, and that's it." He pulled away and gave him a good-natured glare. Just as quickly, he'd forgotten what exactly he had sensed, as the sensation swept away in light of being accused of his promiscuity. "Anyway - you really want to go out today? It's a mess - we blew out that subway station last night, remember? It's going to be crawling with guards and soldiers for weeks."
"I can stay unseen for as long as I wish," Seth insisted. "Besides, it's better that I go alone rather than with the rest of you tagging along... complaining or bothering me with dumb riddles." Seth shrugged away and turned toward their living quarters in the grimy corridor of the water treatment station.
Kendal emerged. His dark hair fell over his eyes, and he tilted his head. "Shopping again? I swear, you're more and more a woman these days. Get your stuff then. Be careful." He stopped him momentarily, claiming his mouth in a soft, warming kiss. "For me."
- - - -
Vincent Valentine followed the subway tracks in the flickering darkness. Eventually the lights steadied. He didn't know what he should have been looking for, but in a way, he was glad that he didn't. It bought him much-needed time to collect his thoughts and sift through all the wild imaginings of a lonely old monster. Meanwhile his senses worked in autopilot, scanning in the shadows for any hint of a threat.
Through much-dwelt-upon worries, Vincent began to percieve the smell of Mako. It was a smell that was not comparable to anything else in the world and was probably the most unpleasant. It was faint, growing stronger as it was coming from a large open grate near the very end of the tunnel where a yellow and black security sign stood blocking the way.
"Who wants to go down the dark stinky hole?" Luciel said cheerfully, wiping his nose. "Is that Mako? That's awful. Ugh."
"This was opened recently." Vincent said, brushing aside the dust that was knocked off from the wall as the bolts were forced out. His red eyes searched the dark hole. He could hear the echo of his voice. This would take him a long ways down.
He moved the grate a little more, holstering his gun as he gripped the edge of the entrance and slid down. He disappeared beyond sight. Luciel followed, falling faster and faster so that he had to reach out and grab at the coarse metal so he wouldn't hit Vincent on the way down. He could have done with waiting a few more seconds, because Vincent barely jumped out of the way. Luciel tumbled out, and landed roughly on a catwalk that rattled when he struck it.
The catwalk creaked a little. The pair froze, before Luciel began inching for the ladder. He climbed down, holding his flashlight in his mouth. Floodlights lit the disturbing arena, blazing in the upper blackness like distant suns. The ladder took them 40 feet down into a reservoir filled with Mako. The combination of damp mold and oily Mako was almost unbearable.
The pair circled around the glowing sea of Mako with their nerves on fire from the aroma. The walls were covered in wetness from the recent rainfall. The hurricane had flooded this area badly. There was a series of concrete steps leading into another unlit area where the floodlights' power didn't reach. To the west of that was a dark, ominous tunnel, twenty feet tall and fifteen feet wide where there was nothing at all. Twisted metal and debris laid strewn at its entrance.
Vincent listened closely with his ears. He heard nothing but the faint dripping of water and Luciel's slow, calm breathing. That was good. But he knew that something in this place was wrong... that the debris was not from an explosion, for there was nothing charred for several feet around. Something had torn this place apart. He listened harder, turning his head toward the tunnel. After several moments, the gentle drifting of air and a deeper sound, like waves on the shore, came to his ears.
"Don't disturb anything," Vincent warned. "Something sleeps here." He stepped back from the tunnel entrance and turned toward the catwalks.
Luciel rubbed the back of his neck slowly, sighing. "Think we should stop and rest for now? I think I hit something earlier."
Vincent peered over at him. "That would depend entirely on you. How quickly do you want to find your daughter, Luciel?"
Luciel met his gaze with a slight glare. He wanted to see her very much, safe and sound. He refused to believe she had come to harm, or worse... death. "I want to find her... but I don't want to rush in and get anyone hurt. I don't know how you know this is the right place to go, but--" He turned his head, and just happened to notice something, or someone dressed in black, venture into the light from the concrete stairway. Then it saw him, and darted back.
Vincent turned around, seeing where his gaze went, and pointed his gun. Luciel angled his flashlight toward the stairs and pinpointed the man in black with his light. Vincent fired without asking any questions. The man threw several sharp knives at them, cutting Vincent's hand but doing very little damage at all. It was obvious he was wearing some kind of protective vest, so he readjusted and fired a last time. A spray of blood hit the stone wall behind the man from his calf and he tumbled out of sight.
The duo dashed off to find him before he could run off again. Blood drips glistened fresh up the stairs, where they abrubtly ended in a long corridor, immediately making the area feel small and enclosed. The spatter trail ended in the middle of the hallway. They both looked up, Luciel pointing his light up at a hole in the ceiling carved right out of the stone. Blood streaked the ceiling.
"Jesus," Luciel said.
"We need to follow him," Vincent said quietly. "But I don't think both of us can fit up there."
"Well, who--? Do you want to go up there?"
"Give me a boost." Vincent waited for him as he stuck the flashlight in his teeth and knelt so Vincent could step onto his shoulders and clamber into the ceiling entrance.
"Vincent!"
The man disappeared for a moment. He poked his head down.
"Take this," Luke said. He held up the light, and Vincent took it before disappearing once more.
- - - -
Vincent crouched in the dark tunnel with his back against the wall. It was cramped, uncomfortable, and most of his belongings were poking him in places he'd rather they did not. He took the time to sense by feel where his bullets were before he began to reload them into the chamber. Sweat dripped down his face. It was hot here. A pipe lead down a narrow tunnel which he had to crawl to get down. In the little light provided from the hole next to him, he saw the path of blood continuing. The smell of Mako was fading, replaced by the smell of blood and iron.
He finished reloading and heard heavy breathing down the corridor. Then a grunt of pain, tearing cloth. He slid forward, moving carefully. Two points of light glittered at him.
"Stop right there. I can see you clearly." The man in black stared at him, huddled up with his leg extended. He sat in a puddle of his own blood. "You're very clever coming down here. Was it very difficult?"
"Not particularly," Vincent said, aiming between those two points of light. Glowing eyes. "I'd like to know before you die what you're doing here. I wouldn't argue. That's a lot of blood."
"Are you thirsty?" he replied, the other's eyes glittering daringly. "This is nothing..." He smiled by the glow of his own eyes as he slid further away. "Leave this place before it kills you."
Vincent regarded him evenly, and then scooted forward when the man in black slid away and down into another hole, disappearing into a room below. He limped away out of sight. Vincent jumped down, just as the door burst open. The corridor must have connected into this room and Luciel tumbled in, just as the man in black produced a pistol of his own and fired at him.
Luciel squawked and dropped to the ground, ducking his head. "Son of a bitch!" He lifted his gun and shot at him, missing every single time as the man in black fled once more through another doorway that swung and creaked on its hinges. Vincent stood up slowly, and a few seconds later his companion joined him. "Yeah, I highly doubt he's some creepy hermit. For one thing, nobody would be running after a shot like that. Well, except maybe you...right?"
"Correct," Vincent replied. "Which means we are definitely going in the right direction. Let's keep following him. Just do me one favor...and stay behind me."
"You're so caring," Luciel sighed, and leaned close go give him a tight hug. "My hero!"
"Please," Vincent growled, pushing him back. "This is my personal space. Stay out."