Disclaimer
How many times do I have to go over this? This is so a waste of my time. I spent like a full minute making up words saying that I don't own Final Fantasy VII and most definitely, not Square-Enix. I played the game and watched the movie. Both were amazingly good pieces of work but I don't have the rights to them. That is all. Oh, just in case you readers didn't get the gist of this message… DO NOT SUE ME!

Author's Note
Okies… This will be the chapter involving a Vincent battle involving… well… you'll just have to find out. I hope that proves to be quite entertaining in the action and humor aspect. Oh, besides that, this will tell what happens to all the children in the Sleeping Forest and how Kadaj gets to summon that big dragon named Bahamut Sin later on. Actually, you'll get to see another summon come in here… I bet you people won't expect it. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Somewhere in the Outskirts of the Sleeping Forest

'Trust… It is a precious feeling to have faith in another and for that person to return that faith… It is a mark of being human, separating man from beast. I truly dread a future where that bond is lost… I hope that her trust in me holds… even in this crisis…' A soft sigh followed those worrisome thoughts. Pulling the cloak closer around his body, the man sought refuge in its voluminous folds. Then, his grip relaxed. 'Why? … Why do I do this? Why do I react in this manner even if I cannot feel its warmth?'

Vincent instead slid further into the shadows, brooding comfortably in the darkness with solitude as his sole companion. 'Why? …Why did I do that?' He reached up and touched his lips, stroking them gently and reminiscing of the last few seconds he shared before leaving her. 'Why does it feel so right even though I have so many doubts… We had kissed before, two years ago in fact… This made it the second time we've touched each other like that… There is so much more at stake now and I must take care not to lose her… That cannot happen… It must not… As long as I exist in this world, I will protect her against all harm… even if it comes from myself…'

After a long pause, he realized what he was doing. Blinking his eyes, his focus returned to reality. Yet the thoughts still lingered. Shaking his head vigorously, he cleared his mind. 'I should listen to Yuffie… I should refrain from thinking so much. I must not worry myself with what I cannot control… Anyways, I must concentrate on the task at hand. Cloud is relying on my expertise… I must go now. Too much time had been spent here… Time wasted over such foolish concerns…'

The ex-Turk leapt up, his crimson cloak billowing around him during the ascent. Like a demon borne into the mortal world, he dashed along the treetops, running from branch to branch. The only sign of his passing was a blur of red and a glint of gold coming from his feral eyes. No creature in its right mind would dare track him. He was the hunter, a dangerous one. Nothing will keep him from his objective.

'Haste… I must make haste…'

The Ancient City

Deep in the heart of the Sleeping Forest, a small group of children climbed off an old Shinra transport truck. There were both boys and girls, ranging from five-year-olds to teenagers. Yet, every one of them shared one distinct characteristic. All had either bluish-black bruises on their skin or a thick gray bandage covering it. Any person who lived on Planet knew that these were the ominous marks of Geostigma. They were doomed children.

"Come… We must follow him. Only a little bit more and then we're normal again…" A little girl around twelve years of age reached her hand out to the boy next to her. Denzel looked at her hand for a second before shyly accepting it. He let himself be led away, just like yesterday afternoon.

(Flashback)

"You have it don't you?"

Denzel stopped playing in the streets and looked up, very surprised by her voice. It was quite rare that a stranger would approach another person who clearly has Geostigma. Thus, it came as a shock to him that a random girl would dare to get near him, nonetheless talk to him. Yet, that surprise was compounded when he saw the stuffed face of a moogle doll. Staring at the black stitching of its eyes, he could hardly speak. "H-H-Huh?"

"Hee hee… You're a funny boy! Up here…" A tall girl chuckled at his confusion. After seeing whom the person really was, he quickly looked down, his brown bangs covering his forehead. He didn't do it out of shyness. Instead, he was trying to hide the bruise on there.

"There's no need to be ashamed of that. You're like us aren't you?" She pointed to her arms, which were affected by the same malady. "Don't you want to be cured?"

Denzel immediately nodded. What this girl had just mentioned was his greatest hope. He had always wanted to get healthy and be an ordinary child, just like Marlene… His adoptive mom, Tifa, had always told him to keep fighting and never give up hope. She told him that one day, a remedy would be found and he would be the first to be cured. Now that the bridge between fantasy and reality stood before him, he believed that the time had come. The wait was over.

"Will you join us?" She held out her hand, beckoning for him to come with her. Without any hesitation, he took her offer and was led away. Navigating through several back alleys, he soon found himself looking at the rear end of a truck. Two men with silver hair were watching nearby, counting the number of children getting onboard. The one with the shorter hair smiled at his arrival.

"That's enough… We have to get going now… Yazoo?" The speaker's companion nodded and got into the driver's seat. Revving the old engine, the convoy of children headed north, toward salvation... or so they believed.

(End Flashback)

'Soon… Soon…' Denzel thought as he traveled further into the ethereal forest. "I will be cured…"

Elsewhere in the Sleeping Forest

"So… Brother was hiding this from us?" Kadaj asked, pointing to the box of materia open before them. The magical baubles glowed in their metal case; command materia yellow, summons blue, and magic a pale green.

Loz, the one who had made the discovery, nodded. "I found them while retrieving her…" He tightened his grip around Marlene who was now conscious. She squirmed in pain.

Kadaj moved over and picked up one of the orbs, a blue one. "The power borne from the Lifestream… Materia!" Then, he gave a weak laugh. "Ironic isn't it brothers? We're using the same power we intend to destroy…"

"Yes…" Kadaj said as he pressed the Bahamut summon against his left arm. "These materia will give us a new power… They will make us stronger so that we make destroy this Planet. Yes…" As he said this, black tendrils of smoke came out and wrapped themselves around it, pulling it into the leather sleeve. Soon, the orb containing the dragon summon disappeared, its abilities absorbed into his body. A deep blue glow emanated from his forearm for a few seconds before winking out.

"Come brothers. Let us share the rewards…" Their leader meant share by giving one to each of his companions and having the rest to himself. Loz received a Time materia while Yazoo received a summon, like Bahamut but obviously a different entity. The three absorbed their new powers and looked at each other.

"The children…" Kadaj began. "They need guidance coming here… Yazoo, go get them here. We must prepare them for the Reunion. Such gullible fools to follow us… Stupid children… Loz, watch her. Our time will come… It nears… Soon, the Reunion will come upon this pitiful world and Mother will be here for us!"

Ancient City

Denzel looked around him. He was standing in the second row but his eyes were drawn elsewhere. Like the rest of them, his attention was focused on the four figures on the other side of the lake. If he were a little more clear-minded, he would recognize the area. It was the same place where Cloud presumably laid to rest Aeris. Her body should still be there, preserved by the sheer cold and pureness in its deep watery depths. Yet, these thoughts were not on his mind.

All he saw were the three silver-haired men and the little girl standing next to them. 'What's Marlene doing here? Wait… She must be here to see us get better… She's so kind… Don't worry. Soon, I'll be normal just like you… I'm doing this for you…' He had promised her a long time ago that he could take care of himself and not be a burden to anyone else. 'I'll finally be able to keep my promise…'

"I've received a special power from Mother!" Kadaj proclaimed. "A power to fight against this planet, which hurts the people living in it!"

"Actually, you all have this power!" He revealed, pointing to the assembled crowd. "That's right! We're all siblings. We're a family!"

'A family?' Denzel wondered. He was not the only one pondering over this new concept. 'Am I not already in a family? There's Marlene, Tifa, and Cloud… Even though Cloud isn't there for us nowadays… No, he doesn't want to be part of us because of me. We are not a family yet. No… Once I get better, then he'll come back and we'll live happily ever after…'

"We are all chosen siblings who have inherited Mother's cells that were absorbed in the Lifestream!" He shouted, throwing his hands up into the air. Then, his voice turned dark with hatred. "But… The planet is trying to interfere… It's trying to stunt our growth! That's why our bodies hurt and our hearts seem to give up. Geostigma is its weapon!"

Kadaj captured their eyes. "I'll cure you… And we'll all go to Mother together!" His body started to give off a smoky haze. A sinister glow surrounded him, giving each child weird vibes. "We'll bring our powers together…" The glow intensified with each word. "And we'll strike back at the planet!" All the energy he held in suddenly focused and a bolt of it shot high into the sky, exploding in the distance. This event did not go on unnoticed. In fact, a pair of golden eyes watched from a distance. 'Hmmm… What was that? What are they doing?' Vincent wondered.

The silver-haired man that he was watching relaxed and tried to take on a parental tone. "Follow my lead…" He said while walking into the lake. As he moved deeper and deeper, the translucent water turned opaque as if it was filled with ash. Tendrils of black moved outwards, spreading their taint to the other side. The children all took a step back, frightened by the change.

Kadaj sighed and motioned them to come closer. When the first child moved forward, he smiled. Under his breath so that none of them could hear, he gave a sigh of satisfaction. "Heh… It is all going according to plan…" Once the majority of them were in, he then cupped his hands into the water and brought it up to face level. Throwing his head back, the man downed the drink and power seemed to flow into him. 'So it is true…' Denzel thought. 'He can cure us…' Not so far away, hiding in the treetops, Vincent spied the act. 'What is going on? What happened to the lake? Darkness?'

The rest of the children followed Kadaj's example. Wallowing in the waist-deep water, they appeared to be moving through an oil slick. With their hands together, all of them held the liquid as if it was precious gold. Soon, they would be free of their disease. So soon…

"Denzel…" Marlene mumbled. She felt so powerless to stop him with Loz watching over her. If Tifa couldn't defeat him, she has even less of a chance. None at all… Helplessly, the girl watched her best friend drink the liquid.

When Denzel looked up, she saw something different in his eyes. In fact, all of the children seemed to have changed, their energies drained. They stood silent and expressionless as if they lost their own free will. Squinting so that she could see better, she saw that their eyes had changed. Instead of a round brown iris in her friends face, Marlene found greenish reptilian eyes looking back at her.

"Denzel!" She yelled but it was to no avail. The change was complete. The child she knew of before was of no more.

"Loz! Prepare for the arrival of our brother…" Kadaj ordered while getting out of the lake. Turning around, he addressed the mass still standing there. "Brothers and sisters… Watch over this little girl and find a nice spot to hide… We wish to surprise our relative… The trees are a good place…" Immediately, Denzel leapt inhumanly high into the air and landed gracefully before Marlene. Taking her hand, he held it in a vice-like grip. With no choice, she was led away by the abomination that was her companion.

"Yazoo! As for you, take care of our pesky guest… He has seen far too much…"

'What!' Vincent wondered in the distance. 'How did he know that I was here? What is that one doing?' The man named Yazoo approached his position nonchalantly. His gunblade was comfortable positioned on his leg, ready for use.

Vincent knew that he had hostile intentions and loaded his gun in preparation of the fight ahead. There was no use for hiding anymore once his presence was known. Standing tall, he aimed at the silver-haired man.

Yazoo ignored the threat and muttered under his breath, annoyed by his menial duty. 'Brother is near and I have to take care of this? I'm missing out on the fun…' Then he remembered what he acquired before. 'Hmmm… Power of Planet? There may be a way out of this…' He looked at this arm and a blue glow came forth. "Come forth… slave…"

The skies above darkened and a portal opened from within the black masses. Two objects came out, materializing out from nothing. Translucent strings followed and quickly bound together, starting to form a definite shape. Yazoo, finished with his summoning, smiled at the other gunman. "Heh…" That was all he said before turning around and running in the opposite direction to catch up with his brothers.

"What is that?" Vincent questioned while he watched one of the forms fly at him. With perfect timing, he dodged to the right and was at a safe distance before a large black object fell on top of his former position. Looking back, he saw a huge crater and of all the things in it, an obese chocobo. "Is that… fat choco-"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark!"

A scream from behind alerted him of another enemy. Jumping into the air, he twirled around just to see another chocobo running at his former position. This one, also black, looked far more athletic than the previous one. 'Another? This will be challenging…'

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He fired several shots at the bird's feet, trying to scare it away first before doing real harm. It didn't even slow down. Once the man landed on his feet, Vincent looked around and decided to get to higher ground. He proceeded to run up one of the trees. 'From this height, it shouldn't be abl-' His thoughts were cut off as the bird followed, blazing up to him.

'Too fast…' He thought while trying to jump clear. He was correct. The bird managed to clip him and its attack had enough power to send him spinning to the ground below.

THUMP!

Vincent landed on his back and during the descent, he lost his grip on Redemption. 'Damn!' He was reaching for it just when a shadow fell over him.

BOOM!

The fat chocobo crashed on top of his left arm, trapping his claw under its bulk. The man tried to wrench his arm free but it was to no avail. The bird didn't even acknowledge his attempts. "Wark!" It remarked happily, content that it had captured its prey.

'Oh crap…' Vincent thought as he saw the Choco-Mog summon jump back down. Its amber eyes focused on his fallen figure. "Wark!" For the first time, he felt vulnerable. 'This can't get any worse…'

Just then, a low rumble could be heard and felt from the ground. 'Sounds like a motorcycle… Wait! That's Cloud!' With that thought in mind, he increased his struggles. Bit by bit, he was able to more movement from his metal fingers. 'There isn't enough time to pull this out… Forgive me Yuffie… for hurting your summon…' Vincent then clawed the underside of the fat chocobo, tearing away a massive feathery chunk of flesh.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAARK!" The bird complained and immediately got off his arm. 'Finally free…' He thought as he rolled away safely. As for the fat creature, it slowly limped away, its lifeblood seeping away from the massive wound on its lower torso. It was out of the fight… for now.

'One down and another to go…' Vincent realized before moving away from the other Choco-Mog summon. 'One more to go…' He picked up his gun and reloaded it, keeping his eye on the other creature. 'Just one…'

Just Outside the Sleeping Forest

Cloud raced down the only road leading to the infamous woods. It was night and the only light available came of his headlights and the mystical trees that surrounded him. Moving at such great speeds, the blonde saw the forest as a blur of white. Eventually, all disappeared into that blank color and he felt as if he was in another world, just pushed into it.

At first, he was alone. Then, there was another presence, standing right behind him. Yet, even though that person just appeared out of nothingness, Cloud wasn't worried at all. It had a calm and soothing aura, peaceful to both his mind and body.

"So you showed up…" A feminine voice said. Cloud turned his head slightly and saw that his surroundings had changed. He was standing in a field of flowers, stretching out into the distance in all directions. They were the same blooming yellow and white flowers he taken care of in Midgar, in Aeris's church. In addition to that, he glimpsed the person's shoulder. She was wearing pink and there was only one person he knew who wore that color. 'Aeris…' He thought.

"Even though you're falling apart…" She continued while placing a hand on his arm like a kind and caring mother would. "I'm sure this will be a good thing…" Cloud responded by relaxing his body, loosening up his tense muscles. A short pause followed.

"Question!" The Ancient exclaimed. "Why exactly did you come here?"

"I…" Cloud began. "I wish to be forgiven. Yes, I want to be forgiven."

Aeris giggled and smartly responded. "By who?"

Then, like his entrance into this place, he was thrust back into reality. Cloud still looked back, expecting to see her gentle face. No, all he saw was the road behind and empty space. He was back in the Sleeping Forest, riding his Fenrir, alone.

BANG! BANG!

Two bullets whizzed by, nicking his head. He immediately turned his attention back to the road and focused at the three forms up ahead. The two on the sides were shooting. One of them had a blue-glowing forearm. 'Something to enhance accuracy or damage?' Cloud wondered. The one in the middle only smiled.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

More shots were fired and these were getting more and more accurate. Cloud leaned closer, ducking down so he was less of a target. Pressing the button in his bike, the sides opened up. He didn't reach for any of the swords. There was no need for them at this distance. His motorcycle would be enough to block the bullets, acting as a massive moving shield. Sparks flew from its polished pitch-black surface.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

More bullets followed and at this moment, Cloud picked two swords, holding one in each hand. He blocked one of them as it was aimed at his chest.

PING!

The two figures on the sides stopped firing as their companion advanced confidently. Drawing his sword in one hand, with the other, he made a signal in the air, twirling it as if ordering the round up of something. Children started to appear, jumping down from their hiding place from the trees above. Positioning themselves between Cloud and his opponents, they created a living barrier between the two forces. 'What?' He wondered as the headlights fell upon to particular people, Denzel and Marlene. The two were standing right in his way. Marlene was attempting to get off the road but wouldn't let go of Denzel's hand. The boy seemed different. In fact, all of them except Marlene seemed to have changed. 'Wait…'

Cloud's Mako-enhanced eyes locked onto Denzel's and he saw that they were reptilian, just like... 'Oh no…' He thought before a flash of pain raced up his arm. Then, he lost control.

Around the Ancient City

BANG! BANG!

Vincent kept moving backwards, firing at the Choco-Mog summon. Tufts of black feathers and flesh were blown away but it kept charging towards him. 'Damn… Cloud's gonna need help soon if he's going to face all three…' With a stoic expression, he watches as the bird tried to peck him. Dodging and reloading at the same time, he ended up several meters away and ready to shoot once more. 'Different tactic… Immobilization…'

BANG!

The first bullet went straight for its right eye, blasting away half of its vision. The other half quickly followed with the second bullet.

BANG!

Now, the summon was totally blind, unable to see its enemy which is now swiftly maneuvering toward its defenseless backside. "WARK!" It shouted helplessly, rendered totally useless since it doesn't know which direction to charge and whether or not the path was clear of obstacles. "Wark?"

Vincent was now behind the chocobo, his opponent fully exposed to any attack. His claw glowed a slight blue as he deftly unleashed a close-range rapid attack, aiming for the fowl's skinny neck. Within seconds, the ex-Turk dealt more than twenty slashs, each of them creating a deep groove that gushed with blood.

"W-w-wark…" The bird cried before passing away, its head connected to its body by only a thin strip of flesh. "Forgive me…" Vincent said, watching as the body decomposed into black ashes returning to whatever plane of existence it came from. "But you were corrupted and there was no other choice. I am sorry…"

Crack! SNAP!

A twig snapped behind him, alerting him that the other bird had recovered… or at least enough to get to him. The wound was worse than he first evaluated. About the size of his fist, the hole had stopped bleeding not due to clotting but because there was little blood left. In fact, it didn't seem as though it would be in the mortal world for any longer.

"Wark…" The fat chocobo said before it collapsed on top of its sibling's remains. During its descent, it faded into ashes, merging with its fallen comrade. Vincent bowed his head in respect. 'We will all someday return to the Planet… Now, Cloud… I hope your skills haven't diminished…' His flowing red cloak fluttered as Vincent took off to where Cloud should be. 'I hope I'm not too late…'

Author's Note

So… How did you all like it? Was it fun? Don't you wish you could fight a chocobo? Ha! Ha! Vincent is the best! HE RULEZ! Oh, I am so very sorry that this update came so late. I actually had most of this done weeks ago but things kept popping up like projects and homework. I'm so sorry but the next few chapters will come out the same… like whenever I have time… Sorry… As for Advent Children related information, I still worship it!

Random Conversation
Reno: (walks in eating something…)

Rude: …

Yuffie Kisagari: What are you eating?

Reno: (munch) KFC…

Yuffie Kisagari: Huh? What's KFC? Never heard of it… Is it good?

Reno: Kalm Fried Chocobo (munch)… You want some? Very tasty! (offers a drumstick)

Yuffie Kisagari: WHAT! YOU MURDERER! (equips her Conformer)

Free Corp Knight: (walks in)

Yuffie Kisagari: I WILL KILL YOU! (charges at Reno)

Reno: Aiyeee! (screams and runs away like a scared little girl)

Rude: (follows to watch)

Free Corp Knight: (stands still and thinks to self) I really check before entering…

Reno: (runs by screaming bloody murder) HELP ME!

Yuffie Kisagari: (chases after him trying to stab Reno with Conformer) CHOCOBO MURDERER! DIE!

Rude: (follows and tries to keep his laughter in)

Free Corp Knight: (takes a picture) This should be worth something… Blackmail maybe… (goes off and posts it on sale on eBay)