Chapter 2: Everyone Has a Purpose
The night sky had its usual eerie glow to Vincent Valentine. Looking out from the mountains above Nibleheim, Vincent gazed upon the vast land below, hoping to think of where to go next. Ever since his dark past, the Turks, ShinRa, Lucrecia……Vincent didn't know what he was looking for. All he knew was that he needed answers, and he found too few of them.
Vincent continued down the road toward the abandoned Mako reactor in the mountains of Nibleheim. He had been to five other Mako reactors, looking for any answers he could find. As he approached the reactor, Vincent felt something inside him skip a beat. Something was in there. He hoped it was in the form of an answer.
The pipes inside the reactor had been stopped up since Meteor struck and all Mako use was banned. Many had materia building up it the cracks. Vincent slowly walked through the dark reactor, with his hand ever-so-close to his trusty Quicksilver pistol, expecting anything to happen. Every footstep echoed through the empty hallways of the reactor. Vincent could still smell the all-to-familiar aroma of Mako energy in the reactor. He began to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right.
Vincent continued into the depths of the ghostly reactor. Every step made Vincent feel even more uneasy. The smell of Mako energy seemed to get stronger the lower he went in the reactor. This worried Vincent. If the reactor was shut down, why was the smell of Mako getting stronger? Was it coincidence? Vincent didn't know. He slowly drew his Quicksilver from the holster inside his blood red cloak and held it tightly. Being a very talented marksman, he felt a little bit safer. Vincent lost count of how many bull's-eye shots he had fired from that old revolver.
Vincent finally reached the bottom of the reactor. He looked around and noticed that some of the gears in the reactor were running, pumping Mako energy. That's why the smell is so strong. Mako's being pumped. But why? Why would someone want to pump Mako from the bottom of the reactor? Vincent walked over to one of the gauges and studied it for a minute. The pressure was very low. Of course. If they completely restarted the reactor, AVALANCE would have detected it.
Vincent turned and finally realized the area where he was: The same area that Cloud had told him about before. This is where the Jenova experiment took place. This is where Sephiroth lost his life….the first time. Vincent could still imagine the story Cloud told all so well, how he survived an attack from Sephiroth…and killed him in the process.
Vincent noticed the door leading to the experiment room was wide open. He walked through the door, weapon drawn. No one could be seen in the room. Vincent's heart began to beat faster and faster. Walking up the stairs towards where Jenova use to be located, Vincent prepared for the worse. Vincent barged through the door where Jenova was once held and aimed his Quicksilver dead center. All Vincent saw were small pipes pumping small amounts of Mako energy.
This doesn't make sense. This can't just be a coincidental restart. Vincent heard footsteps coming from behind him. He stepped into one of the shadowy corners of the room and seemed to vanish. Vincent looked on and saw a figure in a black robe walk in. Its face was hidden. The dark figure pulled a small vile from its sleeve, filled it with fresh Mako energy from one of the small pipes and returned it to his sleeve.
"Hold it!" Vincent stepped out from the shadowy corner, Quicksilver drawn. "AVALANCHE Corporation. What are you doing?" The dark figure looked up, but its face was still shrouded in darkness. The figure began to laugh a deep laugh. It began to stand. "Don't move!" Vincent took another step forward and aimed his Quicksilver at the figure's head. The figure stood up and continued to laugh.
"You won't… get out… alive" whispered the dark figure. The figure then moved across the room at lightning speed. Vincent fired his weapon, but missed his target. The figure continued to move from one side of the room to the other while Vincent continued to fire, missing every shot. It appeared as if the figure was flying.
Man, this thing is fast. Vincent kept his eyes open, making sure that the figure didn't come near him. Vincent continued to fire. He had never shot at something this fast before. The bullets came close to hitting their target, but only missed by millimeters. Vincent could hear the continual laughter from his target. Soon, Vincent heard the clicking of his empty Quicksilver. No. Not now. He reached for his ammo pouch to reload. Before he could even grab a bullet, the dark figure launched forward and knocked Vincent against the wall, head first. Vincent's vision began to blur. He looked up and saw the dark figure standing over him. Its hands began to glow as it reared back, apparently about to cast some magic. Yet, it stopped and leaned forward.
"No…Not yet…I have more plans for you." The figure disappeared just as Vincent lost consciousness, still hearing the maniacal laughter of the dark figure.
Lucrecia…where are…you? Vincent continually shouted into the darkness of his dreams. He walked into the shrouded darkness, but nothing came of it. LUCRECIA!
Vincent woke up a short time later. Still a little woozy, Vincent surveyed the room to make sure no threat could be seen. He struggled to get to his feet, feeling the welt that had grown on the back of his head. Vincent reloaded, and then reholstered his Quicksilver and sighed. He took another look around, and then made his way back to the surface.
Standing at the edge of the mountain, Vincent once again looked out across the land below. A cold chill ran down his back as the cold wind of the Nibleheim Mountains blew. He looked down towards Nibleheim. The quiet little town was dark, except for one little light at the Inn. Needing some sleep, Vincent made his way down the smoggy mountain, towards the sleeping town, hoping for no more surprises to encounter. Around every corner, Vincent kept his hand on his holster. He knew how dangerous these mountains were.
Vincent reached the old wooden bridge. Vincent drew his Quicksilver and slowly approached cautiously. Every step he took on the bridge, a loud creak could be heard from the old wood under his feet. The wind began to blow a little hard than it already was. Suddenly, a strong gust came from the right side of the bridge. Vincent clutched the side of the bridge, barely being able to stand. Vincent looked to his right and saw a giant bird-like creature soaring in his direction, a creature Vincent had never seen before. Its loud screech echoed through the mountains and in Vincent's ears.
Not another surprise. Vincent aimed his Quicksilver at the winged creature. The giant bird let out an earth shattering screech so loud, that it brought Vincent to his knees. Vincent cringed with pain. The creature flew closer and closer. Every flap of its wings shook the bridge even harder than before. Vincent lifted his Quicksilver again. The creature screeched again, but Vincent fought through the pain. The creature was only meters from the bridge before Vincent could get a clean shot. He fired off a shot. Vincent could see the bullet fly like it was in slow motion. The bullet zipped through the misty air and hit directly between the creature's eyes. The creature's wings went limp and plummeted from the sky. As it was falling, one of its wings caught the bridge, and split it in half. Vincent grabbed a hold of one of the wooden steps as the bridge began to crumble. Vincent was lucky the entire bridge didn't disintegrate. The part of the bridge that Vincent was clinging to slammed against the cliff. Vincent barely was able to hold on to the bridge when it slammed against the cliff. He looked down and could see the bird creature and the remains of the bridge falling towards the cannon below. Vincent let out a sigh of relief. He reholstered his Quicksilver and began to climb up the cliff.
Vincent pulled himself to the top of the cliff and rolled to his back. He looked around while trying to catch his breath. After a few minutes, he brought himself to his feet and dusted his crimson cloak off. He turned and walked down the same path he had taken minutes earlier. As Vincent walked, he drew his Quicksilver again. He wasn't taking any chances this time. The difference of a second could mean a close call or death.
Vincent finally made it down the mountain. He was surprised he didn't have anymore visitors attack him on the way down. Vincent walked towards the inn and reholstered his Quicksilver. He opened the door and walked up to the desk. The innkeeper looked up from a newspaper.
"May I help you?" Vincent placed a bag of Gil on the table, but didn't say a word. The innkeeper looked at the bag, and then looked up again. "Ok. Up the stairs. Third room on the right. All yours." The innkeeper grabbed a key from the wall and handed it to Vincent. Vincent took it, nodded at the innkeeper, and walked up the stairs. Vincent stopped halfway up, then turned towards the innkeeper.
"Keep you eyes open. Something isn't right around here." The innkeeper looked up with a confused look. He nodded the looked back at his newspaper. Vincent sighed, and then walked up the stairs. Inserting the key into the lock, Vincent opened the door to his room. He looked around for a moment, and then lay down on the bed. He looked up at the wooden ceiling and sighed. He had enough surprises for one night.