Disclaimer – I don't own FF7

Coeurl

By Crimson Skies

Chapter Two – Missing Specimen

Today, Vincent decided, was not a good day. Or night. Truth be told, he had absolutely no idea what time it was. In fact he didn't know what month, season, or even year it was. For all he knew he'd been asleep anywhere from two days to two centuries. It was a little difficult to tell when one was stuck in a maze of dark tunnels and caverns. In times like this Vincent's superhuman abilities were a blessing. If not for his enhanced senses he would not have been able to navigate the virtual labyrinth at all. A very miniscule amount of light emanated from the veins of mako in the cavern (a rare phenomenon for which he was grateful.) The light was just enough to see by. That was not to say it was any easier to find a way out of the place, but at least he wasn't tripping over anything.

Anyway, back to the original point. Things just had not been going his way. It had been an undeterminable amount of time since he'd entered the caverns and the child had still not regained consciousness. The boy was still alive, but at this point Vincent wasn't sure whether he should consider that good or bad. But really the point was moot anyway. He was, in a word, lost. So even if the boy died and he was relieved of his self-inflicted responsibility he wouldn't be able to find his way back to his old coffin anyway. And so now he was stuck in a labyrinth of caves with an unconscious boy in the darkness. Oh yes, it was definitely not a good day.

But really, he could have dealt with all of those comparatively mundane misfortunes easily. The gunner really had to wonder what he'd done to piss off Fate so badly. How was he supposed to know he'd walked into the territory of a nesting dragon? He was only human…Okay, so maybe not. Still, that didn't make him perfect. In any case he was now trapped in a small chamber with an enraged mother dragon pacing outside. Dragons were horribly stubborn creatures and it was likely that she'd patrol the entrance for days. He could survive without food or water, but he doubted the boy could. ChocoBoy would likely be starving and thirsty the moment he woke up.

Vincent sighed in exasperation. Wasn't life just fun? (Feel the sarcasm.) To make matters worse there was a horrible pain in his back from crouching over for so long. The ceiling was only three feet tall and didn't exactly accommodate to his tall frame. He couldn't even lie down since there wasn't enough room. The gunner had to wonder if his spine would ever recover from the experience of being bent over for…how long? He'd probably be in constant pain for days. The proverbial icing on the cake of his already miserable day…or night…or…er…time…

…Never mind.

Vincent had just managed to fall into a trancelike state when the body lying next to him shifted. A soft groan reached his ears. It seemed the boy was waking up. He watched the boy sit up slowly, clutching at his head.

"Have a nice nap kid?" Really, he didn't quite know when his peculiar brand of wry humor had begun to return to him.

COEURLBYCRIMSONSKIESCHAPTERTWOMISSINGSPECIMEN

"Damn you! You lost my specimen?! You incompetents! I leave for two weeks! TWO WEEKS! And somehow, you manage to lose my specimen! A year of work, wasted!" Hojo ranted. He paced angrily in front of his cowering assistants. The lackeys Shinra provided were always idiots. It was just impossible to get good help these days.

Two weeks ago he'd been summoned to Midgar to report on the progress of his most recent project. At the time he'd been quite dissatisfied with its progress. But now! Now he'd have to drop the experiment entirely. The president would never provide him with the funds to start over. Not that he'd want to repeat a whole year anyway. He supposed it wasn't a huge loss. The project had seemed doomed to failure anyway. It could have been worse. Now he could finally focus on his new experiment. He almost could have thanked the idiots.

…but he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Any more failings you have to report? Need I make you into specimens to replace my old one?"

They shuffled nervously.

"Um…"

"WELL!? Spit it out already!" Hojo snapped.

"Sir, you see…"

"What more could there possibly be to tell? Can't you do anything right? No, of course not. In the process of losing my specimen, you probably managed to destroy the lab and burn every research book in the library. And why stop there!? No doubt that when I look on the surveillance tapes I'll find the Chaos Project missing from confinement as well!" he raved in mock concern.

They exchanged nervous glances.

Hojo's blood ran cold…

…colder than usual, anyway.

"You should not make jokes. Even you idiots should realize I do not appreciate such behavior."

They remained silent.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!"

…he really needed to find better help.

COEURLBYCRIMSONSKIESCHAPTERTWOMISSINGSPECIMEN

"Have a nice nap kid?" a voice rasped from beside him.

Cloud gasped and scrambled back in fright. Unfortunately for him, the small chamber only allowed him about four feet of space. Glancing around, he quickly concluded that he was still in the network of caves. It didn't occur to him to wonder why he could see so clearly when he hadn't been able to before.

"I'm hardly going to hurt you after I saved you," the man sighed, shaking his head. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

A frown crossed the young boy's face. The last things he recalled were a pair of slit amber eyes glowing eerily, bright flashes of light, and then the floor collapsing beneath him. It didn't take him long to realize he'd been knocked out.

"You saved me?" Cloud blinked at the harsh sound of his own voice. How long had he been out of it?

"I suppose," he answered simply.

"Who are you?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"Vincent Valentine. Who are you?" It was truly a weird time for introductions. It's not every day you first officially 'meet' someone after spending a long period of time trapped in an underground cave with them. Even if one of them had been unconscious, it was still rather odd. Not that having strange boys and beasts drop in to visit (literally) and running from enraged dragons was normal…

"Cloud Strife," he rasped.

"Mind telling me what someone your age…wait…how old are you?" he asked curiously.

"…nine I think," Cloud admitted reluctantly. Vincent winced sympathetically. The boy was kind of scrawny for his age. The gunner was guessing more around six or seven. Wait a second…

"You think?"

Clouds eyes flashed as he glared. His eyes, Vincent noticed for the first time, were bright blue with slit pupils. He wisely decided to keep that observation to himself.

"Right. Forget I asked. So what were you doing down there?" Vincent asked. Cloud fidgeted uncomfortably. He didn't like answering those questions, but he felt he owed the man something for saving his life. Not that he felt it was particularly worth saving.

"I was lost," he explained.

"And how did you get lost in the first place? I can't help you if you won't tell me more," Vincent pried.

"I don't really want your help…"

The gunner glared.

"…but I guess it can't hurt," the boy added hastily. "Some people were chasing me, so I ran into the mountains and hid in these caves. One of them cast a spell that caused an avalanche. I was trapped inside."

"So you went wandering the caves," Vincent finished. "Why were people chasing you?"

No that was a question Cloud would not answer. Vincent noticed his closed expression.

"Did you do something? Maybe steal something?" he pressed.

Cloud remained close-mouthed.

"I see. Well, assuming we can get out of here, I'll help you get back home. Where do you live?" he asked, hoping to take the boy home as soon as possible.

"Nowhere."

"Family?"

"Not anymore," the boy snapped. Vincent frowned, but didn't press further. It was obviously a sensitive subject, and he had plenty of them himself. Plus, he had also been an orphan, so he understood a bit. He'd have to be careful. Back then he'd hated anything that smacked of charity or pity, and he suspected this boy would be the same.

"Anywhere you'd like to go?" he asked.

The boy shrugged.

Vincent gritted his teeth. He had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to be stuck with the kid. Damn conscience.

Several yards away a dragon bellowed at the entrance to their little cave causing the boy to yelp in fear and Vincent to sigh wearily.

It really was a bad day.

Time.

Whatever.

ENDCHAPTERTWO

Well, what did you think? Just so you know, the more reviews I get, the sooner I update. I live on reviews! Speaking of reviews, thanks to the three people who reviewed my story so far.

Blue Baroness – The Seph/Cloud parts are quite a ways off yet. This is going to be a long fic. I promise that Seph (and Zack) will show up in the next chapter though. I hope I don't disappoint you! P

Aledeth – Don't worry, there shouldn't be anything too explicit, though I know that will disappoint some people. I'm trying to avoid writing smut. It's not like I have anything against it. I'm just not good at writing that kind of stuff. Vincent's one of my favorites as well. This whole fic started with the idea of him and Cloud meeting before the series. I've been tossing it around my mind for awhile now.

udonluvr8 – Thanks you very much for your support. I try to update as often as I can, but I've got a pretty full schedule, so I hope you'll forgive me when I take a long time to update.

So, did anyone guess where the Coeurl I described comes from? Everyone who figures it out gets a cookie! I'll give you a hint. It's my favorite monster from any Final Fantasy game (and I've played every single one released in the US, with the exception of XI). If you can tell me what the stronger variation of the Coeurl is I'll even throw in a box of pocky. Good luck! P