CHAPTER 4

THE DESCITION

A few hours later after Cid and Cloud returned from Gongaga, Cloud found Vincent, who hadn't moved since Yuffie had talked to him, in his room. The gunman looked thoughtful and a little spaced out but when he heard the younger man come in he looked up. He saw Cloud standing by the door.

"Do you need something?" Vincent asked.

"I need to ask you something about Hojo," Cloud answered.

"Hojo?" Vincent asked, with a hint of scorn in his voice. "Why do you want to ask me about him?"

"Well it's more about you really," Cloud admitted.

The older man raised an eyebrow. "About me?"

"Um yeah. I wanted to ask just what exactly did Hojo do to you?"

Vincent got fired up. "You read that little note he left in the mansion right?" he asked, gripping the mattress tightly with his fingers. "You found me right? You woke me up and told me what he'd done since then, right?"

Cloud nodded.

"Then why," here Vincent paused and breathed a few seconds to calm himself. "Are you asking me now after you read that stupid note, what he did to me? Wasn't it clear enough?"

Cloud noticed Vincent was getting very upset. The gunman was panting and sweating.

Vincent stared into space, trying to keep from losing it. "He refered to finding me and releasing me as a 'game'," the gunman chuckled eerily. "Treated me as if I was nothing. Totally ruined that beautiful woman's life..."

"Vincent..." Cloud said, starting to feel uneasy.

Vincent stared at Cloud sharply. The look was so piercing the younger man had to take a step back. "That...that bastard had no respect for people," the gunman exploded. "He treated everyone and everything like an experimant. Even himself!"

Cloud started to back away toward the door. "Vincent..."

Vincent saw he was scaring his friend and calmed down instantly. He sat down on the bed again (he had stood up) his face turned to depressed. "I don't want to talk about it anymore," he said.

"I...," Cloud began.

"Just go."

"But I..."

"GET OUT!" Vincent yelled, standing up and throwing a punch at Cloud.

Cloud was out of there in a flash.The second he stepped out of the room Vincent slammed the door shut.

"Demonic bastard!" the twenty one year old heard Vincent shout.

Cloud knew the gunman wasn't talking about him. Still, he didn't want to be there anymore. He quickly walked away. He passed Tifa on the stairs.

"Hi Cloud, I see you're back," she smiled. Then she noticed the look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Ask Vincent," Cloud replied, pushing past her. "I was only asking a simple question..." she heard him mumble.

Tifa stood on the steps a moment and thought about what Cloud had said. Why did he tell me to ask Vincent? Did he do something to Cloud?

She decided to find out.

The girl climbed the rest of the stairs and walked down the hall to Vincent's room. She knocked timidly on the door.

"Go away," Vincent's voice answered.

"Vincent, is there something wrong?" she called through the door. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't want to talk about anything with you. Just leave me alone!"

Tifa tried the door knob. Locked. "Fine," she said. "But if you change your mind..."

"I said go away!"

She gave up. "All right then!" she called to him.

Tifa's footsteps died away. He didn't bother to stop her. He was glad she was leaving.

Vincent was still sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. He was still brooding over the past. "Why did this have to happen? Why didn't I stop her? Why did I let Hojo lie to her?" he asked himself. "Why did I ever agree to this in the first place?"

He lay on his back and closed his eyes. His face was wet with tears that he didn't bother to wipe away. Yelling at Cloud is another thing I did wrong...I'll have to apoligize to him later...

He sighed and his one hand slipped off the mattress. But that can wait. I have all the time I want to tell him I'm sorry. He can be patient.

Vincent dozed off.

Yuffie and Cid came up to the room a few hours later.

Cid passed by Vincent's bed without one glance at him. Yuffie couldn't help noticing a mess that hadn't been there before.

"Of my gawd!" she exclaimed, leaning down to pick up the mess. "Don't tell me he went wacko."

"What are you talking about, Yuffie?" Cid asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

Yuffie pointed at the floor. "Look what he did to all the stuff I won in the Battle Arena!" she wailed.

"I doubt he'd throw your garbage on the floor," the pilot said sensably. "I'm sure it probably got knocked there by accident."

"This isn't garbage!" Yuffie screamed, her voice growing louder.

"Shhh!" Cid hissed, putting a hand over her mouth. "Do you want to wake him up?"

The ninja pulled his hand away. "No, but-!"

"Just leave it be," Cid instructed, going back to his bed and sitting down on it so he could take off his shoes. "Oh, and when you're ready; turn off the light."

"You're too bossy, you old geezer," she said narrowing her eyes. "But I guess I'll do it just to keep you from bugging me about it."

Yuffie sat down on her bed and took off her sneakers and arm guard. When she was done she shut off the light and hopped into bed. And couldn't get to sleep.

She could hear Barret snoring through the wall. For the love of... Now how am I going to get any sleep with all of that?

She kicked the wall. "Hey, shut up in there!" she shouted. "If you're gonna saw logs do it outside!"

"Yuffie, shut your stinkin' pie hole," Cid yelled at her. "And stop kicking the freakin' wall!"

"Barret's snoring," she argued. "I can hear him!"

"I don't care what you hear," The pilot bellowed. "Just shut up or go sleep on the stairs!"

Vincent growled in his sleep and stirred.

"Shh!" Yuffie hissed, putting a finger to her lips and pointing at the gunman. "You're gonna wake Vinnie."

"You'd better hope he doesn't hear you calling him that," Cid warned. "Now could you please shut up and go to sleep."

"Whatever," she said shrugging.

"Good."

Cid lay back down.

Yuffie put her finger up to her right eye, pulled her eyelid down and stuck out her tongue. "Bleh!"

Cid didn't get back up.

The ninja let out a long sigh. She could still hear Barret snoring through the wall. I'm not going to listen to that bear all night.

Yuffie reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out a pair of earplugs. I knew these would come in handy one of these days, she thought, grinning in triumph.

She quickly plugged her ears. She listened a moment. She could just barely hear Barret's snoring.

Smiling with satisfaction she pulled the covers over her body and went to sleep.

Vincent had been slightly roused by Cid and Yuffie. He'd heard Yuffie make the comment about waking 'Vinnie' up and was not amused. He would have said something but he wasn't fully awake, therefore, he wasn't even sure she'd actually said anything.

After Cid had said something to Yuffie, Vincent had fallen back to sleep. He wasn't even faintly aware that Barret was snoring.

That was when he'd begun to have the nightmare. Like before it was something that had happened in his past...

He was in the hotel in Nibelheim. He was leaning over Lucrecia who had collapsed on the floor.

"Lucrecia?" he said.

When she didn't stir he was filled with an uncontrolable rage.

He jumped up and ran to the Shinra Mansion. He ran past Professor Gast who called a greeting to him. He paid no attention. He just wanted to get to the basement.

He ran up the stairs to the second floor.

He dashed into the bedroom that held the secret entrance to the basement and opened the door. Then he clammered down the stairs to the basement lab where he ran into Professor Hojo.

"Hojo, you sick pervert, what have you done to Lucrecia?" Vincent demanded angrily.

The scientist folded his arms. "I only gave her what she wanted," was his reply.

"You good for nothing sicko!" Vincent shouted. "I knew you had something to do with this! How dare you! I can't believe you did that to her!"

Hojo stared at him smugly. "What? Are you jealous?"

"No, I'm revolted!" the Turk screamed. "That's it! I can't stand it anymore! I'm taking Lucrecia and going back to Midgar!"

"I'll help you," Hojo said. "Only it won't be to Midgar-" he pulled out a gun-"it will be to Hell!"

BANG!

Vincent sat up, his arms flailing. He became aware of his surroundings instantly and fell back into the mattress that was now soaked with sweat. That's almost exactly how it happened, he thought. But why? Why did he do it? What did he gain from it? The gunman sat up. I must find out.

He climbed out of bed. I must do it now. I won't tell anyone where I'm going. I'll just go. But I won't take the Highwind I'll take something else.

Vincent grabbed his gun off the nightstand and clipped it to his belt. Silently he walked past Yuffie's bed being careful not to wake her. Had he known she had earplugs in he wouldn't of had to be so quiet. He opened the bedroom door.

As he walked out he glanced back inside to make sure none of them had stirred. They hadn't.

For some reason his gaze centered on Yuffie's face. She was smiling in her sleep. I wish I could do that, he thought, staring at her with envy. I wonder what she's dreaming...

Just thinking about it made him smile a tiny smile. Yuffie had just done him a favor.

He reached into his cloak and pulled something out. He set it in Yuffie's hand and closed her fist around it.

Then, before he changed his mind, he turned away from the sleeping ninja and left, closing the door softly behind himself.

The next morning when Yuffie woke up she discovered that someone had put something in her hand in the middle of the night. She glanced down at the object in her hand. Alexander. Vincent had been carrying that Materia around with him.

She looked over at his bed. It was empty. I wonder where Mr. Gloom's gone off to? And why did he give me this? Then she grinned. Well, who cares? I got a Materia! I didn't even have to steal it! WOOOOO WHOOO!

The ninja hopped out of bed, pulled out her earplugs, and grabbed her shoes and arm guard. She quickly put them on and stuffed the earplugs back into her pocket. She then bounded out of the room, totally ready for a brand new day.

I think I'll... Before she could finish her thought Barret ran into her. His big belly knocked her onto her behind.

"OW!" she exclaimed. "That hurt! Barret, you gun armed jerk, why don't you watch where you're going?"

Barret didn't apoligize. "Yuffie, have you seen Vincent?" was what he did say.

"No," she said, getting back on her feet. "Why do you want him?"

"Ester is talking to Cloud downstairs," the big man explained. "She told him she saw somebody with black hair go into the Chocobo stable last night."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"One of the Chocobos are missing."

Yuffie's eyebrow went higher. "What does that have to do with Vincent?"

"Nothing, if he's still in bed."

"Well, he's not."

Barret cursed. "That stupid son of a...! Why would he steal a Chocobo?"

The ninja shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea. Maybe he wanted to go somewhere but couldn't use the Highwind and was afraid to ask."

"Where would he want to...? Oh NO! Don't tell me he went there!"

Barret dashed toward the stairs. "Went where? HEY!" Yuffie exclaimed, running after him. "What? Where did he go?"

Barret and Yuffie burst into the lobby. "Cloud, I've got some bad news!" the big black man exclaimed.

Cloud and Ester looked at him.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"Didn't you tell me Vincent was acting weird yesterday?"

"Yeah.."

"And he was upset about a question you had asked him?"

"Yeah. Get to the point, Barret."

"I think I know where he went."

"Where..." the conclusion came almost instantly and Cloud's face filled with worry. "Oh no! We'd better tell Cid to get the Highwind ready."

The two men ran off.

"What is going on?" Yuffie screamed, totally clueless. "Why won't anyone tell me?"

Cloud ran back into the lobby and grabbed her arm. "I'll tell you on the plane," he replied pulling her out the door.

"DON'T FORGET TO BRING MY CHOCOBO BACK!" Ester called after them.

"We won't!" Cloud called to her.

"Could you at least tell me where Vinnie went." Yuffie said as they ran out of the hotel.

Cloud gave her a funny look. "Vinnie? Anyway I think Vincent returned to the place we had found him."

"Uh oh. Then he'll be at..."

Cloud nodded. "Shinra mansion in Nibelheim."

A/N

Sorry I took so long to update. I've been busy with other fics. I'll try tp update again soon. I promise but I'll be going to camp soon so it will probably take me awhile.