Taking care to tread lightly, Aeris and Vincent wove quietly through the mazes of trees and brush. Aeris slowly put one foot in front of another, lifting branches and low hanging vines out of the way. Vincent followed, silent and dark as a shadow. Both kept a sharp eye out for any signs of a monster.
The night was eerily devoid of any sound. It was as if all of the creatures of the night had fled, leaving behind nothing but empty nests and burrows. Not even the wind could be heard whistling through the branches, as it did most nights. The only noise to be heard was their own movements, their own hushed breathing. From somewhere far in the distance an owl announced its presence, but the overwhelming silence soon enveloped this sound as well.
Time passed slowly in this tomblike atmosphere. Each person felt the stillness closing in, pressing on their skin. Some felt it almost necessary to scream, just to reassure themselves that they had not gone deaf.
Vincent stopped in mid-step, whispering as softly as possible, "Aeris," She stopped, turning to face him. Both were mere silhouettes to the other. The light of the moon lit up the ground in a bluish hue. "Listen."
The pair stood, still as the night itself. They strained their ears, attempting to detect any small, faint noise. After several moments, they heard it. A very faint rustling of leaves, almost too far off to be heard at all. Vincent motioned towards the direction in which it came from. Aeris nodded, and together they set off, tracking the sound. Every now and then they would pause, and reassure themselves that they were still traveling in the correct direction. The sound grew louder and more distinct with each pause, until one time when Aeris held up a hand to still Vincent, who had just begun to move. Soon he realized why she had done this. It now sounded as if the noise was actually coming towards them, whatever it was had turned around.
Aeris turned quickly around, eyes wide. Moving for cover behind a large, old, gnarled tree, they waited. Each moment the noise grew louder, and they unconsciously checked to make sure that their weapons were at the ready. As they listened, the noise unexpectedly stopped. Aeris inhaled sharply and reached out to grasp Vincents hand. After what seemed like hours, a new noise was introduced to the stillness. A deep, rumbling growl that seemed to shake the very earth under their feet. Aeris' grip on Vincents hand tightened as the sound of running feet reached their ears.
Vincent slowly crept to the edge of the tree, and glanced around.
There was a clearing in the forest only about twenty yards away. Into this clearing ran a woman. Her body shook with exertion and with tears that ran down her face, reflecting back the moonlight. She had dark hair in a loose, disheveled braid, and large, frightened eyes. Her clothes looked as though they had been at one time elegant and neat, but now were torn and stained with dirt and blood. A young girl, almost being dragged by the woman, was clutching her hand. The little ones sleeve was wet with blood, staining the blue shirt a deep maroon. Vincent and Aeris, still hiding a ways off in the woods, saw with sickening horror a monster emerging from the woods opposite their positions.
Standing about six feet tall, the thing had claws that looked as if they could tear a person in half at any given second, and wings that were folded partway out, slowly beating back and forth. Its slime covered skin shone in the moonlight, iridescent, a mixture of blacks, purples, and greens. The woman and child froze at the sight of this monster. As all four humans looked on, the monster slowly moved into the clearing, and then began to stretch its wings, until they were fully extended. Opening its wide jaws, revealing three inch fangs, it screamed. The sound filled every living thing with dread. It sounded as if hundreds of people, men and women, young and old, were screaming all at once. It ripped through the air, tearing the silence to shreds. The scream slowly faded as the creature lowered its head to glare at the couple in the clearing with black, empty eyes.
For a moment, no one could move. The woman finally recovered, and began to run away, but another monster appeared from that direction. When they turned, another had appeared. The three creatures began to move closer to the pair. There was no possible escaping from their grasp. The woman realized the hopelessness of the situation, and knelt down to encircle the child in her arms, "No, please, God no..." She sobbed wildly, screaming, begging. She cried, "Please, please someone, spare the child," Two of the monsters halted. One, a wolf like creature, continued moving towards them. Upon hearing the womans plea, if it was possible, the creature seemed to laugh. It circled around and around the pair in the clearing. Her cries grew softer; she whispered repeatedly, "Please, please no, oh God no." Clutching the child to her breast, she followed the wolfs moves with red, horror stricken eyes.
After the three beasts had appeared Aeris and Vincent split up, heading in opposite directions around the perimeter of the circle that the beasts made up. Remaining as out of sight as possible until they had reached the two creatures that were furthest away from the pair.
Aeris looked at the winged creature. Any fear she had was quelled by the pleas of the woman. This beast was evil, and would die tonight. As she was preparing to attack, she saw the thing look up suddenly. It was staring at something in the woods. She realized with a start that it had seen Vincent. If she did not strike at that moment, it would go after him, and he would be faced with the surprise attack of the monsters. She would have to act quickly, and strongly.
Without wasting any time, she cast her highest level Bolt at the monster. It screamed once again, repeating the sound she had never wished to hear again in her lifetime. At the same time Aeris saw Vincent attack the other monster, some kind of round, spine covered creature, with his Supershot.
The winged creature turned towards Aeris, baring its long fangs and spreading its wings. It lunged at her with surprising speed, wings beating, claws extended. Aeris quickly dodged the brunt of the attack by raising her Aurora rod to deflect its hand. In the second it took the creature to recover, she shot at it with a powerful Ice spell. The creature was weakened, but not nearly enough. It stared at her with its black, marble like eyes. It moved again, equally swiftly, to strike at her with a claw. This time when she raised the rod to block the blow, the creatures wing struck out, knocking it into the forest to her left. In one instant she saw this happen, and in the next she was on her side. She had received the creatures blow on her shoulder, and was bleeding profusely from it. She looked down at the wound, and saw the gleaming white of bone among the river of blood. She felt the world spinning and stars flew in front of her eyes. With an enormous feat of strength, she stood.
Aeris grasped at her wound with her right arm, searching desperately with her eyes for her lost weapon. She looked up to see Vincent in the distance. The clouds in her mind instantly cleared when she saw that his creature had cast death spell on him, and that he was running out of time. The winged creature used this moment of distraction to kick at Aeris with a powerful blow to the stomach. She fell violently into a tree behind her, gasping for air. The creature raised one claw to the base of her neck, and pressed lightly. It cut through her skin with almost no pressure at all. She cried out in pain as it then slowly traced its claw down to her shoulder, and partway down her arm, drawing a bright red line in her skin. It seemed pleased with her suffering. It withdrew its claw, and raised its hand high in the air, preparing to strike. She had no strength to resist, weak from loss of blood. She pressed herself against the tree, preparing to receive the blow, closing her eyes. A second later she heard a growl and opened her eyes in time to see Red XIII hit the creature full in the side, landing on top of it, striking it fiercely in the face and chest. The thing died, not before cutting Red in the stomach, and not before screaming one last time, louder that ever before.
Red XIII rushed to Aeris, who had fallen to the ground in shock. She felt the darkness closing in around her, and just before she succumbed to it she managed to murmur, "Vincent needs you."
Looking around, he saw Vincent, only seconds left in his sentence. Wasting no time, Red used his Stardust Ray to finish off the thing attacking him. Vincent was weak, but safe from further damage. He had several wounds, but paid no attention to them or to Reds questions. When he learned that she had only fainted, and would be all right, they both turned their attention to the final creature.
All this time the wolf had remained near the woman and child, keeping them from moving, but watching the battles as well. The woman begged for help from the two. They began to move towards the wolf, but both stopped when it struck the woman with one of its massive paws. She lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for air and the wolf pressed a paw on her neck. It looked as though it was daring them to come any closer. In a choked, raspy voice, the woman managed to utter, "the child." For several moments there was no movement, only the sound of the womans struggles. Then, in so quick a motion that it all only took seconds to occur, Red XIII dashed forward and grasped the cowering childs collar in his teeth, flinging her like a rag doll into Vincents arms. The wolf at the same time growled, and pressed his paw hard on the womans neck, then raked his claws across it before fleeing into the woods. Soon the sound of his retreat faded, and was replaced by the muffled sound of the child sobbing in Vincents arms, her face pressed into his shoulder.