He Tells All

by: Bishojo Beauty

Chapter 14

The remaining route for the threesome was fairly simple. They were already passed the most strenuous part of the trip, and now it was just a somewhat straight walk. The only problem was that, one of them didn't seem like he'd be walking for a while.

Sighing, Tifa debated on her choices on how to get Vincent to Cosmo Canyon. She could either 1. Enlist the help of fellow AVALANCHE member Cid, and have him fly them over, or 2. Carry him. The first option seemed much better to Tifa but whether that was the case for Vincent was a totally different story. Considering the state he was in, Tifa was sure that he would not like other people to know about it. But Nanaki was an exception. They had planned this from the beginning, and Vincent knew of it. Cid he would not know of, and Tifa figured he would be quite upset if he found out. Right now, Tifa did not like the idea of an upset Vincent noting the upset Vincent earlier in the day. Tifa shuddered mentally.

She had found herself scared, but not scared at the same time. It was strange. Tifa forced herself to not think of it at the moment. She had more important issues to attend to.

She glanced over at her silent companion. For a moment, he looked almost identical to Vincent in his brooding form over the real Vincent.

"So...um," Tifa became at a lost of words as soon as she started. She watched as Kael turned his cold gaze at her.

"I'll carry. Let's go," was all he said and with that they were off.

-

The walk to Cosmo Canyon was quite uneventful. They walked in something of a semblance to peace. Not many monsters approached them. But the feeling of dread of Vincent's health kept them on edge. They were both afraid of the outcome of the illness that had befallen him.

Finally, after a short walk made long with the burden of carrying Vincent, they were within the outskirts of Cosmo Canyon. The place, generally, had not changed much in the past few years. Nanaki was one of the main residents of the area. He was well known and respected among all of the citizens of Cosmo Canyon.

Tifa phoned Nanaki with the PHS that she refused to let go. Even after meteor had passed and peace fell over the planet. She quickly informed him of Vincent's current status and her location. In the kindness and understanding that Nanaki always possessed, without a second thought, had sent for people to help them move the unconscious Vincent in. She thanked him graciously on the phone before hanging up. Not long after, four bulky individuals were making their way towards them. Gently, they hoisted Vincent up onto a small stretcher and carried him the rest of the way to Cosmo Canyon.

Upon reaching the small town, Tifa, Kael and the unconscious Vincent were greeted by Nanaki. Immediately, Nanaki directed the four men to bring Vincent to his home where he could rest properly.

He then turned to Tifa and Kael and gave them a warm greeting.

"Hey, Nanaki. Long time no see. I'd like you to meet someone," Tifa replied, turning to Kael. He looked rather curious of the beast in front of him. She introduced the two quickly as they strode closely behind the men carrying Vincent.

"A friend of Tifa is friend of mine," Nanaki replied. Kael smiled at this. Tifa had to admit, he looked rather nice with a smile. If her mind wasn't already on a certain other man, she would have definitely wanted to get to know Kael much better. Tifa then realized, at this moment, that somewhere along the way, she had forgotten all about Cloud. And if felt good. Sparing not another thought on the blond she continued chatting with her companions.

"I've never been to Cosmo Canyon before," Kael said with much wonder in his voice.

"I hope you enjoy your time here," Nanaki responded. Tifa loved it in Cosmo Canyon. She had always found the people at Cosmo Canyon welcoming and very polite. She loved it here. She had even once considered moving here at one point. But couldn't exactly get herself to settle down just yet. There was just something missing in her life that she couldn't quite fill yet.

They were led to one of the guest rooms in Nanaki's house which would be where Vincent lay at the moment and continue to lay throughout the day, and eventually night. Tifa had volunteered herself to watch over him with no hesitation. Making herself comfortable she watched Vincent sleep for a lack of better things to do. Not that Vincent-watching was all that bad. Tifa found that she actually liked to look at him. She couldn't imagine anybody who wouldn't. She still could not get over what he looked like without the cloak, and now with his hair thrown back away from his face, he looked good. Real good.

She began to wonder what Vincent would look like if he smiled like Kael did earlier. Tifa found Kael to not be as striking as Vincent. And if Kael looked that good smiling, Tifa could only wonder what Vincent would look like. This alone caused Tifa to smile. And for once, she didn't care. She didn't deny it to herself that the mere thought of Vincent could make her smile. She felt drawn to Vincent in so many ways more than looks. Tifa fought the urge to pull Vincent's lips back into a smile. It was definitely tempting considering the fact that he did not seem to wake despite their vicious efforts earlier in the day. So Tifa found it safe to assume that a little pull on his lips would not make him wake.

A throat was cleared, knocking Tifa out of her fancy. It was Nanaki. Slowly, Nanaki made it over to Tifa's side, eyeing her with his one good eye.

"So who is our new companion?" He asked. Tifa smiled. She was relieved that he did not comment on her staring at Vincent.

"Vincent's brother," Tifa said while trying to hide her growing smile knowing that this would definitely shock him. She watched as the beast's eyebrows shot up before he hummed in response. It was good to know that she was not the only one that was shocked at this revelation. Vincent had definitely failed to mention that he had other family. But then again, it was hard enough for him to say anything more than what he had. Nanaki had never really seen Vincent's face due to his height. From Nakaki's point of view, all that he had ever really seen was his cloak. So he couldn't exactly say he knew that the two were related.

"Have you seen the bruises?" Nanaki asked. Tifa nodded in reply. She always knew the beast had a sharp eye. Tifa quickly then informed him of the recent events that brought them here. And also about Chaos.

"There's a certain danger in keeping him here," Nanaki stated. Being the guardian of Cosmo Canyon, Tifa could understand the reason for all his concern. Tifa was concerned as well. She knew that once Vincent was Chaos, there was no telling what he would do. There was no way to control him after that.

"But there's no other option. A friend is in need," Nanaki said with a grin, which wrinkled the scar over his missing eye. The feline creature then turned and padded slowly away. Once he exited the room, Tifa turned her attention back to the prone form that was Vincent Valentine.

It was very rare to see him in such a state, and it struck a certain chord in Tifa's heart. She didn't like it. Vincent, to her, is one of those people who never get sick or hurt, or if they do, they're always up and running in no time. But this was not the case of Vincent. It was past midnight now and his status did not change one bit from when they tried to wake him the other day. Sufficient medical attention was to arrive early next morning, as Nanaki had informed her earlier in the day.

Sighing in exhaustion, she tried to focus her attention away from Vincent. But her mind did not allow her. The brunette's thoughts just kept going back to the dark man that lay on the bed before her. On closer examination, she noticed that his lips were moving. Curious, she leaned in closer in an attempt to hear what he could possibly be saying.

Then suddenly, she heard the window smash near her. She looked up to spot three men flying into the room. They quickly unattached themselves from the ropes attached to their waists and drew out familiar guns at Tifa. She sat still with her eyes wide. She thought surely the others would come running by now. But no one came. The crash was quite loud, there was no way no one heard. Tifa thought to herself. Cursing mentally, she tried to think calmly for a solution to this situation.

"If you know what's best for you, lady, you'd turn around and place your hands on that wall," the man in the middle said. Tifa knew that she'd be too easy of a target the moment she turned her back on them. But she didn't know what else to do. She stood up slowly, keeping her eyes focused on the three men and raised her hands. The three men were dressed like the one she took down a couple days ago. All of this was obviously connected. The man in the middle saw the realization in the brunette of her fate if she turned around.

"You can watch if you like then," he said, smirking. Tifa felt like knocking the lights out of that man, but he was too far for her to launch an attack without getting shot by the other men who now walked over to where Vincent laid unconscious and roughly lifted him up and reattached themselves to their ropes. The third one did the same. Just then, gunshots from downstairs sounded. But the three did not seem surprised.

Was this a planned attack? Had they known they were going to be in Cosmo Canyon all along? Tifa found herself asking. Cursing, she watched as the three men smiled mockingly at her before grappling quickly down the window from where they came. Tifa rushed after them then, and looked out the window. There she saw a man who made her blood boil. He waved at her with a gentle smile on his face that quickly turned sinister.

"Chester!" Tifa shouted angrily, her hands gripping the window sill. The elderly man had gone from kind and gentle to corrupt and deceiving. She did not understand though. From what she saw earlier, Chester was supposed to be dead. Either way, Tifa figured that he was alive right now, and he was taking Vincent. That was all that really mattered. Tifa pulled back in pain as some glass cut into her palms. Swearing, she rushed downstairs. She met Kael and Nanaki, alive and well, downstairs with either dead or horribly injured and unconscious men surrounding them.

"They've got Vincent!" Was all Tifa shouted and the three of them were flying out the front doors. They were still carrying Vincent when they burst through the doors and a vehicle was just pulling up. Most likely to bring the men and Vincent all to wherever. The three chased after them though it seemed impossible to catch them. They were already too far and in the midst of throwing Vincent in the vehicle.

-

Vincent couldn't ignore the feeling no matter how hard he tried. He was just so damn tired. But the feeling was strange. It felt as if someone was carrying him. Growling in frustration, he decided to open his eyes to see what was happening. Indeed, his eyes told him that he was being carried. And by men he didn't like the sight of. His body reacted before his mind could and he found himself instantly out of the men's grasps and on the floor. He had caught them all unsuspectingly.

He landed just at the base of the vehicle, and he rolled quickly away, taking a man down with him. He caught sight of the men around him whipping out those tranquilizer guns. Vincent knew he was fighting a losing battle like this, and especially without Death Penalty. But he refused to give up.

Using his momentum, he rolled into a crouching position and watched for the men's next reaction. He knew that he would be able to avoid the first spray of shots, but the second he was not so sure. He easily dodged the first series of shots as he predicted while assessing his enemy. They seemed rather untrained, but he did not want to assume too much.

With inhuman speed he rushed the one man, he saw panic grown in his eyes with every step that he became closer. It all happened within a second and now his face was embedded in Vincent's claw. He fell unconscious onto the floor. Vincent did not wait for him to fall as his fist was already flying towards the neck of the other man's throat taking him down as well.

His blood thirst was growing, and it was, as always, insatiable. This made him the perfect Turk. He killed with no remorse. Before he knew it, and before any of his attackers knew it, they were all down on the ground, incapable of acting any further. Vincent's full attention was now on the last man standing. Chester.

"Just as the files said, you're a success," he said. There was a certain glint in his eye that told Vincent he knew something. There were a couple of key words that hit Vincent like a truck at full force.

"What files?" Vincent asked cautiously, even though he could already guess at the correct answer. Chester smiled deviously. He seemed to be enjoying this quite a bit.

"Hojo's."

Everything around Vincent seemed to black out when his assumptions were confirmed. All he could see was Chester. He didn't quite comprehend how he was alive at this moment. But this moment also called for more important things to occupy his mind.

All he could really hear was Chester. But all he could think about was Hojo. Hojo's files? How? Where? What? Vincent's mind was going around in circles. He couldn't seem to focus on anything or figure anything out.

"Vincent!" A female voice suddenly burst into his closed off reality. He whipped around to catch sight of Tifa running towards him.

"Are you okay?" She asked him once she reached his side. She did not look at him however, when she asked this question. She had her eyes focused solely on Chester.

"I'm fine," Vincent gritted out. He decided to answer verbally considering the fact that she would not see his answer physically.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"This does not involve you, Tifa," Chester replied in an all too gentle tone. But Tifa did not get tricked by it this time. She knew that it was all a show. Her thoughts began to drift. She could see how Chester was a former Turk. He was cold-hearted on the inside, but warm on the outside. He was very easy to believe and trust. It was very deceiving, even for Tifa. Tifa could picture the shock on his victims' faces when he pulled out his weapon that foretold their future. She couldn't help but think of the possibility that Vincent may be just as deceiving. It was all possible for Vincent to have faked it all, and Tifa was once again being foolish and falling into their traps. Could it be? She asked herself as she turned her attention now to the tall dark man standing beside her. He turned his eyes down to her as well, and their eyes met. Chester took advantage of this moment and pulled out his gun. He aimed for Tifa and pulled the trigger.

I've finally got it going flowing once again...kinda, I'm stuck at the next chapter right now...TT Hopefully, it'll all work out! I kind of had to fix this chapter majorly. I made a big mistake, and i hope no one got hold of that copy! Even so, it wouldn't be that bad. Just a little confusing!

Anyhow, enjoy! And stay tuned for more!

I wanna say a special thanks to fire-emblem-girl! Your review was very encouraging!

Thanks to those who've reviewed too! I've read all of them and they've all touched me too!

Bishojo Beauty