Disclaimer: None of the FF7 characters belong to me. Though Vincent and I are very close friends.
Author's note: Thank you everyone who has left me a review. Or five! It's amazing to find people pleased with your work, especially when they seem pleased with it on multiple chapters. You guys keep me going!
Chapter 7
Lile
Vincent wasn't having much luck getting to sleep. His room back at home in Kalm was in a building made of wood, and he was used to the sounds of the old house settling down after a day spent in the sunlight. The cave inside the Mithril Mines was completely silent. No wind whistling through the trees outside, no fire crackling in the grate, no hushed voices echoing from along the hall as his parents prepared for bed. Whoever says that it's difficult to sleep with noise is wrong; it's the silence pressing down on your eardrums that can really keep you up.
Vincent tossed, and he turned. He tried counting sheep. When that didn't work he tried counting Chocobos, but that didn't help much either. He just couldn't get his mind and muscles to relax. There was too much approaching in the near future. He and Kai would be leaving for Fort Condor, and almost certain catastrophe.
Vaguely, he wondered if Kai was having as much trouble sleeping as he was. Probably not; she was used to adventure. For a fleeting second, Vincent imagined what it would be like if he had grown up with the Mirads instead of in Kalm. Would he be like Kai, tough, bold, and infinitely capable? A mental image of himself standing atop a hill in front of a rabble of bandits swam before his eyes. He smiled slightly as his fantasy self drew a knife, bangles and earrings glinting in the sunlight.
Yeah right, he thought, chuckling.
The truth was, he was scared to death of the residents of the Mine. What was to stop one of them from slipping in quietly when he was asleep and slitting his throat? Kioko didn't seem to like him very much…
And with that, Vincent knew he wasn't getting any rest that night. He threw off the thin blanket and began to lace up his boots. He grabbed his shirt of the chair he had tossed it on a couple hours ago, then stood up. Then he sat back down on the bed. Where the hell was he going? He didn't know the caves at all, and he was likely to go stumbling around in the darkness until on of the bandits found him and ended his misery permanently.
Vincent ran his fingers through his hair, which was getting quite long. It now reached just passed his shoulders. His hair had been one of the few things he and his parents didn't agree on. His father had always told him that it made him look like a girl, and his mom said that he would get it stuck in the plow one. He had always just laughed. If he could go back, he would never laugh at his parents again.
"I miss you, dad," he whispered, wiping his palms across his eyes. A moment later he sat bolt upright, his ears, so strained from the silence, catching something. Someone was coming, pacing along the tunnel outside.
Vincent looked wildly around for some sort of weapon. There was nothing in the room but the bed, the chest, and himself, none of which he could very well pick up and toss at whoever was coming. Instead, he leaned down and unlaced one of his boots.
He felt like an idiot, standing there next to the door holding a boot over his head. It would have to do, as there wasn't really anything else he could use. The footsteps were getting closer. Vincent felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. A shadow loomed up against the cave wall. He felt his body tense.
"Holy shit, Vince, don't kill me."
Vincent had just enough muscle control to stop himself before he brought the boot down on Kai's head. She was looking at him as though she were insane, and no wonder; he was standing there with footwear held up in defense. He suddenly felt like even more of an idiot than previously.
"A shoe?" Kai wanted to know.
Vincent didn't answer, just breathed a sigh of relief. It had been kind of stupid to freak out like that. Of course it would have been Kai. She was dressed all in black. Slung over her shoulder was a large sack, making her look like a kind of warped, female Santa Clause. She slung it onto the bed, sitting down beside it.
"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked, undoing the cord on the sack's neck.
Vincent shook his head. He suddenly felt a lot better about himself. If Kai was worried about the future, then it definitely was something worth staying up for.
"What are you doing?" he asked, indicating the sack. Kai dumped it out onto the bed.
"I was thinking," she began, sifting through the contents, "Since neither of us can sleep, why we don't just leave now?"
Her face was shining with excitement. In the strange light that seemed to hang over all of the Mithril Mines, her pale skin made her look almost like a ghost. It was only then that Vincent realized how eager she really was to help him. Or maybe it wasn't because of him, maybe she just wanted a change in her life's pattern. It had been something Vincent had always wanted; now he regretted ever wishing for it. He sincerely hoped that Kai wouldn't be rudely awakened to her dreams the same way he had.
"What do you say?" Kai urged, "Let's leave now!"
Vincent hesitated. He was anxious to get after Erika and Seph, but still, he couldn't shake the fear of the future that gnawed at his stomach.
"What have you got there?" he asked, more to postpone answering the question than anything else.
"Stuff," Kai said. She chucked something at him. It was a long coat, blood red with silver fastenings. It looked too big and too grand for him.
"Where did you get this?"
Kai shrugged. "Took it off some rich guy heading to Midgar. Put it on, you look good in red."
Vincent seriously doubted that, but he didn't say anything. Instead he slipped his arms into the coat, and was surprised at how light and comfortable it was. It had looked like the robe of a king, but he felt normal in it. Better than normal, he felt cool. It was embarrassing to admit, but Vincent liked the way he looked in the small mirror hung in the cave wall.
"Yep, very hot," Kai said, with the air of someone commenting on the weather, "Here, have this too, Gorgeous." She tossed something else at him. Vincent caught it, feeling the cold metal under his fingers. He knew what it was without looking at it.
A gun. It was silver and black and looked very new. It fit in his hand well, as though it had been made for him. Turning it over, he saw that there was a red "V" emblazoned on the barrel. He froze. Had it been made for him?
Kai must have seen the shock on his face, because she explained, "I personally took that off a member of the Shinra. Guess his name started with a v too. That's a real nice piece 'a hardware there. Newest model outta Shinra co."
Vincent looked at the gun in his hand. It was a far cry from the paint guns he was used to using back in Kalm. As he held it, a slight sinking sensation filled his stomach. True, he was a pretty good shot, but he had never actually aimed a weapon at anyone with the purpose to kill. He wasn't sure that he could. Of course, he mentioned none of this to Kai, just slid the gun into the belt that she handed him. There was no need for her to know of his misgivings.
"Are we leaving now, then?" he asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking.
Kai nodded, jumping up from the bed and wrapping her cloak tightly around her thin frame. Vincent noticed that she had two pistols thrust into her belt and a shape underneath the cloak that had to be a sword. She seemed to be full of energy, regardless of the late hour.
"Let's go," she agreed.
They stole through the tunnels, Vincent following Kai's lead. All was silent except for the occasional drip, drip, drip of some tiny unseen water source winding its way down the cavern walls. The luminescent Mithril was enough to light their way, though Vincent made sure to stay as far away from the glowing green crystal. It still made him feel a little nauseated.
As they walked, he couldn't help thinking about Scarlet. It was strange; he still had nothing but hatred for her and wouldn't rest until he repaid her for what she had done to Gon, but still his thoughts turned her way.
What could she be thinking? He wondered, Does she really have any idea what she's doing?
It all came back to Erika, if it hadn't been for the leader of the Turks, everything would still be the way it was supposed to be. His father would be alive and Vincent, Gon, and Scarlet would all still be best friends, playing their silly games of warfare in the fields around Kalm. His life wouldn't be completely screwed up, and neither would Seph's. He had no idea why Erika was after the silver-haired boy, but whatever it was it couldn't be pleasant.
"Hey," he called, attempting to catch up with the girl in front of him, "Do we have a plan?"
Kai turned her head. "What?"
"I asked if we had a plan. You said you would be the brains of the operation."
Something uncomfortable flashed across Kai's face. "Bull shit, I never said that."
Vincent was about to argue, when he was interrupted by the sudden cold, fresh air caressing his face. They had come to the end of the tunnel. They were out.
He took a deep breath. The air tasted sweet and clean, as though it has just rained. The dark night sky was scattered with stars and seemed a lot bigger than Vincent remembered it. Maybe he had just never really looked up before. They had emerged onto the Overworld Plains. In the darkness they looked as forbidding as anything could. He suddenly wished he hadn't agreed to Kai's idea to leave before morning.
"Where to now?" he asked with a sigh.
Kai didn't answer right away. She was staring around as though she had lost something. Vincent didn't take it as a very good sign.
"I-I'm not exactly sure," she admitted, "I've never actually been out this way. Just give me a second…"
"Great," Vincent said in frustration, throwing up his hands and kicking the rock wall, "We're two steps out of the Mines and already we're lost!"
"Clam down, you idiot," Kai said distractedly. She had pulled something small out of the pocket of her cloak. It seemed to be a compass, but the arrow wasn't pointing north. In fact, it wasn't pointing anywhere. There was no arrow. But it obviously meant something to Kai, because she stuffed it back into her cloak and pointed ahead of them.
"That's west. We have to go northwest, so we'll make for that over there." She pointed along the horizon at a grove of trees a couple miles a way from their where they stood. "We'll use it as a landmark."
Vincent nodded passively. "Okay."
He really had no choice but to follow. There was no place of Kalm and the surrounding countryside that he didn't know, but anywhere else and he was utterly lost.
As it turned out, the copse was a lot farther off than he had first imagined. Maybe it had been some trick of the light (or lack thereof) or simply bad distance estimation. The sky was already tinged with gold by the time they reached the edge of the trees. There, they discovered that it was more of a forest than a grove. They rested there for a few hours, then continued on their way.
There is nothing greatly relevant to mention about their journey to Fort Condor. It was in truth, a generic trudge across the plains. The only thing worthy of putting down on paper was how well Vincent began to enjoy Kai's company. By the time their trip was nearing the end of the second day, he was immensely thankful that he had passed out on the Overworld. He never would have made it without Kai and her bandit resources.
Whatever they ended up needing, food, flint, knives, anything, she would reveal it hidden in her pack. After awhile, Vincent began to wonder how much she had actually stolen from the Mirads, though they were her own people so it technically didn't count as stealing. She also knew the trails to take through the woods between the mines and Fort Condor. Vincent would have been hopelessly lost in the twisting kingdoms of greenery, but Kai was definitely an outdoor girl.
"That's Condor," she said finally.
They were crouched behind some weird-looking rock formation that looked kind of light a cluster of slate grey grapes. Some of the grapes were hollow, so they could peer out at the mountain. For that was what it was; Fort Condor was a stronghold. According to Kai it had once been used as a fortress, but now was just used as a trading outpost for merchants who traveled from one continent to the other to sell their wares.
Vincent could think of no good reason why Erika would go there. She seemed more hardcore than that. What was the point of going to a trader's den when you were in the kidnapping business?
"Hey," he nudged Kai suddenly, something springing to mind, "Does the slave trade deal in Condor?"
"What?" Kai demanded, her face turning an angry red, "Of course not! We've driven slavery from this continent!"
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "We?"
Kai turned around and leaned her back against the rocks. "The Mirads had a lot to do with sending the last slavers running for their useless lives. Fucking assholes," she added.
Vincent squinted in confusion. "But you're bandits…"
Kai fixed him with her piercing green gaze. "Your point? We live outside the law, Vince, but we're not inhuman." She slammed her fist down on the dirt ground. "That's just like the Shinra! They're the only law around, and they make my people out to be murderers!"
Vincent nodded. Now that he thought about, most of the hype he had heard about the Mirads of Mithril had been somehow connected to the Shinra. The attack on Kalm a year ago hadn't resulted in anyone being killed exactly…except the soldiers that the Shinra had claimed had died defending the village. Vincent couldn't recall there ever being any soldiers there. He had just never really thought about it. Shinra had demanded compensation for the loses in the form of property…which they had begun to build a reactor on…
"I think I understand," he said.
"Good," Kai said. "And by the way, why the slave question?"
Vincent shrugged. "I was thinking that maybe Seph had been captured for the market…I don't know."
"No," Kais answered thoughtfully, "Whatever it is, it's probably much, much worse."
Before Vincent could ask what was worse than slavery, Kai climbed to her feet. "We should get moving. Condor closes its gates at sunset."
He followed her as they began the last short leg of their journey. The mountain fort rose craggy and abrupt before them, commanding all attention in the surrounding vicinity. Vincent could see how it had been a good stronghold in war. From the days back in Kalm (it seemed lifetimes ago) when he had spent his time planning out movements for their games, he had a small idea of battle tactics. The mountain offered a superb view of the surrounding countryside in all four compass directions. He could make out gun ports in the side of the rocky walls, and even the slopes had plenty of hiding places. The only downside could possibly be that it could be easily held to siege, but that had probably already been solved by tunnels.
As they drew closer, iron gates unattached themselves from the shadows. They looked quite formidable, with huge spikes and thick beams, but they stood fully open, and not even a guard was posted. Well, at least not a visible guard.
Vincent noticed that Kai had fastened her cloak around her tightly. She was obviously trying to hide her clothing. Not many people would be able to recognize a bandit, but there was no use in inviting trouble by being careless. He in his turn adjusted the his coat so that it covered the gun in his belt.
Past the gate there was a road of sorts. It was unpaved and rocky and led uphill, but Vincent could see the path that the feet of the ages had carved out. He and Kai followed it, becoming quickly tired by the incline. It seemed like whoever had chosen to make this path had purposefully meandered along the toughest course possible.
"This is stupid," Vincent grumbled at one point, as he yet again paused to catch his breath.
"You're out of shape, man," Kai laughed, though she was panting as well.
"How to traders get their goods up this thing?"
"I don't have a frigging clue, Vince, I've never been here before. There's probably another way up, but we want to keep as low a profile as possible until we find the Turks."
"Until? What do we do after we find them?" Vincent asked.
"What do you think? We become very high profile. We want them to know that it was us who killed them."
Her face was red from climbing, but Kai had a hard resolve shining from her eyes. Vincent couldn't help wondering why she cared so much. It was his world that had been torn apart by Erika and Co, not hers. But she was helping him; putting her very life in danger. Vincent hadn't thought he would ever have friends that good.
The sun was on its very last blaze, sending deep gold light arching over the mountain, bathing them with its glory. Vincent began to tire of climbing very quickly. He wondered where the heck everyone was. All they had seen so for was a rocky path carving its way up the slope. Was there really a whole town here? He hadn't seen any sign of one, but Kai had assured him that there was a thriving community in the old fort. He was just about to mention this strangeness, when his ears finally caught something.
It was like a strange buzzing sound, and it took Vincent a few moments to realize that it was the buzzing of conversation. The buzzing of a lot of conversation. Yells and calls sounded from what seemed to be inside the very mountain itself. The path maneuvered itself around a particularly large pile of rocks, and the two suddenly found themselves faced by a door in the rock wall. They exchanged a look.
"Ready?" Kai asked. "We don't know that we're going to find in there."
"Ready."
Kai leaned her shoulder against the door and threw it open. She drew her knife and leapt through, Vincent on her tail. They were stopped immediately by the sight before them. They had burst in on a market day.
It was a cavern, like many in the Mithril Mines, except it was open to the night sky above. There were huge throngs of people, wandering here and there, between stalls that had been set up on the top of the mountain. Vincent understood why traders made stops here; it was a regular hornet's nest of commerce. The stalls seemed to sell everything from food to large birds.
Kai narrowed her eyes and slid her knife back home. No one seemed to have seen them emerge from the little side door. There was a larger, apparently more-used thoroughfare cut into the cavern wall. It led into the depths of the mountain. Vincent was beginning to get thoroughly sick of caves. They made him feel incredibly caged.
"What the hell is this?" he asked, turning to Kai, as though it were all her fault, "How are we supposed to find in Erika in the middle of this?"
"I-I didn't realize it would be like this," the bandit admitted, running her fingers through her hair and making it stand on end, "Shit, this is going to be like finding a needle in a frigging haystack."
Vincent sighed. They had made it and what had they found? More obstacles.
"I guess we might as well ask around. I'm sure people would notice if the Turks were here. They aren't very unobtrusive."
Kai agreed, and the two of them waded out into the teeming masses of people. There was a huge mixture of races and classes represented. Northerners, heavyset and dark-haired; the Malik, a smaller, quick-eyed and fair-skinned race from the southern Islands. Vincent saw the very rich, with there fancy clothing and purses full of gold, and the poorer, lees fortunate people of the Planet, dressed in homespuns and un-tanned leather. Adults roamed through the stalls, scanning for the best purchases for their money, while children scampered underfoot.
Vincent found the whole place intoxicating. He had been to markets before, but nothing like this. This one was under the stars, on the top of a mountain. "Wow…I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything," Kai advised, carving her way through a gaggle of older, rather frazzled looking women, "This is nothing special."
Vincent didn't answer. He had been suddenly distracted. There, a little way ahead of them, strolling along a row of stalls selling leather goods and weaponry (ranging from spears to guns) was someone with hair as red as Kai's. Redder even, and tied back into a long ponytail. Vincent remembered seeing the owner of that hair dragging a drugged Seph around the house…
He grabbed Kai's elbow, stopping her. She tripped over her feet and cursed.
"Dammit. What?"
Vincent pointed. "There." Reno had turned the corner into another lane of market-stalls.
"A Turk?" Kai guessed.
He nodded. "Come on." They broke into as much of a run as the tight conditions would allow, ignoring the calls of various vendors urging them to take a look at their goods. Vincent didn't even stop to apologize when he sent a man tumbling into the dirt. He couldn't lose Reno.
"Just out of curiosity," Kai panted as they ran, "What are we going to do when we catch him?"
"Something painful."
Kai grinned. "Works for me."
They were gaining on him. Reno had no idea what was coming from behind, and he was moving at a leisurely pace, stopping here and there to peruse the stalls. Vincent felt a wonderful bubble of hope grow in his stomach. He was only a few feet from Reno, when someone stepped directly in his path. He skidded to a halt to prevent serious injury to himself and whatever idiot had gotten in his way. He tripped and was sent sprawling on the dirt floor.
"Kai, go!" he managed to choke out.
Kai obeyed, picking up speed as she saw that he was alright. Within a moment, she had disappeared into the crowd. Vincent lay there on the ground, fighting to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?" A small, blue-haired boy was standing over him, staring down with a sheepish expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I didn' know you was in such a hurry. I jus' wanted to ask ya where ya got that coat."
He pointed at the red garment, now dusty and rumpled from its spill in the dirt. He was a scruffy kid, dirty and underfed. He looked like he could use a nice coat, though Vincent's would probably swallow him, as it was a bit big on Vincent himself.
"I didn't get it here," he said, picking himself up and brushing past the boy. He scanned the crowd for signs of his quarry, but neither Reno nor Kai were anywhere in sight.
"Whatcha lookin' for?" the boy asked.
"My friend," Vincent answered, only half paying attention.
"Ya mean the pretty lady?"
Vincent turned back to the boy. "Yeah."
He pointed. "She wen' that way."
"Thanks," Vincent said, failing to mention that he already knew that and therefore the information hadn't been much help. He brushed his coat off and began to push his way through the crowd, following in the direction he thought he had seen Kai take off in. He had only gone a few yards when he caught sight of her. She was heading his way, her cloak hanging lopsided of her shoulders and her face shiny with perspiration.
"He lost me. I think he realized I was onto his long-haired ass."
"Damn!" Vincent yelled, so loudly that a few nearby people looked around. He didn't care. He had lost his only lead to Erika and Scarlet. He was now positive that it had been Reno, or he wouldn't have run from Kai. He would tell his companions now, and they would leave, and Vincent would have no idea how to find them.
Kai must have seen the defeated look on his face because she said, "Don't freak out, we'll find them. Who's the kid?"
Vincent looked around. The scruffy boy had followed him. Fighting a huge urge to knock him out, he asked, "What are you doing?"
The boy didn't answer. His eyes were on Kai; on her belt, to be more accurate.
"You have a knife."
"Observant of you," she said, rather stiffly, "Vince, what-?"
"This is the reason we lost Reno." The boy didn't seem to catch the anger in his voice. He continued to stare, first at Kai, then at Vincent. His eyes were round and blue.
"What's your name, Kid?" Kai asked, leaning down. It was easy to make out the forced cheerfulness in her tone.
"Lile."
"Lile, why did you get in Vincent's way?"
Lile blinked. "I'm sorry ma'am, I jus' wanted ta see his coat…" Tears filled his eyes. "I didn't wanna get in no one's way…"
Kai's expression softened. Vincent began to feel his anger ebb away as well. The kid couldn't have been older than eight, and he looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in days. He wiped his eyes with the back of a grubby hand.
"Where's your mom?" Kai inquired
Lile made a face. "Ain't got one. Don't need one."
Kai raised her eyebrows at Vincent, who shrugged. He didn't really care much about the kid. He just wanted to find Reno. Kai seemed to understand.
"We have to go, Lile," she said softly, "We're looking for some Turks, and-,"
"Turks?" Lile piped up suddenly, "I know them Turks."
Vincent and Kai exchanged a glance. "You know them?" Vincent inquired.
Lile nodded earnestly, dirty blue hair flapping. "They're all staying at me mum's sleeping house." He seemed to have forgotten he had just told them he didn't have a mother.
"Can you show us?" Vincent asked excitedly. Maybe they would find their targets after all.
Lile nodded and lead the way. They skirted the main marketplace, staying to the edges of the cavern. The boy seemed to know it well. He ran ahead, his little bare feet pattering on the hard ground. He moved with the air of someone with an important mission. Vincent noticed the amused smile on Kai's face as she watched him.
"You're good with kids," he commented
Kai gave him a shove. "I'm just not an asshole, that's all." She looked pleased, though.
Lile led them to a door in the side of the rocky wall. Vincent was pretty sure that it was a different door than he and Kai had entered through, but the marketplace was so big and confusing he could have been wrong. Lile unlocked this particular door using a key he procured from somewhere inside his ratty tunic. Then, with a backward glance and grin, he slipped into the darkness inside.
"Should we follow him?" Kai asked dubiously, her hand on her knife.
"What have we got to lose?" Vincent wondered, knowing the answer.
"Quite a frickin' lot. Like our lives."
Vincent shrugged. "Well, there you have it."
Kai smiled, as if she was looking at a pupil who was finally beginning to learn. "That's what I like to here."
Lile stuck his head back around the door. "Ya guys comin' or what?"
They came, following him down the dim tunnel. Vincent felt hope blossom in him once again. They might actually find them this time, he might finally be able to pay Erika and her cronies back for what they had done to him. And of course, he would have some choice words for Scarlet as well.
That was of course, if something didn't go wrong. And something always did.