Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters; I just put them in difficult situations and force them to get themselves out for the amusement of others. Yeah, yeah, I'm evil.
Author's Note: I had a lot of fun with this chapter. It may get a little freaky and it is a lot to bombard the reader with all at once, but I'm sure everyone will enjoy it. I know I did. (Oh, and I'm sure Vincent did too) On that note…
Yet another Author's Note: Some people have mentioned how I am not sticking to the exact, rigid story that goes along with the game. I assure you, I am trying my utmost to be as accurate as possible. There are however, several necessary changed I had to make; Reno's age, for instance. (And I don't see how that is such a big deal seeing Reno is such a minor character anyway) As for Sephiroth being the same age as Vincent, it will be explained, as I have mentioned previously. Just know that, though I am straying from the central topic (Vincent/Shinra/genetically altered/basement) and adding some touches of my own (Kai), it does not mean I will not get there eventually. Sorry if this sounded a little bitchy…It's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee yet. (jk) (kind of)
Thanks
Chapter 9
Fun in the Sun
Vincent had thought Chocobos were a painful way to travel. That had been before he experienced Cid's seaplane, which was unarguably worse.
He, Cid, and Kai had pushed the seaplane out of its hanger, along the street, and down to the beach, using ropes that Cid had rigged to the wings and the tail. The fact that it had to be dragged along was the first sign that maybe flying in this contraption wasn't the best course of action.
"We have ta get it into the tide," Cid said, tossing yet another rope to both Kai and Vincent, "Normally it takes me the whole damn day, but ya'll look like strong kids."
Kai made a face. Vincent knew she didn't like being called a 'kid'. However, she wrapped the ropes around her hands without complaint. She seemed to be gaining some self-control. Vincent was relived. It would make their job considerably easier if he didn't have to worry about her letting lose on someone. He didn't know what was worse, Kai's compulsive nature, or his tendency to over-analyze things. They were quite a pair.
As soon as the plane's runners were close enough to the water to be caressed by the evanescent foam creeping up the beach, Cid ordered a stop. He dropped his ropes and ran over to the cockpit. Levering himself up by grabbing onto both the rudders and the wings, he jumped up into the passenger's seat.
"Hey, Vincent," he called back down, "Can you untie the ropes?"
"Yeah," Vincent answered, yelling to be heard over the brisk wind that had sprung up while they had been dragging the plane along the street.
He jogged to the back, unknotting the ropes from the tail and wings. They coiled to the ground, where they lay like snakes in the sand. The last one was tied at the top of the tail. Vincent had no idea how Cid had got it up there; it was much higher than his arm's reach. He made a few pitiful attempts, jumping up and trying to grab hold of the knot. It didn't work, all he ended up doing was scraping his knuckles on the side of the plane.
Kai laughed. "You're useless, you know that, Vincent?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Here, let me help."
She ran over from where she had been standing beside the cockpit. Vincent wasn't exactly sure what she planned on doing. She was definitely shorter than he was. Looking up at the knot, she seemed to consider something.
"Pick me up," she said after a moment.
Vincent started. "Huh?"
Kai rolled her eyes. "Clean the mud out of your ears. Pick me up so I can get the rope."
Vincent stood there form a moment, then dropped to one knee and put his hands out, in order to give her a boost. Kai gave him a look.
"Not like that, dumbass, if you sit down it won't help much." Without warning, she sprang at him. Vincent stepped back in shock, but still managed to catch her around the waist.
"Now lift me up!" she ordered.
He obliged, feeling a little shaken. Kai was actually quite a bit heavier than she looked. She reached up and un-knotted the rope, letting it coil to the ground like the rest of them. Vincent set her back on the sand.
"Alright!" he called up to Cid. He brushed past Kai, who was looking at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't meet her eyes as the both piled into the plane with Cid. As they had expected, there wasn't much room.
"Sorry 'bout this," Cid grunted as they squeezed past him, "I guess I'm just used to it being me an' me only."
"Great," Kai said, collapsing into the back part of the cabin that was usually reserved for luggage. Small luggage. "Are you sure it can carry all three of us?"
"Course I'm sure!" Cid insisted, though perhaps a little too forcefully than was completely necessary.
Vincent clambered in beside Kai. He tried to maneuver himself into a position in which he could see around the pilot's chair, out of the large front window. The sun had completely risen by now, high and hot. It made the ocean water sparkle like a thousand diamonds. It was a very beautiful sight, and Vincent just hoped they wouldn't end up taking a nosedive into it. That would kind of ruin the beauty a bit.
"Ready Kids?" Cid asked. Without waiting for an answer, he flipped a switch on the control panel. The rest if the buttons lit up and a low whirring sound filled the cabin. Vincent couldn't see it, but he knew it was the propellers spinning into action. All of a sudden, the whole plane began to shake violently. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, it began to inch forward, until it was rising and falling with the waves.
"Well, at least it floats," Kai muttered.
"Does more than float!" Cid yelled happily, pulling a lever and grabbing the wheel. The plane jerked forward, picking up speed as it zipped across the choppy harbor waters. The sky and the sea began to blur together, and suddenly, they were flying. Cid gave a whoop of excitement as they ascended. Kai didn't seem so excited. She moaned as the plane shook, buffeted by the air currents, and grabbed Vincent's arm.
"Oh, shit, I never shoulda gotten on this thing!"
Vincent wanted to say something to reassure her, but he wasn't feeling so calm himself. Leaving the ground far, far behind was nothing he had ever done before, and he wasn't quite sure they would make it out of this alive. After awhile though, the ride began to smooth out. Vincent supposed it was because they were now out of reach of the gusting wind, up above the Clouds. Eventually, he began to relax. Kai's grip on his arm got less intense, but she didn't let go.
"If you two are hungry, there's some grub in the packs back there." Cid jerked his head back. Vincent and Kai did not need telling twice. It had been a long time since there last meal. They went at the flaky bread and cheese with a vengeance. While they were eating, Vincent asked he had been wondering about for the past hour or so.
"Uh, Cid?" Cid cocked his head to show he was listening. "You said that no one has lived in that town for years. Where did they all go?"
Cid didn't answer for a moment. When he finally did, it was in a very flat voice. "Ya'll saw that big 'ole Shinra building, didn't ya?"
"Yeah, we did, but-,"
"A couple years back, a representative of Shinra Inc. came to town. He said that everyone's got a month 'ta move themselves outta there. We all thought it was just 'ta build another one'a those Reactors."
"We?" Vincent asked.
Cid turned his head back a little. "Yeah, we. I lived there for awhile. Anyway, we moved out. What other choice did everyone have? The guy from the Shinra brought a big 'ole official-looking form, and they had Soldier with them.
"When we had all moved out, to the countryside, nearby towns and villages, they starting building. They didn' build a Reactor like we thought they were, they built that building. A weapon's manufacturing lab."
Vincent didn't say anything for quite awhile. Cid's story had sounded an awful lot like his, except Cid's people hadn't been massacred in the street. Or maybe they had, and he just didn't like to mention it. That was a possibility too.
"Hey, Cid." Kai had looked up from where she had been staring at her lap for the past few minutes. "We're chasing the Shinra right now. We're gonna catch the Turks and make the bastards pay. You never know, if we live, maybe we'll go after whoever took your town over."
So much for not giving away any information.
"You two'd better get some sleep," was Cid's only answer.
When he had eaten his fill, Vincent lay back, trying to get as comfortable as he could in the tight space. He had decided to take Cid's advice to get some sleep. It would take them about six hours to get across the ocean, so they had plenty of time. Kai followed suit, stretching out as best she could.
It's a good thing I'm so tired, was Vincent's last thought as he drifted off to sleep, I would never be able to sleep with her so close to me if I wasn't.
Lucrecia was afraid. Not for herself, but for everything; humans, animals, monsters, trees, the entire planet. She didn't know how she knew that something bad was in the making. It was almost like a sixth sense, like she could see the future. More like feel the future. It sounded ridiculous, but after spending five years in Shinra labs, she knew anything was possible, even things that should be impossible, things that should be let a myth.
She had to get out of there. She had to warn…well, she didn't know who she could warn. The Shinra were the biggest power in the world, they owned everything, and everyone. But though their reach extended all over the planet, Lucrecia had heard tell of organizations, few and far between, that opposed the Shinra. If she could reach one of them, maybe she would be safe. Maybe.
Lucrecia wished so hard that she had never had anything to do with the incorporation at all. Why couldn't she just have been another one of those people living on the Planet, the ones who lived and died without knowing what the hell was going on outside of their little world in a bubble. If she only hadn't been in that one place at that one time, if only she hadn't met him…
She crept along the long, metal corridor. It led to a part of the labs that she was absolutely prohibited to enter, but that didn't matter anymore. It was late at night, and many of the day workers had long since gone home. There were, however, still people in the labs. Shinra's older, more experienced scientists, the ones who worked on the projects that should never see the light of day. She moved as quietly as possible; she didn't want anyone alerted to her escape, especially not-
"Why, fancy meeting you here."
Hojo.
The dark-haired, lab-coated scientist had just turned the corner. Lucrecia had nearly run into him. A small smile crept over his face at the sight of her, like a child faced with a particularly tasty piece of candy.
"Lucrecia," he said, "You wouldn't have happened to realize that you're not supposed to be anywhere near this part of my labs, have you? Why, it leads outside. You might get lost."
"N-No Sir," Lucrecia stuttered, backing away. She hated him so much; it felt like angry flames licking at her insides. Her escape plans had been foiled, now all she wanted to do was get away without too much bodily or mental injury. Maybe he was busy and wasn't in the mood to torment her.
But Hojo wasn't about to let her go that easily. Just as she tore her eyes away from his hypnotic black gaze and turned to run back up the corridor, he caught her around the wrist. She braced herself, expecting to feel the usual pain, but none came. Instead, Hojo's touch just felt like normal human contact. That was worse, that meant he wasn't in the mood to hurt her.
"You should know better than that," he said. In one fluid movement, he pulled her towards him, pinned her shoulders to the wall and kissed her, hard. Lucrecia gasped with disgust, goose bumps popping up along her arms. He was terribly strong for a scientist, and she had to use all her strength just to push him away. He stumbled backwards, breathing heavily.
"Don't touch me," she screamed, not caring who heard, "You're disgusting!"
Hojo's eyes narrowed. "Am I?" He asked. His lips twisted with amusement, making Lucrecia's stomach boil with something unnamable. "Then why aren't you running away?"
He traced his fingers over her jaw. She didn't move. His allure was sickening, it was unnatural, but it was there. As he kissed her again, softer this time, she didn't even attempt to fathom the strange power he held over her. There wasn't any point to fighting it. He always won, and besides, giving in was better than living in a numb haze, which was how she existed at Shinra labs.
"Now," Hojo murmured, his mouth hovering by her neck, "Isn't that better?"
Vincent's dreams were muddled. He saw Kalm Village. He was running through the streets, looking, always looking for something. Gon and Scarlet were there, searching along with him. The sky was darkening as the wind tossed the trees. Vincent didn't know what they were looking for, but he knew it was imperative they find it.
Suddenly, the houses of Kalm disappeared. They were replaced by the caves of the Mithril Mines. It was the light was weak, coming from wherever light came from in dreams. There was someone standing at the other side of the cave. Vincent walked forward to try to get a closer look.
The glow of the candle revealed it to be a woman, dressed in the black leather of a Turk. As Vincent approached, she raised her head. It was Kai. She put her hands up above her head. Chains grew from the wall, snaking around her arms, binding her helplessly. A look of pain crossed her face, as though something unseen was hurting her.
Vincent sprang forward, intent on saving her, but before he could reach her, she disappeared, along with the rest of the Mithril Mines. Instead, he found himself lying on a cold table, bright lights glaring down on him. Someone was standing next to him, holding something in their hand. It was large and sharp-looking, and pulsed with a green light. Whoever they were pushed the thing into his stomach, trying to embed it in his skin.
Vincent jerked awake suddenly. He was filled with panic for a moment, as he realized there was still something pushing into his stomach. He sat up, discarding Kai who had been sleeping beside him, her head resting on his chest.
"What's your deal?" she muttered, barely half-awake.
Vincent took a deep breath. It had just been a dream. It had left him feeling extremely jumpy and confused. Kai was sitting up beside him, rubbing her eyes.
"Are we there yet?" she asked blearily.
"Almost," Cid called back.
Twenty minutes later they were once again being buffeted by the wind, as the plane descended. What had been blue ocean for the last few hours transformed into dry land, though for a moment, Vincent didn't know what he was looking at. The ground seemed to have turned to a brownish gold.
"What's down there?" he asked, leaning up to where Cid could hear him over the roar of the wind.
"Those're the dunes. There's a lot of 'em between here an' the river." Cid glanced to the south, pointing out something below. "And that over there, that's Costa del Sol."
Vincent and Kai both struggled to position themselves so as to get a closer look. Some distance from the shore, the dunes gave way to a city. A real city this time, not just a quaint little town. From his vantage point Vincent could make out high rises, smaller buildings, as well as people. Lots of them.
"I wanted to give ya a good look," Cid said, chuckling at their shocked expressions. "I'm gonna loop back around now and land."
As he did so, Vincent leaned back against the cabin wall. "You ready for this?" he asked Kai, adrenaline beginning to run through his veins. They had another crack at the Turks!
Yawning, Kai gave him a withering look. "Ready for what, may I ask?"
"For taking on the Turks, come on! That's why we're here!"
Kai sighed. "Vince, how big is this ocean?"
Vincent blinked. He hadn't expected that in answer to his question. "I don't know. Pretty big?"
"Right. And how long does it take a ship to cross it?"
"Uhh…"
"Come on, Vince! There's gotta be a brain somewhere underneath that desperately-needs-a-trim hair of yours?"
Vincent tried to concentrate. "I guess…I guess it'd take them about a day, if they sailed all through the night."
"Exactly. And how long has it taken us to fly here?"
Vincent finally caught on. "Just a few hours!" he exclaimed, "So that means the Turks probably won't be here until around…"
"Tonight," Kai finished for him.
"Oh." Vincent felt disappointment replacing the adrenaline. "That means we have an entire day to kill…"
"Don't complain, it'll be nice to get a goddamn break. Now don't talk, I have to concentrate on not throwing up." She obviously did not like flying.
Cid was a talented pilot, but he was maybe a little overly-excitable. He tended to put a little too much pressure on the gas just for the sake of revving the engine, and handle the wheel a little rougher than was actually necessary. The plane touched down in the Costa del Sol harbor. They had made it without any loss of life or limb. They coasted up as close to the harbor dock as they could without actually banging into it.
"End of the line, folks," Cid said, shutting down the engine. It died with a low whine. Kicking open the cockpit door, he leapt out onto the dock. Following suit, Vincent narrowly missed tumbling into the warm waters of the harbor. His legs felt clumsy and weak after being cramped for so long in the back of the plane.
The first thing he noticed about Costa del Sol was that it was really hot. And crowded. Hordes of people (much more than there had been at Condor) strolled along, all of them dressed for the beach. The streets were lined with small shops selling everything from food to tourist junk. Low, exotic music came from an open-air café on the corner. Everything was so lively and brightly colored.
"Quite a sight, ain't it?" Cid asked from behind him.
Kai sniffed. "Looks okay…" she answered, but from her bright eyes and piqued expression, Vincent knew she was every bit as interested as he was.
"Well, I think I'd best be on my way…"
Vincent turned around. Cid had one hand on the door handle of the plane.
"You're not leaving already, are you?" he asked, surprised, "But we've got no way to pay you!"
The pilot waved it aside. "Don't worry about it, was my pleasure. Good luck givin' the Shinra hell. 'Bout time somebody did." With that, he leapt aboard the plane, revved the engine, and splashed off into the harbor, leaving Vincent and Kai to be hit with a wave of seawater.
"Melodramatic much," Kai commented, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes, "It's not like he can go anywhere without refueling."
Vincent smiled. He was very thankful to the friendly pilot; thanks to him they had made good time across the sea. Not only had they caught up with the Turks, they were ahead of them. Not bad at all.
"C'mon," Kai said, "Let's go."
They turned away from the harbor and made their way up towards the city. Several vessels were moored there, tour boats by the look of them. Fisherman stood on the edge of the dock, their lines dipping into the clear blue water, through which numerous multi-colored fish could be seen.
"So," Vincent said after a few paces, "Where are we headed?"
"A clothing store."
"What?" he asked, taken aback. It didn't seem like the best time for shopping.
"Look at us, Vince," Kai said exasperatingly, "Do we look like we're dressed for the beach?"
She had a point. Everything about their clothing; Vincent's long coat and boots and Kai's scarf, cloak, and bangles, was meant for colder weather, definitely not the tropics. Everyone else in Costa del Sol was dressed in very degrees of not very much at all. Swim suits, sarongs, tank tops, and sandals.
"Good idea," he agreed, "We'll definitely need some new clothes."
It didn't take them long to find the appropriate store, there were quite a few of them, selling all the things you could use at the beach. It was small, brightly lit, and crowded. A few fake palm trees were scattered throughout. Kai peered inside.
"Wait here," she ordered. Before Vincent could protest, she had marched jauntily inside. He remained outside, trying to look like he belonged on the sunny street, though he truly felt out of place.
He had been standing there for about ten minutes, when he began to get unpleasantly warm. He shrugged out of his coat and threw it over his shoulder. Across the square was a café, selling what looked to be coffee. A large group of girls was sitting underneath the umbrellas, talking and laughing. As he stood there, Vincent saw one of them, a tall, thin blond, look up. Her eyes fell on him, and she nudged the girl beside her. The other looked in his direction as well. Uncomfortable, he ran his fingers through his hair. For some reason, the two girls burst into a fit of giggles. Then, much to Vincent's dismay, they stood up and headed towards him.
"Hey, what's up?" the blond asked, flipping her hair back behind her shoulders. She wore a short skirt and shirt that covered neither her back nor stomach. Her friend was dressed similarly.
"Uh, nothing…" Vincent answered lamely. He had never had much poise around girls, besides Scarlet, of course, but he had known her since they were children.
"You, like, here alone?" the girl asked.
"No, he's with me." Kai had emerged from the store. She had changed into a tank top and blue sarong. Her hair was tied back and she had on a pair of sunglasses. "Screw off," she said to the girls. The blond muttered something to her friend and the two of them marched off, noses in the air.
"Little sluts," Kai muttered. She handed Vincent a pair of dark sunglasses. "You gotta watch out for those kind of chicks, Vince. Real trouble."
"Okay, whatever." He smiled. "You're just always looking out for me, aren't you Kai?"
Kai grinned. "Aww, shut it," she said, giving him a shove. She knew he was kidding, but the strange thing was he was only partly kidding. Without Kai he would still be lying dead on the plains, and even if he had survived, without her street smarts he would be utterly lost now.
"Where are we headed now?" he asked as they continued on their way down the street.
Kai stretched, rotating her neck and making the tendons crack. "No idea, man, we got the whole day to kill. You wanna go down to the beach?"
Vincent shrugged. It sounded like fun, and yet… "Maybe, but shouldn't we be…I don't know, preparing for a battle with the Turks?" He winced. That had come out extremely stupid. He took a breath, ready to try to rephrase it, but Kai waved it away.
"I don't think we have to worry about that, it's not like we could get any more prepared than we already are. By the way, do you still have your gun?"
Vincent reached into his coat's inside pocket. "It's here." He pulled out the weapon, only to have Kai shove it back out of sight.
"Don't wave that thing around! Do you know how tight law-enforcement is in places like this?"
"Sorry."
"Just be careful. Oh, and unbutton your shirt."
"W-What?" Vincent stammered, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.
Kai looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "You still don't look like your on vacation. Unbutton your shirt, it's really hot and I'm sure you'd rather do that than put on a swim suit."
Vincent couldn't argue with her there, so he did as he was told and unbuttoned his shirt, letting it hang open, fluttering slightly in the ocean breeze. He felt kind of strange and uncovered, but he guessed he blended in a little better. The last thing they wanted to do was call attention to themselves. He didn't know why, exactly, but it seemed as good a tactic as any.
The sun was at its zenith by the time they had reached the public beach. It beat down mercilessly, making Vincent feel like he was being baked. He had never been anywhere remotely this warm before, Kalm didn't even come close. The beach was crowded with people; sunbathing girls, families, surfers, and the like. As Kai passed a group of bronze skinned men, one of them whistled.
"Hey babe, what's going on?"
Kai didn't turn, just kept walking, dripping with the utmost dignity. Vincent couldn't help grinning when he thought about what would happen to one of those guys if they tried messing with her. They would end up in the hospital, at the very least.
"What now?" he asked as they approached the tide line.
"What you mean 'what now?'" Kai asked incredulously, "Haven't you ever been on a vacation before in your life?"
"Have you?"
"Well, no," Kai admitted, "But I'm pretty sure you're just supposed to relax and shit."
Vincent laughed. "And how do you propose we do that, relax and shit?"
Kai glanced around, as though searching for inspiration. "We could get a drink or something," she said, pointing to a small bar near the edge of the boardwalk.
It seemed like a good plan (they were both thirsty) so Vincent followed as Kai led the way to the small tables beside the bar. From behind, he couldn't help noticing the way her new clothes suited her. The shirt hugged the curves of her waist perfectly, the sarong doing the same thing to her lower body. He didn't have an ounce of trouble
understanding why those guys had whistled at her. Kai was beautiful. She always had been, but underneath all that worn garments and the winter cloak, he hadn't really noticed. Till now.
As they passed the bar, the tender set out two red iced-drinks. Waiting until his back was turned and looking fervently from side to side, Kai picked them up. She sat down at the table farthest away.
"Whose are those?" Vincent asked with amusement, taking a seat across from her.
"I don't know. Ours now." She smiled. "Cheers."
Vincent picked up one of the red drinks. "Cheers," he agreed, pulling out the little wooden umbrella. It was cold and refreshing, tasting of pineapple and coconut. There was a strong, underlying tang to it, but he didn't think much of it then.
They whiled away the rest of the day sitting on the beach, watching the waves crashing onto the white sand. Vincent was feeling strangely giddy, happy even. It was an emotion that definitely didn't fit with the current situation; they had come to Costa del Sol to apprehend the Turks, not to go on a vacation. Regardless, he tried to imagine that there was nothing wrong, and he and Kai had just come for the same reason as everyone else here. To enjoy themselves.
The strange feeling of contentment was spreading through his veins like a sudden warmth. It was so strong that he didn't even complain when Kai grabbed his hand and dragged him along until they were waist deep in the warm blue water. It was like a bath, except there were a bunch of other people there, and he was wasn't naked. But we won't talk about that.
Suddenly, Kai squeaked and clutched Vincent around the shoulders. "Something touched my leg," she said nervously.
Vincent glanced down. A small purple fish was swimming back out towards the reefs. He chuckled. "Yeah, I think that little fish thought you looked like lunch. Good thing you noticed in time."
Kai glared at him in that mock-serious way of hers. She was still holding on to him, and Vincent had a sudden strong desire to put his arms around her. It was so unexpected that he felt his hands almost moving of their own accord. He stopped them, however, feeling a little freaked out. Kai gave him a quizzical look, sighed, and headed back to the beach, leaving him standing behind.
Had he done something to upset her? He certainly hoped not. It wouldn't be a good idea for them to be mad at each other…
She had sat back down on the sand, hugging her knees. Before he went over to her, Vincent approached the bar. He was thinking of actually buying something for them to drink, but there were two glasses sitting on the counter, white this time. The bartender was mixing drinks, his back turn. Avoiding eye-contact with anyone at the bar, he picked up the two glasses and high-tailed it back to Kai.
"Drink, my lady?" he asked.
She looked up, smiled, and took the glass from him. "I was just thinking about…"
"What?" Vincent inquired, sitting down next to her. Her game face was back on; she looked concerned about something.
"It's just…when we find the Turks, and I have a damn good feeling that we'll actually catch them this time, what are we going to do?"
Vincent didn't understand. "We're going to kill Erika!" he responded forcefully. Wasn't that the whole point of their little journey?
"Just calm down for a goddamn minute, okay Vince? I know I like to pretend I'm tough, and so do you, though you're not too good at it." She glanced at him, her face very serious. "The truth is, we are absolutely no match for trained operatives like the Turks. What are we supposed to do, walk up to them and ask nicely if Erika wouldn't mind if we shot her in the head?"
Vincent shrugged. Something seemed to be making his brain foggy and it was difficult to focus on anything. "We just gotta try, that's all, and I think we better…" he started to stand, but then fell right back down again. His legs felt like lead.
"Clumsy, aren't you?" Kai giggled, trying to stand herself and having just about as much luck, "Damn, what's wrong with us?"
"Uh, Kai?" Vincent thought he knew what was going on.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, where did we get these drinks?"
"The bar…"
"And what kind of drinks do they serve at bars?"
"They sell…shit." Kai made a face. "I didn't think about that."
"That settles it," Vincent said wearily, "We're drunk."
He now understood why he felt so strange. It was all the alcohol running through his veins. How could he have been such an idiot? They were in no shape to do anything now…
"Here," Kai said, stumbling to her feet and dragging Vincent up next to her, "Let's see if we can walk in a straight line."
They started down the beach. Dusk was coming on, and on this side of the island, the sun was sinking into the ocean, bleaching it in shades of orange and red. It was quite a spectacular sight, one neither of them had ever seen before. The beach was beginning to empty as one by one, groups of people moved up onto the boardwalk to go to dinner or do whatever else you did on vacation.
"I feel really funny," Kai mentioned after a couple minutes. She stumbled in the sand, bumping into Vincent's side.
"Watch it," he laughed.
"Hey, it's not my fault," Kai protested, "I'm drunk, remember?"
The two of them meandered down the beach, coming at one point to a large dock that jutted out from the boardwalk into the sea. It was dark, the Mako-generated lights either broken or switched off at the moment.
"Vincent," Kai said softly.
"Yeah?" he asked, mildly surprised even through the haze of the alcohol that she had used his full name.
"Do you think we're gonna die?" It was a simple question, stripped of all her normal bravado.
Vincent took a moment to answer. He had thought about the same thing countless times and still hadn't come to a conclusion. A few days ago, he wouldn't have cared if he died; he had nothing to live for. His father was gone, his two best friends were gone (one buy her own volition) and he was on a fruitless chase across the Planet. But now, looking at Kai, he realized he did have something to live for. Something important.
He didn't know if it was because this had finally occurred to him, or it was simply the fact that he was drunk, but a sudden, reckless daring seized him. Without stopping to consider anything, he grabbed Kai's hands in his own. They were strangely cold for the temperature.
"No, we're not going to die," he answered her.
It was strange how something like crossing a continent in search of revenge could bring to people together. Vincent felt closer to Kai than he had ever felt to anyone else. This time, he did put his arms around her, pulling her close to him. . He had never kissed anyone before, but it wasn't difficult to figure out. He pressed his mouth to Kai's, and he was immensely pleased to find she didn't try to pull away and even more pleased when she kissed him back. She seemed to know a little bit more of what she was doing.
And suddenly, the fact that they might be facing imminent death didn't matter anymore. All of the pain that had threatened to devour him over the last few days melted away. Vincent didn't know what being in love felt like, but this had to be pretty damn close.
But then, a few minutes later, something happened that kicked both of them back into reality so fast that it could have left a bruise. Rolling over Costa del Sol came a sound. It was something you never expected to hear in Kalm, but Vincent knew what it was, and it really brought back the thought of imminent death.
A ship's horn.