21,532 words in this fic now, tho only 654 are in this installment. i'm still amazed that it evolved into this from the little one-shot it was intended to be. then, i find myself being a little sad that its almost done. only two or three more installments to go before its all finished. i'll be both relieved and sad to see it go.

oh, and by the way, please don't hate me for my use of the art of the cliffhanger. i have to stop at some wierd points lately because my computer is spazzy right now.


Chapter 24

Yuffie was surprised when the third monster joined the fray, but it seemed to be on her side, so she wasn't going to argue. She shot the larger dragon again while the monsters were distracted.

A moment later, she was knocked to the ground by the third monster, who she realized looked a lot like the Galian Beast. Death Penalty was knocked out of her hand and went sliding off to her left, but that quickly became the last of her worries.

The air around them went black, laced with tiny crackles of lightning and small explosions. It seared her lungs and eyes, making her feel like she was being burned inside and out. The darkness compressed her with all the force of Ultima. Yuffie tried to scream, like she heard the dragons doing, but all that came out was a blood choked gurgle.

This was no dark dragon attack that she had ever seen or felt.

The ninja tried to force her head to turn, to find the source of the attack, but she was completely paralyzed. Totally helpless against whatever was out there.

She didn't have anymore time for regrets before she blacked out.


As the last tendrils of his attack slammed into the dragons, Vincent saw that they were still standing. And that Yuffie was pinned to the ground under the Galian Beast.

Neither of them were moving.

Shit. I wasn't expecting that. Now what do I do?

He spotted Death Penalty laying on the ground a few feet away, and thanked the Planet for small favors. If he was fast enough, he could grab the rifle, take out the dragons and still save Yuffie. As tired as he was, he wasn't sure if he had a chance, but he had to try.

Vincent sprinted for his gun, praying to anyone who was listening that he would be quick enough.

As his hand closed around the rifle's stock, an unearthly scream sounded behind him. He turned and saw Chaos plunging a spear into the head of one of the dragons. With the coldness produced by years of being in the Turks, Vincent refused to show he surprise at the demon's presence. Instead, he fired at the remaining dragon, hitting the monster in the head. It looked confused for a moment before it fell down dead.

Without pausing, the gunslinger ran to Yuffie's side. He was met by Chaos, who was pulling the Galian Beast off the girl.

"What happened to her?" the demon asked.

"I'm not really sure," Vincent replied.

"They both look like they got caught in front of my limit break." Chaos pinned him with a worried gaze that Vincent knew mirrored his own. "What did you do, Vincent?"

quickly, Vincent explained the darkness that he had been feeling as well as he could. Chaos was silent until he finished, then he asked, "Do you have a remedy?"

Vincent unslung his backpack and began looking through it. He thought he remembered finding one after a battle, and he smiled in relief when his hand closed around the small vial. "Just one," he said, pulling it out of the bag.

"It will be enough. The effects will wear off the Galian Beast before he suffers any permanent damage."

"Is this your limit break, then?" Vincent asked, cradling Yuffie against his chest and forcing the remedy into her mouth.

"Indeed. It seems the Planet didn't separate us as well as we thought." Chaos pulled a potion out of Vincent's bag and handed it to the gunman. "She'll need that too."

Vincent forced the potion into her mouth as well. The ninja coughed and nuzzled her face against his chest, but didn't wake.

"Will she be all right?"

Gods, I hope so. "She should be. But it will be best to let her wake on her own."

Please let her be all right, the gunman unknowingly echoed the demon's prayer.