Welcome to chapter six, this chapter is very long so my advice is to copy and paste it into your computer so you can read it later without having to be online .I have one more chapter to go until I am finished with the first part of Winding Memories. I am going to write two more tales after this one, so chapter seven will not the true conclusion of their adventures. The reason I am doing this is because I'd hate to write on and on about character meetings and development that no one cares about. Also you might notice that in this chapter you might be confused on how there are journal entries in a page less journal. Just so you kids know… you can always buy paper. All will be explained. Oh and in this chapter, I kind of have some partial nudity, but I don't detail anything. No adult stuff though. Next story won't be so teen friendly on the subject, sorry.

In this chapter I am experimenting with new ways to express journal breaks and flashbacks. If you don't like them, tell me and I will go back to the old ways, I just thought this way was more creative.

Also, remember this story is set a year before Advent Children, and two years before Dirge. This story was also written before Dirge of Cerberus came out in the United States, and I'm trying very hard to keep this in line with all original story lines of Final Fantasy seven. As you can image, it's hard to write a story to something when it isn't here yet. I started this story long before Dirge was heard of and I wanted to get it done before it became only a dream.

Anyways, enough talking, on with chapter six, I hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry Six

It's been a long day living with this; it's been a long time since I've felt so sick

I used to long for time alone; I used to long for a place of my own,

I've lost faith in everything I'm lost so lost, I'm lost without you.

Oh Mercy me, God bless catastrophe.

-Alkaline Trio

She couldn't sleep, and all she seemed to do was toss and turn at every moment she almost started to fall asleep. Midgar slum hotels were the worst, especially with two small beds and one dusty floor.

"If you calm down, sleep will come to you." Vincent said from the floor, hearing her toss every few minutes.

"I'm sorry, I just can't sleep… something won't let me." Destiny responded

"Relax and you'll fall asleep." Vincent advised, feeling Cid sit up a moment later.

"I'm going for a walk." Cid said suddenly, sitting on the second bed in the room, getting up quickly.

"Why?" Vincent asked

"I can't sleep either, plus I ain't tired. I'll be back in an hour." Cid answered, pulling the door open.
"Wait! Are you crazy? You know where we are! Are you just asking to fight?" Vincent asked

"I can take on a few punks; maybe a fight or two will make me tired, now stop getting all concerned." Cid responded before he walked towards the door and opened it. "You kids behave now…" he said finally and closed the door after his body was out of the way.

Vincent sighed in response, and put his back up against the wall behind him.

Destiny sighed too, and scratched her left arm where it was tingling. Perhaps her geostigma was spreading, and with no light on, it was hard to see if it was or not. Hopefully she was imagining things, but just incase she would inform Vincent.

"…I think my geostigma is spreading," Destiny said suddenly, catching Vincent off guard.

"What makes you think that now?" Vincent asked

"My arm is tingling… and it keeps moving further down. It feels like it's moving quickly." Destiny responded.

"What?" Vincent asked perplexed, and stood up. "Geostigma shouldn't travel that fast…" Vincent added, while he walked towards the door where the light switch was.

"It feels weird…" Destiny complained, rubbing her left arm.

Vincent turned the light on, hoping he wasn't about to have to face a huge problem.

To his relief and Destiny's demise, it was no geostigma. Instead it was an eight legged friend that had made her arm a nice spot to rest on.

She let out a cry of fear, and shook her arm up and down as quickly as she could. This was the first time he had ever seen her act less than her age. She was screaming like a three month old, and shaking her arm so quickly, that he was afraid she would throw it off.

"Calm down!" Vincent shouted, running to her side, and grabbing her arm where the spider was still on.

"Get it off!" Destiny managed to squeak as shivers ran down her spine.

"It's only a spider, Destiny." Vincent said calmly, as he took the small thing from her arm, and held it in his hand.

"Yeah, you say it's just a spider! I hate those things… just get it away…." Destiny pleaded

"Alright…"Vincent started, and opened the one window in the room. "Are you sure you don't want some company? Spiders are quite nice creatures. Perhaps you should allow him to stay with you." Vincent asked with a smile, and extended his hand towards Destiny, who jumped back in a fright.

"Not funny!" Destiny shouted fearfully.

Vincent let out a small chuckle and put the spider outside where he belonged, and shut the window.

"Honestly, all that for a small spider?" Vincent asked while he walked back to the place he was sitting.

"…I'm scared of them…" Destiny said a little embarrassed while her cheeks blushed furiously.

"That is an awfully small thing to be scared over." Vincent answered, as he took a seat on the floor in between the beds.

"Everyone is scared of something small, I bet even you are." Destiny said in response.

"Nothing small," Vincent answered.

"You know the size of something doesn't always equate to the size of the fear." Destiny said slyly. "There has to be something the great Vincent Valentine is afraid of…" Destiny added.

"I'm hardly great, and rarely afraid." Vincent said unsurely, and gave her a glance from the floor.

"Well when I find out what it is, I'll never let you live it down, you hear?" Destiny said "Plus I'll tell Cid." Destiny added

Vincent smiled, only she could bring out the other side of him. He never had any control when she was around. Why was that, he wondered.

"Well you won't find out. Yuffie thought I was gay, and look how that turned out…" Vincent answered, now feeling more playful than normal.

"Hmmm, from the way Cid explains it, you still haven't proven to them you aren't gay." Destiny chided.

"What does that mean?" Vincent asked, giving her a quirked brow.

"Still haven't seen you with a girl… have you ever been kissed by one?" Destiny asked

"Yeah when I was about seventeen…" Vincent answered

"Did you like it?" Destiny asked with a smile on her face.

"What kind of question is that?" Vincent questioned in shock.

"Just answer me!" Destiny teased

"Yeah, I did… but that doesn't matter." Vincent responded

"So liking girls doesn't matter if you're gay?" Destiny asked

"No, that's not what I meant!" Vincent suddenly shouted embarrassed by this conversation. He was falling all over himself. Where were his witty comments? Where was his cool, serene attitude?

"Calm down! I'm only teasing." Destiny responded, relaxing against the bed.

"I'm sure you aren't gay, Vincent." Destiny added

"Good." Vincent responded "I'm not and never have or will be gay." Vincent commented

Destiny responded with a small laugh, and rolled over to face the wall.

"What's so funny?" Vincent asked.

"Thinking of you and Cid making out…" Destiny responded, trying to hide her snickers.

"What! That's the worst thing I've ever heard of!" Vincent cried in frustration.

"Relax!" Destiny answered, laughing out loud. "I know you aren't gay, come on!"

Vincent said not a word, but crossed his arms and looked away. This was the first time he had been anywhere near fun with her. This was also the first time she had ever seen him lose control of himself and act less than what he was.

"Vincent, calm down." Destiny said, turning to him.

"…I am calm." Vincent responded, trying to mask his anger.

"Aw, no you're upset." Destiny teased, stretching herself to put her arms on his shoulders.

"I am not upset…" Vincent answered, turning around to face her, and not expecting her face to be so close to his, which caused him to draw back.

This caused Destiny to burst out into laughter. "You are too." Destiny revealed, and before she could say anything else, fell from the bed to his back, hitting her head in the process.

"Ouch…."She grumbled while rolling off of Vincent's crushed form.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked, pushing himself up so he could look down to her laying form on the ground.

"Yeah…I just hit my head, that's all." Destiny answered, pushing herself up from the dusty floor she had fallen on. "…Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." It was now her turn to be embarrassed and out of control.

"No, it's fine. I think we've had enough fun. Let's go to sleep." Vincent advised.

"Yes. I think I'm tired now." Destiny answered, rubbing her head and sitting back on the bed she had fallen off of.

Her handwriting faded…

Vincent has to think too….don't you know? (AKA Vincent's POV)

After he had seen the journal on the floor, he knew he had messed up with her. His heart sank, but not before anger settled into him.

"What happened? Did you two fight?" Red XIII asked, scanning the room.

"She got a bit upset with me, but that was a result of my words. However, I wasn't here when she threw her journal." Vincent said.

"…What did you say to make her mad?" Yuffie asked, poking her head into the room.

"I told her to sleep after she told me she was was tired of being treated like a sick person. Plus I lied to her about something, and I think she knows I did." Vincent confessed.

"…I have to go find her." Vincent said after a moment of pause.

"I'll go with you!" Red XIII offered, and slinked himself in front of Vincent.

"No, I can go by myself. Besides, this is something between us." Vincent responded

"Don't ya just hate it when couples fight?" Yuffie asked, looking to Red XIII

"We're not a couple!" Vincent shouted defensively, his guilt pulling at him. He turned away in embarrassment and walked towards the door to leave.

Yuffie waited until he was almost to the door to shout at him. She had had enough of his emotional bull lately, and now it was time to speak up. "…You think you can fool me?" Yuffie asked, putting her hands on her hips. "I know you have a thing for her. We all do."

"I care for her; that I cannot deny." Vincent retorted, without turning his head towards her.

"…You have more feelings than that, Vincent." Yuffie shouted in anger.

"I can't trust myself with those feelings, can't you all understand?" Vincent growled, still not giving them a glance or even a look, but simply shaking his head.

"We understand perfectly. The real question is why can't you understand?" Yuffie asked before walking behind him and forcing him to turn around. "You can't continue like this! All you ever do is brood about how miserable you are, and yet in front of you, there is a girl who brings out what you aren't!" Yuffie shouted, shoving him a bit. "Not only that, but you act like the stupidest person in the world when she is around!" Yuffie continued, and then threw her fist into the air with every shout she gave. "Are you going to let one thing ruin the rest of your life? Or are you going to make it happy by forgetting whatever the horrible past was and let it go?" Yuffie asked, and then threw her arms against her chest in a folded manner. "We already know how you feel, why do you insist on keeping it hidden? If you want to tell her, just tell her, but stop acting like you don't know how you feel, because you do." Yuffie finished, and stormed out of the room, not even caring what his response was.

Vincent was left speechless, had he really left himself that open that everyone knew? He was so used to shutting himself off that he wanted it to stay that way. Life had been much more different than before since Destiny had stepped into his house. Maybe being broody wasn't exactly who Vincent was anymore. Maybe he was someone else, maybe now he was like the rest of them.

How could she let her pen slip? (AKA Journal entry resumed)

Even though she felt safe and away from the grasps of Shinra, there was always some kind of looming presence around her that made her feel sick. Or maybe that was the airship…

"You need to get your flying legs, if you're going to travel!" Cid shouted behind his shoulder.

"We've been flying for three days straight; I can't take much more…" Destiny grumbled

"Why can't ya just quit yer complaining and enjoy the ride?" Cid asked with a large smile on his face.

"…because this movement is making me sick…" Destiny answered, slumping down to the metallic floor.

"We'll be there soon." Vincent said after he walked into the room

"Where are we going?" Destiny asked, trying to concentrate on something else.

"To a friend's place, he's hidden in a secret location, and since I've only know you a day or so, we're blind folding you!" Cid responded.

"Say what? Why are you blind folding me?" Destiny asked defensively.

"Because he's involved with work in regards to taking down the remainder of Shin-Ra. He's a double spy." Vincent revealed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall near her.

"So? I hate the Shin-Ra too, what makes you think I will tell?" Destiny asked, not bothering to look up, but most definitely irritated.

"Because, I've only known you for about a week, and if you aren't who you say you are, then I don't want him being punished." Vincent explained lowly.

"That is just a nice way of saying you don't trust me." Destiny whispered.

"On the contrary," Vincent started, and lowered himself to her so his eyes could pierce hers. "I trust you much more than you believe. What I don't trust is our friend's safety. He has done a lot for us, and so we cannot betray him now." Vincent revealed, and when he was finished, he went back to his original position of leaning against the wall.

Destiny didn't say anything in response, but she did lay herself down against the floor below her, and hugged her knees, taking in small breaths at a time.

"What are you doing?" Vincent asked, watching her movements.

"I heard that this cures motion sickness." Destiny answered shortly.

"Who told you that?" Cid asked, now wanting to see what she was doing.

"I don't remember." Destiny said truthfully, which was odd. Maybe she would remember it later.

She forgot how long they had traveled after her last words, but she did remember seeing some kind of grey mountains before Cid had turned around and smiled at her with a wide grin.

"Sorry little lady, we've got to blind fold you now." Cid apologized, actually sounding sincere about it. "Go ahead Vincent," Cid commanded, giving Vincent a nod before he turned around to land the airship.

Vincent knelt down to Destiny, who sat up to meet him. "I really am sorry about this, Destiny." Vincent said, as he took her hands. "Stand up for me," Vincent said, helping her on the way, and once she was standing he asked her to do another movement. "Now turn around for me, please." Vincent said gently, watching her turn her back towards him.

Something funny then happened to Vincent as he tied his red bandages that he wore on his forehead around her eyes. Butterflies erupted in his stomach, and his heart started to jog. He hadn't touched a woman as gently as he was touching her in a long time. To him, touching a woman in any gentle form, especially on the face, was something sensual. He believed it was an act of affection. He did not know why he felt that way, but he simply did. Truth be told, he liked it, but he would lie to himself while he wrapped the bandage around her eyes several times.

"Is that too tight?" Vincent asked, after he had finished tying the cloth.

"Not at all, it feels fine, but the only problem is that since my eyes are closed I can feel the movement even more…" Destiny answered, wavering a bit.

"Hold onto me…" Vincent commanded nervously, turning her around to face him.

Destiny obeyed and wrapped her arms around his waist, and held him tightly.

"If you feel as though you're getting sick, tell me." Vincent said, putting his right hand on her head lightly, to signal that she was okay. "We're landing right now so this shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay," Destiny responded, and soon she felt the airship hitting the ground softly. She could tell they had stopped, but she could still feel herself moving in the air. Her only hope was to wait for her brain to catch up with her senses.

"Alright buddy!" Cid said cheerfully, Destiny no longer being able to see their actions, but only hearing words. "Let's take her to our good friend!"

"We're going to move now, so I need you to let go." Vincent ordered softly, and her arms unlocked themselves from his waist.

"Now Cid is going to lead you to my back, and whatever you do, do not let go of me." Vincent requested.

Destiny felt Cid's hands on her shoulders, and felt him lead her to Vincent's back.

"Stop right there girlie." Cid ordered, and took her left arm. "Now feel for him, but be slow about it, this is all about the way you position yourself" Cid explained.

Destiny did just as Cid said, and she put her hands out in front of her feeling for Vincent's red cape, which she did not feel. Instead she felt the smooth texture of cloth, and in wonder she quirked her head. "What am I touching?" Destiny asked, her fingers rubbing the cloth, as if she were trying to identify it.

"My back…" Vincent answered, shifting a bit below her finger tips.

"…This doesn't feel like your cape…" Destiny said curiously.

"That's because I took it off. I don't need that heavy thing slowing us down." Vincent answered.

"Oh!" Destiny cried and drew her hands back, "I'm sorry..." she added.

"Hurry it up there you two!" Cid interjected, causing Destiny to feel for Vincent's back again. Once she found it, she put her arms over his shoulders, and felt his arms grab under her legs, which caused her to gasp.

"Did I hurt you?" Vincent asked, loosening his grip on her.

"No, I just didn't expect that…" Destiny said softly.

"I see. Hold on tight, Destiny. I don't want to lose you when we run from encounters." Vincent said, as he tightened his grip once more and began walking.

"We'll be there in about an hour or so…" Cid announced as sound of him stomping through leafy terrain was heard.

"Are we in a forest?" Destiny asked, attempting to look around.

"Yes, it's very dangerous here, there are a lot of creatures who are big and powerful, so be silent, and hold onto me." Vincent demanded sternly.

"Sorry…" Destiny apologized.

"Shut up!" Cid hissed angrily.

She didn't know where she was, what they were doing, or why they were here, she just knew that she felt leaves brush up against her skin and heard boots tromping through high grass. It was brilliant how once she was unable to see, all of her other senses heightened. She could smell each blade of grass that passed her nostrils, and the smell of fresh mud that was being stirred beneath the boots of Cid and Vincent.

She could even hear every little thing, Cid's lance cutting through vines, and Vincent's soft panting as he attempted to mask how hard it was to hold her and stomp through mucky surroundings.

Vincent took a sudden drop from a low step she wasn't familiar with, and she let out a cry, but instead of their usual softness, all she got was a stern hiss which was a signal to be quiet.

So on they went, or… the men went, Destiny was just riding along. For hours it seemed as though they continued, and she could feel their energy dropping. She could also feel their agitations rise the more they walked around. There wasn't much to write about… she was blindfolded the whole time. All she could remember was what broke the long travel.

"Awe $#, I'm lost, I forgot how I was supposed to get through this damn place." Cid growled to himself, but both Destiny and Vincent heard him, even though he was pretty far away (or so Destiny guessed).

"I thought you said you knew how to get there like you knew the back of your hand!" Vincent shouted.

"I wear gloves, shows how much I know!" Cid shouted back to Vincent.

"….What!" Vincent growled loudly, obviously tired and irritated.

"That's a shock to you? I never take these off!" Cid argued back, and soon Destiny could feel Vincent stop, where (what she guessed) was in front of Cid.

"Are we even in the right place?" Vincent asked angrily.

"Now that I am sure of, I'm just not sure about where we're going…" Cid confessed.

"Damn it!" Vincent hissed, dropping Destiny who was still clasped onto his neck, and caused him to choke. "Let go of my neck!" Vincent hissed, and Destiny obeyed, dropping to the ground below her, which she sloshed into.

"I don't know whether to say ouch or to say eww…" Destiny thought to herself, much too scared to upset Vincent. So she sat in the cold mud, and allowed it to harden on her, waiting for one of them to call to her. She simply listened to them argue on and on…

"You told me you knew!" Vincent shouted angrily

"I thought I did; just hold on a minute so I can think!" Cid yelled angrily.

"Cid come on!" Vincent groaned.

"We'll just have to stay here tonight, it's getting late and I know a small lake we passed by a few minutes ago. We can rest, and I'll be ready in the morning." Cid yelled back.

"We should have been ready now!" Vincent argued.

"Well I wasn't! Give me a break!" Cid yelled

"Shut up!" Destiny finally yelled, and then stood up; pointing in what she thought was the right direction to where they were.

"We're staying here! I'm getting this off me because YOU," She started, and pointed to who she thought was Vincent "Lost your temper and dropped me into this puddle of mud!" she said, and then paused to point to what she thought was Cid and began to scream at him too. "And YOU didn't know where you were going! So you are both at fault and you will shut up, stop arguing and we're staying the night so you can think, and I can get this off of me!" she continued, outraged by the way they were acting.

Hell hath no scorn like the fury of a woman. Today, Cid and Vincent learned that lesson, because after she screamed at them, they made up, and walked her back to the little lake that Cid had spotted earlier.

"I'm sorry I had to yell" Destiny apologized while they re-traced their foot steps. She was still blind folded, and Vincent was leading her along.

"I'm sorry I dropped you. I let my temper get the best of me." Vincent apologized in response.

"You do that too often. Why don't you try to relax once in a while?" Destiny asked, stumbling over a rock, which Vincent had caught her before she could fully fall.

"I usually don't have any emotions." Vincent answered, still leading her down some kind of path.

Destiny could feel the night settling in on her, and it made her shiver every step of the way.

"That's your problem. Learn to have fun, okay?" Destiny advised, offering him a smile.

"I'll…work on that I suppose." Vincent offered, not really knowing if he meant that statement.

Destiny didn't answer him, and simply continued to tromp through the forest's muddy terrain.

"…Are we there yet?" Destiny asked, gripping onto Vincent's arm.

"Actually, we've been here a while, I've just been trying to get you lost, incase you've learned where we were going…" Cid confessed.

"For the last time, I'm not with Shin-ra!" Destiny exclaimed loudly.

"Enough." Vincent said calmly, and stopped walking. "Let her rest, will you?" Vincent asked Cid.

"Very well, but someone is going to stand guard while she cleans up." Cid ordered

"What!" "No!" Vincent and Destiny argued at the same time.

"What, you want her getting eaten by something?" Cid asked, and then clearing his throat. "And as the oldest and obviously most responsible man, I elect myself to make sure she's safe." Cid added.

"….No." Vincent said flatly "I'll do it, because I won't be trying to look at her!" Vincent rebutted.

"What makes you think I'm going to peek?" Cid asked innocently.

"Oh sure, I'm the one who tried to pick up those nineteen year old girls a while a go. Yup, that's why I shouldn't keep guard!" Vincent mocked him angrily.

"I thought they were twenty six…" Cid said embarrassed.

"It's not like she's twenty six or anything…" Cid argued quickly.

"I don't know how old I am, but I think I am twenty eight or so…" Destiny corrected, letting go of Vincent's arm.

"Well Vincent, what are you standing here for, you want to watch her, go for it! But I'm making sure you don't look at her!" Cid said triumphantly.

Vincent sighed, and put his hands to work on untying the cloth around Destiny's eyes. By the time he had half way unraveled it, Destiny shooed his hands away and simply slipped it over her head.

"Could you have done that the whole time?" Vincent asked

"I figured it out like four hours ago…" Destiny answered, and handed him his bandage, while giving him a sly yet seductive and challenging look.

"I think I'll be okay if both of you boys just sat here and didn't watch me." Destiny answered before she gave him a sly grin.

"It really is so you won't get eaten by something…." Vincent started.

"Do you really think I am going to let a man who probably hasn't had a girlfriend in oh… twenty years watch me while I bathe?" Destiny interrupted, putting her hands on her hips.

"…It does sound foolish, but I really am not going to look..." Vincent answered flatly, feeling as though she didn't trust him.

"Vincent, this is not an issue of trust, this is an issue of two men and an undressed woman." Destiny responded and gave his shoulder a pat. "Listen, if I run into trouble, I'll give a little whistle…okay?"

"Fine, but if you get eaten by a snake…." Vincent started, giving her a sigh

"You'll feel terrible about it, and would go sleep for forty years. So don't worry." Destiny said one final time before she walked off without waiting for his next words.

She remembered that water and how clean it was. It had been a while since she had to bathe outdoors, and doing so didn't bother her at all. Luckily she had anticipated this, and brought an extra bit of clothing that she tucked away in the bag that Eirelav had given her.

The night was beautiful, and the stars shimmered like they used to when she was a girl. Much too often did she think back to when she was small, but usually nothing came to her. This time though, she could vividly remember Lucrecia, and how she cried one night under stars that twinkled just like these did.

A flashback

Destiny was quiet, and she could hear Lucrecia sobbing in the room next to hers. Far too often did she hear people arguing and shouting, but today things were too quiet for her liking. She remembered getting up, and allowing her feet to pat onto the dirty floor as she guided herself into Lucrecia's room.

"What is wrong, Miss Lucrecia?" Destiny asked innocently, her big eyes staring up to the crying woman.

"Destiny…what are you doing out of you room? You know Dr. Hojo doesn't like that." Lucrecia answered and dried her eyes and sniffled a bit.

"I heard you crying, and bunny wanted to give you a hug…" Destiny said softly, holding up her white rabbit, and opened its arms.

"That's very sweet, but you really should get back to your room." Lucrecia said softly, trying to hide the bloody gloves that were next to her.

"Miss Lucrecia does not want to see bunny?" Destiny asked sweetly, pulling the rabbit away.

"Miss Lucrecia wants to see bunny, but she is very busy." Lucrecia answered

"….if she is so busy, why is she crying? Bunny and I would like to know…" Destiny asked, pulling herself up to the bed to sit next to the woman.

"Oh, it's nothing you would understand. I just… lost a friend that's all." Lucrecia answered, lowering her eyes in guilt from what she had done. She only did it to keep him alive… but he shouldn't have interfered in the first place.

"Maybe he's playing hide and seek…" Destiny said cheerfully.

"No, her friend is dead and won't be coming back." Hojo said wickedly from the doorway. "What are you doing out here, so far from your room?" He asked holding out his long arm that was dripping in blood.

"…Dead?" Destiny whined softly.

"Hojo, don't talk that that, she's only five!" Lucrecia grunted, pulling Destiny close to her, which was the first time she had ever done anything to protect the girl.

"Don't talk to me like you aren't guilty! You're the one who wanted to do the experiment! And don't hold her like I'm going to hurt her! You know as well as I do that if our son dies, she is our only d---"

Her memory fuzzed, causing her head to pound against itself.

She found herself on the shore of the lake… coughing…

Why couldn't she remember any more? Who were they referring to? Who had died? She found herself coughing up water and other salty flavors, while a warm arm had held her against something else warm.

"What happened, is she okay?" Vincent shouted, running towards Cid who was holding her coughing form.

"She's fine…" Cid answered, clutching her to him softly. "She collapsed into the water, luckily for her I was keeping a safe eye on her." Cid explained.

Destiny, with a sudden voice, groaned a bit, putting her hand to her head and gave a wincing sigh. Each time she had a flash back or even thought of Sephiroth she went into a fit, "Mother…" She groaned softly, rocking in Cid's arms.

"Quick, let her go!" Vincent warned, pulling Cid back, and allowing Destiny to roll onto the ground, where she curled into a ball with no hesitation. "Mother…." She shouted, gripping her hair.

"Yamero!" Vincent shouted, and glided to her side, pulling her close to him. "Don't listen!" Vincent growled, gripping her arms and upper body to his. It was far too cold for her to be drenched in water, and bare to the world.

"I'm talking, listen to me!" Vincent whispered harshly into her ear, waiting for her muscles to unclench and relax.

"She's calling me…" Destiny whimpered into his chest, where he had buried her face.

"I know, but don't listen to her. Listen to my voice; follow it out of the blackness she has you in." Vincent directed, feeling her muscles start to relax bit by bit.

"She wants me to come to the reunion… I have to go…" Destiny shouted fiercely into his chest, trying to throw her body out of his arms.

"No! You're coming back to me, follow my voice." Vincent demanded, his arms tightening on her more, attempting to restrain her. "Follow my voice…" Vincent continued, sounding persistent.

"I don't want to go to her…" Destiny cried against him, her arms relaxing with the rest of her body.

"Then don't, come with Cid and I, we will help you. Calm down, its okay now, I've got you, and Cid is right here." Vincent whispered into her, his arms now hugging her more than anything.

Her arms continued to claw against his restraint, more so now than ever, she had heard Jenova calling to her. She had also heard Sephiroth throwing insults and violent threats. What could it be that was happening to her? How did this happen so fast? First she was bathing, and then she was coughing up water. Had her flashback done this to her, and if so, would this happen again?

Her violent thrusts with her arms had ended, and soon her body relaxed completely against Vincent, whose arms were still tight around her form, not trusting her to be completely calm yet.

"Destiny can you hear me?" Vincent asked, his right hand moving to the back of her head that was lifting up from his embrace.

Destiny had tears in her eyes when she revealed her face from his chest. "What happened to me?" she asked, giving Vincent's eyes a turn with hers while she tried to make sense of it all.

"That does not matter right now, what matters is that you are safe." Vincent answered and continued on with a demand, "You are going to bed now. Cid has a place for you to sleep. Worry not, we will be near." Vincent explained, pushing her against him.

"…Am I dressed at all?" Destiny asked, hoping for a good answer.

"Don't be alarmed, I have not, and cannot see anything. Please trust me." Vincent said calmly, hoping she wouldn't pull away, so he would have to see something. "Just keep yourself pressed to me, and all will be fine." Vincent answered.

"…Did Cid see me?" Destiny asked nervously.

"That matters not, just calm down." Vincent answered. "I'm going to put my cape over you, and take you into the tent. You can get dressed in there." Vincent directed, before his arms escaped her body and grabbed his cape to pull around her. He then put his right arm under her legs and used his left to support her back before moving "I'm standing up now." Vincent said, and with a push from his legs brought them both up so he could walk back to the tent.

"I'm almost to the tent, so listen to me. I am going to kneel down, and when I do please put my cloth over my eyes, and I will leave, so I cannot see anything." Vincent said, and a moment later did as he said. Very slowly his right knee met the earth below him and he knelt down and closed his eyes. He waited for her arms to un-coil themselves from around his neck. He then allowed her hands to put his forehead cloth over his closed eyes, and waited for her to step back from his body, which was now soaked in water, thanks to her. After she had moved away from him he felt for the tent cloth and closed it, then moved himself backwards from the temporary shelter. Then without one word he left, just a gentleman should, and never spoke of the topic again.

Vincent reflects on things… and Destiny travels. Who will speak?

Vincent was so angry at himself he could hardly stand it. How could he have lied to her about something so small? Yuffie had been right, and he knew it. He didn't have a clue to where Destiny was how would he find her? She couldn't have possibly gotten far, not without someone's help at least. He also took into consideration the battles she would have to face. Many huge and hairy creatures came out this time of year to catch their prey, and she wasn't strong enough to fight them off, especially in her condition.

He didn't care how far she had gotten, but he did care if she was lying in the cold snow, or if she was lost somewhere, or being attacked, or anything that could possible end her life. Even though he knew of her capabilities, her small powers that she had once awoken in herself long ago he still doubted she could make it. But he also taught her how to fight, and she had gotten stronger, so maybe she had a fighting chance. Vincent did not care though; he wanted her home with him. He reflected on his last confession of love and how it was returned in rejection. He knew he was too afraid to open up to Destiny thanks to Lucrecia, but maybe this time would be different. He hoped to himself that he hadn't angered Destiny enough to where she would deny him of his request to be with her.

This wasn't sounding like himself. He knew that he couldn't bask in his emptiness, but he knew that opening himself up was going to be a long process that hopefully she could work with. He had a small glimmer of hope from his thoughts though; she seemed forgiving, and best of all she seemed patient, which was something he admired in a woman.

The best thing about her (or so Vincent thought) was that she was always in control, and when she was, he wasn't. He had never known anyone who could make his personality do a 180 like Destiny could. Whenever she was around he couldn't help but laugh, or join in. Maybe confessing to her wasn't a bad thing, it would just be difficult.

Where was she? It was getting late, and the sun would be setting in a matter of minutes which means it would get colder, and her chances of getting sick would get higher. Why did he have to be such a jerk?

He wallowed in his misery a good long time while he was walking in the high snow that made his toes freeze.

Her writing continued as she sat alone

She was thankful he had said anything to her when she took a seat next to him on the large rock he was perched on. She thought that after the last episode they had together, he would be too embarrassed to talk to her.

"Cid is still mapping out where we are…" Vincent said once she sat next to him.

"Yeah, he's cursing in the tent, that's why I came out here." Destiny explained

"He does that often. Should you be accustomed to it the way I am, it doesn't bother you much." Vincent explained, keeping his red eyes on the bright moon above them.

"Thank you, for earlier," Destiny whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear, thanks to her head being pointed towards the rock below her.

"You're quite welcome, though I wish not to speak of it. It is much more embarrassing for me than it is for you." Vincent answered, still keeping his eyes to the sky.

"…I apologize." She said lowly.

"No need to apologize, the whole episode wasn't your fault." He responded, still giving her no attention.

"No, I apologize for bringing the subject up again. It wasn't proper on my part." She answered

"Nonsense, I would have thanked you as well should I have been in your position." Vincent revealed, and turned his head to her to offer up a small smile.

"Vincent…" She started, and before going on waiting for him to say something as she scratched her head.

"Hmmm?" he responded nonchalantly

"I remembered something about my past today…" Destiny started nervously.

"Were they your memories?" Vincent asked, and turned his head away again to focus on the bright moon that was gracing his face with rays of silver.

"…Yes." She answered before going on. "I remember something odd, something that feels familiar to me every time we lock eyes." She continued nervously, now wondering if bringing up the subject had been wise at all.

"This is an odd feeling for you to have. As I remember correctly, we have never met before." Vincent stated.

"I know it is odd. The memory that happened today… I remember I was five. I saw Miss. Lucrecia crying, and Dr. Hojo told her that her friend was dead…and then I woke up." Destiny said lowly, seeing that his face had changed almost instantly when he mentioned her memory.

"Well I do not know why you would think of it being related to me." Vincent lied, turning away from her completely.

"I too found it odd myself." Destiny answered in response "But…I thought that maybe you were the one who…" Destiny started

"No." He answered coldly. He did not want her to know about his past, or his affiliation with Hojo and Lucrecia, not after what she had told him about them.

"But you said…" Destiny answered

"No." Vincent answered just as shortly, but this time more irritated than cold.

Destiny learned something about Vincent Valentine at that moment. She learned that he was the worst liar she had ever met in her life. She also noted that he could be a cold hearted man as well, especially when faced with a past he didn't want her to know. She never revealed it, but she knew what was going on.

After her collected thoughts, she climbed down from where he was and proceeded to walk back to where Cid had set up their tent.

Vincent didn't call to her, or try to stop her. This was one time he had decided to actually follow through with being a cold hearted bastard. If he was going to act like that, it was all right and fine with her, but she would let him know about it later, when he couldn't throw something at her.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cid asked after Destiny walked into the tent he was in.

"No, but there is trouble in the realm of Vincent Valentine." Destiny answered, huffing as she sat next to Cid and his map.

"Awe, he's always like that, girlie. The man has a past colder than the bottomless pit of a well." Cid chuckled, and gave her a smile like a big brother would.

"That doesn't mean that he has to be such a jerk about it." Destiny grumbled

"Trust me; you'll know when he's being a jerk. This is just the way that damn boy is. He thinks that he is mature because technically he's about forty eight years old, but he slept for twenty odd years in that little coffin of his. Meaning I have years of experience on his long-haired ass." Cid explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. Perhaps he and Vincent had gotten into an "I am older" contest which caused Cid to even say the last few lines. Or maybe he was just old, and as and old man, he always had to bring up time. Ah, he wasn't THAT old, she decided.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, missy. That is just simply how he is." Cid finished, and before turning back to his map, after he gave her a wide grin.

"Thanks." Destiny said lowly, and stood up.

"You're not going to go try to talk to him, are you?" Cid asked, turning around to look at her.

"Oh yeah," Destiny answered confidently.

"I wouldn't, if approached the wrong way, he'll bite you just like a dog would." Cid advised.

"That's not nice!" Destiny retorted in shock.

"Maybe not, but it most certainly is true." Cid said. "Only bother him if you think you can handle him either giving you the cold shoulder, or giving you a good yelling." Cid warned.

"I can handle both." Destiny answered, and strolled out of their tent with a stern and confident look on her face, which left Cid to shake his head and mumble something about 'damn kids'.

Her confidence faded once she took a look at him, sitting there on his rock, staring up to the bright moon. Sure he acted like a jerk, but it was obvious he didn't want to talk about his past. Maybe he had a right to be stone cold about it. It's not like he tried to dive into her past or anything, so why should she do that to him. Perhaps a peace offering was in order. Glancing around trying to find something that was worthy to hold up to his face in apology, she found a single white flower sitting a few feet away from the rock he was perched on. It was really pretty, and had a nice glow against the moon's silver strands of light. She picked it immediately and made her way to where Vincent was sitting. She gave a huge sigh and climbed her way up to where he sat, this time not saying a word, but instead using her body language to talk.

She slumped down next to him, and unexpectedly, held out a flower to him, without looking at his face.

This caught his attention, and without a cold or mean stare, he turned to look at her sad face.

"What is this for?" Vincent asked, not bothering to take the flower.

"Sorry I tried to scoop information out of you. It wasn't my place. I'm also sorry I made you sad. So I thought, what could be happier than a flower, right?" Destiny explained softly, still holding onto to her white flower.

Vincent had no immediate response word wise, but his hand took the flower from her, and his eyes studied it carefully. A small smile crossed his face, but she couldn't see it thanks to his cape and her head still low from guilt.

"Thank you." Vincent said finally, and with his right hand pointed her chin towards his eyes. (He still to this day couldn't understand what made him do that, or so he told Destiny.)

"I'm sorry I tried to burgle information out of you, Vincent." Destiny apologized shamefully.

"It is fine, as a quiet individual it is only fitting that you be perplexed with my silent ways. Think nothing more of it." Vincent assured, turning his head back to the white flower.

"I am tired, so I'm going to go to sleep." Destiny explained softly, and turned her body to hop off of the rock. What was with the sudden mood change, she wondered.

"Wait." Vincent said suddenly, turning himself towards her.

"Yes?" She asked, her head shifting behind her to see him.

"…Never mind, I lost my thought, I apologize." Vincent responded, before he jumped from the rock. His feet hit the grass with a soft thud, and it took him no time to make his way to her.

"Let me help you down." Vincent offered, holding out his right hand.

"I can do it, but thanks for the offer." Destiny answered, pushing herself down from the place she sat. Her land was graceful; it was as if she had always known how to jump from place to place without missing a step.

"May I ask you something?" Vincent asked before turning to face her.

"Sure," Destiny answered, greeting his eyes with a smile.

"Where did you learn to do half the things you can do?" Vincent asked, quirking a brow.

"I don't really know, but I do understand that they are muscle memory, which means they must have been taught to me. My past is a mystery to me as it is to you." Destiny explained "I only get a small collection of memories at one time. They come in only once in a while, but it has only been until recently that I have seen anything from my past. I find it as an omen of something bad to come." Destiny continued on and gave him a sad look. "Sometimes we don't need to know our pasts to know who we are." Destiny added before going on, "We also don't need to know other's pasts to know who they are."

"I may not know your secrets, but I know who you are. And you may not know my past, but I hope you know who I am." Destiny said, and then turned from him to walk into their tent to sleep.

Did he know who she was, she wondered. Maybe he knew something, but nothing of her as a whole. Destiny was a woman with many secrets, and also many winding memories that just didn't seem to fit together, even for her. Many times did she dream of her family, and many times did she dream of a life she had. What had ever happened to those times? Did she make them up, or had they really existed?

Vincent could read her body language; she was in one of her cryptic moods again. He wouldn't stop it, but he didn't want it to continue either. Perhaps by morning she would be out of her gloomy mood and back to her cheerful self again. The best thing he could do was let her rest, because as he knew, resting only made you forget how you felt, but never healed wounds.

She couldn't continue writing; it was so cold she could feel her lungs ice over….

He could walk on forever though…

The night had settled in now and Vincent's eyes could barely distinguish the moonlight from the falling snow. He was about an hour out of Nibelheim and he still hadn't found her. He knew that if she died he would blame himself. His body was catching up to the temperature of the ice and sleet around him and he could feel himself shiver against his heavy cloak.

Had the walk he was on not been urgent, he would have stopped to appreciate the way the night was looking. He had never seen such serenity around him when things were in such calamity. He wished he could stop to enjoy it, but then he might be too late to help Destiny. How did he even know where she was going in the first place? He only started walking in this direction out of instinct, what if his instincts had been wrong and he lost time chasing nothing.

His mind was beating against him now, and how terrible of a man he had been to lie to her and to treat her like a child. If he had only given her a chance, or at least told her the truth, he wouldn't be searching for her now, trying to fix a problem that shouldn't have been started.

"Damn it." He thought out loud, now frustrated with looking for her.

"Oh don't be like that." He heard a voice said from behind him, and without looking at her, he knew who she was.

"…I'm not." Vincent answered, lying again.

"If you want to find her so bad why not keep going?" The woman asked.

"What if I am too late?" Vincent asked, folding his arms in protest.

"What if you aren't? That is something I've always wanted you to change Vincent. If you don't try, and don't stop beating yourself up, you'll never find her, and you'll never stop living in a dark, solemn shadow." The woman continued.

"Is that why I couldn't protect you?" Vincent asked

There was no response to his question, and he knew that she had left him once again. Lately her coaching voice had come and gone to throw some helpful advice along. What was she trying to say?

Lucrecia was a smart woman, so why not try to take her advice again? He would continue on to try to find Destiny, but he still had his doubts as to if he would find her.

If only she could just… pick up her pen...

No use, her eyes were closing too fast.

He hoped he was getting closer, because he was getting just as cold as she was lying in the snow. As he walked and his eyes searched for her, she struggled with picking herself up from the cold, frozen and slushy water she was laying in. She could feel her geostigma acting up, and little by little it started to pain her more. Her geostigma usually acted up when she worked herself into a fit, and this time thanks to the fact that she was worried about death it caused her to feel magnified pain. The spots on her arm bubbled and spat out black liquids that drenched the white snow. To her it looked like black blood that threw itself against a white canvas to show her it was still there.

As her geostigma emerged from her skin she found herself screaming in agony, and trying to make it stop. It felt like liquid fire that had ignited in her blood stream and found its way out to explode on her flesh. It didn't burn on her skin, but it was killing her inside. The more her blood circulated to get rid of the disease the more her blood vessels burned with intense red heat that she could almost see through her pale skin.

"Make it stop!" she screamed suddenly, feeling tears crawl down her cheek.

Vincent's ears were on par as always, and he could hear her just to his left behind the silent trees. He raced against the wind and ice to reach her, causing his face to sting against the cold night. This did not bother Vincent, because all he cared about was saving her.

He swept himself past several obstacles before his eyes made contact with her now silent figure that was lying in the snow. His heart raced both from running and fear that he had been too late. In a matter of seconds Vincent was going to meet her form, and he couldn't make those seconds go by any faster. They felt like minutes with each step he got closer to her.

She had seen his blurred figure once he reached her, and her eyes could not embrace the fear that was plain on his face.

"Vincent…?" Destiny groaned softly.

Vincent had said nothing, but only responded with his arms that scooped her up to him. He was so glad to see her that he couldn't think of anything but holding her.

Destiny struggled against him, and pushed him away. She did not want to be his burden. She wanted him to go back home and just let her die.

"Why did you follow me?" Destiny asked angrily, pushing away from him.

"You're sick, Dest! I came to bring you back." Vincent answered, reaching for her arm.

"I am not your burden to take on." Destiny commented, and scooted away from his reach.

"No you aren't, you aren't a burden in the slightest!" Vincent responded, now feeling awful for the words he had exchanged with her earlier that day.

"Vincent, you picked me up a year ago and since then you have been nothing but worried about me. I do not want this. I want you to get over your past and live a happy life. Don't mind me, just let me go." Destiny begged softly, now sitting on her knees in the snow, but still wanting to crash to the fluffy ice below her.

"You aren't a burden!" He shouted, now remembering her head was as thick as his. "You mean so much to me…" He whispered, hoping she would but maybe wouldn't hear.

"Friends don't let friends ruin their lives for something stupid." Destiny answered him, and turned her head up to the falling snow.

"I am not ruining my life for something stupid." Vincent responded, and walked towards her. "I am making my life better with something grand." He answered and came to her level, sitting on his knees with her.

"But you said…" Destiny was cut off. She felt his arms coil around her softly and take her towards his body. She was so cold and he was so, so warm. Once she saw his face get close to hers, her eyes closed and he enveloped her lips with his for a cold and by no means passionate kiss. He had meant the act of affection, but could not bring himself to do it with a fire of passion. He loved her, and wanted her to come home with him, and that he knew.

His lips left hers a moment later and his ruby eyes sat downwards staring into her sapphire eyes that twinkled with a soft emerald glow. She had understood his cold kiss, and knew he loved her, but she didn't want him to. The last thing she wanted was Vincent Valentine killing himself to see her live.

"You're coming home with me. I want you there. I am going to save you." He said, pulling her closer to him again to warm her body up.

"Don't do this Vincent; don't kill yourself to see me live…" Destiny begged, trying to pull away, even though she had longed to be in his arms since they had met.

"I want you to live, and most of all I want you to have the life Shin-ra stole from you. Allow me to cleanse my sins by saving you." Vincent argued softly, and took her into a deep embrace. "I can't live if I know I allowed something to happen to you…" he added.

"Vincent…" she started, but he closed her words with another, cold (yet warmer than the previous) kiss. She did not want to be his burden, but it seemed he was gluten for punishment.

She wanted to go home with him; in fact she wanted that more than anything in the world. She just didn't want to be his burden. Maybe she wouldn't be, and for once she could have a life and a family of her own.

She loved Vincent Valentine so much. She would do anything to relieve him of pain. She would even die. But would that be enough to make him happy? If she died and even told him it wasn't his fault, would he listen? Vincent was just as much of an enigma as she was, the only difference was that she didn't wallow in self-pity the way he did.

"You are coming home with me." Vincent said with a soft demand behind his tone, and pulled her into an embrace again.

Destiny did not respond, but instead allowed herself fall into the cold realm of sleep where she had danced into. After all of the fighting and walking, she couldn't stay up another second. She was going home, and that she could live with just fine.