Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Final Fantasy 7 franchise. All I own are my Orginal characters, their powers, origin story, and the magical land they come from.
A/N: This story follows the story of Advent Children the video game as well as Dirge of Cerberus. With my own storyline intertwined. Whenever you see text in [...] and Italisided then these are when people are having a telepathic conversation. I'm a little new to Fanfic .net so bear with me. I'm learning how to write and post stories here.
Esmee's P.O.V
As Lazul carries me in his talons; I feel the wind blow through my hair. Cooling my troubled mind as I listen to the gentle sound of Lazul's wing beat. 'I'm such a fool, to think that things would be different this time.' I thought as my mind wandered to that day. "Why?" I said softly as I try to hold back my tears, but one manages to escape my shut eyes. "Esmee, we're here." Lazul said breaking my thoughts. "Okay" I said as I quickly wipe my eyes. As I look out over Lazul's talons, I see we're at the waterfall where that woman of crystals lives. "Come on Esmee, let's go inside. It'll be dark soon." Lazul said as he changes shape and turns into his tiger form. As we walked inside the cave, my guess was right, as I see the woman trapped in the strange crystal. "Lazul, why did you bring us here?" I ask as I watch him lie down in front woman. "I thought this would be a temporary hideout until morning." He said as I walk towards him. "I see." I said as I pet his head and then look at the beautiful woman before me. I walk towards the edge of the small pond that separated us from her and noticed a smaller crystal on the floor. I reach down and pick it up. As I hold the small crystal in my hand, a sudden wave of energy flowed throughout my body. Then random images flash before my eyes, and as fast as they came they disappeared. 'What just?' I thought as I look back down at my hand. "Esmee, are you alright?" Lazul asks as he lifts his head up looking at me. "It's nothing." I said with a smile as I push that feeling behind my head and put the small crystal in my pocket. Then I look back at the crystal woman. "We would like to spend the night here if you don't mind." I said as I place my hands together and bowed my head to her. "I don't think she minds. I don't mind either." Said a familiar deep voice from behind me. I turn around and see Vincent leaning against the entrance of the cave.
Vincent's POV
"Cloud and I are the only ones that know of this place. I think she likes new company." I said as I walk inside the cave. "Vincent, how'd you know we're here?" she said as she turns to face me. "I figured that Lazul would take you somewhere safe to easy you troubled mind. I always come here when I need a place to clear my head. I figured you two would be here." I said as I walk towards her and sit down on the ground next to her. "Deja vu." She said as Lazul walks towards her and rubs his head against her hand, making her pet him. "What do you mean?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow causing her to giggle. "Earlier today, you came to look for me when I left the bar for Denzel's medicine; you followed Lazul's instincts to find me. I guess you must have been worried about me if you came to find me again." She said as she sits beside me along with Lazul. She looks at me with her big indigo eyes that seems to draw me in, I fared I would get lost in them so I don't look at her face. My silence seemed to confirm her statement, because she smiled at me. "Okay, what exactly is going on with you? According to Tifa, you don't usually go out of your way for other people. And if that's the case, why are you doing all this for me?" she asks as she looks at me again with her indigo eyes. For a moment they seemed to glow by the light of the mako crystals, they looked enchanting. I thought of her question for a moment and then spoke, "I can't really explain it myself. All I know is for some reason, I find myself wanting to help you whenever you're in trouble. Maybe it's because you suffered a loss similar to mine."
I looked at Lucrecia, and Esmee followed my eyes. "You mean her?" she said as she looks at Lucrecia and then back at me. "Yes." I said with a sad sigh. "Who is she to you, Vincent?" she asks. I became quiet because the memories are painful for me. "No wait, I shouldn't have asked. I-" she said worried about me. I couldn't help but chuckle inside at how much she's concerned for my well-being. "It's fine. I told you I would tell you my story when I was ready, well now I'm ready." I said as I stand up and look at Lucrecia. "It happened 23 years ago. I was 27 and I worked for the Shinra company as a Turk. I fell in love with a woman named Lucrecia Crescent when I was hired to protect her. She had long brown hair that was kept up. She was a scientist..."I paused for a moment and look down at her. "Lu...Lucrecia..."Esmee said as she looks at her knowing that I'm talking about her. "She's so...beautiful." She said as she stands up and looks at her. 'Not as beautiful as you.' I thought. I suddenly realized what I thought and I feel my face heating up. I'm slightly glad I didn't say that out loud. "So, what happened to her?" Esmee asks shyly. "Guilty for what her son had done when he found out about how he was created; she decided to atone for her sin. She did so by encasing herself in these crystals, her physical body unable to die." I said finishing my story. "So she's a prisoner here?" she asks as she looks at me sadly. I looked at her and nodded, and Esmee grew quiet. Her face held a look of sadness as she reached for hood and looks down at her feet shamefully. It seems she still feels guilty for lying to us. "Vincent, I-" she said but I cut her off as I put a hand over her hand that clutched her hood. "May I see it?" I ask her softly. She looks at me for a moment with worry filled eyes, and then she nods her head. I reach for the ends of her hood and then gently pull her hood off her head, revealing her ebony black hair. As I pull the hood all the way off, I see the strange jewel that sits at the center of her forehead. I'm amazed to see such a strange and mesmerizing jewel. "Is this Amethyst?" I ask, wondering if this is the jewel Rufus mentioned. "No, this jewel is called the Souls gem." She explained as she continues to look down at her feet. "It's beautiful." I said as I look at the gem again. She looks at me surprised by what I said but that quickly changes. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better." She said sadly as she turns her back to me. "I'm not lying. I think is." I said reassuring her. She chuckled slightly as walks towards Lazul and gently pets his head. "I never thought it was, not after what happened." She said sadly as she gently touches her forehead. "Esmee, you don't-" I said but she stops me mid-sentence by turning to face me. "It's alright. You were ready to tell your story; now I'm ready to tell mine." She said as she smiled a reassuring smile. I nod my head telling her I'm ready to listen. She takes in a deep breath and then begins her story. "It was a year after I just came into your world. Lazul and I meet a kind and loving family, of three, that accepted us for what we are. We stayed with the family for only a month and we were able to help the family around the house with our powers. At first I was happy and I honestly believed that I had found where we belonged; however that all change. One day I had offered to go pick up the groceries for them. When Lazul and I returned; we saw something that will forever be engraved in my memories. W-we found the Rachel and her, three years old, daughter lily lying in a pool of their own blood. I step inside and found the attacker holding the Richard by his neck pointing the same gun to his head." She explained as she tried to hold back her tears. "The man wanted to know where I was because he's heard about me and about my powers. Before Richard could answer; Lazul transforms into a tiger and tries to swipe the man away. But he manages to avoid Lazul's attack. As Lazul fights off the man, I run to the Richard's side to see if he's okay. However, before he could speak I hear a gun go off; I look and see Lazul badly wounded on the floor in front of the man. Before he could fire another bullet, I grab my rod and attacked him. I did everything I could but he overpowered me." She said as she clutched her hands into a fist as tears start to form in her eyes. "As the man prepares to pull the trigger I suddenly feel something wrap around me and then the gun goes off, echoing in my ears. I suddenly feel something warm and wet land on my cheek; I open my eyes and see Richard had taken the bullet instead of me. The last word he said to me and his words still ring in my head, "I'm sorry Esmee, I couldn't protect you." Then suddenly something snapped in my heart and my powers were released killing the man instantly." She said as the first stream of tears flow down her face. Now it all makes sense, why she calls her jewel a scar and why Lazul is so protective of her. "It was all my fault. If I had not left them or if I had not met them at all they would still be alive today. I know they would never blame me for what has happened to them. But the pain of guilt and regret still lingers inside my heart. To this day, I still think I could've done something to save them. If I had just-" she said as her tears began to rush down her eyes as all her emotions are released at once. I slowly approached her, she looked like she could break if I so much as touch her; but I gently put my clawed hand behind her head and my other hand on her back and bring her into my arms and gently hug her. She's surprised by my actions but then she clutches the front of my cap and cries harder into my chest, so I hold her a little more tightly. Showing it's alright for her to cry. Her story made me look at her a lot differently than when I first saw her. Her story is similar to mine. I kept thinking the same thing about Lucrecia, and how I could've helped prevent what happened to her. After a few minutes she calmed down and looks up at me. "Feeling better?" I ask. "A little bit. Thank you Vincent, I don't know how I could repay you for your kindness." She said smiling at me. "Come back to the bar, the others would miss you. It wouldn't feel the same without you0p there." I said softly with a smirk as I and gently wipe the leftover tears from her beautiful indigo eyes. "Alright." She said as her smile returned to her beautiful face. As the three of us walked out of Lucrecia's cave, I felt her take my hand and squeeze it softly. I look to see Esmee was smiling at me again. "What wrong?" I ask. "Nothing. It's just, I'm so happy that I have someone like you who's watching over me Vincent." She said. A slight blush appeared on my face, and she giggled. She then let go of my hand and pull her hood back on her head as we headed to the bar on Lazul's back as he transformed into a large dragon.
the truth has been revealed. now let's see where this story continues.
thanks for making it this far. Hope you all are enjoying this story so far. and thank you for making it this far.
