Chapter 14 The eye of the tiger.
Disclaimer: There's a crapload of stuff in this one that isn't ours. Anyone who can recognize the reference in the basement gets a moogle.
James could understand what Alex liked about Cosmo Canyon: it was a nice place, nice people, air smelled good. It was almost a shame that they couldn't stay longer, oh well, no rest for the wicked.
Granted, James could hardly understand that phrase, it was one of the harder ones to understand. Unlike say "A fool and his money are soon parted" or "Look before you leap." Since they weren't getting any rest did that mean that they were wicked? It was all more complicated then James cared to truly think about.
They drove from the canyon onward to the next town; Sephiroth hadn't mentioned its name for some reason. As they entered through the town's gates, Sephiroth flinched, and James instantly turned to see if something had hurt him. Well nothing physical, so it must have been that other kind, mental, the kind James wasn't that familiar with, or understood, for that matter.
Sephiroth looked up at the gates and he shuddered in just the same manor he had flinched, as if he was trying to stop himself from doing so, but unable to. "I was born here." Mirri's eyebrows went up in surprise. Mirri surprised and Sephiroth flinching, this was turning into a very unusual day. "I thought you were born in Midgar."
Sephiroth silenced her with a quick glare. "No I was born here. Not that it matters Mirri, you're right in essence. Both of my parents were from Midgar, and they were just here for their work. My mother, got pregnant here, and they decided it wasn't worth moving her to Midgar to give birth. I was taken to Midgar less then a month after I was born. I didn't even know I came from this place until a couple of years ago. It's nothing Mirri, this place isn't anything to me. It's even less than that now."
Aeris raised her eyebrows in question. "What do you mean now? What happened to it?" Sephiroth growled under his breath, and his face became a mask of rage. "I climbed back to the life from the depths of the grave, and this town was the first place I saw. Before I 'died' I saw this place burned down, everything except the Shinra mansion. Do you know what I found once I returned to the world of the living?
This place had been rebuilt by Shinra, every brick and stone the same. Shinra has actors here pretending to be the people who had lived here. Do you know what Shinra did? They glossed over my entire past like I hadn't ever existed. I don't even have a birth certificate."
That last line drew out another sigh of regret from Aeris, but Sephiroth waved it off. "Don't worry about me. Being back here, in Nibelhiem, just reminds me how much reason I have to hate Shinra." It was another dark comment, and even James could understand that it was not the kind of thing you laughed about, but for some reason Alex didn't.
That barking laugh of his broke through the air and instantly all eyes went to him. /Nibelhiem? More corruption of the northern language. Niffelhiem, it means the land of the dead. The land where the dead rot for all time, frozen and unmoving. A domain for those who have proven themselves unworthy to even reach the Fields of Slaughter. It sounds most appropriate for the description that you have given. A town filled with people who should be dead. Humans have such a wonderfully warped sense of humor.\
Mirri glared down at Alex. "I somehow doubt anyone had that particular aspect in mind when they named the town, particularly as it wasn't filled with dead people yet. But that isn't what matters right now. What matters is what we're going to be doing."
Sephiroth looked through the gates towards the town. "James, Aeris, come with me, we're going to examine the mansion. It'll be dark in about an hour. Mirri, Alex, and Niro you just keep your eyes open and patrol the town. Get us reservations at the inn, five beds, any way you want to count them, I'm not going to sleep in that place again. A few too many painful memories if you understand." The group nodded, and then Sephiroth made a one handed gesture and James followed him into the mansion.
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"You know, haunted mansion I expect monsters, ghosts, spookables, the dreadful grab-me-gotcha and maybe a side order of hefalumps. However what do we end up dealing with? A pile of old books. I thought we where heroes, not librarians!"
It only took one good glare from Sephiroth to get James to rethink his statement and go back to working his way through various books. "Okay, okay, back to work, I'm just saying this is a little bit of a blow to a guys dignity." There was an awkward pause as Sephiroth quickly scanned through the last pages of the book he had been looking at, worthless just like the last one.
He tossed it on a huge pile that was quickly being created between him and James in their search. A very large part of Sephiroth yearned to say "James, since when do you have any dignity to start with?" but he just reached for another book instead. Aeris was standing guard outside in case any actual monsters did come along, not a likely possibility all things considered. Sephiroth quickly began to scan the pages filled with writing in an untidy scrip looking for any mention of the Black Materia.
If putting up with James' chatter was annoying, it was better than the alternative. Sephiroth hadn't seen any mention of the Black Materia in the books he had gone through, but his own name came up plenty of times. Some deeply ingrained self preservation instinct told him that the less Aeris knew on that subject the better. James would gloss right over Sephiroth's name looking for "Black Materia" and not ask questions, or at least relevant ones. "THUMP"
The final deciding advantage of using James to help him look of course was James himself. He had been designed as an all in one Shinra commando unit, and thus could do just about anything. If his mind was out in left field most of the time he was at least able to come close to Sephiroth's speed with which he scanned through books looking for the choice phrase.
They had been at it for almost an hour with regular comments by James every five minutes. Still they had made quite a big pile of books that they had gone through, there where not many left on the shelves at all. "BOOYAHHH!"
Sephiroth turned around and found James performing his traditional victory dance, which in keeping with tradition involved him tripping over something accidentally. In this case it was the book he had read before the one he now gripped in his hand. James tripped over it, and ended up taking a headlong dive into the pile of books he and Sephiroth had created.
James completely vanished into that pile for a few moments, and Sephiroth uttered a small prayer to anyone who was listing. Almost as soon as he did that, James' head (minus the hat he had been wearing before he went in) broke through the pile of books, smiling broadly.
Gripped his left hand was a book with a common brown binding that he had managed to hold onto. His right hand broke through the pile of books and he turned pages in the book he held for a moment. Then he tossed the book to Sephiroth after dog-earing the page in question, happiness overflowing his body and out every pore. "If found it, now we can check out of this place!"
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On his way out, Sephiroth's eyes where drawn to James, and Aeris looked onward in surprise as well. James was pulling his damndest against a wooden door that just wouldn't budge. Sephiroth was slightly surprised that the doors hinges hadn't come off by now as James let out a squeal of anger at the stubborn door. Sephiroth was instantly reminded of the image of a cat trying to get out and hopelessly pawing at a door.
Sephiroth let out a low sigh under his breath, James would be complaining about it for as long as he could remember it (which would be from one to two weeks) unless he did something. "James stand aside." James did his eyes growing wider by the moment with pleasure as he saw what Sephiroth was planning. One old door stood little chance against a bored, tired, and irritated Sephiroth, and the door, frame and all, was soon lying some 15 away.
James instantly scampered through and let out a disappointed moan. Nothing of any particular interest was on the other side of the door. Just dust, and a few boxes, no make that coffins, they were filled with skeletons, probably Hojo's specimens at one point. One coffin however still had a lid on top of it, and James gravitated to it instantly.
This time he didn't require Sephiroth's help to complete his own foolish errands. He shifted the coffin lid, pushed it to the side and gazed down in expectance and then disappointment. Against his better judgment, Sephiroth walked closer to see what held James' attention, as did Aeris. It was just another dead body, it was in a slightly better state of repair though: it still had skin and clothing on it.
However, the body was just as clearly dead all the same, it's eyes where closed, but Sephiroth knew nothing dwelled behind them, the face was gaunt and stretched. The hair had gone grayish white with age, this man might have died of natural causes, but how he got here was anyone's guess. As soon as Sephiroth turned away James voice let out a squeal of delight.
Sephiroth turned back around and found James gripping a small white card that he squinted at one eye almost closed. He apparently read it silently, and then held it up for Sephiroth to read. The light was poor even for Sephiroth's eyes and so he snatched the card from James' hand to get a better look. James let the card go unresistingly and Sephiroth held it up to the single low watt bulb in the room. "It says 'The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame.'"
As soon as he finished reading the card out loud for Aeris, Sephiroth dropped the card, letting out a startled hiss. Aeris' eyebrows went up instantly. "Did you get a paper cut?" James of course was less caring but more direct. "Don't be silly Aeris, how do you get a paper cut while your wearing gloves?" Sephiroth looked down at the razor thin slice through his black glove and then through the skin of his index finger, how indeed? A drop of red liquid fell from the cut and Sephiroth's surprise became even greater.
Sephiroth had gotten paper cuts before, but they were rare for him, and he could never remember having one that bled. The drop of blood fell downwards, Sephiroth's eyes following it all the way. It splattered over the dead man's face, just below his nose, and it slid into his mouth. James was by this point downright euphoric.
Aeris' mind, being more prone to thoughts of self preservation, led her to take a few steps back. Slowly, very slowly a pair of eyes, blood red eyes, opened and looked directly into Sephiroth's green ones, and then blinked. Sephiroth was tempted to take a few steps back himself right then. /Do not worry master... I will return to your side once I have dined.\
It was not much like Alex's voice at all. For one thing Sephiroth somehow knew that neither James nor Aeris had herd the voice, only him. Secondly the voice had been a strained whisper, a moment after he heard it, the body dissolved into base shadow. James who had watched the entire process but not heard the voice snapped his fingers in anger. "Geez, what a gip! I was expecting it to burst into the flames or something." The words "or something" echoed in Sephiroth's head all the way out of the mansion.
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He was weak, he was frail, he was an old man, but those things were temporary setbacks. He may be old, but there was still some strength possessed in Vincent Valentine's limbs. Some strength that could multiply and expand on itself, all it needed was life.
It was night outside the mansion, blessed night; the day would have been able to hold him back, as weak as he was. But the cool night felt wonderful against his pale skin. It didn't take long for him to find what he was seeking, a man draped in heavy black robes. A wretched creature clinging to life, his sacrifice for the greater good would be commendable.
He did not scream or fight back as Vincent dragged him into the shadows of night and away from prying eyes. Vincent pulled back the hem of the cloak, even this weak he could hear the sound of the blood pumping in the man's neck, hear his prey. Red saliva (not much of it though) played on his lips when he opened them revealing row after row of sharp teeth.
He tore into the man's neck like a rabid dog, and spat out the flesh instantly. It was of no concern to him. He drank deeply from the blood that sputtered from the man's throat however, he drank down the crimson life. Part of his mind (a very small part) told him to stop, but he had no plans to obey it. A much stronger part of his mind whispered a mantra over and over again. "Need life to be strong, must be strong to protect master, must have life!"
He drank until the man's body was as dry as a bone, and then finally pushed the man to the ground. He reached into a pocket of his formerly black business suit that was now blood red. He pulled from it a small pistol and fired a shot point blank into the dead man's head. The man turned into a pile of dust with a gleaming bullet emerging from it. Vincent very slowly looked down at the pile of dust and chuckled.
He held up his pistol, and once more he saw a reflection he could recognize in the pistol. Once more he saw a face as yet untouched by the true rigors of time. He no longer saw gray white hair but midnight black, the color of shadow. The only noticeable change was in his eyes, they where now blood red instead of dark brown, so what?
Vincent Valentine lowered his pistol and looked down again at the pile of dust and the bullet. He could not stop a dry chuckle from rising in his throat. "To think, some people believe there is no such thing as a perfect crime!"
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Niro and Alex had been keeping tabs on each other, with Mirri running interference. Niro was just fine with that. Personally he agreed with Sephiroth, this entire town was less real then the way he looked at the moment.
The mansion in fact looked like something out of a Bram Stoker novel. Of course telling that to Alex would be a mistake, Alex would most likely not be finished with the mansion till it was a pile of cinders. Not that committing such an action would have been such a bad thing, Alex generally did know the right way to handle things, flames or teeth. Granted he needed a little help on his way being a pyro, but Niro would gladly supply that.
Sephiroth and the others were coming back, James was smiling (as always) but happiness was present in him from the soles of his feet to the tips of his ears. "Guys, you won't believe this! We found this guy in the basement, and this weird card that gave Sephiroth a papercut even though he was wearing gloves! Then the paper cut bled onto the guy's mouth when we thought he was dead, but then he woke up! The only problem is that after he did that he vanished into thin air. What kind of an ending is that?"
"It isn't." A moment later the man who had spoken stepped into visibility. He had long black hair and red eyes, but they weren't close to the same shade of red as James'. James' were bright red, this guys were darker, the color of old blood. Nothing could have summed up what came next better then phrase "Deja vu", or at least for Niro.
Alex snarled, his fur bushed up , and then he instantly was at the black haired man's throat. Alex on top of a man with black hair, where had Niro ever seen something like this? However there was one big difference, Niro was forced to admit that whoever this guy was, he was good. Not only was he good, he could move like he had no bones in his body.
The man twisted on the ground under Alex's claws, and he tossed Alex off of him onto the ground. Then he was back on his feet with a pistol in his hands pointed at Alex. Alex meanwhile had landed on all fours and swung around still quite ready to fight. Niro was tempted to go for his own piece and turn into a panther or anything else to help the man in black, but he waited.
"Don't you dare come between me and my master!" /Don't even think about coming between me and my alpha! Be careful, he may be nothing but a pathetic bloodsucking leech, but this one has some strength. A gangrel I believe, from the looks of his left hand../ Eyes instantly focused on the man's left hand that had somehow escaped Niro's notice up to this point.
It was a golden metallic claw far too big to be a normal human appendage. James' eyes beamed with interest when he saw it but Sephiroth's showed something completely different, fear. "BOTH OF YOU STOP!" The man with the black hair and the werewolf both froze long enough for an old camera to have perfectly captured their images. Sephiroth glared at both of them.
"Artic Operations Specialist Alexander Diamondclaw stands down, and you... You were a lot older last time I saw you." The man with the golden claw and black hair looked at nothing as he answered. "I have dined and it has renewed my strength Master." As soon as the man finished speaking Alex instantly sent his thoughts to the entire group. /Dined? Leech, the undeserved blood of others has given you back your cursed life! Well shall soon see how you like to feel teeth tearing at your neck!\
Mirri muttered something under her breath about "testosterone". Sephiroth looked like he was only a few twitches away from going pyrokinetic on both the "Vampire" and the werewolf. "Who the hell are you and what do you have to do with me?" The vampire broke into a gracious bow like a nobleman, though somehow managing to let his posture show he was still very much aware of Alexander.
"I failed her, I failed her and I was cursed. Cursed with this life so that I would eternally have to serve those of her bloodline. My name is Vincent Valentine, I once was a Turk, I once was a man, but now I am a monster who's soul purpose is to serve humans." The man rose from his bow, and Niro noticed for the first time how tall he was. To be more exact, he saw that Vincent was, while not quite Sephiroth's height, he was damn near it, no more than a couple of inches shorter.
Sephiroth locked eyes with Vincent for only a second, and then looked away to glare at Alex. "I said stand down. I trust him. " /You trust a blood sucker?\ Sephiroth crouched so that he could look Alex right in the eyes. "We have two choices in this world Alexander. We can be the sum of our strengths, or the sum of our weaknesses. If you do not trust my judgment then you are free to leave."
Alex broke that eye contact and not at all in the way of which Sephiroth had broken eye contact with Vincent. This was a quick snapping motion of one who was forced to blink and Alex lowered his head to the ground. /Vampires, Shapeshifters, our Alpha is so great that such things bow before him. Who am I to challenge the will of Gaia?\
OWAN: James wants to know if any of you have been reading his blog/LJ archives, I want to thank you guys for your past support and ask where the hell you were for chapter 13. I don't doubt you have more important things to do than stroke our egos, but we still like to hear from our readers. I'll be posting a link to a really ugly cast photo I drew about a month and a half ago(trust me, I've gotten better since then) with the next chapter, but only if I hear from some of you.
'Till the next perfect twilight, dear readers…