Blood: 19

Bringing Cid down

Everything was dark, the smell of oil thick in the air. She was bleeding everywhere, that much Cid knew. His lady bled all over the floors he walked on, and without light there was nothing he could do. He was alone as far as he could determine. In the dark he had been unable to find anyone else. Cait Sith lay at the top of the stairs, gutted, wires hanging out of its back. He had tripped over it on the way down.

The chocobo had survived, the poor thing wild-eyed and struggling to get out of its pen. "Calm down, girl." Cid cooed, taking his knife from his boot and slitting the straps holding her in place. "There you go." He leapt out of the way as she struggled up onto the remains of the stable wall and darted off into the dark hallway.

Cid stared into the dark, trying to see which way she went, but losing her at the operations room door. There was no doing with this dark. He had to find Yuffie. She always carried a flashlight on her, and if she wasn't dead, could help him look for the others. If she was dead, then that was a shame, but he still had to get that flashlight from her, get somewhere in this dark.

This situation had to be approached logically. Last he had seen her, she had made for the deck, hot on Vincent's tail. It was highly unlikely they were still on board; when the Highwind went down they were probably thrown clear, but chance could have it that they were nearby. Steeling himself for what he might find, Cid set off, groping his way along the wall to avoid falling into the engine. God knows he would never get out of there.

Outside the situation wasn't much better. He already knew the Highwind was on a slant, but the night and drizzle made it all the more difficult to keep a footing on the slippery deck boards. He slid, hitting the guard rail hard and losing his wind. 'Things could be worse.' He thought to himself, booting the rope ladder off the deck to hang down the last few meters to the ground. 'I could be dead.'

Debris and chunks of hot metal littered the ground around the Highwind's hull, the flaming wood affording some light in the pitch black. Coughing the dust out of his sore throat, Cid called, "Vincent!" No reply came to him. "Yuffie!" Still no reply, but it was worth checking. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started out onto the plains.

It was lonely out there, Cid shivering against feeling so alone. Even working on the rocket he hadn't felt so alone. The Highwind was dead, as were many of the people aboard, he supposed. "Dammit." He said to himself, more to dispel cold feelings than voice a feeling.

He had strayed about forty meters from Highwind's hull when he heard a gentle sobbing. Taking his lighter from his pocket, he started towards the sobbing, guarding the tiny flame against the rain. Vincent lay on his back in the shadow of a broken propellor, his arms wrapped around Yuffie. She shook him, sobbing hard at the lack of reaction. "Vincent!" He still didn't stir. "Vinny!"

She froze, footsteps behind drawing her attention. "Hello?"

"Yuffie?"

Her spirits lifted at that voice, Cid appearing out of the rain with a lighter. "Old man!"

"Brat."

She squirmed out of Vincent's arms and shot to her feet, running straight to Cid and tackling him around the waist. He stepped back but kept his feet. Yuffie cried happy tears, looking up at him with a relieved smile, "I thought everyone was dead!"

Cid chuckled, peeling her off and putting his hands on his hips. "You think something like that's enough to bring me down? You know who I am? I'm Cid!"

"Yeah, but it took Vincent down."

Cid's smile fell away at that. He pushed past Yuffie and dropped to his knees beside his friend. "This doesn't look good." He remarked, blood running from under Vincent's hair. "He hit his head."

"Yeah. Something whacked him when the tub crashed. He grabbed me, I didn't see what it was."

"Shit."

Yuffie let out a whine, collapsing on the grass beside Cid. "Can't you do something for him?"

"I'm a mechanic, not a doctor." He grabbed the front of Vincent's cape and pulled him up to eye level. "Vincent?" No reaction. "Dammit Vincent!" Still nothing. Annoyed, Cid started shaking him, "Fuckin' hell, Valentine! Answer me you bastard!"

"Cid!" Yuffie grabbed his arm, "You're gonna kill him!"

"If he don't wake up I'll kill him anyway." Grunting in annoyance, Cid slapped Vincent hard, frowning at the reaction he received,

"Lucrecia."

"Fuck you, I'm not Lucrecia."

Vincent's eyelids fluttered, his eyes glowing red in the light from Cid's lighter. Yuffie recoiled, "Uh, doesn't that usually mean he's going to go all wingedy-beasty on us?" Cid shook his head,

"Naw." and flipped his lighter closed, proving his point. "Gimme that flashlight of yours."

"I don't know how much batteries it's got." No matter, the beam strong enough to show Vincent's head wound.

"Holy fucking shit!" Cid exclaimed at the shiny piece of metal jutting out of his friend's scalp. Yuffie jumped to her feet,

"Oh my GAWD!" Her high-pitched screech appeared to wake Vincent up a little, his eyes focusing on Cid.

"Wha...?"

"Nuthin' for you to worry about right now." The blonde lied, glancing at Yuffie for assistance. She started, clasping her hands over her mouth,

"Yeah, it's... nothing, Vincent. Relax."

To both of their surprise, he lifted his hand to his head and felt around the shard. Without a word of surprise, he wrapped his hand around it and yanked it out, Yuffie screaming and covering her eyes. Cid looked away, holding Vincent away a little as more blood ran down his face. "Jesus Christ."

"I'll survive." Vincent murmured, pushing himself to sit on his own and glancing briefly at Yuffie. "Are you all right?" She nodded, looking back at him as though he would leap up and bite her. "Good."

Cid snapped himself back to sanity, swinging the flashlight at the Highwind, "We gotta go see if anybody else survived the crash. So far you two and the chocobo are the only ones I found."

"Right."

Yuffie darted off towards the downed airship, turning and hopping backwards, gesturing wildly for the two of them to follow. Cid wasted no more time, offering Vincent his hand and pulling him to his feet. Despite his injury, Vincent seemed steady on his feet walking side by side with Cid back to the Highwind. He frowned, Cid chuckling suddenly, shooting a glance at his friend out the corner of his eye, "A little something, Vincent."

"Hmm?"

"Call me Lucrecia again and you're a dead man, thing, something."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Cloud was the first one Yuffie found, slumped against the guard rail at the rear of the Highwind's cockpit. She reasoned that he must have rolled back there when the ship went down. Tifa was near by, and like Cloud appeared unharmed, yet unconscious.

Vincent instructed her to lay them in recovery position on the flattest surface she could find, shaking his head in disbelief when she informed him that she had no idea what that meant leaving him to totter over to arrange them himself.

Cid clawed through the remains of the consoles, grinning as Barret's hand jerked out of the twisted metal and grabbed his own. "Nice to know yer still with us." He chortled, relieved. Barret scratched the back of his head, finding that every part of his body ached,

"Yeah, well I ain't gonna die that easy." He glanced over at Vincent laying Tifa out on her side, "She all right?"

"She will live if that's what you mean." Vincent answered him, falling backwards to sit, his head swimming. Barret was concerned,

"You all right? You look pastier than normal."

"I am fine."

"Hey." Cid called to Barret, already halfway across the cockpit floor, "You have any idea where Red went?"

"I saw him rollin' ass over head down that way." Barret pointed to the stairs, surprised to see the walls lighting up.

Red limped up the stairs, favouring his near foreleg. He whimpered, setting it down carefully on the metal floor. "I'm okay." He assured everyone, his voice shaky. "Though I don't think the same can be said of Cait Sith."

The mechanical cat was in bad shape, lying limp on the floor, the moogle unit nearby missing an arm and most of its head. "Ai yai yai!" Cid exclaimed, likening the moogle to something from a horror film in his head. "That's beyond repair."

Red nosed Cait Sith, whimpering gently at the lack of response. He looked up at Cid, his yellow eye doleful, "Can you fix him?"

"I'll take a look at him in a minute. Let's find my crew first."

Yuffie jumped to her feet, chasing over to Cid and grabbing his arm, "I'll go with you." He grunted in reply, shoving his hands in his pockets, Yuffie's arm looped through his, and started off down the stairs. Barret moved to follow, hesitating as he realised Vincent would be alone in a room full of casualties. Maybe that word was a bit extreme, but he would be on his own looking after Cloud, Tifa and Red when he was hurt himself. "Yo, Vincent, you gonna be okay?"

"Go on." He paid Barret no more attention, leaning back against the guard rail and drawing his legs up, hiding his face behind them.

Red whined, unsure what to do. He had never seen Vincent like that before – acting so mortal. Usually he was the unbreakable one; not letting anything get to him. Now he looked so normal, hissing and cradling his head, rocking back and forth against the pain.

Healing was always the worst part, just those few minutes when it started. Vincent reminded himself that it would be over soon, then he could make himself useful and help the others search for the last survivors. "Vincent?" He looked up, white light flashing through his skull at the sudden movement. He let out a whimper, immediately scolding himself and pinpointing Tifa as the source of the voice.

She was looking up at him, still lying on her side. "Tifa?" He crawled forward, sitting back and looking down at her, his bottom lip quivering against that incessant pain.

"I feel ill."

"I see."

Her head pounding, she didn't try and sit up. Instead she drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, shivering. "Where's Cloud."

"Behind you." Vincent swayed, catching himself before he fell on his side and busied himself with unbuckling his cape. "You are cold." He leant forward and draped it over her, careful not to collapse on top of her.

Grateful, Tifa managed a small smile. She squeezed her eyes shut, her head beginning to pound. "Are the others okay?"

He nodded once, regretting it instantly. "They are fine."

"Are you going to go too?"

The fear in her voice unsettled him. "I-"

"Stay here." She grabbed his hand, twining her fingers through his, "Please." She lowered her brown eyes away from his bemused crimson ones, "I want somebody close to me. Down here."

Vincent refrained from pointing out that Cloud was right beside her, hesitantly shifting a little closer to her and laying down on his side, facing her. "Is this all right?"

"That's perfect." She smiled, carefully threading her free fingers through those of his claw. "I need a friend close by right now." He said nothing in reply, just looked back at her as she closed her eyes and shifted her head against the uncomfortable flooring. She was going to go to sleep it seemed.

He relaxed, closing his own eyes. It felt better on the floor, no effort needed in holding his head up. His eyes snapped open suddenly, something pressing up against his back freezing him. To his surprise, Red's cheek rested carefully against the top of his head, the red beast's tail flame casting shadows on the far wall. Red said nothing, mouthing gently as he settled to sleep.

Surprise wasn't enough to describe what Vincent felt, two of his teammates so dependent on him for comfort right then. Alien was a closer descriptive. Still, he took it upon himself to remain awake and keep watch over Tifa and Red. They needed sleep to heal fast, he did not.

---------

Presently, Barret returned, the chocobo attendant slung over his shoulder. He started at the sight of Vincent, Tifa and Red, but continued on to lay his find beside Cloud.

"Is he alive?"

"Whu-?" Barret started, realising that Vincent was doing that resting his eyes trick again. "Yeah. He's just out cold is all. Cid said to bring all the survivors up here." Composing himself, he asked, "What are you doing on the floor?"

Vincent gave no answer, no intention of doing so made that much softer by Cid and Yuffie coming up the stairs with the crewman from the operations room carried between them. "He's the last one from down there." Cid announced, helping Yuffie lay him down beside his colleague. "There ain't nobody else alive down there."

A groaning caught his attention, leading him over to the helm and the young pilot crawling out from under the controls. He looked up at Cid in a daze, "Did we land, Captain?"

"We're sure as hell on the ground."

"Mission accomplished then?"

"Something like that." Cid beckoned Barret over with a jerk of his head and ducked under his protégé's arm. Barret got his other arm and the two of them supported him over to his friends.

"Man, there's only so much of this a man can take, ya know?"

"What's the matter, Barret?" Cid asked, his voice husky from exertion, "You queasy about body parts and dead guys?"

"No, man. Just, death and all that gets to me when it's all around me like this. Yeah, bits o' people get me sick."

"You should have served a stretch in Hojo's lab." All eyes turned on Vincent. He lay on the floor, eyes still closed, still holding Tifa's hands, Red curled around him, "You would have seen things that desensitised you to body parts."

Barret and Cid looked at each other, the former shaking his head, "I never thought I'd say this to Vincent of all people, but that's too much information and I didn't need to hear it."

Vincent said nothing to that, untangling his fingers from Tifa's and breezing to his feet in one fluid movement, Yuffie squealing with delight to see that he was better. He clenched his teeth behind his lips, wishing she wouldn't squeal so. His hearing amplified it to five times what it should be. Roughly translated as unbearable. Something else reached his ears.

Cloud had begun to come round and was moaning softly, reaching to rub his temple tenderly. "What happened?" Before anyone could answer, Barret had hold of him and pulled him roughly to his feet.

"Well! Spikey's awake. How you feeling?"

"Groggy."

"'Course you're damn groggy! I'd be worried 'bout you if you weren't!"

Barely escaping Barret's affection alive, Cloud steadied himself, leaning hard on the nearest person – Yuffie incidentally - "What's the situation?"

Cid was the one to field that question, taking a new cigarette from his goggles and lighting up, "Hard to say. Highwind's bust, half of my crew are dead an most of us have scrapes and or concussions." He shot a glance at Vincent, "Or holes in our heads that don't seem to be bothering us."

"What about Midgar?"

"What 'bout Marlene!" Barret leapt in suddenly. "Reeve said she's in a safe place, but we dunno what happened to Midgar, and Kalm's so close by, so for all we know she could be-"

"I'm sure she's safe." Cloud reassured him, Yuffie scraping him off onto the guard rail beside Vincent.

Tifa and Red began to wake up, Vincent offering Tifa his hand and pulling her to sit. She rubbed her head, looking up at Cloud, clearly glad to see he was none the worse for wear. He smiled at her, turning his attentions on the problem at hand. What to do next? The whole stay for the battle, go home to your loved ones thing seemed to have fallen through. The best course of action would be to get to Midgar and see what the damage was, offer to help out. Good idea. More hands may save more lives.

"What's the plan, Cloud?" Cid asked, almost as though reading his thoughts.

"We can't be that far from Midgar, so let's head there and see what we can do. If anything."

Nobody protested, Cid somewhat upset at leaving his lady and her lost crewmen, but understanding that none of them were going anywhere. They would be given a proper burial once he got back to clear up the Highwind's remains.

Cloud led the way down the steps out of the cockpit, Barret close behind holding Yuffie's flashlight. She brought up the rear, squealing as she tripped over something in the dark. She dashed forward and grabbed the wrist of Vincent's claw, clinging to him for dear life. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, almost glaring round at her. "What?"

"I can't see." She explained hurriedly. "You've got night-vision-eyes. You can see where you're going. Don't let me trip up, kay?" His annoyed sigh didn't deter her, but he didn't brush her off either, trailing her along behind him down the steps after his comrades. If this dependence on him insisted on keeping up, he may have to insist on vanishing without trace.

(NOTE: Three chapters in one go to get things moving along. Poor Vincent, the pillar of strength for the girls in this one. What happened during Meteor fall is up to you. Questions remain unanswered, Are Tessi and Reeve okay? Where did they go? What about the other Turks? Wait and see is all I can say to that right now. A lot of time has been spent working on writing work and my deviantart account of late, so writing for fun had been shoved aside for the time being. There may be a gap before I post up anymore of this, as there's a big assignment coming up for me this month, so all my writing is going to be focused that way. knowing me and my study abilities I'll probably give in and write a couple more chapters soon. For those of you that are interested, I have character illustrations for this fic on DA. stormus . deviantart . com is the addy, without the spaces of course. Plugging my DA... shhhh!

Just a little something about Cid. He seems callous and uncaring about his crew members, and Yuffie, but he's taking the logical approach in order to save as many people as he can. He can't afford to be weighed down with emotional breakdowns, he's on a mission!)