Still don't own it.
Sorry about the crap formatting. FF was being a manwhore, and I didn't have the patience. So I just added dividers. EVERYWHERE! o.O Review! Or I will set my zombie kitten army on youuuuu!
The call came at midnight, when Vincent was sleeping. He felt an intense displeasure towards his phone, which was shrilly scolding him for not picking up right away, escalating steadily in volume. He had hoped that whoever was calling would give up and call back in the morning, but after ten rings, it was still going strong. Resigned, the gunman groped blindly for the mobile on the nightstand. Midnight calls were never good- it usually meant the world needed saving- and Vincent was just not in the mood.
"Hello?"
"Vincent. It's Reeve." The WRO commissioner's voice was too loud for the hour, but the concerned tone got the gunman's attention. Something was wrong.
"Sorry to wake you, but it's important. Two hours ago, there was an assassination attempt on Lord Godo. Thankfully, he is unharmed. But…" he trailed off.
A pit formed in the bottom of Vincent's stomach. "And Yuffie?"
"She hasn't contacted anyone in the past three months. That in itself isn't unusual, but this is a very inconvenient time for her to go off the map. If the Kisaragi line ends with Godo, the throne would go to the only other family with royal blood- the Suzuki clan, and their political views could easily start another war." Vincent could hear the underlying statement. This isn't just about Yuffie. This is about the world. To some extent, this bothered him- in his mind it was comrades before anything else- but he knew that Reeve was responsible for the Planet, not just the rag-tag group of warriors.
"You think Yuffie has been assassinated?" Vincent asked flatly. The words were difficult to say aloud, but the gunslinger forced them out anyway.
That was the story of his life, the two choices that seemed to be a common theme- face whatever unpleasant reality was before him, or be consumed.
"It's a possibility. If indeed their lineage ends with Godo, arrangements need to be made to prevent a battle for the throne."
Again, he was irked by the cold, factual way Reeve discussed the ninja's disappearance, but resisted the urge to snap at the man, choosing instead to focus on saving his friend.
"Do you have any idea where she might be? Where was she last seen?"
"Her last credit card transaction was here in Junon, three months ago. However, there's something else- two weeks after that last withdrawal, there was a rash of thefts in the small mining station near the Materia Mines west of the city. It's just a gut feeling, but I think you should check that out first. I'll mobilize the rest of AVALANCHE." The commissioner sighed."And Vincent. Don't let anyone know she's missing, although I trust you already thought of that. We need to keep this entire matter out of the media."
"Understood." was all he said, closing the phone with an audible snap.
Vincent sighed, pulling on his gear. Even with the others searching, it would be nearly impossible to find her. The world was just too big, not to mention that the girl they were trying to find was a master of the ninja arts. If she didn't want to be found, then even the gods themselves couldn't bring her out of hiding.
In answer to his thoughts, his demons spoke to him, their voices intertwining and twisting, barely coherent.
/let US hAve CONtrOl. WE wILL seEK-FInD-locATE tHe girl-THe liGhT-ThE enerGY./
(Why?) Vincent asked.
/PUNy HumAN-LOwLy being-inFERioR SOUL. OuR ReasoNs aRe nOT fOR yOu tO kNOw. We oFFer oUR AsSistANce. YoU WaNT To fINd tHe GirL. WE aRe tHE meANs tO yoUR END. In ExChaNGE, wE CaN fEeL tHe aIr-tHE mooNliGhT-thE WiND?/
He weighed his choices- use his darker nature to find Yuffie before something else did, or waste time searching alone, letting his morals get in the way, losing precious time and risking the life of his comrade. The demons were unpredictable and prone to random violence- could he let himself unleash these monsters on the world?
He found that for her, he would.
(Hurt no one. I will let you walk again.)
/ProMIse. We WilL KeeP.-OuR ThANKs. YoU hAvE./ As they grew more excited, their thought patterns became jumbled, less clear. Vincent could no longer make out what they were saying; but it didn't matter, because he was drifting away, becoming less and less and less until he was nothing at all.
The night belonged to them.
XXX
/IN hERe./
Vincent stumbled as his body was given back to him, the unpleasant sensation of flesh and bone and existence sent him reeling. He had forgotten how tired drawing on the demons made him. Shaking his head to clear his swirling vision, he examined his surroundings. It was a mountainous area, the cliffsides marred by cracks. Near one of the fissures, there were scuffmarks in the loose, gray-tinged dirt, with a few rust colored stains that gave the gunman a deep sense of dread. An arterial bleed.
It turned out to be the entrance to a small cave system. The path doubled back several times, and although the sealed darkness was disorienting, his senses told him he was heading deeper into the earth. His short journey ended when the smell hit him- the nauseating stench of rotting, infected flesh. As if things couldn't get any worse.
Something rustled, not too far from him. Cursing himself for not bringing a flashlight, he dug out a lighter. The flame was laughably weak against the darkness, but it was enough to tell him what he needed to know.
He had found Yuffie.
XXX
Bwah. Cliffie. Or not, if you read the original fic.
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