Gah… this chapter did NOT flow as well as the others did. Oh well, enjoy it NEway.

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A hard pressure began to stir Vincent from his coma-like state. His head swam, filling with a rush of nausea. The pressure started to sting. The sting engrossed his left arm. What was going on? He groaned.

"-ince?"

Vincent was already conscious but not awake. For some reason he didn't have the strength to even open his eyes. He soon became aware of how sore his body was. It took a moment for him to remember why.

"Vincent?"

His head turned to the familiar voice calling his name. He was finally able to open his eyes. "Cid?" The ex-Turk's voice sounded so hoarse that he hardly believed it was his.

"Oh, Vince. Thank Gaia. I thought you'd never wake up."

Vincent stared up at his lover, who seemed to nearly be in tears. "How long was I out?"

Cid settled back into his chair, scrubbing his face. "Er… wow. Nearly three months now."

Vincent looked at him in astonishment. "That long?" He rubbed his eyes, clearing his throat to try and sound like himself again. "That would explain a lot. I'm not used to being so sore." Realizing his right arm was the only thing that didn't hurt, he tried to use it to push himself up.

Cid sprang to the bed, grasping his shoulder. "You really shouldn't be moving! Come on. Lay back down."

"Cid." Vincent placed a hand on his chest, glancing up at him. The pilot looked so worn. His eyes were red and puffy. Even that somewhat neatness he usually kept to his hair was ruffled. Vincent smiled. He knew there was a reason he had to stay alive.

Cid scooped Vincent up into his arms, holding him tightly. He sniffed, beginning to cry again. "Don't ever scare me like that again. I thought you were never gonna wake up."

It was surprising to see Cid actually crying like that. Vincent wrapped his arms around him, feeling his own eyes sting. He didn't even care how sore he was. The sharp sting of his left arm brought back the memory of why it hurt. However, it felt different. A good deal heavier than he thought it should. He cringed gathering the courage to really look at it. What he saw was more of a shock than having it severed.

There was a silver ring around the edge of the laceration, continued onto a cone-like structure onto the rest of the arm, which molded into what seemed to be a whole construction of bone and muscle made from metal. "What's this?"

"Huh?" Cid followed Vincent's gaze to the arm. "Oh that. Well, Tifa told me to do something to try and get my mind off you." He leaned back against the headboard, drawing Vincent down onto his chest. "I decided to make you an arm." He laughed slightly. "Guess it wasn't much of a distraction from ya. Was it?"

"Oh."

"As a matter of fact." He leaned over to grab his tools. "I was just finishing attaching it when you woke up."

Vincent watched as his lover finished up the new appendage. He always enjoyed watching Cid work, but this was a little weird. Even with how much he trusted Cid, the truth was that the pilot was no surgeon.

He may be able to make a working arm, but there was doubt of his ability to connect it right. Even still, it was a very sweet thing for him to do. And he was tending to it more lovingly than any of his other creations.

Vincent smiled, laying his head on Cid's chest. "I didn't know you knew how to make appendages."

"Well… normally no, but I studied anatomy books to at least figure out the mechanics. I dreaded having to connect it. Mostly cause I was scared of screwing something up. But I actually took my time with this thing and made sure I had everything right." He put his tools aside, flexing the fingers manually. "I just started constructing out the skeletal then tried to work some things in like a robot type thing. I even got veins and arteries and all kinds of shit in here."

Vincent laughed at the Cid-like way of saying that. (No other was to describe that.)

Cid hugged him again. "Only the best for my baby. I made sure it'd be just as strong as real bone, if not stronger. It's water proof. Self-lubricating. I even tweaked the joints to be smooth when you move them. Now I just need to make sure that you can actually move it."

Vincent glanced up at him, looking back down at the hand.

"Don't worry. I'm gonna cover it to better fill out the roundness, and make it look good. I just wanted to make sure I had the mechanics worked out."

"… How do I move it?"

"Err…. Dun-no. Like a normal hand I guess. Flexing? Telepathy? However you normally do it."

Vincent shook his head, laughing again. He took a breath, trying to see if he could move it. The fingers twitched, gently extending fully out. He gasped. "It works!?"

Cid's ego grew three sizes. "You sound surprised."

Vincent curled the fingers back in, gently flexing the wrist. "I kind of am. How did you manage to hook it up?"

"Well, err-I-uh… ok… Barret helped with that, but I made the arm."

A smile was permanently plastered on the gunman's face. "It's amazing." He turned around to Cid. "You're amazing." His lips wrapped around the pilots, arms sliding around his neck.

Cid clamped onto Vincent's waist. "Well, I don't wanna brag." Even though it was obvious he couldn't wait to.

"You should." He kissed him again, lips parting to push in deeper. Cid's hands slipped into Vincent's shirt, lips brushing against his shoulder. The gunman couldn't help but laugh at the unshaven beard scraping lightly on his neck.

Cid smirked, looping his arms under Vincent's thighs. He moved back to his lips, tilting him back against the bed… unconsciously a bit harder than he had intended.

Vincent cringed, from the soreness the impact reminded him of.

Cid pulled back. "Sorry sorry." He sighed barely containing his frustration. Even if it wasn't his fault, he always felt guilty for hurting Vincent. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"No we can." Vincent grasped Cid's head, urging him closer. "You'll just have to be gentle." They kissed, lips embracing each other. Cid's hands crept up, beginning to undo Vincent's shirt. His hands slid along the slender form, causing the gunman to hiss as a hand brushed over the claw marks on his stomach.

Cid jumped back, turning away. "Ok, that's it."

"Cid."

"No, no, that's it." He waved his arms sliding to the edge of the bed. "There's no way I can do this without hurting you." He scrubbed his hands over his face.

Vincent sighed, sliding closer. He slipped his arms around the pilot's shoulders, kissing him on the neck. "I'll be ok."

"No. I don't wanna risk damaging you further. I'm not used to you being hurt like this." He looked back into the still drowsy crimson eyes of his lover. "You don't know how scared I was, Vincent. I know I said I'd make sure you died first, so you wouldn't be alone, but I didn't mean this soon. I don't think I could handle it." He turned around, fully, his eyes tearing up again. "I mean, look at me. I'm a wreck just out of this."

The ex-Turk slid his arms around Cid, kissing him again. "I'm not going to die that easily. If I could survive this, I think I'll be ok."

Cid pulled Vincent into him, sliding him around onto his lap. Vincent laid his head against his shoulder.

"I wasn't so afraid of it before, but now I'm not so sure."

Vincent briefly thought about what he said. "Isn't that a good thing, though?"

"What?"

He glanced up at him. "They're gone, Cid. I'm finally free from their taunting. I can actually think without hearing them butting in. I didn't realize it until just a little while ago. Usually they go crazy when you touch me, but now…" He could feel himself tearing up. "Now, I don't have to worry about it. I have complete control of my body. Cid." He sat up, hardly containing his self spawned excitement. "I can't transform any more. I'm human… everything about me, now is completely normal again." Tears of joy slid down his face. "I'm finally free."

Cid smiled, pulling him closer. He hadn't really thought of it that way before. He knew that the demons were what gave Vincent his strength and stamina, but he never actually considered that Vincent was strong without them. He hadn't thought about how relieved Vincent would be to be rid of them. Even after they'd searching every possible angle to free him from this curse.

Vincent settled into Cid's arms, closing his eyes. He always felt so different around Cid. More, dare I say it, feminine. He couldn't help it. Even before they were together, something about being in the pilot's arms always made him feel safe. A state of calm and security always befell him.

Until an unnerving thought finally crossed his mind. "Cid."

"Yea?"

"… How did we get out of there?"

"Er, well. That's what's weird." Vincent glanced up at him. "We were searching around for you, when Gigas showed up outta nowhere, with you in his arms. Hell, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw ya, but he just handed you to me, then showed us the way out."

"… Gigas helped you out?"

"Yea. I couldn't believe it either. I mean, why did he help ya in the first place?"

Vincent smiled. "Well, Gigas has always been different from the others." They settled back into the bed. "In all honesty, I was a little surprised the others attacked me in the first place. Ok… not entirely. I expected Hellmasker to want me dead. He's always been a loose cannon, so I kept him on a much tighter leash. The last time I let him roam free was when we were pursuing Sephiroth. Fortunately, I had formed a pact with Chaos, so he helped me contain him. Galion was the only one I could fully control by myself, so I never had many issues with using him during a battle. However… unlike the others, Gigas never wanted out. He was always the quiet one, that just seemed to enjoy being inside of me. Living in my mind gave me a sort of telepathic bond between them. I believe that may've had something to do with it. He finally had a chance to be heard. To see things… through my eyes. Or maybe I just gave him a chance to hide from the outside world. A safe place to finally experience peace."

Cid rubbed Vincent's arm, half wanting to deny what he was hearing. "What makes you think all this?"

Vincent settled on Cid's shoulder and sighed. "Most of the time, he'd be the only one to really talk to me. The others usually ranted, or had some snide remark about anything they could think of. But when Gigas spoke to me, I just always got the sense that he was content just staying where he was. That he was more scared of being released." He closed his eyes, gripping tighter to the arm holding him. "Out of all of them… he was the most like me. Maybe he felt it too. That would explain why he helped us."

The pilot slid a hand under his head. This was all a little too deep for him. "I always thought they were just a bunch of monsters that'd never shut up."

Vincent shook his head. "I wish that was all they were… Wait." He sat up, flashing a panicked look to Cid. "If Gigas knew the way out, maybe the others do too."

Cid sat up as well. "Where you goin with this?"

"Cid! If they get out, they could hurt people."

"They may not get out."

"But they could. I have to find some way to stop them."

"Gigas is still in there. He'll hold them off."

Vincent shook his head. "He's not strong enough to keep fighting them."

"Vincent, no. They're gone. They're not your problem anymore."

"No, Cid. I may not have wanted them, in the first place, but the day they were infused with my body, they became my responsibility. It's still my job to keep them contained."

Cid's face fell. "But… but they almost killed you last time. What if they succeed?"

Vincent stared at Cid, gently taking him into his arms. "I wasn't at full strength then."

"You're not now." He pleaded.

"No… but there's a difference, now."

Cid drew in a sharp breath, forcing back his tears. "What?"

Vincent smiled. "I have you now… you can actually help me fight them, this time."

xXx

It was a couple of weeks after Vincent's recovery, and Cid was putting the finishing touches on his arm. It filled out quite nicely, still able to retain its flexibility. Just because I'm that much of a dork, I'm gonna say he covered it with anamanthium.

Barret leaned over the bar, where they were sitting. "Ya know, Vincent. I know someone that could put a gun on that thing for ya."

Vincent smiled, shaking his head at the offer. He flexed the fingers, to ensure that they were operational. "No thanks." He smiled to his lover. "It's perfect, just how it is."

Cid grinned, leaning forward to kiss him.

Barret threw up his hands, in defeat, walking away. It was bad enough he had to know they were together. He didn't want to see it.

They laughed at his fluster. It was so much fun to do that to him.

The news was on, mentioning something about training mishaps from ShinRa soldiers. Jaws dropped with hearing this.

"Training mishaps my ass!" Barret finally blurted. "Ain't no way ShinRa can do all that shit."

Tifa turned to Vincent. "That's them, isn't it?'

Vincent nodded, his eyes narrowing. "There's nothing else that could've made that kind of destruction."

"That's what we need you for, yo."

Everyone in the bar spun around to see the all too familiar faces of our two favorite Turks, standing in the doorway.

Cloud groaned from his seat at the bar. "What do you two want?"

Reno held up a hand to him. "Not here for you. Chill out." He sauntered over to Vincent, grinning his best kiss-ass smile. "How's it goin Valentine?"

Vincent just stared at him, somehow able to resist asking the obvious question. Cid, however, couldn't. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Reno rolled his eyes, having to hold a hand to him as well. "Yo… hush. Ain't talkin to you."

Cid flared. "Don't you tell me to hush!"

He was ready to get up, when Vincent grabbed his arm. "Cid."

The pilot settled back in his seat. Reno whipped his hand, making a whip-lash sound. Cid's face reddened, half from anger, though somewhat embarrassed.

"Anyways." The red headed Turk began again. "I believe there happens to be a few beasties out there that belong to you."

Vincent cocked an eyebrow at the absurd way he phrased it. "So."

"Sooooooooooo. We were sent down here to get you to help us out, yo."

"More like beg." Rude interjected.

Reno scratched his head. "Yea that too."

Barret huffed. "What? The great ShinRa can't handle this on their own?"

Reno groaned, spinning to him. "I'm not talking to you. Don't make me repeat myself."

The gun-armed man growled, wanting to ready his arm, when Tifa halted him. "Sorry to break it to you, Reno. But Vincent isn't the only one involved in this." She grinned ever so cheerfully at him. "Like it, or not, you are talking to all of us."

Barret folded his arms, smirking in agreement.

Reno groaned. "Whatever."

Accepting the inevitable, Rude turned to address everyone else. "Does that mean, you'll help us?"

Yuffie leapt to her feet. "Before we agree to anything, I wanna know something."

"Sure, spill."

"How were you able to pass off four rampaging demons as 'training mishaps'?"

Reno laughed. "We're Turks, yo. We can do anything."

Cloud chuckled. "Except win."

…

…

"Ouch, yo."

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AN: :w00t: enter the Turks. It was only a matter of time before they came in, so yay.

Oh yea, if NEone can tell me how to spell "anamanthium" I'd really appreciate it

one more chapt to go... are you excited? I am