Howdy ya'll. Okay, firstly feel free to throw any objects in your hands after you read this( but no leeches, yeech i hate them soooooooo much) cause i really stuffed up one this one. And secondly, i didn't put this in the first chap but...
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FF7...i'd like to though...
Now, ONWARDS!
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Chapter 2:- Dances with wolves
Later that night, in fact almost dawn, Cloud lay wide-awake in his bed.
"Have you ever felt this pain, Cloud?"
These words still haunted his mind, preventing any sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Vincent. He was injured when Cloud last saw him, what if now he was- no, don't think of that! But still, if he got anymore hurt…
"I can't take this anymore!" Cloud whispered to himself, sitting up and sliding out of his bed, straining slightly because of his wounds, "I need to find him."
Deciding to have a shower later, he undressed from his pyjamas, picked at the uncomfortable bandages wrapping his wounds, and dressed in his usual daywear. He packed a bag with all the necessary things (material, potions, a bit of food) and left his room, grabbing his sword on the way. Then was the gruelling task of trying to open the exit while sneaking past a snoring Cid (who was still in the pilot's seat) and not waking anyone up. It took at least ten minutes to complete this task.
As he stepped towards the exit, he felt as though he was being watched. Being the alerted woman she was Tifa had discovered Cloud's plan.
"You're going to find him, aren't you?"
Cloud didn't answer. What could he say, 'I'm going after an out-of-control, extremely dangerous ex-Turk who tried to kill me'? And on top of that, by the tone of Tifa's voice, she didn't fully trust Vincent. Her and the rest of Avalanche.
"He tried to kill you, Cloud."
As if he needed a reminder. It seemed like Tifa was trying to persuade him not to search for Vincent, like she just wanted to forget about him altogether. But no matter how many people wanted to leave Vincent, Cloud couldn't forget what Vincent said to him. He was going to find him…regardless of what the others say! His mind was made up.
"Tifa," He sighed, "Have any of us really understood Vincent?"
There was a long pause while Tifa thought. She couldn't quite comprehend what Cloud meant.
"Have any of us really understood how much he's been hurting?"
"I don't see how his injuries from the-"
"I don't mean that!" Cloud said, not noticing that he raised his voice. Tifa was slightly taken aback. Cloud's gaze drifted to the darkened sky outside. It was slowly but surely getting the tinge of light as the sun rose. He watched the greyish clouds floating across the sky for a few minutes before he sighed and turned to Tifa.
"If I explain, will you let me leave at dawn?"
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Hatred. That's all Vincent could feel. No pain, no sadness…just a hatred that threatened to overcome him and change him into the monster that all of humanity feared. Hatred to Hojo who made him into this said monster, hatred to humanity for the constant reminder of the burden he carried and hatred to Avalanche for…for…he didn't know what for! He just hated them! All of them!
At these thoughts, a low growl escaped his throat as he trudged through the thick forest. He didn't know where he was going (where could he go?) yet he kept on walking and cursing the day he was born.
"If humanity is so keen for a monster, then they'll get their-"
"Uugh!"
Vincent sank to his knees, trying to grip his right arm and right side of his torso at once, as he felt as though they were burning. An unbearable searing pain, greater than what he felt when Chaos decided to play, surged up and down his arm and through his chest. His body flopped to the ground as he let out a cry of agony, mixed with the roar of an injured beast. His lungs suddenly gave way and he couldn't breathe. As he gasped for the air he so desperately needed, his vision began to darken and images began to blur. The last thing that met his eyes before they shut completely was what looked like a furry dark-grey fluff ball…
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"Is all this true?" Tifa asked Cloud, astonished at what she had just heard from Cloud.
"Yes. Vincent told me this last night, right before Barret and Cid chased him off." Cloud answered, his voice having a slight saddened tone in it as the words "Have you ever felt this pain, Cloud?" echoed in his mind. Tifa began to feel regret, knowing that just a few minutes ago, she had hated a man who even though tried to kill her childhood friend, also helped them to save the world from Sephiroth. If she had only knew his pain.
"He's been bottling up his pain and anger all this time, and never told anyone, so it just rushed out of him in an explosion of rage." Tifa concluded. Cloud merely nodded and looked out towards the sky again. It was nearing dawn now, and it was time for Cloud to make his leave. He stood up and started to walk out the Sierra's exit but Tifa grabbed a hold of Cloud's sleeve and held him back.
"Wait." She pleaded, "Let me go with you."
Cloud shook his head and loosened the grip Tifa had on him. Her wine-coloured eyes showed disappointment.
"Not this time. If I return without Vincent then you can come with me next time." Cloud assured and turned to leave. Tifa watched him until he was out of sight.
"Please find him, Cloud." She whispered to herself. She stared out into the misty green of the forest in the dawn light for a while, then decided to occupy herself with making breakfast for the others.
Meanwhile, Cloud had begun his search for Vincent. For a moment his mind trailed off to his surroundings. He could hear the soft whistles of the birds above as they talked, along with the occasional 'wark' of a chocobo. The crisp scent of the fresh morning air drifted past his nose. He breathed it in deeply and exhaled slowly, taking in every moment of it. It was almost like a dream where every corner of the planet was corrupt except in this tiny patch. It was so peaceful. But peace doesn't last. Not ever!
Cloud stopped dead in his tracks as the bushes in front of him began to stir and rustle. He watched it intensely, keeping a hand ready at his sword. Silence instantly fell as Cloud concentrated, his eyes narrow and hard. Suddenly, within mere seconds, a pack of large black wolves burst out, snarling and teeth bared. They didn't stop and rushed at Cloud who had his over-sized sword out ready and in his fighting stance. They neared as Cloud drew back his sword for an almighty swing.
"Ready," Cloud thought."3," They were even closer…
"2," Almost there…
"…" Straight past Cloud…
"HEY!"Cloud stared at where the pack of wolves exited the scene with one eyebrow raised and a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Ooooookay…that…was strange…" He concluded, replacing his sword on his back. He decided to follow them to see what they were up to, but they were fast and Cloud soon lost sight of them.
"Damn!" Cloud cursed
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Lick, lick, lick…The moisture from a cool wet tongue brought Vincent back from the depths of unconsciousness. His scarlet eyes forced themselves open and his laboured breathing took in gulps of morning air, the chill of the breeze caressed his face, stinging his cuts.
"Unng…" He moaned, rolling himself into his back.
Lick, lick, lick…A creature seemed to be licking his face. He turned his head and looked at the creature. It was just a small wolf cub. Figuring a creature this young wouldn't cause much harm, he scratched it behind the ears. It yelped playfully. Vincent couldn't remember the last time he touched something so soft. It was like stroking the fur of a brand new fuzzy teddy bear. For the first time in 32 years, he smiled, only slightly, but a smile is a smile. It soon disappeared as he heard growls and the rustle of leaves near him. He stood up quickly, stumbling from the pain that still lingered in his body. A dark grey wolf jumped out of the bush beside him, followed by three others a little smaller. The wolf at the front appeared to be the alpha wolf of the pack and the mother of the cub. She snarled at Vincent and bared his teeth. Vincent showed no fear and nudged the little cub to its mother. Her loud snarls turned to soft growls, then ceased. Vincent knew she did not want to harm him. She was only protecting her cub. They turned to leave. Vincent watched for a few moments, then turned in the opposite direction. He began to contemplate whether animals, such as those wolves, had more sense than humans did. But before he could dwell deeper into this thought, a wolf's cry was heard. Vincent turned quickly and listened carefully. There was nothing more. As he thought it was just a false alarm and went on his way, the cry was heard again.
He didn't know why, maybe it was the concern for the little cub, but he suddenly found himself dashing back to aid the wolves. He found the small pack of dark grey wolves being attacked by a pack of larger black wolves. The cub was cowering back as far back as it could while its mother and the three others were defending it. They were outnumbered six to four and none of them noticed when a rival wolf advanced on the cub. Vincent growled. A lot of people died for reasons he tried but couldn't stop. Hell if he was gonna let that happen again!
Before the black wolf even realised a human was there, Vincent had sunk his claw into it and thrown it at the rest. The largest black wolf, obviously the pack-leader, charge at Vincent, knocking him to the ground, then the rest of the black wolves followed suit. He wrestled furiously with the wolves, struggling to break free, and managed to slash the pack-leader across the eye, blinding it. In return, the 6 wolves, now piled on top of Vincent, began to sink their claws and teeth into him, puncturing his flesh and making his blood drip out. His body shuddered, and immense pain travelled throughout it. His bloodstained skin slowly but surely changed to purplish fur and horns protruded from atop his head. A tail grew as all his injuries began to heal and his roars became more ferocious. The grey wolves backed off, the cub hiding behind his mother's legs. Vincent angrily threw the black wolves off him, some of them hitting the trees around them, but he was no longer Vincent, he was the Galian Beast. His roars echoed between the trees as he flexed his claws. Eyeing the wolf that dared to attack the helpless cub, he lunged forward at it, slashing mercilessly at it. The black wolves were horrified and retreated, but the one that Galian had got to was lying motionless at his clawed feet. Seeing as the black wolves had been chased away, Galian's form changed back to Vincent. He breathed heavily, regaining his energy, and stared back at the dark grey wolves. He noticed that alpha wolf's eyes were the same colour as his. She could only stare back, unsure of what to think of what could be their new ally. There was a long pause as each stood their ground. It was only broken when the playful yelping of three more cubs came, the first little cub's brothers.
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A frustrated Cloud continued his search. About 10 minutes ago, he had seen a pack of dark grey wolves who ran past him, and just now he saw the same black wolves running and of course went past him. What was it, national run-away-wolf day? To be honest, he was starting to feel rejected.
"Stupid wolves," He grumbled, "Don't know a good opponent when they see one."
Of all the forests Vincent could have run into he had to pick one with fussy wolves and filled with countless roars like the ones he had heard earlier.
His complaining was interrupted by the sound of playful yelping and laughter. It couldn't be Vincent, he never laughed, but Cloud's curiosity got the better of him. He peeked at the scene from behind a tree and saw the same pack of dark grey wolves he saw before and…Vincent? At first glance, it looked as though the wolves were attacking him. Instinctively and hand went to the hilt of his sword. But on a closer inspection, Vincent seemed to be playing with them. Wrestling, chasing, he was even laughing and smiling. This was something Cloud had never seen or thought Vincent could do. To him, Vincent always seemed so cold. He watched them for a while and thought it would be a shame to spoil this moment. But the laughter stoped suddenly. Vincent stopped smiling and the alpha wolf's ears pricked up. Vincent growled and pushed the small cubs behind him, whisking off his cloak to hide them underneath. What had made them stop, Cloud wondered. Then he noticed Vincent was glaring in his direction. Had they seen him? Cloud shakily moved closer to the tree as a cold sweat dripped down his face. He knew what Vincent was capable of, with or without his three-barrelled gun, the Cerberus. But he wasn't glaring at him at all…more like what was behind him…
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DUMP-DUMP-DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMP!
Yes, it's a cliffhanger (and a sucky one at that) we all hate them yet we can't live without them.