Chapter 2: Escape

Yay, second chappie! As I promised, this will be much longer than the first chapter, and once again, it's Yuffentine. w00t.

The sun snuck up behind the hills in the distance. The moon and the stars began to make their retreat into the sky.

Vincent Valentine sat on the rim of a building in the ruined city of Midgar, examining the rising sun. His crimson cape fluttered in the breeze, and his pale skin reflecting the rising sun. His attention diminished as his mind wandered into his memories...

FLASHBACK

Vincent stood in front of a gravestone, just staring at it. "Lucrecia…" He muttered. "I… I'm sorry… I… I failed you…" He then lay a rose down at the foot of the rock before walking away into the fog surrounding him.

END OF FLASHBACK

Vincent dipped down his head. "Lucrecia… Please… please forgive me… it's… it's all my fault…" He mumbled. He flexed his golden, clawed gauntlet half-consciously.

His thoughts were abruptly broken by a whirring sound. He lifted his head up, and stared at dozens of black helicopters flying towards Midgar. They each had a strange, spirally, rune-like symbol imprinted in the side.

Then, without warning, the mysterious helicopters began firing round after round of bullets at Vincent. He dashed away, pulling out his gun, Cerberus, and skillfully shot a bullet at a propeller. The helicopter fell to the earth, and exploded.

Vincent jumped down into a hole in a roof of the building, and stared out. The helicopters stopped firing, and flew across the sky into an empty parking lot. Vincent silently and stealthily ran to the rim of the roof, and ducked to avoid notice.

People were exiting the helicopters, and also brought out a person who was bound and gagged, with a blindfold over their eyes. Vincent jumped down to the ground, but before landing, grabbed a steel bar protruding from the wall to slow his fall.

Vincent hurried closer to hear what the hell these mysterious people were saying. They were all dressed in black uniforms. One of them, supposedly their leader, said, "Aye, those idiots in the hick town called Wutai'll have to fork over at LEAST a billion gil if they wanna git their lil' princess back, eh? This plan is genius, I say! Gwahahaha!"

Vincent peered at the currently unconscious prisoner. She had black hair, and was wearing a very familiar outfit. The leader of the kidnappers pulled off a blindfold shielding the girl's eyes. She shook her head and woke up, glaring at the fiends. "Hey, who the hell are you guys?!" She demanded.

Vincent gasped. "Yuffie!" He whispered.

"Keheheheheh… we're INFERNO, my lil' princess! And unless yer fool o' a dad coughs up some gil, you'll be spending the rest o' yer life in hell! Gwahahahahaha!" He cackled, leading the soldiers around the corner of the building disappearing.

Vincent pondered the moment when these called INFERNO exited into the shadows. Yuffie wasn't what he considered a friend. As a matter of fact, he could have cared less if she existed. But he still couldn't leave her to die.

Finally, Vincent darted towards the place where INFERNO had exited. It led to a dark alley, with a solitary oak door in the wall. Vincent prepared his gun, silently crept over to the door, took a step back, and jabbed a foot at the wooden door, splintering through it, knocking it to the ground.

The inside of the building was like all the others: In ruins. Lamps held no light, and signs of Meteor's impact several years ago still were there. Tables and chairs were splintered and broken. Shattered bits of plates were scattered across the dusty floor. He quietly walked across the floor, eyeing his surroundings, his gun ready.

After navigating several halls, while following trails of footprints in the dust, Vincent came to a door. He stared at it for a few seconds, like there was something important about this particular door. He then nodded to himself, saying, "Yuffie, I'm coming for you…"

Vincent opened the door. Inside was a normal janitor's closet. Brooms, mops, and buckets lay untouched, some in an irreparable state. Vincent sighed. "Looks like a dead end. Sorry, Yuffie…" Just as the immortal man was about to leave, he saw a small lever on the wall. Its orange paint was rusted over, but still looked like it could be used.

Vincent bit his lip. He then cautiously reached towards it, and pulled it downwards. Once he finished, the ground below him shook violently. The door behind him swung shut, and closed with a click.

Vincent grabbed the knob, and pushed on it to open the door, but the no avail. Then, the ground pulsed, and then became a steady rumble. The man leaned against the wall, listening to the sound.

After about 5 minutes, the rumbling ended, and Vincent tried pushing the door open, this time succeeding. He looked out, Cerberus at the ready, and his jaw fell. What he beheld was entirely different from the ruined building he was in a few minutes ago. It looked like a mechanical paradise, with blinking lights and silvery walls, floors, and ceilings. He then snapped back to reality, and hurried down winding halls, searching for Yuffie.

The halls had an eerie reddish glow to them, and the sounds of the whirring, blinking machinery around him only made it creepier. Guards patrolled the halls, and many a time Vincent had to hide behind the corners of the halls.

Finally, he came to a door with a small, rectangular window on it. Vincent looked through it, and saw Yuffie, pouting in a corner, muttering unknown things. Vincent grinned. Typical Yuffie, he thought.

He turned the knob. Fortunately, it was open. He opened it, and entered. Yuffie gawked. "V-Vincent?! What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised and happy at the same time.

"I'm rescuing you. Come on." He commanded. Yuffie stood up. She prepared her large Shuriken, that INFERNO had decided not to take away, or was too idiotic to dispose of it.

As the duo left the room, Yuffie stopped her companion by standing in front of him. "Why did you come for me?" She asked.

Vincent looked away. "Because I couldn't leave a friend out to dry." He answered.

Yuffie grinned. "I knew it! I AM your friend, aren't I?"

Vincent grimaced. "Dammit… listen, you're not my friend. Just a partner. Nothing more."

Yuffie giggled. "Yeah, we'll see about that, Vinnie!"

As the pair sneaked down the hallways, they were left unnoticed. However, after rounding a corner, Vincent bumped into a man in a black uniform. Both men fell to the floor.

"Aaagh! The prisoner's escaped! The prisoner's esca-" The man was cut off by Vincent shooting the INFERNO soldier in the stomach. He fell to the floor, dead. Vincent jumped up, and began running. Yuffie chased after him.

"Vincent! Wait up!" She gasped.

"Are you high? If we wait, we'll die! We have to hurry, and get out of here!" Vincent said angrily.

An entire squad of INFERNO guards jumped out from behind a corner, and blasted their rifles at the pair. Vincent shot all but one of the soldiers, which Yuffie killed with her shuriken. The pair weaved down the halls, killing numerous INFERNO guards, and finally arrived at the elevator.

"There they are! Get 'em!" A voice called out. Vincent and Yuffie twirled around, where dozens of INFERNO guards were pointing their rifles at the duo. "FIRE!" The soldier yelled.

Vincent leapt inside the closet once the INFERNO soldiers started firing, and Yuffie joined him. Immediately, he slammed the door, the bullets making holes in the wood. Vincent swiftly pulled up the lever, and the elevator shook before moving again.

Vincent and Yuffie slumped down against the walls, gasping for breath. "Heh… I guess we… made it, huh Vinnie?"

"Yeah…" Vincent said, relieved. "Hey, Yuffie?"

"Yup?"

"Please don't ever call me Vinnie again."

Hurrah! Second chap is DONE! Well, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. And no way is it done yet! Ciao for now!