In response to a guest review:
Milla, I understand that. The point I was making was that ninety people read my last chapter, half of which were people with accounts(I have a graph that shows that) and only four reviewed. It's not that people have stopped reading, it's that I've gone from seven reviews per chapter, to only receiving four or five for the last three, and still having the same amount of people reading as before. Also, I know that it's depressing, trust me ;) But I also know what happens within the next five chapters, and I can only hope people will stay with me that long, because the third installment to this fiction series is all worth, I promise! I thank you for reading, even though it is incredibly depressing! Just trust me that things aren't always what they seem, especially in one of my fanfictions!
Thank you again for reading this, even through its dark times,
~Siren
Valkera, Thank you so much ! I forgot to answer some of your questions before so here they are:
1.) Yuffie concentrating on the purple, black, and red thing in the distance was foreshadowing Chaos' control over her - she was seeing him, like a vision of sorts.
2.) Not really a question you had, but a comment - No, she didn't mean to hurt the lovely chocobos XD That was Chaos, too. Chaos is kind of a jerk! ^-^
Thank you for the new faves, alerts, views, and reviews! I appreciate you all!
Disclaimer: Everything read here is owned by Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura respectfully. I only take their plot lines and fit them for my own reading pleasure and for those who read my story. :)
*Don't hate me for what's about to occur XD Vincent's a wise man, and trust me. Also, I apologize for slight oocness on his part, that shall be explained better at a later time. ^-^ enjoy!
"Lucrecia?" Vincent gasped incredulously, his eyebrows rising. He refused to believe the ghostly figure before him could be Lucrecia. After spending thirty years pining for her, he simply could not accept this specter as his long lost lover. No, she was dead!
But so was he.
"My darling Vincent!" Lucrecia called, racing toward him, her brown eyes shining in joy. She reached his side in seconds, taking his hand in hers and caressing his cheek. The touch of her warm hand felt so nice that he couldn't resist turning his cheek into her soft palm and nuzzling his face lovingly against her skin. His eyes glowed in a sweep of emotion he couldn't find a name for as he beheld the woman afore him, her own eyes kind as she took him in with a dazzling smile.
Vincent found his voice finally, breathing wistfully, "You are here, Lucrecia!" He reached out and held a lock of her silky honey-brown hair between his fingers and tucked it behind her ear, letting his fingertips brush her neck. Astonishment continued to overwhelm him as he grazed his fingertips along her heated flesh. After so long of being apart, she was actually there. "You're here, you're real."
Lucrecia smiled at him and pressed a hand to his chest, splaying her fingers as she soaked in his warmth and gazed into his radiant crimson eyes. The gunslinger watched her with a sense of comfort, enjoying her presence immensely. He was with the woman he had longed for for so long, standing before him with that affectionate smile on her elegant face. The face he'd dreamed about…
"Vincent," Lucrecia murmured desirously, running a finger along the outline of his lips as he felt that he was entering dangerous territory. A shiver ran up his spine at the sultry lowering of her eyelashes and the purring of his name, and Vincent suddenly felt the urge to bolt. She leaned in toward his mouth, and he froze up, taking a lengthy step back and cocking one eyebrow at her enquiringly. Dejection and hurt brimmed in Lucrecia's eyes, and the gunslinger ran a hand through his hair.
Gently, Vincent elucidated, "Lucrecia, it is wonderful to see you again, dear friend, but what we had before is gone now." He tried to add as much sympathy into his words as he could to lessen the statement, but he was entirely too shaken up to even come across as strong. He'd never been very good at being gentle, or speaking in general. This was far too difficult for him to manage at his best, much less when he was emotionally reeling.
"Gone?" Lucrecia repeated lifelessly, as if the word was foreign and she could not decipher its meaning. "Gone!? Have you not loved me for the last thirty plus years? Did you not long for me in that coffin, scour the world to end Hojo!? Yet you tell me your love is — is gone!?"
With a shake of his head, the ex-Turk admitted, "There's nothing left of us. I seized my chance to live again, and I love someone else." Someone who truly loves me.
It felt strange for him to put into words his feelings for the ninja. Of course, there was no doubting that he loved her completely, but the oddity of telling this to Lucrecia made him feel almost adulterous. He was with his ex-love, whom everyone knew he had been so emotionally torn up over for the longest time, discussing the feelings he had for another. If Yuffie were to know, it would certainly hurt her. And the last thing that Vincent ever wanted was to hurt Yuffie.
Lucrecia took lengthy strides and wrapped her arms around the ex-Turk, insisting, "But, Vincent! I'm here with you now, and she is not! She can't be! We are together now, Vincent, and I love you!"
At those three words, Vincent flinched away from the scientist and held a hand to his heart; it shocked him to hear the words he'd wanted to hear when he was a Turk, but never had. His stomach fluttered and he pushed away from her, brushing past her in bewilderment. What was he feeling? How should he accept the new discovery?
Tentative hands smoothed Vincent's long, onyx hair away from his neck, and lips pressed to the skin there, little kisses ghosting across his flesh like the summer breeze. He jerked away, spinning around and narrowing his eyes at the woman as she pulled back and held her fist to her lips, as if uncertain of how he'd react.
"Lucrecia, you must stop this." Vincent settled his dark hair once more, his eyes emotionless as they locked onto the scientist's coffee ones. He could do this, deny her, he'd just have to be the Vincent that AVALANCHE discovered in the coffin, the stoic, apathetic, and unapologetically heartless one.
It wouldn't be too hard to be that man once more. His sunlight had been cast into the shadows once more, that brilliant, will-light-up-a-room smile that he so loved seeing stretched across the face of the ninja he adored, gone. If he ever missed a thing in the Lifestream, it was Yuffie's exuberant grin.
The one thing that had saved him from dying in his own personal hell.
The woman swallowed and narrowed her own eyes, replying, "I will not give up on you, Vincent, but I will let you be for now. I made an awful mistake back then, choosing Hojo over you. I will not make a mistake this time, and I will not let you get away from me."
There was no response to her words, only the gunslinger turning and stalking away. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his thoughts racing as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
He did not love Lucrecia, but if she continued her toying with him, he wasn't certain that he wouldn't be as affected as his former self had been. Thirty years he had spent mourning his beloved scientist, feeling guilty, miserable, and self-loathing. Even when they had been together, he'd felt the same emotions, but considerably less so. Three years past meeting AVALANCHE, he'd found someone he could truly rely on who he knew would comfort him during his darkest times, for she'd done it countless times before. He found someone who loved him for everything he wasn't, but more importantly, all that he was.
He had been a demon before Omega, and she loved him. He'd been heartless for a great while, yet she grinned into his eyes and called him repeatedly, even after he'd told Cloud rather coldly for her to piss off and not phone him again. When he'd coldly remarked to Don Corneo that he cared naught for the actions he wished to inflict on the ninja, she steeled her gaze and continued to fight for a place in his heart. She saw the man he was beneath the monstrous exterior, and she loved him unconditionally.
When he'd been a chrysalis, retreated within himself with his daunting exterior warding off those around him, she broken him out with soft smiles, teasing jokes, and her mere jovial presence. Without Yuffie, he'd have been lost to the world, dying in his cocoon slowly while no one was the wiser.
Even though the gunslinger and ninja fought with each other on an almost regular basis, he always knew that she still loved him. When he left, he knew that she would welcome him back in time; she just needed a chance to heal. And for her, he'd wait far longer than thirty years. For once, he had someone he could live for that he knew would live for him.
"Who is she?"
Vincent faced Lucrecia, and the scientist frowned at the spark in Vincent's eyes and the slight upturn of his lips as he replied in a voice warm and adoring, though he attempted to conceal it, "Yuffie Kisaragi, the ex-heir to the Wutai throne. She's small, and brash, and crude, but…" There he paused momentarily, not enjoying divulging the reasons he loved his ninja to a woman who would surely turn her nose up at said ninja in superiority. Lucrecia hated loud, annoying things, like the buzzer that went off in her lab when they did an air exchange to rid the chamber of harmful fumes.
She'd hate Yuffie even more.
"I would be nothing without her. She saved me from myself, and I love her unconditionally." Never one for talking, the gunslinger refused to meet Lucrecia's eyes. It was simply too difficult to be expected to discuss the matters of his heart. Half of the time, he couldn't even find the words to use.
"Yuffie Kisaragi," Lucrecia repeated, rolling the name around on her tongue. It appeared that she didn't like it. "How long have you been with her?" More distaste in her tone.
Vincent disliked the personal questions, but he answered, "I met her in AVALANCHE, four and a half years ago. I suppose it's not quite been two years that we have been together." The conversation dropped, as the gunslinger didn't feel particularly inclined to relinquish the details of his love life to his former lover, or how those two years really didn't equate to that, seeing as how he'd abandoned Yuffie for the better part of one.
In any case, speaking such things to Lucrecia felt disrespectful and inappropriate on Vincent's part, like he was defaming Yuffie's name.
Even as he made it apparent that he had no stomach for discussing the matter, Lucrecia probed, "How serious were you?" The fact that she'd said, 'were,' and not, 'are,'didn't fail to escape the gunslinger.
With a sigh, shifted his weight, looking out over the distance as he replied, "I loved her, and she loved me. We had a daughter together, and there's a possibility that one is on the way."
The crossing of his arms indicated the subject to be dead. Of course, the scientist ignored such signs.
With a furrowed brow, the woman repeated in a much softer voice, "Had a daughter?"
That inquisition caused Vincent's entire demeanor to change. In an instant, he no longer appeared wistful, but angry and distraught. The mere mention of Valencia brought an aching pain to his chest, and he felt his knees weaken as he snapped, "She was murdered, though it's none of your concern."
"I'm so sorry, Vincent," Lucrecia whispered, watching her hands as she wrung them.
Vincent shook his head, clearing the pained look off his face as he said rather forcefully, "I'm looking for a way to locate my daughter, Valencia. Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair, old friends of AVALANCHE, have been caring for her since her return to the Lifestream."
"How old was she?" Lucrecia inquired, her voice caring and sympathetic.
"Three months," Vincent answered, his own voice flat and emotionless. Lucrecia gasped and pressed a hand to her heart, as if imagining how lost he must have felt. When she had been pregnant with Sephiroth, the child that wasn't even his own, Vincent had felt entirely responsible for the welfare of her baby, even though he hated the father. To have his own daughter die before the age of one… He knew she felt guilty, knew she was reflecting on their own past transgressions.
"I'm so sorry," Lucrecia whispered, closing her eyes as moisture gathered on her lashes.
Vincent watched her, knowing he'd upset her. Even so, he didn't make a move to comfort the woman. He was tired of comforting her in times when he was the one who required reassurance. It was not her pain to endure, and he would not try to ease it. When he discovered her part in his father's demise, he cared not for the fact that she had been there during his death, yet she blamed herself and pitied her inner turmoil, loathing her existence. Vincent had comforted her then, when he should have been grieving, when he should have been comforted. He would make no move to console her now.
"Dry your tears," Vincent commanded, his voice cold as ice and hard as stone. "Compose yourself."
Lucrecia did as she was told, shrinking back at his caustic tone. He knew what she was thinking: What had happened to the Vincent Valentine she once knew? This man was distant and pitiless, his voice not sincere and gentle, his eyes not soft and welcoming. This man with the crimson cloak and the long, dark mane regarded her without concern.
This was not her Vincent, he knew, and he never would be again. He was Yuffie Kisaragi's Vincent, screwed up in the head, distant, emotionless, and intimidating. Never again would he be the man that he'd once been, for he'd been through too much to remain as he before. Fortunately for him, Yuffie had never wanted Turk-Vincent, she wanted dark and menacing, guns and demons. She wanted who he was, not who he had been.
If he could make Lucrecia see just how good his ninja was for him, then maybe she'd leave them alone. The last thing the gunslinger wanted was for his ex-lover to sabotage his relationship with the one he was meant to be with.
Unfortunately, should Lucrecia choose to do just that, he didn't think it would be very difficult for her to accomplish. She always got what she wanted, whether through dirty tricks or honest work.
Tifa blinked slowly, waking up beside Cloud on the hospital bed. She rubbed her burgundy eyes and yawned, stretching her arms above her head.
"Good morning."
Tifa jumped at the voice and faced the man beside her, her eyes widening at the Mako-blue that stared back at her sweetly. "Cloud!"
The barmaid wrapped her arms around Cloud's shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck, nuzzling the skin there. She kissed his neck and fisted her hands in his spiky blonde hair as his strong arms wrapped around her in an amorous hug. Cloud pressed a kiss to the barmaid's forehead and stroked her long brown hair, letting her tears dampen his shirt.
"You're awake!" Tifa rasped, "You're here!"
Cloud laughed quietly, caressing her cheek as he watched her with somnolent but loving eyes. "Yeah, I'm here."
The heated and happy gaze of Tifa's eyes prompted the swordsmen to pull her in for a passionate kiss, one she reciprocated immediately. She rolled onto his chest and he wrapped his arms around her waist, running a hand up her side while their mouths meshed together wildly.
"Hey, Teef, you're never gonna guess what just happened — whoa!" Tifa and Cloud broke apart to find Yuffie grinning at them from the doorway, her brown eyes sunny and bright. Something about the sheer joy that radiated in her eyes made the barmaid think that for once, something in her life had gone right. "Nevermind, I'll tell ya later! I'll just leave you two lovebirds to get to your nest making!"
Tifa blushed and Cloud chuckled, smiling at the ninja as she backed out of the room and shut the door behind her.
The ninja skipped down the corridor, her heart hammering happily in her chest. Everything was going to be alright. Cloud was awake, and Chaos had devised a plan with her to get Vincent back.
In her own world, Yuffie rammed into Reeve's chest, falling backward on her butt. Reeve reached out to help her up and she took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet in a daze.
"You look mighty happy," Reeve commented, smiling at Yuffie as though her joy was infectious. She grinned and nodded fervently, her bangs flopping into her eyes with the intensity of her movement.
"Yeah, I am! You are so not gonna believe what just happened!" Yuffie bounced up and down, her eyes sparkling as she twirled and clapped in emphasis. Reeve fought back laughter, feeling his own smile grow wider at the pure elation the ninja emitted. She'd been depressed for so long, yet here she was, grinning at him like he'd just told her she was getting a Huge Materia for her birthday.
"I suppose not — why don't you just tell me?" Reeve answered, placing a hand at Yuffie's back to steer her toward his office. She followed him, biting her lip just to keep from spoiling the surprise. She tried hurrying him, to which he chuckled and shook his head, obeying her impatient demands.
Stumbling into Reeve's office, Yuffie spun around and launched into her tale. "So, I fell asleep in Vince's office, and I'm pretty sure his freakazoid Chaos Demon buddy contacted me. It pounced on me and was all, 'My crazy psychotic spirit will become one with your unborn child,' and he was like, 'Yuffie, you must help me or the world will end,' or some other crazy mumbo jumbo. Anyway, he knows how to get Vinnie back, and that's the important thing!"
Yuffie beamed at Reeve, while he stared back at her blankly, deadpanning, "You're pregnant?"
Damn it! Yuffie momentarily flushed red, knowing that she'd finally have to come clean and explain that, once again, she'd gotten knocked up. As if I didn't learn my lesson the first time...
Dispelling the temporary humiliation, the ninja put her cocky face back on and replied, "Oh, yeah! Guess I forgot to mention it. Me and Vinnie are having another kid — and no, this one wasn't planned either, so you can go ahead and think all those judgmental thoughts because they're probably all true."
No answer followed immediately. Finally, Reeve sighed and asked, "And how did the Chaos Demon tell you that you were going to get Vincent back?"
Yuffie bit her lip and leaned forward, replying, "I know you said no and all, but I really need that summon materia. You see, that's where Chaos' spirit is being harbored, and apparently, so is the remaining essence of Vincent. Chaos and Vincent's genes had fused during Lucrecia's experiment, making the last piece of Chaos' spirit part of Vincent's when he died. When they both ceased to exist, their essence became encased in Materia, much like Chaos was before Lucrecia and Grimoire had discovered him."
The words brought a frown to the commissioner's face. Reeve placed a hand at his chin, his forehead wrinkling in thought. "And what is in it for Chaos? Why does he wish to help you?"
"That part, I don't really know. I sorta suspect that it has something to do with him not wanting to experience what it's like to be birthed out of a human's vagina."
There was a moment where Yuffie's brain caught up with her mouth, and she gave Reeve sheepish shrug. He coughed awkwardly and Yuffie laughed at his reaction.
"In any case, Yuffie, it would be best that we uncover his reasons for helping you. It would be unwise to make deals with a demon without as much information as possible."
Yuffie nodded, adding, "Yeah. I think I'll probably see him every time I go to sleep. It must be some sort of telepathic connection through the baby. It seems likely."
"Yes, it is plausible," Reeve agreed. He turned and crossed his arms, considering the events. So much was going on around them, and the yarn of their lives seemed to keep getting more and more twisted, the knots and complications becoming far more complex and trickier to unravel. He only prayed that they would straighten it out before someone cut the string.
"Chaos… it would explain why you have been losing control of your anger and sadness. If the demon is… within you, then it would make sense that his traits would affect your own."
Nodding at Reeve's observation, Yuffie felt a sense of relief fill her at the thought that she wasn't going crazy, she just needed to get Chaos the hell out of her mind. "Wait… If this is how Chaos affects me…"
The implication hung in the air, and Reeve picked it up, continuing, "Then how will it affect your child?"
"Are we interrupting something?" a voice asked as Tifa poked her head in, followed by Cloud.
Reeve's eyes widened and he protested, "Not at all, do come in! Cloud, it is so good to see you awake."
Cloud embarrassedly rubbed the back of his head, the blonde spikes swaying with the movement. "Thanks, it's nice to be awake." Tifa linked her arm through his and he pulled her close to him, smiling at the faces of his friends and their genuinely pleased faces. "So what have I missed?"
Tifa, Yuffie, and Reeve sighed, and Cloud's brow furrowed as his Mako-blue eyes scanned their weary faces. Yuffie jumped up to sit on Reeve's desk, swinging her feet as she replied, "Chocobobutt, there is so much you have missed that it isn't even worth teasing you about."
"Oh boy," Cloud replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs that faced the desk while Tifa took the other and Reeve sat down in his office chair.
"Where to begin?" Yuffie wondered aloud, her face lighting up as she decided, "Ah! How about we start after the Highwind crash? Once upon an AVALANCHE, there were these freak-crazy doctors with evil syringes and laughing gas…"
The scenery had yet to change for a good — oh, Vincent had stopped bothering to tell time after the days and nights blurred together to form a dusky sky that appeared black and pink, the sun still suspended above and below the horizon.
The weary gunslinger couldn't ignore the woman following him, her quiet sniffles reaching his ears every now and then, the feel of her brown eyes on his back, observing him like he was some specimen on her operating table — which, in retrospect, might not have been far off the mark. All in all, his patience was beginning to wear thin.
Sighing, the gunslinger turned to the scientist and asked, "Is there a problem, Lucrecia?"
The woman snapped out of her stupor, not sure how to respond. She hesitated, shaking her head slowly. Vincent turned back around and continued walking, leaving it at that.
He'd managed only a few strides before he heard, "Do you know where you're going?"
Vincent stopped in his tracks, realizing that he really had no idea where his destination would be located, or even where he was. Even so, he was a man, and he was not, not going to ask for directions.
But he could admit that he was lost.
"No."
"Oh." Lucrecia tugged on piece of chestnut hair and added, "Then what are you trying to solve for?"
That almost warranted a roll of crimson eyes. Instead, he asked, "Is everything a hypothesis to you?"
"A hypothesis," she corrected, "is a testable statement in which-"
"Fascinating," Vincent interrupted, in a very I-don't-give-a-shit way. Vincent was truly surprised with himself, but he couldn't say that he wasn't just the slightest bit proud that he could stand up to this woman after all this time. He was acting blasé, but also slightly cruel. Wasn't this the woman that he promised himself he'd give everything up for, that he'd be anyone for? And here she was, and he was treating her like the scum of the Planet.
It must be Yuffie, Vincent thought, smirking slightly before smiling softly. Her sarcasm and offensive behavior was beginning to rub off on him, among other things. It was one of the few traits that he'd very quickly picked up from her, and every time he caught himself acting like her, it filled him with a sort of peace that he'd not been aware existed.
Lucrecia continued to watch him, stating, "Are you thinking about her?"
Vincent's head snapped up, his garnet eyes wide in alarm. "…Yes."
"I can tell," Lucrecia added, her voice small but warm. "You were smiling."
"She makes me smile," Vincent admitted, and it truly felt good to do so. He glanced away, turning his head to look at the sun. The sunset-slash-sunrise cast odd shadows across the earth as the daylight and the night met, embracing each other. The stars twinkled in the sky, although it gave the appearance of being past morning. The trees growing out of the earth were shriveled, but with luscious foliage. Vincent's eyes widened as he finally discovered why this place was day and night, darkness and light, love and hate.
This paradox…
It reminded him of themselves, he and Yuffie, of a day he'd snuck up behind her in the bathroom and they'd gazed at each other in the mirror. The two were so different, such opposites, and yet, fit together like yin and yang. He was the night, she was the day, and they created a strange little dawn that kissed the moon as she left and caressed the sun as she rose. This place was the embodiment of their love. All this searching and he'd been exactly where he should be.
"Vincent?" Lucrecia called, her tone concerned. He turned back to her, a glow in his red eyes that spoke volumes of the excitement he felt.
Ignoring Lucrecia, Vincent called, "Zack? Aerith?"
A misty fog rolled out across the expanse, enveloping the gunslinger and scientist. The haze dissipated, revealing the form of the Cetra and SOLDIER, the former giving him the sweetest smile known to the Planet, and the latter grinning like an idiot.
"Sup, Vince!? How ya likin' the afterlife?"
Aerith swatted the man, crying, "Zack Fair, manners! Excuse him, Vincent, he has no filter."
"Neither does Yuffie. One gets used to it."
Aerith smiled at Vincent's response, clasping her hands in front of her and tilting her head. "You are probably wondering why we didn't come to you sooner, huh?"
Vincent nodded, confessing, "Yes, I did find myself quite agitated when neither of you appeared."
"You were probably expecting the Lifestream Welcome Party, yeah? They only do that for the big bad guys like Sephiroth, no offense Professor C! Anyways, we were waiting for you to figure out where you were at," Zack chimed, still rubbing at his sore shoulder. "But now you know! We knew you could do it, Vince!"
Aerith shook her head at the man's antics and turned back to Vincent. "I assume you would like to see your daughter now that you are mentally prepared for existence in the Lifestream."
"Yes, I would like to see her."
Vincent stepped forward as Aerith brought forth Valencia, the child still wrapped in the scarlet blanket. Lucrecia watched the scene curiously, and the trio could tell that she was not sure of how to react to the events unfolding, deciding to remain quiet.
Vincent accepted the baby from Aerith, tucking the child to his chest gingerly as he made very sure not to harm her with the sharp tips of his gauntlet. His face lit up as the baby giggled and cooed, and he kissed her cheek, whispering, "Hello, Little Red Rose."
Zack reached for Aerith's hand, holding it tightly in his own. The emerald-eyed girl beamed at Vincent as he swayed with the child, talking to her in a voice so low that no one else could make out what it was he was saying.
Vincent refused to break down into tears, but his happiness threatened to overwhelm him. He was finally with his child, finally able to hold her close to him without the panic of her tiny body being ripped away from his arms. He could finally be the father he wanted for his little angel. There was no returning to life without his child, they were together forever now.
Rimmy smiled at her dad, reaching up a tiny hand and tugging on a tress of his dark hair. Vincent chuckled as his daughter stuck the end of his hair in her mouth and chewed on it, her cheeks inflating adorably.
"Oh, yeah, maybe we should've mentioned that little habit," Zack piped, watching as Rimmy continued to gnaw on Vincent's hair. "She liked to eat Aerith's hair, too."
A finger trailed along Rimmy's cheek, and the gunslinger sighed and smiled at Zack and Aerith, musing, "Thank you for looking out for my daughter."
"No prob!" Zack cheered, and Aerith nodded sweetly. Vincent gazed back down at his daughter, admiring her dark hair, the same color as her Wutain mother's, but the curling ends inherited from the gunslinger himself. Her skin was parchment white, like his own, but as soft as his ninja's. Delicate Wutain shaped eyes and long, dark lashes reminded him of Yuffie, save for those sparkling rubies, the most prominent feature on her little face.
"Yuffie… I wonder what she is doing now," Vincent muttered, his eyes closing as the feeling of pain and concord conflicted within him.
"Trying to get you back," Zack stated, and Vincent's head shot up. "Eh, well, we can kind of see what's going on down on Gaia."
"Oh?" Vincent inquired, probing Zack for details. How long had he been sporting this little tidbit of information? It seemed that the SOLDIER had been holding out on him.
Zack shrugged. "All you have to do is stand really still and close your mind, center your thoughts on her, and you can see everything that's happening. Try it."
There was a moment where the gunslinger did nothing but gaze at Rimmy, but then Vincent inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and blocking out everything surrounding him, imaging Yuffie with her too-big-for-her-face grin and her bright eyes that lit up the darkest recesses of his soul.
A pulsating light seemed to consume him from within, and when his eyes opened, there she was, sitting in a room with Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve, talking animatedly and flailing her arms around as she described a tale of what sounded like a cheap horror movie she had forced him to watch with her. Her little ninja legs were dangling from her perch on the desk, swinging away with a ferocity that seemed to be spawned from the tale itself. Vincent smiled, wanting to wrap his arms around Yuffie and kiss her till she passed out.
"She is content," Vincent stated, a small smile on his face. When he opened his eyes, they landed on Lucrecia, whom was watching Vincent avidly.
"Yes, she is content because she has made a deal with your demon to bring you back."
"What!?" Vincent's tone grew anxious, his eyes widening as Aerith nodded at his response to her shocking admission.
"Chaos contacted her. Because you no longer exist on the Planet, his essence is taking root in another. Your unborn child, to be exact."
Vincent shook his head in disbelief. "But, my child is likely dead after everything that has happened to Yuffie."
"Actually," Aerith explained, "because Chaos' spirit boarded itself within your child, the baby has become nearly indestructible. With Chaos' rejuvenation powers, the child won't be harmed so easily while inside the womb, though it will harbor much hatred and darkness, and the pregnancy will not be easy on Yuffie. Giving birth to a creature stronger than her will take almost all of her strength…"
Vincent did not reply, but held his gauntleted arm out, flexing the claws, while holding Valencia with the other. Would his child become a monster? The demon, growing inside his child…
"You aren't a bad father, Vincent." Aerith and Zack both looked at Lucrecia, as if noticing her for the first time. Lucrecia continued to watch Vincent, kneeling beside his fallen form to press a hand to his shoulder. "This isn't your fault."
"I gave refuge to that demon and passed it on to my innocent child, how is this not my fault?" His voice was grim, low and self-loathing.
"Because I was the one who injected the Chaos gene into you. You had no part of this, Vincent. You were just a pawn to fate." Lucrecia's eyes implored Vincent to believe her, yet he remained focused on the gauntlet.
"Is there any way to prevent this?" Vincent addressed, watching Aerith as she shifted her weight, brown curls bouncing. Her green eyes looked pained.
"Vincent, you can't prevent the inevitable. Haven't you learned that yet?"
"Oh, look, it's the silly mortal girl."
Yuffie groaned, getting to her feet and holding a hand to her throbbing forehead as pain sparked behind her eyes. She glared at the demon, mouth open.
"Hey, I was just talking to — wait! Did you knock me out!?" Yuffie screeched, feeling a knot in the back of her head. How had even managed to — never mind, she didn't want to know.
"You and I had things to discuss, human." Chaos watched her, bored as he inspected his long talons.
"Are you always this much of a pain in the ass?' Yuffie asked. "No wonder Vincent had psychological issues. He was probably a freaking introvert 'cuz he had to put up with you."
Chaos rolled his eyes lazily to land on the ninja. "Quiet, human. You are beneath me."
Yuffie cocked her hip. "Beneath you? Only in your wanton fantasies. Puh-lease. I'm a million times greater than you'll ever be."
Chaos reared back and slapped Yuffie across her cheek, bringing a sharp stinging sensation to the red and tender flesh there, little pinpricks of blood falling from where the claws had torn the skin.
"You rat bastard!" Yuffie cried, flicking the demon between his eyes. "You apologize! Didn't your mama ever teach you not to hit a lady!?" Chaos blinked at her, incredulous, and she continued, "You snot-nosed mother-trucking jackass!"
"You realize that you are talking to the Supreme Being of Demons?" Chaos inquired, taking a wide step back from the livid ninja.
"I don't care if I'm talking to Leviathan himself — you apologize, you no good rat!" Yuffie stomped her foot down comically, fisting her hands and throwing them down by her sides. Chaos took a quick glance around, scooting backwards from Yuffie slightly. "Say, 'I'm sorry, Yuffie.'"
"I am s—o not going to apologize to a little girl!" Chaos corrected, sticking his chin up in the air, an arrogant smirk on his face.
"You bitch-kisser!" Yuffie cried, lunging at the demon and knocking him to the ground. Chaos' eyes widened as she wailed on him, gripping fistfuls of his red head-wrap and tugging it. She shoved his head under her arm, and Chaos cried out as she got him in a headlock, searching vainly for horns.
"Where are they!?" Yuffie hissed, her voice even more demonic than Chaos, "Where are those damn horns of yours!? I'm gonna rip 'em out of your head and shove them down your scrawny throat!"
Chaos struggled against her, demanding, "You senseless human, what in Jenova's name is wrong with you!?"
Yuffie cackled menacingly, raking her nails down Chaos' wings as the demon cringed in pain. "Plenty, Kittenkiller!"
"Foolish child! Stop this insolence at once, I command you!" Chaos pushed away from Yuffie, straightening the red material on his head and breathing roughly. The little ninja gave him a cheeky grin, setting her hands on her hips haughtily.
"Aw, does da wittle demon feel a wittle embawassed?" Yuffie cooed, tilting her head at the enraged Chaos.
"You blatantly disrespectful, arrogant simpleton!" Chaos hissed, his entirety feeling more degraded than ever before. "How dare you, you meaningless human!?"
Yuffie shrugged, answering, "Hey, you were the one groveling at my feet for help. Who's below whom know, hotshot!?"
"You are the bane of my existence," Chaos spat, shaking his head disdainfully at the materia thief. She shrugged.
"Your 'host' seemed to like me pretty well, 'else you wouldn't be growing inside my uterus — now, do you even comprehend how abhorrently disgusting that is!? You are inside of me, inside of me!"
"Unfortunately, that is a most accurate statement," Chaos agreed, holding back a shudder of repugnance.
"And now I have to put up with your shit."
Chaos glared at Yuffie, clearly not appreciating her view of him. "Quiet, mortal!"
"What is going on now?" Vincent inquired, confused by the static he received while trying to enter Yuffie's head.
Aerith replied quietly, "She is conversing with the Chaos Demon."
"And I am unable to hear?" Vincent frowned at that, not liking where his mind was wandering. He did not trust his demon with her for even the shortest of moments. It had been hard enough having Chaos inside his own mind, and he was a quiet man. Yuffie was loud and boisterous, and she would not hesitate to unleash on the demon.
Chaos didn't take to people making him look like a fool.
Aerith nodded at him, continuing, "When she is in another realm, her realm of mind, the Lifestream cannot interfere."
"But she will be fine?"
"Of course, Vincent. Chaos cannot truly hurt her while he's within her psyche."
"What do you mean, 'truly' hurt her?" Vincent asked, slightly apprehensive. Aerith smiled and patted his shoulder.
"He can hurt her within her mind, but none of the pain will be there when she awakens from her trance. He cannot kill her."
"That is… slightly more comforting." Vincent kissed Rimmy's forehead and played with her hair as his daughter chewed on his. He caressed her cheek and stood from the rock he was seated upon, addressing the group. "And what are we doing here? Is there nothing we can do to assist?"
"Damn it, finally!" Zack cried, throwing his hands up. Aerith gasped and smacked him again, rolling her eyes. He grinned sheepishly. "What, Aer? It's so boring here!"
"My head!" Yuffie whined, shaking her dark hair. When she looked up, she shrieked, a pair of big wine-colored eyes in her face. After Yuffie had settled herself, she glared at Tifa. "Thanks for trying to give me a premature heart attack."
"Sorry, Yuffie," Tifa giggled. The barmaid pressed a hand to Yuffie's forehead, her eyes concerned. "You collapsed all of a sudden. What's wrong?"
Yuffie growled, answering, "That damn demon, Chaos. Good gosh, he's such a demon aristocrat. Thinks he's all that and a bag of severed heads." She got to her feet and rubbed the back of her head, finding the pain to be gone. Stupid demon.
"Did he say anything useful?" Cloud prompted, drawing Tifa to his side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Not really. We kinda — er — butt heads. And that's putting it lightly." Yuffie bit her lip, imagining how Vincent must have felt for those long thirty-three years or so. She could barely stand a couple minutes with Chaos.
"Nothing even slightly useful?" Reeve inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"No, he got all pissed off at me and shoved Me. Out. Of. My. Own. Mind. Like a friggin' jerk! I mean, come on — it's my head!" Yuffie flailed her arms about, as if the action rationalized things.
Tifa snickered, "Yuffie, I think you should watch what you say. He isn't Vincent, a little pouting and naughty teasing isn't going to get him to agree with you."
Yuffie crossed her arms tightly, huffing. "Well, I wish he would just leave me alone. He keeps telling me that he's going to help, but he hasn't done anything yet."
Cloud proposed, "The next time he clonks you in the head, try being nice to him, play by his rules. See if he'll give you anything meaningful."
Yuffie gaped at him, her brown eyes crazy. "You want me to play nice?"
Reeve nodded, agreeing, "Yes, Yuffie, it will be in your best interest. And Vincent's."
Yuffie couldn't really argue with that, so she nodded, sliding off the metal desk. She straightened her shirt and smoothed her hair down before yawning. "Well, I'm gonna go see what Highwind's up to. He probably feels left out and all. Oh, any word about Shera, Mr. Commissioner?"
Reeve shook his head and Yuffie sighed, opening the door and stepping into the hall. She leaned against the door for a moment, a sudden wave of despair crashing over her. She sank to her knees, wrapping her arms around her as an aching discomfort ripped at her heart. She buried her head in her knees, biting her lip to stifle her sobs. The unexpected need to hold her daughter became too great, threatening to smother her under the loneliness, crushing her heart under the unbearable pressure.
Where had this sudden, overwhelming grief come from?
"Are you ready to be nice, Princess?" a voice hissed, the tone altogether slithery.
Yuffie moaned, holding a hand to her head and snapping, "Damn you, Chaos! Did you do this to me?"
There was a snicker and Yuffie huffed, crossing her arms firmly. A secretary glanced up from her desk, eyeing Yuffie oddly. Yuffie laughed awkwardly, deciding it would be best to walk away and have her conversation with her inner-Chaos — pardon the pun — in private. Yuffie stormed down the corridor, throwing open the door to the fire-exit and stepping inside, letting the door swing shut with a loud clang.
"Are you ready to stop acting like a bitch?" Yuffie retorted snidely.
"I can always go away—"
"No!" Yuffie cried, throwing her hands out. "I mean — uh, I'll be nice if you will."
Chaos paused, then replied, "I am a demon, I don't do 'nice'. But you will, mortal, if you want my help."
Sighing, Yuffie acquiesced, "Fine then. I'll be a good little ninja and you tell me what the hell is going on."
From his tone of voice, Yuffie could tell the demon was grinning devilishly as he replied, "Your dearest Valentine seems to have retrieved your daughter from the Cetra and the Soldier. He also seems to have attracted a puppy along the way."
"Puppy?" Yuffie gulped, her voice shaky. The hell did that mean?
"How do you feel about Lucrecia Cresent, Princess?"
So, Vince is rejecting Lucrecia?! And what of the odd relationship with Yuffs and Chaos? I know this is basically filler, but I needed to get everything straightened out and explained for the most part, and the next chapter will be plot, like where is Shera? What's going on in Wutai? And when the hell is Chaos going to explain how to bring Vinnie back!?
Thank you for reading! ^-^ I hope you all liked the chapter!