Author's Note: Ok, so yeah… City of Ancients… you should already know what happens… if it makes you cry… tell me… I love success… erm.. I mean sad stories… yeah… that's it… oh… And Vincent's 27, where the hell'd I get 24? Oh wait… I know where… sorry… heh.
Reviewer Comments:
Lady Sonora the Black-Rose- Good to hear.
Shadowkeepre- thanks and I caught the error's after I posted the chapters, and maybe I'll go back and fix them one day, but eh… too lazy…
the DR.- The whole time I've been into Yuffentine's all people assume that Vincent is from Wuitai because he's so proper or whatever. I think he may have moved there at a young age, lost his parents, and was raised by someone of influence there, which would account for his uncanny similarity to ninja like reflexes and skills. And as for Yuffie, I think she needed a reason to hate Sephiroth just like everyone else. And yes, I do rely heavily that people have played the game… I mean… if you haven't… why read a fan fiction about it? I think that'd be really confusing… And thanks for the link to Rayzor's story, it was awesome.
Ok, now ON TO THE CHAPTER!
A Door Beyond Absolution
Chapter Four: All We Hold Dear
"What d'you mean Aeris is gone?" Yuffie asked Barret, her eyes wide with disbelief. Vincent looked around the group suddenly, noting the unusual absence of the flower girl.
"Don't make me say it agin' brat," he growled back.
"She didn't say anything to anyone before she left!" Tifa said tearfully, Red didn't look at her as she said this, opting instead to stare at a passing wisp of cloud. Tifa was pacing back and forth in front of the door when a crash echoed from inside. "Cloud!" she gasped before vanishing into the room. Barret surveyed the group a moment before following her.
"How do we even know she didn't just go for a walk?" Yuffie asked Cid, he rolled his eyes.
"You sure are dumb," he said before walking away from her. Yuffie glanced at Red.
"She didn't say anything?" Red shook his head. "She just vanished then?" He nodded, Yuffie's shoulders slumped. "What'd she take with her?"
"Some items, her armlet, her staff, and a Restore Materia, level three." He replied, Yuffie bit her lip.
"Anything left behind?" She asked, hoping for some hint that she might be coming back. Red shook his head, and Yuffie knelt down next to him. She patted his head and scratched behind his ears slowly. "Thanks for humoring me."
Yuffie, at that point, wandered away from the building around which everyone had been clustered, opting instead to resume her quiet vigil over the destroyed reactor. Vincent turned to the lion-like creature as he settled
Himself amongst a patch of wild flowers.
"What did she really say?" Vincent asked as he knelt in front of Red, who looked guiltily to one side.
"She told me to tell everybody something different," the creature replied.
"What did she say for me?" He gulped out, Red looked up at him in surprise.
"That two weeks was far to short a time to know such a good person, that atonement can be sought in many ways, and finally… She said that the past is not some living attachment of ourselves, it dies as soon as it's moment is spent… She told you to find absolution in the living present, and she emphasized those words." Red said, raising his gleaming eye to his silent companions face.
"She said… all that?" He asked, his voice choking very slightly, Red nodded.
"She left a message for Yuffie as well," Red said even more guiltily.
"Why did you not tell her?" Vincent said in his usual monotone, Red hung his head.
"Aeris… she asked that I wait." Red lay his head across his paws. "You won't tell her, will you?"
To say Vincent didn't consider it would have been a blatant lie, to say he didn't want to tell her, would have been the truth. He rubbed the red fur on his companions head before standing abruptly.
"No, Nanaki," he felt the moment called for the guardian's real name. "I will not tell her."
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Yuffie's arms wrapped around her exposed mid-drift, angry tears bubbled in her eyes, but she was steadfastly refusing to cry. The last time she had shed tears over anyone, was when her mother died, and she had promised herself she'd never cry over someone leaving her again…
So why didn't it help? Why did the tears come rushing to the surface faster than she could push them down? Why did every ounce of her energy threaten to leave her curled up and miserable on this hunk of metal that had served her as an escape for three full days? Why did she desperately want to just stop?
The day she left her home hadn't been difficult at all, it was the day three months later that was hard. She hadn't been home since she was thirteen, two years after her 'mission' began. She hadn't seen her father in four years, he disliked looking at her: even with her hair cut short, she still reminded him of her mother. For years she'd been going, even after the injury to her left leg that threatened to end her quest, she'd never once considered it.
Rest was something normal people got, relaxation unlikely, but stopping that, in itself was un-heard of.
"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!" she declared aloud, stomping one foot on the metal beneath her feet. "I'm not aloud to stop!"
Something in the back of her mind sighed at her, that voice that reminded her of her mother… She knew that voice, it was logic, it was reason, it was reality.
'You think you'll just keep going forever?' It asked her, she grit her teeth.
"Of course!" she growled. It laughed, a ringing, cheerless laugh.
'You aren't invincible,' it reminded her.
"I have to be," she gritted out.
'You're just as frail as anyone else,' it scolded her.
"I'm stronger than you," she snapped loudly, her voice echoing off the jagged metal shards. A soft wind whipped her hair about her face, drawing the strings of her headband around her shoulder.
'I am you,' it reminded her. Slowly, Yuffie sat down, letting that thought sink in. She was no different than anyone else. No stronger, no prettier, no more clever, and no better than anyone else.
For the first time in Yuffie Kisaragi's life, she realized that she wasn't special. That being a Ninja didn't mean anything to the people around her. To them, she was just another annoying little girl playing at being a hero.
Yuffie couldn't take it anymore, she broke out of her thoughts and she cried.
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Tifa had left the room to get some fresh air when a sound caught her attention. Vincent and Red were both staring out at the reactor remains with grim faces.
"Guys?" she said doubtfully, both figures looked at her. "What is that?"
"…Crying…" Vincent muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. She stared at both of them for a minute, something akin to rage burning in her eyes.
"And you didn't think to go check it out?" she snapped before marching off towards the source of the noise. The two looked at one another doubtfully.
"Did you want to incur her wrath?" Vincent asked Red, jerking his head towards the reactor.
"Nope," the cat replied as he shifted back to stare at the figure moving towards the ruins.
"Good," Vincent replied, something like amusement in his voice. "Then I do not feel so badly."
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Tifa was neither stealthy, nor graceful when it came to rough terrain. But not even Yuffie, who had excellent hearing, heard her as she crept up the pile of shredded metal. In fact Yuffie didn't even notice her presence till the older woman appeared over the edge of her perch.
"Yuffie," Tifa said softly as the teen wiped her eyes on the back of her arm guard.
"What?" she muttered miserably.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Why so you can run to Aeris and…" at the mention of the girls name Yuffie burst into tears again. "It'll never happen again!" she wailed.
"What won't ever happen again?"
"You guys are never gonna tease me again! She's not gonna come back!" Yuffie sobbed, burying her face in her arms. Tifa made a delicate little sigh and threw her arms around her friend.
"Oh honey! Of course she'll come back, you'll see and everything'll be just like before!" Tifa couldn't even believe the words herself, but somehow hearing them seemed to comfort the shinobi.
"R-really?" She asked, Tifa hugged her friend close.
"Yes, and we'll be around to tease you about Vincent for many years to come!" Tifa declared happily, "But we're going after her soon. Cloud knows where she went, to the City of Ancients."
"He's awake?" Yuffie muttered, Tifa nodded.
"But we don't have to get back just yet, you recollect your thoughts and we'll get off this pile of rust and go find Aeris!" Tifa grinned, optimism 1; pessimism 0.
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Vincent sat beside Red, the two quiet figures watching the destroyed reactor like it was some cheesy soap opera. They were silent until Cid came huffing up, smoking like there was no tomorrow and cursing like soldier at war.
"And what the fuck are you two pansy-asses doin'?" he griped as he plopped down beside Red. Vincent motioned towards the slight movement on the reactor.
"Tifa went to check on Yuffie," Vincent stated.
"We decided to keep watch from a safe distance," Red added.
"You mean like Junon?" Cloud rasped as he emerged from the house. Cid chuckled, Vincent stared, and Red scratched behind his right ear.
"D'ya think that's far enough?" He asked, Cid laughed again. The two figures on the large scrap of metal began their decent. One jumping here and there and landing in a graceful crouch on the ground, the other struggling down the awkward metal structure. When both figures were safe, they took off running towards the road that would lead to the village. The small assembly broke up, thinking it was just safer for a group of men not to be caught watching two women as they "talked".
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"Lunar Harp?" Cid asked, staring at the man, "what the shit is a Lunar Harp?"
"A mystical artifact that allows safe passage through the sleeping forest," the man replied, waving his hands like a lunatic.
"Uh-huh… is this optional or necessary if we wanna go through the forest?" Yuffie asked moodily from behind Cid, the man glared at her.
"You cannot awaken the wood without it, do you want to excavate it or what?" He growled, everyone turned to Yuffie.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"You're doing it," Cloud stated.
"WHAT?" She shouted at him, "WHY ME?"
"You can pick twelve locks in a minute," Red stated.
"You know where to find stuff on the bodies of monsters and shit," Cid drawled.
"You just seemed to have a… talent for treasure hunting." Cloud said simply, Yuffie seemed pacified however and agreed.
The next morning a very dirty and disgruntled Yuffie threw the Lunar Harp at Cloud, shouting something about NEVER helping him again. Their progress through the forest was fast paced, no one seemed willing to stop, but when they neared the forgotten city they realized the need for order.
"Yuffie, Vincent and I will continue on to find Aeris, we'll leave you here and send Yuffie if there's trouble." He said after several minutes of thought, the others grumbled about the decision but agreed it was the best course of action. Long distance fighting is preferable to close range when fighting an unknown enemy, and Vincent was a better shot than Barret.
The three left the others just outside the center building, all still grumbling incoherently, and descended the strange spiral staircase leading into the bowels of the city.
Yuffie was the first to notice the strange green glow that surrounded everything the further down they went, a fact she found slightly un-nerving. Green usually meant either Mako or Materia, Materia meant a battle, and Make somehow always eventually led to Sephiroth, neither of which she was keen to encounter. She kept uncharacteristically silent however, contenting herself to trying to stop the jabbing warning pains in her side. When they reached flat ground Vincent pointed out an alter in the distance.
"I don't see it," Cloud said flatly, Vincent nearly rolled his eyes.
"My eyes do not deceive me," Vincent told him stiffly. "You are blinded by this strange glow, it is not far now."
And sure enough, there was an alter surrounded by a tranquil lake, from which the glow was emitting. Vincent noticed the figure perched on the alter, but his two companions were distracted by the strangely clear, but obviously glowing, water.
"Mako pollution?" Yuffie asked, Cloud shook his head.
"The water would be a murky, milky, kind of green or blue. I've never seen anything this… clear…" He remarked reaching out to touch it, before he could however, Vincent coughed discreetly.
"Here the Lifestream comes up far enough to touch the water, emanating this glow." He said simply, Yuffie stared at him in awe.
"How'd you kno… Hey lookie!" She said suddenly, pointing to the alter. "It's Aeris!"
Cloud was on his feet instantly, and moments later he was jumping stones till he was just before the alter. Yuffie grinned at Vincent, whose face contorted in a strange, wide eyed look that caused Yuffie's heart to stop. She turned her eyes to stare at whatever he saw, and if what they saw was the same thing, then he was freaked out too…
Cloud had his sword drawn, and he seemed to be struggling to pull himself away from the spot he was frozen to. His arms flexed, his hips and torso struggled, but his feet remained planted for a moment, before moving, obviously without the minds consent, towards Aeris. He was struggling more now, gritting his teeth and trying so desperately to fight, but he was about to lose it. He raised the sword and Yuffie found herself leaping forward to the stone just behind him, past Vincent's wild attempt to grab her arm.
"CLOUD!" She shouted, breaking him from his thoughts. The sword fell from nerveless fingers, he turned to stare blankly at Yuffie, Aeris's eyes fluttered open. Yuffie's eyes widened in horror, and Cloud snapped his head back to stare at Aeris.
A dark shadow was descending, rapidly, from the ceiling above the flower girl. A long, sleek blade pointed downward toward her defenseless form as she smiled at her friends. Yuffie surged forward, but Vincent grabbed her from behind at the very edge of their platform. Cloud tried to move, he did move, but it all happened so fast. The blade pierced through Aeris's abdomen, her eyes widening as it slid through her without sound. Blood splattered Cloud pants, and Yuffie's stomach as the blade emerged from the front of her soft pink dress. Her hand's fell from their clasped position at her chest, she was falling forward, only to be pulled backwards with the force of Sephiroth as he roughly removed his blade from her body. She fell back into the small railing, a split pink bow freeing itself from her hair, as well as a piece of stark white materia.
The materia bounced away, into the water, as its owner went limp against the wall. Sephiroth grinned at the three companions, particularly the ex-soldier and the young ninja, who was now being held up by the tortured former Turk.
"I tried to pull your strings Puppet," Sephiroth mused as he locked his eyes on Cloud. "But the ninja broke them, a pity… I'd have liked to see your faces if it had been your blade that slid through her body like a hot knife through butter… But alas, we can't have everything."
"WHY?" Yuffie shouted, suddenly finding her voice, though her body remained unable to support itself. "SHE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO YOU!"
"On the contrary," Sephiroth whispered, his Mako eyes locking on her as she struggled to escape the Turk. "She existed."
And with that he was gone, sailing up through the air as he had done at the temple. This time leaving more than a freaked out Cloud behind. This time, he left death.
Yuffie broke free of Vincent's hold now, rushing to the side of her fallen companion. Aeris's hands were folded over the still bleeding wound in her stomach, her eyes open, staring at nothing. Yuffie whimpered as she lifted a hand to close those green eyes forever. Her tear filled eyes settled on the halved pieces of pink ribbon lying on the cold, blood speckled, stone, alter. Her hands picked them up, holding them close to her chest as she stood. She turned and threw herself, sobbing brokenly, into Cloud's waiting arms. He held her close, stroking her back as Vincent knelt beside Aeris. He kissed the side of his closed hand and pressed it to her forehead, a blessing he had learned in Wutai.
"Yuffie… go get the others." Cloud whispered, she pushed herself away, pulled herself together, and took off out of the chamber. Cloud stared at her for several minutes, long enough for Yuffie to return with the others and for Vincent to move towards the group to give them a less garbled version of what transpired, minus him holding Yuffie back of course, before he gathered her limp body up in his arms. He hopped the stone platforms easily, and strode past his companions without a sound.
He brought Aeris's body to the edge of the lake, and stared down into the crystal clear depths. He looked into the face of his burden, no he could never call her that, and found that she looked peaceful. She didn't where the mask of death as others who had been killed in the same way before her, she looked as she always had, as an angel at rest. He was wading into the water now, the blood flecks from his clothing leaving a tiny red trails in the water behind him. When he was about waist deep, he hefted the body closer, giving her a final embrace before he settled her in the water.
The Cetra's body floated away from him before sinking slowly. Her arms fell away from her chest, extending upwards towards him, her hair fluttering about her as she fell away from them, a serene smile still upon her face. Cloud felt himself turning away from the now vanished figure of the Cetra, to face his comrades. Yuffie and Vincent stood segregated from the others, Yuffie's arms wrapped about her blood speckled mid-drift as she struggled not to cry. Vincent's human hand rested on her shoulder, clenching visibly to keep her still and silent. Tifa had her back to him as she sobbed on Barret's shoulder. Barret, Cid , and Red were silent, all surveying him through pity filled eyes. Cait Sith seemed to be whimpering somewhere behind them.
"We," he stopped and swallowed the sob threatening to escape him. "We need to find out why she came here."
"What'd she…" Barret began to ask, but he himself had to look away to stop the tears.
"She told me that she alone could stop Sephiroth and Meteor, that she was coming here to do just that… but when we found her…" Cloud's voice broke off and he stared at the bloodstained place marking where she died.
"She was just sittin' there," Yuffie said softly, her voice blank. "Her eyes closed, hands clasped in front of her…"
"We should go," Vincent interrupted, his hand hastily removing itself from Yuffie's shoulder. "We're little more than prey for monsters while here."
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Icicle Village was freezing, but at least the house they had found was nice, warm, and free. Almost as soon as they had entered the frozen village, Yuffie disappeared, while everyone else found the abandoned house and huddled inside. No one spoke much, usually when anyone did it was to ask if this was some kind of nightmare. Finally Vincent couldn't stand the tension anymore, he informed everyone he was going out to find Yuffie. No one bothered to respond.
The moment he set foot out in the cold world, he pondered where Yuffie might be. Remembering that she tried to coerce a man at Gongaga to give her alcohol before Aeris left, he made his way to the bar. He knew she'd probably be there, and he figured she probably knew that he knew she'd be there.
'Whoa Valentine, you are beginning to think like the girl.' He thought to himself as he passed a few children building a snowman. A new laugh resounded in his mind, a voice he had been noticing getting louder for several hours. 'Who are you?'
'You don't like making new friends?' It asked innocently, Vincent growled.
'I dislike demons running rampant in my head without announcing themselves.' Was the curt reply, the voice grunted.
'I am Death Gigas, you may refer to me as Gigas… or Death… or Death Gigas… or if you really wished to be creative, perhaps Giggy?' It rambled on like the for several moments.
'Just be silent, this is important.' Vincent growled as he approached the building that would allow him access to the bar.
'Says you,' Gallion replied sharply. He entered the building and felt the rush of warmth wash over him, he glanced at several people he vaguely recalled attacking Avalanche sitting at the bar, but ignored them and moved towards the miserable figure huddled in the corner. Her head was down, her hands clasping her hair furiously as she rocked back and forth, a bottle of sake lying empty in front of her.
"Yuffie," he said blandly, the girl jumped and stared up at him with blurry eyes.
"If Tifa sent you, you can tell her to cram it." She muttered, Vincent sighed and sat down across from her.
"You cannot run from this," he stated.
"Oh that's really rich, coming from a man who locked himself in a coffin for thirty fuckin' years." She growled, Vincent jumped at the sound of the profanity falling from her wind burned lips. "You don't know shit."
"I… can understand your pai... How did you know I spent thirty years in a coffin?" He said, not sure how she had discovered that particular bit of information about him, especially considering he had only told Cloud, Tifa and Red once they had left the Shinra Mansion.
"I eves-drop on everybody," Yuffie said silkily. "Wanna know how many boyfriends Tifa's had?"
"That… is completely irrelevant." Vincent resumed his blank mask as the girl raised her hand, indicating the bartender was to bring her another bottle of sake. She threw a few gil to him when he sat the bottle down, and Vincent watched as she didn't even try to reclaim the spent money. She poured herself a shot of the liquid and downed it in half a second. "How old are you?"
Yuffie rolled her eyes and glared at him.
"Too young to drink," he reached for the bottle, she held it close to her. "And you're not my father."
"And you are a princess," he replied icily, Yuffie paled.
"Gawd, don't remind me. I'll have to dodge that bullet somehow." She muttered, "maybe I'll fake my own death…"
"Do not even joke about such a thing," Vincent growled. Yuffie jumped, her shot glass toppling over as she stared at him.
"You… got angry…" Yuffie muttered, he ignored her.
"A dear friend died today and all you can think of is that you do not want to be a princess. We all have our own problems, to run away in such a manner is a disgrace to the sacrifice she made." Vincent whispered in a severe and scolding tone, Yuffie slammed her hand on the table.
"What sacrifice?" She growled back, "all I saw was a madman stabbing someone else I cared about."
"Do you even know what a sacrifice is?" he snapped back.
"Sacrifice- the giving up of something valued: a giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance." Yuffie replied sharply, taking up her shot glass again. "What'd she do it for? We can't continue her work, she didn't leave us a single clue of what she was doing on that alter. Who'd she do it for? It's not like her death prevented or will prevent anyone else's."
Vincent stared at Yuffie, visibly shaken that she had given such an exact definition. She drained another shot glass of sake even as he tried to summon up an answer.
"What is it about death that you cannot grasp?" he growled finally. Yuffie stared at him with cold and unfeeling eyes.
"Maybe the fact that someone gets a sword jabbed through them and somehow they all end up imprinted on my memories." Yuffie said finally, her eyes locked on Vincent, who heaved an impatient sigh.
"You think that is it then? That everyone dies to spite you?" He growled, "Cid is right, you are selfish."
Yuffie stared into her shot glass before standing and throwing at the wall, just to watch it shatter.
"WHY?" She screamed at him. "BECAUSE I'M SICK OF WATCHING THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT DIE AT THE HANDS OF THAT SICK FUCK? DOES THAT SEEM SO SELFISH TO YOU, YOU EMOTIONLESS FUCK!"
Yuffie knocked her chair over as she tried to brush past him, but Vincent grabbed her and hauled her into air. He carried her struggling body like she was nothing. Walking determinedly outside, he threw her into a snow bank.
"Death is hard for anyone, for everyone. You are not the only one in pain, if you had decided to stay with the group you would see that. You are being selfish and childish, and I grow weary of your self absorbed nature." He said scathingly, Yuffie stared up at him with tears brimming her eyes. "If you decide to grow up, then perhaps you will see that the world is not out to get you. We all lost something we held dear today, you are not the only one hurting!"
And with that he was gone, leaving the freezing ninja in the snow with tears trailing down her cheeks.
"Oh… Leviathan… Vinnie, I think you just ripped my heart out…" She said softly, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't hear her, and when he didn't stop it seemed she got her wish. Little did she know that two demons and a human hear far better than one of either category.
Oh yes, Vincent would require so much atonement when this was all over.
Author's note: Yes I know, the demons are supposed to be all evil. But I honestly think that if I were a demon, and God willing someday I will be, I would rather screw with him than make him suffer. Suffering people are dull, mocked people are funny because they consequently go insane. Also I believe that the demons came to him gradually, except for Gallion who was implanted originally and Chaos, who he'll get in a very interesting manner, I think they kind of matured from a buzzing sound and a dull presence into their own separate entities. I also realized that Vincent got angry, which, if I had heard that stuff, I would be too. It isn't really OOC if you think about it, he was never given that chance to get angry at anybody in the game, and you don't really see much about his emotions or anything. So if right after Aeris died, Yuffie was being a selfish little brat, I think he'd scream at her. And as for her last line, she already admitted she liked him, duh. Anywho… this is just to clear up any people who may want to split hairs… don't mess with me, I've got sun burn! Which is irrelevant.
In the next chapter of A Door Beyond Absolution: The REAL Sephiroth, those creepy clones, Cloud, the life stream, Yuffie avoiding Vincent, Aeris's message to Yuffie, more about Vincent's past (including the reason I accidentally wrote 24 for his age, believe me it'll make sense when you read it, specially since I've been working on this chapter for a while.) and some surprising insight on life from our favorite profanity spouting, smoking chimney, CID!