-1Author's Note: Hey, there everybody, so life's been kind of on the slow side lately… Moreover, I finished all my homework for Monday, so let us see how far we can get with this chapter before mom kicks me off the computer.
Reviewer Comments:
Disclaimer: I always forget this. I do not own it. Do not sue me. I am so poor I cannot even afford the "r" or the second "o."
'…'-Chaos/Vincent Thought
'…'-Gallian Beast
'…'-Death gigas
'…' Hellmasker
Chapter Twelve: Demon on the Rise
Yuffie's head brushed the large wooden crate she sat, comfortably, inside. The incident in the waterfall cave, which she tried her best not to think of, had shaken her terribly. Returning to the Highwind had been a trying experience, for when Vincent had emerged, two hours after her, shaken beyond all reason; his first instinct had been to attempt an explanation. He had tried to speak to her, tried to hold her! However, every time he got close, she had skittered away from him like a marble on a downhill slope. He had reached out; she had flinched away as though his touch might burn.
Dusk came too slowly, and finally Yuffie saw the Highwind on the horizon. Never had that cheesy woman on the side of the ship looked so beautiful. In a last, failed, attempt, Vincent had grabbed her arm before she could climb up the rope ladder; the effects were paralyzing.
Yuffie had frozen, her breath stopped, and even her body temperature seemed to lower. She grasped the rungs of the rope desperately, clinging with white knuckles.
"Yuffie…" He had said. A whimper caught in her throat as she forced one leg up onto the first rung, rapidly followed by the other. She tried to move up, to no avail, she kicked at him and Vincent let his hand fell limp against his leg, allowing her to climb up unhindered. When he had reached the deck, she was gone, vanished into thin air.
Within the crate just happened to be where Yuffie thin air existed.
On her first exploration of the airship, with Rufus and his goons aboard, she had discovered the nifty spot; and ever since, it had served as her secret headquarters, her hide away, and her sanctuary. No one knew the large crate was empty, and, if they did, they knew there was no way to get it out of the ship's cargo hold without breaking it up first, and no one really wanted to remove it that desperately anyway.
It was hear that Yuffie began her ponderings. She pondered the woman, Lucrecia, who had un-wound several months worth of simpering stares, love-struck sighs, and finally, multiple breath taking kisses, within a few minutes. The task was downright Yuffie-esque. Her mind wandered to her own being, now split between the adoration of the man she had shared her first kiss with and the hatred of the one who killed her mother. Sephiroth, the murderer, and Vincent, the father of the murderer.
For a moment Yuffie mused over the irony.
'Hojo, the man who genetically altered Vincent; married Lucrecia, the woman who supposedly loved Vincent and whom Vincent, obviously, loved more than anything.'
'Lucrecia,' Yuffie hated her almost as much as she hated Sephiroth, 'Grew bored with the shriveled and ugly scientist and became infatuated with the specimen. Infatuation became lust, Vincent accepted list as love.'
'One night, one time, one incident, and a few weeks later, Lucrecia told both men of her condition.' Yuffie shook her head and gnawed on her lower lip. 'Hojo was thrilled, of course, and began his experiments as soon as he could. Vincent sat around arguing inside his own mind about whether the child belonged to him or not, and finally decided it didn't matter. But by that time it was nine months along, and the silver haired demon-baby was being born.'
'While Lucrecia pleaded for the brat, Vincent dithered on about how he couldn't let Hojo hurt either of them. A bang, a slice, a stitch, an injection, and one thirty-year nap later, we have the person responsible aboard our airship. Yuffie Kisaragi, what have you done?'
There were fundamental rules in every person's life and trade. Never spit into the wind, always chew with your mouth closed, and do unto others… well you know, rules. As Yuffie sat in her secret place, something occurred to her, and it filled her with dread.
As a child, Yuffie's mother had explained her duty very carefully. As a princess, Yuffie would marry a man of Godo's choice, unless Yuffie could either prove her capability as a lone ruler, or find a man before her eighteenth birthday. As a ninja born to royal heritage, she would train, and eventually battle, to obtain All Creation. Once that was complete, she would travel to gain wisdom from the outside world and further hone her skills, eventually returning to take her place as head of the Pagoda. As a soldier, she would protect and serve her people, even to the point of dying for them. These were her duties, her life's work, and her career.
After learning these truths, Yuffie had made rules to comply with her multiple tasks. As a princess, she would never fall in love and never marry; she would rule Wutai alone, as her mother had always said she could. As a ninja born to royal heritage, she would obtain All Creation early on in her life, and, not only travel, but have great adventures that would help restore Wutai to its former glory. As a soldier, she would lead her people to glory her father only dreamed of, and further more, she would keep it. And, when by force, she became a thief, she made a final rule: to never let anyone get close to her.
Yuffie had broken her own rule. She had broken the only rule she seemed capable of keeping: she had let Vincent in. And what did she have to show for it? A fresh mark on the side of her neck, and an aching pain in her chest!
She felt foolish, no that was letting her off easy, she felt stupid. Stupider than stupid, maybe even absolutely ignorant. And no one could help her change that, because no one knew what was happening.
"Barret," Vincent's voice said from just outside the crate, Yuffie held her breath. "Have you seen Yuffie?"
"Why would I 'ave fuckin' seen 'er?" Barret grumbled, apparently he had just woken up.
"No one else has, it is my duty to keep an eye on her…" Vincent began, Barret laughed at him and something impacted the side of the crate.
"Come on Valentine, if she ain't buggin' you think of it as a blessin', the rest of us sure fuckin' do." Footsteps could be heard as rolling laughter filled the cargo hold, Yuffie chanced a soft breath, knowing Vincent was just on the other side of the crate. A few tense moments passed where she heard a scratchy sound, like a razor moving over a wooden surface, or a gold claw examining the crate. Vincent tapped on the side, listening carefully.
"That is rather odd," he said aloud. "We have a hollow crate aboard the ship… I wonder if Cid knows about this…"
And the sound of Metal footsteps on metal floor faded off as Vincent left the hold, and Yuffie let out a great sigh of relief. For now, she could escape from the cruel reality that was Vincent Valentine.
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'An empty crate aboard an airship formerly held by Shinra,' Vincent pondered. 'Of what practical use is that?'
'None, I am sure,' the demon replied lucidly, 'but I suppose you will sit and ponder it at great length…'
'Who are you, demon?' Vincent asked himself darkly, the voice chuckled.
'The worst of all, I am darkness, I am death, I am fire, ice, wind and rain.' The demon said simply, 'I am what mortals call Chaos, the never ending destroyer…'
'You have no voice of your own.' Vincent said simply, his own chuckle, again, resounded back to him.
'Why would I use my own voice when borrowing yours disturbs you so?' Chaos asked lightly, amused, mocking.
'And the others, what of them?' Vincent though darkly, again Chaos chuckled.
'They remain, loitering in your memories and your mind, but they have little power now, for they were only a side act, preparing you for the show stopping routine…' Chaos told him, Hellmasker, Death Gigas, and Gallian Beast all reared up in their own ways.
'Not side-act!' Gigas grumbled in his unintelligent way, once more Chaos chuckled.
'Of course, they hate to admit that I am the predominant spirit here.' Chaos said silkily, 'More over, they hate to think they were all just preparing you for me.'
'For you?' Vincent asked, against his will.
'For me, Vincent,' Chaos said. 'Without them, your feeble mind could not handle my presence, my essence, my raw power.'
'I have felt nothing from you,' Vincent grumbled, Chaos laughed, fully, loudly, mockingly.
'The agony you endured upon drinking of the vile your DEAR Lucrecia gave you was, but a taste of my power,' Chaos said firmly. 'You will suffer, when I have hold of you, oh how you will suffer…'
"Vincent?" Tifa's voice broke the indrawn discussion.
"Yes?" he replied softly, Tifa sighed.
"Have you found Yuffie?" She asked, wringing her hands in front of her. "Cloud's getting really angry about her disappearing act…"
"Did she not leave the materia on the deck?" Vincent asked icily, Tifa sighed.
"Well sure, she left it all with Barret when she got up, but Cloud thinks she's planning something and…" Tifa trailed off.
"If she was planning something, we would have been robbed blind by now." And with that Vincent swept into his room, closing the door more forcefully than he intended.
'Hmmm… That one could be fun…' Hellmasker began, in his perverted way, but he was silenced with a yelp.
'I believe I am the one influencing the actions of our generous host from here on out,' Chaos growled at him. 'You all are merely my pets.'
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'What's the time?' Yuffie wondered to herself as she peered over the edge of her crate. 'Must be close to midnight…'
Hefting herself up over the ledge, she dropped to the steel floor with as little sound as possible. Rubbing her empty stomach, she ventured off to the kitchens to snag some food before returning to her room for the night. Upon opening the door, the light flicked on and Yuffie, sandwich in mouth, froze.
Cloud sat rigidly on her bed, Vincent lingered at his shoulder, and Cid was snoozing while leaning up against the wall.
"Where have you been?" Cloud growled, getting to his feet. "We've been scouring the ship for you, and now you turn up when every one is asleep! Are you planning…"
"I'm not planning anything!" Yuffie growled, "If I had planned something, I wouldn't have come back here! There's nothing in this room WORTH stealing."
Cloud stood back, blinking stupidly.
"Can I just finish my sandwich and go to sleep in peace?" Yuffie asked, pleaded, him. Cloud poked Cid in the arm and escorted the older man out, before leaving he turned to Vincent.
"You're still on watch for tonight, Red's going out with us tomorrow. Keep an eye on her," Cloud told him before hefting the pilot out of the room.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Yuffie said through a bite of her sandwich. She plopped on her bed, glaring at the blankets.
"Can we talk?" Vincent asked softly, Yuffie snorted and took another bite.
"Sure, let's talk about everything you haven't told them," she said sharply. "About how you indirectly murdered my mother, about all the reasons I should be 'keeping an eye' on you instead of the other way around. About everything."
"I did not…" Vincent began but Yuffie cut him off with a derisive snort.
"No." Yuffie said as she finished off her sandwich. "Good Night."
That was the end of the conversation, Yuffie laid down and turned over to sleep. Vincent approached the side of her bed, sitting gingerly on the edge of it, he reached out to touch her shoulder. Yuffie moved away from him as quickly as she could while lying on her side, growling as she did so.
"You," she growled. "Stay away from me."
Like a wounded animal, Vincent retreated to the corner, and leaned there in silence, watching the Ninja as she drifted into a fitful sleep.
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"Have you noticed anything… odd… about Yuffie since we left her with Vincent to explore that cave?" Tifa asked as she placed a plate of eggs in front of Cloud.
"How could I?" He grumbled, "the only time I saw her was when she showed up in her room at midnight."
"Exactly!" Tifa declared, her fists on her hips. "Yuffie spent all of yesterday HIDING."
"No one is in the mood to have her around after she robbed us Tifa, can you…"
"I am," Tifa snapped. "Regardless of what she did, she's our friend! And she's paying the price! Isn't that enough?"
Cloud stared at her through a forkful of egg, gestured wildly, and resumed eating.
"So what!" Tifa growled, as though his frantic gesturing had been actual words, "She made a mistake Cloud! Just like you did when you gave Sephiroth the…"
Cloud slammed his fist, fork still clutched in his hand, on the table. He pointed his fork at her and glared darkly.
"Don't you point your fork at me Cloud Strife!" Tifa barked, pointing threateningly with her finger. Cloud swallowed the food in his mouth and laid down his fork. "You can't deny that you screwed up! And you came back without having to make any form of retribution. Can't you just give it a break? She's obviously going through something…"
"Tifa, she's a trouble child. If we don't lay down the law…"
"Cloud, she's a teenager, and she is paying the price for her discretion. She's even handling all of your cruelty and critisism with minimal backlash." Tifa sat down on the stool on the other side of the counter. "Just let up on all the stipulations. Let her have some freedom with Materia, cut the check-ins down to before bed, get Vincent out of her bedroom…"
"Vincent's good for her," Cloud said firmly, "he's sensible, and patient. He could teach her a few things. That's why you suggested him in the first play."
Tifa played with her fingertip and looked away from him.
"I have a confession to make…" Tifa said softly, Cloud frowned. "I suggested Vincent because Yuffie has a crush on him, Vincent isn't confrontational, and Cid or Barret would've made her life hell!"
"If it hadn't been Vincent, I would've taken the job mys…"
"… I didn't want you to have to deal with such a stressful situation…" Tifa murmured, Cloud looked at her strangely.
"You were jealous? Of Yuffie?" Cloud said incredulously, Tifa looked ruffled.
"Of course not!" She cried in a false voice, Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I was but… that wasn't the only reason I suggested Vincent."
"I'm listening," Cloud said, leaning his elbows on the counter top.
"Vincent's so moody and dark, I thought that Yuffie might bring a little light into his life…"
"Very little," Cloud mumbled, Tifa hit him with a spatula.
"I hoped they would have a positive effect on one another…" Tifa trailed off.
"I sense a 'but' coming." Cloud said as he leaned his cheek in his left palm.
"I think something happened, and now they're not talking, Vincent is moodier than ever and Yuffie… YUFFIE!" Tifa said as she looked up, Cloud jumped and glanced over his shoulder to see the weary teenager peer at them from the door.
"Not so loud Tiff," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. They were red and puffy with dark circles rimming them like a bruise. She sat heavily and looked up at Tifa. "Can I have coffee, please?"
Cloud looked startled and Tifa nodded dumbly as she hustled to get a clean coffee cup. Yuffie rarely said anything polite, and only in dire circumstances, did she ever say 'please.'
"Everything alright?" Cloud asked as he picked up his glass of milk, Yuffie made an indignant noise that sounded like a snort.
"But of course, fearless leader." The words were heavy with sarcasm, and Tifa set the full cup down in front of the teen.
"You know you shouldn't expect this, kind of treatment every…"
"I know," Yuffie sighed, standing up with the cup in her hands. "I just needed something to wake me up. Thanks Tifa."
Yuffie started to leave the room when the door opened. Vincent, looking only slightly better than Yuffie, entered slowly. Yuffie fell back a step or two, perfectly silent as he allowed the door to close behind him.
"You left before…" Vincent began, Yuffie forced a horrible laugh.
"Yeah," she said in shrill voice. "Nice talking to you, bye now."
And with that, Yuffie bolted from the room, coffee in hand. Vincent stared at the door as it shut once more and sighed heavily.
"Morning Vincent," Cloud said lightly, alerting the older man to the presence of the two.
"Cloud, Tifa." he said stiffly, uncomfortably aware that they had seen what transpired moments before. "You both look well…"
"Cut the crap Vince," Tifa said sharply, slamming her hand on the counter and leaning on it to make her look more intimidating. "What happened?"
"I do not…"
"She hid all yesterday after you guys got back, she comes to her room at midnight, gets disgruntled when I tell you to watch her, you really want to play that 'I don't know what you're talking about' card?" Cloud said sternly, turning on his stool to watch the crimson eyed man as he stared, completely flabbergasted.
"Perhaps she really is the immature child you all assume her to be, maybe she likes being out late at night, and perhaps she is weary of the stipulations you put on her for her error." Vincent replied indignantly, Tifa stared at him.
"We're not the only ones assuming," she said firmly. "You're assuming you can fix what ever you did without help, and you can't."
"It is my…"
"No Vince, it isn't just your business, it's all of ours, it involves our team and…" Cloud trailed off when Vincent unattached his cloak and threw it over the counter as he sat down.
"I was not going to say that it was my business Cloud, I was going to say it is my past." Vincent said softly, staring at the swirl of color on the counter's surface. "I have made a grave mistake, one which I do not believe you will be inclined to forgive me for."
"Whatever you did to Yuffie we'll…" Tifa was cut off by Vincent's raised hand.
"It is not just what I did to Yuffie, but what I did to a woman over thirty years ago." He replied, Cloud leaned forward, indicating that he was listening.
"About thirty-three years ago, I met a woman in a bar in Midgar. Her name was Lucrecia and she was a scientist's aid working in the Shinra labs. I was only recently made a Turk and found myself drawn to her. We spoke, and she left. Three months later I escorted her to Nibelheim, where she set up shop under Hojo's instruction. They worked tirelessly, often deep into the night, remaining in the bowels of the Mansion." Vincent sighed and lowered his eyes from the leader's face. "I was, as I admit, infatuated with Lucrecia. She was lovely and intelligent, full of life and tenderness. She, however, only distantly returned the feelings, and a little over two weeks later announced her engagement to Hojo."
"Oh, Vincent." Tifa sighed softly, placing her hand gently on his shoulder blade. "You must've felt terrible."
"The Shock was… quite painful… and Lucrecia married Hojo not even a month later. It was a plain and simple marriage, little more than affair to appease the authorities, and that night I heard them consummate their union." Vincent looked repelled by the memory before shaking his head and pressing on. "Lucrecia was disappointed by the whole affair. Hojo was, first and foremost, married to his work, and she was merely a side act. Aside from that first night, he only came to her as a lover once or twice, each time leaving her greatly dissatisfied."
"She spent fewer hours in the lab after the first night, finding it more appeasing to her senses to wander Nibleheim at dusk. I, of course, accompanied her and we grew very close." Vincent took a deep breath and looked up at Cloud, shame written on his features. "Several days after her second disappointment with Hojo's selfish sexual nature, she came to me, teary eyed and aroused. We made our own union in secret, in the silence of the laboratory she shared with Hojo. A month later she announced her pregnancy."
"Hojo was thrilled at the prospect of a child, and kept Lucrecia constantly beside him. We never had the opportunity to discuss the time frame of her impregnation, and Hojo began his plot to strengthen the child using Jenova cells." Vincent looked between Tifa and Cloud. "Nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy, she named him Sephiroth…"
"Hojo's son…" Cloud mumbled looking at Tifa.
"Maybe your son…" Tifa said softly.
"Yes, that evening I tried to save her life when Hojo left her to die. He shot me, and replaced my arm with this," he flexed his claw slightly. "Then he locked me away, and there I slept for thirty years…"
"Until Yuffie stumbled in," Cloud finished, his eyes refusing to meet Vincent.
"So," Tifa mumbled. "What do we do now?"
"You said Hojo is the other possible father, right?" Cloud asked, rubbing his temples.
"Yes," Vincent replied warily.
"Then we pay him a visit," Cloud determined, slamming his right fist into his left hand. "If you don't know for sure, maybe he does!"
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End of Chapter Twelve: So, Yuffie and Vincent are falling apart, and it's only the second day of their relationship! Now Cloud is aware of Sephiroth's possible parentage. How will Yuffie act to whatever truth Hojo may spill? How Vincent act upon seeing his tormentor again?
It's all in the next chapter of A Door Beyond Absolution!