Lost in the Shadows
Chapter 13 - Shocking Discoveries
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and it's characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.
Yuffie shivered and curled into a ball as she lay outside in the pouring rain, sheltered by only a tree and Vincent's tattered red cape. Although, the cape did provide a lot more warmth then anyone would have thought at first glance. Vincent had insisted on following the fiends -- and they hadn't gotten very far. The fiend seemed to be wandering aimlessly, like it knew that she and Vincent were following it. Yuffie whimpered slightly before standing up, pulling the cape around her tighter.
"Vinnie. I'm so cold!" Yuffie whispered, walking over to the gunslinger who was sitting and looking into the rain.
Vincent gave her a glance and he briefly wondered why she hadn't changed her choice of clothing over the past six months. Surely she knew better by now, after their experience with climbing Gaia Peaks, that she should wear something suited for most, if not all, types of climates.
Yuffie sat down beside him and leant against him. He wrapped his arm around her, though a bit hesitantly. Vincent had to admit -- he and Yuffie had become close.
Maybe too close.
They were always paired off with each other. Not only because they simply worked well together -- but also because Vincent happened to be the only one who could put up with Yuffie. But as time went on, Vincent was finding himself coming to a realization. He liked Yuffie.
He really liked Yuffie.
'Time to go back to that coffin...' He thought, slightly disgusted with himself. He had no right! Lucrecia... His beautiful Lucrecia had a great hold over his heart, more then he would have liked to admit.
-Get over yourself...-
Vincent decided to push the thoughts out of his mind and ignored Chaos' constant chattingbut they always seemed to find their way back to him. He looked down to the girl almost asleep, nestled against him. Her shivering hadn't completely stopped yet so Vincent settled himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head.
He found himself at one point, drifting off into a slumber but forced himself to remain awake. This fiend was too important to be lost and never found. He concentrated simply on the sound of Yuffie's soft and even breathing and the raindrops hitting the leaves around them.
And Vincent Valentine found himself most at peace for once in a very long time.
Yuffie tried not to be lulled by the sound of Vincent's steady heartbeat, but to no avail. Black clouds were entering her line of vision and she found herself succumbing to the darkness.
Yuffie didn't know when it had started. She had thought, at first, that it was just a silly crush! She'd liked Cloud, and Yuffie thought he was more or less gay with the amount of time he spent on his hair, Vincent was simply the next best thing! She'd found herself denying itand denying it, trying to find something that wasn't to like about him.
What wasn't to like, though?
He was a gentlemen, always putting others first. He may have been quite cut off from the world at one point but he'd sure as hell been through enough to put him there. He was compassionate, smart in his own way…
Endless possibilities.
Yuffie didn't quite understand how she and Vincent had become as close as they had become. Vincent had always been so… brooding and dark… But Yuffie found herself more and more attracted and had tried to get to know him better.
He had done the same, it seemed.
The endless thoughts spinning through her head caused her to become even more tired and she couldn't stay awake any longer. Knowing she was safe, having Vincent's arms wrapped around her, protecting her from the world…
Yuffie feel into a deep sleep, Vincent Valentine in her dreams.
It had been two long days since Aerith and Sephiroth had first gone out to search for clues as to where Vincent and Yuffie may have gone. Two days consisting of bickering and disagreements. Today, the third day, they had both decided to head back and tell the rest of Avalanche that they should be officially worried.
Aerith also couldn't seem to keep her mind off of Red. The night she and Sephiroth had returned to the Sierra after a long four days of silence, Tifa had asked her to try and heal Red.
It hadn't worked. If anything, it had only left Aerith completely exhausted.
"Thinking about that feline again?" Sephiroth spoke out of no where. Aerith narrowed her eyes at him and began to walk faster, away from him.
"I take that as a yes."
The fact that Aerith hadn't been able to keep her mind off of Red was the reason Sephiroth was so angry with her. Her blatant disregard for anything but Red caused her to lose focus. It also didn't help when the Planet wouldn't stop talking to her.
"Why do you insist on continuing our disagreements two days after the fact?" Aerith snapped.
Sephiroth stopped in his tracks behind her.
"Had you been more focused, maybe we could have found something." Sephiroth retaliated. She had been so moody ever since they had left the airship. She was beginning to annoy him to no end.
Aerith spun around and walked up to him.
"I'm so sorry that I happen to be worried about my friend. I'm also so sorry that thing didn't and aren't going the way you want them to." Aerith snarled.
"Maybe we shouldn't have even tried to find them!"
"Maybe we shouldn't have!"
They glared daggers at each other for a bit before Aerith stalked off.
The moment Aerith walked into the Sierra, Avalanche knew something was off. She hadn't said a word to any of them, simply striding off in the direction of Red's quarters.
Sephiroth walked in a little while later and Cloud and Barret sent him glares. Sephiroth promptly ignored their childish behaviour and went to his own room.
"Well… That's something I never thought I'd see." Cid said, lighting a cigarette. Most nodded in agreement.
"Spike. What we gonna do 'bout Yuff and Vince?" Barret questioned, turning to look at Cloud. Cloud regarded them all for a moment before speaking.
"First, we need to figure out what's up with those two and find out if they know anything. Then…" Cloud looked around at everyone uncertainly.
"I don't know!" He finally said, throwing his hands in the air.
"Perhaps we should try and figure out what is causing Red's illness." Rude spoke up from the other side of the room. "If something like this happens to one of us, we'll need to know what to do about it. I'm sure Vincent and Yuffie can handle themselves." He finished.
Everyone stared at him in obvious amazement. That was surely the most they'd ever heard from Rude before.
Tifa took the opportunity to step in.
"I'll talk to the both of them." Tifa said, trying to ignore everyone's looks of protest and uncertainty.
"I need to." She said, walking off towards where Aerith had gone off to.
Tifa walked into Red's room and found Aerith there, crying.
"Aerith, honey, what's wrong. What happened between you and Sephiroth too? You both just kind of… waltzed in here without a word." Tifa said, wishing to soothe her friend.
Aerith looked up in shock at Tifa finding her like this. She hadn't expected anyone to follow her. She had been needing to cry for a while, to let everything out. Being resurrected, trying to tame Sephiroth, dealing with Cloud and Barret, disappearances, the Planet… It was taking it's toll on her.
"I… I didn't think anyone would follow…" Aerith said quietly.
Tifa sat down beside her, looking wistfully at Red before speaking again.
"Just tell me… You know you can talk to me." Tifa said, placing her hand on Aerith's shoulder.
A new batch of tears rolled down Aerith's cheeks. A sob burst forth and she crumbled in front of Tifa.
"I-I just… I d-didn't expect for everything to b-be s-so hard…"
Tifa listened intently, fully intending to hear Aerith out.
"I n-never thought I'd… Get a-another ch-chance at life… I was j-just so overwhelmed." The tears were coming in full waves now. "S-sephiroth isn't m-making it any easier… W-we had a stupid f-fight because I wasn't f-focused. I didn't mean to b-blow up in his face either… I've been acting so d-differently lately, I'm just s-so c-confused."
Tifa put her arm around Aerith and urged her onward.
"I'm listening…"
"C-cloud had been so… d-difficult. Sephiroth is d-different now! Why c-can't everyone just make some s-sort of effort!"
A few choked sobs were heard before she continued.
"A-and… Yuffie and Vincent… They could b-be in trouble. But the P-Planet! G-god, it's being so… so… so…" Aerith sighed.
"I-I don't know… E-everything is so screwed up…" Aerith said, her sobbing down to a few hiccups here and there, though the tears kept coming.
"Hon, nobody blames you for any of this you know. And Sephiroth will come around. So will everyone else. You have to believe that."
Aerith sniffed and smiled. Trust Tifa to be up beat and understanding.
"Yuffie and Vincent, they're fine. You know Vincent is easier to beat then that! Besides, those two have become pretty close, he wouldn't let anything happen to her." Tifa laughed.
"Ironic, eh? Remember the night we were at the Gold Saucer?" Tifa said.
Aerith nodded, not trusting her voice.
"Well, Yuffie came to me that night. She told me she had feelings for a certain somebody. I pried and pried and she finally spilled. It was Vincent! She wanted to continue to work in pairs with him and she came to me because I had second choice in the group." Tifa smiled and shook her head.
"I remember her telling me that if I told anyone, her Conformer would be placed somewhere the 'sun don't shine'." Both girls chuckled.
"It seems then…" Aerith sniffed. "That she got her wish."
"Yea…" Tifa trailed off, before smiling slyly.
"So… What's with you and Sephiroth?" Tifa asked, poking Aerith.
Aerith blushed and turned to Tifa, smacking her playfully on the arm before standing up.
"What do you mean? There's nothing going on." Aerith said, fighting to hide the blush that was taking her face.
Tifa got up and shut the door leading into the room.
"Awww, come on! You can tell me!" Tifa said. "You can totally see it. He likes you and I know you like him."
Aerith looked over at her.
"Is it that obvious…" Aerith asked timidly. "And how do you know he likes me?"
Tifa laughed and walked up to her, putting her hands on her shoulders.
"It's simply me legendary sixth sense kicking in. Sephiroth is… different around you." Tifa said knowingly. "He was never like that with anyone. Not even your father."
Aerith's eyes locked with Tifa's.
"How did you…?" She began, but Tifa waved her hand.
"Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth used to talk a lot. Sephiroth only ever really considered Zack and Cloud to be his friends. He was different around them too."
"I see." Aerith said, slightly saddened at the mention of Zack.
"Either way, you should go talk to Sephiroth. I'll keep your little secret don't worry!"
Aerith eyed her sceptically.
"Why are you so… accepting of everything?" Aerith queried.
Tifa flashed her a smile.
"I knew Sephiroth before the accident in Nibelheim. I also trust you. He does seem a lot different, more like the Sephiroth I once knew. Besides, I always knew in the back of my mind that it wasn't his fault."
Aerith gave Tifa and grateful smile.
"But…"
"But what?" Aerith asked cautiously.
"I need to talk to him first, ok?" Tifa asked.
Aerith looked thoughtful for a second before smiling at her.
"Oh, alright. I suppose I could stay with Red a bit longer…"
"Thanks." Tifa said, giving her the first genuine smile she'd given anyone over the course of a few days. Things were starting to look up, she thought.
Tifa stopped hesitantly at Sephiroth's door. Was she really ready to do this? Yes, she had to. It was inevitable, right? Even though she knew that Sephiroth was aware of her presence, Tifa knocked.
A few moments of silence passed before her knock was answered.
"Who is it?" Asked Sephiroth, voice gruff.
Tifa swallowed thickly.
"It… It's Tifa." She said.
Another few moments.
"Come in…" She heard, and she opened the door.
Aerith had been sitting alone with Red for a good ten minutes when she heard someone enter. She turned to find Cloud walking toward her and Barret closing the door.
'Oh no…' She thought. Both Cloud and Barret were not to happy with the fact that Sephiroth had stayed with the group. The suspicion that Sephiroth had done something to make Aerith upset earlier, only fed them more confidence.
"Cloud, Barret…" Aerith acknowledged them, turning around to face Red again.
Their was a pregnant pause before Cloud spoke up.
"Aerith we need to talk to you." Cloud said.
Aerith sighed.
"About?"
"Sephiroth."
She'd knew it. Why had she even asked, 'about?' It was painfully clear that they didn't approve of Sephiroth or the fact that she's spent time with him and had paired off with him.
Aerith sighed again, turning to face the two men.
"I don't think there is anything we need to discuss --" Aerith started, but was cut off.
"We don wan you anywhere near that foo'!" Barret spoke.
Aerith frowned and stood up.
"I really don't need this right now…" She said, heading for the door but Cloud stood in front of her, blocking her path.
"Aerith, he's dangerous. What if he goes insane again? What if you happen to be with him when that happens?" Cloud asked, Barret nodding his agreement.
A rush of anger filled Aerith.
"What do you mean, 'when' is happens? It's not going to happen. He's changed, can't you see that." Aerith spoke calmly despite the waves rolling through her.
Cloud's gaze hardened.
"Aerith, the foo' is unpredictable. What ya gonna do when he suddenly turns on ya?" Barret asked.
"Do you trust me?" Aerith whispered, tears threatening to fall. She was literally on an emotional roller coaster due to the conversation she and Tifa had just had.
"Of course we trust you. We just don't trust him." Cloud said, his protectiveness showing.
"Well you're going to have to trust me alone. You know I would never do anything to hurt any of you."
"We kn--"
"No, obviously you don't." Aerith said.
Cloud gave her a forlorn expression.
"I need to go…" Aerith said, pushing past them and out the door.
"Sorry if I interrupted…" Tifa said, seeing the book in his hands.
Sephiroth looked at her for a moment before putting the book down. 'This must be important…' Sephiroth thought. She looked much happier today, he noticed. More like her usual self.
"You would like, Miss Lockheart?" Sephiroth asked.
Tifa walked over to him and gestured to the end of his bed.
"May I?"
Sephiroth nodded and she sat down.
She sighed and fidgeted with her sleeves before saying anything.
"Look… Sephiroth. I realize that you've been through a lot, what with your child hood and Jenova. I also realize that you've changed. You're now the Sephiroth I knew before the Nibelheim incident. I just…" Tifa trailed off.
"I'm truly sorry for everything I've ever done to you…" Sephiroth said, his voice filled with regret.
"You had done nothing to me. In fact, you had only ever helped me. I know my words can't bring your father back, can't bring all the friends you lost in Nibelheim back but…"
"Sephiroth." Tifa cut him off, filled with confidence. "I don't blame you. For anything. I know you were being controlled, I saw how easy it was for Cloud to become controlled and I could never be angry at him. So why should I you?" Tifa said.
"I know I can't get my father back and I know my friends in Nibelheim and in various places corrupted by Jenova will never come back but I have to focus on the future."
She turned to him and smiled.
"I forgive you. I really do and I hope we can at least become friends."
Sephiroth stared in shock at her before regaining himself. He didn't know why he felt so relieved. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and all because of this young woman.
He cleared his throat, looking at the ground.
"I… Thank you." He looked up at her.
Tifa smiled. She'd seen how shocked he'd been and she could see in his eyes that he was relieved.
A knock on the door caused Tifa to jump. She stood up and motioned towards the door. Sephiroth nodded and she went to open it. Aerith was there in tears.
"Aerith! What happened…?" Tifa asked, concerned.
She heard Sephiroth get up off his bed and walk over to them.
Tifa smiled to Aerith and decided to end her visit there. She turned around after squeezing her friends arm and gave Sephiroth a smile. A smile exchanged between two friends.
"I'll see you later Sephiroth. Take care of Aerith for me." She said, before slipping out of his room. She skipped down the hallway feeling much better. She only wished that the rest of Avalanche could follow her example.
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked, leading her inside.
Aerith sniffled and lay down on his bed.
"I'm just so tired of everyone trying to look out for me but only making things worse. I know they're just trying to be helpful and they're acting like any best friend would but… A couple of them are taking it too far."
"Strife?" Sephiroth asked in a cold voice.
Aerith merely nodded and silence filled the room.
"I'm sorry. For everything." Aerith said.
Sephiroth looked at her, confused. She explained what she meant, even though Sephiroth believed she didn't have to. It wasn't her fault.
"About today. I'm just so frustrated. We haven't even been here two weeks and everything is so out of control. I'm really tired too. Never got much sleep since the White Materia." Aerith said.
Sephiroth shook his head.
"You don't have to be sorry. I was out of line. Nanaki is your friend, I shouldn't have been so inconsiderate."
Aerith smiled and rolled over to face him. She couldn't help the warm feeling spreading through her. She was really beginning to feel comfortable around Sephiroth. She sometimes even wished to be with him, even if only just to talk, when she was alone on the airship.
"You just apologized." She chanted.
"So?"
"So I'm going to use it against you one day, Sephy."
Sephiroth smirked and was about to say something when a scream was heard. It seemed to be coming from the hallway outside. Sephiroth, at first, passed it off as the rest of Avalanche doing something strange but when everyone else started yelling, he knew something was wrong.
Aerith made it to the door before him, not passing anything off as her friends acting strange. The moment she opened the door, a blur of orange knocked her over.
When she focused she saw it was Red, but something was wrong.
"Red…?" Aerith said, standing up slowly.
His eye was no longer yellow, but glowing green and his other eye was the same; his eye patch was gone. His leg was glowing as well, shaking every few seconds.
The rest of Avalanche appeared at the doorway and Tifa gasped.
"Aerith, don't go near him!"
"What's wrong with him?" Aerith asked, backing away from him. She noticed Sephiroth and Cid were following slowly behind Red, ready to grab him at the best opportunity.
"The foo' opened his eyes and started tearin up his goddamn room! He leaped at Tif and ya wanna know what he tried tah do? He tried tah bite 'er!" Barret answered.
Aerith nodded and felt the bed behind her.
"Aerith… Stop backing up, come over here…" Cloud said, motioning for her to do as he said.
Unexpectedly, Red jumped at her before either Sephiroth or Cid could grab him. Aerith narrowly missed being bitten and turned around in time to see him jumping at her again. Knowing she had no time to escape, she closed her eyes, waiting for the searing pain.
But nothing came and Aerith opened one eye. She saw Red growling at her and the Masamune stopping Red from moving any farther. Aerith looked about ready to cry. Sephiroth moved to stand in front of her and Red backed off. He ran over to the window, howled and before anyone could stop him, he jumped out the window. Off the ship.
The Avalanche crew stood in shock at what the had just witnessed.
Cloud and Cait moved over to Aerith in record time and checked for any cuts, bite marks, anything. The Turks eventually showed up as well after hearing the commotion and Avalanche filled them in on everything.
After they made sure Aerith was in one piece and would stay that way, Avalanche decided to call it a night. In the morning, they would search non stop for their three comrades; Yuffie, Vincent and Red.
"This is getting out of control!" Elena sighed, exasperated.
"I'll say…" Reno mumbled, pulling a beer out of the fridge in their room.
"…." Was all Rude had to offer.
"I know man! Any day now!" Reno answered.
Elena looked at him, confused.
"He said that they should be tearing each other's throats out pretty soon. Everyone is tired, tense. Valentine is missing, along with that numbskull of a girl."
"Reno, she's not a numbskull." Elena scolded.
Reno mumbled and threw the now empty beer bottle out the window. He decided to follow Rude's example and crash for the night.
Elena sighed and went to look out the window.
"He really jumped out the window?" Elena mumbled in amazement. "He'd be lucky he even survived."
Elena pulled out of the window and looked over at her two best friends who were now sleeping soundly. Elena would have tried to do the same, but she was so worried about Yuffie. 'Too worried', she remembered Reno saying. 'Valentine can take care of that pipsqueak.'
Tifa, Yuffie and herself had become rather close over the six months they had been free of fighting. They'd talked and Yuffie and Tifa had began to trust her, even going to far as to include her in their 'pirvate, girl's only' conversations.
Elena sighed. How she wished for things to go back to normal again. She never wanted to pick up another gun ever again after everyone had settled down. She'd simply wanted to travel with Reno and Rude, even if it did mean spending her nights at a bar.
Elena moved to lay on the bed beside Reno.
'Maybe things will go back to normal after all of this…' She thought. She truly hoped so.
Yuffie began to feel heavy. She didn't have anymore strength to lift her feet up. She and Vincent had been walking for hours now and she was exhausted.
"Yuffie. You should see this." Vincent said.
Yuffie stopped feeling sorry for herself and rushed over when she heard the concern in his voice. Vincent was never concerned. When she made is over to him, what she saw shocked her to no end and she realized why Vincent was so suddenly concerned.
Here, in the middle of the forest, was a huge mako pool.
"Oh my goodness…" Yuffie gasped, her eyes bulging. There had been no disturbances on the Planet's surface for the longest time! This couldn't be possible!
Yuffie shrieked when she saw the pool begin to bubble slightly. The next thing she knew, something was starting to rise out of it.