The basement had proven easy to navigate with digital tickers lining the hallways, directing Aria and Reno toward the center of the building. They kept the Deepground helmets on as a precaution. Gun drawn, she slipped her head into a fire escape stairwell.
"Empty. Is the main level as open as it is down here?"
Reno shrugged, his face speaking for him: Do I work here?
She held the door open for him, nodding him along. He passed into the dimly lit stairwell just as a burst of gunfire sounded from the floor above.
He arched an eyebrow while ascending the stairs. "By all means, let me go first."
As they approached the door to the main floor, a woman cried out on the other side. Aria nudged Reno, then nodded downward. He followed her gaze to find water seeping under the door.
"Fire?" he mouthed. She tapped the metal doorknob, then shook her head.
"Ready?" she asked, rolling her shoulders back twice. He nodded, and she turned the knob, sliding quickly into the main hall. Reno watched her from the stairwell as she holstered her gun and stepped further into the flooding room. He could see her visor flicker under the pouring water of the fire sprinkler.
"What happened here?" she asked into the room. Though Reno could not hear the reply she received, he did hear the gunshot that followed. Aria swore and gripped her left arm as he pulled his own visor off and swept into the room. Suddenly aiming at an amber-haired woman holding the body of a child, he demanded identification.
"Don't shoot! We're not Deepground. Who are you?"
"I'm with the WRO, and I certainly don't recognize you."
"We're not WRO," he shot back. Keeping his eyes on the woman, he addressed Aria. "You okay?"
"Grazed. I'm fine."
The woman pulled the child closer, her gun steady in the air, water dripping off its barrel.
"No...I do know you. You're a Turk," she spat in recognition. "Shinra owns you. It's your ignorance that allowed these monsters to surface."
Aria pulled off her helmet and nodded at the girl in her arms. "You seem pretty attached to that monster. Maybe you're in with Deepground."
A warning shot tore through the air past her ear. Reno stepped in again.
"We aren't here to hurt anyone. We're looking for someone. A man in black, a red cape."
"Vincent Valentine," she answered. "You know him?"
"You do?" Aria asked.
Before the woman could respond, a loud crash came from the hall behind her. She flinched. "They're here. They're tearing the place apart. They're after him."
"Why?" Aria asked, cautiously stepping toward the pair. A gunshot triggered an explosion down the hall.
"Do you need help?" Reno asked, nodding toward the girl.
"No. She's sedated, but we're fine. If you want to help, go help him. But be careful. Azul is here."
Reno shuddered, then followed Aria through another metallic door.
The beast of man stared down through black eyes into Vincent's expressionless face. He had crashed through the ceiling of the hallway, catching the gunman before he could escape the building. He had smiled at the promised reunion, then spoke in riddles.
"Answer me this: Do you know why you even exist?"
Vincent tightened his grip on Cerberus, but said nothing. The beast grinned.
"Just as I thought. Ignorant of your own destiny. Very well. I'll show you what you really are."
At this, Vincent fired. Azul laughed.
"You think that toy can penetrate my armor? Enough of the games, Vincent. Give me the protomateria."
At this second mention of protomateria, Vincent flinched. Then Reeve's voice called out behind him, motivating him to run.
The beast gave chase.
Reeve led him through a labyrinth of hallways that, under normal conditions, would have inspired a snide remark about the WRO's architects. As it was, he gritted his teeth against the pressure building in his chest. It was obvious that neither he nor Reeve could outrun this Tsviet.
They wound up in a cargo bay, Reeve nodding toward a rocket launcher in an opened crate. Vincent hoisted it upon his shoulder and waited for the heavy footsteps to round the corner. As a mass of glowing blue appeared in the doorway, Vincent glanced once at Reeve, then back at his target, and fired. The explosion threw him several feet back, causing a loud metallic scrape as his left arm slid across the floor. Looking back toward the door, he saw a newly vulnerable Azul smiling back. Though he would never have admitted it, at this point, Vincent was angry.
Azul called out, raising a massive gatling gun, "Well done! You have broken through my barrier."
Vincent gestured for Reeve to escape, sensing just how personal this fight would be.
"This ends here. Leave him to me."
Reeve obliged, sprinting through the large iron doors before they came to a close. On the other side, he collided with another body. He reached for his own pistol only to find that it had fallen in the explosion. A strong hand grabbed each of his shoulders, causing him to look up and into Reno's face.
"What's going on? Where is he?"
"In the bay," Reeve exhaled.
"With that monster?" Aria asked, an undeniable tone of accusation in her voice. The word was beginning to feel familiar in her mouth.
"He told me to leave. It seems this is far more personal that we anticipated."
Vincent braced himself. Azul laughed one last time, saying, "Long has it been since I've faced a worthy opponent."
The title fit both of them.
For every blast fired by that massive gun, Vincent rolled, leaped, and darted out of the way. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he learned each corner of the room, evading fire like the professional he'd once been. Cerberus grew hot in his hand as he took shots from behind crates, off of ladders, and more than once, from point blank range. Inexplicable bursts of energy kept him from getting so close very often. With every other shot he fired, he listened for some indication of impact, something to tell him his effort was not in vain. Such recognition came only in grunts at the beginning, Azul too large a force to be affected by mere bullets. But not long into the battle, Vincent remembered how efficiently he had equipped himself back in Kalm, and focused his energy on casting bursts of flame in Azul's direction. With each cast, a flicker of heat licked at his throat, its source the beast growing impatient for its own battle. He suppressed the urge to utilize that form, and kept his head down. Through the seemingly endless barrage of Azul's attacks, he could not hear the banging of two fists on the outside of the bay doors. He could not sense that a worthy ally desperately wanted to help. For this fight, it seemed, he did not need her. His combination of speed, precision, and materia finally knocked the breath out Azul, and the large man froze in the center of the room.
"You may think…" Azul struggled for air, "this is the end...but…" Unable to finish the thought, he collapsed.
Vincent holstered his gun and bent over, catching his breath. After several deep inhalations, the pressure in his chest subsided. Still, it reminded him of all he did not know. The building beyond the bay seemed quiet, and as he approached the doors, Shalua's words echoed in his memory: Your body harbors the Chaos gene? That explains your relationship to Dr. Lucrecia Crescent. Were you the product of one of her experiments? He knew where he needed to go, and somehow it did not surprise him. That house just would not let him go.
First, he had a meeting to make.
No longer able to suppressed his concern for leaving Aria alone in the city, he now shifted his weight as he held the button to open the barrier to the bay. The massive doors opened, revealing to each other the parties that waited on either side. Aria smiled at the surprise in Vincent's eyes.
"You're here," he said lowly. She pushed the hair from his face, revealing a scrape along his cheekbone.
"You were late," she replied frowning at the small burns she noticed on his neck.
"I'm fine. There was...an explosion."
Reeve grinned at the launcher lying on the floor in the bay.
"You're bleeding," he remarked, quickly casting a Cure on her arm. She sighed into the relief she had not realized she needed.
"Yeah, we met your friend and her kid," Reno interjected. "Who shot out the sprinkler? 'Cause they've got some huge bills coming their way. The first for my suit," he remarked, shifting uncomfortably in his damp clothes. Reeve shook his head, lightheartedly rolling his eyes at the Turk. Reno did not notice, as his gaze had fallen on the body in the bay.
"Ho-ly sh-it," he cawed, stepping toward the enormous frame. "What was this guy on?"
"Inordinate supplies of Mako, and who knows what else," Reeve answered. Azul twitched in his unconscious state, causing Reno to jump back.
"Shalua fired at you. What happened?" Vincent asked Aria. She shook her head.
"Nothing happened. She thought we were Deepground."
Reno added, "You were wearing a Deepground helmet."
"That might have been a mistake. For what it's worth, she's clean. Whatever that means."
Vincent nodded, but did not correct their misunderstanding of Shalua's relation to the child in her arms. "Where is she?"
"She's taken Shelke to the medical bay. They seem to be okay for now," Reeve answered, reading from his cell phone
"Then let's go."
Reno and Aria led the way back to the main entrance, leaving Vincent to walk more leisurely in his tired state. They approached the open lobby and quietly expressed gratitude for the end of the artificial rain. As the pair stepped outside, Reeve called after Vincent.
"Where are you…"
Vincent turned back, glad to be out of earshot of Aria. "Nibelheim."
Reeve froze. "Wait. Shinra Manor...but that is where…" Vincent did not fill in the gap for him. "Understood. However, be on your guard. We have reports of Deepground units deployed in that area. If you wish to enter the Manor in one piece, I suggest you use the sewer system extending from the old Mako reactor."
Vincent smirked. "Sewer...How appropriate is that?"
Waiting on either side of the doors, Aria and Reno turned toward Vincent as he exited.
"We need to rest. We haven't stopped since we arrived in Kalm, and that was…"
Reno finished for him, "Yesterday."
Vincent suppressed a sigh. "The apartment is on the other side of the city, and not very secure, should Deepground still be here."
"True. And you don't take sleeping shifts. You just stay awake," Aria remarked. Reno sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, how heavy is that shining armor?" Then, he took off toward the northern end of town. "Follow me."