I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(
For those who wanted to know the story between Sienna and Sephiroth, ECLIPSED has begun ;)
And I'm glad that you guys all came for this!
Chapter Two
Showdown in the Wastes
"So tell us, Reeve," Claire began. "Who exactly were those men?"
Claire was sitting on the floor of the trailer, the Cait Sith robot in her lap as they were driven through the wasteland, heading for Edge. Reeve sat in front of her at the desk and Vincent was behind her, seeming as how she still wasn't talking to him.
"Deepground soldiers," Reeve answered, leaning forward on his knees.
"Deepground?" Vincent asked.
"Yes," the other man nodded. "The shadow of the ShinRa Company, constructed by the former president and completely hidden from the rest of the world."
"But why?" Claire asked while Vincent replied with his own-"Constructed?"
"His goal was to create an army of superhuman warriors-not once letting mortality interfere." Vincent hung his head while Clare's anger began to boil. "The man you met earlier, Azul, is also a member of Deepground. But, he belongs to the elite unit known as the Tsviets. The whole organization was kept a secret. That is why there is so little information on them. However, it's nothing like I expected."
Vincent looked back up at Reeve. "Not even a person in your position was informed?"
"No," Reeve shook his head. "Other than the President himself, the only people who knew of Deepground's existence were most likely Heidegger, Scarlet, and the head of biochemical research, Hojo." Claire felt Vincent stiffen at Hojo's name. "After the President's death, the transfer of power to his son was carried out so quickly, I doubt Rufus was ever briefed on the project. As for me, I was told the information was on a need to know basis."
"So, how did you find out about it?" Claire asked.
"All the Intel we currently have on Deepground was only discovered recently when we came across some of Scarlet's ol' files, thanks to Jeanne," Reeve answered. Vincent sighed while Claire slapped a hand over her eyes. ~Thanks for telling us all, Jeanne~
Reeve continued. "Have either of you heard of the mass disappearance that occurred recently in Junon?"
Claire jerked her head up in surprise. "What disappearance? What are you talking about?"
"There was a report a few days ago that told of twenty or thirty people suddenly vanishing," Vincent answered.
"That's what the report would like you to believe. The true amount was kept hidden so that they could contain the inevitable panic. The actual number of people that went missing that day was 1200."
Claire's face paled. "But…I was just there! I was just at Junon a couple of days ago!" Claire squeezed Cait Sith to her and the robotic cat patted her hand. She had been there to pick up the present for Cloud that she had ordered. The shop wouldn't send it through mail and so she had to go get it herself. "Did you find out why?" she asked.
Reeve slowly shook his head. "No. 1200 people simply vanished without a single trace. The WRO conducted a private investigation, but we came up empty-handed. Except for rumor. Since the Junon disappearances, people in Edge have been on, well, edge. They say that night after night you can hear screams coming from the direction of Midgar. Could it be the wind? Let me ask you, does the wind sound like a thousand wailing souls?"
Claire gave a huff. ~I guess it's a good thing that everyone left Edge for a little while, huh?~
Silence was in the trailer now and Claire began to shake. She had just been in Junon and now Edge was under attack. She could have been one of the ones that disappeared if Reeve hadn't of called her to the festival, seeming as how she was going to spend the night in the city before heading back home.; What would have happened if…
A hand placed on her shoulder made her stop shaking and she glanced over her shoulder at Vincent. His face was blank but his eyes gave a look of worry. She opened her mouth to say something but the WRO member on the radio beat her to it.
"Commissioner! A rogue transmission is being broadcast on all wave lengths!"
Reeve turned and switched the television on. A young man, shirtless and with long white hair sat in a chair in a dark room, staring down at them in anger. Claire titled her head a bit with a confused face. For some reason this man seemed to be very familiar…
"At last," the man's deep voice began. "The time has come for the cause. While the tainted will be…hunted down and exterminated. They shall be slashes, strangled, and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garroted and impaled. Shot and executed," Reeve's mouth fell open as the other two just glared at the screen. "Without mercy. The time has come to cleanse this world." The man's hands rose as his maniacal laughter sounded before the broadcast shut off.
Reeve's mouth was still open and Claire pulled her eyes from the screen. "Why?" She demanded. "Why does it have to be our world that has all the crazy badguys that want to destroy everything? Why can't we have an invasion of marshmallows or something just looking for a place to live, huh?"
Vincent smirked. Claire was the Joker of the Strife twins, while you would never hear Cloud say something like that.
"Where could that signal have-" Reeve was cut off by a phone.
"I stand alone. Everything that I believe is failing. I stand alone. Inside."
Both men looked down at Claire as she pulled out her phone. "Hello?" Her face spread out into a large smile. ""Okay, hang on." She pulled the phone away and pressed a couple of buttons. "Are you still there, Zeke?"
~Zeke?~ Vincent thought. There was only on Zeke he knew of. Zeke Fair., Zack Fair's cousin…they had come across him about the same time they had Yuffie but that was before Vincent had joined them, so he wasn't clear with the story. But he was clear with one thing. This man was worse than Yuffie and Reno of the Turks combined.
"Hello?" A man's voice sounded through the trailer. "Yes, I'm here, Claire. Who else is with you?"
"Reeve and Vincent."
"Ah, so the bat's finally left he came and returned to humanity, huh? Did he grow tied on looking at the dead woman Sienna encased in ice?"
If looks could kill and travel through phones, Vincent's would have killed Zeke.
"Uh, you do know that we can all hear you, right?" Reeve asked as Claire struggled to hold her laughter in.
Vincent shot a look at her but she didn't see it. In all truth, Claire hated Lucrecia with all her heart but never said anything because of Vincent. She had let him go after Meteorfall when he asked her for some time before he was ready to let Lucrecia go and she had given it to him. Two years full of it. And after the attack from Kadaj and Karina and their friends, she thought that he was ready, seeming as how he had kissed her, but he wasn't. He had left again for nearly another whole years. After three years, Claire had made up her mind. If Vincent left again, she wouldn't let him come back.
"Yeah, I know he can." Zeke answered with an amused tone. "Anyway, did you guys just catch that broadcast?"
"Yes, we did. I take it that you did too."
"Yep, sure did. Tifa, Myra, Reno and I all did. And I have a question for you."
"And the Question is?" Reeve asked.
"WHATI N THE HELL DID YOU AND YOUR WRO MEMBERS DO THIS TIME AND WHO IS IT THAT YOU PISSED OFF?"
Claire flinched at the shout and went to respond when another woman beat her to it.
"Zeke, Shush!" Tifa's voice ordered. "You'll wake the baby up!"
Zeke lowered his voice. "Right, sorry. I forgot."
Vincent raised an eyebrow. ~Baby?~ What were they talking about?
It seemed that Vincent was the only one confused as Reeve and Claire exchanged smiles.
"Zeke," Claire spoke in a scolding tone. "Why do you think this is Reeve's fault?"
"Well, Cloud's not doing anything at the moment so I can't blame him and Reeve is the only one doing anything in a large format so it has to be his fault." Was her answer.
Claire rolled her eyes. "I don't see how you and Zack can be related. He was way smarter than you."
The man on the phone laughed. "You only say that because you didn't know him growing up. Ask Jeanne and she'll agree with me. Zack was-" He was cut off by a banging sound on the side of the trailer.
"What was that?" Reeve's smile was erased from his face as he stood up. Everyone was silent as a second one sounded.
"Hey, Zeke, can we-"
Zeke cut Claire off. "No problem. Be sure to take it easy, okay? I'd rather not have to come and clean up your mess." The phone hung up and Claire sighed.
"I know he means well, but he's just such an asshole."
Vincent smirked at her comment as then watched as Reeve opened the trailer doors. His gun was out in second, shooting the guardhound away from the other man as it jumped to attack him. He then began to reload his gun as Claire stood up.
"Guardhounds!" Reeve exclaimed. There was a bunch of them running after the, growling and barking.
Vincent shot a few more of them as he moved to stand by Reeve. "I'll take care of your pet problem. Just keep driving."
Reeve backed away, an idea popping into his head. "Vincent! Use this!" A large gun appeared out of the floor of the trailer and Claire let out a whistle.
"Let me guess. Renee built you this?"
"For my birthday earlier this year," Reeve nodded with a smile. "Cid wasn't too happy about her being gone for a week though."
Claire laughed as Vincent sat down on the gun. "I'm sure he wasn't. Leaving that man alone with children is a pretty hectic idea but then again they are his so I guess he wouldn't do anything TOO bad to them."
Vincent was surprised again. ~That's right,~ He told himself. ~Renee was pregnant during the wedding. But…just how many children did they have? Was the baby that Tifa was talking about Renee and Cid's?~
It didn't take to long for the man in red to guard the hounds off of their tail but they soon took to jumping on the roof. Reeve had a worried look and Claire handed Cait Sith to him. "I got them this time." She told him before following the other man up onto the roof of the trailer. Claire took the front to shoot the animals away and Vincent stayed on the back. Claire winced when she shot them, their cries of pain ringing in her ears. She didn't like harming them, but she had too. And that was all she said, until she felt the vehicle speed up and her sight landed on the broken bridge. She couldn't help herself.
"Vincent!" She cried out.
The man behind her looked up and saw the bridge. He grabbed onto the ladder behind him as Claire grabbed tightly to…whatever it was sticking out of the roof.. She glanced over her shoulder though, in time to see two Guardhounds jump after them as the vehicle flew through the air. Without really thinking, Claire let go and felt the vehicle fly past her as she aimed her gun. It felt strange to her, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw her life flash before her eyes. But as she watched the guardhound opened its mouth to bite Vincent, who was staring at her like she was crazy, she fired and shot and hit the beast in the head.
She hit the end of the truck and tried to grab something, but she couldn't so off the end of the truck she went. Claire clasped her hands together and closed her eyes praying for there to be a river she would land in at the bottom of the trench when her body hit something. She heard Vincent grunt on impact and then felt the arm weave around her waist, holding her against the man that had caught her.
Time seemed to slow down for a moment and she couldn't help but smile. Vincent had caught her. He had saved her. He was holding her! She felt her heart start pumping. She didn't struggle or move in fear of making the man lose his grip on her and fall to their deaths. Claire couldn't help but take in his smell every time she breathed. It was a musky smell that she had always enjoyed with a mix of his own scent. Her mouth began to water. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She opened her mouth to speak
Time seemed to return to normal and the vehicle crashed onto the other side, nearly falling off as Claire bit her tongue. When everything stilled, Vincent jumped from the trailer and gently set Claire back on her feet. He glanced her over quickly. "Are you all right?"
She opened her mouth to comment on her tongue but then shook her head with a small smile. "Yes, I'm all right. Are you?"
He nodded. "But if not for you, I wouldn't be. I didn't even notice it." He referred to the Guardhound.
She turned away a bit. "Thank you." She told him. "For saving me."
"Vincent was the one to shake his head now. "No, thank you."
They gazed at eachother for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to the other but all hopes of talk were gone when Reeve pushed the trailer doors open.
"Are you all right?" Vincent asked him.
"I'll be all right." Was his answer. "But that's more than I can say for the engine."
Claire sighed, crossing her arms. "Figures. Renee isn't here when you need her the most." She mumbled to herself as Reeve glanced over his shoulder worriedly.
"If possible, I want you two to continue on to Edge."
"Without you?" Claire looked surprised. "Why?"
"That transmission we just saw trouble me. Once I have repaired the Shadowfox, I'll need to return to headquarters. A WRO Squad has already been dispatched to Edge. Join them and help liberate the city."
"I guess we have no choice." Vincent sighed before turning to walk away."
Claire was still looking at Reeve. "Are you going to be all right by yourself?"
Reeve chuckled. "Of course. You needn't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"All right," She smiled. "If you insist. Just stay safe."
"I will, and you do the same." Reeve closed the trailer doors behind him and Claire turned to follow Vincent along the road.
~All the stories are over,
Chapters are done.
All this chaos around me
Always alone~
"You know, I liked traveling with you better when you talked." Vincent paused in the cave they were now walking through. He didn't look over his shoulder, knowing what her response would be. In truth, Vincent found that over the years that he missed Claire. Missed her voice. Missed her companionship and her remarks, whether cruel or not. He longed for both Claire and Lucrecia, to be around them both. But, Lucrecia…her death was his fault…for not being able to stop her. He had chosen to stay with her.
Had he made the wrong choice?
That was a comment that Claire had not foreseen. She opened her mouth to laugh but she stopped. She would not talk to him like they had been together instead of apart these last three years. No matter how much she wanted to. "Well," She decided to say instead. "I liked it better when we traveled before too. Back then, I wasn't being ignored for nearly three years."
"Look," Vincent sighed. "I know that-"
"You know, do you?" She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. "You have been in my dreams for nearly 20 years and I did everything that I could to release you. When you were, I was happy, think that…that we could…but for three years I've been waiting, Vincent. Three years. For a little visit, a call, hell, even a message sent through one of the others about how you've been doing, to know that you were still out there, but I got nothing. And then, after the attack from Kadaj and Karina, I was happy to see you again…to hear your voice. And I thought that you would stay after Zeke and Tifa's wedding. But you didn't. You left me. Again! You don't know just how much that hurt me. You can't just kiss me one night and then disappear for a whole year, Vincent. It doesn't work that way!"
Vincent watched as the enraged woman ranted, his arms crossed. "Are you done yet?" He finally asked and she gave him a glare. "You knew all about Lucrecia, ad you knew about how I felt about her. I am responsible for all that happened. I-" Vincent was cut off by Claire's phone again.
She sighed and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey Tifa. How's the tyke?" She paused. "Well, that's good. "Well, that's good. Where's Zeke? Why? Oh, tell Barret I said 'yo' and that 'll see him next week, all right?" She paused again, accompanied by a giggle. "I'll be sure to tell him. Talk to you later." Claire flipped the phone shut and a glare returned to her face as she looked back at Vincent. She held the phone towards his face. "You see? That took two minutes! Why? Why couldn't you have done that, Vincent?" she put her phone away and walked past the man that couldn't answer her. "Let's just hurry up and get to Edge."
Vincent followed her in silence. What could he really say? 'I'm sorry' over and over again? No, he wouldn't do that. She would accept his apology soon enough and start talking again. She never could stay mad for too long. A couple of days at the most, but never too much longer.
Claire kept silent as they walked out of the cave and the Guardhounds attacked again. She took her frustration out on them. ~Am I being childish?~ She asked herself. ~Is my acting like this a bit much?~ Claire didn't know the answer but despite everything all her anger slipped away when Vincent was near. But why? Three years! He left her alone for three years to sit in a damn cave and stare at a dead woman in ice! In a cave that was supposed to be a place for the two of them, not him and Lucrecia!
Vincent had left her. Twice!
And she still loved him despite that fact. She couldn't help but smile at that thought as the Crimson hound was killed and they continued on their way. She would give Vincent, despite her brother and Jeanne's words, one more chance.
Strike three though, and he was out.
Claire paused at the clearing before she turned to look at the man behind her. "Vincent," She began slowly. He looked at her as she lost her words. What was she going to say again? Before she could figure it out, she watched the Pegasus Riders come flying off the cliff behind them and gasped. "Behind you!"
This fight was a little bit trickier than the others in the city had been. The Deepground attackers sped around the two of them, firing guns. But a plan quickly landed in Claire's mind. As Vincent kept shooting at the riders, she tried her best to dodge their own bullets as she ran towards them.
Luckily, their attackers were idiots.
From the practice that she had from doing this to her brother Cloud, and tons of luck, Clare was able to jump onto the back of one of the bikes and take control of the guns after the man in it was thrown off. After that, the enemies fell and Claire jumped off the hover bike, before it crashed into the cliff.
She moved her hair out of her face with a smirk dancing across her lips. "And you can thank Cloud for that!" She giggled. All those times that I had to jump on the back of his bike when he was going somewhere and he would try to leave without me." She ran hand through her hair and scratched her head before continuing to walk down the path with a smile." Come on, Vince. Let's get to Edge and see what's going on."
Vincent watched as Claire walked away and gave a small smile. Vince was the nickname only she used on him. She only used his full name when she was angry or worried about him. Calling him that told him that she had forgiven him.
For now.
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