I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(

Chapter Ten

Kidnapped

"Oh, still alive, I see." Rosso grinned. "And you call yourself human."

"More human than you." Vincent growled.

"Huh? More human than I? Oh That's funny, coming from the man that made Claire run off from him." Vincent narrowed his eyes. How in the hell had she known about that? "Then again, it is true so try telling me something that I don't already know, darling. I traded all my human weaknesses for power long ago. It is the path I've chosen and the path I tread until I suck all life from this pitiful world! And I'm not going to let you get in the way." She began to circle him. "You have lived long enough, Vincent Valentine. And I'll make sure that you don't come back this time by slicing you into pieces!" She pulled out her weapon. "Do you know why they call me the Crimson? Let me show you!" Vincent pulled out his gun and she grinned. "You couldn't even bare to hold me off with your little friend with you last time so it makes me wonder how you're going to do on your own."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that any longer because I'm the one that you're going to be fighting, not him."

Both of them turned to find Zeke and Claire standing behind them. The man wore a smile, announcing that he was ready for battle as the woman just stood there, a blank look on her face.

Rosso smiled. "Ah, so reinforcements have come."

"Vincent, Claire," Zeke moved forward, his land appearing in his hand. "Go on ahead. I can take care of her."

"By yourself?" Claire asked him.

"Of course. Remember who you're talking to. The cousin of the one and only Zack Fair! It took an entire army to take him down; this thin witch has nothing on me."

~Yeah,~ Claire scratched the back of her head. ~I thought that, too~ "Just be careful."

"Same to you." He waved over his shoulder as Claire moved towards the door they needed to get through. "And Vincent," The man had yet to move. "Try not to piss Claire off anymore that she already is, all right? I do live right next door to her and I don't want to have to listen to her all night, got it?"

The man in red stayed silent before following after Claire, leaving Zeke to handle himself against Rosso. "Claire," he moved after her. "Claire, wait."

"We don't have time to talk, Vincent." She told him, not pausing in her steps. "I want to get this all over with so I can go back home and you can go back off to wherever it is that you go."

Vincent paused. "What do you-"

"Here," She paused and pulled her necklace off. "Take it back. I don't want it anymore." She turned and tossed it to him.

Vincent stared down at it. It was the Cerberus pendant that he had given to her three years ago just before the final fight with Sephiroth and Sienna. "But Claire," She had already stalked off, leaving the door behind her open. Vincent sighed and closed his eyes as he tried to ignore the hurt feeling he held as he moved after her. He deserved it all but it didn't lessen the pain. This was all his fault and he doubted that he could fix it this time.

Glancing up at the ShinRa building, Claire found the memories of the fight that had progressed between Sephiroth and Sienna with the Strife and Rush siblings. She glanced over her shoulder as Vincent's phone rang. She ignored everything as he began to talk to Shelke. She began to think about the party that they were going to have next week. It was going to be in the country; she didn't want it to be in their city. She wanted it in a large field where they could all run around like little kids again. She was sure that she and Yuffie were going to be the only ones running with the children, Tifa might join in for a little bit, but she didn't care. She was going to enjoy her birthday.

Something smacked on the ground behind her and Claire turned to find Vincent falling to his knees, clutching at his chest much like he had on Cid's ship. "Vincent!" She hurried to his side in worry, grabbing his arms. She didn't know what to do. A hound ran up on him but Claire shot it, keeping her other hand on his shoulder. It took a moment or two longer but he finally stood up, breathing hard as he looked around, confusion clear on his face.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Why is Chaos…why now?" He shook his head.

"Maybe…you should stop." Claire told him. "Go back to Reeve and Cid. It might be better for you to do so."

"No," He shook his head. "I'm fine…" Shelke made a comment about Protomateria. "Protomateria?" Vincent asked. ~Hojo said something about this three years ago before we killed him. Protomateria…if Sienna had it, does this mean that she got it from me?~ "Control Chaos?" ~Is that why Sienna was able to control the Weapons and Omega?~

"Yes," Shelke's voice reached them. "If you recall you had it extracted from your chest by Rosso." Shelke's voice was changed into Lucrecia's again. "Chaos. While apart of you, the entity exists independently from the rest of your body."

"Shelke?" Vincent called to her.

"Chaos, the Harbinger of Anarchy." Guess whose voice it was.

"Lucretia?" Vincent asked.

Claire whipped around instantly, anger flaring in her chest. "Are you serious?! Even now! Goddammit!" She pushed away from the man but he was intent with what he was watching. Hot tears swelled up in her eyes but she hurriedly wiped them away, refusing to let him see them.

"You must fight him. I don't want you to die!"

"Lucretia!"

Things fell silent after a few moments longer. "Let's just get this over with," Claire hissed, shoving her way inside the ruined ShinRa building. They were heading down below to the Reactor 0. She remembered that they had past it in their original adventure before. Right around the time that they were on their way to stop Hojo from firing the Mako to Sephiroth and Sienna. The thought of that crazy bastard sent a shiver down her back as she entered the next room just to have a machine drop down in front of them.

"Another Black Widow?" Claire asked, a hand on her hip. "Imagine that. Just how many of these damn things do they have?" Her anger was quickly able to take down that damn machine, resulting in Vincent not even having to move. He tried to talk to her but every time she ignored him to where he finally just fell quiet and pulled out his phone. He dialed the number several times but received nothing.

"Can't get ahold of her?" Claire asked.

Vincent shoved his phone back in his pocket and moments later Claire's phone rang.

"Hey! I got through!" A bright voice cried.

"What? You got through?" Another voice joined them. "Yo-ho! Vincent! Claire! You two still alive?"

"Of course they are; we're talking to them, aren't we? And do you really have to shout like that into my ear?"

"Tifa? Barret?" Claire recognized the voices. "Glad to see that you two are still the same. What's up?"

"Claire." The third voice made Claire loose her smile. "Do you remember what Jeanne said?"

She closed her eyes. "Of course I do. And I'm going to do exactly what she said. No matter what!"

"Good." Cloud paused. "Vincent."

"Cloud." The man replied, moving closer as Claire put her phone on speaker. "It's been a while."

Cloud told them about an attack.

"Cid's Airship?" Claire cried. "Are he and the kids all right?"

"We lost contact with him about 15 minutes ago. I don't think we have to worry though. They should be fine."

"Yeah." Both Claire and Vincent said together, hanging their heads. "Cid wouldn't let anything happen to the triplets."

"What about you?" Vincent asked.

Cloud gave a small chuckle. "What do you think?"

"You can count on us," Tifa assured him. "After all, Jeanne's kicking ass with Jena as the other Turks are here lending a hand as well. We'll be fine."

"And as for you?" Cloud asked.

"Don't worry," Vincent told him. "Leave Deepground to us."

"Can you hold on a second?" Cloud passed the phone back to Tifa.

"I'm sending you a map of the ShinRa building. If Jeanne was there with you then you wouldn't need it, but she's not so…Deepground is below the complex. Take an elevator as deep down as you can. Good luck!"

"Give them hell, guys!" Barret cried as gunshots could be heard.

"Barret, I thought I said-"

"Don't go getting yourselves killed now," Cloud told them both. "We still have our birthday next week, remember?"

"I got it, Cloud." Claire laughed at her brother before she hung up the phone. "So, down we go."

There were many Deepground soldiers waiting on they as they moved through the floors. Claire led the way, leaving Vincent to either fall behind or keep up. She did as much as she could to try and forget that he was even there but his gunshots were making that hard as they whizzed past her ears. She didn't count how long it took but soon they reached the second elevator.

They moved further onto the elevator to find Azul waiting on them; sort of.

"Who in the hell beat you up?" Claire asked, glancing at all the wounds on the man's body. She then noticed the ice and the puncture wounds. "Ah. I guess that Jeanne and Jena got ahold of you, didn't they?"

"So, Rosso didn't survive." Azul sighed.

"Against Zeke?" Claire asked. "I doubt it."

"Something inside you wants out," Azul commented to Vincent. "Its stench is so very familiar." He tossed his head back and gave a laugh. "Come, Vincent. Show me your rage. Now, let the killing begin."

Azul's attention was all against Vincent, leaving Claire in the dust. All her attacks on him seemed to do nothing and she was just swatted away like a fly. Pounding her fist into the ground she punched herself back up to run back in but froze at the man that stood before her.

"Nero,"

"Claire," The man closed his eyes. "He's called for you."
"Called for me?" She raised a brow.

"I am to take you to him."

"To Weiss?" Claire glanced over at Vincent as he fought Azul. "I can't just leave!"

"You want to see him, don't you?" Nero asked her. She bit her lip. "Then just come with me."

She lowered her head. "I…I can't."

Nero sighed, shaking his head. "You're as stubborn as you were once were." Claire went to move around him but his metal wings shot out again and grabbed her. "But Weiss has called for you and so I shall deliver."

She struggled against him but he was too strong. "Vincent!" She screamed.

The man in red instantly turned from his own battle in time to see both of them disappear in one of Nero's dark pools. "Claire!" He cried.

"Don't worry about her!" Azul grinned. "This is how a battle should be. Don't you think so?" Vincent clutched at his chest again, his eyes zooming between Azul and where Claire had been standing. "Feel my true strength. Feel the wrath of Azul the Cerulean!" He lit up in a blue light and he transformed into that creature they had run into at WRO Headquarters.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that? I come looking for a scared mouse and I end up catching a rat."

Vincent turned around, recognizing the voice instantly. "Jeanne?"

The woman, Genesis' blade on her shoulder, gave a smile before taking a step forward from the shadows. "You didn't think that I was just going to let you run off from our battle, did you?" She asked Azul. "My sister would have come as well, if she didn't return to help Rufus with Cid's Airship." Azul gave off a roar and charged at her.
"Stay back, Vincent. I can handle this one." Gripping Genesis' blade, she tan at the creature, a look of pure enjoyment on her face.

Vincent watched as the woman dealt blow after blow to Azul. He had forgotten that Jeanne was once a SOLDIER. Their love for battle was high, but he had never seen this loon on her face before. Perhaps…maybe because the last battles had been with Sephiroth and Sienna. The two of them were like her parents. Her urge to battle them must have been nearly none.

At the last moment, Azul changed his course and hit Vincent instead, slamming him against the railing.

"You dirty-" Jeanne's curse was cut off by Vincent transforming into Chaos and exploding right beneath the large monster. She covered her eyes as her hair and jacket whipped around her. When it all faded back to normal, Chaos and Azul's normal form stood before her now, glaring at the other.

"Chaos," Azul gasped. Jeanne watching, deciding not to get involved at this moment as Chaos lifted Azul's big gun and threw it at him. He wore a vicious smile as it penetrated his foe. "It looks like…you were more a beast…that I. How that woman…cares for you so much…I'll never know." He began to back up. "I'll see you again, Vincent…In hell!"

Chaos gave a loud roar that echoed through the area as he charged up an attack. Jeanne tossed her arms over her head as it fired, knocking Azul off and plummeting down to his fate as he laughed. ~Falling to his death and still laughing like a maniac? What's wrong with these people?~ Jeanne turned and found the noise had been made by a phone on the ground. She picked it up and turned it over in her hand. ~Where did this come from?~ She wondered. A roar caught her attention, reminding her the situation that she was in. Chaos began to strike out with his arms as his eyes landed on Jeanne. She frowned. "Don't even think about it, bub." She knew that whenever Vincent was in Chaos mode he would attack everything; but Claire. Claire was always the safe one, they just never knew why, outside of their thoughts answering that question. Would Jeanne be attacked like the others?

As Chaos shot forward, teeth bared, she received her answer. Taking the blunt side of Genesis' sword, Jeanne pulled back before landing a hit on Chaos' face, sending him flying backwards and to the floor. Vincent returned back to normal and rolled over a couple of times.

Jeanne sighed, scratching the back of her head as Vincent lay there, knocked out. "What to do, what to do." She moved over to the railing and sat down on it, thinking quietly to herself over everything that had just happened. She hoped that Vincent wasn't pissed at her for attacking him.

"Chaos…" The voice made her lift her head. "Lucretia used me to…Lucretia…"

"Dude, you gotta let that go." Vincent turned his head to see Jeanne sitting on the railing as the elevator continued to go down the final floors. "Believe me, I understand everything that you're going through, everything you feel, but this is just too much, my friend. Let it go before you lose everything else." Vincent stayed silent and Jeanne rolled her eyes. ~Just like Cloud a year ago~ She sighed, standing again. "Do you know whose phone this is?"

The man pushed himself up and looked at what she held out to him. "It's Shelke's." He answered her. ~But how did it end up here?~

"The brat that switched sides?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes."

"Well, that's not good." Jeanne frowned. "If it's here and not on Cid's ship with her that mean's she's not on the ship anymore either."

"Possible." Vincent closed his eyes. "Most likely." The elevator finally stopped at a huge, dark door that began to open for them. "Deepground," Vincent hissed. "ShinRa's dark secret. Three years of hell below. Now a world of hell above. The path to darkness opens once more." He took a step forward but Jeanne's voice stopped him.

"Vincent. Where's Claire?" He turned from her, hanging his head. "So, they did take her." She shook her head. "Then it looks like you've got another partner for the moment, Vincent." He glanced at her again. "What? There's no way in hell I'm just going to let her disappear. Claire needs all the help she can get right now! So come on, let's go get her!"

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