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

Chapter Thirteen

Vincent VS Claire

Nothing moved. Everything was silent as they all just stared at the other. None of them knew what to do or what was going to happen next as anger and hate flooded around the room.

"You bastard." Jeanne's voice finally broke it. She was still kneeling on the ground, the wounded Nero gripping to her for his life. "You just-you never learn! Why can't you just-"

"Jeanne," Vincent's voice was calm as he stood there, staring at Claire.

"What?"

"Stay out of this."

Jeanne opened her mouth to refuse but stopped herself. This was much like her fights with Sienna. She had asked the others to stay out of it as well. What kind of woman would she be if she refused to do the same for them? Sure, she wanted to save Claire but something told her…she had faith in Vincent. Vincent would be able to do it.

Her silence gave Vincent his answer and he closed his eyes for a moment before firing Cerberus off at Hojo/Weiss. Claire moved quickly, using her sword to block the bullets as the crazed man gave off another laugh. "You can't attack me as long as she's still alive, Valentine! My little puppet will keep me safe until her death! You know what you have to do, but can you do it?" He danced around. "Oh, this is so much fun! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to see this show!"

"A show, huh?" Vincent lowered Cerberus again before turning back to Claire. A plan began to flare through his mind but he was worried. Was it going to work? He prayed to god that it would.
He took off quickly, trying his hardest to keep the fight off of Jeanne and Nero just in case and fired bullets off at the controlled woman that followed him. It was different because she held a sword in her hand but with his flexibility and speed he was able to get past her defenses as she blocked his bullets and grab her from behind.

"Claire, I know you can hear me," Vincent held her tightly from behind as she struggled to get free. "You have to break out of this! You can't let him control you like this!"

Slamming her head backwards, Claire got free as Vincent stumbled back, clutching his face. She wasted no time in hurrying forward again to land a few more fist blows before the man jumped backwards across the room. She grabbed her sword again and followed, slashing out at him again and again. Vincent hissed as one of the blows caught his arm but he shook it off quickly as he fired a few more rounds that were refused their landing.

Jeanne bit her lip, trying her hardest to stay back but worry flooded through her in gallons. If Vincent, of all people, couldn't knock Claire out of this then she was going to have to…

"Do not…fear," Nero's voice struggled. Jeanne glanced down at the man again. He might have been in the middle of dying but his grip was still fierce. "Everything will be…all right."

"How do you know?" She asked him. "How can you be so sure?"

He closed his eyes. "Trust in those close to you. You will find that they can do wondrous things when they are in dire need."

"Dire need?" Jeanne demanded. "Dire need for what!?"

"To have the strength…to save those…most important to them."

"Claire, you have to stop this!" Vincent told her. "Please! You're going to get hurt if you continue like this! I don't…I don't want to hurt you!" Claire's body froze for a moment before quickly continuing with her attacks. An idea spread in his mind. Would this one work? "I…I know that I've been a fool," Vincent told her, dodging her sword again. "I know that I've hurt you over and over again. And I know that I deserve all your wrath but I…I refuse to receive it this way! If you want to get revenge on me, Claire, then break out of Hojo's control and do it yourself!"

"Try all you want," Hojo told him. "But it'll never work! The foolish girl is under my control!"

"You're the only fool here, Hojo." Jeanne replied. "Claire is a lot stronger than you give her credit for! She's gone through nearly as much as I have! You forget that she and her brother are the ones that took down Sephiroth; twice! She's gone through more than you know and is stronger than even you can imagine. Say all you want; in the end you will fall just like last time!"

Vincent tried over and over again but his words didn't seem to be doing anything. What could he say to get through to her? He couldn't hit her or shoot her; he refused to do that, even for a last resort. There was no way that he was going to be able to…

No, he wasn't going to think about that. He couldn't bear to think about losing her like he had Lucretia. Lucretia! Instantly another plan formed into another plan. If this one didn't work…

"Claire!" Vincent dodged another swing and jumped away. "You claim to be strong. To be fierce, but I don't see it. You're letting yourself be controlled by a lunatic who wants to bring death to this world. Death to your family and friends and everyone else that you care for! You tried so hard all those years ago to free me from beneath Nibelheim Manor as I just laid there, swimming in my self-pity and guilt. You let me free and showed me that I had to be strong. It didn't kick in until recently but the more time I spent with you the more I knew that I had to stop all of this and move on. That I had to leave this all behind and start somewhere new; somewhere fresh." He took a breath as her attacks continued to rain down on him. "Now you are under Hojo's control; just like Lucretia was. Are you just going to stand there and let his use you like he did her? Are you too weak to break out of his control and fight back? Fight back, Claire, fight back or am I going to have to lose another-"

"You Bastard!" Claire's voice ripped from her throat as a fierce stab rushed forward to him. Vincent didn't have a chance to dodge this time. He closed his eyes, bracing for the sword to stab him but instead he received a punch to the face, sending him skidding across the floor. He grunted as Claire landed on top of him and her fists battered his chest over and over again.

"Never! Never compare me to that foul woman, you bastard!" Claire's scream vibrated off of the walls. "Never! I am nothing like her! I…I was willing to do anything for you! To give up anything for you! I would have followed you anywhere, done anything you asked, but still you refused me! You refused me and kept going back to her! To the woman that Sienna had locked away in that stupid ice crystal! It's not…It's not fair, Vincent! You can't keep doing this to me! You can't tell me that I'm just like her! I am nothing like her! I refuse to let myself sit in a damn cavern, grieving for what I have done! I would fight back, killing the bastards and getting revenge on them all for what they had done to me! If it ended in my death, then so be it! I am not a coward, Vincent Valentine!"

Vincent didn't have a change to dodge this time. He closed his eyes, bracing for the sword to stab him but instead he received a punch to the face, sending him skidding across the floor. He grunted as Claire landed on top of him and her fists battered his chest over and over again.

"You bastard!" Claire's scream ripped from her throat. "I was willing to do anything for you! To give up anything for you! I would have followed you anywhere, done anything you asked, but still you refused me! You refused me and kept going back to her! To the woman that Sienna had locked away in that stupid ice crystal! It's not…It's not fair, Vincent! You can't keep doing this to me!"

Jeanne felt relief flood through her body. Claire was back to normal. Those barcodes had left her eyes, leaving behind tears and pain. It pained her to see her friend in this way but it had to be done. Whether it ended happily or sadly, this was the beginning of the next step of the relationship between Vincent Valentine and Claire Strife.

"Jeanne…" Nero's soft, weak voice grabbed the woman's attention and she turned back to the man she held in her arms. "Are you willing…to do a fool…one last favor?" She raised her brow for a moment. "All I want…is to be with…my brother."

She gave a small smile. "What do I need to do?"

"I hate you!" Claire hit his chest again. "I hate that you want her more than you do me! I hate that I can't get you out of my head, no matter how many times I've tried to do so! You're like a disease, Vincent!" She closed her eyes and dropped her head as her shoulders trembled. "But you're a…a disease that I need."

Vincent stared at Claire for a moment before pushing himself back up into a sitting position. Lifting his right hand, his fingers slithered up her arm and around to the back of her head where they grasped her hair, pulling her head back before his mouth struck forward for a kiss.

Claire told herself to pull back, to pull away from him. It was going to be like the kiss that they had shared at Zeke and Tifa's wedding a year ago. He would just disappear and leave her behind again. But with all her might, she couldn't force herself to remove herself from the warmth. She curled her arms up and around his shoulders, giving back as much as she gave as the time flew around them both. When Vincent finally pulled back from her, she opened her eyes. Vincent stared at her in silence for a moment before brushing her tears away with his knuckles. Claire's throat caught with the look in his eyes as they delivered her a silent message. A look that made her believe that he meant it.

Never again.

Vincent pushed himself up off the floor, pulling the woman up with him as he picked Cerberus back up from the floor. He stayed silent before his gaze turned to the other man in the room.

"Your plan has failed, Hojo." Vincent growled. "Again."

Hojo/Weiss tossed his head back, giving a huge laugh on insanity. "You're a fool! I'll never lose! I am invinci-"

"Now!" Nero shouted. He disintegrated into the ground and Jeanne jumped up and rushed as Hojo/Weiss before he could make a move, Genesis' blade landing a true strike on Weiss' body.

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