Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Heart ❯ Return of Old Friends ( Chapter 3 )

When Vincent woke up, he heard a soft singing coming from behind him. He rolled over slightly to see Moro sitting near the edge of the ledge, singing softly as the sun rose from below the horizon. As he sat up, the dragon stopped singing and looked over at him. “Good morning, Vincent...” she said, giving him a small smile. The way she spoke his name and smiled… they were strangely familiar. “I didn't wake you, did I?”

 

Vincent shook his head and stood up. He walked over to stand next to the dragon and looked out across the forest. “So where are the rebels?” he asked.

 

Moro chuckled and said, “You would know them as the WRO, which is what they still call themselves. But do not expect a warm welcome; the leader is a descendent of Reeve Tuesti and he is not happy with your betrayal three hundred and some years ago.”

 

Vincent sighed and nodded. “I can understand that… but I have to try.”

 

“And I will back you up if I must.”

 

Vincent looked up at Moro and asked, “Moro, why are you treating me so… nicely? Just a few days ago, I tried to kill you.”

 

Moro sighed and looked at Vincent. “Yesterday, when I saw you're reaction to the story I told you, I knew that you were truly sorry. If you had reacted differently, then my attitude towards you would be different. When I saw the grief in your eyes, I knew that there was hope for you... that you can change and atone for what you've done, although it won't bring back the dragons you killed.”

 

Vincent looked back across the forest. “Nothing can mend what I've done…”

 

Moro snorted and said, “Mistakes were made... that is all... Sins can be forgiven; you just have to forgive yourself first.”

 

A memory flashed through Vincent's mind. He was on Aneilla's back, looking down at the glowing city of Midgar. The words Moro just said… they were a repeat of what Aneilla said to him at that time. Vincent looked at Moro and was about to open his mouth to ask her where she heard that before, when a rustling in the trees had them both look around.

 

The trees behind them were still dark and Vincent couldn't see anything. Above him, Moro growled deep in her throat. Vincent suddenly wished that Cerberus wasn't feet away near his pack by his sleeping mat. Suddenly, a happy squealing came from the trees and a gold streak came flying at Moro. Vincent's eyes widened when he realized that the streak was actually a kitten sized dragon that was dancing around Moro's head, chirping happily.

 

“Spike!” a voice yelled from the forest. “That damned goldie took off again!”

 

“Relax, Zack,” an all too familiar voice said that had a hint of amusement in it. “She'll be back…” Vincent watched as two men walked out of the forest and stopped dead. The tiny gold dragon was now sitting happily between Moro's horns on her head, crooning contently. Vincent's eyes were on the spiky blonde haired man before him… a man he had watched die from old age three hundred and ninety two years ago.

 

“Cloud?” he choked out.

 

“Vincent…” Cloud said softly. He looked at Moro and blinked slightly. “Are you the one who brought us back?” he asked the dragon.

 

Moro shifted slightly, turning her body to face them better. “I am…” she said, nodding.

 

Cloud nodded and the other man, who had spiky black hair, groaned and said, “Oh man, this just became more complicated…”

 

Cloud snorted and looked at Vincent. His blue eyes glowed angrily and Vincent felt that Cloud knew what he'd been doing the years he'd been in the Lifestream. “Surprised that you are standing so close to a dragon, Vince…” he said coldly. “Why the sudden change of heart? Last time I knew, you were slaying dragons left and right.”

 

Vincent looked away and said, “I…”

 

“He knows, Cloud...” Moro said.

 

Cloud blinked and looked at Moro. “He knows the story?”

 

“As much as he's allowed to know.”

 

Vincent looked up at Cloud, anger filling him now instead of guilt. “You lied to me, Cloud,” he said softly. “You lied to me for all those years… all of you did.”

 

Cloud shrugged and said, “I was told to… you weren't supposed to know.” He then looked at Vincent in the eye and said, “That still wasn't an excuse for what you did.”

 

Vincent grunted and walked back to his mat. He attached the holster and Cerberus back to his side and began to pack up. For some reason, he couldn't forgive Cloud, even though he was enthralled to see his old friend again. Behind him he heard the other, Zack, sigh and ask, “So why was I brought back here? After five hundred years in the Lifestream, it's kinda difficult to be in the living world again.”

 

“The planet needs you again,” Moro said. “Once everything is back to normal, the two of you will return back to the Lifestream to rest.”

 

“So the others aren't here then?” Cloud asked.

 

“Sorry, no... I only had so much power, so I thought that bringing back the two legendary SOLDIER would suffice. I promise, Cloud, I will send you back to Tifa as soon as you're finished here.”

 

Vincent turned from packing as Cloud nodded and said, “Looks like I'm going to be needed here for more than just the war.” He saw the blonde glance in his direction.

 

Vincent shook his head and looked at the tiny dragon on Moro's head. “I thought you said that you were the last…” he said as the gold zipped down to perch on Zack's shoulder.

 

Moro chuckled and said, “That isn't a dragon, but a fire lizard. They are closely related to the dragon, but they aren't dragon. They usually reside in the Lifestream, but they have the ability to go between dimensions, while dragons can only communicate with others in the Lifestream. Let's just say that this little one is a `tour guide' for Zack and Cloud during their visit here in the living world.”

 

“Yeah, and she's an annoying one too,” Zack said as the tiny creature nuzzled his cheek.

 

Moro chuckled again and then launched herself into the sky. “I will meet you all later when you stop for lunch.” Then she flew over the mountains and disappeared from sight.

 

Vincent watched the dragon's departure before lifting up his pack and walking over to Twilight. As he saddled and readied the chocobo, he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked over his shoulder with the corner of his eye to see Cloud stop a few feet behind him. “What is it?” he asked coldly.

 

Cloud shook his head and muttered, “Forget it…” The blonde turned and began to walk away.

 

“Cloud…” Vincent growled.

 

Cloud spun around and gave Vincent a cold look. “For one who claimed to love her so much, you had a hell of a way to show it,” he snapped. “You can't even begin to understand what I had to watch, what I had to see her go through. So many times I wished that I was alive so I could comfort her. Finally, she broke all contact with us and it was then I realized that you completely destroyed her. And the thing was, she never returned to the Lifestream, like all the other dragons you killed.”

 

Vincent blinked and said, “So that means she is alive then…”

 

Cloud started to laugh coldly and said, “Oh, she's dead Vincent… but do you know what happens to a dragon when its heart and spirit dies and it loses the will to live?”

 

Vincent stared at Cloud, knowing that the blonde was going to tell him.

 

“They fade away… they no longer exist, but they still exist. They don't return to the Lifestream, but they don't completely leave this world. They are stuck in between. That's what you condemned her to, Vincent… you destroyed her, the only person who loved you the way you were, and wouldn't have you any other way. Ancients, Lucrecia wanted you different from what you were, but not Aneilla. You don't even understand what she had to do so you could stay alive, and that was how you repaid her? By destroying her kind and by doing that, killing her!” Vincent could tell that Cloud had wanted to say this for a long time. “I don't even know who you are anymore, Vincent, but you're definitely not my old friend.” With that, the blonde turned and began to descend down the cliff.

 

Zack and the gold fire lizard looked between the two old friends and then Zack shook his head and followed the blonde warrior. Goldie crooned softly and zipped over to Vincent. She hovered in front of him and with her being close, Vincent realized that she had no wings, but just seemed to hover in the air. She had tiny claws and a tail that was twice as long as her body that was thin and whip-like. She tilted her head and crooned, her eyes the color of emeralds.

 

Vincent sighed and muttered, “Guess I screwed up this time…”

 

The tiny creature tilted her head to the other side before covering her small mouth with her front claws, her body curling slightly with the gesture, and giggled playfully. Then she zipped over to the ledge where the men headed down, gave a few chirps as if telling Vincent to hurry up, before zooming down after the men. Vincent chuckled and he tugged on Twilight's reins and walked the bird down the ledge where a path had been cut into the stone. They descended easily and found themselves deep into the forest.

 

*~*~*

 

The world that Vincent was walking through was green and ancient. The trees that grew high overhead were large and old, their braches creating a canopy that filtered the sunlight, casting the area in a green and gold light. He could hear, and sometimes see, the wildlife. Birds in all colors and sizes swooped from tree to tree. Deer looked up at their crossing from where they grazed several feet away before bounding deeper into the forest. At times he heard the trickling of water from a tiny stream. Vincent couldn't help but admire the beauty of the forest, remembering the time when it had been nothing but desert. Up ahead, Cloud and Zack kept their distance, Cloud more than Zack. The blonde was still upset and Zack just stuck by his old friend because he knew him better. Goldie was zipping back and forth, sometimes becoming so interested in something that she didn't realize how far ahead the rest of them had walked, so she would zoom forward until she was several feet ahead of them. Every so often, Vincent would hear the whoosh of large wings from above the canopy from when Moro flew overhead.

 

Vincent couldn't help but think of the large blood red dragon. She was a mystery, more so than Aneilla had ever been. She knew more than she was telling, Vincent knew that, but he also knew that he was never going to get it from her unless she wanted to tell him. And what she said to him before Cloud and Zack's arrival… it sent trembles down his spine. When she said that, she sound so much like Aneilla that it scared him. Her words kept repeating themselves in his mind: “Sins can be forgiven; you just have to forgive yourself first.” Although Aneilla's voice had faded from his memory with time, he could never forget those words. They had been the words that began to open Vincent's eyes and lower the walls that he placed up around his heart.

 

“What I would give to hold her once more…” he whispered softly as his heart twisted in pain. But he knew that he would never get that chance… and it was his fault.

 

“Vincent, hurry!” Moro's voice called from overhead. “There's someone I'm sure you would like to see coming up ahead!”

 

“Come on,” Vincent said, nudging Twilight forward into a trot. Up ahead, Cloud and Zack broke out into a quick moving pace that almost matched the chocobo's.

 

They broke out of the woods and found themselves in the remains of an old city, which Vincent thought, as he dismounted, was possibly Gold Saucer, which fell around the same time Midgar did. There was nothing but crumbled buildings and a few walls and towers left standing. They were in what seemed to be the center of the city, meaning that the forest they came out of was slowly, with time, taking over the ruins. Moro was perches on one of the towers, looking down and speaking with a creature that stood on the broken up cobblestones below her.

 

Both creatures turned at their approach and Vincent couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt when he recognized the second creature. “Nanaki…”

 

The old fire lion looked at Vincent, his eyes sad. “Hello Vincent,” he said in a calm voice.