Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Mako Eyes ❯ In the Hands of the Enemy ( Chapter 10 )

“Taken!?” Cloud exclaimed, staring at the two WRO members. He, Reeve and Rufus had been discussing battle strategies when the two guards came running in, saying that during their watch, Aneilla and Vincent had been kidnapped by James and his two lackeys.

 

“Yes, sir,” one guard said. “We heard Aneilla roaring and hurried through the cliffs to investigate. We got there just as they were being led away. We would have open fired, but James was in his dragon form, and the other two with him were the humanoid and the large black man, so there was no way we could have stopped them. It looked like Vincent was injured and possible poisoned, but Aneilla had been walking freely.”

 

“Did she betray us?” Rufus asked, looking at Cloud.

 

Cloud shook his head. “No,” he said, “she wouldn't. James must have used Vincent to force Aneilla to go with them. He knew that she wouldn't allow one of us to die, and must have found out that Vincent means a great deal to Aneilla, and vice versa, even though Vince won't admit it.”

 

“So now what?” Reeve asked as Rufus dismissed the two guards. “We have just lost two of our best fighters in this war. And with James using Vincent to make Aneilla to do what he wants, there's a chance that he going to force her to fight against us.”

 

Cloud groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Damn it,” he muttered. “We should have kept an eye on her. James wouldn't have gotten his hands on her if we were protecting her.”

 

“Do you honestly think that Aneilla would have allowed us to protect her?” Reeve asked. “She's been taking care of herself her entire life. There was no way she was going to allow anyone to look after her like she was a child. She went willingly into James's hands to protect Vincent, and now we have to get them back.”

 

“How?” Cloud asked, looking up at Reeve. “We have no idea where the hell he is, or where he took them.”

 

Rufus looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, as if he was thinking out loud. “Where is there a place that is big enough and abandoned enough where he can build up an army and no one will find out or see it happening? It would have to be a place where no one would go to…”

 

“The old Mako Reactor in Nibelheim!” Cloud exclaimed, looking at the two men. “It's the only place that I can think of that is big enough, and no one likes going up there any more because of all the stuff that had happened up there. It would be the perfect place for James to hide out. You can scream in that place, and no one will be able to hear you.”

 

“Of course!” Reeve said as Rufus nodded in agreement.

 

Cloud looked at Reeve and said, “Get the others ready. We're going after them.”

 

*~*~*

 

“Just think, Aneilla,” James whispered softly in her ear behind her. “Soon, everything you see and beyond will be yours. I will give it to you, once we take over the planet.”

 

Aneilla pursed her lips, really wanting to retort something back, like James could shove it, but thoughts of Vincent crossed her mind and caused the words to shrink back down her throat. She was trapped by her own feelings and she hated it. The dragon inside of her was twisting about with rage, causing the wings on her back to twitch slightly. James made her remain in her half-dragon form, like himself, and she didn't disobey him. She remembered the first time she didn't do what he asked; he had asked her to have dinner with him and instead she locked herself up in her room that she had been given. Late that night, she had been ripped out of bed by one of James's men and taken down into the basement where they kept Vincent prisoner and forced her to listen to his screams of pain while Nemo tortured him. She had cried until she thought her eyes would bleed and agreed to sit at the next dinner with James. Only then did Nemo stop.

 

She hadn't been allowed to see Vincent, and she had yet to ask, afraid of what James would do if she did. Aneilla never thought that she would be this scared of anyone before. I'm not afraid of him, but for Vincent, she thought suddenly. I don't want anything to happen to him... why do I have such strong feelings for a man, that I've know for only a couple months, that they are keeping me a prisoner to my enemy?

 

Aneilla turned away from the large window that she had been staring out of, looking out across the city of Nibelheim and the land beyond. She walked past James and towards the door of her rooms, about ready to walk out, but James stopped her by saying, “You don't want to rule by my side?”

 

Aneilla turned to look at James and hissed, “I'd rather die…”

 

James chuckled, his black scales glistening in the dim light coming from the window. “Such fire in you, Aneilla,” he said, before walking towards her. “Together, you and I can rebuild our race.”

 

Aneilla laughed hollowly and backed away from him. “I will kill myself before I let you touch me,” she snarled at him.

 

James grinned wickedly and said, “Watch what you say, dearest, or I'll have you listen to your friend's screams again… although, he does scream every night, you just don't hear it. Listening as Vincent Valentine suffers… I thrive off of it.”

 

“Damn you…” Aneilla snarled again, before turning away. She walked out of her room and down the dark, musty hallways. Her room wasn't actually a bedroom, but an old office with a cot in it; all the rooms were like that. Her boots made a dull sound on the wooden floorboards and she balled her hands into fists as she looked down at the outfit James made her wear while she was his prisoner. The red and black dress she wore had a halter top and a low back that swooped to her waist. The sides of the skirt were split on both sides all the way to her hips and a wide golden belt rested loosely on top of them. She wore black leather shorts that were laced up the sides and knee-high black leather boots. Violet sleeves covered her arms and were held in place, by two gold loops that were linked together by a thin gold chain weaving between the two, at her upped arms and wrists. A thin gold chain, connected on the sides of the top below her breasts, went across her back below the joint of her wings. Her long red hair fell down her back and around her shoulders.

 

Aneilla found herself in what had once been a lab. Old holding tanks lined the walls and she couldn't help but kneel in a corner. Wrapping her arms around herself, she pressed herself to the wall and felt tears escape her eyes. She had never felt so scared in her life. She was scared for herself, for Vincent, for the others, and for the planet. She needed to escape, to run, and she knew that she could, but she couldn't leave Vincent behind. She prayed for the others to find them so that she could run, and be able to take Vincent with her during the commotion. But it had been close to a week since the two of them had been taken… will the others even be able to find them?

 

Aneilla didn't know how long she had sat there, but by the time she left, night had fallen and everything was quiet. She slipped back to her room and closed the door. She went to her bed and sat on it, deep in thought. I have to see Vincent... I need to. I want to tell him to hold on, and that I'm sorry, because I'm the reason for his pain. I need to tell him that I'm going to try to get us both out of here. With her decision made, Aneilla stood up and slipped out of her room. Using her stealth skills that Spartan had taught her, as well as Cloud and Vincent, she slipped through the halls and corridors, down the steps towards the basement.

 

She got underground easily enough and she crept though the darkened corridors, her night vision enabling her to see easily. Already, she could hear Vincent's screams as Nemo tortured him in some way or another. The humanoid had been programmed to inflict torture on any living being when she had been created and it sickened Aneilla that a human could think up of such a creature. Then again, she thought, a human thought up the Dragon Children, and I'm the only one who didn't become a monster, well, the only one living that is. Aneilla got to the room where they were keeping Vincent and she slipped into the adjacent room to it, a room that wasn't being used. She waited, trying her best to block out the sounds of Vincent's torment. She also swore that from time to time, she could hear the wicked laughter of James. After several hours, the screams stopped and Aneilla could hear the sound of footsteps. She shrunk back into the shadows, using her dragon magic so she will go unnoticed, as the door opened and Nemo and James walked out. The door was closed behind them and as they left, she could hear James say, “The outcome of this war is in our hands…”

 

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Aneilla thought with a small smirk. We're gonna kick your ass. She waited until the sounds of their footsteps vanished before she slipped out of the room and into the room where Vincent was held.

 

When she closed the door behind her softly, she heard Vincent chuckle hoarsely and say in a pained voice, “Knew that you weren't done with me, you sick bastard. Go ahead, do what you want, you can't break me.”

 

Aneilla saw his form laying a few feet away in the darkness. She could also see a chair that had chains connected to it beside a table which she didn't want to know what was on there. She walked quietly over to Vincent and crouched next to him. She sensed him flinch away and her heart felt like it was ripped in two. “Vincent…” she whispered softly, reaching out with a hand and brushing back his hair from his face. He wore nothing but his black pants; even the claw gauntlet had been removed. She could smell the blood on him and felt it when she touched him. “Oh, Vince, I'm so sorry…”

 

“A-Aneilla?” Vincent gasped, reaching out to her. “Is that you?”

 

“Yup, it's me,” Aneilla said, taking his hand and lacing her fingers together with his. “Sorry it took me so long to get down here.”

 

“I can't see you…” he muttered. “That damn bastard's been injecting me with that poison so I can't fight and my strength been depleted. I couldn't call up Chaos even if I wanted to.”

 

Aneilla squeezed his hand and said, “Hold on, I'll get us some light.” She then looked at the materia bracelet hanging from her wrist. She sent power into them, causing them to glow, giving off enough light to be able to see. When she was able to see Vincent more clearly, she let out a pained gasp at what she saw.

 

His chest, arms and back were covered in deep wounds, some fresh, some old. It looked like that the partly healed ones were opened up again so Vincent couldn't heal at all. The exposed flesh of the wounds looked to be burnt and was raw from abuse. “What have they been doing to you?” she whispered.

 

“Anything that humanoid can think of,” Vincent said, coughing up blood. “I can't remember the last time I've been in so much pain.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Aneilla said, hanging her head and looking down at their entwined fingers. “If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be suffering like this…”

 

“Aneilla, stop it,” Vincent said sternly, trying to sit up but failing. So instead, Aneilla lay next to him so they could be eye level, never letting go of his hand. Vincent looked at her and said, “It's not your fault, but you should have listened to me and ran when you had the chance.”

 

“But he would have killed you,” Aneilla said softly, tears falling from her eyes, “and I don't want you to die, Vincent. He would have killed you to get to me, and I would have never been able to live with that.”

 

Vincent looked at her and then nodded. “I understand… I would have done the same.” He reached out and brushed the tears away from her cheek. “But don't blame yourself, Aneilla. James is a sick bastard who will soon get what he deserves.”

 

Aneilla smiled and she stretched out one of her wings so it covered Vincent, moving closer to him. “I'm going to get us out of here,” she promised him, squeezing his hand again.

 

Vincent gave her a slight smile and said, “I know.” Then he closed his eyes with a soft sigh. Aneilla smiled again and closed her eyes. They were soon both asleep, their hands still in each other's.

 

*~*~*

 

“Alright… let's go…”

 

Cloud stood from his hiding spot in the bushes and began to run towards the front doors of the Mako Reactor, followed by a handful of WRO soldiers. He unsheathed his sword as he approached the doors and with a yell, he swung his sword down, sending out a Shock Wave beam at the large metal doors, blowing them open. His sword was still pulsing with a faint blue light as he swung it down to his side and continued forward. They entered the large building and Cloud brought a hand up to his ear where he wore a com-link. “We're in…” he said.

 

*~*~*

 

Cid stood at the helm of The Shera, able to see everything going down below. He seen Cloud blow open the doors of the reactor a few moments before Cloud let him and the others know that they were in. “Alright gang,” Cid said, “let's get our own out of there. Go!”

 

*~*~*

 

“Alright gang; let's get our own out of there. Go!”

 

“Alrighty then,” Tifa said, running towards the back doors alongside Barret, Red XIII and her own army of WRO soldiers. They went in through the back and were immediately facing some of James's army. A fight broke out and Tifa swung her fists at the enemy, determined to get through. Beside her, Barret fired at the enemy with his machine gun arm while Red ripped through with fangs and claws.

 

“Keep going!” the WRO captain said to Tifa, Barret and Red. “We'll hold them off here!”

 

Tifa nodded and the three of them broke through the defenses and continued deeper into the reactor. “Cloud,” Tifa said through the com-link.

 

“What is it?” was Cloud's reply.

 

“We're on our way. Can you hold out?”

 

“We're fine... just get to Aneilla and Vincent if you can.”

 

“Looks like we may have to wait to follow through with that plan,” Barret said as they were surrounded by more of James's troops.

 

Tifa took her fighting stance again for the second time in five minutes. Hang in there, you guys...