Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Unknown Ally ❯ Chapter 11: The Last Dream ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11: The Last Dream

 

Seven weeks passed after the strange day of insanity and things had returned to normal. Isolda looked up from her study of a glowing red crystal fragment at Vincent who was standing near the window.

 

`You're very quiet, Hunter,' she said, frowning slightly as she brushed strands of silver hair out of her eyes. `You all right?'

 

Vincent looked at her and nodded, trying his best to act on Reeve's instructions to behave as normally as possible. But he couldn't help but glare at her.

 

`You asked me that five minutes ago,' he said, running a hand through his hair. In the past several weeks, he noticed that his hair had grown out significantly and he contemplated about whether or not he should tie it back from his face or leave it loose.

 

`Did I?' Isolda smiled sheepishly. `I forget things sometimes. Must be the lesser workload.' She turned back to the microscope and studied the crystal fragment, jotting down notes occasionally. She hadn't stopped smiling all day.

 

`You're unusually cheerful,' remarked Vincent. `You've been smiling constantly.'

 

`Maybe if I keep smiling, you'll smile,' said Isolda. `You've been sullen all morning.'

 

`Bad day,' growled Vincent, starting to get irritated with her cheerfulness.

 

`You've been having a lot of those lately,' said the young scientist. `I'm starting to think it's because of me.'

 

Vincent frowned. `Why is that?'

 

Isolda shrugged. `No reason.' She turned back to her work. Vincent returned to his surveillance.

 

The silence was short-lived when Reno and Rude came barging in, both of them with smiles on their faces.

 

`Congrats, Iso!' cried Reno. `We just heard the news.'

 

Vincent frowned, turning to them. `What news?'

 

Reno turned to Isolda with a look of surprise and consternation on his face. `I thought you told him!'

 

`I was going to,' protested the young woman. Vincent glared at them.

 

`What news?' he repeated. Reno and Rude turned to Isolda who looked at the reborn Turk with a smile. Vincent's frown deepened into a scowl. He hated being kept in the dark.

 

`Isolda, tell me,' he said, a low undercurrent of warning in his voice. Isolda grinned.

 

`I got promoted!' she cried. Vincent's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting that.

 

`What?'

 

`That's right!' Reno laid a hand on her shoulder. `Say hello to the new head of Biotechnology and Weapons Research.'

 

Vincent didn't know what to say. `When did this happen?'

 

`I found out this morning,' said Isolda. `I got a call to come to Rufus's office. He's been so impressed with my work that he promoted me this morning.'

 

The gunslinger was still stunned by this news. Isolda looked at him with a frown.

 

`Aren't you happy for me?' she asked. Vincent shook off his shock and looked at her.

 

`To be honest, I don't know how to feel,' he admitted.

 

`You should be happy, Hunt!' said Reno. `You're protecting the most important asset to ShinRa. It's great that she's been promoted. She's been busting her ass for the past four years since she got this job.'

 

Isolda frowned. `Keep my ass out of this,' she said. Reno raised his hands in defence. The silver-haired scientist turned to her bodyguard.

 

`Well?' she prompted. Vincent looked at her and forced a smile.

 

`That's great, Isolda,' he said. `I'm really happy for you.'

 

Isolda grinned. `I'm so happy at the moment that I just want to hug you……Oh, what the hell!' She threw her arms around the stunned Vincent, laughing. Vincent stood there, stunned by her impulsiveness.

 

`Awww, isn't this sweet, Rude?' said Reno. `Our little girl's grown up.'

 

Isolda let go of Vincent and turned to the redhead. `Don't make me kick you.'

 

`Yikes!' Reno darted behind Vincent, using the disguised gunslinger as a shield. `You're not coming anywhere near me with those spiked heels!'

 

Vincent resisted the urge to glare at Reno. This wasn't helping his mood. `I'll leave you to it.' He turned on his heel and left the room.

~*~

Vincent could hear the Turks and the young scientist in the lab celebrating her promotion and growled to himself. This would only make his mission more complicated. Now that she was the head of Biotechnology and Weapon Research, she would need more protection, meaning his trips to the archives room would become less frequent. Not that his trips had turned up anything else that could be of use to them.

 

He fell back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts straying from the possible spy to his friends. Their faces were fresh in his mind and he wondered how long it would be till he could get out of this ridiculous game of charades.

 

`Hellfire…' he murmured, letting his eyes slide shut and drifting off into sleep….

 

He opened his eyes to see he was standing on top of a hill, the soft breeze wafting across his face. He gazed up at the sky and saw that it was night and he breathed the crisp air.

 

`Nice to escape, isn't it?'

 

He whirled around and saw the young warrior standing there, clad in a soft dress of the deepest purple. Her long hair was woven into an elaborate braid and his heart skipped.

 

`Hellfire.' Vincent looked at her. `It's been a while.'

 

She smiled softly. `Your mind has been so clouded with thoughts lately that I couldn't see a time where you would actually abandon yourself to sleep.'

 

That was true. He'd been so preoccupied with finding out more on the scientist he was protecting that he hadn't slept for days. Not that that was unusual for him. There were times that he would go weeks without rest. It was very rare that he would actually give himself completely to sleep.

 

Hellfire reached out and laid a hand on his claw. He gripped her hand, careful not to cut her with his talons.

 

`You have no idea how hard it is,' said the gunman. `Knowing you're so far from me and that I can't be close to you.'

 

Hellfire smiled softly. `I know, Vincent.' A single tear slid down her face. `But I am afraid that it will only get harder. The enemy is on your door step and the only way to defeat it is to join with the girl.'

 

`Isolda?' Vincent frowned. `She is a spy, Hellfire. I can't let myself be associated with the enemy.'

 

A flash of hurt flitted across her face and she looked at him sadly. `Then this will be the last time we meet.'

 

Vincent felt his heart stop. `What?'

 

Tears flowed down her face now. `I am so sorry.'

 

Her hand slipped from his grasp and she began to fade. Vincent tried to grab her hand once more but found himself snatching at thin air as she faded.

 

`Wait!' he cried.

 

`You must not let your hatred for ShinRa blind you. I don't want it to destroy you. Trust her! Please, Vincent!….'

 

`Hellfire!'

~*~

 

Vincent snapped awake and found Isolda sitting on his bed with Reno and Rude at the door. The young scientist's eyes were filled with concern.

 

`Hunter, are you all right?' she asked. Vincent looked at her.

 

`What's going on?' he demanded.

 

`You were having a nightmare, man, ' said Reno. `You shouted so loud we heard you through the door, and it was shut tight.'

 

Vincent frowned slightly and then realised he must have shouted her name aloud. He lowered his head, not looking anyone in the eyes.

 

`Hunter?' Isolda laid a hand on her shoulder. Vincent shook her hand off.

 

`Leave me alone,' he said. Isolda looked at him.

 

`But Hunter-`

 

`Go,' he snarled. Isolda looked hurt but she nodded and turned to the two Turks.

 

`Come on,' she said, walking out of the room. The two turned to follow her, but Reno turned to him.

 

`You don't know what you're doing to yourself, man.' With that, the redhead walked out the room with Rude shutting the door behind him.

 

Vincent buried his head in his hands. He didn't know how long he could keep on doing this. His foot kicked something solid at the end of his bed. He raised his head, frowning slightly.

 

Strange. I don't remember anything being there. He glanced to the side and saw a large chest sitting at the end of his bed. There was a note attached to the lid. He rose to his feet and walked around the bed to kneel in front of the chest. He tore the note off and opened the chest to look inside. His expression became one of surprise as he surveyed the contents before closing the chest again. He glanced at the note in his hand and opened it. It was written in a spidery hand and smirked as he read it.

 

Vincent,

Tifa and I got a call from Reeve. It sounds like it's gonna get dangerous down there pretty soon, so we thought we'd send this. Don't go getting yourself killed now.

 

Cloud.