Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where Have All the Angels Gone? ❯ An Eternity from Here ( Chapter 3 )

An Eternity from Here

You can only live in darkness for so long.

Looking up into the horizon, Vincent now had a clear view of the enormous rocket standing about a mile away. While at one time Shinra's plans for space travel seemed bright and optimistic, the rocket appeared to have never even been utilized. It was so drastically tilted to one side that he was surprised that it hadn't fell to the ground.

"Does anyone recall the name of this town?" Vincent asked while continuing to move forward. The grass upon his feet was comforting, and seemed like layers of pillows compared to the rocky terrain of Mt. Nibel.

Cait Sith jumped forward, and spoke knowledgably (almost as if it was pleased to be of some use to the group). "I believe they call it Rocket Town. If my memory serves me correctly they renamed it when the launch pad was built here a few years back."

"That's right," Vincent said in accordance. "This town was one of the places that Shinra was considering building the launch site at. Being as it was so isolated from the rest of the world, a rocket could be launched here without any major damage to anything that they constructed. Now as for the environment, they didn't care."

"They never have," Red interrupted coldly, yet glad to have put his input into the conversation.

"At the time this place was known as Wayward Town, since only wayward travelers would ever desire to come here. With the rocket present, I would not be surprised if they received great multitudes of visitors to look at Shinra's great "accomplishment"". Vincent scratched his head, and wiped his locks of ebony hair away from his face. "I wonder why exactly we have chosen to stop here, though. Other than rest, it seems that there is very little this town can offer us."

As the group continued forward, the buildings of Rocker Town began to be more apparent from the green background. The houses were old-fashioned and wood-furnished, and Vincent even noticed white picket fences surrounding a great many of them. In some ways, the peacefulness of the town reminded him of Kalm, without the clutter of buildings and manmade blue walkways. The town was well-organized, and you can tell the identity of each building simply be reading the signs located above each household.

The rocket, however, was even more moribund than Vincent initially perceived. Along with the noticeable tilt, the rocket had developed long lines of rust along each side. There was moss growing on its bottom, and seemed to be much more of an ancient artifact than a modern marvel.

It took about five more minutes for the group to enter the settlement, where they were happily greeted by the townspeople. It was still early in the afternoon, so most of the population was enjoying life in the summer sun.

"Good day, travelers! Welcome to Rocket Town, the village of hopes and dreams!"

"If there is anything you need to know about the rocket or the buildings, please feel free to ask!"

"Hey," Vincent said calmly, tapping a chubby townsperson on the shoulder rather than tugging on his long beard, "have you seen a man with spiky hair dressed in purple?"

"Was he with two girls, both younger and more attractive than him?"

Cait Sith laughed heartily, and Vincent had to contain his chuckles while nodding his head. "Yes, that would be correct. Now could you please disclose to me their whereabouts?"

"Oh yeah, sure," that fat man pleasantly responded. "They were heading towards the Twin Wings Inn, which is just to your right. Just go in and ask the innkeeper about them, and I'm sure they'll direct them to you. Just be sure not to get Bertha, since she can be kinda grumpy on summer afternoons. She hates the heat."

"Thanks." Vincent then motioned for the group to follow him, and they walked over to the Twin Wings Inn, a large, one-story building that had the identical wooden exterior as the rest of the town. In all honestly, it did not seem too intelligent for people near a rocket to dwell in wooden homes.

Oh well, at least the townspeople are nice enough, he thought to himself, while opening up the green-painted door of the inn.

Upon entering the warm, cozy tavern a portly woman in a white apron jumped in front of the group.

"Hold it right there, you three; this is a high-class establishment and we do not allow animals inside these doors. If you want to keep him (while pointing at Red), I would suggest leaving him outside."

"I bet for five hundred Gil I can get you to change your mind." Vincent slipped some money onto the counter, which the lady quickly inspected with her grubby hands while nodding her head harshly.

"All right you can stay, but I better not see any dog droppings in this hotel, or it'll be your head!"

"Oh do not worry, ma'am, you will not," Red stated politely, placing his front paws upon the counter. "I have been housetrained ever since I was two years of age." The group walked onward to the next room and ignored the obnoxious attendant, who had fainted on the red carpet floor.

"That must have been Bertha," Red stated humorously while the group passed into a new section of the inn.

This particular room was designed to be a lounge area, decorated with leather chairs and elegant rugs imported from the nearby island of Wutai. Much to Vincent's surprise, the remainder of the group was already sitting amongst the leather seats, quietly mingling while eating some fish provided by the inn. Barret was the first to notice their arrival, looking up from his meal and speaking with a mouthful of fish meat still in his mouth.

"Hey look, the three weird ones have shown up! Where y'all been? You had us worried as hell!"

Vincent bowed to the party (who were now all looking up in relief at the arrival of their friends) and spoke representing the group. "My apologies for being late; we ran into some slight difficulties in the mountains, and I required a significant amount of rest in order to sustain my energy."

"Oh, it's fine," Tifa replied pleasantly, sipping a small cup of hot tea. "We've just been relaxing here for a few hours, waiting for you three. Cloud went with Barret and me up to a house north from here and we found a plane. We want to borrow it, but a lady in the house named Shera said we would have to talk to the captain."

"So have you talked to him already?"

"No, not yet," Cloud stated back to him. "We wanted to wait until we heard something from you guys before we started thinking about getting out of here. Having a plane at our disposal would help us to get just about anywhere we needed to go, so I don't see any problem in trying to borrow it. We have a good bit of Gil with us that we found in the mountains, so we may even pay for it if we need to."

The three new arrivals shook their heads in agreements, and Vincent took a seat in the far corner of the lounge (Red rested on the floor, and Cait Sith had no problem with standing). The room became silent for a few minutes, the mumbles of small conversations notwithstanding. This period of silence caused Cloud to grow quite impatient, and quickly he rose to his feet and stretched his relatively muscular arms.

"All right, since we are all now here, I'm going to take Tifa and Barret with me over to the rocket north of here. That's where Shera said the captain would be located. Feel free to wander around the town to your heart's content, and we'll come find you in an hour or two." The three of them departed out the front door, and the remaining five individuals sat facing one another in the lounge. Red fell asleep in just a few minutes (along with Yuffie, who had been asleep since before Vincent's arrival for some reason). Cait Sith was motionless next to the fireplace, which seemingly left him alone with the beautiful and elusive Aeris, who looked as if she had not weathered any journey at all. After such a grueling expedition to Rocket Town, Vincent was surprisingly not tired, and he quickly found himself immersed in light conversation with the enchanting Ancient female.

"So, was Barret any less obnoxious on your journey here than he was Nibelhelm? He doesn't necessarily seem like a very tolerable gentleman."

Aeris chuckled to herself lightly, and crossed one of her legs over the other. Vincent was tempted to look towards the bottom of her dress to see any hint of her impeccable skin, but he avoided making himself out to be impetuous.

The beauty spoke pleasantly, almost as if there was not a true problem in the world.

"Barret's really not too bad of a guy once you're around him for a while. He just gets frustrated easy because he's been through a lot. Shinra has been horrible to him over the years, so he gets kind of judgmental when he gets around someone previously affiliated with them. Tifa said it took him forever to warm up to Cloud."

In just being around Aeris, Vincent began to feel much more lively and sociable; so much that one could almost detect laughter in his voice. "My supervisors in the Turks used to throw fits about him. He was always staging rallies up in Corel to keep us from building the reactor."

"How long were you with Shinra?"

"Almost two years, even though it feels like much longer. When you work for a company so obsessed with secrets, you can learn an amazing amount of information in just a short period of time."

"Yeah, I would suspect so." Aeris was running one of her smooth fingers across her lip, a sign that she was nervous for some reason.

Vincent became so entranced in her subtle movements that he lost his own concentration. It was an unusual feeling for him that he had never experienced; every twitch of her eye, every movement of her hand; they were all mesmerizing to him. He had to snap himself out of his hypnosis before he could even conjure what he wanted to say. Until that point in the conversation, he had even forgotten Aeris's words from the day before.

"When we were talking yesterday, you said that you had some questions that you wanted to ask me."

"Yes, I did." Aeris flipped her luscious brown hair away from her face and gazed into Vincent's eyes, for the first time making full eye contact with him. This revelation surprised Vincent initially, but he remained calm and waited for Aeris's response.

"When I found out that you used to work for Shinra there were so many things I wanted to ask you about, whether it concerned my mother or me." She glanced around the room at her fellow sleeping comrades, and turned back to Vincent in his chair. "Would you be okay with walking around outside to finish our conversation? I'm starting to feel uncomfortable in this small lounge."

Vincent, of course, had no objection to Aeris's request, so the pair quickly found themselves outside again in the windy heat. For early summer it was a fairly nice day, since neither individual could feel any traces of sweat forming on their foreheads as of yet.

They were walking along a path in the center of the town, Vincent moving with his arms crossed and Aeris stretching, giving the former Turk added incentive to make eye contact. He didn't completely understand how the girl became so beautiful, especially since neither Ifalna nor Professor Gast were exactly attractive themselves.

"So Vincent, tell me about my mother. I'm sure it must be annoying for you to be pestered like this, but I can barely remember anything about her. Was she nice?"

There was answer he had prepared in his head before time, since in actuality this was a question he was certain Aeris would ask. In truth he only talked to Ifalna two or three times, but he at least wanted it to seem as if he knew her fairly well. Therefore, he had decided to take all material from one of his only real encounters with her.

"Ifalna was brought to Headquarters about a year after I first became enlisted in the Turks. She was kept in a plastic prison on the sixty-seventh floor…"

"…much like the one I was kept in, right?"

"Right. It was a rare opportunity for a low-level Turk to visit the higher floors of Shinra, so I was excited one day when my superior, Tseng, gave me an opportunity to deliver some research up to Professor Hojo, who had just been promoted for some reason to Head of the Science Department. I walked into Hojo's main laboratory to discover that he wasn't there, so I placed the documents on his desk. Your mother was sitting in the plastic prison, sniffling rather than crying."

"She looked up as I walked by, and I think she might have been excited about seeing any face other than the sinister one of the professor. She asked me who I was, and I responded. I was from the Turks, and did not have any real business with her now she was in Shinra's possession. It was not my wish to appear harmful to her, however."

Aeris followed Vincent stride be stride, and helplessly threw her arm on his shoulder as they continued to walk forward. "So did she say anything to you?"

"She asked me what I was doing working for such despicable people," he replied tragically. "At the time I was twenty years old and clean-cut, so she thought I should be working in a more honest business."

"I told her that working for Shinra allowed me to see the world; that it did not have as much to do with the money as it did with the experience. She looked up at me with the same beautiful green eyes that I see in you, and told me that it wasn't worth it. Every time Shinra performed any operation, whether it was building reactors or turning on a simple light bulb, we were destroying part of the planet. At the time I didn't even believe her."

This truthful statement on Vincent's part almost brought out a change in the flower girl. Her eyes lowered slightly to the ground, and her voice was lower and more serious

"You didn't?"

"No, and it was impractical of me not to believe her. For some reason I thought that if the planet had survived for as long as it had that there was no way one company could single-handedly destroy it."

"You didn't say that you didn't believe her, did you?"

"I kept it to myself, since I figured there was no point in making her any more miserable than she already was. I told her that I was sorry for what Hojo was doing, and left. She told me I could change things for the better, but I ignored her. She was a brilliant woman, but at the time I was too brainwashed to identify the genius within her. She was nicer than anybody else affiliated Shinra; that is certain."

The two of them had reached an item shop on the northwest corner of town, and Aeris took the opportunity to sit down while finishing the conversation. She invited Vincent to sit with her, and he acquiesced.

Aeris, now looking up at the clouds and the nearby rocket, spoke again in a somewhat serious tone.

"So she never mentioned the Promised Land to you?"

Vincent shook his head in disdain. "I'm sorry, she did not. We were very unsuccessful in extracting any information from her, about the Promised Land in particular. She would have rather died than tell us anything, which kind of explains how she disappeared from the facility shorter after that due to "experimental purposes". Had I known that I would be the next victim of the experiments I would have heeded her advice."

There was a brief pause in the conversation before Aeris spoke again, placing her hands together in her lap. "You see, part of what I'm attempting to do with everyone here is to guide us to the Promised Land before Shinra gets there; that way we can stop them." Upon speaking her next line, she lowered her head down, hiding her eyes and making her hair dangle before Vincent. "The problem is that I have no idea as to where to look for the Promised Land. We're just following Sepiroth, hoping he gives us some sort of clue."

Being not of Cetra blood (even though he had studied them for many years), Vincent had a taxing time in attempting to answer to Aeris's doubts, but he lowered his head to the same level and continued.

"Aeris, do you sometimes hear the voices of the Planet inside of you?"

A small tear on her cheek reflected in the sunlight, and she rose her face up again to its resting position.

"I do occasionally, but there are so many voices in the Lifestream it becomes hard for me to understand."

Feeling as if he could finally be of some help, he placed a frail but comforting hand on the beauty's shoulder, looking close into her eyes.

"The answer is in those voices, Aeris; it has to be. Keep believing in yourself, and eventually you will find that one voice that reveals the truth to you. You are the key to our survival on this planet, and I know that if anyone can save us, it is you." Vincent did not fully understand the motives of either Sepiroth or Shinra, but he enjoyed the notion of being comforting to someone else. When it came to it, Aeris could very well be critical to the way in which the future played out.

Aeris was somewhat relieved in hearing Vincent's response, and she smiled sweetly at him without shifting her eyes in any true direction.

"Thank you for your support, Vincent. I know I can find the answer if I just keep looking for it. At least I have someone that fully believes in me." Vincent nodded his head, and Aeris unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him, releasing them after just a second. A hug was something that Vincent had not experienced since ages before he was even put to rest, and it was one of the most wonderful sensations he had ever felt. Aeris's arms were as smooth as ivory, and yet at the same time warm and inviting. At that time he wished to do nothing than to embrace again, but he knew that would be improper to do such a thing, especially in his present situation as an outsider in the group.

After the brief exchange, Aeris tilted her head to one side and spoke again in a pleasant and melodious manner. "Hey, I have to do some item shopping before I leave. Do you want to join me?"

There was such a strong and burning desire inside of him to accompany her on her excursion, but the longing for sleep was even greater. Even though he was improving when it came to staying awake, he still was weak and grew weary in a short period of time. Aeris would still be there when he awoke, and he could spend as much time with her as he desired to then.

So, dejectedly, Vincent shook his head in declination. "I'm sorry; I should probably go back to the inn for some rest. I am unsure as to when we're stopping again once we leave here, so it would be beneficial for me get some rest."

Aeris politely smiled in reply, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll talk to you in a little while, okay?"

"Okay."

Vincent had already risen to his feet, but Aeris tapped on his shoulder to encourage him to turn around one more time.

"Hey, I have one more question?"

"What's that?"

Aeris shifted her gorgeous body back and forth, almost like an anxious little girl waiting for her birthday cake.

"Do you really think my eyes are beautiful?" She giggled lightly upon asking this question, thinking that it was likely a childish thing to ask.

Vincent actually laughed lightly in response, and let a smile come across his lips.

"Yes, I do," he stated in reply. "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen."

"You're so sweet," she replied kindly. "We'll have to talk again sometime."

Aeris touched his shoulder, and then walked inside the Item Shop, waving with one hand as she opened the door.

Letting his hair blow back into the wind, he figured it would probably be best for him to depart now, as well. His feet trudged slowly back to the somewhat cozy quarters of the Twin Wings Inn, and in a brief matter of time he found himself lying on a comfortable bed (something he had not slept on in ages).

He was honestly surprised with how much he enjoyed his conversation with Aeris. He had never been regarded in any way as a sociable person, and it was one of the only conversations he actually spoke for any considerable period.

He could not completely erase the beautiful flower girl from him mind, and thoughts of her were omnipresent as Vincent closed his eyes and fell into necessary sleep.

Trust me; you cannot erase the pain by covering it.

*-*

Vincent was still getting accustomed to the clicking of his black slacks against the linoleum floor of Shinra Headquarters. It was only his second day in uniform, so one could easily identify his apprehension as he scooted from floor to floor, listening to his shoes' peculiar clamor.

The main office of Shinra's Special Forces, the Turks, was located on the twenty-first floor of the building, so it was quite a strenuous task for Vincent in making it to his destination from the rafters of the fifty-fifth story. The elevator continuously halted itself to pick up and drop off other employees, so it took almost half and hour before he finally arrived at the high-security entrance to the Turks' offices. A giant metal door blocked his way into his desired location, so he approached it to set off the sensor camera.

Upon his arrival, a mechanical voice spoke monotonously from above.

"Welcome to the Turks. Please state your identification password." Each member of the Turks (along with high-ranking corporate executives) had a specific password in order to enter the offices, and the machines were voice-activated to ensure that only the specified individuals entered the facility.

Vincent spoke loud and in an articulate manner, the way in which Tseng had instructed him to speak when reciting his password:

"Sweetheart."

There was a brief pause while the security system processed his statement, and the mechanical voice spoke again while the metal barricade rose up from the ground.

"Welcome, Vincent. Your office is straight and then to the right. Have a nice day." Many of his associates in the Turks found great humor in Vincent's last name, so they had determined that "Sweetheart" would be an appropriate password for him to be identified by. He didn't necessarily care about using it as his password, but most of his fellow Turks even referred to him as "Sweetheart" rather than his actual name.

Vincent strolled through the carpeted hallways of the Turk Headquarters, scooting past secretaries and fellow members, but walked straight back to the office of his superior instead of his own.

Tseng was sitting casually at his desk, chatting with one of his other newcomers, a sturdy man by the name of Reno. Reno was from Costa del Sol, a beautiful resort town on the western continent. He was undoubtedly the ladies' man of the Turks, since he was both dark and muscular. Unfortunately, he was also a considerable jerk.

"Hey there Sweetheart, have fun with your little errands?" Reno stated with a chuckle. Tseng frowned at Reno's arrogance, and sent him away from his office to investigate a possible bomb threat in the Slums. He then turned his attention back to Vincent, who had taken his seat upon a leather cushion in the office's corner.

Tseng was by far Vincent's favorite associate in the Turks, and was the only member of the group that seemed to have any sort of conscience. The only other veteran member he had come in contact with was Rude, and he was perceived as little other than an ignorant drunk. Tseng was much more of a father figure, one who cared about the general welfare of his employees but at the same time wanted his assignments to be completed. He was a significant bit taller than Vincent, so he was forced to look upwards while his superior spoke.

"Hello there, Vincent. Did you finish transferring the copies of the Mako Poisoning incident into the Accomplished Missions?"

Vincent adjusted his thin tie (one in which he was not accustomed to wearing as of yet), and nodded his head in confirmation. "Yes, and Lena sends her regards."

"Oh, good," Tseng replied, crackling his fingers against his lacquered wooden desk. "Well, it seems as if we have put you through all of our necessary errands. Tell me, Vincent, when was the last time you went to a weight room and exercised?"

It took a moment for Vincent to comprehend the question, for it was one in which he was not expecting to hear. He responded after a moment, sputtering with his low-pitch voice.

"Um…I nev-I haven't ever, sir. People in Kalm have little fascination with becoming physically strong; it was their belief that a sharp mind could be more powerful than any muscle or weapon."

"Well it still doesn't hurt to get into shape," Tseng replied defiantly with a devious grin upon his face. "Why don't you come with me to the exercise room on the sixty-sixth floor? It will do you some good, trust me."

Vincent could not decline an order from his own superior, so he soon found himself surrounded by exercise bikes and barbells, removing his suit coat and tie as to not be inhibited in his exercise.

"Feel free to use whatever equipment you choose, Vincent; I bet you'll feel a good bit better by the time you finish up. I always prefer the exercise bikes, simply because it gets your leg muscles built up to run faster and jump higher." Vincent was really uncertain as to why Tseng took such a special interest in him and not other members of the Turks, especially since he was neither strong nor experienced in covert operations. Maybe in some way Tseng pitied him for living such a lonely childhood and wanted him to feel accepted, or he could just be trying to get him on par with the rest of his employees. One could not truly ascertain, so Vincent made little fuss over the matter and climbed onto an exercise bike.

After only about five minutes of steady pedaling Vincent saw an individual enter the exercise room that was much different than any other employee he had encountered in the entire building (or even the entire world, for that matter). She was beautiful beyond all traces of the imagination, with silky ebony hair and dark brown eyes that shot out to Vincent, making him desire to be closer, to see deeper into those eyes to unravel her greatest of mysteries. The woman's face was smooth and pretty; there was not one part of her body that seemed strange or out of place. She swayed gracefully past the pair in tight blue pants and a white t-shirt, and then disappeared out the back exit towards the Locker Room. Vincent almost had the initiative to follow her back, simply in order to glance at her beauty even longer.

Upon her departure from the room, Vincent wasted no time in attempting to discover the ravishing female's identity.

"Tseng, that woman…who is she? I've never seen anything quite like her…in so many ways." Vincent spoke almost as if he was in hypnosis, for his voice was monotonous and he did not even make eye contact with his counterpart.

Upon hearing such a desperate question from his youngest recruit, Tseng shook his head in despair. He had seen so many members of his organization become enthralled in this woman before, all of which to become heartbroken and angry. He almost decided to lie to Vincent, simply to prevent him from being another victim of the woman's beautiful but elusive form.

"The woman is Lucrecia," replied Tseng, halting himself on the exercise bike to continue speaking. "She is a field researcher for the Science Department, and one of the best ones that Shinra has ever had. More than likely she has been working here for about as long as you have been in existence, my friend."

Vincent looked back in perplexity, almost not comprehending the words that Tseng had spoken to him. "Wait…there's no way that woman could have worked here for that long. She looks just as young as me…and three times more beautiful."

Tseng motioned for Vincent to approach him at his exercise bike, and then the Turk leader crouched his head low and spoke softly.

"Listen, Vincent; Lucrecia is forty years old, and already has a teenage son by the name of Sepiroth. I am only telling you this just to keep you from being miserable later on; stay away from her or you'll find yourself in trouble. Every single person that has fallen in love with her over the years has either vanished or quit Shinra altogether. I know that she is gorgeous, but it's just not worth it. There are some castles in this world that were never meant to be conquered."

Despite Tseng's calm and insightful manner with the issue, Vincent quickly grew angry at his generalizations. He stepped away from his superior, and went to retrieve his coat and tie.

"Trust me, Tseng, just because you were not able to have her doesn't mean I will fail! I don't need you telling me how to live my life; you are my boss, not my psychiatrist! Now if it is okay with you, I would like to go back to my office." Tseng attempted to comment further, but Vincent had already opened the elevator door and pressed the button marked "twenty-one". He didn't need Tseng to tell him what to do; he could get Lucrecia as easy as he wanted to.

If only things had been as easy as he thought them to be. In spite of his efforts, Vincent found himself no longer affiliated with Shinra after just two years. He had disappeared from the world, without Tseng or anyone else inclined to find him. His undying love for one woman had destroyed the entire world in which he knew and existed in.

You know, history can have a tendency to repeat itself.

*-*

"Hey, get your sorry ass outa bed! We gotta hurry to get to this plan done with before Shinra does!"

Vincent was tired and groggy after his two-hour nap, and it took some pushing and shoving by Barret to get him outside of the inn. Luckily he was so exhausted that he slept in all clothing (including his shoes), so making the transition outside was a fairly simple process. It was about five in the evening outside, but Vincent received little an opportunity to observe his surroundings for he was beckoned to move forward by Barret.

"Come on, you can't be that dead! Shinra's here and we're trying to take the plane here before they get their nasty little hands on it!"

"Wait, Shinra is here? Does that mean Hojo…"

"Damn, would you forget about that guy!" Barret ordered while continuing to run forward to a house on the northeast end of town, "Hojo ain't even here so you trying to find him won't do any good!"

The pair busted into the front door of the house to find a petit woman stirring a pot of tea. Her voice was squeaky and soft, but seemed to pack a decent punch in moments of such urgency.

"Hurry to the back, you two! The captain and the others are starting up the plane!" The woman paused for a moment while looking back at Vincent with a strangle glance. "Wait, I don't seem to recognize you. Are you with everyone else?"

"Yes. My name is Vincent Valentine. My occupation is…never mind." Barret was attempting to hurry him along, but he wanted to at least have the common courtesy to meet the woman whose home he was charging through.

"Well my name is Shera," the woman replied, softly and much more sweetly than before. Vincent had almost forgotten about the situation at hand through his kindness, and Barret was forced to shove him through the back door into the backyard.

Outside the home stood a small propelled airplane, pink and blue in color. Compared to some of the grand aircrafts he has seen in the past it was unimpressive, but it proved amazing for a privately-owned aircraft. The words "Tiny Bronco" were engraved on one side, so he implied that to be its name.

Vincent looked up to the wings of the airplane to find Cloud and Tifa waving at him to climb up the tail of the plane.

"So what are we planning on doing?" he asked as he was shoved over to the right wing and tied down with rope.

"We're keeping those lying Shinra bastards from stealing my plane, that's what we're doing!"

The response came from a man sitting in the cockpit with pilot's goggles over his head. His hair was gray and dirty, and he somehow managed to smoke a cigarette while igniting the thrusters to take off.

The engines stuttered and hummed loudly, and Vincent looked around at Barret, Aeris, and Red, who were calmly awaiting the departure of the plane. He attempted to scream out to them to see their reasoning behind such rash actions, but the plane lifted off of the ground before he had an opportunity.

There were bullets and rockets firing at them left and right, and the pilot swerved the plane backwards and forward to avoid being struck by the powerful weaponry. Vincent now felt extremely fortunate to have been tied to the airplane, for he would probably be plummeting into the ocean at that very moment. It was still not an altogether joyous occasion for Yuffie, who was vomiting in every direction as the plan shifted directions in the air.

It was only shortly after this that the party felt a rocket strike the tail of airplane, causing the back engine to explode and the ropes surrounding Aeris (who was placed towards the back since she was among the lightest) to be mangled and destroyed. Aeris fell backwards, and grasped hold of the warped metal of the airplane's end simply to keep from falling. She screamed in peril, realizing that she would not be able to hold on very long. The pilot was pulling the plane upward as fast as he could, engaging in a lexicon of abhorrent profanity all the while.

Vincent was barely able to talk amidst the cacophonous noise, but he yelled over to Red, who was lying directly to the right of him.

"Quick, bite off the rope over my hands! I can stretch out and grab her!" Red quickly performed Vincent's request, biting the ropes and freeing him enough to reach out behind him. His frail body against the wind made it difficult for him to maneuver, but he really had no choice other than to attempt such a daring task. Being part of a group on a seemingly hopeless mission Aeris was his only reason for continuing onward, and without her this undertaking would be even more futile.

He fiddled with the pieces of the Tiny Bronco as he turned backwards, and he was eventually able to reach Aeris's hands at the tail. He had to press himself close to the frame to keep from falling, but he continued forward until he was able to grasp the inside of her palms.

Barret grabbed hold of the bottoms of Vincent's feet, and the added strength helped as they felt confident enough now to save her.

"Okay, Aeris!" Vincent yelled against the torrential wind. "I need you to lunge forward as best as you can and we'll pull you up!"

"1...2…3!"

Barret yanked backwards with all his might, causing both Aeris and Vincent to fall directly into his lap. Their moment of celebration was brief, as the pilot could not keep the plane from capsizing towards the water below.

"Damn! We're going to crash into the ocean! Hold on, everybody!" The group huddled close together in the center of the framework, and the airplane crashed deep into the water, causing everyone to be submerged.

It looks like I've finally reached the end, Vincent thought to himself as he attempted to swim back up to the surface. Even my rescue of Aeris was worthless, for she's going to die now with the rest of us.

However, the group was amazed to discover that they were being pushed back to the surface by something large. It seemed as if their death was evident, but the Tiny Bronco rose back up the ocean's surface, still carrying eight of the party's members aboard. Red was thrown a greater distance than anyone else in the crash, but was able to swim back towards their pristine watercraft.

The pilot was more surprised than anyone at the Bronco's newest innovation, for he was throwing his hairy arms in the air while shaking the layers of water off of him.

"Holy hell! Whoever thought this plane could float?"

After a few minutes everyone had taken a seat on the paneling of the plane, while the pilot now attempted to figure out the Bronco's buoyancy in the ocean.

Now that everyone was in a relaxed position, Vincent looked up at the party's various members.

"So can anyone tell me now why we were so hasty in departing? And who is this pilot, anyway?"

The pilot answered the question himself, speaking in a booming and arrogant manner.

"My name is Cid Highwind, native of Rocket Town and who should have flown into space by now! The goddamn Shinra was trying to steal away the Tiny Bronco from me, and I sure as hell wasn't going to give it to them after how they screwed me over with the Space Program! I've been around here for fifteen freaking years…"

"I was talking with Cid on the rocket and we figured that since we both had similar motives that we would go with him," Cloud interrupted. "We were going to use the Tiny Bronco to get an edge on them, but it looks like we'll still be moving pretty slowly."

Vincent no longer became the focus of the conversation, and Cid glanced back to Cloud, who was now lying down on the cold metal framework.

"So why are you guys fighting the Shinra for, anyway? Did they screw you sometime, too?"

"Something along those lines," Aeris added after finally catching her breath. "We're actually on a quest to keep Shinra and Sepiroth away from the Promised Land, and to keep them from destroying the planet with their Mako reactors."

It seemed as if a light bulb appeared over Cloud's head, for he spoke daringly immediately following Aeris's statement.

"Hey, you're good at dealing with mechanics, so do you want to join us? We could sure use your help driving us around."

Cid looked completely perplexed, but he spoke anyway in his haughty manner. "Well I don't know what the hell you guys are talking about, but it sounds like fun. Sign me up!" He paused for a moment to examine the group's present situation, and spoke again in a much more serious tone.

"The Tiny Bronco is probably not going to last very long in the ocean, so we should probably only travel along shorelines. Do you guys have any clue where to go?"

"Not really," Cloud regretfully replied. "We don't really have any leads as to where Shinra or Sepiroth are heading to next, so let's just head west from here. That seems to be the path in which Shinra is taking."

"Wutai it is, then!" Cid exclaimed, turning the Bronco with great difficulty and driving it west in the shallow water.

"So while we head that way, why don't you guys tell me more about this Sepiroth badass you've been chasing."

*-*

"Here we are, the southern shores of Wutai Island! I guess if we just travel north from here we'll find the city."

"Not for a long while," Yuffie stated almost out of nowhere. "I'm from this area and Wutai is far north of here. It'll be a god-awful walk." It had transformed to be nighttime, and the thought of traveling in the darkness was not too appealing to many of the party members. Most groaned at thought of wandering at night, but Cloud (creator of most ingenious plans) was able to conjure a decent solution to their present dilemma.

"Well, why don't we just travel ahead in groups like we do always? I'll head out tonight with Red and Barret, and the rest of you can split up and depart in the morning. This beach seems like a decent spot to sleep, and I assume Cait Sith will keep watch as always."

"Sure thing, boss!" Cait Sith hopped around excitedly, and seemed to enjoy the responsibility of being the group's watchman.

"All right, so it's settled then. We will meet up in the town as soon as we all arrive." Cloud waved his silhouetted hand towards the party (and seemed to gaze again at Aeris, who again offered no response but made a simple recognition) and turned to the obscurity of the night. Barret and Red did not seem to mind traveling at night, so the group departed hastily, cutting through fields and up towards the looming mountains ahead.

It was a silent and rather somber place once the three had departed. The vast majority of the group (including Vincent) was exhausted after such a tedious afternoon and had already found locations on the beach in which to rest. Cait Sith was standing a few feet away, equipped with the majority of their Materia in order to protect all oncoming enemies in the night.

Vincent had found a location on the northern edge of the beach, a place in which he was unlikely to be splashed by the ocean's water. It did not take him long for his eyelids to get heavy, but he was slightly revitalized when Aeris walked by, still drying out her hair from the incident earlier. Upon reaching Vincent she bent over, smiled lightly, and planted a light kiss on the mysterious man's cheek.

"Thanks for saving my life earlier," she whispered sweetly. "If there is anything I can do to repay you, I will." Aeris commenced to walk away slowly, her dress moving leisurely against the evening wind, but she halted for a moment to hear Vincent's reply.

"You've already done enough, Aeris."

It was unusual for Vincent to sleep under such pleasant circumstances, but for the first time in over a decade he fell asleep a peaceful man. He could see no nightmares in even the darkest of horizons.

If it's vindication you're searching for, it's still a million miles away.