Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where Have All the Angels Gone? ❯ Moving Mountains ( Chapter 4 )

Moving Mountains

So you really think life will be different for us now…

"Your drink, Vincent?"

"Why thank you, Aeris; you're so wonderful to me."

The afternoon Sun was beginning to descend down upon the waters of Costa del Sol. The summer breeze was warm and inviting, and Vincent for the first time in practically an eternity, felt alive. He was perched upon a reclining beach chair, softly caressing the dainty hand of his new wife with a tropical fruit drink located in his other hand.

The two of them had longed to be married for so much of the journey that it almost seemed parallel to fantasy when the occasion finally came. The planet had been rescued, and the couple could finally live together in serenity and happiness.

Fidgeting his maroon swim trunks to a comfortable position, Vincent looked closely at his prize, who was dressed in a red bikini top and khaki shorts. Her smile was sweet and genuine, for she no longer was forced to be the motivation for anyone else. All she had to do now was live her life the way in which she desired to live it.

"I cannot believe that I had never wanted to come here until now," Vincent said to his wife with a smile. "Had I known there was such a lovely resort here I would have visited long ago, not just for a honeymoon."

"Well, you know it's here now, don't you?" Aeris replied, taking her left hand and running it through her husband's now-silky hair. "There is no one else I would rather be here with, either."

"Not even Cloud?"

"Especially not with Cloud," she stated with a delightful grin. "He would never take the time to enjoy something like this."

"I guess not."

For a moment the conversation faded between the two lovers, and they looked forward at the calm and soothing motion of the water's waves. There was so much beyond their horizon that they could not see, and yet so much that they would be willing to explore together.

"Vincent, where do you think we will go from here?" Her voice was soft and mysterious, and he could not decipher the true nature of her question through her the way in which she spoke.

"Well I do not really know, Aeris. I suppose that is what will make it-"

Vincent had taken a moment to gaze upwards at the stars while he spoke, and then looked back upon his beautiful wife to find her invisible. She had vanished into thin air; he could not even see her running in the distance as she enjoyed doing from time to time. Everyone else remaining on the shore continued their present activities, acting as if nothing had occurred.

"Aeris! Are you here? Where are you?" Vincent had climbed up to his feet, knocking over beach chairs and running through the embrace of other passionate couples. He had waited this long for happiness and true love, and was sure not going to lose what he had worked so diligently for.

However, after over thirty minutes of frantic search he realized the quest was futile. He collapsed down into the sand pathetically, sobbing and looking up again towards the stars.

"Why, damn it! Why do you continue to torture me so? I thought the nightmares were going to stop!"

Oh, the nightmares will never stop.

"So is my whole life a charade then? Why did you lie?"

Because it's time for us to go.

"What?" Vincent's hands were lifted up into the night sky, when he suddenly felt two soft hands lift him slightly above the ground. The world around him began to suddenly transform, as well; the cozy beaches of Costa del Sol became the rocky shores of South Wutai Island, and the enchanting sunset evolved into a blinding sunrise. He could now see mountains in the distance, and the smiling face of Aeris directly in front of him.

"Vincent, it's time for us to leave for Wutai. We kind of have an emergency situation."

"What's that?" Upon hearing the distressed voice of Aeris he rose quickly to his feet, brushing as much sand from his clothing as he could. His joints were still agitated from the rigorous day before, but he attempted to show no signs of pain as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"We are going to have to catch Yuffie," Aeris stated defiantly, realizing the present situation and continuing with the conversation. In spite of her petite appearance, she had an inner power built within her that most would not detect.

Vincent shook out his mass of crooked hair from his forehead and gazed up at the still welcoming sight of Aeris. Even with a present dilemma, seeing that she had not in fact vanished created a warming sensation in his heart.

"What?" He inquired, trying to sound as concerned as possible under the circumstances. "Where did she run off to?"

"There's not too much time to explain it now," Aeris replied hastily, lifting the former Turk off of his feet. "Cid knows the way to Wutai, so it's important that we leave right away to make up ground. We're going to have to travel in a large group of five so we don't lose any more time."

Vincent nodded his head forward, and within a moment the party had commenced moving swiftly towards the mountains ahead. Vincent walked alongside Aeris, while Cid paved the path ahead of him with a trail of cigarette smoke and profanity about "some damn Materia thief making him walk fast". Cait Sith and Tifa loomed behind ominously, and walked without uttering a word. In many ways they were more distant than anyone else in the party (which came as a surprise to an outcast like the former Turk).

"So Aeris, can you tell me now what's going on with Yuffie?" Vincent was now moving at a steady pace, and felt a small incline in the path ahead. The grass was still soft and green, and was wonderful to run under compared to the torture his feet received upon Mt. Nibel.

Aeris now had no objections to an explanation, and she thusly offered a lengthy one.

"We don't really know anything for sure, but I was talking with Tifa earlier this morning and we think that Yuffie waited for us to fall asleep and stole our Materia by night. Luckily for her she slept so much yesterday that she was able to stay awake without any problem at all."

"So are you saying all of our Materia is gone, even mine?" He slowly drew out his revolver and opened up his handle to find empty Materia slots. They had spoken the truth, and there would be no magic at their disposal until they were able to track down the avaricious thief.

In response Tifa moved forward and smiled almost cunningly.

"Yuffie took Materia from every person that had any. I know for some people it will not be too much of a loss, but for heavy magic-users like Aeris and Cait Sith traveling could be a real chore. We'll have to try extra hard to keep watch over them." It was strangely disturbing that Tifa had such a disdainful tone to her voice. What did she have against Aeris, anyway? It likely had something to do with Cloud's affections, so Vincent found it best to keep his mouth quiet for the time being. The journey ahead was long, and there would be plenty of time for conversation.

It was at this point that a small communicator attached to Tifa's skirt commenced to ring clamorously, and she responded by unclipping the device and moving it to her ear, pausing briefly between sentences..

"Hey, Cloud. Oh, so she's found you three too, huh? She must have left here pretty early to catch up. Well, she's probably heading for Wutai, since she really can't get anywhere else without the Bronco. We'll slow down a little and look while we head that way. All right? Bye."

"Wait, where did you get that?" Vincent inquired immediately upon the end of the communication. "That is a Personal Handheld System; they are exclusive property of Shinra, or at least they used to be."

Tifa laughed lightly at Vincent's jumpiness to such a simple device. "Barret stripped it off a soldier when we were raiding a Mako reactor in Midgar. Why should the Shinra be allowed to have the advantage over us, you know?"

"It's the way they wanted it," he said with a straight face. "Shinra didn't want any useful technology to get into the hands of the citizens. It is a corporation ran entirely off of fear, so they wanted to keep the groundlings inferior." Some of the party members were uneasy at the labeling of themselves as "groundlings", but it was the truth of the matter; if you didn't have a Shinra badge in the modern world you were next to nothing.

"Anyway, that was Cloud on the phone saying that they were tricked by Yuffie, too," Tifa proclaimed as the group continued northward on their trail, slowly reaching the peak of the first major mountain. Vincent's feet were not in the least bit sore as of yet, which he found surprising due to his recent struggles.

Aeris interjected in the conversation, moving slightly backward to make eye contact with Tifa. The Nibelhelm native grimaced lightly at Aeris's continued attempts to "be friends", since there was obviously no chemistry between the two.

"How was Yuffie even able to catch up to the other three, let alone steal their Materia? She would have had to have left immediately after we fell asleep."

"She must have," Tifa replied indifferently, "Apparently a group of Shinra soldiers charged into Cloud while they were heading towards Wutai and Yuffie snatched their Materia while they were battling. More than likely she just had a lucky break with those three as opposed to us." Tifa followed Cid closely as they approached a wooden plank bridge nearby, but continued her conversation nonetheless.

"It's probable that Yuffie is heading towards her hometown, but we should keep an eye out for her along the way. We don't want her coming after our weapons next."

The group halted in front of the plank bridge, which appeared to be rugged and unstable. It was swinging slightly over a large ravine, where little could be seen at the bottom other than a trickling stream. It definitely seemed to require decent-sized steps to even cross, and it would never be able to hold five people at one time.

"Looks like we're gonna have to cross it one by one," Cid said arrogantly, somehow feeling that he had taken it upon himself to be the leader. "I hope none of you guys are scared of heights. I know I'm sure as hell ready, so I'll go across before you all piss your pants."

Cid spit out his cigarette into the ravine and grabbed hold of the ropes to each side of him. He took large, careful steps in the center of the bridge to keep it from swinging or breaking, and found himself on the other side in under a minute. In many ways he performed the task effortlessly, never even taking an opportunity to look down.

Following his example the remainder of the party followed across the bridge, neither phasing nor losing their focus of the road ahead. Vincent was shaking mildly as he stepped onto the planks, but his slight fear of heights was surmountable enough to make it across in a short period of time. The only member of the group that experienced any real trouble was Cait Sith, who was forced to maneuver his portly Mog body across the bridge slowly and carefully. After about a five-minute period of rest, the group had embarked again towards the isolated city. Aeris was directly at Vincent's left, so he could not refrain himself from gazing over at her periodically. It was strange, but it seemed as if Aeris expected his advances, for she smiled sweetly each time.

Cait Sith had been relatively quiet for most of the journey, but about ten minutes past the treacherous bridge crossing he spoke defiantly:

"So if Yuffie returns to Wutai there may be no guarantee that we ever get our Materia back."

"Why's that?" Aeris asked, tilting her head backward and away from Vincent for a moment.

"It's simple," Cait replied, tilting his cat body forward atop of his Mog. "If Yuffie's from Wutai than it's likely that the town will try to protect her. Most people are greeted with admiration upon returning to their hometown, especially after accomplishing something. By bringing back that much Materia, she'll have definitely accomplished something."

"I am not too certain about that," Vincent stated softly to Aeris. "I remember the first time I went back to hometown of Kalm after I departed." Instead of directly addressing the party he preferred to speak with just one individual, especially the one in which he trusted. However, most of the group overheard his brief discussion so he was forced to speak loudly as the group moved forward, crossing uneven mountains and grassy knolls.

*-*

It was a little over a year until Vincent was able to return to Kalm since his sudden and hasty departure. Thus it felt somewhat peculiar for him to be walking again on the quiet blue stones leading into town square. He had been sent there by Tseng for a brief recruiting mission, so he was forced to wear his customary navy suit and Shinra badge. It had been said that you always felt accepted at home, but Vincent felt strangely uncomfortable walking past the same shops and buildings that he had a year before as an ordinary person. Most of Kalm held Shinra in high disdain, which is why they lived in a quiet atmosphere as opposed to the pollution and commotion of Midgar.

Only a few minutes after walking past the central fountain of his town Vincent encountered a short, plump man with balding hair and a long, busy, beard. Vincent recognized the man immediately as Bernard, a longtime resident and friend of his father. Bernard worked at the Weapon Shop in the northern sector of town, which was how Vincent was trained at shooting a revolver at such an early age. Bernard had his back turned as the Turk strolled towards him, now with a slight bounce in his step to see someone he often admired as a child.

"Hello, Bernard! It's me, Vincent Valentine! I am back!" The voice that came out of his mouth was almost childish, for it had a certain energy and excitement to it that had not appeared since many years before.

Bernard turned around shortly after Vincent's outburst, only to be suddenly somber in demeanor and hunched over. When finding out his friend's son was departing for Midgar, the old man had been one of the only proponents to his cause. Vincent's father was away for business in Bone Village at the time, so he expected Bernard to have explained the decision to his father.

The aging shopkeeper spoke softly in Vincent's presence, almost as if he was nervous to be speaking with a member of Shinra in front of the apprehensive townspeople. However, this anxiety dissipated quickly as the conversation progressed.

"Hello there Vincent, it's good to see you again! How have you been?"

"I've been all right. Working for Shinra has been a new experience and I've been allowed to travel to places I would have never been to otherwise."

"And what about headquarters? Is it exciting to be in that enormous building with all those high-tech devices?" Bernard moved his arms while he spoke, somewhat exuberant to hear stories to tell at the Bar later.

"I never really cared for the business aspect of the job too much," Vincent stated softly with a slight chuckle. "Everyone at Shinra is paranoid, and they watch you like hawks the entire time you are in the building. That's why I try to go elsewhere whenever I am given the chance. When the opportunity came for me to come here for recruiting, I was excited to see if anything had changed. How has the town been?"

Bernard scooted his surprisingly tiny feet across the stones as he talked, rubbing his hands together and frowning noticeably.

"Well you see Vinny; things have been pretty dismal ever since you took off that one morning. A few weeks later your friend Ester ran away without telling anyone, leaving a note saying she was going to "find herself". Your Pop has only been in town for about a month now. Apparently he had gotten into some gambling problems at the Gold Saucer and spent a year in Corel Prison. He's been pretty much useless since, lying in the Bar and either drinking or talking about drinking. When I mentioned your departure to him he just called you a bastard and asked for another shot of liquor."

"What? He knew that I was going to get out of here the first chance I had."

"I guess he didn't think you would actually do it," Bernard replied, motioning back to the secluded area in the back of town. "Well, your Pop is sitting in there right now, so here's your chance to go talk to him about it."

"I suppose I'll need to. Thanks for everything, Bernard."

"Not a problem, Vinny. Just be careful where you wave that badge in there. People haven't been taking the word "Shinra" very kindly lately."

Vincent walked carefully into the dark corridor and into the secluded bar, only to be greeted with a cloud of cigarette smoke and the smell of tobacco and hard liquor. Initially his presence was unnoticed by most of the establishment's residents, but within a few moments a burly man turned around and yelled in a wavering voice.

"Hey, it's one of them Shinra punks!" There was mass commotion (along with drunken cursing and screaming) in the building, and within a moment or two the owner, a tall individual with a muscular build and a round face, approached Vincent in front of the counter.

"Hey look buddy; if you're gonna arrest somebody then do it, otherwise you'd be best to get the hell out of here. This place wasn't made for people like you."

"Let him stay; I know the bastard."

The voice came from the end of the table, from a stocky man in a faded trench coat. His hair with gray and raggedy, and he wore black gloves to cover his scarred hands. He was dirty and unshaven, and smelled of cheap alcohol. In many ways, Lance Valentine was the polar opposite of his son; he was loud, obnoxious, and ignorant to a point. He had no formal education, and had spent the majority of his lifetime searching for easy money and inexpensive liquor. He wasn't surprised to see that his father was in town, for he typically came back in the summer to see old friends and to ask for spare change.

Lance grunted grotesquely as his son approached in a systematic fashion. Vincent wasted no time in taking a seat, and the two spent a few minutes exchanging glances without ever exactly saying anything.

Finally, Lance placed his brawny elbows upon the bar and glared coldly at his son, who showed no signs of being intimidated.

"Well, word has it that you've been gone for over a year now. You sure as hell had better brought me some cash."

Vincent grasped in his suit pocket to open up his wallet. For a moment he searched casually, and he pulled out two 1000-Gil notes.

"Here."

He laid the bills carefully on the bar, and waited anxiously for his father's response. Lance stared for a moment at the tribute before him, inspecting and examining it and finally, placing it in the pocket of his trench coat. He sneered furiously at the child sitting before him before speaking.

"You're telling me that you went back on the very lessons I taught you, went and joined the goddamn Shinra, and then after one year all you bring back to me is two thousand Gil! You abandoned me just like your mother, and now you're giving me this bullshit as pay! You're nothing but a despicable miser; you probably spent the rest of my money on hookers in the slums."

Vincent, while at one time accustomed to his father's anger and bullying, began to become increasingly irate at the hatred in his father's voice. Truly without thinking of his actions, he grabbed the collar of his father's trench coat and threw the drunken man up to his face.

"Listen to me, you drunkard! Shinra pays for all of my expenses and that is the only money I have earned in the past year for myself! I'm giving all of it to you, even after you abandoned me yourself for most of my childhood to search for your own pleasures! And you wonder why I left for Midgar…"

"Hey, I will not tolerate you talking to me like that!" Lance struggled to his feet, and within a moment was staring at his son eye to eye.

"So what are you really doing here, anyway?"

"I'm here for recruiting, but I took the job so I could stop and see you."

Lance ignored the affection in Vincent's voice, and quickly seated himself back on the barstool, ordering himself another drink.

"Well then you've seen me. Now get your ass out of here and recruit then. God, if only you were a girl so I could just tell you to get some guy and screw him out of his money…"

Vincent stepped out of the Bar more infuriated than he even imagined he would be. He never understood how his father could be so detestable; to not even care about his son's welfare in any sense. To him, it seemed to be all about the money.

The journey to Kalm had been planned to be about reunion with drifted souls, but the beings Vincent came in contact with drifted even further from him. He didn't even have to recruit in town; for he knew there would be no youths interested in joining the Shinra. The townspeople despised that world of corruption and riches.

They had been brainwashed that way.

*-*

"So you haven't talked to your father since that day? We passed through Kalm early in our journey but we didn't meet anyone named Lance."

Vincent shook his head in negation to Aeris's question while climbing down from the last of the major hills on the path to Wutai. There were nearing the city inch by inch, and would be arriving at their destination by nightfall. The walk had been mildly entertaining with Vincent's unusual storytelling, along with the pleasant scenery of lush meadows and breathtaking waterfalls. The journey to Wutai had been almost similar to a nature hike; the party at one point forgot of their mission at hand to sit in an alcove near a cascade of water. There were very few creatures on the trail, and the few in which they encountered were easily defeated with a few gunshots. There was hardly a need for Materia, let alone another horrific transformation by Vincent. Wutai was now only an hour in walking distance away, and the group was at a higher morale then ever.

Continuing with the conversation, Vincent stepped forward over a jagged rock and onward to the grassy plains leading to the city. In all honesty, he was surprised that he had the energy remaining to sustain his journey, but he felt no problem in moving forward.

"I believe it was about two months before I was locked in Shinra Mansion that I last attempted to contact my father. I had felt remorseful over the way I treated him in Kalm so I sent him a letter with the remainder of my salary. I'm not sure if he ever received it or not, for I never was given a reply."

"So let me get this straight, Cid exclaimed pompously, crossing his arms while he spoke. "Your drunk old man cussed and practically disowned you the last time you walked up to his nasty face, and you still sent him your cash? At that point I probably woulda just went to the Honey Bee and spent it." Cid went on with a rant of how Shinra had promised him a visit to Wall Market one day, but Vincent had toned him out at that point. He did not have to be associated with the pilot for very long before developing a strong dislike for him; he was supercilious and irresponsible, two things in which he held in low regard. Cid was the kind of person that contained no meanings of love and honor; in this respect he may have made the perfect executive for Shinra. Vincent almost restrained himself from speaking, but he could not help against commenting to that level of insolence.

"I sent him the money because he is my father; he has nothing outside of me. Tell me Cid, whatever happened to your parents? Do you know where they are?"

"They're lying in a grave east of Rocket Town if you're so curious; they were killed by monsters when they were traveling to Corel to see an old friend."

Vincent now felt regret again in him for being so hasty in his accusations. Cid was apparently a difficult person to associate with, but that did not necessarily hinder him from being an overall good person.

"I'm sorry," he replied apologetically. "How long ago was it?"

"About ten years," Cid stated with little emotion or altercation in his voice. "They were killed a month before I got my pilot's license; I was always talking to them about how I was going to get into the sky someday."

Aeris could sense the somber demeanor that had suddenly pervaded into the group, so she stepped forward and smiled brightly at her fellow travelers.

"I suppose we all come from crazy backgrounds, so maybe that diversity is what will make us perfect to beat Shinra! You see, we're going to be the ones that win by being true to ourselves! All of the people we have lost…well they're the ones in the Lifestream cheering us on. They are watching the entire world right now, and they are proud of us for what we're trying to do."

Cait Sith shrugged forward from the back of the group and again decided to add a small tidbit of input.

"So even if they have a hard time showing it, I bet we're making them proud."

"Well what about your family, Cait Sith? You never talk about where you're from." Aeris's emerald eyes were wide with curiosity, and she was obviously fascinated with a history of Mogs and cat-like creatures.

However, she could be little other than depressed upon hearing his reply.

"Eh, they're around somewhere." He had little else to say on the matter, for he pointed forward to a town decorated with bridges and pagodas.

"Look, we're at Wutai!"

The Sun was just beginning to set upon their arrival into the city, and many of the travelers wandering about were commencing to head indoors. Out of all the cities that Vincent had visited in his lifetime, Wutai was by far the most cultural and naturally beautiful. While it lacked the sandy beaches of Costa del Sol or the nightlife of the Gold Saucer, there was a certain tranquility in the city that made the party feel privileged to be in such a beautiful place. It was almost ironic that they would be searching for a dastardly Materia-thief in a place that signified such inner peace.

Upon stepping forth on the stone pathways of the town the group huddled together to decide where to head next. With both Cloud and Barret (the two definite leaders of the party) not currently amongst the five at the town's entrance, it became almost a free-for-all as the group divided further.

Almost immediately after the question came up inside the group, Aeris spoke optimistically with an idea.

"How about Vincent and I head over to the far left? You guys can search in the houses on the right. If anyone gets any information they can come and find us, or vice-versa." It seemed to be a suitable agreement for everyone, so the groups went their respective ways.

Vincent and Aeris moved hastily to the left, passing a red building decorated with written characters and swords.

"Do you think we need to look in there?" he asked her while turning his head in her direction. It seemed strange to him but he was finally getting used to the idea of having a beautiful woman like Aeris around. Even though he was uncertain as to her true feelings, just knowing that somebody enjoyed his company was reason enough to make him smile.

Aeris responded with a friendly tone to her voice, the same tone she used no matter what the situation.

"I don't think Yuffie would hide in a weapon shop. It would be too obvious to hide near the entrance of town." Aeris then pointed at a larger building to the left, painted red and with the similar pagoda structure as the Weapon Shop. It had a giant vase in front of the door, and the words "Turtle's Paradise" were written under the characters for what would seem like tourists.

"We can check in there if you want," Vincent replied with a more pleasant ring in his voice in seeing Aeris look that direction. "Back when I was in Shinra Tseng was always telling me that one day after a mission we would come here on vacation and eat at the Turtle's Paradise. It's supposedly one of the greatest resorts on the planet."

"Well then, why don't we run in and take a look?" Vincent had no objections to the beauty's proposal, so the two of them ventured towards the resort.

"Aeris…just out of curiosity why was it that you chose me to accompany you? I'm no better than any other member of the group."

"Of course you are," the girl replied while gently touching Vincent's left arm for a moment. He was unaccustomed to such personal contact, so he jerked away out of uncertainty above anything else.

Aeris's eyes grew wide and concerned, almost as if she had heard the news of a dying friend.

"I'm so sorry, Vincent; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it's just…"

"Don't doubt yourself; it was my fault," he interrupted dejectedly while swinging open the door to the Turtle's Paradise and holding it open for Aeris.

"It is my fault for being so nervous. You are a wonderful, beautiful, woman…I just was afraid…you know?"

Aeris smiled without a reply, and upon entering the resort the awkwardness of the moment faded as the flower girl gazed upon two familiar faces in dark blue suits sitting at a table in the corner of the main room. Both were concentrating on their card game currently, so Aeris bent upward to whisper in counterpart's ear.

"Those two men have been searching for me ever since I was a child in Midgar. If they see us they are likely to fight so we better just take a quick look around and leave."

"Okay."

Vincent had attempted to whisper in his softest voice feasible, but it was apparently not enough as the head of the bald suited man turned around to the couple at the door.

"Reno…the Ancient is here."

The taller man with reddish hair did not look upward for the moment, but continued glaring at the deck of cards in his hand.

"Rude, just act like you don't see her. We're on break, just like we were when Cloud and the others showed up and Elena busted out of here mad. Nothing has changed." Now, more than likely to shoo the intruders away, Reno looked up from his deck at the strange pair of travelers, who were on their way out the door when he spoke loudly.

"Wait a minute…is that you, Sweetheart? I thought Hojo would have done away with you by now."

Upon hearing the nickname "Sweetheart" for the first time in nine years Vincent snapped around and glared at Reno coldly. Apparently Reno had not changed in personality one bit since their coalition in the Turks. He was as arrogant as ever, and had not seemed to lose any of his ruby-red hair in the years it had been since their last meeting.

Vincent moved closer to their card table and gazed down upon his two former co-workers.

"I am not to be deterred so easily, Reno. Tell me, what has Hojo been experimenting with lately? You must be wary working with Shinra, for you are apt to be his next victim."

"Ah, there you go with your big vocabulary and mysterious language again. We're not going to be in any of Hojo's experiments, because we weren't the one idiotic enough to fall in love with his lover."

"Wait…lover?" Vincent's cold glare dissipated and now he was in a complete and utter state of confusion. He hadn't previously known of Hojo's affairs (even though he knew of his feelings), but it appeared now that Aeris would be enlightened of his. His attempts to be oblivious and put on a performance would even turn out to be ineffective.

Reno cackled at Vincent's uncertainty, and grinned menacingly while folding his cards on the table.

"Ha! You didn't know? You must be even dumber than I thought you were. Everyone knew that Hojo was in love with Lucrecia, and would tear apart anyone the moment he discovered that they had similar feelings for the woman."

"So they all believe that I have perished…"

"You could say that," Reno stated, interrupting Vincent's thought. "Nobody was really sure if you were dead or not. There was a letter on your desk saying that you had quit, but we all knew better than that; those of us that were in the Turks, that is. That bastard Tseng was so upset, saying that he had lost his precious recruit. After a while, though, we got his mind of it and everyone stopped caring." There was another shrill cackle in Reno's voice, obviously enjoying the torment Vincent had received.

However, a conscious effort was made to ignore Reno, and Vincent continued with his questioning.

"And what about Hojo and Lucrecia; where are they?"

Reno laughed obnoxiously yet again, this time lightly shoving Vincent backwards slightly into Aeris.

"You're no longer with the Turks, Sweetheart. I don't think that's any of your business."

There was an inner demon inside of Vincent telling him to grab Reno; to throw him into the wall and force him to tell the truth. He desired to so badly, but he knew that violence would be futile in such a situation. It would shock and frighten Aeris, and wouldn't be any likelier to extract information.

"By the way," Reno said again with a cunning smile, "Lucrecia vanished a few weeks after you did. Nobody in Shinra's seen her since."

At hearing the news of Lucrecia's disappearance, Vincent had no further business with Reno or his drunken friend. He beckoned Aeris to head towards the door, and as he walked towards the exit of the resort he spun his head around to face his adversaries one last time.

"Hey, you Turks; be sure to tell Tseng I said hello."

"You better be careful of that precious cargo you're traveling with!" Reno shouted back. "If we weren't on break right now we'd be kicking your ass for her."

"Reno…shut up. You're making the booze taste bad." After speaking his brief and thought-provoking words, Rude scratched his bald head briefly before staring down again at the decorations upon the table.

Vincent and Aeris had already found their way to the exit of the resort, but their departure was quickly halted by Tifa, who charged into the room at full speed while waving her skinny arms in the air.

"Vincent, Aeris! We need to head straight up to the mountains! Don Corneo has captured Yuffie, and if we don't hurry we'll never get out Materia back!"

"Heh…looks like you guys will have to hunt down that fat moron in the mountains," Reno said devilishly. "Have fun." Rude was silent, and seemed to be spending the majority of his time now staring lovingly at the scantily-clad bar owner.

Tifa ignored Rude, and responded to Reno's haughtiness with some confidence of her own.

"Well, unless you guys want to be short a member you better come with us. Corneo's taken Elena from you, and he has both girls tied up on the Da-Chao mountains behind the city."

"Ah, damn it!" Reno screeched, pounding his fist upon the table. "Rude, we have to head out and rescue Elena. I told her it was a bad idea to wander off alone."

"Wait," Rude replied in perplexity, coming back to reality from his twisted world of whimsical dreams.

"What?"

*-*

"Don't think this is going to change anything between us, Sweetheart," Reno shouted while the group dashed up the trail of the Da-Chao mountains. They were unsure as to Yuffie and Elena's actual location, but they assumed it was located somewhere towards the top. Reno and Rude led the way up the mountain, with Vincent leading Aeris and Tifa behind. It was getting to be relatively dark outdoors, but the fading light of the Sun illuminated the road ahead just enough to keep the party secure.

"Trust me, I think just as little of you now as I did when I was in the Turks," Vincent replied while breathing heavily. "I don't even know who Don Corneo is, let alone what he wants with women from our groups."

"Don Corneo is basically a wealthy pimp," Tifa stated from behind. "When we were just starting out on our journey in Midgar Aeris and Cloud came to rescue me before Don could make me one of "his own". I was trying to get information about Shinra from him, but that didn't work out too wonderfully."

"Yeah, but at least we were able to see Cloud in a dress," Aeris added with a giggle.

Upon hearing this statement, the thought process in Vincent's brain commenced to panic, trying as diligently as possible to not form a mental picture of Cloud as a cross-dresser.

"What?" he inquired, hoping that somehow he heard Aeris incorrectly.

"Long story," Tifa replied with another laugh in her voice. "Let's just say that Cloud looked very pretty." The group marched forward until the trail of the mountain became increasingly rocky. The mountains had been carved into gigantic figures centuries before, and pieces of stone had started to accumulate on the once-smooth trail.

"Seriously though," Tifa continued, "Corneo is not a powerful man by any means, but he sometimes has quite a few cohorts to do his bidding. We'll have to be on close watch."

It was here that the group came to a split in the road, one path heading north and the other moving east. After a brief discussion, the caravan moved onward with Vincent, Aeris, and Tifa moving north while the Turks traveled east (even though Rude pondered the thought of ditching Reno and heading north, as well).

There was now little conversation as Vincent led the way northward. His legs were beginning to ache continuously, and he suddenly felt exhausted beyond belief. He knew that the extensive use of energy he had exhibited throughout the day would come back to haunt him; he felt as if he could collapse at any given moment. He was then thankful to take a turn to the left to rest and see the rest of the party, including even Cloud, Barret, and Red, walking along a carving of an outstretched arm. Yuffie and Elena (a petite blonde woman in a dark blue suit) were each tied onto the mountainside, which was carved to the equivalent of a face. Each woman was hanging upside down, with an enormously fat man watching them with a large switch in his hand.

Noticing the latest arrivals to his exhibition, the fat man turned around to look closely at Aeris and Tifa.

"Well hello there, my two honeys from Midgar! You know, you two were not very nice to my poor pet Aps or me the last time we met."

"Sorry, Corneo," Tifa stated sarcastically, "We didn't know that we were supposed to respect a greedy pig!"

"Oh, but you will," the Don replied with a putrid cackle. "You will bow to me once you take a look at my new friend, and you'll feel sorry for treating me so badly." The man snapped his chubby fingers together, and shouted in a grotesque and throaty voice.

"Oh, Rapps!"

It was then that the group turned their heads to look to the left to see a giant dragon-like creature flying towards them. It was much smaller and trimmer than the beast Vincent had encountered at Mt. Nibel, but it was mobile and could easily be even more lethal than the previous beast. The creature flew at the group with reckless abandon, and used its giant wings to drag back Vincent, Cloud, and Barret to the edge of the carving in which they were standing on.

"Damn!" Barret shouted. "The rest of you guys attack it from behind!"

In shrewd arrogance Don Corneo shook his head.

"I don't think that will be happening," he stated while pointing down towards his switch. "If any of them move one inch, your friends will go dropping to their deaths!" He maneuvered slowly to gaze at the three warriors, who had now already retrieved their weapons and were standing at a ready position.

"As for you three, go ahead and fight. I want to see you suffer. Attack, Rapps!"

The dragon lunged forward at the party, biting Cloud's arm and striking Vincent hard with its tail. After the excruciating climb and difficult day of traveling he was already frail and weary, and receiving another blow only tended to add to his suffering. He could barely stand upright, but he managed to fire away a shot at the opponent, who countered with a deadly and much more powerful spell.

"Rapps, cast Aero3 now!" Corneo shouted at the beast. It was then a strong beam of multicolored light began to encircle the monster and shoot outwards. The beam was so incredibly powerful that Vincent could not truly ascertain its power for in a moment he was lying flat on the ground, motionless. He could hear the screams of Aeris begging Corneo to stop, but he suddenly felt a resurgence of life in him. His muscles expanded outward and his skin turned a dark grayish color; His current clothes were instantaneously replaced with dark green shorts, and he felt a sudden resurgence of electricity within him. Even though Red and Cait Sith had seen a similar action performed before out of him, they were still in shock at the monstrosity now standing before them. Vincent Valentine had again vanished, and the Death Gigas stood in its place.

The Gigas lost all coherence of the world surrounding him, and the only thing he could see was what he attacked. The Rapps dragon was caught off guard by a powerful Gigadunk, which it was struck with repeatedly until the enemy was weakened and attempting to recover. It was then that a truly enormous current of electricity began to truly flow inside of Vincent's veins. He pounded his electrically-charged hands to his muscular chest, and sent an astonishing Livewire attack at the dragon beast, causing it to torch and fall lifelessly towards the ground. Vincent soon followed in this downward action, leaving the world of violence behind to sanctum of rest and solace.

*-*

Darkness entwined the sleeping quarters of Shinra Headquarters at midnight, and Vincent was forced to light a candle in order to see the sheet of parchment he had before him. After a tiring and strenuous day he truthfully should have been resting, but for some reason he did not desire slumber. It had been almost a year since the incident with his father in Kalm, and he had felt regret over his hasty actions since the moment he had walked out of that bar. He knew that his father disrespected him; for much of his life his avarice overshadowed his compassion. Yet he was Vincent's father just the same, which is what likely compelled Vincent to be sitting at his work desk when he should have been asleep.

His eyes were squinting when looking down at the paper, for he was still getting accustomed to the dim light of the tiny chamber. Within just a second of his arrival in the room he grew uncomfortable, so he was now sitting in his desk chair wearing only his button-up shirt and blue dress pants from work.

Grasping a black-ink pen in his hand, Vincent finally began to ignore his surroundings and create words on his sheet of paper. As he wrote, he realized that he never imagined he could both love and despise an individual as much as he did Lance.

Dear father,

Do you remember that time when Ester and I were out riding Chocobos with you and she became separated? That is what my life has felt like for the past year.

I am terribly sorry for not writing to you sooner than I have. I am not certain truly as to whether or not you are still residing in Kalm, so I am postmarking this letter to the town square in hopes that somebody can deliver it to you in the even that you have moved on. In all honesty I have been afraid to contact you since our last conversation.

I suppose I have not been extremely sympathetic with you about mom leaving us. I knew that it destroyed you inside, but it was only until recently that I have begun to realize just how painful heartbreak is. I have been chasing a beautiful woman named Lucrecia for months now, but not once have I been able to sustain a conversation with her. People criticize me constantly and call me impetuous for even trying. She is significantly older than me and also higher in status with Shinra, but I have never let it defer me from getting what I want. I know that is what you always taught me.

However, it is only recently that I discovered that Lucrecia will never be obtainable for me. She is in love with another man, and I fear that if I continue longing for her like I do it will be my downfall. Being in the Turks is an acceptable job, and while some may deem it as controversial, it keeps me out of trouble and gives me an acceptable amount of pay. I suppose what I am trying to say is that I now know how you feel. We are the only members of our family left, so it would be beneficial to both of us to stick together.

Concerning money, I have enclosed 4000 Gil in this letter, hoping you will accept it as an apology for my past actions and as a gift to you. I want to be able to return to Kalm and see you and Bernard again but it may be a good while. I have been told that I have been chosen to be the head of a new experimental project with Hojo, who is in charge of the Science Department. This new position may allow me to obtain some more money and new opportunities, so I will attempt to contact you again with the results.

Once again I apologize for my long absence. I hope everything is going well for you.

Sincerely yours,

Vincent Valentine

Vincent placed four 1000-Gil notes inside of an envelope with his letter, and addressed it to Kalm Town Square. He was finally beginning to desire sleep, but he was still extremely tense concerning the next day's events. He was instructed by Tseng to meet him in office at five in the morning to receive a preliminary briefing on his new project with Hojo. Being with Hojo was exciting in that he would receive fewer hours to work with greater pay, but his strong dislike of the man somewhat frightened Vincent to be in his presence. He knew that Hojo also had strong feelings for Lucrecia, so tribulation could rise if the two's feelings became intertwined.

Not truly able to see down the path before him, Vincent slept on that warm Midgar night in uncertainty. He knew that the days ahead would be both mysterious and exciting, but he never thought it would lead him on this strange trail he presently decided to travel on. If he had known what Hojo's secret "experiment" meant, he would have never walked into Shinra's doors to begin with.

Then where would you be today? I suppose I'll just keep watching over you then.

*-*

The sound of gushing water awoke Vincent on a beautiful autumn morning. The air was crisp and comfortable, and birds could be heard singing in the trees, which first leaves had just commenced to fall to the ground below.

Looking briefly at his surroundings, Vincent noticed that he was in a beautiful alcove situated perfectly between to mountains. He was surrounded by forestry on all sides, with a large lake being supported by a stunning waterfall spewing down from the looming mountains; he could see no sign of Wutai or even Da-Chao from any direction. The grass was green and fertile, so much that it seemed exceptional of sleeping quarters compared to even a bed. Even still, Vincent was oblivious to where in actuality he was or how he arrived there. It was then he arched his body up to a sitting position and felt soft arms wrap themselves around his thin neck.

"Vincent!" the voice exclaimed joyously. He traced the arms with his finger to find Aeris's beautiful face lying directly in front of him. Her hair was wet but still striking (she had obviously used the waterfall to cool off). Surprisingly there was even a trickle of water on her face, which Vincent wiped off with the same finger he had traced on her arm. She had removed the customary red jacked from her arms, and was standing before him in her signature pink button-up dress.

It was unexplainable the feeling that overcame Vincent at that moment. Being in such an enchanting place with Aeris he thought himself to be in another fantasy of his mind. There was no way that he would wake up in such a remarkable place with the woman he loved.

With this perception in mind, Vincent felt surprisingly courageous and decided to test the boundaries of this wonderful reverie. Without even thinking of the consequences, he wrapped his own arms around Aeris's slender neck and planted a fervent kiss upon her lips. Aeris did not object to the sudden display of passion, and upon ending the embrace continued to allow Vincent to hold her tightly, her ivory skin soft and comforting.

"Incredible; I must be dreaming," Vince said softly in Aeris's ear, who had not backed away an inch from the mysterious former Turk.

Aeris chuckled lightly to herself, and placed her head upon Vincent's shoulder.

"Yeah, it does seem that way, doesn't it?"

It was then that Vincent became aware to each of his senses: the smell of the flowers, the sounds of the wildlife, and even the feeling of Aeris's hair against his hands. This was no dream; this was reality, and the most spectacular reality he could have ever imagined.

"Vincent," Aeris said warmly while moving her finger along Vincent's neck. She halted her voice after that, so it implied that she was awaiting his permission before continuing her inquiry.

"Yes?" he replied, almost without hesitation to hear her luscious voice a second time.

"What did Hojo do to you?"

If only you knew, my angel. If only you knew.