Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where Have All the Angels Gone? ❯ The First Second Chance ( Chapter 5 )

The First Second Chance

Oh, but you forget she may already know more than you think.

Vincent and Aeris were seated upon a large stone overlooking the waterfall in the morning light. Their hands were intertwined, and Vincent was finally beginning to feel awake. After being injured so badly in the fight against Rapps he was again surprised to find no bruises upon him; his arms and legs ached slightly, but that was to be expected after performing such strenuous activity.

Through the kiss Vincent shared with the beautiful Ancient he felt for the first time as if he had found someone he could completely and unreservedly trust. Until this point he had talked to various people about his experiences with Shinra but left out certain events and abandoned specifics. He did not even know himself how Hojo had corrupted him, but he was going to try his hardest to decipher the mystery of his soul before his time was through.

Looking up towards the peak of the cascade Vincent spoke softly to Aeris, revealing as close the truth as possible of what caused his extended slumber in Shinra Mansion.

"From the very first time I had met Lucrecia I had promised myself to win her over. Tseng had warned me to stay away, but for some reason that only made me work even harder for her affection. I would find myself sneaking up to the Science Department before my shifts to talk to her, and sometimes I would purposely wait for her to leave so I could speak with her outside of Headquarters. I remember one time I spent one thousand Gil on a bouquet of flowers ordered specially from Wutai, where we just were. Flowers were so difficult to find in Midgar those days."

Aeris smiled lightly at the mentioning of flowers, and tilted her head back so the tips of her hair could feel the pond's moisture.

"You know, there were some flowers here and there. In Midgar I lived with a woman named Elmyra, and we had an enormous flower garden right outside our house."

"I cannot believe I paid one thousand Gil for them then," Vincent replied with a slight chuckle. "I suppose I never really took the time to look." Upon making this realization he took Aeris's hand and held it even closer to his own.

The lifestyle in Midgar was often too hasty; just because of a common misconception people would not search for those that strayed from the norm. There was little in Midgar that was fragrant or appealing, but the exceptions to this generalization were beautiful beyond reason.

"Anyway," Vincent continued while putting his arm now around Aeris's shoulders, "Everyone, including myself, in Shinra knew that Hojo was infatuated with Lucrecia, but only the select few knew that she was attracted to him. One day the two of them were talking and apparently my name entered the conversation somehow. Hojo was furious to discover that someone was attempting to steal away the one he loved, his obsession if you will."

"The next day I was told by Tseng that I had been assigned to assist in a research project directly with Professor Hojo. At first I was exuberant about the opportunity; they told me that I would have to work less and make more money for my efforts. However, the real reason I had been given the job was so Hojo could keep watch over me."

Even if the conversation was concerning a former love interest, Aeris leaned forward during Vincent's storytelling, anxious to hear more.

"So did you ever talk to Lucrecia again?"

"Yeah, I did one night about a week after I had been assigned to the Science Department."

Aeris noticed a significant drop in his voice upon replying, so she did not want to pressure him too much into talking about an uncomfortable event in his life. However, Vincent continued to speak without hesitation, for he felt as if he could trust Aeris more than even himself. Things were better off not being bottled in his memories.

"Hojo found out that I had spent some time outside of work with Lucrecia, and he was infuriated. One day he lured me to Shinra Mansion, saying that the "key to the whole experiment" was located there."

"So what did he do?"

It was upon hearing this question that Vincent's mind blanked and his eyes lowered towards the ground. He was again reminded of how much he didn't belong in the modern world; he was an anachronism compared to everything surrounding him.

Maybe you were not meant to still be alive.

"I…I don't know," Vincent stuttered in complete and utter disdain. He didn't know what happened to him that night at Shinra Mansion, or even recently at Mt. Nibel and Wutai. He should have perished each time, but he did not; he was reborn into a horrific beast, only to awake the next morning as if nothing happened, without a scrape or bruise on his body.

"Aeris…what happened yesterday? What did I become?"

The comforting flower girl could see the eminent anxiety in Vincent's voice, and placed her hand upon Vincent's shoulder as she spoke.

"The Rapps dragon that Don Corneo had unleashed on us had damaged Cloud and Barret pretty badly, and you fell to the ground after it cast Aero3 on you. We were all begging Corneo and sobbing, thinking you to be dead, when you suddenly rose up as an enormous beast and attacked the dragon. It was defeated in a few minutes, and the Turks soon arrived to do away with Corneo entirely. All in all, we were able to get our Materia back from Yuffie, and she's traveling with us again."

"But how did we arrive here? You are such a necessity to the success of the planet I do not understand why the group would leave you alone with an unconscious body."

"Oh, I'm not alone," Aeris replied with a clever smile. "We have Cait Sith watching for enemies about a mile from here. I also cast Barrier around this clearing for safekeeping." There was a pause in the conversation, mainly because Vincent was still attempting to tie together the loose ends. He did not understand why Aeris reacted so calmly to the transformation in the mountains, or even why she had decided to stay back with him while the rest of the party moved forward. Then again, he did not even know how she could have the same feelings for him that he had for her.

Sensing that Vincent had grown downtrodden in hearing of his peculiarities yet again, Aeris took one of her silky hands and danced in the pond with it, placing the cool water upon her partner's cheek.

"I know you are completely lost inside as to why you are able to survive under such conditions, especially without even a scratch or bruise. I promise, though, that as long as I am here with you I will help to figure it out." Aeris now tilted her body to face the mysterious warrior from Kalm and pulled back his strands of black hair from his cheek.

"The point is, Vincent, that you saved all of our lives again in Wutai, and I thank you even more for it." It was at this point that Aeris leaned her slender body forward and kissed Vincent tenderly, brushing their lips across one another before finally interlocking in a passionate embrace. As he leaned backwards, the ends of his ebony hair fell gracefully into the shifting water.

Vincent was so entranced in these vast declarations of ardor and adoration that he did not even realize the extent of his actions. Here he was, sitting in an alcove a few miles from Wutai with the woman he had always dreamed of, and he could not bring himself to have her as his own; at least not yet. Within a moment he had pulled away from the embrace, and was facing away from the mountains and towards the nearby waterfall.

Aeris was deeply distressed on seeing this reaction, and forced herself forward so that she could place an arm on his shoulder and speak in a diffident, much more concerned, fashion.

"What's wrong, Vincent? I though that you and I…well you kissed me earlier and I was just trying to return the favor…"

"It's not that I do not desire it," Vincent interrupted with an enigmatic tone to his voice. "I kissed you earlier because I thought I was in a dream. I did not think there was any possibility that someone as beautiful and intelligent as you would ever be interested in an outcast, an introvert like myself."

"But I am interested," Aeris protested, now leaning her soft face against Vincent's shoulder and grabbing his left hand with her own. "I am more compelled than I have ever been with anyone. There is something about you; something that just makes me want to be closer to you than anyone else. I want to be with you, Vincent. I really do." Her left fist had arched up from a resting position and was now resting up towards her shoulder. Tears were beginning to form in her gorgeous green eyes, for she was afraid that she would be heartbroken by the man many believed to have no heart at all.

There was a question that had risen inside of Vincent's head that had kept him from keeping his lips attached to the one loved. It was what made him break the embrace, and it was what he would fear to be the downfall of the group. It was the one question he never desired to ask, but it was necessary to continue forward positively in this relationship.

"Aeris?"

"Yes, Vincent?" The water in her eyes evaporated slightly, primarily because she was relieved to hear his subtle voice again.

"What about Cloud? What will he think?"

Aeris succeeded to rise from her seat next to Vincent and to pace back and forth across the small meadow. She knew the definite answer in her head, but was having a difficult time putting it into words. Her explanation began as a sequence of events, and she continued along that road until she could finally state her ultimate point. Her pacing wavered frequently, but her voice was as flowing and poetic as ever.

"I met Cloud a few weeks after my first boyfriend disappeared. At the time I was lonely, and I was being chased down through Midgar by those two Turks, Reno and Rude."

"I never was too fond of them," Vincent mumbled under his breath before realizing he was speaking out loud.

"Oh I'm sorry; go ahead."

Aeris did not seem disturbed at all at Vincent's sudden outburst, and she continued onward with her story.

"Anyway, Cloud was able to keep me away from the Turks for the time being, so I promised him a date someday in return. He wasn't an ugly individual or anything; in fact, I thought at the time he looked just like my ex-boyfriend. Both of them claimed to be First-class officers in SOLDIER, so I thought of him at first as retribution for what I had lost."

"So you thought that Cloud was sent to you to replace the other man?"

"Yes," Aeris replied, and her voice lowered slightly to a more serious tone. "I thought so at first, anyway. Cloud turned out to be a very different person than the man I was once with. He's very self-oriented, and he never shows any signs of compassion or emotions. He's just so distant; I never really know where he is at or what he is feeling. Then he has Tifa, a childhood friend that I am almost certain that he loves. Everyone else says that he is stricken with me, but I do not want to be with anyone that is so indecisive with himself." Aeris finished talking for the time being, and returned to her seat on the stone beside Vincent.

Taking her hand and tracing it through the edge of the water, the flower girl stared upward at the birds in the trees, and then back down at the somewhat apprehensive gentleman before her.

"I always liked Cloud, but I never fell in love with him." Even though her voice was soft and muffled against the clashing of the waterfall, there was an aura of confidence to it that proved what she spoke to be true.

Vincent now took this time to rise to his feet and plant himself upon a nearby rock leading to the waterfall, where a small alcove was located behind the cascading falls. He turned back to Aeris with a level of confidence of his own; he chose his words extremely carefully, for he felt now that there could be something to be found in this greatest of realities.

"And what is love, anyway? People have attempted for years to define it with no success. Some say it is a nevr-ending passion inside of you, others claim it to be a fleeting admiration."

"Define it however you want, but I'm in it with you."

Vincent was shocked to hear Aeris declare her feelings so openly, but not surprised to see her follow in his actions and move closer to where he stood.

"I don't know how else to say it," Aeris continued softly, "I barely know who you are, but in the same respect I feel as if I know everything about you. We share a common bond, Vincent; we've both been mistreated by the Shinra and we're trying to figure out who we are. People like us are the only ones capable of saving the Planet, and I don't want to face that burden with anyone other than with you."

Vincent grasped her hand as she approached him; her face and her hair still moistened from being near the water. He led her forward over piles of stones, but paused before stepping in the alcove behind the falls. He needed not to hesitate any longer; he knew in his heart that Aeris was his. Joy that he had longed to simply dream about had grown be the greatest of truths. Vincent lacked little self-assurance now, and spoke primarily for the purpose of clarification.

"So what will we tell Cloud?"

"Who says we even have to tell Cloud?" Aeris shrugged her bare shoulders, and as she stepped backwards into the rock hideaway behind the waterfall. She was forced to practically yell to even hear herself against the crashing water, even with Vincent following her to their present location. "It'll be better if we keep this a secret, but I do not want him to keep us from being together!"

"Well we are here now, are we not?" Vincent exclaimed against the noise of the surrounding environment. The cave was small and humid, so Vincent sat down upon its ledge, allowing the surging but refreshing water to spill down upon his body and clothes. He removed his red hiking boots, and let his feet dangle down over the side of the ledge.

Aeris considered agreeing with Vincent verbally, but there was no longer any need for words as she sat down next to him, immediately taking his hand in hers and kissing him feverishly beneath the pouring water. Not even the coolest of hydration could keep the intensity between the two lovers from burning incredibly; the water was splashing down upon them so powerfully that Aeris could hardly keep the straps of her pink dress up. She paid little attention to it, and continued to kiss Vincent as he ran his hands across the side of her moistened face. The water felt electrifying against their skin, and their tongues became quickly engaged as the pair explored this new and heavenly endeavor.

Within a moment or two Vincent lowered his mouth to kiss her chin, slowly moving down to the curves of her neck. It was amazing how smooth and wonderful Aeris's body was; it was almost as if someone had carved a masterpiece out of the finest marble. Her skin was just as soft as he imagined it, and her voice was still soft and soothing against the thunderous passion.

"Vincent…I love you."

"I…" Vincent had commenced to reply with just as sweet and sincere of a remark, but he was interrupted by the loud and screeching voice coming from about twenty yards away.

"Vincent? Aeris? Where are you guys?" Vincent and Aeris quickly pushed away from one another and fixed their hair to be presentable. Cait Sith was hopping forward on his Mog body, his voice exhibiting some level of concern.

"We'll have to continue this some other time," Aeris whispered, kissing Vincent one last time upon the cheek.

The couple quickly climbed down from behind the waterfall and to their cat-like comrade, their clothes soaking wet, allowing walking to be extremely difficult. Aeris's dress was now pressed against her beautiful figure, making her appear all the more enchanting to Vincent's eyes.

Upon seeing the two completely reckless and drenched Cait Sith spoke loudly and somewhat agitated.

"Man if I had known you guys were going swimming I would have come earlier. What's been taking so long; I thought you were supposed to get me when Vinny woke up."

"Well, he's only been awake for a few minutes," Aeris protested. "We have just been…cooling off."

Cait Sith seemed to stare at them in disbelief but decided to ignore the present dilemma to continue with his critical information.

"I hope you two are done swimming then; I just got a call on the PHS from Cloud saying to meet him over on the southern shore of the island. Apparently they have a new lead as to where Sepiroth is headed."

Vincent wasted no time, and strapped his boots back onto his feet in preparation for the journey ahead. Aeris walked over to the edge of the meadow and grabbed her denim vest and sandals, also using a pink ribbon to tie back her flooded hair. Cait Sith led the way across the mountains, still oblivious to the encounters that had occurred just moments before.

As the small party exited the meadow and recommenced hiking up the scenic trail, Aeris took the liberty of finding out more of the task at hand. At the time the group separated everyone was utterly clueless as to where to venture next; they had managed to save their Materia but failed miserably in extracting any more information from the Shinra. Sepiroth had not been spotted since Nibelhelm, and he gave no clues concerning his whereabouts.

"So where exactly are we heading to when we arrive at the Bronco?"

Cait Sith, who was leading the way with his uneven, clunky footsteps, spoke with an unusual poise in his voice, quite uncommon for a character that was usually so comical and mysterious.

"Apparently Cloud and the others are in search of an item known as the Keystone. They need it in order to get into the Temple of the Ancients, which is where they believe the Shinra to be heading. Rumor has it that there is Materia in that temple that is strong enough to destroy the Planet or to even save it single-handedly."

"Materia strong enough to salvage the world?" Aeris replied in disbelief. "Do they know where this keystone is, then?"

"Yes, and that is where we are heading now; back to my old fortune-telling grounds of Gold Saucer. They found a weapon seller near Gongaga that had already sold it to Dio for a pretty fair price. Being the egomaniac that Dio is I would not be surprised for him to have it placed in some grand museum or something, charging people to look at it for two seconds before shoving them out the door."

"If this Dio is as much of an egoist as you state he is," Vincent inquires, "than what makes you think that he will lend you the Keystone?"

"Dio has always been easy to sway, so I figure he'll give the Keystone up if we do a couple of favors for him. He's never been too fond of the Shinra, so he'll be glad just to make sure it`s out of their hands."

Neither Aeris nor Vincent felt any further desire to speak of Gold Saucer or the Keystone, so they made no reply to Cait Sith's analysis of the eccentric owner. The trail was winding down the side of a mountain as the group progressed, the two lovers frequently exchanging glances as the climbed downward.

In many ways Vincent was still mesmerized with how a situation like this was even possible for him. He had known Lucrecia for over a year without ever kissing her or holding her hand; and yet here he was, romantically involved with the last surviving Ancient, the girl that was previously labeled to be his enemy. He had only known her for a week and already the two were deeper in love than either had ever imagined they could be.

Even through this strong affection, however, there were numerous doubts of how the relationship could even exist in a healthy manner. The leader of their expedition was infatuated with Aeris, and if he were to find out the entire group could be torn apart. There was also the question of their mission, and whether or not it would be ethical for them to be together on a quest of much greater purpose. In all honestly, fear was the main hindrance in the couple's way.

Vincent did not wish to give this up, though; it was the relationship he had dreamed of ever since the torture and heartbreak of Lucrecia. She was just so beautiful, so incredible. She was perfect.

He would just have to keep this part of his life in shadow again.

That should not be too much of an issue for you then…

*-*

"Vincent? I have a question," Aeris exclaimed while stepping along the dirt roads of the South Wutai Trail. They would soon be reaching the shore, where they could expect Cloud and the Tiny Bronco to be awaiting them.

"Yes?"

"How come I never saw you when you were working among the Turks? Even when I was a teenager Reno and Rude were always the ones chasing after me. Were you already in Shinra Mansion?"

"For some of the time, probably," Vincent replied in truth while lifting himself over a boulder in the middle of the road. He and Aeris were now walking side by side along the road, with Cait Sith several feet ahead and wanting little to do with the conversation.

"With I being asleep for about eight years it is likely that I was not incorporated into most of those missions. However, I do remember Reno and Rude being sent constantly to track you down."

"But why was it always those two? You are obviously smarter and a better fighter than either of them." Aeris placed her hand upon the sleeve of Vincent's arm for a moment, and it sent a warming sensation up his spine to feel so appreciated.

"Actually, there is a pretty good reason why I was never sent to deal with you, and why Tseng didn't just deal with you himself," Vincent explained, crossing his arms about his chest as he walked. "Tseng always had an enormous respect for Professor Gast, even if it was he who was forced to separate him from his wife. He was always inclined to do his job, even if it meant making him miserable along the way." Vincent lowered his arms again from his resting place, brining himself closer to Aeris.

"Tseng knew that Gast didn't want his daughter to be involved in any of the experiments with Ifalna, so he tried his best to keep you away from Shinra while still seemingly doing his job. He knew that if he sent other agents after you that the job would be done and you would be in Shinra Headquarters staring at Hojo before you knew it. Reno and Rude are incompetent and lazy, so he knew if he sent them the mission would never be accomplished."

Aeris looked over to Vincent, gazing briefly into his eyes before lowering her head towards the ground. "I suppose that's why Shinra was never able to catch me…"

"They are such a massive organization that they are able to achieve almost anything they desire unless somebody attempts to stop them." For the first time in the conversation, Vincent smiled and laughed heartily, making a rumbling sound from his throat.

"I suppose that's why we are doing this then. We're being the ones to stop them."

As the threesome continued forward they began to hear muffled shouts which soon turned into booming voices, beckoning them to hurry to the Tiny Bronco. Vincent could now see the Tiny Bronco parked aside the southern beach, with anxious hands waving in the air across the fair distance. Their slower pace quickly transformed into a sprint, and within a few moments Cid had helped all three of them climb aboard the water-bound airship.

Cloud touched Aeris lightly on the shoulder as she walked by, and he nodded amiably to Vincent, who had just climbed aboard. Barret, who had also helped the trio climb aboard, seemed gratified enough to have them back.

"Everyone was worried damn sick about you, Mr. Turk! After that freaky bit you did against fat man Corneo we didn't know what the hell was wrong with you."

"I still don't," Vincent muttered in reply, somewhat discouraged by the animosity much of the group felt towards him. However, Tifa was kind enough to offer him the co-captain's seat behind Cid; it was soft and somewhat comfortable, and surely felt like a relief after the tedious walk from the meadow. He could hear the incoherent voices behind him; they were discussing the mission at hand, but it was something Vincent had little fascination in. He already knew the broad scope of their visit to Gold Saucer, so there was little meaning to listening in to an unnecessary discussion. His mind instead wandered, carrying him to a dimly-lit restaurant in the upper levels of Midgar.

Vincent was sitting at a small ornate table in the corner of the Skyline Café, considered by many to be the greatest eatery in the entire eastern continent. He had spent his entire month's salary on the occasion, purchasing himself a new double-breasted suit along with a pair of black slacks. This was the only time he had ever convinced Lucrecia to go to dinner with him, so he was eager to make a good impression. He had located a decorated area with candle-lit tables and soft violin music playing in the background.

The woman he had so unrequitedly adored was now sitting across the table from him, twirling her napkin in her hand. Lucrecia had dressed in her finest white gown and high-heel shoes, which had originally given Vincent hope for the evening's events. He had waited over a year for this one dinner, and he was willing to endure anything to have the beautiful black-haired woman as his own.

"Wow, this truly is an incredible restaurant," Vincent stated in hopes to ignite some conversation. He had never spoken to Lucrecia for more than five minutes at a time so he was in actuality uncertain as to how to sustain a decent conversation with the woman.

"I can see nearly all of Midgar from up here."

"Vincent, you can't just keep avoiding the truth," Lucrecia stated blatantly, her voice deep and truthful. "I decided to come with you today so we could end this; I am forty-one years old; you are young enough to be my son, in fact you are about as old as he is. As much as you can dream of us being together, it will never be. Look at you; you're just a kid, and one in which I barely even know. You need to find somebody closer to your own age instead of worshipping someone as peculiar as me."

Vincent was appalled at Lucrecia's comments, and he rolled his hands up onto the table and stared in disbelief.

"But age is only relative…Lucrecia. You may be forty-one but you appear younger and healthier than I am. If there is love existing between two people than outside factors like age should not even bear any significance."

"That's where you are wrong, Vincent," the woman protested as she stared out the window, never once making eye contact with the young Turk in fear that it would shatter him entirely.

"There is no love between two people here; it's just you. You know that Hojo is enamored with me, and I love him back. We just keep our relationship secret for business purposes. If Hojo finds out we're even here together there's no telling what he will do to you."

He could not believe it; after everything he had attempted to win her over Lucrecia adored Hojo and was indifferent to him. The flowers in his mind had wilted upon these words, and now the dinner became an issue of saving Lucrecia rather than getting her to fall in love with him.

"Don't you understand?" Vincent shouted, more than likely louder than he expected to, "Hojo's trying to use your own son for his latest experiment! I do not know if he has informed you yet, but if these tests fail Sepiroth could be killed! He cares nothing about you; he just cares about his work!"

"And how do you know that?" Lucrecia questioned spitefully, recognizing the imminent jealousy in Vincent's voice.

"I was in a meeting with him just last week!" Vincent was now bordering insanity in his voice, for he had not felt himself so irate since the incident with his father in Kalm.

"He said that he would kill you if you got in his way! Hojo is going to take your son and send him straight to hell!" Vincent was panting furiously now, and he forced himself to take his seat in order to stay conscious. His voice was still intense upon sitting down, except for pausing periodically for gasps of air.

"Lucrecia, Hojo will…kill you."

The beautiful woman said nothing for a moment, taking her time to collect her thoughts and gaze up into the ceiling fan above. When her face fell back into eye contact with Vincent she looked like an entirely different person; her face seemed scarred and angry, and the beauty inside of her dark brown eyes seemed to turn into fiery hatred. When she finally spoke her voice was monotonous, but the sharpness in her words would have shattered the strongest of glass.

"By the time Hojo is finished with you, Vincent, you will be the one burning in hell. You don't know a goddamn thing about love." Lucrecia threw her napkin into her companion's face, and it only seemed to amplify the sorrow in his heart. This was not the Lucrecia he had loved and cherished for so many months; she was different, almost as if she was under a hypnotic trance. She was spiteful and terrible; she acted as if Vincent was somebody that had despised her rather than adored her every move.

Seeing the woman of his wildest dreams walk away, the lonely gentleman could think of no one to blame other than himself.

"What have I done?"

Vincent lowered his head down upon the table, and for the first time in his entire existence, he sobbed as if he had no life left. If he had went to her when he found out about Hojo's plans he might have saved her; he could have at least kept her from making the evening into one of the most horrendous of Vincent's life.

You know, you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Lucrecia. You did all I could do.

"I want to know what happened to her!" Vincent screamed amidst his rabid sobbing. The atmosphere around him seemed to gradually vanish, leaving Vincent surrounded by only darkness and his own enigmas.

"Why can't you ever tell me what has actually happened, rather than what is going to be?"

Maybe that is for you to discover.

"Who are you? Just leave me alone, please! I have suffered enough!"

"Well damn, I didn't know you were gonna get so bent outa shape about it," replied a gruff and rugged voice that Vincent immediately recognized as Barret.

"I just woke ya up to say that we'd gotten to Corel, and I'd figure you'd wanna see the hellhole that your people have made the place into."

"They all hate me now because of you guys."

Vincent opened his eyes to see a town lying in the distance, with him still situated in the seat of the Tiny Bronco. The walk was not an altogether excruciating one, so the party had no objections to traveling the road together. He made to attempts to speak to anyone along the journey, for he was still haunted by the questions from the delusion on the boat: what if he ended up destroying Aeris just like he did Lucrecia? He would never be able to forgive himself…his life had grown so perplexing. He was uncertain whether or not this romance was even worth the consequences it could bring.

He glanced back at Aeris to see her walking behind the majority of the party, talking to Cloud and Red about something unknown to him. Maybe this was the better thing to do; travel in solitude and let the girl make the decisions for herself. At least that way if something terrible happened he would not have himself to blame.

Or would he? No matter where he turned fear was the answer to every question.

As the group approached the outskirts of Corel Village the destitute state of the town became evident to Vincent's eyes. He had remembered the days when there were established cabins and businesses, but now citizens were living out of tents and merchants were selling supplies on the street. The city was dirty and dilapidated, and pieces of broken railroad tracks seemingly were recognized to be the pathways through town.

Vincent placed his first foot upon the grainy sand of the village and turned back to Barret, who was ducking his head down in order to shield his eyes from the townspeople.

"So this is what Corel has come to these days," he said to the remorseful man, moving over to walk by his side. "I told you I never wanted the reactor to be constructed here. This is exactly what I told Shinra would happen."

"I know it ain't your fault," Barret replied solemnly while heading forward to the western part of town. "It just makes me so damn furious when I come here and see everyone so miserable. The shop owners look like they haven't eaten any good food in weeks, and the coal mines…they just been long forgotten."

"I suppose as soon as we do away with Shinra this village can be repaired. Towns can always be rebuilt."

"That still doesn't mean the lives can be saved, man!" Barret shouted suddenly, his usually-steadfast voice quivering in disparagement.

"My wife Myrna was killed here by Shinra…among others." Vincent attempted to comfort the rugged gunman, but Barret shrugged him off and moved forward past the sign west of town, which read "Gold Saucer" and pointed towards the Ropeway Station west of the town.

"Hey don't get sappy on me now, Turk, we gotta haul ass over to the Gold Saucer and get the Keystone. The only we're gonna beat these Shinra bastards is by being fast!"

Vincent nodded without uttering a word, and climbed aboard the blue transport vehicle with the rest of the group already waiting to move ahead.

"Looks like we're all here now," Cloud told the driver cordially.

"Gold Saucer, here we come!"

*-*

It was getting to be late in the evening, and the brilliant multicolored lights and banners of Gold Saucer were being illuminated as the Ropeway parked itself in front of the park entrance. As always there was a cornucopia of colorful characters parading outside in costume, whether it was chubby Chocobos or greedy gamblers rummaging for scattered Gil. Cloud had apparently purchased a lifetime pass upon their previous visit, because the group was instantly admitted upon walking to the entrance.

The caravan moved in past the entryway to a garish room filled with eight different transport tubes, each leading to a different area of the park. Nobody had a precise idea as to where this Dio character would be hiding, so they decided the best solution would be to split up into small groups and to have an individual person check each section.

"Okay, since there are eight different routes in which we can travel," Cloud explained to the group while standing before them, "we can each choose a different section of the park to visit and search for this Dio guy. Since we have one member extra, Aeris can come with me to the Battle Arena in case I need any extra help there."

Aeris smiled genially as she walked towards the front of the group.

"We'll meet up again later," she whispered into Vincent's ear in a clandestine manner while passing by. "I can't very well say no to him."

Vincent understood her reasoning completely, but he was affirming himself in his new philosophy of allowing Aeris to make her own choices. While it was not the greatest feeling seeing Aeris walk away with another man, he figured at that moment it was for the best. As much as he wanted to love her, he thought he would just be too afraid to make anything happen.

"Remember, this Dio character is a large, muscular man in bright orange tights. He can't be too difficult to find."

The group then decided to meet back at this exact location once all areas of the park had been searched, simply to see if the Keystone had been located and to decide where to go from there. As the party disembarked from their present location, Vincent quickly discovered that the only vacant location for him to search was the area on the far right, the Chocobo Race Arena. Vincent had no true objections to visiting the Chocobo Races, since he had always been fond of the large birds to begin with. He was going to try his best to avoid gambling, however, since that was how his father undoubtedly ended up spending time at the prison below the casino.

Vincent climbed slowly into the tube, and soon found himself shooting every which way before finally landing on a soft pad at the foot of a grand set of stairs leading to the front gates of the Chocobo Racing. The journey there seemed like an adventure in itself, but he continued forward by marching up the illuminated stairs and into the inner sanctum of this sport for Chocobo-lovers.

The main lobby of the Chocobo Racing reminded Vincent immediately of one of Shinra's important business meetings. There were people frantically scrambling from corner to corner of the area with piles of Gil in their hands, and women in skimpy clothing were sitting behind desks manning the entire operation by taking bets. Nobody seemed to have the patience to deal with anyone else, since achieving their dreams of fame and riches supposedly had to be their top priority.

As the former Turk strolled into the frantic atmosphere he noticed a large gate to his left. That must be where the racers enter with the Chocobos, Vincent thought to himself as he noticed that there was a rather peculiar-looking woman standing in front of the gate. She was somewhat tall for a female, with long strawberry-blonde hair and deep blue eyes that could convey her apparent excitement towards her job. It had been ten years since he had last looked into those same blue eyes, but he recognized them immediately as Ester's. She had not changed all too much since that emotional evening at the Chocobo stables, since she still was apparently infatuated with the birds she often spent so much time around.

Immediately upon seeing her, the idea entered Vincent's head to approach her and say "hello". She was still somewhat attractive and had to at least be relatively interested in the affairs of her old friend, didn't she? Yet she looked so jovial, handing people tickets for events and welcoming Chocobos and their riders to the starting line. He thought he noticed a sliver upon her neck that vaguely resembled the necklace he had given her so many years before, but he could unfortunately not know for certain.

Although a large portion of him desired to stop and talk to his old friend, Vincent knew that he wouldn't have anything to actually say to her. He could not very easily tell her that he had been locked away in a coffin for eight years for infuriating some mad scientist at Shinra. In addition, he would be forced to mention his present affairs, including how he was on a quest to save the Planet from an unstoppable corporation and from a hidden evil from years past. Aeris would not have to even be included in the conversation and he would already feel uncomfortable enough talking to Ester as to desire little to do with her. She wouldn't have even recognized him anymore, with him wearing the layers of capes and garments he was so unaccustomed in being seen in by his old friends.

After some serious thought, Vincent considered his reunion with Ester to be of little significance and importance and turned the other way towards the exit of the lobby (even though his heart was heavy in doing so). Dio wasn't around the Chocobo Races; if this character was as aloof as Cloud described him to be he would have been noticed in an instant. There was no way to take the exhilarating ride back up the tube to the main lobby of Gold Saucer, so Vincent was forced to climb a series of damp and fairly unattractive stairwells before reaching his destination.

The main lobby of Gold Saucer was fairly vacant upon his arrival, so he sat down against one of the brightly-colored walls and watched as Cait Sith hopped back into the lobby.

"Oh, so you're already finished up with the birdies, Valentine? There's not many places you have to search in the Event Square, either," the cat-like creature said humorously as it scooted along the floor to position itself in front of the eight tubes.

Vincent took little opportunity to laugh at the creature's antics, and instead spoke softly and indifferently.

"I saw enough of the area to know whether or not Dio was located there. It was truly too frantic in the Chocobo Races for my taste."

Cait Sith paused for a moment without reply, and spoke again in an entirely different tone of voice than before. Instead of the voice everyone had grown accustomed to, the sound coming from the creature was low-pitched and serious.

"You never did care for social occasions did you, Sweetheart?"

Vincent's mind froze immediately when that word was mentioned in the conversation. Only Aeris had been aware of his nickname from Shinra, and she would have never informed anyone else of it. He had known since the moment he had met the cat-like creature that he seemed familiar, and now hearing those words his theory was solidified.

"Who…are you?"

Cait Sith was given no time to respond, for Tifa and Red greeted the pair from the other side of the lobby. It appeared after their arrival the remainder of the group filed in quickly and systematically. Cloud and Aeris were the final two to return to the room, and they seemed to be the only ones smiling and bringing good news. Cloud was carrying a small emerald-colored stone in his right hand, and had locked elbows with Aeris with the other arm (which caused Vincent to grimace slightly).

"We got the Keystone, you guys!" Cloud exclaimed in delight. "It turns out that all I really had to do was enter a series of battles to entertain Dio and he gave the stone right up!"

"I guess we're gonna be heading out of here then…" Cid muttered, obviously disappointed to some extent with not being able to spend more time in the grand casino. Without any more discussion, the group marched out into the illuminated Ropeway Station to be immediately halted by a stout woman in a blue uniform.

"I am sorry; the Ropeway Station will be closed until further notice due to repairs."

Most of the group was frustrated entirely by their misfortune, and Barret quickly became irate and stomped to the front of the crowd.

"Hey, lady! We got some important business to take care of, and how the hell are we supposed to take care of anything if we're stuck here?"

"Once again, I am sorry," the woman replied with a straight face. "It is not my job to worry about your affairs; I am just here to tell you the Ropeway is not functional and you cannot travel by it for the time being."

"Well I'll tell you what won't be functional, lady…"

"Don't worry, I know how we can stay here for the night," Cait Sith added intuitively to keep Barret from being arrested for his obnoxious behavior. "I have some connections over at the Ghost Hotel so we can stay the night for free."

The group was somewhat relieved to hear this suggestion, and after some brief discussion they decided that staying overnight would not be too terrible of an idea. They had the Keystone in their possession, so there was no way that Shinra would make it inside the Temple of the Ancients any earlier than they would. Plus, nobody deeply had any desire to travel at night when they were so exhausted. It seemed like an eternity since they had last received a suitable night's sleep at a hotel.

Within a few minutes Vincent felt himself sitting against a wall of the Ghost Hotel, a three-story building designed to look haunted with cheesy paintings and ridiculous costumes. And they wanted this place to appear frightening? Apparently the people of Gold Saucer had never attended Shinra Mansion.

The group had assembled in the enormous lobby of the hotel, and commenced to discuss their plans for the following day. Vincent was situated on the outside of the circle, watching the group talk fervently and debate on what time they should depart. Cloud had taken his typical position in front of the group, and currently was devising his definition of a perfect schedule.

"All right everybody, we probably need to be down here in the lobby again at five o'clock tomorrow morning. We need to get as much of a head start on Shinra as possible, since as far as we know they could be waiting at the temple for us as we speak. They've seemed to form some bad habits lately of reading our minds…"

"Cloud," Tifa interrupted, "I think it would be better for everyone if we left at seven in the morning instead of five. It's almost eleven o'clock already, and we'll be so much more aware with two more hours asleep."

"Plus we don't even know when the Ropeway's going to start working again," Cait Sith added.

"All right," Cloud stated with a deep sigh, "we'll head out of here at seven tomorrow morning. We need to be on guard as much as possible, since it's pretty likely that Sepiroth will be making an appearance."

"So what exactly are we after Sepiroth for?" Cid asked in confusion while reclining against a dark mahogany chair. "Isn't he supposed to be one of the big war heroes?"

"He was," Cloud replied dejectedly while crossing his arms behind his back. "Sepiroth lost his mind five years ago in Nibelhelm, and we believe him to be searching for the Promised Land."

"Only in the Promised Land can we be truly one with the Planet," Aeris added. "If Sepiroth proves this place exists and finds it before anyone else we could be in serious trouble."

Cloud now picked up where Aeris left off in the conversation.

"We think that the Temple of the Ancients holds something very important to Sepiroth's quest, so we'll be shocked not to see him there in some shape or form." Cloud took a step backward, and he allowed his eyes to wander around the room as the group became silent.

After a few minutes of little other than meaningless mumbling and petty conversation, Aeris rose to her feet and brushed off her dress.

"I think I'm going to head up to my room now and get ready for bed. We have a long day tomorrow and the extra sleep will do me good." Both Tifa and Yuffie followed, and in a few minutes most of the party had wandered upstairs to settle in for the evening. The women were fortunate enough to each have their own respective rooms, while Cait Sith was only able to provide one room for each pair of men. Vincent had been given the ill-fated assignment of rooming with Cid, but he quickly discovered him to already be asleep and snoring on his mahogany chair in the lobby.

Now concocting a brilliant and cunning plan, Vincent took the 200 Gil he had discovered on Mt. Nibel days earlier and approached the clerk at the front desk, who was dressed outrageously as a vampire.

"Excuse me, but do you have any vacancies available, anywhere?"

The man cackled resonantly in a matter meant to terrify most tourists. "Well we still have our Nightmare Suite available in room 666, but it comes at the steep price of 180 Gil per night."

"Done," Vincent replied, placing the collection of money he had gathered on the counter. In many ways it was foolish for him to spend such a multitude of money just to not room with the obnoxious pilot, but he was not overly fond of sharing a bed with another man. Maybe there was something in his head that suggested a fantasy of sleeping with Aeris which influenced him to purchase the room, but within a few minutes he found himself leaving a business card on Cid's lap that read "we are staying in Room 666. If I am not there do not worry; I may have decided to see some of the sights while we are here."

So now, casually and with an entire room to himself, Vincent climbed up the creaky stairs of the hotel and into Room 207, his resting place for the evening.

*-*

It was about eleven-thirty when Vincent heard a soft knocking on his door. He had kicked off his shoes and removed his cape onto the red carpet floor, but he was still presentable as he opened the door to see the saintly figure of Aeris standing before him. He had been looking out his window into the stars and sights of Gold Saucer, and it took his mind a moment to adjust again to reality.

"Hi," the beauty said to him demurely. "I was just coming by to see how you were doing; you seemed awfully distant this afternoon, even more so than usual."

"Oh, sorry," Vincent replied softly. He had his door opened entirely, and Aeris took a moment to peek around him to see no traces of another person.

"What happened to Cid? I thought you were supposed to be rooming with him."

"He was asleep downstairs, so I bought him a different room to stay in and left him a note." It was strange to see traces of red on Vincent's face, for he did not seem to be the kind of person capable of blushing. And yet he was, and Aeris took advantage of this opportunity by swaying her hips back and forth while smiling brightly.

"Well do you mind if I come in, then?"

Vincent had no objection, and he allowed Aeris to walk inside the small room while he took a seat on a nearby desk chair. The room was eerily silent, and Aeris walked slowly back and forth across the room, all the while making eye contact with her mysterious friend that she so adored.

"If you are upset about me running off with Cloud earlier," Aeris said politely, "I only did it because he wanted me to. Trust me; I would have rather went just about anywhere else, with anyone else for that matter. However I just can't reject him because I know it would destroy his morale."

"I suppose that is what I have been so apprehensive about today," Vincent interrupted while still sounding amiable. "I was thinking about how our relationship would affect everyone else if they were to find out. I mean, surely we cannot keep it secret forever."

"Oh, of course not," Aeris replied while kneeling over next to Vincent and wrapping her hand around his. "But once this whole crisis is over we can tell everyone the truth and run away together. If Cloud or anyone else objects, we won't have to worry about them. We'll have each other and that will be all that matters."

"But what if us being together makes you vulnerable?" Vincent's eyes were now fixated upon the incredibly beautiful Ancient girl, and he took no notice of any surroundings now other than her own subtle movements. "I adore you, do not get me wrong; but if something happened to you because of our relationship I would live my entire life in regret." Even in such a ominous meeting at night he was battling fear, and it was difficult in keeping it from overtaking him.

"Us being together doesn't endanger me, Vincent." Aeris held his hand even closer, and leaned over to softly kiss the man on the cheek. "It saves me. You didn't just save my life when we were leaving Rocket Town. You save me every moment I'm with you." Aeris now took the opportunity to lower the masking from the front of Vincent's face (an article that was quite a hindrance under the waterfall that morning), and passionately pressed her lips to his. She didn't want him to feel so fearful about being together; she had to show him how much she cared for him, more than Cloud could ever comprehend.

Aeris lowered her body down upon Vincent's lap, and their passion increased with every moment. Their tongues caressed the mouths of one another, which allowed Vincent to feel exhilarated and desirous for more.

After a few minutes of this particular embrace, Aeris climbed to her feet, untying the numerous pink ribbons in his hair and allowing her beautiful chestnut hair to come sprawling down gracefully.

"Vincent, let's spend the night together."

Upon hearing this request Vincent had almost no control over his own thoughts. His whimsical fantasy had become true, and Aeris's beauty seemed to be so empowering that he was hypnotized; he had no way of declining so generous a request. Aeris seemed to glow luminously against the light of the room and as he watched her hair tumble done the effervescence of the moment multiplied.

"Don't worry," Aeris stated while motioning for Vincent to rise to his feet from the chair. "I'll be sure to wake up early enough that nobody else knows we were even together."

"I don't care," Vincent stated uncontrollably while the thoughts in his mind raged in a tumultuous manner. "I just want to be with you." He could not hold himself back any longer, and the couple pressed themselves together, kissing and touching again in fervent adoration. Vincent quickly discarded the denim vest, kissing Aeris's shoulders and moving up again to her sacred lips. The buttons of Aeris's cascading dress were soon to be unfastened, and as the evening continued onward the couple fell backwards onto the queen-sized bed in the center of the room, still locked in a passionate embrace.

"I love you, Aeris," Vincent said ardently, taking a moment to see his beautiful angel and the stars of the night sky all in one breathtaking view.