Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where the lost ones go ❯ Traitor ( Chapter 14 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Sulphurya 
You need to talk to someone about you trust issues, Vinnie. Seriously.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.17.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 301 | Status: Completed
You need to talk to someone about you trust issues, Vinnie. Seriously.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.17.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 301 | Status: Completed
14. Traitor
The helicopter was keeping a low altitude, but it was moving at an amazing speed towards it's destination.
Inside, a small group of soldiers were sitting a wary distance from the dark haired woman, who supposedly was their captive. However, orders to bring her to the base unharmed had left the soldiers in a difficult position. Half a dozen bruised shins, three black eyes, countless scratches and a fair amount of possibly damaged family jewels later, the soldiers retreated to the opposite side of the aircraft and was content to glare at Rain. If it hadn't been for the original order to bring both the woman and the child, the troop didn't have to fear breaking orders too much. A bruised woman could be overlooked if the mission had been carried out flawlessly, but now they knew the boss wouldn't be too satisfied with them. Best not to tempt fate or they would end up like the monsters created in the darkness of their base.
Rain wrapper her arms even tighter around herself, staring out the small window while forcing herself not to cry. She had to be strong. But the memory of Wutai was not letting go. The sound of people dying. The smell of blood and raging fires. The heat of the flames and the feeling of the explosions shaking the ground.
The attack had come out of nowhere, and suddenly everyone was fighting. Rain had woken up to the sound of the first gun fired, and realised something horrible was happening. Her first thought was to save Dawn. Make sure her daughter was safe. Her fear had turned to absolute horror when she was unable to leave Wutai with her small child, as the soldiers were actually there for them! It had been pure desperation that had driven her to hide Dawn in the temple, promising the frightened child that she would return for her. And just as Rain had realised that she would be unable to keep that promise, Vincent had appeared. A wild hope had appeared, and when she saw him leave Rain knew he would do anything to get their daughter to safety. And of course he'd been able to get out of Wutai unharmed with Dawn... Right?
Suddenly the helicopter touched ground, and Rain was snapped back to reality. They had arrived to wherever they were supposed to go, and it was time to get out.
Rain tensed and turned to glare at the soldiers, preparing for battle if anyone DARED to touch her.
Ten minutes later, the door opened and a soldier fell out with a shriek. Followed by one jumping out to save himself, while the remaining three struggled with the fury of Rain. Kicking and tugging, Rain knew there was no way to avoid her destiny, but she was going to do as much damage as she could!
"Nownow," A voice tutted, "Is this some way to treat a lady?"
Rain and her captors froze to stare at the man who was standing by the crumbled and agonized form of the first soldier that had fallen out of the aircraft after landing.
The soldiers gave a quick salute before regaining their death grip, "This is Valentine's companion, sir!"
The man had the look of a doctor, or some scientist-related occupation, but could be no more than a couple of twenty years old. Unlike his eyes. Behind the glasses, his brown eyes was far older than the body, filled with cold intelligence. "Surely there is no need for three soldiers to manhandle a lady in this manner?"
Blinking nervously, the soldiers exchanged looks with each other, dreading what would happen if they unleashed the banshee. "Uh, Sir, she's a bit... hostile, Sir..."
The scientist waved a dismissing hand. "Nonsense. Release her. We're not barbarians!"
The soldiers hesitated briefly, then released Rain and scrambled to a safe distance.
Lifting her chin slightly, Rain measured her 'rescuer'. "So you're the one in charge here..."
"That I am," the scientist replied with a slight grin. "At your service, Miss."
The echoes of the 'whap' left a shocked silence after Rain's palm had connected with the man's cheek.
Slowly turning his face back to her, the scientist gingerly touched the stinging skin. He raised his eyebrows quizzically.
Rain drew a trembling breath as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder, "That was for Wutai, you bastard." That wasn't all she felt like doing to the man, but the soldiers looked ready to shoot her at that point and Rain still had a weak hope of seeing Vincent and Dawn again.
Chuckling, the man nodded and let his hand sink. "Allow me to explain."
Eyes narrowing, Rain crossed her arms defensively. "I don't think anything you say can justify the murders you're responsible for. And if any harm has come to Vincent or my daughter, you wont even live to regret it!"
"No report has been given to the capture or demise of Vincent Valentine, so I'm afraid he's slipped through our hands this time, Miss Rain. And that means your daughter should be safe as well, as Mr Valentine would not leave without her," the scientist motioned for Rain to follow him. "My name is Doctor Jinrei. This way, please."
Hesitating, Rain glanced around, but saw the soldiers surrounding her with guns they were more than happy to use. Sighing, she followed Jinrei through the ruins of what looked like an old Mako reactor.
Breathing hard, Sephiroth leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes tightly.
Didn't those things ever give up? They had been chasing them for two entire hours now! Even the great general was starting to grow slightly sick off fleeing.
Glancing over, he saw the ShinRa soldiers in a heap on the forrest ground. Luckily ShinRa soldiers were highly trained, but there were limits to a human body not infused with mako. They couldn't take much more.
The cat beast appeared unfazed by the long chase, and merely kept a yellow eye on their followers movements, while the general closed his eyes again.
It wouldn't be long before they tracked them down again, and then what? The injuries from Sephiroth's attack had already healed and the monsters appeared as energized as when they'd first stumbled upon them!
A tree crashed to the ground close by and Sephiroth opened his eyes. Rest time was over! He gazed at the soldiers again, "On your feet. We got to move again."
Panting, the men slowly got up on swaying feet and absently wiped their sweat drenched faces. The heat was making things even worse! Any other general would probably have seen his men resign themselves to their fate, but this was the great General Sephiroth's command! They had complete trust in him!
Sephiroth sighed, knowing the soldiers would not make it. In 10 minutes, they would be monster lunch. Though he knew none of their names, nor did he care to learn them, there was something inside him that resented to loose anyone in his troop to a trio of mutant monsters!
Then there was the sound of rapid gun fire and the monsters howled furiously.
"I know those guns," Sephiroth mumbled relieved, and quickly glanced out on the battle field.
In the sky, the Highwind was firing all her cannons towards the monsters at a comfortable distance, leaving the creatures to howl angrily at the airship with no way of reaching it. The gun fire was soon followed by several rockets that rammed into the monsters, and it took about 15 minutes before silence fell and all that was left were scattered remains of the creatures.
The ShinRa soldiers cheered as the Highwind landed, and even Sephiroth allowed himself a small smile.
That had been too close for comfort!
Once the great airship had landed, it's cargo ramp slowly opened and the small group set course for the safety of the aircraft.
No sooner had Sephiroth placed one foot on the ramp before a streak of pink and chestnut brown rammed into him, and slender arms were wrapped tightly around him. Stumbling a step back, the silver haired man exhaled a surprised smile and wrapped his own arms around Aeris, "Aeris? What are you doing here?"
Forcing the tears back, Aeris sniffled silently before she glanced up at him. "I was worried about you!"
A strong surge of affection rushed through Sephiroth and he slowly raised a hand to caress Aeris' cheek. "Well, as you can see; I'm perfectly alright."
Cid appeared as well, frowning thoughtfully. "Ain't Vince with you lot?"
Sephiroth absently stroke Aeris' back, making no sign to push her away. "No... Haven't seen him... Vincent has vanished?"
"Yeah, he left without a word of warning or a single trace, like some other people I know," Aeris declared, emerald eyes accusingly locked with reptilian eyes.
Sephiroth tensed slightly, remembering the fight and the harsh words he'd thrown at her the last time they'd been this close. "Yeah, I... I didn't..."
His eyes widened in shock as her petite hands cupped his face and moved him down to a mind-numbingly sweet kiss, that soon made him shut said eyes in bliss.
Cid cleared his throat awkwardly as Sephiroth let Aeris almost disappear in his embrace, the kiss quickly intensifying. "Yeah, ah, I'm gonna try and see if Vinnie might just answer his PHS this time... Yeah... That's what I'm gonna do..." And the pilot spun around to march inside the Highwind again, followed by equally embarrassed ShinRa soldiers and a puzzled Seto.
Forcing herself to break the kiss, Aeris barely lowered her lips from Sephiroth's with a gentle smile. "I missed you..."
Sephiroth trembled, resting his forhead to hers as he managed a faint smile in return. "Not half as much as I've missed you. I didn't mean what I said back then... I was angry and..."
Aeris placed a light finger to his lips, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it." And merely pulled him in for another kiss, her heart finally soaring with happiness again. She loved him and he loved her back.
That was all that mattered really.
Vincent was breathing hard as he leaned against the rock wall, eyes sharp and listening intensively for any sounds revealing the soldiers that had followed his escape out of Wutai. Luckily none of the helicopters were sent after him as well, but the soldiers had provided him with enough trouble. In a normal situation, Vincent wouldn't have hesitated to charge them straight on, but this time he had someone else to consider besides himself. His daughter was to be kept safe, no matter what.
There was no sign of his pursuers, and Vincent wondered briefly if he'd managed to shake them off.
A sharp jab of pain made Vincent flinch and he holstered his gun to gingerly place a hand to his right side. The bullet wound was bleeding badly.
Things weren't looking too good...
Vincent glanced down at the face barely visible underneath his cape and gave Dawn a faint smile in an effort to comfort her a little.
A few minutes passed, and there was still no sign of the soldiers and Vincent felt a faint flicker of hope.
That was when his PHS started ringing.
Starting violently, Vincent quickly pulled out the contraption and was actually a little surprised at the identity of the caller. These last days, since he'd left Midgar without a word, Cloud had been trying to reach the former Turk on the PHS, but Vincent didn't feel like explaining himself. So he was puzzled to see it was Cid calling, but was more worried about the sound of the PHS revealing his position.
Pressing the reply button, Vincent glanced around tensely, "Yes?"
"Hi ya, Vince!" Cid's voice sounded like the cheerful pilot once had, and not like the trapped soul that he had been when Vincent saw Cid last.
Frowning, Vincent clutched the PHS tighter like he was afraid the pursuers could hear Cid's loud voice. "What do you want?"
The pilot huffed, "And I'm glad to hear yer voice too, Sunny Sunshine! Jest taking off without tellin' anyone! Where the hell are ya?"
"I was not aware that I had to ask permission," Vincent shifted uneasily. He should start moving again, get as far away from Wutai as possible.
"You need to talk to someone about you trust issues, Vinnie. Seriously." Cid declared drily, "Anyway, had to pick up old Sephy by Cosmo Canyon. You want a ride back to Midgar, wherever your goth carcass is, or you wanna do the lone ranger act for a bit longer?"
Relief rushed through Vincent, and he straightened slightly despite the pain. "You're in Cosmo Canyon right now?" It shouldn't take the Highwind more than a few hours to reach Vincent's location, and it would be able to bring him and his daughter to safety.
"Yeah, just about. So, you want a ride or not?" Cid replied, and there was the sound of the Highwind's engines starting up in the background.
"I will meet you by the second bridge on the Wutai Island," Vincent dead panned, eyeing the bridge ahed of him.
"Wutai? Second bridge, roger that!" Cid declared and the PHS went dead.
Exhaling, Vincent closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the rock wall. "We're getting out of here, Dawn. You're going to be safe soon, and then I'm going to get your mom back, ok?" He glanced down at the small girl again, "You've been a very brave girl. Your mother would be proud to have seen how good you've been."
Making his way towards the bridge, Vincent's mind was finally free to go over what he'd just been through and the destruction of Wutai hit him full force. Suddenly he could remember vividly the smell of the fires and the screams of the people dying. Picture upon picture flashed in front of his eyes so that when Vincent finally reached the base of the bridge, he was trembling so bad that he had to sit down. It was hard to breathe, and the former Turk tried to force himself calm. There couldn't be anything left of the town now. Everyone was dead and the buildings were burning. How was he going to tell Yuffie?
Vincent closed his eyes hard as Chaos began to laugh, tormenting himself by going over all the names of the people he'd gotten to know in Wutai. People that were now dead.
A gentle touch to his face made him open his eyes and Dawn was watching him with tear filled eyes.
Chaos went silent as Vincent merely held his daughter close and sat back to wait.
Sephiroth was currently standing on the deck as the Highwind was racing towards it's destination. He was also currently unable to keep his gaze from wandering over to where Aeris was standing by the railing. Completely unable to resist admiring the way her hair played in the wind, Sephiroth only hesitated briefly before walking over to stand behind her, gently sneaking his arms around her waist in an unspoken plea for forgiveness.
Leaning back against him, Aeris stroke his arm with a slight smile. Her silver haired general still had problems understanding how a person could simply forgive and not demand some kind of payback.
Sephiroth sighed, closing his eyes as he moved to softly nuzzle her neck. The scent of flowers always soothed his mind into blissful peace and calmed his anxious heart. "I've really been acting like an idiot, haven't I?"
Giggling, Aeris tilted her head to give him easy access to the sensitive skin. "Yes, you have."
That reply earned her a teasing nip at her neck, and Aeris squeaked as she quickly turned to face Sephiroth. He was smiling, and Aeris raised an eyebrow. "Vampire!" And by the look in his eyes, she knew Sephiroth wouldn't mind another taste of her neck. The kind that always left her with embarrassing hickeys for days! Aeris felt a slight colour enter her face.
Chuckling, Sephiroth reached out and took a gentle hold of her chin. She could always read his mind. "Don't worry. I'll behave."
It had been far too long since he'd looked at her like that, or even touched her at all... Aeris didn't want him to behave! Backing up, she smiled impishly as she jumped up to sit on the swaying railing."I'm not worried."
Sephiroth felt a jolt of fear go through him and he took a quick step forward as the Highwind shook slightly, "Aeris, be careful!"
For once her eyes were at level with his and Aeris smiled as Sephiroth's hands took a hold of her upper arms to keep her from loosing balance. "I trust you, Sephiroth, so I'm not worried at all."
Stunned, Sephiroth found himself unable to reply at all.
"Should I fall," Aeris said softly, "I know you would be there to catch me."
Sephiroth could only watch as her hand moved over to caress his cheek, and then willingly leaned over to meet the lips offered to him.
"Commin' up on Wutai!" Cid declared as he sailed up beside them, oblivious to the embarrassed Aeris and intensely annoyed Sephiroth.
Aeris slid down to stand again and turned to gaze at the island in the horizon. "Did he say why he was in Wutai?"
"Nah," Cid crossed his arms with a thoughtful look, "Didn't say much about anything really."
Sephiroth snorted, "Which isn't much of a surprise when it comes to him!" He cut a face as he received Aeris' correcting elbow in his stomach, and returned her look with a smirking one.
The sound of claws against the floor declared Seto's arrival, and the huge cat beast gazed thoughtfully at the horizon. "I smell blood..."
Nodding, Cid lit up a cigarette. "Yeah, somethin's up. But I bet ol' Vince can tell us all about it." He inhaled deeply before releasing a grey cloud that rose towards the sky, "There's the second bridge. No sign of him though..."
The landscape seemed completely desolate and for a few seconds it seemed like they'd come there for nothing, then a crimson clothed person appeared and the airship set course to pick up the former Turk.
Not giving them a chance to land, Vincent jumped as the Highwind hovered beside the bridge and landed firmly on the deck beside the others.
Aeris started slightly, but quickly walked over. "Vincent, are you alright? You're not injured, are you?"
The dark haired man seemed in quite the rugged shape, but was more occupied with something he was holding under his cloak. "Aeris... "
"Yes?" She took another step closer to the former Turk, "What's wrong, Vincent?"
And the small group blinked in utter surprise as Vincent moved the red cloak out of the way to reveal a small girl.
"Could you... hold her for a minute...?" Vincent asked, gently prying the tiny hands loose from their death grip on his black shirt.
Aeris gasped and carefully eased the child over to her arms, "Vincent! Is this...? This must be Dawn?"
Nodding, Vincent closed his eyes wearily as he pressed his free hand to his side. They were safe.
A dripping sound caught Aeris' attention from her chattering to the little girl in her arms, and she suddenly saw the crimson drops forming a small pool around Vincent's leg. "You're hurt!"
Cid and the others started to life and hurried over as well, but Vincent shook his head slightly. "It's not bad..."
Sephiroth reached out and barely managed to catch the former Turk as he passed out.
Tifa glanced over at Cloud and grinned satisfied to her childhood friend, who was currently balancing all the boxes containing the items she'd bought. "Thank you so much for your help, Cloud! I don't know how I could have managed this without you!"
Cloud gave a slight grunt, not daring to take his concentration off the wobbling boxes. What was it with women and shopping? The only female he knew that didn't suffer from that weird syndrome was Jessie!
Giggling, Tifa clutched the bag containing her new dress. "Rufus is gonna love this! I just know it!"
"Yeah, until he sees the bill," Cloud grumbled, taking a quick step to the left to keep the box-tower from crumbling over him.
Tifa huffed and glared over at him. "Party pooper! You really have no idea how to treat a girl, do you?"
Cloud grumbled again. "Good thing Aeris isn't as bad a shopaholic as you, Tifa."
Suddenly serious, Tifa halted and started to fidget with the bag she was holding. "Cloud...?"
"What?" Cloud managed to halt as well, "Did you see something else you simply must have?"
Tifa hesitated, then slowly met his eyes. "You have to stop this."
Frowning, Cloud hoisted the boxes. "What do you mean? Stop what?"
"Stop this... obsession of yours. It nearly killed you when you thought she was dead, and there was nothing I could do." Tifa drew a shivering breath, wrapping her arms around herself as she was unable to meet his gaze any longer. "Just because she's back does not mean she returned to you. Open your eyes, Cloud. You have to let go of the past."
Cloud's eyes were dangerously narrow, and there was a chill of ice in his voice as he spoke; "You done?"
Tifa nodded.
"Good," the blonde turned to continue walking. "Let's get you home then."
Sighing, Tifa gave up and merely followed. She wasn't surprised at the silence that followed their walk, but a strange sense of panic hit her as Cloud had unloaded all her boxes and turned to leave. "Cloud?"
Halting, he hesitated briefly before turning to look at her with a warning and defensive expression.
Tifa forced a smile, "Don't forget how important you are to me, ok?"
The words seemed to have some effect as Cloud's face softened and he gave a faint nod.
Holding her breath as she watched him leave, Tifa only dared to exhale when the door closed behind him and she was alone. His reaction was even worse than she had feared. She knew he wouldn't be pleased to hear the truth, but the ice in his eyes frightened her. Anyone who told him he was not meant to be with Aeris was obviously no friend of his!
Turning to look at the small tower of boxes, Tifa gave a faint smile. She was starting to get even worse at this shopping thing than Rufus, and that was saying something!
Strange how back then, Tifa would have given everything to have been able to take Aeris' place, when Cloud's eyes would always rest on the flower girl, ignoring his childhood friend. Getting up, Tifa walked over to stand in front of where one of Rufus' jackets were hanging and she smiled softly. No, she would never want to trade places with Aeris again. She reached out and let a hand slide over the white fabric. Her arch nemesis were now her greatest love.
The door opened and closed behind her as Rufus entered the room while muttering annoyed. No sound from that idiot Cid Highwind! And the even bigger idiot, Cloud Strife, were bugging him every five minutes for reports about Aeris! And people were wondering why he was grumpy! Sometimes life sucked!
"Still no sign of them?" Tifa inquired, peering into a box from some shop she'd obviously been to.
Sighing, Rufus shrugged off his coat, "No. I swear, if that idiot dies out there, I'm going to kill him!"
Tifa glanced over at him with a playful smile on her lips. She had absolute faith in that both Cid and Aeris were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, and that they would return shortly and unharmed! "Rufus?" She called for his attention as he was fidgeting with his cufflinks.
Glancing up from his mission, Rufus blew away a stray lock of firey hair. "What?"
"Tell me you love me," Tifa purred silkily, knowing she should worry about Cloud, but Rufus' mere presence made her giddy with joy.
Rufus raised a suspicious eyebrow, drawing out the words like they were some foreign language. "I love you..."
"Good," Tifa purred again as she let the box drop while holding up her latest addition to night wear, "'cause I'd only wear this for my husband-to-be, who loves me very much..."
Rufus' felt a shiver going down his spine and he drew a slow breath. That was when he decided that sometimes life was pretty damn good!
Aeris smiled down to the child in her arms, while Sephiroth was eyeing them warily from his position on the bed.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Aeris asked softly, maneuvering Dawn carefully so Sephiroth could see her face. "Have you ever seen such a cute baby?"
To tell the truth, Sephiroth hadn't really seen that many babies. In fact, this was the closest he'd ever been to one, and he realised he'd been more relaxed when surrounded by the three monsters. "Sure. Whatever you say." How could something that tiny grow up to be a real person?
Humming, Aeris settled the small girl in her arms again. "She looks so much like her father! Hard to believe that Vincent Valentine has a daughter, huh?"
Sephiroth cut a face, then snickered gleefully. "I only hope that I'm around when she's old enough to start chasing boys... That has to be one sight to behold! I only hope they're fast runners, because Dad Valentine got a gun and he's not afraid to use it!"
Giggling despite herself, Aeris tried to send him a stern look. "Behave. I'm sure Vincent is a great father!" She then sighed concerned, remembering how feverish Vincent had been when she'd last checked up on him. His body was trying to heal his wounds too fast, and it was straining to keep up. "I think I want to see how he's doing..."
Rolling over on his side, Sephiroth glanced over at her. "Sure. Knock yourself out. You wont get much sense out of him for days though... Those wounds were pretty serious."
"I know. I just have to, or I wont be able to get some rest," Aeris explained as she walked towards him.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?"
Tilting her head, Aeris looked puzzled at him. "Well, I can't bring her along."
Inhaling sharply, Sephiroth got up abruptly and backed away from her. "Oh, no! Nonono! No, you can't! I mean, I can't! No!"
"Don't be silly," Aeris marched over until he was backed into a corner. "I'll only be a few minutes."
Sephiroth was doing a pretty good job of trying to osmose into the wall, eyeing the small child like a venomous snake. "And why can't you bring her along?"
Aeris rolled her eyes. "Sephiroth."
Sephiroth shook his head.
Green eyes narrowed and she gave him a final warning, "Sephiroth...!"
The silver haired man sighed resigned and his shoulders slumped. "But I... I don't know what to do!"
Carefully handing him Dawn, Aeris smiled lovingly to the little girl a final time as she was settled in his arms. "You wont have to do anything, Sephiroth. I'll be back in five minutes. Just hold her like this, ok?"
As Aeris walked away, Sephiroth felt panic washing over him. Glancing down, he saw a pair of hazel eyes watching him curiously, and Sephiroth started violently before he stared desperately after Aeris' retreating form. "B-but what if she starts crying? What if I drop her? Aeris! Don't leave me with her! I can't! I don't... AERIS!" The door closed behind her, and she was gone.
Silence.
Ten seconds later, Sephiroth dared to glance down at Dawn again. She was still looking at him. Quickly gazing away, the silver haired man tried not to panic completely. Why was she looking at him? Was she planning something? Oh, dear planet, these things weren't house-trained either, were they? What if...? No, the mighty General told himself, don't even finish that sentence.
A minute passed, and Sephiroth decided he was doing mighty fine. There were the minor details that he hadn't moved an inch or breathed since Aeris' had left, but at least both him and the baby were alive. So far, so good.
Then a sound caught his attention, and Sephiroth dared a discrete glance down.
Dawn had a fistful of his silver hair and was currently deciding if she liked the taste of it or not.
Closing his eyes, Sephiroth whined silently.
Aeris reached out and meant to knock on the door, but halted as she heard Cid talking. The door wasn't closed and she could catch a glimpse of the pilot through the glitch. He was muttering something, while Vincent appeared asleep on the bed behind him. The pilot wasn't ready to forgive the former Turk for running off on his own instead of asking his friends for help. He wasn't too happy about his own situation, but at least he knew his friends wanted to help and he let them.
Aeris smiled softly, relieved to hear that Cid understood why he had been confined to Midgar these last weeks.
She raised her hand again to knock, but froze as she saw Vincent suddenly standing behind the pilot.
There was something frightening in the crimson eyes. A cold harshness that only lingered in the eyes of a killer. Of someone capable of anything.
Choking on a cry, Aeris clammed her hand over her mouth as she saw Vincent reach out and grasp Cid's neck. The blonde man crumbled instantly, the tricks from his time among the Turks were clearly not lost to Vincent.
Crouching down, the dark haired man eased the slumped Cid over his shoulder and slowly straightened. Vincent's face was still pale and damp with sweat, but his eyes were fierce enough to make Aeris inch away.
Turning around, the flower girl ran back to get Sephiroth.
Meanwhile the former Turk left the room and exited to the main deck.
There was no sound as he jumped off the airship, and into the darkness.
AN:
Well, one step closer to the answers to a couple of questions!Yes, Jinrei is the name of the previously so mysterious 'The Scientist', and we'll hear from him again in the next chapter!And the reactions to Vincent's action will be revealed as well...
Hope you're still enjoying this, and I simply had to add ØAchikaMiyu's thoughts on the predicaments in store for Daddy Vincent!
Converting /tmp/phpncLgxz to /dev/stdout
The helicopter was keeping a low altitude, but it was moving at an amazing speed towards it's destination.
Inside, a small group of soldiers were sitting a wary distance from the dark haired woman, who supposedly was their captive. However, orders to bring her to the base unharmed had left the soldiers in a difficult position. Half a dozen bruised shins, three black eyes, countless scratches and a fair amount of possibly damaged family jewels later, the soldiers retreated to the opposite side of the aircraft and was content to glare at Rain. If it hadn't been for the original order to bring both the woman and the child, the troop didn't have to fear breaking orders too much. A bruised woman could be overlooked if the mission had been carried out flawlessly, but now they knew the boss wouldn't be too satisfied with them. Best not to tempt fate or they would end up like the monsters created in the darkness of their base.
Rain wrapper her arms even tighter around herself, staring out the small window while forcing herself not to cry. She had to be strong. But the memory of Wutai was not letting go. The sound of people dying. The smell of blood and raging fires. The heat of the flames and the feeling of the explosions shaking the ground.
The attack had come out of nowhere, and suddenly everyone was fighting. Rain had woken up to the sound of the first gun fired, and realised something horrible was happening. Her first thought was to save Dawn. Make sure her daughter was safe. Her fear had turned to absolute horror when she was unable to leave Wutai with her small child, as the soldiers were actually there for them! It had been pure desperation that had driven her to hide Dawn in the temple, promising the frightened child that she would return for her. And just as Rain had realised that she would be unable to keep that promise, Vincent had appeared. A wild hope had appeared, and when she saw him leave Rain knew he would do anything to get their daughter to safety. And of course he'd been able to get out of Wutai unharmed with Dawn... Right?
Suddenly the helicopter touched ground, and Rain was snapped back to reality. They had arrived to wherever they were supposed to go, and it was time to get out.
Rain tensed and turned to glare at the soldiers, preparing for battle if anyone DARED to touch her.
Ten minutes later, the door opened and a soldier fell out with a shriek. Followed by one jumping out to save himself, while the remaining three struggled with the fury of Rain. Kicking and tugging, Rain knew there was no way to avoid her destiny, but she was going to do as much damage as she could!
"Nownow," A voice tutted, "Is this some way to treat a lady?"
Rain and her captors froze to stare at the man who was standing by the crumbled and agonized form of the first soldier that had fallen out of the aircraft after landing.
The soldiers gave a quick salute before regaining their death grip, "This is Valentine's companion, sir!"
The man had the look of a doctor, or some scientist-related occupation, but could be no more than a couple of twenty years old. Unlike his eyes. Behind the glasses, his brown eyes was far older than the body, filled with cold intelligence. "Surely there is no need for three soldiers to manhandle a lady in this manner?"
Blinking nervously, the soldiers exchanged looks with each other, dreading what would happen if they unleashed the banshee. "Uh, Sir, she's a bit... hostile, Sir..."
The scientist waved a dismissing hand. "Nonsense. Release her. We're not barbarians!"
The soldiers hesitated briefly, then released Rain and scrambled to a safe distance.
Lifting her chin slightly, Rain measured her 'rescuer'. "So you're the one in charge here..."
"That I am," the scientist replied with a slight grin. "At your service, Miss."
The echoes of the 'whap' left a shocked silence after Rain's palm had connected with the man's cheek.
Slowly turning his face back to her, the scientist gingerly touched the stinging skin. He raised his eyebrows quizzically.
Rain drew a trembling breath as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder, "That was for Wutai, you bastard." That wasn't all she felt like doing to the man, but the soldiers looked ready to shoot her at that point and Rain still had a weak hope of seeing Vincent and Dawn again.
Chuckling, the man nodded and let his hand sink. "Allow me to explain."
Eyes narrowing, Rain crossed her arms defensively. "I don't think anything you say can justify the murders you're responsible for. And if any harm has come to Vincent or my daughter, you wont even live to regret it!"
"No report has been given to the capture or demise of Vincent Valentine, so I'm afraid he's slipped through our hands this time, Miss Rain. And that means your daughter should be safe as well, as Mr Valentine would not leave without her," the scientist motioned for Rain to follow him. "My name is Doctor Jinrei. This way, please."
Hesitating, Rain glanced around, but saw the soldiers surrounding her with guns they were more than happy to use. Sighing, she followed Jinrei through the ruins of what looked like an old Mako reactor.
Breathing hard, Sephiroth leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes tightly.
Didn't those things ever give up? They had been chasing them for two entire hours now! Even the great general was starting to grow slightly sick off fleeing.
Glancing over, he saw the ShinRa soldiers in a heap on the forrest ground. Luckily ShinRa soldiers were highly trained, but there were limits to a human body not infused with mako. They couldn't take much more.
The cat beast appeared unfazed by the long chase, and merely kept a yellow eye on their followers movements, while the general closed his eyes again.
It wouldn't be long before they tracked them down again, and then what? The injuries from Sephiroth's attack had already healed and the monsters appeared as energized as when they'd first stumbled upon them!
A tree crashed to the ground close by and Sephiroth opened his eyes. Rest time was over! He gazed at the soldiers again, "On your feet. We got to move again."
Panting, the men slowly got up on swaying feet and absently wiped their sweat drenched faces. The heat was making things even worse! Any other general would probably have seen his men resign themselves to their fate, but this was the great General Sephiroth's command! They had complete trust in him!
Sephiroth sighed, knowing the soldiers would not make it. In 10 minutes, they would be monster lunch. Though he knew none of their names, nor did he care to learn them, there was something inside him that resented to loose anyone in his troop to a trio of mutant monsters!
Then there was the sound of rapid gun fire and the monsters howled furiously.
"I know those guns," Sephiroth mumbled relieved, and quickly glanced out on the battle field.
In the sky, the Highwind was firing all her cannons towards the monsters at a comfortable distance, leaving the creatures to howl angrily at the airship with no way of reaching it. The gun fire was soon followed by several rockets that rammed into the monsters, and it took about 15 minutes before silence fell and all that was left were scattered remains of the creatures.
The ShinRa soldiers cheered as the Highwind landed, and even Sephiroth allowed himself a small smile.
That had been too close for comfort!
Once the great airship had landed, it's cargo ramp slowly opened and the small group set course for the safety of the aircraft.
No sooner had Sephiroth placed one foot on the ramp before a streak of pink and chestnut brown rammed into him, and slender arms were wrapped tightly around him. Stumbling a step back, the silver haired man exhaled a surprised smile and wrapped his own arms around Aeris, "Aeris? What are you doing here?"
Forcing the tears back, Aeris sniffled silently before she glanced up at him. "I was worried about you!"
A strong surge of affection rushed through Sephiroth and he slowly raised a hand to caress Aeris' cheek. "Well, as you can see; I'm perfectly alright."
Cid appeared as well, frowning thoughtfully. "Ain't Vince with you lot?"
Sephiroth absently stroke Aeris' back, making no sign to push her away. "No... Haven't seen him... Vincent has vanished?"
"Yeah, he left without a word of warning or a single trace, like some other people I know," Aeris declared, emerald eyes accusingly locked with reptilian eyes.
Sephiroth tensed slightly, remembering the fight and the harsh words he'd thrown at her the last time they'd been this close. "Yeah, I... I didn't..."
His eyes widened in shock as her petite hands cupped his face and moved him down to a mind-numbingly sweet kiss, that soon made him shut said eyes in bliss.
Cid cleared his throat awkwardly as Sephiroth let Aeris almost disappear in his embrace, the kiss quickly intensifying. "Yeah, ah, I'm gonna try and see if Vinnie might just answer his PHS this time... Yeah... That's what I'm gonna do..." And the pilot spun around to march inside the Highwind again, followed by equally embarrassed ShinRa soldiers and a puzzled Seto.
Forcing herself to break the kiss, Aeris barely lowered her lips from Sephiroth's with a gentle smile. "I missed you..."
Sephiroth trembled, resting his forhead to hers as he managed a faint smile in return. "Not half as much as I've missed you. I didn't mean what I said back then... I was angry and..."
Aeris placed a light finger to his lips, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it." And merely pulled him in for another kiss, her heart finally soaring with happiness again. She loved him and he loved her back.
That was all that mattered really.
Vincent was breathing hard as he leaned against the rock wall, eyes sharp and listening intensively for any sounds revealing the soldiers that had followed his escape out of Wutai. Luckily none of the helicopters were sent after him as well, but the soldiers had provided him with enough trouble. In a normal situation, Vincent wouldn't have hesitated to charge them straight on, but this time he had someone else to consider besides himself. His daughter was to be kept safe, no matter what.
There was no sign of his pursuers, and Vincent wondered briefly if he'd managed to shake them off.
A sharp jab of pain made Vincent flinch and he holstered his gun to gingerly place a hand to his right side. The bullet wound was bleeding badly.
Things weren't looking too good...
Vincent glanced down at the face barely visible underneath his cape and gave Dawn a faint smile in an effort to comfort her a little.
A few minutes passed, and there was still no sign of the soldiers and Vincent felt a faint flicker of hope.
That was when his PHS started ringing.
Starting violently, Vincent quickly pulled out the contraption and was actually a little surprised at the identity of the caller. These last days, since he'd left Midgar without a word, Cloud had been trying to reach the former Turk on the PHS, but Vincent didn't feel like explaining himself. So he was puzzled to see it was Cid calling, but was more worried about the sound of the PHS revealing his position.
Pressing the reply button, Vincent glanced around tensely, "Yes?"
"Hi ya, Vince!" Cid's voice sounded like the cheerful pilot once had, and not like the trapped soul that he had been when Vincent saw Cid last.
Frowning, Vincent clutched the PHS tighter like he was afraid the pursuers could hear Cid's loud voice. "What do you want?"
The pilot huffed, "And I'm glad to hear yer voice too, Sunny Sunshine! Jest taking off without tellin' anyone! Where the hell are ya?"
"I was not aware that I had to ask permission," Vincent shifted uneasily. He should start moving again, get as far away from Wutai as possible.
"You need to talk to someone about you trust issues, Vinnie. Seriously." Cid declared drily, "Anyway, had to pick up old Sephy by Cosmo Canyon. You want a ride back to Midgar, wherever your goth carcass is, or you wanna do the lone ranger act for a bit longer?"
Relief rushed through Vincent, and he straightened slightly despite the pain. "You're in Cosmo Canyon right now?" It shouldn't take the Highwind more than a few hours to reach Vincent's location, and it would be able to bring him and his daughter to safety.
"Yeah, just about. So, you want a ride or not?" Cid replied, and there was the sound of the Highwind's engines starting up in the background.
"I will meet you by the second bridge on the Wutai Island," Vincent dead panned, eyeing the bridge ahed of him.
"Wutai? Second bridge, roger that!" Cid declared and the PHS went dead.
Exhaling, Vincent closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the rock wall. "We're getting out of here, Dawn. You're going to be safe soon, and then I'm going to get your mom back, ok?" He glanced down at the small girl again, "You've been a very brave girl. Your mother would be proud to have seen how good you've been."
Making his way towards the bridge, Vincent's mind was finally free to go over what he'd just been through and the destruction of Wutai hit him full force. Suddenly he could remember vividly the smell of the fires and the screams of the people dying. Picture upon picture flashed in front of his eyes so that when Vincent finally reached the base of the bridge, he was trembling so bad that he had to sit down. It was hard to breathe, and the former Turk tried to force himself calm. There couldn't be anything left of the town now. Everyone was dead and the buildings were burning. How was he going to tell Yuffie?
Vincent closed his eyes hard as Chaos began to laugh, tormenting himself by going over all the names of the people he'd gotten to know in Wutai. People that were now dead.
A gentle touch to his face made him open his eyes and Dawn was watching him with tear filled eyes.
Chaos went silent as Vincent merely held his daughter close and sat back to wait.
Sephiroth was currently standing on the deck as the Highwind was racing towards it's destination. He was also currently unable to keep his gaze from wandering over to where Aeris was standing by the railing. Completely unable to resist admiring the way her hair played in the wind, Sephiroth only hesitated briefly before walking over to stand behind her, gently sneaking his arms around her waist in an unspoken plea for forgiveness.
Leaning back against him, Aeris stroke his arm with a slight smile. Her silver haired general still had problems understanding how a person could simply forgive and not demand some kind of payback.
Sephiroth sighed, closing his eyes as he moved to softly nuzzle her neck. The scent of flowers always soothed his mind into blissful peace and calmed his anxious heart. "I've really been acting like an idiot, haven't I?"
Giggling, Aeris tilted her head to give him easy access to the sensitive skin. "Yes, you have."
That reply earned her a teasing nip at her neck, and Aeris squeaked as she quickly turned to face Sephiroth. He was smiling, and Aeris raised an eyebrow. "Vampire!" And by the look in his eyes, she knew Sephiroth wouldn't mind another taste of her neck. The kind that always left her with embarrassing hickeys for days! Aeris felt a slight colour enter her face.
Chuckling, Sephiroth reached out and took a gentle hold of her chin. She could always read his mind. "Don't worry. I'll behave."
It had been far too long since he'd looked at her like that, or even touched her at all... Aeris didn't want him to behave! Backing up, she smiled impishly as she jumped up to sit on the swaying railing."I'm not worried."
Sephiroth felt a jolt of fear go through him and he took a quick step forward as the Highwind shook slightly, "Aeris, be careful!"
For once her eyes were at level with his and Aeris smiled as Sephiroth's hands took a hold of her upper arms to keep her from loosing balance. "I trust you, Sephiroth, so I'm not worried at all."
Stunned, Sephiroth found himself unable to reply at all.
"Should I fall," Aeris said softly, "I know you would be there to catch me."
Sephiroth could only watch as her hand moved over to caress his cheek, and then willingly leaned over to meet the lips offered to him.
"Commin' up on Wutai!" Cid declared as he sailed up beside them, oblivious to the embarrassed Aeris and intensely annoyed Sephiroth.
Aeris slid down to stand again and turned to gaze at the island in the horizon. "Did he say why he was in Wutai?"
"Nah," Cid crossed his arms with a thoughtful look, "Didn't say much about anything really."
Sephiroth snorted, "Which isn't much of a surprise when it comes to him!" He cut a face as he received Aeris' correcting elbow in his stomach, and returned her look with a smirking one.
The sound of claws against the floor declared Seto's arrival, and the huge cat beast gazed thoughtfully at the horizon. "I smell blood..."
Nodding, Cid lit up a cigarette. "Yeah, somethin's up. But I bet ol' Vince can tell us all about it." He inhaled deeply before releasing a grey cloud that rose towards the sky, "There's the second bridge. No sign of him though..."
The landscape seemed completely desolate and for a few seconds it seemed like they'd come there for nothing, then a crimson clothed person appeared and the airship set course to pick up the former Turk.
Not giving them a chance to land, Vincent jumped as the Highwind hovered beside the bridge and landed firmly on the deck beside the others.
Aeris started slightly, but quickly walked over. "Vincent, are you alright? You're not injured, are you?"
The dark haired man seemed in quite the rugged shape, but was more occupied with something he was holding under his cloak. "Aeris... "
"Yes?" She took another step closer to the former Turk, "What's wrong, Vincent?"
And the small group blinked in utter surprise as Vincent moved the red cloak out of the way to reveal a small girl.
"Could you... hold her for a minute...?" Vincent asked, gently prying the tiny hands loose from their death grip on his black shirt.
Aeris gasped and carefully eased the child over to her arms, "Vincent! Is this...? This must be Dawn?"
Nodding, Vincent closed his eyes wearily as he pressed his free hand to his side. They were safe.
A dripping sound caught Aeris' attention from her chattering to the little girl in her arms, and she suddenly saw the crimson drops forming a small pool around Vincent's leg. "You're hurt!"
Cid and the others started to life and hurried over as well, but Vincent shook his head slightly. "It's not bad..."
Sephiroth reached out and barely managed to catch the former Turk as he passed out.
Tifa glanced over at Cloud and grinned satisfied to her childhood friend, who was currently balancing all the boxes containing the items she'd bought. "Thank you so much for your help, Cloud! I don't know how I could have managed this without you!"
Cloud gave a slight grunt, not daring to take his concentration off the wobbling boxes. What was it with women and shopping? The only female he knew that didn't suffer from that weird syndrome was Jessie!
Giggling, Tifa clutched the bag containing her new dress. "Rufus is gonna love this! I just know it!"
"Yeah, until he sees the bill," Cloud grumbled, taking a quick step to the left to keep the box-tower from crumbling over him.
Tifa huffed and glared over at him. "Party pooper! You really have no idea how to treat a girl, do you?"
Cloud grumbled again. "Good thing Aeris isn't as bad a shopaholic as you, Tifa."
Suddenly serious, Tifa halted and started to fidget with the bag she was holding. "Cloud...?"
"What?" Cloud managed to halt as well, "Did you see something else you simply must have?"
Tifa hesitated, then slowly met his eyes. "You have to stop this."
Frowning, Cloud hoisted the boxes. "What do you mean? Stop what?"
"Stop this... obsession of yours. It nearly killed you when you thought she was dead, and there was nothing I could do." Tifa drew a shivering breath, wrapping her arms around herself as she was unable to meet his gaze any longer. "Just because she's back does not mean she returned to you. Open your eyes, Cloud. You have to let go of the past."
Cloud's eyes were dangerously narrow, and there was a chill of ice in his voice as he spoke; "You done?"
Tifa nodded.
"Good," the blonde turned to continue walking. "Let's get you home then."
Sighing, Tifa gave up and merely followed. She wasn't surprised at the silence that followed their walk, but a strange sense of panic hit her as Cloud had unloaded all her boxes and turned to leave. "Cloud?"
Halting, he hesitated briefly before turning to look at her with a warning and defensive expression.
Tifa forced a smile, "Don't forget how important you are to me, ok?"
The words seemed to have some effect as Cloud's face softened and he gave a faint nod.
Holding her breath as she watched him leave, Tifa only dared to exhale when the door closed behind him and she was alone. His reaction was even worse than she had feared. She knew he wouldn't be pleased to hear the truth, but the ice in his eyes frightened her. Anyone who told him he was not meant to be with Aeris was obviously no friend of his!
Turning to look at the small tower of boxes, Tifa gave a faint smile. She was starting to get even worse at this shopping thing than Rufus, and that was saying something!
Strange how back then, Tifa would have given everything to have been able to take Aeris' place, when Cloud's eyes would always rest on the flower girl, ignoring his childhood friend. Getting up, Tifa walked over to stand in front of where one of Rufus' jackets were hanging and she smiled softly. No, she would never want to trade places with Aeris again. She reached out and let a hand slide over the white fabric. Her arch nemesis were now her greatest love.
The door opened and closed behind her as Rufus entered the room while muttering annoyed. No sound from that idiot Cid Highwind! And the even bigger idiot, Cloud Strife, were bugging him every five minutes for reports about Aeris! And people were wondering why he was grumpy! Sometimes life sucked!
"Still no sign of them?" Tifa inquired, peering into a box from some shop she'd obviously been to.
Sighing, Rufus shrugged off his coat, "No. I swear, if that idiot dies out there, I'm going to kill him!"
Tifa glanced over at him with a playful smile on her lips. She had absolute faith in that both Cid and Aeris were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, and that they would return shortly and unharmed! "Rufus?" She called for his attention as he was fidgeting with his cufflinks.
Glancing up from his mission, Rufus blew away a stray lock of firey hair. "What?"
"Tell me you love me," Tifa purred silkily, knowing she should worry about Cloud, but Rufus' mere presence made her giddy with joy.
Rufus raised a suspicious eyebrow, drawing out the words like they were some foreign language. "I love you..."
"Good," Tifa purred again as she let the box drop while holding up her latest addition to night wear, "'cause I'd only wear this for my husband-to-be, who loves me very much..."
Rufus' felt a shiver going down his spine and he drew a slow breath. That was when he decided that sometimes life was pretty damn good!
Aeris smiled down to the child in her arms, while Sephiroth was eyeing them warily from his position on the bed.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Aeris asked softly, maneuvering Dawn carefully so Sephiroth could see her face. "Have you ever seen such a cute baby?"
To tell the truth, Sephiroth hadn't really seen that many babies. In fact, this was the closest he'd ever been to one, and he realised he'd been more relaxed when surrounded by the three monsters. "Sure. Whatever you say." How could something that tiny grow up to be a real person?
Humming, Aeris settled the small girl in her arms again. "She looks so much like her father! Hard to believe that Vincent Valentine has a daughter, huh?"
Sephiroth cut a face, then snickered gleefully. "I only hope that I'm around when she's old enough to start chasing boys... That has to be one sight to behold! I only hope they're fast runners, because Dad Valentine got a gun and he's not afraid to use it!"
Giggling despite herself, Aeris tried to send him a stern look. "Behave. I'm sure Vincent is a great father!" She then sighed concerned, remembering how feverish Vincent had been when she'd last checked up on him. His body was trying to heal his wounds too fast, and it was straining to keep up. "I think I want to see how he's doing..."
Rolling over on his side, Sephiroth glanced over at her. "Sure. Knock yourself out. You wont get much sense out of him for days though... Those wounds were pretty serious."
"I know. I just have to, or I wont be able to get some rest," Aeris explained as she walked towards him.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?"
Tilting her head, Aeris looked puzzled at him. "Well, I can't bring her along."
Inhaling sharply, Sephiroth got up abruptly and backed away from her. "Oh, no! Nonono! No, you can't! I mean, I can't! No!"
"Don't be silly," Aeris marched over until he was backed into a corner. "I'll only be a few minutes."
Sephiroth was doing a pretty good job of trying to osmose into the wall, eyeing the small child like a venomous snake. "And why can't you bring her along?"
Aeris rolled her eyes. "Sephiroth."
Sephiroth shook his head.
Green eyes narrowed and she gave him a final warning, "Sephiroth...!"
The silver haired man sighed resigned and his shoulders slumped. "But I... I don't know what to do!"
Carefully handing him Dawn, Aeris smiled lovingly to the little girl a final time as she was settled in his arms. "You wont have to do anything, Sephiroth. I'll be back in five minutes. Just hold her like this, ok?"
As Aeris walked away, Sephiroth felt panic washing over him. Glancing down, he saw a pair of hazel eyes watching him curiously, and Sephiroth started violently before he stared desperately after Aeris' retreating form. "B-but what if she starts crying? What if I drop her? Aeris! Don't leave me with her! I can't! I don't... AERIS!" The door closed behind her, and she was gone.
Silence.
Ten seconds later, Sephiroth dared to glance down at Dawn again. She was still looking at him. Quickly gazing away, the silver haired man tried not to panic completely. Why was she looking at him? Was she planning something? Oh, dear planet, these things weren't house-trained either, were they? What if...? No, the mighty General told himself, don't even finish that sentence.
A minute passed, and Sephiroth decided he was doing mighty fine. There were the minor details that he hadn't moved an inch or breathed since Aeris' had left, but at least both him and the baby were alive. So far, so good.
Then a sound caught his attention, and Sephiroth dared a discrete glance down.
Dawn had a fistful of his silver hair and was currently deciding if she liked the taste of it or not.
Closing his eyes, Sephiroth whined silently.
Aeris reached out and meant to knock on the door, but halted as she heard Cid talking. The door wasn't closed and she could catch a glimpse of the pilot through the glitch. He was muttering something, while Vincent appeared asleep on the bed behind him. The pilot wasn't ready to forgive the former Turk for running off on his own instead of asking his friends for help. He wasn't too happy about his own situation, but at least he knew his friends wanted to help and he let them.
Aeris smiled softly, relieved to hear that Cid understood why he had been confined to Midgar these last weeks.
She raised her hand again to knock, but froze as she saw Vincent suddenly standing behind the pilot.
There was something frightening in the crimson eyes. A cold harshness that only lingered in the eyes of a killer. Of someone capable of anything.
Choking on a cry, Aeris clammed her hand over her mouth as she saw Vincent reach out and grasp Cid's neck. The blonde man crumbled instantly, the tricks from his time among the Turks were clearly not lost to Vincent.
Crouching down, the dark haired man eased the slumped Cid over his shoulder and slowly straightened. Vincent's face was still pale and damp with sweat, but his eyes were fierce enough to make Aeris inch away.
Turning around, the flower girl ran back to get Sephiroth.
Meanwhile the former Turk left the room and exited to the main deck.
There was no sound as he jumped off the airship, and into the darkness.
AN:
Well, one step closer to the answers to a couple of questions!Yes, Jinrei is the name of the previously so mysterious 'The Scientist', and we'll hear from him again in the next chapter!And the reactions to Vincent's action will be revealed as well...
Hope you're still enjoying this, and I simply had to add ØAchikaMiyu's thoughts on the predicaments in store for Daddy Vincent!
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