Final Fantasy VII: Redemption Chapter 3
By Aujang Abadi
"But... how? I've seen all the manifestations you're capable of... not even Chaos was that powerful. What was that?" Yuffie queried, looking at Vincent over the small fire. He looked away, at the ground.
"I do not know. I did not plan it. There are parts of me... that I still do not understand." He gestured to the wound. "This should have healed by now. Something... has interfered."
"Parts of you? Vincent... what are you? What haven't you told us? Or more likely, what have you told us?" Her spiky black hair bobbed with the accusations.
"The Lifestream has been disrupted. We must fix it. At the Core."
"You didn't answer my question, Vincent! Why do you keep running from this? Why can't you just be a man and face up to the responsibility?" Vincent did not look up.
"I am not a man." He stretched himself out on the ground and prepared to sleep.
"I don't know about all that, since you won't tell me anything. But I do know one thing, Vincent. Being a man has alot more to it than anatomy. I know, because I saw my father lose any trace of his manhood when he sold Wutai to Shinra. I saw him reclaim it when he won it back. So stop wallowing in self-pity, and start being the man you think you were denied. Withdrawing from the problem won't make it go away, and neither will pretending to not care."
Vincent remained silent, laying his head on the rocks. Then, quietly, he began speaking.
"I was not denied manhood. I am not some sort of childish fool who, as you eloquently put it, wallows in self-pity. I had my manhood stolen from me, along with my soul and my love. There is nothing left to reclaim, no problem to solve. I am alone, and so will I be until I die. I prefer to live that life I've left, in silence. Words are meaningless." He closed his eyes.
"Vincent..." Yuffie watched him, as he drifted off to sleep. She didn't know how to feel about this enigmatic man, who at the same time could fight for the sake of the world, and yet so callously ignore the benefits that world had to offer him. "Vincent... if there's nothing left to reclaim, why do you still fight?"
* * * * *
"Grab hold of me again. Its a long climb up to the reactor." Vincent grabbed hold of the rocky incline, shifting his weight onto his legs and preparing himself. Yuffie gingerly wrapped herself around him, trying to avoid touching either of his wounds.
"There. I'm all set." Yuffie settled down on the broad expanse of his back. "By the way, sorry about stabbing you. Are you sure you can climb with it, I mean, even without me on you?"
"Yes. It is not primary." Vincent thrust his steel claw into the mountain and proceeded to hoist them up, using his left hand only for a bit of added leverage, and balance.
"How... how are you so strong, Vincent?" Yuffie nestled her head against his neck, resting.
"It is a side effect, but not an undesired one. I was desecrated with that purpose- to become strong." His breaths came evenly and calmly, even with her addition to his weight.
"Desecration? How could you be desecrated? Were you a priest at one point?"
"No. Time, and the memories my mind will not bury, has taught me that nothing is more sacred than the body, and the soul."
"Oh." Yuffie fell silent, her cheeks burning. Everything she tried to loosen him up with always ended up backfiring, one way or another.
A few minutes later, Yuffie spoke up again. She turned her head out towards the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to rise. Faintly, its golden hues touched the violet skies, sending streaks of deep scarlet and ice blue into the heavens.
"Its a beautiful day. It reminds me of home." She smiled. "When I was a little girl, my father always used to take me to Da-Chao, and we would have picnics watching the sun. Its so high up there, so even though we went later in the morning, it still looked like the sun was just rising." Vincent, being his taciturn self, simply climbed and listened. "I also had to climb it as one of the tests to become a true ninja. That was one of the happiest days of my life.
"It really wasn't long after that I met all of you. Shinra came and bungled everything up, and Dad was in his idiot stage, so he listened... he made Wutai a tourist trap. So I left to get some more materia, because I figured that with enough, we could sorta buy back Wutai, and be powerful enough to not have to worry about Shinra. And voila, we're all off to get Sephiroth. Its been a weird ride. But I guess it was pretty cool, saving the world and all."
"Yes. It was... interesting." Vincent smiled underneath his low mask.
"Vincent, do you think they're ok? I mean, everyone else... I miss them. Do you think maybe they got out of the crash alive too?"
"I do not know."
"Do you even care, Vincent?" Yuffie raised her head, and he stopped climbing. After a moment, he exhaled deeply, and began climbing again.
"Yes. I do. But I do not know if they are alive. We did search what was left of Midgar rather extensively."
"But we never found the Highwind. You think maybe we didn't look hard enough?"
"Perhaps. But we could not stay longer. The rescue operations team could not be allowed to see us. Or, more appropriately, they could not be allowed to see me."
"More of your shadowed past, I see. Care to go any further?" Yuffie laid her head back on the juncture of his shoulders.
"They may have recognized me. That would have led to unnecessary problems."
"I see. Alrighty, that was a nice conversation stopper." Yuffie giggled. "Big mysterious man. I bet you're just a pasty little boy under all that clothing."
"If only it were true." Vincent grunted slightly and pulled them up onto a small overhang. "Rest?"
"I'm fine." Yuffie giggled. "We can go on." Vincent nodded and started climbing again. "Wait, wait, I was just kidding! If you need rest, by all means, silly."
"I am satisfactory."
"Alright, Mr. Let's Use As Little Syllables Per Sentence As Poss-" Vincent held up a hand, silencing her. He pointed up, to the rocky cliffs where their path continued. Yuffie lowered her voice to a whisper. "What's wrong?"
The answer to her question came tumbling down the side of the mountain, in the form of huge stone boulders, hurtling straight for their bodies.
.