Final Fantasy VII: Redemption Chapter 4
By Aujang Abadi
"Vincent! What do we do?!" Yuffie screamed as the rocks began their descent.
"First, stop squirming. Second, wrap your legs around my waist and get the grappling hook from the pack, quickly." Vincent began side-tracking, avoiding the brunt of the avalanche.
"Got it! What do I do, what do I do?"
"Give me the hook, and tie the spare rope around your thighs and my lower back. Make sure you have room to move your legs, because you're going to be using them soon." The rocks came ever closer, closing the remaining distance in frightening speed.
Vincent grabbed the hook and hurled it up the mountainside, over the avalanche, with his left arm, his right embedded in the mountain. He gave the hook three quick tugs to make sure it had snagged well, and then let all of their weight rest on it. It held, and he nodded approvingly.
"Vincent, they're almost here... VINCENT!" One stone hurtled by, narrowly missing their bodies.
"Kick off the mountain as hard as you can."
"What?!"
"Do it now or we're not going to survive." Vincent removed his steel claw from the mountain and grasped the rope tightly, tensing his muscles. "Yuffie, now."
She obliged, and sent them spiraling away from the mountainside, and the long stream of boulders. Vincent grunted and began yanking them further up the rope, pulling ferociously to outdistance the end of the avalanche.
"We are going to hit the stream once more." He frowned, the avalanche was incredibly large for the Nibel mountains. "I will absorb the shock of impact, but you have to be sure to push off as quickly as possible, or we'll be crushed." Yuffie nodded against him, and he continued pulling, as they rocketed back towards the mountainside.
Vincent slammed into the rocks with a loud grunt. He coughed violently, feeling some of his ribcage give way under the immense pressure. Yuffie pushed away before he could absorb the rest of the shock. Biting the pain back, he forced himself to pull towards the hook, leaving the avalanche behind them.
"Its over." He lifted their joined bodies onto the path that led to the reactor.
"My God." Yuffie untied herself, rolling off of him. "Vincent, are you alright?"
"I will be fine." He closed his eyes and fought the waves of nausea spilling over him.
"I think I cracked a few ribs..." His eyes widened in realization. "Yuffie, I'm going to shift."
"What? Why?" She gasped, crouching next to him.
"It happens... when I am wounded... and the Lifestream... is disrupted." He coughed again, closing his eyes in agony. "If... I am too near to Mako... I cannot control..." He groaned, hunching over and clutching his sides. "Please... leave me... alone." He turned his head away.
"No! Vincent, you could hurt yourself further if someone's not near! Come on, let's get away from the cliff." She lifted one of his arms and threw it around her shoulders. Together, they stumbled away from the edge, as Vincent began coughing more and more violently, small flecks of blood lining his lips.
"It... begins... n-" Vincent inhaled sharply, as his ribcage snapped in half. Yuffie hurriedly disentangled herself from him, as a vicious scream burst forth from his lips. His body began to convulse brutally, accompanied by his exclamations of pain. "Please... look away..." Yuffie nodded and covered her ears, turning her body away and closing her eyes.
Vincent frantically undressed himself, removing the concealing garb as his body began to expand. His lower torso exploded outwards, as the unnecessary, constricting flesh was discarded. Deep violet skin immediately replaced it, bulging with the muscle mass quickly forming underneath it. His arms shifted, the shoulder blades thrusting themselves forward to accommodate the sudden growth of his deltoids and spinal cord. He arched his neck and roared into the sky as his entire being was suspended in the air, powered by the gigantic wings that erupted from his back. Raw, unleashed energy crackled along his being, snaking its way through his now tree trunk legs and into his eyes, erasing the pupils and leaving only purely red orbs. A mane of jet black escaped his upper skull and spread down along his neck, spilling between his newfound wings. With a final roar of agony, the transformation ended.
Vincent let himself down onto the mountain silently, quickly snatching his clothes, then pushed off with another stroke of graceful wings. Yuffie peeked around her shoulder to see him flying away.
"Hey! Vincent, where are you going?! Vincent!" She yelled, sitting heavily on her rear. But he was already gone.
* * * * *
Several hours later, Vincent walked back into the makeshift camp Yuffie had constructed in his absence. She was already sleeping, strewn out along her bedroll. He kneeled by her still form and gently brought the blankets up to cover her. Then, he sat by her and waited. After a few moments, she stirred.
"Oh... its you. I thought we'd talked about you just leaving me alone." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, slightly miffed.
"I patrolled the area and... eliminated any threats." He looked away.
"Vincent, why did you leave? I already told you that you didn't have to hide yourself from me. Why do you keep running away?"
"I apologize. I... do not enjoy being in the company of others while in those forms. I am ashamed."
"Ashamed? But you fought alongside Cloud and the rest of us as those forms. Why are you ashamed now?" Yuffie extended an arm and gently turned his face back towards her.
"I am losing control, Yuffie. Ever since Meteor... I have been slipping. Something inside of me... is struggling to free itself. I am afraid that once it does, I will never find my way back to Vincent. What's left of him, anyway."
"Losing control? Vincent, what does it mean? What are you? You have to tell me!" Vincent sighed, and nodded.
"Very well."
.